The Element of Surprise – Rogue Decks and Beyond
What’s up, PokeBeach? I hope everyone’s summer was as awesome as mine (still coming down a bit from the adrenaline of Saturday night’s Papa Roach / In This Moment / 5FDP concert). Anyway, it’s time to get back to playtesting and talking Pokemon again, as Fall Regionals inch their way even closer to all of us. There is a lot to prepare for, especially if you’re planning on attending the first weekend of Regionals, as the meta will be a bit unpredictable. Since we’re looking exclusively at the Expanded format for this fall’s Regional Championships, we can hold off on Standard for a bit. However, the Expanded format is massive, including 18 sets and over 150 promo cards, making it the largest format we’ve ever seen for a major Pokemon TCG event. With so many cards available, there are bound to be a lot of different decks present.
And in today’s article, we’re going to talk about some of the most outlandish of these decks. The four rogue decks covered in this article are a combination of old ideas reformed with the new and old cards brought together by Expanded, while some are underplayed concepts that have the potential to make a breakout performance at the upcoming Fall Regionals. I have tested all of these decks a lot the past few weeks, learning the ins and outs of them, and I believe they are all strong contenders in the right metagame.
Shiftry Joins the Banned
Okay, bad puns aside, [card name=”Shiftry” set=”Next Destinies” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] has been banned from Expanded since I last wrote for you guys. While I think an errata to Forest of Giant Plants would have been better, I can’t argue with TPCi’s decision to take Shiftry out of the game. Even if it wasn’t exactly tier zero, Shiftry was a first-turn deck and thus created a game almost entirely decided by the opening coin flip, unless the player’s opponent opened the game with one of the mere two counters to the deck. Of course, it remains to be seen if [card name=”Forretress” set=”Flashfire” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] will become the next big “donk deck,” or if people will steer away from this type of thing. Personally, I don’t think first-turn win decks are good for the game, and I know plenty of people who will agree with me. However, Shiftry was the biggest offender in this instance, and we no longer have to worry about it now that the card has been taken out of the format. I’ve placed my Shiftry in a nice place next to [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card], Slowking, and Sneasel. Have fun rocking out with your three new comrades, Shiftry (and please take your Fennekin coin with you).
Expanded Format – Diversity Rules!
[cardimg name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”custom”]Which deck will you choose?[/cardimg]
A diverse format can make it difficult to know which deck to play, as making the proper meta call becomes increasingly difficult when the format becomes more diverse. Still, I prefer the game this way. It makes things more interesting and introduces so many more possibilities in terms of decks and strategies that could end up doing well at any given event. This year’s U.S. Nationals was diverse enough in Standard that it produced eight different decks in the top eight alone. The same thing happened a few months earlier at the Ohio State Championships. This sort of thing really makes me love the Pokemon TCG even more, because it allows for people to be creative in the process of deck building and trying to cover as many bases as possible. It also heavily limits the chances of any deck from becoming tier zero, which means that just because a certain deck wins one tournament does not mean it has the best chance of winning the next one. I think this is great for the game in multiple ways – first, because it keeps you from having to play against the same deck almost every round of a tournament (which can get repetitive rather quickly, Mr. [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]), and second, because it helps keep card prices down, since not everyone is looking for the same 60 cards at once. This makes the game both more innovative and affordable for new players and experienced players alike, and has the ability to level out the playing ground while putting a premium on deck building and in-game decisions. It also keeps the Pokemon TCG interesting by allowing new decks to show up at each major event, some with the potential to do extremely well after having flown under the radar during playtesting. This brings me to what is perhaps my favorite part of any trading card game:
The Element of Surprise
Yes, you read that correctly. The element of surprise can be brutal. The presence of a single tech card can decide the winner of a game or even an entire match, and an entire deck that no one sees coming can blindside the competition and score you a direct pass to top cut in the proper setting. Of course, a rogue deck can also fall flat on its face against the wrong matchups. Rogue decks are tricky to build, because you’ll often have limited playtesting outlets and the meta call is still difficult for anyone going into a major event. That said, catching an entire tournament off guard with a deck no one expects can be a great way to gain an advantage on the majority of the competition. I will provide a couple examples of my own rogue decks (well, one of them isn’t considered “rogue” anymore, but it was at the time) and how I did with them.
