Afterburn Bible: How to Play ReshiPhlosion

pokebeach.comHello SixPrizes Nation! I am here to tell the “other” side of the story. One of the most hyped decks for the HGSS-on format is ReshiBoar. All the hype is well deserved in my opinion.

There are also several other decks out there getting some love (I am linking you to articles or forum posts on these). You should definitely read The Purple Pro’s article on upcoming nationals. His article does a great job running through some good ideas. MagneBoar is extremely high on many people’s list. LostGar variants are looking solid. Blastoise/Floatzel is a wild card. Speed Zekrom decks are looking good. Donphan decks are also looking to be top contenders.

What about the “other” partner to Reshiram, Typhlosion Prime? I’m here to give a list, go through it card by card, and explore a couple techs that the deck could run. So far there has not been an article on this deck even though there has been vigorous debate across many forums.

(Very Important Disclaimer: I am not claiming that this deck is better than ReshiBoar. I do think that it is close to being as powerful. I also think that this deck holds up well against other projected decks. I also acknowledge that this decklist is not perfect, and the list is heavily skewed toward my play style.)

Without further adieu, I present to you: ReshiPhlosion:

Pokémon – 16 

3 Cleffa HS/CL
2 Cyndaquil HS
1 Quilava HS
2 Typhlosion Prime
4 Reshiram BW
2 Vulpix HS
2 Ninetales HS

Trainers – 21 

2 Defender
1 Fisherman
3 Junk Arm
3 PlusPower
3 Pokémon Collector
3 Pokémon Communication
2 Potion
2 Rare Candy
2 Revive

Energy – 15 

12 R
3 Double Colorless

Total cards: 52

This list leaves eight spots for techs. To see my actual list (as of this moment, I might change it a little) see here.

I want to state immediately that I play this deck as a Trainer Toolbox. With my actual list (found through the link above), I have pulled off some crazy things. For example, against MagneBoar I pulled of back-to-back turns with double PlusPower drops to 1HKO two Magnezone Primes with Reshiram.

Let’s get down and dirty into each card for this deck.

Pokémon

Ninetales: This card is the draw engine for the deck. With “Roast Reveal” you may discard one R Energy from your hand in order to draw three new cards. In this deck, you can feel free to use Roast Reveal as liberally as you desire.

It only has 90 HP for a Stage 1 Pokémon, which is not great. It has a Retreat Cost of C. Also, not great but livable. Vulpix is the Basic Pokémon.

Typhlosion Prime: This is the energy accelerator in the deck (most people use Emboar 20 for this). With Typhlosion’s “Afterburner” Poké-Power you may take one R Energy from your discard pile and attach it to any of your Pokémon. The Pokémon you place the energy on takes 10 damage. This is how the deck retrieves those R Energy that were discarded with Ninetales.

It has 140 HP which is solid. It also has a Retreat Cost of CC, which is not bad for a Stage 2 Pokémon. In this deck, Typhlosion Prime is also the secondary attacker. For RRC you do 70 damage and discard one Energy. The damage output is not great, but you also get to discard one energy from the defending Pokémon.

This can be great. It can discard stuff like Rescue Energy or those teched in L Energies for RDL or Magnezone Prime. Cyndaquil and Quilava are the Basic and Stage 1.

Reshiram: This is the main attacker in the deck. It is a basic Pokémon with 130 hp. It has a CC Retreat Cost. It also has two outstanding attacks. For CC, you do 20 + 10 damage for each damage counter on Reshiram with “Outrage”. Then for RRC, Reshiram deals 120 damage and discards two R Energy. Since it is a basic, Reshiram can be swarmed.

Cleffa: To be honest, I keep going back and forth with the starters in HGSS-on. Some days I think that Stantler/Minun is best. Some days I think that not using starter Pokémon is the best way to go. However, for now I am using Cleffa. Cleffa only has 30 hp. It also has zero Retreat Cost. Its attack allows you to shuffle your hand into your deck and draw six new cards, then Cleffa is asleep.

Its Poké-Body prevents Cleffa from taking damage while asleep. So, you have 50% invincibility. This card is good because I run no Professor Oak’s New Theory or Professor Juniper. It is also a good free retreater after your active is Knocked Out.

Trainers

Defender: I absolutely love this card right now, and most people are overlooking it. This is the equalizer in the mirror match or against Zekrom. Defender is attached to your Pokémon until the end of your opponent’s next turn. While attached all damage done to your Pokémon is reduced by 20 (it is Donphan’s Exoskeleton Poké-Body in Trainer form).

