Do you want to try out a shocking new deck with explosive results? Then check this deck out!
We are in the middle of Regional season! Just this weekend is Dallas Regionals and it looks like a big bird will be reigning supreme. So how about we help shed some light on a shocking new deck that could shoot down this bird and give you some wins? This deck wants to have an explosive start so it can roar into battle. It will keep your opponent’s on their toes with the threats you have coming their way. It will certain make your matches electrically till the very end. Things may look grim but you can surely shock your opponent with a well planned attack.
This deck features an interesting duo that works great together. They can set up knockouts that will put your opponent in a pinch. You will be having a ball as you explode in front of your opponent’s face to give your Pokemon a quick attack to zap your opponent. This month we are featuring the Thundercats deck!
Decklist
Pokemon- 15
Raikou x4
Jolteon EX x3
Voltorb (ROS 21) x3
Electrode (EVO 40) x3
Shaymin EX x2Trainers- 34
Professor Sycamore x4
N x3
Lysandre x2
Ace Trainer
VS Seeker x4
Ultra Ball x4
Level Ball x2
Max Elixir x4
Trainers’ Mail x3
Fighting Fury Belt x3
Super Rod
Rough Seas x2
Parallel CityEnergy- 11
Lightning Energy x11
Deck Breakdown
We have been seeing Yveltal decks take the big spots at tournaments for the last few months. It has won London Internationals plus a few other big events. So at this point you may be wondering what will be the silver bullet for this Dark deck? All you have to do is look at Yveltal’s weakness which is Lightning. The problem then becomes what do you play that involves Lightning? My answer to that is Raikou and Jolteon featuring Electrode!
The Raikou/Jolteon w/Electrode deck was first seen at Dortmund Regionals where it took a Top 8 spot. We even feature this deck a few weeks ago in our Feature Match article. Normally I do not like to retread on an old deck but I figured because Yveltal is securing a top spot in the meta then it would be best to revisit this deck and see how well it handles this meta.
So lets take a deeper look at Raikou/Jolteon/Electrode. If you want to see match ups then scroll below.
The Raikou/Jolteon/Electrode deck wants to go fast and there are plenty of ways to do so. You just need to start with a Raikou and/or Jolteon EX and Voltorb. If you do then you are in the best position to get a powerful first attack. You will rarely attack on your first opportunity which is why you want to go first. That way you can do all the setup and searching that you want. Just make sure you put down one energy on your attacking Pokemon. Luckily you play Max Elixir to set up a benched Pokemon and plenty of energy so you can place it down however you want.
Once you get setup and it comes to your second turn then things becomes a bit more exciting. This is the turn where you want to get Electrode out to finalize the prep on your attacker. Electrode’s Buzzap Thunder will give your opponent a prize but you can attach Electrode as two Lightning Energy on any Lightning Pokemon. This deck plays three Electrode which means you can do this three times but at most you may just want to do it twice. If you want to play a bit conservatively then you may use the ability only once. The whole point of Electrode in this deck is to get a quick and hard hitting attack as your first attack. It literally jump starts the game and puts your opponent in a bad position as they are facing a big attacker as early as their second turn when they are still setting up.
Who are these attackers? It will either be Raikou or Jolteon EX. Raikou is the beat stick where it will be hitting your opponent for at least 110 damage thanks to the three Lightning energy on it. This will scare your opponent because they will be facing something that can two hit KO their active Pokemon on their second turn. There is also Jolteon EX who does 70 damage but gains immunity against attacks from Basic Pokemon. That is a nasty situation to be in if you are playing an all Basic Pokemon deck. Granted, Jolteon EX is not always the prefer attacker but it can get things done if used correctly.
Electrode’s Buzzap Thunder ability provides the perfect amount of energy needed to power up this deck. You can attach a Lightning Energy on anything on the field (whose name isn’t Shaymin EX) and then wait for the right moment to activate Buzzap Thunder to attach Electrode on the right kind of attacker. You will need to worry about Enhanced Hammer which can remove your Electrode Double Lightning Energy but by then you may have another Electrode in the wings ready to blow up and be attached or another attacker things to all the Max Elixir and energy you play in the deck. Energy is rarely a problem in the early game with this deck as it is running everywhere. You just need to have the attackers ready to go.
