Reversal is not legal so everybody thought that the bench was safe, guess what? Nobody’s safe with Empoleon, combined with Raichu makes this a deck you will never want to face.
Article by: Dante63s
Title: Empoleon/Raichu
Date: September 24, 2007
Latest set released: MT
Current Format: HP-ON
List: 17
4 Piplup DP
3 Prinplup DP
4 Empoleon DP
2 Pikachu POP6
2 Raichu Delta HP
3 Luvdisc CG
Trainers: 27
4 Celio Network CG
3 Rare Candy POP5
3 Castaway CG
3 Cessation Crystal CG
1 Strength Charm DF
1 Holon Mentor DF
3 Steven Advice DF
2 Team Galactic’s Wager MT
2 Battle Frontier PK
2 Great Ball PK
1 Scott PK
1 Night Maintenance or TSD
Energy: 16
11 Water DP
3 Scramble DF
2 Double Rainbow Energy POP5
Now let’s walk trough this deck.
The Pokémon:
Luvdisc: Your main starter, this helps your setup a lot, getting all your basics fast is helpful, but then it also has the possibility to snipe if your opponent has a stadium in play, if you have a stadium in play it cures a little your Pokémon, this also serves late game, not just as a starter.
Piplup: It has a energy less attack. Getting 10 damage T1 is important because it gives you the possibility of a T2 KO with its evolution, Prinplup.
Prinplup: This card is awesome, in some cases better than Empoleon. Why? Its first attack, Aqua Shower does 10 damage to each of your opponents Pokémon, this can accumulate fast, especially if your start doing it on T2. A good strategy is to Aqua Shower until they decide to KO you, use it as bait to activate Scramble. Its second attack can do 40 damage to any Pokémon that has damage counters on it, this can get you a T2 KO.
Empoleon: You’re main Pokémon, the nucleus of the deck. 130 HP makes it take a few hits. Its first attack is the same one that Prinplup has, except it has no requirements. The second option is Aqua Jet, 70 damage and a possibility of 20 on the bench is pretty good for only 3 energies, average retreat cost. and it’s weakness, lighting is a problem vs. Electivire and Feraligart Delta, those two cards can OHKO Empoleon (Gart with Lake Boundary), so my point is that Empoleon needs to stop them from setting up, CC and Battle Frontier help a lot but it is also important to KO their most important Pokémon early game, this will give you a great advantage over your rival.
Pikachu POP6: This Pika is way better than the HP one, because, it has the new DP Pokémon weakness and it’s not delta (I say that cause of Lickytung).
Raichu Delta: I like Raichu better than Dodrio and Octillery because it can spread damage, to Pokémon that has Poke-Power and Poke-Body, for 1 energy. After that you can attach DRE and do 80 damage, so you can spread damage and do damage. Its first attack, Zap will be the one you use more often, its second attack will be more like a last resource and to KO big Pokémon you can’t deal with, just using Zap. No retreat cost makes it versatile and easy to move around the field.
Trainers:
The trainers pretty much self explain them self, so I will be kind of short:
Celio’s Network: Here to get any Pokémon out of the deck.
Rare Candy: Accelerates the deck, by jumping from the basic Pokémon to the stage 1 or stage 2 in the same turn you laid the basic Pokémon on the field, in the original Ambush Rare Candy was not played, but I find it really helpful.
Steven Advice: Since this deck plays Team Galactic’s Wager you will not have a big hand, so this can draw 1-6 cards. Usually you will be able to get 3 or more cards.
Castaway: Your search engine, gets the Cessation Crystal, NRG and any Supporter you need.
Cessation Crystal: Since you play no Poke-Power/Body this will stop your opponent from using them and of course can easily be gotten with Castaway.
Holon Mentor/ Great Ball: Gets you the basic Pokémon you need.
Team Galactic’s Wager: Decks like Hurricane/Infernape/Electivire play large hands, since you don’t really need a large hand to win, why not shuffle your hand and your opponents hand, 4 might be overkill,
Scott: Here to get Battle Frontier and any supporters you need.
