There have been many new decks that have arisen since the advent of Jungle into the environment. Jiggly/Wiggly decks, Mono-Grass Haybreaker decks, Sword Dancer, and many others have come in. Few, though, have been as dominant on the tournament scene, though, as Haymaker's Potpourri. One of the biggest problem, though, is understanding how the deck works. What makes this deck tick? Why can one person take this deck to a tournament and go undefeated, while the next takes the deck, only going 3-3?

Let's first look at the deck so we know exactly what we're dealing with.

Potpourri v1. 4
by Scott Gerhardt

Basic Pokemon:
3 Electabuzz
3 Hitmonchan
3 Scyther
3 Mr.  Mime
1 Kangiskhan
1 Ponyta

Energy:
7 Fight 
6 Electric 
6 Psychic 
4 Double Colorless

Trainers:
3 Bill
3 Professor Oak
3 Gust of Wind
2 Item Finder
1 Computer Search
3 PlusPower
3 Energy Removal
2 Super Energy Removal
1 Energy Retrieval
2 Scoop Up

For those of you seeing the deck for the first time, you have got to be thinking, "What the heck is this guy on?" The deck certainly does not follow your traditional deck building philosophies. This article, though, should be able to sufficiently show you why this deck is good and how it wins tournaments.

Why these cards?

In this section, I am going to go over every card in the deck and explain why they are in there, why the specific quantities, and their advantages to the deck

 

• Electabuzz - Considered my most to be one of the best 5 basic Pokemon in the game, and the best Electric basic, Electabuzz can be quite the hard-hitter while putting your opponent into a sort of temporary soft lock if you can get lucky with paralysis. With it's biggest attack only costing two energy, only one of which has to be electric, this Pokemon is ever economical for cost vs result. The reason we play with 3 instead of 4 is the heavy presence of Hitmonchan in the environment. With Electabuzz weak to Fighting, Hitmonchan can very easily knock this guy out in one or two shots, making him not as good as he once might have been.

   

• Hitmonchan - Most people feel Hitmonchan is the best basic in the game. With good HP, a 20HP attack for 1 fighting and a 40HP attack for 2 fight and 1 colorless, he is a very hard hitter than can wreck havoc on an opponent very quickly. With his ability to effectively run off 1 energy, he, like Electabuzz, is very economical for his cost. He was recently cut from 4 to 3 in the v1. 3 of the deck due to the incrdible number of Scythers in the environment, which Hitmonchan is virtually worthless against.

   

• Scyther - He is the replacement for Farfetch'd. No retreat cost, 70HP, a completely colorless attack, and resistant to fighting make this guy a natural in any color deck. Being a grass Pokemon, he deals double damage to anything weak to grass, such as the Poli-line, the Diglett-line, and Gyrados. Only 3 are being run to make room for other Pokemon, and because it's only attack is 3 energy, making it sometimes had to attack with.

   

• Mr. Mime - Against certain decks, this guy is just a winner. Scyther can not touch this guy. He single-handedly shuts down Rain Dance. Most of the large fire Pokemon can not hurt him. Plus, being Psychic weak, that means you have to deal exactly 10 damage with a Psychic pokemon to hurt him at all. That means only Abra and Drowsie can always hurt him, and Jynx can half the time. Plus, with Hitmonchan being Psychic-weak, it boils down to who gets the first hit. His usefulness can be limited against certain Pokemon, so we keep him at 3.

   

• Kangiskhan - He's huge at 90HP. Fetch is a great ability that will often yield from 2-5 card advantage. Comet Punch is quite expensive, but usually not used very much. This guy is in there to draw cards mostly. His other advantage is he is Psychic resistant. Most anything Psychic resistant will last a very long time against the mono-Psychic damage swap decks. In that case, get this guy to 4 energy and just clean house. Due to the lack of popularity of Damage Swap at the time and the fact that otherwise he is a sacrificial, time-stalling, card-drawing Pokemon, there is only one.

   

• Ponyta - This guy is not good, but he is metagame. The ability to slap a Double Colorless on him first turn and kill Scythers before they can even power up makes this guy good in this deck, where Scyther is quite a difficult problem. Once this guy was added to the deck several weeks after Jungle came out, the deck then got the name of Haymaker's Potpourri due to having 5 different colors of Pokemon in the deck. Obviously, due to him limited usefulness, we are only running one.

   

• Bill - What can I say?This is the best trainer there is. One card begets two. He's a must in any deck. I go against my own personal philosophy, though, only running 3 in the deck. I ran 4 all the way up to v1. 4, but I had to make a hard cut to add variety to the deck, and while I didn't want to do it, I was forced to cut one. For odd reasons, though, I am yet to regret that cut, as this version has the best win percentage of any prior versions.

