Expanded is a wild ride. There are so many cards to choose from and so many potential combinations to explore. Content creators generally do a bad job of covering the Expanded format (me included!) because there's generally a smaller audience for it, the ladder is a horrible way to play the format (that's another article unto itself..) and there's simply more cards to keep track of. Why worry about random niche techs when you can just slam Black VMAX against Purple VMAX over and over?
But I do really enjoy Expanded. After all, my playing career started right around when the Black and White block was released! But, as it goes in Pokemon, the newer cards outshine the older ones. The newest behemoth of the Expanded format is Shadow Rider Calyrex. I will assume you're familiar with this card, and if you're not you can watch the first four minutes of the above video!
Shadow Rider Calyrex has been hyped up by many players, including the great Stephane Ivanoff, as being one of, if not the best deck in the Expanded format. And for good reason. There are a number of absolutely busted in half cards that SR Calyrex can take advantage of. Possibly the strongest (outside of the main attacker and namesake of the deck itself) is Alolan Muk. Alolan Muk, though only a 1-1, packs an enormous punch in Expanded. Just think of all the fantastic Basics with Abilities - Dedenne GX, Crobat V, Oricorio GX, Tapu Lele. All these consistency cards just get throttled by Alolan Muk. And it's even possible to control the game from T1 with the help of the Silent Lab stadium! Broken! Another enormous advantage that the deck has is Acerola. There really aren't that many VMAX decks in Expanded with decks that focus on taking all 6 prizes relying more on Basics like Mew / Tsareena or ADP / Dragonite V. Acerola doesn't help those other decks very much as they are all liable to be OHKOd relatively easily. Calyrex is a different story. It is usually an enormous feat for a deck to do the necessary damage to pull off a KO. Because of this, Acerola can be absolutely back-breaking if used at the right time. Negating an opponent's turn can make the difference between a resounding victory or a crushing defeat.
Shadow Rider's strength lies in it's utility. It can block Abilities, draw an absurd amount, play a slow and grind game using the Basic V's first attack, heal damage, OHKO anything in the format, gain an extra turn (behind Gengar and Mimikyu GX). It really is a jack of all trades type of deck that's worthy of the hype.
For more reading, check out Stephane's article here.
SR Calyrex List
****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******
##Pokémon - 13
* 1 Alolan Grimer SUM 57
* 1 Gengar & Mimikyu-GX TEU 53
* 1 Lunala {*} UPR 62
* 4 Shadow Rider Calyrex V CRE 171
* 1 Tapu Lele-GX N/A 25
* 1 Alolan Muk SUM 58
* 4 Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX CRE 75
##Trainer Cards - 34
* 4 Mysterious Treasure FLI 113
* 1 Computer Search BCR 137
* 2 Trainers' Mail ROS 92
* 1 Acerola BUS 112
* 4 Professor Juniper PLB 84
* 1 Super Rod BKT 149
* 2 Quick Ball FST 237
* 2 Field Blower GRI 125
* 1 Guzma BUS 115
* 2 Silent Lab PRC 140
* 3 Float Stone PLF 99
* 1 Mallow GRI 127
* 2 N NVI 92
* 4 Fog Crystal CRE 140
* 1 Marnie CPA 56
* 3 VS Seeker PHF 109
##Energy - 13
* 13 Psychic Energy Energy 5
Total Cards - 60
****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******