ReshiPhlosion
Deck: ReshiPhlosion
Author: DawnOfXatu (Masters Division)
Format: HGSS-BW
Date Written: August 4th 2011
Introduction
Hey everybody, DOX here with yet another article. After breaking a toe in the most impressive judo/ultimate-frisbee mashup imaginable I'm sidelined for awhile so I guess that means even more time for me to be spending here, helping you all see and understand more decks before Worlds rolls around. This is my third edition to DOX's Preworlds Article Extravaganza, and if you missed my first two articles you can find them at MegaZone and Donphans and Dragons. With my latest addition I decided to take a swing at one of my wallet's personal favorite decks...
ReshiPhlosion
When Black and White came out there were two decks that everybody was in love with, the first was Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin, and the other was Reshiram/Emboar. Most people didn't understand why anybody would want to play Typhlosion when Emboar was better at getting the necessary energy in play. A few people did see the potential in Typhlosion, but for the most part the general populus overlooked this combination. As Canadian and Mexican Nationals came to a close it became obvious that Typhlosion was the better option when compared to Emboar. You were allowed to use Ninetales for drawpower, you could recycle the energy, even if that means you are taking some damage, and most importantly you could stop using such a bulky and useless Emboar in exchange for the more powerful, dangerous, and retreat efficiant Typhlosion. Now people could stop blowing twenty to thirty dollars on Emboars, and they could just go grab up some of those Typhlosion which were going for three dollars at the time. Although Reshiphlosion has recieved some acclaim and will no doubt see some play, it does have its faults. A slow early game normally plagues players of the deck, but after the deck sets itself up, it will hopefully plow through all six of its prizes in six turns. Using Typhlosion to power up Reshirams every turn and swinging for 120+ each turn, the game quickly turns to a race against the clock, as your opponent scrambles to try and grab easy prizes before Reshiram ends the game. With cards such as Ninetales, Junk Arm, and Sages Training to put Fire Energy into the discard pile for Typhlosion, there is just an unmatched level of drawpower and consistency that this deck boasts, and if it does set up quickly, the game is basically over.
The Decklist
Pokemon: 19
4 Reshiram 113-BW
3 Typhlosion Prime 110-HGSS
2 Quilava 49-HGSS
3 Cyndaquil 61-HGSS
2 Ninetales 7-HGSS
2 Vulpix 87-HGSS
1 Cleffa 17-HGSS
1 Tyrogue 33-HGSS
1 Manaphy 3-UL
Energy: 14
14 Fire Energy
Trainers: 27
4 Pokemon Collector 97-HGSS
4 Pokemon Communication 98-HGSS
4 Professor Oak's New Theory 101-HGSS
4 Junk Arm 87-TM
3 Pokemon Reversal 99-HGSS
3 Sage's Training 77-UD
3 PlusPower 80-UL
2 Rare Candy 82-UL
Deck Specifics
Reshiram: The main focus of the deck, Reshiram is here in full force. Making for a decent starter early game to avoid falling behind in prizes, as well as a fearsome late game attacker, Reshiram is going to be doing most of the work when it comes to taking prizes. With support from Typhlosion's Afterburner PokePower Reshiram will be able to attack every turn, dealing massive amounts of consecutive damage.
Typhlosion, Quilava, and Cyndaquil: Another part of this decks core, Typhlosion provides the needed energy to Reshiram retrieving the energy from the discard pile. That energy can be placed in the discard pile through trainers such as Junk Arm and Sage's Training, by abilities such as Ninetales' Roast Reveal, or even through attacks such as Reshiram's Blue Flame. Although not normally used as an attacker, Typhlosion can also make for a decent attacker, denying your opponent some of their energy. Overall a sizeable and balanced line for Typhlosion ends up being 3-2-3.
Ninetales and Vulpix: Ninetales provides two things to the deck. It gives the deck one of the most powerful and consistent draw engines available, and it also tosses energy into the discard pile so that Typhlosion can recycle those energy. The importance of Ninetales in the deck has been debated now that Pokemon Reversal has become such a popular play. Playing Ninetales is a risky move, but the rewards are just too great to ignore. A solid 2-2 line of Ninetales strikes the perfect balance between the inconsistency of a 1-1 line and the overdependance of a 3-3 line.
