Hello again, friends. Since my last article, Spring Regionals took place. I was able to attend all three weekends, but I unfortunately did not have any solid performances. However, there is a lot of information to discuss as we look at these events in the rearview mirror, particularly Week 3.
In this article, I’ll discuss many different archetypes that I saw while I was playing in Athens, GA. Also, in light of the news of Lysandre’s Trump Card being banned, I’ll take a moment to discuss how each deck is effected by the ban. Additionally, I’ll go over my initial thoughts on the news. Finally, we’ll take a look at some decks that I think will excel come Nationals.
Lysandre’s Last Hoorah
batpixie.tumblr.comOn Monday, June 1, we received news that Lysandre’s Trump Card would be removed from competitive TCG tournament play. The community has expressed mixed feelings about the banning of this short-lived card, but it seems that many are starting to see that it was the correct decision for the integrity of the game. Other writers have already done a good job of going over why Trump Card was banned, but here are a few quick thoughts to keep in mind moving into the new Trump-less format.
1. Seismitoad-EX decks will likely see a complete overhaul
We all know the power of an Item-heavy Seismitoad-EX deck … perhaps too well. Before the ban, Toad decks were able to play 4 copies of incredible Item cards like Crushing Hammer, Hypnotoxic Laser, and Super Scoop Up. Because these cards require a flip, players were able to burn through them quickly, then later on just use Trump Card to replenish them and try again. Now, players have to think twice about building their lists, as each Hammer or Laser will only be usable 4 times.
Additionally, many of these kinds of Toad decks would choose to only run 4 Energy — 4 Double Colorless Energy to be exact. However, this is very risky now. If those 4 DCEs find their way to the discard pile, the Toad deck all of a sudden has no way to attack, and will likely lose the game. I believe Toad decks will have to go back to how they were when Seismitoad first released; that is with a heavy amount of basic Energy and less of a reliance on powerful Item cards.
2. Speed engines may be a thing of the past
Around the time of City Championships, we started seeing decks pop up that would play less and less Supporter cards and focus more on Item-based draw. Decks would utilize an engine using 4 Professor Juniper (or Sycamore), 4 Random Receiver, and 1 Trump Card. This would almost certainly ensure that you hit a Juniper off of the Random Receiver, and once your deck got thin, you would just use Trump Card and start all over. Once Acro Bike released in Primal Clash, the engine got even more efficient. Finally, when Roaring Skies came along, the engine started to get out of control. Between Shaymin-EX ROS and Trainers’ Mail, we were seeing decks be able to burn through as many as 30 or 40 cards on the first turn of the game.
This isn’t a problem in a format with Trump Card, but now players will have to rethink this kind of strategy. Burning through that many cards so early in the game will run the risk of loss by decking out. I think we’ll be seeing much less of those 4 Shaymin and Item-based draw engines, and perhaps more stable engines like we were used to pre-Trump Card.
3. Resource management is much more important
Pokémon has always been a game of resource management. Making sure you don’t discard too many Energy or Supporters with Juniper is one example of this. With Trump Card in the format, it wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary to see someone dump a hand with 3 or 4 Supporters just to increase the chances of hitting the card they need.
Just the other day I was playing my first game in the post-Trump Card format, and immediately I remembered how important it is to be conservative with my resources. I was staring at a hand with 2 Professor Sycamores and 2 N’s, and I needed to find an Energy for a crucial KO. Normally, I would let the Sycamore rip without thinking twice about it. However, I ended up playing the N. I knew it would be too reckless to discard all of those Supporters now without Trump Card. This is an example of something that Trump Card has spoiled us with, and now players will have to be more cautious when making decisions like these.
Georgia Regionals Recap
The release of Roaring Skies pretty much turned the format upside down. With the release of cards like Shaymin-EX ROS and Trainers’ Mail, many decks got an overhaul in their construction. Additionally, the beastly M Rayquaza-EX ROS 76 was released, which created quite the race to see who would construct the best build in time for the event. Let’s take a look at some of the popular variants from the event.
