Two Top Cuts with Keldeo/Eels

Hello there, SixPrizes! I’m sure you guys don’t exactly know who I am, so I’ll be doing a quick introduction as to who I am, what I’m going to do for this site, and why I am doing it.

machamp-stormfront-sf-20Well, to start off my name is Andy Kay and I hail from Watertown, Massachusetts. I play in the New England area, and I think of myself as a competitive player. While I haven’t done very much in my Pokémon career, like many others that write for this site, I like to think of myself as above average.

My highest achievement would be two top sixteens at Regionals, one in the SP format (MD-CL) and one during the Yanmega Prime/Magnezone Prime format (HS-EPO). I played Machamp/Vileplume UD during the SP format, and had so much fun with the deck.

During HeartGold & SoulSilver-on, I played Kingdra Prime/Cinccino BLW. I went 5-3 in Swiss and won my top 32 match 2-0. The deck focused on using Bench-sitters such as Kingdra Prime from Unleashed to do more damage with Cinccino BLW, while having a full bench.

The deck’s math was perfect; Yanmega Prime had 110 HP, so one Spray Splash and a “Do the Wave” with a full bench 1HKO’d it.

Moving onto the City Championships of that year, I was one of the first people to play Chandelure NVI/Dodrio UD in that format. This felt very good, as I had built the deck from the ground up. I had also seen the potential in Chandelure from the very beginning, due to its early scan in Japan. I made top cut a few times, but not enough for a Worlds invite, clearly.

season2_ep51_ss1 ash climbingpokemon.comAnother one of my accomplishments would have to be my 2011 Nationals experience. I started off 1-2, but then made a comeback to 7-2, making it in as the 26th seed in my flight. Granted, I lost in top 128 due to Reversal shenanigans, but hey, who didn’t?

The deck I played was not actually my own, it was SixPrizes’ own Dylan Lefavour‘s Kingdra Prime/Yanmega Prime/Jirachi UL list, so of course, much kudos to him. It’s always nice being relatively close to such good players such as himself. Anyway, enough of the introduction, I’m now going to tell you what I will be doing for this website.

As for SixPrizes, I plan on providing you guys, the readers, stellar content, while also having a way to track my achievements. Well, that and making a couple extra dollars on the side. The main reason as to why I am writing for you guys is mainly to improve my writing skills while also doing something that I love, which is – you guessed it – Pokémon.

Pokémon has shaped me in so many ways, for the better, of course. Since I was seven, I have been playing card games remotely competitively, and this game has by far the best community.

Yu-Gi-Oh just wasn’t for me, the atmosphere was too negative, and cards were stolen left and right from me. The Pokémon card game’s community has been so nice to me, helping me get better while having very, very minimal problems.

Ho-Oh Was Not Flying

ho-oh ex dragons exalted drx 119pokemon-paradijs.comNow, onto the meat of the article. I haven’t been doing so well throughout Cities this year. Weekend #1 I played Tornadus EX/Bouffalant DRX/Ho-Oh EX/Terrakion NVI, netting me two 4-2 records. I didn’t make top cut either of those days however, which was disappointing to say the very least.

The deck flew pretty well, but it just didn’t cut it. There was a game where I had 2 DCEs, 1 Bianca, 1 Aspertia (with one already on board), and 1 Lightning in hand. I was playing against Aspertia/Eels with a teched Zekrom BLW, so my Tornadus EXs were dead weight.

So I used Bianca (I had already attached for turn) for two, and I get two Tornadus EX! Gross, right? As you may have guessed, I lost that game.

Weekend #2 I played two Ho-Oh variants. Day one I played Ho-Oh EX/Terrakion NVI/Keldeo-EX/Sigilyph DRX. It worked pretty well, but I drew the following hand vs. Quad Cresselia (which any deck playing Mewtwo should auto-win against):

Ho-Oh EX
DCE
DCE
Water
Fighting
Fighting
Fighting

And in my subsequent turns drew the following cards:

Energy Switch
Energy Switch
Energy Switch
Switch
Pokémon Catcher

I went 3-2, and came in 7th I think. Either way, it’s really an awful feeling to draw that badly. I mean, even an Ultra Ball would’ve won me the game. You know, like attach DCE to Ho-Oh, pass. He attaches etc., I draw an Ultra Ball, and discard two find a Mewtwo, attach DCE, and X Ball for 2 Prizes, maybe drawing a Supporter and then running him over. It was really really bad.

