So basically, I just spent an hour looking through the Pokemon Database for Basic Pokemon with energy costs of 3 so here they are. I will be straying away from typical partners for Vileplume such as Vespiquen or Giratina-EX!!!
Good:
Dialga-EX - PHF
Lugia - FCO
Dragonite-EX - FFI
Regigigas - PHF
Jolteon-EX - GEN
Glaceon-EX GEN
IDK TBH:
Yveltal - BKT
Darkrai-EX - DEX
Ho-Oh-EX - DRX
Decent:
Articuno - ROS
Regice - AOR
So this is how I categorized them and now I will review every single one. But first here is a skeleton for the deck with no specific Pokemon in it.
Pokemon: 18
3x Oddish
3x Gloom
3x Vileplume
2x Shaymin-EX
1x Jirachi-EX
1x Mew
1x Lugia-EX
4x [Pokemon of your choice]
Trainers: 31
4x Acro Bike
4x Trainer's Mail
4x Ultra Ball
4x Forest of Giant Plants
2x Sycamore
1x AZ
1x Lysandre
4x Max Elixir
2x Revitalizer
2x Battle Compressor (More depending on the Pokemon of your choosing)
2x Float Stone
1x Computer Search
Energy : 11
4 DCE + 7 Basic Energy
OR
11 Basic Energy
Now we can get into the good stuff: the Pokemon.
Dialga-EX
Great with the first attack Chrono Wind. 60 Damage and prevents all damage done to Dialga-EX from EXs INCLUDING Mega Pokemon. This is great because M Sceptile could be a top contender for Nationals if a lot of people go for the meta call. A weakness is of course NM, Greninja, and Trevenant. 7/10.
Lugia FCO
A great wall against Zygarde and can 2-hit KO EXs. But just like Dialga-EX it loses easily to Non-EX decks. An easy fix to this problem is Articuno and Manaphy. Manaphy just for free retreat and Articuno for knocking stuff out fast and early for more prize cards.
Dragonite-EX
Honestly, looking back on Dragonite-EX it isn't that great of a card with Vileplume. But the way you WOULD use it is using DDE onto a Dragonite we'll call Dragon-A. Try to hit a Max Elixir onto Dragon-A and then throw up another Dragonite to use bust in and grab attach the energy to the new Dragonite-EX and start swinging. You can also add in a Giratina-EX or two or maybe a Latias-EX.
Regigisas PHF
Oh boy! This is a hilarious card to use in a League Challenge if you can get enough space in for FFB. Hitting for a Daunt turn one for a DCE and a Max Elixir can make you get a head start. So basically you get 90 Damage per turn, Item Lock, 170 HP and blocking 40 damage. For a non-ex attacker that isn't too shabby. I don't consider this a competitive deck by any means but more of a rogue budget deck for your kid or friend to use at a league challenge. Just substitute Unown for Shaymin and maybe throw in some Miltanks for good measure.
Jolteon-EX/Glaceon-EX
Now I bundled these two together because @Gabking5458 wrote an amazing blog about winning MA states with Jolteon-EX which you can read here.
Yveltal BKT
Personally I love this card, but I don't know how well it would go with Vileplume. You get a 60/60 snipe on EXs unless its a non-EX deck. Then it becomes a 60 damage attack with no extra damage.
Darkrai-EX DEX
This is an Expanded pick. It can get really good because of Dark Patch and Max Elixir but then it can get a little bit tight in the deck and you may have to cut Mew. You can crank out consistent two hit KOs and Vileplume retreating won't be a huge problem because of Dark Cloak.
Ho-Oh-EX DRX
Another Expanded pick but not a horrible one. Just run Battle Compressor and Puzzle of Time to get them back and you should be fine if you get one out. The good part about this is you don't have to worry about Ultra Ball-ing it out.
Articuno ROS
More of a card for Non-EX decks, which are around 40%-55% of the metagame but you would need another Pokemon to deal with the EXs, such as...
Regice AOR
Regice is one of the more prominent cards with Vileplume, but it has been dying down recently. I think it could make a comeback paired with Articuno and maybe a Manaphy-EX.