Cleffa, Manaphy, and Tyrogue: These three cards have slowly become the norm in most decks. This trio handles all the various situations that could be encountered at the start of the game. Should your opponent start with a Baby you can search Tyrogue for the KO. Should you need to refresh your hand you have the choice between the more efficiant Cleffa, and the more sturdy Manaphy. Manaphy has become a common starter due to its ability to survive Tyrogue, while Cleffa still remains in use due to its free retreat and its free attack cost. Tyrogue is not as necessary in this deck, although it is one of the only ways to deal early damage to gain a quick KO, as there are not any other cards in the deck that can score an early game 30.
Energy: Although both Double Colorless Energy and Rescue Energy can possibly be played in the deck, I feel that the best option is to go with straight Fire Energy, so that you can always have the needed energy requirements. Anywhere between 12 and 16 energy can be used in this deck, but the safest amount has proven to be 14 allowing for a full trainer line, yet still enough energy for a guranteed couple in your opening hand.
Search Engine (Pokemon Collector and Pokemon Communication): For a deck that uses a basic Pokemon as its main attacker with support from Stage One and Stage Two Pokemon you would think that this deck would be using more than the customary 4 Collector and 4 Communication. However between a decent number of drawing supporters and the draw support gained from Ninetales this deck manages just fine. Additionally this deck doesn't necessarily need to be up and attacking immediately. With either a starter or a Reshiram you would be fine setting up over the course of a few turns.
Discarding Engine (Sage's Training and Junk Arm): One of the few things that this deck needs to work effectively is to put Fire Energy into the discard pile. Between Junk Arm and Sage's Training you have an effective trainer system for placing Fire Energy into the discard pile. Sage's Training gives a more selective from of drawpower which can be especially helpful in a deck such as this which needs to get a number of different Pokemon lines onto the field. Junk Arm, a staple in every deck, finally has a reason for the discard, and being able to recycle scarce trainers in the deck such as Rare Candy, Pokemon Reversal, and PlusPower.
Why only two Rare Candy? Well in this deck there is very little reason to use Rare Candy, the only instance of use being to evolve a Cyndaquil. Therefore having only a couple of Rare Candy allows for the player to bring out a couple of extra Typhlosion later in the game, while still having a chance of hitting a Candy in the early game.
No Recovery? In this deck recovery is not needed. Energy can be recycled with Typhlosion so the only reason why you would play recovery cards would be to bring back a knocked out Pokemon. Some players play a single Revive in this deck to get the fifth Reshiram in case of a heated battle, but I have never had an instance where I needed to use the Revive in order to get a Reshiram, I have always had spare Reshiram easily accessible in my deck.
Possible Techs
Defender 78-UD Defender can find itself a handful of possible uses in any deck, there are any number of times when taking twenty less damage is the difference between life and death. In a deck such as this one which damages itself with regularity, it is important to make sure that your main attacker can take a hit, even with you placing ten to twenty damage on it. After single Defender will allow for a Reshiram to survive two attacks from a Yanmega. A Defender can also allow for a third Afterburner before a Reshiram falls into range for Magnezone to knock it out without having to burn a third energy.
Ursaring Prime 89-UL A big question that is often posed to decks such as Reshiram, where the main attacker must discard most of their energy in order to attack, is what do you do when your opponent starts to throw bait at you, to try and cause you to burn precious resources while they build something bigger and stronger. In this deck Ursaring Prime punishes those who throw bait at your Reshiram. For a single attachment and two Afterburners, Ursaring Prime can swing for 90 and discard the top of your opponents deck. Not only do you have a way to deal with lower HP cards that also doubles as disruption, but you now have a counter for Rayquaza Deoxys Legend. And for another energy you are able to swing for 120 damage, giving you a fifth attacker that is attacking in that range.