The next day, I played Rayquaza EX/Landorus-EX/Mewtwo EX/Ho-Oh EX. This gave me a 3-2 record, losing round one to Sam Chen with Empoleon DEX/Accelgor DEX, which was truly an awful matchup, then winning the next three, and then finally losing to dead-draw again, to whiff cut.

Finding Success

season3_ep4_ss1 researcher psychologypokemon.comAnyway, I’m almost 100% positive you didn’t want to read a report of just bad luck, so I’ll fast forward to a weekend where I actually did well. On the 15th and 16th of December, I played a relatively rogue deck. That deck was Rayquaza/Eelektrik/Keldeo/Sableye.

The Friday before the tournament, I was play testing with Pangea, which Jeremy Jallen was so kind to post his list of. For those of you who are not aware, Pangea is a Landorus-EX/Tornadus EX/Sigilyph DRX deck that focused on taking knock outs on non-Pokémon-EX. Then, the deck would sweep with a Sigilyph.

Most decks could deal with one Sigilyph, but not many could deal with two. I was playtesting with Pangea on the Friday before the City Championships in Tewksbury, MA. My testing partner, Azul Garcia Griego, was playing his Landorus-EX/Mewtwo EX/Bouffalant DRX deck, and was just destroying me.

I was pretty upset – I’m sure some of you guys know that feeling. You know, the feeling the night before the event when you have absolutely no idea what you want to play? Yeah, not the greatest feeling in the world.

So Azul, knowing that I was getting frustrated, started to bounce ideas off of me. The original idea was a very simple one. The idea was 4 Bouffalant, 4 Eviolite, Ho-Oh, and attackers. The deck focused on a turn 2 Gold Breaker, which is huge in a lot of matchups, even against those with Stage Twos! You could turn two Catcher-KO Deinos or even Squirtles.

Intrigued as I was, I decided to not build it and instead listen more to what he had to say. He proceeded to go off talking about a RayEels variant, and I was immediately skeptical. But we ended up building it and it was so much fun to play.

It set up consistently, had additional consistency through Sableye, plus we had a built in Switch with Keldeo! Without further ado, here is the original list which we were testing with.

Pokémon – 15

4 Tynamo NVI 38
4 Eelektrik NVI
2 Rayquaza EX
2 Keldeo-EX
2 Sableye DEX
1 Zekrom BLW

Trainers – 31

4 Professor Juniper
4 N
3 Bianca
2 Random Receiver

 

4 Pokémon Catcher
4 Ultra Ball
2 Switch
2 Level Ball
2 Super Rod
1 Tool Scrapper
1 Computer Search

 

2 Skyarrow Bridge

Energy – 15

9 Lighting

4 Prism
1 Blend GRPD
1 R

As you can see, the list is 61 cards. Yes, we were testing with 61 cards the night before the tournament. I end up taking the deck home with me and tweaking it a little. Here is the final list I played on Saturday.

Pokémon – 15

4 Tynamo NVI 38
4 Eelektrik NVI
2 Rayquaza EX
2 Keldeo-EX
1 Emolga DRX
1 Sableye DEX
1 Zekrom BLW

Trainers – 31

4 Professor Juniper
4 N
3 Bianca
2 Skyla

 

4 Pokémon Catcher
4 Ultra Ball
2 Level Ball
2 Switch
2 Super Rod
1 Tool Scrapper
1 Computer Search

 

2 Skyarrow Bridge

Energy – 14

8 Lighting

4 Prism
2 R

Note: On day two, I changed the Zekrom to a Shiny Rayquaza.

City #1 – Saturday December 15th

I went in on Saturday, not exactly confident but still hungry for some Championship Points. This was my first time playing an Eel variant at an event, so I was quite nervous. Anyway, onto the report.

Round One vs. Matt Choi w/ Garchomp/Altaria

gible dragons exalted drx 87pokemon-paradijs.comI go first, opening an Emolga and a Tynamo. He flips over his Gible and I sigh. “Who plays Garchomp anymore?” is what I’m thinking to myself, but then the fear sets in. Rayquaza has Dragon Weakness, and he can strip away the Prisms on my Keldeos, etc. So all in all, it looks pretty gruesome for me.

Anyway, I go first, attach to my Emolga, and play an N. We shuffle up and deal our six cards. I bench another Tynamo and use Call for Family. I grab a third Tynamo and a Keldeo then pass. He attaches and uses Sand Attack.

I draw, put some Lightning in the discard via Ultra Ball, evolve to Eel, Dynamotor to Keldeo, attach from my hand to it, and use Emolga’s Static Shock, flipping heads for Sand Attack.

