Hey guys! Peter Bae here bringing you the part 3 of my “Taking Another Look at Machamp” segment! For people who haven’t seen Part 1 and Part 2, I highly suggest you check them out :D.
Anyhow, in Part 1 I talked about the 3 Machamp Decks I’ll be going over briefly. In Part 2, I did an in-depth analysis of the LockChamp which seems to have gotten many player’s attention. For part 3, I will be doing an in-depth analysis of my current, and my most favorite Machamp build. Yes, that’s right, it is the MespritChamp.
Before I get going, I want to talk to you guys about how I came up with these builds. Well just before Triumphant came out, me and my friends were getting really hyped up assuming Lost World was in the set. When we found out it wasn’t, I immediately started to look at other possible decks. My very first one was the Absol/Mew deck. You can check that out here.
After that I looked in to VileGar with Gengar Prime tech also in this article. Dissatisfied with both decks, I decided to use Gyarados. However, during my Gyarados period, I was always unhappy with the choice of deck because I felt uncomfortable playing it.
One lonely night, with nothing else to do, I decided to go check out SixPrizes and read a Cities report with a Machamp deck. I had a gist of what Machamp Prime did, but never really looked in to it. After reading the article, I fell in love with Machamp Prime and immediately started to do some research on some deck theories.
Of course the first that came in to my mind was DonkChamp, but that has been out for a while and I was never really a big fan of playing decks that are widely recognized or known. Than I thought up of LockChamp. I knew Machamp Prime would be a huge threat during the mid late game. Speedy Machamp Prime would be virtually worthless as you won’t be attacking T1 anyways with it.
However, I was never comfortable playing with slow decks so I started to look for another partner to pair up with Machamp. Of course I thought I’d try Donphan/Machamp with a 3-3 Donphan line and 3-2-3 Machamp Prime line to capitalize on Donphan starts and to finish off with Machamp Prime.
I didn’t like the consistency of the deck. Than I thought up of Donphan/Mesprit that deck was popular a while back. So I thought Machamp Mesprit would be a pretty good mix. So I picked up a DonkChamp list and started to tweak it to fit some Mesprits, and Super Scoop Ups. Hence came my MespritChamp build which has been doing amazingly well.
So let’s get on with the article shall we?
What is MespritChamp? MespritChamp is a semi speedy, partial lock deck that performs exceptionally well during the mid game and has an above average early/late game finish. Like LockChamp, you focus on getting out Machamp SF first and use “Take-Out” for easy cheap knock outs WHILE power locking your opponent with well timed Mesprit drops to further my advantage.
Normally if it all works well, I should have the game in first 5 minutes as the opponent’s can’t really get a set up going without being able to use their Uxie and other crucial Poke-Powers. During the mid game is when Machamp Prime comes in to play.
Ideally you’d want to continue the lock after switching to Machamp Prime mode but a nicely timed Mesprit drops once every few turns is just as effective. From here on, the strategy remains the same. Timed Mesprit drops to hinder them from recovering from a knock out by the beefy Machamp Prime.
Advantages
- Pretty good early game domination due to being trainer based
- Very strong mid-game play due to the Mesprit drops and Machamp Prime’s high damage output
- Has a lot of room for techs
- It’s fun
Disadvantages
- Susceptible to donks. Machop, Uxie, Mesprit, Unown Q, Azelf are all easy to get donked because of the horrible Psychic Weakness all of these Pokemon Carry.
- Being trainer based deck, not having T1 Pokemon Collector against VileGar can be deadly
- A bit flippy due to Super Scoop Up
As you can see, the Advantages I find to be much better than disadvantages. All of the disadvantages are luck based so there is really not much you could do to change them.
