SixPrizes! It’s great to be back this month in what is likely the most crucial month of the season. July is home to the US National Championships — the pinnacle of many players’ year. For those that have reached the necessary level of Championship Points, the journey continues on to the World Championships. Although the competition will not begin until late August, winners are made in July. This month is the most critical for testing to reach greatness at Worlds. With the US and other National Championships fresh on players’ minds, it is important to take everything we can from looking back and use this information to fuel our testing sessions.
Contents
Thar She Blows: US Nationals Recap
adiligentobserver.wordpress.comWow. This year was one of the most obscure, yet oddly entertaining, US National Championships to date. With the demise of Lysandre’s Trump Card, the canvas was wiped clean. It was obvious within hours of the tournament’s start that players had really began to test the limits of this new format. As I walked around for the first couple of rounds (thanks to 2 byes), I was hearing all sorts of wild stories from players.
“Why is everyone running Manectric?”
“Did you see that Wailord thing?!”
“I just lost to Bunnelby…”
The shift was real. It’s amazing how many of the high-level players had decided to switch to Manectric — especially since Manectric hardly saw any play before the Trump Card ban. With the addition of cards like Suicune PLB and/or Articuno ROS 41, the horror of Landorus-EX was a thing of the past, and many decks would simply run out of resources to combat the vicious Energy cycling of double M Manectric-EX with multiple Max Potions.
Resource management was key to this weekend. This is where Bunnelby and Wailord tie in as well, with their unique way of disrupting resources. Many of the successful strategies for this weekend didn’t revolve around winning … instead they simply let their opponent lose. For those unaware, Bunnelby was a deck run by Michael Canaves, Orion Craig, Harrison Leven, and other notable players that used Trick Shovel and Energy disruption cards to lock their opponents into unplayable hands. From that point, their opponents would slowly watch their decks shrink until they inevitably decked out.
“Wailord used ‘Pass!'” That basically sums up the entire strategy for this deck. It’s hard to believe something as simple as being a wall for your opponent to punch until they can do so no longer was an effective strategy, but it proved to be enough with Wailord placing 2nd and 9th in the final standings. Who honestly could have predicted Hugh would be in a National Finalist deck coming into the weekend?
If you are interested in more information about the US National Championships, be sure to check out Mike Fouchet’s most recent article!
Showtime: Explanations Behind the Unexpected Emergences
This event showed just how open the format has become after the ban of Lysandre’s Trump Card. From the Top 16, 12 different decks found their way into the spotlight. To gain a better understanding of what to expect at Worlds, let’s break down how some of these decks found their way to the top of US Nationals.
From the Ashes
Few dared to play Seismitoad/Garbodor since as far back as City Championships, and even then this deck was clearly on its way out. With resource management proving to be crucial, Jason Klaczynski (1st) and Jake Jensen (13th) sacrificed damage output to ensure an Ability and Item lock on their opponent. With cards like Crobat PHF and Bronzong PHF seemingly gaining massive popularity overnight with the results of Canadian Nationals, Jason and Jake arrived at the same conclusion about Garbodor. From this deck we learn that the best teacher can be the past.
Why did Landy/Bats fade into the sunset? What checked Metal all season? The answer was behind us the entire time, and kudos to both of these players for checking their rearview mirror.
Dylan Bryan does it again. The mad scientist of Pokémon cooked up another perfect meta call, this time with the help of the ageless Klinklang. This card hasn’t seen successful play for what seems like years now, but in this blind format with everyone watching out for their resources, Dylan saw an opportunity.
First, you can’t touch any of his Metal Pokémon with Pokémon-EX. That right there takes out half the field. Next, you can’t touch his Aegislash-EX with Special Energies attached. With only a few decks that have an attacker to respond to such a wild set of stipulations established by Dylan’s field, just by setting up he would achieve victory.
Using Bronzong to add some Energy acceleration and abusing the Sky Field + Colress combo to launch his board to stability, this player truly innovated an old classic to a level the game hasn’t seen in quite some time.
