Flareon Finally Got A Move!
Disclaimer
Please note that a majority of this article was written before [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”name”] was banned. However, I briefly discuss what this ban means for Flareon under the “Future” section of this article.
Introduction
Hello, reader! As many of you know, my name is Grafton Roll. For those of you who only know that because it says my name at the top of this article, let me introduce myself. Along with my dad and brother I have been playing this game for 11 years with no breaks. None. I started playing competitively at the age of eight, and dominated the Junior and Senior age groups. In my final year of being a Senior I was fortunate enough to top 4 both Nationals and Worlds; this lead to my first year in Masters being rather casual thanks to the free invite. I am currently a college student in central Florida doing school things, working, and playing Pokemon.
When it comes to this game, I want to help the community in any way I can. I want this game to stay around for as long as it possibly can because I love it. Not only that but I want others to find the same amount of joy that I have had from the game. I would love to share this game with my kids one day like my father has been able to share this game with me. My dream is to one day have a career built around this game, and the only way I can accomplish this is by helping the community grow and improve. If you share that same dream, then I urge you to help your local players. Next time you are at League, help a newer person learn the game or better themselves. Let someone get the better side of the trade to help them build their collection. Any act of kindness can help to extend this game’s life.
This year I have earned myself an invite into Worlds playing only one deck. That deck, as it should be known, is The Church of [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”]. I would like to take credit as the one who created this deck and planted it firmly into the metagame as a high-tier contender, though of course with some help here and there from others. Today I will be talking about the changes made to Flareon over the years, and what we should expect to see as new sets are released. I will also briefly go over the new matchups and the many types of [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”] you will inevitably run into along your tournament journey.
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Flareon’s Past, Present, and Future
Past
[cardimg name=”Flareon ex” set=”EX Delta Species” no=”108″ align=”right” height=”200″ c=”custom”]The Original[/cardimg]
People may not know this, but [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”] has been a deck for a few years now. When the card was first revealed by PokeBeach I jumped all over like a louse onto a clean head of hair. Flareon’s partner at the time was a card that some people still play today: [card name=”Cofagrigus” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”56″ c=”from”]. The basic concept of this deck was that you would use Six Feet Under to put three damage counters on a Pokemon, effectively putting them in a “coffin,” along with getting two more Pokemon in the discard, making Flareon’s Vengeance stronger. In the end each Coffin was worth 50 damage at the cost of granting your opponent a Prize card. It may not seem worth it at first glance, but then [card name=”Ditto” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”108″ c=”name”] comes into the picture. Stacking Dittos underneath Cofagrigus makes it so Flareon can deal even more with Vengeance. Finally, the deck ran [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”] so that when a Coffin “exploded” you wouldn’t give up anything after all. This deck still had a lot of problems because its recovery wasn’t optimal, and like Flareon decks today it burned through itself extremely fast. I played four copies of cards like Recycle and [card name=”Audino” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”126″ c=”name”].
I ended up playing this deck for US Nationals 2013 and even considered it for US Nationals 2014 just because of how much I personally love this card. Don’t get me wrong: this wasn’t blind love. The deck was amazing, and it ran like nothing I had ever seen before. At US Nationals 2013 I was one win away from getting into top cut and was rather disappointed when I didn’t.
Present
[cardimg name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ align=”right” height=”200″ c=”custom”]Who needs Flare Blitz when you have Vengeance?[/cardimg]
For months [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”] sat inside my extra deck box waiting for his time to strike, and strike hard he did. The moment I saw the [set name=”Phantom Forces”] scans on PokeBeach, only two cards stood out from the rest: [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”] and [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”name”]. When I read Battle Compressor the first thing I thought was “I can play Flareon again!” The next thought I had after reading Lysandre’s Trump Card was “never mind.” I knew that if I made Flareon work again that people could easily tech one Lysandre’s Trump Card and I would lose on the spot.
Just like all epiphanies, I had mine while in the bathtub taking a shower. Unlike those who came before me, I did not jump out and run down the street naked yelling at the plebeians. I figured that if I built the deck to run as fast as it could that even when they “Trumped” (as it came to be known) I could play all of the Battle Compressors again. This lead to the first draft of the deck that became the skeleton for all versions to come.
