Sieging the Power of Steam — A Complete Guide to Standard Volcanion
Hey everyone! This is Dalen back with another article for you guys, this one is especially fiery. In this article, I’m going to be discussing a brand new deck, receiving its core cards from Steam Siege, and that deck is [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]. Since Steam Siege‘s reveal, Volcanion has had quite a bit of hype around it, with players wondering if it had what it takes to be one of the Tier 1 decks in the metagame. Orlando Regionals answers that question perfectly. In this article, we’ll take a look at that all-important question as well as three different Volcanion builds, plus my brief tournament report from Orlando playing Volcanion!
For those of you that don’t know the concept of the [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] deck, it’s quite simple: deal a ton of damage as quickly as possible, all while flooding Fire Energy onto your board to power up other attackers. There are two key Pokemon in this deck, which are [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] as you may have guessed from the deck’s name. “Baby” [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] is your go-to attacker for the first part of the game, essentially letting you attach three Energy per turn. To make its measly 20 damage something significant, we have [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] and its Steam Up Ability. For every Volcanion-EX you have in play, you can discard one Fire Energy to make your Basic Fire Pokemon (two restrictions that don’t hinder the deck at all) deal 30 more damage to your opponent’s Active Pokemon that turn! With Baby Volcanion and Volcanion-EX together, your ideal first couple of turns consist of two to three Steam Ups, an attachment for the turn, and a Power Heater for 80 to 140 damage, depending on the number of Steam Up Abilities you used. Let’s take a look at a sample deck list for Volcanion.
Volcanion
Volcanion Skeleton List
[decklist name=”a” amt=”40″ caption=”a” cname=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″][pokemon amt=”10″]4x [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”20″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ 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=”Fates Collide” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]10x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Generations” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Free Space – 20
Card Choices and Counts
Most of the cards in the deck are quite self-explanatory as to their inclusion in the deck and why that number of that card is used, but there’s one card I want to talk about in particular, baby [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]. In every game, you absolutely want to get a turn one Power Heater (or turn two if you go first). Running four Volcanion gives you the best chance to do this, since starting with something else can make things difficult. Cutting down to three Volcanion wouldn’t hurt the consistency of the deck too much, but I would definitely refrain from cutting any more than one out of the list.
Now, just because the skeleton list has 20 free spots, don’t think Volcanion is a roomy deck with tons of free space for techs. In fact, it’s the opposite! When I was trying to finalize my deck list for Orlando Regionals, I had to make so many difficult cuts to make room for other cards I wanted; if I could have used every card I wanted, my deck would have probably been 80 cards! So, let me discuss why there’s so many open spots and what they should be filled with.
Stadiums
One of the most defining factors between Volcanion builds is the deck’s choice of Stadiums. Popular Stadiums that Volcanion decks use are [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Faded Town” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Scorched Earth” set=”Primal Clash” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], so you can already see an example of the choices that have to be made in Volcanion decks. [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] in Volcanion is usually paired with [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] to swarm Volcanion-EX immediately and have more room for [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] on the Bench. [card name=”Faded Town” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] is used to make taking Knock Outs on things like [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] easier, and [card name=”Scorched Earth” set=”Primal Clash” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] is used for raw draw power and consistency. [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is the versatile card in the Stadium list, as you can use it with any other Stadium for many different effects. Against a [card name=”Xerneas” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card]-driven Rainbow Road deck or [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], Parallel City greatly reduces their damage output; against decks you can use Parallel to discard your low-HP or unnecessary Pokemon-EX like [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] or possibly [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] (if you run it) to prevent easy [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] KOs and clean your Bench up for room for additional [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]. No matter which Stadium you choose to focus on, [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is certainly a great choice for a one-of or two-of.
The usual Stadium count for a Volcanion deck is three to four, but you could cut down to two Stadiums to make room for other inclusions if you prefer.
Switching Methods
[cardimg name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
You may notice that there’s also no switching methods in the skeleton deck list, and it’s because, again, there’s a plethora of options to choose from, so I’ll talk about all of them here. One switching method we have is none other than good old [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] itself. Other switch options that work well in Volcanion are [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Olympia” set=”Generations” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card], and which switch cards you should use depends heavily on which build you are using, which I’ll discuss later. Try to always play at least three switch cards in this deck, absolutely no fewer than two. Four is preferred if possible, but sometimes there simply isn’t enough room for the extra card here.
