2009 Decks

• Legal Sets
  • Diamond and Pearl Base
  • DP Mysterious Treasures
  • DP Secret Wonders
  • DP Great Encounters
  • DP Majestic Dawn
  • DP Legends Awakened
  • DP Stormfront
  • Platinum Base
  • PL Rising Rivals

• First Turn Rules
  • On their first turn, the player who goes first may not play any trainers, supporters, or stadiums
  • The player who wins the coin flip MUST GO FIRST
  • The coin flip occurs AFTER the setup phase

2009 gave an extraordinarily refreshing breeze to the trading card game. This is one of the few formats where there are ZERO energy cards that you can just slap on a pokemon to provide two energy. The only card in the format that does this is Upper Energy, which only provides two COLORLESS energy, and only does so if you are LOSING. As a result, the format slowed a bit, and while the total number of decks might not be as high as 2007, the decks that do exist all play very differently from one another.

Every archetype under the sun exists – there are fast, aggresive decks that seek to go up early on prizes and pressure the opponent. There are slower, “come from behind” decks that focus on setting up multiple different evolution lines. There are lock decks, that focus on disruption and shutting off poke-powers. And, for the first time in years, there was a deck that could consistently win by milling the opponent down to zero cards in their deck.

The games for 2009 feel very skill-intensive and drawn out, and there are times where one small misstep can cost somebody the game. I really enjoy the games that this format has to offer, and the variety of strategies makes it one of the best years to play over and over again.

A.M.U. (Azelf/Mesprit/Uxie)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Uxie Lv. X 3 Uxie 1 Mesprit Lv. X 2 Mesprit 1 Mesprit 1 Azelf Lv. X 2 Azelf 1 Azelf 1 Palkia Lv. X 1 Palkia	4 Roseanne’s Research 3 Looker’s Investigation 2 Bebe’s Search 4 PokeDrawer+ 4 Premier Ball 4 Level MAX 4 Energy Pickup 3 Switch 1 Warp Point 2 Energy Switch 2 Snowpoint Temple 1 Time Space Distortion 1 Night Maintenance 1 Pokemon Rescue	10 Psychic Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks, PTCG Archive

This deck saw extremely favorable results early in the season, but fell off hard late in the year because Stormfront and Platinum both printed cards that were difficult for the Lake Trio to deal with (most notably, Gengar and Dialga G Lv.X). The idea is to get all three pixies going and then fire off repeated shots for 200 damage via the use of Energy Switch and Energy Pickup. Palkia Lv. X also lets you pick and choose who you want to kill, since Mesprit MT gives all of your pixies free retreat anyways.

BlastCatty

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Blastoise 2 Wartortle 3 Squirtle 2 Kyogre 2 Claydol 2 Baltoy 2 Delcatty 2 Skitty 2 Uxie 1 Blissey 1 Chansey 1 Dialga (PL 5)	4 Felicity’s Drawing 4 Roseanne’s Research 4 Bebe’s Search 1 Cynthia’s Feelings 3 Broken Time-Space 3 Rare Candy 2 Warp Point 1 Luxury Ball 1 Night Maintenance	12 Water Energy 2 Call Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks

While Blastoise/Delcatty didn’t see any results at the highest level of tournament play, it was an EXTREMELY fun tier 2/tier 3 archetype. SP Decks definitely hurt it the most, as a well-timed Power Spray could completely neuter your Blastoise’s ability to put energy in play and put you pretty far behind, although Kyogre does help mitigate this somewhat. Blastoise itself can put out some nice early pressure on slower, eveolution decks as well, as one turn of Kyogre spread damage pretty reliably will put Claydol, Pixies, and other basic/stage 1 pokemon within range of a Double Launcher, making it pretty easy to set up multi-prize turns for later.

Dialga/Gallade Spread

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
2 Gallade e4 2 Gallade e4 Lv.X 3 Honchkrow G 2 Dialga G 1 Dialga G Lv. X 2 Uxie 2 Unown G 2 Crobat G 1 Bronzong G 1 Toxicroak G DP PR41	2 Cynthia’s Feelings 4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 4 Energy Gain 1 Luxury Ball 1 Night Maintenance 4 Poke Turn 4 Power Spray 4 Roseanne’s Research 3 SP Radar 1 Team Galactic’s Wager 2 Warp Point	2 Darkness Energy (Special) 2 Darkness Energy (Basic) 2 Metal Energy (Basic) 4 Psychic Energy 2 SP Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks

The goal of this deck is to use Gallade to spread damage around the opponent’s board, and then pick off attackers for easy prizes. Gallade does extra damage for each damage counter already on the opponent when it attacks, while Honchkrow can pick off targets effectively from the bench. Dialga G can use Deafen while you set the board up, but it also gets a nice boost if the opponent is already damaged. Dialga G LV. X was also pretty necessary to counter Nidoqueen, who’s Maternal Comfort poke-body would otherwise render all of Gallade’s spread damage useless.

