PikaRom and Hoopa/Umbreon for Berlin/the EUIC, and Unbroken Bonds Favs “Daytona Regionals took place this past weekend, and it was taken down by yet another Zoroark-GX/Seismitoad-EX Control deck. I was not surprised to hear that the DDG group was running this deck again, as the Lusamine ban made it so people dismissed this sort of deck and were less likely to test or tech against it, thus it thrived and succeeded. Now that it’s back on everyone’s radar, I would not be surprised to see Pokemon Ranger see an increase in play at Hartford. I myself did not attend Daytona, as I vowed I was done with Expanded, and I’ve…
Highlighting Denver’s Unexpected Standouts: Bodybuilding/Zoroark Control, Draw/Celebi & Venusaur-GX, and Order Pad/PikaRom “Denver was a lot of fun and here’s a quick report on how my games went: Denver Regionals / 640 Masters / SUM–TEU Day 1 R1 — Alolan Muk/Garbodor/Psyduck — WW R2 — Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX — WLL R3 — Buzzwole-GX/Zygarde-GX/Lycanroc-GX — WW R4 — Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX — WLL R5 — Blacephalon-GX/Naganadel — WW R6 — Pikachu & Zekrom-GX/Zapdos — WW R7 — Blacephalon-GX/Naganadel — WW R8 — Regigigas/Hoopa — WW R9 — Blacephalon-GX/Naganadel — ID Day 2 R10 — Zapdos/Buzzwole/Nihilego — LL R11 — Pikachu & Zekrom-GX/Zapdos — WLW R12 — Buzzwole-GX/Lucario-GX — WW R13 — Blacephalon-GX/Naganadel — WW R14 — Pikachu…
A Complete Run-Down of All Six Major Lightning-Type Decks in Standard for Denver (Pure Zapdos, Turbo PikaRom, Lycanroc/Zapdos, Zapdos/Ultra Beasts, Jolteon/Zapdos, and PikaRom/Zapdos) “If there’s one thing that can be said about the metagame it’s that Team Up had a tremendous impact, arguably bringing two or three decks to the top tier immediately. It also meant the metagame has been a lot more focused and defined than before, as it all revolves around one type: Lightning. Since the set’s release, we’ve seen Lightning dominate in different forms, all of which seem to be extremely viable and potent in their own way: Pure Zapdos Zapdos/Ultra Beasts Jolteon-GX/Zapdos Lycanroc-GX/Zapdos Turbo Pikachu & Zekrom-GX Pikachu & Zekrom-GX/Zapdos If you’ve been following my journey on social media,…
The Greensboro Meta, Popular Decks, We’re Seeing Shifts, and Detailed Analysis of the Winner, Garbodor/Drampa-GX/Sigilyph-GX “The Day 1 metagame breakdowns have been posted on the RK9 Labs Facebook page for each event, and it is super interesting to see the shift in decks from one weekend to the next. These are the top five played decks from Toronto and Greensboro, per their data: Toronto Pikachu & Zekrom-GX (43) Archie’s Blastoise (38) Lucario-GX (30) Zoroark-GX/Garbodor (29) Hitmonchan (22) Greensboro Archie’s Blastoise (57) Zoroark-GX/Garbodor (49) Pikachu & Zekrom-GX (47) Hitmonchan (28) Trevenant (23) Both Regionals had similar attendance (358 and 389 Masters, respectively), so it’s interesting to see how the meta changed from “unknown” in Toronto, with no…
Latias & Latios-GX/Malamar and Buzzwole/Garbodor for Toronto “I believe in the potential of Latias & Latios-GX in Expanded for a few reasons (and it might even have some merit in Standard too in the near future): 250 HP means it’s out of Zoroark-GX range. Buster Purge deals 240 damage, which can OHKO Pikachu & Zekrom-GX precisely, and also deal with every other GX seeing play (except for Magikarp & Wailord-GX and its humongous 300 HP). Finally, the most interesting aspect of this card in Expanded is that it can make use of Double Dragon Energy, meaning Buster Purge can be used for 3 Energy cards (Double Dragon…
This Pokémon reigns supreme in the skies of the Galar region. The black luster of its steel body could drive terror into the heart of any foe. (Corviknight)
On Day 2 + T64–128 Prizing, the Counter Decks of Collinsville (Vileplume, Zoroark/Garbodor), and the States of Both Formats “I managed to make it all the way to the Semi-Finals in Collinsville, which made me very happy. (The last time I made Top 8 at a big North American Regionals was Memphis in Dec 2017, so over a year had passed since I saw my name in bold letters in the standings after Swiss was done.) I made Top 8 as 8th seed this time, which made the achievement all the more exciting as I was “the underdog” going into top cut. I was taken down by Daniel Altavilla, ranked number 1 in the World, and I also lost…
The Oceania Meta, Post-Oceania Zoroark, Ultra Necrozma / Malamar (Updated), and What We Have Left “Based on what I heard, the Day 1 metagame was very similar to what we saw Day 2: a lot of Lightning decks—mixed between Pikachu & Zekrom-GX and Zapdos based—along with a heavy presence of Ultra Necrozma-GX/Malamar decks and Zoroark-GX as well. Decks like Blacephalon-GX and Psychic Malamar also showed up in lower numbers, but ultimately didn’t do as well as the others previously mentioned. The Top 8 was comprised of 3 Zapdos, 3 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, and 2 Zoroark-GX decks. Malamar had three Top 16 showings, including a 9th place bubble. One of the three Zapdos decks included Buzzwole…
