2007 Decks

• Legal Sets
  • Ex Deoxys
  • Ex Emerald
  • Ex Unseen Forces
  • Ex Delta Species
  • Ex Legend Maker
  • Ex Holon Phantoms
  • Ex Crystal Guardians
  • Ex Dragon Frontiers
  • Ex Power Keepers
  • Diamond and Pearl Base

• First Turn Rules
  • On their first turn, the player going first may not play any Trainers (Items), Supporters, or Stadiums
  • The player who wins the coin flip MUST GO FIRST
  • The coin flip happens AFTER the setup phase

The 06-07 Season is one of my favorite seasons in the history of pokemon. This era is one of, if not the single most diverse format that pokemon has ever seen. Not only was this format rich in creativity, but the delta species era allowed players to throw several different attacking types into their decks at the same time, creating some very skill-intensive and tough-to-navigate board states.

In the constantly changing metagame, strong Stage 1 archetypes became the centerpiece of the format. When a metagame is so diverse, oftentimes, running a deck that can very consistently achieve the same goal will bring you deep into the bracket. In addition to their consistency, Stage 1 decks had extra space for something that most other decks didn’t – Eeveelutions. With Rocket’s Admin. and Pow! Hand Extension rotating at the end of the 2006 season, the standard format did not have any Trainer cards that could be used as Gust effects, or as hand disruption. Vaporeon ex and Umbreon ex were the best ways to accomplish this goal, so they became tech options in multiple different archetypes. Absolutions and Bannette ex probably abused them the best, and saw the most widespread success in this season.

That being said, there were still a lot of solid stage 2 decks that performed well. Once Diamond/Pearl base released, both Empoleon and Infernape saw immediate success as strong, single-prize attackers. 2 different Flygon-ex also saw success – the Dragon Frontiers version, and the Legend Maker version, both of them placing in the top 8 at worlds.

Absolutions

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Jolteon ex 1 Vaporeon ex 1 Espeon ex 4 Eevee 4 Absol ex 2 Rayquaza ex 2 Mew ex 1 Jolteon Star 1 Lickitung 1 Jirachi ex 1 Holon’s Voltorb 1 Holon’s Castform	2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Adventurer 4 Holon Transceiver 3 Professor Elm’s Training Method 2 Mary’s Request 1 Scott 4 Super Scoop Up 3 Windstorm 1 Giant Stump	7 Lightning Energy 4 Psychic Energy 3 Darkness Energy 2 Multi Energy

Decklist Credit: Tom Roos, 1st Place Worlds

Absolutions was one of the most dominant archetypes of the 06-07 season. It has several tournament placements at all levels. The deck uses Jolteon EX and Super Scoop Up to spread damage to the entire field, and can double-down on this damage with Absol ex’s Psychic Pulse. Late-game, it can use Rayquaza ex to pick off bench pokemon, and Absol ex to move damage around and take crucial KOs. Rayquaza ex can also pressure the opponent early, sniping down specific targets to prevent them from ever getting set up. Its lack of weakness makes it very difficult for opponents to take an immediate response KO.

In addition to Jolteon, this deck also features Vaporeon ex, for hand disruption, and Espeon ex, to devolve pokemon once damage has been spread around. Mew ex is also a strong pick here, as you get to choose if you want to use Rayquaza’s or Absol’s attacks, depending on the situation. Lickitung is another option to pressure the opponent early, as it snipes 30 to any delta-species pokemon (which there are plenty of in this format) for just 1 energy.

Ambush

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Empoleon 4 Prinplup 4 Piplup 2 Marowak 2 Cubone 2 Roselia 2 Holon’s Magneton	3 Wally’s Training 3 Castaway 1 Holon Adventurer 2 Celio’s Network 1 Holon Scientist 2 Holon Mentor 1 Copycat 1 Scott 4 Holon Transceiver 2 Cessation Crystal 2 Warp Point 1 Cursed Powder 4 Cursed Stone	11 Water Energy 3 Scramble Energy

Decklist Credit: Jimmy Ballard, Top 32 US Nationals

Ambush was a unique take on Empoleon DP, initially created by Jimmy Ballard. He piloted it to a top 32 finish at US Nationals, and other players saw success with it as well. The deck techs in Marowak, which is useful against multiple different matchups. Sometimes, you’ll be able to stack multiple energy on it, and spread damage around to multiple targets, making it easy for Empoleon’s Ice Blade to take KOs. In other matchups, its 2nd attack can take crucial one hit knockouts. Most notably, it KOs Jolteon ex and Absol ex (with no damage modifiers) and Umbreon ex (with Cursed Stone) but it does prove useful against Scizor ex and Nidoqueen as well, even though it won’t KO outright.