Seismitoad-EX/Manectric-EX/Crobat PHF
This monstrosity was the bane of my existence during City Championships. Known as a Seismitoad mirror specialist, this deck found its way to the top tables back in December with the use of Head Ringers, Hypnotoxic Laser flips, efficient Bat drops for optimal mathematic Poison knockouts, and the evil Rock Guard. With a consistent setup, this deck had an answer for just about anything, and Kristy Britton saw this and managed to lock up 7th place at the National Championships with it.
It’s bizarre to think that so many of the decks that found success early in the season would make a comeback with the removal of Lysandre’s Trump Card from the game, but here we are after the event wondering, “How did I not see this coming?” It’s a true testament to these players’ skill level. Sometimes to be a step ahead, you need to take a step back.
Outta Nowhere
Yes, Blastoise placed 15th at the US National Championships this year. No, Tropical Beach is not legal. Steve Guthrie baffled many with his absolute reckless style of Blastoise that the tournament was not prepared for. By giving himself the best odds to complete the first turn Archie’s Ace in the Hole, Steve was able to tank a Keldeo-EX and run through the field. He even decided to forego the Black Kyurem-EX PLS and just streamline Keldeo after Keldeo to victory.
This player saw an opportunity for Keldeo to thrive with the complete lack of Mewtwo-EX in the format to counter-1HKO Secret Swords. Well done to Steve for seeing a hole in the new format and taking advantage of it.
It’s finally time to talk about the Great Moby Dick. This deck is so innovative that it is almost against the Spirit of the Game. Wailord refuses to use High Breaching at an absurd five Energy cost, so he just passes the turns away. Enrique Avila, Brandon Zettel, and a few of their teammates found success at the National Championship by exploiting the fall of Lysandre’s Trump Card. Opponents weren’t ready to face this ridiculous animal that healed damage in the thousands after the game was in the books. For those first couple of rounds, players were using their Professor Junipers and trying to set up their regular board position, unaware that Wailord forces you to play by his rules. Now of course, after the initial surprise wore off, high-level players were finding ways to apply pressure and avoid early decking out against Wailord, but this deck still managed to reach 2nd and 9th place in the event.
Now although these two surprise decks (Blastoise and Wailord) were fantastic for the National Championships, I believe the initial surprise factor is what carried them to success.
For anyone that is worried about seeing these two decks in future events like the World Championships, there are simple additions to virtually any deck that can halt them. As I mentioned before with Blastoise, Mewtwo-EX is a hard counter to Keldeo-EX. If your deck plays Double Colorless Energy and you want an answer, it’s an easy add.
Wailord might be the easiest solution the game has ever seen. Add a Bunnelby PRC 121. Immediately search out the Bunnelby and use Burrow to start milling the Wailord deck. If they start to find Team Flare Grunts and Xerosic to remove a high amount of your Energy, simply use Rototiller to add them back into your deck. The game is unwinnable for Wailord if you use Rototiller properly.
With Nationals behind us, let’s move forward to what I believe are the best plays for the World Championships.
Top 10 Decks for the World Championships
pokemon-global-academy.tumblr.com10. Kyogre
|
Pokémon – 11 3 Kyogre-EX PRC |
Trainers – 37 4 Professor Juniper
4 VS Seeker 1 Professor’s Letter
|
Energy – 12 10 W |
After using this deck at South Carolina States (only losing to Virizion/Genesect twice), I witnessed firsthand just how powerful this deck can be. The addition of Absol for damage manipulation and Shaymin for some much needed consistency should almost be considered staples to any Kyogre list. The only time this deck struggled for me was in the early setup. With a 14th and 10th place finish in the Masters Division, and winning the Senior Division, Kyogre is back on the map and there is no Virizion/Genesect in sight to slow it down. Outlasting your opponent is the key to this build, with Hard Charm, Rough Seas, Pokémon Center Lady, and a Max Potion to begin resetting all of the damage the opponent deals.
