The Art of the Pokemon TCG
Aloha ‘Beach goers! Welcome! Hope all is well. Today I will be discussing the art of the Pokemon Trading Card Game. And no, not the literal card artwork. Rather, I will be discussing the ways in which competing in the Pokemon Trading Card Game parallels to the life of an artist.
[cardimg name=”Smeargle” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”123″ align=”right” c=”custom”]”Try to imagine that you are a tree. How do you wanna look out here?” – Bob Ross[/cardimg]
Though I don’t make my living by selling works of art or applying for shows, I do have an art education. I have worked as a photojournalist for a number of years and also teach art. Art, in my eyes, is not the creation of objects, but a perspective. The foundations of art apply to all facets of life, which is why art education is so important. Businessmen, doctors, scientists, athletes, writers and mathematicians all benefit by having an artistic perspective. Thinking imaginatively and creatively allows people to do amazing things that haven’t been done before. In the same way, Pokemon Trading Card players benefit by looking at Pokemon in an artistic way.
Of course, the artistic parallels within the TCG run deepest in the field of deck building, but possessing an artistic worldview can also help you test and decide what to play at a given tournament. In this article I will dive deep into the art of deck building before ending with an original [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] list for State Championships.
I was inspired to write this article because of conversations that I had with my friends on the long car ride to and from the St. Louis Regional Championship (where I was able to lock up my 2016 Worlds invite with a Top-32 finish — turn up!). I drove a grueling eight hours each way, but the time seemed to fly with the steady and thoughtful conversations we held along the way. While talking in the car, we came to the realization that few people actually build and play their own lists on a regular basis. Consider that for a moment. It is surprising, but it also makes sense. Few TCG players make their own lists just like few tattoo artists draw their own tattoos. Many tattoo artists simply copy the artwork of more capable artists. Few doctors perform research, few athletes break records and few leaders make significant positive change in the world. For every field, there are a few significant people that define it and many people that follow the path laid before them by others. What kind of Pokemon trainer do you want to be?
I Feel Like Pablo When I’m Working on My Deck: The Art of Deck Building
Competitive lists within the Pokemon Trading Card Game are so public that there is little incentive to be your own deck builder anymore. That is, unless you truly believe that your lists are better than everyone else’s. It doesn’t matter if your lists are actually better than everyone else’s or if you just think your lists are better than everyone else’s; it takes a certain amount of arrogance to be an artist.
Art is, at its core, a self-important endeavor. The idea that the stuff I make is meaningful and worth looking at is a conceited thought. “I feel like Pablo” is a reference to Kanye West’s new album, The Life of Pablo. Throughout the album he compares himself to Pablo, most likely Pablo Picasso. If there’s anything we know about Kanye it’s that he thinks himself to be a very significant artist, but the thing is, he’s right. Kanye realizes that an artistic worldview is essential to his success as a musician and has been using it to produce relevant records for over a decade.
Kanye, like Picasso, understands that there is no point in releasing the same record twice. Kanye is seeking to reinvent himself and the meaning of rap with each album he produces. Kanye has claimed, “I am not a rapper,” just like Picasso claimed, “I am not a cubist.” These artists find labels frustrating, just like I would be frustrated by the claim, “Mahone is a Night March player,” or “Mahone is a [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] player.”
In Pokemon, I am not defined by the decks I have been successful with, but rather, the decks I play are a reflection of my vision as a deck builder and card player. Picasso understood that his relevance leaned entirely on his perspective as an artist. In order to be a great deck builder in Pokemon you must have confidence and perspective. You have to be a little like Kanye and Pablo. You have to believe that your ideas have potential and have the willingness to execute them. You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again. You have to be a visionary.
“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” – Pablo Picasso
How often do you find yourself brainstorming about Pokemon? Do you find yourself thinking about Pokemon in your idle thoughts? Do you find yourself thinking about potential decks while at work or school? Sometimes archetypes seem to make themselves, like a Paint by Numbers. Some decks need to be forged and hammered much longer before they begin to take their ideal shape. When Picasso says, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working,” he means that inspiration doesn’t just fall from the sky, you have to work for it!
