The Six Habits of Highly Effective Pokemon Players and Three New Decks from BREAKpoint
Hello once again PokeBeach readers! I’m so happy to be here writing for you. This semester has been off to a fantastic start – I have a light enough schedule that for the first time in my collegiate career, I will have Tuesday and Thursday off! As a music major, it was not uncommon for me to consistently schedule 16-19 credits. This forced me to make some serious decisions on whether I could afford to take the time to travel for bigger tournaments. Over the last few years I have been unable to attend many Winter or Spring Regionals due to my heavy schedule, but it looks like I will be making it to at least four this year. Hopefully I won’t need to attend the fourth Regional assuming I can lock up my invite by then, but I at least have that option. Unfortunately, due to my performance schedule, I will only be able to attend one State Championship, which is okay by me as States have typically been my lowest performing tournaments.
So far this season, I have accumulated 200 Championship Points with 20 coming from two League Challenges and 180 coming from City Championships. I’m really happy with my point total considering I was only able to make it to eight Cities this year. Some may scoff at that seemingly high number, but last year, I only had a chance to make it to five Cities! I’m grateful to have moved into an area that supports Pokemon in such a big way.
[cardimg name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
During the second to last Cities weekend, I still needed a finish. I drove down to Andrew’s house and we debated what we should play. The first Cities, I played a [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] deck with heavy amounts of disruption. The idea was to play a [card name=”Red Card” set=”XY” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] to drop your opponent’s hand down and then play [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] to make [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] a non-factor. This strategy worked decently most of the time, though I lost in Top 8 to Justin Boughter who was playing [card name=”Entei” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”15″ c=”name”][/card] and apparently never needed to drop Shaymin to set up. In one game of our Top 8 series, I was able to get the Silent Lab / Red Card combo, however, it didn’t matter because Justin drew exactly what he needed.
Andrew and I went back to the drawing board for the next tournament in Grove City, PA. We figured we need a deck that would do exactly what we wanted it to do every time. Andrew and I wanted a deck that could reasonably beat any Standard deck in the format. This led us back to trusty old Night March. Andrew and I deduced that [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] would be better than the [card name=”Bronzong” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY21″ c=”name”][/card] line we were running because ideally, the game wouldn’t last more than three turns. I know a lot of other people had been running Milotic for a while, but we didn’t test the deck much since we had both decided Night March wasn’t a viable play due to the rise of [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card].
Before the tournament, Kirsten Sprague, Andrew, and I were sitting around debating our final few card choices in Night March. Originally, I was going to play two [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] and no [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], but Kirsten insisted that two Pokemon Catcher made the deck incredibly good. She had been playing Night March for a substantial portion of Cities, so I trusted her judgement and ended up adding them. Throughout the tournament, they were the MVCs – Most Valuable Cards. I could not see playing the deck without them! Look for the full list in Andrew’s upcoming article.
Andrew and I easily breezed through the tournament. Luckily, we were on separate sides of the Top Cut bracket and were able to meet in the finals. Because it was late and we had a long drive home, I suggested that Andrew take the win. I was happy with a second place finish and didn’t feel particularly good about playing a mirror match. Andrew also only had two second place finishes at that point, so it felt good giving him a first place finish to ensure a respectable Cities run. He did end up winning another City Championship the next weekend, so while in hindsight I regret not taking the points this tournament, I’ll be so grateful to him when he wins a free hotel for Nationals or Worlds and lets me stay at no charge.
Over the course of the day, I only lost once to an [card name=”Aegislash-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY21″ c=”name”][/card] deck in which I drew one of the least playable hands ever. I went 4-0-2 through swiss and felt great about finishing out my Cities season with two first place finishes to go along with two second place finishes. However, I couldn’t be happier to usher out Cities!
XY – BREAKthrough Format: Good Riddance!