Here’s my current deck list:
| Pokemon – 19
4 Machop SF |
T/S/S – 30
3 Bebe’s Search |
Energy – 11 |
Card by Card Analysis
Machamp Line
I chose to run a thick 4-3-4 line of Machamp rather than 4-2-4 for 1 reason only, consistency. Due to the deck having no starter requires every little help to improve consistency. with 4-2-4, you can have 1 Machoke Prized, meaning you’d have to depend on drawing in to the un-searchable Rare Candy to evolve your Machamps.
Also, if your Machamp Prime is evolved through Rare Candy, it is impossible to get the healing loop going as you cannot put it back down on the bench without having a Machoke in your hand with Broken Time-Space in play or another Rare Candy. Also, for the Machamps, 2 Stormfront and 2 Prime is ideal.
2 Stormfront Machamp will let you consistently get 1 out 90% of your early game for you to take easy prizes. Same thing with the 2 Machamp Primes.
Mesprit
Highlight of the deck. I find this card should be splashed in to every staged decks in the format. It is just too good not to put it in the deck. For people who do not know of Mesprit, it has a Poke-Power called “Psychic Bind” which locks your opponent’s Poke-Power next turn after you put it down on your bench.
With the addition of Seekers, it is a lot easier to keep Mesprit Lock going for 4~5 turns which should give you the win. Mesprit like all pixies carry the 70 HP and the +20 Psychic Weakness and 1 retreat cost. His attack is not worth mentioning as it can’t even be used in this deck.
Azelf
Unlike LockChamp, 1 Azelf I find is necessary for the deck. The sole purpose of Azelf in here is to grab out Regice when it is prized. Sure it can be used to grab other necessary Pokemon from your prizes, but Regice is the main reason. I’ll get to that below.
Uxie/Uxie LV.X
This is your counter to the Machamp Counter you will be facing. Not only is Uxie and Uxie LV.X good draw power, they are also great attackers. The most common Machamp Counter you will see from most players are a thick line of 3-1 Uxie LV.X.
Despite you being able to knock them out with a simple “Take-Out,” it is much safer to knock them out with a Uxie LV.X of your own using “Zen Blade” just so that you can revenge knock out their Uxie LV.X or Uxie if they knock your Uxie out with Machamp.
Unown Q
With the high count of Pixies in the deck, 90% of your start will be with either Mesprit, Uxie, or Azelf. With Unown Q, you don’t have to attach an energy to the Pixies to retreat them. This allows you to attack one turn faster.
Regice
Without Regice, your VileGar match up would probably be an auto loss. Most of you probably know of this now if you are either a VileGar player or some kind of speedy stage deck player. Regice’s Poke-Power “Regi-Move” lets you discard 2 cards, then if your opponent has a Basic Pokemon that’s active, they must switch it with one of their benched Pokemon.
The sole purpose of this card is to remove that initial Spiritomb for you to have 1~3 turns to burn your trainers to quickly set-up. If your Regice is prized, you’re pretty much screwed, therefore, Azelf is needed in the deck.
Bebe’s Search
Bebe’s is a great search Supporter for this deck. Despite the faster 4 Pokemon Communication line, 3~4 Bebe’s is necessary to increase consistency
Pokemon Collector
The most important supporter of all in this deck. It pretty much gives you access too all of your Pixies, namely the Mesprit which will be your main way of killing your opponent. You can also use it to discard 2 basic Pokemon to feed your Regice’s Poke-Power.
Seeker
Like any other Machamp builds, the main purpose of this card is to get the Machamp Prime healing loop going. However, it also serves another big purpose to the deck. It is to re-use that Mesprit to keep the power lock going.
Since you can still use Machamp Prime’s “Fighting-Tag” to switch out in to a fresh, full HP Machamp and keep the damaged Machamp on the bench for the extra 10 damage. Depending on the situation, you would use Seeker to pick up your Mesprit to power lock your opponent.
Professor Oak’s New Theory
I personally prefer to use Professor Oak’s New Theory than any other hand refresher as I find it the most consistent. However, Looker’s Investigation isn’t a bad choice either.
