Discussion M Sceptile-EX

TheWhiskaz_

TheWhiskaz_

Friendly Neighborhood Hunter
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I know I'm a little late, but I've just seen the Sceptile-EX (non-promo) and M Sceptile-EX, and I find them interesting:

Sceptile-EX – Grass – HP170
Basic Pokemon

[G] Sleep Poison: 10 damage. Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Asleep and Poisoned.

[G][C] Assassin Claw: 60+ damage. If your opponent’s Active Pokemon is affected by a Special Condition, this attack does 70 more damage.

When a Pokemon-EX has been Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

M Sceptile-EX – Grass – HP220
Mega Evolution – Evolves from Sceptile-EX

When 1 of your Pokemon becomes a Mega Evolution, your turn ends.

Θ Stop: Prevent all effects of your opponent’s Pokemon’s Abilities done to this Pokemon.

[G][C] Jagged Saber 100 damage. You may attach up to 2 [G] Energy from your hand to your Benched Pokemon in any way you like. If you do, remove all damage from each Pokemon you attached them to.

When a Pokemon-EX has been Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2

Sceptile-EX on its own seems ok, albeit probably not worth running over other grass type EXs without its mega. It can do 170 damage in two turns with a bit of luck, and can set up relatively quickly, especially with all the energy acceleration grass types have, and a retreat cost of 1 is always nice. But M Sceptile-EX is the more exciting one for me. Although its retreat cost is higher than regular Sceptile-EX, its attack makes up for it IMO. 100 damage is solid, and add 20 with Muscle band and you're 2HKO-ing every EX except for Wailord (but afaik Wailord-EX isn't really played anyway). And then you can start powering up even more Pokémon and apply the effect of a Max Potion to them (might this suggest that Max Potion isn't getting a reprint?). Granted, it's not M Rayquaza-EX speed, but the extra acceleration always helps. What's more, it's interesting that Pokémon opted to give M Sceptile the ancient trait instead of Hoopa, but regardless it's a good one. Bypasses Safeguard and Mighty Shield and, I think, Hyper Hypnosis, for example. Makes me wonder whether M Ampharos and M Tyranitar will get ancient Traits as well....

So many EXs I want to use, so many decks.....regardless, what do you think? assuming the next rotation is XY-on we'll be losing eggs and Virizion in the Standard format, but it'll still be in Expanded I think (although I don't think we know what's happening to Expanded yet). Might M Sceptile-EX see some play? Will it be seen more in Standard or Expanded?

EDIT: forgot to mention the new stadium for grass types too. This one:
Giant Plant Forest – Trainer
Stadium

Each player’s [G] Pokemon can Evolve during the first turn and on the turn they were put into play.

This card stays in play when you play it. Discard this card if another Stadium card comes into play. If another card with the same name is in play, you can’t play this card.
 
My idea is something based around

M Venusaur EX
M Sceptile EX
FLF Dragalgee
PHF Venomoth
Giant Plant Forest

Basic idea is to power up an M Venusaur with M Sceptile, while setting up Venomoth and Dragalgee as well. Then you start hitting with Crisis Vine, paralysing and Poisoning the opponent. Seeing as Keldeo is rotating, this makes any chance of removing the special condition at best 50/50. Otherwise, your opponent can't do much.

If this decks hits big, we may even see Full Heal become competitive.
 
The new ariados works pretty well with Sceptile Ex and Dragalge. Causing poison on both active pokemon but grass types.

Ariados – Grass – HP70
Stage 1 – Evolves from Spinarak

Ability: Poison Nest
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may use this Ability. Both Active Pokemon are now Poisoned. (Excluding [G] Pokemon.)

[G][C] Corner: 30 damage. Your opponent’s Active Pokemon can’t retreat during your opponent’s next turn.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
 
TheStrictNein said:
My idea is something based around

M Venusaur EX
M Sceptile EX
FLF Dragalgee
PHF Venomoth
Giant Plant Forest

Basic idea is to power up an M Venusaur with M Sceptile, while setting up Venomoth and Dragalgee as well. Then you start hitting with Crisis Vine, paralysing and Poisoning the opponent. Seeing as Keldeo is rotating, this makes any chance of removing the special condition at best 50/50. Otherwise, your opponent can't do much.

If this decks hits big, we may even see Full Heal become competitive.
Click to expand...

Speaking of which, the same may apply for Steel Shelter and Slurpuff XY.
 
This could indeed be something. You can set it up T1 and start hitting for a 100 without major setup, not to mention it accelerates Energy from your hand. However, the problem is that the Energy must be in your hand, so to accomplish this and actually benefit from the attack I think an above-average Energy count would be necessary, which means there is not that many room in the deck, considering you'll be powering up other things, too; probably a Stage 1 or 2 (or maybe another Sceptile) but Stage 1 or 2 means spots taken.