   

• Professor Oak - The good professor. Keeps the deck running and will save you more often than not. Used improperly, he will cause you to deck, though, so be wise and don't use it foolishly. Only running 3 since 4 is overkill and can cause you to get decked.

   

• Gust Of Wind - This card is amazing in any aggressive deck. It brings forth damaged Pokemon to get the kill shot, or can bring out an unpowered Pokemon to damage and kill it before it can get powered up. This card will win you games more than you can realize. Only 3 are in this deck because the 4th one went in the same cut that caused me to go to 3 Bills. Four have been in all other versions, right up until now.

   

• Item Finder - This card's ability to retrieve a needed PlusPower, Professor Oak, Bill, Gust of Wind, or any other trainer makes it invaluable. Only 2 are run due to space limitations and the heavy discard requirement

   

• Computer Search - This card is your 4th Professor Oak, your 2nd Ponyta, and your 2nd Kangiskhan. It is mostly used to go get whatever you need at the time, making the 1 Ponyta and 1 Kangiskhan viable. It was cut to one in v1. 3 to make way for needed energy removal.

   

• PlusPower - This is a kill card. Designed to be able to kill things with one final, giving things like Scyther the ability to kill 70 HP Pokemon in one shot, adding to the damage a Mr. Mime can do, or just general more damage for a Hitmonchan or other Pokemon. Three were run with card slot conservation in mind.

   

• Energy Removal - This card can ruin the best laid plans of your opponent. Remove the Energy after they Sword Dance to prevent the 60HP attack. Take that one fight from Hitmonchan to make them have to lay another. Kill the DC on Chansey so it can't scrunch. It's amazing. Only running 3 due to space.

   

• Super Energy Removal - Energy Removal, only better. This card strips most Scythers, Wigglytuffs, Hitmonchans, Electabuzzes, and just about anything else. The sacrifice of an energy can hurt, but often not too bad. Only two are run due to the addition of Energy Removal and only running one Energy Retrieval.

   

• Energy Retrieval - In a three color deck, you need at least one of these. Helps get the energy you need when you need it. Only one is really needed with running 23 energy in the deck.

   

• Scoop Up - New to v1. 4. This card was put in the deck to fight the massive Energy removal being run at the time. If my Electabuzz goes out to active, then gets Super Removaled without me having any more Electric energy, just Scoop it up to bring out something else. Also really good for slugfests when your active is like 10 or 20 from being knocked out. very multi-dimensional and a great addition to the deck. Two have proven to be effective enough.

   

• Energy Ratio - This is the fragile part of the deck. Messing with this can be fatal. The deck does not require fire or grass energies due to their colorless attacks. As far as other energy goes, there are 3 each of fighting, electric, and psychic Pokemon. The ratio is 7/6/6 because Hitmonchan, unlike Electabuzz and Mr. Mime, can run more effectively on two fighting, while Electabuzz and Mr. Mime cap out a one colored energy. Four double colorless are amazing for Kangiskhan, Scyther, Ponyta, or used as a Retreat cost for a Hitmonchan or Electabuzz.

How Do I Play the Deck?

Being a three color deck, things in the deck can be very fragile. Playing the deck takes a lot more practice than you would think. Knowing what to do and when to do it is very key to the deck's success, and the difference between going 6-0 and 3-3. In this section, I am going to outline, as best I can, every bit of knowledge I have as to the decks quirks and how to play the deck properly in general, and specific strategy against certain decks.

First of all, open with Scyther. Always promote Scyther. Whenever you promote a Pokemon for any reason, and there will be any cards drawn before attacking, ALWAYS promote Scyther. With the free retreat, he gives you the most possible options. As far as opening Pokemon, you should want to play them in this order:Scyther, Kangiskhan, Electabuzz, Hitmonchan, Mr. Mime, Ponyta. Scyther wth free retreat is always good. Kangiskhan will yield early card advantage. Electabuzz is resisted by almost no one, and is very logical to open with the 1 energy attack. A lot of things resist Hitmonchan, but he still has a 1 attack cost. Mime is a two cost, so not early attack. Ponyta should only be used situationally and is horrible to open with due to low HP.

Do not play basics for no reason. Do not let yourself become Gust of Wind bait! When you play something to the bench, play energy on it right away if you can. You don't want your Pokemon to ever be sitting ducks!!

Next, use PlusPower as a kill shot. Unless you are setting something up to get meditated with Mr. Mime, do not ever use PlusPower unless you are going to Oak that turn, or will knock out the Pokemon right away. It is a surprise card, and should be used as such.

Do not be afraid to use Gust of Wind on offense or defense. While it's really nice to use it as a kill card, it can be used very effectively as energy removal after a retreat. It's so much fun to trot out a Scyther with them having a Hitmonchan, sacing two energy to retreat it for something else, then gusting back out the Hitmonchan. It's all the Super Energy Removal and none of the drawback!

