h0ppip.tumblr.comWhat a weekend. Another set of Regionals are in the books, and ironically, the top tables look eerily familiar to the 2012/13 season. New partners for old friends have created a format that feels like a time machine’s work. I’ve now been hearing “Night Spear” for longer than I care to remember — or admit.
With Winter Regionals in the books, we’re now looking forward to State Championships, and a bit further out on the horizon, Spring Regionals. While XY-BKP is the immediate concern of much of the player base, in the interest of the long game I’m going to start today by recapping my BLW–BKP experience this weekend. BLW–BKP will again rear its head for the first two weekends of May events, and I’d like to offer some thoughts while it’s still fairly fresh in our minds.
After that, we’re going to move full-on ahead into the pressing matter of State Championships. With only a few short weeks until the first events in the series take place, there isn’t much time before players will need to be relatively proficient in the format. My goal today is to help accelerate that transition.
Sabl-why?? — Explaining the Unmet Hype
eskimohenkiiis.tumblr.comThe biggest headline of the weekend was probably Sableye’s non-existence. Sure, it saw a degree of representation, but it failed to lock up a single spot in the top cut of either Florida or Portland, which is a dramatic fall for a deck that was hyped to absurd heights. Personally, I believe the key reason for Sableye’s no-show was this extreme hype: rather than playing Sableye, players decided to counter it, and as a result, the amount of play it saw was minuscule. Moreover, the Sableye that was played fell victim to the natural plethora of counters that were seen at the event. It was a perfect environment for Sableye’s failure.
In the void left by the theoretical champion we saw the emergence of a few new faces. Obviously, the (literal) big winners of the weekend were Trevenant BREAK and Primal Groudon-EX. Both decks had impeccable Sableye matchups, which I’m sure weighed on their pilots as they made these choices for the weekend. Trevenant’s focus on a quick Item lock and potential Bench-out win condition contrasts with Groudon’s focused approach to the long game (and in Groudon mirror’s case, the really long game).
Both had potential problems in the room — Virizion/Genesect’s reemergence threatened to neuter the Groudon movement in its infancy, and Yveltal poses a consistent threat to Trevenant no matter how it’s sliced. In reality, the strength of these decks was in their abilities to overcome those theoretical bad matchups: I’m aware of a Virizion/Genesect that fell to Groudon in Top 32 play in Florida, and the world watched as Aaron Tarbell took the win over Stephen Bates’ Yveltal during Florida’s final Swiss round. (1 2 3 4 5)
Both of these decks had inherent strengths beyond the metagame they were used in — Item lock and durability, respectively. Those inherent strengths allowed them to pull away in both events this weekend, and it’s no surprise that such an outcome transpired in the shadows of a metagame that was so unclearly defined. It’s these deck qualities that transcend individual matchups that I believe have become essential in picking a deck for Regionals.
In fact, I believe that employing any level of serious matchup metagaming this past weekend would’ve been unwise. Sure, it would have been ill-advised to take a loss to Sableye/Garbodor, but to have bet on any deck’s non-appearance would have been a foolish decision. If I’ve learned anything over the past month, it’s that the first few rounds of an Expanded event are truly a matchup lottery — with so many players in the room and so many options in the card pool, it’s impossible to count anything out.
Chosen One: Detailing My Deck Selection
In that vein, I chose Raikou BKT/Eelektrik NVI for my Florida experience. My brother Top 4’d St. Louis Seniors with a list that was literally the result of us taking the Virginia one, looking at it for about 5 minutes to fit an Archeops counter, and writing it on a decklist. Simply, such a performance convinced me of the raw power in the deck.
The other significant choice in that list was the inclusion of Brigette and Tropical Beach. In a deck where nothing is done on Turn 1 other than searching for Basics and attaching Energy, this combo struck me as too good to exclude. I was also attracted by the opportunity to play Tropical Beach as a soft counter to Delinquent; it’s much easier to discard 3 cards from a hand of 7 than it is a hand of 4 or even less.
The raw power of Raikou is staggering: CCC 50 + 20 is an attack with an increasingly lengthy history in the game, with Keldeo-EX’s Secret Sword having defined a number of formats. That attack on a non-EX with a defensive Ability is already strong. Coupled with Fighting Fury Belt, which both elevates Raikou’s effective HP to a crazy 180 and allows for easier attacks for “even” numbers of damage, it was hard to argue with Raikou in either my testing or my theory.
