With Dragons Exalted about to be released next month, many players are already taking the time to figure out which decks they want to play in the new BLW-on format. The Sporprise (oh no, the puns are coming back) of this article is to explain another Status Condition deck (for those who remember my VVV article) known as Ninetales DRE/Amoonguss NXD.
Let’s take a Bright Look at the card that really ignites this deck.
BulbapediaNinetales is a Stage 1 Pokémon with 90 HP, a X2 Weakness to Water, and a one Retreat Cost. The 90 HP means it can be searched out by Level Ball, but at the same time, Darkrai EX can 1HKO it. Water-type Pokémon aren’t dominating the format at the moment, so the Weakness is good. The one Retreat Cost is really helpful if you ever need to get Ninetales out of the Active Spot without wasting a Switch.
Ninetales also has a neat Ability called Bright Look. When you evolve into Ninetales, you can switch the Defending Pokémon with one of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon. A Pokémon with a built-in Catcher Ability? With decks not being able to spam Pokémon Catcher through Junk Arm, Bright Look can give you a big advantage over your opponent.
Then we move on to its attack, Cursed Flame. I feel that this attack would be better suited on a Chandelure than a Ninetales, but that doesn’t matter. For one R Energy, Cursed Flame does 20 damage plus 50 more damage for each Special Condition affecting the Defending Pokémon. If the Defending Pokémon has two Special Conditions affecting it, then you Cursed Shadow does a nice 120 damage for one Energy.
Costing only one Energy, Ninetales can easily abuse Max Potion to heal off any damage it has taken, and continue searing your opponent the very next turn.
Now we move on to the fox’s mushroom-Poké Ball-looking partner in crime.
pokemon-paradijs.comAmoonguss is another Stage 1 with 90 HP, but has a x2 Weakness to Fire, a -20 Resistance to Water, and a two Retreat Cost. 90 HP means you can sprout your fungus (didn’t think I could make a plant joke, well think again) out of nowhere with a Level Ball. A two Retreat Cost is annoying, and Amoonguss with be a Catcher target for your opponent similar to how Eelektrik NVI always gets hunted down. A Fire Weakness and Water Resistance aren’t very helpful, but not at all bad.
Amoonguss’s attack, Rising Lunge, for a Grass and a C Energy does 20 damage + 30 more if you flip heads on a coin flip. Again, I think this isn’t a great name for an attack because when do you see a plant uprooting itself right out of the ground and assaulting you? I know Pokémon doesn’t abide to the rules of human nature, but this doesn’t seem like a good name. Anyway, this attack isn’t why you use the deck, because it’s too flippy to be a reliable attack and this deck doesn’t even run Victini NVI 14.
Amoonguss is really used for its Ability, Sporprise. When you evolve into Amoonguss, your opponent’s Active Pokémon is Confused and Poisoned. Not only does this Ability let Ninetales hit for 120 damage, but your opponent might not be able to attack the next turn due to Confusion. Poison damage can also accumulate and slowly rack up to do more damage, enough to KO Zoroark BLW, Reshiram BLW, Kyurem NVI, and Terrakion NVI just to name a few.
So now that you understand the general idea that ignited this deck, here is a sample decklist I cooked up.
|
Pokémon – 19 |
Trainers – 31 4 Bianca
3 Switch |
Energy – 10 6 R |
Here is an explanation behind each of the cards in this deck:
BulbapediaMew-EX is used as a Mewtwo EX counter, but requires much less Energy to attack. Its Ability, Versatile, allows you to use the attacks of all Pokémon in play; you just need the correct Energy for each attack. If the Defending Pokémon was just poisoned and confused by an Amoonguss of yours, Mew-EX will do 240 damage to a Mewtwo EX without an Eviolite.
Emolga, which will be a staple in nearly every deck, allows you to search your deck for two Basic Pokémon and put them on your bench for one C Energy. Since Pokémon Collector and Dual Ball will be rotated out of the format, Emolga is here to get a quick setup. Having a high count of Emolga reduces the chance that you start with Foongus, which are susceptible to a Mewtwo EX donk.
Emolga even has free retreat, so you don’t have to waste an Energy attachment to move it to the bench.
