pokemon-paradijs.comHey SixPrizes! Today I’m going to tell you about a rogue deck that took me into the top cut at US Nationals. The deck analysis is for people who would consider taking this to Worlds, and those who just want to hear about a pretty cool rogue. Major parts of this deck are getting rotated and I am not very sure about its future.
But first off, let me introduce myself. My name is Bohdan Pelekh, and I’m a 21 year-old college student from Plymouth, Michigan. I started playing Pokémon in August of 2010 as a member of Team Warp Point.
I have been playing Donphan Dragons for most of this season. It ended up being a great choice and I got 24 CPs before Next Destinies came out.
That’s when my troubles started. With Durant now in full swing, and CMT being an iffy matchup, I couldn’t get myself to play DnD. I put together a Mew Prime/Yanmega Prime/Terrakion NVI deck that had just gotten some attention in Europe. I really liked the deck, but despite having an insanely consistent list, I couldn’t get it to run properly in any of the States that I went to. I only got 1 Championship Point from 3 States. I wasn’t too happy about that at all. Then Dark Explorers came out and it was time to build a new deck for the 2012 Nationals.
The deck selection was basically a process of elimination. I was aware that Darkrai was a great deck but I simply couldn’t afford it. I built Zeels for a while, but I just didn’t enjoy playing it. I built a Donphan/Dragons/EXs list but it just wasn’t the same as before. However, playing it made me think that Kyurem EX was not as bad as everyone was making it out to be. Then I remembered about how excited I was when Kyogre EX was rumored to come out in Next Destinies. That’s when I knew that I wanted to somehow put the two together.
I told my friend Mike about the idea, and we sat down and built a deck with Kyurem EX, Kyogre EX, and Kyurem NVI. We built two versions. One with a KGL tech in it and one with a Tornadus EPO. Both were found to be bad and were cut immediately. Since then, the deck went through much testing and editing and this was the final result. I took it to 3 Battle Roads and finished 9th, 3rd and 5th with 4-2, 4-1, 4-1 records in Swiss.
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Pokémon – 9 3 Kyurem NVI |
Trainers – 38 4 Professor Oak’s New Theory
4 Junk Arm |
Energy – 13 9 W |
The strategy of the deck is to deny your opponent prizes through the use of Shaymin combined with Switch/Max Potion or Super Scoop Up while putting out damage with Kyurem/Kyurem EX. I’m now going to explain all the cards that I feel require explanation.
Kyurem EX
pokemon-paradijs.comEven though there are only 2 of them in the list, this is your main attacker in most cases. In my opinion, Frozen Wings is one of the best attacks in the format. For a Water and a Double Colorless Energy it does enough damage to Knock Out any not yet evolved Bench-sitters. Add a PlusPower, and you can KO Smeargle, Sableye, and Shaymin.
It’s great against Mewtwo and Tornadus EX. You can hit them for 60, discard the DCE that they normally have attached, then KO them next turn with a Hail Blizzard. It has a Metal Weakness which means you really don’t have to worry about being 1HKO’d . That means you can heal/scoop it up the next turn, making your opponent waste an attack.
This is how you set up Kyurem EX knock outs. Chances are, you won’t be allowed to Glaciate 6 times to Knock Out an EX. However, if you Glaciate just twice, Kyurem EX can start sweeping. It also is one of your options against Item lock.
Kyogre EX
This card is in here because it works very nicely together with Kyurem NVI. You can soften things up with Kyurem, then drop a Kyogre and take multiple prizes per turn. It also can single-handedly win games against Item lock.
This deck has no Energy acceleration, so preserving the Energy that you already have on the field is key. Shaymin helps you do that. If something gets hurt, you can use Celebration Wind to move Energy off the hurt Pokémon, then scoop it up or use the Max Potion/Switch combo to heal it.
Supporter counts are what they are because Juniper is not great in this deck, as there is really nothing you would want to discard. If anything I would cut Juniper down to 1 and add another Random Receiver.
