Hey there SixPrizes!
BulbapediaPardon me if this is a bit presumptuous considering Regionals JUST ended, but the BLW–DRX format will never see premier tournament play again. What’s more is that Prereleases are coming up, and there’s just over 3 weeks until the official release of the next TCG expansion “Boundaries Crossed.” This article is being released as early as possible to try and give people an idea of what cards to pre-order and what cards they can stock up on now from previous sets, that might rise in value.
Additionally, it’s just a good insight into the next format and the earlier you get testing for Cities, the better you will be able to decide on a deck! So let’s take a look at what might become some of the major players in the new format. I’ll also try and give my opinion on what I think is going to be over-hyped and what is under-hyped. Hopefully this will give people a concise source rather than trying to wade through forum posts for reasonable projections.
Biggest Players
This is probably the section I’m most afraid to write. It’s obvious what the biggest players are, but you never want to overhype a card. So I’ll try and balance my hype here with a reasonable analysis of its likely playability. I mean, cards like Emboar BLW 20 have incredible theorymon potentials, but in practice flop pretty hard. It’s all because cards like Emboar need partners that function properly with it. Fire types just don’t do very well with hand-based acceleration. So I’ll try to keep in mind theorymon vs. reality as I write this article.
BulbapediaI’ll just get the biggest player out of the way. Landorus is likely to be the most-hyped card of this set. And for good reason! Landorus is one of the most threatening first turn attackers TPCi has released in the BW block. Basic stats.
Landorus-EX is a 180 HP Fighting-type with a Weakness to Water, a Resistance to Lightning and a 3 Retreat Cost. That means it’s got the most HP an EX can have in the current group of EXs, a Weakness not overly-exploited (yet) in the format, and a Resistance to a tier 1 deck in the format. Its Retreat Cost also makes it searchable by Heavy Ball, which is actually pretty great for an EX, since many EXs can only be searched by Ultra Ball (*and Pokémon Communication, but the point still stands :P). This should not be overlooked, since it means Landorus can be effectively teched/searched in a wide variety of decks.
Now, considering its Fighting-typing, Landorus already holds a lot of promise, since it hits Darkrai EX and Lightning-type attackers super-effectively. Well, let’s see what it will be hitting them with.
Hammerhead – F – 30: Does 30 damage to 1 of your opponent’s benched Pokémon. (Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.)
Land’s Judgement – FFC – 80+: You may discard all F Energy attached to this Pokémon. If you do, this attack does 70 more damage.
pokemon-paradijs.comHoly crap. This card spreads 60 total damage for 1 Energy, and then can 1HKO Hydreigons by T3? Don’t forget to take Weaknesses into account. This card hits Darkrais for 60 on the first turn, and will donk Tynamos and dark Deinos. That is merit enough to be considered a top tier card by itself. It carries significant donk potential against every current tier-1 deck.
Why is this such a big deal? Never before has a significant T1 attack been this easy. Mewtwo EX had to fish for 1-of 4 DCEs in a deck. Tornadus EX had to do that as well as get a SAB in play. Ho-Oh EX has to do the same along with Energy Switch antics and Rebirth. Heck, going back to CMT, CMT had to have a Celebi active, a Pokémon on the bench, two Energy cards and a method of switching!
Landorus-EX? Attach a Fighting and start whacking away. Bloody overpowered is what I say. This card is one of the few legitimate reasons I see to run Fast Ticket. Almost every Stage 2 deck has to worry about getting sniped over the first two turns for what could be a dual KO. Additionally, that donk and/or first turn KO potential I was talking about is a significant reality against Zeels, RayEels, and any HyRai sticking with dark Deinos. And the choice of dark Deino vs. dragon Deino isn’t that simple, since Rayquaza DRX can donk Dragon Deinos as well, with about the same ease. Dark Deinos also offer Dark Patch targets, which is highly preferred.
pokemon-paradijs.comAnd just a note against Eel variants. Even if Landorus-EX goes second, the snipe damage on the benched Tynamo will be enough that Landorus can Catcher up the Eel and KO it while continuing to spread to the bench. Thus evolving to Eelektrik will not be a safe way to keep your Eels for the next turn. This is like a T1 Darkrai EX, every time.
So with being able to donk each of the current Tier 1 decks, and also provide extreme T1 pressure against any Stage 1/Stage 2 deck (like Garbodor or Empoleon), Landorus-EX is clearly going to be good. Like… really good. Heck, quad-Landorus could even be a legitimate threat. Why? Because of Landorus’ second attack.
Land’s Judgement is also a very good attack. On the third turn you can deal 150 damage, or just continue to take cheap prizes with 80 damage. That 80 isn’t even that bad, considering you’re spreading 30 over the first two turns. But 150? That means any non-EX Basic is 1HKO’d, and any EX falls to a combo of 30 snipe + Land’s Judgement. And afterward, you just get to go back to spreading to keep preventing their setup. Bloody freaking over-powered. Also, Darkrai EX, Zekrom-EX and Raikou-EX are all KO’d by snipe + a regular Land’s Judgement, not including the +70 damage. Dear god.
That all said, Landorus is going to be incredibly good. But all of this assumes that Landorus is slotting into the current metagame, not into a new one. Landorus is single-handedly going to shift the metagame, but with that metagame shift Landorus will be less over powered. Zeels will fall from its Tier 1 status. I am going to say that right now. RayEels may still have a chance at being Tier 1 (though I see it being Tier 1.5-2), but I can see Ho-Oh rising in popularity thanks to the Fighting Resistance neutering Landorus’ low base power.
Though how high Ho-Oh can rise is entirely determined by how big a role other cards are going to play in the format. I’ll speak more on those later. Just know that Landorus is going to be THE major player in shaping the next format. It may not end up being BDIF (though it’s got a good shot), but it will be Tier 1, and the rest of the metagame will have to play around it.
Cresselia-EX is a 170 HP EX with only one attack that costs 4 energy to use. Sounds terrible right? But Cresselia’s ability is to die for. “Glittering Grain: At any time between turns, heal 10 damage from this Pokémon.” Why is this ability so good? Because Cresselia is going to be the tankiest Pokémon in the TCG. Pair this with an Eviolite and Potions and Cresselia has amazing damage-reduction potential. Every turn you can take 20 less damage thanks to Eviolite, as well as heal 20 damage before your opponent attacks again.
BulbapediaHowever, Cresselia’s potential to rock the metagame comes from the effect of its attack. “Psycho Defender.” This attack costs PCCC which is a rather heavy cost. However, its additional effect is totally worthwhile. TPCi has finally released a genuine Mewtwo EX counter not named Mewtwo EX.
For that PCCC, Cresselia deals 90 damage (enough to 1HKO Mewtwo EX), with the additional effect: “During your opponent’s next turn, this Pokémon has no weakness.” This means that Mewtwo cannot 1HKO Cresselia back with a DCE drop, despite Cresselia’s Psychic Weakness. This fact alone merits discussing Cresselia in the “Big Players” section. However, that PCCC cost is pretty hefty, and going to be difficult to pay. So who is going to actually be able to run Cresselia?
