Stand In For What? – Indy Marathon Analysis and a Look at Yveltal / Zoroark / Gallade

By: Steve Guthrie · Posted Dec 20, 2015 at 5:54 PM · 0 Comments

What’s up Beachers? It’s Steve here, and I’m back with a fresh new article following my first four City Championships of the season. I’m proud to say that I’ve earned 70 Championship Points from Cities alone this season, but I’m still hungry for a lot more (I want that Zoroark BREAK playmat) and I’ve got seven or eight more Cities on my radar still. This is also the time of year when my buddy Kevin Baxter tends to break the format with either a brand new deck or a new spin on an existing deck (you guys remember SnorBax / The Yeti from two years ago and [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]/ [card name=”Kyurem” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”31″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] from last year) and this year was no different. Kevin’s take on [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] has given it favorable matchups almost entirely across the board, with new additions like Zoroark and Gallade to help out with the more difficult matchups. I was even able to construct my own version of this deck later on in the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon where the deck was initially unleashed by Kevin, Dustin Zimmerman, and a handful of other players from Team Hovercats. It’s very beneficial for me to be located close to some of the game’s best players as I am able to talk about different decks and bounce ideas off of them as well as exchange input on deck ideas while at tournaments. This helps my creative skills go in the right direction when I build my own decks as well. However, it was especially helpful in this instance, as I was barely able to playtest at all before the Indy Marathon. I could go on about my life outside of the Pokemon TCG, but that’s not why you’re here, is it? Let’s take a look at the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon!

Day One – When the Night Goes Marching In

[cardimg name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]

Simply put, I had almost no idea what to expect on the first day. I’d only been able to do a little bit of playtesting over the two weeks leading up to the Indiana marathon, largely due to my work schedule and the responsibilities that come with being a father, so I opted to go with a deck that I knew from previous testing: M Mewtwo-EX / Zoroark. It turned out this was not a very good choice, as one deck ran around like a six-year-old during recess; that deck was Night March. Let’s just say that it’s not much fun to have a [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] smack your M Mewtwo-EX upside the face for 280 damage on the second turn. Zoroark provided a decent attacker for this matchup, but having to wait a turn in order to evolve it proved to be too much when the Night March player could simply attach a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and start attacking. Had I opted to run [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], this might not have been as bad for me. StilI, I think that my biggest mistake here was having initially dismissed Night March in Standard due to the loss of [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”120″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], as it turns out adding Vespiquen, [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], and / or [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] to the equation makes Night March just as relevant as it’s been since the ban of [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] back in June. It’s also worth noting that Bronzong can help Night March decks deal with the myriad of Special Energy hatred that currently resides in the meta ([card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”119″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], Jirachi, etc) while allowing you to charge up more than four attackers per game. While using Bronzong does dictate the use of [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and / or [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”117″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], these are cards that could easily be included in Night March decks to begin with and can be helpful in many other situations outside of a Bronzong falling victim to your opponent’s [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] to begin with. To make things a little clearer, let’s look at a basic idea of what I saw in Friday’s Night March decks:

[decklist]

[pokemon amt=”24″]

4x [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

3x Vespiquen (AOR #10)

3x Combee (AOR #9)

2x [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x Bronzor (BKT #95)

2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

[/pokemon]

[trainers amt=”29″]

3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”117″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

1x Hex Maniac (AOR #75)

4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

3x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

[/trainers]

[energy amt=”7″]

4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

3x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”XY” no=”139″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

[/energy]

[/decklist]

This is the exact list which I placed 2nd with at the Mt. Summit City Championship two weeks after the Indy Mini-Marathon.

As you can see, this list is pretty straightforward with virtually no tech cards included in it. While it would often be wise to tech for certain matchups that you may struggle with typically, this list provides us with a generic idea of what Night March / Vespiquen decks looked like on the first day of the Indiana mini-marathon. One thing you might notice is the reduced quantity of [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], which has been run in fours in Night March builds since their arrival one year ago. The reasoning here is that [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] becomes more of a situational attacker due to Vespiquen’s presence. However, Pumpkaboo can still come down and swing on the same turn, once again due to Bronzong’s ability to attach a Metal Energy from the discard pile to it in addition to you attaching a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] from your hand. With Hex Maniac able to deal with [card name=”Aegislash-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”65″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and Vespiquen trading Prize cards with [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] more favorably than [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] or Pumpkaboo, Night March has become an extremely well rounded deck with outs to almost anything in the meta.

