More Typhlosion Variants (2009)
Pairing up Magmortar Lv. X with Mysterious Treasures Typhlosion is a no brainer but as I briefly mentioned in the first deck article on Magmortar there are multiple ways you can build the deck, each with its own advantages and drawbacks. What’s more, Magmortar cards aren’t the only nice cards to benefit from Typhlosion, there are plenty of other good ones. In this article I’ll be sharing with you a few other deck lists build around Typhlosion as well as some notes on their differences and advantages.
Notes and strategy: Partnering up Typhlosion with Moltres or Heatran makes for the most reliable and consistent version of this deck. The reason for this is obvious, if your main attackers are only basic pokemon then you have more room for consistency cards helping you set up even more reliably. You also get more room for tech attackers; with Regigigas here you can hit dragons for weakness and best of all get a OHKO on Garchomp C Lv. X. This also makes you fare better against water decks; while Moltres has a x2 weakness to water it’s only a basic pokemon and has lower HP than the evolution fire types in the decks below so it wouldn’t have survived anyway. Forsaking evolution pokemon works when Moltres and other basic pokemon can hit just as hard and they still pack good enough HP to take a neutral hit.
Stark Mountain x1 Broken Time-Space x1 Rare Candy x2 Luxury Ball x1 Night Maintenance x1 Switch x2 Roseanne's Research x4 Felicity's Drawing x4 Volkner's Philosophy x1 Professor Oak's Visit x1 Cynthia's Feelings x1 Bebe's Search x3
The other fire pokemon in the decks below are more self sufficient and won’t be affected to the same degree. Ultimately, while I listed a number of drawbacks, the open space in this version makes it the most most flexible; you can dismiss Unown G if you want for other cards, you can even add Expert Belt for more damage etc.
Typhlosion x4 Quilava x4 Cyndaquil x4 Moltres x2 Regigigas x1 Fan Rotom x1 Claydol x2 Baltoy x2 Spiritomb x4 Unown G x2
The downside here is your best field will never be the strongest out of the trio of decks here simply because the evolution pokemon pack more HP and more options for attacks. You also do have to waste, or perhaps “spend” some slots on Unown G otherwise Machamp becomes your biggest weakness. Of course Typhlosion is an out to Machamp here too but we still can’t let all of our basic pokemon attackers to become useless in a match. The last drawback that comes to my mind and one that can prove a fatal one is your vulnerability to power lock. Sure, Typhlosion is the energy engine in all 3 decks here but this version is the weakest against power lock since Moltres, your main attacker always has to discard energies to attack and without support from Typhlosion will likely be out of gas after an attack.
Fire Energy x10 Call Energy x2
Notes and strategy: The original Magmortar deck I wrote doesn’t run Claydol and while it can still set up it’s no doubt a gambler’s deck when it comes to consistency. This version is always going to be more consistent with Claydol out but if you don’t get it out in time will fall apart even quicker than my first deck. Using Claydol also eats up our valuable bench space which we need for multiple Typhlosions so this consistency does come with drawbacks. Magmortar is sort of in the middle of the 3 deck lists here as it’s a stage 1, but the Lv. X option pretty much turns it into a stage 2 when you think about it. Forsaking the Lv. X though would be ludicrous seeing as it’s the main appeal of this version and the best attacker here.
Stark Mountain x1 Broken Time-Space x1 Luxury Ball x1 Pokemon Rescue x1 Night Maintenance x1 Roseanne's Research x4 Felicity's Drawing x4 Cynthia's Feelings x1 Professor Oak's Visit x1 Bebe's Search x3
Magmortar Lv. X x1 Magmortar x3 Magmar x4 Typhlosion x3 Quilava x3 Cyndaquil x3 Fan Rotom x1 Claydol x2 Baltoy x2 Pachirisu x2 Spiritomb x4
The differences in consistency are plain to see here; a smaller Typhlosion line, no Rare Candies and no Volkner for extra draw. It’s not all bad news though as unlike Moltres and its pals, Secret Wonders Magmortar can attack even without immediate support from Typhlosion and heal itself too. This merit becomes even more apparent if you’re dealing with a brutal power lock and can’t use Typhlosion at all anyway. Once you get your more ideal field, Magmortar has options to target the bench with the Lv. X able to snipe your opponent’s Claydol or other major support pokemon in one move. These are options the Moltres deck doesn’t have. Finally, while all 3 decks here will have huge trouble against water decks, Magmortar will fare the worst since the Lv. X is x2 weak against water and the regular ones don’t hit as hard as Moltres or the Blazikens.
Fire Energy x12 Call Energy x1
Notes and strategy: This final version of Typhlosion and pals is definitely the slowest and riskiest to run as it involves 2 stage 2 lines in addition to Claydol. The reward is you get the strongest attackers possible to power up with Typhlosion. The combination of Great Encounters Blaziken and Platinum Blaziken enables you to hit hard anywhere on the field so you get the best out of the 2 former decks above. As a stage 2, Blaziken also has the best HP and a regular +30 weakness to water meaning they won’t kill them as easy. Against power lock you can still gather energies while doing damage with Great Encounters Blaziken and Platinum Blaziken can also inflict auto burn like Magmortar Lv. X without even being in the active spot. Really, your only downside is the consistency but that downside is the biggest one any deck can face. If you can’t set up properly it doesn’t matter how amazing your deck is because it will never get the chance to show off its merits.
Blaziken x4 Combusken x4 Torchic x4 Typhlosion x2 Quilava x1 Cyndaquil x2 Fan Rotom x1 Claydol x2 Baltoy x2 Uxie x1 Spiritomb x4
Call Energy x3 Fire Energy x9
Moltres/Heatran
Magmortar
Blaziken
Stark Mountain x1 Broken Time-Space x1 Rare Candy x2 Luxury Ball x1 Night Maintenance x1 Switch x1 Roseanne's Research x4 Felicity's Drawing x4 Cynthia's Feelings x1 Professor Oak's Visit x1 Bebe's Search x3
In this deck we have to run the thinnest Typhlosion line and there isn’t any extra room for any techs of any kind. Your best bet is to try to slow down your opponent by killing their own Claydol which you can pull off the fastest here if you evolve into Great Encounters Blaziken. Since I like these 2 Blazikens so much I would have liked for another way to make use of them not involving Typhlosion as besides the consistency issues using 2 different fire starter pokemon together is a bit too cliché for my tastes. But, this partnership is still the best for them to keep reusing their powerful attacks every turn. While the least consistent out of the 3 Typhlosion decks here this deck can still set up and work so that’s why I’m happy to show it off and talk about it here, if only thanks to Spiritomb being a card.
This concludes my little trilogy article on the different ways you can build Typhlosion decks in the wonderful Diamond and Pearl era. Believe it or not there are still more options and ideas to explore here especially if we’d build these decks in the DP through Unleashed format of the time. But, I think these ideas are good enough for now as I should probably explore some other non fire decks as well. Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you guys next time!