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Blastoise/Keldeo: My Not-So-Little Pony
The latter weeks of the City Championship series saw Blastoise/Keldeo emerge as the most successful single deck type and prime contender for the coveted title of ‘Best Deck in Format’. With the release of Plasma Storm, it got a new toy to play with – Black Kyurem-EX – a card which only increases the deck’s capacity to one-shot virtually anything you are going to see in a competitive Pokémon tournament.
This is a deck that players will be seeing a lot of during State Championships, so it seems like an article is called for!
Sample List
Pokémon (13)
4 Squirtle BCR
1 Wartortle BCR
3 Blastoise BCR
3 Keldeo-EX BCR
1 Keldeo BCR 47
1 Black Kyurem-EX PLS
Trainers (33)
4 Professor Juniper
4 N
3 Skyla
2 Colress
4 Rare Candy
4 Ultra Ball
4 Pokémon Catcher
4 Energy Retrieval
1 Super Rod
1 Computer Search ACE SPEC
2 Tropical Beach
Energy (14)
11 Water
3 Lightning
Strategy
The basic principle of the deck is to combine Pokémon that do a lot of damage for a relatively high Energy cost (Keldeo-EX, Black Kyurem-EX) with a Pokémon that accelerates multiple energies each turn (Blastoise).
On the first turn the aim is to get enough Squirtle in play to have at least one survive long enough to evolve into Blastoise. With Skyla to search out Rare Candy, getting a second or third turn Blastoise is a very realistic aim for this deck and should be a priority. Once this has been achieved, it is simply a question of using Blastoise’s Deluge Ability to power up your attackers so that they can start taking Prizes.
Although it is somewhat a set up/combo deck, there is nothing particularly subtle about Blastoise/Keldeo. Once the acceleration engine is in place, it will just smash through anything and everything that an opponent can put up against it. There are some intricacies involved in the use of individual Pokémon and techs, but I will try to cover those in the sections below.
Card Analysis
The Blastoise Line
Squirtle BCR is the preferred choice here as its Shell Shield Ability prevents it from taking Bench damage from attacks such as Landorus-EX’s Hammerhead or Darkrai-EX’s Night Spear. The sample list runs a single Wartortle to give another way of evolving into Blastoise, but I don’t consider it essential to the deck. Three Blastoise is usually sufficient for the deck though four would be ideal if the space could be found, as this would slightly increase the chances of getting it out early. Although Blastoise’s primary function is Energy acceleration, it does have a usable attack, Hydro Pump, which can be called upon when other attackers are either unavailable or unusable (for example against Sigilyph DRX whose Safeguard Ability blocks attacks from Pokémon-EX).
Keldeo-EX
Keldeo-EX is the primary attacker in this deck, thanks to its excellent synergy with Blastoise. For a mere three Energy, Secret Sword will hit for 110 damage: enough to two-hit KO anything in the format. What’s more, its damage output is only limited by the amount of Water Energy you can attack to it. With seven Energy, it is taking down any undamaged EX Pokémon unless they have an Eviolite attached. With eight Energy, not even the Tool will save them. Despite this, players need to be a little careful with their Energy attachments. Loading up a Keldeo-EX means losing a lot of Energy when it is KO’d, and also leaves it vulnerable to Mewtwo-EX’s X-Ball attack. There will be times when trading two-hit KO’s will be the more sensible approach, leaving the one-shots to Black Kyurem-EX.
The attack is only half the story with Keldeo-EX though. The Rush In Ability is a key component of the deck as it allows a Benched Keldeo to switch itself active once per turn. Not only will this thwart an opponent’s attempt to buy time buy using Pokémon Catcher on a Blastoise, but it is also a great counter to Status Conditions, especially Paralysis and Sleep, that would normally require having to discard Energy or playing a Switch.
Black Kyurem-EX
This card is the big boost that the deck got with Plasma Storm. Black Kyurem-EX comes with an attack so powerful that it will one-hit KO just about anything in the game that takes damage from a Pokémon-EX (ok, not a Tornadus-EX with Eviolite and Aspertia City Gym, or a Crustle BCR, or a Wailord with Giant Cape . . . but you get the picture). The problem is that the attack in question, Black Ballista, has a tough Energy cost of two Water, one Lightning and a Colourless, three of which it discards. Because of this, not many decks can actually utilise its power, the exception being those running Blastoise. With Deluge supplying the Water, all that is needed is the manual attachment of a Lightning Energy and you can OHKO anything you like. What’s more, as long as you have the Energy in hand, you can just rinse and repeat. With Blastoise in play, EX Pokémon on your opponent’s side of the Field, and plenty of Energy Retrieval, you can end the game in three of your turns with this monster.
