Monday, December 12, 2011

Timosoininilmaveivistrippibaarijouni.dec


Hello all The Deck Out followers!


Today’s update is about a fun deck called “Timosoininilmaveivistrippibaarijouni” (Just try to pronounce it correctly). Yes -  that’s what we call the deck in Finland. However, you may know the deck as Sharpedo/Victini.

It’s fun to build rogues even though this deck could be considered as a metagame deck as well. In fact, in Finland the deck gained so much popularity because of its name that it has its own Facebook site where you can like it: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Timosoininilmaveivistrippibaarijouni/281490075203076

I don’t believe that this deck can win tournaments unless the player has a very good flipping day but it’s competitive nonetheless and can win any deck in the format when it’s getting decently lucky. 

Let’s get started with the skeleton list of Timosoininilmaveivistrippibaarijouni.






Pokemon:


4x Carvanha
3x Sharpedo
3x Main attacker basic
3x Main attacker stage1
2x Victini(Victory Star)
1x Cleffa
1-2x Zorua
1-2x Zoroark
=18-20


Trainer:

4x Collector
1x Pokegear 3.0.
4x Pokémon Communication
4x Profesor Juniper
4x PONT
2x Switch
2x Pokémon Catcher
3x PlusPower
4x Junk Arm
=28

Energy:

4x Special Darkness Energy
4x Double Colorless Energy
3x Basic Darkness Energy / Rainbow Energy
1x Rescue Energy
=12


As you can see this is hardly a skeleton even though I called it a skeleton list. I think the trainer and energy lines are pretty optimal in this list but the only thing that requires tweaking is the Pokémon lines. In this article I will introduce many different strategies and attackers for this deck. The deck’s got a lot of versatility so it’s best to make most of it.



Strategy

Most of you know the strategy already very well. The strategy is to combine Sharpedo’s Strip Bare attack and Victini’s ability Victory Star in order to destroy your opponent’s hand in T2. Normally the chance to get double heads with Strip Bare is 25% but thanks to Victory Star the odds rise to 43,75%. This is still under 50/50 chance but the testing has proved that ii practice it means that you’ll get almost every time double heads already from the first Strip Bare.

When your opponent starts his or her 2nd or 3rd turn with a zero-card hand, you have very good odds to win the game. However, this requires that your opponent won’t topdeck something like a Juniper from the topdeck. You can manipulate your opponent deck with Slowking, which I’ll introduce later on in this article but as you can see this list doesn’t play it. Why, you ask? I’ll explain that later on as well.

So after you have destroyed your opponent’s hand, you start attacking with your main attacker which may be any hard hitting – easy to get to play Pokémon. You must destroy your opponent before he/she is even able to set-up or get a decent prize lead before he/she has a chance of coming back to game. I’ll introduce the main attacker options now.



Main attacker options


Cinccino

Cinccino is my favorite attacker for this deck because it’s a stage1 Pokémon with a maximum damage of 100. Cinccino requires a full bench, which only combos more with this deck because you need to have Victini on your bench. If you want to run Slowking, in my opinion Cinccino is your only option as a main attacker because you will run out of bench space very fast with all of the different Pokémon on your bench.

Cinccino is very easy to get to play and it fits this deck because it’s not a tank but a very quick and fragile attacker. However, in this deck quick and fragile attacker is all you need because your opponent won’t have a chance of attacking. Once they are able to set-up their game, you have a decent prize lead and are able to win the game by just prize racing.



Tornadus

The great thing about Tornadus is that you can easily set-up it T3 if you didn’t have to retreat to get Sharpedo as an active Pokémon. However, if you want to run Tornadus as a main attacker of this deck you need to max out the Catchers. Tornadus’ base damage isn’t huge and you need to cripple your opponent’s set-up with Strip Bare AND Catchers.

Tornadus has also decent amount of problems with Legendary Digimons because if you attack them, they can just Outrage you back. For this you need to play either Eviolites or a thicker line like 2-2 or 3-3 Zoroark. There is nothing better than countering Reshiram and Zekrom with Zoroark. Also countering Kyurem with Zoroark can end the game very quickly. Just imagine your opponent’s bench full of low HP Basic Pokémon all waiting to get KOed by Glaciate.