Energy Recovery
One thing you may notice after playing a few games with Volcanion, especially with [card name=”Scorched Earth” set=”Primal Clash” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck, is that the deck quickly runs out of Energy to discard for Steam Up. All your Energy are either attached to your Pokemon or waiting in the discard pile to be attached by Power Heater. To remedy this and make Steam Up still potent in the late game, we use a heavy copy of Energy recovery cards. The most common and, in my opinion, the best card to do this is [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Primal Clash” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] (in the Standard format, that is). Other cards like [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] recover a higher count of Energy, but they send them to the deck instead of directly to your hand. Energy Retrieval, on the other hand, sends the Energy right to your hand, making Steam Up immediately possible instead of forcing you to dig through the deck to find the Energy. One good aspect of Super Rod, though, is that it can also shuffle back Pokemon in addition to the Basic Energy cards. If you find yourself discarding too many [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], Super Rod is a great card to get them back as well as Energy cards, making it the most versatile Energy recovery. The last Energy recycling card that works greatly in Volcanion is [card name=”Fisherman” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]. Like Energy Retrieval, Fisherman puts the Energy it gets back straight into your hand and even gets back four instead of Energy Retrieval’s two, but it comes at the cost of being a Supporter. In some regards, being a Supporter actually helps Fisherman, since you can theoretically use it up to five times through [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. Through my testing, the split I’ve grown to like the most is three Energy Retrieval / One Fisherman. Three Energy Retrieval gives you many ways to get back Fire Energy without playing a Supporter, meaning you can [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] and get back some Energy in the same turn. Fisherman rounds out the recovery by being the strongest raw recovery, and like mentioned before, as soon as it’s discarded, it can be accessed by [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. Like with switching methods, it’s generally a good idea to run three or four Energy recovery cards whenever possible, but I would prioritize this category over switching methods (so for example, if you have seven slots for the two categories, I would use four Energy recovery cards and three switching cards instead of the other way around).
On the topic of Energy, the skeleton deck list has 10 Fire Energy. However, I would recommend having 11 or 12 if the the deck list can fit it (I’ve even seen some lists run 13). In a deck that revolves around Energy so heavily, you want to have a steady supply of it, and Energy recovery cards aren’t helpful if you run a low amount of Energy. Adding more Energy is the first thing I would add to the skeleton after adding the cards from these sections.
Other Cards
[cardimg name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
I’ve mentioned “multiple Volcanion builds” but never described what they were, how they functioned, or what makes each build different or unique; this is where I’ll do that. The first major variant of Volcanion is the straightforward, traditional list with [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and either the [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Scorched Earth” set=”Primal Clash” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] engine. This type of Volcanion deck aims to be consistent, quick, and powerful in what it does, and usually runs thick copies of the major categories (switching methods, Energy recovery, and consistency cards), and doesn’t try to catch the opponent off guard with any wild techs. It can win with its raw power and speed. When Volcanion decks were first being crafted and tested, this was the most common type of deck, since many players had not yet explored the other options.
The second build is one including [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]. The goal of this Volcanion build is to flood the field with Energy even quicker than usual, allowing you to take many surprise KOs by attaching an extra Energy that most Volcanion decks can’t attach. Max Elixir Volcanion decks usually utilize the [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] engine instead of the [card name=”Scorched Earth” set=”Primal Clash” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] one since they want Energy in the deck rather than in the discard pile, but sometimes other Stadiums are used, like [card name=”Faded Town” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card].
The final Volcanion variant, and my personal favorite, is one with [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. In the Balloon variant, taking KOs is much easier and much more efficient. One Bursting Balloon activation is the same as two Steam Ups, turning Bursting Balloon into a pseudo-Energy Retrieval. The advantage it carries over Energy Retrieval, though, is that you could still use it to deal damage under an Ability-lock from [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], and you can ramp up the damage even more with your Steam Ups. To fit Bursting Balloons in the list, I had to cut out the [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], but that was not a rough loss at all; there was not a single matchup I felt Fighting Fury Belt would be more useful than Bursting Balloon, and that theory held true for all of our testing. Typically, cards from this category make up about four of the free spaces from the skeleton list. With the three to four Stadiums, the three to four switching methods, the three to four Energy recovery cards, the one to two extra Fire Energy, and the three to four other cards, that leaves between two and seven empty slots in the deck. If you don’t want to increase your counts of any of the above categories, you can mix two groups of the other cards, such as [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] together, or use some other techs.
