Standard M-Mewtwo EX without Garbodor

[bidou]

POKÉMON (12)
4 Mewtwo EX
3 M-Mewtwo EX
3 Shaymin EX
2 Hoopa EX

TRAINERS (37)
4 Professor Sycamore
3 N
2 Hex Maniac
1 Lysandre
1 Pokémon Ranger
1 Super Rod
4 Ultra Ball
4 VS Seeker
3 Mega Turbo
2 Switch
4 Mewtwo Spirit Link
3 Trainer's Mail
2 Parallel City
3 Shrine of Memories

ENERGIES (11)
4 Double Colorless Energy
7 Psychic energies

That's one of the 2 decks I am considering for upcoming Regional (the other is Yanmega/Vespiquen).

Everybody knows the strategy behind this deck : set up M-Mewtwo EX as fast as possible, then OHKO anything on the opponent's active slot with Psychic Infinity, or Damage Change.

I prefer to talk a little more about my few personnal choices that make this decklist kind of different from others.

First of all, I think that it is a good idea to remove the entire Garbodor line.
This Pokémon is pretty disappointing in many matchups (M-Scizor EX, Mirror, Primal-Kyogre EX...) and can be easily replaced by 2 copies of Hex Maniacs. This Supporter will earn some precious slots in the decklist (2 cards VS 4 for Garbodor), and will leave my Shaymins do their job
Moreover, it allows me to play an other "switching method" than Float Stone... I don't have a good feeling with this Tool, always have to attach it in the very early game to something useless because I had to Sycamore my hand,
After a lot of playtesting, I found Hex Maniac to be very reactive to the opponent threats (Carbink, Yanmega BREAK, Volcanion EX, Giratina EX...), and immune to a Lysandre (Trubbish is not, and that's a big problem)

3 Shaymin EX : a stapple to this ideck in my opinion. It allows explosive starts, the combo with Hoopa EX is well known.
Of course, that's an easy target for Lysandre. But an opponent spending one turn in KOing a Shaymin EX is leaving Mewtwo EX alive... and that's often too late, then, once daddy M-Mewtwo EX hits the battleground !

1 Lysandre : I would love to find room for a 2nd copy. But really don't know what to remove for it :/

1 Pokémon Ranger : my answer to Glaceon EX, and Regice. Does a similar job to Lysandre in that cases, but buys a chance to remove the threat.

1 Super Rod : I was thinking that running only 1 copy of this card would be quite dangerous, but it seems to be enough. Maybe I have been lucky until now... or I have to remain very concentred on the resource management.

4 VS Seeker : I used to play 3 copies of this one, but replacing the Garbodor line by Hex Maniacs gave some room for the 4th copy. Definitely GREAT !

3 Mega Turbo : great combo with Ultra Ball and Sycamore, allows to charge a naked M-Mewtwo EX in 1 turn for a super-speed Pyschic Infinity. Don't need a 4th copy in my opinion.

2 Parallel City : my area is full of Rainbow Force Xerneas and M-Rayquaza EX.
I used to play 2 or 3 copies of Enhanced Hammers in order to control the early game, but I found it to be counter-productive with M-Mewtwo EX's attack which feeds on the opponent's energies.
Parallel City is a nightmare for both Rainbow Force and M-Rayquaza EX, shrinks Volcanion/Yanmega/Vespiquen/Sceptile/Kyogre/Glaceon/Regice/and so much others, and in the worst case contributes to win the stadium war.

3 Shrine of Memories : amazing power to clean M-Mewtwo EX from any damage when it is not OHKO'ed

7 Basic Energies : I found it to be the right count. Reverse Damage requires 2, and we have to put at least 1 in the discard early game for Mega Turbo.


I really would like to find some room for a 2nd Lysandre. Any ideas guys, please ?

The deck runs pretty well most of the times, but STS M-Gardevoir EX is a HUGE problem.
I can't think about one card that could help that matchup, but I guess that every deck has a nemesis

Thank's for your comments !

 

[TuxedoBlack]

Nice list. I also like your thoughts behind your card and count selection too; well done.

I would suggest adding a Ninja Boy too, as well as a Special Charge too.

You are now at that point where your deck space is quite "tight," but you want to add certain other cards, like a 2nd Lysandre. Having been there many times, I use a "ranking" system where I try to find the least important card(s) to replace with other "higher priority" cards. Taking under consideration the expected meta, your game strategy, etc., hopefully, you can find the room for the needed replacements.

 

[bidou]

Thank you very much @TuxedoBlack !

As you said, the problem is not to add a useful card, but to know which one will be cut.

- I do see the power of Ninja boy, especially in a deck which runs more useless basic Pokémon (for the active slot) than useful ones

- I have think about Special Charge too, the DCE are precious in this deck. Without Float Stones, Hoopa EX is more than often the target of Lysandre. It is easy to use Switch once (or twice if lucky) in order to replace it on the bench, but the opponent runs more VS Seeker than that. At the end, it costs a DCE to retreat it each time... so why not ! Maybe Olympia would be a nice option in that case, replacing one copy of Switch. It can be VS Seekered such as Opponent's Lysandres.

