rewatchingpokemon.tumblr.comHello again SixPrizes! It honestly doesn’t feel like the end of this season already, but the upcoming US National Championships would beg to differ. With the big dance only a couple of days away, players are figuring out their deck choices, eliminating bad options with unfavorable matchups, and fixing their tech cards to coincide with expectations of what will be seen. These are very important days that will almost inevitably determine who is walking away with the National Championship trophy! All it takes is one key tech card for a certain matchup, the addition of one more attacker to strengthen the probability of starting with that particular Pokémon, even just adding another Energy card to assure that a Max Elixir won’t fail as much. Decisions, decisions, decisions …
Although this year hasn’t been the best for myself when it comes to attending events, I was able to earn my invitation to the World Championships during City Championships in December. After achieving that goal, I focused a little more on college and earning my second bachelor’s degree to strengthen my resume for an upcoming master’s program. Being unable to attend three of the weeks during State Championships and most of the later Regional Championships was a little frustrating for myself, since I honestly do enjoy competing in Pokémon tournaments as much as possible. Having missed those tournaments, I am almost guaranteed to miss out on the top 16 of North America for this season, along with the amazing prizes to go with that (mainly getting to skip the first day of Worlds). It is for this reason that my mind is set on placing well at Nationals and finishing this lackluster season with a bang.
After earning my second degree and getting to take a break from college for a while, I’ve been able to focus on Pokémon more than ever and have gathered a good amount of decklists that I feel confident in. With the ever-changing formats for major tournaments in the United States, it’s always smart to keep many different options available to choose from. For this article, I’ll be writing about my top five choices that I am considering for the US National Championships. If this tournament was going to be played tomorrow, I would feel fairly comfortable playing any of these decks and would like my chances at placing highly. Given the right matchups and a little bit of luck, any one of these five builds could take home that 1st place trophy. This is a change from the normally high amounts of lists that I provide, as these are the few that I have found very good results with. I just feel like it’s better to post five decks with great results than to post ten that aren’t all testing well.
Although some of you may not want to play any of these decks yourselves, it’s always good to test against them. In my opinion, there is a fairly large chance that you will encounter each of these decks listed during Day One of Nationals and it’s always nice to be prepared for matchups. In other words, players don’t need to build my Night March variant in hopes of playing that deck themselves at the largest tournament of the year, but they should build it to test against and figure out how to beat it.
Preparation is everything at these big events, so let’s get into the article and start preparing!
Contents
The Current State of the Format
pokemonscreenshots.tumblr.comWith the format becoming Standard for the largest tournament of the year, the deck choices available to play are surprisingly wide open. There is no clear and concise “best deck in the format” (BDIF). Instead, there are a bunch of decks that have proven to be good through tournament performances in the recent past that all have good/bad matchups against each other. Great examples of these decks would be the five listed for this article, with some other notable exclusions being Greninja BREAK, Darkrai/Giratina/Garbodor, Trevenant BREAK, and Vespiquen/Vileplume. If you are looking for some great coverage of these other deck choices, be sure to look at the fantastic recently written articles by Brit Pybas and Russell LaParre.
“But Ryan, with a format that has many great decks which can all show strong performances when given the right matchups, how can we know what deck is the right choice?” Well, metaphorical reader, there really isn’t a great answer to give here! It comes down to picking one of these popular decks and adding in the right tech cards to prepare for what you expect to play against. This is all assuming that you haven’t figured out an unstoppable combination of cards that can beat all/most of the choices listed above. If you haven’t come up with any “wombo combos” yet, then come and join the rest of us players in this fairly even format of predictable decks with crazy techs.
This is actually the type of format that I enjoy playing in the most. There isn’t just one deck that can beat everything which leads to a huge amount of skill-less mirror matches that aren’t fun for anyone. Instead, there is a healthy amount of competition and plenty of matchups to play against that will provide diversity throughout the many rounds of Nationals. When it comes to formats like these, there seems to be a common trend among all players in the community, which is that no one has any clue what to play and everyone is grasping to find the right deck. Almost all players being confused about what to play is actually a good thing when it comes to these big tournaments. It shows a balanced format with plenty of strong decks to play!
Now that we understand the current format a little better, let’s get into the deck choices for this article.
