Rotation! The Ultimate Guide to the Black & White-on Format

[Warning: This article is among the longest that this website has ever seen. If you attempt to read this in one sitting, you do so at your own risk. Too much Pokémon awesomeness may induce headaches and/or urges to steal people’s Dragons Exalted cards. :P]

Intro

Hello SixPrizes! As you could tell from the title, this article will be all about the Black & White-on (now on referred to as BLW-on) format. I realize there have been many articles on or relating to this topic so far, and I review some of that stuff too, but I’ve got LOADS of stuff that hasn’t been talked about on this site as well. I have done a lot of testing for this format and am confident that my information will be accurate and helpful.

This article contains pretty much everything you need to know about the new format. Included are: Changes from the HeartGold & SoulSilver-on (HS-on) format, losses and gains, staples, techs, competitive/meta decks, rogues (Really, it’s me, what did you expect?), and more!

Personally, I am really excited for the rotation. I am so glad that it is not Call of Legends-on; that would kind of ruin the format. The reason I say that is because there are quite a few game mechanics which are dropped in a rotation to BLW-on, most of which can be, and are, quite confusing, mainly for younger divisions, but some apply to Masters as well.

Some examples are: Sweet Sleeping Face, Special Dark and M Energies, Lost Zone, Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums/Items, Rainbow Energy, and so-on. Also, it is refreshing the game because Call of Legends was (not technically I suppose) in the HGSS era. Alright, I hope you’re as excited as I am, so let’s get into the article.

Comparisons From the HS-on Format/Losses and Gains

Sets

cartamagicastore.comIn case you don’t know (for the sake of this article and the occasional new player), BLW-on format means that we can only use cards from the Black & White set or newer sets, as well as Promos labeled BW01 or higher, and older versions of cards that were reprinted. So, starting the beginning of the 2012-2013 season (Battle Roads/Regionals), we will not be able to use cards from HeartGold & SoulSilver, Unleashed, Undaunted, Triumphant, and Call of Legends anymore.

We will gain one set, however, by the time the aformentioned tournaments roll around, and that is Dragons Exalted. We will obviously gain more sets as the season progresses, but this article is mostly for the upcoming tournaments fresh after the rotation. This dramatic change will surely cause a huge change in playing and deck building as it does every year, and this article is meant to uncover pretty much everything there is to know about it. I will not be doing a set review however, other writers have already covered that and this article is meant to pertain to the format as a whole.

Acceleration and Speed

Well, first off, there will be no such thing as a T1 speed deck. We will not have Energy accelerators and manipulators such as Shaymin UL, Pachirisu CL, and Celebi Prime, making a T1 powerful attack virtually impossible. The reason I say powerful attack is because Mewtwo EX and Tornadus EX could still hit T1 with a DCE, but nothing can be charged on T1 for a lot of damage such as Zekrom BLW’s Bolt Strike, or Tornadus EX’s Power Blast.

This will make the game a bit slower and Stage 2’s will see much play, unlike the HS-on format, where Basics ruled. This is pretty good for the game in my opinion because the number of donks/donk decks will decrease, despite some lucky Mewtwo and Tornadus EX every now and then. Also, more strategies can develop with a wide array of Pokémon outside of just Basics, and the game will become more skill-based.

Staples – Pokémon

BulbapediaI know some people will mourn over this, but many of our 4-of staples will be gone. First off, I’ll start with Basic search. We will have hardly any Basic search, as Pichu HS, Pokémon Collector, and Dual Ball are all gone. The loss of Dual Ball is especially noteworthy because, as we closed up the HS-on season, Dual Ball was the most popular and was included as a 4-of in nearly every deck, and it makes speed decks that much more dead.

But this section is about Pokémon staples, so let’s get to those. We gain one really interesting, but quite good, basic search card. That is Emolga from Dragons Exalted.

By default, Emolga is a good starter because of its free retreat. It is a 70 HP, Lightning-type Basic, with a Weakness to Lightning (mono-Emolga mirror uh-oh), and a Resistance to Fighting. Its first attack costs only one Energy of any type, and lets you search your deck for any two basics and bench them. So, this is pretty splashable! Its other attack will probably never be used, but it deals 20 damage for a L Energy.

This card will definitely be played in decks that need to swarm Pokémon. I think having three copies of these in decks that require swarming/full setup would be best, four could work, but any lower than three kills your chances of opening with it. Sadly, Emolga is the only form of good Basic search as of now for the BLW-on format; at least it’s great at it though.

Now on the others. In HS-DEX, Smeargle was the clear head honcho and was played in nearly every deck, but that is gone with the new format, as is the fallen-from-glory Cleffa HS. We really don’t get much to replace these guys however.

Virizion NVI is a pretty nice card that never got much love. Before it came out, some even hyped it as the Cleffa replacement, which was a pretty big deal as Cleffa was played a ton then. Unfortunately, Virizion does not have free retreat, but does have a nice 110 HP, making it much harder to KO than any other starters. Its attack (Double Draw) only costs C, like Emolga, and lets you draw two cards. Simple and effective. This is great in straight draw decks that run Stage 2s and heavy counts of Cheren.

However, most Stage 2 decks need to rely on setup, and consequently, Emolga, replacing Virizion as the starter of choice. But, since Emolga probably only needs to be used once or twice, you can get Virizion out through one of those attacks, and start Double Drawing away.

I’m not sure how this would work, but I think (and have some testing to back this up) that a 3/1 split of Emolga/Virizion in Stage 2 set up decks is best. Overall, basically all decks besides Stage 2 set up decks will just use heavy supporter counts instead of Virizion.

As the next and only other starter left to go, I present to you, Plusle DEX. Before I start, I will be straight with you, I don’t think Plusle is as good as Virizion as a drawing opener. However, I believe it does have potential. It unfortunately does not have free retreat, and only 60 HP. Its attack costs just C, just like the others, but when you think about it, that is essential in a splashable opener. It’s called Tag Draw lets you shuffle your hand in and draw… four. That can’t be right; but it is. Only a hand refresh for four costing an Energy!

But wait, there’s more. If you have Minun in play, you get an extra four! If you can get Plusle and Minun out consistently on T1, and find a deck that can utilize them without going out of its way, that is some serious draw power! I’m not sure if these should be classified as staples, but probably not as techs either, they are more of staples in certain kinds of decks. Sadly, that is all for Pokémon staples, nothing like Claydol GE or Azelf LA, just a few openers.

Staples – Items/Supporters/Stadiums

Well, with the new format, the Supporters are quite limited, so the decks pretty much have similar supporter lines. There are diversity in Items, which can fuel different decks, so there are still some diversity in the I/S/S (Items/Supporters/Stadiums) lines. There are only three Stadiums in the format, and none of them are very prominent, so I won’t go over them here. This section is obviously be about staple I/S/S, but just leaving Basic search out because they were covered in Staples – Pokémon, because they directly related to Pokémon.

Let’s face it, we lose A LOT with the rotation. Our 4-of Junk Arms, gone. What will replace that? No Item can and none will, that we can see so far. 4-of PONTs, gone. Our top Supporter. Sure we get some other neat draw supporters, but nothing will ever match the sheer consistency that PONT added. The best that can replace it are N, Cheren, Bianca, and Juniper, which I will get on soon, but wow, the top card that’s been in our format for a long time is gone, and there’s a reason we never saw Bianca and Cheren until now.

Thankfully, that’s pretty much it! I would throw in Lost Remover but we still have Enhanced Hammer which is basically the same thing, just a tiny bit worse, and I already mentioned Dual Ball and Collector in the last section. Now that we got all sad (not really) over the loss of our old friends, allow me to show you the future of the format.

First off on the positive end is N, the only I/S/S with a Full Art card. He was already played a ton in HS-on, sometimes even as 4-ofs, so how will he do in BLW-on? Well, N is in nearly every deck as a 4-of. It is one of the few draw Supporters in the format and is basically a PONT early on, which, as we all know, was a very important and solid card in HS-on.

It provides a chance of a comeback if you get an unlucky slow start or your opponent gets a lucky fast one. It disrupts your opponent when you can tell they’re about to do something big. And, last of all, it can save you from decking out and can even deck your opponent out! Extremely good card and is (nearly) always played in fours in BLW-on.

pokemon-paradijs.comSince we’re apparently on draw Supporters at the moment, I’ll go to the next one that will be/is played as a necessary staple: Professor Juniper. This is another card that was a staple in HS-on, often as 4-ofs, once again, but its amount of play can only go up from there! This is, hands-down, the most heavy and powerful form of draw out there in BLW-on.