Palmer’s Contribution
I miss Night Maintenance… the only Supporter in the deck to recover from a knock out. You can return 5 of Pokemon or Basic Energy cards to the deck. It is vital as after 2 Machamp knock outs, you should be low on fighting energy and/or DCE to attack with.
Pokemon Communication
I suggest running 3~4 of these cards. It is basically a Bebe’s Search, but a trainer and a small restriction. This card is great as you can use Pokemon Collector to fetch any Pokemon rather than a basic Pokemon. This card brings a lot of options to the deck. Such as playing Uxie to draw till 7, using SSU to pick up Uxie if possible, and use Communication to get a Mesprit for a power lock.
Rare Candy
What makes Stage 2 decks able to compete in this speedy format. It allows you to skip your stage 1 form to get to stage 2. This card allows easier access to T1 Machamp SF Donk. The only problem is that if you use this to get a Machamp Prime, you really can’t keep up the loop. I think that 3 Rare Candy is the optimal number. 1 or 2 is too small to matter, 4 clogs your hand.
Super Scoop Up
Running 3~4 of these is vital for any build involving Mesprit. Just relying on Seeker to re-use your Mesprit won’t keep up your lock up for a long time. Also this can be a great addition to healing your Machamps.
Luxury Ball
Amazing card right now. Trainer that just fetches you any Pokemon other than LV.X. Since you don’t run any LV.X, this can fetch you any Pokemon in the deck. I can’t think of a reason not to play this card.
VS Seeker
I was debating whether I should run this or a 4th Seeker. I decided to choose VS Seeker despite it being a trainer card. Yes, it can get trainer locked but with the correct Regice play, you shouldn’t allow your opponent to get a Vileplume set up.
4th Seeker does guarantee myself more healing potential but I would sometimes be stuck with a useless Seeker stuck in my hand for a long time. VS Seeker can get me another Seeker from the discard pile or any other Supporter, therefore, being more useful.
Expert Belt
Expert belt is amazing and is another reason why I chose to run MespritChamp rather than LockChamp. Not only does it give your Pokemon 20 more damage output BEFORE weakness or resistance, it beefs up your Pokemon by 20 HP. This is huge as with the 20 HP boost, you can almost always deny the OHKO from a Uxie LV.X.
Broken Time-Space
The most important card for any stage decks. It can immediately evolve your Pokemon as soon as you play it. This card allows you to compete with the speedy SP. I don’t recommend running 4 of these because it will start to clog your hand at 4. Not only that, in matches against other stage decks, you will find that even 3 Broken Time-Space is too many.
Possible Techs
I’m not going to go too much detail in to this card as if all of you read Part 2 of this segment, you should know why. Basically, Regirock is in there for a speedier recovery. Regirock has 3 retreat cost and has a mediocre Poke-Power called “Regi Cycle.” Just like Regice, you must discard 2 card from your hand, but only if you have a Fighting Energy in your discard pile.
If you do discard 2 card from your hand, you attach a Fighting Energy from the discard pile on to Regirock. This is good as Machamp is pretty slow to recover from a knock-out unless your setting up a SF one. You can send your Regirock after your Pokemon gets KOed, then use “Regi Cycle” to attach one, than use Machamp Prime’s Poke-Power “Fighting Tag” to move that Fighting Energy on to Machamp than switch, attach DCE, and continue to attack.
Luxray GL/Luxray GL LV.X RR (With Poke-Turn)
Luxray GL/Luxray GL LV.X from Rising Rivals is a very versatile SP card. Most of you know what it does. The Poke-Power “Bright Look” is the main reason why people run it. “Bright Look” let’s you move 1 of your opponent’s benched Pokemon to the active spot when you play Luxray GL LV.X.
This is great as you can pull up any basics and knock it out with the Machamp SF. However, if you plan on running this, I’d suggest 3~4 Poke Turns to re-use your Luxray GL LV.X. I wouldn’t suggest running any Lightning Energy because it will be a 2 attach attack for you that will only hit for 60, or 90 on Gyarados when you could put just as much with Machamp Prime for around the same time.
