Blade Runner – Three Gallade Variants For State Championships
Hello everyone! My name is Alex Koch. I’m a cute little Pokemon player from Spokane, Washington. I am originally from Kent, Washington, a half hour south of Seattle. I moved over to Spokane for school and loved it enough to stay! I even met my beautiful girlfriend Sabrina in Spokane! I have been playing / collecting Pokemon since Base Set, but didn’t get into the competitive scene until Heart Gold and Soul Silver. At first, my success stayed mostly at the local level, winning a few City Championships and doing well at States. Two years ago, I started making Pokemon my main focus, playing three hours a day to get better. Now, I am one of the Top 16 players in the U.S. and Canada region! I’m thankful for the opportunity to share some of my thoughts on the Pokemon Trading Card game on PokeBeach! Hopefully I can be a solid source of quality insight every time I write. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of me either related or unrelated to my articles! I am always willing to help!
[cardimg name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”11″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The best part of Pokemon is the people. Not the love of Pokemon, or the amount of nostalgic feelings, or even the game itself. Large portions of joy come from meeting new people, creating friendships, and sharing memories with the people you grow to love.
I came into this game many years ago without knowing anybody. College life had become stale and boring, and I was in need of something to do with my time outside of school work. After a trip home to grab some clothes that I had forgotten, I stumbled on a dusty old box of cards that I had neglected in the closet. A couple of friend and I gathered and started building decks. These decks were the kind of decks you would expect any starting player to build. Yes, I’m talking 20+ Energy cards, Pokemon from all different formats, and maybe five or six half-playable Trainer cards. We would build 16 decks and play them against each other in a single elimination tournament, with the best four decks moving on to another random tournament, while the other 12 would be taken apart and turned into new, equally as bad, decks.
It dawned on me that there had to be a way to make these things better. I so badly wanted my decks to be the ones to stay together. Proving to my friends that I was the best deck builder became all that I could think about. My textbooks were quickly replaced with stacks of Pokemon cards. My browser history was no longer math helper websites, and instead were premier Pokemon sites (PokeBeach was a big one.) This obsession got so big, that I started spending my food money from the school on Pokemon cards from the student store.
Fast forward four months. I was on my drive back home from my first State Championships, having had gone 5-3, losing in the 8th round to miss cut. I visited my first League and start to make those connections. Friends turned into more friends and pretty soon my entire social circle was all Pokemon players. These are the people that I hold so near and dear to my heart, all because of a dusty box of cards I decided to take out of my closet.
So why the history lesson? Well because as many of you might know, travel is a big part of how players achieve their invitation to the World Championships. It is near impossible to get to the ultimate tournament without spending a few long days in cars, or a painstaking journey through an airport. It is on these trips, that good ideas go to die, and bad ideas come to life. Brothers, best friends, and even significant others all yelling at each other about his or her ideas about “how to save [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card].”
One of those friends I met through Pokemon is my roommate Grady. He and I have been on many adventures to various card shops over the years. Every once in a blue moon, one of our bad car ride ideas actually turns into a successful deck. During the most recent City Championship series, we came up with a [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] deck that gained our team a couple of Championship Points. Which leads me to the subject of this article: Gallade! I’ll be going over three unique ways to play Gallade: Gallade / [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], Gallade / [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card], and VespiBox.
All About Gallade
There are many ways that [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] can be played. It can be played as the main attacker, using its cheap, powerful attack to swing for 130 damage over and over again, while staying consistent with Premonition. Another way is as a secondary attacker, taking advantage of that ever-looming threat to take some quick Prizes. And the last as a tech, to help a Lightning-weak deck deal with some bad matchups. But before we get into any of that, let us take a look at Gallade and what awesome things it can do!
[cardimg name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Gallade is a Stage 2 Fighting type Pokemon coming out of the BREAKthrough expansion. It has 150 HP, a Weakness to Psychic, no Resistance, and a Retreat Cost of two. It evolves from [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] and its nickname is “The Blade Pokemon.” Gallade is just over five feet tall, and weighs about as much as three Verne Troyers. The reason I’m giving you more information than necessary is because I want you, as the reader, to fully understand how good this Pokemon is.