The first is the now-known [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] deck that I began playing at the Kentucky State Championship. Going into the tournament, only a few players from my local community had seen the deck I was going to play, and only Brad Weyers and I decided to play it. Brad ended up making Top 8 as the first overall seed, while I bubbled out in the last round (darn you, [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]). Two weeks later, I attended the Ohio State Championship after making a couple of small changes to my list, and cruised to a record of 6-1-1 and a Top 8 finish of my own. After winning a pair of League Challenges, I took my Archie’s Blastoise deck to the U.S. National Championship where I finished Day One with a 6-1-2 record. On Day Two, I went 4-2 with the second loss coming against Kristy Britton in the final round. This earned me a 15th place finish (one game away from Top 8 and a Day Two Worlds invite). I think that’s pretty good for a deck that people thought wasn’t very good.
The second is a much more obscure deck from a couple years ago, so I will share the list with you guys in order to explain it in better detail.
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”10″]
4x [card name=”Bouffalant” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”110″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Tornadus-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”98″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Tornadus-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Next Destinies” no=”54″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Sawk” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”52″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”39″]
4x [card name=”Skyla” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”134″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”84″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Shadow Triad” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”102″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Colress Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”119″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”95″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”135″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Potion” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”132″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Eviolite” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”122″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Aspertia City Gym” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”127″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Plasma Frigate” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”124″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”11″]
4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Plasma Energy” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”127″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”XY” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
[cardimg name=”Tornadus-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”98″ align=”left” height=”250″ c=”custom”]Appa, yip yip![/cardimg]
I like to call this one The Flying Bison, affectionately named for Avatar Aang’s Flying Bison, Appa. The object of this deck was to use [card name=”Bouffalant” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Next Destinies” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card], and the original [card name=”Tornadus-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] to take some early damage while I charged up the Team Plasma version of [card name=”Tornadus-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] in an attempt to sweep my opponent’s board by dealing 180 damage with Jet Blast each turn. The combination of [card name=”Aspertia City Gym” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Eviolite” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], and four copies of [card name=”Potion” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] allowed my attackers to stick around for several turns while dealing massive amounts of damage throughout the game, regardless of whether or not I was able to score the Jet Blast for 180 damage or not. Needless to say, many of the competitors were not expecting a tanky Bouffalant / Tornadus deck with the capability of dealing 180 damage every turn if I managed to accomplish a complete setup. If I wasn’t able to set up the Jet Blast home run play, I could still use the Plasma Tornadus-EX for its Windfall attack in the early game and then attack with Bouffalant for 120 damage against my opponent’s Pokemon-EX, and to do so with a one-Prize attacker that had 120 HP (thanks to Aspertia City Gym) which took 40 less damage from my opponent’s attacks (due to Eviolite and Bouffalant’s Bouffer Ability) was an absolute nightmare of a matchup for several of my opponents. This method used the original Tornadus-EX and Mewtwo-EX as cleanup hitters once my Bouffalants were retired for the game, able to take the final Prizes and win me the game more often than not. Lastly, I included one copy of [card name=”Sawk” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] in order to deal with Tornadus-EX’s Lightning Weakness, particularly against the Team Plasma deck’s [card name=”Thundurus-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card], which could deal a lot of damage for just one Energy. Needless to say, Sawk proved useful in the Plasma matchup during the course of the event. Although I did suffer a bit of a collapse on Day Two of the Regional in which I played this deck, I feel that winning seven out of nine rounds on Day One more than justified this deck, at least for that particular tournament, in proving just how powerful the surprise factor can be in the Pokemon TCG.
So now, how can you use the element of surprise to your advantage in the upcoming season? Let’s find out!
Now it’s time look at four different decks that I believe are solid plays for Expanded based on the overall meta and surprise factor that these decks bring with them. Two of which are fairly recent rogue decks which have yet to see much in terms of success, while the other two decks were played in the past and have been counted out by a vast majority of the competitive player base. I have tested each of these decks personally to see how they can fit into the current meta, and learned the strengths and weaknesses of each one. It is also important to remember that when playing a rogue deck, your chances of hitting a mirror match should be virtually zero, meaning that you won’t get mirror matches that are almost always decided by who wins the opening coin flip. This can be a very big upside to playing rogue or counter-meta decks and goes very well with the surprise factor. Now, onto the decks!
