EDIT: Updated list 05/31/16
Pokemon: 14
Supporters: 34
Energy: 12
Strategy:
So I've decided to take another look at this deck given that it has several very nice qualities in the current meta of Night March, Trees and Frogs. Firstly, M Tyranitar-EX (henceforth just Tyranitar) has a resistance to psychic, which is useful vs trees and NM, lowering the damage done by Mew, Pumpkaboo, and both Trevenants (though not Trevenant BREAK's attack). Combine that with a massive 240 HP, and you have something that isn't being OHKO'd anytime soon.
Next, Tyranitar is the only Mega Pokémon with the Ancient Trait Theta Double, meaning it is the only Mega Pokémon that can actually use an item besides a Spirit Link without having to either end your turn when evolving or having to run Tool Retriever to swap items. So, since we finally have an option to run tools on a Mega Pokémon, which tools should we run? I've chosen Assault Vest, Weakness Policy and Float Stone. Float Stone is obviously intended to be used with Zoroark, but it can help swap a Tyrantiar around if needed. Weakness Policy is run as a tech option against Zygarde/Carbink decks. Assault Vest is the main tool being run. Assault Vest is huge in the Night March matchup, causing Pumpkaboo/Mew to need 9 Night Marchers in the discard to 2HKO Tyrantiar. 2HKO! That's insane. They need 9 of their 12 in discard just to keep up in the prize trade. Joltik has it a bit easier, at needing only 8 in the discard to 2HKO. Assault Vest can also be used against the trees, effectively blocking their non-BREAK attacks, since they commonly run Mystery Energy. Assault Vest doesn't do much in the Greninja matchup, but neither does Hard Charm or any other tool really. It only changes the numbers if Greninja XY is involved, whereby Greninja still gets a 2HKO but is forced to attack (or have a second Greninja/BREAK set up) to 2HKO.
So the strengths we've established so far are a good typing and immense bulkiness. The final strength is the sheer power this beast can unleash. Destroyer King is insane. With one single damage counter on the opposing Pokémon, it goes from 110 to 170 damage...plus the 10 already on the opponent and you're OHKOing basically everything except Zygarde-EX and EXs using Fighting Fury Belt. Add a 2nd damage counter and now Tyranitar is hitting for 230...plus the 20 already there and you're OHKOing literally everything except Wailord-EX and other M Tyranitar-EX, both of which need Hard Charm/Assault Vest to survive.
With that out of the way, let's discuss the weakness. Destroyer King costs 4 Energy to use. Yes, two of that energy is C so Double Colorless can help speed things along but it's not going to be fast anyways. Is it too slow for the format? It might just be. But I feel it's worth investing some time into testing and optimizing to see if can be a contender.
So let's look at the actual decklist I have and talk about some of the choices.
3-3 Tyranitar Line:
Now, realistically I don't ever expect to get all 3 of these up an running. I don't. I'm in fact building the deck expecting to only get 2 running. However, as the deck is light on attackers, I need 3 copies of each so that I'm likely to get 2 set up even if 1 is stuck in prizes.
2-2 Forretress line:
Most people think of bats when it comes to Tyranitar and other similar things (Wobbuffet and M Alakazam-EX, for example), but I believe Forretress is a better pick, especially in the current format. Given how rare Mega Pokémon are now, one damage counter is generally all Tyranitar needs to OHKO the opposition. Forretress accomplishes this job better than bats would, by being more efficient. It requires less space than bats would and places more counters overall. A 2-2 line of just Golbat takes out 2 Pokémon, but Forretress makes it so they can't use any benched Pokémon with more than 110 HP to stall, since all their Pokémon get a damage counter from Forretress rather than just one Pokémon from Golbat.
1-1 Zoroark line:
Helpful for switching around, since Tyranitar is very ponderous and doesn't retreat well.
2 Yveltal XY:
Yveltal is intended as a starter, as well as helping to accelerate Tyranitar a little bit. It can also occasionally steal some quick KOs against Joltiks, as well as its second attack OHKOing everything in NM except for Shaymin-EX.
0 Shaymin-EX/Hoopa-EX:
I'm not running either as I want to weaken my opponent's Lysandres, and they take up some valuable bench space.
4 N:
N is probably the best non-Sycamore draw supporter we have access to, and in a deck list this tight I really don't want to run Sycamore. So I'm maxed out on N. Without some kind of recovery for resources, it hurts a lot to use Sycamore, even if he is the best draw supporter.