One of the most difficult things to do as an artist is to find inspiration, to find genuine ideas worth executing that are relevant to the art world. In art, you can’t just wait for ideas to come to you, you have to actively pursue them. You have to spend time in the studio sketching and trying different things. You have to visit museums and shows and engage in works created by other artists.
In Pokemon, it is paramount to spend time with your cards, reading them and figuring out what they do; just like an artists spends time with their medium, playing with it, seeing how it interacts with various modes of application. Sometimes this means physically sitting in front of a box of cards, looking through them one by one. Sometimes it means visiting PokeBeach and reading the latest translations from an upcoming set. And, of course, you’re already utilizing one of the most effective ways to research cards right now, reading articles online! Reading articles is one of the best ways to get a grasp of the metagame at large. Just like an artist needs to be aware of the art world and what other artists are creating in order to stay relevant, Pokemon players need to research and see what other players are playing in order to make relevant and educated decisions for building decks.
Digital Drafting
Another amazing resource for finding inspiration is Pokemon Trading Card Game online. I’ve mentioned this in articles before, but my appreciation of PTCGO only grows as I develop as a TCG player. PTCGO allows you to create and test new ideas at an astounding rate. It’s no wonder that artists also use creative software to draft ideas quicker than ever before. If you haven’t started utilizing PTCGO to create and test decks, I recommend starting a digital collection immediately. Despite its occasional technical faults, it is one of the finest resources available to us for deck building, testing and metagame discovery. By spending time online, you can see the kinds of decks that people tend to favor at a given point in time as well as see how decks operate without wasting time with physical cards.
Before Worlds last year, I used PTCGO in combination with real-life testing to test 100 starting hands with [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] to see if the deck was legitimate. Archie’s Blastoise was a rogue concept before PokeBeach writer Steve Guthrie finished in the Top 16 with it at United States Nationals. Thanks to PTCGO, I was able to come to the quick conclusion that Blastoise is able to net a turn one Archie’s play roughly 80% of the time with a large sample size, consistent enough to be a top Worlds contending deck.
In preparation for States, PTCGO could be used as a tool to refine an ideal [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] list. By using the ‘test deck’ option on PTCGO, you could run your list countless times to see how often it obtains a turn one [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]. Since the ‘test deck’ option pairs you against a computer opponent, you can scoop after the first turn of the game, try a new hand or make small adjustments and then continue testing. The ‘test deck’ feature is one of my favorite aspects of PTCGO. I often use it to see if my deck flows the way I intend it to before testing against real opponents.
Another, less successful, idea that I used the ‘test deck’ feature for during City Championships was an Archie’s [card name=”Primal Kyogre-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] deck. The concept of the deck was to get a turn one or two Tidal Storm by bringing Primal Kyogre into play with [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card]. The idea was cool and even worked most of the time, but the problem was that the deck didn’t have the sustainability to last an entire game! Perhaps now with [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Manaphy-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] the sketch is worth revisiting. PTCGO is like an artist’s sketchbook. It’s a place where inspiration can be kept and refined until it is time to bring the idea to life with physical cards.
“We Don’t Make Mistakes, We Have Happy Accidents.” – Bob Ross
When an artist begins creating, they shouldn’t be scared or intimidated by the blankness of the canvas. They shouldn’t be overtly worried about messing up or making mistakes. They should be excited about the possibilities for creation that lie ahead. Cartoonist Scott Adams says, “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” TV Painter Bob Ross echoes this sentiment by saying, “We don’t make mistakes, we have happy accidents.”
The unintentional is a primary system of creativity within the art world. Artists have to dive into their projects boldly. Sometimes they have a plan at the start, but a plan that is too rigid will get in the way of serendipitous moments of discovery. Artists have to be open to new ideas as they arise. They need to be flexible and willing to scrap old ideas for new ones on a whim. They need to be open enough to pursue new routes of creation even if they haven’t been explored before.
In Pokemon, we need to embrace the creative potential of serendipity as well. Not all of the best deck ideas are planned out in advance. Learning how to tame spontaneous ideas into relevant decks is an effective skill to have as a deck builder. We can’t pretend that we have a flawless knowledge of what’s good and what’s bad in Pokemon Trading Cards, though many of us, myself included, like to. Pokemon is a game that is constantly changing, constantly rotating and in constant need of exploration.
