Abomazong (TCG)

Abomazong was a somewhat popular competitive deck in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The deck was a favorite among some competitive players for its ability to spread damage quickly and make a big hit if need be. Although the deck had a good showing in the relatively small City Championships series of , it performed poorly at larger events, when played.
==History==
Although the exact origin of the deck is unknown, the first well-known player to effectively use the deck was Jimmy Ballard of . A challenge to players to build a deck using appeared on the Banginboards, Ballard's invite-only TCG discussion forum, and the best combo was thought to be with .
==Strategy==
Abomazong has a seemingly straightforward strategy, but in reality it is a deck with many options and often overlooked strategic advantages over other archetypes in its era.
The basic, solid strategy of Abomazong centers purely around spreading damage with 's Snow Play attack and 's Pain Amplifier attack. Snow Play does 20 damage to the Defending Pokémon and 20 damage to each of the opponent's non- or - Pokémon, all for an Energy Cost of . Provided Abomazong is not facing a water- or grass-centric deck, this is a very powerful spread effect. The second key part of the assault is 's Pain Amplifier attack. Pain Amplifier is a free attack that places one damage counter on each of the opponent's Pokémon that already has damage counters on it. For no energy cost, this is a very strong follow up to Snow Play. Another reason is used is for its Cursed Alloy . Cursed Alloy states that "As long as is your Active Pokémon, put 1 damage counter on each of your opponent's Pokémon that has any Poké-Powers between turns." This simply piles on damage to Pokémon already ailing from Snow Play and Pain Amplifier, and it is helpful against most decks since Poké-Powers, such as those of and , are very popular for support.
Although the deck's basic strategy centers around Snow Play, Pain Amplifier, and Cursed Alloy, Abomazong is far more versatile than the average spread deck. It needs to be, since Snow Play is ineffective on - and -type Pokémon. And spreading damage is unproductive against decks using high-HP Pokémon. Abomazong has other ways of dealing with decks like these.
When facing a deck where its typical strategy is ineffectual, the focus of Abomazong shifts toward 's Below Zero attack and 's Coating attack. Below Zero does 60 damage for and reads that "if evolved from Snover during this turn, the Defending Pokémon is now ." 60 damage is decent alone, but the Paralyzation effect makes Below Zero a real threat in some situations. It can buy Abomazong one additional turn to set up, while stalling the opponent's strategy by denying them an attack. 's Coating attack does 60 damage for , and reduces damage done to during the next turn by 20. This is great for stalling and doing decent damage at the same time.
Additional supporting component's to Abomazong's strategy, such as , are discussed in the "Cards" section.
==Cards==
===Key Cards===
* - The main attacker in the deck, chiefly uses its Snow Play attack to spread damage to all the opponent's Pokémon.
* - Supports Abomasnow with its Pain Amplifier attack and Cursed Alloy Poké-Power to help further spread damage after the initial onslaught by Snow Play.
* - Uses its Cosmic Power Poké-Power to allow the player to draw several new cards each turn.
* - For providing the part of Bronzong's Coating and Abomasnow's's Snow Play and Below Zero.
===Other Pokémon===
* - Chiefly used for evolving into . Can also stall with its Hide attack.
* - Chiefly used for evolving into .
* - Only used for evolving into .
* - Used to increase damage already caused by Snow Play with its Cursed Breath Poké-Power.
* - Uses its Time Walk Poké-Power to root needed Pokémon out of the Abomazong player's prizes.
===Other Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums===
* - Simply used to search for whatever Pokémon the player may need at any given time.
* - Searches for and/or . Very useful.
* - Allows rapid drawing of Energy cards.
* - Functions as a simple drawing card.
* - Used to refresh the hand and possibly gain hand advantage.
* - Good card to search Pokémon without using the for the turn.
* - Same use as Dusk Ball.
* - Extremely useful for field control and swapping out heavily damaged Pokémon.
* - Like except not a Supporter; can only be used once per game, though.
* - Allows a faster set-up, since it allows the Basics to evolve into their Stage Ones a single turn.
* - Recycles Knocked Out Pokémon and Energies back into the deck. Useful for obvious reasons.
* - Counters other s such as . Also provides with free retreat.
===Energy Cards===
* - For providing the part of Bronzong's Coating and Abomasnow's Snow Play and Below Zero.
* - Useful in the early game for setting up.
* - Used to power 's Below Zero attack.
* - Used to power 's Coating attack.
==Typical Decklist==
==Variable Tech Cards==
These are cards that may or may not be in the deck build depending on the player's style:
* - Some players may choose to use this card as a counter to decks that focus on placing damage counters, such as variants.
==Restriction==
While Abomazong's two main attackers, and , were legal for Play! Pokémon on the 2010-2011 , the deck's main source of drawpower, , was not. Although Abomazong could still be used with an alternative , the decline in spread decks has caused Abomazong to be essentially unplayable.
Category:Deck archetypes