Hello everyone this will be the last post of Pokeballing on this blog site. To elaborate for everyone, I am trying to get my teammates to make a serious stab at worlds for this season (which takes place in my home country of Canada eh) so i have opened up a new blog address where hopefully you will get not only blogs from yours truly but my teammates as well.
But before I say a temporary good bye i just wanted to thank any and all of you who have read this over the time i had it. I constantly looked at my numbers and was amazed at all the page views i had, and i cant even begin to tell you how much it means to me that you all took time out of your days to read a relatively unknown Pokemon player's thoughts on this game i love so much.
I hope that you all show the same support for this new blog (which will also be titled Pokeballing cause i love the name) and let us know what you think, what you like, and what we can do to improve on your experience.
the site for the record is
http://teampokeballer.blogspot.ca/
Sunday 16 September 2012
Wednesday 8 August 2012
Pokeballing: Garchomps Coming to Get Ya
Hello boys and girls and welcome to another fun filled edition of everyones favorite (not really) blog.........POKEBALLING.
First I must say that i am sorry this article took so long to get on top of, I myself blame Kingdom Hearts 3D. Speaking of Kingdom Hearts 3D, if any of my dear readers happen to be a fan of the series I highly suggest picking this up, assuming you possess a 3DS.
Now back to the good stuff, as we draw ever so closer to the North American release of Dragons Exalted. Now I have a massive amount of decks that I wanna talk about before we shift into the new format September 1st, and this brand new set happens to play a big role in the first one.
For those of us who were playing this game during the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum era (D/P/PT), we are quite familiar with the destructive rampage that Garchomp had on that particular format. Starting with the second set in the block, Mysterious Treasures, Garchomp has been leaving a blaze of destruction in its path for a long time. Majestic Dawn brought one of the most creative forms of this card to the tcg in Garchomp Lv.X, who with its Rebirth Pokemon Power made opponents cringe at the site of massive stage 2 Pokemon brought out for free as basics. The Arrival of the SP theme of Pokemon really gave the monstrous Landshark the chance to strut its stuff when it was reinvented as Garchomp C and Garchomp C Lv.X, leaving its mark on the worlds stage in Luxchomp.
Now Dragons Exalted brings this dominating figure back into our tcg, and they even give him a new partner to destroy those who oppose his mighty rage. Garchomp/Altaria is a deck that has been ripping up Japan even placing multiple variants in the top spots of Japans Battle Carnival. The deck is so straight forward its kind of amazing that it works so well.
The Pokemon skeleton for this deck kind of looks like this
4 Gible
3 Gabite
4 Garchomp
3 Swablu
3 Altaria
3 Emolga
Garchomp – Dragon – HP140
Stage 2- Evolves from Gabite
[F] Sonic Cutter: 60 damage. Discard a Special Energy attached to the Defending Pokemon.
[W][F] Dragon Blade: 100 damage. Discard the top 2 cards from your deck.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Gabite – Dragon – HP80
Stage 1 – Evolves from Gible
Ability: Dragon Call
Choose 1 Dragon-type Pokemon card from your deck, show it to your opponent, and put it in your hand. Shuffle your deck afterwards. You can use this Ability 1 time during your turn.
[W][F] Dragon Slice: 20 damage.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Altaria – Dragon – HP70
Stage 1 – Evolves from Swablu
Ability: Battle Song
As long as this Pokemon is in play, your Dragon-type Pokemon’s attacks do an additional 20 damage to any Active Pokemon.
[W][M][C] Glide: 40 damage.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Emolga – Lightning – HP70
Basic Pokemon
[C] Call for Family: Search your deck for two Basic Pokemon and put them onto your Bench. Shuffle your deck afterwards.
[L] Static Shock: 20 damage.
Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 0
Now right off the bat I will be blunt the Gible and Swablu you use don't really matter, the set has two different versions of each one you can try out. At first glance this deck might look very meh to you, and i agree completely. However, when you set and look at the synergy this deck has and you see that the abilities all work together nicely. Gabites Dragon Call makes it so easy to get everything in this deck, Gabite searching for either Garchomp or Altaria allows for fast set up of this devastating deck. Altaria is the true power card in the deck even though you wont be attacking with it. Having multiple Altaria in play means that your Garchomps attacks keep getting stronger and stronger. Now lets look at Garchomp itself, it weighs in at 140 HP, with a one retreat cost and two attacks. Mach Cut does 60 for 1 Fighting Energy and discards a Special Energy card attached to your opponents active Pokemon. Doing 60 damage for one energy might not seem like a big deal but when you calculate Altarias extra 20 damage then you start to hit some big numbers. Dragonblade does a nice 100 for a water and a fighting energy with a two card discard from the top of your deck. This is a minor cost since with two Altaria that 100 turns into 140 making it easy to two shot Mewtwo and other massive EX Pokemon while they cant one shot you back. Emolga brings this deck together with its Call for Family allowing you to fill up your bench faster and its free retreat means you wont be wasting a switch or waiting for it to be knocked out to go on your offensive flurry.
I wont post a trainer skeleton for this deck, since for the most part all trainers for every deck are the same. I will however make note of some key cards that you should be running and some nice little tech ideas that might tickle your fancy. First up on the list is Level Ball, and this card is a must have in at least 3 hand down. Everything in this deck except Garchomp himself is searchable with Level Ball, so with all due respect if you don't run this card don't ever expect to win the mirror match, or most other matches. Pokemon Communication is the choice secondary searcher in this deck. Now some of you might be like but Ultra Ball is so good, and you would be right in most cases. Ultra Ball in this deck however is a bad idea, for the main reason as you don't really wanna needlessly pitch cards to the discard pile. Big Cloak would be a fun little tech for this deck as it would make your Garchomps HP rival that of EX Pokemon making him even harder to knock out. Rescue Scarf would also be something to perhaps look into, more so for your Gabites and Altarias as they will be wearing huge catcher targets on their backs.
This decks weakness to Dragon gives you a huge advantage against every deck other then Hydreigon/Darkrai. However, cards like Raikou EX can really mess you up bad since he can hit both your set up Pokemon without wasting a Pokemon Catcher. Even with these drawbacks and the obvious Catcher targeting on Gabite and Altaria, I strongly believe that this deck can be the best deck in the format.
First I must say that i am sorry this article took so long to get on top of, I myself blame Kingdom Hearts 3D. Speaking of Kingdom Hearts 3D, if any of my dear readers happen to be a fan of the series I highly suggest picking this up, assuming you possess a 3DS.
Now back to the good stuff, as we draw ever so closer to the North American release of Dragons Exalted. Now I have a massive amount of decks that I wanna talk about before we shift into the new format September 1st, and this brand new set happens to play a big role in the first one.
For those of us who were playing this game during the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum era (D/P/PT), we are quite familiar with the destructive rampage that Garchomp had on that particular format. Starting with the second set in the block, Mysterious Treasures, Garchomp has been leaving a blaze of destruction in its path for a long time. Majestic Dawn brought one of the most creative forms of this card to the tcg in Garchomp Lv.X, who with its Rebirth Pokemon Power made opponents cringe at the site of massive stage 2 Pokemon brought out for free as basics. The Arrival of the SP theme of Pokemon really gave the monstrous Landshark the chance to strut its stuff when it was reinvented as Garchomp C and Garchomp C Lv.X, leaving its mark on the worlds stage in Luxchomp.
Now Dragons Exalted brings this dominating figure back into our tcg, and they even give him a new partner to destroy those who oppose his mighty rage. Garchomp/Altaria is a deck that has been ripping up Japan even placing multiple variants in the top spots of Japans Battle Carnival. The deck is so straight forward its kind of amazing that it works so well.
The Pokemon skeleton for this deck kind of looks like this
4 Gible
3 Gabite
4 Garchomp
3 Swablu
3 Altaria
3 Emolga
Garchomp – Dragon – HP140
Stage 2- Evolves from Gabite
[F] Sonic Cutter: 60 damage. Discard a Special Energy attached to the Defending Pokemon.
[W][F] Dragon Blade: 100 damage. Discard the top 2 cards from your deck.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Gabite – Dragon – HP80
Stage 1 – Evolves from Gible
Ability: Dragon Call
Choose 1 Dragon-type Pokemon card from your deck, show it to your opponent, and put it in your hand. Shuffle your deck afterwards. You can use this Ability 1 time during your turn.
[W][F] Dragon Slice: 20 damage.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Altaria – Dragon – HP70
Stage 1 – Evolves from Swablu
Ability: Battle Song
As long as this Pokemon is in play, your Dragon-type Pokemon’s attacks do an additional 20 damage to any Active Pokemon.
[W][M][C] Glide: 40 damage.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Emolga – Lightning – HP70
Basic Pokemon
[C] Call for Family: Search your deck for two Basic Pokemon and put them onto your Bench. Shuffle your deck afterwards.
[L] Static Shock: 20 damage.
Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 0
Now right off the bat I will be blunt the Gible and Swablu you use don't really matter, the set has two different versions of each one you can try out. At first glance this deck might look very meh to you, and i agree completely. However, when you set and look at the synergy this deck has and you see that the abilities all work together nicely. Gabites Dragon Call makes it so easy to get everything in this deck, Gabite searching for either Garchomp or Altaria allows for fast set up of this devastating deck. Altaria is the true power card in the deck even though you wont be attacking with it. Having multiple Altaria in play means that your Garchomps attacks keep getting stronger and stronger. Now lets look at Garchomp itself, it weighs in at 140 HP, with a one retreat cost and two attacks. Mach Cut does 60 for 1 Fighting Energy and discards a Special Energy card attached to your opponents active Pokemon. Doing 60 damage for one energy might not seem like a big deal but when you calculate Altarias extra 20 damage then you start to hit some big numbers. Dragonblade does a nice 100 for a water and a fighting energy with a two card discard from the top of your deck. This is a minor cost since with two Altaria that 100 turns into 140 making it easy to two shot Mewtwo and other massive EX Pokemon while they cant one shot you back. Emolga brings this deck together with its Call for Family allowing you to fill up your bench faster and its free retreat means you wont be wasting a switch or waiting for it to be knocked out to go on your offensive flurry.
I wont post a trainer skeleton for this deck, since for the most part all trainers for every deck are the same. I will however make note of some key cards that you should be running and some nice little tech ideas that might tickle your fancy. First up on the list is Level Ball, and this card is a must have in at least 3 hand down. Everything in this deck except Garchomp himself is searchable with Level Ball, so with all due respect if you don't run this card don't ever expect to win the mirror match, or most other matches. Pokemon Communication is the choice secondary searcher in this deck. Now some of you might be like but Ultra Ball is so good, and you would be right in most cases. Ultra Ball in this deck however is a bad idea, for the main reason as you don't really wanna needlessly pitch cards to the discard pile. Big Cloak would be a fun little tech for this deck as it would make your Garchomps HP rival that of EX Pokemon making him even harder to knock out. Rescue Scarf would also be something to perhaps look into, more so for your Gabites and Altarias as they will be wearing huge catcher targets on their backs.
This decks weakness to Dragon gives you a huge advantage against every deck other then Hydreigon/Darkrai. However, cards like Raikou EX can really mess you up bad since he can hit both your set up Pokemon without wasting a Pokemon Catcher. Even with these drawbacks and the obvious Catcher targeting on Gabite and Altaria, I strongly believe that this deck can be the best deck in the format.
Sunday 29 July 2012
Pokeballing: Dragons Exalted Prerelease Part 1
Dragons Exalted Prereleases have started up today and continue next weekend, bringing another variety of new cards into our meta. This set brings a good number of great Pokemon and decks that will surely dictate how the falls BW-On format will look.
While this set lacks on the Trainer aspect of the game bringing a measly 4 trainers. Luckily for us these Trainers aren't that bad actually and most of these will see play in some decks.
Tool Scrapper – Trainer-Item
Choose up to 2 Pokemon Tool cards attached to Pokemon in play (both yours and your opponents) and discard them
You can use any number of Trainer cards during your turn.
Of the four Trainers we get this set Tool Scrapper will see the most play in the new format. So many decks run some form of Pokemon Tool whether it be Eviolite, Rocky Helmet, EXP Share, or Dark Claw. Being able to get rid of any two tools on the field is a amazing play especially if your just 20 damage short of knocking out a Pokemon equipped with Eviolite.
Rescue Scarf- Item
Pokemon Tool: Attach a Pokemon Tool to one of your Pokemon to use it. You can only attach 1 card to 1 Pokemon, and it remains attached.
If the Pokemon that this card is attached to is Knocked Out by damage from an attack, put that Pokemon back into your hand. (Discard all cards attached to that Pokemon.)
You can use any number of Goods cards during your turn.
Rescue Energy was a great card in the last format, providing you a fast easy way to get high stage support cards back onto the field easily. This great ability is back in Rescue Scarf, a Pokemon Tool that works the same way the energy did, giving you the ability to return a Stage 2 Pokemon and all its previous forms back to your hand when its Knocked Out. This is enables you to keep your attackers hitting hard and fast (have multiple Prinplups on the field to evolve the turn after your active Empoleon dies). Rescue Scarf is also great to attach to support Pokemon such as Altaria, Gabite and Eelektrik so when they are dragged out and killed you can get them right back on the field.
Devolution Spray – Trainer
Choose one of your Evolved Pokemon, then remove the top evolution card from that Pokemon. Return that Evolution card to your hand. (The Devolved Pokemon cannot evolve this turn.)
You can use any number of Trainer cards during your turn.
Devolution Spray makes its way back into the TCG after a long hiatus and now it can be better then ever. Coming into play powers(abilities) have been the key to winning games throughout the years (Uxie's Setup). However having these abilities on stage 1 or higher Pokemon can be very annoying. Devolution Spray fixes all of this by allowing you to pick those Evolution's back up to your hand and reuse those amazing Abilities again (such as this sets Ninetales). There is a deck that i wanna talk about soon that will make amazing use of this card so stay tuned.
Big Cloak – Tool
Pokemon Tool: Attach a Pokemon Tool to one of your Pokemon to use it. You can only attach 1 card to 1 Pokemon, and it remains attached.
The maximum HP of the Pokemon this card is attached to increases by 20.
You can use any number of Trainers per turn
Last on the list is Big Cloak, a Pokemon Tool that many Stage 1 and Stage 2 might want to consider taking for a Spin. Eviolite and this card have much in common, being that both give you more HP in some fashion, Eviolite lets you take less damage and Big Cloak gives you more HP. The upside to Big Cloak is that it doesnt have to be attached to a Basic Pokemon, giving hard hitting Stage 2 Pokemon more time to wreck your opponents field.
Thats all the trainers from this set, which kind of sad but oh well. Now for the Pokemon i am just gonna name off some of them as there are far to many to mention in one sitting. So for this blog i will only look at some of the interesting tech cards.
Garbodor - Psychic - HP100
Stage 1 - Evolves from Trubbish
Ability: GarboToxin
As long as this Pokemon has a Pokemon Tool card attached to it, ignore all Abilities printed on any cards in either player's field, hand, or discard pile (excluding any GarboToxins).
[P][P][C] Sludge Toss: 60 damage.
Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3
Your only going to be playing this card for Garbotoxin, as shutting down abilities like Dynamotor, Dragon Call and Fight Song is amazing just remember this will also shut down your abilities too.
Ninetales – Fire – HP90
Stage 1 – Evolves from Vulpix
Ability: Bright Look
You can use this ability 1 time, when you play this card from your hand to Evolve a Pokemon. Choose 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon and switch it with his or her Active Pokemon.
[R] Cursed Flame: 20+ damage. Does 50 more damage for each Special Condition on the Defending Pokemon.
Weakness: Water (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Ladies and Gentleman its the return of Luxray GL Lv.X............'s Bright Look. Ninetales brings back a old favourite for seasoned players and a decent attack to go with it. I can see this card teching into Entei decks to allow for quick knock outs and if your opponent is burned or any other form of Special Condition then your doing some serious damage with this card.
Emolga – Lightning – HP70
Basic Pokemon
[C] Call for Family: Search your deck for two Basic Pokemon and put them onto your Bench. Shuffle your deck afterwards.
[L] Static Shock: 20 damage.
Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 0
Colorless Call for Family and a free retreat make Emolga the starter of choice in the new format.
Sigilyph – Psychic – HP90
Basic Pokemon
Ability: Safeguard
Prevent all effects of attacks, including damage, done to Sigilyph by your opponent’s Pokemon-EX.
[P][C][C] Psychic: 50+ damage. Does 10 more damage for each Energy card attached to the Defending Pokemon.
Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Sigilyph has seen some play in Japan (even teched into the winning Battle Carnival deck) for its ability to hit Mewtwo EX for potential massive damage and not face the Legendary Pokemon's fury if its not Knocked out. Safeguard in a format without the ability to Junk Arm for Pokemon Catcher whenever is a solid play as the chances of your opponent being able to disrupt your Safeguard is lowered greatly.
Roserade – Grass – HP90
Stage 1 – Evolves from Roselia
Ability: Le Parfum
You may use this Ability once during your turn, when you play Roserade from your hand to evolve one of your Pokemon. Search your deck for any one card and put it in your hand. Shuffle your deck afterwards.
[G][C] Tighten: 30+ damage. Flip 1 coin. If heads, this attack does 30 damage plus 20 more damage, and the Defending Pokemon is now Paralysed.
Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Water (-20)
Retreat: 1
This is the last tech card from this set I wanna talk about and it has tons of potential. This card reminds me very much of Quick Search Pidgeot from Fire Red Leaf Green in the EX series block. The ability to search for any card in your deck is massive and while unfortunately this is a coming into play power cards like Super Scoop Up and Devolution Spray help make this a possibility every turn.
This is just the tip of the iceberg and through out the week, work willing i will be posting blogs on the big Pokemon from this set as well as the EX Pokemon.
While this set lacks on the Trainer aspect of the game bringing a measly 4 trainers. Luckily for us these Trainers aren't that bad actually and most of these will see play in some decks.
Tool Scrapper – Trainer-Item
Choose up to 2 Pokemon Tool cards attached to Pokemon in play (both yours and your opponents) and discard them
You can use any number of Trainer cards during your turn.
Of the four Trainers we get this set Tool Scrapper will see the most play in the new format. So many decks run some form of Pokemon Tool whether it be Eviolite, Rocky Helmet, EXP Share, or Dark Claw. Being able to get rid of any two tools on the field is a amazing play especially if your just 20 damage short of knocking out a Pokemon equipped with Eviolite.
Rescue Scarf- Item
Pokemon Tool: Attach a Pokemon Tool to one of your Pokemon to use it. You can only attach 1 card to 1 Pokemon, and it remains attached.
If the Pokemon that this card is attached to is Knocked Out by damage from an attack, put that Pokemon back into your hand. (Discard all cards attached to that Pokemon.)
You can use any number of Goods cards during your turn.
Rescue Energy was a great card in the last format, providing you a fast easy way to get high stage support cards back onto the field easily. This great ability is back in Rescue Scarf, a Pokemon Tool that works the same way the energy did, giving you the ability to return a Stage 2 Pokemon and all its previous forms back to your hand when its Knocked Out. This is enables you to keep your attackers hitting hard and fast (have multiple Prinplups on the field to evolve the turn after your active Empoleon dies). Rescue Scarf is also great to attach to support Pokemon such as Altaria, Gabite and Eelektrik so when they are dragged out and killed you can get them right back on the field.
Devolution Spray – Trainer
Choose one of your Evolved Pokemon, then remove the top evolution card from that Pokemon. Return that Evolution card to your hand. (The Devolved Pokemon cannot evolve this turn.)
