Celebi and Friends!
Intro
After winning the European Challenge Cup and storming through State Championships, Celebi Variants (Celebi/Mewtwo EX/Tornadus in particular) proved themselves to be one of the top 2 decks at the time (though not living up to that name at Regional Championships and not winning a single one). Though it is not considered one of the BDIFs anymore due to its sub-par matchups against Zekeels and Darkrai, Celebi’s turn one potential and flexibility still make it a great choice for Battle Roads and possibly even Nationals.
What are Celebi Variants?
Celebi Variants use Celebi Prime’s Poké-Power “Forest Breath” to attach more than the usual one energy per turn. With Skyarrow Bridge giving Celebi a free retreat, he can be promoted after each of your opponent's KOs to give you some quick energy acceleration, after using his Poké-Power he can be retreated back to the bench. Using Pokémon that appreciate this energy acceleration (Mewtwo EX and Tornadus (EX) to name a few) Celebi Variants are known to put quick decks. They put early pressure on the opponent or even donk the opponent by doing up to 80-100 as soon as the first turn.
A Fairly Standard CMT (Celebi Prime/Mewtwo EX/Tornadus) List
~Pokemon
x4 Celebi Prime
x2 Tornadus EX
x2 Mewtwo EX
x1 Regigigas EX
x1 Tornadus EP
x1 Smeargle CoL
x1 Shaymin UL
~12
~Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums
x4 Professor Juniper
x4 Professor Oak’s New Theory
x3 N
x4 Dual Ball
x4 Junk Arm
x4 Pokemon Catcher
x3 Switch
x2 Eviolite
x2 PlusPower
x1 Energy Retrieval
x1 Random Reciever
x1 Revive
x2 Skyarrow Bridge
~35
~Energy
x9 Grass
x4 Double Colorless
~13
Total: 60
Explanation of Cards
Celebi Prime
The main engine of the deck. He is the preferred starter of the deck and can really get energy out fast! With the combination of Skyarrow bridges and switches you can attach up to 2-3 energies per turn!
Tornadus EX
This guy is one of your main attackers. With the possibility of hitting 100 damage turn 1 with Power Blast (DCE and one forest breath is the easiest way to accomplish this) and consistently hitting 100 damage after that, this guy is a force to be reckoned with! His other attack can also be used if you don’t reach the energy requirements for Power Blast. 60 damage for two colorless energy (assuming Skyarrow Bridge is in play) isn’t too shabby. Unfortunately, with his weakness to lightning he is really held back against lightning decks.
Mewtwo EX
This guy can be a force to be reckoned with if played correctly. With an “unlimited” damage cap, Celebi and Shaymin can quickly and easily set up in a turn or two. Watch out for opponent’s Mewtwo EX though, because if you’re not careful, your Mewtwos can go down quickly giving up some easy prizes.
Regigigas EX
Though not the ideal turn one attacker with three colorless energy for 60 (or 80) and four colorless energy for 50+ the number of damage counters on you. This is one of your more preferred attackers for the lightning matchup because of the absence of a lightning weakness.
Tornadus EP
This guy does a pretty good 80 damage for three colorless energy. While not as much as Tornadus EX, this guy has a few things going for him. One is that he keeps the energy in play instead of the chance of discarding the energy, and another is that he is not an EX which means he only gives up one prize card. Unfortunately, with 110 HP, he is still vulnerable to a Darkness Clawed Night Spear or a Night Spear after taking 30 damage on the bench from a Darkrai EX.
Smeargle CoL
This card goes well with any deck running Skyarrow bridge which gives him a free retreat. Using his Poke-Power “Portrait”, you can theoretically be able to use 2 or more Supporters per turn, which is always nice.
Shaymin UL
This guy allows you to keep a few tricks up your sleeve. Using his Poke-Power “Celebration Wind”, you are allow to move any amount of energy cards attached to your Pokémon to any of your other Pokémon in play. Being able to turn a few Tornadus with energy on them into a Mewtwo EX sweep can be fantastic. You can also deny KOs with Shaymin by moving energies to new attackers from other damaged attackers.
