Pokemon TCG Discussion Thread!

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

DO u play on red shark maybe we can play sometime?

I do agree with your statement thought right now im running.
pokes:29
1-1 Zoa
3 Zekrom
2-2 Lanturn
4-4 Donpahn
4-Pach
2-Shaymin
3-2 Lux
1-Groudon EX
3-Cleffa

Trainers-16
4 Pokemon Catcher
3 Pokemon collector
3 Rare candy
2 Cilan
2 PoNT
2 Plus Power

Standard ener affaris.

Like I said new to the game but I like this deck.

Your deck seems pretty overloaded on pokemon to me. I would worry with your lack of search capability that your deck'd be too slow, or rely on Cleffa stall to get going (which doesn't work half the time) I'm also guessing that's a 3-2-3* Luxray line?

Tbh I hadn't even heard of Red Shark til now. I'm pretty new to TCG myself, but I've got some good players to dish ideas with in my area :) Mekkah seems like he knows his shiz too... haha.

Just curious what were you testing your deck against? Or is Red Shark like Pokemon Online and you're playing other people online? I'll definitely have to look into it.

Here's the Tyshiram I'm currently running, though my Samurai Beargatr is my current fav.

Pokemon (20, 10 Basics)

3-2-3 Typhlosion Prime
3-3 HG Ninetales
4 Reshiram

Trainer/Supporter (19+9=28)

4 Pluspower
3 Pokemon Catcher
3 Pokemon Communication
3 Energy Retrieval
2 Junk Arm
2 Switch
2 Rare Candy
3 PONT
3 Pokemon Collector
3 Engineer's adjustments

Energy (14)

3 Rescue Energy
11 Fire Energy

I've liked it's build, but since catcher and Trainer lock came out, I'm still teasing apart how I wanna do the Typhlosion line. I've been thinking of running 4-2-4 +3 Rare candy, it's just what do I take out at that point? a 1-1 of Ninetales maybe? Still, a solid deck. You can switch out 1 rare candy for a fire energy if you want the extra likelihood to draw into fire for a second roast reveal.

My Samurai Beargatr:

Pokemon (21)

2 Shell Armor Samurott, 1 Pike Samurott, 2 Dewott, 3 Oshawott
2-2-2 Feraligatr
2-2 Beartic
2 Cleffa
1 Tyrogue

Trainer/Supporter (14+9=23)

4 Pokemon Communication
3 Switch
3 Rare Candy
2 Energy Retrieval
2 Pokegear 3.0
3 Prof. Juniper
3 Pokemon Collector
2 Fisherman
1 Interviewers Questions

Energy (16)

3 Rescue Energy
13 Water Energy

Big idea is to not be afraid of attaching the 4th W energy to Beartic or Samurott, so that you can fisherman and get it all back the turn after it dies, sustaining the pressure. Cilan is gonna help this deck a lot, but for now I'm keeping it tournament legal. If it's down to last prize cards too, you can just buff Samurott up with 6-7 W energy to 1HKO everything. The Pike Samurott is there mainly to snipe for 30, and I've found it incredibly useful. Especially considering it's cost is DCE, meaning it can be out by turn 2 if you think it's the right move to start the game with. Takes out a Cleffa+Solosis nicely for sure :P Before trainer lock I was running 2-1-2 Feraligatr with 4 Rare candy and 1 Pokegear. I think this is probably the better build now.

 

[Shiki1335]

Soo what would I cut down if I wanna keep the lux in there?

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

Soo what would I cut down if I wanna keep the lux in there?

Well... 1-1 Zoroark is in danger of being prized really bad, so I'd start there. What balance of energy are you running? A 3-3 Donphan will do the same job as 4-4 most of the time, so that's 4 cards. You could even drop it to 2-2 considering it's not your main attacker (I don't think). What does Lanturn do for your deck? It's 110 HP really holds it back, as it can be 1HKO'd by a LOT (including opposing Donphan).

With 4 Pachi and 2 Shaymin, running 3 Zekrom, this deck sorta looks like it's just trying to donk. Cilan will make Zekrom donks pretty beastly I would imagine, provided you can get the Shaymin and Pachi (which isn't guaranteed I guess), so you could throw in an extra Shaymin to help that along.

