• When creating a thread in the Deck Garage, make sure that you post one deck per thread, you use the correct prefix, you have the set name/card number next to each card, you give a strategy for non-metagame decks, and give translations for all cards not available in English.

    When posting in a thread, be sure to explain all your suggestions thoroughly. Additionally, do not ask for advice in another member's thread.

Yveltal's Shadow (Yveltal EX / Darkrai EX)

Dark Espeon

Dark Avatar
Member
YVELTAL'S SHADOW

Pokemon (09):
  • 2 Darkrai Ex (beatdown)
  • 3 Yveltal Ex (beatdown)
  • 2 Yveltal (beatdown)
  • 2 Sableye (retrieval)

Supporters/Items/Stadium (39):
  • 4 Professor Juniper (draw)
  • 1 Lysandre (gust out)
  • 3 Shauna (draw)
  • 3 N (draw)
  • 1 Startling Megaphone (disable)
  • 4 Hypnotoxic Laser (beatdown)
  • 3 Random Receiver (search)
  • 1 Professor Letter (search)
  • 4 Dark Claw (beatdown)
  • 4 Dark Patch (boost)
  • 3 Ultra Ball (search)
  • 2 Pal Pad (reuse)
  • 2 Bicycle (draw)
  • 1 Dowsing Maschine (reuse)
  • 3 Virbank Gym (beatdown)

Energy (12):
  • 3 Double Colorless Energy
  • 9 Darkness Energy

STRATEGY:

Go first and start with Yveltal Ex. Bench another one and Darkrai Ex for free retreat. Start to use both attacks of Yveltal Ex on an alternate basis to conserve resources and to obtain fast two hit knock outs. The non-Ex basics are in the deck to recover resources and to sacrifice someone when needed. Yveltal non-Ex can also handle Safe Guard Pokémon that would otherwise slow this deck down a lot.

Keldeo Ex removes status locks and can be fueld with Yveltal non-Ex to conserve the Dark Patches for the main attackers. Since Yveltal Ex needs little resources to work the deck can be real fast.

TACTICAL CONSIDERATION:

The deck is as fast as Plasma. While Yveltals are weak to Thundurus Ex the deck can switch over to Darkrai Ex to handle him. There is also one tech Shadow Circle in the deck to remove weakness. In these matches Dowsing Maschine will most often be used to recover draw cards in addition to stadiums. The same also holds for Rainbow Plasma.

Item denial does not hurt much because Trevenant has Darkness weakness and can be knocked out in one turn. The tech Keldeo Ex has been chosen to escape the status lock. Rush in and attach a Darkness to retreat for free and allow the team to attack. Leave one slot on the bench for Keldeo at the best moment to maintain your offense momentum and disable Dusknoir to knock it out on the bench.

Item Scrapper is sed for Gardabor and tools in general. While the deck is not reliant on Dark Cloak it is na nice boost to this deck to allow Yveltal to team hunt for knock outs and conserve resources.

Status effect denial can be an issue since Laser/Bank are needed to obtain ohkos. To circumvent this problem soften the bench with Darkrai Ex unless Mr. Mime is still common.
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

IMHO it's great to use all basic pokemon, but I wouldn't settle only to damage
for the leftover damage i suggest :-1 yveltal -1 darkrai ex -1 yveltal ex -2 bicycle -1 skyla + 2-0-2 dusknoir +2 rare candy
just an opinion the deck is powerfull in the current way
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Hi energyfullart(?,

Thanks for the review. Not sure whether the evolution line is worth it since only Darkrai Ex is able to snipe. Considered to tech in either Dowsing Maschine or Pal Pad to have more draw and accelleration. Not sure whether it is needed. What are your thoughts on this issue.
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Dark Espeon said:
Hi energyfullart(?,

Thanks for the review. I assume we talk about this Dusknoir. Not sure whether the evolution line is worth it since Darkrai is the only one able to snipe. I was considering to remove one Bicycle and one Darkrai Ex for two Pal Pads. What do you think about this idea?

dusknoir is not only for the bench damage but also to distribute the excess of damage
example you're playing yveltal-ex with dark claw and the defending pokemon has 180 like most of the EXs, then you hit 110 this turn and the next turn you move with sinister hand 4 damage counters to the opponent's benched pokemon remaining 110hp ->KO
pal pad seems to be a great card, but I have not tested yet (as a proxy obviously)
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Still not sure. Dusknoir seems to slow the deck down on paper. Have not tested him thus far. In case Yveltal Ex and the defender have a toal of five energies attached he hits for 140 with Dark Claw. If you also have Bank out and Laser in hand this should suffice. With an additional energy attached it makes for a decent ohko and I only waste one damage counter. Maybe two teched Exp. Share to retain resources on the board?
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Actually, a lot of Darkrai run a 1-0-1 Dusknoir line to move around their damage. It's actually quite good, with the correct numbers. With enough damage on the field, you pretty much own the Blastoise matchup.
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Hi Kecleon-X,

Blastoise and all decks that leave a Pokémon Ex with three to four energies active should not be an issue since Yveltal Ex's first attack can take them out in one hit.

