Featured Writer: Petri "Kumis" Tommila - Kumis.dec

Hello everyone!

Golden Catcher is one of the key
cards of Kumis.dec

I said that I tried to make an article of my Nationals deck for today’ entry but fortunately hadn’t time for that. Because thank to that I have a more interesting article for you today! As you could see from the title, the following article isn’t written by me but the builder and player of the most interesting deck of Finnish Nationals (Mismagius/Vileplume/teches). I like to call the deck simply just Kumis.dec.

Anyways, Kumis will introduce himself in the article but first I want to say a few words about him and his deck in the beginning. He always comes up with great rogue decks in every single tournament and they are usually decks that anyone can even think of. He is also the only person to eliminate me from winning in the Finnish Nationals EVER. Ironically, this was in year 2008 when I had my best finish in the World Championships (top8). There is nothing more I need to say, so let me introduce you: Kumis and his Kumis.dec!

Hello you all silly little players. For reasons unknown, my 4th. place deck in Finland Nationals provoked some talk around the intrawebz. Many have been curious about the deck, the decklist and how it actually works. So I find that it is my solemn duty to write a sort of article about this pile of expensive cards.

First let’s talk about everyone's favorite subject, Me.

Too old for pokémon, male, from Finland, been playing since Base Set, 3 times 4th in Finland Nationals is pretty much everything I have achieved in this game. I spent way too much time thinking how broken some cards would be in Unlimited format and always end-up finding the current format "boring" and "if you don't play metagame, you can't win". I rarely play metagame in tournaments, always trying to build up a rouge deck or a metagame-deck with a little twist of lemon.

History of the Deck:


There is a term surrounding the deck called Kumis.dec. Term Kumis.dec originates from times when Finns played Pokémon TCG through internet and all deck files where labeld something.dec. In those times I played somewhat successfully some weird rogue decks that no one knew how to play against. But those decks are not important now, this deck is the talk of today.

I had an idea of a similar concept, with free retreats, energy manipulation -> Seeker healing.Idea was to run Vileplume, Mismagius (Klingklang when it came out), Dodrio and some attackers. At that time there weren't really any of that sort hart hitters, expect Legendary Dogs, plus setting up 2 Stage 1 pokémons and 1 Stage 2 while attacking effectively was, well impossible.

It wasn't really till the Darkrai was released that I started thinking about the deck. Also there were many basic pokémon that were capable of dealing lots of damage with just 2 or 3 energy, thus making the concept viable. After a lot of test games and edits I was finally satisfied with the decks performance, even though many other players were suspicious about the decks performance.

Everything went better than expected!

Deck: Kumis.dec (Finland Nationals 2012 version) aka. Vileplume Corners (Vileplume/Mismagius/Darkrai EX/Mewtwo EX/Terrakion/Shaymin EX)
All this text and the list: Petri "Kumis" Tommila
Date: May 2012.
Format: HGSS - DEX

Just to say, this is the exact list I played in the Nationals. I have a little section down there somewhere that has some cards I'd switch knowing what I know now.

Pokémon:

3x Oddish UD
2x Vileplume UD
3x Misdreavus UD
3x Mismagius UL
2x Darkrai ex DEX
2x Mewtwo ex NEX
2x Terrakion NVI
1x Shaymin ex NEX
1x Heatmor DEX
1x Smeargle UD
1x Cleffa HS

= 21

Supporter:

4x Pokémon Collector
3x Sage's Training
3x Professor Oak's New Theory
3x N
2x Twins
2x Seeker
4x Pokémon Communication
4x Rare Candy
1x The Golden Catcher

=26

Energy:

4xRainbow Energy
4xPrism Energy
2xSpecial Dark
3xDCE

= 13

The Card Choices:

3 Oddish UD

To be honest, in this deck starting with oddish has some potential. We are running 8 energies that Oddish can use for a chance to get Vileplume in to your hand. Later on the energy can be transferred to your attacking Pokémon.

Only problem is the ridiculously low HP, so Oddish is easily eradicated T1/2 with Mewtwo EX or Zekrom with few PlusPowers. Playing 3 Oddish over 2 or 4 should just be common sense.

2 Vileplume UD

The current metagame counter. That's how I see it. All the decks that are dominating the current scene, Zekrom, Darkrai, CMT, etc. are really really dependant on their trainers.

Most CMT play only 8 or so supporters in their decks, so early Vileplume shuts those decks down really easily.

