The pro-defensive shift in the Pokémon TCG was on full display at Champions League Fukuoka when five players using defensive decks made the top 16. Of the quintet, the highest-ranking finisher was Masaya Fujimoto who finished third with a Blissey ex deck—a deck which had never seen any serious tournament-level play until the recent rotation took effect, elevating the metagame relevance of all defensive decks including this one.

Strategy

In the Pokémon video games, Blissey is best known for its gargantuan HP total which makes it one of the tankiest ‘mons to ever exist—and this same trait is carried forward into its TCG version from Mask of Change [SV6]. Blissey ex boasts 300 HP; in addition, its weakness of Fighting is one of the rarest attacking types in the current meta. Further shoring up the deck’s immense defensive capabilities are Milotic ex from Super Electric Breaker [SV8], Farigiraf ex from Cyber Judge [SV5M], and Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex from Mask of Change [SV6]—all of which are immune to damage from certain Pokémon categories (Terastallized Pokémon, Pokémon-ex, and Pokémon with Abilities respectively).

To keep Blissey ex around for as long as possible while at the same time chipping away at opposing Pokémon’s HP, the deck includes Munkidori from Mask of Change [SV6] which has the Ability of Adrena-Brain which takes three damage counters off one of the player’s Pokémon and puts them on one of the opponent’s. Blissey ex’s own Ability is also vital to the deck’s general strategy: once per turn, Happy Switch allows the player to move a Basic Energy card from one of the player’s Pokémon to another.

It’s via Happy Switch that the attacks of the deck’s Pokémon are powered up: Milotic ex, Farigiraf ex, Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex, and Blissey ex all have attacks which deal between 140 and 180 damage for three Energy cards. Return, Blissey ex’s attack, doesn’t just deal damage; it also serves as a draw engine by enabling the player to draw cards until the player has 6 cards in hand.

Price

The cumulative price of all the cards in the Blissey ex deck is at least 5,600 JPY (~US$37).

In other TCG-related news, check out the Feraligatr/Munkidori deck. Alternatively, you can also head over to the SNKRDUNK App via the banner below and find the top trending and latest single cards and boxes.

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