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”22″]
4x [card name=”Eevee” set=”Furious Fists” no=”80″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Leafeon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”11″ c=”deck2″]
3x [card name=”Audino” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”126″ c=”deck2″]
3x [card name=”Ditto” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”108″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Voltorb” set=”XY” no=”44″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Electrode” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”33″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”98″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”M Venusaur-EX” set=”XY” no=”2″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”M Blastoise-EX” set=”XY” no=”30″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”M Charizard-EX” set=”Flashfire” no=”13″ c=”deck2″]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”30″]
4x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”116″ c=”deck2″]
3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Bicycle” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”117″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”140″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”8″]
4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Base Set” no=”96″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”XY” no=”133″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”XY” no=”132″ c=”deck2″]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
Now before you start to judge, this deck was made 10 minutes before I left for League. I did not spend much time thinking about random Pokemon to put in to help the deck, so I put in Mega Pokemon just to be funny and confuse people. One strategy that I use is purposefully putting bad cards into lists that I play at League to throw people off who might want to build that deck for themselves. Soon after this list was made the Megas were removed and replaced by cards like [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”47″ c=”name”] and [card name=”Slurpuff” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”69″ c=”name”].
While talking about [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”], let’s not get caught up in nostalgia. Like a shark, Flareon must keep moving or it will die. Thus, we must keep moving and improving, but never forgetting about the meta around us. I have built possibly 50 different Flareon lists, and I could continue to make new ones. Whether it be with [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”19″ c=”from”] or even [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”], I have tried just about everything that I don’t immediately think is terrible, and some things that I most certainly would.
Just two weekends ago I played in the Kansas Regional Championships, and if you couldn’t guess, I played Flareon. It was built quite different than the builds that I had before. The cast for this performance included [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”], [card name=”Cofagrigus” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”56″ c=”name”], and [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”9″ c=”name”] as Flareon’s co-stars. This supporting cast was built upon the thought that I wouldn’t find much [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”] / Crobat or [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”name”], as you may have been able to guess by my exclusion of [card name=”Empoleon” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”29″ c=”name”]. You can see the whole list below:
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”25″]
3x [card name=”Eevee” set=”Furious Fists” no=”80″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Eevee” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”90″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Leafeon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”11″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Leafeon” set=”Furious Fists” no=”7″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Pikachu” set=”XY” no=”42″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”98″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Yamask” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”55″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Cofagrigus” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”56″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Swirlix” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”68″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Slurpuff” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”69″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Ditto” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”108″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”96″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Deoxys-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”53″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”deck2″]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”27″]
3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”116″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”140″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″]
3x [card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”8″]
4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Base Set” no=”96″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”XY” no=”132″ c=”deck2″]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
This deck again was built for a field full of [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”] and [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”]. The [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”96″ c=”name”] would be a counter to decks that rely on [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”] for that last bit of damage. [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”] was played so that I could OHKO Yveltal-EX easier, plus it’s always nice to have a free retreater. [card name=”Cofagrigus” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”56″ c=”name”] is played for the Mega Pokemon, mainly M Manectric-EX and Primal Groudon-EX. [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”] has quite a bit of HP and having that extra 30 damage makes the turn two kill much more feasible. [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”], on the other hand, loves to play that fancy card [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”], and putting even one damage counter on them would prevent Focus Sash’s effect. [card name=”Slurpuff” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”69″ c=”name”] is still in the deck for an easy way to get out Pokemon that will net you a few draws here and there.
[cardimg name=”Leafeon” set=”Furious Fists” no=”7″ align=”right” height=”200″ c=”custom”]”Flip for sleep, buddy.”[/cardimg]
[card name=”Leafeon” set=”Furious Fists” no=”7″ c=”from”] is played to have more options while playing against nearly any deck in the format. I love this card! Against the better Seismitoad-EX players, if they go first, they will not attach an Energy card so you can’t do damage to them with [card name=”Leafeon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”11″ c=”from”]. If you are playing Leafeon FFI, you can use [card name=”Eevee” set=”Furious Fists” no=”80″ c=”from”]’s Energy Evolution Ability instead, deal 60 damage (or 120 if you have a Silver Bangle attached) for one Energy and put them to Sleep. If they stay Asleep that is yet another turn you are allowed to play Items. His lack of Resistance is something that makes this card nowhere near as good the later the game goes on.
