BulbapediaHello everyone, my name is Stephen and I hail from the competitive sunshine state of Florida! Currently, while snowstorms ravage the cold Northern states, we are still basking in the sun and sweating in the ninety degree (yes, ninety) weather.
Anyway, I’ve been playing about a year and I love the TCG. I also love writing, so naturally, I wanted to be a writer for this marvelous website. And here I am, livin’ the dream!
I’m going to discuss the very last Black and White era set, Legendary Treasures, and how it’s going to affect the current leading decks. The newest set seems to be getting mixed reviews from players. Some people think it’s annoying to have so many reprints, and others think it’s kind of cool. I don’t know where I stand yet, but I think it’s interesting that some of these cards have been in the metagame for two years and they will be for two more!
So, without further ado, here we go…
Table of Contents
- Plasma
- Blastoise
- Genesect
- Darkrai
- Gothitelle
- Klinklang
- New Decks & Cards
- The Poké-Poll
- Conclusion
Plasma
pokemon-paradijs.comI don’t think the current villain deck really has anything going for it in this set. There are no new Plasma Pokémon and there are no new Plasma-counter Pokémon, which means that, aside from Energy Switch (which could benefit in Plasma decks running basic Water and Lightning), the new set doesn’t really change anything in the Plasma game.
I’m not going to provide a decklist because I’m not completely sure how to play Plasma with Energy Switch, or even if said card will help the deck at all.
Blastoise
Keldeo-EX is important because Blastoise of the Deluge was reprinted in Plasma Blast, and this means that, even if Boundaries Crossed goes out of format next year, Blastoise/Keldeo/Black Kyurem EX will live on for another year. Genesect LTR (Legendary Treasures) also exists as a possible non-EX to fight Blastoise and Keldeo-EX, but I doubt that turtle players will have to worry about that.
Genesect
The third member of the Big Three, or as I liked to refer to them before Darkrai proved itself able to still be counted among the powers that be, Genesect is much more affected by the new cards. Genesect LTR is a viable option to include in the deck, but his attack takes too much Energy to use in my opinion. I’ve never played with Genesect, however, so people who do may see something in this non-EX attacker that I don’t.
It’s the Energy Switch that is the key here. I know I’m not the only one who wondered how amazing Genesect would be with Energy Switch, and now we get to see. Energy Switch is a wonderfully smart addition to the newest set, and I can’t think of any players, except those who fear Genesect and Darkrai, who wouldn’t be happy about its inclusion in Legendary Treasures.
I have never played Genesect and I have absolutely no idea how it is supposed to be played, but I’ll do my best to outline a list with Energy Switch based on what I have seen from other players’ lists here on SixPrizes.
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Pokémon – 12 4 Genesect-EX 2 Drifblim (DRX or PLB) 1 Lugia-EX |
Trainers – 36 3 N 3 Skyla 3 Colress
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Energy – 12 8 G 4 Plasma |
Again, I know nothing of playing Genesect, so this is the best I could come up with at the moment. Please don’t take it as a definite list; you should look at Max Douglas’ article or Andrew Zavala’s article for better tips and lists.
Darkrai
pokemon-paradijs.comNow THIS is the deck that gains the most, in my opinion. My favorite deck to play, Darkrai regains all its lost power not only with the return of Energy Switch, but the pleasantly surprising resurrection of Crushing Hammer! With the addition of these two cards, a once-dangerous deck becomes an even more threatening powerhouse.
Max Potion becomes much more useable in Darkrai, as well as the classic Hammer-spamming strategy that ruins your opponents’ field. Thus, even if a Plasma player uses some basic Energy, the Darkrai player can still Hammer it away, with the luck of a coin flip, of course.
Here is a sample decklist that matches the one I used at my League, to some success. I like to think it’s a typical Darkrai deck, if I may be so bold.
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Pokémon – 10 |
Trainers – 41 4 N 4 Colress
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Energy – 9 9 D |
Now that we have Energy Switch and Crushing Hammer to add in here, I’d suggest something along these lines:
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Pokémon – 9 |
Trainers – 43 4 N 4 Colress 2 Random Receiver or Bicycle
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Energy – 8 8 D |
I didn’t even have to edit this decklist; I just wrote it down and it all came out to exactly 60 cards. -1 Sableye, -1 Hypnotoxic Laser, -1 Dark Patch, -1 Pokémon Catcher, -1 Darkness Energy, -1 Dark Claw, +4 Energy Switch, +2 Crushing Hammer. You could even take out an Energy Switch for another Dark Claw, Sableye, or Catcher.
In short, this is the deck that definitely benefits the most from TPCi’s generous decisions, and I cannot wait to start playing with my old friends Crushing Hammer and Energy Switch!
