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Winrar Starforce Deluxe
Name: Winrar Starforce Deluxe
Author: jjkkl
Format: MD-TR
Date: February 07, 2011
Note: This is a Fun-Competitive deck.
Foreword
I'm really trying to get away from playing Gengar. Honestly, I really am. Though, considering that we keep getting prints of Gengar and it keeps maintaining quality as a metagame-factor machine, there comes a time when it just becomes foolish to try and ignore working with a deck outright. Considering that I have been fooling around with Gengar since the Speedgar article, the potential of being called 'that guy posts nothing but Gengar lists' becomes a problem unless I decide to get my hoo-rah in gear and make something more exciting.
But, in all honesty, that is put on the backseat while I display my current run-through deck with the rest of the internet (or at least the sometimes virulent, rarely magnanimous community that is Pokegym). Therefore, without further ado, I present to you guys Winrar Starforce Deluxe, a deck that focuses on a mix of access denial, hand management, and ridiculous naming convention.
So what is WSD? The deck focuses on a very simple set of premises: focus on manipulating or managing Gengar Prime's Body and first attack as the major focal point in denying an opponent access to their Pokemon, while at the same time providing consistent moderate and flexible damage using Starmie. The two provide a combination that work fairly well and should really work as a major rogue deck, so I am somewhat shooting myself in the foot by posting this list here.
I will warn you: this deck is primarily for the enjoyment of being a callous idiot. If you have no idea on what to run, just run this idiot, because it is generally focused on playing against a dominant metagame with a degree of flexibility. It does well enough against the unprepared to act as a significant headache - at least, from what data I have gathered playing against other players at three in the morning after Poker Nights - as well as capable of denying enemy command and control of their own deck.
Obviously, I will show you why. Whether I can convince you is another matter that I will not bother to attempt.
Decklist
Pokemon
Trainers, Supporters, and Stadiums
Energy
This decklist is the current list that I use, primarily due to a variety of factors. Firstly, my metagame is small but contained, and the metagame outside the area I live is generally more varied. Of that, the main issues that I run into are a mix of Luxchomp and Vilegar, and then miscellaneous decks with tiny splashes of Gyarados. Secondly, I rarely, very rarely, get good opening hands, so a thicker Judge line has saved me before in countering my opponent's draws. Lastly, redundancy has played a big role in comeback games: originally my build focused on speed, but now I focus more on consistency in terms of maintaining consistent damage output.
That said, if you wish to make your own deck suited to your metagame, then you can essentially suit yourself by using a basic skeletal list:
Said list runs 44 cards, giving you 16 slots to fill in for you to modify according to your metagame. These 44 cards, I argue, are the most crucial cards to your deck, and if you run the rest of your deck with nothing but Unown 4, Pokedex, Uxies and Pokedrawers then you should technically still be able to run deck fine. It doesn't really matter what you put in, but rather what you hope to get out of it.
Don't quote me on clichés.
- 3 Staryu RR 83
3 Starmie LA 71
2 Gastly SF 62
2 Haunter SF 40
2 Gengar TR 94
1 Azelf LA 19
1 Crobat G PL 47
1 Dialga G PL 7
1 Dialga G Lv.X PL 122
Trainers, Supporters, and Stadiums
- 4 Cyrus's Conspiracy
3 Judge
4 Bebe's Search
3 Professor Oak's New Theory
2 Pokemon Collector
1 [Set of] Twins
1 Palmer's Contribution
4 PlusPower
3 Team Galactic's Invention G-105 Poke Turn
2 Junk Arm
1 Warp Point
1 Luxury Ball
1 Team Galactic's Invention G-109 SP Radar
3 Expert Belt
4 Broken Time-Space
Energy
- 4 Psychic Energy
3 Water Energy
This decklist is the current list that I use, primarily due to a variety of factors. Firstly, my metagame is small but contained, and the metagame outside the area I live is generally more varied. Of that, the main issues that I run into are a mix of Luxchomp and Vilegar, and then miscellaneous decks with tiny splashes of Gyarados. Secondly, I rarely, very rarely, get good opening hands, so a thicker Judge line has saved me before in countering my opponent's draws. Lastly, redundancy has played a big role in comeback games: originally my build focused on speed, but now I focus more on consistency in terms of maintaining consistent damage output.
That said, if you wish to make your own deck suited to your metagame, then you can essentially suit yourself by using a basic skeletal list:
- 3 Staryu RR
3 Starmie LA
2 Gastly SF
2 Haunter SF
2 Gengar TR
1 Dialga G
1 Dialga G Lv.X
- 4 Cyrus' Conspiracy
3 Bebe's Search
2 Judge
2 Pokemon Collector
1 Palmer's Contribution
- 4 Pluspower
2 Team Galactic's Invention G-105 Poke Turn
1 Luxury Ball
1 Team Galactic's Invention G-109 SP Radar
- 3 Expert Belt
- 4 Psychic Energy
3 Water Energy
Said list runs 44 cards, giving you 16 slots to fill in for you to modify according to your metagame. These 44 cards, I argue, are the most crucial cards to your deck, and if you run the rest of your deck with nothing but Unown 4, Pokedex, Uxies and Pokedrawers then you should technically still be able to run deck fine. It doesn't really matter what you put in, but rather what you hope to get out of it.
Don't quote me on clichés.
Card Analysis
I will be assuming some semblance of familiarity with decks and the major cards. They should be fairly evident as to what they do, so I will not attempt to outline everything in minute detail. Instead, I will focus more on the things that I believe to be prescient to the strategy as a whole, and exactly what cards are used for and why they differ.
The Starmie Lineup
Purpose The 'Starforce' of the name, primarily because Starmie's lineup functions as the muscle of the two slots. It's flexibility and ability to hit the multiple metagame dominators quickly allows Starmie to exert enough damage to any opponent quickly.
