One Hit KO

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs with an article that is kind of a deck review, but kind of a card review.  Today we will be talking about the Eelektrik card and which cards work best with it.

Before we get to the article I have an announcement to make.  Next weekend I will publish my final article on this website.  After a long deliberation, I have made the decision to leave the game and the article writing business for the time being.  This has been a tough decision since I love the game enjoy writing so much, but I am excited to go on to other things.  I will explain more in my final article, but I thought I would give you a one week heads up.  Make sure to show up for my final article, it will be something.

 

Eelektrik- The Basics

                Eelektrik is the best energy accelerator in the format.  He is a stage 1 that allows you to attach an electric energy from the discard pile to the bench with the “Dynamotor” Ability.  This works great with cards like Ultra Ball and Professor Juniper.  You just need to have energy in the discard pile, and you can power-up most Pokemon in just one or two turns.

The one draw-back to Eelektrik is the retreat cost.  The 2 retreat cost can be a killer, and it necessitates the running of DCE or cards like Switch.  Eelektrik also doesn’t have much of an attack, and there aren’t any good Eelektrosses to evolve into.

The good things about Eelektrik do outweigh the bad things.  However, you do need a partner or two for any Eelektrik based deck to work.  There are so many good Pokemon to pair with Eelektrik that you could hurt your deck even if you do choose to play some good cards.  It takes more than just a passing glance to choose the best friend for Eelektrik.  It takes an analysis of the format and your local metagame to choose the best variant of an Eel deck.  Here is a close look at some of the most popular pairings with Eelektrik.

The Most Popular Pairings

Here are a couple of the standard options for an Eelektrik deck

Zekrom–  Zekrom was the first pairing with Eelektrik, it’s the best, and it’s the most popular one today.  For three energies it can do 120 damage, that is pretty darn good.  It also has the great “Outrage’ attack that is good in a lot of different situations.  It can be hard to keep using the “Bolt Strike” attack with Zekrom’s retreat cost, and the fighting weakness is very annoying.  But since it is a good card that is not an EX, it should be in every Eelektrik deck.

Zekrom EX– Zekrom EX is a little more clunkier than Zekrom.  It is not as versatile and it does give up 2 prizes when it gets knocked out, and it still carries that annoying fighting weakness.  But, it is the heaviest hitter in this list.  150 damage in just one attack is enough to take out anything that is not an EX.  It also has a cool three energy attack that works with DCE that isn’t terrible.  It doesn’t need to be in every deck, but if your deck runs DCE, than you should run one copy of Zekrom EX.  It is just a good option to have in a tool boxy deck like Eelektrik.

Mewtwo EX– Before we even get going here, run 2 copies of this card in every deck.  It is just a great versatile card that is great against everything.  Yes, it might suck to start with this card, but it’s not the worst start ever.  Most other people will  be running at least one copy of this card, so since you have energy acceleration you can load up this card in one turn even if you don’t run DCE.  You should have an easy time with a lot of the rogue decks out there if you concentrate on loading energies one Mewtwo EX if you have an Eviolite on him.  It is so good and versatile that without question, you should add two in every deck.

Thundurus– Thundurus does not have the power that the Zekroms have, but he is a good starting Pokemon.  His “Charge” attack lets you attach an energy to Thundurus from your deck.  That means that he should be ready to do 80 damage and put an energy in the discard pile on turn 2.  It’s a win-win-win.  You not only get energy on the field, you get energy in the discard pile, and you get to do 80 damage.  Thundurus is kind of useless late-game because of the lack of pop in his attack, and he only adds to the frustrating fighting weakness of this deck.  Even though the list for this deck is very tight and it is hard to waste a couple spots on a starter, I do think that you should at least try this guy in every deck. I find that 2-3 copies of this card are really good for an Eelektrik deck to have. 

Rayquaza EX– Rayquaza EX is a card that is not standard in a regular Eelektrik deck, but is kind of thought of as a deck of its own.  It is still does contain Eelektrik, so it does belong in this list.  Rayquaza EX is a dragon type Pokemon that does 40 damage times the number of energies that you discard from an attack that costs PL.  Of course this deck doesn’t mind discarding energy since each Eelektrik can get one back per turn.  So if you have 3 Eelektriks in play and you discard 3 lightning energies a turn, than you end up being even.  You just need Switches to move Rayquaza EX on the bench.  The first weekend of Battle Roads was not super kind to Rayquaza EX, so this may not be a great deck right now, but it is worth a try.  One thing I should make clear is that Rayquaza is not something you can throw into any Eelektrik deck.  If you want to have Rayquaza EX in your deck, you need to make an effort to build it around only him.

