What Will Win Battle Roads Thread

[Celebi23]

This thread is so we can have all the beachers' predictions for what wins the most Battle Roads, then after we can see if the majority of people are right! Just vote in the poll above then post why you voted the way we did so this thread doesn't die. Anyway, here is my tier list in order:

Tier 1:
Vileplume/Reuniclus
Gothitelle

Tier 1.5:
Magnezone/Emboar
Zekrom

Tier 2:
Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark
Reshiram/Typhlosion or Emboar
Other Vileplume variants
Yanmega/Magnezone
Other Stage 1 variants

Tier 2.5 and lower:
Everything else

Also, discuss and give reasons for what you post so this doesn't get locked My argument: The lock decks are amazing right now because Magnezone is the only card that can get KOs on the attackers once they're fully setup. Hence, Magnezone gets the spot right after them. Zekrom is also basically just a faster version of the stage 1 decks post-catcher and it gets Tornadus. Yanmega's sniping becomes less relevant so all the Yanmega decks are Tier 2. Because Yanmega is now less relevant and locking decks/Magnezone are more relevant, Reshiram is less relevant as well. However, Yanmega is still very hyped so it's probably going to take the majority of Battle Roads - it's just that there's so many variants of the deck.

*Flame shield on*

 

[King Arceus]

You have to go to Full Edit then tick the option that says to add a poll.
I disagree with Gothitelle being tier 1. While it may be alright, Reshiram / Typhlosion outputs damage a lot faster. 90 a turn just doesn't seem good enough for tier one when you have a couple other Pokemon that are capable of doing 120 damage a turn. It also is a lot slower to recover. DCE just doesn't help enough because the attack has the damage increased by {P} instead of any energy.

I have a feeling Reshiphlosion will take a fair number, if not the most Battle Roads. It sets up fast and can recover cards well. It even has the ability to draw outside of Supporters. Magneboar just seems like it could be too inconsistent to do well for Battle Roads. The deck uses two stage two lines. Good luck for the deck if it goes against Trainer Lock. I also fail to see why Zekrom is ahead of Typhlosion and Donphan variants. Donphan sets up turn 2 or should most games. It does 120 to Zekrom, which means all Zekrom needed was 10 damage on it prior for Earthquake to get a OHKO. PlusPower also could easily be dropped to get a OHKO on it. Vileplume / Reuniculus tier 1? Sorry, but considering the damge output it does it really doesn't seem like it should be tier 1. Not to also mention that that they both fall to a Blue Flare even at full HP.

 

[thefleeee]

I would give TyRam the most wins, and Donphan variants such as DD and Stage 1's the 2nd most wins. I would give gothitelle variants 3rd most

 

[One Approved]

How on earth did Vileplume/Reuniclus and Gothitelle get tiered higher than MagneBoar, ZPS, and Donphan/friends?

Anyways, I'm predicting Donphan + Dragons/Yanmega/Zoroark/Basculin/Magikarp/Caterpie/whatever your random tech is will get the most wins. It's fast, consistent, and fairly straightforward. Catcher doesn't really troll it that badly. stuff like Zekrom or MagneBoar have big retreat costs, so Catcher can completely ruin a set-up if you don't have a switch in your hand.

 

[dmaster]

Caterpie. I need to go test that now. :3

Stage 1s and Typhlosion are my personal picks. I think Vileplume definitely has a huge place though.

dmaster out.

 

[Dork Void]

Magneboar is bottom of the tier list. Not only is it slow and inconsistent and destroyed by trainer lock Catcher also obliterates the deck. I'd say its arguably the worst deck up there to play. And I'm assuming you mean Vileplume Reuniclus=googlebox, which is fine up there as it is a good deck, however, due to being harder to play it won't win that many brs. Like others, I think Reshiphlosion and Stage 1 rush being top 2, probably quite close too. Max Potion and Catcher make Stage 1 Rush a really formidable opponent, and Reshiphlosion's consistency has proven quite useful and with Catcher dragging up weaker opponents to guarentee a BLue Flare KO every turn its quite effective.. I dislike your lack of attention on Blastzel, having favorable matchups against literally every single top tier deck makes it have quite a lot of potential if anyone good plays it.

