“I Like to Move it, Move it” All About Aromatisse!
Hello, my name is Elliot Sayles, and this is my first article for PokeBeach. I am grateful to be a part of the article writing team here and hope all of the readers here like my piece. Here is a little background on me: I am a rising Junior in High School, I plan on majoring in Chemistry / Chemical Engineering in College, and I’m a part of my High School’s Marching Band. One thing that sets me apart from other kids in my school is for my interest in the Pokemon Trading Card Game. I was never shy of being an affiliate of Pokemon throughout 
Middle and High School, and the kids at my school have adapted to my lifestyle.
I’ve been playing the game since Diamond & Pearl came out and haven’t stopped playing since. I didn’t really start playing competitive until 2013 where I made top 8 in a Regional Championship and top 64 in the National Championships. I feel that my schoolwork put a lot of restrictions on my ability to perform my best this last season, and because of that I only topped two Cities and barely made it to other events. Now that school is over, I have been practicing a lot more for upcoming League Challenges and City Championships this Fall. I am hopeful for this new season as a growing Master and hope you enjoy my first article for PokeBeach!
Intro
As Regional Championships and National Championships come to a close, people are looking for “The Play” for the World Championships. Other people are trying to find a casual deck to play at local League Challenges to get points for the 2016 season. One archetype that seemed to prove itself time and time again this season was Aromatisse. This archetype relies on getting a lot of Energy on board and using Pokemon like Mewtwo-EX, Florges-EX, or other attackers to hit for heavy damage and then to be completely healed next turn by a Max Potion or AZ. While this deck did not show up at Nationals, it has potential to be surprising, as many people aren’t playtesting against the Aromatisse variants. Aromatisse variants aren’t auto-pilot decks; they take skill and a lot of practice to master. Despite being so versatile with many options, not all Aromatisse variants will be the correct play for Worlds. I suggest you use most of these lists as a skeleton and not 60-card net-deck, as everyone plays their variants with their own techs and such.
Lysandre’s Trump Card Ban
I, like most people, like the ban, because I believe Lysandre's Trump Card was toxic to the game. Decks that drew thirty plus cards a turn were annoying to play against and were terribly boring to watch. How does that entice a new player to the game if turns take 10 whole minutes? At the same time, I dislike the time of when the card was banned. Maybe after U.S. Nationals, but not before it. This leaves people to scramble to possibly change their tested deck choice only a few weeks before the big event. Granted, this may be what Pokemon intended to do when they banned this card, but if they wanted a big tournament to showcase a major change in the format, they should have done that for Day One of Worlds. This year’s Day One has many more people in it than ever before and would be a great way to show legitimate talent with a tested list that isn’t reliant on any past performances of previous Nationals because of the ban.
Why Aromatisse?
Aromatisse appears to be a terrible choice for Worlds in the eyes of the players who only look to Nationals results. Sure, Metal decks are on the rise, but that doesn’t skew all Aromatisse variants from being played. Also, the “Aromatisse did not see much play at Nationals, so it won’t see any play at Worlds” idea is actually beneficial to the Aromatisse player. For example, Wailord-EX saw next to no play before Nationals, now every competitive player has that deck in their list of decks to test against. Aromatisse can easily fill in that Wailord-EX spot for Worlds as few people are playing it and the majority are not testing against it. It’s versatility also allows you to be ready for anything. If you correctly predict the meta and plan your techs accordingly, Aromatisse is a force to be reckoned with.
