So I'm a fairly new player and getting ready for my first tournament. Only been playing a couple of months and till now have been using a dark / fire deck, but am in the progress of switching to a dark / psychic deck and could use a lil' help. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
Pokemon:
If you're counting, that's only 51 cards... will get to that in a moment. Strategy here is to get my Darkrai EX out asap to alleviate retreat cost. Primary attacks will be Evil Ball (Yveltal) and X Ball (Mewtwo). Both are quick attacks I can use while energizing Kangaskhan mega and then maybe get in a few Wham Bam Punches. Please give thoughts on this... Was also thinking that on games I draw a Kangaskhan with my first 7, playing him as active and using a turn or two just to draw energy while charging up a Mew or Yveltal... but then that'd mean 2+ turns before I do any damage (once to energize Kangaskhan and then however many times using his draw ability), so not sure how effective this would be. And if the other guy throws an "N" or something similar it'd be a waste.
And for the other 9 cards... any ideas? Should I remove any of the cards I have in play now? Do I have enough draw cards to take out the roller skates? I hate roll dependent cards where it's all or nothing... I probably need a couple more non-EX attackers, so any thoughts there? And what about Kangaskhan/Mega... Should I keep them in or get rid of them for something else? Another Yveltal EX? I have plenty of supporter cards available to me, such as more "N's", Colress cards, Hypnotoxic Lasers, Virbank Gyms, Dimensional Valleys, etc.. Also have float stones, but kinda thought as it a waste with the Darkrai strategy? I'm leaning towards playing 2-3 Virbank Gyms and 4x Hypnotoxic Lasers. Should I throw in another Lysandre or think two is enough and that space could be better used elsewhere? How about another Darkrai just to give me a slightly better chance to get him out quicker? Am I playing enough energy? Obviously I'm not using any psychic energy, but the attack I'm leaning on from Mewtwo EX doesn't take any, so I didn't think it necessary. I have a couple Gengar and megas available as well, but that'd create a need for psychic energy and just give me another mega to worry about evolving (or the need for a spirit link, which is also available). How about another Head Ringer or two? Seems opinions on this card are very hit and miss, but I kinda like it, though don't have much experience with it... but playing with a fairly quick-hitting deck and my attacks being dependent on the amount of energy in play, forcing my opponent to have another energy card on his attackers would both slow him down and potentially make my attacks more powerful. What about including a Lugia or two with a couple plasma energies? Just throwing out some options I've been considering... any others are very welcome.
So, thanks for reading... and again any feedback is welcome and much appreciated. Tournament is 04/04 and do have one more league night this coming Tuesday to help with whatever I have together by then. Hoping for a bit of feedback and suggestions before league though, so I can try out those ideas should I decide to implement them.
And then a question in general, if you don't mind... some of my cards, like one of my "N" cards, are from older sets that are not in the standard deck list for tournament play. But the cards I do have from older decks have been released since then with no change. I've been told if they have been re-released with no change then those older cards are still tournament legal (so my "N" card from Dark Explorers would still be legal, for example). Please confirm if this is correct or not.
Thank you!
-J
Pokemon:
2 Yveltal
2 Yveltal EX
1 Darkrai EX
3 Mewtwo EX
2 Kangaskhan EX
2 M Kangaskhan EX
2 Lysandre
2 Teammates
2 Pokemon Fan Club
3 Cheren
3 N
2 Energy Retrieval
2 Roller Skates
3 Professor's Letter
1 Ultra Ball
1 Master Ball
2 Head Ringer
4 Double Colorless Energy
12 Dark Energy
If you're counting, that's only 51 cards... will get to that in a moment. Strategy here is to get my Darkrai EX out asap to alleviate retreat cost. Primary attacks will be Evil Ball (Yveltal) and X Ball (Mewtwo). Both are quick attacks I can use while energizing Kangaskhan mega and then maybe get in a few Wham Bam Punches. Please give thoughts on this... Was also thinking that on games I draw a Kangaskhan with my first 7, playing him as active and using a turn or two just to draw energy while charging up a Mew or Yveltal... but then that'd mean 2+ turns before I do any damage (once to energize Kangaskhan and then however many times using his draw ability), so not sure how effective this would be. And if the other guy throws an "N" or something similar it'd be a waste.
And for the other 9 cards... any ideas? Should I remove any of the cards I have in play now? Do I have enough draw cards to take out the roller skates? I hate roll dependent cards where it's all or nothing... I probably need a couple more non-EX attackers, so any thoughts there? And what about Kangaskhan/Mega... Should I keep them in or get rid of them for something else? Another Yveltal EX? I have plenty of supporter cards available to me, such as more "N's", Colress cards, Hypnotoxic Lasers, Virbank Gyms, Dimensional Valleys, etc.. Also have float stones, but kinda thought as it a waste with the Darkrai strategy? I'm leaning towards playing 2-3 Virbank Gyms and 4x Hypnotoxic Lasers. Should I throw in another Lysandre or think two is enough and that space could be better used elsewhere? How about another Darkrai just to give me a slightly better chance to get him out quicker? Am I playing enough energy? Obviously I'm not using any psychic energy, but the attack I'm leaning on from Mewtwo EX doesn't take any, so I didn't think it necessary. I have a couple Gengar and megas available as well, but that'd create a need for psychic energy and just give me another mega to worry about evolving (or the need for a spirit link, which is also available). How about another Head Ringer or two? Seems opinions on this card are very hit and miss, but I kinda like it, though don't have much experience with it... but playing with a fairly quick-hitting deck and my attacks being dependent on the amount of energy in play, forcing my opponent to have another energy card on his attackers would both slow him down and potentially make my attacks more powerful. What about including a Lugia or two with a couple plasma energies? Just throwing out some options I've been considering... any others are very welcome.
So, thanks for reading... and again any feedback is welcome and much appreciated. Tournament is 04/04 and do have one more league night this coming Tuesday to help with whatever I have together by then. Hoping for a bit of feedback and suggestions before league though, so I can try out those ideas should I decide to implement them.
And then a question in general, if you don't mind... some of my cards, like one of my "N" cards, are from older sets that are not in the standard deck list for tournament play. But the cards I do have from older decks have been released since then with no change. I've been told if they have been re-released with no change then those older cards are still tournament legal (so my "N" card from Dark Explorers would still be legal, for example). Please confirm if this is correct or not.
Thank you!
-J
. Appreciate the advice though, I obviously need it. Been thinking about taking out Kangaskhan cards as I kinda hinted at in my post, so having a similar opinion helps reassure that. Will look in to the other cards you mentioned as well. Just wanted to say thanks for your input.. very helpful. 