Dark Days Ahead — Your Complete Guide to Yveltal / Garbodor
Hey there PokeBeach! I’m thrilled to be able to write the first premium article to appear on the site in 2017 – while it only occurred by happenstance and this distinction was not given to me based on merit in any sort of way, I still feel obligated to make this article my best one yet to set the tone for the new year, so hopefully I will be able to live up to that lofty goal I just set for myself. Today, I’ll be concluding my three part, month long series of in-depth articles focusing on a single deck by talking about the current, undisputed best deck in the Standard format: [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. While I am by no means the best Yveltal player in the world (I’m looking at you, Frank Diaz, Israel Sosa and Brad Curcio), Travis Nunlist and I have basically spent the past week leading up to this article perfecting our list of the deck, and I truly believe it is the best list that I have seen currently. Oh, and I guess Olliver Barr helped us develop the list as well. Please note that this list was created before the results of Dallas Regionals. I will go over some of the changes I would make to the list after seeing the Dallas metagame as well. Without further ado, let’s just jump right into the list!
I absolutely love writing these in depth, one deck per article, articles as I think I do the best job of explaining my thought processes and card choices in this format. However, this article program is all for you guys, the subscribers, so if you don’t like this sort of style of writing from me and would prefer me to talk more broadly in my articles and thus cover multiple decks, please let me know either through our Subscriber’s Secret Hideout and / or Facebook, I’m always trying to improve as a content creator so the more feedback you provide me with, the better. Now, let’s really get into the list.
Yveltal / Garbodor
[decklist name=”Yveltal/Garbodor” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″][pokemon amt=”11″]4x [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”36″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Generations” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ 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=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Reverse Valley” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]9x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Before I explain my card counts and choices, let me start by saying that this was created with the thought process of beating three particular decks: [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], Volcanion, and [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]. These three decks were the three clear top dogs heading into Dallas Regionals, so with that in mind Travis and I created a list geared towards having the best possible matchups against these three.
Card Explanations
[cardimg name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Four Yveltal-EX
When Phillip Schultz released his Top 4 London International list, a ton of players gave him flack for cards and counts such as four [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card], zero Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Town Map” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card]. While some of those criticisms were certainly justified (Town Map? Come on Phillip!), Travis and I soon realized that Phillip was onto something. Yveltal-EX is by far the best attacker in this deck, and maybe in the game, so playing four made tons of sense after we played a few games with the deck. Four Yveltal-EX will almost certainly become a staple for the deck going forward.
One Yveltal XY
Wait, Eric, isn’t that a typo? Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] is clearly the better non-EX Yveltal? Wrong! While Fright Night is an incredibly good card, it is absolutely useless in two of the three matchups that we were intent on beating (the mirror and [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]). Thus, we chose to play the Oblivion Wing [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] as our non-EX attacker. Oblivion Wing is a great attack which makes Evil Ball Knock Outs easier in the mirror, as well as allows you to play a seven Prize game against your opponent. It is also not a liability which could be stranded Active by [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] unlike Fright Night. Be careful as to what Tool you attach to this guy though, as he could become a liability late game to be stranded if you put a [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] on it. Oblivion Wing also gives us an out to get our Energy back, and since we don’t run [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] this attack was absolutely invaluable to us. All in all, it’s easily the best non-EX tech for the mirror, and I absolutely love this card.
2-2 Garbodor
2-2 is really the only viable line to run since we don’t run [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card]. If we decided to be really cheeky, a 2-1 line with a Super Rod is also acceptable, but it’s not something we ever really considered, nor do I think it is optimal.
Two Shaymin-EX
This is standard, not much really to talk about here. [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] is the best card in the game.
Four Professor Sycamore, Three N, Two Lysandre
Again, a standard counts of cards. A fourth [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] would be really nice, but space is really tight in this list and there are cards we value more that we did not get to include anyways, so it is more of a pipe dream than a feasible addition.
