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Empoleon / Leafeon / Dusknoir

helti

helti

Gaming Maniac
Member
I have given up on the deck, it is not matching up with the new format either.
Post Updated.
This was my first Thread on this forum, I decided to update it a little instead of making a new one, I'm also allowing people to take a look at my old "strategy" and Card value opinions, this was only a few weeks ago, but I feel that my time on pokebeach has served well, Thank you.

Hello, this is my take on my favourite deck of the format, Empoleon, as great as a card it is, it also allows for some versatile gameplay. Enjoy.


Empoleon
empoleon-plasma-freeze-plf-117.jpg



Pokemon: 23
Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums: 31
  • Colress x2
  • N x4
  • Skyla x3
  • Juniper x3
  • Rare Candy x4
  • Switch x2
  • Level Ball x3
  • Silver Bangle x3
  • Ultra Ball x3
  • Super Rod x2
  • Dowsing Machine x1
  • Tool Scrapper x1
Energy: 7
  • 7 Water


Card Value and Strategy
My original thoughts and assumptions
  • First off, Empoleon, good draw ability, good health and good attack,
    I find a 4-2-4 line to be exceptionally well, and better than to drop off the prinplups because of the heavy steady damage that can be done with flareon/bangle, Which usually lines up to get exactly 170 or 180 if switched correctly between the 1-1-1 lines and the rare candy lines. Extremly good card to counter things like zoroark BW and Mew, as they don't do enough damage with empoleon's attack to 1hit KO (with the exception of zoroark claw). Energy cost is low, so Damage output is not a concern.
  • Leafeon, Great card, counters things like blastoise/keldeo exceptionally well and is an annoying attacker for the opponent to deal with, because it only gives them 1 price for a knockout, as well as powering up flareon. This card makes the deck counter most water decks, especially Blastoise/keldeo. Blastoise keldeo requires alot of energy to take out one single empoleon, which makes leafeon have enough time to sprint in and knock back and steal some prizes. Also a Low energy cost like Empoleon, which makes this card extremly powerfull.
  • Flareon, Good card, really really good, and in most situations(acutally all) I've had enough poke in the discard pile to power up Flareon, also a very good card aginst Virizion Genesect, especially in lategame, the opponent doesn't pick up enough prizes , (assuming Genesect doesn't spam me with his ability :c) and The attack does incredibly high amounts of damage.
  • Exeggcute, Very valuable, I've had so many situations where two of this card has allowed me to take control of the game, wether I choose to discard with my Ultra ball or not, is my choice. This card lets me have so much draw power, and two of them have prevented me from having to discard key cards in the beginning, and if one stays in prize, Hopefully the other will be the deck.
  • Mr.Mime, Key card to victory aginst Darkrai and kyurem. Had me saved in situations where I could've lost my build.
  • Jirachi Ex, Only a few cases, but in very dire needs, Jirachi Ex can be pulled out for free in most cases, and maybe save my butt once or twice.
  • Of course, not that many supporters, but, it is nessecary to keep the cards alive, Discarding happens way too often in this deck, which is why N and Cheren are way more usefull, than a set of Junipers, although I have 1 Juniper. Skyla also helps out in situations where I need another empoleon, or just a ball for my setup. There's not alot of supporters in this deck, but the deck has alot of draw already, This can easily be countered by Garbordor, BUT, by the time one is set up, I am probably set up and have drawn enough cards already to start beating on the enemy, and 1 card each time I draw after that is not an issue to deal with if I have one or two attackers in this deck.
  • Rare Candies are essential, in Dire situations or to apply early game pressure, I have to have one, and I have to be able to aquire it easily, I never discard them unless I abseloutly have to.
  • There is just enough Ultra and Level balls to build my setup perfectly the way I want to,
  • Switch is always needed, and rod to save my butt again, if I need energies or certain pokemon that have been knocked out again and again.
  • Bangle is also very helpfull for outputting damage, as Flareon would be half useless without me having a few bangles, I use it to hit in the end or beginning with Leafeon or late with Flareon.
  • Tool scrapper just to ruin other setups, or even just get rid of a Garbordor in the way.
  • Two Beaches to draw if I abseloutly can't draw else.
    and I have chosen Dowsing machine as my Ace Spec for the reasoning of not havning enough space for items or supporters I might need later in the game, it is really good and lets me Power up or boost myself quickly.
  • Personally, I think 8 Energies is enough, as it is very cheap to power up my Pokemon and I can draw energies really quickly.
Strategy

Generally
Empoleon will provide draw, and Attack Command if nessecary, it's a good attack, and loosing 1 of 2 in play isn't bad if you have that kind of setup, or can set up one or more Empoleons by the time it is your turn.