Crobat G (With Poke-Turn)
If you plan on running the Luxray GL LV.X Tech with Poke Turn, add this in also. Crobat G is another SP Pokemon, meaning you can abuse the Poke-Turns. His a free retreater that put’s 1 damage counter on any Pokemon you choose when you play him. This can give you that 1 knock out you can’t get because your missing that 10 extra damage.
I really like Warp Point in this deck. You can take easy prizes with Machamp SF by playing Warp Point to make them switch in to their bench sitter basics like Azelf. This is particularly great against your Gyarados match up as all your opponent will have on the bench will be basics. Not only that, this is great against SP when they Power Spray your “Fighting Tag” so that you can’t heal your Machamps.
This is for those who want a better start to their deck. Sableye is a great Pokemon to start with. 60 HP, 1 retreat, -20 resistance to colorless and no weakness. How great is that. His attacks are also pretty nice too. His first attack “Impersonate” is the main reason why we will be thinking of this guy as a tech to use. Well I guess it’s not really a tech if you start using 3~4 of them as a starter, but whatever.
“Impersonate” lets you search through your deck for a supporter, discard that supporter, and use that same supporter’s effect as the attack for the turn. How great is that? You could have a supporterless start but have a Sableye to fetch you your Pokemon Collector for your Uxie, Azelf, Machop, Mesprit, you know what I mean to get a better set up next turn.
His second attack is also great but I won’t be looking in to this as you will be required to run Darkness Energy but that will lower your consistency by a lot.
Unlike Sableye, Jirachi can be used in copies of 3 or 4, or just ran as a single card tech. Jirachi has a 60 HP, metal type Pokemon, +20 fire weakness, -20 psychic resistance, and a great no retreat cost. First of all, his Poke-Power “Final Wish” is amazing.
When your Jirachi is knocked out by damage, you get to search your deck for ANY card in the deck. The only downside is that this card gets owned by VileGar. Gengar SF will just “Shadow Room” will OHKO any Jirachi you have AND stop from your “Final Wish” from going off. However, Jirachi has an attack that MIGHT make up for that.
His second attack is worthless, but the first attack “Detour” is just as great as “Impersonate” that Sableye has. “Detour” just let’s you use the supporter you used for the turn again. You can basically search for 6 basics if you used a Pokemon Collector that turn. The downside is that if your going first with Jirachi active, it is virtually worthless.
Oh how I love this card. Great starter and great card to send up after having your Machamp or anything get knocked out for that matter. His attack is also worthless but you might be able to get a OHKO on a Garchomp C, not the LV.X for a DCE and 2 head coin flips. The good thing about Smeargle is his Poke-Power “Portrait.” This lovely power let’s you look at your opponent’s hand, choose a supporter, and use it.
The downside is that he has to be active. That’s not that big of a problem though with Unown Q and Machamp Prime’s “Fighting Tag.” Not to mention that the supporter you use with “Portrait” won’t be your supporter for the turn either. Like Jirachi, this can be ran as 1 card tech or 3~4 card starter. I’d prefer a 1 card tech.
Relicanth SV
This card is definitely a card worth looking in to. It’s a faster Luxray GL LV.X counter, or just a overall good card to play against an SP deck. The attack that makes this card so good is “Grand Swell”. For 1 Fighting Energy, it can snipe or hit the active for 30x the number of Pokemon Tools or Stadiums they have in play.
Usually, you will see at least 2 Pokemon Tool card against a SP deck, meaning you’d easily be sniping for 60 damage for 1 Fighting Energy or OHKO a Luxray GL LV.X if it is active.
