Hello!
pokemon-paradijs.comMy name is Evan. I started playing Pokémon in February, and my brothers threw together a Machamp deck to get me into the game. The deck was fairly simple to operate, and “Take Out” was easy enough to figure out. But it was very obviously flawed against Stage 2 decks, or any deck running Unown G. Over the next few months, I toyed with some different card combos. I took a version of FlyChamp with a Metagross tech to States and Regionals, going 4-3 and 5-3, respectively.
After these tournaments, I was at an impasse. I either needed to find a way to make the deck more competitive, or I needed to head a different direction. I decided to simplify my decklist a bit to make sure I could access all of the cards I needed to draw into to be successful. I also tried a few things that may seem unconventional at first glance. Anyway, I took the new deck to 3 different Battle Roads across Michigan and Ohio, going 6-1 (2nd place), 7-0 (1st place), and 7-0 (1st place), beating 3 of the top 10 players in Michigan along the way.
Let’s start with the list:
|
Pokémon:
3 Machop DP 2 Trapinch SW 2 Uxie LA 2 Baltoy GE |
Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums:
4 Bebe’s Search |
Energy:
4 DCE |
pokemon-paradijs.comMy first departure from conventional wisdom was playing 3 Machop instead of the traditional 2-1-2-1 line. The reasoning here is that Machop is by far my best starter, even if donking isn’t an option. So much emphasis has been placed on “disruptive” decks lately, but let’s not forget that the best form of disruption is taking an early prize and Knocking Out your opponent’s preferred starter.
Between running 3 Pokémon Communication, 2 Uxie (props to my friend Ryan Graham for that suggestion, which ultimately put this deck over the top), 4 Rare Candy, and 3 BTS, I was nearly always able to get a T1 Machamp and use “Take Out” for the early prize or the donk.
When going first, Machamp is a nice tank to have active while I get Flygon set up on the bench. I also found myself using Super Scoop Up as an early game set-up card to get another Uxie drop, or even another Cosmic Power if BTS was in play. I went with the DP Machop for his “Low Kick” attack. With one F Energy and an Expert Belt, I can Knock Out a Luxray that hasn’t been leveled up or an Ambipom.
pokemon-paradijs.comIn addition, Machamp LV.X is good for at least 1 guaranteed knock-out per game. And if you can get the knock-out with his “Strong Willed” attack, you’ve got a 50% chance of him surviving another turn for another guaranteed knock-out.
Against Stage 2 decks, Flygon was my weapon of choice. While most players choose to focus exclusively on Trapinch SW for it’s “Sand Tomb” and “Inviting Trap” attacks, I’ve included 2 Trapinch RR in my list. Over and over, I was able to pull this move: my active Pokémon was Knocked Out. I promoted a benched Trapinch RR, used his “Gather Sand” PokéPower to attach a F Energy from my discard pile to him, which doesn’t count as attaching for the turn.
Then, I attached a DCE for the turn, Rare Candied up to Flygon, and had a “Power Swing”-ready Flygon out of nowhere. I used this trick several times to Knock Out my opponent’s Garchomp C LV.X, and they never saw it coming. We all know Flygon LV.X can be incredibly versatile, and few Pokémon can withstand his “Extreme Attack” attack.
pokemon-paradijs.comYou might have also noticed my lack of rescue-type cards on this list. There isn’t a single Palmer’s, Night Maintenance, or Pokémon Rescue. I chose to take this risk because this deck is all about out-speeding my opponent. Nearly every card in the deck can help me accomplish what I’m looking to do in a given turn, and there is rarely any dead weight in my hand.
Energy is easy to re-circulate with Trapinch RR’s “Gather Sand” PokéPower. There were a few times where I had to say an early-game goodbye to Machamp LV.X or Flygon LV.X, but with 3 full Flygon lines and 2 full Machamp lines (and with the current trend metagame trend of picking off benched Claydols and Uxies), I never ran into a situation where I ran out of attackers, even in games that went down to the final prize.
Anyway, I had a great time wreaking havoc on an SP-heavy metagame, double-weak Tyranitar, Cursegar decks that walled with Mime or Spiritomb (“Take Out” bait), and any deck that relies on Pokémon LV.X. Jumpluff was a tough matchup (Flygon works best with a full bench), and LuxPhan nipped me in Okemos, MI Battle Road finals. Feel free to comment!
Very well-written report! If feels as if the spirit of Flychamp has been revived. In fact, I still believe it is a good deck to run.
The list isn't too bad in my opinion. When I looked at, it is pretty solid, but the only thing I see with the decklist is the lack of Roseanne's. I would consider running 3 Roseanne's at least. Also, what do you think about Nidoqueen in this deck? I have seen many Flychamp builds run Nidoqueen, and I would like to hear what you think about this card since I can see it being a helpful tech here.
Once again, nice report! Also, great job at the tournaments using it!
good deck for playing fot such a short time, but
4 bebe is too much i think.
then: why dont u play roseanne ( next season collector, which u play yet, and maybe interviewers qustion
3 collectors…maybe 2 are enough
professor oaks theory is a good card that can be played in every deck
for the next season:engineers adjustment 2 times (when claydol is forbidden)
i hope this helps and if somebody disagrees, write that thx
wow but well done at the turnaments
JPN-Gallade: Thanks for the comment. I don't run Roseanne's because I only run 1 type of searchable energy (Fighting… DCE is not searchable with Roseanne's). Collector allows me to grab 3 Pokemon instead of 2, which is essential to a deck with 2 attackers because it's immensely beneficial to pull out both an Uxie and a Baltoy on T1. With Roseanne's, I could only grab Uxie and Baltoy. With Collector, I can get a Trapinch on the bench as well.
