Update

It has been a long time since I've posted here, but I am planning on giving an updated overview of the format, with some decklists and deck ideas as long of a detailed discussion of the metagame. Some significant rule changes have gone into effect, namely:
1.) If you go first, you can't play a supporter card on your first turn. This makes Spiritomb a valid counter to Sableye-based decks, because supporters can no longer be used to search for Space Center on the first turn, which means that the probability of getting a Space Center is now quite low.
2.) Erika has been reprinted as a supporter card which changes the card from one of the best draw tools in the format (excluding decks like the one outlined in the last post that rely on controlling the opponent's hand) to a next-to-useless card in the format.
Hopefully I will find the time in the coming weeks to re-analyze and test out some decks and post about them for anybody who is interested (the supporter ruling specifically has drastically altered the format).

It's Been A While

It's been a while since I've posted, but thought I'd write an update since the blog still gets views regularly. I'll give a brief overview of what I consider to be the best deck since the last few expansions have come out and will go more in depth into it and some others if there is interest in the comments. I'll begin with the deck:

Trick Shovel Lock

Sample Decklist:

1 Sableye SF

4 Trick Shovel

4 The Rocket's Trap

4 Item Finder

4 Junk Arm

4 Professor Oak

4 PokeDrawer+

4 PokeHandy910is

4 Trainers' Mail

4 Bill's Teleporter

4 Blaine's Last Resort

4 Skyla

2 Acro Bike

2 Lysandre's Trump Card

2 Space Center

1 Hypnotoxic Laser

1 Rocket's Sneak Attack

1 Red Card

1 VS Seeker

1 Dowsing Machine

1 Silent Lab

1 Holon Circle

1 Cessation Crystal

1 Special Darkness Energy

Description: 

The point of this deck is to control what cards your opponent has in play. Because Sableye is the only Pokemon in the deck, you are guaranteed to go first if your opponent doesn't have a Sableye and guaranteed to have a 50/50 chance of going first if they do. On the first turn, you must use The Rocket's Trap, Rocket's Sneak Attack, and Red Card to reduce your opponent's hand to zero cards or ensure that everything in their hand is useless. Afterward, on the first and every subsequent turn, you must use Trick Shovel to discard cards off the top of their deck until they are left with nothing good. Meanwhile, the Hypnotoxic Laser and Special Darkness Energy are used in conjunction with Sableye to kill their Pokemon. The Lysandre's Trump Card keeps you from running out of cards. The Item Finder, Junk Arm, and Dowsing Machine let you reuse Trick Shovel (or other cards if need be). Skyla and Space Center are there as techs against an opposing Spiritomb. VS Seeker can be used to get Lysandre's Trump Card Back. Silent Lab prevents troublesome abilities such as Oranguru or Unown, Holon Circle prevents troublesome attacks such as Gastly, and Cessation Crystal prevents troublesome Pokemon Powers. Everything else is used for draw power.

Some other possibilities include Rotom Dex so you can run less Lysandre's Trump Card and improve consistency getting Silent Lab, etc., Expert Belt to do more damage, Scott as a replacement for Skyla, Ghetsis or Delinquent to aid in narrowing down the opponents hand, and other draw cards (e.g. Misty's Wrath). I have also seen Lysandre used as a way to swap the opponent's Spiritomb and Brigette along with more Sableye if the opponent somehow gets a way to damage your Sableye, but in my experience, few decks will leave you the opportunity to use Lysandre and Holon Circle will generally prevent the need to pull out more Sableye.

Some Further Notes

While the above deck seems to be practically unbeatable right now, there are some other comparable decks in the unlimited format. These include Kabutops MD which tries to get Kabutops active, locking items for both players, Walrein ex which tries to repetitively evolve and devolve Walrein ex from a Sealeo gotten out from an Archie's Ace in the Hole which locks all trainers for the opponent. I don't see it as especially viable anymore, but some decks including Porygon2 using either Seeker and a Pokemon like Shiftry or Lysandre's Trump Card with PokeBlower+ or Missing Clover, etc. still exist. Some of the above decks also use the new Cradily card which can actually get out Stage 2 Pokemon without needing their basics (allowing you to stay consistent). Note that every good deck will contain no or almost no basic Pokemon other than Sableye, Spiritomb, and Ditto. Spiritomb can, however, easily be countered by Scott/Skyla + Space Center, and Ditto never provides more consistency than your opponents. Very rarely decks centered around Trevenant are also seen. Older decks like Rhyperior Mill, Blastoise/Emboar/Magnezone + Forretress Donk, Crobat G, Dark Vileplume, Muk ex, Muk Fossil, Holon Lock, Aggron ex/Archeops, etc. are still occasionally seen but have become much, much less consistent since decks like the one listed above exist and will start with Sableye every game and Abilities have emerged as a mechanic. If there's any interest in me detailing some of the previously mentioned decks or providing decklists, let me know in the comments. I'll see what I can post within the next month or two if I have time. As always, thanks for reading!