My Five Favorites for US Nationals
pokemonscreenshots.tumblr.com1. Night March
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Pokémon – 16 1 Mew FCO |
Trainers – 39 1 N 1 Lysandre
1 Town Map
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Energy – 5 1 P |
After my 9th place finish at Georgia Regionals in the spring with Night March, I’m feeling very confident about playing this deck at future tournaments. I hit TERRIBLE matchups throughout the event (3 Trevenant BREAK, 1 Vileplume/Jolteon-EX, 2 Seismitoad-EX decks) and was still able to almost get in the top eight. This event was for the Expanded format, but it’s important to remember that Night March was actually much stronger in the Standard format throughout the year. Leaving a path of destruction through City and State Championships, Night March was the overall “best deck” and had every player needing to counter it. This trend is looking to stay the same for the upcoming US National Championships, especially with the addition of Mew from Fates Collide to provide extra attacking depth to the build. Although it won’t be the BDIF anymore, Night March will certainly show up in large numbers thanks to the overall speed and consistency that comes with it.
Basic Strategy
This deck is one of the most popular in the game of Pokémon right now, but I’ll still go over the basic strategy to help anyone that is just beginning to play in this format or that has never tried the deck before. Night March looks to go through their deck rapidly with a multitude of Items cards and Shaymin-EX, which will allow them to discard as many Night March Pokémon as possible and power up their attacks. This can all be done as quickly as the first turn of the game, which leads to heavy damage coming out and Prize cards being drawn immediately. This deck is very fast and looks to overpower opponents, while also going up on the Prize exchange through the attackers being non-Pokémon-EX. If the attackers in this deck can take knockouts on opposing Pokémon-EX, then the Prize yield disparity will almost certainly lead to a win.
The more complex strategy that comes with Night March would involve the microdecisions and resource management during opening turns. It is very important to not discard vital resources and dive too deep into the deck, especially when it isn’t necessary at that point of the game. Although playing 4 Puzzle of Time makes it very easy to keep using a Professor Sycamore every turn, the better play in some cases might be to not play a Supporter card. While playing this deck, make sure to consider the consequences of discarding too many cards throughout the game. Puzzle of Time can only do so much, especially when there are plenty of great cards that need to be retrieved.
Tech Cards
Aside from being a fantastic attacker that also has a free Retreat Cost, there is one big purpose for the addition of Mew from Fates Collide: Giratina-EX AOR. With an attack that prevents an opponent from using Special Energy cards and Stadium cards throughout their next turn, Giratina-EX is a huge threat that can instantly beat a Night March deck without any counters. Mew provides an attacker that can utilize Dimension Valley and a basic Energy card to take huge knockouts and swing the game. This forces an opponent to not only get out a quick Giratina-EX, but also bump Dimension Valley before coming to the Active Spot. If they can’t replace the Dimension Valley, they are risking a big return knockout from a Mew FCO that only needs 1 basic Energy card and a Joltik on the Bench. If they start setting up a Giratina-EX on the Bench, they are risking a big knockout happening from a Lysandre play. Either way, Mew makes things just a little more difficult for an opponent.
1 Town Map
When playing a deck that has so many Supporter cards in counts of 1 copy, it’s very important to find those cards when they are needed. Thanks to Town Map, they can easily be accessed when they are prized — otherwise their inaccessibility could cause big problems during a game. This becomes especially crucial in relation to the Hex Maniac and Lysandre, which are needed for almost every matchup. Finding Night March Pokémon is also a very big deal for creating the strongest attacks possible. Thanks to Fighting Fury Belt being a card, most opposing Pokémon-EX can have huge amounts of HP, which requires almost every Night March Pokémon to be in the discard pile (aside from the one attacking). This can’t be done if some of those cards find their way into the Prizes and aren’t drawn quickly.
Although this may not be considered a tech card anymore, Target Whistle is a very important Item that can swing a matchup entirely. By grabbing an opposing Pokémon-EX out of the discard pile to be Knocked Out in the future, games can end so quickly. It still confuses me to see this card left out of some Night March builds.
Strengths
This deck relies on pure speed and overpowering an opponent in the opening turns of the game. There is a relative ease of attacking on the first turn, which can sometimes lead to cheap knockouts. Night March is one of those decks that can completely dominate an opponent that is trying to set up a long-term strategy.
While discarding many cards with Battle Compressor, this build also has the advantage of having mainly vital resources left in the deck toward the end of a game. After an opponent uses an N to lower your hand size, it’s a good feeling to know that plenty of strong cards are left to be drawn. The only issue that comes with a great opening from Night March is going to be drawing dead at some point, which isn’t very likely with so many key cards left in deck.
