Deck Profile One: 
SneaselKingKrow

Ask anyone what my favorite deck is, and they’ll always have the same reply: this one!  I’ve been using a version of this deck for a long time now, since the release of Genesis, originally using Base Electrode, Jungle Exeggutor, and Sneasel to abuse the synergy of Electrode’s Buzzap Power.  From there, I traded the Exeggutor for Slowking, and ran some Psychic Energy to actually use Slowking’s attack – something that would seem outlandish nowadays.  Then, I looked for more ways to abuse synergy with Slowking’s Mind Games Power – Slowking was already protecting my energies, but with the addition of Murkrow, Slowking let me accomplish something no other deck really does – create a duality of offence.  At the same time, other players were finding the same thing.  The deck, when run with Sneasel, Slowking, Murkrow, and some standard baby back up, allowed for two completely different approaches when played – either use Sneasel as a big hitter to attack the active while using Slowking to protect its energy, or use a bit of board control to get something into their active slot that can’t do damage, Mean Look it with Murkrow, and prevent them from using Trainer Cards like Switch or Double Gust with Slowking.  The speed with which the deck could change gears was a massive threat, making it unpredictable and difficult to adapt to.  The disruption that Slowking provided also rendered opposing decks virtually incapable of regrouping if they were placed at a disadvantage.

Over time, tech arrived in the form of Brock’s Mankey, Pichu, Magby, and later SI Jigglypuff.  Magby saw little use when it was ruled that moving it out of the Active position nullified the effect of Sputter, but Brock’s Mankey and Pichu continue to see a great deal of play to this day.  Now, the Wigglytuff variant Rastatuff, named for its use of the Southern Island Jigglypuff, utilizes a specialization in its central Evolution line to continually draw in Slowking repeatedly, running the opposing SneaselKingKrow deck out of its Switches, Warp Energies, and Item Finders.  However, despite the tech options available, SneaselKingKrow is still a highly resilient, incredibly viable deck that is still possibly the number one archetype in Unlimited play.  

It’s the only deck that can incorporate two drastically different, but devastatingly simple strategies within one deck and shift between them at a fast pace.  It can be picked up and played relatively easily, but unlike a lot of other archetypes, experience beyond the first few weeks of playing it often makes a huge, huge difference, and personal flavor options (Lass/NoLass, Goldberry/Focus Band) can often be deciding factors as the result of savvy play style.  Very, very cool deck that really rewards one’s skill as a player.

Here’s what the deck tends to look like:

Template for SneaselKingKrow:
4 Slowpoke
3-4 Slowking
2-4 Cleffa
2-4 Sneasel
2-3 Murkrow
Tech (0-2 pichu, 0-2 brock’s mankey)

3-4 Oak
0-4 Elm
3-4 Computer Search
2-4 Item Finder
2-4 Gust
2-3 Switch
2-4 ER
3-4 SER
2 Focus Band / Gold Berry
1-2 Sprout Tower
1-2 Ecogym 
0-2 Fan Club
0-2 Energy Charge
0-2 Town Volunteers

1-2 Warp Energy
3-4 Recycle Energy
4 Rainbow Energy
4 Darkness Energy

First Turn:
Slowking is the backbone of the deck.  It’s the linchpin that holds together the two synergies key to the deck’s success.  Thus, the deck’s first priority (save it having a chance at a one-turn ko) should always be to get the Slowkings out as soon as possible.  This means that first turn, you want to get a pair of slowpoke into play, preferably on the bench.  Anything else at this point is a bonus.  A Cleffa is nice cause it’ll help you get the Slowkings next turn.  A Sneasel or Murkow with an energy down is nice as well as long as it doesn’t get Energy Removaled – it’s often best just to hold back dropping a Darkness or Rainbow on the first turn, simply to insure that it sticks.  You might lose a turn of offence by not attaching first turn, but, attaching a Darkness or Rainbow is sometimes just asking to have the card removed on your opponents’ upcoming turn anyway.  If it strategically makes sense, by all means, attach that Dark.  But if it doesn’t, there’s very little reason to not hold back.  If you’re playing Lass in the deck, a Lass Eeeeeeek combo first turn is also a priority, but personally I think this dilutes the focus of the real goal on the first turn – get ready to drop the Kings.

