squirtledogg.tumblr.comHello. I hope today is a fantastic day for each and every one of you. It is Valentine’s Day, a day about love and community. I know some of you may not have significant others, but that is OK. Go treat yourself to something, or go hang out with your friends. For our Valentine’s Day, I got my wife a puppy.
But, you do not need a pep talk from me about this wonderful day, I’m sure you want to read about our favorite hobby, Pokémon.
Today’s article is a little bit of a mash up, but I really want to focus on a few different decks. The following outline is a quick and easy way to jump around the article to the deck discussion that has caught your fancy.
Table of Contents
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Eels
I am fully convinced this little guy simply refuses to fade into the background of the competitive scene. I also wonder if Pokémon knew exactly how strong Eelektrik would be when they decided to print the card.
Zeels
pokemon-paradijs.comI was literally hours away from playing this type of deck at the Mississippi River Valley Regional, but I chickened out. The night before the tournament, I extensively tested this type of deck with great results both online and in person at Yeti.
In retrospect, I absolutely should have played this deck because heavy Mewtwo EX proved to be the deciding factor for my friend, Andrew Kreckler, who won the event.
My Zeels deck is in an extremely early developmental stage for the BLW–PLS format, and the early results have been a mixed bag. Both Zekrom and Zekrom-EX gain a lot from Hypnotoxic Laser because their damage caps rise to an effective 150 and 180 damage.
Both of those numbers are relevant because 150 damage can take down a Blastoise or Klinklang in one fell swoop, and 180 damage can take down any EX that does not have Eviolite, Aspertia City Gym, or Giant Cape enhancing its survivability.
Therefore, Hypnotoxic Laser gives Zeels greater reach in taking crucial 1HKOs.
Additionally, this version of Eelektrik is less dependent on Eelektrik. To pilot this deck to success, you should actually view the deck as a Big Basic deck with energy support. The Eels are there to help you “skip” ahead in energy attachments. If you can simply get four or five Dynamotors off in a single game, you will be in a great position.
|
Pokémon – 12 4 Tynamo NVI 38 |
Trainers – 36 4 Professor Juniper
4 Ultra Ball
|
Energy – 12 8 L |
One thing I have heard many well-respected players talk about is Bicycle in Eelektrik decks. I understand the concept, but I do not see how the card fits within any list without giving up other, more important cards.
The idea is that you have another draw card in a deck that can often run its hand very low. Additionally, Bicycle is useful even if you have three other cards in your hand because you are replacing a dead card with a potentially useful card, while thinning your deck. However, I would rather just play more useful cards in the first place.
The two things I would really enjoy in this deck are a second Zekrom-EX and a Registeel-EX. I have been a big fan of Registeel-EX since it was introduced. With 180 HP, Registeel with hardly ever be 1HKOd. That means you should get off at least two Triple Laser attacks. Zekrom’s Bolt Strike does 120 damage, and 120 plus 60 equals 180 damage. That is enough to deal with any threat in the game.
Alternatively, Zekrom-EX deals 150 damage, and 150 damage plus 30 damage from one Triple Laser is enough to deal with any threat in the game. A second Zekrom-EX allows the deck to hit the Zekrom-EX more often when you desperately need to hit Zekrom-EX.
Many people also scoff at the idea of not playing Bouffalant, with Gold Breaker, in Zeels. I have always been a little indifferent toward Bouffalant. Zekrom hits for a consistent 120 and has a sometimes-relevant Weakness, with Tornadus EX and Lugia EX now in the format. Yes, the recoil can be a pain, but you will often trade a non-EX for an EX.
Additionally, I believe Zekrom gains strength, relative to Bouffalant, with PlasmaKlang in the format. All you need is Zekrom + Laser to take out Klinklang in one fell swoop. Bouffalant cannot accomplish that feat due to the EX-clause in the Gold Breaker attack.
ZebraEels
pokemon-paradijs.comMy friend Zach Zamora had the guts to play Zebstrika at the winter Regional, and he was rewarded with a Top 16 finish. Many great players are trending toward 4-0-4 evolution lines, and Zebstrika feasts upon those lists.