Leafeon will be a great and powerfull attacker, screwing up for the opponents with high energy cost attacks or grass weakness, it is easy to set up.

Flareon will be an endgame attacker, as the opponent does usually not get to take the last Prize card(or even more than one) before you get to discard enough pokemon to Attack for high damage, Bangle will provide the little extra you need for EX's.

Blastoise/keldeo
Usually an easy victory, as with Blastoise/keldeo decks your main attacker WILL be Leafeon, however, you'd better be careful, as They knock Leafeon easily, however, your empoleons will soak up damage and let you draw before hitting keldeo or blastoise with really high damage.
Flareon is in most cases, NOT AN OPTION , it is rather Deadweight in the deck aginst Blastoise/Keldeo.

Darkrai/sableye
Not a bad or good matchup, as Darkrai usually will not be able to kill you, especially with Mime around, but the opponent does not really need a lot of pokemon out at the same time, You'll be hitting for low, unless you slap on a bangle on empoleon or leafeon, Leafeon will most of the time benefit from Dark patch, but also suffer from the fact that Claw might just eat it. However, Empoleon might just get enough hits to get rid of most of Darkrai's health, if 3 or more Pokemon are on the opponent's field, You might just have enough on your side to 2hit ko darkrai, as well as getting a 1:2 prize trade (plus draw).
Otherwise, bangle will help you out a lot too.

Virizion/Genesect
Painful matchup, Luckily, Empoleon does not suffer from grass weakness like Blastoise/keldeo does.
The main focus here is to try to knock down the opponent with empoleon or Leafeon, and in the end, burning them to crust with flareon, the problem is to protect your pokemon against Genesect's plasma energy ability. However, if things work in your favour You'll end up having them discard enough energy and get enough power to Knock their faces into dust as your saviour Flareon shoots a large fireball of doom right in their mouth.

In match-ups against Garbordor, stay calm, and try to focus down the enemy, rather than the draw.

So what do you think? Is there anything you don't agree with, or just think should be changed in the deck, the focus, the cards, anything, I'm open to constructive criticism, bear in mind, this is one of the first times I have made a thread, and certainly the first time I've posted my deck, and my opinion on it, and how I think it should be built and used, so don't be harsh.
Cheers.

with barely enough testing, and limited knowledge, I had assumed things, and tested only a few games (almost only 1 of each meta) when I originally made the thread.
But with the help of other people, and enough thinking, I've managed to squeeze the deck into what I find works properly.
So lets go over the list, and the strategy behind my list.

Attacking Pokemon
Empoleon.
I run a 4-2-4 (Now 4-3-4) line because I find it to be the perfect line to keep up in a game, it's easy to use, Allows for a nice set-up, powers up Flareon, and has an easier time with super rods. It helps with not wasting rare candies that are, with Dusclops, quite precious. saving at least one, allows for retrieving one extra Pokemon or energy with super rod, and instant power-up. unless you have to discard one, which is also fine, because I'm running 2 Prinplups.
Leafeon. (And a third, Espeon, for support)
Leafeon is a good attacker, cheap to power, limits the opponent and hits hard, It is a great counter to Blastoise/Keldeo, Mewtwo, and high energy cost decks, I find it necessary to run 2 in this deck, but I don't find it to be useful to have more, and super rod makes it simple to retrieve, so adding more forces less space on the bench for piplups, and the space on the bench is already pretty tight.
Landorus EX.
I added Landorus EX to counter pokemon that are weak to fighting, mainly Thundurus, Landorus is great for protecting the deck while it sets up, I recommend using Landorus.