One of the current BDIF’s, Darkrai/Hydreigon (HyRai). That’s who. Blend GRPD already provides Hydreigon with its Psychic cost, and now it can provide for Cresselia-EX too. Hydreigon also forms a way to easily charge up Cresselia out of nowhere. Additionally, the mentality behind the deck is perfect for Cresselia, since Cresselia can become an attacker that doesn’t require Max Potions to drop outside of 2HKO range (especially with Eviolite).
pokemon-paradijs.comI don’t think Cresselia will see much play outside Darkrai/Hydreigon. The other deck that can abuse Cresselia-EX would be RayEels. By using Blend GRPD instead of standard R Energies, RayEels can accomodate Cresselia-EX. Why would you actually consider this? Because Cresselia only has 1 Retreat Cost. This means it will become a free retreater with Skyarrow Bridge (SAB).
With its natural healing, Cresselia doesn’t become a big liability when you retreat it to the bench, and again the built-in tanking ability will be appreciated. I don’t see this being the best use of Cresselia, but I do see it being a do-able tech, and a respectable choice.
Outside of HyRai and RayEels, I don’t see Cresselia being used much. A Gardevoir/Cresselia decks seems like a reasonable proposal, considering Mewtwo EX won’t necessarily just run right through you. But I don’t see it being better than tier 3. I also don’t see Cresselia being effectively teched into anything else outside perhaps an Emboar variant. Again, likely not better than Tier 3. But all that being said, that’s like saying “I don’t see Cresselia being a good card outside of its inclusion in a couple Tier 1 decks.”
BulbapediaAnother Supporter! Hooray! “Search your deck for one Trainer card, reveal it, and put it in your hand. Shuffle your deck afterward.” Skyla would be an on-par Supporter in most formats, but with the new format’s only other draw/search options being N, Juniper, Cheren, Bianca, Cilan, and Hugh, Skyla will make the cut in a lot of decks. Searching for your ACE SPEC card, or even just the one Item card you need that turn will be a worthwhile inclusion. Skyla also grabs you your Supporter for next turn, which is certainly valuable. But that’s like using Skyla as a Random Receiver, but you can’t play the Supporter until the next turn. Not the greatest use, but is certainly a good option to have.
Additionally, Bicycle will be in the format, which is an Item based form of draw. Thus Skyla can be used to grab a draw-support card in a pinch. This also means you have a “buffer” card to give you an even greater chance of getting the Item you need on the first turn. Decks like Landorus-EX could have 8 potential outs to getting the first turn Pokémon Catcher or PlusPower (depending on how useful PlusPower might be). That’s worthwhile in and of itself.
Skyla also forms a search option for Rare Candy. If you’ve played any Stage 2 decks recently, you’ll know how frustrating getting the Candy + Stage 2 combo can be. Skyla facilitates this combo in conjunction with cards like Ultra Ball or Pokémon Communication. Thus, it’ll be a worthwhile inclusion in these decks as well, even just as a Rare Candy buffer.
Lastly, Skyla forms a search option for Stadiums. This usage is actually somewhat interesting, since it makes Tropical Beach searchable. There are a couple new Stadiums coming out too which might see play. Skyarrow Bridge + Tornadus EX is a combo that comes to mind, but keep in mind this means you’d need the DCE + Tornadus EX in hand to start the game, since you wouldn’t be able to fish for either after using Skyla. So though a valid combo, not the most important use.
BulbapediaBlastoise is the Water version of Emboar, but better, because it’s not Emboar. It’s Ability “Deluge” states: “As often as you like during your turn (before your attack), you may attach a W Energy from your hand to 1 of your Pokémon.”
Unlike its predecessors in Base Set Blastoise and Feraligatr Prime, Blastoise BC will be able to attach W Energy to any Pokémon. This is a significant advantage that near ensures Blastoise’s success. Why is this the case when Emboar flops so poorly? Simple. Blastoise can be paired with attackers that don’t discard the energy Blastoise just gave them. Additionally, Blastoise’s attack “Hydro Pump” has unlimited damage output, and hits for a minimum of 100 when charged with W Energy. This is a significant advantage over Emboar’s base 80 damage attack, which still costs a full 4 Energy to use.
Additionally, Squirtle is a pretty good Basic. It may only have 60 HP, but its Ability is perfectly suited for a Stage 2’s Basic in this format. Its ability prevents Squirtle from taking damage while on the bench. This means that Darkrai decks and Landorus decks can’t stack damage on the bench to KO multiple basics in the same turn. If you bench 2 Squirtles, you can be sure one will be left undamaged next turn.
Blastoise’s stats are also pretty good for a Stage 2. 140 HP, a Weakness to Grass and a hefty Retreat Cost of 4 (allowing it to be searchable by Heavy Ball). Now, whether or not the 4 Retreat Cost will ever play into effect is another question. There are 2 reasons for this. One, neither Squirtle nor Wartortle has a Retreat Cost of 3 or greater. And two, Blastoise’s new partner in crime, Keldeo-EX, prevents Blastoise from ever being Catcher-stalled.
Blastoise has a littany of good partners to pair with (ex: Kyurem NVI, Kyurem DRV, Keldeo-EX), and none of them waste their Energy like Emboar’s partners. Thus, Blastoise’s potential is much greater. So, let’s look at the other Water-type Pokémon set to make waves.
BulbapediaKeldeo is a 170 HP Water-type EX, with a Grass weakness. It has a 2 Retreat Cost, and also has Hydro Pump for CCC. Keldeo’s Hydro Pump does 50+ 20 more damage for each W Energy attached to Keldeo. Bam! Blastoise has its main attacker. Additionally, Keldeo’s Ability “Step In” allows it to switch into the Active Spot once during your turn. Thus, Blastoise can’t be Catcher-stalled, and Paralysis can’t stop the deck from doing what it wants.
It would surprise me if this combination of Keldeo and Blastoise were anything less than Tier 2. And considering Landorus is certainly going to make an impact in the format, I can see it vaulting up to Tier 1. Any deck with unlimited damage output has a good shot at Tier 1, and Keldeo/Blastoise is no exception. The deck isn’t even Weak to Lightning, so its success is entirely determined on whether Blastoise is efficient enough to support Keldeo-EX to the higher tiers.
“Heal 90 damage from your active Pokémon.” Ok, I think I will. This is pretty much a Max Potion, but without the energy discarding problem. How could this card not make an impact? Straight Darkrai variants now have a card to heal lots of damage just like their Hydreigon counterparts. Additionally, Sableye DEX can let you re-use this card, and Skyla can search it out. This card is going to be good. Run in every deck kind of good? Well, with the choice of ACE SPECs available maybe not. But it will be a card you consider running in almost every deck.