Two Team Flare Grunt
Now here’s where the list gets really spicy. Almost always, the optimal play in Yveltal mirror is to Y Cyclone when you have three Energy, as you want to make your opponent’s Evil Ball do as little damage as possible. [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] punishes the optimal play, as it would strand your opponent with zero Energy Active (assuming when they Y Cyclone they throw back a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] and did not Y Cyclone with three Dark Energy). Forcing your opponent into sub-optimal plays to play around this card is absolutely incredible, and as long as Yveltal is the best deck in the format, one, if not two Team Flare Grunt should be a staple in this deck.
One Pokemon Center Lady
[cardimg name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Generations” no=”68″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
This is another tech Supporter card that also punishes Y Cyclone. Because [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Flashfire” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] exists, players are incentivized to Evil Ball to get off as much damage as possible, leaving their Yveltal with more Energy on them and more susceptible to getting Knocked Out from your own Evil Ball. This card also helps out a lot against [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], allowing you to clear your board of [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] chip damage or a Moonlight Slash that could otherwise allow them to take a Knock Out that turn. This card is also the only way to beat [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] without Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], as it allows you to trade 3HKOs with them. I’d also like to give a shout out to fellow PokeBeach writer Jimmy Pendarvis for including both this and Team Flare Grunt in his Fort Wayne winning list. These two tech Supporters have completely changed how the mirror is played and is a great example of how small innovations can completely change how matchups go.
One Delinquent
This is probably the most cuttable card in the list. [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] allows you to punish opponents who play sub-optimally and leave themselves with a small hand size. I love playing it in almost all of my lists as I know very few players tend to play around it, giving me an alternate win condition in games where I could be losing heavily. However, it is certainly a luxury and something that can go in favor of another tech or consistency card.
[premium]
Four VS Seeker, Four Ultra Ball, Four Max Elixir
All of these counts should be self-explanatory. Not much more needs to be said here.
Three Fighting Fury Belt, Three Float Stone
Again, the Tool counts should be pretty self-explanatory. [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] is the best Tool in the game, and you need [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] for [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. Float Stone is also the best Tool to attach to Oblivion Wing [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] as well as [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], so running six Tools is totally fine in this deck.
Two Enhanced Hammer
Special Energy, specifically [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], are extremely prevalent in this format, so two [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] helps deal with those. It may seem counter intuitive to run Energy denial with [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card], but leaving an Yveltal Energyless is surprisingly an extremely effective strategy. I’ll talk more about this in the mirror matchup section below.
Two Parallel City
This is easily the best Stadium in the game right now. [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is extremely good against Volcanion, [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card], and the mirror matchup, as well as allows you to clear unwanted Pokemon such as [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] from your own Bench. It also lets you limit [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]’s damage output. If I could justify running more of this card, I would.
One Reverse Valley
I thought I’d hate this card when Olliver and Travis first suggested it, but I came to like this card very quickly. I’ll talk about this more in the matchup section, but in the mirror a turn one [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is absolutely devastating to your set up, so having [card name=”Reverse Valley” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] to be able to bump opposing Parallel City is a really good option. The extra 10 damage combined with [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] is essentially an extra Energy attached to [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card] as well, and there were many times during testing where the 10 extra damage meant I could take a Knock Out that I otherwise would not have been able to get. This card is not seen in many lists, but I’d almost consider it a staple in Yveltal after playing with it.
Nine Dark Energy, Four Double Colorless Energy
This is the minimum number of Dark Energy the deck can play. We tried messing around with 10 Dark Energy, three [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], and even two Double Colorless Energy, but we found we liked this Energy count the best. Running four DCE is best in a format full of Special Energy hate, as we had plenty of opportunities to get full use out of our DCE. A 10th Dark Energy would be nice, but I believe there are other cards that deserve inclusion in the deck before the 10th Dark does since we run the Oblivion Wing [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card].
