4-4-3-1 or 4-4-2-2?

A

AlanJLegend

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Hey guys, I just had a question.

As it currently stands I have 3 Empoleons and 3 Empoleon Lvl. X.

In my deck I currently run a 4-4-3-1 line with a Lvl. X, however, just Yesterday I got another Lvl. X which I have the option of adding to my deck.

In general, what is more effective out of having 2 2nd Stage and 2 Lvl. X's or 3 2nd stage and 1 Lvl. X?


Thanks
 
2-2 Lv.X line isn't common, as having 1 or more of the norlal prized makes it difficult to get any set-up. 3-1 seems to work best, though magmortar seems somewhat effecitive being 2-2. Play testing is the only real way to confirm this though.
 
It actually depends on your deck's strategy. For example, if you are playing a Hand Control Variant deck with Empoleon, then it is best if you play it 2-2(2 Empoleon & 2 Empoleon LV X) but if you are just playing a pure sniping deck with it, then 3-1 is the better choice...
 
I like 4-4-3-1, because it's faster, but 4-4-2-2 can be good as well. It all depends on your deck.
 
Empoleon doesn't need the LVX. Mind you, the LVX adds to his usefulness but he doesn't NEED it to be good, unlike, say, Magmortar. As such, its best to play him 3-1 (I prefer 3-3 for Pip/Prin btw)
 
It really depends on the Level X and the deck.

Infernape: It can definitely settle for one, though more recently with the high HP's popping it up, it definitely needs that 150 nuke more often.
Empoleon: Can get by without it. People run 4-2-4's of Emp, 3-2-3's of emp. Usually when the LX is seen played its in some form of hand control.
Torterra: My honest opinion is that 2 LX's are good here. They're efficient in the aggro that Tort craves and you typically have something alongside him, so..
Maggy: 2 here. You run 3-2-3 lines of typh typically with him, so you dont need as much.
Vire: Depends on the player or the deck. I ran one when I had a vire deck.
Lucario: One. You can't get enough lucario with 2 LX.
Gardy: Two. You can make entire use of the double teleportation this way.
Honchkrow: 1. Though I dont think hes anything special anyways..
 
^2 Honchkrow, alot of people already play 4-2 Honchkrow, so...

It indeed depends of if you use Empoleon Lv. X as a main attacker or as an extra Addition. 4-4-3-1 would probably be the play.
 
4-4-3-1 works if the stage 2 on its own is NOT a total failure like Ape and Emp, otherwise play 4-4-2-2 (even though I'd play like, 3-3-2-2 or even 2-2-2-2).
 
Empoleon- 4-4-3-1 Empoleon can snipe well enough :)

Torterra- 3-2-2-2 Well... Torterra isn't the best Pokemon card. Luckily, the lv.x makes up for that.

Infernape: 3-2-3-1 Generally, this is ho =w it should go...

Lucario- 4-3-1 Lucario lv.x isn't as important as Lucario, but its a nice tech.

Magmortar- 3(depending if you want to play Magby)-3-2-2 Like S_T said, Mag lv.x is good, for its power AND for its attack.

Gardevoir- 3-2-2-2 You can also play Gallade, but let's stick to the lv.x. Gardy lv.x is AMAZING, so make full use of 2 of them ;)

Honchkrow- 4-2-1 The Murkrow's are the most important thing here, so Honchy lv.x is just a tech.

Really, it depends on what deck you're playing, but, based on MY experiences, that's what works well :)
 
In a very generalised "resource efficency" logical reasoning, it appears better to run 3-1. Because of the fact that level X cards can only be played on the active and are thus of limited use when compared to the evolution cards that can give extra HP to the bench.

The big considerations are of course:

How often will the evolutionary stage be active a turn or more after evolution?
What is the benefit of levelling up? How much impact will an odd HP or stronger attack/power have on the game ie. will it stay long enough to make use of it?
How often can you acquire this card? Do you need to spend all your resources on develloping other stacks rather than the active stack and how will this impact the overall necessity of being able to level up?

If in doubt, try both and be experimental. If Lucario level X is helping your Blissey matchups heavily then why not try 2-2 or even 1-3? If this has a positive effect on the frequency of top-decking the appropriate stage/level-up at the appropriate time or an engine to fetch it, then you may be on to a great strategy.
 
This is a more appropriate forum for this thread.
 
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