[premium]
Other Techs
Hex Maniac
One of the most common techs, [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card], is a very powerful card in almost any deck for many matchups; like most other decks, Volcanion can also take advantage of it. Against [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] you can Hex Maniac to turn off their Giant Water Shurikens to significantly limit their damage output and sniping Abilities, allowing you to overcome the setback of Volcanion having Water Weakness to possibly win the game. Against other Volcanion decks, you can shut off Steam Up for one turn to make a Power Heater KO impossible. Hex Maniac can be used in other matchups, too, to turn off [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]’s Abilities to make your opponents’ setup much slower. The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to the uses of Hex Maniac.
Acro Bike
[card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] is one of those cards that you always want but don’t always have enough room for. Like [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], Acro Bike is a very powerful consistency card. One thing that makes Acro Bike especaially powerful in this deck is that you can discard Fire Energy from it and then attach the Energy back through [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]’s Power Heater. The deck doesn’t typically require Acro Bike to be consistent enough to function, but more consistency cards is always great to reduce the number of dead hands you draw and to make your starts even faster.
Spinda
[cardimg name=”Spinda” set=”Primal Clash” no=”115″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
[card name=”Spinda” set=”Primal Clash” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] is an extremely metagame-dependent tech; its only use is to beat the rising [card name=”Gyarados” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] deck. Gyarados deals its big damage by leaving 20 damage on all of its [card name=”Magikarp” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY143″ c=”name”][/card], and with their 30 HP, 10 damage is enough to KO them. Spinda can deal 10 damage to all of your opponents’ Pokemon for a single Energy, wiping the board of all of their Magikarp and taking three Prizes in a single attack. If Gyarados is a matchup you’re extremely worried about, tech in a Spinda to beat it, but be aware that the Spinda will be practically useless in any other matchup.
Mr. Mime
Like Spinda, [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Generations” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] is a tech that is included for specifically one matchup: [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card]. Yveltal / [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] and Yveltal / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] were already one of the most played archetypes at Orlando Regionals, but with Azul Garcia Griego winning the entire event with his [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] deck, I expect to see a notable increase in popularity of Yveltal decks. If that’s the case, Mr. Mime could really swing that extremely close matchup into your favor. If, like Azul, they do use Garbodor with Yveltal, you have to prioritize KOing out the Garbodor first to make Mr. Mime useful, but targeting Garbodor is the main gameplan anyways.
Volcanion’s Matchups
M Mewtwo-EX / Garbodor
Volcanion has a very close matchup against one of the most popular decks, [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card]. The straightforward version has the worst time in this matchup; the reason for this is because [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] help you significantly under Ability-lock from [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], whereas the straight version has nothing of significance to do. With any variant, though, if you can rid the opponent of their Garbodor without wasting too many resources or sacrificing too many Prizes, the matchup gets a lot easier. With Steam Up, OHKOing a M Mewtwo becomes feasible, making their [card name=”Shrine of Memories” set=”Primal Clash” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] plus Damage Change strategy useless. Like in other Garbodor decks, target the Garbodor as much as possible and don’t waste too many resources on damaging the M Mewtwo-EX if you aren’t OHKOing it.
Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX / Garbodor
A deck that recently spiked in popularity due to taking three of the Top 8 spots in Orlando, [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], is a close matchup similar to M Mewtwo-EX. If you get rid of Garbodor, the matchup becomes much more favorable for you, but Garbodor often slows you down too much. With [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] you can 2HKO their Pokemon-EX, but your best bet is to aggressively target the Garbodor; other than that, the matchup is very simple. Just Steam Up and Volcanic Heat to victory, trying to Knock Out whichever of their Pokemon has the most Energy attached (usually Giratina-EX).