Tornadus has also a resistance for Fighting which may prove very useful. Zoroark and Cinccino both have weakness for Fighting so they are in trouble when facing a deck that play Donphan Prime and is able to set-up it before you can Strip Bare their hand away. Tornadus 2HKOs Donphan and you are able not to give your opponent a prize card which is huge asset with a deck like this because you don’t want to give your opponent any extra cards.


Ursaring Prime


3rd we have Ursaring Prime. Just like Cinccino and Tornadus it’s once again Colorless type. The body of it combos very well with Rainbow Energy because after you attach a DCE to it its Hammer Arm attack starts hitting for 90. 90 doesn’t OHKO anything in this format but the effect of Hammer Arm is what makes Ursaring Prime playable. It dicards the top deck of your opponent. This combos very well with this deck’s idea and if you combine it with Slowking and its Power you can control the game as you wish. The only problem with Ursaring is that it hits for 90 and it has 110 HP. And 90 +20 =110 So, once again you are having huge problems with Outrageing legendary Digimons. If you hit any Legendary Digimon with Hammer Arm, they can instantly OHKO you back with Outrage. That’s just bad.



If I’d have to choose what to play as a main attacker for this deck, I would go with Ciniccino. It’s fast and needs low energy cost for this deck. In my opinion it’s perfect. Combined with Zoroark you’re able to win a prize race easily if you get a 2-3 prize lead.



Card choices of the skeleton list



Sharpedo

Sharpedo line is 4-3 because in every game you want to open with Carvanha. You don’t probably need Sharpedo after you have nailed the double heads with Strip Bare once but in order to get it T2, you need to play a thick line of them. Sometimes even Rage can do an ok amount of damage so you may need Sharpedo in the late game as well.

When it comes to Strip Baring, you may need to do it more than once, if your opponent is lucky and you don’t run Slowking. The deck has capabilities to hit Strip Bare many times during the time so you don’t have to scoop if you miss the first two Strip Bare flips. Thick Sharpedo line may come in handy in many different situations. Strip Bare is also a very good option to get an easy prize against Baby Pokémon because with Special Darkness Energy on Sharpedo or with 1 PlusPower, you’re able to OHKO a Baby with Strip Bare and have a chance of flipping double heads once again. It’s highly effective against Babies like Cleffa, which try to refresh your opponent’s hand.




Victini(Victory Star)

The only purpose of Victini is to make you reflip the Strip Bare flips. You need 2 because you don’t want to lose if 1 is prized. Also, if you miss your first to Strip Bare flips and your opponent kills your Victini with Cather, you can easily recover by just searching the 2nd Victini to your bench. 2 is a perfect number for this one.



Cleffa

Sometimes you get dead hands with only Collector, useless trainers and energy on them. Cleffa’s greatness is highlighted in this deck because even with a Collector in hand you may be able to get the T2 Strip Bare. With Collector you can search for a Cleffa and 2 Carvanhas (in case of Catchers) and you will probably draw all you need for T2 Strip Bare from Eeeeeek. Cleffa also has the free retreat which may save you from disastrous Slowpoke starts if you opt to run Slowking in your list.

Zoroark

Zoroark is here to finish the job for the parts where the main attacker can’t. Zoroark is mainly used to counter the Legendary Digimons. With PlusPower you can OHKO full HP Reshirams and Zekroms which with your opponent may try to buy time.

Zoroark is also a perfect card for a prize race if your opponent is able to set-up regardless of your Strip Bare heads. Also, as mentioned before, if you’re facing a Kyurem deck, Zoroark will be very deadly. bench full of unevolved Basic Pokémons is very dangerous to your opponent as long as your opponent has Kyurem active. You just copy glaciate 2 times and take few too easy prizes and make everything to the OHKO range of your main attacker.

Zoroark’s versatility has no match and for this deck it’s more than perfect. Testing has proved that Zoroark is a tech you can’t miss if you want to make a decent result with this deck. Try it out and see for yourself. 





Collector - Pokegear 3.0. -Pokémon Communication

This deck only Cleffa to set-up T2. This can be done in various ways but of course there is no better set-upping supporter than Collector. Communications are also maxed out so you’ll get the T2 Sharpedo whenever you need it (mainly in T2).