Battle Frontier: I was not playing this, because Infercatty was the only match it was helping, but now that Tsunami also plays Delcatty it will improve that match also. It’s not only for Delcatty, it helps vs. Nidoqueen DF, Blissy MT, Garchop MT, Delcatty Ex, etc.
But Delcatty is the main issue.
Night Maintenance or Time Space Distortion: Here in case you had a bad start and you lost important Pokémon an to retrieve any Pokémon you need, since its not a supporter, you can play this and Celio’s the same turn.
Energy:
Scramble: These are really important, using Raichu/Prinplup/Luvdisc as a sacrifice element will activate this.
DRE: Basically these are here for Raichu, having the option of hitting 80 damage is great.
From testing the deck, Empoleon has to ways to play it, one is to spread damage, wait for your rival to get the first one or two prizes, so that you activate Scramble. The second option is to try to KO your rivals active Pokémon T2 and KO anything in your way; usually you end up combining these strategies in to one.
Strategy:
Your best starter is Luvdisc, Piplup is also a great starter if your start with Luvdisk, T1 get the basics you need assuming your rival has some in play, then if your opponent has a stadium in play, snipe, if not leave it their until it gets KO or retreat. If your start with Piplup, T1 hit 10 damage. T2 play Celios/Castaway (get Celios or Mentor) and evolve Piplup to Prinplup, Aqua Shower OR if the opening Pokémon of your rival has 50HP you could KO it, remember that you might want to wait until your opponent KO Prinplup, that way you activate Scramble. T3 keep spreading damage, setup Empoleon and Raichu on the bench, if your opponent has 2-3 Pokémon with Poke-Power/Bodies, retreat and Zap with Raichu. T4-T5 at this point of the game you should of already spread enough damage to start getting the prizes, with Empoleon hitting 70 damage you should KO anything (70 + the damage you already did with Raichu and Prinplup) and Raichu as your back up line that also can get 80 damage, but it will cost you a DRE, always aim to the vital Pokémon early game, Prinplup, Aqua Shower is important cause most Pokémon have 50 HP so getting 10 damage early game, will get you the win late game.
Match Up:
I my self, at this moment I consider this deck one of the best decks, in terms of match ups. The deck list might need one or two fixes but overall it works well.
Vs. Tsunami 60 / 40
The main advantage you have is Cessation and Battle Frontier, shutting down their Delcatty’s and Croconaw Poke-Power is vital, stop them early, get Castaway and search for CC and Scott, next turn with Scott get Battle Frontier, TGW and Castaway, with this, most likely they wont use much Poke-Powers and if they manage to pull off a large hand shuffle it up. If you can’t lock their Poke-Powers, it will be a huge problem, Tsunami.
Vs. Queendom 50-55 / 50-45
This match is hard, why? Because they can hit 80-90 damage T3-T4, the speed of their setup is amazing. Nidoqueen DF if the card they setup with, so shutting that down will help, also CC will avoid them from evolving Chinglin to Chimecho, but you might need a second CC on the bench, due to Warp Point/Cyclone. Nidoqueen MT has 120HP so it’s a hard one to take down. Dusknoir wont be a problem cause you never need more than 3 benched Pokémon. This depends mostly on the initial hand.
Vs. Infercatty 70 / 30
Infernape is the most consistent deck, and they could get T2 80 damage, but that would be pure luck and it doesn’t happen often but even if that is so, you could respond with Empoleon+Scramble for the OHKO, CC and Battle Frontier shuts off their Delcatty’s and doing that, limits them from getting 80 damage consistently. TGW also improves this match, very winnable.
Vs. Rick Tune 50 / 50
Lets say they get 70 damage on T2, you usually don’t open with more than one basic so this is a serious problem, but if you do survive the first KO and play Holon Mentor, let 1-2 Pokémon get KO and Empoleon+Scramble FTW.
Vs. Mario 55 / 45
To decks of the same nature, totally depends on initial hand and players skills. You have a little advantage cause of Scramble.
