All Arrows Point Towards Anaheim — Decidueye-GX / Vileplume for Worlds
Hello PokeBeach fans and subscribers! I’m glad to be back once again to tell you about one of my top deck choices for the upcoming 2017 Pokemon Trading Card World Championships! This is the third year in a row that I will have qualified for and competed in Worlds. I haven’t done too hot in the past, but this year I couldn’t be more excited and I’ve been testing a lot with my friend and fellow PokeBeach writer Caleb Gedemer, so I’m extra prepared this year!
This year a deck that I have been testing a lot for Worlds is [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card]. We all know that VD has been a strong deck since its insurgence into our meta and it also recently took a huge finish taking second place at the NAIC in the hands of none other than PokeBeach’s very own John Kettler. You might be wondering what makes it a strong deck choice still, can it handle the new archetypes that come from Burning Shadows, and what cards does it gain from the new set? All this and more will be answered below, so stay tuned folks.
What Does VD Gain From Burning Shadows?
The biggest thing that VD gains from Burning Shadows is [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]. John Kettler’s list for NAIC included one copy of [card name=”Olympia” set=”Generations” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] and since you only have two [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck, you don’t always get both or even one down before you set up Item-lock. So, having that switching option in Supporter form was great. Now you can have that with the effect of Lysandre as well, so you can effectively cut Olympia and play a combination of [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] and Guzma. It also gains a format shift which I will discuss in one of the next sections.
What Makes Vileplume the Right Partner for Decidueye?
Vileplume is the best partner for Decidueye overall, and absolutely the best version of the deck for Worlds. I know there are some benefits to the version Igor played at NAIC with [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM31″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]. All of those can help in certain matchups and make them even better, but your Volcanion matchup becomes dreadful and I don’t think you can afford have a bad matchup to Volcanion because it should be relatively popular at Worlds. I also think having Plume gives you more free wins against decks because some decks completely falter under Item-lock, and honestly, we all know that a turn one Item-lock can win a game on its own if your opponent has a handful of Items. Also, since you only need to win four rounds to advance to day two, it could be a simple day if you just lock your opponent out of doing on the first turn.
Why Is It Strong Right Now?
VD is very strong right now because of the format shift due to the new archetypes that came from Burning Shadows. Two of the biggest decks that gave VD the most trouble were [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], which were both highly played before. I don’t expect either of those decks to be in high numbers at worlds because [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] has a good matchup against both versions of Garb and [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t a favorable matchup for Drampa / Garb either. I think VD is one of the decks with the most positive matchups right now and is at least even with most of the decks that are expected to make up the meta of Worlds. This is the current list I have been testing and it’s John Kettler’s list with some changes from the new set.
[decklist name=”a” amt=”60″ caption=”aa” cname=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″][pokemon amt=”23″]4x [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Dartrix” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”10″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rowlet” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”9″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Gloom” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”5″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Oddish” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”1″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Revitalizer” set=”Generations” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]4x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Possible Changes: Cut [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] for [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] depending on what you expect to face the most
How Does It Stack Up?
Alolan Ninetales-GX
[cardimg name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Watch out for Ice Path![/cardimg]
This matchup is very tricky because you need to be careful of a few things: Ice Path GX, the number of [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] in your opponent’s deck, placing Feather Arrow damage correctly, and the new [card name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card]. Obviously, the best way to deal with Alolan Ninetales’ Luminous Barrier is with Feather Arrow since you can’t attack into it with any Pokemon in your deck besides Vileplume which takes three attachments to power up, so that’s not really the best way to go about it. Getting an early Item-lock helps just like any other matchup, but specifically you don’t want to give them any time to use [card name=”Aqua Patch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] to get multiple attackers going, and it’s prudent that you don’t let them get any [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]s on their Alolan Ninetale-GX. This is because they can hit a Decidueye for 50 with Ice Blade and then finish it off for 190 (with [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]) using Blizzard Edge.
Something else they can do if you’re not careful enough with your [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] is wall with the Baby Ninetales and [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]. I have played a game where a single Baby [card name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] walled me out because I could not find a Forest to save my life, and I even had more Stadiums left than my opponent did.