Staryu is the basic. It's the second-optimal starter, behind Gastly. The main reason why the Rising Rivals Staryu is used is to take advantage of an opponent that's faster than you. Cosmic Draw, in the chance that your opponent gets themselves started far before you, allows 3 draws. Swift, on the other hand, is a weak attack and isn't a massively important priority, but regardless at least provides some attack power. All in all, Staryu is the starter and should be treated as such. Whether it is in your starting hand or not is of little significance.
Starmie is the main attacker and the heavy hitter in this duo. The reason why Starmie is used is for three major reasons: it's attacks Star Boomerang and Core Flash, as well as its retreat cost. Initially I was hesitant to use Starmie particularly because of its weakness to Luxray GL, but after playtesting I found that the setup of 'Bright Look + Crobat G knockout' / 'Bright Look + Boundary Aura' happened far less often than I thought, boosting tolerance of Starmie to the extent that I can consider it a viable attack machine.
Now, the reasons why. Firstly, Star Boomerang does a mediocre 30 damage, but gives you the option of returning Starmie and all cards attached to your hand. For those who have played in the previous little few seasons, you may have remembered that another deck focuses on a similar mechanic: Shuppet. The ability to bring cards back into your hand allow a few things: healing and retreat, as well as the recycling of Pluspowers and Expert Belts to allow a more consistent 30 - 90 damage output. Admittedly, an opponent using Judge or Let Loose makes recycling as a focal strategy pointless. It is not for recycling, however, that Star Boomerang is used.
I will get into that later.
Secondly, Core Flash puts it above Shuppet and other attack-and-return cards. Starmie's Core Flash allows a solid 50 damage to any Pokemon on the opponent's field for 50 damage, done. While it is still susceptible to the effects of things like damage-dampening Metal Energy, a solid 50 means a much easier time to deal with Spiritomb, which can prove problematic to your deck strategy. Furthermore, the use of Core Flash gives your more flexibility, softening up your opponent's enemy field for a future Star Boomerang.
Thirdly, no retreat cost. The lack of a retreat cost allows movement on the battlefield, and when your main attacker is given a spot on the field and expected to fight against a metagame that can abuse its weakness, then the ability to retreat when you need to or want to makes it vital.
I run a 3-3 line because a 4-4 line was unneeded redundancy. While redundancy is what I generally apply in this deck, the use of Star Boomerang to get out of most issues negated the need for a 3-3 line.
The Gengar Prime Lineup
Gastly Stormfront is the optimal starter. Pitch Dark for no cost is the best lock-down you can use in this deck.
Haunter Stormfront is the secondary main. The reason why I chose him was for Smog. That's it. The other Haunters had their own benefits, but there were very little moments when I used Haunter, and Smog was helpful in doing damage for...well, nothing.
Gengar Prime is the main denial card. Gengar focuses on the use of coercive shutdown capacity, mainly by getting rid of an opponent's access to their Pokemon. In Winrar Starforce Deluxe, Gengar Prime is used for primarily 3 major reasons, which are its hefty HP, its empty retreat cost, and the attack Hurl Into Darkness. These three make Gengar Prime a flexible partner for Starmie.
Firstly, its large HP, while not massive comparatively to other Stage 2s, it formidable enough to last at least one strike from an opponent. That strike is vital for future setup of other Gengar Primes and other Starmies. Additionally, in the position of an ineffective Star Boomerang or non-Knockout Core Flash, then that HP proves to vitally important in minimizing damage to your Starmie team.
Secondly, the empty retreat cost gives Gengar Prime the ability to retreat without any major consequence. In an energy-starved deck such as WSD, lack of a retreat cost is vital. Retreating, furthermore, allowing an immediate Starmie bench setup with a retreat of Gengar Prime to instantly attach and attack. This, also, does not waste energy.
Thirdly, Hurl Into Darkness provides Gengar with the ability to look at an opponent's hand and Lost Zone Pokemon in their equal to the number of psychic energy attached to the attacking Gengar. This is important as it serves three important purposes: it allows your to fully gauge an effective strategy to counter your opponent's possible avenue of attack on their turn, it Lost Zones any stragglers they may pick up, and it lets you understand just how effective or ineffective a future Judge, Time Walk or Flash Bite may be. Hurl into Darkness, furthermore, can act as 'Judge fodder' - the drawing of 4 cards means that with luck, you may be able to Lost Zone a potentially important card.
The Starmie Lineup
Purpose The 'Starforce' of the name, primarily because Starmie's lineup functions as the muscle of the two slots. It's flexibility and ability to hit the multiple metagame dominators quickly allows Starmie to exert enough damage to any opponent quickly.
Staryu is the basic. It's the second-optimal starter, behind Gastly. The main reason why the Rising Rivals Staryu is used is to take advantage of an opponent that's faster than you. Cosmic Draw, in the chance that your opponent gets themselves started far before you, allows 3 draws. Swift, on the other hand, is a weak attack and isn't a massively important priority, but regardless at least provides some attack power. All in all, Staryu is the starter and should be treated as such. Whether it is in your starting hand or not is of little significance.
Starmie is the main attacker and the heavy hitter in this duo. The reason why Starmie is used is for three major reasons: it's attacks Star Boomerang and Core Flash, as well as its retreat cost. Initially I was hesitant to use Starmie particularly because of its weakness to Luxray GL, but after playtesting I found that the setup of 'Bright Look + Crobat G knockout' / 'Bright Look + Boundary Aura' happened far less often than I thought, boosting tolerance of Starmie to the extent that I can consider it a viable attack machine.
Now, the reasons why. Firstly, Star Boomerang does a mediocre 30 damage, but gives you the option of returning Starmie and all cards attached to your hand. For those who have played in the previous little few seasons, you may have remembered that another deck focuses on a similar mechanic: Shuppet. The ability to bring cards back into your hand allow a few things: healing and retreat, as well as the recycling of Pluspowers and Expert Belts to allow a more consistent 30 - 90 damage output. Admittedly, an opponent using Judge or Let Loose makes recycling as a focal strategy pointless. It is not for recycling, however, that Star Boomerang is used.