Darkrai/Garbodor
Darkrai/Garbodor gains pretty much the same things as Darkrai, but I think DarkGarb benefits a little more from the Crushing Hammer, particularly because so many players adopt the ‘Hammer-spamming + Garbodor’ strategy.
I’m not going to provide a decklist because I don’t know what to take out. I suggest combing SixPrizes for other articles on DarkGarb and their decklists because there are plenty of them out there!
Gothitelle
pokebeach.comThat’s right ladies and gentlemen, the dangerous power of Gothitelle has returned from the Graveyard of rotated cards! (and just in time for Halloween, too!) Call me a Gothitelle-hater, but I never liked Gothitelle/Accelgor.
Fortunately, because of Virizion-EX, this deck probably won’t see much play; however, someone will probably come up with a way to use it and terrify us all at the next Regionals, if we’re not lucky.
I know Ross Cawthon ran some form of Gothitelle/Celebi-EX/Hammers at Worlds (you can sort of read about it in this Worlds report at Game 5), but I don’t know to what measure of success. Ross’ deck worked where Celebi-EX’s Ability let you use Gothorita EPO 46’s attack, Deleting Glare, which discards an Energy from one of your opponent’s Pokémon if you flip a heads. Victory Star Victini lets you re-flip if you land a tails.
You could also use Celebi’s attack, which lets you switch it with one of your benched Pokémon, thus promoting Gothitelle at the end of your turn.
Between Deleting Glare, Hammers, and Magic Room, the deck’s goal is to deny Energy and Items. I’m not really sure how well Ross did with the whole thing, but it’s definitely a neat and unique idea. I should note, however, that Gothorita with Deleting Glare is out of format and not included in the new set.
The thing is, whether you play it with Reuniclus BLW, Gardevoir NXD, Accelgor DEX, or Celebi-EX, Gothitelle is just too darn good not to be used. The reintroduction of this famous card is going to be a fun challenge for deck-builders everywhere to try and find an appropriate home for it. In the meantime, the rest of us can just pray that Gothitelle doesn’t turn into a monster and rule the format… again.
Klinklang
It’s back! The resident EX-counter card has regained its lost Kyurem-killer and non-EX attacker, Cobalion NVI! Despite Klinklang BLW going out and staying out, Klinklang PLS has regained an excellent card, not to mention the best card for 1-shotting a Kyurem PLF!
While I don’t see this completely resurrecting the deck, it could be a good call in some metagames, seeming as how Genesect, Blastoise, Darkrai, and Plasma are mostly EXs or cards that are easily overwhelmed by the Cobalions.
Here’s a list to start you off, especially now that we have regained Energy Switch:
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Pokémon – 14 |
Trainers – 36 4 Colress 3 Skyla 2 N
1 Switch 1 ACE SPEC |
Energy – 10 10 M |
You can use Keldeo-EX and Jirachi-EX because of the coin flip rule with Pokémon Catcher beginning November 8. I personally plan to continue running them, as I have gotten lucky several times and I don’t think Ninetales DRX or Genesect-EX fit into every deck as automatic Catchers; but I digress.
There’s nothing revolutionary about this list, except that I didn’t have room for Exp. Share or Tropical Beach and I have included one Switch, in case of emergencies. I also only have two N because Colress and Professor Juniper will almost always net you bigger hands than N. The only reason I would want N being played so strongly in this particular deck is as a good counter if I am falling behind, but that’s why I have two copies.
As for Beaches, if you really want to play Klinklang, I recommend playtesting and then deciding what you don’t use, or asking an experienced Plasmaklang player, one of which I am not.
People may not make a drastic move back to Klinklang, but I definitely think it could be a good call for Cities or Regionals if no one is expecting it. I know if I had the cards, I’d play it. And for those who aren’t playing Klinklang, I’d master the matchup and maybe tech one card for it, just in case; better safe than sorry.
New Decks & Cards
pokebeach.comOf course, we’ve forgotten all about the new cards in this set! While most of them aren’t going to find a place besides the Trainer’s binder, I do see a few interesting ones.
TPCi seems to be making a conscious effort to make the game more fun, what with Cedric Juniper and Xatu’s attack, Fortune Draw, the second of which has you play rock-paper-scissors with your opponent. The winner draws 3 cards; the loser discards the top 3 cards of their deck.
Cedric Juniper is a Supporter that has you lay a Pokémon card face down and tell your opponent its name. Your opponent has to guess the height. If they are right, they draw 3 cards; if they are wrong, you draw 3 cards. Then you put the Pokémon back in your hand. As much fun as these cards would be for League, I don’t see them playing competitively because there is too much risk involved.