I’m not convincing you with just my the specs of the card? Fine. How about the fact that it can OHKO [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Manaphy-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], and the Night March Pokmon? Or with the aide of a [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] it can reach numbers to Knock Out [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], and opposing [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. Being able to hit big numbers for just a single Energy attachment has always been good, and Gallade is no exception. Take a look at how successful Night March decks have been. One [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”XY” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] and down go big Pokemon-EX. Gallade not only hits those big numbers, but also has a great Ability to go with it.
Premonition is consistency at its finest! There are a couple of cards that can easily be fit into any Gallade deck to take advantage of this great Ability! First and foremost is [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]. Being able to rearrange your top deck, and then immediately take a few of those cards boosts the consistency of your deck by a whole bunch! If a Supporter card would have been five cards down, you can Premonition it to the top and grab it using Set Up. This same effect can also be achieved with [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Unown” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”30″ c=”name”][/card]. These cards are staples in nearly every deck, so playing them with Gallade helps to give you that feeling of being able to grab any card at any time.
Gallade / Octillery
One other card I would like to mention that goes great with Gallade’s Ability is [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. The other cards are one-time use cards, and require you to play higher counts to fully take advantage of Gallade’s Premonition. Octillery stays in play, and allows you to keep taking cards off the top of your deck turn after turn. Pairing these two together leads us to our first deck. This strategy shows how Gallade can be used as a main attacker, abusing the high HP, heavy hitting attack, and non-EX Prize-trade.
[decklist name=”Gallade/Octillery” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″][pokemon amt=”14″]4x [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2 x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”69″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2 “][/card]4x [card name=”Ralts” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”42″]4x [card name=”Korrina” set=”Furious Fists” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”138″ 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=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
There is a lot of stuff going on with this list! The first thing you may notice is the lack of Basic Energy. This is because of space issues. [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] has a lot of options in terms of what to tech and what to keep for consistency. The cool part though, is that with the inclusion of [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], you always are going to have access to more [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] in case you lose too many in the early parts of the game!
Puzzle of Time is not only included as a way to get back Double Colorless Energy, but also as a way to get back some of your wacky tech ideas. This version of Gallade / Octillery has a low count of one-ofs, surprisingly. There are many other choices you can include. But first, let me explain my choices for the current one count cards in the deck.
Card Explanations
Professor Sycamore
Now surprisingly, this is actually considered a one card tech in this deck. Usually players opt to play a high count of [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] to help boost consistency. In general, [card name=”Korrina” set=”Furious Fists” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] can grab us all we will ever need in a turn because of the built in draw-power that Premonition and Abyssal Hand provide. I choose to play a single copy of this card in those situations where you have a low hand count and just need to resupply your choices. Another reason to have this card and an out is in those situations where you cannot use Abilities. [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] can all render you without a way to get more cards. Professor Sycamore give you that quick shot to dig through more of your deck.
Teammates
A lot of the Pokemon in this deck have very low HP, and as such, tend to bite the dust early on in the game. [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] offers up that chance to grab a Double Colorless Energy without having to use your Abilities to draw into it. The Supporter card also can grant you that quick [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] combo to instantly grant you access to Premonition. Late game after a Pokemon gets Knocked Out, you can use Teammates to grab two Puzzle of Time and get back lost resources used in the early game.
Xerosic and Hex Maniac
I put these cards together because they’re really used for the same thing. They cover bad matchups that would be near auto-losses otherwise. [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] helps get around [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]’s Ability and allows you that one turn of freedom to play Item cards and get back into the game. [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] helps catch back up against [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]-based decks, and [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]’s attack. Since this list doesn’t play any Basic Energy, one Chaos Wheel can be a big issue to get around. Xerosic helps you to get rid of [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] quickly. It’s not only used for disruption and tricky situations, these cards also double as easy-to-play Supporters that trigger Gallade’s requirement on Sensitive Blade.
