butlerforhire
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Staple Cards for Non-SP Decks
Staple- a commodity for which the demand is constant; something having widespread and constant use or appeal; the sustaining or principal element.- Merriam Webster Online Dictionary
- A staple card is one that is seen in a majority of the decks in a given format, included in a wide variety of differing lists because it fulfills a universal need, such as searching for Pokemon or energy, or drawing cards. All decks need access to these functions; the task at hand after recognizing these needs is to find the best cards to meet them. There is rarely ever only one card for a job. Decks that work well-- decks that win-- may be wildly disparate in approach, but they are tightly unified by their sharing of a handful of common cards, which qualifies them-- the cards-- as staples. If every top-cutting deck in the City Championship portion of the season is playing Bebe's Search, Luxury Ball, and Roseanne's Research, then all three of those cards deserve to be considered staples that transcend particular deck styles, Pokemon selections, and strategies.
- Take two radically different tactical approaches-- no-frills beat-down and disruptive locking-- represented, in this example, by Kingdra and Flygon. A Kingdra deck focuses on sheer speed and aggression, aiming to swarm Kingdras as soon as turn 1 and overwhelm the opponent with consistent, high damage to the Active and the Bench, for minimal energy. A Flygon variant with Palkia lv. X and Memory Berry focuses on either decking the opponent or securing a win on time after getting a Prize lead, by dragging up the opponent's non-attacking Bench sitters with Restructure/Inviting Trap and then keeping them locked in place by Sand Tomb, while Flygon lv. X's Wind Erosion eats away at their deck between turns. These two decks are working toward two very different goals, and yet both will run Bebe's Search, Roseanne's Research, and Luxury Ball, often in the same quantity (though in this example, Kingdra will typically run more Luxury Ball than Flygon) because both decks need to get Pokemon and energy into play in order to function. These needs are universal, and thus, so are the staples that satisfy them.
- It is important to recognize and understand the staple cards in any given format-- both new and veteran players should aspire to run the best lists possible, in the best ways, and staple cards are fundamental in establishing these superior lists and allowing them to be run with optimal efficiency.
- What follows is an analysis of staple cards in the 2009-2010 Modified format:
Indispensable Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums
Roseanne's Research- This card allows a deck access to the Basic Pokemon and basic energy it needs to function. Never loses its usefulness throughout the game due to its mix-and-match versatility-- if you don't need Pokemon any longer, you can grab energy instead, or vice versa, or you can get one of each. It is especially useful in this format, with so many Basic Pokemon that provide game-enhancing utilities or effects, such as Uxie, Azelf, Mesprit, and Unown G. In most decks, 3-4 copies of this card should be run.
Bebe's Search- This card allows a deck consistent access to any of its Pokemon-- Basic, Evolved, or Level X. Putting one card back in order to activate the search is a minimal drawback for what you are gaining in return, and can actually be beneficial when using Claydol and Uxie. In most decks, 4 copies of this should be run; notable exceptions include SP variants, which have the majority of their Pokemon-searching needs met by SP Radar and Roseanne's Research.
Rare Candy- This card gives a tremendous speed boost to stage 2 decks. It breaks the fundamental rules of evolution, allowing for an instant skip from the Basic directly into that focal stage 2. In doing so, you save two complete turns that would otherwise be spent manually moving from stage to stage. Speed is critically important in this game, and being able to bypass two turns of waiting to get your evolution in play immediately is invaluable, especially when the stage 2s being brought out are cards like Kingdra, Gengar, Machamp and Beedrill, all of which can attack for 1 energy. In virtually all stage 2-centered decks, 4 of these should be run.
Broken Time Space- This card, like Rare Candy, also breaks the fundamental rules of evolution, allowing both players to bypass the 1-turn waiting period between each stage in a Pokemon's evolutionary cycle. Again, speed is an essential component of success, and Broken Time Space provides you with a unique means of accelerating your evolution. Decks centered around either stage 1 or stage 2 Pokemon can make great use of this stadium. It is a particularly great partner for Rare Candy in aggressive stage 2 decks such as Kingdra-- between the two accelerators, speed and set-up consistency are both well accounted for. In most stage 1/stage 2 decks, 2-4 copies of this card should be considered for inclusion.
Warp Point- This card has dual purposes-- it can let you painlessly switch your Active to the Bench when you need to make that change, circumventing retreat costs, and it lets you disrupt your opponent, forcing them to bring something from their Bench into the Active position, likely against their wishes and possibly giving you the chance to get an easy KO, or stall, or force them to waste resources getting that Pokemon back to their Bench. Can come in handy at any point in any game. In most decks, it is a good idea to run 2 copies of this card; notable exceptions include SP variants, which already have Poketurn to rescue their Active Pokemon, and cards such as Luxray GL lv. X, Blaziken FB lv. X, and Infernape 4 lv. X to manipulate the opponent's Bench.
