Wacky Worlds – Adventures from Boston, Plus a Look at Vileplume!
Hello PokeBeach readers! Hope you all had a fantastic time watching or participating in the World Championships! It was a great tournament full of a ton of exhilarating highs and a few unnervingly depressing lows. In today’s article, I’m going to be going over some of the crazy happenings that went down in Boston, including my tournament run, analyzing the top-performing decks, and the crazy adventure I went on to get to the event in the first place, as well a look at a new deck I’ve been tweaking recently centered around one of the most disruptive cards from Ancient Origins, Vileplume. But before we get to all that, I want to take this moment to shout out a few people who performed admirably at Worlds. First off, congratulations to the entire PokeBeach crew for an impressive showing overall. Many of us performed extremely well and we should all be proud to have been invited to the tournament.
Special shoutout to Andrew Mahone for placing 9th overall with Night March. We had put a lot of hours into testing the deck, and while I do not mean to piggyback off his accomplishment, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride when he was being streamed as the feature match. Knowing how much work he and I put into the list, it was amazing to watch that effort manifest itself into an incredible run. Congrats on a fantastic performance and I can’t wait to see what is next.
Another acknowledgement must go to our very own Steve Guthrie. What an incredible achievement to say that you were one of, if not the first person, to play a deck and then see that deck rip through the competition on its way to being the best deck in the room at the World Championships. Kudos to you and your insight.
Threatening Signs
I want to take this time to address the gun threats that occurred at the World Championships. I am incredibly shocked by the actions of James Stumbo and Kevin Norton who made plenty of threats to a specific player and then backed up those threats by bringing firearms to the tournament site. While I personally didn’t know these two, I am still surprised that these two high level players would go to such lengths to sabotage a game that they enjoy playing. It is disgusting to think that innocent people, especially children, could get hurt from their harmful actions. While nothing ended up happening, it certainly scared me to know something easily could have. With the Trading Card Game growing to new heights, we must take into account the diverse population of people it attracts.
If this was a misguided joke, it was a sick one. If their threats were close to coming to fruition, they could’ve been horrific. While it is difficult to judge intent, they made numerous Facebook posts talking about killing and guns, made threats to individuals, then decided to drive up to Boston with said guns and plenty of ammo to do serious damage. If I can put my tinfoil hat on for one moment, I still believe that there are plenty of details we don’t know, the most glaring being the gap between when Stumbo and Norton were turned away from the convention center on Thursday to when they were finally arrested on Saturday. Regardless, I am grateful that authorities caught the two before they could deliver on their threats.
So, what does it mean for us? You can bet that Pokemon is not taking this situation lightly. We saw a quick response to the threats as an increased amount of security was initiated by Pokemon: bomb sniffing dogs, bag checks at the entrances, and an elevated level of police presence inside the convention center. I’ve heard that there could be heightened security at bigger events like Regionals or Nationals, which I would welcome. If there is a silver lining to this threat, it is that it raised awareness about potential mass violence by members of the Pokemon community. Overall, yes, the bag checks were annoying, and I’m very sorry if you missed the opening ceremony because of it, but those annoyances don’t compare to the loss of a human life. Pokemon reacted swiftly and appropriately and I hope to see a slight increase in security level in the future.
How I Got to Boston
I endured a highly curious and unusual journey on my way to Boston that characterizes the absurdities we will endure to play this amazing game. After missing my invitation to last year’s tournament by three points, I was determined to make my way to Boston no matter the cost. Below is the crazy story of how I got to this year’s World Championships.
I was so excited to leave for Worlds that I barely slept Wednesday night. My flight was scheduled to leave on Thursday at 6:30 AM and I had my bag packed full to bursting when I finally left for the airport. I had about four T-shirts, a pair of shorts, underwear and socks, as well as many cards as would reasonably fit in this little bag. Because I was flying Spirit Airlines, I made sure to keep my bag count at one carry-on to avoid extra baggage fees.
I took my local railway system to the airport. On the way to the airport, between casually switching from Facebook to PokeBeach forums, I got an email declaring that my flight had been delayed approximately two hours. “At least I’ll still get in at 11. Plenty of time.” It was at this point that I should have seen the red flags. Apparently there was inclement weather on the east coast that caused many of the major airports to shut down traffic. Uh oh.
