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

       While this article may have originally been written with Nationals in mind, its principles and purpose are still every bit relevant today - especially since tomorrow is the start of S/P/T in the United States! I hope you all do your best, and put up some great fights for the titles you want. :)

Pitfalls to Avoid at U.S. Nationals States/Provincials/Territorials

An Impromptu Article by HeyTrainer
 

"      So...You've been testing for weeks on end, have purchased countless cards (or in some of our cases, borrowed), and pretty much know the metagame inside and out. However, there's just one itsy, bitsy little problem:

      You haven't been testing for or with the 1,200+ people who stand in your way to become national champ, so many of them are going to inevitably switch things up due to their whims.

 (Keep that word,"whims," in mind, because it highlights the whole theme of this article. Webster defines "whims" as "...capricious or eccentric and often sudden ideas or turns of the mind"...Ignoring the fact that these guys just used at least one relatively big piece of diction to describe a mid-level piece, the point is this: PEOPLE ARE LOOSE CANNONS!)

      This brief article will be discussing the relationship between two major ideas in each subpoint: first, what kinds of whims develop at large events; and second, how to avoid the common mistakes that occur due to your own whims.

Pre-Tournament Hype: This is without a doubt the number one killer of players at large events like States, U.S. Regionals, Nationals, or Worlds, and is often the reason why elite players mess up. Resultant whims of pre-tourney hype include increased anxiety, the playing of new techs, or even the playing of new decks altogether. Pre-tourney hype is NOT limited to the things listed already, and may include many of the below in some way as well. Also, pre-tournament hype is not necessarily bad; it can actually give you valuable intel on the metagame you didn't have before, and inspire you to make a final deck choice if you're up in the air.

      Remedies: do your best at reading the tea leaves, and have the wisdom to not rush into a bad decision. If you know the cards excellently, know how to play them well, and feel ready to jump into a risky last-second decision, then do it; however, if you don't, then FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON!!! IT WILL CARRY YOU TO A RAPE HOUSE WHERE YOU WILL BE REPEATEDLY RAPED BY NAZI RAPISTS, SO DONOT DO IT!!!

      Example of a well-calculated risk: Jay Hornung, Sami Sekkoum, et al, Worlds 2009. In what was a very last second decision, Jay and many other players decided to run Flychamp at Worlds, thus severely altering the metagame. However, few to none of these players outright bombed, and many saw some great success.

      Example of not rushing into a bad decision: Stephen Silvestro, Nationals and Worlds 2009. Despite a metagame full of bizarre developments, situations, and upheaval, Steve Silvestro's T32 at Nats and 1st at Worlds are not a result of what he did, so much as what he didn't do. In my opinion, the greatest reason why Luxdrill won Worlds was because its controller had the patience and confidence to see his deck through, no matter what pre-tournament hype came his way.

      Example of neither: me, Nationals 2009. Up until the last day before the tournament, I had been heavily testing a straight Luxray GL LV.X build (with Sunyshore and Toxitank) that had many positive matchups. Unfortunately, I let the pre-tournament hype convince me to go...Luxape with Dialga and Ditto. Needless to say, the build was horrendously random, horrendously inconsistent, and horrendously...Horrible. And all of this was because I didn't feel comfortable about my matchup with Luxape itself! The best decision in hindsight would have been to simply take the loss to Luxape, and settle with amazing matchups vs Flygon, Machamp , Gengar, and DPL.

Zany Placeholders: sometimes, for whatever reason, a person is forced to downgrade because he or she cannot access the optimal tech, or feels an inexplicable inspiration of the scrub kind.

      Remedies: Usually when these inspirations occur, players are better served with something more generally useful in those slots, such as some universally decent tech, consistency, or the sort. So if you get caught trending towards this, then simply

Example if you're missing the optimal card: running Rampardos GL instead of Toxicroak G promo.

Example of ill planning: running Ditto LA where it shouldn't be ran. Highly specialized techs often don't deserve a place in a list if the justification isn't strong enough.

Example if you're just being crazy: running a 1-0-1 Jumpluff line in a Donphan deck; running over excessive splash line counts, such as 2-1-2 Dusknoir DP. Good luck with THAT!

[This is where the original impromptu article ended.]"


   I might add more sage advice for Regionals, but the bottom line is: don't screw yourself over! You've been playing all season for this moment, so don't chuck everything out the window due to a few whims here or there - march boldly on your path to become StateChampion!

(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=70x2=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.

Howdy doody, trainers. Today we have a return to another article posted in our forum: "Lost Gatos," by Seth P.

Why am I returning to this article? Because Mew Prime is still in the metagame, and could surprise some of you come states. Granted, you Dialga players will have it easy versus most variants, but for everyone else, it'll be crucial to know about it.

(mew.dec ; mew.dek)

"

Opening thoughts

With the beginning of this season the road to finding a new competitive deck has been a long and hard one. I have tested everything from Magnezone to Absol/Gengar. Nothing proving useful I turned to Mew Prime. I love the idea of the deck I went from everywhere from play Mew/Absol to Mew/Gengar. Finally messing around with Mew Prime we came up with a skeleton for what grew to be a great deck I began to get more and more in the Mewperior thing. Watching a few threads of the Pokegym I came to realize people are running the deck in the wrong direction. Instead of stacking your deck with so many energy people needed to instead focus on consistency and utilizing the energy you have already discarded. I found the deck works better if you focus more on always having a Mew instead of discarding as many energy cards as possible.

Why Los Gatos?

Because people fear what they don’t understand, and most people don’t speak Spanish.

The Deck

Pokemon: 20

4 Mew (Triumphant 97/102)
2 Rhyperior Lv.X (Legends Awaken 145/146)
2 Delcatty (Platinum 4/127)
2 Skitty (Platinum 93/127)
1 Drifblim (Undaunted 12/90)
1 Drifloon (Undaunted 46/90)
2 Smeargle (Undaunted 8/90)
2 Uxie (Legends Awaken 43/146)
2 Unown Q (majestic Dawn 49/100)
1 Mesprit (Legends Awaken 34/146)
1 Dialga (Platinum 5/127)

Trainer: 20

4 Pokemon Collector
4 Judge
3 Seeker
3 Pokemon Reversal
1 Pokemon Communication
1 Luxury Ball
2 Pokemon Rescue
2 Snowpoint Temple

Energy: 20

4 Rescue Energy
2 Warp Energy
2 Double Colorless Energy
12 Psychic Energy

The Cards

Pokemon

Mew Prime- When some people look at this card the first thing they notice is the HP and x2 weakness to psychic, yes its only 60 but when you OHKO any card in the format it is irrelevant. He is your main attacker and the reason people will fear you. The ability to hit 2-3 energy while copying Hard Crush is surefire way for a quick victory. Mew’s attack itself is not so glorious for doing much of anything but it is still needed. Instead you focus on the ability to copy other pokemon’s attacks from the Lost Zone, most notably, Rhyperior Lv. X’s Hard Crush. The card has other benefits as well, boasting free retreat and the ability to recover faster than any other deck in the format thanks to Rescue Energy and Pokemon Rescue (mentioned later). While Mew’s See Off attack isn’t what Mew uses most, it’s crucial in getting your Rhyperior Lv. X into the Lost Zone in a timely manner (hopefully on your first turn), allowing you to abuse Mew’s Lost Link PokeBody for the rest of the game.


Rhyperior Lv. X - I know some may be asking, “Why are you running a Lv. X without the stage 2 or any of the stages underneath it?!” The answer is simple; we only use it for Hard Crush after Mew Prime uses “See Off” to send Rhyperior Lv. X to the Lost Zone. This is where the card shines. Mew being able to copy Hard Crush allows for a better and faster use of the attack without having to set up a Stage 2-Level Up card to use it.

Delcatty – This card is severely overlooked by many people wanting to play Mew Prime with Rhyperior Lv. X. This card is the reason you can do a consistent 100 damage every turn. The Poke-Power Power Circulation allows you to put 2 energies on the top of your deck, giving you a guaranteed 100 damage with Hard Crush. Delcatty’s attack Power Heal is also a useful utility in the deck. Since you are stacking damage on it anyways with Power Circulation, its damage scales perfect for things you don’t want to waste a Hard Crush on saving you precious energy in your deck as well as providing a decent Garchomp C counter.

Skitty- ¡Un lindo gato!

Drifblim- This is your Dialga G Lv. X Counter. Use a Pokemon Reversal and then send it back to their deck easy enough. In games that are not against a Dialga G player this is a great card to KO things like Uxie, Sableye, Azelf, and spiritomb without wasting a Hard Crush.

Drifloon- Drifloon doesn’t contribute much of anything to this deck except evolving to Drifblim. Its Pull attack can be useful sometime if you need to stall a turn.

Smeargle- Smeargle is downright an amazing card in this deck. His Poke-Power Portrait is such a revolutionary ability in the entire format itself. Giving you the ability to either recover or setup faster than your opponent. The best cards to hit for you are Cyrus’s Conspiracy, Pokemon Collector, and Seeker. These 3 cards allow you to establish a lock again with Mesprit using Seeker or searching for a seeker yourself with a Cryrus’s Conpiracy. Getting to use a Pokemon Collector will allow you to establish field dominance earlier in the game.

Uxie- This is used like in every other deck. Setup is one of the best draw utilities we have available to us in this format. Its attack Psychic Restore is also a great way to pull a cheap knockout and go back under your deck so that you use its power again.

Unown Q- Unown Q is used to give your Delcattys, Smeargles, and Pixies free retreat. That’s really all you need to say about this card. J

Mesprit- Mesprit adds a flavor of surprise to the deck. Learning when to play this card ripping the ability to use crucial Poke-Powers can win you games. Combo this card with Seeker to keep locking your opponent or lock them at key points in the game. His attack can also be very useful hitting for 70 after a Judge.

Dialga- This card is all about his Poke-Power Reverse Time. It will give you the ability to put 3 Energy or Pokemon back on top of your deck to pull the big much needed KO on things like a Gyrados.


Trainer/Support/Stadium

Pokemon Collector- Pokemon Collector is used to setup you can search out almost any Pokemon in your deck with this card.

Judge- Judge is one of your biggest disruption cards next to Mesprit in the deck. It can destroy your opponents hand and stop them from holding things in their hand that could hurt you. It’s also a good move to hold one in your hand if they have a Smeargle in play with the chance they will judge themselves.

Seeker- This card will allow you to keep a sustainable lock with Mesprit or pick up Dialga again for a big attack. It can also be beneficial to use this to pick up a damaged Delcatty so it doesn’t get sniped off your bench since you damage yourself with its Poke-Power.

Pokemon Reversal- The sole purpose for this card is to pull up the Pokemon on your opponent’s bench so they can’t get a comeback rolling. When playing Dialga G the only time you use these are when he/she benches a new Dialga G.

Pokemon Communication- This is used to search out for a Delcatty or Drifblim. It can also be used to put a Rhyperior Lv. X back in your deck if you start with it in your hand.

Luxury Ball- Same as Pokemon Communication except you don’t need a Pokemon card in your hand in-order to use it.

Pokemon Rescue-This card is used to get either your Dialga or Mews back from the Discard simple as that.

Snowpoint Temple- The only stadium in your deck, this gives you the ability to dispose of Broken Time Spaces while giving your Mews that extra bit of survivability.


Energy

Rescue Energy- Due to Mew not needing energy to attack this card is a great recovery card enabling 1 Mew Prime to turn into 2. It’s also a useful attachment to Delcatty in case it gets sniped on your bench.

Warp Energy- This is for the occasional Dialga start or if it gets bright looked or in some way brought to the active. I love using this card on Smeargle so I can retreat a Mew, Portrait, then warp it back to the bench.

Double Colorless Energy- This is mainly used to help power the Drifblim or Delcatty quicker.

Psychic Energy- Use this power up other Pokemon on your bench if you feel they will be needed. Otherwise this is your main source of damage.


The Strategy

I wish I could say this deck is just Lost Zone Rhyperior Lv. X and use Hard Crush via Mew’s Lost Link Poke-Body but alas it is not. This deck is based on a quick recovery with Rescue energy and a no energy attacker with a sustainable source of damage. Half of playing the deck is knowing when and when not to Hard Crush. If you can obtain a KO from another Pokemon’s attacks then do so, saving the energy in your deck for a bigger threat. If you think hard Crushing 6 Turns in a row taking 6 prizes will win you the game you are wrong. You need to keep up a steady flow of disruption with your Mesprit and Judges and one hitting the few things they are able to get out.

A brief recap of the strategy and key points:

1. Don’t Hard Crush unless it is the only way you can get the KO.
2. Play your Mesprit smart learn to watch for when it will hurt them the most.
3. Delcatty is a great attacker as well as Garchomp C Counter.
4. No matter what anyone tells you. You always have the faster recovery.
5. If you have the ability to put 5 energy cards on top of your deck for your last prize. DO IT!!!


Matchups

Los Gatos vs. LuxChomp 50/50- These games can be nerve racking. The key to winning this game is timing your Mesprit drops so they can’t bright look something and KO it. Your primary target in this matchup is Garchomp. Everything can one hit you so go after the thing that will be going after your bench. A lot of this comes down to the player.

Los Gatos vs. Machamp 80/20- You should almost never lose this matchup yes they one hit all your basic for one energy but they are a stage 2 and you are a basic that hits them for weakness for no energy. Setup a Delcatty and keep putting 2 energy on top for cheap knock outs. 2 Energy can KO their entire deck.

Los Gatos vs. GengarPlume 60/40- You have a slight advantage here due to your speed and their lack of damage output. Try and keep your hand with zero trainers in here and they can’t touch a mew. Fainting Spell can be a pain here but as in your other matchups they are a stage 2 and you are a basic with a no energy cost attack.

Los Gatos vs. Gyrados 50/50- Judges can win you this matchup if your opponent isn’t smart with their plays. The best way to win here is Mesprit drops and when they do Regi Move you send up something like an Uxie that you don’t care about. Only play Snowpoints in this game when they have a BTS out denying them fast recovery.

Los Gatos vs. DaChomp 10/90- Unless you get lucky this game will make you want to die. Your best chance is getting a quick disruption and KOing their Dialga Gs before they can level up. Or using a Reversal on the Dialga G lv. X Sitting on their bench and using Drifblim’s Take Away to put it back in your deck giving you a turn or two of taking prizes with mew.

Conclusion

If you’ve made it this far thank you for reading. This deck is still on its long road to being great. I want to put a shout out to Austino for helping with this and all the hours of testing we have put into it. Thanks to my wonderful and beautiful Fiance Catherine for supplying me with beverages while in production and putting up with the late nights of play testing.  "

Jimmy took the time to show us all a very interesting take on draft. This time, it's a live opening of packs/strategy on the picks.

Enjoy!

(How things should be done)

Last Thursday, several of HeyTrainer's best players and most loyal posters gathered in an AOL Instant Messenger chat to discuss Call of Legends, and its impact (or lack thereof) on the State/Provincial/Territorial Championship metagame. What did they have to say? Well, here are smmaries of each major point addressed...


LOSTGAR:

Considering how talkative most of us are, we didn't really develop a consensus on the optimal way to play the deck. I suggested the turbo bild briefly, while Monster of the lake proposed that it should be run with a slim Machamp line. The overwhelming majority, though, said that Lostgar should not be played with Palkia. Nothing was addressed about turbo lists or Mew Prime, but Palkia was most heavily opposed to.


MACHAMP

    Theoretically, Machamp's usage should rise due to less Vilegar and Gyarados, and more SP/Tyranitar (brought on by the greater Lostgar showing).

    However, one (i.e., "I") could argue that cities showed how mediocre this deck really was in the current format; it had several weak matchups, and even those that are believed to be "good" (SP) are surprisingly close. Plus, Lostgar might still be a horrid matchup. So all in all, the 'Champ is as hopeless as it's ever been.

GYARADOS:

     Inferred from the chat was the idea that Gyarados is hit hard by Call of Legends. Due to Lost Remover taking away Rescue Energies, Gengar Prime capable of Hurling away critical Magikarps and/or Gyaradoses, and a proliferation of good Luxchomp lists, Gyarados is hard-pressed to win.

Still, MotL mentioned a bild featuring Old Amber, Mesprit, Seekers, and Cyclone as one that held great promise to beat down the generally dubious LostGar match.

[I intend to discuss this take on Gyarados in a future Deck List Dump]

LOST REMOVER

Ryan V. "ryanvergel" was quick to note that "...the most effective use of special energy is sniping with chomp." This in turn denies Lost Remover "its most important target."

And as a result, it isn't as good as it could be. It is, however, good against Gyarados, Garchomp SV, Dialga, Steelix, and Tyranitar, and when combined, that makes up a potentially sizable portion of the field.


NEW DECKS:

The following were all ideas -serious or joking - suggested from new Call of Legends cards:

-Magnezone Prime/Pachirisu Call of Legends (power hitting)
-Feraligatr Prime/Suicune
-Palkia G LV.X/Lucario
-Mime Jr./Absol G LV.X/Chatot G (deck removal)


WHAT'S THE PLAY?!


What are the top three decks that constitute our current tier one?

Each of the following decks were suggested [in no particular order]:::

Gengar, Gyarados Tyranitar, Dialgachomp, Luxchomp, Sableye

While I'm really not sure about Tyranitar being in the same league as any of these other decks, it is most certainly underrated. As for the other five, they definitely hold claim to "best in format."

Speaking of...What IS the best deck in the format? Not many people felt brave enough to make claims, but those who did heartily said "Luxchomp." User Shadow Aurion also mentioned the following on Gengar: "...[it isn't] going to flop, but I don't think it's going to be as oppressively strong  as some people predicted either."


We don't know what the future has in store, but either way, it should be more interesting than Cities!

'Til next time,

-HT
 

Today, Emre ("Monster of the Lake") steps in to show us an alternative take on Luxchomp, the most popular (and - very arguably  - only) deck in a relatively stale format.

