Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Darth VADERZ!!!

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RaNd0m

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Ok yeah. I thought long and hard about whether I would post this or not. I've decided to post it. Frankly, if people are going to counter my deck, go ahead. I'm confident enough in my playing ability and my deck that I don't need to "surprise" people. I'm pretty sure I can win games anyway.

Here's Darth Vader

4 Dunsparce
3 Voltorb (RG)
2 Dark Electrode
1 Electrode ex
3 Larvitar (Splashable one in RR)
3 Dark Pupitar (80 HP, attacker)
2 Dark Tyranitar (spinning tail)
1 Dark Tyranitar (pokepower)
1 Zapdos ex (TecH!11omg)

6 Lightning Energy
4 Darkness Energy
2 Rainbow Energy
1 Dark Metal Energy
1 R Energy
1 Scramble Energy

4 TV Reporter
3 Steven's Advice
2 Prof Cozmo's Discovery
3 Strength Charm
3 Rare Candy
3 Rocket's Ball
2 Battle Frontier
2 ATM Rock
1 Admin
1 Switch
1 POW!

Strategy is simple. It is very easy to grasp... so easy my sister will run the same deck. And if you've seen my sister or her playing ability... ... I don't even think I can talk about it. Anyway... First turn, I want to SAR. If I don't have dunsparce, I have the ability to sometimes rare candy first turn to dark electrode, attach strength, dark nav, play lightning, and do 50. Yeah that's nice.

Then attack with Dark Trode to power bench.

I thought long and hard about the trainer line and decided this was the way to go... unless there are suggestions otherwise. The reason I run Cozmo is simply because... I don't have Pidgeot or Magcargo. I kind of need to accumulate stuff in my hand. Admin WILL do well against me... but if I'm ahead enough on prizes where it hurts, then I'm probably going to win regardless of what's in my hand.

Dark Pupitar... I DONT KNOW WHY PEOPLE SAY THIS IS BAD! It's so great in mirror matchups. With a rainbow and two darks, I OHKO spinning tail Dark Tyranitar. Um yeah! That's awesome.

Zapdos ex... I haven't tested this tech yet, but I'm guessing it'll work. It's just a nice surprise.

This is just a quick damage EARLY AND LATE game deck. It's really just a beatdown deck. Nothing besides big damage. In other words, a BLAST to play. There's no feeling like Biting Off a Zapdos ex for like 140 damage.

One note: I've tried Magcargo. It's not working for me. It screws with the consistency of what basic I draw... and I lose a lot with it. If you've got a way to squeeze Cargo in and KEEP consistency, great! Help me out! :D

That's the deck. Thoughts?

~ RaNd0m
 
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BF?!? use ancient tomb, in case u face other t-tar decks or...magma! :lol: congrats for not using pidge! </long-distance hi 5> really would be nice to work magcargo in w/ ur draw engine tho...

IMO, a solid list. GL w/ it! looks like a lot of fun.
 
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i love the deck name, i can just see darth all over it!

no swoop makes me sad :(

are you sure bf is the best choice? kills trode and sand damage =/
but then again, it also kills theirs ;p

this deck is ultra sexy
 
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"Darth Vaderz"... ok lemme explain the name

V is for Voltorb. A is for I don't know but I like Star Wars. D is for Dunsparce. E is for Electrode. R is for larvitaR pupitaR tyranitaR...

This certainly isn't the first stupid deck name, and it definitely won't be the last...

I've thought about swoop, and I really like the idea. Problem: No space! Running my charms and my rare candies really cuts into the space in my deck.

I haven't experimented too much with BF in here yet. What I do know is this... I only use dark trode's power in like the first three or four turns, and if I'm going to use sand damage t-tar I don't play it. I think I need a way to shut down decks like Dragtrode and Rock Lock, and that can do it (if for only but a few turns). It's also a great way to punish people who play Pidgeot, Delcatty, etc.

I was one of the staunch advocators in the beginning that BF does almost NOTHING to Rock Lock and Dragtrode. I still agree with that. It does help me DENT their decks, though... and that may be enough to push me over the top.