Possible Inclusions
Yveltal has always been a deck with tons of options, so let’s now talk about some of the cards Travis, Olliver and I discussed that didn’t end up making our final list.
Fright Night Yveltal
[cardimg name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Let’s start with the card that I’m sure most people are curious as to why we didn’t include. I already mentioned this previously, but we just didn’t think Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] was necessary for the expected meta heading into Dallas. In the Yveltal mirror, with [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] and double [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] becoming more and more standard, Fright Night actually ends up being more of a liability than a threat, as a simple Team Flare Grunt plus Enhanced Hammer can render this card useless, giving your opponent plenty of time to set up their board while it is stuck Active. Fright Night is also completely useless against [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], as they do not run any Pokemon-EX, making Pitch-Black Spear a really underwhelming attack. The only matchup of the big three decks heading into Dallas that Fright Night is helpful in is against Volcanion, but in testing we found that if we were just able to withstand Volcanion’s early onslaught and set up a [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] them with the red side, and then [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card], we were able to consistently pull out victories. Thus, because we still found the Volcanion matchup to be favorable without it, we chose to cut Fright Night entirely. However, with the emergence of [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] back into the meta, Fright Night Yveltal definitely becomes worthy of a spot again, as without it those matchups become extremely difficult.
Promo Jirachi
Azul Griego mentioned this as another non-EX tech the deck could run, but honestly I don’t see it being worth a deck spot at all. Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] and Oblivion Wing [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] are just strictly better options, so I can’t really ever see a situation where you could justify playing this card right now.
A Third Trubbish
This is a luxury that the deck just doesn’t really have space for. A 3-2 line would be really nice, especially against Volcanion, [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card], but other cards that didn’t make the cut provide much more to the deck than this. I’d rather play a [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card], for example.
Three Trainers’ Mail
We initially had three [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] in the list, but we wanted to be able to fit more techs to swing the mirror match more in our favor, such as the second [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] and the [card name=”Reverse Valley” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card]. After a few games, it became apparent that the consistency of the deck was not significantly harmed, so we ran with it. If you’re really worried about how smoothly the deck runs, though, definitely consider three Trainers’ Mail.
A Fourth N
Like the third [card name=”Trubbish” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card], this is really just a luxury that I don’t think we’ll ever be able to fit. The utility of all the other cards in the deck are just far greater. The only card I would cut for the fourth [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] would be the [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card], but I’d rather put in the Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], especially after seeing the results of Dallas.
Steven
Israel Sosa swears by this card, and I can see why it’s good, as the things you need most in Yveltal are your Supporters and Energy, but to be quite honest we never got around to testing it, so I don’t really have a great opinion on the card right now. This is something I expect us to test prior to Athens, and I will be sure to report back with my findings.
Super Rod
If we didn’t play Oblivion Wing [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], we would absolutely be playing this card. The same goes for a 10th Darkness Energy. The only reason currently to run [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] is to protect yourself against needing to discard all of your [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] off a bad [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], which can certainly happen but it’s not worth justifying the spot at the moment. As soon as the Oblivion Wing Yveltal goes, though, this card will make its way back into our list.
10th Dark Energy
Like with Super Rod, Oblivion Wing [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] allows us to run one less Dark Energy. If we cut the baby Yveltal, I’d really like to get an additional Energy in the deck as well.
Matchups
I think I’ve sufficiently covered every possible tech that this deck could play that we didn’t include – if I missed anything and you want my opinion on whether it merits inclusion, please feel free to ask in the Subscriber’s Secret Hideout and I’ll be sure to respond as soon as I can! With that said, let’s move into the matchup section.
Yveltal / Garbodor
[cardimg name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Ah, the most important matchup in the format. Let’s spend a lot of time on this matchup, as you’re bound to play this matchup the most at any Regional event you attend this season. First off, the priority turn one should be to play a [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] against your opponent. Limiting their Bench to three is incredibly disruptive against Yveltal / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], as the deck really relies on [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] to get going. Most Yveltal lists do not play [card name=”Reverse Valley” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] either, so they will most likely be limited to three Bench Pokemon for the rest of the game, which is crippling (unless they play [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card], of course). After this, be sure to spread your Energy as evenly amongst your [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card] as you can, as you don’t want to leave yourself susceptible to losing your only attacker to a big Evil Ball.
