Cyrus
Iron Chef - Master Emeritus
~~~DIVISION ONE~~~
-Acutin VS Burninating Torchic-
Acutin
Acutin - 9/10. Overall, your list is excellent. However, I would still suggest a bit of healing, and definitely more basic energy (multi are really not that good in this build).
BT - 6/10. The list is seriously lacking in energy recovery – a must for something big like Onix. Also, you are almost entirely dry of Pokemon replenishment cards.
Creativity:
Acutin - 2/5.
BT - 3/5.
Card Usage in Format:
Acutin - 3/5.
BT - 4/5
Preliminary decision: Acutin. BT’s idea is overall very solid for a Stormfront challenge like this, but the list is unable to carry those ideas.
~~~DIVISION TWO~~~
-Noir VS Magnechu-
Noir
Lists-
Noir: 8/10 ; Magnechu: 9/10
Creativity-
Noir: 4/5 ; Magnechu: 2/5
Usage-
Noir: 2/5 ; Magnechu: 4/5
Preliminary winner: Magnechu. Noir’s idea relies on lucky coin flips…But one whiffed flip means instant doom. Not a very safe strategy.
~~~DIVISION THREE~~~
-Davidy321 VS SuperWooper-
Davidy321
Lists: more or less, the same…So, what is different?
David relies on Stark Mountain and Super Scoop Up ; SuperWooper relies on Energy Switch and (to some extent) Marley’s.
Which is better?
In my opinion, the Stark is more reliable, but it has a few negative metagame implications. Since Moltres is obviously popular in this hypothetical metagame , it sometimes _hurts_ to actually rely on the Mountain, whereas something like Energy Switch is clear-cut: it helps you and ONLY you! However, you still have control over when you play Stark, and it’s obvious that this metagame isn’t just Moltres…There are a ton of good basics in MD! Overall, I give a slight edge to the stark.
What really gives David brownie points are the SSU’s. Those can make a huge difference, and certainly win you the game where you would otherwise lose.
Preliminary winner: Davidy321. With so little difference in consistency between the two of them, and with both of them picking the same card, I had to go with what seemed like the best recovery list. At this time, it seems as if David's is, unless I am convinced otherwise.
~~~Blazing_Monkey VS Brady1~~~
Blazing_Monkey
Brady1
Lists:
8/10 for both.
Creativity:
Blazing_Monkey: 2/5
Brady1: 3/5.
Usage:
Blazing_Monkey: 3/5
Brady1: 4/5
Preliminary winner: Brady1. Both of them have the same weaknesses (Luster Purge, Transback, weakness ohko’s), and the same issues. But, because Brady’s idea works better as a wall than Blazing's, and because it works better in a metagame full of fossils, I decided to ultimately give him the nod.
-Acutin VS Burninating Torchic-
Acutin
BTPokémon: 1
1 Regigigas SF
Energies: 16
4 Water Energy
4 Metal Energy
4 Fighting Energy
4 Multi Energy
Trainers 43
4 Felicity's Drawing
4 Professor Oak's Visit
4 Roseanne's Research
3 Cynthia's Feelings
4 Skull Fossil
4 Armor Fossil
4 Great Ball
4 Energy Pickup
4 Energy Link
4 Night Maintenance
2 Time-Space Distortion
2 Warp Point
So, at first glance, there weren't too many Pokémon to choose from in this set. There was Regigigas, Scyther, Sabeleye, and I even considered Onix. The bottom line is that I chose Regigigas because it was the only one that could one hit any other Pokémon in the set. Nice HP for a basic and good attacks.
Onto the Trainers: I found a good amount of Supporters was needed for this challenge. Also 6 ways to retriever our Regigigas in case it gets KOed assures us we wont lose on Fossils KOs.
The main strategy is to hit with Regi's 1st attack (CC for 30) until the opponent promotes their basic Pokemon. In the meantime, we keep laying energies on our fossils. Whenever Regigigas gets KOed, we put him back in play and energize him with the help of Energy Links and Pickups to one hit your opponent's main attacker.
Hope you like it !