Shrine Zapdos, Pikachu & Zekrom-GX (Updated!), and Ultra Necrozma-GX/Malamar for SUM–TEU (Pre-Oceania IC Standard) “The best deck (that I wouldn’t play at Melbourne) is Shrine Zapdos. The deck has felt extremely powerful, yet it easy to prepare for by teching Alolan Muk SUM or a copy of Absol TEU into many decks. That has been the biggest issue I’ve encountered, along with tanky Celebi & Venusaur-GX-based decks. A deck such as this one can thrive in an environment that suits it, where it’s not expected and no one is playing Absol or Celebi & Venusaur. However, due to the OIC metagame being undefined, I genuinely think Shrine Zapdos is not a good call as…
Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, Rayquaza/Vikavolt, and Celebi & Venusaur-GX (for Standard) “Having said that, I know current Standard (SUM–LOT) is on its last legs, so I won’t bore you with that. Instead, I’ve also been thinking and theorizing a lot about Team Up. I’ve paid special attention to Japanese results and their Team Up format, and there’s one easy conclusion to arrive to: Pikachu & Zekrom-GX is the next big thing. Lightning-type Pokemon have so much support with Thunder Mountain {*}, Electropower, Volkner, and strong Pokemon like Zeraora-GX, Tapu Koko-GX, and Zapdos TEU. All this synergy, along with some pretty broken attacks, will finally make Pikachu an undisputed force to be…
One-Fish/Two-Fish, the Renegade Rancher, and Texas Ranger for Dallas Regionals “So will this new card cause a wave (pun intended) of influence and make Archie’s Blastoise immediately better and a more powerful archetype? I believe the answer is no. The card is good—don’t get me wrong—but it’s still not super easy to get out and the Archie’s issue was never “lack of access” to a powerful attacker. Wishiwashi-GX, Articuno ROS 17, Volcanion {*}, Kingdra-GX, and Keldeo-EX are already an impressive arsenal for the deck. Magikarp & Wailord-GX hits some nice numbers with the 5-Energy cost, namely 180 to OHKO most Basic EXs and GXs, and a Choice Band allows it…
Its majestic horns are meant only to impress the opposite gender. They never see use in battle. (Dubwool)
Pablo’s Look Expanded Gardevoir, Lucario, and Rayquaza for Dallas Regionals “Hello 6P and happy holidays! I sincerely hope you had a wonderful time this past couple of days with your friends and family like I did! We’re in a bit of a low point in the season right now with over 3 weeks to go until the next North American Regional in Dallas. Historically this has been quite a big tournament in terms of turnout, and with the tournament right at the airport once again, I expect this to be the biggest tournament of the season yet. However, ever since Jimmy Pendarvis won yet another Regional (crazy how good this…
A Look at Zoroark, Blastoise, and Blacephalon for Expanded for Anaheim’s Regional “Hello again 6P! We’re in the final stretch for our next big tournament, Anaheim Regionals, and I’m very excited! I have not competed in an Expanded tournament since last March I believe, where I decided to play Trevenant and proceeded to not get Championships Points at a Regional for the first time that season. On paper, it seemed like it was really well poised to do well, but in reality I regretted playing it the moment I hit my first Zoroark matchup. I do not intend to make that same mistake again, and so I’m not going to consider Trevenant…
The State of Standard after Latin America’s IC and Roanoke’s Regional, with Looks at Malamar, Granbull, and a Zoroark Twist “Hello again 6P! I am back with another article for you after a couple of very exciting weeks of tournaments thanks to the new Lost Thunder set. Today we’re going to take a look at what has happened over the last couple of weeks, along with some personal choices of mine as to how to move forward for Cups. The next big tournament in North America is Anaheim Regionals, but that’s Expanded and thus a whole other monster. Seeing how I was preparing myself along with the people that I coach for the LATAM IC and Roanoke Regionals, I’ll be…
A Look at Malamar, Buzzwole, and Zoroark moving into Lost Thunder Standard “Hola 6P! I’m back with another article and I’m really excited to be writing this as there is a lot to talk about! First off, Lost Thunder is finally officially out, and that means a lot of testing and prepping for Brazil! Granted a lot of my time has been dedicated to doing videos and catching the ‘hype’ wave in order to make sure I have content everywhere, but between that and coaching and my own personal games, I am very much looking forward to kicking back into full gear for Brazil now that Standard feels quite refreshed. Before Lost…
Pablo’s Dilemma Between Decks That Are and Those That Ought to Be “First off, credit for this deck and concept goes to my opponent in Round 1 of Salt Lake City Regionals last season. I faced against this concept and was mesmerized by it, and had always wanted to try it but that was my last Expanded tournament of the season. And so, let me gover over the strategy and premise of the deck: Most games will be decided on Turn 1. Going second definitely means this deck will have to work a lot more for its wins. However, going first, you will likely lock your opponent out of the game by…
Watch your step when wandering areas oceans once covered. What looks like a stone could be this Pokémon, and it will curse you if you kick it. (Galarian Corsola)
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