Standard Ninetales GX for tourney tomorrow!

[HouchinsDJ]

I'm entering a tournament tomorrow and want to get some last minute opinions on whether I should swap anything out. So far the deck is 43-23 online which I think is pretty good. I'm sure people have different ways of running Ninetales though so I'm interested in seeing what you think!

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 11

* 1 Oranguru PR-SM SM13
* 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 137
* 4 Alolan Vulpix GRI 21
* 3 Alolan Ninetales-GX GRI 132
* 1 Glaceon-EX FAC 116

##Trainer Cards - 35

* 1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130
* 3 Rough Seas PRC 137
* 1 Hex Maniac AOR 75
* 3 Choice Band GRI 121
* 1 Olympia GEN 66
* 2 Lysandre AOR 78
* 4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 1 Super Rod NVI 95
* 1 Escape Rope PRC 127
* 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135
* 1 Professor Kukui SUM 148
* 3 N FAC 105
* 2 Field Blower GRI 125
* 4 Aqua Patch GRI 119
* 4 VS Seeker PHF 109

##Energy - 14

* 10 Water Energy 3
* 4 Double Colorless Energy SUM 136

Total Cards - 60

****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******

 

[gumball51321]

Okay, First things first. PTCGO players are bad, so don't use that score as a reason to think you've done good. That being said, I had never played Ninetales until today at a league cup, which I won. I should probably start by saying don't play it for Blizzard Edge, which your list is suggesting it is. Ninetales' Blizzard edge is only there to OHKO stuff when you really need to, but the deck's real power is from Ice Blade. If you manage to Lysandre and strand something in the active position, you can Ice Blade to soften the bench, and take KO's. Deck choices you made that I would disagree with are:

• No Shaymin: Even though Shaymin( for the most part ) is dead, it's still good in Ninetales because it draws you cards after playing your hand down( which a lot of decks don't do anymore because of the format being slow and saving their hands )
• No Tapu Koko: The promo Koko is an amazing card right now, and should be teched into just about anything that plays DCE. Ninetales especially because of the whole bench-sniping thing. Plus, the free retreat is really good. I would also like to say that it won me a lot of my games today.
• Glaceon EX: What does this card even do? You already ruin evolution based decks, and if it's there for Metagross, they can use a Beldum, attach a choice band, and swing for 100. Or they can just Lysandre around it, which is REALLY easy to do because of Lele.
• No Brigette/ Fan Club: These cards are amazing! T1 exploding your bench and setting up a lot easier is good, since an Ultra Ball can turn into 2-3 Pokemon( because of Lele) and it means Ninetales is easy to get out because your Vulpix aren't constantly dying. Also, if you don't play these because of Beacon, keep in mind that N is easy to get, and 90% of the time, WILL happen.
• Escape Rope: This card is bad. Shame on you... Shame...
• Kukui: Also, this card doesn't really do anything. The only time you need to hit 210 in one turn is if you play against the mirror, and if you play agro against the mirror, you will lose. And drawing 2 cards as your supporter is mediocre.
• 10 Water: Like I said, you want to focus more on Ice Blade than Blizzard Edge, since that's the real power behind the card.

I'll go ahead and post my list so you can get a better idea on what I'm talking about:

Pokemon:15

• 4 A. Vulpix
• 3 A. Ninetales-GX
• 2 Tapu Lele GX
• 1 Shaymin-EX
• 1 Manaphy-EX
• 1 Sudowoodo
• 1 Jirachi XY67
• 1 Espeon EX
• 1 Tapu Koko

Trainers:33

• 4 Sycamore
• 3 N
• 2 Lysandre
• 1 Olympia
• 1 Hex Maniac
• 1 Pokémon Fan Club

• 3 Rough Seas
• 3 Choice Band
• 1 Float Stone

• 4 Ultra Ball
• 4 VS Seeker
• 4 Aqua Patch
• 1 Field Blower
• 1 Rescue Stretcher