You can use any number of Trainer cards during your turn.
Devolution Spray makes its way back into the TCG after a long hiatus and now it can be better then ever. Coming into play powers(abilities) have been the key to winning games throughout the years (Uxie's Setup). However having these abilities on stage 1 or higher Pokemon can be very annoying. Devolution Spray fixes all of this by allowing you to pick those Evolution's back up to your hand and reuse those amazing Abilities again (such as this sets Ninetales). There is a deck that i wanna talk about soon that will make amazing use of this card so stay tuned.
Big Cloak – Tool
Pokemon Tool: Attach a Pokemon Tool to one of your Pokemon to use it. You can only attach 1 card to 1 Pokemon, and it remains attached.
The maximum HP of the Pokemon this card is attached to increases by 20.
You can use any number of Trainers per turn
Last on the list is Big Cloak, a Pokemon Tool that many Stage 1 and Stage 2 might want to consider taking for a Spin. Eviolite and this card have much in common, being that both give you more HP in some fashion, Eviolite lets you take less damage and Big Cloak gives you more HP. The upside to Big Cloak is that it doesnt have to be attached to a Basic Pokemon, giving hard hitting Stage 2 Pokemon more time to wreck your opponents field.
Thats all the trainers from this set, which kind of sad but oh well. Now for the Pokemon i am just gonna name off some of them as there are far to many to mention in one sitting. So for this blog i will only look at some of the interesting tech cards.
Garbodor - Psychic - HP100
Stage 1 - Evolves from Trubbish
Ability: GarboToxin
As long as this Pokemon has a Pokemon Tool card attached to it, ignore all Abilities printed on any cards in either player's field, hand, or discard pile (excluding any GarboToxins).
[P][P][C] Sludge Toss: 60 damage.
Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3
Your only going to be playing this card for Garbotoxin, as shutting down abilities like Dynamotor, Dragon Call and Fight Song is amazing just remember this will also shut down your abilities too.
Ninetales – Fire – HP90
Stage 1 – Evolves from Vulpix
Ability: Bright Look
You can use this ability 1 time, when you play this card from your hand to Evolve a Pokemon. Choose 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon and switch it with his or her Active Pokemon.
[R] Cursed Flame: 20+ damage. Does 50 more damage for each Special Condition on the Defending Pokemon.
Weakness: Water (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Ladies and Gentleman its the return of Luxray GL Lv.X............'s Bright Look. Ninetales brings back a old favourite for seasoned players and a decent attack to go with it. I can see this card teching into Entei decks to allow for quick knock outs and if your opponent is burned or any other form of Special Condition then your doing some serious damage with this card.
Emolga – Lightning – HP70
Basic Pokemon
[C] Call for Family: Search your deck for two Basic Pokemon and put them onto your Bench. Shuffle your deck afterwards.
[L] Static Shock: 20 damage.
Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 0
Colorless Call for Family and a free retreat make Emolga the starter of choice in the new format.
Sigilyph – Psychic – HP90
Basic Pokemon
Ability: Safeguard
Prevent all effects of attacks, including damage, done to Sigilyph by your opponent’s Pokemon-EX.
[P][C][C] Psychic: 50+ damage. Does 10 more damage for each Energy card attached to the Defending Pokemon.
Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Sigilyph has seen some play in Japan (even teched into the winning Battle Carnival deck) for its ability to hit Mewtwo EX for potential massive damage and not face the Legendary Pokemon's fury if its not Knocked out. Safeguard in a format without the ability to Junk Arm for Pokemon Catcher whenever is a solid play as the chances of your opponent being able to disrupt your Safeguard is lowered greatly.
Roserade – Grass – HP90
Stage 1 – Evolves from Roselia
Ability: Le Parfum
You may use this Ability once during your turn, when you play Roserade from your hand to evolve one of your Pokemon. Search your deck for any one card and put it in your hand. Shuffle your deck afterwards.
[G][C] Tighten: 30+ damage. Flip 1 coin. If heads, this attack does 30 damage plus 20 more damage, and the Defending Pokemon is now Paralysed.
Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Water (-20)
Retreat: 1
This is the last tech card from this set I wanna talk about and it has tons of potential. This card reminds me very much of Quick Search Pidgeot from Fire Red Leaf Green in the EX series block. The ability to search for any card in your deck is massive and while unfortunately this is a coming into play power cards like Super Scoop Up and Devolution Spray help make this a possibility every turn.
This is just the tip of the iceberg and through out the week, work willing i will be posting blogs on the big Pokemon from this set as well as the EX Pokemon.
Thursday 19 July 2012
Pokeballing: The Decks of the New Format
With September fast approaching us the Pokemon TCG is about to undergo a massive meta shift. The era of fast moving dominate basic decks is about to be left behind as we shift into a more thought out format with the return of stage 2 decks. So whats this mean for current and future decks?
The loss of key searching cards like Collector and Dual Ball aim to slow us down alot and mass searching of Pokemon will be set back to Pokemon attacks like Call For Family (Emolga DRE). Decks like Zekeels will take a hit because of this as its no longer easy for them to just drop a bunch of Tynamo and other threats in one turn for few cards. With that in mind here are some decks to be on the look out for come September
Garchomp/Altaria
For those of you who don't keep up with the meta game outside of North America this deck along with Hydreigon/Darkrai EX has been ripping up Japans meta with its intense speed and hard hitting for low energy attacks. Garchomp packs a 140 hp with weakness to Dragon and one retreat, with its attacks doing 60 for a [Fi] with a special energy discard and then 100 for a [W] and a [Fi] with a minor setback of 2 of your top cards from your deck being discarded. Now that might not seem like a lot, However when you add Altaria to the mix it gets interesting. Altarias ability Battle Song increases all your Dragon Type Pokemons attacks by 20 and it stacks so with 2 Altaria on the field your Garchomp is suddenly hitting for 100 for 1 and 140 for 2. Even more broken is the fact that Gabite has the ability Dragon Call which searches your deck for any Dragon type. With its blinding speed and hard hitting attacks this deck is looking to become the Best Deck In Format (BDIF).
Hydreigon/Darkrai EX
This deck will be Garchomps main competition come September first, like it has done in Japan (This deck won Japans Nationals Equivalent, Battle Carnival). This deck operates very much like Klinklang only without the mass array of EX attackers. Hydreigon's Dark Trance ability allows for the moving of Dark Energy as often as you like (keep in mind this also means Prism and the soon to be released Blend Energy(G,R,P,D)). This means that like Klinklang you can make good use of powerful healing cards like Max Potion to keep you going. This deck also gets Energy acceleration in the form of Dark Patch, which combines very nicely with Hydreigon's attack Dragon Blast which for a [P][D][D][C] does 140 with a 2 [D] discard. Also another bonus to this deck is due to the fact it runs Blend energy you can run strong underlooked attackers like Shaymin EX. Hydreigon/Darkrai is looking to create as big of a splash in our meta as it has overseas.
Empoleon Variants
Empoleon is a deck that has been seeing play since its release in Dark Explorers and a slower format could be just what the Pokemon Doctor orders so to speak. Empoleons ability Diving Draw always allows you to have a usable hand which is a big deal in a game where one bad turn can kill you in the end. Attack Command is the definition of mass damage for low cost doing 10 for every Pokemon in play for 1 measly [W].The lighting weakness is bad right now but it might not be come September when a slower format might hinder Zekeels, However even if that deck stays popular Empoleon is often partnered up with Terrakion which counters your weakness quite nicely. I myself have been testing this deck alot and i can honestly say its a beast once it gets going.
Ninetales/ Amoonguss
I cant say for sure if this deck will be a contender or a flash in the pan,but its a interesting deck to say the least. This deck uses Amoonguss's Sporprise ability to force Confusion and Poison on your opponent then uses Ninetales attack Cursed Flame to do 20+ 50 for each special condition on the defending Pokemon for a total of 120 for one energy. The soon to be reprinted Deevolution Spray will allow you to reuse Sporprise as well as Ninetales ability Bright Look (think Luxray GL Lv.X). The fact that this entire deck is searchable by Level Ball makes it that much better. Though one must becareful since your entire deck is 90 HP Pokemon it will be very easy for your opponent to overtake you.
Darkrai Variants
Now aside from the forementioned Hydreigon/Darkai EX there are a variety of other Darkrai Variants. Darkrai/Tornadus can still hit hard and fast and given the right build can perform turn 1 donks. Hammertime Darkrai is always a threat, being able to hit fast and keep your opponent from mounting a comeback with its collection of Crushing and Enhanced Hammers. Darkrai/Groudon/Terrakion (insert whatever here cause Darkrai is just awesome) decks will always be a threat to the game and the loss of certain cards doesn't really hinder this deck at all.
Zekeels
This is perhaps the most interesting deck in this new format, for many reasons. Zekeels dominated the middle of last format and was still a force in the later half. However the loss of cards like Dual Ball and Collector I feel hurt this deck the most. Its now become harder for a Zekeels deck to put out multiple Tynamo's without missing out on setting up a secondary attacker. It will also be easier for decks to snipe off those Tynamo's if your opponent is dropping them in smaller numbers a turn.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for what September has in store for Pokemon players. This new Black and White on format is shaping up to be perhaps the most competitive format in recent history.
The loss of key searching cards like Collector and Dual Ball aim to slow us down alot and mass searching of Pokemon will be set back to Pokemon attacks like Call For Family (Emolga DRE). Decks like Zekeels will take a hit because of this as its no longer easy for them to just drop a bunch of Tynamo and other threats in one turn for few cards. With that in mind here are some decks to be on the look out for come September
Garchomp/Altaria
For those of you who don't keep up with the meta game outside of North America this deck along with Hydreigon/Darkrai EX has been ripping up Japans meta with its intense speed and hard hitting for low energy attacks. Garchomp packs a 140 hp with weakness to Dragon and one retreat, with its attacks doing 60 for a [Fi] with a special energy discard and then 100 for a [W] and a [Fi] with a minor setback of 2 of your top cards from your deck being discarded. Now that might not seem like a lot, However when you add Altaria to the mix it gets interesting. Altarias ability Battle Song increases all your Dragon Type Pokemons attacks by 20 and it stacks so with 2 Altaria on the field your Garchomp is suddenly hitting for 100 for 1 and 140 for 2. Even more broken is the fact that Gabite has the ability Dragon Call which searches your deck for any Dragon type. With its blinding speed and hard hitting attacks this deck is looking to become the Best Deck In Format (BDIF).
Hydreigon/Darkrai EX
This deck will be Garchomps main competition come September first, like it has done in Japan (This deck won Japans Nationals Equivalent, Battle Carnival). This deck operates very much like Klinklang only without the mass array of EX attackers. Hydreigon's Dark Trance ability allows for the moving of Dark Energy as often as you like (keep in mind this also means Prism and the soon to be released Blend Energy(G,R,P,D)). This means that like Klinklang you can make good use of powerful healing cards like Max Potion to keep you going. This deck also gets Energy acceleration in the form of Dark Patch, which combines very nicely with Hydreigon's attack Dragon Blast which for a [P][D][D][C] does 140 with a 2 [D] discard. Also another bonus to this deck is due to the fact it runs Blend energy you can run strong underlooked attackers like Shaymin EX. Hydreigon/Darkrai is looking to create as big of a splash in our meta as it has overseas.
Empoleon Variants
Empoleon is a deck that has been seeing play since its release in Dark Explorers and a slower format could be just what the Pokemon Doctor orders so to speak. Empoleons ability Diving Draw always allows you to have a usable hand which is a big deal in a game where one bad turn can kill you in the end. Attack Command is the definition of mass damage for low cost doing 10 for every Pokemon in play for 1 measly [W].The lighting weakness is bad right now but it might not be come September when a slower format might hinder Zekeels, However even if that deck stays popular Empoleon is often partnered up with Terrakion which counters your weakness quite nicely. I myself have been testing this deck alot and i can honestly say its a beast once it gets going.
Ninetales/ Amoonguss
I cant say for sure if this deck will be a contender or a flash in the pan,but its a interesting deck to say the least. This deck uses Amoonguss's Sporprise ability to force Confusion and Poison on your opponent then uses Ninetales attack Cursed Flame to do 20+ 50 for each special condition on the defending Pokemon for a total of 120 for one energy. The soon to be reprinted Deevolution Spray will allow you to reuse Sporprise as well as Ninetales ability Bright Look (think Luxray GL Lv.X). The fact that this entire deck is searchable by Level Ball makes it that much better. Though one must becareful since your entire deck is 90 HP Pokemon it will be very easy for your opponent to overtake you.
Darkrai Variants
Now aside from the forementioned Hydreigon/Darkai EX there are a variety of other Darkrai Variants. Darkrai/Tornadus can still hit hard and fast and given the right build can perform turn 1 donks. Hammertime Darkrai is always a threat, being able to hit fast and keep your opponent from mounting a comeback with its collection of Crushing and Enhanced Hammers. Darkrai/Groudon/Terrakion (insert whatever here cause Darkrai is just awesome) decks will always be a threat to the game and the loss of certain cards doesn't really hinder this deck at all.
Zekeels
This is perhaps the most interesting deck in this new format, for many reasons. Zekeels dominated the middle of last format and was still a force in the later half. However the loss of cards like Dual Ball and Collector I feel hurt this deck the most. Its now become harder for a Zekeels deck to put out multiple Tynamo's without missing out on setting up a secondary attacker. It will also be easier for decks to snipe off those Tynamo's if your opponent is dropping them in smaller numbers a turn.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for what September has in store for Pokemon players. This new Black and White on format is shaping up to be perhaps the most competitive format in recent history.
Thursday 12 July 2012
Pokeballing: Keldeo Be Steppin In
Hey guys sorry bout the lack of posts over the past week, my work just re opened after renovations so there hasn't been time to write bout Pokemon. Yesterday Pokebeach.com release all the spoilers from the set after Dragons Exalted, called Freeze Bolt and Cold Flare (Japans sets always have such epic titles). Like the sets from the EX era before this one Freeze Bolt and Cold Flare will release another 6 legendary EX Pokemon into the meta. Among these 6 EX Pokemon will be one that has caught my eye quickly.....Keldeo
Keldeo-EX - Water - HP170
Basic Pokemon
Ability: Step In
Once per turn (before your attack), if Keldeo-EX is on your Bench, you may switch it with your Active Pokemon
[C][C][C] Secret Sword: 50+ damage. Does 20 more damage for each [W] Energy attached to this Pokemon.
When Pokemon-EX has been Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
I love this card and when the set is released in North America I will be picking up a playset of this card. Keldeo joins Kyogre and Kyurem as one of the only EX Pokemon we have for the water type, and while Kyurem hasn't seen alot of play and Kyogre has just recently hit the spotlight thanks to National Champion John Roberts II, Keldo has a huge upside.
Looking at its stats Keldeo is very well rounded, which is what we wanna see on a card that's gonna give up 2 prizes if its knocked out. Its HP weighs in a 170 which is the standard for EX Pokemon and assures that even with weakness its gonna take a two shot to knockout Keldeo. Speaking of weakness, Keldeo is packing a amazing Grass weakness. Grass has always been a very underplayed type in the Pokemon TCG, with its last high point being the immovable Torrterrible, and with no actual heavy grass attackers thus far you can be assured your Keldeo is not going to be a easy take down. The retreat of two is very manageable when you factor in Keldeo is a Basic and can take advantage of the ever popular Skyarrow Bridge.
Keldeo comes with a very useful ability that can and will save you whenever you use it. Step In allows you to switch your benched Keldeo with your active Pokemon. This is amazing as it makes you immune to Pokemon Catcher for the most part, and forces your opponent to kill your set up Pokemon in one shot or face the wrath of Keldeo once again.
Speaking of Keldeos wrath, Secret Sword is the water version of Mad Kinesis only stronger and better. Secret Sword comes with a cost of 3 Colorless energy and does 50 plus 20 for each water energy attached to Keldeo. Now even though you can power it with any attack you clearly want to do this with water energy. With 3 water energy attached to Keldeo you will be doing a sweet 110 damage, which will two hit KO anything big in the format.
Now you might wonder how you can use this awesome attack effectively. Well right off the bat one should also look to the Freeze Bolt/Cold Flare set for Blastoise. Blastoise comes with the always nice to have Rain Dance which as we all know allows for as many water energy attachments as you like per turn. Blastoise also doubles as a good back up attacker as its Hydro Pump does 60 plus 10 for each water energy attached to him. Klinklang decks will also welcome Keldeo to the already impressive attackers the deck can use. Always keep in mind that Prism and the soon to be released Blend Energy WLFM will also count as water energy for Keldeos Secret Sword.
Keldeo EX could just be the Pokemon that Rain Dance decks need to become powerhouses in this new format that soon will be upon us. With a solid attack and a amazing ability Keldeo should be on everyones wish list when Freeze Bolt and Cold Flare land in North America in November.
Keldeo-EX - Water - HP170
Basic Pokemon
Ability: Step In
Once per turn (before your attack), if Keldeo-EX is on your Bench, you may switch it with your Active Pokemon
[C][C][C] Secret Sword: 50+ damage. Does 20 more damage for each [W] Energy attached to this Pokemon.
When Pokemon-EX has been Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
I love this card and when the set is released in North America I will be picking up a playset of this card. Keldeo joins Kyogre and Kyurem as one of the only EX Pokemon we have for the water type, and while Kyurem hasn't seen alot of play and Kyogre has just recently hit the spotlight thanks to National Champion John Roberts II, Keldo has a huge upside.
Looking at its stats Keldeo is very well rounded, which is what we wanna see on a card that's gonna give up 2 prizes if its knocked out. Its HP weighs in a 170 which is the standard for EX Pokemon and assures that even with weakness its gonna take a two shot to knockout Keldeo. Speaking of weakness, Keldeo is packing a amazing Grass weakness. Grass has always been a very underplayed type in the Pokemon TCG, with its last high point being the immovable Torrterrible, and with no actual heavy grass attackers thus far you can be assured your Keldeo is not going to be a easy take down. The retreat of two is very manageable when you factor in Keldeo is a Basic and can take advantage of the ever popular Skyarrow Bridge.
Keldeo comes with a very useful ability that can and will save you whenever you use it. Step In allows you to switch your benched Keldeo with your active Pokemon. This is amazing as it makes you immune to Pokemon Catcher for the most part, and forces your opponent to kill your set up Pokemon in one shot or face the wrath of Keldeo once again.
Speaking of Keldeos wrath, Secret Sword is the water version of Mad Kinesis only stronger and better. Secret Sword comes with a cost of 3 Colorless energy and does 50 plus 20 for each water energy attached to Keldeo. Now even though you can power it with any attack you clearly want to do this with water energy. With 3 water energy attached to Keldeo you will be doing a sweet 110 damage, which will two hit KO anything big in the format.
Now you might wonder how you can use this awesome attack effectively. Well right off the bat one should also look to the Freeze Bolt/Cold Flare set for Blastoise. Blastoise comes with the always nice to have Rain Dance which as we all know allows for as many water energy attachments as you like per turn. Blastoise also doubles as a good back up attacker as its Hydro Pump does 60 plus 10 for each water energy attached to him. Klinklang decks will also welcome Keldeo to the already impressive attackers the deck can use. Always keep in mind that Prism and the soon to be released Blend Energy WLFM will also count as water energy for Keldeos Secret Sword.
Keldeo EX could just be the Pokemon that Rain Dance decks need to become powerhouses in this new format that soon will be upon us. With a solid attack and a amazing ability Keldeo should be on everyones wish list when Freeze Bolt and Cold Flare land in North America in November.