2. Genesect/Bronzong
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Pokémon – 16 |
Trainers – 33 2 N 2 AZ 2 Lysandre
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Energy – 11 11 M |
This deck is very similar to the Metal-based decks of old formats, which relied on using Bronzong PHF’s Ability to power up different attacking options. Energy acceleration has always been a strong concept throughout the history of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, especially when paired with a great attacker to utilize. In the case of this deck, Genesect-EX fits that role nicely. The Metal version of this legendary Pokémon can hit for huge amounts of damage and also allow for some fancy plays involving Pokémon Tool cards. With different degrees of speed, strength, and bulkiness throughout this build, it’s no wonder why this deck is ranked as my 2nd favorite for US Nationals. Look for this combination to show strong performances at the upcoming largest event of the year.
Basic Strategy
When playing an Energy acceleration deck that relies on evolving, it’s crucial to get out as many Bronzor as possible on the opening turn of the game. This will allow for more Bronzong to come into play quickly and more Energy to be attached from that point forward. Since Genesect-EX’s attack relies on discarding Energy cards to hit for precise amounts of damage, there is a definitive need for multiple Energy attachments on each turn of the game. Once an attacker is ready to go and has enough Energy, the next attacker can start being charged on the Bench. This setup usually comes in the form of a Genesect-EX with multiple Energy and a Fighting Fury Belt in the Active Spot, around 2-3 Bronzong on the Bench to power up attackers, and a Genesect-EX with a Fighting Fury Belt on the Bench that is receiving excess Energy which isn’t needed for current knockouts.
Not only can Genesect-EX hit for huge amounts of damage, but its Ability is also very valuable for this deck. Hitting for 220 damage — the amount necessary to 1HKO a Fury Belted Genesect — is almost impossible for most opponents and instead we’ll see heavily damaged but surviving Genesects. In most cases when an AZ is played, there is an unfortunate side effect of discarding the valuable Tool card attached to a Pokémon. This is not the case for Genesect-EX, which can pick up that Fighting Fury Belt, use the AZ to take off all the damage, and then play the combo right back down again for another 220-HP attacker. The bulkiness that comes with this deck plays a crucial role in outlasting opponents and not allowing Prize cards to be drawn.
Tech Cards
This deck usually does not have an element of surprise and speed, but instead focuses on setting up a board within a couple of turns. Max Elixir provides that surprise factor and can even allow for a first turn attack, although it may be rare. At the very least, it is basically a guaranteed attack coming out on the second turn of the game, even without a Bronzong. Some lists have chosen to go without this secondary form of Energy acceleration, but I feel that it is very beneficial in this fast-paced Standard format. Genesect-EX needs as many Energy as possible to efficiently take knockouts, which becomes much easier when playing Max Elixir and a hefty count of 11 M Energies.
2 Sky Field, 1 Parallel City
The Stadium counts in this deck may seem a little conflicting at first glance, but they make perfect sense when played in coordination. During the first turns after attacking, AZ is the preferred Supporter card to hit the field. With this being the Supporter card for the turn, drawing cards must come from another source, which will be found in playing a Shaymin-EX. With Sky Field in play during the opening turns of the game, the Bench can be filled with large amounts of Shaymin-EX to allow Supporter cards of all kinds to be played.
Quickly after drawing all of these cards and filling the Bench with very weak Pokémon-EX that become targets, a Parallel City can hit the field to discard everything that isn’t important. This would usually leave an Active Genesect-EX, a Benched Genesect-EX, and then 2 Bronzongs for Energy acceleration. Be sure to remember the side effect of reducing damage from opposing Grass, Fire, and Water Pokémon as well, which could be a nifty way of staying alive against certain matchups! Reducing a Quaking Punch from Seismitoad-EX or lowering the damage output of a Vespiquen could be game-changing.
Although it may have many applications, the main reason behind playing this card is to counter Trevenant BREAK, which spreads damage counters and would be effectively halted. Preventing damage to the Bench has proven strong in the past and is no different here. This Pokémon can also be a non-EX attacker as well, if needed, against an opposing Regice that would be found in a Water Toolbox deck.
Editor’s note: Rulings have been announced regarding Bronzong’s Metal Fortress and Greninja’s Shadow Stitching.
Strengths
Genesect/Bronzong is all about getting set up and performing an intended function over and over again. This function involves constantly accelerating Energy and swinging for precise amounts of damage, while also surviving huge attacks and picking up damaged attackers. With a massive 220 HP for Genesect-EX with a Fighting Fury Belt, life becomes very difficult for an opponent that can’t hit for that much damage. They literally won’t be able to take Prize cards off of attackers in this deck, which will force them to Lysandre around the threats and use up their resources. As mentioned before, the games are usually a little long with this build and involve picking up multiple damaged attackers to deny Prize cards.
