jjkkl
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Party Face.dek
Author: jjkkl
Title: Party Face
Date: 05/12/2011
Format: HGSS-on
Foreword
Okay, this time, I'm not talking about Gengar.
With the competitive format as HGSS-onwards, there’s going to be a plethora of exciting new decks, interesting format mentalities and a variety of different expectations and performances of tried-true strategies, card values, and abilities. What people can and cannot do, for example, is going to be determined by the wonderful varieties of new decks and new deck methods that will pop up. And, understandably, as archetypes fill out and we see as things become better or worse throughout the season, the major players will slowly start filling out as performance begins to take way and a causeway of new information will become our competitive Xanadu.
In the meantime, however, we continue to fight and hold and seek our way through the murk of the unknown, and while we can only hope and expect the best, not everything is going to be handed to us on a silver platter. Tried, test and true, and working here and there will determine who wins and who loses in the end, and thus, constancy of practice will decide the ultimate. But in the meantime, we need to deal with it. As one of my many methods of dealing with (alongside going to Wendy’s at midnight and yelling at my neighbour’s girlfriend for not muzzling that rabies-machine she calls a dog) things, I make random decks with the many, many Pokemon cards at my disposal. It’s somewhat therapeutic in a way, actually, but I can’t figure out why.
It is at the experimentation, indeed, and of the knowledge of the HGSS-on format, more importantly, that I have focused on a particular set of cards that are both unorthodox in delivery and capacity, and hopefully useful in ability. With that, most pompously and kindly at the same time (adverbs galore), I present Party Face, the deck that I had labelled hastily to differentiate from my more serious decks before realising that this deck was much better than my more serious decks. How unfortunate.
With the competitive format as HGSS-onwards, there’s going to be a plethora of exciting new decks, interesting format mentalities and a variety of different expectations and performances of tried-true strategies, card values, and abilities. What people can and cannot do, for example, is going to be determined by the wonderful varieties of new decks and new deck methods that will pop up. And, understandably, as archetypes fill out and we see as things become better or worse throughout the season, the major players will slowly start filling out as performance begins to take way and a causeway of new information will become our competitive Xanadu.
In the meantime, however, we continue to fight and hold and seek our way through the murk of the unknown, and while we can only hope and expect the best, not everything is going to be handed to us on a silver platter. Tried, test and true, and working here and there will determine who wins and who loses in the end, and thus, constancy of practice will decide the ultimate. But in the meantime, we need to deal with it. As one of my many methods of dealing with (alongside going to Wendy’s at midnight and yelling at my neighbour’s girlfriend for not muzzling that rabies-machine she calls a dog) things, I make random decks with the many, many Pokemon cards at my disposal. It’s somewhat therapeutic in a way, actually, but I can’t figure out why.
It is at the experimentation, indeed, and of the knowledge of the HGSS-on format, more importantly, that I have focused on a particular set of cards that are both unorthodox in delivery and capacity, and hopefully useful in ability. With that, most pompously and kindly at the same time (adverbs galore), I present Party Face, the deck that I had labelled hastily to differentiate from my more serious decks before realising that this deck was much better than my more serious decks. How unfortunate.
Decklist
Pokemon
Trainers, Supporters, and Stadiums
4 Super Scoop Up
2 Pokegear
2 Pokemon Communication
1 Switch
4 Team Rocket's Trickery
4 Seeker
4 Pokemon Collector
3 Judge
3 Professor Elm’s Training Method
2 Professor Oak's New Theory
1 Flower Shop Lady
1 Twins
2 Pokegear
2 Pokemon Communication
1 Switch
4 Team Rocket's Trickery
4 Seeker
4 Pokemon Collector
3 Judge
3 Professor Elm’s Training Method
2 Professor Oak's New Theory
1 Flower Shop Lady
1 Twins
Energy
Regarding the Decklist, it ended up being a very, very tight fit for everything. Much of the deck ended up being what could be taken out, what needed to be taken out, and what I could risk taking out. The main issue was not the idea of things needing to be put in, but rather what I could sacrifice taking out, and therefore, much of the list revolved around the experiences I had gotten by testing it against a variety of opponents of varying competence (some of which were stupidly good while others hilariously atrocious).