If you want a deeper explanation on Chomp, then check out the current literature on the deck. This is just a list, and nothing more.

"

    Pokémon (20):

            2 Luxray GL
            2 Luxray GL LV.X
            2 Garchomp C
            2 Garchomp C LV.X
            2 Uxie L.55 LA
            1 Uxie LV.X
            1 Azelf L.55 LA
            1 Smeargle UD
            1 Unown Q MD
            1 Ambipom G
            1 Bronzong G PT
            1 Crobat G PT
            1 Dragonite FB
            1 Lucario GL
            1 Toxicroak G L45

    Trainers/Supporters (29):

            1 Expert Belt
            2 Junk Arm
            1 Pokémon Rescue
            1 Premier Ball
            3 TG's Invention Energy Gain
            4 TG's Invention Power Spray
            4 TG's Invention Poké Turn
            2 TG's Invention SP Radar
            1 VS Seeker
            1 Aaron's Collection
            1 Bebe's Search
            4 Cyrus's Conspiracy
            3 Pokémon Collector
            1 Twins
   
    Energy (11):

            1 Psychic Energy
            3 Lightning Energy
            3 Call Energy
            4 Double Colorless Energy   "

Expert Belt/Twins: serving Gyarados's lunch since 1999.
 

  (Gimme the Belt...Yeahhhhhh, that's it. Right on the *NOT SAFE FOR WORK*)

Tomorrow, I'll be reviewing HeyTrainer's Call of Legends discussion. Check it out!

Much in the spirit of my Palkia build is the third - and probably strongest - of the lists: the turbo build. This has been floating around for a while, and I know of several people who've advanced the techiness beyond this basic version; however, this should help get you started.

(Tuuuuuurbo! Too bad Gengar isn't on this box art.)

Pokemon (22):

4 Gastly SF
2 Haunter SF
1 Haunter TM
4 Gengar Prime
4 Unown R LA
3 Uxie LA
1 Azelf LA
1 Spiritomb AR
1 Spiritomb TM
1 Unown Q MD

Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (31):

4 Junk Arm
4 Poke Drawer+
4 Pokedex Handy 910s
4 Pokemon Collector
3 Seeker
3 Broken Time-Space
2 Lost World
2 Pokemon Communication
2 Luxury Ball
2 VS Seeker
1 Rare Candy


Energy (7):

7 Psychic

[NOTE: the energy should likely be increased to at least 8 or 9 - I feel uneasy with this count at the moment. Palmer's might also be an appropriate "8th energy"]

[NOTE: Mesprit and Mr. Mime would both be interesting, and maybe even necessary additions to the list.]


Advantage/s: The list is obviously fast. Through Poke Drawer, Dex, Unown R's, and Junk Arm to bind them all together, pulling out a first or second turn Gengar Prime suddenly gets a lot easier. Although running only three Seeker seems suspect in a turbo list that requires Seeker to be played over and over again, Junk Arm helps alleviate this by means of VS Seeker, ultimately giving you a maximum of _nine_ uses.

Disadvantage/s: with nineteen trainers and zero Bebe's, one could say that this deck is heavily vulnerable to Spiritomb Arceus locks. However, this shouldn't be too big of a problem, as the number one most popular Spiritomb deck, Vilegar, should be a very comfortable win for you.

Much in the spirit of my Palkia build is the third - and probably strongest - of the lists: the turbo build. This has been floating around for a while, and I know of several people who've advanced the techiness beyond this basic version; however, this should help get you started.

(Tuuuuuurbo! Too bad Gengar isn't on this box art.)

Pokemon (22):

4 Gastly SF
2 Haunter SF
1 Haunter TM
4 Gengar Prime
4 Unown R LA
3 Uxie LA
1 Azelf LA
1 Spiritomb AR
1 Spiritomb TM
1 Unown Q MD

Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (31):

4 Junk Arm
4 Poke Drawer+
4 Pokedex Handy 910s
4 Pokemon Collector
3 Seeker
3 Broken Time-Space
2 Lost World
2 Pokemon Communication
2 Luxury Ball
2 VS Seeker
1 Rare Candy


Energy (7):

7 Psychic

[NOTE: the energy should likely be increased to at least 8 or 9 - I feel uneasy with this count at the moment. Palmer's might also be an appropriate "8th energy"]

[NOTE: Mesprit and Mr. Mime would both be interesting, and maybe even necessary additions to the list.]


Advantage/s: The list is obviously fast. Through Poke Drawer, Dex, Unown R's, and Junk Arm to bind them all together, pulling out a first or second turn Gengar Prime suddenly gets a lot easier. Although running only three Seeker seems suspect in a turbo list that requires Seeker to be played over and over again, Junk Arm helps alleviate this by means of VS Seeker, ultimately giving you a maximum of _nine_ uses.

Disadvantage/s: with nineteen trainers and zero Bebe's, one could say that this deck is heavily vulnerable to Spiritomb Arceus locks. However, this shouldn't be too big of a problem, as the number one most popular Spiritomb deck, Vilegar, should be a very comfortable win for you.

Deck List Dump: Lostgar (Lost World/Gengar Prime with Palkia G LV.X)

I'm not thrilled about Palkia, but here's what I have at the moment -

[WARNING: NOT TESTED MUCH TEST IT YOURSELF FIX AS NEEDED ETCETC]

(New challenger appears!)

Pokemon (24):

4 Gastly SF
4 Haunter (3 SF/1 Triumphant)
4 Gengar Prime
3 Uxie LA
2 Spiritomb AR
2 Spiritomb TM
1 Palkia G
1 Palkia G LV.X
1 Azelf LA
1 Mesprit LA
1 Unown Q MD

Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (24):

4 Pokemon Collector
4 Bebe's Search
4 Seeker
3 Broken Time-Space
2 Lost World
2 Twins
2 VS Seeker (or 3 Twins/4 Broken Time-Space or a 13th energy perhaps)
1 Palmer's Contribution
1 Pokemon Communication
1 Luxury Ball

Energy (12):

8 Psychic
2 Warp
2 Rainbow
 

(For Rare Candy, cut:

- 1 to 2 Haunter
-VS Seekers?
-Basics you don't like :P)

 

Pros: running Palkia helps correct your potential bench issues, and also gives you a contingency plan to Lost Zone things in case Gengar Prime isn't as fast as you'd like.

*Running multiples of Spiritomb TM - a crucial card in netting yoru Hurl Into Darkness targets - is also a good plan in my opinion. Spiritomb Arceus also helps out a ton in this regard.

Cons: ...And on that note, I should mention that this list is fairly slow relative to some of the other ones I've seen floating around lately. You  might want to fit some Rare Candies in, as suggested above.

Also, you might encounter a couple issues with not running Gengar LV.X; however, running four Gengar Prime also makes it much easier to start Lost Zoning ASAP, so mess around with it.


In my third and probably final Deck List Dump of LostGar, I'll be revealing my take on a turbo list (which is so far my favorite variant).

Best of luck in testing for states, everybody! As I said, don't take my word alone, because this is just a starting point.

With the "Ten in '10" series concluded, let's take a step back and see what the big news was in 2009! I made several references to this article, so it helps put the previous article arc in context.

Not too many shiny pictures today, since this whole article was posted on the forums, and it'd be a pain to plug them all in since I have a finance exam soon. Either way, happy reading!

 "2009's Top Ten Most Significant Events"

"After consulting about half a dozen of Heytrainer.org's most loyal members through all stages of the planning process, I have determined a list of what I personally consider to be the top ten most crucial events that have occurred in the competitive Pokemon TCG community this year; in other words, the community's most "significant" events (per the title).

Thanks go out to the following people, whose ideas and suggestions supplemented my own: Adam Y., Josh B., Ryan V.

#10: The Jwittz Video Collection

Why it mattered: So, you may be wondering...Why is a Youtube video series making such an impact on the community?

Well, "Jwittz," aslo known as Josh Wittenkeller, has taken the first great step to linking new media to the technologically-outdated Pokemon TCG community. The game which we know and love is now reaching a wider audience via Youtube, and Jwittz's videos are the trailblazer in that effort through insightful, entertaining commentary. I have no doubt that Josh's work is inevitably going to help build the game, as well as its base.

Furthermore, these videos are part of a larger force at work: the triumvirate of organizations that are radically redefining the face of the Pokemon TCG, which - when combined - are easily the biggest influence of 2009. Jwittz's videos are currently the smallest-reaching of these three organizations, but the series's potential is awesome, and the likelihood of copycats in the future is VERY high. Expect great things from the Jwittz video collection.

#9: The Pokegym "Mod Squad"

Why it mattered: The premier public web forum of the Pokemon TCG, Pokegym, has maintained incredible influence in the community for years, even obtaining pseudo-"official" status thanks to Team Compendium's administration. With this in mind, it of course makes sense that any sweeping new reforms here would impact the playing and collecting communities.

As we all know, administration and staff set the tone for any forum, and 'Gym is no exception. Thanks to a slew of brand new moderators, they have now expanded beyond belief, and are taking on new, interesting goals for the site: Card of the Day is now easily the most improved section of the site, and user interaction is now at its highest since the 256 person Iron Chef competition.

But with this swarm of staff come mixed messages, inconsistencies, and a decisive range in quality. Although the administration attempts to make it clear what they desire of their new moderators, their various styles can and already have led to confusing and occasionally frustrating the Pokemon TCG community.

However, even with these very obvious growing pains, it will ultimately be for the better of the community at large. As previously mentioned, CotD has something for everyone, and the ongoing anniversary contests would be impossible in their current form without the hard work of the newest members of their crew.

#8: Michael Lieisk's Departure from POP

Why it mattered: I'm not gonna spend too much time on this write-up, but I will say that whenever a head honcho of Pokemon Organized Play shifts outside of the TCG, it's a big deal.

What are the implications now that Dan Brandt is in his spot? Or how about those for the new area he's in - the Video games? Can we read into this as integration of the two?

Only time will tell...

#7: The Worlds Victory of Stephen Silvestro

(Okay, I lied...There is this one picture, but it's awesome!)

Why it mattered: World Champions come and go in every competitive format, so why does this particular win matter so much?

You could say that this is the most "rogue" deck to win since Queendom. You could say that it's a touching portrayal of the bond between father and son.

And Heck, that picture looks pretty darn silly.

But in terms of community impact, this is the second most important win since Yamato, who alone was responsible for the "Japan Mystique" that held a firm grip on the US until Worlds 2006. Because of Silvestro's win, Florida is now well-established as the hardest metagame in the entire world. Although you "could" still make some case for the Midwest or the Great Lakes as being the toughest regions in the US, this argument seems to be put to rest with Jason Klaczynski currently competing in Florida, as well as the Georgia Marathon drawing people from all over.

However, what was our catalyst for all this hyper-intensified FL glory?

A win with Raybees. That's what. Congrats to Steve, and best of luck to him this season - your victory certainly made an impact on the community, bringing to FL the most prestige it's ever received.

#6: Return to Paradise (Worlds 2010 in Hawaii)

Are we surprised to see the 2010 Pokemon World Championships in Hawaii? Not really, because we saw it there for the TMB and in 2007; however, we ARE surprised to see it headed back so soon!

Once again, the community (especially the American community) will not see their season culminate in a bloody LCQ battle or a contested battle to see who becomes the new World Champ, but instead...A battle to see who becomes the _National Champ_.

However, there is a bigger bit of news less related to Hawaii that is even more surprising to the community...Which we will discuss in #4.

#5: The Founding of HeyTrainer.org

For my core audience, I hardly believe you need much of an explanation. But for the rest of you at home, I urge you to have a sit-down with papa, because it's about to be story time with your rotten uncle Johnny K...And story time with me gets awful dirty.

Yes, the first of the top five biggest developments in the Pokemon TCG community this year is none other than HeyTrainer.org, run by none other than...Yours truly.

Why it mattered: The second in what I've called the "great triumvirate" of the Pokemon TCG online community, Heytrainer.org is perhaps the most revolutionary of the three. It may not be the most well-known or crucial, but it is easily the most transformational. In a community stereotyped as fandom of a children's card game, it only seems natural that an overwhelming number of the Pokemon TCG websites out there feature some moderate to heavy degree of censorship.

Well, for months and months, my brother and I talked about our woes in what this community lacked: recognition of the 15+ as the REAL force behind this game's organized play, a place for legitimate deck discussion, a place where moderators wouldn't be up our ***es over every teeny thing, and, above all, a place where honesty could reign supreme. There is a long-lasting myth that Pokemon TCG is a "kiddie card game" - one that is perpetuated by the prevailing attitudes, censors, and overwhelming hegemony of parent-child tag teams. In fact, that is the very reason why "Tag Team!" is our image: because it represents our perversion of this false belief, which ultimately ends up being a sobering dose of reality.


Considering this context, Heytrainer.org easily made the top five list because it IS a big change in the way business is done, it IS already making people talk, and it is already well on its way to becoming one of the top sites in the game. Hell, ask several good players, and without batting an eyelash they will tell you that this place, known far and wide for its bad posters in the RTC, is - surprisingly - a distinctly better resource for deck fixes and initial lists than Pokegym or Pokebeach. The fanbase is so loyal that they "swear" by how awesome our article quality is...Even though this top ten list is the first official article in this site's history. (We're that good.)

Yes, Heytrainer.org is a mover and a shaker, but it hasn't happened without significant controversy: there has been a lot of in-the-open hating over this site that has earned me no love from any of the top dogs in the online community, and lord knows the dirty little names I've been called behind my back in circles I played a direct role in aiding/saving...But that's another story for another day.

Regardless of the challenges, the turmoil, and the hate we will inevitably get, we must be honest and admit that this is an experiment in controlled chaos...This site is a risk that I am willing to take, and for the sake of free speech, free membership, and free dumb, I hope to make this community a force to be reckoned with. I am already very proud of my work here, and I feel that if I push just a little harder, HeyTrainer.org will long outlive my involvement with the game.

I can't in good conscience put it at #1, but I certainly see it ultimately outlasting everything else on this list as the years go by.

#4: “Trouble in Paradise” (POP server/worlds/nats info issues)

(Bad Photoshopping is bad, but we love it anyways.)

Why it mattered: Once we found out that Worlds would be in Hawaii again, excitement rose to a fever pitch. "Will I go to Hawaii again?" "If I get an invite without a trip, will I go?" "How many are they going to give out: 128 like last year, or 64 like the previous time in Hawaii?"

Hold your horses though, you uber-competitive players you, because there's one small, insignificant problem...

Nothing's been released on invites, trips, or anything of the sort.

For thousands of players every year, competing in Worlds is the biggest prize they could hope to receive; however, by leaving the competitive community totally in the dark, you have a lack of confidence in POP for being so slow to announce things, an excess of confusion, and a never-ending supply of controversy.

POP tries to silence the concerns of the players, the parents, etc. with a "we will release the information publicly when we're able to." Individuals who have less of a competitive stake in the game are also perfectly content, usually claiming that either A) the information will come when it comes, so sit down and shut up, or B) people who are complaining are "in it for the prizes," and don't care about Spirit of the Game!

Rubbish, because there's another side of this that hits the casual player hard: the frequent downtime and crashing of the website. Now I'm no professional in web management, nor would I claim to be, but the professionals I surround myself with unanimously say that this is due to ineptitude. It's ineptitude at some level that led to confusion with leagues, entering in events, etc, and - needless to say - that doesn't produce confidence.

Does POP have a fantastic history with its player base? Yes, it does, and I'd never deny that. However, this community recognizes that organized play is not a charity, but a marketing tool, and thus expects better of it.

Oh and P.S.

"Where the Hell is Nats?"
~One of our loyal board members

#2: SixPrizes.com

Why it mattered: Rounding out the "triumvirate" is Sixprizes.com, the current crown jewel of the 2009 Pokemon TCG online movement.

In early July, while many players were preparing for the Grinder or Worlds, Adam Capriola and his associates were quietly working on what would be a major new twist on the "Thetopcut.com" concept of the previous year: a blog format website with a major emphasis on strategy, deck building, and tournament reporting.

Sixprizes is now very big, and is doing a great job of reaching out to all sorts of players: new and old, pro and casual, and former and current! Its staff has worked very hard at "getting out the word," and as a result, is covering every major social networking site with their logo.

But perhaps Sixprize's biggest contribution to the Pokemon TCG community is that it set in motion several major new trends in Pokemon sites:

-An emphasis on quality strategy.
-The beginning of what's a shift away from Pokegym and Pokebeach. These two sites are now much less llikely to be recommended to a beginner than they were even a year ago.
-A more "Japanese" style of Pokemon community organization. Message boards are distinctly less of a Japanese phenomenon, whereas tournament/strategy blogging are.

Furthermore, Sixprizes is without a doubt inspiration for other major new sites, as well as the new community standard in PG-rated quality.

Things are changing majorly, but I can confidently say that without Sixprizes.com, this change might not have happened at all.

#1: Tournament Rule Changes

Why it mattered: What defines us as a community is the fact that we all like to play the Pokemon Trading Card Game, usually at a competitive level. With this in mind, it makes sense that if there are huge changes to the way things are done, then there will be a huge impact. Originally I considered placing many of these things on the list as their own separate categories, but I then realized that it’s really all the same thing: sweeping, revolutionary reform to the way we participate in Pokemon Organized Play.

First and foremost, you can’t play whole decks of foreign cards anymore, and by this time next year, you won’t be able to use any _at all_! Many of those who use Japanese cards occasionally (myself included) find it disappointing that we will no longer be able to use these cards, as they look gorgeous, are cool to show off to your friends, and are made of higher quality material than their English counterparts. However, others cheered for their removal, as Japanese cards have been a pain for PTOs, judges, and the less-experienced players who don’t want to be hassled with their opponents’ translations under timed environments.

Secondly, we saw – for the first time in the American game'’s history – no format rotation at all; rather, we are carrying on the same DP-on of last year! Although many of these cards are now outclassed, access to the game at a competitive level is much easier due to these 2+ year old cards being legal. In addition to that, mastering this format has been easier for the old veterans who are well aware of what staple cards (Roseanne’s Research, Bebe’s Search, Call Energy, Claydol, Unown G, etc) do. This decision was well-received by the community, and for good reason.

