pokemonscreenshots.tumblr.comHey everyone! I’m very excited to bring you today’s article. I’ll be helping to set the stage for three of the most important weeks of the season and hopefully guide your testing in the right direction.
Since the last time I wrote, I played in a pair of Regional Championships. In Ontario, I piloted a Turbo Dark list to a solid 4-1 start only to be thwarted by Mega Rayquaza twice and end up in the top 32. In Kansas City, I rode a hot streak of good luck and strong matchups to 2nd place, using a Night March list that Christopher Schemanske created.
Today’s article will be the first part of a two-part series between Christopher and I that will continue on Thursday. The two of us are testing hard in preparation for the “Win a Trip to Worlds” tournament at the Origins Game Fair which will take place this coming Saturday. We’ll each go in depth on about half of major the decks in the format, sharing our testing lists, possible tech cards, and their matchups with the rest of the field.
I’ll be covering Night March, Yveltal/Zoroark (Dark), and the new Water Toolbox deck while Christopher will round out the field with Trevenant, Vespiquen/Vileplume, Greninja, and a Sceptile list that we won’t include in the matchup section as it’s not likely going to be a major player in the metagame. We’ll also be including Mega Manectric in the matchup section as it’s always a popular deck, but we aren’t covering it because the core archetype hasn’t changed much at all in the last six months.
This information will be helpful not only for Origins but also for the Canadian and American National Championships which are quickly approaching. Let’s jump right in!
Night March
It’s fitting to start today’s discussion with Night March as it was the most successful deck at State Championships, the most recent circuit of Standard tournaments. Night March is a deck that has constantly evolved since its inception with the release of Phantom Forces in November 2014. This ability to adapt and counter new threats is what makes the deck so strong.
Night March has been talked into the ground but the release of Fates Collide gives it a new tool and a few new threats to counter. Let’s look at a list:
|
Pokémon – 17 2 Mew FCO |
Trainers – 39 2 Lysandre 1 N 1 Xerosic
|
Energy – 4 |
This list draws heavily from the Expanded list that I used to take 2nd place in Kansas City. Ghetsis and Computer Search had to be cut to make it legal for Standard, which I replaced with a Xerosic and a Hex Maniac. Tool Scrapper was of course swapped out for Startling Megaphone and I cut the Mr. Mime for another copy of Mew. Mr. Mime was an essential card in Expanded to prevent a Darkrai-EX DEX from mowing down your whole field, as well as being somewhat useful against Yveltal BKT. Snipe attacks are less prevalent in Standard so I figured it wasn’t worth the spot, but it could be worth testing if you find Yveltal to be a big threat.
Before moving on with the list, I want to touch on a few small details about my Expanded Night March list that I was asked about. First is the choice of the Fairy-type Mr. Mime over the Psychic-type Mr. Mime from Plasma Freeze. The BKT version has far better Weakness as Metal Pokémon were almost never played in Expanded but Psychic Pokémon saw some play, such as Crobat and Mewtwo. The Resistance to Dark Pokémon is the real draw here, as this could swing a bad situation back into your favor. One situation that came up several times in testing was facing a Yveltal BKT with a Fighting Fury Belt and a Silent Lab in play. This turned off Mr. Mime so they could snipe down Shaymin, but they could also Lysandre up the Mr. Mime and 1HKO it if it was the PLF version due to Silent Lab negating Yveltal’s Ability. Resistance to Dark prevented this play, and Silent Lab shutting off Fright Night let you put Float Stone on Mr. Mime to retreat back to the Bench with ease.
The other seemingly thoughtless decision we made with the list was playing Tool Scrapper over Startling Megaphone. Some players would elect to play Tool Scrapper in an Expanded list just because they have that option, and not because it was the best card for the deck. Startling Megaphone is almost always better than Tool Scrapper if your opponent has 3+ Tools on the board. However, Tool Scrapper gives you options to make plays that are otherwise unavailable. For instance, Christopher used Tool Scrapper to swap out a Float Stone for a Fighting Fury Belt in one game and pick up the last 10 damage for a knockout. Removing a Head Ringer from a Shaymin-EX is the other obvious play but this is not a common situation since we usually expect Head Ringer to be played in conjunction with Item lock.
