Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

HGSS-on FloatZone for BRs

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RxWolffe

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Magnezone 4/3/4
Floatzel 3/3
Pachirisu x2
Zekrom x2
Tornadus x1
Pichu x1
Total: 23

PONT x3
PETM x2
Pokemon Collector x3
Pokemon Communication x3
Pokemon Catcher x2
Great Ball x1
Rare Candy x3
Judge x2
Interviewer's Questions x2
Total: 21

Electric Energy x8
Water Energy x6
Rescue Energy x2
Total: 16

This is an attempt at preparing my deck for competition at Battle Roads coming up, and I desperately need fedback when it comes to consistency. This is a newer build with some alterations from my last list, but hopefully I am on the right track for speed. My aim is to quickly get Magnezone out and active with enough energy to do some substantial knockouts. I will break the deck down for you guys:

Magnezone Prime: He is the main attacker here. All I need on him is 2 energy to start smashing around. Inconjunction with Magnetic Draw, he is a multi-purpose attacker that can easily OHKO any pokemon in the meta. 4-3-4 for optimal Magnezone presence. Besides, it would suck if 2 of my Magnemite were prized. XD

Floatzel: The main support of this deck. He allows an additional Water energy every turn. He is excellent Lost Burn fuel, and can be an attacker against Donphan and Reshiram/Typhlosion/Emboar. Nothing really else going on there.

Pachirisu: Helps me get Electric energy onto the field in numbers. Slap one of these bad boys on the bench and I can instantly Lost Burn 50-100, Epicness in a squirrel.

Zekrom: Ideal starter. His massive amounts of HP allow me to set up my Magnezone's while having an attacker in the form of Outrage in the meantime, maybe scoring an early prize or two. Can also be good in the late-game tussle.

Tornadus: Donphan counter, and a support for Energy movement.

Pichu: Self-Explanitory. Helps me get Magnemite and Buizel out, and I can tailor it to accommodate battles against Donphan, getting Tornadus out.

The T/S/S are pretty straightforward, but I included a few cards for particular reasons:

Great Ball: One of the cards I was most skeptical of including. It can fail, but other times it can REALLY bail me out of a tight spot (Ex- Magneton w/o MAgnezone, a much needed Basic or Floatzel). It helps speed the process of getting my Floatzels and Magnezones out.

Judge: I can use this disruptive badboy with Magnetic Draw, giving me a brand new hand of 6. It's a PONT outside of PONT.

Interviewer's Questions: One of the better cards to use in energy acceleration, IMO. I once got 6 energy out of 8 cards. It can be epic.


I need this deck tuned to perfection by 10/08, just in time for Battle Roads. I really want to run this as an underdog build. Help would be greatly appreciated :D

---------- Post added 09/19/2011 at 10:22 AM ----------

BumP! Really need the most help I can get guys, pleasssseeee ;-;
Posted with Mobile style...
 
I ran Magnezone/Floatzel/Vilepume in two battle roads and top cut one of them, so I think it's a viable combination, and I don't think it necessarily needs Vileplume, although I like it better. My Tornadus tech was amazing and so is yours, I bet. Some thoughts on your list:

* I don't think you need both 3-3 Floatzel and 2 Pachi. Personally I'd just run 3-3 Floatzel, but it's up to you. That's eight cards toward getting extra energy on the field, though, and not even really enough energy to play it all with.

* 4-3-3 or even 4-2-3 Magnezone wouldn't be crazy if you need to save space, too. (Probably 4-2-3 with Rescue, 4-2-4 or 4-3-4 without? I run 4-3-4 in vileplume with no rescue, I think you can back down from that a smidge to make more space.)

* Zekrom felt really clunky and slow with Magnezone/Floatzel when I tried it. Tornadus might help, but I'd also consider trimming these guys and/or making them more Tornadus.

* Tornadus is amazing with DCE --- just shovel energy onto Magnezone while you sit there getting 3HKOd by Donphan. Just watch out for Donchamp --- Machamp Prime will have difficulty with the OHKO, but can Crushing Punch DCEs. (I realize saying "watch out for Donchamp" sounds ridiculous, but one went 6-0 at one of the battle roads I went to --- it's a better play right now than people think, and I'd expect to see one.) DCE also helps Zekrom if you decide to keep them in.

* It might be crazy, but you could try Magnezone/Floatzel with ZPS tech the way some folks have been running Yanmega/Magnezone with ZPS tech. You've already got Zekrom/Pachirisu, would it be that hard to fit in a Shaymin or two? (That was a rhetorical question. It wouldn't be that hard. As you've built now, I'd just go to 2-2 Floatzel and switch around your energy lines a bit.)

