Standard Seismitoad EX / Giratina EX

[punkhazard36]

Hello! There is a League Challenge this weekend in my area and I've been trying to get my deck ready! I originally tried a Toad/Giratina/Bats deck, and it seemed to do pretty well, but I felt as though the deck was also trying to do too much; the Bats ended up becoming a bit cumbersome. Here is my list:

Pokémon: 10

• 3 Seismitoad EX
• 2 Giratina EX
• 1 Hydreigon EX
  
• 1 Hoopa EX
  
• 3 Shaymin EX

Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums: 39

• 4 Professor Sycamore
• 2 Professor Birch's Observations
• 2 Lysandre
• 1 AZ
• 1 Team Flare Grunt
• 1 Xerosic
• 1 Ace Trainer
  
• 1 Hex Maniac
• 1 Cassius
  
• 4 Super Scoop Up
• 4 Ultra Ball
• 4 VS Seeker
• 2 Enhanced Hammer
• 3 Muscle Band
• 2 Head Ringer
• 2 Trainers' Mail
• 1 Escape Rope
• 3 Silent Lab

Energy: 11

• 4 Double Colorless Energy
• 4 Double Dragon Energy
• 3 Water Energy

Strategy:

I'm not entirely sure what decks to expect. What decks should I watch out for? Is there a better deck that I should be running? What changes should be made? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Ms Hugo]

I've been trying to fine-tune this deck myself. Hydreigon I tried as an Aegislash/EX blocker counter as well as to give Giratina less retreat, but Fairy Garden works fine for the latter and Silent Lab/Hex Maniac for the former. I'm still testing, but I think 2 Hex Maniac in this deck is pretty good - Regice/Vileplume and Aegislash are both pretty strong, and you need to have the tools to shut them off when necessary. Silent Lab should probably be played against Aegislash though.

I'm not so sure about AZ - you don't want to discard any Special Energy by scooping up damaged Toads/Tinas, and if you want to get rid of Shaymins, why not play 1 Parallel City? You can drop your bench down to 3 and, if you've filled it to 5, just discard 2 Shaymins and deny easy prizes. I think Cassius makes a fine healer.

Speaking of Shaymins, I'm not sure you need 3 - 2 should be fine. I've maxed out the Seismitoads in my deck to 4 because you really want to start with one, but it's up to you.

Don't know about the Water energy but I see what it's for - Grenade Hammer, presumably? I wouldn't run it personally but I think it's a worthy thing to test.

Deck looks pretty good so far!

 

[punkhazard36]

You're right, I put Hydreigon EX in with Aegislash EX in mind, but it's not the only reason. Hydreigon gets through Regice as well, which the deck has no other answers to. The Water Energy is actually in there for Hydreigon, though it does allow for a Grenade Hammer if needed.

Good point with the AZ. The energy in this deck is certainly precious, but losing an EX Pokemon is tough. I figured a more reliable way to bring up Pokemon would be good since you won't always get a heads on the Super Scoop Up, but like you said, Cassius can fill a similar role. I really do like the idea of a second Hex Maniac so it's definitely something to think about. Parallel City might be a good card to think about as well, but that would have to be something I'd add after the League Challenge this weekend.

The Shaymin count feels right, but I really need to play test this more to get a better idea. I could try dropping one though! I ran 4 Toads in previous iterations, but for some reason I would never start with Toad and always end up Giratina, even with a 2 count. Then later in the game, I would be flooded with Toads. It's true, you do want the Toads out early, but that's not usually a problem with Hoopa EX, or an Ultra Ball (or both). The other problem is Vespiquen and now possibly Sceptile/M Sceptile EX. The Grass weakness makes me think that playing less copies might be the better option.

The thing I feel the deck is lacking is Crushing Hammers. My friend was playing a Metal Excadrill deck and was able to avoid using Special Energy. I wasn't able to slow the deck down enough with my current removal. I currently only have Team Flare Grunt as a one of. I would like to add Crushing Hammers, but sadly I don't own any yet! I ordered some, but I don't know if they'll be in on time. They could possibly replace one of the Shaymins and AZ, though I've seen a lot of lists run 4.

Thanks for the tips! And nice profile picture! I see you're a One Piece fan as well!

 

[Michael barragan]

jirachi XY 67 promo really hurts this deck i would venture to say that it could make this deck unplayable as for 1 energy its knocking off speial energies while not being able to be touched and i see it being played in a lot of meta decks as it also hurts vespiquen night march and other meta decks

 

[Ms Hugo]

You're right, I put Hydreigon EX in with Aegislash EX in mind, but it's not the only reason. Hydreigon gets through Regice as well, which the deck has no other answers to. The Water Energy is actually in there for Hydreigon, though it does allow for a Grenade Hammer if needed.