Discard 2 cards from your hand, search your deck for one card. Even as an ACE SPEC, this card is going to be included in a lot of decks. This is additional discard for decks like Darkrai and Eels, and gets you anything you want. It also has good synergy with Bianca and Bicycle.
Think about it this way… Bianca will get that little bit better in decks looking to discard cards. Bianca’s already half-decent, so making her a better Supporter can only bring her closer to the satisfaction we once felt in having access to 3 good draw Supporters to use.
BulbapediaThis is a card that I don’t think anyone is really going to hype. I only realized its incredible usefulness when I started to write this article. I predict people to start playing Ditto in their decks mid-Cities. Ditto’s Ability says you can place any Basic on Ditto and then Ditto becomes that Basic. Ditto has 70 HP and a Fighting weakness, with a Retreat Cost of 1. Ditto has no attack.
Why is this useful? Ditto is your ideal starter. This is less necessary in big-basic decks, but in Stage 2 decks etc… Ditto is a Pokémon that is difficult to donk (despite a fighting weakness), and can become an Emolga, a Sableye, even just a Deino, Piplup or Landorus/Rayquaza. And if they attack Ditto, then you just play the basic itself. Ditto should also be able to evolve immediately after transforming into the other Basic, so Ditto can just be a placeholder basic that isn’t a cheap KO. It can also be a placeholder in the later game until you find the basic you want, since it should be able to evolve immediately.
The biggest benefits mid-game? No immediate threat of double KO against Darkrai/Landorus snipe. The biggest benefits early game? Provides a buffer so you can get your ideal starter, without wasting space in the deck on Pokémon without a purpose after the first couple turns.
I’m calling it right now. Ditto is the overlooked gem of this set, and I predict people to realize it as Cities develops. This is a big gamble but I’m taking it.
Minor Players
BulbapediaVileplume’s Ability makes all Pokémon’s Weaknesses 4×. That’s got major toolbox potential for weak attacks that deal paltry damage. Vileplume’s potential comes primarily from what else there is in the metagame, but I can see Vileplume being a card that people play with on the fringe of the format, from the point it’s introduced until the point it’s rotated. Considering Prism and Blend energy, there’s a lot of potential for techability. Examples of cards with potential in a Vilebox would be…
Fighting – Landorus-EX (30 for F)
Dragon – Rayquaza DRX (40 for L)
Water – Lapras NXD 25 (40 for CC)
Water – Basculin NXD (40 for W, has to hit a pokemon with damage on it first)
Dark – Sandile DEX (40 for DCC, usable with Dark Patch + DCE)
Fire – Larvesta NVI 20 (30 for CC)
Grass – Maractus BW 12 (10, 30 or 60 for G, combine with Fliptini)
Grass – Bellossom BC (10 + 20× the Retreat Cost of the defending Pokémon)
Lightning – Emolga NVI (10+ 20 with L Pokémon on bench for CC)
Lightning – Emolga EPO (10 + 20× 2 coin flips for CC, combine with Fliptini)
Metal – Durant NVI (30 for CC)
Psychic – Mewtwo EX (40+ for CC)
Psychic – Mew-EX (using any of the attacks listed above)
All these Pokémon swing for 120-160 with Vileplume support, often with one energy card. Throw in a PlusPower and they’re hitting for 160-200. Suddenly, a Vileplume Box seems pretty terrifying. We’ll be writing up a Rogue list on our blog TCG with Hats so stay tuned!
BulbapediaBicycle is an Item card that lets you draw until you have 4 cards in hand. I think a lot of people are excited about Bicycle, but I don’t see it being a major inclusion in most decks. Bianca is already a love-hate relationship with getting your hand down to 3 cards. Bicycle isn’t a Supporter, but that doesn’t make it a worthwhile inclusion. Some decks might end up teching Bicycle (I can see it being a solid tech in any deck running Sableye), but I don’t feel it will be as dominant as many players might.
Still, the benefits of “draw cards without using a Supporter” are difficult to deny. I’d suspect this card to be most prominent in aggressive decks that can just play down their hand and want to draw 1-2 cards before using a supporter.
Hugh is a new draw supporter. That is reason enough to make an impact. Its effect is disappointing though. Hugh is the unwed child of Bianca and Judge TM. “Both players draw or discard cards until they have 5 in their hand.” That means it’s a weaker Bianca, with minor potential for disruption. But that potential for disruption is so minor that it’s non-existant. Most decks WANT to discard cards (i.e. Eels and Darkrai), so it’s not a big penalty to reduce your hand to 5.
What’s more is that the opponent gets to choose what they want to discard, so it’ll never be too painful. Thus, Hugh gets a big “Meh” from me. But in a format where Bianca, Cheren and Hugh are the only alternate draw supporters to N and Juniper, I suppose Hugh will see some play.
BulbapediaBlack Kyurem EX is pretty much the biggest Behemoth the TCG has ever seen. With his ACE SPEC card attached, Black Kyurem EX has 300 HP. Its normal HP is 180, with two attacks. LCC for 60 and a coin flip for Paralysis (actually pretty decent), and WLLC for 150 and Black Kyurem EX can’t attack again next turn. Considering this card will find its niche with Eels, that’s not a big deal even with a Retreat Cost of 3.
What will hold Black Kyurem EX back is its Dragon Weakness. When Rayquaza EX already exists, and retreats better with Eel support, Black Kyurem EX will forever be in its shadow. This card makes a pretty decent Zekrom-EX subsitution. However Zekrom-EX isn’t a bad card, so it will be competing for space.
Nonetheless, Raikou-EX’s Thunder Fang is already a respectable supporting attack, so doing more damage with Dragon Fang for the same effect is workable in and of itself. Black Kyurem EX will see some play, but I don’t predict it to go very far.
The first great Mewtwo counter that is not an EX? Sigilyph DRX might make an argument for that claim, but Meloetta is trying to make a stronger one. Meloetta is an 80 HP Psychic type with the attack Psychic: P 10+ this attack does 20 more damage for each Energy attached to the defending Pokémon. Meloetta is going to flop. This attack does not counter Mewtwo EX. Not even close.
A Mewtwo EX needs 4 energy attached to be 1HKO’d by Meloetta. Meloetta’s second attack is Echoed Voice for PCC, 50 damage or 100 when used again the next turn. This attack is not good enough to cover for Meloetta. Meloetta is not going to be hyped much, but whatever hype it gets is undeserved. Nonetheless, people will play it and find out it doesn’t work, so it gets a mention in the minor players.
BulbapediaStoutland is an interesting card indeed. 140 HP Colourless type with an attack for 3 Energy that does 90 damage and a coin flip to maybe do 20 damage to Stoutland as well. Stoutland also has a 3 Retreat Cost, which is not amazing. However Stoutland’s Ability is a gamebreaker. “Watchdog: As long as this Pokémon is your active Pokémon, your opponent cannot play any Supporter cards.” Stoutland being a Stage 2 will hold it back from being a major player in the metagame, but that is an incredibly powerful ability.