I can see how Dusknoir helps Darkrai Ex and I would consider him as a tech if he was a stage 1 evolution and if Yveltal Ex cannot handle the same situations better with his first attack and a sufficient amount of energy attached to both active Pokémon. My main concern is that the tech needs at least three to seven slots and with three it becomes useless when one of them is prized. Please let me know what you think about this line of reasoning.
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Actually, that's not what I meant at all. If you get a Night Spear worth of damage on the field (i.e. 90 + 30), you can move the damage to whatever Squirtle he puts on the bench (even if he puts two, as they only have 60 HP each, and you have 120 to use), thus denying him entirely of all acceleration for the rest of the game. Dusknoir is actually quite effective in this matchup, along with against Empoleon, and other Dusknoir, to name a few. And whereas prizing is always something to have happen, the lower the numbers, the lower the odds to prize them.
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Hi Kecleon-X,

Thanks for the advise. Valid point on the use of Dusknoir. However most of the time Xveltal Ex will attack unless the deck faces Lightning Pokémon. In that case Darkrai Ex will take over.

Will consider a small tech line but need to check and test the deck to see what can be taken out for it. The reason for a low tech line did not make much sense. Higher counts ensure that the card can be obtained more consistent. With a 1-1-1 Dusknoir line the odds to get it it are smaller than with a 2-2-2 line. The middle number may either be Rare Candy or Dusclop. Furthermore, each card has the same odds to be prized. Thus higher counts translate into higher odds that at least one of each card is not prized. Thus the small tech line is a risk in terms of consistency and therefore needs to be considered in terms of cost and potential benefits.
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Hi folks,

Tested the deck a little and decided on a modification of the trainers and Pokémon counts. To assist reviewers the trainers are now organized in three sections and also included tactical comments.
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

If I were you, try to cut Sableye somewhere in here, energy switch too. I'm not entirely sure what you'd want to remove though.
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Remove all Yveltal. Its not worth having in the deck when you have 4 Dark Patches. Replace them with Sableye where you can junk hunt for two items (Dark Patch + something else) instead of just getting 1 energy for the cost of 2 energies. You also dont need huge amounts of Dark Patches and Dark claws once you put sableye in.

By the way, have you play tested any of the decks you've posted in the last few days? or do you make lists for them? (because you make them with a lot of new cards), i assume these are just "in theory" decks
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

JungleBeatz said:
Remove all Yveltal. Its not worth having in the deck when you have 4 Dark Patches. Replace them with Sableye where you can junk hunt for two items (Dark Patch + something else) instead of just getting 1 energy for the cost of 2 energis.
The entire point of the deck is to maximize Yveltals use and damage.

You also dont need huge amounts of Dark Patches and Dark claws once you put sableye in.
Jason Klac...Kla.... *looks up world champion* Jason Klaczynski would like to have a word with you.

In all seriousness I would take out 1 Yveltal. 2 Ghetsis, 2 Darkness Energy and a Darkrai.
+2 Sableye
+2 N
+1 Keldeo EX
+1 Energy Search
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Hi OblivionDvdr,

Not sure whether Sableye is needed. Yveltal acts like a built in Dark Patch and also deals 30 damage to the defender. This equal a retrieved Hypnotoxic and Dark Patch but it seemed faster on the first turn. The only drawback is that he cannot recurse lost Dark Patches. Alexander suggested to break even between Yveltal non-Ex and Sableye which could be useful but I have not tested it thus far. What is your take on this idea?

Hi JungleBeatz,

Tested this deck and the Plasma deck using borrowed cards to find out which one suits me best before purchasing the cards. We use Japanese cards here so the set itself is already out and Yveltal non-Ex will be available at the end of January here. Did not test the fairies deck myself but played a match against it with Xerneas non-Ex proxied.

I have to disagree on Yveltal. Yveltal Ex is akin to Mewtwo and Plasma Absol but even better. It also compliments Darkrai Ex real well.

Yveltal non-Ex is a built in Dark Patch and Laser for one darkness. It makes the deck faster in the start than Sableye because it ensures that you have a turn two Darkrai Ex whenever you draw in one Dark Patch and when there are two Darkness energies in the discard. It also have high hit points and covers the Safe Guard weakness since the second attack hits for a nice 100 damage for three energies. The downside is that he cannot retrieve lost Dark Claws but this is what the Ace card is intended to be used for.

My main concern is the trainer selection. In some matches Ghetsis works fine but in others it nets no more than two or three cards maximum. N is not ideal since this deck is intended to draw prizes fast and Colress depends on my opponent since I usually have no more than two to three benched Pokémon at a time out.


Hi Alexander,

You are right on Yveltal. I assume JungleBeatz simply confused the Ex version and the non-Ex version in terms of costs for the first attack.