Medicham
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”16″]
4x [card name=”Medicham” set=”Primal Clash” no=”81″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Meditite” set=”Primal Clash” no=”79″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Landorus” set=”Furious Fists” no=”58″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Celebi-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”9″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”34″]
4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Korrina” set=”Furious Fists” no=”95″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Fighting Stadium” set=”Furious Fists” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”10″]
6x [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]
[cardimg name=”Medicham” set=”Primal Clash” no=”81″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”custom”]Yoga helps me KO things[/cardimg]
Wild yoga instructor appeared! Okay, maybe not that messed up, but this is still a viable deck. Players have bashed [card name=”Medicham” set=”Primal Clash” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] almost every time I’ve seen it mentioned in a competitive conversation, but the truth is this deck can be highly competitive. The ability to deal 180+ damage each turn with a non-EX attacker is insane, and the fact that you can conceivably take out TWO Pokemon in such a way (whether they have low HP or already have a bit of damage on them) is ridiculous. It’s important to remember, however, that Medicham’s Yoga Kick attack doesn’t apply Weakness and Resistance, meaning that while it becomes easier to take out the [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”custom”]M Rayquaza-EXs[/card] of the world, it also becomes more of a chore to deal with something like [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] when you aren’t hitting it for the usual Weakness to Fighting. Enter [card name=”Celebi-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card], which allows us to capitalize on a Pokemon’s Weakness to Fighting (if they have one) by using [card name=”Meditite” set=”Primal Clash” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]’s seemingly useless Smack attack! Yes, believe it or not, this is actually a viable strategy. So why don’t we just use [card name=”Shrine of Memories” set=”Primal Clash” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] to gain access to Meditite’s attack instead of benching a Pokemon-EX with 110 HP? Well, that would deny us access to [card name=”Fighting Stadium” set=”Furious Fists” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], which is a very important card when it comes to boosting Medicham’s relatively low base damage. When you’re attacking twice each turn, any damage modifiers you have in play (such as Fighting Stadium, [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Furious Fists” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card]) will be doing their extra damage with each attack, meaning that a Fighting Stadium, Muscle Band, or Strong Energy will net you 40 extra damage each turn, while a Silver Bangle will net you 60 extra damage against opposing Pokemon-EX. That’s a lot of damage!
Of course, you also have supporting attackers too. [card name=”Landorus” set=”Furious Fists” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] can help you accelerate Energy early on with the use of [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] to drop some Energy into the discard pile, as well as later on if you need a turn to charge up another Medicham. [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] can also hit for a heavy amount of damage for just one Energy while also providing you with a free retreater to send up after one of your Pokemon is KO’d. Finally, the lone copy of [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] is there to deal spread damage, which can either set up KO’s earlier in the game, or finish them off in the late game. Landorus-EX can also work with its non-EX counterpart to launch a massive Land’s Judgment attack, which can take out almost anything in the game with just one attack. This can be an excellent finisher and also present a huge threat that isn’t always able to be OHKO’d by your opponent.
[cardimg name=”Meditite” set=”Primal Clash” no=”79″ align=”left” height=”250″ c=”custom”]Meet Base Machop 2.0![/cardimg]
Not only have I tested this deck myself, but a buddy of mine played a Medicham deck back at the Ohio State Championships a few months ago and managed to reach the top four with it. His achievement was no fluke, either, as I don’t think anyone saw this deck coming. In a format full of decks that either run off of Pokemon-EX or one-Prize attackers with rather low HP, Medicham has the potential to thrive by KO’ing two Prizes worth of Pokemon each turn, and only giving up one (or none if you have the [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] equipped) in exchange. This makes for a very favorable Prize trade, and can win games as long as you can keep up a steady flow of Medichams and Energy to continue attacking until you’ve claimed all six of your Prizes.