Of course, there were other decks on the day one scene besides Night March. A buddy of mine made it to Top 8 with his [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”107″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] deck, which seemed like a pretty strong meta call given the abundance of both Night March and the big Pokemon-EX based decks that were running around. Another buddy of mine also finished in the Top 8 with a [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Lugia-EX deck, running a single copy of [card name=”Aegislash-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”65″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] in order to slow down any attackers reliant on Special Energy cards. For a more complete breakdown of the day one results, let’s have a look at the Top 8 standings from the event:

Top 8 – Castleton, IN (11/27/2015)

1. Alejandro Luna (Night March / Vespiquen / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])
2. Matt Alvis (Night March / Vespiquen / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])
T4 Kevin Baxter ([card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade)
T4 Dustin Zimmerman ([card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade)
T8 Trey Reese ([card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”107″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])
T8 Kyle Adams (Lugia-EX / Zoroark / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])
T8 Enrique Avila (Night March)
T8 Chris Hoag ([card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Regice / Cresselia)

Although the top eight participants from this tournament played a total of six different decks (if you consider Enrique’s Night March list different from Alejandro’s and Matt’s Night March / Vespiquen / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] lists), it does make one thing very obvious: this meta almost entirely revolved around one-Prize attackers. By using attackers such as [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], Zoroark, Gallade, [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], and Regice players were able to take KO’s quickly without having to worry about their opponent winning by KO’ing three Pokemon-EX. While one-Prize attackers almost always have less HP and can be less powerful or more combo reliant than their big-bodied brothers, being able to force a full six-Prize game can be very difficult for certain decks to deal with. As you can see, the tournament’s two most successful decks relied on Bronzong to continually accelerate Energy to a new Pokemon after the previous one had been KO’d by their opponent. This allows a player to steadily stream attacks and likely take KO’s each turn without skipping a beat. Being able to attack early and often is great, but the mid-to-late game consistency offered by Bronzong is ultimately what helped propel Night March to first and second place finishes in this event. Of course, both Alejandro and Matt are very good players, and they are both deserving of being finalists, so let’s not forget to credit them too for their efforts.

[cardimg name=”Bronzong” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY21″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]

Finally, let’s take a moment to notice the five decks on this list that weren’t Night March. Trey Reese played a [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] variant with Fighting-type attackers such as [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”107″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] instead of the traditional [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] lines that tend to accompany it, which led him directly into cut as well. This appeared to be an excellent meta call due to Raichu’s ability to trade off with one-Prize attackers consistently and the ability to use [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] to prevent both Lucario-EX and Hawlucha from being OHKO’d by Night March. We also saw Chris Hoag score a Top 8 finish with his [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Regice / Cresselia deck, making excellent use of a card that I hadn’t even considered to take out big Psychic-weak attackers like Lucario-EX and M Mewtwo-EX. This was an interesting route to take, given that his deck required three different types of Basic Energy. However, Smeargle was able to help out with that situation, effectively allowing Chris to manipulate his Energy on board and set up his attackers accordingly. I’m definitely a fan of creativity, and Cresselia proved to be both unique as a choice and also very effective for what it was meant to do in this deck.

Kyle Adams on the other hand played a different [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] based deck, focusing on Lugia-EX as the primary attacker while Zoroark served as an alternative attacker that only gave up a single Prize if it was KO’d. Zoroark also offers an Ability which is identical in every way except the title to that of [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”142″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. Throw the big bad Mind Jack attack on top of that and you’ve got yourself a heck of a Stage 1 there, folks!

Kyle wasn’t the only one to reach cut with Zoroark, though. Two names we’re all very familiar with, Kevin Baxter and Dustin Zimmerman each played their way into the tournament’s final four with a deck that also used Zoroark as an attacker, this time alongside [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], and Gallade (played with [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”158″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]). This deck intrigued me enough that when I got the chance to sit down with them just before top cut, I asked the two of them about this deck and how it worked in comparison to previous Yveltal-EX builds. After a few minutes of conversing on the subject, I headed with my roommates to our hotel for the night, where I built my own variant of [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade and playtested it against their decks. After its solid showing on day one and a bit of playtesting that night, I decided that this would be my deck for day two.

Day Two – Circle Circuit In the Circle City

[cardimg name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”custom”]Bats provide an excellent counter to Night March[/cardimg]

A new day meant a new tournament, the ability to play a different deck from the one I played the first day, and a clean slate to work toward becoming a City Champion. However, as I’ve learned over the years, Indianapolis is not the easiest place to play the Pokemon TCG. There are lots of highly competitive players in and around Indiana, and the Indy mini-marathon draws a pretty big crowd each year making it one of the more challenging series of tournaments I take part in annually. A new day also meant the possibility of a meta shift, as several players were bound to try and counter the Night March decks that had done so well the day before. Enter [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], sworn enemy of Night March players everywhere.