Toxicroak G as always is the quintessential Luxray GL Lv.X counter, but it finds extra utility in this format against Manectric PL, which is common in anti-meta builds. The (unconfirmed) urban legend of this deck is that in the final of Seniors for US Nationals, Aylam managed to squeeze out a win by flipping THREE heads in a row on super scoop up on the 2nd turn, successfully using Uxie LA to draw a bunch of cards (after the first two were negated by Power Spray.)

DPL (Dialga/Palkia/Luxray)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Palkia G Lv.X 2 Palkia G 1 Dialga G Lv.X 2 Dialga G 1 Luxray GL Lv.X 2 Luxray GL 2 Mesprit 1 Azelf 1 Uxie 2 Unown G 1 Toxicroak PR DP41 1 Bronzong G 1 Chatot 1 Crobat G 1 Claydol 1 Baltoy	4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 3 Roseanne’s Research 2 Bebe’s Search 1 Aaron’s Collection 4 Poké Turn 4 Energy Gain 3 Power Spray 2 SP Radar 1 Luxury Ball 1 Night Maintenance	4 Call Energy 3 Metal Energy (Special) 2 Lightning Energy 2 Water Energy 1 Metal Energy (Basic) 1 Psychic Energy 1 SP Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks

At worlds, this deck dropped in popularity in favor of more streamlined SP decks, but upon the release of Platinum Base, all the way through US Nationals, DPL was dominant. It focused on using the 3 most disruptive SP attackers to hinder the opponent’s setup. Palkia forces both players down to 3 bench, which frees up space for you to use Mesprit’s Psychic Bind (a strategy later seen in the Legos deck below), Dialga G shut down poke-bodies and prevented the use of items and stadiums, while Luxray GL gusted specific pokemon to the active position.

Having the plethora of attackers allowed you to lean more heavily on one or two of them depending on the matchup you are playing against, and it gave you type advantage in a wider variety of decks. Luxray hits hard against Kingdra and opposing Palkia G, Palkia does well against Infernape e4, and Toxicroak G Promo is handy against both Luxray and Manectric decks.

FlyChamp

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Flygon Lv.X 3 Flygon 2 Vibrava 3 Trapinch SW 1 Trapinch RR 2 Claydol 2 Claydol 1 Machamp Lv.X 2 Machamp 1 Machoke 2 Machop 1 Nidoqueen 1 Nidoran 1 Azelf 1 Uxie 2 Unown G 1 Chatot 1 Ditto	4 Bebe’s Search 4 Roseanne’s Research 2 Cynthia’s Feelings 1 Lucian’s Assignment 4 Rare Candy 2 Night Maintenance 1 Luxury Ball 1 Premier Ball	4 Call Energy 3 Upper Energy 4 fighting Energy 3 Psychic Energy

Decklist Credit: Sami Sekkoum, 2nd Place Worlds

Flygon saw success with multiple different pokemon, although Machamp was probably the biggest. Machamp dunked on the SP decks that could sometimes outpace Flygon before it set up, while Flygon handled a lot of the evolution decks like Gengar and Gyarados better than Machamp could. Ditto was a unique inclusion by Sami Sekkoum at the world championships, as it gave him an extra attacker in the mirror match, and the psychic energy allowed it to put in work against Gengar variants as well.

Flygon/Weavile

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Flygon Lv.X 3 Flygon 2 Vibrava 4 Trapinch 2 Claydol 2 Claydol 2 Weavile 2 Sneasel 2 Unown G 1 Azelf 1 Uxie 1 Mewtwo Lv.X 1 Mewtwo	4 Bebe’s Search 4 Roseanne’s Research 1 Lucian’s Assignment 4 Rare Candy 2 Premier Ball 1 Luxury Ball 2 Warp Point 2 Night Maintenance	4 Call Energy 4 Darkness Energy (Special) 4 Psychic Energy 1 Darkness Energy (Basic) 1 Fighting Energy

Decklist Credit: Karl Blake, Top 16 Worlds

This was a different Flygon variant that saw success this year. Weavile allowed you to search for dark energy and charge multiple Flygons up quickly, while also bolstering Flygon’s damage output by changing its type to dark when it attacked. Dusknoir and Mewtwo are nifty inclusions – Mewtwo handles unevolved pokemon while Dusknoir limits the opponent’s bench; both use Psychic energy which can make it easier to power them up to attack, although this is usually more handy for Flygon’s poke-body, giving them free retreat.