Delta (RaiEggs/RaiBok)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Raichu 4 Pikachu 4 Exeggutor 4 Exeggcute 2 Arbok 2 Ekans 4 Holon’s Castform 2 Holon’s Magnemite	3 Castaway 1 Scott 2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Researcher 1 Holon Scientist 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Cessation Crystal 1 Crystal Shard 3 Cursed Stone 3 Battle Frontier	4 Metal Energy 3 Double Rainbow Energy 3 Scramble Energy

Decklist: Attempted recreation based on tournament reports

RaiEggs, the secret deck for 2006 nationals continued to see success, and was one of the strongest decks in the format right up until Diamond and Pearl Base released. While this deck didn’t have a great way to deal with Empoleon, it was an extraordinarily strong contender against the ex-based decks in the metagame. The lengthy list of accomplishments above speaks to its success. Some lists looked almost identical to their 2006 counterparts, just swapping out some of the rotating trainer cards (like Rocket’s Admin) for a new engine that allowed you to grab Cessation Crystal consistently (Castaway + Basic Energy).

Others added some of the newer Fire-type attackers, to help deal with the plethora of fire-weak decks in the metagame, including Metagross and Meganium decks. Arbok was the most popular choice, as it OHKO’d both delta Metagross and delta Meganium, while also putting out significant damage to other delta-species decks. Kingler CG was a secondary option that saw less play, but was still strong. It does extra damage when you have a Pokemon Tool attached, which you usually do, and doesn’t require you to be fighting against other deltas. No matter which version you decide to play, look to grab Cessation Crystal early and often, and keep the opponent locked out of their useful Poke Powers, hindering their setup as much as you can.

Destiny (Rayquaza ex/Exeggutor)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Mew ex 2 Lickitung 2 Rayquaza ex 1 Roselia 1 Jirachi ex 1 Latios Star 1 Holon’s Castform 2 Exeggutor 2 Exeggcute 1 Stantler 1 Absol ex 1 Latios ex	2 Holon Mentor 2 Holon Adventurer 2 Holon Researcher 1 Holon Farmer 1 Holon Scientist 3 Holon Transceiver 3 Castaway 1 Copycat 1 Scott 2 Warp Point 4 Cursed Stone 2 Giant Stump 2 Cessation Crystal 2 Strength Charm	4 Multi Energy 2 Scramble Energy 4 Lightning Energy 3 Psychic Energy

Decklist Credit: Jimmy Ballard, 2nd Place Wisconsin Regionals

This deck’s strategy is going to vary depending on the matchup. You play several different attackers that can disrupt your opponent – Latios ex, which protects itself from EX pokemon, Jirachi ex, which locks Poke-Powers, Roselia, which forces switches and poisons, and Stantler, which confuses evolutions. In a lot of matchups, you can send up a Mew ex to copy one of these pokemon that targets a specific weakness in your opponent’s deck. After your opponent finally finds a counter, Latios Star can act as a trump card to take all of their energy out of play if they are stage 2 heavy. Otherwise, Rayquaza ex and Exeggutor can clean up in specific matchups as well.

This deck was one of many successful rogue decks created by Jimmy Ballard. Normally his rogue decks stayed within the midwestern pokemon group and saw success with those players at events, but this deck saw accomplishments across the country, as well as across the sea in Germany!

Dragonite/Electivire

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Electivire 4 Electabuzz 4 Elekid 3 Dragonite 1 Dragonair 3 Dratini 4 Holon’s Castform	4 Celio’s Network 3 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Farmer 1 Holon Researcher 1 Mr. Briney’s Compassion 3 Rare Candy 4 Holon Transceiver 3 Windstorm 2 Holon Ruins	9 Lightning Energy 3 Scramble Energy

Decklist Credit: PTCG Archive

While some players chose to reinvent the MetaNite archetype from 2006, others saw success using Electivire in place of the Metagross. Between Electabuzz and Holon’s Castform, it’s very easy to draw through your deck to find key cards, and Holon Mentor becomes especially useful, since both Elekid and Electabuzz technically qualify as “basic” pokemon. When playing this deck, be aware that since Elekid evolves through the use of its poke-power, it can actually evolve on the same turn you play it, but the downsides are that it cannot skip to Electivire through the use of Rare Candy, and it also will not be able to evolve if the opponent has a Cessation Crystal active.