Profesor Juniper - PONT

While your opponent can’t draw anything thanks to your Strip Bare, you use 2 of the best draw card the format has. You need both of these in order to get your deck going fast and for getting the T2 Strip Bare. Juniper is the best straight draw there is and PONT is the best Shuffle & Draw there is. As tempting as it sounds you can’t play N in this deck. The reason for this is Strip Bare. Once you have depleted your opponent hand with Strip Bare, you can’t use N – you would just give your opponent a new hand! Same goes with Judge.



Junk Arm

I’m lovin’ it.

Switch

Running Switc in this deck may seem weird because the deck has only low retreat cost Pokémon. However, Switches’ only function in this deck is to guarantee the T2 Strip Bare. Switch may come in handy in situations where you open with Slowpoke or your Cleffa decides to take a longer nap. You may run even 3 Switches if you have room for it because you really need the T2 Strip Bare no matter what.

Pokémon Catcher

Catcher doesn’t’ play a big role in this deck because this deck just tries to run through your opponent’s low HP Basic Pokémon. The only walling Pokémon your opponent may have are Legendary Digimons that’s why you have Zoroark for. However, Catcher may come in handy in many situations and there is no reason not to play Catcher in this deck. With 4 Junk Arms you are able to use Catchers whenever you need them.

PlusPower

It has been a while that PlusPower was even included in my entries. The amount of PlusPowers is pretty low in the current format because stage1 decks aren’t as popular as they used to be. The stage1 decks are the best decks to utilize PlusPowers and that’s the reason why this deck needs them as well.

The Pokémon that needs the most PlusPowers in this deck is Zoroark. If Zoroark wants to counter legendary Digimons for real, it needs to hit 130 with Foul Play. This can only happen with the help of PlusPower. PlusPower is especially devastating when it’s combined with Special Darkness Energy and even Sharpedo can become a fearsome attacker thanks to these.


Energy

This deck needs DCE because all its main and secondary attacker abuse DCE very well. Even Sharpedo can use DCE for its Rage attack. However, you need to run enough Darkness/Rainbow Energy to get the Darkness Energy whenever you need it (mainly in T2). The T2 is the make or break turn for this deck. You have a great chance of winning if you get everything you need by T2 and if you don’t the game will become more and more difficult for your each turn until you succeed in Strip Bare.

The energy in this deck serve 2 main purposes: getting darkness energy T2 and getting DCE T3. There is also a tech Rescue Energy that might come in handy in many situations.




Teches and optional strategies

There are lot of more to this deck than just the ordinary build. The deck can use many different attackers, support Pokemons and even different strategies to win games. There are also lots of optional trainer teches that this deck can consider, which can make the deck better. Here is a list of them.


Slowking(HGSS)

I’ve mentioned Slowking and Slowpoke many times during this entry. The reason for this is that playing Slowking is very tempting. You can get a complete lock on your opponent with a help of Slowking’s Power which lets you arrange the topdeck of your opponent. However, we need to be realistic here. Getting T2 Victini, Strip Bare double heads and Slowking isn’t an easy task to do. No matter how doof your list is. Many players think that running Slowking isn’t worth it because it hurts the deck’s consistency and it slows the deck down. Also, Slowpoke is a horrid starter with a retreat of 2. If you want to run Slowking in this deck, I suggest running 1-1 line and not to rely too much on it. It’s a good addition for this deck but you must be very careful with it.

Victini (V-Blast) and Victini (V-create)

THE V-Blast was in my original list but I soon dropped it to find more space for more important things. V-Blast can hit serious 120 damage with only 1 energy but of course it requires double heads for it. S if you’re up to more flipping V-Blast Victini is card just for you.

V-create Victini is a even more fragile version of Cinccino. It can hit for 100 damage if your bench is full but it only has 70 HP. It only requires Rainbow energy to hit V-Create so that makes the HP to 60 because of Rainbow Energy. This can be a great addition if you feel like you are having getting Cinccinos out in a quick enough manner.

Swanna (Air Slash) and Basculin (Final Gambit)

Swanna and Basculin can OHKO Donphans which is the main nemesis of this deck but they also OHKO every fire Pokémon from Reshiram to Typhlosion. Swanna is a stage1 Pokémon but it has more HP and resistance to fighting whereas Basculin is a Basic but has 10 less HP. Basculin may also kill itself but it’s highly unlikely because of Victini and that’s why I think it could be fit into this deck.