Agustin
Lists:Pokemon: 1
1 Onix SF
Trainers: 45
4 Skull Fossil
4 Pluspower
4 Buck's Training
4 PokeBlower +
4 PokeHealer +
4 Potion
4 PokeDrawer +
4 Pokedex Handy 910is
3 Marley's Request
2 Team Galactic's Wager
2 Fossil Excavator
2 Amulet Coin
3 Warp Point
1 Time-Space Distortion
Energy: 14
7 Fighting
3 Recover Energy
2 Warp Energy
2 Cyclone Energy
Strategy: Hopefully start with a Skull Fossil or two to buy time while you power up Onix and build a hand full of some combination of Pluspowers, Bucks, and PokeBlowers. If you do not start with Skull Fossil, that's no problem at all - Onix's Harden attack will work as a stall as well (And the ability to stall with Harden was a factor in my choice of Onix over Tangela), but Skull Fossil has the added bonus of possibly damaging them when it's knocked out. When you have enough energy to use Bind, you'll hopefully have enough damage-adding trainers to OHKO your opponent's Pokemon, but if not, you've got the paralysis flip as a backup plan.
Card Choices:
Onix - This was a tough choice - it was Onix, Farfetch'd, or Tangela. I decided that Onix was superior if solely because of its extra HP and therefore higher likeliness to withstand the OHKO that this format relies on. It's true that Farfetch'd has higher damage potential (with flips) and a lower attack cost, but in addition to requiring lucky flips to do more damage than Onix, I decided that Farfetch'd was just plain more obvious. In my opinion, the two most obvious cards in this format are Sableye and Regigigas, and Onix was chosen with these Pokemon in mind. Sableye cannot donk it with Overconfident, and needs EIGHT in some combination of Special Darks/Pluspowers/Pokeblowers/Bucks in order to OHKO it. Regigigas is the biggest threat in the format, with its ability to OHKO literally any possible choice, and the desire to combat Regigigas was the main reason I chose Onix. Because of the weakness, Onix needs only two pluspowers/Bucks to OHKO the 100 HP Gigas.
Skull Fossil - Though a bit obvious, I think it's vital in this format. It serves as both a shield and a sword, and if you get two of them out, only a dual PokeBlower can bring up Onix.
Pluspower/Bucks/PokeBlower - Obviously, to increase your damage output and hopefully put anything in the OHKO range (PokeBlower is mainly used one at a time, for the damage counter placement). PokeBlower can also be used to bypass a fossil shield and bring up your true target.
PokeHealer/Potion/Recover Energy - If they can't manage to OHKO you, it's vital that you're able to heal all of the damage off immediately. PokeHealer and Recover Energy can also get you out of pesky special conditions that'll hinder your ability to attack.
PokeDrawer/Handy 910is/Amulet Coin - It's important to draw through your deck as fast as possible to get to your energy and damage adder cards.
Marley's Request - In this format, it's actually good. There are many situations when either of two trainers in your discard pile could help you - PokeHealer or Potion, Pluspower or PokeBlower, Pokedrawer or Handy 910is. This card really has a lot of potential to help recover the trainers that you need a lot of but can only use a few in your deck.
Wager - Can be used to hinder your opponent's plans and/or to help you if you have a really dead hand.
Fossil Excavator - One of the more unique choices, I think. Skull Fossil is a pretty important piece of the deck, and it's important to be able to get it out quickly. Can also be used to recover it from the discard pile.
Warp Point/Cyclone Energy/Warp Energy - To get Onix to the safety of the bench and/or to blow away their fossils and bring up their real Pokemon.
TSD - Seems crazy, I know. But if they knock out Onix, you NEED it back. Skull Fossil can't do jack unless you're an incredible flipper. And even then, what happens when you have a stalemate of Skull Fossils? This is necessary in case they take Onix by surprise, but since that event is rare, there only needs to be one.
Energy Count - Onix only needs 1 F for its attack, so you have room for utility energy. I think this is plenty with the amount of draw you have.
Trainers I didn't use: Leftovers, Double Full Heal, and Health Energy, most notably. I felt that since you had the protection of Skull Fossils, space didn't need to be wasted on these. Potions and PokeHealers should be enough healing for this deck, and PokeHealer/Recover Energy/Warp Energy can take care of Special Conditions.