Empoleon DP

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Empoleon 3 Prinplup 4 Piplup 2 Corsola 1 Infernape 1 Chimchar 1 Holon’s Electrode	2 Holon Mentor 2 Holon Adventurer 2 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Farmer 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Celio’s Network 2 Castaway 1 Steven’s Advice 1 Mr. Briney’s Compassion 3 Rare Candy 3 Cessation Crystal 4 Cursed Stone	3 Scramble Energy 1 Double Rainbow Energy 11 Water Energy

Decklist Credit: Tsuguyoshi Yamato, Top 4 Worlds

Empoleon (along with Infernape) was one of the first archetypes popularized when Diamond/Pearl Base Set was finally released. Empoleon has a lot of HP for a 1 prize attacker in this format, and its lack of reliance on Poke-Powers allows it to disrupt its opponents through the use of cessation crystal. Corsola is crucial to setting up early in the game. The list pictured above is the Top 4 list from Worlds Masters, but most lists did not play the 1-0-1 Infernape line and instead opted for extra consistency cards. (the seniors list for example played extra energy and a copycat)

Exeggutor/Ledian/Quagsire

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Exeggutor 4 Exeggcute 3 Ledian 4 ledyba 3 Quagsire 3 Wooper 3 Holon’s Castform	4 Celio’s Network 3 Mary’s Request 3 Lanette’s Net Search 2 Castaway 1 Mr. Briney’s Compassion 1 Copycat 2 Holon Ruins 2 Cessation Crystal 2 Mysterious Shard 1 Crystal Shard 1 Strength Charm 1 Protective Orb 1 Energy Root 1 Curse Powder	4 Delta Species Rainbow Energy 2 Scramble Energy 2 Double Rainbow Energy 1 Heal Energy 1 Grass Energy 1 Fighting Energy

Decklist Credit: Lars Ludicke, 1st Place German Nationals

Lars Ludicke took this wildly innovative deck to the German National Championships, and came out with a victory. This deck was created for Pre-DP play, as it uses a bunch of strong Pokemon Tool cards that attacked specific parts of the ex-centralized metagame. Ledian allows you to search for any specific combo piece that you need, while Quagsire allows you to re-use the same tools over and over again. Exeggutor can spread damage around, but both Quagsire and Exeggutor provide for heavy attacks as well.

The tools all have unique effects depending on the situation – Cessation Crystal can shut off poke-powers (like Delta Supply), Mysterious Shard protects you from EX-pokemon, and Crystal Shard can change your typing to hit though resistance (or to hit weakness on Flygon ex PK). Strength Charm gives you a bit of an extra punch, while Energy Root, Protective Orb, and Curse Powder have situational strong points as well.

Flareon/Delcatty

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Delcatty 2 Delcatty ex 4 Skitty 2 Umbreon ex 1 Vaporeon ex 3 Flareon 4 Eevee 1 Holon’s Electrode	3 Mary’s Request 2 Professor Elm’s Training Method 2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Farmer 1 Holon Lass 4 Holon Transceiver 3 Windstorm 2 Warp Point 2 Strength Charm 2 Full Flame	5 Fire Energy 4 Metal Energy (Special) 3 Darkness Energy (Special) 3 Holon Energy FF 1 Water Energy

Decklist: Miranda Craig, Attempted re-creation based on tournament reports

Miranda Craig took this really unique rogue deck to a top 8 finish at Florida Regionals. This was built for a pre-Diamond/Pearl metagame, and a lot of her card choices are targeted at specific decks. Flareon Delta Species is *AGGRESSIVE*. By attaching a fire or metal to Eevee on turn 1, you can break the evolution rules, and search out a Flareon immediately, which in turn accelerates energy to itself. This allows you to bash the opponent for 50 on turn 2. Not only does this delete small basic pokemon like Trapinch or Beldum, this OHKOs Holon’s Castform, which immediately stunts the setup of any deck that relies on Delta Draw to get going early. The fire typing is also nifty, as it hits Metagross, Meganium, Scizor ex, and Steelix ex for weakness. Return Burn is also really useful – it might not OHKO, but Burning targets like Flygon will prevent them from using important poke-powers, like Delta Supply.

Delcatty ex also really hurts flygon decks. After your Flareon has taken a few KOs, Delcatty ex can clean up effectively. Energy Draw early will help you set up, while Upstream hits Flygon and Dragonite Delta for weakness, and OHKOs them pretty easily. In matchups where Flareon and Delcatty are not desirable, the other eeveelutions can be used. Tournament reports only indicate Umbreon ex was in the deck, which makes sense given its strong matchup against Banette. However, I added a Vaporeon ex in this deck – Evolutionary Swirl seems too strong to not include, and it also gives you another attacker against other decks, like Flariados.

