Disrupting Expanded! Three Disruption Decks for Regionals
What’s up Beachers? This is Grant Manley here back with a few juicy and unconventional decks that I’ve concocted for the new Expanded format. I am quite excited about these decks and I am confident that they have the potential to be serious contenders.
I will likely not be attending any Fall Regionals, so I hope this article will help some of you readers get some mileage and Championship Points out of them. Before that, however, I am going to share a little bit about my Worlds experience, as I believe some of you may find it entertaining, or at least interesting. For Worlds I played an odd Night March list, and ended with a heartbreaking bubble at 33rd place.
Worlds Recap
After U.S. Nationals, I was expecting the top decks at Worlds to be [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] variants, Metal Ray, [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] variants, [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Primal Kyogre-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]. I was anticipating these five powerful decks to dominate with only a few non-EX decks. I was incorrect on a few of these reads, which resulted in my demise. The only Manectric variant that showed up was a Grass-based one with [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card], so I suppose I got half of that right. There was also a decent amount of Primal Groudon-EX and Seismitoad-EX which I correctly predicted. What surprised me was the fact that Metal Ray and Primal Kyogre-EX were virtually non-existent. In reality, the field contained droves of [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card], Night March, Fighting / Crobat, and some [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] as well. I was not expecting any of these. These are all unfavorable matchups for Night March (besides the mirror match), which was the deck that I decided to play. Here’s the list I used:
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”19″]
4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”33″]
4x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Roller Skates” set=”XY” no=”125″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”9″]
4x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Expedition” no=”160″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
[cardimg name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
I’m sure you want to question the lack of Supporter cards outside of [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], as well as the absence of [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card], the four-of staple in everything. This deck was designed to simply destroy whatever was in front of it, and basically always was able hit for 180 on the first turn. It’s easy to see why I played a deck like this predicting the big Pokemon-EX decks to make such a showing. I could easily defeat the five decks I was expecting, though the [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] matchup can be close if I don’t go second. I simply never had the need for [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. The deck worked wonders in testing and never faltered in its consistency. With the ability to always deal absurd amounts of damage as early as the first turn, and its favorable matchups against every expected deck, this was an easy pick to make for Worlds.
The only out of place cards are [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] and the three [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card]. Life Dew was included in place of [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] after I experienced the first day of Worlds. Other Night March decks were everywhere and plenty of decks that made it through the first day of Worlds used non-EX attackers. Denying just one Prize card in the mirror match or against something like [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] was crucial. The three Escape Rope are purely amazing. They act as makeshift Lysandres more often than not, and also provide the obligatory switching out in the event of a [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] start. I am also adamant about Fighting Energy being the optimal basic Energy for the Worlds format. Fighting / Bats with [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] made quite the showing, and the ability to Hammerhead with [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] against one or two Focus Sashes can make all the difference. Against [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card], Mew-EX can use Spinning Turn to KO a [card name=”Robo Substitute” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] and go safely into a [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] or Shaymin-EX if Sky Return is unavailable or undesirable.
Here is a summary of how my rounds went in Day Two:
Round 1 vs. [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] (Netherlands) L
Round 2 vs. Fighting / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] (Germany) WLW
Round 3 vs. [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY21″ c=”name”][/card] (Japan) WW
Round 4 vs. [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] (Brazil) WW
Round 5 vs. [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card] (USA) LL
Round 6 vs. [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] (Germany) LW T
Round 7 vs. Fighting / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] (Argentina) WW
After starting 0-1 and keeping the dream alive until 3-1, I was crushed by the World Champion. I finished with a respectable record of 4-2-1 but came up just short of the $2,000 worth of prizes by bubbling at 33rd. I was unfortunate to finish near the bottom of those with the same record, and I missed by about one percent of opponent’s opponent’s win percentage.
I do believe that Donphan is a very winnable matchup for my deck, but I opened with a rare dead hand and lost the first game in two turns. In the second game, my opponent played a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] followed by [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], and I accidentally shuffled my hand in. I was about to win the game, but our foolish mistake resulted in a double game loss, losing me the match. I somehow defeated two Crobat decks in addition to my two favorable matchups, Metal and Manectric. I was also elated at escaping my auto-loss and worst matchup, Raichu / Crobat, with a tie.
Alright, now let’s get into some Expanded decks.
ToadMin
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”10″]
4x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”41″]
4x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Shadow Triad” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”102″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Switch” set=”Base Set” no=”95″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Weakness Policy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”142″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Rock Guard” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”108″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”9″]
4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”XY” no=”130″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”Call of Legends” no=”91″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
Overview
I know, I know. This looks like a boring Punch and Laser spam deck when I promised “juicy and unconventional” decks. I assure you my next two decks are much more rogue-ish than this, and I’m saving the best for last. However, I’ve been testing this deck, and it works really well. For the most part, this is a [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] deck, with [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] for some spice and matchup coverage. Quaking Punch has always been an incredible attack, and with effective Items like [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card], your opponent will struggle to keep up under Item lock. All of the Trainers and Pokemon with Abilities are used to support the Toad, but you can transition into attacking with Manectric whenever it is convenient.