Giovanni’s Scheme
[cardimg name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”138″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
This card is like Butter, it goes in everything. So much can be and has been said about this card. It allows [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] to hit some pretty fat numbers. With a [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] drop, our titular Pokemon can OHKO any non-Fighting-resistant Pokemon with 170 HP. Not only that, but the card can be used to help boost consistency. If your opponent takes a Knock Out on your only [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], you can still use Premonition to reach into your deck and pick out cards using Giovanni’s Scheme’s draw effect. Butter!
Float Stone
[card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] is the only easy way to get [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] out of the Active spot. Sure, you can always attach a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] to it and manually Retreat it, but that burns one of your precious Energy attachments. I prefer Float Stone over [card name=”Switch” set=”Kalos Starter Set” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Cassius” set=”XY” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] because it can be hard for an opponent to [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] and scrap the Tool in the same turn in back-to-back turns. Plus, having a Pokemon with free-Retreat is never a bad thing, since it allows you to promote Octillery (or any other Pokemon with the Float Stone) when your Active gets Knocked Out, and allow you to play your turn without committing to a choice.
It should also be noted (and I’m getting ahead of myself here) that a really good sneaky play is Olympia from Generations. While I’m still going to favor Float Stone, Olympia not only frees Octillery from being in the Active, but it also satisfies the Supporter requirement for the turn! It also can be played under both Item-lock and Chaos Wheel-lock, something that out classes Float Stone. It might be worth the spot if you want to get creative!
Muscle Band and Enhanced Hammer
I’ve already touched on these two cards a little bit. [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], like [card name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], helps [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] hit some great numbers. However, a high count of this card isn’t needed because 130 damage is already one of the “Magic Numbers,” of the game. As long as Gallade can still OHKO [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], you don’t need to add more damage all the time. [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] is mainly just for [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], since only playing Double Colorless Energy can be troublesome. The other big use for the card is for [card name=”Flash Energy” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] on [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]. Being able to OHKO [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] is such a big deal in the matchup. Enhanced Hammer just increases your odds of being able to take advantage of their Fighting-type Weakness.
Sacred Ash
This deck can’t always rely on [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] for recovery, so an inclusion has to be made elsewhere to get back resources. We could play cards like [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], but that would require the use of one of the limited Double Colorless Energy. If you think about the Prize-trade, and the fact that the game could be over before you would need more than four Double Colorless Energy, the only thing that you’re going to need to recover is Pokemon. [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] is better than [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] in this situation because we don’t play Basic Energy. Most of the time, I prefer Super Rod, but it doesn’t make sense in this list.
Target Whistle
This card brings Gallade from good to great. A big part of the Standard format seems to be KO’ing [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] helps to achieve this combination over and over again. Late game, if you have a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] and a Target Whistle in your discard pile, having two Puzzle of Time instantly turns into a quick two Prizes in the form of Knocking Out another Shaymin-EX. This is why we see less and less decks in the Standard format playing higher counts of Shaymin-EX. The other deck you commonly see Target Whistle in is Night March decks. This is because the Prize-trade that deck hopes to achieve is similar to the one in Gallade. However, since Gallade doesn’t play any Shaymin-EX, Night March can sometimes struggle to take all six Prizes against this build. With the popularity of Night March as displayed in week one and week two of State Championships, Gallade could be a very powerful option heading into week three.
There are many other options that you can include as techs in this deck. With the ease of access this deck has to Puzzle of Time, and the built in consistency of the Premonition / Abyssal Hand draw-engine, this deck give the feel of always being able to grab any card you want at any time in the game. Here are a few more cards to think about when building the deck.
Possible Inclusions
Bunnlby
[cardimg name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
I mentioned this before under the recovery option section of [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card]. While using a [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] on anything that isn’t [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] could be worry-some, it could prove to be useful in the long run. Being able to Rototiller twice and recover lost Double Colorless Energy or even two [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] cannot be underestimated. If this deck falls behind and needs to recover extra resources quickly, this might be a good option to include, especially if you can get off more than one rototiller before the Bunny hits the discard.