~ RaNd0m
 
if you run 4 BF and get the lock on them first turn, they're pretty much dead in the water, even if they do have scott, you can still slow them down CONSIDERABLY.
 
what?

4 BF?

2 is bad enough. You run D trode

If they drop the frontier T1 ur pretty much screwed. Makes ur trodes useless.
I dont get why youd play BF in this deck =/

Also makes sand t-tar useless.

Also, to KO ST t-tar, just use Sand T-tar?
 
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come on guys, its not like hes gonna plop that bf t1

its to help mid/late game v. dragtrode and rocklock

personally i think it aint a bad choice =/

i still cant get over what a sexy deck this is XD

SWOOP SON! SWOOOOOOP!!!!

cozmo out, swoop in
 
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Yeah guys. I'm not dropping BF turn one... like BEX said, it's a late game use only.

I may add a couple swoop. I'm loving how good that would be swooping a dunsparce and getting a dark trode out turn 2. The problem is it's power would be worthless then... but Dark Pupitar or Tyranitar wouldn't be worthless at ALL turn 2. It'd be kind of nice. I don't know. However, I can't drop Cozmo. I'm down to EIGHT draw cards then... ew that's low.

Don't worry about the Trode's power. It's only useful to me in the first couple turns... once my darkness are in play, it's kind of pointless right?

Also, have you heard of sacrificing a little of yourself to take out your opponent? That goes WAY back... Electabuzz from BASE Set. That's what BF is about. It is GOOD in our metagame, and this deck takes advantage of it simply because it's not DEPENDENT on powers. It just uses them.

Tomorrow's my last day before my doubleheader this weekend!!! :D
 
whatever, it's just really crippling if they don't have a counter stadium on the first turn, it halts their energy setup like no other.
 
i've already told you what i think of this pile so ill just edit it :D
Cut the zappy you schmuck, its got no use
you have no way to search for a trode ex so why's it there? its just a really big waste about 99.9% of the time, cut it for something more useful, seriously
also, you run too many singles for a pidgeotless deck, if youre hell bent on not using it or cargo (big mistake) then cut the singles you luckbag

- 1 zappy
- 1 Electrode EX
- 1 Dark Pupitar
- 1 Switch
- 1 POW!
- 2 Battle Frontier (its simple, if your opponent is running a frontier heavy list and drops it on turn 1 or 2 [which they will if they know your list SILLY] then you are pretty much drawing dead already, you really need to use your trode's power, it happened in our matches it can happen in others, you need counter gyms)
- 2 Cozmo (this card's bad, there's many cards that are BETTER, including SA #4)

+ 1 Dark Electrode
+ 1 Larvitar
+ 1 Dark Tyranitar (Sand Dmg) its your only chance vs a fighting pokemon, even though youre still very vulnerable to it
+ 2 R Energy (ehhh a single R isn't cool, 3 R's in the deck lets you spinning tail efficiently... even though i could be wrong on this)
+ 2 Copycat (its a good draw card, hand refiller, etc... just good to have)
+ 2 Desert Ruins (good countergym)

You might also wanna do -1 S. Charm for +1 Candy, pupitar, or R. Pokeball. I'd like a 3rd Ruins in this too, buuuut you can mess with that yourself. Anyways these fixes clean up the deck's loose ends, making it more consistent. Just use use RL you weirdo
 
RaNd0m said:
4 Dunsparce
3 Voltorb (RG)
2 Dark Electrode
1 Electrode ex
3 Larvitar (Splashable one in RR)
3 Dark Pupitar (80 HP, attacker)
2 Dark Tyranitar (spinning tail)
1 Dark Tyranitar (pokepower)
1 Zapdos ex (TecH!11omg)

6 Lightning Energy
4 Darkness Energy
2 Rainbow Energy
1 Dark Metal Energy
1 R Energy
1 Scramble Energy

4 TV Reporter
3 Steven's Advice
2 Prof Cozmo's Discovery
3 Strength Charm
3 Rare Candy
3 Rocket's Ball
2 Battle Frontier
2 ATM Rock
1 Admin
1 Switch
1 POW!
Click to expand...

