> >I have won about 4 tournaments with this deck and
> i'm
> undefeated with
> >it (but
> >there were some close calls with fire). This is the
> first deck I put
> >together
> >and i hope you like it.
> >
> >Pokemon - 22
> >
> >4 - Scythers
> >3 - 2 - 2 - Venusaur
> >3 - 2 - 2 - Nidoking
> >2 - 2 - Clefable
> >
> >Trainers - 19
> >
> >4 - Pokemon Traders
> >3 - Pokemon Centers
> >2 - Pokemon Breeders
> >2 - Computer Searches
> >2 - Professor Oaks
> >2 - Switches
> >2 - Gust of Winds
> >1 - Item Finder
> >1 - Super Energy Removal
> >
> >Energy - 19
> >
> >17 - Plant Energy
> >2 - Double Colorless Energy
> >
> >
> >    This deck provides you with many options.
> Overall
> the goal is to
> >get
> >Venusaur out quick and pound your opponent with
> rotating Scythers. Then
> >when
> >they are all damaged you simply move all the energy
> to Venusaur or an
> >undamaged pokemon and you have a fully healed
> bench.
> Then you just
> >continue
> >the beating. But in situations with fire pokemon
> you
> use the trainers
> >to
> >bring out Clefairy and Clefable to start hrting
> fast
> and the Nidoking
> >line
> >can build up on the bench for toxic.
>
> ***
>
> Interesting. A first deck, you say? Not bad at all.
> You've made a few mistakes--evolutions could be
> better, and you seem to enjoy energy-screwing
> yourself--but nothing some strong antidepressants
> won't fix. I'm curious what kind of tournaments this
> deck won. Were they big deals where everybody was
> playing Haymaker, or smaller, more informal gigs?
> Other than that, my only real question is--WHERE, OH
> WHERE did you come up with that ORIGINAL name for
> your
> deck??? :-)
>
> 1) I see some things I like: Venusaur, Nidoking, and
> Scyther. In addition, Metronome is extremely useful
> against Fire-types--most of which have attacks
> (Agility, Fire Blast, etc.) which can become very
> annoying when metronomed. The trouble with this deck
> is the same as with most decks that try to run
> multiple Stage 2 families. Because a Stage 2 family
> almost always should be at least 4-3-2 to be
> effective, you're burning 9 card slots on one
> Pokemon
> family. This adds up very quickly. Let's see...if we
> have 4-3-2 Venusaur, 4-3-2 Nidoking, and 3-2
> Clefable,
> plus 4 Scythers, that means that the Pokemon alone
> are
> sucking up 27 card slots. This will leave us with
> very
> little space for anything else. As a result of all
> this, I'm going to have to grit my teeth and pull
> Nidoking--something I *really* hate to have to do,
> but
> it doesn't seem to be as critical to the theme as
> Venusaur. Now...we need a good psychic-weak Pokemon,
> preferably Stage 1, in order to counteract the fire
> weakness. I'd recommend Golbat because of its
> fighting
> resistance, no retreat cost, and ability to heal
> itself with Leech Life. Make no mistake, these and
> Clefable are merely stop-gap measures. If you're
> building a deck with Venusaur and Scyther and you
> meet
> some strong fire Pokemon, you are most likely made
> and
> stand a slim chance of winning unless you can get
> Clefable very quickly.
>
> 2) I don't think you REALLY need 4 Traders and 2
> Searches. I know you need to pull the good cards,
> but--geez! 3 or 4 Computer Searches should be enough
> for anyone. You need Bills, too--I've temporarily
> run
> out of snide comments for people who don't use
> Bills,
> so you'll just have to think up your own. The
> Centers
> and Breeders fit in well with the deck's theme. I'm
> going to take the Item Finder and the SER out
> (having
> only one of any trainer is rather pointless in most
> cases) and fit some normal ER in. The switches
> should
> go, because your only Pokemon with a high retreat
> cost
> is Venusaur (now that we've ditched Nidoking) and
> hopefully it won't be active that much of the time.
> The GOW can stay unless we really, really need room.
>
> 3) Oh yeah. You need more Grass energy. Put more of
> it
> in; we'll find the slots someplace. Also, with the
> addition of Golbat, another DCE might be in order.
>
> ***
>
> 22 Pokemon:
>
> 3  Scyther
> 4 Bulbasaur
> 3 Ivysaur
> 2 Venusaur
> 3 Clefairy
> 2 Clefable
> 3 Zubat
> 2 Gobat
>
> 15 Trainers:
>
> 3 Computer Search
> 2 Pokemon Center
> 2 Pokemon Breeder
> 3 Bill
> 2 Oak
> 3 Energy Removal
>
> 23 Energy:
>
> 20 Grass Energy
> 3 DCE
>
> ***
>
> Once again, I've been faced with the unenviable task
> of fixing a deck that's been crammed too full for
> its
> own good. I chose here to review the deck in a
> manner
> that was somewhat consistent with your theme, and I
> had an eye out for Fire weakness. But you could
> always
> just say "screw it" and let the weakness stay in
> there. I mean, I mostly enjoy playing mono-fire, and
> I
> don't complain when I get drubbed by water
> decks--it's
> just the facts of life. A Venusaur deck isn't going
> to
> be winning that many *serious* tournaments anyway.
> (The tournaments in your area must be pretty light
> if
> a deck like this goes undefeated--wish I could play
> there!)