Even when your opponent is playing a 4-1-3 line, Zebstrika will be a be a pain in the rear because it is difficult to search out the one Stage 1 card without the assistance of Level Ball or Ultra Ball.
Additionally, Eels players are forced to rely upon Level Ball to set up Eelektrik, and Disconnect also nullifies Catcher and Hypnotoxic Laser.
I honestly believe there are three main ways to play ZebraEels right now, and I am not sure which is the best option.
Version #1 – Zebstrika/Zekrom/Eelektrik
The appeal of playing all Lightning attackers with Zebstrika is that you will have a great deal of consistency, as you will not need to worry about multiple energy type requirements. A sample list might look similar to this:
|
Pokémon – 16 2 Tynamo NVI 38 |
Trainers – 33 4 N
3 Pokémon Catcher
|
Energy – 11 11 L |
I am sure there are many problems with this list, but I fear that is simply the result of the deck quickly becoming short on space. The unfortunate problem with this version of Zebstrika is that you need to play the Lasers to deal supplement Zekrom’s and Zekrom-EX’s attacks.
You may note the addition of Computer Search over Dowsing Machine. I feel Computer Search may be better than Dowsing Machine because the key is getting a turn two Disconnect off as often as possible; because, a turn two Disconnect will win many games simply by shutting your opponent out of a litany of strong Item cards.
The Tynamo split is also important. The Spark Tynamo can be extremely useful to finish off many different attackers. For example, two Disconnect on two separate Eelektriks leave them both with 10 HP left. Spark can finish off those two Eels.
The ability to proactively search your deck for a key component to the combo is more valuable than getting resources back from the discard.
While this version of Zebstrika is intriguing, I fear it may lack the powerful end game needed to thrive. With all Zebstrika decks, one needs a very powerful end game that can make up for a lack of heavy early game damage. Your deck needs to be able to have a virtual auto-win condition if it gets set up.
While I’m not sure which version of Zebstrika is better, I am confident it is not this version.
Version #2 – Zebstrika/Lugia EX/Eelektrik
pokegym.netI do not have a great list to share with you here, and I am not comfortable giving out lists I have not tested. I must also disclose that one of my friends, Zack, is the one that has put good work into developing this deck. So, while I am not going to pretend that I have never heard of this deck, I am also not going to give out his list. I will talk briefly about the concept though.
The first and most obvious implication of running Lugia EX is that you will need to play four Plasma Energy, even if you do not play four Lugia EX.
The less obvious implication is how many Colress Machines you should play. I can say that you need at least one Colress Machine, but the decklist simply cannot accommodate four copies of Colress Machine.
I believe the correct number is either one or two, but I need more testing. At one, you can Skyla for the Colress Machine and get a Lugia rolling. With two, you can simply use Colress Machine more often. I do not believe three or four are necessary because you can simply utilize your turn attachments on Plasma Energy, and use Dynamotor to accelerate Energy onto the field.
Setting up Lugia EX behind successful Disconnects is extremely powerful. Getting two Disconnects onto any Pokémon puts that Pokémon into range for Lugia EX, and Overflow can often end the game in two turns against weakened EXs. You can easily go down 3 Prizes and win the game, so long as you keep Disconnect streaming turn after turn, and your opponent cannot disrupt your Eels or Lugia EXs.
My last thought is that Hypnotoxic Laser is important to this deck’s success. Hypnotoxic Laser allows Zebstrika to deal an effective 70 damage for each disconnect and 100 damage if your opponent cannot retreat out of the Active Spot or use Rush In because Switch and Escape Rope will be locked out.
I do believe this idea may be extremely powerful, but all of the lists I have seen need tweaking. Good luck hammering something amazing out, if you decide to pursue this idea.
Version #3 – Zebstrika/Rayquaza EX/Eelektrik
This is the deck that Zach took to the Top 16 at Regionals. I honestly feel the deck does not change much with the advent of Plasma Storm. The one major change is that the deck needs an answer to Klinklang, and the minor change is playing Colress over Bianca.
|
Pokémon – 17 2 Tynamo NVI 38 |
Trainers – 32 4 N 3 Professor Juniper
3 Pokémon Catcher
|
Energy – 11 7 L 4 R |
Some may desire to fit Hypnotoxic Laser into this deck, but I strongly recommend against that idea. The deck already has the ability to 1HKO any threat in the format with Rayquaza EX, and Victini for the pesky Metal types with Klinklang protection. So, damage modifiers are not really needed for the deck to deal with major meta threats.
