1,230 results for: Underground
Dealing with Loss in a Competitive Setting “When I was trying to pitch myself to acquire an Underground spot, I claimed that I would land somewhere in the middle of Jay and Erik (youโll find quickly that this โmiddle wayโ approach is a common theme in almost everything that I do). I am a less fit and decorated player than Jay but perhaps I can make up for that in succinct diction, careful wordplay and literary prowess while also demonstrating the same capacity for a strict testing regiment and an expectation for results. In regards to Erik, I can safely say that I lack the artistic oneness…
Two Different Scents of Aromatisse for States “This first list revolves around Geomancy. The Energy acceleration Xerneas provides is quick, it comes from a beefy non-EX, and it puts Energy onto the table that Aromatisse can shuffle around. One of the underappreciated values of Xerneas is that it can compensate for going second. Going first is a huge advantage in this format, and I recommend choosing to go first regardless of what deck you playโeven if itโs this oneโbut Geomancy makes going second not seem so bad. A friend of mine, Austin Cook, played this deck at two League Challenges a few weeks ago. He went 9-1,…
The Journey to Finalizing Team Plasma and Trevenant Lists for States “Team Plasma (with a Twist) Version 1 Version 2 Version 3 (Final) Trevenant/Accelgor Version 1 Version 2 (Final) Conclusion The first deck that caught my attention with the release of XY was Team Plasma. The ability to use Lugia-EX along with Muscle Band and Deoxys-EX to do up to 180 damage and one-shot an opposing EX is what made Plasma so appealing to me to begin my testing. I usually like to start out with a deck that has been popular for a while and gained something new with the most recent set. This is a great way to gradually…
Making the Most of Muscle Band and Flexing Your Thinking in the NXD-XY Format “Favorites and Not-So-Favorites of the New Format Old Lists with New Muscle Lugia/Plasma Garbodor/Darkness Virizion/Genesect Blastoise The Potentially Overlooked Landorus/Techs Palkia/Walls Exeggutor Lock Conclusion First though, I’d like to give my opinion on the major players of the NXD-XY format. I have done a large amount of testing and feel pretty confident in my results, but there are always decks that I will be unsure of at any given point. This is largely due to bias, as a player plays and feels more confident with certains decks over others. Lugia/Plasma โ Like Thereโs no denying it: Lugia decks are amazing.…
Sage Tips on Preparing for States “Starting from Scratch: Understanding of the Format The Metagame Factor Assessing Rogue Options Assessing YOUR Options, Skill, Experience… Deck Check! Card Check! Conclusion Assuming I have little experience with the current format, the first thing I would do is gather some information on it. Going into any major tournament, you need to have a clear idea of what people are playing. This not only means archetypes โ deck choices โ it also means individual cards as well. As an example, Yveltal-EX, a card I consider to be extremely powerful, can completely ruin any player trying to utilize Landorus-EX (due to…
As a result of Rose’s meddling, _________ absorbed all the energy in the Galar region. It’s now in a state of power overload. (Eternamax Eternatus)
A Detailed Look at Trevenant/Accelgor, Blastoise, and Emboar “Trevenant/Accelgor Blastoise Emboar Conclusion The first deck that I would like to discuss is Trevenant/Accelgor. I had a fairly successful run with Gothitelle/Accelgor at US Nationals this past year, and the deck did end up taking the title. When Gothitelle was reprinted in Legendary Treasures, I revisited the deck and piloted it to a 3rd place finish at a City Championship back in December, hitting a Virizion/Genesect in Top 4 and taking a very hard loss. What makes Trevenant better than Gothitelle? Because Trevenant is a Stage 1 as opposed to a Stage 2, it is incredibly easier to set…
What XY Means for Dragonite, Darkrai, and Plasma “Dragonite Darkrai Plasma Conclusion Going into Regionals I was having trouble narrowing down what to play. I really liked Darkrai/Garbodor, but it struggled a lot with Virizion/Genesect. Plasma was my safe choice since it didnโt seem to have any bad matchups, but it also didnโt seem to have any good matchups either. This meant that if all my opponents played optimally, I would only win about half my games. This caused me to look for something else to play. The night before the tournament I decided to throw together Dragonite/Garbodor/Reuniclus. This idea was inspired by my two friends Jit Min…
A Detailed Look at Plasma Decks in the NXD-XY Format “Looking at XY, the set appears great. The cards all seem decently balanced, and most of the EXs aren’t completely overpowered, but the main thing that sticks out to me isโฆ Muscle Band. This card alone makes Lugia-EX one of the best cards in the NXD-XY format. Now, with 3 to 4 Deoxys-EX benched, Lugia is able to swing for an absurd 170 to 180 damage, knocking out nearly every Pokemon in the game in one hit. On top of that, you take an additional Prize because of ‘Overflow.’ That means Lugia could take all 6 Prizes by turn two,…
