It’s Icy Cool — Telling an Alolan Tale
What’s up PokeBeach readers? After getting another article slot for the month, I wanted to provide you with a suggested concept, Alolan Ninetales. We listen to our readers and I wanted to specifically write about this to meet TheKangaskhanKid’s request! Alolan Ninetales has always had some serious success in the game, most notably winning the 2017 World Championships in the Seniors division! That being said, I want to go over [card name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] in full detail to show where their strengths lie.
A Chilly Trio
In this section, I want to go over the three main components of any Alolan Ninetales core, the Pokemon themselves.
Alolan Ninetales-GX
[cardimg name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ align=”right” c=”custom”]I’m so cool![/cardimg]
For any Stage 1 Pokemon, 210 HP is a hefty amount of HP that will be able to withstand most attacks. Water typing is decent in our current Standard format because [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY173″ c=”name”][/card] is seeing a slight surge in play so we do gain an advantage there.
Ice Blade
Ice Blade can be used to do chip damage early, as well as provide decent damage output to Pokemon with Water-type Weakness such as [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card]. Try to set up Knock Outs in advance by planning out which Pokemon you want to hit with Blizzard Edge in later turns.
Blizzard Edge
With [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck, you can Knock Out 210 HP Pokemon such as [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM62 ” c=”name”][/card] in a single attack. With just a single Choice Band, you can also OHKO popular Pokemon like [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM69 ” c=”name”][/card]! When you are choosing which Energy to discard, it is often helpful to discard a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] so you can attack again next turn with a single Energy attachment of any kind.
Ice Path GX
Once you have enough damage counters on Alolan Ninetales-GX, you can use Ice Path GX to Knock Out a threat and heal all of your damage in the process. This attack is to be used as either an offensive attack that provides serious damage or a healing attack to maintain your board state. Try to find different uses for this attack to do the maximum amount of damage and keep your Alolan Ninetales-GX in the game for longer.
Beyond sharing the same Weakness as [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], Alolan Ninetales-GX has decent stats here. The Retreat Cost is actually quite low so if you have already used Ice Path GX, you can Retreat it to avoid getting Knocked Out.
Alolan Ninetales
[cardimg name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”28″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Can cause opponents to lose their cool.[/cardimg]
As this [card name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] is a non EX/GX Pokemon, 110 HP is an acceptable amount and it’s typing serves the same usefulness as Alolan Ninetales-GX.
Luminous Barrier
This is the true reason why this card sees play in this deck. You block EX/GX Pokemon from doing anything to it at all. Pokemon-GX are some of the most dominant cards in our metagame! Let’s look over the major cards that can’t attack our Alolan Ninetales:
- [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]
- [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]
- [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]
- [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]
- [card name=”Celesteela-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM67 ” c=”name”][/card]
- [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card]
- [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]
- [card name=”Tapu Fini-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card]
- [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]
- [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card]
Chances are that you have either seen, played, or played against some of these Pokemon before. I would like to note that Abilities such as [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card]’s Feather Arrow do go through Alolan Ninetales’ Luminous Barrier so remember that going forward.
Aurora Beam
This attack may look like a low damage output and while that may be true, you need to factor in that Luminous Barrier can give this Alolan Ninetales a few extra turns in the game. This attack is meant to provide chip damage while your opponent struggles to find a non-EX/GX Pokemon to respond properly.
This card shares the same stats of [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] which is fine because it allows us some versatility. We don’t need to worry too much about Weakness here because of our Pokemon-EX/GX dominated metagame and our Luminous Barrier Ability.
Alolan Vulpix
[cardimg name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ align=”right” c=”custom”]A shining Beacon of hope![/cardimg]
While there is another [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”27″ c=”name”][/card], this one is the best one to play based on the meta game right now. [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] shares similar stats to most Basic Pokemon nowadays so there isn’t anything too special HP wise.
Beacon
This is the reason why we play this card, it allows us to expedite our set-up! We can decide to search out [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] to Evolve into the next turn. We can even grab a [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] if we have a “dead” hand!
Icy Snow
This attack is normally quite weak, but we can make use of it versus most Fire-type Pokemon to either provide chip damage or a OHKO with the help of [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. While Alolan Vulpix may not be an all-star attacker, Icy Snow is an option so look for opportunities to exploit this attack when possible.
Like Alolan Ninetales GX and Alolan Ninetales, Alolan Vulpix shares the same bottom stats which are acceptable in this current metagame.