Aside from the overall strengths that come with the strategy of the deck, there are added advantages that can be found as well. Aegislash-EX can singlehandedly win certain matchups, such as the Vespiquen/Vileplume deck that relies on just 4 DCE. Getting out a Bronzong FCO can also steal a victory from any Trevenant players from not allowing Bench damage to occur. This deck just seems to find ways of denying Prize cards and preventing opponents from carrying out certain aspects of their game plan, which makes it an extremely strong play in my opinion.
3. Darkrai/Garbodor
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Pokémon – 14 |
Trainers – 34 2 Lysandre 2 N 1 AZ
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Energy – 12 12 D |
Another big tournament has happened recently in the Origins event, which gave out a free trip to the World Championships. There has been plenty of coverage in recent articles, so you probably already know that Jimmy McClure won the event with his Darkrai/Garbodor deck. Jimmy is a great friend of mine and I feel like this list is pretty close to his tournament-winning deck, which has also been testing very well for me throughout the past week.
Garbodor is a strong card in general right now, especially with Water Toolbox and Bronzong-based decks making an entrance into this format. Most decks rely heavily on Abilities and don’t have a very good answer to a Garbodor with a Tool card attached, aside from possibly playing 1 Startling Megaphone. Just like how Trevenant can steal games from causing dead-draws through Item locking, Garbodor can steal games from causing dead board states through Ability locking. Without any way of performing the intended function of their decks, opponents will be forced to slow down their game plans and progress without Abilities.
While this is occurring, Darkrai-EX is becoming stronger through hitting Max Elixirs and finding more Energy cards on the board. Eventually, the game will shift in the favor of this build and Darkrai-EX will most certainly be found in the nightmares of opponents. Coming in at the 3rd rank power position for Nationals decks, let’s take a look at the finer details of this Darkrai/Garbodor.
Basic Strategy
With Darkrai/Garbodor, the most important aspect is usually trying to get Garbodor out as quickly as possible. Ability locking an opponent is crucial to winning games in almost every matchup, which means that finding Trubbish needs to be a top priority. While the Garbodor is being brought into play, there should also be a focus on getting as many Energy as possible on board through attacking with Yveltal XY and playing Max Elixir. This will allow Darkrai-EX to hit for big damage and finish off opposing Pokémon that have high amounts of HP. Without Abilities, opponents will usually struggle to hit for 220 damage in one swing, which will allow each Darkrai-EX to attack multiple times and possibly take more Prize cards. It doesn’t seem to be extremely powerful upon first glance, but the combination of huge attackers and Ability locking is very difficult to deal with.
Although it may be self-explanatory, it’s important to remember that this deck is also Ability locked from Garbodor and can’t always use the Abilities of Shaymin-EX and Yveltal BKT. If these Abilities are ever needed for some reason, the Garbodor can easily be picked up through using an AZ, but this probably shouldn’t happen unless extreme dead-drawing is occurring. It’s also important to remind everyone to keep backup Pokémon Tool cards in hand to prepare for an opposing Startling Megaphone, as only allowing one turn of Abilities isn’t that game-changing when followed up with another Pokémon Tool card to shut the opponent down again.
Tech Cards
1 Yveltal BKT, 1 Yveltal-EX
When looking for a reason behind playing these cards, I couldn’t really think of an exact justification. They are simply extremely strong attackers that can be applicable in almost every matchup at some point. Yveltal BKT is great at spreading damage and setting up multiple knockouts in one attack, while Yveltal-EX is great at swinging for huge amounts of damage and punishing an opponent that attaches too many Energy cards. Having multiple different attackers that can have Energy accelerated onto them will never be a bad thing.
3 Fighting Fury Belt, 3 Float Stone
I have seen some lists around that don’t play as many Pokémon Tool cards, which I feel are crucial in this deck. There is no way that I could see myself playing just 2 copies of either of these cards, with Garbodor needing a Float Stone to retreat and not get caught in the Active Spot, and with most attackers in the deck needing a Fighting Fury Belt to avoid getting Knocked Out in one shot (while also providing extra damage).
With no other Stadium cards being very applicable to this deck, I went with the obvious addition that adds extra damage to each attack. Silent Lab was another option for initial Ability locking on the first turn, but I felt like Garbodor was doing a good enough job on its own to warrant more damage output and a heavy reliance on getting out the Garbotoxin Ability during the second turn.