Gengar/Dusknoir

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Gengar 1 Haunter 3 Gastly 1 Dusknoir Lv. X 2 Dusknoir (Stormfront) 1 Dusknoir (DP Base) 2 Dusclops 3 Duskull 2 Claydol 2 Baltoy 1 Mewtwo 1 Mewtwo Lv.X 2 Uxie 2 Unown G	4 Bebe’s Search 3 Roseanne’s Research 1 Cynthia’s Feelings 1 Looker’s Investigation 1 Lucian’s Assignment 4 Rare Candy 2 Warp Point 2 Night Maintenance 1 Luxury Ball 2 Moonlight Stadium	6 Psychic Energy 4 Call Energy 3 Rainbow Energy

Decklist Credit: Lars Andersen, Top 16 World Championships

Dusknoir/Gengar achieved 2nd place at the Northern California Regional Championships, and somewhat recently, it was discovered that the list above placed Top 16 at the World Championships. The two pokemon work together pretty nicely – Gengar places 6 damage counters on anything that has a Poke-Power with Shadow Room. Once KO’d, Dusknoir Lv.X can clean up the last 10-20 damage with its poke-power, which also happens to be one of the most unique Poke-powers in the history of the game. When KO’d by damage, Dusknoir Lv.X turns into a Stadium card that places 1 damage counter on each of your opponent’s pokemon in-between turns. Even after 1 turn, that’s a perfect KO on pokemon like Uxie or Azelf. Rainbow Energy lets you get an extra 10 damage onto your own Dusknoir, making it easier to take out pokemon like Uxie.

This version also played a 1-1 Mewtwo Lv.X line which is good for multiple purposes. SP Decks like Palkia Lock or LuxApe can’t damage Mewtwo Lv.X without playing an evolution to counter its poke-body. Dusknoir and Gengar have a chance to snipe these evolution pokemon off the field before they get set up, which makes it even harder to break through the Mewtwo. Lucian’s Assignment also means that Mewtwo Lv.X (and Dusknoir DP) can both act as strong late-game finishers as well, allowing you to hit for upwards of 100 damage.

You do have some alternative options with this deck – there are multiple strong Dusknoir pokemon in the format, and some versions of this deck include the DP Promo Dusknoir. This gives you a means of dealing 70 damage (not damage counters) which makes it easier to get around Unown G. The Shiny Duskull (SH6) from stormfront is also not a bad choice – if you ever cut down to just 1 Dusclops, this would probably be the preferred Duskull as it has 10 extra HP and it can attack for 0 energy. In the version above, Duskull SW makes more sense, as it can evolve immediately upon being played, which is more likely to come up if you are playing 2 or more Dusclops. The version that placed 2nd at NorCal Regionals used Professor Rowan, which is a pretty unorthodox supporter. I’m assuming the idea is to keep a rare candy/stage 2 in your hand rather than shuffling everything in, making it easier to hit rare candy + stage 2, but I think in most cases, Cynthia’s Feelings will probably work out better. Crobat G and Starmie LA are 2 additional options you have to make sniping pokemon easier.

Gengar/Starmie

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Gengar 2 Haunter 4 Gastly 2 Starmie 2 Staryu 2 Claydol 2 Baltoy 2 Crobat G 2 Uxie 2 Unown G	4 Bebe’s Search 4 Roseanne’s Research 2 Looker’s Investigation 1 Cynthia’s Feelings 4 Rare Candy 3 PokeTurn 2 Warp Point 1 Night Maintenance 1 Luxury Ball 3 Broken Time-Space	7 Psychic Energy 4 Call Energy

While Nidoqueen and Cresselia Lv. X were considered “superior” partners, this variant actually placed higher than any other variant did at Nats or Worlds this year (in the Masters Division). Gengar’s strength comes from its ability to snipe 60 to any pokemon that has a poke-power. With Crobat G, you have legitimate OHKO potential on important threats like Claydol and Uxie, while Fainting Spell threatens to take extra prize cards when KO’d.

Gengar has 1 crucial weakness to Unown G, however. Because Gengar’s Shadow Room attack places Damage Counters rather than outright dealing 60 damage, Unown G can shut down all of Gengar’s shenanigans. Starmie helps circumvent this. Core Flash snipes 50 damage (not damage counters) to pokemon that have poke-powers or poke-bodies (the latter coming in handy against decks like Flygon). Starmie also gives Gengar a hard-hitting option against Fire-types, most notably hitting Infernape e4 Lv. X for 100 damage.

The above decklist is my own attempt to re-create Matthew Lambou’s Top 8 US Nationals decklist – I could not find any tournament reports anywhere, so this is the current list based on the few matches I have played with it.