All three of these cards are different with a good amount of versatility, but how should I piece them together? Alolan Ninetales is a concept that I had stopped working on since before Shining Legends came out, so I didn’t know exactly where to jump back in with this deck! However, a few weeks ago, my friend Tyler Zikorus from Seattle, WA messaged me about a list that he recently did well with at a League Cup. With the opening of another article slot, a request for an Alolan Ninetales article, and word of Zikorus’ new list, I definitely had everything I needed. Let’s check out Zikorus’ list here:
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Alolan Ninetales Deck List
[decklist name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″][pokemon amt=”17″]3x [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”28″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1 x [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1 “][/card]1x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Aqua Patch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]8x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Card Explanations
In this section, I briefly want to go through most of the deck so that you can see where the strengths of individual cards come from overall.
Four Alolan Vulpix, Three Alolan Ninetales-GX, and Two Alolan Ninetales
As these cards were already explained above, I don’t want to re-explain these cards in full. They each serve a different purpose in the deck and using the information in this article, you can choose which one to lead with based on what you are facing. Decks such as this are very fluid and provide multiple strategies for many common situations. Between having damage spread, healing, an EX/GX blocking-Ability, big damage attacks, and devolution attacks, you will have an answer to your opponent’s field most of the time.
One Remoraid and One Octillery
[card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] is the light draw power that helps the deck run as smoothly as possible. I play Octillery over [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] because a few other decks play [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] , getting us [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] for free. We also don’t need to worry about [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]’s Jet Punch as much.
Two Tapu Lele-GX
While it may look weird to only play a small amount of [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] in a deck nowadays, this deck really doesn’t need more than the two. This deck, with [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] is already strapped for Bench space so we don’t want more liabilities on our Bench. With a thin Octillery line and a few [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card], we don’t need to use Tapu Lele-GX late game as often as other decks. Running two Tapu Lele-GX is more of an early game guarantee to avoid dead draws when they occur by giving us an out with an [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] if needed.
One Espeon-EX
[cardimg name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”117″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Capable of Miraculous comebacks.[/cardimg]
As explained above in this article, sometimes we need another route to victory and Espeon-EX adds that in the form of devolution. A well timed Miraculous Shine will leave your opponent bereft of a board and without any attackers to return with.
One Mewtwo
[card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] has a hefty amount of HP for a single-Prize attacker and it can do some solid work against the popular Buzzwole-GX deck. For a single [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] and either a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] or Professor Kukui, we can get that OHKO on a Buzzwole-GX that’s got three Energy loaded on it.
Four Guzma and One Float Stone
With this deck focusing on OHKOs, we want to have access to [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] to bring up whichever Pokemon we want to Knock Out when we want to make a move. We also use Gumza as a way to work as a secondary switching card and that is how we can get away with only running a single [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]. The Float Stone in this deck is really meant for a single turn use, but it is nice when our opponent doesn’t Field Blower it away. You will mostly be attaching the Float Stone to an Octillery, but using it on an [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t out of the question either!
Four N, Four Professor Sycamore, and Four Ultra Ball
These cards are common sights in almost all deck lists in our Standard format and there isn’t much of a difference here. We need strong Trainer cards to keep our deck ticking and these are currently the best options we have.
One Brigette
As with most decks that play any kind of evolution Pokemon, we want a way to quickly search out the Basic Pokemon in our deck and [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] is just the card we need.
Three Professor Kukui and Four Choice Band
These cards allow for us to turn Blizzard Edge from an attack that deals a measly 160 damage into an attack that can hit the realms of 210 HP. This upgrade of 50 damage is huge in a metagame where [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] sits pretty on top with 210 HP. We of course gain the benefit of including a few other Pokemon in the 210 HP area such as [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] and even an opposing Alolan Ninetales-GX.
Four Aqua Patch and Eight Water Energy
In order to get our Blizzard Edge attack in play as soon as possible, this deck needs to run off an [card name=”Aqua Patch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] engine to keep the Energy flowing. Eight Basic Water Energy is likely the lowest amount of Energy that you can run with an Aqua Patch engine because we need a sizeable amount of Water Energy in the discard pile at all times. Aqua Patch has a strong chance of being successful with the amount of cards that we can use to discard Water Energy and the amount of Energy fits into the deck nicely otherwise.
Two Rescue Stretcher
Sometimes you need to make a tough decision to discard a key Pokemon during the game or one of your [card name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] may have just been Knocked Out; we need to have an out to getting things back and [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] does that. I play this over a [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] because we want to have Water Energy in the discard pile to get back with Aqua Patch.
