Deck Profile Two:
Neoized Hay

Back when Base Set was released, Haymaker was the first distinct archetype.  Instead of focusing on evolving to more powerful Pokemon, the deck used nothing but basics that could do well off a single energy to hit hard and fast, and used (what seemed like at the time) a glut of Trainer cards to maintain control and deprive the opponent of offensive options.  The deck initially used Electabuzz and Hitmonchan, some times seeing play with Farfetch’d and Chansey to stall.  It used  ER, SER, Gust, Switch, Scoop Up, Oak, Bill, Computer Search, Item Finder, Pluspower, and Energy Retrieval to control the board, control energy, provide a bit of synergetic resilience with the scoops, and do it all at, what was at least considered then to be a lightning-quick pace.

Minor additions were sometimes made to the deck with the release of Fossil – Fossil brought with it a highly playable Magmar that was sometimes used in tri-type versions of the deck, and it also brought Energy Search – deck thinning, card advantage, and a handy source of, well, energy.  Fossil also brought Articuno to the scene, making Raindance decks a full fledged dominant archetype – Electabuzz became all that more important to Hays as a result.  Ditto also began to see play.

With the release of Jungle, the Haymaker evolved.  The standard Hay now used the original two Buzz and Chan, but they were now partnered with the powerful newcomers, Scyther and Lickitung.  This deck, alongside the emerging Wigglytuff deck, ruled the tournament scene for quite a while.

As decks compete for speed, the Insanity deck, a low-basic low-energy Hay variant, is founded.  The deck is a monster, often running an as-of-then unheard of 45 + trainers, with as few as three Basics.  (but that’s a different article ;D)

Fastforward.  Gym Challenge hits and Rocket’s Zapdos is incredibly viable.  Rocket’s Scyther is tried as well, but, is found to be far too energy-intensive.  Genesis hits shelves worldwide months later, and Gligar is revealed as an excellent hybrid between Scyther and Hitmonchan.  Sneasel enters the fray as well, trading the necessitation of proprietary energy for the possibility of massive power.  Cleffa becomes a staple in all decks, and Lass sees a booming increase in use with the emergence of the Lass/Eeeeeeek combo.  Slashtap and Snichu variants of the Haymaker are created, but a more general, Neoized Hay is also seen. 

The following is a modern template of this deck: 

Template for Neoized Hay:
2-3 Scyther
0-3 Sneasel
2-3 Gligar
0-3 Rocket’s Zap
0-3 Electabuzz (usually only Buzz or Zap is used, but some decks run both)
0-3 Fossil magmar (nostalgia – not used very often)
3 Cleffa

Tech
0-2 Tyrogue
0-2 Pichu
0-2 Brock’s Mankey

Trainers:
4 Oak
0-4 Elm
3-4 Computer Search
2-4 Item Finder
2-3 Gust of Wind
2-3 Switch/Scoop Up
3-4 Energy Removal
3-4 Super Energy Removal
2-4 Lass
2-3 Gold Berry/Focus Band
2 Sprout Tower/Ecogym
1 Town Volunteers
0-2 Energy Charge
 

Energy:
11-13 assorted energy, encompassing possibly:
Darkness (used with Sneasel)
Rainbow (usually just used with Sneasel)
Fire (Magmar)
Lightning (Buzz/Zapdos)
Fighting (not used often, but sometimes used sparingly with Gligar)
DCE  (Pretty much always seen)
Recycle (Also, a staple)
Metal (used with Rocket’s Zapdos, as well as protection on Tech and other uses)
Warp (techs Murkrow Lock)

It’s a broad template, but Haymakers are highly varied.  Note that if this template is used with only Cleffa, tech Pokemon, and Gligar/Sneasel/Scyther as the selected Pokemon, the deck becomes Slashtap (and exploits DoubleGust to brutal extremes), and thus to qualify technically as a core Neoized Hay, it must include at least one main-use Pokemon that has a Retreat Cost.

How does one play a Neoized Hay?  Well, the oldschool hay played like this:

First Turn: 
Get down two Basics.  Get some Energy and some Energy Removal in hand.  Attach an Energy.  Attack. 

Second Turn: 
Keep two Basics down.  Use Board Control to get a KO.  Attack.

Third Turn: 
See turns one and two.  ;D

Nowadays, the Neoized Hay has a bit more strategy to it, depending on if Sneasel and Rocket’s Zap are utilized.  The turn one is always the same though:

First Turn: 
Drop Cleffa or Board Control Cleffa to Active Position.  Bench one to two Basics.  Get an Energy, ideally Recycle, onto Cleffa.  Use Lass.  Eeeeeeek, using a Gust to insure the success of the Eeeeeeek if possible and necessary.

