The Resistance! An Analysis on Regice and Hippowdon

By: Luis Felipe López Mora · Posted Posted onFeb 2, 2016 at 9:30 PM · 0 Comments

Oh, it’s so good to be back! After Chemistry School beat me up until I was in the floor I was finally able to get back into a more consistent activity in my community, and sure a lot of stuff happened since I wrote my last article for PokéBeach! Sadly enough for me, my Gallade-EX / Bats deck isn’t what it used to be a couple set releases ago, specially with all the Mewtwo running free and rampant through the field; and even though a Gallade-EX-based deck got a Top 8 in the past City Championships, it flat out loses to a lot of stuff right now. With that in mind, it was time for me to go back into the drawing board, and a very specific mechanic drew me in: “Resistance ______” attacks.

 

Resisting Common Counters

In the current format, the Resistance attacks are the closest we have to what Safeguard was last year (or Expanded); although slightly better! Safeguard was very strong in the previous format because it was rather easy to slap down a [card name=”Suicune” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Sigilyph” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] and give decks like [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]  a full stop forcing them to shape their strategy around those, giving some time to build up a response. However, it was easily countered by [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]  and [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card], so more often than not, those Pokémon didn’t last long enough. And in the current Expanded you can even use a [card name=”Tyrantrum-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY70″ c=”name”][/card] , [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] to easily go around those! But Resistance attacks have a nice little touch that turns out to be bigger than you’d think: their EX immunity is granted through an attack, rendering things like Silent Lab and Garbodor completely useless against them! The aforementioned Tyrantrum and Mewtwo, in addition to [card name=”Hydreigon-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card], are the only viable options to take out the heavy beasts stopping them; or a perfect [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] + [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] combo I’ve seen a couple times already. And talking about Lysandre and Escape Rope, those happen to be a nuisance to Resistance decks. Since Resistance takes place as an attack, your benched [card name=”Regice” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hippowdon” set=”Primal Clash” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] are always at risk of being Lysandre’d for the KO, which can often be a risk worth taking since that’s another alternate attacker your opponent isn’t going for.

Now that we’ve covered some of the pros and cons of the Resistance attacks, it’s time to look at the two variants of them. Both with their respective pros and cons!

Regice vs Hippowdon

Regice:

[cardimg name=”Regice” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”24″ align=”right” c=”custom”]”All in all it’s just…[/cardimg]

Pros

  • Basic Pokemon, so it’s easier to get out and also boosted by [card name=”Empoleon” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card].
  • Damage + Paralysis flip as a back-up attack.
  • Water-type, so is easily splashable into [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] decks.
  • A [W][C][C] attack cost, compatible with DCE and acceleration from other types, like [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] , [card name=”Xerneas” set=”XY” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card]… Even [card name=”Volcarona” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card]!
  • Easily searchable by [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Flashfire” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] , [card name=”Dive Ball” set=”Primal Clash” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Heavy Ball” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card].
  • If not OHKO’d, it can be healed with [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card].

Cons

  • 120 HP is relatively frail, considering a lot of Pokemon can hit for 100.
  • A 3 Retreat Cost of [C][C][C], which makes retreating a huge risk by losing that much resources.
  • Deals 70 damage. Can 3HKO Mega Evolutions at best, even with a [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card].
  • With a Metal Weakness and reliance on DCE to attack fast, it can get easily screwed by [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67″ c=”name”][/card].

Hippowdon:

[cardimg name=”Hippowdon” set=”Primal Clash” no=”88″ align=”right” c=”custom”]…Another Brick in the Wall![/cardimg]

