Where’s My Elephant?

Setting the Scene, Dialing Up Donphan, and a Summer Mailbag

Just when it seems we have a handle on things, another twist emerges. I’m glad to be back writing for 6P, and today, we have the matter of (what amounts to be a) new format to contend with. By my count, we have under two-and-a-half weeks until the largest tournament of the year. If you’re reading from across the border, you have even less time until the big day — or are laughing at the rest of us as your National Championship rests in the rearview mirror.

A Primer on the Unique Circumstances

yanmega-prime-triumphant-tm-98
Protagonist of the last mid-season plot twist.

This year’s US Nationals were always set to be historic in terms of its format. Had Lysandre’s Trump Card not been the subject of a historic worldwide ban, this year’s US National Championships would’ve been the first to have another large tournament series prior to the event. Never before have Spring Regionals been run in the same format as Nationals, and this year looked to buck the trend.

Instead, for the second time in the game’s history (the first being the 2011 early rotation), there will be no organized tournament series in North America prior to Nationals. 2011’s early HS-on is oft-regarded as one of the worst formats to have been experienced in the game. With the only gauge for the meta being Canadian Nationals, players were left largely in the dark. Yanmega Prime’s sudden rise to prominence was a logistical nightmare many players hope to never relive.

With that said, the situation is not as dire this time around. Obviously, the ban of Lysandre’s Trump Card, while not insignificant, is not the new paradigm that a rotation provides. Additionally, there are more events prior to US Nationals than there were in 2011:

  • June 19th: Denmark
  • June 20th: Mexico, Indonesia
  • June 21st: Hong Kong
  • June 27th: Canada
  • July 2nd: United States of America

While the gut reaction may be to ignore the results of the likes of Denmark, Indonesia, and Hong Kong, it’s important to remember that things like Gothitelle and Flygon only became mainstream after their performances at Finnish and Singaporean Nationals. However, it’s still important to consider that Canadian Nationals is the largest among the events preceding the United States’ Nationals, thus, it stands to be the most influential.

My good friend Alex Hill has the daunting task of evaluating Canadian Nationals and explaining the applications of it to the American event in two weeks’ time, but for now, I’d like to provide a “working guide” on some of what I feel are the current top contenders. Obviously, a lot can change between now and then, so I’m not going to attempt to hand you a bunch of static lists and expect them to be of any use past today.

Instead, we’re going to take a look at the field of decks, and evaluate Donphan in the context of different metagames. Obviously, the process I’ll be going through can be done with many decks, but as I feel Donphan is a chief competitor, it’ll be my subject matter. In this vein, the advice is equally valid for any of the Canadians or Indonesians that may be reading as it is the Americans.

Slowdown: The Meta from A to Z

tracey-sketchit-notepad-paper-awe-3-2pokemonscreenshots.tumblr.com
The list of viable decks is long.

First up, I’d like to offer a comprehensive list of the decks I consider likely to be in attendance at Nationals:

Bronzong PHF Variants
Donphan PLS Variants
Flareon PLF Variants
Primal Groudon-EX Variants
M Manectric-EX Variants
Night March
Ninjask ROS Variants
Raichu XY Variants
M Rayquaza-EX ROS 76/Bronzong PHF
M Rayquaza-EX ROS 76/Shaymin-EX ROS
M Rayquaza-EX ROS 61/Reshiram ROS
Seismitoad-EX/Crobat PHF
Seismitoad-EX/Shaymin-EX ROS
Seismitoad-EX/Garbodor LTR
Trevenant XY(/Gengar-EX/Shaymin-EX ROS) Variants
Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX
Yveltal-EX Variants

Now, to be clear: Not all of these decks are locks to be a sizable portion of the field, nor are some of them worthy of being on the list at all. Nevertheless, this as as comprehensive as I feel I can get without spending all day writing down deck names or making judgement calls on a deck’s validity. Objectively, these seem to have the most hype of what’s out there.

