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Mega Absol ex Box: A Deck Guide to Tord Reklev's Milwaukee Success!
- 7 min reading time
Unleashing the Power of Mega Absol Box: A Deep Dive into Tord Reklev's Innovative Deck
The Rise of Mega Absol Box: From Milwaukee Regionals to Victory
The Pokemon world was set ablaze when Tord Reklev unveiled his groundbreaking deck at Milwaukee Regionals. The tord reklev deck, a seemingly unconventional build, quickly gained traction, with multiple copies securing top spots, including three in the Top 8 of Milwaukee. A similar iteration even achieved second place at the prestigious Belo Horizonte Regionals. At first glance, the mega absol box strategy might appear chaotic, but a closer examination reveals a symphony of synergy and strategic brilliance.
Mega Absol ex: The Resource-Denying Core
At its heart, the mega absol box is anchored by Mega Absol ex. The strategy revolves around leveraging its devastating claw of darkness attack. This attack is crucial in almost every matchup, allowing you to systematically strip resources from your opponent's hand. By disrupting their options and hindering their game plan, you gain a significant advantage. While evolving into Mega Absol ex demands a substantial energy investment, its survivability is remarkably high. Thanks to the combination of Bravery Charm, boosting its HP to a formidable 330, Mist Energy, negating attack effects, and the repeated munkidori healing, knocking out Mega Absol ex becomes a daunting task for your opponent.
Fueling the Machine: Technical Machine Turbo Energize and Arven
The deck’s energy acceleration strategy hinges on the efficient use of Technical Machine Turbo Energize. This crucial card allows for rapid energy attachments, fueling the mega absol box strategy. Arven is your go-to searcher, capable of retrieving both Technical Machine Turbo Energize and the invaluable precious trolley ace spec. Some variations of the deck, deviating from Tord's original lively stadium alternative, opt for Town Store to consistently find Technical Machine: Turbo Energize (179/182) - SV04 Paradox Rift - Heavily Played in the early game.
Big Basics Deck: The Role of Mega Kangaskhan ex
This deck is colloquially known as "big basics deck," a nod to the inclusion of Mega Kangaskhan ex. However, Mega Kangaskhan ex primarily functions as a draw engine, utilizing its Run Errand ability to draw two cards whenever it's in the active spot. This ability forms the backbone of your draw power, allowing you to amass a large hand while simultaneously using Technical Machine Turbo Energize. Due to its hefty 300 HP, Mega Kangaskhan ex is notoriously difficult to one-hit KO, and the inclusion of three Penny cards provides further resilience, enabling healing or additional bench space. The synergy doesn't end there; by retreating Mega Absol ex into Mega Kangaskhan ex with Latias ex, drawing two cards with Run Errand, and then employing pecharunt ex ability – Subjugating Chains – to bring Mega Absol ex back into the active spot, you can maintain relentless pressure while generating additional card advantage.
The Power of Precious Trolley Ace Spec
The precious trolley ace spec is your ultimate setup tool, allowing you to flood the board with key Pokémon, including Mega Absol ex, Mega Kangaskhan ex, two Munkidori, and pivot Pokémon like Latias ex or Pecharunt ex. The significance of Arven in finding both Precious Trolley and Technical Machine Turbo Energize cannot be overstated, leading to the inclusion of three Pokégear 3.0 and, in some cases, Tatsugiri to maximize the chances of a turn-one retrieval.
Strategic Techs: Psyduck, Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon, and Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex
The mega absol box isn't just about brute force; it incorporates tech cards to address specific threats. Psyduck is included to counter the dusknoir cursed blast line by shutting down their ability. Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon serves as a crucial answer to Charizard ex and Gholdengo ex decks, thanks to its Cornerstone Stance ability, which grants immunity to attacks from most Pokémon within those archetypes. Facing a significant challenge against Gholdengo ex due to its one-hit KO potential with Make It Rain, the deck employs two cornerstone mask ogerpon, allowing for strategic switching and energy recycling with Penny and Energy Switch. Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex provides a powerful late-game attacker when your other energy sources are depleted.
