Haymaker (TCG)
| Haymaker | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The Haymaker deck archetype was a strong competitor in the early days of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. It was overused due to its ability to often win the game before the opponent could even get their strategy together.
History
Early versions of Haymaker were tested almost immediately after the Base Set came out. The archetype was an instant success because it used the fastest strategy possible at the time.
Strategy
Cards
Key cards in the deck were Base Set Hitmonchan and Electabuzz, and Fossil Magmar. Because of their low Energy cost and status as Basic Pokémon, the time required for set-up was minimal. Combined with the fact that they were of three distinct elemental types, as well as the fact that none of them shared a weakness while at the same time all having reasonably high HP, brought many players to hate the archetype, with several decks created specifically to be anti-Haymaker.
Key Cards
- Hitmonchan is a quick hit for 20 damage at the beginning, with Jab, and it also has 70 HP, which was good for a basic Pokémon at the time.
- Electabuzz provides a low energy attack for good damage in Thunderpunch, which is its main use, but it is also a good starter due its Thundershock attack which also is quite good for only one energy. It is also a 70 HP basic.
- Magmar is really only good for stalling or poisoning. Its better attack, Smog, does average damage for two energies and has a chance to poison the opposing Pokémon, which is the best thing about the card. It also has 70 HP.
Other Pokémon
- Oddish is useless and only in the deck to evolve into Dark Vileplume.
- Dark Gloom, although better than Oddish, would still not be included if not for Dark Vileplume.
- Dark Vileplume's Pokémon Power, Hay Fever, negates all trainer cards, meaning that the game will pretty much depend on pure power, which this deck excels at.
- Ditto is a good choice because this deck uses many types of energy, so Ditto has a good chance of being able to attack.
- Erika's Clefairy's Moonwatching attack moves one basic energy card from the player's deck to their hand, which comes in handy due to the many types of energy used in the deck.
Other Trainers
- Bill provides minor drawing support.
- Computer Search searches any card out of the player's deck, for a cost, which is useful for obvious reasons.
- Item Finder is like Computer Search, but it can only search trainer cards from the discard pile.
- Gust of Wind gives the player field control by allowing them to choose what Pokémon their opponent's have active.
- Professor Oak provides hand refreshment, allowing the player to discard their hand and draw seven cards.
- Pokémon Trader swaps a Pokémon from the hand with one from the deck, which can help the player get whatever Pokémon is most useful in their current situation.
- PlusPower can provide that extra boost a Pokémon needs when attacking with that 10 damage. It's also stackable, so if a player gets four onto their Pokémon, they'll be doing huge damage that turn. This deck is all about attacking.
Energy Cards
- Rainbow Energy is amazing because the deck uses so many different types of Pokémon and this one energy can power them all.
- Fighting Energy pays for Electabuzz's attacks.
- Lightning Energy pays for Electabuzz's attacks.
- Fire Energy pays for Magmar's attacks.
- Double Colorless Energy is decent because it provides two energy for the price of one. The downside is that they're colorless, but that's okay if one is attached to Hitmonchan.
Typical Decklist
The deck list appearing below is not official; it is meant to represent an average build of the archetype, not specifically constructed for any regional metagame. Being that this is merely an archetype, a player may wish to change any part of this deck when building his or her own version.
| Quantity | Card Name | Type | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4x | Hitmonchan |  |
File:Rare rare.gifH |
| 4x | Electabuzz |  |
File:Rare rare.gif |
| 4x | Magmar |  |
File:Rare uncom.gif |
| 3x | Oddish |  |
File:Rare com.gif |
| 3x | Dark Gloom | |
File:Rare uncom.gif |
| 3x | Dark Vileplume | |
File:Rare rare.gifH |
| 2x | Ditto |  |
File:Rare rare.gif |
| 2x | Erika's Clefairy | |
File:Rare rare.gif |
| 3x | Bill | T | File:Rare com.gif |
| 2x | Computer Search | T | File:Rare rare.gif |
| 1x | Item Finder | T | File:Rare rare.gif |
| 2x | Gust of Wind | T | File:Rare com.gif |
| 1x | Professor Oak | T | File:Rare uncom.gif |
| 3x | Pokémon Trader | T | File:Rare rare.gif |
| 2x | PlusPower | T | File:Rare uncom.gif |
| 4x | Rainbow Energy | E | File:Rare rare.gifH |
| 5x | Fighting Energy | E | -- |
| 5x | Lightning Energy | E | -- |
| 5x | Fire Energy | E | -- |
| 2x | Double Colorless Energy | E | File:Rare uncom.gif |
Restriction
The Haymaker deck, being comprised mostly of cards made in the first few sets of the TCG, was one of the first to be essentially, but not explicitly, banned from play as the cards were taken out of Pokémon Organized Play. Due to its loss, however, the TCG was allowed to grow, and new strategies were eventually able to take root.
