I thought about where I'd post this. There had been a big discussion in multiple threads about the consistency of AMU, or UMA, or whatever you call the deck. So I threw together a list, printed off some scans of the cards, built the deck, and played it at league today. The list I used was this:
Now, before this thread gets moved to the Deck Help section, please realize that I am only posting this list as information regarding my testing and it helps to know what I am playing so that you can understand why I might have had my problems.
I know the list isn't the best, and I wasn't shooting for it to be the best. A player can learn quite a bit from a mediocre list. Having "the list" would only slightly improve the consistency, and slightly modify the results. Honestly, I don't believe in "the lists" anyways, since I don't feel there is a perfect way of building a deck, and I think each player is going to have changes that suit them best.
So, like I said earlier, I tested the deck out at league. Here were my results.
I found that if you went first, the most you could level up on your second turn was 1 of the pixies. Because the deck ran very few basics, I found myself starting with 1 basic a lot. I also found myself starting with basics and not wanting to put them down before the game started because I wanted to activate their Poke-Powers during the turn. This was definitely true for Uxie (LA) and Azelf (LA). Because of that, it took even longer to get all the lv.X in play. If I went second, I was able to use trainers and supporters and I was able to get all the basics in play more often. Going first half the time makes the deck take a bit longer to setup.
I've read all over this board that it's easy to setup 3 lv.Xs by turn 2-3. BULLHOCKEY. That's all I gotta say about that. I think out of 6-8 games, I was able to get all 3 out by turn 2-3 in one game. I just didn't have the resources to do it, and didn't have the resources to keep my hand full of...resources. With no big draw in the deck, I found myself with very small hands, and with no real way to keep the deck rolling. I know that Claydol is there to refill my hands, but if you use your resources to get out all the lv.X, what resources do you have to get out the Claydol? If you use some of your resources to get out Claydol, how do you take out the threat the opponent is building? You CAN'T do both. There was many games that I lost because I just ran out of resources and couldn't keep the deck rolling. There were a few times when I would lose a lv.X and couldn't replace it because my hand was full of lame stuff and Claydol doesn't help a big hand of lame stuff, it just helps a small hand.
Is it possible to get all three lv.X out on your second/third turn? Sure! Is it consistently happening? Heck no and honestly, I don't think having "the list" would change much of that. Unless you draw god hands, and have the perfectly right pixies to keep your hand refilled, and are able to get the Claydol out with all three Pixie lv.Xs, the deck just runs out of steam...fast.
Poke Radar was the biggest dud I've ever seen in my life. I whiffed on it 99% of the time, pulling no Pokemon whatsoever. I think I pulled a single Pokemon twice, and neither were lv.Xs. The one time I could had pulled an entire line of Claydol, I made the mistake of playing Bebe's Search first, and had to randomize the deck afterwards. With only 16 Pokemon in the deck, and often time 1 or 2 of them being prized, Poke Radar was a bad decision for the deck.
My bench was full 100% of the time. I had to keep it full in order to setup. I had to have Claydol out, with 3 lv.X, and usually had more than 1 of a few of the Pixies for backup. I would drop the extra pixies early game for an added "umph" that the setup really needed after I burned through all the resources in my hand. Dusknoir would eat this deck alive. That is an understatement. And don't give me the excuse that you would beat the Dusknoir deck before they could hurt you. All they need is Duskull+Rare Candy+Dusknoir, and your toast. There goes your Mesprit lv.X with 2 energy on it back into your deck.
The Pixie's abilities were fantastic. I almost always had free retreat, and almost always was using Uxie lv.X's Trade Off Poke-Power. But it took time to get out the Uxie lv.X, so it wasn't like that added setup acceleration was there from the get-go. I used Uxie (LA)'s Set Up Poke-Power a few times, but I found later in the game, if your hand was full of lameness, Uxie's Poke-Power didn't help a single bit. I think I used Azelf (LA)'s Time Walk Poke-Power the most. Quite often did I find some interesting Pokemon in my prizes, and being able to exchange them was golden. I remember one game, I actually grabbed a prized Claydol and was able to setup a Claydol next turn. Even Azelf (MT)'s Downer Material Poke-Body came in use a little against Destiny type decks and early game basics trying to Call for Eevees (Eeeve MD) or use Baltoy's Psychic Balance attack. The effects were nice, and they all helped some, but they definitely didn't set themselves up with the effects. I still needed plenty of resources to do that.
Snowpoint Temple was nice, and was irritating. Against regular decks, it saved me a few times. Against Destiny type decks, it helped my opponent too much, and I couldn't discard it when I needed to. I really felt like throwing in a Lunatone GE to discard the stadium and do 20. I could have taken a few easy prizes in one game if I could had discarded the stadium.