Max Potion
I cannot stress enough how well this deck can Prize-trade with the heavy hitters of the format. [card name=”Max Potion” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] just adds an extra dimension to that trade. Over the years, cards that have benefited from Max Potion abuse have been those of low Energy requirements to attack. Playing this card does require a higher level of resource management when it comes to the Double Colorless Energy, but playing it can also win you close, nail biting games.
Delinquent
There are many good Stadium options that Gallade can play, with the best option being [card name=”Fighting Stadium” set=”Furious Fists” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card]. However, I elect not to play one because it isn’t strictly needed. Fighting Stadium does help hit that 170 and 190 damage threshold, which can win games on its own, but like I said, it isn’t truly needed. An inclusion of one Stadium of your choice is never a bad idea though, since we play so many single card techs anyway. If you decide not to play a Stadium, then [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] can be a great option to get rid of opposing Stadiums, while also adding the 70 damage to Sensitive Blade. There isn’t a lot of Stadiums that Gallade fears though, so that is why it is not included in my original list.
Ultra Ball
This may seem silly to include in a “tech options” section, but with this deck it truly is. There is only one Pokemon here that can’t be searched with a [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], and that’s the title character of [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Flashfire” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] gives you that option of being able to search for Gallade without having to use a Korrina for the turn. I generally find that once you get one Gallade up and running, the others tend to come out through the natural flow of the game, so that is why I don’t include one.
Other options that I want to mention but not dive into too much detail over are [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Misty’s Determination” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Repeat Ball” set=”Primal Clash” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card].
Gallade / Octillery has everything you would want in a deck: a heavy hitter, many tech options, favorable Prize trades, and plenty of room for disruption. Also a lot of favorable matchups! I won’t dive into the specific matchups in this article, since I do want this section to be more focused on deck building. If you have any questions related to how this deck does against other popular decks, you can either drop me a message, or play the deck yourself! I will always reply and answer any questions you may have! There is no such thing as a perfect deck list.
So what if Gallade / Octillery just isn’t cutting it for you? What if you’ve tried and tried to make it work for you, but seemingly just haven’t found that right combination of cards to satisfy your ever dying need for Championship Points? Yet you still want to play Gallade? Well then how about I throw two new options at you: Gallade / [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] and an extremely unique VespiBox deck.
[premium]
Gallade / Raichu
This deck list is the second way to run [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], as a secondary attacker that lies somewhere in between main attacker and tech card. The looming threat of Gallade in this build provides the deck with some backup power that will make the opponent play differently. Gallade is also important in this list because of Premonition, just as before. [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] takes center stage in this build, as well as [card name=”Unown” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”30″ c=”name”][/card] to take advantage of the top decking power that Gallade’s Ability brings. With the rainbow of attackers and cool tricks, this deck can easily catch anyone off guard. Without further ado, here is Gallade / Raichu!
[decklist name=”Gallade/Raichu” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″][pokemon amt=”16″]2x [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pikachu” set=”XY” no=”42″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Miltank” set=”Flashfire” no=”83″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Unown” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”30″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67 ” c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]2x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ 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]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”XY” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”XY” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
As you can tell, this is a very different list from the last one. While it still relies on [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] to a certain degree, the deck can still function properly without the Blade Pokemon. [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] has always been a good Pokemon to include in decks that like to hit hard and fast. [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67 ” c=”name”][/card] are great ways to help deal with Night March and other Double Colorless based decks. And Gallade, like before, is great for taking cheap KO’s and dealing with Fighting weak Pokemon.
[cardimg name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
As you can probably tell, the focus of the deck is to get an early turn [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] to take full advantage of Gallade. From there, benching [card name=”Unown” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”30″ c=”name”][/card] and keeping them there provides not only consistency in the deck, but adds damage to Circle Circuit from Raichu. After you get the Gallade and Raichu set up, [card name=”Miltank” set=”Flashfire” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] can provide a quick late game hit that will finish Pokemon off.
