The "Best" Build

[Elbow]

So with the newly introduced Flashfire set, many people are scrambling to find a good deck. The only indicator between now and Nationals are based off of online videos, other countries tournaments, league challenges, and play testing. With the release of some new cards (Charizard EX, Pyroar, Floette, Milktank, Druddigon, etc.) there are many new builds (or different types) of older decks. What do you think is the best build for any deck in format and why? Feel free to post your own competitive deck build if its not listed.

• Aromatisse: Straight Fairys, Plasma, Big Basics, Klinklang, Kangashkan (it won the Japanese Lizardon mega battle)
• Rayboar: Beach, Beach-less / Delphox, Techy (Baby-Quaza, Reshiram)
• Blastoise: Beach, Beach-less/Electrode
• Accelegor: Trevenant, Techs (Musharna, Virizion EX, etc.)
• VirGen: Straight, Balloons, DCE (with Bouff / Raichu), Mewtwo, Heavy Palkia / Suicune, Floette
• Plasma: TDK, Yeti, Aromatisse, Speed Lugia
• Darkrai/Yveltal: Regular, DCE (with Bouff, Druddigon), Garbodor, Techy (Sableye, Absol, Baby-Yveltal), Hydreigon, Hammertime
• Charizard: Regular, Pyroar, Aromatisse, Speed Charizard, Ninetails, Raichu

I'll be editing this post with any other decks you can think of. ~Camoclone

 

[Ironman131]

Thats a tough one because all the decks you mentioned are powerful in their own way. Every deck is going to have to scramble to find stage 1 or stage 2 attackers because of Pyroar. I think VirGen with Raichu is a tough build to take down when it is constructed properly. I also believe rogue decks will see a little more play because a lot of the attackers in rogue builds are evolved pokemon. I'm interested in seeing what people are going to start teching in their decks to deal with Pyroar because when played properly it is game changing.

 

[energyfullart(?]

I'll go with my favorite versions:

• Aromatisse / Basics
• Techy Rayboar
• Blastoise (with beach)
• Techy Accelgor
• Virgen / Balloons
• Yeti
• Darkrai / Yveltal (with techs)
• Charizard / Pyroar

 

[pokedan24]

• Aromatisse: Kangaskhan with a few techs (Mewtwo, Druddigon, Xerneas EX). It can be really hard to take down.
• Rayboar: The version with Delphox has given me the most trouble.
• Blastoise: Hard to tell.
• Accelgor: Trevenent with techs (typically Dusknoir).
• Virgen: With Abomasnow to deal with fire (also Tropius and Druddigon as other techs).
• Plasma: TDK.
• Dark: Techy: I like to have an answer to anything that comes my way.
• Charizard: Speed (I normally hate this version, but with items and supporters serving opposite roles, it kinda works). That said, a tech Reshiram and Druddigon can't hurt.

 

[Card Slinger J]

Thats a tough one because all the decks you mentioned are powerful in their own way. Every deck is going to have to scramble to find stage 1 or stage 2 attackers because of Pyroar. I think VirGen with Raichu is a tough build to take down when it is constructed properly. I also believe rogue decks will see a little more play because a lot of the attackers in rogue builds are evolved pokemon. I'm interested in seeing what people are going to start teching in their decks to deal with Pyroar because when played properly it is game changing.

Pyroar's not really that hard to get around because of Garbodor being able to shutdown Intimidating Mane with Garbotoxin which gives Basic decks leverage of utilizing attacks more than abilities and with Tool Scrapper getting rotated out that means players running Garbodor will have a hard time countering their own ability lock as compared to Startling Megaphone you're not able to discard your own attached Pokemon Tools which with that option made Garbodor almost too powerful of a tech in popular builds.

 

[Ironman131]

When I play garbador I don't use many of my other abilities. A lot of the time when I make a build with garbador I stay away from abilities. Pyroar Archeops is going to be played more often and a lot of decks that play garbador don't play evosodas so it will be almost auto loss if you are playing just big EX pokemon with garbador. And if they lysander your garbador out then you will have a really tough time setting up a second garbaor.

 

[thood]

Ok, so after reading some articles and thinking of decklists in my head for the last four days, here's what I've come up with:

Fairy decks: Although they have been seeing lots of success using multiple types of big basics, I believe pure fairy is the way to go because of the higher consistency. Maybe add in a few techs. I think the best techs for Fairy decks would be Kanga EX and Raikou EX (Yes, Raikou). The reason for Raikou is because he is a beefy basic, and for 3 energy, he OHKOS an active Yveltal, or can snipe 100 to an unsuspecting benched pokemon. The only downfall to Raikou is that he discards energy, which you never want in decks that try to transfer energy.

Rayboar: RayBoar seems like a solid pick honestly. Delphox completely replaces electrode and possibly the need for Beach (THANK GOD!) I personally would run reshiram over baby-quaza because he hits harder and doesn't get OHKO'd by FLF Druddigon, which is what is screwing RayBoar and Blastoise over to begin with.