His Gible is now at 20 damage, and he draws and Sand Attacks. I draw, Dynamotor, Rush In, and Secret Sword for 50 and game. He reveals his hand of 2 Altaria and 5 Energy, I apologize, and sign the slip.

1-0

Round Two vs. Raymond Cipoletti w/ Hammertime/Terrakion

I go first I think and I start running hot. I get a turn one Celestial Roar, grabbing double Lightning with a Prism attached. He Junk Hunts and stuff, getting rid of my Prism with a Hammer. I evolve an Eel or two and attach a Fire to KO his Sableye. He retaliates with a Terrakion and I go Dynamotor, etc.

Fast forward and he takes a 3 Prize turn, KOing an EX and an Eel. I decide to make the misplay of benching another Tynamo. I KO something and then it’s his turn. He draws, N’s, and Night Spears my Ray, putting 30 on the fresh Tynamo.

I Juniper, but I can’t evolve the Tynamo to an Eel. I retreat and attach but he shows me the Catcher and I scoop. I was relatively miffed, but hey it happens. Only proves I have further to go in this game!

1-1

Round Three vs. Amanda Kovs w/ Quad Sigilyph

zekrom-next-destinies-nxd-50pokemon-paradijs.comShe goes first and attaches a Psychic, plays a Supporter, etc. I go, set up a couple Tynamos, and use Confuse Ray; heads. She retreats off of a Skyarrow Bridge, attaches, and passes. I evolve my Eels, and set up a bolt strike, and KO.

I take my Prize card, and she benches another Siggy and attaches a DCE to her active one that can now use Psychic. She hits me for 80, now putting me at 120 damage (40 from Bolt Strike recoil damage and 80 from Psychic).

I Outrage and stuff. I take my Prize and she uses Psychic for the KO. I draw, Super Rod the Zekrom back, Ultra Ball for it, and Dynamotor and attach to it. I retreat off of Skyarrow and use Bolt Strike. She Catchers up an Eel, attaches, and passes.

I show her the Switch and she scoops.

2-1

Round Four vs. Jamie DePamphelis w/ Hammertime/Mewtwo

I don’t remember much about this game, but it comes down to an N and I take it. Super close and down to the wire, and a tad bit of an upset, but I can’t remember much about it.

3-1

Round Five vs. Nate Pare w/ Ho-Oh

He gets a turn one X Ball, but without a Catcher, he cannot KO my Tynamos. I set up a couple Eels and KO his Mewtwo turn 3 with a Dragon Burst. He effectively scoops, as his only other Basic was a Ho-Oh and I have a Keldeo on the bench.

4-1

Top Cut vs. Raymond Cipoletti w/ Hammertime/Terrakon

Game One

professor-juniper-dark-explorers-dex-98pokemon-paradijs.comHe opens a Sableye with a Darkrai on the bench and goes first. He attaches to Sableye, Ultra Balls discarding double Dark etc., then Junipers. Discarding minimal cards, and gets a hand of 7. He sees no need to Junk Hunt, so what he does is he just uses Confuse Ray and hits heads to confuse my Tynamo.

I go and Computer Search get a third Tynamo, bench it and a Sableye, all while dropping a Skyarrow Bridge, I Juniper for 7. I attach a Prism to my Sableye, and retreat and use Junk Hunt, for a Tool Scrapper I believe, and of course the Computer Search.

He goes and Dark Patches, attaches, retreats, and finally Energy Switches to get a turn two Night Spear. I simply can’t stabilize and lose.

0-1

Game Two

I go first and Celestial Roar, milling double Prism. Blech. He goes and double Enhanced Hammers! I was like, “Ok Raymond.” He does his thing, and I Scrapper him and KO his Darkrai in the mid game.

My memory starts to get fuzzy from here on out, so yeah. I thin my deck drastically and have 1 Prize card left. I have four cards in deck and Bianca for 3 hitting the Fire to KO his Darkrai for game.

1-1

Game Three

Time gets called when I have 3 Prizes to his six, and so he Enhanced my Prism away and then takes 3 Prize cards via a Night Spear. Memory is super fuzzy, and maybe he can explain it better when his latest Underground article comes out!

But, I end up losing to an N. Whomp.

1-2

Looking back on this event, I definitely could’ve played better. Round two is a prime example of how misplaying can ruin your day. Anyway, onto the next event.