Good point with the AZ. The energy in this deck is certainly precious, but losing an EX Pokemon is tough. I figured a more reliable way to bring up Pokemon would be good since you won't always get a heads on the Super Scoop Up, but like you said, Cassius can fill a similar role. I really do like the idea of a second Hex Maniac so it's definitely something to think about. Parallel City might be a good card to think about as well, but that would have to be something I'd add after the League Challenge this weekend.

The Shaymin count feels right, but I really need to play test this more to get a better idea. I could try dropping one though! I ran 4 Toads in previous iterations, but for some reason I would never start with Toad and always end up Giratina, even with a 2 count. Then later in the game, I would be flooded with Toads. It's true, you do want the Toads out early, but that's not usually a problem with Hoopa EX, or an Ultra Ball (or both). The other problem is Vespiquen and now possibly Sceptile/M Sceptile EX. The Grass weakness makes me think that playing less copies might be the better option.

The thing I feel the deck is lacking is Crushing Hammers. My friend was playing a Metal Excadrill deck and was able to avoid using Special Energy. I wasn't able to slow the deck down enough with my current removal. I currently only have Team Flare Grunt as a one of. I would like to add Crushing Hammers, but sadly I don't own any yet! I ordered some, but I don't know if they'll be in on time. They could possibly replace one of the Shaymins and AZ, though I've seen a lot of lists run 4.

Thanks for the tips! And nice profile picture! I see you're a One Piece fan as well!

I see what you mean about Hydreigon. Either him or even an extra Team Flare Grunt would be able to deal with Regice, so if Hydreigon doesn't work out so well in testing, you could always try the TFG.

I'm not a fan of coin flips so I don't run Crushing Hammers, but that's just personal preference. If it works for you, it works for you! I think you could definitely clear out a Shaymin and AZ for two, maybe Ace Trainer for another one?

And yes, I'm a big OP fan! I did get your username reference haha. Robin's my favourite.

As for the new Jirachi, I can definitely see that being teched into a lot of decks. Plus, with no LTC anymore, recovering Special Energy is even harder. Definitely going to be a problem, and I'm not entirely sure how this deck could handle a turn 3 Jirachi (if you go 2nd and set up Toad), considering Toad maxes out at 50 with QP. Giratina can take it out in one hit, and I doubt decks will play more than 2, but there must be a better way around it...

 

[Yo-yos]

2 escape rope and 2 lysandre make a great deal in the regice matchup, ko 2 shaymin and gg.

 

[punkhazard36]

I'm not terribly worried about Jirachi and I certainly would have ways around it. I run the three basic energy, so I don't necessarily have to use DCE to Quaking Punch. My two other attackers can take Jirachi out in one hit. I did add the 3 Crushing Hammers and took out the cards Ms. Hugo suggested and I like the change. My main concern would be something like Sceptile EX. I was thinking about replacing one Silent Lab for a Faded Town to help against Mega Pokémon. I'm not going to want to have a Lab down if I'm using Giratina against a Mega.

 

[Michael barragan]

Once jirachi knocks off an energy, it's invulnerable to any attack from any Pokemon meaning you don't have an answer for at least 1 turn, and if you have to manually charge 1 Energy or rely on a coin flip to remove an energy off a Jirachi with hammer to stall for a turn, then Jirachi did its job. He's not the main focus of any deck. If you have to figure out a way to get to play around Jirachi or figure out a way to kill him, it means the main focus of any deck goes untouched as that person continues setting up there main focus. That's what makes Jirachi dangerous. For 1 Energy, it's really setting you back a turn while the person playing the Jirachi can continue with there strategy, and even if you Lysandre or Escape Rope around Jirachi to knock something else out, Jirachi just comes back up to continue knocking off special Energies, which is so precious in this deck. Manually charging up 2 Water Energy on a toad means your opponent broke the lock and can continue playing unimpeded. To say your not worried about Jirachi in a deck that relies on special Energies with no way of recovering said Energy--without an actual way to remove the issue of Jirachi--one it knocks off Energy. No Pokemon on your field can hurt it, so you would have to manually charge a different Pokemon I.E. Hydregion EX. They still need DDE, and what if said person also has access to lysandre to just knock off that Energy. I would say this deck, more than most, should be worried about Jirachi.

 

[Nyora]

Haha cool kid counter (I know this is like 10% chance to be played but it's pretty bad.) that promo Jirachi with some bats and Wobuffet = strong counter. Oh yeah and Xerosic and that new BREAKpoint Marowak or some other Marowak and Enhanced Hammers...