Hey all, it’s me again. It’s been a while since my last article but I felt I had to do this one. A lot of people are still debating on whether or not Umbreon UD (the Non-Prime) is still going to be effective. I will try to point out each side of the debate, and outline while it is still a viable card, even as a tech card. I will also point out a few other cards that might give the meta-game a sting. I warn you now that some of these suggestions might be controversial, but give them a chance.
Abilities, Poke-Bodies and Powers
The first side of the coin – Ability Pokemon. As of Black and White, Pokemon will no longer carry Poke-Bodies or Poke-Powers. What this means is that the further we get into the Black and White sets, the fewer Pokemon will have Poke-Bodies or Powers. Granted it will be at least a year until most Legend Series cards are filtered out, the HS-On Format will still have these Pokemon.
I do not see this as an issue for the new format, but many do. Ability cards like Emboar and Servine easily deal a decent amount of damage to Umbreon without having to wait. This puts a strain on the Umbreon tech as it can’t really defend it’s self against tactics like this.
While Ability Pokemon are excluded from Umbreon’s Moonlight Fang attack, cards such as Donphan Prime still have a rough time getting around Moonlight Fang. The opposing argument here is that a well placed Machamp Prime or even a Switch will get the endangered Poke-Body/Power Pokemon out of harms way.
We can’t also forget about Reuniclus, with the Ability “Damage Swap”. This is also a counter-argument for the Umbreon Tech. Still, I digress.
With these points in mind, here are the counter points as to why this card still has viability in the meta-game.
The Setup
Damage Swap, and Fighting Tag are very good points against Umbreon, but set up is the first issue. A competent Donchamp build typically will run something similar to the list below:
| Pokemon – 23
3 Phanpy CL |
Trainers – 19
3 Prof. Oak’s New Theory |
Energy – 10 |
This is a skeleton based on a deck a League mate plays. The basics of this deck are to move damage counters around, forcibly knocking out your own Pokemon, if need be, for an early game Twins.
What this means is that there is a lot of movement going on, on the part of this deck’s player to keep uncontrolled Knock Outs down to a minimum. This also means that there is little in the way of energy attachment.
Something with the power to put a Pokemon back into the opponent’s hand does a bit of disruption to the energy movement stalling Fighting Tag, and also stalls tactics like Damage Swamp and Switch.
This gives you an opening to start working on an Active Donphan or Machamp that doesn’t quite have the energy for a full-out assault. Follow with a Judge and you throw them off almost completely.
The second issue is energy. At present, we have only Energy Search and Energy Exchanger, as well as a few attack based energy search Pokemon and a handful of recover cards like Fisherman. While this is an issue, it’s a small one and does not pose a huge problem, but is still there.
Now I use Donchamp as an example here, but the same can be said of Gengar Prime, Lanturn Prime, Magnezone Prime, and Feraligatr Prime, although different strategies may be needed to do damage to those decks.
Other Cards and Combos to Consider
With these points in mind, here are a few cards that i think can go really well with a 1-1 Umbreon tech.
Dialga & Palkia LEGEND and Judge
Looking through my collection the other day, I realized that this has the potential to slow down some Stage 2 decks and throw your opponent off of their game a bit. Once your opponent gets into a situation where they have used up all of their Rare Candy, or it has all been Prized, Evolution chains become a bit harder. A Judge the following turn and a Switch over to Umbreon Leaves an active Donphan or Machamp open to Moonlight Fang. This is a rather compromised combo, but can work in the right build.
Smeargle and Seeker
Smeargle is a great way to disrupt your opponent’s hand. If you can see what they are holding, then chances are you can read a few turns ahead. Couple this card with a Seeker, and possibly another Seeker that might be sitting in the opposing hand and that’s an optimistic disruption of at least two turns.
Kyogre & Groudon LEGEND and Bronzong TM
Kyogre & Groudon LEGEND saw a lot of initial play and was set aside when Legend Box turned out to be a dud for most. This was a sad realization, as this is a VERY powerful card. What better way to disrupt your opponent, than to discard five cards a turn? Not only that if their deck is energy heavy (Reshiboar, Magnezone) than your also going to deal some damage to the bench.
Even if they have Reuniclus on the bench, Damage Swap becomes a liability when you start with a decent lead into a KGL. This set up is furthered by Bronzong TM. Legend Ceremony becomes very useful if this is your strategy and lets you set up pretty quickly. Of course some will say its horrible due to the fact that a few still play LostGar, however these players are very few in number.
Pokemon Circulation, and Reversal
Pokemon Reversal is the most current version of Gust of Wind. The downside is that it requires a Coin Flip. The upside is, that if you are getting a Head 70-90 percent of the time, then you don’t have to worry too much and you can choose what Pokemon to pull out and make it active.
Pokemon Circulation is similar, however it does not allow you to choose the Benched Pokemon. This is offset by not having to Flip.
These should hold us over until Pokemon Catcher is released to us, hopefully in the Red Collection.
Blastoise UL
This card has a lot of potential to do some damage, The downside is that it requires four energy to attack, and has a rather hefty retreat cost of three. The trade-off here is that it can hit any Pokemon for 100 damage. This is not unlike Suicune & Entei LEGEND, but Unlike said LEGEND, you have full access to your opponent’s Pokemon.
This is just a handful of suggestions for the rogue players, and maybe a few meta-players. So share your thoughts below!