Vs. Electragon 45-50 / 55-50
Holon Castform = Full bench, that means more Pokémon to spread damage too, CC helps tremendously, get one T2, they wont be able to evolve Elekid, that means Electabuzz and Electivire wont be able to use their Poke-Power, CC could also benefit them late game, Electivire Lv. X. Empoleon’s weakness, is lighting so they can OHKO Empoleon. Raichu’s attack, Zap can add up quickly, Elekid, Electabuzz, Electivire, Flygon and Magneton all have Poke-Powers; Electivire has resistance to metal, so that could also become a problem. They need Poke-Powers to setup if you take that away from them, you will win.
Vs. Feraligart Delta – Soon!
I didn’t test this match yet. Any ideas would be helpful.
Vs. Kindra Ex – Soon!
I didn't test this match yet. Any ideas would be helpful.
Vs. Bllisey – Soon!
I didn't test this match yet. Any ideas would be helpful.
Variants:
In most cases the variants would remplace Raichu.
Dodrio MT: If this is played it would most likely replace Raichu. The reason I don’t play this is because it needs 3 energies to snipe 3 evolved Pokemon, Raichu only needs one and can do 80 damage if necessary, I know that Raichu only snipes Pokemon with powers, but to spend more energy on something that wont even last more than a turn or two, is not the play.
Octillery MT: Another possibility, same attack than Empoleons but requires :water::water:, and a decent second attack, but Empoleon and Prinplup have the same attack, it feels like adding more of the same thing.
Lucario: I would love to play this one, it would help vs. Electivire, but the energy requirements make it way to hard to play, Prinplup :water::water:, Lucario needs :fighting::fighting:.
Infernape: If Sceptile Ex and Meganium D is played in your area, put this in. In the last format this helped lots of match ups, Steelix, Metagross, Szisor, etc. But all does cards got rotated so this wont be as good as it was before, I mean before their was a way better reason to play it. Raichu can do the same damage at only the cost of one more energy, not practical.
Tech:
Absol Ex: It help KO Pokemon that you can't reach, or an active one.
Empoleon in general will be seen a lot in the next Battle Roads, its partner will be random. If you played Empoleon at your Battle Roads, please post your results and if you would be so kind your deck list.
Thanks for your time!
Article by: Dante63s
Title: Empoleon/Raichu
Date: September 24, 2007
Latest set released: MT
Current Format: HP-ON
List: 17
4 Piplup DP
3 Prinplup DP
4 Empoleon DP
2 Pikachu POP6
2 Raichu Delta HP
3 Luvdisc CG
Trainers: 27
4 Celio Network CG
3 Rare Candy POP5
3 Castaway CG
3 Cessation Crystal CG
1 Strength Charm DF
1 Holon Mentor DF
3 Steven Advice DF
2 Team Galactic’s Wager MT
2 Battle Frontier PK
2 Great Ball PK
1 Scott PK
1 Night Maintenance or TSD
Energy: 16
11 Water DP
3 Scramble DF
2 Double Rainbow Energy POP5
Now let’s walk trough this deck.
The Pokémon:
Luvdisc: Your main starter, this helps your setup a lot, getting all your basics fast is helpful, but then it also has the possibility to snipe if your opponent has a stadium in play, if you have a stadium in play it cures a little your Pokémon, this also serves late game, not just as a starter.
Piplup: It has a energy less attack. Getting 10 damage T1 is important because it gives you the possibility of a T2 KO with its evolution, Prinplup.
Prinplup: This card is awesome, in some cases better than Empoleon. Why? Its first attack, Aqua Shower does 10 damage to each of your opponents Pokémon, this can accumulate fast, especially if your start doing it on T2. A good strategy is to Aqua Shower until they decide to KO you, use it as bait to activate Scramble. Its second attack can do 40 damage to any Pokémon that has damage counters on it, this can get you a T2 KO.
Empoleon: You’re main Pokémon, the nucleus of the deck. 130 HP makes it take a few hits. Its first attack is the same one that Prinplup has, except it has no requirements. The second option is Aqua Jet, 70 damage and a possibility of 20 on the bench is pretty good for only 3 energies, average retreat cost. and it’s weakness, lighting is a problem vs. Electivire and Feraligart Delta, those two cards can OHKO Empoleon (Gart with Lake Boundary), so my point is that Empoleon needs to stop them from setting up, CC and Battle Frontier help a lot but it is also important to KO their most important Pokémon early game, this will give you a great advantage over your rival.
