FIGHTING

Gliscor

AHHH!!! IT'S A FLYING SCORPO-RAT!! Not really, but Gliscor is about as annoying as one (just imagin a flying scorpo-rat.......uhhhhh). The power of Gliscor lies in it's manipulation of Status, and ability to get out of the way while dealing damage. Gliscor LV. X gives you a turn free from attack, and Pester lets you take full advantage of the poison effect. With Gliscor's first attack, you can bounce the Gliscor and the LV. X back to your hand promote another Gliscor, and LV. X AGAIN to stop your opponent for another turn. This whole furious combination of Status, damage, and recycling gets hard to counter and even harder to predict. Also, the deck has space for such crazy techs as Mr. Mime, Wigglytuff, and even Shuckle. With all this, it's just hard to withstand when the deck can get going in only 2 turns! It's usually a 3-1 for Gliscor.

 

Gliscor/Lucario

Just about the most common variant of Gliscor, Gliscario is an excellent deck with two excellent LV. X.....who both are VERY annoying. The deck has two great T2 type of Pokemon, and both of their LV. Xs let you block an attack, and do a ton of damage for a small amount of energy. Also, this deck can take full advantage of Super Scoop Up in ways other decks can't. While Gliscor can bounce it's self back with it's own attack, Lucario can get Scooped, dropped as a Riolu with an energy, Lucario'd, and then next turn LV. X'd with three energy AGAIN, all while Gliscor can do it's own LV. X and free attack shenanigans. While this tag team is kind of fragile, the LV. X's and plain power of the attacks make up for it. The line is usually 3-1 for both Gliscor and Lucario here.

 

Gliscor/Shedinja

This deck takes the ideas of the other Gliscor decks and kind of turns them on their head. You STILL want the T2 Gliscor here, you STILL want the LV. X, BUT, now you don't NEED to have another LV. X on the bench, because Shedinja is there to put your opponent in a precarious position. If they KO the Shedinja, their attacker and all others like it building on the bench will take a solid 40. BUT, if they don't KO it, next turn, it can just retreat for free and you'll get hit with the same Gliscor! hahaha! Shedinja is a really strange Pokemon in that it lets you use your prizes to your OWN advantage, and if they KO one or more Shedinja, their Pokemon are gonna be filled with damage counters. Another tidbit to note is that if you're playing a spreader deck, a Shedinja with a damage counter can do 30 and confusion, possible leading up to an 80 damage Pester. Here, you're going to want a 3-1/2-2 Gliscor, and a 3-4 Shedinla line.

 

Gliscor/Lucario/Groudon

This deck is more like a combination of two decks that fit in together. It has the same combos and tag teaminess that Gliscario has, but with the quick what the hell happenedness of Groudon. In this deck, games will change between Groudon seeing virtually no play, and Groudon being the centerpiece of a beatdown. It's fast to power up like Gliscor and Lucario, but hits for that solid 100. You can bounce back a used and damaged Gliscor, put up the Groudon, and then next turn use the use the free attack to power something else on the bench with the Gliscor energy, power the Groudon itself, or use the energy as discards for the big 100. This deck is flexible, and consistent, which are two things that are completely necessary this format. It's 3-1/2-2 Gliscor, 3-1/2-1 Lucario, and 2-3 Groudon.

 

Gallade

This Pokemon was the Heaviest of hitters last format, so why do people think it wo't be this time around? With the help of Buck's Training and Pluspower, it can KO two 130 HP beasts in two turns, and STILL hit for the normal 60 for three energy. It STILL has Sonic Blade, which can hit those same 130s for 80 damage for only two energy, putting them in KO range from it or another Gallade. And, you can STILL tech in a Gardevoir to make the deck go faster and a LV. X to do Bring Downs. STILL a contendor. 3-2/1-1 for Gallade, Gardevoir, Gardevoir, Gardevoir LV. X.

 

Gallade/Lucario

Affectionately called Gallcario, this deck combines two great flavors that taste AWESOME together. Lucario starts things off, earning KOs and doing some precise sniping. Once it goes down, LV. X'd or not, Gallade steps in to finish things, easily KOing the sniped beasts and anything else in front of it. What could be easier or more powerful than that? How about if it didn't have to be in that order, and Gallade could come out first, Sonic Blading everything until or Lucario could Aura Sphere with a PPower/Bucks for KOs, or Close Combat newer threats? This deck is ione that will deal consistent damage throughout the entire game. It's a 3 for Gallade, and a 3-1 for Lucario.