The combination of [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”custom”]Laser[/card][card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”custom”]Bank[/card] and Quaking Punch, as stated above, can be overwhelming. Usually you will win games with this strategy alone. On the other hand, sometimes the Toad’s weak damage output proves to be problematic, which is when you can use [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] to hit for up to 170 with the proper damage modifiers. It happens more often than you’d think, and it usually comes as a surprise. Manectric can be a powerful momentum swinger, especially if your opponent has been struggling to get multiple attackers set up under Item lock. Now I’m going to go over the card counts to help explain each decision that may not seem obvious. Of course things like the four Juniper and four [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] shouldn’t really need to be explained. They are staple cards with extremely powerful effects which most decks play four of.
[cardimg name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ align=”left” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
4 Seismitoad-EX
This isn’t too unusual, but I could see some of you leaning towards three. Four is absolutely needed. Not only do you want to start with a [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] every game to use Quaking Punch as soon as possible, but you also want to attack with Quaking Punch for most of the (if not the entire) game. You always want a backup blank Toad to maintain momentum after a [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card], and I usually prefer to have a Toad with [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and a Toad with [card name=”Rock Guard” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] in play. Having four Toads also gives you the option to continue your normal game plan even if one or two are prized.
3 Shaymin-EX
You may remember how insane the [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] archetype was, and this build attempts to mimic it. Granted, you cannot use [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], so you need to be a bit conservatory with Shaymin-EX. Thankfully, I have not found decking out to be a problem whatsoever. The main difference between this deck and the old Toad / Shaymin deck is the swapping of Hammers for [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card], which I’ll go into in a moment. The point is, Shaymin-EX is extremely useful to Toad; it allows you to draw into that fearsome first turn [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] + [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] + [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] + [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] much more often than you would otherwise. I could see the argument for even a fourth Shaymin-EX, though that might be overkill.
2 Manectric-EX
[card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] has always enjoyed being paired with Seismitoad, though usually it takes the role of a forefront attacker alongside its Mega form. I chose to go with Seismitoad as the main attacker simply because I believe it’s better (Item lock is too good), but Manectric is still a powerful card. Manectric is meant to sit back and be a secondary attacker, only to swoop in and deal heavy damage when needed. Manectric also has incredible synergy with [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], as Toad stops opposing players from playing undesirable Tools, while Head Ringer benefits of Assault Laser.
The second reason for including Manectric is to cover matchups. [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] decks run rampant in the Expanded format, and they can usually overrun (no pun intended) Seismitoad on its own. Manectric provides a solution to that. You can slow down Yveltal players with Quaking Punch, and then mow down Yveltal left and right with Manectric’s powerful, Weakness-boosted Assault Laser. Manectric also improves the matchup against [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] decks, which is traditionally a difficult matchup for Toad if they get set up. Assault Laser can actually OHKO other Manectric-EX, and it won’t fear a return KO because dedicated M Manectric decks run [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] instead of [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card]! Manectric can also 2HKO an opposing M Manectric-EX without damage modifiers even after they heal 30 with Rough Seas.
1 Hoopa-EX
Hoopa-EX is phenomenal in this deck. I love it! It shines brightest on the first turn if you start with it or with an [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Flashfire” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. It immediately fills your Bench with attackers and can fetch [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]. Everyone knows how effective an Ultra Ball into Shaymin is, but how about an Ultra Ball into a Shaymin and two attackers? Or even two Shaymin and an attacker? Hoopa is definitely not for every deck, but it is for this one.
1 Shadow Triad
Since the only Team Plasma card in the deck is [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], Shadow Triad’s purpose is clear. Hypnotoxic Laser is [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”custom”]Seismitoad-EX’s[/card] only way to deal substantial damage, so I wanted a somewhat reliable way to use it even if my supply of them was already exhausted. I would normally be inclined to run more than one [card name=”Shadow Triad” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], but the four copies of [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] alleviate the need for that. The ability to VS Seeker for a Hypnotoxic Laser is handy.
4 Trainers’ Mail
[card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] helps you dig through the deck for whatever you might need, and adds another level of consistency to the deck. It is essentially an out to a draw card, which is always nice, but it can also be a [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card], a [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], or anything else you might need! It is pleasantly surprising how often you find something of use off a Trainers’ Mail.
