Hello everyone! This is Elena from Gaia Storm TCG and welcome to another article at CCG Castle. Today I want to cover a deck that has no middle ground, either you love it or you hate it: Obstangoon. And yes, Obstagoon has been polemic ever before it got released, with people arguing whether it was going to be played or if it was just some meme deck. The debate still continues to date despite the fact that Obstagoon has been able to top in some major events. So the question is … is Obstagoon playable? Why or why not?

To begin with, let’s start by explaining what makes Obstagoon a card worth considering. This dark-type Pokémon is a Stage 2 with quite a unique attack. For two energies, Obstagoon deals 90 damage and protects itself from attack by basic Pokémon. Taking into consideration that the majority of the current decks play no other attackers than basics it is clear the menace Obstagoon can pose to the meta. Now, let’s consider that for a minute: For Obstagoon to be fully successful, it has to exist in an environment where the majority of the decks play nothing but basic Pokémon. Right now, the format is primarily composed by ADP Zacian, Blacephalon Mini, Mewtwo GX and Mill, so it is no surprise that Obstagoon has a strong departing position going against unprepared decks.

However, this great advantage is at the same its biggest weakness because it only takes some quick adjustments to tech effectively against Obstagoon. ADP Zacian can run either Mawile GX or a 1-1 Line of Copperajah from Sword and Shield if Phione + Custom Catchers don’t work well enough. Mini Blacepalon can easily win the match up with a combination of Phione and Ultra Forest Kartenvoy and Mewtwo GX can attack with Greninja GX to deal damage. Not to mention the fact that the rising popularity of Mill and Magcargo GX decks completely destroy Obstagoon. All in all, it is a good deck but it only works in a favorable environment against unprepared decks.

So, what’s the deal with Obstagoon? Is it worth playing now? The short answer is yes. The long answer is “yes but don’t get frustrated if you run against non-favorable match ups or against a player that is prepared against you”.  Besides, this might be the only chance you have playing Obstagoon at big tournaments because with the release of Rebel Clash, many new V Max Pokémon like Cinderance, Dragapult and Rillaboom will become a reality in the metagame. So suddenly, Obstagoon will need to deal with many evolution strategies and I am sure it won’t be able to effectively survive in that environment. But for the time being, it will still remain as a viable option that players need to consider while preparing for tournaments.

So that was all for the moment. As a final remark, remember that you won’t be making many friends if you play this deck but. Thank you so much for reading and stay safe everyone!