 

Gallade/Honchkrow

A deck that seemed to come out of no where, Gallade/Honchkrow is an unusual combination to be sure. Combining the KO potential of Gallade with the free attacking craziness of Honchkrow, the deck revolves around the idea of an early game Sonic Blade fest while building the Honchkrow on the bench, and then switching to using energy less Murkrows to grab KOs off of the Sonic Bladed pokes using Dark Wing Flaps and Darkness Wings to FURTHER disrupt the opponent. Even if you lose your Murkrow(s), another one will step right up to take it's place, or the Big Honchkrow can begin to do it's own dirty work. It's a solid deck that seems to be a brilliant choice in today's metagame.

You'll want your Gallades at 3, and your Honchkrows at 2-2/3-1/2-1 depending on how you plan to play it.

 

Gallade/Weavile

Another relatively new deck, Gallade with Weavile crushes other builds with the ability to power up quick, and smash face faster. With the Weavile start, the deck can build as many Weaviles and Gallades as possible, and then either sac the Weavile or retreat it for free to begin taking down their beasts with Gallade, and scratching off smaller ones with Weavile later on. With the Gallade start, the deck Sonic's everything into submission, and then follows up with a Special Darked Weavile to chip off the whole field, retreating when neccesary for another Weavile. Either way, it's a tough strategy to beat and one that can easily type match the opponent to a loss with Lake Boundary. It's 3-4 for both Pokemon in here.

 

Lucario/Banette

Old T2 runners die hard, or in this case, not at all. Bancario (I guess it should be in the Multi, because they do both provide about equal service, but Lucario does have the LV. X for higher damage) is built to take the win quickly and unexpectedly. Banette can lead to easy game wins, and Lucario can destroy starting Pokemon and the guy after it when combined with his LV. X. This is a deck that can gain alot of advantage from Lake Boundary, and even if you can't type match them, it makes a good counter to Snowpoint and the new Groudonk-powering Stark Mountain. This deck can win games it shouldn't, with powerful small attacks and constant pressure. 3-1 for Lucario, and 4 for Banette.

 

Lucario/Ninjask

Possibly the WEIRDEST deck on this list, mixing Lucario with Ninjask and some Shedinja results in a strange, never-saw-it-coming sort of build. It's hard for me to even talk about. You just have to see it in action. Revolving around an early Lucario, quick damage from retreatable Ninjasks, and damaging shield-bomb Shedinjas, this deck.......is WEIRD. But, if you plan to play it or are going up against it, it's 3-1 for Lucario, and 2-2/3-3 for Ninjask Shedinja.

 

Kabutops/Yanmega-Bronzong-Froslass

A special type of spreader deck, this one revolving around Kabutops. The deck needs an all-benched type of spreader to work with Kabutops, who will become a spreader after them. Kabutops interesting ability to stop about 15% of your opponent's deck from being played can cut off cards the opponent was banking on, like Warp Point and PPower. Also Kabuto can help the Kabutops slowly swarm, until their attack leads to several prizes take in one turn. This deck needs alot of practice to be played right. You'll want about 3 for your spreader and the Kabutops, allowing room for Spiritomb/Zapdos.

 

Rhyperior

Quite possibly the most technical deck in DP-On, this thing can do INSANE amounts of damage. The idea differs from deck to deck, but basically you want to create a situation where you have a deck FILLED with fighting energy, and a Rhyperior in the active. Rhyperior can pick off smaller prey with Rock Wrecker and Upthrow when needed, but revealing 3 energy when Hard Crushing is just magical. The deck aims to do this by constantly filtering fighting energy back in the deck, with the LV. X's attack and with Night Maintenances. Rhydon can be used to put 60 on alot of your opponent's Pokemon, so Rhyperior doesn't always have to Hard Crush, since the attack IS risky. But Rhyperior does have the HP to take some hits. The best time you'll ever have with this deck is when you got the Rhyperior up front, and realize that, other than like five cards the only thing left in your deck is ENERGY! Since the LV. X is so crucial in here, you'll want a 2-2 line of Rhyperior. I should also mention that their ARE turbo types of these decks running around, which feature just the Rhyperior line, a limited amount of Evolved Pokemon search cards, and the rest fighting energy. 

 

Groudonk

It's simple. Start a Groudon. Use Drought after attaching an energy. Then try to take them out of the game as fast as you can!! Some side Pokemon like Rotom can be played here, but the strategy is the same. You gotta run them out of Pokemon before they can mount an offense. This deck is quickly becoming popular so make sure you know how to deal with it. Of course, you want 4 Groudon in here and alot of energy and energy searching trainers.

