NOTE: Since Battle Roads are over and there is only Nationals and Worlds left before the rotation happens, this decklist will be unplayable later this year in any sanctioned tournament due to Vileplume, Dodrio, Cleffa, Rescue Energy, Pokemon Collector, Prof. Oak's New Theory, Aipom, Pichu, Jirachi, and Twins being removed from the format. This deck is still extremely fun to play on a casual level, but it can no longer be a metagame deck post-rotation.
This topic will be discussing a major deck involving Chandelure and Vileplume; ChandePlume as it is commonly referred to. This deck revolves around revolving ghosts to drop damage on the enemy without utilizing an attack. There are three major forms of this deck currently, and I'll be going over all three of them here. We'll first take a look at the attacking version of ChandePlume, a deck that is run without Tropical Beach, and instead uses Eerie Glow to attack. The second deck we'll discuss is the original concept that utilizes Tropical Beach, doesn't attack, and has amazing potential once set up. Finally, we'll discuss what I personally call FirePlume, or ChandePlume run with the fire variant of Chandelure released in the Next Destinies expansion.
Some players may question why ChandePlume would want to be played in this format dominated by Basics and heavy-hitting EX Pokemon. The main focus of Pokemon, as an entity, is to have fun. The major reason most of us, including myself, continue to play this game and many other related games revolving around the Pokemon universe is because we enjoy it, and it makes us happy. That's all there is to it. So, with that said, ChandePlume may be a deck that is just exceptionally fun for some people, myself included. The playstyle and types of Pokémon, how it all works together, and whatever else may just induce pure bliss to some. While I cannot exactly define what 'fun' is for everyone, I can say that this deck may be the right choice for someone who enjoys Ghost Pokemon, big set-ups, control, and calculated moves.
Is ChandePlume going to die soon? Who knows. With so many EXs romping about the outlook feels bleak, but perhaps an upcoming set will release another card that reignites this entire deck, or kills the hope of EXs being the most played cards out there. Feel free to read further and find out for yourself if the deck is dead or not. For me, this deck is very much alive and amazing to run, though the luster has dimmed to a dull refraction of its former self as of late.
Addendum - With the release of Dark Explorers (DEX), there has been a huge surge of new decks that contain everyone's new favorite EX, Darkrai. This card, being a Dark-type, completely counters Chandelure and friends. Due to having a Psychic weakness, hitting Chandelure for his weakness, and doing 30 bench snipe, the entire point of a ChandePlume deck is put under siege. Because of this card, along with fast acceleration with Dark Patch and tools like Darkness Claw, it's incredibly tough to keep up. For this reason, Chandelure has dropped from the Tier 2 it was currently estimated at in the Next Destinies set down to Tier 3 or below. Additionally, when the rotation comes in a half year, a majority of this deck will completely fall. No more Vileplume, Twins, Dodrio, or Cleffa.
Chandeplume revolves around tricky plays with Cursed Shadow to knock-out enemy Pokemon that think they're safe on the bench. Half of the deck is built around control; being able to deny the enemy use of major cards while protecting itself, and also controlling how much damage is done per turn to whichever Pokémon. The other half of the deck is built around the attacking machine the deck utilizes.
I'll first supply the basic Decklist for the Psychic attacking version of ChandePlume before diving into the meat of the discussion, so that the cards can be read before being fully discussed.
Attacking Psychic Chandelure decklist:
4-3-4 Chandelure Line
- 4 Litwick Promo (NV)
- 3 Lampents (NV)
- 4 Chandelures (NV)
3-0-2 Vileplume Line
2-2 Dodrio Line
1 Jirachi
1 Pichu / 1 Cleffa
4 Rare Candy
2 Pokemon Communication
2 Level ball
4 Twins
4 N
4 PONT (Prof. Oak's New Theory)
4 Pokemon Collector
8 {P} Energy
3 Rescue Energy
3[TECH] Free Choice of whatever tech cards. Can adjust by removing {P} or other trainers (Level Ball, a Candy)
This is a basic lineup for ChandePlume if it was run with Energy to attack. While some decks vary, of course, based on personal taste, experience, local metagame, and any other variables such as card availability, this list has some weight behind it.
Chandelure - The big, cute monster providing the engine to the whole machine. His main role is to be the attacker. All damage done is via Chandelure's ability, Cursed Shadow, which lets him drop three damage counters in any fashion on any enemy Pokémon once per turn per Chandelure. Since this ability can be used on multiple Chandelure, ideally, two to three Chandelure should be set up at all times to fully utilize two Cursed Shadows a turn. With 130 Health, he can avoid a lot of 1-Hit KOs from Zekrom, Reshiram, and many other hard-hitting Pokemon. Zekrom EX, one of the most popular attackers of the new format that ND brought us can still 1-shot a Chandelure, even if Defenders were teched in, unfortunately. The upside is that even though he is a Psychic-Energy Pokémon, being a Ghost makes his card weakness Darkness rather than Psychic, so Mewtwo EX takes a full SEVEN energy to knock a Chandelure out, while one Eerie Glow does a massive 100 damage, Burn, AND Confuse on a Mewtwo EX. With a properly setup team, 160 damage can be done per turn to a Mewtwo EX, making it one damage counter short of a knockout - pretty delicious, yeah?
