How to Manage Time and a World Championship Recap
What’s up PokeBeach? After a long hiatus due to exams, I’m finally back to talk to you about the game we all love to play, and one interesting part of Pokemon that has been getting a lot of attention recently. Ever since the introduction of ties in the game, there has been a significant increase in the amount of discussion about time management within the Pokemon community.
If you’re a fairly experienced player you should be well aware of the issue of time-stalling. This is where a player will intentionally decrease their pace of play in a situation where they either won game one and know that if they play slow enough they can force a win when time is called, or where they are losing and their only option is to slow play and try to cause a tie. This is of course against the rules, however, it is difficult to draw a line when it comes to this kind of situation because there are only vague time guidelines to go by.
For the second half of this article, I wanted to briefly touch on two unexpected decks that made a big impact at the World Championships last weekend. These decks being the [card name=”Yanmega BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] deck that my friend Jesper Eriksen managed to pilot to first place in the Senior division, as well as the [card name=”M Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] deck that Shintaro Ito used to take the Master’s champion title with.
Speeding Up Your Play
If you plan on entering any kind of premier event you’re almost guaranteed to face this issue at some point, so it’s important to know how you can do your best to prevent your deserved wins turning into ties. I’m sure that slow play will be a factor in many of your tournament games, especially during the later rounds due to the fact that a lot of high-level players can manipulate time in their favor very well. With all that said, I’m now going to list a few ways that will help you cut down on time and reduce the number of ties you come across in your tournaments.
Optimize Your Shuffling Methods
[cardimg name=”Imakuni?” set=”Generations” no=”63″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the way that players shuffle. Specifically, whether or not pile shuffling is the most efficient way of randomizing your deck before your games. A lot of players don’t like to be told that pile shuffling is a waste of time because it is something that they have been told to do ever since they played their first game of Pokemon. Hopefully, by the end of this section, I’ll be able to convince you that this method is really just a waste of time compared to the far more refined riffle and mash shuffle.
A Pile Shuffle Results in a Less Randomized Deck
A pile shuffle is generally defined by arranging your deck by placing each card in different piles (usually seven) and then shuffling all the piles together. In actuality, this is just arranging your deck in a certain order (the exact opposite of randomizing) and then performing a mash shuffle. One pile shuffle like this is the equivalent of one mash / riffle except it can take ten times longer to perform. This means that in the time it takes you to randomize your deck this way you could have achieved this effect ten times over. Generally, even if my deck is entirely in order, it will only take me eight riffles until my deck is in a decently random arrangement, and on average that will only take me around thirty seconds. On the other hand, pile shuffling my deck generally takes me around 60 seconds and leaves my deck in a much less desirable order where many sets of the same cards are still next to each other.
Pile Shuffling Generally Results in More “Clumps”
Carrying on from my last point, I’ve found when testing hands for this article that when I do a pile shuffle, even when followed by a few riffles, my deck tends to lack the same consistency that it gets when I simply stick to riffling. This is because when you put your deck in a certain order you really aren’t doing much to separate certain sets of cards. When you start from a fully ordered deck it will take you multiple pile shuffles until your deck is anywhere close to being randomized enough to play out a game. Once again, a few riffle shuffles will easily prevent this kind of clumping and will take less time.
A Few Seconds Can be the Difference Between a Win or a Tie
Ever been in a situation where you needed just one more turn for a win? I have, and in those situations, an extra minute would have really made a difference. If you play a full three games out you will end up doing a pre-game shuffle three times (shocking I know), and if you and your opponent riffled instead of piled each time then you could have saved around two minutes which could significantly impact the point in the third game at which time is called. It might not seem like a lot, but when you only have 50 minutes to try and play out a best-of-three, those few minutes can really make a difference.
