Legal Sets
Official Rules
- •60-card decks exactly
- •Maximum 4 copies of any card with the same name (Basic Energy exempt)
- •Must include at least 1 Basic Pokémon
- •First player cannot play a Supporter or Stadium on Turn 1
- •Abilities replace Poké-Powers and Poké-Bodies (Black & White cards)
- •Pokémon Catcher has no coin flip (pre-errata) — guaranteed gust effect
- •Format used for 2011 City Championships (December-January)
- •Ends when Next Destinies (BW4) releases in February 2012
Format Overview
HGSS-NVI was the format for the 2011 City Championship season, covering HeartGold & SoulSilver through Noble Victories. It was a transitional period where HGSS Prime Pokémon coexisted with Black & White's new mechanics. Noble Victories was the format-defining set, introducing Eelektrik (Lightning energy acceleration from discard), N (hand disruption that scaled with prizes), Chandelure (spread damage via Ability), and Durant (a dedicated mill strategy).
The metagame was remarkably diverse. Magnezone/Eelektrik dominated the power rankings — Eelektrik's Dynamotor recovered Lightning Energy from the discard pile each turn, fueling Magnezone Prime's Lost Burn for scalable damage. Chandelure/Vileplume combined Trainer lock with passive spread damage. ZPST (Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin/Tornadus) could attack for 120 damage on turn one. Durant mill offered a completely unique win condition by decking the opponent out.
Pokémon Catcher from Emerging Powers was the format's most impactful card — with no coin flip required (pre-errata), it functioned as a guaranteed Boss's Orders as an Item card, fundamentally changing how every deck was built. Junk Arm let you reuse it repeatedly, making bench safety a thing of the past.
Key Cards
Top Decks (10)
Magnezone/Eelektrik
The format's #1 deck. Eelektrik's Dynamotor recovers Lightning Energy from discard to bench. Magnezone Prime's Lost Burn discards energy for 50 damage each — scaling to OHKO anything. Magnetic Draw keeps the hand full. The combination of acceleration and scalable damage was unmatched.
Chandelure/Vileplume
A Trainer-lock spread deck. Chandelure's Cursed Shadow Ability places 3 damage counters per turn anywhere. Vileplume locks all Items for both players. Dodrio provides free retreat. Tropical Beach draws under Item lock. The deck spreads damage then takes multiple KOs simultaneously.
ZPST (Zekrom/Pachirisu/Shaymin/Tornadus)
The fastest aggro deck. Turn 1: attach to Zekrom, Pachirisu attaches 2 more Lightning from hand, Shaymin moves them — Bolt Strike for 120 on turn one. Tornadus attacks with Double Colorless. No evolution needed. Pure speed.
Reshiphlosion (Reshiram/Typhlosion)
The format's premier fire deck. Typhlosion Prime's Afterburner recovers Fire Energy from discard (at 1 damage counter cost), fueling Reshiram's 120-damage Blue Flare every turn without running out of energy. Carried over dominant from the 2011 Worlds era.
Durant Mill
Never takes prize cards. Four Durant use Devour to mill 4 cards off the opponent's deck each turn. The rest keeps all 4 alive (Revive, Super Rod) while disrupting energy (Crushing Hammer, Lost Remover). Eviolite and Special Metal Energy make Durant surprisingly durable.
Six Corners
Exploits all six type weaknesses with a different Basic attacker for each. Virizion for Water, Kyurem for Dragon, Terrakion for Lightning, Reshiram and Zekrom for type coverage. All Basics benefit from Eviolite. Double Colorless and Rainbow Energy power everything.
The Truth (Vileplume/Reuniclus)
Vileplume locks Items. Reuniclus moves damage between your Pokémon. Blissey heals. Diverse attackers (Cobalion, Terrakion, Kyurem) cover all matchups. Nearly unbeatable once set up — opponents can't use Switch or Catcher to disrupt. Evolved from Cawthon's 2011 Worlds build.
Zekrom/Eelektrik
Faster, more aggressive than Magnezone/Eelektrik. Attacks directly with Zekrom (Bolt Strike 120, self-damage 40) and Thundurus (Charge + Disaster Volt 80). Eelektrik recovers discarded energy. Simpler setup but lower damage ceiling. Strong against slower evolution decks.
Donphan/Dragons
Aggressive Stage 1 deck. Donphan Prime's Earthquake deals 60 for one Fighting Energy with Exoskeleton reducing damage by 20. Kyurem, Reshiram, and Zekrom serve as secondary attackers using Outrage or their big attacks. Fast and type-diverse.
Kyurem/Feraligatr/Vileplume
Spread-and-lock. Feraligatr Prime's Rain Dance attaches unlimited Water Energy. Kyurem's Glaciate spreads 30 to all opponent Pokémon. Vileplume locks Items to prevent Switch/Catcher disruption. After 3-4 Glaciates, multiple opponents are in KO range simultaneously.
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