You also have to be careful where you place your Feather Arrow because only using one can turn into no damage because of Seas, two can turn into 10, and three can turn into only 30. So, you need to factor in those possible damage reductions when setting up KOs for the future. The last things that’s also hard to play around is Ice Path, and this is because you usually can’t OHKO an Alolan Ninetales-GX unless you play [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] which requires three Feather Arrow and a Deep Hurricane to do the trick. Most the time you need to get damage built up and then finish off with an attack or two. A properly timed Ice Path from your opponent can set you so far behind if you waste two attacks or multiple Feather Arrows on it. You want to put them in a position where they need to use their GX attack, but it doesn’t set you too far back and hopefully doesn’t give them a KO. You can also try to build up chip damage with [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]’s Sky Return and some Feather Arrows so they aren’t likely to use Ice Path just yet.
Also, if you play [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] it can help tremendously if you build up enough damage on their Ninetales and just devolve them all, take multiple KOs, and leave them with no attackers besides maybe a [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card].
[premium]
[cardimg name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Watch out for this smelly one[/cardimg]
Drampa-GX / Garbodor
This matchup is usually considered a negative one for VD and it even was the deck that took it down in the finals of NAIC, however, I don’t think the matchup is all that unfavorable. I think it’s closer to even than some may realize. [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]’s Righteous Edge can give you trouble and you also need to be careful of how many Items you use, otherwise [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] will inevitably take you down if they’re able to OHKO your [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card]. So, you’re stuck trying to get multiple Decidueye and [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] set up, while trying to keep your Item count under 12 and hopefully under nine so your [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] can’t get OHKOd either.
You also need to be careful of when you use your [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] because of Righteous Edge. It’s great if you can get [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] down on a Decidueye or two before you get [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] up. This so early on you can use [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] to Sky Return your opponent’s Drampa to build up damage and so you can retreat into something Drampa can’t OHKO. You want to have a Grass Energy attached to a Decidueye that you’re not retreating into so it’s ready to KO the Drampa when you’ve built up enough damage from Sky Return, or you can use a Lele or Lugia to finish it off as well.
While doing this you want to spread Feather Arrow Damage on their [card name=”Trubbish” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] on the Bench so you can either KO them with Feather Arrows or set the [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] up for KOs with Razor Leaf. Make sure you save your [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] in case they get Garbodor with Garbotoxin up. If they shut off your Abilities you’re in a world of hurt, so if you must discard your Field Blower early, make sure you haven’t used Hollow Hunt GX yet so you can recover it. Now if you get early Plume before they get Garbotoxin up, then you shouldn’t have to worry too much about that, however, if they have [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] they could still do it if they have a Tool to attach to Garb the turn they Hex. Something else you can do is Hollow Hunt some extra Items if it will prevent Garb from hitting important numbers for OHKOs.
Darkrai-EX / Darkrai-GX / Yvetal
Turbo Dark has always been a good match up for VD and there’s a few reasons for that. They rely heavily on [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] to get their damage going, even with the [card name=”Yveltal” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC16″ c=”name”][/card] to accelerate, it’s not enough usually to put them in a winning position. They also typically rely on [card name=”Exp. Share” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] to keep them going, so if they can’t play them down due to Vileplume then they’re going to have a bad time. It also takes some time to build up enough Energy to take down a Decidueye, so [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] needs to trade 2HKOs with you while you’re building up Bench damage that will eventually let you finish something off with one attack. The addition of [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] only helps them slightly by getting more Energy into play without the use of Items, but it’s still not enough to swing this matchup. One thing you can do if they do manage to get some [card name=”Exp. Share” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] into play is KO something with Feather arrow so you don’t trigger the Exp. Share. This matchup is still by far favorable for VD and I wouldn’t worry if you run into it.
Espeon-GX / Garbodor
[cardimg name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Hopefully won’t be seeing you much[/cardimg]
This is one of VD’s worst matchups for a few reasons: Psybeam, Garbotoxin, and [card name=”Flareon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card]. All of those are disastrous for VD, especially Flareon because it allows for [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] to OHKO your Decidueye if they have a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and you have at least one Energy, or no Choice Band and two Energy. Confusion is also hard to deal with because you manually attach Energy to your attackers and have no way to accelerate Energy which means having to retreat to avoid flipping tails on a Confusion flip is not easy. With the addition of [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] that becomes a little easier to handle, but you won’t always have access to it and you don’t always want to use them up early. You want to try and Knock Out the Flareon if possible, otherwise after using only six Items, your opponent’s Garb can OHKO your Decidueyes and it gets ugly. Espeon-EX can help in this matchup if you can spread enough damage around, but you must make sure you haven’t played five or more Items if you want to use it because it can become a very easy target for a Garb to KO or even an Espeon-GX since it’s weak to Psychic. It might be best to drop Espeon at the end (if you’re playing it) to take the last few Prizes assuming you’ve spread enough damage between Arrow and attacking. Luckily this deck should decrease in popularity because it has quite the rough [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, and that’s one of the top decks to look out for, so I wouldn’t stress too much about this matchup.