Overall, I believe this deck is one of the strongest decks in the format and has fantastic matchups with some of the top decks, but the issue has always been consistency. I believe that Shaymin is a step in the right direction, but it’s difficult to find the sweet spot with these healing cards that win the game and the consistency cards that let you play the game in the first place.
9. Wobbuffet/Bats
|
Pokémon – 16 4 Zubat PLS 53 |
Trainers – 34 4 Professor Juniper
4 VS Seeker 3 Muscle Band
|
Energy – 10 |
If we have learned anything from US Nationals, it’s that you should learn from the past. This deck was on the verge of popularity during City Championships, and with the perfect mix of power and disruption, Wobbuffet/Crobat has found its way into the 9th spot on my list.
One major advantage this deck has since the past City Championship format is the universal abundance and reliance on Shaymin-EX ROS for setup. With the help of the Crobat line, many Pokémon can be picked off before they reach threat level, leading to quick victories.
The surprise factor is also a benefit, as we saw just how beneficial this is during the National Championships with decks like Wailord. If your opponent hasn’t tested the matchup, they are more likely to make an error. With the added benefit of being a deck centered on non-Pokémon-EX, games can go longer, and the early- and late-game Crobat damage are by far the most effective ways to shut a game down. With AZ, Super Scoop Ups and the Scoop Up Cyclone, the Bat damage behind a Wobbuffet wall really begins to add up. Along with that, Wobbuffet’s Psychic Assault gets closer and closer to 1HKO range with every Bat evolution placement.
This deck has sleeper potential. I love decks like this that are almost guaranteed not to be on the majority of player’s radars, but should be. I encourage players to open their mind to all possibilities during this grind out testing month for the World Championships, as you never know what might catch your attention until it does.
8. Hawlucha/Raichu/Bats
|
Pokémon – 23 4 Zubat PLS 53 3 Pikachu XY |
Trainers – 29 4 Professor Juniper
4 VS Seeker 3 Silver Bangle
|
Energy – 8 4 F |
Everyone knew that Raichu and Crobat were two of the frontrunners for format king with the release of Sky Field. Frank Diaz, however, decided that with the help of Hawlucha for some consistent damage, this deck could likely see success after Trump Card. Raichu/Crobat as a deck by itself is powerful, but lacks some of the necessary additions that Frank was able to correct by running this style. With no Hawlucha, this deck has no threat of a first turn attack when going second. It’s understandable when Groudon or Kyogre pass on the opening turn, but something as fragile as Pikachus and Zubats needs a legitimate threat to take the pressure off of the initial setup.
With Hawlucha taking one for the team, the Zubats begin to find their home on the Bench and evolve, while the Pikachus await the timely Double Colorless Energy and evolution to sweep anything off the board. Like the Wobbuffet/Crobat deck above, this list also benefits from using non-EX attackers, and all of these attackers are cost efficient. With proper resource management of the Double Colorless Energy, this deck has no problem taking 6 Prizes in a Trump-less format.
Hawlucha/Raichu/Bats earns the 8th spot on my list, and I believe this deck has a big finish planned for the World Championships.
7. Metal
|
Pokémon – 17 4 Bronzor PHF |
Trainers – 32 4 Professor Juniper
4 VS Seeker 2 Battle Compressor
|
Energy – 11 7 M |
The epitome of consistency has made the list in the 7th spot. After Chase Moloney won Canadian Nationals with a straight line Metal build, others took notice. Among those was Dustin Zimmerman and Ben Moskow, who managed to take 11th and 4th place respectively at the US National Championships. Metal isn’t built to amaze or inspire awe, but rather slow down the game until they are ready to strike. With Seismitoad and early Quaking Punches, the Metal player has the opportunity to set up Bronzongs and the appropriate tech attacker, depending on the matchup. Against Double Colorless and Strong Energy, Aegislash is the perfect counter. See an Yveltal-EX with basic D Energy? Dialga with a Muscle Band will clear that out no problem.