That said, this deck has one glaring weakness: Bats. [card name=”Golbat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] can and will eat this deck alive. Early damage from Golbat’s and Crobat’s Abilities will take away any possible benefit of using Focus Sash, while taking advantage of Medicham’s rather low 90 HP. Medicham can also fall victim to Crobat’s attack, Skill Dive, which can deal a whopping 100 damage if Medicham is active and Crobat has a Muscle Band attached. This is probably your worst matchup, with the other dangerously bad matchup coming against [card name=”Gengar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card]-based decks. However, if your meta is full of EX-heavy decks like Archie’s [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card], or even [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] (sans Crobat), Medicham could be a very strong play. If you’re expecting to see lots of Crobat and Gengar-EX decks, it might be safer to leave this one in the deckbox/binder for another time. However, if Psychics appear to be on the down-low and you’re looking for an exciting rogue deck to play, try out Medicham and see how you like it!
Now, onto the other decks. Like I said before, all these decks are very strong in the right metagame, and are certainly nothing to be overlooked. The element of surprise may be enough to score you a high placement at Regionals!
[premium]
Plasma Lugia
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”11″]
3x [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”134″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Deoxys-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”53″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”39″]
4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”N” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW100″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Colress Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”119″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Team Plasma Ball” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”105″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”10″]
4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Plasma Energy” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”127″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”XY Trainer Kit” no=”25″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
[cardimg name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”134″ align=”left” height=”250″ c=”custom”]Winning two-Knock Out games since 2013![/cardimg]
One of my favorite decks of all time – Plasma Lugia – is back with a vengeance! Or at least, it could be, if somebody decides to play it. This ultra-fast deck works by charging up [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] with cards like [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Colress Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] while ripping through the deck with [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] until you can flood your Bench with enough copies of [card name=”Deoxys-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] to OHKO any opposing Pokemon with Lugia-EX’s Plasma Gale attack. That’s only the beginning, though, as Lugia-EX’s Overflow Ability kicks in as soon as it KO’s your opponent’s Pokemon, allowing you to draw one additional Prize card! That’s two Prizes for a non-EX Pokemon and three Prizes for taking out a Pokemon-EX! Now, KO’ing a Pokemon-EX with Lugia-EX can be difficult without the proper setup, but with four copies of Deoxys-EX on the Bench and a [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] attached, you can be dealing 180 damage and taking out anything across from you that isn’t a Mega Evolution. As you might imagine, this deck struggles with Megas, and will thus try to KO the Basic Pokemon-EX before it can Mega Evolve and wreak havoc on the legendary Diving Pokemon. Another strategy here is to charge up a Lugia-EX and simply use [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] to bring up a low HP Pokemon-EX like Shaymin-EX or [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], which you can Plasma Gale without needing any damage modifiers at all and claim half your Prize cards on the spot. This strategy can force your opponent into some difficult decision-making if they don’t have an alternate answer to your Lugia-EX, as benching any more copies of Shaymin-EX or Jirachi-EX could easily lose them the game, while not benching them could slow their entire deck down to the point that you can win by attacking whatever other Pokemon they happen to have in play.
Now, on the subject of difficult matchups, Mega Evolutions are obviously difficult to deal with once they come out. Other difficult cards to deal with include [card name=”Aegislash-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Suicune” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Sigilyph” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Pyroar” set=”Flashfire” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]. Fortunately, the last three of those four cards can be dealt with by simply using Hex Maniac, even though it means you lose your Overflow Ability for the turn. Aegislash-EX can be dealt with in the same manner, but it will take two turns of Hex Maniac and Plasma Gale to wipe it off the board, which is difficult do to with the limited number of [card name=”Plasma Energy” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] you’ll have access to. If you like, you could try running a copy of [card name=”Thundurus-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] for this situation. Two other cards which I opted not to run, but that work very well in this particular deck are [card name=”PlusPower” set=”Unleashed” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card]. PlusPower was actually in the original list, but ended up being cut due to the necessary addition of the two basic Energy cards and a thicker [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Team Plasma Ball” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] engine. Target Whistle is an interesting card in this deck because it allows you to bring back a low HP Pokemon like Shaymin-EX or Jirachi-EX, which you can capitalize on for an easy three Prize cards to potentially end the game. This strategy requires a Lysandre to work, but with two copies of him and four copies of [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] to boot, that shouldn’t be too Farfetch’d of a situation. Space is more of the issue here, as you don’t want to do anything that might hurt your consistency in terms of winning. Plasma Lugia has the potential to devour the competition in a meta that is (mostly) devoid of Mega Evolutions, as it can really shine against [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Rayquaza-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Eelektrik” set=”Noble Victories” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card]. However, our big bad Team Plasma boss Pokemon struggles against the likes of [card name=”Primal Kyogre-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]. Overall, this is a fun deck, and it definitely has the pieces in place to be a serious threat in the right meta, much like the other decks in this article.