Monday 2 July 2012
Pokeballing: Results of the 2012 Canadian Nationals
Both the Canadian and American Nationals took place over the past few days and thanks to the Pokemon community results are already being posted for Canadian Nationals
So thanks to pokegym.net here is the break down of the top 32 masters divison from the Canadian National Championships.
1. Edward Kuang (Troll)
2. Simon Luong (Darkrai)
3. Alaric McKenzie-Boone (Plume)
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
5. Michael Liao (Darkrai)
6. Khen Luu (Eel)
7. Adrian Loke (Darkrai)
8. Lourence Singh (Eel)
9. Simon Ford (Darkrai)
10. Kevin Lee (Darkrai)
11. Mike Martindale (Eel)
12. Matt Koo (CMT)
13. Fangda Li (CaKE)
14. Don La Rosa (Accelgor)
15. Miguel Chevez (Eel)
16. Reuben Monroy (Darkrai)
17. Morshed Reze (Eel)
18. Jean-Baptiste Montpellier (Darkrai)
19. Louis Cyr (Donphan)
20. Vik Kainth (Darkrai)
21. Matthew Beck (Eel)
22. Aiji Murai (Penguin)
23. Chris Vernier (CMT)
24. Christopher Lefrancais (Eel)
25. Joe Ferrari (Darkrai)
26. Reed Mascola (Aerodactyl)
27. Gino Conti (Eel)
28. Glenn Daze (Darkrai)
29. AJ Crosthwaite (Darkrai)
30. Greg Cresswell (Darkrai)
31. Aaron Rozbicki (Darkrai)
32. Zach Lesage (Darkrai)
Top 16:
32. Zach Lesage (Darkrai)
16. Reuben Monroy (Darkrai)
24. Christopher Lefrancais (Eel)
8. Lourence Singh (Eel)
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
13. Fangda Li (CaKE)
12. Matt Koo (CMT)
5. Michael Liao (Darkrai)
31. Aaron Rozbicki (Darkrai)
18. Jean-Baptiste Montpellier (Darkrai)
23. Chris Vernier (CMT)
7. Adrian Loke (Darkrai)
3. Alaric McKenzie-Boone (Plume)
14. Don La Rosa (Accelgor)
11. Mike Martindale (Eel)
27. Gino Conti (Eel)
Top 8:
32. Zach Lesage (Darkrai)
8. Lourence Singh (Eel)
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
12. Matt Koo (CMT)
31. Aaron Rozbicki (Darkrai)
7. Adrian Loke (Darkrai)
3. Alaric McKenzie-Boone (Plume)
11. Mike Martindale (Eel)
Top 4:
32. Zach Lesage (Darkrai)
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
7. Adrian Loke (Darkrai)
11. Mike Martindale (Eel)
Top 2:
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
11. Mike Martindale (Eel)
Winner:
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
I myself was a little shocked to see an Entei deck win this years Nationals, since Darkrai variants have dominated most of the overseas Nationals i expected the same thing to happen here. I have played against a Entei variant at Battle Roads Pickering so i know the deck can perform well, and clearly our National Champions build was ready for all comers this past weekend. From what i was reading on the forums yesterday this build was a quad Entei build meaning he was just running the four Entei EX. This opened him up to alot of tech and would thus enable him to be prepared for any deck he faced.
The top 32 in general was very interesting as you generally dont see alot of variations at Nationals since its such a bigger event and you play so many people. The top 32 breakdown is as follows
14 Darkrai
8 Zekeel
2 CMT
1 Troll
1 Accelgor
1 Vileplume
1 Donphan
1 CaKE
1 Entei
1 Aerodactyl
1 Empoleon
I am not shocked by this top 32, as Darkrai is quite possibly the best deck right now. The Darkrai variants that are going around right now are so solid that they cover almost every possible scenario you might find yourself in. Zekeel is still a dominate deck that can recover out of almost any situation, CMT is slowly losing steam given its poor match up with Darkrai and Zekeels
.
So thats the results of this years Nationals, I am hoping to find a detailed results for the American Nationals within a few days. A Klinklang deck took home the top spot at the U.S Nationals, so the reults of this years two big events shows that quite literally any deck can take home the top spots at any tourney if its played right.
So thanks to pokegym.net here is the break down of the top 32 masters divison from the Canadian National Championships.
1. Edward Kuang (Troll)
2. Simon Luong (Darkrai)
3. Alaric McKenzie-Boone (Plume)
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
5. Michael Liao (Darkrai)
6. Khen Luu (Eel)
7. Adrian Loke (Darkrai)
8. Lourence Singh (Eel)
9. Simon Ford (Darkrai)
10. Kevin Lee (Darkrai)
11. Mike Martindale (Eel)
12. Matt Koo (CMT)
13. Fangda Li (CaKE)
14. Don La Rosa (Accelgor)
15. Miguel Chevez (Eel)
16. Reuben Monroy (Darkrai)
17. Morshed Reze (Eel)
18. Jean-Baptiste Montpellier (Darkrai)
19. Louis Cyr (Donphan)
20. Vik Kainth (Darkrai)
21. Matthew Beck (Eel)
22. Aiji Murai (Penguin)
23. Chris Vernier (CMT)
24. Christopher Lefrancais (Eel)
25. Joe Ferrari (Darkrai)
26. Reed Mascola (Aerodactyl)
27. Gino Conti (Eel)
28. Glenn Daze (Darkrai)
29. AJ Crosthwaite (Darkrai)
30. Greg Cresswell (Darkrai)
31. Aaron Rozbicki (Darkrai)
32. Zach Lesage (Darkrai)
Top 16:
32. Zach Lesage (Darkrai)
16. Reuben Monroy (Darkrai)
24. Christopher Lefrancais (Eel)
8. Lourence Singh (Eel)
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
13. Fangda Li (CaKE)
12. Matt Koo (CMT)
5. Michael Liao (Darkrai)
31. Aaron Rozbicki (Darkrai)
18. Jean-Baptiste Montpellier (Darkrai)
23. Chris Vernier (CMT)
7. Adrian Loke (Darkrai)
3. Alaric McKenzie-Boone (Plume)
14. Don La Rosa (Accelgor)
11. Mike Martindale (Eel)
27. Gino Conti (Eel)
Top 8:
32. Zach Lesage (Darkrai)
8. Lourence Singh (Eel)
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
12. Matt Koo (CMT)
31. Aaron Rozbicki (Darkrai)
7. Adrian Loke (Darkrai)
3. Alaric McKenzie-Boone (Plume)
11. Mike Martindale (Eel)
Top 4:
32. Zach Lesage (Darkrai)
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
7. Adrian Loke (Darkrai)
11. Mike Martindale (Eel)
Top 2:
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
11. Mike Martindale (Eel)
Winner:
4. Curtis Lyon (Entei)
I myself was a little shocked to see an Entei deck win this years Nationals, since Darkrai variants have dominated most of the overseas Nationals i expected the same thing to happen here. I have played against a Entei variant at Battle Roads Pickering so i know the deck can perform well, and clearly our National Champions build was ready for all comers this past weekend. From what i was reading on the forums yesterday this build was a quad Entei build meaning he was just running the four Entei EX. This opened him up to alot of tech and would thus enable him to be prepared for any deck he faced.
The top 32 in general was very interesting as you generally dont see alot of variations at Nationals since its such a bigger event and you play so many people. The top 32 breakdown is as follows
14 Darkrai
8 Zekeel
2 CMT
1 Troll
1 Accelgor
1 Vileplume
1 Donphan
1 CaKE
1 Entei
1 Aerodactyl
1 Empoleon
I am not shocked by this top 32, as Darkrai is quite possibly the best deck right now. The Darkrai variants that are going around right now are so solid that they cover almost every possible scenario you might find yourself in. Zekeel is still a dominate deck that can recover out of almost any situation, CMT is slowly losing steam given its poor match up with Darkrai and Zekeels
.
So thats the results of this years Nationals, I am hoping to find a detailed results for the American Nationals within a few days. A Klinklang deck took home the top spot at the U.S Nationals, so the reults of this years two big events shows that quite literally any deck can take home the top spots at any tourney if its played right.
Thursday 28 June 2012
Pokeballing: September
As we approach the last weekend of June, September is fast approaching and thus a new format is upon us. By now every competitive player knows what this means to them, but what about the players who havent moved on to professional play yet. If you have been contemplating playing pokemon at the competitive level (Battle roads, Cities, etc.) then September 2012 is your year for sure.
This September the landscape of Pokemon TCG will change drastically. A set rotation will bring us only six sets, the smallest in the time i have been playing competitively. Not only does a smaller set mean less buying for those of use without tons of cash, but the fall also brings reprints of three powerhouse EX Pokemon.
September will mark the release of the fall tins, which this time around happen to be The Three Kings (Mewtwo EX,Darkrai EX,Rayquaza EX). Mewtwo and Darkrai are already proven powerhouses in most decks, and Rayquaza EX will also be just as dominate if used right.
So now that i have gotten your attention, how can one make the transition to a BW-On format.
1. Buy starter decks- With the exception of the Black&White and Emerging Powers Starter Decks, every set has had pretty decent Starter Decks. As i said in a earlier blog the Zekeel deck can be aquired through some Starter Decks and the Forces of Nature Collection. Now you can add on to that even more with the Mewtwo EX tin. The Dark Explorers Shadows Theme Deck can give you access to Zoroark and its brutual bash attack that when combined with the Darkrai EX tin can give you a hard hitting Dark deck.
2. Buy packs- Only having a six set rotation means less sets to choose from. In the last format if you wanted to get into a competitive play you needed so many cards from so many sets. A six set format makes getting a tournament ready deck easier and cheaper. The smaller format also means that if you dont get a card for your deck then you might get cards that other people need which you can then trade for what you need.
3. BUY THOSE TINS- I myself am aiming to buy a couple of boxes worth of these tins. The fact that a entire meta is going to have easy access to these three particular cards is amazing and a big kudos should be given to Pokemon International for the reprints.
4. Knowing what to build- This format is gonna be new for everyone and as we start testing. Some decks to be on the look out for are
Gothitelle/Gardevoir/Mewtwo
Empoleon Variants
Terrakion Variants
Zekeels
Darkrai Variants
Spend this time looking into all decks and what we have to work with. Playtesting is key to getting into the competitive portion of this game and now is the best time to experiment with the upcoming format.
This September the landscape of Pokemon TCG will change drastically. A set rotation will bring us only six sets, the smallest in the time i have been playing competitively. Not only does a smaller set mean less buying for those of use without tons of cash, but the fall also brings reprints of three powerhouse EX Pokemon.
September will mark the release of the fall tins, which this time around happen to be The Three Kings (Mewtwo EX,Darkrai EX,Rayquaza EX). Mewtwo and Darkrai are already proven powerhouses in most decks, and Rayquaza EX will also be just as dominate if used right.
So now that i have gotten your attention, how can one make the transition to a BW-On format.
1. Buy starter decks- With the exception of the Black&White and Emerging Powers Starter Decks, every set has had pretty decent Starter Decks. As i said in a earlier blog the Zekeel deck can be aquired through some Starter Decks and the Forces of Nature Collection. Now you can add on to that even more with the Mewtwo EX tin. The Dark Explorers Shadows Theme Deck can give you access to Zoroark and its brutual bash attack that when combined with the Darkrai EX tin can give you a hard hitting Dark deck.
2. Buy packs- Only having a six set rotation means less sets to choose from. In the last format if you wanted to get into a competitive play you needed so many cards from so many sets. A six set format makes getting a tournament ready deck easier and cheaper. The smaller format also means that if you dont get a card for your deck then you might get cards that other people need which you can then trade for what you need.
3. BUY THOSE TINS- I myself am aiming to buy a couple of boxes worth of these tins. The fact that a entire meta is going to have easy access to these three particular cards is amazing and a big kudos should be given to Pokemon International for the reprints.
4. Knowing what to build- This format is gonna be new for everyone and as we start testing. Some decks to be on the look out for are
Gothitelle/Gardevoir/Mewtwo
Empoleon Variants
Terrakion Variants
Zekeels
Darkrai Variants
Spend this time looking into all decks and what we have to work with. Playtesting is key to getting into the competitive portion of this game and now is the best time to experiment with the upcoming format.
Tuesday 26 June 2012
Pokeballing: Penguins for all
My teammates and I have started play testing for the bw-on format coming in September. Among the decks we have been play testing is Empoleon/Terrrakion, due to Empoleon being able to hit for massive damage and its ability to keep your hand active with Diving Draw.
My build
Pokemon (16)
4 Piplup
2 Prinplup
4 Empoleon
3 Terrakion
3 Lapras (NXD Call for Family)
T/S/S (31)
4 Professor Juniper
3 Cheren
3 N
4 Pokemon Communication
3 Rare Candy
3 Pokemon Catcher
3 Switch
3 Plus Power
2 Random Receiver
2 EXP Share
1 Enhanced Hammer
1 Super Rod
Energy (13)
9 Water
4 Fighting
Strategy
This decks whole purpose is to get as many Empoleon out as fast as you can to start drawing cards and hitting hard with Attack Command. Terrakion combined with EXP Share fits nicely with this deck and covers Empoleons Electric weakness very nicely allowing Retaliate to one shot Darkai EX and all Electric threats. Lapras is a amazingly nice addition to this deck, seeing as the Bw-on format is lacking cards that search for multiple Pokemon at one time, a first turn Call for Family can get your Piplups out fast and allow you to begin evolving turn two.
The Supporter line is what you would expect to see in a Bw-On format, with focus on draw power. Juniper is hands down the best draw card we have in this game right now and will continue to see play until it is eventually rotated out. Cheren is good if you just need some cards but don't wanna lose your current hand. On a side note Cheren combined with a couple of Diving Draw's is amazing. N is good for early game hand refreshes and late game can really mess your opponent up if your behind in the prize race.
On the Trainer side of things the line up is what you would expect for this upcoming format if you run a deck with stage two Pokemon. I myself have included Plus Power into this build to one shot full hp Zekrom with both benches full. Pokemon Communication is just in this build until I am able to get more copies of Ultra Ball. Super Rod is a card I am considering adding more of to this build since I burn through cards really fast with all the draw power, being able to recycle Empoleons and Piplups will allow me to keep from decking out.
The energy line is really straight forward, nine water and four fighting. The Terrakions are only in this build for Retaliates so no more then four fighting energy are needed for this build. Nine water is a solid number seeing as all my Empoleons attack for one water and EXP share allows me to attach that one water to a Terrakion enabling a next turn Retaliate easier.
Final Thoughts
This deck is a very consistent deck that is going to get alot of play time in the next format. The massive damage that Empoleon can do with Attack Command makes it a massive threat once it enters the fray. Terrakion will deal with the big threats to this deck and counters nicely for Zekeels and Darkrai builds. In a format that looks to be slower this deck has the strong potential to dominate a unprepared tournament scene and is something i will continue to test until I find the perfect build.
My build
Pokemon (16)
4 Piplup
2 Prinplup
4 Empoleon
3 Terrakion
3 Lapras (NXD Call for Family)
T/S/S (31)
4 Professor Juniper
3 Cheren
3 N
4 Pokemon Communication
3 Rare Candy
3 Pokemon Catcher
3 Switch
3 Plus Power
2 Random Receiver
2 EXP Share
1 Enhanced Hammer
1 Super Rod
Energy (13)
9 Water
4 Fighting
Strategy
This decks whole purpose is to get as many Empoleon out as fast as you can to start drawing cards and hitting hard with Attack Command. Terrakion combined with EXP Share fits nicely with this deck and covers Empoleons Electric weakness very nicely allowing Retaliate to one shot Darkai EX and all Electric threats. Lapras is a amazingly nice addition to this deck, seeing as the Bw-on format is lacking cards that search for multiple Pokemon at one time, a first turn Call for Family can get your Piplups out fast and allow you to begin evolving turn two.
The Supporter line is what you would expect to see in a Bw-On format, with focus on draw power. Juniper is hands down the best draw card we have in this game right now and will continue to see play until it is eventually rotated out. Cheren is good if you just need some cards but don't wanna lose your current hand. On a side note Cheren combined with a couple of Diving Draw's is amazing. N is good for early game hand refreshes and late game can really mess your opponent up if your behind in the prize race.
On the Trainer side of things the line up is what you would expect for this upcoming format if you run a deck with stage two Pokemon. I myself have included Plus Power into this build to one shot full hp Zekrom with both benches full. Pokemon Communication is just in this build until I am able to get more copies of Ultra Ball. Super Rod is a card I am considering adding more of to this build since I burn through cards really fast with all the draw power, being able to recycle Empoleons and Piplups will allow me to keep from decking out.
The energy line is really straight forward, nine water and four fighting. The Terrakions are only in this build for Retaliates so no more then four fighting energy are needed for this build. Nine water is a solid number seeing as all my Empoleons attack for one water and EXP share allows me to attach that one water to a Terrakion enabling a next turn Retaliate easier.
Final Thoughts
This deck is a very consistent deck that is going to get alot of play time in the next format. The massive damage that Empoleon can do with Attack Command makes it a massive threat once it enters the fray. Terrakion will deal with the big threats to this deck and counters nicely for Zekeels and Darkrai builds. In a format that looks to be slower this deck has the strong potential to dominate a unprepared tournament scene and is something i will continue to test until I find the perfect build.
Monday 25 June 2012
Pokeballing: The Art of Trainer
This September the Pokemon TCG rotates to a Black&White on format(BW-ON) bringing a huge change to alot of the game. The biggest part of this rotation will be the large amount of usable trainers it takes away. Cards like Junk Arm, Dual Ball, Pokemon Collector, Sage's Training and Professor Oak's New Theory will be leaving the game. This leaves us with a very limited trainer pool to work with.
BW-ON will only start its season with a slim total of six sets, which means we have a very slim selection of good trainers. The six remaining sets we have are
Black&White
Emerging Powers
Noble Victories
Next Destinies
Dark Explorers
Dragons Exalted (August release)
This is gonna be a small format at that start which is very small for a game with so much variety. Of these 6 sets only a handful of trainer/supporter/stadium cards are worth running in a deck. (This doesn't include cards from Dragons Exalted)
Supporters
Professor Juniper- Juniper is the draw card every deck will have to be running this format. With the loss of cards like Junk Arm and Sages Training, Professor Juniper is going to be the key card for decks like Zekeels and Darkrai builds to get those much needed energy into the discard pile.
Cheren/Bianca- With a lack of good Supporters in the BW-ON format, its time to give these two cards another go. Cheren lets you draw 3 cards, without having to shuffle your possibly good hand into your deck. While Bianca hasn't seen alot of play since its release, I feel its going to become a strong card in decks that can get rid of cards in their hand quickly without using their Supporter (in test games so far Bianca has got me 3-4 cards)
N- N will serve the same purpose it did last format, a reliable draw card that can shift games you are behind in back in your favour. A late game N in a match where your behind on prizes is a great way to stall out your opponent while you catch up, and without a large chunk of the good supporters/trainers from the HGSS-ON format the chances of your opponent drawing something off of N that will help them is very slim.
Trainers
The Ball Engine- With the departure of Dual Ball and Pokemon Collector, mass Pokemon searching through Trainers/Supporters has become extinct. However, this doesn't mean that you still cant put alot of Pokemon on the field. The ball engine (Ultra Ball, Level Ball, Great Ball, Heavy Ball) will shine this format since combined they can search for every Pokemon you put into your deck. With the only form of trainer lock being Gothitelle now, there is no reason not to run this engine in your decks.