Sableye DEX is in this deck for its second attack, Junk Hunt. For one D Energy, you can dig thorugh the trash (discard) for two Item cards, and put them into your hand. Since Junk Arm is no longer with us, Sableye is the next best way to reuse Trainers, and its attack will only cost a Blend GFPD Energy.
pokemon-paradijs.comMoving on to the Supporters, and we have a combination of Professor Juniper and Bianca. N is not a good idea in this deck because you want to keep your hand full at all times. Random Receiver makes sure that you consistently draw into these Supporters when you need them.
Every Pokémon in this deck has HP of 90 or less, except Mew-EX, so nearly all of the Pokémon can be searched out by Level Ball.
Devolution Spray is a card that lets you return the highest-Stage Evolution card from one of your Pokémon back to your hand. Both Ninetales and Amoonguss have an ability that activates upon evolving, so Devolution Spray lets you reuse their Abilities over and over again.
Super Scoop Up lets you flip a coin and if heads, you can put one Pokémon and all cards attached to it back into your hand. This card is also used to reuse Ninetales and Amoonguss’s abilities, or it can be used to simply remove damage.
pokemon-paradijs.comSwitch is a necessary card in this deck because Amoonguss will be one of your opponent’s prime (Pokémon joke) Catcher targets. Amoonguss has a hefty two Retreat Cost, so Switch gets it out of the Active Spot so Ninetales can continue attacking without wasting energy drops.
Rescue Scarf is a Tool card that states when your Pokémon is Knocked Out, you can put it back into your hand. It is much easier to keep firing up (it never ends) Ninetales this way than to having to keep searching them out of your deck with Level Ball.
Because Ninetales only has 90 HP, it will be Knocked Out very easily, meaning you need a way to put them back in your deck to use again. This is why you use Super Rod.
Tool Scrapper is another card that will become a staple in every deck. This allows you to discard two Pokémon Tool cards that are attached to either you or your opponent’s Pokémon. The reason I think this card is specifically needed in this deck is because Ninetales’s attack will only do 120 damage per turn.
While this is powerful, many EXs won’t take too much damage when an Eviolite is attached, and Ninetales needs to Knock Out the Defending Pokémon as quickly as possible. Otherwise, it will be a constant game of searching for Ninetales in your deck.
Ninetales’s attack only costs one R Energy, so 10 Energy should be enough to keep attacking. Blend GFPD is used so you can Junk Hunt for Trainers later on in the game or use some other techs.
Techs
Here are some techs to consider using in this deck:
Elgyem NVI 55 and Beheeyem NVI
pokemon-paradijs.comElgyem NVI 55 is a good starter for any deck, but doesn’t have a free Retreat Cost, so most people will prefer to play Emolga over Elgyem. Its first attack, First Contact allows you to search your deck for two Basic Pokémon and put them on your Bench. This isn’t only a good starter, but evolves into Beheeyem NVI. Beheeyem and Elgyem are both searchable by Level Ball.
Beheeyem would be used for its first attack, Synchronoise. For one P Energy, you do 20 damage to the Defending Pokémon and 20 damage to each of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon that share the same type.
One of the problems with Amoonguss is since it doesn’t Paralyze or make the Defending Pokémon Asleep, it can still retreat to the Bench and get rid of the Status Conditions. Pokémon that spread damage like Beheeyem can help to finish off Pokémon that retreated or Switched to the Bench and set up other Pokémon for KOs.
If your opponent is constantly 1HKOing your Ninetales or Amoonguss with an EX, Sigilyph can help you recover. Sigilyph’s ability, Safeguard, prevents all effects of attacks, including damage done to Sigilyph by Pokémon-EX. This can stall your opponent while you setup Ninetales and Amoonguss on your bench, and Sigilyph is even searchable by Level Ball.
Shedinja could be good in this deck for its attack, Cursed Drop. For one P Energy, you can put three damage counters on your opponent’s Pokémon in any way you like. Similar to Beheeyem, this will help finish off any Pokémon that weren’t already KO’d by Ninetales. Also, if Shedinja gets KO’d, your opponent doesn’t take any prizes. Its attack can easily be powered up by one Blend GFPD Energy and with a pathetic 60 HP, you can snatch Shedinja from your deck through Level Ball.
Simisear BLW
Simisear’s first attack, Flame Burst, does 20 damage to the Defending Pokémon and 20 damage to two of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon. This attack can be used with one R Energy, snipes off Pokémon that are already damaged, and Simisear is searchable by Level Ball.
pokemon-paradijs.comMandibuzz is a card that is, searchable by the one and only, never before mentioned in this article, Level Ball! Its first attack, Blindside, does 50 damage to one of your opponent’s Pokémon that already has damage on it. This, again, can be powered up by one Blend GFPD, and is a good sniping attack.