Flariados

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Ariados 4 Spinarak 3 Flareon ex 1 Jolteon ex 1 Umbreon ex 4 Eevee 1 Holon’s Electrode	4 Holon Mentor 2 Holon Adventurer 2 Holon Farmer 1 Holon Scientist 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Professor Elm’s Training Method 3 Mary’s Request 4 Super Scoop Up 2 Windstorm 3 Giant Stump	4 Multi Energy 6 Grass Energy 2 Fire Energy 1 Lightning Energy

Decklist Credit: PTCG Archive

Flariados was another one of the most popular archetypes in the 06-07 season. It abused Ariados’s cheap and high-damaging attack Reactive Poison alongside Flareon ex’s ability to inflict 2 special conditions at once upon evolution. The deck can sometimes be a bit inconsistent as Super Scoop Up tails can be annoying, but when running smoothly this deck could take matches off of almost anything in the format. If you can’t get multiple Eevees in play, make sure you play your Super Scoop Ups immediately after evolving – with no Rare Candies, you cannot pick up and re-play down the evolved eeveelution all in one turn.

Flygon ex Legend maker

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Flygon ex 2 Vibrava 4 Trapinch 4 Holon’s Castform 2 Magcargo 2 Slugma 2 Nidoqueen 2 Nidoran-F 1 Holon’s Magnemite	1 Holon Researcher 1 Holon Scientist 2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Farmer 1 Holon Adventurer 4 Holon Transceiver 3 TV Reporter 4 Rare Candy 3 Windstorm 2 Warp Point 1 Switch 2 PlusPower 2 Giant Stump	4 Boost Energy 3 Rainbow Energy 3 React Energy 1 Lightning Energy

Decklist Credit: Steffen From, 2nd Place Worlds

Flygon-ex LM didn’t see as much play as some of the other archetypes, but boasted one of the Largest HP stats in the field, as well as legitimate OHKO potential, which several other decks in this format lacked. The ability to re-use its energy and be fairly self-sustaining after setup was also a big plus. Holon’s castform can be used to draw a plethora of cards in the early game, and Magcargo can be used in tandem with draw supporters to act as a pseudo-Quick Search ability (Pidgeot RG had rotated by this point).

Nidoqueen is very helpful for setup, but it can actually be extremely useful as an attacker – if you make the opponent KO 3 ex pokemon and 1 Nidoqueen, you’re basically making the opponent take 7 prizes to your 6. In addition, Nidoqueen can attack with just a boost energy, and it’s not hard to reach the 90 damage cap in the mid-to late game stages. Flygon ex can also pick up Boost out of the discard pile, allowing you to fire repeated 90-100 damage shots while the opponent struggles to keep up.

FlyVees

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Flygon ex 2 Flygon 2 Vibrava 4 Trapinch 2 Jolteon ex 1 Vaporeon ex 1 Espeon ex 4 Eevee 4 Holon’s Castform 1 Absol ex 1 Vaporeon Star 1 Holon’s Voltorb	2 Holon Adventurer 2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Researcher 1 Holon Scientist 4 Holon Transceiver 2 Copycat 3 Professor Elm’s Training Method 4 Rare Candy 3 Windstorm 1 Warp Point 1 Crystal Shard	6 Psychic Energy 4 Lightning Energy

Decklist Credit: PTCG Archive and tournament reports of Gino Lombardi

Flygon-ex DF was another of the pokemon that could make great use of the Eeveelution-ex pokemon’s Poke-Powers. This deck had repeated tournament results across all divisions. The goal is to use Jolteon ex to spread 10 damage to the entire board, while Flygon-ex doubles down on this with Psychic Pulse. Flygon’s poke-body would ping basic pokemon for an extra 10 damage in between turns is an added bonus.

The Grass/Metal Flygon provides energy acceleration only for delta species pokemon, which is one of the reasons the Metal Eevee is chosen over the call for family Eevee. This way, you can not only get your Flygons powered up more quickly, but also the eeveelutions themselves, which can be strong attackers depending on the matchup.

InfernCatty

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Infernape Lv.X 3 Infernape 2 Monferno 4 Chimchar 3 Delcatty 1 Delcatty ex 3 Skitty	2 Holon Mentor 2 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Lass 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Farmer 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Celio’s Network 4 Rare Candy 3 PlusPower 3 Windstorm 2 Warp Point	4 Double Rainbow Energy 11 Fire Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks

Infernape/Delcatty was the second of the archetypes that was popularized immediately upon the release of DP base set. This deck was a strong contender in 2007 due to its OHKO potential late-game with Flare Up and Upstream, as well as its consistent engine once Delcatty got running. This deck continued to be dominant in the early 2008 season (Substituting TV Reporters in for the Holon engine) until the release of Secret Wonders meant the beginning of the Plox-dominated format.