Supporting Pokemon
Espeon.
Obviously for blocking against Accelgor decks, or any other attack effect that may cause some problems, if the card is dead-weight then there's no need to use it except for discard fodder, which isn't an issue. I have Espeon in the deck, just to be prepared for everything. you'll probably loose anyway, wastes space to counter many decks.
Exeggcute.
Free Empoleon draw, simple as that, helpful in many situations just to draw free cards.
Dusknoir.
To save time dealing damage, with catcher being used a lot less now, Dusknoir has time to shine, and helps this deck out immensely.
Mr. Mime.
To block bench damage, Insanely good against Darkrai. There are only ups for having Mime in the deck, whether it's discard fodder, or protecting against Darkrai, Genesect and Plasma Kyurem.
Darkrai does not benefit against Empoleon with Garbordor in the deck against this deck, why? because tool scrapper would screw up the strategy with Garbordor, also experienced that the opponent needs Darkrai's ability to retreat, but gets knocked out by Empoleon. Either way, Mr. Mime provides excellent protection.
Jirachi EX.
Excellent card, perfect for times where drawing a supporter is more important than having a ball, or where you just need the supporter at all, I find myself using this card in situations where I need to put out just a little more damage, and also draw into different cards.

Trainers
To be honest, this deck doesn't need a lot of supporters, which is why I keep the line down a bit, getting out the first Empoleon allows for big draw, and if you need draw, use Leafeon as an attacker.
Four Rare candies is essential, although I might switch out candies to update the lines and for soda, because of trees coming in X&Y.
Silver Bangle allows for higher damage, works exceptionally well against EX decks, and it is a perfect card against Blastoise/Keldeo. I also think it is the best tool combined with Dusknoir in Empoleon, because of the extra damage you can save to knock your opponent's other Pokemon.
I chose Dowsing machine as my Ace Spec, mainly because I believe I haven't gotten into trouble with needing to set up where if I had computer search instead, It would've helped out more, instead, Dowsing machine tends to help out when the wrong trainer was discarded and I need it later in the game, a lot of cards are essential in the deck, and dowsing machine helps out grabbing them back later on.
Town map, I have Town map in the deck just in case some cards drop into prizes, and I need to know which ones to take when I knock out the opponent, yes, sometimes it can get prized with other essential cards, but if you wait patiently enough, you're probably going to draw into one or the other.
I run 2 Super rods, because 1 isn't enough, I thought so a few days ago, but after some recent matches where I couldn't use my Dowsing machine, I found that it is necessary to have two rods, just in case.

The strategy of the deck is to set up an Empoleon quickly, before setting any support Pokemon, you want to know what the opponent is running, so unless you have found out what they are running, setting up 1-2 Piplups is fine, meanwhile you might as well have one Eevee on the bench, also, you want to have Duskull on the bench as soon as possible, but before you place him on the bench, make sure you check your deck if you have Dusknoir in prizes or not. when you have found out what kind of deck they have, if necessary, put Mr.Mime on the bench or evolve Eevee into Espeon if you can, unless you can get out Empoleon even quicker, it is important to protect yourself from terrible terrible damage.
Once you have that going, you want to have Dusknoir out. Also if you have a Bangle, or the means to get one, and you are sure that the opponent runs Ex's, you might want to drop of only one on a Pokemon, just in case they dare to waste a scrapper on it.
While you are setting up, damage is not important, and you will rarely catch a moment where you damage with your Piplup or Prinplup, but once you have one Empoleon out with an energy, you most definitely want to apply pressure and damage them for as high as you can, make sure that your set-up doesn't break by placing too many supportive Pokemon on the bench.
Sawk is there if you need to counter Thundurus.

Hope you enjoyed my update on the deck. I would like for anyone that cares to reply with their opinion on the deck and what could be improved, in both X&Y and the current format.
I love Empoleon as a deck and I'm liking Empoleon as a Pokemon more and more.

