On Adopting a Winning Mentality (for Cities), a BREAKthrough Critique, and More Standard Lists “Before I begin with the nitty gritty of my guide, I want to make it clear what my mentality is when it comes to these events. Just as there are many different players and thinkers within this game, there are equally many different ways to approach achieving success in events and I believe my own to be a very polarizing one. That is, I strive to win 100% of the events I attend and nothing else. If I cannot make cut, I have no interest in playing anymore and I will never attempt to earn the meager participation Championship Points…
The State of Expanded, Counteractive Plays for Week 3, and the Problem of Diminishing Interactions “Cynicism in regards to the mandatory advancement of Expanded appeared to be at an all-time high when the announcement was made over the summer and though many voiced positive views of this change (myself included), we are now able to add evidence to our arguments rather than relying on the anecdotal. So what is the verdict? I am happy to report that I believe Expanded is one of the most skill-based and intricate formats we have had in years! With the colossal card pool and vast amount of card combinations, possibilities are seemingly endless. Of course, there is still a metagame…
Worlds Warm-Up, Standard Pitch, and the Bearers of XY-on “When the structure for Worlds was announced last year, I remember being very skeptical about the new and lower benchmark. After observing the entirety of the event, I am happy to report that I have somewhat changed my views on the matter. Removing the open nature of the Last Chance Qualifier and replacing it with Day One is one of the best moves the game has ever pulled! Not only does it encourage many more to attempt to complete a full, competitive season but it also allows one to attend a fewer events and still have a shot at the greatest…
Thoughts on the Latest Buzz, Nationals Recap, and Wailord for Worlds “Now, let’s get into the current buzz in the Pokemon world! As first mentioned, many other writers have already discussed this, so I do not want to go into great detail, but I would like to quickly address all of these current issues. Having Regionals be played entirely in Expanded is an excellent idea and an improvement from what occurred last season. Almost all of the moans and groans I had heard about this issue were ridiculous and exclusively complaints and whining rather than constructive criticism. Grievances like “it’s too hard to test for two formats” should be laughed out of…
Crafting Yveltal for US Nationals (and a Nod to Toad/Bats) “Seismitoad/Crobat has without a doubt been my favorite deck in recent memory. I have played it for one Regional Championship, several League Challenges, and a handful of other local and unsanctioned tournaments. While most of my wins with the deck come from these smaller tournaments, I do think that I have a more than adequate understanding of the deck. I know my win percentage with the deck is somewhere close to 80%, and certainly my biggest regret of this season (so far) is not playing it the first weekend of State Championships where I am confident it would have given…
It eats berries nonstop—a habit that has made it more resilient than it looks. It’ll show up on farms, searching for yet more berries. (Skwovet)
Tips for Your 2015 US Nationals Fantasy Draft “In my opinion, the first round is always the most compelling. Everyone goes for who they perceive to be the best option; as such, players picked in this round are necessarily the hottest players around. Assuming that your draft is utilizing the snake method discussed above, it should not be a surprise that the first picks are always going to look the same. Dylan Bryan and Ryan Sabelhaus are without a doubt the safest picks around, but for those without the luxury of picking high in the order, here are some valuable options that may go overlooked in the initial picks:…
Betting on Ourselves as People and Players “Confucius (551–479 BCE) derived from Kongzi (Master Kong, Confucius being the latinization of his name by Jesuit missionaries) was born in the state of Lu during the Summer and Autumn Period shortly after the beginning of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. The violence of this time period was unprecedented in the proto-Chinese world and many different groups, both militarily and intellectually, were striving for power and attempted to conquer using any means necessary. Confucius himself was not after power, but was merely attempting to foster education and virtue. Many of his teachings share sentiments like “do unto others” of the often-quoted…
Three States, Two Trophies and One Fluid Format “The return of Seismitoad-EX decks was undoubtedly the highlight of the beginning of States. Flareon and Night March had a scary amount of success at the only event with results from Primal Clash and so countering those decks became the main goal of anyone trying to come up with a play. Since the release of Furious Fists, I had never been inclined to play a deck that could only Quaking Punch. Something about it never appealed to me or simply seemed too linear, but my early testing quickly focused on very normal builds of Seismitoad/Slurpuff and Seismitoad/Crobat. I liked both…