The combined impact of these two decisions alone should already be enough to put “Tournament Rule Changes” at #1, but then there are the slew of tiny revisions: meta-rulings on dice and Azelf LA’s Time Walk Poke-Power are interesting new change. In addition, carryovers from 2008 ,such as the increase in time limit, have done an enormous amount of good for Spirit of the Game…After all, how can somebody stall or rush if time limits actually allow for complete games, even in a best-of-three setting?

2009 was a major, major year for event rules, and while many of these decisions have been criticized by players, judges, PTO, and even Pokemon Organized Play itself, I can confidently say that this has been an excellent year for improving the way this game is played on a competitive level. So in spite of all the tumultuous issues that have occurred, the Pokemon TCG community is in a strong position going into 2010."

Thanks for checking out a great little piece of Pokemon Trading Card Game history today. Tune in tomorrow when I briefly review another LostGar variant.

Links to previous parts of this article arc...

*Ten in '10: 2010's Most Significant Events (Part 1/6)
*Ten in '10: 2010's Most Significant Events (Part 2/6)
*Ten in '10: 2010's Most Significant Events (Part 3/6)
*Ten in '10: 2010's Most Significant Events (Part 4/6)
*Ten in '10: 2010's Most Significant Events (Part 5/6)

That little bit of house-keeping aside...Let's finish this thing up!

#1: Play! Pokemon: Rebranding With a Bumpy Start

(Play! Pokemon: similar enough to evoke familiar ideas...But dissimilar enough to avoid copyright infringement claims.)

 For the first time since its inception, Pokemon Organized Play decided to completely revamp its image: the generic OP logos were out, and the NEW image was in! However, what does this entail? We don't know exactly what...But so far, it hasn't been thrilling.

This post is less about the mere rebranding; rather, it's about precisely what I alluded to how mediocre 2010 was in general...So hence, the word "rebranding" will be deined loosely.  But what about that disappointment for 2010? Well, let me offer a callback to my three summarizing words mentioned in Part 1...They were:

Evolutioin; lack; and stagnation.

The previously-listed events of 2010 before this one generally signify "evolution," but many of you reading this article likely feel that organized play's support is beginning to suffer from "lack and stagnation," and with good cause. As a long-time competitor and volunteer of organized play, I'm least enthused about this game's competitive side than I have ever been. While my general involvement increases (as this blog is testament to), I find premier events far less entertaining or desirable than good old-fashioned league, which doesn't even need official support to exist!

So what's at the root of this?

For starters, communication between Play! Pokemon and its player base has been inexcusably bad. First, the year was greeted with a still massively-buggy website (which is still slow); second, we dealt with  extremely late notice on where the 2010 National Championships would be; and third, the ratings and rankings were down for _over four months_. Occasional website issues are certainy understandable, but not receiving Nationals information until States caused numerous problems for the players, and as for the ratings/rankings...Four months...Really?

If all of this poor communication wasn't enough, then consider our American releases in 2010:

*Heart Gold/Soul Silver
*Unleashed
*Undaunted
*Triumphant

Although those last three sets had a few notable cards, they've otherwise been absurdly mediocre releases. And Heart Gold/Soul Silver, while certainly a good set, was good for all of the wrong reasons...Namely, Double Colorless Energy. Considering how good SP was already at that point, why on Earth did Pokemon Card Laboratories re-release this monstrosity of the old era? I can't really answer that, but its negative side effect was an unhealthy United States metagame, and an overall horrible year for sets anywhere outside of Japan (not Play! Pokemon's fault, but it is certainly a bump in the road).

Unexciting sets, and no communication...What's in store for 2011?

So far, not much: our most recently released set, which held great promise to include several exciting new reprints from years and seasons gone by, instead turned out to be one of the worst sets in the history of the Pokemon Trading Card Game's history; and while we know a thing or two about ratings, we still don't even have an official invite structure announcement!

While I cannot claim to know what the general word on the street is, I have heard several complaints about where things are headed. Erik Nance, last season's runner-up at the 2010 U.S. National Championship, claimed that this has been "the worst season of Pokemon since I started playing [five years ago]." Chad Harris, an equally known player, as well as former State and Regional Champion of California, predicted that "...we will look back on 2010 [as] being perhaps the worst year in [P!P's] history."

Given a mediocre 2010, and a poor start to 2011, what could breathe more life into this system - this game - of ours?

Black and White.

Yes, with the new video games, things could turn around with a reinvigorated league system, new incentive for the powers at be to invest more in Play! Pokemon, and a good set containing no stupid re-releases (we don't know how good the Gust of Wind quasi-reprint will be in our metagame). These have great implications vis-a-vis the metagame and communication, so here's to hoping.

But right now, it's just: evolution; lack; stagnation. Hopefully we hear more of the first word, and less of the other two.

Pessimism? No, just realism with a dash of optimism. Either way, happy playing!

Moving closer and closer to the conclusion of "Ten in '10," we have two vital issues to consider: the change in time; and the change in City Championships.

#3: *The Change in Time Rules…Again

(This is a silly, nonsensical picture that has nothing to do with the topic at hand...But I figured you'd like it anyways, so I went and ran with it.)

        After a long time, 2009-2010 gave us a time system that apparently worked: swiss rounds decided in 40 minute games, which brought stalling to a standstill; and top cut rounds decided with a "four prizes must be pulled in game two for it to count" clause, which - while imperfect - kept decks from achieving cheap wins against bad matchups. All was good in the world of the competitive player...That is...

Until they changed it back, that is.

Yes, for reasons unknown to me, Play! Pokemon changed the rules "again": 40 minute matches were exchanged with 30+"3," where time is called, followed by three last turns before a result is decided on; and the aforementioned clause involving four prizes was completely eliminated. While the 30+3 is generally no big deal, the top cut rule has changed the way people play, and the deck choices that they make.

Don't believe me? If not, then consider the following example: Player A's Vileplume/Gengar deck is up against Player B's Gyarados deck. Player A's list is unquestionably good against Gyarados in almost any untimed match, but it's quick to fall down a prize or two versus it in most games.

Due to no fault of Player A's, he/she wins game one with little time on the clock left for game two. Given this, Player B's Gyarados proceeds to establish a 1-2 prize lead even after the +3, and brings the game into a sudden death...Which he or she also wins by the same mean.

So, in essence, we have a match won by a player who drew a grand total of 2-3 prizes, and no full games. Sounds good? Not by my book! Granted, you could still have the same thing happen during the 4-prize era last format (5-6 prizes between game two and sudden death), but it wasn't nearly as bad. As a result, the field is _not_ what it could, or should, be in many regards: either due to players wanting a more reasonable chance to win, or due to players using top cut-weak decks dropping for a calculated gain in premier rating.

("60 minutes+3" was so on the short list of titles for this program)

#2: The Advent of Pokemon TCG Marathons

(Again, not quite the same sort of "marathon," but they're still pretty cool guys.)

Why it mattered: for a very long time, City Championships - a major element of the Pokemon TCG premier tournament season - were viewed as minor, one-day events. While they were very useful in displaying a "preview" of sorts for who might do well in the season, these tournaments were never considered more than just small, fun events...Something akin to modern day Battle Roads, but with juicy prizes.

However, thanks to a couple of industrious Premier Tournament Organizers in Georgia, that conception has been shattered. By stringing together all of their City Championships in a row over the holiday season, rather than staggering them across several weekends for a two month period, they laid the groundwork for an efficient, new model of running these events. For the competitive player, though, this was far more valuable due to the increased opportunity to do well at several of these tournaments in a row, thus greatly increaseing his/her premier rating, which has since 2006 become a crucial tool in achieving invites to the World Championships.

Because of this efficiency, and because of the great incentive, Greg and Gary's tournaments finally caught national attention at the beginning of 2010, when anyone with a My Pokemon account could see the great impact that these events had on people's ratings, with at least one player achieving enough points to already assure his invite to the World Championships. Given this, many players this season found themselves inspired to make the trek down to Georgia during late 2010, and as a result, several of the current, post-Cities Top 40 were individuals who attended the marathons.

Recognizing the value of this model, several areas, such as Ontario and New Jersey, have adapted Georgia's plan: either as a full-blown marathon, or as a "mini-thon" of sorts. Is this a trend in the way Cities will be organized nationwide? Perhaps, but I think the biggest implication of all is the proliferation of hyper-competitive fields at relatively low levels of earning. Without a doubt, it'll be interesting to see if more City Championships ascend to the State/Regional-esque tier that the Georgia events did, but the fact that these events are no longer "little" is quite telling.

All in all, 2010 was an extremely significant year for Cities, with marathons leading the way. Congrats to the PTOs of Georgia, New Jersey, and Ontario for revolutioninzing the way we please this game!



(Who would've thought that Georgia would become so crucial to the Pokemon TCG scene?)

In a very special edition of "Deck List Dump," we here are HeyTrainer look to solve the condundrum of LostGar (Gengar Prime Triumphant/Lost World Call of Legends). If you check out the corresponding forum thread, you'll realize one thing, and that's that very few people have consensus on the deck!

So, what to do about this little issue? Well, for the next few segments of Deck List Dump, I will be posting nothing BUT LostGar (the supposed new tier one deck), as well as my comments on the strengths and weaknesses of each variant. Today, we'll be examining the first known variant of any success: Gengar Prime/Mew Prime, which has seen a ton of play in Japan.

(If my Stormfront cousin eats childrens' brains, then don't I eat their souls?)

Now, the biggest question that should be on your mind is, "why do we have no standard on how to build this deck yet?"

Simple: the successful lists in Japan all had Claydol (Great Encounters) and Roseanne's Research (Secret Wonders) accessible to them. With Claydol, consistency was guaranteed against even the dreaded SP, and with Roseanne, you could be relatively sure that you had access to much-needed energy. Unfortunately, though, those two great cards have been rotated out of our modified format. With neither of those, we arrive at a bit of a conundrum on how to make it the best deck we can.

Since our Modified format is in a completely different context, here is what I would envision a Gengar Prime/Mew Prime for Majestic Dawn-on Modified to look like...

[WARNING: THE BELOW LIST IS LARGELY UNTESTED!]

Pokemon (23):

4 Mew Prime
4 Gastly SF
2 Haunter SF
1 Haunter TM
3 Gengar Prime
1 Gengar Prime LV.X
1 Mr. Mime CoL
1Spiritomb TM
2 Uxie LA
2 Mesprit LA
1 Azelf LA
1 Unown Q MD

Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (28):

4 Pokemon Collector
4 Seeker
4 Poke Drawer+
4 Broken Time-Space (or 4 Rare Candy? Or Something else?)
3 Lost World
3 Bebe's Search
2 Junk Arm
2 VS Seeker
1 Luxury Ball
1 Pokemon Communication

Energy (9):


9 Psychic

The strategy is pretty basic: ideally start with Mew Prime, See Off a Gengar Prime, and by the second turn, you should be able to Lost Link Hurl Into Darkness, which - in time  - should get you your much-desired Lost World win condition.

*Mr. Mime is for revealing your opponents hand, so you can optimize your chances of success for Hurl.

*Spiritomb Tirumphant is to force them into more Pokemon for Hurl targets. The reason why we don't run Giratina is because it draws LESS, and because THEY choose how much they draw!

*Mesprit is to help maintain a long, reliable Trainer lock. Thanks to Junk Arm, VS Seeker, and Seeker, you can use this power up to ten times in a single game.

*Seeker not only picks up your Mesprits/damaged guys, but also forces a Pokemon from the opponent's bench to his/her hand. As a result, you'll usually have some sort of Hurl target, thus making this card a must-of in every Lostgar variant.

***Strengths: since Mew Prime is a basic, it's much easier to setup, and as a result, allows you the chance to very quickly start Hurling from the second turn-onward, and perhaps for more than one Pokemon!

***Weaknesses: a big problem with this variant is that, without the aforementioned cards, it ends up becoming much more brittle. Furthermore, you have a lot of easily-KO'd, low-HP Basics to rely on, which allows for even more vulnerability to the super-speedy SP variants of this format.

 

(...Am I really a good choice right now?)

The list may be imperfect, and may be far from tested, but it should be a pretty reasonable starting point for anyone interested in LostGar For the next edition of Deck List Dump, I'll be posting a variant with Palkia G LV.X. Stay tuned, and be sure to tell your friends about /blog!

-HeyTrainer

Today will be a baby post for the "Ten in '10" series: although I have more than one entry done, I felt that, since I am still largely unsure on what order to place the final three, it would be best to stew over it for a while. For now, though, here is what I felt to be a very important new evolution from last season...Pokemon videos!

#4: Rise of Pokemon TCG Videos
 

Why it mattered: if video analysis and discussion were interesting novelties back in 2009, then they quickly reached a fever-pitch in 2010.

For those of you who have read my "2009's Top Ten Most Significant Events" series, you should recognize Jwittz from the list: back then, his series was just starting out, but heytrainer.org made many accurate predictions about its fate. From 12/26/2009, I said the following:

"Jwittz's videos are currently the smallest-reaching of these three organizations [(SixPrizes, HeyTrainer, Jwittz)], but the series's potential is awesome, and the likelihood of copycats in the future is VERY high. Expect great things from the Jwittz video collection."

And great things have arrived, my friends: with over 2,500 subscribers, and nearly 400,000 upload views, Josh W.'s Pokemon TCG webisodes are definitely in a very comfy spot. Also, per my prediction, copycat efforts have also been in full swing, and while most have fallen flat on their face, the "PokemanDan" series proved itself to be a worthy friendly rival to the Wittz brand. They are on par with one-another in many ways, but offer two different, yet great perspectives on the game: one is smack-dab in the middle of Competitivesville, USA; and the other is smack-dab in the middle of the UK.

What will become of Pokemon Youtubing? We don't know yet; however, its hopes look high. So I'll look into my Larry Sabato-esque crystal ball, and make another set of predictions:

*Josh's series will remain popular, and continue to rise in popularity; but, at some point, it will stabilize, and begin to follow a more linear model of fandom.
*Some new series will take the title for #1 most popular. Because the YouTube viewer market is super-fickle, some dumb, less thoughtful video series could win out over "Prof it!" for some memetic quality.

So that's what direction I see a newly-rising portion of the Pokemon community heading into! Thanks for reading, y'all.

P.S. PokemonDan  may not be the end of the copycatting! As alluded to in previous posts on the HeyTrainer forum, Drrtybyl and I may be producing our very own Pokemon TCG video: the "Rogue Twins" featurette series.

For today, here are sixth and fifth most significant events of 2010, as determined by HeyTrainer.org staff. In case you haven't read them yet, here are links to the other posts from this article arc...

#s 9 and 10: Ten in '10: 2010's Most Significant Events (Part 1/5)
#s 7 and 8: Ten in '10: 2010's Most Significant Events (Part 2/5)

If you haven't read the first two parts, I'd suggest that you do. However, if you'd like to jump straight into #6, then by all means, feel free to!

#6: The Japanese Release of Lost World

(...Well, I did say the "Japanese" release.)

[Translation: "Once during each player's turn, if that player's opponent has 6 or more Pokemon in the Lost Zone, the player may choose to win the game."]

Why it mattered: for two very concise, yet simple reasons...

First, it had us scared out of our wits for the entirety of the year...But for no good reason at all. Since an English language Lost World never actually saw the light of day in the United States for 2010, we were effectively scared crap-less...For no good reason at all. Overall, this is a great lesson in what happens when our expectations aren't met.

Second, from our far-off observer status, we saw how one card was capable of OBLITERATING the Japanese metagame. Despite the fact that both of Lostgar's runs have occurred in formats different from ours (run #1: Diamond and Pearl-on format; run #2: Heart Gold/Soul Silver-on format), it outright annihilated in both, with Worlds winner Yuta Komatsuda going over forty games undefeated in his home territory with the deck. While the deck lost Claydol, the heart and soul of its speed, Lostgar in a no-sp format still proves to be a potent threat.

However, can Lostgar (Gengar Prime [Triumphant]/Lost World) stand the test of a format that's not only SP-dominated, but plagued with a disgustingly unfavorable time scenario? Only time (and testing) will tell.

#5: Worlds moving back to San diego

(Does this remind you of anything?)


Why it mattered: with this decision, San Diego has officially become the most frequented location to the World Championship. Because of this decision, I see several significant, long-term things happening...

1) Worlds will be held at fewer different locations. This is a mixed bag...On one hand, if San Diego is a foreseeable Worlds location for every odd-numbered year from here on out, then  it makes planning for the event easier. Therefore, it is cheaper for all parties involved, which is very, very good. But on the other hand, it means less variety, which essentially equates to an added West Coast advantage. This concern, however, is mitigated by the fact that the West Coast is severely disadvantaged with respect to U.S. Nationals every year.

2) This is a continuation of what appears to be Play! Pokemon's sweet deal with Hilton, so wherever Worlds '12 is, expect it to be at some sort of Hilton. 

3) Given point #2, and given the fact that we came back to Hawaii awful early last season, does that mean that Hawaii will be held every even-numbered year? Only time will tell, but I predict this to be the case...Big PR gambit if this is so, but it could very well pay off.

For all of these implications, and much more, the Worlds return to San Diego justifiably comes in at #5.

In this first installment of Staying Clean we'll focus on an element of the Pokémon tournament experience that sends most women (well, mostly girls) running -- the tournament venue restroom -- and what you can do to help yourself and others stay clean and safe.

Let's face it -- card and comic shop restrooms are utterly disgusting dirtholes.