In summary and in consideration of the varying capabilities and abilities versus particular decks, I found out that the strategy is fairly effective against particular deck archetypes, and I will go into further detail as to why.
In summary and in consideration of the varying capabilities and abilities versus particular decks, I found out that the strategy is fairly effective against particular deck archetypes, and I will go into further detail as to why.
Card and Deck Analysis
The main thesis of the deck is lock. The lock, while we’re going to be losing three years of faithful Mesprit service, is still a viable strategy, I would argue, especially now that the lock, once against I argue, is in fact easier to implement in consideration of the HG-on rotation. The mechanic of locking down the opponent is a great and effective equalizer that, insofar as it is maintained, can be devastating regardless of the opponent’s deck archetype, and therefore a lock-based deck requires a significant amount of support to maintain that lock.
As such, the analysis will be split up into the two major focal areas of the lockdown. Within Party Face (serious face, please), I will focus on two major lock components: Slowking and Weavile
As such, the analysis will be split up into the two major focal areas of the lockdown. Within Party Face (serious face, please), I will focus on two major lock components: Slowking and Weavile
The First Lock: Slowking
Of the first major card to be looked at is Slowking. The Slowking line, running from Slowpoke, is an innocuous line that consists of Psychic type pokemon with extremely underwhelming attacks. The attack on Slowking is Psyshock, a truly underwhelming attack that does 30 damage and paralyzes the opponent on a coin flip, but only when a heads is flipped. Considering the energy line, it is evident that I do not plan nor never plan for Slowking to be used, and therefore the focus on Slowking is not on his attack.
Rather, it is his Poke-Power, Second Sight, which gives us the appropriate capacity to limit the opponent’s ability to set-up, return fire, recover, or prepare for any sort of plans that we may have in mind. Contingencies, therefore, become minimal when understanding precisely how we can brace for an opponent’s ability to combat us, and therefore understanding what we are facing requires understanding of what is to come. By eliminating the guessing of the opponent’s next top deck card, we can effectively utilise an effective lock.
Second Sight is a vital card because of its ability to search, on command regardless of prior condition and assuming no Special Conditions, for the player to look at the top 3 cards of his or her deck or his or her opponent’s deck. More importantly, it allows the player to rearrange it in a manner suitable for either the player or to hinder the opponent. Therefore, the main attraction of Slowking stands at the fact that it carries an extremely helpful and powerful Poke-Power.
Rather, it is his Poke-Power, Second Sight, which gives us the appropriate capacity to limit the opponent’s ability to set-up, return fire, recover, or prepare for any sort of plans that we may have in mind. Contingencies, therefore, become minimal when understanding precisely how we can brace for an opponent’s ability to combat us, and therefore understanding what we are facing requires understanding of what is to come. By eliminating the guessing of the opponent’s next top deck card, we can effectively utilise an effective lock.
Second Sight is a vital card because of its ability to search, on command regardless of prior condition and assuming no Special Conditions, for the player to look at the top 3 cards of his or her deck or his or her opponent’s deck. More importantly, it allows the player to rearrange it in a manner suitable for either the player or to hinder the opponent. Therefore, the main attraction of Slowking stands at the fact that it carries an extremely helpful and powerful Poke-Power.
The Second Lock: Weavile
Weavile becomes the second card, and undoubtedly the more important card of the two-stage lockdown. At 80 HP, Weavile carries an extremely underwhelming ability to stay alive, just like Slowking, and its attack is also terrible to say the least. Understanding that basic fact therefore leads us to the same conclusion: that the lock requires Weavile’s Claw Snag Poke-Power. This card is extremely important within the HGSS-on format precisely because of the fact that Rare Candy may not longer be used as a means to immediately evolve Pokemon that have been played on that turn, and that it no longer applies to Stage 1 evolutions.
Therefore, considering the stunted capacity of evolutionary lines, Claw Snag can be destructive to the unprepared and unknowing. Multiple Claw Snags, furthermore, can be a brutal Poke-Power for your opponent to combat, and with multiple benched Sneasels you can be able to efficiently deny your opponent of their ability to draw into very few to no effective cards. The very precision of Claw Snag, indeed, is a coming into play power, yes, but it effectively discards a card and can allows you to look at your opponent’s hand.