I find myself firing off potential deck ideas all the time, especially on long car rides. Most of the time they get shot down and my friends tell me that I’m bad and need to shut up. In fact, I have probably only come up with one or two good deck ideas in the car. But the way I think of it, if I spit out 100 ideas and end up with two winners, it’s still two more winners than I would have had if I wasn’t brainstorming at all!
Just a month ago, I was astonished to see that Daniel Altavilla was able to win a Regional with an [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] deck that played only three [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]. Prior to that, I would have never suggested that anyone try playing a Dark deck with only three Lasers in it. However, his list proved that the cut wasn’t detrimental. If we don’t allow ourselves to challenge the norms on card counts, decks will never change and archetypes will never evolve. As deck builders, we need to allow ourselves to put spontaneous ideas into action. Theorymon can only get us so far. Many ideas seems silly on paper, but work amazing in practice.
A few years ago, Henry Prior was able to finish second at a Regional with a [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] deck. Ho-Oh was used to accelerate Energy back onto his board so that he could use [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Furious Fists” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] to power up his attackers. This idea was revived a couple years later in Travis Nunlist’s “Spookysect” [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] list, which used the same concept to power up Virizion and Genesect. The idea of using Ho-Oh as an accelerator in non-Ho-Oh decks was a radical one, but ended up with some high placements at the Regional level.
I mention this because these rogue ideas were successful while I was learning how to play. I was so impressed by the simple and effective innovation in these lists that years later, they still stand out in my mind as creative triumphs. As deck builders, we need to open our minds to new possibilities. Often times the best deck builders are the ones that give off-the-wall ideas a chance before anyone else does.
[premium]
“Good artists copy, great artists steal.” – Pablo Picasso
It’s taken me years to climb to where I stand today within the Pokemon Trading Card Game, but I am proud to say that I haven’t played another player’s list at a tournament in over 20 months. And I don’t mean taking another list and changing a few cards. I mean 20 months of ground-up deck building without references. Considering that I have been playing the game for four years, this has been a significant chunk of my competitive career, and easily the most successful.
I learned to build my own competitive decks in the same manner that academic artists of the romantic era learned to paint — by copying. There’s no shame in learning through copying. Art students attending the academies in 18th century Europe copied prints after classical sculptures, becoming familiar with the principles of light, shade and contour. The copy was crucial to their academic education. By copying works of past artists, students would assimilate their own methods of art making.
In the same way, we can quickly learn how decks and archetypes function by copying successful lists of competitive players. I still copy lists today, primarily to save time when producing decks to test against. Copying other players’ lists, especially public ones, also gives you a good idea of how your list will square up against what the masses are playing. Copying is a huge part of the Pokemon TCG. But to be a great deck artist we have to learn how to steal.
It’s a common notion in modern art that there is nothing that hasn’t already been done before. It’s also a widely accepted idea that there’s no such thing as a truly original thought. An insane amount of stories have been told and ideas explored. It’s impossible to come up with ideas in a vacuum. Everything you do as an artist is reflected off of what someone else has already done! What artists do then is constantly take ideas from other artists and make them their own. An artist might see a glimpse of something they like in another artists work, so they might steal it, elaborate on it and make it their own thing. This is how art has evolved over the centuries.
As a Pokemon player, I’m constantly stealing ideas I like and making them my own. All of the best deck builders do this. It doesn’t matter where you get your ideas from, be it some kid at League, an opponent you played online, Facebook, or a list posted on PokeBeach, you should always be on the lookout for effective card combinations and how you can use them to accomplish your vision of an effective deck. Below I will briefly review successful decks I have made and reveal ideas that I have “stolen” to make them!
Mewtwo / Eels – 2012: Very early in my career, I created a [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Next Destinies” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Eelektrik” set=”Noble Victories” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] deck that I won my first two City Championships with. I ran [card name=”Pokémon Center” set=”Next Destinies” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] in my list to heal Eels from [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]’s snipe damage. I stole this idea from someone who finished in the Top 8 of a City Championship in Virginia. He never knew it, but I watched him play and thought his idea was brilliant. I passed the list on to Justin Boughter who was a Senior at the time. He took the list and earned over 300 Championship Points with it, earning him his first ever Worlds invitation.
