Electrogenesis/Dynamotor Electric Pokemon Standard Deck Tech
The Pokemon TCG, if you will excuse the pun, evolved over the years. What was once a top-tier, tournament winning deck is now easily swept aside. Part of this is due to power creep, but most is simply due to there being more options. There are two ways to handle this: continually tinker with your deck to make sure it remains viable, or make whatever you want because it sounds fun. I opted to do the latter.
The basic idea for this deck came from the Scarlet and Violet prerelease. One of the preconstructed Build and Battle kits focused on Pawmot, which deals heavy damage at the cost of discarding all attached energy. Its ability attaches a basic Lightning energy from the deck directly to Pawmot, which helps get it back into the action. This deck leans into this strategy to hopefully win before the opponent can get big threats online.
The deck runs 4 Pawmi, 2 Pawmo, and 4 Pawmot. For now, you don’t have many options for specific versions to run, but use whatever you like. However, SV01 #76 is vital. In a perfect situation, you have all 4 in play, and you need at least 2 for the gimmick to work properly. Next, run 3 copies of Mareep. Again, the specific version doesn’t matter, so use whatever you like best. Then, use 3 copies of Flaaffy SWSH07 #55. The Dynamotor ability is a key piece of the combo, as the deck stalls if it can’t recycle energy. Finally, the deck runs 2 copies of Miraidon ex SV01 #81. Tandem Unit helps make sure key pieces are in place, and it acts as a potent attacker while waiting for Pawmots to become ready. It also adds some much-needed bulk, as the other Pokemon can’t take many hits.
I use 3 copies of Trekking Shoes. It lets you look at the top card of your deck. If you like it, that card goes into your hand. If not, it goes to the discard pile, and you draw a card. I run 4 copies of Judge for 2 reasons. First, it’s an easy way to get rid of a dead hand, and second, it punishes decks that like to curate a perfect hand. 2 copies of Professor’s Research act as the main card draw. The main drawback of discarding your hand isn’t much of a disadvantage, as you want at least some energy cards in the discard pile at all times. Electric Generator can attach up to 2 basic Lightning energy to benched Electric Pokemon. I run 3 copies, but you may want to adjust that number.
Ultra Ball simply tutors the exact Pokemon you need. You have to discard 2 cards as a cost, but like with Professor’s Research, this is hardly a cost at all. 2 copies of Rare Candy fill the place of 2 copies of Pawmo just to get Pawmot in play a turn earlier. The exact ratio between Pawmo and Rare Candy depends on your preference. I run 2 copies of Switch just in case someone puts Flaaffy into the active spot. It has a high retreat cost as well as an underwhelming attack, so getting back to the bench is a priority. Finally, I use 2 copies of Mesagoza. While it can pull a needed Pokemon from your deck into your hand (and the same for your opponent), its main use is in discarding your opponent’s Stadium.
The remaining 22 cards are basic Lightning energy. If you have any special energy cards you feel will make the deck flow better, feel free to use them. Note that the main abilities, Electrogeneis and Dynamotor, will not work with special energy cards.
As mentioned above, you want at least 2 Pawmot and 1 Flaaffy in play. I would consider this the minimum to be effective. Your goal is to make sure your active Pawmot has 3 energy. Likewise, you want to use Electrogenesis and Dynamotor to get as much energy on benched Pawmots as possible. When you attack, Electro Paws does 230 damage and discard all attached energy. This is enough to knock out or cause serious damage almost everything, but Pawmot is open to retaliation. It only gives 1 prize when knocked out, which works to your advantage. If it survives to your next turn, it retreats for free, and you start the process over again.
The deck has a few major weaknesses. First, anything that resists Electric damage will give this a hard time. Any effects that punish or prevent energy attachment will slow this deck to the point it falls apart. Likewise, anything that punishes the bench is going to cause issues as well. I would say the comparatively low HP levels are a weakness as well, but everything except Miraidon only gives 1 prize card, so it balances out. With that in mind, anything that can take 200+ damage without getting knocked out should be watched carefully.
Overall, this is a deck that can fit in both casual and competitive play. While it isn’t likely to win any tournaments, it should perform well enough to keep you interested. It is also rather inexpensive to build, as none of the cards cost more than a few dollars at most. This also makes it perfect for players wanting to try something new without a large investment.