Hey guys, Phinn again. Last time I covered my US Nationals run with Toad Bats. This time I want to cover the list that I used, and how to play some of its match-ups. It was a little difficult to know which match-ups to cover, considering Pokemon Ranger changes things significantly. For that reason, I have a section explaining what decks I expect to see at Worlds and why. I will also cover how this deck is affected by Steam Siege and why Toad Bats is a good choice for Worlds.
To start, I have a skeleton list. I like to use this as a starting point so that people can understand how to make a good list that is also their own.
Seismitoad Bats skeleton list
| Pokémon – 14 | Trainers – 25 | Energy – 7 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Seismitoad EX | 4 | Professor Sycamore | 4 | VS Seeker | 4 | Double Colorless | ||
| 3 | Zubat | 2 | N | 3 | Super Scoop Up | 3 | (Basic energy) | ||
| 3 | Golbat | 1 | AZ | 4 | Ultra Ball | ||||
| 2 | Crobat | 1 | Lysandre | 2 | Muscle Band OR Fighting Fury Belt | ||||
| 2 | Shaymin EX | 1 | Super Rod | ||||||
| 1 | Startling Megaphone OR Xerosic | ||||||||
| 2 | (Stadiums) | ||||||||
| 14 | Open spots | ||||||||
I have been using Seismitoad Bats between Standard and Expanded for around a year now, and I can say with certainty that all of these cards are needed to make a functional Seismitoad Bats deck.
I have seen some lists only play 1 N, and others only playing 3 Seismitoad. However, N is exactly what makes Seismitoad Bats work. Around 1/3 to half of games are won by N’ing your opponent into a bad hand and taking advantage from there. N is the ideal set up card, and the ideal come-back card. One copy is not enough, no matter which variant you are using.
Without the Free Flight Zubat, this deck has significantly fewer good starters. For that reason, it is crucial to maximize your chances of starting with Seismitoad. Most of the time when I go second, my starter dictates if I get to use Quacking Punch on the first turn or not. Starting with Zubat forces you to use Super Scoop Up early game which is far from ideal. You want to save those for mid to late game, which is another reason why a low N count is a bad idea.
My list is not what you will see most of the time. Most people like to play lower counts of energy, more attackers and a very different supporter line. I think this is due to a lack of experience with the deck. Most people go into making a Toad Bats list not knowing how to play the deck and end up making sub-optimal lists. In California, we like Toad Bats, and we know exactly how to build it.
If you do not have a Stage 2 membership, this is my advice with building Toad Bats:
* Play more N than you think you should. 2 is the minimum, but you should play more.
* Keep a “slow win” mentality; Toad Bats takes its wins slowly in most cases. It is not aggressive, you should build your list with that in mind.
* Finally, do not discount weird ideas. Try new things, because with this sort of deck, you can abuse cards that are not normally played.
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This is the list I am currently testing for Worlds:
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