Gardevoir-GX
This is one of those matchups where getting a turn one Plume or as soon as possible helps more. You don’t want them to be able to use [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] to get their [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] out. You want to force them to try and draw into Kirlia under Item-lock which can be a hard task, especially if they’re playing a lower count. If you can get a couple [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] out and Vileplume up early, you shouldn’t worry because they usually just won’t set up and it won’t be much of a game for them. However, if they get at least two Gardevoir out, you’re going to be in trouble. Gardevoir can OHKO even a Decidueye if they get enough Energy in play, and if they’re able to do that it becomes close to impossible to win. It’s also very easy for a Gardevoir to KO a [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card], so you have to be careful when attacking with either.
If you’re playing [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], your chances become better if you didn’t get a strong early set up and lock them out of the game. It’s really a nice fail safe option that can win you the game, especially if they used [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] to evolve any of their Gardevoir because they will have less HP when you devolve, or they just can’t evolve again right away because they can’t use Rare Candy again if you have Plume up. Something to watch out for are their [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]. In this matchup, sometimes it is smart to preemptively use your [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] or Tapu Lele-GX to ensure you won’t have a dead hand next turn if you have no Supporter or Stadium in hand and they drop a Lab down.
Golisipod-GX
This matchup is even to favorable, the only time it gets rough is if your early set up is bad, and if they play [card name=”Flareon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card] and get it out early. Otherwise, this matchup isn’t too bad, it’s kind of tricky, but since you have them under Item-lock, it’s harder for them to continuously switch to use First Impression. Otherwise they need to 3HKO you with Armor Press, or use Armor Press once, then Crossing Cut GX which will finish you off, but they can only do that once of course.
Since [card name=”Wimpod” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] have a Retreat Cost of three, you can trap them up if your opponent isn’t careful and are running low on Energy. You could end up just getting them stuck Active and then you can Feather Arrow until you win. This is another matchup where having [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] on your Decidueye helps so you can move into another one to attack while preventing KOs and so you can switch into [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] to attack when needed. Also, if they get Flareon up, make it a priority to take it our right away, either with Arrows or bring it up and KO it with an attack, Razor Leaf will be your easiest option since it does 90 which is the exact number you need.
Greninja BREAK
There really isn’t too much to say about this matchup that hasn’t been said before, it’s a very positive matchup for VD for many reasons. You have type advantage, high HP, you can get early KOs with Feather Arrow, the deck requires a lot of setup and sometimes falters on its’ own, so Item-lock makes that possibility increase. The only thing [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] gains is [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] which potentially allows for some more damage, but that’s not enough to make this matchup much better.
M Rayquaza-EX
This matchup is favorable, even though [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] can hit the magic 240 damage to OHKO a Decidueye, it still typically needs the use of Items to get going. Even with [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Unown” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”30″ c=”name”][/card], it’s hard for Mega Ray to deal with Item-lock. No access to [card name=”Rayquaza Spirit Link” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”87″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mega Turbo” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] really slows it down and allows for VD to get set up and spread some damage.
You can use Hollow Hunt at some point to get a Stadium or two back to ensure you’ll win the Stadium war and this helps a ton because it prevents OHKOs. The other thing that makes this matchup not so bad is Mega Ray relies on [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Dragonite-EX” set=”Evolutions” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] which both have a Retreat Cost of two or three. That means there’s plenty of targets to bring up to stall and set up KOs while Knocking Out the Pokemon that’s stuck in a couple of attacks. Realistically you can get two Prizes from getting something stuck, two from one Mega Ray, and the last two are easy cause you can just take a Shaymin from the Bench because the deck still heavily relies on Shaymin as well.
Now if they go first and get a good set up and are able to [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] at Crucial turns, they can overwhelm you and win, but you also have the benefit of having more non-EX/GX Pokemon to sack like [card name=”Oddish” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Gloom” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”2″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Rowlet” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Dartrix” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]. They have Unown, but typically don’t want it to stay on the field. Also, with Item-lock, they shouldn’t be able to Hex Chain so easily unless they’re lucky enough to have [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] in hand when they use Hex.
