Sweet Sleeping Format

A Deep Look into HS–BLW, the Wild-Ride Anything-Goes 2011 Nationals and Worlds Format
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Eeeeeeek…😴

When I was younger I was never much of a writer. When teachers asked us to write a paper, I was the guy who knew every trick in the book to make my wall of text longer than it really was. Everything from playing with margins or fonts to slightly changing sizes, I was a master. Not to mention throwing in a good long quote if I was still struggling to meet the length requirements. As I got older I had the opportunity to write for SixPrizes. While writing articles about Pokémon was much easier than your standard school or college paper, I was still not very good. Thankfully Adam had patience far greater than most, and by now I’d like to think my writing has become all right. Nowadays I still enjoy writing and Adam is still kind enough to publish my articles.

I’ll skip the large introduction about myself and say that I was a competitive player from 2004 to 2013 earning Worlds invites each year I competed. In this day and age I’m far removed from the current competitive scene, but I still enjoy writing and supporting the ever-growing community of players playing old formats. If you have an interest in old formats, the history of the game, or would simply like to know a little more about me, then I recommend checking out my other articles on SixPrizes.

BulbapediaI try to give these articles more depth than just slapping lists in front of you. I try to give a history of the game. I want in my own way to archive some of the history of the game and give people an idea what the game was like for what’s quickly becoming a different generation. I recognize this can make the articles long, so I want to give shortcuts, but if you truly have an interest in the format, I encourage you to read beyond just the lists.

My hope is that for players who played in these formats, it will be a fond stroll down memory lane. For new and younger players, I’d like you to take a moment and really appreciate where you’re at in your life. To me these are all memories; you, on the other hand, are just beginning to create your own.

I know I’ve said this before, but I promise you at the end it’s not going to be the trophies or prizes you’re going to miss, it’s going to be the people.

Why I Enjoy the 2011 Format

If you asked top players what their favorite format to play at the time was, you would get mixed answer. The format was considered highly luck-based, filled with donks and some consistency issues. The randomness and uncertainty of the format caused me to sit out US Nationals that year to make sure I secured my Worlds invite. However, it’s also a very unexplored format which leaves a lot of room for creativity and rogue decks to shine.

Many of the reasons I hated playing the Worlds 2011 format at the time are the same reasons I enjoy playing the format today. There is just so much randomness and inconsistency with decks, that you are constantly forced to adapt and change your game plan over the course of the game. Both players don’t have this easy and straightforward complete setup like you see in 2006 and 2010. There are a lot more playing-the-hands-you’re-dealt type of situations.

It also adds more variables that you need to figure out. It’s not, “Well, does my opponent have Pokémon Catcher EPO?” It goes beyond that, it’s, “Does my opponent have Pokémon Reversal?” Then you have to start diving into, “What kind of situation am I in if they get heads?” or “What kind of situation am I in if they get tails?” It’s not only do they have the card, but whether or not they’ll be able to flip heads on it. This creates situations where you could decide to completely disregard if they have Pokémon Reversal by just hoping they flip tails even if they have it. This is a completely different line of play and decision-making than you would make around guaranteed effects like Pokémon Catcher EPO.

As a competitive player playing in a tournament with thousands of dollars in prizes on the line you don’t want randomness. Sitting at home with friends or family enjoying a fun game night, randomness is fun and exciting. There is no stress or pressure, you’re not pissed about a donk or a bad flip, and you simply smile and go onto the next game.

The other issue is as you begin to play older formats you start to see decks and lists become close to fully optimized. As a player and coach, I’ve always preached consistency and minimized luck. However, if you’re playing a deck that is highly consistent with minimal luck, even if your deck has a lot of options, your game plan can become highly linear and you’ll find yourself repeating the same steps every match. If I’m in a tournament, I’m completely fine with this—I even want this—but for casual play it makes games become stale after a while. This becomes even more apparent if both players know each other’s lists inside and out.

This randomness also makes matchups less straightforward. There aren’t auto-win or auto-loss games in this format. Any deck in the format can beat any other deck in the format. This makes games both fun and exciting to play.

Qualifying for Worlds in 2011

Unown K(-Value)

The qualifying system for Worlds in 2011 was drastically different from the qualifying system that you see today. Now you have a very clear-cut mark of how many Championships Points you need to earn an invite. Essentially qualifying for Worlds is a race where you have a very clear starting and finishing line with all season to reach that mark. Outside of the Top 16 race, you are essentially on the course by yourself just trying to reach the finish line. Despite some of its flaws, I would consider today’s system almost perfect. From the company’s point of view, players are not just encouraged but rewarded for playing as many events as possible. From the player perspective, a bad tournament is nothing more than just a bad day and has little bearing on the rest of your season.

In 2011 for North America, only the Top 40 in Elo rating points got invited to the World Championships. Players who didn’t earn their invite would have the opportunity to play in “the Grinder” where anybody without an invite could compete to get into the main event. Usually this was a several hundred person, single-elimination tournament with 8–16 invites being awarded.

I’ll link the Top 40 and what their Elo was at the end of the article to give a better idea of the needed point values. Everybody started the season with an Elo of 1600, which was your point-based rating. If you won a match at a Premier event, your Elo would go up, and if you lost, your Elo would go down. Each tier of events would have a K rating with lower tier events having a low rating and higher tier events having a higher one. Here is a breakdown of the season and their K-Values.

  • Fall Battle Roads: K-Value 4
  • City Championships: K-Value 16
  • State Championships: K-Value 32
  • Regional Championships: K-Value 32
  • Spring Battle Roads: K-Value 4
  • National Championships: K-Value 32
Just entering an event could be risky.

In one of these events the system would look at each player’s rating and decide their odds of winning using a math formula. The formula wasn’t very easy to understand and looking it over made me feel like I was in the movie 21. Basically, once the system understood the players’ odds of winning, it would assign a “wager” to the match. At Cities, for example, if the players were close in their Elo rating, they might each be risking 8 points. If one player was high and the other was low, the higher tier player might risk 12 points and the lower player risk 4. So if two 1600 players played each other, after the match the winner would have an Elo of 1608 while the low tier player would have an Elo of 1592.

As a competitive player I hated the Elo system; it caused stress and took a lot of fun out of the game. It got to the point where winning wasn’t everything, it was the only thing. The Ricky Bobby quote of “If you’re not first you’re last” comes to mind. A single bad tournament could ruin a player’s entire season. If they entered a large tournament like Nationals at say with a 1950 rating and played against a large number of players with a 1600–1700 rating, they would be risking probably 25 or so points per game, and a bad day, such as a 5-4 finish, could cost them 70 points which could easily be a Worlds invite.

The one thing I will give the system was it emphasized and rewarded consistent play. While players that could travel more had a slight advantage, the system nowhere near guaranteed an invite for doing so.

As for the season itself, the 2010–2011 format was really interesting from a player’s perspective. September through April (which included Autumn Battle Roads, City Championships, State Championships, and Regional Championships) was played under MD-on, a format essentially very similar to Worlds 2010. Gyarados, LuxChomp, and DialgaChomp were all Tier 1 in the Worlds 2010 format (DP–UL) and only got stronger in 2011. They lost very little due to rotation and took down a majority of the events from Autumn Battle Roads through Regional Championships. While new sets were released during this time, a lot of the new cards did more to bolster these three decks than they did to open the meta. I think the irony of a lot of this was there were some really great cards being printed, but they were just too slow to compete with SP decks and didn’t have the power to trade effectively with Gyarados.

Then Black & White was released in late April, and new rules were instated allowing the player going first to play Item cards. This caused the game to go from outstanding to horrible. With Sableye SF still in the format, first-turn donk decks were everywhere. If you didn’t go first and opened with less than 150 HP on your side of the field, you probably lost the game. After Battle Roads, Pokémon did an emergency rotation heading into US Nationals, essentially rotating every major deck in the format. This gave Nationals and Worlds a fresh open meta to work with.