Big Cloak is a Tool card that gives the Pokémon that it’s attached to an extra 20 HP. This card could be extremely helpful against Darkrai EX decks. Since Darkrai’s Night Spear does 90 damage (not regarding PlusPower or Dark Claw), Big Cloak can put you out of range for a 1HKO by Darkrai. Terrakion NVI will only hit for 90 damage (not regarding PlusPower) as well. When you aren’t 1HKO’d by your opponent, you can retreat to the bench and send up a new Ninetales or heal the damage off with Max Potion.
Because you never want to have anything less than a full hand, Battle City helps to keep drawing. Battle City lets each player flip a coin once per turn, and if heads you can draw a card. This can also act as a counter-Stadium to decks that use Skyarrow Bridge.
This deck is a rare case where you don’t actually need four Pokémon Catcher, since Ninetales already has Bright Look. However, if you don’t want to constantly Devolution Spray or Super Scoop Up to keep using Bright Look, you can include a few Pokémon Catcher in this deck as well.
Max Potion is a card that lets you heal all of the damage off of a Pokémon, but you must discard all of the Energy attached to that Pokémon. This isn’t a problem for Ninetales because its attack only costs one R Energy. You opponent attacks Ninetales without 1HKOing you, then Max Potion all of the damage, attach an Energy for your turn and keep roasting your opponent (just when you thought they were over).
Cheren is a decent Supporter for this deck. It allows you to draw three cards, which isn’t anything great, but in a deck where you want to keep your hand full, this card can be really helpful.
Matchups
pokemon-paradijs.comThis deck is similar to the matchups of VVV. It will struggle a lot against decks with Pokémon that can 1HKO Ninetales, which include Zekrom/Eels, Darkrai variants, and Terrakion NVI, but will do well against decks that can’t.
Unlike VVV, however, this deck doesn’t have any sort of Trainer Lock or Paralysis. This means if your opponent can retreat, whether it’s through Darkrai EX or something else, this deck will struggle. Also, if your opponent runs a high amount of Switch, it will make it hard for Ninetales to finish off the Defending Pokémon.
The fact that Ninetales has a weakness to Water isn’t terrible, but it makes me think of one penguin in particular, Empoleon.
Not only does Empoleon hit Ninetales for Weakness, but it can abuse Max Potion as well. This will make 2HKOs into 3HKOs, and even more depending on if Empoleon Switches to the Bench. Empoleon will definitely rise in popularity because the format will slow down a good bit.
BulbapediaThis brings me to another deck, Garchomp/Altaria. Garchomp can attack for just one F Energy, which means it can use Max Potion very easily. Again, this makes it very difficult for Ninetales to KO anything.
This deck doesn’t have any Energy acceleration, so decks like Hammertime Darkrai EX could destroy it, if you whiff on the Energy you need to keep attacking. This isn’t uncommon for a deck that runs 10 Energy or less. Unlike Zekrom/Eels or Darkrai variants, you can’t recycle Energy through the discard pile, so you have to rely on Super Rod to get it back, which isn’t nearly as efficient.
What’s worse than a Stage 2 with 140 HP? How about an EX that has 180 HP, gives other Pokémon free retreat, and can be paired with Hydreigon DRE to move D Energy around? Darkrai EX/Hydreigon DRE is the deck that won Japan Nationals, which means the deck should become quite popular once Dragons Exalted is released.
If you try to attack with Ninetales, Hydreigon can simply move all of the Energy off of Darkrai EX, heal any damage taken by Max Potion, and continue attacking. What’s even worse is that Darkrai EX can abuse Eviolite and give free Retreat to anything it attaches a D Energy to. If you are against a Hydreigon/Darkrai deck and are using Ninetales/Amoonguss, just tell your opponent you’re going over to sit in a corner and cry until time is called.
However, if your opponent is running a different Darkrai variant that doesn’t use Max Potion and you run lots of Big Cloak and Max Potion, you may do well.
Conclusion
Despite all of the negative remarks I just made about this deck, Ninetales DRE/Amoonguss NXD is still a hot deck that is very cheap to make. I think this deck will see a good bit of play, so it’s good to know how this deck functions, but I don’t believe this will become the BDIF anytime soon. Just remember, you can’t tech Espeon DEX into the deck this time because Espeon prevents Status Conditions from attacks, not Abilities.
