Monday, February 27, 2012

Durant - TheThePokemonFan

4-Durant
1-Mime Jr.
1-Rotom
1-Spiritomb
1-1 Hypno
Pokemon Total = 9

4-Pokemon Collector
2-Dual Ball
4-Twins
1-N
1-Juniper
2-Lost Remover
2-Pokemon Catcher
4-Junk Arm
4-Revive
4-Eviolite
3-Defender
2-PONT
3-Team Rocket's Trickery
1-Sage's Training
1-Super Rod
2-Crushing Hammer
Trainer/Supporter Total = 40

Special Metal-4
Basic Metal-6
Rescue energy-1
Energy Total = 11

Strategy
It's been a while since I've reviewed a durant deck which is surprising since they're cheap to build and are one of the top decks in the format.  "Devour" lets you discard a card from your opponents deck for each durant in play, so with 4 durant on the field, you can discard 4 cards per turn.  You win the game by decking your opponent out.

Pokemon Analysis
The most consistent build is 1-2 rotom and 4 durant.  However, some players will also put in cobalion to take KO's on pokemon that are proving to be too strong for durant to constantly endure.  I prefer 2 rotom and 4 durant just for it's simplicity.  You'll mulligan a lot, but your opponent drawing more typically just helps you go through their deck more.

Energy Analysis
I would drop the rescue and consider adding in 2 prism for rotom.  Zekrom is the pokemon that should be feared by durant.  2 bolt strikes puts the damage on itself that it needs to just outrage for knockouts. But with a prism on rotom, once zekrom bolt strikes twice, it can KO it.

Trainer/Supporter Analysis
To consistenly get 4 durant out on turn 1, I'd max out your dual ball to 4.  I'd also add at least 2 more juniper and 3 more N.  N will consistently hurt your opponent, but help you. 1 alph lithograph (the one that lets you look at your prizes) will let you effectively use rotom (mainly for when durants are prized).  3-4 pokemon catcher will let you keep bringing up heavy retreaters to give you time to devour more cards.  To make room for these changes I'd take out the defender, sage, team rockets trickery and pont. Reducing your revive to around 2 will help. In case you go up against trainer lock, you'll need a flower shop lady as well as the super rod for recovery.   Many decks are running special energy, so 2 lost removers are essential for slowing their attacks down.

Overall
Durant is my least favorite deck just because of the play style.  I think it's a cheap way to win, however, it works, so every player entering a tournament should be prepared to face a durant or two.

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