Professor Juniper
Professor Juniper is a great card, it can turn a cruddy hand into a fresh new hand of seven without the risk of you getting those cards back in your new hand. Be careful though, you're not going to want to be discarding very many valuable resources unless completely necessary.
Professor Oak’s New Theory
Another great card in my opinion. This card allows you (unlike Professor Juniper) to get a new hand without discarding valuable resources that could be useful later in the game.
N
The last Supporter in this deck, N, is great in the fact that it has the same use of Professor Oak’s New Theory for you, but can be very disruptive to the opponent. Also, late game, this card can allow you to turn a game around by giving you’re opponent a small hand to work with, giving you a small window to catch up. But be warned! Opponent’s N can also spoil your day in the early and late game.
Dual Ball
I think that Dual Ball is the best card for Pokémon search in this deck. While it is a little risky, often times you will only need a few Pokemon on your field so the average 1 Pokemon you get (theoretically) will do just fine. Also, unlike Pokemon Collector, Dual ball is a trainer, which means you won’t use up your Supporter for the turn and because all of your Pokémon are basics, Dual Ball will let you grab any of them.
Junk Arm
A pretty self-explanatory card, you get to reuse your trainers! Whether you get a Dual Ball, to a clutch Pokemon Catcher, Junk Arm can be like adding four of a “universal” trainer to your deck, if the trainer you are seeking is in the discard of course.
Pokémon Catcher
A fantastic card which allows you to take cheap KOs off of your opponent’s bench which is a serious part of this deck. Being able to take cheap KOs in order to slow opponent’s setup (like KOing Tynamos) and for just grabbing those easy prizes which are begging you to be taken (baby pokemon, other Celebis/Smeargle, etc.)
Switch
This card is great in the fact that it allows you to “retreat” your Pokemon to the bench without having to use your retreat for the turn. This allows you to use multiple Forest Breaths and/or a Portrait per turn and it can be a substitute for retreating early game when Skyarrow Bridge isn’t in play to give Celebi a free retreat.
Eviolite
This nifty little card allows you to prevent 20 damage done to one of your Pokémon which Eviolite is attached to. This card allows you to “tank” easier with pokemon and make knockouts more difficult for your opponent.
PlusPower
You’ll be surprised at how many things an extra 10 damage from PlusPower can do for you. Whether its knocking out a Tornadus/Landorus/Thundurus with a PlusPowered Power Blast to knocking out an opponent’s Mewtwo with two energy using PlusPowered X-Ball from your Mewtwo with two energy, that extra 10 damage can really grab you some necessary knockouts.
Energy Retrieval
I really like this card in this deck, especially because Tornadus EX can discard energies quickly. Also, it brings the energy straight to your hand which means you don’t have to worry about getting it from your deck to pull off that energy attachment/Forest Breath which you might need.
Random Reciever
Because you only run draw Supporters, this card gives you a 100% chance of getting one from your deck (assuming there is one in there). Also, you can get it back into your hand with Junk Arm, which means you can practically Junk Arm for a Supporter.
Revive
I think this card is a great addition in this deck because it allows you to grab a basic Pokémon (note that all of your Pokémon are basics) straight from your discard to your bench. This allows you to grab many of things you might need including that “third Mewtwo” to win the Mewtwo war.
Skyarrow Bridge
This card is the card which really made Celebi Prime playable by giving it a free retreat. Not only does Celebi get free retreat, but Tornadus, Tornadus EX, Smeargle, and Shaymin all get a free retreat cost as well! It also gives Tornadus EX’s Blow Through attack an extra 30 damage which allows him to do a decent 60 damage for just a Double Colorless Energy if you can’t pull off the Turn 1 Power Blast.
Grass Energy
Well, how would you use Forest Breath if you didn’t have anything to Forest Breath?
Double Colorless
This is a great card in this deck. It allows for an easy two energy boost for X-Ball, and it also makes it MUCH easier to pull off a turn 1 attack with Tornadus or Tornadus EX because you’ll only need to use one Forest Breath and then attach your Double Colorless energy.