Strengths
As already mentioned, there are two inherent strengths that come with playing this deck. The first strength is that every attacker in this deck is fantastic and works even better with Energy acceleration. Darkrai-EX and Yveltal-EX can swing for huge amounts of damage, Yveltal XY can charge up Pokémon on the Bench, and Yveltal BKT can set up multiple knockouts in one turn with its attack. Each of these Pokémon comes with a fairly high amount of HP, which becomes even greater with multiple Fighting Fury Belt. With strong attacks and now being tough to 1HKO, the damage output begins to pour out on each turn.
The second strength of this deck has to be from Ability locking an opponent, which can start on the second turn of the game. With a Garbodor in play that early, most decks can’t even begin to function properly, nonetheless deal with extremely bulky attackers that are doing a good bit of damage. In a format that is filled with Abilities, Garbodor will prosper. If you need proof that this is a strong combination, Darkrai and Garbodor took up HALF of the top eight during the Origins event, so we all know that they work well together and can achieve strong performances in big tournaments.
4. Water Toolbox
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Pokémon – 11 |
Trainers – 37 2 N 1 Judge 2 Lysandre 1 AZ
|
Energy – 12 12 W |
When I first heard about this deck being played, I actually had no clue how it worked. I think even now, I’m not really sure how it works, but I have a better understanding of why it can beat almost any deck in the Standard format. Just like with the Darkrai-EX deck that utilized Max Elixir, this deck also revolves around strong Pokémon and Energy acceleration. The main attacker for this deck is going to be Seismitoad-EX, which has been a force to be reckoned with in every format that it has been present for. Item lock is extremely powerful, especially when it comes in the form of an attack that can’t just disappear through using a Lysandre or Hex Maniac. For this deck, though, the main attack of choice is going to be Grenade Hammer. Through swinging with multiple different attackers, using free retreat to switch from Manaphy’s Ability, and constantly healing off damage, this deck is certainly powerful enough to earn the 4th ranked spot on my list of decks for Nationals.
Basic Strategy
The point of this deck is to get Energy onto a Benched Seismitoad-EX as quickly as possible with Max Elixir, while also utilizing Manaphy-EX’s Ability and Energy Switch to attack as soon as the first turn. With this build, it’s honestly not surprising to see a first turn Grenade Hammer happen from playing so many Energy to find with Max Elixir. After a Seismitoad-EX has enough Energy cards, a secondary attacker can begin to form on the Bench to allow swapping between these Pokémon. With a constant stream of healing from playing 4 Rough Seas, Seismitoad-EX can live for much longer than intended and this deck can eventually go up on the Prize exchange through denying Prize cards.
Depending on the matchup, secondary attackers can also come into play to take advantage of potential weaknesses, such as Regice punishing a deck that relies on Pokémon-EX. This could also come in the form of Aurorus-EX sweeping through an opposing Greninja BREAK deck, which can easily be 1-shot through his huge damage output. When playing against smaller decks like Night March, even the lesser-played Articuno can join the fun and take multiple Prize cards on their low-HP attackers.
Tech Cards
2 N, 1 Judge
While this could very easily just be 3 N, I have been testing out a singular copy of Judge and it has actually been working pretty well. This may be due to drawing the copy early in the game, but Judging an opponent down to just 4 cards and Item locking them through Quaking Punch is a strong turn to deal with. During your own testing, this could easily be switched to just 3 N to avoid playing the copy of Judge, although I would recommend trying it out for a couple of games.
Although I explained some possible reasoning behind playing these secondary attackers in the deck and what matchups they excel against, there are 2 Regice in this deck to account for the rise in popularity that will occur for M Rayquaza-EX. With that deck winning Canadian Nationals this past weekend, M Rayquaza will surely be on everyone’s radar for US Nationals. Since that deck doesn’t have a very good response to a Regice attacking, I switched my Glaceon-EX to another Regice in preparation.
Strengths
The main strength that comes with this deck would be the constant healing that occurs from Rough Seas, which only becomes more difficult to deal with when every attacker now has free retreat. Any Seismitoad-EX that accumulates damages can move to the Bench, heal for 30 damage, and another Seismitoad-EX can be brought Active to continue attacking. Inevitably, enough damage will be healed to deny an opponent from taking a Prize card on one of their attacks, which will help to swing the Prize exchange in favor of this build.