Darkrai-decks on the other hand can't play any Dark Patch thus slowing their fast energy acceleration next to nothing.  2 most important cards that it counters are Plus Power and Pokémon Catcher, with you being able to calculate without a doubt the damage your opponent is capable to do.

Second great importance with Vileplume is its attack and how effective it is against Terrakion. With the decks energy manipulation you can freely move the rainbow energies to and from Vileplume, making attacking with it a viable option. 120HP and free retreat gives Vileplume also a possibility to take a hit or so, giving you time to setup.

I've played 2-4 Vileplume and decided to go with only 2, instead of a safe 3, which I've played the most. Only reason to play 3 Vileplume was Durant or fear that they'd go to prizes. Against Durant I teched Heatmor and decided that 2 Plumes would be enough against another deck. I could have played a Gloom, but I found that my needs to get Plume as fast and as surely as possible was with 4 Rare Candy.

3 Misdreavus UD

There were two Misdreavus in the format, this and other one with lower HP and a little bit weaker attack. Though Dual Draw also assists your opponent, if required you could still get some easy cards in turn 1. That help especially with getting the early Vileplume.

3 Mismagius UL

The energy switch for every turn with rainbow/prism energy. Purely awesome and absolutely one of the most underrated powers of all time. Number of uses with this power in this deck is just ridiculous: Gives free retreat to anyone, gives an extra energy for attack, removes energies for later use from a pokémon you're going to sacrife, rainbow energy can deal damage to any pokemon instead of the pokemon it is played.

Just to name, sudden Terrakion or Shaymin EX that just happens to get 2 energies in one turn is game breaking. And what I realised during the tournament is the power behind Mismagius HP and resistance. It can take a hit from Tornadus/Tornadus EX, giving you a freehit for 30 damage.

Darkness weakness on the Mis-line is ignorable, Darkrai does enough to OHKO both, end of story. Played as a support Pokémon that 1 in play is enough 2 even better, I decided to go with a stable 3-3 line.

2 Darkrai ex DEX

Oh joy, nightmares for all! Many would think that Darkrai is the main attacker in this deck, but quite frankly I'd consider him as a support. The real power of Darkrai in this deck is the Dark Cloak ability, giving free retreat to any Pokémon with any darkness energy and with the ability to manipulate 4 prism and 4 Rainbow, that's everyone. Not saying that the attack isn't good, 90 (or more with special darkness) + 30 snipe damage is awesome, especially since there are no other real threats to OHKO Darkrai than Terrakion. With 180 HP, Darkrai can make an attack or two and still leave the active slot alive.

Playing only 2 since, it is not one of the main attackers. Keep one alive, you need it.

2 Mewtwo ex NEX

Now here's a main attacker and also, the best counter to Mewtwo EX. Everyone knows how the card works, and it is no different in this deck, with just the Three exceptions.

- With Mismagius, it can attack straight away for 60 damage.
- With Darkrai it has free retreat
- With Seeker it can heal.

These three abilities give the already broken Mewtwo even a further boost.

Mewtwo EX is capable of taking down any and every Pokémon, being the first and the best attacker in this deck. Playing more than 2 would be overkill, since the only real threar that Mewtwo can face is another Mewtwo, which you could counter with the other Mewtwo, or just with your other main attackers. Calculating the energies required to take out your and your opponents Mewtwos is the key here, since plus powers are not playable. Healing and free retreat gives you the advantage.

2 Terrakion NVI

The second main attacker and the best Zekrom/Darkrai counter. Once again, everything is explained before, same rules apply to this pokémon that applied to Mewtwo.

One crucial point is playing against Zekrom. With Vileplume in play, a normal Zekrom is only capable of doing 120 damage, leaving Terrakion alive with 10 HP. Thus, DO NOT PLAY RAINBOW ENERGY ON TERRAKION, you have Mismagius so you can give the damage to any other Pokémon. 130 HP, zero retreat and Retaliate from nothing are just overpowered.

1 Shaymin ex NEX

The last and the most powerful main attacker. During the course of the game, your Pokemon will fall and your opponent gets those nasty prize cards.

With Vileplume in play your opponent doesn't have the luxury of eviolite and so 180 damage takes out any pokemon, even any pokemon EX. Combine this cuteness of power with N and you have a sweep ready, even from the most desperate situation. Only two things to worry, 110 HP and the low low chance of this being in you last prize cards.


1 Heatmor DEX

"Durant? What Durant? My 'horse' already ate it." Other than that this card is just waste of space.

