Hi there. Here is a Pokemon TCG Pocket deck overview post. A few weeks ago this Weezing & Scolipede deck did catch people's attention as it won an 139 person online tournament. You would think that Celebi ex or Mewtwo decks would win tournaments due to its popularity but no. A counter deck in the form of Weezing and Scolipede won.
Core Cards
Koffing & Weezing
I choose the old Koffing and the old Weezing. The old Koffing is a simple 20 damage for 1 Dark Energy. New Koffing brings 1 more Koffing from the deck to the Bench. I don't find the new Koffing from Mythical Island worth it.
New Weezing requires 2 Dark Energy for the Smokescreen attack. You do 50 damage plus a defensive wall if the opponent gets Tails.
I prefer the old Weezing as you can use the Gas Leak ability to Poison the opponent's Active Pokemon. The Tackle attack is not too bad as it is 1 Dark Energy to do 30 damage. You can do 40 damage per turn. Plus 20 more if hitting for the Psychic weakness. Then 10 more damage from Poison between turns.
Venipede, Whirlpede, Scolipede
The Venipede, Whirlpede and Scolipede evolution line is quite good in its progression. The Venipede has a simple one Dark Energy to do 20 damage attack. Whirlpede has a one Dark Energy attack that does 20 damage plus Poison. This Whirlpede is good if you go first since you cannot attack going first but you can evolve one the second turn and get a good attack off.
Scolipeded is a tanky Stage 2 Pokemon with 140 HP and two Energy cost attack. The base damage is 70 with an added 50 damage if the opponent's Active Pokemon is Poisoned. This results in doing 120 damage plus 10 from Poison. This one hits Pikachu ex, Celebi ex, Mew ex and Mewtwo ex (if they are Poisoned).
One lucky sequence is getting Venipede first turn, then Whirlpede the next turn. After Whirlpede you evolve to Scolipede. Scolipede in three consecutive turns and start attacking is a very scary and fast start.
Leaf
Leaf is a good supporter that helps with retreating Pokemon with large retreat costs. You can retreat the Active Spot Weezing or Scolipeded a little bit easier with Leaf.
Koga
Koga is a niche Supporter that applies only to Muk or Weezing. Put a Muk or Weezing from the Active Spot into your hand. This is good if the Active Spot Weezing is low on HP. Another use case is to use Weezing's Gas Leak to Poison the opponent's Active Pokemon and go for the 120 damage when switching in Scolipede.
Sample Decklist
Here is the decklist that I use. The Japanese one shown above uses Tauros. I don't use Tauros as I think the 3 Energy cost is too high. Instead of Tauros I use Farfetch'd. Farfetch'd is good for the early game for the 40 damage and is okay with finishing off weak Pokemon.
Picture screenshots from my Redmi Note 13 Pro phone.
Advantages
- Dark type favoured against Psychic types like Mewtwo ex and Mew ex, +20 damage
- Single Prize Pokemon, Opponent Has To Knockout Three of Your Pokemon
- No Pokemon ex required, Easy Deck To Build
- Scolipede Can Hit For 120 + 10 Poison Damage If Opponent's Active Pokemon Is Poisoned, One Hit Pikachu ex, Celebi ex, Mew ex and Mewtwo ex
Disadvantages
- Weak To Fighting Type Decks
- Bad RNG hurts the Stage 2 Scolipede setup.
- Combo reliant with Scolipede + Weezing's Poison + Koga/Leaf
- Pikachu ex matchup may be difficult, they can retreat to remove Poison
Closing Notes
The Weezing + Scolipede dark deck is a very good alternative to Pikachu ex decks, Celebi ex decks and Mewtwo ex decks. It is fairly easy to build as no Pokemon ex are needed.
There is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to playing this deck. Misplays can cost you the game with this deck. Bad randomness can hurt your setup and you may not get Scolipede in time.
This deck is a strong counter to Mewtwo ex decks. As the Mewtwo ex player setups you can (theoretically) set up pressure with Koffing + Weezing or even with Venipede/Whirlpede and Scolipede. Even if the Mewtwo ex player sets up their Gardevoir during turn 3, your pressure could be too much for the Mewtwo ex player.
The Pikachu ex matchup is winnable but not easy. They can retreat a lot to remove the Poison from Weezing/Whirlpede. You want to surprise the Pikachu ex with a well timed Weezing Poison then retreat with Leaf or use Koga then hit big with Scolipede. This combo is somewhat rare though. Setting up a stage 2 Pokemon can be tricky at times.
When it comes to facing Celebi ex. It is similar to the Gardevoir & Mewtwo matchup. Weezing in the early game applies pressure. It is RNG dependent though. If the Celebi player gets turn 3 Serperior then they are favoured unless they get many tails on their flips.
Overall this deck is a good counter deck. If 50% of players are playing Mewtwo ex, Celebi ex and Pikachu ex then this deck is an okay choice.
This deck is also good for solo missions when you need to finish that requirement of having deck with only 1, 2, 3 diamond cards (no Pokemon ex).