STRATEGY TOPIC SPOTLIGHT #3 = "TECHs" - What are they?

[Rogue Archetype]

This week, we go into an ADVANCED strategy with a conversation about "techs."

A 'tech' is any card that you plug into a deck that helps you against a bad matchup (or counters some sort of expected problem).

In this thread, let's discuss the meaning of "tech" and give examples.

Intro:

Sometimes the best defense is a great offense!

One of my proudest 'tech' ideas came right after the release of the highly anticipated LEGENDs AWAKENED set.

I really wanted to build the "AMU" deck but feared the dreaded MewTwo LvX tech that was running rampid in our format. I already had energy switches in the deck, so I had the bright idea of teching in a couple of SWALOT (LA).

When people turned over their opening card and saw GULPIN, they'd laugh inside, attach, and say "pass." Then, I'd attach, evolve to Swalot and swallow-up for the donk.

They couldn't push up a MewTwo because swalot would one-shot it.

It worked brilliantly against EVERYthing. (yep, random Swalot tech.. LOLz)

There's some perspective.​

TOPIC = TECHs - what are they?

Let's go!

Note: Anyone, old and new, may contribute to this discussion. Ask questions or answer them! This is how we build :smile:

 

[LegendCallerL]

Techs can be really simple and obvious and still. I remember teching in a 1-1 line of metapod to my tangrowth deck, thanks to the advice I got on the gym. Next game I played was against Charizard. I won, 6 prizes taken to my opponent's 0, due to the fact that without weakness, a belted Tangrowth Lv X can stand a Burning Tail with 5 fire types benched.

 

[pkmn202]

Techs are any cards that help your deck beat some bad matchups.
For example, when mewtwo became a problem, sp decks had to tech in a mismagius or dialga g, to escape being rendered useless.
Some decks used mr mime to block gyarados, mr mime is a tech.
Techs can range from, walls, to disruption, to pokemon that can ko the pokemon your decks having trouble with.
for example, sp used dialga g/mismagius to counter mewtwo.
dialga g lvx can be used to shutdown mewtwo's annoying pokebody.
where as the alternative: mismagius was used to ko mewtwo, gaining a prize.
so as you can see techs can do a lot of things, if used correctly.

 

[baby mario]

A ‘tech’ is any card which is put into a deck for a specific situation, but which doesn’t form a part of the main strategy of the deck. Usually, only one or two copies are played.

The most obvious type of tech is probably the tech against Weakness. An example of this is when players used to put Toxicroak G Promo or Mankey SV in a Gyarados deck. The core strategy of the deck is hitting big, and recovering fast with Gyarados SF, so neither Toxicroak nor Mankey really contribute to this. However, one of the decks failings is that Gyarados is very vulnerable to being knocked out by Luxray GL, so some players included a Fighting Pokémon in their deck that can take a quick revenge KO on Luxray. Another way of teching against Weakness is to use a card that prevents it altogether like Azelf LV X (in Psychic decks) or Exploud SV, though they are often clumsy to set up and don’t see much play

A slightly less obvious tech is the one that is used to counter strategies that would otherwise stop your deck working properly. SP decks that rely on Trainer use sometimes tech a Dialga G LV X to shut off the Trainer-locking PokeBodys of Spiritomb AR and Vileplume UD. Spread decks have the option of using Solrock TM (with a Lunatone) to prevent their opponent healing the damage they are building up with Garchomp C LV X’s Healing Breath Power or Nidoqueen RR’s Maternal Comfort Body.

Thirdly there are 'staple' techs. These are card that people barely realise are techs because they are semi-staple in most decks. They are cards that do a special job in the deck to improve the way it runs. Examples would be Azelf LA, which gives access to a key Pokémon in your Prizes, or Unown Q which can allow you to Retreat a Pokémon without wasting an Energy drop.

The last type of tech (that I can think of) is the kind of tech that does something random but good. It isn’t really a part of the deck’s strategy, but it can be used in the right situation to gain an advantage. Running a Mesprit in Gyarados or Luxchomp is an example of this. Neither deck uses a constant Power-locking strategy, but can really benefit from a well-timed Mesprit that denies the opponent the chance to set up with Uxie LA, or get a quick KO with Bright Look. Smeargle UD falls into this category as well (when it’s not used as an outright starter). Decks which tech Smeargle aren’t relying on Portrait to get set up, but do like to take advantage of the Power when they can (such as after a KO).

