GLC Grass Turbo Wo-Chien

Do you want a grass toolbox of a tank, a beatstick, and the return of Amazing Raikou? I have the deck for you. 

I hope you're not sick of me! I know I just did an article on Munkidori Crispin Psychic, but Wheatr asked me to do an article on this and Korraidon Loop, and I wanted to tackle this one first as it just won the Full Grip Games league night by Plopal. We will get into his edits and even an awesome gameplay video from Morse below! 

The *day* Wo-Chien was leaked on PokeTwitter, I built a Wo-Chien deck. Taking extra prizes is always broken, it just takes the right deck. In the month we had before Surging Sparks release, I tried three different versions. The first one was what most of us had in mind - jumpluff, fast aggro grass. It was okay, but the power level wasn’t where I wanted it. By the third version, I landed close to what I’m writing about today, and so, before Surging Sparks even came out, I ranked it the #1 best card in the set for GLC. If you have 3 minutes, I’d recommend listening to my early synopsis here because it details this article concisely and remains relevant today (timestamped link):

Inspiration

First I want to share inspiration and direction on the list from my years of playing GLC and exchanging ideas on the internet: 

• Pelet - the first early innovator of grass and showing Rillasaur isn't grass’ only option. My first ever deck was a (terrible) single strike grass deck, and in a world of everyone shoving Rillasaur down my throat as optimal (not the reason I play GLC), it was so inspiring seeing someone who played their favorites… and winning (a lot). Pelet is always the grass gym leader in my mind for his creativity that takes fun cards and actually makes them competitive. Check out his Elusive Feather deck profile if you’re new to GLC. 
• JD - My wife, Waffles, believed in the Cherrim engine day 1 (I mean the art?!), but JD proudly took Cherrim from kitchen table to the TrickyGym stream and showed off the power of his awesome Fastest Deck in the West. He’s an early adopter of Cherrim and it was helpful to my own deck building because it validated what our own kitchen table results were showing: Cherrim decks actually set up faster than Venusaur decks and do what they need to a little more consistently.  
• Deadmaniac - I think the only other person in Cbw that also thought Wochien was good when it first dropped? One of the snails strongest soldiers and early testers are invaluable for an archetypes creation in a niche format like GLC. I can’t thank people like Dead and other CBW yappers that help me with ideas early on enough. 
• Plopal - Kofu propaganda aside, lol, he also saw something in Wochien and recognized it's like a Raikou. It was cool watching his snail decks change on CBW, because they mirrored the same type of changes I was going through in those 3 versions I mentioned pre Surging Sparks in my early testing. Then he added validity to the deck instantly with his win at FGG, making two key changes (Budew over cape, which I landed on as well for the new format, and Kofu over Carmine, which I did not consider and has been great so far). It meant the world to me, Alex, when you mentioned that you finally found a grass deck that you enjoyed. That’s what it’s all about in GLC!
• Baltimore locals - noloaf, DJBackwardz, and the whole gang for helping test early builds, which is where I got less greedy and started to add more recovery like Pal Pad and CynLyn. My brain doesn't do cards online well (tho I can yap for days) so I'm glad that the boys are always excited to help me with my paper brews (even the toxic donk ones like Dusclops and Pechurant lol). My decks would not be as tested without playing with these folks every week… and talking about this format daily. Love you guys.

 

The List

Taking extra prizes is good. It might sound silly to build a deck around WoChien, but it sounds less weird to build a deck around cheating extra prizes. Don't fall into the spread trap. We're sniping here. 

“Turbo” Snail is not turbo in the same way as aggro decks like colorless or dragon. But in that you'll go to 3 cards left in the deck and swing with Wo-Chien out of nowhere when your opponent didn't expect it. It's a toolbox Cherrim deck, really, but people were sleeping on Wo-Chien which is why the deck is called Turbo Snail. Why put in another beatstick when I can play something that can take 2 prizes? 

Grass plays from behind, except Festival Lead double attack (separate article?!), so it needs a different advantage. And so, the advantage here is that we have two Pokemon that go 2:1 in prizes: Torterra tanking a hit and Wo-Chien taking 2 prizes. Contingency plans are vital in a singleton format, and with both attacking options being consistent outs, you’ll still win even if, say your Grotle is prized and you’re struggling to find town map. Unlike Lost Zone and similar builds, this deck isn't an all cheese one attacker build. If Wo-Chien gets lost zoned after attacking once you don't auto lose. That’s something that people often miss on paper - we are not all in on Wo-Chien here. In fact…

Zarude is one of the best attackers. 160 is the new 120/130 in today’s power creep. This constantly clears most active threats, including evolution attackers like Gallade, Inteleon, and Garchomp, while preserving your energy for next turn’s attacker. Zarude really bumped up the power level of Cherrim decks immensely. Be mindful to not play into Hex Maniac when you do this - load up another attacker on the bench.