When used in conjunction with Slowking’s Second Sight power, a player can establish a long enough lock and discard to prevent the opponent from setting up capable counters to major attacks as well as stunt an opponent’s retaliatory position.
Therefore, considering the stunted capacity of evolutionary lines, Claw Snag can be destructive to the unprepared and unknowing. Multiple Claw Snags, furthermore, can be a brutal Poke-Power for your opponent to combat, and with multiple benched Sneasels you can be able to efficiently deny your opponent of their ability to draw into very few to no effective cards. The very precision of Claw Snag, indeed, is a coming into play power, yes, but it effectively discards a card and can allows you to look at your opponent’s hand.
When used in conjunction with Slowking’s Second Sight power, a player can establish a long enough lock and discard to prevent the opponent from setting up capable counters to major attacks as well as stunt an opponent’s retaliatory position.
The Muscle: Cinccino
Perhaps ironically, I have established the main muscle of the deck to be Cincinno. The reasoning behind this Pokemon is fairly simple, largely due to its second attack, Do The Wave. For those who are familiar with the old Wigglytuff from days yonder, they’ll immediately know how dangerous such an attack could be in such a format. Do The Wave is an attack that multiplies its potency by the number of Pokemon you have benched, meaning that the damage output ranges from zero (no bench) to 100 (full bench), considering no modifications to the damage output (Black Belts and Plus Powers, things of which are not included here). Do The Wave, therefore, can be a cheap, effective attack against unsuspecting opponents.
It is because of the large amount of benched Pokemon in this lockdown that Cinccino is used. Because the deck, in maintaining the lock, actively seeks to max out the bench (the more benched, the stronger the lock can become), Cinccino’s value jumps immensely, even regarding by default the fact that as a colourless-type this Pokemon can adapt energies regardless. It is for this reason that Cinccino was chosen as the main attacker.
Variety of the Muscle: You don’t need to use Cinccino. In fact, any Pokemon that fills the slot for you can appropriately be ordained ‘the muscle’, insofar as it fulfills the requirements for being able to work with a set of cards that focuses on disruption and locking. Cinccino, rather, was the most appropriate card for the situation and the players I had fought against: indeed, an appropriate alternative strategy was to use Drifblim or Zoroark as the alternative muscle, as both of them fulfill different but still effective means of fulfilling the win conditions (though differently so). Cinccino just happened to be the easiest and most flexible for me, but ultimately, this falls down to individual design.
It is because of the large amount of benched Pokemon in this lockdown that Cinccino is used. Because the deck, in maintaining the lock, actively seeks to max out the bench (the more benched, the stronger the lock can become), Cinccino’s value jumps immensely, even regarding by default the fact that as a colourless-type this Pokemon can adapt energies regardless. It is for this reason that Cinccino was chosen as the main attacker.
Variety of the Muscle: You don’t need to use Cinccino. In fact, any Pokemon that fills the slot for you can appropriately be ordained ‘the muscle’, insofar as it fulfills the requirements for being able to work with a set of cards that focuses on disruption and locking. Cinccino, rather, was the most appropriate card for the situation and the players I had fought against: indeed, an appropriate alternative strategy was to use Drifblim or Zoroark as the alternative muscle, as both of them fulfill different but still effective means of fulfilling the win conditions (though differently so). Cinccino just happened to be the easiest and most flexible for me, but ultimately, this falls down to individual design.
The Lines and the Unown
Slowpoke is helpful with its first attack, Rambunctious Party, which while I do not suggest using Slowpoke as a starting basic (due to its high retreat cost), is useful regardless in an opening position where you cannot do much else. Because putting basics onto the bench is part of the attack and part of the first turn, fetching a Sneasel may effectively begin the lock.
Minccino is the basic for Cinccino. Realistically, considering its poor attack stats and somewhat useless constitution, I must note my apprehension on any ideas of starting with this as the primary basic. If you can avoid it, do so.