I feel that the Trainer cards in this deck are very self explanatory, so I will just move on to the matchups.
Matchups
Darkrai/Mewtwo/Tornadus (or Terrakion) 50-50
You both can 2HKO each other’s EXs. They are faster, but you can deny prizes very effectively since their damage caps at 100 (not counting X Ball of course). If you are able to get a few Glaciates off before they Eviolite their attackers, you can shift the match up to your favor quite a bit. If not, then it’s usually a very even match.
Hammertime Darkrai 35-65
They deny prizes by getting rid of Energy, you deny prizes by healing. Don’t drop DCEs until you have to get an attack off. N as much as possible after they Junk Hunt and KO Sableye even if it will cost you the DCE next turn. If they miss a few Crushing Hammer flips, you will quickly start winning.
ZekEeels 70-30
Basically, 3 Glaciates and you win the game. If they hit PlusPowers quickly, and Knock Out your Kyurem NVI you can be in trouble. Use Kyurem EX until you have plenty of Exp. Shares so you don’t have to be too scared about your Kyurem NVI getting Knocked Out and losing Energy.
Klinklang 80-20
Use Frozen Wings to discard every Special Energy they attach. There really isn’t much they can do. As soon as they miss an Energy drop and you are not in danger of getting attacked next turn, try to Glaciate as many times as you can. They can’t heal it all.
Item lock 65-35
Against the Truth, you pretty much have an auto-win. Catcher an Oddish early to make them waste an Energy attachment. Don’t take prizes until you have Kyogre set up. The first prizes you take should be the Vileplume and the Oddish, whether it’s still active or on the bench.
Mew lock variants are tougher, but still very winnable. Again, just don’t take prizes until you can Knock Out important Pokémon with Kyogre. If you go first and they don’t get a turn 2 Vileplume, you probably just won the game. Same as before, Catcher Oddishes to prevent them from Seeing off.
Troll 65-35
They can’t 1HKO anything. Which means you can heal. After a few Glaciates, you can start 1HKOing. If you’re worrying about return hits, set up bench KOs for Kyurem NVI or Kyogre EX to prevent EXP share from activating.
Quad Entei/Groudon 99-1
Show them your W Energy and say “Good game.”
I understand that some of these matchups are not explained extremely thoroughly. Let me know if you want a more in-depth explanation on any of them.
Now let’s move on to the report.
US Nationals Tournament Report
I left Plymouth, MI around 11 AM with 3-of my fellow Team Warp Point members. We got a flat tire on the way and had a fun time changing it in 100° heat. After that we finally got to the Convention Center where we promptly registered and went to the testing area to say “hi” to everyone we knew.
I don’t think I tested at all that night, because I had just gone through a cold streak with the deck, so I knew I was bound to hit a hot streak and I didn’t want to waste it on practice matches. We went to our hotel after a few hours of socializing and met up with 3 others that would be staying with us but who weren’t planning on registering on Thursday.
The next morning we all piled into a friend’s car (mine had a spare a tire on and we didn’t really want to drive it till it was fixed), and went back to the Convention Center to do what we came here to do. Coming into the tournament, I knew that I had to win the first few matches because I was hoping that Hammertime decks would run into Energy acceleration decks and not make it to the top tables. It’s not an auto-loss, but it’s still the last deck I want to see across from me.
Some of the matches may be a bit vague because I wasn’t planning on doing a report so I didn’t take any notes. I remember the 2nd day well, but the 1st one not so much.
R1 vs. VVV
pokemon-paradijs.comHe started out very slow, and I got a Kyurem loaded up on turn 3. On turn 4 I Knocked Out an Oddish and a Vanillite with the 2nd Glaciate, the on turn 5 I Knocked Out his hurt Vanilluxe with a Hail Blizzard. That was his only Pokémon.
1-0
R2 vs. CMT
I wasn’t really expecting there to be too much CMT here, so I didn’t test against it as much as I probably should have. That didn’t really matter here. I kept using Catcher to stall him while I set up and he was having a tough time retreating to use Celebi’s and Smeargle’s Powers every turn.