Yveltal-EX / Yveltal / Garbodor or Mew
[card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] is by far the best variant in the [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] matchup. With Yveltal’s Fright Night, [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] is all but useless while they’re attacking with Yveltal (assuming [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t on the field), which is almost the entire game. [card name=”Olympia” set=”Generations” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] is also a very useful tech in this matchup, since you can consistently switch out unpowered Volcanion-EX that they try to [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], and it also has some niche uses to heal 30 and prevent a KO. If the Yveltal deck uses [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card], this matchup is very even. Pitch-Black Spear can spread damage extremely quickly, and they can be at two Prize cards remaining very quickly. While Mew doesn’t help them at all, it usually means they aren’t running [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], a major thorn for Volcanion. If they do run Garbodor, like Azul Griego did to win Orlando Regionals, they can shut off both Steam Up and Fright Night. Normally, shutting off Fright Night would be a good thing for you, except they can now benefit from [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] on Yveltal. However, this type of situation is where Bursting Balloon comes into play. With Fright Night turned off, Bursting Balloon is turned back on, meaning the 60 they take from Balloon plus Volcanic Heat is enough to Knock Out an Yveltal with a Fighting Fury Belt. Like with any other Garbodor deck, target the Garbodor if you can, but don’t waste too much on doing so. This is a Garbodor matchup that can be won with Garbodor in play, but it does become much harder.
Vileplume Toolbox
The matchup against [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] toolbox is very dependent on how quickly the Vileplume deck sets up and if they’re able to get a turn one Vileplume out. If they are, you lose the ability to use most of your vital setup and consistency cards, especially [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. If you can Knock Out the [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card], do so, and Vileplume’s Fire Weakness makes KOing it much easier. The nice thing about this matchup is that you aren’t on an incredibly fast time clock. They’ll often attack you with [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] since it is their only choice to prevent damage from all of your attacks, and its Flash Ray only does a meager 70 damage per turn. Once you Knock Out Vileplume, you gain access to reusing your [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] to remove Jolteon-EX’s Flash Ray effect, letting you KO it handily.
Gyarados
[cardimg name=”Gyarados” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY60″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
[card name=”Gyarados” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY60″ c=”name”][/card] is normally a rough matchup for Volcanion. It is quick, powerful, a non-EX attacker, and hits Volcanion for Weakness. However, the Bursting Balloon variant has a decent shot at winning. In this matchup, you want to abuse baby Volcanion as much as possible. Their Gyarados will likely have 20 damage on it from [card name=”Team Magma’s Secret Base” set=”Double Crisis” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], and Bursting Balloon can increase that damage to 80. With only 50 HP left, all you need to KO a Gyarados is a single Steam Up and Power Heater. By chaining Bursting Balloon, counter-Stadiums, and Power Heaters, you can try to run them out of resources and disrupt them with [card name=”N” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW100″ c=”name”][/card]. Even with Balloons, this matchup is definitely hard, but Balloons give you the best shot at winning.
One tech that works wonders in this matchup is [card name=”Spinda” set=”Primal Clash” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]. If you’re interested in seeing how and why it helps, see the “Other Techs” section where a description is given.
Greninja
The key to winning the [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] matchup is to go as aggressive as you can. Greninja decks have notoriously slow setups due to the fact that their main attacker is a Stage 2 Pokemon, so you want to take as many Prizes as possible before they set up well. Even though you have Weakness to Water, you can hinder their late game strength by chaining [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] in consecutive turns. Hex Maniac takes away their astonishingly powerful Giant Water Shuriken, and they have to resort to 2HKOing your Volcanion-EX. Another benefit in this matchup is Bursting Balloon. If they’re smart and use Shadow Stitching to turn off your Steam Up, it becomes impossible to OHKO them. However, if you have a Bursting Balloon attached, they’ll take 60 damage from it, letting Volcanic Heat KO them.
Orlando Regionals Tournament Report
Here is the deck list I used at Orlando Regionals, originally given to me by friends Austen Vance and Zander Bennett. Zander decided to use the exact same list as me, along with three other friends, for that tournament.