The main draw of Tool Scrapper for me is that it allows for you to have more control over the board. If my opponent is playing a Mega deck, such as the Mega Sceptile that is seeing some traction in Europe (the Chespin should be Spinarak), and I wanted to remove a Tool from their board, Startling Megaphone would force me to remove all Tools, including any Spirit Links on their already evolved Mega Sceptiles. Those Tool cards aren’t doing them any good, they’re just eating up Tool slots. If I remove a Spirit Link, they are free to play an Assault Vest, making it even harder for me to ever find a knockout. While this is a fairly uncommon situation, it’s situations like this that factor into even the smallest decisions when crafting a perfect decklist. Never disregard a card or an addition because you think the difference it will make is too small. You never know when that situation will come up.
This version of Night March has been analyzed into the ground so I’ll just go over the cards that I added from my Expanded list. A 2nd copy of Mew is mostly so I can find it more readily in my opening hand instead of a Shaymin. Mew was insanely good for me in Kansas, but mostly as a free retreater. I could promote Mew after a knockout instead of having to choose between Joltik or Pumpkaboo, not knowing if I would be able to use Pumpkaboo to attack for the turn because I didn’t have a Dimension Valley in play. Mew also is less of a liability on the Bench than Joltik, especially against cards like Alakazam and Crobat. Fun fact: In Kansas, I actually used Sky Return with Mew nearly as much as I used Night March!
A 2nd copy of Hex Maniac is something I’ve found to be far more necessary in Standard where Greninja is a threat. I also added a Xerosic — which is less important in Expanded — as I expect Fighting decks centered around the new Zygarde-EX to be utilizing Focus Sash and Fighting Fury Belt. These extra Supporter cards give Night March the tools to deal with nearly every matchup.
Alternate Version: Anti-Seismitoad
Due to the recent victory at German Nationals by a Seismitoad/Manaphy toolbox deck, I’ve also been testing out a Night March/Vespiquen list, similar to the deck that I played for the first weekend of States. Here’s my list:
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Pokémon – 26 |
Trainers – 30 1 N 1 Lysandre
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Energy – 4 |
The only changes that I made from the last time I played this deck were adding an extra copy of Hex Maniac to deal with the Greninja I expect to be popular, and an Escape Rope instead of the 2nd Float Stone. Escape Rope is incredibly valuable in Night March variants, as it can ensure you keep your Prize count at an even number if your opponent promotes the only non-Pokémon-EX on their field.
Unfortunately, this deck doesn’t have space for the techs like Fighting Fury Belt and Pokémon Catcher. However, the advantage that the Vespiquen line provides in the Seismitoad matchup more than makes up for this if you expect the deck to be popular. It can also help against Jolteon-EX if you fail to find Lysandre or Escape Rope but I typically don’t find Night March to be deterred much by a Flash Ray.
Tech Options
These techs typically fit best in the first Night March list as it has more wiggle room, but all of them work well in the Vespiquen version as well, provided you can find a good cut.
Gallade has always been an option for inclusion in Night March decks, but I’ve never seen the point. It fits really well into the deck since Night March already includes high counts of Battle Compressor and Trainers’ Mail and adds a bit of consistency. This is pretty unnecessary though, as Night March is one of the most consistent decks we’ve had in years. Gallade is also cited as a counter to Jolteon, but with Puzzle of Time to recycle Target Whistle or Escape Rope, I never have problems dealing with Flash Ray. Adding a Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick and Gallade only uses two slots of your deck, but I would rather use that space for cards like Pokémon Catcher and Target Whistle.
Fighting Fury Belt vs Muscle Band
This is an ongoing debate that Sean, Christopher, and I had when crafting our Night March list for Regionals. Overall, I think Fighting Fury Belt is much better as the HP buff affords you extra turns in key matchups like Night March mirror and Trevenant. However, the option to Sky Return for a KO against a Mew with Shaymin or against a Fury Belted Mew with your own Mew would be great to have in select situations. If you find yourself just missing the necessary damage for knockouts in your testing, consider switching over to a Muscle Band.