Sneasel is the optimal starter. Without a retreat cost and with moderately effective attacks, Sneasel is a reliable starting position as you may simply retreat him and promote another card. Of the basics, Sneasel is your best bet.
Unown Dark is the last basic, and thus serves the best position with its Poke-Power, Dark. With Dark, you can search for a Darkness Energy card and place it in your hand. This is crucial for providing the player with energy, as through the Dark power, it becomes the only way to effective ‘search’ for Energy, as using Pokemon Collector thereby functions as a rudimentary Darkness Energy search card as well. Aside from its power, unfortunately, Unown Dark has little other value, and therefore should be approached with carefully. This card is, unfortunately, not an optimal starter, as that then implies you cannot benefit from its power.
Minccino is the basic for Cinccino. Realistically, considering its poor attack stats and somewhat useless constitution, I must note my apprehension on any ideas of starting with this as the primary basic. If you can avoid it, do so.
Sneasel is the optimal starter. Without a retreat cost and with moderately effective attacks, Sneasel is a reliable starting position as you may simply retreat him and promote another card. Of the basics, Sneasel is your best bet.
Unown Dark is the last basic, and thus serves the best position with its Poke-Power, Dark. With Dark, you can search for a Darkness Energy card and place it in your hand. This is crucial for providing the player with energy, as through the Dark power, it becomes the only way to effective ‘search’ for Energy, as using Pokemon Collector thereby functions as a rudimentary Darkness Energy search card as well. Aside from its power, unfortunately, Unown Dark has little other value, and therefore should be approached with carefully. This card is, unfortunately, not an optimal starter, as that then implies you cannot benefit from its power.
Learning to Love the Lock: Trainers and Supporters
Super Scoop Up is required for more than 4 Claw Snags. Super Scoop Up is the alternative to Seeker in this scenario, as it lets the player use a trainer, thereby not taking up the Supporter line. The downside, unfortunately, is the fact that Super Scoop Up does not have an innate guarantee: coin flips rue the day and an unlucky individual may not find much use from them. Aside from reusing coming into play powers, it may be a helpful way to heal the Muscle.
Pokegear is a choice that is not seen in many decks, mainly because it serves little purpose. However, considering the lack of Uxie and Claydol in the format, and considering the Supporter-heavy decklist I have supplied, Pokegear becomes a very important addition as it significantly increases my chances of ensuring a long and steady Team Rocket’s Trickery (TRT) or Seeker line. While the mileage may vary, Pokegear has served faithfully in many matches as it ensures that within a VS-Seeker void format there will be a way to continually string together Seekers for more Claw Snags.
Pokemon Communication are helpful quick game searchers, as they help find evolutionary lines when needed. Though there is not a massive focus on Communications, I have found that 2 is an appropriately flexible number for such a deck.
Switch is for Slowking/Slowpoke; trust me, it’s helped out alot. One, measly switch. I can’t believe I’m trying to defend it. D:
Team Rocket's Trickery while a mediocre draw card, Team Rocket’s Trickery is an insanely useful (and sometimes thematic) card for this deck. TRT requires that once you’ve drawn your two cards, your opponent discards one of his cards. While the opponent can choose, within a deck that runs multiple Weaviles for the Claw Snag power, it can catch people off guard. Additionally, eliminating and locking down an opponent’s ability to recover (such as getting rid of Junk Arms or Flower Shop Ladies) using Claw Snag can hamper their discarding or affecting their discarding decisions. TRT, therefore, is extremely helpful in this deck, as it provokes the continued discard lock.
Seeker, aside from being able to heal one of your own Pokemon, is wonderfully helpful in allowing you to re-use any powers without needing to worry about coin flips from Super Scoop Ups. Additionally, energy can be moved around by attachments and discard fodder can be found from an opponent raising his or her benched Pokemon. This is especially vital when considering them choosing to heal their own Pokemon (which has happened to me before) or whether you wish to slow down evolutionary lines.
Pokemon Collector snatches three basic Pokemon. Depending on your starters, than can be very, very helpful, as snatching three basic Pokemon can be instrumental in setting up a strong string of locks to prevent your opponent from setting up theirs appropriately as well.
