i belive this deck can do alot better then most decks that people are putting as tier 1's. with the ability to do 40 and put in trainer lock is something that should be notice. i mean with this paired with mewtwo and eels theres no way that some decks like mtc and reshiboar to even come close. it can even give zekeels and mangezone the run for their money. i might make a couple ppl angry about my next words but i think argubly this could be bdif, i kinda want some opinions on your thoughts for something sooooooo underrated.....hate is welcome =)
zebstrika
- Thread starter Drdy n Friendz
- Start date
It's by no means the BDIF or even Tier 1, but I wouldn't discount it completely. It's a decent rogue that can take people by surprise and be pretty annoying when played well. However, the HP is so low that it's difficult to play. IMO the best way to run it is with Eelektrik and other Electric attackers for more bulk and power. Also, 40/80 damage isn't very much when compared to the other popular attackers, and the OHKO format.
It's a good card for sure in an Eelektrik deck. However, it just doesn't make a significant difference in the outcome of most games. I have about an equal chance of winning with Zebstrika as I do with Zekrom-EX and Mewtwo-EX as my attackers. So, I go for the fastest and most consistent version, which is the latter.
It's a very good card, it's just somewhat outclassed.
It's a very good card, it's just somewhat outclassed.
alright at least now im starting tto understand why its quiet. n e other opinions
It needs a deck built around it to be effective, otherwise it's just a subpar tech. T2 catcher+disconnect on something big can be devastating, but the deck just lacks the power it needs to be super effective.
Well, if you think it's better than Tier 1 decks, I suggest you make a deck out of it and beat everyone els at your next tournament 
But the trainerlock just isn't consistent since you can only do 40 dmg each turn, and the moment you stop using Disconnect your opponent will just play a bunch of trainers they stacked up during a few turns.
If you were to run a strategy like this I'd rather play something like gothitelle.
It has more HP, higher dmg outcome and it can keep up the trainerlock even though it doesn't attack.
But the trainerlock just isn't consistent since you can only do 40 dmg each turn, and the moment you stop using Disconnect your opponent will just play a bunch of trainers they stacked up during a few turns.
If you were to run a strategy like this I'd rather play something like gothitelle.
It has more HP, higher dmg outcome and it can keep up the trainerlock even though it doesn't attack.
I envision this deck as a disruption deck. Use a ton of disruption cards + the T2 Disconnect to lock your opponent out of using trainers. You can pair it with the new Amoongus for extra damage + status conditions, and with all the EX's floating around, you can easily Catcher and slowly KO it, even if that means it is 3HKO'd.
I really dislike this Zebstrika, and don't see why it is receiving any hype. It is a Stage 1 line first of all, and it needs two energy before it can start locking. That may not be hard to obtain, but the lock honestly isn't worth it. Trainers are no where near as important as they used to be, and even if they were, you are only going to have the trainer lock down for about one turn per Zebstrika. It has 90 HP, I can't think of anything in the format that can't hit for that much damage. Mewtwo EX can one shot Zebstrika with 3 energy attached, it can easily get the energy under trainer lock, and just about every deck carries a copy. 40 damage is laughable in this format, you aren't going to be able to 3 shot most attackers in the metagame. Lightning Crash is interesting, but it still falls short of the KO on Reuniclus and Vileplume, the biggest bench sitters in the format. There are simply so many better decks centered around Eelektrik in the format, and this card isn't worth the space in any of them. If I have 4 free deck spots, I'm not going to waste them on something that you might be able to disrupt an opponent with for one turn.
Amoonguss increases the disruption and, whilst i admit it isnt BDIF and is borderline Teir 1, its a great rouge for seniors that will take people by surprise.
Trainers are always important. They're how decks get setup, disrupt, turn 2HKOs into OHKOs, heal damage, move cards around the board, etc. They're the most important part of any deck, barring Vileplume lol. If Mewtwo-EX attaches three energy, I'll just kill it with my own Mewtwo. You lose two prizes, I lose one.Vulpix Yolk said:
@simwar Maybe i will =).
After playtesting Durant, Mewtwo/Celebi, MagneEel and Zebstrika/Zekrom EX, I can tell you one thing Zebstrika has that none of the other decks do: Fun. I'm having a blast playtesting it, which is something I did not have with Eelzone or any of the others. With Lost Remover and Rocky Helmet, I win every matchup consistently except for Eelzone, where that is completely dependent on who went first. People act like streaming OHKOs is possible with every deck against anything, but it's not at all. MagneEel and Reshiphlosion can do it, but every other deck, especially with disruption, finds it extremely difficult to pull off.
