Zekrom Pachirisu Deck List

[pwnindustries]

I haven't bought any of these cards yet. I want to make sure I get my deck perfect before I commit to spending around $100 on a Pokemon deck.

What is the purpose of my deck? I want to compete in Pokemon leagues. I'm not entirely sure about which cards are legal in different formats, so if someone could explain to me the different formats, as well as which formats my deck will be legal in, that would be greatly appreciated.

How much am I willing to spend on this deck? I am willing to spend around $100. I will most likely be purchasing all these cards individually off of eBay.

My friend has a Reshiram Emboar deck. I would like my deck to be competitive with his. We are going to enter Pokemon leagues in my area together, and I want to make sure I have a top notch deck to compete with.

Here is my list so far:

2 Pachirisu
2 Shaymin
4 Tornadus
4 Zekrom
12

4 Professor Juniper
4 Professor Oak's New Theory
2 Energy Search
3 Pokegear 3.0
3 Junk Arm
4 Pokemon Catcher
4 Dual Ball
3 Pokemon Collector
1 Switch
3 Pluspower
3 Eviolite
34

4 Double Colorless
10 Lightning
14

My strategy with this deck is to use Zekrom as my main attacker to K.O. opponents. I will use Pachirisu's ability to attach 2 lightning energy to itself from my hand, then I will use Shaymin's ability to move the energy from Pachirisu to Zekrom. This way I can quickly charge up my Zekrom cards.

Some additional questions:

I hear that there are new EX cards coming out, including a Zekrom EX. I understand that these EX cards are a little bit more powerful and have more HP, and when these EX cards get knocked out, your opponent gets to draw TWO prize cards. Would it be beneficial to my deck to switch the regular Zekrom cards to Zekrom EX cards when they come out?

I know that a lot of competition decks use "double colorless energy". I don't mind spending a little more money to buy double colorless energy if it will benefit me. What are your thoughts on double colorless energy for this deck?

Thanks in advance for all of your responses.

-Brandon

[PhadedPhione]

ZPST standard list:

2 Pachirisu
2 Shaymin
4 Tornadus
4 Zekrom
12

4 Professor Juniper
4 Professor Oak's New Theory
2 Judge
3 Pokegear 3.0
3 Junk Arm
4 Pokemon Catcher
4 Dual Ball
3 Pokemon Collector
1 Switch
3 Pluspower
3 Eviolite
34

4 Double Colorless
10 Lightning
14

Tornadus is from Emerging Powers, Pokemon Catcher is also from Emerging Powers. Eviolite is from Noble Victories.
These additions will make you deck more spendy, but this deck is a tournament viable, competitive deck and has won tournaments. Double Colorless makes Tornadus a lot better also.

[pwnindustries]

What benefit will Tornadus bring to my deck? He has relatively low HP and will be knocked out easily by a Reshiram.
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[Alazor]

Eviolite should help.

[pwnindustries]

What should I switch out for Eviolite? Also, how many Eviolite cards should I put in this deck? Can anybody second this?

[Electric Spider]

What benefit will Tornadus bring to my deck? He has relatively low HP and will be knocked out easily by a Reshiram.
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Tornadus almost guarantees 80 damage on turn 1. It also resists fighting pokemon, a big problem for Zekrom. Its another starter so you wont start with a Pachi/Shay as often. Tornadus also helps recycle energy so you don't fizzle out as quickly. It may get knocked out by Reshiram, but ZPST is a speed deck it's meant to attack on turn 1 and disrupt set up. So it's possible to knock out any form of energy acceleration or even 2-hit a Reshiram before it gets enough energy on it. Without Tornadus, a game vs Donphan or Terrakion is basically an autoloss.

With the list Phione posted, you should be able to beat your friend's Reshiboar easily.

[pwnindustries]

So is the deck that Phaded posted better than the one I posted hands down? Is there some kind of hybrid that I could make between the two that would be better? I would like to make this as powerful as possible.

[Electric Spider]

The list that Phione posted is a basic ZPST, a deck that's currently Tier 1 and winning multiple Cities. Your deck list isn't terrible by any means, but it looks more like a ZPS list before Emerging Powers came out, and while your list has a lot more recovery cards, it sacrifices a lot of consistency and speed. You're not going to be able to get a turn 1 Bolt Strike off as often and you're usually going to start a Pachirisu or Shaymin.

Also, ditch the Reversals for Catchers.

[pwnindustries]

Alright, I think I'm going to do with the deck that Phione posted. Is there anything that anybody would change in that deck? What about Cleffa? Would he be beneficial?

[Electric Spider]

I'm not sure of Judge in Phione's list, some people actually use Energy Search into their ZPST lists. Also, the amount of Junk Arms, Catcher, and Pluspower all vary from list to list. Just build the deck, test it out, and tweak it to support your play style.

[pwnindustries]

Thanks for all of your help. I'll go ahead and switch those 2 Judges for 2 Energy Searches. I just added up the current cost of this deck, and it's about $200. How long will this deck last me until it gets outdated? I don't want to spend all of this money just to have my deck suck the next month.

[Electric Spider]

I suggest proxying the cards and playtesting the deck first. Wait til Next Destinies to come out before buying anything because I honestly don't have a clue if ZPST will still be around with all the high HP EXs running around.

[pwnindustries]

I know there is a Zekrom EX coming out. Would that be better than the regular Zekroms? Also, I have about 2,000 Pokemon cards already, but most of them are REALLY old. If I can find some of those trainers from a really old set can I still use them?

[PhadedPhione]

I'm not sure of Judge in Phione's list, some people actually use Energy Search into their ZPST lists. Also, the amount of Junk Arms, Catcher, and Pluspower all vary from list to list. Just build the deck, test it out, and tweak it to support your play style.

Judge was my out against trainer lock, you can turn those into whichever tech works best for you.