Lampent - "Why, oh why are you adding in a Stage 1 Pokémon here, Viole?" one may ask right now, but don't fret, there is valid cause! Chandelure's line is very unique in that each stage brings something to the table, something very useful for the deck that it actually works with. Lampent brings with it Luring Light, a one energy attack that is effectively a Pokemon Catcher that works through Vileplume's Allergy Flower ability that this deck utilizes (I'll get into that in a bit!). Luring Light can pull up a heavy attacker such as Terrakion or an un-powered up Mewtwo EX to disrupt the opponent. Since Vileplume will keep Switches, Pokémon Catchers, and other similar trainers useless, getting that Terrakion out of the active spot is extremely difficult. If the opponent begins to attach energy on benched Pokémon rather than working on retreating, then instead of killing the active Pokémon that's stuck there, Chandelure can instead drop damage counters on the bench to snipe down bench warmers. This puts the opposing player in a very difficult situation where they can attach to the active for a retreat and waste energy/turns, or let it sit there accruing damage counters on other Pokemon without ever killing the active Pokemon.
Litwick - Yeah. Another part of the Chandelure line with a great use, Call for Family. One colorless energy allows the searching of any basic Pokémon in the deck, and instantly puts it on the bench. Since this is done before the turn ends, the benched Pokémon can be Rare Candied up to a Stage 2 instantly on the next turn. Will-O-Wisp is a weak attack, being two energy for 20 damage, and is not worth playing for. Instead, Call for Family should be used to fill up the bench with assistance of Pokemon Collector or to bench a Pichu to finish up the job on the next turn. If no Litwick Promo (NV) are owned, the original Litwick NV 58 will suffice.
Vileplume - Everyone's favorite flower is the giant shield that protects the whole field, and allows Lampent to do his only job effectively. When half of the deck's name involves Vileplume, she obviously must play a vital role! Allergy Flower, Vileplume's ability, blocks ALL trainer and item cards from being played for both players, allowing only the use of Supporters and Stadiums. This ability is currently the only reason Vileplume sees any play, and Vileplume is the only lifeline keeping some Stage 2 decks alive and running, unfortunately. Typically, running Gloom isn't too useful, as there should be nothing preventing a Rare Candy into Vileplume. If the opposing player runs their own Vileplume, then there is no need to set one up, as killing it would only hinder ChandePlume's viability, since it can abuse all Vileplumes on the field. Gothitelle is very, very easily taken care of due to Psychic weakness. Zebstrika ND's Disconnect is the only trainer-lock that can't easily be taken care of, but this also means that it isn't using its second ability to drop 80 on a benched Pokémon for a Knockout, making an easy enough kill with rotating the Chandelures.
Dodrio - If Chandelure is the Engine and Vileplume is the shield, then Dodrio are the wheels, allowing the whole deck to run smoothly. Retreat Aid, Dodrio's ability, allows all allied Pokémon to have two less retreat cost, which makes EVERY Pokémon in the deck a free retreat, including Chandelure. This is THE card that makes Chandelure playable currently, and without it, the deck would severely suffer, and possibly not even break into a Tier 2 deck. Being able to retreat any Pokemon at will without cost is amazing, and under Vileplume's vigilant stead in blocking all trainers, it cannot be Pokémon Catchered up and killed. However, since he only has 80 health as a Stage 1, some bench snipers can make quick work of him, such as another ChandePlume deck or Zebstrika ND.
Jirachi - This card is mostly a tech now in a format dominated by mostly basic Pokémon. Stardust Song allows three coins to be flipped when Jirachi is placed onto the bench, and for each heads, she can scoop up one psychic energy from the discard pile onto her. Coupled with Seeker, which this list doesn't include, it is great for retrieving energy from the fallen ghosts. Her main role in the deck is Time Hollow, which allows the player to devolve a number of enemy Pokémon on the field equal to the amount of energy attached to her. This alone can create a scenario where 2-3 KOs can happen in one turn. For instance, Magnezone is a very popular card still, and with 140 HP, he is extremely bulky. However, his Stage 1 form, Magneton, only has 80 health. With Jirachi, a Chandelure can do 80 damage to a Magnezone, and then work on getting damage done to other Magnezones or even Eelektriks. Using Time Hollow to devolve the enemy Pokémon, their new current max health, being a stage less, can cause them to be knocked out, since they'll have more damage counters on them than the previous Pokémon stage has life.