Energy:12

• 8 Water
• 4 DCE

So card explanations:

Espeon-EX: Between bench sniping and the format currently being evolution based, Espeon can make you take a bunch of prizes at once by wiping your opponents bench, which I actually did today and took five prizes in 1 turn. It's also a better out to Metagross( and other Evolutions ) than Glaceon.
Jirachi: This card is amazing right now. The format is more or less, being run by DCE decks. The only non-DCE decks I can think of are Metagross, Vikavolt, Lurantis, and Turbo Dark. And if you let your opponent set up a DCE or two, Lysandre-ing them around and using Stardust will render them useless, and you can use this to your advantage if they get stranded, and you can Ice Blade the bench for easy prizes.
Sudowoodo: This card is also amazing. It beats Mega Ray, Passimian, Deciplume, Raichu, and adds to the Vespiquen hate this deck has. It may not seem like much, but this card is really good because it permanently takes away one of your opponent's bench spaces until they Hex, or Lysandre to kill it. And because this list plays Rescue Stretcher, it comes right back.
Hex Maniac: Without this, you autoloss Metagross, probably Bulu, and possibly to Gyarados. It's also nice to have T1 if you already know how you're going to set up, and you have a hand to support it.

That's all for now, good luck on your deck, and your tourney!

 

[gumball51321]

I'd also like to point out that I made the mistake of basing my list off of Blizzard Edge, rather than Ice Blade, and I had to adapt to the list during the tournament. The list I listed was the edited list. Also, I prefer Fan club over Brigette because with Brigette, I never really needed three benched Pokemon, and Fan Club grabs Shaymin and Manaphy, which is nice. Since my league cup didn't have top cut, I ended up going 3-0-2, getting up-paired twice, so my resistance was good enough to get 1st, beating 2nd out by 1 match point. Also, if you think you might lose to the person you're up against, before the match starts, ask to I.D. Trust me, it saves lives.

 

[HouchinsDJ]

First I want to say thank you for the detailed response! While you bring up some great points (which I'll get to in a second), there are a few I disagree with.

• I originally ran Shaymin when I built the deck, but it was constantly a liability on the field. The deck ran smoother after switching to Oranguru. I find that Oranguru usually grabs me more cards throughout the course of the game and it doesn't give up two easy prize cards. I understand the benefits of Shaymin, but I prefer Oranguru, especially with the upcoming rotation.
• Glaceon EX is incredibly useful. Both Crystal Ray and Second Bite have won me games. Second Bite works great late game after Ninetales' Ice Blade has softened up the bench. Crystal Ray can be played around, that's true, but it forces my opponent to make a play they might not want to make. It's worked well for me, but I can see why you're not suggesting it given the deck list you provided.
• Kukui is a better Supporter than what you're making it out to be. I can't tell you the amount of times it has allowed me to net surprise OHKOs. The two extra cards are just a bonus. Kukui and Choice Band get my damage up to 210 which KOs opposing Ninetales, Espeon, Umbreon, Lurantis... all pretty big OHKOs.
• Escape Rope has worked well for me. Disrupts my opponent while allowing me to switch in something. Totally preference. I don't play Float Stones or Manaphy so it simply gives me another retreat option. When played right, it can be huge.

I do like your other suggestions, however! I've been meaning to add in a Tapu Koko. I thought about adding in a Brigette but decided against it for the same reason you said. I do like Pokemon Fan Club though. Sudowoodo and Jirachi are great techs to add. I see the power of Espeon EX in a deck like this. I'm just concerned about bench space when it comes to your list. I know it all comes down to just playing smart and putting down the right Pokemon for the matchup though.

Thanks again! I'll try your build out.

Also, I know this might make me sound like a newb, but what does it mean to "ask to I.D.?" Instant Disqualification?

 

[gumball51321]

You made some good points, and asking to I.D is Intentional Draw, which means you tie on purpose and you both agree to a tie