[decklist name=”af” amt=”60″ caption=”gg” cname=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″][pokemon amt=”10″]4x [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”39″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Fisherman” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ 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=”Fates Collide” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Primal Clash” no=”126″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Kalos Starter Set” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Faded Town” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Generations” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Round 1: Michael P., Yveltal / Yveltal-EX / Mew LWT
To open the day, I faced an [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] deck, an extremely close matchup. During the first game, my start was quite slow and his was fast, hitting most of his [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], and a late game [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] sealed up the game for him. Game two went much better, with me getting a bunch of early KOs on [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card], and cleaning up with [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]. Unfortunately for me, time was called a few turns into game three, and even though I had a rocketing start, I could not seal up the game. I needed one more turn to take my sixth Prize card so we tied.
(0-0-1)
Round 2: Pedro H., Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX WW
[card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] can either be a quite favorable matchup for Volcanion, or it can be a very tough one, all depending on one factor: if the Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX deck runs [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. Luckily, Pedro’s version of the deck did not play Garbodor, although a single [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] made the matchup a little closer than usual. During both games, Pedro had quite a bad Energy drought, and my [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] made KOing his big Pokemon-EX no challenge at all with [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], even if they had [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] attached.
[cardimg name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
(1-0-1)
Round 3: Mike M., Volcanion / Volcanion-EX / Sky Field LWT
This was my first mirror match of the day, and it sure was a close one. In Volcanion mirror matches, the first one to power up two [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] usually is the winner, since Volcanion-EX can OHKO another Volcanion-EX due to its dual Fire / Water typing and Water Weakness. One beneficial observation I’ve had in my Volcanion mirror matches is that the player who goes second in the match usually achieves having two powered up Volcanion-EX first, largely because they can get off the first Power Heater. This can be a risky move since if the second player misses a Power Heater, the player who went first gets to attack with Power Heater first, negating any benefit of going second. So, when I won the coin flip before we set up, I chose to go second, much to Mike’s confusion. That tactic did not pay off in the first game, since I was unable to capitalize on the first attack because I could not attack with Power Heater that turn. This was an unfortunate end to the first game, but I chose to go second again in game two, and this time it worked out like it should. By attacking with Power Heater first, I got the first Volcanion-EX KO, and when his only powered Volcanion-EX KOd one of my two, an Energy attachment all but sealed up the game. Mike must have not agreed with my idea of going second in the mirror match, since he opted to go first. This was fine with me; after all, I would’ve chosen to second had I had the choice. Game three was almost a replay of game two but with one subtle difference – time being called. During the extra three turns of the game, this was the situation: I was turn three with one Prize left. I only had one Volcanion-EX powered up, and it had attacked last turn. So, I needed an Escape Rope to switch my Volcanion out of the Active spot, retreat back into it with my baby Volcanion, and use Volcanic Heat for the game. Mike made the wise decision to [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] my large hand away, and I drew a useless card off of the N as well as another useless card for my draw for the turn, so the game ended in a tie.
(1-0-2)
Round 4: Daniel C., Yveltal / Yveltal-EX / Garbodor WW
In this round, I got my first taste of [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] for the day, and it was just as annoying as ever. In the first game, Daniel had a respectable opening turn, having a couple of [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], but found himself with only a [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] in hand at the end of his turn but no draw Supporters in his discard. Unfortunately for him, his next few cards weren’t too helpful, so the game was over a couple of Power Heaters and Volcanic Heats later. Game two was very different. Daniel drew well, and got [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] out on his second turn with a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] to activate Garbotoxin. I was almost ready to scoop this game and move on to the final game to conserve time, but I realized a gameplan with a narrow path to victory and decided to take a chance on it. I had five Prizes left to Daniel’s four, and he had an Active Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] with a [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] attached, gaining its effects because of Garbotoxin. I couldn’t Steam Up because of Garbodor, so I resorted to a Volcanic Heat for 130. Daniel [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card]d a Volcanion-EX with no Energy to try to stall a few turns and take easy Prizes with Pitch-Black Spear, but I had an [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] handy in my hand. I played the [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] and then [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card]d his [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], and I KOd Garbodor with my Volcanion-EX. When Garbodor was Knocked Out, [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card]’s Fright Night was activated again, meaning as soon as it was promoted, it would be Knocked Out by losing the bonus HP from Fighting Fury Belt. This additional KO meant I got rid of his main attacker and his disruptive Garbodor at the same time, putting me in a much better position. His [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] Knocked Out my Volcanion-EX, so I brought up my fresh Volcanion-EX and [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]d him before I KOd his Yveltal-EX with two Steam Ups and Volcanic Heat. He was unable to respond to this KO, so another Volcanic Heat on [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] sealed up the game.