 

[Celebi23]

You have to go to Full Edit then tick the option that says to add a poll.
I disagree with Gothitelle being tier 1. While it may be alright, Reshiram / Typhlosion outputs damage a lot faster. 90 a turn just doesn't seem good enough for tier one when you have a couple other Pokemon that are capable of doing 120 damage a turn. It also is a lot slower to recover. DCE just doesn't help enough because the attack has the damage increased by {P} instead of any energy.

I have a feeling Reshiphlosion will take a fair number, if not the most Battle Roads. It sets up fast and can recover cards well. It even has the ability to draw outside of Supporters. Magneboar just seems like it could be too inconsistent to do well for Battle Roads. The deck uses two stage two lines. Good luck for the deck if it goes against Trainer Lock. I also fail to see why Zekrom is ahead of Typhlosion and Donphan variants. Donphan sets up turn 2 or should most games. It does 120 to Zekrom, which means all Zekrom needed was 10 damage on it prior for Earthquake to get a OHKO. PlusPower also could easily be dropped to get a OHKO on it. Vileplume / Reuniculus tier 1? Sorry, but considering the damge output it does it really doesn't seem like it should be tier 1. Not to also mention that that they both fall to a Blue Flare even at full HP.

The idea behind Gothitelle is to use it with Reuniclus so that the damage output isn't as relevant. As long as they aren't OHKOing you, you can just move the damage away with Reuniclus - it's a lot like the Vileplume variants. While the recovery is slow, the same idea applies here in that with Reuniclus you shouldn't have to recover a lot.

Magneboar is actually a very consistent deck. It's not going to have the same consistency as Stage 1's, but being able to draw with Zone and being able to abuse Twins while still using trainers are both pretty big advantages. But as long as you have a Magnezone on the field, you're set. Magnezone is actually the only thing that can stand up to trainer lock because nothing else can KO their stuff in one hit. It's annoying for Magnetic Draw and trainer lock is still a bad matchup, but it's not unwinnable if you build your list specifically to beat it.

Zekrom usually runs 3 Tornadus (at least) to deal with Donphan. The matchup is basically just a Catcher war, but it's actually not the most horrible. Shaymin has resistance, so really they just have to kill benched Pachirisus or attack the Tornadus. The deck gets out a turn faster than the Stage 1's - if you go first, you'll have taken two prizes before they even get the chance to evolve.

How does Donphan, Zekrom, Gothitelle or SEL fall at all to Reshiram? The entire point of SEL is to destroy Reshiram - nothing in your deck can KO it and it KOs everything in your deck. Your only move is to Typhlosion them and pray they never hit an energy - not a position you ever want to be in. Once you're setup, the lower damage output doesn't matter that much; they're not going to be able to kill anything so you just keep chipping away at them. Magnezone is the only thing capable of taking KOs after both Vileplume and Reuniclus are setup.

 

[King Arceus]

The thing is both Gothitelle Reuniculus and Magneboar both run 2 Stage 2 lines. That makes for a much harder set up. Reshiphlosion only runs 1 stage 2 line. It also still takes Gothitelle 2 turns at least to KO a Reshiram. That's 240 damage you will have to spread amongst your Pokemon. Reshiphlosion has more favorable match-ups than Gothitelle / Reuniculus. SEL also OHKO's your Reuniculus so that match-up doesn't count for saying one is better than the other. I also have my own tech for SEL anyway. 120 from Blue Flare KOs Vileplume and Reuniculus. Zekrom puts itself in range to get OHKO'd if it uses Bolt Strike though Typhlosion puts a damage counter on Reshiram when it recovers an energy. The Zekrom match-up pretty much should be prize exchanging most of the game. It basically ends when a player runs out of Zekrom or Reshiram to hit with. My Reshiphlosion I've beaten Donphan more times than I've lost to it, maybe its just me though.

 

[Celebi23]

Why would I ever put Vileplume or Reuniclus in the active position though? Once they're out, they're going to stay out - I'm not just going to hand you my key Pokemon to use Blue Flare on.