Primal Godzilla
Primal Groudon decks were very popular at Week 3-of Regionals, particularly in Georgia. Many notable players chose to pilot the deck, including Nicholena Moon, Dylan Bryan, Harrison Leven, and the Sabelhaus brothers, just to name a few. There were a few different variants that caught my eye at the event.
Primal Groudon-EX/Wobbuffet PHF
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Pokémon – 10 3 Groudon-EX 3 Primal Groudon-EX |
Trainers – 39 4 N 4 Korrina 2 Lysandre
2 Switch
|
Energy – 11 7 F 4 Strong |
This seemed to be the most popular version of the deck at the event. This is the list Nicholena Moon and I used at GA Regionals. I was overall satisfied with how it played. However, its one bad matchup — Leafeon/Raichu — was pretty popular as well, and that is what ultimately gave me trouble.
The nice thing about this deck is it has an amazing element of control. You’re able to dictate when exactly the action begins. This is because Primal Groudon can’t be Lysandre’d off of the Bench, and with Wobbuffet in the Active, Abilities such as Red Signal or Bright Look aren’t able to drag it up. Additionally, Focus Sash allows you to keep your Groudons alive longer, allowing them to swing twice before they go down. Nicholena already did a great job of going over this deck in her recent article, so I won’t bore you with the nitty-gritty.
Trump Card Impact
I don’t think this deck will miss Trump Card too badly. I think I would replace the Trump Card in this list with a 4th Acro Bike or an 8th F Energy. The deck should still run fine without Trump Card, and adding another consistency card is never a bad thing.
Primal Groudon-EX/Landorus FFI
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Pokémon – 10 3 Groudon-EX 3 Primal Groudon-EX |
Trainers – 39 4 N 4 Korrina 2 Lysandre
2 Switch
|
Energy – 11 7 F 4 Strong |
This slightly less popular version of Groudon includes attackers like Landorus FFI and Hawlucha FFI instead of the using the defensive tactic that Wobbuffet offers. There are a few other small differences in this list as opposed to the Wobbuffet version. One of them is switching the counts of Spirit Link and Focus Sash. This is because the list is designed to be faster than the Wobbuffet version, thus you want to be able to Mega Evolve your Groudons faster and start running through your opponent’s board.
Additionally, this list exchanges Scramble Switch for Computer Search. Scramble Switch is much better when paired with Focus Sash, as you can Scramble out of a Groudon whose Focus Sash was just used and attack with another clean Groudon. However, with less of an emphasis on Focus Sash, Computer Search is simply a better option in my opinion.
Finally, the Silent Lab was removed from this version because of the presence of Landorus FFI. Silent Lab’s main use is to counteract Safeguard Pokémon, but since we have Landorus, we can just use him to KO those pesky Pokémon.
Trump Card Impact
Once again, I don’t think this deck will miss Trump Card too much. If I were to play this deck, I would fill in the newly vacated spot with a 4th Acro Bike or perhaps a 3rd Spirit Link.
The Reign of Rayquaza
Rayquaza was predicted to be one of the biggest threats in the Roaring Skies format. However, this wasn’t quite the case in Georgia. While the Sky High Pokémon was fairly well represented at the event, it didn’t have as much success as was originally anticipated. Here’s a pair of interesting lists.
M Rayquaza-EX 76/Leafeon PLF
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Pokémon – 19 |
Trainers – 33 1 N 1 Lysandre
2 Switch
|
Energy – 8 4 G |
This list isn’t too out of the ordinary. However, the twist in this list is that it uses Leafeon to counter one of Rayquaza’s biggest threats: Seismitoad. The list also keeps the speed aspect that many other Rayquaza decks seem to gravitate toward.
Trump Card Impact
Unfortunately, as I stated earlier in the article, I believe many decks that used the Shaymin-EX and heavy Item draw engines will have to get an overhaul. It’s too easy for these kinds of decks to overextend and deck themselves out because of the draw power that Shaymin offers. I would change the Trump Card to a 2nd N, as well as cut an Acro Bike and a Shaymin-EX for 2 more N’s. Cutting a Shaymin-EX may seem counter-productive to the deck’s goal, but I think we will start to see that 4 Shaymin-EX is unnecessary. While this might make the deck a little less speedy, I think it’s a good change that will make the deck more stable.