The factors that contribute to their universal filth are as follows:
1. The store's proprietor is typically the janitor.
Most card and comic shop owners are into cards and/or comics [and not cleaning restrooms]. While most of these dudes wouldn't mind if a rented space was altogether restroom-less, the reality is that builders typically slip one into every strip mall cube. The shop owner didn't give this any thought at the outset of his business plan, and generally isn't too picky himself when it comes to the state of public facilities he uses: all he cares is  that they exist. In addition, most card shops operate on a shoestring budget in a brutally tough business, so regular janitorial services are out of the question.* Even the rarer-than-Pidgeot's-teeth card shops with daily janitorial services aren't geared to handle the likes of Pokémon tournament restroom traffic, which is akin to concert, fast food restaurant, or gas station levels.
*If you can point us to a card or comic shop that has a contract with a daily janitorial service, we will offer up a limited edition HeyTrainer holographic DIGLETT.

CLEAN IT UP! Earn your Junior Janitorette Gym Badge and leave the restroom as clean as possible. This means always throw away trash, flush used toilet paper, utilize any available air freshener, and do not pee on the walls.

2. Card shops have one restroom.
Not two. This means that men, women, boys, girls and others are all using the same toilet and sink for numbers "one" and "two," which puts additional strain on the overall state of restroom cleanliness.

3. The high volume of people moving through card shops and their use of these intrinsically unsanitary restroom facilities is inevitable.
Professor Abraham Rowan's (ナナカマド博士) hierarchical pyramid of Pokémon Trainer needs tells us that Pokémon TCG Trainers actually require only a few things to survive.

What Rowan's  (ナナカマド博士) theory tells us is that, as Pokémon Trainers advance, they are destined to use the Card Shop's restroom, no matter what.


CLEAN IT UP! Seek out alternate restroom facilities in the vicinity of the event before deck check.* This will reduce the amount of intense strain on [and inside] the venue's restroom. Other trainers will thank you and so will the shop owner.
*Try to buy something at your alternate restroom location so the neighboring shop proprietors don't view "the Pokémon people" as jerks, or worse yet -- deny you future use of their public restroom facilities.

4. These same people are typically unclean.
What Rowan's  (ナナカマド博士) Pyramid also suggests is that Pokémon TCG Trainers do not require showering, oral hygiene, or deodorant -- yet do engage in bodily excretion.

CLEAN IT UP! Try to relieve your digestive system of solids in the morning before the event in order to avoid putting unnecessary strain on the facilities. Take a shower before the tournament.

Now that you know why card shop restrooms are always so dirty, we can focus more directly on etiquette:
-Avoid the need at the top of Rowan's pyramid: take it somewhere else if you're in a bind. This will prevent odor from radiating throughout the venue, which will likely be noticed by all, since it is typically already a packed, filthy dirthole. Other Trainers might not say anything, but they're grimacing for a reason when you exit the WC, leaving the door wide open.
-Alert the proprietor if the facilities need attention. This will help maintain the toilet's usability. This can also help prevent expensive plumbing fees and will save other Trainers from the unwelcome surprise you've just encountered.
-Wash your hands before returning to train. Always use soap: this prevents the spread of bacteria among Trainers, as well as the spread of bodily excretion onto our precious Pokémon trading cards. If there is no soap, then FIND SOME! Even if it makes you late for the round, cleanliness is next to Godliness...Which, in turn, means that cleanliness is the penultimate way to honor SotG ("Spirit of the Game")
 
Conclusion

As alluded to at the outset of this piece, one of the main factors that turns women away from the Pokémon TCG are the filthy restrooms at card and comic shops. If you are interested in improving the male to female ratio in the Pokémon TCG player base, consider cleaning it up. Dirty restrooms contribute to the spread of illness, as well as the spread of feces and urine onto our beloved Pokémon cards, and detract from general tournament enjoyability.   

Till next time, STAY SAFE AND CLEAN IT UP!
 

Today, we’re going to take a bit of an aside here with Jimmy O’Brien. Jimmy O’B, a.k.a. ChaosJim, is a well-known player in the New Jersey area, notable for his 4th Place finish at the 2008 World Championship, as well as his >1800 post-Cities rating for the current season. However, he’s also known for professing a great interest in alternate formats: be it unlimited, limited, half-deck, or extended-modified, he’s always considering the options.

For this post, he’ll be discussing draft. So sit down, grab some popcorn…And maybe grab a box of Pokemon cards, too.

Draft

By Jimmy O'Brien

"A lot of people only play Pokémon events with sealed packs at prereleases, and even at those, several choose to not draft. Organized play doesn’t reward being good at drafting: there are no upper-level premier events that involve this format, and no added prize incentive to excel at Prerelease events, so it sort of makes sense. However, opening a box by drafting it can be a lot more fun than just sitting alone in your basement, alphabetizing the rares as you go.

I’ll try to cover a few different drafting topics as time goes by until something else demands my attention, but assuming you and your friends want to draft (or you want to host a draft as a TO or league leader), the first decision is: which set you want to draft. Right now, I like drafting Undaunted.

Undaunted won’t always be a good set to draft. So why do I like it right now?

1)    Duplicates of Pokémon. There are two different Eevees and all of its evolutions. There are two different Houndours and two Houndooms, there are two Honchkrows and two Murkrows.
2)    Consistency Trainers. Sage’s Training happens to be a gigantic asset in draft. Team Rocket’s Trickery is better than it is in constructed. Legend Box and Energy Exchanger have their place but aren’t top picks.
3)    Set-up Pokémon. Mawile is good in general, has some nice synergy with Burned Tower. Misdreavus has Erika as an attack. Eevee, Oddish, Slowpoke, and Togepi are also better than nothing even if they’re clearly not superstars.
4)    Solid Uncommon Stage 1s. The Eeveeloutions are alright, very consistent. Muk, Raichu, and even Slowbro are pretty good for draft.
5)    Valuable Rares. I’ll admit, Undaunted falls a little short here. Smeargle is gigantic though, Vileplume sees play, and Umbreon and Scizor Prime round things out. Admittedly could be a lot better, but if this is the main reason you draft a set, you don’t need to be reading this article, you need to be looking over set lists.

So, given the above, it definitely serves as a crash course in how to potentially draft a good deck in Undaunted. It also - hopefully - gives you an insight into what makes an enjoyable draft: cards in a set that give you decks that do things. Every set will have the big Stage Twos that can win games, but I don’t enjoy games that turn into, “I got my stage 2 out, you didn’t…Lose now!”

( Unless I’m the one with the stage 2. )

HGSS has the same redeeming qualities for drafting I’ve listed above, except that they’re found in a different balance. The HGSS consistency trainers have a lot more value outside the draft, and the duplicates of top evolutions is a lot more important than the solid stage 1 uncommons.

Next time, I’ll take a look at some of the cards mentioned above, explain why it is I like them, and try to draw some parallels between them and cards in other sets."
 

"

Thanks for that submission, bud!

In other news, Call of Legends is looking to be pretty bad for us competitive modified players; however, is it bad for draft? Given all of the massive basics, I have a feeling that this could be the case.

As mentioned in our last entry, Roland A. (a.k.a., "fffuuuu") submitted an excellent Gyarados article. Since it is a very lengthy, dense read, I decided to split it up into two parts:

*Part 1: a sample deck list with card explanations
*Part 2: other options, and match-up explanations

I have also sought out Austin B/Austino (Gyarados pro and author of the previous "retro" post),and he is interested in writing a response article, discussing his radically different philosophy on the deck.

"

GYARADOS: PART TWO

By Roland A. ("fffuuuu")

Other Options

So that takes us through all the card choices used in the sample list. But what are some other options for a Gyarados deck to play?
(Note that I’m not including different counts of cards in this section – Deck choices like playing 2 Mesprit, more Seeker etc. won’t be in this section – it is for entirely different cards altogether)

*Luxray GL Lv X – Bright Look can be a very powerful tool in Gyarados decks, allowing you to take easy prizes and/or disruptive KO’s. Due to Gyarados’s  high retreat cost, you’ll usually only level up after a Warp Energy, or after a KO. It’s a strong card in the Gyarados mirror match where it allows you to take easy prizes rather than hitting an opposing Gyarados (which will most likely be healed). Gusting is very good against SP in general, especially Luxchomp, although Luxray is a big Power Spray target, especially as Bright Look can’t be used twice in one turn (unless you’re running a 2-1 or 2-2 line, which would be very unusual).

*Dialga G Lv X – A card that is only really useful against Vileplume decks, mostly Gengar/Vileplume. Time Crystal shuts off Vileplume (and to a lesser extent, Spiritomb as well) which allows you to play all of your trainer cards again. Unfortunately, it is a Level Down Target, so it’s not that easy to simply use Warp Energy to get it to the bench and have it sitting there the whole game. Usually, you will level it up, play all the trainers you need, then Poke Turn it back to your hand, and bench Dialga G again, and rinse and repeat when necessary. This helps because it allows you to play all of your trainer cards which can be useful for anything from healing (SSU) to extra damage (Poke Turn) to search cards (Luxury Ball), but it also allows you to reduce your trainer count for Poltergeist.

Despite Vileplume being the main reason for Dialga G Lv X being a possible tech, it can also shut off Poke-Bodies such as mew prime's Lost Link, effectively crushing Mewperior decks and Time Crystal can also shut off Scizor Prime's Poke-Body too. But as a general rule, Vileplume would be the main reason for Dialga G Lv X's inclusion.

*Ditto LA – Ditto is a very specific tech:  it gives Gyarados a much stronger mirror match-up because its Poke-body, Ditto DNA, allows you to have 4 Magikarp in the discard pile and copy the opposing Gyarados’s Tail Revenge for 120 damage, scoring easier KOs. Ditto even keeps the active Pokemon’s HP, can use Rescue Energy ,and be recovered by Pokemon Rescue and Combee just like Magikarp, which means Ditto alone can OHKO several Gyarados. If you are going to play Ditto, watch out for your opponent triple-Flash Biting your Ditto, then sending up a Magikarp or Unown Q, meaning Ditto has 30 HP and is KO’d.

*Blissey Prime HS – While not particularly popular, or an outright amazing/match-up winning tech, Blissey Prime can be a very useful in giving you a free heal on Gyarados, as well as any other Pokemon that may have been damaged (which generally isn’t too useful). A nice bonus is that you can Seeker up Blissey instead of having to find a Warp Energy/Warp Point to get Gyarados to the bench to heal; the downside, though, is that Blissey can be Psychic Binded, and any Rescue Energy on Gyarados will be discarded if you want to heal, so make sure you play intelligently.

Another less obvious use for Blissey prime is to act as a sponge for Warp Point (and similar powers like Infernape 4 Lv X’s Intimidating Roar). While Gyarados has great HP, the deck usually has a bench littered with low HP Pokemon, and as such, Blissey Prime is good against the mirror match, where Warp Points are very strong cards as they usually allow an OHKO on a weaker benched Pokemon.

*Uxie Lv X LA – A card that can be fit in relatively easily, Uxie Lv X helps give the deck additional drawmid-to-late game.  While not absolutely necessary, Uxie Lv X can give Gyarados a slight card advantage which can win close games, especially match-ups like the mirror where it’s a real war of attrition.

*Pokemon Reversal – While flippy, Pokemon Reversal can win games by getting easy and/or disruptive prizes. It is especially strong in Gyarados’s Luxchomp match-up because it allows Gyarados to either OHKO Lucario GL, which may mean that Luxray GL Lv. X can never OHKO a Gyarados. It also allows the Gyarados player to KO a benched Luxray GL that the Luxchomp player may be building up .
All in all, this Junk Arm-able card, if well-timed, can pave the way for amazing comebacks.

*Poke Blower + - In a similar vein to Pokemon Reversal, Poke Blower + allows you to gust up a benched Pokemon of your opponent’s, but instead of a single flip, you need 2 Poke Blower for a guarantee. On average, this makes it slightly weaker, but the guarantee helps somewhat, as Junk Arm makes it easier to re-use. Another good effect of Poke Blower is that you can play just 1 down, and, on a flip, get the equivalent of a Flash Bite. If you’re 10 shy of a KO, this can be a nice bonus.

So which one to play? In my opinion, if you have 4 slots to devote to either card, Poke Blower + is better, but any less and Pokemon Reversal becomes the superior option, simply because you need 2 Poke Blower + at a time to get full usage out of it.

*Skunktank G PL – Skunktank G is, in my opinion, a very underrated and underused tech in Gyarados. It can act as an extra 10 damage, but also allows you bypass the effects of Fainting Spell and Rescue Energy relatively easily. It’s not hard to get around poisoning yourself either, with Warp Energy, or using it after a KO (when you promote a Pokemon, poison, then retreat) or use it after SSU’s Gyarados. Solid card, better for lists with 4 BTS though.

*Volkner’s Philosophy – Volkner’s is probably the most popular draw Supporter in Gyarados decks, due to its ability to discard Magikarps as well as draw cards. In terms of its raw drawpower strength, it is generally inferior to cards like Copycat but the fact that it can also discard Magikarps (especially through Impersonate) makes it a very legitimate option to even run 2 or more of in your deck.

*Cynthia’s Feelings – Yet another draw Supporter, Cynthia’s is obviously best used after a KO. While a good card, often Gyarados decks can “tank’ and heal and can go several turns without giving up a KO (especially in the mirror match) which means Cynthia might have to wait to be played until a Pokemon of yours does get KO’d, which can make it slightly inferior to other options.

*Judge – Generally a one-of card, it can be a nice disruption card that your opponent will rarely expect. Judge can also hurt your own set-up, so make sure the odds are in your favor of recovering better than your opponent.

*Looker’s Investigation – Similar to Judge, with more flexibility. Since you can either shuffle in yours or your opponents, and get to see your opponent’s hand before doing so, it’s usually the better card and is not as prone to backfiring like Judge is.

*Twins – Yet another one-of Supporter, Twins is particularly useful for searching specific, otherwise-unsearchable cards out of your deck. It is not suggested to run Twins in lists that also run Poke Drawer +.

*Black Belt – In a similar vein to Twins, Black Belt is usually a 1-of card in Gyarados and can only be used when behind on prizes. Fortunately, Black belt’s strong effect makes up for it. An extra 40 damage can mean unexpected OHKO’s on Pokemon like Expert Belted Luxray GL Lv X’s (an issue for Gyarados decks due to them being difficult to KO) and opposing Gyarados’, especially Belted ones.


If I have missed any techs that you have played or seen played and you think warrant a spot in Gyarados lists, please let me know.

[HT EDIT: Commenting is currently unavailable, so please redirect any feedback to fffuuuu here: http://heytrainer.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2420]



Match-ups


*Luxchomp: The most successful deck for City Championships, Luxchomp is a very close match-up for Gyarados. Usually, Luxchomp will get a prize or two ahead, but Gyarados is very capable of coming back. A Tail Revenge for 90 is 20 off KO’ing a Luxray GL Lv X and Garchomp C Lv X, so either two Crobat G’s or Expert Belt allows you to OHKO. Luxchomps will usually try to take the first KO with Garchomp c Lv X, preferring to save their Luxray GL Lv X’s for mid-to-late game.

From there on, the match-up becomes a trade in prizes and resources. Make sure you can always recover Gyarados and always attempt to get a prize a turn. It can get tricky, but like all match-ups, this is an especially important one to think a few turns ahead.

Mesprit helps enormously against Luxchomp: an Expert Belted Gyarados, along with Psychic Bind, makes it impossible for your opponent’s Luxray GL Lv X to OHKO your Gyarados, and can be re-used with SSU and Seeker (Mesprit getting Sprayed is also an issue – stock up on those SSU/Seeker/Junk Arms). This can turn the tables around and can win a close game. Your opponent will try to use Dragon Rush for an easy prize on turns that they are Psychic Binded.

Another thing to watch out for is the Expert Belted Luxray GL Lv X. This can be very difficult to OHKO and can OHKO Gyarados’ regardless of Psychic Bind. Most lists don’t run Expert Belt, and even then it can be hard to get out for your opponent, but if you ever find yourself staring down an Expert Belted Luxray GL Lv X, it can be difficult. OHKO’ing it is obviously the first priority but sometimes that can’t be done, especially if your opponent has stocked up on Power Sprays. Depending on the prize count, it’s possible to use Regi Move and/or Warp Point to take easier KO’s around it but that doesn’t work if you’re behind in prizes. If you know your opponent runs Expert Belt and especially if you forsee them being able to Belt a Luxray X, try to stockpile ways to re-use Flash Bite in your hand, along with Expert Belt, to OHKO it.

Gusting cards like Pokemon Reversal, should you run them, help a lot in this match-up as well. Just make sure you use your resources wisely and probability is your friend here (as it is in Pokemon in general).

*Gengar/Vileplume: Vileplume is an absolute pain for any Gyarados deck because it prevents crucial trainer cards from being played like Luxury Ball, Super Scoop Up, Pokemon Rescue, etc.
Gyarados is a faster deck than Genplume is, even under an early trainer lock, so generally Gyarados will get the first 1-2 prizes, then will start having to deal with Gengars.

Fainting Spell is difficult to get around. It’s possible to hit for 90, then Flash Bite twice (either with two Crobat G’s or 1 Crobat G and a Seeker) but this can be prevented by a timely Level Up into a Gengar Lv X, messing with the damage calculations. Another possible option is to attach to an Uxie the turn you hit for 90 with Gyarados, so you can Warp Energy Gyarados to the bench and Psychic Restore Uxie under for the KO, avoiding Fainting Spell, but this is generally very hard to pull off. Because it’s difficult to avoid Fainting Spell, often you’ll have to go straight into it, meaning flips often determine the outcome of this match-up.

In terms of what Gengar’s attacks can do to you, Poltergeist is a weapon and needs to immediately be kept in check by using Regice to discard any excess trainer cards from your hand (unless you’re playing Dialga G Lv X in which case you should save them so you can use them after a level Up. Even then though, discarding some trainers is often the correct play). Once you do this, Gengar will have trouble KO’ing Gyarados without Fainting Spell and will usually attempt to take its prizes by Shadow Rooming your bench.
Luckily, all of the bench sitters with Poke-Powers have more than 60 HP, so against most lists they will have to Shadow Room a benched target twice to get a KO. Because of this, Seeker helps tremendously in denying prizes.