Pichu - A cute electric tyke, this rodent is used as an overcharged Pokémon Collector. Playground lets both players, when used, search their decks for a full bench of basic Pokémon. While it may be an iffy play against 6-Corners or CaKE, bringing out all those heavy basics, some decks don't benefit from having so many Pokemon in play. Most often, Pichu is knocked out after he is used, allowing the player to then abuse Twins on the next turn for easy evolves.
Cleffa - An optional card as a replacement for Pichu if the local leagues don't have much in the way of evolved Pokemon. Cleffa's Eeeeeek! (how many E's is that again?) is Professor Oak's New Theory in attack form. With no retreat cost, as with all babies, and Sweet Sleeping Face, she can stall for a bit, or just go up as a free draw power and sacrifice for abusing Twins. Hopefully she doesn't get knocked out due to bad rolls on waking up before providing a useful hand, though.
Rare Candy - With a deck running six Stage 2 Pokémon, Rare candy is a must. While typically only 2 will be played on average per game, the more there are, the easier it is to get one without having to do direct searches with Twins. Since Vileplume locks out Rare Candies, it should always be used to evolve a Chandelure before Vileplume if they are going to be used on the same turn.
Pokemon Communication and Level Ball - These two cards make up the search cards. While they are also locked out once Vileplume is out, they help search for that Vileplume, and Level ball provides an easy Lampent or Dodrio for an early game Luring Light, or setting up that Dodrio quickly.
Twins - This card is the most beneficial supporter in the deck. Being able to look for ANY two cards is just absolutely amazing. Since ChandePlume usually starts slow, similar to The Truth, it's normal to be behind in prizes. As stated before, having a Pichu or Cleffa being knocked out can really help this card get going, providing a great search tool for Rare Candy to get out an extremely fast Vileplume, or for some quick Chandelure plays.
Professor Oak's New Theory (PONT) - A staple in almost any deck, PONT allows for a reshuffle and full draw of a new hand without discarding anything. Providing the second best drawpower behind Professor Juniper, which forces the entire hand to be discarded, it's always wise to use this after playing all other available cards in the hand. Not too much needs to be said for PONT aside from it being great draw power.
N - With ChandePlume wanting to be behind in prizes early on, as mentioned in the Twins description, N is another great supporter that works when the enemy has very few prizes left. He can fully disrupt an entire hand, ruining a great plan the other player may have had, and could even force them into a situation where they have no supporters to play.
Rescue Energy - An interesting special energy card, one of the few unique ones still legal in this format, it can allow Twins and N to be fully abused without losing any valuable Pokemon. Oftentimes I even find myself attaching it to a Litwick to use Call for Family to set up a bench, and expecting the Litwick to then be knocked out, letting Twins be used and then having the Litwick back in play that same turn. It should be attached to every Chandelure that is placed down, as they are the only Pokémon that should be attacking or even be sent active, aside from Jirachi (one-trick Pony) and baby Pokémon (just too weak to want to waste energy on).
Vileplume shuts out all cards that would threaten the bench, making a safe nest for Dodrio. Dodrio then allows Chandelure to retreat back and forth without any energy being wasted. Due to Cursed Shadow's mechanics, it can be used on one Chandelure, retreated thanks to Dodrio, and then used on a second Chandelure again, providing 60 damage a turn to be placed ANYWHERE on the opponent's side of the field. This is enough to knock out most every basic Pokémon that evolves, easy baby kills (since it goes through Sweet Sleeping Face, as this is damage counters via an ability, and not damage via an attack), and tapping other Pokemon for knockout with Eerie Glow. Eerie Glow is 50 damage with a coin-flip, Burn,Confusion, and a flip from your opponent for Burn on the return. On Pokémon such as Gothitelle, Mewtwo EX, and Darmanitan, this burn can scoop up some easy kills. Rotating the Chandelures effectively to have the one with energy to attack at the right time is also very important here. Before I head into the first three turns in light, let me note that since Cursed Shadow is NOT an attack, prize cards can be gathered on the turn that it knocks out Pokémon, which can seriously change up the game.
As with every deck, going first is a HUGE bonus. On a good first turn, one finds a player using Pokémon Collector or Pichu to initiate getting all the basics needed on the field to set up for turn 2. Most often, a turn one without a supporter CAN be recovered from with skilled play, but it's an extremely uphill battle. Remember to try and use PONT before N this early, unless the other player looks like they're holding onto some big cards to place on their second turn as well. N should be used late-game instead, since it disrupts the opposing player's hand. Leaving turn one without any Litwicks on the bench is not suggested, as they are the bread and butter of the deck.
Turn two is where most of the magic will happen. Hopefully Rare Candy was lucky enough to pop up. If a turn two Vileplume can be set up, the game is instantly shifted entirely in her favor, thanks to Allergy Flower. This denies the enemy use of their own rare candies, communication, catchers, switches. All of these cards are huge early game for decks to gain momentum, and without them, those decks typically splash about like a Magikarp out of water. If at all possible, getting a Dodrio out here is amazing, but he isn't too needed until there are multiple Lampents and Chandelures up and running in turn Three.