Crobat and his mid-stage evolution, [card name=”Golbat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”32″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], offer a way to inflict free damage when playing them from your hand to evolve your Golbat and [card name=”Zubat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”31″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. This can be a very effective strategy against Pokemon with low HP in particular, as the damage from Crobat and Golbat can often be enough to score KOs without even having to attack! It’s also worth pointing out that Crobat yields an attack that deals 30 damage to any one of your opponent’s Pokemon for just a single Colorless Energy. This makes it that much more difficult for an opponent to hide a Pokemon on his or her Bench as means of keeping it safe from your attacks.

Now Crobat can be run with a variety of different attackers from [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”107″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] to [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”113″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] or even [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] in an all Psychic-type deck. On this day, however, the favored attacker to pair with Crobat was none other than [card name=”Pikachu” set=”XY” no=”42″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]’s Thunder Stone-infused evolution, [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. For the cost of two Colorless Energy, Raichu’s Circle Circuit deals 20 damage for each of your Benched Pokemon. Since your Bench is bound to be full of Bats and [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], Raichu becomes an ideal choice as an attacker that can dish out heavy damage for a single Energy card while still only yielding one Prize card to your opponent when it gets Knocked Out. Throw [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] into the mix and you’ve got a potential 160 damage attack on hand (180 with [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]) and your Crobat lines are capable of dealing even more damage if the situation requires them. Finally, the use of Colorless Energy to perform Raichu’s Circle Circuit allowed a favorite from day one, [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] to resurface as an Energy accelerator for this deck as well. This proved to be a huge matchup problem for me, as I was running an [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]-based deck. Fortunately I was able to avoid this matchup after round one was over. However, this was mostly because I lost my first round to that very deck. Below is an example of a [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY21″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] decklist.

[decklist]

[pokemon amt=”24″]

4x [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Pikachu” set=”XY” no=”42″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

3x [card name=”Golbat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”32″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Zubat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”31″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x Bronzor (BKT #95)

2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

1x Jirachi (XYPR #67)

[/pokemon]

[trainers amt=”29″]

4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

1x Judge (BKT #143)

1x Hex Maniac (AOR #75)

1x AZ (PHF #91)

4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x Level Ball (AOR #76)

2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

1x [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

3x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

[/trainers]

[energy amt=”7″]

4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

3x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”XY” no=”139″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

[/energy]

[/decklist]

As you can see, this list allows you to bench a whole bunch of Pokemon by using [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] along with a plethora of [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and Level Ball to make sure you get what you need into play quickly, allowing you to evolve them sooner and deal heavy amounts of damage as soon as the second turn. [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] also provides a triple threat effect, allowing you to switch a Pokemon out of the Active slot, heal all damage from it, and re-use any Abilities that Pokemon might have when it comes into play (this applies for [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Golbat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”32″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] specifically). Because we run four copies of Super Scoop Up as well as a single copy of AZ, we shouldn’t be needing [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] in here like we did with Night March. The deck maintains a small amount of Pokemon recovery as well, including a single copy of [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] in order to retrieve any KO’d or otherwise discarded Pokemon you might want back later on in the game. This is a sound strategy overall, and although I’ve never had much success with [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] myself, it certainly found a bit of success on day two of the Indy mini-marathon this year.

Of course, not everybody who made cut was playing this deck. Here are the final standings from our top cut on day two

Top 8 – Greenwood, IN (11/28/2015)

1. Ryan Grant ([card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])
2. Dustin Zimmerman ([card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade)
T4 Ross Cawthon ([card name=”Gengar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”34″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Gallade)
T4 Alejandro Luna ([card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])
T8 Andrew Wamboldt (Tyrantrum-EX / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])
T8 Trey Reese ([card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”107″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])
T8 Caleb Gedemer ([card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])
T8 Kyle Kesniewicz ([card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])

[card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] became just about everyone’s darling one-Prize attacker on day two, showing up in five of the Top 8 decks. Four of those five Raichu decks included [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] as well, with the fifth deck being Trey Reese’s Raichu / [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”107″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] deck. This was Trey’s second time making cut in as many tries, which is pretty darn impressive when you consider how many high level players were competing in these three events. Once again, the meta seemed to revolve around one-Prize attackers (mainly Raichu in this case) and proved to be too dangerous for excessive amounts of Pokemon-EX to see play. However, this time Crobat was there to keep Night March in check and ultimately pave the way for Raichu to dominate the playing field throughout the course of the tournament.

