~ Doll's House ~ Slashing, Punching, Shocking Balls June 28, 2000

Hi there! This is a lightening deck I made, called Slashing, Punching,
Shocking Balls. Don't ask, I 'm not good with names ^_^; My strategy is after
the deck

Pokemon(16):
1 Pikachu (Jungle)
2 Pikachu (League Promo #1)
2 Dark Raichu

3 Voltorb (Team Rocket)
2 Electrode (Base)

3 Electabuzz

3 Scyther
Trainers(24):
3 Mr. Fuji
3 Potion
3 PlusPower
3 Pokemon Trader
2 Computer Search
2 Team Rocket's Sneak Attack
2 Bill
2 Gust of Wind
2 Gambler
2 Energy Removal

Energy (19):
2 Double Colorless Energy
17 Lightening Energy

Strategy:
I would like to thank you for taking the time to look at this deck, it means
a lot to me. I've been using this at my local Pokemon League in Paramus, NJ
at Toys "R" Us. The basic strategy of the deck is to start off with strong
basics while getting benched Pokemon ready to attack.
Pokemon:
Scyther and Electabuzz: These two are my strong basics. With 70 HP each, and
attack that do 30 damage, these can be deadly throughout the game. Starting
with Scyther would be my first choice, due to his retreat cost of 0. That
way, if I get a good Pokemon on my bench, I can switch easily. Scyther also
has a resistance to fighting, which all the other Pokemon in this deck are
weak against. I can't utilize the swords dance attack, but slash works just
fine. Electabuzz has the highest retreat cost of any Pokemon, 2 energy. I can
use a double colorless energy to retreat him. Either way, he only needs 1
energy to attack, so I won't be at much of a loss. A chance of paralysis can
really annoy an opponent.

Pikachu and Dark Raichu:
The first evolving family I have, is the Pikachu/Dark Raichu chain. I chose 2
of the League Promo #1 Pikachus because of their high HP, and good attacks.
Early in the game, 10 damage less means certain attacks won't do anything to
it. And 60 HP is nothing to scoff at, only 10 less than Scyther and
Electabuzz. The Jungle Pikachu is there so I can do some damage to the bench,
in case a Pokemon that could become trouble later in the game is there. I
chose Dark Raichu over the other two Raichus. The ability to do up to 20
damage to all of the Pokemon on your opponent's bench for 2 lightening energy
is too good to pass up. 70 is a little low for a stage 2, but the Team Rocket
set is known for great attacks and bad HP. Wiping out weaklings on the bench
like Magikarp or Rattata is easy with Dark Raichu! All of the Chus have 1
retreat cost, making it easy to move them around.

Voltorb and Electrode:
    These two under appreciated Pokemon can really shine. The Team Rocket
Voltorb is much better than the base set one, as it can do twice as much
damage for 1 energy! Say goodbye to that Squirtle waiting to become
Blastoise! The base Electrode is one of my favorite cards! For 3 Lightening
energy, it can do 50 damage, with a risk of 10 damage to itself. With 80 HP,
he can last for a while. If his HP is low and he will be KO'd soon, I just
use Buzzap! and power up another Pokemon just waiting to attack! Both of
these also have 1 retreat cost, making them easy to move around, and leaving
some space so I do not have to use Switch.

Trainers:
    They may seem somewhat sporadic, but there is a purpose for all of them!
Healing cards: Potion and Mr. Fuji. Electrode can do damage to itself, so
Potion lets me stall for another turn or two. With my Pokemon's low retreat
costs, I can easily get them on the bench and use Mr. Fuji to save them from
being KO'd. I won't lose any evolution cards or energies that way!

Finding/Drawing cards: Bill is the perfect card. 2 for the price of one! He
helps during all of the game. Pokemon Trader and Computer Search get me what
I want, when I want it. If I need most of the cards in my hand and can't
Computer Search, I'll use Pokemon Trader. I get a Pokemon and don't lose
anything! Computer Search can get that next plus power of Mr. Fuji that can
save the game. Gambler can get me more cards, and I don't lose anything. If
I'm low on cards in my deck, this lets me get a few turns back.