* I haven't tested Pichu at all. I like thicker supporter lines better, but your mileage may vary.

* TSS lines: I don't agree with most of these. With the caveat that I haven't tested your builds, only mine... Interviewer's Questions? Judge? I can see the argument for Judge but I think you'd be better off with more PONT, Collectors, and maybe Juniper. Also, pluspowers are super helpful for Yanmega (Magnezone only needs one energy and not two), Floatzel (OHKO on Donphan and on Reshiram), Zekrom (mirror match, Reshiram), ... I would really recommend plus powers and junk arms. This part is way more to taste, though, as most of your pokemon don't depend on trainers very much. (Which is why I think they pair reasonably with Vileplume.)

* Energy: Why are you running Rescue? Naively I would switch them for DCE, but I haven't thought about it much.

I actually might try building the Magnezone/Floatzel/ZPS now. :) Good luck with this, if you make some progress I'd love to hear about it!
 
raxl said:
I ran Magnezone/Floatzel/Vilepume in two battle roads and top cut one of them, so I think it's a viable combination, and I don't think it necessarily needs Vileplume, although I like it better. My Tornadus tech was amazing and so is yours, I bet. Some thoughts on your list:

* I don't think you need both 3-3 Floatzel and 2 Pachi. Personally I'd just run 3-3 Floatzel, but it's up to you. That's eight cards toward getting extra energy on the field, though, and not even really enough energy to play it all with.

* 4-3-3 or even 4-2-3 Magnezone wouldn't be crazy if you need to save space, too. (Probably 4-2-3 with Rescue, 4-2-4 or 4-3-4 without? I run 4-3-4 in vileplume with no rescue, I think you can back down from that a smidge to make more space.)

* Zekrom felt really clunky and slow with Magnezone/Floatzel when I tried it. Tornadus might help, but I'd also consider trimming these guys and/or making them more Tornadus.

* Tornadus is amazing with DCE --- just shovel energy onto Magnezone while you sit there getting 3HKOd by Donphan. Just watch out for Donchamp --- Machamp Prime will have difficulty with the OHKO, but can Crushing Punch DCEs. (I realize saying "watch out for Donchamp" sounds ridiculous, but one went 6-0 at one of the battle roads I went to --- it's a better play right now than people think, and I'd expect to see one.) DCE also helps Zekrom if you decide to keep them in.

* It might be crazy, but you could try Magnezone/Floatzel with ZPS tech the way some folks have been running Yanmega/Magnezone with ZPS tech. You've already got Zekrom/Pachirisu, would it be that hard to fit in a Shaymin or two? (That was a rhetorical question. It wouldn't be that hard. As you've built now, I'd just go to 2-2 Floatzel and switch around your energy lines a bit.)

* I haven't tested Pichu at all. I like thicker supporter lines better, but your mileage may vary.

* TSS lines: I don't agree with most of these. With the caveat that I haven't tested your builds, only mine... Interviewer's Questions? Judge? I can see the argument for Judge but I think you'd be better off with more PONT, Collectors, and maybe Juniper. Also, pluspowers are super helpful for Yanmega (Magnezone only needs one energy and not two), Floatzel (OHKO on Donphan and on Reshiram), Zekrom (mirror match, Reshiram), ... I would really recommend plus powers and junk arms. This part is way more to taste, though, as most of your pokemon don't depend on trainers very much. (Which is why I think they pair reasonably with Vileplume.)

* Energy: Why are you running Rescue? Naively I would switch them for DCE, but I haven't thought about it much.

I actually might try building the Magnezone/Floatzel/ZPS now. :) Good luck with this, if you make some progress I'd love to hear about it!
Click to expand...

Thanks for all of the awesome suggestions, man! I am definitely going to try out some ZPS tech. The reason why I included Rescue was because it seemed that Floatzel was a very popular Catcher target so if it were to get Catchered up and gets one-shot, Rescue helps me keep it so that I can reuse it afterwards. Pichu actually can help quite a bit with getting basics out on a slow opening and prevent the inevitable donk. However, I do agree that my TSS lines need adjusting. My deck has been running slow, and it's not my pokemon that are the issue. Perhaps that can help me set up quicker and more efficiently. Here is what I have so far, and any additional advice would be great:

Magnezone 3/2/3
Floatzel 3/2
Pachirisu x2
Zekrom x2
Tornadus x2
Shaymin x2
Pichu x1
Total: 22

PONT x4
PETM x2
Pokemon Collector x4
Pokemon Communication x3
Pokemon Catcher x1
Great Ball x1
Rare Candy x3
Junk Arm x2
Pluspower x2
Total: 22