Lucario/Eevees

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Lucario 4 Riolu 2 Jolteon ex 2 Vaporeon ex 1 Flareon ex 1 Espeon ex 1 Umbreon ex 4 Eevee 1 Absol ex 1 Holon’s Electrode	4 Professor Elm’s Training Method 3 Mary’s Request 3 Castaway 2 Steven’s Advice 1 Copycat 1 Holon Mentor 3 Dual Ball 3 Strength Charm 2 Windstorm 2 Cessation Crystal 1 Crystal Shard	4 Multi Energy 8 Fighting Energy 1 Psychic Energy 1 Water Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks

 Lucario provides type advantage against a decent chunk of decks given the heavy reliance on Jolteon ex and Umbreon ex, and the eeveelutions help push the early game pressure that Lucario can provide. Jolteon ex and Lucario both can spread damage around the opponent’s field, simultaneously threatening low-hp basic pokemon, while softening up larger-hp threats for later.  Vaporeon ex can be abused to keep the opponent’s hand size low, hindering setup and keeping them off-balance. Umbreon ex is a pretty standard 1-of inclusion, as gusting something active is ALWAYS useful, and Black Cry can also shut down the opponent’s poke-powers early. Espeon ex is a nifty inclusion here, to potentially devolve a threat after Jolteon and Lucario rack up the damage. Flareon provides a nifty check to Scizor decks. 

Oh, also don’t overlook the fact that Riolu has incredible donk potential in a format where many basic pokemon are weak to fighting (Eevee, Lickitung, Holon’s Castform to name a few).

Machamp

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Machamp 3 Machoke 4 Machop 4 Gligar 1 Nidoqueen 1 Nidoran-F 1 Absol ex	4 Celio’s Network 4 Castaway 3 Steven’s Advice 2 Copycat 2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Scientist 4 Rare Candy 2 Holon Transceiver 1 PlusPower 2 Crystal Shard 2 Strength Charm	4 Double Rainbow Energy 10 Fighting Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks

This deck focuses on setting up Machamp, which can use Revenge to punish early KOs on Gligar. Dynamicpunch is a house when Double Rainbow Energy can get it active early. Nidoqueen can aid setup early, but can also be a strong finisher at the end of the match, with Vengeance. Crystal Shard is a unique tech that allows you to play around the surprisingly high amount of pokemon that carry fighting resistance.

A slightly different variation, pictured below, saw more widespread success, taking top 4 at worlds in the Juniors division as well as multiple top 16 placements at US Nationals.

MaRio (Machamp/Lucario)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
2 Machamp 1 Machamp 1 Machoke 1 Machoke 3 Machop 3 Lucario 4 Riolu	3 Celio’s Network 2 Holon Mentor 2 Castaway 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Farmer 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Lass 1 Scott 1 Mr. Briney’s Compassion 4 PlusPower 4 Cursed Stone 4 Holon Transceiver 3 Rare Candy 2 Cessation Crystal 1 Energy Root	12 Fighting Energy 2 Double Rainbow Energy

Decklist Credit: Andrew Choong, Top 4 Worlds Juniors

Machamp/Lucario was well-poised in this metagame to take advantage of the plethora of fighting-weak pokemon: Absol ex, Jolteon ex, and Umbreon ex, to name a few. Lucario was an extremely aggressive evolution line – riolu could pick up donk KOs on several basics like Castform or Eevee before the game even started, while Lucario could deal moderate damage while softening things up for Machamp late game. This list also includes the PK Machamp, which does extra damage if your opponent has pokemon EX in play, which many of the popular lists at the time did. PlusPower allows you to pick up extra KOs, and Cessation Crystal is crucial here, as it allows you to shut down Poke-Powers since neither Machamp, nor Lucario need any to function. You also have the option to use Energy Root and Mr. Briney’s Compassion to turn machamp into a beefy 150 HP single-prize attacker that can be scooped up and healed.

This deck remained a dominant archetype in the 2007-2008 season until the Release of Secret Wonders put the Psychic-type Gardevoir at the forefront of the metagame.