 

PSYCHIC

AMU 

We all seen THIS monster in action. The Lake Trio form a solid deck that can get Auto-KOs, T2 60s, and snipe for anywhere between 30-60 on a regular basis. The deck has no Weakness, gets free retreat, amazing card drawing abililty, and all on Basics. Of course, in order to recieve all of these benefits, you need to get three Basics LV. X'ed, but this deck, with some wise early plays, can get all three out by turn 2, and at least has all three out 90% of the time by turn 3. We all know how powerful this deck is, we all pretty much have memorized all of these guys' Poke-Powers.....and we all HATE that 200, whether you play this deck or not (mirror matches can make you hate your own deck hehehe). No matter WHAT you think about this deck, it COULD be the strongest deck out right now, no doubt. The standard, cookie-cutter lines here are: 2-2 Uxie, 3-1 Azelf, and 3-1 Mesprit.

 

AMU/GG

Combining deck ideas doesn't always work, but in this build, they compliment each other beautifully. The deck DOES have a slow start, and you can get mismatched, hard-to-play hands, but when it gets going it is hard to stop. The ability of this deck, with Claydol/Gardevoir/Uxie LV.X, to search through your deck is phenomenal. You can rely on Uxie, Gardevoir, Gallade, and the NUKER Mesprit to provide plenty of offensive options. While getting four LV. X's and two Stage 2's going is definitely a challenge, the benefits will win you the game. 3-1 for Gardy, 1-2 for Gallade, 2-2 Azelf, 1-1 Uxie and 1-1 Mesprit, but really, this can easily be changed and still be reliable.

 

AMU/Leafeon

AH, the ability to hit for 200 for about three turns straight. That really is the main aim for this deck. Many people are against this deck, and cite it's inconsistency and relatively NO amount of synergy (other than being able to power a Mesprit back up in one turn, what else does the Leafeon add?) the deck has been getting some good reaults. Once again, you have to put up 4 LV. Xs, but with a great benefit if you do. 2-2 Leafeon, since you don't really need the normal Leafeon, 2-2 Uxies, 3-1 Mesprit, and 3-1/2-2 Azelfs.

 

AMU/Froslass

The deck is less about two Pokemon complementing each other than it is about two strong ideas in one deck. Froslass can stall and damage spread, while AMU.....well, AMU just does it's thing. Froslass CAN stall while you get the LV. Xs going with Warp Points and such, but really the deck just outlasts with the ability to hit everything with damage. Azelf LV. X can also take advantage of Froslass' damage spreading, if the Froslass was active for a long time. Froslass can be anywhere from 2-4, and the standard line for AMU is in use here.

 

AMU/Palkia

Also known as PUMA, this deck is a pretty popular variant of AMU. It bascially combines the Mesprit's ability of free retreat with Palkia's ability to Double Gust each turn. Through this method, you can force the opponent to play with the active that helps YOU the most, not caring what THEY want haha. Once again, you're just adding an extra LV. X that the deck must get out, BUT Palkia can retreat for free, and with Mesprit so can the Lake Trio. You really should prepare yourself for this deck, the Palkia threat IS a significant one. Expect the cookie-cuttie AMU line, and about 2-2/1-1 for Palkia.

 

AMU/Mewtwo

Two groups of Pokemon that are natural enemies, the Lake Trio is usually seen despising Mewtwo, and keeping a Mightyena on a leash JUST for it. But here, the two make up and support each other. Mewtwo helps alot in the mirror match, and can bring the Auto-KOs like Mesprit. It also benefits from Azelf LV. X, who gets rid of it's Weakness for it. The biggest play in this deck is to Supreme Blast, feed the Mewtwo the energy, and then Gigaburn while placing an energy on Mesprit, Warp Point back to Mesprit and then start the madness all over again. On a side note, Mewtwo LV. X completely shuts down the Groudonk deck. 2-2 for Mewtwo and old shoe for AMU.