I have opted for Computer Search in this version for the same reason as in the Zeels/Zebstrika deck. However, Skyarrow Bridge is extremely important to this deck and more Stadiums are going to be played this format. It follows that Dowsing Machine might be the better play so that you can reclaim a lost Skyarrow Bridge.
I would also like a second Max Potion in this list, but the only place I would consider making room for another Max Potion is to take out an Ultra Ball. I am just too skittish with my Pokémon search options to cut one for Max Potion. By sticking with only one Max Potion, Dowsing Machine may be more appealing for the purposes of reusing the singleton cards.
Ultimately, Zebstrika is a very interesting play that sits in a unique position. If players keep relying on thin evolution lines and continue their extreme reliance on Items, an early Zebstrika may dominate a game. If you want to play Zebstrika, I urge you to check out the Lugia or Rayquaza versions of the deck.
RayEels
This is the deck that I piloted at Regionals, and I had a very mixed experience with it. All of my losses were due to extreme luck (and I’m not merely trying to be bitter), and only one of my wins was a well played game on both parts.
One game, I have the game in hand after N’ing my opponent to one. Literally, the only card that saves my opponent (from a two card hand) is Pokémon Catcher, and he had roughly 15-20 cards in his deck and had already used three Catchers. Yet, he top decks the Catcher to win the game.
Another loss was to a Garbodor/Hammertime deck where my opponent literally hit 10 of 12 heads. There was a point where he had to hit four over two straight turns to win the game, and he did.
Anyway, I still believe this deck to be a very high risk, high reward play, and Plasma Storm brings nothing that explicitly harms this deck. Yes, Sableye may now be able to donk Tynamo with Dark Claw and Virbank, but Landorus, Mewtwo EX, and Rayquaza could all donk Tynamo previously, and the deck still survived.
If Landorus-EX did not destroy Eelektrik, I am convinced nothing will completely destroy Eelektrik decks.
Similar to the Zebstrika/RayEels deck, I honestly do not feel that this deck should change many cards from a list prior to Plasma Storm. However, I know many players are experimenting with Victini-EX as an opener to get to a turn two Dragon Burst.
Opening with Victini-EX is indeed a strong play, but the deck must be changed considerably to accomplish the turn one Turbo Energize. You need to play 2-4 Victini-EX and a larger ratio of R Energy to get both pieces into your opening hand.
The downside to opting for Victini-EX is that the deck loses stability and “comebackability.” The Emolga-Super Rod engine allowed this deck to go down 2-3 3 Prizes and still win many games by resetting your field in two turns. Victini-EX robs the deck of that powerful re-stabilization option.
Victini-EX also allows your opponent access to two early and easy Prizes, which makes it less probable to only go down 2-3 Prizes. Instead you will likely fall behind 3-4 Prizes, and falling down 4 Prizes is often a death knell for Rayquaza EX.
Here is an example list to work from:
|
Pokémon – 15 4 Tynamo NVI 38 |
Trainers – 33 4 Professor Juniper
3 Ultra Ball
|
Energy – 12 8 L 4 R |
Victini is very strong against Klinklang decks. Because Victini is Level Ball searchable, I have set up turn two or turn three V-creates often against Klinklang decks, and Klinklang really folds to an early V-create.
I have also added a Tool Scrapper since Regionals. Going into Regionals, Energy Switch was the preferred card because I thought I could simply use Energy Switch to get a four Lightning Dragon Burst off and get around Eviolite.
However, I firmly believe that Tool Scrapper is superior to Energy Switch because it gets around Eviolite and it deals with Garbodor.
If I had been wise enough to play Tool Scrapper at Regionals, I believe I would have gotten the win against the Garbodor/Hammers deck, even with the absurd coin-flipping streak. Live and learn, right?