If you’ve been living under a rock the past year and a half, or just to make this section, here’s a quick summary of the card. Discard your hand and draw seven. Very straightforward. Since the BLW-on format is slower, many copies of these are required to get a setup as fast as possible and not be left in the dust.

Often, however, you will not want to discard everything in your hand, so at least there are alternatives to draw-power. If you haven’t gotten a playset of these yet, or are just getting competitive, stock up on these now, they are possibly and probably going to be even bigger than they were in HS-on!

Bianca and Cheren are the only two draw supporters left, because we unfortunately don’t get any from Dragons Exalted. I am covering them both since most decks will play one or the other; Bianca fits in some kinds while Cheren fits in others. Since they were rarely played in last format, I’ll bring you up to speed on what they do, in case you don’t know or forgot.

Cheren is extremely simple and straightforward, all you do is draw three. While this can be unreliable, it still is decent and we don’t have many options. Bianca is also pretty simple, you draw cards until you have six in-hand. This is basically a weaker, but safer, Juniper. Obviously, you want to play your hand out before using it, like you would with Juniper, to reap the maximum benefits.

Random Receiver. We all know what a splash it made last format when it was released near the end of the season. It will still be played as a staple in a lot of decks, because it is a good card, but, it is much, much weaker with the rotation. This is because of all the Smeargle UD/CL that were running rampant but are know gone.

Random Receiver was a sort-of counter to Smeargle, so there is not that glowing reason to play it anymore. Also, it was great last format because it was essentially a Junk Arm’able supporter. However, Junk Arm is gone too. So why would we play this at all instead of more supporters?

Well, take this example on my BLW-on Zekeels deck: Your supporter line is 4 N, 4 Juniper, and 2 Cheren. You know you need more supporters because 10 Supporters and/or Random Receivers is not consistent enough and you won’t get them all that often. But, you use N and Juniper way more than you use Cheren, so you don’t want to add two more Cheren, and Bianca isn’t really that great in Zekeels. Then you can just include 2 Random Receiver, which will more likely get Juniper and N than a Cheren.

Since Cheren is helpful in some situations and is good in Zekeels, you don’t want to cut it completely to make 4 Random Receiver, because 8 Supporters is not enough in this format, no matter how many Receivers you run, because you basically get 8 or under turns of consistency, with the possibility of some being prized or discarded with Juniper.

Level Ball didn’t get that much love in HS-on, but it gets a lot better. An Item that can grab you any Pokémon 90 HP or under for no cost is great. It is almost always used in 4-ofs in decks that utilize 90 HP or under Pokémon, obviously. There’s nothing else really to say here, I made my point.

There are going to be a few decks with ‘heavy’ Pokémon with high Retreat Costs. So, Heavy Ball will make an appearance. It is especially great in decks like Klinklang/EXs and Rayquaza EX/FandangoBoar, in where nearly every Pokémon is searchable by Heavy Ball. More like a staple in very specific decks, but I had to include it here, it won’t exactly be called a tech either.

Poké Ball/Victory Cup & Ultra Ball. Poké Ball and Victory Cup are the same thing, except that Victory Cup is shiny. Poké Ball/Victory Cup lets you flip a coin, and if you get a heads, you get to search your deck for any Pokémon. Ultra Ball has you discard two cards from your hand, and search your deck or any Pokémon.

The reason I’m covering both Poké Ball/Victory Cup and Ultra Ball here is because they both serve the same purpose, but are used in different decks. They are played in decks that cannot make good use of the other Balls, such as Pokémon with under three retreat and over 90 HP.

Poké Ball/Victory Cup is favored in decks that can afford to lose a little consistency, but like to preserve resources, such as Accelgor/Gothitelle. Ultra Ball is used in decks that can afford to expend a little resources and/or need maximum consistency, such as Zekeels.

However, in most decks, just four search cards that can fit your deck is not enough, so, that’s why Pokémon Communication is a staple, it can search for any Pokémon, at the meager cost of having to shuffle away one Pokémon in your hand.

Super Rod. Shuffle 3 in any combination of Pokémon and basic energy from your discard pile into your deck. So simple, yet so amazing and necessary. Super Rod is needed in all decks without back-from-discard-acceleration as at least a 1-of, and in the occasional Fluffychomp (more on that later), as a 2-of. This is by far the most effective and splashable recovery card in the format and makes your deck a lot more consistent. Not nearly enough to make up for four Junk Arm, but just as mandatory.

Switch is Switch. All around great card. Nothing really to say about it, it’s so ridiculously simple.

Pokémon Catcher! Sadly, this thing is still around, it came out in Emerging Powers. The ability to basically choose your targets is too good to pass up for all decks in the format (except one, which I will get more on later). Some people have the mindset where nothing can run less than four of these, because there is no Junk Arm to essentially use them at will.

While this is the case for most decks, I have found in my testing that some decks can work with three or even two Catcher, especially decks with Sableye DEX, which can recycle Catcher if you ever need them back. I believe that is all for I/S/S staples, nothing else is/will be prominent enough to be called a staple.

The Top, Tricky, Terrific Techs

Here I’m going to go over all of the “top, tricky, terrific” techs of this format. Most can be just be slid into any deck, like how Mewtwo EX did, but some need colored energy to go with it, like Terrakion NVI did.

Mew-EX is from Dragons Exalted, and is a very versatile (literally) card. Unfortunately, it only has 120 HP, as an EX, so you must be very careful with how you use it. Its ability, Versatile, lets it use any attack on any Pokémon on the field, but it must pay for that attack’s cost. Suddenly, as with Mew Prime, a flood of ideas begin to come. However, with Mew Prime, all of the unique ideas that came with it used Mew as a main attacker.

Mew-EX can also be a main attacker, in many creative decks, but right now it is in the tech section. Why? Well, since it is Psychic type, it can hit Mewtwo EX for Weakness. So, it can be teched into any decks with one Energy attackers to counter Mewtwo EX, because you can drop it and attach an Energy to it to instantly whack the Mewtwo for Weakness, potentially 1HKOing it.

It also doubles as an opener. You wouldn’t want to use it only as an opener but it is a nice bonus to have if you are already running this. Well, you may be wondering why I said it’s a good opener. Is it because of its attack? No, that just acts as a Shaymin UL’s Celebration Wind for P. I say it doubles as a good opener because most decks use Emolga (Dragons Exalted), so since Emolga’s attack only costs C, you can copy its Call for Family with Mew-EX if you don’t open with an Emolga of your own.

Additionally, if you don’t start with your own Emolga, you can search it out (fairly easy in this format) on T1 and use its attack with Mew-EX. Expect this card too see some play and be wary of it appearing out of nowhere, Mew-EX has so much potential.

Mewtwo EX. Ugh, Mewtwo. Remember when the non-FA version of this was going for $60? Well, as it is in the techs section, it’s not getting nearly that high now. Of course, it is an automatic inclusion in some decks such as Zeels, but in others, such as Darkrai/Hydreigon (again, more on the decks later), it can be an incredible tech. Mewtwo could just be included to counter other Mewtwo with insane amounts of energies on it, or in decks with DCE to help donk, etc.

Energy Switch is a card that, the more I play with, the more I love. In some decks, like Mewtwo EX, it is a mandatory inclusion in high numbers, but in others, it can be a great, surprising tech. It is like a watered down version of Shaymin UL. It doesn’t hog a bench spot, but it can only move one basic Energy. Shaymin UL was a popular tech to pull off awesome plays, and, as my testing demonstrated, Energy Switch can be too. It is, however, very specific and limited, so I’m not sure it’s worth it as a tech. It is certainly good in some decks as 3-ofs or 4-ofs though.

Leavanny NVI was one of those cards upon release where people though: “Interesting and neat, but is not good enough”. Well now it is. It is a 130 HP Stage 2 with an ability, an attack, a great Weakness, absent Resistance, and a sad retreat of two. The attack is worthless but the Ability is what makes the Bench-sitter sit. Hmm… that line wasn’t as epic sounding as it was in my head.

The Leaf Tailor Ability says that any Pokémon with Energy attached to it has no Weakness. It can be teched as a 1-0-1 line in those decks where a metagame weakness is crippling, where Terrakion NVI, Shaymin EX + N, etc. won’t really help, and where Rare Candy is already played. It probably won’t see a lot of play, but it is a good option if you need an out to the Weakness.