1 Skyla:
Skyla searches out our many tools, Tool Retriever if we need to swap some around, our Stadium, Ultra Balls, energy acceleration, or even other Supporters. She's a good option to have.
2 Lysandre:
It's rare Tyranitar will need or want to snipe something off the bench instead of just annihilating what's in front of him, but it's a good option to have. Like Skyla, 2 copies in case one is prized.
2 Hex Maniac:
I've tried to cut as many items as possible and still have the deck function, to help improve the Trees matchup, but there's still a lot of items and the extra Hex Maniac can help me shut off item lock a second time. It also helps if one is prized.
1 Deliquent:
A tech card that can be very powerful vs Night March and Trees, disrupting their hands and getting rid of Dimension Valley. Against a Greninja deck that doesn't already have Octillery set up it is also brutal.
3-2-1-1 Tool split:
3 Spirit Link as it is the most important tool. 2 Assault Vest as it does nothing in the Greninja matchup and I don't expect to set up more than 2 Tyranitars in one game. 1 each of Float Stone and Weakness Policy, as policy is a tech card and Float Stone will very rarely be used on anything other than Zoroark.
1 Tool Retriever:
This lets me swap out tools and rearrange them. Only one copy as it's a tech card, but the idea is potentially remove a spirit link and use it on another Tyranitar while doubling up on Assault Vests on the first, making NM require Joltik with 10 NM in the discard to 2HKO. Anything less than that is basically a 3HKO which is bonkers. It could alternatively let me go Vest + Weakness Policy in the Fighting Matchup, turning Strong Energies into liabilities.
2 Escape Rope:
Another way to switch if we can't use Zoroark for some reason. The reason these are ropes and not Switches is because Glaceon-EX and Regice exist. This forces them out so we can proceed to continue attacking, or when combined with a Lysandre, lets us KO them and deal with that threat permanently.
2-2 Mega Turbo/Max Elixir:
This is our energy acceleration package. I'm doing an even 2-2 split at the moment to test which card is better. Max Elixir is better early on when we are less likely to have energies in the discard, but it doesn't work on a Tyranitar that has already Mega Evolved. Mega Turbo, on the other hand, is better later on, when we're more likely to have energy in the discard and a Mega to attach to.
3 Random Receiver:
I'm running this is place of VS Seeker because I'm not running Battle Compressor to make use of VS Seeker. Additionally, while there are times, especially VS Trees, where this will be worse than just running 3 draw supporters (in this case, 3 Professor Birch's Observations), there are times when it will be better, getting me something like Hex Maniac VS Trees the turn before they evolve, after having already used a draw supporter.
4 Ultra Ball: Pretty standard, helps get energies in the discard for early Yveltal/ Mega Turbo plays and gets me whatever Pokémon I need.
0 VS Seeker:
As I said above, since I'm not running Battle Compressor to essentially set up VS Seeker, I feel like VS seeker would be a lot worse than Random Receiver...except in the case VS Trees where I already have a Hex Maniac, so I can immediately get it back...but then I can't use a draw supporter as well as getting a Hex.
0 Battle Compressor/Trainer's Mail:
These are typically run in most decks at some number as Battle Compressor combos nicely with VS Seeker and discard based strategies while Trainer's Mail helps thin down your deck. However, these cards become extremely dead under item lock and the cards they benefit the most are also dead under the lock. So if we're going to be cutting items to have a better matchup, then these least essential, luxury deck thinning items are the first to go.
3 Team Magma's Secret Base:
This Stadium was made for Tyranitar. It's a match made in heaven. Putting 2 damage counters on all Pokémon that get played from hand to bench means Tyranitar is able to do 230 damage without the help of Forretress. No other stadium helps us out that much, except potentially Shadow Circle VS Zygarde/Carbink, but that's what Weakness Policy is for.
Whew. That was quite the wall of text. Maybe I should have made this a video instead. Ah well, if you've made it this far, please tell me what you think. I'll definitely be testing this deck when I have the opportunity to, and any suggestions are welcome.