I'd recommend running 4 pokemon communication as well. It's important to be able to search for the pokemon you need first/second turn to get your fast start. It's also good to get just the pokemon you need and play it down before you Oaks New Theory, reducing the useless cards you can draw and using up your hand.

Mainly I'm just interested in what your Energy balance looks like atm, given you're not a mono deck.

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

Now that a few Battle Roads have come and gone, anyone know what decks won your respective regions?

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

Autumn Battle Roads are done and Regionals are coming up:

What should people be looking at? Watching out for?
Well, here's a list of Masters winning decks:

Masters Winning Decks (160):
45 x Reshiram Variants (40 x Reshiram/Typhlosion, 5x Reshiram/Emboar)
35 x Zekrom Variants (27 x Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin/Tornadus, 1 x Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin, 7 x Zekrom w/o Pachirisu and Shaymin)
19 x Yanmega/Magnezone
15 x Gothitelle
11 x Stage 1's
6 x Donphan and Dragons (Reshiram/Zekrom)
4 x Kingdra/Yanmega
3 x Ross Lock
2 x Mew with Stage 1s
2 x Magnezone/Emboar
2 x Mew Lock
2 x Kingdra/Cinccino
1 x Tyranitar/Donphan/Kingdra
1 x Magnezone/Lanturn/Pachirisu
1 x Kingdra/Donphan/Yanmega
1 x Mew/Cinccino
1 x Mew/Yanmega
1 x Samurrott/Donphan
1 x Typhlosion
1 x Vileplume/Yanmega
1 x Blastoise/Floatzel
1 x Weavile/Yanmega
1 x Yanmega/Zoroark/Absol
1 x Magnezone/Pachirisu/Shaymin
1 x Gigalith/ Tornadus/ Zekrom/ Reshiram
1 x Mew/Muk/Jumpluff/Yanmega/Vileplume​

Or as a general summary:
Lock = 20 (15.75%)
Decks w/ Zekrom = 36 (28.35%)
Decks w/ Reshiram = 35 (28.35%)
Decks w/ Yanmega = 23 (19.66%)*
Decks w/either Zek or Resh = 67 (54.03%)


So, any interesting decks people think might make a splash at Regionals? Any rogue decks? Any standard decks that might continue to shine, or flicker out? Any that could see increased play?


I personally think that we could see more Gothitelle in the near future. Some decent Gothitelle decklists, many running techs of cards like Black Belt, extra Jirachi and Shaymin, have been made up with pretty good success. Some of the more experienced players will probably prefer decks that have more complex robust strategies over simpler decks like ZPST or Tyshiram. Not to say that in-game decisions can't be difficult with these two decks, but the general strategy is fairly decided, and it does work.

Noble Victories also won't be released until Nov. 16th, but there are pre-releases being done at the end of Oct. and early Nov. Are the cards from pre-releases allowed at regionals? If so, Kyurem might sneak his way into trainer lock/reuniclus decks. Same with the new Cobalion.

A basic trend would be that you need a deck capable of dealing with Reshiphlosion, Zekrom donk, YanmegNazone, Gothitelle, and Yanmega/Donphan/Beartic/Cincinno/Zoroark variants. What are people liking so far in their decks?

 

[Zystral]

I've been playing Reshiram/Typhlosion, but I haven't adjusted to compensate for Emerging Powers yet (big mistake, I know), and I really want to get some Tornadus, simply because they're all around useful.

I've also seen KGL being played, and it went 4-1. So, that's something.

Regionals will be interesting, because the UK doesn't have Regionals, so all our League Play/tournament scene will be largely dictated by the USA until Spring. So here's hoping for some interesting plays.

What does interest me is the use for Tornadus / Celebi / Vileplume / Yanmega (maybe Jirachi). What I like about that idea is that what previously forced Yanmega to be viable was an equal hand size. I know it's not the most efficient, but the deck now has two outlets for Yanmega - you don't always need to rely on having Copycat/Judge in hand, but you also don't need to rely on energy all the time - Tornadus can solve the second problem sometimes while also dealing effective damage.