Judge is a card that has significant mess capacity. Forcing both players to draw 4 cards, a well-timed Judge can lock down an opponent’s planned setup in the blink of an eye, as well as hinder their ability to act. ‘Good’ hands, furthermore, can be stunted by a well-timed Judge, and therefore this card is vital when disrupting an opponent, especially when there is no alternative to hinder their plans.
Professor Elm’s Training Method is the only reliable way to draw out Stage 1 Pokemon. With Professor Elm’s Training, evolutions can be brought out and the deck can be properly set up, allowing a quicker, more appropriate lockdown. Additionally, without Bebe’s Search, evolutions must now rely on PETM as the only reliable search supporter.
Professor Oak's New Theory is the refresh draw. Really only used when there isn’t a viable hand, I chose Professor Oak’s New Theory because Juniper forced me to discard one of my Weaviles and frankly, I could not forgive that (I thought we had something special, but apparently not).
Flower Shop Lady is for restoration and recovery, and unfortunately, the only effective means of restoration and recovery aside from Rescue Energy.
Twins – nothing like a good set of Twins. Used it once, loved it. Extremely helpful in recovering from a fast KO, as that can and does happen from donk-focused opponents. Pokegearing for a Twins can turn a game around, as it gives you the ability to search for two cards within your deck.
Pokegear is a choice that is not seen in many decks, mainly because it serves little purpose. However, considering the lack of Uxie and Claydol in the format, and considering the Supporter-heavy decklist I have supplied, Pokegear becomes a very important addition as it significantly increases my chances of ensuring a long and steady Team Rocket’s Trickery (TRT) or Seeker line. While the mileage may vary, Pokegear has served faithfully in many matches as it ensures that within a VS-Seeker void format there will be a way to continually string together Seekers for more Claw Snags.
Pokemon Communication are helpful quick game searchers, as they help find evolutionary lines when needed. Though there is not a massive focus on Communications, I have found that 2 is an appropriately flexible number for such a deck.
Switch is for Slowking/Slowpoke; trust me, it’s helped out alot. One, measly switch. I can’t believe I’m trying to defend it. D:
Team Rocket's Trickery while a mediocre draw card, Team Rocket’s Trickery is an insanely useful (and sometimes thematic) card for this deck. TRT requires that once you’ve drawn your two cards, your opponent discards one of his cards. While the opponent can choose, within a deck that runs multiple Weaviles for the Claw Snag power, it can catch people off guard. Additionally, eliminating and locking down an opponent’s ability to recover (such as getting rid of Junk Arms or Flower Shop Ladies) using Claw Snag can hamper their discarding or affecting their discarding decisions. TRT, therefore, is extremely helpful in this deck, as it provokes the continued discard lock.
Seeker, aside from being able to heal one of your own Pokemon, is wonderfully helpful in allowing you to re-use any powers without needing to worry about coin flips from Super Scoop Ups. Additionally, energy can be moved around by attachments and discard fodder can be found from an opponent raising his or her benched Pokemon. This is especially vital when considering them choosing to heal their own Pokemon (which has happened to me before) or whether you wish to slow down evolutionary lines.
Pokemon Collector snatches three basic Pokemon. Depending on your starters, than can be very, very helpful, as snatching three basic Pokemon can be instrumental in setting up a strong string of locks to prevent your opponent from setting up theirs appropriately as well.
Judge is a card that has significant mess capacity. Forcing both players to draw 4 cards, a well-timed Judge can lock down an opponent’s planned setup in the blink of an eye, as well as hinder their ability to act. ‘Good’ hands, furthermore, can be stunted by a well-timed Judge, and therefore this card is vital when disrupting an opponent, especially when there is no alternative to hinder their plans.
Professor Elm’s Training Method is the only reliable way to draw out Stage 1 Pokemon. With Professor Elm’s Training, evolutions can be brought out and the deck can be properly set up, allowing a quicker, more appropriate lockdown. Additionally, without Bebe’s Search, evolutions must now rely on PETM as the only reliable search supporter.
