Standard Mega Altaria deck

[DATfairy]

Hello people from pokébeach, I have finally registered after reading a lot of topics around here.
While perhaps this is not the best way to introduce myself, I come to you with a deck I am currently trying to build and am in need of advice of:

Mega Altaria.

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******
Pokémon - 15
3 Altaria-EX FAC 83
2 Shaymin-EX ROS 106
3 M Altaria-EX FAC 121
2 Cottonee AOR 55
2 Whimsicott AOR 56
2 Hoopa-EX AOR 36
1 Jynx FFI 37

Trainer Cards - 33
4 Trainers' Mail ROS 92
1 Xerosic PHF 119
1 Hex Maniac AOR 75
1 Shauna FAC 111
1 Super Rod BKT 149
4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
3 Altaria Spirit Link FAC 91
2 Skyla BKT 148
3 N NVI 101
3 Fairy Garden XY 117
1 Lysandre FLF 104
4 Ultra Ball FAC 113
4 VS Seeker PHF 109
1 AZ PHF 91

Energy - 12
4 Fairy Energy Energy 9
4 Rainbow Energy BKT 152
4 Double Colorless Energy XY 130
Total Cards - 60

General idea:

Basically the general idea is to setup the altarias as quickly as possible and proceed to become unkillable by the healing from mega altaria's attack.
Fairy garden for free retreats, 1 jynx for additional healing and to fuel altaria ex's first attack if needed,
2-2 line of cottonee-whimsicott to transfer a lot of damage or to deal with ex counters ( let mega altaria soak 2x damage from for example regice, then use whimsicott to transfer it all back to KO).
4x DCE and 4x rainbow to ensure there is special energy attached to my Mega, and the damage from rainbow energy can give a rush-damage boost to Altaria ex if Jynx is present.

AZ is mainly there to free up benchspace for altaria's/whimsicotts by picking up used hoopa's and shaymins.

Issues:

My main problem so far is both as simple as it is huge: Not getting the cards I need.
I added a 2nd Hoopa to make sure I can grab multiple altaria/shaymins, but it still is rather shaky.
Energy is also quite an issue to find, despite running 12 energies.
I have tried to run professors letter, but since I only run 4 regular fairy energies it did not do much for me.
spirit links are also a pain to grab, despite me going as far as adding 2 skyla's to search out both spirit links or pokemon ( ultra ball -> altaria/shaymin/hoopa).

I experimented with mega turbo, but did not really like it, and also a combo of 1-2 battle compressor with 4 puzzles of time did not really seem to work.

So, people of pokebeach, how can I both make this deck more reliable and speed it up a bit so my fluffy mega overlord Altaria can actually do stuff without having to rely on lucky hands?

 

[Spectre_Makoto]

I feel like a good card to use in any Altaria deck, especially if using Shaymin, is Winona. It won't get you the Mega like Hoopa can, but you can still search for any combination of basic Altaria and Shaymin.

By the way, I like your use of Whimsicott lol Pretty nasty on paper.

But anyways, if I had to make any suggestions:

- 1 Hoopa EX
- 1 Shauna
- 1 Sycamore

+ 2 Battle Compressor
+1 Winona

I've found the VS Seeker/Compressor combo helps with Supporter efficiency and can even allow you to run less Supporters, as well as allowing you to get the Supporters you want/need rather than just relying on luck draws in that regard. I think at least 2 will do some good.

The Winona is just me and my preferences and what I think could be used. But it works for me and I can only hope it works for you. I've been working on an Altaria list myself you see. But as I said it can help you with getting Colorless out with necessarily using up another bench space for Hoopa. Then again, AZ can get him off the Bench so that may not be a problem; in which case don't listen to me, I is dumb

Also since your using DCE, you could maybe try Lugia FCL or Lugia EX as an alternate attacker. I'm also quite fond of Stantler BRP haha no one expects the Stantler Inquisition

 

[DATfairy]

I feel like a good card to use in any Altaria deck, especially if using Shaymin, is Winona. It won't get you the Mega like Hoopa can, but you can still search for any combination of basic Altaria and Shaymin.

By the way, I like your use of Whimsicott lol Pretty nasty on paper.

But anyways, if I had to make any suggestions:

- 1 Hoopa EX
- 1 Shauna
- 1 Sycamore

+ 2 Battle Compressor
+1 Winona

I've found the VS Seeker/Compressor combo helps with Supporter efficiency and can even allow you to run less Supporters, as well as allowing you to get the Supporters you want/need rather than just relying on luck draws in that regard. I think at least 2 will do some good.

The Winona is just me and my preferences and what I think could be used. But it works for me and I can only hope it works for you. I've been working on an Altaria list myself you see. But as I said it can help you with getting Colorless out with necessarily using up another bench space for Hoopa. Then again, AZ can get him off the Bench so that may not be a problem; in which case don't listen to me, I is dumb

Also since your using DCE, you could maybe try Lugia FCL or Lugia EX as an alternate attacker. I'm also quite fond of Stantler BRP haha no one expects the Stantler Inquisition

Thanks for your reply!
I can see why you would recommend winona, with base altaria's and shaymins all being colourless, and why you would cut a hoopa for it.
Perhaps no deck except Mega-Rayquaza truly needs a 2nd Hoopa, in which case I should look for other means of consistency and perhaps Winona is that.
Cutting a pokémon does make me fear an increased amount of shaymin starts/mulligans, what is your experience with this?

The whimsicott line was a hard decision for me really.
I wanted a backup plan, something that could potentially do something about ex-counters/help out my mega/swing the pricetrade in my favor, and whimsicott fits all those criteria for me!
It's only issue ( for me) is the 70 hp, so it will get knocked out after single use most likely.
But with a bit of luck you have used it to knock out a big threat like regice or a big ex ( so even if they KO, you got 2 prices for 1 whimsicott while healing up your mega ,sweet deal imo).
It adds to survivability if a mega takes a massive hit, since minor damage is something altaria can deal with itself, since it's attack is a rough seas healing equivalent for all your pokemons.
Going full fairy makes it auto-lose against metal decks, but I figured you simply can't win them all, and metal is not as common at the moment from my experience.
I have considered a 2-2 zorua/zoroark line, but I felt its only benefit would be the extra hp ( and, considering I only have 3 fairy gardens meaning I will eventually lose stadium wars, means zoroak will need either a floatstone or an energy attachment to work, meaning either losing a precious turn not setting up, or having to find room for float stones in an already cramped decklist). And it's attack damage depends on your opponents bench, so no guarantuee of killing anti-ex pokes.

And thus, despite it's weaknesses, I opted for whimsicott

About your other suggestions:
Cutting the shauna I can agree to, it was mainly just there as a lategame shuffle ( when N will give you a lower count), but can I really cut a sycamore?
Most decks seem to be built around the idea that stuff like 4 sycamore, 4 ultra balls, etc are holy numbers and should never be touched.
Is the consistency of battle compressor really that high that it trumphs over 2 additional supporters?

Once again, thanks for the reply

 

[Spectre_Makoto]

Thanks for your reply!
I can see why you would recommend winona, with base altaria's and shaymins all being colourless, and why you would cut a hoopa for it.
Perhaps no deck except Mega-Rayquaza truly needs a 2nd Hoopa, in which case I should look for other means of consistency and perhaps Winona is that.
Cutting a pokémon does make me fear an increased amount of shaymin starts/mulligans, what is your experience with this?

The whimsicott line was a hard decision for me really.
I wanted a backup plan, something that could potentially do something about ex-counters/help out my mega/swing the pricetrade in my favor, and whimsicott fits all those criteria for me!
It's only issue ( for me) is the 70 hp, so it will get knocked out after single use most likely.
But with a bit of luck you have used it to knock out a big threat like regice or a big ex ( so even if they KO, you got 2 prices for 1 whimsicott while healing up your mega ,sweet deal imo).
It adds to survivability if a mega takes a massive hit, since minor damage is something altaria can deal with itself, since it's attack is a rough seas healing equivalent for all your pokemons.
Going full fairy makes it auto-lose against metal decks, but I figured you simply can't win them all, and metal is not as common at the moment from my experience.
I have considered a 2-2 zorua/zoroark line, but I felt its only benefit would be the extra hp ( and, considering I only have 3 fairy gardens meaning I will eventually lose stadium wars, means zoroak will need either a floatstone or an energy attachment to work, meaning either losing a precious turn not setting up, or having to find room for float stones in an already cramped decklist). And it's attack damage depends on your opponents bench, so no guarantuee of killing anti-ex pokes.

And thus, despite it's weaknesses, I opted for whimsicott

About your other suggestions:
Cutting the shauna I can agree to, it was mainly just there as a lategame shuffle ( when N will give you a lower count), but can I really cut a sycamore?
Most decks seem to be built around the idea that stuff like 4 sycamore, 4 ultra balls, etc are holy numbers and should never be touched.
Is the consistency of battle compressor really that high that it trumphs over 2 additional supporters?

Once again, thanks for the reply

You are most welcome

In regards to the Shaymin starts, it happens less often than you might think, even in a deck with few Pokemon. Just speaking from my point of view, I've never liked more than 1 Shaymin in my decks, as it presents those Shaymin starts in a greater possibility. But that's just in my experience.

Whimsicott, I feel, has some synergy with a deck that is supposed to be somewhat tanky given the card effects. If Altaria survives a huge hit, Whimsicott swings cottony justice for the price of being a squishy Stage 1. 2-2 is definitely the way to go, since you'll likely want just 1 on your Bench. So if it works for you and you like playing it, I'd say go for it.

And about the Sycamores and Ultra Balls, it's really not a big deal to cut 1 Sycamore. And from what I've seen, Compressor/VS Seeker combo's consistency is pretty damn good, as it prevents dead draw supporters later in the game and allows you to sure-fire get the Supporters you want/need via VS Seeker. Of course the trade-off is that you burn through your deck pretty damn quick, so if you try this strat, it pays to be cautious. Again, this my experience so I can't speak for everyone.

 

[DATfairy]

You are most welcome

In regards to the Shaymin starts, it happens less often than you might think, even in a deck with few Pokemon. Just speaking from my point of view, I've never liked more than 1 Shaymin in my decks, as it presents those Shaymin starts in a greater possibility. But that's just in my experience.

Whimsicott, I feel, has some synergy with a deck that is supposed to be somewhat tanky given the card effects. If Altaria survives a huge hit, Whimsicott swings cottony justice for the price of being a squishy Stage 1. 2-2 is definitely the way to go, since you'll likely want just 1 on your Bench. So if it works for you and you like playing it, I'd say go for it.

And about the Sycamores and Ultra Balls, it's really not a big deal to cut 1 Sycamore. And from what I've seen, Compressor/VS Seeker combo's consistency is pretty damn good, as it prevents dead draw supporters later in the game and allows you to sure-fire get the Supporters you want/need via VS Seeker. Of course the trade-off is that you burn through your deck pretty damn quick, so if you try this strat, it pays to be cautious. Again, this my experience so I can't speak for everyone.

Sounds plausible.
I am going to experiment with cutting a hoopa/shauna/sycamore, and adding a winona and 2 battle compressors to see how it affects my drawpower and setup speed.
thanks!