Hey, everyone! Aydan Aires reporting back to you. I just graduated High School and have loads of time to focus on Pokémon! (Not really). After writing a fairly long report on Regionals, I decided to change it up a bit. Let’s talk about this new format. I’ll say my thoughts, provide you with some skeleton lists, and tell you about some Pokémon adventures I’ve had ever since starting the game. I hope to entertain you!
Skelelist #1 DONCHAMP (Donphan Prime/Machamp Prime)
Let’s start off by me stating what deck I’m going to run at Nationals. Hands down, I’ll be playing Donphan Prime/Machamp Prime. It’s a stable deck that gives a high damage output, about 150 damage at its maximum. Wow! That can 1HKO anything in the format, except Tyranitar. Just kidding, Tyranitar is weak to Fighting. :(
I do my best to be completely unbiased, so let me tell you some bad things about this deck, as well. Recovery can be a pain if one of your Machamps die to early. Also, draw power with this deck is pretty lame. Some people might try to fit a Magnezone Prime line in it to fix it. I’ll continue to test it out…
Before I continue this any further, I’ll point out that I have tested this deck extensively. Although my words or lists might not be perfect, I’ll do my best to give you helpful information. And, if you see anything that could help my list, let me know since I’m still learning to perfect this deck as well. Your viewpoints are welcome!
Anyway, check out this skeleton!
| Pokémon – 20
4 Phanpy HS/CL |
Trainers – 19
4 Pokémon Collector 3 Professor Elm’s Training Method |
Energy – 11
8 F |
Total – 50
Okay, let’s go through the cards. Remember, this is a simple skeleton so everyone’s lists will differ. I believe these cards should be in there, though.
The goal of this deck is to get Donphan out ASAP and making some quick KOs while damaging your bench. Damaging your own Pokémon will power up Machamp Prime’s crazy move. Some people are thinking about playing only 3 Donphans.
While this might make a debate, I think 4 is the correct number to play. Donphan Prime NEEDS to be on the field turn 2/3. Remember, the only way you can search one out of the deck is if you use a Communication, or an Elm’s Training Method.
And those should help you get out a Machamp faster. Plus, the more Donphans, the greater of a chance you can swarm your opponent with a herd of elephants!
As soon as you got Donphan out and swingin’, build up some Machamps on the bench. When Donphan has some fighting energies on it and is getting tired, use Machamp’s “Fighting Tag” to switch Donphan out and take his energies.
Hopefully, you ran into a Double Colorless by now and can abuse Champ Buster for some easy KOs! A 3-2-3 line is okay since you have Rare Candies in the deck. In the playtesting I have done, I normally need 2 Machamp Primes to win a match.
Cleffa (The Other Starter)
Cleffa is pretty popular right now. Its attack lets you shuffle your hand and draw 6 new cards. Pretty straight forward, it will help you set up if your Phanpys are finding trouble getting on the field. I won’t go further into this one since it will most likely become fairly staple.
Juniper/PONT
This deck already has bad draw power, you might as well help it out a bit! I’d pick any combination of these. You could have 2,3, maybe even 4! In my build, I run 2 PONTs and 1 Juniper to help with getting more cards if I don’t have the time to use Cleffa. However, my build will probably change as time goes by.
Trust me, you need these in your deck. They’ll bring up Emboars, Feraligatrs, and etc for you to Knock Out to slowdown your opponent’s strategy. Heck, throw in some Junk Arms (Really) to re-use them. Please, run some of these in your deck. They’ll make your matchups more favorable!
Everything else is pretty solid. Let me know how your guy’s builds are doing. And if you’ve playtested Donchamp a lot, message me so we can discuss matchups, special cards, and so forth!
HOW I STARTED PLAYING
Of course this article isn’t all about decklists and corny puns! When I write, I like to throw in some real-life stuff. You know, to keep the reader “on-edge”. Well, here’s a quick note on how I started playing.
