Blastoise/Keldeo/Black Kyurem

BK: Burger King Blastoise/KeldeoPre-emptively, you'll have to forgive me. This deck is one that I have not played, though have witnessed in play innumerable times. As such, it may be a less than satisfactory article, but I shall try my best.

The Players:

 

Blastoise/Keldeo/Black Kyurem, then. This deck is one on which little variance is allowed in all honesty. You have Blastoise to accelerate water energy using the Deluge ability, and then Keldeo and EX to take aforementioned water energy and use them to hit hard.

I've essentially chosen to post about this deck because there has been a lot of speculation as to how playable this deck really is in a format that has had Virizion/Genesect introduced onto the field. Without getting too deeply into it, the deck is still very playable, but it's going to rely on Black Kyurem EX more than ever. The simple fact of the matter remains that :

1. Black Kyurem EX can OHKO anything in the format 
2. If the BK(BK) player has a double blastoise T2, they've effectively won. 

The Skeleton:

Pokemon: 11

3 Squirtle BCR
3 Blastoise BCR
2 Keldeo EX
3 Black Kyurem EX PLS

Supporters: 11

4 Juniper
4 Skyla
3 N

Trainers: 19

4 Rare Candy
3 Ultra Ball
3 Pokemon Catcher
3 Superior Energy Retrieval
2 Float Stone
1 Heavy Ball
1 Level Ball
1 Energy Search
1 Tool Scrapper

Stadiums: 2

 2 Tropical Beach

Energy: 11

9 Water
2 Lightning

Total: 54 (Space for 6)You can tell I'm unsure as to what I'm doing when there's only space for six cards in a supposed "skeleton".

Here are some important things to note, though, for any Blastoise/Keldeo/Black Kyurem player:

• 4 Rare Candy, 4 Skyla, 2 Beach are absolute minimums.
• You need the energy search for the lightning energy requirement of Black Kyurem's Black Ballista attack. If you ditch it, you will not be able to consistently pull that off.
• Certain lists I've seen don't run float stone. That's fine, but makes Keldeo vulnerable as it is now your vastly inferior attacker.
• The one tool scrapper is a requirement for the Garbodor matchup.
• You may tailor the balls line to suit your preferences, but I would not recommend running any lower than 5 total. Remember, this and the 4 RC, 4 Skyla, 2 Beach bullet are all geared towards ensuring you get Blastoise as fast as humanly possible. Without Blastoise, this deck is simply too slow to perform, and Black Kyurem becomes next to useless.
• While Superior Energy Retrieval may have a cost, and where Energy Retrieval does not, you should run Superior Energy Retrieval because being able to get 3-4 back after a Black Ballista helps to ensure that you can stream the Black Ballistas without having to scrounge for an energy in hand, thus allowing you also to run a slightly lower than previous sum of water energy.
• The ACE SPEC slot is generally taken by Computer Search. This is another invaluable card in the turn 2 Blastoise. However, I have seen Crystal Wall played to amusing effect. In previous formats also the odd Scramble Switch, but as you're now looking at heavy Black Kyurem, that's not a play to consider anymore.
• It's painful to say, considering that they are not cheap, but this deck cannot  be run without Tropical Beach. It is far more inconsistent without them.
• This deck doesn't have a lot of techability. It runs best with a straightforward blend of Black Kyurem EX and Keldeo EX. Do not try clumping other things in without clear and distinct purpose.

Match-UpsFirst of all, this deck has the capability of beating almost anything. Assuming Klingklang is now dead with the loss of both Shift Gear Klang and Cobalion NVI, nothing really stands that directly in it's way (there just was no suitable non-EX counter for Blastoise/Keldeo to run against that deck). However, if it regains prominence in some form, than players of this deck must be wary.

Plasma: Roughly EvenHonestly, as I've seen it, this can go either way. Both can wreck absolute havoc come turn two, so it may well largely depend on who gets the flip (as a lot of matches lean towards these days).

However, it is also one of the far more strategic match-ups, coming down to your awareness as a player. Keldeo can take down Kyurem with only 4 energy (only? Yeah, that's honestly not going to be too hard for a well-constructed Blastoise deck). On the other hand, Kyurem can, with 3 Deoxys and a Silver Bangle, one hit anything. While Plasma's energy acceleration is slightly poorer, the fact that they can also do residual damage for easier numbers with Thundurus EX while accelerating from the discard is nothing to be ignored, and they may present numerous threats fast. Also, this should go without saying, but never over-energize Keldeo. If you have five energy on it, you're asking for a Deoxys EX to OHKO you. Actually, keep this in mind in every matchup. Too many times have I seen relatively new and inexperienced players overattach to Keldeo arbitrarily.

Genesect/Virizion: Somewhat Unfavourable

It's true. Genesect and Virizion both love plaguing Keldeo and Blastoise. However, you should have your Black Kyurem active as often as possible for this match. Even so, if the Genesect player gets set up, catchering Blastoises is easy for them, even if they have to inefficiently attach a plasma, so if you don't have a double Blastoise set up, you might be saying "good game" sooner than you'd like.
Despite this, it is nowhere near the autoloss that it initially appears, sheerly because of Black Kyurem EX's beastly potential.

Darkrai/Hydreigon: Somewhat FavourableNow Hydreigon is virtually guaranteed to take at least as long to set up as Keldeo/Blastoise, and will also be likely to hit for less damage. It remains true that Darkrai continues to hit terribly annoying numbers onto Blastoise, but other than that, you should be able to work this in your favour. Target whatever has the energy if you get there fast enough, but if energy manipulation looks like it's going to be a pain, abolish the Hydreigon. Avoid using Keldeo here as it's too much energy to invest in the OHKO, and if you miss it, they are liable to use a Max Potion.

Garbodor Variants: ?It honestly is going to depend on the variant, because I'm seeing a lot of them these days. If you look strictly at Garbodor, ability lock is absolutely crippling to Blastoise/Keldeo. Basically, take out the garbage heaps wherever you can, and your safest choice otherwise here instantly becomes to use Keldeo as your attacker, while still not overenergising. Remember, 3 for 110 is still pretty decent and threatening.


As far as the rogues go, Blastoise/Keldeo should be able to make short work of many of them, so it's really only these guys you need to focus on strengthening your game against. Do beware of Safeguarding Suicunes. While the attached mirror play is not noteworthy against Blastoise/Keldeo, you will have to bring up a Blastoise to knock them out. Fortunately Terrakion and Suicune both cannot OHKO you, nor spread, so you should manage.

Overall

Double Blastoise: these are two exceedingly frightening words. And with RayEels gone, this deck remains with the most terrifying one hit potential (although, Rayboar?!).

It is this precise potential that can let you ignore the whole "matchups" argument to an extent. Like I already said, this deck has the potential to beat pretty much everything. As a Blastoise player, your priority is going to be to make your deck as consistent as possible. Techs always come last here.

And as I've said before, I've not actually played this deck (okay, played three games with someone else's build once), so this one is merely from what I have seen in my harrowing days as a Pokemon Player.