Second Turn:
Second turn, the top priorities can vary depending on the situation.  In virtually all scenarios, the two Slowking are important.  You want to evolve them this turn, unless your opponent has access to a Brock’s Mankey, SI Jigglypuff, or Fragrance Trap-using Victreebel.  When you do, make sure that you have an Active Pokemon and an extra benched as well, both free retreaters, to ensure that you won’t be forced to push a Slowking Active.  If you intend on using Sneasel, get a Darkness or Rainbow on it.  If you intend on using Murkrow for a lock, get a Darkness or Rainbow on it, get a Gust of Wind, and start the lock this turn – you might also need a Sprout Tower.  Beyond that, insuring your position with a Switch in your hand, fortifying your Pokemon with Gold Berries or Focus Bands, and exercising some energy control are all very good ideas.

Third Turn:
On the third turn, you ideally close the trap.  If you went the Sneasel route, finish filling up the bench if you need to, add that second energy, and start stomping.  If you went with Murkrow, add the second energy, ‘Pick your targets, and go’.  Keep their energy controlled, and keep your energy available.  A charged Sneasel on the bench can help maintain a lock, because if they break the lock, and push something against the Murkrow, you can push the Sneasel and kill it in return.  If someone ever breaks your lock and doesn’t capitalize by killing your Murkrow, just lock them again if possible.  With Sneasel as the main offence, protect it, and give your offensive board control a top priority – get those KOs fast before they can do anything about it.  Make sure you have a Cleffa for backup, and if you’re fighting a mirror match, have your tech ready to go if you need it – keep it in hand if you can afford to, tech is always best when wielded as an unexpected surprise.
 

Comments:
Whether you’re maintaining a lock with Murkrow or not, the deck is about control.  You’re not just telling them when they can play Trainers, you also want to be telling them when they can keep energy on the field and what they can have in their active slot.  Establish the Slowkings, pick your immediate route of advance, and then really go at the board control and energy control hard.  You don’t have to remove everything.  But decide what’s key to the deck.  Hit the special energies: Wiggly and Chansey’s DCEs, Rocket Zapdos’ Metal, Sneasel and Murkrow’s Darks and Rainbows.  Don’t be afraid to bounce a Recycle with an ER though – if it maintains your control, and it’s necessary, by all means go for it.

Seeing the Slowkings brought into the Active position can be the death of this deck.  Always have insurance in the form of Switch, or an Item Finder with a Switch in the discard, cause they’re often very difficult to retreat.  Sometimes you might even need to kill your own Slowking with a Darkness Energy just to continue your attack.  Depending on how you build your version of the deck it can burn itself very, very quickly, and often all you need is a few more turns of attacking to win the game.

A Focus Banded Pichu, or even just a lot of tails flips trying to get through a Pichu’s Baby Rule, is also a very, very bad thing.  If possible, lock something else and smack the Pichu to death with Feint Attack if it hits the table.  If you’re forced to hit it in the active slot, use either a Sneasel or a Murkrow with a DARKNESS attached, so it’s a one shot affair.  
 

About Lass:
Lass, in my opinion, isn’t needed in this deck.  You can mitigate your own decking through the use of Elm and Town Volunteers.  You can deny their trainers via Slowking, without costing you your own, simply by running the deck with focus on the first two turns.  Can Lass be beneficial?  Certainly.  It’s an excellent come back card, and it can protect an energy drop on the first turn.  But if you use it, with the intent of a Lass/Eeeeeeek combo on the first turn, you’re spreading yourself very, very thin.  Instead of your goal being to establish two Slowpoke, and a strong board presence in the form of free retreating Pokemon on the first turn, you now need to do that, AND have a Cleffa down, AND have an energy on it (hopefully a Recycle), AND get a Lass once you’re done everything.  Even with those tasks completed, you still might need to burn a Gust of Wind just to get around their Active Baby if they have one.  It’s bad medicine in my mind – SneaselKingKrow just doesn’t need a first turn Lass/Eeeeeeek to be successful.  Within a couple turns of Mind Games, your opponent’s trainers are all going to be back in their deck anyways if they try to use them.  The key here is speed – be slow and you’ll die – be fast and you’ll win.

