KYJelly
Deck: KY-Jelly (Kingdra/Yanmega/Jirachi)
Author: DawnOfXatu (Masters Division)
Date Written: August 6th 2011
Format: HGSS-BW
Introduction
Hey everybody, sorry about not having anything up yesterday, I decided to hit the beach and catch some sun, as well as check out the local tattoo parlor, I'll be sure to put in a little more effort today and hopefully crank out two articles. Either way this is my fourth installment in DOX's PreWorlds Article Extravaganza, with you being able to find the first three articles at ReshiPhlosion, MegaZone, and Donphans and Dragons. These articles are part of a project that I have been working on to get a high amount of quality information to players who are looking to either play in the Last Chance Qualifier or Worlds. Today I will be taking a look at yet another deck that should make a decent showing at Worlds...
Kingdra/Yanmega/Jirachi (KY Jelly)
Although not highly advertised before Nationals, a handful of players used this deck with moderate success at Nationals. Now that Nationals has passed, more people have become interested in exactly how this deck works, and more importantly what it looks like. While this deck has stayed out of the limelight far better than most other contenders for Worlds, that doesn't negate the fact that it is more than a viable option, especially in the hands of a skilled player with a good understanding of his or her list. The strategy of this deck is to spread enough damage to your opponents key Pokemon before you use Jirachi to devolve them and take easy prizes. With Yanmega sniping for 40 and Kingdra dropping 10 here and there, the deck slowly eats away at the important parts of your opponents deck, however what stopped this deck just short of being amazing was the sheer quantity of Reshiram and Zekrom in the format, both of which give this deck troubles. Aside from the issues that this deck has with the dragons, this deck can handle almost any deck in the format with even matchups across the rest of the board...
The Decklist
Pokemon: 21
3 Kingdra Prime 85-UL
2 Seadra 40-UL
3 Horsea 49-UL
4 Yanmega Prime 98-TM
4 Yanma 84-TM
2 Jirachi 1-UL
1 Blissey Prime 106-HGSS
1 Chansey 58-HGSS
1 Cleffa 17-HGSS
Energy: 8
2 Psychic Energy
2 Rescue Energy 90-TM
4 Rainbow Energy 104-HGSS
Trainers: 31
4 Pokemon Collector 97-HGSS
4 Pokemon Communication 98-HGSS
4 Judge 78-UL
4 Copycat 90-HGSS
4 Junk Arm 87-TM
3 Pokemon Reversal 99-HGSS
3 Rare Candy 82-UL
2 Switch 102-HGSS
1 Twins 89-TM
1 Lost Remover 80-CoL
1 Defender 72-UD
Deck Build Specifics
Kingdra, Seadra, and Horsea: One of the key parts to the deck, the Kingdra line provides extra support to your Yanmega, adding extra damage when needed to help put your opponent's Pokemon in range for devolution. Kingdra also acts as a backup attacker, countering opposing Donphan and giving a plausible way to deal damage quickly if you cannot meet the requirements to attack with Yanmega. Some players chose to increase the size of the Kingdra line in this deck, but anything over a 3-2-3 line is just overkill as most Kingdra do not see the face of battle, and act as bench sitters.
Yanmega and Yanma: The main attacker of the deck, Yanmega is used to get quick kills with Sonic Boom while also sniping with Linear Attack to put bench sitting Pokemon in range to be devolved by Jirachi. With most basic Pokemon having an average HP of 60, that means that one attack from Yanmega, coupled with two Spray Splash from Kingdra will lead to Jirachi being able to devolve and knock out said Pokemon.
Jirachi: The crucial card for this deck, Jirachi can cause multiple knock outs as well as cripple your opponents strategy all in one attack, leaving your opponent scrambling to recover. Devolving as many Pokemon as it has energy attached, Jirachi can cause mayhem for decks that require evolved Pokemon to act as bench sitters. However Jirachi is extremely frail, causing the player to have to play carefully when they are bringing out Jirachi. Luckily between your regular attachment and Jirachi's PokePower you can manage to get a couple of energy attached to your Jirachi before your opponent has a chance to do anything about it.