Also, Speed Stadium. I needed to cut something, and I felt that it was the worst draw - not only is it unreliable, but it helps your opponent, too.
So there's my deck. Hope you like it. This was a great challenge, really forces us to think about the game differently.
Acutin - 9/10. Overall, your list is excellent. However, I would still suggest a bit of healing, and definitely more basic energy (multi are really not that good in this build).
BT - 6/10. The list is seriously lacking in energy recovery – a must for something big like Onix. Also, you are almost entirely dry of Pokemon replenishment cards.
Creativity:
Acutin - 2/5.
BT - 3/5.
Card Usage in Format:
Acutin - 3/5.
BT - 4/5
Preliminary decision: Acutin. BT’s idea is overall very solid for a Stormfront challenge like this, but the list is unable to carry those ideas.
~~~DIVISION TWO~~~
-Noir VS Magnechu-
Noir
MagnechuPokemon (1 lol):
1x Yanma (LA)
Trainers/Supporters/Stadium (49):
4x Plus Power
4x Energy Search
4x Amulet Coin
4x Pokedex
4x Poke Healer+
4x Poke Drawer+
4x Poke Blower+
2x Marley's Request
3x Snowpoint Temple
4x Team Galactic's Wager
4x Team Galactic Mars
2x Professor Rowan
3x Felicity's Drawing
3x Double Full Heal
Energy (10):
10x Grass Energy
Deck Concept:
The reason I chose Yanma over quite a few other popular choices as my sole basic from LA is because it does 10+ damage turn 1, then 20+ possible agility. Since there are only 1 basic per deck, there is nothing your opponent can do if you flip Heads for agility aside from trainers/supports that do direct damage from effects.
Trainers/Supports:
Energy Search is here to get Energy if needed as Roseanne's would be a wasted supporter in this situation. Amulet Coin is for additional draw per turn to make up for no draw pokemon. Poke Healer is in here to heal damage counters and take of special conditions. Pokedrawer is additional draw and can be used to get any 2 when 2 are played, this can be very helpful to grab something like Snowpoint Temple, Plus Power, or other things. Poke Blower's sole purpose in the deck is to be played 1 at a time to try and place additional damage counters on the opponent. Snowpoint is there to make Yanma a 90HP pokemon.
With Wager and Mars, I decided to go with a semi disruptive draw support. In addition to agility effects from Yanma, reducing your opponents hand when there is no draw pokemon can hurt bad, and you get more cards in the meantime. Wager is to be played first, then Mars to knock down their hand down. Rowan is here for a fresh draw when used, and Felicity's is here for guaranteed draw support if Wager and/or Mars doesn't want to be played. Double full heal is there in case of conditions that way you can take them off Yanma.
There isn't really any strategy to the deck, its all Luck really. Outcome will be based mainly on your flips, somewhat on draw. Pretty much put 2 energy on Yanma and hope for heads lol.
Thanks again for grading Cyrus, Good luck Magnechu
~Noir
Comments:Pokemon 1
1 Groudon LA
Energy 18
18 Fighting Energy
Trainers 41
4 Roseanne's Research
4 Buck's Training
4 Cynthia's Feelings
4 Root Fossil
3 Claw Fossil
4 Great Ball
2 Time Space Distortion
4 Night Maintenance
4 PokeBlower++
4 Energy Pickup
4 Stark Mountain
After much deliberation, I decided on Groudon. There were many cards to choose from, Rayquaza being the most prominent, but I felt that Rayquaza would be slower and less efficient in the end than Groudon. Groudon not only provides a great attack, 3 for 100, but also energy acceleration in its first attack.
18 Fighting Energy seems standard, more than the normal deck and enough that you should have a few in hand turn one for Drought, but not enough to drown the enormous amount of Trainers you would need out of your hand.
Trainers. 4 Roseanne for fishing out Groudon at any time and for getting the much needed energy for Drought. 4 Buck's for the extra draw and the extra damage that would be needed against a Rayquaza deck. If you do an extra 10, you do 90 damage to it, and would only need a PokeBlower flip go your way or for them to KO a Claw Fossil. 4 Cynthia is for recovery which is much needed after every Groudon KO.