As it stands, things like Night March and Seismitoad seem to be the two big titans on the block, and while people may play concepts like Ninjask ROS, I wouldn’t lose sleep over that because I feel most decks have a very solid matchup against it.

donphan-plasma-storm-pls-72-ptcgo-1
It’s versatile and could care less about losing LTC.

Currently, I feel Donphan PLS is the topic pick for Nationals, largely because of its lack of dependence on Lysandre’s Trump Card and potential strong matchups against popular foes. While both Seismitoad and Night March — the two decks I currently believe will be most represented at US Nationals — can have tricks that make life hard for our elephant, Donphan is currently unique in the variety of ways it can be teched. I don’t believe there’s another deck, save Seismitoad-EX “variants” (and that’s almost cheating given the nature of Toad), capable of targeting specific matchups without sacrificing the rest.

It’s this versatility that makes me disagree with some of our other writers on Donphan’s validity. Rather than speeding up, I believe our format is instead grinding to a halt. The lone major exception is shaping up to be Night March, and Donphan typically has a decent matchup against the folks from Phantom Forces. Today, we’re going to examine the different ways to tech Donphan, and in what situations you might use such techs. The list I give you at the end of today’s piece is, frankly, unlikely to be useful by July — for reasons explained above. For this reason, I instead aim to guide you on constructing Donphan for a given meta.

A quick aside: The process I’m going to walk you through is a mental mechanism I’d encourage you to consider when building any deck for a tournament such as Regionals or Nationals. For that reason, I encourage you to consider it even beyond the scope of Donphan.

Never Forgets: The Donphan Base

Every deck has its essentials that simply are the lifeblood behind the deck’s function. Here’s a skeleton list of cards I believe any Donphan player would be ill-advised to omit:

Pokémon – 8

4 Phanpy PLS

3 Donphan PLS

1 Hawlucha FFI

Trainers – 25

3 Professor Juniper

3 Korrina

1 N

1 Lysandre

 

5 Floating Draw

 

3 Robo Substitute

2 VS Seeker

2 Muscle Band

1 Silver Bangle

1 Switch/Escape Rope

1 ACE SPEC

 

2 Fighting Stadium

Energy – 9

4 Strong

4 F

1 Double Colorless

Free Spots – 18

To be clear, there are more cards that are essential in Donphan. However, these are the 42 cards that I believe should not change between any and every list, and this is the skeleton I’ll be working with to create every other list in this article.

With a baseline, it’s then necessary to consider the options available to us to counter the various threats one will inevitably encounter. The following is a comprehensive list of cards that could (“should” is a story we’ll tackle later) serve a function in Donphan.

Pokémon Options

wobbuffet phf 16-9
Wobbuffet is one of our most solid choices.

Hit & Runners

Sidekicks

I cast a wide net for a reason. It’s clear that all of these are not viable, and it’s for good reason that Wobbufett and Sigilyph are among the most common decisions made by Donphan players when including walls. However, thinking about things like Froslass can be a worthwhile venture.

Is Froslass probably bad because it’s a Lysandre away from being irrelevant? That’s the likely conclusion, and due to its nature as a “preventative” card, unlike Sigilyph, which serves a defensive purpose that will be similarly relevant next turn, Froslass has a depreciating effect each time the opponent bypasses it — once a Seismitoad-EX player has a DCE on his or her board, he or she no longer cares quite so much about Froslass.

Likewise, a Colorless Mega Rayquaza player who is allowed to use his or her Shaymin early in setting up is unlikely to be especially concerned about a Turn 5 Wobbufett. The nature by which your wall functions is something essential to consider in constructing Donphan, and we’ll be examining that as we construct lists throughout the article. Even if Froslass is bad, thinking about its effects and nuances can relate to more relevant inclusions such as Wobbufett.

Trainer Options

dowsing machin 16-9
Computer Search is no longer an automatic inclusion.