Terrakion NVI can be teched alongside appropriate Energy for the same reason as in HS-on, to counter Darkrai EX and Eelektrik variants. Its Retaliate is one attack that is just really hard to beat, especially when it hits a little less that half of Tier 1 for Weakness.

Sigilyph DRX is a Psychic Basic with 90 HP and a Psychic Weakness. Automatically some of us would think: “Uh-oh, it’s susceptible to a Mewtwo EX donk.” So that brings me straight to its unique Ability; the reason this is one of the top, tricky, terrific techs. Its safe, guarding Ability, Safeguard, says that it cannot take damage from an EX. Since EXs have played a huge part in our metagame, and the only way to stop them (In most cases; Terrakion/Cobalion NVI showed up in some) was to use your own EXs.

BulbapediaSo, not only can Sigilyph be a budget EX-counter, but a really good EX counter too. Usually those two don’t come together (budget and really good, not the specific part about EX counters). Sigilyph’s attack isn’t too shabby either, and just adds to the EX-counter theme. For PCC, Psychic deals a paltry 50 damage guaranteed, but also adds 10 for each Energy on the Defending Pokémon. Of course, you could just use Sigilyph for the Ability, to wall EXs, but some Blend/Prism/Psychic already in the deck won’t hurt.

Baltoy DRX… What’s a Baltoy? That’s what everyone would be like if Claydol GE hadn’t been the MVP of the format a couple years ago. I’m exaggerating of course but you get my point. Anyway, now it’s the little guy’s time to shine! Well, as we start out, that 60 HP is looking awful small compared to some other Basics, so lets skip over the wimpy stats to see why I included this here. Well, its second attack costs only CC, so it is already splashable, and it makes your opponent shuffle their hand into their deck and draw 4.

Wow; talk about some major disruption. We’ve had N, which was situational, we’ve had Judge, which did that to both players, and we’ve had Spiritomb TM, which did what Baltoy does except for 6, just to name some recent opponent hand refreshers. While Baltoy does have to attack, I can see this being a very strategic card in the coming format and might be pretty good.

Stunfisk DRX is basically just a hyped up version of Sawk BLW, which saw some play at the end of the HS-on season for Eel hate. Stunfisk takes a F Energy to deal 20 damage, like Sawk, and also does 20 snipe. Normally this attack wouldn’t be that great, but it can donk Tynamo and Deino NVI (with only one PlusPower) which are going to be two of the most popular evolving Basics.

Its second attack, Rumble, does 40 damage for FC, as well as a retreat lock. Again, this is pretty good as a meta-ish counter because it can 1HKO Eelektrik and Zweilous with a PlusPower. Also, it can lock up Emolga DRX in the Active Spot, giving you plenty of time to set up because Emolga’s attack won’t do anything thanks to Stunfisk’s resistance and Rumble will only do 20 damage thanks to Emolga’s resistance.

Like I said, this will give you time to set up unless your opponent wants to waste a precious Switch on an Emolga. Stunfisk is definitely a great tech to consider in decks that run Fighting, Blend WLFM, and/or Prism Energy.

Bouffalant DRX is a Colorless, 100 HP Basic that is getting quite the hype. Its Ability, Bouffer, makes all damage done to it reduced by 20, effectively making it a 120 HP Basic. That’s neat. Of course, paired with Eviolite, that effectively makes it a 140 HP Basic, which is fantastic, especially for a non-EX. Already we can start to see Bouffalant being a nice “stick one in your deck because it’s a good, Colorless Basic,” like Tornadus EPO was.

However, all this means nothing if its attack can’t hold it up. Well, thankfully, it does. Its only attack costs CCC and does 60 damage. This alone is really bad, but if the defendng Pokémon is an EX, the attack’s power is doubled! This allows it to consistently 2HKO EXs while most of them are forced to 2HKO it back!

The thing is, it hasn’t found its way into any of my decks yet so I think it’s more of a luxury than a necessity, but it surely will be played because it’s a very good card in itself.

Sableye DEX is the last one in my somewhat long-winded tech list, and I’m sure most of you know what it does as it was very popular in the Hammertime deck, so I won’t make this very long. The only reason you would use this as a tech is because of its Junk Hunt attack, only costing D. It lets you grab two Items out of your discard, which, with the loss of Junk Arm, can be very viable indeed.

If you are running a deck with Dark, Prism, or Blend GRPD, and have an extra space or two (or are just struggling with consistency in general), try this guy out, pretty splashable. And, its other attack could, just possibly, get you out of tough spots if you’re lucky…

Decks!

Alright, onto my favorite part, the decks! Of course, as with every format shift, we get a drastic array of new decks and strategies. Even some ideas that were great in the past, like Klinklang BLW/Max Potion, or Six Corners, aren’t even really that good anymore. I’m not saying Klinklang or Six Corners like decks are totally screwed and will never have a chance, but you get my point.

Here I’m going to cover the higher tier meta decks (like Tier 1-1.5), lower tier meta-ish decks that stand a chance (like Tier 2-2.5), and, of course, some rogues. Note that I will not have lists or matchups for all decks.

Tier 1/1.5-Strong Competitive Meta Decks

1. Darkrai/Hydreigon

Pokémon – 14 3 Deino NVI 1 Zweilous NVI 2 Hydreigon DRX 97 1 Hydreigon NVI 3 Darkrai-EX DEX 2 Sableye DEX 1 Sigilyph DRX 1 Shaymin EX

Trainers – 33 4 Professor Juniper 4 Bianca 4 N   4 Pokémon Catcher 4 Max Potion 3 Dark Patch 3 Rare Candy 3 Ultra Ball 2 Level Ball 2 Dark Claw

Energy – 13 9 D – Basic 4 Blend GRPD

BulbapediaAlright, first up is the hyped (potential) BDIF, Darkrai/Hydreigon. It works in a very similar way to the Klinklang EX deck that won Nationals in the HS-on format. Hydreigon DRX 97 is this deck’s “Klinklang” for D Energies. However, this is much better because Hydreigon has 150 HP, a good attack, and energy acceleration via Dark Patch which can be instantly transferred off to whatever would benefit most from it, even if it’s not a Dark-type. You tank/sweep with Darkrai EX with the constant Max Potion/Hydreigon combo. Sableye is there for opening to assist with set up and as a late game clutch when you run out of crucial Items.

As I mentioned earlier, Hydreigon DRX 97 has a pretty good attack, not to be overlooked. Dragonblast has a heavy cost of PDDC and does 140 damage, with the cost of discarding two D Energies. This is a great number to have because Darkrai lacks the raw power to 1HKO Eviolited Bouffalant DRX, Empoleon DEX, Garchomp DRX 90, Terrakion NVI etc. This is a huge asset to the deck and you can recover some energies that you discard with Dark Patch.

I have three Pokémon techs in here, but only one of them was in my tech list because the other two are very specific. Shaymin EX is a great late-game finisher in this deck because you run Blend GRPD and can just drop Shaymin EX out of nowhere and start attacking immediately thanks to Hydreigon DRX. The other nice tech is Hydreigon NVI. This is unusual for this deck, I’ll admit, but it is pretty good.

The only important thing about it is its attack, Berserker Blade (that tops Afro Guard, by the way), which costs DDDD and does 60 to the defending Pokémon and 40 to two benched. You can set up KOs with Darkrai and then take potentially 3 Prizes in one turn with Hydreigon!

pokemon-paradijs.comThe most notable example is this: Say your opponent has 2 Altaria DRX and 2 Garchomp DRX 90 in play, and you have a typical setup with a spare Deino, which is a situation that probably will be fairly common. You Night Spear the Garchomp, which has 140 HP, and 30 to an Altaria, which has 70. On the next turn, you can Catcher a different Garchomp and Night Spear it, sniping the other Altaria.

The following turn, you can Rare Candy to Hydreigon NVI and take 3 Prizes off Berserker Blade and catch your opponent off guard! Also, it is compatible with Dark Claw! There is just so much potential for this paired with Darkrai EX, but it is not necessary.

You also may think it’s odd, if you know about this deck already, that I run the Dark-type Deino and Zweilous over the Dragon ones or Dark Claw over Eviolite. While Deino and Zweilous NVI are susceptible to Terrakion NVI, they give you something to Dark Patch too which can be very helpful when you need acceleration and your only other Dark-type in play, Darkrai EX, is active. And, Zweilous can be used to attack with Dark Claw if necessary.