M Rayquaza-EX 76/Primal Groudon-EX
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Pokémon – 14 1 Primal Groudon-EX |
Trainers – 37 1 N 1 Lysandre
2 Switch
|
Energy – 9 5 F |
This is an interesting build of Rayquaza that I encountered in Georgia. The idea is to use Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick to bring Primal Groudon into play, giving you another attacker with a different Weakness. And since it’s a Mega Pokémon, Mega Turbo still works on it. Because Groudon’s attack costs a hefty 3 F Energy, the deck runs a few more basic Energy than a usual Rayquaza deck would run.
Trump Card Impact
Once again, this deck is another example of a build that will need to see an overhaul. Like in the other Rayquaza deck we discussed, I would stabilize the Supporter line by adding more N’s. To fit these, I would probably cut a Shaymin-EX and an Acro Bike, and of course the Trump Card.
Toads and Hedgehogs
Seismitoad/Shaymin was easily the most popular of Seismitoad variants during Week 3-of Regionals. They seem like a match made in heaven. The ability to play out all of your powerful Item cards and then fill your hand up with Set Up is incredible. Let’s take a look at a list.
Jason K’s List
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Pokémon – 11 |
Trainers – 45 4 N 1 Lysandre 1 AZ 1 Xerosic
2 Head Ringer
|
Energy – 4 |
This is the deck that Jason Klaczynski used to win the Madison, Wisconsin Regional Championship. Jason chose to include interesting cards like Dragalge FLF and Absol ROS to help him make strong plays. Dragalge is good against cards like Keldeo-EX, which normally would be able to clear Poison and Sleep put on by Hypnotoxic Laser. However, Dragalge allows you to Lysandre up an opposing Keldeo, Laser it, and continue to Quaking Punch until it is Knocked Out.
Absol allows for some very sneaky plays as well. In his Top 4 match, Jason was able to take a KO on a Spritzee by using Absol’s Ability, followed by a Super Scoop Up heads to reuse it, grabbing a cheap Prize card. I think Absol is one of the best cards to be released in Roaring Skies, and watching Jason pilot it to a Regional win only makes it look that much better.
Trump Card Impact
Unfortunately, yes. Very much so. This deck hits on two of the points I made earlier about post-Trump Card deck building. First of all, if this deck is to continue to be viable, it will most likely need to include some basic W Energy. This not only serves to eliminate the risk of running out of Energy, but it also allows you to power up Grenade Hammer, which is always a nice option.
Secondly, I worry that this deck will deck out too often. So for that reason, I would likely cut down on the amount of Shaymin that the deck plays. I’ll show you a new list for the deck to accommodate these changes. I haven’t tested this very much yet, so it’s yet to be seen if this variant can survive without Trump Card. But nonetheless, here’s a starting point.
Post-Ban List
|
Pokémon – 10 |
Trainers – 42 4 N 2 Lysandre 1 AZ 1 Xerosic
2 Head Ringer
|
Energy – 8 4 W |
I think this list is much more stable now with the absence of Trump Card. It certainly will not be as powerful as before, but I could definitely see it being a serious contender moving forward.
Starting Points for Nationals
Heading into US Nationals and beyond, a few things become seemingly obvious of the format:
- Seismitoad-EX decks will likely see a large decline in play
- Night March becomes much stronger
- If Night March becomes played, Donphan looks great
With these predictions in mind, here are a few lists that I have been testing for Nationals since we’ve received the news about our poor friend Lysandre.
Night March
|
Pokémon – 16 2 Mew-EX |
Trainers – 36 4 N 2 Lysandre
2 Revive
|
Energy – 8 4 F |
This is a pretty standard list. I’ll walk you through some of the less obvious choices, though.
