Standard A Call to Arms! (Beedrill Deck)

[legolover322]

Hey guys! I've been recently having a lot of success with an excellent budget deck that revolves around Beedrill! If any one of you has 1.38 laying around, I highly encourage you to try out this deck! Here's the decklist I use:

##Pokémon - 15

* 1 Oranguru SUM 113
* 3 Weedle EVO 5
* 1 Weedle CIN 1
* 4 Kakuna CIN 2
* 1 Beedrill CIN 3
* 3 Beedrill EVO 7
* 2 Mew-EX LTR 139

##Trainer Cards - 38

* 3 Super Rod DRV 20
* 2 Skyla BCR 134
* 2 Professor's Letter XY 123
* 4 N DEX 96
* 3 Exp. Share DRV 18
* 2 Enhanced Hammer PRC 162
* 4 Ultra Ball FLF 99
* 2 Shauna PHF 104
* 4 Evosoda XY 116
* 2 Field Blower GRI 125
* 3 Guzma BUS 115
* 3 Revitalizer GEN 70
* 4 Professor Sycamore XY 122

##Energy - 7

* 7 Grass Energy BLW 105



A few explanations for some odd card choices:
Exp. Share: Allows to cheat out an energy attachment whenever your active Beedrill is taken out. Works surprisingly well in this deck!
Shauna: More card draw Supporters = Win
The one Beedrill from Crimson Invasion: No, this is not a mistake! On turns where I cannot set up at least two Beedrill, I can use this Beedrill to either swing for 60 with one energy or use its other attack to buy myself a turn (after all, guarenteed paralysis is preeeeety good)
Professor's Letter: By searching out Energy cards, I can more consistently get off a T2 Multiply, which often leads to an explosion of Beedrill the very next turn.
Switch: I don't have two extra Float Stone.
Float Stone: When Oranguru is the only basic in my hand on T1, the game won't go well; it must be taken out of the active ASAP!
Gladion: Getting any prized Beedrill or Kakuna is crucial to make sure Swarming Sting swings for maximum possible damage.
NO TAPU LELE GX??: Poor. 'Nuff said.

I would like to receive some help in refining this deck. Perhaps a synergistic counter stadium can be suggested?
Overall, don't knock the deck until you've tried it out.
Happy swarming!

 

[Asmer]

I love this.
I would highly suggest dropping a Revitalizer for a Super Rod and both Rescue Stretchers for something more...beneficial, like another Guzma, a Lillie for more of a plus Draw Supporter (on top of your already nice draw support... don't forget to replace Shauna with Cynthia when she comes out!) and/or maybe something like an Evosoda for slightly faster acceleration. You really don't need both Revitalizer and Stretcher since they practically do the same thing in this deck and having the ability to return Energy to your deck helps keep your Professor's Letters relevant in the mid/late game, which is pretty important considering how dead that card can be at times. Besides that, normally I would suggest Choice Bands... but I kind of like EXP. Share in theory. That said, let me know if the lack of damage is a problem. If it is, I would replace the EXP. Shares with Choice Bands (obviously) and maaaaybe something like a Field Blower to answer Stadiums.

Either way, a very nice concept and I hope it works out.

-Asmer

 

[legolover322]

Before I begin, I must say that I sincerely thank you for taking time out of your day to view and critique my deck.
Going off of your suggestions, I tried some new things in my deck.
For starters, I dropped one Rescue Stretcher for another Guzma. Guzma is phenomenal in this deck! While most people use it to drag up something they want, it functions a lot better in this deck to drag up something the opponent does not want!
Golisopod-GX without a Float Stone? Delicious!
Vikavolt without a Float Stone? Yummy!
Octillery without a Float Stone? Mmm-mmm good eatin'!
By being able to hit the Bench to your heart's desire, it puts you at a giant advantage; you can hit them, but they can't hit you!
I also swapped out the other Rescue Stretcher to max out Evosoda. A good call, as it allows me to hit T2 Multiply consistently, or to get more Beedrill into play.
There is one thing that I must point out, however- Choice Band is not a good fit for this deck. The card text reads that the Pokémon must not only be a GX or EX, but that Pokémon must also be in the active to get the extra thirty damage. It might be used as a one-of, to hit the active for a specific amount of damage (such as Buzzwole-GX for exactly 190), but being able to hit the bench is what this deck is all about!
I won't end on a sour note, though- I like your suggestion of Field Blower a lot. Before, if the opponent played Brooklet Hill, I had no options to counter it. By inserting 3 Field Blowers in place of a Revitalizer and the Enhanced Hammers, I can wreak tons of havoc on the opponent, getting rid of Float Stone and Stadiums whenever the moment arises.
You were a big help in improving this deck, but I am curious to see what you think of my changes. Are there any more suggestions?

