The Hotheaded Quiz Master, Blaine, is the gym leader of Cinnabar Island and a legendary master of Fire-type Pokemon. In Pokemon TCG Pocket, he’s a great supporter for the same type, boosting their damage to Knock Out stronger Pokemon that they catch by surprise.
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Blaine decks might not be the same kind of powerhouse deck as Pikachu ex, but they’re fast, fun, and easy for free-to-play players to build. Always the quiz master, Blaine will force you to employ strategy and do some math, but it’ll all be worth it when you score a surprise KO on your opponent’s ace.
Sample Decklist
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Blaine Deck |
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Vulpix x2 |
Ninetales x2 |
Ponyta x2 |
Rapidash x2 |
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Magmar |
Blaine x2 |
Professor’s Research x2 |
Sabrina |
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Potion x2 |
X-Speed x2 |
Poke Ball x2 |
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One of the big advantages of the Blaine deck is that it contains only single-prize Pokemon, which allows you to trade one Prize Point for two by softening up powerful ex Pokemon with one of yours, then going in for the KO with a second one.
Blaine increases the damage of every final-stage Pokemon in this deck by 30, allowing Ninetales to OHKO a Pikachu ex. Meanwhile, Rapidash’s Fire Mane only requires one Energy, so it can start attacking immediately to soften up bulkier targets.
While Magmar benefits from Blaine, it doesn’t have the speed of Rapidash or the damage of Ninetales, and has lower HP than either. Meanwhile, Sabrina allows you to pull weakened Pokemon back into the active spot, but can’t be used the same turn as Blaine. Either or both can be replaced with Red Card for hand interference or the Venusaur Event‘s Jigglypuff promo for sleep support.
Old Amber and Aerodactyl to bounce your opponent’s Active Pokemon or Drowzee and Hypno for sleep support from the bench are also solid options but take up both slots.
Blaine Deck Strategy
Other popular Fire decks rely on Moltres ex for Energy acceleration, but Blane doesn’t need it: no attack in this deck costs more than two Energy, and both Ponyta and Rapidash have single-Energy attacks.
Ideally, you should set Ponyta as your first Active Pokemon and Vulpix on your Bench. This allows you to attach an Energy to Ponyta and attack immediately if you go second, or evolve, attach, and attack on your second turn if you went first.
Once you have one Energy attached to Rapidash, start attaching Energy to Vulpix/Ninetales and switch in when you have an opportunity to score a KO. If necessary, retreat Ninetales later to soften targets with Rapidash, repeating the process as necessary.
If you’re short a Ponyta, starting with Vulpix in the Active position isn’t a big setback: Tail Whip can protect you for a turn while you attach Energy and evolve Vulpix into Ninetales, at which point you can start swinging for 90 damage per turn with Flamethrower.
One of the keys to the deck is tracking your opponent’s Pokemon’s HP and using your Supporters effectively. Blaine adds 30 damage to attacks from Ninetales, Rapidash, and Magmar, which your opponent won’t see unless they use a Hand Scope to sneak a peek at your hand. Use this to KO Pokemon that your opponent thinks are safe for another round.
Sabrina is another excellent supporter that can be used to KO weakened Pokemon on the Bench. It’s particularly effective in the early game when your Ninetales can score KOs on Basic and Stage 1 Pokemon your opponent is trying to evolve. Taking out both of your opponent’s Charmanders means they have four dead cards in their deck and no primary win condition.
Blaine Deck Matchups
Fire decks like Blaine have a favorable matchup against Grass decks, particularly Venusaur ex, the premier Grass-type Pokemon in Genetic Apex. Ninetales can OHKO every non-ex Pokemon you’re likely to see without Blaine, while Rapidash can do the same with him.
Venusaur ex decks tend to run lots of healing effects, so you’ll struggle if your opponent manages to get Venusaur ex into play. The key is to outrun it, taking KOs from Basic Pokemon and Ivysaur before your opponent can finish setting up.
The popular Starmie ex / Articuno ex deck is a particularly bad matchup for Blaine. Blaine’s main advantage is speed, powering up quickly for devastating medium-damage attacks right out of the gate. Starmie ex powers up just as fast as Ninetales, but has a type advantage, more HP, and Energy support that allows it to attack on turn-one while going first.
The one advantage Blaine has is single-prize Pokemon. If you can hit Starmie ex for 40 HP from Rapidash, then KO it with Ninetales after Rapidash is KOed, you’ll have traded one Prize Point for two, and only need one more Prize Point to win. Typically, Staryu is the only single-prize Pokemon in a Starmie ex / Articuno ex deck, so if you can get that one before it evolves, you’ll be the star of the show.
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