Getting Into the Other Pokemon

Consistency is everything in Pokemon. It’s no secret that turn 1 is the most important turn in Pokemon TCG. This magnifies immensely in a singleton format like GLC, so it’s no exaggeration when I say that having 3 good starters is extremely helpful for this archetype and something I like about it over other grass builds’ consistency. Gossifleur is your best one - Call For Family for 3 is broken in grass. Budew item lock can slow down your opponent with its item lock and serves as a pivot in the midgame, which is important because this deck will constantly loop the same attacker the turn after its KOed. Shaymin’s Flippity Flap, aside from being the most fun attack name to declare, can well save a slow start, and of course, serves as a revenge attacker itself. Both Gossifleur and Shaymin are not just great starters, they are great resources in the mid game, which gives them a lot of value. 

Water decks would kill for a stage 1 raindancer that attaches to the active, so it’s a little funny how Cherrim has been overshadowed by other grass accelerators. Combine with Eldegoss and Recycle Energy and you’ll always have 3 energy to plop onto your attacker. When it’s prized, you can Raihan loop with VS Seeker, CynLyn, and Pal Pad, and of course, it’ll be the first thing you grab with Town Map. 

Beautifly is massively underrated. Because other grass decks don't have the space for more stage 2s. This is your rare candy slot. Don't cut candy. Imagine Colorless without Bibarel, Water without Octillery… playing other Grass decks without Beautifly, and after playing so many games with this build it feels like that to me now. I struggle to say I couldn’t imagine playing grass without it, but my goodness, is it so freaking powerful for your mid game and late game consistency. Hand disruption doesn’t work on you when you have a small deck and engine that can draw up to 6. It’s nice that it is not completely essential, so you can take your time and wait until the mid game to set it up. 

Beyond that, you have your typical grass staples. Roserade tutors whatever out of your deck, Grotle searches for whatever pokemon you need, you know the vibes. And that’s one of the nice things… this sounds like a cheesy deck, but man, you’re sacrificing none of the best things grass has to offer. We still play Torterra, Roserade, and acceleration. We’re just bumping up the power level with the snail. So, how does that work?

Grass plays off the board. Hapu and Explorer’s Guidance allow you to not only mill your deck for Wochien, but make your deck less susceptible to disruption, so this actually plays to Grass’ strength. Grab your pokemon off Goss, Ball Guy, Grotle, etc., grab your energy from Goss, and then get to the self mills. Use Pokestop and the other millers after you’re set up. 

Wo-Chien isn't a "rare" occurrence. It hits 3 prizes on average. You should be able to attack with it a few times after the self mills. It could honestly happen even more, but sometimes it's correct to regrab Zarude instead. 

The situations on what resources are correct to conserve is largely “it depends” however, be especially mindful of Recycle Energy, Rods, VS Seeker, and Pal Pad. It’s okay to mill a crucial card like Klara for example, if you still have access to Pal Pad. This is where you’ll want a few rounds with the deck to get used to the pilot decisions. Definitely play 3-5 casual games before bringing it to a tournament. 

Game Plan

Early Game - prioritize setting up Cherrim, Grotle, Eldegoss, Rose, Wurmple and an attacker.  Go wide with your board. If they parallel you, don’t give up your evolution lines, hold on to Cherrim, Grotle, and then depending on the situation Goss or Beaut line. You can recover your basic attackers easily, it’s no big deal giving them up. You have 3 stadiums, Field Blower, and a ridiculous amount of dig to find them. Stream beatstick attackers (Zarude, Torterra, Shaymin, the 130 attack from Wo-Chien). With Cherrim, Goss, and Grotle set up, pull out your energy and pokemon and begin churning through your deck.

Here’s a worst case parallel (multiple of your evo lines set up) to show you’re still fine

Mid Game - Beautifly should be set up now. Continue to churn, with the Beaut acting as a second supporter (akin to Bibs in Colorless). If they gust KO Cherrim, grab it back for next turn - you should have another attacker loaded up from last turn, so you won’t miss a beat. You should actually be able to get your first Wo-Chien snipe in the midgame and begin to catch up in the prize trade here. 

Late Game - You are using your rods and other recovery to become disruption proof (after all, you have <3 cards in deck) to stream the last few attackers depending on the situation. Beautifly makes you hand disruption proof, smart pre-attachments with Cherrim on a back up attacker make you Hex proof - this deck is extremely resilient to disruption in the end game. 

