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Top 8 St. Louis Regionals Report, Net Decking Revisited, and Dialogue on Cheating “If I can bother you to think all the way back to my last article (December!), I wrote a lengthy bit on my distaste with net decking. Dylan’s quasi-invention of the Donphan archetype led to many copying him at Fall Regionals and it would end up becoming one of the most popular decks throughout all of City Championships. However, after this past weekend, the deck just absolutely died by Winter Regionals. This, I believe, can be attributed to the fact that a lot of the deck’s popularity was largely a result of its status as a “flavor of the month.”…
Surviving Cities, the “Careers,” and Underdogs “Surviving the Games The “Careers” Donphan Yveltal Virizion/Genesect The Underdogs Metal Seismitoad/Garbodor Pyroar Yveltal/Manectric Night March Conclusion I know this may not be everyone’s style, but for me, having a core group of friends and testing partners has really made this round of Cities much more bearable. Even on the days I don’t do well, it’s definitely nice to have friends around to either commiserate with or live vicariously through. Having a team mindset can really turn a less than stellar tournament run into a positive experience. I scrubbed out the first two Cities I attended this season, but I…
Reflections on Twenty Cities and Pre-Regionals Deck Diagnoses “An Explosive Start Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop A Change of Pace Journey Through Georgia An Expanded Experience Post-Cities Deck Diagnoses Primal Clash Favorites Conclusion Directly following Thanksgiving, Pennsylvania always holds a three-day “mini-marathon” of Cities. I was able to attend all three and found some kind of success at each of them. November 28, 2014: Blue Bell, PA (Donphan/Wobbuffet) R1 vs. Bronzong/Dialga – W R2 vs. Virizion/Genesect – W R3 vs. Donphan – W R4 vs. Donphan – L R5 vs. Yveltal/Manectric – W R6 vs. Donphan – ID T8 vs. Virizion/Genesect/Manectric – WW T4 vs. Donphan – WLW T2 vs.…
7 Inquiries About Flashfire and a Look Back at InfernCatty “Initial Thoughts on the Set Blast from the Past: Infernape DP/Delcatty PK (aka “InfernCatty”) Question 1: Is Charizard-EX Good? Question 2: What About M-Charizard-EX? Question 3: How Should I Play Pyroar? Question 4: Is TorchSmith Reliable? Question 5: What’s Up with Milotic? Question 6: Are Blastoise and Emboar Dead Because of Druddigon? Question 7: How Should I Play This Set’s Supporters (And Pal Pad)? Conclusion When we received spoilers of the Japanese version of Flashfire, a few things ran through my head, the first of which had to do with the “theme” of the set – that of the Fire…
Jay’s 2014 Wisconsin and Iowa States Reports “The Road to States Speed Lugia Yeti… Or Maybe Just “Hornung Plasma” Hello, Wisconsin! Hawk, I Conclusion I was quickly drawn to Plasma as I thought Muscle Band took the deck to a whole new level. The deck was able to simply put so much early pressure on the opponent that it was common to overwhelm them before they could ever get a foothold in the game. My list started out the same way that most people’s did, built around the strategy of attaching a Muscle Band to Lugia-EX and then 1HKOing opposing EXs with 4 Deoxys in play. In…
Its nictitating membranes let it pick out foes’ weak points so it can precisely blast them with water that shoots from its fingertips at Mach 3. (Inteleon)
The Evolution of the NXD–LTR Format “First, congratulations to anyone who made it to Top 8 at any Regionals. After experiencing this new system for myself, I have to say, it’s a true test of endurance. Here is the list I chose to play for the tournament: There was absolutely nothing special about this list. It was a plain old standard Blastoise teched with Tool Scrappers to beat Garbodor. I could have pulled a Sam Chen and cut the Tool Scrappers for more consistency cards, such as a fourth Tropical Beach, but I didn’t have the guts to do it. I’m glad I didn’t take the…
An Analysis of the Japanese Battle Carnival “The metagame before the tournament, taken from shop tournament results, testing results, and speculation is very similar to what the United States format is turning into right now. The only deck that is added with BW9 is Virizion EX + Genesect EX, but the rest of the decks seem very standard. “But why isn’t Blastoise + Keldeo EX + Black Kyurem EX PLS on the list? It should be tier 1, right?” Although Blastoise is one of the best decks right now I decided not to add it to the tier list. Because of the cost of Japanese Tropical Beach,…
The Emergence of Pyroar and Analysis of 11 Competitive Decks “Yveltal/Garbodor Yveltal/Raichu Pyroar/Charizard Pyroar/Landorus/Mewtwo Plasma: Lugia Plasma: TDK RayBoar Empoleon/Miltank Flygon/Dusknoir/Accelgor Kangaskhan/Fairies Virizion/Genesect Conclusion It suffices to say that this deck deserves to be spoken about first. It has been widely hailed as the best deck by many. The topic has been beaten to death by writers and players alike. This deck and its variants will cover a massive portion of the field for obvious reasons, namely that it is a safe play. This deck will top cut. It has few terrible matchups. It is quick, consistent, and has an unlimited damage capacity. For some players, the debate will be…
It digs up the ground with its trunk. It’s also very strong, being able to carry loads of over five tons without any problem at all. (Cufant)
What to Play for Week 3 of States “RayBoar Blastoise Yveltal/Garbodor Yveltal/Bouffalant Puerto Rican Fairies Virizion/Genesect/Drifblim Conclusion RayBoar was one of the first decks that I ended up testing for States. I was drawn to this deck because of the recent success I had with it. With the XY set being released RayBoar got some new tools, most notably Delphox. Its Ability, Mystical Fire, lets you draw cards until you have six in your hand. In the past, we have seen this Ability have a massive impact on a format in the form of Magnetic Draw on Magnezone Prime. I don’t think Delphox will be as prevalent as…
Virginia Regionals From A to Z “Accidents Happen Bad Starts Candace Hyatt Darkrai EX/Garbodor DRX Electrode PLF Five Hundred and Sixty Giratina EX Hypnotoxic Laser Invitation Jirachi EX Kevin Nance Last Minute Decisions Mike Diaz New Rules Obvious Penguins and Ghosts quickanddirtytips.com Roserade DRX 15 Spirit of the Game Ties Under My Chair Virizion EX/Genesect EX Wifey! X Ball Your Own Food Zebstrika NXD Conclusion When I was young, I used to have a trampoline, one of those really big ones with blue protective padding lining its circumference. We played games on it during lazy summers when the skies were always Carolina blue and aspirations were…
A Mini-Guide for Those Playing to the Tune of 300 CP “Post-Cities Assessments Teching in the Current Format “Strategic Dissonance” Revisited Rogue Meanderings Conclusion Normally I encourage a proactive approach to this game, one in which players thoughtfully form a list and playtest preemptively for whatever the occasion. Lately, however, this has turned into a strict case of “do as I say, not as I do.” Like I mentioned before, I’ve recently taken over the role of “stay-at-home dad” with my family, and kids as young as my daughter eat or destroy cards, not play them. Add to that the disinterest I’ve had with the game because of the lacking details…
This Pokémon rapidly extends its retractable neck to sink its sharp fangs into distant enemies and take them down. (Drednaw)
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