I’m sure that we’ve all, at least once, felt glee at seeing your opponent grimace in frustration as you refuse to let them play the game. Well that’s why today we’re looking at stall decks, sometimes known as mill decks. Unfortunately, there aren’t many great stall decks in the current (2021) META, but let’s dive into the past for a look at those Pokemon decks that stop your opponent from playing Pokemon. 

Today we’ll be looking at three of the best mill decks from the Pokemon Trading card game. If you’re wondering what makes a good mill deck, here’s the gist of it. Stop your opponent from being able to attack or play as soon as possible. Win without dealing damage and prevent your opponent from taking prize cards. Make sure they run out of cards before you do. Simple, really. Without further ado, let’s get into the list. 

3. Discard Durant

Durant from Noble Victories.

• This mill deck focuses on using a Pokemon’s attack to discard your opponent’s deck before they can take six prize cards. 
• In this version, the main attacking Pokemon is Durant. This Basic Pokemon has 70 HP and the Devour attack. For one energy, this attack discards a card from your opponent’s deck for each of your Durant in play. You can also use Mew to use Durant’s attack without the risk of losing a Durant. 
• This deck plays Team Rocket’s Handiwork (a Supporter that discards cards from your opponent’s deck), as well as Cursed Shovel (a Tool card that forces your opponent to discard cards when the Pokemon it is attached to is Knocked Out, and Life Dew (a Tool that reduces the number of prize cards your opponent takes.)

Life Dew from Plasma Freeze, Cursed Shovel from Rebel Clash, and Team Rocket's Handiwork from Fates Collide. 

• If you are interested in the math, here’s how it works. Your opponent starts the game with 46 cards after drawing their opening hand and putting out Prize Cards. Assuming that they don’t play any Pokemon that can KO multiple Pokemon in one turn, you should have a minimum of six turns to win. This will bring them down to 39 cards if they only draw one per turn (highly unlikely) and a combination of five Team Rocket’s Handiwork and Cursed Shovel are played, that should bring them down to 21 cards on average. If you are able to attack on each of your six turns with four Durant down, then you should win. Pokemon is a game of statistics as much as it is a game of luck, so this deck has math on it’s side. 

Here’s one version of the deck list:

Pokemon - 7

• 4 Durant NVI 83
• 2 Mew FCO 29
• 1 Jirachi PR-XY 67

Trainer - 45

• 4 Professor Juniper PLB 84
• 4 Cynthia UPR 119
• 3 Team Flare Grunt GEN 73
• 3 Team Rocket's Handiwork FCO 112
• 1 N FCO 105
• 1 Gladion CIN 95
• 3 VS Seeker PHF 109
• 4 Nest Ball SUM 123
• 4 Level Ball AOR 76
• 4 Enhanced Hammer GRI 124
• 4 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130
• 4 Trainers' Mail ROS 92
• 3 Trick Shovel FLF 98
• 1 Counter Catcher CIN 91
• 1 Super Rod BKT 149
• 1 Life Dew PLF 107

Energy - 8

• 8 Metal Energy 

2. Wall Stall Wailord

Wailord EX from Primal Clash, Xurkitree GX from Ultra Prism, and Hoopa from Shining Legends. 

• This mill deck focuses on having a Pokemon that can take all of your opponent’s biggest attacks and then heal all the damage. The hope here is that your opponent will waste all of their resources attacking you to no avail. And there’s no better Pokemon to take all that damage than Wailord, a Pokemon known for its higher than average HP. 
• Wailord EX is a Basic Pokemon with 250 HP. During the time that this deck was being played, it was very rare to do that much damage.
• This deck also plays cards like Xurkitree GX and Hoopa. Both feature abilities that prevent certain types of Pokemon from attacking them. 
• Trainer cards like AZ, Acerola, and Max Potion are what make this type of deck work. They all allow you to fully heal or pick up a card with damage on it. Usually these cards require you to sacrifice any energy on that card, but there’s no energy to sacrifice in a Wailord deck. 

