Hello SixPrizes Underground!
First of all, I have a tiny announcement to make – as you may have noticed, I’m officially an Underground Staff member now. This is a huge honor and I want to thank Adam and everyone who has enjoyed my writings in both my blog and SixPrizes.com. I’ll strive to bring you the best Pokémon TCG content that a player can get online and I’ll keep working hard to develop my content and writing skills all the time. Thanks for everyone and I hope you will enjoy my articles in the future even more than you have liked them in the past!
But now, let’s get to the topic. If you have read my last article, you know that I participated in the European Challenge Cup, which was played with the new, HGSS-NEX format. In my last article, I revealed 3 different versions of my possible tournament deck and managed to get to top 16 with one of those versions. The tournament winning deck also differed only a bit from one of the versions I introduced to you guys.
I also predicted that Zekrom variants would be big and I was right about that as well. Zekrom variants were everywhere – in fact 3 players in top 4 played Zekrom. The only deck that was able to beat Zekrom variants was the Celebi/Tornadus/Mewtwo EX deck.
This is the last article before State Championships begin in the U.S., and I wanted to take this spot because I thought that I had the most to give to you before State Championships. In this article, I’ll discuss everything I saw and experienced in the ECC – from decklists to surprising techs. The ECC may only be a single tournament but you shouldn’t underestimate its impact on the U.S. States.
It’s the same situation as with World Championships last year – Worlds’ metagame was influenced by the U.S. Nationals since it was the only big tournament before Worlds. Of course there will be differences between European and American metagames, but the direction where the metagame is heading toward is clear from the ECC results. In the end of this article, I’ll also reveal a deck that has made a comeback I never expected.
Celebi/Mewtwo EX/?
I talked a lot about this deck in my last article, and I also just released an article about it in my blog. However, I feel I still have more to say about it. It should be no surprise because this is a legitimate tier 1 deck you can’t afford losing to at States.
You have probably seen the ECC winner’s list in John Kettler’s latest article and you have probably seen my tournament decklist in my tournament report if you’ve read it. That’s why I don’t bother listing them all over again – but I’m going to introduce a new upgraded version of my tournament decklist.
I was very happy how the deck performed in the tournament and after all, I lost to a misplay, not to my deck’s inconsistency. There were many cards that didn’t prove to be useful during the tournament and even though the deck worked perfectly, it could still have been better. I’ll also look at some different variations of Celebi/Mewtwo that I didn’t analyze in the last article and which I bumped into in the tournament. Here is the renewed decklist.
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Pokémon – 8 |
Trainers – 38 4 Professor Juniper
2 Eviolite
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Energy – 14 10 G |
Now, let’s look at the alterations I made:
– 1 N
– 1 Professor Oak’s New Theory
– 2 Pokémon Collector
– 1 Skyarrow Bridge
+ 1 Tornadus
+ 1 Dual Ball
+ 1 Switch
+ 1 Energy Retrieval
pokemon-paradijs.comWhy these changes? First of all, this deck proved to be much faster than I first thought it would be. In most games my opponent N’d me to 2 cards when he hadn’t drawn a single prize. There was only one game where I needed to N my opponent to one and, ironically enough, he drew a PONT from the one card N. However, you can’t remove all the N from the list because N is a must card in the current meta, no matter how quick your deck is.
Pokémon Collector was the other useless card. I hate flipping Dual Balls because search cards shouldn’t be inconsistent in my opinion. However, an exception must be made in this deck because it really doesn’t need any Pokémon Collectors. This deck has so few Basics that, in most games, you don’t even need any Dual Balls because you’ll just draw into the Basics you need anyway.
Skyarrow Bridge surprised me as well with its uselessness since this deck only attacks with Mewtwo EX. In many games, I felt that I didn’t even want to play Skyarrow Bridge because it would help my opponent more than it’d help me. It’s good to have one Stadium in your deck, but I wanted max Switches because they are the cards that you REALLY need.
Tornadus is a natural addition to this deck. It’s not an EX-Pokémon and can serve multiple purposes during the game (dealing 80 damage T1 for a donk or just to take an easy prize). I didn’t really miss Tornadus at any point of the tournament but I’m pretty sure it would have come in handy if I had it.
Last but not least, there is Energy Retrieval. It’s funny how often I missed it. TOO many times. I would’ve won my top 16 game with it. I think I would’ve won my 4th round game with it as well. Not to mention that it truly helps the Durant matchup. If you’re playing in a Durant-heavy metagame and you’re running Celebi/Mewtwo, one Energy Retrieval does more than wonders. It’s probably the best trainer this deck can have.
There is also one card I was playing around with before the ECC – Exp. Share. The night before the tournament, I was deciding between Exp. Share and Eviolite, but thankfully I ended up playing Eviolite. Exp. Share isn’t bad, but it isn’t that necessary in this deck.
pokegym.netOne may say that Eviolite isn’t that helpful in theory, but in the end, it saved me in many weird situations you don’t usually even end up in in a tournament (like a Cyndaquil donking a Celebi Prime). Even if you don’t feel like Eviolite is worth it in your Celebi/Mewtwo, I encourage you to run it. It’s a lifesaver in many situations.