Pros

  • While the base damage is the same as Regice, it can be boosted easily with [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Furious Fists” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Fighting Stadium” set=”Furious Fists” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] and Muscle Band, allowing it to 2HKO basically all EXs and even some Mega Evolution.
  • Can be accelerated by [card name=”Landorus” set=”Furious Fists” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] and DCE.
  • Can be searched with [card name=”Korrina” set=”Furious Fists” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], Ultra Ball, Heavy Ball and, being an evolution, [card name=”Evosoda” set=”XY” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Wally” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card]; whereas Hippopotas can be searched by the Korrina, Ultra Ball, Heavy Ball and [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card].
  • Being a Stage 1, can be boosted by the Eeveelutions, specially [card name=”Jolteon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] to deal with the Flying-type Pokemon’s Fighting Resistance.
  • A bulky 130 HP, and a good 90 HP on Hippopotas, meaning it often can’t be taken out before it evolves.
  • A Grass Weakness that it’s basically never relevant, since the most efficient non-EX Grass-type attacker is [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card], and it can OHKO an Hippowdon with ease regardless of it.

Cons

  • It’s an evolution, which means it can be slower to set up and even taken out before it reaches Hippowdon.
  • An absurd [C][C][C][C] Retreat Cost, which makes it almost impossible to retreat.
  • Gaining the Fighting support means it’s often not paired with another types since Energy management can be tricky.
  • Its second attack is lackluster at most, working only as a finisher.
  • Contrary to Regice, it needs a secondary attacker to deal damage while setting up Hippos or after one gets KO’d.
After this listing, we can see the most versatile, consistent option would be Regice, while Hippowdon gets a more aggressive and straightforward role. So with this in mind, we can take a look at some lists that take advantage of both of them.

Mega Manectric / Regice

[decklist name=”Standard Mega Manectric / Regice” amt=”54″ caption=”Open slots: 6″ cname=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″][pokemon amt=”12″]3x [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Regice” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”24″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3 x [card name=”Professor Birch’s Observations” set=”Primal Clash” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3 “][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Flashfire” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Manectric Spirit Link” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]5x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”XY” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card]5x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”XY” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card]3x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

[cardimg name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Turbo Regice is good.[/cardimg]This is one of the most common ways to pair Regice with. Mega Manectric’s Turbo Bolt allows you to charge a Regice in no time while also dealing damage,  and with a variety of other attackers you can deal with many threats upon you. [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] is a very good neutral attacker and can give you a hand against [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card]-based decks, while also having the OHKO potential on most Basic EXs with Deep Hurricane. You have many ways out from many situations, but of course one of the deck’s main attackers is Regice, which can outright stop a lot of decks while you can set up other attackers; and the free spots can be used for a variety of purposes.

Good Additions

Articuno (ROS 17)

[card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] can be a great tool against most non-EX decks, such as Night March, Vespiquen and [card name=”Entei” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”15″ c=”name”][/card]. In most cases, you’ll be OHKO’ing [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card], Combee and Entei with a Muscle Band and a single heads out of Tri Edge, turning the prize trade into your favor! With Manectric there to help with its awful Energy cost, you can power it up in a single turn with Turbo Bolt and an attachment from the hand. And to top it off, it has a rather interesting first attack in Chilling Sigh. You won’t use it that often, but when you do it’s a guaranteed Sleep and a 50% chance your opponent’s Active Pokemon stays that way, so sometimes it’s worth the shot.

Raikou

[card name=”Raikou” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]  can be a good player against [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] and Rayquaza-EX decks. You might ask: “Man, I already have a type advantage, it should be easy”. Well, it could be, if you play your cards right. But those types of decks either set up at Mach 1.3 (in the case of Rayquaza) or have secondary attackers that can either deal with your Manectric or just deal a ton of damage our of the blue (like [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] for Yveltal decks). There’s where Raikou comes in! Being a 120 HP Basic with a damage-reducing Ability, it will sometimes endure an attack from your opponent, and its attack lets you hit for 90 with a Muscle Band and a single Lightning Energy; so attaching a DCE is still a good call and a good way to attack right away, getting a KO on the Lightning-weak birds and dragons and forcing your opponent to either Lysandre something out to try and even the prize exchange, but leave the Raikou ready to KO again, or, to take a single prize off a Raikou, leaving you with the advantage most of the cases. With that said, Raikou won’t be the BCIF and will magically win you those match ups, but having the prize trade in your favor is always good.

