Hello everyone!
Such a long time since I last made 1 of these and I even wanted to make 1 each week. I have had some problems with my account making me unable to work at them at home. But here we go again! The weekly breakdown will be back in this season! But let’s get started!
Blastoise/Keldeo/ BKEX
Intro:
The purpose with the Blastoise deck is to setup Blastoise (funny right?) and pump energies onto your BKEX (Black Kyurem EX) so it can use Black Ballista for 2 water, a lightning and a colorless energy and deal 200 damage to the opposing active Pokemon, which is enough to OHKO almost everything! (Only Lugia and Tornadus plasma can survive it with enough Umbreon and an Aspertia city gym in play but when is that going to happen?) Keldeo helps you out with the free retreat when it has Float Stone attached since it can use Rush in and switch itself in as the new active Pokemon. You discard 3 energies when you are using Black Ballista, but that really doesn't matter since you play Energy retrieval and Superior Energy Retrieval to get your energies back again.
Pros and cons:
Blastoise is an incredible good deck. It can avoid special conditions with Keldeo, pump out tons of energies with Blastoise, and OHKO everything with BKEX. Only a few things hold it away from the title as BDIF. The option to OHKO everything at will, being able to pump out tons of energies, and it can retreat for free every turn. Definitely a tier 1 deck this season.
The only things holding it back, is the stage 2 Blastoise and the addiction to abilities. Setting up a stage 2 is a problem in this format because of the fast decks like Plasma and the new Virizion decks. If they KO your Squirtle then you are in a lot of trouble since you can't do a whole lot without Blastoise. Garbodor can also hurt you. with its ability "Garbotoxin" it can shut down all of your abilities, so there is no Rush in or energy streaming with Deluge. this is the few but crucial things, holding this deck down.
The decks achievements:
It made it to top 8 23 times around the world last year. Making it all the way in 4 of these occasions.
Multiple City championship wins in the states last year. Multiple regional wins throughout Europe last year. At least 3 of the top 32 players at worlds were playing Blastoise. 1 of them went to the semifinals.
My own achievements with Blastoise:
Played it twice in a total. Flawless through swiss in both regionals here in Denmark. Placed 2nd at the first one and 5th at the second one.
The decklist
This is a skeleton of the Blastoise deck. A skeleton is the "most have" cards of the basic build of the certain deck. With basic build I look at the cards you would just throw in quickly to make a 60 card deck.
11 Pokemon:
4 Squirtle
3 Blastoise
2 Keldeo EX
2 BKEX
26 Trainers:
4 Juniper
3 N
4 Skyla
3 Tropical Beach
3 Ultra Ball
1 Level Ball
3 Rare Candy
3 Superior Energy Retrieval
2 Energy Retrieval
14 Energy:
11 Water
3 Lightning
All in all: 51 cards 9 slots open.
So, to give you a explanation of all these cards, here is a breakdown of the skeleton, starting it all of with our little turtleman: Squirtle.
Squirtle 29 BC:
Squirtle is the basic form of Blastoise and you need to have it in the deck to setup Blastoise. But what about Darkrai and Landorus? Can't they not just, snipe it down? No, because of Squirtles ability "Shell Shield", Squirtle can't take any damage as long as it is on your bench. If it goes active, then it is probably going down, but with a 50/50 catcher rate because of the new rules, your Squirtle should be just fine to evolve.
Next up is the big bro of Squirtle. The decks focus area. Big bad Blastoise:
Blastoise 31 BC:
Blastoise is your main focus area. With its Ability "Deluge" you are capable of attaching as many Water energies as you want to from your hand every turn. Which in theory means you can deal unlimited damage each turn. Combining this with cards which bring your energies back, you have 1 of the best decks, IF NOT THE BEST deck in the format. With its 140 hp it won't be taken down easily, the only draw back is its retreat cost, but you got so many cards to help you out on that line.
Next up is the former main attacker, the most manly unicorn you will ever see (lol jk) Keldeo EX:
Keldeo EX 49 BC:
Keldeo EX is something for itself. It can literally fit into anything beside Garbodor decks because of its amazing ability "Rush In". Rush In lets you switch your active Pokemon with your benched Keldeo EX. Keldeo EX got a retreat cost of 2 so it is easy to retreat with the help of Blastoise since you can just Deluge the energies down and retreat it. What an easy way to get rid of Hypnotoxic Lasers asleep and poison huh? But why does it fit so well into other decks? Lets talk about that later.
