Now that Origins is finished, and I have experienced some of the best
possible New Modified or MF² as I like to call it, I have a report to add. Now,
as I had been testing decks for Origins, I had noticed something that I am sure
the majority of you other players may have noticed. When it comes to making a
deck for MF² it's really difficult. Why? Well, it's because there's no single
dominant deck. And every deck has a weakness to something else. Now, I am aware
of what are the most popular "archetypes", if you will of this format. And none
of them can really dominate all decks as decks like Feraligatr and Crobat once
did in the former Modified Format. Is this good/bad? Well, for players that
thrive on Archetypes, that's bad. However it's also frustrating because you
don't know what the metagame is, so you can't build your own deck accordingly.
Metagaming is one of my favorite things to do, with MF² its a little bit harder.
At Origins, there was a variety of decks, all being played out and tested. I
saw: Kingdra, Entei/Something, Steelix/Water, Dark Blastoise, Ampharos, Dark
Gengar, Dark Feraligatr, Solo Arcanine, and a TON of other Rogue stuff such as
Light Azumarill. I am gonna run through the "most popular decks", and list the
weaknesses and show you what I mean when I say that no deck (as discovered yet)
can dominate the format.
Entei/Something: Alright, the flaming Snail
comboed with the Howling Dog seems to be a quite effective combo, and it IS.
Turn two setup is quite fast. Magcargo can control its own damage, giving you an
advantage compared to Ninetales where you must discard an energy. However, if
you lose that crucial first or second turn in setup, you're gonna be in huge
trouble versus any turn 3 attacking Water Pokemon. Also, Entei/Cargo has
problems late game recovering against Water. You KO the one/two Cargo(s), and
then you can just DG up Slugmas or Enteis. Also Pichu can be a nightmare for
this deck with some luck. Against Ninetales you have 1 extra turn to setup,
depending on their Howl. Again, this deck also has a rough time recovering
versus bad starts and Water Pokemon late game. With Arcanine, you have a huge
beast of a Pokemon. Take Down is awful to look at second turn. This pup is also
vulnerable to bad setup, and late game versus Water. Key flaws of
Entei/Something is: Bad Howls, Bad Hands, and Weakness (duh).
Steelix/Water: This is my personal favorite. I like this because with a
strong Water Pokemon at your disposal it's like having two decks, the Steelix
and the Water. You can easily use either one when you need to, and if you can
use them both in the same game, it's even better. With Kabutops, this card is
quite damaging, however there are some key flaws with Kabutops. First off, you
HAVE to Mysterious Fossil or Fossil Egg before you Elm, failure to do so equals
a wasted turn in setup versus threats, especially against Entei/Something. Also,
bad flips at crucial moments is something that can come back to haunt you with
this deck. With Dark Blastoise, Dark Blastoise is a great card with or without
Steelix. Turn two Dark Toise Hydrocanning would ruin anyone's game plan. Dark
Wartortle's Mirror Shell also works nicely, especially against Fire Pokemon.
However, Ampharos rips this deck apart, and I mean badly. Ampharos is a deck
that also is super fast, and if you are stuck with a Squirtle to their electric
sheep, prepare for some deep fried turtle to accompany your loss. Solid, but
just too weak against decks like Steelix and Ampharos. With Dewgong (hey, I used
it, so I am including it), Dewgong is very balanced. You do not have to flip
heads to deal high damage. You can play lower Water counts to make room for FHE
as Dewgong's attacks are only WWC and WWCC. Playing Metal on Dewgong versus Fire
is a nice tactic as well. However, Dewgong also is a target for Ampharos and
Steelix. Ok, now that I've covered some of the Water, lets look at the Steelix
part. Ok, Steelix is the single most solid Pokemon there is. So with Steelix you
have dominance and a huge wall. However, don't even think about playing even
Onix versus big Fire as this guy cannot stand a chance versus Fire at all.
Poison also is an enemy of Steelix, be wary of this. Steelix's 4 retreat can
also be a pain, as can a Benched Onix when you are trying to Double Gust. Key
Flaws: Losing to weakness and Energy Removaling attacks.
Kingdra: Ok,
now, this card is NOT "the new Gatr". I am so sick of seeing this card
everywhere. It's not as good as people say it is. (Did Gymbo just say that? The
guy that worked on Kingdra with Fulop and Trump???) Yes, I did. Because it's the
truth. I know how Kingdra works. I know it's got the swarm with the Focus Band
and the Pokemon Centers, and the cleanup with Twister. So what's wrong with this
Pokemon then? Well it's worst fear(s) are Amphy early to mid game. Even Kingdra
can take a beating from Ampharos. It's other problem is Steelix. Seadra/Kingdra
are dealing 30, poss 10 to the Bench. A Steelix with 2-3 Metal is gonna get on a
Kingdra's nerves real fast. So what do they do? Power up Twister, and try to
Remove your Metals. Ok, now you have to remember that Twister DOES have a 25%
chance of failure, I watched Fulop fail several Twister attacks in a row
Saturday. Keep in mind that this is a 4th turn venture here. And if they DO
power up Twister, and they Center, they lose a lot of energy, even with
Recycles. That's another thing. Pokemon Tower can really hurt Kingdra. Keep in
mind that most Kingdra decks run anywhere from 12-15 Energy. Cut off their
Energy Stadiums and let them lose their Water when they Center, then watch them
run into Energy problems when trying to Twister later game. Plus any deck that
can deal a consistant 50 or more to KO Kingdra in two turns gives Kingdra a
rough time as well. Keep in mind unless they Twister, the most they do is 30,
and most decks play 3-4 Gold Berry. Also, Steelix decks can play Ecogym as well.
Chances are if you each play 2 Stadiums, they're gonna play one of their Energy
Stadiums first as they Pokemon Center, so then you play Ecogym. If they break
your EcoGym with another Energy Stadium, your remaining EcoGym will be the
Stadium that remains in play. And if Kingdra gets huge you can play a third
Ecogym in your deck if you play Steelix and have a need to.
Ampharos:
Ok, this deck is really fast and really cool. I mean you can have several of
these powerful attackers FAST. However, this deck is straightforward, there's
really no specific problems or tactics to use but what I will report. First of
all, most decks WILL play Tyrogue. Tyrogue is not Mareep's best friend. Playing
Zapdos, either Base or Promo, messes up your Double Gusting. So you have to
waste more space by playing some Balloon Berry. Also, Amphy decks play smaller
energy counts because they can grab the energy from the deck. So you can run
into energy problems.
Rogue: Such decks as Dark Feraligatr and Dark
Gengar are all cool decks, but they just lack that "umph" to make a dramatic
impact compared to the other listed decks and stuff, plus its always hard to
metagame Rogue decks anyways (that's why I love to play em). However, Dark Gatr
is a very, very good deck.
Well, I hope that this helps you see why I
believe what I do. And those of you that are going to Worlds, I hope I've helped
you see what you're gonna be up against, and maybe I've helped teach
something...
Gymbo