After turn Three ends, hopefully with at least one Chandelure, Vileplume, and Dodrio up, the game becomes all numbers and skill. Manipulating the damage with Cursed Shadow becomes the main focus of the game. Remember to factor in everything such as Rainbow Energy damage (not too popular with Prism Energy around), Afterburner Damage, and how much each stage Pokémon has in health, so that Jirachi may be utilized.
If at all possible, keep one Lampent up and running with one energy, instead of evolving it to a Chandelure, just for Luring Light abuse. With Vileplume up, a Luring Light on a Terrakion, Regigigas, EX, Magnezone, or Zekrom EX can help seal the game, forcing a retreat through manual attaching. Aipom is an amazing tech for this strategy, as it can sit in the active position and just keep using Tail Code to repeatedly move energy like Double Colorless Energy off of them, since it's not restricted to only basic energies. Moving all of the energy to a baby Pokemon and then KOing it a few turns later after stalling enough to set up an entire Chandelure cycle will discard most of their energies. If against an Eelektrik deck, try to stockpile all of the energies on one Eelektrik so that it can't attack and be useful, and they don't go in the discard just to be Dynamotored back into play. Stalling tactics like this GREATLY increase the chance for success, as a fully set up ChandePlume deck can beat almost every other matchup, and the only downfall of ChandePlume is being disrupted early game or having key cards prized
MTC (Mewtwo EX , Tornadus, Celebi) - 70/30
Tornadus will destroy early game here, and disrupt the entire set up process, since it can KO ALL of the Pokemon in a Chandeplume deck that isn't a Stage 2. Killing him early isn't an option due to having no attackers, so surviving with Rescue Energy, Twins, and a Vileplume is the only option here. Mewtwo EX is easy enough. If it's dropped on the bench to be powered up before it is sent out, drop one damage counter on it with Cursed Shadow to even it out at 160 remaining health, or drop all 3 if they managed to snag an Eviolite before Vileplume went up. This lets him be knocked out in one turn thanks to Eerie Glow doing 100 damage, and two Chandelures doing 30 damage each. Celebi is taken care of, since she has 60 HP, and can be killed in one turn without even needing to attack. If this deck gets a turn one knock out via Celebi, Skyarrow, and Mewtwo EX, then the game shifts from 70/30 to roughly 40/60.
Durant 40/60, 80/20 with Fire
This deck is extremely rough if it gets an early devour on a key card, such as Vileplume or Candy. If Vileplume can be set up on turn 2, the game can usually be won without too much hassle. With an Eviolite and one Special Metal, Durant will take 0 damage from Eerie glow, however, the Burn and Confusion is still worth using the attack for. Cobalion will most likely be brought out if Vileplume is set up early enough, so make sure to shut it down with as much damage as possible. Remember that switching will remove Iron Breaker's effect disallowing the Pokemon hit by it to not attack next turn. If a Fire Chandelure is used, Durant is almost a surefire win.
ZekEeels (Zekrom, Zekrom EX, Eelektrik) 50/50
A very rough deck. If the Tynamos can be dealt with early on via Cursed Shadow, then there isn't too m[/color]uch to worry about. Zekrom EX can 1-shot a Chandelure no matter what defenses are put up, so always keep rescue on and a backup on the bench. If a Lampent can Luring Light an Eelektrik or un-powered Zekrom while Vileplume is up, it can stall for two turns allowing 120 damage in Currsed Shadow to be dropped, helping pave the way for a KO on that EX. This matchup is poor, however, due to how fast Zekrom gets up and running, and how Outrage is a rough counter to deal with on the non-EX version of Zekrom.
Anything-Emboar 75/25
Usually a pretty good chance to win, since Jirachi destroys Emboar and Magnezone. Chandelure can tank most of the attackers paired with Emboar for a turn, except Magnezone. Same strategy should be used against MagneBoar as ZekEels; take care of the Cyndaquil early on, or try and devolve for the KO. I've personally never struggled against this deck, but I only know one player who uses it. Lampent dem piggies up and turn them into bacon. This deck suffers GREATLY due to Luring Light. Abuse it!
EelZone (Magnezone, Eelektrik) 60/40
Essentially the same as ZekEeels, except Jirachi is what can win the game here. Killing Magnezone early, if possible, disrupts the enemy greatly. Getting up an early Vileplume will deny all junk arms, switches, catchers, and communications that get the deck going. All in all, it's a rough matchup because of how hard Magnezone hits, and he can 1-shot all of you Pokémon without batting an eyelash.
Mewbox (Mew Prime) 90/10
Double Chandelures use Cursed Shadow and kill Mew. Very simple matchup unless luck is awful, and cards can't be set up in time. Mew can be very annoying, but at 60 HP. not even sitting on the bench can be safe. Since it doesn't run switches, due to running Vileplume as well, use Luring Light on the Vileplume to keep them from attacking.
