Got something to ask Stephen Silvestro?

Stephen SilvestroAs mentioned in an earlier video, I will soon be writing a new column for SixPrizes, called “Chat With The Champs”, which will be a series of interviews with notable, elite players.

I’ll be doing the first interview, with 2009 Master’s Division World Champion Stephen Silvestro, this weekend, and thought it would be a good idea to include the community in the column, by allowing you to submit questions for the champ!

Now, in the interest of time, I won’t be able to include every single question posed, so try to come up with something interest and compelling, that Steven would want to answer and the community would want to hear! The best questions will be selected and you will be credited in the interview!

Feel free to post your comments here, or e-mail kenny@sixprizes.com if you would like to remain anonymous.

Thanks for your contributions, look for the interview sometime next week!

Reader Interactions

69 replies

  1. Igor

    Who care’s if he got lucky or not a win’s a win, So he should feel good about it.

  2. Igor

    Who care’s if he got lucky or not a win’s a win, So he should feel good about it.

  3. Igor

    Who care’s if he got lucky or not a win’s a win, So he should feel good about it.

  4. Eelis Peltola

    EDIT: Someone apparently deleted the comments above, my post was an answer to them. Just in case you were wondering why this is here. :P

    Every champion has got lucky at some point at Worlds, luck is a part of Pokemon. Sure, you can try to eliminate it by playing a deck that is very consistent and doesn’t have any cards that require coin flips, but the luck factor is always there.
    I mean, look at how a game is started: First, you draw 7 cards out of your 60 card deck, and hope for them to be cards that you would like to start with. Then, you set aside your 6 prize cards, and hope that none of your important early/mid game cards weren’t in those cards. And then guess what happens? Yeah, you roll a dice/flip a coin to see who goes first. And even before you start the match, you can have bad luck by getting an opponent with a deck that you have an auto-loss to!
    Only once has someone won the World Championship twice, that once being Jason Klaczynski in 2008.
    Then again, luck isn’t the only thing you have to have to get to that Finals table. You have to be very skilled, know your metagame, know your deck, be able to calculate between different moves, to be able to actually make a deck…

    High risk, high reward.

    My question to Silvestro: what do you think about the current metagame with Arceus, and how will the HeartGold/SoulSilver expansion change it?

  5. Saturn

    My question to Silvestro: How do determine what deck you take with you? How do you prepare for Tournaments?

  6. So who’s responsible for the censorship of some of the earlier comments? Adam, if it was you, I’m really disappointed. If it was kwisdumb, you should really read up on journalistic integrity.

    • Adam Capriola  → MonsterOfTheLake

      They were personal attacks that were completely unnecessary and they were made by people that have never even posted on here before (well one was from an IP that has under a different username). This isn’t HeyTrainer, I do moderate stuff. Those comments were just extremely juvenile.

  7. Daniel Norton

    Question for Steve: Did you always intend to create a rogue deck or did RayBees just come up as an option while testing?

  8. Dave Hueglin

    My question is: How much did you account for the metagame? Were there specific decks/cards that you teched against, or did you just try to create a solid list that ran consistently and you knew how to play really well?

  9. Dave Hueglin

    My question is: How much did you account for the metagame? Were there specific decks/cards that you teched against, or did you just try to create a solid list that ran consistently and you knew how to play really well?

  10. Dave Hueglin

    My question is: How much did you account for the metagame? Were there specific decks/cards that you teched against, or did you just try to create a solid list that ran consistently and you knew how to play really well?

  11. Eelis Peltola

    EDIT: Someone apparently deleted the comments above, my post was an answer to them. Just in case you were wondering why this is here. :P

    Every champion has got lucky at some point at Worlds, luck is a part of Pokemon. Sure, you can try to eliminate it by playing a deck that is very consistent and doesn’t have any cards that require coin flips, but the luck factor is always there.
    I mean, look at how a game is started: First, you draw 7 cards out of your 60 card deck, and hope for them to be cards that you would like to start with. Then, you set aside your 6 prize cards, and hope that none of your important early/mid game cards weren’t in those cards. And then guess what happens? Yeah, you roll a dice/flip a coin to see who goes first. And even before you start the match, you can have bad luck by getting an opponent with a deck that you have an auto-loss to!
    Only once has someone won the World Championship twice, that once being Jason Klaczynski in 2008.
    Then again, luck isn’t the only thing you have to have to get to that Finals table. You have to be very skilled, know your metagame, know your deck, be able to calculate between different moves, to be able to actually make a deck…

    High risk, high reward.