Pikachu POP6: This Pika is way better than the HP one, because, it has the new DP Pokémon weakness and it’s not delta (I say that cause of Lickytung).
Raichu Delta: I like Raichu better than Dodrio and Octillery because it can spread damage, to Pokémon that has Poke-Power and Poke-Body, for 1 energy. After that you can attach DRE and do 80 damage, so you can spread damage and do damage. Its first attack, Zap will be the one you use more often, its second attack will be more like a last resource and to KO big Pokémon you can’t deal with, just using Zap. No retreat cost makes it versatile and easy to move around the field.
Trainers:
The trainers pretty much self explain them self, so I will be kind of short:
Celio’s Network: Here to get any Pokémon out of the deck.
Rare Candy: Accelerates the deck, by jumping from the basic Pokémon to the stage 1 or stage 2 in the same turn you laid the basic Pokémon on the field, in the original Ambush Rare Candy was not played, but I find it really helpful.
Steven Advice: Since this deck plays Team Galactic’s Wager you will not have a big hand, so this can draw 1-6 cards. Usually you will be able to get 3 or more cards.
Castaway: Your search engine, gets the Cessation Crystal, NRG and any Supporter you need.
Cessation Crystal: Since you play no Poke-Power/Body this will stop your opponent from using them and of course can easily be gotten with Castaway.
Holon Mentor/ Great Ball: Gets you the basic Pokémon you need.
Team Galactic’s Wager: Decks like Hurricane/Infernape/Electivire play large hands, since you don’t really need a large hand to win, why not shuffle your hand and your opponents hand, 4 might be overkill,
Scott: Here to get Battle Frontier and any supporters you need.
Battle Frontier: I was not playing this, because Infercatty was the only match it was helping, but now that Tsunami also plays Delcatty it will improve that match also. It’s not only for Delcatty, it helps vs. Nidoqueen DF, Blissy MT, Garchop MT, Delcatty Ex, etc.
But Delcatty is the main issue.
Night Maintenance or Time Space Distortion: Here in case you had a bad start and you lost important Pokémon an to retrieve any Pokémon you need, since its not a supporter, you can play this and Celio’s the same turn.
Energy:
Scramble: These are really important, using Raichu/Prinplup/Luvdisc as a sacrifice element will activate this.
DRE: Basically these are here for Raichu, having the option of hitting 80 damage is great.
From testing the deck, Empoleon has to ways to play it, one is to spread damage, wait for your rival to get the first one or two prizes, so that you activate Scramble. The second option is to try to KO your rivals active Pokémon T2 and KO anything in your way; usually you end up combining these strategies in to one.
Strategy:
Your best starter is Luvdisc, Piplup is also a great starter if your start with Luvdisk, T1 get the basics you need assuming your rival has some in play, then if your opponent has a stadium in play, snipe, if not leave it their until it gets KO or retreat. If your start with Piplup, T1 hit 10 damage. T2 play Celios/Castaway (get Celios or Mentor) and evolve Piplup to Prinplup, Aqua Shower OR if the opening Pokémon of your rival has 50HP you could KO it, remember that you might want to wait until your opponent KO Prinplup, that way you activate Scramble. T3 keep spreading damage, setup Empoleon and Raichu on the bench, if your opponent has 2-3 Pokémon with Poke-Power/Bodies, retreat and Zap with Raichu. T4-T5 at this point of the game you should of already spread enough damage to start getting the prizes, with Empoleon hitting 70 damage you should KO anything (70 + the damage you already did with Raichu and Prinplup) and Raichu as your back up line that also can get 80 damage, but it will cost you a DRE, always aim to the vital Pokémon early game, Prinplup, Aqua Shower is important cause most Pokémon have 50 HP so getting 10 damage early game, will get you the win late game.
