Table of Contents
Heya everyone! With the Venusaur Drop Event underway, it's time to start the grind to get our hands on the new Promo cards and if you're up for it, complete the other tasks at each level. The other tasks get harder and require you to play more games, keep in mind that, for each game you win, you're using up 1 Stamina Event point. Consider conceding on lower stages to complete Battle Tasks as only the Expert stage guarantees the Promo Packs.
As you go from Beginner to Expert, the tasks become harder, but your AI opponent will have a better deck, making it more difficult to beat them. I'll share the deck I've been using for this event and the tweaks I made for each level to fulfill certain tasks. This event will run from November 29, 2024 till December 13, 2024, so you have plenty of time to finish it.
Beginner
AI Beginner Deck
Battle Task
| Mission | Reward |
|---|---|
| Knock Out your opponent's Active Pokémon 1 times with an attack from a Fire-type Pokémon | 3 Event Hourglass |
| Put 3 Basic Pokémon into play | 3 Event Hourglass |
Decks to Play
Blaine Aggro Deck
The Blaine aggro deck is the best choice for this event, especially for players looking for budget choices. We want a Fire-type deck so we can complete the "Knock Out your opponent's Active Pokémon 1 time with an attack from a Fire-type Pokémon" mission. Remember, Fire-type Pokemon can deal an extra 20 damage to Grass-type Pokemon, so you have an extra 20 damage on your Fire attacks.
The other mission is to play 3 Basic Pokemon, so although I'm not a huge fan of a1-44-magmar, I'm adding him to the list to ensure we can play those 3 Basic Pokemon. Magmar is also a Fire-type Pokemon who's easy to attack and synergizes with a1-221-blaine, so he's perfect in the list.
This aggressive deck plays quickly, using a1-43-rapidash or a1-38-ninetales to deal early damage and get knockouts with the help of a1-221-blaine's damage boost. It's important that we don't finish the game until we've played 3 Basic Pokemon, which should be an easy mission to complete.
Charizard ex Moltres ex
If you have a1-36-charizardex and a1-47-moltresex, you can go for a stronger option. However, I'm adding a1-42-ponyta a1-43-rapidash to the list to ensure we play 3 Basic Pokemon in one game.
This deck wants a1-47-moltresex in the Active spot as early as possible to use its Inferno Dance to attach Fire Energy on your Benched Pokemon. This accelerates our strategy, getting a1-36-charizardex ready to attack with Crimson Storm. However, the Slash attack is enough to knock out the opponent's Pokemon in the beginner mode.
Arcanine ex Moltres ex
Arcanine ex Moltres ex is another option to play. This deck plays faster than the Charizard ex version since Arcanine is a Stage 1 Pokemon. We're running the a1-42-ponyta a1-43-rapidash to make sure we can play 3 Basic Pokemon.
Intermediate
AI Intermediate Deck
Battle Task
| Mission | Reward |
|---|---|
| Knock Out your opponent's Active Pokémon 2 times with an attack from a Fire-type Pokémon | 3 Event Hourglass |
| Make your opponent's Pokémon Asleep 1 times | 3 Event Hourglass |
| Win this battle by turn 14 | 3 Event Hourglass |
Decks to Play
Blaine Aggro Sleep
Things are starting to kick off at the Intermediate mode, we have 3 missions to complete. The plan is to finish all three of them in one game so we don't use more Event Stamina than we have to. For the first mission, we need to knock out 2 Pokemon with a Fire-type Pokemon, not too difficult since we're playing a Fire-type deck. Additionally, the second mission is to finish the game with 14 turns, also not too difficult since our deck plays out fast.
The third one is where things take a different turn, throughout the game, we have to active Asleep on one of the opponent's Pokemon at least once. This means we need to add Pokemon with the Asleep ability.
This Blaine aggro list is running a1-193-jigglypuff and a1-195-wigglytuffex for the Asleep ability. a1-195-wigglytuffex is a colorless Pokemon, so it'll work with your Fire-type Pokemon. The plan is to use a1-195-wigglytuffex's Sleepy Song to put one of the opponent's Pokemon Asleep. However, we're not trying to win the game with a1-195-wigglytuffex since our other mission requires us to knock out 2 Pokemon with our Fire-type Pokemon. So retreat a1-195-wigglytuffex once you've fulfilled the mission and continue knocking out the opponent's Pokemon with a1-43-rapidash and a1-38-ninetales.
You can also play a1-36-charizardex and a1-47-moltresex, but will have to cut out cards to add the Asleep mechanic to the list.
Other Sleep Pokemon
promo-22-jigglypuff is the easiest option to go for. However, this is a new Promo card, so unless you got lucky with your first Promo card, you won't have this as an option.