Disruption cards: PlusPowers are very helpful. Since quite a few Pokemon here
can only do 30 damage, a PlusPower lets me do some damage to a Pokemon with a
resistance. Team Rocket's Sneak Attack lets me look at my opponent's hand,
but they don't see mine. I even get to shuffle a trainer of theirs away! Gust
of Wind lets me get out a Pokemon Pikachu or Dark Raichu hurt on the bench so
I can finish it off. Energy Removal stops that Gyarados from knocking out my
Pikachu.

Energy Cards:
I know 17 Lightening may not seem like much, but it works out. I don't ever
need more than 3 energies to attack with my Pokemon. And Scyther can operate
with the double colorless energies I've included. All of my Pokemon have low
retreat costs, too.


Thanks again!

  Tom-
  Ryoga95@aol.com

Hey, Tom....

Wow! I just want to take a moment and tell everyone why I chose Tom's deck to fix in my garage. His explanations and strategies are  thought out and well written... he takes time to explain his deck and purpose for cards in detail...   Also, his deck is not your typical Archetype, which I like!  Well done, Tom!

Pokemon:

Hmm! I have always thought that Dark Raichu in the hands of a lucky coin flipper would be gruesome! Your biggest weakness here is.. well... your weakness! Hitmonchan wrecks you, but fortunately Scyther can counter that. If you find 'chan consistently popping up and messing with you, you might consider going to 4 scy's. Fortunately, you rarely see pure fighting decks. Instead you will usually see a few hitmonchans... kill them off with Scy and then let your lightning pokes go to town! Hmm... I want to speed your deck up here. Let's change your Pikachus to Movie Promo. 1L to Recharge, grabbing an energy from your library... then turn 2 you have a fully charged Dk. Raichu!! And in a pinch, Thunderbolt for 50 can take out a nuisance Pokemon.

Trainers:

Well, I have to say that you have a good explanation for all of your trainers. But I can't help but think that they are inconsistent for you since you are only running 2 of many of them. A good indicator of what to eliminate is to look for what you often discard when you use Comp Search, or what is left in your hand when you Gambler? If you see the same unused card over an over, that is probably something you can eliminate from your deck. For Pokemon League play, your trainers are probably fine, but if you want to graduate to a higher level of play, like DCI tournaments, you most likely would run into trouble. In that case, I would change your trainers as follows: 

Eliminate: Gambler, Trader, Potion, and possibly Fuji

Add: Oak, more Comp Search, Item Finder, Night Garbage Run

This will give your deck more focus. You'll have quicker card search with more CPU and Item Finders. Oak gives you consistent card advantage (no coin flip worries), and Night Garbage Run recycles needed Pokemon and basic energy lost to Oaking. This will also effectively make your deck run much faster, usually a must in today's tournament environment. 

Energy:

If you do go to a faster engine, you can also eliminate a couple lightning E and open up some trainer slots. NGR will help you recycle lost Energy, so dropping 2 or even 3 shouldn't hurt you. Plus, you do have Electrode waiting to power you up :)

New Deck Listing:
For Pokemon League, your deck is basically fine, though I feel it could be more focused with trainers. However, this listing will be for more advanced tournament play, and will require some practice in running it in a quick-paced manner. But I feel your deck and explanation show you have enough advanced understanding of the game to progress to a speed deck. 

Pokemon - 16
3 Movie Promo Pikachu
2 Dk Raichu
3 Voltorb TR
2 Electrode Base
3 Electabuzz
3 Scyther

Trainers - 27
3 Oak
3 Bill
3 Computer Search
3 Item Finders
2 Mr. Fuji
3 PlusPower
2 Team Rocket's Sneak Attack
2 Gust of Wind
3 Energy Removal
3 Night Garbage Run

Energy - 17
2 Double Colorless
15 Electric

Best of luck, Tom!

 ~ Clefairy Doll

~ A Bit of Clefairy Doll Wisdom:
A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.