The last Pokemon is the main attacker of the deck. And what a beast he is nobody deals 200 damage like he does. So, here he is. Black Kyurem EX:
Black Kyurem EX 95 PS:
BKEX is a beast! 200 damage for 4 energies? Sounds like a lot, but not when you got Blastoise! Attach the lightning for your turn, then deluge 3 times and do 200 damage. no energies left? No problem, Energy Retrieval them all back and start over! It can literally OHKO anything used in the current format.
This is it for the Pokemon line. Squirtle to safely setup Blastoise, Blastoise to stream energies, Keldeo for the retreat and attacking if needed, and BKEX to make everything explode.
On to the Trainers. Some of you might have seen the lack of certain cards an ACE-SPEC for an example, but this is not a finalized deck list, just a skeleton.
Lets start it of with the supporter line!
We start it of with a card choice which you don't really need to be a professor to see. It simply just standard for everyone. Our new professor.
Juniper 98 DEX:
Juniper is standard supporter and is played as a 4 of in almost every deck. You discard your whole hand and draw 7 new cards. That can be insanely good, if you are sitting with no cards in hand or just junk, but it can also be a brutal card, if it is your only supporter and you have insanely good cards in your hand (2 Blastoise etc.) and you have to play it. It refreshes your hand which is at most time worth it, so a 4 of is simply to god to say no to.
Next up is the gambler card, are you behind, then it is amazing, are you in the lead however, then it sucks to play. Our friends with the incredible short name.
N 96 DEX:
As said earlier, N is a situational/gambling card early game, beneficial, late game, depends, but in this deck where you need so many cards in your hand to function, it really isn't worth the 4th spot, you need something to give yourself a fresh hand without discarding anything. In late game you probably just want to discard them in most cases.
Next up is the a girl, whom I saw as a okay supporter, but who then turns out to be the most broken supporter in this deck ever! Our little flying friend.
Skyla BC 134:
You are in the need of a rare candy to get your Blastoise down. What do you do? You Skyla for one. You need a Ultra Ball to find you Blastoise/Keldeo/BKEX to finish of the game or to get setup. What do you do? You Skyla for one. You need a supporter for next turn. What do you do? You Skyla for one. You need to draw cards right away and the only cards which can do that for you are Tropical Beach, N, or Juniper but you only got a Skyla in your hand, oh well search out that Tropical Beach and draw your cards. You need an energy What do you do? You Skyla for a energy retrieval and search your discard pile for 1. Or you search your deck with Skyla for an Energy Search. Skyla is just so insanely broken in this deck. It is a must have 4 of in this deck. I might be putting to much in this for some of you to understand, but this is just so good!
Next up is the most expensive card in the format, maybe at all. Some of you won't be able to build this deck just because of this card. Everyone's paradise and evidence of achievement.
Tropical Beach BWPR 28:
With the new X/Y rules, Tropical beach's value exploded. It is so insanely good now. And in Blastoise where your won't be attacking in your first turn anyway, Beach is the answer to your prayers. This helps out the turn 2 Blastoise so much. And with all the tanky Pokemons you got in here, you could even stall for a turn and draw a fresh new hand if you need the cards to get back in the game.
Next up is our Pokemon search engine number one. I can't find a joke to this card so lets just move on to the name...
Ultra Ball DEX 102:
Ultra Ball is your first search engine for Pokemon. There is no trainer card beside Master Ball which lets you search out any Pokemon in your deck and you won't play Master Ball because it is an ACE-SPEC. Ultra ball lets you discard 2 cards from your hand and then find any Pokemon you want and add it to your hand. Discarding 2 cards can be hard, but with energy retrieval it isn't a problem, discard 2 energies and get them right back! Or just discard junk cards and have less cards in your deck if you should be N'ed.
Here comes our next and last Pokemon search engine. It is 1 of a kind. You could be tempted to say it was on its own level.
Level Ball 89 NXD:
Level ball lets you search out a Pokemon with 90 HP or less. In Blastoise, it lets you search out Squirtle. It is hard to explain why this is a good card, but discarding to find a Squirtle just isn't worth it. So finding it for free is obviously better. Since it is so important to have more then 1 Squirtle on your bench, Level Ball is a crucial card for the setup fase or they early game. This is also why a single copy of this card is enough.
Lets speed it the evolution up! And what gives more speed then sugar huh? And where do you find sugar? In candy.
Rare Candy DEX 100:
You might have noticed the missing link between Squirtle and Blastoise. This is where Rare candy helps you out. Rare candy lets you evolve a basic in to a stage 2.. Which evolves from the basic Pokemon of course.. Rare candy can be searched out with Skyla. Wartortle can't. This is why we use more rare candies then wartortles, and 3 should be a must have in this deck.