Obtaining Cards

Hey guys! Trang here. Sorry I haven't been posting the last couple months but I've been extremely busy. Today, I want to talk about how to obtain cards for the unlimited format.

As you have already seen in the last few posts, the most common decks include lots of old and out of print cards. You can't get most of them in booster packs or tins. What I've found the best way to obtain cards is buying singles online. (If you didn't catch it, that is buying 1 card at a time). I just wanted to explain some of the sites and methods that I use in order to find out how to get the best deal.

First of all, I would suggest searching through multiple sites. I generally look through Pokemonforever, Amazon, Professor Oak, eBay, Stop2Shop, Troll and Toad, Cool Suff Inc., Collector's Cache, Epic Gaming, Gaming Underground, Untapped Games, Card Rush, XTreme Games, Meta-Gaming, Tome2, Kirwan's Game Store, The Game Academy, JJ Cardstore, Raven's Nest Games, Amazing Discoveries, MTG Deals, and many more. After reading, or more likely skipping, most of that list, you're probably wondering how I manage to do that for every card. Believe it or not, I actually only check 3 sites: pokemonforever.net, shop.tcgplayer.com, and www.pokellector.com. The 2 latter sites index multiple other sites and make it easy to find the best price. If you look at these 3 in a matter of a few moments, you can quickly and efficiently find most cards for 25 or 50 cents with shipping included. On some sites, I recommend you buy all of your cards at once since shipping is counted per order not per card.

Using this technique, you can VERY EASILY put together a competitive deck for around $30. If any readers have any tips, PLEASE POST IN THE COMMENTS. It would be great if anyone else has some nice sites to find good cards cheap, reviews on some sites above, or other techniques for finding Pokemon cards. As always, thanks for reading! (I should start posting every few days again)

                                                                              -TRANG

Sabledonk

This article will aim to provide a deck list for a Sabledonk deck as well as the overall strategy and individual card explanations. In reality, the goal of Sabledonk is to continue using cards like Crobat G, Jolteon ex, and Jolteon Star to place a large amount of damage counters on the opponent's Pokemon. One deck list that I find useful is as follows:

2-2 Jolteon ex DS
1 Jolteon Star PK
4 Crobat G PT
1 Spiritomb LA
3 Spiritomb AR
4 Sableye SF
1 Unown Q MD
Total Pokemon: 18

1 Computer Search
2 Pokemon Collector
4 Erika
4 Item Finder
4 Scoop Up
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Poketurn
4 Pokeblower+
4 Pokedrawer+
4 Professor Oak
1 Luxury Ball
2 Broken Time Space
4 Mr. Fuji
Total Trainers: 42

Total Energy: 0

I will now try to explain the individual components of this deck.

Jolteon ex: Part of strategy.
Jolteon Star: Part of strategy.
Crobat G: Part of strategy.
Spiritomb LA: Part of strategy.
Spiritomb AR: Tech against any other deck.
Sableye: Allows the player to go first.
Unown Q: Helps retreat Spiritomb/Sableye

Computer Search: Draw.
Pokemon Collector: Helps get Spiritomb out of the active spot.
Erika: Draw.
Item Finder: Helps reuse other trainer cards.
Scoop Up: Part of strategy.
Super Scoop Up: Part of strategy.
Poketurn: Part of strategy.
Pokeblower+: Part of strategy.
Pokedrawer+: Draw.
Professor Oak: Draw.
Luxury Ball: Draw.
Broken Time Space: Part of strategy.
Mr. Fuji: Part of strategy.

Porydonk

This article will attempt to provide a few various deck lists, possible techs, and overall strategies for a common deck archetype called Porydonk. As I said in the Donk Decks Overview article, the strategy of Porydonk is to combine Porygon2's ability with Seeker to force your opponent to pick up all of the Pokemon from their bench. After this, the deck uses Drifblim, Pidgeot, Shiftry, etc. to remove the opponent's active Pokemon - giving you the win. It aims to do all of this in the first turn. It may be noted I found some of these lists elsewhere on the Internet.

This first deck list is pre-Rules Change so it uses Drifblim. This is what I personally use.