Professor Oak's New Theory is the refresh draw. Really only used when there isn’t a viable hand, I chose Professor Oak’s New Theory because Juniper forced me to discard one of my Weaviles and frankly, I could not forgive that (I thought we had something special, but apparently not).
Flower Shop Lady is for restoration and recovery, and unfortunately, the only effective means of restoration and recovery aside from Rescue Energy.
Twins – nothing like a good set of Twins. Used it once, loved it. Extremely helpful in recovering from a fast KO, as that can and does happen from donk-focused opponents. Pokegearing for a Twins can turn a game around, as it gives you the ability to search for two cards within your deck.
Power Up: Energy Cards
Rescue Energy is the recovery option for the possible KO. It allows a replenishing of the cards (Pokemon only) back into the player’s hand, allowing the string of Claw Snags to continue uninterrupted, or equally helpful, allow the player to continue the attack with the main Muscle.
Double Colorless Energy is for rebounding with Cinccino. These two energies slot may be changed depending on your Muscle, so you may approach this however you want.
And, well, there’s Darkness Energy. The Special adds extra damage, but the basic if recoverable. Hence, the 2-4 ratio.
The major thing to consider about energy in this makeup is that its dependant on what I draw into: the strategy focuses around what comes up, not what is sorely needed – hence, DCE and Rescue Energy are run in thinner lines as they become ‘helpfully held’ cards that are drawn into and augment the ability, but are not crucial to the functioning of the deck (since the deck revolves around locking down an opponent’s ability to retaliate anyways).
Double Colorless Energy is for rebounding with Cinccino. These two energies slot may be changed depending on your Muscle, so you may approach this however you want.
And, well, there’s Darkness Energy. The Special adds extra damage, but the basic if recoverable. Hence, the 2-4 ratio.
The major thing to consider about energy in this makeup is that its dependant on what I draw into: the strategy focuses around what comes up, not what is sorely needed – hence, DCE and Rescue Energy are run in thinner lines as they become ‘helpfully held’ cards that are drawn into and augment the ability, but are not crucial to the functioning of the deck (since the deck revolves around locking down an opponent’s ability to retaliate anyways).
Priorities and Strategy
The major points to note in regards to this deck is that momentum is key to maintaining the lock. Of that momentum, Slowking is a vital propagator of the continuous lockdown. The things that we need to remember are that:
By understanding and defining these points we can effectively round down oppositional decks and matchups closer to our area. Note that the aim and point of this deck is not to dish out significant amounts of damage or donk an opponent: rather, it is to prevent the opponent from getting the necessary cards to set up or retaliate in a draw-limited format. Doing that requires a continuous stream of careful, well-calculated and very important target spots. Knowing what to discard and when are extremely important concepts that players need to familiarize themselves with.
Do not hesitate to disrupt or lock aggressively: playing conservatively may be viable in some decks, and it may make sense in this HP-low deck, but by doing so gives the opponent more wriggle room for them to play more aggressively themselves. By playing aggressively, you back your opponent into a corner, and the means to play in such a manner is to be both liberal and numerous in any lockdowns and disruptions you may apply.
Discards take higher priority than shuffles: the HGSS-on format is limited in what it can do, and therefore you must be careful in how your opponent can recover. The thinner the lines your opponent will have, the better your chances of taking him out. Discarding limits his avenues of recovery and set-up, and therefore the best bets for taking out an enemy revolves around knowing when to Judge and knowing when to snag.
Discard strategically: prepared opponents will set up appropriately to counter you. Know your opponent’s plans by choosing the card that will do the most damage to you: for example, remember that a Stage 2 can no longer hide in a HGSS-on format because of the inability to use Rare Candy to circumvent a played-that-turn basic nor can it be used on a Stage 1 pokemon. This gives you effectively one turn to set up, so you should have a warning spot. If you are attentive and play strategically, then you may be able to stunt them from countering your strategy before it can happen.
The strategy revolves around a heavy discard lock: when it is gone, it is gone. Of the major things you should focus on and should take priority are:
Pokemon, despite the thought of it, are not that high of a priority: rather, you should aim for the logistics of the opponent’s deck set-up, and prevent them from getting ready that way. Indeed, if you see an opponent with a hand that screams ‘Discard this now’, then do not be afraid to circumvent the priority list and take what you feel is appropriate. The lock, at all costs, must continue.