[cardimg name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ align=”left” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
4 Super Scoop Up
This is by far the most powerful card in the deck, despite the fact that it doesn’t do any literal damage. In my opinion, [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] is the most notorious partner for the Toad, and I say that even when horror stories of staying Asleep under Item lock are everywhere. Super Scoop Up takes advantage of the fact that Item lock limits the opponent’s ability to set up and take OHKOs on Toads, and boom, scoops ’em right up. This is not only heals the Toad, but also preserves the cards attached to it, unlike [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card]. Additionally, it flat out abuses [card name=”Rock Guard” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card].
Super Scoop Up has more uses than that, though! It provides an extra switching card if you just want something out of the Active. It can be an extra drawing or searching card if used on [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] or Hoopa-EX. Heck, it can even be an [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Furious Fists” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] by picking up a Pokemon with an Energy and reattaching the Energy somewhere else. How versatile! Super Scoop Up is, in short, amazing. If you flip tails, no big deal. If you flip heads though, what an advantage!
4 Hypnotoxic Laser, 3 Virbank City Gym
4-3 Laserbank is nothing special and it’s been the key part of nearly every [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] deck you’ve seen in the past year. I run four [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] because it is absolutely crucial to boost Toad’s damage output. It is also generally useful at any point in the game, unless you have already used a Laser that turn (or in other odd circumstances). You could apply the same logic to advocate a fourth [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card], though four of the same Stadium card has historically been a no-no due to clunkiness issues. I don’t view this deck as an exception.
[cardimg name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
3 Ultra Ball
[card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Flashfire” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] is a solid card and it is a staple in just about everything. I only mention it to say that I don’t run the expected count of four; that is unnecessary thanks to the existence of Hoopa-EX.
2 Switch
[card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] is probably the most bland card of all time. It’s been around forever, and it’s usefulness has not been diminished. With heavy retreaters such as [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] and Hoopa-EX present in the deck, it’s nice to have some stable mobility.
2 Head Ringer
[card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] adds to the disruptive theme of the [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] deck, and it’s useful too. Head Ringer disrupts a wide variety of decks and makes opponent’s attacks even more difficult to pull off when used in conjunction with Quaking Punch. Head Ringer pairs nicely with [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] as well. It provides a way for Assault Laser to deal heavy damage in the event that your opponent is unable to play down Tools due to Quaking Punch or purposely avoids playing them to avoid Assault Laser KOs!
2 Muscle Band
This is another card that is useful for enhancing [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”custom”]Seismitoad-EX’s[/card] damage output. It also allows [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] to hit for up to 170 damage, which is still a magic number. I only run two because I already run five Tools, and in testing two has been working fine. I also like to have [card name=”Rock Guard” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] on one of my Toads which means I can’t have a [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] on it.
2 Weakness Policy
[card name=”Weakness Policy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] is included due to apiphobia, the fear of bees. This deck would have a difficult matchup against Vespiquen due to Seismitoad’s Weakness, but Weakness Policy provides an easy fix. It is nearly impossible for Vespiquen to trash enough Pokemon to deal 180 damage while it is bombarded by Item-locking Quaking Punches. Weakness Policy is a dead card in many matchups, but I expect Grass-types to be popular enough to warrant its inclusion. Plus, who doesn’t want an excuse to use their secret rare Weakness Policies?
1 Tool Scrapper
[cardimg name=”Rock Guard” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”108″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
This card is almost two [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] as an Item card. It has a multitude of niche functions and I always find some use for it. More often than not, your opponent will play Tool cards down on the one turn they can use Items. This is a handy disruption card that simply removes their Tools. It messes with Megas that needs Spirit Links and [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card] that need [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] especially. You can also remove opposing [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] attached to your own Pokemon-EX, as it is difficult to use Quaking Punch when its Energy cost is increased by one.
1 Rock Guard
I chose [card name=”Rock Guard” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] as my Ace Spec despite [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] having the ability to fetch [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”custom”]DCE’s[/card]. Rock Guard is yet another way to increase the amount of damage from Toad’s base 30. 60 damage is quite powerful for just a Tool card, and it goes nicely with Toad because you lock them from playing [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] on it! Rock Guard will likely put at least 120 damage total on your opponent’s side each game, and I believe that warrants the Ace Spec slot. You can further utilize Rock Guard with [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] against decks that don’t OHKO [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]. If they attack into your Rock Guarded Seismitoad, they take 60, and then you can scoop everything up and attach Rock Guard to your next Toad. The amount of damage that accumulates from this can get out of hand, in the best way possible.