Eelektrik/Mewtwo EX/?
This deck was everywhere, and in the end it was the most common matchup of the tournament for me as well. There were a lot of variations of this deck, and I think they are all worth analyzing since they all have different strategies and different skeletons. I’ll reveal a list of each of them, and analyze them one by one. I think this gives a very nice picture of all the different Zekrom variants.
In the end, the deck ended up being Eelektrik/Mewtwo EX/techs and not Zekrom/Eelektrik/techs. It might sound surprising, but as I’ll soon show you, there is so much more to Eelektrik variants than just hitting Bolt Strike.
Zekrom/Eelektrik/Zekrom-EX/Mewtwo EX
I’ll start with the most common one. I guess this was also the most played deck in the tournament. My big brother played this and went 7-1, and another Finnish player, Jouni Lehtinen, played this deck with a one card difference (which I’ll discuss later on) and ended up finishing 3rd in the tournament. This is a madly consistent deck with great power and versatility.
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Pokémon – 15 1 Tynamo NVI 38 3 Zekrom BLW |
Trainers – 32 4 Professor Juniper
4 Junk Arm 2 Pokégear 3.0 |
Energy – 13 9 L |
Nothing surprising here, right? You’re probably familiar with the 4-2 Pokégear 3.0 – Collector line if you’ve read my blog. It’s a perfect line for consistency in my opinion and, as we Finnish players build all our decks together, my building style affects every Finnish players’ decks.
pokemon-paradijs.comThe rest of this deck should be obvious. Level Ball is great since you can search for Eelektriks with it. One Switch is more than necessary because of Durant and other Catcher – stall decks. Another Switch would be more than welcome if there is space for it.
However, I said that there was a one card difference between my big brother’s and Jouni’s lists. The list I showed you is my big brother’s. Can you guess what was the difference between those two lists? I’m pretty sure you can’t. As I’ll later explain, the metagame was mostly full of decks that concentrated on Mewtwo EX and Zekrom-EX. Jouni’s list was far from that.
The difference between this and Jouni’s list is that Jouni ran 4 Zekroms and not a single Zekrom-EX. Zekrom-EX is the best against Magnezone variants, but I’m pretty sure that Jouni’s playing skills took care of the Magnezone threat since this deck is usually faster than Magnezone/Eelektrik variants.
There are a lot of low HP Pokémon in this deck. It’s a bit risky to run 30 HP Tynamos in this deck, but with the free retreat being an enormous advantage, I’d still advise running them. Eelektrik attaches only to the benched Pokémon, and that’s why free retreats are a big plus for any Eelektrik variant.
This variant of Zekrom/Eelektrik is probably my second favorite because of its consistency and the fact that it’s bulletproof. You need to think while playing with this deck – blindly hitting 120 won’t make you victorious.
Zekrom/Zekrom-EX/Mewtwo EX/Eelektrik/Magnezone
This deck I faced two times in Swiss rounds. It was popular, but because I’ve never been – and still am not – a huge Magnezone fan, this deck is worse than the previous variant in my opinion.
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Pokémon – 20 3 Magnemite TM |
Trainers – 27 3 N
4 Junk Arm 1 Pokégear 3.0 |
Energy – 13 9 L |
I think this deck’s main problem is that it isn’t focused enough. The lack of focus means a lack of consistency and that is a huge problem. In my opinion, any Eelektrik variant needs to concentrate on something, such as using Eelektrik for loading Basic Pokémon, running only EX-attackers, or some other strategy. However, this deck has no strategy. It’s a slow and clumsy deck that tries to fit everything into it and doesn’t succeed in it.
This deck is a theorymonical nightmare. It has a counter for everything, and it has great synergy. In fact, it doesn’t even look bad on paper. But just wait until you get your hands on it. It uses too much of its resources for setting up and can’t make a decent comeback even though it has Twins, N, and Magnetic Draw. If you want to play Magnezone, I suggest you forget about this variant and take a look at the next list.
Eelektrik/Magnezone/Zekrom-EX/Mewtwo EX
This is a deck I saw many players playing, and I think the 4th placing player played this too. It has good focus – EX-Pokémon. While focusing on EX-Pokémon, the deck makes even clumsy Pokémon like Magnezone shine. Let’s look at the list.
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Pokémon – 17 3 Magnemite TM |
Trainers – 30
4 Junk Arm 2 Pokémon Communication |
Energy – 13 9 L |
This deck has 3 attackers: Mewtwo EX, Zekrom-EX and Magnezone Prime. All three of them are big tanks with a very high damage output. Mewtwo EX is a natural Mewtwo EX counter. Zekrom-EX hits for 150 damage and is able to 1HKO anything but Pokémon-EXs (even a full-HP Digimon with an Eviolite). Magnezone Prime can hit for unlimited amounts of damage, but because of its Lost Zoning effect it’s wise to use it in late game and let the EXs do the work in early game.