What cards can be replaced ?

- I would say Parallel City as it is "only" a tech card to counter the metagame, and don't affect the deck's consistency. I think that techs like that win tough matchups, but consistency wins tournaments.

- Mega Turbo for one copy, perhaps. Not an easy decision by the way, because the deck would loose a lot of speed in the set up.

- One copy of Hex Maniac, but this card shines if it is played at the right moment. Running only 1 copy of this card would rely too much on the fate if a Carbink or a Giratina EX hit the field.

Other than that, I don't think that the count of Pokémon should change.
Each other Trainer is more than useful.
11 energies is the strict minimum.

Any thoughts, please ?

 

[TuxedoBlack]

A few thoughts for your consideration; I'd suggest:

• Keeping both Parallel City since you can limit your bench and remove any unneeded Hoopa EX and Shaymin EX from your bench. Needless to say, these Pokémon are also prime Lysandre targets too. This Stadium also can disrupt 2 "top" decks (M Rayquaza EX and Rainbow Xerneas) possibly giving you an edge. I also think the 3-2 split of SoM and PC Stadiums is right too.
• Hex Maniac, IMO, is also too important, even if it may not be used. It's the replacement for Garbodor, remember...
• The Mega Turbo facilitate a fast start and can help cripple an opponent early game perhaps resulting in a game-long advantage.

My personal preference would be to reduce the Trainer's Mail count by 1 and add either the Ninja Boy or Special Charge. The Ninja Boy provides a nice "out" to removing an unwanted Pokémon from your board; whereas you can still compensate for a DCE with Basic energy.

Hope this helps.

 

[bidou]

So you advice me to cut a Trainer's Mail for a Ninja Boy.
I will definitely try it this week end !

I am a bit concerned about the number of Supporters : 4 Professor Sycamore + 3 N + 2 Hex Maniac + 1 Lysandre + 1 Pokémon Ranger + 1 Ninja Boy = 12 Supporters.
That's quite a lot.
A Sycamore is almost always played on the first turn to set up correctly. I guess that a lot of these resources will be discarded then :/

I won't add an Olympia to this high count by replacing a Switch. Too bad, it would have been a reusable answer to Lysandre.

 

[WastedSkyPirate]

Hi @bidou

How are you finding your draw engine?

4 Professor Sycamore, 3 N and 3 Shaymin-EX (with 2 Hoopa-EX to find them) seems plenty.

If you're looking for space to add in another Lysandre, I would consider cutting one draw card - my personal preference would be to cut 1 N. M Mewtwo-EX is a fast deck that can take prizes from turn 2 so, in practice, the value of your N is reduced fairly rapidly as you'll often be drawing less than 6 cards from it at quite an early stage in the game.

I think the second Lysandre is the most important "61st card". M Mewtwo-EX wants to see Lysandre quickly and at least get it into the discard for access with VS Seeker in the first few turns. This makes your opponent think twice about every Energy attachment and can lead to mind games, misplays, etc.

 

[LightningCloud224]

Hi @bidou

How are you finding your draw engine?

4 Professor Sycamore, 3 N and 3 Shaymin-EX (with 2 Hoopa-EX to find them) seems plenty.

If you're looking for space to add in another Lysandre, I would consider cutting one draw card - my personal preference would be to cut 1 N. M Mewtwo-EX is a fast deck that can take prizes from turn 2 so, in practice, the value of your N is reduced fairly rapidly as you'll often be drawing less than 6 cards from it at quite an early stage in the game.

I think the second Lysandre is the most important "61st card". M Mewtwo-EX wants to see Lysandre quickly and at least get it into the discard for access with VS Seeker in the first few turns. This makes your opponent think twice about every Energy attachment and can lead to mind games, misplays, etc.

I agree with wasted sky pirate that you should cut 1 N for 1 Lysandre, especially if you want to damage change on a shaymin ex to heal and take prizes.

 

[bidou]

How are you finding your draw engine?

4 Professor Sycamore, 3 N and 3 Shaymin-EX (with 2 Hoopa-EX to find them) seems plenty.

If you're looking for space to add in another Lysandre, I would consider cutting one draw card - my personal preference would be to cut 1 N. M Mewtwo-EX is a fast deck that can take prizes from turn 2 so, in practice, the value of your N is reduced fairly rapidly as you'll often be drawing less than 6 cards from it at quite an early stage in the game.

I think the second Lysandre is the most important "61st card". M Mewtwo-EX wants to see Lysandre quickly and at least get it into the discard for access with VS Seeker in the first few turns. This makes your opponent think twice about every Energy attachment and can lead to mind games, misplays, etc.

In fact, this draw engine may seem a little heavy, but ends up by being necessary in my playtests.

I have removed 2 Trubbish from a classic decklist in order to play Hex Maniac. That means I only have 4 Mewtwo EX, 3 Shaymin EX and 2 Hoopa EX remaining as basics. It often leads to multiple mulligans, and N are there to fix that bad point.

But I do hear the argument, and my answer is : let's test that !
I will do it this week end and will let you know the results.