Deoxys-And-Rayquaza-Legend 89/90-UD Although adding this card to your deck would require the addition of a Lightning Energy, some people may see the addition as worthwhile. Although most decks do provide at least one counter to this card (Cinccino, Zoroark, Bouffalant) it is important to note that if your opponent does seem to be lacking a proper counter to this card, you can utilize this card to win the game. Without any counter this card can grab two or more prizes at a crucial point in the game, securing your lead. Using these cards does require a bit more of a setup and is much more situational than I would like, but this will give you the edge over most opposing ReshiPhlosion, as well as most other Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin. Very situational, very deadly.
Matchups
Vs. Yanmega/Magnezone : Slightly Unfavorable Taking on MegaZone requires an ideal setup, and while early in the game there will be difficulties, if you can avoid taking too much of a beating from the Yanmega, you can hopefully build up a wave of Reshiram to handle the opposing Yanmega. One issue will be Magnezone, who can take a hit from Reshiram and then return with a knock out. Once you are cooking, be sure to start stockpiling a couple of PlusPower in your hand so that you can make a power-move if necessary, otherwise Magnezone will disrupt the declicate prize tradeoff, and msot likely tilt the battle in their favor.
Vs. Kingdra/Yanmega/Jirachi : Even This matchup is one that would be definitely in favor of ReshiPhlosion if it were not for Jirachi. Well timed Jirachi devolutions will make taking down your Typhlosion all the more easy, and will eventually cripple your ability to sweep later in the game. However if you are able to prune off those pesky Jirachi before they can become too much of a hassle, via Pokemon Reversal, you will be able to beat this deck due the sheer amount of force that you have over them. You can knock out the Yanmega easily and the Kingdra are near useless.
Vs. Donphan/Zekrom/Reshiram : Even Early in this battle things will look bleak, but if you can start with a Reshiram and fight back against the early Donphans with Outrage you can earn yourself an advantage, while it does take two or more turns for Donphan to knock out a Reshiram, it also takes two turns to knock out a Donphan with a Reshiram. The prize trade off between these two decks is fairly even, with Donphan preforming better early in the game, and Reshiram preforming better later in the game.
Vs. Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin/Yanmega : Even When the two Dragons start fighting it out the games normally come down to a combination of speed and PlusPowers. While Zekrom can knock out any Reshiram after an Afterburner, he then falls within knock out range for Reshiram. When the two are fighting at full HP, without a PlusPower they will miss the knock outs and then be taken out via Outrage. Zekrom has the advantage early in the game, but it will eventually burn through it's shaky resources allowing for Reshiram to dominate late game, either way this one will be close.
Vs. Yanmega/Donphan/Zoroark : Unfavorable The one thing that ReshiPhlosion has trouble with is decks that hit hard early in the game. Normally the deck can build itself up before things are too late, and then use Reshiram to sweep the late game, but with Zoroark also in this deck, a single DCE can lead to a revenge KO at any time. Not only that but if ReshiPhlosion fails to set up a Reshiram, they are leaving themselves open for a Zoroark to grab a free KO and increase the lead.
Vs. MewBox : Even MewBox takes about the same amount of time as ReshiPhlosion to become completely set up, which does mean that if either deck does get a fantasitc start they will have already won the game, however MewBox does have a few threats to ReshiPhlosion. The Muk and Vileplume combination can be used to render any Typhlosion useless, and put Reshiram a couple of turns behind as far as energy attachment is concerned. While MewBox is looking to lock up the deck, it does not have much in the way of big attackers. If ReshiPhlosion can get up and attacking it will take prizes easily against a MewBox, and aside from Jumpluff there are not many ways that MewBox can return KOs easily.
Closing Thoughts
Thank you for reading, if you have any comments, concerns, or questions feel free to post. I would like to mention that this deck is fantastic for newer players as it introduces a player to a couple of cards that work very well together and the deck itself isn't exactly rocket science. Another important thing about this deck is that it is relatively cheap for a high tier deck. You can make a deck such as this one for around $50 which is incredibly cheap when you realize that you would have trouble getting your hands on three Yanmega for that much. Beyond that I don't really think I have a whole lot more to say. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but I'll live...