This is a card that many people have been playing in their Night March lists but I prefer not to include it. Town Map is seemingly very useful as a way to grab Puzzle of Time out of the Prize cards, or otherwise grab whatever Prize card you need after a knockout. I’d rather use the space for another, more useful tech that will impact a specific and troublesome matchup.
This is the first tech on the list that I’ve seriously considered including myself. It’s a decent draw Supporter for situations where you want to keep a few cards in your hand for later turns. I also like it as a switch out when I have to promote a Shaymin-EX and can’t find my Float Stone or perhaps a Yveltal BKT is preventing the use of my Float Stone. However, AZ’s best use is to remove Shaymin-EX from the board. Having AZ in addition to Parallel City and the option to Sky Return really help to keep the Prize trade in your favor. AZ is also sometimes a better way to clear a Shaymin than Parallel City because your opponent doesn’t have the option to use a Target Whistle and Lysandre them up anyway. I don’t have AZ in my list right now but I’m definitely going to be trying it out.
I typically find Puzzle of Time to be good enough for recovering Night March Pokémon. In fact, I finished off most of my games at Regionals by using Puzzle of Time for a Night Marcher and the Lysandre or DCE that I needed to get a knockout. Buddy-Buddy is a good consistency booster in a pinch since you can Battle Compressor away a Shaymin and grab it this way when you don’t have Ultra Ball. It might also allow you to play more aggressively to pick up 1HKOs against Pokémon like M Sceptile and M Manectric. Buddy-Buddy is something I do want to test out in the next few weeks.
Matchups
Good
- Mega Manectric — Near auto-win
- Water Toolbox (when using Vespiquen) — Favorable
- Greninja — Slightly Favorable
- Dark — Slightly Favorable
Bad
- Water Toolbox (without the inclusion of Vespiquen) — Slightly Unfavorable
- Trevenant — Unfavorable
- Vespiquen/Vileplume — Near auto-loss
Most of the matchups for this deck are pretty self-explanatory. Item lock is the bane of Night March’s existence and the only thing that realistically can keep it in check. Otherwise, it has the tools to deal with any matchup. It trades extremely well with any EX heavy deck and is more consistent than most other non-EX focused decks. For a more in depth look at how these matchups work, check out Sorina Radu’s recent article.
Yveltal/Zoroark (Dark)
bluwiikoon.tumblr.comDark-type Pokémon have ruled the format constantly since the release of Dark Explorers. Different Pokémon have taken the starring role in the newest version of the archetype every year but the deck is always consistent and hard hitting.
During the State Championships, the top two players on the United States Championship Point ratings independently crafted similar versions of a Dark deck featuring Zoroark BKT. Azul Griego and Kevin Baxter both won at least one State Championship and combined to earn hundreds of Championship Points with the deck. Here’s an updated list to deal with the current metagame:
|
Pokémon – 17 |
Trainers – 33 2 Lysandre 1 N 1 Xerosic
|
Energy – 10 6 D |
This list is a combination of the best things from Kevin and Azul’s lists, with the notable difference being the omission of Gallade. This deck plays plenty of non-EX attackers, as well as attackers that can attack for only one Energy attachment. Zoroark can usually attack for as much as — if not more — than Gallade anyway, so I see little reason to include it. Manectric is the only threat that this deck struggles with but I don’t expect it to be very popular.
The card that I do like from Kevin’s list is Druddigon. When Druddigon first came out, it was a silver bullet that almost any deck could throw in to deal with Black Kyurem-EX in Blastoise decks. Now, it’s a very efficient Shaymin-EX killer, with the help of Muscle Band. Druddigon gives you a way to 1HKO Shaymin when your opponent has a small Bench and you can’t find a Target Whistle, further de-emphasizing the role of Gallade.