I still believe RayEels to be the superior version of Eelektrik, but the other two major Eelektrik versions have become more viable.
Speed Darkrai
As in many of the past formats, Darkrai may be implemented in many ways. One may play Darkrai EX with a Hammer focus, with a Mewtwo focus, with a Tornadus focus, with a Terrakion-EX focus, with a Landorus focus, or as a stand-alone concept. I want to speak specifically to the Darkrai EX focus in this article.
As a reference, here is a BLW–PLS list that won a Japanese Spring Carnival.
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Pokémon – 9 |
Trainers – 41 4 Professor Juniper
4 Pokémon Catcher
|
Energy – 10 10 D |
pokemon-paradijs.comThe most eye-catching part of this list is the inclusion of four Potion. The Potions are obviously here to swing the numbers in Darkrai’s favor. Potion is a direct counter to Hypnotoxic Laser and Virbank Gym, so long as you can also get the inflicted Pokémon out of the Active Spot.
Virbank causes Poison to deal 30 damage, and Potion heals 30 damage. Weird how that works, right?
Keldeo-EX is the other half to the Hypnotoxic Laser counter. If your opponent successfully lands that coin on heads, or the die on an even number, and you fail to land a heads, you cannot simply retreat out of the being Asleep.
Keldeo-EX’s Ability, Rush In, gets an asleep Pokémon out of the Active Spot, and if you attached a D Energy to Keldeo, you can simply retreat back into your attacker.
Potion and Keldeo-EX is an extremely powerful combination in Darkrai decks.
Dark Claw also becomes more impactful with Hypnotoxic Laser in the format. Darkrai EX decks often struggled with Blastoise because Darkrai EX could not take out any single threat (Blastoise, Keldeo-EX) in one turn. Now, it is possible to take a clean Blastoise down in a single turn.
Night Spear deals 90 damage, Dark Claw adds 20 damage, and Hypnotoxic Laser + Virbank adds 30 damage, for a grand total of 140 damage from a single turn. That may stop Blastoise right in its tracks.
With the addition of Black Kyurem EX, targeting down Blastoise becomes even more important. Black Kyurem EX, with Blastoise in support, can quickly end a game in three turns. However, without Blastoise, Black Kyurem EX is a lackluster push over.
The Computer Search against Dowsing Machine is an intriguing debate in Darkrai EX decks. Computer Search is better in decks that want to apply extreme early pressure, because it gets resources out of your deck quickly.
Computer Search is also very good in many set up decks. In those decks, you simply need to get parts X, Y, and Z into play and you are set. Computer Search gives a deck more outs to get any card into play early.
Dowsing Machine is great in decks that desperately need an effective 5th copy of any given card. An example would be Garbodor that needs more copies of Switch to stay out of the Active Spot or more copies of a Tool to keep Garbotoxin active.
In Darkrai, the debate is excruciatingly close. On the one hand, Darkrai likes to play like a speed deck that really wants to hit Catcher before the opponent gets set up, and Computer Search aids in that endeavor. However, Darkrai EX rarely 1HKOs any attackers, and the inability to 1HKO attackers means that more Catchers are important because you might have to play two Catcher to take 1 Prize. Dowsing Machine is certainly better at acting like a 5th Catcher.
The other factor in Darkrai decks is the presence of Sableye. Sableye works like a pseudo-Dowsing Machine, except that it cannot get back Supporters and it takes an attack.
Right now I think Dowsing Machine to be the play right now. However, I am completely unsure of that decision.
The last decision that seems curious to me is the inclusion of both four Darkrai EX and four Sableye. The reason why four are played is twofold: 1) You do not want to open with Keldeo-EX and running more Darkrai and Sableye decreases the probability of opening with Keldeo-EX, and 2) playing more Darkrai EX and Sableye decreases the probability that you get Prize-locked during the game.
With those two rationales in mind, I still believe playing only 3 Darkrai EX and only 3 Sableye is superior. The list simply gets tight and we must make room for a noticeable exclusion, Enhanced Hammer.
Enhanced Hammer will be extremely powerful in the coming format. DCE and the Blend Energies are already very powerful players in the game; Plasma Energy will simply add more value to Enhanced Hammer, because it will also be played.
