Cyrus
Iron Chef - Master Emeritus
~~~Venusaur~~~
“Since Blastoise has such a crappy attack but a pretty good pokebody I figure the best way to use him is to put LOTS of damage on him so his poke-body will activate, letting him do up to 130 damage with Hydro Pump.
4 Squirtle (Bubblebeam)
2 Wartortle (70 HP)
3 Blastoise CG
1 Blastoise d
4 Pinsir LM
2 Beldum (Call for Family)
1 Metang DX
2 Metagross DX
4 Celio's Network
4 Rare Candy
4 Windstorm
4 Holon Transceiver
3 TV Reporter
2 Holon Mentor
2 Sitrus Berry
1 Holon Adventurer
1 Holon Scientist
4 Rainbow Energy
4 Metal Energy
3 Psychic Energy
3 Double Rainbow Energy
1 Holon's Electrode
1 Holon's Castform
Pinsir has a dual purpose. Not only does Overhead Toss damage 1 of your own Blastoise so its poke-body will activate, but Pinsir himself has a pwnage poke-body that can stop Mawile (Mawile seems to be getting popular), or any other basic attacker the first couple turns of the game.
Metagross contributes to the damage-so-pokebody-will-activate thing too, doing 10 damage to the Pokemon it attaches energy too. You can get metals and psychics in your discard pile by using TV Reporter or the Holon trainers. Plus Metagross helps speed up a beefier Hydro Pump. Just get back a metal or psychic, have toise take 10, then attach an electrode or castform, take back the metal or psychic, now his hydro pump does +40.
The Blastoise d is tech, I think getting rid of Weakness on all your Pokemon is pwnage. Also his Enraged Linear Attack gets more powerful the more damaged it is. A blastoise d with say 80 damage on it can tear up your opponent's bench. Blastoise d gets protection from metal energy which the normal blastoise does not, so it's difficult to KO.
4 Windstorms are necessary. Without it, Pinsir, Blastoise, and Metagross all lose their poke-bodies to cess crystal and this deck would die.
Since Blastoise has to take heavy damage for it to DO heavy damage, it's in danger of a KO the turn following an attack. Sitrus berry can prevent that by removing 30 dmg after Toise attacks.
Rainbow Energy can act as Grass for Pinsir's attack, or Water for more ammo for Hydro Pump, plus the pokemon it attaches to takes 10 so it'll be easier to activate toise's poke-body.
DREs are helpful for a quick +30 damage with hydro pump.
The Holon's Electrode and Castform can do +40 for hydro pump after a super connectivity, or they can power up pinsir's overhead toss.”
Deck (7/10): A good build, but I have a couple issues with it that hold it back. While your trainer line is indeed very well thought-out, there isn’t anything able to help out the overall consistency, such as Magcargo. The lack of switching also hurts, making a clunky Pokemon like Blastoise even harder to play. However, you have a great energy assortment, and a good Holon engine to hold this together.
Creativity (3/5): I’m happy with the direction you took this deck. One of Blastoise’s biggest problems is how clunky it is, and Metagross is an obvious solution. It doesn’t compensate enough for the energy costs, but combine that with Pinsir/Metagross spreading damage around, and you’ve got yourself a solid idea.
Card Use (4/5): You certainly abused this card in almost every way: cleared up the weakness, made the body easier to trigger, and chose a good path in energizing the turtle.