My favorite card in this deck is the Kecleon, which is just dying to find a M Rayquaza-EX and sit behind 8-of his fellow Pokémon as he musters up an Emerald Break out of nowhere. With an answer to most of the decks in the format and the consistency of the Battle Compressor engine, this deck is sure to find a strong placing in the World Championships.
6. Seismitoad/Garbodor
|
Pokémon – 10 |
Trainers – 43 4 Professor Juniper
4 VS Seeker 1 Enhanced Hammer
|
Energy – 7 3 W |
Seismitoad/Garbodor found new life when Lysandre’s Trump Card was banned. This deck was known for intricate plays with resource control that top level players revolved to when Trump Card didn’t exist, and Jason Klaczynski went right back to it as soon as Trump left the building. Finding the perfect mix of disrupting your opponent without overextending is what makes this deck successful in this current format.
The addition of Shadow Triad makes for a similar stream of Hypnotoxic Lasers that was only possible with Trump Card, which many players overlooked when building their decks. The common thought among players at Nationals was that if you can outlast 4 Hypnotoxic Laser, you endured the storm and bright skies are on the horizon. This is not the case, and Jason punished players with an onslaught of Lasers to pile the damage. With no Keldeo to “Rush-In” with help from Garbodor, the only saving grace for opponents of this deck is at most a one of AZ tech.
The dominance of this strategy gave Jason the US Nationals title, and I would be shocked if this deck didn’t reach the top cut of the World Championships.
5. Night March
|
Pokémon – 18 4 Joltik PHF |
Trainers – 34
4 VS Seeker 4 Muscle Band
|
Energy – 8 4 W |
The underwhelming performance of Night March at US Nationals is actually promising to the success of this deck at the World Championships. If players forget about Night March, or decide to focus on other matchups instead, they could be in for a long weekend of Battle Compressors and Night Marching.
Crobat was likely the main reason behind the lack of player support for this deck at US Nationals, but only two Crobat decks made the Top 16. Results like these are encouraging to anyone looking to play this deck, since the lack of Lysandre’s Trump Card gives opponents no answer to a pile of Night Marchers in the discard on the opening turn. With consistency and damage output on the side of Joltik and friends, it’s hard to count this little guy out.
4. Klinklang
|
Pokémon – 22 3 Klink PLS |
Trainers – 28 3 Professor Juniper
4 VS Seeker 2 Float Stone
|
Energy – 10 7 M |
This is likely my favorite deck to come out of US Nationals. I was shocked that Dylan Bryan pulled the trigger and was ready to show the nation what Klinklang and friends was able to do. The theory behind Klinklang is simple; if you can’t hurt me, how can you win? Well I’ve seen others try this in the past and find little or no success. The solution that Dylan found was Bronzong and Sky Field. With Energy acceleration, you can keep up with non-EX decks just like a typical Metal deck would. The Sky Field, along with providing a home to all the different Pokémon this deck needs on the field, also provides a strong Colress component to a deck that historically ended up devastating itself with its own Professor Juniper in order to set up. By conserving resources and inevitably drawing into the Klinklang with an enormous Colress, your opponent is forced to watch you play solitaire as they struggle to see any solution.
This is the first deck that I made when I came home from Nationals and, so far, testing has shown that Dylan’s performance was no fluke. With no other tournament results, I can’t go any higher than 4th on my list, but I certainly believe this deck has the potential to win a World Championship.
3. Manectric/Toad/Bats
|
Pokémon – 17 2 Manectric-EX |
Trainers – 36 4 Professor Juniper
4 VS Seeker
|
Energy – 7 4 Double Colorless |
This deck truly has everything necessary to win. The opening few turns of this deck can demolish just about anything in the format with the right cards and a fortunate Sleep flip. If you are a math enthusiast that enjoys putting a frown on your opponent’s face, this is the perfect deck for you.