Techs
Terrakion and Fighting/Prism Energy
To use this tech, you’re going to have to drop a Tornadus/Tornadus EX or 2 and maybe also some Grass Energy or DCE. This is a viable tech in this format with all the fighting weakness floating around in Darkrai and Zekrom Eelektrik . Using Celebi, you can pull off an unexpected Retaliate with a grass and a fighting/prism energy.
Shaymin EX
This card tied with a late game N can turn a game around. Be careful to not put him down too early because of his frail 110 HP for an EX. He ties in well with the grass energy already in your deck and can be a nice tech in some situations.
Pokémon Collector
Though this card can mess up your Random Recievers, it can be very nice to grab any 3 Pokémon from your deck. It can pull you out of tight situations and can get you the Pokémon you need, but Dual Ball generally outclasses it because of the fact that Dual Ball is a Trainer and you usually need a low amount of Pokémon to function. One thing that Collector has over Dual Ball is that it works under trainer lock.
Super Rod
This card can pull out resources from your discard but the cards go to your deck, which makes them harder, to get out if need be. It can slow down decking out which can also be a reason to play this if you have problems with that.
Energy Search
This card fits well with the Terrakion tech from earlier because it can search out that needed fighting energy for Retaliate. It can also search for a necessary Grass energy to Forest Breath if need be, and it can be retrieved with Junk Arm.
Super Scoop Up
This is another interesting tech, which can allow you to deny prizes and tank by picking up damaged attackers and bringing up new ones. Though there is the coin flip, this card can pull you out of some tight situations and give you an edge.
Virizion (both EP and NV)
The NV Virizion can be used as early game draw support, Tynamo killer and as a counter to Terrakion. The Emerging Powers Virizion can also counter terrakion and KO some tynamos.
Tyrogue
With the decrease of 30 HP tynamo and basics due to Darkrai, Tyrouge has lost much of its power to quickly kill those Pokemon but can still be played if wanted.
More Cards From the Previous List
Eviolite, PlusPower, Random Receiver, Tornadus, etc. can all be played in higher/lower counts to your liking and in response to your metagame.
Matchups
Mirror (Other Celebi Decks)
In this matchup, much of it depends on the speed of setup and the decklists. Remember that starting an early Mewtwo war might not end up in your favor because they also have Mewtwos ready to fight. The prize trade can be key and you don’t want to give up any cheap prizes.
Zekrom/Eelektrik
This matchup can prove to be more difficult without the inclusion of Terrakion. They have type advantage over Tornadus and many also have Mewtwos at their disposal to counter yours. You’re probably going to have to try to get the donk or outspeed them and take as many cheap prizes as possible before they set up or you might be in for a rough ride.
Darkrai Variants
This can also be a tough matchup without Terrakion. Due to Darkrai’s resistance to Psychic, you’re probably want to mainly use Tornadus and Tornadus EX to fend off the Darkrais. Watch out for placing down easy targets such as Celebis for Darkrai to snipe and watch out for lost removers and crushing hammers taking away your energy quickly.
Fighting Variants
This should be a fairly easy matchup because Tornadus and its EX counterpart have resistance and can plow through many Terrakions and Groudon EXs before getting taken down. Watch out for Lost Removers and Crushing Hammers though which can quickly slow your Tornaduses down.
Trainer Lock
Though you have a pretty good reliance on trainers, you should be able to outspeed them before they set up and take a quick lead and just play on from there. If they do set up before you are able to do much, it might be tough due to your reliance on trainers.
Durant
This matchup can be tough due to you using many supporters and trainers which can thin out your deck quickly if you play right though, you should be able to repeatedly KO their Durants with Tornadus and be able to win. Again, watch out for Lost Removers and Crushing hammers leaving you with no energy to attack with.
Conclusion
Though Celebi decks have taken a hit with all the Lightning decks and Dark decks, it can still keep up with them if played right. I hope you enjoyed reading this article!
~Mokoko
