In the Deck Garage the past month has been pretty
interesting. Each Mechanic has been doing Crossover Fixes
wherein the same deck is given two fixes. One by the Mechanic
who chooses the deck and the second opinion by another
Mechanic. It was pretty good and many players got some extra
insight.
             This week around, it's slightly different. Like some kind of
lottery, we selected one deck out of the numerous submissions
and the lucky sender is getting what I've come to call the Pojo's
Mega-Fix.
              One deck is getting fixed by every single Mechanic.
Spike, Satoshi, Souper, Doll, Ness, Jedi, Kittyfox, Scotty and I are
all giving our attention to this one deck.
              Here's the funny part. When the deck was chosen by the
Pojosama and forwarded out, the name of the deck's builder and
the deck's name weren't included. So I have NO idea to whom to
attribute this deck. If this deck looks familiar, feel lucky. I can't tell
who it belongs to.
              In lieu of a name created by it's builder, I've given it a
name of my own, one that fits the theme pretty well. I'm pretty
good with names and catchy titles,so Erika's Extravaganza fits the
bill nicely, in my humble opinion.
      
             Also, despite the fact that most of the US plays by the
traditional rules, without Wizards of the Coast messing up the
system, we're handling this deck in the Prop15-3C style. It allows
you to see how the new format will work, what to expect if it does
become the new rule and shows that we're not just blowing hot air
about knowing our stuff. Keeping up with the latest developments in
Pokemon is our job and Prop15-3C is the latest thing. If you ain't
so crazy about 15-3C, join the crowd. But this deck is getting the
official tournament treatment.

             So what deck got the lucky draw? Here, check this out.


> I just made an Erika deck for the east coast sts. Please help make any
> changes to it that would make it better.
>
> Pokemon 18
> 3 E. Oddish (gym challenge)
> 3 E. Gloom (70HP)
> 3 E. Vileplume
> 3 E. Dratini
> 3 E. Dragonair
> 3 Scythers
>
> Trainers 15
> 3 Professor Oak
> 3 Erika Maids
> 3 Computer Search
> 3 Celadon City Gym
> 3 Gust of Wind
>
> Energy 27
> 24 Grass
> 3 DCE
>
> I've played this deck some and its done ok winning about half the games I
> played, although its hard to test it when no one else wants to play with the
> 15t/3c format :( Thanks for fixing my deck (or at least reading down to
> here)
>

           On with the evaluation!

      As far as Prop15-3C decks go, this one looks average. It's off
to a nice start, using some good Pokemon. There's not a thing
wrong with the Pokemon, but I can foresee some metagame
difficulties.
      The abundance of Grass is a small problem. Grass types have
become the most viable since many contain good Basics and
strong Stage 1's.
       However, Grass's biggest threat is Fire and I'm completely
sure that Fossil Magmar will be a strong favorite in many 15-3C
decks for it's quick and useful attacks with nice HP.
        The Oddishes and Glooms will be destroyed in only a few
turns by a starting Magmar. The inclusion of Erika's Dratini would
normally be a good deterrent to any lead BBP such as Scyther,
Mewtwo or TR Zapdos. But Magmar has an attack which deals 10
plus a smokescreen effect, so E's Dratini isn't going to phase it
much. Worse yet, it won't always be able to retaliate successfully..
Electabuzz creates a similar threat, but isn't quite so deadly to this
deck.
        Erika's Dratini IS a good blocker for many other Pokemon
sure to show up, especially the aforementioned TR Zapdos, a
newcomer with serious potential to wreck shop. The lack of a
Weakness also makes Dratini/Dragonair very appealing.

        So what do we do? This deck is stuck in a metagame
crossroads. It's a sitting duck for Fire in one way, but it needs the
protection from E's Dratini just the same.
        The Vileplume lineup is the crux of the deck and an
extremely annoying set to have to face, so they stay for sure.
         Not all decks will be Fire, although many may splash.
Scythers and Zapdoses and Mewtwos are threats just the same.
So the Dratini must stay as well. The fact that it can evolve into
Dragonair in this deck grants some freedom from evos like
Wigglytuff and Arcanines who would instantly destroy E's Dratini
otherwise.
        The only non-essential element appears to be the 3 Scythers.
As great as Scyther is, it's not actually adding anything to the
deck other than being a strong lead Pokemon with free retreat.
Don't misunderstand me. That's very important; it sets the speed of
the game often. But perhaps there's something better than
Scyther, something that can counter any firey problems.
         I'd actually suggest Lapras. For all intensive purposes,
Lapras is a decent guy. It's attacks don't require a ton of Water
Energy, making it pretty splashable. With a fair amount of
Colorless Pokemon in the deck as well, the extra Water energy
could be used toward them as well. Now that there's a lot more
Energy in decks, having some off color Energy isn't a terrible
problem.
         Lapras will provide a nice counter to those pesky Magmars.
A Confuse Ray attack is also potentially useful if needed. At 80
HP, it's beefiness is quite a bargain. The only flaw is the Lightning
Weakness, but Electabuzz is a problem for most everyone and no
Pokemon is going to stand up for long against TR Zapdos, no
matter the Resistance.