Blissey and Chansey: My personal favorite tech for this deck, Blissey Prime works wonders in a deck that requires basically no energy to attack. A well timed Blissey can give renewed life to your active Yanmega, or even heal multiple Pokemon if your opponent missed a few knock outs and you were able to retreat. With the miniscule amounts of energy played in the deck, as well as your energyless attackers, playing a Blissey always seems to be the right choice. Although it must be noted that Blissey and Chansey are both terrible Reversal bait, but this deck plays enough Switch and Junk Arm for it to not be a deal-breaker.
Cleffa, but no Manaphy or Tyrogue: Playing a single Cleffa in this deck allows for a backup plan if you manage to get an intolerable start, however what's more noticeable is the lack of Manaphy and Tyrogue. Manaphy is inconsistent in the deck because of the small amount of energy, which means that it doesn't always provide the hand refreshment that you are looking for. Tyrogue is also absent, mostly due to this decks ability to punish Baby Pokemon later on in the game. Yanmega can take the baby as a free prize whenever it wants, or Kingdra can take it out in a couple of turns if you don't want to waste your attacks on it.
Energy: The energy in this deck are always a field of debate. Running two Psychic energy provides something for Jirachi to use its PokePower on, also having two extra Psychic energy gives two more energy to help Jirachi attack if it becomes necessary. The two Rescue Energy are for the Yanmega, to help keep a consistent stream of Yanmega going throughout the game. The four Rainbow Energy are there to provide energy to each of the cards in the deck. Kingdra can attack for a single Rainbow, as can Jirachi, and Yanmega can even attack in emergency situations with a Rainbow energy and one more energy.
Search Engine (Pokemon Collector and Pokemon Communication): This decks strategy requires an early Yanmega, with Kingdra joining the game shortly afterwards in order to do this as quickly and space-efficiantly as possible maxing Collector and Communication is the best option. Overall this deck does seem to lack the search power that you would want, but with a 4-4 Yanmega and Rescue Energy you don't need to have the most powerful search engine, as Kingdra can be built up manually without much trouble.
Shuffle Engine (Judge and Copycat): This deck has one main attacker, Yanmega. With this in mind it becomes extremely important that you have a way to always make your hand the same size as your opponents. Sometimes this can be done manually, such as with Collectors and Junk Arm, but other times you are going to need the help of a supporter before you can attack with Yanmega freely.
Assorted Trainers (Junk Arm, Pokemon Reversal, Rare Candy, and Switch): All of these trainers are staples in a deck such as this one, the only things that can really be addressed are the numbers of each card. Junk Arm gives extra uses of these trainers so maxing it out makes sense with the extra space in the deck. Three of Pokemon Reversal and Rare Candy make for decent consistency, while two Switch is the bare minimal to play with the Blissey tech.
Single Tech Trainers (Twins, Lost Remover, Defender): One of the unique things about this deck is that between its average sized Pokemon line and its small energy amount it leaves extra space in the trainer line, something that most decks do not have. With these three extra spaces the player can chose to do anything from add a tech to the Pokemon line, to adding one-of trainers to help with the decks overall matchups. Due to this decks spreading strategy it doesn't always find itself on top of the prize trade mid-game. With that in mind Twins can give you more options mid-game. Lost Remover helps with this decks issues against Zekrom who can be teched into decks that make heavy use of Double Colorless Energy. Defender is played to give Yanmega increased durability, forcing ReshiPhlosion players to score that extra PlusPower in order to get the knock out.
Possible Techs
Mismagius 5-UL
Mismagius works well alongside this deck, specifically with Jirachi and Blissey. Mismagius can help to toss extra energy onto Jirachi before you go to devolve, and it can also move around Rainbow Energy, allowing you to chose which Pokemon you place the damage counter on, making Rainbow Energy and Blissey less contradictory. Mismagius can also attack for a Psychic energy to help to add some extra damage coutners across the board.
