Help The "What Deck Should I Play?" Thread

I used to play a lot of Ray Eels semi casually and enjoyed the ability to consistently land 1 hit knock outs. During XY, I played a little Budget Fairy Box, but ultimately found the lack of consistency to be underwhelming. I haven't played much since, but my local games shop is trying to start a community, what should I seek with a similar feel to Ray Eels?

Edit: Due to a change in employment, budget is a significantly lower priority then consistency and power.
 
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Moriatti said:
I used to play a lot of Ray Eels semi casually and enjoyed the ability to consistently land 1 hit knock outs. During XY, I played a little Budget Fairy Box, but ultimately found the lack of consistency to be underwhelming. I haven't played much since, but my local games shop is trying to start a community, what should I seek with a similar feel to Ray Eels?

Edit: Due to a change in employment, budget is a significantly lower priority then consistency and power.
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Bronzong PHF is effectively a metal-type reprint of the Eels, so you may like to look into that. Unfortunately the card is rotating for the 2017 Standard rotation (PRC-on), however it is still usable in the Expanded format (BW-on)... but then again, so is RayEels. Other decks that have lots of Energy acceleration are Blastoise, Magnezone BKP and water toolboxes w/Primal Kyogre-EX. If you're a player that likes bulky and consistent, then WaterBoxs sound like a good choice, as are Zygarde-EX archetypes decks.
 
Hi everybody, after a couple of years not playing the game, I've got the opportunity to play in a tournament next Saturday (10th) and I have no idea of the format/ what cards are legal. I'm looking for a fun deck to play that can compete with meta decks that doesn't cost the earth and that isn't too difficult to use.
Also if anyone in the UK can sell me one that would be awesome:D
 
I have like a budget of around $100 or so, excluding any Shaymin EXs needed.

I also have N's, Skyla's, Lysandres, and all the staple trainers that are pre-Primal Clash (so no need to purchase VS seekers :D).

What are the best decks right now after rotation? Greninja seems pretty fun, and I already have a bunch of Yveltal EXs (are Yveltal decks still viable).

I'm thinking of playing Mega Mewtwo decks, since they remind me of the original Mewtwo EX, and I found that to be decently fun to play.

I'd love to have a second opinion. Thanks!
 
Hey guys, so I recently got back into the TCG shortly after breakpoint came out. I've been playing and studying up on some of the best decks over the last few years, and just trying to learn some of the strategies. I have Arizona regionals on Oct. 1 & 2 and it is expanded format. I don't have really any experience with expanded format except for the little bit I've played on PTCGO. I have a few decks in mind, but I'm not sure which one would be the best as I don't know the meta here as I have only played in 1 League Challenge since getting back into the game.

The few decks I have in mind however are:

Archie's Blastoise (This is the deck I use on PTCGO)
YZG
Night March (everyone's favorite lol)
Speed Dark (baby yveltal, yveltal ex, darkrai ex etc.)
ToadTina (or any Toad variant)

I don't really have a budget as I have most of the staples (ordering the few I don't have) and I have 4 shaymin's so that is not a problem. Again, I'm not sure what the expanded meta here is as I have not played in it, but I'm looking to play something that is consistent, and can get me some wins... I understand how to play all of the listed decks, but any suggestions as to techs or any deck ideas in general are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for anyone that helps. Also if you live in AZ let me know I'm looking for people to test against as I don't have access to many cards online.
 
pokemart123 said:
Hi everybody, after a couple of years not playing the game, I've got the opportunity to play in a tournament next Saturday (10th) and I have no idea of the format/ what cards are legal. I'm looking for a fun deck to play that can compete with meta decks that doesn't cost the earth and that isn't too difficult to use.
Also if anyone in the UK can sell me one that would be awesome:D
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That sounds like the magic formula that everyone is looking for :)

Without more info it's tough to give you really good information. There are two competitive formats right now, Standard and Expanded, and I don't know which your event will be using. Standard is most likely and is pretty unexplored right now, but top contenders look to be things like M Mewtwo-EX, M Rayquaza-EX, M Scizor-EX, Rainbow Road (Xerneas BKT), Volcanion-EX, Greninja, and others. Most of those will run you a good amount of money because of Shaymin-EX, and I don't know what prices are like in the UK.

raymond25962 said:
I have like a budget of around $100 or so, excluding any Shaymin EXs needed.

I also have N's, Skyla's, Lysandres, and all the staple trainers that are pre-Primal Clash (so no need to purchase VS seekers :D).

What are the best decks right now after rotation? Greninja seems pretty fun, and I already have a bunch of Yveltal EXs (are Yveltal decks still viable).

I'm thinking of playing Mega Mewtwo decks, since they remind me of the original Mewtwo EX, and I found that to be decently fun to play.

