Deck Discussion

Post-Pokemon Catcher impressions and a Mew Prime/Yanmega Decklist

Pikkdogs July 25, 2011 7 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there, this is Pikkdogs here with another article for you guys.  For the top 40 players in North America and the players in Southern California all eyes are on World Championships.  All these people are thinking about is either countering the format or making a deck that will be consistent enough to grind into the main event.  But, for the rest of us, we have our eyes on Battle Roads and the new season.  And the new season means dealing with Pokemon Catcher.

Pokemon Catcher is a trainer card that lets you pick a Pokemon on your opponent’s bench and switch it with the active.  The last time this card was released, as a card named Gust of Wind, it was the best card in the format.  It ushered in an era of dominance for a very fast deck with all basic Pokemon.  The question was will Pokemon Catcher have the same format changing effect as Gust of Wind did?  To answer these questions I decided to test multiple decks in the PC (Post Catcher) format.  The testing yielded some surprising results.  To start this article off I will begin by running a “Mythbusters” type list about statements people made about Pokemon Catcher.

Mythbusters- Pokemon Catcher

1.  Myth-Kenny Wisdom in his Sixprizes article said that some decks will be unplayable because they get destroyed by Pokemon Catcher.  It would make sense that decks that rely on bench sitters would no longer be playable.

Verdict–Plausible.  I have not tested a deck with a bench sitter like Reuniclus and Vileplume, but I would assume that it will be hard to setup 2 bench sitting stage 2s.  But, if you need a bench sitter, it would be best to have either Gothitelle active or Vileplume on the bench.

2.  Myth: On the SixPrizes forum, a user named Johnny Blaze wrote that all Stage 2 decks will be horrible because you can just catcher up the basic first.

Verdict– Busted.  Stage 2 decks are still  very playable.  In fact one stage 2 Pokemon named Vileplume could become one of the most important cards in the format.  Since everyone will be playing trainer heavy decks, the ability to take away the trainers will be amazing.  Also, decks with 4 Pokemon Catcher don’t always get one when they need it, and they can’t always knock out a basic or stage 1 if they do find a Catcher.  I think what is worse off than Stage 2’s are bench sitting stage 1’s like Weavile.  If you don’t also have Vileplume in play, those quick stage 1’s become a problem because anytime the opponent draws a Catcher, they can then stall by bringing up a bench sitting stage 1.  But when it comes to stage 2’s, it will be harder to get them out, but I would say they are still very viable.

3. Myth: Pokegym User Mew723 wrote that Emboar will be unplayable in the next format.  If you think about it, catchering up a Tepig or Pignite would be hard to deal with.

Verdict– Busted.  I have tested an Emboar deck, and while it is no longer quite as consistent as it once was. it is not unplayable.  The same principle works in the PC era as it did in the BC (before catcher) era.  You might have to alter the decklist a little, but for the most part you can still run a Reshiboar deck about as good as you could before.

4. Myth:  This myth will address some of the comments made on my Pokemon Catcher article.  The comments are: Cincinno will be big, Zekrom is good, babies won’t be as effective.

Verdict– Plausible. Cincinno is now a much more effective Pokemon than he was before.  He can attack fast and is almost on par with Donphan and Yanmega in some respects.  Zekrom was always good, he might be a little better now thanks to Yanmega being that good.  Babies will not be as popular as they once were.  Its just really easy to Catcher them up when you need, or to Catcher around them when they are asleep.  But, a lot of decks will run at least 1 Cleffa to help as a hand refresher.

Pokemon Catcher does change the format, but you know what they say about change.  The more things change the more they stay the same.  While some decks will be gone because of Pokmeon Catcher, the format will still come down to Donphan, Yanmega, Reshiram, Zekrom and other Pokemon that are currently popular.  Decks that run benched Pokemon can still win, players just need to change their decklist a little to adjust.  From my testing, it looks like all of those who say that Pokemon Catcher will ruin the format will be wrong.  So thats all for the Mythbusters episode, lets go to the list I promised you.

Mew/Yanmega: The Other Prime Time. 

I gotta give the credit for this deck idea to Radu C. from Minnesota.  I heard Radu was running this crazy good deck during Nats.  It had Mew Prime, Yanmega Prime, Spinorak, Muk, and Jumpluff.  The deck was like a tool box, it could lock, snipe, stall, or do lots of damage; it was a really cool deck.  After I had my rest after Nationals, I came home and made my own version of the deck.  It was not a polished list that was even near where Radu’s actual deck was, it was just a rough version of the deck.  My deck did okay, but nothing special.