Good luck to everyone going to Worlds, the rest of us are just preparing for the new format and are only slightly jealous.
Thanks for reading the article and please comment if you liked that I was sticking to my puns (I never thought they would become this bad), and any other suggestions you have so I can improve future articles.
I feel like Minun should be mentioned, even though it needs a Lightning Energy. That 10 extra damage to all your opponent’s Pokemon could make Garchomp a little easier, and you don’t need to evolve anything.
Minun is great because it provides a 10 spread, but the problem is that you need a Lighning Energy to use the attack. Blend GFPD doesn’t provide Lightning Energy, so you would need to include either Blend WLFM, Lightning Energy, or Prism Energy to meet the requirements of Minun’s attack. This deck shouldn’t run any Energy that couldn’t be used to let Ninetales attack, because then you give your opponent the chance to start KOing Ninetales like there’s no tomorrow. While it’s more annoying to set up a Stage 2, it’s better that you don’t have to add Energy that if you happen to draw, you may not be able to attack for a few turns.
I still feel Minun’s at least worth testing. You would have to have at least a 2-2 line for a stage 1, where you only need 2 Minun. The other 2 spots that you’d use can be Lightning Energy, and you can put in an energy search or two in place of a Fire Energy. I would think in general you would only need to use Minun once a game, just at the right time.
It might be worth trying. I just honestly don’t know how effective it will be.
if you are adding minun you might as well add plusle for the consistency crutch
If I can find enough space, I will.
Did you mean Zekrom by Zoroark BLW? Anyways this deck sounds really fun to me and I’ve wanted to try it since I saw that Ninetales. It probably won’t make more than Tier 2 (at best), but it should be a fun rogue-ish deck to play! In BW6 a stadium that increases poison damage is coming out, this could seal matchups vs. Garchomp and Hydreigon. Also if you play a catcher/de-evo spray heavy build, you should be able to attack their supporting and benched pokemon more easily, meaning you can get rid of Altarias or evolving basics rather than attack into things you can’t KO (though in BW6 we get a Munna than can cause remote sleep on a flip… new damage ceiling to ko EXs!) Finally, I think cloak is the way to go with this deck, taking yourself out of KO range for a bunch of attackers is more important than getting Ninetales back the turn it’s KO’d.
I think I meant Zekrom, but I’m not exactly sure what you’re referencing. This deck is probably Tier 3, and thanks for all of the helpful advice.
Raticate. Nuff said.
Nice article! In all honesty though you shouldn’t point out the puns or say anything right after them because it disrupts the flow of the article and just ruins the puns for me.
I understand. Will keep this in mind for future articles. Thanks for the suggestion.
I really liked the article. Once the new Munna comes out there is a 50-50 chance or more for the opponent to have 3 status effects.
You can’t be both asleep and confused at the same time.
Go to https://sixprizes.com/forums/threads/snivymans-top-32-nationals-report.7628/ for my Nationals report
I’m going to like BW-On. I’ve never heard of cards like Mandibuzz or Simisear being used competitively in HS-on
Not a bad little article at all. I’m a very big fan of this deck and it’s very nice to see someone else talk about it, you’ve made a lot of solid points (I especially like the inclusion of Mew EX as I love that card and it was an option I hadn’t thought about) but there one or two things I’d just like to bring up:
Firstly, I don’t think your reasoning for lack of N is very solid. As it stands, N is the ONLY shuffle draw supporter we have in our format. If you don’t play it, there isn’t really much to get you out of a stream of dead draws. At the beginning of the game, it’s Oak’s New Theory. At the end, it can be an absolutely devastating card if paired with the right techs. Which goes onto to another omission I’m surprised about – Shaymin EX. Considering you run the Blend Energy that provides grass anyway, it’s a solid inclusion that can completely wreck your opponent if you play it right, Ning them to 1 at the end and then sweeping their board whilst they’re left to fluster.
Finally – Pluspower. Until the new stadium comes out, this card is vital for the deck, because it lets you hit the magic number of 140 that’s prevalent some of the Stage 2 Pokemon that are set to be big forces next format – the likes of Empoleon and Garchomp, turning 2HKOs into 1HKOs with the poison damage.
Just some of my views in any case, still a great article and I hope this deck sees success at upcoming Battle Roads! =)
I honestly forgot about Shaymin EX, but like everything else in the deck, it’s very fragile. I also forgot about Pluspower, but I guess my mind was focused on just straight consistency.