Shaymin 8-UL
Another card used to help out Jirachi, Shaymin can be teched into the deck so that you can make your Jirachi drop and attack in the same turn for added surprise and less susceptibilty to Pokemon Reversal. However this deck normally doesn't get a lot of energy into play, making Shaymin less useful than one would assume.
Donphan Prime 107-HGSS
Instead of Blissey a player can opt to play Donphan in this deck. With four Rainbow Energy attacking with Donphan isn't extremely difficult either. The main reason to play Donphan in this deck is for type coverage. Donphan will help your matchups versus Zekrom as well as Magnezone variants. Of course the help won't automatically give you the game, but it can turn the tides of the game in your favor.
Matchups
Vs. Yanmega/Magnezone : Even This is a matchup where Jirachi makes the difference. You need to devolve opposing Magnezone before they become a threat. Your deck is incredibly weak to Lightning, and should you not be able to remove Magnezone from the equation, your opponent will take prizes quickly without much fear. If you can remove Magnezone then the game comes down to who can bring out more Yanmega and Kingdra effectively. Since your opponent has more space devoted to Magnezone, it should be this deck that comes out on top.
Vs. Donphan/Zekrom/Reshiram : Slightly Unfavorable This battle is always going to be an issue, not because of Donphan, you can handle Donphan without much trouble with Yanmega, but Zekrom and Reshiram make this battle incredibly difficult. You are unable to devolve a Zekrom, you have no way to knock out a Zekrom in one hit, and Zekrom can knock anything out with just a single DCE after being hit once. Your best hope is to Judge them and hope that they drought energy, so that you can take a couple of turns to attack freely with Yanmega, otherwise this battle will not go well.
Vs. Reshiram/Typhlosion/Ninetales : Even You start off much more quickly than they do, and if you Judge them early enough you can cripple their setup. After that you have to make sure that you either prevent them from getting a Typhlosion out, or you make sure to devolve and knock out that Typhlosion as quickly as possible. If you let them get set up and start attacking consistently with Reshiram, you are going to have a tough time winning this prize trade off.
Vs. Yanmega/Donphan/Zoroark : Slightly Favorable Most of the time these decks do not have a way to counter Kingdra (although some decks are now teching Reshiram). With this in mind you are going to want to trade prizes with their Yanmega and your Yanmega, until they are forced to cave and bring out a Donphan. Once they run out of thier resources you should be able to end the game quickly by dissolving their Donphan and overpowering their remaining Yanmega and Zoroark. Devolving doesn't play a huge role in this battle, but it can be used if they get cornered into attacking with Donphan and they put a handful of damage counters onto their bench.
Vs. Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin/Yanmega : Unfavorable Zekrom will always have your number. Even just having three Zekrom on the field with enough energy to let each of them Outrage will be enough for you to lose this matchup. You just don't have the needed power to take down a Zekrom before they can take you out. The only way that you will win this matchup is if they are forced to start with Pachi, Shaymin, or Yanma and you can manage to take a heafty prize lead before they get out a Zekrom.
Vs. MewBox : Slightly Favorable You don't have a lot that can be dragged by Muk or shot down by Crobat, so MewBox is most likely going to opt for a Jumpluff option in this matchup. With that in mind you just have to keep your bench small, and then keep ahead of the Yanmega trade-off. They will try to trainer lock you, but the Oddish only have 40 HP making them easy targets. As long as you play smart you should end up winning this game.
Closing Thoughts
This was one of my favorite articles to write, it is an interesting deck, fun to play, and it always takes a lot of thinking. I should have another one of these articles done by the end of today, and then I will only have a handful of decks left to write about, then I can get down to making some predictions and getting to the real crux of the matter. I've got some playtesting buddies coming over and we're going to be working on some creative grinding decks, and I'll definitley have somethings to say about that when I get the time. Thanks for reading yet again, feel free to post with any comments, concerns, or questions and I'll be sure to answer them in a timely fashion.