Pokemon Catcher- Pokemon Catcher will always be one of the absolute best Trainers in the game, though in this new format one will require more timing and skill to run it. With the loss of Junk Arm you now only have the four catchers to work with and not the four plus your Junk Arms. This will lower the use of just randomly catchering up something to stall, as you will now wanna hold them for kills on set up Pokemon or weaker Pokemon in general.
Skyarrow Bridge- This card might see a drop in play with strong starters like Smeargle and Celebii Prime leaving the format. Since most decks will now try to run more beefy starters with some form of advantage (Thundurus, Virizion) or free retreat to begin with the need for the Bridge isn't as high as it was in the last format.
Dark Patch- Darkrai builds have become monsters thus far and with Rotation hurting decks like Zekeels and destroying CMT, Darkrai builds will become the meta. Dark Patch combined with Ultra Ball and Juniper is a broken combo that will shine in a format where the only other accelerators being Emboar and Eelektrik.
Stadiums
Skyarrow Bridge- This card might see a drop in play with strong starters like Smeargle and Celebii Prime leaving the format. Since most decks will now try to run more beefy starters with some form of advantage (Thundurus, Virizion) or free retreat to begin with the need for the Bridge isn't as high as it was in the last format.
Battle City- This is a strong counter stadium to Skyarrow Bridge but also serves as a great Stadium in general. In playtesting with my teammate Andrew we have found that Battle City has gotten us that one card we need to turn the game around very quickly (When combined with Empoleon its near broken). If Skyarrow Bridge sees a loss in play Battle City should see a rise in play.
Ruins of Alph- This is a interesting tech card, that some decks will run and some wont. Decks like Darkrai and Zekeels run Pokemon that counters their fighting weakness (Tornadus EX, Tornadus). Ruins of Alph would serve as a nice way to eliminate that threat and keep you hitting hard. (ex. a Tornadus EX with a Eviolite will only take 50 damage from a Terrakions Retaliate.)
With the exception of cards in the Dragons Exalted set these are just a few of the strong cards going into Septembers BW-ON format. Through my initial testing i am finding that this format has a nice balance of speed and strategy, and i hope to test with it alot more when we get Dragons Exalted.
BW-ON will only start its season with a slim total of six sets, which means we have a very slim selection of good trainers. The six remaining sets we have are
Black&White
Emerging Powers
Noble Victories
Next Destinies
Dark Explorers
Dragons Exalted (August release)
This is gonna be a small format at that start which is very small for a game with so much variety. Of these 6 sets only a handful of trainer/supporter/stadium cards are worth running in a deck. (This doesn't include cards from Dragons Exalted)
Supporters
Professor Juniper- Juniper is the draw card every deck will have to be running this format. With the loss of cards like Junk Arm and Sages Training, Professor Juniper is going to be the key card for decks like Zekeels and Darkrai builds to get those much needed energy into the discard pile.
Cheren/Bianca- With a lack of good Supporters in the BW-ON format, its time to give these two cards another go. Cheren lets you draw 3 cards, without having to shuffle your possibly good hand into your deck. While Bianca hasn't seen alot of play since its release, I feel its going to become a strong card in decks that can get rid of cards in their hand quickly without using their Supporter (in test games so far Bianca has got me 3-4 cards)
N- N will serve the same purpose it did last format, a reliable draw card that can shift games you are behind in back in your favour. A late game N in a match where your behind on prizes is a great way to stall out your opponent while you catch up, and without a large chunk of the good supporters/trainers from the HGSS-ON format the chances of your opponent drawing something off of N that will help them is very slim.
Trainers
The Ball Engine- With the departure of Dual Ball and Pokemon Collector, mass Pokemon searching through Trainers/Supporters has become extinct. However, this doesn't mean that you still cant put alot of Pokemon on the field. The ball engine (Ultra Ball, Level Ball, Great Ball, Heavy Ball) will shine this format since combined they can search for every Pokemon you put into your deck. With the only form of trainer lock being Gothitelle now, there is no reason not to run this engine in your decks.
Pokemon Catcher- Pokemon Catcher will always be one of the absolute best Trainers in the game, though in this new format one will require more timing and skill to run it. With the loss of Junk Arm you now only have the four catchers to work with and not the four plus your Junk Arms. This will lower the use of just randomly catchering up something to stall, as you will now wanna hold them for kills on set up Pokemon or weaker Pokemon in general.
Skyarrow Bridge- This card might see a drop in play with strong starters like Smeargle and Celebii Prime leaving the format. Since most decks will now try to run more beefy starters with some form of advantage (Thundurus, Virizion) or free retreat to begin with the need for the Bridge isn't as high as it was in the last format.
Dark Patch- Darkrai builds have become monsters thus far and with Rotation hurting decks like Zekeels and destroying CMT, Darkrai builds will become the meta. Dark Patch combined with Ultra Ball and Juniper is a broken combo that will shine in a format where the only other accelerators being Emboar and Eelektrik.
Stadiums
Skyarrow Bridge- This card might see a drop in play with strong starters like Smeargle and Celebii Prime leaving the format. Since most decks will now try to run more beefy starters with some form of advantage (Thundurus, Virizion) or free retreat to begin with the need for the Bridge isn't as high as it was in the last format.
Battle City- This is a strong counter stadium to Skyarrow Bridge but also serves as a great Stadium in general. In playtesting with my teammate Andrew we have found that Battle City has gotten us that one card we need to turn the game around very quickly (When combined with Empoleon its near broken). If Skyarrow Bridge sees a loss in play Battle City should see a rise in play.
Ruins of Alph- This is a interesting tech card, that some decks will run and some wont. Decks like Darkrai and Zekeels run Pokemon that counters their fighting weakness (Tornadus EX, Tornadus). Ruins of Alph would serve as a nice way to eliminate that threat and keep you hitting hard. (ex. a Tornadus EX with a Eviolite will only take 50 damage from a Terrakions Retaliate.)
With the exception of cards in the Dragons Exalted set these are just a few of the strong cards going into Septembers BW-ON format. Through my initial testing i am finding that this format has a nice balance of speed and strategy, and i hope to test with it alot more when we get Dragons Exalted.
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Pokeballing: Moving on to the Future
Changes to the Play! Pokemon Modified format for the 2013 tournament season have been announced.
Effective: 9/1/2012
In the interest of maintaining a healthy tournament environment, Pokemon Organized Play removes older sets from the Modified format at the beginning of each new tournament season. Each rotation challenges existing players to create new strategies while enabling new players to get into Organized Play with a minimal investment.
The 2013 season will be starting on July 9th so that players can get an early start on working towards the 2013 Pokemon World Championships, but in order to avoid confusion we will rotate sets on the more familiar date of September 1st.
The 2012 Pokemon World Championships being held on August 10th–12th in Waikoloa, Hawaii, will use the 2012 format and rules as are currently listed.
Its finally happening this September, we are rotating to a Black&White on format for the Pokemon TCG. This means that sets from Call of Legends (referred to crap set by me and my friends) to Heart Gold/Soul Silver, will no longer be used in the tournament scenes.
This changes the landscape of the current meta so much, as we will be losing alot of good Pokemon, Trainers and Supporters as well as Special Metal and Dark Energy. Japan is already in this format and if you have read my previous blog's you know that their meta is drastically different then what we have seen on this side of the world. Big decks such as Zekeels don't dominate the format like they do here, with stage 2 decks being able to shine.
The cardpool we are losing is probably one of the most significant to our game in a long time. Cards like Junk Arm, Pokemon Collector, Sages Training, Professor Oak's New Theory will bid the game farewell allowing cards like Cheren and Bianca to be used to their full potential.
The big thing I wanna discuss right now is the loss of two special energy, Dark and Metal. Special Dark and Metal energies have been in the Pokemon formats since their initial release back in December of 2000. For twelve years players have been able to incorporate these unique energies into their strategies and these cards have been in some powerful decks in those years (Dark Tyrannitar/Dark Electrode, Durant). While Dark decks will be able to live without the aid of Special Dark, the only real Metal deck that's played right now is Durant. Durant suffers greatly from this loss as the combination of Eviolite and Special Metal made those ants impossible to one shot for most decks. This rotation plus the release of Heatmor and the forthcoming release of Tool Scrapper will be the final nails that make Durant unplayable.
For Dark decks however the opposite will occur, as the playability of these decks will continue to be on the rise. The lack of Special Dark means that we have more room for Basic Dark energy which will fuel Dark Patch even more and Dark Claw will fill the void left by Special Dark's plus power ability.
We are about to embark on a much needed format change that will hopefully fix all the bugs this one had. If Japans Nationals are any indication of what we can expect (http://www.propokemon.com/deck-articles/japan-national-championships-winning-deck-info) then I for one am very excited for whats coming.
Effective: 9/1/2012
In the interest of maintaining a healthy tournament environment, Pokemon Organized Play removes older sets from the Modified format at the beginning of each new tournament season. Each rotation challenges existing players to create new strategies while enabling new players to get into Organized Play with a minimal investment.
The 2013 season will be starting on July 9th so that players can get an early start on working towards the 2013 Pokemon World Championships, but in order to avoid confusion we will rotate sets on the more familiar date of September 1st.
The 2012 Pokemon World Championships being held on August 10th–12th in Waikoloa, Hawaii, will use the 2012 format and rules as are currently listed.
Its finally happening this September, we are rotating to a Black&White on format for the Pokemon TCG. This means that sets from Call of Legends (referred to crap set by me and my friends) to Heart Gold/Soul Silver, will no longer be used in the tournament scenes.
This changes the landscape of the current meta so much, as we will be losing alot of good Pokemon, Trainers and Supporters as well as Special Metal and Dark Energy. Japan is already in this format and if you have read my previous blog's you know that their meta is drastically different then what we have seen on this side of the world. Big decks such as Zekeels don't dominate the format like they do here, with stage 2 decks being able to shine.
The cardpool we are losing is probably one of the most significant to our game in a long time. Cards like Junk Arm, Pokemon Collector, Sages Training, Professor Oak's New Theory will bid the game farewell allowing cards like Cheren and Bianca to be used to their full potential.
The big thing I wanna discuss right now is the loss of two special energy, Dark and Metal. Special Dark and Metal energies have been in the Pokemon formats since their initial release back in December of 2000. For twelve years players have been able to incorporate these unique energies into their strategies and these cards have been in some powerful decks in those years (Dark Tyrannitar/Dark Electrode, Durant). While Dark decks will be able to live without the aid of Special Dark, the only real Metal deck that's played right now is Durant. Durant suffers greatly from this loss as the combination of Eviolite and Special Metal made those ants impossible to one shot for most decks. This rotation plus the release of Heatmor and the forthcoming release of Tool Scrapper will be the final nails that make Durant unplayable.
For Dark decks however the opposite will occur, as the playability of these decks will continue to be on the rise. The lack of Special Dark means that we have more room for Basic Dark energy which will fuel Dark Patch even more and Dark Claw will fill the void left by Special Dark's plus power ability.
We are about to embark on a much needed format change that will hopefully fix all the bugs this one had. If Japans Nationals are any indication of what we can expect (http://www.propokemon.com/deck-articles/japan-national-championships-winning-deck-info) then I for one am very excited for whats coming.
Saturday 16 June 2012
Pokeballing: Last Major Tourney of the Season
Sorry bout the lack of reading material the past few weeks, a combination of more shifts at work and really there just not being alot of Pokemon news has kept me off the presses so to speak.
Anyway today the team and I headed to Pickering to play in the Battle Roads there. Due to a series of events I will not be able to attend nats this year (sad face) so i decided to just build a fun little Celebii variant and play for fun not caring if i did well or not, as it would be my last major event of the season.
My deck
Pokemon (15)
4 Virizion (2 EPO, 2 NVI)
3 Celebii Prime
2 Smeargle
2 Tornadus
2 Tornadus EX
1 Shaymin EX
1 Mewtwo EX
Supporters/Trainers/Stadiums (31)
4 Professor Juniper
3 N
3 Cheren
3 Pokemon Collector
4 Junk Arm
3 Pokemon Catcher
3 Ultra Ball
3 Skyarrow Bridge
2 Random Receiver
2 Eviolite
1 Enhanced Hammer
Energy (14)
10 Grass
4 Double Colorless Energy
I built this simply cause I love both Virizion and believe that they are both very good cards, and since I was just aiming to have fun, I was committed to the fact that I was either gonna do amazing or bomb.
The deck works very similar to CMT except I am swinging with Virizions all the time, outside of that everything works the same.
So we had 18 to 20 masters and that gave us a 5 round tournament with a top 4 finish. Of the twenty or so people there i get paired with a teammate first round.
Round 1 vs KyuremGATR
So i get paired up with my teammate Andrew first round, which saddens me greatly. I lose the die roll and he opens Totodile and a Kyurem EX to my lone Smeargle, fortunately he has no energy and cant do anything. I take my turn and play a Pokemon Collector and get a Tornadus a Virizion and a Celebii Prime. I play a skyarrow bridge and retreat my Smeargle for Celebii attached a Double Colorless and a Grass and say go. His next turn is the same as last time only with a energy attachment to Kyurem EX. I draw attach two grass energy to Virizion and retreat Celebii for Tornadus and use Hurricane to Knockout Totodile and take a prize moving my energy to Virizion. He promotes Kyurem EX and still cant get anymore basic. Two turns later this game is done, tough break for him.
1-0
Round 2 vs Entei EX/Volcarona
I am saddened by this match as due to the majority of Grass in my deck its a uphill battle. For the first few turns neither one of us are getting anything going (3 turns of N and Professor Oaks New Theory and i draw the same hands twice) finally he is able to speed ahead of me with the combination of Entei's first attack and Volcaronas Scorching Scales. I am able to get a Tornadus EX active but he starts playing Catchers on my Virizions and one shotting them. He plays Potion and Max Potions to negate any damage I was doing to him.GG
1-1
Round 3 vs VvV
A Bad start seals my fate pretty early as I am unable to Knockout both of his Oddishs, and he is able to get a turn two Vanniluxe. I cant do anything after this and even though I have several Virizion and other attackers ready I cant break the lock. Afterwards we were talking and he said if i had switch's I would have easily overpowered him,Something to keep in mind.
1-2
Round 4 vs Zekeels
This is my favourite game of the day and probably the best one I played. I opened strong and used Pokemon Catcher and N to keep his Eels off the field, finally he got one out and we traded prizes i used N and Catchers to keep him off balance but he finally pulled a catcher of his own and brought up my injured Mewtwo EX and Knocked it out with Zekrom EX.
1-3
So my two teammates had to play eachother and decided to drop so I did as well. I was actually very impressed with how the deck flowed and given the results of today I am really contemplating fixing it up while we still have certain cards in the format.
Now that my season is over I am gonna take some time over the next few days and weeks to sit and take a look at some foreign nats results, and I wanna start a indepth look at the future BW-On format.
Anyway today the team and I headed to Pickering to play in the Battle Roads there. Due to a series of events I will not be able to attend nats this year (sad face) so i decided to just build a fun little Celebii variant and play for fun not caring if i did well or not, as it would be my last major event of the season.
My deck
Pokemon (15)
4 Virizion (2 EPO, 2 NVI)
3 Celebii Prime
2 Smeargle
2 Tornadus
2 Tornadus EX
1 Shaymin EX
1 Mewtwo EX
Supporters/Trainers/Stadiums (31)
4 Professor Juniper
3 N
3 Cheren
3 Pokemon Collector
4 Junk Arm
3 Pokemon Catcher
3 Ultra Ball
3 Skyarrow Bridge
2 Random Receiver
2 Eviolite
1 Enhanced Hammer
Energy (14)
10 Grass
4 Double Colorless Energy
I built this simply cause I love both Virizion and believe that they are both very good cards, and since I was just aiming to have fun, I was committed to the fact that I was either gonna do amazing or bomb.
The deck works very similar to CMT except I am swinging with Virizions all the time, outside of that everything works the same.
So we had 18 to 20 masters and that gave us a 5 round tournament with a top 4 finish. Of the twenty or so people there i get paired with a teammate first round.
Round 1 vs KyuremGATR
So i get paired up with my teammate Andrew first round, which saddens me greatly. I lose the die roll and he opens Totodile and a Kyurem EX to my lone Smeargle, fortunately he has no energy and cant do anything. I take my turn and play a Pokemon Collector and get a Tornadus a Virizion and a Celebii Prime. I play a skyarrow bridge and retreat my Smeargle for Celebii attached a Double Colorless and a Grass and say go. His next turn is the same as last time only with a energy attachment to Kyurem EX. I draw attach two grass energy to Virizion and retreat Celebii for Tornadus and use Hurricane to Knockout Totodile and take a prize moving my energy to Virizion. He promotes Kyurem EX and still cant get anymore basic. Two turns later this game is done, tough break for him.
1-0
Round 2 vs Entei EX/Volcarona
I am saddened by this match as due to the majority of Grass in my deck its a uphill battle. For the first few turns neither one of us are getting anything going (3 turns of N and Professor Oaks New Theory and i draw the same hands twice) finally he is able to speed ahead of me with the combination of Entei's first attack and Volcaronas Scorching Scales. I am able to get a Tornadus EX active but he starts playing Catchers on my Virizions and one shotting them. He plays Potion and Max Potions to negate any damage I was doing to him.GG
1-1
Round 3 vs VvV
A Bad start seals my fate pretty early as I am unable to Knockout both of his Oddishs, and he is able to get a turn two Vanniluxe. I cant do anything after this and even though I have several Virizion and other attackers ready I cant break the lock. Afterwards we were talking and he said if i had switch's I would have easily overpowered him,Something to keep in mind.
1-2
Round 4 vs Zekeels
This is my favourite game of the day and probably the best one I played. I opened strong and used Pokemon Catcher and N to keep his Eels off the field, finally he got one out and we traded prizes i used N and Catchers to keep him off balance but he finally pulled a catcher of his own and brought up my injured Mewtwo EX and Knocked it out with Zekrom EX.
1-3
So my two teammates had to play eachother and decided to drop so I did as well. I was actually very impressed with how the deck flowed and given the results of today I am really contemplating fixing it up while we still have certain cards in the format.
Now that my season is over I am gonna take some time over the next few days and weeks to sit and take a look at some foreign nats results, and I wanna start a indepth look at the future BW-On format.
Monday 4 June 2012
Double Dose of Pokeballing: Volcarona/Kingston Battle Roads
So of all the decks at Battle Roads on Sunday I believe my friend Sal took perhaps the most interesting one. Sal played a Rocky Helmet Burn deck utilising Volcaronas (DEX) Scorching Scales ability to turn 20 burn damage into 40, also using Rocky Helmet to place damage counters on opponents Pokemon when they attack.
Here is the list he took to Battle Roads finishing with a 2-2 record
Pokemon (17)
2x Volcarona (Scorching Scales)
2x Larvesta (80HP, 3 retreat)
2x Vulpix (Fireworks)
2x Ninetales (Roast Reveal)
2x Pansear (Collect)
2x Simisear (Stadium Burn)
2x Moltres (Searing Flame)
2x Druddigon (Rough Skin)
1x Entei EX
Trainer/Supporter (29)
2x Bianca
2x Cilan
2x N
2x PONT
4x Rocky Helmet
2x Dual Ball
2x Heavy Ball
2x Level Ball
4x Ultra Ball
1x Energy Retrieval
2x Pokemon Catcher
2x Random Receiver
2x Switch
Energy (14)
10x Fire Energy
4x DCE
Summary
Like I said before this deck is designed to burn your opponents attacking Pokemon, then hopefully inflicting 40 damage on a failed flip in between turns. Rocky Helmet deals 2 damage counters when your opponent attacks the Pokemon Rocky Helmet is attached to (on Druddigon this is 40 damage when combined with Rough Skin). All of the attacking Pokemon in this deck burn your opponent except the Druddigon which makes Volcaronas ability active fast.