Timeline

Sep 1, 2010–Apr 25, 2011

  • Format: MD-on (MD–UL at end)
  • Rules: Player going first can’t play Item, Supporter, or Stadium cards on their first turn. Players set up before the coin flip. Winner of the coin flip must go first.

Essentially, going first allowed you to use Call Energy and then be the first player able to evolve. Going second meant you had first use of Trainers to help you set up. There were pros and cons to both conditions, and a player’s opening hand generally determined which one was better for them. However, each player had to decide on their opening without knowing if they were going first or second.

Apr 26, 2011–Jun 30, 2011

  • Format: MD–BLW
  • Rules: Player going first can play Item, Supporter, and Stadium cards on their first turn. Players set up after the coin flip. Rare Candy also receives major errata.

Whenever Pokémon prints a new block, rule changes typically accompanies the base set’s release. The Black & White block was no different, changing the first turn rules and tossing the game upside down.

With these updated rules there was absolutely no downside to going first. It was such a huge advantage that almost all players started to play Sableye SF in their decks. The likelihood of winning the game before your opponent even got a turn skyrocketed. Not only did you have Sableye, Special D Energy, and Crobat G hitting the board repeatedly, but you had huge rises in decks that were designed to win on turn one.

The infamous Uxie Donk deck became stronger than ever thanks to Seeker, almost guaranteeing a win unless the opponent opened with more than 3 Pokémon.

There were so many first turn wins and decks designed to win turn one it took a lot of fun out of the game. I can’t even put into words how unfun the game was to play. There was this kind of general feeling among the community that “Pokémon knows they have to do something about this,” while at the same time this general fear they wouldn’t. I think a lot of us assumed they would rewrite the first turn rules to make it more even. This was the first time in the history of the game there weren’t pros and cons to first vs. second.

Jul 1, 2011–Aug 30, 2011

  • Format: HS–BLW (seven main expansions rotated)
  • Rules: Same as previously.

When Pokémon saw how much of a predicament the game was in, they took a drastic and unprecedented step to change it. On June 8, 2011 they confirmed an emergency rotation to HS–BLW that would go into effect on July 1, 2011 for Canada Nationals, US Nationals, and Worlds. Players were excited the debacle wouldn’t affect the two biggest events of the year. However, with Canada Nationals on July 2 and US Nationals shortly after on July 8–10, this left players with little time to prepare for a completely new and untested format. Cards that were once considered binder junk all of a sudden were incredibly valuable and sought after.

The Shift to the Black & White Era

Bulbapedia

The Black & White format is much more similar to what the game has been like from 2011–2016 and would seem quite normal to a lot of the players today. However, when this set and these new rules came out, it was a dramatic shift for players of this generation.

In 2004–2010 decks were largely built around strong Pokémon lines. They contained your main attackers, techs to help different matchups, your set-up Pokémon, and then your draw power. Your Trainer line was almost completely based around searching out and setting up these Pokémon.

When the Black & White set was released, you started to see this dynamic shift. They started to release really strong straight-draw power cards like Professor Juniper and stopped printing strong draw cards in the Pokémon lineup. In the following set when Pokémon Catcher EPO was released (post-Worlds 2011), “Pokémon”-based took another major blow. When strong Basics like Mewtwo-EX NXD and Darkrai-EX DEX entered the format, you saw Stage 2 decks become almost non-existent. There was just no reason to invest in any sort of stage 2 Pokémon when you got more bang for your buck devoting fewer spots to play stronger, less resource-dependent Basic Pokémon.

The release of Ultra Ball for me signified the completed shift. Your Trainer lineup provided your draw with cards like Professor Juniper, your search with cards like Ultra Ball, and your disruption with cards like N. Pokémon were more just plain fighters that were powered up with strong Item cards. An interesting fact to go along with the general clarification of Trainer cards got broken down. Items went from cards like Pokémon Reversal and PlusPower to tangible things a Trainer could hold like a “Pokémon Catcher EPO.”

You also saw a shift from careful resource management to something I refer to as “turn and burn.” You just play your entire hand down and then proceed to discard it and draw another with cards like N and Juniper. Games were quicker and more straight forward, so you had this reckless abandonment for losing resources. In many cases it was a rush to 6 Prizes over playing any sort of Control strategy. Overly-powered Supporters and Items were the core of decks from 2011 to 2016. It wasn’t until 2017 did you start seeing more and more support Pokémon enter the game again.

I personally wasn’t a fan of this direction; the game still had skill, but it was a different kind of skill with different objectives than I was used to. I try to talk about this without interjecting my own personal opinions, but it’s not easy. To me, the essence of Pokémon was always the Pokémon themselves and I had a hard time watching the game move away from that. It was just different and didn’t feel like the game I grew up with.

I talk about it because it becomes very relevant in understanding deck building and teching in certain formats versus others. I know this was a long section that pushed way outside of the 2011 scope I had set for the article. However, I feel it was very important to emphasize how large of an impact the Black & White set/rules had on the game and the dramatic shift from 2010 to 2011.

Considerations When Deck Building in the HS–BLW Format

I love rotations before major events because they help make the game fresh again and reward players who are strong deck-builders. With a single rotation you went from a SP Basic and strong Stage 1 format, to a largely Stage 2 format which early on seemed very wide open. The issue is sometimes when you cut a bunch of sets out, you’re left with less than a desirable number of consistency cards. The 2011 format was no different; while it was extremely exciting to test so many new deck ideas, the consistency just wasn’t there. You relied heavily on Pokémon Collector, Pokémon Communication, and Cleffa HS in the early game, and if you weren’t able to get a combination of them early, it was nearly impossible to set up.

When discussing matchups the joke at the time was to pray you open Pokémon Collector and they don’t. If one player hit the T1 Collector leading to a T1 Cleffa and the opponent didn’t have a solid response, the game would start snowballing quickly.

1. Resource Management

In this format there wasn’t a great recovery card for Pokémon or Energy. Decks that played Magnezone Prime had to very actively think, plan, and worry about running out of Energy, resources, or even decking out. There was a lot of careful planning and thinking not just about your current turn, but mapping out the entire game.

Early on a lot of players really favored Sage’s Training as it was a great card to burn through your deck and get cards you need. Seeing the top 5 cards of your deck and choosing 2 to help customize your current hand was very strong. However, by the time Worlds came around, a lot of players were backing away from the card because while the initial advantage was large, the loss of cards and resources was huge.

Looking over a lot of these lists you’ll notice most decks play 3–4 Junk Arms. Post-Worlds 2011, in many situations discarding cards was seen as a positive as other cards relied on things being in the discard pile or simply removing dead cards from your hand or deck. In 2011 it was different; there weren’t many recovery cards or cards that took advantage of cards being in the discard. Having to discard 2 cards for a Junk Arm and playing multiple Junk Arms over the course of the game were hard and painful decisions. Getting an Item back from your discard pile was huge, but to do it you had to discard valuable resources that could come back and hurt you later. I even remember David Cohen commenting that he played 3 Junk Arm/2 Switch knowing he’d have to just be Junk Arming for a Switch a lot. I’ve always felt this is how discard cards should act and feel.

In today’s deck building you just slap 4 Professor Juniper or whatever your “discard hand draw 7 cards” card is. In this meta, some decks would play Juniper and others wouldn’t due to the discard. Even in decks that did play Professor Juniper, you would find yourself in these situations where you couldn’t just shrug off discarding 2 Rare Candy or 2 Typhlosion Prime.

