11th Hour Pick at the 11th Hour

Hey all! It's been a pretty slow week here on the blog because I was preparing for Salt Lake City's Regional Championship in the Standard format. Since we haven't had a major Standard tournament in the United States for two months, the metagame is very much in the air, thanks in large part to Decidueye/Vileplume warping the format.

I had planned on using Yveltal. Unfortunately, due to my flight being cancelled, I won't be going. <a href="http://www.heytrainer.org/blog/posts/My_Eye_on_Anaheim_Part_2>Cancelled flights haven't stopped me before</a>, but this time there was no hope left. All I had left I could do was get my ticket refund, send in my refund exception request to Utah Pokemon, pack my bags and go back home.

It's a shame, for sure, but I'm only disappointed because I feel something about playing this game. And since I have this blog, why not channel that passion into an 11th hour entry for players who are literally scrambling at the 11th hour? So I'm going to share the list I anticipated settling on at the literal 11th hour, as well as suggestions for the best last second decisions I think players of every major deck should consider:

The List That Could Have Been!

Yveltal/Garbdor came full circle in an incredible way, so it was with little doubt going t be my choice for Utah. Based on the things I was considering while at the airport, here's the list I believe I would have ultimately settled on–


Pokemon (12):

3 Yveltal EX
2 Yveltal BKT
2 Trubbish BKP
1 Garbodor BKP
2 Shaymin EX ROS
1 Jirachi Promo
1 Wobbuffet GEN

Trainers (35):

4 Professor Sycamore
3 N
2 Lysandre
2 Team Flare Grunt
1 Delinquent
1 Olympia
4 VS Seeker
4 Ultra Ball
4 Max Elixir
3 Fighting Fury Belt
3 Float Stone
1 Enhanced Hammer
1 Super Rod
2 Parallel City

Energy (13):

9 Darkness Energy
4 Double Colorless

Some notes about this list —

#1: It is designed with the projected metagame of Salt Lake City in mind. I expect lots of Yveltal and Decidueye, so having tons of Energy hate is extremely useful for those matchups. The high count on Team Flare Grunt can also result in really surprising interactions with Lapras, an otherwise poor matchup.

#2: Although debate rages on as to whether 2-1 Garbodor or 2-2 is better, I think 2-1 is ultimately superior in a metagame with a high count of mirror matches. I also believe that the combination of cards you already have are strong enough to deal with Decidueye/Vileplume, and most other relevant Ability-based matchups, for that matter!

#3: Jirachi Promo puts in solid work over the second Enhanced Hammer, mainly when you need to slow fast decks like M Rayquaza down to a more tempered pace. It also adds to the all-important Basic Pokemon count, reducing the odds of a worse starter like Shaymin EX or Wobbuffet.*
*Wobbuffet is a good starter against Decidueye, however!

#4: I cut Tauros GX/Ninja Boy from the list because it doesn't offer enough for any particular matchup. It's an incredible combo when you pull it off, and Tauros GX by itself can put some incredible pressure on your opponent, but it rarely tilts a game on its own!

Suggestions for Last-Second Tweaks

Decidueye: The above list is only one example of the sort of Energy denial I'd expect in Salt Lake City. you might want a slightly higher count of Energy if you aren't playing it to handle the much-improved Lapras lists, or Yveltal/Garbdr.

Lapras: Tech to beat Darkrai or mirror if yu have to; don't waste your time with Vespiquen and just suck up the loss. And since all you need t make day two and advance is a 6-3 record, Lapras can actually take these sorts of hits and still have a great time.

Darkrai: You're not gonna have a fun time at all against Decidueye, so you above all decks would probably benefit by just playing the best list psosible.

M Gardevoir: If you're playing this, then just run Brad's list with an extra Mega Turbo.

M Rayquaza: Run the Jolteon EX version; run two or more Hex Maniac; have a fun time.

Volcanion: You're probably gonna have a bad time.