Pokémon
- Vulpix x2
- Ninetales x2
- Ponyta x2
- Rapidash x2
Trainers
- Potion x2
- Poke Ball x2
- Professor's Research x2
- Sabrina x2
- Blaine x2
- X Speed x1
- Giovanni x1
Strategy
This is a quick, simple 3 Diamond or less Fire deck that sets up fast and hits hard. This is great for completing the Solo missions that require a Three Diamond or less deck. I have also had some success with it against players utilizing the Celebi/Serperior meta deck that's in play, though it requires the RNG be in your favor!
The key to this deck is getting Rapidash set up and on the field early. If you are going second I would recommend starting with Vulpix to get an energy on it so you can stop incoming attacks, especially if you are going up against a Water deck.
Nice things about this deck: The Ninetales + Blaine combo takes out Pikachu EX and Celebi EX in one hit. Depending on the RNG, you can also take out the major threat of Starmie EX with Rapidash + Blaine. Rapidash can also take out Celebi EX in one hit with a Giovanni. The only weakness to this deck is Water, but if you use Sabrina to get pokemon like Staryu or Squirtle in the opponents active slot before they can set up you can still manage to win.
If you are less concerned with health replenishment, you could swap a potion in for another X Speed. None of the cards in this deck require more than a single energy to retreat, so Leaf is not a good fit for this deck. It's also not a bad idea to swap out a Pokeball for another attacker, such as Heatmor or either Magmar. (In the case of bringing in a Magmar, swapping an X Speed for a Leaf is not a terrible idea!)
I personally prefer the consistent 20 Damage from the Genetic Apex Ponyta for this deck since ideally it will be evolved rather quickly anyway, but it's a solid idea to use one of each type of Ponyta currently in play. The Mythical Island Ponyta could do up to 70 damage against grass types (with RNG luck + Giovanni), which can take out a lot of basic grass types desperate to evolve and set up, such as Bulbasaur and Snivy. A good coin flip can also take out Caterpie, which I have seen in a lot of the Celebi EX decks lead with (though GA Ponyta takes those out in a single blow without a coin flip when using Giovanni so-- mileage may vary).
Will this deck help you a lot in PVP? A little, considering the current Celebi EX/Serperior meta. But again, this is primarily designed to help with taking out the pesky 3 Diamond or below solo missions. I am still playing around with similar decks of other types.
(Note: You will need to use the basic versions of the Trainer cards for this to qualify as Three Diamonds or less. The full art cards, while they function identically, overshoot the rarity requirement. If you do not care about the rarity requirement, feel free to slot those in instead.)