The Two Types of Players (and Other Observations), Decks for All Formats, and Predictions for Cities “As other writers have pointed out before, the idea of a “playstyle” is a misused and misunderstood concept. Playing a lock deck or an aggressive deck isn’t your “playstyle” — it’s your preference. However, I do think there are playstyles in the game, just not exactly in regards to the kinds of decks that you play. There are typically two types of players in the game: those who like to stick with the same deck for a while and those who like to play different decks as trends emerge in the meta. I usually fall into the latter camp but…
A Hyperspace Jump Through Weeks 2 and 3 of the Fall Regionals Trilogy “Blind we are, of creation of this clone army we could not see. The past weekend has given us two decks that stand far above the rest. Texas was dominated by our hero, the Jedi Master of this new format, Archie’s Blastoise. Fresh off of its emergence as the World Champion, Blastoise, along with Jedi Padawan Keldeo, was able to take 4 of the Top 8 spots in Texas and even 2 in Arizona. These results appear to show that the Jedi Order is in firm control of the galaxy. However, the Dark Side was strong in Arizona where the…
The Six-Step Process for Choosing a Deck and Three Logical Plays for Worlds “Step 1: Make a list of all potentially viable decks. The logical first step in choosing a deck is listing out all of the potentially viable decks in the format. This starts the wheels turning in my head. At this point, I’m already putting together a short list of the decks that I could see myself playing. It also gives you a really useful list for thinking about your matchups later in the process. Step 2: Gather intelligence. Next is when I think about the important decks in the metagame. The big question is, “What are the threats?” Usually, I…
A History Lesson, Canadian Nationals Coverage, Three Thoughts and Three Decks “On June 10, 2011, TPCi decided that they would be enacting the first ever mid-season rotation. The format would be shifting from Majestic Dawn-on to HeartGold & SoulSilver-on. The change took effect on July 1, a mere 8 days before the start of the US National Championship. The only tournament that would provide players a glimpse of the metagame was the Canadian National Championship, which took place just 1 day after the format change. Yanmega Prime ended up being the big card of the weekend, as it was in 8 of the Top 16 decks. Although it didn’t win in…
Interview with Top 16 Ranked Brandon Cantu “Hey everybody, I’m back again with another player who was featured in the Power Rankings a while ago. This week I’m talking with Brandon Cantu who is currently ranked #4 in Championship Points in the US and Canada. Brandon has put up a very impressive run in the last 10 months with a Top 16 finish at Worlds 2014, 2nd Place at Houston Regionals, 1st Place at Mississippi States, the list goes on and on. He has very quietly accrued nearly 700 Championship Points and I am very glad to be able to help you all to get to know…
It starts off battles by attacking with its rock-hard horn, but as soon as the opponent flinches, this Pokémon bites down and never lets go. (Chewtle)
Interview with Two-Time Columbus LC Champion Kevin ‘K-Bax’ Baxter “Hey everyone, this week I have an interview with one of the top players from the most recent version of the Power Rankings! Kevin Baxter has had an incredibly consistent season and will be a player to watch out for this year at Nationals and Worlds. Enjoy the interview! Alex: Alright, let’s start out with the basics. Where are you from? Kevin: Cincinnati, Ohio. Alex: Gotcha. I know you recently graduated — what are your plans for after college? Kevin: I’m interviewing for jobs. I actually should be hearing back from one tomorrow. Alex: Oh sweet! What field are you going…
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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…
Fun Decks for Summer (Revenge Night March and Poliswag) “This deck is not a brand new idea, but more of a modification of the Night March deck that has been around for a while. Instead of utilizing Mew-EX as the main attacker, Chandelure PHF is used. Chandelure has the same ability as Gengar SF, Fainting Spell. Gengar was the first deck I ever won a tournament with, which is why I really want to make this deck work. Fainting Spell is a game-changing ability that gives you a 50/50 chance to take your opponent’s attacking Pokemon down with you. Now that we have Pokemon-EX in the format, a single…
A States Adventure with Malamar-EX “Hello 6P readers! It’s great to be back and writing again as a hectic school year comes to a close. However, even with a busy schedule, I’ve been able to make time for my favorite hobby: Pokemon! Before I jump right into my adventures with Malamar, I want to set the stage with a quick overview of my season. I started off very hot with a 3rd place finish at Fort Wayne Regionals and rode that momentum into a consistent Cities season. I played everything from Donphan to Pyroar during Cities and picked up another 130 Championship Points. I tacked on…
How to Improve Nationals and Worlds “Before I move on to the potential changes, I want to discuss some of the positive improvements TPCi has made recently. All too often, Pokemon players spend time complaining about the changes they perceive to be needed and pay no attention to the changes TPCi does make to benefit the game. Streaming One of the most visible inclusions over the last few years is live streaming. Pokemon has dedicated a lot of money and manpower to start an official stream for US Nationals and Worlds. Streaming got off to a rocky start with the infamous Gamespot stream of Worlds 2012.…
When ________ is content, the cream it secretes from its hands becomes sweeter and richer. (Alcremie)
An Introduction to 2007 R-Gon (Flygon HP with Stuff) “4 Holon’s Castform Castform was the glue that held this deck together. As I mentioned before, not only did it provide a good attack for setting up, but it also gave you a way to power up your attackers without having to play an array of basic Energy types. This card was so powerful that many decks, such as Lucario DP variants, can attribute part of their success merely to being capable of knocking out an opposing Castform before its power could be fully utilized. Also, as an aside, note that Holon’s Castform is not a card that can be…
Interview with 2014 Pokémon TCG World Champion Andrew Estrada “Hey everybody, Alex Hill here. I’m delighted to bring you an interview I recently conducted with the 2014 Masters World Champion, Andrew Estrada! Alex: For starters, where are you from and how old are you? Andrew: Ok, I am from Canada and my background is originally of Spanish particularly Guatemalan descent. I am just recently 16, just having turned on February 4th. Alex: What sorts of hobbies do you have outside of Pokemon? Andrew: I have been playing piano and taking ballroom and Latin dancing lessons for about 8 years now. I play soccer whenever I can, with my friends…
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Alex Hill’s 2013-2014 Season Summary and Nationals Report “Picking up where I left off last time, I went into Fall Regionals desperately trying to make Plasma work. However, try as I may, I could not get the deck to beat Darkrai-EX/Garbodor LTR, which was just coming off a win at the Klaczynski Open, for the life of me. What did beat Darkrai/Garbodor? Virizion-EX/Mewtwo-EX. This new deck had been piloted by my good friend Alex Gardner and a couple of his teammates to some good success at the first Regional Championship of the fall in California, making it something my teammates and I wanted to try. My teammates and I began testing…
Ideas to Metagame the Big Four at Fall Regionals “I had a great run at the Klaczynski Open going 5-2 and just missing cut by a hair. I ran Plasma with 2 Absol and an Enhanced Hammer, both big techs for the mirror. I faced 4 Plasma decks for the first 4 rounds so that intuition paid off. I won all 4 series and the Enhanced Hammer was super clutch in all four. It either gives you an extra advantage in the games you go first or allows you to catch up on Energy attachments if you go second. The two Absol are great attackers against Kyurem and really pack…
Apparently the itch of its teething impels it to snap its jaws at anything in front of it. (Chewtle)
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