Thanks for such positive feedback.
You did a good job introducing this deck and outlining the weakness of this deck. I was wondering why you didnt include Shaymin EX as a possible tech since you are using 4 Blend GFPD anyway. By the way there is no Japan Nationals but in its stead there are several Spring Battle Carnivals that’s done in several Cities in Japan. Darkrai/Hydreigon won the Sendai Battle Carnival, Garchomp/Altaria won Yokohama, Eel variants won Nagoya and Osaka.
Shaymin EX wouldn’t be good in a deck with no energy acceleration, because it will be Catcher bait in the turn it takes you to power it up.
Thanks for the complements. I think I completely overlooked Shyamin EX because its second attack costs two Energy, and I was focusing mainly on one-Energy attackers.
Now this sounds like my kind of deck to play. I love playing status condition decks and this will probably be my new version of my long time deck “Bad Breath”.
I’m glad someone appreciates this deck!
so… what are the good matchups?
Basically, any deck that somehow doesn’t one-shot Ninetales. This is where I feel a high count of Big Cloak really comes in handy, since Darkrai can’t OHKO Ninetales if it has 110 HP. However, if it has any Darkness Energy, Darkrai will get free retreat, and it can be a pain.
You can also OHKO Klinklang.
Darkrai OHKOes a Ninetales with Cloak with either a Tool Scrapper or a Dark Claw.
I was just assuming Darkrai didn’t have any tools attached or played a Tool Scrapper.
I’m thinking that this definitely needs Pokemon Catcher. There will be times that you don’t want to choose between using Devoluter/SSU on your Ninetales OR your Amoongus. Catcher up the guy you want to go after and then Devolve Amoongus. Also, since SSU is flippy, Catcher gives that sure thing. Catcher can also be used first turn to pull up a high retreater to stall. If you think Bright Look is important to the strategy, I think Catcher will help fill the gaps when you can’t Look.
The crux here for me is…
“It will struggle a lot against decks with Pokemon that can OHKO Ninetales, which include Zekrom/Eels, Darkrai variants, and Terrakion NVI, but will do well against decks that can’t.”
Yeah, that’s a major weakness. What decks can’t OneHitKO a Ninetales?
Anyway, I like the combo, but I don’t see this being ready for prime (Pokemon joke) time.
Like I mentioned in the article, this deck is nowhere Tier 1. It’s Tier 3. The goal of the article was not to convince you to use Ninetales/Amoonguss at your next Battle Roads, but to analyze the deck as best as I could.
Yup. I hear you. I liked the article. I gave it a +1. I think the deck would be fun to play. I was just adding my input.
Thanks for your support. Trying to make this article at least +11 to match my previous article, but it doesn’t look like that will happen anytime soon.
Any likes for the article would be extremely appreciated.
This deck is much, much better with max hammers and 2-3 Sableye. I usually Level Ball for my starters and then junk hunt for the level balls back t1, and then start attacking and such T2. Whenever an opponent drops an energy, just hammer it away and junk hunt for the hammer whenever you’re unable to attack with Ninetales for the turn.
And considering Garchomp and Darkrai, this deck NEEEEEEDS Big Cloak. And Mew EX.
Great suggestions!
Good deck although the main attacker only has 90 HP……..
So sad.
Not sure how you could work it in, but the Dustox from Dragon Blast puts the Defending Pokemon to sleep as well as burning and poisoning. If it stays asleep or your opponent cannot get it out of the way, then Ninetales should have quite a bit of fun :P
The problem is that Ninetales and Dustox use different Energy to attack. The only possible way to pull off a deck like this is to use Blend GFPD, but you can only run four of these in a deck, so it would be very difficult to pull off.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Thanks for your article. I’ve seen this deck discussed before, but there were some interesting new details. I like the inclusion of Beheeyem. It’s always nice to see some love for those overlooked guys. I’m looking to wear Big Cloak on a lot of my Stage 1s too.
Thanks for your generous comments.
hey i was your +11 ! anyway, i really like how you outlined the weaknesses of the deck and by no means said “hey this is gonna be at the top tables.” you were honest about the cons and i like that. i think this deck will see a lot of play and it will definitely make for an interesting format. great article!
Thanks for such amazing feedback. Are there any bw on decks you feel I should do an analysis of? I really appreciate the plus 1 as well.