North American PTCG Power Rankings #3 (Post-Winter Regionals Edition) “Oh what an exciting player to introduce to the list. If you have followed the competitive scene for any amount of time, this name is probably very familiar to you. As a three-time World Champion, it is hard to make an argument against Jason not being a shoe-in for the “Greatest of All Time.” However, outside of Worlds, he is always faulted for having some lackluster performances at smaller events. I have decided to included him at #10 because he placed very well at Winter Regionals. I was (un)lucky enough to play him at both St. Louis and Florida and…
Top 8 St. Louis Regionals Report, Net Decking Revisited, and Dialogue on Cheating “If I can bother you to think all the way back to my last article (December!), I wrote a lengthy bit on my distaste with net decking. Dylan’s quasi-invention of the Donphan archetype led to many copying him at Fall Regionals and it would end up becoming one of the most popular decks throughout all of City Championships. However, after this past weekend, the deck just absolutely died by Winter Regionals. This, I believe, can be attributed to the fact that a lot of the deck’s popularity was largely a result of its status as a “flavor of the month.”…
It eats berries nonstop—a habit that has made it more resilient than it looks. It’ll show up on farms, searching for yet more berries. (Skwovet)
The Dreaded Bubble, IDs, SosaRai, and Commentary on the Not-So-New Theory “As always, I try to focus my writing here at SixPrizes on a broader topic, delving into more deeper and substantial issues, but for this article, I couldn’t quite think of one particular thing to devote my article to. Instead, I have to decided to break up my sections into a handful of “buzz topics” that have recently occupied my thoughts on the game. I saw it fitting to introduce the article with those thoughts on Cities, but I have several more to write on, all unique and different, so I hope you look forward to getting into some hot…
North American PTCG Power Rankings (Vol. 2) “Initially, I had planned on keeping this list to a consistent 10, but I couldn’t help but give Mia and honorary 11th place once again. Recall last time that she held the number 11 spot on my last rankings following her 11th place finish at the World Championship. At the Regional Championship in British Columbia, Mia once again showed her affinity with the number and bubbled at an unfortunate 11th place. What makes this achievement more noteworthy is that she was still piloting the ol’ faithful Darkrai/Dusknoir which everyone had written off as being illegitimate. Props to Mia for sticking to…
An Examination of Current Netdecking “So after Worlds and Furious Fists came out, I took a nice, long break from playing and figured I would just try to learn everything really quickly before Regionals. I would play a game here or there on PlayTCG and chime in to the occasional Facebook chat, but I was largely disconnected from the game. Fighting stuff seemed underwhelming to me, but cards like Hawlucha FFI were obviously very good. I knew that Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX would still be incredibly good even with its minor losses. However, what surprised me the most was how Yveltal managed to stay a top-tier threat. Jon Bristow…
2014 North American PTCG Power Rankings (Pre-Autumn Regionals Edition) “Of course, how could I make a ranking list without including the player who rightfully holds the title for “Best in the World?” Andrew may have been a lesser-known player heading into Washington, DC, but now he will be the player that is on everyone’s mind. His Virizion/Genesect list was a perfect model of consistency and surely his results will be closely monitored for many years to come. Will he be a one-hit wonder or quickly solidify himself as a legend? At this point, I’m not sure if any player has ever made as strong of a conversion from the…
An Analysis of Two Opposing Playstyles “That’s enough about my story though. I was still able to make it to Washington, DC and frankly I was overwhelmed by the kindness of the community in my struggles. Naturally, not possessing any cards could have made making a deck very difficult, but a countless number of people (many of which I was hardly acquainted with) offered me cards and solemnly swore that I could borrow whatever I wanted. Many people (myself included) have always talked about how the Pokemon community is one of easily the best around and after an incident like this, I have no doubt that…
Brave and prideful, this Pokémon dashes airily through the forest, its steps aided by the psychic power stored in the fur on its fetlocks. (Galarian Rapidash)
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