Gyarados

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Gyarados 4 Magikarp 4 Sableye 1 Uxie Lv. X 2 Uxie 1 Luxray GL Lv. X 1 Luxray GL 2 Crobat G 1 Toxicroak G Promo 1 Unown Q 1 Azelf 1 Combee 1 Ditto 1 Regice	4 Felicity’s Drawing 4 Roseanne’s Research 3 Bebe’s Search 1 Buck’s Training 1 Cynthia’s Feelings 1 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 4 Pokemon Rescue 4 Super Scoop Up 4 Poké Turn 1 Luxury Ball 1 Energy Gain 3 Broken Time-Space	2 Psychic Energy 2 Warp Energy 1 Cyclone Energy

Gyarados didn’t become a dominant metagame force until next season, but a couple of French players brought this list in as a rogue deck to the World Championships and almost stole the tournament. Fabien Garner, the Top 8 finisher was only eliminated by eventual World Champion Stephen Silvestro after flipping THREE tails with Super Scoop Up on the same turn. 1 heads would have won him the match, according to Silvestro’s tournament report.

The deck runs a bit differently in this year, as it does not have access to Pokemon Collector or Expert Belt – Uxie is still used to dig for Magikarps early in the match, as well as Sableye’s Impersonate for Roseanne’s Research. Buck’s Training and a heavier Crobat G/PokeTurn line act as your ways to get extra damage into play. Toxicroak G acts as a counter to Luxray GL, OHKOing it if it tries to freely attack into your Gyarados – it’s not difficult to set up, as Gyarados doesn’t require any energy attachments to attack.

Other versions of this list have included a heavier line of Buck’s Training, and PlusPower over Super Scoop Up, with the idea that you can very consistently hit KOs on everything you would need to. I personally include Ditto and Psychic Energy in all of my Gyarados lists due to the fond memories I have of playing it as a kid – I found it super helpful in the Gengar matchup to play around Fainting Spell, as well as in the Mirror match to easily Tail Revenge for a base of 120, but it is definitely cuttable if you are looking for some extra spots.

Kingdra

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Kingdra 3 Seadra 4 Horsea 3 Claydol 3 Baltoy 2 Uxie 2 Crobat G	4 Roseanne’s Research 4 Bebe’s Search 2 Cynthia’s feelings 4 Rare Candy 4 Super Scoop Up 4 Poke Turn 3 PlusPower 2 Luxury Ball 1 Night Maintenance 1 Warp Point 3 Broken Time-Space	5 Water Energy 2 Multi Energy

Decklist Credit: Alex Brosseau, Top 16 US Nationals

Kingdra was a very simple, consistent, and aggressive deck that was capable of stealing games early. Unlike Machamp, however, Kingdra also had the potential to take clean OHKO’s late game with its Aqua Stream attack, especially when combined with multiple Warp Points or damage modifiers. Smart players would also use the secondary effect of Kingdra’s Dragon Pump attack to set up easier KOs for later in the match. There were many different Kingdra lists that did good this season – early in the year, during City Championships and State Championships, many lists played a heavy line of Warp Points to force switches, and Cresselia Lv.X to set up damage and make Kingdra a little tankier. Some players, like Alex Brosseau above, opted to use heavy lines of Poke Turn and PlusPower to bolster your damage output even further. Many lists in the Seniors division played a much heavier line of Water Energy (closer to 12) allowing you to discard them more freely, and build towards a late-game Aqua Stream that could hit for big damage. Sami Sekkoum won the UK National Championships with no PlusPower or Poke Turn, instead relying on Skuntank G as his only extra damage, as well as Warp Points to take late-game KOs. While it had mostly died out after Rising Rivals released, Alex Brosseau took the above list to Top 16 at the US Nationals – the highest the deck would place between US Nationals and Worlds.

Legos (Palkia Lock)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Palkia G Lv.X 3 Palkia G 4 Mesprit 1 Azelf LA 19 1 Azelf MT 4 3 Uxie 1 Uxie Lv.X 2 Unown G 1 Toxicroak PR DP41 1 Bronzong G 2 Crobat G 1 Raichu GL 1 Misdreavus 1 Mismagius	4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 4 Roseanne’s Research 1 Bebe’s Search 1 Aaron’s Collection 4 Poké Turn 4 Energy Gain 3 Power Spray 2 SP Radar 1 Luxury Ball 1 Night Maintenance	4 Call Energy 2 Psychic Energy 1 Lightning Energy 5 Water Energy

Decklist Credit: PTCG Archive

Palkia Lock was absolutely dominant at the end of the 2009 season – it picked up a lot of hype going into US Nationals because of how streamlined and consistent it was compared to what SP variants had been previously, and it did not disappoint. It continued its dominance at Worlds, where it comprised almost half of the decks in top cut of the Masters Division bracket.