Now, I will not go into a full tournament report of Kansas Regionals, mainly because I find them very boring to read, but basically I lost to Harrison Leven in the sixth round. I honestly feel like if I had won that round then I would have won the tournament (Harrison went on to win the tournament). During the tournament the deck ran like a dream, cutting through Yveltal-EX and Seismitoad-EX like a warm knife through butter. Running into two [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”9″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”11″ c=”name”] decks was also a nice treat to pad my record. At the end of Swiss I was one win off from making it into top 8. From the tournament I take away 30 Championship Points (but only 15 will count), and a few packs to help out my collection of the new set (no Shaymin-EXs, sadly).
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”24″]
3x [card name=”Eevee” set=”Furious Fists” no=”80″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Eevee” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”90″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Leafeon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”11″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Leafeon” set=”Furious Fists” no=”7″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Pikachu” set=”XY” no=”42″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”98″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Empoleon” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”29″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Audino” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”126″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Ditto” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”108″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Deoxys-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”53″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”deck2″]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”28″]
3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”116″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”157″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”140″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″]
3x [card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”8″]
4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”XY” no=”132″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”XY” no=”134″ c=”deck2″]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
[cardimg name=”Empoleon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”117″ align=”right” height=”200″ c=”custom”]March on![/cardimg]
I threw this deck list into the article just so you can have it if your meta calls for a lot of [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”] and [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”name”]. [card name=”Empoleon” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”29″ c=”name”] is not only great for KOing Water-weak Pokemon, but for its Diving Draw Ability. With how easy most cards in this deck are to play, [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”] can put Empoleon straight onto your Bench with minimal set up.
Next I will go into a deep discussion about all the strategies, tips, and tricks for taking full advantage of Eevee’s fiery evolution, the deck’s matchups, common mistakes players make when using the deck, strategies and approaches for beating certain decks and cards, and how I think the deck will change with the loss of Lysandre’s Trump Card. Flareon may be the worst Eeveelution in the video games, but it certainly is a powerhouse in the TCG! I’ve poured over 12 hours into this article, so you won’t want to miss out!
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Future
The future of The Church of [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”] will continue to evolve and change as the last set of its Pokemon life is tournament legal. I will be honest, you will not find a list in this section. I will not post a list that I have not tested and not perfected to the best of my abilities at that moment. What you will find in this section is a few things to think about if you want to start testing Flareon with the new set [set name=”roaring skies”], and the ban to [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”name”]. With the new set putting in two [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”] is key for more quick draw power. [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”] is not the right card to be play; [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”] is the better card to thin through the deck. The deck is tight in space, don’t try to squeeze in too many things that can be shut down by Trainer lock.
Trump Card has been banned. It is no longer the bane of Flareon’s existence, because it is no longer a playable card. Many will think that this change will make this deck and Night March better overall. That idea has some evidence behind it: “With no Trump I can always one-shot them!” This however is not the case. Even though putting the discard pile back into the deck resets the damage output of Flareon’s attack, Flareon relies on two major factors to do damage: one, it needs to have Pokemon in the discard pile. Two, it needs to have Energy to use the attack. With Trump in the game, if you needed to discard Energies or your opponent discarded them, you would be able to recover them by playing your own Trump Card. Now you can’t. When they hit the discard pile they never come back, ever. In the past we used to use [card name=”Recycle” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”96″ c=”name”] to get back [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Base Set” no=”96″ c=”name”] or even a [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”]. Now there is no way to get them back, meaning we have no way to consistently use Vengeance. I use this card in probably a third of every game that I play. Not because I am playing mirror matches, but because I needed to recover my Energy and attacking Pokemon to continue the fight. We may just need to slow down the deck, we made need to just put the deck away. Time and testing will tell. As of now I can’t say for certain if the deck will make it through this ban. I will let you know that I won’t be giving up on the deck. I will be trying everything I already have tried and even more on top of that. I said the deck must evolve, but evolution is normally slow and takes time to happen. This change will be abrupt and necessary for survival.
Commonly-Made Mistakes
Before I get into the mistakes I will talk about the basic strategy of playing this deck. The main goal of the deck is to kill an EX turn 2, take two Prizes and repeat the process until all six are taken. Use [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”] to discard Pokemon along with [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”84″ c=”name”], and [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”122″ c=”name”]. The deck requires you to hold very few cards and discard all the others. Pokemon that aren’t useful in the match or you won’t need to win the game can be discarded. Once you have enough Pokemon in the discard, which on average will be 13, you come out with Flareon and OHKO anything they have Active.
