Incredibly Annoying Stall: Part IV
(by Will)

    I played this deck at my local Pokémon League, at Toys 'R' Us in Carle
Place, New York.  The matches here spanned two weeks, as one day at the
league is rarely enough for a report.
    It's been quite a while since I sent in a report for my Incredibly
Annoying Stall.  I decided not to take it apart, because it's the best deck
I've made so far. At my local League, it had lost once! Sure, archetypes get
boring after a while, but since no one around here has a Stall (or enough
strategy to use a Stall) I decided that this would be the perfect deck for
me. It changes often now, even if it's just substituting a Psy energy for
another NGR. It's quite an effective deck, and has beaten every major
archetype to date. This awesome update includes Dark Kadabra and Dark
Alakazam, which are here as a "Hit And Run" sort of effect with Chanseys. 
Dark Kadabra's Pokémon Power is very helpful at times, even though it's not
really a power for a Stall deck. NGR counters the discard as well as the
extra draw easily.
    For anyone not familiar with my Incredibly Annoying Stall (or any Stall
decks for that matter), Stall decks are specifically made to run your
opponent out of cards while making it a complete forfeiture of experience for
your opponent.  Matches against a Stall deck can last for well over an hour.
They require lots of strategy. Typical Stalls have Alakazam because of its
Damage Swap Pokémon Power, as well as Chanseys to soak up damage. Some have
Mr. Mimes so the opponent can't attack, while others have Movie Mewtwo. The
main objective is to avoid attacks (Invisible Wall, Scrunch) or swap damage
to benched Chanseys. Then Pokémon Center cleans all the damage up in a flash.
My particular Stall deck uses the unlikely Tentacool. It's a target for Gust
of Wind, but can help in many situations. It's a Potion in Pokémon form that
can be used every turn. Swap two damage counters to Tentacool, use Cowardice
to scoop it up fast, then play it on your bench right after. Another great
strategy involving Tentacool is to Cowardice, and when it's in your hand you
can now play another Benched Pokémon, or use it as discarding material for
Computer Search. It's also useful for Pokémon Trader. Now, here's the
infamous Incredibly Annoying Stall Deck!!!

Pokémon (18)

4 Abra (Team Rocket Expansion.)
Good basic here. HP are improved, same Psyshock attack, and new Vanish power
makes this card the perfect replacement for the Base Set Abra. The only thing
that got worse was the retreat cost. It's essential for Alakazam and Dark
Alakazam. 

2 Kadabra (Base Set.)
If I can't find a Breeder in time, these will do. The HP and retreat are
sub-average, but Recover makes up for the lousy HP and the awesome Super Psy
can take out anything weak to Psy in one hit.

1 Dark Kadabra (Team Rocket Expansion.)
Since there are two Breeders, I decided to put just one of these in. One's
certainly enough, and it's actually a decent card. The HP are awful, but it
has an interesting Power that works incredibly well with Nightly Garbage run.
It's attack is strong too, because it still does the full damage to a
Psy-resistant Pokémon. Dark Kadabra is also required for Dark Alakazam,
unless there's a Breeder readily available.

2 Alakazam (Base Set.)
What can I say? This is one of the most useful cards ever made. Its HP are
acceptable for its high stage of evolution because of its awesome Pokémon
Power. Confuse Ray can be used as a last resort, as it does some decent
damage and Confusion is a very nasty side effect.

1 Dark Alakazam (Team Rocket Expansion)
One of these is enough, as it's a very situational card. Easy to find with
Computer Search, and it's quite strong. Teleport Blast is cool, and is the
Hit and Run portion of the deck. Teleport Blast for some good damage, switch
Dark Alakazam with Chansey to stall, and retreat Chansey for just one energy.
Teleport Blast makes up for its lousy HP, as it's rarely active.

4 Chansey (Base Set.)
The ultimate wall. Highest HP in existence so far (tied with Charizard,
Giovanni's Nidoking, and an undisclosed Pokémon said to appear in the second
Neo series), very low retreat, and two nice attacks. Scrunch can prevent
damage completely, which can shut down an all-out offensive deck, and
Double-Edge is an ideal kamikaze-type last resort. An interesting strategy is
to swap 11 damage counters to Chansey and Double-Edge. It takes out most
Pokémon in one hit, and ditches 11 damage counters in play as well. Gotta
love this card!

2 Tentacool (Fossil Expansion)
The only Fossil card that had an impact on this deck, it's also an important
part. Takes two damage counters, then Cowardice. Can be used every turn after
he's in play, and is one of the coolest Powers for a weak Pokémon.

2 Jynx  (Base Set.)
Main attacker. Meditate is extremely powerful, and has excellent HP. Seen as
the Hitmonchan of Psychic Pokémon because of their attacks, HP, and retreat.
Attacks very well and is the ideal starting basic.

Trainer Cards (25)

2 Computer Search
Very useful. Discard some Pokémon and Energy you don't need to get exactly
what you're looking for, and then the discarded cards can be shuffled back
with Nightly Garbage Run. It gets you any card in your deck, making it a
great card for almost any deck.

3 Pokémon Center
Swap all your damage to a few Chanseys and other Pokémon with no energy and
play this to screw up your opponent's plans. The energy discard is no problem
with Nightly Garbage Run.

4 Energy Removal
There is no drawback to using this card. It might seem lame because it only
ditches one energy, but it's amazing how great it really is. Say they have an
energy-intensive Pokémon that's finally fully-pumped, and they want to attach
to something else. Make them discard an energy off their fully-pumped
Pokémon, and nine times out of ten they'll end up attaching their next energy
to the Pokémon you just hit with ER instead of the other one, preventing them
from building up any other Pokémon.