Against Mewtwo you just Lightning Crash to discard all energy and force them to either attach 5 energy (suicide) or retreat and attack with Tornadus (which is weak to your deck). Combine that with the free retreat and it's very easy to stream Lightning Crashes every turn.
Level Ball searches out your Eels and Zebstrikas, while collector and dual ball/communication gets you your EX's and basics. 4 Dual Ball and Collector as well as 2 Comm/Dual Ball can almost guarantee you a T2 Disconnect AND Eel engine. Honestly outside of Durant this deck is definitely the most consistent in the format.
Against Mewtwo you just Lightning Crash to discard all energy and force them to either attach 5 energy (suicide) or retreat and attack with Tornadus (which is weak to your deck). Combine that with the free retreat and it's very easy to stream Lightning Crashes every turn.
Level Ball searches out your Eels and Zebstrikas, while collector and dual ball/communication gets you your EX's and basics. 4 Dual Ball and Collector as well as 2 Comm/Dual Ball can almost guarantee you a T2 Disconnect AND Eel engine. Honestly outside of Durant this deck is definitely the most consistent in the format.
Zebstrika is not a reprint of Manetric EX in a competitive sense. Manetric EX was good because of its Stadiums. There was a Stadium for every occasion, and as long as that Stadium was left in play, you would win. 10/turn to each opponent EX was really good. Those Stadiums meant that Manetric EX did more than 40/turn. It was actually dealing TONS of damage... Zebstrika doesn't have that. Zebstrika prevents the opponent's board from advancing... kinda. Trainer lock is very big this format, but you aren't advancing your position too much either. What Zebstrika really does is that it presents an annoyance that the opponent must answer. It doesn't really put you behind in prizes assuming you'll be playing the EX game (and your opponent is too... which is a common scenario). Zebstrika's major weakness is that it is a Stage 1. It'd be PERFECT if it were a basic... but even then. Zebstrika is a tempo play. You effectively get to make the first attack on your opponent leading you to victory.
After seeing a ZebEel deck at a casual League last week, I decided to build my own deck around it. It's basically Thunderus for early-game while you set up your Eels, and you use dual Zebstrika with Prism energy to keep doing 80 to a benched. Since it has a free retreat, you just Zap a bench for 80, next turn you Dynamotor the two discarded Electric (since Prism is a Colorless Energy when it's not on a basic, it still helps the move function, and isn't zapped off with its second ability discarding only the Electrics on Zebstrika) back onto a second Zebstrika, and then free retreat into that and drop another 80 on a benched.
The downsides are that it takes a bit to set up two-three eels with no Magnezone to set up, plus the two Zebstrika, though Thunderus helps get electrics out and into the discard early game if you open with him (though that's just luck). The biggest flaw, however, is that Zebstrika as a stage 1 only has 90 health. This is great to use Level Ball to search for every single card in the deck (eelektrik, zebstrika, tynamo, blitzle), but it's EXTREME catcher bait for easy prizes.
So, perhaps a deck that can do well if surprised with, else just a medium tier deck. I actually lost to it as ChandePlume due to it repeatedly 1shotting my Dodrios and Lampents, and I can't Luring Light lock with 0 retreat or low-retreat (loldynamotor) cards.
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The downsides are that it takes a bit to set up two-three eels with no Magnezone to set up, plus the two Zebstrika, though Thunderus helps get electrics out and into the discard early game if you open with him (though that's just luck). The biggest flaw, however, is that Zebstrika as a stage 1 only has 90 health. This is great to use Level Ball to search for every single card in the deck (eelektrik, zebstrika, tynamo, blitzle), but it's EXTREME catcher bait for easy prizes.
So, perhaps a deck that can do well if surprised with, else just a medium tier deck. I actually lost to it as ChandePlume due to it repeatedly 1shotting my Dodrios and Lampents, and I can't Luring Light lock with 0 retreat or low-retreat (loldynamotor) cards
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Unless you're using stuff like Terrakion as a tech, you should use Rescue over Prism since Prism wouldn't do anything for that deck whatsoever, while Rescue helps decrease the OHKO problem. I think Zebstrika would be way better if it hit for 90 or 100 with the second attack to OHKO Reuniclus and Eelektrik while 2HKOing EXes without Rocky Helmet, but it seems pretty fun regardless.