The most commonly made mistake that I see other players make is thinking every card is valuable. In truth, every card is not. The only cards that are valuable in every match are: Supporters, [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”]s, the [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”] line, and [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”]. Every other card should be playable immediately or else it can be discarded without a second thought. Some people play the deck too passively, but there are a few things you should always be thinking about:
- This game should end by turn four if everything is working correctly.
- You play Pokemon that are only useful in a few matchups. If it’s not that matchup, they should be discarded as soon as possible.
- The deck is not a slow or passive deck; you can Juniper whenever and whatever you want to claim a kill.
Other common mistakes include attaching Energy at the wrong times to the wrong Pokemon and getting them discarded by [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”], not playing [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”name”] in their list, and playing less than 24 Pokemon in their lists. By including under 24 Pokemon you simply can’t get enough Pokemon into the discard without hurting the Flareon line. These and many others can be learned by just playing the deck and trying different styles each game while keeping the same mindset: This game should end by turn four if everything is working correctly.
This deck is, in my opinion, the hardest deck to play in the whole field. People will argue with me about this saying that it is very simple and basically is a deck that is on rails. Yes, it is a deck with only one main attacker for the most part, but that’s not where the skill comes into play. This is a deck of burning and churning through the deck to end the game quickly and efficiently. Each card you discard can have a huge impact on what happens later in the game and anticipating and preparing for what your opponent will do is where the skill comes into play. I don’t mean prepare for the worst, just keep everything that could happen in the back of your mind each time you [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”].
Also, stop trying to put other Eeveelutions into the deck. It just clogs up the deck in the long run.
Sitting Down For A Game
Each time you sit down to play a game, check to see if the chair is broken because if it snaps on you that can hurt. Then you should start by forget everything you know about how to play other decks. Besides basic concepts, not many of them will transfer into proper play for [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”]. Now, each time your opponent flips over their starter you should start to form a game plan on how to play against what they are playing. Try to think of what the win condition for that game will be. Will I need to [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”] an EX for two Prize cards or to get around something that I can’t kill? Will I need to keep a certain attacker in the deck to counter a play? Will I need to dump everything to one-shot something huge? All these thoughts should be going through your mind in the first minute of each game, and will be changed as that game plays out.
One thing annoying about playing this deck is that playing any other deck is going to seem sluggish and boring. That is one thing about the deck that everyone seems to agree on is that Flareon is a lot of fun to play. I am actually concerned about what I am going to play if Flareon is rotated this coming August, because everything else just seems so dull.
Standing Up After The Game
First off, haters gonna hate when you play this deck, and will hate even more when you beat them with it. For the first few months of this deck being in existence people considered it a gimmick and the thing about gimmicks is that they are inconsistent. So, when the deck popped off against someone who didn’t know about how good the deck really was, the salt would start to form. People would make mean comments to me all the time after the game including, “Wow, another no skill deck,” “Must be nice to win one out of every eight games with that deck,” “Screw that and play a real deck,” and many more. That’s just what happens when you build something that has a positive match against just about everything, and people don’t know how to build / play it. When people don’t understand it makes them mad and when they get mad they get salty. If you encounter these people with any deck, not just [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”], don’t take it personally, and don’t judge them for it. It happens to everyone.
Talking Matchups
Playing The Field
Certain decks, as we know, have become what we refer to as the “meta.” [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”] paired with [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”] has dominated many tournaments. Along with that, [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”] partnered with [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”119″ c=”name”] has taken many a tournament victory as well. These are the decks of the past and like I have mentioned already we must move into the future with [set name=”Roaring Skies”]. The following will be the main meaty chunk of this article and so will not contain much humor. Please take your time to read it carefully.
Colorless M Rayquaza-EX
[cardimg name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”105″ align=”right” height=”200″ c=”custom”]Warning![/cardimg]
[card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”] is the main card in this deck, which paired with [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”] makes for one strong, fast attacker. The deck can easily get up and start swinging for 240, killing just about every Pokemon in one shot. The way to play against this deck with [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”] is either playing a [card name=”Cofagrigus” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”56″ c=”name”] line or a [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”] line. Either of these will allow you to OHKO this Rayquaza, but don’t think that will slow them down. They will be back up swinging the very next turn, and you need to be prepared with your next counter attack. Luckily, you have a few bonuses that they might not:
- They play a heavy [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”] line so you have easy [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”] targets.
- They attack with Pokemon-EX, which means you can trade two-for-one and still win the game with them having three Prize cards.
