Ampharos / Bronzong:
| Pokémon (21) | Trainers (24) | Energy (15) |
| 3x Ampharos 2x Flaaffy 3x Mareep 4x Bronzong 4x Bronzor 2x Claydol 2x Baltoy 1x Absol ex | 4x Bebe’s Search | 4x Lightning Energy 4x Call Energy 4x Double Rainbow Energy 3x Scramble Energy |
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This deck focused on spreading damage across the board with Ampharos and Bronzong, so it could play from behind and abuse powerful special energy cards like Scramble Energy. This allowed for Ampharos and Bronzong to continuously hit for weakness with their second attacks against the formats biggest decks – Gardevoir/Gallade and Empoleon, with Lake Boundary and the spread damage allowing for easy knockouts.
Banette / Blissey:
| Pokémon (16) | Trainers (31) | Energy (13) |
| 4x Banette 4x Shuppet 3x Blissey 3x Chansey 1x Lunatone 1x Mew  | 4x Roseanne’s Research 4x TV Reporter 3x Celio’s Network 2x Copycat 2x Castaway 2x Steven’s Advice 4x Warp Point 4x Cessation Crystal 2x Night Maintenance 4x Crystal Beach | 10x Psychic Energy 2x Water Energy 1x Multi Energy |
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Also named “Sausage” by Jimmy Ballard, he piloted this deck to T16 of US Nationals. This variant of Blissey focused on sacrificing consistency and disruption the straight version provided in favour of a much better Gardevoir matchup with the heavy Banette line.
Blissey:
| Pokémon (10) | Trainers (36) | Energy (14) |
| 4x Blissey 4x Chansey 2x Chatot | 4x Castaway 4x Celio’s Network 1x Scott 3x TV Reporter 2x Roseanne’s Research 2x Team Galactic’s Wager 4x Crystal Beach 4x Cessation Crystal 3x Pokedex Handy901is 3x Pluspower 3x Energy Removal 2 1x Warp Point 1x Night Maintenance 1x Time-Space Distortion | 9x Fire Energy 4x Holon Energy FF 1x Fighting Energy |
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Blissey was a dominant force early in the season, and came back for a strong 2nd place finish at the World Championships piloted by Khanh Le. His deck focused on sheer consistency and power, including Holon Energy FF to deal with Blissey’s glaring weakness to Gallade. Cessation Crystal, Crystal Beach and Energy Removal 2 would also punish the formats over-reliance on strong Poke-Powers and Special Energy cards.
Dusknoir:
| Pokémon (21) | Trainers (23) | Energy (16) |
| 3x Dusknoir 3x Dusclops 4x Duskull 2x Pachirisu 2x Claydol 2x Baltoy 1x Cresselia Lv.X 1x Cresselia 1x Jirachi ex 1x Sableye 1x Chatot | 4x Celio’s Network 4x Roseanne’s Research 3x Steven’s Advice 3x Moonlight Stadium 3x Rare Candy 4x Super Scoop Up 2x Windstorm | 6x Psychic Energy 4x Double Rainbow Energy 3x Call Energy 2x Cyclone Energy 1x Scramble Energy |
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While it didn’t place too highly at large tournaments, Dusknoir had a lot going for it when it got released, and this deck showcases how disruptive it could be as a main attacker. The Duskull being able to evolve Turn 1 into Dusclops allows you to punish the formats reliance on Special Energy with it’s Cursed Glare Poke-Body. Meanwhile Dusknoir had good typing, weakness and resistance to deal with the format which nicely complimented its powerful Dark Palm Poke-Power and strong attack, which would only become harder to deal with later in the game.