Super Rod

Super Rod is a friend of every tech lover in the Pokémon TCG. With Super Rod you can get even 1-1 lines attacking again and again thanks to Super Rod. If you feel like teching your Timosoininilmaveivistrippibaarijouni at the max, Super Rod is a very good card for this deck.

Unown Dark

Unown Dark is a very good card for this deck. It can guarantee you the Darkness Energy whenever you need it can at the same time it fills up your bench. However, as a starter it’s horrible. It’s up to you if you feel like playing it. Remember, for every basic you run, the chances of opening with a good starter decrease.

Energy Exchange Unit

EEU is a card that can get you the energy you need whenever you need. It’s better than Unown Dark because it can change your Darkness Energy to DCEs and the other way around. However, you can’t search for EEU so it isn’t as consistent as Unown Dark. You can reuse it from the discard pile with Junk Arm so it’s really up to you which you like better Unown Dark or Energy Exchange Unit.

Tyrogue

I am ashamed of myself even having this card in the tech list. But I have to face the fact. This deck runs PlusPower and Junk Arms and it’s also irritating enough to play against so why not to make it a bit more irritating by increasing the chances of winning T1. Tyrogue is also one free retreating Pokémon more so it’sa good starter as long as you don’t have to open only with it.



Deeper in to the deck and match-ups

Once the list is ready and all-teched, it’s time to look how does the deck manage the gameplay. The way to build this deck correctly is to build it without an autolose factor. If you can’t get the Strip Bare out in a quick fashion, you may just go challenging your opponent in a prize race. It’s difficult but it’s by no means impossible. Cinccino/Zoroark is a great prize racing combo and combined with PlusPowers they can take down Legendary Digimons as well. All you need to do is be fast enough to crush your opponent with Strip Bare or without Strip Bare.

The usual mistake that Timosoninilmaveivistrippibaarijouni –deck builders usually do is that they build the deck in a way that loses if they don’t get Strip Bare T2. Timosoninilmaveivistrippibaarijouni can be a competitive deck if you take time building and tweaking it. Most people consider this as only a fun deck but I think it can be more than that. Fun can be competitive without a huge amount of luck as well.

Of course this deck has some issues. First, this deck is in huge problems if your opponent manages to set-up an Magnezone. Magnetic Draw negates the effect of Strip Bare and the only way for you to win after Magnezone Prime has come into play is by prize race. This is possible because Yanmega is a low HP attacker (only 110 HP, lol). Also, you can get rid of your opponent’s Magnezone with Zoroark’s Foul Play but that way you can activate their Twins and a 2nd Magnezone is just probable to go up.

Cleffa can also cause this deck problems – as long as it doesn’t wake up. The great thing about Strip Bare is that it does 30 damage with Special Dark or PlusPower. This can OHKO cleffa so whenever your opponent tries to recover with Eeeeek, you can just counter them with Strip Bare and kill the Cleffa at the same time. However, you still need the double heads for it but I still consider that a very good option.


Conclusion

I’m not the first and probably I won’t be the last to cover this deck in the internet and that’s because it really can compete in this metagame. As I said in the beginning it isn’t a tier1 deck but in a versatile metagame like this you don’t have to be tier1 in order to do well.

I hope that this entry gave you a lot of think about and that it really opened your eyes how versatile this deck can really be. The versatility is something than only few decks can match in this format. If you’re looking for a fun deck that can take you all the way to the top cut this may be a very good option.


Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!



19 comments:

  1. V-Create requires [RC], so just a Rainbow Energy isn't enough for this Pokémon to attack.

    Flipping is always a fun thing. Strip Bare is double flip move. With a Victory Star you can flip twice more. Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! :)

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  2. I made a version of this deck with Sharpedo+Lilligant that worked decently well but was underwhelming. I was gonna revisit the idea with Cincinno as an attacker, but for some reason my mind completely skipped over Zoroark! xD

    Awesome entry Esa. I look forward to making my friends go "bluh?" when I face them with this deck :P

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  3. *read about Ursaring*
    *check the scan*
    *goes down on Comment box*
    It discards one card from the top of the opponent's deck, not the hand.
    *go back to the reading*
    *ok, it's just a typo*

    I don't know if it's me, but on the picture Sharpedo looks like he is shouting air from the mouth and aspiring it from behind. Weird.