[cardimg name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] also continued to be the favored method of Energy acceleration, appearing in three of the five aforementioned Raichu / Crobat decks as well as Andrew Wamboldt’s Tyrantrum-EX deck – something I didn’t think would survive the loss of [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”142″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] in Standard. I was clearly wrong in my assumption, as Andrew made the case for Tyrantrum-EX by taking it all the way to a Top 8 finish on the day, despite the tournament being full of one-Prize attackers capable of dealing enough damage to OHKO a big Pokemon-EX and force an unfavorable Prize trade for the prehistoric dragon.

Another newcomer to the Indy mini-marathon top cut tables was a [card name=”Gengar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”34″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] deck piloted by former World Champion Ross Cawthon. The concept here was for Gengar-EX to use its Dark Corridor attack to deal 60 damage (Without a [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]) while inflicting Poison on Ross’ opponent’s Active Pokemon before jumping back to the Bench for safety. Who comes out in Gengar-EX’s absence, you ask? Enter Trevenant: the Ghostly Tree whose Ability forbids its opponent from playing any Item cards while it remains the Active Pokemon. While Item lock today isn’t anywhere near as deadly it was when [card name=”Gothitelle” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”47″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Accelgor / [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”63″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] was in its prime, Trevenant can still prove to be extremely irritating if one relies too much on Item cards and cannot find a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] or Hex Maniac in time. On the next turn, Ross could simply retreat his Active Trevenant via [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and repeat the process all over until his opponent runs out of resources or he draws all six Prize cards.

Finally, I must note Dustin Zimmerman’s second place finish, once again with his [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade deck. While I had played my own version of this deck on the same day, my tournament run hadn’t been nearly as successful as Dustin’s (my final record on day two was 3-3). I watched one of Dustin’s games and compared how he played the deck to the way I had been playing it, which allowed me to understand a bit more about when to be aggressive and when to play it closer to the vest. I also got to talk to Kevin Baxter about the deck a bit more, as he was willing to compare his list with mine and discuss the differences and options going forward. Needless to say, after watching another day of craziness in the meta, I had a lot of thinking to do in order to pick a deck for Sunday’s tournament in downtown Indianapolis.

[premium]

Day Three – Shot In the Darkness

[cardimg name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”custom”]Pronounced EVIL-tall[/cardimg]

Normally I would advise anyone to try and have their deck ready a day or two before an event, but due to the hectic nature of three consecutive tournaments as well as the ever-shifting meta from day to day, it took me until just minutes before the start of Sunday’s event to finally choose which deck to play. I was debating between an updated version of the previous day’s [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade list, a Vespiquen / Flareon variant inspired by fellow PokeBeach writer JW Kriewall, or a tanky [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] deck that I’d been toying with recently. I ultimately decided to go with Yveltal / Zoroark / Gallade since I had such little experience with the other two lists, especially in a competitive tournament setting. While I’d only played one City Championship with the deck I’d picked, I felt it gave me the best chance to make cut after watching Dustin play his version of the deck all the way to the finals on the previous day. I also didn’t expect [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] to have the massive showing it had on day two after seeing the Night March decks virtually disappear into thin air just one day after they dominated the scene. That said, I had no idea what to expect, meaning this was basically a shot in the dark. How would it fare against another undetermined meta? Would Night March decks make a return? Which one-Prize attacker would steal the day this time around?

The answer to that last question might surprise some of you. To be completely honest, there were no totally dominant one-Prize attackers throughout the event – Zoroark was probably the closest – and there were a lot of Pokemon-EX and Mega Evolution Pokemon being played on day three. Among these were [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], M Sceptile-EX, Colorless [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], Dragon [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”106″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] – all of which contended at or near the top tables at some point during the event. However, I was not the only one running [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade either, as several of the guys from Team Hovercats opted for this same play throughout most of the weekend with Sunday being no exception.

While [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] might seem like a questionable call against both of the previous day’s winning decks (Night March / Vespiquen and [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]) as well as what turned out to be a tournament full of beefy Mega Evolutions, the support offered by Zoroark and the Gallade / [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”158″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] combo offers Yveltal decks with enough of a boost to overcome these otherwise difficult matchups. To help explain the deck a bit more, here is my Yveltal / Zoroark / Gallade list from day three.

