Discussion Anti-Meta Techs/Advice for Raikou/Eels

[Buyo]

Heya! I've been playing Raikou/Eels quite a bit online recently and I'm really loving its ability to go toe-to-toe with a lot of decks out there. I may get a chance to play in an actual tournament soon, but I unfortunately don't have much knowledge or experience with Expanded tournament meta and I'm a bit worried about Night March, Archeops, and Fighting in particular. I don't really have anyone I can test specific matchups with, and online matchmaking can be kind of unpredictable, so I figured I'd ask some advice from you guys!

1. MAGNEZONE VS. REGISTEEL FOR TAKING OUT TINY TWERPS:
Raikou's 3 energy for 1 prize is... not very efficient against stuff like Night March. I've seen some people run Magnezone EX, but Registeel EX has a very similar attack, and doesn't have a Fighting weakness. These weird round robots seem equally good against Night March, but Registeel seems better against Fighting/Focus Sash decks and Trevenant, whereas Magnezone seems better against Bees. Their utility against Bats, though, seems like it depends whether the attacker is Landy/Lucario or Manectric.

2. JIRACHI EX. ARCHEOPS DEFENSE, OR LIABILITY?:
If I'm already running Level Balls, is it worth playing Jirachi EX? Jirachi's low HP and 2 prize status has me skeptical, especially in an ideally 1-prize deck, but I can't deny that a more consistent Ghetsis against Night March or Maxie/Archie decks is awfully tantalizing.

3. HOW TO STAND A CHANCE AGAINST FIGHTING:
Is it worth teching Special Energy against Fighting decks, or do I accept the autoloss? Or is it even an autoloss? I was considering 1 or 2 Blend Energies to allow Keldeo EX beat up Landy or Donphan if I need to. My concern is that adding Special Energies might do more harm against other matchups than good against Fighting, and I'm not sure how popular Fighting actually is.

4. ASSAULT VESTS:
Do they help with all these matchups more than I realize? I run 3 Fighting Fury Belt with 1 Vest right now, because I've been running into more Basic Energy decks than Special Energy ones online. Is there an optimal Vest/Belt split, or is it best to go all-in with Vests?

Thanks so much to anyone who answers!

 

[bbninjas]

1. MAGNEZONE VS. REGISTEEL FOR TAKING OUT TINY TWERPS:

I suggest running Registeel, if at all. Registeel nor Magnezone can 1-hit KO a Pumpkaboo, so you may as well go for the one with a higher damage output. (That said, you can snipe Eevees and the like with Magnezone). This tech may, however, be a bit slow against Night March and thus be impractical, but that would require testing.

2. JIRACHI EX. ARCHEOPS DEFENSE, OR LIABILITY?

Remember that you don't actually have to play Jirachi if you don't need to. There may be games where you never play Jirachi at all. Eitherway, I think it is worth it. Having an assured Turn 1 Ghetsis is really nice, and if you run Bridgette, being able to ensure a Turn 1 setup with 3 Eels ready to go on the bench can be a huge boost. I personally think any deck that runs high counts of Level Ball should be running Jirachi.

3. HOW TO STAND A CHANCE AGAINST FIGHTING:

I am aware that Mega Manectric-EX will generally tech a couple of Flash Energy to counter Gallade in area with high Yveltal counts. I'd say that you could also afford a couple of Flash Energy, however it may drop your consistency boost which can be detrimental. Perhaps it is worth running Kyurem for its Outrage, since it'd be particularly bulky with Assault Vests/Fury Belts?

4. ASSAULT VESTS:

The issue that Fury Belt has that Assualt Vest remedies is the fact that the Belt can be discarded to get your opponent prizes in the middle of their turn. It also will reduce more damage from things like Donphan, who hit low damage over high damage. However, if you aren't running into much Special Energy decks (which is a bit odd tbh), then it may not be worth it. Do you find that the extra ten damage from the Belt can be gamechanging? If so, it may be best to keep those in. If not, I'd probably run 2-2 for Belt/Vest, especially if you are running a Skyla (which is also a good option if you run Jirachi).

 

[kai88]

Fighting can be taken care of by either Lugia EX, or a zapdos-as the resistance to fighting can take out their gallade.