Unfortunately it can be catchered around, and Stoutland shares the same Fighting Weakness as Darkrai and other Lightning attackers. Thus, though shutting down your opponent’s Supporters on turn 2 is an incredibly scary thought (as well as potentially swinging for 90 on T2 as well), its inconsistencies will likely hold it back from the top tiers.
Lillipup BLW 81 at least provides a basic that can Collect, to draw 1 card for your first turn. Again unfortunately, that Fighting Weakness will not let this deck do too well. Any deck whose main attacker is donked by Landorus-EX on the first turn is doomed to the lower tiers.
Charizard is hyped for all the wrong reasons. People have this bad idea about using Charizard with Celebi-EX to use Charmeleon’s Rage attack for significant damage. That’s bad. What’s good is Charizard’s ability to snipe 40 to two of your opponent’s Pokémon. Follow this up with a DCE drop to do 150 and Charizard seems half-decent. Strong enough to build a deck on by itself? Unfortunately not.
Charizard requires energy acceleration to perform well, and that makes for a very clunky deck. However I love Charizard, so I just don’t want to write it off entirely. But with a likely rise in Keldeo/Blastoise, it’s pretty hopeless. Oh well Charizard, I’m still collecting your secret rare when it comes out.
In Conclusion
BulbapediaI want to say Celebi EX will have a small impact, but I just don’t think it well. The only deck I can see using it right now is Charizard/Celebi which is destined for failure. However Celebi-EX is the kind of card whose potential is determined by the format, so it’s one to keep in mind as we get new sets.
Hopefully I’ve provided a good insight into the new set and the kind of changes we can expect to see. I really do see Landorus-EX being the overbearing force that generates a major shift in the metagame. And as a result, I see Eels play losing a lot of its footing in the format. Against Eel decks, Landorus-EX is essentially a T1 Darkrai every game. That’s just too much. However Eel decks are such solid decks that their matchups across the rest of the field will remain solid.
Tornadus EX play could see a significant rise, but that doesn’t stop the fact that Landorus-EX will be preventing them from getting Eels up the whole game. So I guess my cautionary note here is: Landorus-EX is going to wreak havoc against Eel decks, but Eel decks will not disappear entirely. They are nonetheless good decks with solid matchups against everything not named “Landorus-EX.” So don’t take away the message that Eels will somehow become Tier 3 overnight. However, I do see Eels fading away in a very similar fashion to ReshiPhlosion.
Cheers,
Crawdaunt out
p.s. If you’re interested in some fresh lists involving these concepts, check out our blog at TCG with Hats! Starmetroid and I will be putting up 2 new decks at week! One on Thursdays and one on Mondays!
Really liked the article, cant wait for landorus.
goodness, week 1 cities is gonna be a headache for a lot of people. regicide of the reigning champ is never a clean and easy way to start a format.
This was really good. I agree with you on pretty much every card.
I agree that Landorus is stupidly good. I think the meta game is going to be built around it, just as it was built around Darkrai in the Spring.
Gold Potion is great. I think it is definitely the best ace spec.
I see the potential of Charizard too. If the Blastoise deck is as bad as I and a lot of other players think it is, then Charizard could be good during the cities format. If not, I’m sure the card will be good down the road.
Yeah… Blastoise is a big “I dunno, seems legit” deck. I personally really like it as a concept, but… “I dunno, seems legit.” It’s definitely not destined to be Emboar Ver2. However Feraligatr Prime makes a decent proxy deck in terms of consistency issues.
The big difference in dealing with the metagame is that Blastoise can Mewtwo war, whereas Feraligatr Prime couldn’t. And decks like KyuGatr did take a couple T16’s at either Nats or Regionals or something.
I tested with KyuGatr a bit and it certainly wasn’t bad. I see Keldeo/Blastoise as a deck that patches up the holes of KyuGatr and makes it significantly better. So I definitely see potential for the deck.
Additionally… it definitely plays more like Reshiboar than KyuGatr, but unlike Reshiboar Step-In really helps to ensure that nothing get’s stalled. And additionally, Keldeo EX is just a million times better for a deck using hand accel than Reshiram.
So I dunno… seems legit :P
The main two things I don’t like about the deck is that it has major issues with two cards, which I think will set it back in viability quite a bit.
First of all, an eviolited Shaymin EX can give this deck nightmares, knocking out Blastoise and Keldeo with ease.
The deck, at least as currently constructed, also completely folds up shop to Garbodor decks. I guess players can start playing Switch in the deck, but once they start taking out other cards like Super Scoop Up to make room for Switch to deal with Garbodor, the more it weakens its matchup against other decks.
I think it will definitely going to be Tier 2, and won’t be a flop completely like Garchomp/Altaria was, but i have difficulty seeing it be anywhere near the best decks in format. I do love me some Keldeo EX though as a tech card in a variety of different decks.
It’ll be interesting to see how the meta plays out. I think it will definitely be a lot different than this past meta, where everyone was playing the top decks. When we’re left with $60 Landorus EX and $40-50 Keldeo EX’s, the haves and haves not aspect of the meta game will return.
I guess I sorta discount Garbodor as a counter because Landorus EX will be in the format. I don’t really know if there is a currently constructed version of the deck… but I’d include 2 Mewtwo and 4 DCE so I’d at least have a card that can let Keldeo hit 70 on T2 without Blastoise, and Mewtwo can attack first turn (though I would need Switch).
Shaymin… totally. That’s rough. But what decks can really use Shaymin? HyRai and… ? So it’s once again a Landorus thing… I feel like Landorus has primary and secondary effects which increase Keldeo/Blastoise’s playability. Though if I think about what I’m saying, I really can’t say it’s going to be tier 1, considering tier 1 is “on par with the best decks of the format.” And I don’t see Keldeo/Blastoise being a Stage 2 deck that’s capable of competing with big basics.
But Landorus! :P
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say if Landorus gets played as much as we think then this deck will be at least tier 1.5 if not tier 1. It’s not weak to eels, and HyRai will be the only deck playing its counter, and Mewtwo and tornadus will be played at least in my list. So Keldeo will not be the only attacker.
So I dunno… seems legit
Tool Scrapper can be used as a “one-of” and paired with skyla, can be used against garbodor. Maybe.
Ugh.. Landorus.. Weren’t Stage 2s supposed to make a comeback..?
Nice read, but I have some concerns:
1) The translations for Skyla on both Pokebeach.com and Bulbapedia state that it searches out any one Trainer, not any one Item. If you read Japanese and this is an error, since it is a widespread error well worth mentioning. If you don’t read Japanese then what was the source of your translation, and why is it different? If Skyla can get any Trainer, the card becomes more powerful; searching for a Supporter isn’t great but is better than nothing, and at least a few decks would love an option for searching out a Stadium.