Other than that, I think that a Skyla would be nice too.
It would help to obtain the precious Ultra Ball or Spirit Link in the early game : a game that begins with an Ultra Ball will never be really bad !

 

[freiser]

Hi, your idea got my mind going as I've been playing M Mewtwo for a few weeks now with Zoroark and then Garb, so here is my take on the list.

11-39-10

4-3 M Mewtwo EX
2 Hoopa EX
2 Shaymin

4 Trainers Mail
4 Mewtwo Spirit Link
4 Ultra Ball
4 VS Seeker
4 Mega Turbo
3 Shrine of Memories
1 Parallel City
1 Professor's Letter
2 Float Stone
1 Super Rod

4 Sycamore
3 N
2 Lysandre
2 Hex Maniac

6 Psychic Energy
4 Double Colorless Energy

I've opted to play only 2 Shaymin as I believe your bench is going to get clogged up too fast with 2 Hoopa.
Float Stones over Switch that way your opponent cannot Lysandre up the same Hoopa.
4 Trainers Mail for consistency reasons.
4 Mega Turbo and 1 Letter. Grabbing 2 psychic with letter and discarding them with either Ultra Ball or Sycamore is a huge tempo swing especially if you then draw into multiple mega turbos. I found mega turbo incredible in testing and is crazy good in the scizor match-up. I opted to play letter over the psychic because it is equal to 2 psychic when you draw it anyway.
1 P city, a hex maniac with a p city against rayquaza is generally enough to set them back enough to lose.

I shall playtest anyway and let you know if I change anything.

 

[TuxedoBlack]

Btw, from my experience, 1 Parallel City is not sufficient enough to cripple most good M Ray EX deck players. 2 would be the minimum I'd run.

Secondly, have you considered the mirror match? You may need a Mew for that.

 

[bidou]

4 Mega Turbo and 1 Letter. Grabbing 2 psychic with letter and discarding them with either Ultra Ball or Sycamore is a huge tempo swing especially if you then draw into multiple mega turbos. I found mega turbo incredible in testing and is crazy good in the scizor match-up. I opted to play letter over the psychic because it is equal to 2 psychic when you draw it anyway.

Thank you very much for that advice !
That's exactly the kind of comment that I was expecting with this thread
Replacing 1 basic energy with 1 Professor's Letter is a very nice idea. Thanks !

Secondly, have you considered the mirror match? You may need a Mew for that.

Thanks for the advices once again, @TuxedoBlack !
A pleasure to read you each time.
I fully agree with the count of Parallel City. 2 is the right number.

By the way, I think I am missing something with Mew. What would it bring to the mirror matchup ?
It can copy Shaymin's Sky Return, Hoopa's Hyperspace Fury, or Mewtwo's Shatter Shot.

Perhaps would you refer to Mew EX, which is searchable with Hoopa EX and can copy any attack of any Pokemon, including Psychic Infinity. But even then, I don't think that the weakness would apply.

 

[TuxedoBlack]

By the way, I think I am missing something with Mew. What would it bring to the mirror matchup ?
It can copy Shaymin's Sky Return, Hoopa's Hyperspace Fury, or Mewtwo's Shatter Shot.

I used a Mew (Mew EX rotated out, I believe) to copy a Shatter Shot attack to KO an opponent's M Mewtwo EX. That was probably, now that I think about it, a perhaps very rare situation and not worth including a Mew.

 

[bidou]

A promo Mew EX, which is a reprint of the previous one, has just been released in the USA.
This card is playable on TCGO, so I think it is back in the Standard format

 

[freiser]

Im back again after some testing! Found 2nd Hoopa a little superfluous and often had to start with it in my active so no advantage gained there. I liked the 4 Mewtwo and 4 Spirit Link.

So what I have here is a very straight forward, no nonsense mewtwo list that should go toe to toe with anything that isn't mega gardy (sts) which is an autoloss sadly!

10-40-10

4-3 M Mewtwo EX
1 Hoopa EX
2 Shaymin

4 Trainers Mail
4 Mewtwo Spirit Link
4 Ultra Ball
4 VS Seeker
4 Mega Turbo
3 Shrine of Memories
1 Parallel City
1 Professor's Letter
2 Float Stone
1 Super Rod

4 Sycamore
3 N
2 Lysandre
1 Hex Maniac
1 Pokemon Ranger

6 Psychic Energy
4 Double Colorless Energy

 

[RedT]

A promo Mew EX, which is a reprint of the previous one, has just been released in the USA.
This card is playable on TCGO, so I think it is back in the Standard format

Yeah it's strange, it was supposed to come back October 3rd, but it was already added

I'm not complaining though

 

[freiser]

Mentioning Mew EX, depending on how much it sees play may need Garb to go back into the main list but I guess we will see! Worst comes to the worst a Mewtwo with 2 psychic on it, ohko's it with shatter shot.

 

[TuxedoBlack]

A promo Mew EX, which is a reprint of the previous one, has just been released in the USA.
This card is playable on TCGO, so I think it is back in the Standard format

Thanks. Yeah, looks like a new Mew EX is about to come out. IMO, given its relatively low HP and EX type, I will not run it in my deck. Just don't see enough added-value with this card for this particular deck.