Electric Energy x8
Water Energy x6
Rescue Energy x2
Total: 16

The only thing I really am unsure of what to do with are my Energy lines. I am not sure if by running more electric than water I am doing myself good or harm. I thought that Zekrom is the best card to start with since he is so tanky and his Outrage is great for the energy cost. Tornadus is the best Donphan counter, stalling it out until I can get Magnezone with enough power to destroy it. But yeah, I could really use some assistance with my energy lines :]
 
Sorry if I am annoying you guys, but I adjusted my most recent update to fit a more appropriate playstyle to fit my meta. Here it is:

Magnezone 3/2/3
Floatzel 2/2
Zekrom x2
Tornadus x2
Pachirisu x2
Shaymin x1
Total: 22

PONT x4
Professor Juniper x2
PETM x2
Pokemon Collector x4
Pokemon Communication x3
Pluspower x4
Rare Candy x3
Total: 21

DCE x4
Water Energy x6
Electric Energy x7
Total: 17

Magnezone: Main focus of the deck, obvious why he is in here.

Floatzel: Main support, helps me get a water energy onto the field every turn and can OHKO Donphan after a Pluspower.

Zekrom: Tank, 1 of 2 ideal starters, and is a great check for Water-based decks.

Tornadus: 2 of 2 starter, the perfect check against weakness. Say bye-bye Donphan lol

Pachirisu: Perfect way to get mltiple Lost Burn targets onto the field. It is also goo Communication fodder when it's timing isn't appropriate.

Shaymin: Load energy onto any of my Pokemon, and with Shaymin I can move them around. Mainly for a MAgnezone on the brink of destruction to save the energy from being sent to the discard.

Any advice would be appreciated. I am trying to make this deck as fast as I possibly can. :]

---------- Post added 09/21/2011 at 03:59 PM ----------

Bump! Counting down for the 8th! BATTLE ROADS MIAMIIIII
Posted with Mobile style...
 
Update: not hitting BRs anymore, but my recent build netted me some victories, but I am experiencing a snag in getting energy to my hand


FloatZone V3

Magnezone 3/2/3
Floatzel 2/2
Zekrom x2
Tornadus x2
Pachirisu x2
Shaymin x1
Total: 19

PONT x4
Professor Juniper x2
PETM x2
Pokemon Collector x4
Pokemon Communication x3
Pluspower x4
Rare Candy x3
Fisherman x2
Energy Search x1
Total: 24

DCE x4
Water Energy x6
Electric Energy x7
Total: 17
Posted with Mobile style...
 
I ran this for a bit a little while back, the DCEs are nice to pump up Zek/Tornadus, but are wasted if you Lost Burn them for 50 :/

Interviewers is one of my absolute favorite cards, despite not being entirely popular. More often than not, I have great trainers/mons in my hand, but can't draw an energy to save my life (At BR this month, my 18 energy deck, after 4 oaks, and the defeat, I flipped my deck to find all 18 of them in a row, mid-deck). This is an awesome card for decks that run any special energy whatsoever.

I really like Floatzone as a concept, but it always has the question of why run floatzels, when you can run a feraligator, and candies for a faster set up :/
 
Intriguing.. Why Feraligatr? I would think that with Floatzel being a stage 1 would be a faster setup than Feraligatr. If I were to, what would I take out in favor of Feraligatr? I doing this:

-1 Energy Search
+1 Interviewer's Questions
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I tried this with Floatzel for a while, but it felt a little clunky; I ended up running a more normal ZPST with 3-1-3 Magnezone, and that worked well for me (4-1 at a Battle Roads, fifth place, sigh). Doesn't mean Floatzel's bad, I just wasn't confident in it and was confident in the other build. Looking at your current list, I more or less like it, but there are a couple things I would consider changing:

+1 Shaymin --- if it's prized you will jsut be so sad, and Shaymin is _so useful_. Even little plays to move one energy late-game can make the difference.

+3 Junk Arm --- Junk Arm lets you run thinner lines of your other trainers.

+1 Flower Shop Lady --- Fisherman gets the energy into your hand and sometimes that's better, but FSL can help you get back pokemon that help in your particular matchup, and it's a particularly nice combo with 4 collectors in anything ZPST-ish. I'd still only run one, but I think it's worth considering in here.

+2/3 Pokemon Catcher --- Pricey but really powerful if you can fit them. Can also help you pick off KOs that require you to lost burn less energy.

Things I would consider taking out:

-1 Energy Search --- I see why, but I don't think you need it with that much energy and draw power in the deck, especially as a one-of. That said, trust your testing.