I got to the airport where I was ecstatic to see people rushing by me with Chick-Fil-A bags in their grubby fingers. We don’t have Chick-Fil-A where I’m from so when there’s an opportunity to get some fried chicken sandwiches of such high quality, I always take that opportunity. After I finish eating, I casually check my four email addresses, and lo and behold, another email from my airline with a message: “Important – Flight Cancellation.” Weather had cancelled my flight.
I literally run to the Spirit counter as I know that the longer I wait, the less travel options I would have and the more people would arrive in line before me. As I stand in line for a customer service agent to decide my Worlds fate, I simply have to laugh. Would I ever compete in a World Championship?
I arrive at the counter and explain my situation to the agent. I needed to be there by 9:30, I explain. She says I have two options; take the next flight out of Cleveland tomorrow at 6:30 or get a refund. I shake my head. This cannot be happening. I ask her repeatedly if there is any way that she could transfer me onto another flight. It appeared as though there were a few airliners braving the weather that evening. Sadly, she tells me that she can only transfer me to tomorrow’s flight or issue a refund.
It’s at this moment that I take a step back. Since I have worked as a cashier and telemarketer, I fully understand how difficult it is to deal with angry customers and I vowed never to be the customer that blows up on the person who is just doing their job. I ask the agent if I can step aside and think about my options. Do I drive? Do I cancel my trip and just go home? I had no idea what my best option was.
I then overhear the woman next to me securing a flight the next morning from Detroit to Boston. When I find out that the flight landed at 8:58 the morning of the tournament, I realize this is my chance to make it to Worlds. “Can I get on this flight?” I ask the Spirit agent. She transfers me over to the flight from Detroit. I turn to the woman on my side of the desk and ask if she’d like some company on a road trip. Instantly, we were bound inseparably by time and space by this one flight cancellation.
Marisa was a new medical student at Cleveland State University in her late twenties. She was trying to get back to Boston for her last day of work. Apparently, her coworkers had planned on throwing her a huge going away party and she was going to do anything to eat some of the cake she was being treated to. She was instrumental to our trip – she coerced the Spirit agent into giving her a spot on the flight from Detroit. I couldn’t thank her enough for allowing me to tag along. I mean, how often do you meet a stranger at an airport and then let them hang around you for an entire day?
The two of us meet another fellow traveler trying desperately to get to Boston, Liz. Liz was doing everything she could to get to Boston to visit with a friend she hadn’t seen in a long time. Currently, Liz was working as a nurse in the Cleveland area. Riding with two women who had years of hospital experience gave me a ton of faith that we would get to Boston in one piece.
So, the three amigos left that night for Detroit at about 8:30. We talked the entire time about Pokemon, hospitals, and a myriad of other topics. Marisa was delighted to hear that I was traveling to Boston for the World Championships. She said her nephew would be stoked to hear about a real life Pokemon player. I explained my thoughts in the game, how difficult it is to be really good, and even said I might be writing an article that talked about my adventure! Of course, everyone you meet thinks you’re already a World Champion, and I tried not discourage her by telling her otherwise.
We finally make it to Detroit at 11. We decide to rent a hotel room to get a few winks of sleep before the plane ride the next day. In the lobby of the hotel, we anxiously wait for the receptionist to check us in as a man with seven teeth attempts to sell moonshine to a Russian man. “Ya evr had moonshine afore?” he asked. The Russian man couldn’t quite make out what he was saying and kept putting his hand up to his nose whenever the moonshine man got too close. I love Detroit.
We wake up at 5 and get a hearty but equally repulsive breakfast from McDonalds. We proceed to the boarding area. We say final goodbyes as we board the plane.
As soon as the plane lands I scamper off. Luckily for me, the plane landed about 10 minutes ahead of schedule which gave me approximately 40 minutes to find a way from the airport to the convention center. I call up an Uber and wait about five minutes of him to arrive. When it pulls up, I quickly get in and explain my situation. He scoffs at Pokemon, but otherwise is very comforting. He remarks, “we will get to the convention center in 15 minutes.”
The convention center approaches and I cannot believe my eyes. Just this morning I was in Detroit and now here I am, ready to participate in my first World Championships. I rush in to the convention center before being halted by security guards checking my bags. They unzip the bag and out falls four pairs of underwear. I sheepishly pick up my clothes as they tell me I’m not a terrorist and rush up the escalator. I bust in the door at 9:20 to the delight of a few friends waiting for me.