The goal was to use Palkia Lv. X to free up your bench space, allowing you to re-use Mesprit’s Psychic Bind several turns in a row. Then, after achieving a full setup, you could hold up power sprays on turns where Mesprit was no longer required. Palkia Lv. X would spread damage around the whole field while the Lv. X could snipe and KO specific threats, further hindering the opponent’s setup. Toxicroak G as always was the tech for Luxray GL, while Raichu GL helped against Gyarados, Kingdra, as well as the mirror match. Mismagius gave you an out against Mewtwo Lv. X

LuxApe

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Luxray GL Lv.X 2 Luxray GL 1 Infernape e4 Lv.X 2 Infernape e4 1 Claydol 1 Claydol 1 Uxie Lv.X 1 Uxie 1 Ninetales 1 Vulpix 2 Unown G 1 Bronzong G 1 Azelf 1 Roserade GL 1 Lucario GL 1 Chatot 1 Crobat G	4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 4 Roseanne’s Research 2 Bebe’s Search 1 Aaron’s Collection 4 Poké Turn 4 Energy Gain 3 SP Radar 2 Power Spray 1 Night Maintenance 1 Premier Ball 1 Luxury Ball 1 Stark Mountain	3 Call Energy 6 Fire Energy 3 Lightning Energy

Decklist Credit: Kyle Suchevich

Luxray/Infernape was one of the premier SP decks this season. Infernape gave the deck legitimate OHKO potential, which is something most SP decks lacked without playing to type advantages. Ninetales gives you an out against Mewtwo Lv.X, as well as providing an additional hitter against flygon variants.

Kyle Suchevich won US Nationals with this archetype, but despite winning the whole tournament, many players think that most LuxApe lists could be further optimized. Jay Hornung in particular notes that while the archetype is strong, most players were picking it up for the 1st time a week or so before the tournament. Kyle himself noted that the Rayquaza LA he played only aided him 1 time in the entirety of the event, and many people agree that a Night Maintenance from his list was cuttable as well, with a 3rd Luxray, additional Power Sprays, Roserade GL, and Aaron’s Collection being popular choices as replacements. The list above reflects some of these changes.

Luxray/Manectric

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Luxray GL Lv.X 3 Luxra GL 2 Manectric 2 Electrike 2 Uxie 3 Crobat G 1 Giratina 1 Azelf 1 Unown G	4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 4 Roseanne’s Research 2 Bebe’s Search 2 Cynthia’s Feelings 1 Looker’s Investigation 1 Aaron’s Collection 2 Sunnyshore City Gym 4 Poké Turn 3 Energy Gain 3 Power Spray 2 SP Radar 3 PlusPower 1 Luxury Ball	4 Call Energy 8 Lightning Energy

Decklist Credit: PTCG Archive

This was a unique take on Luxray GL that Darell Moreno used to place 2nd at US Nationals. The deck is very aggressive, using Power Spray and Giratina to hinder your opponent’s setup, while Manectric had the option to either accelerate energy into play, or spread damage around to everything on your opponent’s field with abilities.

Luxray GL combined with PlusPower and Crobat G would then clean up, ohkoing any potential threats. Note that Manectric protects your bench not only from opponent’s attacks, but also from your own Flash Impact and Power Wave attacks. Sunnyshore City Gym was a really cool inclusion in here – it gives your Lightning pokemon no weakness, which is super helpful against Toxicroak G Promo, and it also allows you to hit through resistance against Flygon decks.

Machamp/Scizor

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Machamp Lv. X 3 Machamp 2 Machoke 3 Machop 3 Scizor 3 Scizor 2 Claydol 2 Baltoy 3 Rotom 1 Uxie 1 Azelf 1 Ditto	4 Felicity’s Drawing 4 Roseanne’s Research 4 Bebe’s Search 1 Looker’s Investigation 1 Cynthia’s Feelings 3 Broken Time-Space 3 Rare Candy 1 Night Maintenance 1 Luxury Ball 1 Warp Point	4 Multi Energy 4 Fighting Energy 3 Metal Energy 1 Lightning Energy

Decklist: Attempted Reconstruction based on Tournament Reports

Machamp/Scizor got 2nd Florida Regional Championships in 2009, and I thought the concept was cool enough to try to recreate. It’s important to note that Rising Rivals had not yet released when Regionals took place, so a lot of important cards like Nidoqueen and Flygon hadn’t been released yet – this deck might not hold up in the nationals/worlds metagame. This decklist is a bit of a work in progress as I try to figure out how to make it work best.

That being said, the concept is still very cool. Machamp theoretically does very well against a lot of the SP archetypes in the format, threatening to use Take Out as early as turn 1. Scizor, for 1 Metal Energy, does 80 damage to anything that has a special energy attached, and given the format’s heavy reliance on Call Energy, this was not an uncommon sight. Many SP Decks play Special Dark and Special Metal as well, giving Scizor more options for damage. Rotom MD was also indicated from tournament reports, but I haven’t entirely figured out its role yet. As an Electric-type attacker, it would potentially threaten Honchkrow G, Kingdra, and Palkia G, although its damage output is rather low. I’m guessing that its first attack was used to charge up Machamp a little more quickly, since Lucian’s Assignment hadn’t been released at the time of Regionals yet – a copy or two of Lucian’s Assignment might just be better.

