Arceus is probably the worst set to come out in Platinum. Why? The only two noteworthy cards are either Spiritomb or Expert Belt. All those different types of Arceus just seems like they don’t fit anywhere other then your binder. I have made many attempts to create a viable Arceus that can be competitive, but the truth is, it’s impossible. However, with the advent of HGSS, Arceus has a couple things going for them that may bring them into the list of usable decks.
1. Pokemon Collector- Lets you search out 3 basic Pokemon. THREE! Why this is important will be explained later on.
2. All HGSS Pokemon have a x2 weakness.
3. Professor Oak’s New Theory and Fisherman
The main focus of an Arceus deck is to get 6 different types of Arceus out in play. This allows normal type Arceus to use it’s “Ripple Swell” attack. This attack allows you to search 6 different types of Energy and attach them to all your Arceus. There aren’t very many energy accelerators that can even match that. However, a problem Arceus decks faced a lot is not being able to get all the Arceus out by turn 2-3. At that point, you are losing your Arceus quickly and the game is going to end quite soon. However, with Pokemon Collector, you are 1 Call Energy and 1 Pokemon Collector away from having a full bench of Arceus. Easily done in Turn 1 -2.
Next, with all the energy in play, the time to attack finally comes. First, use Ultimate Zone Stadium which allows you to ” As Often as you like, move an energy from a Benched Pokemon to an active Arceus.” You may notice that Arceus’s attacks really are NOT impressive. In fact, they are borderline terrible. However, a good Arceus deck must ALWAYS hit for weakness. +30 or x2 will skyrocket your attack power. Luckily, all Arceus LV.X have a Poke-Body called “Multitype” which lets it stay the same time as the Arceus it leveled up from. So a Dark Arceus will remain dark type.
Their are 3 Arceus LV.X in print at the moment. The one that should be used is one that has the Poke-Body “Omniscient”. This body allows you to use any attacks from any Arceus you have in play. This means maximum flexibility. The Arceus with Psychic Bolt may be considered as a tech for extra damage that Arceus needs. For LPC, this attack does 120 damage at the cost of discarding two energies. “Omniscient, can copy this as well.”
Lastly, the most fatal weakness an Arceus deck has is the lack of a good draw engine. Uxies, Claydol, etc CANNOT be played due to them taking up precious bench space an Arceus deck needs. Volkner’s Philosophy has always done an OK job, but getting them out at the right time is far too hard. With Professor Oak’s New Theory, however, a reliable draw card is here. With Fisherman out, the energy count in an Arceus deck can be dropped, allowing for other cards to speed up the deck.
Below is a deck list I’ve came up with. Extensive testing has not been done on this new list due to the fact that the cards are new, but so far they have been working quite nicely.
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Pokemon: 15 1 Dark Arceus 1 Metal Arceus 2 Fire Arceus 1 Water Arceus 1 Grass Arceus 1 Psychic Arceus 1 Fighting Arceus 1 Lightning Arceus 3 Normal Arceus AR5 2 Arceus LV.X AR 94/99 1 Arceus LV.X AR 96/99 |
T/S/S: 29 4 Beginning Door 4 Pokemon Collector 1 Fisherman 1 Palmer’s Contribution 1 Luxury Ball 3 Switch 3 Ultimate Zone 1 Lake Boundary 1 Premier Ball 4 Professor Oak’s New Theory 2 Cynthia’s Feeling 4 Super Scoop Up |
Energy: 16 1 Dark Energy (basic) 1 Metal Energy (basic) 1 Fire Energy 1 Fighting Energy 1 Water Energy 1 Psychic Energy 1 Electric Energy 3 Rainbow Energy 4 Call Energy 2 Double Colorless Energy |