Here are the Aromatisse variants that I will be discussing in this article:
- FairyBox
- M Gardevoir-EX / Aromatisse
- M Rayquaza-EX / Aromatisse
FairyBox
This deck seems to be the most popular Aromatisse variant, performing well at many tournaments this season. The deck uses Rainbow Energy, Fairy Energy, and Double Colorless Energy to power up different types of attackers. The general idea of this deck is to assess your opponent’s deck and set up your field appropriately with the right Pokemon-EX that give you an advantage in the series. One of our Premium Writers, Kyle Haverland, popularized this particular variation after his top 4 finish at the Madison Regional Championships, and it performs very well. This is the Aromatisse deck that I think has the best chance to win Worlds. Here’s my take on the deck:
Pokemon (19) 1x Suicune (PLB #20) / 1x Sigilyph (PLF #118) |
Trainers (29) 4x Professor Juniper (PLF #116) 1x N (NVI #101) 1x Pokémon Fan Club (FLF #106)
|
Energy (12) |
Card Choices
3-2 Aromatisse Line
I like a 3-2 line of the Aromatisse line because it removes any complications. If one is Prized and the other one is KO’d, I don’t have to go digging through my deck for the one Sacred Ash. In addition, because we don’t run Mr. Mime, Pokemon that can snipe the Bench spell out death to Aromatisse, especially the Crobat line. If we can manage to get out two Aromatisse, the opponent will switch over to an actual threat on the board opposed to the Pokemon that the deck revolves around.
Seismitoad-EX
Two Seismitoad-EX are great for locking Items while giving you time to set up your field. Seismitoad-EX can also hit for a solid 130 damage with a Grenade Hammer. It even hits for Weakness on some popular Fighting types like Landorus-EX and Donphan.
Darkrai-EX
Darkrai-EX is used for its Ability, which grants free retreat. Darkrai can also hit for an easy KO on Trevenant and Gengar-EX, and deal 30 snipe damage.
Manectric-EX
Manectric-EX is a great attacker against Yveltal-EX, M Rayquaza-EX, Lugia-EX, and Shaymin-EX. It can also snipe with its first attack, Overrun.
Aegislash-EX
Aegislash-EX is used for its Ability, which is particularly useful against Seismitoad-EX, Primal Groudon-EX, and pretty much any other decks that run and rely on Special Energy.
Landorus-EX
Landorus-EX hits for Weakness on Manectric-EX, Raichu, and also snipes the Bench.
Malamar-EX
Malamar-EX is used to put the opponent to sleep, helping against almost all decks, especially against Seismitoad-EX, and can also be a last resort as a heavy hitter. You can attach an Energy to it, activate its Ability, then move the Energy off with Aromatisse. When combined with Seismitoad-EX’s Quaking Punch, they can’t play any switching cards to get out of sleep.
Trevenant-EX
Trevenant-EX hits Seismitoad-EX, Primal Groudon-EX, and Primal Kyogre-EX decks for Weakness. You can also stall your opponent with Dark Forest if they have a deck that relies on switching in and out of Pokemon.
Virizion-EX
Virizion-EX is played for its Ability, which blocks Hypnotoxic Laser and opposing Malamar-EXs. It is also a decent attacker against Seismitoad-EX.
Charizard-EX
Charizard-EX hits for Weakness on Metal and Virizion-EX / Genesect-EX decks. With a Muscle Band it can hit for 170, a “magic number” on a lot of Pokemon-EX.
Jirachi-EX and Shaymin-EX
Jirachi-EX and Shaymin-EX are for getting you out of a tough situation with their Abilities and are good fodder once a Sky Field is discarded. Shaymin-EX can also hit for a little damage and go back to your hand so you can reuse it.
Regirock
Regirock is awesome; you use him to make sure that your opponent can’t KO one of your Benched Pokemon with a Lysandre, knocking off all of your Energy, and also stops cards like Enhanced Hammer and Crushing Hammer as long as the Energy is on Regirock. Regirock also can get back Sky Fields with his first attack.
Suicune / Sigilyph
Suicune / Sigilyph help you stall until you get set up. They can also work with just a Double Colorless Energy and a Rainbow Energy to attack. The benefit of Suicune is the 10 extra HP and 20 extra damage. Sigilyph on the other hand is another type to hit for Weakness and only has one Retreat Cost. Because the benefits are very small, they are grouped together to let the reader choose which one they like more.