2. Cleffa HS vs. Manaphy UL

Cleffa is hands down the better card in every aspect. The reason Manaphy saw any play at all was because Tyrogue HS was incredibly popular at Nationals and T1 donks were far more common than they should have been. Playing a 1-1 Cleffa/Manaphy split gave players another good opener and consistency card that wasn’t vulnerable to a T1 Tyrogue.

3. 1-0-1 Magnezone Prime

I feel like a tech Magnezone Prime is something some decks could consider. It takes up very little deck space and is relatively easy to set up. It gives a layer of consistency in the mid and late game that decks just lacked in this format.

4. Tropical Beach

At the time of Worlds a majority of players didn’t even know Tropical Beach was legal. We only received the card the night before and had no idea that it was even going to be the Worlds Promo.

I remember standing behind Ross as we were getting ready to turn our decklists in and they made an announcement about the promo being legal and Ross yells something about it being legal and his friends start to scramble through their stuff trying to find it. Had Ross known about Tropical Beach and it being legal for the event, I think you would have seen a much more refined Truth list. In fact if players had taken the card seriously (which is an if), I think you could have seen a very different Worlds deck and meta.

I think the thing I would test and experiment with the most in this format would be Tropical Beach decks and Tropical Beach splashed into decks. Anything non Magnezone Prime can benefit from the card.

In every previous Worlds, the promo for the event had been nearly unplayable. Besides Tropical Beach, the only time I can think of a Worlds Promo being played at Worlds is when Yuta Komatsuda played a single copy of Tropical Wind in 2012 because we didn’t have any other tool removal cards at the time.

The Perfect Deck for Worlds?

Heading into Nationals, everybody had the top deck as Magnezone/Emboar (aka MagneBoar). The deck had a lot of hype on the message boards including right here at SixPrizes. For several months it was largely the main deck we covered and for good reason. It had everything you wanted in a deck: Emboar for Energy acceleration, Magnezone for draw power, and Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND (RDL) for taking multiple Prizes at once. The problem was the deck was highly inconsistent, even more so than other decks in the format.

Nationals that year saw a wide variety of decks do well, including many that were able to put early pressure on the board (like Yanmega/Magnezone or Stage 1s) or decks that were hard to disrupt (like Typhlosion/Reshiram aka TyRam or ReshiPhlosion). Other than these two main strategies, you saw a variety of Vileplume decks emerge designed to take the game to a slow pace and grind it out. With so many of the top decks playing heavy Item lines, Vileplume would make a third of most decks unplayable.

Going into Worlds it was generally accepted among the top players that TyRam was the best deck in the format, but it had a very linear game plan. You basically got a few Typhlosions in play, a few Reshirams, put down a PlusPower here or there, and just ran through whatever your opponent put in front of you. Beyond having few options, the mirror match was basically a coin toss with almost no way to tech it any stronger. The deck also had no way to come back if you fell behind, and in the mirror that could be a single Prize. At this point the game was nearly impossible to win.

Yanmega/Magnezone was largely accepted as the 2nd best deck in the format, but with a much more diverse game plan. It would generally be more aggressive in the first few turns, with the ability to snipe the Bench with Yanmega Prime or Kingdra Prime, and you had great built-in draw power with Magnezone Prime. It was a weaker deck in terms of sheer mathematical percentages, but gave the feeling that you had options to try to outplay your opponent.

This led to a split among the top players which they would bring to Worlds. You had a lot of big names like Michael Pramawat and Tom Dolezal who decided TyRam was the top deck. They would take the coin flip mirror and who cares if you have a linear game plan if your deck has favorable matchups against the field.

Other top players like Jayson Harry and Josh Wittenkeller chose to bring Yanmega/Magnezone and fell into the opposite category of realizing they weren’t playing the best deck in the format, but wanted to have options, draw power, and the ability to come back if they fell behind early.

I think the biggest mistake of the format is players really undervalued how good Twins was in a format where Pokémon were worth only single Prizes. Generally the format was seen as a race to take 6 Prizes and decks that fell behind early were quickly tossed to the side. I won’t say Twins didn’t see a decent amount of play, but it was seen as more of a tech card. Running high counts of Twins outside of Vileplume variants was rare. Players slept on how great running high counts of Twins was, and I think there were a lot of decks with comeback potential that were thrown aside too quickly.

Typhlosion/Reshiram (aka TyRam or ReshiPhlosion)

I don’t want to call Typhlosion/Reshiram the “secret” deck of Nationals that year, but it certainly was the biggest surprise. Andy Hahn piloted the deck to a 9-0 start before losing in Top 128, and I believe another player had a really strong Swiss finish in the other pod as well.

The deck didn’t have the same raw power the MagneBoar had, but it was far more consistent and much harder to disrupt. There wasn’t really anything special about the deck or any amazing techs. You basically just slammed Reshirams into your opponent until you won the game. It was really hard for decks to keep consistently doing 130 damage every single turn to get the 1HKO. Reshiram, on the other hand, could easily pump out a 120 damage every single turn, and with the aid of PlusPower, it could hit magic 1HKO numbers.

Most of the lists were relatively close to each other, but the largest division was whether or not you should play Ninetales HS. A lot of arguments about whether or not to play Ninetales related heavily to the arguments with Delcatty I covered in my 2004 article.

Essentially you can find yourself in these situations where you have to decide if you want to discard the only Energy in your hand. You can hope to draw into another Energy, but you risk missing your attachment for turn if you don’t hit it. This can become a very critical decision when you need that attachment to attack.

I feel a lot of the times players in general undervalue their attachment for turn. Energy on board is one of the largest factors in your board presence. Even if you’re running Energy acceleration (in this case Typhlosion Prime), your turn attachment should still be valued at the same as one Afterburner.

The direction on where to take the deck varied a lot by players. I would say a little over half of the players I saw opted to not play Ninetales. Christopher Kahn won Seniors without it, but Tom Dolezal played a thick 2-2 line. For my list, I opted to play a middle ground of a 1-1 Ninetales. If the opportunity to set it up is there, then take it, but you’re not relying on the card.

My List

Pokémon (17)

4 Cyndaquil HS

2 Quilava HS

4 Typhlosion Prime

1 Vulpix HS

1 Ninetales HS

4 Reshiram BLW

1 Cleffa HS

Trainer (30)

4 Pokémon Collector

4 Professor Juniper BLW 101

1 Sage’s Training

1 Twins

 

4 Junk Arm

4 Pokémon Communication

4 Rare Candy UL 82

3 PlusPower

3 Pokémon Reversal

1 Energy Retrieval BLW 92

1 Revive BLW 102

Energy (13)

13 Fire Energy

 

Copy List

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 17

* 4 Cyndaquil HS 61
* 2 Quilava HS 49
* 4 Typhlosion Prime
* 1 Vulpix HS 87
* 1 Ninetales HS 7
* 4 Reshiram BLW 26
* 1 Cleffa HS 17

##Trainer Cards - 30

* 4 Professor Juniper BLW 101
* 4 Pokémon Collector HS 97
* 4 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 4 Junk Arm TM 87
* 4 Rare Candy UL 82
* 3 Pokémon Reversal HS 99
* 3 PlusPower BLW 96
* 1 Sage’s Training CL 85
* 1 Twins TM 89
* 1 Energy Retrieval BLW 92
* 1 Revive BLW 102

##Energy - 13

* 13 Fire Energy Energy 2

Total Cards - 60

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Good/Bad

The Good: It’s a very straightforward and consistent deck with strong matchups against the field. It has the consistency and brute strength you want in a deck.

The Bad: The strategy was very linear with little room to outplay or improve the mirror beyond a coin flip.

Techs

Ninetales HS: You can decide for yourself if you think the card is worth it. I recommend testing with and without it.