Pokemon: 14
- 2 Yvetal -XY
- 3 Tyranitar-EX
- 3 M Tyranitar-EX
- 2 Pineco
- 2 Forretress
- 1 Zorua -BKT
- 1 Zoroark -BKT
Supporters: 34
- 4 N
- 1 Skyla
- 2 Lysandre
- 2 Hex Maniac
- 1 Delinquent
- 3 Tyranitar Spirit Link
- 2 Assault Vest
- 1 Weakness Policy
- 1 Float Stone
- 1 Tool Retriever
- 2 Escape Rope
- 2 Mega Turbo
- 2 Max Elixir
- 3 Random Receiver
- 4 Ultra Ball
- 3 Team Magma's Secret Base
Energy: 12
- 4 Double Colorless Energy
- 8 Darkness Energy
Strategy:
So I've decided to take another look at this deck given that it has several very nice qualities in the current meta of Night March, Trees and Frogs. Firstly, M Tyranitar-EX (henceforth just Tyranitar) has a resistance to psychic, which is useful vs trees and NM, lowering the damage done by Mew, Pumpkaboo, and both Trevenants (though not Trevenant BREAK's attack). Combine that with a massive 240 HP, and you have something that isn't being OHKO'd anytime soon.
Next, Tyranitar is the only Mega Pokémon with the Ancient Trait Theta Double, meaning it is the only Mega Pokémon that can actually use an item besides a Spirit Link without having to either end your turn when evolving or having to run Tool Retriever to swap items. So, since we finally have an option to run tools on a Mega Pokémon, which tools should we run? I've chosen Assault Vest, Weakness Policy and Float Stone. Float Stone is obviously intended to be used with Zoroark, but it can help swap a Tyrantiar around if needed. Weakness Policy is run as a tech option against Zygarde/Carbink decks. Assault Vest is the main tool being run. Assault Vest is huge in the Night March matchup, causing Pumpkaboo/Mew to need 9 Night Marchers in the discard to 2HKO Tyrantiar. 2HKO! That's insane. They need 9 of their 12 in discard just to keep up in the prize trade. Joltik has it a bit easier, at needing only 8 in the discard to 2HKO. Assault Vest can also be used against the trees, effectively blocking their non-BREAK attacks, since they commonly run Mystery Energy. Assault Vest doesn't do much in the Greninja matchup, but neither does Hard Charm or any other tool really. It only changes the numbers if Greninja XY is involved, whereby Greninja still gets a 2HKO but is forced to attack (or have a second Greninja/BREAK set up) to 2HKO.
So the strengths we've established so far are a good typing and immense bulkiness. The final strength is the sheer power this beast can unleash. Destroyer King is insane. With one single damage counter on the opposing Pokémon, it goes from 110 to 170 damage...plus the 10 already on the opponent and you're OHKOing basically everything except Zygarde-EX and EXs using Fighting Fury Belt. Add a 2nd damage counter and now Tyranitar is hitting for 230...plus the 20 already there and you're OHKOing literally everything except Wailord-EX and other M Tyranitar-EX, both of which need Hard Charm/Assault Vest to survive.
With that out of the way, let's discuss the weakness. Destroyer King costs 4 Energy to use. Yes, two of that energy is C so Double Colorless can help speed things along but it's not going to be fast anyways. Is it too slow for the format? It might just be. But I feel it's worth investing some time into testing and optimizing to see if can be a contender.
So let's look at the actual decklist I have and talk about some of the choices.
3-3 Tyranitar Line:
Now, realistically I don't ever expect to get all 3 of these up an running. I don't. I'm in fact building the deck expecting to only get 2 running. However, as the deck is light on attackers, I need 3 copies of each so that I'm likely to get 2 set up even if 1 is stuck in prizes.
2-2 Forretress line:
Most people think of bats when it comes to Tyranitar and other similar things (Wobbuffet and M Alakazam-EX, for example), but I believe Forretress is a better pick, especially in the current format. Given how rare Mega Pokémon are now, one damage counter is generally all Tyranitar needs to OHKO the opposition. Forretress accomplishes this job better than bats would, by being more efficient. It requires less space than bats would and places more counters overall. A 2-2 line of just Golbat takes out 2 Pokémon, but Forretress makes it so they can't use any benched Pokémon with more than 110 HP to stall, since all their Pokémon get a damage counter from Forretress rather than just one Pokémon from Golbat.
1-1 Zoroark line:
Helpful for switching around, since Tyranitar is very ponderous and doesn't retreat well.
2 Yveltal XY:
Yveltal is intended as a starter, as well as helping to accelerate Tyranitar a little bit. It can also occasionally steal some quick KOs against Joltiks, as well as its second attack OHKOing everything in NM except for Shaymin-EX.
