Durant (milling, deck out) HGSS - EP

[James]

Please note this deck can also be found in the Player's Sandbox, as being part of the ''Durant ideas?'' thread.

Here is my take on Durant, C&C welcome! (strategy and card explanations below)

4x Durant
2x Mime Jr
2x Sneasel
2x Weavile
2x Rotom

4x Pokémon Collector
3x Twins
2x Seeker
2x Professor Oak's New Theory

4x Eviolite

4x Defender
4x Revive
4x Junk Arm
4x Pokémon Catcher
1x Alph Litograph (4)

4x Special Metal Energy
2x Metal Energy
4x Rainbow Energy

Durant - Metal - HP70
Basic Pokemon

[M] Devour: Discard a number of cards from the top of your opponent's deck equal to the number of Durant you have in play.
[C][C] ViceGrip: 30 damage.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 1

Eviolite - Trainer

Pokemon Tool: To use a Pokemon Tool attach it to one of your Pokemon. Each Pokemon can only have 1 Pokemon Tool card attached to it.

Any damage received by the Basic Pokemon that this card is attached to is reduced by 20.

You can use any number of Trainer cards during your turn.

Pokemon Catcher - Trainer

Choose 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon, and switch it with his or her Active Pokemon.

You can use any number of Trainer cards during your turn.

Strategy
Get 4 Durant in play, start milling, and keeping it that way!

Explanations

Sure, my list can't get T1 4 Durant in play unless I start with one, but it has enough disruption and mid to late game possibillities. If the early disruption won't work out, the Seeker, Pokémon Catcher, or even Weavile (a fresh one, or a just Seeker'd one) will keep messing the opponent up, while Durant keeps chewing.

The ''obvious 4x4 trainer line'' is included for obvious reasons: Eviolite and Defender to keep even the most fierce attacker at bay (as long as it isn't fire type), Revive to retrieve any fainted Durants, and Junk Arm keeps the entire cycle going, depending on what's needed, and when.

Pokémon Collector speaks for itself, the Twins allow for great search during the game, and PONT is there to give you the hand refresh Cleffa would have offered, but instead you can keep milling in my opinion. Besides, because Durant doesn't need a lot to set up, and your Twins will be doing their job, I think it's hardly needed to refresh your hand a lot; after you set up you just need to do one thing: Milling, and keep milling.

Rotom and Alph Litograph (4) are used to get any Durants you need from your prizes, but after 1 Collector you already know how many are prized anyway, so if need be you could just switch out your prizes ''blind'', as you know your odds of getting the Durant(s), but Alph is just there to be fetched with Twins should it be needed (chances you are giving up a prize anyway if you really got a bad setup and still need to fetch any Durant from your prize(s) is pretty big in my opinion?).

The energy line up speaks for itself; as long as you get any of the 10 energy in your opening hand, your Durant gets a clear go, but the Rainbow Energy allows your Sneasel, Weavile, and even Rotom the option to deal a little damage when needed, or when you are really in a pinch (or feeling lucky!) you could always go all-out with them to pull off a (sniping) sweep. I know the Rainbow Energy deals 10 damage upon attachment, and that if Sneasel were to use it it would only have 40HP left, but I find the pro's it provides overweighing the cons, and when you're in a pinch you'll grab anything to fight back, no?

What do I find lacking myself?

Well, for starters, I'd love to add in a few methods of recovery, namely Super Rod and/or Rescue Energy. I couldn't find room for them without cutting in the concistency of the deck, but on the other hand I expect to only recover basics, which I have Revive for.

Secondly, I wish I could have found a way to slip a Water type tech in there, but there really wasn't anything I could think of to put in without using up too much deck space (along with any additional cards the tech may require as well), so I left it out. Besides, vs any decently built Fire deck I can only hope to mill and disrupt fast and good enough to prevent them from KO'ing me too fast, or there you have a near auto-loss anyways.

 

[AdrianSkyline]

You already run Twins, so you could use Zoroark to counter any fire pokemon you may run into. Other than that, you would have a really hard time keeping Durants from dying. You could tech in a Lanturn Prime; it covers two weaknesses at once, and it costs only LCC to use Powerful Spark. It can literally one hit the Following: Donphan Prime, Yanmega Prime, Reshiram, and Kingdra Prime.

 

[James]

You already run Twins, so you could use Zoroark to counter any fire pokemon you may run into.

Against Reshiram and Zekrom it would work I guess, but I must include DCE then, or power up my Zoroark in 2 turns, but it might work, thanks!