The deck has a Vileplume line yes, but no real energy acceleration. If the deck wouldn't play Heatmor and the Vileplume would be discarded away, the deck wouldn't have any way to fight against masses of hammers and lost removers. And look at Heatmor's second attack, it's just amazing. Against... nothing?

1 Smeargle UD

Smeargle is something really arguable. Being way too dependent on the opponents hand. But having an extra draw card or even a collector is awesome. And once again: Free retreat and energy switch make Smeargles use effective even in mid/late game, instead of just early. Same results are of course reached with a Skyarrow Bridge.

1 Cleffa HS

Just to say, baby sleep with Vileplume, with no snipeshots on the opponent's side is a freeturn. Other than that, Cleffa doesn't really have any special role in the deck, just Collectorable/Communicationable shuffle and draw.

Collector and a Rainbow/Prism in the starting hand does give you the option to go Turn 1 eek with no loss of resources, due to Darkrai and Mismagius.

About the energy:

Rainbow Dashes and Prism Energies are self-explanatory. 3 DCE are for Mewtwo, but do work as colorless energy for the two energy hitters, Shaymin ex and Terrakion.

2 Special Darkness are the tricky part here. Unlike the DCE they do give free retreat with Darkrai, but aren’t transferable with Mismagius. This doesn't not mean that they shouldn't be played to give free retreat to anyone in need, but are there to give a little boost to Darkrai's attack if needed.

If you play Darkness to some other Pokémon, just remember that Seeker is there if you for some reason need the Darkness energy for Darkrai's attack. Playing more than two would be waste of space, maybe playing 2 DCE and 3 Special Darkness would be acceptable, but since I don't see Darkrai as good attacker as the other, I decided to go with just two.

AND BE CAREFUL AGAINST LOST REMOVER/ENHANCED HAMMER/_KYUREM EX_, only special energy cards in the deck.

4 Pokémon Collector

The one that gets you what you need, the overpowered basics and the Oddish to grow up. Playing 4, since you cannot more.

3 Sage's Training

The hardest supporter in the deck. Only here because it makes getting Vileplume in play a lot easier, but requires skill to play due to the decks really limited resources. One could even play Cheren's instead of this one, since there are 4 Communication and Rare Candies in the deck.

3 Professor Oak's New Theory

Easy, simple shuffle and draw. Once again limited resources make Juniper unplayable, so this card is even more valuable.

3 N

The harass shuffle draw. The deck has many Pokémon EX and needs a little bit setup, so opponent gets those prize cards easier than you think in the early game. Combined with Vileplume and Shaymin EX, this comes the support of choice.

2 Twins

Once again, the deck needs a little setup. But to clarify why it only has 2 twins. This season I played a lot of Vileplume against a lot of decks, had 4 twins each time. Suddenly... Durant, Twins does nothing! Suddenly... Chandelure, Twins does nothing until it's too late! And switching 1 Card and your turn supporter to two cards of your choice is not as powerful in this deck, due to the energy manipulation abilities and trainer lock.

2 Seeker

I have explained over and over this card by now. Your attacker takes a lot of damage, free retreat, new attacker moves in, move energies to new attacker, Seeker heals all damage from your previous attacker. Magic at its finest. Also, with the deck able of doing a lot of damage, opponent having only 1 basic Pokemon could prove easy victory for you.

Will talk about taking up Vileplume a bit later...

4 Pokémon Communication/ 4 Rare Candy

This is purely for your Vileplume-engine. Need it as fast as possible, without losing time. Communication is also good for other uses, so no need to play less than 4. The deck has no Gloom and Rare Candy is the fastest way to Vileplume, thus 4 is a necessity.

1 The Golden Catcher

¨

The most expensive card in the deck. Bought 3 boxes of the new set just so that I'd get 2 Darkrais for my deck. And oh the joy when this came out. Decided that "Yeah, I'll play it, it won't do anything but still, it's just so cool!"

I was wrong.

Early game Catcher is always good; Take some easy prizes from Tynamo or Cleffa or just make your opponent waste energy/switch for retreat. Catcher really shines when taking the last 1-2 prizes. The ridiculous combination with Seeker (or just sacrificing the Vileplume) and Shaymin EX, The Golden Catcher becomes something that'll make your opponent scratch their heads.


The Basic Gameplay:


Be Offensive, but build your setup! I think I have covered almost completely the decks play.

