*ding ding!*
SATOSHI: Welcome back. This is now going to be a semi-regular column thingy
called "Archtypes--How To Beat Them." If you didn't read the first
one...then read it. Go on...just kidding. I'll fill you in.
Well, the outstanding amount of whining about how archtypes should be
banned nudged me into  writing this series of articles. This, I hope, will
show all the people that complain about these decks that just because
something is widely used and is good doesn't mean that it must be
eliminated. That, I believe, would be the easy way out. The back door, if
you will. I hope that these articles help to make people realize that yes
*gasp* there are ways to beat these great decks other than making up special
rules. Anyway, this article is part two--How to beat Haymaker.
Like I did with the Raindance article, first we'll have to dissect the deck
itself. We'll do this by examining its Characterisitcs, Weaknesses, Reliance
on Trainers and Reliance on Certain Cards.

===HAYMAKER===

Characterisitcs
-Cheap, effective attacks, though most of the attacks do not do more than 40
damage at a time.
-Easy retreating, hardly ever more than 2C retreat cost.
-High hp, usually around 70
Solutions- Super Potion, Dark Muk
Weaknesses
-Usually Fire, Fighting, and Psychic, most of the time, all three.
Solutions- Fire, Fighting, or Psychic Pokemon

Reliance on Trainers
-PlusPower, Oak, Bill, though not a high reliance.
Solutions: Lass(maybe)

Reliance on Certain Cards
-What can you say? Haymaker is all about fast basic Pokemon.
Solutions-Hmmm...not really any that I can see. Except having fast Pokemon
of our own.

Okay, let's try to make a Haybreaker.

9 Grass Energy
10 Psychic Energy
8 Fire Energy

4 Grimer
3 Dark Muk
3 Magmar(f)
3 Mewtwo(movie promo)

2 Energy Retrieval
4 Super Energy Removal
4 Bill
2 Itemfinder
3 Defender
4 Super Potion
1 Computer Search

There it is. Now, this may seems a bit wierd, but let me explain how this
deck is meant to be played.
We'll use Dark Muk's Pokemon Power to raise the retreat cost of the
Haymaker Pokemon to fairly high levels.(can you just see it? Hitmonchan,
Mewtwo, and Electaubuzz with 4C retreat costs? And the All mighty Scyther
with 2?)Remember, the beauty of Haymaker is that it requires a low amount of
energy. This means that most Haymakers don't have a lot of energy to spare
to retreat their Pokemon. I took advantage of a rarely used card in this
deck: Super Potion. While we are holding the Defending Pokemon at bay with
high retreat costs, we'll also be absorbing the damage. Remember, most
attacks weon't do more than 40 damage. When we get up to fory damage, we'll
just Super Potion it away. Or, we can cut the attacks down by 20 with our
Defenders. 'But Satoshi' you're all saying about now, 'Muk has to be active
for the power to work, and he has a weakness to Pyschic!! What about Promo
Mewtwo?' Well, what do you think we have OUR promo Mewtwo in here for? Power
them up on the bench, then WaBam!! Bye, Mewtwo. Anyway, while the defender
is stuck up front due to a high retreat, we'll just whittle away at his
health very slowly thanks to Muk's Sluge Punch. And if they ever get enough
energy to start really hurting us, then we use Super Energy Removal. The
Itemfinder is here to help reuse the vital trainers, while the Computer
Search is here for when Muk/Super Energy
Removal/any-card-that-you-need-at-the-moment is playing Hide and Seek in
your deck. The Energy Retrievals are here to retrieve energy used for Super
Potion, while the Bills--well, I shouldnt have to explain the Bills. ;)

SATOSHI: Well, there 'tis. Now, next time we'll cover Damage Swap. After
that, well, you'll see. Remember: Banning decks is a cheap way to play.
Learn to go through them, not around them. Good Luck and Happy Gaming,
everyone!!