Blastoise – 2013: Up until this point, I was still new and really only knew how to build Eels decks. In order to get started on a new archetype, I looked to Jay Hornung’s expertise with [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] for assistance. I remember using his entire Supporter line in my own version of Blastoise. I ended up playing Blastoise for the entirety of the next year, finishing in my first Top 8 of a Regional with it and winning two more Cities.
RayBoar – 2014: Eventually I jumped ships and switched from Blastoise to [card name=”Rayquaza-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Emboar” set=”Black and White” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]. My original RayBoar list was bad! I didn’t even know there was a [card name=”Tepig” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] that had a single Retreat Cost! I took my RayBoar list to Virginia Regionals that year and did terribly with it. But I remember watching Kevin Nance and Ryan Sablehaus play the deck with the right Tepig and a thin [card name=”Electrode” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] line. The Electrode was amazing. I stole the idea to use the Nimble Pig and the Electrode in my own list and went on to Top 4 St. Louis Regionals the next weekend.
Land / Bats – 2015: I stole the idea to use [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] for supplemental damage from Kevin Baxter. He had been toying around with [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] during Cities and I was soul searching, looking for my own deck to play. I thought to pair Crobat up with Landorus-EX and started forging my own list on PTCGO. My Land / Bats list ended up winning me two Cities and a Regional along with a second-place States finish that year.
Raichu / Ninetales – 2015: I was totally lost on what to play for Madison, Wisconsin’s Regional Championship last year. It was the first major tournament with Roaring Skies legal. I built [card name=”Raichu” set=”XY” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Primal Clash” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] the night before the tournament because I had been whooped by someone playing it on PTCGO earlier in the week and thought the idea was cool. The list ended up carrying me to a Top-16 finish.
Night March – 2016: I was very well versed in Night March after my Worlds run with it last year, but JW Kriewall was able to take our Cities Night March list to the next level. Early in the season, JW won a City Championship with a [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] list that played two [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]. The Pokemon Catchers were so good that I have been stealing the 2-1 Catcher-[card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] split and putting it in almost every aggressive deck I play this year.
No matter how good you get at the game, there is always inspiration to be found in other players. Picasso says, “Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others. It leads to sterility.” And I agree. If you’re a successful player, it is likely that people will take ideas from you and expand on them. If you can’t look outside yourself for inspiration, you will eventually be passed up by those around you. We need to constantly be on the lookout for inspired individuals to see what we can learn from them. We need to constantly reference other players’ advancements in our own deck building in order to keep up with what is relevant. Decks aren’t built in a vacuum. Always be on the lookout for good ideas!
Think Tank vs. In-the-Woods Deck Building
There are two ways I usually find myself building decks. I’m either off somewhere on my own, in my own thoughts, thinking things through; or brainstorming around a pool of potential cards with a couple friends. Both modes of creativity can lead to success and both have their pros and cons. When writing the breakthrough debut album For Emma, Forever Ago, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver retreated to a cabin alone in order to focus his emotions and creativity into his music. In contrast, Kanye West writes with a team of the most talented writers he can summon. He will sit in a room full of artists and vibe on a single song until ideas start flowing.
[cardimg name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Still Lookin’ Good![/cardimg]
Some people are more productive when working alone. It’s important to remember, deck building is work. When writing articles, I have to retreat to a room by myself to get anything done. If I don’t, I will become woefully distracted. Sometimes I even wear a pair of wrap-around headphones without any music playing to help me feel relaxed and isolated. They allow me to focus on the nuance of what I am trying to accomplish. How often do you give yourself quiet time to work alone? How often do you intentionally take some time out to focus on Pokemon Cards independently?
I do a lot of my best deck building and come up with my best ideas when working by myself. When creating the Night March / [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] list that I published in my last article, I sat alone at a table and messed around with card counts until I came up with something I liked. I haven’t seen a list from anyone else that’s anything like the one I published a month ago, and it’s still at the top of my testing regiment for State Championships later this month. A Night March deck with zero copies of [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] is a pretty radical idea, the kind that most people would write off without trying. Testing by myself enables me to give life to ideas that others might not be so patient with. It allows me to create something truly original and effective. As deck builders we need to allow ourselves the freedom to work independently from time to time so that we can produce truly original thoughts.