    My question to Silvestro: what do you think about the current metagame with Arceus, and how will the HeartGold/SoulSilver expansion change it?

  12. Eelis Peltola

    EDIT: Someone apparently deleted the comments above, my post was an answer to them. Just in case you were wondering why this is here. :P

    Every champion has got lucky at some point at Worlds, luck is a part of Pokemon. Sure, you can try to eliminate it by playing a deck that is very consistent and doesn’t have any cards that require coin flips, but the luck factor is always there.
    I mean, look at how a game is started: First, you draw 7 cards out of your 60 card deck, and hope for them to be cards that you would like to start with. Then, you set aside your 6 prize cards, and hope that none of your important early/mid game cards weren’t in those cards. And then guess what happens? Yeah, you roll a dice/flip a coin to see who goes first. And even before you start the match, you can have bad luck by getting an opponent with a deck that you have an auto-loss to!
    Only once has someone won the World Championship twice, that once being Jason Klaczynski in 2008.
    Then again, luck isn’t the only thing you have to have to get to that Finals table. You have to be very skilled, know your metagame, know your deck, be able to calculate between different moves, to be able to actually make a deck…

    High risk, high reward.

    My question to Silvestro: what do you think about the current metagame with Arceus, and how will the HeartGold/SoulSilver expansion change it?

  13. Saturn

    My question to Silvestro: How do determine what deck you take with you? How do you prepare for Tournaments?

  14. Saturn

    My question to Silvestro: How do determine what deck you take with you? How do you prepare for Tournaments?

  15. Matthew Riddle

    How do you prepare for an upcoming set? Do you test with the japanese counterparts? How far ahead of the english release are you testing the japanese cards?

  16. PokeChamp

    Question for Steve:

    Was winning the World Championships of Pokemon a rewarding experience? How did you feel after claiming the title of World Champion?

  17. Question for Steve:

    Was winning the World Championships of Pokemon a rewarding experience? How did you feel after claiming the title of World Champion?

  18. MonsterOfThelake

    So who’s responsible for the censorship of some of the earlier comments? Adam, if it was you, I’m really disappointed. If it was kwisdumb, you should really read up on journalistic integrity.

    • Adam Capriola  → M

      They were personal attacks that were completely unnecessary and they were made by people that have never even posted on here before (well one was from an IP that has under a different username). This isn’t HeyTrainer, I do moderate stuff. Those comments were just extremely juvenile.

    • Adam Capriola  → M

      They were personal attacks that were completely unnecessary and they were made by people that have never even posted on here before (well one was from an IP that has under a different username). This isn’t HeyTrainer, I do moderate stuff. Those comments were just extremely juvenile.

  19. MonsterOfThelake

    So who’s responsible for the censorship of some of the earlier comments? Adam, if it was you, I’m really disappointed. If it was kwisdumb, you should really read up on journalistic integrity.

  20. Daniel Norton

    Question for Steve: Did you always intend to create a rogue deck or did RayBees just come up as an option while testing?

  21. Daniel Norton

    Question for Steve: Did you always intend to create a rogue deck or did RayBees just come up as an option while testing?

  22. Sergio Ortiz

    Here’s mine:
    Do you test every deck before going to a tournament or just perfect a deck you’re comfortable with?

  23. Graham Poteet

    After seeing everything that was at Worlds ’09…Would you play RayBees again?

  24. Matthew Riddle

    How do you prepare for an upcoming set? Do you test with the japanese counterparts? How far ahead of the english release are you testing the japanese cards?

  25. Jaime Cortes

    Steven:

    Sooo, whats next? Of course Worlds is one thing, but what are your plans for this new season thats starting?

    How influential is your favorite Pokemon when you build a deck? or is the Meta more important than the thrill and fun of the game?

    What is your favorite card ever printed?

    Thank You!

  26. Sergio Ortiz

    Here’s mine:
    Do you test every deck before going to a tournament or just perfect a deck you’re comfortable with?

  27. Jaime Cortes

    Steven:

    Sooo, whats next? Of course Worlds is one thing, but what are your plans for this new season thats starting?

    How influential is your favorite Pokemon when you build a deck? or is the Meta more important than the thrill and fun of the game?

    What is your favorite card ever printed?

    Thank You!