Thanks for reading. This is probably the longest thread I have written.
Until next time!
-Gengar
Good:
Dialga-EX - PHF
Lugia - FCO
Dragonite-EX - FFI
Regigigas - PHF
Jolteon-EX - GEN
Glaceon-EX GEN
IDK TBH:
Yveltal - BKT
Darkrai-EX - DEX
Ho-Oh-EX - DRX
Decent:
Articuno - ROS
Regice - AOR
So this is how I categorized them and now I will review every single one. But first here is a skeleton for the deck with no specific Pokemon in it.
Pokemon: 18
3x Oddish
3x Gloom
3x Vileplume
2x Shaymin-EX
1x Jirachi-EX
1x Mew
1x Lugia-EX
4x [Pokemon of your choice]
Trainers: 31
4x Acro Bike
4x Trainer's Mail
4x Ultra Ball
4x Forest of Giant Plants
2x Sycamore
1x AZ
1x Lysandre
4x Max Elixir
2x Revitalizer
2x Battle Compressor (More depending on the Pokemon of your choosing)
2x Float Stone
1x Computer Search
Energy : 11
4 DCE + 7 Basic Energy
OR
11 Basic Energy
Now we can get into the good stuff: the Pokemon.
Dialga-EX
Great with the first attack Chrono Wind. 60 Damage and prevents all damage done to Dialga-EX from EXs INCLUDING Mega Pokemon. This is great because M Sceptile could be a top contender for Nationals if a lot of people go for the meta call. A weakness is of course NM, Greninja, and Trevenant. 7/10.
Lugia FCO
A great wall against Zygarde and can 2-hit KO EXs. But just like Dialga-EX it loses easily to Non-EX decks. An easy fix to this problem is Articuno and Manaphy. Manaphy just for free retreat and Articuno for knocking stuff out fast and early for more prize cards.
Dragonite-EX
Honestly, looking back on Dragonite-EX it isn't that great of a card with Vileplume. But the way you WOULD use it is using DDE onto a Dragonite we'll call Dragon-A. Try to hit a Max Elixir onto Dragon-A and then throw up another Dragonite to use bust in and grab attach the energy to the new Dragonite-EX and start swinging. You can also add in a Giratina-EX or two or maybe a Latias-EX.
Regigisas PHF
Oh boy! This is a hilarious card to use in a League Challenge if you can get enough space in for FFB. Hitting for a Daunt turn one for a DCE and a Max Elixir can make you get a head start. So basically you get 90 Damage per turn, Item Lock, 170 HP and blocking 40 damage. For a non-ex attacker that isn't too shabby. I don't consider this a competitive deck by any means but more of a rogue budget deck for your kid or friend to use at a league challenge. Just substitute Unown for Shaymin and maybe throw in some Miltanks for good measure.
Jolteon-EX/Glaceon-EX
Now I bundled these two together because @Gabking5458 wrote an amazing blog about winning MA states with Jolteon-EX which you can read here.
Yveltal BKT
Personally I love this card, but I don't know how well it would go with Vileplume. You get a 60/60 snipe on EXs unless its a non-EX deck. Then it becomes a 60 damage attack with no extra damage.
Darkrai-EX DEX
This is an Expanded pick. It can get really good because of Dark Patch and Max Elixir but then it can get a little bit tight in the deck and you may have to cut Mew. You can crank out consistent two hit KOs and Vileplume retreating won't be a huge problem because of Dark Cloak.
Ho-Oh-EX DRX
Another Expanded pick but not a horrible one. Just run Battle Compressor and Puzzle of Time to get them back and you should be fine if you get one out. The good part about this is you don't have to worry about Ultra Ball-ing it out.
Articuno ROS
More of a card for Non-EX decks, which are around 40%-55% of the metagame but you would need another Pokemon to deal with the EXs, such as...
Regice AOR
Regice is one of the more prominent cards with Vileplume, but it has been dying down recently. I think it could make a comeback paired with Articuno and maybe a Manaphy-EX.
Thanks for reading. This is probably the longest thread I have written.
Until next time!
-Gengar