I had no read on the proportions of the metagame, only the knowledge that I needed to be concerned about foes such as Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX/Max Elixir, Sableye, and the inevitably omnipresent Seismitoad-EX. Primal Groudon factored into my decision making, but my past experience with that deck is that its sheer inconsistency can often be its downfall. Moreover, I knew that Tropical Beach was a necessary inclusion in a good Groudon list, and while Beach access is often an exaggerated problem in metagaming, it is something to keep in mind. I was very willing to take a worse Groudon matchup in exchange for beating Yveltal, Seismitoad, and other key contemporaries.
Thus, I elected to make the raw strength of Raikou for my choice. The deck has a number of weaknesses, including a disturbing knack for not attacking before Turn 3 far too often, and a general lack of mobility if Keldeo-EX + Float Stone isn’t achieved relatively early. The pitfalls of Hex Maniac are obvious. However, forcing your opponent take a full 6 Prizes is truly invaluable, and was another aspect of the deck that made it so attractive. Decks that only feature resources to take exactly 6 Prizes (Night March, Vespiquen) often struggle against pure non-EX decks, which was yet another intangible asset that drew me to Raikou.
Here’s the list I landed on:
|
Pokémon – 17 1 Pikachu-EX |
Trainers – 34 2 Brigette 1 AZ 1 Colress 1 Lysandre 1 N 1 Xerosic
|
Energy – 9 9 L |
For all of what I just said, I did still feel that teching out the list was the better call. I don’t think I spoke to a single individual before Florida who didn’t mention Virizion/Genesect as a top choice of theirs (or a friend’s) for this weekend’s events. Good matchups against Sableye (supposedly; I am a bit skeptical), Groudon (theoretically), and Yveltal (purportedly, depending upon who you ask) all made that allegation make sense. A few resulting notes on the list:
Perhaps you can sense my feelings toward Grass by the number of reservations I just expressed. Nevertheless, my testing of the Virizion/Genesect matchup dictated that Spiritomb strongly improved it. Spiritomb disables their ability to 1HKO a Raikou, preventing them from being able to strategically remove Eelektrik from my board before wiping out my remaining attacking force with G Booster extensions. By disrupting that strategy by even a single turn (spent KOing my Spiritomb), I found the matchup was very strong for me.
It would be questionable to dedicate a slot in my deck to tech for a single matchup that may or may not show up at all at the tournament. Fortunately, Spiritomb has more use than that. With the advent of Puzzle of Time, ACE SPECs have gone from once-per-game boosts to potentially being usable two or three times per game. This has far reaching implications to say the least. I grew concerned that Rock Guard being used with Super Scoop Up and Seismitoad-EX with Time Puzzle was potentially troublesome for Eels; Groudon potentially being able to reuse Scramble Switch and Max Potion would absolutely shatter any chance I had of winning the matchup. I determined that Spiritomb added an invaluable and unique layer of disruption potential to the deck, and in my theme of adding broadly-applicable techs to the deck, it fit well.
Seismitoad-EX was less of a broad spectrum cure and more of a targeted attack on Sableye. I had a hunch Sableye may fail to appear in high numbers, and I could’ve easily hit one all day based on the observations I made of my neighboring players, but I couldn’t have predicted that I’d face zero throughout the entire day. It turned out to have application in my matches against the mirror and Seismitoad-EX/Crobat, but otherwise, the infamous Toad was a relatively dead card for me.
1 Pikachu-EX
Truly, I’m a bit perplexed at this card’s omission from others’ lists. Obviously, it’s not an ideal scenario to start dropping fragile EXs in a deck that relies on the Prize trade, but in the greater battle of board control, Pikachu is an invaluable option to achieve a sudden, surprise knockout to shift a game’s flow. It was intended for the Virizion/Genesect and Groudon matchups (“Spark” Tynamo to break Focus Sash was the other part of the anti-Groudon teching), but served the broader purpose of eliminating the cap on damage that the deck otherwise suffered from. Fighting Fury Belt also turns Pikachu from a liability to a legitimate EX attacker, and it won me a decent number of games that I would’ve otherwise lost.
