Shiftry Donk (TCG)

Shiftry Donk
Shiftry and Forest of Giant Plants Types used Major cards Shiftry, Devolution Spray and Forest of Giant Plants Era Unlimited

Shiftry Donk is a deck archetype in the Pokémon Trading Card Game using Shiftry. It uses the Unlimited format.

The idea behind this deck was strategized soon as Forest of Giant Plants had been announced, and this deck has been played at few Japanese events upon release. Shiftry was then banned to prevent the maintenance of a turn one win deck in the Expanded format from September 1st, 2015 to August 18th, 2017, when Forest of Giant plants was in the format's ban list instead.

As a possible effect of its success, the Unlimited Format in Pokémon TCG Online was replaced by the PTCGO-exclusive Legacy Format in most modes on March 30, 2016.

Strategy

Shiftry Donk is designed to win on the very first turn of the game by shuffling the opponent's Pokémon from play to their deck with Shiftry's Giant Fan Ability, fulfilling a possible win condition. Forest of Giant Plants allows Pokémon to evolve on any of the player's turn, and there were pre-evolution cards available for Shiftry. Although the Ability requires a coinflip, it is possible to evolve/devolve multiple Shiftry in the first turn thanks to its draw engine and supporting cards.

Going second opens the possibility of the opponent filling his Bench to not lose by having no Pokémon in play, usually resulting in a loss for the Shiftry deck. Stalling the opponent is only possible in rare occasions, since the deck aims to shuffle resources back and not discard them. Some Basic Pokémon are also immune to Abilities or prevent Shiftry's Ability to work, which may force the deck to play Energy or rely in other supporting Pokémon but also force opposing decks to include these Pokémon as a countermeasure.

Key cards

Devolution Spray

• Shiftry - When evolving a Pokémon into Shiftry, its Giant Fan Ability can shuffle an opposing Pokémon and all cards attached to it back to the opponent's deck with a coinflip.
• Uxie and Shaymin-EX - Common supporting Pokémon to draw extra cards from the deck with their effects.
• Sableye - Its Overeager Poké-BODY improves the odds of going first in the Unlimited format.
• Devolution Spray - Devolves Shiftry so the player can use its Ability again, usually in the same turn the card has been played.
• Scoop Up Cyclone - Along with similar cards, allows the player to put back Shiftry or its supporting Pokémon back to the hand to reuse their Abilities or Poké-POWERs.
• Forest of Giant Plants - Allows Pokémon such as Shiftry's earlier Stages to evolve on any of the player's turns.

Typical deck list

Japanese Expanded format decklist The deck list appearing below is not official; it is meant to represent an average build of the archetype, not specifically constructed for any regional metagame. Being that this is merely an archetype, a player may wish to change any part of this deck when building his or her own version. Quantity Card Type Rarity 4× Shiftry 4× Nuzleaf 4× Seedot 3× Unown 4× Shaymin-EX 4× Acro Bike I 1× Battle Compressor I 4× Bicycle I 4× Devolution Spray I 1× Escape Rope I 4× Level Ball I 4× Recycle I 4× Super Scoop Up I 1× Scoop Up Cyclone I 4× Trainers' Mail I 4× Ultra Ball I 4× Forest of Giant Plants St 2× Professor Sycamore Su

Unlimited format decklist The deck list appearing below is not official; it is meant to represent an average build of the archetype, not specifically constructed for any regional metagame. Being that this is merely an archetype, a player may wish to change any part of this deck when building his or her own version. Quantity Card Type Rarity 4× Shiftry 4× Nuzleaf 4× Seedot 4× Sableye 4× Unown 4× Uxie 3× Devolution Spray I 4× Level Ball I 4× Puzzle of Time I 1× Scoop Up Cyclone I 4× Super Scoop Up I 4× Trainers' Mail I 4× Ultra Ball I 2× Item Finder T 4× Professor Oak T 4× Forest of Giant Plants St 3× Professor Oak's New Theory Su

Possible tech cards

The following cards are often used in Shiftry Donk in place of certain cards included in the above lists.

• Porygon2 - Allows the viability/reuse of Supporter cards such as AZ and Seeker. Can be played in the first turn by replacing Forest of Giant Plants with Broken Time-Space.
• Mr. Fuji - Allows the player to shuffle a Benched Pokémon into the deck. This is useful for making more room on the Bench.
• Swoop! Teleporter - Switches a Basic Pokémon in play with a Basic Pokémon in the deck.

Restriction

Shiftry Donk uses the Unlimited Format; therefore, it is not tournament legal. It is played at home, in unsanctioned tournaments, and at leagues where permitted.

This article is part of Project TCG, a Bulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.