I know I am not the only one who cannot wait for the new set BREAKpoint to breath some life into the format. When the current Standard format started, I know I wasn’t alone in thinking that the format was healthy, balanced, and fun. It seemed that there were a dozen viable decks that could do well at any given tournament. However, as the season has progressed, I found out that the number of viable decks slowly decreased. As the meta became more defined, certain strategies seemed obviously a cut above the rest of the format. Yveltal / Gallade / Zoroark rose to power as being one of the most consistent and hard hitting decks in the format. It could fully take advantage of opponent’s misplays and had an attacker for every situation. It even allegedly beat Night March – or so I thought.
I discovered the brilliance of Pokemon Catcher early in the format as the cards were staples of my early season [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] lists. However, [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] is the card that truly displays how powerful Pokemon Catcher is. Target Whistle in combination with Pokemon Catcher can win games that decks otherwise shouldn’t win. These two strong cards were the best utilized in Night March which leads me to believe that Night March was the clear best deck in the format. Other decks may claim to have an out to beating Night March, but the deck sets up so consistently and can end a game in as little as three turns. It has enough room to tech for bad matchups, such as adding a [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] for [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] and includes [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] to recycle valuable [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card].
Now that I think the format has discovered its BDIF, I feel so excited to move on and add a new set to the format. For the remainder of this article, I want to discuss potential decks that could emerge from the release of BREAKpoint. I want to give you an in depth look at how I come up with a deck for a new format as well as a step by step guide to improving your deck building.
Deck building has always been one of my favorite things about the game. Some people like in-game strategy, or creating crazy rogues for the sake of the “wow” factor, but what I love most about the competitive TCG is the deck building. It doesn’t matter if it’s building a list of a meta deck or going rogue, but I am always in search of the perfect decklist – a combination of the ideal 60 cards where every card has a specific, but useful purpose against all decks in the format. I know these elusive lists exist and I’m always trying to create them.
Deck building has been a skill that I’ve been good at since I started the game, though it certainly is a skill that can diminish over time. I’ve developed a few strategies to improve my deck building and as I started to write them down, I realized they mirrored a book I had recently read titled “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” In his self help book, Stephen Covey outlines his proven strategies to becoming an effective person. Shockingly, a lot of his theories are directly applicable to Pokemon! I’ll give you a short run down of the strategies I feel apply the best to deck building. Then, I’ll give you some concept lists I created for the new format.
1. Being Proactive
Start testing now. We already have the scans, and the new set is on its way in less than a month. Have ideas and concepts ready. Have a strategy. What’s the use in thinking about a deck after the format is finished? I can tell you I am certainly a little disappointed that I didn’t think about our current Night March build until the end of the Cities season. How useful will your ideas be when you’ve already missed the only tournament you will have a chance to employ those strategies? Do not wait around for the format to develop – develop the format yourself!
[cardimg name=”Fossil Researcher” set=”Furious Fists” no=”92″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
2. Begin With the End in Mind
Have a clear goal. Outline what your deck wants to do every game. Is the goal of the deck to create a favorable Prize-trade? Is it to hit quickly to overwhelm the opponent in the first turns of the game? Is it to mill or bench the opponent? Is it to disrupt the opponent so much that they are unable to enact their strategies? Understanding the exact role of a deck helps me make specific card choices that improve that deck’s win condition. Defining the goal early in the deck building process also helps me consider the best tech cards later in my testing.
In the beginning stages of testing, I will always gear my decklists to achieve one goal as linearly as possible. Usually when I do that and play a few games with it, I can get a feel for how much of the excess fat I can trim from the list while still achieving the end goal. In this way, my initial lists are usually very bland, but come out of the testing process with answers to more decks in the form of tech cards.
3. Put First Things First
After you play the game for a while, you inherently start to categorize deck ideas into two subsets: decks that could or should be good, and decks that will need a lot of refinement. The Pokemon Company has printed so many obvious combos in the past that are hard to overlook: [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. When a new set is being released, it may be better to prioritize testing the obvious combos over the wacky ones. Sure, your [card name=”Hypno” set=”Furious Fists” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Tyrantrum” set=”Furious Fists” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] deck might have some potential, but if you don’t understand how that deck interacts with the combos inherently printed by The Pokemon Company things won’t go well for you. This idea brings me to my next point.
4. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
It is important to have a solid grasp on the current metagame in order to approximate how your new creation might fit in. Chances are that the best handful of decks from the previous format will still be relevant, if not enhanced by the newly released cards. Having a working knowledge of every Tier 1 and 2 deck as well as the possible counter decks from the previous format will give you a huge leg up in figuring out how new cards could shake things up.
5. Synergize
Synergizing is one of the best ways to get a solid grasp on the format, but it requires having a solid testing base. It is fairly absurd to expect one person to singlehandedly discover the ins and outs of the new set, so having a solid group of players whose opinions and ideas you trust and value is tantamount to solid performance. If your partners all decide they want to try out the new Darkrai-EX, you can feel free to delve into that cool Palkia-EX deck you’ve been thinking about. Later, both parties can share lists and neither ends up starting the deck building process from square one.
Even if you don’t have a great testing group, you’re in a great place here at PokeBeach! This is exactly the service our writers are providing to you every week – high quality lists that have been thoroughly tested so you don’t have to.
6. Sharpen the Saw
Covey describes this step as making sure you don’t get too worn out from the tasks at hand. Always make sure there is enough balance in your life to achieve what you need to do, but also have time to reflect and relax. Exercise and eat right. Not that I think any of you would, but don’t let the game overtake positive health habits! At large tournaments such as Regionals, I know I am especially prone to poor health habits such as not eating correctly or not sleeping enough and I know it can have a negative effect on my in game play. Certainly this can translate to testing. Take care of yourself first, and then focus on the game!
7. Think Win-Win
In his book, Covey conveys the idea of proposing mutually beneficial solutions to problems in relationships. While this is a great piece of life advice, sadly it doesn’t quite translate to Pokemon. We will have to settle for Six Habits of Highly Effective Pokemon Players.
From the first six habits, I will be focusing specifically on the three relating specifically to deck building; numbers one through three. I’ll show you some decklists based around new cards released in BREAKpoint, and give you a rundown on why I believe the deck will be a strong contender in the next format. These decks are at the top of my list of ones to test and I definitely think you should give them strong consideration as well!
[premium]
BREAKpoint Deck Idea #1: Durant (Standard Format)
If you’ve read this far, you’ve basically satisfied the first habit of being a highly effective Pokemon player: being proactive. Presumably, you are reading to get a glimpse at what the next format could hold in terms of popular and winning decks that could arise from the release of our newest set. Congrats! Let’s move on to the second habit – beginning with the end in mind.
Durant is a card that I find beautiful in it’s simplicity. If you remember a few years back, a different Durant had strong showings across a large number of tournaments because of its ability to mill a certain number of cards from the opponent’s deck based on how many Durant were in play. The new Durant reads a bit differently however still has a similar effect:
Durant – Grass – HP70
Basic Pokemon[G] Mountain Gnaw: 10 damage. Discard the top card of your opponent’s deck.
[G][C] Grind Down: If this Pokemon has any damage counters on it, discard the top 4 cards of your opponent’s deck.
Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
The differences are significant. While the Durant of old often had difficulty milling opponents when it prized one or more Durant, the Durant from BREAKpoint can effectively mill four cards every single turn. Of course, the caveat to this is that you must get damage counters on the little bug to trigger its milling effect. If we were to build a deck around this Durant and establish a goal, of course it would be to mill the opponent so they have no remaining cards left in their deck when they go to draw for their turn. Thus, our end goal would be:
Mill the Opponent in as Few Turns as Possible
| Pokemon (12) | Trainers (40) | Energy (8) |
| 4x Durant (BKP #9) | 4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 4x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”152″ c=”deck2″][/card] |
| 3x [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 3x [card name=”Professor Birch’s Observations” set=”Primal Clash” no=”134″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 3x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”130″ c=”deck2″][/card] |
| 2x [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 2x [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 1x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”XY” no=”132″ c=”deck2″][/card] |
| 2x [card name=”Bronzor” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”95″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 2x [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”deck2″][/card] | |
| 1x [card name=”Smeargle” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”123″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 1x [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”deck2″][/card] | |
| 1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 4x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Kalos Starter Set” no=”34″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 4x [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 3x [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 2x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 1x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 3x [card name=”Team Magma’s Secret Base” set=”Double Crisis” no=”32″ c=”deck2″][/card] |
First off, this list should remind you of the mill decks in our current Standard format that utilize [card name=”Houndoom-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card]. This deck combined heavy amounts of disruption with the milling power of both Houndoom-EX and [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to slowly whittle your opponent’s deck. While that deck saw moderate success milling only two cards at a time, Durant has the potential to mill four cards a turn (or more if you factor in [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card]). If you consider that the opponent must draw seven cards at the start of the game, lay out six Prizes, as well as draw a card per turn, that means that there are 46 cards remaining in deck at the start of their first turn. Divide that number by four and you end up needing approximately 11 turns to mill them completely. Of course, this number can be altered over the course of the game depending on whether they play a draw Supporter like Professor Sycamore, or if either player plays an [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card].
On the other side, one of the main concerns of this deck is its bulk. To mill four cards, you have to have put at least one damage counter on your Durant. If you hurt your Durant via [card name=”Team Magma’s Secret Base” set=”Double Crisis” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], you’re leaving yourself with only 50 HP left. Ideally, you can also disrupt your opponent so that they are unable to get attacks off, but this is risky as a few missed Crushing Hammer in the early game can snowball into devastating effects late game. Additionally, an opponent repeatedly using Shaymin-EX’s Sky Return attack over and over again could spell trouble.
Card Choices
Two Energy are required to use the optimal attack on Durant, Grind Down. We can mitigate this hindrance by playing something that can accelerate Energy, hence the inclusion of a thin line of Bronzong. [card name=”Bronzong” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY21″ c=”name”][/card] allows us to cycle Durant over multiple turns. By using Metal Links to attach to Benched Durant, we can consistently stream milling attacks. However, this strategy is easily exploitable; the opponent can shut you down by KO’ing Bronzong or playing a [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] to block its Ability. In this instance, attacking with Bunnelby would be a suitable, but weaker, replacement.
[cardimg name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
I’ve maxed the [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] count at four because it is important to get a feel for how these cards affect how the deck plays. I know many Houndoom-EX mill decks cut down to three copies of Trick Shovel, but I find it’s best to max out specific strategies and then start cutting cards after understanding how the deck operates.
The [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”XY” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] are included to give you another way to damage your Durant. By attaching a Rainbow you not only fulfill the damage requirement by placing a damage counter on your Durant, but you also fulfill the Grass Energy requirement. You are then able to attach a Metal Energy as your second Energy.
We play a lot of disruption cards to ensure the opponent has a difficult time attacking. Since our Durant have so little HP, we want to make sure they can attack multiple times whenever possible. Crushing Hammer, Enhanced Hammer, Head Ringer, and Team Flare Grunt all make it difficult for the opponent to attack every turn. These counts will likely vary after some testing, but for an initial list, these counts should suffice as they are similar counts to what has worked before.
Tech Options
I want to mention a few cards that could be worked into the list that might enhance the deck. An additional Energy manipulation technique could be to play the new Slowking from BREAKpoint. Its Ability allows you to flip a coin, and if heads, move an Energy card from their Active Pokemon to a Benched Pokemon. This is a fantastic Ability as it works continually, turn after turn. However, the draw-backs include the fact that you would need to cut other cards in the list to fit a line of Slowking. Then, you have to hope that a part is not prized, and you have to hope that your opponent plays down a Benched Pokemon. For these reasons, I have not decided to include Slowking in my initial testing list.