Tropical Beach: This is a deck that I would like to test Tropical Beach in. This would bring some added consistency to the deck throughout the course of the game. Also, if you did need to Tropical Beach in the mid or late game, I’d feel much better hiding behind a Reshiram who might be able to take a hit rather than a Cleffa.

Potion: This was a tech that Michael Pramawat and his crew played. It forces them to have a PlusPower in the mirror to get the 1HKO. In any other matchup, it can turn a 2HKO into a 3HKO if played right.

4th Pokémon Reversal: It’s an all-around great card that’s useful in every matchup. Knocking Out Typhlosions is one of the few things in the mirror that can help pull you ahead.

Samurott BLW 32: This was a tech that one of the Top 4 finishers played. The idea was opposing TyRam players would have to settle for a 2HKO, and it would be one of the few ways to come back in a mirror you fell behind. The problem was it’s nearly impossible to get 3 Energy on it without using Afterburner. If it were full health, then opposing Reshirams would be 40 damage shy of Knocking it Out. This is reduced by 10 for every Afterburner you use on it. Realistically, Typhlosion players can find a double PlusPower pretty easily and a triple PlusPower is possible. The only way I see this not being 1HKO is by having no damage on it. You could try to play it alongside Potion, but I feel it’s much harder to create a situation where it doesn’t get 1HKO’d than it seems.

Notes

When I played Tom Dolezal in the Top 16 that year, he aggressively went after my Kingdra Prime.

Yanmega/Magnezone

I’m going to share both my list that I got Top 16 with and Josh “JWittz” Wittenkeller’s list that he made Top 8 with. In the end, we both lost to Tom Dolezal playing TyRam. We each got some things right and we each got some things wrong, and the best list is a combination of both.

My Top 16 List

Pokémon (21)

4 Magnemite TM

1 Magneton TM

4 Magnezone Prime

4 Yanma TM

3 Yanmega Prime

1 Horsea UL

1 Kingdra Prime

1 Cleffa HS

1 Manaphy UL

1 Pachirisu CL

Trainer (28)

4 Judge UL 78

4 Pokémon Collector

2 Copycat CL 77

1 Twins

 

4 Junk Arm

4 Pokémon Communication

4 Pokémon Reversal

4 Rare Candy UL 82

1 Switch BLW 104

Energy (11)

10 Lightning Energy

1 Rainbow Energy

 

Copy List

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 21

* 4 Magnemite TM 68
* 1 Magneton TM 43
* 4 Magnezone Prime 96
* 4 Yanma TM 84
* 3 Yanmega Prime
* 1 Horsea UL 49
* 1 Kingdra Prime
* 1 Cleffa HS 17
* 1 Manaphy UL 3
* 1 Pachirisu CL 18

##Trainer Cards - 28

* 4 Pokémon Collector HS 97
* 4 Judge UL 78
* 4 Rare Candy UL 82
* 4 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 4 Pokémon Reversal HS 99
* 4 Junk Arm TM 87
* 2 Copycat CL 77
* 1 Twins TM 89
* 1 Switch BLW 104

##Energy - 11

* 10 Lightning Energy Energy 4
* 1 Rainbow Energy HS 104

Total Cards - 60

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Good/Bad

The Good: It’s a very streamlined, very consistent deck.

The Bad: The thin Kingdra line; I overvalued the consistency that I felt a 4th Magnezone Prime gave me. Manaphy gave me one less donkable Basic, but Tyogre wasn’t popular enough at Worlds to justify it.

Josh’s Top 8 List

Pokémon (22)

4 Magnemite TM

1 Magneton TM

3 Magnezone Prime

4 Yanma TM

3 Yanmega Prime

2 Horsea UL

1 Seadra UL

2 Kingdra Prime

1 Cleffa HS

1 Jirachi UL

Trainer (28)

4 Pokémon Collector

3 Judge UL 78

2 Sage’s Training

2 Twins

1 Copycat CL 77

 

4 Junk Arm

4 Pokémon Communication

4 Rare Candy UL 82

3 Pokémon Reversal

1 Switch BLW 104

Energy (10)

4 Lightning Energy

4 Psychic Energy

2 Rainbow Energy

 

Copy List

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 22

* 4 Magnemite TM 68
* 1 Magneton TM 43
* 3 Magnezone Prime 96
* 4 Yanma TM 84
* 3 Yanmega Prime
* 2 Horsea UL 49
* 1 Seadra UL 40
* 2 Kingdra Prime
* 1 Cleffa HS 17
* 1 Jirachi UL 1

##Trainer Cards - 28

* 4 Pokémon Collector HS 97
* 4 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 4 Rare Candy UL 82
* 4 Junk Arm TM 87
* 3 Judge UL 78
* 3 Pokémon Reversal HS 99
* 2 Twins TM 89
* 2 Sage’s Training CL 85
* 1 Copycat CL 77
* 1 Switch BLW 104

##Energy - 10

* 4 Lightning Energy Energy 4
* 4 Psychic Energy Energy 6
* 2 Rainbow Energy HS 104

Total Cards - 60

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Good/Bad

The Good: The thicker Kingdra line was the right call. Jirachi was slightly better than Pachirisu in most matchups. The combination of Kingdra, Yanmega, and Jirachi also gave you some more comeback potential, allowing you to set up multiple devolve KOs, not only allowing you to take multiple Prizes in one turn, but also possibly crippling their setup.

The Bad: Cleffa is too important to set up to risk playing only 1 copy. I’m not a huge fan of Sage’s Training for a deck that can’t lose resources. I also don’t like 2 copies of Twins in a deck that can’t fall behind. I also don’t think you need a full 4 Psychic Energy, since Jirachi only needs 1 to attack and then can use anything after that. I’m also not a fan of playing only 10 Energy, but I think the thicker Kingdra line helped to offset this. You’re also not looking to get max value out of Pachy in the Jirachi build.

The “Right” List

Pokémon (23)

4 Magnemite TM

1 Magneton TM

3 Magnezone Prime

4 Yanma TM

3 Yanmega Prime

2 Horsea UL

1 Seadra UL

2 Kingdra Prime

2 Cleffa HS

1 Jirachi UL

Trainer (27)

4 Judge UL 78

4 Pokémon Collector

2 Copycat CL 77

1 Twins

 

4 Junk Arm

4 Pokémon Communication

4 Rare Candy UL 82

3 Pokémon Reversal

1 Switch BLW 104

Energy (10)

5 Lightning Energy

3 Psychic Energy

2 Rainbow Energy

 

Copy List

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 23

* 4 Magnemite TM 68
* 1 Magneton TM 43
* 3 Magnezone Prime 96
* 4 Yanma TM 84
* 3 Yanmega Prime
* 2 Horsea UL 49
* 1 Seadra UL 40
* 2 Kingdra Prime
* 2 Cleffa HS 17
* 1 Jirachi UL 1

##Trainer Cards - 27

* 4 Pokémon Collector HS 97
* 4 Judge UL 78
* 4 Rare Candy UL 82
* 4 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 4 Junk Arm TM 87
* 3 Pokémon Reversal HS 99
* 2 Copycat CL 77
* 1 Twins TM 89
* 1 Switch BLW 104

##Energy - 10

* 5 Lightning Energy Energy 4
* 3 Psychic Energy Energy 6
* 2 Rainbow Energy HS 104

Total Cards - 60

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The Pokémon line is Josh’s with an extra Cleffa. Kingdra Prime is so good in every matchup that you’ll want to play the thicker line. Cleffa is essential for setting up, getting out of a bad hand, or even just trying to stall a turn in the midgame. Jirachi is very risky but gives the deck “access” to Prizes it might not otherwise have.

The Trainer lineup is mine and is just straightforward consistency. I cut a Pokémon Reversal to get the deck down to 60. While I really like a full 4 Reversal, I think the thicker Kingdra line helps offset it. It’s less imperative to try and get cheap Prizes on the Bench if you can just run through the Active instead.