Keldeo BCR 47
This might seem like a questionable choice and to tell the truth it could be dropped in favour of a different tech. I like it in the deck as it offers a solution to the problems posed by EX blockers like Klinklang PLS and Sigilyph DRX. Essentially, it is a smaller version of its big EX brother, with a Hydro Pump attack that can does 60 damage plus 10 more for each Water Energy attached. There are situations where it is useful to be able to take a KO with a non-EX attacker and Little Keldeo fulfils that role nicely.
The Supporter Line
I consider a playset of Professor Juniper a staple in virtually all decks. It is the best draw card in the format and the Supporter most likely to help a deck get set up as fast as possible. N is not far behind when it comes to staple status: it is the most reliable shuffle draw card we have and can also be used defensively late game if the opponent has taken several Prizes.
Skyla’s ability to search out Trainers is one of the key reasons why this deck is as good as it is. In the past we have had to rely on luck in order to draw into Rare Candy; now we can play a card that puts it into the hand. Skyla gives a major boost to the odds of get a second turn Blastoise, which is one of the key aims of the deck. It can also be used to fetch Tropical Beach or essential mid-game cards like Energy Retrieval.
I include Colress in the list with mixed feelings. It is a terrible first turn card which will do little or nothing to help the deck set up. However, Blastoise/Keldeo is a deck that tends to keep a large Bench and it can provide excellent draw past the first few turns when you really want to go through your deck and draw into the Energy.
Rare Candy
Ideally you want a Blastoise on turn two so that you can start attacking with Keldeo-EX. This is how you get your key Stage 2 into play as quickly as possible, and that's why this deck runs four copies.
Pokémon Catcher
What’s better than having Pokémon that can one-shot everything? Being able to choose the Pokémon you one-shot, that’s what. Pokémon Catcher is a staple card for good reasons: pick your targets when you are on the offensive, or drag out high retreat Bench-sitters when you need to buy a turn. It’s all good.
Ultra Ball
The most versatile Pokémon search card in the format. With this card you have access to every Pokémon in your deck.
The Recovery Cards
At some point it is inevitable that Energy and Pokémon will end up in the discard pile, whether through knock outs, or the discard costs of Professor Juniper and Ultra Ball. Blastoise/Keldeo can’t really afford to have Energy taken out of the game, so Energy Retrieval is absolutely mandatory in the deck. In fact, once Energy is discarded, Retrieval becomes in effect a double Energy Search, getting the valuable resources back into your hand. The deck should run four copies of this card.
Super Rod can be seen as a kind of supplement to Retrieval, getting back Energy if the better card isn’t available. It can also be invaluable for its ability to recover your Pokémon, especially if you lose multiple Squirtles early on, or need to get back Black Kyurem-EX to push for game.
Which ACE SPEC to Run?
In the sample list I went for Computer Search as it is still the default ACE SPEC for most decks. The fact that Computer Search can get you any of the components needed for a second turn Blastoise makes it a sound choice for the deck in any case. The versatility of the card makes it hard to leave out.
But, there are a couple of other candidates for that ACE SPEC slot. The first is Dowsing Machine, which recovers Trainers from the discard pile and therefore gives you access to a fifth Energy Retrieval or Pokémon Catcher should you need it as well as being able to get back Tropical Beach or any other Supporter or Item. If Computer Search shines in the early game, then Dowsing Machine comes into its own after the first few turns.
Scramble Switch provides the third option. This ACE SPEC allows you to switch an Active Pokémon with one on the Bench and move as much of the Energy as you like to the new Active. This would be a very effective way of conserving Energy from a Keldeo that was in danger of being KO’d next turn, and could be a good choice in Blastoise/Keldeo variants that choose to run Max Potion.