Then of course we have Elesa, Gyarados, the two new EXs, and Gallade. Elesa probably will only see play in Tool Time, my other favorite deck, for its searching ability. It probably won’t be more than two copies, however, if that. I’ll let the Tool Time players decide.
Gyarados is one of the other fun cards to come out of the set; however, he fits in the same categories as Shaymin-EX and Lucario PLS in that you have to wait until the game is near-over for him to be powered up, and by then it may be too late. Chandelure-EX is also worth mentioning for its one-Energy first attack, so there, I mentioned it.
The only deck I see coming out of this is Gallade/Excadrill-EX, which would use Excadrill-EX’s second attack to damage your own bench and thus power up Gallade’s attack, Pandemonium Blade, which has a base damage of 60 plus 20 more damage for each of your benched Pokémon that is damaged.
In another format, it could be competitive, but in ours, it would be way too slow; Excadrill-EX’s attack requires 4 Energy for 120 damage plus 10 damage to every benched Pokémon, and Gallade’s attack requires 3 Energy. Here’s a list if anyone wants to try it:
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Pokémon – 14 1 Kirlia EPO 4 Gallade LTR 3 Excadrill-EX |
Trainers – 34 4 Colress 3 Skyla 2 N
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Energy – 12 8 F
|
Just a rough sketch, of course, but if you’re interested in playing it I would love to hear your results! Feel free to message me or post on my ‘wall’ in the forums to let me know how successful you were.
The Poké-Poll
This is my own little addition to the SixPrizes article. Every article I write, I’ll ask you a question and you, the readers, can vote by either commenting on the article, personal messaging me, or posting on my forum ‘wall.’ The voting period will be one week, so if this article is published on Wednesday, the voting will end on midnight on the next week’s Wednesday. The next time I post an article, I’ll include the results to the last article’s Poké-Poll.
So, today’s Poké-Poll question is:
“What do you think of the new rules?”
- I like/love them.
- I dislike/hate them.
- I don’t really care/it’s too late to tell.
And that’s it!
Conclusion
I think between Legendary Treasures and the new rules, it’s safe to assume that TPCi is trying to level the playing field. Darkrai regains two of its key cards with the newest set, but it is disadvantaged by the first-player-can’t-attack rule. Blastoise doesn’t gain anything from the new set, but it certainly benefits from the new rules. Genesect sort of benefits from both, but you get my drift.
In short, Legendary Treasures is a pretty good addition to our current card pool. I’m more than happy to have Energy Switch back, and Crushing Hammer was an excellent surprise for Darkrai players like me. I can’t wait to start playing with the latest additions and I’m sure I’m not the only one!
Until next time,
Stephen
Poke-Poll: A!
A for sure
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
My vote goes to A!
On a side note, I just wrote a thread on the forums with the Darkrai list I had thought off, and it’s nearly the same as yours! I’m just adding a couple Absols to the mix.
Great article!
B I hate ties and feel like I’m at a disadvantage because I don’t own beach!
If Beach was pricey before,(which it is) the prices will go even farther now that Gothetelle is back, and Klinklang has regained popularity.
Beach or a similar card needs to be printed in one of the upcoming sets. With the upcoming rule changes which don’t allow turn one attacks, beach will become even more crucial (and expensive) than it already is. It needs to become available to more players so the game is more about skill instead of money.
I wish it was printed as a regular card! People who went to 2011-12 worlds were already great players, but they also have the advantage of Tropical Beach over all of the other players who don’t happen to have $200 lying around. (Which is the case for most players)
8 Dark energy in Darkrai! 3 Dark patch! Really?
Poke Poll: A, I’d rather have these rules than the old rules. No Donks anymore! Beach may go up but will not be a staple in every deck so it won’t go up too much. Catcher as a flip will probably make it see less play. I am happy with this as Catcher was OP, however I am wondering what will happen with Mr.Mime. It may make things like Darkrai, Landorus, Kyurem or Genesect a lot less powerful due to difficulty taking Mr.mime down, since Catcher is less reliable and to its decline in play. That being said- Genesect can use Red Signal, Darkrai will probably run 4 catcher anyway because it can reuse it and Landorus and Darkrai uses Garbodor. So Mime may be a bit too powerful or it will be how it is now.
Ugh… discussing the ways in which the new rules could affect the format (there will be a lot) is difficult. Overall, it will probably balance out the format and slow it down which I am happy with.
Nice article, just not certain on the Darkrai list.
Yay! No donks because they took away our capacity to attack first turn! Next we can eliminate losses entirely by just declaring all games end in automatic draws!
