Playable Stage 2s

GadgetJax said:
This is why I look forward to XY-on so much. Without LaserBank, Seismitoad-EX is doing nothing but stalling. The Item locking is still annoying, but it doesn't matter if your opponent is doing nothing but slamming for 50, which isn't even that much. Garbodor is also going away, meaning that the only Ability-locking tech it gets is Ninetales/Silent Lab.

With Seismitoad-EX out of the picture, I could defenitely see cards like Swampert, Kingdra, Nidoqueen, Rhyperior, and Sceptile get a bit of viability. Older Stage 2's that could get an encore include Delphox, Shiftry, and Blaziken. While Trevenant can still Item lock, it at least isn't as bad because your opponent still has to get a Stage 1 into play before it starts working, AND your opponent doesn't get access to Donphan. Gengar-EX is still an option, and I think it will be a lot better than before with Safeguard gone and Pyroar nerfed, but it still doesn't compare to the raw power of Donphan.
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I haven't ever played with LaserBank but it's a nightmare to play against when you're being Toad locked. Thank Arceus we're finally losing that XY-on...

Another thing about Trevenant - it has to be in Active slot in order to lock items, which is why I run it alongside Donphan to keep an offensive momentum going for myself... which I lose during XY--on. As for those Stage 2s, I'm assuming Ancient Traits, and if not... well, pardon me but you didn't make yourself very clear.

  1. Swampert
    One thousand times yes; it's a 'better' version of Blastoise, theoretically; it can't attach as many Water energy (bar any DC) in a turn, but you still can get a lot onto board fast. I see it working really well with PrC Huntail.

  2. Kingdra
    Another potential partner for Swampert all things considered; yeah, you're running 2 Stage 2s which hurts quite a bit, but you're also gaining a lot of momentum in Energy Attach + Damage. That is... once we lose LaserBank and Garbador.

  3. Nidoqueen
    This scares me for all the right reasons. It has a great Stadium in Dimension Valley, plenty of support, potential free retreat with Mystery Energy - XY on can be really kind to this.

  4. Rhyperior
    This one... I'm not entirely sure about. Free set-up on Bench is nice, and taking 10 off every attak is fantastic, but I don't know fast it'd be. With Aegis EX blocking Special Energy, and that honestly huge cost for Attack... It's a great card on paper, but with the future being kinda hazy beyond the next set (which I forget the name of right now), I don't know if it'd execute very well.

  5. Sceptile
    Same energy set-up issue I have with Rhyperior, and the only way to accelerate Grass Energy would be running a split 2-2 Sceptile line, which I don't project going very well. The attacks are also kinda underwhelming.

Not saying my opinion on the older cards at the moment if only because I don't really feel like it. Again, apologies if you meant non-ancient or ancient cards... or both, but I wasn't entirely sure.
 
DarkMatterGaming said:
Sceptile
Same energy set-up issue I have with Rhyperior, and the only way to accelerate Grass Energy would be running a split 2-2 Sceptile line, which I don't project going very well. The attacks are also kinda underwhelming.
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I was actually referring to the Nuture and Heal Sceptile. Apologies if it seemed like I meant the Ancient one because it was paired with nothing but Ancient Pokemon on that list.

Man, every time someone brings up Stage 2's, I can't help but think of Boltevoir from the Diamond/Pearl era. That deck won Worlds, and it had 3 1/2 Stage 2's! Gardevoir, Gallade, Machamp, and Dusknoir!
 
GadgetJax said:
DarkMatterGaming said:
Sceptile
Same energy set-up issue I have with Rhyperior, and the only way to accelerate Grass Energy would be running a split 2-2 Sceptile line, which I don't project going very well. The attacks are also kinda underwhelming.
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I was actually referring to the Nuture and Heal Sceptile. Apologies if it seemed like I meant the Ancient one because it was paired with nothing but Ancient Pokemon on that list.

