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Patriarch's Palace
thegreatcell@aol.com

Today, I am in my Palace to fix Mitch's Gardevoir ex deck. Let's look at this Modified Format deck:

"Hey Patriarch! congrats on the new garage!

But let's get down to business. I made this deck after being on a
Poke-hiatus since Aquapolis (except for the time I won the 15+ division at
the Chicago R/S Challenge, but that's a different story), and Magic is
getting to be extremely lame. So here's my new deck:

4 Ralts #67 (r/s)
2 Kirlia #34 (r/s)
1 Gardevoir (r/s)
3 Gardevoir EX
4 Zigzagoon (SS)
3 Linoone (r/s)
4 Dunsparce
1 Mewtwo EX

3 Bill's Maintenance
3 Prof. Elm's Training Method
4 Switch
3 Juggler
4 Rare Candy

21 Psychic

Note: Mewtwo+Juggler+3 energies= the 1st turn t3ch resulting in a 2nd turn
gg (sometimes)

The point of this deck is to get out the gardy as fast as possible. I have
no clue about what the metagame will be like, so I don't know what to have
in my deck to counter anything. Most of the deck changes you might make
should be easy to accomodate for me, so change at will. Do the best you
can with it!"
- - - - - - - - - - -

Patriarch Says:

Certainly not a bad deck for just coming back in, Mitch! You seem to understand some of the factors that make Gardevoir tick. However, it does indeed need work.
"4 Ralts #67 (r/s)
2 Kirlia #34 (r/s)
1 Gardevoir (r/s)
3 Gardevoir EX
4 Zigzagoon (SS)
3 Linoone (r/s)
4 Dunsparce
1 Mewtwo EX"
Before the main part, I must say that you have a good choice of which versions of Ralts and Kirlia to run. Keep those.
Overall, it does look okay, but a little less-focused than one would prefer. If you make Linoone the basis of your drawing engine, then that will seriously slow you down, even if you are getting exactly what you need. It attacks, and has little synergy with Gardevoir, so I suggest you remove the entire line. As for Mewtwo ex, it is an okay card, but in order to make it work, you are losing consistency, and focus from the main strategy: Gardevoir ex.
With these 8 spots, you can go a couple routes with the deck: Traditional, or Magneton/Delcatty.Traditional uses Wynaut to get you setup, and then you have added support with the Anti-ex Wobbuffet, which has protection from Pokemon ex. Delcatty/Magneton has some speed to it, but less consistency, so, for the sake of not needing to post two lists, go with maxed-out Wobbuffet and maxed-out Wynaut.
Last of all, you look a little too focused on the Gardevoir ex, and not intent enough on getting regular Gardevoir out. I would juggle around room between Gardevoir ex and Dunsparce to get what I need. Here are the current changes:
-4 Zigzagoon
-3 Linoone
-1 Mewtwo ex
-3 Dunsparce
-1 Gardevoir ex

+4 Wynaut/
+4 Wobbuffet
+2 Gardevoir (R/S)

"3 Bill's Maintenance
3 Prof. Elm's Training Method
4 Switch
3 Juggler
4 Rare Candy"

Your trainers need some work. By shuffling back in a card for Bill's Maintenance, you lower your odds of getting what you need to draw. PETM...it's a good card, no doubt, but I don't know how useful so many would be in this deck. Juggler was just for mewtwo ex, and the 4 Rare candy...that isn't a bad idea. As an alternate choice, you could play 3 kirlia and 3 rare candy, but there's nothing bad about Wobbuffet using Flip Over on turn two =)
-3 Bill's Maintenance
-3 Switch
-3 Juggler
-1 Rare Candy
-2 Professor Elm's Training Method

+1 Kirlia
+3 Copycat/Professor Oak's Research/Desert Shaman
+3 Stephen's Advice
+2 Warp Point
+1 Pokemon Fan Club
+1 Town Volunteers/Fisherman
+1 TV Reporter
+2 Ancient Tomb/Crystal Shard Combination (depending on if Gardevoir or Blaziken is more popular in your area)
Give the 3 Kirlia/3 Rare Candy a shot. That will not only be tech against the new ATM Rock (which returns all highest-stage evolutions to the opponent's hand), but makes it easy for Wynaut to search and pull out.With this piece of the fix alone, I was able to keep your draw at seven cards. Stephen's is massive card advantage, and Copycat can get you a nice, full hand early game. However, seven is still not enough, so in the next phase of the fix, I'll be sure to add more draw. The tech is just too important to not forget, though. Ancient Tomb is not only a counter stadium (Stadiums are more popular now), but it will really help in mirror matches, sometimes buying you enough time to take the win, or to get ahead. Rayquaza (a vital piece to the BAR deck) eats up most of your forces, so Shard is great tech. By turning any Pokemon of yours colorless, you are able to gain a weakness advantage on your opponent, and this specifically can give Garde players the fighting chance they need.
"21 Psychic Energy"
A bit too much for my taste. To accomidate extra firepower and card drawing, here are some changes:
-7 Psychic

+4 Boost
+3 TV Reporter
Boost Energy is amazing for the Gardevoir deck; it needs not only the ability to one-shot kill your opponent's stuff, but Boost's amazing speed. Certainly not bad on a turn two Gardevoir!

After ALL Modifications, this is what Mitch's final list would look like:
Pokemon (21):

4 Ralts (#67, Ruby/Sapphire)
3 Kirlia (#34, Ruby/Sapphire)
3 Gardevoir (Ruby/Sapphire)
2 Gardevoir ex
4 Wynaut
4 Wobbuffet (Sandstorm)
1 Dunsparce

Trainers (21):

4 TV Reporter
3 Rare Candy
3 Stephen's Advice
3 Copycat
2 Warp Point
1 Switch
1 Pokemon Fan Club
1 Town Volunteers (Or Fisherman...your choice)
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Crystal Shard
1 Professor Elm's Training Method

Energy (18):

4 Boost
14 Psychic

This last list looks good. I think that, if you try it out, and then edit according to playstyle, you'll do fine with it. You have enough draw, tech, and powerhouse hitters to last the entire game.

Well, that does it for Patriarch's Palace! Tune in next time for another fix. Never stop thinking, because the terrible thoughts of today are the archetypes of tomorrow!

~Patriarch
"The Cabal is here, and everywhere."