I will get into that later.
Secondly, Core Flash puts it above Shuppet and other attack-and-return cards. Starmie's Core Flash allows a solid 50 damage to any Pokemon on the opponent's field for 50 damage, done. While it is still susceptible to the effects of things like damage-dampening Metal Energy, a solid 50 means a much easier time to deal with Spiritomb, which can prove problematic to your deck strategy. Furthermore, the use of Core Flash gives your more flexibility, softening up your opponent's enemy field for a future Star Boomerang.
Thirdly, no retreat cost. The lack of a retreat cost allows movement on the battlefield, and when your main attacker is given a spot on the field and expected to fight against a metagame that can abuse its weakness, then the ability to retreat when you need to or want to makes it vital.
I run a 3-3 line because a 4-4 line was unneeded redundancy. While redundancy is what I generally apply in this deck, the use of Star Boomerang to get out of most issues negated the need for a 3-3 line.
The Gengar Prime Lineup
Gastly Stormfront is the optimal starter. Pitch Dark for no cost is the best lock-down you can use in this deck.
Haunter Stormfront is the secondary main. The reason why I chose him was for Smog. That's it. The other Haunters had their own benefits, but there were very little moments when I used Haunter, and Smog was helpful in doing damage for...well, nothing.
Gengar Prime is the main denial card. Gengar focuses on the use of coercive shutdown capacity, mainly by getting rid of an opponent's access to their Pokemon. In Winrar Starforce Deluxe, Gengar Prime is used for primarily 3 major reasons, which are its hefty HP, its empty retreat cost, and the attack Hurl Into Darkness. These three make Gengar Prime a flexible partner for Starmie.
Firstly, its large HP, while not massive comparatively to other Stage 2s, it formidable enough to last at least one strike from an opponent. That strike is vital for future setup of other Gengar Primes and other Starmies. Additionally, in the position of an ineffective Star Boomerang or non-Knockout Core Flash, then that HP proves to vitally important in minimizing damage to your Starmie team.
Secondly, the empty retreat cost gives Gengar Prime the ability to retreat without any major consequence. In an energy-starved deck such as WSD, lack of a retreat cost is vital. Retreating, furthermore, allowing an immediate Starmie bench setup with a retreat of Gengar Prime to instantly attach and attack. This, also, does not waste energy.
Thirdly, Hurl Into Darkness provides Gengar with the ability to look at an opponent's hand and Lost Zone Pokemon in their equal to the number of psychic energy attached to the attacking Gengar. This is important as it serves three important purposes: it allows your to fully gauge an effective strategy to counter your opponent's possible avenue of attack on their turn, it Lost Zones any stragglers they may pick up, and it lets you understand just how effective or ineffective a future Judge, Time Walk or Flash Bite may be. Hurl into Darkness, furthermore, can act as 'Judge fodder' - the drawing of 4 cards means that with luck, you may be able to Lost Zone a potentially important card.
The Techs
Azelf, amusingly, can attack. A Psychic Energy makes Azelf a bad starter, rather than a horrible one. Indeed, while it is still difficult to get your hand on a Psychic Energy in your opening hand, a Lock Up donk is possible against Unown Q (which has happened, amusingly enough).
Crobat G is used largely for Flash Bite and free retreat. The Flash Bite is helpful in situations of easy prizes either using Gengar Prime or Starmie, as well as provides to be a useful wall when you are trying to figure out what to do. When you have no idea on how to proceed, promote Crobat G and think. Depending on your opponent, if you lose Crobat G, he's not a massive loss, while if there was no KO taken, then you need not worry about losing energy to retreat him.
Dialga G Level. X is the primary tech in the deck, and is used largely to minimize the effect of enemy Vileplumes and Spiritombs when there are little alternatives. Dialga G Level. X's Pokebody, Time Crystal, plays a self-defeating role in WSD if played poorly, so do not expect to rely solely on him to get you through your day. Rather, try to adapt with Dialga G Level. X by tactical use of Poke-turns, Pluspowers, Experts and all the manner of things to ensure that careful KO is worth it. Dialga G, on the other hand, is simply used to level up. Don't even bother attacking with him.
Why no Uxie? I eschewed Uxie for two major reasons: Firstly, my opponent tends to use him as a free prize, and while Azelf tends to be the same, I find that drawing a few extra cards are not as helpful as drawing that much-needed prize card (especially against Gengar-Vileplume: I will sacrifice them taking an Azelf so I can get my Dialga G Level. X out to slow them down). Secondly, I have different alternative draw cards: Professor Oak's Theory, for example, is extremely helpful in additional draw power. I have never, frankly, run into a crisis of 'need more cards'. That said, I am not to discredit Uxie, so if you wish to play Uxie, go ahead. I am simply saying that I myself am not so worried about it, since I have had no need for it in WSD.
Crobat G is used largely for Flash Bite and free retreat. The Flash Bite is helpful in situations of easy prizes either using Gengar Prime or Starmie, as well as provides to be a useful wall when you are trying to figure out what to do. When you have no idea on how to proceed, promote Crobat G and think. Depending on your opponent, if you lose Crobat G, he's not a massive loss, while if there was no KO taken, then you need not worry about losing energy to retreat him.
Dialga G Level. X is the primary tech in the deck, and is used largely to minimize the effect of enemy Vileplumes and Spiritombs when there are little alternatives. Dialga G Level. X's Pokebody, Time Crystal, plays a self-defeating role in WSD if played poorly, so do not expect to rely solely on him to get you through your day. Rather, try to adapt with Dialga G Level. X by tactical use of Poke-turns, Pluspowers, Experts and all the manner of things to ensure that careful KO is worth it. Dialga G, on the other hand, is simply used to level up. Don't even bother attacking with him.