Here is a list that I would be comfortable playing at an event tomorrow.
|
Pokémon – 7 |
Trainers – 43 4 Professor Juniper
4 Ultra Ball
|
Energy – 10 10 D |
BulbapediaThe basic list structure is similar to the Japanese list. The main difference is in the four slots previously dedicated to Potion. In those four slots, I have included three Potion and one Max Potion.
When you change Computer Search to Dowsing Machine, it is akin to playing one more copy of any Trainer card. Therefore, the singletons are OK. Without Skyla, it might be difficult to get into those Items, but they all function in a similar manner.
Max Potion is nice because you can completely wipe away 2 Prizes in the mid to late game. If you have been diligent with your Energy attachments, you should be in good shape to attack with a different Darkrai EX.
I am tempted to remove one Potion for one Full Heal. Full Heal intrigues me because it removes the Poison and Sleep conditions at the same time, without having to get Keldeo-EX into play. However, I am not sure it has a large enough impact to warrant inclusion. I will play more games with it and get back to you.
However, I urge you not to be quickly dismissive of it. Many people balked at the idea of Potion being a relevant card, but now it is widely accepted as a viable option.
Accelgor/Garbodor
I very much enjoy playing Garbodor in a meta that will, I believe, be filled with Abilities. Lugia EX, Blastoise, Hydreigon, Klinklang (both), Keldeo-EX, Darkrai EX, Eelektrik, Snorlax, and Gardevoir all utilize relevant Abilities, and Garbotoxin shuts down those Abilities. When those Abilities are shut down, many of those decks also shut down. That puts Garbotoxin in a particularly strong position.
Conversely, a few things are excruciating for Garbodor to contend with. Firstly, if simple Big Basic Decks become the driving force of the next format, Garbodor does not have a legitimate foothold to stand on.
Secondly, Tool Scrapper may neutralize Garbotoxin decks. However, decklists are becoming increasingly tight and Tool Scrapper may become the 62nd, 63rd, or 64th card for most people.
Many people have tossed around the idea that Articuno-EX may be the best partner for Garbodor because you may be guaranteed turn after turn after turn paralysis. I am un-persuaded, at this time, that Articuno-EX is the best partner for Garbodor.
While it is a Basic, it requires four Energy, one which must be a Plasma Energy, to paralyze your opponent’s Pokémon. That means any Articuno deck will need both Colorless Machine and some type of Ether engine to be fast enough to set up an early Blizzard.
Another drawback to Articuno-EX is that Enhanced Hammer may destroy your field because your opponent may remove all of your Plasma Energy.
Comparatively, Accelgor only needs one Double Colorless Energy and a Stage 1 to paralyze, and Deck and Cover protects your Double Colorless Energy from Enhanced Hammer.
The main question is: what alternative attacker should be paired with Accelgor and Garbodor?
There seems to be two main choices: Landorus-EX and Tornadus EX. Each choice has positives and negatives.
Landorus-EX’s biggest advantage is that it does not rely upon Double Colorless, while still attacking for a single Energy. You need to preserve the Double Colorless Energies for your Accelgors. When you play other Colorless attackers, you open up the door for your opponent to remove all of your Double Colorless Energy from the game.
pokemon-paradijs.comThe second advantage to Landorus-EX is that the damage math works out well. With Accelgor and Virbank, Deck and Cover does 80 damage going into your opponent’s turn, and the Defending Pokémon will be at 110 damage coming into your turn.
Landorus-EX allows you to deal 30 damage to that Pokémon and then the last bit of 30 Poison damage will KO 170 HP Pokémon going into your opponent’s turn.
If you are fortunate enough to have put 60 damage onto an opponent’s Pokémon before using Deck and Cover, will KO the opponent’s Pokémon coming into your turn.
The main downside to Landorus-EX is the hefty Retreat Cost. Including Landorus-EX puts a lot of strain one your Switches and Escape Ropes.