I know people have denied it, but the deck is definitely based around Mesprit lv.X's Supreme Blast. I won games today by just Surpreme Blast, and you desperately need it to win many games that go into mid-late game. Of course, the deck can do other stuff, but other stuff doesn't win you games. Big damage wins you games. The only other way I was able to deal decent damage was switching between two Uxie lv.X using Zen Blade over and over again. I sometimes would Warp Point to reset Zen Blade's effect when I only had 1 Uxie lv.X in play. But the 60 damage only really helped against basics. 60 didn't OHKO 100HP+ Pokemon when I needed it to. All the other attacks, on all the other Pixies were just damage fodder. I would deal 20 here, 20 there, 20 here, 20 there, and make little to no impact on the game whatsoever. So what if they can't retreat next turn? They are going to KO me!
Also, I found the two energy attacks on the non-lv.Xs to be not very inviting. I think the only one I used was Mesprit (MT)'s Teleportation Burst attack, because it allowed me to hit for small damage and get the heck out of there before it got KO'd. I had to get the heck out of there because many times my opponent would have a decent threat built up before I could deal with it effectively. I often time found myself giving up prizes to setup on the bench, which is very hard with lv.Xs and having to come active to level up and then retreat to the bench.
I think I won more games than I lost, but it definitely took a lot of effort and thinking to do it. Very few games did I find my deck rolling over the opponent, like many people portray this deck to do.
By the end of the day, I nicknamed the deck Lame-U (L-AMU) because I felt it was so overhyped and not even that consistent. I learned this through testing the deck out, so nobody can argue I haven't played a single game with the deck. Another person at my league nicknamed it Triple-X (XXX) because of the 3 lv.Xs you have to get on the field.
I'm going to keep testing the deck out, because I think the deck has a lot of potential, but I really wanted to post my first day results online because I feel too many people overhype the deck, and make it seem like the next mesiah for the card game...when honestly, it's just a good idea. It's NOT easy to get out 3 lv.X, regardless of what people will tell you. Even if they are basics, it takes a mininum of 2 turns to get them out. Many stage 2's can be faster than that thanks to Rare Candy.
I've love to hear the results of other people trying the deck out, but I know what I will get more of. "Oh your list sucks...my Lame-U deck setups all 3 lv.X on turn 2 consistently...blah, blah, blah". If you are going to post something like that, don't bother. If you want to post your experience with the deck, please do so. But be honest, and be unbiased in your experiences. People only learn from the truth, not the brainwashed information some people want others to believe.
Knowledge is Power! Save the Planet! It's GRRRReat! <_<
Now, before this thread gets moved to the Deck Help section, please realize that I am only posting this list as information regarding my testing and it helps to know what I am playing so that you can understand why I might have had my problems.
I know the list isn't the best, and I wasn't shooting for it to be the best. A player can learn quite a bit from a mediocre list. Having "the list" would only slightly improve the consistency, and slightly modify the results. Honestly, I don't believe in "the lists" anyways, since I don't feel there is a perfect way of building a deck, and I think each player is going to have changes that suit them best.
So, like I said earlier, I tested the deck out at league. Here were my results.
I found that if you went first, the most you could level up on your second turn was 1 of the pixies. Because the deck ran very few basics, I found myself starting with 1 basic a lot. I also found myself starting with basics and not wanting to put them down before the game started because I wanted to activate their Poke-Powers during the turn. This was definitely true for Uxie (LA) and Azelf (LA). Because of that, it took even longer to get all the lv.X in play. If I went second, I was able to use trainers and supporters and I was able to get all the basics in play more often. Going first half the time makes the deck take a bit longer to setup.
I've read all over this board that it's easy to setup 3 lv.Xs by turn 2-3. BULLHOCKEY. That's all I gotta say about that. I think out of 6-8 games, I was able to get all 3 out by turn 2-3 in one game. I just didn't have the resources to do it, and didn't have the resources to keep my hand full of...resources. With no big draw in the deck, I found myself with very small hands, and with no real way to keep the deck rolling. I know that Claydol is there to refill my hands, but if you use your resources to get out all the lv.X, what resources do you have to get out the Claydol? If you use some of your resources to get out Claydol, how do you take out the threat the opponent is building? You CAN'T do both. There was many games that I lost because I just ran out of resources and couldn't keep the deck rolling. There were a few times when I would lose a lv.X and couldn't replace it because my hand was full of lame stuff and Claydol doesn't help a big hand of lame stuff, it just helps a small hand.
Is it possible to get all three lv.X out on your second/third turn? Sure! Is it consistently happening? Heck no and honestly, I don't think having "the list" would change much of that. Unless you draw god hands, and have the perfectly right pixies to keep your hand refilled, and are able to get the Claydol out with all three Pixie lv.Xs, the deck just runs out of steam...fast.