Once I set up, I just used a combination of Kyurem NVI and Kyurem EX Knock Out anything he had. I don’t believe I gave up 1 Prize as every time he would attack me, I would heal it right away.
2-0
R3 vs. Darkrai/Tornadus/Mewtwo
The only thing I remember about this match is that I got N’d when I had 2 Prizes left and my opponent had 5. I got N’d a few times after that, never drawing anything I needed. Eventually, I got a Supporter and needed to get a PlusPower or one of my 2 Junk Arms from my small deck. I whiffed. I still could have won if my opponent didn’t get a Supporter or a Catcher in his next 2 turns. He top decked a Junk Arm immediately.
2-1
R4 vs. CMT + R5 vs. Darkrai/Mewtwo/Tornadus
Unfortunately, I really don’t remember anything about these two rounds except the fact that my deck ran perfectly and I only gave up 1 Prize total between the two games.
4-1
After Day 1 I was where I wanted to be. All I needed to do now is go 3-1 and I would be in top cut for sure. I have not seen any ZekEels all day, which was a shame as it is one of my best matchups. My friends were doing well also, with plenty of them being 3-2, 4-1, and 5-0.
My hotel mates and I were planning on going to the Good Luck Varsity/Rival Summers/PK Fire show. But we got into a minor car accident on the way to our hotel and had to wait about an hour and a half for the police to get there and write out a report. We were all overheated and tired after that and decided to stay in our hotel for the night. We heard that we missed a great show.
Next morning I went back to work.
R5 vs. Darkrai/Magnezone
pokemon-paradijs.comHe mulliganed and I got to see a Magnezone and a dark patch. Not exactly what I expected. I set up quickly and took a few cheap prizes on Magnemites, then Knocked Out a Mewtwo EX to go up 4 Prizes taken to 0. However, he had quite a few Energy on his Darkrais and he had just set up his second Magnezone.
He N’d me and Knocked Out a Kyurem EX with a Lost Burn. I had a Mewtwo EX from earlier with 5 Energy on it. I knew that even with the 5 Energy I couldn’t Knock Out a Darkrai, and I didn’t want to lose 2-of my DCE next turn. So I dropped a Shaymin and moved one of the DCEs to a Kyurem EX with no Energy but an Exp. Share on it.
I also had a W Energy on a Kyurem NVI, and I left it there, thinking that I might as well keep it there in case I can Catcher stall and Glaciate later. I was also afraid to put it on the Kyurem EX because I felt like it would make it very tempting for him to Knock it Out if it had multiple Energy on it. I didn’t want him to do that.
I hit his Darkrai with my Mewtwo for 60 damage. He retreated to Magnezone and Lost burned my Mewtwo, discarding all the Energy off the injured Darkrai. I promoted my Kyurem EX which now had a DCE and a Water on it because of EXP share.
pokemon-paradijs.comI played a Professor Oak’s New Theory and all I needed was a Catcher (or Junk Arm) and a W Energy to Knock Out the Darkrai. I whiffed on the W Energy. He Knocked Out my Kyurem EX the next turn.
4-2
R6 vs. CMT
I knew that I had to win the 3 remaining rounds to make top cut, because my losses came a bit too early for me to be able to bubble in at 6-3.
This game went the same way all my CMT games went so far. I started out with Kyurem EX, discarding their DCEs and getting 2HKOS. He couldn’t Knock me Out because of Shaymin and Max Potion/Switch combos. At one point I also promoted a Kyurem NVI to Glaciate twice to set up KOs for later.
He eventually loaded up a Mewtwo with quite a few Energy and Knocked Out my Kyurem EX. I had my own Mewtwo and a DCE ready. The game was never really close.
5-2
R7 vs. KlingKlang
pokemon-paradijs.comI played against this opponent in a Battle Road a few weeks earlier, so we both knew what the other person was probably running. I knew that he had a Cobalion NVI in his list, so I had to be careful. It turns out he also put in a Steelix Prime to get his Energy back.