Now, lets start with the energy rescuing cards. First of all, lets start with the basic one the first version of the energy rescuing cards. This one saves your deck so much power by not having any drawback.
Energy Retrieval 80 PLB:
As said, this is your way to retrieve energies safely. You get two energies back in your hand for free. Two energies are enough if you got 1 more in your hand. Assuming you used Black Ballista the turn before. And it is a nice combo when discarding 2 cards from your hand, Energy Retrieval for 2 energies, discard them again and you end up only losing 1 card beside the 1 you played. A must have in the deck so I say at least 2 of them energy saving items.
Here we go with the evolution of Energy Retrieval. And to be honest, this one is somewhat superior to the other.
Superior Energy Retrieval 103:
Superior Energy Retrieval lets you find 4 energies in your Discard pile! That is alot! But of course you have to discard 2 cards from your hand to even things out. But using Superior Energy Retrieval probably signalizes You are going to KO something that turn, so it should be worth it anyhow.
The energy line should tell its own story. You need lightning for BKEX and Water for BKEX, Keldeo, and Blastoise if you have to.
9 slots to fill out
Now! Lets see what we are going to do with the rest of the spots.
Pokemon Techs:
You have so many options, but lets start out with consistency shall we? Consistency is the most important thing in this deck since you need to setup a stage 2 Pokemon to abuse your strategy so lets buff up that Pokemon.
Personally I would add a third Keldeo EX having 2 is not much if 1 of them should be prized, and it is so good on this deck.
Wartortle:
There are 2 options however one is better. The reasons are safe damage and higher chance of survival. Lets look at the damage first. The one I would choose does 60 safe damage while the other 1 can do 60 if you flip 2 heads. You should be able to see the difference between a 100% chance of doing 60 damage and a 25% chance of doing 60 damage. the 100% way is safer.
Now lets go to the chances of survival one of them can Withdraw, while the other 1 can Bubble
Withdraw lets my Wartortle stay safe from damage if I flip heads, while the other 1 paralyzes your opponents Pokemon. What is the difference you might ask. A paralyzed Pokemon can't attack. That is true, but it can be switched out and in again and then attack your Wartortle. While mine will just laugh if they switch out, since the effect of my attack is on my Wartortle and not their active.And a minor add-on is that my Wartortle can use Withdraw with a lightning, while the other needs a water to have a chance of surviving.
But why add Wartortle when we have a free spot for Rare Candy? Because this Gothitelle is still around. This guy predicted the use of items cards and decided to block them all out. In other words. Goth says no to Rare Candy. If this deck is played a lot where you play then add the Wartortle, if it ain't, add the rare candy, it is faster and safer this way. Safer because of the bench protecting Squirtle gives itself.
If you followed my instructions then we got 7 spots left.
Lets look at the Pokemon you can tech in:
Kyurem PLF:
Kyurem can spread out damage for you and is insanely damaging to your opponent if it gets to attack once or twice. But what talks against this card? 3 things: It doesn't survive for that long, you got BKEX to OHKO everything, and Mr.mime is around. Let me go a bit in depths with that. It's got 130 HP which is easily achieved now a days, so it won't survive for that long. BKEX OHKO everything so why even bother with spreading damage when you can just blow something up, take a hit, and blow up something else?
The last and probably the best reason why not to play it, is Mr. Mime. Mr.mimes ability "Bench Barrier" describes itself. It defends your bench from taking any kind of damage. So Kyurem can now do 30 to the active for 3 energies... doesn't really seem worth it.
Kyurem EX:
This kyurem does 150 for 4 energies, all of them capable of being water. So why not play it? You only have to discard 2 energies and you can even drop the lightning attachment? Because 150 just isn't enough. The purpose with this deck is to OHKO everything out there, and you can't do that with 150 damage.
You could add in in these eggtremely (yeah I know but I just had to!) good guys:
You might think how a 30 hp pokemon can help you out. It can with its ability "Propagation". Propagation lets you take it back into your hand if it is in your discard pile. And why would you do that? To avoid discarding 2 cards when using a Ultra Ball or a Superior Energy Retrieval. This card cuts down each of your discarding trainers by 1 if it is in your discard pile. And if you remember to use Propagation of course. This card is worth it TBH, but I just won't play it because of the chance of starting with it, so easy to get dunked when starting with this card.
Zekrom PLF:
This might seem weird for you, but this card helps out against Empoleon. Empoleon can at most do 120 Damage. Zekrom got 130 HP and can OHKO a Empoleon for the same amount of energy as BKEX uses. Zekrom only gives away 1 prize which turns the prize trade in your favor.
