Hi everyone. This is my first time to ever write an article, and I hope it’s helpful, especially for all you SP-haters out there. My son Nicholas and I have been playing Pokémon for about 2 years, and my son also won the Northeast Regionals last year in the Juniors Division.
Instead of analyzing the pros/cons of specific Pokémon, I would like to instead focus on the best way to get your Stage 2 Pokémon in play and evolved so that you can start wreaking havoc on your opponent.
Step #1- Get Off to a Great Start
We sometimes forget that the key to getting your Stage 2 Pokémon out quickly is getting the basic form of that Pokémon in play as quickly as possible. With some exceptions, the best way to get these into play is using Call Energy, Supporters or Trainers that help you search for the ones you need. My personal preference is to play with 4 Call Energy and Roseanne’s Research to have the best chance of getting the basics needed in play either T1 or T2. Of course, you can always use Bebe’s Search or Luxury Ball to find a basic, but if possible, try to save these to find either Stage 1 or Stage 2 Pokémon.
Step#2- Evolve ASAP
Must-Have #1- Rare Candy. Rare Candy is absolutely critical to every Stage 2 deck. It’s a Trainer and lets you skip the Stage 1 evolution to get those big, beefy Poké-Powered and -Bodied Stage 2 Pokémon in play. You should play with 4 Rare Candy in every Stage 2 deck.
Must-Have #2- Bebe’s Search or other Supporter or Trainer Pokémon Finders. All Stage 2 decks should have a nice collection of Trainers and Supporters to help you find the Pokémon you need to evolve to the next stage. My preference is to play with 4 Bebe’s Search and 1-2 Luxury Balls, but there are other good options with the HGSS set like Pokémon Communicator and Professor Elm’s Training Method.
And now for some Optional Tips.
Option #1: Broken Time-Space. Broken Time Space is a Stadium Card that allows you to evolve your Pokémon as many times as you want during your turn so that you don’t have to wait until next turn. This can be extremely helpful to you (and unfortunately to your opponent), especially when you can get the basic, Stage 1 and Stage 2 in your hand your 1st or 2nd turn.
Option #2: Spiritomb AR. I have found that adding 4 of these is uber for speed and consistency. I used to play more BTS but have found that playing Spiritomb helps in an additional way. Since Stage 2 decks require the extra Pokémon for Stage 1 and Stage 2 evolutions, these decks tend to get off to worse starts than their lesser-evolved relatives. By playing 4 Spiritomb, you greatly increase your odds of getting a basic Pokémon in play which also helps you set up more quickly.
Note: a few words of caution when playing Spiritomb. Playing this with Rare Candy in the same deck can cause problems as an active Spiritomb prevents you from playing Trainers like Rare Candy. Even though this is a risk, it is manageable and still beneficial to have both. You just have to be careful when you retreat/play/sacrifice Spiritomb in order to not trainer lock yourself at the wrong time. Also, Spiritomb is more than likely going to wind up getting Knocked Out in the 1st few turns of the game, and you will often lose the 1st Prize card in return for setting up your Pokémon. This means playing comeback (which is a great Hollywood theme anyway) which can sometimes be challenging.
Option #3: Poké-Power speed. One additional way to really give your deck a boost is to leverage Pokémon with good setup powers. Claydol and Uxie are the most obvious choices here, but there are others that tend to help specific Pokémon types. For example, Beedrill from Rising Rivals has the “Flutter Wings” Poké-Power which lets you search for any one Grass-type Pokémon once a turn. This is an incredibly helpful power when trying to get a Stage 2 Grass deck set up quickly. Other notable Pokémon that have similar boost searching powers are Magnezone SF with “Magnetic Search” and Gardevoir SW with “Telepass” that can often let you use its power to perform a second Bebe’s Search or Roseanne’s Research to find the Pokémon you need.
Well, that’s about it. Thanks for reading, and get those Stage 2 tanks moving!