Overall, I think the positives outweigh the benefits here, as Terrakion NVI is not going to be that prominent. I run Dark Claw over Eviolite because, like I said, Terrakion NVI won’t be as prominent as it was in HS-on, and the KOs you can set up against things like Fluffychomp and Empoleon with Darkrai are really nice, providing such an advantage over those decks.

2. Fluffychomp

This is my cheesy favorite name for Garchomp/Altaria.

Pokémon – 23 4 Gible DRX 87 3 Gabite DRX 89 4 Garchomp DRX 90 4 Swablu DRX 104 4 Altaria DRX 3 Emolga DRX 1 Rayquaza DRX

Trainers – 27 4 N 3 Professor Juniper 3 Bianca 2 Random Receiver   4 Level Ball 4 Pokémon Catcher 2 Pokémon Communication 2 Switch 2 Rare Candy 1 Super Rod

Energy – 10 6 F 4 Blend WLFM

BulbapediaSo, the strategy here is to sweep with a steady stream of Garchomp(s) and back them up with 2-3 Altaria. Emolga is a great setup Pokémon and Rayquaza is a tech, which can donk a lot of Pokémon in this format. You want to start out with Emolga or search it out and use a Switch to get it active whenever possible on T1. If you can’t get a T1 Call for Family then you can use Level Balls and Communications to get out Basics and catch up with Gabite’s extreme searching Ability.

I’m not going over what these cards do since many writers already have and I’m sure everyone knows by now anyway. Also notice that I’ve been using 12 (magic number in BLW-on) Supporters/Receivers in my decks so far. That is the prime play in the vast majority of decks; trust me, I know from lots of experience

I only run two Rare Candy since I don’t see reason to run 3+ Gabite and 3+ Rare Candy; you go with speed or you go with Gabite. Rare Candy is just a nice out because I go with Gabite. I run 4-4 Altaria because I found this to be most consistent because you always want at least two Altaria in play and Swablu can be easily picked off by Mewtwo EX, Emolga, etc.

Overall this deck is one of the best choices for BLW-on, especially for not-as-advanced players because it is easy, relatively cheap (other than Rayquaza, which can be switched out with Stunfisk DRX), consistent, somewhat fast (usually gets a stream of Garchomps by T3 or T4), and powerful. However, you do have to think a bit with Garchomp’s second attack and your four Pokémon Catchers, but you can’t really beat all the positives this deck has to offer.

3. Zekeels

Pokémon – 17 4 Tynamo NVI 38 4 Eelektrik NVI 4 Zekrom BLW/NXD 3 Emolga DRX 2 Mewtwo-EX NXD

Trainers – 31 4 N 4 Professor Juniper 2 Cheren 2 Random Receiver 4 Switch 3 Tool Scrapper 3 Pokémon Catcher 3 PlusPower 3 Eviolite 3 Ultra Ball

Energy – 12 10 L 2 Double Colorless

pokemon-paradijs.comThere are many ways to run Eels effectively: Early pressure ThunderZeels, early pressure ThunderBulls, Rayquaza EX, mixed Zekeels w/1-2 Raikou, TerraZeels, and straight, consistency-foucused Zekeels. Early pressure decks are focused on Thundurus EPO and Pokémon Catcher and get early KOs starting on T2 by Catcher low HP Basics to get an early lead.

Early pressure “ThunderZeels” would use attackers like Zekrom BLW and Mewtwo EX in mid-late game, while ThunderBulls would favor Terrakion NVI, with less of a focus on other attackers mid-late game. Mixed Zeels use a variety of attackers with Eelektrik, so you can have something for every situation.

It would probably focus on Mewtwo or Raikou-EX more, but that depends on the builder. TerraZeels is kind of like Mixed Zeels but has less variety and more of a focus on Terrakion NVI. RayEels uses Rayquaza EX as the main attacker, and is very different from these other ones, but I will talk about that in its own section later. Lastly, there is straight Zekeels, which is this.

I started out with a mix of this and early pressure ThunderZeels, but that was really weird, so I switched to this and I like it a lot more.

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The basic strategy with this deck is to get a T1 Call for Family (Easily made possible by the four Switch even when you don’t start out with Emolga) and get out 2-3 Tynamo on T1. Then on T2 or T3 start sweeping with a constant stream on Zekroms. Eelektrik NVI has been an amazing and popular card ever since it came out and is used to make streaming Zekroms easier by accelerating energies hopefully discarded by Ultra Ball or Juniper.

Mewtwo EX is your secondary attack, and its sky-high damage output makes it a necessary inclusion in all energy acceleration decks. Tool Scrapper is handy for helping tremendously against two of Zekeels’ worst matchups. Terrakion NVI variants nearly always use Exp. Share and cannot function well without it.

Garbodor DRX locks Abilities if it has a tool attached to it. So, you can just get rid of that tool, granting you Dynamotors for the turn, providing you can’t just Catcher-KO the Garbodor. You can also get rid of your own Eviolite if you need to power Zekrom’s Outrage for the next turn with Bolt Strike’s 40 damage recoil.

Pokémon Catcher, PlusPower, and Eviolite help Zekrom sweep and the deck would not work at all without them. Specific uses for each of them can include: Catcher-KOing an opponent’s important Bench-sitter such as Garbodor or Eelektrik, 1HKOing a Terrakion NVI thanks to PlusPower, or being able to survive a Night Spear after a Bolt Strike thanks to Eviolite.

Also, again I went with 12 Supporters/Receivers. Overall this deck has a lot of the same positives that Fluffychomp had, and Mewtwo EX won’t even be that expensive with the tins coming out.

4. EMT (Empoleon DEX, Terrakion NVI, and Mew-EX)

Pokémon – 18 4 Piplup DEX 2 Prinplup DEX 4 Empoleon DEX 3 Emolga DRX 2 Terrakion NVI 2 Mew-EX 1 Virizion NVI

Trainers – 33 4 N 4 Cheren 2 Professor Juniper 2 Random Receiver 4 Pokémon Communication 4 Pokémon Catcher 4 Rare Candy 3 PlusPower 2 Exp. Share 2 Switch 1 Super Rod 1 Level Ball

Energy – 9 6 W 3 F

pokemon-paradijs.comThe story of how I ripped off CMT… Anyway, finishing up the top tier decks is EMT. Like most decks, you need a T1 Call for Family. Usually, you will get two Piplups with that because you want to get out a lot of Empoleons as fast as possible. Since Empoleon’s ability lets you discard a card from your hand and draw two, you run less Juniper than normal because you are already burning enough resources.

This deck is focused on straight draw which is heavily supported by Empoleon’s ability and the four Cherens. You will probably get an Empoleon out by T2 and you want to fill up your bench and start digging through your deck. The whole game will probably just be: Getting out Empoleons, digging through your deck with massive straight draw, getting the necessary Catchers, Switch, etc., monotonously using Attack Command over and over, and preventing from decking out with 4 N, 4 Pokémon Communication, and Super Rod.

Virizion NVI can be used as an additional opener and is an out to bad starts. I also find it handy when your opponent has a slow start or a slow deck for a methodical approach by using Double Draw until you are completely set up. Terrakion NVI is your secondary attacker and your counter to Lightning, which unfortunately Empoleon is weak to.

Finally, we have Mew-EX. This is an attacker that can be played and charged out of nowhere thanks to Empoleon’s Attack Command only costing W. Mew is mainly used as a Mewtwo EX counter since it is better utilized by this deck than Mewtwo itself would be.

The counts of the I/S/S should be fairly standard here except the odd Level Ball. I found that is useful for snagging early Emolgas or Piplups because four Communications are just not enough search for an entire deck.

Matchups of the Meta

This section is about how the four to-be most popular decks play out against each other. I will give the matchups from both decks’ perspective with tips for both.

EMT vs. Zekeels

For EMT: It kind of depends on what version of Eels it is, but you use relatively the same strategy. Expend less resources on getting Empoleons and more for Terrakion. You want to start attacking with Empoleon ASAP while having a Terrakion or two on the bench with Exp. Share. You should then continue swarming Empoleon after that is completed because Empoleon is a really good draw engine in itself even if it is not the main attacker for the matchup.

Take any KOs you can get with Empoleon because you only run two Terrakion and they must be reserved for Lightning Pokémon that Empoleon cannot 1HKO.