Xerosic
I originally thought that this was worse than Startling Megaphone, but I realized its versatility by testing it. For one, it can be used (though unlikely) six times with four VS Seeker and one Dowsing Machine. It will mainly be used to take off Team Flare Tools, remove a Tool off a Garbodor, or to remove a Special Energy. Megaphone can only remove your opponent’s Tools and can’t even do that under Item lock.
Sky Field
I play Sky Field over Fairy Garden because it allows my deck to not rely on the Stadium. With Fairy Garden, if it’s not in play, and assuming I do not run Darkrai-EX, I have to manually discard if I want to retreat, which is detrimental to this deck. Sky Field, while useful to me, is not too important to the deck’s strategy. People think that this card can be bad when you have a full Bench, but most of the time I can easily discard my set-up Pokemon (Jirachi-EX and Shaymin-EX), and a Pokemon who is damaged, Head Ringer‘d, or useless against the deck I am against.
Other Options
Yveltal-EX
Yveltal-EX can hit for quite a lot of damage, while conserving Energy, and is also good against Trevenant and Gengar-EX.
Mewtwo-EX
Mewtwo-EX is another heavy hitter (similar to Yveltal-EX) and can have its attack cost fulfilled by a Double Colorless Energy.
Cobalion-EX
Cobalion-EX is good against decks that rely on Special Energy (mainly Seismitoad-EX) and can be used to hit through Pokemon with Safeguard (Suicune and Sigilyph).
M Manectric-EX
M Manectric-EX is bulkier than Manectric-EX and allows you to accelerate Energy onto your field from the discard pile.
Bunnelby
Bunnelby can get you back Special Energy and other resources.
Xerneas
Xerneas accelerates Energy onto the field early on and can hit through Safeguard Pokemon.
Matchups
The point of this deck is to have an answer to everything (or an answer to everything present). My list only has a bit of trouble with Garbodor and Wobbuffet decks as I only run one Xerosic and one Lysandre. Despite the four VS Seeker, under Item lock, I can’t VS Seeker, and against Wobbuffet / Primal Groudon-EX, I can’t Lysandre around Wobbuffet unless there is a Groudon-EX on the field.
M Gardevoir-EX
This deck is a more consistent version of Aromatisse. It uses Xerneas‘ Geomancy to get a ton of Fairy Energy onto your Benched Pokemon so you can use M Gardevoir-EX‘s Brilliant Arrow for 30 times the amount of Fairy Energy in play. The deck can OHKO most Pokemon by turn three if set up correctly and uses Max Potion to heal off any damage done to M Gardevoir. The deck can also get even more Energy into play with Mega Turbo, which is amazing in this deck. Here is my list:
Pokemon (16) |
Trainers (32) 4x Professor Juniper (PLF #116) 3x N (NVI #101) 2x Pokémon Fan Club (FLF #106)
2x Gardevoir Spirit Link (PRC #130)
|
Energy (11) |
Card Choices
Xerneas
I originally played four Xerneas in this deck, but after testing, I felt like the deck only needed three. You need three or four Xerneas to make it more likely to start with it and Geomancy turn one. If you don’t, you lose a lot of valuable time. Its second attack is also useful against Safeguard Pokemon. You can get the discarded Energy back later in the game with a Mega Turbo.
Florges-EX
Florges-EX has two great attacks. Lead can help you get out of bad hands. Bright Garden, on the other hand, 2HKOs most Pokemon. It is very good against Seismitoad-EX because it doesn’t require that many Energy to use. Be careful when you play it because of its relatively low HP.
Mega Turbo
This card is amazing in here and the deck wouldn’t function well without it. Once you get a M Gardevoir-EX onto the field, you can Mega Turbo any discarded Energy onto it and move around the Energy with Aromatisse‘s Fairy Transfer. Combined with Ultra Ball, Computer Search, and Professor Juniper, it easily helps you stream Fairy Energy.