The Truth (Vileplume, Reuniclus, Other cute friends) 20/80
Since they also run Vileplume, if ChandePlume can get her out faster, it denies the enemy of extremely important Rare Candies. Solosis can be knocked out with one Cursed Shadow, and any benched Pokemon pooling damage counters can be knocked out with more Chandelure spam. This matchup is pretty fun, since Chandelure works around the active Pokémon, and Lampent can even swap the enemy Vileplume or Reuniclus out since The Truth never runs Switch. However, a skilled Truth Player will almost always beat a ChandePlume deck, as reallocating damage counters completely ruins the strategy. Additionally, even if luring light is used on a Kyurem EX, Regigias, Terrakion, whatever to stall, and Aipom (See Tech cards below) to move energy away, the Reuniclus can STILL knock out its own active Pokemon, ruining the stall strategy, putting itself down in prizes so they can abuse twins, and countering with a heavy hitter. If Reuniclus is pulled out with Luring Light, then a quick DCE attach will save it from entrapment, and then it can send up whatever powered-up Pokemon was sitting on the bench. There's not a huge chance to win this game unless the Truth player gets a bad hand, and the Solosis can be sniped with Cursed Shadow before they ever evolve. Once the Reuniclus is up, there's no way a Jirachi will be able to get lucky and get 6 damage counters on a Reuniclus to devolve for the KO.
Mirror 50/50
This does involve a bit of skill, but luck comes into play with whoever goes first, and if that player has a Communication on turn one. Knock out the enemy Dodrio first, it shuts down their Chandelure Engine; or just Luring Light it up since it does not benefit from its own Retreat Aid. To prevent the opponent from abusing Luring Light or wasting time to KO a Dodrio, set up two on the bench. Try and pick off Litwicks as they are placed to disallow any evolving. The issue here is trying to stay behind in prizes to use Twins, which can easily sway the game's outcome, but not too far behind that the enemy just steamrolls for a victory.
Six Corners (Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Mewtwo EX, other basics) 30/70
This is a pretty rough deck. Anything with heavy basics is hard to beat, since there are no weak Pokémon needing to evolve, and most run Eviolite. Lampent will win the game here. If Terrakion can be swapped out with 0 energy on it, they either have to Shaymin everything to retreat, or power it up slowly. Vileplume is a MUST have Pokemon to get out before anything else, since it will deny everything that Six Corners needs to use to stay quick. Aipom is amazing against this deck as it relies heavily on manual attaching, and moving cards off of the Pokemon they want will shut the entire system down.
Cobalion Kyurem Electrode (CaKE/CoKE Variants) 30/70
Electrode popping Energymite puts them behind in prizes, so hoping to play Twins here is usually fruitless. Kyurem can become extremely nasty, knocking out Dodrio in three turns, and spreading to all benched Litwicks. Four Glaciates will knock out Vileplume, so do not let a powered up Kyurem stay active. Do everything to Luring Light it out of the active slot, kill it, or just lock them out with a turn 2 Vileplume. Keep in mind that unless Voltorb can be killed in one turn with two Chandelures dropping Cursed Shadows at once, it's not worth going for, since the Electrode will just sacrifice itself anyways.
Darkrai + Tornadus 20/80
This deck is rough, much like the other two Darkrai decks listed below. Since Chandelure has a Dark-type weakness, and Dark Pokemon resist Psychic, it makes it an EXTREMELY unfair matchup. Chandelure will be hitting for 30 with Eerie Glow, 10 if they stack up the Eviolite. Additionally, the Darkrai can snipe the bench, taking out the Dodrio in 3 Night Spears, the babies in one, or the Vileplume in 4. This matchup is also unfair in the sense that it's a full EX team, the only targets are Smeargles, which would take 2 turns with a double Chandy rotation dropping 6, and then 10 more on the following turn, to KO it for one prize. Darkrai will be able to 1-shot Chandelure without a single issue, and can also take out any other Pokemon sent up to stall. The only way to win this matchup is through unreliable means; get the first turn and set up Vileplume on turn 2. If Plume isn't up that quickly, their Dark Patches, Catchers, and Darkness Claws/Eviolites will come rushing out faster than imagined. Tornadus most likely will not even be sent up in this matchup since Darkrai can take a bigger beating while doing the much-needed bench sniping. And finally, Darkrai gives free retreat to anything with a darkness energy, special dark, prism, or rainbow, making Luring Light almost useless. Again, Vileplume must be rushed for above all else, and then possibly load up just a lone Mewtwo as a tech and hope that he can sweep the field before dying out.
