An In-Depth Look at the 2010 DP–UL Format, Part 2 “At the end of 2009, Pokemon announced that Worlds would be returning to Kona, Hawaii in 2010. Invites to the World Championships were given to the Top 4 of Worlds 2009, Top X of Nationals 2010 (the US was Top 4; most other countries got fewer invites—paid/unpaid—depending on size), and then the Top 40 in the Elo rating system. The last way to qualify was through the Last Chance Qualifier affectionately called “the grinders” by players. I went in depth on how the Elo system worked and my feelings about the system in my 2011 article. I’ll go ahead and…
An In-Depth Guide on ReshiZard’s Matchups (from PikaRom to QuagNag to Stall), and the 2nd Place Santa Clara List Updated for Madison “R1: ZoroControl…WW (1-0-0) R2: ZapBeasts…WLW (2-0-0) R3: Turbo PikaRom…WW (3-0-0) R4: NagaQuag…WW (4-0-0) R5: Turbo PikaRom…WW (5-0-0) R6: ZapBeastsRoc…LW ID (5-0-1) R7: ZapBuzz…LL (5-1-1) R8: PlumeStall…WW (6-1-1) R9: RegiStall…WW (7-1-1) R10: ZapBeasts…WW (8-1-1) R11: ZapBuzz…LWW (9-1-1) R12: PlumeStall…WW (10-1-1) R13: PikaRom…ID (10-1-2) R14: Green’s ReshiZard…ID (10-1-3) T8: PikaRom…WW (11-1-3) T4: ZapBeasts…WW (12-1-3) T2: Green’s ReshiZard…LWL (12-2-3) I lost two Best-of-3 matches and seven individual games throughout the entire event, after testing zero games with the final list. I believe that this is a testament to how inherently strong the deck is. When looking through my matchups, you’ll notice a few things that don’t make sense. For instance, in Round 4…
In Pursuit of an the Ideal Worlds Invite Structure and Making Malamar for Madison “When announced this year, public enemy #1 of the 400 CP structure was undoubtedly the fact that any given player could qualify entirely by winning League Cups. Easier said than done, of course, and to my knowledge, there are precisely zero players that have achieved such a feat this year. That in and of itself should speak volumes for how League Cups were really not the main problem with the structure this year. I have very mixed feelings about League Cups as a concept and certainly would be in favor of seeming them go away or be lowered in priority in…
North American PTCG Power Rankings #4 (Post-Primal Clash Edition) “Like the first couple of iterations of the Power Rankings, I have decided to use this “bubble” spot to highlight a player who has narrowly bubbled out of a big top cut. David placed 9th at the Kansas City Regional Championships which ended his incredibly impressive streak of making top cut at major events. This streak dated all the way back to the Florida Regional Championship in February and included a top cut placement in all four weekends of State Championships. David was one of only two players to accomplish this feat during States and he even used a variation on…
Pyroar FLF vs. Mewtwo LV.X and My Top Three Decks Heading into US Nationals “Pyroar… It’s Actually Better Than Mewtwo LV.X My Top Three Decks Deck #3 – Blastoise Deck #2 – Yveltal/Darkrai/Raichu Deck #1 – ??? Bonus Deck Conclusion Both Erik Nance and Brit Pybas talked about Mewtwo LV.X and made some really good points about it. As somebody who also played and loved the era in which it was legal, there are a couple points I want to make as well. First off, Mewtwo took some time to find its footing in the meta. At first, pure Basic decks were not that popular, so people didn’t really run counters to Mewtwo. I…
Its majestic horns are meant only to impress the opposite gender. They never see use in battle. (Dubwool)
Little can stand up to its psycho cut. Unleashed from this Pokémon’s horn, the move will punch a hole right through a thick metal sheet. (Galarian Rapidash)
Little can stand up to its psycho cut. Unleashed from this Pokémon’s horn, the move will punch a hole right through a thick metal sheet. (Galarian Rapidash)