Exp. Share
This card is useful because it lets me save an Energy from being discarded. Usually, I’ll attach it to Regirock as my opponent can’t discard Tools attached to Regirock. Some people dislike this card because Energy in the discard can be retrieved with Mega Turbo, but keeping the Energy on the board is preferred in almost all situations.
0 Wonder Energy
I see many variants of this deck play Wonder Energy, but I don’t really see the point. It stops next to nothing when it comes to attacks, as most attacks do a ton of damage without any side effects. For example, the M Charizard-EX does 300 damage, but its effect only harms the user. Wonder Energy doesn’t stop Seismitoad-EX. It does stop cards like Groudon-EX‘s Rip Claw, but one Energy in the discard isn’t the end of the world. Lastly, the card is susceptible to Enhanced Hammer and Xerosic. This is bad considering we only run 11 Energy, and making sure that we have eight or nine in play at all times is crucial against certain decks.
Matchups
Night March
This deck can beat Night March if it plays correctly. The Night March player needs 10 Night Marchers in the discard plus a Muscle Band, or 11 Night Marchers in the discard to OHKO M Gardevoir-EX. It’s doable, so I’d suggest just attacking with Xerneas, Florges-EX, or even Shaymin-EX, and use M Gardevoir-EX as a wall later in the game.
Primal Groudon-EX
Both decks are pretty slow, so the matchup really comes down to who sets up first. One thing you must do is to concentrate your Energy onto Regirock. Because you can’t move your Energy around when Wobbuffet is Active, try to get an early Lysandre on a Benched Groudon-EX so you can gain access to your Abilities for the turn. Lastly, set up both M Gardevoir-EX, as your opponent will likely KO one of them, leaving the other one able to OHKO back. This deck is able to rebound after a Mega Pokemon is KO’d, whereas Primal Groudon-EX cannot.
M Rayquaza-EX
This deck is one of M Gardevoir-EX‘s worst matchups because it can consistently and quickly stream OHKOs. Without the Sky Field Stadium in play, the deck crumbles. If you can constantly knock out Sky Field, they can do a maximum of 150 damage, which is awesome because you can Max Potion all that damage away. If they run Ninetales, then go for their Shaymin-EX; they are free KOs and only need four Fairy Energy in play for M Gardevoir-EX to OHKO. If you can Lysandre them up and KO them, then you at least have a chance at winning.
Seismitoad-EX
This deck isn’t too threatening, as we have many ways to work around Item lock. If they run Crawdaunt, we can get more Energy from Benched Pokemon; so they’ll deal fifty damage a turn while we deal 180 plus damage. If they run Crobat, you’ll need to get out Spritzees as quickly as possible. Then, once you find AZ, use it conservatively to heal a Pokemon with a lot of damage on it. Against any Seismitoad-EX deck, Florges-EX and M Gardevoir-EX put on a lot of pressure and do so much damage against Seismitoad-EX that it makes the game easy to win.
M Manectric-EX
This deck is another easy win, as their only way to OHKO a M Gardevoir-EX is to run Black Kyurem-EX and Muscle Band, and even still, Black Kyurem-EX is not easy to set up. You OHKO everything and they 2HKO everything, so the game is heavily in your favor.
Metal
This is one of your hardest matchups, but it isn’t a complete auto-loss despite your Weakness to Metal. Gardevoir-EX‘s second attack blocks Weakness, but it is OHKO’d by Dialga-EX. If you feel as if Metal is a big presence in your area, you might want to switch out Florges-EX with Mewtwo-EX, but otherwise, just try to KO Pokemon they are setting up.