That is it for the Pokemon cards I chose to take a look at. There are many more, but I will stop it here. Lets go on to the Trainers!
As I said earlier a 4th Rare Candy is worth the spot. So lets stop it here.
Lets get on to your ACE-SPEC. This is a must have card in your deck and these are the ones I would choose if I had to make a top 3 list:
Placing 3rd we got Scoop Up Cyclone:
Scoop Up Cyclone can save your damaged Pokemon and the energies attached to it. This is the best way to save a BKEX, but it just isn't really worth the ACE-SPEC spot. There are 2 cards which are better in this deck.
Placing 2nd is the first ACE-SPEC which got Popular. Computer Search:
Computer search is just like Ultra Ball even though Computer Search will let you find any card and not just a Pokemon. This can help you out of pretty much any situation where you need just that 1 card to win the game or to get back in it.
What can be better then that? Well lets say, you don't have any of the specific card left. What do you then do?
Well you find it in the discard pile of course. And you can do that with Dowsing Machine:
Dowsing machine lets you discard to card from your hand to find any trainer in your discard pile. Even a Supporter. So how is it better to find it in your discard pile then in your deck? Lets say you got in in your discard pile AND in your deck. Why not reuse a resource and save one for later? 1-0 for Dowsing Machine. What if the specific card only is in your Discard pile? then Computer Search can't find it? 2-0 for Dowsing Machine.
What if it only is in the deck? Well, you probably won't use Dowsing Machine until late in the game so you can find the card if it is a trainer by finding a Skyla. But then you wound't be able to play a supporter. But who says you played a supporter that turn. What if it is an energy you need? you can find a Superior Energy Retrieval a Energy Retrieval, a Energy Search, or a Skyla to 1 of these 3 if none of them are in the discard pile. To be fair. this is a Split 2-0 for Dowsing Machine or 3-1 for Dowsing Machine. Whatever fits you the best.
Now lets add in some Tool Scrapper since they are a must have in this deck to avoid Garbodor but how many? Tool Scrapper lets you discard up to 2 Tools on the field. Even your own. Which you actually might want to do sometimes. But most of the time you will be removing Tools from a Garbodor. 2 is the magic number here, if you play Dowsing Machine. 1 Tool Scrapper equals at least 1 turn of Deluge which can result in 1 KO on your opponents EX which equals 2 prizes so with 2 Tool Scrappers and a Dowsing Machine you can use Tool Scrapper 3 times and achieve 3 KO's at least. So 2 Tool Scrappers are enough.
You might also want to add in a Super rod:
Super rod lets you shuffle in a combination of Pokemon and energy cards. This will let you shuffle in the Blastoises you might have lost at some point. Or the Squirtles you lost early because of your opponent set up to fast for you. This card is so good, and a 1 of should be enough.
Max Potion is a good choice too:
Max potion is good since you find 4 energies with Superior Energy Retrieval, so discarding that lightning on your wounded BKEX isn't that hard, since you get all 4 back again. A 1 of should be fine for you. 2 is okay but it might be overkill.
You could also add in more Energy Retrieval or Superior Energy Retrievals. This lets you attack more often.
Energy Search is viable too:
This is your way to find a energy card if you are in the need of 1. Why not just add in a energy instead of this Energy Search? Because you got more then 1 type of energy in your deck and you might draw the wrong 1. Also you can find this with card with Skyla and Dowsing Machine if it have been used.
Now what you surely want to add is Float Stone:
When Float Stone is attached to 1 of your Pokemon, that Pokemon got free retreat. This is why you want it in your deck so your can switch around for free with the Float Stone Keldeo EX combo! Rush In with Keldeo EX then retreat for free if you need to!
So now that we have been through all the techs I decided to talk about, lets take a look at the list I play with.
My own Blastoise decklist:
12 Pokemon:
4 Squirtle
3 Blastoise
2 BKEX
3 Keldeo EX
36 Trainers:
3 Tropical Beach
4 Juniper
3 N
4 Skyla
1 Level Ball
3 Ultra Ball
1 Dowsing Machine
2 Float Stone
3 Energy Retrieval
3 Superior Energy Retrieval
1 Max Potion
1 Super Rod
2 Tool Scrapper
4 Rare Candy
1 Energy Search
12 Energy:
9 Water
3 Lightning
This will end the breakdown for this week. Thanks for reading and be sure to leave a like and/or some comments with questions, thoughts, and wishes for future breakdowns. There might be a few grammatical errors here and there but I am only human <3
Baby_BI is out!
