Flareon 2013

Dylan Bryan showcased an impressive performance at the World Championships using a unique deck archetype. His rogue deck, focused on the Flareon PLF card, proved to be a formidable contender, with its only loss coming from Jason Klaczynski in a closely contested Top 16 match.

The deck's strategy centered around maximizing the number of Pokemon in the discard pile to unleash Flareon's powerful Vengeance attack. Key tech cards like Drifblim and Enhanced Hammer were incorporated to address challenging

Dylan Bryan showcased an impressive performance at the World Championships using a unique deck archetype. His rogue deck, focused on the Flareon PLF card, proved to be a formidable contender, with its only loss coming from Jason Klaczynski in a closely contested Top 16 match.

The deck's strategy centered around maximizing the number of Pokemon in the discard pile to unleash Flareon's powerful Vengeance attack. Key tech cards like Drifblim and Enhanced Hammer were incorporated to address challenging matchups, such as the troublesome Plasma matchup, while Garbodor provided a solution against ability-reliant decks like Eelektrik and Blastoise.

The primary attacker, Flareon PLF, released in Plasma Freeze, became the cornerstone of the deck. The 2013 season featured three major tournament series – Spring Battle Roads, National Championships, and the World Championship – during its 4th Quarter.

Initially, players experimented with pairing Flareon with Cofagrigus from Plasma Freeze during Battle Roads. Cofagrigus's "Six Feet Under" Ability, allowing players to knock it out and place damage counters on the opponent's Pokemon, aimed to soften targets for Flareon's knockouts. However, this early combination failed to prove competitively viable.

Flareon's breakthrough came at the World Championship in Vancouver, where Dylan Bryan employed a Flareon Tool Box deck. This innovative deck secured a Top 16 finish, ultimately losing to the eventual champion, Jason Klaczynski.

The recommended approach to building the deck remains aligned with Dylan's 2013 version. Despite potential desires to modify card counts, the deck's balance, as demonstrated by Dylan, proved effective in handling various matchups.

The deck's backbone relied on Flareon PLF's Vengeance attack, dealing escalating damage based on the number of Pokemon in the discard pile. Achieving the necessary 16 Pokemon in the discard pile was a gradual process, distinguishing it from later Vengeance-style decks with faster setups.

In the absence of cards like Battle Compressor and Professor Juniper limitations, the 2013 version relied on opponent knockouts, discarding with Ultra Ball or Computer Search, and utilizing Audino's "Busybody" Ability to build up the discard pile.

The early game functioned as a Tool Box deck, transitioning into a Vengeance deck during the late game. The supporting Pokemon, including Leafeon, Landorus EX, and Terrakion, played crucial roles in different matchups. Leafeon provided early-game chip damage, Landorus EX spread damage for setup, and Terrakion delivered strong Retaliate attacks.

Prioritizing Eevee in the setup phase was essential, and decisions on other priorities depended on the matchup. Tropical Beach served as a valuable turn-one option for drawing up to 7 cards, aiding in setup. However, caution was advised based on the opponent's situation to avoid providing unnecessary support through Tropical Beach.

The strategy diversified in the matchups section, with considerations for the meta outlined through resources like PTCG Archive's 2013 Decks page and the results pages from the 2013 US National Championship and World Championship on Limitless TCG. Exploring these resources offered insights into the deck's adaptability to the prevailing meta.