Technical Machine TS-2 “Devoluter”
This is my favorite card right now. I run it in most of my Stage decks and have tested it out with MespritChamp. For no energy, you can take off the top Pokemon card off any of your opponent’s Pokemon excluding LV.X. If your already running Crobat G’s and Poke-Turns, this can easily knock out a belted Gyarados for just 3 Crobat G drops. This is also great against VileGar if it is already in play and you want to avoid “Fainting Spell”.
Matchups
LuxChomp 60-40 Favorable
Against LuxChomp, getting your T1 Machamp SF with a couple Mesprit drops is VITAL. If you succeed to get your Machamp SF out and successfully manage to do 3~4 turns of Mesprit drop, the game is in the bag. If you do not manage to get that off, it will be a bit tricky as most SP decks are now running 3-1 Uxie LV.X line with 2 Premier Ball for Machamp Counter.
Do not carelessly use your Expert Belt, use them ONLY when your going for your last prize or you know it can save your Machamp from dying. Not to mention Luxray GL LV.X hitting around your Machamp Primes for cheap knock outs alongside with Garchomp C LV.X targeting your pixies.
DialgaChomp 60-40 Favorable
I will say 60-40, but that’s only if the DialgaChomp player is good with a really good build. Most of the times, I’d say it’s 70-30. Just like Luxchomp, you need to be able to get that T1 Machamp SF, and need to try to keep your 2 Machamp SF alive.
Due to the 3-1 Uxie LV.X line with Premier Ball, getting 2 Machamp SF is not a hard task. Not to mention DialgaChomp also running Expert Belt, allowing a Uxie to knock out your Machamp SF with Lucario GL in play. If all your Machamp SF are knocked out and you can’t retrieve them, you have most likely lost the game.
VileGar 50-50 Even
I say that this match up is even rather than unfavorable. It all depends on your first hand. You have a Pokemon Collector start with a good hand of trainers? I’d say the games in the bag as long as your Azelf and Regice isn’t prized. If VileGar player decides to play 2 Spiritombs or has an amazing hand that they get T2 Vileplume set up without having to rely on Spiritomb, I’d say the match up turned slightly toward VileGar.
Gyarados 60-40 Unfavorable
Despite how well you perform, this match up will always be an uphill battle. Gyarados will consistently hit you for 90~110 + Crobat G drops, while your Machamp SF is pretty much useless against their Gyarados because of the -20 Fighting resistance and the 130, or 150 belted HP it has. However, you will always most likely 2 hit kill Gyarados with Machamp Prime.
If you have 2 Machamp Prime in play, the game will tip a slightly to your favor because you have that higher healing ability. Also getting out T1 Mesprit drop is vital so that you stop their Regice play to discard Magikarps, or they don’t do a Mesprit drop on you.
Machamp 70-30 Very Favorable
This is a very favorable match for many reasons. Your deck is fast enough to keep up with Donk Champs and can disrupt their game play with Mesprit drops. The only thing you have to watch out for is the T1 Donk. Against LockChamp, you still have the advantage as you can stop their “Fighting Tag” with your Mesprit, and you can get the first 2~3 knock outs with Spiritomb.
SableLock/ChenLock 70-30 Very Favorable
SableLock/ChenLock has a very hard time dealing with high HP stage decks. Not to mention the Machamp SF just plowing through whatever they bring at you. SableLock/Chenlock also doesn’t run Lucario GL, well not most of them at least. So even if they ran 3-1 Uxie LV.X lines with Premier Ball, you can avoid OHKO.
The only problem I see is the Honchkrow SV which has -20 Fighting resistance and can OHKO your Machamp SF or with aid of Crobat G drops and special darks, even your Machamp Prime.
Conclusion
That’s it folks! Part 3 of Taking Another Look at Machamp series! I hope you really enjoyed this article and decide to try on either my LockChamp or MespritChamp. I’m debating whether I should go on with Part 4, DonkChamp. DonkChamp has been out for awhile and there have been many articles floating around. Not to mention that it really isn’t that good anyways.
Tell me what you guys think!