If we look at the Pokémon lines, there is only a bit of modification that can be done. A change that can be made is adding a 3rd Mewtwo EX. It helps drastically against quick Mewtwo EX decks like Celebi/Mewtwo and makes the Mewtwo EX prize race easy for you.
Continuing on to the Trainer section, we have an interesting card called Heavy Ball. Heavy Ball works well in this deck because not only Magnezone but also Zekrom-EX has a Retreat Cost of 3 and can be retrieved using a Heavy Ball. However, I still have my suspicions about Heavy Ball in a deck that doesn’t run 4 Communications.
While watching the top 4 games, I saw a not-so-funny scenario in one of the players’ hands (thank God for zoom). I think it was the player’s first turn and he had a Zekrom in play. His hand looked like this: Eelektrik, Eelektrik, Rare Candy, Magnezone, Heavy Ball, Energy. Well, as you can see, a Communication instead of a Heavy Ball would’ve given him a T2 Magnezone while the Heavy Ball in his hand was completely useless at that point.
Of course, it’s only hindsight, but in the end I think this scenario can happen in any game. I bumped into similar situations when I tested Heavy Ball in my decks, and I thought it would be a good thing to keep in mind if you think about playing Heavy Ball.
This deck is very good because it has high HP Pokémon that hit hard. Its late game consistency is also great, and what it loses in the early game due to its slowness, it wins back in late game with brutal force. This is by far the best Magnezone/Eelektrik variant I’ve seen in action, and I believe that it will do very well in States.
Zekrom/Eelektrik/Zebstrika/Zapdos
After analyzing the “mainstream” variants of Eelektrik decks, it’s time for what, in my opinion, is the most interesting part of this article – the alternative Eelektrik variants that were seen in the tournament. First, we have an Eelektrik variant that uses Zebstrika and Zapdos, not as techs, but as main attackers.
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Pokémon – 18 1 Tynamo NVI 38 3 Blitzle NVI |
Trainers – 29 4 N
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Energy – 13 9 L |
The list is so far from the ordinary one that I need to do some explaining about the strategy. This deck has two different ways to win games.
- Kill their set-up with early Zapdos and Zebstrika sniping
- N, Catcher, and snipe them to death
The first strategy is very simple. Zapdos requires LCC for sniping 50. You can practically get it attacking T2 in every game you play, either with Dynamotor or manually attaching DCE and L Energy. If a T1-2 Mewtwo EX and Catchers can cripple any deck’s set-up, so can sniping for 50 with Zapdos and 90 with Zebstrika.
Add some disruption with Catchers and some firepower with Zekrom and Mewtwo EX and you have a fully functional deck that is both fast and disruptive. The whole Trainer and Supporter lines are built around both strategies and that is what is beautiful about this deck – its build is thought all the way to the end.
The second strategy is what you usually end up going for with this deck. Let your opponent lead by 1 or 2 Prizes and start N-ing like crazy in late game, while Catchering big retreat Pokémon (like Zekrom-EX or Eelektrik) to the Active Spot. Then, snipe whatever becomes a threat from the bench with either Zebstrika or Zapdos.
The advantage of Zebstrika in late game is its free retreat. If you have 2 Zebstrikas in play in late game and some Eelektriks on the bench you can just switch them every turn while Dynamotoring the other and keep Lightning Crushes going every turn.
This deck can take anyone by surprise, if they aren’t prepared for it. There are things that can be done to prevent the second strategy from working like playing only those Pokémon into play you really need and Dynamotoring energy to Eelektriks in case of Catchers. This is a difficult deck to play, but as long as your opponent doesn’t know what you’re up to, it has an advantage over many decks.
Zekrom/Eelektrik/Zekrom-EX/Smeargle/Mewtwo EX
This is a deck I lost against in the ECC. I had the upper hand in the matchup, but I still lost. Tom Hall ended up finishing 6th with this deck, so I thought it was worth mentioning. I’m not a big fan of this deck because of flips, but I think it fits some players’ play style. And after all, it has a unique idea compared to most of the Eelektrik variants.
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Pokémon – 15 3 Tynamo NVI 39 2 Zekrom BLW |
Trainers – 32 4 Professor Juniper
3 Switch |
Energy – 13 9 L |
This deck has various different set-up options. It can make a conservative set-up with Smeargle and Eelektrik, and just start attacking with Zekrom, Zekrom-EX or Mewtwo EX. This deck can also work just like ZPST. As you can see, the list runs both Pachirisu and Shaymin, so it can easily get a T1 Mewtwo EX or Zekrom. It also has a lot of Switching cards like SSU and Switch, which make it easier to set-up T1 using Smeargle’s Portrait.
pokemon-paradijs.comSuper Scoop Ups play a huge role in this deck because they can save damaged Zekrom-EXs, and, if you use Shaymin’s power to move the energy from Zekrom-EX before you SSU, you can get a new full HP Zekrom-EX during the very same turn. The exact list wasn’t like this, but since I played three games against it, I wanted to modify the deck a bit to my tastes.