This deck concept was the deck that Grady, his brother Kyle, and myself built and perfected during the early part of the Cities season this year. We topped a couple of tournaments with it, but never came back with the ultimate Prize with this list. Granted, the list we played was in the Expanded format, where cards like [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card] found their way into sleeves to help the deck perform better over all. This list is also a tad bit outdated, with no cards from BREAKPoint or Generations appearing in the list. So with that in mind, instead of going through each individual card this time, how about we make a few edits and changes to improve this list? One of the best ways I have learned to become a better deck builder is by taking a completed deck list and making a few changes to see what happens. I am not naturally a good Pokemon player at all, I just practice a lot.
To start, let’s try to find places where we can shave off a few cards here and there. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of maxing out at four [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]. The card is good, don’t get me wrong, but deciding what cards to discard and keep has always been a big hindrance on my play over the years. It almost seems like Acro Bike was printed just to make my life miserable. Dropping down to three here might give us more room elsewhere.
We also might be able to cut down the [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] count to two. Playing three is understandable, seeing how we need to fill up our Bench to get a big Circle Circuit off, but since we are running Gallade, I have to mention the Prize-trade situation once again. Shaymin-EX is a big liability in non-EX focused decks, so having too many Benched is a big scare. That’s the reason why I elect to play [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] in this list. AZ not only helps [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] get out of the Active, but it also saves those Shaymin-EX on the Bench from getting hit for two quick Prizes.
[card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] is an inclusion in almost every Gallade focused deck I find myself playing because of the ease of access to cheap two Prize KO’s on Shaymin-EX. However, if we are trying to find room for other things and change things up a little bit, Target Whistle might find itself back in the binder this time. This list needs so much to get going, so finding room for techs is going to be a lot of work. For now, let’s try taking it out and playing with another idea.
We now have three spots open to play around with. Honestly, that’s not that many. We could cut more drastic things, like going down to one [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] or one Sycamore, or even cut the [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67 ” c=”name”][/card], but we want to make chances with the idea of improving our list, not to make a new list entirely. That’s a whole new process in itself. So let’s figure out what we can play in our three spots we do have!
For starters, we could additionally cut the [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] to give us four spots for [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. This would grant us access to additional [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card], as well as give us the recovery this deck so desires (and all [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] decks require). However, the main problem I see with doing this is the early game issue of having to dump Puzzle of Time. We might get forced into awkward situations where in order to get the early game Maxie’s, we’ll have to burn through some Puzzles. That will severely damage the late game potential of the deck. With the scare of having no recovery option after this happens, I don’t think Puzzle of Time is a good idea here, so let’s keep the Super Rod in.
Another idea would to be to use our three spots to beef up the [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] line a little bit. In this case, we could bump up to a 3-3 Raichu line, and add in a [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]. By doing this, it would give us a better chance to hit the Raichu multiple times in a game. Right now, the early game attacker is decided on whatever is freely available at the time. With this change, we make the deck more focused on Raichu and less on the tech attackers. In this case, instead of adding in the Level Ball, we could add in a third [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] to help Raichu hit those numbers. If our Sky Field is getting bounced too many times, we also might consider switching to [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] instead of Super Rod.
If we are fine with the Raichu line, and find ourselves losing out to the Night March matchup even more, we could use those three spots to add in a couple [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”deck”][/card] and an [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”deck”][/card] (switching over to Dark Energy, of course). In this instance, our strategy against Night March would to be to out-trade them by constantly one hitting their Pokemon for one Energy, sprinkling in an attack from Jirachi and Toad here and there. The [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”from”][/card] may seem like an odd inclusion to counter Night March. Usually, I would agree with you, but there are times where the Night March player only has one attacker on the field, and several Benched Pokemon like [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card]. If we can take a KO with a Yveltal, they will not be able to take advantage of [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] to Retreat and therefore, give us a free Prize. Night March has always struggled slightly with being able to Retreat and attack in the same turn, so if we can exploit this, we will have an advantage in the Prize-race. If this idea doesn’t sound great to you, then the Yveltal BKT can be changed out for a fourth Dark energy, just to add consistency.