It is then, at that moment, you can focus on maintaining your win condition, whatever this may be.
- Evolutions are slow, and Rare Candy is limited in its effectiveness
- Draw and Refresh cards are the largest threats to the lockdown
- The Claw Snag lock must be maintained to the best of the player’s ability
- Both Slowking and Weavile are intertwined in their effectiveness, and the ability of one to succeed cannot happen sufficiently without the other
- The win condition must be defined through the appropriate Muscle
By understanding and defining these points we can effectively round down oppositional decks and matchups closer to our area. Note that the aim and point of this deck is not to dish out significant amounts of damage or donk an opponent: rather, it is to prevent the opponent from getting the necessary cards to set up or retaliate in a draw-limited format. Doing that requires a continuous stream of careful, well-calculated and very important target spots. Knowing what to discard and when are extremely important concepts that players need to familiarize themselves with.
Do not hesitate to disrupt or lock aggressively: playing conservatively may be viable in some decks, and it may make sense in this HP-low deck, but by doing so gives the opponent more wriggle room for them to play more aggressively themselves. By playing aggressively, you back your opponent into a corner, and the means to play in such a manner is to be both liberal and numerous in any lockdowns and disruptions you may apply.
Discards take higher priority than shuffles: the HGSS-on format is limited in what it can do, and therefore you must be careful in how your opponent can recover. The thinner the lines your opponent will have, the better your chances of taking him out. Discarding limits his avenues of recovery and set-up, and therefore the best bets for taking out an enemy revolves around knowing when to Judge and knowing when to snag.
Discard strategically: prepared opponents will set up appropriately to counter you. Know your opponent’s plans by choosing the card that will do the most damage to you: for example, remember that a Stage 2 can no longer hide in a HGSS-on format because of the inability to use Rare Candy to circumvent a played-that-turn basic nor can it be used on a Stage 1 pokemon. This gives you effectively one turn to set up, so you should have a warning spot. If you are attentive and play strategically, then you may be able to stunt them from countering your strategy before it can happen.
The strategy revolves around a heavy discard lock: when it is gone, it is gone. Of the major things you should focus on and should take priority are:
- Recovery Cards such as Junk Arm, FSG, Revive, Fisherman, Rescue Energy and Energy Exchange
- Draw or Refresh Cards
- Energy Cards
Pokemon, despite the thought of it, are not that high of a priority: rather, you should aim for the logistics of the opponent’s deck set-up, and prevent them from getting ready that way. Indeed, if you see an opponent with a hand that screams ‘Discard this now’, then do not be afraid to circumvent the priority list and take what you feel is appropriate. The lock, at all costs, must continue.
It is then, at that moment, you can focus on maintaining your win condition, whatever this may be.
Techs
These are not ‘techs’, per se, but rather viable alternatives for workable cards. Some of them can be very useful in fulfilling distinct win conditions, so you can easily outfit them to be techs.
Zoroark is one of the mentioned alternatives, and indeed could be a very viable alter-card to use as an attack. A strong, capable Dark-type, Zoroark can speed up a bad setup with Nasty Plot or hit for big against stronger decks with Foul Play. Additionally, similar types allow Zoroark to, effectively, use existing Dark energies more effectively.
Drifblim was also mentioned as an alternative attacker, but functions as a possible tech as well. The ability to whisk away your opponent’s defending Pokemon makes not only attacking them easier (especially if the active is a much deadlier opponent than needed), but can set them back.
Ursaring Prime was one of the ones that I had found to be very situational, but also helpful in times of need. Hammer Arm complements Slowking’s ability quite well, given that with a careful choosing you can deny your opponent appropriate return attacks and thereby lock them out of retaliating against you. Of course, much of the issue that I ran across in regards to Ursaring Prime was the aim to accelerate, which could prove at times to be a difficult task, especially when recovering.
