Hey everyone. Adam pretty much summarized what I was going to be talking about in the last UG poll (vote if you haven’t yet!), and I’ve never been a fan of long-winded fancy introductions when they’re unneeded, so…Magnezone/Eel, It’s Eelektrik.dek, Thunderdome, etc etc
BDIF, no real question about it. Stock versions of this can hold up against pretty much every popular archetype, thanks to lack of a damage cap and the ability to do an N recovery. This is the list I am currently working with.
As you can see, I took the conformist route and have no DCEs or Tornadus left in here, even though my list started like that in the last article. I stand by the fact that that version of the deck worked, but only because back when I was testing that, the game hadn’t really shifted towards “proper” NVI yet. People were still trying things out, and didn’t know how to deal with the deck.
When I found out one of the major things to do against it (getting rid of Tynamo, since those are usually benched in smaller numbers than Magnemites early on, and have less HP), I had to make space to thicken the Eel line I had. Only 2-2 with Super Rod and Revive was just peachy there, but with Chandelure/Vileplume taking a stance, that wasn’t safe anymore either.
I’ve also put in Thundurus. I’ve always scratched my head at the “Zekrom vs Thundurus” debate. I’ve had games where both, neither or only one of them was useful, and it depends so much on match-ups and opening hands. I think you should pretty much always run both. Thundurus is great for when you don’t have to Eek in the set-up phase, or you have a gap turn midgame where you can get more Energy into play, while Zekrom is important to have for the Durant match-up.
I cut down to 2 N. Way too often, I am forced to choose between helping both my opponent and myself get more cards, or keep both of us in topdeck mode. I only need to play one or two of these at most during the game, and as long as you know how many you have prized with your first search, you can make the right decisions on whether to sack, play or conserve them.
This deck is so incredibly tight. Whenever we’re discussing what could be cut for something else, it’s always like “no no no, I don’t want to cut that, that’s exactly what I want MORE of!”. There are only 2 cards I would ever feel comfortable cutting in my list at the moment.
Super Rod
This is easily the most useless card in the list. I only ever use it against Durant, when I have a bad start and someone destroys a lot of my Tynamo or Magnemite, or when I end up discarding pieces with Sage/Junk Arm (which doesn’t happen much since you have over 20 cards you can usually get rid of just fine when set up).
However, when it comes in handy, it can really save the day. Sadly, this is not all that often, but you should always include it if you’re running thin lines (3-3 Eelektrik, 3-2-3 Magnezone).
Pokegear 3.0
This deck really only has two stages to go through: when you don’t have a Magnezone out, and when you do. In the first stage, Pokegear is an extra chance at finding either your turn 1 Collector or turn 2 Sage’s Training (the best way to get Rare Candy + Magnezone). Once Magnezone out, I generally burn this card in some way or another as there’s nothing you want until much much later in the game. In a close game where your deck and your opponent’s prize counts are low, you can use it to find that N you have been conserving if it somehow doesn’t show up for you when you need it.
What makes this deck so great is that if the opposing deck leaves it alone and lets it set up even moderately, it just steamrolls almost everything. You have access to nearly everything in your deck, and you can win a direct exchange with almost anything because of your 140 HP.
The last time we had a deck like this was Magnezone/Emboar, and I think it’s necessary to draw a parallel here. While Magnezone/Eelektrik is not nearly as clunky, it’s still a deck that struggles if the opponent is actively disrupting it in some way. Look at its match-ups. The sheer force decks like ZPST are not that much of an issue. Even if they get a couple of good Catcher kills early on, you are in good shape once you are set up and you can N them once your board outdoes theirs. That first Magnezone generally opens the door to an explosion of your board within the next turn or so.
But we’re already seeing that decks are adapting. It’s not always 100% because of people wanting to counter this deck, but it’s a big factor in people’s deck decisions. In a format like this, where no deck is flexible enough to adapt to literally everything, it is hard to stay at the top for long. I have no doubt that Magnezone/Eelektrik is a good deck, and it may very well be the best deck, but there will be a point where you need to switch away from it while you’re ahead. And that point may very well be before your next tournament.
I’m not telling you to stop playing it, of course. I plan to play it for several more tournaments, and even if I end up dropping it, I will pick it back up for Next Destinies. But right now, the metagame seems to be forming around it, and you are risking a day full of Magnezone/Eelektrik, and things that can beat it.
To illustrate my point, let’s take an in depth look at the Magnezone/Eelektrik match-ups, starting from the top of the decks winning City Championships right now and going down. I’ll skip over ZPST, since as I said, that deck is not an issue for Magnezone as long as you can set up, but I think it’s the odd one out.
Matchups
Vs Chandelure
75% of the Chandelure decks that won had Vileplume UD. Vileplume isn’t as critical to Magnezone/Eelektrik as it is to Magnezone/Emboar, since it relies less or not at all on Rare Candy and Energy Retrieval, but it slows down things. The ways Chandelure can work around Magnezone remind me a lot of the ways Magnezone/Emboar was threatened around Nationals: spread damage, status conditions, devolution, and dragging up high retreat Pokemon.
The Magnezone player is put under a lot of pressure. Tynamo (especially 30 HP Tynamo) needs to evolve quickly to escape Cursed Shadow, but it can’t be left with no Energy or it becomes a target for Luring Light. The same goes for Magnezones, but to a lesser extent. You want to evolve with Rare Candy while you can to have as many Magnezones as possible, but that makes you more vulnerable to Jirachi UL/CL. In addition you don’t want to leave an empty Magnezone on your bench.
In addition, conservation of your Energy becomes harder than ever. With Blissey around, you have to either 2HKO the Chandelure, buying them more time, or OHKO with Lost Burn, wasting Energy. Sometimes not even Thundurus and Zekrom are sufficient to keep your Energy in play, since you may very well end up having your Eels denied.
What you can do to help this match-up is bring back the catch-all Double Colorless Energy. It allows you to retreat Eelektrik or even Magnezone if you absolutely have to, doubling as a switch, but it can also fuel Lost Burn (in fact you should Burn it when you can because it can’t be recycled with the Eel anyway). It does add a slight inconvenience with your discarding decisions because when you find it with Sage, you kind of have to take it.
A hilarious tech you should definitely consider testing is Eelektross NVI, especially if you already have DCE. For CC, it can do 30 to a Chandelure, stopping it from retreating, setting it up for a KO with a 2 Energy Lost Burn or a Bolt Strike. I won’t pretend I’ve tested this, but if you’re banging your head against the wall looking for a tech for this match-up, you should give it one or two tries. It does have a 3 retreat cost, sadly, so you have to get your bench ready for this maneuver well in advance.