Match Up:
I my self, at this moment I consider this deck one of the best decks, in terms of match ups. The deck list might need one or two fixes but overall it works well.
Vs. Tsunami 60 / 40
The main advantage you have is Cessation and Battle Frontier, shutting down their Delcatty’s and Croconaw Poke-Power is vital, stop them early, get Castaway and search for CC and Scott, next turn with Scott get Battle Frontier, TGW and Castaway, with this, most likely they wont use much Poke-Powers and if they manage to pull off a large hand shuffle it up. If you can’t lock their Poke-Powers, it will be a huge problem, Tsunami.
Vs. Queendom 50-55 / 50-45
This match is hard, why? Because they can hit 80-90 damage T3-T4, the speed of their setup is amazing. Nidoqueen DF if the card they setup with, so shutting that down will help, also CC will avoid them from evolving Chinglin to Chimecho, but you might need a second CC on the bench, due to Warp Point/Cyclone. Nidoqueen MT has 120HP so it’s a hard one to take down. Dusknoir wont be a problem cause you never need more than 3 benched Pokémon. This depends mostly on the initial hand.
Vs. Infercatty 70 / 30
Infernape is the most consistent deck, and they could get T2 80 damage, but that would be pure luck and it doesn’t happen often but even if that is so, you could respond with Empoleon+Scramble for the OHKO, CC and Battle Frontier shuts off their Delcatty’s and doing that, limits them from getting 80 damage consistently. TGW also improves this match, very winnable.
Vs. Rick Tune 50 / 50
Lets say they get 70 damage on T2, you usually don’t open with more than one basic so this is a serious problem, but if you do survive the first KO and play Holon Mentor, let 1-2 Pokémon get KO and Empoleon+Scramble FTW.
Vs. Mario 55 / 45
To decks of the same nature, totally depends on initial hand and players skills. You have a little advantage cause of Scramble.
Vs. Electragon 45-50 / 55-50
Holon Castform = Full bench, that means more Pokémon to spread damage too, CC helps tremendously, get one T2, they wont be able to evolve Elekid, that means Electabuzz and Electivire wont be able to use their Poke-Power, CC could also benefit them late game, Electivire Lv. X. Empoleon’s weakness, is lighting so they can OHKO Empoleon. Raichu’s attack, Zap can add up quickly, Elekid, Electabuzz, Electivire, Flygon and Magneton all have Poke-Powers; Electivire has resistance to metal, so that could also become a problem. They need Poke-Powers to setup if you take that away from them, you will win.
Vs. Feraligart Delta – Soon!
I didn’t test this match yet. Any ideas would be helpful.
Vs. Kindra Ex – Soon!
I didn't test this match yet. Any ideas would be helpful.
Vs. Bllisey – Soon!
I didn't test this match yet. Any ideas would be helpful.
Variants:
In most cases the variants would remplace Raichu.
Dodrio MT: If this is played it would most likely replace Raichu. The reason I don’t play this is because it needs 3 energies to snipe 3 evolved Pokemon, Raichu only needs one and can do 80 damage if necessary, I know that Raichu only snipes Pokemon with powers, but to spend more energy on something that wont even last more than a turn or two, is not the play.
Octillery MT: Another possibility, same attack than Empoleons but requires :water::water:, and a decent second attack, but Empoleon and Prinplup have the same attack, it feels like adding more of the same thing.
Lucario: I would love to play this one, it would help vs. Electivire, but the energy requirements make it way to hard to play, Prinplup :water::water:, Lucario needs :fighting::fighting:.
Infernape: If Sceptile Ex and Meganium D is played in your area, put this in. In the last format this helped lots of match ups, Steelix, Metagross, Szisor, etc. But all does cards got rotated so this wont be as good as it was before, I mean before their was a way better reason to play it. Raichu can do the same damage at only the cost of one more energy, not practical.
Tech:
Absol Ex: It help KO Pokemon that you can't reach, or an active one.
Empoleon in general will be seen a lot in the next Battle Roads, its partner will be random. If you played Empoleon at your Battle Roads, please post your results and if you would be so kind your deck list.
Thanks for your time!
Last edited:
