Trekking Shoes is the Future – Decks that Go Fast
Hello everyone! EUIC as the first major post-rotation tournament is fast approaching. As of writing this, I leave tomorrow and still have lots of testing to do! There are lots of interesting new ideas and speculation for this new format, and several online tournaments have already taken place. Today I will share two decks that I have been working on. Both have been very strong and consistent in testing so far, and they are quite fun to play. Let’s get into it.
Miraidon ex
In my last article I said that Miraidon ex was overrated and Tier 2 at best. Although Tier 2 isn’t that bad, this inspired me to work on the archetype and see what I could do with it. I thought about how the main thing that was special about Miraidon ex is its ability to get a turn 1 attack. I figured that if I made a list that could consistently get the turn 1 attack, it could make for a powerful deck that plays to the archetype’s strengths. I started with a list that was all gas and no brakes. I had Switching Cups to combo with Electric Generator, and the rest of the list was built for speed. I ended up having to change a few cards to make the deck a little more balanced, but it is still fast and consistent. Unfortunately, Switching Cups did not quite make the cut, though I maintain that the idea has merit. Here is my current list.
The list follows the basic concept of the typical Miraidon ex deck. Attack with powerful Lightning-type Pokemon and boost damage with Regieleki VMAX‘s Transistor Ability. I’ve found that the Regieleki VMAX line has some nice utility attacks that I end up using from time to time. Regieleki V‘s Switching Bolt can KO low-HP Pokemon such as Sableye or Pokemon with a Weakness to Lightning-type such as Lumineon V, thanks to Regieleki VMAX’s damage boost. Sometimes getting a KO for just one Energy is quite helpful. Switching Bolt can also pivot into a disposable sacrifice like Radiant Greninja, or a damage sponge such as Regieleki VMAX. Lightning Wall is a bit more expensive, but is very useful in some situations, such as when you expect to be attacked by single-Prize Pokemon or anything that can’t deal 300 damage. Similarly, attacking with Regieleki VMAX itself can be good when you need that extra HP.
The preferred attacker for this deck is Raikou V because its attack is relatively inexpensive. To attack on turn 1, you only need to hit one Energy off Electric Generator. Its damage output is the same as Miraidon ex’s if the opponent has a full Bench, which is often the case in this format. However, if your opponent tries to play around Lightning Rondo, you can still easily attack with Miraidon ex. In most games, you end up using both Raikou V for attacking. Raikou V is a tempo monster.
The list started with a third Miraidon ex, which is useful for early-game consistency. However, three copies is excessive, since I found that you don’t attack with Miraidon ex all that often. I usually ended up with one or two extra Miraidon ex, which were rather useless. The only real benefit to having a bunch of Miraidon ex is increasing the odds of starting with it in your opening hand, which is desirable. However, the spaces are better spent elsewhere.
This concludes the public portion of this article.
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