Darkrai + Zoroark 20/80
This is the same matchup as Darkrai Tornadus, except worse. Darkrai still tears through everything, but Zoroark will decimate the field. While it doesn't have the snipe, it can, with extreme reliability, start hitting for the 70 damage a turn needed to KO a Chandelure (two benched Pokemon and a Darkness claw, Special Dark, etc). This matchup does have an upside that the bench will usually be full of many Pokemon like Zorua, Sneasel, and Weavile that make for easy pickings with Cursed Shadow. If Vileplume can get up on T2 or T3, the match CAN be won because of this alone, and hitting the Zoroark for confusion, forcing it to retreat or risk KOing itself with confusion damage.
Darkrai + Klinklang 10/90
Imagine Darkrai and Tornadus... but more annoying. This deck can sustain itself perpetually with Klinklang providing free retreats, moves, and tanking prowess that not even Chandelure can snipe around due to the Darkrai. Even if Vileplume comes up, it's an uphill fight because the deck doesn't rely on Dark Patch for energy acceleration. There isn't much chance to win this with the current format, unfortunately. With all these dark Pokemon, Chandelure has dropped to a Tier-3 deck.
Terrakion - This card can be played as a tech to counter Magnezone pretty easily. Taking out a Level ball or Baby Pokemon will provide the best results, while also replacing one Psychic with a Rainbow. Twins can search this out with the rainbow if needed to use a retaliate KO to take care of Magnezone, Zekrom EX or Regigigas EX in one blow.
+ Counters Magnezone and Regigigas, difficult tanks for Chandy to deal with
+ Can stall with a huge hp pool after used
+ Turn 1 start may help to stall
- High retreat cost, once it's out, it's going to faint before it comes back, else it wastes bench space
- Starting turn 1 with it also is instant-lose vs Mirror or CaKE.
- Requires 2-3 spaces for Tech due to {F} energy requirement
Smeargle - More draw power is always a great thing, especially with Dodrio allowing free retreat. The downside is that he takes up a benched slot and is useless late game when Chandelure needs to be using the one retreat that turn instead.
+ More draw power
- Needs to be active to use
- Not conststant
- Wastes valuable bench space
Musharna - Another bench sitter that Vileplume would protect. This card typically isn't too sought after, as it requires a 2-2 tech minimum to be useful, and it's hard to find four cards to replace it with. The draw power just isn't enough, but perhaps it may just fit the bill for a rogue variant.
+ Draw power
+ Works with Psychic engine
- Second worst attack in format (next to Clefable's ND Fairy Power)
- Wastes bench space for very, very minimal draw
- Retreat cost of {C}{C}{C} doesn't benefit from Dodrio
Moltres - Having two retreat cost lets Moltres abuse Dodrio as well. For one fire and two colorless, he can do 50 damage and burn the enemy. I personally have not tested or used this, but I've read that someone had success with it somehow. If Durant big in your metagame, then Moltres is a great tech; it can 1 hit KO a Durant even with an Eviolite and Special Metal.
+ Bird?
- Takes like 9 energy to attack
Mewtwo EX - This card isn't too needed, as there's no acceleration for it and no Double Colorless Energy (DCE) are used in ChandePlume. With Eerie Glow, an enemy Mewtwo EX just isn't too much of a threat to warrant an entire tech.
+ Powerful attacker that can take out EX Pokemon
- Costs 2 prize cards in a deck that wants to fall behind intentionally
- Not needed when Chandelure can take care of Mewtwo EX
- Slow to be powered up, too much energy needed
Aipom - Aipom is probably my FAVORITE tech in the deck. While cards like Terrakion help with an offensive attack, and Musharna may bring in more draw power, Aipom is probably the only card that can stall long enough to secure a fully complete set up. With Tail Code being one energy, it can move around any energy cards on the the defending Pokemon, even special energies, to another of their benched Pokemon. Imagine pulling out a Terrakion with Luring Light. With Vileplume up, they have a retreat cost of four, and aren't allowed to use switch. That means that four energies have to be manually attached (or waste two full DCE) to retreat it just to get out another attacker. While Luring Light can be repeatedly used on that Terrakion after it just retreats, it isn't as efficient as just moving all the energy away to one benched Pokemon that can't do anything big (i.e, move it to Cleffa instead of Zekrom), and then using Cursed Shadow to knock out the weak Pokemon and get rid of all of those energies.
+ Stalling power to the extreme
+ {C} To attack AND retreat,
+ Lets you choose the energy and who it goes to when using Tail Code
+ Requires no additional tech room
- Easy to KO at 50hp and no defense
- Tail code is an attack, so Chandy cycle is interrupted, also can't Luring Light/Tail Code in one turn
Gloom - An interesting card to put in the tech section, when it may sound like a deck requirement. As aformentioned, Gloom may not be required as all Vileplumes should be able to be Rare Candied, and there's no way that four Chandelure will eat all the Rare Candies before one Vileplume gets one, so manually evolving isn't too needed, since there won't be a trainer lock up. The cases where Gloom may be effective is if a weaker line of Rare Candy is run, since Lampents are VERY useful in the deck, or to help provide consistency with getting a Plume out. In other situations such as avoiding a mirror match and not wanting Oddishes to be easy prizes, or against Kyurem using Glaciate, it may help to have Gloom. This is more of another iffy tech, it doesn't hurt to have it, it may be useful in some situations, but it may also become a dead draw that could be something useful. Choose at will.
