Table of Contents
Hello everyone! In today's guide, we're covering the Blastoise Ex deck, a Water-type deck with a slow start that can unleash heavy late-game attacks with a1-56-blastoiseex as the carry. Blastoise ex is an off-meta deck that can hold its own against popular decks once a1-56-blastoiseex joins the battle and goes for those Hydro Bazooka attacks.
Gameplan
Early Stall
Since a1-56-blastoiseex is a Stage 2 Pokemon, we need an early Pokemon to stall out the early game as we get our late-game win condition ready. There is a variety of Pokemon to include here, but I'll showcase a1-196-meowth here, and later in the article I'll discuss other options you can include.
a1-196-meowth only needs 1 Energy to activate his Pay Day, so you won't commit too many resources on him and can focus on attaching Energy on a1-53-squirtle/a1-54-wartortle. Pay Day isn't pushing a whole lot of damage, but it is drawing you cards, and helping you go through your deck to find the cards you need for your strategy. Finding a1-54-wartortle and a1-56-blastoiseex is crucial to get your win condition online as early as possible.
a1-196-meowth's retreat cost is only 1 Energy, so you can easily retreat him back on the Bench if you have an Energy on him or with promo-2-x-speed. This lets you prevent opponents from getting an easy Match Point and get your a1-56-blastoiseex to the Active spot to carry the game.
Blastoise ex win condition
Since a1-56-blastoiseex is a Stage 2 Pokemon, we need to have a1-53-squirtle in play as early as possible, preferably on the Bench so it doesn't take damage. If we don't have it in our starter hand, promo-5-poke-ball has a high chance of drawing it.
a1-53-squirtle and a1-54-wartortle don't pose much of an offensive threat, so we need to have a1-56-blastoiseex ready in play.
a1-56-blastoiseex is where things start turning in our favor. He's a 180-health Pokemon that doesn't get knocked out easily and can go for two attacks, Surf and Hydro Bazooka. Hydro Bazooka is our main damage dealer, pushing 100 damage on the opponent's Active Pokemon and if you have 2 extra Water Energy attached to a1-56-blastoiseex, Hydro Bazooka will deal an extra 60 damage. 160 damage is enough to knock out almost anything in a1-56-blastoiseex's path, but getting the extra Energy will be a slow process.
Attaching 1 Energy per turn will take forever for a1-56-blastoiseex to get the most out of his attacks, luckily, we have 2 copies of a1-220-misty to accelerate our game plan, potentially giving extra Water Energy on a1-56-blastoiseex to start one-shotting most of the opponent's Pokemon.
Other Pokemon
a1-203-kangaskhan and a1-198-farfetchd are alternative early-game options instead of a1-196-meowth. They offer an early offensive power with their attacks. a1-198-farfetchd is more optimal if you want a Pokemon you can easily retreat, whereas a1-203-kangaskhan is tankier and can potentially deal 60 damage with one attack. a1-203-kangaskhan's retreat cost can be a bit tough.
As for a1-211-snorlax, it's basically a big body with the 150 health, buying plenty of time to get your a1-56-blastoiseex win condition ready. However, a1-211-snorlax isn't going for any attacks and is difficult to retreat since it costs 4 Energy, which you won't ever attach 4 Energy on a a1-211-snorlax.
a1-93-frosmoth is a stall Pokemon, putting the opponent's Active Pokemon to sleep. This could shut them down from attacking, slowing down the opponent's aggression and buying you enough time for the a1-56-blastoiseex to get ready to battle.
Blastoise ex Weaknesses
- Weak against Lightning-type Pokemon. With Pikachu ex rampaging tournaments and PvP play, it can be difficult for Blastoise ex to perform in the meta.
- a1-56-blastoiseex is a Stage 2 Pokemon, so you need to find all the pieces to get your strategy online. You also heavily rely on a1-220-misty not to miss to get the increased 60 damage on a1-56-blastoiseex's Hydro Bazooka.
Closing Words
a1-56-blastoiseex is an off-meta choice in Pokemon Pocket but can hold its own against popular decks like Mewtwo and Charizard ex. Hydro Bazooka has the damage power to one-shot their win conditions, making it a threat capable of going head-to-head with them. The only problem you'll face is if a1-220-misty doesn't give you her blessings and you struggle to get the extra 2 Water Energy on a1-56-blastoiseex.
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