Conclusion
Overall pile shuffling is a worse way of randomizing your deck than riffle shuffling and it can take up a lot more time in a game where you barely have long enough to play as it is. I’ve had many tournament games where choosing to stick to riffling rather than doing piles has helped me out a lot, either due to the better randomization of my deck or the extra time I saved. If you need any more convincing two of the best players in the game, Jason Klaczynski and Michael Pramawat, also feel the same way about shuffling and as a result, neither of them pile shuffle in tournaments.
Learn Your Deck
[cardimg name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
I know this seems obvious but there’s more to this than the average player realizes. Learning how to play your deck is crucial to not only your performance with it and the quality of your plays, but knowing every aspect of the deck you want to play inside and out will also increase the pace at which you make moves. Usually, if you’re taking a lot of time to figure out what to do in certain situations it means that you don’t know your deck as well as you maybe should.
Most players that I know will value theory over practice, and think that having a rough game plan going into each match as well as a bit of practice will be enough to get them through the tournament. While it’s true that theory is a very important part of the game, and knowing how you should approach different matchups is an absolute must, you can’t expect to play optimally when you favor it over testing.
One thing I tend to notice from these types of players is that they play practically perfect when they’re ahead, but struggle to play from behind. This is because you can’t really theorize how you can come back from being behind in the game because when you’re behind it could mean anything; you could be struggling to find Knock Outs, dead drawing, having to spend your turns catching up rather than moving forward, etc. The only thing that can prepare you for situations like this is heavy testing. I’ve even played practice games with friends where we set up a situation before the game so one player has to see how they can come back from a bad spot.
What does this have to do with time managing you ask? Well knowing how to deal with situations like this means that you will spend considerably less time thinking and being inactive, and a lot more time making moves. I’m sure we’ve all watched games where a player sat there for a few minutes doing very little and this usually results in them being asked to hurry up. Those minutes over the course of a game really do add up, and being able to avoid sitting there and wasting time trying to figure out the best course of action could save you enough time to turn a tie into a victory.
[premium]
Confidence and Assertion
Everyone hates those situations where your opponent is taking a bit too long to make a play and you really need them to hurry up but you don’t want to be rude at the same time. It’s awkward, and most of the time players will just leave it and let them take their time. The issue with this is that when this results in a tie the player who didn’t speak up will go around and rant about how their opponent took too long and caused them to tie when really it’s both players’ responsibility to maintain a healthy game state.
As a human myself I know that it can be difficult to approach your opponent with concerns like this, but most of the time when a player is taking too long to make a move they are aware themselves and are more or less just trying their luck. This means that simply asking them to hurry up a little won’t usually annoy them because they know they need to speed up too. The only times when this causes problems is when your opponent doesn’t think they’re taking too long, and if you’re confident that they are it’s always better to call a judge over to observe the pace of play than to just let them get away with it.
At the end of the day, the very worst that can happen is maybe a little friction between you and your opponent, but you’ll be satisfied with yourself after the round if you managed to pull out a win because of it. It only takes a few times doing this to get used to it and past that point, you’ll be far more confident in your ability to communicate with other players when you have issues, which will also help you with other problems such as in game errors and shady play.
Knowing When to Scoop Early
[cardimg name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Over the course of the five years that I have been playing this game, I have had countless games where I’ve wasted a lot of time on a game where I had been guaranteed to lose turns before I eventually conceded. On the other hand, I’ve also had games where I wished I hadn’t scooped because I realized after the fact that there may have been a realistic win condition available to me that I should have tried to exercise. The key thing is to be able to assess the situation and see what options you have available.
When things are looking bad you need to really consider the options you have left. If none of them seem very plausible and revolve around getting pretty lucky then it’s better to just give in if you think time is going to be an important factor in the series. The only time where this doesn’t apply is if it’s not going to take much time to see whether you’re going to lose for sure. For example, say your opponent has one Prize left and an easy way to Knock Out all of your Pokemon. Your only option is to try and win is by dragging something up from their Bench and hoping they deck out. If their deck is thin then it might just be worth playing it out because they might not have any way to retreat that Pokemon, but on the other hand, if they have a fairly big deck then you can assume they will come across some way to get out of the situation and therefore it isn’t worth wasting the time finishing the game.
