strikeandrun

[strikeandrun]

Pokemon 2004 Format Rogue Deck - Donphan/Blissey

Anyone who has played in the Worlds 2004 format is familiar with some of the powerful Stage 1 Pokémon featured in the format. Most notable of these is Gorebyss from Hidden Legends as an Attacker and Delcatty from Ruby & Sapphire as a Supporting Pokémon. A lot of the times in this format, Pokémon from RS and onward overshadow the ones from the E-series. They were often more powerful, and so the E-series cards that saw play were mostly the trainers of the era. 

As I was browsing the selection of cards in the entirety of the format looking for a new deck to build, one Pokémon stood out to me for it’s incredibly strong first attack. Donphan from Aquapolis. 

For only 1 energy, Donphan could deal 30 Damage at the cost of inflicting 10 Damage to each of your own benched Pokémon. The downside wasn’t so bad, but I wanted a way to work around that 10 damage without having to run the Stage 2 Pokémon Bellossom from Hidden Legends. It was in the search for Donphan’s partner that I came across Blissey from the same set. 

Blissey let you heal 1 Pokémon on a coin flip, and only heals by the amount of energy attached to the Blissey. However, it is not limited to the “one power per turn” rule that Bellossom is, so you could flip 2 coins if you had 2 Blissey in play. The other thing I loved about Blissey is it’s High HP and the fact it didn’t give up 2 prizes. It’s Higher HP meant it could not be OHKO’d by Blaziken ex from Team Magma vs. Team Aqua like Bellossom could. So it was with this that I began constructing a Skeleton for the deck.

Pokémon-

x4  Dunsparce SS - Dunsparce is used in a lot of decks that require set up and don’t mind sacrificing the 4 slots for it. 4 copies means there is roughly a 40% chance to start with it and use it’s Strike and Run move to set up your basics on turn 1.

x3 Phanpy RS - Phanpy evolves into Donphan. it can also 3HKO Dunsparces or 2HKO RS44 Skitty. It can paralyze and do damage on a flip similar to Dunsparce but it’s attack is more expensive and doesn’t always do damage. avoid attacking with it if possible. It has more HP than the other Phanpy in the format, so you can use Earthquake more times before you need to heal it, and it isn’t OHKO’d by Metagross ex’s Metal Reversal. This is very situaltional but it is generally the better Phanpy.

x3 Donphan AQ - This is the decks main attacker. It can OHKO Dunsparce (which is almost always going to be played by your opponent.) and OHKO any Skitty, Magnemite or any other basic that is weak to Fighting with 60 or less HP. Mid and Late Game, Donphan can OHKO Magneton and Delcatty with a Strength Charm. Another neat play to make is to Deal 60 to a Magneton and 60 to a Delcatty, then use ATM Rock to score 2 prizes in one turn and saving your Strength Charms for later. Donphan’s second attack is a weaker version of Metagross HL’s Attack, and should be used with caution. It can return a OHKO on a Rayquaza ex that KO’d your previously Active Donphan with this move, but it requires Crystal Shard, a Double Rainbow, and 2 Heads flips. It is super risky, but it can pay off.

x2 Chansey AQ - While it might seem like it doesn’t matter which Chansey you play, it is actually much better to run this one instead of the 90HP one in this format. This greatly affects your matchup with the BDIF, RAMBO. Most important is that it can’t be OHKO’d by a Rayquaza ex with Multi+Fire energy after you have used Earthquake once. This forces the opponent to have to find the 3rd energy to get a kill if Chansey has full HP or 1 Damage counter on it. The 90HP one can be OHKO’d with just 2 energy if it has a damage counter on it. Additionally, If Donphan used Earthquake with a Crystal Shard attached and Rayquaza takes 6, and you have Desert Ruins in play, this chansey can KO Rayquaza with 8 Damage counters with 1 energy. It is also safer to bring out than Dunsparce. since Dunsparce could be KO’d by a Fire Stream from Blaziken RS on a following turn. Another perk is that this Chansey can’t be KO’d by a Shiftry HL with a Darkness+Boost Energy and Matching Hand size. Anyways, I’ve talked enough about these hypothetical situations. 

x2 Blissey AQ - This card is pretty incredible. It can (with a little bit of luck) deny your opponent prizes and keep the momentum in your favor, even in situations that look like you aren’t doing so great. Blissey can heal itself or it’s bench buddies as long as it has energy attached. There is rarely ever a situation where you might debate attaching to a Blissey or Donphan, since Donphan’s attack is so low-cost. This deck runs Double Rainbow as a way to let Blissey heal more for less attachments. I already talked about Blissey’s longevity above, and there isn’t much else to say about it. It simply is the best partner for Donphan.

Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums-

2 Fast Ball - Fast Ball reveals cards from the top of your deck until it reveals an Evolution card. This means that you will either hit a Donphan or Blissey, and once you have the other out in play, the odds are better for hitting the one you want next. Once all of either Donphan or Blissey are in play, then it will always grab the other. 

2 Friend Ball - Since most decks run Dunsparce, Friend Ball makes it really easy to set up Blissey. This also makes it easy to grab Donphan with Fast Ball.

2 Switch - Blissey and Donphan both have high retreat costs, so switch is important. That’s all I gotta say about that.

2 Ancient Technical Machine [Rock] - This card is another way to score several KOs. You can also waste your opponent’s Rare Candy plays with this card. It has several uses, so the deck runs 2 in case one gets prized. A second one is also useful since most players only expect the 1-of tech from this card.

2 Strength Charm - This card lets you score KO’s you normally wouldn’t get, or make some very specific things 3HKOs instead of 4HKOs, like against a 100HP Stage 2. 

4 Pokemon Reversal - This card is really important. With some luck, you can grab a lot of prizes in the early game, and this makes it difficult for your opponent to catch up with your prize gain, even if you start to fall behind a little.

Supporters - Donphan/Blissey runs a pretty standard pile of draw supporters. Nothing too fancy here to note, most of your powerful trainer plays will be dependent on when you drop items. I think that you need to run recursion of some form, since it is very easy to run out of resources in a long game. Desert Shaman is key in not decking out, since it is easy to draw a large portion of your deck and not have much to do with it in this format.

Matchups -

Rambo/Blaziken - 65/35

This is your best matchup. The stars don’t have to align when you are up against this deck. Donphan finds it easy to pick apart the opponents board with Earthquake, taking out valuable support Pokémon. The opponent has no choice but to try and bring out their support Pokémon, so it is really only a matter of how you go about dismantling the board, either through Reversals, ATM or brute force. In the late game, when the Blaziken deck is low on resources, it will have almost zero chance at outing a Blissey in the active except with some bad luck on your end and extremely good luck on their side. This matchup is intimidating on paper, but Donphan can handle it. Being able to beat this deck is a key reason to play the deck in the first place.

Magma - 50/50

Magma isn’t impossible to beat, but it is not an easy task. Yes, you have access to easy pickings in the form of Zangoose, and you have some stall tactics but your Blissey is incredibly prone to Groudon in the late game. You may take an early lead in this matchup occasionally, but the fact is that the only prize that really matters to Groudon is the last one. Since Magma doesn’t run any ex Pokémon normally, it’s a big grind to get your prizes in a timely manner. Also the large amount of basics in the deck make your best plays less good (ATM does almost blotting in this matchup.)

Crobyss - 20/80

This matchup is terrible, Phanpys die to Crobat’s entire family, Donphan dies to Gorbyss. You need to get very lucky to win this game. Your opponent has to draw poorly every time. Blissey isn’t going to be enough because Crobat can shut it down so easily. Your saving grace is how good ATM is against Crobyss, but most of the time it won’t be enough.

MLB - 45/55

This is a strange matchup to evaluate. Blissey is pretty medium here, since it is very succeptable to Medicham but does excellent work against Lanturn and Banette. The beauty of MLB's circular game plan really comes through here. The biggest problem here is that Donphan already plays against Lanturn well, but can struggle to overcome Medicham without making some very hard to pull off ATM plays. Maxing out the value of your ATM plays is very important here. You need to blow them out with it early or you will struggle in the late game. I’d almost call it even, but Medicham can do so much early in the matchup and might not allow a late game to even happen. The best thing about Donphan/Blissey in this matchup is that it isn’t so weak to the ATM. Tread carefully and you can take the win here.

Swampert, Gardevoir, Stage 2 decks - 50/50

These decks play against Donphan similarly and the way you beat them is similar. If they are playing a Magneton/Delcatty engine, you go for it first and foremost. You will ALWAYS struggle against a souped up ex-Pokémon, so it is best to just try and take a lead and play the rest of the game carefully with Reversal plays and creating a board state that allows strong ATM plays. You may struggle more against swampert due to the type advantage, But I argue that regardless of type advantage you should be able to control the early game with Donphan every time against Stage 2 decks. You are faster than them every time, simply put. You can force the opponent to play their resources poorly (such as forcing an evolving basic to retreat because it’s been EQ'd). Donphan makes the entire game awkward for Stage 2s, and so long as you know how to take advantage of that you should have a fair shot at winning.