In hindsight, the 2nd Brigette was an objectively poor inclusion. Seismitoad and Spiritomb didn’t help me in their intended matchups, but the broad strengths helped me win games that otherwise would’ve been lost causes. I could’ve just as easily hit any number of different matchups (I was paired up/down for a third of my rounds — a highly variable affair — and sat next to Virizion/Genesect and/or Sableye over half of them), so I don’t regret their inclusions in the slightest.
Something Else: FL Report
macuarrorro.deviantart.comMy Florida run so, so embodied the craziness of Expanded. If I was told that I was going to see Rayquaza-EX DRX, Magnezone BKT, Night March, and Trevenant BREAK all as parts of my day, I would’ve expressed utter disbelief and probably listened to none of whatever came out of that conversation after that prediction. Who knew?
Florida 2016
R1: Magnezone BKT/Raikou BKT (1-1)
R2: Yveltal-EX/Maxie’s Archeops NVI + Gallade BKT (2-0)
R3: Yveltal/Maxie’s Archeops NVI + Gallade BKT (2-0)
R4: Eelektrik NVI/Rayquaza-EX DRX/Zekrom BLW/Mewtwo-EX NXD (2-0)
R5: Trevenant BREAK/Wobbuffet PHF (1-2)
R6: Seismitoad-EX/Crobat PHF (2-0)
R7: Darkrai-EX BKP/Yveltal XY (0-2)
R8: Eelektrik NVI/Raikou BKT (2-1)
R9: Night March/Archeops NVI (1-1)Final Record: 5/2/2, 51st
The day started in a very bizarre manner, as while I expected to play Raikou mirror at least once or twice, I did not anticipate my foe to be Magnezone. A rough matchup —Magnezone produces hefty Raikous with ease — was exasperated by some terrible Colresses for 8+ cards in both complete games. My confidence in the deck was failing until I set up very well in Game 3. Unfortunately, I perhaps lingered a bit too long in Game 2, and time was called on my third turn of Game 3. Nevertheless, I recovered and fought my way up the tables heading into the midpoint of the tournament. I will say: Rayquaza-EX DRX had me very surprised, and Pikachu more than put in his worth in the matchup.
Afterward, needless to say, it was discouraging to fall from an encouraging 3-0-1 start to end mired in the middle of the pack. My day started to unravel once I encountered the eventual winner, Aaron Tarbell, during one of my multiple pair-up/pair-down experiences of the day. I somehow took Game 2 of that match (with a little help from Pikachu-EX’s Iron Tail …), but otherwise, Item lock makes it hard to access the theoretically game-breaking Rough Seas. He cleared my field of relevant Pokémon extremely effortlessly in both of his victorious games.
I discovered very quickly in Round 7 that the new “Turbo Dark” deck offers a terrible matchup for Raikou. Simply, while they possess the ability to easily mow through Raikou, there is little capability in the deck to effectively and consistently mitigate the threat that particular Darkrai offers. I didn’t help myself by failing to set up a solid Eelektrik contingent in either game, but I had no business winning the match anyway.
After that match, I was in a win-out position for the remainder of the tournament. Nathaniel McDonald, my Round 8 opponent, was great to play against, but the match was a testament to me of just how ludicrous the time environment is. I scooped Game 1 so fast that he felt compelled to comment on my decisiveness, and yet we still only narrowly reached a conclusion in Game 3.
Looking back on the weekend, I erred in playing a completely non-EX deck and not being willing to immediately scoop unfavorable games — with my opponent laboring to take individual Prize cards, the conclusion was often quietly inevitable despite whatever setup I managed to achieve throughout the rest of the game. Not scooping Game 1 of R1, Game 1 of R8, and the game I dropped in R9 within my first two turns was my most significant fault on the weekend — I simply allowed a game state to go too far even though the odds were heavily stacked against me. Comebacks simply don’t happen often enough in a format with such ultra-consistency to justify playing out games like the ones I let drag on.
As I just hinted, my Round 9 result fell victim to the time rules. I was paired down to an opponent who had remarkably come back from 0-3 to land at 5-3 going into the final round. I don’t honestly remember which game I won and which went to him, but in either event, my opponent was a deliberate player and I was unfortunately confident from the very beginning of the match that we wouldn’t finish 3 games.