2) Blastoise/Keldeo EX decks are likely to be potent, but don’t ignore that both cards are Grass Weak. Better than being Lightning Weak for sure, but this is why Weakness isn’t an easy game to win; how many decks can consider running Shaymin EX as a fail safe? Due to Weakness, Shaymin EX will do 60 + 60 per prize the opponent has taken; that means Shaymin EX becomes a OHKO machine against both Blastoise and Keldeo EX as soon as that deck takes two Prizes. Certainly not a fatal flaw, since Shaymin EX itself is an easy OHKO, but as a solid, relatively splashable cleaner it still needs to be acknowledged.
3) Gold Potion is actually pretty weak as an Ace Spec. It isn’t bad, but 90 damage is basically “undoing” one attack. If your Pokémon didn’t survive the previous attack, you can’t undo it! I can see it being used, but only until the next set where Scramble Switch makes it obsolete (Scramble Switch to a back-up attacker, Max Potion the original).
4) Computer Search is a pretty obvious pick for most decks, because as long as you have discard fodder it is hard to be a “bad” draw. It makes several draw cards better, not just Bianca.
*Bicycle works on the same principle as Bianca, but weaker in exchange for being an Item.
*Hugh wants you to run your hand low.
*N still likes shuffling a smaller hand back into the deck too; less chance of drawing the same “dead” cards back.
*Professor Juniper kills any cards left in hand, so pitch them for something to use now! Expect “Computer Search, discard two, Juniper” to be a common play.
5) Ditto has received “hype” on Pokégym and Six Prizes at least; I know because I was there. =P It was so heavily discussed that we had people translating Japanese rulings for us on Pokégym! Your analysis of it was otherwise pretty good, though you left out that anyone trying for donk (or extremely aggressive) decks also benefits since Ditto becomes a variable starter for them… e.g. if you had a donk deck that only had four Pokemon, you can have eight for the purposes of avoiding mulligans. When you’ve got two solid aggressive attackers (like Landorus EX and a friend), you can now throw Ditto into the mix: now you have 12 Pokemon for the purpose of avoiding mulligans, and if you aren’t sure what your opponent is playing, Ditto opens then becomes the appropriate attacker now that you do know.
Lastly, it can flesh out low count attackers and counters. Packing Shaymin EX as a finisher but finding out your facing Blastoise/Keldeo EX? Send out Shaymin EX as soon your opponent takes two Prizes, and begin prepping Ditto. When Shaymin EX falls, you not only can do the obvious (recycle via appropriate cards), but drop it into the Ditto that already has the Energy for it to attack without missing a beat. Not a great example, but hopefully it illustrates my point.
6) I think you’re selling Bicycle a little short; this is an Item based draw card. It is completely dead if you can’t get your hand down to four cards (one being Bicycle), however since it is an Item, drawing a single card with it means it is like running a 56 card deck… which means you’re more likely to get what you really needed. Deck thinning is less important in Pokémon, but as a next-to-worst case scenario, it is nothing to scoff at. Drawing two cards hits Bill levels, three Cheren, and four is obviously fantastic. If that is what you were saying, sorry to repeat it; it sounded like you were downplaying it a bit. Especially since so many decks can play their hands down effectively.
7) You were probably too generous to Hugh. It does help some decks that want to discard from hand; remember it makes BOTH players discard if their hands are larger than five cards. Several decks, as you stated, can feed off the discards, and if your opponent anticipates a Hugh, they will just play their hand down so they can draw up to five cards!
8) White Kyurem EX has more potential than Black, because White can actually anchor some form of donk (or at least aggro) deck. If Tool Scrapper usage flat lines, BKEX has a shot as a hard to set-up, hard to knock down wall. Otherwise it is too resource intensive to set-up given how vulnerable it is. Even with Crystal Wall, it falls within 2HKO and OHKO range of Dragon-Type attackers.
9) Melotta is like meant to be played with Vilepume to hit quad Weakness. Sure you can use Mewtwo EX, but… if you have Mewtwo EX and are hitting Weakness, do you really need to double your damage more than several other tactics? Vileplume is meant to work with what would otherwise be sub-par attackers; guys like Mewtwo EX and Landorus EX are just better with less specialized support. Ironically, I still come to a similar conclusion, but I don’t have high hopes for Vileplume.
10) Celebi EX does have a few other uses you left out; for example allowing Aggron mill decks to attack to mill while doing their normal thing. Will that work? Probably not, but there are many similar combos, so I think it is worth a shout out.
11) Where is Ether?
1) I do read Japanese. And it does say Trainer. Thank you! Very important distinction! My mistake.
5) I did leave out Ditto for Donk decks. I could add that.
7) Pretty sure Hugh is gonna flop… Decks don’t want to use a supporter so they can discard 1-2 cards.
8) WKEX donks? What?
10) eh… article was getting long… none of those decks are going to be better than tier 3.
11) Ether + Pokedex = 6-8 cards out of your deck just to accel. Not worth it in my books. Better forms of accel out there, and better targets for that accel as well.
Thanks for the comment!
My bad on Skyla. Most of the time people type Trainer in articles when they mean Item (like when talking about things like Junk Hunt or Gothitelle), so I always change it. You had Item originally, I’ll go make sure it’s fixed!
I have to disagree with Ether. Unlike everything we have, Ether makes no distinction and accelerates any type of Energy you want to accelerate. Notably, we can finally accelerate Fighting Energy (and while Landorus EX is terribly powerful on its own, additional acceleration for T2 or maybe even T1 80/150 is a real threat to the opponent) as well as Metal Energy (which makes Klingklang notably stronger, especially seeing as Metal’s typical Fire weakness will lose even more popularity and Klingklang can tech Keldeo EX). Also, we got back Grass acceleration, though that doesn’t really matter with our current pool of attackers…
And you left out something I really wouldn’t discard easily and that’s Flygon. It’s attack is heavy on energy cost, but the option to paralyze at will (and not lose the attacker, as is the case with Accelgor) is strong enough on its own. It’s Ability is also not bad and paired with Celebi EX means 30 damage to the Bench each turn (Kyurem NVI anyone?) while being able to abuse DCE. The Dragon weakness is nasty, but that’s also true for Garchomp, Hydreigon and Rayquaza (bot reg and EX), all of which have a serious impact on the metagame. I can definitely see Flygon have some impact, probably not even close to Tier 1, but probably more than, let’s say, Hugh, Stoutland or Black Kyurem EX.
Honorable mention: Raticate. Paired with poison (from Amoongus or that Item we’re probably getting in the Plasma set), it can OHKO anything, no matter the circumstances, even Crystal Walled Black Kuyrem EX with no weakness thanks to Leavanny (ok, Espeon stops it…). 60 HP makes it a liability especially when facing Darkrai or Kyurem NVI, but with Catcher and enough EXs on your opponent’s bench, you can draw your last prize by turn 4. It may sound highly inconsistent, and it probably is, but it’s worth being mentioned.
