Expanded M Rayquaza EX / Metal for Regionals

[psychoneworder]

Hi. My son (8 years old) had been running a M Mew2 deck for cities and told me last night he wants to play a Rayquaza deck for Regionals. Wanted him to play a Donphan deck, oh well...

Pokémon: (21)

• 3 Rayquaza EX (C)
• 3 M Rayquaza EX (C)
• 3 Shaymin EX
• 3 Bronzor
• 2 Bronzong (metal links)
• 1 Hoopa EX
• 1 Keldeo EX
• 2 Aegieslash EX
• 1 Exeggcute (propigate)
• 1 Swablu
• 1 Altaria

Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums: (10)

• 3 Professor Sycamore
• 2 Colress
• 2 Lysandre
• 1 N
• 1 Hex maniac
• 1 Winona

• 4 VS Seeker
• 4 Ultra Ball
• 3 Rayquaza Spirit Link
• 2 Battle Compressor
• 2 Float Stone
• 1 Computer Search

• 4 Skyfield

Energy: (9)

• 5 Metal Energy
• 4 DCE

Strategy:

the deck is pretty self explanatory. I am looking for any tweaks/suggestions.
I am also wondering if I should run this or a speed Rayquaza deck ditching the Bronzong line and Aegieslash adding a Virizion EX, trainers mail, mega turbo, and acrobikes and switching to 3 grass energy
Thanks.

 

[OmnomOrNah]

After having played a ton of expanded mega ray, the speed ray is definitely the way to go. It's way more technical though. Your son is going to need to practice a lot more with it to get the idea of the order of moving parts that he needs, but it swings hard and fast. I'd suggest taking a look on pokemon.com at the masters lists from fall regionals. There's one mega ray that has 0 sycamore/juniper, and it's a ridiculously good place to start. I tweaked mine a bit to give myself a chance against night march, but it's a great list that doesn't need much tweaking to fit in with the addition of breakthrough.

 

[TuxedoBlack]

IMO, there seems to be "too much" going on with this deck. The 1-1 Altaria (Fight Song) seems insufficient. Consider incorporating a minimum 2-2 line or just replacing the current 1-1 line (if either is prized, you lose the damage boost altogether).

Why have a Hex Maniac? This card, although very useful at times, will also nullify this deck's Pokémon Abilities for a turn too.

It may not be such a big concern in the Junior's Division, but including 1 AZ can be very helpful in removing "liabilities" (e.g., wounded Pokémon or low HP Shaymin EXs) from the bench (or active position).

Including a few Level Balls too will help get your Bronzors into play faster.

Lastly, you might need a Sacred Ash in order to recover and recycle discarded Pokémon. Consider that an opponent can drop a Parallel City (limitiing your bench to just 3 Pokémon) after you just filled it...

There is very solid card-draw support; so, would a Dowsing Machine be more effective vs. the Computer Search?

Suggested deck changes:

-1 Swablu
-1 Altaria
-1 Hex Maniac

+1 AZ
+1 Level Ball
+1 Sacred Ash​

In regards to swapping out the current engine for Virizion EX-based one, there are pros and cons in either approach. Maybe your son might have a preference after testing both options?

 

[Danglesmcjangles]

IMO, there seems to be "too much" going on with this deck. The 1-1 Altaria (Fight Song) seems insufficient. Consider incorporating a minimum 2-2 line or just replacing the current 1-1 line (if either is prized, you lose the damage boost altogether).

Why have a Hex Maniac? This card, although very useful at times, will also nullify this deck's Pokémon Abilities for a turn too.

It may not be such a big concern in the Junior's Division, but including 1 AZ can be very helpful in removing "liabilities" (e.g., wounded Pokémon or low HP Shaymin EXs) from the bench (or active position).

Including a few Level Balls too will help get your Bronzors into play faster.

Lastly, you might need a Sacred Ash in order to recover and recycle discarded Pokémon. Consider that an opponent can drop a Parallel City (limitiing your bench to just 3 Pokémon) after you just filled it...

There is very solid card-draw support; so, would a Dowsing Machine be more effective vs. the Computer Search?

Suggested deck changes:

-1 Swablu
-1 Altaria
-1 Hex Maniac

+1 AZ
+1 Level Ball
+1 Sacred Ash​

In regards to swapping out the current engine for Virizion EX-based one, there are pros and cons in either approach. Maybe your son might have a preference after testing both options?

Being a Speed ray player myself, I'd have to advise against taking out those three cards. My reasons being as follows; Hex Maniac is the best way to avoid an auto-loss to both Aegislash and Giratina, and Altaria and Swablu (which can be grabbed with winona and evolved immediately), are huge in the M manectric and Night March Matchups.