Base-Neo

The idea behind this deck is to set up an Aerodactyl as early as possible. Thanks to Fossil Egg, you're able to set up more than one, ideally on the very first turn. From there, Sneasel proceeds unrivaled with its Beat Up attack. Alternatively, you can also trap a weak attacker in the active spot with Murkrow and decimate the opponent's bench. And in case the opponent wheels out a Pichu or Magby, Tyrogue is there to counter them.

Blastoise's Rain Dance singlehandedly makes this deck viable despite the Energy Removal-heavy environment. Its main attack can do 60 damage, enough to knock out the Sneasel, the strongest attacker in the format, in a single hit. The deck is obviously weak to Lightning, against which Articuno should give you a better chance. Finally, Igglybuff is there to help thwart any control strategies.

The Base-Neo format brought with it far more powerful attackers than we were used to seeing in previous formats. Clefable thrives in this environment, being able to use the defending Pokémon's strongest attacks against it for a single Colorless energy. While you're setting it up, Zapdos is able to apply quick pressure with its likewise inexpensive Plasma attack which also retrieves an extra Lightning Energy from the discard pile, paying for its retreat cost. Lastly, Pichu and Magby help you disrupt any decks too reliant on Pokémon Powers.

This is one of the most insidious decks out there. It sets up Rocket's Minefield Gym Stadium to damage the Baby Pokémon as soon as they come into play then proceeds to exploit the Baby Rule's only weakness - lack of resistance to damage from Pokémon powers. All Dark Golbat and Dark Crobat need to do is simply evolve, taking out the low-HP Pokémon without even needing to flip. After the carnage all Sneasel needs to do is mop up.

One of the strongest and most consistent decks in the format. Kingdra's high HP, no Weakness, and low Energy cost allow you to slowly and steadily whittle down your opponent's board. Lass and Energy Removals help you slow down your opponent while you set up. From there, Focus Bands and Pokémon Centers assist you in keeping Kingdra alive. Lastly, Pichu and Magby help you negate any annoying Pokémon Powers.

Special Energy cards introduced in the Neo sets provide a huge power boost to Base-Neo decks. Light Dragonite, however, turns them into liabilities. Its Pokémon Power nullifies some of the most powerful attacks in the format. Additionally, its 100HP makes it very difficult to knock off, especially with Gold Berries and Healing Field Gyms to keep it alive. Finally, to make things extra annoying for the opponent, the deck is also filled with Baby Pokémon.

This rather unique deck of the Base-Neo format aims for one of the the less common win conditions: running the opponent out of cards in the deck. To that end, it uses Computer Search to help get Metal Energy into the discard pile while helping you set Mewtwo which then pics them up onto itself using its Energy Absorption attack. This makes it able to tank a lot of damage, especially in combination with Gold Berries and Focus Bands.

The deck uses the maximum number of Energy Removal and Pokémon Tower cards to slow your opponent down and prevent him from using big attacks. Muk slows your opponent down even further as it stops and Pokémon Powers from working. If your opponent still somehow manages to set up a powerful attacker, Chansey is there to help you get rid of it. Finally, using Aipom's Pilfer attack, you can ensure you will never be the first to run out of cards in your deck while simultaneously retrieving key cards from your discard pile.

Taking full advantage on the Metal Energy's effects, Rocket's Zapdos can swing for 60 damage while taking only 10 with three Lightning and one Metal attached. The resulting damage can then easily be healed with Gold Berries.

But this deck isn't just about aggression. Zapdos self-sustaining Plasma attack allows you not to worry about your Energy costs while allowing you to deplete your opponent's supply with a full 4/4 line of Super Energy Removals and Energy Removals and keep the drought going with Pokémon Towers.

While all that's going on, Muk can sit pretty on your bench and help slow down any Pokémon Power-dependant decks while taking advantage of Balloon Berries to retreat easily if stranded in the Active.

Due to an unfortunate mistranslation from Japanese that allowed Slowking's Pokémon Power to work from the bench (instead of only when the Pokémon was Active), it became one of the most broken Pokémon cards ever printed. Making matters even worse, the Power stacks. That means that with four Slowkings set up, your opponent is forced to flip four consecutive heads every single time they wish to play a Trainer.

This oppressive control strategy is of course perfectly paired with special Energy-dependent Sneasel. Even better than that, however, is the pairing with Murkrow. The Trainer lock makes its Mean Look attack especially devastating as it enables continuous subsequent use of Feint Attack, decimating your opponent's bench. To add the final insult to injury, the deck also plays two Tyrogues in case your opponent attempts to escape the lock with Pichu or Magby.

As the strongest attacker in the format, Sneasel can hit for as much as 140 damage. This of course comes at a cost: only special Energy cards - Darkness and Rainbow - can be used to power up its Beat Up attack. Ecogym, Chaos Gym, and Lass help protect them from Energy Removals whereas Aipom and Energy Charge allow you to get them back in rotation.

Sneasel is not the only trick this deck employs, however. Using only free retreating Pokémon, you are not only able to effortlessly switch between attackers but also promote Cleffa at crucial moments when a fresh set of cards is required. Additionally, it allows you to play a full line of Double Gusts which effectively function ad Gusts of Wind and Switches in one.

To round out the deck, you also have Pichu to deal with any pesky Pokémon Powers, Tyrogue to counter your opponent's Baby Pokémon, and Murkrow if you want to pivot to a control strategy.

This deck railroads you into a bit of an all or nothing strategy. But it's a good strategy. The aim is to trap one of your opponent's weak (or non-attacking) Pokémon in the active spot with the help of Gust of Wind and Murkrow's Mean Look. Once the trap is set, you evolve your Dark Gloom into Dark Vileplume, preventing the play of any Trainers henceforth. This leaves your opponent unable to retreat while you decimate their bench with Murkrow's Feint Attack. There are of course some decent counters to this (Muk, Igglybuff) but most decks struggle against such a predicament.

Wigglytuff is one of the strongest deck archetypes in the (modern reinterpretation of) Base-Fossil era and it continues to excel in Base-Neo, despite the format's faster and more dynamic nature. Its main attack - requiring a full bench to reach its maximum damage output - pairs perfectly with Baby Pokémon. Additionally, being a Stage 1 evolution, its footprint in the deck is fairly small which helps make space for more trainers, making this one of the most consistent decks in my collection.