MSNBC (Metagross/Steelix/Nidoqueen)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Metagross DX 11 1 Metagross DS 11 2 Metang 4 Beldum 2 Nidoqueen 1 Nidorina 2 Nidoran-F 1 Steelix ex 1 Onix 1 Tauros 1 Latios ex 1 Latios Star 1 Latias 4 Holon’s Castform	3 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Researcher 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Farmer 1 Holon Adventurer 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 4 Windstorm 2 Mr. Briney’s Compassion 2 Switch	4 Metal Energy 7 Psychic Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks

Metagross/Nidoqueen, also known as “MSNBC” used Metagross’s ability to accelerate energy into play in order to fire off quick attacks. You can abuse Metagross’s Super Connectivity and Holon’s Castform to power up Steelix ex and Latios, similarly to how LBS functioned in 2006. Latios ex’s first attack provided a safeguard against opposing ex-heavy decks, while also hitting Flareon-ex for super effective damage. Latias primarily shut down the Poke-Bodies of non-ex evolved pokemon (most importantly Safeguard Banette), but its fire typing also allowed it to deal heavy damage to Scizor ex (which could only do 50 in response, as latias is an unevolved pokemon)

Similar decklists (one of which is pictured below) have done well with Scizor EX replacing the Steelix and delta Latios/as (but keeping the Latios Star).

PoliStall

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Politoed ex 1 Poliwrath 2 Poliwhirl 4 Poliwag 2 Corsola 1 Holon’s Magneton	3 Professor Elm’s Training Method 3 Fieldworker 2 Copycat 2 Professor Cozmo’s Discovery 2 Professor Oak’s Research 1 Scott 3 Great Ball 3 Rare candy 3 Cursed Stone 1 Battle Frontier 1 Windstorm 4 Claw Fossil 3 Root Fossil 3 Mysterious Fossil	11 Water Energy 2 Fighting Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks

John and Stephen Silvestro shocked the Florida scene with PoliStall, taking the deck to a surprise 2nd+3rd place finish at regionals. It’s important to understand that this deck was build for the REGIONALS format, meaning before Diamond/Pearl base released. Before DP Base, KOing a fossil was similar to KOing a Robo Substitute or Lillie’s Poke Dall now – you did not take a prize card. Politoed ex hit for 40 damage and would switch to the bench, and Fossils would take their place, feeding 0 prizes to the opponent. Politoed was also a very diverse pokemon – it could snipe threats on the bench, or it could (slowly) acquire 4 water energy to delete large ex threats such as Rayquaza or Absol. Poliwrath is here to get around safeguard effects, and also hits fighting-weak pokemon like Jolteon or Umbreon really hard. The supporter line here is a bit unorthodox – it doesn’t feature the Holon engine at all, nor does it feature TV Reporter – my best guess is that this deck needs all of its resources to function at the highest level, so playing a supporter line that discards multiple cards might not be desirable.

Rambolt (Banette ex/LunaSol)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Banette ex 1 Banette 4 Shuppet 2 Lunatone 2 Solrock LM 25 1 Solrock DX 47 1 Holon’s Magneton	2 Holon Mentor 2 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Scientist 4 Holon Transceiver 2 Castaway 2 TV Reporter 2 Professor Elm’s Training Method 2 Scott 3 Buffer Piece 3 Pokemon Reversal 1 Strength Charm 1 Energy Switch 1 Warp Point 1 Crystal Shard 3 Crystal Beach 1 Phoebe’s Stadium	4 Rainbow Energy 2 Cyclone Energy 8 Psychic Energy 1 Fighting Energy

Decklist Credit: Jeremy Scharff-Kim, 1st Place Worlds Seniors

Banette ex had success with three different variations, using its high damage output to pressure the opponent early. This version (Rambolt) opted for Lunatone and Solrock for support. Solrock shut down the poke-power from Flygon EX from Legend Maker while Lunatone’s fighting typing allowed it to hit Dark-types like Umbreon ex, which Banette ex is weak to. This deck also uses Crystal beach and Buffer Piece to disrupt the opponent’s ability to set up and get consistent KOs.

There were 2 other variations which saw success. One replaced the lunatone/solrock combination with Vaporeon ex and Umbreon ex, with the idea of keeping the opponent’s hand size low in order to deny set up, and using Umbreon ex to bring up specific threats. The other relied on Houndoom UF and keeping their own bench size low in order to lock the opponent’s use of Trainer (item) cards.