Yveltal Clutch Stall: Disrupting the Opponent
Yveltal plays a subtle yet vital role within the deck. By strategically discarding cards like Professor Turo's Scenario or Switch with claw of darkness, you can then trap a vulnerable Pokémon in the active spot using Yveltal's Clutch attack. Furthermore, you can poison your own Yveltal with pecharunt ex ability – Subjugating Chains – and manipulate the damage with adrena brains damage to secure a knockout during your turn. The free retreat granted by Yveltal, combined with Pecharunt's ability, facilitates seamless switching to any Pokémon. The ability to stall with Clutch, even for a few turns, can be a game-changer, providing valuable time for energy attachments.
Enhanced Hammer Tech: Eliminating Mist Energy
While not present in Tord's original list, the addition of an enhanced hammer tech, inspired by Gabriel Fernandez's Belo Horizonte Regionals list, provides a crucial advantage. While claw of darkness is the primary attack, terminal period knockout becomes a potent option with two adrena brains damage, potentially swinging the board state dramatically. In a meta where Mist Energy is prevalent, especially in Charizard ex and other big basics deck, enhanced hammer tech becomes invaluable. Stripping away Mist Energy allows for easy knockouts on opposing Charizard ex or Mega Absol ex, and Arven can readily find the Enhanced Hammer when needed.
Falling Behind? Iono and Counter Catcher Strategy
The deck is equipped with Iono and Counter Catcher Strategy to help regain momentum when falling behind in the prize trade. Iono, in particular, synergizes effectively with claw of darkness, significantly limiting your opponent's options on their subsequent turn.
The Weaknesses: Raging Bolt ex and Ceruledge ex
The mega absol box does have vulnerabilities, primarily aggressive decks capable of one-hit KOing Mega Absol ex. Decks like Raging Bolt ex and Ceruledge ex pose significant challenges. Since cornerstone mask ogerpon does not provide protection against these decks, the optimal strategy involves using claw of darkness to discard switching cards and trap a non-attacking Pokémon in the active spot. Many players struggle against Ceruledge ex, as there isn't a straightforward tech card for the matchup, and they can easily discard the requisite 15 energy for a one-hit KO on a Bravery Charm-enhanced Mega Absol ex. The deck's reliance on Mega Absol ex surviving an attack makes these matchups particularly difficult.
Gardevoir ex Matchup: A Tightrope Walk
The gardevoir ex matchup is a complex and nuanced encounter, demanding careful navigation from both players. A quick Boss's Orders to KO their only Ralts on turn two can secure an early win, but the threat of a return KO from Mew ex, copying terminal period knockout with their own Munkidori, looms large. It’s imperative to prioritize drawing Mist Energy early on and use Technical Machine Turbo Energize multiple times to establish a strong board of Munkidori. Watch out for Scream Tail with Bravery Charm attaching and hitting your benched Mega Absol ex for 140 damage, specifically removing the 10 to prevent you from using multiple Munkidori to KO your Scream Tail during your turn. Observe your opponent's energy count, as stalling with yveltal clutch stall can disrupt their Gardevoir ex. Establishing a robust Munkidori board is crucial in this matchup.
Marnie Grimmsnarl ex: A Favorable Matchup
The marnie grimmsnarl ex matchup is decidedly advantageous for the mega absol box. The Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex deck typically relies on early damage spread to KO smaller Basic Pokémon, but the absence of such targets in your deck mitigates this threat. Although they can spread damage with Froslass and Munkidori, your three copies of Penny and your own army of Munkidori provide ample healing and counter-pressure. Critically, the Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex deck lacks its own reliable draw engine, rendering it exceptionally vulnerable to claw of darkness, which can consistently disrupt their supporter plays. Furthermore, Froslass facilitates the use of terminal period knockout by strategically placing damage on your board. claw of darkness is the primary reason for the Marnie Grimmsnarl ex matchup being heavily favored.
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