Dear trainers,
This article
is related to the state of Pokemon, but it focuses on the
analysis and strategies for the most recent decks. This does not
exclude
decks like Haymakers and Rain Dance, however. I'll start with
general
key cards to serious tournament play, then go in depth with a number
of
decks.
I) Cards that almost most serious trainers use and why:
1) Professor Oak - This is almost a must for all decks.
Tournaments,
especially ones that are timed and decided based the number of prizes
a
person draws, begs for speed and to some extent, raw power. Thus, it
is
usually not the place to try exotic strategies (Magikarp, Gyarados,
Recall, for instance).
Counters: Lass and/or Rocket Sneak Attack early.
2) Cleffa - Again, almost a must if one wants to win tournaments.
This
is even more "abused" than Professor Oak. This card can serve as
a
short-term staller while you get some of your lost firepower
back.
Counters: Use some kind of hand Trapper strategy/tactics and force
the
person to use Eeeeeeek more. You'll get to KO the Cleffa
easier. Right
after they do Eeeeeeek, Lass or do something drastic.
3) Professor Elm - Better for evolution decks, but may work just as
well
in any other decks. Or it could be a drawing combination with
Professor
Oak. Tough to make a call for which one is the "absolute" best, but
I
give the best draw-power card contest to Professor Oak. Most
decks
function faster and more efficient with Professor Oaks.
Counters: Similar to Cleffa, Lass right after they played Elm. Cut
their
hand size down as much as you can.
4) Gold Berry - This belongs to just about every competitve deck.
Almost
a free Super Potion.
Counters: Knock the Pokemon out before and without activating Gold
Berry
Example: Scyther vs. Electrabuzz or Fossil Magmar - Slash for 30,
then
Slash with Pluspower for KO.
5) Computer Search - you should expect this in every competitive deck.
Discarding the wrong cards can cost you the game, though.
Strategy - priority of cards: a) most Trainers b) Energies c) Pokemon.
This is the general guide to discard the right cards so it won't
haunt
you later in the game. Discarding Pokemon is the least costly of
the
options unless you run a Wigglytuff or Sneasel deck. More on
the
Wigglytuff / Sneasel deck later.
6) Item Finder - same as Computer Search, except you only pick off
trainers
Strategy - priority of trainers: a) Draw power (preferably Oak) b)
Gold
Berry / Energy Removal / Gust of Wind / Super Energy Removal c) Other
trainers. Rule of thumb is to go with the card that gives you many
more
options, then disrupt the opponent or finish off the opponent.
Counters: same as dealing with decks with a lot of trainers - Lass is
your best friend.
7) Lass - when to use this is a tough question sometimes. When you
have
no other (useful) options in your hand, Lass your opponent. Do this
as
early as possible because in the late game it usually wouldn't have
as
much of an impact.
Counters: Don't take any chances. If you have only one Basic
Pokemon to
start with, or if you have few options left other than something
leading
to a draw option (Oak), then use it early rather than late. Chances
are,
you'll lose fast if you lose the draw option.
8) Rocket's Sneak Attack - same as Lass, except you would use this in
a
heavy-trainer deck (about 25+).
9) Gust of Wind - important for winning matches nowadays. It makes
every
KO easier because it can plunder through key Pokemon (Wigglytuff,
evolutions, or anyone else) hiding in the bench. Also, it doesn't
simply
let the opponent retreat and get away with it.
Counters: Don't play more Pokemon than you can charge up and support,
while not running out of Pokemon (Exception to Sneasel and Wigglytuff
decks).
10) Gym or Stadium cards - Choose two or three copies of the same gym
that fits best into your deck. Some include two copies of a gym and
add
a Chaos Gym to slap the game down. Sprout Tower, No Removal Gym,
Ecogym
are the most commonly used. Rocket's Minefield Gym and Chaos Gym
are
likely to show up as well.
II) Tournament Winning Decks
1) Sneasel - there are many decks revolves around Sneasel, mixed with
anything from Dark Vileplume to Wigglytuff.
Winning conditions:
a) Full Bench - probably needs this to secure a win. Constantly
apply
pressure to avoid a full bench.
b) Energies - deny them to their death. Tough to compete against
No
Removal Gym and Ecogyms. Hopefully you can catch your opponent
offguard
with your own Gyms.
2) Wigglytuff - there are various decks using Wigglytuff as a main
attacker, ranging its support from Rocket's Zapdos, Sneasel, or Old
Haymaker starters (Electrabuzz, Hitmonchan, Fossil Magmar). Newer
type
of fast beatdown deck.
Winning conditions:
a) Full Bench - in order to make Wigglytuff consistent, try to play
more
Free retreat Pokemon (Cleffa, Scyther, etc.) and minimize higher
retreat
cost Pokemon such as Electrabuzz or Rocket's Zapdos.
b) Energies - always target Double Colorless as your priority. If
you
play this deck, put a Recycle or some other energy that is not Double
Colorless until it needs to attack. Leaving Double Colorless on
Pokemon
is bad strategy.
