ZPSY
Deck: ZPSY
Author: DawnOfXatu (Masters Division)
Date Written: August 7th 2011
Format: HGSS-BW
Introduction
Hey everybody, this will be my fifth installment of DOX's PreWorlds Article Extravaganza. If you missed any of my first four articles you can find them at Donphans and Dragons, MegaZone, ReshiPhlosion, and KY Jelly. The point of writing all of these articles is to provide players with information regarding possible decks that they will see at Worlds, as well as other various tidbits of information that my be helpful to players. Should I feel that these articles have gone well, I may decide to continue writing various informational articles throughout the next season. Of course this is all just speculation for now, but you never know. Anyways today I will be taking a look at one of the more successful decks, as well as one of the most disliked decks that has emerged since Black and White...
ZPSY
The scans for Black and White came out and everybody noticed the same handful of cards, Emboar, Reshiram, and of course Zekrom. It was little time before people noticed that is was possible to be attacking with Zekrom on the first turn of the game with the help of Pachirisu and Shaymin. Getting three energy onto a Zekrom in order to attack on the first turn of the game seems ambitious, but the deck has managed to prove that it is possible. Winning both Canadian and Mexican Nationals, it became apparent that this deck had something to contribute to the game. However after American Nationals people decided that this deck was not as great as it seemed to be, the deck's popularity has dropped off recently due to decks such as MegaZone, and Yanmega/Donphan/Zoroark becomming more popular. While this deck does have devestating power early in the game, it had many issues to deal wih. The deck was believed to be inconsistent, and unable to win if it couldn't win in the first few turns of the game. Donphan has also done a number on this deck, ending the game before it can even begin. In order to counter Donphan and to give this deck some level of late game Yanmega was added. Now this deck is still an option at worlds, being something with previous success, which most decks cannot boast, but most players are still skeptical, worried about the decks many bad matchups and more importantly the decks lack of consistency.
The Decklist
Pokemon: 16
4 Zekrom 114-BW
2 Pachirisu 18-CoL
2 Shaymin 8-UL
3 Yanmega Prime 98-TM
3 Yanma 84-TM
2 Manaphy 3-UL
Energy: 15
2 Rescue Energy 90-TM
13 Lightning Energy
Trainers: 29
4 Pokemon Collector 97-HGSS
4 Pokemon Communication 98-HGSS
4 Copycat 90-HGSS
3 PlusPower 80-UL
3 Junk Arm 87-TM
3 Pokemon Reversal 99-HGSS
2 Switch 102-HGSS
2 Judge 78-UL
2 Seeker 88-TM
2 Dual Ball 72-UL
Deck Specifics
Zekrom: The main attacker of this deck, Zekrom is able to deal 120 damage for three energy and relatively little backlash. The damage that Zekrom takes from its own attack can be used to power Outrage, and with 130 HP as a basic, taking 40 damage is not a huge dealbreaker, especially for a knock out. The problem is always getting your hands on the energy and getting them into play early in the game, and to do that you are going to need Pachirisu and Shaymin to help.
Pachirisu: The way that the deck gets more energy into play early in the game, Pachirisu uses its PokePower to hopefully add two more energy to the field, which can then be moved to Zekrom. Pachirisu can also be used as an attacker in a desperate situation, although it typically is not recommended. The choice to run only two Pachirisu is due to the fact that this deck needs to be as compact as possible to avoid unwanted starts and excess cards hanging around later in the game. You only need two Pachirisu to be effective with this deck, as you can always recycle your Pachi with a Seeker if you need to get more energy into play, which you normally shouldn't after the start of the game.
Shaymin: Once Pachirisu has brought more energy to the game, you are going to need a way to get those energy onto Zekrom. Shaymin is the most effective way to move those energy. Shaymin can also be used later in the game to preserve energy already in play by moving the energy to an undamaged Zekrom. Runnining two Shaymin is also a choice made in order to keep the deck compact, as it is important to have good starts and less dead draws later in the game.
Yanmega and Yanma: One of the troubles that comes with running a single card as your main attacker is that your deck can be extremely susceptible to weakness. Zekrom's weakness to Fighting is a huge issue, especially with Donphan being prevalent in the format, as Donphan can put down any Zekrom without too much trouble and only one energy. With that in mind Yanmega is added to the deck to provide more attackers, a resistance to your major weakness, more basic Pokemon with free retreat, and more ways to deal quick and effective damage. A 3-3 line gives you enough Yanmega to handle the Donphan component in most common decks.
Manaphy: Sometimes this deck doesn't always go off exactly as you wish, sometimes you need to take a chance to refresh your hand. Either way Manaphy is your best bet in this deck. Manaphy makes for yet another free-retreat starter in the deck, helping to balance out any Pachirisu and Shaymin that you could possibly start with. Manaphy can refresh your hand for a single energy, and Shaymin can move that energy later in the game making Manaphy equally energy detrimental as a Cleffa, but with the added durability.