 

[Asmer]

Before I begin, I must say that I sincerely thank you for taking time out of your day to view and critique my deck.
Going off of your suggestions, I tried some new things in my deck.
For starters, I dropped one Rescue Stretcher for another Guzma. Guzma is phenomenal in this deck! While most people use it to drag up something they want, it functions a lot better in this deck to drag up something the opponent does not want!
Golisopod-GX without a Float Stone? Delicious!
Vikavolt without a Float Stone? Yummy!
Octillery without a Float Stone? Mmm-mmm good eatin'!
By being able to hit the Bench to your heart's desire, it puts you at a giant advantage; you can hit them, but they can't hit you!
I also swapped out the other Rescue Stretcher to max out Evosoda. A good call, as it allows me to hit T2 Multiply consistently, or to get more Beedrill into play.
There is one thing that I must point out, however- Choice Band is not a good fit for this deck. The card text reads that the Pokémon must not only be a GX or EX, but that Pokémon must also be in the active to get the extra thirty damage. It might be used as a one-of, to hit the active for a specific amount of damage (such as Buzzwole-GX for exactly 190), but being able to hit the bench is what this deck is all about!
I won't end on a sour note, though- I like your suggestion of Field Blower a lot. Before, if the opponent played Brooklet Hill, I had no options to counter it. By inserting 3 Field Blowers in place of a Revitalizer and the Enhanced Hammers, I can wreak tons of havoc on the opponent, getting rid of Float Stone and Stadiums whenever the moment arises.
You were a big help in improving this deck, but I am curious to see what you think of my changes. Are there any more suggestions?

Love it!
No problems on the Choice Band. 100% forgot that Beedrill can hit the bench as well! I'm very glad that Evosoda has helped with consistency. That makes me the happiest out of the changes, for sure (I'm a big advocate for consistency in decks). Guzma is absolutely amazing right now and I must say, running 2 in any deck minimum is a must. The card is so solid it makes Regice look like Jellicent. Finally, I figured Field Blower would be a good call. Even at low numbers, the versatility is always nice to have.

Now, let's see... if I could make a few more suggestions, I would now suggest a 1-1 Line of Octillery somewhere, the reason being that it:
A.) Works with Evosoda
B.) Allows you better acceleration than Oranguru (keep an Oranguru in, however!)
Also, it's one of those techs where, even if you are missing the other half, you're fine with waiting. Having Oranguru around helps as well as it'll still give you an option to search for in case plan A fails.

The other thing I will say is to keep your Enhanced Hammers around in case the Meta continues to be this DCE format thing that it is. With Gardevoir GX looking like it's about to be on the decline (I'm so salty), you'll probably see even more Special Energy around and Enhanced Hammer is perfect for just that. That said, I wouldn't worry about it for right now since consistency is more important in my honest opinion. Another thing to consider is a single copy of Skyla. She's really nice in decks that rely on items, even if she is a bit slow. I found a lot of use out of her in my Gardevoir GX deck and, while it doesn't necessarily need it, having the ability to search for a Rare Candy or a Hammer or whatever it may be is always really nice.

Either way, keep up the good work. Also, make sure you edit your list in the original post. I'll put it in bold so that you don't forget. <3

Keep it up!

-Asmer

 

[biffthepotato]

Hi. I also made a similar list but it wasn't a budget deck and I didn't use evosoda or EXP. share. My list was pretty clunky and I think that the EXP. share will really help this deck because the two biggest problems with this deck are the energy attachments, which can be hard because you have to have a (G)(C) attack cost, and the really low HP of Beedrill. I think that the 120 HP of your Bees is not very good because everything hits for 120 in the current format (Zoroark, Golisopod, Silvaly, you get the idea).

I'm just going to say now that an extra Guzma would help a lot more than the second switch so maybe just try out that second Guzma.
I would also maybe consider 1 Counter energy for late game when behind on prizes.

Over all great list and this deck might have potential in the future even though that your Bees have 120 HP but, Yeah.

Great list, hope I helped.

 

[legolover322]

Well, I went ahead and added some more tweaks to the deck! Here's what I changed:
-Gladion has been removed, as he is just tooooo sloooooowww. By the time he's useful, the enemy has already set up their energies, set up their 'mons, set up any damage modifiers, won the game, paid their taxes, graduated from college, married a spouse, and settled down in a quaint neighborhood in coastal Rhode Island (joke).
-Props to Asmer on the Skyla suggestion- she does make the deck more consistent. Being able to nab a certain item at a given time is invaluable!
-Thank you, biffthepotato! Guzma is really good in this deck! I currently run three in my decklist due to just how insanely disruptive it is.
-I have lowered Oranguru count by one and removed all Stones/Switches. These were mostly dead cards, as all Bees have free retreat! Additionally, by halving the Oranguru count, I am significantly less likely to be forced to start with it.
-An EXP. Share and a Shauna have been cut in favor of another Rod and Revitalizer, as to keep up power in the late game.
-The Zoroark-B-Gone is back! Two Enhanced Hammers have been reinserted into the deck, to allow for the removal of Special Energy (which, in case you've been living under a rock, is currently run by three-quarters of the metagame).

I think that this deck might need some kind of alterate attacker, just in case the Bees won't have enough steam to win a long game. Are there any more suggestions for this and/or anything else? I was thinking of adding some kind of late-game finisher as well. Any suggestions for this?
Overall, once again, I'd like to thank everyone very much for their advice and support!

P.S.: I've changed the decklist in the OP (thank you for your patience!)

 

[legolover322]

Bumpy McBumpface

 

[legolover322]

pmuB