Yveltal / Zoroark / Gallade

[decklist]

[pokemon amt=”16″]

3x [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x Zoroark (BKT #91)

2x Zorua (BKT #90)

2x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x Gallade (BKT #84)

3x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

[/pokemon]

[trainers amt=”33″]

2x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”158″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

1x Judge (BKT #143)

1x Hex Maniac (AOR #75)

1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”117″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

3x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

3x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

[/trainers]

[energy amt=”11″]

7x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”XY” no=”138″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name” c=”deck2″][/card]

[/energy]

[/decklist]

My list differed from the day before in that I’d added a second [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], two copies of [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], a third [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], a second [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], a third [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], and a seventh Darkness Energy in exchange for an Yveltal BKT, the lone copy of Zoroark BREAK, two copies of Unown, a [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], a copy of Faded Town, and the fourth [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. Looking back, I’d likely swap the two Seismitoad-EX back out in exchange for a Jirachi as well as either a Super Rod or maybe a [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”119″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] to deal with Pokemon Tools and Special Energy (I’m looking at you two, [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and Flash Energy).

The basic concept here is similar to any [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] deck by having the regular Yveltal use Oblivion Wing to lay down early damage while powering up an Yveltal-EX to clean up for a handful of Prize cards. Yveltal-EX offers two deadly attacks: for one Darkness and one Colorless Energy, Evil Ball deals 20 damage plus 20 more damage for each Energy attached to both itself and your opponent’s Active Pokemon. This attack alone has a lot of OHKO potential. Then you have Y Cyclone for one Darkness and two Colorless Energy, which deals 90 damage and moves one Energy card attached to your active Yveltal-EX to one of your benched Pokemon, allowing you to conserve your Energy while still dealing enough damage to two-shot every non-Mega Evolution this side of [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”147″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. Heck, even the smaller Yveltal has a second attack to boot, dealing 100 damage for two Darkness and one Colorless Energy. You probably won’t use this attack much, but I’d be lying if I said I’ve never used it before. However, Yveltal and Yveltal-EX aren’t your only attackers in this deck.

Zoroark

Zoroark offers a cheap, powerful alternative attack in Mind Jack, which deals 10 damage plus an additional 30 damage for each of your opponent’s benched Pokemon. Keep in mind however that if your opponent knows Zoroark is coming, he or she may not bench very many Pokemon. This can also play to your advantage though by making your opponent more hesitant to play excess copies of [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] in order to draw extra cards, or potentially make him or her think twice about loading up the board with attackers. If your opponent does completely fill his or her Bench, you can toss a [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] onto Zoroark and wail away for a whopping 180 damage at the cost of a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]! As if that weren’t enough, Zoroark also offers great utility with its Stand In Ability – carrying with it the exact same effect as [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”142″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]’s Rush In Ability has for the last three years. Hand off a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] to Zoroark and you have an instant switching effect every turn and can freely channel the memories of a Floating Keldeo! Besides, who wouldn’t want to have the option of a free switching effect every turn? While having to evolve from Zorua can make this guy a little tougher to get into play than Keldeo-EX was and also while his 100 HP doesn’t quite match the legendary Colt Pokemon’s 170 HP, the splashable attack he brings to the table alongside his Ability and one-Prize status makes him more than worth the trouble.

Gallade / Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick

[cardimg name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”158″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]

While Yveltal and Yveltal-EX offer the core of the deck’s attackers and Zoroark offers the backup attack as well as its switching ability, Gallade covers the final piece of the puzzle – the deck’s massive weakness to Lightning type attackers ([card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] in particular). Now you could go the old-fashioned route and play Ralts and either Kirlia or [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”135″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] to bring Gallade into play, we can simply take advantage of Gallade’s Fighting type through the use of [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”158″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], which is something we’ve all learned how to do with decks like Archie’s [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Archeops, and Night March / [card name=”Empoleon” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”29″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. Building this deck with two copies of both Gallade and Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick also requires an Item-based engine that can burn through the cards in your hand in order to play Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick within the first couple of turns. Gallade then turns around and offers us a great Ability in Premonition, which allows you to look at the top five cards of your deck and rearrange them in any order you like. This is excellent in combination with cards like [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], and Unown, allowing you to effectively manipulate which cards you draw and discard off of those cards as well as on your following turn. This is a pretty awesome Ability to have with the combinations available to us, but what if I told you Gallade’s attack was even better? That’s right folks – Gallade’s attack is a monster. For two Colorless Energy (or a Double Colorless Energy for most of us), Gallade deals 60 damage. What’s so special about that, you ask? Well, if you’ve played a Supporter card during the same turn, the damage is increased by an additional 70, making it deal a total of 130 damage! The generously gifted Fighting type offered by Gallade allows it to deal a whopping 260 damage to anything that has a Weakness to Fighting (once again I’m looking at you, [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]), effectively dealing with many of Yveltal’s biggest threats in a single attack. You probably won’t manage to get out Gallade every single game, but you also won’t need him in every game. When you do need him, it’s more than likely that he’ll be there to help you out – especially against those blasted Lightning types that seem to feast on Yveltal so much.