Deck: ReshiPhlosion
Author: DawnOfXatu (Masters Division)
Format: HGSS-BW
Date Written: August 4th 2011
Introduction
Hey everybody, DOX here with yet another article. After breaking a toe in the most impressive judo/ultimate-frisbee mashup imaginable I'm sidelined for awhile so I guess that means even more time for me to be spending here, helping you all see and understand more decks before Worlds rolls around. This is my third edition to DOX's Preworlds Article Extravaganza, and if you missed my first two articles you can find them at MegaZone and Donphans and Dragons. With my latest addition I decided to take a swing at one of my wallet's personal favorite decks...
ReshiPhlosion
When Black and White came out there were two decks that everybody was in love with, the first was Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin, and the other was Reshiram/Emboar. Most people didn't understand why anybody would want to play Typhlosion when Emboar was better at getting the necessary energy in play. A few people did see the potential in Typhlosion, but for the most part the general populus overlooked this combination. As Canadian and Mexican Nationals came to a close it became obvious that Typhlosion was the better option when compared to Emboar. You were allowed to use Ninetales for drawpower, you could recycle the energy, even if that means you are taking some damage, and most importantly you could stop using such a bulky and useless Emboar in exchange for the more powerful, dangerous, and retreat efficiant Typhlosion. Now people could stop blowing twenty to thirty dollars on Emboars, and they could just go grab up some of those Typhlosion which were going for three dollars at the time. Although Reshiphlosion has recieved some acclaim and will no doubt see some play, it does have its faults. A slow early game normally plagues players of the deck, but after the deck sets itself up, it will hopefully plow through all six of its prizes in six turns. Using Typhlosion to power up Reshirams every turn and swinging for 120+ each turn, the game quickly turns to a race against the clock, as your opponent scrambles to try and grab easy prizes before Reshiram ends the game. With cards such as Ninetales, Junk Arm, and Sages Training to put Fire Energy into the discard pile for Typhlosion, there is just an unmatched level of drawpower and consistency that this deck boasts, and if it does set up quickly, the game is basically over.
The Decklist
Pokemon: 19
4 Reshiram 113-BW
3 Typhlosion Prime 110-HGSS
2 Quilava 49-HGSS
3 Cyndaquil 61-HGSS
2 Ninetales 7-HGSS
2 Vulpix 87-HGSS
1 Cleffa 17-HGSS
1 Tyrogue 33-HGSS
1 Manaphy 3-UL
Energy: 14
14 Fire Energy
Trainers: 27
4 Pokemon Collector 97-HGSS
4 Pokemon Communication 98-HGSS
4 Professor Oak's New Theory 101-HGSS
4 Junk Arm 87-TM
3 Pokemon Reversal 99-HGSS
3 Sage's Training 77-UD
3 PlusPower 80-UL
2 Rare Candy 82-UL
Deck Specifics
Reshiram: The main focus of the deck, Reshiram is here in full force. Making for a decent starter early game to avoid falling behind in prizes, as well as a fearsome late game attacker, Reshiram is going to be doing most of the work when it comes to taking prizes. With support from Typhlosion's Afterburner PokePower Reshiram will be able to attack every turn, dealing massive amounts of consecutive damage.
Typhlosion, Quilava, and Cyndaquil: Another part of this decks core, Typhlosion provides the needed energy to Reshiram retrieving the energy from the discard pile. That energy can be placed in the discard pile through trainers such as Junk Arm and Sage's Training, by abilities such as Ninetales' Roast Reveal, or even through attacks such as Reshiram's Blue Flame. Although not normally used as an attacker, Typhlosion can also make for a decent attacker, denying your opponent some of their energy. Overall a sizeable and balanced line for Typhlosion ends up being 3-2-3.
Ninetales and Vulpix: Ninetales provides two things to the deck. It gives the deck one of the most powerful and consistent draw engines available, and it also tosses energy into the discard pile so that Typhlosion can recycle those energy. The importance of Ninetales in the deck has been debated now that Pokemon Reversal has become such a popular play. Playing Ninetales is a risky move, but the rewards are just too great to ignore. A solid 2-2 line of Ninetales strikes the perfect balance between the inconsistency of a 1-1 line and the overdependance of a 3-3 line.