Disruption

Utility

Obviously, a few of these overlap, but in principle I just wanted to highlight options that should at least briefly be considered when constructing a Donphan list. I’d like to briefly highlight Dowsing Machine’s inclusion on this list. It’s my belief that the ACE SPEC debate has been revived; the days of penciling Computer Search in every decklist may have seen their last hurrah.

Many of these Trainers listed are likely to be 1-ofs at most, and more than most decks, Donphan seems to include tech Items. Thus, I believe there to be a potential match. One consideration: I would not play Dowsing Machine without also including Professor’s Letter. An Energy out for Korrina is too good to pass up.

Into the Wild: 60-Card, Meta-Specific Lists

Now that we’ve examined the many tech options available to Donphan, we’re going to tech out some lists. Given the lack of clarity surrounding the meta, instead of handing you one “all-around” list, I’m going to over a few lists teched for different matchups. Obviously, Pokémon is not played in a vacuum where you only play against a single matchup. However, there’s validity in building lists to target specific matchups so that we can later apply the thought process from that list to a more balanced, all-encompassing list.

Build #1: For Fear of Seismitoad (Batrachophobia)

A quick diversion: The notion that Seismitoad-EX will fall from play as a result of the Lysandre’s Trump Card ban is something dreamed up in the optimistic part of all of us. The Toad isn’t going anywhere — at a very minimum — until his or her toolbox of Lasers departs. Rest assured that you’ll be seeing Toad at a table near you come Nationals.

Now, with that aside, here’s my list geared to beat Seismitoad variants:

Pokémon – 12

4 Phanpy PLS

4 Donphan PLS

4 Hawlucha FFI

Trainers – 36

4 Professor Juniper

4 Korrina

3 N

3 Lysandre

1 Colress

1 Xerosic

 

4 Robo Substitute

3 Muscle Band

2 Silver Bangle

2 VS Seeker

1 Switch

1 Enhanced Hammer

1 Repeat Ball

1 Computer Search

 

3 Fighting Stadium

2 Training Center

Energy – 12

5 F

4 Strong

3 Double Colorless

 

Last 2 In: 2nd Training Center, Repeat Ball
First 2 Out: 6th F Energy, 3rd VS Seeker
Also Strong Against: Mirror, Yveltal-EX Variants, Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX
Problems Posed: Night March, Bronzong Variants, Flareon Variants, Trevenant XY Variants

Caveat: Seismitoad is never going to be an “easy” matchup. You will never sit across from Seismitoad and say “this is a match in which I’m extremely comfortable with my odds.” Instead, this list aims to optimize to give us the best chance of winning a majority of our 2/3 series.

The general philosophy of the list is to minimize reliance on Items, while including the Items we need — Pokémon Tools — at high counts. This enables the optimal balance of early setup while not sacrificing the later game to dead hands clumped with Items when playing against Seismitoad. While playing against things like Yveltal-EX or Virizion/Genesect, the heavy Hawlucha count enables us to apply early, significant pressure at only the cost of a non-EX. Let’s examine some of the card counts:

4-4 Donphan PLS, 4 Hawlucha FFI

There are no truly excellent walls against Seismitoad-EX. Sigilyph LTR and Wobbufett PHF both require Float Stone; a commodity that you’re going to struggle to get in play against Seismitoad. Instead, we opt for maximum consistency in our Pokémon line; relying on Hawlucha for the earlier firepower needed for victory. In mirror, Hawlucha is excellent, as it takes a lot of effort for an opposing Donphan to Knock Out. Make sure you use them before using your Robo Substitutes!

4 Korrina

Even in lists not strictly dedicated to beating Seismitoad-EX, this is a count you’ll find me listing. However, the principle holds especially true here because of both your emphasis on early Tool usage and the need for search under Item lock.

3 Lysandre

lysandre-flashfire-flf-104
Shaymin are easy pickings.