Such a long time since I last made 1 of these and I even wanted to make 1 each week. I have had some problems with my account making me unable to work at them at home. But here we go again! The weekly breakdown will be back in this season! But let’s get started!
Blastoise/Keldeo/ BKEX
Intro:
The purpose with the Blastoise deck is to setup Blastoise (funny right?) and pump energies onto your BKEX (Black Kyurem EX) so it can use Black Ballista for 2 water, a lightning and a colorless energy and deal 200 damage to the opposing active Pokemon, which is enough to OHKO almost everything! (Only Lugia and Tornadus plasma can survive it with enough Umbreon and an Aspertia city gym in play but when is that going to happen?) Keldeo helps you out with the free retreat when it has Float Stone attached since it can use Rush in and switch itself in as the new active Pokemon. You discard 3 energies when you are using Black Ballista, but that really doesn't matter since you play Energy retrieval and Superior Energy Retrieval to get your energies back again.
Pros and cons:
Blastoise is an incredible good deck. It can avoid special conditions with Keldeo, pump out tons of energies with Blastoise, and OHKO everything with BKEX. Only a few things hold it away from the title as BDIF. The option to OHKO everything at will, being able to pump out tons of energies, and it can retreat for free every turn. Definitely a tier 1 deck this season.
The only things holding it back, is the stage 2 Blastoise and the addiction to abilities. Setting up a stage 2 is a problem in this format because of the fast decks like Plasma and the new Virizion decks. If they KO your Squirtle then you are in a lot of trouble since you can't do a whole lot without Blastoise. Garbodor can also hurt you. with its ability "Garbotoxin" it can shut down all of your abilities, so there is no Rush in or energy streaming with Deluge. this is the few but crucial things, holding this deck down.
The decks achievements:
It made it to top 8 23 times around the world last year. Making it all the way in 4 of these occasions.
Multiple City championship wins in the states last year. Multiple regional wins throughout Europe last year. At least 3 of the top 32 players at worlds were playing Blastoise. 1 of them went to the semifinals.
My own achievements with Blastoise:
Played it twice in a total. Flawless through swiss in both regionals here in Denmark. Placed 2nd at the first one and 5th at the second one.
The decklist
This is a skeleton of the Blastoise deck. A skeleton is the "most have" cards of the basic build of the certain deck. With basic build I look at the cards you would just throw in quickly to make a 60 card deck.
11 Pokemon:
4 Squirtle
3 Blastoise
2 Keldeo EX
2 BKEX
26 Trainers:
4 Juniper
3 N
4 Skyla
3 Tropical Beach
3 Ultra Ball
1 Level Ball
3 Rare Candy
3 Superior Energy Retrieval
2 Energy Retrieval
14 Energy:
11 Water
3 Lightning
All in all: 51 cards 9 slots open.
So, to give you a explanation of all these cards, here is a breakdown of the skeleton, starting it all of with our little turtleman: Squirtle.
Squirtle 29 BC:
Squirtle is the basic form of Blastoise and you need to have it in the deck to setup Blastoise. But what about Darkrai and Landorus? Can't they not just, snipe it down? No, because of Squirtles ability "Shell Shield", Squirtle can't take any damage as long as it is on your bench. If it goes active, then it is probably going down, but with a 50/50 catcher rate because of the new rules, your Squirtle should be just fine to evolve.
Next up is the big bro of Squirtle. The decks focus area. Big bad Blastoise:
Blastoise 31 BC:
Blastoise is your main focus area. With its Ability "Deluge" you are capable of attaching as many Water energies as you want to from your hand every turn. Which in theory means you can deal unlimited damage each turn. Combining this with cards which bring your energies back, you have 1 of the best decks, IF NOT THE BEST deck in the format. With its 140 hp it won't be taken down easily, the only draw back is its retreat cost, but you got so many cards to help you out on that line.
Next up is the former main attacker, the most manly unicorn you will ever see (lol jk) Keldeo EX:
Keldeo EX 49 BC:
Keldeo EX is something for itself. It can literally fit into anything beside Garbodor decks because of its amazing ability "Rush In". Rush In lets you switch your active Pokemon with your benched Keldeo EX. Keldeo EX got a retreat cost of 2 so it is easy to retreat with the help of Blastoise since you can just Deluge the energies down and retreat it. What an easy way to get rid of Hypnotoxic Lasers asleep and poison huh? But why does it fit so well into other decks? Lets talk about that later.