His Cobalion was prized, however, and Steelix didn’t help much. The one time he got to use Steelix’s attack, I Knocked it Out the very next turn. This game went exactly the way the match up normally goes. I used Frozen Wings to discard every energy he attached. I didn’t give up a prize.
6-2
R8 vs. ZekEels
This was it. If I win, I go through. I drew my 7 cards and got this hand: 2 Kyurem NVI, 2 W Energy, DCE, Exp. Share, and Switch. I was not very happy. I put down both Kyurems and he put down just one Pokémon as active. We flipped a coin and I got to go first. He flipped over a Tynamo. I drew my card and it was a Mewtwo. Switch, DCE, X Ball.
7-2
I was in the top cut thanks to some crazy luck in the last game. I have a great matchup against Eels, but my starting hand was awful. Anything could have happened.
I got some food, and got ready to play.
T128 vs. The Truth
Game 1
He went first, started with a Smeargle and an Oddish. Used some Supporters and got another Oddish and a Darkrai and attached. I started Kyogre, benched some other attackers, pulled up an Oddish, and attached to Kyogre. He got a Vileplume on turn 3, but no Reuniclus.
I started sniping his Vileplume and Darkrai while he had a Smeargle active, to which he retreated earlier. After I had already put 100 damage on Vileplume, he finally hit me with the Darkrai. I attached a 3rd Energy to my Mewtwo, which I have been loading up to counter his once he had to send it up. Then I Dual Splashed his Vileplume and Oddish for 2 Prizes, leaving him with no Trainer lock.
My hand was really bad but I didn’t think it would matter. I thought I had an answer to everything at that point. And then he attached a DCE to his Mewtwo, and used the Golden Catcher on my Mewtwo and X Balled for the KO. I promoted Kyurem EX and pulled up his Darkrai to try to Knock it Out. I just had to hit a PlusPower or a Junk Arm. I whiffed.
So I hit his Darkrai and left it with 10 health. Next turn, he benched 2 Solosis, attached another Energy to Mewtwo and X Balled my Kyurem EX for the KO. I promoted a Kyurem NVI. I had a PONT in my hand and all I needed to do was to get a Shaymin and move the Energy from Kyogre to Kyurem and Glaciate for 4 Prizes. I go for the Dual Ball… and flipped double tails. He won 2 turns later.
0-1
Game 2
Now I knew that he was playing a Catcher. I did the same thing I did game one, but this time I made sure his Mewtwo couldn’t Knock Out mine once I Knock Out the Vileplume. And that’s exactly how it went. I set up a Kyogre and just rolled through him.
1-1
Game 3
It was going to be the same as Game 3, but time was called after I took my first 2 or 3 Prizes.
2-1 (8-2)
T64 vs. Mew/Accelgor/Chandelure
Game 1
He went first and started setting up pretty quickly. I started setting up Kyogre and Kyurem NVI to try to eventually get a Vileplume KO. He was able to get a quick Vileplume and a Gloom ready to evolve to a 2nd one. I think I took 2 Prizes on other things before he got the lock going. I was able to get rid of two of his DCE and I’m pretty sure had 1 Prized.
I made sure that I sent up Pokémon with just the right health so he wouldn’t be able to Knock me Out with poison going into his turn. I was fairly successful at this but he was still coming back.
However, he had to burn through his deck in order to ensure he wouldn’t miss a Mew/DCE too many times. In the end we were tied 2-2 in prizes and he had 3 cards left in his deck and no Mew or DCE in his hand. I’m not sure that he knew had 3 cards, but he used Relicanth’s Prehistoric Wisdom and decked himself out. Either way, he wouldn’t have been able to keep the lock going, and I would be able to get knock outs on pretty much anything due to earlier Glaciates and Dual Splashes.
