SOniC Distortion

POKEMON - 13
4 Sabrina's Venonat
3 Sabrina's Venomoth
2 Scyther
2 Rocket's Scyther
2 Ditto

TRAINERS - 31
3 Nightly Garbage Run
2 GOW
2 Scoop Up
3 Rocket Sneak Attack
2 Lass
2 Item Finder
3 Comp Search
3 Oak
3 Bill
2 Secret Mission
2 No Removal Gym
4 Pluspower

ENERGY - 16
6 Psy
6 Grass
4 DCE

BACKROUND
After recieving one of these in my 2 packs for entering the prerelease tourney, I  checked its stats. After a careful scrutinization of the card, I immediately realized its awsome potential and began thinking of deck ideas and Pokemon that would work well with it. A week or so after the tourney, I had an idea in mind, and since Gym:Heroes was finally released by then, I began scrambling to get the cards I needed. A week or so later, I had managed to produce a Japanese sabrina's venomoth and a couple Venonats. Another week passed, and I finally got all of my venonats and an American no removal gym to add to my Jap one. At the Pokemon League that week, I finally got an American Rocket's scyther and a third venomoth, and the deck was born. I heavily playtested it against my friends and fellow league members, but nearly everyone I played used fire decks. Even so, I continued to play these decks and tweaked this deck to the point it is at now. Today, as I'm writing this, the deck performs very well, and the losses I do have are mostly from Decking.

INDIVIDUAL CARD STRATEGIES -
Sabrina's Venonat - Kinda' obvious. Needed for Sabrina's Venomoth. However, first turn poison is nice, and with a built-in energy removal attack, this little bug can be an attacker in his own right

Sabrina's Venomoth - The main part of the deck. With 75% chance of confusion, a healing attack, free retreat and fighting resistance, not to mention low-cost attacks,
this thing is deadly.

Scyther - The most versatile card in the game. Fits in nicely here, adding his famous attributes to an already deadly team. A must in grass decks.

Rocket's Scyther - Although he is not quite as good as the Jungle version, this Mantis Pokemon is a force to be reckoned with anyway. His high-power attack and ability to prevent damage make him a great followup after Venomoth is taken out.

Ditto - splashed in here to help against fire. He works nicely against the harder hitting fire types, as well as the common Fossil Magmar.

NGR - Since the energy is low, NGR fits in nicely. Also stops decking. These have saved me many times.

GOW - An all around great card. Helps get KOs or stall for time. Awsome card.

Scoop Up - These are for Status effected Scythers or badly injured Dittos. Paralyzed? Not any more.

Rocket Sneak Attack - Shut your opponent down first turn or rid them of that SER.

Lass - Great for mid-game when you are already set up, or, lass em first turn to screw them.

Item Finder - get back gusts, oaks, bills, scoops, no removal gyms, etc.

Comp Search - Find that venomoth or DCE at any time.

Bill - Card drawing wins games.

Oak - See above.

Secret Mission - awsome card. Looking at your opponent's hand gives you a huge edge. Then, draw cards as necessary to get what you need to destroy their hand.

PlusPower - Extra damage is always welcome. KO haymaker basics turn 2 with scyther, or hold them for that high HP Pokemon

No removal Gym - Since Energy is low and both Scythers are vulnerable to ER, this card fits right in here.

STRATEGY
Sabrina's Venomoth is an extremely versatile Pokemon. Whether you need to heal your other Pokemon, or beat your opponent down with status effects, or to simply stall that pesky Hitmonchan, you can turn to this bug. I based the deck on this versatility. The backup Pokes are all extremely versatile and can be adapted to almost any situation well. Ditto works nicely against Ninetails and magmar (F), and with heavy searching he can be out and fighting fire (with fire I might add) turn one. Rocket's Scyther is an excellent staller and attacker at the same time. A great strategy is to confuse them with Venomoth, then Shadow Images with Scyther. The chances of them scoring a hit are slim, and R Scyther can Blinding Scythe away while the defender is helpless. Jungle Scyther is perhaps, wait, THE most versatile Pokemon in the game, and is the quick, powerful go-to bug if Venomoth doesn't show up early. The deck includes large amounts of card-drawing trainers so the combos can get off early, as well as several hand-disruptors to truly leave you opponent helpless. Decking is sometimes a problem, because with the low energy, a late-game SER after you've oaked a lot can leave you without recovery. To combat the low Energy AND decking at the same time, there are 3 NGR. The 3 NGRs totally cancel-out the effects of an oak and a bill, while saving precious energy. Scoop Ups are basically to deny your opponent prizes, and are also nifty (yes, I said nifty) ways of retreating injured Dittos without KOing them. There's nothing like pulling a surprise Scoop Up on your Paralyzed Scyther, and screwing up their plans. No Removal Gym is a great card, as it protects your low Energy amounts and defends your fully loaded Scyther from SER. No Removal Gym is basically a backup for your Sneak Attacks, since your opponent can Removal you even when the Stadium is in play. So try to Sneak away their Oaks, Comps, and ER/SERs first.

ARCHETYPE STRATEGY
Haymaker - If it is a classic Hay, use your Scythers for chan and other Scythers, and Ditto for Buzz. Throw your Venomoth out every now and then for some confusion, and Disrupt their opening hand as much as possible. Also, try to match its speed.

Sponge - Try to A) Use Ditto to destroy Mewtwos B) Confuse Mewtwo and watch him do 40 to himself C) destroy their hand (especially Oaks and SERS) If you do these things, the mighty sponge will fall.

Turbo Wiggly - You'll want to go first against these things. To start off, RSA them to death early. A wigglytuff with no bench and no card drawing/searching is easy prey. Conentrate on taking out the wigglys and jigglys themselves by confusing them and attacking with Ditto. Be careful not to let them get the jump on you though.

Raindance - Not as common as they used to be, but still a threat. Ditto works nicely against Articuno, a Rocket's scyther trashes Squirtles. If toise does show up, gust him out and confuse it, rendering his power useless. Otherwise, try to destroy squirtles before they evolve.

Stall - another of the lesser played (dare I say, Dying) archetypes. alakazam is a problem, so gust him and confuse, turning his Power to useless writing. Then, after building Ditto or either one of you Scythers, attack away. Don't oak too much here, maybe once or twice, but don't overdo it.

Fire Decks - Okay, they're not archetypes, but they are still a major threat. Try to get Ditto out early, and rely on Venomoth to confuse them. Ditto destroys Ninetails and arcanine, since he can power up faster. Luck is required here though. Destroying their hand with RSAs helps too.

PERFORMANCE
I've not yet used this in a tourney, and I don't plan on it, since tourneys are archetype infested and those decks are the only ones with real chances of winning. I do, however, use this deck extensively at the League, and it regularly beats fire decks (some good ones at that). Above all else, the deck is a blast to play, and is a great change from the tourney environment (where I'm practically forced to use an Archetype). Fun was the key objective in my mind when designing this deck, and having fun is something everyone should try. Anyway, the deck runs smoothly and is great fun to play.

Well folks, that about wraps it up. Please, feel free to use this deck, but give me some credit if you do. Also, feel free to E-mail me with suggestions or ideas on how to improve the deck. Above all else, go out there and have some fun. There are decks out there other than Hay, Wiggly and Sponge, so try em sometime, you'll like them. Oh yeah, if you do insist on using archetypes (or if you have to in tourneys) try putting a unique spin on it. Like putting the Persian line in your Turbo-Wiggly, or making a Haymaker/Sponge with Lapras (like my Death by Ditto). By doing this you can still have fun while standing a chance. That's it, Peace out.

Sean Norris
Email to snorris@snip.net

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