For those who aren’t aware, it’s now patently illegal to engage your opponent in any sort of “Should we agree that the leader of Prize cards in Game 3 wins the match?” discussion, as it apparently constitutes asking your opponent for a concession. It has been decided by the OP team that it’s better to make players trod razor-thin lines between an acceptable “wink-wink, nod-nod” situation (it is legal if a conversation occurs in which both players make clear intent to concede to the Prize card leader in Game 3) and a DQ’able offense (asking for such an agreement).
With that in mind and the fact that it seemed both of us felt we would win Game 3 — I was down to 3 Prizes with the board position to take two on “turn 4” and my final one the following turn regardless of whatever he Knocked Out on my board, but it seemed that he felt the presence of his Archeops (I had failed to obtain an Eelektrik, yet had a Raikou with 3 and 2 Energies respectively, if that says anything about this game) was going to be debilitating toward my endgame. Nevertheless, there was no significant discussion between us on the matter, and I was forced to settle for a Top 64 conclusion.
Expansion on Expanded: Bottom Line
Why do I tell you all of this? To make a point about Expanded. In the end, I’m not upset about my Top 64 finish because I believe I was exceedingly lucky to end up where I did. I had poor matchups against the two finalists’ decks, an intriguing new Dark variant, and faced a spate of matchups I could’ve never predicted.
That I still landed in Top 64 despite those factors has led me to the conclusion that Expanded requires a mindset altogether different from Standard. Rather than attempting to metagame Expanded, I believe the appropriate approach is to find a deck with the relevant “inherent strengths” that I’m emphasized throughout this recap. I believe this is why you see players like Michael Pramawat and Frank Diaz play the same decks and do well consistently. They’ve identified archetypes that have strengths against the unpredictable nature of 500-player gauntlets and played them at the highest level.
This phenomena could be the result of Expanded or it could be the result of the sheer size of Regionals. I don’t think it matters. What matters is playing in the environment it creates, and I’m confident in the approach to the format I’ve laid out throughout this part of the article. At the end of the day, I’m happy with the deck choice, and my brother took the win in Seniors with the same list, so it couldn’t have been too poor of a call.
I don’t have that much more to offer on Expanded at this point. I’d normally cover Trevenant BREAK and perhaps Groudon here, but decklists for both have made their way onto the internet, and I have little unique insight to add on either in the Expanded environment. I do, on the other hand, wish to discuss the merits of Trevenant in Standard, so we’ll return to the Elder Tree in a short while.
Suddenly Standard: Three Weeks Till States
theshinyeeeveee.tumblr.comAlthough it doesn’t appear that the phenomena will last too much longer (N’s likely return is maddening), for now, we have a format that is somewhat distinct from Expanded. Does this mean the decks that will be competitive are much different? Probably not. To start out, however, let’s take a look at the top five decks from City Championships:
- Yveltal-EX Variants
- Night March
- M Manectric-EX
- Manectric-EX/Crobat PHF
- Entei AOR 15/Charizard-EX FLF 12
(Thanks to Andrew Wamboldt over at The Charizard Lounge for maintaining the list of Cities results.)
All five of these decks are unique from one another in some way, but all are similar in that they rely on KOing Shaymin-EX as a main part of their strategy. Yveltal variants this past fall often utilized Gallade BKT as a useful attacker and consistency boost, and it’s no coincidence that it has the perfect math to 1HKO a Shaymin after playing a Lysandre. By the end of the format, Night March lists were utilizing Target Whistle and Pokémon Catcher to make a career of Shaymin hunting.
M Manectric certainly didn’t turn down the free Prizes. Manectric/Crobat is probably the poorest example of this phenomena on the list, as the use of Crobat more enabled the deck to take advantage of specific archetypes like Vespiquen and Night March more than it did Shaymin in general. Entei/Charizard’s damage math also works out perfectly, and I would argue that ideal lists tended to employ high levels of Pokémon Catcher as well.
What does that all mean? Simply, knocking Shaymin-EX is a big part of winning the Standard format. This clearly holds true in Expanded to a degree as well, but you won’t see entire decks dedicated to it.
I don’t see a reason that any of these decks will completely cease to exist in the coming format, so as soon as I address the one big new contender in the room, we’re going to explore how BREAKpoint changes these familiar archetypes. But first, I’d be remiss to not explore Trevenant BREAK, as it’s likely to have an effect on each and every one of the aforementioned decks.
