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TCG Jump: Deck Spotlight- The Water Box

Regionals are done in the US and European Nations are just about to warp up. We have seen some intense battles and they are going to get even more amazing. US Nationals are coming and we may see some new decks spring from the darkest depths as Fates Collide emerges on to the meta. There are plenty of new cards entering the meta and we have only a month until US Nationals and even more until Worlds. Which decks will spring on top? Which ones will be flooding the tournaments? Who will rain down knock outs? We don’t know but we do have a deck that you may want to look into if you wish to spring some wins at future tournaments.

It is time to break into a brand new deck! This time we are going to be testing the waters with a deck that has been making some waves. It has done well overseas and gain the eye of a few players. This deck is filled with just as many Pokemon as the ocean and has just as many tricks. This deck is like a box that keeps on serving a cold glass of pain hit after hit. It has an answer for almost anything your opponent can dish out. You will be thirsty for that win as this deck keeps pounding your opponent like a hurricane. Just make sure your opponent can’t weather the storm.

Ready to get wet and wild? Then get ready to see a deck that features the cute, the beautiful and the ugly. Seismitoad EX is back and he has brought along a few new friends.

Decklist
This deck has it all when it comes to facing threats. Do you need a quick attacker? You have Seismitoad EX who just needs two energy. Do you need to fight against some heavy Evolution, BREAK or Mega Pokemon? Then simply take out Glaceon EX. Battling against an EX Pokemon filled deck? Take out Regice. Facing up against Pokemon with low HP? Articuno is your best bet as you knock them out and take an extra prize card. Fighting against Trevenant? Pull out Suicune! You don’t have to worry about Trevenant BREAK’s Silent Fear attack thanks to Suicune’s Wind Charm ability. Suicune’s ability prevents effects such as the damage spreading effects of Silent Fear from happening which means your bench is protected. This deck has a deep pool of Pokemon to pull from and that is only the surface of the water.

Next you have your support Pokemon of Hoopa EX, Shaymin EX and Manaphy EX to help this deck flow smoothly. You have Hoopa EX who can pull out your EX Pokemon such as Shaymin EX, Manaphy EX, Seismitoad EX, and Glaceon EX. Depending on what you have on the field, you may want to choose between Seismitoad EX and Glaceon EX. Do you foresee some stormy weather involving evolved Pokemon? Take out Glaceon EX. How about a quick attack? Take out Seismitoad EX. Lastly, Manaphy EX is here to help the flow between your Active Pokemon and Benched Pokemon. So do not be afraid to pull any of these Pokemon out of the ring.

The large pool of Trainer cards are perfect to get this deck ready to rain upon your opponent’s Pokemon. Especially if you want to attack first by using Seismitoad EX. This deck does not run Double Colorless Energy but it is still possible to get that turn one Quaking Punch. You will need to attach a Water energy from your hand to Seismitoad EX. Next you just need Max Elixir to attach a Water energy onto one of your Pokemon. Lastly, you just need to use Energy Switch to move that energy on to Seismitoad EX to start Quaking Punching to turn off your opponent’s item. This may sound complicated but you will be surprise at how often this works. This deck moves quickly enough to make this possible even if Seismitoad EX is on the bench. You will just need to depend on a little luck and Manaphy EX to move your active Pokemon with a Water energy into the bench and use Energy Switch to move that energy on to Seismitoad EX. If you play your cards right and make it rain energy from your deck by using Max Elixir then you can even pull off a Grenade Hammer as early as turn two.

Speaking of Grenade Hammer, you may need to use it and not worry about it too much. Seismitoad EX is your only heavy hitter in this deck via use of Grenade Hammer. Sometimes you may need to use this attack to hit your opponent’s Pokemon with 130 damage. It may damage your benched Pokemon because of the splash damage but you can one hit knockout Shaymin EX to win the game or two hit knockout some heavy threats. This deck has Fighting Fury Belt to make Seismitoad EX hit hard with it’s rain of punches and also outlive most damage. There is also Rough Seas to heal off any splash damage from Grenade Hammer. So it isn’t all bad. You may leave yourself in a vulnerable state because Seismitoad EX lack protection like your other Pokemon and the item lock will be turned off but you may end up rising the tide for a win.

Seismitoad EX is only a drizzle when it comes to the rising tide that is sitting on your bench. You have a bench filled with Pokemon that can handle all kinds of situations. This brings us to our next point in using this deck which is knowing which Pokemon to use at the right time.

In order to be successful with this deck you will need to learn how to assess your opponent’s deck quickly. You have at most two turns to figure out what kind of deck your opponent is running and draw out the Pokemon you need. This could lead to some misplays as you may not be able to figure out if you need Regice to counter EX decks or Glaceon EX to counter evolution decks. There will be times when you think you are playing against a Mega EX Deck where you pull out Glaceon EX to counter but in reality it is just a regular EX deck. If that is the case then you wasted time and effort in powering up a Glaceon EX that didn’t need to be used. This could set you behind a few turns as you try to find a way to recover and savage the situation.

Though once you figure out how to assess your opponent’s deck then you have an ocean filled with resources to flood your bench and rain damage knockouts. When you get the right Pokemon on the bench you can use Max Elixir to flood your bench with Water energy and Energy Switch to control the flow of energy to be on the needed Pokemon. You have VS Seeker to fish out needed Supporters to fit your situation. Trainers Mail to lure in any needed resources. Super Rod to refill your pool with energy and Pokemon. Lastly, there is Rough Seas to keep the water perfect for your Pokemon to heal up turn after turn.

There are a few flaws with this deck such as how long games can last. This is mostly due to the damage output that this deck can deal. There isn’t many Pokemon in this deck that can one hit knockout your opponent’s Pokemon. Seismitoad EX’s Grenade Hammer is your only source to deal heavy damage but we mention the pros and cons of that earlier in this article. Luckily this deck can outlive many threats thanks to Rough Seas healing up your Pokemon every turn and the protection effects of Glaceon EX and Regice.

Though you will find trouble against other decks that also rely on protection effects. The Glaceon EX-Jolteon EX-Mew is one of the few decks that may give your trouble thanks to this deck being filled to the brim with Basics. In the matches that I played using this deck, the Glaceon EX-Jolteon EX-Mew really came down to the wire. You have only two options against this match up. You can play around it by using Lysandre to damage and knock out their Benched Pokemon. This is where you will consider to attach that third energy to Seismitoad EX to use Grenade Hammer to knock out Shaymin EX or Glaceon EX. The other option is to simply deck out your opponent. You can do that thanks to Fighting Fury Belt to buff up your Pokemon and Seismitoad EX to prevent your opponent from using Items. Both of these options are possible thanks to the pool of resources you have in this deck.

This deck has a pool of resources to draw from and that was obvious as this deck won German Nationals. Once you have master the art of assessing your opponent’s deck then you can easily fish out the needed Pokemon and items you need to flood your bench and rain damage on your opponent’s side of the field. So go ahead and give this Water Box a try!