Why no Uxie? I eschewed Uxie for two major reasons: Firstly, my opponent tends to use him as a free prize, and while Azelf tends to be the same, I find that drawing a few extra cards are not as helpful as drawing that much-needed prize card (especially against Gengar-Vileplume: I will sacrifice them taking an Azelf so I can get my Dialga G Level. X out to slow them down). Secondly, I have different alternative draw cards: Professor Oak's Theory, for example, is extremely helpful in additional draw power. I have never, frankly, run into a crisis of 'need more cards'. That said, I am not to discredit Uxie, so if you wish to play Uxie, go ahead. I am simply saying that I myself am not so worried about it, since I have had no need for it in WSD.
Trainers, Supporters, and Stadiums
I'm going to be honest: I really hated writing this part. to prevent atrocious image-spam, I have linked all the images within the names themselves.
Cyrus's Conspiracy is used to search for a Supporter, Energy, and a Team Galactic's trainer. The latter two are the main benefits, and it is so important that it warranted 4 lines of Cyrus. Energy control is important, and while attacking effectively only requires one, it is getting the correct energy at the correct time that allows the deck to work. As such, rather than relying on iffy probability, Cyrus is used as a means to get energy, set up future disruption and also get Team Galactic's Poke-Turns or SP Radars. This support is indefinitely important to the working mechanics of the deck.
Judge is the main disruption tool. Used primarily to cut down on the size of an opponent's hand, a well-timed Judge can be devastating to future build-up. Judge acts as also an effective draw card, as it shuffles your hand into your deck and effectively draws a new set. In this light, Judge plays a role in refreshing an immobile hand while disrupting your opponent's. Lastly, a Judge may make an early turn reverse the tide. Considering the low basic count, it is inevitable that you will encounter situations where your opponent draws into more cards. A Judge effectively disrupts that advantage by cutting down the hand size. It is because of its usefulness in disruption that the Judge is played in a large set.
Bebe's Search is self-explanatory: search for a Pokemon, any Pokemon, and put it in your hand. In a trade-off, you place a card from your hand into the top of your deck. This is important to get that one Pokemon you need, or if you are locked under a trainer lock and cannot get Dialga G out using SP Radar. If you really need me to explain further, please stop reading this article.
Professor Oak's New Theory is the primary draw power. It shuffles for 6, which can be crucial to get new cards or a new hand. The reason why I chose this rather than Uxie is because Professor Oak's New Theory cannot be locked, and WSD runs little to no discard engine to make Engineer's Adjustments or Volkner's a viable alternative.[/b]
Pokemon Collector gets you Staryu, Dialga, and Gastly. Simple.
Twins ensures that in the situation where you are behind in prizes, which is perfectly reasonable position, you may use Twins to turn the tide or return. I run one primarily since you can search for it using Cyrus if you are in a position where you need it.
Palmer's Contribution allows you to bring back energy, Staryu, Starmie, and Gastly, Haunter, Gengar Prime, etc. It's fairly self-explanatory, and the reason why I use this rather than Flower Shop Lady Fisherman is because Gengar Prime will be a meatshield, and thus requires a way to return back into your deck.
Judge is the main disruption tool. Used primarily to cut down on the size of an opponent's hand, a well-timed Judge can be devastating to future build-up. Judge acts as also an effective draw card, as it shuffles your hand into your deck and effectively draws a new set. In this light, Judge plays a role in refreshing an immobile hand while disrupting your opponent's. Lastly, a Judge may make an early turn reverse the tide. Considering the low basic count, it is inevitable that you will encounter situations where your opponent draws into more cards. A Judge effectively disrupts that advantage by cutting down the hand size. It is because of its usefulness in disruption that the Judge is played in a large set.
Bebe's Search is self-explanatory: search for a Pokemon, any Pokemon, and put it in your hand. In a trade-off, you place a card from your hand into the top of your deck. This is important to get that one Pokemon you need, or if you are locked under a trainer lock and cannot get Dialga G out using SP Radar. If you really need me to explain further, please stop reading this article.
Professor Oak's New Theory is the primary draw power. It shuffles for 6, which can be crucial to get new cards or a new hand. The reason why I chose this rather than Uxie is because Professor Oak's New Theory cannot be locked, and WSD runs little to no discard engine to make Engineer's Adjustments or Volkner's a viable alternative.[/b]
Pokemon Collector gets you Staryu, Dialga, and Gastly. Simple.
Twins ensures that in the situation where you are behind in prizes, which is perfectly reasonable position, you may use Twins to turn the tide or return. I run one primarily since you can search for it using Cyrus if you are in a position where you need it.
Palmer's Contribution allows you to bring back energy, Staryu, Starmie, and Gastly, Haunter, Gengar Prime, etc. It's fairly self-explanatory, and the reason why I use this rather than Flower Shop Lady Fisherman is because Gengar Prime will be a meatshield, and thus requires a way to return back into your deck.
PlusPowers are damage output magnifiers. Attach them to Starmie, use Star Boomerang, and then return Starmie to your hand, and you can essentially reuse them rather than discarding them, given that the Pluspowers are no longer in play. Four Pluspowers can add 40 damage to Starmie's attack, allowing you to hit harder and more frequently.
Team Galactic's Invention G-105 Poke Turn allows you to bring up one of your SP Pokemon into your hand. This allows you to prevent Dialga from dying or to allow additional Flash Bites with Crobat G.
Junk Arm lets you Luxury Ball or Poke Turn like a madman. Once you have a set up Starmie and Gengar Prime, you shouldn't worry too much about retrieval, so Junk Arm allows you to focus more on reusing trainers such as Poke Turn or Warp Point.
Warp Point switches your Active Pokemon and your opponent's Active. Considering the lack of retreat evident in the deck (save for Dialga G), Warp Point doesn't affect you much while maximizing disrupting your opponent.
Luxury Ball lets your search. Except for Dialga G Level. X. Everything else is fair game: have at it, 'hoss.