That being said, there are also times to work as a team. No single person has perfect perspective and vision within the game of Pokemon. As the saying goes, “Two heads are better than one.” Inviting a group of friends to work on a deck together can give you better perspective and a greater wealth of inspiration.
During City Championships, JW Kriewall, Kirsten Sprague and I worked together on a Night March list that ended up carrying us throughout the final weekends of City Championships. We each brought our own perspective and opinions to the list and were able to make something that we were all confident in.
I find it easiest to work as a group with a skeleton list laid out on a table with a few people surrounding it. Then we start handing out suggestions about how to fill the vacant space and question card inclusions that are on the fence. Once a base list has been established, a group setting allows you to test the list immediately. Decide which matchups you think will be critical and test them. If the deck underperforms, consider a few tweaks. If nothing works, consider scrapping the deck all together.
Working as a team can have its drawbacks though. Sometimes people shut down anther person’s idea before considering their full potential, and sometimes those ideas are yours. Either way, it’s important to be constructive and positive when working as a group. No one likes working with someone who always insists on having their way, and no one likes working with someone who doesn’t value the ideas of others!
The Final Touch
A challenge that artists commonly face is deciding when their work is finished. When is the final touch truly the final touch? Deciding when a piece of art is finished is not a science, it is more about taste and judgement. Similarly, deciding when a deck is finished takes good judgement. Ever try to trick your deck out with techs so that it has no bad matchups? I’m guilty of this for sure. As deck builders, we often over-engineer our lists to a point of fault. We need to be able to discern when it’s worth sacrificing consistency for an out to a single matchup or when it is time to call our deck finished.
When thinking about how players build decks, I like to envision the player base on a spectrum. At one end we have consistent streamlined deck building and on the other end we have more high risk, high reward deck building. I’ve known successful players that exist on both ends of the spectrum; however, I heavily favor the side of consistency. In my eyes, there is no point in tricking a deck out if it doesn’t work nearly every time. I can attribute a lot of my success in Pokemon to piloting decks that boast a ridiculously high setup rate. Because of this, I get to produce a valid effort every game I play and seldom lose to dead draws. This practice carries me to consistent high placements on a regular basis.
When I write deck analyses for you all, I always include a section dedicated to additional options. No matter where you fall on the deck-building spectrum, it’s important to consider the potential techs that your deck has at its disposal. I typically allow myself one or maybe two spaces in a deck to account for a specific matchup. In my mind, if one card can turn a popular 50-50 matchup into a 60-40 matchup in your favor, it’s probably worth an inclusion. Beyond that, you have to rely on the stability of your list and your ability to pilot a deck to perfection in order to win games at a tournament. You will never have the chance to play your techs the way you imagine if your deck doesn’t set up consistently.
Painting a New Picture: Yveltal / Elixir
Anyone who has followed me as a competitor knows I’ve never been the biggest fan of [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] decks. So why listen to my opinions on a Yveltal deck? Well, let’s think of it this way. If I am inspired enough to write about an Yveltal list, the deck must really have something going for it! Despite the fact that I haven’t brought Yveltal to a tournament yet this year, it’s one of the decks I test with and against the most.
Up until now, I have been generally displeased with the linear function of Yveltal in the Standard format. Without Energy acceleration, Yveltal was a predictable deck. A player could reasonably look at an opponent’s board state and predict an Yvetlal player’s potential for the following turn. As the City Championship format evolved, [card name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] became a solid inclusion in Yveltal decks to introduce an additional level of variation to the deck’s predictable damage output.
Now with [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] in the mix, Yveltal is capable of pulling off a wealth of new tricks that eluded it before. New Pokemon get a huge boost in playability alongside Yveltal while old staples fade from the limelight. Let’s take a look and see where we’ve arrived with the introduction of BREAKpoint!