The last Pokemon is the main attacker of the deck. And what a beast he is nobody deals 200 damage like he does. So, here he is. Black Kyurem EX:
Black Kyurem EX 95 PS:
BKEX is a beast! 200 damage for 4 energies? Sounds like a lot, but not when you got Blastoise! Attach the lightning for your turn, then deluge 3 times and do 200 damage. no energies left? No problem, Energy Retrieval them all back and start over! It can literally OHKO anything used in the current format.
This is it for the Pokemon line. Squirtle to safely setup Blastoise, Blastoise to stream energies, Keldeo for the retreat and attacking if needed, and BKEX to make everything explode.
On to the Trainers. Some of you might have seen the lack of certain cards an ACE-SPEC for an example, but this is not a finalized deck list, just a skeleton.
Lets start it of with the supporter line!
We start it of with a card choice which you don't really need to be a professor to see. It simply just standard for everyone. Our new professor.
Juniper 98 DEX:
Juniper is standard supporter and is played as a 4 of in almost every deck. You discard your whole hand and draw 7 new cards. That can be insanely good, if you are sitting with no cards in hand or just junk, but it can also be a brutal card, if it is your only supporter and you have insanely good cards in your hand (2 Blastoise etc.) and you have to play it. It refreshes your hand which is at most time worth it, so a 4 of is simply to god to say no to.
Next up is the gambler card, are you behind, then it is amazing, are you in the lead however, then it sucks to play. Our friends with the incredible short name.
N 96 DEX:
As said earlier, N is a situational/gambling card early game, beneficial, late game, depends, but in this deck where you need so many cards in your hand to function, it really isn't worth the 4th spot, you need something to give yourself a fresh hand without discarding anything. In late game you probably just want to discard them in most cases.
Next up is the a girl, whom I saw as a okay supporter, but who then turns out to be the most broken supporter in this deck ever! Our little flying friend.
Skyla BC 134:
You are in the need of a rare candy to get your Blastoise down. What do you do? You Skyla for one. You need a Ultra Ball to find you Blastoise/Keldeo/BKEX to finish of the game or to get setup. What do you do? You Skyla for one. You need a supporter for next turn. What do you do? You Skyla for one. You need to draw cards right away and the only cards which can do that for you are Tropical Beach, N, or Juniper but you only got a Skyla in your hand, oh well search out that Tropical Beach and draw your cards. You need an energy What do you do? You Skyla for a energy retrieval and search your discard pile for 1. Or you search your deck with Skyla for an Energy Search. Skyla is just so insanely broken in this deck. It is a must have 4 of in this deck. I might be putting to much in this for some of you to understand, but this is just so good!
Next up is the most expensive card in the format, maybe at all. Some of you won't be able to build this deck just because of this card. Everyone's paradise and evidence of achievement.
Tropical Beach BWPR 28:
With the new X/Y rules, Tropical beach's value exploded. It is so insanely good now. And in Blastoise where your won't be attacking in your first turn anyway, Beach is the answer to your prayers. This helps out the turn 2 Blastoise so much. And with all the tanky Pokemons you got in here, you could even stall for a turn and draw a fresh new hand if you need the cards to get back in the game.
Next up is our Pokemon search engine number one. I can't find a joke to this card so lets just move on to the name...
Ultra Ball DEX 102:
Ultra Ball is your first search engine for Pokemon. There is no trainer card beside Master Ball which lets you search out any Pokemon in your deck and you won't play Master Ball because it is an ACE-SPEC. Ultra ball lets you discard 2 cards from your hand and then find any Pokemon you want and add it to your hand. Discarding 2 cards can be hard, but with energy retrieval it isn't a problem, discard 2 energies and get them right back! Or just discard junk cards and have less cards in your deck if you should be N'ed.
Here comes our next and last Pokemon search engine. It is 1 of a kind. You could be tempted to say it was on its own level.
Level Ball 89 NXD:
Level ball lets you search out a Pokemon with 90 HP or less. In Blastoise, it lets you search out Squirtle. It is hard to explain why this is a good card, but discarding to find a Squirtle just isn't worth it. So finding it for free is obviously better. Since it is so important to have more then 1 Squirtle on your bench, Level Ball is a crucial card for the setup fase or they early game. This is also why a single copy of this card is enough.
Lets speed it the evolution up! And what gives more speed then sugar huh? And where do you find sugar? In candy.
Rare Candy DEX 100:
You might have noticed the missing link between Squirtle and Blastoise. This is where Rare candy helps you out. Rare candy lets you evolve a basic in to a stage 2.. Which evolves from the basic Pokemon of course.. Rare candy can be searched out with Skyla. Wartortle can't. This is why we use more rare candies then wartortles, and 3 should be a must have in this deck.