Along with constant healing, Water Toolbox can also accelerate Energy with ease from playing 12 W Energy. If Max Elixir is working on every occasion, attacks will come out sooner, damage will come out faster, and Prizes can be taken quicker. It will speed up the process and can help to possibly out-speed an opponent that isn’t ready for that kind of pressure. Energy can also be placed on any Pokémon, which allows for tricky plays with the secondary attackers of the deck (Regice, Articuno, Aurorus-EX). These Pokémon can be difficult for an opponent to deal with and add to the list of strengths that this Water Toolbox deck has.
5. M Rayquaza/Jolteon
|
Pokémon – 18 |
Trainers – 35 1 N 1 Lysandre
2 Red Card
|
Energy – 7 3 L |
This deck is a variation of the popular HexRay list that I have covered previously, but it has been changed to account for the difference in formats. Since M Rayquaza-EX is an extremely fast deck that revolves around Abilities to draw through cards, the Supporter and Items cards have been adjusted in an attempt to slow down opponents. These main changes can be seen in the multiple copies of Red Card, the multiple copies of Hex Maniac, and playing of 2 Jirachi. With the recent success of M Rayquaza-EX winning the Canadian National Championships, there is a good chance of seeing more Night March decks, which means that these changes are almost mandatory to not take an auto-loss. Even when playing against any other deck, slowing down an opponent will always prove effective for buying time and out-speeding their board. With such quickness and power, along with the biggest recent tournament win for Pokémon, there’s no way M Rayquaza-EX wasn’t making my top five decks for US Nationals.
Basic Strategy
For this deck, multiple Hoopa-EX and Shaymin-EX are used to draw through a large portion of the deck, while also setting up attackers (M Rayquaza-EX). This is done without the use of a Supporter card, which allows for an option to be played that can slow down an opponent. At the end of a usually lengthy first turn, the ideal setup involves multiple M Rayquaza-EX and a full Bench to hit for maximum damage, along with a Red Card being played and a Hex Maniac to shut down Abilities. Against most opponents, bringing their hand size down to 4 cards and shutting off Abilities is usually tough to deal with and could result in losing a turn from drawing badly.
After the first M Rayquaza-EX has begun attacking, this is usually the time to start setting up a Jolteon-EX (assuming it is a good matchup for its Flash Ray attack). With the option of shutting off Abilities, stopping opposing Basic Pokémon, and bringing an opponent’s hand size to 4 cards, this deck has plenty of disruption that can make life confusing for an opponent.
Tech Cards
2 Red Card
With the theme of this deck being disruption, Red Card helps to bring an opponent’s hand size down, while also not using up the Supporter slot for the turn. This can be used on multiple occasions throughout every game, especially with the help of Puzzle of Time, and works wonderfully with Hex Maniac.
In an attempt to counter Night March and Giratina-EX-based decks, 2 Jirachi have been added to try and discard every DDE and DCE in sight. Although this doesn’t guarantee a win, it will certainly help and works great with the disruption cards that have been added.
With the addition of more Red Card to lower an opponent’s hand size, I felt the need to add another Hex Maniac. 1 copy just didn’t do the trick during initial testing, but 2 copies of Hex Maniac seems to be the perfect amount for this disruption-based M Rayquaza-EX deck.
Strengths
The biggest strength of this deck is always going to be the huge damage output, regardless of any time of disruption cards or tech Pokémon. Swinging for a massive 240 damage on the first turn of the game is too powerful for any opponent to deal with. Aside from just damage, this deck has the obvious strength of playing many disruption cards, which are usually a surprise to play against. Most people aren’t prepared for a first turn Red Card, especially with a Hex Maniac to follow that. The element of surprise will certainly be on the side of this M Rayquaza-EX build.
Being able to block Abilities is also a very important strength that can help in every matchup that will be played against. Stopping a Shaymin-EX from coming down to draw is the perfect way to slow an opponent and gain the upper hand. With 4 Puzzle of Time ready to be played at the end of the game, those powerful disruption cards will always be available to use as well. A surprise Red Card and Hex Maniac can never really be prepared for when playing against this build.
Conclusion
rewatchingpokemon.tumblr.comI just want to thank everybody that took the time to read my article and hopefully these decks can bring some good testing for the National Championships. Keep your mind open to different deck choices, though, since the new BDIF might be discovered the night before Nationals! This tournament is definitely going to be the most difficult US Nationals to come thus far, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.
If you see me at Nationals, feel free to say hello and talk with me as well. I love meeting new people and play this game for the great community. Good luck to everyone and feel free to message me with any questions or comments that you may have after reading this article!
–Ryan Sabelhaus<3
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