Nonetheless, I really like your article, great work! :)
Scenia brought up some good points, but I’ll add my experience as well.
First, worst case scenario, Ether reveals the top card of your deck. There are some specific combos for this, but generally it is helpful, since that can allow you to tailor your Supporter play for the turn (as an example). Pokedex combos with any non-shuffling draw power… which is most of it.
The main strike against it is being unable to work with Special Energy, and considering the fun I have had with Hammerspam variants, decks really need to be minimizing their Special Energy usage. I am not kidding; Hammerspam is just set to become even more effective with Computer Search and/or Skyla… especially if Carwdaunt’s prediction holds true and Landorus chases off the one deck almost immune to it, Eels variants.
It is a lot of cards to accel, but remember that both pieces are still useful on their own, and technically most Energy acceleration requires just as much; it is more an issue of being non-reusable acceleration without Sableye.
Flygon also has some potential because if you want, you can throw it up without Energy. I wouldn’t run the whole deck without Energy, but you could throw it up front with a Giant Cape or Rocky Helmet, and just Max Potion it a few turns while building your cleaner… namely anything with good spread.
Raticate was totally worth a shout out. Right now, it is almost impossible to use well. Then we get Poison Hypnotic Beam. It is costly, but it is a combo that takes out anything not immune to Poison and/or damage counter placement in one hit. As a former Liability player, I was thrilled when PHB hit for this reason.
Lastly if the article was going to long… hey, not by my standards. Still, if you wanted to trim stuff, Hugh, Melotta, and Black Kyurem EX aren’t high on my list (remember, I said you were being too generous with Hugh, rating it too highly). Not expecting much out of Vileplume either; too many good attackers that are better off with a different Stage 2 backing them so that they are useful against anything, not just when matching up to Weakness. You made a decent case for Cresselia EX, but it still sounds like it deserved to be in your Minor player list at most.
Despite this, I did enjoy your article. ;) I’ve just been giving this a lot of thought (and at least some play-testing), and our results definitely branched out from each other.
Raticate can also be partnered with many other cards like Minum (does ten damage to all of your opponent’s pokemon for just one lightning energy), Shedninja (place three damage counters on any of your opponent’s pokemon in any way you like without giving up any prizes for getting knocked out), or Dusknoir (can move opponent’s damage counters around in any way you like).
Thanks!
I have to say that if you’re planning on using Ether and Pokedex in Klinklang… your deck is going to be more cramped than a Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City.
And this article was more meant to discuss cards that might be seen in tier 1 decks. Sorry Flygon :(
Barring Bicycle, I don’t think any of the Minor players will be seen in tier 1 decks :P
And we can’t really know what will be tier 1 after all, I personally think Keldeo/Blastoise does have a pretty good shot as well as Darkrai variants that somehow can overcome that awful matchup against Landorus.
Still, I think Flygon would have deserved a mention at least in the context of Celebi EX.
Well… the minor players I sorta shot down myself :P I will say I think Vileplume has real potential, and Bicycle is undeniably a strong effect. But the rest was sort of my polite way of saying…
“These cards aren’t going to win anything, but people will be playing them.”
What I did miss mentioning was Escape Rope and Town Map! I definitely think both of those deserved a mention. >.> I also missed Dusknoir and Audino. Though I dunno about Dusknoir.
Dusknoir probably will be played in spread decks. I don’t think it’ll really help (it does take quite some space), but people will play it :D
Dusknoir + Accelgor + Gothitelle = Gothitelle/Accelgor/Chandelure in the new format. The problem is a less consistent setup, and having to face down Landorus EX with a setup deck.
With respect to donk decks:
I have done some testing on this one. Donk decks have many things to consider (and try to optimize). You are correct; Ditto is vulberable to a Landorus EX donk. Switch isn’t. You seem to be ignoring the problems with running Switch.
1) Switch doesn’t combat mulligans; you’re shooting for the donk, and every mulligan is another chance for your opponent to open with two Pokemon and shut you down. Even if you aren’t running a pure donk deck and have a solid aggro strategy behind it, running a deck with four or even eight basic Pokemon is giving your opponent help you can’t afford.
2) You have to have both Pokemon in play at the same time to use
Switch; if you open with Ditto, you just need to have the attacker in
hand to play before you attack (e.g. up to the next to last action of
your turn). Really stinks to have to discard your Switch before you get that Pokemon off of a Professor Juniper.
3) Switch is an Item, meaning it can only be searched out via Skyla (Supporter) or Computer Search (Ace Spec; requires discarding two cards). Yes, you know that, but are you really counting the cost? You probably want those (if they are in the deck) for PlusPower or to get a good draw supporter; donking requires a lot of cards.
4) If you are trying to optimize Bicycle usage, a spare Ditto can be Benched, while a spare Switch can’t be burned unless you have a free Retreater in play or a second copy in hand and a second Pokemon in play.
5) When you can’t go first, it allows you to bluff your opponent. That is a lot harder when they are staring at Landorus EX. ;) Also useful when you need to bluff your opponent because your donk attempt failed and you want them preparing for a “full” deck and not simply a “donk-to-aggro” build. If you opened with Little Quaza, your opponent might think a Benched Ditto is waiting to go =>Tynamo=>Electric.
White Kyurem EX was something a few people were toying around with; taking it as a challenge, I worked out a list, and some friends of mine toyed around with it. Sadly, the one who really liked it also had to basically drop Pokemon until the summer (intensive school). The donk aspect wasn’t as strong as I would like, but between Crystal Edge, Double Colorless Energy, and Ether, you had a solid shot at opening with Dragon Stream for at least 60. We were still toying around with whether or not to drop the DCE and just focus on streamlining draws so that two Ether were likely.
1) I haven’t found it to be a problem, and donk is never a consistent deck strategy by virtue of failing to achieve it’s strategy 50% of the time (unless you’re running First Ticket). I’ll just say, the first list I built for Landorus ran 4 Landorus EX, 2 Mewtwo, 1 Ditto and 4 Switch. It’s not a card I’d max out over a Switch. Switch is a card that is versatile in the mid-game, whereas Ditto is like making the argument for something like 4 Thundurus in Eels. Not a bad argument, but I’d rather have mid-game versatility.
2) Decks do just fine right now with this switch problem you seem to have.
3) See #2
4) I don’t really want to devote spaces to both Ditto and Bicycle instead of cards I could actually use for something… Resources are nonetheless precious and I’d encourage you to try building a decklist using Ditto and Bicycle to try and maximize Bicycle draw. That’s a lot of deckspace devoted to… not much in terms of power. Definitely a lot of room in a Landorus deck, but not enough for me to justify the sacrifice in versatility.
5) … Ditto doesn’t bluff well. They’ll just prioritize getting their setup out. Which is what they do anyways… The format’s pretty fast. You don’t really adjust your setup much depending on what you face. The only argument I see here is something like Garbodor could surprise.