    Anyway, thank you for the article !

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  4. I'd also add that the odds of ONE successful Strip Bare after two tries is technically ~68%, so it's not terrible, but that's almost like saying you have a 30% chance to lose.

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  5. So... what's the story behind this name ? Does it mean something in Finnish ? I presume the "strippibaar" comes from Strip Bare, but what about the rest ? ^^

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  6. To correctly dig into the name of the deck, we first need to split it into four parts, each reflecting Finnish at it's finest.

    Timo Soinin = Timo Soini's, the leader of the political party of traditional Finlanders, True Finns. He himself basically bumped the party's popularity in the last election from somewhere around 3% to 18%, so he has been a very visible face in today's politics in Finland.

    Ilmaveivi = Airhook. This was what the goal made by Mikael Granlund in semi finals match against Russia in the Ice Hockey World Championships this year, which Finland ended up winning. Check more here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRROpiNAvPw

    Strippibaari = You could think that this is just Strip Bare, but it's also a finnish term for a bar or restaurant with striptease shows. The double meaning does it here.

    Jouni = ...well, he's a character in Finnish Pokémon scene. That's pretty much all I dare to say about it. :D

    Put together into an awesomely long, tasty and all-inclusive word, this really describes the characteristics of the Pokémon TCG scene we are upholding in Finland today.

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  7. Well, time to run 4 Bianca.

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  8. Not a bad explanation, but man you really need someone to proofread these for you. It's full of typos and redundancy, no offense :(

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  9. Have you ever considered Audino as the main attacker in this deck I hear Audino placed at a big cities thus year

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  10. Finaly my favourite article!!! I remember when me and tapsa make that timosoininilmaveivistrippibaarijouni

    t: Mint Nature

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  11. Tonu: Yeah, I meant that you only needed one Rainbow and 1 any energy. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

    Crawdaunt: Great you liked it! Have fun playing it.

    Zarmakuizz: Thanks for the correction, it was a completely brain fart from me.

    Luby: Anonymoys explained it correctly.

    Mekkah: Yeah my bad, I double-checked it quickly before I released it but it still had too many errors and typos even for my scale. I must be sharper next time, thanks for comments, I'll try to develop my English skills all the time!

    Anonymous: Audino sounds fun, never thought of that in this deck. Worth a try nonetheless. I just wouldn't make this deck any flippier :D

    Mint Nature: Glad you enjoyed it!


    Thanks for all the comments and especially for the corrections - there shouldn't be that many mistakes. Keep em' coming!

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  12. Anonymous explained the whole name very well, but the "ilmaveivi" -part was lacking some critical information. It is true that everyone added the word "ilmaveivi" here in Finland after certain words, but in this case the ilmaveivi comes from the complex hand movements you have to make to completely master the technique of getting double heads from Strip Bare. We have done some trailblazing research to find the perfect words to increase the chance of getting double heads and saying them aloud while announcing the attack is essential, but the rest is up to the player's spirit and willpower.

    I sincerely thank you for this article.

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  13. If you have a 43% chance of the effect going off, how can you claim it will "almost always" go off the first time? Doesn't make any sense.

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  14. Anonymous: Glad you liked it!

    Anonymous: That's a very good question but you must remember that probabilites are only math. Probablities are only probabilities and they're only directional when it comes to real life. I get my hand usually destroyed in the first Strip Bare. And yes, you're correct, it doesn't make sense. Probabilites don't make sense.

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  15. Esa, I think you're darn good in math >:D

    Flow and thw will to win are what you need. In any game that is about probablities. If you have succeeded escaping from a awlful situation in a game before, you're more likely to do it again. Because you trust that you'll do it.

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  16. Lol seems like I made an awful deal of typos. Never mind f3.

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  17. How can you counter ZPST with this deck?

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  18. Waker: Indeed

    Anonymous: I think Zoroark is needed because it counters Zekrom very well. If your metagame is very Zekrom heavy you can think of even teching in Terrakion and some rainbows. Zekrom isn't that difficult match-up if you manage to delete their hand in T2. They don't have that big of a hand and that's why one Terrakion can be very devastating against them.

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  19. In Germany this Deck is called "PedoLock"

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