Strategy

You want to go aggressive as soon as possible with Yanmega Prime to start taking Prizes and pushing damage onto your opponent’s board. This was always balanced with trying to get a Magnezone Prime in play to help set up. If given a choice, you always prioritize the Magnezone Prime. Once you had a single Magnezone Prime in play, everything else just followed so easily.

You always want to lead with Yanmega Prime and take as many Prizes that way as you possibly can. Always look for cheap easy Prizes like small Basic Pokémon before your opponent has a chance to evolve them. You want to play the game as a rush to 6 Prizes, so it’s almost always better to go for an easy Prize versus trying to 2HKO something else. It’s really not worth spending a ton of resources to try and disrupt your opponent over just taking a cheap easy Prize.

Close the game out with Magnezone Prime, but always be very aware of your Energy count and if any are prized. I would normally make sure to count my Energy on my first search along with seeing if my lone copy of Switch was in the deck. Playing only 10 or 11 Energy means you can’t take a full 6 Prizes with Magnezone. At most you’ll probably take 4 Prizes and realistically you’ll take 3, which means you need to rely on Yanmega Prime to take at least 2 Prizes and probably 3.

Jirachi adds another level to this by giving the deck access to Prizes in the later stages of the game. Realistically you can probably secure 1 and possibly 2 Prizes with Jirachi. This means you need to put a lot of thought into where you’re sniping with Yanmega or placing damage counters with Kingdra.

Techs

I think I covered the variations and some of the different cards you could run pretty well. There is some room to try and mess around with the Trainer lineup to try and boost consistency. You could try running a combination of PONTs in favor of the single copy of Twins and a number of Judges. This would make it harder to guarantee that you would be able to match hand sizes.

You could also try running a 2nd copy of Jirachi. This allows you to use the first one in a devolve play while the second one can be just to bring back Energy for Magnezone.

Magnezone/Emboar (aka MagneBoar)

David’s List

This is the list that David Cohen piloted to a 1st place finish at the World Championships in 2011.

Pokémon (19)

3 Magnemite TM

1 Magneton TM

3 Magnezone Prime

3 Tepig BLW 15

1 Pignite BLW 18

2 Emboar BLW 20

2 Cleffa HS

2 Reshiram BLW

1 Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND UD 89

1 Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND UD 90

Trainer (26)

4 Pokémon Collector

3 Professor Oak’s New Theory

3 Twins

1 Fisherman

 

4 Pokémon Communication

4 Rare Candy UL 82

3 Junk Arm

2 Energy Retrieval BLW 92

2 Switch BLW 104

Energy (15)

9 Fire Energy

4 Lightning Energy

2 Rescue Energy

 

Copy List

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 19

* 3 Magnemite TM 68
* 1 Magneton TM 43
* 3 Magnezone Prime 96
* 3 Tepig BLW 15
* 1 Pignite BLW 18
* 2 Emboar BLW 20
* 2 Cleffa HS 17
* 2 Reshiram BLW 26
* 1 Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND UD 89
* 1 Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND UD 90

##Trainer Cards - 26

* 4 Pokémon Collector HS 97
* 4 Rare Candy UL 82
* 4 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 3 Twins TM 89
* 3 Professor Oak's New Theory CL 83
* 3 Junk Arm TM 87
* 2 Switch BLW 104
* 2 Energy Retrieval BLW 92
* 1 Fisherman HS 92

##Energy - 15

* 9 Fire Energy Energy 2
* 4 Lightning Energy Energy 4
* 2 Rescue Energy TM 90

Total Cards - 60

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Heading into Nationals that year, MagneBoar was the most hyped deck. It was supposed to be the best deck in the format by a mile up until a month or two before the event. If you got a solid opening hand you basically won the game. The deck had everything from Magnezone Prime for draw, Emboar for Energy acceleration, RDL to win a 5-Prize game. The problem was it wasn’t consistent. Half the time you’d get these “I win” hands and the other half of the time you would get mismatched hands and hope to get something set up before you fell too far behind.

By the time Nationals came around that year, some players were sticking with MagneBoar while many moved toward faster and more consistent decks like Yanmega/Magnezone. In fact, after Nationals there was so much hype behind TyRam and Yanmega/Magnezone that MagneBoar was tossed aside.

Chris Fulop wrote an article about MagneBoar after Nationals and I did a quick skim of it before tossing it aside to work on “real decks.” To my own loss, here Fulop pushed the heavy Twins idea in his build. Cohen took note of this and started really testing the build before Worlds. Twins brought to the table the one card the thing the deck didn’t have: “consistency.”

Good/Bad

The Good: Built-in draw power, built-in Energy acceleration, the ability to take 2 Prizes. The deck literally has everything you want built right in.

The Bad: The deck can still struggle against fast setups that can disrupt your start. The deck is also heavily reliant on getting multiple Stage 2 Pokémon in play. It just folds the game if the Emboar is Knocked Out and you can’t get your 2nd into play.

Techs

You can make arguments for 4th PONT, 4th Twins, 2-2 RDL, and Flower Shop Lady.

Notes

A tech my brother and I came up with was a single copy of Defender. This gave RDL 160 HP, meaning a Magnezone Prime would need 4 Energy to push over it, Reshiram would need 4 PlusPowers, and a MagneBoar mirror had no answers. If you’re planning on running into mirror matches, give the Defender a try. It will make the mirror highly favorable.

The Truth

Ross Cawthon is one of the smartest people I know. I got about three paragraphs into a paper he wrote on dark energy (the real life universe, not the stuff I play in Darkrai) before realizing I was totally lost. If there is one thing Ross is known for in the community, it’s playing rogue decks and strategies. Out of the 15 or so Worlds invites he has now, I can only think of a couple of times where he played a meta deck. I even specifically remember 2008 where Ross played a super standard GG list and the running joke at the time was that GG had such a stranglehold on the game that even Ross was forced to play a meta deck.

The Truth was no different and possibly one of the best rogue decks Ross has ever built. It wasn’t just a straightforward rogue deck that countered the meta. It was a rogue deck where if you set up, you won the game and there was nothing your opponent could do. Once the setup was in, your opponent couldn’t take Prizes anymore.

My List

Pokémon (26)

3 Solosis BLW

2 Duosion BLW

2 Reuniclus BLW

3 Oddish UD

1 Gloom UD

2 Vileplume UD

2 Phanpy HS

2 Donphan Prime

1 Chansey HS

1 Blissey Prime

1 Suicune & Entei LEGEND UL 94

1 Suicune & Entei LEGEND UL 95

2 Pichu HS

2 Zekrom BLW

1 Cleffa HS

Trainer (23)

4 Sage’s Training

4 Twins

3 Pokémon Collector

1 Copycat CL 77

1 Professor Oak’s New Theory

1 Seeker

 

3 Pokémon Communication

3 Rare Candy UL 82

 

3 Tropical Beach

Energy (11)

4 Double Colorless Energy HS 103

4 Rainbow Energy

2 Fighting Energy

1 Fire Energy

 

Copy List

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 26

* 3 Solosis BLW 55
* 2 Duosion BLW 56
* 2 Reuniclus BLW 57
* 3 Oddish UD 60
* 1 Gloom UD 27
* 2 Vileplume UD 24
* 2 Phanpy HS 77
* 2 Donphan Prime
* 1 Chansey HS 58
* 1 Blissey Prime
* 1 Suicune & Entei LEGEND UL 94
* 1 Suicune & Entei LEGEND UL 95
* 2 Pichu HS 28
* 2 Zekrom BLW 47
* 1 Cleffa HS 17

##Trainer Cards - 23

* 4 Twins TM 89
* 4 Sage’s Training CL 85
* 3 Pokémon Collector HS 97
* 3 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 3 Rare Candy UL 82
* 3 Tropical Beach PR-BW 28
* 1 Seeker TM 88
* 1 Professor Oak's New Theory CL 83
* 1 Copycat CL 77

##Energy - 11

* 4 Double Colorless Energy HS 103
* 4 Rainbow Energy HS 104
* 2 Fighting Energy Energy 5
* 1 Fire Energy Energy 2

Total Cards - 60

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Note: Ross’s List was: +1 Gloom UD, +1 Seeker, -2 Tropical Beach

I feel like if Ross had known Tropical Beach was going to be legal and had time to test the card in the deck more, he would have played 2 or 3 copies.