Just ONE early Battle Frontier screws you. Just one. If you come up against a Ludicargo and they drop a Battle Frontier, you're done. Hariyama ex locks a Battle Frontier in, and even if you Warp Point or POW! it benchward, you're done. Don't scoff at Hariyama ex, either. It's a beast versus Dragtrode, Rock, Slaking, etc. It's been kept under wraps for the most part, but it won a GC in Oregon (an 11-14 player was playing up to 15+ and won with it, and the competition there is definitely not something to be overlooked).

I'd play 2 Desert Ruins over 2 Battle Frontier. Honestly, you need a counter gym to counter the gym that's going to give you trouble (besides Mt. Moon, which is rarely played anymore). Simple enough. I'd drop a Charm and max on Rocket Balls, and drop both Cozmo in favor of a 4th Steve (they're killer early, 4 ensures a large hard in the first few turns) and a Copycat. Drop a Reporter for a 3rd Ruins since I'm sticking with the 13 draw/search you set as your list's standard.

Use Explosive Evolution Pupitar. I see your point, but it's taking away from the T2 Dark Tyranitar factor that is a really huge advantage. Think about it: bringing out a Sand Damage TTar early game is basically the equivalant of a Charm on all their bench (assuming they haven't evolved yet, since you can accomplish this turn 2 with a heads flip). Explosive Evolution is the way to go.

I'll respect your Electrode ex/POW/Admin combo, but you're playing one of each. To get it off is near impossible with that many singles and no Magcargo or Pidgeot. I would look into dropping that and seeing how much consistancy you can get in return. Drop the Zapdos ex for a lone Swoop! and you look good to go.

Pokemon: 19
4 Dunsparce
3 Voltorb
2 Dark Electrode
1 Electrode ex
3 Larvitar
3 Dark Pupitar (Explosive Evolution)
2 Dark Tyranitar (Spinning Tail)
1 Dark Tyranitar (Sand Damage)

Energy: 15
6 Lightning Energy
4 Darkness Energy
2 Rainbow Energy
1 Dark Metal Energy
1 R Energy
1 Scramble Energy

Energy: 26
4 Steven's Advice
4 Rocket Ball
3 TV Reporter
1 Copycat
1 Rocket's Admin
3 Rare Candy
3 Desert Ruins
2 Strength Charm
2 Ancient Technical Machine: Rock
1 Switch
1 POW! Hand Extension
1 Swoop! Teleporter

Good luck.
~Wooper

EDIT: Crim's fix is along the same lines as mine, but you might want to try his first. He definitely has a better set of credentials than I do. ;/
 
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Shiloh Phoenix said:
Actually, I've had a turn 1 fully evolved TTar on me before. Rare candy into pupitar, attach dark, heads, sand damage GG.
Click to expand...

That's cuz Kettler's a luckbag.

;D JK Kettlezzz! =P
 
I agree with the previous fix for the most part. You should try running at least 2 Swoops so you have a better chance at a turn 1 SAR. You might also try 2 of each Dark Ttar.

Pokemon: 20
4 Dunsparce
3 Voltorb
2 Dark Electrode
1 Electrode Ex
3 Larvitar
3 Dark Pupitar (Explosive Evolution)
2 Dark Tyranitar (Spinning Tail)
2 Dark Tyranitar (Sand Damage)

Energy: 16
6 Lightning Energy
4 Darkness Energy
2 Rainbow Energy
3 R Energy
1 Scramble Energy

Energy: 24
4 Steven's Advice
4 Rocket Ball
3 TV Reporter
1 Copycat
1 Rocket's Admin
3 Rare Candy
3 Desert Ruins
2 Ancient Technical Machine: Rock
1 Switch
2 Swoop! Teleporter
 
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Battle Frontier in a Dark Trode deck? I don't think so :D. I like the idea though. My list would be a bit different, but see what ya think.