Recovering Gyarados is difficult because Pokemon Rescue cannot be used under a trainer lock and Rescue Energy is often bypassed due to Fainting Spell KO’ing Gyarados. This is the match-up where you will use Combee and 2-3 of your Gyarados. Combee can be Seeker’d up as well to re-use Honey.

This match-up depends a lot on techs, too. If the Gyarados player runs either Dialga G Lv X or Skunktank G they should tilt the match-up in their favor but otherwise it’s a very tight struggle with the slight favor going to the Gengar/Vileplume player. Not only Gyarados’ techs affect the game, but Gengar’s do as well. Any gusting tech like Zangoose or Froslass GL can bring up Regice, allowing the Gengar player to snipe around it and cause you real trouble if you can’t find a Warp Energy. Additionally, if the Gengar player plays Crobat G they can get OHKO’s with Shadow Room with relative ease, making the prize trade favorable to them (and every time you play a Seeker, they get to pick it back up to play it again for another OHKO on any 70 HP Pokemon with a Poke-power).

These games will usually start off with Gyarados taking the first 1-2 prizes, then both decks two-shotting each other with Gyarados being able to Seeker to avoid some KO’s but the Gengar player picking up some extra ones with Fainting Spell. Any KO’s the Gyarados player gets by hitting for 90, then double Flash Biting also help tremendously. However, Gyarados has a slight issue in terms of recovery and can stall out for a turn or two while it needs to search out and recover Combee while also searching out another Gyarados (often done with the aid of Sableye).

There’s also the issue of Gyarados being a lot stronger in matchplay games, which can give the deck a slight edge in topcut games due to Gengar/Vileplume’s slow speed.

[HT EDIT - to elaborate on this point, keep in mind the rules in match play: if time+3 is called during game two, then whoever is ahead in prizes that game is declared its winner. What I interpret fffuuuu to be hinting at is a situation that pans out where, due to little fault of either player, Vilegar wins game one of a 2/3 match with little time on the clock left for game two. Gyarados then proceeds to establish a 1-2 prize lead, drags it past the “+3” turns, and brings the game into a sudden death, which he/she also wins due to its stellar match play.

So in essence, Gyarados can win an entire top cut match with a grand total of 2-3 prizes, and no full games. Chew on that for a bit…]


*Mirror: Obviously Gyarados isn't exempt from playing against itself in tournaments, which isn't unlikely due to its popularity.
As for the match-up, it’s usually a slugfest, with one deck taking the early KO, then oftenm a few OHKO’s with Belted Tail Revenges here or there, but the game will usually go into a steady “Hit for 90, heal Gyarados, hit for 90, heal Gyarados” etc. phase. The more times you can OHKO your opponent (either with Flash Bites, Skunktank G, etc.), the more times you can heal with SSU and Seeker, and the more times you can take cheap prizes (Warp Point, Reversal etc.) will almost certainly determine the winner.

It’s not a particularly complicated: Mesprit can be an interesting card in the mirror to slow the opponent’s game early on by preventing Regi Move, Set Up and Time Walk and in theory you could get a good 2-3 prize lead by re-using Mesprit if your opponent’s hand isn’t strong enough. But as a general rule, this match-up doesn’t have too many complicated dynamics to it; it’s basically just a prize trade.

*Dialga/Garchomp: Dialgachomp is generally an easier match-up than Luxchomp is: Dialga G Lv X cannot OHKO Gyarados 99% of the time, so you can Warp/Seeker or SSU the damage off usually. Regice plays an important role also, in switching out a tanked Dialga G Lv X that you may not be otherwise able to KO for an easier prize. Like Luxchomp, Dialgachomp will use Garchomp C Lv X to get easy Dragon Rush OHKO’s off your bench as well.

Lists that run Skunktank G and Stadiums are generally harder to beat, as poison can bypass Rescue Energy and the Stadiums counter BTS. Without another BTS, you won’t be able to effectively heal or recover Gyarados and they can generally bypass Rescue Energy as well (or remove the energy with Remove Lost) so against lists that run Stadiums, try not to discard any excess BTS because each because nearly every copy is important. Gyarados lists with 4 Broken Time-Space will find it easier than ones with 3 in this match-up.
If everything goes right for Gyarados, the prize trade works out in your favor. The main issue is if you get stuck without a BTS (which also means that even if you recover Magikarp, as soon as you play it down it will get Dragon Rushed).

It’s a generally favorable match-up, but a good Dialgachomp player will often be able to exploit your mistakes, so play carefully.

*Machamp: Machamp isn’t as popular as the aforementioned decks, which means it’s difficult to acknowledge a “universal’ list.
All Machamp decks will run Machamp SF and will usually get 1-2 prizes ahead with Take Out, although, it’s possible for Gyarados to take the first prize as well. Due to Machamp’s heavy reliance on Uxie’s Set Up it’s possible to stall their set-up for consecutive turns while you start taking prizes.

If you can OHKO Machamp SF, do so. They will generally follow up with Machamp Prime which is nearly impossible to OHKO, so it’s better to use your extra-damage resources OHKO’ing their early Machamp SF.

Once their early SF Machamp goes down, most Machamp builds will try to get out two Machamp Primes and rotate between them with Fighting Tag while healing with Seeker. Fortunately for Gyarados, they are incredibly unlikely to ever score an OHKO on you, so both decks should 2HKO each other. Gyarados has more healing and can use Mesprit to prevent the Machamp player’s Fighting Tag, meaning unless they want to retreat it, it’s stuck active and will be KO’d.

Another thing to consider is Gyarados is easier to recover than Machamp Prime (most Machamp decklists don’t play many recovery cards, either) so all of this means Gyarados is a strong favorite over Machamp, although builds vary and it’s difficult to pin down any specific list or strategy.




Conclusion

Overall, Gyarados is a consistent, reasonably fast, high damaging deck with a lot of healing options and room to tech certain cards. It was the 2nd most successful deck for City Championships for good reason – It’s really good!

So here ends the article! Thanks go to Jason and Johnathon for giving input on the article and for their extensive knowledge on the deck, as well as playtesting.

Thanks for reading and don’t be afraid to give Gyarados a shot at your next tournament! Happy testing everybody!
 

As mentioned in our last entry, Roland A. (a.k.a., "fffuuuu") submitted an excellent Gyarados article. Since it is a very lengthy, dense read, I decided to split it up into two parts:

*Part 1: a sample deck list with card explanations
*Part 2: other options, and match-up explanations

I have also sought out Austin B/Austino (Gyarados pro and author of the previous "retro" post),and he is interested in writing a response article, discussing his radically different philosophy on the deck.

"

GYARADOS: PART ONE

By Roland A./"fffuuuu"

At the turn of the new season, the format changed to Majestic Dawn-On, and Gyarados seemed to be nearly dead. With the loss of Felicity’s Drawing, the deck had a great trouble with consistency and speed.

However, help was to come in the next set: Triumphant, which provided the deck with all the new tools that would give it success. Junk Arm, Seeker and Rescue Energy made Gyarados faster, more versatile and offered many healing and recovery options and with the start of City Championships the deck became top tier. With the relative speed, high damage output, high HP and gross amounts of ways the deck had to heal off damage, the deck thrived and, with the almost-complete data we have of CC wins, was the second most successful deck, behind Luxchomp.


Throughout this article I will be explaining the deck’s fundamental strategy and key cards, providing advice on match-ups, and suggesting options for specific techs.


Basic Overview of Strategy

No matter what your Gyarados list looks like, it will have the same fundamental strategy. The deck aims to discard 3 Magikarps and hit for a base damage of 90 with Gyarados’ Tail Revenge attack, all for no energy. How does it do that? By utilizing Junk Arms, Pokemon Collector, Regice, Sableye and Smeargle, the deck will usually start hitting for 90 on Turn 2-3. If it can get set up fast enough, doing 60 damage is also acceptable to KO opponent’s low-HP Basic Pokemon early on.

What happens when your Gyarados gets damaged? Cards like Super Scoop Up (SSU) and the Warp Energy/Seeker combo are important ways to heal your Gyarados when it gets damaged. The specific counts of these cards vary from list to list – I’ve seen lists with no Seeker, and lists with no SSU. And it is up to you on what you play, and how many of each card you play, as these counts depend on personal preference and metagame. Either way, healing Gyarados is a fundamental aspect of the deck.

But if you’ve got 3 Magikarp in the discard pile and one Gyarados in play, what happens when your Gyarados gets KO’d? There are 3 main ways to prevent or recover from this: Rescue Energy, Pokemon Rescue and Combee SF. These cards all allow you to at least recover your 4th Magikarp back, so you can play down a Broken Time-Space and evolve right back to Gyarados, and start hitting again, for no energy. While Gyarados is a deck that cannot swarm, it does have a speedy recovery system to compensate.






Sample List, along with overview of specific cards


Pokemon – 20
4 Magikarp Stormfront ("SF")
3 Gyarados SF
3 Sableye SF
1 Smeargle Undaunted ("UD")
2 Uxie Legends Awakened ("LA")
1 Azelf LA
1 Mesprit LA
1 Combee SF
1 Regice LA
1 Unown Q Majestic Dawn ("MD")
2 Crobat G Platinum ("PL")

Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums – 34
4 Pokemon Collector
4 Junk Arm
4 Broken Time-Space
2 Luxury Ball
1 Pokemon Communication
1 Bebe’s Search
1 Copycat
4 Poke Drawer+
4 Super Scoop Up
3 Seeker
2 Expert Belt
1 Team Galactic’s Invention G-105 Poke Turn
1 Warp Point
1 VS Seeker
1 Pokemon Rescue

Energy – 6
3 Warp
3 Rescue


Pokemon

4 Magikarp SF – Magikarp has to be one of the worst basics in the game. With 30 HP and no particuarly strong attacks to make up for it, Magikarp is a Turn 1 win waiting to happen. Magikarp’s 30 HP is especially bad because if you don’t draw into a Broken Time-Space, you’ll need to play it down on the bench to evolve to Gyarados next turn, where it can be easily KO’d thanks to its low HP, either by Crobat G/Poke Turns or Bright Look. Mesprit can help with preventing your Magikarp KO’d this way in some situations, but always be careful.

The Stormfront one is widely considered the best due to its Sea Spray attack. When you can’t retreat to a Sableye/Smeargle, or attack with Gyarados (which is almost always when you open with Magikarp going first, which happens to be the situation you’re most likely to get donked in), it can be decent to draw cards, which averages at a bit under 1 heads. Essentially though, Magikarps are just there to be discarded, although one will have to be used to evolve into a Gyarados.


3 Gyarados SF – The real powerhouse of the deck, Gyarados clocks in at a whopping 130 HP, which is amazing for a Stage 1 card. Gyarados’ high HP, along with Expert Belt allows the deck to “tank” with SSU’s and Warp Energy/Seeker. Tail Revenge is the only attack which is actually useable in a conventional Gyarados deck, but it is incredibly strong. For no energy, with 3 Magikarps in the discard pile, it can deal a base of 90 damage. With Regice and Junk Arms, Magikarps can be discarded with relative ease. However, since you’ll want 3 Magikarps in the discard pile to hit for maximum damage, and one under Gyarados, the 4th Magikarp will need to be recovered.

Gyarados has a Lightning Weakness, which is probably one of the worst in the format due to the prominence of Luxray GL Lv X. However, it is only +30, so for Luxray GL to OHKO Gyarados, it will need a Lucario GL on the bench. Since Luxray GL is really the only popular card that exploits the Weakness, I’ll just talk more about it in the match-up section. Gyarados has a useful Fighting Resistance, which gives the deck a favorable Machamp match-up:  Machamp SF will do negligible damage to Gyarados, and Machamp Prime will find it nearly impossible to OHKO a Gyarados in one hit, allowing you the chance to Seeker or SSU the damage off. Gyarados’s 3 Retreat cost is not ideal, and is the reason the deck plays Warp Energy, so that Gyarados can get to the bench to be Seeker’d up.

Why 3 Gyarados and not 4? Ever since Rescue Energy came out, 3 has been the universally accepted play, due to the fact that Rescue Energy, the deck’s main form of recovery, gets back both your Magikarp and your Gyarados, so you don’t need that many Gyarados. Of course, it’s nice to have some for back-up, in case you can’t get a Rescue Energy on Gyarados before it gets KO’d. In that case, Pokemon Rescue or Combee will get back your Magikarp, and then another Gyarados can be used to evolve into.


3 Sableye SF – Sableye is an incredibly useful card to assist set-up and is played solely for its Impersonate attack. Opening with a Sableye allows you to use a Pokemon Collector Turn 1 to get Magikarps, Regice, Unown Q, Uxie or anything else you may immediately need.

The fact that you are forced to go first if you open with it is arguably a detriment, as it increases your opponent’s chances of getting a first turn KO, which, even if they don’t bench you out and “donk” you, is still a bad thing as it allows them to take an early prize. However, a good example of how going first can be a good thing is against an SP deck such as Luxray/Garchomp. Most SP decks can only realistically get KO’s on Turn 2, the earliest turn they can level up their SP basics. With Sableye’s 60 HP, colorless resistance and the fact that if you open with it you are going first, it is incredibly unlikely for a Luxchomp deck to get a first turn KO, which means if your set up is strong enough, you can possibly get the first prize on Turn 2, or if your set-up is slightly weaker, on Turn 3, meaning the opposing player will only get 0-1 early prize cards respectively, which is important in such a close match-up.

4 Sableye could be played to maximize your odds of opening with it, and that is of course an option. Remember, this list is just a sample list and all of your card counts can be played around with a lot – Gyarados is a very malleable deck.


1 Smeargle UD – Smeargle is used for its Poke-Power Portrait, which basically lets you use a Supporter in your opponent’s hand. This obviously helps with set up, both early-game and later on. Generally this card will have an Unown Q attached to it, allowing you to promote it after a KO, or a Warp Energy (often followed by a Seeker) and get a use of its Power, then retreat to Gyarados to attack. Another overlooked usage of this card to see what’s in your opponent’s hand. This can influence your decisions in-game, especially when to use Mesprit’s Psychic Bind or not.

A large proportion of Gyarados lists run a higher Smeargle count over Sableye (such as 3 Smeargle/1 Sableye or 4 Smeargle/1 Sableye). The reasoning is that if you Portrait your opponent’s Pokemon Collector, some Gyarados builds can absolutely “go off” and even hit for 90/110 damage Turn 1. Of course, these builds almost always run 1 Sableye as well, so even if you can’t “go off”, you can still Impersonate that turn, as well as your Portrait.

So why play more Sableye than Smeargle? It is definitely a preference thing, but I prefer the slightly slower, more consistent and reliable high Sableye count, but others prefer the high-risk, high-reward Smeargle. It also depends on what your list looks like: if it’s designed for maximum speed and consistency, then a higher Smeargle count is probably a better option. Another thing to consider is the odds of Portraiting a good supporter on Turn 1. Most decks run 3-4 Pokemon Collector, undoubtedly the best Supporter you can use Portrait on early game. Off an average of 6-7 cards, your odds of Portraiting it turn 1 are approximately 30-40% respectively. Every other time, you’ll usually be playing a Supporter that’s less helpful. Remember though, every list varies and there’s really no right or wrong as to what you play.


2 Uxie LA – Uxie is a card used in virtually every deck, and for good reason. Its Set-Up Poke-Power allows decks to be fast and to draw into crucial cards, and Gyarados is no exception. Some lists even run 3, but generally 2 is the best count due to bench space constraints. Psychic Restore can be a good attack in some situations, such as bypassing Gengar’s Fainting Spell attack, but it generally won’t be used too much. Uxie’s power can be re-used with SSU and Seeker if necessary, which is a very nice bonus.


1 Azelf LA – Gyarados is a deck that absolutely needs this, simply for the fact that the deck cannot afford to have any Magikarps sitting in the prizes, in order to achieve Tail Revenge’s full damage output.

One thing people need to be aware of before using Azelf is not to give away to your opponent that something important is prized. Example: You open Sableye, go first and Impersonate, only to find that 2 of your Magikarps are prized. You explicitly complain that several Magikarps are prized and Impersonate. Your opponent then drops a Mesprit on you and prevents you from using Time Walk, severely limiting your ability to do anything.

It sounds like an extreme example, but I have seen and heard of plenty of players giving away too much information of their prize cards which then subsequently gets punished. Power Spray is also another application of this point. If you have a Magikarp prized, don’t tell them, then Azelf, realizing they “know” (unless we’re going to get into a whole bluffing situation, but let’s just assume they know you’re trustworthy) you prized a Magikarp, subsequently get Sprayed.

If your prizes are terrible enough to warrant multiple uses of Time Walk, Azelf can be re-used by SSU and Seeker. Just remember: don’t make it obvious to your opponent about your situation. That’s not to say Azelf is just for Magikarp though, as Time Walk can allow you access to any of the one-of cards Gyarados decks play, like Regice, Combee and Unown Q, or even cards you have multiple of like Uxie and Gyarados.

Another use for Azelf is to map out your prizes. This is especially valid now that notes are allowed to be taken on which of your prize cards are where. The difference between nabbing an excess BTS and a clutch SSU out of your prizes can change the game, so don’t waste your opportunity to make sure you know which prizes of where, regardless of your method (just remember, be sure to do it in a timely manner!).


1 Mesprit LA – This is an interesting tech card that is played in most Gyarados builds for a variety of reasons. Psychic Bind is a very potent power, and can be incredibly disruptive when timed right. It can slow down the opponent’s set up early-game by preventing Set Up, Time Walk, QUICK, Portrait etc. but it can also prevent important Poke-powers mid-game like Flash Bite, preventing OHKO’s on Gyarados, so Gyarados can subsequently be healed. This strategy is especially important in the Luxchomp match-up, making an Expert Belted Gyarados unable to be OHKO’d by Luxray GL Lv X, even with Trash Bolt and Lucario GL.