Strategy

The strategy of the deck is to rely on Donphan Prime, Zekrom BLW, or Suicune & Entei LEGEND as your main attackers. Donphan Prime and Zekrom type-match well against Yanmega/Magnezone, while Suicune & Entei LEGEND and will single-handedly run through TyRam.

This is where the support Pokémon come in and create “the lock.” Beyond just the obvious uses and disruption of Vileplume, it shuts off two key cards:

  1. The first is PlusPower, which means your opponent can’t create those magic numbers to get 1HKOs.
  2. The second is Pokémon Reversal, meaning that your support Pokémon on the Bench are safe.

Thanks to Vileplume’s Item lock, Reuniclus will safely sit on the Bench the entire game. It has the old Alakazam BS Damage Swap Pokémon Power/Ability. This means unless your opponent can 1HKO your Active, they will never take a Prize again unless you want them to.

Playing the deck requires a great understanding of the meta as a whole and knowing what your opponent’s deck is capable of. If you know what options your opponent has and what their damage cap is, then you know what plays you can make safely. This is one of those decks where a single misplay can cost you the game.

Tips & Tricks

This is a deck where damage counters are both good and bad things to have:

  • You can use Reuniclus to Knock Out your own Pokémon. This is useful to either clear Bench space, activate Twins, or prevent your opponent from being able to activate their own Twins.
  • Be aware how much damage you can leave on your own Pokémon. While Reuniclus has 90 HP, leaving 50 or more damage on it means that it can be sniped by Yanmega Prime or devolved by Jirachi UL.
  • On a similar line, be aware of how much damage you can have on a Zekrom to use Outrage while avoiding a knockout next turn. If they are going to Knock you Out anyway, you can shove a full 120 damage on it to help remove the damage from your board.

Good/Bad

The Good: Once the deck sets up, it becomes nearly impossible for the opponent to take a Prize. Outside of Magnezone Prime, without Items, most decks in the format topped out at 120 damage.

The Bad: The deck runs multiple Stage 2 Pokémon and is incredibly weak early on. In a tournament setting, it will really struggle to play into time.

Notes

Josh actually beat Ross in Swiss by going up early Prizes and then refusing to put damage on the board. He passed most of the later stages of the game until time was called. This strategy only works in a game where time is a factor. This was a great heads-up play by Josh to recognize the situation and play to his outs, but if the game had finished, Ross would have won.

Techs

The only change I made to Ross’s list was adding 2 copies of Tropical Beach. I think you could also argue the 3 Collector/2 Pichu count.

During Cities of the following year, my little brother won back-to-back City Championships playing a variation of The Truth that was built around tanking a Steelix Prime. When you’re putting a 100 damage a turn on the board and your opponent is attacking for -40 damage, you have quite a tank before even taking into account the other tricks the deck has to offer.

Fun Fact

If you make Top 4 at the World Championships, you have a lot of paperwork you have to fill out. A lot of it is personal information for them and interview style questions they can use in their media. However, one of the things they ask you is for four different names you want to call your deck in case it gets printed or for use in the Worlds book. Ross and the Seattle crew being huge X-Files fans, would go with something X-Files related, hence “The Truth” coming from “The Truth Is Out There” from the show.

A lot of the other top players would name their deck after Josef Bolton. Pram had Boltevoir, I had something along the lines of “Dark Bolt” in there, and I think Jason Klaczynski had a Bolt-related name on one of his Worlds decks as well. I’m not entirely sure how that came about, but it was a cool little tradition that lasted for a good number of years.

Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark

This was the deck that Kyle “Pooka” Sucevich piloted to a 2nd place finish at US Nationals in 2011. If it wasn’t for some of the craziest string of bad luck flips I’ve ever seen in my life, Kyle would have been a two-time National Champion. The deck itself is reminiscent of Jimmy Ballard’s 4 Corners decks of 2005, pairing together extremely strong Stage 1 Pokémon that typed matched well against the format.

Going along with this, in a format that had consistency issues, being able to rely on easy-to-generate Stage 1 Pokémon means you could be applying pressure to the opponent as they struggled to set up. That doesn’t mean the deck couldn’t face its own consistency issues by occasionally getting mismatched attackers. Both Zorua and Bouffalant were counter attackers and made for awkward openers. The deck could also struggle to match hand sizes without consistent draw power.

Kyle’s List

Pokémon (19)

3 Phanpy CL

3 Donphan Prime

3 Yanma TM

3 Yanmega Prime

2 Zorua BLW

2 Zoroark BLW

1 Tyrogue HS

1 Manaphy UL

1 Bouffalant BLW 91

Trainer (29)

4 Pokémon Collector

3 Judge UL 78

3 Professor Juniper BLW 101

3 Professor Oak’s New Theory

 

4 Junk Arm

4 Pokémon Communication

3 PlusPower

3 Pokémon Reversal

2 Switch BLW 104

Energy (12)

9 Fighting Energy

3 Double Colorless Energy HS 103

 

Copy List

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 19

* 3 Phanpy CL 66
* 3 Donphan Prime
* 3 Yanma TM 84
* 3 Yanmega Prime
* 2 Zorua BLW 70
* 2 Zoroark BLW 71
* 1 Tyrogue HS 33
* 1 Manaphy UL 3
* 1 Bouffalant BLW 91

##Trainer Cards - 29

* 4 Pokémon Collector HS 97
* 4 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 4 Junk Arm TM 87
* 3 PlusPower BLW 96
* 3 Pokémon Reversal HS 99
* 3 Judge UL 78
* 3 Professor Oak's New Theory CL 83
* 3 Professor Juniper BLW 101
* 2 Switch BLW 104

##Energy - 12

* 9 Fighting Energy Energy 5
* 3 Double Colorless Energy HS 103

Total Cards - 60

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Strategy

The list itself is fairly standard, doing its best to balance consistency (without a built-in draw engine) and techs like PlusPower and Pokémon Reversal. You probably have some room to play with the Pokémon line-up, but considering they all have strengths and weaknesses, I think it looks good.

A couple of things to note are that Kyle opted to play Manaphy over Cleffa due to Donphan doing damage to your own Bench. He also opted to play only 3 Judge as hand size copy cards, opting for the more consistent PONT and Professor Juniper.

Good/Bad

The Good: Being a Stage 1 deck, it’s much faster and often more consistent than Stage 2 decks. The deck also played on Weakness being able to type match the main players in the format extremely well. Zoroark gave the deck a way to copy strong attacks for easy return KOs with little investment.

The Bad: The deck lacked the same raw strength of other decks in the format. It relied heavily on taking cheap Prizes early on since it often had to settle for 2HKOs in the later stages of the game while a deck with more raw power would be getting 1HKOs against it.

Techs

I think the list is pretty close to perfect. You could make arguments for a 4th Pokémon Reversal or 4 PlusPower, but these would be hard to find room for in such a tight deck.

Tyranitar/Serperior

This is the list James Arnold played to a Top 8 finish in the 2011 US Nationals. I also want to say he was a stand-up guy and actually gave me the list ahead of Worlds that year so I could test it out and see if I wanted to play it.