Edits done to my deck.
1.
-1 Water energy. -1 Eevee. +1 Duskull BC 61. +1 Dusknoir BC 63.
2.
-1 Exeggcute. +1 Town map.
3.
-3 Cheren. +3 Juniper.
4.
-1 Water energy. +1 DCE.
5.
-1 Cheren. -1 N. +2 Colress
6.
-1 Juniper. -1 DCE. -1 Flareon. +1 Water Energy. +1 Espeon DE48. +1 Super Rod.
7.
-1 Jirachi ex. -1 Water Energy. -2 Tropical Beach. -1 Town map. -1 Ultra ball. +1 Energy Search. +1 Landorus Ex. +1 Duskull. +1 Dusknoir. +2 Fighting Energy.
8.
List updated, post created 09.01.2014 DD/MM/YYYY
 
RE: Empoleon Leafeon

Have you tried dusknoir? It makes it so no damage goes to waste and makes taking prize cards easier.
I would -1 eevee and -1water energy. I play a 2-2 duskull dusknoir but just a suggestion
 
RE: Empoleon Leafeon

zapper1998 said:
Have you tried dusknoir? It makes it so no damage goes to waste and makes taking prize cards easier.
I would -1 eevee and -1water energy. I play a 2-2 duskull dusknoir but just a suggestion
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good idea, would make a better matchup against Garbordor if Garbordor didn't have enough time to attach a tool.
c:
 
RE: Empoleon Leafeon

Firstly, let me come out and say that you do need a prefix, and I have already edited it and put one in for you. Also, I edited your decklist to where the Items, Supporters and Stadiums are all put together in one section, as per forum rules. Everything else was great, though, save a couple of mistakes in the spelling and grammar front.

Now on to your deck:

Have you thought about taking out Flareon or putting in a DCE? I feel like the double colorless required for the attack is a nasty cost for a deck that prides itself (no Empolen joke intended... Okay maybe there was a little bit of one there) on being able to attack for one energy apiece and for high amounts of damage. With the Flareon having to attack for two energy, however, you'll have a more difficult time setting it up, especially without DCE. I think that, if you took out DCE, you could, perhaps, throw in a Cradily or another Pokemon with the same ability to discard with Diving Draw. At the end of the game when you have no cards or very, very few cards in your deck (which you will, especially with Diving Draw), using hi ability, you then put it on the bottom of your deck to draw into it the next turn, where you then Diving Draw it away, then back to the bottom of your deck... Basically it prevents you from decking out.

Just a couple of thoughts.
 
RE: Empoleon Leafeon

Kecleon-X said:
Firstly, let me come out and say that you do need a prefix, and I have already edited it and put one in for you. Also, I edited your decklist to where the Items, Supporters and Stadiums are all put together in one section, as per forum rules. Everything else was great, though, save a couple of mistakes in the spelling and grammar front.

Now on to your deck:

Have you thought about taking out Flareon or putting in a DCE? I feel like the double colorless required for the attack is a nasty cost for a deck that prides itself (no Empolen joke intended... Okay maybe there was a little bit of one there) on being able to attack for one energy apiece and for high amounts of damage. With the Flareon having to attack for two energy, however, you'll have a more difficult time setting it up, especially without DCE. I think that, if you took out DCE, you could, perhaps, throw in a Cradily or another Pokemon with the same ability to discard with Diving Draw. At the end of the game when you have no cards or very, very few cards in your deck (which you will, especially with Diving Draw), using hi ability, you then put it on the bottom of your deck to draw into it the next turn, where you then Diving Draw it away, then back to the bottom of your deck... Basically it prevents you from decking out.

Just a couple of thoughts.
Click to expand...
Never experienced a deckout because N gets used once or twice, as either discard fodder or just used early, saving it for the end when it is necessary, and by then I probably have half my deck in my hand.
Powering up flareon has not been a problem yet, as all of my pokemon that I need out are almost always fully powered, and if I need to I just Search through my deck with level or ultra balls (that will not have any use otherwise after the point of getting 1-2 empoleons), to see if I have any energy left, then my goal is to suck out my entire deck to get the energy I need, N out if needed, And have Flareon attack. But I do get where you're going with that and it is a really good idea, both of them, I just don't find it particularly usefull in the situations I get in.
Thanks for the critisism though, it's always helpful.
 
RE: Empoleon Leafeon

helti said:
Kecleon-X said:
Firstly, let me come out and say that you do need a prefix, and I have already edited it and put one in for you. Also, I edited your decklist to where the Items, Supporters and Stadiums are all put together in one section, as per forum rules. Everything else was great, though, save a couple of mistakes in the spelling and grammar front.