So with that, plus the fact that you need a higher Energy count than normal, it leaves little space in the deck for techs, also considering you'll probably be running Shaymin-EX and some other consistency cards because N and other staples will be gone. However, this doesn't mean the deck won't be competitive. Actually, if you can keep Skyfield off the field (with Ninetails, perhaps) you can beat M Ray. All you need to be 2HKOing is 2 Energies and a Stadium, and they need 3 Energies (counts as 2 because DCE, but hey) and a bench of 8 to OHKO, and still a Bench of at least 3 to 2HKO. You're faster, but have a lower damage output, but if you pair it with the pseudo-Safeguard Beautifly, M Ray suddenly isn't so terrifying.

On a side note, I'm pretty sure this can't hit through Safeguard. The text specifies 'all effects done to this Pokémon', and Safeguard is an effect on the Pokémon wielding (?) it, not on M Sceptile. This would be something to ask a Professor once the set is released :p
 
I'm still waking up right now, so pardon the fact that my brain isn't running on all cylinders, but couldn't you use the Cancer draw engine to ensure you get as much as energy as you need?
 
Hi DarkMatterGaming,

Sure the deck can use the speed draw engine to ensure a stable flow of energies. Thats how I would use M Sceptile Ex ;).
 
I'm a bit iffy on all of the grass hype for this next set. Sure, you get the stadium, and ariados, but what would you ideally want to attach 2 grass energy to on your bench?
Next format, there won't be Genesect-EX, so that leaves us with Trevenant-EX, Venasaur-EX, and Heracross-EX. Venasaur-EX and Heracross-EX both are terrible without their megas (which still aren't great), and don't have spirit links. Trevenant-EX is bad without a ton of energy on it, and even though that's the point of Mega Sceptile, I don't think that I'd want 6 grass on a Trevenant-EX to be doing 190 maximum where we have pokemon ranging from 210-240 HP.
 
It doesn't have to be a grass Pokémon that you attach the energies to. This means you could pair it with almost anything like M Sceptile EX/ Yveltal EX or the ne Lugia EX. The M Sceptile could be paired with almost anything that requires Grass energy or Colorless energy.
 
Additionally, the new Lugia EX we'll be getting - eventually - is practically a reprint of Mewtwo EX, and gains all the Colorless support that we just got via Mega Ray.
 
My idea for a skeleton M Sceptile lineup:

4 Sceptile-EX
2 M Sceptile-EX (3 might be overkill, the card isnt that great as of now)
2 Spinarak
2 Ariados
1 Malamar-EX
1 Hoopa-EX
1 Shaymin-EX

Add on either Lugia-EX, Trevenant-EX or Yveltal-EX, with the support of Giant Plant Forest, Professor's Letters and Energy Retrievals keep cycling two invincible Sceptiles or power up a heavy damage dealer like Lugia, while getting the sleep and poison support from Malamar and Ariados.
 
Chewy said:
My idea for a skeleton M Sceptile lineup:

4 Sceptile-EX
2 M Sceptile-EX (3 might be overkill, the card isnt that great as of now)
2 Spinarak
2 Ariados
1 Malamar-EX
1 Hoopa-EX
1 Shaymin-EX

Add on either Lugia-EX, Trevenant-EX or Yveltal-EX, with the support of Giant Plant Forest, Professor's Letters and Energy Retrievals keep cycling two invincible Sceptiles or power up a heavy damage dealer like Lugia, while getting the sleep and poison support from Malamar and Ariados.
Click to expand...

Well done...

You just gave me a similar deck idea... only that since I believe 4 Sceptile-EX in one deck is one too many Sceptile-EXes that could have served as a slot for Yveltal-EX instead, my idea may be a little more consistent than it could be if 4 Sceptiles are there, but who knows? It may be good on paper and reality, or it might be good on paper but a bad idea in reality... Who knows how good it is until Ancient Origins is out in stores with no threat of consequences for street date breaking. Anyway, here is my M Sceptile-EX deck idea. If anyone wants to, their feedback is welcome, but please take it to the aforementioned linked thread, rather than this thread, because rules are rules, and I don't want trouble...
 
In my humble opinion.
I would just run straight sceptile.

Keep scooping and healing and scooping and healing so they can't ever get a knock out on you while you're hitting for 100 every turn.
 
I was just thinking about M Sceptile with Eevolution and Swellow. Since M Sceptile can't OHKO most of anything. I was thinking about Dustox to snag those extra prizes. However its a 2 step and it doesn't hit very hard. Swellow on the other hand can hit for 50 for 3 energy, 70 with muscle band. If weakness is hit, it can hit for a total of 140. Which combos pretty well with the 100 base damage of Sceptile. Even without the weakness it can 2HKO those 170 hp EXs.

With weakness for Grass/Fire/Water/Electric seems pretty decent. Probably won't be top tier. But something i do want to mess around with.

Any thoughts on what could be added/replaced/changed to make this general strategy a little more reliable?
 
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