I really can't wait for Skyarrow Bridge and EX monsters, however.

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

... I've also seen KGL being played, and it went 4-1. So, that's something.

Regionals will be interesting, because the UK doesn't have Regionals, so all our League Play/tournament scene will be largely dictated by the USA until Spring. So here's hoping for some interesting plays.

What does interest me is the use for Tornadus / Celebi / Vileplume / Yanmega (maybe Jirachi). What I like about that idea is that what previously forced Yanmega to be viable was an equal hand size. I know it's not the most efficient, but the deck now has two outlets for Yanmega - you don't always need to rely on having Copycat/Judge in hand, but you also don't need to rely on energy all the time - Tornadus can solve the second problem sometimes while also dealing effective damage.

I really can't wait for Skyarrow Bridge and EX monsters, however.

KGL eh? I think I saw someone playing that too actually... Never faced it.

Tornadus, Celebi, Vileplume & Yanmega eh? Sounds like a Zekrom field day.

I do like the idea of Celebi in the future though. I've heard that Celebi + Mewtwo EX, running collectors and dual balls with juniper means that you can get a Mewtwo EX attacking for 100-120 by T2 (DCE+G T1, DCE T2 + G & Switch or G on Celebi and retreat). It's incredibly consistent too thanks to how few pokemon it'll run. (4 Celebi, 3 Mewtwo EX). After all, you only have to give up 3 Mewtwo EX before you lose, no need for more than that since you want Celebi as your active. Another reason to run switch, so you can get Celebi active first turn.

 

[Zystral]

You don't need Switch/G on Celebi, especially not with Skyarrow Bridge (which also benefits Mewtwo). I would also consider maybe a Tornadus, just in case.

I have, however, been theorymonning improvements to my Reshiphlosion list, although as far as I know, Pokemon EX and regular Pokemon are the same name, so this list assumes that. Otherwise, it'll change drastically.
3 Reshiram (BW)
1 Reshiram EX
3-2-3 Typhlosion Prime
2-2 Ninetales (HGSS)
1-1 Magcargo (UD)
1 Cleffa

4 PONT
3 Juniper
3 Collector
4 Junk Arm
3 Communication
2 Pluspower
1 Fisherman
1 Twins
2 Energy Retrieval
2 Rare Candy

14 Fire Energy
2 Double Colorless Energy

I'll need to test this once Reshiram EX starts to exist, but if I can have 4 Reshiram and 3 Reshiram EX, then I'll need to make room for some Eviolites....

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

Right... skyarrow bridge. Even better :P

I don't like the Ninetales line with the extra energy. Nor the lack of rare candy. Ninetales is just catcher fodder, and takes up space that could be spent on a deeper Typhlosion line, capable of recovering energy better. Which reduces the need for fisherman etc... I like rescue energies in my reshiphlosion too, just to keep up the pressure :) But that ones more of a personal choice.

Eviolite does come out in NV, and it might be worthwhile even in the current metagame to prevent an afterburnered Reshi from being KO'd.

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

Prime Challenge Boxes released:
http://pokebeach.com/2011/11/prime-challenge-boxes​

Say what? Cheap Yanmega primes? Very cool for those without.

 

[asianaussie]

KGL Ross decks with Tropical Beach are pretty fun to watch - some guy with one was about to lose vs a Blastzel, but then he used Tidal Wave and killed 2 Floatzel and a Buizel for the win, funny stuff.

Reshiphlosion should have 4-2-4 Typhlosion and at least 3 Rare Candy imo. Ninetales as Catcher fodder? Sure, go ahead and Catcher it and let me set up two Typhlosions, thanks lots :) - and if people twig to this, you get extra draw, which is also good. I like a 1-1 line if anything though.

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

KGL Ross decks with Tropical Beach are pretty fun to watch - some guy with one was about to lose vs a Blastzel, but then he used Tidal Wave and killed 2 Floatzel and a Buizel for the win, funny stuff.