I said that I don’t like this deck. And why’s that? Well, for the obvious reason: SSU. This format has a lot of decks that require almost no flips at all (excluding the opening flip) and if the format gives you the option of playing decks that aren’t flippy, I’d choose those over any flippy deck. This deck works very well if it flips enough heads, but is losing to flips really worth it?
The 2nd Place Zekrom Variant
Last but not least, we have a Zekrom variant that finished 2nd. The Pokémon lines of this deck are straight from Benjamin’s list but I needed to improvise with the Trainer and Energy numbers. It wasn’t that difficult to come up with Energy and Trainer numbers since I watched a few of his games, and in the end, most of the format’s decks can work with a similar engine. So, here is the 2nd placing Zekrom variant that has it all.
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Pokémon – 16 3 Tynamo NVI 39 3 Mewtwo-EX NXD 1 Absol Prime |
Trainers – 31 4 Professor Juniper
2 Pokégear 3.0 |
Energy – 13 7 L |
To be honest, I’m more than surprised that a deck this teched could make it to the finals. However, in the end, consistency and speed won over teching since this deck lost in the finals to a straightforward Celebi/Mewtwo EX/Tornadus. This is a list that needs some explaining (especially the Pokémon lines) so I’ll go through them one by one so you can get a full understanding.
Zekrom-EX & Mewtwo EX
pokemon-paradijs.comThe only thing I would like you to pay attention to when it comes to these cards is the number of each of them. Especially the amount of Mewtwo EXs – 3 – is one of the biggest reasons why this deck got as far as it did. Running 3 Mewtwo EXs means that you’ll always win the Mewtwo EX race, if your opponent starts it. The difference between running 2 or 3 Mewtwo EXs is so huge that it’s difficult to comprehend.
Two is an optimal amount for Zekrom-EXs. You need it in most matchups, and, if you run only one copy, you risk prizing it. Zekrom-EX is very good in many matchups and you need it in almost every game.
Eelektrik
Eelektrik is the main energy accelerator here, and makes sure that your techs can attack whenever they come into play.
Terrakion
Terrakion is more than great in mirror matches. One Terrakion can easily take 2 Prizes, while your opponent isn’t able to take a single Prize card. This can turn the game in your favor at any point of the match. Not to mention that Terrakion easily 1HKOs a Zekrom-EX without an Eviolite attached to it. Terrakion works great in this deck because it can take your opponent by surprise. One Dynamotor and a Prism Energy and you’re ready to surprise Revenge kill anything.
Cleffa
Standard consistency insurance for any deck that has a lot of techs. Not to mention the free retreat that is so very important to Eelektrik decks – this can’t be emphasized enough.
Absol Prime
pokemon-paradijs.comThis is a card that can serve multiple purposes. First of all, Absol Prime is a great starter. The most interesting thing about Absol’s Body is that it lowers Mewtwo EX’s HP down to 150 – the 1HKO range of Zekrom-EX. And, if you’re able to 1HKO a Mewtwo EX with your Zekrom-EX, you’ll probably have a huge advantage in the game. Also, even though Chandelure wasn’t that played in the ECC, Absol Prime is a great Chandelure tech since it can 1HKO Chandelures.
Absol Prime’s attack Lost Zones a Pokémon from your hand. Well, imagine that you Lost Zone a Mewtwo EX with Absol Prime’s attack. After that, you start attacking with Mewtwo EX. Well, your opponent obviously answers with his/her Mewtwo EX for the 1HKO. After that, you play Mew Prime and 1HKO their Mewtwo EX. You weren’t left behind in the prize race even though you started the Mewtwo EX race. There’s some food for thought for those of you who want to play something original.
Thundurus & Shaymin
Thundurus helps with multiple things. It’s a very strong, aggressive starter, which can start attacking T2 thanks to Charge. At the same time, it also works as an energy accelerator thanks to Shaymin. You can even get a card like Zekrom-EX hitting for 150 by T2 thanks to Charge. Thundurus was seen in many decks in the tournament, but most decks used it only because of its aggro momentum. You can easily get the first prize with it and get the energy needed for the rest of the game to the discard pile when your opponent KOs your Thundurus.
Shaymin is a common tech in this deck, and it’s a card that works very well in every deck that is full of techs. Just look at Six Corners – some lists run two Shaymins just because there are so many optional attackers. The more optional attackers you have in your deck, the more you usually want to run Shaymin.