Shaymin-EX is still going to be a large part of Seismitoad decks, Trump Card or not. By enabling yourself the best odds to win trades by KOing Shaymins, you give yourself the best shot at winning the game. Hawlucha is your best bet when going after Shaymin, as it’s able to ignore the otherwise pesky Resistance. Keep in mind that if you get a Silver Bangle down early on a Hawlucha, it only needs the Strong Energy or Fighting Stadium to reach 110, unlike Muscle Band, which requires both.

Additionally, with Double Colorless Energy now a finite resource, there is increased validity in Lysandre’ing a Seismitoad-EX with no Energy for stalling purposes. It may just get you the turn you need to win the exchange.

1 Xerosic

The wealth of options this card provides is seemingly very underrated in the current format. Now that DCE is limited to 4, getting rid of one at a key moment, combined with unfortunately Prizes for the opponent, can put you in a great spot. Xerosic also provides the ability to get rid of Muscle Band, which could be crippling late game if the Toad player has exhausted his or her supply. You can also swap your own Muscle Band for a Silver Bangle (or vice versa). All around, it’s a card I’m eager to include in a list dedicated to beating Seismitoad.

2 VS Seeker

This count certainly looks low, but in practice I believe there won’t be an issue. Focusing on heavy counts of our essential Supporters (such as Lysandre) allows this sacrifice to be made. It offers a less-bloated deck when it comes to Item lock as well. However, I could easily see a swap of the 3rd Lysandre for the 3rd VS Seeker.

3 Fighting Stadium, 2 Training Center

You don’t want Virbank to stick. Period. There are few things that can end the game more quickly than Seismitoad 1HKOing your Hawlucha and Donphan. Forcing your opponent to consistently need to dig up both the Hypnotoxic Laser and Virbank City Gym is a key to winning the matchup. Training Center is chosen for its ability to — once Virbank is a non-factor — make Donphan a serious nuisance for Seismitoad. Five Stadiums works well for chaining Wreck. I’d personally tend to use my Fighting Stadiums first, and save the Training Centers to shut down the late game, but at all costs: Bounce Virbank.

Repeat Ball vs. Ultra Ball

With a simplified Pokémon line, running only 3 varieties, I’m in favor of sacrificing the flexibility to get a Turn 2 Donphan (prior to another’s appearance) to get better odds of filling my Bench with Phanpy and Hawlucha on Turn 1.

Computer Search vs. Dowsing Machine

In this case, with Item lock being our main concern, I’d rather have the T1 Strong Energy out via Korrina than the ability to recycle Items I could be unable to use. Additionally, with the need for speedy Hawlucha damage, searching for Stadiums is another good option to have.

5th F Energy, 2nd/3rd Double Colorless Energy

The 6th Fighting is something I desperately want, but the space just isn’t there. You could conceivably flip the 3rd Double Colorless for a 6th Fighting, but it’s not a decision I’d readily endorse.

Summary: In order to have the best odds of beating Seismitoad without sacrificing your other matchups, you need to balance mid/late-game resources with early-game setup. Running a full suite of Items, such as 4 VS Seeker, 2 Bicycle, 2 Ball Search, etc. is unadvisable for obvious reasons. Heavy Hawlucha is the best way to deal with Seismitoad while not sacrificing your other matchups. Laserbank is your worst enemy, and you’ll spend most of the game in that Stadium war.

Build #2: Anti-Night March (or “The Field”)

target whistle 16-9 2
Once again, Shaymin-EX is our prime target.

As a result of Trump Card’s ban, Night March has become the de facto “king of the hill.” The ban of its primary counter, and the removal of Seismitoad’s best tool, have made the landscape infinitely friendlier. Donphan’s matchup with Night March is largely dependent on the direction the Night March player chooses to take the list. If it features Empoleon PLF and significant W Energy, Donphan is in for an uphill battle. However, it seems that lists are increasingly choosing to depart from using Empoleon in favor of a speedier Shaymin-EX engine. This can be seen in both Dylan Dreyer’s and Nicholena Moon’s articles, and in the player base at large.