This is a great article, I think regular decks (by this I mean non Sp) are starting to see play again! Rare Candy can also be used in DONK decks like Donphan to ensure a T1 DONK!
Very thorough analysis. TS-1 Evoluter from LA is another good way to evolve. When placed on the active Pokemon, it gives you an energyless attack that lets you search for an evolution card and place it right on the Basic in play. I'm almost certain you can't “jump” evolutions like Rare Candy though.
Awesome article, and it's even better coming from a dad. :)
You've got some really solid tips in here that a lot of people ignore, like playing 4 Call, 4 Bebe (I usually play 3 but 4 is great too), 1-2 Luxury Ball, etc…
I usually play 2 Broken Time-Space is most Stage 2 decks. Sometimes 1 can be good too. But it really depends on what you're playing…for example Beedrill is going to need 4.
Once again, great article. :)
Thanks for the feedback! I think we Poke-dads are for some reason predisposed to tank decks, maybe because we have to feel like we are bigger/more mature (ha, ha). Regardless, stage 2 decks are really fun to play because they tend to have the more exotic poke-powers and bodies that keep the game interesting and unpredictable.
Good point- I like TS-1 but feel like it has been outclassed by BTS and spiritomb. But, it can definitely help in some deck builds though.
That's true- I was honestly disappointed that so many supporters came out that gave SP decks such an unfair advantage compared to other decks. But, with some of the recent additions, I feel like Stage 1 and 2 decks stand a much better chance, though SP decks still seem to have the edge overall IMHO
I think if you play Donphan with candies you have a deck almost equal (in speed) to Sp's.
I am currently running a KingGar (Nidoking and Gengar) deck and I have basically all of these cards in their except the Call energy, but thanks to your article I considering it to put in there. Also, all of the cards you talk about, I can attest to how much they help set up. Wonderful article, can't wait for the next one.
I think Sunflora GS outclasses Beedrill RR in non-Beedrill grass decks. It has the same Poke-Power, but is only a Stage 1.
I am definitely pulling for stage 2 decks to rise back to the top….sp's are so broken with all the trainers, supporters and pokemon they got.
This is so of topic and I am sorry but you sound just like a guy I know that goes to the York Pokemon League! He plays all these great cards and complains about how broken they are, LOL!
Great article. My kids and I have been playing for about 2.5 years now and the Stage 2 deck I've had the most fun with is Magnezone / Metagross. Combined with Claydol, you can easily be using 6 or more different Poke-powers each turn. Can be a little tough to keep track of everything sometimes, and you almost always find yourself down by 2 or more prizes (at least), but what a fun engine to run. (I know you've got lots of experience with Magnezone, Smitham, maybe another article…) :)
Great job. Say if u have a Trapinch on your bench an u use darkness grace, can u evolve in to Flygon.
I believe that you can only evolve to the next stage 1 (Vibrava). But, one great thing is that, if you start with a trapnich on the bench and a spiritomb active, you can evolve into vibrava turn 1 and then evolve into Flygon your very next turn which helps tremendously.
^ exactly
THANKS
thanks for the positive feedback. I like your combination too of KingGar- nice to see some unique deck builds.
Ha! You've discovered my true identity, Mr. BebeSearch! Yes, a Magnezone article would be fun, but I'm still trying to settle on a strategy since it has so many different variants. Hope to see you at States in a few more days!
thanks for the positive feedback. I like your combination too of KingGar- nice to see some unique deck builds.
Ha! You've discovered my true identity, Mr. BebeSearch! Yes, a Magnezone article would be fun, but I'm still trying to settle on a strategy since it has so many different variants. Hope to see you at States in a few more days!
um… i play a charizard-typhlosion deck. I would like someone to give me suggestions on what trainers, supporters, and other cards i should give in a try. And i am fond of healing my ‘zard so please have me some tips too. I just started my life as a trainer ya know :D and I see that this article myt help me… tnx for the tips in advance
Great blog 9/10! Bookmarked :)