Erik Nance
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Bio: My brother and I have played the Pokémon TCG competitively for about 7 years now. In that time, we’ve competed at the highest level and done pretty well. Here is a quick list of my personal achievements in the game:
– World Championship Level: Top 16 in 2006, Invitation in 2008, Top 32 in 2010
– National Championship Level (US): Top 32 in 2008, 2nd Place in 2010, Top 32 in 2012
– Regional Championship Level: 3rd Place in 2006 (Southeast), 1st Place in 2008 (Southeast), Top 32 in 2012 (Georgia), Top 32 in 2012 (Pennsylvania), Top 16 in 2013 (Pennsylvania), Top 16 in 2014 (Virginia)
– State Championship Level: 2nd Place in 2010 (SC), 2nd Place in 2012 (NC), multiple top cut finishes
– City Championship Level: Multiple CC wins and top cut finishes
– NC Gym Challenge winner in 2006
Form-Fitting an Old Concept to Today’s Standard Format “Quad decks are technically nonexistent today. Viable cards for this type of deck would still want to take advantage of Shaymin-EX, making the “quad” moniker a misrepresentation. Still, I sought out decks that could continue the quad tradition of having low Pokemon counts alongside Trainer cards aimed at supporting a single attacker. After reviewing the card pool for the Standard format, these were the cards that caught my attention as well as some notes I scribbled down about each: Lugia FCO. A card that has so much going for it — a good Ability, a powerful attack (especially against Shaymin-EX),…
On Succeeding as a Time-Crunched Competitor and the Challenges of PokéParenting “The first time I handed my daughter a Pokemon trading card I had a clear picture of what would happen: she would hold it gently, examine the character depicted on the card, then look up at me with eyes of adoration and simply ask, “Daddy, what is this?” I would then motion for her to sit on my lap while I recalled memories of the game. The stories of tournaments won and prizes earned would intrigue her and she would yearn to read and do the math required to play the game. She would do this with lightning speed, proving…
A Test for Whether Cards are Staple-Worthy or Binder Snacks “Within the past couple of years I’ve put work into a side project without saying much about it, a card game that shares similarities with the Pokemon TCG but still has its own look and feel. I’ve shelved it for most of this year, but I bring it up because just the initial stage of creating cards and designing mechanics helped me understand something about card games I feel many aren’t aware of — that “balance” in a game can be dangerously fragile. When I started to piece together the strategies that would comprise my card game, a funny thing…
An Examination into the Seldom Accredited Game-Ending Plays of Past and Present “No, I won’t keep you in suspense, haha … My brother won his game shortly after time was called. Yes, he was down 6-1 at that time, meaning that he took all 6 Prize cards with a single attack. That attack? Holy Star. This handy (and very expensive) Rayquaza was thrown into our deck as a sort of “Hail Mary” play. While the deck’s main strategy had nothing to do with this card, it was included because of its ability to win games with a single attack. In cases where defeat seemed inevitable, one could switch gears and — given…
On Works Past and Updating Old Theories for New Formats “Before I crack into some of the concepts this game used to encompass, we had a request to share our own technique with regards to shuffling. I do a six-pile shuffle multiple times before and after each game while I get to know my opponent. During the game I’ll do simple riffle shuffles a few times. I do want to mention one technique that proved useful. It might not be relevant now, but when Lysandre’s Trump Card was legal I made sure to do a thorough shuffle of my deck when my discard pile got shuffled back in. Since the discarding…
This species lives in antique teapots. Most pots are forgeries, but on rare occasions, an authentic work is found. (Polteageist)
Winter Regionals 2016: Life, Loss, and Closing the Chapter on Durant “A little under a year ago I found myself in a hospital room with my wife, crying inconsolably at the news that we would have to terminate the pregnancy of our first son. My wife clenched my hand as though she were falling, and for several minutes I recognized and welcomed the feeling that I might pass out. I wanted nothing more than to climb into an unseen black hole and disappear from the pain I felt — from the pain we felt. Instead, I whispered reassurance to my wife and prayed. As I did so I kept my eyes…
Analyzing BREAKpoint Cards Against Their Classical Counterparts “I’ve enjoyed the “multiple option” thing that has been going on with the Pokemon TCG lately. Cards like Giovanni’s Scheme, Parallel City, and now Puzzle of Time are giving players more than one way to play the card, and while this might seem like a fresh mechanic, it’s something that surfaced quite noticeably during the “LV.X” days. In fact, Puzzle of Time feels like a close cousin to Poke Drawer +, a card released in Stormfront that has nearly the same effect. For the record, there were two other cards in Stormfront that had the same “strength in numbers” effect…
