So... with City Championships coming to a close this weekend, I'm quite surprised with myself. I honestly wasn't expecting to nab both a top four and a first place. I really like how open the metagame at Cities turned out to be, though I'm expecting to see some shifts to more tried and true methods like Donphan, Yveltal and VirGen. That said, while I still think of Fighting variants as a very strong deck choice, I think it's time to either put this particular version to rest or do some major structural changes for an evolving meta.
Still, with me being so proud of this deck's performance, I thought I'd share. While I made small changes to the Trainer lineup throughout the weeks that I played it, the core engine always stayed the same. What I'm posting here is the version that I won first place with. Questions, comments and feedback are always appreciated.
This deck has a theme song!
Pokemon: (12)
Strategy:
A first look at the list makes it seem very eclectic. Running two of each attacker means the deck lacks focus. And the truth is that there really isn't a central strategy. As far as Pokemon go however, the deck lacks techs. Hawlucha, Landorus, Seismitoad and Mewtwo each have situations where they shine tne brightest, but none of them are included only to counter a specific matchup or matchups. Each of them are just all-around good, and have their own special roles. Landorus-EX can snipe the opponent's bench, setting up for KOs later on in the match. Seismitoad-EX is your early-game Pokemon of choice (unless you're against VirGen of course), slowing down your opponent's setup and keeping big Pokemon locked in place. Mewtwo-EX and Hawlucha FFI are your designated heavy hitters, as they do loads of damage for little energy investment. And Garbodor is simply there to annoy Ability-heavy decks like Aromatisse, Crobat and the surprise rogue. I am not a fan of surprises, so good old Garb is a nice insurance policy.
As far as strategy goes, the only tactic this deck employs is aggression. It's all about low-cost attacks for early game pressure, and to keep pounding away turn after turn. The non-draw / search Trainers are all about either boosting damage (Muscle Band/ Laser) or swapping to an attacker better suited for the situation (Float Stone / Switch / Escape Rope). A single Head Ringer is included in this particular incarnation to provide a little disruption, or to incapacitate an EX that could cause mayhem. Throughout my playtesting and tournaments I swapped this around for an Enhanced Hammer or Pokemon Center Lady. All three of them seem to work equally well. I hate when you change one card and it completely upsets the balance of the deck. Thankfully I have a bit of freedom here.
What I really like about this deck is that it doesn't rely on specific combinations of cards, and it works with what's in your hand. As long as you have draw power, you'll usually have something you can play. For example, if you didn't draw a Laser, you'll probably at least have a Muscle Band. Don't have a DCE for Mewtwo? No problem, I'm sure you've got a Fighting or Strong Energy to put on Landorus or Hawlucha. The deck is realy versatile like that, and I'm going to miss playing it, but I think for a big event like Regionals, I'm going to need something with a little more focus.
Still, with me being so proud of this deck's performance, I thought I'd share. While I made small changes to the Trainer lineup throughout the weeks that I played it, the core engine always stayed the same. What I'm posting here is the version that I won first place with. Questions, comments and feedback are always appreciated.
This deck has a theme song!
Pokemon: (12)
2 Landorus-EX BCR
2 Mewtwo-EX NXD / LTR
2 Seismitoad-EX FFI
2 Hawlucha FFI
2-2 Garbodor DRX / PLF / LTR
4 Professor Sycamore
3 N
2 Colress
2 Korrina
2 Lysandre
3 VS Seeker
4 Muscle Band
4 Hypnotoxic Laser
3 Ultra Ball
2 Float Stone
1 Switch
1 Escape Rope
1 Head Ringer
1 Computer Search ACE SPEC
2 Virbank City Gym
1 Fighting Stadium
4 Basic Fighting Energy
4 Strong Energy
4 Double Colorless Energy
I fail at photography.
A first look at the list makes it seem very eclectic. Running two of each attacker means the deck lacks focus. And the truth is that there really isn't a central strategy. As far as Pokemon go however, the deck lacks techs. Hawlucha, Landorus, Seismitoad and Mewtwo each have situations where they shine tne brightest, but none of them are included only to counter a specific matchup or matchups. Each of them are just all-around good, and have their own special roles. Landorus-EX can snipe the opponent's bench, setting up for KOs later on in the match. Seismitoad-EX is your early-game Pokemon of choice (unless you're against VirGen of course), slowing down your opponent's setup and keeping big Pokemon locked in place. Mewtwo-EX and Hawlucha FFI are your designated heavy hitters, as they do loads of damage for little energy investment. And Garbodor is simply there to annoy Ability-heavy decks like Aromatisse, Crobat and the surprise rogue. I am not a fan of surprises, so good old Garb is a nice insurance policy.
As far as strategy goes, the only tactic this deck employs is aggression. It's all about low-cost attacks for early game pressure, and to keep pounding away turn after turn. The non-draw / search Trainers are all about either boosting damage (Muscle Band/ Laser) or swapping to an attacker better suited for the situation (Float Stone / Switch / Escape Rope). A single Head Ringer is included in this particular incarnation to provide a little disruption, or to incapacitate an EX that could cause mayhem. Throughout my playtesting and tournaments I swapped this around for an Enhanced Hammer or Pokemon Center Lady. All three of them seem to work equally well. I hate when you change one card and it completely upsets the balance of the deck. Thankfully I have a bit of freedom here.
What I really like about this deck is that it doesn't rely on specific combinations of cards, and it works with what's in your hand. As long as you have draw power, you'll usually have something you can play. For example, if you didn't draw a Laser, you'll probably at least have a Muscle Band. Don't have a DCE for Mewtwo? No problem, I'm sure you've got a Fighting or Strong Energy to put on Landorus or Hawlucha. The deck is realy versatile like that, and I'm going to miss playing it, but I think for a big event like Regionals, I'm going to need something with a little more focus.
) and I've found myself questioning why I use Korrina over Skyla. Obviously being able to go and get a Pokemon is useful, but I hate being limited to only grabbing an item. So often I need a Stadium or another Supporter for the following turn, so I end up wasting my Computer Search or just going without. Would it be insane to run Skyla over Korrina in a Fighting-based deck?