28 results for: UPR–SSH
Top 64 @ Limitless Q2 w/ ADPZ, the Hidden Benefits of Livestreaming Yourself, Upgrading to ADPZZ, and Toxtricity VMAX for LQ3 “After playing with Lapras VMAX in the previous tournament, I decided that this time I would like to play with a Tier 1 deck. My choice was ADPZ, as it is the most consistent deck in the format and I think it is a very easy deck to play. As I said before, my idea this time was to play all of the tournament while streaming, that way I could show other players my performance in the competition in addition to challenging myself to be a more focused player. In the end, this new experience was very positive for me and…
How I’m Dealing w/ Being Stuck Inside, Myriad Online Tournaments, and Introducing Project Old Decks “As many of you know, there are online tournaments and circuits popping up left and right. The abrupt cancelation of the season seems to have finally gotten the community to make the push toward holding online tournaments. There isn’t the same level of prestige as in-person tournaments, but for the situation this is an incredible collective effort. I’m hoping that this gives TPCi the push they need to improve the online client because of how many players are finally using it. What kinds of online tournaments are there? Limitless Online Series UPR–SSH Pods BLW–SSH Pods PokéStats Old Formats Tournaments I’ll…
The Untapped Potential of Pokémon Research Lab, Omastar TEU, and Stonjourner VMAX “I placed Top 8 at the 2004 World Championship and Top 4 at the 2008 U.S. National Championship. I have won one Regional Championship (2008), two Gym Challenges (2004 and 2005), and seven State Championships (in most of the years leading up to and including my last full season of playing: 2013). I am also very proud of my smaller tournament wins and high placements at various States, Regionals, and Gym Challenges throughout the years. Since December, I have played and placed in a handful of League Cups and Challenges around Portland. I also played in the Collinsville Regional Championship…
My Lapras VMAX for the Limitless Online Series, Updated from Q1 for Q2 and w/ Rebel Clash for Q3 “As I said in my previous article, my goal since the pandemic started was basically to explore the Pokémon TCG more and get myself playing outside the metagame a little bit. In a nutshell, this could improve my skills as a player and deckbuilder, and it would still be quite fun, as I like to play with different ideas. Lapras VMAX is not yet a Tier 1 deck, mainly for consistency reasons, but it is a very strong card, and when the deck works it has the potential to beat anything. Besides, I was expecting a doable metagame for it…
What I Like About the Limitless Online Series, Mew3/Malamar (My Q1 Deck), and Malamar VMAX to Counter Dragapult, the Likely New BDIF “I think what I love the most about the Limitless Online Series is their format, with Best-of-1, 25-minute rounds, akin to what Japan runs for their own big tournaments. Best-of-1 adds variance, but in order to compensate for that, the original plan was to play 20 total rounds, and I expect that to stand. I love it because it makes strategies such as Cinccino Mill or Pidgeotto Control less viable. These, in my personal opinion, take away fun from the game as they essentially are solitaire decks where your opponent doesn’t get to do much during their turn, removing all…
It drifted in on the flow of ocean waters from a frigid place. It keeps its head iced constantly to make sure it stays nice and cold. (Eiscue)
My Other Standard Go-To, Magcargo-GX (for UPR–SSH Online Tournaments) “This has pretty much been my go-to deck when Mill is for some reason unplayable, and is definitely what I would be playing in the first Limitless event if I could convince myself the time investment was worth it. I’ve spent a decent amount of time with this list, and I think it has a pretty solid ADP matchup. ADP is the gatekeeper of the format, and will likely remain that way for a very long time, which is why I’m so bent on having a good matchup against it. A lot of people play Magma Ring Slugma CES in…
Salazzle Mill (for Toronto) and Morpeko VMAX 2.0 (for Charlotte), or What Would Have Been “I’ve probably never played more games with a single deck than I have with my Salazzle list. Even before OCIC, I had the deck built and was testing it. Unfortunately, I decided against playing it in favor of a “safe” deck in PikaRom. Local players have seen me play this at a few League Challenges now, and can attest to how broken it seems. I was going to bring it to Toronto, where I’m pretty sure I would have seen success. There are a lot of weird counts in this list, but this was ultimately the best way to build…
Coming to Terms w/ the Pandemic, PikaRom Two Ways (PikaHammers + PikaClay), and an Aside on the SPE/Region-Locking Debate “As my favorite Beatles song goes, “When I find myself in times of trouble, Pikachu & Zekrom comes to me.” Looking back over every single article I’ve written for this website, I’ve somehow only covered my trademark deck briefly following San Diego, which I attribute to the regrettable number of Expanded Regionals I’ve played in this season. Throughout this season, though, I’ve played Pikachu & Zekrom-GX at almost every local event and at four out of the five major Standard events I’ve attended. Looking forward, I’ve joined everyone else in trying to find answers to the extremely dominant ADP-GX/Zacian V…