Senior year had just started and I felt like skipping school. So, I stayed home and was “sick”. Yup, sick of school. I go into my closet randomly and see my Base Set Pokémon cards. I wondered if anyone was still into the cards. So, I search online and what do I see? THERE’S A FRIGGEN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FOR POKEMON CARDS?!?!
The competitive spirit inside of me got excited. I play a lot of sports and I love the competitive side of things. So, I started to play Pokémon Cards. Luckily, 2 very cool people from my school also played (secretly) so I learned to play from them. Overall, it’s been a very fun experience and I don’t regret getting sucked into all of this. Maybe sometime, I’ll write a longer version of how I started playing.
Anyway, why did you guys start playing?
MY THOUGHTS ON MAGNEBOAR
There’s going to be a lot of these in Nationals this year. It’s a great deck. Easily, EASILY, in the top 3 decks of next format. The synergy between Emboar and Magnezone Prime is amazing. It has draw power, raw power, high HP, not too much setting up… It’s just a force to stop when it gets set up!
I’ve played this deck a few times. I’ve played against it more times, though. The same basic pattern usually happens in every match I’ve been involved in.
- Magnemite -> Magneton -> Magnezone Prime OR Magnemite —————–> Magnezone Prime (Rare Candy)
- Use Magnetic Draw to set up Emboar
- Once Emboar is up, use Inferno Fandango to attach loads of energies.
- Use Lost Burn to Knock Out anything OR Use Reshiram, Emboar #19, Emboar #20, Rayquaza Deoxys Legend to get prizes without Lost Zoning energy.
Yup, it’s more complicated than that, but that’s the Junior explanation. Gotta please all my readers.
Basically, accept the fact that you WILL see this deck at Nationals. You need a plan to win against it so start working on that now. At this moment, right now, on May 28th 2011, at 3:36 p.m, on a sunny day in Ohio, I believe MagneBoar will be Best Deck In Format. (Subject to Change) (Don’t quote me).
Skelelist #2 VILEMAGIUS (Vileplume/Mismagius)
Sure, let’s throw in a trainer lock deck! This one is the reincarnation of Vilegar. Remember? That deck that feasted on your useless trainers in your hands? That’s right, it ate from your hand. You fed it. Okay, I’m done. This deck is very similar.
The strategy is to evolve up to Vileplume ASAP so nobody can play trainer cards. Then, they’ll use Mismagius’ “Poltergeist” (For 1 Psychic and 1 colorless) attack to do 30× the number of trainers, supporters, and stadiums in your hand. WIll it be as successful as Vilegar? Probably not.
But some people do love the trainer lock; and it could really hurt your deck. I’ve tested it out in about 8 matches against Donchamp and Magneboar. The results? Out of 4 matches each, Vile Magius only one once against each deck.
VileMagius only won because the trainer lock began on Turn 3. In this new format, trainer lock can cripple any deck. Something to remember about trainer lock is that it limits the ability to find the evolution lines. In trainer lock, how do you find Magneton, Magnezone, Pignite, and Emboar?
You either draw into it, use Twins when you’re losing, or Proffesor Elm’s Training Method. That’s it. Some people don’t even run Twins. It limits the searching cabilities of all decks right now.
I still believe VileMagius is still only a Tier 3 deck and won’t see too much play. But, if someone made a very good list that could get Vileplume out quicky, maybe it would be decently successful?
Anyway, here’s a skeleton list for everyone!
| Pokémon – 20
4 Misdreavus UL/UD/CL |
Trainers – 16
4 Pokémon Collector |
Energy – 12 |
Total – 48
It’s a pretty simple list and probably closely resembles other lists. Here’s the reasoning behind some cards.
Extra Oddish
Having 3 (or 4) Oddishs will increase the chance of getting one on your first turn so you can use the 2nd turn Rare Candy to get Vileplume out.
Mr. Mime
He’ll sit on your bench and allow you to look at your opponent’s hand to see how much damage you’ll do.
Mismagius is bound to die. It only has 80hp, afterall. Rescues will make it come back to your hand so you can have a constant barrage of Poltergeists. Just make sure you have a Misdreavus on the bench ready to evolve.
