Deck Profile Three:  
Slashtap

Slashtap is a Haymaker variant.  Like a Haymaker, it circumvents the loss of speed required to run Evolotion lines by using only Basic Pokemon.  However, Slashtap goes one step further, specializing in board control and shaving itself a bit more deck space.  How does it do this?  Well, the definition of a Slashtap is a Haymaker deck that uses Basic Pokemon with a free Retreat cost.  The result?  Well, it’s twofold.  First off, you get great insurance for your side of the board – any status effect besides paralysis won’t do much, and you’ll always be able to fall back on your Cleffas and your Tech Pokemon.  However, the deck also consolidates the usual 2-3 Gust of Wind and 2-3 Switch into 4 Double Gust.  This means that you have a better average chance of having access to both offensive and insurance-based board control at all times during the game.  It’s a very, very powerful advantage.

The deck has the haymaker’s speed, and sacrifices only a little bit of the haymaker’s ability to make do with a single energy on any Pokemon.  In return, you gain a bit more maneuverability, and a few more Trainer slots.  These slots can be used to protect the deck’s energy a bit more than the standard Haymaker, and, when balanced properly and at its pinnacle, the Slashtap is almost always superior to a standard hay also at the height of its game.  Each Pokemon can dish out more damage while absorbing more as well, and the deck’s overall level of synergy is higher.  

It tends to look something like this:

Template for Slashtap:
2-3 Scyther
2-3 Sneasel
2-3 Gligar
0-2 Murkrow (rarely seen)
3 Cleffa

Tech
0-2 Tyrogue (rarely seen)
2-3 Pichu 

Trainers:
4 Oak
0-4 Elm
3-4 Computer Search
2-4 Item Finder
4 Double Gust
3-4 Energy Removal
3-4 Super Energy Removal
2-4 Lass
2 Gold Berry/Focus Band (usually Band)
2 Sprout Tower/Ecogym
1 Town Volunteers
0-2 Energy Charge
 

Energy:
2-4 DCE
2-4 Recycle
Rainbow/Dark, usually totalling 5-6
0-2 Warp
 

Right off the bat, if you read the Haymaker template, you’ll immediately notice that this is a far tighter template than the Haymaker one was.  The Pokemon are all pretty static, with the only real rooms for variation being Murkrow and Tyrogue.  The extra few slots afforded by the Double Gust versus Gust/Switch skew allow for a bit more energy defense, so the Lasses are a must.  Ecogym however usually comes down to your metagame – if you see more removal than wiggly/Chansey/fable, go with the Ecogym.  If the Colorless Pokemon are a bigger problem though, go with the Sprout Towers, obviously.  A split 1/1 or 1/1 can also often work well if you’re running a high count on Item Finder.  Lass is the most important piece of protection though – a first turn Lass Eeeeeeek is probably more important in this deck than in any other.

First Turn:  
Get down a minimum of two Basics, including a Cleffa.  Attach a non-dark energy to Cleffa, ER the opponent if you went second, dish out a bit of disruptive board control if possible, Lass, and then Eeeeeeek.  If you need to with your version of the deck, it can also be a good idea to try and get your Ecogym into play on this turn – your opponent will already be struggling to recover from the Lass/Eeeeeeek and to redeem their strategy, so defaulting your Gym is more difficult to do now then at any other point in the game.

Second Turn:  
From here, you have two options.  If you think your control off the lass was tenuous at best, try to press an attack with a Gligar, or drop a recycle to a Scyther.  Bait out any Removal they might still have access to before you start building a Sneasel, or, if you’re running them, a Murkrow.  However, if you think you’ve got total control, start building that Sneasel or the Murkrow now.  Exercise some board and energy control if it’s possible and advantageous to do so, and if you got Lass/Eeeeeeeked last turn as opposed to you being the one doing the Lassing, just try to recover as best you can.  If you didn’t get the Lass/Eeeeeeek off last turn, and your opponent has a hand or a Cleffa down, it’s still important that you try again to get the combo off.

