Following is a deck I've built and play-tested for a few weeks. when the English scans of the Furious Fists (FuF) were finally released, my Poke pals and I proxied a variety of decks and commenced testing. All of the early play-testing culminated with this particular deck version which I considered to be my "final" version (i.e., post-BB testing) of MacLand:
Pokemon (16):
With the release of the FuF set, F decks got a tremendous "boost" with the Fighting Stadium, Korrina, Landorus, Lucario EX, Machamp and Strong energy. The apparent synergy and appeal of combining these FuF cards with Landorus EX was overwhelming. The strategy of the deck is to leverage the awesome combined damage output of these cards and just simply "out slug" my opponent to victory.
Background - Noted Pokemon:
Machamp's role is primarily to be a bench warmer utilizing its Ability to boost the output damage of my attacking F Poke. But, I finally opted for a 3-1-3 Machamp line. Initially, a 4-2-4 line was used in order to maximize the opportunity of benching Machamps for its damage output boosting Ability (Fighting Fury) which can stack. However, I also found from early play-testing experience, that running 4 Machamps became more of a liability than an asset. Machamp's Ability is fantastic, despite its being a Stage 2 Poke (which has certain deck needs), but Machamp also has one other characteristic that opponents can use to their advantage: Machamp Crush attack requires FFF energy cost to inflict 80 damage (with the potential of significantly reducing the opponent's next attack) which is not great for 3 primary energy. And since there is no "Rain Dance'ing" capability for F Poke, it is just too time consuming to power-up this Poke manually, IMO. This Poke also deals with encountered Pyroars very nicley too.
FuF Landorus has a good amount of HP for a Basic and is a solid starter for the deck since its attack inflicts damage AND provides some energy-attachment-acceleration capability.
Landorus EX is my preferred starter. This Poke still remains to be one of the most, if not the most, efficient attackers in the game, IMO. Just consider starting second with this Poke with a Muscle Band and Strong energy in hand... Lando's Hammerhead attack can result in a 70-30 damage output - amazing for just S energy cost. Starting with this Poke can also buy some time to setup the bench and attach energy to other Poke while my opponent is dealing with all of the Hammerhead damage. Plus, its second attack, Land's Judgement, can either inflict 80 or 150 damage. This Poke is, IMO, awesomeness Poke'fied.
Lucario EX not only has 2 good attacks (3 total, but its 3rd attack is just not that good, IMO), but its 2nd attack inflicts decent amount of damage and allows you to potentially draw cards too. Plus, this Poke has a different Weakness than Landorus EX; so, my attackers can vary based upon the opposition to reduce my opponent's 2x Weakness damage output opportunities.
Background - Noted Trainers:
For me, incorporating (more often, it's more developing and evolving) the "right" mix of Trainers requires patience since this group of cards are tweaked most often from my play-testing. My "core" cards consists of:
Strategy - playing this deck:
In general, some of my general tactics for playing this deck include:
Should you encounter this deck, 1 general tactic to defeat this deck include:
After about 3 weeks of play-testing, I believe this deck:
I welcome questions and your comments. Thanks for your review.
Pokemon (16):
1 Hawlucha
2 Landorus
3 Landorus EX
2 Lucario EX
3 Machamp
1 Machoke
3 Machop
1 Mewtwo EX
3 Bicycle
2 Colress
1 Dowsing Machine
1 Energy Retrieval
2 Energy Switch
4 Korrina
2 Lysandre
2 Max Potion (or 1/1 Cassius / Max Potion)
2 Muscle Band
3 N
1 Pal Pad
3 Professor Juniper
1 Professor's Letter
3 Rare Candy
1 Switch
2 Ultra Ball
7 Fighting
4 Strong
With the release of the FuF set, F decks got a tremendous "boost" with the Fighting Stadium, Korrina, Landorus, Lucario EX, Machamp and Strong energy. The apparent synergy and appeal of combining these FuF cards with Landorus EX was overwhelming. The strategy of the deck is to leverage the awesome combined damage output of these cards and just simply "out slug" my opponent to victory.
