>hi spike, i was wondering if u could help me with my
deck. i think it has some fatal problems and i wanted
u to help >me find them. here is the deck:
>4xvenonat
>3xvenomoth
>4xlikitung
>4xsomthing,this is the one of the parts i need help
with, im trying to find a decent staller thats easy to
get.
>20xgrass energy
>4xdce
>3xfugi
>3xdefender
>3xcomp. search
>4xser
>4xer
>4xgow
>im thinkin about taking venomoth out, what do u
think? im also not sure about raindance.they can k.o.
all of my >pokés with one hit from either
articuno,blastoise,etc.

***

I admit it. The guy's e-mail said "staller," and I
started to sweat. I really don't like stall decks. It
just seems wrong in this game to make your opponent
lose by running out of cards. This is different in
other games (such as Magic) where there are a
multitude of equally valid combos and where the
emphasis is on winning by any means possible. Nothing
wrong with Stroking your opponent for his entire deck!
But Pokemon? It just gives me a bad feeling. I mean,
the emphasis in Pokemon should be on beating the crap
out of the other guy's monsters--not that decking
isn't a valid way to win if you're both down to the
dregs of your deck and you have no hope of drawing the
rest of your prizes in time.

So I opened the mail with a certain amount of
prejudice. Yes, even Deck Mechanics have prejudices
against certain decks. I was already going through it
in my mind--"Mr. Mime, Scyther, Chansey, Alakazam,
jeez..." Hmm, let's see...Venomoth, Lickitung,
hmm...and ENERGY!!! Thank you God! I did a little
dance of joy. Here was a "stall" deck that might
actually offer some excitement instead of being
terminally boring for both players involved!

**gets down off soapbox**

1) Venomoth seems pretty good in a deck like this. It
seems to me that this is less of a "staller" deck than
you might have thought, since it ends up dealing some
damage as well. If you can flip a heads, you will find
yourself getting some pretty quick KO's with Venomoth,
surprisingly enough. Lickitung also seems good. Your
last request--for a "staller that's easy to get"--is
giving me a bit of trouble. Normally, people ask me
what my favorite staller is, and I reply without
hesitation: "Kangaskhan." Of course, Kanga would be
slightly counterproductive in this deck, to say the
least. Hmm...it's the "easy to get" part that's
causing us trouble. Of all the 90+ HP basics, most
(Snorlax, Kanga, Chansey) are rares and/or holos. Try
and get Snorlax if you can. Resistance to status
effects will help tremendously (poison and confusion
can ruin a stall deck's day). 90 HP plus a paralyzing
attack makes him something you might want to think
about. Of course, be prepared to Fuji him a lot, since
retreating him is not the hottest of ideas. Scyther is
also good. 70 HP basic with no retreat is a good
staller. Since you've already got grass and DCE in
there, you also get some hard hitting should you need
it. Yet another idea would be Koffing--rather cheap
attack with automatic status effect. All in all? I'd
go with Snorlax.

2) Trainers. I have to shy away from my normal "Oaks!
Bills! PH34R!" diatribe since drawing cards isn't
exactly the idea here. You should probably have
another Fuji. You also may want to think about a
couple of Gamblers, or maybe even Lasses (since you've
got so many trainers). Scoop Ups are an idea, but only
if you don't mind losing energy or evolutions (in the
case of Venomoth.) You definitely need something to
replace the Defenders, which aren't that useful here.
Lastly, I usually agree that Computer Search is best.
But are you using them for Pokemon, or for trainers?
If you're only using them to get Pokemon, replace them
with Pokemon Traders. Trader is better in a stall deck
because you return a card to your deck for the one you
take out. But if you use them to get Fuji and stuff
like that, by all means keep them. Using Search to
grab Fuji, then shuffling a Pokemon with a few
energies on it, will yield a net advantage to you.

3) Hmm, energy, looks good. The low amount of (grass)
energy is offset by your low energy costs, your use of
DCE, and your ability to return energy to your deck
via Fuji. Since you didn't mention any energy
problems, I'll leave it as it is.

***

15 Pokemon:

4 Venonat
3 Venomoth
4 Lickitung
4 Snorlax/whatever (think about it)

21 Trainers:

4 Mr. Fuji
2 Gamblers (?) (see what works best)
3 Computer Search
4 SER
4 Energy Removal
4 GOW

24 Energy:

20 Grass Energy
4 DCE

***

As with the Potpourri deck I fixed earlier, I have to
say that stall decks (of any sort) are not exactly my
forte. What I've recommended should help you along the
way, but you may want to consult with someone who has
more experience with this deck genre. That's all, and
thanks for sending your deck in.

Oh, wait a minute--one more thing. What do you mean
about Raindance? How do Blastoise and Articuno KO
Venomoth and Lickitung in one shot? I kind of ignored
this, because it made no sense whatsoever to me. In
terms of more general problems with Raindance, all I
can say is to try and hit him with status effects.
Even a Blastoise will collapse pretty quickly after
getting a good shot of Venom Powder.

(This deck gets the official "I DID NOT HAVE TO ADD
ANY BILLS OR OAKS TO THIS DECK" award...hehehehe)



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