Team Galactic's Invention G-109 SP Radar searches for Crobat G or Dialga G. This is extremely important when you Cyrus, as it allows you to set up your turn more efficiently and effectively, given that a single Cyrus can get you started on hitting for 60 (Flash Core with a Flash Bite), which doesn't seem like much, but is important in an early game.
Expert Belt are run in groups of three, primarily to maximize drawing into them. Considering that I despise Department Store Girl with a passion, a large number of Experts Belts are handy in getting one quicker, allowing more damage to be inflicted earlier.
Broken Time-Space are used for evolution. Evolving the 3-3 Starmie line and the 2-2-2 Gengar Prime line require an extremely redundant BTS system. As such, to maximize your drawing of such a card, I have run 4. I use BTS over Rare Candy for a few reasons: firstly, it cannot be locked by Vileplume or Spiritomb. Secondly, it allows immediate follow-up Star Boomerang chains insofar as it stays in play. Lastly, it works as good Junk Arm fodder in a time of emergency. The only downside is that it cannot skip lines, which is not as big of an issue (Cyrus a Bebe's) and that it cannot be used effectively against Flygon (which is not a metagame threat in my area, so your mileage may vary).
Team Galactic's Invention G-105 Poke Turn allows you to bring up one of your SP Pokemon into your hand. This allows you to prevent Dialga from dying or to allow additional Flash Bites with Crobat G.
Junk Arm lets you Luxury Ball or Poke Turn like a madman. Once you have a set up Starmie and Gengar Prime, you shouldn't worry too much about retrieval, so Junk Arm allows you to focus more on reusing trainers such as Poke Turn or Warp Point.
Warp Point switches your Active Pokemon and your opponent's Active. Considering the lack of retreat evident in the deck (save for Dialga G), Warp Point doesn't affect you much while maximizing disrupting your opponent.
Luxury Ball lets your search. Except for Dialga G Level. X. Everything else is fair game: have at it, 'hoss.
Team Galactic's Invention G-109 SP Radar searches for Crobat G or Dialga G. This is extremely important when you Cyrus, as it allows you to set up your turn more efficiently and effectively, given that a single Cyrus can get you started on hitting for 60 (Flash Core with a Flash Bite), which doesn't seem like much, but is important in an early game.
Expert Belt are run in groups of three, primarily to maximize drawing into them. Considering that I despise Department Store Girl with a passion, a large number of Experts Belts are handy in getting one quicker, allowing more damage to be inflicted earlier.
Broken Time-Space are used for evolution. Evolving the 3-3 Starmie line and the 2-2-2 Gengar Prime line require an extremely redundant BTS system. As such, to maximize your drawing of such a card, I have run 4. I use BTS over Rare Candy for a few reasons: firstly, it cannot be locked by Vileplume or Spiritomb. Secondly, it allows immediate follow-up Star Boomerang chains insofar as it stays in play. Lastly, it works as good Junk Arm fodder in a time of emergency. The only downside is that it cannot skip lines, which is not as big of an issue (Cyrus a Bebe's) and that it cannot be used effectively against Flygon (which is not a metagame threat in my area, so your mileage may vary).
Deck Strategy
Earlier I stated the deck served three purposes: access denial, hand management and ridiculous naming convention. I also promised I would explain to you why so. As someone who usually doesn't break his promises, most of all not to the anonymous hivemind that is the internet, I will attempt to explain it. Winrar Starforce Deluxe focuses on denying your opponent access to his Pokemon by Lost Zoning their attackers.
The main thing I found in the metagame were the prevalence of small numbers of main attacker lines: 3-1 DialgaChomps, 2-2 LuxChomps, thin Machamp Prime lines, etc., which all focus on retrieving them from the discard pile after their knockout. The strategy of WSD, therefore, is not knocking out an opponent quick enough or often enough. It is not to trade blows. Rather, it is to denial further access after a knockout of an opponent's Pokemon. The low energy cost, flexible retreat costs, and flexible attacks allow this to come to fruition. Access Denial occurs through two major avenues of attack:
It is not the aim of this card, I repeat, to trade prizes or trade blows with your opponent: instead, it is to lock down and shut off their ability to return attacks, and therefore, your aim is to disrupt, cause damage, and then ultimately cripple your opponent by denying him or her access to their Pokemon. This can and must be done through the mechanic of exploiting the Lost Zone.
This deck, therefore, is not synonymous with employing Lost World or doing a lot of damage: that is all a means to an end, which is to ensure your opponent cannot sufficiently bring up another threat again by permanently eliminating the threat their Pokemon pose.
As such, the synergy between Starmie and Gengar Prime focus on a chain that must be maintained. You either need a consistent Starmie chain or be prepared to deal with an enemy Judge or Let Loose. You must also ensure Gengar Prime is active and Catastrophe is not shut-down, let you deal with an opponent's return attack.
Locks can be maintained by Gastly, and enemy locks from Spiritomb and Vileplume can be countered with enough deft and preparation. Remember exactly why the lock is threatening in the first place. In this case, it is preventing your use of Pluspowers and Expert Belts. Locks can be circumvented (not always) by having Dialga G on your bench.
For example, a method I have used before was to promote Dialga G and Level him Up. This puts Time Crystal into effect, allowing you to attach Pluspowers and Expert Belts to a Benched Starmie. You may then retreat Dialga G Level. X by Poke-Turning him, which gets rid of Time Crystal, and then you may place down Dialga on your bench, upon which you may promote Starmie and Star Boomerang, retreating him back to your hand, doing damage, and if you promote Gengar Prime, you may use Catastrophe to full effect. While it seems like many steps, it can be acquired using preparation (this can be done all in one turn with a Cyrus, presuming you have a Dialga already benched and Dialga G. Level X in your hand or a Poke-Turn in your hand).