[cardimg name=”Smeargle” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”123″ align=”left” c=”custom”]Hey, I can help too..! I think…[/cardimg] Smeargle

[card name=”Smeargle” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] is a recent addition to the deck’s array of possibilities. Having 2 different types of basic Energy can make meeting an specific Energy out tricky. With Smeargle you can get that Energy you need as long as you have that other Energy on the discard pile, which can be rather easy with [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and Ultra Ball. It’s a nice tech that can help you out a couple times.

Hex Maniac

[card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] can be weird to deal with, either limiting the use of most of your resources or simply blocking the damage from your main attacker. [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] can help you get a free turn of Items, allow you to hit opposing Giratina-EX or, as I found out recently, to stop a lot of Night March, Vespiquen and Rayquaza-EX decks! If you get a Hex Maniac on your first turn you can stop all [card name=”Unown” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”30″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] that your opponent might use to set up, giving you a turn of advantage in most cases against them.

Crushing Hammer / Enhanced Hammer / Xerosic

You can also take the disruption through a different direction and add a couple of hammers and [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card]  to wipe your opponent’s Energy away. I’ve seen that a single [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] and a Xerosic can make wonders and not clunk your deck while also giving you a way out of Team Flare Hyper Gear or to change your own Tools, but two [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Kalos Starter Set” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] is also a valid way to go.

Head Ringer

Or, you can make them pay more Energy to attack in the first place! [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] can not only slow down certain Pokemon and force them to pay more to attack, but also slows down immensely Mega Evolution decks, forcing them to either have a Xerosic of their own or to waste a turn to evolve, which is actually quite nice and can give you a good advantage.

Primal Kyogre / Regice

 

[decklist name=”Primal Kyogre / Regice” amt=”56″ caption=”Open Slots: 4″ cname=”Primal Kyogre-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”55″][pokemon amt=”13″]3x [card name=”Kyogre-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”54″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Primal Kyogre-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”55″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Regice” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”24″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor Birch’s Observations” set=”Primal Clash” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Dive Ball” set=”Primal Clash” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Kyogre Spirit Link” set=”Primal Clash” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor’s Letter” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]10x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”XY” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]2x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Primal Kyogre-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”55″ align=”left” c=”custom”]Wanna swim?[/cardimg]This is a list I’ve been working on for a few weeks and haven’t seen that much. Is the basic Primal Kyogre list with the addition of Regice. Similar to a Suicune variant that saw play last format, your main attacker is Primal Kyogre and you have Regice as secondary attacker, and accelerating Energy with Alpha Growth is marvelous, specially since you can Growth a DCE into a Kyogre in order to move it with a basic Water and have a Regice charged up in that turn. This deck has a huge raw power, but gets wrecked by decks like Vespiquen and the rarely seen [card name=”Sceptile-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card]. Either way, if this deck isn’t enough right now, it’ll gain a lot from the BW-BKP Expanded, being able to use Dual Splash Kyogre-EX to help in the Night March match up and Manaphy-EX to give the deck an amazing movility. It’s definitely a force to be reckoned with. Who knows? It might get some results in the future. Let’s see what can we add in those 4 free spots:

Good Additions:

Articuno (ROS 17)

Here Articuno can shine even brighter than on the Manectric variant because it’s far easier to set up. I’d definitely run at least one of them or even 2, since it’s too good to do otherwise.

Shrine of Memories

There’ll be times when you’d like to have some Energy back into your hand to distribute them differently and also deal some damage, so with [card name=”Shrine of Memories” set=”Primal Clash” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] you can do just that! By using Shrine of Memories you can use [card name=”Kyogre-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card]’s Giant Whirlpool, dealing a decent 140 damage and returning 2 Water Energy into your hand! It’s a nice back-up strategy that can prove useful in some situations.

Hoopa-EX

[card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card]  is not in the skeleton list because people often like to stray from using it, since it can be an easy Lysandre bait and can leave you stumped for a while, but if you’d like to add it just Tidal Storm the Energy into it as soon as you can and you shouldn’t have any issue.