Play energy wisely. Don't play critical energy until you're gonna use it. If you can help it, don't let the first energy on a Scyther be a DC. Make them remove the regular energy. If they don't, then drop the DC and attack. Unless you have surplus in your hand, down drop the Psychic energy on Mr. Mime first. Put down a fight or electic. Your opponent is far less likely to remove it than the critical Psychic energy. Even if they do remove it, you still have the needed Psychic in your hand. Don't let the 2nd energy on Hitmonchan be fighting. If they get to Super Remove Hitmonchan at 2 energy, make sure they don't get all the fighting from your hand. When you drop the 2nd fighting on Hitmonchan, you should be dishin' out 40.

Do not use Mr. Mime is a sacrificial lamb. This guy is so key in certain situations. Protect him when you can, unless you have another in reserve!!!

Ponyta is sacrificial. Against grass, trot him out and have him cause as much carnage as possible until he dies. He's there to dish lots of damage before he dies. No need to get insane about losing him.

Use Scoop Up sparingly. I won a match the other day because I held a Scoop Up almost the entire game. Once my opponent had 1 prize left and I had a badly damaged Electabuzz on the bench, I scooped it up and held it so it could not fall prey to a Gust and a fully powered Hitmonchan. Scoop up can be used to counter a Gust of Wind or Super Energy Removal. Use it defensively or offenssively, depending on whether or not you're winning.

If an opposing Scyther sword dances, remove the energy, Gust it away, or find a way to kill it. No need in taking 60 silly damage.

Oak with caution, and only if you need to. Do not sacrifice precious energy and trainers from you hand just because you drew your Oak. Wait on it, and play it smart. Use the cards you have effectively first, and then you'll be more eefective when you do Oak. I've said it once, I'll say it again - using Oak wrong will lead to you losing by pitching things you shouldn't and eventually leading to decking

Against Particular decks

Against Wigglytuff decks, this sounds stupid, but attack the jigglypuff. If they lay a first turn energy, you remove it. Don't let that deck get to a fully powered Wiggly. If they do, it can be a very long game for you. Gust it out and hurt it. Those decks do not tend to run Energy Removal and will have a very, very difficult time winnning if you mercilessly attack the Jigglypuffs and Wigglytuffs.

Against Damage Swap, Try to drop down Kangiskhan and just win. Mr. Mime is good until you find Kangiskhan, but Damage Swap can not handle Kangiskhan very well, and often just loses to it. Also, try to attack Abra and Kabrabra before it gets to Alakazam, because that guy can be the great equalizer.

Against mono-grass, Electabuzz and Ponyta are your prime kill cards. Scyther and Venomoth make life hard for Hitmonchan. Ponyta is obviously good, and Electabuzz is your biggest consistent hitter, so focusing on these pokemon as best you can will be your road to victory. As far as Energy Removal goes, concentrate on Venomoth first, Pinsir second. Venomoth is incredibly hard to deal with, so don't give it a chance to be a factor if you can. Super Energy Removal on it is very, very good for you.

Against Haymaker, doing damage to a wide variety of Pokemon can allow Mr. Mime to be a house cleaner. Doing 20 to Hitmonchan and 30 to everything else will allow Mr. Mime to get multiple kills before he is dealt with. Gust an removal accordingly to damage around, then send out the cleaner. Be careful with is energy, though, to not let it all get removed before you're ready to clean house. Keep reserves. Also, be particularly careful with Oaks and Bills in this match-up. More so than any other deck, you are more likely to get decked in this match-up than any other due to poor Oak decisions.

Against Sword Dancer, attack Jynx. He is such as hard hitter and not overly easy to deal with. Don't let him get to 3 energy and try to pund him into obivion. Jynx can kill most any Haymaker Pokemon in about 2 hits, so be very cautious and don't let him live!!

In Conclusion

Do not get me wrong. Haymaker's Potpourri is probably the hardest deck in the environment right nowto play. Played well, using the advice I've given, though, it also is real close to the best. Despite everything I've told you about the deck, it still will require a bit of practice to get it right. To the naysayers, try the deck before you bash it. It does amazingly well and has won we around $150 in several tournaments in several places. The deck eliminates a lot of luck factor by giving you a way to deal with almost any threat your opponent plays. Utilize this advantage and I think you'll find this deck does very well for you, more and more so the more you play it. Heck, I created the deck and it still took me a tournament or two before I felt like I could play the deck near-flawlessly. If you have any play questions about the deck, e-mail me at Scott@pojo.com and I will be happy to answer the questions! Thanks for reading and let me know any stories you get using this deck!!!