Knock on Wood: Trevenant BREAK
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Pokémon – 17 3 Shaymin-EX ROS |
Trainers – 35 3 Wally 1 Judge 1 Professor Birch’s Observations 1 Lysandre
1 Eco Arm
|
Energy – 8 5 P 3 Mystery |
There’re a lot of directions to take this in Standard. Obviously, the key strength of this deck is its potential for immediate Item lock. It’s simply grotesque that Phantump now has its own Evolution-bending means in addition to the prior-utilized Wally.
The deck faces unique challenges not posed by Expanded, however. Colress and N are key losses in the battle for consistent draw and disruption; Judge and Professor Birch are lackluster substitutes at best. However, Judge fills a role somewhat lacking in the prior iteration of the deck. You may have heard that Shaymin-EX loops are a key weakness of this archetype. Any deck that can consistently chain Sky Return has the ability to beat an unprepared Trevenant simply because Trevenant BREAK itself will never take a knockout in that case.
In Expanded, Mewtwo-EX NXD’s Psydrive is able to dispatch that strategy with relative ease, but the problem is a bit more exasperated in Standard. The best approach from my perspective is a combination of Judge to disrupt the Shaymin loop and an additional attacker capable of dispatching a Shaymin-EX. Gallade-EX XY45 and Mewtwo-EX BKT 61 both offer (costly) attacks capable of reaching the 110-damage threshold. Mewtwo XY100/101 come in just short at 100 damage, but offer the ability to inflict Paralysis, which can be useful in this situation. I’d only play the promo Mewtwo with intention to also fit Fighting Fury Belt or Muscle Band. Gengar-EX could be a viable option, but I’d also want to employ something like Absol ROS to manipulate damage in a way that guaranteed I was getting a knockout consistently. I currently don’t have a solidified answer for the best counter, which is why the slot is open in the list.
Moreover, the single copy of the “new” Trevenant from BKP is included to counter that combo. Making Sky Return take an extra Energy obviously breaks the combo, but it also opens up your opponent’s ability to use Items. Obviously, it also has uses against Yveltal and other mono-Basic decks, so for now, I’m electing to keep the lone copy. It may easily make its way out of the list if Judge + another attacker proves sufficient for mitigating the Shaymin-EX loop counter-strategy.
I believe the format currently starts and ends here. This game has always been a creature of hype, and that isn’t going to change anytime soon as far as I’m concerned. I chose to cover this first (and the most in-depth) because it’s the lens by which I believe other decks should be evaluated for the early portion of the States season. I feel you’re going to inevitably see this deck in one way or another. With that in mind, let’s move onto the preeminent Standard threats that we already had.
Lights Out: Yveltal Variants
There are going to be so many ways to play Yveltal, and I believe it’s probably the best chance at a successful counter-deck in the format. From tech lines of Banette ROS to Slowking BKP, to different attacker suites utilizing Darkrai-EX, Zoroark, Gallade, and Garchomp BKP, there’s a seriously hefty amount of options here. I truly believe an article could be written purely about the many options available for Dark, but in the interest of time today, I’m going to do my best to scratch the surface of the many available options.
Variant 1: Gallade BKT/Zoroark BKT
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Pokémon – 15 |
Trainers – 34 1 Lysandre 1 Judge
|
Energy – 11 7 D |
As you can see, this is a pretty cut-and-dry list meant to emulate what a good portion of the Yveltal player base utilized during Cities. In fact, it’s only a few cards off of my list from Christmas, as the deck really doesn’t change very much from BREAKpoint. Don’t be surprised to see this concept take off in the early weeks of States simply because players have easy access to decklists and cards. The inherent linearity of its strategy only serves to multiply that effect.
I’m not currently proponent of playing this variant, as I believe Trevenant BREAK has a very real chance at beating it outright with Item lock. The deck doesn’t have an easily utilized attacker that can put the necessary early pressure on Trevenant, and I can see a game already being effectively over by the time a Yveltal-EX hits the Active Spot with the necessary tools to attack.
Should Trevenant fade, the biggest remaining concern will be the subsequent Night March’s Fighting Fury Belts. Countering that trend may necessitate the inclusion of various other techs, such as Startling Megaphone. Additionally, while 170-HP Yveltal XYs sound like a good thing on paper, I’m currently leaning toward Muscle Band as a means to exact the often necessary extra damage from Yveltal-EX’s attacks. The fact that exclusively it helps Gallade and Zoroark isn’t lost either.