Rogue Pairings

Here are some pairings that are known, but not really standard.

Terrakion– Terrakion/Eelektrik was a deck that was popular during Cities/States/Spring Regionals last year.  It is another variant of an Eelektrik deck that usually doesn’t contain a lot of the other cards and has a special purpose.  The purpose of this deck is to be able to use Eelektrik and Zekrom BLW while hitting other Eelektrik decks for weakness with Terrakion.  Terrakion does make this deck a little less consistent, but it adds a cool new ripple into this deck by helping you out in the mirror a lot.  I don’t know if this variant is still viable in the new year, but maybe it could be something to look out for.  If you think you might see this deck, take a look at our next card on the list.

Zapdos– Zapdos is one of those few legendary Pokemon that has a decent non-EX card.  It is not good in most decks, but Zapdos does work well in an Eelektrik deck.  The reason why Zapdos works is that he has an attack that is not terrible, and a fighting resistance.  If your opponent is just running over you with fighting Pokemon, you can bring Zapdos out and he will stop the onslaught.  If you expect to see some fighting Pokemon, I would run at least 1 of this card.  It may not have a lot of pop in its attack and may not be the shiniest Pokemon, but if you want something to counter fighting Pokemon, than Zapdos is your man…. Or weird bird thing. 

Tornadus– Another Pokemon that is great in this deck for going against fighting Pokemon is Tornadus.  Of course if you play Tornadus you will need to play DCE.  But if you are okay with playing DCE, than Tornadus is a good option.  I usually favored Zapdos over Tornadus, I don’t know why, but it just feels right.  Tornadus also is weak to lightning Pokemon, so it can be a liability in a mirror matchup.  But, it is a little better of an attacker, so if you don’t expect a lot of the mirror, Tornadus could be a better fighting counter.

Raikou EX– Raikou EX is a card that I really like.  His attack does 100 damage to anyone of your opponent’s Pokemon and forces you to discard three energies.  This is not a terrible thing since if you have at least two Eelektriks out you can just attach three energies to a benched Raikou, retreat one Raikou for another, and attack for 100 again.  Than you just rinse and repeat until you win the game.  I really like this card, but during testing I found out that 100 damage is a little weak with Eviolite and so many EXs in the format.  It feels like most of the time you are just attacking the defending Pokemon, so you might as well just run Zekrom EX and do 50 more damage.  I hope someone proves me wrong, but I don’t think Raikou is a great card in this format.

 

Obscure Pairings

Finally, here are some pairings that are a little off the wall.

Bouffalant DRX or BW– There are two Bouffalant’s that wouldn’t be bad in this deck.  The BW Bouffalant is a lot like Terrakion.  If you do run DCE, than Bouffalant wouldn’t be a terrible play if you want to play this guy.  The Dragons Exalted Bouffalant is a counter against EX Pokemon.  If you feel that you are always going up against EX Pokemon, than Bouffalant wouldn’t be a terrible play.  If you first attack with someone like Thundurus, than Bouffalant could come in and finish off the KO next turn.  It is not a card that will be the greatest thing ever in this deck, but if you run a more tool boxy version of this deck, than this card could help you out a little.  It could be worth testing depending on your metagame. 

Siglyph DRX-  We have another EX counter from DRX, Siglyph.  Siglyph does necessitate the running of some psychic or Blend Energies, but if you really need this card it is worth it.  It also works well with the Rayquaza EX variant, since both cards need psychic energies.  Though it would be kind of weird to run this card seeing that it is a Mewtwo EX counter.  You should already be running Mewtwo EX, and since you have an energy accelerator you should have a good advantage in the Mewtwo EX war.  But, maybe a wall like Siglyph could work against a more diverse base of EXs.  It could be something worth testing.

So, Who is Eelektrik’s Best Friend?

                Now it is time to answer the question, who fits the best with Eelektrik?  Here is my list.

1. The best pairing is with Zekrom, you need to play Zekrom.
2. Mewtwo EX is a standard in every deck.  You also need to play Mewtwo EX.
3. Zapdos is needed in the match-up with fighting Pokemon, you probably should play him.
4. I really like Thundurus, put Thundurus in your deck and only take him out if needed.

 

Those are my top 4.  You can add to your list from the rest of the Pokemon I talked about, but they are my top 4.  If you have other additions to either of my lists, please leave them in the comment section.

Well, that is all I have to say, make sure to show up next week for my fare-well article.  So long and thanks for all the fish.

 

Category: Deck Discussion | Tags: Eelektrik decks, Zekrom Deck