Luxury Ball- This card is very similar to Bebe's Search in functionality, with 3 differences: it is a Trainer, meaning you can play this and a Supporter in the same turn; it does not require you to put a card back into your deck; and it cannot grab Level Xs. Because it becomes an unplayable, or 'dead,' card as soon as one copy of it finds its way into your discard pile, there is rarely the need to run more than one. Being able to search for any Basic or Evolution card in your deck with a Trainer that has no direct drawback is perfect, regardless of the one-time-only stipulation. Every deck should run at least 1 copy of this card; decks that frequently feature discarding, such as Gyarados or Kingdra, often run more than 1 in order to boost their consistency, ditching the excess copy/copies so that they do not clog up their hand/deck after the first one is used.
Cynthia's Feelings- This card gives you a brand new hand of 8 cards after you have just suffered a KO, giving you the chance to get back into the game and mount a recovery. Having a consistently large hand is important because you are afforded more options with more cards at your disposal, and Cynthia's Feelings makes sure you have a large hand when you need it most-- after a KO. Because of the prevalence of cards designed to shut down Claydol and Uxie, the two most popular draw cards in the game, a non-blockable Supporter like Cynthia's Feelings is a valuable tool to have in order to avoid losing games due to perilous low-hand/low-option situations. It is the best insurance card in the format. In most decks, especially those focused around stage 2s, 2 copies of this card should be heavily considered for inclusion.
Night Maintenance- This card may have limited usefulness at the beginning of the game, but as the match progresses and you begin losing Pokemon and energy into your discard pile, Night Maintenance becomes an amazing restorative tool, allowing you to recycle a portion of what has been lost back into your deck to be retrieved for repeated usage. Takes away the permanence of the discard pile and also helps protect against decking. In most decks, at least 1 copy of this card should be considered for inclusion; 2 is a common number. However, this card has recently begun to receive competition from the next item on this list.
Palmer's Contribution- This card performs exactly the same job that Night Maintenance does, only it widens the window of Pokemon and basic energy that you are allowed to recycle from 3 to 5. The other difference is that Palmer's Contribution is a Supporter rather than a Trainer, like Night Maintenance, which can be a drawback-- for example, you can't use Bebe's Search or Roseanne's Research during the same turn to immediately retrieve a portion of what you just shuffled back into your deck. Late in the game, however, when this card is most apt to be used, you should be set up enough to handle the one-turn waiting period. You can also attempt to draw into the cards you put back with Claydol's Cosmic Power or Uxie's Set Up. Palmer's Contribution has become a common replacement for Night Maintenance, because its inclusion often frees up one space in a list-- decks tend to run an average of 2 Night Maintenance, which will retrieve 6 cards, while 1 Palmer's Contribution retrieves 5, only one card less. It is thus an economical decision to simply run 1 Palmer's Contribution over 2 Night Maintenance, because the total amount of cards you retrieve is very nearly the same and you can do the retrieving with one less resource. In most decks, 1 copy of this card should be included.
Premier Ball- This card allows you to excavate a critical Level X from your discard pile, and it also gives you the alternative to search your deck instead; this flexibility allows Premier Ball to be useful at any stage in the game. Decks that run Level Xs are forced to include a maximum of 2 copies of each Level X card, with the vast majority only running 1 so that more copies of its foundational regular form can be included. This limitation can be problematic if the opponent is able to KO that Leveled Up Pokemon, because you won't have any back-up copies to replace it. Premier Ball rescues you from this situation, essentially multiplying your Level X count by however many copies of Premier Ball that you choose to run. In any deck that prominently features an attacking Level X, at least 1 copy of this card should be highly considered for inclusion.
Essential Pokemon and Energy
Claydol- This Pokemon provides the drawing engine for most of the competitive decks in the format. It is not meant to be used as an attacker. Cosmic Power ensures that you will always have the option of refreshing your hand to six cards, allowing you to draw into the vital cards that you need for both offensive and defensive purposes. Unlike Trainer or Supporter cards that also provide you with the opportunity to draw cards, such as PokedexHandy910is or Felicity's Drawing, Cosmic Power can be used every turn, and it is also stackable, meaning that if you have more than one Claydol in play, you can use Cosmic Power for each of them. It is a stage 1, so Rare Candy is not required, and it is easy to get into play-- for example, if you are able to use Call Energy on your first turn and a Bebe's Search on your second, you will have a turn 2 Claydol. Without the aid of Cosmic Power, most decks cease to draw cards other than their beginning-of-turn default pick-up, and then they fall apart; without constant access to resources, a deck cannot efficiently operate. In most decks, 2 copies of this Pokemon, along with 2 copies of its Basic, Baltoy, should be run; some decks, such as SP variants, can get by with a 1-1 line, but running 0 is almost never a good idea. Palkia G, which can run 4 Uxie and the Cyrus engine, is one exception.