Rather than solely worry about lists playing Empoleon, which appear to be a minority — albeit, also a worse matchup — we’re going to focus on beating standard Night March while also trying to shore up the Empoleon factor. Additionally, this is the list/methodology I would take against both Flareon and Bronzong. At large, it’s a more versatile approach, and increasingly my testing is leading me away from the Hawlucha route toward this method.

Pokémon – 134 Phanpy PLS

4 Donphan PLS

2 Hawlucha FFI

2 Wobbuffet PHF

1 Sigilyph LTR

Trainers – 36

4 Professor Juniper

3 Korrina

3 N

2 Lysandre

1 Colress

 

3 VS Seeker

3 Robo Substitute

3 Muscle Band

3 Float Stone

1 Ultra Ball

1 Bicycle

1 Silver Bangle

1 Switch

1 Enhanced Hammer

1 Target Whistle

1 Professor’s Letter

1 Dowsing Machine

 

3 Fighting Stadium

Energy – 11

5 F

4 Strong

2 Double Colorless

Last 2 In: Target Whistle, 3rd Float Stone
First 2 Out: Sacred Ash, 6th F Energy
Also Strong Against: Bronzong, Flareon, Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX
Problems Posed: Seismitoad-EX Variants

Here, we trade the consistency of the last list to have a few more tools to deal with a greater spread of problems. Instead of things like the 3rd Lysandre and Xerosic, we feature things like a Bicycle and 3rd VS Seeker. Dowsing Machine is employed to reuse the spread of 1-ofs included. Some notes:

2 Wobbuffet PHF, 1 Sigilyph LTR

sigilyph-plasma-freeze-plf-118-ptcgo-1
Save it for the late game.

I desperately would appreciate the 3rd Wobbuffet, but alas, this is a very tight list. It would certainly be a strong inclusion if you’re sitting over your decklist on the night before your event and you happen to find space, but I don’t see it in this list. Either way, I would definitely prefer a majority Wobbuffet over Sigilyph, if only due to the ability to shut down their draw. If you can get it Active prior to their T1 Shaymin or Empoleon, it can make for a solid advantage.

I’d prefer to save the Sigilyph for the end of the game when Night March’s resources are dwindling. With Enhanced Hammer (and Dowsing Machine for that Enhanced Hammer) and the low HP in Night March, you can quickly run them out of DCE. Once that number dwindles, my approach would be to bench the Sigilyph and begin to wall. Either they must drop a DCE on another low-HP Pokémon, or they have to expend resources Lysandre’ing around the Sigilyph. Either way, I’d rather use it mid/late-game than in the early moments. Obviously, Empoleon changes this equation, but the general principle is the takeaway here.

4 Professor Juniper, 3 Korrina, 3 N, 2 Lysandre, 1 Colress, 1 Bicycle, 3 VS Seeker

The draw suite is a bit less rigid in this list, reflective of not emphasizing the issue of Item lock. The Bicycle is mostly an out for Korrina, but serves well in a bad situation with Dowsing Machine as well.

3 Float Stone, 3 Muscle Band, 1 Silver Bangle

In dealing with Night March, I want to make sure that I’m consistently Knocking Out Pumpkaboo with one Spinning Turn — a second attack spent is a victory for the Night March player. The 3rd Float Stone is among the defensible cuts available, to be sure. However, I would hold it above the two cards I listed (Sacred Ash, 6th Fighting) only because of its utility with the 3 walls in the list. Silver Bangle has been de-emphasized in conjunction with Hawlucha’s decreased role in the list.

1 Target Whistle

This is a selection especially intended for Night March. Obviously, one of the pitfalls of the matchup is their ability to trade non-EX for non-EX with you rather easily. This adds an out to dragging up more Shaymin-EX, as well as clogging their Bench with unwanted nonsense. Helpful across a wide spread of matchups due to Shaymin’s increasingly universal presence.