Then I updated the deck to deal with Pokemon Catcher.  I took out Muk, because Pokemon Catcher does what he does, and I added Pidgeot instead.  Pidgeot is great for stalling against Pokemon like Reshiram, Zekrom, and Donphan.  Its “Headwind” attack adds an extra CC to each attack cost on the defending Pokemon.  If you first were able to Catcher up the Typhlosion or Emboar, Reshiram will be stuck active for a long time.

Goal of the Deck

The goal of this deck is to attack with Jumpluff’s attack or Yanmega while setting up a Trainerlock.  What you want to do first is to get Mew Prime active with a Psychic energy attached, and have him put Jumpluff and Pidgeot in the Lost Zone.  While doing this, get Oddish on the bench and try to evolve him to Vileplume.  If they catcher up an Oddish, wait until you have stalled with “Headwind” and then try a second time to get Vileplume up.  If they are able to catcher up 2 Oddishes, don’t worry.  This deck works better with Vileplume but it does not need it.  Sometimes getting the opponent to look at Oddish when your setting up Yanmega and Mew will be worth the loss of Trainerlock.  You should also try to get Yanmega going.  Once Yanmega is evolved and you have 2 Pokemon in the Lost Zone,  you just need to judge what attack is best to use.

Good Things About the Deck: 

• It is so versatile that it can work against almost any deck, so far it has been the deck that has worked the best in my testing.
• It is disruptive.  The ability to lock trainers is HUGE since almost all decks will be trainer based.  Judges also work well in this deck.

Bad things about the deck:

• If you don’t get an early Mew Prime you will be behind the Eight Ball all  game.
• This deck does not feature Stantler, which means  it can be hard to setup Vileplume.  The deck is not as good without Vileplume, but it is possible to get it evolved later in the game after a Judge.

The List.

Okay here is the list.  This is still a very early list, so don’t beat me up on this list.  I don’t think its polished at all, I am only posting it so that you can copy it and start testing.

Pokemon-17

• 2-Oddish
• 1-Gloom
• 2-Vileplume
• 4-Mew Prime-Your starter and main attacker, can use Pidgeot or Jumpluffs attack.
• 2-Pidgeot CL or TM
• 2-Jumpluff HGSS- Has the attack that you will use the most.
• 2-Yanma
• 2-Yanmega Prime-Great for Sniping and a backup attacker incase you can’t get Pokemon in the Lost Zone.

  

Trainers-30

• 2-Professor Juniper-The best Supporter in the format.
• 3-Copy Cat-A supporter that works with Yanmega
• 4-Judge- Disruption and working with Yanmega
• 3-Professor Elms Training Method- If you trainerlock yourself, here is how you get Yanmega, or this is how you get a Vileplume setup.
• 4-Collector
• 1-Flower Shop Lady
• 1-Seeker- Can Seeker up Vileplume, use trainers, then Rare Candy on a 2nd Oddish to get the lock setup again.
• 3-Rare Candy
• 3-Communication
• 3-Pokemon Catcher
• 1-Dual Ball
• 2-Junk Arm

Energy-13

• 4-Rainbow
• 4-Psychic- needed for an early “See Off”
• 3-DCE-For Pidgeot’s attack and works well if your run Bouffallant
• 2-Grass

I admit this is a weird list, but its just something to test around and fix yourself.  It is weird to have so many trainers in a trainerlock deck, but this is the one trainerlock deck that is not really reliant on the trainerlock deck.  It doesn’t matter if your opponent either  uses his/her  resources to knock out an Oddish or 2 while you setup with Mew, or they get trainer locked; either way you have an advantage.  Whether you lock them up, or you lure them into a false sense of security, it does not matter.  This deck can work with or without trainerlock. 

Techs

Here are some possible cards to fit into your list.

• A hand refresher: Something  like Cleffa or Manaphy, either one helps consistency.
• Boufallant:  If you are thinking people will still play RDL, then you will need Boufallant.  Though, Pidgeot’s attack will pretty much stop RDL from attacking anytime soon.
• 1-1 Yanmega:  I originally built this deck with 3-3 Yanmega and I felt it a little overkill.  If you like Yanmega and know how to use it well, 3-3 might be the better play.
• 1 Oddish– If you want a better chance to evolve into Vileplume early, here is a better shot.
• 1 Spinorak– The list originally had a Spinorak in it.  The idea is to trap a starter, with it’s “Spider Web” attack, until the end of the game when you can retreat for Yanmega and kill that starter.  I’m just not that good at that strategy.
• 2-2 Cincinno:  This deck si great for Yanmega, but if just cannot afford Yanmega’s, Cincinno may be able to appropriately replace Yanmega.

So that’s all I gotta say about this deck.  Expect more PC decklists coming soon.  Feel free to tell us all what you think about this decklist by leaving your thoughts in the comment box.

So long and thanks for all the fish!