Now on to your deck:

Have you thought about taking out Flareon or putting in a DCE? I feel like the double colorless required for the attack is a nasty cost for a deck that prides itself (no Empolen joke intended... Okay maybe there was a little bit of one there) on being able to attack for one energy apiece and for high amounts of damage. With the Flareon having to attack for two energy, however, you'll have a more difficult time setting it up, especially without DCE. I think that, if you took out DCE, you could, perhaps, throw in a Cradily or another Pokemon with the same ability to discard with Diving Draw. At the end of the game when you have no cards or very, very few cards in your deck (which you will, especially with Diving Draw), using hi ability, you then put it on the bottom of your deck to draw into it the next turn, where you then Diving Draw it away, then back to the bottom of your deck... Basically it prevents you from decking out.

Just a couple of thoughts.
Click to expand...
Never experienced a deckout because N gets used once or twice, as either discard fodder or just used early, saving it for the end when it is necessary, and by then I probably have half my deck in my hand.
Powering up flareon has not been a problem yet, as all of my pokemon that I need out are almost always fully powered, and if I need to I just Search through my deck with level or ultra balls (that will not have any use otherwise after the point of getting 1-2 empoleons), to see if I have any energy left, then my goal is to suck out my entire deck to get the energy I need, N out if needed, And have Flareon attack. But I do get where you're going with that and it is a really good idea, both of them, I just don't find it particularly usefull in the situations I get in.
Thanks for the critisism though, it's always helpful.
Click to expand...

he is right, tropical beach adds way too much to this deck
 
RE: Empoleon Leafeon

Im not a huge fan of there being 2 Exeggcutes, if its just solely because Exeggcute can get prized, I would run Town Map at that point, and if you add in a 1-0-1 Dusknoir line, Town Map becomes a very powerful card in your deck.
 
RE: Empoleon Leafeon

littywitty said:
Im not a huge fan of there being 2 Exeggcutes, if its just solely because Exeggcute can get prized, I would run Town Map at that point, and if you add in a 1-0-1 Dusknoir line, Town Map becomes a very powerful card in your deck.
Click to expand...

Abseloutly fantastic idea, but what if the town map gets prized?
still not a bad idea, I might aswell do that acutally.

meepster123 said:
helti said:
Never experienced a deckout because N gets used once or twice, as either discard fodder or just used early, saving it for the end when it is necessary, and by then I probably have half my deck in my hand.
Powering up flareon has not been a problem yet, as all of my pokemon that I need out are almost always fully powered, and if I need to I just Search through my deck with level or ultra balls (that will not have any use otherwise after the point of getting 1-2 empoleons), to see if I have any energy left, then my goal is to suck out my entire deck to get the energy I need, N out if needed, And have Flareon attack. But I do get where you're going with that and it is a really good idea, both of them, I just don't find it particularly usefull in the situations I get in.
Thanks for the critisism though, it's always helpful.
Click to expand...

he is right, tropical beach adds way too much to this deck
Click to expand...

He didn't acutally say anything about tropical beach, though, and has been a life saver in several situations, I got aginst a Virgen matchup with a Skyarrow bridge, having the beaches screwed over their strategy and basicly ate up their pokemon.
I understand that the beach draw may be a bit overkill, but in dire situations early game or even late game where other stadiums are in the way, you could either skyla/dowsing it and save yourself.
 
RE: Empoleon / Leafeon

I would suggest adding in colress in there somewhere. I've played an empoleon deck before and i know how cards can just pile up in your hand to the point where you may deck out. Colress can be helpful there and shuffle your hand back into your deck. Allowing you to recycle your cards more than just 4 times. Plus the way Empoleon decks work. Colress can give you huge draws if you need them.
 
RE: Empoleon / Leafeon

Ivy_Profen said:
I would suggest adding in colress in there somewhere. I've played an empoleon deck before and i know how cards can just pile up in your hand to the point where you may deck out. Colress can be helpful there and shuffle your hand back into your deck. Allowing you to recycle your cards more than just 4 times. Plus the way Empoleon decks work. Colress can give you huge draws if you need them.
Click to expand...

Yes, I've been struggling to fit it in, as the one single Juniper is a really good last resort supporter, but I don't know where to fit it, any ideas?
Thanks.
 