This deck is so overteched that it has an answer to everything. Usually overteching is a bad thing, but somehow this deck worked to the very end. The fact that it lost in the finals doesn’t mean that it was a bad deck. I won’t explain the strategy of this deck because it can’t be explained. The more techs a deck runs, the more complicated the deck’s strategy usually becomes, and here’s an example of that. It has different strategies against every deck; so if you don’t play this type of a deck, just know your own deck’s weak points.
Good Techs for Eelektrik Variants
Zebstrika NDE
pokegym.netZebstrika was the new tech that came into everyone’s attention in the ECC. It was used in Eelektrik based decks to make the Durant matchup a near auto-win. Zebstrika has 100 HP and needs only 2 energy in order to use Disconnect, which hits for 40 and stops your opponent from using Item cards.
Zebstrika practically 2HKOs every Durant because they don’t have Eviolites attached to them and thus stops the whole deck from working. Durant can’t use cards like Crushing Hammer, Revive and Eviolite, which are essential for its strategy. The energy cost of 2 and HP of 100 is a huge asset for Zebstrika because even if the Durant player uses the Rotom + Black Belt combo to attack Zebstrika, it can’t be Knocked Out.
Zebstrika is the perfect solution to the Durant problem, but Durant has no decent strategy against Zebstrika. If you find yourself having a hard time with the Durant matchup, just put in a 1-1 line of Zebstrika and enjoy.
Articuno NDE
This is a very cool tech I saw in the ECC. At first sight, Articuno seems like a horrible card. However, its second attack is great against Fire type Pokémon. Hitting for 70 is enough against every played Fire Pokémon (Reshiram and Typhlosion). With only a single PlusPower it’s also able to 1HKO Emboar. Articuno needs WCCC for its attack so you need to run Prism Energy in your deck if you want to run Articuno. I encourage you to try Articuno if your metagame has a lot of Fire type decks.
This is a tech I thought was relatively underused in the tournament’s Zekrom decks. There is nothing that gives you a greater advantage in Zekrom mirror matches than an Eviolited Terrakion. It 1HKOs any Fighting weak Pokémon from Magnezone to Zekrom-EX.
It has a heavy Retreat Cost, but in the end, Zekrom decks usually run 1-2 Switches so you don’t lose the game even if you open with Terrakion. Terrakion requires the use of Prism energy just like Articuno, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to fit in 1-2 Prism Energy no matter which Zekrom variant you’re running.
ReshiPhlosion
pokemonandfootball.deviantart.comReshiPhlosion has been discussed everywhere. Does it still stand a chance, as it seems like Durant will be dead even without the help of ReshiPlosion? It’s widely discussed because once it was the most played deck in the format and then suddenly it disappeared completely.
In the ECC, ReshiPhlosion was almost inexistent. I didn’t see any ReshiPhlosion nor hear did I hear that anyone had played against it. If we look at the ECC only, it seems that ReshiPhlosion is dead, but I don’t think that’s the whole truth. If ReshiPhlosion wants to succeed in the current format, it must adapt to the metagame just like all the other decks have.
The night before the ECC, I was choosing between two decks. You guessed it – ReshiPhlosion was my second option. I ended up playing Celebi/Mewtwo for only one reason – I just felt more comfortable with it. And I still think it was the right decision. However, that doesn’t mean that ReshiPhlosion is a bad deck. Here is the list I almost played in the ECC.
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Pokémon – 15 4 Cyndaquil HS |
Trainers – 34 4 N
4 Rare Candy 3 Pokémon Communication 2 Pokégear 3.0
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Energy – 11 9 R |
As you can see, this list is very very different from your usual ReshiPhlosion list. This deck takes its time setting up, and then quickly recovers from the early-game prize deficit with undamaged Reshirams and Mewtwos. Pokémon Center is a great card in this deck because, with it, you can easily get 150 HP Reshirams using Blue Flare thanks to Eviolite.
Counter KOs to full HP Reshirams with Eviolites are a challenge for any deck, and that’s what makes this build so strong. However, just like every stadium card, Pokémon Center is a double-edged sword and you must be very careful when playing it. In some situations, it may help your opponent more than it helps you.
pokemon-paradijs.comJust like Eviolites and Pokémon Centers, Ns are essential in order to make this deck’s strategy function properly. Late game Ns make getting things like Pokémon Catcher more difficult for your opponent, and that is very important when recovering from a prize deficit. Preventing your opponent from getting easy prizes in late game is required if you want to win with this deck.
The Metagame Puzzle
The best word to describe the metagame in general is the all-time favorite Poké-Body of mine: versatile. If you’ve read my report, you know that I didn’t play against any deck twice during the tournament. The most played matchup for me was Zekrom, but every single one of them was completely different.
A versatile metagame is a sign of a healthy format, and it makes playing in a tournament very interesting. However, at the same time, it makes the preparing for tournaments more difficult. If you can’t predict what you are going to face in the tournament, teching your deck can be very difficult. I suggest you to focus on making your list as consistent as possible. I think my list and the ECC winner’s tournament list were great examples of how consistency wins over techs in a versatile metagame.