Garchomp / Altaria
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”21″]
4x [card name=”Garchomp” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Gabite” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”89″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Gible” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”87″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Altaria” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”84″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Swablu” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”104″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Hydreigon-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”62″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”32″]
4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”135″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”7″]
4x [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”XY” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
[cardimg name=”Hydreigon-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”62″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”custom”]”A three-headed dragon? That’s your miracle?”[/cardimg]
Good old FluffyChomp, you never seem to leave us entirely. Just when the last Pokemon TCG player on Earth is ready to forget you, somebody brings you back and things go crazy again. That seems to be the deal with this deck, which has almost always been viewed as an outlier to competitive play and hasn’t quite made the jump into the top tier decks, even when it was a popular play back in late 2012. The basic idea here is the same as its always been – get anywhere from two to four copies of [card name=”Altaria” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] on your Bench through [card name=”Gabite” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]’s Dragon Call Ability, then evolve Gabite into [card name=”Garchomp” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] and start KO’ing things left and right. The one different now? [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. This card makes it possible to skip Garchomp’s first attack and go directly to Dragonblade. That damage is then boosted by 20 for each Altaria you have on your Bench, thanks to Altaria’s Ability, Fight Song. Throw a [card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] on top of that and you can start OHKO’ing even the biggest Pokemon-EX with relative ease. You’ll also force your opponent to return with at least 140 damage to KO your Active Garchomp for just one Prize, only to have another one come out and clean up their new attacker. Once again, a favorable Prize trade should occur, and then its off to the races!
Of course, a deck like Night March or Vespiquen could provide a challenge here; fortunately, we have a lot more than just four Energy cards to run off of (excluding the [card name=”Blacksmith” set=”Flashfire” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] option in Vespiquen decks). Something else to keep track of with this deck are the cards you discard when using Garchomp’s Dragonblade attack. Fortunately, we run not one, but two copies of Sacred Ash. These will allow you to Dragonblade a couple more times without having to worry about decking out so soon, as well as retrieving your Pokemon in order to maintain your attackers and damage output all at once. The final Pokemon I’ve chosen to run in this deck is [card name=”Hydreigon-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] – a three-headed Dragon that has a rather helpful Ability. With Hydreigon-EX and any Stadium card in play, all of your Dragon Pokemon pay two fewer Energy to Retreat, meaning every Dragon in the deck will retreat for free, with the exception of Hydreigon-EX itself! Now you might be thinking to yourself, “With all those Gabites, Garchomps, Altarias, and now a Hydreigon-EX on your Bench, how can you possibly manage your Bench space?” Well, that’s where [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] comes in! Not only does Sky Field grant you three extra Bench spots, but it gives you instant access to Hydreigon-EX’s Ability, meaning your Garchomps and Altarias can freely move from being your Active Pokemon to residing on the Bench while a different Pokemon attacks. Garchomp / Altaria can thrive mightily in a format full of [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card], and almost any Fighting-based decks, while Night March and Vespiquen will look to be problem matchups. Overall this is another very fun deck that capitalizes on favorable Prize trades in order to keep up with the majority of decks in the current metagame. If you’re looking for a cheap, competitive rogue deck for the Expanded format, give Garchomp / Altaria a try!