The Tournament
After arriving to the venue just in the nick of time, I had to get ready to play. I had my teammates fill out a Night March list for me so that I wouldn’t have to fuss with that considering how little time I predicted I’d have. I ended up being able to chill out a bit as the player meeting went a little longer than most people thought. I played a very standard Night March list, very few cards off from Andrew Mahone who would go on to capture 9th place!
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”19″]
4x [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”RC24″ c=”deck2″]
3x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”9″ c=”deck2″]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”34″]
3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”116″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ 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=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″]
1x [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=”Switch” set=”Base Set” no=”95″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Revive” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”88″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”7″]
4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Base Set” no=”96″ c=”deck2″]
3x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”Base Set” no=”99″ c=”deck2″]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
This was a popular choice for both Day One and Day Two. The deck placed well, comprising one third of the top nine decks. It was a deck that was extremely consistent and really didn’t auto-lose to much, bar a turn one [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”]. Andrew Mahone’s list ended up being two cards different – he took out my [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”] and [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”name”] for a [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”] and a [card name=”Town Map” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”136″ c=”name”]. Andrew also played a fourth [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”84″ c=”name”], but I am unsure what he changed to include that card.
I felt that this deck would easily handle the main threats of [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”], [card name=”Bronzong” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY21″ c=”name”], and [card name=”Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”85″ c=”name”]. Additionally, Andrew and I decided a few days before the tournament to add a Virizion-EX to flip the [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”] matchup in our favor.
So, with all those matchups in mind, I was very confident in my deck choice. Let’s just say the matchups I had were not even close to what I expected.
- Round 1: Japanese player who didn’t show!
- Round 2: [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”144″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”54″ c=”name”] LL
- Round 3: [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”16″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”49″ c=”name”] LL
- Round 4: [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”106″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”54″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Exp. Share” set=”Next Destinies” no=”87″ c=”name”] WW
- Round 5: [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Slurpuff” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”69″ c=”name”] WW
- Round 6: [card name=”Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”85″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”151″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”] LWL
- Round 7: [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”144″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”54″ c=”name”] LL
I do just want to say that all my opponents were incredible. They deserved to be there and definitely came ready to play with unique twists and unusual decks. Unfortunately for me, I played against none of the decks I expected to face. For me, this was extremely disheartening. I put a ton of testing into my list only to see it fall to opponents who were playing decks that were equipped to take it down. There was no way I could have predicted having to face two [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”68″ c=”name”] decks on the day and not even see a single [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”]-based deck. At the same time, my roommates were all doing extremely well with a [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Gengar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”34″ c=”name”] list that Sean Foisy eventually piloted to a top 8 finish.
I was actually surprised by the lack of foreigners that I played. All of my opponents were from the U.S. aside from my first round opponent, who didn’t actually show up to the tournament.
Day Two Thoughts
Here’s a list of the top 8 decks from Day Two:
- Jacob Van Wagner – [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW61″ c=”name”]
- Mees Brenninkmeijer – [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”]
- Igor Costa – [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”]
- Merlin Quittek – Night March
- Sean Foisy – [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Gengar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”34″ c=”name”]
- Tito Santoso – Fairy Box
- Simon Narode – [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”]
- Martin Janous – Night March
Jacob made an amazing metagame call for the day. Just as I suspected with my World’s prediction article, the biggest decks at U.S. Nationals hardly ever make a solid showing at Worlds. Again in keeping with this trend, [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”68″ c=”name”] was virtually non-existent. This is probably the worst matchup for Jacob and his Blastoise deck, but he was able to navigate around that decks to finish as the best trainer on this day. He also knew that Night March would have a huge presence just due to its consistency. Because of this, Jacob included [card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name”] and [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”]. In my testing of Archie’s Blastoise with Andrew Mahone, we just kind of found that the deck folded to the pressure of Night March. Wailord can help swing that matchup as it gives you an even trading behemoth that can even take out [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”] and [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”RC24″ c=”name”] before being Knocked Out.
[cardimg name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ align=”right” height=”200″ c=”custom”]Blastoise 4ever[/cardimg]
Igor Costa cemented his place as one of the games elite players. He now has a first, second, and third place finish and is the second best Worlds competitor of all time just behind Jason Klaczynski, in my opinion. Another solid showing with a solid deck that gave him a ton of options against most of the format.