Now, lets start with the energy rescuing cards. First of all, lets start with the basic one the first version of the energy rescuing cards. This one saves your deck so much power by not having any drawback.
Energy Retrieval 80 PLB:
As said, this is your way to retrieve energies safely. You get two energies back in your hand for free. Two energies are enough if you got 1 more in your hand. Assuming you used Black Ballista the turn before. And it is a nice combo when discarding 2 cards from your hand, Energy Retrieval for 2 energies, discard them again and you end up only losing 1 card beside the 1 you played. A must have in the deck so I say at least 2 of them energy saving items.
Here we go with the evolution of Energy Retrieval. And to be honest, this one is somewhat superior to the other.
Superior Energy Retrieval 103:
Superior Energy Retrieval lets you find 4 energies in your Discard pile! That is alot! But of course you have to discard 2 cards from your hand to even things out. But using Superior Energy Retrieval probably signalizes You are going to KO something that turn, so it should be worth it anyhow.
The energy line should tell its own story. You need lightning for BKEX and Water for BKEX, Keldeo, and Blastoise if you have to.
9 slots to fill out
Now! Lets see what we are going to do with the rest of the spots.
Pokemon Techs:
You have so many options, but lets start out with consistency shall we? Consistency is the most important thing in this deck since you need to setup a stage 2 Pokemon to abuse your strategy so lets buff up that Pokemon.
Personally I would add a third Keldeo EX having 2 is not much if 1 of them should be prized, and it is so good on this deck.
Wartortle:
There are 2 options however one is better. The reasons are safe damage and higher chance of survival. Lets look at the damage first. The one I would choose does 60 safe damage while the other 1 can do 60 if you flip 2 heads. You should be able to see the difference between a 100% chance of doing 60 damage and a 25% chance of doing 60 damage. the 100% way is safer.
Now lets go to the chances of survival one of them can Withdraw, while the other 1 can Bubble
Withdraw lets my Wartortle stay safe from damage if I flip heads, while the other 1 paralyzes your opponents Pokemon. What is the difference you might ask. A paralyzed Pokemon can't attack. That is true, but it can be switched out and in again and then attack your Wartortle. While mine will just laugh if they switch out, since the effect of my attack is on my Wartortle and not their active.And a minor add-on is that my Wartortle can use Withdraw with a lightning, while the other needs a water to have a chance of surviving.
But why add Wartortle when we have a free spot for Rare Candy? Because this Gothitelle is still around. This guy predicted the use of items cards and decided to block them all out. In other words. Goth says no to Rare Candy. If this deck is played a lot where you play then add the Wartortle, if it ain't, add the rare candy, it is faster and safer this way. Safer because of the bench protecting Squirtle gives itself.
If you followed my instructions then we got 7 spots left.
Lets look at the Pokemon you can tech in:
Kyurem PLF:
Kyurem can spread out damage for you and is insanely damaging to your opponent if it gets to attack once or twice. But what talks against this card? 3 things: It doesn't survive for that long, you got BKEX to OHKO everything, and Mr.mime is around. Let me go a bit in depths with that. It's got 130 HP which is easily achieved now a days, so it won't survive for that long. BKEX OHKO everything so why even bother with spreading damage when you can just blow something up, take a hit, and blow up something else?
The last and probably the best reason why not to play it, is Mr. Mime. Mr.mimes ability "Bench Barrier" describes itself. It defends your bench from taking any kind of damage. So Kyurem can now do 30 to the active for 3 energies... doesn't really seem worth it.
Kyurem EX:
This kyurem does 150 for 4 energies, all of them capable of being water. So why not play it? You only have to discard 2 energies and you can even drop the lightning attachment? Because 150 just isn't enough. The purpose with this deck is to OHKO everything out there, and you can't do that with 150 damage.
You could add in in these eggtremely (yeah I know but I just had to!) good guys:
You might think how a 30 hp pokemon can help you out. It can with its ability "Propagation". Propagation lets you take it back into your hand if it is in your discard pile. And why would you do that? To avoid discarding 2 cards when using a Ultra Ball or a Superior Energy Retrieval. This card cuts down each of your discarding trainers by 1 if it is in your discard pile. And if you remember to use Propagation of course. This card is worth it TBH, but I just won't play it because of the chance of starting with it, so easy to get dunked when starting with this card.
Zekrom PLF:
This might seem weird for you, but this card helps out against Empoleon. Empoleon can at most do 120 Damage. Zekrom got 130 HP and can OHKO a Empoleon for the same amount of energy as BKEX uses. Zekrom only gives away 1 prize which turns the prize trade in your favor.