Generally, the important factors to consider are how likely is it that you can win, and how much time it’s going to take. By no means am I saying you should always scoop when the going gets rough; being able to work your way out of bad spots is a major part of the game. The point that I’m trying to get across is that you shouldn’t always hold on to every inch of hope just in case you win. Maybe by playing every game to the end could net you a couple of extra flukey wins but, in most cases, you will just be wasting time on a fool’s crusade to win a game you lost many turns before the final Prize was taken.
Conclusion
Following this advice has helped me cut down my game time considerably and, as a result, I’ve managed to get through most of my tournaments with one or no ties. The key thing to realize is that every few seconds you save by doing these things can matter. It’s important to get into your head that you really don’t have a whole lot of time to play out your games so it’s important that you can minimize the amount of time that gets wasted by making decisions, shuffling, and also by your opponent. I hope this advice helps you in your coming tournaments!
New Decks From Worlds
For the first time in a long time, the World Championship metagame was full of weird decks that no one could have predicted to do well. This is mostly a result of Steam Siege being made legal for the first time for this tournament and no one really knowing what to expect. We saw cards such as the new [card name=”Talonflame” set=”Steam Siege” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] making a splash in [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] becoming a staple in [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] and Night March variants, and even [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] made an appearance on stream throughout the weekend. The biggest new decks made viable by Steam Siege though were the aforementioned [card name=”Yanmega BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”M Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] decks. Whilst there was some speculation about the potential of Yanmega, I think I speak for all of us when I say none of us in the west expected such a big showing from M Audino-EX, a card from the Fates Collide expansion that had seen no play until this tournament. So without further ado, let me break down these two exciting new decks and tell you why they had as much success as they did.
Yanmega BREAK / Vespiquen
This deck takes the tried and tested [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] engine and mixes it up with some brand new Pokemon. The Yanmega line is incredibly powerful when given the right circumstances. Yanmega’s Ability allows it to attack for free when you have four cards in your hand; an easy feat if you play the deck correctly. To help with this the deck runs the Supporter card [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] to give you a guaranteed way to set your hand size to the magic number. At 140 HP, [card name=”Yanmega BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] is also incredibly difficult to Knock Out for a lot of decks, especially ones like Water Box and [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] which have a hard time beating this deck in the first place due to their Grass Weakness. And to top this all off you have the Vespiquen line at your disposal to hit for huge damage in the late game thanks to this deck running 24 Pokemon.
Jesper’s Winning List
[decklist name=”Yanmega/Vespiqeun” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Yanmega BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”8″][pokemon amt=”24″]3x [card name=”Yanmega BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”8″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Yanmega” set=”Steam Siege” no=”7″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Yanma” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”3″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]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]3x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Ariados” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”6″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Spinarak” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”5″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Revitalizer” set=”Generations” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Pokemon
[cardimg name=”Yanmega” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY144″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The aim of this deck is to set up quickly and dish out big damage for little to no Energy. One of the great things about Yanmega’s attack is that the mere threat of it will make your opponent incredibly reluctant to attach Tools to their Pokemon because they know that if they do it will cause them more harm than good. Even without Tools, the attack is capable of 2HKOing some of the most prominent Pokemon-EX in the game. [card name=”Yanmega BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card]’s attack dishes out a little extra damage in situations where the defending Pokemon does not have a Tool attached to it, but the major downside is that its damage is not affected by Weakness. The best part of Yanmega BREAK is the extra 30 HP which, as I said before, makes [card name=”Yanmega” set=”Steam Siege” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card] pretty difficult to Knock Out.