[card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] is another card I think may end up finding its way into the list at some point. It would be nice to have a way to recover Pokemon from the discard, but for the purposes of testing the concept, I have decided not to include it in the initial list.
Overall, this deck appears to be easy to play around. Judge is a card that has seen substantial amounts of play in just about every deck and can increase the amount of turns necessary to mill your opponent. Durant’s low HP is a major hindrance as the opponent may be able to easily KO them every turn. Combine this with attackers and Abilities that accelerate Energy like [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY06″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Bronzong” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY21″ c=”name”][/card] and this deck seems to have a few flaws. That is not to say that it won’t be good – it was a solid deck in previous formats, but there are certainly ways to exploit its flaws. On my testing list of new decks from BREAKpoint, I would place it at a low priority. It is a concept worth exploring, but there are better decks out there. Let’s explore another one!
BREAKpoint Deck Idea #2: Darkrai / Hypno (Expanded Format)
I am so excited by the prospect of Darkrai-EX. Darkrai looks like it is one of the best Pokemon in the new set. I normally don’t do preorders, but I have already purchased four of these guys while the price is low. A lot of people would look at the card and instantly gravitate towards the first attack, but I actually think the power of this card comes from the second attack.
Darkrai-EX – Darkness – HP180
Basic Pokemon[C][C] Dark Pulse: 20+ damage. Does 20 more damage for each [D] Energy attached to all of your Pokemon.
[D][C][C] Dark Head: 80+ damage. If your opponent’s Active Pokemon is Asleep, this attack does 80 more damage.
When a Pokemon-EX has been Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 2
Dark Head has the potential to do 160 base damage, and 180 with a [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]. Combine this with damage from [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], and suddenly, you can KO any non-Mega Pokemon in the format. Darkrai-EX also has substantial bulk and a decent Weakness to Fighting. Just like Dark decks of previous formats, we want to get our Dark attackers up and running and swinging for a ton of damage early in the game.
Dark has been a strong archetype ever since Dark Explorers was released. It’s been a dominant force because of its strong attackers, Energy acceleration via cards like [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], and its ample amount of deck space for techs. Dark has had the power and tech space to handle just about any deck in format.
Build up Darkrai-EX to KO Any Threat
First, we should look at the options we have for accelerating. [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] is a decent option, but in the Expanded format we have Energy acceleration in the form of Items. One of the best Items for acceleration Energy is being released in BREAKpoint; Max Elixir. Max Elixir looks like one of the most powerful cards in both Standard and Expanded.
Max Elixir says “Look at the top six cards of your deck. You may choose a Basic Energy card you find there and attach it to one of your Basic Benched Pokemon. Shuffle the remaining cards back into your deck.”
This should be a strong card that will be splashed in many Pokemon-EX-based decks. The ability to quickly power up Pokemon-EX in one turn is amazing and helps speed up already incredibly fast decks. A turn one Land’s Judgement from a [card name=”Landorus-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card], anyone? How about a turn one Assault Laser from [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card]? These are certainly scary propositions. With the possibility of a turn one Darkrai-EX swinging for 160 – 210 damage, here’s my Darkrai-EX / Hypno list.
| Pokemon (14) | Trainers (35) | Energy (11) |
| 3x Darkrai-EX (BKP #118) | 4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 7x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”129″ c=”deck2″][/card] |
| 2x Hypno (BKP #51) | 3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″][/card] |
| 2x Drowzee (BKP #50) | 1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″][/card] | |
| 2x [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″][/card] | |
| 2x [card name=”Zorua” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”89″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″][/card] | |
| 2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 4x Max Elixir (BKP #102) | |
| 1x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 4x [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”deck2″][/card] | |
| 2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 2x [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 1x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 2x All Night Party (BKP #111) | ||
| 2x [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”deck2″][/card] |
Card Choices
You’ll notice that while I’ve included four Max Elixir, I’ve also added a couple [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. This is because Max Elixir is never a sure thing while Dark Patch is guaranteed to accelerate a Dark Energy should you have one in the discard pile. Additionally, Dark Patch can accelerate to [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] while Max Elixir can attach only to Basic Pokemon. If Max Elixir proves to be as good as I think it will be, a split like this will be fairly common in Dark- based decks.