Deck: KY-Jelly (Kingdra/Yanmega/Jirachi)
Author: DawnOfXatu (Masters Division)
Date Written: August 6th 2011
Format: HGSS-BW
Introduction
Hey everybody, sorry about not having anything up yesterday, I decided to hit the beach and catch some sun, as well as check out the local tattoo parlor, I'll be sure to put in a little more effort today and hopefully crank out two articles. Either way this is my fourth installment in DOX's PreWorlds Article Extravaganza, with you being able to find the first three articles at ReshiPhlosion, MegaZone, and Donphans and Dragons. These articles are part of a project that I have been working on to get a high amount of quality information to players who are looking to either play in the Last Chance Qualifier or Worlds. Today I will be taking a look at yet another deck that should make a decent showing at Worlds...
Kingdra/Yanmega/Jirachi (KY Jelly)
Although not highly advertised before Nationals, a handful of players used this deck with moderate success at Nationals. Now that Nationals has passed, more people have become interested in exactly how this deck works, and more importantly what it looks like. While this deck has stayed out of the limelight far better than most other contenders for Worlds, that doesn't negate the fact that it is more than a viable option, especially in the hands of a skilled player with a good understanding of his or her list. The strategy of this deck is to spread enough damage to your opponents key Pokemon before you use Jirachi to devolve them and take easy prizes. With Yanmega sniping for 40 and Kingdra dropping 10 here and there, the deck slowly eats away at the important parts of your opponents deck, however what stopped this deck just short of being amazing was the sheer quantity of Reshiram and Zekrom in the format, both of which give this deck troubles. Aside from the issues that this deck has with the dragons, this deck can handle almost any deck in the format with even matchups across the rest of the board...
The Decklist
Pokemon: 21
3 Kingdra Prime 85-UL
2 Seadra 40-UL
3 Horsea 49-UL
4 Yanmega Prime 98-TM
4 Yanma 84-TM
2 Jirachi 1-UL
1 Blissey Prime 106-HGSS
1 Chansey 58-HGSS
1 Cleffa 17-HGSS
Energy: 8
2 Psychic Energy
2 Rescue Energy 90-TM
4 Rainbow Energy 104-HGSS
Trainers: 31
4 Pokemon Collector 97-HGSS
4 Pokemon Communication 98-HGSS
4 Judge 78-UL
4 Copycat 90-HGSS
4 Junk Arm 87-TM
3 Pokemon Reversal 99-HGSS
3 Rare Candy 82-UL
2 Switch 102-HGSS
1 Twins 89-TM
1 Lost Remover 80-CoL
1 Defender 72-UD
Deck Build Specifics
Kingdra, Seadra, and Horsea: One of the key parts to the deck, the Kingdra line provides extra support to your Yanmega, adding extra damage when needed to help put your opponent's Pokemon in range for devolution. Kingdra also acts as a backup attacker, countering opposing Donphan and giving a plausible way to deal damage quickly if you cannot meet the requirements to attack with Yanmega. Some players chose to increase the size of the Kingdra line in this deck, but anything over a 3-2-3 line is just overkill as most Kingdra do not see the face of battle, and act as bench sitters.
Yanmega and Yanma: The main attacker of the deck, Yanmega is used to get quick kills with Sonic Boom while also sniping with Linear Attack to put bench sitting Pokemon in range to be devolved by Jirachi. With most basic Pokemon having an average HP of 60, that means that one attack from Yanmega, coupled with two Spray Splash from Kingdra will lead to Jirachi being able to devolve and knock out said Pokemon.
Jirachi: The crucial card for this deck, Jirachi can cause multiple knock outs as well as cripple your opponents strategy all in one attack, leaving your opponent scrambling to recover. Devolving as many Pokemon as it has energy attached, Jirachi can cause mayhem for decks that require evolved Pokemon to act as bench sitters. However Jirachi is extremely frail, causing the player to have to play carefully when they are bringing out Jirachi. Luckily between your regular attachment and Jirachi's PokePower you can manage to get a couple of energy attached to your Jirachi before your opponent has a chance to do anything about it.