Cleffa, Manaphy, and Tyrogue: These three cards have slowly become the norm in most decks. This trio handles all the various situations that could be encountered at the start of the game. Should your opponent start with a Baby you can search Tyrogue for the KO. Should you need to refresh your hand you have the choice between the more efficiant Cleffa, and the more sturdy Manaphy. Manaphy has become a common starter due to its ability to survive Tyrogue, while Cleffa still remains in use due to its free retreat and its free attack cost. Tyrogue is not as necessary in this deck, although it is one of the only ways to deal early damage to gain a quick KO, as there are not any other cards in the deck that can score an early game 30.
Energy: Although both Double Colorless Energy and Rescue Energy can possibly be played in the deck, I feel that the best option is to go with straight Fire Energy, so that you can always have the needed energy requirements. Anywhere between 12 and 16 energy can be used in this deck, but the safest amount has proven to be 14 allowing for a full trainer line, yet still enough energy for a guranteed couple in your opening hand.
Search Engine (Pokemon Collector and Pokemon Communication): For a deck that uses a basic Pokemon as its main attacker with support from Stage One and Stage Two Pokemon you would think that this deck would be using more than the customary 4 Collector and 4 Communication. However between a decent number of drawing supporters and the draw support gained from Ninetales this deck manages just fine. Additionally this deck doesn't necessarily need to be up and attacking immediately. With either a starter or a Reshiram you would be fine setting up over the course of a few turns.
Discarding Engine (Sage's Training and Junk Arm): One of the few things that this deck needs to work effectively is to put Fire Energy into the discard pile. Between Junk Arm and Sage's Training you have an effective trainer system for placing Fire Energy into the discard pile. Sage's Training gives a more selective from of drawpower which can be especially helpful in a deck such as this which needs to get a number of different Pokemon lines onto the field. Junk Arm, a staple in every deck, finally has a reason for the discard, and being able to recycle scarce trainers in the deck such as Rare Candy, Pokemon Reversal, and PlusPower.
Why only two Rare Candy? Well in this deck there is very little reason to use Rare Candy, the only instance of use being to evolve a Cyndaquil. Therefore having only a couple of Rare Candy allows for the player to bring out a couple of extra Typhlosion later in the game, while still having a chance of hitting a Candy in the early game.
No Recovery? In this deck recovery is not needed. Energy can be recycled with Typhlosion so the only reason why you would play recovery cards would be to bring back a knocked out Pokemon. Some players play a single Revive in this deck to get the fifth Reshiram in case of a heated battle, but I have never had an instance where I needed to use the Revive in order to get a Reshiram, I have always had spare Reshiram easily accessible in my deck.
Possible Techs
Defender 78-UD Defender can find itself a handful of possible uses in any deck, there are any number of times when taking twenty less damage is the difference between life and death. In a deck such as this one which damages itself with regularity, it is important to make sure that your main attacker can take a hit, even with you placing ten to twenty damage on it. After single Defender will allow for a Reshiram to survive two attacks from a Yanmega. A Defender can also allow for a third Afterburner before a Reshiram falls into range for Magnezone to knock it out without having to burn a third energy.
Ursaring Prime 89-UL A big question that is often posed to decks such as Reshiram, where the main attacker must discard most of their energy in order to attack, is what do you do when your opponent starts to throw bait at you, to try and cause you to burn precious resources while they build something bigger and stronger. In this deck Ursaring Prime punishes those who throw bait at your Reshiram. For a single attachment and two Afterburners, Ursaring Prime can swing for 90 and discard the top of your opponents deck. Not only do you have a way to deal with lower HP cards that also doubles as disruption, but you now have a counter for Rayquaza Deoxys Legend. And for another energy you are able to swing for 120 damage, giving you a fifth attacker that is attacking in that range.
