Image courtesy of TCGdex.net

Best Slaking Combos for a Winning Deck Build

Slaking, the big Colorless powerhouse from the Platinum era, is a study in tempo and risk. Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda, this Rare Holo slide into your deck with 150 HP and a dramatic payoff on the battlefield. Its attack, Best Dash, demands four Colorless energy and delivers a clean 150 damage. The true twist, though, is the downside baked into the card’s Lazy Paunch ability: if Slaking used any attacks during your last turn, Slaking can’t attack this turn. That creates a deliciously tense dance—attack with precision, then give Slaking a turn to weather the consequence of using its own big hit. It’s a strategy that rewards careful sequencing, energy management, and a second line of pressure to keep the pressure on while Slaking rests. ⚡🔥

Core idea: tempo over raw power

In a world where most decks chase speed, Slaking rewards patience. The four-colorless requirement for Best Dash makes energy management your first line of defense, with Double Colorless Energy (DCE) or multiple Colorless sources as the common accelerator. The attack’s payoff is enormous, but you must plan two steps ahead: ensure you can land the hit on a turn when Slaking hasn’t attacked yet, and then survive the opponent’s retaliation on the very next turn when your giant slugger can’t swing again. That means your deck shines when it combines Slaking’s raw damage with reliable chip damage or stall elements on the turns it isn’t attacking. The result is a two-turn cruise-control rhythm that disrupts conventional tempo and punishes aggressive opponents who misread the sequence. 🎴

Combo A: The Four-Colorless Finisher secured with energy acceleration

• Goal: Hit with Best Dash for 150 damage, then weather the next opponent’s attack as Slaking’s vulnerability peaks on the following turn.
• How it works: Build energy on Slaking ahead of time. Use two Double Colorless Energy (each provides two colorless units) plus two additional colorless attachments to meet the four-colorless cost in a single Big Dash. If you’re running Rare Candy or a fast evolutionary line, you can have Slaking on the field sooner and ready to strike on Turn 2 or Turn 3, depending on your setup. The key is to avoid having Slaking attack on the immediately preceding turn, so Lazy Paunch doesn’t kick in and block the hit.
• Turn sequence sketch: Turn 1: set up Vigoroth on the bench and begin energizing Slaking with colorless sources. Turn 2: evolve to Slaking (on the bench or in play) and unleash Best Dash if you can meet the energy cost without having attacked last turn. Opponent answers with a normal turn of aggression. Turn 3: plan for increased damage to Slaking from Best Dash’s effect, then rely on support to withstand the hit. Turn 4: Slaking returns to the offensive with another two-turn cycle. The result is a hard-hitting finisher that can swing a game when your timing is immaculate.

In practice, this combo relies on disciplined energy pacing and a bench entourage that can chip away and stall between Slaking’s big hits. If you’re worried about the wear-and-tear from the +50 damage the moment after a dash, include a couple of healing or switching options in your Trainer lineup to reposition Slaking if needed, or to replenish health between punishing exchanges. The payoff is a rare, dramatic knockout that feels as cinematic as Slaking’s art already promises. 🎨

Combo B: Bench pressure and a recovery loop

• Goal: Apply pressure each turn with a secondary colorless attacker while Slaking rests between big hits.
• How it works: Include a dependable Colorless attacker on your bench who can apply consistent damage or force your opponent to react, so you’re never fully stalled when Slaking is out of action due to Lazy Paunch. On the turns Slaking can’t attack, your secondary attacker keeps the board honest, pressuring your opponent and limiting their options. You’ll need reliable energy management so both threats stay online—think a mixture of energy acceleration and trainer support to keep both threats fueled.
• Turn sequence sketch: Turn 1: energize Slaking and begin pressuring with the bench attacker. Turn 2: Slaking steps in and delivers Best Dash while your bench unit contributes smaller but steady damage. Turn 3: Slaking rests (due to Lazy Paunch after the attack) as the bench attacker pushes more damage. Turn 4: resume with Slaking’s big hit again, repeating the cycle. This approach smooths the variance in each big hit and helps you survive the negatives that come with Best Dash’s payoff window. ⚡

Combo C: Energy management and resilience against Fighting-type threats

• Goal: Stay flexible against Fighting-type decks by engineering favorable matchups and avoiding stacking weakness exposure.
• How it works: Slaking’s weakness to Fighting is a crucial consideration, especially given a global meta that sometimes leans into heavy-hitting Fighting-types. Build your matchups with a mix of non-Fighting Colorless threats and defensive tech to soak up hits while you line up the next Best Dash. You’ll want to lean into trainer cards that help you search for Energy, protect Slaking from direct hits, or heal slightly between exchanges, so you aren’t forced into a risky all-in as your big hit lands. The versatility of a Colorless-focused deck gives you latitude to adapt to your local metagame while keeping Slaking’s tempo intact. 🎮

Illustration, nostalgia, and playstyle all converge with Slaking’s Platinum-era design. This card’s art—Masakazu Fukuda’s depiction of the towering, unapologetically relaxed behemoth—captures the set’s playful tension between big power and big risk. The Platinum set (PL1) houses 127 official cards, with Slaking appearing as a holo Rare in a lineup that rewards careful collector’s eyes as much as brave deck builders. The holo variant, joined by a reverse holo option in some printings, makes for a striking centerpiece in any Colorless-focused lineup. The official card data lists Slaking as Stage 2, evolving from Vigoroth, with a 150 HP pool, and the ability Lazy Paunch that rewards patience as much as it punishes reckless aggression. It’s a reminder that in the Pokémon TCG world, careful sequencing can be just as lethal as raw power. 💎

Market insights for this card show a healthy holo market with a range of prices that reflect condition and print run. On TCGPlayer, holo copies typically hover around a mid-price near $4.47, with recent activity often ranging from roughly $4.12 to $6.68 depending on condition and market demand. CardMarket numbers add another layer of nuance, while non-holo copies sit at notably lower ranges. For dedicated collectors, the Platinum-era holo is a meaningful piece, not only for its power in a well-tuned deck, but for its iconic artwork and nostalgic weight in a formative era of the TCG.

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