This deck plays Fighting Fury Belt to give your attackers more HP and hit a little harder. You really want to have the extra HP because Raikou and Jolteon are lacking in the HP department. Sometimes that extra 40 HP means you live a hit or not. The ability to get the most out of your attackers is huge in this deck.
You can do some really cool things with Max Elixir in this deck that can confuse your opponent. If you have the Raikou, Jolteon and Voltrob start that I mention earlier then you are prime for a great first attack. I would suggest Jolteon EX as your best start because of it’s free retreat. That allows you to put an energy on Jolteon EX and then use Max Elixir to put another energy on Raikou. Your opponent will be worrying about who will be used to attacked next turn. All you need to do is find Electrode and blow up to attach the Ball Pokemon to one of your Pokemon. By then you should have a good idea of who to attack with. Most of the time it is Raikou who likes to hang out on the bench. So you can retreat Jolteon and Raikou who is all powered up by Buzzap Thunder to do 110 damage.
Another fun trick that can be done with Max Elixir is powering up a Raikou or Jolteon on your first turn. All you need is get lucky on two Max Elixir and an energy in your hand. It has happen a few times in my experience and could make going second worth it if you can do 110 damage on your first attacking turn. Just make sure that you start Jolteon EX so you can retreat into your lucky Raikou.
Ace Trainer is amazing in this deck! If you can use Buzzap Thunder on your second turn and use Ace Trainer then do it! Your opponent will pick up a prize when you use Buzzap Thunder early in the game which means they will be ahead in prizes. That is the perfect condition to use Ace Trainer. You will get a new hand of six cards while your opponent will be stuck with three cards and a powered up Pokemon on your side of the field. It is amazing to be in that kind of situation where you are all setup and have the potential to set up more while doing hand disruption on your opponent. It is difficult to recover from that situation and fun to just watch as your opponent try to pick things up. If you can use Ace Trainer a few more times after a Buzzap Thunder then your opponent will be force to do an uphill climb to set up one Pokemon as their active is being zapped. You can use N to gain a similar effect but nothing is as good as using Ace Trainer to give your opponent a hand of three cards on your second turn.
Lastly, there are the stadiums. This is a hard decision to make. The list above has two Rough Seas and one Parallel City. The Rough Seas can help you heal your Pokemon and make it tougher to knock them out. Meanwhile, the Parallel City will be used to get rid of unwanted friends like Shaymin EX on your bench. That way your bench will be dedicated to setting up your Pokemon and not worry about easy prize KOs like Shaymin EX. Parallel City can also help reduce damage from certain match ups.
The question you need to answer is: Do you play 2-1 Rough Seas and Parallel City or 1-2 Rough Seas and Parallel City? Both have their pros as you can take advantage of both Stadiums. It was recommend to be to go 2-1 Rough Seas and Parallel City because currently Parallel City is being played in almost every deck. So it is better to bump their Parallel City with my Rough Seas and later replace it with my own Parallel City. Either that or play my Parallel City first to bump off my Shaymin EX and play Rough Seas later if I need it.
The Match Ups
So lets talk about match ups. We will be starting with the obvious Yveltal match-up then spend some time to talk about Mewtwo, Volcanion, Vespiquen and Greninja.
Yveltal and Trash
Yveltal is your dream opponent. All of the Pokemon in the deck are weak against your attackers. If you can attack set up a Raikou as your first attacker then your opponent’s Yveltal and Yveltal EX are not going to be lasting long. Raikou’s 110 Thunder Lance will be doing 220 damage against these birds. A Yveltal EX with a Fighting Fury Belt will not be surviving that attack. Yveltal can move fast but you will be moving faster thanks to using Electrode as your energy acceleration. Jolteon EX will be good to knock out the baby Fright Night Yveltal and it will put big Yveltal EX in a pinch thanks to Flash Ray’s immunity effect. Though you will want to use Raikou to attack because of how quickly it can zap those birds out of the air and being one prize attackers.