Mesprit plays an important role in Gyarados’s Luxchomp match-up, as well as being a great disruptive card early on in the game, and is re-usable through SSU and Seeker.


1 Combee SF –Combee’s use lies in its Ability “Honey”, allowing you to recover your 4th Magikarp from the discard and follow up with an evolution to Gyarados. It recovers Magikarp in spite of trainer-prevention (mainly Vileplume Undaunted, and also works as an easily searchable way of recovering Magikarp.


1 Regice LA – Mainly a card used for discarding Magikarps, Regice can be Collector’d for, discarding two Magikarps at a time. This allows Gyarados to have a speedy set up in case you can’t draw into a Junk Arm, or to be used in conjunction with Junk Arm to discard 3 Magikarps in one turn.

Regice also has other uses, such as switching out a Spiritomb, or disrupt setups. Regice can also discard useless trainer cards from your hand against Vileplume decks, especially to limit the damage output of attacks like Gengar’s Poltergeist.

It has a very large retreat cost, which means that it can be dragged up in certain match-ups (Luxray GL LV.X Bright Look, Blaziken FB Luring Flame, Froslass GL, etc). Warp Energy and Warp Point are ways to get Regice out of the active spot so it’s not stuck there while your opponent snipes around it.

1 Unown Q MD –QUICK allows you to freely retreat Smeargles, Sableyes and many other basics in your deck. Unown Q does have a downside though: its 30 HP, which can lead to it being donked even if your opponent goes first ( Uxie + energy or a Luxray GL/Garchomp C + DCE). But despite this, Unown Q generally helps the flexibility and speed of the deck in general by not having to waste an energy attachment (An issue, since most Gyarados builds play six or less).

Here is a good video of Unown Q in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qYCC...eature=channel


2 Crobat G PL –The ability to get 10, 20, 30 or even more damage from nowhere with Crobat G’s “Flash Bite”/Poke Turn/SSU/Seeker is incredible, and leads to unexpected OHKO’s. Unlike a lot of other “tech” cards played in Gyarados, Crobat G isn’t even a bad starter, thanks to its free Retreat and 80 HP. Flash Bite can even be used to get around effects and Poke-Powers like Rescue Energy and Fainting Spell. Overall, Crobat G is a very strong addition to Gyarados decks.






Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums


4 Pokemon Collector – Pokemon Collector is vital to the speed and consistency of Gyarados: letting you grab any 3 basic Pokemon allows the deck to get all the Magikarp it needs for immediate discard with other cards. It is also useful mid-to-late game as well, grabbing basics you might need like Crobat G, Mesprit, Combee and so forth (not to say those cards can’t be used early-game too).

4 is the universally “correct” number because you always want to have it in your opening hand. Pokemon Collector, being a Supporter obviously, can be used with Impersonate.

4 Junk Arm – Junk Arm lets you discard any two cards (most likely Magikarps) immediately, without even having to use a Supporter, while letting you re-use any of the trainers in your deck, such as SSU, Poke Drawer + and Pokemon Rescue, etc. Unfortunately, it’s necessary to have a Trainer card in the discard pile to use Junk Arm, but with the high amount of Trainers played, it’s not such a big issue.

4 Broken Time-Space – Broken Time-Space (“BTS”) allows you to immediately evolve Magikarp straight to Gyarados. For early-game speed, healing, and recovery,  four are in this build because it’s essential to have, even if that 1 BTS will last the rest of the game (which it will against most match-ups). Some lists can get away with 3, especially with the Poke Drawer +, but it can be a bit of a risk.

2 Luxury Ball – Luxury Ball is usually a one-of in most decks, but 2 are run here because the excess copy can be discarded. Luxury Ball is almost always better than Pokemon Communication, but 2 is probably the max that would be considered, due to the fact it can’t be used if one is already in your discard pile.

1 Pokemon Communication – This card acts as a sort of “3rd search” Trainer, but since you can use it whenever, it takes the spot of the 3rd Luxury Ball. Shuffling in useless Pokemon can be useful though, to get more cards from Uxie’s Set Up.

1 Bebe’s Search – If Luxury Ball and Pokemon Communication do basically the same thing as Bebe’s Search while being trainers, then why run Bebe’s Search at all? Basically, it helps with trainer lock, but still helps the deck’s overall consistency somewhat and can be Impersonated regardless of the situation. Some lists run 2, in case your 1 Bebe’s is prized or if you opponent plays a Lookers/Judge once you Impersonate, but due to space constraints, only 1 is run here.

1 Copycat – This card will probably be sticking out like a sore thumb to most readers, but it’s a solid draw supporter, and 1 or 2 draw supporters is never a bad idea in Gyarados.

Why having a draw supporter is good: Any draw supporter you run 1-2 (or even more) of can be Impersonated with Sableye should you have a bad hand. They can also be re-used with VS Seeker, which can in turn be re-used by Junk Arm. More than that, though, draw supporters can allow you to draw into cards that you couldn’t otherwise get. It also takes some “pressure” off SSU and Seeker, so you don’t have to “waste” them re-using Uxie’s Set Up and can use them for other Poke-Powers. That said though, many Gyarados lists run fine without any draw supporters, but they can be a nice inclusion.

Why Copycat over all the other options: On average, Copycat is netting you more cards than the other draw in our format at the moment. Some legitimate options include, but aren’t limited to:
• Volkner’s Philosophy
• Cynthia’s Feelings
• Judge/Looker’s Investigation (more about disruption than raw drawpower but are still good options)
Again, like all deck choices, what draw supporter(s) you play, should you play any, come down to preference and metagame.

4 Poke Drawer + - Poke Drawer + is a card that helps consistency, especially midgame, by being able to search out any 2 cards in your deck if you have two copies of it in your hand. This is especially good at getting otherwise unsearchable cards like Rescue Energy, Seeker etc. and has great synergy with Junk Arm. It can also be played one at a time to draw 1 card, which can be OK if you’ve got a bad hand to get you a shot at drawing into something decent or to draw into a certain card you really need, but the main reason you’ll ever want to play only 1 at a time is if you need a trainer card in the discard pile to allow Junk Arm to be played. Most times you’ll want to save a copy in case you get a 2nd.

Poke Drawer + is an overall great trainer, but another less obvious effect of playing it is that it allows the Gyarados player to cut back on certain cards they run. Example: While some lists might run 3 Expert Belt to help draw into it, if you run 4 Poke Drawer, you can easily get away with 2. Poke Drawer also works well with 1-of cards in general. In this list - VS Seeker, Pokemon Rescue and Poke Turn especially.

4 Super Scoop Up (“SSU”) - its main use is for scooping up a damaged Gyarados, but it can be used to re-use Uxie, Azelf, Crobat G, or any other coming-into-play Poke-Power (or Item, like Combee’s Honey). SSU can be Junk Arm’d and is very good with Mesprit, especially when you’re trying to use it enough times to get past Power Spray.

3 Seeker – In a similar vein to SSU, Seeker is useful in picking up your damaged Gyarados/ reactivate coming-into-play powers. Unlike SSU, it only works on your benched Pokemon, lets your opponent pick up a benched Pokemon , and is a Supporter card; but the fact Seeker doesn’t make you have to flip makes it a very strong card. The Warp Energy (or Warp Point)/Seeker combo is a surefire way of healing your Gyarados.

Seeker counts vary between Gyarados lists, and with VS Seeker, I feel that 3 is a good number, but it really depends on the rest of your decklist, your metagame and your personal preferences so there really isn’t a “wrong” Seeker count.

2 Expert Belt – Expert Belt is a great card which has synergy with the high amount of cards that can scoop a damaged Gyarados back up. Play it down on your Gyarados to increase its damage output and increase its HP, then when it gets damaged, just Warp/Seeker or SSU. Once you run out of healing cards, you don’t have to play it down on Gyarados again so you don’t have to risk the extra prize card when Gyarados gets KO’d.

2 Expert Belt is almost certainly the right amount in any Gyarados that runs Poke Drawer + or even Twins. In 99% of games, 2 Expert Belts is all you’ll need, and considering it can be Junk Arm’d as well, in most lists 2 is the correct amount.

1 Poke Turn – Poke Turn is an interesting card for Gyarados lists. When Triumphant came out, most lists were playing 3-4, but as City Championships progressed, more and more people started cutting their Poke Turn counts and some even getting rid of them altogether for other cards that they considered better. Poke Turn is, predictably, for re-using Crobat G’s Poke-Power Flash Bite or for just scooping up Crobat G to play something else in its spot, or even to remove damage from a Crobat G by scooping it up. But just how useful is that extra 10 damage? That’s up for the player making the list to decide.

So why 1 Poke Turn in this list? The idea is that it can be searched out with Poke Drawer + and re-used with Junk Arm so it’s a nice 1-of card in this deck. While I didn’t feel it was useful enough to justify 3-4 slots in this particular build, it can be occasionally very useful.

1 Warp Point – Warp Point falls into a similar category as Poke Turn, being a nice 1-of trainer card which can be searched out with Poke Drawer + and also be Junk Arm’d. Warp Point is a useful card in its own right, while acting as a switch card (good for getting Gyarados to the bench to Seeker, getting Sableye out of the active spot, getting Regice out of the active spot etc.) while also being able to take cheap prizes. It can be disruptive early on in the game if your opponent hasn’t got a Pokemon to send up to “sacrifice” and sometimes Warp Points can net you disruptive KO’s on Pokemon your opponent didn’t want to lose, but a lot of times when you play this card it’s just going to get you an easy prize, which is a good thing.

1 VS Seeker – VS Seeker can act as another of any one of your supporters (once they’ve been played) and can also be Junk Arm’d. It’s not impossible to use 5-6 Seekers a game because of this and it generally allows flexibility. 2 is a nice play, but only 1 is played here due to space constraints.

1 Pokemon Rescue – Yet another 1-of Junk Arm-able trainer card, Pokemon Rescue performs a different role to the others in this deck. It is used for getting back Magikarp once your Gyarados gets KO’d. One could argue that a 4th Rescue Energy does the same thing but better, but in some situations Pokemon Rescue is superior (if they have bypassed Rescue Energy’s effect in some way, or if they were able to KO Gyarados before you could draw into a Rescue Energy – Pokemon Rescue can be used after your Gyarados is KO’d) and it can also be re-used with Junk Arm, hence the 3-1 Rescue Energy/Pokemon Rescue split in this particular build.

Energy

3 Warp Energy – Warp Energy is a card primarily used to get Gyarados back to the bench to Seeker up, but can also be used to get cards like Sableye, Smeargle and Regice out of the active spot. Only 3 are run due to space constraints and because once you get the Warp Energy/Seeker combo, you can just re-use the same Warp Energy over and over again.

3 Rescue Energy – Used to recover both Magikarp and Gyarados when KO’d. If Gyarados is KO’d with anything other than damage, Gyarados will be discarded, so watch out. Usually, the only ways the opponent can do that is through Flash Bites, which means they aren’t OHKO’ing so you can often scoop Gyarados up, but it can happen.
It doesn’t have to be used on just Gyarados though. In some match-ups you might even want to attach it to your Regice. It can even be used for retreating if necessary, although not desirable.
 

"

Sorry for not posting an update yesterday: we have many good things in store from here on out, and, due to a combination of league, procrastination, and a paper to write, I was unable to update. There were no Deck List Dumps I felt comfortable giving out, either because they were redundant with current material, soon-to-be redundant with imminent material within the next few days, or just plain not worth showing (Wailord is at least a fun deck idea to use at league, as well as to plan ahead for - I'm sure none of you were interested in my Apprentice list entitled "SP Vomit.dec"). 

Now, for my musing...

Is it weird that I find it easier to write over 4,500 words on Pokemon in a single article (my latest 6P Underground article, located at http://www.sixprizes.com/tips-and-strategy/bracing-32k-tips-maximizing-season/)...Than just 1,200 words on Political Science? Now keep in mind, I love both to death...But it is unfortunate that I currently don't have the same zeal for a academics/a good grade that I do for Pokemon/$ USD. I'm usually no slouch with this stuff: my GPR is great; I'm soon to graduate from a great university; and, up until this semester, I've been top tier with all my studying, etc. So what is it?


Can't be my prof...The dude's too unbelievably awesome.

Can't be my lack of aptitude for the material, because I've been studying the United States court systems for the past two years...

Perhaps it's just a mix of senioritis and the urge to train?

I think so, folks. I think so.

So that's just what's going on right now. Expect the following within the next few days/week or so:

*The continuation of my article arc on the top ten events in the Pokemon TCG community of 2010 (Ten in '10);
*The start of a new article arc on tournament cleanliness, by Drrty Byl;
*A new article (perhaps a new article arc) on draft, by Jimmy O'Brien;
*A new article, by Roland/fffuuuu from the boards; and
*Thoughts, feelings, and analysis of the new set: Call of Legends.

/blog: the lighter, fluffier side of the HeyTrainer coin.

-HeyTrainer

Here at HeyTrainer, if we post something that holds a relatively high probability of being less than stellar, shaky, or just outright trash, we feel it's our obligation to inform you of this. Hence, we're quick to warn you on MANY things, including those aforementioned in yesterday's Palkia article.

(If it's an abomination, we here at /blog will be the first to tell you...No Skitty-Wailord spawn in these parts!)

Today, however, you should be afraid...Very afraid.

Warning: this deck list is not just rogue...It's super rogue.

Warning: this deck list is largely untested, and was made mainly just to challenge the notion that it's impossible to build the deck.

Warning: try beating Luxchomp consistently...Just try it! (But it does do better than you'd think.)

Pokémon (21):

3 Wailmer SV
3 Wailord TM
2 Totodile HS
2 Croconaw HS
2 Feraligatr Prime
4 Spiritomb AR
2 Uxie LA
1 Mesprit LA
1 Unown Q MD
1 Crobat G PL

    Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (22):

4 Seeker
4 Bebe’s Search
4 Pokémon Collector
3 Broken Time-Space
2 Pokémon Communication
2 Expert Belt
2 Cynthia's Feelings
1 Luxury Ball

      Energy (17):

14 Water
3 Warp

Warp/Seeker works really nice when the subject of your deck is a 180 HP behemoth. For added fun, if you feel your consistency isn't that bad, consider running Super Scoop Ups, too!

WARNING: THE BELOW LIST IS UNTESTED, AND MIGHT BE BEYOND HORRIBLE IN A REAL GAME!

WARNING: PALKIA LOCK IS A PROVEN ARCHETYPE FROM THE PAST, BUT MAY BE HORRIBLE FOR STATES, EVEN IF THE LUCARIO VARIANT IS SUPER-GOOD!

WARNING: THE BELOW LIST IS CRAZY-AWESOME!

Pokemon (18):

3 Palkia G PL
1 Palkia G LV.X PL
3 Uxie LA
1 Uxie LV.X
4 Mesprit LA
1 Crobat G PL
1 Azelf LA
1 Unown Q MD
1 Bronzong G PL
1 Lucario GL RR
1 Toxicroak G PR

Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (30):

4 Cyrus's Conspiracy
4 Pokemon Collector
4 Energy Gain
4 Poke Turn
4 Super Scoop Up
3 Seeker
2 SP Radar
2 Power Spray
1 Premier Ball
1 Pokemon Communication
1 Aaron's Collection

Energy (12):

5 Water
4 Call
2 SP
1 Psychic

(Is that it? Is that Palkia G?!)
[I don't think it is...Damn...]

The idea is pretty simple: use Mesprit's Psychic Bind to repeatedly assure a power lock for the whole game by means of Super Scoop Up and Seeker. The list could definitely use some hand disruption to make things extra cooler: Giratina PL, Judge, and/or Looker's Investigation are all awesome choices.

This is definitely atypical for SP, and - as qualified - could very well be terrible beyond belief. However, it's pretty easy to make tweaks to make this a more standard SP. It may take some work to do it, but you can feasibly fit 3-1 garchomp, 4 Double Colorless Energy, and an Ambipom G and/or Dragonite FB to make things work.

Also, to accommodate for your presumably horrid Lostgar (Gengar Prime Triumphant/Lost World Call of Legends) matchup, you might consider running Absol G LV.X, Chatot G, and a Lost World or three of your own.

(There...That's better.)

'Til next time,

-Heytrainer

Just started exercising the media arm a bit today, what with the new facebook group and all. Hopefully, there'll be more "get out the word" attempts within the next few days. Other than that, no big updates today, but expect some pretty interesting new articles within the next few days, including the next part or two of the "ten in '10" series. If you're new, be sure to RSS us : it's the fastest, easiest way to get updates on the site!

Until next time...

-HT

Carrying on with our "Ten in '10" series, here are the next two in my list of top ten events for the Pokemon TCG community this season...

#8: U.S. Nationals Moving Back to Indianapolis

(...Why are we all sitting Indian Style in Indianapolis?)

Apologies for the disgusting pun - just thought I'd bring that to your attention.

Why it mattered: After U.S. Nationals vacating the Origins Game Convention, the event's uncertainty was left up in the air. In 2009 we saw it in the (poor) location of downtown St. Louis, Missouri; and in 2010, we saw it arrive in Indianapolis, although not without a long wait.

This year, after much positive feedback, Play! Pokemon was pleased to quickly announce Nationals would - again - be in Indianapolis, Indiana. Does this mean that Nats's new "permanent" location will be this city? Only time will tell...

#7: Sixprizes Underground 

(What, you mean it's NOT free?!)

      Why it mattered: Unlike the other two leading trading card games, Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh, high-quality Pokemon Trading Card Game information is unusually scarce, and consistent quality is even scarcer. As a result, many new, independent organizations sought to remedy this void in the community, including SixPrizes.com (ranked as the second most significant event of 2009 by me), HeyTrainer.org (ranked fourth), and Jwittz's youtube videos (ranked tenth).

However, the great challenge faced by any community older than a year is keeping its content fresh and strong. Since the youtube market was relatively untapped, Josh W. didn't have to do much work at all to keep things fresh; however, Sixprizes and HeyTrainer faced this issue in spades. The latter's answer - our answer - was this blog, which seeks to offer an extremely consistent stream of high-quality content, which doesn't require filtering through a message board. SixPrizes's answer?