Tornadus EX’s main advantage is that the deck needs Stadiums, and therefore, Tornadus EX will likely deal a decent 60 damage with one simple Double Colorless Attachment. If you open with Tornadus EX, unlikely because you will likely only play two, the math works out the same as with a Landorus-EX that has placed 60 damage onto an opponent. Deck and Cover will KO, through Poison, a 170 HP Pokémon coming into your turn.
Additionally, if you can get a Power Blast off, a single Deck and Cover will KO the Defending Pokémon going into your opponent’s turn.
Furthermore, if you play Skyarrow Bridge with Tornadus EX, you have an efficient free retreater that facilitates more Deck and Covers with less strain on your Switches and Escape Ropes.
The main problem of Tornadus EX is that your Double Colorless Energy become vulnerable to Enhanced Hammer.
Mr. Curry piloted this deck, with Tornadus EX, to a Top 8 finish at the Florida Regional. Since that time, the deck has gained three great tools that might make the deck even better.
First, Virbank Gym makes Deck and Cover more potent because Poison does 30 damage between turns, and the extra damage produces quicker knock outs.
Second, this deck gained Dowsing Machine. Dowsing Machine allows you to pull back an Accelgor, Tool, Garbodor, or Double Colorless Energy from the discard. The ability to get those cards back allows the deck to keep the lock running more often that in the past.
Third, the deck gets Garbodor PLS 66. This card might or might not make a final list, but it is certainly in my current testing list. Biosmog is a great attack which does 20 damage and Poison and possibly removes an Energy, all for the measly cost of one C Energy.
With Virbank, Biosmog will ultimately put 50 damage onto your opponent’s Pokémon going into his or her turn. That is a great attack, but the deck is very tight on space, so that card might not make the final cut.
Here is a current testing list.
|
Pokémon – 15 3 Trubbish NVI |
Trainers – 35
3 Level Ball
|
Energy – 10 6 F |
As you can see the list is extremely tight, and there are several cards we would like to include. One might have to go down to a 3-3 Accelgor line to fit in another Switch. It also might be beneficial to remove the Plasma Storm Garbodor for another Garbotoxin Garbodor, just to avoid potential Prize issues.
A Tornadus EX list might look similar to the following:
|
Pokémon – 15 3 Trubbish NVI |
Trainers – 35 4 Professor Juniper
3 Level Ball
|
Energy – 10 6 P |
With this list, we can get away with fewer Switch and/or Escape Rope because we will use Tornadus EX and Skyarrow Bridge after a Deck and Cover. Additionally, we drop the Heavy Ball for another Ultra Ball. In the first list, Heavy Ball is nice because it grabs either Garbodor or Landorus-EX. Here, we just have Garbodor with a Retreat Cost of CCC or greater.
The one general tip for this deck is to always be thinning your deck. You want the probabilities of drawing back into Accelgor to grow as big as possible, and thinning your deck accomplishes that goal.
GG
This has been my favorite new deck to play. I am not sure it is a contender, but when all goes according to plan, it is extremely powerful. I have logged blowout wins and blowout losses against nearly deck out there.
Mr. Proctor piloted a Gardevoir/Mewtwo EX deck to the Top 8 at the Mississippi River Valley Regional, so there should be a decent blueprint out there on how to build a solid deck. Let us first take a look a prototype list:
|
Pokémon – 14 4 Ralts PLS |
Trainers – 34 4 Skyla
6 Pokémon Search Cards
|
Energy – 12 8 P |
pokegym.netObviously, the main idea here is to use your array of attackers to your advantage, depending on the matchup you find yourself in.
Mewtwo EX is and has been one of the more powerful attackers in the game. I believe this holds true today, but I can see the arguments against Mewtwo EX stacking up.
The largest case against Mewtwo EX is Rayquaza EX and Black Kyurem EX. Both attackers discard down to one Energy and can 1HKO Mewtwo EX for only four Energy, three of which are discarded. However, against most other decks, Mewtwo EX is still a phenomenal attacker.
The other attackers are not settled, but I believe the mix is mostly correct. Sigilyph is a pain in the side of almost every deck in existence due to the prevalence of EX attackers. Even prompting your opponent to “waste” a Catcher, just to get around Sigilyph, is a very strong play.