Variant 2: Darkrai-EX BKP
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Pokémon – 12 |
Trainers – 35 2 Lysandre 1 Judge
|
Energy – 13 11 D |
The draw to this variant is its ability to hit hard and hit fast. The Energy acceleration offered by Max Elixir is pretty incomparable, and it’s amazing how quickly games can spiral out of control against this deck simply because it obtains immaculate board position.
Fighting Fury Belt is definitely the superior Tool choice here, as the entire name of the game is keeping Energy on the board. While Dark Pulse is the primary strategy, a sub strategy exists in Darkrai’s Dark Head attack. Malamar-EX is included pretty much for the sole reason of achieving that Sleep condition (you may remember a bit of history between my team and I with Malamar as well), and Muscle Band does still make the cut in the deck for hitting the ever-crucial 180 mark. Not that I ever expect it to occur, but technically, Giovanni’s Scheme + Muscle Band + Reverse Valley means Dark Head caps at 210 damage — just enough to 1HKO a M Manectric-EX.
You may not always get 1HKOs with Dark Head, but I am certainly intrigued by the number of damage manipulation options available to this deck. As just discussed, Giovanni and the Tool suite make for an interesting combo. If I were given an extra slot, it’d probably be a 2nd copy of Reverse Valley, as it seems useful for easily hitting the ever-important numbers of 130 and 170. When combined with Fighting Fury Belt, it’s as if you had a Muscle Band attached — but the 40 HP benefit makes it so much more.
I believe this can beat Trevenant and other decks simply by blowing them over. If Trevenant should go first and achieve the irksome Turn 1 Wally, I believe the list has enough outs to continue drawing enough Energy to run through their field. It’s certainly losable, but I believe this is the variant of Yveltal best-equipped to deal with the Trevenant issue. Removing Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick from the deck removes a hefty reliance on Items, which helps infinitely.
Variant 3: Garchomp BKP
|
Pokémon – 12 |
Trainers – 36 1 Lysandre 1 Judge
|
Energy – 12 8 D 3 F 1 Strong |
This is by far the weirdest version of Dark that I’ve suggested today. The purpose here is to incorporate Darkrai-EX BKP with an attacker that furthers its own goals — obtaining extra Energy on board — adds extra type coverage, and acts as a counter to the likes of Pyroar FLF and Jolteon-EX (more later on that). Adding Fighting brings its own bit of odd options, as things like Hawlucha FFI can be added to provide a decent 1-Energy attacker with free retreat as an additional key asset. The lone copy of Strong Energy probably looks out of place, but Bite Off is definitely usable in addition to Turbo Assault, and the latter’s ability to retrieve Special Energy is what inclines me to play the Strong.
This will invariably suffer a bit more against Trevenant due to its play of Maxie, but if you can manage a Garchomp prior to Item lock clamping down, I think the matchup gets exponentially better. Accelerating Energy to Darkrai under the lock means you’ll be able to start blowing through Trevenant (with either attack) fairly soon after benching it, which is a huge deal when considering Silent Fear’s effect.
Otherwise, Garchomp is mostly there to diversify the deck’s focus and provide additional options in a Dark suite that has never failed to do well in the game since early 2012. I can’t understate how useful Garchomp has the potential to be against a large spread of decks in the format. Unrestricted Energy acceleration is incredibly useful.
Hop, Skip, and a Jump: Night March
|
Pokémon – 16 |
Trainers – 37 1 Judge 1 Lysandre 1 AZ
|
Energy – 7 3 F |
I firmly believe this is the only way this deck can live on, but even that’s a stretch. Garchomp solves the problem of Double Colorless while adding an additional attacker that serves similar benefits as what I just outlined in Yveltal-EX. Puzzle of Time is a boon to the deck as well, as it both makes achieving the Maxie’s combo much simpler and offers a late-game boost in terms of resource access.
It’d be better to play more Fighting Fury Belt, but I’m not convinced that you need more than one or two uses of it during the game to swing the outcome in matchups that it matters. Moreover, I don’t believe it matters in enough different matchups to make it worth playing in heavy counts. The difference between 30 and 70 is relatively irrelevant, and 60 vs 100 only matters in select circumstances. The main one is Yveltal XY, and the swing it provides there is why I elect to play Fury Belt at all.