"Underground": the first Pokemon TCG pay site in over two years. For $15/month, you can read content written by some of the best and/or most recognizable names in the community, including yours truly. From the latest cutting-edge lists, to more long-term principles, the staff is well equipped to make this a worthwhile service...

...For those who want to pay. The preceding pay site, thetopcut.com, charged its members a mere $5/month, which was considered well below peoples' "pain threshold." But is $15 per month worth it? Many of the site's subscribers swear by Underground, but several others...Not so much.

Regardless of whether it's a product worth buying (I hope you buy it, because I get paid more if you do!), the fact of the matter is that it is catching attention, and has revived a previously untapped element in the card community. Whether it will remain is unknown...

A fairly popular article on my site last year was the "2009's Top Ten Most Signifcant Events" series, where I discussed ten major moments in the Pokemon TCG community.

 
Now that 2010 has been a thing of the past for three weeks, and now that we have /blog, I think that it's time to offer up a sequel to that segment...On the perfect platform!

 
In formulating this list, the main problem I had was that we didn't really have much in the way of new developments? What we did have, however, could be summarized in three words:

Evolution; lack; and stagnation.

What came about last year (HeyTrainer, Sixprizes, youtube videos) has built on its foundation; evolution.

 
Much of what we needed or wanted, we don't have; lack.

And some things have just stayed the same; they've remained stagnant.

So without further ado, I bring you...Numbers 10 and 9 of "The Top Ten of '10."

#10: The Undefeated Worlds Victory of Yuta Komatsuda

(An undefeated win is all well and good, but...Why on Earth is he using those horrid Garchomp sleeves?)

Why it Mattered: In order to understand how important this victory is, let’s look at the past nationalities of each Worlds winner in the Masters division…

2004: Japanese
2005: American
2006: American
2007: Finnish
2008: American
2009: American
2010: Japanese

What happened the last time a Japanese player won Worlds? Simple: due to the lack of contact between Japanese and non-Japanese players, champ Tsuguyoshi Yamato – and his country – achieved
a status of unrivaled mystique. However, thanks in large part to American dominance, Japan’s momentum and relevance to the competitive field have eroded…Until now, that is.

Not since then has there been so much curiosity and interest in the decks that Japanese play, the formats they use, and all other pieces of information that are, for 362.25 days of the year, less relevant to us than information on our “own” metagames and communities.

Now, let’s consider the records of World Champions…

2004: 12-0
2005: 11-2
2006: 11-2
2007: 8-2
2008: 10-2
2009: 10-2
2010: 12-0

While almost no one would contest the validity and value of a Worlds win, nearly everyone would agree that it usually takes some record blemishes to get that title. So when someone emerges victorious from the world’s toughest event with NO losses, the community better take notice.

 
So what was interesting about Yuta’s list? Here are a couple of the points I raised in my very first /blog article:

*The playing of Professor Oak’s New Theory
*No Call
*1-1 Dialga G LV.X

 
None of these were common in lists before Yuta’s win, but after the fact, we’ve seen a huge change in the way that SP lists look. Since SP is at the forefront of the 2010-2011 metagame right now, anything that radically affects SP cannot be ignored.

 
For these two reasons, Yuta’s undefeated win was major in 2010, as well as vital in setting the stage for 2011.

 #9: Metagame Stagnation

 (Remember us?)

Why it mattered: Due to the expanded card pool, many of the decks that have been good for season after season…Are still good.

 
What does this mean for newer cards? Simple: they’re not as good! It sure does suck when literally every new deck is held to the “does it beat Luxchomp, Gyarados, and Vilegar?” standard…Every one of them! As a result, whole sets – sans their new Trainer and Supporter cards – become lost. Even worse, that blasphemous triumvirate of Pokemon archetypes has been at the top of the field since States 2010! While that may be troubling in some ways, the deeper implications of the new Modified format are that people can actually leave the game for prolonged periods of time, come back, and still have some reasonable hope for success at events. Whether such an advantage outweighs the disadvantages is up to you, but both are crucial to keep in mind.

(Once rogue; now vogue)

 
The only things that kill top decks these days are format rotation, and power inflation. I’m afraid that Pokemon Card Laboratory is moving too slowly in the former, and too quickly in the latter. For these troubling reasons, I made this #9 on my list of major events.

(I’ve been eating little childrens’ brains since 2008. That isn’t too long, is it?)

(Is this image big enough to give you a seizure? I hope so!)

 

Today, we'll be visiting yet another absurdly broken deck for the Unlimited format: Porygon 2 GE. Like Crobat G spam, this deck is capable of winning on the first turn with relative ease. Below, you will find heytrainer.org/forum member Jade's deck list, as well as some of his elaboration on the strategy:

"Deck List Dump: Unlimited Porygon2/Seeker Spam

Pokemon (20):
4 Jirachi DX
4 Unown R
3 Uxie LA
2 Porygon2 GE
2 Porygon GE
1 Azelf LA
1 Rotom UD
1 Ditto RG
1 Drifblim UD
1 Drifloon MD

Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (39):
4 Computer Search
4 Item Finder
4 Pokedex Handy910is
4 Pokedrawer+
4 Pokemon Communication
4 Quick Ball
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Seeker
2 Broken Time Space
1 Luxury Ball
1 Mr Fuji
1 Pokemon Retriever
1 VS Seeker
1 Windstorm

Energy (1):
1 Boost Energy

Quick Strategy: Spam Seeker by using Porygon2 GE's Download Pokepower to remove an Opponent's Benched Pokemon as well as picking up your own Porygon2 GE to reuse the Download PokePower to keep the chain going. Once you have got rid of the Opponent's bench, use Drifblim UD's Take Away attack to seal the game win.

There is a few noticable game combinations:
Rotom UD & Azelf MT.
In Modified, you usually do not find the right consistency to sacrifice a bench space just for Rotom and get the cards right away in a pinch, hence why Alph Lithograph is better in that area. However in Unlimited, you have far more consistency and can clear a bench space if you need to play down Rotom for the Mischeavious Trick PokePower. It worked wonders after using Azelf LA's Time Work PokePower, and if you notice a key card like Boost Energy, or a VS Seeker being prized - this is your opportunity to locate it and switch the topdeck with, and can draw right away by many draw cards such as Pokedex Handy910is, Pokedrawer+, and Unown R.

Uxie LA, Professor Oak:
You may see why I do not run Professor Oak, it is all due to the mass versatility of Uxie LA with cards like Scoop Up and Seeker. Normally in a game, you would use the Seeker in the Supporter slot for picking up a Uxie, and reserve most of the remaining Seekers for chaining Porygon2's Download Pokepower while saving the 5th (usually last) Seeker to pick up Uxie instead of Porygon2 GE to draw more cards, as well as using 4 Scoop Up mainly for reusing Uxie LA's Set Up Pokepowers.

Windstorm:
The 60th card slot in the deck, mainly to counter the deck's biggest blockage - Unown G. Yep, that's right, if someone attached Unown G to their Active Pokemon, that would prevent you from Take Away a win - hence the reason for this card. Alternatively, you could go for Gust of Wind...Or even Warp Point...

This post was brought to you by the one, and the only Jade (with input from Heytrainer himself)."

A fun little list that I considered using very early in my testing for Cities, but ultimately dropped.
 

Pokemon (18):

4 Horsea LA
3 Seadra LA
4 Kingdra Prime (or 3 Kingdra Prime/1 Kingdra LA)
2 Crobat G
2 Uxie LA
1 Azelf LA
1 Mesprit LA
1 Unown Q MD

Trainers (34):

4 Pokemon Collector
4 Broken Time-Space
4 Junk Arm
3 Seeker
3 Super Scoop Up
3 Pokemon Communication
3 Team Galactic's Invention G-105 Poke Turn
3 Bebe's Search
3 Rare Candy
2 Expert Belt
1 VS Seeker
1 Luxury Ball

Energy (8):

8 Water

The gist of Kingdra? It's essentially Gyarados, only better against certain stage two decks (perhaps Vilegar), equally good against Dialgachomp or Sablelock, and worse versus Luxchomp. Our goal with this list is to give us more options with spamming Kingdra Prime's "Spray Splash" than ever before: with Seeker, VS Seeker, Junk Arms, and the Super Scoop Ups/Poke Turns, your ability to deal "free" damage is rivaled by almost no other deck.

This build is a bit inconsistent mid-game due to no backup recovery draw (i.e., Cynthia's Feelings, Copycat, or Professor Oak's New Theory). Therefore, you may want to consider cutting something..."What?" is the big question, though.
 

Not quite as retro as the last retro article, but still up there...However, keep in mind that Gyarados was abandoned for a brief period during Battle Roads, so the context that this was written in is radically different than what we have now.

There's a great deal of PTCG literature on Gyarados, but I feel that this was great for the time, and has many suggestions/ideas that are applicable today...The only difference is that you have to include 4 Junk Arm.

Gyarados
-By Austin Baggs

(Originally submitted on 10/4/2010)

"Yes, the angry dragon/eel/fish is STILL here and kickin’ (or splashing, rather)! Over the past few weeks of going through old tournament reports and decklists, I remembered how well Gyarados has treated me every time I’ve played it. However, I had a small issue with the deck concerning the recent rotation. The exclusion of Claydol (GE), Night Maintenance, and Felicity’s Drawing were something of a hindrance to the efficiency of the deck. Sure, there are cards like Uxie and Volkner’s Philosophy that could fill in, but would it work? Some….no, MANY have completely written of Gyarados until Junk Arm and Rescue Energy are released. While I agreed with the assumptions that the deck won’t work without felicity’s/claydol for a while, I quickly found that the deck can still fully function without them, but THRIVES in a format with trainer lock where using supporters is required as well as a pokemon that can FISH (har har, puns) them out of your deck.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “What are you going to do against Vileplume, scrub? Good luck winning when you can’t play SSU, Communications, Poketurns, and most importantly, your rescues, which Gyarados hinges on.” This is a very valid argument for not running the deck, but the key to victory lies in Dialga G Lv. X. Yeah, DGX as some call it gives Gyarados the edge it needs in a meta full of trainer locks whether it’s from Spiritombs or Vileplumes. I initially thought Floatzel GL Lv. X was a more solid play, not requiring me to run recovery cards, but G’dos is also about NOT being KO’d (thanks to super scoop ups), and another pokemon with Lightning weakness is no fun. When you combine the 1-1 DGX along with 3 warp energy, you can get it out relatively quickly and continue your beatdown on some of the most played decks in the format right now. While it doesn’t help the SP matchup in the slightest, you should be able to do well against them anyway, considering you OHKO them while they are typically forced to take cheap prizes around gyarados as well as the occasional Trash Bolt/Lucario OHKO. The SP matchup hasn’t really changed as much post rotation, I’d put it at an even 50-50 because so much of the matchup depends on who can keep up the stream of KO’s as well as the use of Expert Belt on G’dos’ side of the field. Regimove also plays a huge factor, allowing Gyarados to take a prize nearly every turn, barring Power Sprays.

I was also asked to discuss the relevance and efficiency of Volkner’s Philosophy as a Felicity’s Drawing substitute. Yes, Volkner is a moody guy, nowhere nearly as cheerful as Felicity, and he makes it clear that he doesn’t care that you can only discard one Magikarp with his “Philosophy”. Aside from the 1 card discard, Volkner’s can do wonders for the deck. Judge is a commonly played card right now, and getting rid of G’dos’ large hand for a measly 4 can suck, especially when holding onto those recovery cards you need. Volkner’s can not only get rid of a trash card from your hand, but also let you keep the good cards while drawing until you have 6, which is pretty good for not having claydol. The other reason it still works is because you need 3 magikarp in the discard. Regice can take care of 2 while Volkner’s drops the 3rd, still getting the same amount of discard *required* to set up, but not necessarily drawing as many cards mid-late game as Felicity’s would.

One last note before posting the list is the importance of Warp Energy. Between Bright Looks, Luring Flames, Sleep Inducers (Froslass GL), Reversals, and starting with Regice or Dialga G X, Warp Energy has saved my bacon several times. It can also be used to get out of a Status Condition such as Paralysis, Poison, Sleep, Confusion, etc. It also comes in handy when getting Gyarados back to the bench so that you can Psychic Restore back into the deck for late-game Set Up. The main reason it’s so essential in the current list is really to get your DGX to the bench safely after you level up, though.

Gyarados:
4 Magikarp
3 Gyarados
4 Sableye
1-1 Dialga G X
1 Regice
2 Crobat G
2 Uxie
1 Azelf

4 Pokemon Collector
4 Volkner’s Philosophy
3 Bebe’s Search
2 Cynthia’s Feelings
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Poketurn
4 Pokemon Rescue
2 Pokemon Communication
2 Expert Belt
1 Luxury Ball
1 VS Seeker
3 Broken Time Space

4 Darkness Energy (Special)
3 Warp Energy

Battle Road:
Tom Bean, TX
5 Rounds / Top 4
10-3-2010

Round 1: Shuppet
He starts off by Fading out 30 to my sableye, promoting his uxie, with regice benched on his side. I impersonate and start setting up, by turn 2 I was swinging with Gyarados for 80 via 2 karps in discard + expert belt and took the game on turn 4.
1-0



Round 2: Machamp
I’m not one for making excuses, but I think I was destined to lose this one. I open Sableye to his Machop. I bench Azelf and Time Walk to find 2 Magikarp and Regice having a little pity-party in my prizes, great…He pulls T1 Machamp while I flail (yeaaaah puns) around with 1 Magikarp in the discard smacking him for 50 thanks to expert belt. He levels up, KO’s my G’dos, and even though I manage to take 3 prizes, he hits a Warp Point for the game.
1-1

Round 3: Jumpluff/Vileplume/Sunflora
He gets set up quickly thanks to Spiritombs and Sunfloras, but I start abusing Sableye’s ability to set up thanks to supporters and continually Regimove out of Tombs until I have DGX benched and Gyarados swinging for 90+ for OHKO’s. He hits an energy drought 5 turns in and I swept from there out.
2-1

Round 4: Tech.dec (Garchomp C, Drifblim FB, Umbreon, Mewtwo)
His deck was completely teched out to consistently beat Gengar, SP, and Vileplumes, but not Gyarados. I had a T1 gyarados swinging for 60 for a while. (I kept the other ‘Karp and a G’dos in my hand for when my current one died from poison to ensure I could still keep a Gyarados out). Once I had the next one swinging for 90+ I swept the rest of the game.
3-1

Round 5: Garchomp Box
His deck was a straightforward Garchomp -6 turn/6 prize-rush deck. He starts first with Ambipom G/DCE Snap Attack on my Crobat G start. I collector for Sableye + Crobat G, attach SP Dark and Expert Belt to Sableye, Flash Bite his Ambipom G, and OverconfiDONK.
4-1

Top 4: Kingdra/Tomb
Game 1: We go down to 1-1 prizes where my well placed Flash Bites win me the game
5-1

Game 2: I take a huge prize lead and Flash Bites + Expert Belt OHKO’s on his Kingdras are too much for him.
6-1

Top 2: Blaziken FB/Garchomp C
Game 1: Within the first 2 turns, he Jet Shoots my Sableye, but I pull off a Gyarados with one ‘Karp in the discard via Volkner’s followed by a Flash Bite for a crucial return KO out of nowhere. I set up from there on out as we trade prizes. He knows I run Warp Energy, so he avoids relying on Luring Flame. We go down to 1-1 prizes back and forth until he knows I can Regimove for my last prize and we go to game 2.
7-1

Game 2: I get a faster (full) set up and take a small prize lead but he manages to catch up and make it a close game. He used all 4 Power Sprays to keep me from double Flash Bite-ing his Garchomp C X down to 90 HP since I couldn’t hit an expert belt to save my life. I had to Regimove each turn to take prizes, allowing him to Dragon Rush 4 times in a row. Eventually, his sprays ran out and I hit the 90 HP to KO his Chomp C X taking us down to 1-1 prizes again. He uses Set Up for 5, but whiffs his 2nd Chomp C X (which would give him the win), so he promotes Blaziken FB, attaches a Fire energy and Luring Flames up my Regice. I reveal my Warp Energy and I take the win.
8-1

Tulsa, OK
5 Rounds, Top 4 cut

I play the same list as before -1 Cynthia's Feelings / +1 Judge.