4 Root Fossil because it soaks up Groudon's bench damage effect. Claw Fossil for the reason stated above.
4 Great Ball for the quick recovery after a Night Maintenance. 4 Night Maintenance and 2 TSD for recovery, not only of Groudon, but also of Energy. In theory, you will probably only get out 4 Groudon a game (Fossil KOs), which leaves (assuming you flips at least one heads on each TSD) 10 extra Energy to go back into your deck, which is amazing. 4 Energy Pickup adds in this, especially as it is an extra Energy to a Pokemon and not to the deck.
PokeBlower++ serves two purposes: one for the extra 10 anywhere that would help a lot vs Rayquaza, and also for the obvious gust and kill effect which could provide endlessly useful vs anything. 4 Stark Mountain because the next Groudon needs to be powered up quickly. Also, it counters the hated Snowpoint Temple when it is convenient for you.
Overall, I feel this would have an edge on anything that was pitted against it from LA. Good luck to my opponent, this was quite an interesting challenge, good work Ketts!
Mikey
Lists-
Noir: 8/10 ; Magnechu: 9/10
Creativity-
Noir: 4/5 ; Magnechu: 2/5
Usage-
Noir: 2/5 ; Magnechu: 4/5
Preliminary winner: Magnechu. Noir’s idea relies on lucky coin flips…But one whiffed flip means instant doom. Not a very safe strategy.
~~~DIVISION THREE~~~
-Davidy321 VS SuperWooper-
Davidy321
SuperWooperPokemon
1 Moltres
Fossils
4 Claw Fossil
4 Root Fossil
Trainers
4 Time Space Distortion
2 Night Maintenance
2 Quick Ball
1 Luxury Ball
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Energy Pick Up
3 Stark Mountain
4 PokeBlower +
2 Warp Point
4 Roseanne's Search
1 TG Wager
1 Cynthia's Feelings
3 Felicitiys Drawing
Energy
4 Cyclone
2 Warp
10 Fire Energy
The reason I decided to play Moltres was for several reasons, one of the most important being it's attack literally OHKOs everything in my metagame, with the exception of snowpoint temple. The other reason was because it has the advantage of possible comeback (with the power).
It was more viable as a choice over Zapdos/Articuno/Mewtwo (and everything else). Articuno is not an efficient counter as although it does OHKO Moltres without having to discard any energy, after the first one, the rest are difficult to repower up. Moltres power is a significant possible comeback.
The list is pretty simple. One thing many competitors I -think- did not realize is that by playing fossils, you can used TSD/NM to get back a Moltres once the first one is knocked out, in others words to actually have that one Pokemon to be used more than just the one time.
After some testing with simulation (redshark) I found the amount of fossils 8 to be the right amount. It is almost always you start with a fossil, so that is the reason quick ball/luxury/roseanne is played. Stark Mountain gives an amazing advantage as:
1/. You counter -possible- basics e.g. Zapdos/Articuno+Snowpoint Temple decks with this countergym.
2/. When one Moltres has been knocked out, you can attach to fossils whilst finding a way to quickly get your Moltres back, and later move (using the stadium) to moltres as a way of more reliable comeback, if you don't flip heads on the power, as the deck tries as much as possible to not rely on Moltres. Energy pick up/super scoop up are both to attack as quickly as possible. The ability to attack as often as possible is essential in this format.
Super scoop up is used in the situation where you have just Knocked out something/their main pokemon and they were unable to knock you back out. Therefore you can SSU to attempt to reuse the power. Wager/Cynthia are both not effective I found, however are situationally really important so they are used. Felicity is to discard fire (as well as be a standard draw) when you don't start with Moltres (almost always) before you play it down to possibly abuse the power. The Pokeblower is arguably iffy, but the advantage of being able to instantly send out their (one) only Pokemon at the time is huge, so they can't hide behind fossils.
Warp Point/Cyclone are used similarly when they ONLY have that Pokemon out. However they often will have a fossil active and their Pokemon + more fossil/s.
Moltres attack only discards fire energy so semi-useful/useful energies that aren't fire are used as they aren't discarded when the attack is used.
Bubble coat was considered but not played to increase the consistency, after I decided Articuno is too inefficient to be played.
Any questions let me know, thanks very much!
