Tornadus ex vs Tornadus in ZekEels.

Ka$h Money

Aspiring Trainer
Member
We all know that because of the recent surge in dark decks, fighting Pokemon have the perfect platform to dominate the format. As a result, decks that are weak to fighting need to somehow get around that fact and even the odds out.

Tornadus ex is being touted as the main counter for any Fighting deck simply because of how splashable it is as well as it's resistance to Fighting. However, I have a bit of trouble understanding why you'd run Tornadus ex in ZekEels as a counter for a Terrakion deck rather than using Tornadus.

Tornadus ex can only deal out 100 damage tops to an opposing Terrakion which is not enough to OHKO it. Even with plus powers, it would be near on impossible because of the 130 hp. As a result, they get another turn to survive and could possibly catcher any of your electric pokemon to get another KO (think Tynamo if used as a tech or any big attacker if they play Terrakion as their main attacker). Your essentially trading one prize for every two prizes the Terrakion player is getting.

Tornadus on the other hand will deal 80 which is still enough for the 2HKO. It has enough hp to survive any attack and wouldn't give away two prizes if KOed.

It essentially looks like that both of them are inherently not amazing techs for Terrakion but Tornadus ex looks slightly better because of the bigger hp.

Still quite undecided about it and I may have completely missing the point here but Tornadus ex doesn't look like a good tech for fighting decks in ZekEels. (Please don't talk about Darkrai ex decks as that is completely different and Tornadus ex is a perfect tech considering the snipe damage created by Darkrai).
 
If your argument is that they'll Catcher around Tornadus to get KOs anyway, wouldn't that make the EX better? Eventually they'll probably be forced to attack into it and EX lasts much longer.
 
I don't use either. It takes up space, and if your smart, you can easily beat Terrakion/fighting variants. If you REALLY want to use 1, use Tornadus EX. Sure, if you start with it against Zekeels, good luck, but against Terrakion, it can T1 attack and Ko a lot with a eviolite. Then, you can Super rod it and repeat the process, while keeping your mewtwos in case. Zekroms also are great in taking kos w/ pluspower.
 
Yes. Tornadus EX is the better choice. Though it is two prizes if KOd, it is definitely worth it because it can last a lot longer than regular tornadus. The EX is the overall better choice.
 
You're forgetting about Groudon EX, another reason why ZekEels needs to run Tornadus EX/Regular Tornadus. I tried running 2 Tornadus EX in ZekEels at BR's and it did alright despite not going up against Terrakion or Groudon at all in my matchups. Actually I did spot Terrakion with Prism being ran in TyRam though I didn't have Tornadus EX out at the time.
 
i have the same question as you do as well. but what i am thinking is that when Zekeel face up Zoroark, Tornadus ex's 100 damage attack can come in handy :D
 
tc19930815 said:
i have the same question as you do as well. but what i am thinking is that when Zekeel face up Zoroark, Tornadus ex's 100 damage attack can come in handy :D

Why would you use Tornadus EX over Raikou EX in that match up? Raikou does the same amount but hits anywhere. (and helps you get {L} in the Discard)

Honestly, I don't think ZekEels needs Tornadus EX or normal Tornadus, sure they could help, but I don't think they're worth the space.
 
Brave Vesperia said:
Why would you use Tornadus EX over Raikou EX in that match up? Raikou does the same amount but hits anywhere. (and helps you get {L} in the Discard)

Raikou is more of a hassle to get out, load, and reload. Tornadus-EX is also better earlier in the game (and throughout the game, even), since all you need to do is drop a DCE and some Lightning while loading other Tornadus-EX on the Bench.

You should already be trying to get Lightning Energy in the discard throughout the game via Junk Arm, Juniper, Ultra Ball, and, although unreliable, hitting tails on Tornadus-EX.
 
Futachimaru said:
Raikou is more of a hassle to get out, load, and reload. Tornadus-EX is also better earlier in the game (and throughout the game, even), since all you need to do is drop a DCE and some Lightning while loading other Tornadus-EX on the Bench.

You should already be trying to get Lightning Energy in the discard throughout the game via Junk Arm, Juniper, Ultra Ball, and, although unreliable, hitting tails on Tornadus-EX.

I agree about Tornadus EX being better earlier, but once I get 2 Raikou out I seem to be able to cycle through the 2 pretty easily.

I know those are all beter methods of getting {L} in the Discard Pile, but Raikou does help when you have terrible top-decks and bad hands. Maybe, it's just me, though; my list plays off it's field alot.
 
Card Slinger J said:
You're forgetting about Groudon EX, another reason why ZekEels needs to run Tornadus EX/Regular Tornadus. I tried running 2 Tornadus EX in ZekEels at BR's and it did alright despite not going up against Terrakion or Groudon at all in my matchups. Actually I did spot Terrakion with Prism being ran in TyRam though I didn't have Tornadus EX out at the time.
This is a very good point. Tornadus-EX can 2HKO Groudon-EX but Tornadus can't. If you also want to apply for the Groudon matchup (which I definitely would; it's getting pretty popular) then Tornadus-EX is the best option.

@OP- The choice really rides on whether or not you run Eviolite. An Eviolited Tornadus-EX can take four hits from Terrakions, which means it gets to take out two before it goes down. You'd need two regular Tornadus to do the same thing. You get the same benefits, but one way lets you use half the deck space the other does. But without Eviolite, Tornadus does offer a slightly better exchange. If you're not running Eviolite, though, then why aren't you? It stops Zekrom from getting revenged by Mewtwo or even opposing Zekrom. It can stop Mewtwo + PP KO on your Mewtwo. And it has quite a few other benefits.
 
Celebi23 said:
This is a very good point. Tornadus-EX can 2HKO Groudon-EX but Tornadus can't. If you also want to apply for the Groudon matchup (which I definitely would; it's getting pretty popular) then Tornadus-EX is the best option.

@OP- The choice really rides on whether or not you run Eviolite. An Eviolited Tornadus-EX can take four hits from Terrakions, which means it gets to take out two before it goes down. You'd need two regular Tornadus to do the same thing. You get the same benefits, but one way lets you use half the deck space the other does. But without Eviolite, Tornadus does offer a slightly better exchange. If you're not running Eviolite, though, then why aren't you? It stops Zekrom from getting revenged by Mewtwo or even opposing Zekrom. It can stop Mewtwo + PP KO on your Mewtwo. And it has quite a few other benefits.

So I was essentially right. Neither is really a great counter against Terrakion but the ex version is superior because of the added hp and reduced card space.

I always run 2 Eviolites and 1 PP in ZekEels over the 1 Eviolite and 2PP option. Eviolite is vital towards the setup of the deck and is integral to it's success. It would be ridiculous to not run it in this format.
 
No, they're both good counters. Tornadus-EX can get rid of at least 2 of their Exp. Shares and often some of their Switches/Catchers/Junk Arms/Energy. That's usually the "big push" you need to win the matchup since you also have Mewtwo-EX.
 
I, personally, think that Tornadus-EX is superior, simply because of it's ability to Donk or at least hit hard and mess with their setup turn 1. I'm currently building Straight Tornadus, and it can beat almost anything. 100 damage and putting energy in the discard is good for Zeels too, as if you run Standard Tornadus, and you haven't got any zekkys benched due to catcher, you can end up with energies stuck on eelektrik and useless for the rest of the game instead of in the discard where they can be reused. Tornadus-EX can help you set up your energy accel also, if you start with it or get it out early game.
 
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