What about T-Tar Prime? Yeah, that could work, I would guess. I will be honest that of the many, many myriad face-ups, Tyranitar Prime was considered heavily, but that meant changing the set up to accommodate Rare Candy. While that is nice, the issue behind that is that including a Stage 2 with a disruption-heavy Supporter list edges the deck to focus on one or the other. I would rather, as much as many would likely disagree with me, stick to one strategy rather than try to pander to multiple strategies. That said, I am not registering anything wrong with Tyranitar Prime, but just that it would significantly change the list quite differently for it to run consistently.
Drifblim was also mentioned as an alternative attacker, but functions as a possible tech as well. The ability to whisk away your opponent’s defending Pokemon makes not only attacking them easier (especially if the active is a much deadlier opponent than needed), but can set them back.
Ursaring Prime was one of the ones that I had found to be very situational, but also helpful in times of need. Hammer Arm complements Slowking’s ability quite well, given that with a careful choosing you can deny your opponent appropriate return attacks and thereby lock them out of retaliating against you. Of course, much of the issue that I ran across in regards to Ursaring Prime was the aim to accelerate, which could prove at times to be a difficult task, especially when recovering.
What about T-Tar Prime? Yeah, that could work, I would guess. I will be honest that of the many, many myriad face-ups, Tyranitar Prime was considered heavily, but that meant changing the set up to accommodate Rare Candy. While that is nice, the issue behind that is that including a Stage 2 with a disruption-heavy Supporter list edges the deck to focus on one or the other. I would rather, as much as many would likely disagree with me, stick to one strategy rather than try to pander to multiple strategies. That said, I am not registering anything wrong with Tyranitar Prime, but just that it would significantly change the list quite differently for it to run consistently.
Matchups
Because the HGSS-on format is technically not in existence and highly in its infancy as of this time, I will refrain from theoretical matchups, and go with only those that I have run against, as well as list the matchup statistics for each and every matchup to ensure the best accuracy I can. These are matches that I have played against in an HGSS-on format, and thus mileage again may vary. Also, because I have no life, I tried the list out around 15 times per deck and its many variants.
Donphan Prime variants: 17 matches; 3 mulligans, 4 Wins (Straight Donphan), 4 Wins (tech’d Donphan and Machamp Variants), 9 losses – projection is 50-50
The Muscle was the major focal point. Discarding Donphans was easy enough, but the issue turned out to be precisely what was chosen in terms of the deck as to what was defined as a viable frontal attacker. Fighting-weak pokemon were extremely difficult to work with when facing Donphan, and attempts to tech in various water Pokemon proved ineffective at slowing Donphan down. The major strategy ended up being trying to prevent the opponent from setting a swarm, and thus the lock was crucial in ensuring that it was not broken. Seekers were the highest priority targets.
Reshiram variants: 22 matches; 4 mulligans, 6 wins (straight Reshiram with Emboar), 3 wins (Reshiram with Typhlosion), 13 losses – projection is 40-60
Cinccino, as Ignatious states, is a bad compatriot for it. Most successful wins came from Drifblim and Zoroark, believe it or not, in the form of whisking the opponent away, as a sustained lock on energies and energy recovery and a whisked away active did quite a bit of damage on their setup and Foul Play did much of the remainder. That said, the problem is mainly focused on preventing a complete setup, and therefore benched Weaviles much keep the discarding up, or else the deck gets lost behind.
Cinccino variants: 16 matches; 1 mulligan, 10 wins (a variety of Cinccino builds), 2 wins (straight Cinccino with heavy trainer balls), 4 losses – projection is 70-30
Maybe this is a mirror section? Regardless, Do The Wave can hurt when it gets set up, so the focus ends up on not getting set up. The interesting thing about Do The Wave is that when the first one hits, the lock circumvents the others. Teching in things such as Ditto and Lost Remover can harm Cinccino builds considerably, and depending on your muscle (in this case I had used Cinccino as well), you could quite quickly retaliate, and by locking, can do enough damage yourself.
Closing Thoughts
These are my closing thoughts. Riemann Zeta Hypothesis gogogo. That is all. Oh, and I’m not intending this to be BDIF or anywhere near it, so don’t bleat to me on that crux of argument, please.
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