Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark

Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark
Deck Founded: 2011 (HGSS-On)
Other Names: Stage 1 Rush, Stage Ones
Top Performances: 2nd US Nats 2011, 1st US Nats 2011 & Top 16 Worlds 2011 (Seniors)

 

 

Skeleton List

Pokemon	T/S/S	Energy
3-3 Yanmega 2-2 Donphan Prime 2-2 Zoroark BW 1 Cleffa HS 1 Tyrogue HS	4 Pokemon Collector 4 Pokemon Communication 4 Junk Arm 3 Pokemon Catcher 2 Switch 3 Judge 6 Draw Supporters	7 Fighting 3 Double Colourless

Spaces Remaining: 9
Strategy:
This deck is designed to get going by turn 2 and have an attacker going that can take that first prize quickly. It focuses on speed and combines 3 of the best Stage 1 Pokemon out there to get dealing damage fast or copy your opponent’s attacks to level the field. Donphan is your main turn 1 attacker by being able to do 60 to the active and it will be there for a while due to its ‘Exoskeleton’ Poke Body. Yanmega is the best Pokemon in the format at the moment and can hit heavy on turn 1 as well with access to sniping the bench when needed. Zoroark is also a fast stage 1 that is able to copy the big hitters such as Reshiram, Magnezone and Zekrom since the other attackers really can’t max out at much damage. Being able to copy those heavy hitting attackers gives you a nicer time against them, getting those KOs you need to win fast.

Techs:
This deck is going to be tight for space since you need a lot of draw support in this deck. That being said though, you do have a couple of options when deciding how to go about taking those prizes quickly.

PlusPower: Including this in the deck covers your Donphan when you are up against Magnezone, to get that OHKO rather than a 2HKO and it also brings Zekrom and Reshiram within OHKO range of Zoroark when copying their big attacks. This card will help you to topple those tricky 70HP Basics early on with ‘Earthquake’ when you can’t get that Yanmega going quick enough and gives you that extra 10 damage on your attack, leaving you with another prize to take and putting your opponent in a tighter spot.

 
 

Bouffalant BW: This card is an amazing revenge attacker with it’s appropriately named ‘Revenge’ attack, powered up with just a Double Colourless. Being able to do 90 damage after suffering a KO can be huge in turning the game around or keeping on top of that prize lead you should have. The PlusPowers you could add in from above will open you up to more Revenge damage and can easily net you a KO on anything with 110HP. The energy you’ve used to attack with is the used as your retreat for the next turn so it should definitely be considered when taking this deck for a spin.

 

The Professors: As you can see, 6 slots are saved for the draw support in this deck since it is going to need a lot of help to get going quickly and grabbing those KOs early on. The choice you need to make is your balance between the Professors, Oak and Juniper. Professor Oak gives you some nice hand refresh without milling through your resources whereas Juniper can give you some much needed speed at the cost of a few cards. I would personally go for an even split on these since they are both handy in different stages in the game. The high Junk Arm count means that the deck can handle the discard of important trainers early on since you can get them back later on. Some people prefer more shuffle-draw based engines so you could tip the count slightly in Oak’s favour, but only testing will give you the numbers you need.

 

Super Scoop Up: Earthquake damage is a big thing in this deck and must be watched carefully when playing the deck. Adding too much damage onto your key Pokemon for your next move can open it up to a KO before you can utilise it fully. The addition of a single Super Scoop Up can give you the option of picking up highly damaged Pokemon as well as having another out to getting a damaged Donphan out of the active spot when you have no other outs. It can be hard to find space for this since the list is so tight, but trying it out could give you the advantage in the mirror, or just in general so that your opponent can’t take away from what you’re planning next turn.

 

Cinccino BW: This cute-looking Pokemon is actually another one of the fast and hard hitters we have right now in the format and can be a solid replacement for Zoroark in the growing format. Zoroark is great when you have a Reshiram or Zekrom in the opposing active spot, but when there’s a Basic or a Baby sitting there, there isn’t much that Zoroark is going to be doing damage-wise. Cinccino is another offensive option that you have which can get you even quicker prizes even earlier in the game since it can do a solid 100 maximum damage to the active which can be one of your choice when paired with Pokemon Catcher. Filling up you bench should be a cinch with all the draw Supporters you have, so the maximum damage shouldn’t be too hard to achieve. Overall, this card is a great inclusion other than Zoroark if your metagame isn’t going to be filled with Reshiram.

 

Rescue Energy: This card is actually quite tricky to fit in unless you want to go a little more sparse with your Fighting Energy, but it can really help you to recycle those attackers every time they get KO’d so that they can carry on the offensive for longer periods of time. Since most of your attackers only require one or even zero energy to attack, they should be pretty easy to get back into the action again. This particularly pairs well with a 4-3 Yanmega Prime line since you can have an active Yanmega with Rescue attached with a Yanma on the bench, ready for evolving straight away the next turn when your active is KO’d. This kind of strategy can be used over and over during the game depending on how many of these you run, but it’s definitely an awesome option if you can find the space.

 

3-3 Donphan or 3-3 Zoroark: This is a decision you are going to have to make when deciding to run the deck. Since its main strategy is to keep offensive all game and work against your opponent’s particular weakness. Where the heavier Donphan line is most useful is against a metagame crawling with Zekrom and Magnezone since it can take full advantage of the weakness that they bear to make the game a much easier one. Donphan’s Poke Body and resistance come into play and work together to reduce damage from a Lightning type by 40, making it quite the challenge for any of these Pokemon to knock just one out. Pair that with the ability to OHKO any of those Pokemon with PlusPower and you have a great choice. If you go with the heavier Zoroark line, then make sure that your metagame is filled with the likes of Reshiram/Typhlosion and any other hard hitting attackers like Rayquaza/Deoxys Legend and ‘Bad’Boar. Each of these Pokemon’s big hitting attacks can be copied for free with Zoroark’s ‘Foul Play’ making it much more effective to set up than theirs because all you need is a Double Colourless. See loads of big attackers in your area? Get with the 3-3 Zoroark, but up the count of DCE to 3 if you do this.

 

Max Potion: This came to us with Emerging Powers and has caused a load of hype for this deck since Max Potion can be abused to its fullest here. Since all of your attackers have low energy costs, Max Potion can be used to heal off your current attacker with the exchange of losing just a single energy that you can just attach again the same turn if needed. With Donphan having such huge HP, nothing is really going to OHKO it, so 2HKOs come into the game and this is where Max Potion can be used incredibly well. When Donphan is close to a KO from your opponent, you can just play the Max Potion and force your opponent to start again for just the cost of a single Fighting Energy discard. In the case of Yanmega, it also works incredibly well since Yanemga has no energy needed for its attack. When you’re playing the mirror match and Yanmegas are facing off against each other, Max Potion can tip the tide of the prize race just enough for you to pull ahead when played at the right time. Also with your high amount of Junk Arm at the moment, Max Potion can be abused throughout the game.

 

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