Eeveelutions:
| Pokémon (21) | Trainers (24) | Energy (15) |
| 2x Leafeon Lv.X 2x Leafeon 2x Espeon 2x Jolteon 1x Umbreon 1x Vaporeon 4x Eevee 2x Claydol 2x Baltoy 1x Jirachi ex 1x Chatot 1x Holon’s Castform | 4x Roseanne’s Research 3x Celio’s Network 3x Steven’s Advice 2x Copycat 2x Bebe’s Search 3x Warp Point 2x Windstorm 2x Night Maintenance 3x Lake Boundary | 3x Double Rainbow Energy 3x Scramble Energy 3x Grass Energy 3x Psychic Energy 2x Water Energy 1x Lightning Energy |
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Orion Craig took 1st place in the Senior Divison at US Nationals with this colourful deck. Scramble Energy and Double Rainbow energy both allowed a variety of strong attackers that could hit for weakness against the popular decks of the format, but also served as a way to power up Leafeon Lv.X’s powerful Verdant Dance attack. Lake Boundary allowed you to both replace the troublesome Crystal Beach, but also take OHKOs on Pokemon like Gardevoir and Empoleon.
Empoleon:
| Pokémon (23) | Trainers (24) | Energy (13) |
| 4x Empoleon 2x Prinplup 1x Prinplup 4x Piplup 1x Dusknoir 1x Duskull 2x Chatot 3x Claydol 2x Baltoy 1x Holon’s Castform 1x Tauros 1x Mew ẟ | 3x Steven’s Advice 2x Bebe’s Search 2x Celio’s Network 2x Roseanne’s Research 1x Copycat 1x Castaway 4x Rare Candy 3x Cessation Crystal 3x Warp Point 2x Night Maintenance 1x Windstorm | 6x Water Energy 3x Call Energy 3x Scramble Energy 1x Double Rainbow Energy |
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While this variant of Empoleon started to fall out of favour with the release of Bronzong, it still performed well even taking 1st and T4 in the Senior Division at Worlds. While it sacrificed an easy answer to cards like Gardevoir and Gallade, it gained space for powerful tech cards like Dusknoir and important consistency cards like a heavy Claydol line. It focused on playing from behind while using its powerful spread attacks to get maximum use out of cards like Scramble Energy while denying opponents use of it, and hoped to sweep the game with high HP single prize Pokemon.
EmpoZong:
| Pokémon (20) | Trainers (24) | Energy (16) |
| 4x Empoleon 3x Prinplup 4x Piplup 3x Bronzong 3x Bronzor 1x Claydol 1x Baltoy 1x Unown Q | 4x Roseanne’s Research 4x Celio’s Network 3x Steven’s Advice 3x Copycat 3x Rare Candy 3x Cessation Crystal 2x Warp Point 1x Night Maintenance 1x Moonlight Stadium | 6x Water Energy 4x Call Energy 4x Scramble Energy 1x Double Rainbow Energy 1x Psychic Energy |
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Seen as one of the only decks that could consistently compete with Gardevoir, EmpoZong had multiple strong showings at major tournaments. Dylan Lefavour won the World Championships in the Seniors division with the deck, and Alex “Big Chuck” Brosseau managed to go 15-0 through both the Grinder and the Swiss Rounds of the Masters division. The deck rewarded smart play, focusing on spreading with both Prinplup and Empoleon, allowing you to play from behind with Scramble Energy while planning KO’s multiple turns in advance. Bronzong also helped with spread, while providing a strong answer for both Gardevoir and Gallade.
Garchomp:
| Pokémon (24) | Trainers (23) | Energy (13) |
| 1x Garchomp Lv.X 3x Garchomp 2x Gabite 3x Gible 2x Claydol 2x Baltoy 1x Dusknoir 1x Duskull 1x Dugtrio 1x Diglett 2x Phione 1x Unown Q 1x Chatot 1x Pachirisu 1x Rotom 1x Absol ex | 3x Rare Candy 4x Crystal Beach 4x Roseanne’s Research 4x Celio’s Network 2x TV Reporter 1x Team Galactic’s Wager 1x Holon Mentor 1x Night Maintenance 1x Time-Space Distortion 1x Strength Charm 1x Pluspower | 4x Lightning Energy 3x Psychic Energy 3x Water Energy 2x Fighting Energy 1x Metal Energy |
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An interesting deck which Sami Sekkoum used to achieve 2nd at the UK National Championships. It took advantage of multiple decks weaknesses with Garchomp’s Rainbow Scale Pokebody, with Garchomp Lv.X’s Poke-Power allowing you to hit crucial numbers, as well as setting up more attackers. Phione and Rotom allowed the deck to set up while Crystal Beach served as a way to slow down your opponent and Dugtrio gave you an answer to Empoleon.