James’s List

Pokémon (24)

4 Larvitar UL 51

3 Pupitar UL 38

4 Tyranitar Prime

2 Snivy BLW 1

2 Servine BLW 3

2 Serperior BLW 6

3 Cleffa HS

1 Jirachi UL

1 Shaymin UL

1 Tyrogue HS

1 Unown UD

Trainer (24)

4 Pokémon Collector

4 Professor Oak’s New Theory

3 Professor Elm’s Training Method

3 Twins

 

4 Pokémon Communication

4 Rare Candy UL 82

2 Switch BLW 104

Energy (12)

4 Special D

4 Double Colorless Energy HS 103

4 Rainbow Energy

 

Copy List

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 24

* 4 Larvitar UL 51
* 3 Pupitar UL 38
* 4 Tyranitar Prime
* 2 Snivy BLW 1
* 2 Servine BLW 3
* 2 Serperior BLW 6
* 3 Cleffa HS 17
* 1 Jirachi UL 1
* 1 Shaymin UL 8
* 1 Tyrogue HS 33
* 1 Unown UD 40

##Trainer Cards - 24

* 4 Pokémon Collector HS 97
* 4 Professor Oak's New Theory CL 83
* 4 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 4 Rare Candy UL 82
* 3 Twins TM 89
* 3 Professor Elm's Training Method CL 82
* 2 Switch BLW 104

##Energy - 12

* 4 Special D
* 4 Rainbow Energy HS 104
* 4 Double Colorless Energy HS 103

Total Cards - 60

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Strategy

What I really liked about the deck is that you could take a couple of different approaches depending on the matchup or how the game is playing out.

  1. First and the most obvious is that the deck spreads really well. For just a single Darkness Energy you can put 20 damage on each of your opponent’s Pokémon, and with Tyranitar Prime only giving up a single Prize, you could just repeatedly spread until you took all 6 Prizes.
  2. Another game plan was Tyranitar Prime, an absolute tank at 160 HP. It requires Magnezone Prime to burn 4 Energy to 1HKO, and most other attackers in the format are looking at 2–3 attacks depending on their damage output and Serperior healing. This doesn’t even factor in if it is switched back to the Bench and given more turns to heal up.
  3. Lastly, Tyranitar Prime has decent damage output to straight power through 6 Prizes. In total it has three attacks (near unprecedented for the time) and all of varying uses. The first as we talked about was just a spread attack, the second was a mediocre 60 damage for DCC, and the third was DDCC for a massive 120 damage. Between spreading and Special D Energy, you could 1HKO about anything in the format with the last attack. Being able to both spread and have 1HKO potential built into a tank was a dream.

Over the course of most games you’ll probably find yourself using a combination of all three strategies, starting off trying to spread, but looking for opportunities to get key knockouts.

Note: Serperior does stack, so having two in play heals 20 damage between turns.

Good/Bad

The Good

Tyranitar Prime checks a lot of the boxes of what you’re looking for in a main attacker. It’s basically an attacking tank, with varying attacks that let it spread or power through opposing Pokémon depending on the situation. Serperior healing being able to stack means the deck can play a thicker line.

The Bad

The deck has a glaring Weakness to Donphan Prime. When I was testing this against Kyle and his 2nd place Nationals deck, I could never overcome multiple Donphans.

Also, getting a quick Tyranitar Prime out was relatively easy, but the problem was starting to spread before you got a Serperior on board caused issues. You have these awkward turns where you want or need to spread, but you’re doing the same 20 damage to most of your own Benched Pokémon as well. Even a single 20 damage on a Larvitar that doesn’t get healed off can create problems for a Tyranitar Prime. With 140 HP remaining, Magnezone Prime only needs 3 Energy (far more realistic) and Reshiram 2 PlusPowers (far easier than 4 PlusPowers) to get a KO.

Techs

Many of James’s card choices were ahead of the time of the format. The heavy Twins count in particular shows his understanding and acceptance of being able to play a spread or come-from-behind strategy. I’m not sure how I feel about the four 30-HP Basics in a format where Tyrogue exists. I’m also not a huge fan of running such thick Stage 1 lines, but this is something James swears by.

One of the things I like about this deck is I think there is a ton of room to play around with and a lot of different techs you could test, such as:

  • Kingdra Prime: I’d like to test a 1-0-1 or a 2-1-2 Kingdra Prime line to combat Donphan.
  • 1-0-1 Magnezone Prime: I think having the built-in draw power would help the deck set up and stream attackers throughout the game.
  • Pokémon Reversal: I think Pokémon Reversal is just too good of a card not to play. Being able to spread to the bench is incredibly good, but doesn’t help deal with Bench-sitters or threats your opponent is building up.
  • Bouffalant BLW 91: Any deck that plays Twins and DCE, I feel should consider Bouffalant. Having instant access to 90 damage is incredibly strong

Sharpedo Lock

This is a deck that Justin Williams played to a Top 128 finish at US Nationals in 2011 after going 8-1 in Swiss. He was the only guy to ever play the deck and it’s reminiscent of a Sableye lock style deck of 2010.

Justin’s List

Pokémon (21)

3 Carvanha TM

3 Sharpedo TM

2 Minccino BLW

2 Cinccino BLW

2 Sneasel UD

2 Weavile UD

1 Slowpoke UD

1 Slowking HS

1 Vullaby BLW

1 Mandibuzz BLW

1 Unown UD

1 Cleffa HS

1 Tyrogue HS

Trainer (27)

4 Pokémon Collector

3 Professor Oak’s New Theory

3 Sage’s Training

1 Professor Juniper BLW 101

 

4 Pokémon Communication

3 Junk Arm

3 PlusPower

3 Pokémon Reversal

2 Dual Ball

1 Switch BLW 104

Energy (12)

4 Special D

3 Darkness Energy

3 Double Colorless Energy HS 103

2 Rescue Energy

 

Copy List

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 21

* 3 Carvanha TM 59
* 3 Sharpedo TM 30
* 2 Minccino BLW 88
* 2 Cinccino BLW 89
* 2 Sneasel UD 68
* 2 Weavile UD 25
* 1 Slowpoke UD 66
* 1 Slowking HS 12
* 1 Vullaby BLW 72
* 1 Mandibuzz BLW 73
* 1 Unown UD 40
* 1 Cleffa HS 17
* 1 Tyrogue HS 33

##Trainer Cards - 27

* 4 Pokémon Collector HS 97
* 4 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 3 Sage’s Training CL 85
* 3 Professor Oak's New Theory CL 83
* 3 Junk Arm TM 87
* 3 PlusPower BLW 96
* 3 Pokémon Reversal HS 99
* 2 Dual Ball CL 78
* 1 Professor Juniper BLW 101
* 1 Switch BLW 104

##Energy - 12

* 4 Special D
* 3 Double Colorless Energy HS 103
* 3 Darkness Energy CL 94
* 2 Rescue Energy TM 90

Total Cards - 60

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I’ll go ahead and link to Justin’s report because it’s a fantastic read.

Strategy

It’s a Control style deck where you can go down 5 Prizes, and as long as you get “the lock,” you win the game. Normally a lock style deck involves stripping good cards from the hand and then controlling the opponent’s draws. This deck can do that as well with a combination of Weavile UD, Slowking HS, and capitalizing on the general inconsistency of the format…or you could just discard their entire hand with Sharpedo TM and not worry about it.

Use a combination of Weavile and Sharpedo to control their hand, while using Slowking to control their draws. If you ever reach a point in the game where they have a dead hand, they are never going to draw out of it.

Cinccino BLW can be used to take out any real threat they get up. Manibuzz BLW can create a different style lock where you Reversal up a Pokémon they can’t get out of the Active Spot, and then pick around it (which is kind of fitting it’s a Pokémon based on a vulture) while using Slowking to ensure they never draw anything.