0 Shaymin-EX/Hoopa-EX:
I'm not running either as I want to weaken my opponent's Lysandres, and they take up some valuable bench space.
4 N:
N is probably the best non-Sycamore draw supporter we have access to, and in a deck list this tight I really don't want to run Sycamore. So I'm maxed out on N. Without some kind of recovery for resources, it hurts a lot to use Sycamore, even if he is the best draw supporter.
1 Skyla:
Skyla searches out our many tools, Tool Retriever if we need to swap some around, our Stadium, Ultra Balls, energy acceleration, or even other Supporters. She's a good option to have.
2 Lysandre:
It's rare Tyranitar will need or want to snipe something off the bench instead of just annihilating what's in front of him, but it's a good option to have. Like Skyla, 2 copies in case one is prized.
2 Hex Maniac:
I've tried to cut as many items as possible and still have the deck function, to help improve the Trees matchup, but there's still a lot of items and the extra Hex Maniac can help me shut off item lock a second time. It also helps if one is prized.
1 Deliquent:
A tech card that can be very powerful vs Night March and Trees, disrupting their hands and getting rid of Dimension Valley. Against a Greninja deck that doesn't already have Octillery set up it is also brutal.
3-2-1-1 Tool split:
3 Spirit Link as it is the most important tool. 2 Assault Vest as it does nothing in the Greninja matchup and I don't expect to set up more than 2 Tyranitars in one game. 1 each of Float Stone and Weakness Policy, as policy is a tech card and Float Stone will very rarely be used on anything other than Zoroark.
1 Tool Retriever:
This lets me swap out tools and rearrange them. Only one copy as it's a tech card, but the idea is potentially remove a spirit link and use it on another Tyranitar while doubling up on Assault Vests on the first, making NM require Joltik with 10 NM in the discard to 2HKO. Anything less than that is basically a 3HKO which is bonkers. It could alternatively let me go Vest + Weakness Policy in the Fighting Matchup, turning Strong Energies into liabilities.
2 Escape Rope:
Another way to switch if we can't use Zoroark for some reason. The reason these are ropes and not Switches is because Glaceon-EX and Regice exist. This forces them out so we can proceed to continue attacking, or when combined with a Lysandre, lets us KO them and deal with that threat permanently.
2-2 Mega Turbo/Max Elixir:
This is our energy acceleration package. I'm doing an even 2-2 split at the moment to test which card is better. Max Elixir is better early on when we are less likely to have energies in the discard, but it doesn't work on a Tyranitar that has already Mega Evolved. Mega Turbo, on the other hand, is better later on, when we're more likely to have energy in the discard and a Mega to attach to.
3 Random Receiver:
I'm running this is place of VS Seeker because I'm not running Battle Compressor to make use of VS Seeker. Additionally, while there are times, especially VS Trees, where this will be worse than just running 3 draw supporters (in this case, 3 Professor Birch's Observations), there are times when it will be better, getting me something like Hex Maniac VS Trees the turn before they evolve, after having already used a draw supporter.
4 Ultra Ball: Pretty standard, helps get energies in the discard for early Yveltal/ Mega Turbo plays and gets me whatever Pokémon I need.
0 VS Seeker:
As I said above, since I'm not running Battle Compressor to essentially set up VS Seeker, I feel like VS seeker would be a lot worse than Random Receiver...except in the case VS Trees where I already have a Hex Maniac, so I can immediately get it back...but then I can't use a draw supporter as well as getting a Hex.
0 Battle Compressor/Trainer's Mail:
These are typically run in most decks at some number as Battle Compressor combos nicely with VS Seeker and discard based strategies while Trainer's Mail helps thin down your deck. However, these cards become extremely dead under item lock and the cards they benefit the most are also dead under the lock. So if we're going to be cutting items to have a better matchup, then these least essential, luxury deck thinning items are the first to go.
3 Team Magma's Secret Base:
This Stadium was made for Tyranitar. It's a match made in heaven. Putting 2 damage counters on all Pokémon that get played from hand to bench means Tyranitar is able to do 230 damage without the help of Forretress. No other stadium helps us out that much, except potentially Shadow Circle VS Zygarde/Carbink, but that's what Weakness Policy is for.
Whew. That was quite the wall of text. Maybe I should have made this a video instead. Ah well, if you've made it this far, please tell me what you think. I'll definitely be testing this deck when I have the opportunity to, and any suggestions are welcome.
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