Overall, it’s a fun deck to play but rather annoying to your opponent. Like I said earlier, unless someone finds an awesome decklist for this deck, it won’t be able to compete with the other top-tier decks.
STARTING A NEW LEAGUE
Leagues are so so so different depending on who runs them. I once heard about a Pokémon League that ran for 6 hours on Sunday! Imagine the fun players that would go there!
Where I live, the nearest league was 40 minutes away. Notice I said “was”? Yup, last fall, my friend and I decided to create our own league. Now, the closest league is one minute away. If you want to make a league, there arn’t too many requirements.
- Have a public location for League
- Be 18 or older.
BulbapediaYou don’t even need to be a professor! I mean, my friend and I were still in high school when we created the league. It hasn’t grown that much. We normally only have 5-10 people show up. However, our league does specialize in one area… scents! That’s right, no stinky people in our league automatically places us in the top 10 Leagues in the USA.
But in all seriousness, the players in our league like to play metagame decks, so we usually get in good play testing. So, create a league to help Pokémon grow, or join one!
Aydan’s Estimated Prime Costs
- Current Cost (Pokécorner Price): $14.99
- Estimated Cost Next Format: $14.99
Donphan Prime, hands down, is one of the best Primes in the format. It’s a tank, has its own top-tier deck built around it, and can be teched in almost any deck to counter Zekrom and Magnezone Prime.
- Current Cost: $3.99
- Estimated Cost Next Format: $6.99
This card is still cheap so if you plan on running water decks, buy them now. I expect the price to go up next format to counter the Super-Amazingly-Popular fire type decks. Don’t expect it to get any higher thought, since these cards came from tins.
- Current Cost: $11.99
- Estimated Cost Next Format: $11.99
Honestly, I was quite surprised when I saw this card’s price! In fact, I’m not sure what will happen to the price next season. If I were to guess, I’d lean on the fact that it would become slightly cheaper…
- Current Cost: $8.49
- Estimated Cost Next Format: $9.49
Not much of a difference here. The only reason I bumped it up a dollar was due to the fact that it’s sold out on two sites. Tyranitar might become a Tier 2 deck and will do nicely as long as it doesn’t play against Fighting variants.
- Current Cost: $5.99
- Estimated Cost Next Format: $5.99
I have a hunch that Ursaring Prime will get slightly more popular next format. However, I really don’t think the price will change. Just a hunch, though.
- Current Cost: $3.99
- Estimated Cost Next Format: $3.99
Nope, I don’t think this guy is getting any better…
- Current Cost: $1.99
- Estimated Cost Next Format: $0.01
…
- Current Cost: $27.99!
- Estimated Cost Next Format: $24.99
Gengar sure is pricey! However, let’s be thankful Lostgar didn’t reach the top-tiers or else Gengar would be up to $50! Next format, I believe the price will drop.. However, if Lostgar becomes even more popular…
- Current Cost: $14.99
- Estimated Cost Next Format: $14.99
Just like his elephant partner, Machamp sits at the fifteen dollar mark. I think the price will stay the same as we enter into next season since this card is needed to play a topdeck.
- Current Cost: $19.99
- Estimated Cost Next Format: $19.99
Being one of the only draw engines in the next format, don’t expect Magnezone to drop in value. The fact that Magnezone is needed in the popular MagneBoar deck doesn’t make our wallets feel nice, either.
Alright, well it’s not all the Primes, but a good number of them. What do you estimate to drop/rise in price next format? Do you agree/disagree with me? Do you believe/not believe cards should be so expensive? Why am I using / so much? Let me know in the comments!
Conclusion
Well, that’s all I really have for you today. I’ll probably write my next article after Battle Roads this weekend. I plan on using a Gyarados/Exceggutor deck so I hope I can manage to pull out some wins. If I don’t have an article up by next week, I’ll definitely have a HUGE article about Nationals. Well, until then, See ya!