Now, just because you have type advantage doesn’t mean you will beat Yveltal all the time. Sometimes you will have bad starts and your opponent’s Yveltal EX gets set up just right to knock out your Raikou. There will be times when your opponent wins the coin flip and goes first. if they go first then your opponent will be trying to get their Garbodor set up as fast as possible. If they do get their Garbodor’s ability activated on their second turn then you can’t use Electrode’s Buzzap Thunder to power up your Pokemon. It isn’t an unwinnable situation because you can use Max Elixir to power up your Pokemon but it will slow you down. Hex Maniac will have a similar effect but that will depends if your opponent has the card in their hand during their turn or are smart enough to play it.
M Mewtwo EX and Trash
M Mewtwo EX will be your toughest opponent. You may be fast but M Mewtwo EX can be just as fast. It is because of that speed that makes this a difficult match up. You can get a Raikou with a Fighting Fury Belt on to do 110 damage but a M Mewtwo EX with a Double Colorless Energy and Basic energy can knock out that Raikou. You can use Jolteon EX with a Fighting Fury Belt to attack the M Mewtwo EX. The effects of Flash Ray won’t matter but you can live at least one three energy fueled Psychic Infinity. This would allow you to do 140 damage to one M Mewtwo and clean up with Raikou. Though M Mewtwo EX can take the revenge KO just as fast while you are scrambling to set up another attacker. A good M Mewtwo EX user will be able to figure out that they only need three energy on their Pokemon to take the knockouts on your opponent. Your only hope is that your M Mewtwo EX opponent doesn’t get set up and that you can take your last two knockouts by taking out two Shaymin EXs.
If M Mewtwo EX sets up Garbodor then the game is over. It will be impossible to recover the game.
Volcanion and Volcanion and Volcanion
You will be having a fun time against Volcanion. This hothead can move fast thanks to baby Volcanion but Thundercats move just a little bit faster and harder. Baby Volcanion doesn’t appreciate getting hit for 110 damage by Raikou. Even worst, if Volcanion isn’t wearing their Fighting Fury Belt then it can be knocked out if you can get four energy attached to Raikou. This puts the Volcanion player in a tight spot as their Volcanion EX may not have enough energy to take a revenge knock out. They will need to devote more Fire to use Steam Up and attach if they want to take out a Fighting Fury Belt Raikou. This is all thanks to Raikou’s Shining Body ability which lowers damage by 20.
If you want to have more fun with numbers then play down your Parallel City. This will get rid of your benched Shaymin EX and lesson your opponent’s Volcanion damage by 20. If you have Raikou in the active then that damage goes down by 40. This just means your opponent’s Volcanion and Volcanion EX need to do extra work to knock out Raikou.
Jolteon EX does magic in this match up too. The Volcanion deck plays nothing but Basic Pokemon so your opponent needs to work harder to knock out Jolteon EX. As soon as Jolteon EX starts using Flash Ray to gain immunity from Basic Pokemon, you are making your opponent play around you. They will be force to find a Lysandre, Pokemon Ranger or an Escape Rope to get around Jolteon EX. If they can’t do that then they are force to do nothing for a turn.
If you can attack first with Raikou to do 110 damage and then finish off Pokemon by using Jolteon EX to take out the remaining HP then you can have immunity every other turn. It can be be a surprising turn events as your opponent needs to find a way to damage Jolteon EX. The problem also escalates because they need to Pokemon Ranger to remove the immunity effects of Flash Ray and do enough damage to knock out a 200 HP Jolteon EX. That isn’t an easy task to do depending on the situation. If you want, all you need to do is do 110 or 120 damage on some of the Volcanion EX with Raikou and then use Jolteon EX or Raikou EX to clean up. Then finish up your game by using Lysandre to grab a Shaymin EX to take your last two prizes. The game could be close but if you play your numbers right then the match will be in your favor.