For Zekeels: Remember when I said that there are many ways to play Eels, well, I’m just going by my version and early pressure ThunderZeels for the matchups. Early pressure obviously goes aggro Thundurus on the Piplups early and Straight Zekeels goes with the regular plan; using PlusPower to KO those pesky Terrakions. Make sure to only use Mewtwo EX when you absolutely have to, those surprise Mews can really hurt if you start attacking with Mewtwo unnecessarily.

Fluffychomp vs. Darkrai/Hydreigon

For Fluffychomp: For any game vs. Darkrai/Hydreigon, you obviously want to deny Hydreigon by KOing Deino(s) early. If you can’t, then this matchup is definitely not very good. Your best bet is to get out many Swablus and Altarias ASAP because once you get four out you can start 1HKOing Darkrai EX (unless they have Eviolite).

Of course, the Darkrai player will never let you get four Altarias out with Catcher but it keeps their focus off the Garchomp. Being able to discard their Blends is nice but they probably just won’t attach them. Try to Catcher-KO the Hydreigon and after that is eliminated start hacking away at Darkrai.

For Darkrai/Hydreigon: Set up normally except try and get two Hydreigon DRX 97 out as fast as possible instead of just one because Garchomp can KO it because of mirror weakness. If you do decide to run the Hydreigon NVI tech then set up KOs with Darkrai and have a Deino + Rare Candy + Hydreigon NVI combo ready.

If you decide not to run the tech or for other reasons (Different situations, something being prized, etc.), then just equip a Darkrai or two with Dark Claw, hack away at Garchomps and sniping the benched ones adding up to perfect KOs turn after turn, while using the Klinklang-like tank strategy.

Zekeels vs. Darkrai/Hydreigon

For Zekeels: If you can’t deny Hydreigon altogether, then Early Pressure variant is pretty much done for. Straight Zekeels can consistently hack away for 120 once it gets set up, and with an Eviolite, every Zekrom will get two Bolt Strikes in before it goes down. You run four Zekrom. So, after two Zekrom KO’ed by your opponent, they will be out of Max Potions and reliant on Sableye DEX to get them back.

Also, once they bring in Sableye, they must make sure that the Darkrai is fully healed so it cannot be Catcher-KO’ed. Every Sableye is a prize for you. However, they can use more than one Darkrai. Overall, this matchup is not favorable.

You could superload a Mewtwo to sweep their whole field, but the chances are that they will be able to drop a Sigilyph and have the necessary energy on the board by the time you have a Mewtwo loaded that much. So, you could try and go aggro Mewtwo early to bait out the Sigilyph and give them a 2 Prize lead, and then KO the Sigilyph with Zekrom, and next, start hacking away at Darkrais with Zekroms, and finally, superload a second Mewtwo to sweep their Darkrais.

The problem with that is, most builds also run Shaymin EX or Mewtwo EX, so they would just be able to 1HKO that last Mewtwo back. I’m not sure if I’m making any sense with this, but if you get anything from this; get that Zekeels has an unfavorable matchup against Darkrai/Hydreigon.

For Darkrai/Hydreigon: Set up normal, play normal; nothing complicated about this. BUT, when you run out of Max Potions and use Sableye’s Junk Hunt, make sure your benched Hydreigon and Darkrais are healed to prevent a nasty Catcher-KO. Zekeels will quite often get early prizes, so it’s important to deny as many as possible.

EMT vs. Fluffychomp

For EMT: Well, two stage two setup decks, one with a built-in draw engine, one with a built in search engine, both 2HKOing each other’s Stage 2s with their own Stage 2s. What separates these two? Well, EMT definitely has to deny Altarias big time, because if Fluffychomp got two of those out then Garchomp could 1HKO Empoleon with Dragonblade.

However, denying Altarias with Catcher also gives you 1HKO prizes, which is an advantage in itself, as the only Pokémon that Garchomp should be able to Catcher-1HKO on your side is Emolga. That is why EMT should win, being able to Catcher KO more Pokémon, since if you were just facing Garchomps it would be a stale 2HKO trade-off.

BulbapediaAn additional little troll-ish thing to do is this: Say the Fluffychomp player had to start out with Rayquaza and didn’t want to because of the three retreat, so started attacking with it while setting up normally on the bench, waiting for the Switch. As soon as you see your opponent get a Garchomp in play, drop a Mew-EX with a F Energy and use Garchomp’s Mach Cut, effectively stranding the Rayquaza until they get a Switch, or waste another of their Blend Energies to get Rayquaza attacking again. Either way, it’s a win-win, and you can always Catcher-KO that damaged Rayquaza at will later in the game.

For Fluffychomp: Read the above paragraphs. Seriously though, you probably should go with the 2HKO trade off and not play any Pokémon down, except those from the Garchomp line. All that playing anything else down will accomplish is giving the EMT player a free Catcher prize. Of course, if you only play one Super Rod, you will technically only have 5 Garchomps, while they still have 1 Prize left if they KO all the Garchomps. So, you could use Rayquaza as that last attacker, or include an extra Super Rod in your list.

Darkrai/Hydreigon vs. EMT

For Darkrai/Hydreigon: It really depends on if you run Dark Claw or Eviolite as your tool of choice. If you don’t run Dark Claw, you most certainly lose. Sure, Eviolite might be able to save you from a Retaliate or Land Crush, but more likely than that is the EMT having the PlusPower. If you run Dark Claw, though, you should win. If they play down two Terrakion at a time, at any given time in the game, use Catchers to be able to score a double knockout after two Night Spears.

Once Terrakion is eliminated, get the Catchers back via Sableye and keep scoring double knockouts on Empoleons with the same strategy. Pretty easy stuff provided the game goes normally or better.

For EMT: Avoid giving them the option to double KO both Terrakion at the same time. Get Empoleon out ASAP and start hacking away. There’s not much you can do once Darkrai/Hydreigon is set up. However, if you start with Terrakion, you could start powering that up and T2 KO a Deino, and T3 KO a Darkrai, giving you a huge lead, but that is just wishful thinking; you only rin 3 Fighting and 2 Terrakion.

Zekeels vs. Fluffychomp

For Zekeels: Early Pressure is better here. Picking off Gibles, Swablus, and Altarias so easily starting T2, just great. Of course, it falters mid-ate game if they get set up, but your job is to ensure that they never do. Straight Zekeels has more of an even matchup here. However, one major plus is easy T1 pickings with Emolga DRX. Since this is one of the few decks that run Emolga along with Energy that Emolga can use, you can still apply early pressure with Emolga, thanks to Swablu’s Lightning weakness, and even get an occasional donk!

Mid-game, however, it turns into a more even trade off, which is why the first few prizes matter so much. You may notice that Garchomp has enough HP to make an Outrage for 20 + a Bolt Strike for 120 be a perfect KO. However, because of Bolt Strike’s recoil and potentially Altarias in play, you would want to use Outrage first with an Eviolite attached, and avoid the KO, and then Bolt Strike KO, instead of vice versa.

Continue doing this and denying them having three Altarias at a time and you have an even trade off; unless you picked off a Swablu or two at the beginning which should’ve happened. Also, at an appropriate time, between mid-late game, when you can just drop a Mewtwo and enough Energy/PlusPowers to 1HKO a Garchomp, do so and take a couple prizes with Mewtwo. The best they should be able to respond is 2HKOing it with Garchomp.

For Fluffychomp: Try to avoid playing down any Swablu before the game starts from your original hand of 7, and only drop Swablus when you can drop like three at a time because they will easily be picked off. Many Altarias out is the key to the matchup. Just try and stay in the Prize trade and utilize Catchers to their most.

Oh yeah, almost forgot; if you actually pull/can afford to drop $80+ on a Rayquaza, then try to utilize that early game to apply early pressure on the Tynamos, same with Stunfisk. Otherwise, this matchup will always be a bit unfavorable.

Lower Tier Meta Decks (2-2.5ish)

1. Darkrai Variants Without Evolutions (Such as Hydreigon DRX, Gothitelle EPO, etc.)

I don’t have a list for this unfortunately, but things like Darkrai/Terrakion, Darkrai/Mewtwo, and Darkrai/Tornadus will stick around. Of course, they won’t dominate the top spots, but are definitely contenders. They are mostly just good for the same reasons they were in HS-on: raw power and ability to overcome some good decks. They are not as high, because, while they are powerful and fast, they have a hard time against Fluffychomp and EMT most of the time.