An All-Inclusive Tome on the Early NXD-XY Format “(This is a very long article. You may want to click the links below to skip between sections.) XY Set Review The Big Picture Winter Regionals Fallout Incorporating XY Emboar/Delphox Trevenant/Garbodor Trevenant/Flareon Darkrai/Garbodor Darkrai/Yveltal Hydreigon Virizion/Genesect Plasma Yveltal/Bouffalant Fairies Conclusion Venusaur-EX Well, let’s look at our next round of “Evolution” EXs. This guy is a bit of a stinker. It has high HP, but its attacks are really underwhelming. A middling 3 Energy (2 with a DCE) poisoning attack isn’t very good. I guess you do get 90 damage out of it with a Virbank, but even if you do…
Consistency, Dragonite, New Set Highlights, Top Decks for NXD-XY, and More “What We’ve Learned From Regionals The Highlights of XY Clarifying Consistency A Discussion on Dragonite The Top Decks for States Rayquaza/Emboar Darkrai/Garbodor Thundurus/Deoxys/Lugia/Snorlax Conclusion 1. Pokรฉmon Catcher is still really good. After the errata many players started dropping Catcher from their decks. Even some Darkrai decks stopped playing the card. Once Regionals started though, it was a near staple in Darkrai decks, but more interestingly, we started seeing it in Blastoise as well. I expect this trend to continue into States. While Pokรฉmon Catcher won’t see play in every deck, I do expect it to be a near staple in…
Its tentacles tear off easily, but it isn’t alarmed when that happensโit knows they’ll grow back. It’s about as smart as a three-year-old. (Clobbopus)
Florida Ninetales Interview w/ Mike Canaves + Thoughts on Plasma, Escape Rope “Next Iโll go into my choice for Winter Regionals this year. I chose to play Yeti after playing around with the list. The appeal wasnโt in its matchups or in any card in particular, but in that the deck was so solid all around and that it could accommodate all the cards I wanted it to. For example, I knew that Frozen City was an incredibly strong card, as well as Escape Rope. I wanted a deck that could play both effectively and Plasma was the best fit for it. Another really interesting card combo I liked was Kyurem PLF…
The Best Decks of Winter Regionals 2014 “Blastoise and Emboar Virizion/Genesect Team Plasma Dragonite Conclusion 1st Place // Missouri // Aaron Tarbell // Blastoise PLB/Keldeo-EX/Black Kyurem-EX PLS 1st Place // California // Chris Silver // Emboar LTR/Rayquaza-EX 2nd Place // Virginia // Santiago Rodriquez // Emboar LTR/Rayquaza-EX 2nd Place // Oregon // Bidier Jing // Blastoise PLB/Keldeo-EX/Black Kyurem-EX PLS I decided to group the two “Rain Dance” decks together into one section because of their very similar strategies. I know they are better suited for different metagames, but down to the core they’re the same deck in my book. If I ever consider running Blastoise I’m also…
Regionals Reflections and XY Predictions “Virginia Regionals Aย Need for Speed Thoughts for Florida The Finest of XY Updating the Old New School vs. Old School Conclusion Heading into my last weekend before Virginia Regionals, I attended a pair of City Championships, placing 5th and 1st. My 5th place finish was with RayBoar and my win was with TDK. During the days between then and Regionals, I was certain I’d be playing the Plasma deck in Virginia. However, much to my dismay, I began to hear about a large amount of Plasma hate due to the success Lugia/Snorlax/Thundurus (“The Yeti”) was beginning to have.ย I put the…
Understanding the Biology of X and Y “When reading todayโs discussion, please keep three things in mindโฆ 1: No running in the lab. (Ash…) 2: Remember that this is a jumping-off point for testing, and not the end of it. Many of the thoughts, tactics, and lists discussed here are actually the beginning of what may be months of breakthroughs, especially since X and Y is such a groundbreaking set. 3: This articleโs main purpose is discussing applications of the new set, and not necessarily new uses for old cards. Youโll definitely see recommendations on playing Darkrai, Emboar, Plasma, etc., but theyโre not our primary topics of…
What We Learned from Virginia Regionals “The Point Payout VA Top 32 Cough Cough Ray Plays Ray The Tournament What a Drag Turtle Time On My Mind “The Yeti” Gang Green Conclusion Towards the end of my Cities run I started to realize just how important Regionals are in correlation with attaining a Worlds invite. For those who don’t know, TPCi has upped the Championship Points Regionals give out from last season. In my opinion, you will need to have at least one decent run (Top 8 or better) at Regionals to get your invite this year. This past weekend I heard many players asking how…
If this Pokรฉmon senses a strong emotion, it will run away as fast as it can. It prefers areas without people. (Hatenna)