Giratina PLS is a card I am learning to love. It would be nice to fit some Hypnotoxic Lasers into the list to take full advantage of the first attack, but Giratina’s second attack is very strong. An unconditional 90 damage is spectacular because it will take down any attacker in the game with only two hits.
Traditionally, the PPCC cost of the second attack would be a drastic limitation, but with Gardevoir, the attack essentially requires only two P Energy or one P Energy and one Double Colorless Energy. Attacking for 90 for only two energy drops is an outstanding damage ratio.
Additionally, Giratina can ridiculously cripple your opponent’s hand after a well timed N. I admit, your game plan, before the game begins, should not be to N your opponent to one and then remove that one card with Giratina. However, when the opportunity does arise, that play can be back breaking.
Imagine the look on your opponent’s face when you N him or her to one card and the one card is Bianca, Juniper, or Colress. Then you simply remove that one card from his or her hand. It is a wonderful feeling.
The last attacker is Gallade. Powerful Storm is a spectacular attack. For CC, Powerful Storm deals 20 damage times all the Energy in play on your side of the field. If you can get Gardevoir and five P Energy into play, Powerful Storm deals a hefty 200 damage. With intelligent Energy drops, it is relatively easy to get 5-10 Energy onto the field in the end game.
I would consider adding Meleotta BCR to the deck. Meleotta is a grade A Sigilyph stopper and it can quickly bring down opposing Mewtwo EXs. However, the list simply runs out of room and something had to be cut.
From the above list, there are three main decisions to make.
1. Which Pokémon search cards should GG run?
This question is not as simple as it seems. Level Ball is great because it gets Sigilyph and Ralts out of the deck in a hurry. Both are integral in the deck’s operation. Ultra Ball is amazing because it can fetch any Pokémon in the deck.
Pokémon Communication is intriguing because the deck runs a decent amount of Pokémon, fourteen. However, I am never comfortable running Communication with less than 16 Pokémon. I am not entirely sure why that is, but that number seems to make Communication just “work” in testing.
For those reasons, I am currently testing four Ultra Ball and three Level Ball.
2. Which ACE SPEC optimally fits the deck?
For most intents and purposes, Gold Potion is dead in this deck because most attackers will not last more than a single attack. However, Computer Search, Dowsing Machine, and Scramble Switch all have their merits in this deck.
Because the deck is a set up style deck, Computer Search aids in quickly setting up your deck. Dowsing Machine allows the deck to get away with playing some 3-of cards, like Catcher. Scramble Switch allows you to drop a new attacker out of nowhere.
In my early testing, I tried out Dowsing Machine and Scramble Switch. Both seemed pretty underwhelming. Therefore, by default, I am testing Computer Search in my current build. I am hopeful it will add a touch of speed the deck requires.
3. Which cards should go into the tech spots?
In my opinion, three cards – Exp. Share, Super Rod, and Escape Rope – fit the deck’s strategy well. The first idea is Exp. Share. This card has been utilized to great success in recent formats to keep Energy on the field, and keeping Energy on the field is crucial to this deck’s late game success.
The second idea is Super Rod. This deck is a set up deck with a toolbox of attackers and those characteristics make recovery cards almost a necessity.
Lastly, Escape Rope just gives the deck another way to get the proper attacker into the Active Spot.
Two Exp. Share and one Super Rod is my current testing set up. I am a little worried about the effectiveness of Exp. Share. It only works when your Pokémon are Knocked Out by Attack damage. With the proliferation of Hypnotoxic Laser, many Pokémon are going to be KO’d by Poison damage in between turns. Only more games will tell if Exp. Share will be a valuable asset.
Overall, I believe GG is decent if you can get to the mid and late game without being more than 3 Prizes down. This deck can force your opponent to legitimately take six knockouts for 6 Prizes or you can go with large Mewtwo EXs. Powerful Storm is a very powerful attack, if you can get the board into a favorable state.
Conclusion
BulbapediaI am loving the creativity that Plasma Storm may have introduced to the format. When it is all said and done, I am fully convinced that many decks will be viable in competitive play.
Yes, there might be three or four decks at the top of the format, but there will also be a plethora of decks in close pursuit of those top three or four decks.
-Andy
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