- They do nothing to impede your deck. So far I have not had any problem with this deck if they are excluding [card name=”Altaria” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY46″ c=”name”], and if they are playing it Rayquaza is still not that hard of a matchup.
Dragon Rayquaza-EX
[card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”61″ c=”name”] is the main attacker and in my opinion the better of the two Rays. It is also a weirder match when playing [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”] due to the many builds this deck possesses. If they are a [card name=”Shrine of Memories” set=”Primal Clash” no=”139″ c=”name”] build they can use [card name=”Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”60″ c=”name”]’s second attack to kill all of your attackers in one hit with a very low chance of getting KO’d back. Let me go into detail of that last part: it is very hard to kill something with 230 HP and ΔWild in one hit. The problem is that even if you two-shot them, their deck has so much Energy acceleration that the next one will be up and ready to go as soon as you kill the first one. Thanks to [card name=”Reshiram” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”63″ c=”name”] and [card name=”Mega Turbo” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”86″ c=”name”] the deck is very hard to put down for even one turn. The match is still not that bad as long as you can take the first Prize because again, all of these decks still like to have lower HP Pokemon-EX on the bench that should be your main target.
Shaymin / Trevenant
[cardimg name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ align=”right” height=”200″ c=”custom”]I don’t like trees anymore.[/cardimg]
[card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”] paired with [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”106″ c=”name”] is a deck I’ve seen a few people testing with the release of [set name=”Roaring Skies”]. This deck in a nutshell is drawing with Shaymin, attacking with Shaymin, and then slowing down the opponent with Trevenant. The way to play around this deck with Flareon is to either get up a Flareon and not care that Shaymin-EX is two-shotting you and just kill whatever they bring up, or to [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”] around the Tree, taking easy Prizes on the Shaymins and play your Items willy-nilly. Now, getting hit by [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”name”] and then having your Items locked will cripple your deck. Having another attacker such as [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”] or [card name=”Empoleon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”117″ c=”name”] can swing this matchup in your favor.
Seismitoad Variants
[card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”] isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and it’s important to know how to play against the different types of this deck you will run into. When it comes to an overall match with Toad, the only thing you will hope is that they aren’t playing [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”54″ c=”name”] with it. Having your Abilities to stop the [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”] from devastating your deck is very important. The main thing to remember is that [card name=”Leafeon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”11″ c=”name”] is most likely going to have the biggest impact in this match compared to any other attacker you could use, so don’t discard them and don’t evolve all your [card name=”Eevee” set=”Furious Fists” no=”80″ c=”name”]s too quickly.
[cardimg name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ align=”right” height=”200″ c=”custom”]Avoid at all costs.[/cardimg]
[card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”] was the most common version of this deck, and the easiest one to beat thanks to the fact that they normally won’t be playing many, if any, [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Kalos Starter Set” no=”34″ c=”name”] or [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”]. They also tend to want to attack with Yveltal-EX and this gives [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”] the chance to take quick and easy Prizes while setting up Leafeons to attack when the Toad makes an appearance. Having [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”] is another card that will swing this matchup heavily into your favor thanks to its ability to OHKO Yveltal.
[card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Slurpuff” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”69″ c=”name”] is another common version of the deck, and is a bit harder than the previously mentioned style. They don’t shut down your Abilities but they keep Energies off your board. This deck plays a heavy Hammer line, and will make your life not much fun if you fall behind in the slightest. Not only do they keep the Energies off your board, but they can use [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”99″ c=”name”] much easier compared to the other decks because [card name=”Slurpuff” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”69″ c=”name”] can help them refill their hand without much effort on their part.
[card name=”Garbodor” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”119″ c=”name”] is the worst thing that can be paired with [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”] when it comes to talking about what you want to play against. If they are not playing Yveltal-EX, they will be playing Hammers and be the worst match for this deck as a whole. Getting your Abilities shut down makes it so each of their [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”]s hit you with full effect and can stop you in your tracks. It also shuts down any extra draw you might have been able to get up before the Quaking Punches begin. Be cautious of this match because you can’t do much to prevent what will happen. Just go with the flow and try your best to beat them or get the tie.
[card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”] paired with [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”] can also be devastating, but they normally aren’t that hard to beat. As long as you can get a few Stage 1s up the matchup isn’t too bad. The problem lies when you have a few [card name=”Eevee” set=”Furious Fists” no=”80″ c=”name”]s and the next thing you know they all die to Bat damage. I played against one fellow who turn two quadruple [card name=”Golbat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”32″ c=”name”]’d me and then used Golbat’s attack to kill off two Eevees, and then followed up with two Crobats to kill two more Basics the following turn to essentially end the game really quickly. [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”] will help with picking off Bats and like the other Toad matchups just rely on [card name=”Leafeon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”11″ c=”name”] to do all the heavy lifting.