One Field Blower
With this deck having a decent amount of Abilities, this number is low and I want a second [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] in this list in case I run into a [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]’s Garbotoxin Ability. I have been reasoning with myself that I can get away with only running the one Field Blower due to Garbodor’s current lack of play right now, so that may hold strong while Memphis is currently going on. Field Blower in any deck going forward is going to be in a weird spot as Garbodor either sees play or continues to hide in the shadows.
Four Double Colourless Energy
These have synergy with [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card]’s Blizzard Edge attack — it allows the deck to play more resourcefully.
Matchups
In this section, I will be going over the expected four most popular decks that will likely see a majority of play after Memphis Regionals:
Gardevoir-GX / Max Potion – Slightly Unfavourable
[cardimg name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Still a contender![/cardimg]
It is unfortunate to have a rough matchup versus the biggest deck in any tournament, but we can still always try to win. Our strategy in this game is to use Ice Blade to chip away at [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and use Blizzard Edge to finish them off. We want to use Ice Path GX to get a KO on a [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]. This typically means the Gardevoir player needs to ‘miss’ a full 210+ Infinite Force. The matchup is going to be back and forth, but it is recommended to discard more energy with Blizzard Edge and to use [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] accordingly to your opponent’s tempo in the game. Alternatively, we can try to wall this deck with [card name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card], but I would only do that if they have limited access to [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] either through misplaying or through other means such as Prizes. This match is always going to be close because Gardevoir-GX functions like a loose cannon; sometimes it just gets a large amount of Energy on board and explodes.
Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX – Even
While this matchup may seem tough at first, we don’t need to worry about massive opposing OHKOs because they have a relatively low damage cap. This means we can often utilize Ice Path GX to keep up with their high [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] count when we miss our OHKOs with Blizzard Edge. Use your copies of [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] to Knock Out opposing [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]. The biggest issue we may need to worry about is [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] using Mind Jack if we over fill our Bench so keep that in mind!
Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX – Slightly Unfavourable
All of the main Pokemon in this deck have a relatively low HP cap, but the main issue largely relies on [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] overpowering us early game with Jet Punch taking some quick Knock Outs. The best way to get around this is to use [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] to search out many [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] and use [card name=”Aqua Patch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] to get a Blizzard Edge on board quickly. While doing this, we need to play around [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]’s Dangerous Rogue GX which can promptly OHKO us if we Bench too many of our Pokemon. All of this equals to having only two or three Pokemon on your Bench at all times and needing a few Aqua Patch to be successful. This can be easier said than done, so tread with caution.
Volcanion-EX – Favourable
I would put this matchup at very favourable, except [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] is a super quick deck that can create headaches for us in the early stages of the game. Obviously we have a type advantage and [card name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] blocks everything in the deck except for [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]. This can buy us some time if necessary, but [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] may be able to get the job done more efficiently. I would recommend setting up an [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] line early game so you are not at the mercy of [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] plays. Furthermore, Ice Blade can provide an efficient OHKO on a Volcanion-EX when used in combination with a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. This is one of those games where if you have a decent set-up and the Volcanion-EX doesn’t explode on us, we should be favoured.
See Ya in Dallas
This will be my last article for the month of December so my next article will be in 2018! I wish everyone reading Happy Holidays and to always remember to stay safe! Also, if you want something — ask for it!
As for me, I will be taking a minor break from major competitive tournaments to focus on coaching players, writing articles, and most importantly relaxing. It can get very tiresome playing at the top of the game or even learning the ropes as a newer player; sometimes you just need to pause your Pokemon life to regroup. Now this is not to say that I don’t want to be playing the game right now, I wish I could, I just have other priorities that I need to focus on.
Either way, feel free to follow me on my Twitter to see if there are any changes to my lists. I am personally excited to see the results of the currently ongoing Memphis Regionals and hopefully I will continue to ride the wave on top of the competitive spectrum. I wish everyone the best of luck who is living out their dream trying to compete for a World Championship invite or for those who are loving and supporting the game from a casual standpoint.
I will see everyone at Dallas Regionals in January, if you haven’t met me in person or if we have just briefly met, feel free to actually introduce yourself to me because I love knowing everybody. Thank you for all of the support, I truly appreciate everyone who takes the time to read one of my articles and for supporting PokeBeach.
– Zach Lesage
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