Anyway, after looking at Yveltal’s two newest teammates in Zoroark and Gallade, let’s continue and take a look at my personal experience on day three with this beast of a deck.

Round One (0-0) vs Gengar-EX / Wobbuffet

When my first-round opponent drew a mulligan and revealed a [card name=”Mystery Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”112″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] in his hand, I figured I was going up against a [card name=”Gengar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”34″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], so I was rather surprised when my opponent revealed a [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] as his starting Active Pokemon. I had also seen a [card name=”Gengar Spirit Link” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”95″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] in his hand, so I knew he was running Gengar-EX and also at least one copy of [card name=”M Gengar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”35″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], which had me intrigued at the very least. This match started out slow with [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] laying down 30 damage per turn with Oblivion Wing while charging up an [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and an additional regular Yveltal while setting up a Zoroark on the Bench. I also managed to pull off a first turn [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”158″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] play for Gallade, allowing me to take advantage of the Premonition Ability once I’d dealt with the Wobbuffet that were shutting down my Abilities early on in the game. I was able to pull away and win this game once [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] had enough Energy and I’d drawn the necessary [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] to make an OHKO play on his Benched Gengar-EX. It was smooth sailing from them on out, as I was able to open the day with a victory.

Round Two (1-0) vs M Rayquaza-EX / Reshiram

This match opened up with my [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] active against his [card name=”Reshiram” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”63″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. Fortunately my opponent had no benched Pokemon to charge up with Reshiram’s Turboblaze Ability on the second turn, allowing me to deal 100 damage with an Evil Ball. My opponent was then able to play into a Hoopa-EX that would pull [card name=”Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”60″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Hydreigon-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”62″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] before attaching a Fire Energy to [card name=”Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”60″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] via Reshiram’s Turboblaze as well as a [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Rayquaza Spirit Link” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”87″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], effectively setting himself up for a 300 damage attack with [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”61″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] on the following turn. Fortunately, I was able to draw into a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] off of Shaymin-EX’s Set Up Ability in order to OHKO his Benched Rayquaza-EX before he could evolve it into M Rayquaza-EX and lay down a catastrophic 300 damage on my Yveltal-EX. He scooped the match shortly after, with little Energy and no Rayquaza-EX to evolve. This brought my record on the day up to 2-0.

Round Three (2-0) vs M Gardevoir-EX / Aromatisse

Those who know me personally at these tournaments may be aware that I have this little deal called the Round Three Curse – implying that while I have opened up many events with a 2-0 record, I rarely end up making it to 3-0. This time around, my obstacle for round three was a Fairy deck based around [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”106″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], which is yet another deck I hadn’t expected to see in the event. This matchup was difficult to judge due to the fact that my opponent had a rather lengthy Energy drought to open the game. This allowed me to charge up my attackers quickly, and it only helped me that my opponent benched five Pokemon to bring up the power of Zoroark‘s Mind Jack to 160 damage (after [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and due to Fairy type Pokemon having a Resistance to Darkness types). Fortunately for me, I had taken enough control of the board by the time he was able to draw his Energy cards, allowing me to cruise to a victory and ultimately break my round three curse for the day.

Round Four (3-0) vs M Sceptile-EX / Ariados

My round four opponent was running yet another Mega Evolution deck which I hadn’t been expecting to see – M Sceptile-EX. I knew this would be tricky since M Sceptile-EX has 220 HP and the capability to heal itself if you manage to set up two of them. Throw in the fact that Forest of Giant Plants allows Sceptile-EX to evolve immediately after it comes into play while my opponent was also running a bunch of [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], and this became a very difficult matchup if I couldn’t claim an OHKO with [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. Fortunately for me, I was able to pick off a couple [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] from my opponent’s Bench via [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], meaning I needed only to take out one Sceptile-EX or M Sceptile-EX to win the game. After a very close match however, I was able to build up enough Energy onto a Benched Yveltal-EX to take the final KO and win the game. This was made possible largely due to the fact that M Sceptile-EX was unable to deal enough damage to score an OHKO on any of my Pokemon except for Zoroark or [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. Still, M Sceptile-EX proved to be a strong deck choice overall, with great matchups against a large portion of the meta.