I'd love to have a second opinion. Thanks!
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We're working with our Premium Article team to come up with some preliminary tier lists now, but M Mewtwo-EX looks to be one of if not the top deck in Standard - at least "in theory." It wouldn't be a bad place to start at all :)

whittleseyj said:
Hey guys, so I recently got back into the TCG shortly after breakpoint came out. I've been playing and studying up on some of the best decks over the last few years, and just trying to learn some of the strategies. I have Arizona regionals on Oct. 1 & 2 and it is expanded format. I don't have really any experience with expanded format except for the little bit I've played on PTCGO. I have a few decks in mind, but I'm not sure which one would be the best as I don't know the meta here as I have only played in 1 League Challenge since getting back into the game.

The few decks I have in mind however are:

Archie's Blastoise (This is the deck I use on PTCGO)
YZG
Night March (everyone's favorite lol)
Speed Dark (baby yveltal, yveltal ex, darkrai ex etc.)
ToadTina (or any Toad variant)

I don't really have a budget as I have most of the staples (ordering the few I don't have) and I have 4 shaymin's so that is not a problem. Again, I'm not sure what the expanded meta here is as I have not played in it, but I'm looking to play something that is consistent, and can get me some wins... I understand how to play all of the listed decks, but any suggestions as to techs or any deck ideas in general are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for anyone that helps. Also if you live in AZ let me know I'm looking for people to test against as I don't have access to many cards online.
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Without knowing your local meta either, Turbo Dark and NM were great picks the last time I thought about Expanded. To be honest I've been a little caught up looking at plays in Standard and haven't been keeping up on Expanded too much, but either of those would be solid picks. The others didn't fare as well during the last round of Regionals and I can't think of any reason for that to have changed for the fall (again with the disclaimer that I'm not thinking much about Expanded right now).
 
Hello PokéBeach users, I am a returning player who stopped right around when that Zekrom speed deck got cycled out. I have a budget of $150 and I'm not sure which deck I want to build for competitive play. I really love the Jolteon and Glaceon deck; however, those Jolteon cards are pretty pricey and buying 3 of them eats up my budget pretty quick (I would need $$$ for staples too).

Another deck that drew my attention was the Alakazam and Gengar deck. I am having a hard time finding a deck list for this deck though (a link is appreciated). I'm trying to get the most bang for my bucks and I'm not aware of all the metagame decks out there. Generally, I love decks that limit my opponent— making their setup more difficult. Please give suggestions about what deck I should use. Feel free to direct me to a decklist in a DM or just by replying. I appreciate everyones efforts.

•Good day.
 
Hello there everyone, I'm trying to get into the tcg, I have a few of the newer sets but I'm looking to buy singles. I'm trying to find a strong fun deck maybe not exactly tier one, but something that could do well and maybe even be upgraded as I decide to spend more money on it. I'd like to stay away from fairy as that is what my friend is building and I wanna keep things interesting. As for a specific card or style that I enjoy I haven't really played all that much to decide, maybe something that either hits hard or is flexible. I was maybe looking at Raticate/Break but I wasn't sure how viable that was or if it was too gimmicky. Thank you for your time! Looking for standard and around 100 to 150 budget.
 
Zentrility said:
Hello PokéBeach users, I am a returning player who stopped right around when that Zekrom speed deck got cycled out. I have a budget of $150 and I'm not sure which deck I want to build for competitive play. I really love the Jolteon and Glaceon deck; however, those Jolteon cards are pretty pricey and buying 3 of them eats up my budget pretty quick (I would need $$$ for staples too).

Another deck that drew my attention was the Alakazam and Gengar deck. I am having a hard time finding a deck list for this deck though (a link is appreciated). I'm trying to get the most bang for my bucks and I'm not aware of all the metagame decks out there. Generally, I love decks that limit my opponent— making their setup more difficult. Please give suggestions about what deck I should use. Feel free to direct me to a decklist in a DM or just by replying. I appreciate everyones efforts.

•Good day.
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Unfortunately Shaymin-EX is an important staple in any deck. Most decks run two, which will total to near your $150 budget for just those two cards alone. From a budget perspective, the game is returning to a Pokemon-EX oriented format after a long while of being dominated by non-EX decks. If you are able to increase your budget by any amount, you would probably have the easiest time building a Dark variant, be it Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX or Yveltal-EX / Zoroark BREAK. Both of these require only two Shaymin-EX to function, and don't run expensive Mega Evolutions either. Yveltal-EX is the cheaper of the two, as it was released twice as a tin promo, the second time rather recently (and as a shiny no less) so you'd be able to find that easily. The Zoroark line can be found in BREAKThrough, and has been dropping in price as of late.

brandonpntr said:
Hello there everyone, I'm trying to get into the tcg, I have a few of the newer sets but I'm looking to buy singles. I'm trying to find a strong fun deck maybe not exactly tier one, but something that could do well and maybe even be upgraded as I decide to spend more money on it. I'd like to stay away from fairy as that is what my friend is building and I wanna keep things interesting. As for a specific card or style that I enjoy I haven't really played all that much to decide, maybe something that either hits hard or is flexible. I was maybe looking at Raticate/Break but I wasn't sure how viable that was or if it was too gimmicky. Thank you for your time! Looking for standard and around 100 to 150 budget.
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As I've said to Zentrility, Shaymin-EX is an absolute must in this format, and will run you a lot of money. If this isn't a problem for for you, I would also you toward a Dark variant, as they are easy to learn to play. Raticate BREAK isn't popular right now because it requires a lot of setup and is rather fragile. However this shouldn't discourage you if you really want to play it. The only currently competitive deck that does not run Shaymin-EX would be Greninja BREAK / Talonflame STS. The trouble with this deck is that it is very Ability reliant, and Garbodor (which shuts off Abilities) is a big player in this format. Still, if your budget is very limited, this is probably your best bet. Greninja BREAK can be a lot of fun to play, and when it does get going will dominate the field.