Exclusions: Sacred Ash, 6th F Energy

Obviously, access to more Wobbuffet, more Hawlucha, and more Sigilyph would be excellent. I’m somewhat compelled to try a cut such as the 4th Donphan, but I fear that would sacrifice the Toad matchup too much. I’m still not quite decided on whether the 6th Fighting is a luxury or a borderline necessity, and that’s something that still needs more testing. I’m not comfortable with any cut enough to make the change, so at this point, I would leave the list as it is.

Summary: It can be said that these two lists are a thesis and antithesis. One has less options, in favor of consistency, and the other sacrifices the reality of Item lock in favor of having a spread of options against its foes. Next, we’re going to synthesize these into the list I currently believe is best equipped to handle the perceived meta.

Build #3: Balancing Act

bart homer stampy 3-2simpsons.wikia.com
In a large tournament setting, balance is paramount.

Of course, Nationals is not played in the bubble I’ve constructed the prior lists in. Instead, you must both prepare to face 9 different decks or 9 lists within seemingly within 6 cards of each other, as I did 2 years ago. To that end, it’s important to remember that some degree of luck is inherent: That lone auto-loss can hurt quickly if you’re forced to face it frequently. Rather than consign oneself to the reality of a seeming lottery, one must put the odds in their favor by considering the meta and planning accordingly. For that reason, I believe the following list is probably not going to help you in three weeks. Instead, I offer it as a testing tool and an example of employing the methodology we’ve considered today.

Pokémon – 134 Phanpy PLS

4 Donphan PLS

2 Hawlucha FFI

2 Wobbuffet PHF

1 Sigilyph LTR

Trainers – 36

4 Professor Juniper

4 Korrina

3 N

3 Lysandre

1 Colress

1 Xerosic

 

3 VS Seeker

3 Robo Substitute

3 Muscle Band

3 Float Stone

1 Silver Bangle

1 Switch

1 Target Whistle

1 Professor’s Letter

1 Dowsing Machine

 

3 Fighting Stadium

Energy – 11

5 F

4 Strong

2 Double Colorless

Obviously, this is a lot more like the second list than the first one. I currently perceive Night March to be the most significant threat going into the Nationals metagame, thus, we’re going to take an approach I see as tailored against Night March. Another competitor that easily could take the stage is Bronzong PHF, and Wobbuffet is obviously effective in that matchup. Add in its abilities versus both M Rayquaza-EX variants, and Wobbuffet looks like quite the utility.

We’re sacrificing a bit against Seismitoad by including the Dowsing Machine + 1-ofs suite, but the added versatility against other decks is invaluable. By including Xerosic and the 3rd Lysandre, I hope to somewhat alleviate that sacrifice’s impact. This seems to be the best way of striking a good balance.

Shhhh: Silent Lab Tech

silent-lab-primal-clash-pcl-140 (1)
An option if V/G and Rayquaza gain popularity.

I’d like to quickly touch on Silent Lab as a tech option: If things such as Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX, M Rayquaza-EX/Shaymin-EX, or M Rayquaza-EX/Reshiram ROS begin to appear, Silent Lab may be worth consideration. However, I caution you against the illusion of its use against Night March. It often is invaluable to lure the Night March player into using Mew-EX rather than the dense Pumpkaboo PHF, as Hawlucha will likely be necessary to swing 2 Prizes for relatively little setup (compared to a Donphan swinging for 60 against a Pumpkaboo).

Obviously, like all minutia in Pokémon, there are caveats. If my opponent is out of DCE or Dimension Valley, I clearly want to stop the use of Mew and force my opponent to burn resources. Mainly, I want to point out that it’s not the de facto play it appears at first glance. If I were to include Silent Lab, Target Whistle and Lysandre would be the first cuts made.

With that, I hope to have furthered your knowledge of Donphan and opened your eyes to possibilities previously unseen. If you’re yawning in boredom, I at least hope to have helped you in the methodology of deck construction.

Trainers’ Mail: Summer Mailbag

mail from bill artwork
Let’s answer some questions!!

As I’ve noted, we’re in a time of flux in the Pokémon TCG. With that in mind, I wanted to take specific questions from our readers to find out what mysteries needed answers.