Woohoo…A perfect mirror! Since these guys are relying on the exact same thing, I’ll skip card use/creativity, and instead just focus on lists…Pokemon: 1
1 Moltres
Trainers: 40
4 Felicity's Drawing
4 Cynthia's Feelings
4 Roseanne's Research
4 Night Maintenance
4 Skull Fossil
4 Energy Pickup
4 Energy Switch
3 Time-Space Distortion
3 Armor Fossil
3 Quick Ball
2 Marley's Request
1 Luxury Ball
Energy: 19
11 Fire
4 Recover
3 Cyclone
1 Water
I’ll keep this brief so that my PM will be read. =)
Looking at all the basics MD had to offer, two stuck out in my mind: Zapdos and Moltres. Zapdos had something going on with Old Amber - 80 for 3 and no discard, with no drawbacks. But Moltres OHKOs absolutely everything else in the set, and that kind of guarantee is just too tempting to resist, so I picked the legendary bird of fire.
Felicity’s work beautifully here because Moltres’s power feeds off fire energy in the discard. Cynthia’s are also quite potent because they work whenever a fossil dies, which shouldn’t happen more than once or twice in a match, but it’s still nice to know that you’ve got an easy eight cards coming your way. Rounding out the supporters are Roseanne’s Research and Marley’s Request, the latter of which I’ll get into later.
I’ve got 4 Night Maintenance and 3 Time-Space Distortion here because as soon as my Moltres dies and I promote a fossil, I want to get Moltres either back into my hand or into the deck right away, then play it back down on the bench and pray for a heads flip. If it goes back into the deck with Night Maintenance, I’ve got 4 Roseanne, 3 Quick Ball and 1 Luxury Ball that can search it out. I’m running more copies of NM because it’s simply more dependable. 3 tails isn’t a likely outcome in TSD, but it’s not impossible. I think that this enormously consistent basic-recovery engine is going to be what puts me over the top in the mirror match.
4 Energy Pickup is obvious, but 4 Energy Switch maybe a little less so. Moltres’s attack discards all fire attached, but Moltres’s power recovers three fire and the attack takes only two, so 4 copies of Energy Switch means 2 back-and-forths to and from a fossil and onto Moltres again later. The Water energy in the deck is to provide a Roseanne-able non-fire energy that can also be Night Maintenanced, and the Recover (anti-Articuno tech) and the Cyclones (these are just awesome in general) also help in your goal of discarding only two per turn.
Lastly, Marley’s Request is a great card in here. Want to make your opponent pull their hair out? Force them to choose between either Armor Fossil or Skull Fossil. Make them pick between either Night Maintenance or TSD. How about Quick Ball or Luxury Ball (the reason for the 3/1 split)? It’s also great for recovering a supporter in case you’re low on draw. Really neat little card to play in a deck like this.
Lists: more or less, the same…So, what is different?
David relies on Stark Mountain and Super Scoop Up ; SuperWooper relies on Energy Switch and (to some extent) Marley’s.
Which is better?
In my opinion, the Stark is more reliable, but it has a few negative metagame implications. Since Moltres is obviously popular in this hypothetical metagame , it sometimes _hurts_ to actually rely on the Mountain, whereas something like Energy Switch is clear-cut: it helps you and ONLY you! However, you still have control over when you play Stark, and it’s obvious that this metagame isn’t just Moltres…There are a ton of good basics in MD! Overall, I give a slight edge to the stark.
What really gives David brownie points are the SSU’s. Those can make a huge difference, and certainly win you the game where you would otherwise lose.
Preliminary winner: Davidy321. With so little difference in consistency between the two of them, and with both of them picking the same card, I had to go with what seemed like the best recovery list. At this time, it seems as if David's is, unless I am convinced otherwise.