OVERALL: 14/20
~~~Gymbo ex~~~
”Pokemon: 21
4 Squirtle (Bubblebeam)
3 Wartortle (Bubble)
4 Blastoise (3 Hydro Pump/1 Shield Veil)
2 Slugma (UF)
2 Magcargo (DX - Smooth Over)
2 Skitty (CG)
2 Delcatty ex
2 Aipom (UF)
Energy: 16
9 Water
4 Boost
3 Double Rainbow
Trainers: 23
4 Windstorm
4 Holon Transceiver
4 Rare Candy
2 Celio's Network
2 Professor Elm's Training Method
2 Holon Mentor
2 Holon Adventurer
2 Switch
1 Holon Scientist
Deck Explanation:
Pokemon: Alright, this is a pretty straightforward deck. I opted to go without Jirachi or Tauros/Luvdisc in favor of more draw. (I also wanted more creativity points for going without DX Jirachi, lol) Also, I want to be able to setup faster than wasting a turn to drop an energy to retreat, etc. First, I focused on the key theme - Blastoise then built a support for the card. First and foremost I went with the obvious underevolutions. Then, I included Blastoise d because of the ability to cancel my weakness, as well as provide a second energy type to the deck. I recently have utilized a very useful combination in Magcargo/Aipom to enable Quick Search-like capabilities with Smooth Over & Snappy Move. (I will go into more this detail when I get to the Trainers) Alright, now for the unique twist on this deck - Delcatty ex. I utilize another strategy regarding Boost Energy powering up Hydro Pump. Delcatty works with Blastoise because once you lose the Boosts and other energy (presumably through KOs, retreating, Holon Discards, etc) you can recover your Boosts mid to late game and deal a surprise attack while recovering. Also, Delcatty works with Boost.
Energy: Water energy is a given, it's what Blastoise needs to attack. Double Rainbow works with not only Blastoise d, but also Magcargo. Double Rainbow can also provide a slight powerup on Hydro Pump (if you have 2 Water and a DRE). Double Rainbow also allows you to be able to recover if one of your Blastoise that has a lot of energy attached is KOed. Finally, Boost energy - which is a key component of the deck. Boost energy allows you to powerup Blastoise's Hydro Pump. (WWBoost = 70 damage)
Trainers: Well, there is no real Stadium that aids this deck, and since I am running Magcargo, I opted to just go 4 Windstorm because at the very least the Windstorm become counterstadiums as well as discarding irritating cards like Cessation Crystal or Energy Root. Since Ancient Technical Machine: Rock is no longer part of the game, I figured why not go 4 Rare Candy. Now, I also run 3 Wartortle, however, I would run 4 Rare Candy so I can evo to Delcatty or Magcargo on the same turn AND act as Wartortle if one would be prized or in late game situations where I have lost several Blastoise lines (I run no recovery cards - so Wartortle may be limited, especially if prized - I'm a cautious player). I decided to go 2/2 Celio/PETM because I run Delcatty ex and because I run enough ability to grab Basics (through Mentor/Trans). Speaking of the Holon Engine, I pretty much went with the standard line of it. In it, 4 Transceivers become versatile allowing re-use - along with the 2 Mentor, 2 Adventurer, and 1 Scientist (standard). Also, this is key where I mentioned earlier regarding Aipom (UF). A strategy that I use is to reuse Mentor to grab the 2 Aipom in the deck so that I can Quick Search over 2 turns. Then re-use Mentor through Transceiver. It works pretty well, basically in exchange for your Supporter for one turn, you get any 2 cards in your deck over two turns. It works amazingly during setup - and moreso midgame when you may be searching for key cards. Finally, Switch is in this deck because of the obvious huge retreat cost of Blastoise (and Magcargo).
In closing - my personal opinion of this Blastoise is pretty low. I mean it's average at best with a WCC for 50, forcing you to stack energy to do extra damage. That's poor investment and management of resources. Water Pressure can be handy, but most talented players should be able to work around it. My point is that finding a creative, yet still effective combo with this card was particularly difficult.
Thanks for allowing me to compete - good luck to all my fellow competitors.
~Jim”
Patriarch’s commentary: Jim, you did great considering the challenge, but let’s see how the grading goes…
Deck (9/10): I really like your list. It’s well balanced, and an intelligent build in almost every aspect. While you cope well without a starter, at least one consistency “cushion” would have been great for this deck
Creativity (4/5): Once again, you have great choices all-around. Boost is a nice way to relieve the pain of the Hydro Pump’s attachment cost, but Delcatty ex is like icing on the cake. In addition to being a potential “cleaner” against decks where Blastoise alone isn’t enough, it recycles that supply of Boosts so Blastoise can get back to work.
Card Use (3/5): While the above all do a great job at being unique, and a quality job at abusing the card, it feels like other parts of the card were left largely untouched, such as the type and the Poke-Body. The retreat cost is also an issue, but you cover that with a satisfactory amount of switching.