2. Fighting Variants

Quad Terrakion, Terrakion/Mewtwo, and Fighters are very good decks in BLW-on. While not at the top, they are very darn close and are strong contenders. I currently favor Fighters out of the three and that is what I’ve been testing. It is pretty similar to Terrakion/Mewtwo, but does have differences. See what I mean:

Pokémon – 11 4 Landorus NVI 3 Terrakion NVI 2 Mewtwo-EX NXD 1 Groudon EX 1 Terrakion-EX

Trainers – 37 4 Bianca 3 Professor Juniper 2 N 3 Random Receiver   4 Exp. Share 4 Pokémon Catcher 3 PlusPower 3 Switch 3 Energy Switch 3 Heavy Ball 3 Ultra Ball 1 Super Rod 1 Eviolite

Energy – 12 12 F

pokemon-paradijs.comThe basic strategy is to get a F Energy in the discard on T2 via Juniper or Ultra Ball and get a T1 Abundant Harvest with Landorus. Then, you can start using Gaia Hammer for 80 starting on T2. This applies early pressure as well as spread, which, along with the four Catchers, make this deck very strong in the early game.

Next, start benching other Fighting Pokémon and attach Exp. Shares. This is your pseudo energy acceleration and preserves the energy so you can keep attacking. Once Landorus falls, you should have 2-3 Exp. Shares in play, so you preserve most of the energy. You can now keep streaming attackers while attaching energy and you likely won’t run out of steam.

Landorus are only maxed out because you really want to start out with it. Terrakion NVI is a strong non-EX attacker that works great with Exp. Share and is the primary attacker against Zekeel variants. Groudon EX and Terrakion-EX are great cards to have, but are somewhat situational, so I like them as 1-ofs. Mewtwo EX is to counter opposing Mewtwos or to help sweep decks without Mewtwo or Mew-EX. Energy Switch helps power it up in a pinch. Energy Switch can also be used to surprise your opponent with a sudden transition of attackers which is great.

Eviolite is a unique choice but it helps a lot against some decks when used on a Terrakion NVI without damage. Some Zekeels run PlusPower mainly so they can 1HKO a Terrakion with Zekrom. Eviolite denies that. It also denies a Garchomp + 2 Altaria KO with Dragonblade. Also, it denies a fully powered Attack Command with PlusPower! It is a great card, but, like Terrakion-EX and Groudon EX, is situational so only used as a 1-of; not to mention that Exp. Share is already the star tool of this deck.

Matchups

Darkrai/Hydreigon

Dark Claw would really be a pain of they ran it, and Eviolite really wouldn’t because you run three PlusPower. Dark Claw would allow them to easily get a double-KO on two of your Terrakions thanks to Catcher. Anyway, it is huge that Darkrai is weak to Fighting, but they will run other attackers as well. Another bonus is that on T2 you can pick off Deino and Zweilous NVI with Landorus.

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However, once you take just 2 Prizes, Shaymin EX can just come in and start wrecking Terrakion NVI. If you get Groudon EX out soon enough and get the first hit on Shaymin EX with it, then you can take it down. Sigilyph can be taken down in one hit by Terrakion NVI and if they try to go aggro Mewtwo (if they run it) then you can counter with your own.

But there is one Pokémon to watch out for, and that is Hydreigon DRX. If the matchup was only about beating the usual attackers, you would have it if you used Switches and Catchers smartly, but Hydreigon brings a whole new level to the game. That’s why you should try and kill off all of its pre-evolutions before they can evolve. Hydreigon can one shot Terrakion NVIs and Landor… Landori. And, it discards energy with its attack so 1HKOing it with Mewtwo is a pretty absurd idea.

Also, Hydreigon exchanges 2HKOs with your other EXs, and it itself is not an EX, so having to face down a couple of these is trouble. IF, however, you can deny them Hydreigons altogether, you have a favorable game ahead of you. If not, it is still winnable, but slightly unfavorable.

Fluffychomp

If you get the T2 Landorus and a normal or better game, it is very favorable. With Catchers, Landorus can start picking off Gibles, Gabites, Swablus, and Altarias by T2! That’s nearly all the Pokémon in the deck! After denying them more than one Altaria at a time, this turns into an even 2HKO prize exchange against Garchomps. Since one or more Terrakions are likely to have some spread damage, it is important to get that Eviolite into play.

It would be an even matchup with 2HKO Prize trades, but the early game advantage that Landorus offers should win you the game. It is definitely winnable for the Fluffychomp player, though, if you let the spread damage pile too heavily, so be careful about that.

EMT

BulbapediaWell, you can pick off Piplups with Landorus, but they are likely to have at least three out by T2, so that won’t do much. It is the best option, but it’s not much. They should have a T2 Empoleon out and that can just run through the Landori and Groudon EX so easily because of weakness. That leaves the matchup to Terrakion, Terrakion-EX, and Mewtwo EX. Mewtwo will get KO’ed by a Mew-EX as soon as you start attacking with it, so that leaves it to the Terrakions. Well, that’s not good.

Both Terrakions can 2HKO Empoleons at best, with Empoleon 2HKOing them back, and even sometimes 1HKOing a non Eviolited Terrakion NVI thanks to PlusPower and accumulated spread damage. So this is one of the worst matchups Fighters can run into.

Zekeels

Early Pressure version is easy because there is nothing for them to pick off T2 and Landorus hits Thundurus EPO for weakness, as well as having a resistance to Lightning, which turns into -40 with Eviolite. Then go with the normal strategy, and, considering most, if not all, of the deck has Fighting weakness, you should win. Groudon EX with Eviolite is also pretty cruel, turning Bolt Strike into a 3HKO, and Disaster Volt into a 5HKO. Against the straight Zekeels, you should win with the same strategy as with Early Pressure.

Overall, Fighting variants are still good and are not going anywhere. All of them have potential to take down top tier decks and will stick around for BRs; don’t say you weren’t warned.

3. Rayquaza/Eelektrik and Rayquaza/Emboar

Before, I get into these decks, here is what Rayquaza EX does. It is a 170 HP Dragon Basic EX with a Dragon Weakness, absent Resistance, and one Retreat. Its first attack, for C, is Celestial Roar; it allows for self-accelreration. It says to discard the top three cards of your deck, and attach all energy there to it. Dragon Burst, for LR, makes you pick either Fire or Lightning. Then you discard all energy attached to Rayquaza EX that are the type you chose, and do 60 damage for each energy discarded.

I’m putting these two decks together because they are similar in that they both use Rayquaza EX as the main attacker, just with different forms of energy acceleration. RayEels seems like the obvious favorite, being as Eelektrik NVI over Emboar BLW 20 is an accepted fact, and that Rayquaza EX discards energy to be gotten back with Dynamotor.

Bulbapedia

However, since you are dumping all of your energy, you may have a bit of a difficult time mid-late game because you will have to keep Dynamotoring to another benched Rayquaza and wasting the Prism/R Energy to retreat, or wasting Switches. With Emboar, you don’t have to keep retreating/Switching to use repeated Dragon Bursts.

As long as you can keep up the energies and Energy Retrievals, you can just keep attacking with Rayquaza over and over until it gets KO’ed. These decks are fantastic because they can easily 1HKO anything, but are not top tier because they require some setup time and getting certain cards when needed a lot.

4. Amoongus/Ninetales

Ninetales DRX just came out, and hasn’t really gotten that much attention. There was an article on this deck a while back though, so I think most people know what it does by now. If not, well, it has an Ability that functions as a Catcher upon evolving, like Luxray GL LV.X. However, its Ability is better than Luxray GL LV.X’s Bright Look was because it can activate from the bench.

Its attack, Hexed Flame, deals 20 damage plus 50 for each special condition on the Defending Pokémon. Thus, it can be paired with Amoongus NXD, which deals two special conditions upon evolving, for a very viable and somewhat competitive deck.

You would also include Devolution Spray to continue to be able to reuse the drop-activate Abilities so you could consistently hit for 130 with Ninetales. Also, something that can spread damage such as Minun DEX or Simisear BLW would be necessary to finish off 140 HP attackers that retreated after being attacked by Ninetales.

But, the flaws of this deck are obvious. It has low HP Pokémon, cannot surely lock opponents out of attacking (Confusion only offers 50%), and needs to continuously hit cards to keep using Sporprise + Hexed Flame over and over.