You must, therefore, remember the basic tenet: you will not be able to outspeed, outpower, or outmaneuver your opponent. However, you will be able to flexibly maneuver to keep up your pace with them, and when it comes to attacking, the deck is capable of sealing the variety of abilities available to them.
The main thing I found in the metagame were the prevalence of small numbers of main attacker lines: 3-1 DialgaChomps, 2-2 LuxChomps, thin Machamp Prime lines, etc., which all focus on retrieving them from the discard pile after their knockout. The strategy of WSD, therefore, is not knocking out an opponent quick enough or often enough. It is not to trade blows. Rather, it is to denial further access after a knockout of an opponent's Pokemon. The low energy cost, flexible retreat costs, and flexible attacks allow this to come to fruition. Access Denial occurs through two major avenues of attack:
- Using Gengar Prime's Hurl Into Darkness attack to Lost Zone any possible Pokemon in the opponent's hand, particularly against unwary, inexperienced, or unprepared opponents.
- Using Starmie's Star Boomerang to attack the active, knocking them out. Then, you use the special function of the attack - the return - to bring back Starmie into your hand. Doing so allows you to promote Gengar Prime, which allows you to activate it's Poke-Body, Catastrophe:
body:
As long as Gengar is your Active Pokemon, if any of your opponent's Pokemon would be Knocked Out, put that Pokemon in the Lost Zone instead of discarding. (Discard all cards attached to that Pokemon)
It is not the aim of this card, I repeat, to trade prizes or trade blows with your opponent: instead, it is to lock down and shut off their ability to return attacks, and therefore, your aim is to disrupt, cause damage, and then ultimately cripple your opponent by denying him or her access to their Pokemon. This can and must be done through the mechanic of exploiting the Lost Zone.
This deck, therefore, is not synonymous with employing Lost World or doing a lot of damage: that is all a means to an end, which is to ensure your opponent cannot sufficiently bring up another threat again by permanently eliminating the threat their Pokemon pose.
As such, the synergy between Starmie and Gengar Prime focus on a chain that must be maintained. You either need a consistent Starmie chain or be prepared to deal with an enemy Judge or Let Loose. You must also ensure Gengar Prime is active and Catastrophe is not shut-down, let you deal with an opponent's return attack.
Locks can be maintained by Gastly, and enemy locks from Spiritomb and Vileplume can be countered with enough deft and preparation. Remember exactly why the lock is threatening in the first place. In this case, it is preventing your use of Pluspowers and Expert Belts. Locks can be circumvented (not always) by having Dialga G on your bench.
For example, a method I have used before was to promote Dialga G and Level him Up. This puts Time Crystal into effect, allowing you to attach Pluspowers and Expert Belts to a Benched Starmie. You may then retreat Dialga G Level. X by Poke-Turning him, which gets rid of Time Crystal, and then you may place down Dialga on your bench, upon which you may promote Starmie and Star Boomerang, retreating him back to your hand, doing damage, and if you promote Gengar Prime, you may use Catastrophe to full effect. While it seems like many steps, it can be acquired using preparation (this can be done all in one turn with a Cyrus, presuming you have a Dialga already benched and Dialga G. Level X in your hand or a Poke-Turn in your hand).
You must, therefore, remember the basic tenet: you will not be able to outspeed, outpower, or outmaneuver your opponent. However, you will be able to flexibly maneuver to keep up your pace with them, and when it comes to attacking, the deck is capable of sealing the variety of abilities available to them.
Tech Cards
Of what viable techs that came to mind, only three really stuck out, largely due to the basic structure of the list and its restrictions. As such, I will devote minimal attention to these techs, predominantly since the strategy is so straightforward in its goals that there is little you should really focus on other than the main lines. As such, I have provided a few viable techs that have worked for me in the past, though their benefits were strongly situational.
Ampharos PL,
Frankly, I have had moments where Ampharos was a helpful addition in locking down enemy decks, but the main problem was Uxie. Luxchomp is fast enough as it is without needing to try and outspeed it, so adding in Ampharos with the intent of 'slowing it down' is not the point of the card. Rather, it is to minimize the chances of cards such as Bright Look or Healing Breath to taking full effect in those choice moments when you can risk them not having a Poke-Turn. It's a heavy risk, but it paid off intermittently enough for me to consider Ampharos' use. Considering that very little in WSD relies on powers (save for the occasional Setup), I would urge consideration for its teching in. As per my suggestion, a 1-0-1 (Mareep-Flaaffy-Ampharos) line is fine if you opt to implement more rare candies, or a 1-1-1 line is fine if you wish to focus more on BTS (or if you're paranoid).
Exploud SV,
Exploud is one of those interesting cards where everyone tells to tech in if they're worried about weakness, but nobody does. Despite the persistent paradigm of 'tech-in but not really' that seems to stigmatize this card's reputation, a 1-0-1 Exploud line with a thick rare candy line is actually quite handy in a position against Luxchomp. Mind, I did lose two Starmies before getting Exploud set up (which was likely indicative that something was wrong), but when I did get it set up Exploud did a nice job in keep the enemy's damage in check. Dialga G does a number on this card with Time Crystal, so this is really dependent on your metagame.
Drifblim SF,
This card has saved my life many, many times in a WSD speed build (remember that 4-4-4-4 speed build I suggested earlier in a tone of affable mockery? I actually tried it out). Lifting is an immensely handy attack when you simply do not have the means to set up, and if you can last an enemy onslaught, then a single Lifting can last you the force needed to tank out the entire game. It's ability to search, attach, drop and everything in between makes Drifblim extremely handy, and even moreso considering that should you get into a position where you cannot risk a wall, you may retreat it at no cost. To be frank, despite me not putting it in the list, I strongly recommend Drifblim if you want to play the deck consistently right from the getgo. It aids massively in setup.
Tested Matchup Results
Considering I despise numbers, I will use the 'unfavourable' and 'favourable' scale, but know that this is mainly from my experience: opponents may be of varying deck builds, techs and varieties, which can make it easier or more difficult for you to counter or deal with.