OVERALL: 16/20
“Since Blastoise has such a crappy attack but a pretty good pokebody I figure the best way to use him is to put LOTS of damage on him so his poke-body will activate, letting him do up to 130 damage with Hydro Pump.
4 Squirtle (Bubblebeam)
2 Wartortle (70 HP)
3 Blastoise CG
1 Blastoise d
4 Pinsir LM
2 Beldum (Call for Family)
1 Metang DX
2 Metagross DX
4 Celio's Network
4 Rare Candy
4 Windstorm
4 Holon Transceiver
3 TV Reporter
2 Holon Mentor
2 Sitrus Berry
1 Holon Adventurer
1 Holon Scientist
4 Rainbow Energy
4 Metal Energy
3 Psychic Energy
3 Double Rainbow Energy
1 Holon's Electrode
1 Holon's Castform
Pinsir has a dual purpose. Not only does Overhead Toss damage 1 of your own Blastoise so its poke-body will activate, but Pinsir himself has a pwnage poke-body that can stop Mawile (Mawile seems to be getting popular), or any other basic attacker the first couple turns of the game.
Metagross contributes to the damage-so-pokebody-will-activate thing too, doing 10 damage to the Pokemon it attaches energy too. You can get metals and psychics in your discard pile by using TV Reporter or the Holon trainers. Plus Metagross helps speed up a beefier Hydro Pump. Just get back a metal or psychic, have toise take 10, then attach an electrode or castform, take back the metal or psychic, now his hydro pump does +40.
The Blastoise d is tech, I think getting rid of Weakness on all your Pokemon is pwnage. Also his Enraged Linear Attack gets more powerful the more damaged it is. A blastoise d with say 80 damage on it can tear up your opponent's bench. Blastoise d gets protection from metal energy which the normal blastoise does not, so it's difficult to KO.
4 Windstorms are necessary. Without it, Pinsir, Blastoise, and Metagross all lose their poke-bodies to cess crystal and this deck would die.
Since Blastoise has to take heavy damage for it to DO heavy damage, it's in danger of a KO the turn following an attack. Sitrus berry can prevent that by removing 30 dmg after Toise attacks.
Rainbow Energy can act as Grass for Pinsir's attack, or Water for more ammo for Hydro Pump, plus the pokemon it attaches to takes 10 so it'll be easier to activate toise's poke-body.
DREs are helpful for a quick +30 damage with hydro pump.
The Holon's Electrode and Castform can do +40 for hydro pump after a super connectivity, or they can power up pinsir's overhead toss.”
Deck (7/10): A good build, but I have a couple issues with it that hold it back. While your trainer line is indeed very well thought-out, there isn’t anything able to help out the overall consistency, such as Magcargo. The lack of switching also hurts, making a clunky Pokemon like Blastoise even harder to play. However, you have a great energy assortment, and a good Holon engine to hold this together.
Creativity (3/5): I’m happy with the direction you took this deck. One of Blastoise’s biggest problems is how clunky it is, and Metagross is an obvious solution. It doesn’t compensate enough for the energy costs, but combine that with Pinsir/Metagross spreading damage around, and you’ve got yourself a solid idea.
Card Use (4/5): You certainly abused this card in almost every way: cleared up the weakness, made the body easier to trigger, and chose a good path in energizing the turtle.