Ace Trainer is an incredibly underrated card in this deck but it works here nearly as well as it does in Greninja. Your damage output early in the game is very limited as you need a few turns to get a Zoroark online. Once you do get one down to really threaten your opponent, reducing their hand size to 3 can completely reverse your positioning. It seems like an unnecessary inclusion but I implore you to try it out before reflexively cutting it.
One thing you may notice if you remember some of my previous articles is that my choice of Zorua has changed. I used to prefer the other Zorua to remove a card from my opponent’s hand in a pinch, with the reasoning that if I was using Zorua to attack, I would probably be losing anyway. However, after seeing a Zoroark player nearly steal a game off of a Vespiquen/Vileplume deck due to the Confusion condition imposed by Moonlight Madness, my opinion has changed. I can even see the usefulness of this Zorua against a deck like Trevenant where they don’t play a lot of switching outs.
Alternate Version: More Traditional
While a heavy Zoroark line tends to deal with many of the deck’s problems, it can also clog up hands and leave you without an attacker on crucial turns. Here’s a look at a more traditional Yveltal deck that doesn’t focus as heavily on Zoroark:
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Pokémon – 16 |
Trainers – 34 2 Lysandre 1 N 1 Xerosic
|
Energy – 10 6 D |
This list has more options and a better matchup against Darkrai and Manectric decks, but it comes at the cost of slightly worse matchups against Item lock and Night March. Unfortunately, those are some of the most popular decks/deck archetypes, so I’d suggest sticking with the Zoroark version in most metagames. However, if you feel more comfortable with this version, check out this article from Christopher for more insight into how this deck works. It’s an older article but the deck has been around and viable for a long time, and the idea behind the list hasn’t changed much at all.
Tech Options
These cards could fit into either of the Dark variants that I talk about, but I’ve found the second list to typically have more space for them.
The new Lugia from Fates Collide is essentially a carbon copy of Bouffalant DRX, a card that paired well with Dark Pokémon in the past. It’s surprisingly beefy and packs a mean punch. The best use for Lugia would be to counter any Fighting-type decks centered around Zygarde-EX if that becomes a threat in the future. Zoroark has some trouble dealing with Fighting Pokémon due to Weakness so Lugia may be worth including in that version especially. You can even run Lugia BREAK to threaten OKHOs with Muscle Band and Giovanni’s Scheme.
I saw a few people using the new Mew in their Dark lists at Kansas Regionals and I thought it was pretty ingenious. Since you can only play 4 in any combination of non-EX Yveltal, the Mew gives you another copy to attack with, especially in the Night March matchup. Although I typically prefer a 3/1 split between Yveltal XY and Yveltal BKT, adding a Mew would give me a superficial 3rd Yveltal XY and potentially convince me to switch to a 2/2 split if I had a reason to. Unfortunately, Mew can’t 1HKO a Pumpkaboo with Oblivion Wing, so be careful to maneuver yourself into a situation where you can use it to attack against Joltik.
I’m not sure if Umbreon would be enough to salvage the matchup against Manectric for the heavy Zoroark version but it’s worth trying out. If we had Dark Patch like we do in Expanded, I think it would be a much more viable threat. Not being able to power Umbreon up in one turn as a surprise attacker severely diminishes its usefulness. However, just having it on the Bench as a threat could force any player with Mega Evolution Pokémon into some hazardous situations.
I was really interested in using Puzzle of Time in almost every deck right after it came out, but found that it didn’t quite fit into most decks as well as I thought it would. Dark decks, however, were one of the decks that it seemed to be a natural inclusion in. It helped play your hand down to use a Maxie’s as you can always play a single Puzzle, or you could use 2 to grab things like Ultra Ball to get rid of useless cards. It also allows you to play more tech cards and grab them in the matchups where you need them the most.