I saw many Celebi variants, but they were all even more teched than the 3rd version of my Celebi deck. They all ended up losing in the top cut and I believe that was mainly because of inconsistency. The “wrong cards prized at the wrong time” problem is an everyday problem for a very teched deck. If you’re playing against a deck that has techs against you, you might still be able to win in best of three matches thanks to your deck’s consistency.
Teching vs. consistency is a never-ending battle, but the less you know for sure about the metagame, the more I would suggest you to concentrate on consistency.
What I Learned From the ECC
1. The game is healthier than ever before in the BW-era
pokemon-paradijs.comWhen I say the game, I mean the format and metagame. There are lots of different decks to choose from. When the game is healthy, the players are usually happy as well. However, there is still one huge problem: the first turn rule.
In the tournament, I learned that going first doesn’t have that big of an impact as before, but sometimes the winner is still decided by the opening flip, and that is wrong. The tournament winner donked many times during the tournament, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have won the tournament without those donks. The donks are caused by the first turn rule and there is nothing we can do about it now.
If you don’t want to get donked, there are many ways to prevent it:
- Play a lot of high HP Basic Pokémon
- Play a lot of Basics
- Win the opening flip
2. If you want to win, you need to be able to 1HKO Mewtwo EXs & 3. Mewtwo EX isn’t overhyped
I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that Mewtwo EX lives up to its hype. As you know, my tournament deck’s only attacker was Mewtwo EX. When playing against all kinds of decks, I learned one thing: if my opponent didn’t have a decent counter to Mewtwo, they lost the game.
In most games I took 6 Prizes with a single Mewtwo EX, and just Catchered whatever was the most important to my opponent. The power of Mewtwo EX was so crushing to experience from the Mewtwo EX player’s perspective that I can’t say that I played many good games during the tournament.
If you bought Mewtwo EXs for $60 each, it probably wasn’t as bad a deal as some people thought it would be. Mewtwo EX is the best card of the format. If you want to win a tournament, you need to have a decent counter to Mewtwo EX. I introduced a lot of Mewtwo EX counters in my last article and, if you haven’t read it yet, I suggest you do before you go to States. Don’t expect to do well in the tournament if you aren’t prepared for Mewtwo EX.
4. Don’t hop on the Lost Remover hype train
pokemon-paradijs.comEven I was kind of lost regarding this one. Lost Remover is a great card – in theorymon. And now I can assure anyone who is afraid of Lost Removers – don’t be afraid of Lost Removers in any deck other than Durant. Most of the decks are energy accelerating decks that don’t really mind Lost Removers.
When you attach a DCE to Zekrom-EX, you’ll just discard it right away anyway. If you Lost Remover a DCE from Mewtwo EX and don’t kill it, you’ll lose the game anyway. Lost Remover wasn’t played much at all in the ECC, and I expect the trend to be similar in the U.S. State Championships. Pokémon techs are better than trainer techs in this format, that’s all there is to it.
5. Durant is nearly dead
Durant was big in the ECC (just like I predicted) but it didn’t do well, even though there were many of them in the tournament. The explanation for this is pretty simple: just like I suggested in my last article, everyone was prepared for it. Zekroms had teched in Zebstrikas, most Mewtwo/Celebi variants had enough energy to be able to stand against Crushing Hammers, Lost Removers, etc.
I felt like Durant was a very strong deck in the current metagame, but it seems that the more people test against Durant, the worse matchups it has around the field. When you know all the tricks, there is nothing that can really surprise you. One big reason for Durant’s failure was that it didn’t really benefit from Next Destinies – the only new trick was using Shaymin EX, which was scarce at best. Durant has been the same from the release of Noble Victories, so everyone should be familiar with it already. When Durant can’t surprise you, all it can do is flip, and flipping doesn’t usually win tournaments.
So when I say nearly dead, I mean it. I’m not hating on Durant, I just want to be honest with everyone – if you want to win a tournament, don’t play Durant! If people start to use Zebstrika as a standard tech in Eelektrik variants, it will be the end of Durant.
fakemaket.deviantart.comDurant was expected to be stronger than ever before in this format since Heatmor “The Durant Killer” wasn’t released in Next Destinies and Durant seemed like a good counter to Mewtwo EX. However, even I, with a straight Mewtwo EX deck, ended up winning Durant even though he flipped 50% heads.
I predict that Durant won’t win any State Championships. Even if Durant lives through States, it will die once Heatmor is released. The only thing that can win Durant possible places in the top cut is that it’s a cheap deck and doesn’t require a Mewtwo EX in order to work well. It will probably experience the same fate that ReshiPhlosion experienced in City Championships. It was still one of the most played decks, but in the end, it won nothing.