I hope this was helpful to both of you!
 
My Little Keldeo said:
Unfortunately Shaymin-EX is an important staple in any deck. Most decks run two, which will total to near your $150 budget for just those two cards alone. From a budget perspective, the game is returning to a Pokemon-EX oriented format after a long while of being dominated by non-EX decks. If you are able to increase your budget by any amount, you would probably have the easiest time building a Dark variant, be it Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX or Yveltal-EX / Zoroark BREAK. Both of these require only two Shaymin-EX to function, and don't run expensive Mega Evolutions either. Yveltal-EX is the cheaper of the two, as it was released twice as a tin promo, the second time rather recently (and as a shiny no less) so you'd be able to find that easily. The Zoroark line can be found in BREAKThrough, and has been dropping in price as of late.



As I've said to Zentrility, Shaymin-EX is an absolute must in this format, and will run you a lot of money. If this isn't a problem for for you, I would also you toward a Dark variant, as they are easy to learn to play. Raticate BREAK isn't popular right now because it requires a lot of setup and is rather fragile. However this shouldn't discourage you if you really want to play it. The only currently competitive deck that does not run Shaymin-EX would be Greninja BREAK / Talonflame STS. The trouble with this deck is that it is very Ability reliant, and Garbodor (which shuts off Abilities) is a big player in this format. Still, if your budget is very limited, this is probably your best bet. Greninja BREAK can be a lot of fun to play, and when it does get going will dominate the field.

I hope this was helpful to both of you!
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Any particular dark variant or any lists? I appreciate the feedback!
 
brandonpntr said:
Any particular dark variant or any lists? I appreciate the feedback!
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The two main variants of Dark right now are Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX and Yveltal-EX / Zoroark BREAK. Both of them are strong contenders, though Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX is certainly more popular (and will thus cost you more money to obtain the needed cards). The two strategies don't mix very well though, so you'll need to settle on one or the other.
 
My Little Keldeo said:
The two main variants of Dark right now are Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX and Yveltal-EX / Zoroark BREAK. Both of them are strong contenders, though Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX is certainly more popular (and will thus cost you more money to obtain the needed cards). The two strategies don't mix very well though, so you'll need to settle on one or the other.
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What is the Yveltal-EX and Zoroark break deck like, that sounds really cool. I'd be interested to see that.
 
Shattered_Past_ said:
Im new to the game and have a limited amount of cards and need a deck suggestions??
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Welcome to the game, Shattered! To find a good deck for you, I suggest you find a somewhere to start searching. Are you looking at playing highly competitive decks, or more casual decks? Also, are you planning on playing in the Expanded (Black/White-on) or Standard (Primal Clash-on) format? Do you think you would like to dish out lots of damage and take Knock Outs quickly, or are you more of a defensive player, withstanding high power attacks while taking KOs yourself? Or perhaps you're a player interested in disrupting your opponent's strategy? If you're still unsure, is there any Pokemon you are particularly fond of, or any decks you've heard of and are interested in?

I've got a few potential options for a more competitive deck, anyhow. You said you have a limited amount of cards, so I'm going to suggest some budget (inexpensive) deck options. You could take a look at Fight Alone Lucario; this article gives a great rundown on the deck. You might also find the Rainbow Road, Vespiquen or Greninja BREAK a look. Otherwise, you could take a look at community deck ideas in the Deck Garage.
 
I don't know what to play this season... Plz help me by giving me deck lists that don't cost over $70 (I have no budget at all) :):)
 
pokemonleaguery said:
I don't know what to play this season... Plz help me by giving me deck lists that don't cost over $70 (I have no budget at all) :):)
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Well if you want to find a deck costing less than 70 dollars, you're limiting yourself further than it seems you would be. Really playable EX cards like Jolteon EX, Glaceon EX, and especially Shaymin EX can cost $25 or more. If you want to use a great deck, you'll need some of those expensive cards, and if you really do want to play, you'll need to broaden your budget limits.
 
I wanted to play Volcanion at first (That can't cost over $50 since it works without Shaymin EX and I have most of the cards needed)

Lord o da rings said:
Well if you want to find a deck costing less than 70 dollars, you're limiting yourself further than it seems you would be. Really playable EX cards like Jolteon EX, Glaceon EX, and especially Shaymin EX can cost $25 or more. If you want to use a great deck, you'll need some of those expensive cards, and if you really do want to play, you'll need to broaden your budget limits.
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