Raichu
Just like M Rayquaza-EX, Raichu variants are hard to beat, but aren’t unbeatable. For one, they need a full Bench, a Muscle Band, and 20 on the Active Pokemon, likely damage from a Golbat/Crobat, to get a OHKO on M Gardevoir-EX. This isn’t too difficult for the Raichu player, but it can be harder for them if you play correctly. One strategy is not to go for the M Gardevoir-EX right away. This is because early in the game, it is easier for the Raichu player to get a lot of Pokemon on the field, have many Sky Fields left in the deck, and have plenty of damage modifiers left. If we start the game with low Energy attackers like Florges-EX or Xerneas and attack later with M Gardevoir-EX, we should be in a good spot when we get to the late game.
Ray-Tisse
This deck is one of my favorite Aromatisse decks because it combines the most powerful Pokemon in the format with Aromatisse. Basically, if you can’t OHKO M Rayquaza-EX, it will be healed next turn. With Shaymin-EX, Mega Turbo, and Computer Search, there’s no doubt this deck runs consistently. Here’s a list I’ve been using:
Pokemon (16) |
Trainers (34) 4x Professor Juniper (PLF #116) 3x N (NVI #101)
3x Rayquaza Spirit Link (RSK #87) 1x Professor's Letter (XY #123)
|
Energy (10) |
Card Choices
M Rayquaza-EX
A 3-3 M Rayquaza-EX line is needed as the minimum of this deck. I see lists of M Rayquaza-EX decks that run a 3-2 or a 4-3 line of M Rayquaza-EX, but to me that’s just silly. Rayquaza-EX has pretty subpar attacks, so you need all the Rayquaza-EXs to Mega Evolve, which is why there are three M Rayquaza-EX. We do run Sacred Ash, but I don’t want the deck to rely on one card that could be Prized or in the discard pile.
Keldeo-EX
Keldeo-EX is to grant free retreat. The deck can’t run Fairy Garden because it needs Sky Field in the deck, and it also can’t run Darkrai-EX as changing the type of Energy would change the deck’s strategy. The remaining options are to run either a bunch of switching cards, or Keldeo-EX with Float Stone, but because I can attack with Keldeo-EX, I decided to go with it.
Colress
In a deck that runs Sky Field, Colress is a great card to run. Because both players try to take advantage of the Stadium in play, many times you’ll draw 12-16 cards off it. With VS Seeker you can reuse it over and over again. It will hopefully give you the combination of cards that you need.
0 Trainer’s Mail
I originally had two Trainers' Mail in my list, but I realized that this card wasn’t helping that much. The odds of me getting the Trainer card that I need out of the top four cards of my deck are slim, despite the concentration of Trainers / Supporters / Stadiums I run in the deck. Most of the time I’d rather have more Ultra Balls and Max Potions than Trainers’ Mail. Don’t get me wrong, Trainers’ Mail is a good card and should be played in any deck that has the room, but I felt there were better cards to play in this deck.
Matchups
Night March
This deck is a bit troubling for the Rayquaza-EX player as they run four Lightning-type Pokemon. My strategy is to focus on the Joltik, then when the time is right, focus on Mew-EX. It comes down to how fast the Night March player gets Energy on the field and Night Marchers in the discard.
Primal Groudon-EX
This matchup is somewhat even. The beginning of the match can be hard considering that we run so Pokemon that rely on Abilities (Keldeo-EX, Shaymin-EX, and Aromatisse). Once they switch out to Primal Groudon-EX, you have to be prepared. Regardless of how much Energy is on a Benched Primal Groudon-EX, make sure your Energy are spread out among all your Pokemon! They can Mega Turbo three Energy in one turn and Lysandre a Pokemon you were saving up to be your only heavy hitter. Also, make sure you use your Stadiums wisely, as they will not only replace your Stadium with theirs, but they also discard it with Gaia Volcano. Only put down Sky Field when you know you can hit 240 damage in that turn or if it is necessary to put it down.