I proceeded to ID (intentional draw) with my final two opponents in Swiss, bringing me to a record of 4-0-2 and earning me a place in Top 8 for the day.

Top 8 Match vs Yveltal / Zoroark / Gallade

My first match in top cut was a mirror match, which was something I hadn’t yet played with this particular deck. However, after opening up with a [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”158″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] play for Gallade on my first turn, I felt very comfortable in this matchup and was able to control the board throughout by using [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]’s Oblivion Wing to lay down early damage while charging up my benched [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], which would ultimately go the distance for me in this matchup. Something else worth noting here was the importance of Gallade’s attack which deals 60 damage plus 70 more damage if you’ve played a Supporter that turn. Those numbers add up perfectly in order to cherry-pick an opponent’s [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] via [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], as Shaymin-EX’s Fighting-type Resistance reduces Gallade’s damage output only to 110, which is exactly enough to OHKO it for an easy two Prize cards. Thus, Shaymin-EX became a dangerous play in this matchup, as Gallade could take it out with virtually no trouble. As with the Vespiquen, Night March, and [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] matchups, you’re usually going to want to limit the number of Pokemon-EX you put into play in the mirror match since the Prize trade is so crucial. That said, Yveltal-EX is the difference maker in this match due to its ability to take control of the match while also denying your opponent an OHKO by using Y Cyclone to move its Energy to one of your Benched Pokemon for later use. After consistently playing through game one and recovering from a slow start in game two, I was able to take this match and advance to top four.

Top 4 Match vs M Manectric-EX / Articuno

[cardimg name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]

I was up against [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] in the semi-finals, so I knew I needed Gallade to come up big in order for me to win. Unfortunately I was unable to bring a Gallade into play during the first game, making it nearly impossible to take down the two M Manectric-EX that my opponent had evolved and started attacking with. There wasn’t much else to game one, as I continued to try and set up [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”158″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] until I was too low on cards and would’ve decked out had I played it. Oh well, onto game two – and unlike the first game, I was able to score a first turn Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick for a Gallade, which KO’d an M Manectric-EX on the second turn via [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and another M Manectric-EX the following turn thanks to a [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] for the aforementioned Lysandre. My opponent scooped to game three at that point, opting to go first and play the final game with plenty of time to spare. Game three saw me open up with [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and use Quaking Punch for the first few turns to prevent my opponent from playing cards like [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Manectric Spirit Link” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”100″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], although the damage dealt by my attacks was quickly washed away by [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. I was able to tank with my two Seismitoad-EX for a bit thanks to their compatibility with Rough Seas as well, but by the time I managed to bring out a Gallade, my opponent had not only set up his M Manectric-EX but had also attached a Flash Energy to it, thus eliminating its Weakness to Fighting and preventing Gallade from scoring an OHKO. From there, he didn’t bench another Manectric-EX without immediately attaching a Flash Energy, which was a huge problem for me since I had no way of discarding the Flash Energy unless I scored a KO. Needless to say, my attacks weren’t powerful enough in the end, and a pair of Flash Energy-protected M Manectric-EXs ultimately did me in.

Here are the final top cut standings from day three.

Top 8 Standings – Indianapolis, IN (11/29/2015)

1. Kevin Baxter ([card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade)
2. Ryan Aquilino ([card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])
T4 Steve Guthrie ([card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade)
T4 Dustin Zimmerman ([card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade)
T8 Andrew Ramey ([card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade)
T8 Adam Wilson (M Sceptile-EX)
T8 Shawn McKinney ([card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”106″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Aromatisse” set=”XY” no=”93″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card])
T8 Aaron Tarbell ([card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade)

You might notice that there were a whopping five Yveltal / Zoroark / Gallade decks which made cut – which ultimately answers the question about which deck would rule day three. Although I definitely wanted to win, it was very fitting that Kevin Baxter won on a day when the deck he created ended up taking over half the top eight by itself. He had also given me insight into how he played the deck and had shown me his original list the day before, allowing me to test it out and make changes based on my personal playstyle as well as the element of surprise. That said, there was definitely some room for improvement.

The first thing I needed to address was the reason I lost in top four – simply put, I had no counter to Flash Energy or the Lightning Weakness that both [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] carry with them. The second thing here is maintaining a Zoroark on board if possible, which became a problem at times due to me having to discard Zoroark early with [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] or if my Zorua were KO’d before they could evolve. Another issue was the danger of playing down [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] – a card which is vitally important in Standard in a meta full of one-Prize attackers. Finally, a Stadium card would’ve helped out against opposing Stadiums like [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], and Parallel City. We have a few different options here, so let’s take a look at them and see what’s available.