+ Consistency with getting Vileplume out
+ Can get Plume out under lock
- Dead draw if Plume is out, 100% useless if Candy is in-hand
- Serves no function other than to help evolve to Plume, no special attack a-la Luring Light
Blissey Prime - This is another optional tech, though it may require more room than other techs, since it almost requires one seeker per 1-1 line to get full use, and ChandePlume is already an extremely tight deck on cards. While a staple in the Tropical Beach variant (see below!), this card has lost its luster in an attacking variant, as the Rescue and Psychic energy will be lost, causing Eerie Glow to not be used until more energy is attached. Since ChandePlume runs no energy acceleration, this is a minimum of 2 turns (use Blissey Prime on turn 1, place a new energy after using Blissey, then attach the next 2 turns), and it may be costly. Still, full healing a Chandelure will greatly disrupt the opponents plan, and deny prizes. Denying prizes late game is very important, since there were most likely 1-2 lost early game when setting up.
+ Healing everything at once instantly
+ Super cute
- No more energy to attack with
- Thick tech line of 5-6 to run properly
Sage's Training - A Supporter tech, it can replace another supporter such as PONT or Collector. This card is a huge double-edged sword, because it does provide great draw power in one turn without refreshing an entire hand (looking for one Candy and have a Plume/Chandy in your hand already?), it only truly shines late-game when it can also help weed out useless cards, like Oddishes, a Gloom (if run), etc that aren't needed. The drawback is, of course, being forced to discard cards that may be very useful if luck has it, since the deck has NO way to search the discard, and no way to refill the deck. The benefits are amazing, and it should provide consistent results, but any misplay with it can immediately cause the game to be lost (or the deck could just be shuffled better!)
+ Draw power without refreshing hand
+ Helps weed out useless dead-draw cards late game
- Thins the deck very quickly
- Can discard extremely important cards if unlucky or played wrong
Black Belt - Another supporter, it can be used as a pseudo Plus Power under Trainer Lock. Since ChandePlume is typically behind in prizes purposefully to use Twins, and because it's a slow start up, Black Belt can also be utilized. When powerful late game when cards like PONT and N have no more use, since everything is already set up, it can let a Chandelure 1-shot a Mewtwo EX without using Cursed Shadow on it at all, which could see three prizes taken in one game. It's also great for just bursting down other heavy EX Pokemon. I currently don't run it, since I don't own a copy of the card, but it may be an option if there's loads of MTC running around. Dropping 2 Cursed Shadows on a Celebi, then using Black Belt on the Mewtwo EX for a three prize turn can almost single-handedly secure the victory.
+ Can help 1HKO a Mewtwo EX
+ Supporter, so usable under Trainer Lock
- Supporter, so no hand refresh that turn
- Requires to be down in prizes (very minor issue)
- Not too many uses outside of Mewtwo EX counters
More Energy - This is a tech I personally use. Again, as stated above, the deck runs no acceleration, so all energy must be manually drawn out and attached slowly. Having more energy does fatten up the desk list and take up some card space that may be useful for techs, but being able to reliably use Eerie Glow is VERY important in today's metagame, as EX Pokemon can 1-shot every single thing this deck runs without too much hassle. The confusion helps, and having Burn means that the EX can be whittled down, even if they do score a KO, unless they retreat and waste energy (since switch isn't available due to Vileplume). It's a controversial idea to run so much energy, as can be read in below comments before I edited this section in, but I've never once had it cause me disarray, nor found myself to too much energy. The only downside is that more energy means more chance to draw into it instead of a card needed early game, such as Rare Candy or Lampent.
+ Consistency with attacking
+ Safety net for letting Chandelures faint with Rescue on them
+ Faster Eerie Glows
- Takes up valuable deck space
- Useless early game unless retreating
- Has no special purpose, it's just energy
Tropical Beach without Attacking
The original ChandePlume deck ran very few Psychic energy, sometimes even 0. The decklist would replace the Psychics with a 2-2 Blissey Prime line, two Seeker, and one or two Tropical Beach. Without ever using Eerie Glow, the goal was to just continuously drop 60 a turn without attacking, then use Tropical Beach to draw a full hand after the turn ends, sort of like a Magnetic Draw each turn. The draw power with this deck is insane, as it can set up extremely fast and stay active. Since no energy are used to attack, Blissey Prime can be dropped to heal up all the Chandelures that are hurt, giving them a second wind. Rescue Energy still helps for those times when the Chandelure just will die regardless. Seeker allows Blissey to be picked up again, and dropped down for another heal. All in all, this is the strongest deck out of all variants, including the attacking version, as it can sustain itself very easily. However, with the new EXs running rampant, this may change, as Eerie Glow is the only reason that ChandePlume can deal with not having a Mewtwo EX of its own as a counter. Max Potion would be a great card to use here if Vileplume didn't block it with Allergy Flower.