2 Super Energy Removal
Even more annoying than Energy Removal. The energy discard for you is
meaningless when you have Nightly Garbage Run.

3 Nightly Garbage Run
Sure, it can't get back Trainer cards, but it will make your deck bigger,
recycle energy, and bring a fainted Pokémon back to your deck, ready for
Computer Search. It's amazing how great this card is, especially since it's
Uncommon.

2 Pokémon Breeder
Essential (well, not essential, but awesome nonetheless) for Alakazam or Dark
Alakazam. Helps get Alakazam out very fast--perhaps second turn!

2 Pokémon Trader
Very underrated, and a nice card for this deck. After you've Cowardiced
yourself silly with Tentacool, return it to your hand once more, play this,
and shuffle the Tentacool back in favor of any Pokémon you need at the
moment. Nothing wrong with that!!

3 Gust of Wind
I recently read an article saying that this and Switch don't belong in
stalls. Well, the person who posted that is very, very wrong. Stalls very
well when you grab one of their Pokémon with a high retreat and no energy, or
can take something weak out so it can get pounded by Jynx.

2 Switch
Another card that sees great use in this deck. If Alakazam's stuck active,
this brings him back in favor of Chansey or Jynx. Also great if you've been
ER'd to death and you need to bench your Chansey.

2 Scoop Up
Mainly for Chansey, or perhaps Jynx. Simple strategy. Swap to Chansey, Scoop
Up, play Chansey again.
 
Energy (17)
15 Psychic Energy

2 Double Colorless Energy

Now, on to the tourney report.

Match One: Against Little Kid with Psychic deck
I had to be quite careful during this match because most of my Pokémon are
weak to Psychic. Besides that little setback, this was an easy match. I
mulligan twice, and he draws his bonus cards. In typical Stall fashion, all
damage done to me was swapped to Chansey and I Pokécenter. He gets some
attacks in and knocks out a Chansey, but runs into a severe problem later on.
He didn't realize I was trying to deck him for a while, and wishes he could
take back the Bills and Oaks he used earlier. He decks, and I win!!

Match Two: Against Haymaker
Simple match. He gets Hitmonchan and Scyther in his first draw, I get Jynx, Ch
ansey, and Abra. He constantly attacked Chansey with Jab until I ER and
Pokémon Center. Jynx destroyed Hitmonchan effortlessly within the next two
turns, and Chansey's Double Edge killed Scyther instantly.

Match Three: Against Rain Dance.
A difficult match for me. He gets a Dark Gyarados, Blastoise, and Articuno
fully pumped third turn. He pounded away at Chansey with his Dark Gyarados's
Ice Beam, while loading it up for Final Beam. But he runs into a severe
problem with the six water energy on Dark Gyarados. Alakazam is stuck active,
but luckily has three Psy energies on it. I confuse him, and his attack
damages itself for twenty more damage. I finish it off with Confuse Ray
again, and since Dark Gyarados was Confused, Final Beam couldn't be used!!! 
The game continues until he Oaks and Bills himself to death and decks. I win!

Match Four: Against a strong Fighting deck with Charizard.
This was quite an interesting match. My opponent's deck included four
Hitmonchans, four Hitmonlees, and the Charizard line. Luckily, it was
mono-fighting (no fire energy) so his Charmeleon couldn't Flamethrower
against me. He never got Charizard out. Here's how it went:
I get a god hand: Abra, Breeder, Alakazam, Chansey, 2 Psychic Energy, and a
Super Energy Removal. Later Jynx shows up, and that turns the game around
even more. He manages to get a Charmeleon in play with Double Colorless and
Fighting energies on it, but it soon lost to Jynx's cool Meditate power.
Ironically, he draws Charizard right after the death of his Charmeleon, and
never gets it in play. He makes a terrible mistake--he GOWs me and takes out
my Alakazam with two Psy energies and two damage counters on it (I needed a
place to put the excess damage when Chansey was already loaded with damage)
and High Jump Kicks, failing to knock out Alakazam. I attach a Psy and his
Hitmonlee's dead. He really would have screwed me up if he gusted out
Chansey, but he didn't realize he could do that until it was too late.
Eventually, he's out of basics and I win!

Match Five: Again, Fighting deck.
This game didn't finish because it was cut off at the end of the League. It
was pretty dull for the most part, because Alakazam and the four Chanseys
kept my Jynx fully healed while it Meditated constantly. Numerous Energy
Removals from both sides kept the game slower than expected. Our game is cut
off, but I'm declared the winner because there was no way he could have won
by prizes, and he would have decked in four turns.

Now, for the Props and Slops.

PROPS to Toys 'R' Us for holding another great Pokémon League!
PROPS to my deck for doing so well!
PROPS to Robert for holding off the annoying little girl sitting next to me
who kept taking cards out of my discard pile and throwing them across the room
PROPS to the guy who traded me holo Mew for a non-holo Kangaskhan!
PROPS to the girl who traded me another 1st edition Dark Raichu for my 1st
edition holo Dark Machamp!
SLOPS to the annoying little girl with the Haymaker who kept taking my cards
and throwing them, hiding them, or doing anything else to them I didn't
approve of.
SLOPS to the kid trying to get my Southern Islands Togepi for various non
holo Rocket cards.

Questions? Comments? E-mail me at Raiden9984@aol.com. Send all hatemail to
Microsoft.

-Will
(raiden9984@aol.com)