With this card, you can freely use Afterburner to retrieve energy. If Reshiram has 10 damage on it, put down a Defender. Then opposing Pokémon have to hit Reshiram for 140 damage to get the 1HKO (this is going to require a double PlusPower drop from Reshiram or Zekrom).

Fisherman: Sometimes this deck needs a secondary way to get energy out of the discard. I have found that one or two Fisherman is more than enough to keep the train rolling.

PlusPower: This card, when played, increases the damage done by each of your attacks by 10 for the remainder of the turn. Now that it is no longer attached, you can play it, discard it, and get it back the same turn to play again with Junk Arm. This card allows you to 1HKO Reshiram, Zekrom, Blastoise, Gengar Prime, etc. It is a very versatile card and a staple in all Reshiram decks.

Pokémon Collector: This card is the basic search card in the deck. It allows you to search your deck for up to three Basic Pokémon and put them in your hand. It is very powerful.

Pokémon Communicator: This is the second search card in the deck. It allows you to trade one Pokémon in your hand for any Pokémon in your deck. It is used to search out your evolution cards. It is also very powerful.

Potion: This card simply heals 30 damage off any of your Pokémon. Eventually, the damage from Typhlosion Prime is going to build up. This card is the simplest way to get it off. You could fully set up a Reshiram on the bench with this and then heal the 30 damage right back off.

Rare Candy: This card is required for any Stage 2 Pokémon. It allows you to evolve directly from the Basic to the Stage 2. It speeds things up by one turn, which is a lot in the HGSS-on format.

Revive: This cards allows you to run out more than four Reshiram. It takes a Basic Pokémon from your discard and puts it on your bench. If you can manage one knockout per Reshiram, you will be in good shape with essentially six to work with.

Junk ArmJunk Arm: This is the card that makes it all work. With Junk Arm, you discard two cards in your hand to get one Trainer-Item out of the discard pile. This can be used to ditch R Energy that Typhlosion Prime can bring back. It also allows you to reuse all of those Trainer-Items that are listed above.

I’ve produced double and triple PlusPower drops with this. You can get back those Defenders to reuse. Double defender anyone (essentially a 170 hp Reshiram)? Oh yeah.

Energy

Double Colorless Energy: The key to successfully playing ReshiPhlosion is utilizing Outrage. This card allows you to power up Outrage in one turn without Afterburner. I actually won two games recently by donking opening baby Pokémon with Reshiram, Double Colorless Energy, and PlusPower.

R Energy: This is the main energy to power up attacks. It also is the second part to the Ninetales’ draw engine. It can easily be recovered with Typhlosion Prime’s Poké-Power.

Filling Out the List

Well that is the card by card run down of the presented list. What should you use to fill in the remaining eight slots? Here are some options:

– Fill in several of the existing lines to make the deck more consistent. This is how I run the deck. If you look at the provided link, I run fuller Trainer lines and a thicker Typhlosion Prime line.

Twins: Twins allows you to search your deck for any two cards and put them in your hand. The catch is that you must be down on Prizes (you have more Prizes left than your opponent). This is a great card if you are expecting to fall behind early. It can single handily allow you to get back into the game. It makes virtually any deck more flexible and forgiving. That is important to consider. It is much more difficult to play lists that are extremely tight than lists that are forgiving.

pokebeach.com2-2 Zoroark BW: I honestly believe that this might be the best tech for this deck. It gives you a simply way to return the 1HKO on several big hitters in the game. It can 1HKO Machamp Prime, Magnezone Prime, RDL, Emboar #19, etc. It also can 1HKO Reshiram and Zekrom with a single PlusPower. It is easy on the resources of the deck and gives the deck another option to take a prize.

– Bouffalant: This card can revenge kill Ryquaza & Deoxys Legend. Many people point to RDL as being one of the deciding factors in the ReshiBoar vs ReshiPhlosion match up. This gives you a strong counter.

Professor Oak’s New Theory and/or Professor Juniper: Both of these cards allows you to trade a bad hand for a new one. With a heavy Junk Arm line, Professor Junipers is not extremely risky.

Judge: This is a solid disruption card. I would give this card strong consideration. If you can get a R Energy in the four cards, you can get your hand back up to seven cards extremely quickly.

– 2-1-2 or 1-0-1 Serperior line: The Serperior with Royal Heal can also be used to take off the 10 damage from Afterburner. This is too clunky for me though. I would rather use the Potions. However, if Trainer-Item lock becomes a problem, I might give this another look.