Q: What do you see the format becoming? In other words, what seems to be the direction that the game is moving toward in your opinion and what decks might perform well in said format?
—ZMayfire

CS: At large, I believe the format is slowing down. No more will Seismitoad-EX be burning through its deck every two turns, nor will Colorless Rayquaza have 3 cards in deck at the end of its second turn. If anything, Ryan Sabelhaus’ prediction about Special Energy denial is what I see as most likely to occur. For that reason, decks like Donphan are going to have to be careful of their Strong Energy usage. The most extreme would be that things such as DCEs on Yveltal-EX or Strong Energy on a Donphan act more as PlusPowers than Energies, but I don’t believe we’re headed to that an extreme a reality.

As is likely clear, Donphan is what I see as currently most poised for victory. Seismitoad is going to undergo a transformation, but I would not be surprised at all if the deck that wins US Nationals features everyone’s least favorite amphibian. The door also appears to be open for concepts such as Metal (in various forms) to take the stage. Aegislash-EX is a powerful card. Meanwhile, Night March will see play. That’s the one thing I will 100% guarantee.

Q: Do you think that VG/Mega Manectric is a viable option in the current meta?
—Gelato

CS: Well, as I’m a proponent of Donphan, you can probably ascertain my opinion on this. As it sits, I can’t see VG/Mega Manectric being a good choice for Nats. Between a poor Donphan matchup and a poor Night March outlook, it doesn’t figure to be in great shape. In cases where people ask me if I think deck X is viable (and in my own thought process), I tend to turn it around: What do you think this deck will beat? I’m going to hypothesize that Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX/M Manectric-EX beats Yveltal-EX and Seismitoad-EX variants, but I’d be worried about Night March. A bad Night March matchup is a dealbreaker for me. If you think you can beat Night March, it’s a consideration. I can’t see it.

Q: M Rayquaza-EX is kind of in a strange situation where its hardest matchup (Seismitoad-EX) took a hit with the loss of Lysandre’s Trump Card, but it did too. What do you think is the best way to play M Rayquaza-EX with the loss of Lysandre’s Trump Card? The Bronzong variant?
—Dweinhardt

CS: It’s partially going to depend on the metagame. If there’s a lot of Donphan and little Night March, M Rayquaza could be playable both with straight Shaymin-EX and Bronzong PHF. However, if there’s a sizable amount of Night March, you’ll be needing Altaria to stand any chance — and it’s fairly certain that we’ll be seeing Night March at Nationals. Regarding Bronzong: It’s probably the most balanced and effective variant, I just worry that it tries to do too much with too little deck space. It’s not easy to fit it all together, and I feel as though a quick Quaking Punch could completely shutter the setup.

But if I had to play Colorless M Rayquaza? It’s likely the Bronzong variant.

Q: How useful do you see the Fossil Pokémon (from PLB) becoming as anti-deckout tools? Especially in decks with Empoleon PLF?
—Xtremefate

CS: I would never consider them outside of a deck playing Empoleon. I would almost never consider it in a deck with Empoleon. Here’s the problem: Decking out isn’t just a win condition, it also means you’re out of resources. In one of the decks most likely to play Empoleon, Night March, you need a steady supply of Energy to sustain an attack. It doesn’t matter if you deck out if you can’t attack anymore and lose anyway.

In something like M Manectric-EX/Empoleon PLF, it may be a bit more viable, but don’t mistake that for approval. Simply, if decking out wasn’t already an automatic loss condition, it’d be equally so a loss since you won’t draw any resources. It’s not an effective use of deck space to delay the inevitable.

Q: Do you see Tool Drop as a viable option for Nationals?
—DatPiplup

CS: I can’t say that I do. Here’s why: Night March is the de facto non-EX in this format, and I question what Tool Drop improves over Night March. Tool Drop relies on keeping a constant board state, Night March only requires so much initial “setup.” This is an inherent weakness to Seismitoad variants; while you’ll occasionally beat them with Night March, you’d have a very hard time ever even splitting a series with Tool Drop.