A single copy of [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] is included in the list because Seismitoad can singlehandedly steal games. In combination with Hypnotoxic Laser, Seismitoad can effectively take Prizes as well as limit the number of options your opponent has. It’s just a great card and has been proven to work time and time again.
[cardimg name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Hypno is the BREAKpoint card that has a ton of potential with Darkrai-EX. Hypno’s Ability, when activated, puts both player’s Active Pokemon to sleep. While this is normally a terrible idea, we run a couple of ways to get around this hindrance. Zoroark can use its Ability “Stand In” to switch with the current Active, thus you can put a Pokemon to sleep, “Stand In” with Zoroark, and then Retreat to Darkrai-EX. You can also get around having your Active stay Asleep from Hypno by utilizing the Stadium All Night Party, which allows you to remove the Sleep condition from your Active Pokemon and by doing so heal 30 damage. The healing effect is great, but this cards basic reason for inclusion is that it lets you wake up if you were Asleep. The opponent’s Active Pokemon stays Asleep and Darkrai-EX can deal big damage.
Tech Options
There’s always a card or two that I wish could go in here, but overall I’m happy with the list. In the test games I’ve run with the deck, it has drawn fairly smoothly with the Ability to power up multiple Darkrai-EX over the course of the game. It’s fun to play this deck, no doubt! The list could use a Super Rod and a few spooky Supporters like [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] , but this is a very solid starting place and I feel great taking this list to test with.
There’s definitely an argument for adding [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] instead of [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] as a Pokemon that helps alleviate the sleep effects caused by Hypno. However, I felt like the deck needed a secondary non-EX attacker, and Zoroark can fulfill both roles. After extensive testing, Keldeo-EX may prove to be better, but for now, I’m sticking with Zoroark.
Overall, this archetype should remain strong in both Standard and Expanded for a while. I see Max Elixir speeding both formats up consistently. While this deck is inherently strong, it may struggle against non-EX based decks such as [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] and Night March, so an adjustment may need to be made in the future. For now, I’m thoroughly enjoying Darkrai-EX and all its little quirks. I put this deck at the top of my list to test.
BREAKpoint Idea #3: Garchomp (Standard Format)
Garchomp has had his fair share of strong Pokemon cards and continues this trend with the newest set. Garchomp looks to be a force in the Standard metagame, much like [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] is. In fact, I used a Gallade deck as inspiration for this list as they both share similar concepts.
Here is a translation of Garchomp:
Garchomp – Fighting – HP130
Stage 2 – Evolves from Gabite[F] Assault Turbo: 60 damage. Choose 1 Energy card in your discard pile and attach it to one of your Pokemon.
[F][F] Biting Pledge: 80+ damage. If your opponent’s Active Pokemon is a Pokemon-EX, this attack does 80 more damage.
Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 0
Garchomp’s strength lies in its acceleration and strong second attack that can KO any Pokemon-EX in format with a Strong Energy or two attached. Thus, we want to get out as many Garchomp as possible while forcing our opponent to have to take six KOs to win the game.
The deck has a ton of raw power as getting multiple [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Furious Fists” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] on a Garchomp and having [card name=”Fighting Stadium” set=”Furious Fists” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] in play means you can hit a Pokemon-EX for 200 damage. Even Hawlucha can swing for major damage. The concept I love about this Fighting deck is that Garchomp can recycle Energy from the discard meaning you aren’t limited to just four Strong Energy over the course of a game. Ideally, your Garchomp are surviving multiple turns due to [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], allowing you to accelerate Energy to other Garchomp on your Bench.