Ditto I didn’t see included in the report anywhere, but it seemed like a decent inclusion in the list to help with the Flygon matchup, as well as Gengar, since Multi Energy makes it easy to copy Shadow Room and get around Fainting Spell.

Magnezone

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Magnezone Lv.X 2 Magnezone 1 Magnezone 2 Magneton 2 Magnemite 2 Magnemite 2 Claydol 2 Baltoy 1 Uxie Lv.X 2 Uxie 1 Azelf 3 Jirachi	3 Roseanne’s Research 3 Bebe’s Search 2 Cynthia’s feelings 2 felicity’s Drawing 3 Warp Point 2 Luxury Ball 2 Premier Ball 2 Night Maintenance 2 Broken Time-Space	4 Metal Energy (Special) 4 Metal Energy (Basic) 7 Lightning Energy

Decklist Credit: Adam Hawkins, Top 4 UK Nationals Seniors

Magnezone mostly flew under the radar this season, only performing well at UK Nationals. The deck, while slow, was very synergistic. The Lightning-type Magnezone would accelerate energy into play from your discard pile, while the Metal-type Magnezone could thin your deck and put additional energy cards into your hand. Magnezone Lv.X would then discard the energy attached to it to Paralyze the opponent every single turn. If you didn’t need to paralyze, Lightning-type Magnezone could use Gyro ball to hit for 60, and switch to the bench, potentially shielding it from attacks the following turn.

MotherGar

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Gengar 2 Haunter 4 Gastly 2 Nidoqueen 1 Nidorina 2 Nidoran 2 Claydol 2 Baltoy 2 Unown G 2 Crobat G 2 Uxie	4 Roseanne’s Research 4 Bebe’s Search 2 Looker’s Investigation 4 Rare Candy 4 Poké Turn 2 Warp Point 1 Night Maintenance 1 Luxury Ball 3 Broken Time-Space	4 Call Energy 6 Psychic Energy

Decklist Credit: PTCG Archive

Gengar was one of the stronger archetypes before SP’s release in Platinum, but Rising Rivals Nidoqueen made it more potent, since it allowed Gengar to play around the extra effects that would normally KO it to get around fainting spell (Skuntank G, for example.) Gengar’s Shadow Room attack abused the heavy reliance on Claydol and Uxie Lv. X, and Crobat G made it very easy to pick these pokemon off, not only taking easy prize cards, but also shutting off your opponent’s draw options.

Poltergeist also punishes trainer-heavy decks, and almost all SP variants fall into this category. Looker’s Investigation also takes the guesswork out of whether it’s better to use Shadow Room or Poltergeist. Nidoqueen has the potential to get in as an attacker as well – Megaton Tail hits hard when the opponent fills their bench, and 40 for a single Psychic energy was often good enough if the opponent was weak to Psychic.

Obamasnow (Abomasnow/Manectric/Cresselia)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Snover 3 Abomasnow 2 Electrike 2 Manectric 2 Cresselia 2 Cresselia Lv. X 2 Baltoy 2 Claydol 1 Unown G 1 Lumineon 1 Finneon 1 Unown Q 1 Spiritomb	4 Bebe’s Search 2 Energy Switch 3 Looker’s Investigation 1 Luxury Ball 2 Miasma Valley 1 Moonlight Stadium 1 Night Maintenance 3 Roseanne’s Research 3 Super Scoop Up 1 Technical Machine TS-2 (Devoluter)  3 Warp Point	3 Call Energy 4 Lightning Energy 4 Psychic Energy 1 Rainbow Energy 1 Water Energy

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks

Abomasnow and Manectric were both very strong choices against specific parts of the metagame – this deck sought to combine both into a strong Anti-Metagame force. Both Abomasnow and Manectric spread damage around effectively, Manectric torched decks based on Poke-Powers (Gengar, Plox, Speedrill) and protected your bench from spread (Palkia G, Gallade e4). Abomasnow spread effectively to pokemon that were less reliant on powers (Flygon, Machamp) had a Damage Reduction pokebody that was very nice against SP variants (especially Luxray and Palkia). Cresselia allowed you to set up KOs effectively, and also made it easier to close games out as it had the ability to steal an extra prize card on a KO, especially against Uxie, Azelf, and Toxicroak G.

PG-13 (Palkia/Gallade Spread)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Palkia G Lv. X 3 Palkia G 1 Gallade e4 Lv. X 3 Gallade e4 1 Dialga G Lv.X 2 Dialga G 1 Uxie Lv. X 2 Uxie 1 Azelf (LA) 2 Crobat G 1 Spiritomb 1 Toxicroak G (Promo) 1 Bronzong G 1 Unown G	4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 4 Roseanne’s Research 2 Bebe’s Search 1 Aaron’s Collection 4 PokeTurn 3 Energy Gain 3 Power Spray 2 SP Radar 2 Warp Point 1 Luxury Ball 1 Night Maintenance	4 Call Energy 3 SP Energy 2 Psychic Energy 2 Water Energy 1 Metal Energy

Palkia/Gallade was a rogue deck my friends and I used at Spring Battle Roads to close out the 2009 season, and Fall Battle Roads to open up 2010. The goal is to use Gallade and Palkia to spread damage around the opponent’s side of the field early, while Gallade e4 Lv. X and Dialga G can clean up in the late game.