2-2 Porygon2 GE
1-1 Drifblim UD
4 Uxie LA
1 Regice LA
4 Sableye SF
1 Azelf LA
1 Rotom UD
Total Pokemon: 17

4 PokedexHandy910is
4 Pokedrawer+
4 Erika
4 Item Finder
4 Seeker
4 First Ticket
4 Scoop Up
1 Luxury Ball
1 Swoop! Teleporter
2 Broken Time Space
1 Computer Search
1 Oracle
1 Pokemon Collector
1 Windstorm
3 Professor Oak
2 Junk Arm
1 VS Seeker
Total Trainers: 42

1 Boost Energy
Total Energy: 1

This second deck list is post - Rules Change so it uses Shiftry.

2-2-2 Shiftry ND
2-2 Porygon2 GE
2 Uxie LA
4 Sableye SF
Total Pokemon: 16

4 Seeker
2 Oracle
4 Erika
4 Scoop Up
4 Pokedrawer+
2 Professor Oak
1 Luxury Ball
4 Level Ball
4 Item Finder
2 Junk Arm
4 Devolution Spray
2 VS Seeker
2 Broken Time Space
1 Pokemon Retriever
3 PokedexHandy910is
1 Computer Search
Total Trainers: 44

Total Energy: 0

This third list is, once again, pre-Rules Change.

1-1 Drifblim UD
2-2 Porygon2 GE
3 Uxie LA
2 Azelf LA
4 Sableye SF
4 Unown R LA
1 Rotom UD
1 Celebi ex P2
Total Pokemon: 21

3 Professor Oak
4 Erika
1 Computer Search
4 Pokedrawer+
3 Pokemon Communication
3 Level Ball
2 Junk Arm
1 Luxury Ball
4 Item Finder
4 Scoop Up
1 Pokemon Retriever
1 VS Seeker
1 Warp Point/Escape Rope
3 Seeker
2 Broken Time Space
Total Trainers: 37

2 Boost Energy
Total Energy: 2

The fourth list is pre - Rules Change.

4 Sableye SF
3 Uxie LA
2-2 Porygon2
1-1 Drifblim
4 Unown R LA
1 Regice LA
1 Rotom UD
Total Pokemon: 19

2 Broken Time Space
4 Seeker
1 Oracle
1 Pokemon Collector
4 Pokedrawer+
2 Scoop Up
4 Item Finder
2 Junk Arm
1 VS Seeker
1 Computer Search
1 Windstorm
1 Pokemon Retriever
4 Erika
4 Level Ball
2 PokedexHandy910is
4 First Ticket
1 Alph Lithograph (FOUR)
Total Trainers: 37

2 Boost Energy
Total Energy: 2

This fifth and final deck list has a lot of variety in it and is pretty interesting. It is pre - Rules Change.

2-2 Porygon2 GE
1-1 Drifblim UD
4 Sableye SF
4 Unown R LA
3 Uxie LA
1 Azelf LA
1 Rotom UD
1 Ditto FL
1 Crobat G PT
1 Regice LA
1 Celebi ex P2
Total Pokemon: 23

4 Erika
4 Pokedrawer+
4 Scoop Up
4 Item Finder
4 Seeker
3 Professor Oak
2 Oracle
2 Broken Time Space
2 Swoop! Teleporter
1 Luxury Ball
1 Computer Search
1 Pokemon Retriever
1 VS Seeker
1 Mr. Fuji
1 Windstorm
Total Trainers: 35

1 Special Darkness Energy
1 Boost Energy
Total Energy: 2

Now I will give a brief overview of the various cards listed above and their roles in this deck.

Porygon2: This is necessary for the deck's strategy.
Drifblim: This is necessary for the deck's strategy. (Pre-Rules Change)
Shiftry: This is necessary for the deck's strategy. (Post-Rules Change)
Sableye: Used for going first.
Uxie: Draw.
Regice: Used as a tech against Spiritomb AR.
Azelf: Used to retrieve Pokemon from your prize cards.
Rotom: Used to retrieve other cards from your prize cards.
Unown R: Draw.
Celebi ex: Set up for draw / Discard pile retrieval.
Ditto: Pokemon in discard pile retrieval.
Crobat G: Used for light damage if that is all that is necessary.

Erika: Draw.
Pokedrawer+: Draw.
PokeHandy910is: Draw.
Professor Oak: Draw.
Computer Search: Draw.
Broken Time Space: This is necessary for the deck's strategy.
Scoop Up: Used to reuse Uxie/Azelf/Rotom/Crobat G...
Mr. Fuji: Used to reuse Uxie/Azelf/Rotom/Crobat G...
Item Finder: Used to reuse various trainers.
Junk Arm: Used to reuse items.
Oracle: Used to combo with draw cards.
Pokemon Retriever: Pokemon in discard pile retrieval.
VS Seeker: Used to reuse Seeker/Retrieve supporters.
Windstorm: Used as a tech against Cessation Crystal, etc.
Swoop! Teleporter: Used to get Drifblim/Shiftry active.
Luxury Ball: Draw.
Level Ball: Draw.
First Ticket: Used for going first.
Alph Lithograph: Used to help with Rotom.
Pokemon Collector: Helpful for getting Pokemon like Uxie/Porygon. Also combined with Regice for tech against Spiritomb AR.
Pokemon Communication: Used to get more useful Pokemon.
Warp Point/Escape Rope: Used to help get Drifblim/Shiftry active.
Devolution Spray: Used to improve consistency with Shifty.
Seeker: This is necessary for the deck's strategy.

