Exploring ADP

What’s up PoTown readers? Have you heard about Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX (Cosmic Eclipse) or better known as ADP? Well, I certainly have and it's one of the best (and most hated) cards in our current format! The reason why most people view this card as too powerful is Altered Creation GX, one of the best attacks our game has ever seen. For Metal and Water Energy, you can draw an extra Prize Card every time you Knock Out an opponent’s Pokemon with damage and you do an additional 30 damage for the rest of the game. That carries over to your other Pokemon, like Zacian V(Sword and Shield), and that means you can OHKO Pokemon easily. The key strategy is to use Altered Creation GX, use Boss’s Orders (Rebel Clash) to bring up two Prize Card Pokemon like Dedenne-GX (Unbroken Bonds), draw three Prize Cards because of Altered Creation GX, and do it again to win the game. This has caused many to try and “ban” ADP from community PTCGO events, but it's back and stronger than ever. This article will show you what a typical ADP Zacian list looks like, how it's transformed in our Chilling Reign format, and share a few lists along the way. Let's get it!

At the start of the format, many players took a typical ADP Zacian list, experimented with Peony (Chilling Reign) engines, and the deck saw minimal success. Let’s look at my list that I used to recently win an event:

Peony allows you to pitch your hand any grab two Trainer cards that you need. You usually grab something you need and a Cherish Ball (Cosmic Eclipse) to grab a Dedenne-GX. Alternatively, you can have a Kricketune V (Battle Styles) in play to draw cards with its Exciting Stage Ability. One of the Pokemon Online decks that this version struggles against is Eternatus VMAX (Darkness Ablaze) and thus another version of ADP was born - ADP Zacian with Galarian Zapdos V (Chilling Reign). Let’s look at that version:

This version of the deck was created to help combat Eternatus VMAX and it did improve the matchup decently. While this was a successful version of the deck for a while, Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX (Chilling Reign) quickly started climbing the ranks to become one of the best Pokemon Online decks. It might also be important to note that this deck struggles against Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX. Well, that brings us to our next iteration of ADP...

Well, like most Pokemon Online decks that get countered out of the format, they either adapt or flop. Considering ADP decks have nearly endless options, it's usually better to adapt. Since Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX is weak to Darkness-type Pokemon, it would make sense to add in a Darkness-type Pokemon... Look no further than Galarian Moltres V (Chilling Reign). It can OHKO Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX, self accelerate Energy, and be a strong attacker for the main “Boss, Boss, game” strategy. Let’s check out an early list for ADP Zacian Birds:

This version basically tries to have an answer for everything. Galarian Zapdos V for Eternatus VMAX, Galarian Moltres V for Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX, and Zacian V for Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX (Chilling Reign). This list is great in most metagames, but in a more specialized metagame, another version (I know) has seen more success. For whatever reason, Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX hasn’t seen too much success lately so it's better to work with a more focused build. Let’s look at this build:

This build focuses mainly on Galarian Moltres V to counter the format and it might be a better partner for ADP than Zacian V. What you lack in drawing cards you make up for with self acceleration with Galarian Moltres V to help OHKO Pokemon after Altered Creation GX. Overall, I really like this version of the deck in the metagame, and seems like a great call for the rest of the Chilling Reign metagame.

I hope this article has helped you learn more about ADP Pokemon online decks and my thoughts on what we’ve seen so far! Personally, I’m just happy to be part of your Pokemon TCG journey! I look forward to going more in-depth about various aspects of our game and I invite you to read those future articles too! Pokemon TCG and PTCGO are such wonderful games, we have an amazing community, and places like PoTown are great! I’ll catch up with you soon.

Zach Lesage is a contributing writer for PoTown Store. As a Toronto local, he has been playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game since 2005 and creates Pokemon content as his full time career. Under the moniker of theloneblown, he creates YouTube content, streams on Twitch, and provides hot takes on his Twitter. With multiple prestigious accomplishments in the game, such as the 2020 Players Cup 2 Champion and the 2020 Oceania International Championships Finalist, he has proven his success in the game. Outside of the game, he travels the world, enjoys the culture of designer streetwear, and is a professionally trained chef. You can catch him at most Pokemon events and follow him on Twitter @ZachLesagePTCG.