Blastoise: How the mighty have fallen! This is probably one of the weakest choices IMO. Druggidon has a field day with BKEX, and Yveltal swoops down and destroys any hope Keldeo has of regaining it's role as main attacker of Blastoise. Pyroar walls everything in this deck besides Blastoise, and the last thing you want is to send your Blastoise to the active. At least RayBoar can use Delphox who hits a respectable 110 for 3 fire, or 50 for 3 colorless.

Accelegor: I think Trevenant is the only option for Accelgor. Anyone running Gothitelle still needs to let go of the past. Nothing to tech really, pretty straight forward deck. Auto-loss vs Virizion, Slurpuff decks though, so you call the shot here.

VirGen: ViriGen is gonna be tough. Pyroar kinda walks all over this deck if G-Booster isn't on the field. I think Lugia EX is a must in this deck as a tech, as well as 2 Lysandre, frozen city, and THREE Shadow Triad (to get back Plasma energy and G-Booster). This deck will be a tough play, but I wouldn't be shocked to see it take home some trophies.

Plasma: Speed Lugia all the way. 3 Deoxys on the bench + muscle band = 170 Plasma Gale which scores you at LEAST 2 prizes 99.99% of the time, and 3 prizes for those EXs unfortunate enough to not have 180. Tech in tool scrapper for Garbodor and Raichu for Yveltal, and Frozen city for RayBoar/Blastoise. Not the best deck right now, but it's a solid choice.

Darkrai/Yveltal: Best deck in format (BDIF) right now, no doubt. Yvelral + Garbodor is deadly. Darkrai isn't needed too much really, unless you really want that free retreat until Garbodor comes out. Tech in Raichu for mirror match. Also, speed Yveltal might be a good choice, where you opt for more draw power and energy acceleration by replacing Garbodor with more Dark Patches and Draw engines.

Charizard: Charizard is kinda meh. I haven't seen a good list yet. However, if someone can get a Mega-Zard set up, you best be ready for a world of hurt and your opponent taking an easy 2-3 prizes. Nothing in this format can take a Crimson Dive or Wild Blaze to well.

Cards to look out for:

Druddigon FLF
Bouffalant DRX
Garbodor DRX
Raichu XY
Trick Shovel FLF
Startling Megaphone FLF
M Venasaur EX XY
Hypnotoxic Laser PS
Milktank FLF + Butterfree FLF
Lysandre
Pokemon Center Lady

 

[Frost Mage]

Rayboar: RayBoar seems like a solid pick honestly. Delphox completely replaces electrode and possibly the need for Beach (THANK GOD!) I personally would run reshiram over baby-quaza because he hits harder and doesn't get OHKO'd by FLF Druddigon, which is what is screwing RayBoar and Blastoise over to begin with.

The main reason for Baby-Quaza is not because it's the best attacker, but because it is game changing in exchanges between Black Kyurems and Rayquazas (or even Palkias, but those rarely stay active). You get 2 prizes and they get one for revenge-knocking yours.

 

[thood]

Rayboar: RayBoar seems like a solid pick honestly. Delphox completely replaces electrode and possibly the need for Beach (THANK GOD!) I personally would run reshiram over baby-quaza because he hits harder and doesn't get OHKO'd by FLF Druddigon, which is what is screwing RayBoar and Blastoise over to begin with.

The main reason for Baby-Quaza is not because it's the best attacker, but because it is game changing in exchanges between Black Kyurems and Rayquazas (or even Palkias, but those rarely stay active). You get 2 prizes and they get one for revenge-knocking yours.

I think Druddigon might outclass it now in RayBoar. 2 colorless is better than [R][Y][C]. Maybe not though, since Druddigon is situational, since it can only score those OHKOs after one of your Pokemon as been knocked out

 

[Toxic]

Cards to look out for:Milktank FLF + Butterfree FLF

I think Miltank + Greninja XY is the way to go. Butterfree obviously sets up faster, but after that it doesn't do anything. Greninja's Water Shuriken helps you get clutch KOs on big EX Pokemon. Add some (Superior) Energy Retrievals into the mix and you can pull off some explosive turns.

Miltank decks might be short lived, though. The new Lucario EX easily destroys you with its first attack + Strong Energy.

 

[Dark Espeon]

Here is my take with the next set and rotation in mind:

Aromatisse deck: With Furious Fist on the horizon Fairies and Mewtwo Ex as the main attacker become a lot better. Xerneas Ex is used to hit the bench. Also liked the M Kangashkan Ex version but the weakness to fighting will kill that variant once the next set is released.

Raindance decks: Once Skyla and Tropical Beach are rotated out these decks will stumble and become much less consistent. The fire version will even loose its main attacker in the rotation. This revision will make Druddigon much less viable.

VirGen: Will still remain viable and a competitor because the deck is rather self-sufficient and can tech an alternate evolution line to fit the metagame with ease. Baloons could make a revival with the amount of non-basic energies and the psychic type.

Plasma decks: Like the classic Kyrum built best since it can hit the bench and trades well in several matches.

Darkness decks: Even after the rotation Yveltal is insane. With Dark Patch rotated out we could see a focus on low cost attackers that can bit for one to two energies. Zoroark would fit the bill but the weakness hurts.