Of course, the other main attraction of the deck is the [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] line. Vespiquen can be used later in the game to hit for huge damage on big Pokemon, or in the early game where it can be used to take on [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] by taking advantage of their Grass Weakness. It is also very strong against [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] due to the fact that it can survive two attacks and potentially take two KOs in return. Overall, Vespiquen’s role in this deck is what it has done all season; utilize cards that discard Pokemon in order to hit for big damage.
The final line of Pokemon in this deck is a 1-1 set of [card name=”Ariados” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”6″ c=”name”][/card]. This is a really smart inclusion because the extra 10 damage is perfect for hitting certain Pokemon. For example, [card name=”Yanmega BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card]’s Barrier Break plus 10 from Poison hits the perfect 110 for a KO on Shaymin-EX. Being Grass, it can also utilize [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] which makes it very easy to get out onto the field when you need it. The only problem with this tech is that, being a 1-1 line, if you prize or discard one of the two Pokemon then your chances of getting it out are more or less gone.
Supporters
There’s nothing really special or surprising from the Supporter line in this deck. It runs four [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] due to the fact that it needs to draw a lot of cards fast in order to set up its evolutions and start dealing damage as soon as possible. In cases, discarding cards with Professor Sycamore can work to your advantage since you need a lot of Pokemon in the discard pile for [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]’s attack. [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] is another key Supporter in this deck because it allows you to set your hand to four cards when you need to attack with [card name=”Yanmega” set=”Steam Siege” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card], as well as restricting your opponent’s options on the following turn.
[cardimg name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Speaking of restricting your opponent’s options, the deck also runs two copies of [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]. This is because N works as a great way to reset your hand in the early game, as well as a method of disrupting your opponent later on if they get ahead. You will see plenty of games come down to whether or not a player can draw their way out of an N to one.
As for utility Supporters, the deck runs one copy of [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] and one copy of [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. The Lysandre is of course used for dragging up targets from the Bench, but the reason this deck only needs to run one is because you usually want to be taking out your opponent’s Active threats which are generally already gonna be in the defending position. AZ is used as a way of healing your Pokemon, usually from either Trevenant spread damage attacks or Quaking Punches. Since you have Forest Of Giant Plants you can pick up your Yanmega line and then play it straight back down on the same turn, plus since you won’t be attaching any Energy to it, you won’t have to worry about discarding anything important.
Items
Four [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Fates Collide” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] is pretty standard in most decks these days, but this list also includes two copies of [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]. Not only can this card search out a lot of the Pokemon in this deck, but it can also be used at any time (provided you’re not under Item-lock) which means you can burn it if you need to decrease your hand size for Yanmega. Another key Pokemon related Item card in the deck is [card name=”Revitalizer” set=”Generations” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]. This is a really great recovery card for situations where you run out of [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Combee” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card] either due to the fact that you had to discard them early on or they were Knocked Out.
A very similar card in the deck is [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] from the new Steam Siege set. Running only four [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] would usually be incredibly risky, and throughout the 2016 season, there have been many instances where Night March and [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] variants would end up losing just due to the fact that they had run out of Energy. [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] helped with this issue somewhat, but in this deck where you don’t have the space to run four copies of that card, Special Charge is an amazingly efficient way of recycling Energy cards when you are running low on resources.
[cardimg name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Two [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] are also included in this list as a way of discarding Pokemon for Vespiquen and thinning the deck in the late game. The only Tools that this deck runs are four [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. These can be used as a damage amplifier and as a way of defending your Pokemon. For instance, if you have a lone Combee in the Active spot then your opponent won’t hesitate before KOing it, but if it has a Bursting Balloon attached then it will make your opponent think twice about hitting it, and even if they still do, 60 damage is nothing to sneeze at and will make it much easier for you to take Knock Outs later in the game.
Stadiums
Finally, the deck runs four copies of [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. This card is essential to the speed of the deck, allowing you to set up your evolutions on the first turn of the game. On your opponent’s first turn they could be facing down several [card name=”Yanmega” set=”Steam Siege” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card], meaning that they need to not only set up their own deck but also start dealing with these threats as soon as possible. When the deck works, it can create an immense amount of pressure and really just snowball as we saw with a lot of Jesper’s games on stream.