Techs don’t have to be Pokémon either. Warp Energy can be teched into a Vileplume as a counter to having Vileplume dragged active and sniped around or KO’d. Cyclone Energy is a useful tech against an opponent’s active Spiritomb (if they don’t have another on the Bench). Supporters and Trainers can be techs too: a single copy of Lucian’s Assignment can be used to move Energy from a damaged Pokémon to a fresh one at a crucial stage in the game. Some decks run a single copy of Expert Belt to help them get a key KO at some point in the match, even though the main strategy is not tanking/hitting hard with multiple Belted Pokémon. Seeker is also sometimes seen as a tech that can clear the opponent's bench for a donk win, or re-use a coming-into-play Power like Mesprit.

 

[Kayle]

Baby Mario's post is pure gold. I will restate a summarized definition of 'techs' based on his post, but I want to address something else that I think is very important for newer players (and old ones!) reading this thread...

Very generally speaking, a "TECH" is very small addition to a deck that does not coincide with its strategy but is used to help control the game. As Baby Mario stated, this can be by preventing or revenging Weakness knockouts (helping you stay in control of the prize flow and keeping your momentum), it can be slowing the opponent down with Mesprits (control one turn in which they cannot use powers, to help you be sure a plan will work), it can be stopping an opposing strategy that would otherwise limit you (Dialga G to defeat Mewtwo or Vileplume). But overall, its job is to help you control the game without contributing to your strategy.

Again: techs don't contribute to your strategy. Therefore, too many techs will hurt your strategy.

I see a lot of hypothetical decks and decklists thrown around talking about techs. The Lostgar topic is a great example of this, and theorymon in general is famous for it: "Well if they tech THIS, then..." This is a horrible practice, and will hurt your credibility as a player as well as your capability as one. You can't think of techs as being a quick-fix for anything. They don't work that way. Having them hurts your consistency and takes out space for other resources, space that could be used better directly supporting your strategy.

To put it simply, NEVER build a deck with techs already in it. Techs must be added in afterwards. Make your deck and look it over, play it a lot, and get familiar with it. THEN, say: What does this deck need? What gives it trouble?

As I said in another topic: if you need to put a tech in your deck, you probably already know what you need out of it (and therefore probably already know what it is, or at least what it needs to do). If you are wishy-washy between multiple techs, you probably don't need one at all and are better off running none.

On a side note, I am thinking about writing an article discussing this topic and other deckbuilding concepts in great detail. Drop me a line/thanks/whatever if you'd like to see it happen, and especially if you feel you want to contribute, and that way I can see if I'm in demand or not. ;P

 

[Barkjon]

Nice post BM. Epic post, in fact. I'm basically re-summarizing most of the points you had, but...

lol...

Techs are basically cards that help against bad matchups or cards that hurt your deck.

Let's say I'm playing Uxie Donk, and a major problem with it is known to be Spiritombs. So, I tech in 2 Cyclone Energy to serve as both my energy source and to get the Tombs out of active, allowing me to use trainers. Like BM pointed out, this would be a tech against a card that hurts your strategy. As the only way Uxie Donk really works (in fact, most donk decks) is through trainers.

Again, like BM said, is weakenss techs. A lot of SP decks play Promocroak as both a revenge killer and counter to Luxray GL X.

 

[Hippowdon SaveSand]

Random example of a tech: Breloom sv, to use against Umbreon. Hits for weakness, cheap, no bodies or powers so it cannot be locked by Umbreon, and can discard a special dark attached to Umbreon. Handy to have, and is underused imo.

 

[Caleb]

Well, I feel like Baby Mario, and Kayle have already covered this pretty well, but I fell like I should offer my two cents as well.

I think a Q and A is in order here. I'll start basic, and expand from there.

Q. What's a tech?

A. Well that's a bit difficult to answer briefly, but basically it's a nonessential card in your deck. How do you know a card is a tech? Strip your deck down to what you feel is necessary to the deck. This includes a proper number of supporters (like pokemon collector), and draw power (like uxie). Once you've finished this you'll be left with what's called a "skeleton." You'd really be surprised with how many decks can function under sixty cards. Anyways, that's move onto something a little more in depth.
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Q. Sweet! I've lowered my deck down to the minimum, what should I do now?