3 Lightning, 2 Flash
I wanted five colored Energy outs and I have the space for them, but there’s no need for five basic Lightning Energy. Why not run Flash Energy? You use Quaking Punch for the cost of a DCE nine or 10 times out of 10, so you won’t rely on basic Lightning to cover Punch’s cost anyway. Flash Energy makes Manectric-EX useful against Fighting decks instead of being a liability. You could even run four Flash Energy, but when you start [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] going first, you will appreciate having a basic Lightning Energy to retreat it into Toad on that turn or the next. Of course, there is always the option of using Quaking Punch fueled by Lightnings, rare though it may be. Hopefully I explained this part well enough, but to be honest your split won’t make too much of a difference most of the time.
Now that we’ve taken a look at my first deck, it’s time to take a look two other decks I have been testing and tweaking for this format. [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] may not have been the most fun or exciting deck, but I assure you, these next two decks are quite odd, and equally deadly.
[premium]
Primal Groudon-EX / Archeops
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”11″]
2x [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”85″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Archeops” set=”Noble Victories” no=”67″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”40″]
2x [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”84″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Robo Substitute” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”102″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Maintenance” set=”Furious Fists” no=”96″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Tropical Beach” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW28″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”9″]
5x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”XY” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Furious Fists” no=”104″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
Overview
[cardimg name=”Archeops” set=”Noble Victories” no=”67″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
I know it looks like just a [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] deck, but I built it as an anti-meta deck, even though nobody really knows exactly what the meta will look like. The idea is to use [card name=”Archeops” set=”Noble Victories” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] to have an easy win against all Evolution-based decks. Most decks that aren’t Evolution-based are Pokemon-EX-based. That’s where Primal Groudon-EX shines. Partnered with [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], a Primal Groudon or two can easily run through most EX-based decks such as [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]. The remaining relevant deck that doesn’t rely on Evolutions or EX’s is Night March. The combination of [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] and Focus Sash gives you a decent chance at beating that deck. Against decks with Megas, which are Evolutions and Pokemon-EX, you can use both Primal Groudon-EX and Archeops by activating [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] multiple times. I find myself consistently able to use Maxie turn after turn at most points during the game. Don’t get out Archeops in a matchup where it won’t pull its weight just because you can, as that prevents [card name=”Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] from Mega Evolving!
2-2 Primal Groudon-EX
[card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] is a beast, literally and metaphorically. You won’t use it against decks like Vespiquen and Night March in all likeliness, but in the matchups where it is used, it really goes to work. Thanks to Ω Barrier, [card name=”Robo Substitute” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] supporting this big guy, you don’t need to worry about his massive attack cost. You can take all the time you need setting up four Energy, a [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], and even a second Groudon if you feel it necessary. Groudon is ready to go when you want it to be, and there are precious few things your opponent can do about it. As I mentioned earlier, you want to use it to plow right through Pokemon-EX-based decks.
2 Archeops
[card name=”Archeops” set=”Noble Victories” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] is arguably the most important part of the deck, so a great number of spaces in the deck are dedicated to utilizing [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card]. You want to get both copies of Archeops in the discard as soon as possible, and you will quite often have Archeops out on the first turn. While I haven’t tested this deck quite as much as the other one, I have observed that Archeops comes out rather consistently on the first turn. This causes the deck to have a favorable matchup against all Evolution-based decks! Even if the opponent can get a couple of Evolutions out by using [card name=”Wally” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Evosoda” set=”XY” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card], or Hex Maniac, it usually won’t be enough to handle multiple [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card].
2 Landorus-EX
Has [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] ever been unplayable? It is always a solid card and fits naturally into this deck, which runs four [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Furious Fists” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] and two [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”custom”]Focus Sashes[/card] anyway. It is the go-to attacker against non-EX Pokemon, and the spread damage can rack up if left unchecked. You can also use Land’s Judgment as a suitable replacement for Gaia Volcano, though that won’t happen often.
2 Wailord-EX
[card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] is simply used as a wall to hide behind while you are taking your time setting up [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]. You could most certainly get away with running one, but I appreciate the additional resilience to [card name=”Forretress” set=”Flashfire” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] donks, as well as the insurance against prizing one.
1 Jirachi-EX
[card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] is an instrumental part in achieving a first turn [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card]. It has excellent synergy with [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. Through Jirachi, Ultra Ball becomes both a Maxie and a card that lowers your hand size. Jirachi can even be helpful later in the game by pulling out any of the one-of Supporters.
The Supporters
[cardimg name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ align=”left” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
It doesn’t take a genius to see that this Supporter lineup is quite odd. It does look similar to the lineup used in current [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] decks, but looks nothing like the Supporter counts of recent Groudon decks. First off, I run two [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] because the card is crucial to the strategy of the deck and I want to use it multiple times. I cannot risk running only a single copy only to find it prized. In fact, you could most definitely include a third one which would improve consistency. I am not sure if a third one is more important than anything else that is currently in the list. I only run a single copy of the other Supporters because they are not as important as Maxie. Only sometimes do I like to use [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] only comes in handy late in the game. Maxie is your go-to Supporter for the first couple turns of the game. 1-of Supporters also can be consistent with the [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] plus [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] engine.