Other than that, you would have a really hard time keeping Durants from dying. [/quote/]

Excuse me? Special metal energy, Eviolite, and Defender all help there, as well as Junk Arm and Revive? Once 4 Durant hit the field, it's tough to drop the formation to less than 4, unless you're OHKO'ing turn after turn. I really don't think there is any better way to keep Durant in play, so I have to disagree with you there.

You could tech in a Lanturn Prime; it covers two weaknesses at once, and it costs only LCC to use Powerful Spark. It can literally one hit the Following: Donphan Prime, Yanmega Prime, Reshiram, and Kingdra Prime.

True, but Laturn doesn't work nice without DCE either (just like Zoroark), which Im not too fond of of teching in; the main goal will remain milling. Laturn also takes up the deck space either Zoroark and/or Weavile will be using, plus it's a lot slower to power up without DCE. To tip that off, Laturn might one-shot all those pokémon, Machamp and Donphan have no trouble with it, as well as Reshiram, Emboar, and Typhlosion, which are my biggest worries (sure, Typhlosion doesn't OHKO Laturn, but it still ruins the energy setup). besides, Weavile is there to chew out all those higher stages from your opponent's hand before the land them down anyways

So sorry, no Laturn for this list, but I might try to squeeze Zoroark in there...!

 

[James]

Bump!! Does nobody have any advice left??

 

[scizorlicious]

Okay, I have some things I'd change:
The Rotom/Alph setup should probably be 1 Rotom/2 Alph, just because Alph isn't searchable (except with Twins) and Rotom is. Also, Rotom can give you bad starts, which isn't fun. The odds of having both a Rotom and a Durant prized are tremendously low, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.
-1 Rotom
+1 Alph
Mime Jr is alright, but you don't want him to be sitting on your bench for a free prize. If he's prized, you can always get him with Rotom and it's not too huge a priority, but I find Mime Jr better for late-game hopestalling.
-1 Mime Jr
We don't need so many Pokémon Catcher, particularly with all the Junk Arm.
-2 Catcher
But some PokéGear would be nice to help us get a T1 Collector, so:
+2 PokéGear 3.0

 

[RobertBenjamin]

like in the previous Durant thread I would like to point out that Reshiram plus DCE plus Plus Power at turn 1 can donk Durant and unravel this deck. But every deck has a weakness so probably a Reshiram deck will be this deck's achilles heel.

 

[Dork Void]

like in the previous Durant thread I would like to point out that Reshiram plus DCE plus Plus Power at turn 1 can donk Durant and unravel this deck. But every deck has a weakness so probably a Reshiram deck will be this deck's achilles heel.

Um, no. Outrage = 20+10(pluspower)=30x2(weakness)=60. Durant has 70 hp. And very few reshiram decks run DCE anyway.

Well, with the deck, I'd remove 2 catcher since you don't need that many and replace them with dual ball. That'll let you get all 4 durant turn 1 as long as none are in the prizes,a dn you don't have to start with 1.

 

[RobertBenjamin]

Um, no. Outrage = 20+10(pluspower)=30x2(weakness)=60. Durant has 70 hp. And very few reshiram decks run DCE anyway.

Well, with the deck, I'd remove 2 catcher since you don't need that many and replace them with dual ball. That'll let you get all 4 durant turn 1 as long as none are in the prizes,a dn you don't have to start with 1.

oh thats riight! thanks for the correction. but still reshiram will give this deck problems.

 

[shifty14326]

Really, the only deck you have to worry about when running Durant is ZPTS. It sets up as fast as you, and can beat you even if you get out 4 Durant T1. Reshiram works only when you can get 2 fire on it T1 (which is almost never). Durant will be seen running with other Pokemon like Stantler or even Smeargle because of Skynarrow Bridge. We'll just have to wait and see, but there's one thing for sure: if Durant sets up (against anything but ZPTS), it is an unbeatable force, and if it doesn't set up against a fast deck, you're screwed. I wouldn't run it period because you CAN'T win best 2 of 3.

 

[Izan]

I really don't see Durant making it as a competitive deck for the pure fact that it has such low HP and has a crippling weakness in this meta.

However, for the sake of proving myself wrong (I love seeing meta gets get their butts handed to them by rogues), to keep Durants up at all time, you should run at least a couple FSL for when you are trainer locked out of revives.

Also, maybe tech in a 1-1 of KGL since you are already running rainbow energy. 2 Rainbow and 2 of any other energy and you can mill 5 cards a turn (more than durants will) and possibly knock out a few pokemon.

 

[Futa]

shifty14326, please do not revive a dead thread.

James, if you want this thread reopened, please PM me.

*Locked*