Background - Noted Pokemon:
Machamp's role is primarily to be a bench warmer utilizing its Ability to boost the output damage of my attacking F Poke. But, I finally opted for a 3-1-3 Machamp line. Initially, a 4-2-4 line was used in order to maximize the opportunity of benching Machamps for its damage output boosting Ability (Fighting Fury) which can stack. However, I also found from early play-testing experience, that running 4 Machamps became more of a liability than an asset. Machamp's Ability is fantastic, despite its being a Stage 2 Poke (which has certain deck needs), but Machamp also has one other characteristic that opponents can use to their advantage: Machamp Crush attack requires FFF energy cost to inflict 80 damage (with the potential of significantly reducing the opponent's next attack) which is not great for 3 primary energy. And since there is no "Rain Dance'ing" capability for F Poke, it is just too time consuming to power-up this Poke manually, IMO. This Poke also deals with encountered Pyroars very nicley too.
FuF Landorus has a good amount of HP for a Basic and is a solid starter for the deck since its attack inflicts damage AND provides some energy-attachment-acceleration capability.
Landorus EX is my preferred starter. This Poke still remains to be one of the most, if not the most, efficient attackers in the game, IMO. Just consider starting second with this Poke with a Muscle Band and Strong energy in hand... Lando's Hammerhead attack can result in a 70-30 damage output - amazing for just S energy cost. Starting with this Poke can also buy some time to setup the bench and attach energy to other Poke while my opponent is dealing with all of the Hammerhead damage. Plus, its second attack, Land's Judgement, can either inflict 80 or 150 damage. This Poke is, IMO, awesomeness Poke'fied.
Lucario EX not only has 2 good attacks (3 total, but its 3rd attack is just not that good, IMO), but its 2nd attack inflicts decent amount of damage and allows you to potentially draw cards too. Plus, this Poke has a different Weakness than Landorus EX; so, my attackers can vary based upon the opposition to reduce my opponent's 2x Weakness damage output opportunities.
Background - Noted Trainers:
For me, incorporating (more often, it's more developing and evolving) the "right" mix of Trainers requires patience since this group of cards are tweaked most often from my play-testing. My "core" cards consists of:
3 Bicycle - Item-based card draw support to complement Korrina
2 Colress - will tend to have full bench
2 Energy Switch - helps with some EAA, especially for Mewtwo EX and Machamp (when needed)
4 Korrina - for Poke and Item search
Strategy - playing this deck:
In general, some of my general tactics for playing this deck include:
- Get Landorus EX into the active position as quickly as possible and just Hammerhead opponent's key Poke till he/she "deals" with my Lando.
- KO opponents' Mr. Mimes and Litleos as quickly as possible.
- Keep Machamp in bench warming mode as much as possible.
- Attach a minimum amount of energy across different benched Poke to minimize opponent's X Ball-like attack damage. Leverage Energy Switch when necessary.
- Use Lucario EX and Machamp as a secondary (or primary if playing against Seismitoad) attacker.
Should you encounter this deck, 1 general tactic to defeat this deck include:
- Catcher/Lysandre energy-less Machamp(s) (takes "long" time to power-up/retreat - forcing opponent to burn through resources).
After about 3 weeks of play-testing, I believe this deck:
- Can definitely compete in a Bo3, 50 minute match.
- Competes well against "top" decks (e.g., Big Basics w Garbodor (BBG), Kangaskhan, Empire, Greninja-Miltank, Pyroar, etc.)
- May need to revert back to 4-2-4 Machamp line in order to ensure getting 2 Machamps onto bench consistently since I encountered quite a few Item-lock deck variants.
- May consistently have difficulty against Seismitoad EX and VirGen decks.
I welcome questions and your comments. Thanks for your review.