– Zekrom: You could possibly tech in one or two Zekrom to help with the water match up. You can use Afterburner to place damage on Zekrom and then hit back.

Lost Remover: If special energies are popular in your meta use Lost Remover. It fits in with the Trainer-Item Toolbox. Several people have floated the idea of using Rainbow Energy to power their tech cards. This would be a great counter to those techs.

I am sure that there are other techs that could be used in this deck, but those are the ones that I see as the best.

(Remember, this deck is geared toward my play style and is a Trainer-Item Toolbox other configurations of ReshiPhlosion allow for other techs)

Strategy

I will break this down into two sections: general strategy and then look at the strategy to be used against a few specific decks.

General Strategy:

In general the strategy is fairly simple.

pokebeach.comIn the early game you want to get Reshiram hitting for 120 as early and often as possible. The idea is to open Cleffa and either have Vulpix on the bench or a Pokémon Collector in hand.

On turn two you want to have a Reshiram (with preferably two energy attached), a Tegip, and a Vulpix. On turn three you want to have Typhlosion, Ninetales, and two Reshiram (on set up and one to start setting up).

Then you want to retreat Cleffa and start hitting hard. If you can achieve a powered up Reshiram earlier than that, start attacking then. Against most decks you can use Afterburner liberally to attach energy.

You should also be setting up one Typhlosion Prime to attack with during the transition between early and mid game.

In the mid-game you want to primarily use Reshiram to keep attacking, but now you will likely be focusing on using Outrage. The key is to take 2 Prizes with one Reshiram at least once per game. This is usually accomplished through, in one turn, playing 1-2 PlusPowers and 1-2 Defender.

The PlusPowers will give you the KO for that turn, the Defenders will help you survive the next turn, and then Afterburner and Outrage for the second KO. If you can pull off that combo once, you will be in good shape. You also need to be keenly aware of the board.

If you see the opportunity to steal an energy from your opponent that will delay their attack for a turn, YOU CANNOT PASS IT UP. You also cannot pass up the opportunity to take a kill with Typhlosion if you can remove a Rescue Energy.

In the early game it is OK to be a little passive, but in the mid game you must be proactive. You really, really need to have a 2 Prize advantage.

In the end game, you just have to fight for every Prize. Utilize you Junk Arms to get double and maybe even a triple PlusPower drop. If you have a tech (Zoroark, etc.), now is the best time to use it to counter the opponent’s big hitters. Hang on for dear life. Hope that time is called. Scrap and fight for every last Prize. The last two can be hard to take sometimes.

ReshiBoar: In the ReshiBoar match up, Defender is crucial. Since you are using Defender, Outrage is be used as much if not more than “Blue Flare”. Also, making the ReshiBoar expend more than normal resources early to keep up in the prize race can really mess with them. That Defender will force them to use a double PlusPower or triple PlusPower drop (if your Reshiram does not have any damage on it) to get the 1HKO.

Also, do not be afraid to drop Judge often if you decide to use it as a tech. In my play testing ReshiPhlosion has held up nicely against ReshiBoar. It might not be a great match up, but it is a very close one. In this match up you also have to be proactive in attacking their RDL if they use it. Bouffalant can come in handy as can Zoroark with that.

Anything Trainer-Item locking: Get your Typhlosion set up as quick as possible. Since Spiritomb AR is leaving there will not be turn one Trainer-Item locks. If you can get to Typhlosion by turn two or three you will be in good shape.

MagneBoar: This is a peculiar match up. Reshiram is definitely faster to get rolling, but it struggles to 1HKO Pokémon in this game. To be honest, a lot of ReshiPhlosion’s success in this matchup is determined by the build of the MagneBoar deck. If they run a low count of L Energy (4-5) this matchup is not that bad.

You can attack their Magnezone Prime in the mid game with Typhlosion Prime to steal those L Energy away. Also, a single defender on Typhlosion is often key. That will force your opponent to sent four Energy to the Lost Zone instead of three and thus bleeding their deck out. Early Prizes are very important in this game.

(To be completely honest, I do see the appeal in MagneBoar. However, I personally am not completely sold on it. Someone needs to show me a tight enough list to be consistent. I am open to convincing though, because I would love to get to play Magnezone Prime some more.)

Blastoise/Feraligatr or Floatzel: The good news is that you can (with a single PlusPower) 1HKO everything in their deck. The bad news is that they can already 1HKO everything in your deck. This is not a great match up and Zoroark does not really help. Ideally, you can stay caught up in the prize race, but realistically that is not going to happen. There is no way around it, this is a tough game.