I decided to update the original post a little, I've tried to improve what was already there and ended up rewriting the entire strategy and card-value part. Chopped out the meta-game decks because I don't find it particularly interesting to read, as well as people probably already know how the deck works, if not they can just read my old post in the spoiler button.
Thanks everyone for your response! it has helped alot!
 
Just out of curiosity, have you played any games yet against KDT/Plasma Box? If Thundurus EX is popular/used in your area, you might want to also consider adding F Pokémon and energy as a counter.

I run a 2-0-2 Dusknoir line in my deck version which I found to be much more effective than a 1-0-1 line.
 
TuxedoBlack said:
Just out of curiosity, have you played any games yet against KDT/Plasma Box? If Thundurus EX is popular/used in your area, you might want to also consider adding F Pokémon and energy as a counter.

I run a 2-0-2 Dusknoir line in my deck version which I found to be much more effective than a 1-0-1 line.
Click to expand...

I have, but it went well, and TDK is not used often in my area, at all, seriously, in my area, almost every deck is varied. I want to be prepared for for Thundurus so I can probably add in a fighting Pokemon, but I don't know which and I don't know which other cards to squeeze out for it and blends.

I know you run 2-0-2, read that in the other Empoleon thread, but as effective as it is, I've not had to many issues with 1-0-1, but I can test.

Thing is, both suggestions are good, I just do not know what to squeeze out for them, I'd like help with that, any suggestions?

Edit: The TDK Match ended up helping me by increasing my damage output because my opponent had Thundurus out for too long, it of course did a lot of damage to me, but I still managed.
 
helti said:
TuxedoBlack said:
Just out of curiosity, have you played any games yet against KDT/Plasma Box? If Thundurus EX is popular/used in your area, you might want to also consider adding F Pokémon and energy as a counter.

I run a 2-0-2 Dusknoir line in my deck version which I found to be much more effective than a 1-0-1 line.
Click to expand...
I want to be prepared for for Thundurus so I can probably add in a fighting Pokemon, but I don't know which and I don't know which other cards to squeeze out for it and blends.

I know you run 2-0-2, read that in the other Empoleon thread, but as effective as it is, I've not had to many issues with 1-0-1, but I can test.

Thing is, both suggestions are good, I just do not know what to squeeze out for them, I'd like help with that, any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Following are some thoughts for your consideration:

  • -1 Jirachi EX. I'm surprised to see this in your list given the crazy draw power this deck has. This Poké is also not "critical" to the deck. It is useful only once, and then is a 2-prize target warming your bench. And if you ever started with it, ugh...
  • -1 Espeon. Another bench-warming Poké that actually may provide some value, given the metagame in your area. But, considering there are only 2 Eevee in your deck, does this card slot outweigh the need for a second Leafon to get into action quickly when needed?
  • -2 Tropical Beach / Twisted Mountain Mountain. IMHO, neither Stadium is really critical to the success of the deck even though these could be used to counter an opponent's Stadium. When you do the analysis, there just aren't that many Poké that can 1HKO an Empoleon. So, this is a worthwhile trade-off.
  • +1 Landorus EX or Stunfisk or Sawk or Terrakion. Each has pros and cons; your decision to include one of these may also be impacted by your area's metagame.
  • +2 F energy. I've found that Blend energy is not as useful just simple Basic energy in this deck's case, especially since Blend can be more easily Scrappered away (no flip for Enhanced Hammer) and can not be recycled with Super Rod.
  • +1 Energy Search. With 2 different Basic energy types, you'll find this Trainer quite useful to help you get needed energy.
  • -1 Town Map. No longer needed if increasing Dusknoir line.
  • -1 Ultra Ball. Through my playtesting, 3 UBs work well for me and are sufficient.
  • +1 Dusknoir.
  • +1 Duskull.
Lastly, why not run 4 Ns just to maximize your opportunities to disrupt your opponent's hand (knowing that you can Diving Draw to get you cards)?
 
TuxedoBlack said:
helti said:
I want to be prepared for for Thundurus so I can probably add in a fighting Pokemon, but I don't know which and I don't know which other cards to squeeze out for it and blends.