M Rayquaza-EX
Most straight M Rayquaza-EX decks are a good matchup for you. If they miss a OHKO, you can heal it off, while they cannot heal your OHKOs. If this is the Raichu variant, you’ll most likely lose as there is no really good defense against Raichu. If it is the Metal version, then it is about 60-40 in your favor, as this deck is more consistent than Metal Ray.
Seismitoad-EX
This can be a tough match for you depending on the version. If it’s against the Garbodor version, try to get into a great position turn one. As the deck runs a lot of cards to discard Energy, a good strategy might be to load up a M Rayquaza-EX with a lot of Energy (you can’t move the Energy around with Aromatisse once Garbodor is out). Also, remember not to bench Keldeo-EX unless you need the extra damage from Emerald Break. Sure, a turn one Keldeo-EX and Float Stone sounds appealing, but once Garbodor is out, you can’t use Rush In for the rest of the game.
Metal
This deck should be easy for you to beat. They can’t consistently OHKO you and any damage they deal you can Max Potion off. In addition, Dialga-EX and Aegislash-EX are not real threats as Chrono Wind is negated by Keldeo-EX, and Aegislash-EX’s Ability doesn’t matter against a M Rayquaza-EX with three Fairy Energy attached.
Raichu Variants
This would be one of the auto-losses this deck faces. There are no real solutions to Raichu for this deck. What you can do is to try to Lysandre around Raichu and KO their Benched Shaymin-EX. If you can stream three consecutive turns of Shaymin-EX KOs, then you win the game.
M Manectric-EX
This is the other auto-loss. Again, you have to rely on being able to attack first and get the first KO on a M Manectric-EX or Manectric-EX. One strategy is to target Manectric-EX and not put a tool onto M Rayquaza-EX. This is risky, as the opponent could run Flare Tools, but this strategy would be effective if you were sure that they did not run those type of cards.
Rouge / Other Aromatisse Contenders
These decks do not see any play competitively, but one thing to learn in Pokemon is to expect the unexpected. Don’t assume a deck is bad just because you have never played against it before; sometimes those rogue decks end up doing well at bigger tournaments (The Truth, RaiEggs, Wailord-EX, etc.). Here are two Aromatisse variants I toyed around with online only to be pummeled by most other competitive decks.
Seisma-Tisse
This deck uses Seismitoad-EX, Aromatisse, and Malamar-EX as the centerpieces of the deck. Every turn you put the opponent’s Active Pokemon to sleep with Malamar-EX or Hypnotoxic Laser, and heal off damage done to Seismitoad-EX when needed. Your opponent can’t play any Items due to Seismitoad’s Item lock, so it can be difficult for your opponent to get out of sleep. This deck has trouble doing enough damage in the current format, but could be okay with the right metagame.
Classic Aromatisse
This deck is considered to be the most consistent of all the Aromatisse decks because it isn’t gimmicky in any way. It relies on Xerneas to Geomancy two Fairy Energy onto Benched Pokemon and then use Pokemon like Florges-EX, Mewtwo-EX, Xerneas-EX, Diancie-EX/M Diancie-EX, and Xerneas to attack, then heal with AZ or Max Potion. The issues with these types of decks are it has no tricks or surprising cards, it is very lackluster damage-wise, and has many unfavorable matchups. Similarly to Seisma-Tisse, it can perform in the right metagame, but I wouldn’t expect it to well at any big tournaments.
Closing
I’ll reiterate that I want all of my lists to be guidelines and not “Control C, Control V” decks. I have tested with my own personal preferences, but many reading this article will have different tastes in all of the builds listed above. Some of you will likely think to themselves “why is he running this card? I’d much rather run X over Y!” The lists above are ideas that the reader should use to adapt to their own style and meta when it comes to their lineup.
Lastly, thank you to PokeBeach for allowing me to write for them, anyone who helped me write my article, and everyone else for reading my article! I hope it helped you understand the ins and outs of Aromatisse a little bit better. And for those who actually read the closings to articles, comment #Fairies2K15 in the comment section below with your opinions.
~Elbow