City #2 – Sunday December 16th

Round One vs. Azul Garcia Griego w/ Landorus/Mewtwo

emolga dragons exalted drx 45pokemon-paradijs.comThis game wasn’t a good game – I’m going to say that now. He always destroys me in testing, but when it comes to the real deal I tend to draw the best hands ever. Majority of the time after that, I lose to someone not so great, destroying both of our chances of top cut.

Anyway, I go first and get a couple Tynamos after mulling a couple times, and go Emolga with an N to reset his mulligan cards. Call for Family and pass. He immediately puts on the pressure via Hammerhead, 10 on the Emolga and 30 to a Tynamo.

I evolve the damaged Tynamo into an Eelektrik to prevent the KO. I Dynamotor to my Rayquaza and Call for Family after playing a Supporter, getting a Keldeo. He goes and Hammerheads my Eel and Emolga, while benching a Mewtwo and attaching to it.

I draw and evolve an Eel, Dynamotor to my Rayquaza twice, and attach a Fire to 1HKO his Landorus. He X Balls for 60.

Fast forward near the end of the game, he has zero Catchers in discard, and no Computer Search either. I N him to 2 and me to one, drawing into a Juniper. I attack with Keldeo for 140 with one Prism on a Landorus, and he goes.

He Junipers, needing only a Catcher to win the game on my damaged Rayquaza EX. He whiffs, out of an 18-ish card deck. Silly right? I even cringed. So he switches to a new Landorus and Hammerheads. I draw for turn and play the Juniper.

I draw into the Prism to win the game, via a 90 times 2 Secret Sword.

1-0

Round Two vs. Megan W. w/ Landorus/Tornadus

tornadus ex dark explorers dex 108pokemon-paradijs.comI go second and she whiffs the T1 Blow Through to donk me. I draw and get a few more Tynamos, attach to Rayquaza, and pass. She KOs a Tynamo, after playing a Supporter etc. I evolve into Eels, and Dynamotor before Junk Hunting back some resources to be able to get the T3 Dragon Burst for the KO, even if she KOs an Eel.

She does her thing and does 60 to a Sableye (with my Skyarrow in play). I draw and Super Rod a Fire and a 1-1 Eel back into the deck. I get the big KO on a Tornadus, crippling her Energy droughted board. She doesn’t really make a comeback if I remember correctly.

2-0

Round Three vs. David Gigure w/ Quad Sigilyph

I go first and get a turn one Dragon Pulse (discarding a Lightning and a Catcher) with two Tynamos. He attaches to his Siggy start and Level Balls for another, and finally Catchers a Tynamo.

I go and Juniper, hitting Level Ball, Switch, and Fire. I Level Ball for the Eel, evolve the active, Dynamotor to Ray on the bench, Switch, attach to Ray, and use Shred for the KO.

He can’t stabilize from there, and if he X Balled my Rayquaza, I had a Dragon Burst chilling out on the bench.

3-0

Round Four vs. Joseph Moore Costa w/ Hammertime/Terrakion

n-dark-explorers-dex-96pokemon-paradijs.comHe goes first and Junk Hunts, ensuring the turn two Night Spear. I draw my cards, N him out of the turn two Night Spear and get a couple Tynamos as well as a Rayquaza EX and attach to it.

He goes and is forced to Junk Hunt again. I go and get two Lightning in the discard pile, evolve two Tynamos into Eelektriks, Dynamotor twice, and KO his Sableye with a two Energy Dragon Burst. He goes and uses Night Spear. I retreat, Dynamotor twice, whiffing on the third Energy to KO his Darkrai, and finally use Switch to deal 120 to his Darkrai.

He Junipers while attaching to another Darkrai, hitting double Energy Switch, and retreats to his fresh Darkrai and Night Spears. I go and Super Rod the Ray and the Fire and an Eel I believe. I Ultra Ball finding the Ray, bench it, and Juniper discarding a Lighting or two.

I draw into the Catcher and Fire to KO his damaged Darkrai on the bench, while also Dynamotoring to my Ray EX on the bench that I drew from Juniper. He goes and Night Spears, and does 30 KOing an Eel.

I go and Dynamotor twice, attach the Fire, and KO his Darkrai followed by an N to 3 for each of us. I’m at 1 Prize card, I flash the Catcher, and he scoops.

4-0

Round Five vs. Dylan Lefavour w/ Hammertime/Terrakion

I essentially draw garbage and lose. At one point I Bianca for three, hitting three Lightning! Who does that? Me, obviously. :P

4-1

Round Six vs. Mark Gimbel w/ Hammertime/Terrakion

We play a super back and forth game, and it ends with me N’ing him to two and he draws the game-winning Catcher. I’m upset that I can’t share more with you about this game, but I remember next to none of it.