Be careful when using Y Cyclone, like I said earlier, [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] really punish this play, so unless your [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card] has a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] on it or will have two Dark Energy after Y Cycloning, this is a really risky play to make. Try to save your Oblivion Wing [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] for the mid to late game as well and force your opponent to [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] around it: the more chip damage you can get off against opposing Yveltal EX, the better. Also be sure to force the seven Prize game with Yveltal as many times as you can. If you can do this, it will incentivize your opponent to ignore the baby Yveltal, which means that it can get off more attacks per game, setting up your board more and more each time. Every time your opponent Y Cyclones, make sure to either [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Generations” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card]. If you Pokemon Center Lady, they are doing 40 damage maximum with their attack, making it almost negligible. The more attacks you can negate with Pokemon Center Lady and Team Flare Grunt, the better position you’re going to be in.
Greninja
[card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Generations” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] really are worth their weight in gold in this matchup. The plan here is to get a Garbodor going as soon as possible while swinging with Evil Ball. You want to get an [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card] with enough Energy on it to be able to Knock Out a Greninja by around turn four, which is usually when they’ll be stabilizing. Use Pokemon Center Lady to negate [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] damage, as well as prevent them from stalling with Bubble flips. Both sides of Parallel City are also useful in this matchup; the blue side is good early game to prevent them from flooding their board with [card name=”Frogadier” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card], while the red side limits their damage output. All in all, if you’re able to get a Garbodor going early, this matchup should be a cake walk: Greninja is inherently a really slow and inconsistent deck that folds to Garbodor, and Yveltal / Garbodor is an extremely fast and consistent deck.
Volcanion
Even without Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], this matchup is still definitely in Yveltal’s favor. If you go first, be sure to play a [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] to prevent them from exploding with [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card]. Regardless, make sure to set up [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] as soon as you can. If you fail to setup Garbodor, [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY173″ c=”name”][/card] will be able to one shot your [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], making this matchup very difficult. Try to ignore the baby [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] as much as you can and just focus on hitting their Volcanion-EX as hard as you can, as those are the real threats, especially once Garbodor and Parallel City with the red side facing them are in play at the same time, as their baby Volcanion’s damage output will max out at a pitiful 20. Be sure to use Oblivion Wing Yveltal to chip away at their Pokemon-EX as well, forcing the seven Prize game while making it easier for you to Knock Out their threats. If you can get attacks off on their Pokemon with Energy before they can start attacking back to back with Volcanion-EX, you should be in fine shape. Pokemon Center Lady is also really helpful once Garbodor and Parallel City red side are in play, as their damage output will be maxed out at 120. From there, you can heal to 60 damage, turning a 2HKO into a 3HKO. Do not be afraid to set up two Garbodor this game either, as their main plan of action will be to target down your Garbodor as soon as they can to regain access to their Abilities.
Before I get into the next two sections covering [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card], I’d like to preface them with the fact that I didn’t test these matchups nearly as much as the previous three, as prior to Dallas these weren’t really a huge part of the meta. As I get more testing in against these decks, I’ll be sure to post my results in the Subscriber’s Secret Hideout and my tricks to these matchups.