 

Mewtwo/Cresselia/Regice

Quite possibly the best way to harness the amazing Mewtwo LV. X's power, this deck takes full advantage of all of the Mewtwo's abilities. Using Regice or a Felicity's Drawing to get energy in the discard, it allows Mewtwo Energy Absorb on the first turn and be ready to dish out 120 on the next turn if need be. This deck completely focuses on basics, so it's kind of weak to it's own self (to Mewtwo LV. X, I mean), but Regice and your own Mewtwo LV. X should protect against that. Cresselia is here to do it's infamous damage trick (Gigaburn and a Full Moon Dance leads to the magical number of 130), but also to pick off things that can take a Gigaburn or Psychic but only have 40 or less left. I shouldn't have to tell you that that is a broad range of Pokemon. The Moon Skip is plenty powerful as a game finisher. Watch out against other Psychic decks when using this, though, especially AMU, which can conceal it's OWN Weakness. The recommended daily dose is 2-2 Mewtwo, 2-2 Cresselia, and 1-3 Regice, depending on if you ever want to attack with it or not (remember, with it's attack it can pretty much hit a spreader for 100).

 

PLOX

Oooookay, before we go any further, I will define the PLOX deck AS IT IS USED HERE. It's a Gardellade deck that uses SPECIFICALLY the Gardevoir to attack, and plays 2 or less Gallade, and a lot of techs, usually one of those being Dusknoir. Unown G is also common here. NOW, what can I really say about the deck that hasn't already been said? Does it counter Poke-Powers by third turn? Yes. Can it setup awfully fast, using Dusknoir to disrupt it's opponent's setup? Yes. This deck is one that's been forged through alot of testing and retesting. It is a tough match to win because of it's disruption and ability to STILL score amazing KOs with Gallade. It's ferocious. This is one deck that, whatever you're playing, you should playtest against. The natural lines here are 3-1/1-2 for Gardevoir.Gallade, and then TECHS!!! LOTS OF TECH DECK DUDES!! Like Dusknoir (1-1) or Breloom (1-1/2-2) with Moonlight Stadium.

 

PLOX/Regirock/Groudon

Also called New Age Plox, this deck is one that takes advantage of combination of things. It uses Regirock with Stark Mountain to recycle fighting energy back on it's pokemon. It uses Groudon for possible quick wins, and strong damage. PLUS, you still have the Gardevoir with Claydol drawing, and Gallade. The deck is a smorgasbord (did I spell that right?) of good cardboard. If you've ever seen this in action, you know that the deck can win because it just has so many OPTIONS. Fast Gallades, solid Gardevoirs, I mean, hell, fast Regirocks for pete's sake. I'm betting we will be seeing this alot more. 3-1/2-2 Gardevoir/Gallade, and 2-3 for the Regimeister and Groudon.

 

Dusknoir/Luxray

Just about the only deck that WANTS the Dusknoir to attack, in the beginning it plays more like Luxray/Dusknoir, using the BIG KITTY to deal damage and recycle each other's energy, while Dusknoir destroys an easy setup on your opponent's side, and quietly powers up. When, and IF, the game gets down to the last two prize cards or less on your opponent's side, then the Dusknoir comes out and does a consistent, constant 90+ damage. It's a strange deck that combines two strong Stage 2's and has them do what they do best. Relatively rare, though. You'll want 3-4 for both of them.

 

Cresselia/Bronzong/Froslass

A spreader deck at heart, the idea here is obvious. Spread until your opponent has a bunck of Pokemon 40 away from death, and then start giving all those Pokemon the EX rule with Cresselia's Moon Skip. Bronzong finds easy pickings in Poke-Power wielding Pokemon, while Froslass stalls and spreads while you build your Cresselia. It's an easy concept, and a pretty easy deck to play. Not much else to say here. Of course, you'll want 2-2 Cresselia, and 2-3 Bronzongs and Froslass.

 

Deoxys/Darkrai/Weavile

When I saw that this deck took a second place at a Battle Roads, I was really happicited (happy and excited........WHAT?). I always thought Deoxys had the potential to be a star in a great deck, and here it is. While it can't take advantage of Darkrai LV. X's Poke-Power, it can still deal 120 in two turns for three energy, while protecting itself with an Unown G effect and a -20 damage ability for the first turn. It can also snipe anything for 30 and get free retreat (provided it has less than 70 on it), take up to a 100 damage, and punish an opponent with 6 or more energy in play with with 80 every turn. It's Weakness is taken care of by Darkrai, and Weavile provides the deck with a great start. Both of these Pokemon complement each other well, and let Deoxys play the Swiss Army Knife he was meant to be. No duh, 1 of each Deoxys here, 2-2 Darkrai, and 2-2/3-3 Weavile, with a high amount of Night Maintenances to recycle the Forms and Darkrais.