Man, every time someone brings up Stage 2's, I can't help but think of Boltevoir from the Diamond/Pearl era. That deck won Worlds, and it had 3 1/2 Stage 2's! Gardevoir, Gallade, Machamp, and Dusknoir!
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I had the feeling... It'd combo into Trevenant EX pretty well, and considering that XY-on means we're dropping Donphan, that means Trevenant's locking attack is actually more viable.

XY-on makes me very excited for new decks, as much of a fan of Donphan as I am.
 
Primal Clash Beedrill seems good but unless you slap Weakness Policy onto Beedrill your opponent could just take advantage of it's Fire Weakness after Beedrill uses Allergic Shock so that you won't be able to switch out for an instant KO unless you use LaserBank with Dragalge so that your opponent's Active can't retreat.
 
Card Slinger J said:
Primal Clash Beedrill seems good but unless you slap Weakness Policy onto Beedrill your opponent could just take advantage of it's Fire Weakness after Beedrill uses Allergic Shock so that you won't be able to switch out for an instant KO unless you use LaserBank with Dragalge so that your opponent's Active can't retreat.
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Honestly, there is little fire type attackers out there ATM, with Pyroar becoming a dead deck.
 
Card Slinger J said:
Primal Clash Beedrill seems good but unless you slap Weakness Policy onto Beedrill your opponent could just take advantage of it's Fire Weakness after Beedrill uses Allergic Shock so that you won't be able to switch out for an instant KO unless you use LaserBank with Dragalge so that your opponent's Active can't retreat.
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Fire weakness really doesn't matter much. But if you're using Dragalge, why not the other Beedrill? 1 energy for 60 damage, Poison, Confusion, and your opponent wouldn't be able to retreat. That sounds good to me.
 
Combined with PrC Weedle's (literal) ability to swarm and that's a pretty tough match-up to handle... by everything that's not meta, unfortunately. I'm tempted to build a deck around this idea though.
 
Yeah. I've built one with 3 Beedrills and 1 Dragalge on PTCGO, but I can't for the life of me get another one of each. It did okay, but it really wants that fourth Beedrill and second Dragalge. If you can get a Beedrill out, Seismitoad struggles a LOT. The biggest issue I've seen, is decks that run a lot of switches.
 
CruelBear said:
Yeah. I've built one with 3 Beedrills and 1 Dragalge on PTCGO, but I can't for the life of me get another one of each. It did okay, but it really wants that fourth Beedrill and second Dragalge. If you can get a Beedrill out, Seismitoad struggles a LOT. The biggest issue I've seen, is decks that run a lot of switches.
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I have a 4th Beedrill - I think; no dice on the Dragalge, though. I'm personally having a lot of trouble finding Ancient Swamperts/Excadrills.

Anyway, other Stage 2s that could be playable... PrC Flygon is practically an on demand N... that only Ns to 4, yeah, but it only gives up 1 prize - looking at you, Tornadus EX, doesn't use an attack and it's got 140 HP, a pretty solid number all things considered. I know 180 is the magic number right now and a lot of things can hit 140 pretty easily, but it's got a lot of great things going for it.
 
I don't think I like Flygon too much. It seems only good in a disruption focused deck... But using it on yourself seems kinda bad. Its attack is slow (3 energy for 80 damage, no acceleration, and DCE doesn't help), so I doubt you'd be using that much. Slurpuff is only a stage 1 and lets you draw extra cards easily, but if you're looking for something with the staying power of Flygon (140 HP) that helps you draw, Delphox is actually pretty good in that regard. I've been trying Delphox/Reshiram with the Blacksmith engine, and it's really nice being able to draw up to 6 after an N or a bad flip on Birch. It's also a pretty good attacker, imo. For 3 energy, you can hit 110, and that scales up pretty nicely. 130 KOs weaker Stage 2's and non-EX basics, 150 for 5 (not hard with Blacksmith) is enough with a Silver Bangle to KO 180 HP EXs.
 
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