You do get the benefit of not using Special Energy, but with the amount of deck space required on Tools (in Night March, you consume that space more efficiently by doubling up on the “strategy” and Pokémon), it’s simply not an efficient setup. Could someone make a run with Tool Drop? Sure — someone always makes a run with a subpar deck. Is it something that will consistently get it done? Very unlikely.

Q: What deck/decks do you expect to have the most play at Nats?
—OshaWaterBottle

CS: I’m going to pull my list from above and reorder based on what I expect to see the most play.

Most Play

  1. Night March
  2. Donphan PLS Variants
  3. Raichu XY Variants
  4. M Rayquaza-EX ROS 76/Bronzong PHF
  5. Primal Groudon-EX Variants
  6. Bronzong PHF Variants
  7. Seismitoad-EX/Crobat PHF
  8. Seismitoad-EX/Garbodor LTR
  9. M Rayquaza-EX ROS 76/Shaymin-EX ROS
  10. Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX
  11. Seismitoad-EX/Shaymin-EX ROS
  12. Trevenant XY Variants
  13. M Rayquaza-EX ROS 61/Reshiram ROS
  14. Yveltal-EX Variants
  15. M Manectric-EX Variants
  16. Flareon PLF Variants
  17. Ninjask ROS Variants

Least Play

Caveat: Of everything I’ve written, this is the most likely to be absolutely worthless by Nationals. Aside from the fact that the act itself is like throwing darts against a wall while blindfolded and in an anti-gravity machine, Canada, Mexico, etc. are all likely to influence this. You could make an argument for almost every placement. The one I won’t budge on is Night March.

Q: I would love to see you rank all of the playable decks. Start with whatever you think is strongest, and finish with whatever you think is weakest (yet will still see play at Nationals). In doing this, I think it would be interesting to see where you rank all of the different Seismitoad variants amongst everything else.
—Patrick1885

CS: This is going to be covered in the same way as the prior question; my opening list will be reordered. Like the prior question, this is likely in flux every few days.

Strongest Decks ↑

  1. Donphan PLS Variants
  2. Night March
  3. Seismitoad-EX/Garbodor LTR
  4. Seismitoad-EX/Crobat PHF
  5. M Rayquaza-EX ROS 76/Bronzong PHF
  6. Seismitoad-EX/Shaymin-EX ROS
  7. Raichu XY Variants
  8. Bronzong PHF Variants
  9. Yveltal-EX Variants
  10. M Rayquaza-EX ROS 61/Reshiram ROS
  11. Primal Groudon-EX Variants
  12. M Rayquaza-EX ROS 76/Shaymin-EX ROS
  13. M Manectric-EX Variants
  14. Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX
  15. Trevenant XY Variants
  16. Flareon PLF Variants
  17. Everything Else
  18. Ninjask ROS Variants

Weakest Decks ↓

Notes: This is obviously, to a degree, dependent on a the metagame. In cases like Ninjask and Flareon, the metagame is inconsequential — the deck just loses. Meanwhile, Donphan and Night March are likely perennially competitive. Everything in between is pretty well in flux, but is accurate to my current view.


I’d like to thank everyone who submitted questions! We’re going to consider doing this sort of thing more often, and it may become a part of some exciting things we have planned for the future of 6P.

Conclusion

stampy elephant 16-9 bartavclub.com
There’s my elephant!

I hope you all enjoyed my run through the construction of Donphan in the current format. More importantly, I hope I’ve left you with a clearer idea of how to construct any deck with a mega event like Nationals in mind. It’s not worth targeting one matchup — you simply can’t expect to play against 9 of the same thing. It’s also a fool’s errand to attempt to beat everything in sight. Instead, you have to plan for the spread of what you most expect to be represented and acknowledge that you’ll never beat everything.

Feel free to find me on the forums for any other questions you have. Otherwise, I hope you liked the article, and good luck at Nationals!

Christopher


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