Poke Radar was the biggest dud I've ever seen in my life. I whiffed on it 99% of the time, pulling no Pokemon whatsoever. I think I pulled a single Pokemon twice, and neither were lv.Xs. The one time I could had pulled an entire line of Claydol, I made the mistake of playing Bebe's Search first, and had to randomize the deck afterwards. With only 16 Pokemon in the deck, and often time 1 or 2 of them being prized, Poke Radar was a bad decision for the deck.
My bench was full 100% of the time. I had to keep it full in order to setup. I had to have Claydol out, with 3 lv.X, and usually had more than 1 of a few of the Pixies for backup. I would drop the extra pixies early game for an added "umph" that the setup really needed after I burned through all the resources in my hand. Dusknoir would eat this deck alive. That is an understatement. And don't give me the excuse that you would beat the Dusknoir deck before they could hurt you. All they need is Duskull+Rare Candy+Dusknoir, and your toast. There goes your Mesprit lv.X with 2 energy on it back into your deck.
The Pixie's abilities were fantastic. I almost always had free retreat, and almost always was using Uxie lv.X's Trade Off Poke-Power. But it took time to get out the Uxie lv.X, so it wasn't like that added setup acceleration was there from the get-go. I used Uxie (LA)'s Set Up Poke-Power a few times, but I found later in the game, if your hand was full of lameness, Uxie's Poke-Power didn't help a single bit. I think I used Azelf (LA)'s Time Walk Poke-Power the most. Quite often did I find some interesting Pokemon in my prizes, and being able to exchange them was golden. I remember one game, I actually grabbed a prized Claydol and was able to setup a Claydol next turn. Even Azelf (MT)'s Downer Material Poke-Body came in use a little against Destiny type decks and early game basics trying to Call for Eevees (Eeeve MD) or use Baltoy's Psychic Balance attack. The effects were nice, and they all helped some, but they definitely didn't set themselves up with the effects. I still needed plenty of resources to do that.
Snowpoint Temple was nice, and was irritating. Against regular decks, it saved me a few times. Against Destiny type decks, it helped my opponent too much, and I couldn't discard it when I needed to. I really felt like throwing in a Lunatone GE to discard the stadium and do 20. I could have taken a few easy prizes in one game if I could had discarded the stadium.
I know people have denied it, but the deck is definitely based around Mesprit lv.X's Supreme Blast. I won games today by just Surpreme Blast, and you desperately need it to win many games that go into mid-late game. Of course, the deck can do other stuff, but other stuff doesn't win you games. Big damage wins you games. The only other way I was able to deal decent damage was switching between two Uxie lv.X using Zen Blade over and over again. I sometimes would Warp Point to reset Zen Blade's effect when I only had 1 Uxie lv.X in play. But the 60 damage only really helped against basics. 60 didn't OHKO 100HP+ Pokemon when I needed it to. All the other attacks, on all the other Pixies were just damage fodder. I would deal 20 here, 20 there, 20 here, 20 there, and make little to no impact on the game whatsoever. So what if they can't retreat next turn? They are going to KO me!
Also, I found the two energy attacks on the non-lv.Xs to be not very inviting. I think the only one I used was Mesprit (MT)'s Teleportation Burst attack, because it allowed me to hit for small damage and get the heck out of there before it got KO'd. I had to get the heck out of there because many times my opponent would have a decent threat built up before I could deal with it effectively. I often time found myself giving up prizes to setup on the bench, which is very hard with lv.Xs and having to come active to level up and then retreat to the bench.
I think I won more games than I lost, but it definitely took a lot of effort and thinking to do it. Very few games did I find my deck rolling over the opponent, like many people portray this deck to do.
By the end of the day, I nicknamed the deck Lame-U (L-AMU) because I felt it was so overhyped and not even that consistent. I learned this through testing the deck out, so nobody can argue I haven't played a single game with the deck. Another person at my league nicknamed it Triple-X (XXX) because of the 3 lv.Xs you have to get on the field.
I'm going to keep testing the deck out, because I think the deck has a lot of potential, but I really wanted to post my first day results online because I feel too many people overhype the deck, and make it seem like the next mesiah for the card game...when honestly, it's just a good idea. It's NOT easy to get out 3 lv.X, regardless of what people will tell you. Even if they are basics, it takes a mininum of 2 turns to get them out. Many stage 2's can be faster than that thanks to Rare Candy.
I've love to hear the results of other people trying the deck out, but I know what I will get more of. "Oh your list sucks...my Lame-U deck setups all 3 lv.X on turn 2 consistently...blah, blah, blah". If you are going to post something like that, don't bother. If you want to post your experience with the deck, please do so. But be honest, and be unbiased in your experiences. People only learn from the truth, not the brainwashed information some people want others to believe.
Knowledge is Power! Save the Planet! It's GRRRReat! <_<