          With the metagame a bit more under control, we can
examine the Trainers.

           Oak is THE standard of hand replenishment in 15-3C. No
card compares. Sadly, our friend Bill falls by the wayside. A net
gain of 1 card is just too small to justify one of the valuable Trainer
slots. Trainers have to be very broad in their usefulness to make it
in 15-3C. Oak fits that description for sure.
           I like the Gusts of Wind for sure. It's already a broken card,
but even deadlier in this environment. With less of an ability to
recover from a Gust, it is now extremely important to have.
          With so few Trainers, it is crucial to be able to get the cards
you need when you need them. Lots of hand replenishment made
this easier in the standard environment, but the crunch is on now.
So Computer Searches are like manna from heaven. If you don't
take the maximum of 3, you're asking to get beat by someone who
CAN find what he wants.
          Erika's Maids is a card that's obviuosly useless elsewhere.
Here, it's a perfect fit. It acts as good a Computer Search for
getting your POkemon. Pokemon will be doing almost all the work
in matches now, so having a full bench, developed to potential is a
big factor of success, more than it once was when a couple Oaks
and some Lasses could win you a match just the same. E's Maids
thins out your deck, making it likelier that you'll draw Trainers or
needed Energy too. A great card here.
         Celadon City Gym isn't terrible. I have witnessed instances
where it has wound up being a gamesaver. This being the case, I
can see putting in a couple, but not all three. Stadiums probably
won't be a huge factor in matches, since there are many more
favorable cards to include and the few good Stadium cards don't
have a huge bearing on the 15-3c format. No Removal isn't that
needed since massive SER usage will dwindle somewhat. Chaos
Gym relies on rampant Trainer abuse and that certainly won't be
the case in 15-3C.
          In place of a couple Gyms, add some Item Finders. With
only 15 Trainers, it most likely will be nice to be able to call that
Gust or Oak back for a second run. Item finder is more necessary
with limited Trainer slots. Play it. Love it. Respect the Finder. You'll
be thanking it, I guarantee.

           Energy...hmmm. (pulls out shoebox) Let's see...set of
Double Colorless Energy...check. Some Full Heal
Energies...check. Grass Energy...yup. Several Water for
Lapras...got em. Excellent. Now we're ready to put this sucker
together again.

            Erika's Extravaganza revisited:

        3 Erika's Oddish (GC version is the best, yes.)
        3 Erika's Glooms (70 HP is your best option)
        3 Erika's Vileplumes
        3 Erika's Dratinis
        3 Erika's Dragonairs
        3 Lapras

        3 Professor Oaks
        3 Computer Searches
        2 Item Finders
        1 Celadon City Gym
        3 Gusts of Wind
        3 Erika's Maids
       
        3 Double Colorless Energy
        2 Full Heal Energy
        7 Water Energy
        15 Grass Energy

         And Voila!! (That's French for "Calgon, take me away!") Now
this deck is much better suited for some competitive play. I worry
about the lack of BBP's. Despite WOTC's best intentions, BBP's
will still play a heavy role in decks due to their simplicity. They
introduced a new restrictive format at a time in which we just
received the best set of BBP's to come along since Base Set. As a
result, players WILL be looking for the chance to validate these
newcomers. Lapras and E's Dratini should provide an initial
cushion, but if you run into some Rocket Hitmonchans or TR
Zapdoses, there could be trouble. Those 2 are so lopsided though
that everyone will have troubles, not just you.
        My advice is to allow Erika's Pokemon to do their job of
inflicting plenty of Status effects and try to gain as much ground
you can despite an initial flurry from the opposition. Eventually, E's
Vileplume will appear and you'll be soaking up health with each hit
and the opponent will fall behind. E's Dragonair will be equally
troublesome and earlier in the game much likelier too. Don't let an
early KO or two disspirit you. There is much power in E's creatures
and they DO work well with each other.

          I hope this helps you. I put some serious thought into this
deck because it was already on its way to success but just
needed that one right push. Remember to check each and every
other Mechanic for possible alternative outlooks on this deck. Who
knows what Spike will say? I never know....Jedi's sure to have
some good insight and Scott will have some excellent pointers I
believe as well. Everyone else will also be able to shed their own
personal light on this deck. Check em out!!


                      Good Luck!!
                   Dr. Crash Landon

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