Banette ex/Eeveelutions

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Banette ex 1 Banette 4 Shuppet 3 Vaporeon ex 1 Umbreon ex 4 Eevee P3 13 1 Joleon Star	4 Professor Elm’s Training Method 4 TV Reporter 3 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Scientist 2 Castaway 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Scott 4 Holon Transceiver 2 Battle Frontier 2 Crystal Beach 1 Crystal Shard 1 Buffer Piece	4 Rainbow Energy 3 Multi Energy 6 Psychic Energy 3 Water Energy

Decklist Credit: Diego Cassiraga, Top 8 Worlds

The other version of Banette, this version used Shuppet’s Ascension attack to easily search out banette, and the Holon’s engine/TV reporters to quickly discard supporter cards. Then, you would use Vaporeon ex to disrupt your opponent’s ability to set up, very similar to how recent strategies abused Marshadow from Shining Legends. Umbreon ex could be used in a pinch as well, to pull up a specific threat and KO, or to temporarily disable the use of a crucial poke-power, like Nidoqueen’s Invitation or Flygon’s Delta Supply. Unlike the version above, this list does not include Cyclone energy, since Umbreon can be used to switch pokemon around. This list also includes Battle Frontier to shut down Nidoqueen, Flygon, and opposing Umbreon ex.

Robquaza (Disruptive Rayquaza ex Delta)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Rayquaza ex 1 Latios ex 1 Latias 1 Espeon 1 Eevee 1 Solrock 1 Lunatone 1 Mew Star 1 Lickitung	4 Castaway 4 Mary’s Request 2 Lanette’s Net Search 2 Copycat 1 Scott 4 Energy Removal 2 3 Pokemon Reversal 2 Warp Point 1 Strength Charm 1 Oran Berry 1 Cessation Crystal 1 Fluffy Berry 3 Crystal Beach 2 Cursed Stone 1 Giant Stump	4 Multi Energy 4 Delta Rainbow Energy 4 Lightning Energy 2 Water Energy 1 Fire Energy 1 Psychic Energy

Decklist Credit: Rob Downs, Top 4 US Nationals

Robquaza is named after the creator, Rob Downs, who used this deck to place highly at a few different events over the course of this season. This deck focuses on Rayquaza as its main attacker, which can be difficult for poke-power centric decks to deal with in the early game. The lack of evolution lines opens up a lot of space for disruptive cards that can really hinder the opponent’s ability to set up consistently. Lanette’s Net Search is chosen because it can grab basics of any HP as long as you grab 3 different types, which isn’t difficult to do in this deck. Holon’s Mentor caps at 100 HP, meaning it would fail to find Rayquaza ex.

R-Gon (Flygon Delta + Tech Attackers)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Flygon 1 Flygon ex 1 Vibrava 3 Trapinch 1 Sceptile ex 2 Treecko 2 Exeggutor 2 Exeggcute 4 Holon’s Castform 2 Mew P5 3 1 Mew Star 1 Rayquaza ex 1 Chimecho 1 Holon’s Magnemite	2 Holon Mentor 2 Holon Researcher 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Farmer 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Mr. Briney’s Compassion 2 Lanette’s Net Search 2 Giant Stump 1 Strength Charm 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 3 Windstorm 2 PlusPower	4 Delta Species Rainbow Energy 2 Lightning Energy 1 Grass Energy 1 Fire Energy 1 Metal Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks

This unique deck was piloted by Ross Cawthon to a top 16 World Championships finish. It uses a plethora of tech attackers depending on the matchup he was playing against. Sceptile ex was fantastic to power through late game and also make it harder for the opponent to attack back. Exeggutor hit all of the pokemon that were weak to fighting (Jolteon ex, Umbreon ex, Absol ex) and also set up KOs for later.

The Mew attackers were interesting – they could copy any attack as long as they had the necessary energy. Delta Rainbow and Holon’s Castform made this requirement easy, but planning out when to attack with them was crucial. The fire-type Mew was phenomenal against Scizor ex, and the Water-type gold star was strong against Infernape and Flareon ex. Flygon’s Delta Supply powered up all of these attackers quickly, and serves as the backbone of the deck (although Flygon ex is a pretty strong attacker as well!)

Aggro Scizor ex

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Scizor ex 4 Scyther	4 Copycat 3 Professor Elm’s Training Method 2 Castaway 2 Steven’s Advice 2 Professor Oak’s Research 4 Pokemon Reversal 4 Energy Removal 2 4 PlusPower 4 PokedexHANDY910is 2 Strength Charm 1 Crystal Shard 4 Cursed Stone	4 Boost Energy 4 Cyclone Energy 4 Metal Energy (Special) 4 Metal Energy (Basic)

Decklist Credit: Yuki Akimura, Top 4 Worlds

The epitome of “keep it simple”, Aggro Scizor ex ran very few pokemon, and used its high damage output to pressure opponents early. This deck does play a couple of disruptive tools like Pokemon Reversal and Energy Removal, but it also uses the extra space to boost its damage output with cards like Cursed Stone, PlusPower, and Strength Charm to push 2HKOs into OHKOs. Scizor ex’s Poke-Body also meant that it would very often punish you for not OHKOing it outright.