LostGar Variants: This is another tough matchup (it’s tough for ReshiBoar too). You must, I repeat, must take prizes on every turn starting on turn 2 or 3. That’s pretty much all.

Donphan: This is the least tested match up that I have played. It seems that at least once (maybe twice) you will need to pull off a double PlusPower drop to get a 1HKO. The good thing is that Donphan struggles to KO basically anything in your deck except for Ninetales, but do not have Ninetales active. Most Donphan or DonChamp lists I have seen also run a lower amount of energy. So, one or two Flare Destroys from Typhlosion Prime could go a long way.

Zekrom: The speed Zekrom plan is not much different from what any other deck does against Zekrom. Survive the first few turns and take over from there. Utilize your Defenders to survive Zekrom’s attack and then return it with Outrage.

Well there you have it folks. That is the abridged guide to playing Trainer-Item Toolbox ReshiPhlosion. I hope that you liked the article. I understand that most people are in favor of ReshiBoar over ReshiPhlosion. I am not going to say that those people are wrong (they could in fact be right). However, ReshiPhlosion is also a very solid deck.

It is also a cheaper deck. The Trainer list is cheaper than ReshiBoar, Typhlosion Prime is cheaper than Emboar, and there is no need to get a RDL for this deck. It is easily $50+ cheaper.

It is a solid deck for newer players to run. It will be competitive. If played correctly it can win against many different decks.

Reader Interactions

31 replies

  1. Zacquery Reveche

    I ran this deck as well, but no ninetales were needed, waste of bench, and engineer;s adjustments would be a better sub, i went 6-0 at battleroads, because adding in a 2-2 line of ursaring prime is like 2 more reshirams and a counter against Zoroark techs, remember they copy attacks, not pokebodies, i also ran 4 junipers, which made the deck extremly fast, no defenders, potions, or revives needed. And since you have 3 DCE, that ursaring tech wouldnt be a bad idea, so good luck :D

    • Anonymous  → Zacquery

      I like the Ursaring Prime idea. I will have to try it out.

      The Engineer’s Adjustment idea is interesting too. However, you can only have four of them in your deck. What do you do when you’ve used all of them (i know I use Roast Reveal more than four times a game). Also, that uses your supporter for the turn. So, you cannot combo with things like Judge, Pont, Juniper or even Collector. I will be sure to try it out though.

      Thanks for the suggestions.

  2. Zacquery Reveche

    I ran this deck as well, but no ninetales were needed, waste of bench, and engineer;s adjustments would be a better sub, i went 6-0 at battleroads, because adding in a 2-2 line of ursaring prime is like 2 more reshirams and a counter against Zoroark techs, remember they copy attacks, not pokebodies, i also ran 4 junipers, which made the deck extremly fast, no defenders, potions, or revives needed. And since you have 3 DCE, that ursaring tech wouldnt be a bad idea, so good luck :D

  3. Matthew Zwicker

    First and foremost, high quality article man. You didn’t just present your deck list, you also explained your strategy and discussed match-ups. Well done.

    I am definitely on the bandwagon in terms of Reshiram decks. They have Tier 1 stamped all over them, hands down. That’s why I like seeing/reading as many decklists and articles on them as I can. I guess Pokemon TCG has come full circle as Reshiram (like the fire-breathing Charizard before him) is the must-have card of this era. A few questions/comments on your build:

    • Your Pokemon line is solid, regardless of what techs you choose to use in the future. It’s a clean lineup that doesn’t mess around. Good to see.
    • You’re one of the first people I’ve seen who doesn’t run PONT or Juniper in their Reshiram deck build: and I actually think you’re on to something. I only run 1 PONT, and that’s it (I cringed every time I had to discard stuff with Juniper). Anyone who has done extensive testing will realize how this deck sets itself up. If you take care to set up your Ninetails diligently, you will soon have a large handsize and plenty of options. Also, having Cleffa as backup is key. It just all works out; Here’s hoping more people will realize this soon. However, I do believe at least 1 PONT is needed simply to prevent you from decking out during post-mid to late game. It’s crucial in that situation. People may argue this viewpoint, but keep doing what you’re doing with regards to the deck.