That is it for the Pokemon cards I chose to take a look at. There are many more, but I will stop it here. Lets go on to the Trainers!
As I said earlier a 4th Rare Candy is worth the spot. So lets stop it here.
Lets get on to your ACE-SPEC. This is a must have card in your deck and these are the ones I would choose if I had to make a top 3 list:
Placing 3rd we got Scoop Up Cyclone:
Scoop Up Cyclone can save your damaged Pokemon and the energies attached to it. This is the best way to save a BKEX, but it just isn't really worth the ACE-SPEC spot. There are 2 cards which are better in this deck.
Placing 2nd is the first ACE-SPEC which got Popular. Computer Search:
Computer search is just like Ultra Ball even though Computer Search will let you find any card and not just a Pokemon. This can help you out of pretty much any situation where you need just that 1 card to win the game or to get back in it.
What can be better then that? Well lets say, you don't have any of the specific card left. What do you then do?
Well you find it in the discard pile of course. And you can do that with Dowsing Machine:
Dowsing machine lets you discard to card from your hand to find any trainer in your discard pile. Even a Supporter. So how is it better to find it in your discard pile then in your deck? Lets say you got in in your discard pile AND in your deck. Why not reuse a resource and save one for later? 1-0 for Dowsing Machine. What if the specific card only is in your Discard pile? then Computer Search can't find it? 2-0 for Dowsing Machine.
What if it only is in the deck? Well, you probably won't use Dowsing Machine until late in the game so you can find the card if it is a trainer by finding a Skyla. But then you wound't be able to play a supporter. But who says you played a supporter that turn. What if it is an energy you need? you can find a Superior Energy Retrieval a Energy Retrieval, a Energy Search, or a Skyla to 1 of these 3 if none of them are in the discard pile. To be fair. this is a Split 2-0 for Dowsing Machine or 3-1 for Dowsing Machine. Whatever fits you the best.
Now lets add in some Tool Scrapper since they are a must have in this deck to avoid Garbodor but how many? Tool Scrapper lets you discard up to 2 Tools on the field. Even your own. Which you actually might want to do sometimes. But most of the time you will be removing Tools from a Garbodor. 2 is the magic number here, if you play Dowsing Machine. 1 Tool Scrapper equals at least 1 turn of Deluge which can result in 1 KO on your opponents EX which equals 2 prizes so with 2 Tool Scrappers and a Dowsing Machine you can use Tool Scrapper 3 times and achieve 3 KO's at least. So 2 Tool Scrappers are enough.
You might also want to add in a Super rod:
Super rod lets you shuffle in a combination of Pokemon and energy cards. This will let you shuffle in the Blastoises you might have lost at some point. Or the Squirtles you lost early because of your opponent set up to fast for you. This card is so good, and a 1 of should be enough.
Max Potion is a good choice too:
Max potion is good since you find 4 energies with Superior Energy Retrieval, so discarding that lightning on your wounded BKEX isn't that hard, since you get all 4 back again. A 1 of should be fine for you. 2 is okay but it might be overkill.
You could also add in more Energy Retrieval or Superior Energy Retrievals. This lets you attack more often.
Energy Search is viable too:
This is your way to find a energy card if you are in the need of 1. Why not just add in a energy instead of this Energy Search? Because you got more then 1 type of energy in your deck and you might draw the wrong 1. Also you can find this with card with Skyla and Dowsing Machine if it have been used.
Now what you surely want to add is Float Stone:
When Float Stone is attached to 1 of your Pokemon, that Pokemon got free retreat. This is why you want it in your deck so your can switch around for free with the Float Stone Keldeo EX combo! Rush In with Keldeo EX then retreat for free if you need to!
So now that we have been through all the techs I decided to talk about, lets take a look at the list I play with.
My own Blastoise decklist:
12 Pokemon:
4 Squirtle
3 Blastoise
2 BKEX
3 Keldeo EX
36 Trainers:
3 Tropical Beach
4 Juniper
3 N
4 Skyla
1 Level Ball
3 Ultra Ball
1 Dowsing Machine
2 Float Stone
3 Energy Retrieval
3 Superior Energy Retrieval
1 Max Potion
1 Super Rod
2 Tool Scrapper
4 Rare Candy
1 Energy Search
12 Energy:
9 Water
3 Lightning
This will end the breakdown for this week. Thanks for reading and be sure to leave a like and/or some comments with questions, thoughts, and wishes for future breakdowns. There might be a few grammatical errors here and there but I am only human <3
Baby_BI is out!