Non-Vileplume Deciueye-GX Variants
[cardimg name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”117″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Spooky[/cardimg]
This matchup is slightly unfavorable because of cards like [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]. All those together can give you a tough time, and Tapu Koko spread plus Arrow and Espeon spell doom for you. Fortunately, you still have [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] which if you get early, can cause them to not be able to set up and potentially never even see their Espeon-EX. At that point, it basically becomes a normal Decidueye mirror in which you want to target the easier things with Arrow like [card name=”Rowlet” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Dartrix” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] for easy KOs and to prevent more Decidueye coming into play.
Whoever has the most [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] out usually wins. Now, they still will have [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] which can be annoying because of Ice Path, but you just need to be careful and try to play around it the best you can. If you can try to get something else active you can Arrow the Tales and set it up for a KO later if it ever becomes Active again.
Noivern-GX
This matchup could seem rough because you can get locked out of Special Energy with Sonic Volume, but you still do have four Basic Grass Energy and you should have a turn or two to have a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] or two down before they attack. Noibat is not a Dragon so they can never attach a [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] to one, so they must wait until they’ve evolved, and under Item-lock they need to hard draw into the [card name=”Noivern-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card].
Also, unless they try to play Noivern with Eevees, they’ll be taking at least two attacks to KO a Decidueye. Early on you just overpower them with Item-lock and take some easy KOs with Arrow on Noibat. It can get rough if they use [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Plumeria” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] to discard Energy and lock out you out of Specials at the same time, but depending how many copies they play determines if it’s something to worry about.
I also wouldn’t expect to see this deck much because of [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], it can OHKO a fully powered Noivern for one [card name=”Fairy Energy” set=”Generations” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card], so that puts Noivern as one of the riskiest plays for worlds.
Tapu Bulu-GX / Vikavolt
[cardimg name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM28″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Why am I so heavy?[/cardimg]
This is a good matchup for you for a few reasons and the first is almost every Pokemon in the deck has a heavy Retreat Cost. [card name=”Charjabug” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Tapu Bulu-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM32″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM28″ c=”name”][/card] have a Retreat Cost of three, [card name=”Grubbin” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card]’s is two. So, if they don’t get any [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] down on them, or if they don’t play them, they’ll be in for a bumpy ride.
Also, early Item-lock makes it harder for them to get Vikavolt right away because they need to hard draw into Charjabug. The down side to having your [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] out right away is they can evolve into Charjabug right away because Grubbin is Grass.
One of the hardest things to deal with is Bulu’s GX attack, it can deal 150 damage while healing itself entirely. They can hit you with Nature’s Judgement for 120, then finish you off with Tapu Wilderness GX for a KO and heal. You want to try and make them waste that early on so you get it out of the way. You can set it up for a KO with Feather Arrows and force them into using it if they don’t want to be Knocked Out. It’s also great to have a [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] with at least three to four Energy on it (depending on how many Eyes you have out) so you can take a OHKO on a Bulu with Arrow and Energy Drive, Aero Ball, or Deep Hurricane.
Something to note about this matchup as well is you can often deck them out or win with Arrow because they can run out of Energy because they can’t use [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] under Item-lock, all the high Retreat Costs, and they sometimes need to discard Energy with Nature’s Judgement’s effect to do extra damage.
Vespiquen
This is one of your best matchups because [card name=”Combee” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card] has only 40 HP and is easy to KO before it evolves, and this deck suffers highly under Item-lock. It needs a lot of Items like [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] to start fueling [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]’s Bee Revenge, and without them, it’s almost assured to fail. They do play [card name=”Flareon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] which together can cause you troubles, but once you take care of the Flareon you have nothing to worry about. Also, if you play an [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] this matchup becomes even better because you can just spread enough damage to take all your Prizes once you devolve their Pokemon into their low 40 and 60 HP Basics.
Volcanion-EX / Turtonator-GX / Ho Oh-GX / Starmie
[cardimg name=”Starmie” set=”Evolutions” no=”31″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you run out of Energy[/cardimg]
This is always a tough matchup because of the obvious Fire Weakness and because of that, it can OHKO anything in your deck and usually with relative ease. This matchup used to be closer to 50-50 because Volcanion used to be more Item reliant, but now the lists are quite different and have a better matchup against VD. Lists now typically include [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] which is a great form of Energy acceleration for the deck that can get them plenty of Pokemon ready to attack. They also play [card name=”Starmie” set=”Evolutions” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] now which gives them infinite access to Energy in the discard pile. [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] makes it so they’re less reliant on Items to get their [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] and Starmie out.