Also your tech for SEL better be a basic that OHKOs it and can do so the second it comes into play, because if it's not I can just promote Donphan or Zekrom and use that. Or if I'm lucky enough, I'll be able to snipe it off via SEL if it has less than 100HP on the basic form.

Also, the Donphan/Zekrom/SEL is not the only variant of the deck - there's also Seperior, Beartic, Machamp, etc and for the most part the other variants work very well.

 

[Dork Void]

Actually, Zoroark makes a good counter to SEL in googlebox. Bring up the Zoroark, Foul Play Torrent Blade to KO your benched Reuniclus, then 2HKO SEL with some Reshiram. Reshiphlosion loses Zoroark and 2 Reshiram, googlebox loses SEL and Reuniclus, both take 3 prizes, and which deck can set up another under trainer lock easier? Clearly, 2 basics with energy acceleration are far easier to set up than a stage 2 and a Legend, and trainer lock from Vileplume just amplifies the pain, making it nearly impossible to set up another SEL (if you even carry one).

 

[Celebi23]

After trainer lock gets setup I'll give the setup edge to the trainer locking deck any day - it's built to function under no trainers. It's hard to get a 1-1 Zoroark out without Pokemon Communication. Any good list will only be running 1-1 SEL anyway and if for some reason I have another, I did base my entire setup engine on Twins.

And of course I'll just leave my SEL sitting active when you drop Zorua and I don't have access to a 2nd Reuniclus...

 

[scizorlicious]

Tier 1:
Vileplume/Reuniclus
Gothitelle

Tier 1.5:
Magnezone/Emboar
Zekrom

Tier 2:
Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark
Reshiram/Typhlosion or Emboar
Other Vileplume variants
Yanmega/Magnezone
Other Stage 1 variants

Tier 2.5 and lower:
Everything else

Tier doesn't necessarily determine BR wins. Even if a deck is good, it doesn't mean it will be played.
Beside that, Vileplume/Reuniclus really isn't THAT great of a deck. It came second in Worlds, but here me out:
-Catcher is now released. Good luck holding onto those benched Oddish.
-People have a hard time playing this deck. It's a tough deck to play. Misplays are common.
-Gothitelle/Reuniclus is simply better. Vileplume/Reuniclus can't hold down prizes as well, especially now that Magne___ is increasing in popularity.
Magnezone/Emboar is nowhere near Tier 1.5. Catcher just destroys the thing. It's slow. It doesn't have Trainer-lock. And with the amount of Trainer-lock that will be going on between Vileplume and/or Gothitelle (both will be played at BRs and elsewhere in the future, you can count on it), it's just a clunky deck. Those Trainers that clog up the hand make Magnetic Draw pretty useless. Once you lose that advantage, it's a tough matchup. And Magnezone has a horrid matchup against Donphan, which is still popular.


Anyways, TyRam will probably bring home the most BRs. It'll see a lot (a LOT) of play as it's a cheap deck that performs extremely well and made a good showing at Worlds. But besides that, it's a great deck with very few bad matchups.

 

[Celebi23]

^I completely agree that Tier doesn't determine BR wins. Generally the most played deck gets the most wins. However, people like to play the best decks and so Tier does have some say in it - it's just that nobody ever agrees on a tier list. I feel like Vileplume/Reuniclus and Gothitelle/Reuniclus are pretty much neck in neck for the title of BDIF, but because Vileplume has a pretty good Gothitelle matchup I put it first.

Also, with 4 Twins, 4 Communication and 3 Rare Candy I can almost always get out a Vileplume after you kill the first Oddish (or in a worst case scenario bench another Oddish and evolve it the next turn). Besides, the same argument could be made for any evolution - Catcher an be used on anything, not just Oddish. I've basically not noticed any difference between the Reversal format and the Catcher format for Vileplume decks. If anything, Vileplume is stronger now.

Yes, the deck is hard to play. I suppose, after clocking over 200 games with the deck, I'm a little biased in this department - I'm rarely misplaying with it. But the deck is also fun to play as well, so people who play the game for fun and for a challenge will probably take it up.

Your next argument contradicts itself. You say that Magnezone can OHKO stuff in Reuniclus decks so Gothitelle is better than Vileplume, then you say that Magnezone loses to any type of trainer lock. Until I fully understand what you're trying to say, I won't argue the rest of your post.