As far as Nidoqueen, I like the idea but I just don't want to take a chance on slowing the deck down. It's strength is in it's speed, and I can't imagine what I'd take out to include it. Also, I often fill my bench with this deck because I like getting 2 Claydol out, and there is usually a benched Uxie hanging around.
yeah gallade is right, it looks very solid and thats what i think makes your deck so successful, but SOMETHING DIFFERENT!!
I DONT KNOW IF I MADE THE BEST DECK EVER OR IF ITS ONLY A SILLY IDEA
so its a shiftry deck
like that:
4-3-4 shiftry
2-2 magbrant
4 sablye
4 copycat
4 ssu
2 bts
3 expert
3 rare candy
1 luxury
3 oak theory
4 dont know the name (flip a coin, if heads, chose 1 of ur opponents pokemon and switch it with the defending one)
1 interviewer
2 collector
2 communication
2 bebes search
2 call ener.
4 darkness
4 darkness special
it consists on chosing one of the opponents pokemon and kill it with tengulist. u can use any attack and have 2 options:-magbrant power
-first attack and copycat
ssu for gettin magbrant back
sablye for donk and good start
of course its not the best list, i wrote it down in 2 minutes, but comment the tech please
What is magbrant?
uhhhhhhhhhh
SHOUT OUT FTW. Good luck, Evan. Er, I mean, good job!
I think it's like… the German equivalent of Magmortar?
This is one of the most well written articles I've ever seen here, congrats! Also, congrats on the wins. It is nice to know that I was your only loss in the run :D Missed seeing you guys at Tecumseh BR last Saturday. If you'd brought the crew, we could have had a 5th round…
Good luck in the future of playing and article writing :D
yeah i dont know… maybe it works, maybe not… magbrant is german magmotar…(no idea the fire stage one from supreme
ahhh … i understand…thx
and the shiftry… the nice thing would be you can chose a pokemon and ur oppontnt cant hinder u from killing it , he cant attack you, shiftry has a lot of hp, so ryan scott… u cant be so sure its fuck, maybe it isnt
the one with power to burn and confuse
This is not the place to be posting a deck list. Please move this to the forum, you are clogging up the comments for this well written article.
not only is this not a good idea, but why are you posting it in the comments of another deck's article?
haha the deck went 20-1 i don't think he needs to make any changes.
4 bebe's is too much? whaaaaat??
i dont have an idea how to write an article and i said maybe good deck, maybe only silly idea,
i only wanted to know how some people think about the deck and now i know its the stupid idea
thx
for everyone i dont know how to write an article, my english isnt good enough to understand the submit an article and i only wanted to hear what u think about the idea, now i know its not so good…but i wrote maybe good idea, maybe stupid idea, u said its not good and i say thanks cause i didnt buy the cards i needed.
and sry i wrote under that article here.i commented it yet.i tjink its written nice, too.
here in germany nobody i know plays more than 2-3 bebe, and there are some of the best players of bavaria, so ask first and dont say WHHHAAAAAAAT
here in germany nobody i know plays more than 2-3 bebe, and there are some of the best players of bavaria, so ask first and dont say WHHHAAAAAAAT jordan
i dont have an idea how to write an article and i said maybe good deck, maybe only silly idea,
i only wanted to know how some people think about the deck and now i know its the stupid idea
thx
for everyone i dont know how to write an article, my english isnt good enough to understand the submit an article and i only wanted to hear what u think about the idea, now i know its not so good…but i wrote maybe good idea, maybe stupid idea, u said its not good and i say thanks cause i didnt buy the cards i needed.
and sry i wrote under that article here.i commented it yet.i tjink its written nice, too.
here in germany nobody i know plays more than 2-3 bebe, and there are some of the best players of bavaria, so ask first and dont say WHHHAAAAAAAT
here in germany nobody i know plays more than 2-3 bebe, and there are some of the best players of bavaria, so ask first and dont say WHHHAAAAAAAT jordan
Try and find a draw engine that you can use wit this deck once the format changes… like ninetails or Dodrio.
Great, well written article and its nice to see an old deck (other than sp) return. The only thing I can see wrong is NO MACHAMP but thats just a typo, though I must admit machop lvx would see a new haymaker deck so even that was cool!
Clicked like on accident. :(
Most pro meta decklists I've seen have 4 Bebe's.
you wrote: “if somebody disagrees, write that thx”….he disagrees, whats the problem?
wow 20-1 sweet.
Hey, thanks…I’ve been waiting for news like that. Awesome! That’s really interesting. Cheers!
All certainly true, but I don’t agree myself. I will go along with the more conventional view. But I certainly support your right to say what you want. Interesting anyway.
All very true, but I don’t take that view myself. I will go along with the more traditional view. But I definitely support your right to say it. Cool anyway.
I didn’t quite understand this at first. But when I went through it a fourth time, it all added up in my mind. Thanks for the insight. Absolutely something to twirl in my mind.
Surprise! You truly covered this subject well. Are there other alternatives that i am going to have to verify out?