5. Accelgor/Gothitelle/Darkrai EX (Gothigor)

Accelgor was a popular strategy with Item lock back in HS-on, and it is definitely staying. Here is my list:

Pokémon – 23 4 Shelmet NVI 4 Accelgor NVI 3 Gothita EPO 43 2 Gothorita EPO 45 3 Gothitelle EPO 47 2 Darkrai-EX DEX 2 Munna BLW 2 Musharna NXD 1 Mewtwo-EX NXD

Trainers – 28 4 Professor Juniper 4 N 2 Cheren   4 Level Ball 4 Pokémon Communication 3 Poké Ball/Victory Cup 2 Pokémon Catcher 2 Rare Candy 1 Super Rod 1 Ultra Ball 1 Energy Switch

Energy – 9 5 D – Basic 4 Double Colorless

pokemon-paradijs.comAccelgor’s Deck and Cover does 50 damage, along with Paralyze and Poison. This makes for an interesting and very powerful combo with Gothitelle EPO 47, which locks your opponent out of crucial Items such as Catcher and Switch while Poison and Paralysis keep the defending Pokémon at bay. Item lock and Paralysis completely shut down your opponent from attacking so that is why chaining Deck and Covers is important.

Since Gothitelle has a nasty two Retreat, Darkrai EX is essential to keep retreating so you can use Deck and Cover over and over, while maintaining a lock. It is somewhat hard to continue to get the necessary Shelmets, Accelgors, and DCEs turn after turn, so Musharna NXD is included as a core part of the deck with its consistent draw Ability. Only ten Supporters are used because Musharna makes up for a lot.

Mewtwo EX is a nice tech because Mew-EX and opposing Mewtwo EXs will be used to their fullest extent by your opponent to 1HKO Gothitelle on one of the few turns they get to attack. Mewtwo EX will be an unexpected card to really lay the hurt on your opponent. While you do break the lock, a 2 Prizes so quickly is usually worth it, and it buys you some time to get another Gothitelle set up. Usually for the first Gothitelle, you want to evolve up to it manually; and if you ever need to get more out, go with Rare Candy. You should always get a lock out on T3.

All the search cards are obviously to help chaining Accelgors. Only 2 Catchers are used because that’s what there is room for and you usually don’t need more. I’m not sure if the counts of Victory Cup/Poké Ball and Ultra Ball should be switched or averaged though. Energy Switch is an extremely handy tech that I use in pretty much every game where it isn’t prized.

Since your opponent can use Catchers early game, and this deck has lots of 2+ retreating Pokémon, you may waste Energy attachments on Pokémon that you would not normally attach to, to give it free retreat back to the bench via Dark Cloak. Then, once you get the lock up, you can Energy Switch the now-useless Energy to something that could use it, like Gothitelle.

Matchups

Fluffychomp and EMT

These two decks are really in the same boat here. Both have main attackers with 140 HP, a perfect number for Accelgor, both are Stage 2 setup decks that have somewhat heavy reliance on Items, and both have supporting Pokémon that also have great Acclegor numbers in HP (Terrakion NVI and Altaria DRX). All of these make for a really positive matchup. However, if they do hit a T2 Garchomp/Empoleon, it could be a rough road, and you would basically have to hit a T2 Gothitelle.

Darkrai/Hydreigon

Again, we get a favorable matchup against one of the top tier decks. Virtually all builds of this deck are built with a lot of Items, and it really does rely on them. Hydreigon’s 150 HP is an OK number, but not optimal; neither is Darkrai’s 180, but it is still a favorable matchup. You’d definitely want to take out all of the few Hydreigons they will be able to get out though, because when you KO something they will get a turn and will likely drop an unexpected attacker to 1HKO Gothitelle and use Dark Trance to instantly power it up; and you do not want that happening.

Zekeels

Against a speed-oriented build you need to win the flip. A T2 Disaster Volt to the face against any of your evolving basics is pretty cruel. Their HP numbers are stacked against you as well, no Deck and Covers are going to KO defending Pokémon by poison going into your turn. Against a straight or mixed Zekeels, you may at least get time to set up, but the numbers are against you still, so the matchup requires a lot of skill as it is pretty even.

After every KO they will get a turn to attack Gothitelle, and while they can’t use PlusPower to secure a 1HKO, any attack that an opponent gets is a dent in this deck. You should try and use all of the Catchers on EXs when you can surely lock + KO them without a break in the lock.

That is pretty much it for the lower tier decks. Don’t count them out just because they aren’t tier one; as seen before, these somewhat underrated decks can still pack a punch.

Rogues

I only have two rogues that I have tested enough to list here as of now. The ideas were both quite meta in the ’11-’12 season’s Cities, but have really fallen off the radar for BLW-on. First I bring you…

1. Durant

I used to hate this little bug (no offense to OKC Thunder player Durant) so much when it was competitive, but I actually kind of like it in BLW-on. To be honest I wasn’t sure if it would get completely demolished by the metagame decks, but it is actually quite decent. Here is the list:

Pokémon – 7 4 Durant NVI 2 Sableye DEX 1 Heatmor DEX/Mewtwo-EX NXD/Tornadus EX

Trainers – 44-45 4 N 3 Professor Juniper 3 Bianca 3 Random Receiver   4 Level Ball 4 Pokémon Catcher 4 Revive 4 Crushing Hammer 3-4 Eviolite 3 Enhanced Hammer 3 Poké Ball/Victory Cup 3 Switch 1 Super Rod 0-1 Exp. Share   2 Battle City

Energy – 8-9 4 Prism 4 M – Basic 0-1 Double Colorless

pokemon-paradijs.comWell, well, well; Durant is back. The main strategy here is to obviously swarm Durant NVIs and deck the opponent out through constant Devours, while using numerous disruptive Items and Supporters to prevent your opponent from being able to attack, as Durant’s 70 HP makes it easy prey. However, I have included an alternate strategy to help this deck adjust to the BLW-on format.

The goal would still be to deck out your opponent, but through the use of Energy denial; thus I added a Hammertime option. Against almost every deck without Eelektrik, you can use Sableye DEX and the hammers to completely run your opponent out of Energy, then you can easily finish them through Devours with your opponent helpless to do anything.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that some numbers and slots in my decklist are not quite stable. There are two slots that I don’t really know what to do with. The last Pokémon slot can be given to Heatmor DEX, Tornadus EX, or Mewtwo EX. Heatmor is seemingly the worst choice here because Durant is not going to be a popular deck. However, it is what I have tested the most with, despite not playing against any Durants. It has actually won me two games against non-Durant decks because of its 90 HP, stalling for one turn.

While Mewtwo could be said to serve the higher HP purpose better because it doubles as a surprise attacker, it has a Retreat of two. But, Mewtwo can be used for the same purpose as it was in HS-on when used in Durant: to serve as a surprise attacker and potentially KO your opponent’s only attacker when they attempt to sweep all the Durants with one powerhouse.

However, you would need to devote the last undecided spot to DCE in order to work well, and without Twins, this strategy is much weaker, as you will rarely have both the single Mewtwo EX and DCE when you need it.

pokemon-paradijs.comTornadus EX can be used for the higher-HP, one Retreat Pokémon in place of Heatmor, and also doubles as a versatile attacker. However, it can be 1HKO’ed by Zekrom BLW for 2 Prizes, and does not double as a Durant counter. The last unstable slot can go to a fourth Eviolite, a DCE, or an Exp. Share.

Eviolite is one of Durant’s trademark cards and can work well with any of the wildcard Pokémon you decide to run. Exp. Share is a nifty card that can work mostly just with EXs, as their Energy costs aren’t that easy for a Durant deck to charge up.

DCE is the final choice, and can be used to help Tornadus EX or Mewtwo EX donk, or just is good in general if you want to run an EX. It is up to personal preference here, I cannot recommend any one over the other. I run Poké Ball/Victory Cup over Ultra Ball because I really don’t like wasting resources in a deck like this. In my testing, this works fine.

So, how will this seemingly “dead” ant with his gem-eating partner old up against the new faces of the metagame? Well, I wouldn’t be talking this much about this deck if I couldn’t answer that.

Matchups

Darkrai/Hydreigon and Fluffychomp

While these decks are very, very different, you take the relatively same approach, but there are certain things you need to do differently per deck. Start Devouring like normal, but when they start putting Energy on the board you need to switch to Hammertime, so have those Hammers and Catchers ready. Catcher something they don’t want active and start hammering away! Then, once you’ve exhausted their Energy supply, Devour them to death.

pokemon-paradijs.comHowever, Darkrai/Hydreigon does have access to Dark Patch, as well as Sableye DEX, so it’s important that you keep their Sableye on the bench with Catcher and Energy denial very prominent for as long as possible. Against Fluffychomp, Eviolite will be an enormous asset, forcing them to 2HKO Durants, 1HKO them and tremendously help you mill, or set up two Altarias, which are Catcher targets.