Energy: The energy for this deck fairly straightforward. Two Rescue Energy are included to make sure that you have access to six Zekrom, and/or five Yanmega giving you enough attackers for a long game should you need it. The rest of the energy are devoted to Lightning so that you can attack with Zekrom, hopefully on the first turn. A total of fifteen energy makes for a hightened chance of starting/drawing into the energy that you need early in the game.
Search Engine (Pokemon Collector, Pokemon Communication, Dual Ball): Four Collector and four Communication are not a huge surprise in this deck, they are the quickest and most effective way to get out the Pokemon that you need. However most people will complain that there are only two Dual Ball, however any more than two Dual Ball and you are just opening yourself up to dead draw later in the game, as well as wasting space that could be used for any number of better options.
Shuffle Engine (Copycat and Judge): Playing Yanmega requires a number of ways to make sure that your hand is the same as your opponents. While you can make your hand sizes the same by just creatively playing with cards such as Collector and Junk Arm which have a higher ability to shift the size of your hand, sometimes you are going to need cards such as Judge and Copycat to equalize your hands. Be careful when playing Judge though, as it has a higher chance of backfiring in a deck such as this one with more deaddraws.
Assorted Trainers (Pokemon Reversal, PlusPower, Junk Arm, Switch, and Seeker): Finding the right amount of each of these trainers is important in a deck like this which requires a potent opening hand, otherwise the deck doesn't go off as planned. Three PlusPower, Junk Arm, and Pokemon Reversal as they are all key to winning certain matchups. Only two Seeker and Switch because, although they can play key roles in the deck, playing more than two of each just swells your hand and forces you to play them just for the sake of getting them out of your hand. With all of the Supporters in the deck, sometimes getting rid of an extra Seeker can be even harder than you would expect.
Possible Techs
Super Scoop Up 83-UL
With this deck needing to use its Supporter usages sparingly sometimes you won't find yourself being able to use Seeker when you would like to. Super Scoop Up can be used in place of Seeker as it saves your your Supporter usage and it can be reused with the help of Junk Arm. However adding more flips into this deck isn't always the wisest move.
Unown DARK 40-UL
Getting three energy in your hand in the first turn of a game can be difficult. Adding a single Unown DARK and a single Darkness Energy can allow a player to grab another energy by using only one of your Collector slots. This works well if you start with two Lightning in your hand and you need a third energy to pay for the colorless attachment. A searchable energy.
Matchups
Vs. Yanmega/Magnezone : Slightly Unfavorable While you do have the advantage of speed, and you have weakness versus Yanmega, after the first few turns of the game your opponent should have built up enough energy and a Magnezone to be able to push through whatever amount of Zekrom you have set up. If you can hit the Reversal and bring down their Magnezone before it is opperational you should be able to pull through this matchup.
Vs. Kingdra/Yanmega/Jirachi : Favorable This is one of your best matchups, they focus on dealing small amounts of damage quickly while hoping to score multiple knock outs through devolution. Not only can they not devolve you, but you also have weakness against all of their attackers. Just swarm a handful of Zekrom with Outrage and you should have this matchup easily.
Vs. Donphan/Zekrom/Reshiram : Unfavorable Any deck that plays Donphan is going to be an issue with this deck, however when they also have a way to deal with your Yanmega, then you are going to have a real problem. The only way that you are going to win this matchup is by ending it early with a handful of quick knock outs.
Vs. Reshiram/Typhlosion/Ninetales : Even This battle comes down to speed and PlusPowers. While you have the advantage early in the game, eventually you are going to burn out and they are going to start up. With that in mind the match will devolve into a battle of who can knock out the opposing dragon the most effectively. If you can keep up with the prize trade later in the game, you will eventually win due to your early lead.
Vs. Yanmega/Donphan/Zoroark : Unfavorable Yet another deck with Donphan, this deck also sports Zoroark, who can knock out any Zekrom for just a DCE and a PlusPower. With this in mind you are going to have to hope that they have a difficult time setting up correctly so that you can win early. Otherwise you are going to fall to their Donphan and Yanmega.
Vs. MewBox : Even While you should have no trouble dealing with MewBox when there is no Trainer-Lock, once that lock goes up you are going to lose most of your tricks and advantages. They are going to try to keep up early with Yanmega and Mew Prime, but you shouldn't have any trouble taking either of those out. Avoiding Muk locks on a benched Zekrom with no energy is the only thing that you should watch out for.
Closing Thoughts
Thanks for reading again. If you have any questions, concerns, or disagreements feel free to post and I will be happy to respond. Otherwise I don't think I have much more to say. I'll be done going over decklists soon, and then I can move on to more comprehensive coverage of what decks I think will do well at Worlds.