Boost Energy: Used with Drifblim for win. (pre-Rules Change)
Special Darkness Energy: Used with Sableye for light damage if necessary. (pre-Rules Change)

Hopefully this article helped anyone who read it out if they're building a Porydonk deck. As you can see, there are many creative and effective approaches that you can take. In order to find the best deck for you, I would recommend testing it multiple times. As always, thanks for reading!

-TRANG

Lock/Stall Decks Overview

This article will be just like the last one except for lock and stall decks instead of donk decks. Here goes...

Vilelock - One of the largest factors of having a successful deck is your search/draw power. Vilelock completely eliminates this as well as any other trainer cards your opponent wants to play. By using Dark Vileplume or Vileplume you can take control and continue attacking quickly with any Pokemon that has cheap attacks.

Muk ex - This deck is similar to Vileplume except it blocks PokePowers and PokeBodies. Since nearly every competitive deck in the unlimited format relies on these, this deck is extremely good. With cards like Expert Belt and some simple Grass Energy, this deck slowly destroys the opponent's Pokemon.

Spiritomb - This deck simply attempts to use Spirtomb, like most other lock decks, to lock the opponent's trainers while doing damage in various ways.

Muk - This deck is mostly inferior to Muk ex besides the fact that Muk also works on the bench so you can send a more efficient attacker out.

Total Lockdown - This deck, once fully set up, is nearly unstoppable. It prevents your opponent from playing any trainers and prevents your opponent from attacking, evolving, or using any PokePowers/PokeBodies. It does this through Aerodactyl + Aggron ex and Dark Vileplume.

Holon Lock - This deck is definitely a creative one. While not quite as competitive as the others, it is extremely fun to play and isn't too broken. The deck uses Golduck to prevent your opponent from playing stadiums and has Holon Circle in play. If they try to attack, use cards like Dark Porygon2 (or 4 of them) to get Holon Circle back into play. Using Unown Z, your opponent will probably run out of cards but you won't. Like I said earlier, this is a pretty fun deck to play even though it isn't quite as effective as some of the others. 

Hopefully this gave you a good idea of how various lock/stall decks work. As always, thanks for reading!

-TRANG

Card images come from previously sited sites as well as: PokeNoah

                                                                                     PrimeTimePokemon

Donk Decks Overview

This page will attempt to give a brief overview of various donk decks and how they function. Here it goes...

Porydonk - The goal of Porydonk is to eliminate all of your opponent's Pokemon on turn 1. It wipes out your opponent's bench by combining Seeker with Porygon2's PokePower. Each time you place Porygon2 down, it renews its ability. By continually placing Porygon2 down with Broken Time Space (BTS), you remove all of the opponent's bench. According to post black and white rules, you can't attack turn 1. Before the rules change, however, Drifblim with Boost Energy was commonly used to get rid of the opponent's active Pokemon. After the rules change, if you still want to win turn 1, you will have to replace Drifblim with a Pokemon like Shiftry, even though it is harder to set up.

Sabledonk - Sabledonk also eliminates all of your opponent's Pokemon (or wins by taking six prize cards). Like in most donk decks, Sableye is your ideal starter since it lets you go first. The goal of Sabledonk is to use cards like Crobat G, Jolteon ex, Jolteon Star, Zapdos, and Unown ! combined with Scoop Up, Mr. Fuji, Super Scoop Up, Devolution Spray, and PokeTurn to drop a large amount of damage counters on your opponent's Pokemon. Crobat G is probably the most useful of these cards.

Spread - This is, personally, one of my favorite donk decks to play. It uses Emboar or Blastoise combined with Espeon to repetitively access various effects. In order to do damage, it uses Forretress. In order to draw, it uses Shuckle. In order to heal, it uses Leafeon. This is a fun deck to play as well as an effective one.

These are the main donk decks that I have had experience with although I am sure their are many others. Hopefully you are interested in some of these decks. I will write individual articles on each of them. As always, thanks for reading!

-TRANG

Card images come from previously sited sites as well as: Hey Trainer

                                                                                     Play Here

                                                                                     Collector's Cache