4 Robo Substitute
[card name=”Robo Substitute” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] is a fantastic card to have in slower decks like this one. Not only is it a buffer for the turn-ending Mega Evolution rule, but it also buys time to charge up the expensive Gaia Volcano attack and draw cards with [card name=”Tropical Beach” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW50″ c=”name”][/card]. This strategy is useful mostly in the first few turns, but can also come in handy later if you need to build up a second [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]. I like to think of the Robo Subs as four free turns, a luxury that is also a necessity for Groudon.
4 Battle Compressor
[card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] has the most obvious synergy with [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] decks. You need to maximize the count of them because they are critical to have on the first turn. Battle Compressor fetches out things like [card name=”Archeops” set=”Noble Victories” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] and immediately discards them. It also makes [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] even more powerful than it already is on its own. This combo is by no means a secret, but that doesn’t make it any less effective. Of course, Battle Compressor has the added utility of throwing away useless cards to thin the deck at any point in the game.
4 Trainers’ Mail
I mentioned how useful [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] is with the previous deck, and much of that applies here as well. Trainers’ Mail is especially useful in manipulating hand size because it is a disposable Item than can also potentially grab important cards like [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick. Trainers’ Mail is helpful enough to run four of, as you need to improve your odds of the first turn Ball Trick as much as possible.
3 Maintenance
[card name=”Maintenance” set=”Furious Fists” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] is another of those cards that you want another copy of, but cannot find the room for. Maintenance is an underrated card that rarely sees competitive use. However, it works wonderfully in this deck thanks to its niche of lowering hand size while preserving resources. This is especially important when you are stuck with multiple Energy, [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”custom”]VS Seekers[/card], or Tool cards early on that you do not want to throw away. Enter Maintenance, the most effective (if not the only) Item to preserve resources while lowering hand size. Maintenance has saved me important resources too many times to ignore it.
2 Float Stone, 2 Switch
[cardimg name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
Looking at these two cards out of context, [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] is far superior. Unfortunately, I cannot run four Float Stone and no [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] for a few reasons. First, other Tools get in the way of Float Stone. The optimal Tool to have on [card name=”Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card], and sometimes [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card], is [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. Switch provides an option to move around high-Retreat Pokemon even if they already have a Tool attached. A [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] attached to Landorus-EX or Wailord-EX would prove disastrous if my only way to switch was via Float Stone. Second, Switch can save a Pokemon from Special Conditions and Float Stone cannot. This is not always relevant due to certain Item lock strategies, but it is something to keep in mind with [card name=”Accelgor” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] still in the format. Third, you can’t retreat [card name=”Robo Substitute” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”102″ c=”custom”]Robo Substitutes[/card]! As I said earlier, a Robo Sub is a free turn. If you want to start attacking or generally have something Active besides a Robo Sub, the only option is to use Switch. A use of Switch is definitely worth a free turn later. All in all, I have found a 2-2 split of these switching cards to be a nice balance.
1 Energy Recycler
In case you don’t know what it does, and I wouldn’t blame you, Energy Recycler is an Item that shuffles a whopping five Energies from your discard pile into your deck. This most likely strikes you as an offbeat card for a Groudon deck, but hear me out. Throughout the first couple of turns with all of the drawing cards, [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card], and Hammerheads, you are sure to use up or discard a couple Energy along the way. No problem, right? You still have more than enough for Gaia Volcano. However, there are many games where you actually need two [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]! Energy Recycler allows you to play out the first couple of turns normally and not worry about a scarcity of Energy later.
Another trick that Groudon can employ with its nifty Ω Barrier is actually retreating after sustaining some damage. This way, the opponent wasted an attack or two, and now the Groudon is safely on the Bench! This tactic doesn’t work against decks that can snipe the Bench, but it is an excellent Prize denial strategy against other decks. Energy Recycler can recover those Energy so that you have enough to resume attacking with another Pokemon, presumably a fresh Primal Groudon-EX.
1 Silent Lab
I believe that Groudon decks absolutely need to have at least four Stadium cards to consistently execute Gaia Volcanoes at full power. I started out with four Tropical Beach, but then included Silent Lab to aid in the Night March matchup. It is common knowledge that [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] eats up puny [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”custom”]Joltiks[/card] like miniature peppermint patties, so the Night March player will try to trade with [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card]. You will have a nice little Stadium war with [card name=”Tropical Beach” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW28″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] while you take your time doing whatever you want behind [card name=”Robo Substitute” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] or just attacking with Landorus. But suddenly, [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] appears and the Night March player is either out of Valleys or low on them. Pumpkaboo can no longer can keep up now that it actually needs three Energy to attack and Mew becomes literal dead weight. Two-prize dead weight, I might add.