6. Zekrom is THE deck you need to defeat in State Championships
Zekrom has numerous different variations. It will be the most played deck in every tournament, and it will win a fair share of them. It’s probably the best deck in the format if we exclude the donks and fast wins Celebi variants can get.
If you play Zekrom, you should prepare your deck for mirrors. Terrakion is one of the most versatile techs because you can put it in almost any deck and it works not only against Zekrom, but also very well against Mewtwo EX since Mewtwo EX has a hard time 1HKOing it. Zekrom is the deck to defeat in State Championships, but you must not forget Mewtwo EX either. If you have a strategy against Zekrom and Mewtwo EX, you stand a very good chance in winning a tournament.
7. If you have cards for everything, Celebi/Mewtwo is the way to go in your first States
pokemon-paradijs.comI very strongly recommend a Celebi variant if you really have cards for everything and you’re playing in the first week of States. I think that it’s the best deck for a versatile and young metagame environment. It has so many pros, and here is why it’s a great TOURNAMENT deck in a metagame like the one I described above:
- It can just run through any deck
- It can donk
- It wins sudden deaths 99% of the time
- It has no real bad matchups
- It has a lot of good matchups
- It’s a great deck in top cut matches
The only sad part of the deck is donking, but at the moment it’s part of the game. I was surprised that I only donked once during the whole tournament with my deck, but it was mainly because I went 2nd in almost every game.
The tournament winner of the ECC started first a lot of his matches, and got many easy wins because of that. I’m not encouraging you to play donk decks, but just to take that into account. If you don’t abuse this deck’s full power, someone else will.
8. There is room for rogue, secret, and comeback decks in the metagame
The metagame is still young. It’s more versatile than ever, and that encourages secret decks to rise. Thanks to cards like Tropical Beach, N, and Twins, even slower decks can make a comeback – perhaps among them even a few surprising secret decks.
I’m always thinking of new ways to make decks work, and I think this format really has potential for interesting decks. I’m really looking forward to the U.S. States because I believe that we’ll see some very interesting decks doing well there.
The Comeback
pokemon-paradijs.comIt was hate at first sight. When I built this deck prior to Worlds, I hated it. It was slow, used a lot of resources and easily prized cards it needed to win games because it was so full of stuff. However, when I built it once again only a few days before the ECC, I felt like I had found a new love. In my eyes, the ugly duckling had transformed into a swan. And what is the deck I’m talking about? It’s the Worlds winning MagneBoar.
How come a completely forgotten deck can make a comeback in this format? Isn’t it still a slow and fragile deck and with the format being faster than ever? As ironic as it is, it’s faster than ever and that’s mainly because the format is overall fast. Since there are tier 1 decks that take prizes in the early turns of the game, Magneboar is able to Twins almost every game no later than T2 – that’s what makes MagneBoar faster than ever.
There are two cards that make this possible: N and Twins. The MagneBoar list I’m going to introduce is not even near an orthodox one compared to an ordinary Magneboar list, and that’s what makes it work. It’s completely reborn and up to the new challenges this format has to offer. Here it is: the comeback of the year – MagneBoar.
|
Pokémon – 21 4 Tepig BW07 |
Trainers – 24
4 Pokémon Communication |
Energy – 15 10 R 5 L |
This list might seem weird. I’ll explain all the things that need explaining in this list.
2 Pichus, 4 Communications, and no Collectors
This is the sole reason this deck even functions and has enough space. It might seem crazy to run no Collectors and be fully reliant on Pichu, but it really isn’t. 9/10 games you get a T1 Playground, which is all you need for a proper set-up.
pokemon-paradijs.comThese two cards make playing Magnezone possible. Even though I hate Magnezone Prime, I must admit that it works well in this deck. Thanks to Pichu, your opponent usually gets an early prize. After that, you get to use Twins and, thanks to high Communication, Heavy Ball, and Rare Candy numbers this deck set-ups Emboar AND Magnezone as soon as your opponent has taken the first prize.
You can easily revenge-KO with Magnezone Prime in T2 thanks to Twins and you will most likely manage to make a comeback with RDL and N in late game even if your start isn’t perfect. The high N count also helps against the relatively difficult Durant matchup.
This is a deadly tech in this deck. Your opponent doesn’t know if you play it or not, and you can get it at any time with Twins. How does getting 3 Prizes for killing a Mewtwo EX sound like to you, with the help of RDL and Catchers? Cool to me.
Pokémon Lines
First of all, why 4-2-2, not 3-1-2 or 3-2-2? Two reasons. I want to run 4 Tepigs because of prizes and quick decks like the Celebi variants. They are pretty unforgiving when it comes to your prizes. Also, it helps you to get more than one basic Pokémon in the beginning of the game, so you’re rarely donked.
Secondly, 2 Pignites. This is very important when we take into account this deck’s Durant matchup. Pignite is so good against Durant. It charges itself and 1HKOs a Durant with a Special Metal and an Eviolite for only 3 energy. This deck also has Energy Retrieval, so you can get the energy Durant discards with Crushing Hammers back. And since the deck has such a good draw engine, you can evolve Pignite into Emboar if they are going to use Rotom + Black Belt, because after that, there is nothing Durant can do to you.