[cardimg name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
One last idea might seem a little bit crazy, but hear me out. We could add in a 1-1 [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] and another Super Rod. Originally when we planned this list out long ago, the Raichu line was not in, and a 2-2 M Rayquaza-EX line was in its place, with a [card name=”Rayquaza Spirit Link” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”87″ c=”name”][/card] as well. There were a couple of pros and cons to this. The good things were that M Rayquaza-EX was much harder to KO than Raichu. It also delivers more damage, allowing bigger Pokemon to be Knocked Out with M Rayquaza-EX. Fewer Benched Pokemon were also necessary, since a Bench full of five Pokemon plus a Muscle Band or Giovanni’s Scheme allows M Rayquaza-EX to kill 170 HP Pokemon-EX in one attack. However, the cons to playing this card were enough to make us switch over to Raichu. Having to lose your turn by evolving wasn’t the worst thing, since usually we could accomplish this turn one. The perfect early turn was to Maxie out a [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], then Mega Evolve, which happened a lot more often than you would think. But having to require two turns of Energy attachments proved to be the biggest downfall. Sure, [card name=”Mega Turbo” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] would definitely remedy this problem, but drawing into it early game was the same issue that [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] brought, a worse late game. With that being said, it is definitely a cute idea if you want to try mixing and matching the two Pokemon. Otherwise, I would chose either Raichu or M Rayquaza-EX and stick with that idea.
There are lots of different ways to adjust this deck to your liking. The cool part about Pokemon is that every deck list is different. You can ask 100 people to build you a Night March list, and while they may look quite similar, the choices people make will differ ever so slightly from one another. This is because at the end of the day, people will always play the cards that they want to play. So listen to other people’s advice. I for one always check out every bit of content out there. It doesn’t matter if I think the player is good or bad, everyone has a reason for stacking their particular 60 cards the way they stack it.
VespiBinder
It’s about time to get around to showing you the third and final way to play [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]: as a tech card to help bad matchups. Commonly, we see Gallade in decks such as Night March and [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. Both of these decks benefit from having that one of attacker that they can drop for a Double Colorless Energy and take easy Prizes (starting to sound familiar now?). In order to not bore you with another Night March or YGZ list that you can see anywhere else, I will instead be showing you the list that I played in Oregon State Championships week one. I originally saw this list in a chat from fellow PokeBeach writer Dalen Dockery. It was only three cards off the list I ended up playing. Treynor Wolfe also hyped this deck up a bit in the latest recording of BeachCast.
I ended up going 5-2 in the tournament, winning games against [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] / Joleton, [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] / Jolteon, Night March, [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]. My two losses came from another Night March and a [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] (winning on a [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] coin flip when I played the matchup perfectly. But I’m not still salty. No sir). I think the list was a great week one play, since nobody expected it coming. A lot of players were very confused about what I was playing after a few turns of play. It was great to play the mind games with people, since the cool bag of tricks just kept flowing. I called it VespiBinder. When someone asked what VespiBinder was, my friend responded with “He played a 4-4 Vespiquen line, then shook his Pokemon binder and played whatever fell out.” Here is VespiBinder!
[decklist name=”VespiBinder” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″][pokemon amt=”27″]4x [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Combee” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”9″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Zorua” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67 ” c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Unown” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”30″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”25″]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ 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]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”XY” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”XY” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
There are a lot of thing I truly love about this deck and this list. The best and most important thing is that it doesn’t have a whole heap of bad matchups. Short of [card name=”Entei” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”15″ c=”name”][/card] decks, what really has an overwhelming advantage over this deck? It has an answer for everything, and that is the highest quality that I find in a deck. Some of my decks of old have been [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] (when it was busted), and [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] back in the day when Pokemon-EX were everywhere. I hate taking auto-losses, so I try to find the best option that beats most of the field.