Reshiphlosion should have 4-2-4 Typhlosion and at least 3 Rare Candy imo. Ninetales as Catcher fodder? Sure, go ahead and Catcher it and let me set up two Typhlosions, thanks lots :) - and if people twig to this, you get extra draw, which is also good. I like a 1-1 line if anything though.

I'm down with that, as long as there's no thick 3-3 line running around. The bench loves it's space.

And yeah... KGL is pretty badass I gotta admit. But with the advent of super rod, I can see some decks using a lot of junk arming combos, and maybe some old energy discarding favourites seeing new use outside of poke's like typhlosion and emboar.

 

[Shiki1335]

I been running a t-tar,yanmega deck with a quite alot of success. Just having problems finding one more rare candy for the deck.

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

I been running a t-tar,yanmega deck with a quite alot of success. Just having problems finding one more rare candy for the deck.

As a big fan of T-Tar... I am curious. What's your list if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Shiki1335]

poks-24
4-2-4 t-tar
3-3 yan
2-Cleffa
3-2 Houndoom
2 Tornadus

trainers-19
4-Catcher
2-PONT
2-Juniper
3-Collector
3-Rare candy
2-junk arm
2-Communication
1-Copy cat
17
4-special dark
10-dark
3-Double color

Tornadus gives a quick Donk and allows me to setup up a little faster. It looks slow but I have been testing this FOR ALONG TIME. Hound laughs at reshi based decks.

 

[Mekkah]

You don't need Houndoom for the OHKO on Reshiram or Gothitelle for that matter, special dark takes care of that, and even if not, Darkness Howl does a fine job against both of them.

 

[Shiki1335]

I like my houndoom for the fact that its a quick and easy ko. T-tar takes alittle time to setup.

 

[ParaChomp]

Dear God! It might be illegal if playing with tournament rules but the combo of Drakrai Level X and Notable Victories Hydriegon is amazing!

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

Dear God! It might be illegal if playing with tournament rules but the combo of Drakrai Level X and Notable Victories Hydriegon is amazing!

"To the opponent's active pokemon."

Doesn't apply to bench. But it would be great to attach 2 DCE and hit for 100 and 40 to two bench.

And yeah, Shiki... I don't get how Houndoom laughs at reshi decks... Unless you... catchered out a typhlosion and chomped it for 70? Guaranteeing a 2HKO? That would actually be useful and viable, but a TTar with 2 special darks would also do the job. Or just a TTar that spread 20 to everything at the start as he set up.

 

[ParaChomp]

"To the opponent's active pokemon."

Doesn't apply to bench. But it would be great to attach 2 DCE and hit for 100 and 40 to two bench.

I'm aware of that but 180 per turn (200 with an Expert Belt) up against a Pokemon with 150 HP (170 with an Expert Belt) can cause a lot of destruction unless a bulky wave of Fighting-types are sent against you.

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

It's true, but when you get to unlimited decks, you can be pretty ridiculous with how you do things. Hydreigon still just gets 2 shotted by any non-fighting, and can't KO what's in front of him. That's the big problem :\ I mean, if you were to hit a dragon with that, they'd just outrage for 120 without even needing to set up their main attack.

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

Noble Victories Released Today!

What cards are you looking forward to most? Any new deck ideas you're testing?

I've got a Durant build up and running, with half-decent success. Definitely works well against slow decks like trainer lock, especially with disruption. Obviously has big troubles with Reshiram, but if you get your setup fast enough, it can stand a chance. Thinking of teching a reshiram counter in some fashion but not sure what I could use. Gothitelle is completely stopped, despite the trainer lock. Zekrom is really fast... and might be too fast for Durant to handle. But if you get 1st turn you have a chance. MegaZone is stopped pretty well too, just because 1 special metal puts Durant outside of Yanmega 1HKO donk. Tech cards: Rotom (UD), Weavile (UD), Smoochum (CoL). Sneasel/Smoochum increase the number of good starters, and smoochum works well against low energy decks mid-game when you've milled through some energy or key pokemon. Weavile provides disruption to prevent your opponent from getting to 1HKO range on durant within the crucial first turns. Rotom... essential for the deck if you have prized durants. I also am running rainbow energies to use Rotom's attack for the surprise knockout when you get the chance. I could post the list I'm currently working with if people are interested.