Get Vileplume, get Mismagius or two and at the same time; ATTACK! This is not a setup deck like Ross.dec or Klingklang heal. Do not fear to strike as soon as possible, but watch your resources. Losing a Terrakion early against Zekrom hurts, but losing a Mewtwo EX and something ele does not.

You must also remember these things:

Calculate the Damage!

Your opponent doesn't have Pluspowers or Catchers, but is there snipe damage?

Maybe a Shaymin to shuffle his/her energy? You know how much damage you can deal and you should know how much your opponent does. Let your Pokémon to fall to 10 HP and just heal with Seeker. Also remember to check your opponent’s bench before seekering!

Being in prize deficit is your friend!

You have Twins, you have N and you have Terrakion. All 3 are cards that give you edge when you're in a small prize deficit, but can easily give you the edge. Being careful is ok, but as I said before, you need to know what your opponent's deck can do.

Shaymin n' N! GG!

The Best Combo you'll ever get, do not let it go to waste!


Just a Few Match-Ups

I think that there are three viable decks in the format, so I need just three Match-ups!

Darkrai EX/Tornadus EX

The new BDIF, and that shows here as well. Vileplume prevents dark patches and other trainers as well, but not on the first turns. A turn 1/2 Darkrai just runs throught the deck, unless a Vileplume and a Terrakion is fast enought to stop it. Though Darkrai present no real problem otherwise, the 30 dmg snipe is what becomes trouble later on.

Terrakions with only 100hp are taken out by Tornadus EX and Mismagius, the real magic, is taken in just 3 hits. If the heal from seeker helps opponent too much, the game is over pretty fast. Shaymin EX is the best friend in lategame, but fear of 2 Special Darks on a Darkrai lingers.

I'm giving something like…

70-30 in favor of Darkrai EX/Tornadus EX


Zekrom/variants

The old BDIF.

As the speed of Zekrom isn't that amazing Vileplume is relatively easy to setup and it's just pure pain for any Zekrom.

Terrakion can just run through the basic Zekrom stuff, with Retaliate and Land Crush able to OHKO almost any electric pokemon. Against Zekrom, Seeker becomes not just a heal for you, but pain for your opponent, being able to return Eelektriks back to hand. Zapdos is the card to watch, snipe damage and the resistance really helps Zekrom. Mewtwo EX from Zekrom is easily countered with another Mewtwo.

This matchup gets....

70-30 in Kumis.dec’s favor


Celebi/Mewtwo EX/Tornadus/EX

Here, it's just the speed that solves everything. If, CMT gets Turn 1 80 damage, the game will end up being pretty difficult. If it doesn't and you have a collector in hand, it can only be uphill from there. After Vileplume gets in to play, you can win without a sweat even from 3 prize disadvantage. N is a powerhouse, Seeker is the ultimate heal, and Darkrai suddenly can shine with its attacks.

I'd say....

50-50/40-60/60-40 depending on the build of the CMT

Zoroark/Weavile/Darkrai EX

Okay, maybe I should give a match-up with Zoroark, but I didn’t play against Zoroark in the tournament.

I don't see it as a deck that could stand with other "tier 1" decks. I've won every game against a Zoroark with no problem in my testings. Strategy is pretty much the same as with Zekrom. Zoroark doesn't get anything, and they just fall down. More Zoroarks come and they fall. In the end you have Mewtwo that can OHKO Zoroarks.

NOT ACCURATE 80-20

Cards to play instead of other cards

Heatmor is bad, really it does nothing, you have Vileplume against Durant . You can play Zekrom/Zekrom EX to counter Tornadus/Tornadus EX.

- Golden Catcher requires too much skill? Zekrom/Zekrom EX.
- Have all ready? Third Terrakion/Mewtwo.
- Leading all the game and Twins do nothing? More shuffle draw!
- Sage discards all the good cards? Play Cheren, already said that!

Last words and Thank You'ses

Really really, this is a really hard deck to play. It's so situational and resource dependable, so making a "how to play" is even harder. Well that's how rogue decks usually are , thus if you are able to play them well, it gives you a huge edge.

Thanks go to:

- Esa "Badganondorf TheDeckout" Juntunen, for making me write this. (Otherwise he would have)
- Random Finnish "pro-players", for saying my deck sucks.
- H. "Dota2 F0x1" K. for being best dota2 captain.
- Miska "maailmanmestari" Saari, for calling my deck best in the tournament.
- Some guy with the nickname, Jirachi; Why would you play Pichu in this deck...  .__.


Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any comments and questions! Also, let me know what you thought about this featured writer and if you would like to see more articles from him about his rogue building!