-1/2 Plus Power --- it's an awesome card, I run three, with junk arms four can get kind of cluttery. It's a tough call because this card helps you so much, but there are other cards you need to set up to the point where plus power will matter.

-1/2 Fisherman --- I don't think you need two. I would try none with FSL, but one may be the right play. (I mean, two might be the right play and I could be wrong! But I think it's one or zero.)

-1/2 PETM --- well, I'm less sure about this one. I don't like them with just Magnezone; you have so few evolutions and other than trainer lock you really don't need anything beyond communication. But with Floatzel in the deck, these may be the right play. But if you were going to put in what I suggested, you'd need something to come out, and this is what I'd try taking out first beyond what I've already mentioned.

I would advise pretty strongly against feraligatr. It takes four energy to attack, it can only play energy onto itself, and it's super catcher bait because of its huge retreat cost and mediocre attack. I haven't tested it, so maybe it actually works way better than I think, but I would not expect it and would not spend my own limited time testing it.

I hope you are able to make one or two battle roads --- they are loads of fun!
 
Those are great ideas :]

I am going to try out those changes and see what works best. I am taking out Energy Search for Interviewer's, as it can REALLY help with getting energy into my hand, or as a reshuffle to realign a bad draw streak. Fisherman has been very useful, but it's either early game when my opponent gets some decent knockouts when I am setting up, or very late game when my Magnezone's get KO'd and I need to bring their energy back. However, with the amount that I use each I will probably drop one of those, one pluspower and both Elm for 3 Junk Arm and 1 FSL. I want to add Catcher, but I really do not know what to drop for them. I actually find that Shaymin at one is really good, as most of the time I have never really needed it all that much. I am also considering dropping 2 or all of my DCE and throw in 2 water and 2 electric. What do you think? :]
 
Interviewer's seems like a reasonable play --- I don't like it much but I see a lot of people use it and do well. I think whether or not you keep DCE depends on who you use offensively a lot. If you play like I do and use a lot of Zekrom/Tornadus, with Magnezone mostly there for when you need a heavy hit, then DCE is super useful. If you're mostly tanking with Magnezone with the option to bring someone else in between Magnezones, you may be better off with more lightning (Pachirisu) and water (Floatzel) energy to get it onto the field as fast as possible. You will also probably need Shaymin less if you are playing the deck this way. :)

I was able to get my deck down to 16 energy --- that could get you one more catcher if it works for you. Beyond that it's hard to say, it's really tight. If you don't fear Trainer Lock you could go to 3-1-3 Magnezone?
 
The thing is when I put Zekrom/Tornadus vs. Magnezone, it's that Zekrom and Tornadus tend to be my best starters. I tank and abuse the hell out of Outrage while building up Magnezone. I let Zekrom attack for as long has he is out, and then I Lost Burn my enemy away with Magnezone. That really is the only reason I have DCE in there. So, what I am going to try, is dropping 2 DCE and add 1 water and try out Catcher. If it doesn't seem to work, I will throw in another electric. I was looking into a 3/1/3 Magnezone, but I firmly believe that Trainer Lock is a force to be reckoned with. My girlfriend is going to build a Gothitelle variant, and her little brother runs a Ross variant. That being said, if I can Candy 1-2 Magnezones onto my bench, I have the Magneton to be able to fill in just in case I get locked out of my Rare Candies.
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I think it depends on your local metagame. No one plays trainer lock in Arizona, and so I'd feel pretty safe with 3-1-3. In Seattle where I just played my last battle roads, there were _lots_ of Gothitelle and ross.dek and the 3-1-3 I brought was a little iffy. I still like more DCE, but I can see it working with fewer. I'd alllllmost want an energy exchanger, but I think there are better cards to run. But it would be, like, card #63 or something :)

The other thing I might try is 3-1-2 magnezone and running a bit heavier on Zekrom/Tornadus. But it sounds like for your playstyle and meta the 3-2-3 is best.
 
If you're playing this deck as a sort of alternative to Red Alert (Emboar/Magnezone), then you'll always want to run less electric energy and more water energy. In many lists, you'll see people running as much as 4-6 Electric energy max. The rest are devoted to the energy they want to abuse; Water in your case.

Your Magnezones, with whatever draw supporters you're using should be more than enough to draw into the energy you need. This should be the case as long as you're running a high amount of trainers. You burn those through your turn, use Magnetic Draw, use your draw supporter, and use Magnetic Draw again if you have another Magnezone on the field.

I would suggest cutting Zekrom altogether since Magnezone is the focus of your deck and your main attacker. You won't need PlusPower for the same reason. Magnezone gets the job done wonderfully. Tornadus is fine to be left as a Donphan counter.

