Hey, thanks for sharing your decklist.
As an avid fan of Archie's Blastoise I was delighted to see how well the deck performed at the Dallas Regionals. Although based on the recent bans I'm a bit afraid that Archie is going to be hit with the hammer next time, if the streak continues.
Since I've played Wailord pretty much exclusively in the past months I can't compare your list to mine and instead going to use the one from Kyle Pallman (5
th place in Dallas).
First and foremost, the list:
Pokemon - 14
2 Blastoise BCR 31
2 Magikarp & Wailord-GX PR-SM 166
1 Kingdra-GX DRM 18
1 Volcanion Prism Star FLI 31
3 Shaymin-EX ROS 77
2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60
2 Exeggcute PLF 4
1 Giratina LOT 97
Trainer - 35
2 Archie's Ace in the Hole PRC 124
1 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
1 N FCO 105
1 Guzma BUS 115
1 Fisherman BKT 136
4 VS Seeker PHF 109
4 Ultra Ball SUM 135
4 Battle Compressor PHF 92
4 Trainers' Mail ROS 92
4 Order Pad UPR 131
4 Superior Energy Retrieval PLF 103
1 Field Blower GRI 125
1 Computer Search BCR 137
2 Choice Band GRI 121
1 Silent Lab PRC 140
Energy - 11
11 Water Energy 3
It should also be noted that I looked at every list in the top 32, as the archetype represented a solid 25% of the field with 8 entries.
The biggest deviations between the list were the number of energy (10-11), the choice of the supporter toolbox, as well as the choice of Lugia GX as a secondary / tertiary attacker.
It should be noted that the tournament was played before the release of Team Up, so it is difficult to compare the list to yours, simply because certain threats weren't around in Dallas.
Starting with trainers, I personally really like Tate & Liza, especially if you run situational attackers like Onix / Eeve&Snor. Sure, getting the normal retreat with them isn't that difficult, but wasting 4 energy to get their fat ***** out of the active feels so unnecessary. With the lose of good old Keldeo I'd argue that two supporters that allow you to switch (Guzma + Tate) are a necessity.
Since the trainer are pretty much fixed (there is certainly an argument if you need 4 SER + Fischerman, or if you can stick to 3-1, but other than that everything is fixed – I too hate hitting multiple of them on turn one, even though they are amongst the safest ways to ensure a turn one empty hand), I'd argue to ***** in favour of Tate. While I love the disruptive power of N I honestly can't remember an situation with Archie's where a well timed N was the key to victory.
I like the idea behind Acerola, however I'm not a fan of running 5 additional supporter.
At the same time I can't find a way in my head to drop Juniper from the list as well. Guess I'll have to test a bit with both setups to see which feels more comfortable.
Now, onto your Pokemon:
I really, really dislike Eeve&Snor. I can understand your argument, but based on my experience with the deck it feels more like a gimmick, rather than a must have. Naturally it all depends on the meta and under the right circumstances it could be a nice tech, but at the moment I simply don't see it.
Onix has the same issue. Granted, I haven't played much with the new expansion, so I don't know how common Pikachu / Eevee Tag Teams are, but I fail to see how this is necessary. You said it yourself: it's difficult to OHKO our main attacker and thanks to the tempo advantage of Blastoise we are in the driving seat for most of the game anyway. I simply fail to see why we need a Pokemon that is a great tech against certain decks and a waste of space against other.
Based on this I'd personally end up with this list:
****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******
##Pokémon - 14
* 3 Shaymin-EX ROS 106
* 2 Exeggcute PLF 4
* 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60
* 1 Articuno ROS 17
* 2 Magikarp & Wailord-GX TEU 161
* 1 Volcanion {*} FLI 31
* 2 Blastoise PLS 137
* 1 Kingdra-GX DRM 18
##Trainer Cards - 36
* 2 Archie's Ace in the Hole PRC 157
* 1 Professor Sycamore STS 114
* 1 Guzma BUS 115
* 1 Fisherman BKT 136
* 4 VS Seeker ROS 110
* 1 Tate & Liza CES 148
* 1 Red Card XY 124
* 4 Ultra Ball PLB 90
* 4 Battle Compressor Team Flare Gear PHF 92
* 4 Trainers' Mail AOR 100
* 4 Order Pad UPR 131
* 3 Superior Energy Retrieval PLF 103
* 1 Field Blower GRI 125
* 1 Computer Search BCR 137
* 2 Choice Band BUS 162
* 1 Acerola BUS 112
* 1 Professor's Letter BKT 146
##Energy - 10
* 10 Water Energy HS 117
Total Cards - 60
****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******
Red Card is a personal favourite of mine in this deck and replaces the Silent Lab (which I also really like).
I have to test 10 energy + 3 SER + 1 Letter vs. 11 +3 +1 vs.11 +4 +1 vs. 11 +4 +0.
10 energy has served me well in the past, but with the new attacker this might change.
Lastly, I opted to run Articuno over Onix, Lugia GX, Eeve&SNnor etc.
The ability to take 2 prizes of a baby Pokemon validates an inclusion in my opinion over the other alternatives.
I'll keep you updated once I get to test the list a bit.
The shadows of the abyss are like the petals of a monstrous flower that shall blossom within the skull and expand the mind beyond what any man can bear, but whether it decays under the earth or above on green fields, or out to sea or in the very air, all shall come to revelation, and to revel, in the knowledge of the strangling fruit - and the hand of the sinner shall rejoice, for there is no sin in shadow or in light that the seeds of the dead cannot forgive...