Acerola from Burning Shadows, AZ from Phantom Forces and Max Potion from Guardians Rising. 

Here’s one version of the decklist:

Pokemon - 6

• 4 Wailord-EX PRC 38
• 1 Xurkitree-GX UPR 142
• 1 Oranguru UPR 114

Trainer - 53

• 4 Skyla BKT 148
• 4 Team Flare Grunt GEN 73
• 4 AZ PHF 91
• 3 Acerola BUS 112
• 2 Lusamine CIN 96
• 2 Plumeria BUS 120
• 2 Team Rocket's Handiwork FCO 112
• 1 Team Skull Grunt SUM 133
• 1 Steven ROS 90
• 1 Gladion CIN 95
• 1 Shauna FCO 111
• 4 VS Seeker PHF 109
• 4 Puzzle of Time BKP 109
• 4 Max Potion GRI 128
• 4 Enhanced Hammer GRI 124
• 3 Robo Substitute PHF 102
• 2 Nest Ball SUM 123
• 1 Computer Search BCR 137
• 4 Tropical Beach PR-BLW 28
• 2 Rough Seas PRC 137

Energy - 1

• 1 Lightning Energy 

1. Control Oranguru

Pidgeotto from Team Up, Recycle Energy from Unified Minds, and Oranguru from Ultra Prism. 

• There are several versions of the mill deck that use the Oranguru from Ultra Prism as their main card, but the game plan is always the same. Go through your entire deck quickly so that you can manage exactly what cards you get and also what cards your opponent gets. Doesn’t make sense? Allow me to elaborate. 
• This Oranguru is a Basic with 120 HP and the Resource Management attack. For one energy, this attack allows you to put three cards from your discard pile onto the bottom of your deck. 
• Cards like Pidgeotto and Cinccino are Stage 1 Pokemon that allow you to draw cards throughout the game with their abilities. 
• Almost every Trainer card in this deck serves some purpose but these are the main ones. Chip Chip Ice Axe (rearranges the top cards of your opponent’s deck), Mars (draws cards for you and discards cards for your opponent), and Crushing Hammer (discards your opponent's energy).
• Don’t forget about Recycle energy, which will go back into your hand if Oranguru is Knocked Out. 

Chip-Chip Ice Axe from Unbroken Bonds, Crushing Hammer from Sword & Shield, and Mars from Ultra Prism.

• If all goes well, this is how the deck wins. You should go through your entire deck quickly, dumping almost every card into the discard pile. Then use Resource Management to put whatever three cards you need for the next turn into your deck. Using a combination of Crushing Hammers and Chip Chip Ice Axe, you can get rid of your opponent’s energy until they can attack you any more and make sure that they don’t pick the cards they need until it is too late. 

Here’s one version of the decklist:

Pokemon - 22

• 4 Oranguru UPR 114
• 4 Pidgey TEU 122
• 4 Pidgeotto TEU 123
• 4 Jirachi TEU 99
• 2 Articuno-GX CES 31
• 1 Mew UNB 76
• 1 Ditto Prism Star LOT 154
• 1 Magnemite UPR 81
• 1 Magneton CEC 69

Trainer - 34

• 4 Professor Elm's Lecture LOT 188
• 2 Hapu UNM 200
• 2 Mars UPR 128
• 2 Lt. Surge's Strategy HIF 60
• 1 Rosa CEC 204
• 1 Tate & Liza CES 148
• 1 Jessie & James HIF 58
• 1 Bellelba & Brycen-Man CEC 186
• 1 Mallow & Lana CEC 198
• 1 Faba LOT 173
• 4 Pokégear 3.0 SSH 174
• 4 Crushing Hammer SSH 159
• 2 Reset Stamp UNM 206
• 2 Chip-Chip Ice Axe UNB 165
• 2 Great Catcher CEC 192
• 1 Pal Pad SSH 172
• 1 Escape Board UPR 122
• 1 Power Plant UNB 183
• 1 Champions Festival PR-BLW 95

Energy - 4

• 3 Water Energy 
• 1 Recycle Energy UNM 212

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