Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
#3 Trevenant
Ok, so we all remember what a nasty and successful deck
Gothitelle/Accelgor/Dusknoir
was last year, right? Getting a one-sided Item lock and
combining that with Paralysis is devastating for any
deck that doesn’t have an answer on hand. One of the big
issues that deck faced was the
clunkiness that comes from running multiple Stage
2s . . . well, now that problem is solved because
Pokémon have gone and put a Stage 2’s Ability on a Stage
1 Pokémon, and that is why
Trevenant takes the #3 spot on our top 10
countdown.
Yep, Forest Curse is exactly the same Ability as Magic
Room: when this Pokémon is active, your opponent cannot
play Item cards from their hand.
That is a very powerful effect, and combined with
the right support, it makes for one of the most annoying
decks you will ever face. You can’t use switching cards
to get out of Paralysis; you can’t attach Tools to fight
back with Garbodor; you
can’t use Rare Candy to evolve or a Ball Item to search
. . . it’s enough to make most decks grind to a dead
halt as long as you can maintain the Status lock with
Accelgor. The fact that we
have this on a Stage 1 is incredible: it leaves so much
more room for techs and consistency cards. Oh and
Trevenant also boasts a much
better attack than Gothitelle
as well, not that you will use it much.
Of course, the deck does have several exploitable
failings. Virizion EX can
prevent the Status Condition lock;
Keldeo EX can switch out of it with Rush In, and
Trevenant itself is Weak to
the almighty Type that is Dark. Nevertheless, the
release of Trevenant means
that we now have what is effectively a ‘speed’ version
of the old Gothitelle deck
(relatively speaking), and if you aren’t packing any
hard counters to it, you has better hope the pairings
are kind and you can somehow dodge it in a tournament.
This will be
played.
Rating
Modified: 4 (They made a Stage 2 into a Stage 1, and
that says it all)
Limited: 2.75 (Item Lock is more or less useless in
limited, but the attack isn’t horrible)
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HEZ
Intro to
Unlimited 150 |
Trevenant #55
Modified.
Whenever this type of
Ability is printed, it sees some competitive play.
Locking your opponent out of any aspect of the game will
always be powerful and with all the high-quality Items
printed since B&W, Trevenant will be preventing some
good cards hitting the table.
Fairly recently, Gothitelle with the same Ability and
Accelgor that could hit, Paralyse and shuffle back into
the deck formed the basis of a powerful lock deck. This
hit-and-run lock strategy can be recreated with even
simpler pieces in the XY format replacing Stage 2
Gothitelle with Stage 1 Trevenant and Basic Palkia EX
add some series bulk whilst hitting and running with its
Strafe attack.
Trevenant isn’t just all Ability though, its attack is
pretty decent, being able to go off for just a Psychic
and a DCE 60 and two 20 snipes is pretty good and can
help soften up benched Pokémon for KOs later similar to
how Darkrai EX is used.
The exact build may change over the season but if you’re
a fan of lock decks, then Trevenant is sure to be highly
playable throughout.
Unlimited 150.
I’ve seen this Pokémon sneak into some lists
already, being just a Stage 1 makes it fairly easy to
tech in as a 1-1 line. Like every evolved Pokémon from
the new generation it should only get better as more
versions come out though. Hit and run tactics can also
be used in this format but it’s also possible to use
Trevenant as an attacker when it doesn’t have to compete
with 180HP Basics. Another point in its favour is
simply being a Ghost Pokémon allows it to hit Gardevoir
for Weakness whilst not taking Weakness damage back. It
also resists Fighting allowing it to take hits off
Gallade better.
Once it gets a couple more cards it’s another contender
for a build-around Pokémon, but for now it can be a
solid addition to any lock or spread deck just as a 1-1.
Ratings.
Modified: 4
Unlimited 150: 3.5
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