The Tropical Beach Issue
Unless you happen to be a Worlds competitor, have a lot of money to drop on cards, or live in Europe (where all languages bar Japanese are legal), getting your hands on a couple of Tropical Beach is not easy. If you do have access to them, then they are an absolute staple in here, but I have every sympathy with people who simply can’t or won’t fork out the money for them.
A lot of players ask which Stadium they should run if they don’t have Tropical Beach. The answer to that question is probably Pokémon Centre (for healing) or maybe Battle City (coin flip draw). Stadiums serve a useful role in decks at the moment besides their primary function, as they can be used simply to kick your opponent’s Virbank City Gym or Skyarrow Bridge from the Field.
Another alternative is to look at the role that Tropical Beach plays in the deck. It allows for more consistent early game draw and offers protection against a late game N. If you use the space to run additional draw Supporters (or perhaps even Bicycle), then you can go a little way towards compensating for the absence of this very powerful Stadium.
The Energy
I've gone for a fairly conservative mix here. The deck could function with slightly less, but I have found that this works well.
Techs and Alternatives
Mewtwo-EX
The default alternative attacker for the City Championship format. Mewtwo’s X-Ball has great synergy with the unrestricted Energy drops from Deluge. It can be used to one-shot an opponent’s fully-loaded Keldeo-EX, take down other Mewtwo in a single attack, take quick KOs on weak Basics, or simply be an effective back up attacker. I suspect that Mewtwo usage will decline now that we have Black Kyurem-EX, but it still remains a viable choice for the deck, particularly if Psychic-Weak Pokémon (Garbodor DRX, Gallade PLS) see play.
Kyogre-EX
A slightly off-beat tech that has seen some use as a means of taking out low-HP Bench-sitting Pokémon: notably the Garbodor DRX whose Garbotoxin Ability shuts down Blastoise’s Deluge. Two turns of Dual Splash will deal with the threat at least temporarily, and it can also be employed against Eelektrik NVI.
Victini NVI 14/Moltres NEX
The predicted popularity of Klingklang PLS, whose Plasma Steel Ability makes Metal Pokémon invulnerable to Pokémon-EX, poses a problem for Blastoise/Keldeo. Although Blastoise itself can be used as an attacker, it requires an enormous Energy investment and may need to survive a couple of turns in order to take a Prize. Victini and Moltres are viable non-EX Fire Types which can one-shot any of the Metal Pokémon in a Klinklang deck, including Klinklang itself (which removes the deck’s protection). Working in some Fire or Prism Energy will upset the balance of the deck somewhat but, if you are expecting Klinklang to be played, it would be worth the effort to have such a convenient counter.
Victini has a lower cost attack, but is prone to the return KO. Moltres is more expensive and discards Fire, but is able to take a hit from anything run in a typical Klinklang deck. Both are worthy of testing.
Lugia-EX
With its Colourless Energy requirements and that Overflow Ability which nets you an extra Prize, Lugia-EX is a tempting inclusion in the deck. Unfortunately, it does need Plasma Energy to work and this will make the deck’s Energy line even more awkward if you are also running Lightning for Black Kyurem-EX. Personally, I don’t find that Blastoise/Keldeo has much of a problem in taking Prizes quickly through one-hit knock outs, so Lugia-EX seems to be less than essential, especially as this deck will rarely leave EX Pokémon damaged and in range of a Plasma Storm KO. However, there’s no denying that it is a powerful Pokémon and it can be accommodated in this deck.
Cutting Wartortle
I have no real objections to doing this to free up a slot in the deck, a slot that could be used for a fourth Blastoise or Skyla to increase your odds of hitting the Stage 2 early. Alternatively, it could be used for one of the tech options in this list (I suggest Energy Search). The only major downside would be if you were to run into a Zebstrika deck that was able to keep using Disconnect and limiting you to once-per-turn Energy attachments.
Cilan
Cilan is a Supporter that fetches three Basic Energy cards from your deck and puts them in your hand. The synergy it has with this deck is obvious. Play it and you can Deluge on to a fresh Keldeo-EX and start hitting for 110. Or you can use it to get three of the four Energy you need to use Black Ballista with Kyurem-EX. This has the side effect of thinning your deck nicely, but the drawback is that it uses up your Supporter for the turn. Cilan is also a horrible topdeck in most situations and honestly I find that a standard Supporter engine will usually allow you to draw into the Energy you need. Some players may like to experiment with a copy or two in the deck though: there are situations in which it is extremely useful.
