Discussion No Stadium Deck Viable?

Wookiee Scholar

Wookiee Scholar

Let the Wookiee win
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Is it crazy to run a deck that doesn't have any stadiums in it?

I am currently playing around with a M Latios/Aegislash EX deck, and am currently not running any stadiums. I considered Shrine of Memories (to allow Latios to still attack without having to discard energy) and Steel Shelter (to further protect Aegislash) but I just really felt like those spots were better used on other cards.

One thought I had, was the inclusion of a 1-1 Vulpix/Ninetales line with a Wally, with the hope and intention of being able to play the Ninetales before my opponent can play a stadium. This would lock out all stadium cards until my opponent found a way to knock out Ninetales. And if my opponent is focusing on Ninetales, that means he is not focusing on my actual damage dealers, and is chasing a 1-prize card target.

I still don't have the room needed to run this in my current deck, but it got me thinking, although I don't feel like I my deck needs any stadiums to function properly, I wonder about the wisdom of allowing my opponent access to the stadium of his or her choice for the entire game. Is it almost a necessity to run a couple of stadiums just to deny your opponent access their stadium?

I look forward to your thoughts on the topic!
 
Decks do not need Stadiums to function. However, many decks would want to run stadiums to help with their deck, or to negatively effect yours. For an example, decks that run Silent Lab could be a problem for your Aegislash. Flareon decks, for an example, had little room to run Stadiums, and if they did, would often run 1 or 2 Training Center. It may be worthwhile for you to run a single Shrine just to Knock out Stadiums you don't want.
 
Decks definitely don't need to run it, but I don't see a reason they shouldn't. As most decks out there will always have a stadium that suits it. A good benefit is being able to bump out your opponent's stadiums, especially if they're hindering you.

A good example was a match I had in a tournament last month - my opponent had no stadium to bump out Frozen City. As a result his Pokemon were slowly taking damage to the point where his only option to KO me would be to attach an energy to knock out his active Pokemon and switch it out with a Pokemon on his bench that had enough energy to attack. However I had 2 prize cards left so that would result in my victory. He was unable to draw into a switch or escape rope, so no matter what: He lost because every Pokemon he had was 20 damage away from a knock out and he had no Stadium to boot it out.

Creating a Stadium lock deck with Ninetales is an okay idea, but definitely risky because of how frail/hard it would be to get a 1-1 line out. Not to mention the chance of it being prized.

So, while decks can run decently without them - it's not entirely the best choice.
 
As other's have said, running at least 1 or 2 counter Stadiums could be very helpful in match-ups that either rely completely on Stadium support, or that can cripple you badly with their Stadium support.
 
It many matchups it can be a huge hindrance to not run any stadiums, since you're giving the opponent free reign with stadium control and letting them get the passive stadium benefits that are probably completely worthless to you. It sucks because some deck ideas don't really have good stadium cards that have synergy with them.

However, this will be completely solved in the Bandit Ring/Ancient Origins expansion with the new Paint Roller card:

Paint Roller – Trainer
Item

Discard a Stadium card in play. Then, draw 1 card.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).

I can see decks running 1-2 of these that wouldn't otherwise use a stadium at all, since stadiums do see play in almost every high level game.
 
I question why you would want to use Paint Roller and not actual Stadiums. Paint Roller gives you a single card - which isn't that much, is locked by item lock and has the single advantage of removing a Stadium under Ninetales lock.
 
Well, I do think Paint Roller isn't that great of a card, but the topic creator suggested that no stadiums fit his deck well, so it is worth consideration in those situations. Having a "deck thinner" card that replaces itself by negating the opponent's stadium is sub-optimal, but still much better than letting the opponent have uncontested stadium control.
 
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