[cardimg name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Down in Anaheim Regional Championships this year, my team’s [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] list took 11th place. This is because it was full of techs to beat the bad matchups. We played three [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] to deal with [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card], a Silver Mirror to help with [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card], and plenty of other cool techs to cover every deck we expected to face. However, that is a list of another time. I want to talk about the most recent success of a 14th place finish at Oregon State Championships.
For this list breakdown, I’m going to go over the many matchups I expected to face and how to deal with them. Even though this isn’t the best way to learn how a deck truly functions, I believe it is the best way to show you my thought process in deciding this deck. Generally the strategy is going to be the same as any other [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] based deck: dump and swing. Oddly enough, the same sort of strategy is good in Ultimate Frisbee. Total off topic related thing there. Oops. Anyways, the general strategy is going to be to take favorable Prize-trades by being able to one-shot everything on their side of the field, regardless of HP. Here are the decks I expected to see a lot of play at States during the first week.
Matchups
Night March
Honestly, this deck doesn’t have the worst Night March matchup. Sure, it’s not the best, but it’s definitely very winnable. The reason being is because they generally can’t take advantage of KO’ing big Pokemon-EX. As such, you can use your non-EX attackers to trade favorably with them. The first one to take a Prize, or first one to take a Knock Out on a Shaymin-EX usually wins the game. The MVP of this matchup has to be [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card]. Granted, [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] can cause some issues, but let’s assume for now that they didn’t hit any yet; it’s more fun that way. Yveltal can Knock Out both [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] in one hit, while at the same time accelerating an Energy to a backup attacker. This Energy is really easy to get in the discard through the use of [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. Attacking with Yveltal gives you time to evolve into [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] and Zoroark to have as attackers with Double Colorless Energy. Remember, you can Knock Out Joltik with Intelligence Gathering and a [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]!
Another sneak part of this deck that works against Night March is the [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”deck”][/card] combo. I mentioned this earlier on in the article, but I’ll say it here again! If your opponent playing Night March only has the one attacker in the Active, three Benched Pokemon, and one with a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], taking a KO with Yveltal BKT can prove to be very beneficial, since it is sometimes hard for Night March to Retreat and attack in the same turn. This rarely happens, and can be easily countered with [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]. However, if you do manage to pull it off, chances are if you play it correctly, you can get a bonus KO on a [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card].
Dark
Against Pokemon-EX heavy decks, VespiBinder is generally going to roll. The only Pokemon-EX in this deck are the two [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and the [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] (which in all honesty, could be cut). This makes it really hard for Yveltal-EX to make a comeback once you Knock Out a few of the Dark Birds. Yvetltal XY and Yveltal BKT have a really hard time KO’ing Vespiquen, so that plays into our favor even more. I’m not saying this matchup is a slam dunk, since your early game usually gets out pressured by theirs, but generally speaking VespiBinder should win this matchup far more than not.
Seismitoad-EX Decks
This matchup should be fairly self explanatory. [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] is weak to grass, meaning it is incredibly easy for Vespiquen to take OHKO’s over and over again. The scary part is the early game. As long as you can play a few [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] before the lock comes down, it should be okay. The other scary part is [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. That’s where [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67 ” c=”name”][/card] comes in. Without the help of Hypnotoxic Laser, [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] has no way of damaging Jirachi after it gets an attack off. This can force the Toad / Tina player into awkward situations that they probably won’t appreciate. I have found that if you fall behind in this matchup, all it takes is one turn of breaking the lock to make an easy come back and win. [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] is also a major help in getting rid of those pesky Special Energy that Seismitoad-EX decks play.
M Manectric-EX Decks
[cardimg name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Surprisingly, VespiBinder can struggle against these decks. The reason being that this matchup is contingent on VespiBinder finding a way to get out our hero, [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] has historically struggled against heavy-hitting Fighting Pokemon, and Gallade is no exception. Generally, M Manectric-EX is unable to OHKO Gallade. Sensitive Blade can take two to four Prizes in this case, easily swinging the matchup in our favor.