Two Night March decks made top 8 which was awesome to see. I figured Night March would be a major player on the day, but I didn’t know just how much. Initially, I had thought that Night March wouldn’t have been played as much due to an abysmal performance at U.S. Nationals, but it was a strong contender during both Day One and Day Two. Both Quittek and Janous focused their decks on speed, opting to play heavy counts of [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”] in place of techs like [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”96″ c=”name”] or [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”47″ c=”name”]. They kept it simple, and it obviously worked out amazingly.
I was really pulling for Sean Foisy to succeed. Not only do we usually room together, but he is one of the people that I regularly test with when big tournaments come up. He always has an unreal handle on the metagame and can usually theorymon a deck and go far in any tournament. This was the same case for both Day One and Day Two. He played essentially the same list both days, and it worked out extremely well for him. He also gave out his list to the other people staying in my room – of the four people that played this deck Day One, three made Day Two with the other starting 4-0-1 and losing his last two rounds. Point is, Sean is clearly a Pokemon genius just waiting for his big break. He always gets very close to the big prizes, and I know it hurt him to be so close once again. Still a fantastic performance by one of the communities longest playing competitors.
In the end, I was just ecstatic to be there. It was a fantastic tournament with people playing lists that seem so obvious in retrospect, but remind you why they’re the best players in the world. It was an unreal journey to make it to Boston, so just being able to play in the most prestigious tournament of the year and seeing friends succeed made the event special. Even though I didn’t perform as well as I wanted, I really felt like I didn’t hit the right matchups. That happens to everybody, so now it’s time to look on to next season! Next, I’m going to explain a rogue variant of Vileplume that I’m really liking right now. With this new format right on the horizon, there’s a lot of unique ideas to explore, and this Vileplume deck is certainly both unique and scary to face.
[premium]
Testing for Expanded
At the beginning of every new season, I start by outlining what recently did well and what important cards are remaining in format. 2015 poses a new challenge in that the first major tournaments will be played in an Expanded format. Last season, one of the major problems with Expanded was that it was relegated to the Top Cut of Regionals with no other tournaments playing the format. This led a lot of players to guess as to what the best decks were in Expanded – usually they just changed a few cards from their Day One list instead of dumping a large amount of time into testing the Expanded format. The thought was that you had to get there first for that format to be relevant, so the bulk of players testing went to the Standard form. This season, Pokemon is putting a much greater emphasis on Expanded. This is so fantastic for a few reasons:
- Two formats means there are plenty of decks to test
- An Expanded format should be less stale over a long period of time than Standard
- With so many more cards to choose from, deck building becomes even more important
Many people worry that there will be too many decks to test, similar to what we’ve seen from the current Standard format. That may end up being the case, but I’m willing to risk that in order to have a format that is so wide open. There will be some cards that are inherently powerful, like Vileplume or [card name=”Accelgor” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”11″ c=”name”] which will likely see increased play. In this way, there will still be common archetypes that will need to be countered.
When trying to get a grip on a new format, it’s often a great idea to sit down and map out some inherently powerful cards. People are already heavily hyping [card name=”Shiftry” set=”Next Destinies” no=”72″ c=”name”] and its insane ability to bench the opponent on the first turn of the game. This card as well as [card name=”Forretress” set=”Flashfire” no=”60″ c=”name”] can end the game before the opponent ever gets a turn. I’m not here to talk about those cards. I do think we will see Pokemon ban these cards, or errata Forest of Giant Plants to only allow Evolution between Grass Pokemon. I believe it’s against their “Spirit of the Game” mantra that they employed as a reason for banning [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”name”].
Regardless of what does or doesn’t end up happening, I’ve been trying to test a deck that can play more than one turn. I’ve combined one of the strongest attackers from the new set with the strongest Item locking Abilities. Here’s a deck list I’ve been testing online, Vespiquen / Vileplume.
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”28″]
4x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”28″]
3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”116″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”90″ c=”deck2″]
4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″]
3x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″]
3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″]
2x [card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”deck2″]
1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″]
4x Forest of Giant Plants (AOR #74)
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”4″]
4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Base Set” no=”96″ c=”deck2″]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
The main strategy of the deck is to go extremely aggressive on turn one to force your opponent into an awkward position. If you execute the strategy correctly, they now have to KO a Vespiquen while under Item lock. Should they decide to shut down your Item-lock with a Hex Maniac, they likely will not be able to draw everything that they need because they used up their Supporter for the turn.