And I really don’t support Ether + Pokedex. RUSRS was a joke article, and even that had a more efficient accel. Think about it this way…
Eels can be set up over multiple turns. You play down a tynamo, and an eel on a separate turn. You have multiple options for getting out both. You can support to get additional pieces.
Ether + Pokedex? Both need to be in your hand at the same time. Skyla can help, but that means you don’t get to support for something else. I can run up the numbers… but two 4-of cards that require themselves to be in your hand at the same time is not a great accel option :|
I’m not impressed with Ether. That’s all I’m saying.
Thing is, while it’s not a great accel option, it’s better than manual attachments. Those can’t even be called an accel option, but they’re the only option for decks based on Fighting, Metal or Grass Energy besides Ether. I would never play the Ether engine in any deck that has access to acceleration, but not every deck does have that.
If I were to try using Ether… I would use it with Lunatone. That is what I shall say.
That is actually worth a shot imo. Lunatone is easy to search for and can help with Ether any time. With some decent drawing support, the downside of seeing only 2 cards is certainly less of a problem.
Of course, it’s not like you can’t have Pokedex in there too. Say you use Lunatone, don’t find an energy, then you can use a Cheren or something to get past those cards, and try again with Pokedex.
And I will ask… why? Lunatone is a Basic Pokemon, and its effect is reusable, so it would seem obvious, but less so with testing. It can “get in the way” as a starting Pokémon, and multiples of it are pretty much dead cards. It doesn’t dig very deep, only two cards, so you’ll be better off than using it blind but by a small margin.
While it is reusable, the sooner you get it out the easier it is to turn into a quick Prize; I will allow if your set-up goes just right this can be turned to your advantage (sure, KO Lunatone and ignore my now fully powered attacker!). If you’re running multiple Ether, how likely are you to successfully get off multiples from a single Lunatone?
I can understand finding Ether lacking; I disagree, but I can understand. It is more that you are selling Pokédex short. Ether is literally the card Pokédex was waiting for to finally put it over the top into the “play” category. Certainly not for all decks, but you realize that you can get off more than one Ether per Pokédex if the Energy is there; Ether does NOT shuffle the deck! That means you can even use a Pokédex to bump an Ether to the top of the deck, right above an Energy, if both were present.
It’s not that I’m selling Pokedex short. It’s that if you’re going to rely on a 2 card combo to accel, it’s incredibly inefficient to use 2 cards that NEED to be in the same hand at the same time.
The reason Eelektrik, Dark Patch, Celebi Prime etc… all work as energy acceleration is that you can fulfill one part of the acceleration requirement before refreshing your hand, or on a prior turn. Ether + Pokedex does not have this luxury, and thus requires you to hit unlikely odds (my estimate at about 18% chance of having both in the same hand at the same time, when running 4-ofs of each).
Lunatone, though less impressive than Pokedex, is a card which can be used over and over, and can be used before or after a supporter. If you built your deck to accel via Lunatone (something like 15-16 energy, 4 Ether, 2 Lunatone, multiple basics to buffer Lunatone starts etc…) then Lunatone would function admirably to net you the accel.
The big point I would like to make is that Ether is not a card used to accelerate quick starts, since the Ether+Pokedex combo is so inconsistent. Ether is a card that can accelerate a board pre-emptively, not reactively.
And when you’re prepping a board pre-emptively, there are multiple options that do a more consistent job than Ether. Examples being Exp. Share as alternate acceleration, or Hammers as alternate slots you could use for disruption (which is negative acceleration against the opponent).
If you want a reactive accelerator for your energy, then Energy Switch does the job more efficiently than Ether, and the combination of Energy Switch and Exp Share serve nicely to work as pre-emptive energy retention combined with the ability to accel.
I’ve outlined the reasons quite clearly. We can certainly disagree and I think it’s healthy for the game that we do! Otherwise everyone would be playing the same lists and that would be boring. However, in my opinion, for the reasons I’ve outlined, Ether + Pokedex is (to me) an underwhelming combination over-reliant on in-hand combination that cannot be used more effectively than other practical forms of board preparation.
Thanks for reading, and for commenting so enthusiastically! :)
Cheers
Crawdaunt out
p.s. Additionally, I’m not advocating Lunatone + Ether. I just think it is more practical than Ether + Pokedex.
Future comments may become less enthusiastic when my already posted comments appear to not be fully understood. Disagreement is one thing; seeing comments seemingly missed or misunderstood is quite another.
Your most recent comment began by comparing Ether usage to several forms of Energy acceleration to which is not really comparable. Yes, I did mention that the number of slots to heavily run Ether and Pokédex isn’t unheard of for Energy acceleration, since Eelektrik would require a similar amount. Doing so came across as me trying to “equate” the two, and while I thought I explained that they were not equal, clearly I failed.
Otherwise (and I’ll try to keep this brief in case I have been obscuring things with length):
1) You can use Ether and Pokédex on their own… and in fact you should expect it.
2) You aren’t always using this combo for a donk deck; like all combos there is a risk building it up in hand, but there is a reward for it, taking a deck that otherwise “shouldn’t” be able to score multiple Energy attachments before attacking, and doing just that.
3) You may be able to use multiple Ether off of one Pokédex. Sometimes Pokédex will whiff on Energy completely, but sometimes it hits multiples.
4) While not an option with the premiere draw Supporters, yes when you use a Cheren or Bianca, you can play Pokédex, use a draw card, and then drop an Ether to get the Energy card you placed so it would be on top after the draw.
5) When not focusing on the opening draw, you’ll notice your probability should improve; I am not very good with probabilities, but thinning my deck of Pokémon is usually a common thing, which means my draws are less likely to hit Pokémon and more likely to hit Trainers or Energy. This can also improve a blind Ether use.
6) When we are focusing on the opening draw, as in for a donk deck or at least something extremely aggressive, please realize my builds are focused on a high hand turn over; I commit to drawing Professor Juniper by maxing out both Random Receiver and Xtransceiver, and will try to keep my hands small enough to squeeze off a Bicycle or two. My friend wanted to use the engine more for White Kyurem EX. I was leaning more towards Landorus EX.
7) Have you considered what a single Pokédex and Ether can accomplish with Sableye, especially now that we are getting Computer Search and Skyla?
So feel free to dismiss this as too unreliable, but please don’t do that and then ignore how I explained I’ve been using and seeing it used. Ether is odd in that while the odds of using it without prep are worse than your average tails fails card, it doesn’t do nothing when it fails; it gives you a sneak peak at your next card, and it has proven useful when trying to determine whether to Juniper or N.
I’ve tried Lunatone, and it was not promising. The same reason you don’t like Ditto for donk decks wasn’t unfounded, but it is is even more applicable for Lunatone. You love probability, so tell me do you really think Lunatone is helping the odds that much for Ether?
You might have an easier time assembling the pieces of the combo, but it is a combo that is less likely to succeed when it does “go off”. So if you think Pokédex + Ether is a waste, Lunatone + Ether performs worse.