Enhanced Hammer / Xerosic / Jirachi

[cardimg name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”119″ align=”right” height=”250″ c=”none”][/cardimg]

We need a way to discard Special Energy cards from the opponent’s Pokemon (Flash Energy in particular) so one of these cards will hopefully get the job done. While the initial appeal of [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] was bright, largely due to it being an Item card, the inability to re-use it once it gets used / discarded means you’d likely have to run at least two copies to make it effective. Also keep in mind that Enhanced Hammer can become a dead card very easily, which is especially frustrating when you’re trying to set up [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”158″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. Our second option is [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”119″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], a Supporter which allows us to discard a Special Energy Card or Pokemon Tool attached to any Pokemon in play – yours or your opponent’s. This has been relevant in the past due to cards like [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], but probably isn’t as big of a deal in the current meta. Still, Xerosic offers a re-usable form of Special Energy removal (thanks to [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]) that can also deal with Pokemon Tools as an added bonus. The obvious downside is that Xerosic takes up your Supporter card for the turn, meaning no [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] that turn. It can also get in the way of a Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick play in the same manner as Enhanced Hammer, mainly due to it being a Supporter. On a more positive note, however, it does increase Gallade’s attack damage up to 130 for the turn by being a Supporter, meaning you can then OHKO an [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] if it’s already your opponent’s Active Pokemon. The final option here is Jirachi, whose first attack deals 10 damage and also discards a Special Energy card attached to your opponent’s Active Pokemon. The fun doesn’t end there though: if Jirachi does discard an Energy card this way, prevent all effects of attacks, including damage, done to it during your opponent’s next turn! While this card has already seen quite a bit of play in order to counter strategies like Giratina-EX, [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], and even Vespiquen / Night March, it would be silly not to consider Jirachi for this role. As another added bonus, Jirachi won’t get in the way of Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick, as you can simply put it on the Bench to get it out of your hand. Overall, I’d pick Jirachi out of this bunch, with Xerosic coming in at a close second.

Super Rod

Another issue I dealt with while playing through days two and three was the inconvenience of having to discard Zoroark or having my Zorua fall victim to my opponents’ [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]s. This made setting up Zoroark nearly impossible in a handful of games, which meant I wouldn’t be able to switch out freely in the mid-to-late game. It also meant that I’d lost access to a powerful one-Prize attacker, which meant [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and Gallade had to do more of the heavy lifting. While it isn’t impossible to win without Zoroark, it’s clearly better to have him in play, mainly due to his Stand In Ability and its synergy with [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. For this purpose, I’ve decided to add a Super Rod, which allows us to choose up to three Pokemon and / or Basic Energy cards from our discard pile and shuffle them back into the deck. This can retrieve any of our KO’d / discarded Pokemon as well as any excess Darkness Energy that we might need late game (assuming we aren’t just using Oblivion Wing).

Shadow Circle / Parallel City

Finally, I’d like to add in a Stadium card to help get rid of certain opposing Stadium cards. [card name=”Shadow Circle” set=”XY” no=”126″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] offers protection from Weakness for any Pokemon with a Darkness Energy attached to it, meaning [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] won’t be hitting us for OHKOs out of nowhere (okay, Joltik probably will, but we can just Oblivion Wing the lightning bug right out of play). The main problem here is that [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”113″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] decks, regardless of whether or not they Mega evolve, tend to run at least three copies of their chosen Stadium card. Whether that card is [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], or something else doesn’t matter – as they all take out the effect of Shadow Circle when played. The other option here is Parallel City, which you can use to Bench lock yourself down to three Pokemon (yes, you read that correctly) in order to remove used copies of [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] from your side of the board, effectively denying your opponent some easy Prize cards if he or she has a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] available. Parallel City can also be somewhat beneficial against Vespiquen, reducing its damage output by 20. While that might not help to save a Zoroark or a regular [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card], it could very easily be the difference between an OHKO and a 2HKO on an [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card]. The first aspect I mentioned of this card makes it worth playing to begin with, not to mention the damage reduction against Grass, Fire, and Water types as well as the simply ability to take your opponent’s Stadium card out of play. Overall, Parallel City feels like the safer bet here.

The Revised List

Finally, we are ready to look at a revised list for [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name” c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark / Gallade – post Indiana marathon and looking forward to the rest of Cities. The ideas listed directly above have been put into action, and the result is the following list: