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SixPrizes Underground LEAKS

By HeyTrainer
 

As many of you know, I write frequently for SixPrizes.com's paid "Underground" section. It's been a great way to earn some pocket change, and -without a doubt – it's one of the most surefire ways to blaze a trail in the Pokemon TCG community.

However, it's been tough getting second to Fulop in so many writer polls; and it's too much pressure always having to play second fiddle to such a great player. Likewise, the community upstart, Jwittz, has done a number on my results multiple times, and I'm beginning to feel that my writing is underappreciated.

Perhaps it's premature, or perhaps immature, but I have decided to leak the first two weeks of May's articles (we write well in advance of the due date, and never turn our articles in the day of). Hopefully Adam, my fellow staff members, and all of the subscribers can forgive me for this breach of trust; however, I can't help this any longer, and so I've decided to hook you up.

Let's start with Fulop. He hasn't written many deck articles, but one that's been close to his heart as of late is an edited Mewperior:

Mewperior (5/3/2011) *1

By Chris Fulop

"We walk the streets alone
Hearts and hands both left empty
We're battered to the ground
Left cold to beg for mercy
We choke on our despair
No arms open to take us
We've been thrown to the wolves
But We're still standing
We are the distant beacons
We are the guiding light
We flicker in this darkness
To illuminate the night

So will you take my hand
To lead you through this nightmare
We're running for our lives
Our lungs still barely breathing
We are the last alive
Our hearts still barely beating
We won't let this world put out this dying flame.
We stare at these horrors
Wide eyed and never blinking
We live this daily grind
Our will and nerve unbreaking
Were left to fend for our own
With our morale unbending
This fire burns inside us
Unwilling to extinquish
We raise our fists in anger
Demanding revolution

We are the distant beacons
We are the guiding light
We flicker in this darkness
To illuminate the night
So will you take my hand
To lead you through this nightmare
We're running for our lives
Our lungs still barely breathing
We are the last alive
Our hearts still barely beating
We won't let this world put out this dying flame.

We are lost with no direction
Yet we run full steam ahead
We don't know where we are going
We don't know where we'll end
All we're left with is each other
Don't let that slip away
Please take my hand.

Of course, Josh "Jwittz" W. has many articles that are high in demand due to his popular "Prof-it" show. Since he has become established as a Sablelock expert of sorts, countless people have been hounding him for his opinion on just _how_ broken the deck will become when the new Black and White rules are implemented. This is his opinion on the matter:

The Impact of Black and White (5/5/2011) *2

By Josh W.

"      The dominant cinema situates black characters primarily for the pleasure of white spectators. To illustrate this point, one may note how black characters in contemporary Hollywood films are made less threatening to whites either by white domestication of black customs and culture—a process of decrination and isolation—or by stories in which blacks are depicted as playing by the rules of white society and losing” (Diawara 894).

      Put in the perspective of the black spectator, much of what Diawara asserts about Hollywood cinema is true: the black spectator is forced to identify with a white hero, while viewing his or her own race as criminal (894). However, when this is put into perspective of films from the Blaxploitation genre—films directly marketed toward black audience—the lines are blurred. These films (often Hollywood funded) deal with much more powerful and dynamic black characters playing lead roles, thus giving the black spectator a role model that they can identify with. However, these films also draw heavily on stereotype, which in its own way damages the black spectator’s perception, and perpetuates these stereotypes for a white audience.
In this essay, I will show that in two of the first Blaxploitation films produced, the 1971 Shaft and the 1972 Super Fly (directed by Gordon Parks and his son, Gordon Parks Jr. respectively) attempt (but do not always succeed) to deal with a black spectator through separate means. Shaft attempts to create a modern-day black “superhero” for blacks to identify with through the cool and suave Shaft, while Super Fly uses the powerful but conflicted Priest in an attempt to create a sympathetic tone for the plight of black freedom.

      Despite that these films were directed by father and son, one year apart, their plots bear little resemblance to each other, besides starring a hip black protagonist. In Shaft, an independent, cool, and handsome detective with the same name deals with both the police and local black gangs to recover a crime boss’s daughter. Effectively acting as the “black James Bond”, Shaft plays by his own rules, has a large ego, and deals with several sexual escapades along the way. Super Fly, on the other hand, deals with the successful drug dealer Priest, who finds himself questioning his own lifestyle. Priest constantly strives to leave his life of thrills and luxury to “get out of the game” and live a normal life. While still a powerful character, Priest suffers a constant burden and stress that he strives to lift throughout the film.

      The tone of each film is instantly distinguishable through its introduction. Shaft opens with a pan over New York City’s busy streets at a top down angle, and as the funky bass riff from the movie’s titular theme begins, we see Shaft emerge—complete in a stylish brown leather jacket. The camera focuses on his face for a brief moment, then follows him from the high angle once again as he casually strolls through heavy traffic, hands in pockets. The tone for Shaft (both the character and film) is set by Issac Hayes’ theme: it begins with a narrator asking “Who’s the private dick that’s a sex machine to all the chicks?” immediately answered by a chorus of females responding “Shaft!”. Within the film’s opening minutes, the black audience is given a character that is cool, uncaring, well dressed, and attractive. This is a character that the male black audience wants to be, and that a female black audience wants to swoon over. By setting and character alone, this Blaxploitation film offers the black spectator something they rarely received in the 1970s: a hero.

      Super Fly’s introduction, on the other hand, paints a different picture. We’re given the same high angle over a street corner, but this time over a clearly less wealthy and run-down neighborhood. Two fairly ragged drug dealers shuffle down the streets in the cold, with piles of garbage visible against each building. While the film does contain an upbeat titular theme as well, it instead opts to open with Curtis Mayfield’s “Little Child Runnin Wild”, which depicts a character that “never smiles”, is “all alone”, who “didn’t have to be here”. Only after this initial introduction do we meet Priest, the main character: with a blank expression, he snorts cocaine off of a cross necklace while sitting naked next to one of his girlfriends. Despite his obvious life of luxury and his sexual prowess, his attitude is cold and tired. Immediately after scolding a few dealers that work under him, we then switch to an upbeat theme as Priest drives by in an expensive car. However, after immediately succeeding the dreary introduction, the happy moment feels false—very much in line with Priest’s perception of his own life. Through this introduction, the black spectator is given a different kind of protagonist, one they can sympathize with. They immediately identify their own color-based struggles with Priest’s, and allow Priest to act as a symbol of black redemption.

      Both films take the tone set by the introduction and amplify it over the course of the film. Just as Shaft’s introduction paints him out to be cool, the rest of the film glorifies simply how cool he is. Shaft’s position as a detective gives him an air of power and authority that the black spectator isn’t used to. Shaft constantly forces those he works with and those seeking his skills to play by his rules—including the white Lieutenant Vic, Shaft’s working partner. The camera is constantly panning over Shaft’s face and body—using both low angles to increase his apparent size and prominence, and also eye line matches with female characters to reveal him as an object of desire. Shaft’s own name is an obvious phallic pun to stand in for sexual strength, and this is constantly emphasized as Shaft beds multiple women of multiple races. Even in his love scene with Dee, it is his own body that dominates the screen, with his back and buttocks as the prevalent image.

      While Shaft briefly mentions a rough past by joking to Dee that he “was born poor and born black”, and by reminiscing to Ben of times where they fought together for black freedom, his character is more of an emphasis on success than a symbol of the struggle. His image is that of a flawless individual that overcame his struggle to the point where it carries no burden on him any longer—he serves as the perfect symbol of desirability for the black spectator. If Shaft is the symbol of success after the struggle, then Priest is a symbol for the struggle itself. While he attempts to hold the “cool factor” that Shaft contains externally, his internal struggle is constantly apparent. Despite his dreams of living a normal life, he is constantly brought down by most of his comrades, claiming that drug dealing is “the only game the man left him to play”, and that it was “what he was born to do”. Prince has all of the things that Shaft has—money, respect, and women, yet he is discontent with the means and lifestyle that he goes through to achieve them.

      While women are attracted to Shaft like magnets, Prince seems to be too caught up in his own struggle to give in to his sexual magnetism. In fact, the only time he makes love on camera is when his girlfriend Georgia offers to “help him share the weight” of his troubles. This love scene, lasting nearly 3 full minutes, features a focus on both partners’ bodies—revealing Priest as a much less dominant and more dependent character than Shaft. Just as Shaft stands in to the black spectator as a symbol for sexual prowess and strength, Priest gives the black spectator a symbol of pain and redemption. Both the cross that he wears throughout the film, and his religiously grounded name “Priest” are reminiscent of Jesus Christ. Priest’s “Christ-like” struggle offers the black spectator a figure that they can respect through his suffering and ultimate redemption.

      Both films offer characters and scenarios for the black spectator to identify with, but there are still moments in both films that present white racism, creating moments of confusion that relate to Diuwara’s thesis of white power in dominant cinema. While Shaft is an ultimate figure of respect and power, he has to work for white men in order to get the position that he has. While he does undermine most of the white authority around him, he also interestingly undermines the black men around him as well. Despite his apparent history with Ben and his black militants, he constantly talks down to Ben, often simply using him and his men for extra firepower in completing his own mission. There is also a staggering amount of black on black violence between Bumpy’s mob and Ben’s militants, further creating confusion for the black spectator as to which side within this self-conflict that they are supposed to support. The film also plays into common stereotypes of blacks, including street dialect and foul language. While Shaft himself is a black man that gatherers respect from people of all kinds, the film’s background and situations make the perception of black people much more ambiguous.

      Super Fly’s message is also one that leaves a mixed message about race. Prince’s struggle is one that is mixed between different race relations. The reason that he is inferior and struggling is because of “the man”—or white authority pushing on the freedom of black men. In the scene where Prince talks with Georgia about his plans to leave the game, we see him gazing through a fence at white children playing with sleds. While the film aims to draw on this feeling of inferiority to relate with the black spectator, the fact that it establishes inferiority in the first place gives off a confusing message. Like Shaft, Priest also seems to care less about black militants fighting for freedom. When a group approaches him and asks him for money, he exclaims for them to “go sing your marching song somewhere else”. He tells them that until they raise arms and are willing to fight with guns that he’ll have no part in their movement. This moment is strange in that while the militants swear that “we’ll see you again”, they’re never seen or referred to again. This moment, like the one in Shaft, reveals Super Fly to be most effective to the black audience as a character study revealing a strong black man in his struggle. However, once again, it remains confusing and alienating in its depiction of the African American people.

Both Parks and Parks Jr. created films that aimed to put Hollywood movies in the perspective of black characters to appeal to a black audience. However, while both films create different protagonists that a black spectator can relate to, the presence of white racism and black weakness that Diawara refers to is still present. "

Now I'd like to share a very special article. 2008 National Champion Gino Lombardi is no stranger to the Pokemon community: with his stellar performances that season, coupled with his larger-than-life character, it's no surprise that he's one of the most well-known figures in this game. However, his play-testing group, "Team Underground," took considerable offense at SixPrizes calling its paid section "Underground."

To settle the matter, Gino and Adam agreed on a compromise: a personal invite to join the SixPrizes Underground staff, but at two times the cost of regular writers. Here is his first article for the site…

Expert Strategies (5/10/2011) *3

By Gino L./James W.

"Representing the REAL team underground
Not the six prizes UNDERGROUND.
The REAL team underground
You know, like the 2008 national champion, Gino Lombardi?
or runner-up Jay Hung-Rung?
or runner-up Darrell M.?
OR like the 2010 1st place National Champ, Con Le?

All Underground players right there. The REAL Underground!
Not this SixPrizes pay-for Underground bite off.
C’mon man, you gonna steal my Pokemon team's name?!
and use it to pay for your BILLS?!

What about PREMIUM? What about MASTER TRAINER?
You know I aint no j-wittz or something but Kettler put me up to this…

I flip a coin, I cut the deck
I got a god hand
It's a wrap, cut the check
Plus the top deck
and my bench set
and I'm looking
he ain't even got a bench yet
So what's the play
I'm attaching to my active
and you know that I'm attacking
I'm taking prizes after every knockout
He takes no prizes all he gets is KNOCKED out
I play to win
I shake his hand
Then I check the pairings and I play again
I flip again, God Hand again
Flip the starter over, they like NOT AGAIN
I'm like yes again, once again
Im gonna WIN no stopping him
I went rogue for the win I'm a classic
and I'm UNDERGROUND you can’t stand it!

*4"

Lastly, here's my article on "advanced mind games"…It's pretty self-explanatory, so you can read it for yourself!

Advanced Mind Games (5/12/2011)  *5

By John K.

"Sally forth:

They have venomous tongues, the whole lot of them…But yours? It contains anti-bodies – remedies that result in a praiseworthy cure. Unfortunately for you, they don’t like you, because snakes need some kind of defense in their arsenal to be uninhibited; otherwise, they would feel vulnerable to more than just the mongoose. They can’t let themselves feel lower to you, so they will respond to your cures with more poison. Yes, the king cobras are in denial: by assuming that your cure won’t push through, and by assuming that more poison is best, their fall will be that much greater. So keep offering your cure – they’ll give in eventually, even if violence occurs between now and then.

You can try to be like liars. It is possible for those of your kind to wear ridiculous cow suits to blend in with the herd. Unfortunately for you, though, you’ve the inclination to do things overzealously: you eat rich, green grass as if it were death incarnate; you cringe as you drink water from the smelly slop; and your “moo” is not guttural enough. As a result, you will be spotted immediately. It is natural to bow to your instincts alone, and – believe me – mooing ain’t one of them. Either way, they will realize that unlikes are unlike; you aren’t like them. You are not a member of the herd, for you lack the instinct to sense coming storms, and you lack the inclination to deep down into the slop.

It is these moments where your decision becomes clear: stop trying to be like them. If you are not livestock, then you will be unable to act like livestock without some hint of revealing parody in your heart, and thus must stick to your own path, whatever that may be. Whenever you try to lie, it is against your nature, and it is against your instincts. It projects miserably, and your disrespect for the cattle lain to slaughter shines through in your tone. You are clearly superior to them, but cast aside the mocking attitude; otherwise, you will not even be tolerated. It is egregious to insult a creature while it is in misery, and even if they don’t realize it yet, they certainly are miserable. Compassion may be a tough thing to hold, but for now, settle with being estranged, and cling to a hatred of hate.

You’ve asked a question: “what’s an F sharp?” Unfortunately for you, your pupils dilate, your eyes water, and that once-confident baritone goes flatter than a beginning bandsman in junior high school. Answer this with head-on embracement of your body language: it tells a better story than you do, so why not let it do the talking?

It turns out that the others all feared being strewn on a platter as much or more as you did, and so they dared not let their quirks consume them. Furthermore, some even snickered…The same ones who were as void of knowledge as you were!

Their cherishing of you is never tantamount to the filling of that void, however. Though you may be lost, lonely, and uncertain in your early days, recognize that from that void, a bright, shining star can be born. And from that sacrifice, more can grow, and discover their own rights.

You are now the sun in this world: song, poem, and story are dedicated to your nurturing powers. Unfortunately for you, intimacy incinerates anything that dares come close, and chars everything just outside. They “want” to cling to an ideal of truth, and as a result no longer advocate straying from your example. “Honesty’s the best policy,” your parents would espouse. “Lying is a sin,” said the pastor.

But from their safe distance away, these feeble people became too complacent. And so they quietly uttered a simple regret: “why can’t I be like you?” Desperate, they stared into your being.

You blinded them. And so never again would they look: by being exposed to your shining example prematurely, their capacity to comprehend was burnt away. Your example with these mongrels was set too soon, and so you must give up on them. Let the creatures gradually work themselves into your direction – give them hints, and give them hope. As it stands now, though, you are stuck in solitude.

Maybe you aren’t so different from them at times, so don’t get arrogant. Your name can be Apollo, Garuda, Ra, or some long-lost string of syllables that start with a “Q” and end with an “L.” It doesn’t matter, for as honest as you are, and as glorious of an example as you may be, there are blemishes in that record, and you’ve led others off of cliffs. It is therefore your obligation, Mister or Miss Truth, to make amends when you do “not” tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (so help you God). Abide by these commandments three, bestowed upon a stone slab:

If you should lie, then you may admit to it. Brace yourself for more hatred from the snakes and the cattle. “You wretched man! You have defanged and mocked us…Be gone with you!” the serpents jeered. Why should they treat you as something exceptional, anyways? Now you are just as much of a creature as they are by admitting your fault, but – worse yet – you are still alone. Once again, the only way to move on is to endure it.

If you should lie or deceive, but are unable to find strength to admit it, then work to make your lie a reality. When you try, you are the God of this world – the God that puts anything you were taught in Sunday school to shame. Sure, your declarations of independence once started out as gross exaggerations, but they are met by will. You say you make six figures a year? You say you can bang anything you want? Accept only the “figures” you mean, be they monetary or skating techniques. And if by “bang” you meant your head on the desk, then yeah…But that probably doesn’t include attractive Swedish models.

This you can grow out of. Sometimes, little spouts of venom are actually useful defenses for your dreams. It is right after the lie when you must catch yourself, and then consider why you said what you did. When it is willed from a dream, act to make that dream reality, and never look back. This is when your omnipotence and omniscience – your ascent to Godhood and glory – become evident, and this is when the plebeians follow behind.

If you should lie or deceive, are unable to find strength to admit to it, and are either unable or unwilling to make your lie a reality, then protect the abstract ideal of your untruth – the hopes for the future aren’t lost forever, kid. People may know well that you, the 400 pound man who works at the grocery store, wasn’t a United States astronaut, but what they also know is that you wanted them to believe that ludicrous statement. What is it that you wanted, Mr. Omniscient? Did you want to go into outer space, or did you just want to break out of that miserable nine-to-five rigmarole? Or maybe it was a desperate stretch for respect. Do you get enough of it in the daily routine?

As a final warning: a great number of people are disgusting, so don’t stoop down to their level just to gain their affection. It might sound tiring to hear this by now, but the only ones worth giving a care over are those who would be happy with you no matter how successful you were. Just because your fabrication-tempered shield was broken doesn’t mean that all is lost, because there are shields of justice for that lie.

If you should lie or deceive, are unable to find strength to admit to it, are either unable or unwilling to make your lie a reality, and cannot protect the abstract ideal of your untruth, then your lie was an unqualified waste to begin with. Throw it in the garbage can – spare the recycle bin, because this is going to the dump. They are marks on your permanent record, and the larger your file gets, the more certain it is that you are an untouchable (but for all of the right reasons to consider someone as such). What is it when you declare love from the “bottom of the heart,” yet you know you will never mean it? If it is ever found out, then you have infected the object of your abuse with a contagion that will eat away at his or her flesh until there is only bone left. Then, others will see you not as a mere outcast of nature – they will view you as abhorrent to its very foundation. You will be treated like the leper you are, and you will be subject to abuse, scorn, and eternal damnation.

Remember: your lies are tiny evils that accumulate over time, and will come back in full force to harm the world. Those poor, far-off people thousands of miles away will walk on the trash mound that you made for them, founded knee-deep in fetid excrement, infected syringes, and wasteful vanity. However, people are nasty, so you don’t need to care about them…Right?

What of the animals, though? Fish will get caught in your six-pack rings, suffocate, and die a most agonizing, ghastly demise. Bees, with their regular sources of pollen already devastated, will use the devilishly sweet leavings of your cola can lies to make Beelzebub honey, founded in phosphoric acid, unnatural coloring, and high fructose corn syrup galore. Then, you will finally get your just desserts: a plate of sweet treats, made using the best of your own nastiness. Because they are unsalvageable pollutants that are caused by mankind, they are the worst of their kind, and it is these mistruths that your mama meant when she said, “honesty is the best policy.”

If you should twist your tongue on all the conditionals tied to lying, then don’t feel bad, because that comes naturally when going against the truth. So take a deep breath, and recollect yourself.

    It is a lonely road to tell the truth; it is a lonely road to hit rock-bottom, as well. Perhaps it is best summed up as just that: a lonely road, no matter how you cut it. But everyone is just as isolated as you are – cast aside for their strong morality or their strong amorality, for they too are the snake opponents, the cowsuit cretins, the bandsmen, astronauts, Gods, and even the lepers. But not all at once: their dualistic natures, just like yours, will branch off into no less than three separate duels, and there is always an internal struggle.

In response to this dilemma, the Arabs said, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” When you are at odds with a particular truth or falsity, find someone who is also in your position; find someone who is also alone. It is here where you’ll make a stand; here, where you will stave off the threats; and here, where you’ll make the most real friends you can ever hope to have. Whether you speak or not, this connection will establish a truth that cannot be broken, and a bond that is unshakable.
So sally forth, friend. Advance in the eyes of those who are worth it, seize what you desire, and evoke the truth proudly. "

For the greater knowledge of the Pokemon community, this leak was necessary. Although I may suffer incredulous insults for the next several months, especially from paying members, I'm sure even my dissenters will learn to appreciate what's been done this day.

'Til next time,

-HeyTrainer

*1 -Real Title: "Beacon"
*2 – Real Title: "The Parks’ Blaxploitations: Two Attempts to Appeal to the Black Spectator"
*3 – Real Title: "The Real Team Underground"
*4 –  "Props to Muk Man aka James Wilson for the lyrics. O yeah he's on TEAM UNDERGROUND not SIX PRIZES Underground. UGHHHHHH!!! " Also edited by John K.
*5 – Real Title: "How to Tell the Truth (in a World of Untruth)"

With State/Province/Territory Championships complete, I thought it was interesting to see Machamp bubbling up to the top of plenty event results. Scraping the Pocket Monster Gymnasium's "What Won S/P/T's?" thread yields evidence as to why this deck, as a focus, has trouble, but somehow managed to sneak into the top cut of many state events.

Here are some factors that have contributed to the deck's renewed success:

• SP Is Rampant
  Machamp SF's "Take Out" is a logical counter to the prevalence of all-basic decks. Most everyone is playing Luxchomp, Dialgachomp, or DLC; because, well, along with DCE, da Chomp and Luxray are the most broken cards in the format. These guys beat everything most of the time.

• Luxray GL Lv.X costs $80
  Upon flipping over my Machop during round four of the Texas state championships, one of the few Machamp players surrounding me pointed out that it had become the poor man's Luxchomp. That is to say, if you can't afford to play Luxchomp, why not try to smash Luxray skulls?

• Affordability=Increased Density=Success
  As the cheap, anti-SP alternative, more players were likely to run the deck in general, which led to a higher number sliding past all of its terrible matchups. Plus, a stupendous showing for Luxchomp during S/T/P WK1 added logical weight to this countermon rationale.

• Speed Kills
  Even though most Machamp builds have terrible — or at least rough Vilegar, Gyarados, Steelix and Yanmega matchups, it is possible for the muscleman to win any game against any deck. Turn one Machamp is still a serious force to be reckoned with.

• 
  More Options
  Machamp Prime makes it possible to dish out big, consistent damage; which has always been the finicky side of Machamp SF. This is also what has led many a competitive player to opt for various skill plays rather than steroidal coin flips. Yes, with Machamp Prime and SF together, you can devour basics AND hit for a guaranteed 100.

Historical Context
At the beginning of last year, Machamp SF was quite good — dare I say, broken — against SP. With Unown G rotating out of the format, "Take Out" appeared unstoppable. Looking back, it's hard to believe that even more broken combos would come to pass.

Looking Ahead
Despite many horrible matchups, Machamp's brutish speed, simplicity and improved damage output will make it a factor at the upcoming larger events. Along with increased Luxchomp density, I think we can expect even more 'roids moving into regionals; which should enable it to slide past ghosts, dragons, et cetera and into even more cuts, where it may just stomp SP.

With Oklahoma in the books, I was primed to do better than a 5-2 bubble; I had learned from my past miscalculations. Texas States is a title I haven’t held since 2008, so I was eager to reclaim it.

My deck? Luxchomp yet again.

The Report

Round 1: VS Rob M./Papa Mash (Mega Judge)

I began with a lone Lucario GL to his 70 HP Yanma Supreme Victors. His start wasn’t too stellar, as he was forced go first, and was stuck just drawing and passing with it. Sensing a prime opportunity for the donk, I used my Pokemon Collector…Only to find that the two most crucial elements to it, Ambipom G and Unown Q, were prized. However, I still made the attempt at it by including Azelf in my Collector. My logic behind doing this was two-fold: it made the turn one win possible if I actually did hit one of the three Poke Turns, and even if I didn’t, I would have extremely invaluable knowledge against a Judge-heavy matchup.

Although my subsequent Set Up for four whiffed the FTKO by a card, I did get the opportunity to Call into a Luxray GL and Garchomp C, thereby assuring that I had Power Spray available. This hurt him significantly the next turn, as I was able to Spray his Unown Q, thus preventing him from retreating for Spiritomb to Darkness Grace a recently-fetched Magnemite into Magneton. From here, I Bright Looked up the Mite, killed it, and gained a huge edge (he ran only two Magnemite, with the other being prized).  From here on out, he made attempts on my Pokemon’s lives with Yanmega Prime, but healing and weakness kept me safe. (1-0)

Round 2: VS (Drapion/Honchkrow SV)

I was initially worried to see yet another Spiritomb staring me down, but was relieved to see it coupled with a variety sans Vileplume. Right away, Chatot was working its magic; as it drew me a glorious nine card hand by the second turn of the game, and I never looked back from there. (2-0) 

Round 3: VS Robert O. (Gyarados)

Going first, I started with Chatot and Unown Q to his Magikarp. With a fairly weak hand, I opted to Mimic for seven (he had mulliganed once against me before the game started). After I did this, he…Used Sea Spray. Given this nice piece of luck, I promptly met this with a Luxray GL and DCE, Biting for the game. (3-0)

Round 4: VS Daryl T. (Donphan Prime)

Daryl’s one of the strongest “Poke Dads” in the Dallas area, and father to Jacob, who’s one of the best Seniors  in the country. Both of them have an enormous level of intuition for the game, and it’s always a pleasure to talk and play against them. Last year, however, Daryl’s Gengar/Spiritomb did a number on me, and so I was seeking a little bit of vengeance. Once again, I was stuck against yet another poor matchup; however, since I’ve tested extensively against a list just like this one, I knew just about every trick it could pull off.

As for the game itself, Daryl started two Phanpies, attached to the active, and passed. My Chatot start, while a pleasant sight, gave me no comfort: I had no supporters, and only one other Pokemon. So, benching the Crobat G in my hand, I quickly bit the Phanpy, and mimicked for seven (I mulliganed a couple times). The next turn, he did several things, not the least of which being a Mesprit Psychic Bind and Earthquake. The next turn, which a still struggling hand, I: benched a Garchomp C; Cyrus’s Conspiracy’d for an SP Radar, Psychic, and Twins; fetched another Garchomp, attached the energy and an Gain to a newly-active Crobat G, and Toxic Fanged him, hoping to whittle down his Donphan. Through all this, I had an Uxie sitting in my hand, but unfortunately couldn’t use it because of the Psychic Bind. Likewise, my hand was clogged full of cards I couldn’t readily drop down.

His third turn, Daryl doube Flash Bit my Chatot, attached an Expert Belt to Donphan, attached a third consecutive fighting, and used Heavy Impact for a knock-out, putting him two prizes ahead. At this point, I made perhaps one of the biggest gambles I’ve ever made : rather than bench my Uxie and Set Up for zero, I decided to risk him having the Seeker for the bench game, and fetched Aaron’s/Garchomp C LV.X with my Twins (I had a steady supply of DCE in my hand). The situation had really gotten that desperate, and I knew that if I did not draw well off of the Uxie one or two turns down the line, then he would steamroll me anyways.

My gamble paid off, but not because he didn’t have the card; rather, he did¸ but laid down a Bebe’s instead, and about mid-way through his search, gave me one of those classic “d’oh!” looks. After dropping at third prize to him, I was able to Aaron’s for the Psychic and Crobat, triple Flash Bite his active thanks to two Poke Turn, and snipe a benched guy to instantly tie him up (via DCE/Junk Arm for Energy Gain), and leave him with a one energy Donphan. My memory might be failing me with that precise exchange, but I feel this was more or less the “gist” of how things went down.

From here, he tried to find ways to whittle me down, but I was able to repeat the Crobat G Toxic Fang trick, and once again wear down the elephant. Although he did get another shot at a Heavy Impact KO on the Bat via a singular Flash Bite, KO’ing the second Donphan was much easier. Thanks in part to a couple good draws, and thanks in part to a bit of an energy drought on his part, I scored two consecutive KO’s on two separate bench targets, and won this nailbiter of a game.  (4-0)

Round 5: VS Mark A. (Luxchomp/Mewtwo)

He goes first, and is stuck Claw Swiping a Luxray GL for 30. This is met with an immediate colorless attacker exchange via an Energy Gained Earthquake, and he is immediately put into the high pressure zone. At this point, he Collectors into a scary set of cards: GarchompC, Dragonite FB, and…Mewtwo MD. The second turn, I chose my KO to be Mewtw, which opened the window for his Draggy to score a KO on me, but not without an immediate Garchomp response thereafter. With his two major mirror counters sacked, and his third unable to Snap Attack, I promptly rushed him three times in four turns to win the game. (5-0)

Round 6: VS Alex F. (Vilegar/Mewtwo)

My stomach began to turn inside of itself, as I was welcomed to a warm and fuzzy Bronzong G start to his Spiritomb. Luckily, I was going second, had a DCE to attach to my Bronzong, and was able to engineer a Cyrus/Collector chain. This let me get three crucial cards: Q for Quick; Luxray GL, to set up an inevitable Bright Look; and Chatot MD, which instantly reset my hand. Seeing as how my hand was clogged with six Trainers, I was further reassured about my tweak from the weekend before.
Meanwhile, things aren’t going so hot for Alex, as he was stuck with a draw-pass on the Tomb turn one, and with somewhat of an energy drought. When he finally got Vileplume setup, I  answered it with a Bright Look/Zen Blade KO (I had promoted it active a turn prior, which explains why I was able to do this legally). Note that the reason why I chose not to go for the Mewtwo was because I felt that, unlike my prior match, I could eventually beat the Mewtwo LV.X with Bright Look/Seeker. Plus, if I let this opportunity slip past me, he likely would’ve pummeled me on the virtue of the Vilegar matchup anyways.

Either way, this held up, as I was able to KO the regular Mewtwo the next turn by retreating the Uxie LV.X for a second regular Luxray GL, Poke Turning the benched one, Bright Looking for Mewtwo, Junk Arm/Poke Turning my new Luxray GL LV.X back into the Uxie, and then Zen Blade for a KO. Unfortunately, he had a Rescue attached, so I had to get through it yet again. Eying my ten card hand, Alex was quick to Poltergeist me, but was distraught to find only one Supporter: my Seeker, which I now felt comfortable revealing. Prior to this, he attached yet another Rescue Energy to the revived Mewtwo, but I once again responded with a retreat/Bright Look/Poke Turn/Zen Blade, allowing my Uxie to finally die. For the third time, I killed his Mewtwo – this go-around with a Flash Bite/Dragon Rush, and with no hard counter or Vileplume left on the board, the game quickly concluded in my favor. (6-0)

While his setup may have been somewhat poor at the beginning, Alex is one of those great players who can go a good game of “I-know-that-you-know-that-I-know,” and keep you on edge the whole time.

Round 7: VS Miguel E. (Luxchomp/Honchkrow)

After a couple mulligans on my part, I was disappointed to see him going first with a Smeargle.
Basically this whole game was just a very tight duel of colorless attackers. Unfortunately, his stellar start over my less-than-stellar one gave him a couple extra windows of opportunity to not miss beats, and so he always had the response to whatever I did. Even the strength of Junk Arm wasn’t enough to salvage this match. (6-1)

Round 8: VS Michael S. (Jumpluff)

After a draw-and-pass sequence on his part, I knocked out his lone Unown Q on my first turn of the game with Claw Swipe. (7-1)
Yeah, it may not be glorious, but I’ll take the fortune of having two quick wins in a long, eight-round event like this. It would’ve been nice to see what his variant was like, though, as I’m always curious about how to revive the Pluffers.

After some time, I found out that Billy edged past 2006 Masters Nats winner Martin M. in a do-or-die eighth round, landing him a 6-2 record to join me in top cut. After a while, standings were posted, and we had the bracket look like this…

Seeing as how most of our NCAA brackets are busted by now, I’m not going to bore you guys with bracketology. However, I could tell almost immediately that whoever from my side of the bracket emerged victorious would be stuck playing against 16th Seed Rudy’s Dialgachomp. Since Dana has historically had poor luck against Vilegar, I had him pegged to not take out Shep, which would thus trigger a hypothetical scenario where Rudy plays against nothing but Vilegar until top two. While my prediction may have been a bit off (I had Billy losing in T8 and myself losing in T16), Rudy met my expectations.
This was a good sign for us on the other side of things, however, seeing as how Luxchomp has a decent matchup against Dialgachomp.

Oh well…Onto the cut!

Top 16: VS Jarvis L. (Jumpluff/Yanmega Prime/Magnezone Prime)

Game One – Six prizes in four turns…Ouch! I was shocked at how fast the game went, but it is certainly testament to how quickly Luxchomp can dismantle something if it just doesn’t get out, as well as testament to how brutally it can score KOs on low HP Pokemon.

Game Two – I started Garchomp, coupled with a benched Luxray. He made a fairly quick jump on me thanks to a turn two Yanmega Prime, as well as a somewhat nasty Judge to disrupt my setup. Luckily, though, he Judged me into my one Twins, so recovery after the initial prize draw on his part was a piece of cake. (Win, 8-1)
All in all, Jarvis was really cool throughout this fit of bad luck; he didn’t see a Jumpluff hit the board in either game, and as a former Jumpluff player myself, I know how frustrating that can be. Furthermore, I’d like to congratulate him for a very interesting Pluff variant

Top 8: VS Paul W. III (Luxchomp/Honchkrow)

Game one –He had a very bad hand, and so after three KO’s, scooped immediately.

Game two – This situation was more or less the reverse for me, the core difference being that my hand was somewhat more playable than his in game one (access to Garchomp C LV.X and Chatot). Regrettably, though, I couldn’t possibly go for the snipe, or else I would have walked into a probable benching two turns later. Therefore, I went for the massive Chatot Mimic…Which grabbed me nothing. My setup collapsed from there, and all hopes I had were dashed by his timely Spray on my Azelf, which – had it gone through – would’ve given me access to crucial mirror counters.
Game three –  Early on, I was placed in the undesirable predicament of choosing between risking an Ambipom G response to my unprotected Garchomp C LV.X Dragon Rush; or to simply refrain from promoting the Garchomp, and permanently fall back on the Garchomp exchange without any Cyrus or Twins to bail me out (this time I had Collector, but nothing else). Since it was a could-win versus no-win scenario at play, I went with the former, and sure enough, he had the Ambipom response without having to fetch the pieces with Cyrus (Q’s Quick, the Ambipom itself, theEnergy Gain, and the Energy). My setup promptly collapsed, and due to him hitting critical Power Sprays at each juncture, this became another one of those mirror matches where one player’s board just overwhelms the other. (Loss, 8-2)

Aftermath

I felt somewhat upset with myself after this top eight loss; I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it seems like I could’ve played one of those last two games a shade better. Regardless, Paul is a great player, a great sportsman, and someone who was due for a big win like this. Plus, he’s one of the few players you can genuinely joke around with in a match – a rare trait.

He would later go on to fulfill my prediction, and beat Rudy in the finals (I originally had Miguel beating Rudy due to his swiss win over me, but they were running the same list more or less). As previously mentioned, my brother went on to earn a medal from this event, getting 4th in a competitive field of worlds qualifiers and nationals winners. However, we were really angling for the dual Kettler finals, and are thus headed back to the drawing board for Regionals.  
 

Oklahoma State Championship Report

      Going into Oklahoma, I had three choices, Luxchomp, Dialga, and Lostgar. While it’s certainly a good deck, and very easy to use in a metagame where nobody knows how to counter it, Lostgar should not be used unless you’re confident in your ability to play QUICKLY! Since I was not, I knew that I couldn’t play it. As for Dialgachomp, while it too is a good deck, it too felt inappropriate, but not because of my timed skill with the deck; rather it was because my Gyarados matchup was so weak. So, with Dialgachomp and Lostgar eliminated, and no interest at all in running Vilegar, I was left with my one tried-and-true this season: Luxchomp.
Oklahoma States, despite not being in Texas, was a very competitive event with several past Worlds qualifiers, in addition to top placers at Nats and Worlds (Martin Moreno, Austin Baggs, Kyle St. Charles, et al.). Aside from that, the field was sizable, with 84 Masters, seven rounds, and a cut to the top sixteen. The breakdown was about what I expected: a fourth or more SP; some Vilegar; very few Lostgar; more than average amounts of Gyarados; and plenty of less common decks (Magnezone, Machamp, Steelix, Tyranitar). It was a balanced metagame with several points to hit, and I felt like I mostly got all of them. However, it’s the event itself that decides these things, and my judgment began with round one…

Round One: VS Blaziken “Chen” Lock

     I started lone Mewtwo versus his Garchomp C – certainly not a bad start, but it gives me no “read” for what sort of mirror I’m up against. Given this, I decided to make my first turn as well-rounded as possible, getting a decent bench of mirror attackers (Call for Garchomp and Luxray) , while also opening up access to the turn two Mewtwo LV.X. But although my board looked promising, he proceeded to Pokemon Collector (choosing Crobat G, Garchomp C, and Ambipom G), attach to the active ‘Chomp, retreat into his newly-played Sableye, and then Impersonate into one of the worst Judges ever used against me. I drew…
Toxicroak G Promo; Dragonite FB; Power Spray; Crobat G;

     And for the next eight turns, I would not draw a single “out,” instead hitting a variety of useless Pokemon, Energy, and Galactic Inventions…All the while sitting there with a non-leveled Mewtwo. Since he made several suboptimal stall tactics (Swticheroo, Tail Code) in place of actually attacking me, I remained intact with a small glimmer of hope the whole time. However, time was eventually called, 4-6 his favor in prizes. (0-1)
If I had more time, then I could have actually walled with Mewtwo LV.X – even against his 2-2 Honchkrow. The way he managed his resources gave me just enough windows to achieve a non-regulation win, but unfortunately, we play timed games in Pokemon.
This was a very painful ordeal – much more so than even a first turn knock-out. Nevertheless, a loss is a loss, and you shouldn’t let it upset you. Save neurotic over-analysis until after the event!

Round Two: Shenandoah M. (Toxicroak/Donphan/Gliscor)

    Due to Toxicroak dealing 60 and poison to me by the second turn, she was able to apply very early pressure. Nevertheless, though, this deck had a weak core concept, so once my setup finally stabilized, I never looked back for an instant, using basic strategies to outdo each of her major cards: abuse Uxie and Uxie LV.X against the Croak; Toxic Fang against the Donphan Prime; and of snipe the Gliscors, which I lack the clearest answer to. There isn’t much to say beyond that. (1-1)

Round Three: Dana L. (Garchomp C/Honchkrow SV)

    Going first, I started with a lone Uxie, plus a 20 damage Psychic Restore. I was then promptly met with a first turn knockout via Dana’s two Flash Bites and 50 damage Claw Swipe. (1-2)

To get FTKO’d when running sixteen basics and three Call Energy is something unlikely, to say the least, but it happens occasionally. But as I said earlier, just take these losses in stride, and don’t let them get to you.

Round Four: Dylan (Speedgar/Starmie)

        I had a powerful start going second, which included a strong bench support setup, a draw into Power Spray, and an early KO on his active Staryu. He never really got out, and I benched him by about turn four or five. (2-2)

Round Five: Matt F. (Vilegar)

      Matt and I are both yesteryear champions of this tournament, so it was interesting to play against him in a make-or-break context like this. His Vilegar was an extremely teched-out build: in addition to a 2-1-1 Stormfront/Prime/LV.X split, he ran, a 1-1 Blissey and 1-1 Blaziken FB LV.X. It essentially looked like a list that was shell-shocked by the Georgia Marathon, which featured all of those techs. In addition, he ran a tech Lost World: a potentially useful contingency plan, but not good enough to justify the space in my opinion.

     Anyways, he started fairly strong, getting out a turn two Vileplume with a Haunter. I, on the other hand, started a fairly weak hand to his Spiritomb start, but a top deck into Bebe’s Search opened up the possibility for an eventual Uxie LV.X Zen Blade on that Vileplume. What really made the difference, however, was Matt whiffing energy attachments for two turns in a row, which made a crucial difference in my planning for Poltergeist (i.e., a lack of a necessity to overextend to avoid it).
From there on out, I kept inching closer and closer to the win. My Mewtwo LV.X actually came in hand later on, as it proved to be a potent attacker when my resources were mostly spent. Eventually time was called, with prizes 2-4 in my favor, with one more to come. (3-2)
While he was angling for the Lost World gimmick near the end, he would have been at least a turn short of achieving it before I drew my last prize.

Round Six: Jorel K. (Steelix)
   

      Steelix is normally a very difficult matchup, but if you get a fast jump on them, then nothing should stop you. This conformed perfectly to this game, as I did a turn one Claw Swipe on Smeargle for 30, followed up with a prompt turn two snipe on his benched Onix for 90 (Dragon Rush plus Crobat G). He would later Collector into two Onix to prevent me from depriving his board any longer, but this early edge was too much to handle. He got out a late Steelix, but I won this game 6-0 in prizes. (4-2)

Round Seven: Jeff H. (Luxchomp)
    

    After a strange day versus an even weirder variety of decks, my event was finally capped off with the mirror match I was so hungry to play all day. Essentially, I got a turn two Mewtwo LV.X, started attacking with it by the fourth turn, and never lost my lead. The primary “playing” in this game was simply me trying to wipe out any resources for counters, and him trying to bait me into a Seeker against my Mewtwo LV.X. Unfortunately, both were futile efforts, as it turned out his Darkness Energy was for a Weavile G instead of a Honchkrow SV, and I didn’t walk into his bait. (5-2)

 

As anyone who's been looking around would know, I I didn’t finish first or second; instead, I inished a nice, cozy…

17th.

Yes, 17th. I bubbled, and my hopes for the win, dashed. Still, I had a great time at the event, and likely averted a rating/ranking loss in the top cut (both of my opponents were using Mewtwo LV.X in their lists).

As for what cut, here's an awesome bracket that Jade made for my corresponding SixPrizes article…Check it out!

 

 

'Til next time, y'all!

-Juan

(It's Tangrowth time…)

Apparently, this has been advertised as my "secret deck." I suppose you could have called it that at one point, but due to all of its losses in testing, as well it being, well….Tangrowth, it's worthwhile to declassify it.

Your duty, should you choose to test this deck, is to advance it past where I got it. It has great potential to be powerful against any non-fire deck, and tanks just like Steelix; however, it also hits much, much harder, capable of doing 100 by the second turn.

[WARNING: THE FOLLOWING DECK MAY SUCK. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!]

Pokemon (16):

4 Tangela Call of Legends
3 Tangrowth Call of Legends
1 Tangrowth LV.X AR
3 Unown R
3 Uxie
1 Mesprit LA
1 Crobat G

Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (29):

4 Pokemon Collector
4 Bebe's Search
4 Expert Belt
4 Junk Arm
4 Moomoo Milk
4 Life Herb
4 Poke Drawer+
1 Pokemon Rescue
1 Luxury Ball

Energy (14):

10 Grass
4 Double Colorless

 

The strategy is brutally simple: Ideally do a turn one Nutritional Support with Tangela, drop a DCE and Expert Belt, evolve, and then Grind for 100. You should then Grind your way to victory, drawing a prize a turn with (hopefully) no trouble.

*The matchup against SP would ideally be a win through virtue of tanking. Unfortunately, though, their higher level of consistency, ability to play fire, and ability to donk leave you for one (or six) too many losses.

So do  you have hope versus it? Yes, but only if: A) you're playing against a variant that historically doesn't run fire, such as pure Luxchomp, Dialgachomp, and Palkia/Lucario; B) they whiff a quick KO on you.

*Lostgar and Vilegar, however, are much different stories. The "base" build I run could easily run a counter to Vileplume, and as is, it annihilates turbo Lostgar by virtue of being able to discard all of its Pokemon other than a lone Tangrowth.

*No testing yet against Gyarados, Machamp, etc, and I don't plan on it. However, if you find a way to make this attacker better, then I would be very happy to learn about it, as well as open up testing again.

 

This is a very fun, easy deck, and if you're at a complete loss for what to give a new player, then let them use this, Kingdra, or Donphan.

 

Happy testing! T-minus four days…

Sorry for the long hiatus, guys. Between disillusionment with the "profibility" element of /blog, and an onslaught of homework assignments, I've been unable to update this at all, let alone regularly.

However, I've come to the conclusion that HeyTrainer is – and always will be – most appropriate as a pro bono service, meant for the common good of trainers everywhere. I'm very proud of this site, and hope to use it to bring the best free content in the competitive TCG world.

/end emotional rant of justice.

Anywayas, this is the week prior to states, so we aim to give you some very, very strong material to work with. Today, we'll be featuring Alex Fields's (Butlerforhire's) expert Luxchomp analysis on the lostgar matchup.

One last thing: if you like /blog, then be sure to "Like" us on Facebook (see bottom of post).

Luxchomp Versus Lostgar

By Alex F.

"     

Counters to Lostgar

      Although it is far from necessary to do so, the easiest way to beat Lostgar is to tech a dark attacker into your list that is capable of OHKOing Gengar Prime. Here are the best and most popular options to consider for those who want to take this route:

– Weavile G: Team Attack deals 140 damage to Gengar if you have a full bench of nothing but SP Pokemon (10 base + 10 more for each of your 6 SPs=70×2=140). It also does 120 if you have an Uxie or Azelf on the bench in place of the desired 5th SP, meaning you are only a Flash Bite away from the OHKO in that scenario.

      Free retreat and Call for Family make Weavile a great starter if you have the opportunity to open with it, or a good bail-out card if your opening is subpar and you can Collector/Radar for it to get your bench developed. The drawback to Weavile is its reliance on an SP-filled bench, which can be bad mainly because you can’t have two Pixies in play at the same time and still do enough damage for an OHKO. This is especially going to matter if you have a bad start and need to use Set Up twice, or if something important is prized, especially if that card is Weavile itself. An easy solution to this problem of a Pixie-heavy bench is to simply return Pixies to your hand when your opponent uses Seeker and let them be Lost Zoned, freeing up your bench so that it can be refilled entirely with SPs. Once you have that full SP bench, you just need to replace whatever your opponent is able to Seeker+Hurl every turn that it happens and continue issuing OHKOs.

      One advantage that Weavile G has over its dark tech competition is that it only requires 1 card to be added to the deck (assuming that the required dark energy is simply substituted in place of a preexisting energy).

-Absol G lv. X: Dark Slugger does 120 for cheap and allows you to discard a Pokemon in your hand that you were unable to get rid of during your turn, denying your opponent a Hurl into Darkness target. All you need to get the OHKO is a Flash Bite. With 100 HP, your opponent is going to have to spend 3 turns trying to KO you (which you can of course negate with Healing Breath or Poketurn). Darkness Send is usually not going to be anything but an incidental perk, but of course there is always the chance that it will remove something important such as a part of the Gengar line or a Seeker/VS Seeker/Lost World (removing the latter could win you the game immediately if your opponent is only running 2 and the other is prized).

      There are a few drawbacks to Absol G. One is that you must always have a Pokemon on hand to discard. This can be problematic because you don’t want to use a Pokemon Collector to stock up on discard fodder; if you do, you will be giving your opponent free Hurl targets, negating the benefit of being able to discard with your attack and also giving your opponent help in beating the very clock you put them on with your OHKO ability. Another drawback is that Absol G lv. X can get stuck in your hand and Hurled away (ie. if you open with it, especially going first; draw it from the prizes; draw into it after a Spooky Whirlpool), canceling your plans entirely.

      Side note: If you run Absol G, be aware of how good Doom News is against tank decks like Steelix Prime. If the opponent can’t get the Pokemon you hit with it out of the active spot on his next turn, it will automatically be KOed. Against a Pokemon like Steelix Prime that has a huge 4 retreat, the only option your opponent will often have to prevent the automatic KO is to use a Switch/Warp Point/Warp energy.