1-0
Game 2
He got the lock going before I got much of a set up. All I could do is make sure I stay alive for as long as I could, because if Game 3 went to time early, I would win. So that’s what I did. I think I ended up taking 3 or 4 Prizes, but he won.
1-1
Game 3
I went first and started with a Kyurem EX. He started with a lone Oddish. I used Dual Ball to grab a Mewtwo, switched to it, and used PONT. All I needed now was a DCE. But I whiffed. I did get a Kyogre, so I benched it and attached a W Energy.
He used a Collector for an Oddish, a Mew, and a Relicanth. He attached a DCE to the Mew and passed. On my turn I attached another W Energy to the Kyogre, switched to it, and hit his active Oddish for 30. I knew that if he doesn’t get a Vileplume on his next turn, and I get the Energy that I needed, I would win.
He used a Supporter, got a Litwick, but no Vileplume. I used PONT and whiffed on the Energy. So I passed. I knew he still had to See Off, and he had no way of doing it next turn. He would need to attach to Oddish to retreat and attach to Mew or Relicanth to Lost Zone his Accelgor. That meant I had at least two more turns before he would even start attacking.
On his turn, he evolved to Vileplume, but did not get an Energy so he just passed. I got my 3rd Energy, and hit the Vileplume and the Mew for 50 each. He missed an Energy again so he had to pass. I hit the Vileplume for 50 more and put 50 on his Relicanth. I didn’t want to get knock outs yet because I wanted to deny him the use of Twins.
He got an Energy, attached it to Relicanth, but still had no way to retreat the Oddish. I hit the Vileplume and the Oddish for a double KO, leaving him with no way to get Trainer lock. He promoted Relicanth and used Prehistoric Wisdom to Lost Zone an Accelgor. I Dual Splashed the Mew and the Relicanth for another double KO. That’s when time was called. The only thing he had on the field was a Litwick. He scooped.
2-1 (9-2)
At this point I was pretty excited because my friends told me that there were no Hammertime decks in the top 32. I would have a solid chance at going very far.
T32 vs. ZekEels
Game 1
I started out with a dead hand, never got a Supporter and just kept getting enough Pokémon not to get benched. Eventually he took 6 Prizes without me attacking once.
0-1
Game 2
I started out with some Pokémon, an Energy and a few Supporters. I attached and used Oaks New Theory. That was the last Supporter I would see. It was a repeat of Game 1.
0-2 (9-3)
I was pretty mad about the way I went out, but in the end I got to Top 32 with an original deck. So I guess I can’t complain too much.
The reason I posted this article is because I really do believe that this deck is a pretty good play for Worlds. I encourage anyone going to give this deck a try.
Great run! I love seeing people with original or un-orthodox decks doing well!
Great job, kudos to you for playing a Kyurem deck. I never understood how that worked, because unlike Terrakion it can’t attack for two energy, meaning that if you get OHKOed you’re screwed. But apparently it works, and I like your big toolbox of attackers and it’s good to see how many options you have.
I also really like the idea of Magnezone/Darkrai/Dark Patch. I had that idea a while back and quickly shrugged it off, but now I see I should have stuck with it.
Do you guys have any plans to become Team Escape Rope, or are you going to stick with Warp Point?
Hey, you donked me in the last round of swiss. Good to see you went far with kyurem
Oh and I wasn’t playing zekeels, just an eel toolbox
BOHDAN BOHDAN BOHDAN
The Ukraine was not weak at Nationals.
kyurem for the win.
whats your opinion on this type of deck in the furture? bw-on format.
Tool scrapper kills it
I like your deck. Including Kyogre in the Kyurem mix is interesting too (seems obvious, but i hadn’t heard about it yet exactly). Kyurem-EX should still be in good shape in bw-on with his metal weakness as Klinklang should fade, and without him it will be interesting to see if Cobalion NVI survives much (although WLFM blend could help him tech in to some decks possibly). Registeel-EX will be a new metal type but his second attack is horrible and costs 4 energies… and doesn’t even OHKO Kyurem-EX. Good stuff.