7 New Year’s Pokémon Resolutions (and an Update on Engines) “In my last article I dug pretty deep into various Supporter engines that appear in top decks of our two main formats. I want to tweak one of those engines here after seeing one deck in particular find success during City Championships. This deck centers around the Entei from Ancient Origins with the Theta Double Ancient Trait and features a Supporter/Item engine dedicated to using either Blacksmith or Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick with ease. I’m currently running my build with Gallade BKT — take a look: As you can see, perhaps the most striking thing about this list is the…
Investigating Effective Supporter Builds in the Standard and Expanded Formats “Let’s first look at Supporter trends that haven’t altered much for a while. These are pretty obvious, but I’ll spend some time addressing situations that deviate from the norm (e.g. is it ever okay to play anything other than 4 Professor Juniper/Sycamore?). For beginners, this may provide a rich explanation for why the top decks are built the way they are. Advanced player may want to glance at this section briefly, as I’m sure your decks are already following these patterns. Since the introduction of Professor Juniper, nearly every deck that seeks to be competitive includes four copies of the…
A GroundBREAKing Mechanic, Game-Changers, Reprints, and Gauging Potential “Let’s go ahead and call a spade a spade here — the BREAK mechanic as exhibited by this set is unimpressive. There’s not a lot here that players are clamoring for, but as I explained earlier this isn’t a surprise. The card creators always seem to test the waters before ramping up a new mechanic. Remember that at one point playing an M Pokemon-EX was nearly unheard of, while now there are plenty of decks that utilize Mega Pokemon. Still, I think the BREAK cards here will find a niche place in future formats. Let’s look at why, starting with…
Only Farfetch’d that have survived many battles can attain this evolution. When this Pokémon’s leek withers, it will retire from combat. (Sirfetch’d)
A History of ‘Deck Out’ Strategies, Durant Again, and the Bunny Zone “Many years ago, when the Pokemon TCG was in such infancy that Baby Pokemon didn’t even exist, there were decks floating around that hinged on the win condition of decking an opponent out. Many of these decks were seen largely as gimmicks — “Mulligan Mewtwo,” for example, could be taken down with just a single Energy Removal. Still, other decks like Chansey/Alakazam and Wildfire Moltres found a great deal of popularity and introduced many players to an alternate way to win the game. Our discussion today will not focus on those decks, however. Anything we could learn from those archetypes…
Five Great Cards That Surprisingly Never Stood a Chance “This poor card. Craftsmanship is one heck of an Ability, the kind that people look at and immediately ask “So, how many championships has this thing won?” The answer, of course, is “None, my friend, because this card is about as bad as this Pokemon’s name …” But why? Is the attack too hefty a cost? Not really, considering that the archetypes at the time of Conkeldurr’s release had high attack costs (remember “CaKE,” which featured Cobalion NVI, Kyurem NVI, and Electrode Prime). In fact, Electrode Prime might very well be the perfect partner for Conkeldurr. First turn: attach a…
XY-on Examinations of Grass, Fire, Water, Lightning, Darkness, and Fighting “The first type I want to examine is one I believe will take over the game come next format, and that is the Grass type. Up until Ancient Origins, the Grass type has been pretty underwhelming outside of Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX. That’s going to change dramatically because of one card: Broken Vine-Space … err, I mean, Forest of Giant Plants! I’m willing to give credit where it’s due in saying that the card creators seem to know what they’re doing with this game. The release of just this one card shines a light on so many cards before it. This is becoming…
Investigating the Strengths of Various Card Types (Colorless, Dragon, Metal, Fairy, and Psychic) “Why start with the Colorless type? Well, as much as I want to deliver a beaming review on how versatile Colorless Pokemon are, I have to stick to the truth. Colorless Pokemon are versatile — their Energy requirements can be met with any basic Energy — but the real reason I’m starting with this type is because of everyone’s favorite hedgehog. Of course, I’m not talking about that speedy guy in the video game — I’m talking about that speedy guy in the card game: Shaymin-EX ROS, the card that continues to shoot up in price even with the ban…
A Study in Gimmickry in the Pokémon TCG “For starters, I think it important to define what a gimmick deck is and what it is not. Interestingly enough, the definition for “gimmick” embodies the idea sufficiently: Gimmick: a method or trick that is used to get people’s attention or to sell something.
1 a : a mechanical device for secretly and dishonestly controlling gambling apparatus
1 b : an ingenious or novel mechanical device : gadget
2 a : an important feature that is not immediately apparent : catch
2 b : an ingenious and usually new scheme or angle
2 c : a…
Known as a legendary hero, this Pokémon absorbs metal particles, transforming them into a weapon it uses to battle. (Zacian)
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