    • I can’t lie: I strongly prefer ReshiBoar. I have respect for your build, but I just think that Emboar is a hero in Reshiram-based decks. I’m sure both Typholsion and Emboar have their good/bad points and both will probably be successful. Is there something about Emboar that you don’t like?Questions:- How do you find your handsize from mid-late game? Is it blocked with stuff you don’t need? I’m finding with my build that I have a large hand full of extra collectors and stuff I don’t need at that point. But it’s not really a bad thing because that means you have what you need and your giving yourself options, plus fodder for Junk Arm. Hard to complain about having a large hand in this game, so it’s a good sort of complaint. – Have you considered using Burned Tower at all? It’s an idea that has been tossed around the forums and other decklists by people, but I don’t think it’s gotten its full dues. I run it, and it’s really cool. I believe it gives you that extra out in times of need, and helps build the “energy recycle system” as I call it, with cards such as energy retrieval, junk arm, etc. I’ll usually joke with my friend and say “I’m flipping to see if I can use Roast Reveal” when using Burned Tower, because it essentially gives you a “free” roast reveal. People will argue that it helps your opponent too much, but I believe it’s worth the play in this deck.

    • Have you tried any water techs, such as Kingdra Prime or Samurott? I haven’t tested the latter, but would love to with the Emboar build. A 1-1 Kingdra Prime is neat, because it is a guaranteed pluspower every turn, on top of the other pluspowers you could run. However, stage 2 techs are indeed clunky, and require the right conditions to set up. You don’t want to get greedy and rare candy an early game Horsea to Kingdra, when your Emboar/Typhlosion isn’t set up.

    Thanks for the article.

    • Anonymous  → Matthew

      Thanks for the comment!

      Recently (since I put this in for review), I have added one Professor Oak’s New Theory. I like it late game.

      I completely respect the Emboar argument. It could be better than Typhlosion, but I just wanted to get this type of Typhlosion Prime list out there. There is not anything that I do not like about Emboar. I have a list with him also. To be honest, I am really enjoying playing ReshiBoar with a 1-0-1 Typhlosion Prime tech in it. I have found that after you set up, that one Typhlosion Prime really helps with consistency and makes you less vulnerable to Judge.

      My hand size mid to late game can get pretty big. However, because I have a low Supporter count, the only card that cloggs my hand is Pokemon Collector. This is often just fine though because I can use it as Junk Arm fodder. I have thought about only running three Collector and two Potion to make run for two Pokemon Reversal though. I think that could be really useful in the late game, once decks have their high HP tanks in the active spot. However, this build really allows you to play with a limited hand. In the few games where I ran out of stuff in my hand in the late game, it did not really hurt too much. The ability to pull from the discard with nothing in your hand has been invaluable.

      I have tried Burned Tower. I have mixed feelings. Most of the time it just feels like a wasted card slot. I understand the ability to use Roast Reveal, but I often have at least one Fire Energy in my hand anyway. I am in the camp that it helps you opponent too much, especially in the ReshiBoar match up. ReshiBoar can really be messed up if the fail to get an Energy Retrieval or Fisherman for a turn in the late game. I would prefer to not give them the extra out also. However, if for whatever reason Legends see more play with Indigo Plateau, I might add a copy to counter that (unlikely though).

      I have tried it with a couple water techs. I have not, however, tried it with Kindra Prime. It is an interesting idea and I should check it out. It  would seem to me that using Ampharos Prime would be a better idea though. First, Ampharos Prime could help to counter weakness. Second, the decks that I need the multiple PlusPower drops attack multiple energy to their Pokemon, so Ampharos would be like a double or triple PlusPower drop.

      I have tried it with Samurott. I liked it, but I’m not sure if it is the way to go. Samurott really helps ease the Donhpan match up. It can OHKO Donphan Prime and provide a wall. Same goes for the Reshiram match up (either ReshiBoar or ReshiPhlosion). Currently, I like the faster and consistent build that just focuses on teh Toolbox, but I might change my mind and add in a couple techs.

       

      • Matthew Zwicker  → Anonymous

        Cool man.

        A 1-1 Typhlosion is something that is clearly amazing in a ReshiBoar build, but I wonder how consistently/often it can ALL get setup. I mean, having a fully loaded Reshiram, a Stage 1 (Ninetails), Stage 2 (Emboar), AND another Stage 2 (Typhlosion) is ambitious (although amazing!). I guess it’s similiar to having a Stage 2 tech (Kingdra, Samurott) like I mentioned earlier but if you go 1-1 Typhlsion, it’s hard to tech in anything else. The question remains; how often am I going to get it all out?!

        I find a lot of people talk techs as if they just fall onto the bench off top decks. It really takes a lot of work and a consistent build to pull all this stuff off. I may be a noob in pokemon, perhaps even naive, but it seems that having an ideal, fast “all-inclusive” setup only happens once in a blue moon.