Here’s the problem: I don’t know how this beats Trevenant. Playing Night March will be a gamble that either A. Your opponents failed to counter Shaymin loops or B. Trevenant fails to see play. A is a poor bet, and B is probably a risky proposition until the metagame develops further in later weeks. I’d test against this because I think people will play it, but I wouldn’t consider it an advisable play in early parts of States.
Sup Dawg: M Manectric-EX
|
Pokémon – 12 |
Trainers – 38 1 Professor Birch’s Observations 1 Judge 1 Lysandre 1 Xerosic
|
Energy – 10 8 L 2 Flash |
Jolteon-EX adds a welcome tool to the arsenal here. Night March and Darkrai both have problems with it — unless they feature a Maxie’s engine, which is part of why you’ve seen me move in that direction in those decks. It’s a card that simply can win games if it’s unchecked, and that’s something valuable in a 7-9 round best-of-three series day.
The list has a few too many 1-ofs for my comfort, but the Supporters all have utility and reusability with VS Seeker, but the same isn’t true of the Items. Mega Turbo is exceptional as a surprise, and perhaps Skyla is something to consider to drop it in specific situations. Tool Retriever is extremely helpful for dropping an Assault Vest on a post-Mega Evolution Manectric, which becomes a beast many decks in format are simply incapable of dealing with.
Another great feature of this deck is the synergy with Rough Seas, which allows you to make an effective run against Trevenant BREAK. It’s a matter of keeping Energy and Seas flowing, but I think this is easily one of the better plays to look into for Week 1, as its ability to play Jolteon and defeat Trevenant make it strong against the theoretical field. The list will take a lot of experimenting, but I definitely like the deck in concept. Garbodor BKP is something to consider as well, but I don’t see space at this early juncture.
Gone Batty: Manectric/Crobat
|
Pokémon – 17 |
Trainers – 33 1 AZ 1 Judge 1 Professor Birch’s Observations 1 Lysandre
2 Head Ringer
|
Energy – 10 6 L |
Like M Manectric, I believe Jolteon-EX has a place here as well. Playing Double Colorless also allows the implementation of Seismitoad-EX, which is always a boon to any deck that can afford it. Bursting Balloon is the big bonus to this deck’s chances in my mind, as it either forces your opponent to work around your attacker or take significant recoil to do damage. In Seismitoad’s case, you can often literally force your opponent to either suck up the recoil or simply not attack due to the nature of VS Seeker as the typical access route for Lysandre.
I’m including Rough Seas here as well as another nod to the power of Trevenant. It’s simply not something I personally want to mess with going into Week 1, and I’m sure that’s been made clear throughout this article. I’m not even convinced that it’s a great deck, but I am convinced that the hype will carry it through.
Otherwise, this deck projects to fare well against the various foes of the format simply as a result of its various options for damage output. Switching between Manectric and Seismitoad with Jolteon as an auxiliary option offers a spread of threats that not many decks can deal with. Add in Crobat for the extra damage, Super Scoop Up for healing/mobility, and Head Ringer for disruption and you have what I believe is an intriguing option going into States this year.
Conclusion
In just a few short weeks, most of the player base will be competing in the last non-Regional events of the year. If you don’t already have the Worlds invitation locked up, they’re the best place left to get that done. For those that are already bound for San Francisco this August, States offer a valuable opportunity to pursue stipends — and perhaps the elusive Top 16 prize — leading into Nationals and Worlds.
I’ve compiled the following map detailing the different weekends the various State Championships will fall on. We’re still missing information on Wyoming and Hawaii, and if you happen to know anything about that (or a new event in Alaska, North Dakota, or elsewhere), feel free to find me on the forums. Canadian Provinces are unfortunately impossible for me to add to the map, but Alberta (3/19), Ontario (4/2), and British Columbia (4/9) will all have events.
I’m not yet sure which events I’ll be at, aside from Indiana and New York, but I look forward to seeing many of you throughout the States season. It’s always been a bit hectic, and with a significant chunk of events on Easter weekend this year, we’re primed to see a third shift in the metagame that hasn’t been experienced in the past. I’m looking forward to it all, and hope to see some of you around. As always, feel free to let me know if you have any questions or feedback on today’s article or anything else.
Christopher
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