  28. The funny thing is that when i was at worlds sitting right under the big screens of the three division games, tryin’ to wonder what cards were being used due to the very poor quality of the cameras, there was a guy that was brought to my attention. Like every minute, judges and other people with professor coats were coming up to this guy which was sitting right in front of me…I just immediately thought this guy was like an old judge that worked with these other guys. But when finally they posted the interview of Stephen Silvestro, i quickly watched, rated, and faved it. But i noticed that this guy comes during the interview and puts his arm around Stephen,which was his dad. I looked straight at this guys face and noticed that it was the exact same guy that was sitting right in front of me. If only i knew he was Stephen’s father when i had the chance while he was sitting in front of me.

  29. Ivan Garcia

    The funny thing is that when i was at worlds sitting right under the big screens of the three division games, tryin’ to wonder what cards were being used due to the very poor quality of the cameras, there was a guy that was brought to my attention. Like every minute, judges and other people with professor coats were coming up to this guy which was sitting right in front of me…I just immediately thought this guy was like an old judge that worked with these other guys. But when finally they posted the interview of Stephen Silvestro, i quickly watched, rated, and faved it. But i noticed that this guy comes during the interview and puts his arm around Stephen,which was his dad. I looked straight at this guys face and noticed that it was the exact same guy that was sitting right in front of me. If only i knew he was Stephen’s father when i had the chance while he was sitting in front of me.

  30. alex d

    For Steven:
    After people get top 4 at Worlds, they tend to sort of “Crap out” the next season because they get a free invite. They only go to the occasional tournament, even though they probably plan on going to more originally, simply because they get lazy. As a result, they do not so well at the next Worlds.

    Notable examples are Ness, who only went to a couple tournaments last season, and didn’t do so well at ’09, or Dylan LeFavour who won Worlds ’08 and didn’t go to many tournaments, and didn’t do too well.

    How will you combat this “championship” slump?

  31. alex d

    For Steven:
    After people get top 4 at Worlds, they tend to sort of “Crap out” the next season because they get a free invite. They only go to the occasional tournament, even though they probably plan on going to more originally, simply because they get lazy. As a result, they do not so well at the next Worlds.

    Notable examples are Ness, who only went to a couple tournaments last season, and didn’t do so well at ’09, or Dylan LeFavour who won Worlds ’08 and didn’t go to many tournaments, and didn’t do too well.

    How will you combat this “championship” slump?

  32. GreenAiden555

    The question EVERYONE wants to know the answer to:

    What was the first deck that you built?

  33. GreenAiden555

    The question EVERYONE wants to know the answer to:

    What was the first deck that you built?

  34. vergel

    okay, lets just re-ask what was deleted.

    “They were personal attacks that were completely unnecessary and they were made by people that have never even posted on here before (well one was from an IP that has under a different username). This isn’t HeyTrainer, I do moderate stuff. Those comments were just extremely juvenile.”

    they were poorly worded, but brought up very legitimate questions and points of view, and discounting that kind of question and POV on the basis of one ignorant or juvenile poster isnt a good idea.

    so, lets reword the question instead of merely dismissing it. we arent 14. we can answer tough questions, right? if youre going to conduct interviews that are meaningful, you must ask the tough questions, not the stupid gimmicky ones like how much you playtest before a tournament (lol JK).

    so, a reworded question might look like:

    how would you address an attack on the credibility of your win?
    how would you rank yourself among previous champions? in terms of skill
    do you feel your win is deserved? legitimate?
    how much do you credit luck? do you think you were more or less lucky than previous champions?

    steve is a good friend of mine, and i know he has the stones to answer any question brought to him. its the biggest tournament, so everyone has to ask these tough questions in their head.

    • Adam Capriola  → vergel

      I guess I may have jumped the gun; I just didn’t want this opportunity for everyone to turn sour right off the bat.

      I don’t know Steve personally so I didn’t know how he would react to those types of questions.

  35. vergel

    okay, lets just re-ask what was deleted.

    “They were personal attacks that were completely unnecessary and they were made by people that have never even posted on here before (well one was from an IP that has under a different username). This isn’t HeyTrainer, I do moderate stuff. Those comments were just extremely juvenile.”

    they were poorly worded, but brought up very legitimate questions and points of view, and discounting that kind of question and POV on the basis of one ignorant or juvenile poster isnt a good idea.

    so, lets reword the question instead of merely dismissing it. we arent 14. we can answer tough questions, right? if youre going to conduct interviews that are meaningful, you must ask the tough questions, not the stupid gimmicky ones like how much you playtest before a tournament (lol JK).

    so, a reworded question might look like:

    how would you address an attack on the credibility of your win?
    how would you rank yourself among previous champions? in terms of skill
    do you feel your win is deserved? legitimate?
    how much do you credit luck? do you think you were more or less lucky than previous champions?

    steve is a good friend of mine, and i know he has the stones to answer any question brought to him. its the biggest tournament, so everyone has to ask these tough questions in their head.