LuxChomp: Generally Unfavourable
If you are extremely worried, then tech in a Machamp, or a Donphan, or something along those lines. LuxChomp, from what I have played, will be able to take a few prizes if they set up sufficiently before you can, but the focus is not to use Starmie as a front. Instead, focus on Gengar Prime swarm and hurling your opponent as often and as soon as possible. Judge will play a vital role in combating them, and considering the reduced need for Core Flash, you may be able to stack more energy on Gengar Prime to hurl more Pokemon into Darkness.
The main issue revolves around weakness: Luxray GL'sability to Bright Look and then knock out Starmie in one-shot proves to be a dangerous opponent, so you are fighting the uphill disruption battle here. If you can hurl quickly enough, you may be able to limit access to one of their Level X's through Lost Zoning. At that moment, the match becomes significantly much more manageable. If you see an opening to use a Star Boomerang-Catastrophe chain, take it. Every Lost Zoned Pokemon counts, and at the end of the day, if you're really worried, tech in a Mewtwo to wall.
The main issue revolves around weakness: Luxray GL'sability to Bright Look and then knock out Starmie in one-shot proves to be a dangerous opponent, so you are fighting the uphill disruption battle here. If you can hurl quickly enough, you may be able to limit access to one of their Level X's through Lost Zoning. At that moment, the match becomes significantly much more manageable. If you see an opening to use a Star Boomerang-Catastrophe chain, take it. Every Lost Zoned Pokemon counts, and at the end of the day, if you're really worried, tech in a Mewtwo to wall.
Gyarados: Hilariously favourable if you lucksack, even to generally-unfavourable if you're not
I'm making this distinction since Gyarados depends on Magikarp. Hence, your strategy focuses on eliminating Magikarp by Hurling it into darkness. If you can get one Magikarp into their Lost Zone, then you effectively cut off a significant portion of their might, and subsequent KOs become much more easy. Star Boomerang has, in the past, proven to be extremely valuable as a tactic to me against unaware Gyarados players. Essentially I have Star Boomeranged for 70-80 damage, promoted a Crobat G, have them knock it out, and then promote a Gastly to evolve it into Haunter and Gengar using Broken Time Space. This allowed me to retreat Gengar Prime after putting my original Starmie down, hitting against before pulling it back up to promote Gengar Prime to activate Catastrophe.
I use the term 'lucksack' to describe the delicious situation where a few factors fall in your favour: you have the hand, or a means to get it. In other words, a fast evolution and energy, and considering the redundancy lines and 4 BTS, is completely possible. Secondly, your opponent Impersonates for Pokemon Collector or another searching card. Lastly, he presumes, from your Gastly, that you are playing Gengar-Vileplume. These factors have happened before, and can be quick to end a possibly dangerous game. In all other scenarios, trading blows with Gyarados is possible, as it retains minimal bench pull (even with a Luxray GL tech), so your knockouts are much more dangerous than theirs, despite the damage output.
I use the term 'lucksack' to describe the delicious situation where a few factors fall in your favour: you have the hand, or a means to get it. In other words, a fast evolution and energy, and considering the redundancy lines and 4 BTS, is completely possible. Secondly, your opponent Impersonates for Pokemon Collector or another searching card. Lastly, he presumes, from your Gastly, that you are playing Gengar-Vileplume. These factors have happened before, and can be quick to end a possibly dangerous game. In all other scenarios, trading blows with Gyarados is possible, as it retains minimal bench pull (even with a Luxray GL tech), so your knockouts are much more dangerous than theirs, despite the damage output.
Regigigas: Slightly Favourable and Even; Even to Slightly-Unfavourable if you play Cetra's modified godforsaken Disruption-Gigas
Power lockdown is of minimal effectiveness against WSD, so the focal point is preventing a devastating Giga Blaster. Aim to Hurl into darkness your opponent's level. X by hoping your opponent is presuming you are playing Vile-Gar or some other ridiculousness such as that. If worse comes to worst, try to develop up a bench and attempt to trade blows: if you can trade blows and knock out a Gigas X with Catastrophe in effect, you can hurt your opponent enough to prevent him from building up another: such lines are thin.
VileGar: Even to Slightly Favourable if you play a series of steps; Unslightly favourable if you mess up royally.
Enemy Gengars do not have enough attack power, and a Core Flash can make short work of a walling Spiritomb. The main threat is when they get a Vileplume set up, however, and you are unable to rely on a Starmie Star Boomerang chain to get you out of trouble. At that moment, it is advisable to focus on the chain: Dialga and Dialga G Level. X, and attempt to lock and turn trainers in the sequence that I had used in the Strategy section of this article. The main upside is that aside from Crobat G and Azelf, none of the WSD rely on powers, minimizing the effect of an enemy Shadow Room, and with a consistent chain of Star Boomerang and a significant dump of Junk Arms, you can minimize the damage if you get desperate.
Watch out for Gengar Level X's Level Down, as it can prove annoying to deal with when you need to have control over Dialga G, though technically it shouldn't be a problem as you only have Dialga G Level. X on your active anyways. Unlike the majority of other metagame giants, VileGar is one of the few decks that you do have a chance of trading blows on a regular basis with, as a a Judge can cause significant problems on their end and minimizing Poltergeist damage on yours.
Watch out for Gengar Level X's Level Down, as it can prove annoying to deal with when you need to have control over Dialga G, though technically it shouldn't be a problem as you only have Dialga G Level. X on your active anyways. Unlike the majority of other metagame giants, VileGar is one of the few decks that you do have a chance of trading blows on a regular basis with, as a a Judge can cause significant problems on their end and minimizing Poltergeist damage on yours.