Tool Scrapper
This card can be useful generally: removing Dark Claw, Eviolite, Exp Share, Rescue Scarf, and any of the other Tools that can make life that little bit more difficult for Blastoise/Keldeo. The most persuasive argument for running it though is Garbodor. The threat of Garbotoxin shutting down Deluge is serious and Tool Scrapper provides an out to that. With the deck only really having room for a single copy, it needs to be used wisely and saved until you are in a position to power up multiple attackers in the single turn that it buys you.
Level Ball
With both Squirtle and Wartortle searchable via this card, some players choose to include it in addition to Ultra Ball, or run a 3/1 split. There’s no denying it can be very useful in the deck – the major barrier to inclusion is simply space.
Energy Search
This is a very useful card, searchable with Skyla, that I would certainly recommend for the deck. It gives you a way of digging out that Lightning Energy for Black Kyurem-EX and can also fetch an additional Water if you are 20 damage away from a KO with Keldeo-EX.
Escape Rope
Keldeo-EX's Rush In Ability means that you could use this card as a pseudo fifth Pokemon Catcher. It would disrupt the opponent and leave you free to promote a Keldeo without having to retreat first. Only really useful in those situations where any choice your opponent makes is likely to hurt them.
Eviolite
I mention Eviolite because it’s a useful card that may just save you Pokémon from a one or two hit KO. With the release of Plasma Storm, I feel that the Hypnotoxic Laser/Virbank combination has made the card less useful and I would rather use the space for other things.
Max Potion/Super Scoop Up
These are your two healing options. Thanks to its obscure Weakness, Keldeo-EX is not easily KO’d in a single attack, so healing to keep it in play and deny opponents two Prizes could be a worthwhile strategy. Super Scoop Up has the advantage of returning attached Energy to your hand to be re-attached with Deluge. Unfortunately, it is also a ‘tails fails’ card which means that you really need to be running 3-4 copies to have a reasonable expectation that it will work.
The alternative is Max Potion. This gives guaranteed results but also means discarding all Energy from the Pokémon, which can be extremely costly in this deck. On the other hand, it can be used on Black Kyurem-EX with relative safety (it discards most of its Energy to attack), and it is possible to conserve Energy Retrieval to minimise the hurt done by the discard.
I should probably also mention Potion (could be useful for healing damage sustained from Hypnotoxic Laser) and Gold Potion (nice, but the competition for the ACE SPEC slot is fierce).
Match Ups
I know these look a little odd. At the start of the article I suggested that Blastoise/Keldeo was a contender for Best Deck in Format, yet here I am listing a bunch of even and unfavourable match ups against the top decks in the format.
The reality is though that even the worst match ups are only marginally worse than even. Blastoise/Keldeo is such a powerful deck that it can set up and crash through against anything the format can throw at it. Knowledge of the metagame and appropriate use of techs can also turn any match up in favour of the deck.
Darkrai/Hypnotoxic Laser/Virbank City Gym (Slightly favourable)
Darkrai decks have always been the speed kings of the format. Now that they have access to Hypnotoxic Laser and Virbank City Gym they got the damage output boost they were looking for. HTL/Virbank does allow Darkrai to hit some ‘magic numbers’ against Blastoise/Keldeo. Night Spear with Dark Claw can now OHKO a clean Blastoise and also one-shot a Keldeo-EX if they have targeted it with the snipe damage from Night Spear on a previous turn. Even Sableye with Dark Claw can KO a Squirtle if can use the Laser and Stadium combo. Black Kyurem-EX is your ace card here: Darkrai will find it much more difficult to take down in one shot, so it should be good for two Black Ballista. Enough to take down two Darkrai and give you the advantage.
Basically, the match comes down to surviving the early game rush. If you can do that and get Black Kyurem-EX into play, things will turn in your favour.