Additional Note: Discarding - If you need to discard, then keep what
wins
you the game (Wigglytuff, Oak, maybe Pluspower). Hard question at
some
occasions that I can't give an absolute answer myself.
3) Dark Vileplume / Slowking - these decks are slowly losing its
power
with the Neo Discovery Igglybuff stopping these decks cold.
Winning conditions:
a) Board Control - timing is critical. Ideally, play Dark
Vileplume
right before you get to Mean Look a Cleffa or some weak Pokemon.
Slowking decks can be played more aggressively. In fact, the
more
Slowkings you have out, the more difficult it is for the opponent.
Use
caution against Magby and Igglybuff.
b) Triggering Confusion for Dark Vileplume (or simply keeping control
of
the Trainers)- Full Heal Energies work well with this deck. When
you
need to play trainers, have a Dark Gloom and Pollen Stench the Dark
Vileplume. If the Dark Vileplume is confused, play every Trainer
you
need to play, Lass the opponent (as needed), then retreat with a Full
Heal energy attached. This makes games very one-sided.
4) Haymakers - far from dead. Can certainly win tournaments by
anti-everything.
Winning Conditions:
a) Gym Control - important so you can effectively deny energy
resources
of your opponent. Focus on Sprout Tower.
b) Pressure - any Haymaker that cannot pressure the opponent almost
every
turn will lose. Counter carefully against Gold Berries (as
mentioned
earlier).
5) Rain Dance - disappeared from the tournament scene for quite a while.
Could this deck dominate again?
Winning Conditions:
a) Early Stall and Damage soaking - just about any evolution decks
need
this to win. It is rather unfortunate that Erika's Dratini and Mr.
Mime
don't work well anymore (Magby, maybe Igglybuffs). Chansey is
arguably
the most reliable in the early going. Use Super Energy Removals in
this
deck.
b) Heavy Card Drawing - part of Rain Dance in order to retreive more
Water Energies and other Essentials.
c) Instant KOs - another important essential because you need the work
of
evolutions to pay off big.
Strategy: Pokemon Selection - With Blastoise, Pokemon Breeders, and
perhaps one Wartortle as the core of your deck, you need to choose
some
other Pokemon to round your team out well. Promo Articuno and
Lapras
will shut down Mr. Mime. Two of either of these is sufficient
because
most decks don't rely on Mr. Mime at all. Fossil Articuno is great,
as
well as Wooper. Reliable attackers - probably Gyarados and
Misty's
Gyarados. Misty's Gyarados has better firepower and attack power,
and
serves you well in destroying almost any Pokemon. Don't sweat with
the
drawback (Rebellion). Just be careful with Gust of Wind.
6) Original Decks - the only competitive one was Koga's Beedrill in
the
unlimited tournaments. It utilizes nasty effects, Paralysis and
Poison
together to shut down the opponent's Pokemon.
Ideas:
1) Pure Psychic - featuring Espeon: this deck utilizes timing. When
the
opponent has energies attached, attack with Psychic for good chunk of
damage. This deck needs Resistance Gym and a lot of Energy
Removals.
2) Status Ailments - using Neo Discovery Beedrill and Butterfree:
needs
Pokemon Breeders to quickly shut the game down. Also needs a lot
energy
denial as part of the winning condition.
3) Combinations - Magikarp / Gyarados/ Recall - utilizes Flail to
defeat
the opponent. Ideally, attach a Gold Berry right before it attacks
for
massive damage. Then heal the damage. This deck can beat
Haymakers at a
consistent basis if you have Ecogym to defend against Energy Removal
strategies.
Problems of Evolution decks - if your deck is based on a certain card
to
trigger everything else (Blastoise, Venusaur, Meganium, etc.), then
if
that Pokemon falls, everything else in your deck will probably fall
as
well. Also, the Basics form are good target for Gust of
Wind. Be
careful not to leave them stranded on the Bench. Promo Eevee
with
Pokemon Power Chain Evolution can avoid this problem (Rules Compendium).
You can use that Power to evolve right when it comes into play (be
careful with Magby, though). Eevee evolution decks may be very
competitve. Fire decks, given time to evolve and stall, can be
vicious
too.
Closing Comments - winning consistently is not considered "normal".
Normal means average, and if you win most of the time, it means you
are
superior. The Pokemon TCG Guide emphasizes how coin flips are
bad. It's
bad! Unfortunately, with the number of babies popping up in almost
every
deck will force you to go for coin flips. This can become a factor
of
luck rather than skill. Nevertheless, avoiding match-ups with Babies
is
not a solution. Instead, just eventually KO them with one hit so
they
don't bug you (hopefully) again. If you don't win consistently with
your
deck in a tournament, don't give up on it. However, make changes to
the
deck to "metagame" the region. Then, if you still don't win, then
you
know the deck mechanics or/and concepts are not working. Try a
different
deck. I personally travel to many stores to play simply because I
want
to see the full potential of my deck. I'll be aggressive in
preparing
for WCSTS Qualifiers for September. I'll post some more deck reports
and
articles as time permits. Thanks for reading. If you have any
questions
or e-mail, sent them to:
dragonlord53@juno.com
Sincerely,
William Hung
________________________________________________________________
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