However, if Gallade fails to it the field, things get far more tricky. M Manectirc-EX is a much faster deck and can OHKO all of our Pokemon. The only Pokemon in the deck that does not get one-shot by M Manectric-EX are [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] and Gallade. When Manectirc-EX is paired with Crobat PHF and friends, you better be able to find your Gallade. Overrun is a death sentence for fragile 40 HP Combee when paired with [card name=”Golbat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] drops. My wonderful girlfriend Sabrina is currently spamming this deck against me. She has turned into a great player, and recognizes what an even matchup this can turn out to be. Watch out for her in the up and coming State Championships, she’s a Dark Horse pick for sure! In short, if you can get Gallade out, you win. If you can’t, you lose. It’s just another example of how good Gallade is, it can swing entire matchups!
Vileplume / Vespiquen
Not to sound like “Should have, could have,” but this was my second pick for State Championships week one. In the latest BeachCast, I expressed my love for this deck. I even made the claim that if I got Championship Points from Oregon, I would play this deck at either Seattle or Vancouver. Whoops. Anyways, I haven’t tested this matchup much, but I do need to include it on the short list because of the success it had in the early weeks of State Championships. From what I can theorymon, I think the matchup comes down to if [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67 ” c=”name”][/card] can be the MVP we need him to be. [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] decks don’t have a real solid way of recovering [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] outside of [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]. If we can take out two or three of their Double Colorless Energy, we should be able to swing the matchup. However, getting this accomplished under Item-lock can prove to be quite tricky. Reguardless, VepiPlume needs to be in everyone’s testing circle. It wasn’t in ours, and thankfully I didn’t have to face it week one, but it is definitely priority number one in moving forward with testing.
Greninja BREAK
With the abundance of this deck at Oregon State Championships, I was very surprised I did not face it all day. We did practice this matchup extensively, and I can tell you the matchup favors VespiBinder big time. Three big reasons hinder the success of [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] against the binder pile. Big reason one: their setup is much much slower than yours. You should be able to take a KO or two before they are able to get all of their [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] online, especially if you go first and they miss the turn one [card name=”Wally” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card]. Big reason two: they are weak to Vespiquen. This means that you don’t have to compress as many Pokemon, meaning you can take advantage of secondary attackers like [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. After Frogadier uses Water Duplicates, Zoroark can hit for 100 damage. If they have another Pokemon Benched, Greninja climbs into the OHKO range of the Dark Dog. And big reason three: [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. Not being able to use Water Shuriken will severely limit the damage output of Greninja. Garbodor is definitely the MVP of this matchup. So many factors swing this far into the favor of [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card].
[cardimg name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Trevenant BREAK
Originally when looking at this deck, I thought the [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] matchup would be a cake walk for VespiBinder. This is not actually the case. The [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] definitely help keep VespiBinder in the game, but they don’t outright win it. This is because the Trevenant player can easily play around these cards. Benching a limited amount of Pokemon can cause damage output issues for [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. Not to mention the fact that because our Pokemon are so fragile, a few Silent Fear attacks is all it takes to clear our board entirely. I lost the matchup at Oregon State Championships because the Trevenant player also played Seismitoad EX, requiring me to flip and flop between [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card], Zoroark, and [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67 ” c=”name”][/card], which proved to be harder than anticipated. The best of three came down to a [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] flip, which did not go in my favor, which just tells me that this matchup is as close to 50 / 50 as you can get.
Hopefully those matchup breakdowns help you understand the deck a little bit better. While [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t necessarily the star of the deck, playing it as a tech can swing matchups and win games you didn’t expect to. That is why it is often played in Night March, [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], and now, VespiBinder! I’m making it a thing now.
Conclusion
Hopefully you also saw that [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] can be used more heavily in decks, such as the main attacker in some cases, and as a great backup attacker to swing when least expected. Using Gallade as a tech is also a great way to play the best Pokemon in the format. The Prize-trade and the high HP make Gallade a force to be reckoned with.
Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect deck list. Feel free to drop me a message if you want help with your list, I’m always willing to give you my two cents! See you guys at Washington State Championships and British Colombia Provincial Championships!
Until Next Time,
Alex
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