Since the smartest (I think) thing to do is go for Altarias, make sure you Catcher them while hammering away. Once you’ve gotten rid of all their Energy, you win. No Energy recovery for them. Even if they do Super Rod, it’s only a minor setback.

EMT

This is a pretty odd matchup actually. Your approach here is dependent on what your opponent decides to do. A mono-Terrakion run would force you into attempting Hammertime, or else you would easily get swept. However, if your opponent tries to optimize on the fact that Durant requires at least 3-4 Pokémon in play, and completely sets up their own field with things that aren’t so Catcher-vulnerable such as Empoleon and Emolga, this turns into a bit of a luck-based match.

It will be much like most games were when Durant was meta in Cities, a prize/Devour mindless race with random Catchers and Hammers to slow your opponent down while trying to deck them out. Just whoever whiffs and gets what they need when they need it will win.

Zekeels

If you can get early Eviolites and they don’t get a PlusPower, then you can stand a chance against early pressure. Once they get set up, it is just a mindless race to see who can win first. Against straight Zekeels, there is virtually no chance. If they’re smart, they will have a backup plan for Mewtwo ready, and will sweep with Zekrom.

2. Last But Not Least, The Final Deck… ChandyBeach!

Remember Chandelure NVI everyone? That annoying card at Cities that randomly showed up and said: “I’m here, and I found Vileplume, now I’m BDIF! Oh yeah, and everyone who can’t put down $200+ for Tropical Beaches can’t play me!”. Yeah, that guy. Well, at least he died in HS-on when Darkrai EX came out, and Vileplume UD is gone now. However, it is still a very viable deck, although I’ve taken a different approach than Item-lock. I present to you, the face of possessed chandeliers in BLW-on!

Pokémon – 16 4 Litwick BLW Promo BW27 1 Lampent NVI 4 Chandelure NVI 3 Emolga DRX 2 Darkrai-EX DEX 1 Sewaddle EPO 4 1 Leavanny NVI

Trainers – 38 4 N 3 Professor Juniper 3 Cheren 2 Random Receiver   4 Poké Ball/Victory Cup 4 Pokémon Communication 4 Rare Candy 4 Switch 3 Energy Switch 3 Max Potion 1 Super Rod   3 Tropical Beach

Energy – 6 6 D – Basic

pokemon-paradijs.comThe basic strategy is obvious: Use Emolga to set up, swarm Chandelures, and use Darkrai EX and Switches to use multiple Cursed Shadows in one turn. This is very good because you can pick off the many evolving Basics of the format and cripple most decks’ strategy. Depending on how the game is going, you’d probably want to transition to Darkrai EX to attack at mid-late game, while using Switch to get Cursed Shadows in while you are attacking with Darkrai before it falls.

Energy Switch is helpful to transition to Darkrai as this deck has no Energy acceleration, as well as just being a good card in general. Since most of the game you are just using Chandelure to get KOs, Tropical Beach is extremely helpful as it can be used as a great bonus which can help with getting out more Chandelures or the various Items that this deck needs at certain points in the game.

Two of the most interesting choices I made here are the inclusion of Leavanny NVI and the exclusion of Pokémon Catcher. I included Leavanny NVI because Darkrai EX is going to be the main attacker in one of the most popular decks, and Chandelure tragically has Weakness to it. Leavanny was mentioned earlier in the techs section, and this deck is the best example of where it can be used.

It makes Darkrai/Hydreigon from nearly auto-loss, to even slightly favorable! Leavanny can also be helpful against decks with Fighting Pokémon. Since those decks will just easily Catcher-KO Darkrai for an easy 2 Prizes, a Weakness guard is essential.

pokemon-paradijs.comThe exclusion of Catcher is pretty logical when you think about it. You are already placing damage on whatever you want thanks to Cursed Shadow, and Lampent NVI can be used to drag something active if you want to. I just don’t see why Catcher should be used in here, especially when there’s virtually no room for it.

Now, for the counts of I/S/S; I feel these should be explained. I run 12 Supporters/Receivers like usual. However, four Poké Ball/Victory Cup over Ultra Ball may cause some debate. Same with Durant though, you absolutely cannot be burning resources in this until mid-late game, where Emolga has already outlived its usefulness, and Tropical Beach is already in play.

However, you will probably not be using Ultra Ball mid-late game if you run it, because you use search Items when you’re trying to set up, and you can only waste certain cards when you’re already set up. I’m not sure how much sense I’m making here, but I like Poké Ball/Victory Cup just fine.

Three Tropical Beach may seem a bit high, but you need to get it out as soon as possible and there is nothing to search it out. It is a core part to this deck’s strategy and getting it out sooner is worth having two dead cards late-game, though four Tropical Beach is plainly overkill.

Matchups

Darkrai/Hydreigon

pokemon-paradijs.comThis is obviously tough, because why else would you include an extra Stage 2 line almost exclusively for it? Anyway, getting Leavanny out T2 or even T3 is absolutely essential so they cannot run through your Chandelures with Darkrai. Leavanny’s 130 HP is also very nice if you’re facing a variant that plays Eviolite over Dark Claw, because Catcher + Night Spear does 90, and a 30 snipe will just barely leave it alive to be Max Potion’ed. Same with Chandelure’s HP.

However, they will run Max Potion too so you must be very, very smart with damage placement and transition to Darkrai. It is indeed a tough match, but you must play very smart to win, that’s all there is too it. Oh yeah, and also that Sewaddle and Leavanny are not prized. This is why I think this deck would be better for a tournament with top cuts and not Battle Roads, because if you run into (X) deck and (X) card(s) is prized, you’re done for.

Fluffychomp

As usual, they will try and get Altarias out so they can 1HKO Chandelures, so it is important that you eliminate those so you can abuse Max Potion the rest of the game, as tempting as those Gibles may seem. Once the threat of Altarias are gone and only Garchomps (140 HP ugh) are left, you can possibly transition to Darkrai then, depending on the situation. This matchup is in ChandyBeach’s favor.

EMT

Here you need must play down Pokémon sparingly. If you absolutely don’t need Emolga early-game, don’t play it, and don’t play more than 2-3 Litwicks down as well. Attack Command can 1HKO Chandelures with PlusPower, so you want to keep Empoleon’s damage output at a minimum. If you see a Terrakion NVI hit the field, you probably should go for Leavanny immediately, and possibly use Lampent’s Luring Light to stall.

One nice thing about this matchup is that KOs by Cursed Shadow don’t activate Retaliate OR Exp. Share. The most prominent bad thing to make up for that is that both of the main Pokémon in EMT, Terrakion and Empoleon, have high HP so are tough to take down.

pokemon-paradijs.com

Again, you have to play smart here, and KO Piplups right after they play them when you can; cheap prizes are very key to winning. Overall though, with the reliance on Leavanny and the high HP Pokémon, I’d say this matchup is about even, or possibly slightly in Chandy’s favor.

Zekeels

If you’re against Early Pressure and you go second, you’re in trouble. When your opponent can pick off Lampents consistently on T2 is never good. However, if you go first, double Chandelure on T2 is not too unlikely, and you will have to go for that. Tynamos and even Eelektriks are pretty easy pickings, and the deck just falls without them.

Same for other variants of Zekeels, prioritize KOing Eels. Once that is done, you could go aggro Darkrai and sweep them because you’ve demolished their Energy acceleration. This is an extremely favorable matchup.

Conclusion

Phew, that was a lot of decks! If you’ve read this far… well super congratulations! Thank you for reading even if you did (reasonably) skip some parts. As usual, deck help, criticism, comments etc. are helpful, but please no mindless bashing.

~thevilegarkid

Now Vileplume’s gone too! :(

P.S. One thing before this is over that I really want everyone to at least know about: This article was extremely long, so I only included (and have tested enough as of writing the article) two rogues, and a lot of decks were talked about without having a list. Soon after this article is published, I will have a forum post with LOTS of really cool rogues, as well as all of the missing lists. Think of it as a continuation from this article. I encourage you to check it out. Again, thanks for reading and for comments! :)