Returning Player With a Bunch of Questions

[mrfr1day]

Hey there. I picked up Pokemon as an alternative to Magic a few months ago. Unfortunately I dropped it a month or so in and picked up DBZ TCG. Huge mistake. Returning again and I found out my Snorlax deck is no longer standard. I also forgot many things about the tcg so if you guys can answer my questions that would be great!


1. I'm building a Lucario "fight alone" deck. How viable is it in today's meta? Are there any competitive budget decks that perform better or is more consistent?

2. If I attach an energy to my pokemon, can I still play Max elixer?


3. I bought a play set of "N", "VS Seeker", "Max Elixer", "Trainer's Mail" and Prof. Sycamore. Are there any other cards/boosters/Starter Decks I should pick up? (Except Shaymin EX)


4. I have a question regarding Pokemon Ranger. Can someone give me an example of "effects of attacks"?


5. Are there any interesting "fringe"(near unplayable but extremely fun) decks to try out? In Magic, I really enjoy performing well at tourneys with decks that no one uses.


6. When is the next rotation and what sets are rotating out?
Thanks for all your advice!

 

[Frosstoise]

Welcome back to the game! I'll throw in a couple thoughts:

1. I'm building a Lucario "fight alone" deck. How viable is it in today's meta? Are there any competitive budget decks that perform better or is more consistent?

Fight Alone can be pretty potent, but it requires very careful control of the bench. Also, you really need to try and leverage things like N and Captivating Pokepuff to try and force your opponent to load their bench. Generally, once someone realizes you're using Fight Alone Lucario, they will stop benching things, which makes it really hard to be successful. Rainbow Road and Greninja are interesting "budget" decks these days. RR can benefit from a Shaymin-EX or two, but you can be moderately successful without. Greninja doesn't generally run Shaymin at all, opting instead for Frogadier's Water Duplicates and Dive Ball to get out what it needs as quickly as possible.

2. If I attach an energy to my pokemon, can I still play Max elixer?

Yes, you can, so long as you have a basic pokemon on your bench that you can target with the Max Elixir.

3. I bought a play set of "N", "VS Seeker", "Max Elixer", "Trainer's Mail" and Prof. Sycamore. Are there any other cards/boosters/Starter Decks I should pick up? (Except Shaymin EX)

Four Ultra Ball is pretty much a must for any deck, as is at least one Lysandre. Apart from that, you've got your trainer bases covered there pretty well. A couple Hex Maniac, Karen, Brock's Guts, and Pokemon Ranger are good to have as 1-2 options when you're building.

4. I have a question regarding Pokemon Ranger. Can someone give me an example of "effects of attacks"?

Jolteon-EX and Glaceon-EX are two great examples of pokemon that impart an effect of an attack. In their case, they place an effect upon themselves which prevents damage from basic and evolution pokemon respectively. Ye olde Seismitoad-EX is another good example, where an effect is placed on a player that would be removed by Pokemon Ranger as well.

5. Are there any interesting "fringe"(near unplayable but extremely fun) decks to try out? In Magic, I really enjoy performing well at tourneys with decks that no one uses.

Tonnes. Typhlosion, Machamp-EX/Ariados, Darkrai-EX/Hypno, Mandibuzz/Wide Lens (Shaymin Hunter), Fight Alone , the list goes on and on

6. When is the next rotation and what sets are rotating out?

Next rotation is not likely to occur until after 2017 Worlds. The sets that will be involved are anybodies guess, though I would wager that the oldest 4 will be dropped, consistent with previous rotations. Awfully early to think about that, though

 

[mrfr1day]

Thank you very much! A lot of good info!

 

[TuxedoBlack]

@Frosstoise did a great job responding to your questions; so, I too will offer a few more comments.

1. I'm building a Lucario "fight alone" deck. How viable is it in today's meta? Are there any competitive budget decks that perform better or is more consistent?

There are quite a few players running Volcanion decks which is a really bad match-up for Fight Alone Lucario. Should you do plan to run this Lucario, also consider running a W type Pokémon for some protection.

Other Standard (correct assumption?) competitive budget decks I like include:

• Garchomp-Carbink. These F Pokémon work quite well together. Garchomp is a Stage 2, free retreating Pokémon whose both attacks are very solid, especially its 2nd attack that can really terrorize opponent's EX Pokémon. Carbink (Safeguard) can "wall" opponents' EX Pokémon, inflict minor damage, and provide some energy-attachment acceleration.
• Vespiquen-Yanmega. Both are Stage 1 G Pokémon and have free retreat. Yanmega has a unique feature in that it can attack with no energy attached as long as you have 4 cards in hand. Vespiquen attack will get boosted based upon the number discarded Pokémon. So, running Unown in this deck helps with supplemental card-draw support while getting discarded.
• Zoroark-Yveltal. These are D Pokémon that are really cool and fun to play. Zoroak has an Ability that allows it to "rush in" to the active position thus possibly saving a wounded or paralyzed Pokémon (which goes back to the bench). Its attack inflicts damage based upon the size of your opponent's bench. Its BREAK is AWESOME - Foul Play (for just D energy cost) can copy any attack of the Defending Pokémon. I've used Foul Play at times to stop opponents from attaching Special energy (Giratina EX's Chaos Wheel), for example. There are also 2 different Yveltal from the GEN and BKT sets, sometimes referred to as Oblivion Wing and Fright Night Yveltal. I run both in my D decks and sometimes even their BREAK evolution too. Lastly, but not least the Moonlight Madness Zorua is a great starter too.

3. I bought a play set of "N", "VS Seeker", "Max Elixer", "Trainer's Mail" and Prof. Sycamore. Are there any other cards/boosters/Starter Decks I should pick up? (Except Shaymin EX)

I would also suggest running:

• 1-2 Judge - for card-draw diversity, as well as disrupting your opponent's hand
• 2-3 Level Ball or 2 Level Ball and 1 Bridgette - depending upon the deck you choose to build
• 2 Lysandre - to gust up opponent's benched Pokémon to the active position

5. Are there any interesting "fringe"(near unplayable but extremely fun) decks to try out? In Magic, I really enjoy performing well at tourneys with decks that no one uses.

In addition to the decks already mentioned, checkout decks in the Deck Garage Forum too. You may find some there too that might interest you. Plus, you can search and see examples of the decks previously mentioned.

I hope you find these comments helpful.