Now while I myself love this idea but the Entei EX is what stands out to me the most as the basis of what a deck like this can do. Entei has a easy to power first attack that burns your opponents active Pokemon, but his second attack will also help this deck keep pace with the faster decks of this format.Grand Flame will allow you to accelerate your benched Pokemon while keeping the pressure on your opponents Pokemon.
Magby would be a ideal starter for this deck since you can burn for free. Now while this may seem like a bad choice in comparison to say Cleffa which would refresh your hand, Magby is a excellent choice for this deck against fast paced decks that will start with a Smeargle or a Celebii Prime. Burning those Pokemon before they can get going will cancel out their Poke-Powers, forcing your opponent to waste resources to either get additional copies of that card or put themselves one turn behind you which is what you want.
So this would be my version of this deck
Pokemon (16)
4 Entei EX
3 Larvesta
3 Volcarona
2 Vulpix
2 Ninetales
2 Magby
Trainer/Supporter (30)
4 Professor Juniper
3 Professor Oaks New Theory
3 Sages Training
3 N
3 Dual Ball
3 Heavy Ball
3 Ultra Ball
3 Pokemon Catcher
2 Random Receiver
2 Super Rod
1 Enhanced Hammer
Energy
11 Fire
4 Double Colorless
Summary
Now at first 4 Entei may seem like a lot, but i disagree. Entei is a good turn two attacker for 30 (after a catcher on a Tynamo or a Celebii Prime that's a knockout) and Grand Flame is a amazing attack that allows energy acceleration on a basic Pokemon. Magby is a solid opening play against CMT and Zekeels that start Smeargle (or Celebii Prime) negating Powers with burn. Volcaronas Scorching Scales lets you score extra damage in between turns and also serves as a decent secondary attacker. Ninetales has so much synergy with Entei EX letting you get extra cards and supplying Entei with the energy to accelerate your bench.
The Trainer line is designed so that you always have options, while keeping you in control of the game. Your Supporters are all draw cards of some sort, While your Trainers will enable you to score knockouts and search for all your Pokemon.
The Energy line is straight forward with a deck like this. To make sure you have a fire energy almost every turn you need one I have opted for 11. Double Colorless Energy provides for Volcarona so Grand Flame can power up multiple attackers.
Final Thoughts
Where Sals build used both Rocky Helmet and Scorching Scales, mine opts to maximize the damage output you can do with attacks and Scorching Scales. Consistency with Entei EX and Ninetales is just to good to overlook and with some play testing and preparation for the meta, this deck could dominate very fast.
But wait theres more........
Speaking of the current meta Battle Roads Kingston yesterday showed a smaller version of what the meta is right now. Masters division had 11 players in total and of those 11 players there were
3 Zekeels (took 1st and 4th)
2 CMT (2nd and 3rd)
2 Terrakion (1 pure, 1 Donphan/Terrakion/Groudon EX)
1 Durant
1 KyuremGatr
1 Rocky Helmet Burn
1 Round
This is a good scale of what the meta will be like in bigger Battle Roads and Nationals and I just wanna say a few things about these decks while I have the floor
Zekeels
I am not shocked to see Zekeels as the most played deck in Kingston, the deck is just too fast and efficient has a great match against all of the other decks in the format, and is able to make strong comebacks at any point with some well played moves.
CMT
CMT is in a war with Zekeels for the title of best deck in the format and until Celebii is rotated out CMT will be a strong contender at all events. Forest Breath is perhaps the best form of Energy Acceleration we have right now cause its on a basic Pokemon making it faster to set up then Eelektrik. Tornadus and Tornadus EXs weakness to Lightning is troublesome and Mewtwo Wars can backfire easily. Builds with Terrakion should show up more in the future if CMT wants to be the top dog.
Terrakion
In my opinion pure Terrakion builds cant compete with Zekeels anymore. Tornadus EX owns this deck with its Resistance (when combined with Eviolite reduces Retaliate from 90 to 50) and a smart player will play around the weakness. I feel that Terrakion builds should implement either Landorus or Groudon EX which can deal massive damage late game if played in conjunction with Landorus. The other issue is the energy attachments, as Terrakion is slower to get rolling on its own. EXP Share helps a little bit but a combination with Landorus would help speed this up with multiple EXP Shares.
Durant
unfortunately it seems Durant is on the downward spiral so to speak. Heatmors presence as well as the addition of Raikou EX and Entei EX have limited the decks capabilities to take advantage of the Eviolite Special Metal damage reduction. I feel that a rotation in the fall will be the final nail in the ant hill so to speak, as we will lose Special Metal Energy.
The Rest
KyuremGATR is a solid deck if it can set up Rain Dance fast enough no matter what the meta is. Glaciate is an amazing attack early game and sets up Feraligatr Prime as a secondary attack. Volcarona is described in full above this part. Round is amazing if you can set up a Seismitoad fast enough and start swinging.
Sorry for the combination of blogs this week I couldn't make a choice for today so opted for both lol
Here is the list he took to Battle Roads finishing with a 2-2 record
Pokemon (17)
2x Volcarona (Scorching Scales)
2x Larvesta (80HP, 3 retreat)
2x Vulpix (Fireworks)
2x Ninetales (Roast Reveal)
2x Pansear (Collect)
2x Simisear (Stadium Burn)
2x Moltres (Searing Flame)
2x Druddigon (Rough Skin)
1x Entei EX
Trainer/Supporter (29)
2x Bianca
2x Cilan
2x N
2x PONT
4x Rocky Helmet
2x Dual Ball
2x Heavy Ball
2x Level Ball
4x Ultra Ball
1x Energy Retrieval
2x Pokemon Catcher
2x Random Receiver
2x Switch
Energy (14)
10x Fire Energy
4x DCE
Summary
Like I said before this deck is designed to burn your opponents attacking Pokemon, then hopefully inflicting 40 damage on a failed flip in between turns. Rocky Helmet deals 2 damage counters when your opponent attacks the Pokemon Rocky Helmet is attached to (on Druddigon this is 40 damage when combined with Rough Skin). All of the attacking Pokemon in this deck burn your opponent except the Druddigon which makes Volcaronas ability active fast.
Now while I myself love this idea but the Entei EX is what stands out to me the most as the basis of what a deck like this can do. Entei has a easy to power first attack that burns your opponents active Pokemon, but his second attack will also help this deck keep pace with the faster decks of this format.Grand Flame will allow you to accelerate your benched Pokemon while keeping the pressure on your opponents Pokemon.
Magby would be a ideal starter for this deck since you can burn for free. Now while this may seem like a bad choice in comparison to say Cleffa which would refresh your hand, Magby is a excellent choice for this deck against fast paced decks that will start with a Smeargle or a Celebii Prime. Burning those Pokemon before they can get going will cancel out their Poke-Powers, forcing your opponent to waste resources to either get additional copies of that card or put themselves one turn behind you which is what you want.
So this would be my version of this deck
Pokemon (16)
4 Entei EX
3 Larvesta
3 Volcarona
2 Vulpix
2 Ninetales
2 Magby
Trainer/Supporter (30)
4 Professor Juniper
3 Professor Oaks New Theory
3 Sages Training
3 N
3 Dual Ball
3 Heavy Ball
3 Ultra Ball
3 Pokemon Catcher
2 Random Receiver
2 Super Rod
1 Enhanced Hammer
Energy
11 Fire
4 Double Colorless
Summary
Now at first 4 Entei may seem like a lot, but i disagree. Entei is a good turn two attacker for 30 (after a catcher on a Tynamo or a Celebii Prime that's a knockout) and Grand Flame is a amazing attack that allows energy acceleration on a basic Pokemon. Magby is a solid opening play against CMT and Zekeels that start Smeargle (or Celebii Prime) negating Powers with burn. Volcaronas Scorching Scales lets you score extra damage in between turns and also serves as a decent secondary attacker. Ninetales has so much synergy with Entei EX letting you get extra cards and supplying Entei with the energy to accelerate your bench.
The Trainer line is designed so that you always have options, while keeping you in control of the game. Your Supporters are all draw cards of some sort, While your Trainers will enable you to score knockouts and search for all your Pokemon.
The Energy line is straight forward with a deck like this. To make sure you have a fire energy almost every turn you need one I have opted for 11. Double Colorless Energy provides for Volcarona so Grand Flame can power up multiple attackers.
Final Thoughts
Where Sals build used both Rocky Helmet and Scorching Scales, mine opts to maximize the damage output you can do with attacks and Scorching Scales. Consistency with Entei EX and Ninetales is just to good to overlook and with some play testing and preparation for the meta, this deck could dominate very fast.
But wait theres more........
Speaking of the current meta Battle Roads Kingston yesterday showed a smaller version of what the meta is right now. Masters division had 11 players in total and of those 11 players there were
3 Zekeels (took 1st and 4th)
2 CMT (2nd and 3rd)
2 Terrakion (1 pure, 1 Donphan/Terrakion/Groudon EX)
1 Durant
1 KyuremGatr
1 Rocky Helmet Burn
1 Round
This is a good scale of what the meta will be like in bigger Battle Roads and Nationals and I just wanna say a few things about these decks while I have the floor
Zekeels
I am not shocked to see Zekeels as the most played deck in Kingston, the deck is just too fast and efficient has a great match against all of the other decks in the format, and is able to make strong comebacks at any point with some well played moves.
CMT
CMT is in a war with Zekeels for the title of best deck in the format and until Celebii is rotated out CMT will be a strong contender at all events. Forest Breath is perhaps the best form of Energy Acceleration we have right now cause its on a basic Pokemon making it faster to set up then Eelektrik. Tornadus and Tornadus EXs weakness to Lightning is troublesome and Mewtwo Wars can backfire easily. Builds with Terrakion should show up more in the future if CMT wants to be the top dog.
Terrakion
In my opinion pure Terrakion builds cant compete with Zekeels anymore. Tornadus EX owns this deck with its Resistance (when combined with Eviolite reduces Retaliate from 90 to 50) and a smart player will play around the weakness. I feel that Terrakion builds should implement either Landorus or Groudon EX which can deal massive damage late game if played in conjunction with Landorus. The other issue is the energy attachments, as Terrakion is slower to get rolling on its own. EXP Share helps a little bit but a combination with Landorus would help speed this up with multiple EXP Shares.
Durant
unfortunately it seems Durant is on the downward spiral so to speak. Heatmors presence as well as the addition of Raikou EX and Entei EX have limited the decks capabilities to take advantage of the Eviolite Special Metal damage reduction. I feel that a rotation in the fall will be the final nail in the ant hill so to speak, as we will lose Special Metal Energy.
The Rest
KyuremGATR is a solid deck if it can set up Rain Dance fast enough no matter what the meta is. Glaciate is an amazing attack early game and sets up Feraligatr Prime as a secondary attack. Volcarona is described in full above this part. Round is amazing if you can set up a Seismitoad fast enough and start swinging.
Sorry for the combination of blogs this week I couldn't make a choice for today so opted for both lol
Sunday 3 June 2012
Pokeballing: Battle Roads Kingston
Today myself and 5 of my friends and teammates went to Kingston to partake in their Battle Roads as it was the first one we could go to. Throughout the week I had been testing a few ideas on what to play but in the end I decided to go with Zekeels as it was a deck I was very familiar with and I had traded for a Raikou EX on Friday.
3 Zekrom
3-3 Eelektrik
2 Thundurus
2 Smeargle
1 Mewtwo EX
1 Zekrom EX
1 Tornadus EX
1 Raikou EX
1 Stunfisk
(18)
4 Juniper
3 N
3 Sages Training
3 Collector
4 Junk Arm
4 Catcher
3 Level Ball
2 Random Receiver
2 Sky Arrow Bridge
(28)
10 Lightning
4 Double Colorless
(14)
This was the list I came up with for what I wanted to do and how I wanted to run the deck. I opted for Collector over Dual Ball for one reason, I forgot to test with Dual Ball this week. Other odd choices for this deck to me were my lack of Eviolite and Switch, the latter of which I couldn't find room for in the deck.
There were 11 masters and the people from Belleville made up over half of the tournament. This made me feel a little bit uneasy cause whenever I play my teammates I always draw horrible opening hands and that's fine at home.
Round 1 VS Mario (Zekeels)
Right off of the bat I am one of the two games that featured Belleville people paired up against each other. I start horrible and cant get energy going which lets him take two prizes early game. I play well timed Catchers on his Eelektrik to try and set a slower pace but he always gets answers off his draws. Now alot i can do but whatever sacks happen.
0-1
Round 2 VS Patricia (Zekeels/w Raikou EX)
Another mirror match and I open Zekrom to her Zekrom EX (she had a full art which made me very jealous). I am energy logged again (which never happened during play testing) and she scores 3 early prizes with Zekrom EX before I am able to get rolling. Plays with Tornadus EX and this games MVP Stunfisk allowed me to keep in the game dropping us down to a even two prizes each with my active Stunfisk KOing her Raikou EX and Zekrom. She had a few options here and instead of going with the active Zekrom and KOing Stunfisk she opts to bring her Zekrom EX with 100 damage on it to take out my Stunfisk. I really feel she forgot about my benched Tornadus EX here as I was able to promote it next turn and KO Zekrom EX winning a very hard fought game. Game of the day for me
1-1
Round 3 VS Glen (Donphan/Terrakion)
I get to go first and he flips over Phanpy to my Thundurus, making me very uneasy about how to play this game since Donphan can one shot all my non EX Pokemon and two shot my Lightning EX Pokemon. I use Random Reciever and it gets me a collector which I use to get Tornadus EX a Tynamo and a Smeargle, and I use Charge. He draws and places a Terrakion on the bench which makes me feel very bad cause this deck can now wreck my entire day. I attach a Lightning to Thundurus and use Disaster Volt for 50 and say go. He Evolved into Donphan Prime and KO'ed my Thundurus. The game gets a bit hard to remember from here, but Tornadus EX was easily what won this game for me. It kept me alive and landed four of my six knockouts, and was able to stay alive. Near the end of the game he was forced to use a Seeker to return a Terrakion with 30 HP left to his hand which allowed me to return my injured Tornadus EX to my hand keeping it alive to deal more damage. Mewtwo EX wins the game for me two hit KO'ing a Groudon EX that was Catchered up. Another close game
2-1
Round 4 VS Mitchell (Durant)
This pairing made me a little sad for two reasons, Mitchell is my teammate so whoever wins this would probably knock the other one out of top 4 and he is playing Durant. He starts Cobalion and Rotom to my lone Tynamo and I go first. I played Collector to get a Thundurus, a Smeargle and a second Tynamo. I promoted Smeargle played a Skyarrow Bridge and used Portrait for a second Collector getting Zekrom EX, Zekrom and Raikou EX. He played his Collector getting two Durant and a second Cobalion attached to his active and said go. I drew and evolved into Eelektrik and used Portrait again. For the rest of the game I use combinations of my Junk Arms and Catchers to maneuver around his active Cobalion (which had 2 special Metal and Eviolite) switching attacks from Raikou EX and Thundurus to keep ahead in prizes. He inadvertently gave me the game when his Random Receiver gave him his one Seeker, which i portrait'ed to return my injured Raikou EX to my hand. This allowed me to make harder decisions easier so to speak.
3-1
We had Top 4 placing with top 2 playing for 1st and 2nd. I came 4th which was good enough for me as i really wanted to put a horrible Cities championships behind me (didn't win a single game at cities)
the standings were:
1st Mario (Zekeels)
2nd Rob (CMT)
3rd Justin (CMT)
4th Me (Zekeels)
So I am off to a good start heading into my month of Pokemon hopefully i can adjust and have good finishes in Pickering and Oshawa on the 16th of June.
3 Zekrom
3-3 Eelektrik
2 Thundurus
2 Smeargle
1 Mewtwo EX
1 Zekrom EX
1 Tornadus EX
1 Raikou EX
1 Stunfisk
(18)
4 Juniper
3 N
3 Sages Training
3 Collector
4 Junk Arm
4 Catcher
3 Level Ball
2 Random Receiver
2 Sky Arrow Bridge
(28)
10 Lightning
4 Double Colorless
(14)
This was the list I came up with for what I wanted to do and how I wanted to run the deck. I opted for Collector over Dual Ball for one reason, I forgot to test with Dual Ball this week. Other odd choices for this deck to me were my lack of Eviolite and Switch, the latter of which I couldn't find room for in the deck.
There were 11 masters and the people from Belleville made up over half of the tournament. This made me feel a little bit uneasy cause whenever I play my teammates I always draw horrible opening hands and that's fine at home.
Round 1 VS Mario (Zekeels)
Right off of the bat I am one of the two games that featured Belleville people paired up against each other. I start horrible and cant get energy going which lets him take two prizes early game. I play well timed Catchers on his Eelektrik to try and set a slower pace but he always gets answers off his draws. Now alot i can do but whatever sacks happen.
0-1
Round 2 VS Patricia (Zekeels/w Raikou EX)
Another mirror match and I open Zekrom to her Zekrom EX (she had a full art which made me very jealous). I am energy logged again (which never happened during play testing) and she scores 3 early prizes with Zekrom EX before I am able to get rolling. Plays with Tornadus EX and this games MVP Stunfisk allowed me to keep in the game dropping us down to a even two prizes each with my active Stunfisk KOing her Raikou EX and Zekrom. She had a few options here and instead of going with the active Zekrom and KOing Stunfisk she opts to bring her Zekrom EX with 100 damage on it to take out my Stunfisk. I really feel she forgot about my benched Tornadus EX here as I was able to promote it next turn and KO Zekrom EX winning a very hard fought game. Game of the day for me
1-1
Round 3 VS Glen (Donphan/Terrakion)
I get to go first and he flips over Phanpy to my Thundurus, making me very uneasy about how to play this game since Donphan can one shot all my non EX Pokemon and two shot my Lightning EX Pokemon. I use Random Reciever and it gets me a collector which I use to get Tornadus EX a Tynamo and a Smeargle, and I use Charge. He draws and places a Terrakion on the bench which makes me feel very bad cause this deck can now wreck my entire day. I attach a Lightning to Thundurus and use Disaster Volt for 50 and say go. He Evolved into Donphan Prime and KO'ed my Thundurus. The game gets a bit hard to remember from here, but Tornadus EX was easily what won this game for me. It kept me alive and landed four of my six knockouts, and was able to stay alive. Near the end of the game he was forced to use a Seeker to return a Terrakion with 30 HP left to his hand which allowed me to return my injured Tornadus EX to my hand keeping it alive to deal more damage. Mewtwo EX wins the game for me two hit KO'ing a Groudon EX that was Catchered up. Another close game
2-1
Round 4 VS Mitchell (Durant)
This pairing made me a little sad for two reasons, Mitchell is my teammate so whoever wins this would probably knock the other one out of top 4 and he is playing Durant. He starts Cobalion and Rotom to my lone Tynamo and I go first. I played Collector to get a Thundurus, a Smeargle and a second Tynamo. I promoted Smeargle played a Skyarrow Bridge and used Portrait for a second Collector getting Zekrom EX, Zekrom and Raikou EX. He played his Collector getting two Durant and a second Cobalion attached to his active and said go. I drew and evolved into Eelektrik and used Portrait again. For the rest of the game I use combinations of my Junk Arms and Catchers to maneuver around his active Cobalion (which had 2 special Metal and Eviolite) switching attacks from Raikou EX and Thundurus to keep ahead in prizes. He inadvertently gave me the game when his Random Receiver gave him his one Seeker, which i portrait'ed to return my injured Raikou EX to my hand. This allowed me to make harder decisions easier so to speak.