The list above is not our exact list from the time period – this is my best attempt to recreate it 11 years later. It is still a work in progress, and will probably be updated in the coming weeks as I figure more of the matchups out. We did not include a Dialga G Lv.X in our Battle Roads list because Nidoqueen had not picked up popularity in our area yet, but it is probably necessary now that everybody realizes how good it is. Raichu GL was included in our list, and I think it probably should be in here somewhere since it’s great at cleaning up against anything late-game, but it’s most helpful against Gyarados and Palkia Lock. It’s just tough to try and fit everything into one list. Warp Energy or an extra Warp Point might make getting the Dialga out a little easier too.

Plox (Dark Gardy)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Gardevoir Lv.X 3 Gardevoir 2 Gallade 2 Kirlia 4 Ralts 1 Dusknoir 1 Duskull 1 Uxie 2 Weavile 2 Sneasel 2 Claydol 2 Baltoy	4 Roseanne’s Research 2 Bebe’s Search 2 Lucian’s Assignment 4 Rare Candy 4 PokeHealer+ 2 Switch 1 Luxury Ball 2 Broken Time-Space 1 Moonlight Stadium	4 Call Energy 4 Darkness Energy (Special) 4 Psychic Energy 1 Fighting Energy 1 Darkness Energy (Basic)

Decklist Credit: Top Cut Retro Decks

Without Double Colorless Energy (2010) and Double Rainbow Energy (2008), Plox was not nearly the dominant force it was in either of these years. However, Gardevoir by itself is still arguably the strongest card ever printed, and it was only a matter of time before players started figuring out how to use it. Hitting for 60 a turn while shutting down Poke-Powers was incredibly strong, and PokeHealer+ basically made it imposible for SP decks to work their way into an easy KO.

Weavile SW became the energy accelerator of choice this season, and it had the added bonus of changing Gardevoir’s type to Dark, allowing it to hit harder with Special Darkness Energy attached – 80 damage per turn is pretty high when a significant portion of the field sits at 70-80 HP. Dusknoir is also included which minimizes the opponent’s bench size, and also makes it difficult for Flygon to take consistent OHKOs.

Porygon-Z

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Porygon-Z Lv. X 3 Porygon Z (DP Promo) 2 Porygon2 3 Porygon 1 Uxie Lv. X 2 Uxie 1 Azelf 1 Machamp 1 Machoke 1 Machop 1 Claydol 1 Baltoy	4 Roseanne’s Research 3 Bebe’s Search 3 Marley’s Request 4 Technical Machine TS-1 (Evoluter) 4 Technical Machine TS-2 (Devoluter) 3 Broken Time-Space 3 Rare Candy 2 Time-Space Distortion 2 Warp Point 2 Premier ball 1 Night Maintenance 1 Luxury Ball	6 Fighting Energy 2 Cyclone Energy 2 Call Energy

Porygon-Z was a super unique archetype in 2009 – it functioned as a very aggressive stage 2 deck, and had legitimate OHKO potential on most of the format once it set up. The list above is supposed to be similar to the list that made Top 8 at the St. Louis Regional Championships, although other versions performed exceptionally well during the Swiss portion of US Nationals (going 8-1 or 9-0 before losing in Top 128/Top 64).

Porygon-Z does 40 damage + 20 more damage for each Technical Machine card attached to it – and unlike Pokemon Tools, you can stack as many technical machines as you want on one Porygon-Z. the Level X also had 2 pretty insane poke-powers – one of which allowed you to search your deck for any 2 cards, and put them on top of your deck (which, when combined with Claydol/Uxie, put them immediately into your hand). With smart play, it is possible to set up huge turns for later in the match.

Some tips when playing this deck – usually I only put 1 or 2 tools on the first Porygon-Z, since that will be enough to threaten KOs on basic pokemon and stage 1 evolution pokemon while the opponent is still getting set up. It also means I don’t just immediately lose all of my TMs in play to a surprise KO. Also, make sure you’ve got at least 1 of each Technical Machine attached whenever possible – Marley’s Request allows you to show 2 DIFFERENT trainer cards to your opponent, while they pick 1 to put back into your hand. Ideally, you pick 1 of each technical machine, and then you get to re-equip one right away. If you only have 1 Technical Machine type in the discard pile, you won’t be able to do this.