Definitely making a Kyurem deck, possible trainer lock with beartic. Possibly with Feraligatr/Samurott. Possibly with Feraligatr/Beartic? It'll be fun to test out.

Cobalion! <3. Cobalion/KlingKlang/Scizor deck in the making. Already have a KlingKlang Scizor that works decently well, but Cobalion will make the process that much better thanks to the extra 20 HP he starts out with (over Scizor). This deck uses Max Potion and KlingKlang with special metals (and maybe eviolite now) to move energies off your main attacker, max potion, then move energies back on. Scizor counters decks with special metals and smoochum can be used as starter to move special metals around giving Scizor key immunities. It might also be useful with Cobalion and his 1st attack, though probably not that important. Will be working on this decklist in the next couple days. Might tech a Fliptini in, in case KlingKlang gets catcher'd out. It's a pretty scary idea to face a deck where the energy accel can tank a hit (140 HP ftw), and then attack back for 160. Coupled with max potion, any of your pokemon function as a main attacker. And with Klingklang, you can move metal energies around to reduce the risk of catcher ruining your day by taking all your energies out at once (i.e. only keep active what needs to be active, and when possible, protect your bench if it needs a metal for protection).

+

Finally, Eelektrik+Raichu Prime. Including Zekrom tech and maybe Lanturn tech. Raichu hits for 120 per turn, no negative consequence. But without the eviolite boost, don't know whether it'll work well enough. This deck functions on similar principles to other Stage 1 Decks, except you can discard electric energy into discard using Juniper, Sages and Engineers adjustments without fear. Throw in Pluspowers for both Raichu and Zekrom to use and you have a decently strong deck. Lanturn is teched in (probably 2-2) to deal with Donphan, and Reshiram easily, though not sure how well Lanturn/Raichu will fair. But hey, Stage 1 Decks work already right? And you have Zekrom for consistency and an easy basic. You could run eviolite and defender for Zekroms, and Lanturn can also use defenders to some extent.

Anyone got any other ideas for decks? I like the idea of a Chandelure trainer lock/reuniclus deck. Fliptini is also fairly interesting, but what attackers would work best with it is something not many people have looked at yet. The Leavanny that removes weaknesses might be interesting for fire-weak pokemon like Steel and Grass to try and make a comeback. Grass might make use of Meganium prime, Serperior or Torterra (UL). Leavanny (EP 08) on the outside with Fliptini...

 

[asianaussie]

Most things in NV are playable, especially at leagues etc, but the things that could actually cause a splash in the metagame are likely N, Kyurem and Cobalion (and the trainers). Vanilluxe could also be irritating. Durant could definitely take some decks by surprise. Hydreigon is in the same boat as TTar, still a tad slow. It's playable though.

Archeops is too slow and requires too much dedication imo...I really wanted to play it with Kyurem and PDL, but it's frustrating with Zekrom and Catcher in the format.

 

[gabe lavail]

I just cried a little bit :/

 

[FearZeCrawdaunt]

Most things in NV are playable, especially at leagues etc, but the things that could actually cause a splash in the metagame are likely N, Kyurem and Cobalion (and the trainers). Vanilluxe could also be irritating. Durant could definitely take some decks by surprise. Hydreigon is in the same boat as TTar, still a tad slow. It's playable though.

Archeops is too slow and requires too much dedication imo...I really wanted to play it with Kyurem and PDL, but it's frustrating with Zekrom and Catcher in the format.

It's scary, but my Durant just won our local tourney. Just a small 9 person swiss with 4 top cut, but still. Not to be taken lightly, though I have to say I like my build more than pure durant (i.e. 2 Rotom, 4 Durant). Other than that, I'd say a big impact on the metagame will be Super Rod. It'll just increase the usability of Sages Training, Junk Arm and Juniper even more. I'm expecting at least 1 teched into every non-trainer lock deck within 2 months.

I just cried a little bit :/

Wha...?