I did the mission with a1-124-drowzee and a1-125-hypno. a1-125-hypno's ability, Sleep Pendulum, allows you to put a Pokemon to sleep, and he doesn't have to be in the Active spot. This means you aren't forced to add Psychic Energy and can stick with only Fire Energy and have a1-125-hypno on the Bench to activate Asleep.
However, you have to flip a coin and hit heads to activate the effect, so you have a 50/50 shot at activating Asleep. You might find yourself forced to stall out the game to ensure you activate Sleep Pendulum.
a1-93-frosmoth is another option, but you'll have to add Water Energy to your Fire deck, which could make things awkward.
Advanced
AI Advanced Deck
Battle Task
| Mission | Reward |
|---|---|
| Win 5 or more battles | 4 Wonder Hourglass |
| Win this battle using a deck where all the Pokémon cards are of ♦, ♦♦, and/or ♦♦♦ rarity | 4 Wonder Hourglass |
| Win this battle by turn 14 | 4 Wonder Hourglass |
| Win this battle without your opponent getting any points | 4 Wonder Hourglass |
Decks to Play
The Advanced event has 4 missions, the first requires you to win 5 or more battles. This means we have 5 games to fulfill all the other missions. For the second mission, you can't have any ex Pokemon the rarity of the Pokemon has to be ♦, ♦♦, and/or ♦♦♦ rarity. So Blaine aggro deck works best here to fulfill the mission, and since it's an aggro-type deck, you can finish the game before turn 14.
However, with the threat of a1-4-venusaurex one-shotting Rapidash or Ninetails, you might need to opt for another deck to fulfill the last mission. You can't give your opponent any Points in one of the 5 games you'll play, so a1-36-charizardex and a1-47-moltresex deck are perfect for the last mission.
a1-4-venusaurex cannot one-shot a1-36-charizardex or a1-47-moltresex with Giant Bloom. Additionally, a1-36-charizardex's Crimson Storm can one-shot a1-4-venusaurex, preventing it from healing itself up and giving you 2 Match Points.
You could also add a1-41-arcanineex to the list for an alternative damage dealer that plays faster than a1-36-charizardex.
Blaine Aggro
Charizard ex Moltres ex
Arcanine ex Charizard ex
Expert
Battle Task
| Mission | Reward |
|---|---|
| Win this battle using a Deck where all the Pokémon cards are of ♦, ♦♦, and/or ♦♦♦ rarity | 5 Wonder Hourglass |
| Win this battle by turn 12 | 5 Wonder Hourglass |
| Win this battle without your opponent getting any points | 5 Wonder Hourglass |
| Win 10 or more battles | 5 Wonder Hourglass |
| Win 20 or more battles | 5 Wonder Hourglass |
AI Deck Venusaur ex & Lilligant Deck
Our strategy in the Expert mode is similar to the Advanced mode, but you'll have to sneak a faster win with only 12 rounds. You still have the same other missions to do, but it can be grindy since you have to win 20 or more battles. On top of that, your opponent has an even better deck, using a1-30-lilligant Leaf Supply to attach Energy on a1-4-venusaurex as they get him ready to carry the game.
However, it's best to grind this mode since you're guaranteed a Promo pack for every win. Since you need to win 20 battles, it can get boring playing the same deck, so you're not tied to the Fire decks I've shared in the article, but remember losing a game will waste 1 of your Event Stamina and slow you down.
I have found that playing a1-36-charizardex or a1-41-arcanineex decks is a better choice than Blaine aggro here. We have two annoying early Pokemon to deal with a1-30-lilligant and a1-203-kangaskhan, and if we knock them out quickly, the AI opponent won't have time to get value out of a1-4-venusaurex's Mega Drain. a1-41-arcanineex might be the best Pokemon for the Expert mode since it plays faster than a1-36-charizardex and can one-shot with its 120 damage Inferno Onrush attack.
Other Fire Pokemon
These Pokemon are great alternatives if you're low on cards and need to fill up your deck with Fire-type Pokemon.
a1-52-centiskorch can be a slow setup, so having Moltres ex can speed it up. However, once you have 4 Energy on it, you'll be dealing 130 damage to the opponent's Active Pokemon. Great for knocking out a1-4-venusaurex in two attacks.
a1-50-salazzle is an aggressive Fire Pokemon, two Energy and you're already dealing 60 damage to the opponent.
Closing Words
The AI deck gets better as you advance through mode difficulty, so expert mode will be the toughest to beat. a1-30-lilligant a1-4-venusaurex, but Fire-type decks will always have the edge in this matchup, so you should be fine with the decks I've listed here.
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