(2-0-2)
Round 5: Brandon F., Volcanion / Volcanion-EX / Sky Field / Max Elixir LWW
Round five brought me another Volcanion mirror match, this time with [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]. Knowing Brandon played Max Elixir in his deck was extremely scary, because I could never assume I was safe from his one-Energy Volcanion-EX: an Energy attachment from hand and a successful Max Elixir would have it ready to attack out of nowhere. Like in round three, I wanted to go second as much as possible, and I had the same general strategy on how to approach this match, except I had to be a little more cautious because of the Max Elixir. During game one, it seemed like it took forever for my deck to get going properly, while Brandon’s deck didn’t skip a single beat. After a few turns I conceded, knowing there was absolutely no way for me to win while he had only two Prizes left and two fully powered [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]. Game two went more like I had imagined, with the advantage of going second to get the first Power Heater slightly out-powering the Max Elixirs, and once I got two Volcanion-EX loaded, there was nothing he could do (very much like the previous game, except with reversed positions). The strange game of this series was the final one. Like I did in game one, Brandon really struggled to get the Power Heater engine going properly. He actually couldn’t even bench a baby Volcanion if he had one, since his field was three [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], two [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], and a [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] with no [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]. I decided to play this game much more conservatively, seeing as how he only had one big threat for me to deal with, and once that threat was eliminated, I could breeze through the rest of the game. That’s exactly how the game went, with him going for broke in one turn – he played out his entire hand before KOing my Volcanion-EX with his. I had another Volcanion-EX powered up on the Bench plus an additional one with one Energy, while he only had two more Energy on a Volcanion-EX. I attached an Energy to my Benched Volcanion-EX with one Energy to make it one attachment away from using Volcanic Heat, and Knocked Out his Volcanion-EX. At this point, even if he did get a Fire Energy off of his top card or Prize cards to KO my Volcanion-EX, all I needed was one Fire Energy to KO his Volcanion-EX in return. Brandon failed to find a Fire Energy or a Supporter out of those three cards, and another useless top deck gave me enough time to take my last Prize card.
(3-0-2)
Round 6: Long B., Primal Kyogre-EX / Palkia-EX / Manaphy-EX / Jolteon-EX WLT
[cardimg name=”Primal Kyogre-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”55″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
It took six rounds, but I was finally forced to face the one deck I didn’t want to face, a Water deck. Seeing that it was a [card name=”Primal Kyogre-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] deck, I knew I only had one shot to win, which was to outspeed Kyogre’s slow setup and take as many Prizes as possible before his chain of Kyogre could get rolling. This wasn’t easy though, with [card name=”Palkia-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] attaching two extra Energy per turn and [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] attaching even more. During game one, Long went through one of the worst Energy games I’ve ever seen. He whiffed Energy entirely for two turns. He couldn’t draw them off of [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card], and he couldn’t find them with [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]. Then, he would draw five or six at a time with Professor Sycamore, or N himself into four. Since his start was just so slow, and my start was incredibly fast, he scooped once I had two Prizes left, seeing there was no way to pull out a win, even with my Water Weakness. Game two was the exact opposite for him. Long flooded Water Energy onto the field with Max Elixir and Palkia-EX, and I played a couple more turns out to see if he would miss a crucial Energy drop after a late game [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] (which, in retrospect, was a bad idea, but game one didn’t take long at all so I thought there would be enough time for a full third game), but when he drew the Energy I conceded. Game three was a mix between games one and two for Long. He wasn’t missing Energy entirely, but he had quite a slow process of getting them down, and just had a slow setup in general. I, on the other hand, had probably the fastest start I’ve ever had with Volcanion, getting a Power Heater with four Steam Ups turn one and a [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] on my Volcanion. For the next few turns, Long passed without attacking, since he couldn’t find a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] to get around the Bursting Balloons that I kept attaching, and attacking into a Bursting Balloon would let me take an easy KO on his Primal Kyogre-EX. Time was called when I had four Prizes left. Long [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]d me to four and I needed to draw one of my remaining two [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] to get back [card name=”Fisherman” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] to take a KO on his Primal Kyogre, and then Fisherman again the following turn for game, but I failed to find a single VS Seeker from his N, so the game went to a tie.