I assure you they are not misunderstood. I brought up Eels, Dark Patch etc… to stress the point that you require both cards in hand to have successful acceleration, which is unreliable unlike the prior examples.
1) If Pokedex were good on it’s own, people would be using it. That’s not an argument in and of itself, it’s a statement saying that people don’t feel the card is worth it. I would say that the lack of Pokedex use in the past year and a half is unsurprising though. Ether is also not good on it’s own. Revealing the top card of your deck is not a good effect for an Item card to have. Attaching energy is, but to do it effectively you need filtering via a card like Pokedex or Lunatone.
2) With N in the format? And with Juniper being the best draw supporter available?
3) I apologize if, likewise, my responses are becoming less enthusiastic. But please do not make this your argument. We’re talking about a situation that might come up once or twice after many games. The cards I put in my deck are cards I want to be able to use every game to accomplish an end goal. Ether and Pokedex are not good cards to accomplish the goals of most any deck.
Again, notable examples being Exp Share, Energy Switch or Disruption. Additionally, a card like Ho-Oh EX already provides accel for any energy type, and effectively to boot.
4) Ether + Pokedex may have nifty plays available. But that doesn’t make it good. I personally love the idea of using Pokedex, sending energy down to the 4th card and putting an Ether in the first 3, playing a Cheren, drawing the Ether and using it to accel the energy I placed. But the situations where you can do something like that are few and far between. Nifty =/= Viable.
5) Applies at the start of the game drawing 7 cards + 1 basic. Just an estimate though based on past calculations of 2-card combos I’ve done. This is a rough estimate, I could run up the actual numbers but I suspect they aren’t pretty as a result of having to have both in hand simultaneously.
6) (Ether + Pokedex) + Energy + Energy + Attacker can happen. Not denying it. But the only notable type of donk that Ether could facilitate I see being worth it is either Rayquaza DRX’s Shred or Landorus EX’s Land’s Judgement. Both require the successful use of 2 Ether on the first turn. I’m already disappointed with the prospects of reliably getting 1 ether off successfully on the first turn.
7) Yep. And if I’m using Sableye to get Ether and Pokedex back, then clearly something is going wrong in my game, or I’m setting up for a great turn 2 after having a brilliant turn 1. Skyla is a great buffer, not denying it.
My argument for Lunatone is that it’s a card where, when you have a successful Anticipate and an Ether in hand, you get your accel. And having access to a Lunatone is much easier than having access to a Pokedex. It may be less powerful, and Anticipate will fail to nab you an energy very often. But the fact that you can use multiple Anticipates over multiple turns is why I would rather use Lunatone than Pokedex. The repeated use will balance the lack of power, and likely allow you approx. the same number of accels per game, but for less cards. My definition of a better partner.
But I am writing off both as poor choices for a deck’s options. So this is really rather superfluous. This is my last post on this line of thought.
Again thank you for commenting, and I genuinely enjoy these sorts of debate :) But I feel we reached the point of “agree to disagree” after the last post, when I proposed just that. We’re the kind of people who write walls of text as responses. Of course we’re reading each other’s points! We just disagree, whether or not it comes across as that over the internet.
Regarding Ether, Eelektrik takes up 6-8 spots by itself, not counting all the support for it like switch and level ball. I think Ether’s biggest use will be in decks that don’t need constant energy acceleration, like Klinklang. In some decks, Skyla can even be used to more reliably get Pokedex or Ether. Also, as Scenia mentioned, it’s energy acceleration for ANY type. So yes, there are better cards for accelerating energy, but not for all types.
does anyone else think that stoutland has some potential with accelgor in replacing gothitelle? I really don’t know but if anyone has done playtesting with it I’d like to know if it’s helpful
The reason Gothitelle is used is to stop them from just playing Switch to break the lock. Stoutland can’t do that.
No, but Stoutland might be able to prevent them from getting the switch. Or maybe even stop them from getting other Pokemon or energy out. Not being able to use supporters, it’d be very difficult to get anything really. I think it’s worth a shot.
I’d agree. I love the card.
But Lillipup is donked by Landorus EX and that makes me a sad panda…
Landorus is so horrible for this game. I guess it was printed to address all of the darkrai and eel decks out there, but adding more ways to donk is not healthy for this game in any way.
BUT on a more positive note, I think it’s worth mentioning Hugh actually does have one great usage. Durant. Not that it’s hugely played right now, but I think it’s a straight up staple in Durant. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but such a common tactic against durant is to just not play down your hand and eventually N your huge 6-10 card hand back into your deck in the late game. Hugh prevents people from doing this to the Durant player.
Yeah, Hugh could be useful in Durant or Aggron/Sableye. Once Plasma gale hits though, we get access to Colress. And once Colress exists, I can see people Colressing themselves into hands large enough that Hugh could actually hurt. But even then… Haha.
Charizard paired with celebi ex and charmander’s energy acceleration attack could be viable.
Great article as always! You are definately my favorite writer. Don’t see why you mentioned Charizard though, in stead of mentioning something like Dusknoir or even Electivire. Anyhow, +1 from me! Oh, and have you thought about Empoleon in the BW-BC format?
I forgot to mention a couple cards I would have liked to! Like Escape Rope, Town Map and Ether. Dusknoir would also have been a good one to bring up. I dunno about Electivire. Kyurem NVI stopped working when people started playing bigger basics, and Electivire has the same problem except he’s a Stage 1.
As for Charizard. He’s one of my favourites :P Also, his attack is fairly strong as an effect (especially coupled with a T1 accel option in Charmander), and his second attack is pretty powerful. So I felt it was at least worth throwing his name out there.
As for Empoleon in BW-BC, I’ve thought a little about it. It’s still a very strong card, and is only going to get stronger with the release of Landorus EX. Actually… I think it’s interesting because Empoleon/Accelgor is likely to get better in the metagame. With Keldeo/Blastoise running around, Accelgor becomes a heavy hitter. Additionally, you can play Virbank City Gym to hit new numbers for damage. Accelgor + Virbank City Gym does 100 damage before their turn, and 130 coming back (Good OHKO on a lot). And with Eviolite that becomes 80 and 110(sets up for 2HKO’s much better). Using Mew against Darkrai? 60 and 90 (perfect 2HKO). As for other Empoleon ideas… Empoleon/Landorus seems as good a combo as any.
Thanks! :D
I like how this article remains largely unaffected, since I didn’t really hype up Bicycle, and I didn’t mention ether and forgot to mention Escape Rope.
Great review, stinks that ether was booted from the set last minute
so a Keldeo with 6-7 waters and backup from Reuniclus can wall and deystroy everything?
Rayquaza EX OHKO’s. Mewtwo EX OHKO’s. Solosis get’s donked and KO’d by your opponent’s Landorus/Darkrai.
Buy yes.
Speaking of Mewtwo EX donks … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzKE4O-hSL8