Tier 2 TDK - Thundurus EX, Deoyxs EX, Kyurem PLF

Honestly TDK and Lugia are two different decks, just as much so as Darkrai Garbodor and Darkrai Dusknoir. They both have their own distinct advantages. Lugia would be taking more Prizes and having a more diverse attacker pool. TDK would be sheer power in a 1 Prize Basic.[DOUBLEPOST=1392914636][/DOUBLEPOST]How do you guys think the deck would fair against Yveltal rush decks? I think it would be decent if you can kick their Shadow Circle and just Raiden Knuckle a lot, but if you are using a Kyurem focused list with only 1-2 Thundurus what then? Just try to get your Thundurus out and go ahead and hit them Yveltals? I guess that's the only way to beat the Yveltals as they easily take the KO on a powered up Kyurem.

My list has 1 Thundurus in it as a back up hitter/late game "I have no energy in my deck" attacker. I've been playing it like a straight up Kyurem/Deoxys/Keldeo deck, and it works like a charm. Focused on speed and consistent attacking, it's pretty good. But I fear the Yveltal/Darkrai match up; I think they would have too big an advantage on their main attacker line up (Darkrai/Yveltal) to mine (Kyurem/Thundurus). I suppose it'll just be a game of "who can power up their counter attacker first" or "who hits heads on the Catcher." Yes, I am playing Catcher instead of Genesect.

I think that against Darkrai/Yveltal this deck is about even for the most part. The problem is that there are so many factors that will come into play. How many Shadow Circle/Enhanced Hammer do they run? How many Thundurus EX do you run? Also like you said it could easily come down to who can charge up a backup attacker first or who has the better start. They could also just revert to attacking with Darkrai if all of their shadow circles get knocked out. I guess you could flip the match up in your favor by running 2-3 Thundurus/Frozen City and a couple Shadow Triad, but if I'm not mistaken that could weaken other match ups depending on what you have to drop...

Darkrai / Yveltal would probably rather play Laserbank instead of Shadow Circle anyway

That actually depends; some play Laserbank, others play Shadow Circle, and other still will somehow find the room to play both. It would be a pretty bad idea going into the game assuming that they don't have an answer to your Lightning types.

That's like going into a Virizion/Genesect matchup with RayBoar and being cautious about using their Reshirams because they might play Plasma Frigate.

The only real "answer" to Thundurus is Darkrai. Thundurus will likely 3HKO an Yveltal EX that has a Shadow Circle in play because you will have 3-4 Deoxys in play and can Laser as well. If you can take out a Shadow Circle, you can probably just be able to 2HKO it with 2 Knuckles and a LaserBank. If they retreat the damaged Yveltal you get some nice Frost Spear plays coming up next.

Um okay... But I wasn't implying that you should be cautious with using Thundurus EX. I was saying that you should be prepared with counter stadiums/more Thundurus in case they run Shadow Circle, which half of them probably will. I have never once suggested being hesitant with Thundurus EX around Yveltal.

Honestly, if you're trying to win that matchup using a 4-energy Thundurus, then good luck. It'll get return KO'd faster than you can say "Thunderous Noise". You're better off using your regular strategy of a 7-prize game.

When have I or anyone else ever said anything about a 4 Energy Thundurus? Knuckling for 100-140 damage will get the job done nicely. (Especially if you run Laserbank.) You could even OHKO Yveltal EX for 1 Energy with 4 deoxys and a Muscle Band; if you choose to run that over Silver Bangle. Also a 1 energy Thundurus EX is going to be a lot harder for Yveltal to take down than a 2-3 energy Kyurem, and it's easier to get going too.

If you're already trading 2HKOs with each other then I could see Kyurem as being a nice way to turn the prize trade in your favor. But honestly I don't think that it should be the main focus of your strategy against Yveltal.

I'd rather just Raiden Knuckle for 2HKOs with little counter play.

I think you forgot the part where Darkrai/Yveltal plays Darkrai. A smart player will only bring out Yveltal for the KO.

Landy. Nuff said.

No, not really. Landorus really isn't as good against Darkrai as people think it is, unless you mean the promo.

The Promo, yes.

And a smart TDK player won't put 3 Energy on their active Kyurem when you have a Yveltal on the bench nearly ready to fire. Keep calm and Frost Spear/Raiden Knuckle.[DOUBLEPOST=1393100155][/DOUBLEPOST]What kind of non-Plasma attacker Pokemon can this deck efficiently run? I don't really want to put Mewtwo EX in here because of no DCE...

I tested with tdk and aromatisse and it worked well and having all special energies you can play yveltal as a non plasma attacker and you can tech stuff like heatran or virizion. You also have tons of healing with max potion and
It is only a little more clunky and inconsistent then non arattise tdk.

But more beneficial.

Aromatisse is TDK's best option considering you can tech in just about any pokemon you want (plasma and non-plasma) on top of being able to heal off damage.

I've been using a list similar to the one Brandon Smiley talks about in one of his UG articles, except I run Heatran EX and Raikou EX as well as Basic Lightning energy. So far it's done good on PlayTCG, meaning I'll most likely take it to the next LC in my area.

Raikou EX? That's a great idea! He takes out Garbo in one shot too.

i would say that silver bangle is still superior in this deck than muscle band. think about it: if it's not an ex, doing 140-150 damage from deoxys ex will be enough for the ko with blizzard burn. but if it is an ex, then the 20 damage from muscle band only gets you to 170 assuming you have 3 deoxys in play. silver bangle allows you to hit 180.

No doubt Bangle is way, way better than Muscle Band on Kyurem. Being able to hit for 180 with only 3 Deoxys is fantastic. Being able to hit for 180 without any Deoxys is even more fantastic with LaserBank.