The downside of this deck, and why it currently isn't ran everywhere, is because Tropical Beach is a Worlds 2011 promotional card in very limited quantity. They fetch for roughly $100 online currently. Grabbing two of these for a deck that may be slowly dying in favor for an attacking variant is just not financially wise. However, if for some reason a Tropical Beach is laying around, it might be a good idea to set up a ChandePlume deck to see how it rolls.
Fire Chandelure
Yes! Next Destinies introduced another form of Chandelure with fire typing. This one can do 30 damage to the defending Pokemon, and another 30 more to two other benched Pokémon just for a single Fire Energy. This is probably one of the most cost effective attackers in terms of Energy per damage done in the current format, but since Chandelure is a Stage 2, Kyurem will outshine him in every form in addition to doing more damage. Since ChandePlume already runs Litwick and Lampent, the Fire Chandelure can fit right in. A single tech, or even running a 2-2 line of Psychic and Fire Chandelures drastically changes how the deck performs in the metagame. In addition to this, some Psychic Energy, usually 2-3, should be replaced with Fire Energy so that the Fire Chandelure can attack properly. The downside of Fire is he only has 120hp, as opposed to the Psychic's 130 health.
Durant is probably THE best reason to pick up the Fire Chandelure. Doing 60 to the active (weakness) and 30 to two benched sets up amazing KOs, possibly getting 2-3 Durants killed in one turn. His second attack, Inferno, is also amazing, but is a pretty big risk since it discards all energy attached, and ChandePlume has no energy acceleration. The 80 damage it deals for two energy can knock out a Cobalion in one blow, great against CaKE decks.
4-3-4 Chandelure Line
- 4 Litwick Promo (NV)
- 3 Lampents (NV)
- 3 Chandelures (NV)
- 1 Chandelure (ND) [TECH]
3-1-2 Vileplume Line
2-2 Dodrio Line
1 Jirachi
1 Aipom [TECH]
1 Terrakion [TECH]
4 Rare Candy
2 Pokemon Communication
2 Sage's Training [TECH]
4 Twins
4 N
4 PONT (Prof. Oak's New Theory)
3 Pokemon Collector
7 {P} Energy
2 {R} Energy [TECH]
3 Rescue Energy
1 Rainbow Energy [TECH]
I'm just testing out Fire Chandelure for now, and while I love the increased damage, I'm not loving the sparseness of the energy, nor having Fire Energy be useful at all if he's prized/KO'd/not playable.
- 4 Litwick Promo (NV)
- 3 Lampents (NV)
- 3 Chandelures (NV)
- 1 Chandelure (ND) [TECH]
3-1-2 Vileplume Line
2-2 Dodrio Line
1 Jirachi
1 Aipom [TECH]
1 Terrakion [TECH]
4 Rare Candy
2 Pokemon Communication
2 Sage's Training [TECH]
4 Twins
4 N
4 PONT (Prof. Oak's New Theory)
3 Pokemon Collector
7 {P} Energy
2 {R} Energy [TECH]
3 Rescue Energy
1 Rainbow Energy [TECH]
I'm just testing out Fire Chandelure for now, and while I love the increased damage, I'm not loving the sparseness of the energy, nor having Fire Energy be useful at all if he's prized/KO'd/not playable.
Wrapping up, I'd to once again state how much I love this game, and how this deck makes it extremely fun to play anyone. Chandelure is my favorite Pokemon of Generation 5, and I'm very pleased with his card, and how useful the deck is. Being able to bench snipe, get around locks, and deny the opponent key cards makes this deck very demanding, and not for the blunt player. This isn't Six Corners or CaKE where intelligence can be thrown out the window to clear up room for brute force. If you have any suggestions, comments, or insight, please post below or query me so that I can discuss it, and possibly add it to this giant monster of a topic.
Credits:
Viole - Writing every single word in this post
Viole - Making the intro graphics and stylized text for the whole topic
Fish of Tree - For the Chandelure fanart in the intro graphic
?? - Vileplume fanart used in the intro graphic (I've had this pic for a while, but don't know the author. If someone knows, let me know so proper credit can be given, please!)
Viole - Playtesting everything
Changelog:
- Added DEX Matchups
- Added Pros/Cons to each tech card
- Touched up some more wording
- Added Deck matchup win percentages and details
- Pretty text headers!
- Added Sage's Training Tech
- Added Aipom Tech
- Added Blackbelt Tech
- Added Gloom Tech
- Added Blissey Prime Tech
- Added Energy Tech
- Added the decklist I personally run
- Touched up a few matchups, notably vs The Truth decks
- Added another paragraph under Strategy
To do:
- Add in more deck matchups
- Go into greater detail about meta-metagame strategies
.