3-1
We had Top 4 placing with top 2 playing for 1st and 2nd. I came 4th which was good enough for me as i really wanted to put a horrible Cities championships behind me (didn't win a single game at cities)
the standings were:
1st Mario (Zekeels)
2nd Rob (CMT)
3rd Justin (CMT)
4th Me (Zekeels)
So I am off to a good start heading into my month of Pokemon hopefully i can adjust and have good finishes in Pickering and Oshawa on the 16th of June.
Friday 1 June 2012
Pokeballing: Tournament Report 6/1/2012
Today we had a our second Pokemon tourney and I decided to get in practise for this Sundays Battle Roads in Kingston. Nearing the end of this week i decided to try a Gothitelle Gardevoir build to see how it would far in a fast paced meta.
My list
(20)
3-2-3 Gothitelle
3-2-3 Gardevoir
2 Cleffa
1 Heatmor (For Durant)
1 Mewtwo EX
(9)
3 Pokemon Collector
2 N
2 Professor Oaks New Theory
2 Professor Juniper
(20)
4 Junk Arm
3 Pokemon Catcher
3 Switch
3 Rare Candy
3 Ultra Ball
2 PokeGear 3.0
1 Enhanced Hammer
1 Super Rod
(11)
11 Psychic Energy
We had 8 people today and we played a three round 2 out of 3 (for the last week thank god) tournament with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes.
Round 1 Vs Mike G (Zekeels)
Game 1: He started with a lone Uxie and was having trouble getting started, and I had Gothitelle and Gardevoir set up turn 3 and was swinging for massive damage one shotting everything in my path.
Game 2: More or less the same with my Cleffa staying asleep during key parts of my setup. Again a third turn Gothitelle followed up with a Gardevoir let me one shot everything.
2-0
Round 2 Vs Stew (Reshiram/Reshiram EX/Zekrom/Chandelure NXD)
Game 1: I set up a early Gothitelle and stop him from making any big plays which allows me time to get Gardevoir out the hard way and start hitting him hard.
Game 2: Again I am able to set my Gothitelle up turn 2 and Gardevoir turn 3 well timed Catcher plays on his benched Reshiram EX allowed my Gothitelle to hit for 180 with 4 energy attached.
2-0
Round 3 Vs Andrew Lawrenson (KyuremGATR)
Andrew is my teammate so this is good practice for both of us since we might see eachother at Battle Roads Sunday pending on how the rounds go.
Game 1: I cant get a Gardevoir out to one shot his Kyurem and he Glaciates me to death.
Game 2: I cant get energy this time and am stuck hitting him with Kirlias Smack attack for 3 turns before finally getting Gardevoir out to KO a Kyurem only to suffer horrible death from the next one.
0-2
So I end up going 2-1 for the day which would have put me in top 3 but my first round opponent dropped out costing my in back points. Which was fine with me seeing as i am just happy to get Pokemon going strong in my area.
1st: Andrew Lawrenson (KyuremGATR)
2nd: Mario Filice (Zekeels)
3rd: Sal Oliviera (Rocky Helmet/Volcarona burn)
Taking a slower paced deck into a tournament with a variety of decent to good players made me realise two things
1. Gothitelle/Gardevoir if it can get set up fast enough is very hard to stop since I can use Items and you cant.
2. This deck will thrive I think in a BW-On format.
The advantage that Psychic Mirage gives Mad Kinesis is amazing, as I was one hit KO'ing massive HP basics like Zekrom and Reshiram EX for 3-4 energy.
My list
(20)
3-2-3 Gothitelle
3-2-3 Gardevoir
2 Cleffa
1 Heatmor (For Durant)
1 Mewtwo EX
(9)
3 Pokemon Collector
2 N
2 Professor Oaks New Theory
2 Professor Juniper
(20)
4 Junk Arm
3 Pokemon Catcher
3 Switch
3 Rare Candy
3 Ultra Ball
2 PokeGear 3.0
1 Enhanced Hammer
1 Super Rod
(11)
11 Psychic Energy
We had 8 people today and we played a three round 2 out of 3 (for the last week thank god) tournament with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes.
Round 1 Vs Mike G (Zekeels)
Game 1: He started with a lone Uxie and was having trouble getting started, and I had Gothitelle and Gardevoir set up turn 3 and was swinging for massive damage one shotting everything in my path.
Game 2: More or less the same with my Cleffa staying asleep during key parts of my setup. Again a third turn Gothitelle followed up with a Gardevoir let me one shot everything.
2-0
Round 2 Vs Stew (Reshiram/Reshiram EX/Zekrom/Chandelure NXD)
Game 1: I set up a early Gothitelle and stop him from making any big plays which allows me time to get Gardevoir out the hard way and start hitting him hard.
Game 2: Again I am able to set my Gothitelle up turn 2 and Gardevoir turn 3 well timed Catcher plays on his benched Reshiram EX allowed my Gothitelle to hit for 180 with 4 energy attached.
2-0
Round 3 Vs Andrew Lawrenson (KyuremGATR)
Andrew is my teammate so this is good practice for both of us since we might see eachother at Battle Roads Sunday pending on how the rounds go.
Game 1: I cant get a Gardevoir out to one shot his Kyurem and he Glaciates me to death.
Game 2: I cant get energy this time and am stuck hitting him with Kirlias Smack attack for 3 turns before finally getting Gardevoir out to KO a Kyurem only to suffer horrible death from the next one.
0-2
So I end up going 2-1 for the day which would have put me in top 3 but my first round opponent dropped out costing my in back points. Which was fine with me seeing as i am just happy to get Pokemon going strong in my area.
1st: Andrew Lawrenson (KyuremGATR)
2nd: Mario Filice (Zekeels)
3rd: Sal Oliviera (Rocky Helmet/Volcarona burn)
Taking a slower paced deck into a tournament with a variety of decent to good players made me realise two things
1. Gothitelle/Gardevoir if it can get set up fast enough is very hard to stop since I can use Items and you cant.
2. This deck will thrive I think in a BW-On format.
The advantage that Psychic Mirage gives Mad Kinesis is amazing, as I was one hit KO'ing massive HP basics like Zekrom and Reshiram EX for 3-4 energy.
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Pokeballing: The Future Is Amazing
Recently Japan had their Nationals and I must say the results were quite impressive to say the least. Before we go into this further I must apologise to the Dragon Type for my harsh words a few posts ago. In my defence I was referring to the type in our current format.
Now before you all think i am a crazy person, I should explain. You see Japan is currently in a BW-On format, putting them one format ahead of us. This changes the whole landscape of the game drastically, as cards that have defined our format are no longer a issue there.
While browsing i found another blog site that had come across information about the tournament winning deck and i gotta tell you i am in love with this deck
First off the site: http://www.propokemon.com/deck-articles/japan-national-championships-winning-deck-info
Now for the list
Pokemon: 15
3-1-3 Hydreigon
3 Darkrai EX
1 Shaymin EX
3 Sableye
1 Sigilyph
Supporters/Trainers: 31
4 Professor Juniper
4 N
3 Bianca
4 Pokemon Catcher
3 Rare Candy
2 Level Ball
2 Eviolite
3 Max Potion
3 Ultra Ball
2 Random Receiver
3 Dark Patch
Energy: 12
8 Darkness Energy
4 Blend Energy GRPD
Hydreigon – Dragon – HP150
Stage 2 – Evolves from Zweilous
Ability: Dark Trance
As often as you like during your turn (before your attack), you may move a Darkness Energy attached to 1 of your Pokemon to another of your Pokemon.
[P][D][D][C] Dragon Blast: 140 damage. Discard 2 Darkness Energy attached to this Pokemon.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3
Blend Energy GRPD – Special Energy
This card provides 1 [C] Energy. As long as this card is attached to a Pokemon, it provides either [G], [R], [P], or [D] Energy, but only 1 Energy at a time.
Sigilyph – Psychic – HP90
Basic Pokemon
Ability: Safeguard
Prevent all effects of attacks, including damage, done to Sigilyph by your opponent’s Pokemon-EX.
[P][C][C] Psychic: 50+ damage. Does 10 more damage for each Energy card attached to the Defending Pokemon.
Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
If this is the future of the game then this is a future i want to be apart of. Its fairly easy to see why this deck won the championships, and will be the best deck in the format when we eventually switch to a BW-On format. Hydreigon and Darkrai EX have a nearly perfect synergy with each other and Hydreigon itself works so well with Dark Patch its insane. Shaymin EX in this deck is the best use of the card i have seen yet, with Blend Energy and Hydreigon providing fast and easy use for it. Sigilyph is perhaps the best Mewtwo EX counter we will have being able to hit the dominate powerhouse for massive damage and being protected by its ability from taking a counter hit. Sableye allows for late game reuse of trainers that will tip the game back in your favour.
As far as Trainers go, this deck takes full advantage of the gems of the black and white format that we may overlook now. Bianca is gonna shine when we rotate because we lose so many other reliable draw/thinning cards such as PONT and Sages Training. Bianca will also be aided by the fact that the best Pokemon search card we will have is Ultra Ball, which takes three cards out of your hand. Max Potion may seem like a odd choice with so many energy hungry attackers until you realise that you can move energy off of the attacker with Dark Trance, play the Max Potion then move the energy back.
The energy line is straight forward in a format with no Special Dark Energy. Blend Energy is the best energy that non Basic Pokemon have right now and in this deck it covers all three of your different energy costs in one card. Keep in mind that when attached to a Pokemon Blend Energy can be moved with Dark Trance.
This is a strong example of what a perfect deck should do. Dark Trance and Dark Patch were made for each other and Hydreigon being a Dragon Type and not a Dark Type means that your deck doesn't auto loss to Terrakion. Dark Trance allows for some amazing combos with Max Potion and perhaps provides us with the best form of Energy Manipulation this game has ever seen. The thing I like about this deck the most is that its a strong deck with a attacking stage two, something our meta has been lacking since the summer of last year.
If Hydreigon/Darkrai EX is the future BDIF of this game then I am all for a BW-On format. This deck makes such a great use of cards that have been deceased so to speak from our format. Should we go to a BW-On rotation in September it will open not only this deck to us but some other amazing decks that have been seeing play in the land of the rising sun.
Now before you all think i am a crazy person, I should explain. You see Japan is currently in a BW-On format, putting them one format ahead of us. This changes the whole landscape of the game drastically, as cards that have defined our format are no longer a issue there.
While browsing i found another blog site that had come across information about the tournament winning deck and i gotta tell you i am in love with this deck
First off the site: http://www.propokemon.com/deck-articles/japan-national-championships-winning-deck-info
Now for the list
Pokemon: 15
3-1-3 Hydreigon
3 Darkrai EX
1 Shaymin EX
3 Sableye
1 Sigilyph
Supporters/Trainers: 31
4 Professor Juniper
4 N
3 Bianca
4 Pokemon Catcher
3 Rare Candy
2 Level Ball
2 Eviolite
3 Max Potion
3 Ultra Ball
2 Random Receiver
3 Dark Patch
Energy: 12
8 Darkness Energy
4 Blend Energy GRPD
Hydreigon – Dragon – HP150
Stage 2 – Evolves from Zweilous
Ability: Dark Trance
As often as you like during your turn (before your attack), you may move a Darkness Energy attached to 1 of your Pokemon to another of your Pokemon.
[P][D][D][C] Dragon Blast: 140 damage. Discard 2 Darkness Energy attached to this Pokemon.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3
Blend Energy GRPD – Special Energy
This card provides 1 [C] Energy. As long as this card is attached to a Pokemon, it provides either [G], [R], [P], or [D] Energy, but only 1 Energy at a time.
Sigilyph – Psychic – HP90
Basic Pokemon
Ability: Safeguard
Prevent all effects of attacks, including damage, done to Sigilyph by your opponent’s Pokemon-EX.
[P][C][C] Psychic: 50+ damage. Does 10 more damage for each Energy card attached to the Defending Pokemon.
Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
If this is the future of the game then this is a future i want to be apart of. Its fairly easy to see why this deck won the championships, and will be the best deck in the format when we eventually switch to a BW-On format. Hydreigon and Darkrai EX have a nearly perfect synergy with each other and Hydreigon itself works so well with Dark Patch its insane. Shaymin EX in this deck is the best use of the card i have seen yet, with Blend Energy and Hydreigon providing fast and easy use for it. Sigilyph is perhaps the best Mewtwo EX counter we will have being able to hit the dominate powerhouse for massive damage and being protected by its ability from taking a counter hit. Sableye allows for late game reuse of trainers that will tip the game back in your favour.
As far as Trainers go, this deck takes full advantage of the gems of the black and white format that we may overlook now. Bianca is gonna shine when we rotate because we lose so many other reliable draw/thinning cards such as PONT and Sages Training. Bianca will also be aided by the fact that the best Pokemon search card we will have is Ultra Ball, which takes three cards out of your hand. Max Potion may seem like a odd choice with so many energy hungry attackers until you realise that you can move energy off of the attacker with Dark Trance, play the Max Potion then move the energy back.
The energy line is straight forward in a format with no Special Dark Energy. Blend Energy is the best energy that non Basic Pokemon have right now and in this deck it covers all three of your different energy costs in one card. Keep in mind that when attached to a Pokemon Blend Energy can be moved with Dark Trance.
This is a strong example of what a perfect deck should do. Dark Trance and Dark Patch were made for each other and Hydreigon being a Dragon Type and not a Dark Type means that your deck doesn't auto loss to Terrakion. Dark Trance allows for some amazing combos with Max Potion and perhaps provides us with the best form of Energy Manipulation this game has ever seen. The thing I like about this deck the most is that its a strong deck with a attacking stage two, something our meta has been lacking since the summer of last year.
If Hydreigon/Darkrai EX is the future BDIF of this game then I am all for a BW-On format. This deck makes such a great use of cards that have been deceased so to speak from our format. Should we go to a BW-On rotation in September it will open not only this deck to us but some other amazing decks that have been seeing play in the land of the rising sun.
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Pokeballing: We Three Kings
So last blog i christened 3 different Pokemon as the kings of the meta, Mewtwo EX, Darkrai EX and the soon to be released Rayquaza EX. These three cards are easily the most overpowered cards we have right now, not just for their attacks but for the amount of support they have for being basic Pokemon.
The format right now is all about big basics and these three are the behemoths of the TCG right now. Massive HP, and very effective attacks make The Three Kings of the Pokemon TCG some of the most sought after cards ever and its easy to see why.
Mewtwo EX -The Psychic King
Mewtwo EX – Psychic – HP170
Basic Pokemon
[C][C] X Ball: Does 20 damage times the number of Energy attached to each player’s Active Pokemon.
[P][P][C] Psycho Drive: 120 damage. Choose 1 Energy attached to this Pokemon and discard it.
Pokemon EX Rule: When Pokemon EX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
Mewtwo was first to be released in the Next Destinies set and it has been on a nearly unstoppable rampage since its release. X Ball is the most powerful splash attack (can be used in any deck) Since Garchomp C Lv.X's Dragon Rush. A attack that's only damage limit is the number of energy your willing to attach is just broken in a format that has very little that can counter it (Only Reshiram BW and Zekrom EX can really force your opponent to attach more energy to their Mewtwo to KO you).Stats wise Mewtwo weighs in at a hefty 170 HP with a weakness to a underplayed type and a resistance that can be lowered by one with Skyarrow Bridge. Mewtwos only weakness is to itself, Mew EX will be released in Dragons Exhalted but its low HP makes it a easy kill.
Darkrai EX- The Dark King
Darkrai EX – Dark – HP180
Basic Pokemon
Ability: Darkness Cloak
As long as this Pokemon is in play, all of your Pokemon with any Dark Energy attached to them have no Retreat cost.
[D][D][C] Night Spear: 90 damage. Choose 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon, and this attack also does 30 damage to that Pokemon. (Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance when damaging the Bench.)
Pokemon-EX Rule: When Pokemon-EX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 2
I see Darkrai as more of a support unless its in its own deck, but its still a heavy hitter. Darkness Cloak is a very useful ability when you factor in cards like Prism Energy and Rainbow Energy as well as the soon to be released Blend Energy GRPD providing Dark Energy to non Dark Pokemon. Don't mistake me though on the attacking side Darkrai is no slouch either, Night Spear can be as deadly as X Ball maybe even more. If you choose to use The Dark King as a a main attacker then you be using the Dark Engine of Dark Patch and Dark Claw to hit fast and hard. Night Spear with a Dark Claw attached will be doing 110 damage to the active Pokemon (120 with Special Dark Energy) and 30 to any two Pokemon. If you can get this going fast enough you can score 3 KOs in the span of two to three turns. On the stats end of things Darkrai has a massive 180 HP with a fighting weakness, which can be countered with Tornadus or Tornadus EX. Psychic Resistance gives it a auto immunity to Mewtwo EX which is amazing since The Psychic King sees play everywhere. Retreat Cost means nothing on this card as it should always have a Dark Energy attached.
Rayquaza EX- The Dragon King
Rayquaza-EX – Dragon – HP170
Basic Pokemon
[C] Heaven’s Call: Discard the top 3 cards from your deck, and if there are any Energy cards, attach them to this Pokemon.
[R][L] Dragon Burst: 60x damage. Discard either all Fire Energy or Lightning Energy cards attached to this Pokemon. This attack does 60 damage times the number of Energy discarded in this way.
When Pokemon-EX has been Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
August brings this Pokemon's release to the TCG and its gonna be a automatic hit. Heavens Call makes Rayquaza potentially the fastest of the Three Kings possibly letting you attach multiple energy to Rayquaza a turn. Dragons Burst is easily the most broken attack in the TCG right now when you factor in that Fire and Lightning have the best form of Energy acceleration in the game right now. As far as stats go outside of HP Rayquaza has the best of the three, with its only weakness being itself (random Psychic decks could take down Mewtwo in one shot). The Retreat Cost is the best of the three since it is totally erase able with Skyarrow Bridge.
Future
If a set rotation does happen in September then we will be sitting in a very small set format at the start (ex. a B&W on format is only 6 sets). This means that you will more then likely have to run a deck with these three to be competitive. Luckily it has been announced that in the fall these three will be released in tins making them all easier to get and hopefully bringing down their value. I myself am looking forward to that potential format because these three will be accessible to everyone and should make for a very thought controlled format.
The format right now is all about big basics and these three are the behemoths of the TCG right now. Massive HP, and very effective attacks make The Three Kings of the Pokemon TCG some of the most sought after cards ever and its easy to see why.
Mewtwo EX -The Psychic King
Mewtwo EX – Psychic – HP170
Basic Pokemon
[C][C] X Ball: Does 20 damage times the number of Energy attached to each player’s Active Pokemon.
[P][P][C] Psycho Drive: 120 damage. Choose 1 Energy attached to this Pokemon and discard it.
