9 results for: Donphan
The Quiet Days and Second Wind of My Pokémon Career, Including the Most Unbalanced Decks I’ve Played, from 2013–2014 to Now “Ah, where were we? After 2013 Worlds, BLW, EPO, NVI, and DRV were rotated. Since the early Black & White sets started off slow, and because power creep really ramped up started at NXD, very few important cards were lost to this rotation. In addition, several of the powerful cards had already been reprinted: Terrakion got a secret rare in BCR; EPO Item powerhouses Pokemon Catcher and Max Potion got theirs in DEX and PLF; and the staple supporters Professor Juniper and N were spared too. The main exceptions were Eelektrik NVI and Crushing Hammer EPO. Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX PLB was the…
An In-Depth Look at the 2010 DP–UL Format, Part 2 “At the end of 2009, Pokemon announced that Worlds would be returning to Kona, Hawaii in 2010. Invites to the World Championships were given to the Top 4 of Worlds 2009, Top X of Nationals 2010 (the US was Top 4; most other countries got fewer invites—paid/unpaid—depending on size), and then the Top 40 in the Elo rating system. The last way to qualify was through the Last Chance Qualifier affectionately called “the grinders” by players. I went in depth on how the Elo system worked and my feelings about the system in my 2011 article. I’ll go ahead and…
A Deep Look into HS–BLW, the Wild-Ride Anything-Goes 2011 Nationals and Worlds Format “If you asked top players what their favorite format to play at the time was, you would get mixed answer. The format was considered highly luck-based, filled with donks and some consistency issues. The randomness and uncertainty of the format caused me to sit out US Nationals that year to make sure I secured my Worlds invite. However, it’s also a very unexplored format which leaves a lot of room for creativity and rogue decks to shine. Many of the reasons I hated playing the Worlds 2011 format at the time are the same reasons I enjoy playing the format…
A Pokémon Journey with Raichu Post Roaring Skies “We overslept! We have to hurry to Professor Oak’s place to get our first Pokémon. It looks like Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charmander cards are already gone, so we get a Pikachu! With a Pokémon by our side and the world in the palm of our hand, it’s finally time to set out. Unlike Ash Ketchum, we understand that to win in this world, power is the key. In the immortal words of Lt. Surge, “If you want to become a Pokémon Master, you should make your Pokémon evolve as soon as you catch it.” Time to use this Thunder Stone…
VA States Top 8 Report, My Top 3 Picks for Spring Regionals, and Favorites from Roaring Skies “State Championships are always somewhat of a struggle for me. They take place during a busy time of the school year, and with only one week between each event, there is little time to test. This generally makes for situations where deck choices are made mostly on theory … which don’t always work out. Virginia States took place on the fourth weekend of the States cycle this year. Leading into the event, I wasn’t too sure what the best play would be. In Maryland the week prior, I played a Donphan deck to a disappointing 4-2-1 finish. Both of my losses…
It spends its entire life inside an apple. It hides from its natural enemies, bird Pokémon, by pretending it’s just an apple and nothing more. (Applin)
Early 2014-2015 Standard Format Deck Discussion “Lessons Learned from Nationals Addressing Extended Format Concerns Donphan/Trevenant Speed Plasma Empoleon/Miltank Pyroar Revisiting Dragonite Revisiting Lucario/Mewtwo Conclusion 1. SixPrizes is a really great place for information. I don’t know if you guys all caught this or not, but the deck that won US Nationals was published on SixPrizes just a few weeks before the tournament. Stephen Lewis wrote an article about the evolution of Big Basics and the deck was originally piloted to an 11th place finish at the UK National Championships by Luke Kirkham. 2. Pyroar is really good… or is it? By far the biggest surprise of the tournament…
Though it’s able to capture prey by freezing its surroundings, it has trouble eating the prey afterward because its mouth is on top of its head. (Arctovish)