The newest addition of [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] makes it even harder to trap something Active for you, and the addition of [card name=”Kiawe” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] helps them get going even faster as well. So, all these things make the matchup harder than before, but does it make it a terrible matchup? I would say no, unfavorable, yes, but not in any way unwinnable. Turn one Item-lock will still hurt them and slow them down and can beat any deck that has no Supporter in hand and no way to draw cards.
One thing you want to do is target their [card name=”Staryu” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] early on and hopefully KO it with Arrows before it becomes a Starmie. Denying them access to that constant stream of Energy will help in the long run. If they’re playing the free retreat Staryu with 40 HP that will be a relatively easy, but if not, you still can do it with one more Arrow.
Now your main attackers for this matchup will be [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] (if you include one in your list). This is obviously because they don’t have a Fire Weakness, and they can hit the hardest against Volcs and Turts with multiple Energy on them. If you can get a Volc or Turt stuck Active early on before they have at least two Energy on them, you will be in a decent spot. You then can spread damage on the Bench to set up future KOs while you get two Prize Cards from Knocking Out the Active. However, that doesn’t always work out so easily as planned because of easier access to [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] with Lele, they have more outs to getting a desired Pokemon in the Active instead.
Later in the game you can hope to [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] them to a low hand and if they don’t have Starmie, you could put them in a spot where they don’t have an extra Energy for a KO on a fresh Lele or Lugia. Lugia is nice in this matchup because two Arrows and a Deep Hurricane will KO anything in the deck if it doesn’t have a [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. This matchup you need to play smart and be meticulous where you put your Arrows, but it does kind of come down to whether your opponent whiffs what they need at certain times. They definitely have the advantage in this matchup, but Item-lock can accomplish anything. I do think Volc will have some popularity at Worlds, but its tough [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] an [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] matchups may keep it at bay.
Zoroark / Drampa-GX
This deck I don’t expect to see too much of because it should decrease in play with less good matchups. It can’t do a whole lot to [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] because of Resistance. It also lacks an attack to copy that will OHKO and Gardevoir can easily OHKO a [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. Also, [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] probably isn’t a great matchup, not terrible, but not the best since they can OHKO you and you can’t to them. However, if you do face it, the biggest thing to be cognizant of is [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]. Above in the Drampa / Garb matchup I describe how to deal with Drampa, so I won’t repeat, just a reminder that it’s there and can cause you trouble. Dealing with Zoroark isn’t too bad, it needs to 2HKO your Eyes even with a full Bench, and if you limit your Bench, it probably can’t KO anything except a [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] if you have one out.
Not being able to stick anything Active cause of Stand In is slightly annoying, but you don’t need to in this matchup. You just want to take care of the Active threat and spread damage around, and if they don’t evolve their Zoruas fast enough, you’ll get some easy KOs with Arrow. Also, if you play [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], this matchup becomes easier because you just spread and devolve and take a lot of KOs at once. I would say this matchup isn’t something to worry about and I wouldn’t expect much of it, but since it was a highly played deck before and during NAIC, I wouldn’t count it out entirely.
Things to Remember
Remember to use your Feather Arrows wisely and make them count, make sure you know your math so you never waste them. [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] is going to be in just about every deck, so getting a Pokemon stuck Active becomes harder, so always keep that in mind when using that strategy. [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] can be killer if you hit it at the right time, but it can also just be a win more card and not work out if you don’t get it when you need it and it’s dead in matchups like Volcanion. Sometimes, it’s best to not evolve into [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] on a turn if you don’t have a solid setup and at least one to two [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] on board. You want a decent board state before you get Plume up typically, unless you know that a turn one lock is essential, but even then, if your board state is lacking majorly you might want to hold off.
Conclusion
Overall, I think VD has an array of even to positive matchups against the projected meta. It’s a deck that profits from the new set because it strays some of the harder matchups away. It can beat anything because Item-lock and damage spread is a highly potent combo and nothing to joke about. Out of all the Decidueye variants, I think VD gives you the best chance for success in the meta that’s expected at worlds. I am beyond excited to compete this year and I can’t wait to see all my friends competing or going for the Anaheim Open. I wish everyone going to Anaheim safe travels, a fun trip, and good luck competing!
See you next time!
~Ryan
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