I have considered to loose Ghetsis but was not entire pleased with the available draw supporters. If the deck gets knock outs quick N does not draw. This could be the metagame around here, which has a lot a Basic Pokémon decks and control decks. Sometimes these decks fill their bench (Plasma and Fairies) and sometimes this is not the case (Darkrai and some others). Thus I was not entirely pleased with Colress either.

This is an alternate draw supporter line I considered:

4 Professor Sycamore
3 Colress
3 N

What are your thoughts? The draw engine surely needs some work since I feel the deck could be a little faster to fit me better and perform more consistent.

Based on your recommendation you suggest to break even between Sableye and Yveltal non-Ex. Will give it a try but is there a specific benefit you have in mind? Knowing the benefit you had in mind could help me playtesting whether the even break between the starters suits me more than the original line. If so I could loose one Darkness to make room for an additional Pokémon.

Keldeo EX sounds like a nice idea since it would help the combined status and trainer lock issue discussed above. How about loosing one Bicycle for the tech?

Why energy search? To my knowledge it only searches for one basic energy card. If so Professor’s Letter would be better. I assume your logic behind this card is to help me thin out the deck.

Professor’s Letter - Trainer (Item)
Search your deck for 2 Basic Energy cards, reveal them, and put them in your hand. Shuffle your deck afterwards.
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Dark Espeon said:
...

Hi JungleBeatz,

Tested this deck and the Plasma deck using borrowed cards to find out which one suits me best before purchasing the cards. We use Japanese cards here so the set itself is already out and Yveltal non-Ex will be available at the end of January here. Did not test the fairies deck myself but played a match against it with Xerneas non-Ex proxied.

I have to disagree on Yveltal. Yveltal Ex is akin to Mewtwo and Plasma Absol but even better. It also compliments Darkrai Ex real well.

Yveltal non-Ex is a built in Dark Patch and Laser for one darkness. It makes the deck faster in the start than Sableye because it ensures that you have a turn two Darkrai Ex whenever you draw in one Dark Patch and when there are two Darkness energies in the discard. It also have high hit points and covers the Safe Guard weakness since the second attack hits for a nice 100 damage for three energies. The downside is that he cannot retrieve lost Dark Claws but this is what the Ace card is intended to be used for.

My main concern is the trainer selection. In some matches Ghetsis works fine but in others it nets no more than two or three cards maximum. N is not ideal since this deck is intended to draw prizes fast and Colress depends on my opponent since I usually have no more than two to three benched Pokémon at a time out.


...

I see,

Well even with safeguarding being a thing, i wouldnt run 3 Yveltals[non ex]. using a dark patch, then using a laser (possibly getting the sleep flip and having virbank) isnt worth the damage and attaching energies to this attacker when your goal is to setup multiple Darkrai or Yveltal EX (even though you wont use his 2nd attack not much, since Darkrai does 90 and 30 bench).

Not to mention you have way more flexibility with Junk Hunt (Bring a dowsing machine back [which lets you get back ANY trainer] and any other item cards).

Plus, Yveltal (non ex) only has 130 HP is at that point of 2HKO and so is 70HP. The nice thing about Sableye bring back lasers, you can keep using them until they get put to sleep.

So i'd do 3 Sableye, 1 Yveltal, 2 Yveltal EX and 3 Darkrai EX
 
RE: Yveltal's Shadow

Hi JungleBeatz,

Thanks for the review. What I wanted to say is that Yveltal non-Ex deals damage and acts like a Dark Patch for only one energy. He also covers the Safe Guard weakness. Sableye, on the other hand, retieves any item card from the discard. This would allow me to return lost Dark Claws and Hypnotoxic Laser beyond Dowsing Maschine. Those are the only cards that I would like to get back other than Dark Patch itself. In this sense Sableye is more versatile than Yveltal non-Ex. Sorry for being less clear in my previous reply but Englisch is not my mother-language.

Hi folks,

Modified the deck above in line with the recommendations and also updated the tactical consideration section. Please let me know whether the deck is fine now.

In particular I am interested in advises on the draw supporter line and the even break between Yveltal non-Ex and Sableye as starters. Did not test these two aspects thus far and would like to receive feedback.
 
The list is looking pretty good. I like the 2-2 Yveltal Sableye split. 3 Darkrai may be a bit much if you plan on attacking with Yveltal EX a lot, so if you find yourself in the need to cut something, think about Darkrai. Other than that, things are looking good.
 
Hi OblivionDvdr,

Thanks for the review. Will consider it but on usual I tend to switch between both and depending on the matchup one of them will be used more often than the other. Made a different change to the deck. Cut one Skyla and Virbank Stadium to include two Prof. Letter to search out two basic energies. I feel that this could help me thin the deck and it combos with Ultra Ball.

Hi folks,

Made these changes to the deck:

-1 Skyla (three could be enough)
-1 Virbank Stadium (two might suffice)

+2 Prof. Letter (searches out two basic energies from the deck)

Please let me know what you think about the deck now.
 
Hi folks,

Revised the deck list a little to make it more consistent. Let me know if there is something that can be done to make the deck more consistent and maintain the attack force. Thanks for all the assistance in advance.
 
Back
Top