OVERALL: 14/20
~~~Gymbo ex~~~
”Pokemon: 21
4 Squirtle (Bubblebeam)
3 Wartortle (Bubble)
4 Blastoise (3 Hydro Pump/1 Shield Veil)
2 Slugma (UF)
2 Magcargo (DX - Smooth Over)
2 Skitty (CG)
2 Delcatty ex
2 Aipom (UF)
Energy: 16
9 Water
4 Boost
3 Double Rainbow
Trainers: 23
4 Windstorm
4 Holon Transceiver
4 Rare Candy
2 Celio's Network
2 Professor Elm's Training Method
2 Holon Mentor
2 Holon Adventurer
2 Switch
1 Holon Scientist
Deck Explanation:
Pokemon: Alright, this is a pretty straightforward deck. I opted to go without Jirachi or Tauros/Luvdisc in favor of more draw. (I also wanted more creativity points for going without DX Jirachi, lol) Also, I want to be able to setup faster than wasting a turn to drop an energy to retreat, etc. First, I focused on the key theme - Blastoise then built a support for the card. First and foremost I went with the obvious underevolutions. Then, I included Blastoise d because of the ability to cancel my weakness, as well as provide a second energy type to the deck. I recently have utilized a very useful combination in Magcargo/Aipom to enable Quick Search-like capabilities with Smooth Over & Snappy Move. (I will go into more this detail when I get to the Trainers) Alright, now for the unique twist on this deck - Delcatty ex. I utilize another strategy regarding Boost Energy powering up Hydro Pump. Delcatty works with Blastoise because once you lose the Boosts and other energy (presumably through KOs, retreating, Holon Discards, etc) you can recover your Boosts mid to late game and deal a surprise attack while recovering. Also, Delcatty works with Boost.
Energy: Water energy is a given, it's what Blastoise needs to attack. Double Rainbow works with not only Blastoise d, but also Magcargo. Double Rainbow can also provide a slight powerup on Hydro Pump (if you have 2 Water and a DRE). Double Rainbow also allows you to be able to recover if one of your Blastoise that has a lot of energy attached is KOed. Finally, Boost energy - which is a key component of the deck. Boost energy allows you to powerup Blastoise's Hydro Pump. (WWBoost = 70 damage)
Trainers: Well, there is no real Stadium that aids this deck, and since I am running Magcargo, I opted to just go 4 Windstorm because at the very least the Windstorm become counterstadiums as well as discarding irritating cards like Cessation Crystal or Energy Root. Since Ancient Technical Machine: Rock is no longer part of the game, I figured why not go 4 Rare Candy. Now, I also run 3 Wartortle, however, I would run 4 Rare Candy so I can evo to Delcatty or Magcargo on the same turn AND act as Wartortle if one would be prized or in late game situations where I have lost several Blastoise lines (I run no recovery cards - so Wartortle may be limited, especially if prized - I'm a cautious player). I decided to go 2/2 Celio/PETM because I run Delcatty ex and because I run enough ability to grab Basics (through Mentor/Trans). Speaking of the Holon Engine, I pretty much went with the standard line of it. In it, 4 Transceivers become versatile allowing re-use - along with the 2 Mentor, 2 Adventurer, and 1 Scientist (standard). Also, this is key where I mentioned earlier regarding Aipom (UF). A strategy that I use is to reuse Mentor to grab the 2 Aipom in the deck so that I can Quick Search over 2 turns. Then re-use Mentor through Transceiver. It works pretty well, basically in exchange for your Supporter for one turn, you get any 2 cards in your deck over two turns. It works amazingly during setup - and moreso midgame when you may be searching for key cards. Finally, Switch is in this deck because of the obvious huge retreat cost of Blastoise (and Magcargo).
In closing - my personal opinion of this Blastoise is pretty low. I mean it's average at best with a WCC for 50, forcing you to stack energy to do extra damage. That's poor investment and management of resources. Water Pressure can be handy, but most talented players should be able to work around it. My point is that finding a creative, yet still effective combo with this card was particularly difficult.
Thanks for allowing me to compete - good luck to all my fellow competitors.
~Jim”
Patriarch’s commentary: Jim, you did great considering the challenge, but let’s see how the grading goes…
Deck (9/10): I really like your list. It’s well balanced, and an intelligent build in almost every aspect. While you cope well without a starter, at least one consistency “cushion” would have been great for this deck
Creativity (4/5): Once again, you have great choices all-around. Boost is a nice way to relieve the pain of the Hydro Pump’s attachment cost, but Delcatty ex is like icing on the cake. In addition to being a potential “cleaner” against decks where Blastoise alone isn’t enough, it recycles that supply of Boosts so Blastoise can get back to work.
Card Use (3/5): While the above all do a great job at being unique, and a quality job at abusing the card, it feels like other parts of the card were left largely untouched, such as the type and the Poke-Body. The retreat cost is also an issue, but you cover that with a satisfactory amount of switching.
OVERALL: 16/20