The Pokemon
Vespiquen is the attacker of the deck. It’s attack has a base of 20 and adds 10 damage for each Pokemon in the discard. This card has been seeing plenty of hype this format, especially in combination with the Eeveelutions which allow all Stage 1s to share a typing with them; Flareon turns all Stage 1s into Fire types, Vaporeon into Water types, and Jolteon into Lightning types. However, I feel that Vespiquen’s greatest ally is Vileplume.
Vileplume is such a force because it blocks Items from being played. This has been a solid mechanic throughout the history of the game. Every time players have discounted the strength of Item lock, it ends up creating a solid footing in the format. People thought [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”] would flop because of its low damage output and having to attack to activate the Item lock instead of the lock occurring as an Ability. Additionally, the old [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Undaunted” no=”24″ c=”name”] was viable across the entirety of its lifetime – from being paired with [card name=”Gengar” set=”Stormfront” no=”18″ c=”name”] to Donphan Prime and [card name=”Reuniclus” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”126″ c=”name”]. Things might be different this time around with card such as [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”] and Hex Maniac in the format, but I wouldn’t count out everyone’s favorite Item locking flower just yet.
[cardimg name=”Vileplume” set=”Undaunted” no=”24″ align=”left” height=”200″ c=”none”]
Baltoy is a card I’ve included to help the [card name=”Shiftry” set=”Next Destinies” no=”72″ c=”name”] matchup. I was sick of just losing to the high amount Shifry decks that I saw online, so I decided to add four Baltoy to counteract that deck. Baltoy has a trait that prevents it from being affected by opponent’s Abilities, thus Giant Fan (Shiftry’s Ability) will not be able to remove it from the field. In the matchup, you either go first 50% of the time and have a turn to access a Baltoy, or start Baltoy. The chances of starting Baltoy are just north of 25%. While I am of the opinion that Pokemon will address the “Shiftry Problem” I still play to win, and teching four Baltoy helps me win the matchup around 75% of the time. In every other matchup, you can discard the Baltoys with [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”name”] or [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”] to fuel Vespiquen’s attack. There are so many cards I’d rather put in the list than Baltoy, but for now they must stay.
Four [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”] is a must in this kind of deck. There’s really no drawback to playing four, as you can easily discard them after you’ve set up. The biggest drawback to playing heavy Shaymin-EX counts for draw if the chance of getting Ability locked by [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”] or a [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”]. There’s really not much we can do to counteract this. If the opponent lays Silent Lab early, you can usually bump it with your own Forest of Giant Plants, but Wobbuffet is a major annoyance to our set up. Ideally, we have enough Item-based draw to still get through the deck, but sometimes you can be left in difficult situations.
Unown helps to keep the draw going throughout the game and can go right from hand to Bench to discard. Really not a ton to discuss here other than the fact that I’ve only included three for space reasons. Shaymin provides better draw than Unown and I will usually use my Bench space on that Pokemon instead.
Trainers and Supporters
The Trainers and Supporters in this deck all aim to run through your deck as fast as possible. Normally, discarding too many Pokemon is a problem with many decks, but with this one, you welcome it. Discarding Pokemon fuels Vespiquen’s attack and we need at least 16 in the discard to OHKO most bulky Pokemon-EX. The [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”] are really solid for not only digging through the deck, but discarding Pokemon. Since almost half your deck is Pokemon, there’s a solid chance of discarding one with an Acro Bike. Similarly, [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”] is a hugely beneficial consistency card that I mostly use to help find Forest of Giant Plants early in the game.
[card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”90″ c=”name”] and [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”name”] help setup your board. For additional Level Ball consistency, it could be argued that [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”98″ c=”name”] should be included over the fourth Shaymin-EX. I simply love the draw of Shaymin-EX too much to make the cut, but that is definitely a viable option. The only cards that have more than 90 HP are Vileplume and Shaymin-EX. Just about the whole deck is searchable via Level Ball for no side effect like Ultra Ball has. I’d still recommend maxing your Ultra Ball counts before adding Level Ball just because Ultra Ball can retrieve Shaymin-EX and discard unhelpful cards from you hand to draw more with Shaymin-EX.
Four Forest of Giant Plants is crucial to success. It is a prime discarding candidate for discarding late game with Ultra Ball or [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”], but we need to make sure we can get it into play as soon as possible. Forest of Giant Plants facilitates all of your evolving in this deck and getting one early helps you play Pokemon down to the field without having to discard too many with a [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”84″ c=”name”] or [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”]. While we do want to discard a significant amount of Pokemon, there’s a limit to how many we can discard while still being able to stream backup attackers.