 

[Dork Void]

After trainer lock gets setup I'll give the setup edge to the trainer locking deck any day - it's built to function under no trainers. It's hard to get a 1-1 Zoroark out without Pokemon Communication. Any good list will only be running 1-1 SEL anyway and if for some reason I have another, I did base my entire setup engine on Twins.

And of course I'll just leave my SEL sitting active when you drop Zorua and I don't have access to a 2nd Reuniclus...

Using a Cheren, PONT, Juniper, or Sage every turn lets you draw through your deck surprisingly fast. And you are saying if you see a Zorua on my bench you aren't going to bring up SEL? Obviously I'm not going to drop the Zorua after SEL is active, I'm going to leave it on my bench once I get it so you can't tell if I have Zoroark in hand ready to come in on SEL. Also, without Rare candy, it takes a full 3 turns to set up another Reuniclus. T1 Solosis, t2 Duosion, t3 Reuniclus. By then Reshiram can get a couple of prizes. In my experience playing googlebox, it doesn't have room on the bench to put an extra Solosis there, so the chances of setting up a Reuniclus faster are slim. Maybe I'm just not playing it correctly though.

 

[Sleeping Snorlax]

The thing that people are forgetting about Goth/Reuniclus is that they should be running Max potion to heal away the masses of damage that are moved off Goth. But i honestly think some weird rogue decks will win BRs around the nation. I'll probably run a rogue deck or two. Or i might just run a toolbox LOL. TyRam sounds fun though so i may put my luck into that.

 

[Glace]

I don't think trainer lock deserves to be on top.

Tier 1:
Donphan Dragons
ZPST

Tier 1.5:
Vileplume/Reuniclus
Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark

Tier 2:
Magnezone/Emboar
Reshiram/Typhlosion or Emboar
Yanmega/Magnezone
Other Stage 1 variants
Gothitelle

Tier 2.5 and lower:
Everything else

ZPS and Donphan Dragons both take easy Catcher prizes, and are quick, which is why I put them high up.

The thing that people are forgetting about Goth/Reuniclus is that they should be running Max potion to heal away the masses of damage that are moved off Goth.

I'm not forgettiing that. I've tested the deck, it can have bad starts, and with 2 Stage 2s it often does. Magnezone can ko it, along with RDL and bad boar.

 

[Futa]

DD isn't tier one. It has a hard Stage-1's and Reshiram matchup.

 

[Glace]

Against Stage 1s, you use Zekrom for Yanmega, Donphan for Zoroark, but the Donphan will be hardish. TyRam, ko the Cyndaquil early, and any more that come out and you'll be ahead in prizes, then use Zoroark to ko Reshirams. If a Typhlosion comes out, try to ko it.

 

[Celebi23]

Using a Cheren, PONT, Juniper, or Sage every turn lets you draw through your deck surprisingly fast. And you are saying if you see a Zorua on my bench you aren't going to bring up SEL? Obviously I'm not going to drop the Zorua after SEL is active, I'm going to leave it on my bench once I get it so you can't tell if I have Zoroark in hand ready to come in on SEL. Also, without Rare candy, it takes a full 3 turns to set up another Reuniclus. T1 Solosis, t2 Duosion, t3 Reuniclus. By then Reshiram can get a couple of prizes. In my experience playing googlebox, it doesn't have room on the bench to put an extra Solosis there, so the chances of setting up a Reuniclus faster are slim. Maybe I'm just not playing it correctly though.

The theorymon, it hurts so bad. Obviously I'll just retreat my 1-retreat cost SEL after you drop Zorua. If I play the deck anywhere near the way it's supposed to be played, I should always have 2 Solosis on the bench early game. You should always have 2 Solosis and 2 Oddish on the bench until Vileplume comes out.

Furthermore, who's to say I can't just use my own Torrent Blade on your Zorua after you drop it?

 

[alex]

I am very surprised that I am the only single person that voted for Zekrom. It can start blasting 120/80 from T1 and now it can practically snipe from then on with Catcher.

EDIT: Everybody above has what looks like the same kind of avatar as mine, but not in a box :/. How can I get mine to be full?