Fire decks: Not sure since these decks never worked well for me. Pyroar with M Charizard could work but he is easy to ohko back with Yveltal and sometimes even Mewtwo. Both of which will continue to be used in several decks.

Water decks: I like decks built around Greninja best. One could use two Milktank and two to three water Pokémon Ex as the main attackers but the lose of Skyla will sure hurt these decks a lot. In terms of attackers Greninja Ex or even Seismotoad Ex could work.

Fighting decks: Since the set has not been around for a longer time it is still hard to tell which version will work best. However with all the assistance and consistecy cards fighting decks will surely be used. Still unsure whether I like the version with Machamp or Garbodor best but at the moment I lean more toward the latter.

 

[hawk45678]

Here is my take with the next set and rotation in mind:

Aromatisse deck: With Furious Fist on the horizon Fairies and Mewtwo Ex as the main attacker become a lot better. Xerneas Ex is used to hit the bench. Also liked the M Kangashkan Ex version but the weakness to fighting will kill that variant once the next set is released.

Raindance decks: Once Skyla and Tropical Beach are rotated out these decks will stumble and become much less consistent. The fire version will even loose its main attacker in the rotation. This revision will make Druddigon much less viable.

VirGen: Will still remain viable and a competitor because the deck is rather self-sufficient and can tech an alternate evolution line to fit the metagame with ease. Baloons could make a revival with the amount of non-basic energies and the psychic type.

Plasma decks: Like the classic Kyrum built best since it can hit the bench and trades well in several matches.

Darkness decks: Even after the rotation Yveltal is insane. With Dark Patch rotated out we could see a focus on low cost attackers that can bit for one to two energies. Zoroark would fit the bill but the weakness hurts.

Fire decks: Not sure since these decks never worked well for me. Pyroar with M Charizard could work but he is easy to ohko back with Yveltal and sometimes even Mewtwo. Both of which will continue to be used in several decks.

Water decks: I like decks built around Greninja best. One could use two Milktank and two to three water Pokémon Ex as the main attackers but the lose of Skyla will sure hurt these decks a lot. In terms of attackers Greninja Ex or even Seismotoad Ex could work.

Fighting decks: Since the set has not been around for a longer time it is still hard to tell which version will work best. However with all the assistance and consistecy cards fighting decks will surely be used. Still unsure whether I like the version with Machamp or Garbodor best but at the moment I lean more toward the latter.

For the fighting deck I prefer a straight fighting, no other pokemon that aren't fighting besides a 2-2 Riachu and a Mewtwo EXthough I might look at a garbodor instead of the 2-2 Raichu but I do like the advantage over Yvetal decks as Darkrai is weak to Lucario, yvetal is weak to Raichu, and garbodor is weak to Mewtwo, but I need more lysandres than 2x.

 

[skyla27]

Here is my take with the next set and rotation in mind:

Aromatisse deck: With Furious Fist on the horizon Fairies and Mewtwo Ex as the main attacker become a lot better. Xerneas Ex is used to hit the bench. Also liked the M Kangashkan Ex version but the weakness to fighting will kill that variant once the next set is released.

Raindance decks: Once Skyla and Tropical Beach are rotated out these decks will stumble and become much less consistent. The fire version will even loose its main attacker in the rotation. This revision will make Druddigon much less viable.

VirGen: Will still remain viable and a competitor because the deck is rather self-sufficient and can tech an alternate evolution line to fit the metagame with ease. Baloons could make a revival with the amount of non-basic energies and the psychic type.

Plasma decks: Like the classic Kyrum built best since it can hit the bench and trades well in several matches.

Darkness decks: Even after the rotation Yveltal is insane. With Dark Patch rotated out we could see a focus on low cost attackers that can bit for one to two energies. Zoroark would fit the bill but the weakness hurts.

Fire decks: Not sure since these decks never worked well for me. Pyroar with M Charizard could work but he is easy to ohko back with Yveltal and sometimes even Mewtwo. Both of which will continue to be used in several decks.

Water decks: I like decks built around Greninja best. One could use two Milktank and two to three water Pokémon Ex as the main attackers but the lose of Skyla will sure hurt these decks a lot. In terms of attackers Greninja Ex or even Seismotoad Ex could work.

Fighting decks: Since the set has not been around for a longer time it is still hard to tell which version will work best. However with all the assistance and consistecy cards fighting decks will surely be used. Still unsure whether I like the version with Machamp or Garbodor best but at the moment I lean more toward the latter.

Ok, so here's my input on Blastoise. As far as Emboar, i never played it so idk what to tell you guys, but I have to say even with the loss of beach and skyla, theres still plently of options for Blastoise besides Ballista, besides keldeo. You can run a combo with a random water ex+suicune, and theres always mega blastoise, which imo is the best blastoise play right now by virtue of the fact that deluge can get it rolling instantly, making the mega evolving much less painful. I myself would run Mega Blast with suicune and maybe a scoop cyclone to help Mega stay fresh and attacking. Idk how anyone else feels about that though.