Queendom was a popular competitive deck in thePokémon Trading Card Game during the 2004/2005 season. The deck was widely accepted as one of, if notthe, best decks in the game, and even won aWorld Championship title, the highest possible honor for a player and their deck. Although the deck is now banned fromPlay! Pokémon, due to theRotation of the deck's key cards, it still remains a staple deck in the history of competitive Pokémon TCG playing.
History
The deck is presumed to have been created some time in 2004, chiefly developed by Pablo Meza, Jeremy Maron, and Adam Capriola, three of the top players in the world at the time. Especially notable is Maron, who won Worlds with Queendom that year and finished with aPremier Rating of 2001.00, fifth in the world at the time. Meza also placed third in Worlds that year, also with Queendom.
After coming up with the idea for the deck, Meza, Maron, and Capriola playtested the deck intensely for months against almost every possible archetype of the time, so as to assure that Queendom had no unforeseen weaknesses. This clearly paid off, as the deck took two of the top three spots at the World Championships that season.
Strategy
Like many of the best decks in the game's history, the strategy of Queendom is fairly straightforward.Pidgey is the ideal start so that the player can get aPidgeot out as soon as possible.Pidgeot'sQuick SearchPokémon Power reads that "Once during your turn (before your attack), you may choose any 1 card from your deck and put it into your hand." As can be assumed, this was chiefly used for setting up in the early game, and for getting any other cards needed in the late game.Quick Search in this deck was mainly meant to be used to set up at least oneNidoqueen as quickly as possible.
Nidoqueen is the deck's main attacker and cornerstone. In fact, the deck's name is clearly derived from Nidoqueen.Nidoqueen has two powerful attacks,Toxic andPower Lariat. ToxicPoisons theDefending Pokémon for only one
energy. However, Toxic was especially good because instead of placing one damage counter on the Defending Pokémon between turns, like typical poison, it placedtwo damage counters. This was extremely good for the time. Power Lariat did more damage based on the number ofevolved Pokémon the Queendom player had in play. For an energy cost of only
, it could do up to 90 damage. Again, this was spectacular for the time. SincePidgeot's Quick Search helps the Queendom player evolve their Pokémon quickly, Power Lariat was an especially effective combo withPidgeot.
In essence, the basic strategy of the deck is to use Quick Search and other effects to get out aNidoqueen and other Evolutions attacking as quickly as possible.
Cards
Key Cards
- Nidoqueen is, as mentioned above, the main attacking Pokémon in the deck.
- Pidgeot can use itsQuick Search Pokémon Power to set up aNidoqueen and supporting Pokémon, such as additionalNidoqueen orPidgeot.
- Milotic uses itsHealing ShowerPokémon Power to heal damage off both players' Pokémon. This was extremely helpful in certain matchups of the day, includingRockLock.
Other Pokémon
- Pidgey is chiefly there toevolve intoPidgeot at some point. If necessary,Pidgey can also stall in the early game with itsCorner attack, which prevents the Defending Pokémon from retreating.
- Pidgeotto also functions solely to evolve intoPidgeot.
- Nidoran♀ is, again, there to evolve intoNidoqueen. ItsCall For Friends attack also makes it a viable starting Pokémon, since Basic Pokémon are a significant part of the deck's success.
- Nidorina actually has a purpose other than evolving. ItsFast Evolution attack allows the player to search their deck for up to two Evolution cards and add them to their hand. This is especially useful in Queendom because a centerpiece of the deck is, in fact, the concept of "fastEvolution" so as to power upNidoqueen'sPower Lariat attack.
- Feebas is there for the sole purpose of evolving intoMilotic.
Other Trainers/Supporters
Energy Cards
- Grass Energy is used to powerNidoqueen'sToxic attack.
- Double Rainbow Energy speeds up the deck by decreasing the number of energy cards needed byNidoqueen to attack, since it's basically two energy for the price of one.
- Heal Energy simply is useful for healing 10 damage off a Pokémon. Since 10 damage can make the difference between another turn to live or a knockout, this is a helpful card.
- Fighting Energy simply provides the energy needed forNidoqueen'sLariat attack.
2005 World Championships Queendom Deck
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Queendom is also the name of the deck used by Jeremy Maron, Fifteen and Over Division Champion in the2005 World Championships. It is one of the four2005 World Championships Decks, released on October 31st, 2005. Each deck comes packaged with a 2005 World Championships Booklet. Each card features a silver border, Maron's signature, and limited edition 2005 World Championships back. None of the cards are tournament legal.
Description
Jeremy Maron built a powerhouse of a deck! Nidoqueen for power, Pidgeot for card drawing, and Milotic for surprises. Nidoqueen's Power Lariat Knock Out your opponent's Pokémon, drawing strength from your Evolved Pokémon on the Bench and warming your Bench up for the battle!
Deck list
The deck list below is based on Maron's deck from the World Championships. A player may wish to change any part of this deck when building his or her own version.
Restriction
Since literally all the cards in the deck have beenrotated out since the height of the deck's popularity, the deck is unplayable in sanctioned tournaments. Various "new-age" versions of the deck have been tried, centered around otherNidoqueen cards, but none have been quite so successful as the deck that won the 2005 World Championships.
See also
Internal
External
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