Blissey and Chansey: My personal favorite tech for this deck, Blissey Prime works wonders in a deck that requires basically no energy to attack. A well timed Blissey can give renewed life to your active Yanmega, or even heal multiple Pokemon if your opponent missed a few knock outs and you were able to retreat. With the miniscule amounts of energy played in the deck, as well as your energyless attackers, playing a Blissey always seems to be the right choice. Although it must be noted that Blissey and Chansey are both terrible Reversal bait, but this deck plays enough Switch and Junk Arm for it to not be a deal-breaker.
Cleffa, but no Manaphy or Tyrogue: Playing a single Cleffa in this deck allows for a backup plan if you manage to get an intolerable start, however what's more noticeable is the lack of Manaphy and Tyrogue. Manaphy is inconsistent in the deck because of the small amount of energy, which means that it doesn't always provide the hand refreshment that you are looking for. Tyrogue is also absent, mostly due to this decks ability to punish Baby Pokemon later on in the game. Yanmega can take the baby as a free prize whenever it wants, or Kingdra can take it out in a couple of turns if you don't want to waste your attacks on it.
Energy: The energy in this deck are always a field of debate. Running two Psychic energy provides something for Jirachi to use its PokePower on, also having two extra Psychic energy gives two more energy to help Jirachi attack if it becomes necessary. The two Rescue Energy are for the Yanmega, to help keep a consistent stream of Yanmega going throughout the game. The four Rainbow Energy are there to provide energy to each of the cards in the deck. Kingdra can attack for a single Rainbow, as can Jirachi, and Yanmega can even attack in emergency situations with a Rainbow energy and one more energy.
Search Engine (Pokemon Collector and Pokemon Communication): This decks strategy requires an early Yanmega, with Kingdra joining the game shortly afterwards in order to do this as quickly and space-efficiantly as possible maxing Collector and Communication is the best option. Overall this deck does seem to lack the search power that you would want, but with a 4-4 Yanmega and Rescue Energy you don't need to have the most powerful search engine, as Kingdra can be built up manually without much trouble.
Shuffle Engine (Judge and Copycat): This deck has one main attacker, Yanmega. With this in mind it becomes extremely important that you have a way to always make your hand the same size as your opponents. Sometimes this can be done manually, such as with Collectors and Junk Arm, but other times you are going to need the help of a supporter before you can attack with Yanmega freely.
Assorted Trainers (Junk Arm, Pokemon Reversal, Rare Candy, and Switch): All of these trainers are staples in a deck such as this one, the only things that can really be addressed are the numbers of each card. Junk Arm gives extra uses of these trainers so maxing it out makes sense with the extra space in the deck. Three of Pokemon Reversal and Rare Candy make for decent consistency, while two Switch is the bare minimal to play with the Blissey tech.
Single Tech Trainers (Twins, Lost Remover, Defender): One of the unique things about this deck is that between its average sized Pokemon line and its small energy amount it leaves extra space in the trainer line, something that most decks do not have. With these three extra spaces the player can chose to do anything from add a tech to the Pokemon line, to adding one-of trainers to help with the decks overall matchups. Due to this decks spreading strategy it doesn't always find itself on top of the prize trade mid-game. With that in mind Twins can give you more options mid-game. Lost Remover helps with this decks issues against Zekrom who can be teched into decks that make heavy use of Double Colorless Energy. Defender is played to give Yanmega increased durability, forcing ReshiPhlosion players to score that extra PlusPower in order to get the knock out.
Possible Techs
Mismagius 5-UL
Mismagius works well alongside this deck, specifically with Jirachi and Blissey. Mismagius can help to toss extra energy onto Jirachi before you go to devolve, and it can also move around Rainbow Energy, allowing you to chose which Pokemon you place the damage counter on, making Rainbow Energy and Blissey less contradictory. Mismagius can also attack for a Psychic energy to help to add some extra damage coutners across the board.
Shaymin 8-UL
Another card used to help out Jirachi, Shaymin can be teched into the deck so that you can make your Jirachi drop and attack in the same turn for added surprise and less susceptibilty to Pokemon Reversal. However this deck normally doesn't get a lot of energy into play, making Shaymin less useful than one would assume.