Uxie- This Pokemon has an aptly named Poke-Power-- 'Set Up' certainly does aid in the set up of any deck, allowing you to potentially go from 0 cards to 7 the moment you put it onto your Bench from your hand. As a Basic, it is even easier to get into play than Claydol, although its Power is not reusable, unlike Claydol's. Its lone attack, Psychic Restore, can be useful against Psychic-weak Pokemon such as Machamp (as long as Unown G is attached to Uxie, of course, or it is going underneath the deck), doing 50 for :colorless:, and also Gengar, which doesn't get to use Feinting Spell if Uxie KOs it and chooses to be returned to the deck's bottom. Putting Uxie back into the deck also means that you have another opportunity to use Set Up the next time it comes into play. Being able to Level Up is a plus; Uxie lv. X is a nice card with a powerful 60 for :colorless::colorless: that also gives you consistent, albeit limited, draw power. In most decks, 1 copy of this Pokemon is used; extra-speedy decks such as Kingdra often run more.
Azelf- This Pokemon allows you to rescue a critical Pokemon-- perhaps a card you only run 1 copy of, such as a Level X or a tech like Dusknoir DP, or part of a line that you need to swarm, such as Beedrill-- from your Prizes, which is invaluable. Without Time Walk as an option, you will have to go through a game without that needed Pokemon, handicapped from the start, or you will have to rely on chance every time you take a Prize to draw into it. After you have completed the Pokemon-retrieving part of Time Walk, you can also memorize and rearrange your Prizes so that you know exactly what you are drawing each time that you score a KO. In most decks, it is a good idea to consider including 1 copy of this card, especially if the deck relies on a swarm or a Level X.
Unown G- This Pokemon has the unique ability to convert itself, via its Guard Poke-Power, into a Tool that you can equip any of your Pokemon with. When attached in this manner, Unown G prevents anything other than direct damage from phasing a Pokemon. Cards like Gengar and Machamp lose their luster when dealing with Guarded Pokemon, because they both rely heavily on attacks that don't do direct damage. Trapinch's Inviting Trap and Blaziken FB's Luring Flame are two other popular attacks also blocked by Unown G. In most decks, at least 1 copy of this card should be included, although 2 is more common; SP or other Basic-centered decks should generally run at least 2 in order to avoid being massacred by Machamp's Take Out, as should decks with more than one Pokemon with a critical Poke-Power that need to be shielded from Gengar's Shadow Room.
Call Energy
This card brings joy and relief to the player who manages to draw into it in his or her opening hand (or top deck it on their first turn). Going first is often dangerous in this format, because that player is barred from using Trainers or Supporters, leaving them stuck with what will usually be 1 or 2 low-HP, evolving Basics, and few options for setting up. Their opponent, however, has access to cards such as Broken Time Space and Rare Candy, in addition to Supporters such as Bebes's Search and Roseanne's Research, which will give them the opportunity to get an Evolution in play on their first turn that is capable of achieving an instant KO. Machamp and Kingdra are the two most commonly feared turn 1 Pokemon, but there are a plethora of others. If the player who went first only opened with 1 Pokemon, they will have lost the game before they were ever able to do anything; this is called, in Pokemon terminology, getting donked. Call Energy prevents donks from occurring. It also helps you set up, regardless of whether or not there is a possibility of getting donked, allowing you to begin evolving essential Pokemon such as Claydol on your second turn. After the first turn of the game has passed, it still provides :colorless: energy, which most decks can use to fuel their attacks, guaranteeing that it does not lose its usefulness over the course of a match. In most decks, 4 of this card should be included in order to ensure maximum odds of opening with it; notable exceptions include Beedrill and Kingdra, both of which are based around attackers that can't use :colorless: energy. The former has Call for Family built in to Weedle, although the latter is, ironically, more vulnerable when going first than the decks running Call Energy that it usually intimidates when they are forced to initiate the game. It simply takes the risk and relies on the unrivaled speed of its engine and attacker to overcome the disadvantage of not running a set-up energy.
-The cards analyzed above have been popularly selected for play by the Pokemon TCG community-- they have been given staple status-- for good reason: they work, and they win. Using the best cards available will generate the best results, and these staples are the very best. Their widespread use is a testament to their indispensability.
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lol yeah. nice article.