Pokemon EX Rule: When Pokemon EX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
Mewtwo was first to be released in the Next Destinies set and it has been on a nearly unstoppable rampage since its release. X Ball is the most powerful splash attack (can be used in any deck) Since Garchomp C Lv.X's Dragon Rush. A attack that's only damage limit is the number of energy your willing to attach is just broken in a format that has very little that can counter it (Only Reshiram BW and Zekrom EX can really force your opponent to attach more energy to their Mewtwo to KO you).Stats wise Mewtwo weighs in at a hefty 170 HP with a weakness to a underplayed type and a resistance that can be lowered by one with Skyarrow Bridge. Mewtwos only weakness is to itself, Mew EX will be released in Dragons Exhalted but its low HP makes it a easy kill.
Darkrai EX- The Dark King
Darkrai EX – Dark – HP180
Basic Pokemon
Ability: Darkness Cloak
As long as this Pokemon is in play, all of your Pokemon with any Dark Energy attached to them have no Retreat cost.
[D][D][C] Night Spear: 90 damage. Choose 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon, and this attack also does 30 damage to that Pokemon. (Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance when damaging the Bench.)
Pokemon-EX Rule: When Pokemon-EX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 2
I see Darkrai as more of a support unless its in its own deck, but its still a heavy hitter. Darkness Cloak is a very useful ability when you factor in cards like Prism Energy and Rainbow Energy as well as the soon to be released Blend Energy GRPD providing Dark Energy to non Dark Pokemon. Don't mistake me though on the attacking side Darkrai is no slouch either, Night Spear can be as deadly as X Ball maybe even more. If you choose to use The Dark King as a a main attacker then you be using the Dark Engine of Dark Patch and Dark Claw to hit fast and hard. Night Spear with a Dark Claw attached will be doing 110 damage to the active Pokemon (120 with Special Dark Energy) and 30 to any two Pokemon. If you can get this going fast enough you can score 3 KOs in the span of two to three turns. On the stats end of things Darkrai has a massive 180 HP with a fighting weakness, which can be countered with Tornadus or Tornadus EX. Psychic Resistance gives it a auto immunity to Mewtwo EX which is amazing since The Psychic King sees play everywhere. Retreat Cost means nothing on this card as it should always have a Dark Energy attached.
Rayquaza EX- The Dragon King
Rayquaza-EX – Dragon – HP170
Basic Pokemon
[C] Heaven’s Call: Discard the top 3 cards from your deck, and if there are any Energy cards, attach them to this Pokemon.
[R][L] Dragon Burst: 60x damage. Discard either all Fire Energy or Lightning Energy cards attached to this Pokemon. This attack does 60 damage times the number of Energy discarded in this way.
When Pokemon-EX has been Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
August brings this Pokemon's release to the TCG and its gonna be a automatic hit. Heavens Call makes Rayquaza potentially the fastest of the Three Kings possibly letting you attach multiple energy to Rayquaza a turn. Dragons Burst is easily the most broken attack in the TCG right now when you factor in that Fire and Lightning have the best form of Energy acceleration in the game right now. As far as stats go outside of HP Rayquaza has the best of the three, with its only weakness being itself (random Psychic decks could take down Mewtwo in one shot). The Retreat Cost is the best of the three since it is totally erase able with Skyarrow Bridge.
Future
If a set rotation does happen in September then we will be sitting in a very small set format at the start (ex. a B&W on format is only 6 sets). This means that you will more then likely have to run a deck with these three to be competitive. Luckily it has been announced that in the fall these three will be released in tins making them all easier to get and hopefully bringing down their value. I myself am looking forward to that potential format because these three will be accessible to everyone and should make for a very thought controlled format.
Sunday 27 May 2012
Pokeballing: The Dragons Are Coming
Early this year it was announced that a brand new Pokemon type was entering the OCG, the Dragon type. This marked the first time since Dark and Metal were released in Neo Genesis and Neo Discovery so many years ago. The Pokemon world filled up with questions, such as what was this new type gonna look like and how were they going to work a potential Dragon Type energy. Now we stand five months after the types announcement and if your like me your very underwhelmed. So far most of this amazing and exciting new Pokemon type has been very bland to say the least. Dragon Pokemon have almost always been known to be very heavy energy attackers with horrible energy requirements, and thus far this new type has only just taken them from being horrible colourless Pokemon with Colourless weakness to horrible Dragon type Pokemon with Dragon weakness.
There are a few exceptions to this revelation and now that the Dragon type is set to make a summer debut on North American shores its time to fill you in. Dragons Exhalted will be our next English set and last set before a possible set rotation in September could take us to a possible Black&White on format. According to a post on Pokebeach this set is going to include cards from the introductory Dragons Selection set in Japan and The first Dragon Era set as well.
Choose 1 Dragon-type Pokemon card from your deck, show it to your opponent, and put it in your hand. Shuffle your deck afterward. You can use this Ability 1 time during your turn.
[W][Fg] Dragon Slice: 20 damage.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
First off we don't like Gabite for Dragon Slice, we like Dragon Call. In the Dragon deck should you choose to build it this will provide the only search you will need as it will get the other 2 good dragons that this set will bring us.
2. Altaria – Dragon – HP70
Stage 1 – Evolves from Swablu
Ability: Battle Song
As long as this Pokemon is in play, your Dragon-type Pokemon’s attacks do an additional 20 damage to any Active Pokemon.
[W][M][C] Glide: 40 damage.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Altaria brings it Battle Song Ability allowing all our Dragons attacks to be Dark Claws. This is actually really cool and I like ability's like this that would do what a Pokemon Tool would do as now I can have a Dragon Type Dark Claw and attach a Eviolite or a EXP Share too.
1. Rayquaza-EX – Dragon – HP170
Basic Pokemon
[C] Heaven’s Call: Discard the top 3 cards from your deck, and if there are any Energy cards, attach them to this Pokemon.
[Fr][L] Dragon Burst: 60x damage. Discard either all Fire Energy or Lightning Energy cards attached to this Pokemon. This attack does 60 damage times the number of Energy discarded in this way.
When Pokemon-EX has been Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
This card along with Mewtwo EX and Darkrai EX will now be referred to by me as The Three Kings. If a set rotation does indeed happen in September then you will wanna be playing one of these three cards. Dragon Burst is almost as retarded maybe even more so then X-Ball on Mewtwo, hands down. The energy requirements are a Fire and a Lightning, two of the most popular types for energy Acceleration (Afterburner/Inferno Fandango, and Dynamotor). Skyarrow Bridge or Darkness Cloak can give this monster free retreat and just like that my mind is blown.
Unfortunately that's where this set peaks for the Dragon type, which makes me sad. Sure the stupid energy match ups can be cured by the two new energy we are getting in this set
Blend Energy WLFM – Special Energy
This card provides 1 [C] Energy. As long as this card is attached to a Pokemon, it provides either [W], [L], [F], or [M] Energy, but only 1 Energy at a time.
Blend Energy GRPD – Special Energy
This card provides 1 [C] Energy. As long as this card is attached to a Pokemon, it provides either [G], [R], [P], or [D] Energy, but only 1 Energy at a time.
In the end, however the fact that the attacks these Pokemon have do not justify the energy required makes these two cards useless as of right now.
I know I am being very negative about this and I wish I could tell you that this refreshingly new type will bring many new and exciting decks to the tcg. Unfortunately I can only hope that the set after this one can save this potential new destructive force from providing more then a Dragon King to go with our Psychic and Dark Kings.
There are a few exceptions to this revelation and now that the Dragon type is set to make a summer debut on North American shores its time to fill you in. Dragons Exhalted will be our next English set and last set before a possible set rotation in September could take us to a possible Black&White on format. According to a post on Pokebeach this set is going to include cards from the introductory Dragons Selection set in Japan and The first Dragon Era set as well.
Now for those of us who keep up with set releases in the OCG you already know whats great in this set and whats so so. For those of us who only keep up with English releases then Pokeballing is about to enlighten to the like 3 good Dragons you will wanna keep your eyes peeled for.
3. Gabite – Dragon – HP80
Stage 1 – Evolves from Gible
Ability: Dragon CallStage 1 – Evolves from Gible
Choose 1 Dragon-type Pokemon card from your deck, show it to your opponent, and put it in your hand. Shuffle your deck afterward. You can use this Ability 1 time during your turn.
[W][Fg] Dragon Slice: 20 damage.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
First off we don't like Gabite for Dragon Slice, we like Dragon Call. In the Dragon deck should you choose to build it this will provide the only search you will need as it will get the other 2 good dragons that this set will bring us.
2. Altaria – Dragon – HP70
Stage 1 – Evolves from Swablu
Ability: Battle Song
As long as this Pokemon is in play, your Dragon-type Pokemon’s attacks do an additional 20 damage to any Active Pokemon.
[W][M][C] Glide: 40 damage.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Altaria brings it Battle Song Ability allowing all our Dragons attacks to be Dark Claws. This is actually really cool and I like ability's like this that would do what a Pokemon Tool would do as now I can have a Dragon Type Dark Claw and attach a Eviolite or a EXP Share too.
1. Rayquaza-EX – Dragon – HP170
Basic Pokemon
[C] Heaven’s Call: Discard the top 3 cards from your deck, and if there are any Energy cards, attach them to this Pokemon.
[Fr][L] Dragon Burst: 60x damage. Discard either all Fire Energy or Lightning Energy cards attached to this Pokemon. This attack does 60 damage times the number of Energy discarded in this way.
When Pokemon-EX has been Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Dragon (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
This card along with Mewtwo EX and Darkrai EX will now be referred to by me as The Three Kings. If a set rotation does indeed happen in September then you will wanna be playing one of these three cards. Dragon Burst is almost as retarded maybe even more so then X-Ball on Mewtwo, hands down. The energy requirements are a Fire and a Lightning, two of the most popular types for energy Acceleration (Afterburner/Inferno Fandango, and Dynamotor). Skyarrow Bridge or Darkness Cloak can give this monster free retreat and just like that my mind is blown.
Unfortunately that's where this set peaks for the Dragon type, which makes me sad. Sure the stupid energy match ups can be cured by the two new energy we are getting in this set
Blend Energy WLFM – Special Energy
This card provides 1 [C] Energy. As long as this card is attached to a Pokemon, it provides either [W], [L], [F], or [M] Energy, but only 1 Energy at a time.
Blend Energy GRPD – Special Energy
This card provides 1 [C] Energy. As long as this card is attached to a Pokemon, it provides either [G], [R], [P], or [D] Energy, but only 1 Energy at a time.
In the end, however the fact that the attacks these Pokemon have do not justify the energy required makes these two cards useless as of right now.
I know I am being very negative about this and I wish I could tell you that this refreshingly new type will bring many new and exciting decks to the tcg. Unfortunately I can only hope that the set after this one can save this potential new destructive force from providing more then a Dragon King to go with our Psychic and Dark Kings.
Friday 25 May 2012
Pokeballing: First Local Tournament Report EVER
So it finally happened, after a year of pushing on the part of me and my teammates we finally got a Pokemon tournament going. I am hoping that this is a trend that keeps up as the time goes by because local tournaments are good practice for bigger events and provide a solid test enviroment for new deck ideas.
But enough of that lol, I wasn't originally gonna play and was gonna opt for a more judge style role. But (and yes i know you should never start a sentence with but) two people no showed so i had to jump in. I had already lent out my Raichu/Eelektrik deck and Terrakion/Landorus deck to friends for the tourney so I was stuck with my fun Cinccino deck.
We had 7 people and i found myself paired up against my team mate Mario first round.
Round 1 Mario (Zekeels)
Game 1: He had a bad start and I knew that if i was gonna beat him i had to start hitting fast and hard, especially since this deck wasn't running catcher or junk arm. I opened with a turn 2 Cinccino and started taking a early prize lead. Finally he started getting his set up going and taking prizes but with some sweet moves i was able to combine my Liepard and Cinccino to knock out his Tornadus EX. I took him to two prizes but those prizes were my other two Cinccino so i lost.
Game 2: His deck finally went off and he destroyed me lol.
0-2
Round 2 Melanie (Rain dance)
Game 1: I did what Cinccino does best I hit hard and fast and was able to keep ahead in prizes.
Game 2: Same as game one she stalls me with Neo Genesis Cleffa but i was able to keep ahead and secure the game with Liepard and Cinccino.
2-0
Round 3 Rori (Raichu/Eelektrik)
Game 1: Opening two Collectors and going first gave me this game early but once he got the Dynamotor going he was able to mount a comeback Late game Tornadus gave me a problem but with a combination of Tyrogue, and Cinccino were able to give me the game.
Game 2: He opened with a lone Pikachu and I donked him turn two when he couldn't get a basic out.
2-0
So we didn't have enough players for a top 4 so we just took a top 3 finish with Mario coming in 1st Myself coming in 2nd and Sal coming in third with his Mewtwo Lv.x Lock deck.
So all in all it was a nice first step in the right direction. I am hoping that this will keep up in the future and expand in size.
But enough of that lol, I wasn't originally gonna play and was gonna opt for a more judge style role. But (and yes i know you should never start a sentence with but) two people no showed so i had to jump in. I had already lent out my Raichu/Eelektrik deck and Terrakion/Landorus deck to friends for the tourney so I was stuck with my fun Cinccino deck.
We had 7 people and i found myself paired up against my team mate Mario first round.
Round 1 Mario (Zekeels)
Game 1: He had a bad start and I knew that if i was gonna beat him i had to start hitting fast and hard, especially since this deck wasn't running catcher or junk arm. I opened with a turn 2 Cinccino and started taking a early prize lead. Finally he started getting his set up going and taking prizes but with some sweet moves i was able to combine my Liepard and Cinccino to knock out his Tornadus EX. I took him to two prizes but those prizes were my other two Cinccino so i lost.
Game 2: His deck finally went off and he destroyed me lol.
0-2
Round 2 Melanie (Rain dance)
Game 1: I did what Cinccino does best I hit hard and fast and was able to keep ahead in prizes.
Game 2: Same as game one she stalls me with Neo Genesis Cleffa but i was able to keep ahead and secure the game with Liepard and Cinccino.
2-0
Round 3 Rori (Raichu/Eelektrik)
Game 1: Opening two Collectors and going first gave me this game early but once he got the Dynamotor going he was able to mount a comeback Late game Tornadus gave me a problem but with a combination of Tyrogue, and Cinccino were able to give me the game.
Game 2: He opened with a lone Pikachu and I donked him turn two when he couldn't get a basic out.
2-0
So we didn't have enough players for a top 4 so we just took a top 3 finish with Mario coming in 1st Myself coming in 2nd and Sal coming in third with his Mewtwo Lv.x Lock deck.
So all in all it was a nice first step in the right direction. I am hoping that this will keep up in the future and expand in size.
Saturday 19 May 2012
Pokeballing: Landorus/Terrakion
For myself the Battle Roads Spring/Summer season begins June 3rd in Kingston, Ontario. This is probably the more important of the two seasons as it gives you the best look at what your areas nationals are gonna be like meta wise. With hopefully three stops on this season for myself i have decided to play a Terrakion variant this time around.
Terrakion variants i believe will have a strong showing at this battle roads cause not only do we have Zekeels, we also will have people experimenting with Dark Pokemon. Of all the Terrakion variants we have in the format (Straight Terrakion, Landorus/Terrakion, and Troll) I am gonna run a Landorus version because i like that with the right cards it can start hitting for 80 and spreading 10 damage everywhere turn 2.
My Build
Pokemon (10)
4 Landorus
4 Terrakion
1 Cleffa
1 Shaymin (UL)
Supporter (9)
3 Sages Training
2 N
2 Professor Oaks New Theory
2 Professor Juniper
Trainer (29)
4 Junk Arm
4 Revive
4 EXP Share
3 Pokemon Catcher
3 Ultra Ball
3 Heavy Ball
3 Switch
2 Enhanced Hammer
2 Random Receiver
1 Super Rod
Energy (12)
12 Fighting
Pokemon
The Pokemon Line is very straightforward and serves a rather simple strategy. Landorus is the ideal starter for this deck as with 2 energy and either a ultra ball, junk arm, or sages training it can start swinging with Gaia Hammer turn 2. Gaia Hammer can also help to get bigger hp enemies into the 90 hp range so that Terrakion can always one shot with retaliate. Terrakion is your big beefy hitter which will also double as your Revenge Killer, doing a vicious 90 damage for 2 energy after your Landorus has done its job. Shaymin is in this deck to keep energy flowing smoothly as both Terrakion and Landorus need alot of it to attack. Cleffa just serves as a free retreat and can also be used to refresh bad hands.
Trainer/Supporter/Stadium
EXP Share is the all-star of this deck as it allows you to have some slight form of energy acceleration in a deck that wouldn't normally afford it. Being able to attach one energy from a fallen Pokemon to any Pokemon with the tool equipped can turn the tide of the game in your favour as you will always have a Pokemon with energy to attack. The Ball Engine plays a huge role in this deck as it can not only do all your searching but Ultra Ball is a good early way to put a fighting energy into the discard pile to get that crucial turn 2 Gaia Hammer going. Cards like Junk Arm, Pokemon Catcher, and Switch are pretty self explanatory. The Supporters all focus on either changing your hand, drawing extra cards, and getting what you need cause with a deck like this you cant afford to have turns where your not doing anything. Revive is the last real key card in this deck as it can recycle your stream of attackers which are already a pain to Knockout.
Energy
A all fighting energy line is required for this deck for many reasons. First off with a all basic Energy line you wont run the risk of being Lost Removered or Enhanced Hammered. Also EXP Share can only work with basic energy.
This deck has a amazing match against Zekeels and Dark Decks, However it is not hindered by any of the other decks in the format either. CMT can hold you off with Tornadus which has a fighting Resistance to both Terrakion and Landorus, however a smart player will be able to play around this. The early spread helps keep Durant Decks in the Knockout range of Retaliate, which makes that match far easier for this deck then most.
I have begun play testing with this idea and will hopefully have several videos posted on my youtube channel very shortly for you all to see. Sorry bout the lack of articles this week, work and life have gotten in the way as well as the fact that not alot goes on in between events.
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePokeBaller
Terrakion variants i believe will have a strong showing at this battle roads cause not only do we have Zekeels, we also will have people experimenting with Dark Pokemon. Of all the Terrakion variants we have in the format (Straight Terrakion, Landorus/Terrakion, and Troll) I am gonna run a Landorus version because i like that with the right cards it can start hitting for 80 and spreading 10 damage everywhere turn 2.
My Build
Pokemon (10)
4 Landorus
4 Terrakion
1 Cleffa
1 Shaymin (UL)
Supporter (9)
3 Sages Training
2 N
2 Professor Oaks New Theory
2 Professor Juniper
Trainer (29)
4 Junk Arm
4 Revive
4 EXP Share
3 Pokemon Catcher
3 Ultra Ball
3 Heavy Ball
3 Switch
2 Enhanced Hammer
2 Random Receiver
1 Super Rod
Energy (12)
12 Fighting
Pokemon
The Pokemon Line is very straightforward and serves a rather simple strategy. Landorus is the ideal starter for this deck as with 2 energy and either a ultra ball, junk arm, or sages training it can start swinging with Gaia Hammer turn 2. Gaia Hammer can also help to get bigger hp enemies into the 90 hp range so that Terrakion can always one shot with retaliate. Terrakion is your big beefy hitter which will also double as your Revenge Killer, doing a vicious 90 damage for 2 energy after your Landorus has done its job. Shaymin is in this deck to keep energy flowing smoothly as both Terrakion and Landorus need alot of it to attack. Cleffa just serves as a free retreat and can also be used to refresh bad hands.