Matchups
Good
- Trevenant — Favorable
- Mega Manectric (when using Gallade) — Favorable
Bad
- Night March — Slightly Unfavorable
- Vespiquen/Vileplume — Slightly Unfavorable
- Water Toolbox — Unfavorable
- Mega Manectric (without the inclusion of Gallade) — Unfavorable
- Greninja — Near auto-loss
At first glance, this matchup spread looks absolutely atrocious. The only deck that Dark solidly beats in the format is Trevenant, and it’s not even the most popular deck right now. However, the thing to keep in mind is that all of the unfavorable matchups (save for Greninja) are pretty close and definitely winnable for Dark decks.
Night March and Dark have a storied history throughout the year, with many people disagreeing on how the matchup plays out. Personally, I think Night March is more consistent and has better tools to remove their own Shaymin from the equation, so I give it the slight nod in the matchup.
The new Water Toolbox deck can very easily limit its Bench size to give Zoroark a hard time. It also heals 30 damage a turn with Rough Seas and uses Fighting Fury Belt to make Seismitoad incredibly difficult to Knock Out. Articuno can also pick off damaged Zoroarks to swing the Prize trade in your favor. Yveltal-EX is really strong in this matchup, and Water’s reliance on Manaphy-EX can give Dark the easy Prizes it needs to close out some games.
Vespiquen/Vileplume can shut any deck out of the game with a quick setup, and I would never want to be playing the Item-heavy version of Dark against it. The Supporter-based Zoroark version fares far better, but it can still be a struggle to find Energy and Evolutions. This is where a 2nd copy of Yveltal BKT might come in handy, as using Lysandre on a Vileplume forces your opponent to find either 3 Energy or an AZ to remove it from the Active Spot, even if it has a Float Stone attached. This matchup often comes down to who goes first.
Greninja is nearly unwinnable. All they need is a few turns of a full setup to mow down your field of low-HP attackers. Your best option is to load up a huge Yveltal-EX (as can they limit their Bench too low for Zoroark to get 1HKOs) and stream Hex Maniac turn after turn. However, the addition of N to the Standard format makes this nearly impossible.
Water Toolbox
One of my favorite new decks in the Standard format is the Water Toolbox deck that recently won German Nationals. I scoffed at the deck after seeing that it didn’t play any Double Colorless Energy. However, the combination of Max Elixir, Manaphy, and Energy Switch is surprisingly efficient and powers up attacks with ease. By using basic W Energy, Seismitoad-EX becomes a more potent threat with access to Grenade Hammer as well as Quaking Punch. The deck also is able to use other attackers like Articuno and Regice when necessary, making it more versatile than the Seismitoad-centered decks of previous formats. Here’s the list I’ve been testing:
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Pokémon – 11 |
Trainers – 37 2 Lysandre 2 N 1 AZ
|
Energy – 12 12 W |
Russell did a great job of covering this deck last week so I’ll just go over the differences in our lists. They are as follows:
- -1 Shaymin-EX, +1 Sycamore
- -1 Regice AOR, +1 Articuno ROS
- -1 Judge, +1 N
- -1 Xerosic, +1 Giovanni’s Scheme
- -1 Aegislash-EX, -1 Energy Switch, +1 Float Stone, +1 Super Rod
I added another copy of Professor Sycamore and N just to ensure that I can draw well enough against Trevenant. This deck is extremely well equipped to win that matchup with 4 Rough Seas and a focus on Grenade Hammer, but you still have to draw into the necessary Pokémon and Energy cards. Another copy of Seismitoad-EX or a Hex Maniac could also help that matchup if you still have trouble with it.
Giovanni’s Scheme was one of the first cards I added after playing a few games against Zoroark. Being able to keep the Quaking Punch lock online is crucial, as it stops them from playing any Target Whistle and lets you dictate how much damage they can do. With a Fighting Fury Belt, Quaking Punch does 40 damage, so a clutch Giovanni can turn a 3HKO into a 2HKO. Giovanni also allows you to 1HKO a Pumpkaboo, and I’m sure there are other situations where you need a bit of extra damage.
I also added a Float Stone pretty quickly, just as another way to retreat an unfavorable Pokémon without having to devote my Energy attachment for turn and find a Manaphy. While this is only a single card addition, I’ve found it to slightly increase my odds of a T1 attack. If you’re concerned about your T1 potential, another copy of Energy Switch can be helpful to move a Max Elixir’d Energy off of a Benched Pokémon.