(3-0-3)
Round 7: Brad C., Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX / Garbodor LWL
This was the second time I faced a [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] deck during this tournament, and this time it was even more annoying than the first; what made this time more annoying is that Brad got his Garbodor out turn two all three games. Basically, Garbodor slowed me down too much games one and three to do anything significant. In game two, I was able to keep Garbodor off the field by targeting it with [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], but I wasn’t able to do that in time the other games. However, I had a decent shot to win the third game. He had two Prizes left, and I had five. His field was the following: [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and two Dark Energy, another Darkrai with only one Dark Energy, a [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] with a Dark Energy, and a [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] with a Fighting Fury Belt, a Dark Energy, and two [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. With a total of nine Energy in play, Darkrai-EX’s Dark Pulse could deal 200 damage, enough to Knock Out my Volcanion-EX. His powered up Darkrai was Active since it had just Knocked Out a Volcanion-EX, so I used [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] to force both of us to switch Pokemon. He had played out his entire hand the last turn before taking the KO, so I Professor Sycamored, brought up my baby Volcanion with two Fire Energy, attached a Bursting Balloon to the Volcanion, and used Power Heater for 20. I had a Fire Energy and a [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] for Lysandre in my hand, so I was going to Lysandre his Giratina-EX on my next turn, attach a Fire Energy to Volcanion, and KO it with Steam Artillery because of the 130 damage it had from Volcanic Heat. After this, Brad’s Dark Pulse would’ve only dealt 100 damage, and I could clean up the game with my Volcanion-EX. Unfortunately, Brad’s two Prizes gave him the exact two cards he needed to win – VS Seeker to Lysandre my Volcanion-EX and a Dark Energy to attack. Losing the match this way was extremely heartbreaking, but everybody has their share of good (and bad) luck.
(3-1-3)
Round 8: Sam F., Yveltal / Yveltal-EX / Mew WLT
This round was very similar to my first round of the day, which was also against the same deck. During game one, I was able to conserve my [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] for when Sam tried to stall by using [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] to bring up my Volcanion-EX to take KOs with [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card]’s Pitch-Black Spear. With those switching methods available, I was able to grind out the victory against Sam. In game two, I couldn’t find my Escape Rope or Parallel City when I needed them, so Sam was able to win that game. Time was called early into game three, so the match went to a tie.
(3-1-4)
Round 9: Tristan L., Greninja BREAK / Talonflame LWW
[cardimg name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
To finish the day on a happy note, I got paired against my friend and teammate Tristan. Normally I wouldn’t say being paired against a teammate would be a happy thing, but since neither of us could get anywhere close to top cut, we could joke around and have more fun than usual while playing. Even with all of our jokes – this match took less than 15 minutes – we had finished all three games before most matches around us had finished a single game. This series was the one of dead hands. I drew an unplayable hand game one, and Tristan drew unplayable hands games two and three. We both scooped very early games one and two, and I donked him during the third game.
(4-1-4)
Overall I was very impressed with how my deck functioned and liked the majority of the list. I would’ve loved to have an [card name=”Olympia” set=”Generations” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] at many points during the event, and [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] would’ve probably been better than [card name=”Faded Town” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card], an almost useless card all weekend, although I faced no [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] decks, so that opinion isn’t the most supported.
Conclusion
Volcanion is a very fun and very potent deck. It has favorable, or at the very least winnable, matchups all across the board, and has potential to make it deep within large events. The vast amount of versatility in the many Volcanion builds lets players customize it to fit their play style and preferences. In my opinion, the only thing holding Volcanion back from being the BDIF (best deck in format) is [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. With no Tool removal in format, Volcanion has to resort to actually KOing the Garbodor, rather than playing something like [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] to disable it for a turn. If we get some kind of Tool removal soon, Volcanion will certainly be one of the best decks in the format.
Well, that’s all I have for you guys today. Let me know if you have any questions or comments!
~Dalen
[/premium]