Deoxys-And-Rayquaza-Legend 89/90-UD Although adding this card to your deck would require the addition of a Lightning Energy, some people may see the addition as worthwhile. Although most decks do provide at least one counter to this card (Cinccino, Zoroark, Bouffalant) it is important to note that if your opponent does seem to be lacking a proper counter to this card, you can utilize this card to win the game. Without any counter this card can grab two or more prizes at a crucial point in the game, securing your lead. Using these cards does require a bit more of a setup and is much more situational than I would like, but this will give you the edge over most opposing ReshiPhlosion, as well as most other Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin. Very situational, very deadly.
Matchups
Vs. Yanmega/Magnezone : Slightly Unfavorable Taking on MegaZone requires an ideal setup, and while early in the game there will be difficulties, if you can avoid taking too much of a beating from the Yanmega, you can hopefully build up a wave of Reshiram to handle the opposing Yanmega. One issue will be Magnezone, who can take a hit from Reshiram and then return with a knock out. Once you are cooking, be sure to start stockpiling a couple of PlusPower in your hand so that you can make a power-move if necessary, otherwise Magnezone will disrupt the declicate prize tradeoff, and msot likely tilt the battle in their favor.
Vs. Kingdra/Yanmega/Jirachi : Even This matchup is one that would be definitely in favor of ReshiPhlosion if it were not for Jirachi. Well timed Jirachi devolutions will make taking down your Typhlosion all the more easy, and will eventually cripple your ability to sweep later in the game. However if you are able to prune off those pesky Jirachi before they can become too much of a hassle, via Pokemon Reversal, you will be able to beat this deck due the sheer amount of force that you have over them. You can knock out the Yanmega easily and the Kingdra are near useless.
Vs. Donphan/Zekrom/Reshiram : Even Early in this battle things will look bleak, but if you can start with a Reshiram and fight back against the early Donphans with Outrage you can earn yourself an advantage, while it does take two or more turns for Donphan to knock out a Reshiram, it also takes two turns to knock out a Donphan with a Reshiram. The prize trade off between these two decks is fairly even, with Donphan preforming better early in the game, and Reshiram preforming better later in the game.
Vs. Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin/Yanmega : Even When the two Dragons start fighting it out the games normally come down to a combination of speed and PlusPowers. While Zekrom can knock out any Reshiram after an Afterburner, he then falls within knock out range for Reshiram. When the two are fighting at full HP, without a PlusPower they will miss the knock outs and then be taken out via Outrage. Zekrom has the advantage early in the game, but it will eventually burn through it's shaky resources allowing for Reshiram to dominate late game, either way this one will be close.
Vs. Yanmega/Donphan/Zoroark : Unfavorable The one thing that ReshiPhlosion has trouble with is decks that hit hard early in the game. Normally the deck can build itself up before things are too late, and then use Reshiram to sweep the late game, but with Zoroark also in this deck, a single DCE can lead to a revenge KO at any time. Not only that but if ReshiPhlosion fails to set up a Reshiram, they are leaving themselves open for a Zoroark to grab a free KO and increase the lead.
Vs. MewBox : Even MewBox takes about the same amount of time as ReshiPhlosion to become completely set up, which does mean that if either deck does get a fantasitc start they will have already won the game, however MewBox does have a few threats to ReshiPhlosion. The Muk and Vileplume combination can be used to render any Typhlosion useless, and put Reshiram a couple of turns behind as far as energy attachment is concerned. While MewBox is looking to lock up the deck, it does not have much in the way of big attackers. If ReshiPhlosion can get up and attacking it will take prizes easily against a MewBox, and aside from Jumpluff there are not many ways that MewBox can return KOs easily.
Closing Thoughts
Thank you for reading, if you have any comments, concerns, or questions feel free to post. I would like to mention that this deck is fantastic for newer players as it introduces a player to a couple of cards that work very well together and the deck itself isn't exactly rocket science. Another important thing about this deck is that it is relatively cheap for a high tier deck. You can make a deck such as this one for around $50 which is incredibly cheap when you realize that you would have trouble getting your hands on three Yanmega for that much. Beyond that I don't really think I have a whole lot more to say. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but I'll live...
.