        I respect and understand your viewpoints on Burned Tower, but I still have to stand by it, haha. I know it CAN help your opponent, but I think its pro’s outweigh it’s cons. In my ReshiBoar build, after discarding 2 fire energy, I often will have an Energy Retrieval, Junk Arm, etc. in hand, which is perfect for next turn(s), right? However, I find I’m always thinking ahead 2-3 turns, and I realize how important draw power is with Roast Reveal. I will run out of resources in a hurry if I don’t Roast Reveal on a regular basis. Therefore, if I use Energy Retrieval to get 2 fire back on my Reshiram the following turn, I find I won’t have a fire energy to use for Roast Reveal. As such, Burned Tower gives me a shot at Roast Revealing. I find it leads to a consistent stream of not just energy, but other resources in my deck. Just my thoughts. What do you think?

        Please note that I’m not trying to persuade/change your viewpoints at all. I’m honestly just trying to stimulate constructive discussion, because I’m very passionate about this format, and especially this type of deck- and I want to help refine it as much as possible.

        P.S- One thing you should know about me is that I live in a place in the world where there is no Pokemon TCG whatsoever. I’m not joking, there is nothing. Thus, I’ve never attended a “Battle Roads” or a “Nationals” or any other sort of formal tournament, other than those across my kitchen table with friends. Every thing I’ve learned, from the card acronyms to the deck types, has been off SixPrizes. So I don’t know the in’s and out’s of every matchup. Perhaps, I don’t NEED the ability to, for example, use Blue Flare on Reshiram EVERY turn. Perhaps in a real life game, I’ll be using Outrage more than expected. Thus, a deck needs to be tailored around that concept. I’m just a HUGE fan of Pokemon TCG, and keeping up with it is a massive hobby of mine. I play a lot of solitaire games and I have high hopes for this Online TCG Pokemon is setting up in the near future. Maybe one day I can play an actual match!

        • Anonymous  → Matthew

          First, I have really enjoyed your comments.

          You are absolutely correct, teching in any Stage 2 Pokemon line is very inconsistent. In the case of a 1-0-1 Typhlosion Prime line, you clearly want to get Reshiram active with Emboar on the bench first. Then quickly get to Ninetales. That is not too hard to do. Then only in the late game does it help to get that Typhlosion. In the late game it can help when your Energy Retrievals and Fishermen are running out.

          You are also correct that people talk about their techs like they are guaranteed to get out. People are also still talking about 1-1 lines of things or single copies of Pokemon as techs. You can thank the stinking SP era for teaching players to think like that. We are coming out of a remarkable ToolBox format. There was virtually a SP Pokemon to counter everything and every type out there. What was even more crazy, was that they were all basics to be set up in one turn. Then you also had Azelf, guaranteeing that you have access to EVERY card in your deck at any given moment in the game. That is ridiculous. It will take a while before the majority of players start to realized that consistency and speed are extremely important (even more important than having a tech for stuff) and that techs are not easy to get out any more.

          I think the thing about Burned Tower is that it is great for ReshiBoar decks and not so much for ReshiPhlosion decks. Burned Tower can really open up resources and space in a ReshiBoar deck (less energy, less Trainers to get those energy back, etc), just like you said. ReshiPhlosion decks have a built in ability to get those energy back into play. I really think that it depends on the partner choice for Reshiram and personal playstyle. If it works for you, absolutely go for it. :)

          Glad that you are a fan where you are. You never know, maybe you and your friends are the ones to bring Pokemon to that part of the world. It could happen.

  4. tim h

    The biggest part of Reshiphlosion is the price. As you said, the 2-3 less emboars is $20+ you save. A RDL less is $25. That, and it’s a lot simpler with one type of energy. This, and Blastoise/Floatzel, are the two decks I would suggest for new players who want a meta-viable deck.

    • apb58  → tim

       I agree Price can be a BIG factor when you’re just getting into the competitive format.

      The thing about Typhlosion is that, funny enough, I feel it’s less straight forward and takes a little more thought and planning to play than Reshiboar; it’s not as cut and dry straightforward.
      This is both a good and bad thing; it introduces players to some of the strategy and nuances of the game, but it’s going to be harder to be successful with the deck until you know how to play it really well.
      Probably will help out in the long run though!

      • Anonymous  → apb58

        I absolutely agree that price is big when you are just starting out. You don’t even know if you will like it, why spend hundreds on the “best” stuff.