Mega Turbo

Given how easy can it be to accelerate Energy into a Kyogre you’ll rarely want more. However, adding a [card name=”Mega Turbo” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]  or two can balance out your Energy attachments. You’ll often attach an Energy into a Kyogre in your first turn, and if you manage to Mega Evolve by T2 you’ll end up with three Energy on your Kyogre, still not being able to attack; and if you wait another turn to attach that’s a Growth you’re wasting. Mega Turbo can work wonders more often than not.

Thicker Trainer lines

Another way to finish up the list would be to thicken up your Switch, Ultra Ball or Dive Ball counts, or any other cards for that matter. Sometimes consistency can be a make or break deal, so there’s rarely “enough consistency”.

Lucario / Hippowdon

[decklist name=”Hippowdon / Lucario” amt=”54″ caption=”Open slots: 6″ cname=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”54″][pokemon amt=”12″]3x [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”54″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Hippopotas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”87″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Hippowdon” set=”Primal Clash” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor Birch’s Observations” set=”Primal Clash” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Korrina” set=”Furious Fists” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Flashfire” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch” set=”Kalos Starter Set” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Fighting Stadium” set=”Furious Fists” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]4x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”XY” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Furious Fists” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”54″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Sorry, did I hurt you?[/cardimg]This deck is meant to be both a powerhouse and a wall. Lucario is there as a good starter and can give you an edge against Night March decks. Hippowdon is a bit slow to set up, but can be hitting as early as T2 with Double Colorless Energy. [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]  it’s a key card when faced against most speed decks in order to take a KO when they don’t, making them waste resources and attackers to not take a prize off of that attack. Now, into the additions!

Good Additions

Mr. Mime

[card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] can be placed in a lot of decks for the sake of just putting it in there. I mean, avoiding snipe damage is almost always good! However, it serves a more key role in this deck. By avoiding snipe damage, you can prevent [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Noivern” set=”Furious Fists” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] or basically any sniper from hitting your benched Pokemon to prevent Focus Sash from working. If they can’t hurt them when on the Bench, you can be sure your Sash will work unless they take it away with a Megaphone.

Enhanced Hammer / Crushing Hammer / Xerosic / Team Flare Grunt

And disruption reaches our eyes again! In this kind of decks, you’ll usually want to slow down your opponent in order for you to set up before them, so taking out their Energy can be the most efficient way of doing so.

Escape Rope / Another Switch

With a Pokémon that has a 4 Retreat Cost, having outs for switching apart from retreating in essential, so adding another switching card wouldn’t hurt at all. I’d personally add a [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] just to give some variety to the deck, but another Switch is fine.

Seismitoad-EX

[card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] can be another good starter Pokemon apart from Lucario, and can stop decks like Night March at least long enough for you to get something else out. It can be more helpful than you think!

Pokémon Center Lady

Having a healing card on a Focus Sash deck can be a really good asset, specially since Hawlucha has only 70 HP. If something tried to KO it and you have another Sash in hand, you can use [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Flashfire” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], re-attach the Sash and presto! You’ve just given the brawler bird yet another life! And even outside from that, it can mess up the math of decks that rely on 2HKOs and also go over Paralysis, Sleep or whatever that can prevent you from attacking.

Jolteon

Adding [card name=”Jolteon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]  was a decision I made as a meta call to deal with the Yveltal-EX and Rayquaza-EX decks. With Jolteon, you can turn the struggle that taking out a M-Rayquaza could have been into a potential OHKO. As I said, it’s mostly a meta call, but it can turn out to be useful!

Conclusion

Decks with Hippowdon and Regice are definitely something to watch out for. If you go too heavy on EXs you might want to take some time and consider if there’s a chance of either of them showing up in the tournament in order to avoid an unpleasant surprise, or at least make sure you have a way out. Better safe than sorry, right?

So this wraps up my first article in a long, long time! I hope that you guys enjoyed it! If you have any questions, input or anything just shoot it the comments, and leave a Like below if you enjoyed it! Thank you very much for reading it and I hope to write for you guys soon! If things go according to plan, I might have the funniest deck to play with as the feature of an upcoming article, so stay tuned. ;)