Build a Swarm of Garchomp as Efficiently as Possible.
| Pokemon (17) | Trainers (35) | Energy (8) |
| 4x Garchomp (BPT #51) | 4x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 4x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Furious Fists” no=”104″ c=”deck2″][/card] |
| 2x Gabite (BPT #50) | 4x [card name=”Korrina” set=”Furious Fists” no=”95″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 4x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”105″ c=”deck2″][/card] |
| 4x Gible (BPT #49) | 2x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″][/card] | |
| 3x [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card] | |
| 2x [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 1x [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”deck2″][/card] | |
| 2x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”31″ c=”deck2″][/card] | 1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″][/card] | |
| 4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”85″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 4x [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 2x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 1x [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”deck2″][/card] | ||
| 2x [card name=”Fighting Stadium” set=”Furious Fists” no=”90″ c=”deck2″][/card] |
Card Choices
Wow, there are a lot of four-ofs. Again, this goes back to my point about building a deck with the end goal in mind. We want to streamline the deck list to optimally achieve the desired outcome. Once we understand how the deck functions, we can dial back the counts of some of these cards. Four [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] and four [card name=”Korrina” set=”Furious Fists” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] seem fairly standard here as they are some of the best Supporters in this type of deck. We really want Brigette in our opening hand, but Korrina can suffice as early game it can grab two Pokemon if you acquire either a [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] or an [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card].
Four Focus Sash are included because it is an extremely strong card. While that number may be dropped down to three, I want to see how this exact build fares against other decks. If only three are necessary, then so be it, but it’s hard for me to make that decisions without extensive testing.
[cardimg name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Tech Options
You’ll notice I didn’t include a secondary attacker besides Hawlucha. This is because there aren’t many great Basic Fighting Pokemon. We could include a Pokemon-EX like [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card], but with popular decks like Night March running [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], even a single copy of Lucario-EX could be a liability. Thus, I’ve decided to forgo the addition of auxiliary attackers to streamline the deck and determine whether or not Garchomp and Hawlucha can hold their own. I thought about running a non-EX like [card name=”Druddigon” set=”Flashfire” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], but its inclusion would have warranted running [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] which doesn’t mesh well with the initial objective of the deck.
The deck might have room for [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], which is the one card I have on my sideboard of techs to test. If the deck played a couple Max Potion, it would give Garchomp that much more survivability. One could take a hit, survive with Focus Sash, and then Retreat into a second Garchomp and accelerate the Energy discarded from using Max Potion back onto the fresh Garchomp on the Bench. This idea could have promise, though if it gets popular, [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] would become a standard inclusion in most decks.
Overall, this is a straightforward deck. It attempts to hit hard and fast for minimal Energy cost. Only further testing will determine if this is a viable deck, though I do love that it hits metagame stalwart [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] and newcomer Darkrai-EX for Weakness. I feel as though this deck has more potential than Durant, but less than Darkrai-EX.
Conclusion
Well, I think I’ve talked long enough! Hopefully, whether you’re an experienced deck builder, or just starting out, you’ve taken a few of ideas from this article that you can implement into your testing regiment. If nothing else, when looking to create a new deck, remember to follow these steps:
- Start early
- Have a goal in mind
- Prioritize
After you’ve established a few decks, you can determine which would be the best to test, and that’s where you can determine the best techs. Start with tunnel vision first, and gradually add in techs based on the deck’s needs, not the other way around! It’s a common mistake that even I make to cut cards that enhance the main objective of my decks in favor of niche cards that might not even help against the matchups they are intended to help against.
BREAKpoint looks to shake up the format in a big way. Whether positive or negative, it’s difficult to tell, but at the very least a few new archetypes should arise from this new set. Explore this interesting set! As always, I’ll be in touch with you guys on the Subscriber’s Forum. Please, please, please utilize this resource! I will try to update you guys on my progress leading up to Winter Regionals and I’d love to give y’all some advice for your upcoming tournaments too. Talk to you soon!
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