4-2

I make top 8 as the best 4-2, and I’m paired up against Stephen Moser who is playing RayEels with zero Keldeo.

Top 8 vs. Stephen Moser w/ RayEels

Game One

rayquaza dragons exalted drx 128pokemon-paradijs.comI end up going second to his lone Tynamo, which is upsetting because I opened Shiny Ray! He gets another Tynamo, drops a Skyarrow Bridge, and Emolgas for a third Tynamo and his Shiny Rayquaza. I go get my Tynamos up, play a Catcher, and Dragon Pulse a Tynamo for the KO.

He brings back up the Emolga, gets an Eel, then Junipers discarding quite a bit of Lightning after attaching one to his Little Ray! I am in a lot of trouble if he can get a Shred KO off, but he ends up whiffing the second Eel.

So he settles for a Call for Family, forcing the Catcher. I go get two Eels, and Ultra Ball discard one Lightning to grab my Keldeo.

Keldeo is very good in this matchup, seeing as how with one Prism it 1-shots Emolgas, and even without Prism it still KOs Tynamos. It also forces them to either Catcher around it, or do the first Dragon Burst (which I would then return back and forth, until someone wins).

I Dynamotor to it and manually attach an Energy to the Keldeo as well. I then play my Skyla for a Catcher, play it on his Tynamo, and use Dragon Pulse discarding a Catcher and a Prism. Ouch. Anyway, he never really sets up, and I take it from there.

1-0

Game Two

He plays well, and I end up having to Juniper discarding 2 other Junipers. It’s really unfortunate when things like this happen because a late game N just destroys you.

That is exactly what happened as well, and I don’t draw the greatest stuff off the Juniper, and when he Catcher, Ns, and Volt Bolts, leaving an Eel stranded active, and you need that other attachment for Keldeo and you also need Energy to Dragon Burst for game, that’s just not happening off of a two card N.

1-1

Game Three

keldeo ex boundaries crossedtrollandtoad.comI decide to go first and I set up well. Like super well, like “Oh jeez, he opened nuts.” I get three Eels turn 2 and a Dragon Burst for 180 on his Mewtwo for the KO. Despite this, he still sets up.

I accidentally didn’t bench a Keldeo, and he Ns me. I have no out to a Switch or a Keldeo/Skyarrow, so I’m forced to pass. Anyway, he sets up behind me somewhat doing things, and time gets called on his turn, when I have 3 Prizes. He has 5 or so and cannot KO my Active Keldeo.

So what I do is bench a Rayquaza EX and Dynamotor to it twice and don’t have the Fire/Prism. I smack him for 70 with Secret Sword. He goes and Catcher Dragon Bursts my face in. This was his 4th Catcher out of a three card hand, but still I shouldn’t have benched the darn Ray.

He’s at 3 Prize cards now, and I can’t take another Prize, and so it goes past time. He has a Raikou with two Energy with a lot of Lightning in the discard. So I lose to a Volt Bolt.

1-2

On reflection, I shouldn’t make so many misplays. But hey, only room to improve right? I’m going to Virginia Regionals in a few weeks, and I’ll hopefully write a report about that, if not a Cities wrap up. Let me know in the comments section!

Anyway, that concludes my SixPrizes article! Thanks for reading, and if you would be so kind to press that up vote button. Thanks!

Reader Interactions

7 replies

  1. Grant Manley

    how often did you find yourself Ultra Balling for Tynamo/Eel/Emolga? It seems like a 3-3 Level-Ultra Ball split would be better, but maybe that’s just me.

      • Grant Manley  → Ziggmiceter

        Yeah but 4 is overkill you won’t be discarding 1-2 Lightinings every time Ultra Ball is used and Level Ball is convenient especially in RayEels where Eels are super mandatory and can fetch them easily after super Rod or an opponent’s N. IMO, 3-3 is the way to go for Rayeels (or, if you insist, Keldeo Eels)

  2. Amanda Kovs

    Nice article, Andy! I had no idea you were playing Keldeo, but I guess dropping him against Quad Sig would have been silly. :) The Zekrom BLW totally screwed my game–I was up four prizes until you dropped him and irritatingly did that Super Rod/Ultra Ball trick! Haha. It’s all good. :) It was a great match, and I’m glad to have played against you for the first time.

    Hope to see you at the last two cities in the area this weekend!

  3. bryan carver

    Nice deck list, it is a great deck and It would do

    great at regionals probably so… great job

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