Silent Lab has the added bonuses of disrupting other decks and shutting down [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card]’s Bench Barrier. Mr. Mime has been a fiend to Landorus-EX since 2013, but Silent Lab allows Landorus-EX to unleash its full Hammerheadish wrath regardless of the Clown’s feeble attempt to stop it. Of course, many decks run on [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] now, allowing Silent Lab to disrupt basically everything in addition to Night March and Mr. Mime.
3 Tropical Beach
[card name=”Tropical Beach” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW28″ c=”name”][/card] is finally back, to the chagrin of 2012 scrubs like me who never had a chance to obtain the darn thing. Groudon is by far the most qualified deck in the current format to abuse Tropical Beach. Now it actually has something to do as it slowly sets up the beefy Primal. The ability to refresh your hand at the end of every turn is, to put it shortly, insane. Thanks to the slow nature of this deck, the added draw power comes at no cost until later in the game when you can actually attack. Having three makes them relatively easy to find early on, and also provides constant fuel for Gaia Volcano attacks. Not to mention, it helps compensate for the low Supporter count and lack of [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card].
Serpent Lock
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”17″]
4x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Feebas” set=”Flashfire” no=”22″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Ninjask” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”10″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Nincada” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”10″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Absol” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”67″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”47″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”37″]
3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Skyla” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”134″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Devolution Spray” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”113″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Revive” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”88″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Primal Clash” no=”126″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Town Map” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”136″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Professor’s Letter” set=”XY” no=”123″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Dragon Vault” no=”20″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”6″]
6x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”XY” no=”138″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
Overview
[cardimg name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
The list looks quite overwhelming, but this is a simple deck with a simple goal; it just comes with a truckload of techs. In a nutshell, you have an Active [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] with a [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] at the end of every single turn, and that is all you do. The idea is to let the opponent deck out while denying Prizes for the entirety of the game, much like the [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] deck at U.S. Nationals. Of course, I do run [card name=”Ninjask” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] to move the process along a bit, but otherwise this deck passively decks out the opponent. Sableye is used to Junk Hunt back a combination of primarily [card name=”Revive” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Primal Clash” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Dragon Vault” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Devolution Spray” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] to constantly have a Sableye with Life Dew. [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] is the means to reuse Life Dew. You could Junk Hunt for Life Dew, but that would mean your Life Dew is not on the attacking Sableye! Ideally your opponent will not be able to use Lysandre followed by a KO six times, as this is an incredibly rare occurrence.
Of course, there are many problems to a gimmicky-looking strategy such as this, and that is where the numerous tech cards come in. Each has its own specific purpose (which I will go over shortly) and the deck itself is stunningly consistent. All in all, this is an odd deck that looks like a gimmick, but works exceptionally well. Hopefully the following card review will help you understand the deck on a deeper level and motivate you to try it out. It truly is something else.
4 Sableye
Junk Hunt is good. It is just plain good. Junk Hunt easily allows infinite uses of any card, and I chose to use this ability to run a chain of infinite [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”custom”]Life Dews[/card] via [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] rather than the usual disruption and lock tactics. In slightly less than 90% of all games, you will attack with nothing but Junk Hunt. As mentioned earlier, you will be using Junk Hunt on [card name=”Devolution Spray” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Revive” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Primal Clash” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Dragon Vault” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] more often than not, though clever thinking and flexibility with this versatile attack will be required. In addition to those four cards, I also frequently use Junk Hunt for [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card].
4 Feebas, 3 Milotic
[cardimg name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ align=”left” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
[card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] is the backbone of the deck, as perfect [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] chains are impossible without it. You want to run a heavy line of Milotic because its pre-Evolution, [card name=”Feebas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card], doesn’t always stick around long with only 30 HP. Additionally, it is ideal to always have two Feebas Benched at a time. Milotic is solely for its Sparkling Ripples Ability, which usually retrieves Life Dew over and over with the help of [card name=”Devolution Spray” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]. You must not underestimate the power and versatility of this Ability, though. The option to grab any card from the discard at any point in the game must not be restricted to only Life Dew. There are many crafty and unconventional plays that come together with Milotic in the mix, so it is important to keep an open mind when playing the deck. You can use Sparkling Ripples on literally anything in the discard pile!
1 Nincada, 1 Ninjask
This deck is meant to passively mill the opponent out in a similar Prize-denial fashion as [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] decks. However, it is always helpful to speed up the process to even further pressure your opponent. Jeremy Gibson actually suggested [card name=”Ninjask” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] to me, and it works quite well. It only takes up two spaces and essentially doubles the rate of decking out the opponent. Usually one of your Pokemon is KO’d every turn, and you can simply promote Ninjask, get an easy Wing Buzz off, and use its free retreat later in the turn to go into [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card].