~Aydan Aires
P.S. Anybody wanna chat on Skype sometime about Pokémon? Message me!
P.S.S. My friend and I are currently looking for a cheap hotel for Nationals. Anybody know one? We don’t mind how far away it is from the site. OR if someone wants to share a room with two, athletic, skinny 18-year-olds, then message me!
P.S.S.S. BYE!
Another great article sir.
Loved the little snippets of humor in each section.
Thanks, I always try to make my article’s a bit interesting to read.
Really enjoyed this article. Lots of different parts to it but they were all good.
Except for exaggerating the worth of Slowking Prime next format. Do you have a lot to sell or something?
Thank you :)
The Slowking Prime price was basically a joke since (almost) everyone seems to hate it. Honestly, it’s probably worth $5 or so.
” if someone wants to share a room with two, athletic, skinny 18-year-olds, then message me!”
I didn’t think this was that kinda site!!!
So does that mean you wanna share?
Aydan likes to cuddle. Just Sayin.
Lol, Zach and I found a room.
I liked it too, I do think you downplayed T-tar’s price by a fair amount, but that’d be it, why is slowking mentioned, still good article.
I think Tyranitar Prime is a great card and holds one of the best sniping decks in the format (Using Darkness Howl). However, with many using Donphan, it won’t see top-tier play. I believe, at least
luckily t-tar has mandibuzz and maybe honckrow. which both have fighting resistence.
samurott and wailord
other than that little slip-up there, however, good article and i hope to see more from you soon.
I wish people would have a sense of humor and realize that the Slowking price was a joke, and he was commenting on how much of a useless, piece of crap card that it is.
Thanks :)
The funny part is that i have 3 Magnezone, 2 Gengar and no Slowkings. Anyone else find that odd?
yes, yes i do
Have you tried smeargle in your donchamp? you get to look at your opponents hand and use a possible supporter. could help with your draw problems. i wouldnt use smeargle to start but including one for after kos could be handy. then throw a fighting on it and champ switch.
Yeah, that seems like a good idea. I don’t think Smeargle would be a good starter but it would play nicely as a mid-game drawing tech.
Have you considered putting Teddiursa CL for the VileMagus build? I havent playtested with it, but his attack says something like “flip a coin, if heads your opponent can’t play any trainer cards during their next turn and any damage done to this pokemon is reduced by 30.”
Its a little flippy but it would have a quicker trainer lock than not having it.
Didn’t even notice that card. That could be a pretty sweet starter!
ya the t1 trainerlock is sweet. but cleffa is better since i helps get a t2 vileplume. which would you rather have. a flippy t1 trainerlock, or a guranteed t2 trainer lock.
The TTar Prime is worth a LOT more than $8. did you mean $18?
Sadly, according to the card selling sites, it was only valued at that much. It probably will go up a bit though!
Please let me know if u have Ttars right now for $9 i will buy all of them!
Regarding your price predictions, I think Ursaring will drop, and Magnezone and Donphan will continue to rise.
Fixing this…:”Leagues are so so so different depending on who runs them (My friend Zach Hill does all of the work and that’s why ours is so good, I just have my name on it because… well I don’t know).Where I live, the nearest league was 30 minutes away (Sorry I don’t know my way around the city like Zach). Notice I said “was”? Yup, last fall, my friend and I decided to create our own league. Now, the closest league is one minute away. If you want to make a league, there arn’t too many requirements.Have a public location for League
Be 18 or older.But in all seriousness, the players in our league like to play meta game decks, so we usually get in good play testing. You don’t even need to be a professor, but Zach is! I mean, my friend and I were still in high school when we created the league. It hasn’t grown that much (Yes it has we’ve had 4 new people within the last 2 weeks but if SOME people showed up they’d know – Zach). We normally only have 5-10 people show up. Well, I need to go practice some more so Zach doesn’t wipe the floor with me at Nats.”Well now that I’m done with that serious face: =|You guys should hit me or Aydan (I hate you) up if you want to chill at nationals or wanna play test and you live in central Ohio (or skype battle).
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