I know you run 2-0-2, read that in the other Empoleon thread, but as effective as it is, I've not had to many issues with 1-0-1, but I can test.

Thing is, both suggestions are good, I just do not know what to squeeze out for them, I'd like help with that, any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Following are some thoughts for your consideration:

  • -1 Jirachi EX. I'm surprised to see this in your list given the crazy draw power this deck has. This Poké is also not "critical" to the deck. It is useful only once, and then is a 2-prize target warming your bench. And if you ever started with it, ugh...
  • -1 Espeon. Another bench-warming Poké that actually may provide some value, given the metagame in your area. But, considering there are only 2 Eevee in your deck, does this card slot outweigh the need for a second Leafon to get into action quickly when needed?
  • -2 Tropical Beach / Twisted Mountain Mountain. IMHO, neither Stadium is really critical to the success of the deck even though these could be used to counter an opponent's Stadium. When you do the analysis, there just aren't that many Poké that can 1HKO an Empoleon. So, this is a worthwhile trade-off.
  • +1 Landorus EX or Stunfisk or Sawk or Terrakion. Each has pros and cons; your decision to include one of these may also be impacted by your area's metagame.
  • +2 F energy. I've found that Blend energy is not as useful just simple Basic energy in this deck's case, especially since Blend can be more easily Scrappered away (no flip for Enhanced Hammer) and can not be recycled with Super Rod.
  • +1 Energy Search. With 2 different Basic energy types, you'll find this Trainer quite useful to help you get needed energy.
  • -1 Town Map. No longer needed if increasing Dusknoir line.
  • -1 Ultra Ball. Through my playtesting, 3 UBs work well for me and are sufficient.
  • +1 Dusknoir.
  • +1 Duskull.
Lastly, why not run 4 Ns just to maximize your opportunities to disrupt your opponent's hand (knowing that you can Diving Draw to get you cards)?
Click to expand...

Things I disagree or slightly disagree on:
Decks Espeon counters don't usually require Leafeon to counter anything else in it.
Chandelure EX, Shedinja, Accelgor, and other Poison/Paralysis/Energy discard decks usually get knocked around with Empoleon and get countered just by having out Espeon. Taking out Espeon would put me in a vulnerable spot.
Jirachi ex is excellent, I suggest trying it. Your argument is invalid though, Jirachi Ex is there to increase damage, and for the early draw if I can't get any, it is insanely good, and is not there for the situation where you already have 1 or more Empoleons out and draw.
I end up using most of my ultra balls in a game, most of the time all, I don't really know how you survive without 4, I tend to discard 4 cards(with dowsing) often just to get out Empoleon or Dusknoir, then using my last three to draw into any other card I could possibly need.

Additionally:
Tropical beach or Twist mountain, they are there to counter other stadiums, really helps against Genesect decks and their bridges, or Virbanks.
Beach also provides draw in dire situations.
2 Fighting Energies and 1 Fighting pokemon, and 1 energy search are unreliable to always have available just like 1-0-1 Dusknoir

Things I agree on:
Adding the Extra Dusknoir KINDA defeats the point of Town map, Town map is still an excellent card, but the deck is more reliable without it in situations with more Dusknoir lines.
Fighting pokemon, protects the deck from Thundurus.
Energy Search, It could save the deck when another energy type is required.
Fighting energies instead of blends, Blends are unreliable.

Your points are still pretty valid, I will be testing this and see if it works out better, thanks for the response.

Edit: I decided to roll with it, but I also did -1 water to keep Espeon in the deck
 
I have given my deck to a couple of experienced players to redesign the deck.
So here's some changes I did before giving it for updating.
I switched out the fighting pokemon to be Sawk, Espeon for skyla, fighting energy for N, and prinplup.
Reasoning is:
Skyla is required for the deck to work, N is benefitial throughout the whole game, and setting up Empoleon is REALLY important.
Sawk only requires one colourless to do what it's suppost to do in the deck, countering Thundurus (easy, 1 energy for 100 damage).


I do not know exactly what the lines are,
I think I messed up the cards I've written when redesigning the post,
I believe I have a more consistent line, and once again, changes to improve consistency is what I'm still doing

Edit: Oh, and Energy search is switched out for Keldeo EX
 
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