        Typhlosion is more complicated than Emboar based Reshiram decks.

  5. Emil lumen

    Great article!!!
    Everything was done really good.Thank you, too many people giving typlosion a bad name, just cause of emboar. Defenders are great this format. The serperior is also a interesting tech. And yes reshilosion is a cheaper deck to make, with all the emboar hype and all the typhlosion hate, its a lot more easier to make, and still plays great against other decks with pricey cards in them.

  6. Gabriel Brown

    One thing I liked about this article is that you gave a very detailed description of the strategy. But the thing I liked  more than anything else is you KNOW what you’re talking about. Some people may play a few games with a deck and say it has potential, but I can tell that you’ve tested matchups and you’re not just saying the decks good because you like it. One reason I know that is because of the whole Defender idea. It makes a whole lot of sense and helps a lot, but I personally have never thought of it and neither have I seen people talking about it much.
    Awesome article man! Keep up the great work. =)

  7. Emil lumen

    I play a reshilosion deck, and the hand size is fine..emboar and typhlosion, both use ninetails, so its a tie unless emboar uses shuckle. Burned tower….its not that great, when you can use energy retrieval and get 2 energys for 1 card and junk arm can reuse the energy retrieval.

  8. samuel roach

    I’m a Reshiboar player. I played against a Typhlosion build the other day and it was pretty close. When he played Defender, I just didn’t attack. He kept using junk arm to get back Plus Power, and Defender, which helped him somewhat. My Plus powers were pretty useless, because he had damage on all of his Pokemon from Typhlosion’s power. The only thing I don’t like is ninetales, but that’s my opinion.

    The Blastoise matchup is right. It’s very hard to win, because they can just snipe your bench. Plus, they hit for weakness. Magnaboar, is pretty tough too. I know you discard 1 of their energy’s with Typlosio. I think Reshiboar has a better matchup, if they tech the 150 Emboar in there.

    I really like the article, because you know exactly what you’re talking about. Good job. :)

    • Anonymous  → samuel

      What do you run instead of Ninetales.

      For me personally, if my opponent does not attack when I play down a Defender that is fine. It gives me more time to get to a PlusPower, Junk Arm, or another Defender. That way I can be the first to take a Prize in that exchange.

      Just how I play it out though.

      • samuel roach  → Anonymous

        I draw with 3-4 Junipers and 2 PONT’s. My goal is to get out Emboar ability out first, rather than getting out something that draws cards. Cleffa also helps out as well.

        That’s exactly what happens when I don’t attack. Most of the time though if they do get a plus power, I just get Reshiram back because I usually have a Rescue energy on it. I’m usually content with sitting through defenders though. They’re only delaying the inevitable.

  9. Anonymous

    in my testing done there is only 1 problem with reshiphlosion. you need 2 typhlosions to consistently spam reshirams. this makes it rather difficult(especially early game) to not have reshirams OHKO.

    • Anonymous  → Anonymous

      It is difficult to spam Reshirams if you are focusing on Blue Flame. This deck does not need to constantly spam Blue Flame.

      Again, this is not ReshiBoar where you are spamming Blue Flame and then bringing in Emboar 19 or RDL to close the game out.

      Thanks for reading! :)

  10. Willy Goebel

    typhlosion would be a good card if we didnt already have Emboar. Shuckle really gives Emboar a larger hand than, and thus, the advantage over typhlosion. Also I dont know if someone else has already given this idea but Burned Tower is a winner, mostly when you use Alph Lithograph UD. These cards eliminate typhlosions and thus your healing cards and can decrease your count of fire energy, energy retrieval, and even junk arm. Reversal and Circulator also beat anything that relies too heavily on defenders, so those would be useful here as well. Your article has changed my way of thinking actually. I hadn’t thought much about typhlosion after i dismissed him upon comparison to Emboar, but you’ve justified its use because it’s $50 cheaper. Thanks for finding the Pokemon community a poor man’s ReshiBoar!! :) I gave your article a green check mark, keep up the good work.

    • Anonymous  → Willy

      Thanks.

      I understand the idea behind Alph Litograph and Burned Tower, but I honestly do not think it is needed in ReshiPhlosion. You already have a reliable was of getting the Energy Back out of the Discard. I also do not run and Energy Retrieval. There is especially more downside to playing Burned Tower against ReshiBoar lists than use RDL and MagneBoar lists. Both of those decks run a very tight Lightning Energy count and sending just one or two of them to the discard can be debilitating. Using Burned Tower gives them another way to get out of trouble.