1 Jirachi-EX
[card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] is used in this deck in the same way that it has been used in many decks in the past year or so. It is a consistency crutch that turns the four copies of [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] and the two copies of [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] into Supporter outs. This is extremely important with only five draw Supporters and no Item draw cards. Use of Jirachi via Level Ball or Ultra Ball is extremely frequent. The inclusion of Jirachi bolsters consistency from an otherwise unacceptable level to an extraordinary one.
1 Wailord-EX
Believe it or not, [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] is not meant to be Active in this deck. It is not included as a wall to buy time, though that is a secondary use for it. The main problem of this deck is that it needs the opponent attacking into Life Dew, and if the opponent attacks into a Pokemon without Life Dew six times, this deck loses. One card that can pose a problem is [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card], for obvious reasons. Wailord-EX is a fail-safe when facing decks that use Escape Rope, as almost nothing can OHKO Wailord, and most certainly not anything that will be regularly mowing down Sableyes with Life Dews. The only problem with this is actually getting Wailord-EX back out of the Active, which is why I am running [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] and am considering an Item switching card. If the opponent uses Escape Rope, send up Wailord to deny a Prize and AZ it back up.
1 Absol, 1 Town Map
[cardimg name=”Absol” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”67″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
Since the deck relies on the singleton copy of Life Dew, you need a way to access [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] when it is prized. There is a 10 percent chance of prizing Life Dew, and [card name=”Absol” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] used with [card name=”Town Map” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] is the most effective method to retrieve it. Absol is a low maintenance attacker that can usually pick off a weak Pokemon and snag the Life Dew fairly early on. Town Map is used to guarantee the chance of finding Life Dew, because Absol certainly will not be taking many Prize cards.
Absol’s other use is to combat the problematic [card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card]. Articuno paired with any form of Energy acceleration (most notably [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card]) normally ruins this deck because it can still take a Prize card off Life Dew due to its Δ Plus Ancient Trait. Absol doesn’t make Articuno with Blastoise a favorable matchup, but it does make it more winnable and gives a fair chance. Blastoise decks usually load up their Bench which allows Absol to swing for 120 damage, a perfect KO on Articuno. Even if they don’t, you can 2HKO with Absol and have Life Dew attached. This can be sustained by [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Devolution Spray” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] to KO one or two Articuno. This forces the Articuno player to flip two out of three heads to take a Prize or KO the Absol with something else for no Prize gain. After the Articuno threat is no longer present, the normal strategy of the deck will win the game.
1 Mr. Mime
[card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card]’s use in the deck is obvious. It prevents snipe damage on low-HP [card name=”Feebas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card]. Snipe damage is another way for opponents to get around the [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] strategy, but Mr. Mime prevents this.
1 Hex Maniac
Hex Maniac’s disruption is useful in many circumstances, but it is included primarily as an insurance policy against Vileplume (or even [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]) decks. This deck is composed primarily of Items, and these Items need to be used. Hex Maniac is an easy out to Vilepume decks. Hopefully you will be able to find it before Vileplume comes into play, as it will not be as easy to dig for under Item lock.
1 AZ
[card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] is great. You can take many of the things I talked about with [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] and apply it to AZ. AZ is included in this deck to safely scoop up Pokemon-EX like [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]. Wailord is used as [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] fodder, but you need a way to get Wailord out of the Active position after that! AZ is useful with Jirachi-EX as well because you do not want your opponent to take two Prizes with only one use of [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card]. An odd situation I came across was against an Ice[card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”custom”]Man[/card] where I prized my Mr. Mime. [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] started to use Overrun in an effort to snipe my Bench, but infinite uses of AZ thwarted that strategy easily.
1 Team Flare Grunt
[card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] is a powerful disruption card, especially against [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / Giratina-EX (which is more winnable than it seems, by the way). Team Flare Grunt has the potential to disrupt decks out of the game. Decks without Energy acceleration can only attach one Energy per turn, of course, and Team Flare Grunt removes one Energy. Combine this with infinite uses of Team Flare Grunt through Sparkling Ripples and [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], and the fact that one-Energy attacks typically do not apply too much pressure, and you have an odd strategy that can win games. It is a neat tech that can cause serious damage when used repeatedly, so why not use it in a deck with infinite everything?
3 Skyla
[card name=”Skyla” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] is only used because it is the only card that I can think of that searches out [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] and provides a consistency Supporter at the same time. You can run [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] (with [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card]) to find Life Dew instead of Skyla, but that would make the deck rather inconsistent with only five drawing Supporters and no Item draw cards. Skyla is also nifty in this deck because it doesn’t always need to be using draw Supporters. A quick search for whatever Item you want at any time is just plain convenient.