Conclusion:

Overall, Donphan is just another fair deck in a format where you have 3 different viable decks that accelerate energy, dump cards to draw more cards and recur resources. Those fast Stage 2 decks look fair compared to modern Pokémon standards, but they really aren’t. Your greatest strength when playing Donphan is OPTIONS. You have a lot of deck space to work with, since most of the “unfair” (for lack of a better term) decks dedicate so much space to energy and evolution cards, your ability to tech out a Donphan list is much greater. This blog post is simply a primer for a deck with untapped potential.

[strikeandrun]

Introduction

Pokemon is quite different from the other two major card games in the way that it has no support for it’s older cards. The only supported format with cards not legal ins Expanded or Standard is Legacy on PTCGO, which only goes back to HGSS, and has long since been a “solved format.” You might be wondering why anyone would bother to learn about past formats in a game with no real life support for it’s older cards. Unlike Magic: the Gathering, which regularly has tournaments for their Vintage and Legacy formats starring cards over 20 years old, Pokemon has seen no official support for it’s older cards. I personally believe that this is likely due to the licensing change from Wizards to Nintendo in 2003 making Nintendo not want any player to have to buy cards from a different company in order to play (at the time it was much more likely that you’d find a Nintendo era and Wizards era pack side by side at a store.) Support for an Unlimited format has basically vanished since this change, and that format has been solved by those patient enough to win or lose on the first turn every time. I think it could also be due to Wizards trying to follow Magic’s footsteps and introduce the most powerful cards first, and concerns about all the strongest cards being from the Wizards era could’ve arisen. Something interesting about the 2004 format is that it is the only time that cards from the final Wizards sets and the first Nintendo sets are legal at the same time. I Digress, but back onto the topic, I think that a lack of support for these formats is partially responsible for the interest in these non-sanctioned, never-will-be-sanctioned formats due to the fact that you really can’t see most of these cards played to their greatest effect in any format other than it’s own. The strongest of these cards carry a legacy that yearns to be demonstrated in these old format decks.

What exactly is it that draws players like you and I to these older formats? Surprisingly, not everyone who plays old formats does so because they played back then. Some of the largest collections of old school decks that I am aware of are owned by a regional card shop owner, a three time world champion, and a player who started as recently as 2012. But what about all the other guys? For some people it has to do with learning the history of the game. Even less people will see the way that these old formats improve your gameplay skills in the current standard and even less than that will be drawn in by that factor. The smallest fraction cares about the fact that it is non-rotating when they get into it, because that isn’t really important to someone who plays a game with only a rotating format and an expanded format that goes back a whole 6 years. While there is no definitive answer, for me and a lot of other people who I’ve known to collect old format cards it is in part due to being bored of the Standard format. A lot of players new and old feel that the game just “isn’t what it used to be” after hearing epic stories about using Dragon Rush for game or using Lost Burn to KO an unsuspecting Reshiram.

I was not actively playing standard when I decided to build my 2004 collection, and I hadn’t competed in an event in maybe a year or so, but I played online a little bit and quickly found myself to be bored with the format. I downloaded a program called LackeyCCG as a means to build decks and test them against myself in an easy to use solitaire mode, and the program’s Pokemon TCG plugin came pre-loaded with all the decklists from past world champions. One bored afternoon I must’ve decided to try them out and I liked 2004 the most of the formats. Coincidentally around the same time, an article appeared on SixPrizes about the format and after I read it my interest in the cards from this time period was sky high. I quickly began to love the artwork from this era, and a lot of the top tier Pokemon at this time were some of my favorites. I started crafting and researching decklists, and slowly everything about it began to feel right and meaningful. What makes or breaks a card in the format felt like it carried a lot of weight, from the power of attacks down to the very last hit point a Pokemon has. It may seem like something rather basic, but I feel that today it only matters whether or not your moves are a one hit kill or how to make your move a one hit kill. I like to believe that these numbers and things were intricately decided by the designers of the game, but another part of me thinks that it is a happy accident. It also fascinated me how some of the best cards from this format were never on meta-defining cards again (such as Dunsparce,Bellossom, or Gorebyss.) Whether this is intentional or not I don’t know, but it adds a bit more of uniqueness to the format. Simply put, the 2004 format is enjoyable because the power is there and players can feel each move’s importance, but it doesn’t feel as though the power was deliberately pushed to an extreme either. It seems as though every little detail on the Pokemon themselves was especially crafted with gameplay in mind, something I feel has since been forgotten.