Ryan Sabelhaus
Author Archive
Revelations from (Actually) Testing, Three Favorites for Orlando, and A Few Almost-Theres “I’m not quite sure what made me focus a huge section of my article on these opinions that I have formed through testing, but it probably had something to do with the new job that I have gotten within the past month. Through growing up and finally getting a 9-to-5 job, I’ve realized that not everyone can practice Pokemon as much as I do. There’s always something that could be in the way, whether it be a lack of cards, a lack of players to test with, or even just not having the spare time. People are struggling to figure…
On the Big Play! Pokémon Changes, Rotation Implications, and Three Decks That Could Dominate New Standard “I’m sure that everyone has seen or heard about the major changes that are going to occur in the upcoming 2016–2017 competitive season which were published Monday on Pokemon.com. Almost everything in the press release is extremely good news that will lead to a brighter future for this game, especially the larger cash payouts and higher number of tournaments for everyone to play in. I’ll break down each of these huge changes and discuss what they mean for the new competitive season (compared to previous seasons). Every single change that TPCi is making this new season will basically be a test-run for…
The Current State of the Format and My Five Favorites for US Nationals “With the format becoming Standard for the largest tournament of the year, the deck choices available to play are surprisingly wide open. There is no clear and concise “best deck in the format” (BDIF). Instead, there are a bunch of decks that have proven to be good through tournament performances in the recent past that all have good/bad matchups against each other. Great examples of these decks would be the five listed for this article, with some other notable exclusions being Greninja BREAK, Darkrai/Giratina/Garbodor, Trevenant BREAK, and Vespiquen/Vileplume. If you are looking for some great coverage of these other deck…
9 Different Decks for Spring Regionals “It seems that nowadays, the topic of shuffling comes around more and more in the Pokémon community. This could relate to not shuffling enough, shuffling for too long and wasting time, or just overall bad habits. I don’t really mind how my opponent shuffles, as I will always give their deck a couple of riffles myself. When I’m playing against a good friend, I actually don’t even shuffle their deck most of the time and just trust that they wouldn’t try anything tricky. Overall, it’s never a bad idea to shuffle an opponent’s deck, though. For my own shuffling habits,…
A Review of the Immediate Past, Present, and Future Tournament Decks “It was very clear that Yveltal was the best possible choice going into this tournament. Everyone was looking to abuse Archeops with the added speed of Dark Patch to power up attackers, which was shown by the eight Dark decks that advanced onto the second day. This doesn’t even begin to include the massive amount of Yveltal-EX decks that didn’t move on to the Top 32 as well. After a very successful Regionals run in recent history, the other front-runner for the best deck to play was Vespiquen/Flareon. It’s very hard to forget the incredible run that Jimmy O’Brien had…
It spins its tail fins to propel itself, surging forward at speeds of over 100 knots before ramming prey and spearing into them. (Barraskewda)
Three Speeds, Six Decks, and Five Helpful Marathon Tips “We’ll start off this article with two deck choices that involve a slow beginning to each game, but are inevitably leading up to a large damage output. Decks that fit into this portion of our “marathon” analogy should require some time to get into their stride, which immediately brought my mind towards a Tyrantrum-EX-based deck. We’ve seen this giant dinosaur hit for heavy damage in the current metagame, but he always needs a couple of turns to get ready behind some Bronzong. While trying to think of another deck that requires an intense setup process that leads into a constant…
7th Place Fort Wayne Regionals Report + A Jumpstart on Standard “The first two weekends of competition had ended, leaving only Ft. Wayne Regionals in my sights. Everyone was amazed at the performance of Jimmy O’Brien the previous week with Vespiquen/Flareon in Lancaster, who ended the event with a 16-0-1 final record and a Regional Championship victory. Would this powerhouse of a deck remain relevant for Ft. Wayne, or would it be too heavily teched against to succeed? That seemed to be the biggest question throughout the week leading up to this tournament. I actually had decided on playing a Donphan/Eeveelutions list until I arrived in Indiana. This deck had a…
A Five-Week Recap of the Pokémon Elite Championship Series “Ryan Sabelhaus I am currently sitting at 692 Championship Points and ranked 10th overall in North America, which places me into Day 2 of the World Championships. I’ve been able to win a Regional Championship each of the past four seasons. At US Nationals this year, I was able to add another Day 2 performance with a Top 64 finish. I’m also currently the two-time reigning Top Cut Invitational champion. Kyle Sabelhaus While Kyle writes for SixPrizes and is half of the brotherly duo on the SabelStream, he is an accomplished veteran of the game that has two 2nd-place finishes at Regional…