Ho-Oh-EX / Huntail
[decklist]
[pokemon amt=”16″]
4x [card name=”Huntail” set=”Primal Clash” no=”50″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”Clamperl” set=”Primal Clash” no=”49″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”120″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/pokemon]
[trainers amt=”33″]
4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card]
4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″][/card]
2x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Furious Fists” no=”89″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card]
3x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/trainers]
[energy amt=”11″]
5x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”XY” no=”134″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”XY” no=”133″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”XY” no=”135″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”XY” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”XY” no=”138″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”XY” no=”139″ c=”deck2″][/card]
1x [card name=”Fairy Energy” set=”XY” no=”140″ c=”deck2″][/card]
[/energy]
[/decklist]
[cardimg name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”119″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”custom”]Taste the Rainbow![/cardimg]
The legendary Rainbow Phoenix Pokemon that was originally seen in the very first episode of the Pokemon anime is back, hoping to finally break through into the meta after all of its previous attempts. Of course, [card name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] has one new toy that it didn’t have when it was in Standard: [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. Now instead of having to dump your Ho-Oh-EXs and Energy cards with the likes of [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card], you can simply toss them all straight into the discard pile via Battle Compressor! Isn’t that convenient? We now have a way to put a ton of Energy onto our board in a single turn! Too bad [card name=”Gallade” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] still needs a [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] in order to come out on the second turn. What’s that? You’re telling me the new [card name=”Huntail” set=”Primal Clash” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] has the same Powerful Storm attack that Gallade has, and for only one Energy? My goodness! Huntail disappears from the Pokemon TCG entirely for [card name=”Huntail” set=”Great Encounters” no=”42″ c=”custom”]seven years[/card] and comes back with an attack like this? I think we have a deck on our hands! Okay, in all fairness, the Huntail / Ho-Oh-EX deck has been thought of, played, and even shared before. However, it still appears as a rogue deck in my eyes, as it isn’t likely to be seen much in tournament play. With a pair of Ho-Oh-EX sitting on your Bench, Huntail can be dealing 140 damage for a single Energy each turn, and with the help of [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and a single Energy attachment after that, you are dealing the magic 180. From there, you can continue to attach Energy or try to Rebirth the third Ho-Oh-EX, giving you a damage output of at least 240, which will KO anything in the game that isn’t [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card]! Of course, this does require a bit of setup, but it isn’t as impossible as one might think.
With Ho-Oh-EX requiring all different types of basic Energy for its Rebirth Ability, I have chosen to run a total of seven different types of Energy, while maintaining a handful of Water Energy for Huntail’s attack cost, along with a pair of [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Furious Fists” no=”89″ c=”custom”]Energy Switches[/card] to move Energy around if necessary. Due to the rather broad spectrum (no pun intended) of different types of Energy in this deck, I’ve elected to run two copies of [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], which can take advantage of the different Energy by copying the attacks of several opposing Pokemon as well as doubling as an additional attacker with Huntail’s Powerful Storm attack. The lone Psychic Energy in the deck allows you to use Mew-EX’s Replace attack if absolutely necessary, but I don’t see that happening too often (if ever). Finally, if you run into a Grass- or Metal-based deck (or anything else with a Weakness to Fire), you can actually use Ho-Oh-EX’s Rainbow Burn attack to take out almost anything with a single attack! Ho-Oh-EX can bring three Energy back with it from the discard pile, meaning you’ll need only one attachment from hand and an Energy Switch or Muscle Band to hit the magic 100 damage, which will in turn deal 200 damage to a Pokemon that is weak to Fire! Holy smokes!
Overall, the consistency of hitting massive damage with Huntail is much better than some people might figure, depending on the meta, of course. Ho-Oh-EX does not like [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]. A well-timed Hex Maniac by your opponent can also create a bit of a problem for this deck, and that is definitely something you’ll want to be aware of once it starts picking up popularity (which I believe it will do quickly). Otherwise, this deck doesn’t have too many glaring weaknesses outside of a first turn [card name=”Archeops” set=”Noble Victories” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card], which can mess up just about any Evolution-based deck in the game. Archeops is often played with either [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] or Night March, which can make those matchups rather unfavorable. With that said, if you’re expecting a meta full of Metal, [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], or even [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] decks, this could be a pretty solid play. It might take 2-3 turns to really set this thing up, but this deck can be an absolute monster once it gets going. Test it out and see for yourself!
Conclusion
These are just a few of the many rogue decks that are available for the new Expanded format, which we will be playing throughout this fall’s Regional Championships. There are so many deck options in this format and each tournament is sure to provide a very diverse and interesting metagame, with lots of different ideas and concepts for players to work with and overcome in order to ultimately win each Regional. I’ll be back again before Fall Regionals, but until then, cheers PokeBeach!
[/premium]