Good/Bad

The Good

Sharpedo’s attack basically reads you have a 25% to win the game and you can use this attack every turn. Slowking is also incredibly powerful if the opponent’s deck doesn’t have built-in draw power. The deck takes advantage of the general inconsistencies of the format. If your opponent has a bad opening hand, all you need to do is control their top decks and you win. Other cases you just need to use Weavile to strip that key card out of their hand knowing there is a solid chance they won’t draw anything.

The Bad

The deck basically folds if the opponent is able to get a Magnezone Prime out or hits a Tropical Beach. You also encounter situations against TyRam where if they hit a Typhlosion, they may be able to live well enough off the board to win the game. This one is a bit harder as the deck does play Pokémon Reversal and PlusPower to help deal with a single threat, but you won’t be able to power through multiple Typhlosions.

Techs

I love the concept of the deck, but I do feel there is a lot of room to work. I would want to test a higher Weavile count and a 2-2 Slowking. I also see different directions you could test in the Trainers line up, playing around with a higher Pokémon Reversal or PlusPower count. I’d also like to see if there is anything to tech in to help deal with a threat they were able to get on the board.

Another variation of the deck I’d like to test is with Yanmega, Judge, and a higher Weavile count. Being able to set up a Judge and then hopefully Weavile in the same turn should end a lot of games right there. Yanmega synergizes well with Judge and the early pressure it’s able to put on the board would help with the disruption as well.

I know Justin discussed in his report about not wanting to spend $50 apiece on Yanmega Primes, so I doubt they were an option he ever considered. Thankful they are considerably cheaper today, sitting at about $2.50.

Vileplume + Friends (aka Bear Hug)

Whenever people are talking about the 2011 format, the deck “Bear Hug” always gets brought into the conversation. It’s also proof that Xander Pero trying to cram every Pokémon he can think of into a deck dates all the way back to 2011 when he came in 1st place at US Nationals in the Junior division, and his father Carlos Pero ended up in the Top 32 of the Masters division with the same deck.

The Peros’ List

Pokémon (28)

3 Oddish UD

2 Gloom UD

2 Vileplume UD

1 Bellossom UD

4 Yanma TM

4 Yanmega Prime

3 Teddiursa CL

2 Ursaring Prime

2 Sunkern HS

2 Sunflora HS

1 Roselia UL

1 Roserade UL

1 Jirachi UL

Trainer (20)

4 Copycat CL 77

4 Judge UL 78

4 Pokémon Collector

2 Professor Juniper BLW 101

2 Professor Oak’s New Theory

 

4 Pokémon Communication

Energy (12)

4 Double Colorless Energy HS 103

4 Grass Energy

4 Rainbow Energy

 

Copy List

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 28

* 3 Oddish UD 60
* 2 Gloom UD 27
* 2 Vileplume UD 24
* 1 Bellossom UD 1
* 4 Yanma TM 84
* 4 Yanmega Prime
* 3 Teddiursa CL 73
* 2 Ursaring Prime
* 2 Sunkern HS 85
* 2 Sunflora HS 31
* 1 Roselia UL 61
* 1 Roserade UL 23
* 1 Jirachi UL 1

##Trainer Cards - 20

* 4 Pokémon Collector HS 97
* 4 Copycat CL 77
* 4 Judge UL 78
* 4 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 2 Professor Juniper BLW 101
* 2 Professor Oak's New Theory CL 83

##Energy - 12

* 4 Rainbow Energy HS 104
* 4 Double Colorless Energy HS 103
* 4 Grass Energy Energy 1

Total Cards - 60

****** via SixPrizes: https://sixprizes.com/?p=80303 ******

Strategy

Instead of playing a slow control game like most Vileplume decks did, relying on falling behind and then using Twins to set up, Xander opted to play an aggressive Vileplume deck that put early aggression on the board with Yanmega Prime to disrupt the opponent. Xander relied on using Sunflora HS to search out Vileplume instead of Twins like most builds did. Sunflora added consistency to the deck and could double as a way of helping to match hand sizes if needed. Ursaring Prime made a second attacker, while Roserade UL added some disruption.

Note: I’m not sure I agree with it, but the ruling on Roserade UL + Rainbow Energy is that you get both effects from Energy Signal. Even though it says Psychic Energy card or Grass Energy card, the Rainbow Energy will trigger both Confusion and Poison.

Good/Bad

The Good: The deck gives you all of the Item locking you want from a Vileplume, but lets you play a much more aggressive strategy. The Sunflora also gives you a lot of added consistency and helps you stream attackers which a normal Vileplume deck is more likely to struggle with.

The Bad: The deck is fun to play and can make some really crazy plays. However, I do feel it’s a deck that loses a lot of its advantage once the surprise factor is gone. Once you see the list and play a few games against the deck, your win percentage against it will go up. This isn’t to downplay Xander’s and Carlos’s achievements with the deck, but rather to understand how well they capitalized on a fresh meta and kept their opponents guessing.

The deck also can’t play Tropical Beach or Twins, which I feel are amazing cards to have.

Techs

I think you have some room to mess around on the counts in the Pokémon lineup. I also think you could try some variations of the Trainer line. However, overall I think the deck and the strategy they were going for are really solid.

Honorable Mentions

Kingdra Prime/Yanmega Prime/Jirachi UL

I believe the deck won Canadian Nationals that year. The synergy between the two is very clear, but without draw power it struggles with consistency.

Zekrom BLW/Pachirisu CL/Shaymin UL

The idea was to drop Pachy with 2 Energy and then Shaymin them to the Active Zekrom. An attachment for turn would be a T1 120 damage. The issue was the deck had to rely on Pokémon Reversal flips to hit anything on the Bench. It could also fall behind very quickly if it didn’t hit a T1/T2 Zekrom.

Once Pokémon Catcher EPO was released the following set, Zekrom would become a powerhouse, taking down a large number of Cities in 2012.

Tsuguyoshi Yamato would actually play a variation of this with a heavy Lanturn Prime to qualify for Worlds 2011 via the Grinder.

Magnezone Prime/Typhlosion Prime

The deck became more popular in the Cities format of 2012. It was an in-between version of MagneBoar and TyRam. It had more consistency than MagneBoar and more raw strength than TyRam.

Typhlosion Prime/Reshiram BLW/Kingdra Prime

The deck was played by Carl Scheu to a 1st place Regionals finish right after the Cities format of 2012. Kingdra Prime helped you hit the magic numbers that TyRam needed. It could also be used to pick off weak Benched Pokémon over several turns.

Machamp Prime/Vileplume UD

I had never seen this deck before the Grinder. John Chimento was 5-0 with the deck beating five straight TyRams before he scooped the sixth round to his son, who he was unlucky to be matched up against. I’m not sure if he played Donphan Prime in the deck or not. With 150 HP on Machamp Prime, it was able to power through 2 Reshirams before they would be able to take it down. I really wish this was a list I was able to snag, but I was never able to find it.

Conclusion

As I wrote this article I found myself discussing a lot about how I loved the concept of a deck, but wanted to test a different variation or try some different techs. I think that is one of the things that really appeals to me about the 2011 format. As a deck builder, I find the format is just so unexplored and wide open for new strategies to be discovered. As a player, I find the games are both fun and exciting. Lastly, since I’m not much of a collector, the format being cheap and inexpensive appeals to me as well.

I also think it’s a great format for new players to learn and play. It’s very easy to pick up the basics but very hard to master. The intricacies of the format give it a very low skill floor, but a higher skill ceiling. Being able to play and enjoy the games, but also feel like you’re improving and getting better, is great for players at all levels.

Any questions please feel free to post them in the comments for this article and I’ll do my best to answer them, or join the Snowpoint Temple community on Facebook.

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