M Gardevoir-EX
[cardimg name=”Fairy Drop” set=”Fates Collide” no=”99″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
This matchup is entirely dependent on both lists. If they run a high count of [card name=”Fairy Drop” set=”Fates Collide” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], this matchup becomes very difficult to win. Likewise, if Yveltal / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] runs one to two Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], this matchup becomes much closer. However, with this list, I’d say this is one of the tougher matchups for the deck, and now that [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] has shown that it belongs in the meta again, Fright Night might become a mandatory inclusion again. Without it, you want to force a two or three shot war against their Mega Pokemon, utilizing your [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Generations” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] as much as they utilize their [card name=”Fairy Drop” set=”Fates Collide” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. You’ll most likely be on the back foot in this matchup as far as Prizes go, so your goal should be to brick them with [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] blue side, and [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]. Mega Gardevoir is heavily reliant on its Abilities to continue pumping out damage, so like Volcanion do not be afraid to set up multiple Garbodor in order to keep the Ability-lock going. Overall, this is a matchup where you’ll most likely need to come back, but definitely winnable if you can lock them mid to late game.
Mega Mewtwo-EX
Finally, the last meta deck matchup we’ll be talking about is [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card]. This deck is really difficult to talk about matchup wise as there are currently three different builds of the deck: Mega Mewtwo / [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card], Mega Mewtwo / [card name=”Fairy Drop” set=”Fates Collide” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], and the classic Mega Mewtwo / [card name=”Shrine of Memories” set=”Primal Clash” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card]. As such, I’ll break this section down into three subsections detailing each matchup and how I believe they should go.
M Mewtwo-EX / Jolteon
This is probably the toughest of the three variants, as the only outs to [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] this deck plays are [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card]. Speaking of this variant, if you’d like to see what a top tier list for this deck looks like, check out Travis’ article that he released last week! Like against [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card], Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] helps a ton in this matchup, and it’s absolutely worth including if you expect to see tons of [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card]. Regardless, [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] should be your goal turn one to limit the explosiveness of their [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] plays. If you can’t do that, try to focus down their [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and other support Pokemon: you’ll rarely be able to win the Prize-exchange without taking a few cheap Prizes as Mewtwo just trades so well against Yveltal. Jolteon-EX gives them another win condition that you have to deal with, so the turn you [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] try to use your Oblivion Wing Yveltal to set up your board, as otherwise you won’t be able to do anything that turn. All in all, this is probably Yveltal’s toughest matchup.
M Mewtwo-EX / Fairy Drop
While not as tough as the [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] version, this version of [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] still gives you problems as you can’t really two shot them while Mega Mewtwo will almost certainly two shot you in return. Again, your general strategy should be to [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] blue side them early to prevent them from exploding with [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card]: you really need to rely on Mewtwo drawing poorly to win this matchup. However, since this is a Mega deck, this is entirely possible, as Mega decks are inherently clunky. Just keep Evil Balling with two or three Energy so they can’t one shot you in return very easily without loading up a gigantic Mewtwo and hope they can’t hit their [card name=”Fairy Drop” set=”Fates Collide” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pokémon Fan Club” set=”Fates Collide” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] when they need them.
Classic M Mewtwo-EX
This is by far the easiest of the three Mewtwo matchups for the deck, as they aren’t teched specifically to beat Yveltal / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. With that said, this is still a tough matchup without Fright Night [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], as you have to commit to [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card] versus Mewtwo wars, which will usually not end in your favor. In this matchup, you don’t want to Evil Ball unless you’re taking Knock Outs, unlike in the other Mewtwo matchups, as the damage is more likely to stick. Instead, Y Cyclone to limit their damage output with Mewtwo. Again, [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] blue side is the way to go here, as they want to use [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] to explode turn one to set up. Without Hoopa, Mewtwo really struggles to get going, so if you can do this you give yourself a much better shot at winning.
Conclusion
Well, that’s all I have for you guys today. I truly believe Yveltal is the best deck in the format, and I’m sure that some variant will win Athens Regionals. Travis and I plan on playing some variant of the deck, so be sure to follow my stream if you want to see what we’re working on in the meantime at Twitch. As always, if you have any questions about the list or matchups, please don’t hesitate to post in the Subscriber’s Secret Hideout and I’ll do my best to answer them as soon as I can. I hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s, and I’ll see you guys next time!
~Eric
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