ScizorGross

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Holon’s Castform 3 Beldum 2 Metang 3 Metagross 2 Nidoran 1 Nidorina 2 Nidoqueen 2 Scyther 2 Scizor ex 1 Latios Star 1 Holon’s Voltorb	3 Copycat 1 Holon Adventurer 2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Researcher 1 Holon Scientist 4 Holon Transceiver 1 PlusPower 2 Pokemon Reversal 3 Professor Elm’s Training Method 4 Rare Candy 2 Steven’s Advice 1 Strength Charm	4 Metal Energy (Special) 8 Psychic Energy

Decklist Credit: Jay Hornung, 2nd Place US Nationals

This deck functions similar to the MSNBC list above, but it relies on Scizor ex as the secondary attacker rather than the Steelix and the delta Latias/Latios combination. It does, however, keep the Latios Star for the option to have one large attack against Stage 2 pokemon. Again, Nidoqueen is mostly used here to aid setup, while the Metagross can accelerate energy into play, but don’t be afraid to use the Nidoqueen as another attacking option once a couple of pokemon have been KO’d. With Holon’s Voltorb and Castform being attached as energy, the discard pile fills up with pokemon more quickly than you would expect.

Scythe (Swampert ex/Gardevoir ex)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Swampert ex 1 Marshtomp 3 Mudkip 2 Scizor ex 2 Scyther 2 Gardevoir ex 1 Gardevoir 1 Kirlia 2 Ralts 4 Jirachi 1 Latios Star	3 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Farmer 2 Steven’s Advice 2 TV Reporter 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 3 Warp Point 2 Windstorm 1 Switch 3 Giant Stump	4 Metal Energy (Special) 4 Rainbow Energy 3 Warp Energy

Decklist Credit: Erik and Kevin Nance

The Nance Brothers plotted and schemed and built this deck, planning to unleash it at the US National Championships. Unfortunately, the brothers weren’t able to actually attend the tournament, so we never got to see how this deck would have fared in action. The deck has several interesting options – the main “mode” involves setting up a Scizor ex with multiple special energy on it. Gardevoir Emerald could heal it every turn, making it extremely difficult to KO. Gardevoir ex was mainly used to shut down the poke-powers of decks that had the potential to OHKO the Scizor, such as preventing the Dragonite in MetaNite from attaching multiple energy.

The setup engine is reminiscent of 2006 – it uses Jirachi from Deoxys along with Warp Energy and other switching cards to find crucial pieces, while Swampert ex “accelerates” energy into play from your discard pile. Swampert can also be used as an attacker against Flareon ex when necessary.

Shiftry ex

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Shiftry ex 2 Nuzleaf 4 Seedot 4 Lickitung 2 Absol ex 1 Holon’s Electrode	4 Professor Elm’s Training Method 3 Holon Mentor 2 Holon Scientist 2 Holon Adventurer 1 Scott 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 4 Cursed Stone 2 Giant Stump 2 Warp Point	4 Darkness Energy (Special) 4 Psychic Energy 3 Rainbow Energy 3 Multi Energy 1 Cyclone Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks and Alex Brosseau

Shiftry ex saw a lot of success even after Diamond/Pearl released, as the format became increasingly reliant on Poke-Powers from pokemon like Dragonite DS, Delcatty PK, and Nidoqueen DF. Shiftry ex CG could target down any pokemon for 30 damage, but it did 50 instead if the pokemon already had damage counters on it. With the 10 damage in place already, this was enough to 2HKO common threats like the eeveelution ex pokemon, or Rayquaza ex.

Lickitung DF provided means of spreading 10 damage to benched pokemon (30 if they were delta!), which set up KOs for Shiftry ex pretty nicely. Absol ex could manipulate damage and set up easier KOs through its poke-power, but it can also attack when necessary. The list above is from pre-DP, and should be pretty close to the list Alex Brosseau and Jason Klaczynski used at Wisconsin Regionals in 2007. The deck should still function ok against post-DP decks, but you may want to include Basic Darkness Energy which released in Diamond/Pearl Base Set. Shiftry ex from Power Keepers could also be unique inclusion to punish decks that relied on using several copies of the same pokemon to perform effectively (Like Empoleon, MetaNite, or ironically, the mirror.)