-Honchkrow SV: Riot will do 160 with a full bench of Basics behind it before you even factor in your opponent’s own benched Basics. Unlike in Weavile’s case, you can drop Uxie and Azelf freely without diminishing your damage output—on the contrary, you raise it– which is a definite plus. You also need no damage modifiers whatsoever to get the KO, another big plus. Honchkrow’s biggest weakness is that it is a stage 1, meaning you will usually have to Cyrus for a Bebe’s in order to get it out. Being incompatible with Energy Gain and requiring 3 energy to attack are also inconveniences, although your ability to OHKO Gengars once you do get the card into play and energized should make the extra effort worthwhile. DCE compatibility makes up for Riot’s cost a bit; you also have Bronzong G for acceleration.

      Like Absol G lv. X, Honchkrow stands the chance of being Hurled away before you can get it into play. It is also harder to get back into your hand than Absol G lv. X is if you are forced to send it back to the deck with an SP Radar/Bebe’s and it cannot be healed via Poketurn/Healing Breath. Your opponent will still need 3 turns to KO it though with most lists, during which time you should be able to achieve 3 OHKOs.

      Side note: Honchkrow is the most well-rounded choice of dark tech against the metagame because in addition to KOing Gengars, it functions as a solid Mewtwo counter, can deal big damage to Machamp without taking much in return, and is capable of either OHKOing or putting massive damage on anything else you are having a hard time KOing (such as Dialga G lv. X or Regigigas lv. X). Darkness Restore can also disrupt Gyarados if you ever catch the opponent with bench space, or simply allow you to get more cheap KOs with Bright Look/Dragon Rush against any deck by reviving low-HP Pokemon that you already KOed. Even Murkrow SV can be useful in certain matchups with Switcheroo, allowing you to make unexpected plays like moving an Expert Belt from an active attacker to something weak on the bench like Azelf that can then be Dragon Rushed for two prizes, or discarding an Energy Gain from an SP by moving it to a Pixie.

Advanced Strategy: Countering the Counters

      If your opponent runs Exploud or Azelf lv. X to remove Gengar’s weakness, you have several options. If he/she is running Azelf, you only have to Dragon Rush+Flash Bite it to remove it from play and reinstate weakness. If you’re dealing with Exploud, you can Bright Look it and either set it up for a 2HKO or simply take the time to Dragon Rush around it, forcing your opponent to drop an Unown Q and then waste an energy to retreat it every time you bring it back up with Bright Look. If your opponent already played a Q on something else, you should Dragon Rush that first after bringing Exploud up so that your opponent can’t Seeker that Pokemon and have access to the Q again for use on Exploud. This will force your opponent to devote 2 energy to get Exploud to the bench, and Gengar can’t afford the energy or the turn losses, especially if you repeatedly harass with Bright Look.

      If you aren’t running a dark tech, you won’t be OHKOing Gengar and, due to Seeker, you often won’t even be 2HKOing it. Considering this, you should focus on KOing every easy target your opponent has in play first—Pixies, Spiritomb, Mr.Mime, Palkia G, Gastly, Haunter, etc.. It is better to expend resources such as DCEs on sure prizes than on attempted 2HKOs that get blocked.

      Once you’ve gotten all the easy prizes available, you can start trying to 2HKO Gengars. A positive consequence of leaving Gengar alone for a while is that—assuming you’ve managed your hand smartly and kept it free of Pokemon—you will frequently force your opponent to use Seekers in order to get anything Lost Zoned while Gengar is undamaged. This means that when you do turn your attention to Gengar, your opponent’s supply of Seekers will not be at full stock and you will have to worry about Gengar being healed less.

      Since Hurl into Darkness depends on you having Pokemon in your hand to Lost Zone, you obviously need to keep Pokemon out of your hand whenever possible, even if this means using an SP Radar or Bebe’s Search to put something back into the deck and then failing the search or getting a Basic out that you can immediately bench. Don’t let an important level X linger in your hand at any point because you run the risk of permanently losing it. If you run Junk Arm, use that to get rid of Pokemon when necessary. You can also use Azelf to scout out your prizes so that you don’t blindly pick up Pokemon after each KO and unnecessarily set your opponent up for a lucrative Hurl into Darkness.

      If you are able to keep your hand free of Pokemon, you force your opponent to continually use Seeker or get lucky with Spiritomb in order to successfully Hurl into Darkness. (Cursed Drop is a non-issue on anything but Pixies due to Poketurn and Healing Breath; you can also Psychic Restore Uxies out of play if they do get targeted.) You can’t control whether or not your opponent is drawing into Seeker (or VS Seeker, Twins, Pokedrawer+ to search out Seeker, Junk Arm to reuse VS Seeker to get Seeker, etc..), but there is always the chance that your opponent will stall out and not have access to it for a turn or more, during which time you can successfully 2HKO a Gengar and lose nothing to the Lost Zone. You also have the ability to stop Spooky Whirlpool with Power Spray and preserve your Pokemon-free hand.

      If your opponent does have consistent access to Seeker, however, and/or you are not able to keep your hand free of Pokemon, you stand a fair chance of losing 6 Pokemon to the Lost Zone before you can deal with a swarm of 130 HP, colorless-resistant Gengars.

     If your opponent is running a tech Machamp line, you can be caught off guard and lose a main attacker or two (and if your opponent does run it, he/she will be especially eager to use it to respond to Weavile G/Absol G lv. X). Fortunately, Machamp isn’t as devastating here as it usually is since a.) your opponent will likely only be running one of it and b.) your opponent will have no other attack power once Machamp is gone. In fact, getting Machamp into play and using Take Out for 1-2 turns may even hurt your opponent in the long run, since he/she will have “wasted” time doing something that did not aid in the fulfillment of his/her win condition.

      If you run Dialga G and your opponent has not yet played his/her Lost World down after Lost Zoning 6 Pokemon, you can keep it out of play with Deafen and force your opponent to try to KO you with Cursed Drop (or tech Machamp) while you wait for time to be called. This scenario is not likely though since Gengar players will generally assume that Luxchomp runs no stadiums and freely play down Lost World if they draw into it. You could also lose your Dialga G to a teched Machamp and be unable to sustain the Deafen lock.

      Miscellaneous additional tips:
– Don't put the recoil damage from Flash Impact on anything that would be in range of a KO from Cursed Drop.
– Bench useless, expendable Pokemon like Lucario GL as Seeker+Hurl sacrifices.   "

 

Thanks for the very powerful analysis, Alex! Here's what we have on tab for the rest of the week…

TUESDAY: Deck List Dump (Tangrowth)
WEDNESDAY: TBD
THURSDAY: Deck I for sure will not use at States
FRIDAY: Tournament Pitfalls, and How to Avoid Them

In addition to this, I plan to post my Oklahoma State Championship report either next week, or the week after. I'll have to see with SixPrizes if it's feasible (I plan to post an underground-exclusive version); however, I think it should be workable.

As for Texas States, unless SixPrizes wants to give me a third article slot for the month (highly unlikely), then I plan to post a FULL-BLOWN report for this event.

 

/Blog is back. And this time, it's more glorious than ever.