What I love most about this deck is you need think about your turns in advance to truly play this seamlessly. Understanding the Poison damage with Virbank City Gym while your opponent is under Quaking Punch is what leads this deck to victory. The key is to use the Crobat line to set up the math in your favor, where your opponent is Knocked Out coming into your turn. When this happens, they are forced to give you another Pokémon to Poison while they remain Item locked.
To really set this soft lock into place, Rock Guard on a Seismitoad makes your opponent sacrifice their Pokémon just to deal some damage. One Super Scoop Up flip after they exhaust everything trying to remove that Rock Guarded Seismitoad is one of the most mentally destructive heads flips this game has to offer. Kristy Britton piloted this deck to dominance at the US National Championships, and it has the potential to really stir up some negative emotions at the World Championships.
2. Metal/Rayquaza
|
Pokémon – 20 3 Rayquaza-EX ROS 75 |
Trainers – 30
4 VS Seeker
|
Energy – 10 6 M |
Ben and Geoffrey Sauk really showed the power of this deck at the National Championships. With the consistency of Metal to back up the destructive 1HKO power of Rayquaza, this deck brings everything to the table. This was the deck that I did the most extensive testing with prior to the National Championships after I saw just how amazing it was at Georgia Regionals Day 1. It’s astounding that this deck can play so many different pieces at work so flawlessly with the help of Sky Field and Shaymin-EX to set up a second-turn board state that would make many players throw in the towel.
With Kecleon for the mirror, Aegislash for all the Special Energy cards being ran, and Heatran and Cobalion to add their own niche, this deck can often look like two or three completely different decks depending on which strategy is the most successful. When your deck is this versatile and remains consistent, there is no limit to what you can achieve.
1. Manectric/Empoleon/Garbodor
|
Pokémon – 15 4 Manectric-EX |
Trainers – 36 4 Professor Juniper
4 VS Seeker 3 Trainers’ Mail 2 Battle Compressor
|
Energy – 9 |
Grant Manley is a first-year Master that loves to add a twist to every deck he plays. He found success as one of the first players to add Crawdaunt to his Seismitoad deck, a heavy Crobat line to his Virizion/Genesect deck, and now again by adding a Garbodor line to Manectric/Empoleon.
Clearly this looks odd, being that Garbodor shuts off Empoleon’s Ability, but this is a completely understandable tradeoff. When playing against Landorus/Crobat, Empoleon is used as a main attacker rather than a consistent draw engine. With Garbodor to shut off the Crobat line’s Abilities, a near auto-loss for most Manectric variants becomes a highly favored matchup. If there is a matchup where Garbodor is completely useless, like against straight Manectric, then simply Battle Compressor the Garbodor line to thin out your deck and continue to play as usual.
All the successful components of the top decks fall in line with this build. Consistency with an early Empoleon, the healing with Max Potions and Rough Seas, the disruption of Garbodor, and the Energy acceleration of Manectric all bond together to form a deck worthy of competing at the World Championships.
Conclusion
Well there you have it! I hope you enjoyed reading this article and are just as excited as I am for the World Championships. If you are competing this year I wish you the best and I hope you can take something from this article to help in your testing. For everyone not competing this year, be sure to follow the tournament either live in Boston or on the stream starting August 21st, and keep an eye out for these decks and your favorite players!
As always, if you have any questions you can reach me here at SixPrizes, my Twitter, or my Facebook page, and be sure to tune in to the SabelStream on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 9 PM EST where you can watch us play these decks in preparation for the World Championships!
Kyle Sabelhaus
…and that will conclude this Unlocked Underground article.
After 45 days, we unlock each Underground (UG/★) article for public viewing. New articles are reserved for Underground members.
Underground Members: Thank you for making this article possible!
Other Readers: Check out the FAQ if you are interested in joining Underground and gaining full access to our latest content.
Leave a Reply