A. Well there's a few steps to adding techs, but that's start with the most important one. The first thing I would do, is double check your consistency. Are you sure 3 pokemon collectors will be enough? How about Bebe's Search? I notice for allot of players, especially newer ones, they don't put a big enough emphasis on consistency. If you can't consistently set up to win against your favorable match-up, then how can you expect to fair well vs. the unfavorable ones? You may only need 3 pokemon collector in 8/10 games, but take a minute to ask yourself if you're willing to go without it the other 2.
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Q. You were right Caleb! That fourth collector saved me from a donk! Okay, so what's next?

A. Alright good, now that's move onto step 2. The second thing you should look at is Counter cards, and Assistance cards. I know some may disagree with me on this one, but I believe both of these should be weighed at about the same time. So then, what are they?
-Well a counter card is something you play in your deck to deal with an otherwise unfavorable match-up. An example of this would be a SP deck teching in a Drifblim UD to counter Machamp SF, or Mewtwo Lv. x.
-An assistance card is a card that while not directly helping with a match-up or directly increasing consistency, allows you to pull yourself out of a sticky situation. A good example of this would be Unown Q to retreat a pokemon you don't want active, Azelf LA to grab a pokemon out of your prize cards, switch to retreat a heavy pokemon, or even something like smeargle to steal your opponent's supporters.
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Q. Alright I've got my Mewtwo Lv. x for SP's, and added a Azelf to pull something out if it's prized, but I've still got a few slots left. Can I just add my victory medal to show off to all my opponents?

A. I think it would be best to keep it in your binder. That's try something a bit different, some disruption! That's right, anything that can hurt your opponent without slowing you down, or hurting your consistency. Looker's Investigation, Judge, Giratina Let Loose, or even a Mesprit. Basically these cards are here to make things even harder on your opponent. If you make them lose their hand at a important time, or lock them out of powers for a turn, you can change the tide of a entire game. I think this option is really underrated by allot of players, and while I do think you should focus on the other types of techs first, disrupting is something that will hurt almost any opponent.
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Q. Okay, I've got the covered but somehow I still have one card left. What should I do?

A. Well at this point you've really got two options. The first is to add something completely random. It doesn't have to be anything specific, maybe something to help you out in a sticky situation, or a card to help you get set up faster. When it comes to these, the sky is the limit. As per the second options, just repeat the steps again. Consistency, Assistance, Counters, Disruption, and Random. At first it may seem a little hard to fill things up, but as time goes on I'm sure you'll find yourself running low on space. Good luck, and happy tech hunting!

 

[raw19]

Techs, in my opinion, are any card in a deck that may or may not help the overall strategy of the deck, but certainly help the deck out in certain match-ups.

Awesome, AMU was mentioned.

For those in the new AMU = Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie; the legendary pixies from Sinnoh and specifically the Legends Awakened (LA) Level X's. They work together to do wonderful things; aka snipe the bench, draw you cards, cut off their own weaknesses, heal themselves or smash an opponent for 200 damage!

I play AMU and I tech Gardevoir from Platinum (PL) to counter Mewtwo Lv. X of LA; . The Terminal Weakness of AMU is that they are completely unable to touch Mewtwo Lv. X, meaning if I ever face it it'll pretty much be an auto-loss. Not only can Gardevoir use its Power to manipulate energy on my field and let me attack with whoever I wish, essentially, but it side-steps Mewtwo X's Body and one-hit KO's it (OHKO). It can also defend you against the overly popular Stormfront (SF) Machamp who can instantly KO any of your AMU pixies.

Ironically enough, I also teched Mewtwo Lv. X, both to counter other AMU-type decks, but to also counter SP-type decks. All the AMU pixies suffer from low hp and can often be OHKO'd by any number of SP pokemon. But, a lone Mewtwo X not only insures that an unprepared SP deck can't hurt you, via it's Body, but it can also use it's attack in conjunction with Mewtwo of Majestic Dawn (MD), to 2HKO nearly any pokemon in play. It isn't a part of the overall AMU strategy, but it counters a potential problem deck and is certainly a tech that puts in work.

Techs for the win (ftw)!

 

[wulfboy15]

As everyone else has said, Techs are in a deck to help get around stuff your deck typically loses to. Some good examples of this are Dialga G Lv.X to tech against Vileplume, Mr. Mime to tech against Gyarados, and Houndoom G to tech against Dialga G Lv.X. Though techs are cumbersome and often times hold you back from your initial strategy so techs should be used sparingly and should be used against things that absolutely must be teched against (i.e. a Fossil deck using Dialga G Lv.X to ensure that they can still play their fossils even if a Vileplume is in play.)