Donphan Prime 107-HGSS
Instead of Blissey a player can opt to play Donphan in this deck. With four Rainbow Energy attacking with Donphan isn't extremely difficult either. The main reason to play Donphan in this deck is for type coverage. Donphan will help your matchups versus Zekrom as well as Magnezone variants. Of course the help won't automatically give you the game, but it can turn the tides of the game in your favor.
Matchups
Vs. Yanmega/Magnezone : Even This is a matchup where Jirachi makes the difference. You need to devolve opposing Magnezone before they become a threat. Your deck is incredibly weak to Lightning, and should you not be able to remove Magnezone from the equation, your opponent will take prizes quickly without much fear. If you can remove Magnezone then the game comes down to who can bring out more Yanmega and Kingdra effectively. Since your opponent has more space devoted to Magnezone, it should be this deck that comes out on top.
Vs. Donphan/Zekrom/Reshiram : Slightly Unfavorable This battle is always going to be an issue, not because of Donphan, you can handle Donphan without much trouble with Yanmega, but Zekrom and Reshiram make this battle incredibly difficult. You are unable to devolve a Zekrom, you have no way to knock out a Zekrom in one hit, and Zekrom can knock anything out with just a single DCE after being hit once. Your best hope is to Judge them and hope that they drought energy, so that you can take a couple of turns to attack freely with Yanmega, otherwise this battle will not go well.
Vs. Reshiram/Typhlosion/Ninetales : Even You start off much more quickly than they do, and if you Judge them early enough you can cripple their setup. After that you have to make sure that you either prevent them from getting a Typhlosion out, or you make sure to devolve and knock out that Typhlosion as quickly as possible. If you let them get set up and start attacking consistently with Reshiram, you are going to have a tough time winning this prize trade off.
Vs. Yanmega/Donphan/Zoroark : Slightly Favorable Most of the time these decks do not have a way to counter Kingdra (although some decks are now teching Reshiram). With this in mind you are going to want to trade prizes with their Yanmega and your Yanmega, until they are forced to cave and bring out a Donphan. Once they run out of thier resources you should be able to end the game quickly by dissolving their Donphan and overpowering their remaining Yanmega and Zoroark. Devolving doesn't play a huge role in this battle, but it can be used if they get cornered into attacking with Donphan and they put a handful of damage counters onto their bench.
Vs. Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin/Yanmega : Unfavorable Zekrom will always have your number. Even just having three Zekrom on the field with enough energy to let each of them Outrage will be enough for you to lose this matchup. You just don't have the needed power to take down a Zekrom before they can take you out. The only way that you will win this matchup is if they are forced to start with Pachi, Shaymin, or Yanma and you can manage to take a heafty prize lead before they get out a Zekrom.
Vs. MewBox : Slightly Favorable You don't have a lot that can be dragged by Muk or shot down by Crobat, so MewBox is most likely going to opt for a Jumpluff option in this matchup. With that in mind you just have to keep your bench small, and then keep ahead of the Yanmega trade-off. They will try to trainer lock you, but the Oddish only have 40 HP making them easy targets. As long as you play smart you should end up winning this game.
Closing Thoughts
This was one of my favorite articles to write, it is an interesting deck, fun to play, and it always takes a lot of thinking. I should have another one of these articles done by the end of today, and then I will only have a handful of decks left to write about, then I can get down to making some predictions and getting to the real crux of the matter. I've got some playtesting buddies coming over and we're going to be working on some creative grinding decks, and I'll definitley have somethings to say about that when I get the time. Thanks for reading yet again, feel free to post with any comments, concerns, or questions and I'll be sure to answer them in a timely fashion.
. Zoroark is a great tech, useful in Yanmega mirror, and also imporves TyRam matchup. I don't know why you recommend Donphan, and you should never run that. Rainbow Energies aren't needed either. Jirachi takes any type of energy, so you can use {p} and {w}