Georgia Regionals Recap, Decks by Play Style for Nats, and Format Predictions “Leading into this tournament, I was very confused about what decks would actually perform well with Roaring Skies just coming out. Shaymin-EX ROS would definitely show up in large quantities because the card is simply amazing. The ability to draw through your deck so quickly just can’t be ignored. I assumed there would also be a massive amount of Seismitoad-EX decks, along with many Trevenant XY/Shaymin-EX decks following behind. Based on my prediction, along with previous success with Primal Groudon-EX in some tournaments, I decided to play a very straightforward Primal Groudon-EX/Wobbuffet PHF deck. Primal Groudon-EX can handle all of the…
Week 1 Regional Metagame Analysis, Suggestions by State for Week 2, and a Pair of Rogue Choices “Week 2 Events: Washington Nearby Week 1 Results: British Columbia, Idaho Let’s begin our analysis with the results of the British Columbia Provincial Championship and the Idaho State Championship, which are the closest tournament results from Week 1 that will have an effect on the Washington State Championship: Idaho 1. Chris Collins – Yveltal-EX/Seismitoad-EX 2. William Angel – Seismitoad-EX/Slurpuff PHF/Victini-EX 3. Richard Goldsberry – Yveltal-EX/Seismitoad-EX/Garbodor LTR 4. Karl Kitchin – Flareon 5. Jack Stensrud – Night March/Empoleon 6. Zach Negomir – Seismitoad-EX/Slurpuff PHF/Trevenant-EX 7. Jason Fleshman – Flareon 8. Eduardo Gonzalez – Hippowdon PRC/Fighting British Columbia 1. TJ Traquiar – Primal…
If it sees any movement around it, this Pokémon charges for it straightaway, leading with its sharply pointed jaw. It’s very proud of that jaw. (Arrokuda)
A Look at 10 Different Deck Choices for the Upcoming Winter Regional Championships and Primal Clash Favorites “Quaking in My Boots Seismitoad/Slurpuff Seismitoad/Yveltal Time to Go “Turbo” Manectric/Seismitoad/Drifblim Manectric/Pyroar “Repel’s Effect Wore Off” Landorus/Crobat Mewtwo/Crobat/Wobbuffet Wiley Old Veterans Virizion/Genesect/Drifblim Donphan/Hawlucha New Kids on the Block Bronzong/Dialga/Aegislash Yveltal/Hard Charm Primal Instincts Conclusion This deck is fairly new around the tournament scene and has made quite the splash during City Championships. I piloted a list that was three cards off the one presented above and made top 8 at the first tournament of the Georgia Marathon. From personal experience with the deck, it is an extremely competitive choice that is possibly one of the most annoying things to play…
Giving Thanks, Mega Manny, Robo Subs, and V/G/D “What I’m Thankful For All About Mega Manny The Dawn of Elephants and Robots V/G’s Bringin’ Down the Hammer Conclusion With so much news about Pokémon coming around in the past couple of months, there is certainly plenty to be thankful for. Here are some of the main things that I’m grateful for right now, along with some reasoning as to why they are important to me. Remember, these are all just my personal opinions on the topics and others may not feel as strongly as I do about them. This is simply meant to be a fun way of bringing…
A Look at 9 Different Decks for the BCR–FFI Standard Format “Standard Format Observations Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Yveltal-EX/Seismitoad-EX/Garbodor LTR Thundurus-EX/Deoxys-EX/Kyurem PLF Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger Donphan PLS with Techs Landorus-EX/Garbodor LTR Pass the Grass Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX/Beartic FFI Virizion-EX/Dragonite-EX Hear Me Roar Pyroar FLF/Seismitoad-EX/Charizard-EX Pyroar FLF/Seismitoad-EX/Dragalge FLF Pyroar FLF/Charizard-EX Conclusion There are plenty of observations that can be made about the Standard format, many of which have to do with the new set Furious Fists. With the emergence of Seismitoad-EX, many of the Evolution decks that people were excited to try out have gone down the drain. Stage 2 decks no longer have the ability to play their Rare Candy cards, which…
The SabelCenter Top 8, a Look at Nationals Fantasy Drafts, and Last-Minute Deck Choices “As I’ve stated in my previous article, one of the main problems that I find with how information is communicated over the internet would be the handling of praise for creativity and consistency. The only results that seem to be noticed would be the finishes that have a “1st place” trophy next to them. This section is made to highlight my top 8 performances or accomplishments of late that most people may not have heard about. With numerous Nationals results coming in from around the world, there have been many great achievements that may have gone unnoticed in the Pokemon community.…
SC Top 8, Mind of a Metagamer, and States Lists “SabelCenter Top 8 Delving into the Mind of a “Metagamer” Week 1: Fairies in Virginia Week 3: Virizion in North Carolina Week 2: Greninja in Tennessee Conclusion One of the main problems that I have with how information is communicated over the internet is the handling of praise for creativity and consistency. It seems like most players that have incredible runs and steady results aren’t getting the praise they deserve unless there’s a “1st place” trophy in the picture. This is why I’ve decided to dedicate an entire section in my articles to give credit where credit is certainly due.…
Its mighty legs are capable of running at speeds exceeding 40 mph, but this Pokémon can’t breathe unless it’s underwater. (Dracovish)
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