[decklist name=”Yveltal / Elixer” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″][pokemon amt=”15″]2x [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Zoroark BREAK” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Zorua” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Birch’s Observations” set=”Primal Clash” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”14″]10x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
The most striking thing you will notice about my Yveltal list is the absence of [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. The truth is, with [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck, we need to focus the deck’s efforts on attackers that pair best with it. Previously, the [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] engine was the best way to get this archetype moving. Battle Compressor works hand in hand with Gallade and [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card]. Unfortunately, Max Elixir and Battle Compressor compete for space and work against each other here. With Max Elixir, we want as many Energy in the deck as possible to ensure successful acceleration. Battle Compressor beckons us to remove things from the deck. You might say, “Doesn’t Battle Compressor thin the deck appropriately so that you have a higher chance of hitting a successful Elixir?” This may be true, but then I would ask, “Are you really going to play three or four copies of Battle Compressor just to discard three cards?” Battle Compressor seems like a weak use of space in a list that wants to keep Energy in deck. With Gallade absent, we welcome in two attackers that have seen fringe play up until this point: [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”from”][/card] and [card name=”Zoroark BREAK” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card].
2x Fright Night Yveltal
[cardimg name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Downright Frightening![/cardimg]
Now that we have the ability to build a Pitch-Black Spear in one turn, Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] becomes a potent force to reckon with in Dark decks. Yveltal boasts an amazing Ability in Fright Night and a powerful attack in Pitch-Black Spear — perfect for turning the tides against the likes of Night March. If you are able to get Yveltal into the Active during the first turn going first, you can control your opponent’s maneuverability if they rely on [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. If you are playing against Night March and they start with a [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], they will more than likely be forced to Sky Return to move their Shaymin from the Active Position, setting you up for a strong turn two. Additionally, Pitch-Black Spear allows you to pick off Shaymin on the Bench while mowing through attackers in the Active position. We play two Fright Night Yveltal to ensure that we can clean up damaged Shaymin on the Bench without having to hit our [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card].
Fright Night Yveltal is also good for slowing down Mega Pokemon-EX. If you are able to get Yveltal into the Active on the first turn of the game versus a Mega Pokemon-EX deck, it is likely that your opponent will be unable to Mega Evolve during their second turn without ending their turn. This can be frustrating for the opponent when their Pokemon-EX are taking foul treatment from Pitch-Black Spear.
Now that we can power up Yveltal in one turn, Fright Night is the perfect attacker to apply pressure early and soften up Benched threats to be finished off by [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]. Additionally, Fright Night conveniently ignores the effect of [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], an annoying new Tool to come out of BREAKpoint.
1x Zoroark BREAK
[card name=”Zoroark BREAK” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] saw marginal inclusion in [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] lists during City season, but the card gets a nice boost with the absence of [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] and a host of new threats in Standard. Primarily, Zoroark BREAK allows us to cope with the new kid on the block, Jolteon-EX. [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] is seeing a spike in play with Jolteon-EX at its side. Zoroark BREAK allows you to use your opponent’s Jolteon against itself. It also allows you to trade favorably with Mega Manectric by copying Turbo Bolt and accelerating Energy to your own Benched Pokemon. If your opponent stretches their Bench, they open themselves up to a painful Mind Jack. If they limit their Bench and attackers, they leave themselves vulnerable to running out of steam against Zoroark BREAK and multiple [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card]. I would like to fit a second Zoroark BREAK in the list, but I have justified limiting to one copy because of the [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] we play.
3x Float Stone / 3x Zorua / 3x Zoroark
With four copies of [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] in deck, it is more imperative than ever that our lists boasts great maneuverability. Max Elixir only accelerates to the Bench, so we need to have a high number of switch outs to ensure that we accelerate to our desired Pokemon. Three [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] greatly increases the probability that we will hit one on the first turn, which increases the likelihood of a turn one Evil Ball or Pitch-Black Spear. A thick [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] line allows us to naturally draw into the Fox early. If we have Zoroark set up with a Float Stone attached, we can utilize Stand In to effectively accelerate Energy to any place on the board with Max Elixir, increasing the card’s power and reach.