    • Adam Capriola  → vergel

      I guess I may have jumped the gun; I just didn’t want this opportunity for everyone to turn sour right off the bat.

      I don’t know Steve personally so I didn’t know how he would react to those types of questions.

  36. The Thunder

    My question is…
    What do you think of Salamence LV.X and what deck do you think is good at the current format?

  37. The Thunder

    My question is…
    What do you think of Salamence LV.X and what deck do you think is good at the current format?

  38. SMGausch

    Steven after you won worlds with a beedrill variant I saw copy cat decks sprout up everywhere using beedrill, so my question to you is do you feel that your decklist is a viable choice for cities and on this tournament season?

    • tgregry  → SMGausch

      I bought the world champion deck the luxdrill deck and cannot make it work with only 6 energy. I have a dark deck with mightyena, skuntank and the larvitar family. I have consistantly beaten the luxdrill deck with the luxdrill deck taking a total of two prizes in four matches. I run the deck as follows.

      3 Larvitar lv.19
      2 Pupitar lv.33 with thepoke-body energy protection
      2 Tyranitar lv.61
      1 Hitmochan lv.27
      1 Groudon lv.45
      1 Poochyena lv.12
      1 Poochyena lv.17
      1 Mightyena lv.42
      1 Mightyena Plunder and Dark burst
      2 Stunky lv.18
      1 Stunky lv.14
      2 Skuntank lv.40
      2 Expert Belt
      1 Potion
      2 Leftovers Can I use more than one Leftovers on one Pokemon?
      4 Cynthia’s Feelings
      1 Luxury Ball
      2 Poke Radar
      1 Herb Life
      2 Bebe’s Search
      2 Energy Restore
      1 Super Scoop Up
      1 Palmer’s Contribution
      1 Professor Oak’s Visit
      1 Darkness Energy
      8 Basic Dark Energy
      13 Basic Fighting Energy

      I think I need to drop a couple of F energy, the Sccop up and potion and add a couple of Roseanne’s Research, and 2 more Bebes.

      What do you think?

  39. SMGausch

    Steven after you won worlds with a beedrill variant I saw copy cat decks sprout up everywhere using beedrill, so my question to you is do you feel that your decklist is a viable choice for cities and on this tournament season?

    • tgregry  → SMGausch

      I bought the world champion deck the luxdrill deck and cannot make it work with only 6 energy. I have a dark deck with mightyena, skuntank and the larvitar family. I have consistantly beaten the luxdrill deck with the luxdrill deck taking a total of two prizes in four matches. I run the deck as follows.

      3 Larvitar lv.19
      2 Pupitar lv.33 with thepoke-body energy protection
      2 Tyranitar lv.61
      1 Hitmochan lv.27
      1 Groudon lv.45
      1 Poochyena lv.12
      1 Poochyena lv.17
      1 Mightyena lv.42
      1 Mightyena Plunder and Dark burst
      2 Stunky lv.18
      1 Stunky lv.14
      2 Skuntank lv.40
      2 Expert Belt
      1 Potion
      2 Leftovers Can I use more than one Leftovers on one Pokemon?
      4 Cynthia’s Feelings
      1 Luxury Ball
      2 Poke Radar
      1 Herb Life
      2 Bebe’s Search
      2 Energy Restore
      1 Super Scoop Up
      1 Palmer’s Contribution
      1 Professor Oak’s Visit
      1 Darkness Energy
      8 Basic Dark Energy
      13 Basic Fighting Energy

      I think I need to drop a couple of F energy, the Sccop up and potion and add a couple of Roseanne’s Research, and 2 more Bebes.

      What do you think?

  40. kwisdumb

    Sorry for the lateness, guys. Editing the interview this weekend and sending it to the champ ASAP.

    Thanks for all the questions!

  41. kwisdumb

    Sorry for the lateness, guys. Editing the interview this weekend and sending it to the champ ASAP.

    Thanks for all the questions!

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