Here’s how I currently run the deck.

Pantless Wonders v Ihavenoidea
4 Slowpoke
4 Slowking
3 Cleffa
3 Sneasel
3 Murkrow
1 Pichu

4 Oak
4 Elm
3 Computer Search
3 Item Finder
3 Gust
2 Switch
4 ER
2 SER
2 Focus Band
2 Sprout Tower
2 Energy Charge
1 Town Volunteers

2 Recycle Energy
4 Rainbow Energy
4 Darkness Energy

Pokemon:
I run the Slowking 4/4 because I believe that’s just how it should be run.  If I have one locked up in prizes, I can still get two down with ease.  I can also afford to burn one or two through Oaking.  The Pichu is used as tech over Brock’s Mankey because it’s easier to use in a non-mirror match.  On a Gust, Mankey is a free KO – Pichu at least has a baby rule.  Facing a Ditto, or Elekid, Pichu basically gives free KOs (Ditto hates ZzzapZzzap Gust).  And of course, It’s also a great comeback card that can be relied on to pound out some damage in mirror matches.  Great card, it tends to be my tech of choice in everything I play.  The deck runs fourteen basics, pretty high, and this insures that it won’t be KOd on the first turn very often.

Trainers:
For the Trainer balance, I run a totally Uber drawing engine.  Draw and cycle to get down the Slowpokes and Slowkings FAST, and you’ve accomplished the main goal of this deck – Uber engines let you do that in a minimal amount of turns – far better in this situation than a Minty engine because it will, on average, cost you less turns to get the set up going.  Three Gust is pretty standard.  Two switch is one lower than the average most play, but it works, really well, since I’ve been playing the deck for going on two years.  Four ER and two SER departs from the norm, giving priority to ER instead of SER, which is generally preferred by the masses.  However, this keeps me a lot safer in the first few turns of the game without forcing me to sacrifice from my own resource base – in the mid and late games, energy won’t be attached very often anyways due to the mitigation of my opponent’s ability to draw the stuff.  ;D  Two Band goes over two Goldberry simply because I feel one hit KOs, from Wigglies, Sneasels, or Clefables, are the biggest threat to this deck, and Cleffa and Pichu love Focus Band.  Two Sprout Tower are for lock – some play Ecogym instead, but I’ve really never needed it.  The two Energy Charge can solve that problem, as well as the problem of burning a few energy Oaking in the first few turns, without giving my opponent the benefit that Ecogym would give to them – in other words, I don’t sacrifice control.  One Town Volunteers rounds out the bunch, bringing back Slowkings or the Pichu if they get burned or KOd, and serving as an anti decking measure alongside Elm.

I’m testing Fan Club, but right now with the Uber engine, I’m finding it’s not worth sacrificing an Energy Charge for.  

Energy:
Lastly, the energy.  Ten.  Pretty low, but with the drawing, and the level of protection and control that the deck exercises, it’s the perfect amount.  I might trade a Switch or a Recycle for a Warp Energy if high board control ever becomes an issue, but it certainly hasn’t yet – for now, the energy balance will stay the same. Aquapolis has barely changed it thus far – Minty versions will use Fan Club to mitigate their problems in the early game, but for a deck that runs an Uber engine like this one, they just don’t seem necessary.
 

In my opinion, that’s the best way to run the deck.  However, there are many ways to customize it to personal tastes, and this is only the one that fits mine.  SneaselKingKrow is a dominant deck against virtually everything but Rastatuff, Muk, and Victreebel, and when teched properly and played with wit and finesse, can overcome those decks reliably as well.  It’s top notch.  *gives a little thumbs up*

-Gloom