Rayquaza-EX/Eelektrik (Slightly unfavourable)
A battle between two decks that trade in one-hit KOs. This is one match where Black Kyurem-EX is likely to be a liability as it is OHKO fodder for both Rayquaza-EX and Rayquaza DRX/DRV. Eelektrik is a Stage 1 which accelerates from the discard pile, making it just that bit more efficient than the Stage 2 hand acceleration provided by Blastoise. Unlike Blastoise/Keldeo, RayEels does not suffer badly from losing Energy on the Field after a KO. Nevertheless, they will have the problem of setting up multiple copies of Eelektrik if they wish to stream KOs with Rayquaza and this, plus the low HP of Tynamo, can be a problem for them.
It’s not really practical for Blastoise/Keldeo to tech specifically for the match up, so games really become a question of who can set up first and who can start taking Prizes.
Plasma Klingklang/Cobalion-EX (unfavourable)
PlasmaKlang is a deck that is constructed on the principle of blocking attacks from EX Pokémon. As most of your attackers fall into that category, this match up can be problematic. You do have the options of using Blastoise or Keldeo BCR, but that requires a huge Energy investment in order to trade favourably with either Cobalion-EX or Cobalion NVI (the Energy Press attack punishes you for stacking Energy on to a Pokémon as well).
Fortunately, the deck is vulnerable due to its slow speed (due to a lack of Energy acceleration) and the fact that Blastoise/Keldeo can tech against it with Victini NVI 15 or Moltres NEX. If these can be used to target those Pokémon with Energy attached to them, PlasmaKlang will find it hard to recover in time to return the KO before they lose multiple Prizes. If the opponent has no Energy on the Field, then they can also be used to remove the deck’s protection by knocking out the Klinklangs. Proper teching makes this match very winnable, but without it, a victory may be all but impossible.
Garbodor Variants (Slightly unfavourable)
Garbodor DRX’s Garbotoxin Ability is a major pain for Blastoise/Keldeo. Without Deluge, Keldeo is a very slow Pokémon indeed and will likely find itself KO’d before you can manually attach enough Energy to do worthwhile damage. Garbodor decks may not be the most consistent in the format (running all those Tools would be the reason), but if they can get a couple of the garbage bags on the table, they are in a strong position.
Tool Scrapper is the weapon of choice against Garbodor decks. Although a single copy will only buy you a turn of Deluge, it can be enough. Conserve the Scrapper until you can power up multiple attackers, and then use Catcher to remove the threat of Garbodor. It is always better to spread the Energy around a couple of Keldeo-EX rather than load up one in case they are ready to counter with Mewtwo-EX. Apart from that danager though, Garbodor decks tend to perform poorly when Garbotoxin is not in play as they have a limited number of attackers and lack Energy acceleration themselves.
Big Basics - Tornadus-EX, Landorus-EX, Mewtwo-EX etc. (favourable)
At last! This is a match up that suits this deck down to the ground. Your biggest fear is the donk factor and losing out when a lone Squirtle meets a Tournadus-EX/Double Colourless Energy/Stadium combination. If you can get past that stage and set up then the capacity of both Keldeo-EX and especially Black Kyurem-EX to take OHKOs puts you in the driving seat against a bunch of Pokémon that can at best take two turns to KO your attackers and won’t find it easy to one-shot a Blastoise either.
Darkrai/Hydreigon (Even)
Darkrai/Hydreigon is built on the premise that its Pokémon will not get one-hit KO’d. That way they can use Hydreigon’s Dark Trance Ability to keep their Energy in play while they heal off any damage with Max Potion. Blastoise/Keldeo’s advantage is that it is a deck with the ability to do exactly what Darkrai/Hydreigon hates: OHKO all of their Pokémon. With a careful selection of targets, you can stop their Energy conservation strategy and leave them helpless.
But this is not a match up that you should approach with complacency. Hydreigon itself is able to OHKO a Black Kyurem-EX, as is Giratina-EX (which is sometimes seen in the deck). In addition, Mewtwo-EX is commonly played and is a very real threat to any fully-loaded Keldeo. This can be a good match up for Blastoise/Keldeo, but only when played very carefully.
The Mirror Match (Even)
You know the drill: whoever sets up first and starts taking Prizes is going to be the happier player when the slip gets signed.
Final Thoughts
Blastoise/Keldeo is extremely powerful, and I expect to see it taking more than its fair share of State Championships. I hope that this article has been useful as a brief introduction to the deck, and I also hope it may inspire some readers to write an article of their own (if only because they know than can do a better job than I just did).
Thanks for reading
Jak (baby mario)
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