Gardevoir/Gallade:
| Pokémon (21) | Trainers (24) | Energy (15) |
| 1x Gardevoir Lv.X 2x Gallade 3x Gardevoir 2x Kirlia 4x Ralts 2x Claydol 2x Baltoy 1x Jirachi ex 1x Jolteon 1x Chatot 1x Dusknoir 1x Duskull | 4x Celio’s Network 4x Roseanne’s Research 2x Bebe’s Search 4x Rare Candy 2x Team Galactic’s Wager 2x Steven’s Advice 2x Lake Boundary 2x Windstorm 2x Warp Point | 4x Call Energy 4x Double Rainbow Energy 3x Scramble Energy 3x Psychic Energy 1x Cyclone Energy |
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This deck was the dominant deck throughout the season and managed to take 1st Place at both the US National Championships played by Gino Lombardi, and the World Championships piloted by Jason Klaczynski. Gardevoir’s Psychic Lock proved devastating for most decks in the format, especially in conjunction with Team Galactic’s Wager, while Telepass aided your setup and recovery. Meanwhile, Gallade’s Psychic Cut allowed the deck to hit KO’s on any Pokemon in the format. The formats abundance of strong special energies did nothing but compliment this deck and allowed the “Support” Pokemon to attack.
Glaceon:
| Pokémon (16) | Trainers (30) | Energy (14) |
| 2x Glaceon Lv.X 2x Glaceon 3x Eevee 4x Absol 2x Claydol 2x Baltoy 1x Jirachi ex | 4x Team Galactic’s Mars 3x Bebe’s Search 3x Castaway 2x Island Hermit 2x Roseanne’s Research 2x Celio’s Network 4x Energy Removal 2 3x Crystal Beach 3x Cessation Crystal 2x Night Maintenance 1x Strength Charm 1x Team Galactic’s Wager | 7x Water Energy 4x Call Energy 2x Multi Energy 1x Psychic Energy |
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Esa Juntunen managed to play this deck to a surprise Top 8 finish at the World Championships, and ended Alex “Big Chuck” Brosseau’s incredible run along the way. It primarily focused on disrupting the opponent as much as possible, with ways to control both the hand and the board. Absol’s Baleful Wind attack could severely hinder opponents early game setup, alongisde Team Galactic’s Mars and Cessation Crystal, while Glaceon, Crystal Beach and Energy Removal 2 made it as annoying as possible for your opponent throughout the rest of the game.
Honchkrow:
| Pokémon (17) | Trainers (30) | Energy (13) |
| 4x Absol 2x Honchkrow Lv.X 2x Honchkrow 3x Murkrow 1x Murkrow 2x Palkia Lv.X 2x Palkia 1x Chatot | 4x Celio’s Network 4x Team Galactic’s Mars 3x Castaway 2x Roseanne’s Research 2x Steven’s Advice 2x Team Galactic’s Wager 4x Cessation Crystal 2x Warp Point 1x Windstorm 1x Premier Ball 1x Night Maintenance 1x Time-Space Distortion 3x Crystal Beach | 4x Darkness Energy 4x Dark Energy 3x Call Energy 2x Warp Energy |
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Also known as “Featherweight”, Tomi Sjöblom made T32 at the World Championships with this rogue archetype. The deck focused on disrupting the opponent’s hand as much as possible with cards like Absol and Team Galactic’s Mars, allowing for you to potentially remove up to 3 key cards in a single turn. This made it more likely for disruptive cards like Cessation Crystal and Crystal Beach to stay in play, while you set up a Honchkrow. Honchkrow and Honckrow Lv.X allowed you to use Murkrows to further control the game by either removing cards from their hand, sniping the bench or getting key resources back with Darkness Wing.