Conclusion
Although the deck didn’t have any success in the Master’s division, the fact that it won the Senior division title is nothing to be taken lightly. I think that if this deck is picked up by the right player it could see success in the coming rotation because it loses very little. [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] is not a key card in the list and can easily be replaced by another utility Supporter. Losing [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] is a big hit for all Vespiquen variants but, unlike most others, this Yanmega variant can cope very well without it. Another key factor to consider is that [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] will likely be one of the most prominent decks to come out of the rotation, and Yanmega has an incredibly good matchup against it when played correctly. Overall, this deck has lots of potential and I am excited to see how it fares in the 2017 season.
M Audino-EX
This is a deck I’m sure no one saw coming. When the [card name=”M Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] line was released in Fates Collide people dismissed it as another shiny card to fill binders, but little did we all know that this card had a lot of hidden potential. The deck aims to set up several M Audino-EX and use their bulk and high damage output to tank the enemy into submission. M Audino-EX has and incredible 220 HP which makes it almost impossible for anything to OHKO it unless they use a lot of resources to do so. Its attack is also very efficient at taking KOs and prevents the Bench from being a safe space, which makes it especially difficult to play around.
Shintaro’s Winning List
[decklist name=”Mega Audino” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”M Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”85″][pokemon amt=”13″]3x [card name=”M Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”85″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Magearna-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cobalion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Absol” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Flashfire” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Audino Spirit Link” set=”Fates Collide” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mega Turbo” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]6x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Pokemon
[cardimg name=”M Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”85″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
I’ve already spoken about [card name=”M Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s a big bulky Pokemon with an attack that hits hard on both the Active Pokemon and the Bench. It hits the perfect number for KOs on both [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] and the Bench snipe is enough to take out [card name=”Combee” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card]. A lot of the time you will also be using its attack, and then on the following turn play a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] on the Pokemon you hit for 50 and take two KOs. When the math isn’t quite right, the fallback option is [card name=”Absol” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]. This card allows you to manipulate small amounts of damage (up to three damage counters) which will allow you to hit imperfect numbers such as 120 on [card name=”Manaphy-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] and 60 on [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card].
[card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] is excellent in this deck because it allows you to easily set up your main attackers because it can grab both [card name=”Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] and M Audino-EX which really speeds up the development of your board. It can also be used to grab [card name=”Magearna-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card], a card which really helps against Trevenant because it prevents them from being able to attack with Silent Fear onto Pokemon that have Metal Energy attached to them. It also works as a way of stopping [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67″ c=”name”][/card]’s Stardust attack from discarding Energy and therefore preventing it from becoming immune to attacks. Funnily enough, it also prevents your Pokemon from being paralyzed by [card name=”Froakie” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card]’s Bubble attack, so there’s that to consider too.
Finally, there is a [card name=”Cobalion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”74″ c=”from”][/card]. This card can be used to attempt to stall versus certain decks such as Night March and [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] with Quick Guard when you need to buy yourself time, and it can also be used as a finisher with Revenge Blast when you need to hit hard for a lot of damage late game.
Supporters
This list runs a standard set of four [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] in order to be able to draw through the deck fast and hit the cards you need. It also runs two [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] as a recovery Supporter for when it gets behind. Two [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] are included because it is a great Supporter for healing big damage, making it even harder for the opponent to take KOs. This means you can let [card name=”M Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] take a hit and then instantly remove all those damage counters. It can also be used on [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] to get multiple uses out of it and set up faster. [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Generations” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] is another healing card which can be used for splash damage, such as Water Shuriken from [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] or attacks from [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]. They are also important due to Audino-EX’s heavy three Retreat Cost.