Third Turn:  
Attack.  Either drop the DCE to the Recycle-attached Scyther from last turn, or start building/finish building the Sneasel/Murkrow.  It’s important at this point that you be on not just an energy and board offensive, but also on a damage-dealing offensive.  Pressure is very important to have established by, at the latest, the third turn with this deck.  From here on out, it’s just playing off the foundation of these first three turns – use board control to either assure KOs or disrupt the opponent’s attempts to regroup.  Establish a backup for your main hitter (usually Sneasel or Scyther) in the form of a Scyther with a Recycle, or a Sneasel with a Rainbow or Dark down.  It’s not foolproof, but it is to some degree, insurance.  A Gligar and a DCE in hand can always create a pretty solid Plan C as well. 

A bit more difficult to play than the average Neoized Haymaker, but, pretty simple once a player adjusts to how the deck plays.
 

My Current Version:

Right now I’m actually experimenting with a Slashtap variant, fondly named Snatchtap.  Basically, it’s a regular Slashtap deck with the energy balance skewed to four Rainbow Energy.  With a minimal amount of Metal Energy tossed in, this allows the deck to run Aquapolis Scizor, simply used only in the event of facing a Slowking deck where Pichu isn’t enough tech.  It’s interesting, and it works pretty well, however, careful care must be taken to resist the urge to evolve to Scizor when it’s not completely demanded by the game (I’ve screwed myself a few times in playtesting by doing this).  It’s only a small series of modifications from a true Slashtap deck, but, the changes are actually quite evident in the way the deck plays – if you play Slashtap normally quite a lot, try this version, and see what I mean.

SnatchTap:

Pokemon: 15 
3 Sneasel 
4 Scyther 
2 Gligar 
3 Cleffa 
1 Pichu 
2 Aquapolis Scizor 

Energy: 12 
4 Rainbow 
3 Recycle 
3 DCE 
1 Dark 
1 Metal 

Trainers: 33 
4 Oak 
2 Elm 
3 Computer Search 
3 Item Finder 
3 Lass 
4 SER 
3 ER 
4 Double Gust 
2 Focus Band 
1 Gold Berry 
1 Sprout Tower 
1 Town Volunteers 
2 Energy Charge

The deck runs a bit thin currently, so it takes some practice to play reliably and dominantly (a bit more than I have with it at the moment – this one qualifies as still being in testing ;D).  However, it is capable of running very, very well with a competitive level of consistency.

Pokemon:  
Ran the Gligar at two and the Sneasel at four – just a matter of personal taste.  Normally I’d run a Slashtap with three pieces of tech, so, three Pichu become one Pichu and two Scizor to fit the goal of the deck.  Pretty standard given the premise.

Trainers:  
Drawing engine is a combination of Minty and Uber – one Computer Search and Item Finder off of a Minty engine allows for room for two Elm. Three Lass are a must, and the Removal line is done 3/4 ER/SER to take advantage of the use of Recycle in most situations.  Double Gust of course replaces the traditional Gust/Switch balance for reasons already covered.  The Sprout Tower, Town Volunteers, and Energy Charge are all pretty self-explanatory, while the 2/1 Band/Berry balance is a bit odd, but advantageous – the balance would be 2/0, but, with four Rainbow and a high willingness to use them, Gold Berry can often provide a nice pick-me-up combo that can be game crushing – a reason that tips the scales in favor of running the card. 

Energy:  
Again, a pretty obvious pick to fit the theme.  The Rainbow is skewed to four to provide both Dark and Metal, and an additional single Dark and Metal each helps to round out the overall count.  The other energies of the deck are spent focusing on the “really annoying Scyther that seemingly CAN’T be stumped by Removal” that Slashtap loves to frustrate other decks with, as well as supporting SER and the Gligar-and-DCE-in-hand backup plan.

An interesting twist on a modern classic, the deck can do a bit more than a regular Slashtap, but takes more skill to do the previous tasks just as well.  I personally enjoy playing it when I’m not using Rastatuff or SneaselKingKrow – a bit harder to play than a regular Slashtap, but not requiring quite as much focus as some of the other decks available.

That wraps up this Deck Profile.  Thanks for reading!

-Gloom