Machamp and Machamp Prime: Even to Slightly Unfavourable - depends on who gets to use their trainers first
Machamp can be a problem if you make it one. Machamp Prime's Fighting Tag, combined with Seekers, can make them night unkillable, but for the strategy to work they rely on Broken Time Space in effect. Likewise, you may work under the assumption of a constant Broken Time Space. Aim to Hurl in the beginning, while building up a Starmie chain. Focus on Star Boomeranging your opponent enough so that you can get at least one Machamp knocked out. A full fledged Starmie hits for 90, pushing a two-hit to 180, which is enough to knock out most threats, but requires that you wall with Gengar Prime to survive at least one attack.
Furthermore, you may be facing Judges or a Let Loose. If so, immediately focus on Professor Oak's New Theory rather than Judge disruption to rebuild your Starmies. Do not play conservatively against a Machamp player: you'll only be left in the dust and pushed into a corner. Play aggressively, and aim to trade blows: they may take prize cards faster, but yours will ultimately be more damaging to their strategy.
Furthermore, you may be facing Judges or a Let Loose. If so, immediately focus on Professor Oak's New Theory rather than Judge disruption to rebuild your Starmies. Do not play conservatively against a Machamp player: you'll only be left in the dust and pushed into a corner. Play aggressively, and aim to trade blows: they may take prize cards faster, but yours will ultimately be more damaging to their strategy.
Scizor Prime: Even, though slightly favourable considering your lack of special requirements to swarm
Scizor Prime is fast. And swarms. Both are impediments, but the latter is worse. This is primarily because your focus is access denial: a redundant attack line minimizes the effect and value of each of your knockouts. The only possible way is to trade blows, as Scizor itself is flexible enough to take multiple blows and still swarm. As such, the battle becomes a trading of blows, and Starmie's ability to maintain a near infinite chain of Star Boomerangs puts it above Scizor's ability to swarm.
DialgaChomp: Flip table.
No, seriously. The situation stands in that WSD deals direct damage (no damage counters, so special conditions, etc.), with much of the damage negated by Special Metal energies. Furthermore, Dialga G Level X's Poke-Body, Time Crystal, shuts off catastrophe. This, in combination with Garchomp C Level X's Healing Breath, makes Dialga G near unkillable. The best bet that you have in combating this is to set up before them, which is made more difficult by a Deafen Lock. To defeat Dialga G, there are three major variables that must be maintained.
Firstly, you must break the Deafen Lock, which, if near continuous, makes Dialga G nearly impossible to eliminate.
Secondly, you must lockdown the DialgaChomp's player to heal Dialga, which is impossible short of knocking out Garchomp C, which is nearly impossible considering Garchomp C's zero retreat cost.
Thirdly, you must shutdown Time Crystal to take advantage of Catastrophe, which is nearly impossible given the first two variables.
This, mind, is circumventable with a 1-1 Dialga G tech due to Flash Core: Even if the opponent has Dialga G as a tech, Flash Core allows you to do enough damage with a kamikaze-esque Starmie to shut down Time Crystal. However, in a 3-1 Dialga G line for Dialga Chomp, the consistent presence of Dialga G makes it extremely difficult to combat.
Therefore, a positive matchup is determine largely by luck, pure and simple.
Firstly, you must break the Deafen Lock, which, if near continuous, makes Dialga G nearly impossible to eliminate.
Secondly, you must lockdown the DialgaChomp's player to heal Dialga, which is impossible short of knocking out Garchomp C, which is nearly impossible considering Garchomp C's zero retreat cost.
Thirdly, you must shutdown Time Crystal to take advantage of Catastrophe, which is nearly impossible given the first two variables.
This, mind, is circumventable with a 1-1 Dialga G tech due to Flash Core: Even if the opponent has Dialga G as a tech, Flash Core allows you to do enough damage with a kamikaze-esque Starmie to shut down Time Crystal. However, in a 3-1 Dialga G line for Dialga Chomp, the consistent presence of Dialga G makes it extremely difficult to combat.
Therefore, a positive matchup is determine largely by luck, pure and simple.
Important Questions
Why are you playing this deck? For lulz.
Isn't part of the strategy focused on your opponent assuming this deck is something else? What if they catch on? I'm assuming that my metagame doesn't really read my Pokegym stuff, and considering my tendency to say stupid, foul-mouthed things, it's somewhat irrelevant to a lot of players to pay attention to what I say. Hence, even if it does have a 'roguish' factor about it, I'm sure nobody but me will play it anyways, so it's a win-win.
Are you stoked about Lost World/Zone/whatevskies? Not really.
Why not? Because I'm certain people will play it en masse because they believe it's right to play it en masse. Doesn't necessarily make it that much of a game-changer: just make sure you don't get six Pokemon in your Lost Zone by either using Bebe's to get rid of them, maintain a small hand with Let Loose, or putting them down on your bench. Simple.
When are you going to talk about something that isn't Gengar? No idea.
Isn't part of the strategy focused on your opponent assuming this deck is something else? What if they catch on? I'm assuming that my metagame doesn't really read my Pokegym stuff, and considering my tendency to say stupid, foul-mouthed things, it's somewhat irrelevant to a lot of players to pay attention to what I say. Hence, even if it does have a 'roguish' factor about it, I'm sure nobody but me will play it anyways, so it's a win-win.
Are you stoked about Lost World/Zone/whatevskies? Not really.
Why not? Because I'm certain people will play it en masse because they believe it's right to play it en masse. Doesn't necessarily make it that much of a game-changer: just make sure you don't get six Pokemon in your Lost Zone by either using Bebe's to get rid of them, maintain a small hand with Let Loose, or putting them down on your bench. Simple.
When are you going to talk about something that isn't Gengar? No idea.
Closing Thoughts
I take no responsibility for any failures that you may experience with this deck. Likewise, if you are teh winnerz, it was all me bro.
---------- Post added 02/07/2011 at 02:29 PM ----------
As a note I had realised that I made mention of an 'Unown 4' - my apologies, I did not know why I did not catch that error. It is actually 'Unown R'. Much thanks, and again, my apologies.