[card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] is good for discarding [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] when you need to, and it can easily be grabbed by [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] which means it can be used in a pinch. Another reason why this card works well in the deck is because you can use it to discard Spirit Links once Audino has Mega Evolved, freeing up the space for you to then attach a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] in order to counteract Audino-EX’s massive Retreat Cost and prevent it from being stuck in the Active spot.
I mentioned before how you would often be using [card name=”M Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card]’s attack, using [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] on the Benched Pokemon you damaged, and attacking again, which is why this deck chooses to run two Lysandre. This deck is all about manipulating spread damage to your advantage and making the math work. Finally, the deck runs one [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] for slowing down other decks and for certain matchups like [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] and Bats to try and put a cap on the spread damage, because healing for small amounts of damage isn’t something that this deck excels at.
Items
Four [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and four [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Fates Collide” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] is so standard I’m sure I don’t have to talk about them. They are insanely good Items that almost every deck should run. Some of the other Item choices are more interesting, though, and it really shows how well Shintaro thought about his list before he brung it to the tournament. As mentioned before, [card name=”Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]’s three Retreat Cost makes it very easy for it to get stuck in the Active position, so [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] is a necessity. A single [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] is also good as another way to switch out Audino-EX, as well as a method of messing up your opponent’s positioning.
[cardimg name=”Mega Turbo” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”86″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
[card name=”Mega Turbo” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] can be a godsend when you don’t have an attacker with Energy on the Bench because it lets you power up a [card name=”M Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] in a single turn along with an attachment of a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]. If I ran the deck for a tournament I would consider playing two copies of this card because it can be an incredibly useful way of preventing you from becoming behind in the game.
In my opinion, four copies of [card name=”Audino Spirit Link” set=”Fates Collide” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] is rather heavy. Shintaro clearly built his deck around set up, but I think you could cut a few corners in order to free up space for some late game cards. If I went back in time to the night before worlds with this list, I would heavily consider cutting a Spirit Link for a second Mega Turbo.
Four [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] is essential when running so many different Items because without them you wouldn’t ever be able to find the right cards in the right situations. It gives you extra reach when you’re trying to hit a specific card such as a Spirit Link or a Mega Turbo, etc. The deck runs a single copy of [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] as an additional way to remove Tools that could potentially mess with your game plan, and unlike [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] it can obviously be used on a turn where you have already played a Supporter card.
Stadiums
[card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] seems like an obvious inclusion in the deck. It is used to discard your own [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] so that the opponent doesn’t have any easy Knock Out targets on your Bench. Without this card, it would be much harder to push the strategy of tanking with [card name=”M Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] because your opponent would just be able to Lysandre around it and go for the easy Prizes on the Bench.
Conclusion
This deck is clearly very strong, although it can be very difficult to play. It requires a lot of advanced thinking and math against some matchups, and if you mess up you are likely to get punished for it. Overall though when the deck runs well it should have a good matchup against most decks. The real problem I see for this deck is the loss of [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] in the coming rotation. Players will have to find other ways to compensate for [card name=”Audino-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]’s heavy Retreat Cost because there will be no guaranteed ways of picking your own Pokemon back up, and no way at all to remove Tools from Pokemon. One option is running [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] and more [card name=”Mega Turbo” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], but obviously with that you run the risk of losing games due to hitting a bunch of tails.
One thing to remember when assessing how certain archetypes will fare in the new format is that every deck out there will lose out in some way. Also, while a deck might not work at the start of the season, it doesn’t mean it has lost its potential forever. A lot of the time a deck can come back mid season once a certain card is released that fills the slots of something that the deck lost after the rotation.
We’ve seen how strong this deck can be in the right environment so I’m sure players will figure out ways to innovate their lists in order to make it a strong play.
Final Thoughts
I can’t wait for the new season to start up, and I’m really excited to see how the game develops after the rotation. In my opinion, some of the biggest decks in Standard at the start of next season will be [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card], Volcanion being the deck that I think has the most potential.
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