This is also one of the only decks in Standard that I would advocate for playing Hoopa-EX in, and probably the only non-Mega deck that can utilize it well at all. Since your strategy relies on having both Seismitoad-EX and Manaphy-EX on the Bench, Hoopa is a one card out to hit both of those. It typically also finds Shaymin-EX to draw into the Max Elixir you need to power up that Seismitoad or whatever else you need to get the T1 attack off. With AZ and Manaphy’s Aqua Tube Ability to get Hoopa out of the Active Spot, I’m not as worried about an opponent using Lysandre to stall me or wasting turns after starting with a Hoopa.
Otherwise, I think the core of this deck has to mostly be left alone. It was incredibly well crafted and efficiently deals with the metagame as a whole. Shout-out to the team who created it and brought it to Germany — I’m glad that your clever deck-building skills were rewarded with several great finishes!
Tech Options
This is a seemingly obvious inclusion but I fear it just doesn’t impact your matchups enough to be worth the spot. Zoroark is already a favorable matchup, and I think Item lock is more powerful in the matchup than stopping them from attacking your Active Pokémon would be. Glaceon could be useful against Vileplume/Vespiquen, but it’s simply to hard to find and power up under Item lock. Vespiquen also hits Seismitoad-EX for Weakness so they will typically take all of their Prizes before you even see Glaceon. Trevenant could be stopped by Glaceon, but Seismitoad and Rough Seas take care of that matchup already. Maybe a Stage 1 will give this deck problems in the future and Glaceon could be useful then.
The original list featured an Aegislash-EX to counter the Vespiquen/Vileplume deck that had just won UK Nats the weekend before. I’ve never found Aegislash to be an incredibly strong counter to Vespiquen/Vileplume as the deck can play any number of counters to it such as Toxicroak-EX, Silent Lab, or basic Energy cards. Aegislash is also a rather poor counter to Night March as they play at least 1 copy of Hex Maniac to shut off the Mighty Shield Ability. I still think Aegislash is worth mentioning as an option due to the success it saw in Germany, but my read of the current metagame leads me to not include it in my list. If you do test it out, think about also adding some M Energy to make Aegislash a more potent threat that your opponent has to deal with quickly.
Matchups
Good
- Trevenant — Favorable
- Dark — Favorable
- Mega Manectric — Favorable
- Night March — Slightly Favorable
Bad
- Greninja — Unfavorable
- Vespiquen/Vileplume — Near auto-loss
Russell also did a fantastic job of covering most of this deck’s matchups so I’d recommend you go check his thoughts out. I already spoke a bit about the Dark matchup above as well.
Mega Manectric is a matchup I have yet to test, but it should be pretty strongly in your favor as well. You outspeed them and consistently 2HKO them even when they use Rough Seas, while they have to remove your Fighting Fury Belt to do the same. You can both cycle your damaged attackers to the Bench so they aren’t able to claim an advantage through free retreat either. I can see this getting a little hairy at times if they have a well-timed Hex Maniac, Xerosic/Startling Megaphone, or Pokémon Center Lady, but it should be favorable.
This deck has a ton of favorable matchups against the popular decks in the format, and you should absolutely be prepared to face it at your National Championship.
Conclusion
pokemonscreenshots.tumblr.comThat’s all for today, but keep an eye out for Christopher’s companion article which will be released on Thursday. By the time you’ve read that article as well, you should be incredibly well versed on the biggest threats of the Standard format.
Good luck to all of you in the next few weeks! There are thousands of dollars in prizes to be won, as well as trips to the World Championships and the coveted Day 2 qualification. I’ll be competing at Origins this week and of course at US Nationals, come say hi if you see me.
And as always, I would love to hear any feedback you have on my article. I’m constantly looking to improve my writing as well as searching for new and interesting topics, so drop a comment in the article thread on the forums if you have any thoughts.
Thanks for reading!
Alex
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