Reasons For Other Card Choices

• Field Blower - beyond obvious uses, ensures the 120 snipe math goes through 

• Greens Exploration & VIP Pass - turn 1 set up is the most important thing in Pokemon, especially in grass, and they are easy discards when you’re self milling

• Rods (over stretchers) - you can pull the energy to your hand from your deck with Goss and easily find the Pokemon with the amount of search in this deck. Resource wise with the self mills, you need the Rods over Stretchers. 

• Kofu - admittedly, I’m keeping this one in honor of Plopal. It used to be a Carmine, but he mentioned to me that he wanted a draw card that helped store resources while drawing up the hand. The self mill is a delicate balance (for example, CynLyn used to be a Clay) and I can see where he’s coming from, so I’m testing it myself too. So far, I like it. 

• Hex Maniac - every good deck should play this, but it has additional value in turning off bench barrier 

• Battle Compressor - should be in every good GLC deck. It thins for snail and makes your recovery come alive. It’s a card that really rewards thoughtful piloting. They’ll never print a card like this in standard again. It’s currently an ace spec because the effect is so strong. Consider this when our format allows us to play cards like it, hex, surge, delinquent, etc.

• Town map - Map is a staple in GLC combo decks. Too many people sleep on this card. That is a greedy cut. I’ve come back from games where I prized key pokemon lines thanks to this card and Shaymin to pluck them out of prizes. Those kind of comebacks aren’t possible without map. And it isn’t even your supporter for turn!

 

Other Cards to Consider

• Tapu Bulu & Muscle Band - OHKOs new Wailord next format. 240 becomes an important number.

• Iron Leaves - 160 revenge vs. Shaymin’s 120

• Hustle Belt & Rainbow Energy - cheeky way to make Budew do 70 and item lock

  

Context of Wochien in the GLC Meta

Every type has a distinct advantage over others. Identify this and you'll be able to identify how to play to the strengths, mixed with the meta. 

Basic attackers with evolution engines is the GLC format. This deck wouldn't work if Wo-Chien was a stage 1, but hey, it isn't. We can recycle it endlessly. We play to this meta with mostly basic attackers. The one attacker that evolves is well worth it (Torterra), because it provides support on its stage 1 and is a tank when it comes into the active. The rest of our engine is agile and allows quick attacks. The slow days of GLC are gone thanks to Fan Rotom, Poffin, and Raging bolt, as well as old staples like Zapdos and Hoopa. You need something like a Shaymin or Cherrim to keep up consistently in my opinion. 

The top meta is 2 aggro decks (Colorless, Dragon) and 2 set up decks (Water, Psychic). You are at a disadvantage as grass because aggro takes initiative (the first prize) so you're always playing catch up. You are at a disadvantage vs the other set up decks, because frankly, their cardpools are better. Therefore, I can't think of a reason I really want to play Venusaur in modern times. I want quick stage 1s, draw power, and multiple come back cards. This is the grass deck that provides it. Thank you extra prize snail!

Gameplay

If you want gameplay of this deck, there is no shortage of content. If you learn best from videos, or just want additional information by watching gameplay, here are my top 5 content creator videos on Turbo Snail: 

• Plopal Morse game play

• My own channel gameplay

• Zachzag

• PokeRon GLC

Conclusion

This deck is extremely fun to play. If you love decks that use the graveyard as a resource and require tough mill pilot decisions, but then rewards you, this is it. However, if a card like Comfey or PokeStop make you squeal, stay with Rillasaur and seriously that's okay. I really do believe in playstyles and while this deck is totally geared for me, my wife Waffles, is conservative with cards and wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft pole from the anxiety of playing Hapu in a meta deck. 

As I mentioned in my last article's conclusion, I think it's worth noting again. I brew for the love of the game. Publishing these ideas grows the decks, GLC, and our shared community. This is a relaxing, fun casual format. I will never restrict my ideas behind a paywall and we should be extremely thankful for CBW being a free resource for us all. GLC wouldn't be the same without this site, Discord, and Poke Twitter. Keep yapping, keep brewing, keep the dream of cardsports building deep friendships alive. When your homebrew keeps winning, you become undeniable. 

Be creative and try new things. You never know when you may find something broken, like a snail hiding under a leaf. 

Love you all in this amazing, fun community. Keep brewing friends! 

With love,

Zmancuddles 

My socials are twitter, twitch, and youtube. Follow me for competitive decks, like this one, and for the zaniest meme decks you never knew could function. It’s up to you to decide which is which :)