Vespiquen and Friends
The Vespiquen match up will be a tricky one. This is the reason why I considered playing 2-1 Parallel City and Rough Seas. You will need to attack with Raikou EX in order to knock out Vespiquen because Jolteon EX can’t knockout Vespiquen cleanly. If you can constantly put down Parallel City then you are reducing Bee Revenge by 40 on Raikou. That is four Pokemon in the discard. That is a pretty big number for Vespiquen to make up. The problem is that you are only running one Parallel City while your opponent is playing at least three copies of the Stadium of their choice. That will most likely by their own Parallel City to bump off their Shaymin EX or Forest of Giant Plants. If they are playing Forest of Giant Plants then most likely your Parallel City will not be lasting long to help Raikou.
If the Vespiquen list is playing Yanmega BREAK or Shaymin EX then Jolteon EX has some use. It can be used to knock out both Yanmega BREAK and Shaymin EX because of their weakness to Lightning which will allow you to save your Raikou to knock out the Vespiquen. You will be playing some prize games with your opponent but if you do a little game management then you can win this match up.
Greninja
When you are playing against Greninja then it is all about the pressure. You will want to get Raikou set up with three Lightning energy. This could be via Max Elixir or Electrode’s Buzzap Thunder. Once you do that then simply knock out anything that is in the active. It will usually take your opponent three turns to set up their Greninja which means you can take out at least two Pokemon with three Lighting energy attached to Raikou. If you attached another Lightning energy on Raikou then you are taking out a Greninja.
If you allow Greninja to BREAK Evolve then you are in trouble. They will use Giant Water Shuriken to soften up Raikou or anything on the bench. You can maybe use Parallel City to soften damage from their Greninja’s attacks but you are not sure how long your Stadium will be up and two Giant Water Shuriken plus an attack will knock out your Raikou wearing a Fighting Fury Belt.
You may want to start off with Jolteon EX as your first attacker. It can get powered up quickly thanks to Electrode’s ability. If you can use Ace Trainer after Electrode’s Buzzap Thunder then you will put the Greninja player in a situation with limited resources. If you do not get the chance to use Ace Trainer then it is still good because you have a Jolteon EX who can knock out Talonflame, Froakie and Frogadier with one attack. Jolteon EX will not be helping too much against Greninja but by then you can maybe get a Raikou with enough energy to cleanly knock out a Greninja. Either way, you want to just put pressure on your opponent to the point where they don’t have any Pokemon on the bench. This will be thank to you knocking them all out early in the game.
Word of advice. You may want to start with Voltrob in the active. Your opponent may try to use Froakie’s Bubble attack to paralyze your active and prevent you from applying that pressure. If Voltorb does end up getting paralyze then that is fine. You will most likely use Level Ball to find an Electrode to evolve and get rid of the status condition. Even funnier, you will most likely blow up Electrode to use Buzzap Thunder to attach it to Jolteon EX to knock out their Froakie. The other thing that could end up happening is that Talonflame does 40 damage to Voltorb and you need to knock out a Talonflame instead with Jolteon EX.
Final Thoughts
A lot of people would describe the Raikou/Jolteon/Electrode deck as “a deck that is great against one thing but sucks against everything else”. I believe that those people are right about the first part but do not give this deck enough credit. I played this deck for about three weeks online and in person and the deck does pretty good work. Most of the time it will just auto-win against Yveltal decks. That is a given. If you play Thundercats against the rest of the decks then you have a shot as long as it isn’t M Mewtwo EX. Sometimes all you need is a shot in order to make it into the top tables. If you can make it into the top tables then most likely you will find yourself face-to-face with Yveltal decks. That doesn’t sound too bad for this deck.
Raikou/Jolteon/Electrode loves to go first and if you can do that then one turn may be all you need to set up, After that, the field will be ready to have an explosive second turn. Your opponent can only watch as you blow up and shock them to take a win from behind. You will give your opponent a prize or two but that may be all they will take as you take your six prizes in a flash.
Best of luck to those going to Dallas Regionals and the upcoming League Cups! Go ahead and give this deck a shot if you want to shock your opponents!