Second Turn:
This is where we see a three-way split variance dependant on Pokemon use. 

Option One:  If you’re using Rocket’s Zapdos, you probably want to attack with it, and before you do   that, Computer Search or Oak away a couple Lightning Energy (this can be done first turn as part of the pre-Lass process and is best done then).  Assuring a Metal Energy in-hand sometime soon is important as well, and laying a Gold Berry on the Zap is a priority too.  Again, bench count is best if kept to a minimum

Option Two: If you’re using Sneasel, you want to begin building your bench and Sneasel, ending the turn with an Eeeeeeek.  In this scenario, that first-turn Lass is all-important, because it will be the first and best line of defense for the Rainbow or Dark you just dropped.  Insuring the safety of the Dark or Rainbow can also be done by dropping an Ecogym this turn, but this of course only prevents the energy from going to the Discard – it doesn’t keep it on Sneasel, which is your main priority.

Option Three: If you’re not using either, well, power up a Gligar, Buzz, Scyther, or any necessary Tech, and just start pummelling. 

With all three, a good grasp on Board Control and Energy Control is highly recommended.   Options one and two provide a bit better of an offense, but option three allows for a bit more focus on control of the game through use of Trainers, a lower energy count, and a bit more variety in weaknesses that you can exploit.  All three have their advantages, and their costs.

Third Turn:  
Continue controlling the opponent on the Board and Energy fields – get KOs as quickly as possible, and unless you’re using Sneasel, only have Benched what you have charged, or what you’re currently charging. 

Very, very easy to play. ;D
 

My Hay, if I Had One:
Well, truth be told, I’m running a Slashtap right now as Neoized Hay is a bit too slow for my environment.  However, here’s a decklist based on the last version of the deck that I used, possibly changed a little:

Lucky Thirteens:
Pokemon: 12
3 Cleffa
2 Gligar
2 Scyther
3 Rocket’s Zapdos
2 Pichu

Trainers: 36
4 Oak
2 Elm
4 Computer Search
3 Item Finder
3 Lass
4 ER
4 SER
3 Gust Of Wind
2 Switch
2 Gold Berry
2 Focus Band
2 Sprout Tower
1 Town Volunteers

Energy: 12
3 DCE
2 Recycle
5 Lightning
2 Metal

Pretty basic.  I once ran a version of this that used Elekid and Electabuzz over Pichu and all nixed one of the three Rocket’s Zaps, but, the proliferation of Pichu in most Unlimited environment has just made Elekid completely impossible to run nowadays – it really is giving up Prizes. 

Pokemon:  
Standard.  I’ve chosen Rocket’s Zap as the big hitter, Scyther and Gligar for backup.  Gligar takes out Wigglytuffs, Clefables, and Tyrogue, while stalling against other Gligar if needed.  Scyther takes out Gligar, Tyrogue, and dishes thirty as an all-purpose attacker to anything else.  Cleffa is well, Cleffa, and ‘Banded Pichus tech out Slowking.

Trainers:  
Drawing engine is a mixed Uber skewed to four Computer Search to get Lightning Energy into the Discard in the early game.  Three Item Finder and three Lass make the combo pretty easy to pull off first turn with Cleffa, and the maxed out ER/SER line promote control after that.  Board control is pretty standard, and could even be skewed to four Double Gust if the metagame allows it.  Healing is standard: GBs for Zapdos and Focus Band for the babies, with Scyther and Gligar falling somewhere in between as required.  Sprout Tower slows down Fable and Wiggly (biiiiiig threats to this deck), and Town Volunteers is the lone piece of recursion.  Fan Club isn't really worth - you don't want a full Bench, because that just gives more things that you have to manage, and more targets for your opponent to exploit.

Energy:  
A basic framework created around Rocket’s Zapdos’ needs for Lightning and Metal Energy.  I basically just took the bare minimum for running Zapdos, and then added what I could in the way of Recycle and DCE around those specifications.
 

It’s a pretty good version of the deck that can do well.  It’s somewhat weak to Murkrow lock, so speed has to be used to make up for that threat.  Ideally, against a SneaselKingKrow, don’t drop a Scyther.  EVER.  It can cost you the game pretty easily without Warp Energy, which this version of the deck doesn’t run.  Lass fast, Lass hard, and try to get an early advantage.  Once that’s attained, keep the pressure going and don’t give an opponent time to recover – for every problem they solve, create a new one.  This keeps them off balance, and out of control, which means you’ll win.

That about wraps up this Deck Profile.  Thanks for reading!

-Gloom