As Nicholena mentioned in her article, I believe 4 Shaymin is too many for most decks. I think two or three is a good number for this deck, as you’re only aiming to go off on the first turn or two of the game. Once you have your Night Marchers in the discard, you don’t really have a need to burn through the deck any more.
2 Revive
After reading Nicholena’s article, I got really interested in this card. However, I’m unsure how necessary 4 will be. I think two is a good number, just as a way to replenish a Night Marcher if you run out completely.
4 F Energy
I chose F Energy as the basic Energy for this deck because if Donphan does end up seeing a good bit of play, you can use Mew-EX’s Versatile to copy Spinning Turn to get easy KOs on Robo Substitutes while keeping your Mew safe on the Bench.
You’ve got to imagine this deck will see a great amount of play in the upcoming weeks, as its two biggest threats are either eliminated or nerfed; Trump Card and Toad respectively. Be sure to give Night March a try for your upcoming events.
Donphan
I feel like I am always talking about Donphan in my articles. Perhaps I am a little biased, but I really think Donphan could be a great play heading into Nationals, now more than ever. Donphan has always had a favorable Night March matchup, and with one of its biggest enemies (Seismitoad) getting nerfed, it seems like it may be Donphan’s time to shine once again. Let’s take a look at an updated list.
|
Pokémon – 13 |
Trainers – 37 4 N 4 Korrina 2 Colress 2 Lysandre
|
Energy – 10 5 F 4 Strong |
This list looks quite a lot like what I played early on during the City Championships. Here’s some explanations on some of the card choices.
This card was a great inclusion to the deck during City Championships that brought me a lot of success. Wobbuffet is strong again now due to the rise of Shaymin-EX. Throwing a Wobbuffet in the Active can really hinder your opponent’s ability to get going, as you shut off Shaymin’s Set Up Ability. Wobbuffet is also good against any Virizion/Genesect decks that are still floating around by blocking Genesect’s Red Signal.
This is a card that I have always been fond of in decks playing Korrina. The ability to search a Basic Fighting Pokémon like Phanpy and a Repeat Ball to get another one is great in my opinion.
I’m not quite sure how necessary this card is in the list, but I included it just as a way to prevent decking out. The only reason I am not sure that this card will be needed is because Donphan never really needed Trump Card, as running out of attackers isn’t much of a problem. This spot may change in testing. If I were to change it, I would probably make it a second Double Colorless Energy.
Gengar-EX/Trevenant XY
This is one other interesting deck that I have been working on recently that I’d like to share with you. It’s another deck that doesn’t really mind the loss of Trump Card too much, and is just a simple deck that has some neat little tricks to it.
|
Pokémon – 13 |
Trainers – 37 4 N 3 Wally 2 Colress 2 Lysandre 1 Xerosic
|
Energy – 10 8 P |
The first thing that appeals to me about this deck is the ability to Item lock from the first turn of the game, even playing first. Wally into Trevenant on turn one can potentially lock many decks out of the game completely, Night March in particular. Doing this will likely keep them from getting their Night March Pokémon into the discard for the entire game. Here are some card explanations:
1-1 Dragalge FLF
Dragalge is interesting because Gengar-EX’s Dark Corridor attack poisons the Defending Pokémon. This allows you to Lysandre up one of your opponent’s undesirable Pokémon and trap it Active until you’re able to KO it.
I chose Jirachi in this list over Shaymin because it can help ensure a T1 Trevenant. Shaymin may not be a bad inclusion to the deck, but I don’t think I would cut Jirachi for it.
Conclusion
pokemonscreenshots.tumblr.comThat’s about all I have for you today. I hope I have provided some insight into this quickly evolving format we have before us, and that you now have a good starting point for your own testing for the National Championship. As always, be sure to hit me up with any questions or thoughts you may have — I’m always happy to help out!
Also, I’m thinking about starting a PTCGO stream soon. Keep an eye out on my Twitter as well as the Virbank City Facebook group to see when I go live.
As always, thanks for reading, and if you liked the article, be sure to click the green check mark at the bottom of this page to show your support.
Until we meet again,
Dylan
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