Trainer/Supporter/Stadium
EXP Share is the all-star of this deck as it allows you to have some slight form of energy acceleration in a deck that wouldn't normally afford it. Being able to attach one energy from a fallen Pokemon to any Pokemon with the tool equipped can turn the tide of the game in your favour as you will always have a Pokemon with energy to attack. The Ball Engine plays a huge role in this deck as it can not only do all your searching but Ultra Ball is a good early way to put a fighting energy into the discard pile to get that crucial turn 2 Gaia Hammer going. Cards like Junk Arm, Pokemon Catcher, and Switch are pretty self explanatory. The Supporters all focus on either changing your hand, drawing extra cards, and getting what you need cause with a deck like this you cant afford to have turns where your not doing anything. Revive is the last real key card in this deck as it can recycle your stream of attackers which are already a pain to Knockout.
Energy
A all fighting energy line is required for this deck for many reasons. First off with a all basic Energy line you wont run the risk of being Lost Removered or Enhanced Hammered. Also EXP Share can only work with basic energy.
This deck has a amazing match against Zekeels and Dark Decks, However it is not hindered by any of the other decks in the format either. CMT can hold you off with Tornadus which has a fighting Resistance to both Terrakion and Landorus, however a smart player will be able to play around this. The early spread helps keep Durant Decks in the Knockout range of Retaliate, which makes that match far easier for this deck then most.
I have begun play testing with this idea and will hopefully have several videos posted on my youtube channel very shortly for you all to see. Sorry bout the lack of articles this week, work and life have gotten in the way as well as the fact that not alot goes on in between events.
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePokeBaller
Thursday 10 May 2012
Pokeballing: Pokemon Sites
Research is a very important part of keeping up on the competitive Pokemon scene. Knowing whats big in the meta you will be playing in is vital when it comes to teching out your deck. Say for example your meta is gonna be Zekeels, you would research and know to tech in Terrakion to score quick revenge kills. Pokemon websites are great for keeping up on the research element of the game, whether it be tournament reports, new sets or just cool rule changes you don't know about.
Pokebeach.com
Pokebeach is a great website for everything Pokemon not just the TCG. Pokebeach has set lists up a good two weeks or more before the release. This is amazing as some cards are removed from certain sets before its English release. Pokebeach also has a incredible forums section that not only has a deck garage to post ideas and deck lists, but also a meta deck centre. This highlights what you should be teching into your top tier decks.
Sixprizes.com
Six Prizes is a very different website from the other ones on my list today. Six Prizes is a website by the players for the players, with nothing but articles written by players for everyone to read. This includes in depth tournament reports,set analysis, and card of the day. Six Prizes also has a special underground where certain writers do more in depth reports, however this costs a fee a month.
Pokegym.net
Pokegym is very similar to Pokebeach in a few ways, though it also boasts several additional features. Pokegym is a full out forums site with card of the days, and deck garages. It also has the Pokemon Compendium, the place to go for any and all rulings questions one would have.
Thetopcut.net
The final site for this article is The Top Cut, a site ran by some of the best Pokemon players currently playing. On top of the deck articles , and set reviews, The Top Cut also does live streaming of games. This a very awesome feature and one that everyone should go and have a look at.
These are only just a few of the many sites dedicated to the Pokemon Trading Card Game. I would recommend going to these sites if you want your research for upcoming tournaments such as Battle Roads and Nationals.
Pokebeach.com
Pokebeach is a great website for everything Pokemon not just the TCG. Pokebeach has set lists up a good two weeks or more before the release. This is amazing as some cards are removed from certain sets before its English release. Pokebeach also has a incredible forums section that not only has a deck garage to post ideas and deck lists, but also a meta deck centre. This highlights what you should be teching into your top tier decks.
Sixprizes.com
Six Prizes is a very different website from the other ones on my list today. Six Prizes is a website by the players for the players, with nothing but articles written by players for everyone to read. This includes in depth tournament reports,set analysis, and card of the day. Six Prizes also has a special underground where certain writers do more in depth reports, however this costs a fee a month.
Pokegym.net
Pokegym is very similar to Pokebeach in a few ways, though it also boasts several additional features. Pokegym is a full out forums site with card of the days, and deck garages. It also has the Pokemon Compendium, the place to go for any and all rulings questions one would have.
Thetopcut.net
The final site for this article is The Top Cut, a site ran by some of the best Pokemon players currently playing. On top of the deck articles , and set reviews, The Top Cut also does live streaming of games. This a very awesome feature and one that everyone should go and have a look at.
These are only just a few of the many sites dedicated to the Pokemon Trading Card Game. I would recommend going to these sites if you want your research for upcoming tournaments such as Battle Roads and Nationals.
Sunday 6 May 2012
Pokeballing:What to Expect at Battle Roads
Spring Battle Roads have already begun in some places and are set to begin all over very shortly (check Pokemon.com for a listing near you). Seeing as this is the last event before the Nationals begin in June, this is the last chance to test decks before the big day. So far this format Electric decks have dominated the meta with Magneboar, ZPST,Eelzone, and Zekeels each showcasing dominance in the format. Dark Explorers hits stores May 8th and will give Trainers the chance to test tech in current builds and new decks all together, so what can we expect from this session of tournaments.
Zekeels
Zekrom/Eelektrik deck (Zekeels) is coming off of a dominating performance at Regionals and one should expect to see alot of them over the Battle Roads Marathon. As I have said many times before this is by far the best deck in the format hands down, being able to set up a fast paced beginning, middle and late game. Dark Explorers will bring it new tech in Raikou EX, which also gives it bench sniping capabilities. Also Ultra Ball brings the deck yet another way to get energy in the discard pile to feed the Dynamotor Engine.
CMT (Celebii/Mewtwo EX/Tornadus)
Tornadus EX could see some early play in this deck along side its regular counterpart. Being able to hit for a first turn 60 with a Skyarrow Bridge out is pretty sweet and being able to hit for 100 will make it easier to conserve your Mewtwos. Other builds may try out Prism Energy and Darkrai EX for free retreat replacing Skyarrow Bridge with other valued Trainers.
Durant
There is little doubt that Durant decks are this formats fastest set up deck. Being able to Devour turn 1 is amazing and disrupts your opponents strategy quite well. Heatmor from Dark Explorers threatens the Metal Ants reign as a tier one deck and i suspect it will catch some Durant builds by surprise. However, a return of Cobalion to the deck (I have noticed its not run as much anymore) will put the Anteater in its place as Heatmor is unable to KO Cobalion as easily as it does Durant. I honestly dont see Durant losing any popularity due to Heatmor.
Dark.Dec
This will be the very hyped decks first chance to shine, and to see if it will live up to the hype. Darkrai EX is a amazing sniper and if it is set up fast enough will keep Zekeels in check by KO'ing Tynamos before they can become Eelektriks. CMT decks will also have to fear the Nightmare Pokemon as it can knockout benched Celebii Primes in two shots. Zoroark builds will probably see the most play right now as its fast and with Dark Claw and Special Dark Energy letting it hit up to 160 (Full Bench+Darkclaw+2 Special Dark). Dark Decks will need to find a reliable counter to Terrakion as the deck can destroy everything in 1 shot
Other decks/Techs
Empoleon decks could have impressive showings with the right build (just watch out for Zekeels). Diving Draw is such a great ability for keeping your hand full of useful cards, and attack command can hit for 120 off of one energy. I could see speed builds being ideal for this deck, being similar to the Jumpluff builds of previous formats. Round has been making splashes lately and could see some play based off of surprise factor alone. Lastly, Terrakion could see a spike up in play with the release of Groudon EX as a nice backup attacker mid to late game.
This is just some of the decks that you will see at this round of Battle Roads, as the major testing phases begin. Will Zekeels stay the top deck this format or will Dark.Dec live up to its hype?
Zekeels
Zekrom/Eelektrik deck (Zekeels) is coming off of a dominating performance at Regionals and one should expect to see alot of them over the Battle Roads Marathon. As I have said many times before this is by far the best deck in the format hands down, being able to set up a fast paced beginning, middle and late game. Dark Explorers will bring it new tech in Raikou EX, which also gives it bench sniping capabilities. Also Ultra Ball brings the deck yet another way to get energy in the discard pile to feed the Dynamotor Engine.
CMT (Celebii/Mewtwo EX/Tornadus)
Tornadus EX could see some early play in this deck along side its regular counterpart. Being able to hit for a first turn 60 with a Skyarrow Bridge out is pretty sweet and being able to hit for 100 will make it easier to conserve your Mewtwos. Other builds may try out Prism Energy and Darkrai EX for free retreat replacing Skyarrow Bridge with other valued Trainers.
Durant
There is little doubt that Durant decks are this formats fastest set up deck. Being able to Devour turn 1 is amazing and disrupts your opponents strategy quite well. Heatmor from Dark Explorers threatens the Metal Ants reign as a tier one deck and i suspect it will catch some Durant builds by surprise. However, a return of Cobalion to the deck (I have noticed its not run as much anymore) will put the Anteater in its place as Heatmor is unable to KO Cobalion as easily as it does Durant. I honestly dont see Durant losing any popularity due to Heatmor.
Dark.Dec
This will be the very hyped decks first chance to shine, and to see if it will live up to the hype. Darkrai EX is a amazing sniper and if it is set up fast enough will keep Zekeels in check by KO'ing Tynamos before they can become Eelektriks. CMT decks will also have to fear the Nightmare Pokemon as it can knockout benched Celebii Primes in two shots. Zoroark builds will probably see the most play right now as its fast and with Dark Claw and Special Dark Energy letting it hit up to 160 (Full Bench+Darkclaw+2 Special Dark). Dark Decks will need to find a reliable counter to Terrakion as the deck can destroy everything in 1 shot
Other decks/Techs
Empoleon decks could have impressive showings with the right build (just watch out for Zekeels). Diving Draw is such a great ability for keeping your hand full of useful cards, and attack command can hit for 120 off of one energy. I could see speed builds being ideal for this deck, being similar to the Jumpluff builds of previous formats. Round has been making splashes lately and could see some play based off of surprise factor alone. Lastly, Terrakion could see a spike up in play with the release of Groudon EX as a nice backup attacker mid to late game.
This is just some of the decks that you will see at this round of Battle Roads, as the major testing phases begin. Will Zekeels stay the top deck this format or will Dark.Dec live up to its hype?
Wednesday 2 May 2012
Pokeballing: Deck Garage #1
So I was looking for ideas for today's blog (which i tried to write last night but couldn't do) and i decided to do some deck stuff for whats big in our format right now. With Battle Roads about to start and Nationals coming so fast its nice to know as much as we can about the decks we are going to see at these events. My first Deck Garage (pending name change lol) is gonna be on one of the fastest decks this format has to offer, CMT(Celebii/Mewtwo/Tornadus)
Deck Name:CMT
Pokemon 9/10
4 Celebii Prime
2/3 Mewtwo EX
3 Tornadus
Supporters 11
3 PONT
3 Juniper
3 N
2 Sages Training
Trainers 16
4 Junk Arm
4 Pokemon Catcher
3 Dual Ball
3 Skyarrow Bridge
1 Poke Gear 3.0
Energy 14
10 Grass
4 Double Colorless Energy
Total: 51/52 (8/9 deck slots open for other cards)
Strategy
This deck has a very fast very effective strategy, and that's to get as many energy into play using Celebii Primes Forest Breath. Mewtwo EX and Tornadus are the main attackers here as Tornadus allows you to move your Grass energy from itself onto your Mewtwo EX to increase the amount of Damage Xball can do. Depending on what your opponent is playing and their start this deck can be capable of some very fast game ending Donks or will put you so far ahead in Prizes your opponent will be struggling for the rest of the game.
Pokemon
In this very base skeleton of the deck the Pokemon are very straight forward. Celebii is only in here for its Forest Breath Pokemon Power which will let you attach another Grass energy to a benched pokemon while Celebii is active. This combines with Skyarrow Bridge very nicely as you can open Celebii attach a Double Colorless to a Benched Tornadus or Mewtwo EX then use Celebiis power to attach a Grass and then retreat for free and start scoring fast knockouts. Tornadus is a great opening attack and as long as you can keep attaching Grass energy to him every turn he will power up your benched Tornadus or Mewtwo EX. Mewtwo EX is by far the most splashable attacker we have this format and with the proper planning X Ball can do massive damage, just becareful not to get on the losing end of a Mewtwo war.
Trainers
The Trainer line is very basic for most decks, allowing you for fast set up and never having useless cards in hand. Dual Ball is a very popular choice lately and has seemingly replaced Pokemon Collector as the top Pokemon retrieval card. Dual Ball allows for Pokemon searches even if you don't draw it opening hand but get it off of one of your many draw supporters. Junk Arm is a must for every deck as reusing trainers such as Catcher, Dual Ball and any tech choices you make. The draw supporters kind of speak for themselves as they are run in every deck.
Energy
a straight energy line here as you don't need Psychic cause your never gonna use the weaker Psydrive attack on Mewtwo EX. 10 Grass will increase your chances of drawing into it opening turn to use with Celebii. Double Colorless will allow for fast first turn Mewtwo EX hits if you have to go that route.
Mewtwo or Tornadus
The big issue here is when to attack with Mewtwo EX and when to use Tornadus. From what I have seen Tornadus is usually better for the opening turns of the game. With Celebii Prime as your starter Tornadus can possibly be swinging for 80 first turn depending on your draw, while Mewtwo will only hit for 60. Tornadus also allows for getting energy onto Mewtwo EX as well with Hurricane. Mewtwo EX should mostly be your clean up attacker, and used if you are close to winning the game. Smart plays with Mewtwo EX will keep you from getting caught up in a Mewtwo war that you may or may not come out on top of. In games that i have seen Tornadus has done most of the heavy work so to speak, while Mewtwo has been used to revenge kill. A popular move is when Tornadus gets knocked out to promote Mewtwo catcher up your opponents Mewtwo and take the kill for 2 prizes.
Techs
These are some of the techs i have seen in CMT
Regigigas EX- A strong Colorless attacker splashable in here as a strong late game sweeper, good for the Zekeel match since Tornadus has a Lightning Weakness.
Shaymin UL- Its Celebration Wind Pokemon Power allows you to move all energy to a attacking Mewtwo EX to maximise the damage X Ball will do.
Smeargle- The other starter of choice for this deck, with Skyarrow Bridge you can start Smeargle use its Portrait Pokemon Power to look and use a supporter then retreat for free and start abusing Forest Breath.
Virizion NV- This is another card I have seen in this deck as tech. This card can be a early game knockout of your opponents Tynamos/Cleffa/Tyrouge without having to risk your main attackers being revenge killed. This is also a great attacker for the Terrakion match as it will hit the builds that don't run Landorus really hard.
EXP Share- Attach these to your Bench Pokemon and when a Tornadus or Mewtwo is knocked out you can attach one basic energy to each Pokemon that has a EXP Share attached to it.
Eviolite- Can be used to prevent 20 damage from being done to your Pokemon that has Eviolite attached to it. Personally if given the choice between this and EXP Share I would rather have EXP Share.
So there you have it mostly everything you need to know about CMT. This deck is incredibly fast and is capable of producing hard hitting attackers on the first turn to start taking prizes before the opponent has any time to set up.
Deck Name:CMT
Pokemon 9/10
4 Celebii Prime
2/3 Mewtwo EX
3 Tornadus
Supporters 11
3 PONT
3 Juniper
3 N
2 Sages Training
Trainers 16
4 Junk Arm
4 Pokemon Catcher
3 Dual Ball
3 Skyarrow Bridge
1 Poke Gear 3.0
Energy 14
10 Grass
4 Double Colorless Energy
Total: 51/52 (8/9 deck slots open for other cards)
Strategy
This deck has a very fast very effective strategy, and that's to get as many energy into play using Celebii Primes Forest Breath. Mewtwo EX and Tornadus are the main attackers here as Tornadus allows you to move your Grass energy from itself onto your Mewtwo EX to increase the amount of Damage Xball can do. Depending on what your opponent is playing and their start this deck can be capable of some very fast game ending Donks or will put you so far ahead in Prizes your opponent will be struggling for the rest of the game.
Pokemon
In this very base skeleton of the deck the Pokemon are very straight forward. Celebii is only in here for its Forest Breath Pokemon Power which will let you attach another Grass energy to a benched pokemon while Celebii is active. This combines with Skyarrow Bridge very nicely as you can open Celebii attach a Double Colorless to a Benched Tornadus or Mewtwo EX then use Celebiis power to attach a Grass and then retreat for free and start scoring fast knockouts. Tornadus is a great opening attack and as long as you can keep attaching Grass energy to him every turn he will power up your benched Tornadus or Mewtwo EX. Mewtwo EX is by far the most splashable attacker we have this format and with the proper planning X Ball can do massive damage, just becareful not to get on the losing end of a Mewtwo war.
Trainers
The Trainer line is very basic for most decks, allowing you for fast set up and never having useless cards in hand. Dual Ball is a very popular choice lately and has seemingly replaced Pokemon Collector as the top Pokemon retrieval card. Dual Ball allows for Pokemon searches even if you don't draw it opening hand but get it off of one of your many draw supporters. Junk Arm is a must for every deck as reusing trainers such as Catcher, Dual Ball and any tech choices you make. The draw supporters kind of speak for themselves as they are run in every deck.
Energy
a straight energy line here as you don't need Psychic cause your never gonna use the weaker Psydrive attack on Mewtwo EX. 10 Grass will increase your chances of drawing into it opening turn to use with Celebii. Double Colorless will allow for fast first turn Mewtwo EX hits if you have to go that route.
Mewtwo or Tornadus
The big issue here is when to attack with Mewtwo EX and when to use Tornadus. From what I have seen Tornadus is usually better for the opening turns of the game. With Celebii Prime as your starter Tornadus can possibly be swinging for 80 first turn depending on your draw, while Mewtwo will only hit for 60. Tornadus also allows for getting energy onto Mewtwo EX as well with Hurricane. Mewtwo EX should mostly be your clean up attacker, and used if you are close to winning the game. Smart plays with Mewtwo EX will keep you from getting caught up in a Mewtwo war that you may or may not come out on top of. In games that i have seen Tornadus has done most of the heavy work so to speak, while Mewtwo has been used to revenge kill. A popular move is when Tornadus gets knocked out to promote Mewtwo catcher up your opponents Mewtwo and take the kill for 2 prizes.
Techs
These are some of the techs i have seen in CMT
Regigigas EX- A strong Colorless attacker splashable in here as a strong late game sweeper, good for the Zekeel match since Tornadus has a Lightning Weakness.
Shaymin UL- Its Celebration Wind Pokemon Power allows you to move all energy to a attacking Mewtwo EX to maximise the damage X Ball will do.
Smeargle- The other starter of choice for this deck, with Skyarrow Bridge you can start Smeargle use its Portrait Pokemon Power to look and use a supporter then retreat for free and start abusing Forest Breath.
Virizion NV- This is another card I have seen in this deck as tech. This card can be a early game knockout of your opponents Tynamos/Cleffa/Tyrouge without having to risk your main attackers being revenge killed. This is also a great attacker for the Terrakion match as it will hit the builds that don't run Landorus really hard.
EXP Share- Attach these to your Bench Pokemon and when a Tornadus or Mewtwo is knocked out you can attach one basic energy to each Pokemon that has a EXP Share attached to it.
Eviolite- Can be used to prevent 20 damage from being done to your Pokemon that has Eviolite attached to it. Personally if given the choice between this and EXP Share I would rather have EXP Share.
So there you have it mostly everything you need to know about CMT. This deck is incredibly fast and is capable of producing hard hitting attackers on the first turn to start taking prizes before the opponent has any time to set up.
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