Leafeon / Magmortar:
| Pokémon (16) | Trainers (31) | Energy (13) |
| 1x Magmortar Lv.X 2x Magmortar 2x Magmar 1x Leafeon Lv.X 2x Leafeon 2x Eevee 2x Claydol 2x Baltoy 1x Rotom 1x Mawile | 4x Celio’s Network 3x Roseanne’s Research 3x Steven’s Advice 2x Team Galactic’s Wager 2x Castaway 4x Energy Removal 2 4x Warp Point 3x Cessation Crystal 1x Premier Ball 1x Night Maintenance 4x Crystal Beach | 9x Fire Energy 2x Grass Energy 2x Multi Energy |
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Magmortar saw decent success earlier in the season, boasting a decent matchup against the dominant Gardevoir deck. With the release of Majestic Dawn, Empoleon became a problematic matchup, so the deck adapted with the addition of Leafeon. Its resistance to Water and Leaf Guard attack negating 40 damage each turn while still synergising with Magmortar’s attack and ability made it a versatile partner. Karl Peters took this disruption focused build to the T32 of the World Championships.
Scizor:
| Pokémon (13) | Trainers (34) | Energy (13) |
| 4x Scizor 4x Scyther 2x Electrode 2x Voltorb 1x Sableye | 4x Roseanne’s Research 4x Celio’s Network 4x Castaway 3x Steven’s Advice 2x Copycat 1x Team Galactic’s Wager 1x Scott 4x Crystal Beach 4x Cessation Crystal 4x Energy Removal 2 2x Pokedex Handy910is 1x Time-Space Distortion | 5x Metal Energy 4x Metal Energy (Special) 4x Lightning Energy |
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Similar to the “Intimidation” Deck, Dylan Bryan focused more on just Scizor in his deck to achieve Top 8 at the World Championships in Seniors. Scizor’s Special Blow attack punished the formats reliance on Special Energy, doing an incredible 80 damage for 1 energy, and its resistance to Psychic and ability to abuse Special Metal Energy made it particularly annoying for most decks to deal with a swarm of them. Ontop of this the deck had plenty of disruption with Cessation Crystal, Crystal Beach and Energy Removal 2 to severely hinder opponents setup. Electrode allowed the deck to have a better answer to Empoleon, while also having a big attack, and Sableye increased the deck’s consistency a little bit while also providing an answer to Blissey.
Torterra:
| Pokémon (20) | Trainers (27) | Energy (13) |
| 1x Torterra Lv.X 2x Torterra 1x Torterra 2x Grotle 4x Turtwig 2x Sceptile 1x Grovyle 2x Treecko 2x Claydol 2x Baltoy 1x Chatot | 4x Bebe’s Search 3x Celio’s Network 3x Roseanne’s Research 3x Steven’s Advice 4x Rare Candy 4x Super Scoop Up 2x Warp Point 2x Night Maintenance 2x Crystal Beach | 9x Grass Energy 4x Call Energy |
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Colin Moll managed to take this archetype all the way to T4 at US Nationals. The decks slow setup allowed it to play from behind, denying cards like Scramble Energy while it slowly built up multiple walls in Torterra. Sceptile’s Wild Growth also doesn’t get shut down against Gardevoir’s Psychic Lock, making it easy to string attacks against them while healing each turn with Leaf Storm. Unfortunately the deck fell out of favour once Cessation Crystal started becoming widely used again in decks.
Pokemon TCG Archive 