~~~Blazing_Monkey VS Brady1~~~
Blazing_Monkey
Name: Blazing_Monkey
Division: 4
Pokemon (1)
1 Palkia (GE)
Trainers (48)
4 PokeHealer+
4 Potion
4 PokeDrawer+
4 PokeBlower+
4 PlusPower
4 Felicity's Drawing
2 Snowpoint Temple
4 Energy Pickup
4 Marley's Request
4 Buck's Training
4 Leftovers
3 TGW
3 Roseanne's Research
Energies (11)
11 Water Energy
Strategy: Since you said that we assumed everyone plays 1 basic Pokemon, it made
it easier, Palkia's attack is just perfect for this kind of rules. The
main strat is to get a t2/3 Transback, and just send back your opponent's
Pokemon on the top of your opponent's deck if you're lucky. Energy Pickup+
Felicity's Drawing helps me to attack faster. On ti, I can search for a
Snowpoint temple with Special Rend. I need to heal alot, taht explains the
4 Potion, Healer and Leftovers. If I can't get Transback in fast enough, I
can always try and donk with 4 PlusPowers, Blowers and Buck's.
Brady1
Comments:Ingredient: Skarmory from Great Encounters:
Pokémon (1):
1 Skarmory
Energy (14):
4 Special Metal
7 Basic Metal
3 Health Energy
Trainers (45):
4 Potion
4 Plus power
4 Leftovers
4 Pokehealer+
4 Pokeblower+
4 Pokedrawer+
4 Buck’s
4 Oak’s Visit
4 Professor Rowan
4 Pokedex handy909ish
4 Snowpoint Temple
1 Speed Stadium
Why no fossils?
Fossils, while good on paper (opponent must KO 6 Pokémon instead of one) require a lot of deck space by themselves and also require ways to get your Pokémon out. This is quite problematic, and the list will suffer from lack of damage output and space needed for consistency for getting the Pokémon out. Overall, fossils would only hurt the deck and it’s best to go turbo with this type of deck.
This rounds challenge required us to pick a basic *from Great encounters* and build a deck around it. With this in mind, there are two types of focuses: Hard hitting and walling. Skarmory is an amazing pick because it meets both of these credentials. It’s first attack does a very impressive 20 for 1 but also can negate an energy attachment (“aggressive walling”). It’s second attack does a low 40 for 3 but also reduces any damage Skarmory takes by 20 (more aggressive walling). With these ideas in mind, the rest of the deck followed.
4 Special metal to help Skarmory live and to pay for it’s attack’s energy cost. 7 Basic metal to gain favorable odds of drawing into one if you don’t start with a special metal. 3 Health energy because the Skarmory is the only Pokémon in the deck and it must live at all costs, therefore adding as many healing cards as possible is the idea to help him wall.
4 Potion for healing. 4 Plus Power for the possible t2 and for OHKOs against fossils/random Pokémon. 4 leftovers for additional healing and also to negate any negatives occurred when KOing a skull/claw fossil. 4 Pokehealer for additional healing (nothing like reducing 40+ and healing 80). 4 Pokeblower for additional damage (on a flip) and to play around any fossils that might be seen. 4 Pokedrawer for search/draw (helpful for getting healers/blowers/special energy). 4 Buck’s for additional damage and draw. 4 oak’s visit for additional draw in situations. 4 Professor Rowan for additional draw and to help find the poke+ cards. 4 Pokedex for minor search/draw. 4 Snowpoint temple because, although every deck in this format gains an advantage off of it, Skarmory can use this extra 20 hp for a much greater result than any other Pokémon. 90 hp is nearly impossible to OHKO, especially with steel wing and special metals in effect (the only Pokémon that can OHKO Skarmory with Snowpoint in play are groundon, latios, rayquaza, and Moltres, all of which take a long time to power up). Once Skarmory takes a hit he could otherwise not live from, he can simply heal it off via potion, leftovers, health energy, and Pokehealer+ and continue waking at the opponent’s hp. The speed stadium is used as a counter stadium, useful for throwing an opponent off guard for a prize, especially when they have a fossil on the bench or their main hitter is hiding behind a fossil.
Lists:
8/10 for both.
Creativity:
Blazing_Monkey: 2/5
Brady1: 3/5.
Usage:
Blazing_Monkey: 3/5
Brady1: 4/5
Preliminary winner: Brady1. Both of them have the same weaknesses (Luster Purge, Transback, weakness ohko’s), and the same issues. But, because Brady’s idea works better as a wall than Blazing's, and because it works better in a metagame full of fossils, I decided to ultimately give him the nod.
Last edited: