Experience: Intermediate
Note: This list was changed after playtesting on 2.16.14. You can still find the old list here. This new list focuses more on consistency, and using Hydreigon as a secondary attacker.
Pokemon (16)
Trainers (33)
Energy
Strategy
TL;DR
Yveltal-EX is your main attacker, Use Hydreigon's ability to move energy around to abuse max potion and Virizion-EX's Verdant Wind. Darkrai-EX is used for it's ability, and as a back-up attacker.
Pokemon
Yveltal-EX is the star of the deck due to it's incredible speed and strength in general. We will almost exclusively be using it's first attack Evil Ball.
Hydreigon, with it's ability Dark Trance, combos with this very well by allowing you to arbitrarily move around energy. Because of this, this list can pull off surprising plays. It's also much better at conserving energy, and making comebacks in general. Hydreigon also has a very powerful attack, allowing it to KO many pokemon (Including opposing Yveltal-EX) with a bangle or muscle band.
Darkrai-EX is only really in here for it's ability, but can function as a strong back-up attacker.
Yveltal (non-EX) is used mainly for it's first attack, which does 30 damage and comes with an effect similar to dark patch. It is your more aggressive option for energy acceleration. It also has a second attack which does 100 for [D][D][C], which is a viable attack in a pinch.
Trainers
4 Juniper, 4 N is pretty standard. This deck has a habit of falling behind, N is very strong late-game.
The one Colress or Shauna is just there for extra draw support. I personally find Colress more useful (this deck functions best with a mostly full bench), but Shauna is better in the first few turns (Where Colress might be nearly useless).
3 Skyla help grab crucial trainers at any given times. This might be a draw-supporter for next turn, a rare candy to evolve into Hydreigon, a Professor's Letter to get a critical energy, etc.
Dowsing machine is a strong Ace-Spec card, allowing you to retrieve supporters alongside the item cards that Sableye can retrieve. Computer Search is another equally strong option, and I would recommend play-testing yourself to figure out what works best for you.
Max potion allows one to fully heal any damaged attacker if one has Hydreigon in play by moving all of the attached energy to another pokemon, playing max potion, and then moving the energy back. This card single-handedly allows the deck to beat many decks that fail to OHKO it's attackers.
Professor's Letter can get one or two energies from your deck if you ever need an energy attachment, but you don't have an energy in hand. It can be junk-hunted and Skyla'd for, making it very helpful.
Energy
4 Blend GRPD ties much of this deck together, allowing for abuse of Virizion-EX's ability, and the use of a couple of alternate attackers (including Hydreigon itself). Do mind that these CANNOT be retrieved by dark patch or Yveltal's attack, as they do not provide darkness energy in the discard pile.
Meta
Although Hydreigon makes Yveltal much more resilient in play, it also makes it slower to begin with. When playing you should always prioritize getting one or more Hydreigon into play (especially if you intend to use it aggressively).
Once hydreigon is in play, be very careful that you do not lose the energy you have in play (e.g. don't dump it all onto Yveltal-EX and let it get KO'd). When Hydreigon has no energy to work with, the deck fails fast. Also, don't shy away from setting up a second hydreigon in the background.
In any given matchup, keep in mind what cards are going to be the most critical and conserve them. Is you opponent running laser bank, or using a
Hydreigon's own bulk and power are what separate it from the similar Aromatisse/Yveltal variants which have popped up. If you want to play this deck like a tool-box, with many different attackers, then go with Aromatisse, as it is more consistent to set up.
As for matchup specifics, it goes without saying that this deck's worst matchup are against decks which can KO Yveltal, Hydreigon, and Darkrai in one hit. Some examples might be Blastoise, RayBoar, and Genesect. Even here, you are not especially at a disadvantage: A loaded Keldeo-EX is easily handled by Yveltal-EX, and Black Kyurem-EX is (somewhat less) easily handled by Hydreigon. Rayquaza can also be dispatched quickly by Hydreigon. In both of these match-ups, you should conserve Ns for the lategame, as they can be devastating if timed well.
Honestly, Genesect is the scariest of these, as you don't have any sort of type matchup, and Genesect's Red Signal can easily scope down Hydreigon. Thankfully, this can be alleviated keeping damage relatively spread out. Genesect also has to waste 2 energy if it wants to OHKO Hydreigon with G-Booster (which can buy you a turn to scrapper it). Finally, Genesect is another attacker which can be conveniently OHKO'd back by Hydreigon's Bangled Dragonblast.
The matchup against standard Yveltal/Darkrai decks is surprisingly strong. By keeping your energy spread out, you can force the opponent to put as much as 5-7 energy on an Yveltal to take a KO, which you can easily respond to thanks to Dark Trance, putting your opponent on the back foot.
Fairy decks should be played against carefully, especially the toolbox variant, as it is the only deck which can feasibly power up a lightning, dragon, and fighting type attacker all in the same turn. However, they typically can only play one (at most two) of each attacker, so if you can get past one of them, you can continue playing unhindered.
Just about every other matchup boils down to out-living your opponent with max potion.
Note: This list was changed after playtesting on 2.16.14. You can still find the old list here. This new list focuses more on consistency, and using Hydreigon as a secondary attacker.
Pokemon (16)
- 3 Yveltal-EX (XY 79 or 144)
- 3 Deino (DRX 93 or LT 97)
- 1 Zweilous (DRX 96)
- 3 Hydreigon (DRX 97 or LT 99)
- 2 Darkrai-EX (DEX 63 or 107 or BWP 46 or LT 88)
- 1 Sableye (DEX 62)
- 2 Yveltal (XY 78)
- 1 Virizion-EX (PLB 9 or 96)
Trainers (33)
- 4 Professor Juniper
- 4 N
- 1 Colress / Shauna
- 3 Skyla
- 1 Dowsing Machine
- 4 Dark Patch
- 3 Rare Candy
- 3 Max Potion
- 3 Ultra Ball
- 2 Tool Scrapper
- 2 Silver Bangle
- 2 Muscle Band
- 1 Professor's Letter
- 1 Super Rod
Energy
- 4 Blend Energy GRPD
- 7 Darkness Energy (Basic)
Strategy
TL;DR
Yveltal-EX is your main attacker, Use Hydreigon's ability to move energy around to abuse max potion and Virizion-EX's Verdant Wind. Darkrai-EX is used for it's ability, and as a back-up attacker.
Pokemon
Yveltal-EX is the star of the deck due to it's incredible speed and strength in general. We will almost exclusively be using it's first attack Evil Ball.
Hydreigon, with it's ability Dark Trance, combos with this very well by allowing you to arbitrarily move around energy. Because of this, this list can pull off surprising plays. It's also much better at conserving energy, and making comebacks in general. Hydreigon also has a very powerful attack, allowing it to KO many pokemon (Including opposing Yveltal-EX) with a bangle or muscle band.
Darkrai-EX is only really in here for it's ability, but can function as a strong back-up attacker.
Yveltal (non-EX) is used mainly for it's first attack, which does 30 damage and comes with an effect similar to dark patch. It is your more aggressive option for energy acceleration. It also has a second attack which does 100 for [D][D][C], which is a viable attack in a pinch.
Trainers
4 Juniper, 4 N is pretty standard. This deck has a habit of falling behind, N is very strong late-game.
The one Colress or Shauna is just there for extra draw support. I personally find Colress more useful (this deck functions best with a mostly full bench), but Shauna is better in the first few turns (Where Colress might be nearly useless).
3 Skyla help grab crucial trainers at any given times. This might be a draw-supporter for next turn, a rare candy to evolve into Hydreigon, a Professor's Letter to get a critical energy, etc.
Dowsing machine is a strong Ace-Spec card, allowing you to retrieve supporters alongside the item cards that Sableye can retrieve. Computer Search is another equally strong option, and I would recommend play-testing yourself to figure out what works best for you.
Max potion allows one to fully heal any damaged attacker if one has Hydreigon in play by moving all of the attached energy to another pokemon, playing max potion, and then moving the energy back. This card single-handedly allows the deck to beat many decks that fail to OHKO it's attackers.
Professor's Letter can get one or two energies from your deck if you ever need an energy attachment, but you don't have an energy in hand. It can be junk-hunted and Skyla'd for, making it very helpful.
Energy
4 Blend GRPD ties much of this deck together, allowing for abuse of Virizion-EX's ability, and the use of a couple of alternate attackers (including Hydreigon itself). Do mind that these CANNOT be retrieved by dark patch or Yveltal's attack, as they do not provide darkness energy in the discard pile.
Meta
Although Hydreigon makes Yveltal much more resilient in play, it also makes it slower to begin with. When playing you should always prioritize getting one or more Hydreigon into play (especially if you intend to use it aggressively).
Once hydreigon is in play, be very careful that you do not lose the energy you have in play (e.g. don't dump it all onto Yveltal-EX and let it get KO'd). When Hydreigon has no energy to work with, the deck fails fast. Also, don't shy away from setting up a second hydreigon in the background.
In any given matchup, keep in mind what cards are going to be the most critical and conserve them. Is you opponent running laser bank, or using a
Hydreigon's own bulk and power are what separate it from the similar Aromatisse/Yveltal variants which have popped up. If you want to play this deck like a tool-box, with many different attackers, then go with Aromatisse, as it is more consistent to set up.
As for matchup specifics, it goes without saying that this deck's worst matchup are against decks which can KO Yveltal, Hydreigon, and Darkrai in one hit. Some examples might be Blastoise, RayBoar, and Genesect. Even here, you are not especially at a disadvantage: A loaded Keldeo-EX is easily handled by Yveltal-EX, and Black Kyurem-EX is (somewhat less) easily handled by Hydreigon. Rayquaza can also be dispatched quickly by Hydreigon. In both of these match-ups, you should conserve Ns for the lategame, as they can be devastating if timed well.
Honestly, Genesect is the scariest of these, as you don't have any sort of type matchup, and Genesect's Red Signal can easily scope down Hydreigon. Thankfully, this can be alleviated keeping damage relatively spread out. Genesect also has to waste 2 energy if it wants to OHKO Hydreigon with G-Booster (which can buy you a turn to scrapper it). Finally, Genesect is another attacker which can be conveniently OHKO'd back by Hydreigon's Bangled Dragonblast.
The matchup against standard Yveltal/Darkrai decks is surprisingly strong. By keeping your energy spread out, you can force the opponent to put as much as 5-7 energy on an Yveltal to take a KO, which you can easily respond to thanks to Dark Trance, putting your opponent on the back foot.
Fairy decks should be played against carefully, especially the toolbox variant, as it is the only deck which can feasibly power up a lightning, dragon, and fighting type attacker all in the same turn. However, they typically can only play one (at most two) of each attacker, so if you can get past one of them, you can continue playing unhindered.
Just about every other matchup boils down to out-living your opponent with max potion.