10x Darkness Energy
Yup! This is a lot of Energy for a Dark deck. I have tested the [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] engine with ten, nine, and eight basic Energy in deck. It is extraordinarily frustrating to whiff multiple Max Elixir throughout the course of a game. There is no point in sacrificing [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] to play four copies of Max Elixir if we are only going to average two or three accelerations per game. With 10 basic Energy in deck, I find myself nearly always hitting the Max Elixir play.
I could see the merits of playing a single [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] to thin a few cards out from the deck, which would increase Max Elixir success later in the game while activating [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] early on. It’s a card worth keeping on the table. Whatever we do, we want to consistently make the most of each of our Max Elixirs. It will make the difference between games won and games lost in the end.
Additional Options
The provided [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] list is a starting block, a piece of clay if you will, ready for your own molding. In its current state, it is very straightforward and vanilla, however, that’s the way I like my lists! This list is consistent, aggressive and well rounded, but there are a few things I wish I could make room for.
First of all, I wish I had room for [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card]. Target Whistle works amazingly alongside [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. Whether you are bringing up a [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] for a game-winning KO or simply slapping another Pokemon on your opponent’s Bench to max out Mind Jack damage, Target Whistle is a excellent play in this list.
Next on the list is a Stadium. Both [card name=”Reverse Valley” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] are tempting options, but if I were to add just a single Stadium, I would choose Parallel City. This list relies on Shaymin to set up consistently. A single Parallel City would allow you to remove that liability from the board by limiting your Bench to three. If I played Parallel City, I might look into playing a [card name=”Skyla” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] to search it out.
Finally, a single [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] would go great in this list to eliminate dead cards from the deck and promote consistency early game. It’s the kind of card I want to see in almost every deck I play. Supporter lines this thin make me nervous and I would be more comfortable with a single Compressor, though it is not explicitly necessary. Further testing may reveal that a couple copies of Compressor are optimal.
Conclusion
Thank you all for tuning in for the Art of Pokemon 101! I will be back with a more straightforward State’s preparation article later this month, so make sure to look out for that. For now, both [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] / Night March and [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] are proving themselves to be formidable choices for States in my testing. At the time I’m writing this, [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Garchomp” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] all seem too inconsistent to bring to States, while [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] still fails to impress me, even with Jolteon-EX by its side. I have a few additional ideas for State Championships that I am excited to refine and share with you this month.
Until then, I hope you were able to get a little something different out of this article today. My goal is to help you all become the best deck builders and card players you can be, so let me know if this article helped you think about your deck building process in a different light! And of course, as always, feel free to hit me up on PokeBeach via personal message or the Subscriber’s Secret Hideout if you have any questions about States before my next article.
[cardimg name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Old Faithful![/cardimg]
For anyone interested, I was able to finish 23rd out of 500 players with my Night March / [card name=”Archeops” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] list at St. Louis Regionals. This is my third year in a row finishing in at least the Top 32 of the event and my first Regional top cut of the season of the three I have attended. Though the performance was not a Top-8 finish, I am proud of my outing for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I hadn’t tested any Expanded format games since Fall Regionals. I stayed up until 6 AM the morning of the event trying out various decks that I obtained from my peers. Unsatisfied with the results, I slept for two hours and woke up to a dream about Night March with Archeops and [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67 ” c=”name”][/card]. I didn’t second guess myself. I sleeved the deck up, played zero games and registered for the event. For anyone watching the official Pokemon stream, I was featured round one. Unfortunately, I lost my first round to a player piloting [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]. Needless to say, the matchup can be frustrating when your opponent sets up. I was able to take my opponent to game three, but couldn’t successfully draw out of the turn one Item lock and had to concede the series. Losing round one of a nine-round tournament is tough, but I was able to rally back and win six games straight after my round one defeat, locking up my placement in the Top 32 with two intentional draws and a record of 6-1-2. Most impressively, I was able to defeat two [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] decks back-to-back thanks to the single copy of Jirachi that I played in my list. Turns out that [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] using Stardust is really good! With the 30 points I obtained from my Top-32 finish, I was able to snag my invite to the 2016 World Championships, with no League Challenge finishes to boot. I’m super excited to be attending the World Championships again this year in San Francisco, California. Hopefully I get to see many of you there as well!
Until next time, I’m out.
Later trainers,
-Andrew Mahone
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