Dethroning ADP/Z, Turbo ADP/Z, Sleep Mill (Best Mill), and, Yep!, Shock Lock “Traditionally, decks are prevented from becoming too dominant via the Weakness mechanic. As Gabriel pointed out, this doesn’t apply to ADP/Zacian, as there simply aren’t any good Fairy Pokemon to counter ADP, and Zacian V can have its Fire Weakness removed by Metal Frying Pan. (In case you have forgotten, Fairy Pokemon are being phased out of the TCG, so there will never be any more Fairies printed to stand up to ADP-GX.) So, if we want to counter ADP/Zacian, we are stuck dissecting it for exploitable weaknesses. I’ve compiled a short list here of quirks that you can look…
Where We Left Off, Decks I’m Worried About for Toronto, and Tanky/Tooly ADP, My Fav Play for this Weekend “If you recall, my last article was about my experience at OCIC with my very aggressive PikaRom list. I also went into how I think the deck should be built moving forward. While I do think that PikaRom is super solid in a vacuum, I don’t believe that it is the play for Toronto. The meta has a few pillars that it has trouble getting past. Its current ADP matchup is slightly negative, it struggles with Baby Blacephalon, and it still struggles with fringe decks like Obstagoon and Mill. Now this isn’t unheard of for PikaRom. In the past, it’s…
Little can stand up to its psycho cut. Unleashed from this Pokémon’s horn, the move will punch a hole right through a thick metal sheet. (Galarian Rapidash)
ADPZ, What Makes It So Strong, How to Curb It, Deck Updates, and a New Idea “Why is ADPZ so strong? What does this deck have that others don’t? To try to find a way to beat ADPZ, we first need to understand why the deck is so strong. In my opinion, there is a combination of factors that has led the deck to the title of “Best Deck in the Format” (BDIF). ADPZ is one of the most consistent decks in format. It’s a deck that only uses Basic Pokémon, so you don’t have to worry about evolution. It can use the best consistency Pokémon in format—like Zacian V, Jirachi TEU, Oranguru SSH, and Dedenne…
On TrevNoir in Dallas, Other Expanded Contenders, ADsPinner, and the Post-Malmö Standard Tier List “Granted, I expected the deck to be played more than in Dallas of course, which is why I had a specific tech for mirror in my list: Wobbuffet PHF. The deck ended up being the overall winner, but unfortunately not in my own hands. I did make Day 2, barely, after a 4-0 start, but I performed very poorly in Day 2 due to a combination of poor luck and poor play on my part due to me feeling terrible with the flu and a nonstop cough. 67th place meant reaching Day 2 meant nothing, as I could’ve just played…
Morpeko VMAX/Dusknoir in Collinsville, Flaws with Our List, Updates, Matchups, and Briefly on Standard “As a note, whenever I say “we” in this portion, it generally refers to some combination of Alex Krekeler, Wes Hollenberg, Patrick Littleson, and me. Leading up to the event, I was frantically testing Expanded, and everything felt terrible. I didn’t want to play TrevNoir because I knew the mirror match would be common, and I didn’t want to play Zacian because of how linear it is which made it easy to counter. This led me to try out rogue decks that had no business being good. Ironically, I built Cramorant V/Mew FCO on Monday, but eventually tabled the deck…
T16 @ OCIC w/ PikaRom, Why I Played It, Match Recaps, Matchups In-Depth, and Updates for the New Meta “Going into the event I knew I wanted to play a tried and true concept. I feel as if this is almost always correct at ICs like this when a new set drops. If you recall, I played a very vanilla, aggressive, and consistent Mewtwo deck to LAIC back in November, in hopes to beat out people trying new concepts that the slower TAG TEAM Supporters brought us. It went decently well as I did make it to Day 2. It was also reassuring to see some other people have more success than I saw, using the same ideology. I…
OCIC w/ ADPZ and Some Analyses on Nico/Tord’s 1st/7th Mewtwo/Welder and Zach’s 2nd Fire Box “-4 Pokemon Catcher +4 Custom Catcher -1 Galarian Zigzagoon SSH +1 Absol TEU -1 Marshadow UNB +1 Shrine of Punishment (2nd) -1 Aurora Energy +1 Tag Call (3rd) -1 Marnie +1 Escape Board (2nd) Most of the ADP/Zacian V lists that did well at OCIC played 4 Custom Catcher instead of Pokemon Catcher, so that has to be the way to go. At first, I thought 4 Pokemon Catcher was correct, but there were times where I would flip multiple tails in a row to lose games. However, had I had 2 Custom Catcher to guarantee a Benched Pokemon, then…
It has an electrical organ on its chest. While generating electricity, it fills its surroundings with what sounds like the strumming of a bass guitar. (Toxtricity)
2.4K
1
1,030
+12(100%)
