u/Human-Instance460

Ever since they introduced the DEMON WORM last set, I have been waiting for :DeNA to release a grass type fossil Pokémon. The new Caterpie is just such a strong lead off that getting to guarantee starting the game with it felt like it would be broken. And I’m happy to say… THE DEMON WORM HAS RETURNED.

Seriously, it’s such an amazing lead off Pokémon. If you go first, then you can evolve to Butterfree on your second turn and start swinging. If you go second, you thin your deck a little when Metapod comes out, it still hits for 30, and you get energy advantage to start building up your next Pokémon. Early game Butterfree is so OP. It one shots basics, it shrugs off low damage attacks with its heal, and it straight up solo’s some big threats in this meta like Hoopa ex and Mega Sharpedo ex. Even if you don’t find the Butterfree in time, the Metapod can still kill babies, wear a leaf cape, and thin your deck.

Now for its partner in crime: Cradily. This thing is so tanky. 150 hp gets it just out of range of that key 140 benchmark. And for anything that doesn’t hit big, its recovery makes it basically immortal. Also since Butterfree only needs a single energy, and this only needs two, it’s pretty easy to get this and another one ready to go. And even though it only hits for 70, the fact that it traps the opposing Pokémon is huge. We’re running both Sabrina and Cyrus, making it really easy to switch in and trap the exact Pokémon you need to win the game.

Now for the rest of the list. I’ve played around with it a bunch … rest of explanation in the comments …

Ever since they introduced the DEMON WORM last set, I have been waiting for :DeNA to release a grass type fossil Pokémon. The new Caterpie is just such a strong lead off that getting to guarantee starting the game with it felt like it would be broken. And I’m happy to say… THE DEMON WORM HAS RETURNED.

Seriously, it’s such an amazing lead off Pokémon. If you go first, then you can evolve to Butterfree on your second turn and start swinging. If you go second, you thin your deck a little when Metapod comes out, it still hits for 30, and you get energy advantage to start building up your next Pokémon. Early game Butterfree is so OP. It one shots basics, it shrugs off low damage attacks with its heal, and it straight up solo’s some big threats in this meta like Hoopa ex and Mega Sharpedo ex. Even if you don’t find the Butterfree in time, the Metapod can still kill babies, wear a leaf cape, and thin your deck.

Now for its partner in crime: Cradily. This thing is so tanky. 150 hp gets it just out of range of that key 140 benchmark. And for anything that doesn’t hit big, its recovery makes it basically immortal. Also since Butterfree only needs a single energy, and this only needs two, it’s pretty easy to get this and another one ready to go. And even though it only hits for 70, the fact that it traps the opposing Pokémon is huge. We’re running both Sabrina and Cyrus, making it really easy to switch in and trap the exact Pokémon you need to win the game.

Now for the rest of the list. I’ve played around with it a bunch. I’ve tried running double Butterfree lines. I’ve tried running Lillie. I’ve tried Juliana, Lucky Ice Pop, double Leaf Cape, etc. In the end, I found that the extra healing was usually overkill, I found that I usually didn’t need more than a single leaf cape, and I found that whenever I got both Cradily’s on the board, it was almost impossible to lose. So I decided to try to add as much consistency as possible, and that includes adding the super mediocre Order Pad card to the list. It’s basically a VERY discount poké ball for the fossils. But even if it misses, every item included in this deck helps put our Pokémon on the board. Also even if it flips tails it still gives us better Copycats by dumping a card from our hand. Of course, I welcome any input on better ways to optimize this list that anyone might have.

I really think this deck has potential to be a top meta threat, but haven’t seen anyone mention it yet. It has so many things going for it. The early game pressure from Butterfree, the late game trapping of Cradily, and just the sheer amount of hp the opponent has to get through. Chingling has not been popular recently which also helps, but even it comes back, Metapod one shots it, so I think it won’t be too much of an issue. Also if we ever get fossil draw support in the future, this deck would get significantly buffed from being able to ditch the Order Pads.

Unfortunately I don’t really have the time to enter tournaments right now, but I would love it if someone could try to get some results with this deck. Please help me get our almighty demon worm the recognition it deserves! Thank you ❤️.