The the most dangerous type of Toad is one splashed into a random deck, mainly because you won’t see it coming. Any deck that plays [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Base Set” no=”96″ c=”name”] can run Toad and a Trump Card in their list. This can come as a shock later in the game because by that point you might have discarded all of your Leafeons. Just be careful when you see a DCE because at any moment a Toad can be put down on the board.
Playing Against Certain Cards
Cards That Hurt The Deck
I didn’t really want to put this part in the article, because I am actually going to tell you what hurts this deck the most. However, I also wanted to tell you all how to play around these cards so you can have all the same knowledge I have of the deck.
[cardimg name=”Silver Mirror” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”89″ align=”right” height=”200″ c=”custom”]Just don’t[/cardimg]
[card name=”Silver Mirror” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”89″ c=”name”] – This card is an obvious counter for those who know it exists. [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”] and [card name=”Leafeon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”11″ c=”name”] are both Plasma Pokemon and so they cannot touch what you put this card on. Luckily for the Fire Cat you can’t attach it to a Pokemon-EX, so anything with this attached probably can be killed with [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”] or [card name=”Empoleon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”117″ c=”name”] based on the respective list you are playing. Many people have asked me “Why don’t you just play a [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”]” to which I respond “Because I can think of 12 other cards that will help me in every other matchup more.” Don’t be afraid of this card if someone is playing it for a deck that might be 5% of the field. You likely won’t see one of these past round 4; unless your record is 1-3.
[card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”name”] – Trump Card is a card that I will run in every variant because if you don’t, you might deck yourself out. Also you will need to recover some things like [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”] or Pokemon lines. But this card is also the biggest counter to the deck. After all, you want cards in your discard pile, and this card makes it so you don’t have a discard pile at all. It doesn’t hurt that much unless you also get hit by Item lock the same turn that it happens, or your hand is dead.
[card name=”Kyurem” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”31″ c=”name”] – This pest is what made this deck hard to win with back when the card first came out. It can easily kill Flareons, has a large amount of HP, and it only gives up one Prize. Back in the day it would also be paired with [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”108″ c=”name”], which would give the deck problems as well. When you lose the ability to trade one-for-two the deck becomes less viable. Luckily both of these cards are almost unheard of nowadays.
[card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”] – This card can make your early game plays a lot less valuable with the loss of [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”], or even shut down your deck completely. For the most part the decks that play this are not the hardest games. [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”] will normally be playing [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”name”] so you don’t need to worry about it too much. Be careful to those who will splash this into their deck, and remember that you can play Stadiums in the Flareon deck. I very recently took the [card name=”Training Center” set=”Furious Fists” no=”102″ c=”name”] out of the deck and it hurt to do it. I love [card name=”Training Center” set=”Furious Fists” no=”102″ c=”name”] in Flareon, but when it came to action I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would.
Rotation and Ending Notes
Rotation
Ah yes, the end of the Pokemon season is coming up soon. The time of the year to clean out the binders and pack some of the bulk away for another day. What does the rotation mean for [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”]? Well it’s going to be dead. It’s going out of format most likely, so we must prepare for the funeral. The obituary will be short and many tears will be shed. This does not mean Worlds will be the last time we will be able to play the deck, but who really knows for sure what the world will offer us in the future? If the same Expanded tournaments exist, we can continue to see Flareon dominant the Regional tournaments to come. I can guarantee you two things about the rotation: I will be playing it at Worlds, and that I will keep the deck built for next format.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading my article and I hope you find it useful to your future in this game. The deck known as The Church of [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”] will keep its doors open, and all are welcome to join us. Be careful while playing this deck because it is addictive and you won’t want to put it down. Don’t use the same mindset of other decks while playing this one. “Burn burn burn” should be the main thing going through your mind. Let us use the last few months of this deck to make sure that it will be remembered. The main goal of any player is to place in Worlds and get their deck made into a World Championships deck. There is nothing more that I want then to get Flareon printed for all to enjoy, and it doesn’t have to have my signature on the card. It could have yours!
-Grafton Roll
Image Credits: Dlynn Roll[/premium]