      Shuckle is nice, but it can be inconsistent. You have to have a Seeker, Super Scoop Up, Unown with Return to make it work (or something like Shaymin to move those energy). I know it likely will not happen often, but on the off chance that you do not draw into one of those (or already have one in your hand) you are in serious trouble. Even in ReshiBoar decks, I truly believe that Ninetales is the better play.

      Reversal is a two-sided sword. I really think that Reversal fits better in this Toolbox ReshiPhlosion deck than a ReshiBoar deck. Also, the main point to Defender is making people use more than normal resources to secure a KO. Whether that be utilizing multiple PlusPowers, using Pokemon Reversals, or whatever. Decklists are tight and a good, fast, consistent ReshiBoar list does not have a ton of extra room for a lot of techs. So, forcing them to burn more stuff to get a KO is a big deal.

      As I said, ReshiBoar deserves the hype it is getting. It is going to be Tier 1. It might even be BDIF. However, if ReshiBoar is an A+, a good ReshiPhlosion is at least an A.

      Again, thanks a lot for the positive rating (apparently some people like to down vote just because I chose to write about ReshiPhlosion instead of ReshiBoar). Thanks for the comments. They are very insightful.

      :)

  11. froggy25

    prize rush prize rush prize rush, you don’t care about healing tour pokemanz, healing cards are dead cards with no effect on the board.

    • 2 potion
    • 2 judge
    • Anonymous  → froggy25

      Thanks for the suggestions :)

      I like Judge in here, but I’m not positive that it is optimal.

      The ting to remember is that this is not ReshiBoar. It is more tatical than that. There is more that this deck can do than rush for Prizes. If you want a true Prize rush deck run. Cinccino, Donphan, or Zekrom is Reversals.

      • froggy25  → Anonymous

        At least I think you should replace your 2 Potions by 2 another Defenders.

        Afterburner => Reshiram : 120 hp
        With a Defender, your opponent will have to use 2 plus power with Zekrom / Reshiram / Zoroark to get a Revenge Kill.

        If he can get 2 plus power, he’ll have used a good part of his ressources (2 Plus Power / Junk Arm).
        If he cannot (after a Judge, for example ;D ), you’ll have an advantage at the prizes (Outrage ftw)

        • Anonymous  → froggy25

          I will be sure to try out your suggestions. I think the best suggestion has been to use a couple Judge.

          What I meant earlier is this. You use one Typhlosion to recharge your active Pokemon and then a second one to charge up your bench.

          If you use only Typhlosion to charge up stuff on your bench (which is the best way to do that IMO), it takes three Afterburner to fully charge up Reshiram or Typhlosion Prime. In that case your benched Reshiram would only have 100 hp left or your benched Typhlosion Prime would have 110 hp left. You use Potion on those Pokemon to bring them back out of OHKO territory for Zekrom or Reshiram (without the opponent using PlusPower). That way they have to use resources to to get the OHKO when you promote either one of those to the active spot.

          Again, thanks for the comments and suggestions.

  12. A Z

    Very nice article, but I still feel that Typhlosion is a bad play compared to Emboar simply because of the number of techs and possibilities that not only you have, but the person sitting across the table has to think about when he sees that tepid on your bench.  Does he play the RDL what about Badboar and what can I do to stop it.
    Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying hate on the deck, I actually think it is good say tier 1.25ish (lol) but its not for me (I may play around with the idea a bit thou).  In fact I dont even really think that straight reshiboar is the best play Magneboar or something like that is superior IMO.  Then again I kinda of an off the wall player lol and will probably be trying morerogue then meta this next season cause I think that rogue will actually be better than usual just because of the speed of the game now. 

    *Hope that didnt see like a bash to your deck* :)

    • Anonymous  → A

      Not taken as a bash at all :)

      I never said that his was better than Emboar (I actally said a couple times in the article that .emboar my be better).

      The main question that your opponen withh have to think about id RDL. After turn one or two they will know if you are playing ReshiBoar or MagneBoar (which I find to be a bikt slow and inconsistent durning the set up).

      Thanks for the comment :)

      • A Z  → Anonymous

        Yeah I get what you are saying just giving my reasoning behind why i think Magnebor/Reshi is better over all even thou it is a descently fair matchup for this deck.  Its all really theorymon right up till you shuffle the cards anyways is what I like to say and to add to that theorymon vs theorymon is an unfavorable matchup to say the least lol  :) once again nice article I need to do one on a random deck sometime lol I just hate writing so much thou XD

Leave a Reply

You are logged out. Register. Log in.