Deck: ZPSY
Author: DawnOfXatu (Masters Division)
Date Written: August 7th 2011
Format: HGSS-BW
Introduction
Hey everybody, this will be my fifth installment of DOX's PreWorlds Article Extravaganza. If you missed any of my first four articles you can find them at Donphans and Dragons, MegaZone, ReshiPhlosion, and KY Jelly. The point of writing all of these articles is to provide players with information regarding possible decks that they will see at Worlds, as well as other various tidbits of information that my be helpful to players. Should I feel that these articles have gone well, I may decide to continue writing various informational articles throughout the next season. Of course this is all just speculation for now, but you never know. Anyways today I will be taking a look at one of the more successful decks, as well as one of the most disliked decks that has emerged since Black and White...
ZPSY
The scans for Black and White came out and everybody noticed the same handful of cards, Emboar, Reshiram, and of course Zekrom. It was little time before people noticed that is was possible to be attacking with Zekrom on the first turn of the game with the help of Pachirisu and Shaymin. Getting three energy onto a Zekrom in order to attack on the first turn of the game seems ambitious, but the deck has managed to prove that it is possible. Winning both Canadian and Mexican Nationals, it became apparent that this deck had something to contribute to the game. However after American Nationals people decided that this deck was not as great as it seemed to be, the deck's popularity has dropped off recently due to decks such as MegaZone, and Yanmega/Donphan/Zoroark becomming more popular. While this deck does have devestating power early in the game, it had many issues to deal wih. The deck was believed to be inconsistent, and unable to win if it couldn't win in the first few turns of the game. Donphan has also done a number on this deck, ending the game before it can even begin. In order to counter Donphan and to give this deck some level of late game Yanmega was added. Now this deck is still an option at worlds, being something with previous success, which most decks cannot boast, but most players are still skeptical, worried about the decks many bad matchups and more importantly the decks lack of consistency.
The Decklist
Pokemon: 16
4 Zekrom 114-BW
2 Pachirisu 18-CoL
2 Shaymin 8-UL
3 Yanmega Prime 98-TM
3 Yanma 84-TM
2 Manaphy 3-UL
Energy: 15
2 Rescue Energy 90-TM
13 Lightning Energy
Trainers: 29
4 Pokemon Collector 97-HGSS
4 Pokemon Communication 98-HGSS
4 Copycat 90-HGSS
3 PlusPower 80-UL
3 Junk Arm 87-TM
3 Pokemon Reversal 99-HGSS
2 Switch 102-HGSS
2 Judge 78-UL
2 Seeker 88-TM
2 Dual Ball 72-UL
Deck Specifics
Zekrom: The main attacker of this deck, Zekrom is able to deal 120 damage for three energy and relatively little backlash. The damage that Zekrom takes from its own attack can be used to power Outrage, and with 130 HP as a basic, taking 40 damage is not a huge dealbreaker, especially for a knock out. The problem is always getting your hands on the energy and getting them into play early in the game, and to do that you are going to need Pachirisu and Shaymin to help.
Pachirisu: The way that the deck gets more energy into play early in the game, Pachirisu uses its PokePower to hopefully add two more energy to the field, which can then be moved to Zekrom. Pachirisu can also be used as an attacker in a desperate situation, although it typically is not recommended. The choice to run only two Pachirisu is due to the fact that this deck needs to be as compact as possible to avoid unwanted starts and excess cards hanging around later in the game. You only need two Pachirisu to be effective with this deck, as you can always recycle your Pachi with a Seeker if you need to get more energy into play, which you normally shouldn't after the start of the game.
Shaymin: Once Pachirisu has brought more energy to the game, you are going to need a way to get those energy onto Zekrom. Shaymin is the most effective way to move those energy. Shaymin can also be used later in the game to preserve energy already in play by moving the energy to an undamaged Zekrom. Runnining two Shaymin is also a choice made in order to keep the deck compact, as it is important to have good starts and less dead draws later in the game.
Yanmega and Yanma: One of the troubles that comes with running a single card as your main attacker is that your deck can be extremely susceptible to weakness. Zekrom's weakness to Fighting is a huge issue, especially with Donphan being prevalent in the format, as Donphan can put down any Zekrom without too much trouble and only one energy. With that in mind Yanmega is added to the deck to provide more attackers, a resistance to your major weakness, more basic Pokemon with free retreat, and more ways to deal quick and effective damage. A 3-3 line gives you enough Yanmega to handle the Donphan component in most common decks.
Manaphy: Sometimes this deck doesn't always go off exactly as you wish, sometimes you need to take a chance to refresh your hand. Either way Manaphy is your best bet in this deck. Manaphy makes for yet another free-retreat starter in the deck, helping to balance out any Pachirisu and Shaymin that you could possibly start with. Manaphy can refresh your hand for a single energy, and Shaymin can move that energy later in the game making Manaphy equally energy detrimental as a Cleffa, but with the added durability.
Energy: The energy for this deck fairly straightforward. Two Rescue Energy are included to make sure that you have access to six Zekrom, and/or five Yanmega giving you enough attackers for a long game should you need it. The rest of the energy are devoted to Lightning so that you can attack with Zekrom, hopefully on the first turn. A total of fifteen energy makes for a hightened chance of starting/drawing into the energy that you need early in the game.
Search Engine (Pokemon Collector, Pokemon Communication, Dual Ball): Four Collector and four Communication are not a huge surprise in this deck, they are the quickest and most effective way to get out the Pokemon that you need. However most people will complain that there are only two Dual Ball, however any more than two Dual Ball and you are just opening yourself up to dead draw later in the game, as well as wasting space that could be used for any number of better options.
Shuffle Engine (Copycat and Judge): Playing Yanmega requires a number of ways to make sure that your hand is the same as your opponents. While you can make your hand sizes the same by just creatively playing with cards such as Collector and Junk Arm which have a higher ability to shift the size of your hand, sometimes you are going to need cards such as Judge and Copycat to equalize your hands. Be careful when playing Judge though, as it has a higher chance of backfiring in a deck such as this one with more deaddraws.
Assorted Trainers (Pokemon Reversal, PlusPower, Junk Arm, Switch, and Seeker): Finding the right amount of each of these trainers is important in a deck like this which requires a potent opening hand, otherwise the deck doesn't go off as planned. Three PlusPower, Junk Arm, and Pokemon Reversal as they are all key to winning certain matchups. Only two Seeker and Switch because, although they can play key roles in the deck, playing more than two of each just swells your hand and forces you to play them just for the sake of getting them out of your hand. With all of the Supporters in the deck, sometimes getting rid of an extra Seeker can be even harder than you would expect.
Possible Techs
Super Scoop Up 83-UL
With this deck needing to use its Supporter usages sparingly sometimes you won't find yourself being able to use Seeker when you would like to. Super Scoop Up can be used in place of Seeker as it saves your your Supporter usage and it can be reused with the help of Junk Arm. However adding more flips into this deck isn't always the wisest move.
Unown DARK 40-UL
Getting three energy in your hand in the first turn of a game can be difficult. Adding a single Unown DARK and a single Darkness Energy can allow a player to grab another energy by using only one of your Collector slots. This works well if you start with two Lightning in your hand and you need a third energy to pay for the colorless attachment. A searchable energy.
Matchups
Vs. Yanmega/Magnezone : Slightly Unfavorable While you do have the advantage of speed, and you have weakness versus Yanmega, after the first few turns of the game your opponent should have built up enough energy and a Magnezone to be able to push through whatever amount of Zekrom you have set up. If you can hit the Reversal and bring down their Magnezone before it is opperational you should be able to pull through this matchup.
Vs. Kingdra/Yanmega/Jirachi : Favorable This is one of your best matchups, they focus on dealing small amounts of damage quickly while hoping to score multiple knock outs through devolution. Not only can they not devolve you, but you also have weakness against all of their attackers. Just swarm a handful of Zekrom with Outrage and you should have this matchup easily.
Vs. Donphan/Zekrom/Reshiram : Unfavorable Any deck that plays Donphan is going to be an issue with this deck, however when they also have a way to deal with your Yanmega, then you are going to have a real problem. The only way that you are going to win this matchup is by ending it early with a handful of quick knock outs.
Vs. Reshiram/Typhlosion/Ninetales : Even This battle comes down to speed and PlusPowers. While you have the advantage early in the game, eventually you are going to burn out and they are going to start up. With that in mind the match will devolve into a battle of who can knock out the opposing dragon the most effectively. If you can keep up with the prize trade later in the game, you will eventually win due to your early lead.
Vs. Yanmega/Donphan/Zoroark : Unfavorable Yet another deck with Donphan, this deck also sports Zoroark, who can knock out any Zekrom for just a DCE and a PlusPower. With this in mind you are going to have to hope that they have a difficult time setting up correctly so that you can win early. Otherwise you are going to fall to their Donphan and Yanmega.
Vs. MewBox : Even While you should have no trouble dealing with MewBox when there is no Trainer-Lock, once that lock goes up you are going to lose most of your tricks and advantages. They are going to try to keep up early with Yanmega and Mew Prime, but you shouldn't have any trouble taking either of those out. Avoiding Muk locks on a benched Zekrom with no energy is the only thing that you should watch out for.
Closing Thoughts
Thanks for reading again. If you have any questions, concerns, or disagreements feel free to post and I will be happy to respond. Otherwise I don't think I have much more to say. I'll be done going over decklists soon, and then I can move on to more comprehensive coverage of what decks I think will do well at Worlds.