…so yeah, not really seeing the logic there. I can accept the new first turn rules, and they may even improve the game, but its because the-powers-that-be messed things up in the first place. Even if this change was the best option available… sometimes the best way to save yourself from a disease is to remove the diseased tissue, even if that means losing an arm, a leg, a lung, etc. In the end, you would really prefer a method that cured you while not costing you so much!
A lot of people refer to Pokémon Catcher as overpowered. It is a very useful card, but it doesn’t actually “do” that much, especially in a format where it is so easy to get a Pokémon back to the Bench. What makes it so useful are all the overly fast, overly powerful attackers in the format, which allow for strategic OHKOs. If attacks were at least half as powerful as they are now and scoring a OHKO on an uninjuerd Pokémon was rare, Pokémon Catcher would still be a must-play, but it wouldn’t be problematic… which tells us that it isn’t really the problem, doesn’t it?
So now overpowered Bench-sitters can join the over powered attackers. There will likely be some turnover as things adjust, but in the end meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
My answer to the Poké-Poll is definitely A. While I am somewhat indifferent about the other changes (having not tested a lot with them,) Catcher needed an errata.
I could see Fliptini becoming a one-of in most decks with the catcher errata. An extra catcher flip would be clutch.
Pokepoll: A
Fliptini only works on attacks, not trainer items.
Gotta point out that you completely glossed over LT’s spiritomb, not only with an ACE-blocking ability, but with its “copycat” attack making it a cheapish tropical beach (if you go second)
Is it really worth running the new Spiritomb for those reasons? You get one Ace Spec card barring something like Sableye/Junk Hunt (which can no longer be used by Player 1 on Turn 1). Some decks will use other Ace Specs that aren’t so easy to predict (in terms of timing). With Pokémon Catcher essentially becoming Pokémon Reversal, we might see a rise in Escape Rope Usage.
That is a lot of “cons” to two subjective “pros”.
The biggest benefit that comes to mind for me is that spiritomb messes up virgen quite a bit. with catcher unreliable, a benched ‘tomb can sit and block g booster, taking away a lot of edge from the deck.
Fair points… plus I’ll messed up with my earlier argument as I misread the card (I thought Spiritomb had to be Active). Still not thrilled with it since it still is usually blocking a single card, but if that single card is important even I have to admit it could be worth it.
Ok, gotcha, yeah, I’d have little use if its active. I’d think its a nice one of in lots of decks, especially ones with bad VirGen matchups.
Does VirGen run any Plasma Energy? If so, then I would assume Spiritomb is good for a one turn delay; it gets Red Signaled up and OHKOed with Genesect EX’s default attack, after all… or is the point that such a thing is “enough”?
Well, even in that scenario, there’s plenty to be gained from this situation:
A. VirGen Just lost a turn attaching basic energy, so building another attacker just got postponed a turn.
B. Spiritomb’s player just turned this into a seven prize game for the VirGen player.
C. Red Signalling Spiritomb means one less Red Signal against another, more valuable target.
D. Getting the plasma energy into the hand will most likely require a draw supporter or Shadow Triad, forcing the VirGen player into a tight spot, and possibly making them Juniper valuable resources.
E. That’s still one turn that VirGen’s opponent has no fear of a OHKO.
For the Poké-Poll, “B” comes closest. We are in this mess due to poor card design/game management; if these rules actually improve things, it is “fixing” problems created by the designers to begin with. The Juniper/Sycamore thing is just terribly lazy – if you have to create a special rule, just errata the name of Professor Juniper to a generic “Professor”; problem solved and now you can make fans of other generations happy with alternate art featuring other professors!
The Pokémon Catcher errata makes little sense and I am hard pressed to understand it; not going to be too thrilled if we lose one or two “Big Basics” decks to bump the handful of competitive Stage 2 decks up a rung. That doesn’t really “fix” things considering the bulk of the card pool will still remain filler.
The new first turn rules are tolerable in that the designers have completely ignored game balance with how potent first turn attacks have been for years (but especially with BW-era big basics). As banning the dozens of cards that have such issues would be worse than the new rules, okay. There were other, better solutions I can elaborate on if someone has questions but… most people are sick of me doing so. XD
Poke-Poll: B! Cause i hate getting ties and not being able to play all 3 matches :P
I think I’ll go with C, too early to tell, I like the fist the rule and catcher flip, but hate draws. About you’re article, it provides a sold analysis of the metagame but I’m not the biggest fan of your lists. I have no problem with darkrai running 8 dark, but I think you got carried away with the number of energy switch. A general trend when a card is released is to assume that it is automatically beter than what preceded it. Many players in the nationals and worlds format realized that energy switch was not as important as it was thought to be, and the past format only strengthened that opinion. Don’t ever buy the hype until you have tested it for yourself