Do count on going behind in prizes since you're running a Stage 2. Switch and Twins should be considered as they can easily get you back into the game looking for sorely-needed cards.
 
I think there's more than one way to play Magnezone/Floatzel. I agree that if you are using Magnezone as your main attacker, you shouldn't run Zekrom and you should be thinking Twins engine. I'd be looking at something like 6/10 or 7/10 Electric/Water there, too. (I had some luck with this and Vileplume.) The idea behind Zekrom here is to make your deck fast and to not need a twins engine; it's sort of a hybrid, really. Of course the non-Zekrom variant might be better, I don't know. :)

I think switch is worth considering in either. I haven't made room for it in my build yet, but I am really tempted to. Pluspower really helps in a bunch of situations, though, and I'd recommend keeping at least one or two even if you are focused on Magnezone as an attacker --- yanmega and tornadus become one-energy KOs, and it lets Floatzel OHKO Donphan, Reshiram, and Typhlosion, all of whom you should expect to see in tournament play. It also makes Donphan a three-energy KO for Magnezone instead of four, which can help if you don't have anyone else to attack with. Four is probably too many, but I wouldn't want zero either. I'm waffling between 2 and 3 myself; I can see how a different build would want to consider 1 or 2.
 
Zekrom has actually worked pretty well in my deck, saving me from an otherwise difficult setup. As raxl said, I intended for this to be a kind of hybrid of two decks. However, the way my meta is actually forming up to be, I am needing something more aggressive. That is actually one of the main reasons I am not participating in Battle Roads. I am trying to formulate this deck to try and get those prizes ASAP. So far, I can have a Magnezone out T2-3. But, then my problem was getting those energy to my hand. I am taking both of your advice and adjusting my energy lineups. I am going to be rocking a 6/9 Electric/Water split with 2 DCE for Zekrom and Tornadus. I was considering cutting Zekrom, but he has just worked too well for me to cut him. I took out an Elm, 2 Pluspower, Energy Search and a Fisherman for 3 Junk Arm, FSL, and Interviewer's Questions. Questions was included because sometimes I can really use the boost in energy or just a reshuffle to realign my cards. I kept Shaymin at one, and a 3/2/3 Magnezone is what has worked for me so far.

Here is my list as it stands:

Magnezone 3/2/3
Floatzel 2/2
Zekrom x2
Tornadus x2
Pachirisu x2
Shaymin x1
Total: 19

PONT x4
Professor Juniper x2
PETM x1
PKMN Collector x4
PKMN Communication x3
Pluspower x2
Rare Candy x3
Junk Arm x3
Fisherman x1
FSL x1
Interviewer's Questions x1
Total: 24

DCE x2
Water Energy x9
Electric Energy x6
Total: 17

I am also considering dropping a Candy in favor of a possible Catcher or Switch. Keep the advice comin', I am loving this. You guys are such a help :]
 
My only real concern with your current list is how many one-ofs there are. Sometimes one-ofs can be awesome, and it really comes down to testing and how the deck flows for you; I wouldn't want to run that many myself. Overall I really like where you are going, and I hope it works out well for you!
 
Hm, you are probably excruciatingly right lol I would cut Elm, and either Fisherman or Questions. One Elm wouldn't be very worth it, and will probably toss in Switch. Here is what I edited, but I will only post up my TSS, since they are my issue lol:

PONT x4
Professor Juniper x2
PKMN Collector x4
PKMN Communication x4
Pluspower x2
Rare Candy x2
Junk Arm x3
FSL x1
Interviewer's Questions x1
Switch x2
Total: 24

Perhaps this oughta strengthen it up a bit. I reduced my Rare Candy count to 2, since Junk Arm can help me reuse them.
 
Update: So far, this is the deck I am working with. It seems to work a lot better than my previous builds, and it feels much more dual-purpose. A hybrid of sorts :3

Magnezone 3/2/3
Floatzel 2/2
Zekrom x2
Tornadus x2
Pachirisu x2
Shaymin x1
Total: 19

PONT x4
Professor Juniper x2
PKMN Collector x4
PKMN Communication x3
Pluspower x2
Rare Candy x2
Junk Arm x3
FSL x1
Interviewer's Questions x1
Switch x2
Total: 24

DCE x2
Water Energy x9
Electric Energy x6
Total: 17

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated :]
 
Update: I am going to my locals tomorrow to scope out the action and see what is going on there. Hopefully everything will tip in my favor, and I am greatly hoping for any aditional comments and concerns :]
 
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