Pokemon: 21

3 Larvitar
2 Dark Pupitar
3 Dark Tyranitar (2 Spin, 1 Sand)
2 Voltorb
2 Dark Electrode
2 Pidgey
1 Pidgeotto
2 Pidgeot
3 Dunsparce
1 Plussle (DX)

Energy: 14

6 Lightning
4 Darkness
1 Rainbow
2 R Energy
1 Scramble

Trainers: 25

3 Stevens
4 Celios
3 Copycat
1 Admin
4 Rare Candy
3 Swoop Teleporter
2 ATM Rock
1 Briney
3 Ancient Tomb
1 Pokemon Retriever

Tomb makes the most sense in this deck. If you can make the OHKO on your ttar a 2HKO, you should win. The extra spintail is HUGE. 11 Draw supports, 3 swoop, 2-1-2 Pidgeot, and 4 Candy should give you great consistancy. I was actually considering making this deck, but I prefer Rock-Lock myself. Also, scout your gym before you make your decklist. Be ready to change the Tombs into Ruins if you see a lot of Blaze/Muk and no fighting. Good luck with it :D.
 
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emptyseat88 said:
Tomb makes the most sense in this deck.
Click to expand...

Tomb also gets rid of weakness for your opponent's pokemon, too.

Ludicolo (Dark Ampharos)
Lanturn (Sand TTar)
Spin TTar (Sand TTar)
Pidgeot (Dark Ampharos)
Dark Electrode (Sand TTar)
Dark Ampharos (Sand TTar)

And lots more I'm too lazy to list lose their weakness and make the matchup more difficult than it should be. Tomb makes the LEAST sense in this deck unless you're using it for the Hariyama ex matchup (even then, Desert Ruins is a decent gym, and Hari puts a gym lock on you anyway =/). Ruins, Hideout and Tricky are easily the best three for this deck. I like Ruins over Hideout and Tricky because Hideout and Tricky benefit your opponent if they're playing Draggy or Rock (chances are you'll play a coupla each in a modified tournament nowadays).
 
Weakness/Resistance doesn't matter when you're spintailing =\. The deck is completely based around Spintails. Let's look at some of the weakness's you posted btw:

Ludicolo: Why would you put the tomb into play in the first place? Other gyms are equally as useless in this matchup. I'm not even going to get into the startegy behind spintailing regardless even if you DO have a OHKO via trode on ludi.

Lanturn: Again, you're stuck on the OHKO concept. Spintail is still the way to go in this match, simply because lanturn cant OHKO Ttar. You spintail, they do 80, you spintail, they do 40, you bring up another ttar and spintail, they lose to a rock next turn. If someone had a fully powered lanturn active, and you had the option of A. KO with 2nd strike, or B. Spintail, you'd be a fool to take the KO. AGAIN, every other gym is just as useless in this matchup.

Mirror Match: It's the mirror match, they can do the same thing to you! Just get yourself in the position to get the first spintail off and not get OHKOed and you'll win. AGAIN, every other gym is just as useless in this matchup, except you can prevent their Sand Damage Ttars OHKO if you so please.

Dark Trode: Again, better to spintail than to take a OHKO. AGAIN, every other gym is just as useless in this matchp.

Dark Amphy: I'd love to see this scenario! Guy sends up his Dark Amphy just to get knocked out by a Sand-Damage Ttar. Maybe at local tournies, but dont expect that kind of idiocy at Nats :D. Regardless, again, spintailing in this situation is a better option than the OHKO. AGAIN, every other gym is just as useless in this matchup, except you can prevent their Sand Damage Ttars OHKO if you so please.

If each of your Ttars is allowed to Spintail more than once, then you win. It's a simple concept. Tomb makes this possible vs all those random fighting things, like Sand Ttar, Medicham, Hariyama, Breloom, Marowak, etc.. I'd keep 3 ruins with me in my deckbox though incase I see a bunch of blaze and being tested at the tourney. 2 Tomb/Ruins 1 Tricky would work also if you see some Milotic TecH, but nobody plays that so you probably shouldnt worry about it.

Btw, -1 rainbow energy +1 Pokemon retirver from my fix. Just incase 2nd Ttar is prized.
 
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It's still an advantage to have weakness on those Pokemon, no matter how insignificant you find it. I wouldn't want to take it away just for a few specific matchups.
 
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