SP Toolbox

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Sableye 2 Toxicroak G 1 Toxicroak G PR DP41 3 Crobat G 2 Honchkrow G 1 Skuntank G 1 Houndoom G 1 Lucario GL 1 Uxie Lv.X 2 Uxie 1 Mewtwo Lv.X 1 Mewtwo 1 Azelf	4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 4 Roseanne’s Research 2 felicity’s Drawing 2 Bebe’s Search 1 Aaron’s Collection 4 Poké Turn 4 Energy Gain 3 SP Radar 1 Power Spray 1 Night Maintenance 1 Moonlight Stadium 2 Galactic HQ	4 Darkness Energy (Special) 4 Psychic Energy 2 Darkness Energy (Basic)

Decklist Credit: Koujiro Tsuruta, Top 4 Worlds

The damage output seems underwhelming at first glance, but SP Toolbox seeks to prey on the weaknesses of many common pokemon in this format in order to take clean KOs. Psychic-type Toxicroak G takes OHKOs against Machamp, Gardevoir, and Nidoqueen; Honchkrow GL handles Gengar with ease, while the Fighting-type toxicroak hits Luxray GL and Manectric. Houndoom isn’t used as often, but it hits Dialga G as well as Beedrill.

Each of these pokemon can still be situationally useful in other matchups (such as Houndoom locking a pixie pokemon in the active spot) but you will want to lean on them most heavily when they are able to hit for weakness. Sableye SF provides a bit of consistency in setting your field up, but it also gives you donk potential against the low-hp basic pokemon found in evolution-based decks.

RayBees

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
2 Beedrill 2 Beedrill 4 Kakuna 4 Weedle 3 Claydol 2 Baltoy 1 Luxray GL Lv.X 1 Luxray GL 2 Unown G 1 Azelf 1 Crobat G 1 Chatot	4 Roseanne’s Research 3 Bebe’s Search 2 Cynthia’s feelings 2 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 2 Broken Time-Space 4 Night Maintenance 4 Rare Candy 4 Poké Turn 2 Warp Point 1 Energy Gain 1 Luxury Ball 1 SP Radar	3 Grass Energy 2 Multi Energy 1 Lightning Energy

Decklist Credit: Stephen Silvestro, 1st Place Worlds

Stephen Silvestro made one of the most legendary runs in pokemon tournament history with this deck – he started out 1-2 before winning every single match afterwards, becoming the 2009 World Champion.

Beedrill in 2009 functions very similar to Jumpluff in 2010 – you swarm the field with 1-energy Grass-type attackers, then bash the opponent in the face for 120 damage repeatedly. 4 Night Maintenance are in this list so you can so you can consistently stream Beedrills back into play. Typically you will aim to get the Flutter Wings Beedrill online first, as you can then search out additional copies afterwards.

Similar to other decks, Luxray GL Lv. X is usually pushed active after a KO so you can bring forward anybody you need to and score a KO. However, Beedrill also has Free Retreat, so you do have the option to retreat + Poketurn, or Warp Point and then retreat Luxray. The Luxray is also what sets Stephen’s list apart from other Beedrill decks at the time. He noted in his worlds tournament report (which can be found here) that this is NOT “Speedrill,” which just has the aggro mode to start attacking as fast as possible. Chatot and Luxray allow you to hang back and play a slower match when necessary, which comes in handy against decks like Palkia Lock that can really delay your set up.

Stallgon

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
1 Flygon Lv.X 3 Flygon 1 Vibrava 1 Vibrava 3 Trapinch 1 Azelf 1 Uxie 1 Chatot 1 Unown G 1 Palkia Lv.X 1 Palkia 1 Mewtwo Lv.X 1 Mewtwo 1 Nidoqueen 1 Nidoran 2 Claydol 2 Claydol	4 Bebe’s Search 4 Roseanne’s Research 2 Cynthia’s Guidance 4 Rare Candy 2 Premier Ball 1 Luxury Ball 2 Switch 2 Night Maintenance 2 Memory Berry 1 Bubble Coat 1 Broken Time-Space	4 Call Energy 3 Psychic Energy 3 Fighting Energy 2 Water Energy

Decklist Credit: PTCG Archive

This version of Flygon had multiple win conditions available to it. The basic premise is to use Palkia Lv.X’s restructure to pull something active (what your opponent chooses is irrelevant since Flygon gives everything free retreat.) From there you would use Memory berry + Trapinch’s Sand Tomb attack to prevent the opponent from retreating. They could still use Warp Point, but most decks played very few copies, if any. 

After this setup was achieved you could win in a few different ways – Flygon Lv.X’s ability could mill the opponent out completely, but more often then not, you would just mill key resources, then clean up with Power Swing late game since your opponents would run out of resources to respond with. Alternatively, you could use the extra turns provided by Sand Tomb to set up multiple different Flygons, or your Mewtwo Lv.X if you felt one of them would be strong enough to power through the opponent.