[card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”name”] and [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”] are your damage modifiers. Silver Bangle helps you hit high numbers without having to discard too many Pokemon. To OHKO a 180 HP Pokemon-EX, you only need 13 Pokemon in the discard. Ideally, you want to draw into a Silver Bangle before you lay down Vileplume, but it isn’t the worst thing ever if that doesn’t happen. You can still hit for 180 or more without it. [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”] thins your deck early as well as makes sure that you will be able to hit those high numbers. Common targets of Battle Compressor are Baltoy, Oddish, and Combee. I try to keep a 2-2 line of Vespiqueen ready and only get out a 1-1-1 Vileplume line, but the others are expendable.
Three [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”] are very necessary. It’s a card I’d like to play more of, but there just isn’t room. You have just north of a 25% chance to start Combee, but for the times you don’t start Combee, the Float Stones can help alleviate that problem. You essentially have four outs to get it because of [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”], so I’m often able to switch out non ideal starters if they happen to be Active. Further, if you do manage to get one onto an Oddish or Gloom before evolving, you won’t have to worry about your opponent using [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”name”] to trap your Vileplume. Vileplume is a major fatty with a three Energy Retreat Cost, so it can be imperative to get a Float Stone down as soon as possible.
Three [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”116″ c=”name”] seems low, but when you consider the insane amount of non-Supporter draw the deck has, it feels fine. Juniper is simply the best Supporter in the game, and if you’re lucky you can even discard a few Pokemon with it.
Matchups
[cardimg name=”Shiftry” set=”Next Destinies” no=”72″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”]
It’s hard to give matchups for a format that hasn’t yet been molded, but I’ll give you a run down of how I’ve fared against various decks that I’ve seen online.
Shiftry – Favorable
The matchup literally just comes down to the coin flip. If you win the flip, you generally have enough resources to grab a Baltoy from your deck. If you lose the flip, there’s still a chance that you start Baltoy, and if you don’t, you probably lose. Still, the matchup is favorable because you’ll start Baltoy more than 25% of the time. Combine that with the probability of winning the flip and Vespiquen wins the matchup 75% of the time.
Forretress / Latios – Even
[card name=”Forretress” set=”Flashfire” no=”60″ c=”name”] combines with Forest of Giant Plants for a deadly donk deck. Now, the reason somebody would play this deck over Shiftry is because it can handle decks that tech Baltoy. If Pokemon doesn’t alter the interactions between Shiftry Forest of Giant Plants, we could see an increase in the play of Baltoy, thus making Forretress the superior first turn donk deck. Vespiquen goes even against [card name=”Forretress” set=”Flashfire” no=”60″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Latios-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”58″ c=”name”] because of the coin flip. Should Vespiquen go first, it can apply enough pressure with Vileplume to make most of their deck obsolete. Similarly, Forretress / Latios can go off and easily donk your low HP Pokemon. This matchup comes down to the opening flip.
Groudon / Wobbuffet – Favorable
I’ve played against plenty of [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”] / [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”151″ c=”name”] online and it can be a very tricky matchup. If they start Wobbuffet, they shut down all your [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”] and Vileplume. Shutting down Vileplume can actually be beneficial to you because you can fully evolve Vileplume as soon as you draw into the parts, and you will still able to use Trainers. Thus, unless they start two Wobbuffet, as long as you can put up some moderate pressure, you will be able to KO the Wobbuffet and they are left with a Groudon and no Items. You apply so much pressure to everything they can send up that as long as you can make it out of the first few turns, you breeze through the matchup.
Raichu / Eeveelutions
Simply put, you out-speed them. The combination of Vileplume’s crippling Ability with Vespiquen’s attacking power and you can win the matchup easily. Now, you need to be careful not to discard too many Combee or Vespiquen early, or else you’ll run out of attackers if the game ever progresses beyond four turns. Still, I haven’t lost to a [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”] deck online – though that could be as much a testament to how bad their deck is and not how good this deck is.
Conclusion
What a wacky article! We covered everything from terrorist threats, to the World Championships, to the upcoming format. I’m so happy for Jacob Van Wagner who makes some pretty great snapchats on top of being a gracious World Champ. I can’t say enough about the performance of Sean Foisy and the rest of the top 8 to get to where they were. I’m looking forward to getting back on that grind next season to earn another chance to compete for the Championship. Talk to you soon!
~JW
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