With September fast approaching us the Pokemon TCG is about to undergo a massive meta shift. The era of fast moving dominate basic decks is about to be left behind as we shift into a more thought out format with the return of stage 2 decks. So whats this mean for current and future decks?
The loss of key searching cards like Collector and Dual Ball aim to slow us down alot and mass searching of Pokemon will be set back to Pokemon attacks like Call For Family (Emolga DRE). Decks like Zekeels will take a hit because of this as its no longer easy for them to just drop a bunch of Tynamo and other threats in one turn for few cards. With that in mind here are some decks to be on the look out for come September
Garchomp/Altaria
For those of you who don't keep up with the meta game outside of North America this deck along with Hydreigon/Darkrai EX has been ripping up Japans meta with its intense speed and hard hitting for low energy attacks. Garchomp packs a 140 hp with weakness to Dragon and one retreat, with its attacks doing 60 for a [Fi] with a special energy discard and then 100 for a [W] and a [Fi] with a minor setback of 2 of your top cards from your deck being discarded. Now that might not seem like a lot, However when you add Altaria to the mix it gets interesting. Altarias ability Battle Song increases all your Dragon Type Pokemons attacks by 20 and it stacks so with 2 Altaria on the field your Garchomp is suddenly hitting for 100 for 1 and 140 for 2. Even more broken is the fact that Gabite has the ability Dragon Call which searches your deck for any Dragon type. With its blinding speed and hard hitting attacks this deck is looking to become the Best Deck In Format (BDIF).
Hydreigon/Darkrai EX
This deck will be Garchomps main competition come September first, like it has done in Japan (This deck won Japans Nationals Equivalent, Battle Carnival). This deck operates very much like Klinklang only without the mass array of EX attackers. Hydreigon's Dark Trance ability allows for the moving of Dark Energy as often as you like (keep in mind this also means Prism and the soon to be released Blend Energy(G,R,P,D)). This means that like Klinklang you can make good use of powerful healing cards like Max Potion to keep you going. This deck also gets Energy acceleration in the form of Dark Patch, which combines very nicely with Hydreigon's attack Dragon Blast which for a [P][D][D][C] does 140 with a 2 [D] discard. Also another bonus to this deck is due to the fact it runs Blend energy you can run strong underlooked attackers like Shaymin EX. Hydreigon/Darkrai is looking to create as big of a splash in our meta as it has overseas.
Empoleon Variants
Empoleon is a deck that has been seeing play since its release in Dark Explorers and a slower format could be just what the Pokemon Doctor orders so to speak. Empoleons ability Diving Draw always allows you to have a usable hand which is a big deal in a game where one bad turn can kill you in the end. Attack Command is the definition of mass damage for low cost doing 10 for every Pokemon in play for 1 measly [W].The lighting weakness is bad right now but it might not be come September when a slower format might hinder Zekeels, However even if that deck stays popular Empoleon is often partnered up with Terrakion which counters your weakness quite nicely. I myself have been testing this deck alot and i can honestly say its a beast once it gets going.
Ninetales/ Amoonguss
I cant say for sure if this deck will be a contender or a flash in the pan,but its a interesting deck to say the least. This deck uses Amoonguss's Sporprise ability to force Confusion and Poison on your opponent then uses Ninetales attack Cursed Flame to do 20+ 50 for each special condition on the defending Pokemon for a total of 120 for one energy. The soon to be reprinted Deevolution Spray will allow you to reuse Sporprise as well as Ninetales ability Bright Look (think Luxray GL Lv.X). The fact that this entire deck is searchable by Level Ball makes it that much better. Though one must becareful since your entire deck is 90 HP Pokemon it will be very easy for your opponent to overtake you.
Darkrai Variants
Now aside from the forementioned Hydreigon/Darkai EX there are a variety of other Darkrai Variants. Darkrai/Tornadus can still hit hard and fast and given the right build can perform turn 1 donks. Hammertime Darkrai is always a threat, being able to hit fast and keep your opponent from mounting a comeback with its collection of Crushing and Enhanced Hammers. Darkrai/Groudon/Terrakion (insert whatever here cause Darkrai is just awesome) decks will always be a threat to the game and the loss of certain cards doesn't really hinder this deck at all.
Zekeels
This is perhaps the most interesting deck in this new format, for many reasons. Zekeels dominated the middle of last format and was still a force in the later half. However the loss of cards like Dual Ball and Collector I feel hurt this deck the most. Its now become harder for a Zekeels deck to put out multiple Tynamo's without missing out on setting up a secondary attacker. It will also be easier for decks to snipe off those Tynamo's if your opponent is dropping them in smaller numbers a turn.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for what September has in store for Pokemon players. This new Black and White on format is shaping up to be perhaps the most competitive format in recent history.
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