One of the decks I run is 16 trainer with Articuno Ex and the Lapras EX promo. Could take it down to the Lapras though as that seems to be the better choice with it's self healing attack that does the same damage.

Energy cheating is probably the bigger issue since, unlike the regular one, energy is unlimited so cards like MewTwo Ex and Charizard Ex can burn through energy with no downside while using energy cheat to get it back next turn.

Surprisingly, when you only have 20 cards, having 2 copies of a basic Pokemon gives you really good odds of having one in your opening hand.

This is what makes Misty so powerful is that there's a really good chance you have it in your opening hand.

This wasn't so much a hero/villain story as a D&D loot quest with a party comprised of good to evil, order to chaos.

There were internal party conflicts, but once the door actually appeared the hero/villain story disappears replaced by the loot quest.