4 Magnemites for the very same reason I run 4 Tepigs. 3 Magnezones are enough because your opponent will surely take some easy prizes first and won’t start 1HKOing your Magnezones right away. This deck also has optional attackers like RDL and Mewtwo EX, so Magnezone Prime doesn’t need to do all the work.
pokemon-paradijs.comMewtwo EX is the best Mewtwo EX counter, and too easily loaded in this deck to be left out. And then there is the best part. My favorite card of the format, and the sole reason this deck can make a comeback – Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND. RDL’s strategy in this deck is pretty simple – take 3 Prizes from your opponent’s Mewtwo EX and win the game almost solely with that.
There are games when you can manage a comeback from a 3 Prize deficit when you just N your opponent to one, KO something with RDL, and then the next turn 1HKO something with RDL once again. You don’t know what humiliation is until you’ve lost to a RDL like that in this format. MagneBoar is the only deck in the whole format that can abuse RDL well, and that’s the one big reason why Magneboar can surprise in this format.
Of course, this deck still has its own problems. Sometimes the setting up is just too clumsy and sometimes you don’t draw enough energy needed for a RDL attack. It’s a fragile deck that has to be played very carefully. The reason why I think it has HUGE potential in this metagame is that it has very good testing results against the top decks of this format – Celebi/Mewtwo /Tornadus AND different Eelektrik variants.
You must also remember that, when people haven’t tested properly against you, they’ll always make mistakes against you as well. Magneboar has the surprise factor by its side even though it won Worlds just last year.
If you aren’t prepared for Magneboar and end up losing to it in State Championships, don’t be surprised. It’s a much stronger deck now than it was in the HGSS-NVI format thanks to Pokémon-EXs, and will probably see play until the very end of the EX-era. Magneboar can abuse Mewtwo EX very well, and it can easily take 6 Prizes because of the Pokémon-EXs the other decks are playing. Now you only need to Lost Zone 4 energy in order to get 2 Prizes.
Last Minute Rumors
pokemon-paradijs.comAs I said earlier on, there is room for secret and rogue decks in this format. So far, I’ve heard rumors of 3 rogue kind of decks. First, there is a deck that focuses mainly on hitting with Terrakions, accelerating Terrakions with Exp. Share. This deck is a very hard counter against a metagame full of Eelektrik-based decks.
Second, there is Chandelure NVI/Gengar Prime, which is probably the most hyped new deck. I think it’s a bit clunky because it needs 2 different Stage 2 Pokémon in order to win the game, but that is manageable with Twins and Tropical Beach. If you want to the deck in action, check this out, and you will know everything you need about it.
Third, there is a Donphan Prime/Mewtwo EX deck. As you can see, this deck is concentrated on countering Eelektrik variants once again. There are two kinds of builds for this one: the “normal” version uses 4-4 Donphan line and 2-3 Mewtwo EX. Mewtwo EXs are for winning the Mewtwo EX war while Donphan is used against everything else.
This deck can also be built like D&D with Zekrom, Reshiram or Kyurem depending on the predicted metagame. Probably the best bet is to run Zekrom in this deck alongside Mewtwo EX and Donphan, because Zekrom is a nice Tornadus counter.
No one can know for sure how popular will these rogue decks be in the end, but just be prepared for them. You should consider in advance how you should play these matchups with your deck. After that, if you happen to play against one of these decks in the tournament, you aren’t completely clueless as to what you should do against them, and what they have in their decks.
Conclusion
There were a lot of new ideas and thoughts in this article, and I’m sure it will take some time for you to digest them all. All in all, I’m even more excited about the upcoming metagame and all the decks we’re going to see. I get inspiration from playing in big tournaments and the ECC was no different – I’m full of energy and new ideas. I hope I can materialize these thoughts in my next article and offer you guys something completely new. Zebstrika/Eelektrik and MagneBoar are just the beginning of a wave of completely new approaches to already known decks.
I also think that the game seems to be getting healthier and healthier set by set and I hope you feel the same. I hope this article came just in time for your last testings before State Championships. I hope you can learn something from this, and perhaps you are going to try some of the techs or ideas from this article.
Nothing is more important when it comes to tournament playing than experience you get from big tournaments. There are some things that just can’t be theorymoned or even play-tested, and in this article, I tried to pass on what I experienced and learnt in the ECC so YOU can do better in your State Championships. If you felt like I succeeded in my goal and that you enjoyed this article, please press the “Like” button to let the others and me know your opinion.
Also, if you have any last minute questions about this article, your deck choice or anything related to Pokémon TCG, feel free to ask them on the forums, I’ll try to answer everyone as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading and good luck for States!
– Esa Juntunen
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