Other Supporters
[card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] are all staples that we don’t really need to go over. N is especially important because it prevents decking out. I would love to include more copies of all of these cards, but the 60 card limit does not allow it. Everything else in the deck is more important.
[cardimg name=”Devolution Spray” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”113″ align=”left” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
4 Devolution Spray
These are the keys to infinite [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”custom”]Life Dews[/card]. [card name=”Devolution Spray” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] allows you to use [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”custom”]Milotic’s[/card] Sparkling Ripples indefinitely in conjunction with [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”custom”]Sableye’s[/card] Junk Hunt. You will Junk Hunt for at least one Devolution Spray almost every turn to help chain Sableye with Life Dews.
3 Revive, 2 Energy Retrieval, 1 Super Rod
All of these cards are included for recovering mostly [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] and Energy, though you can recover other Pokemon if you need to. Junk Hunt allows you to use these Items turn after turn, thus providing infinite Sableye and Energy. They are essential to the strategy of the deck.
1 Professor’s Letter
[card name=”Professor’s Letter” set=”XY” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] is handy because it is an Item that can be turned into two Energy, much like [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Primal Clash” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card]. However, Energy Retrieval doesn’t work early in the game if you want to use [card name=”Skyla” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] or Junk Hunt for Energy. Enter Professor’s Letter, which is your method of doing so. It has utility and it improves consistency. Only one is needed because at most points in the game you will be using Energy Retrieval instead, minimizing the importance of Letter.
1 Tool Scrapper
[card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] is a disruptive card that helps tremendously against [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card], allowing you to remove Garbotoxin to enable Sparkling Ripples. Tool Scrapper is handy to run your opponent out of useful Tools just because you can. Scrapping two Tools off your opponent’s side is honestly quite fun. You can most definitely run [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] if you want, that could very well be the optimal play. Tool Scrapper can help in various odd situations whereas Startling Megaphone cannot. For example, say my opponent is playing a deck with a Pokemon with a high Retreat Cost. Imagine that they attach a Muscle Band to that Pokemon before playing [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] to refresh their hand. You would want to leave the Muscle Band attached to that Pokemon to prevent a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] from being attached to it. Now, that Pokemon is a prime [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] stall target for the rest of the game. This may seem like a weak example, but it was extremely relevant in a game I had against an IceMan / Garbodor deck.
1 Dark Patch
[card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] is an extra Darkness Energy for all intents and purposes, save for one small trick. If [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] is prized and you find yourself requiring the services of [card name=”Absol” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card], Dark Patch can surprise your opponent by charging up Absol in a single turn (with your Energy attachment for the turn). Thanks to Dark Patch, you can take a quick, sneaky Prize with an Absol out of nowhere.
1 Trick Shovel
[card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] has a surprising amount of uses, but many of them are minor so I won’t cover them all. There are three particularly tricky things you can do with this card, though. First, it is not only a mill card, but a disruption card as well. Quite often you can discard something extremely important with Trick Shovel, like an opponent’s [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], or switching card. Second, it can be used as a control card if your opponent is unfortunate enough to find themselves with a dead hand. You can use Trick Shovel over and over with Junk Hunt and Sparkling Ripples. Simply discard the useful cards and leave cards that will not help the opponent in the current situation. You can control top-decks for quite awhile with this tactic and it can get quite annoying for the opponent. For the user, however, top-deck control is quite fun and is why I’ve been trying to get [card name=”Xatu” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to work.
[cardimg name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]
The last major use for Trick Shovel is in the late game. You can pull together an impressive string of Trick Shovels over the course of two or three turns to go with an all-out mill approach when the opponent is running low on cards in their deck. This can catch people by surprise and does some serious disruptive damage, even if it does not quite deck the opponent out. I mentioned this in the above paragraph as well, but Trick Shovel is a fun card to use. “Trick Shovel, Sparkling Ripples, Trick Shovel, Devolution Spray, Sparkling Ripples, Trick Shovel, Junk Hunt for Trick Shovel and Devolution Spray.” I think you get the idea.
1 Life Dew
I have talked about this card enough as the deck completely revolves around it. Life Dew streaming is your strategy for every game unless you can manage a controlling position with [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card], and your other few disruptive cards.
Conclusion
That is all I have for decks! Thanks for reading! All of these decks have been tested quite a bit and I am confident in all of them. I encourage you to try them and consider them for tournaments! Like I said, I am not going to any Fall Regionals, so I would love it if someone succeeded with any of these plays before the format changes once again. If you have any questions about any of these decks please do not hesitate to comment! Thanks again, and good luck!
~Grant Manley
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