Round 1: Michael - Kingdra/Gengar
I set up while he takes a couple cheap prizes via Spray Splash/Shadow Room. I eventually get setup and catch up in prizes while avoiding Fainting Spell. He started to run into an energy drought as well as prize issues and I take the win.
1-0

Round 2: Taylor - Gyarados
We both set up well with him hitting full setup within 2 turns without sableye, which was pretty sick, but he hits a crucial Reversal on my belted Crobat G to pretty much seal the game after we traded prizes for a while. GG man!
1-1

Round 3: Tyler - LuxChomp
He starts bronzong call to my sableye as we both start to set up. He gets some solid plays in, but lack of Lucario as well as needed Sprays clinched the game in my favor. I got a few real nice OHKO's and a couple SSU's to seal the victory. Sorry we had to play, duuuuude.
2-1

Round 4: Savannah - Machamp/Donphan
Not much to this match. She opens with Uxie to my lone Magikarp. She passes, I topdeck regice/collector for 2 karp and a Crobat G, drop my hand size, flashbite, and pull the T1 gyarados Tail Revenge for 60 and donk. We play two more (2/3) and she donks me the second game and I take game 3.
3-1

Round 5: ?? - LuxChomp
He opens with his Dialga G tech and starts to set up but can't hit a Cyrus for a while, but unfortunately for me, he was able to bright look my Regice for 4-5 turns while we both sat there hoping to topdeck something, lol. After a few turns, we both go back to actually playing/trading prizes. He hits a few big KO's but I manage to keep up the prize trade and take my last two prizes via Flashbites on benched Garchomp C X/OHKO on Dialga G X thanks to tail revenge + e-belt + SSU on a crobat G.
4-1

Top 4: Chris - Dialga/Luxray/Garchomp SP
G1) He runs alllll over me with sprays/bright look KO's/Galactic's HQ spam. I took 2 prizes to his 6 iirc.
G2) I actually get to set up, but have to deal with poison structure/Galactic's HQ seeing as I can't hit a BTS for the life of me. T2 I impersonate a Judge that really throws him off, giving me a turn or two to set up. We trade prizes for a while with him having a 2 prize lead until I hit a huge SSU to keep me in the game. Time is called and he knows I can take my last two prizes within the time limit so we head to Sudden Death!
SD) We set out one prize each, and fortunately for me, he doesn't start with luxray or garchomp, and I started with sableye. I get the T2 Gyarados and manage to take the prize thanks to volkner's netting me and expert belt.
5-1

Top 2: Taylor - Gyarados
G1) I get T1 Overconfident on his magikarp, he promotes again and starts to mount a set up, so I do as well. I Impersonate a collector and realize that a magikarp, azelf, and 2 rescues are prized....I get up one gyarados that he manages to OHKO and I scoop knowing I won't be able to take a prize.
G2) We both start to set up smoothly when I happened to score a KO T2 with my g'dos to his sableye, then smack his gyarados for 90 followed by an overconfident KO which he return KO's with his Gyarados. The next turn, I flashbite 4x and OHKO his gyarados and he can't keep up by then. It ended up pretty close.
G3) This game definitely went more in my favor as I got a solid T1 gyarados hitting for 60 and played my belts very carefully. I ended up being able to draw into most of what I needed and OHKO'd a gyarados, to which he had to stall a turn or two which gave me a 2 prize lead. He played a solid game; it's always fun to play Taylor.
6-1

It was a great tournament and I was glad to see 5 rounds with a full Top Cut for a BR both events. Feel free to discuss your thoughts on the deck, criticism is always welcome when rational. Hopefully the article can at least put to rest some of the speculation regarding Gyarados’ viability, but I certainly wouldn’t expect that these results are completely typical across the board for everyone."

Headed back to school today, so no elaboration or explanation...Just enjoy it for all it's worth.

Pokemon (14):

4 Spiritomb AR
4 Crobat G PL
1 Uxie LA
1 Jolteon * HP
1 Duskull SF (secret holo)
1 Pidgey RG
1 Holon's Magnemite
1 Unown Q MD

Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (46):

4 Professor Oak
4 Scoop Up
4 Super Scoop Up
4  Team Galactic's Invention G-105 Poke Turn
4 Computer Search
4 Poke-Drawer+
4 Junk Arm
4 Item Finder
4 Erika
4 Mr. Fuji
4 Pokemon Collector
1 Seeker
1 Alph Lithograph FOUR

Energy (0):

[None]

Strategy is pretty simple: spam a million Crobat G "Flash Bite" damage counters until you've won. Between Scoop Up, SSU, Item Finder, Junk Arm, Mr. Fuji, Poke Turn, and Seeker, you get an extra 250 damage available to you in addition to the fifty you started with via Jolteon and Crobat G.

Many of the tweaks in here are very, very metagame oriented, so proceed with caution.

For more variety, consider running a tech Zapdos MD. I used to run a Zapdos "decK" for unlimited pickup games at Worlds 2007 and Worlds 2008, but that deck is largely inferior to this due to the constant flipping you have to do (i.e., the risk you put yourself at). However, it could still be decent as a 1- of for situations where you've got lots of Pokemon to deal with (as a rule of thumb, Zapdos MD is statistically "better" whenever your opponent has three or more Pokemon in play...But it's not worth the risk unless they've got four or more).

P.S. Today's post was brought to you by...Some random people who make aluminum house decks:

No updates today?

Well...Not quite:

As promised from my last entry, I will conclude the City Championship report arc with a few seemingly miscellaneous, yet totally-relevant issues…

#1: Why Did I Drop Out of My Last City Championship?

    Reason #1: Ratings. For those who aren’t aware, one of the major battlegrounds to determine World Championship invites is the ELO ratings and rankings system. Essentially, the premise behind it is that if you win games, then your rating goes up; if you lose games, your rating goes down. The catch, however, is that the higher your rating gets, the harder it is to earn points: you are given less for playing low-rated players. While this system makes a great deal of sense in a game of pure skill, it is imperfect in a game such as Pokemon, where luck can and will be a huge factor. Many, such as Ian F. (“NoPoke”), have proposed a ‘Bayesian luck modifier’ to accommodate this luck variance, which has recently picked up some steam in the community.

    However, the true issue with ELO is not its direction application to a luck-based game; instead, it’s due to its consequences. Since it’s possible to lose very big points even when making top cut, players have been known to “drop” from events, either upon swiss’s conclusion, or even earlier. My drop, motivated by ratings, was based for all of the following sub-reasons…

*High-risk/low gain. Had I taken losses in the top eight or even top four, my gains on the day would have completely evaporated. This was not the case at any prior event I had played, where my rating had not achieved a high enough status to warrant such drops.

* The round one bye watered down my rating gain relative to my record on the day. Even at “5-1,” the reality was that all I had were five rated matches, which was a big reason why the “high-risk” point became an issue.

*I had to stop the bleeding. I felt throughout much of the day that my playing was not as sharp as it should have been, and – given the shaky side effects I had from my Ambien the night before – I was certain that I’d have trouble with a top cut. Furthermore, I’ve been constantly complaining about the issues in my list, which I felt would have ultimately caught up with me in top four or top two.

    Reason #2: I didn’t want to play anymore for that day. For many of us competitive players, it’s easy to get too wrapped up into things, but at the end of the day, you play the game for fun, and you don’t play it when you don’t see prospect of fun. I simply wasn’t thrilled with the idea of playing for what could’ve been at least three more hours, having to switch venues away from the library it was being held at, fighting the rat race for a title I definitely didn’t need, and – most importantly – losing the rest of my afternoon.
  

 Also, with Cameron and Alex F. in the top cut, I was eager to maybe see one of them take the title after our rivalries this season. While that didn’t happen, I would have been an immediate barrier to Alex’s shots of pulling off the win, as I was to be paired with him in top eight had I not dropped.

    Would it have been cool to pull off a fifth win in a row? Yes. Was it possible to do it? Most certainly, especially in hindsight…But did it really matter?

No, not really. Say what you will, but I think that between this and the ratings, I had some rock-solid reasons to not play anymore. These two, in addition to emergencies, constitute the main reasons why people ever really drop from events, or why they don’t attend them at all.
With just five tournaments, I stand at an extremely comfortable 1777 ELO. Unfortunately, Play! Pokemon’s rankings are unavailable, but by conservative estimates, that puts me in the top thirty-ranked North American players. Granted, that isn’t enough by itself to achieve a Worlds invite, but all it takes at this point is a solid showing at States, Regionals, Nationals, or a combination of the three.

#2: What was the Metagame like?

As I said in my previous post, I was able to find out the main contents of 34 of 37 decks from the event. They were:
Luxchomp x5
Vilegar x4
Gyarados x3
Tyranitar Prime x3
“Speed Gengar” x2
Scizor x2
Steelix x2
Donphan x2
Magnezone x2
Dialgachomp
Blazechomp
Charizard
Feraligatr/Kyogre
Vespiquen/Shaymin
Shuppet donk
Mamoswine
“Random dark deck”
“Random water deck”
 (Unaccounted for x3)

Think the metagame for this event looks really spread out? So do I.

Between the “big four” (Luxchomp, Dialgachomp, Vilegar, Gyarados), we saw somewhat-reasonable representation. However, one could easily make the claim that these four decks were underrepresented: considering that Dialgachomp was the darling of last week’s Cities all over the country, and considering that Luxchomp is the winningest deck of the whole season, it’s somewhat wild that they were only played in quantities of one and five, respectively. Most shocking to me this whole season is how unpopular the former is in the Dallas area…In a field of fifty (Plano), only two people used it, and in a field of forty (Dallas), only I did! But yeah, take it however you will that only a third of the field was the big four: do you think this was a good thing, or a bad thing?

Regarding the other duplicate decks, we see some surprises. The “speed Gengars” were basically more classic versions of Gengar, featuring Crobat G, Poke Turn, Mewtwos, and Nidoqueen to go for aggressive kills. Also represented were two Scizor decks, two Steelix decks (one of which directly inspired by the marathon), and…Three Tyranitar? I didn’t see that coming at all, but when you think about it, it makes some sense if players are wanting to go “rogue,” yet still want an easy Vilegar game. Assuming you can get your SP matchup down, this thing can be pretty nice to use. Last of all, we had some surprise amounts of Donphan and Magnezone, which I don’t feel I can really explain. Given all of the Gengar, the one Dialgachomp, the Steelix, the Scizor, and even some of those rogue decks I listed at the bottom, Donphan just didn’t seem like a good play at all.

Last of all, we have some of the zany rogue decks. I don’t think I need to explain the “random” decks too much – they’re just prolific among new players, are a step above theme decks, and barring the best events, always going to show up in some quantity. The Blazechomp seemed like it had certain advantages in a metagame like this, but didn’t look like too great of a choice compared to Luxchomp, Dialgachomp, or even some Sableye variant. Charizard, Vespiqueen, Shuppet donk, and Mamoswine…Have their own issues.

But that Kyogre deck? That was my brother, who deliberately wanted to use something rogue for this event. While it didn’t go so well for him, sometimes you do things not because it’s the optimal move; sometimes you do them because they’ll maximize your interest in the game. And while I did my best to discourage him from playing it, sometimes you just have to cede when a man’s just trying to have fun with his critters. That's what the game is about, after all.

Here were the top nine decks in the field, both before and after my drop…First, the “after” seeding:

Top Eight:

1st Seed: Cameron H. (Luxchomp/ERL) VS 8th: Chris (Blazechomp)
4th:  Ron (Vilegar) VS 5th: Michael (Tyranitar)
2nd Seed: Robert O. (Gyarados) VS 7th: Matt S. (Vilegar)
3rd: Desmond E. (Luxchomp) VS 6th: Alex F. (Steelix)

Top Four:

1st Seed: Cameron H. (Luxchomp/ERL) VS 5th Seed: Michael (Tyranitar)
2nd Seed: Robert O. (Gyarados) VS 3rd Seed: Desmond E. (Luxchomp)

Finals:

5th Michael (Tyranitar) VS 3rd Desmond (Luxchomp)


Some commentary:

*I’m obviously not surprised at all about Cameron and Alex doing well: they’ve succeeded all season, so it doesn’t surprise me a bit that their decks – no matter what they’d play – would make it into cut.

*Thanks to finally choosing a deck that works for him, Robert has gone from a low success season to two consecutive top cuts. By relinquishing rogue, and instead playing a very solid Gyarados list (feat. Black Belt and other slick plays), he was actually able to survive against his rough Vilegar matchup.

*While I predicted Luxchomp taking the event after I left, I was surprised to see that Desmond’s did instead of Cameron’s. What’s in his list, and what carried him to the end? That I can’t tell you: I haven’t  played against him yet this season.

*With better bracket placement, I feel like Ron’s 2-1 Mewtwo would have carried him to some very easy wins against any of the SP that cut. Could he have won the whole thing? Perhaps, but all I know is that getting Tyranitar Prime in the first round of cut is about the worst thing that could have happened to him.

*Perhaps the biggest thing that surprised me was Michael’s rebound after losing to me. If I recall correctly, he took a loss right after that game, and then won every game until the finals of the whole tournament…And with a Tyranitar Prime deck? WOW!

*Matt Shepherd, who’s been trying to get back into the game lately, saw his first top cot since he started back up at Tom Bean. His list is good, and he’s even taken down a well-known name in the process (Martin), but one thing or another has led him to just not quite getting there. Today changed things for him, though.

*And last up is Chris, whose unorthodox Blazechomp build would have bubbled had I not dropped. Perhaps due to his Looker’s and colorless techs, he was able to bring Cameron to a third game, but ultimately, he couldn’t get past Cam.

The ultimate upset for this event was Cameron losing to the Tyranitar, which ought to get steamrolled by Luxchomp in most games. However, Michael’s high draw and search counts helped him persevere and destroy.

Now, my decision to drop severely screwed up the natural order of things. Had I been a 4-2 with high resistance, it wouldn’t have been quite as bad…But because I was second seed, it shifted the whole bracket (sans Cameron) up a spot, thus radically changing the matchups. Here’s what would have been had I not dropped:

Universe B

1st Seed: Cameron H. (Luxchomp/ERL) VS 8th: Matt S. (Vilegar)

4th: Desmond E. (Luxchomp) VS 5th: Ron (Vilegar)

2nd Seed: John K. (Dialgachomp) VS 7th: Alex F. (Steelix)

3rd: Robert O. (Gyarados) VS 6th Michael (Tyranitar)

Alex and I both knew that I had the edge in our would-be matchup…But that definitely didn’t mean that I had a decisive edge for the next cut round after that. My prediction is that Robert would have beaten me in top four…Which, given his past tournaments, would have meant a rating nosebleed. From there, it would have been a toss-up; however, I get the vibe that Vilegar would have won the whole event, given the fact that it has several  natural advantages versus Gyarados (sans time), as well as the 2-1 Mewtwo factor. If Desmond did not run a counter, then I feel this is definitely what would have happened, and so – despite the time disadvantage Vilegar is constantly put at – he would have persevered for a legitimate win in the event.

#3: Ultimately, What Went Right (and Wrong) for Cities?

As previously stated, I went a 31-4 record: an absurd count to go by any means, and a number that could even defy variance.
So first, I’ll start with some of the things that went well:

*I used reliable decks. I had the urge to use some pretty far-out decks, but in the end, I “cratered,” going back to SP every time. At the moment, I’m not comfortable with how any other deck plays out, and so feel almost obliged to stick with SP. This opinion may very well change come States, what with the arrival of Lost World and all, but for this period of the season…Consistency was the way to go, and SP is what brought it.

*I made a successful deck switch halfway through cities in order to account for the changing metagame. While the end result of my two lists were far from anything that could be considered “perfect,” my  life became so much easier when it was Dialga doing the dirty work for some matchups in place of Luxray GL and Garchomp C.

*Simply put, I got lucky. Every tournament I used Luxchomp, I – without fail – had at least one game every event where I would go  up against the grass deck of the week, which tends to have a very, very rough game against Luxchomp (my opponent in Tom Bean admitted this quite openly). And even if my Dialga switch was a good metagame choice, the fact that I was pairing against Yanmega and Tyranitar so much prove just how much of a lucksack I can be. Some of my play-testing friends would be very quick to decry these matchups as “soft,” and they may be right on the mark.

*I definitely made some good plays across these five tournaments, and knew my SP mirror match very well by this point. Regardless of where you're playing, if you don't know your SP matchup, then you're going to sink fast.

However, I can’t possibly keep patting myself on the back…After all, I did lose four games, and let three potential wins slip away due to convincing myself to drop. Let’s consider where I could have improved upon:

*Regarding my swiss loss at College Station, TX, with Luxchomp (read Part 2): while Double Power Spray is a terrible situation to get stuck against, I admittedly could have made one or two tweaks to my list at this event that would have made it better. The extra Crobat G was entirely unnecessary, and could have easily been  a 4th Call Energy, a 3rd Power Spray, or something better that would have advanced my mirror hopes.

(Moral of the story: every space is crucial, so make them all count.)

*Regarding my swiss loss at Tom Bean…There’s nothing reasonable I could have done for that at all. When you run four Call Energy and fifteen basics, it is beyond absurd to get first-turned by an opposing Garchomp C.
(Moral of the story: don’t get worked up – you’re bound to lose some games for less-than-desirable reasons that are largely out of your control.)

 *Regarding my swiss loss at Plano, I should have been on plans within plans within plans in order to recover that match. (specifically, one of my decisions for Aaron’s Collection was very sub-par). Had I done that, I probably would have won even in spite of the horrid hand. A slightly different deck tweak would have been sufficient, as well.

(Moral of the story: even seemingly “minor” misplays can make a world’s difference. If you want to improve, then you need to consider where all you went wrong, and how much you can improve it. The tighter your playing is, the further you’ll advance/ There are MANY players I know who are too proud to admit that they make mistakes…And because they’re too proud to admit it, they’ll never get what they want done in this game. So please, don’t be this player, and start being open about your mistakes to people instead of saying “oh, I got unlucky.”)

*For the Dallas tournament, I should have just run Luxchomp with 1-1 Dialga…Seriously, that’s all I needed to do in order to win this event. While some fringe matchups (Donphan) would have become worse for me, it would have been at the gain of greater consistency, a probable win against Cameron H., and wins in every match of the top cut. I felt that good about Luxchomp in hindsight, but it was still valuable insight to see what a different take on Dialga could do.

(Moral of the story: if your purpose is to win, then play the deck that you know gives you the best shot at it; if you want to learn something new or have fun, then feel free to get outside of your comfort zone, even if it’s just a little – i.e., switching SP variants.)

 So while I did some things right, I also did some things wrong, too - it's natural, and it's human. However, in spite of this, at least one loss was outside of my control for the most part, so I was deliberately leading my more careful readers on when I suggested I could have turned 31-4 into a 38-0...Sorry! 

In Conclusion...

  I’d like to thank everyone for reading this entry, and I’d ESPECIALLY like to thank everyone who read this entire tournament report arc from the beginning. Next time, I intend to shift gears into less dense, more concise discussions, so If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear about them on the boards. We have a busy month ahead of us...

‘Til next time,


-HeyTrainer

Event Date: 01/08/2011

Location: Dallas, TX​

    Given how much luck it took to win the Plano tournament, and given how unhappy I was with the list, I knew that it was time to mix things up a bit. While the end product had many issues of its own to contend with, it was arguably more playable in several ways.

     While conversing with Chad H. (“Scizor”), he introduced to me a very unusual list for Dialgachomp, featuring five stadiums, no Call Energy, and only eight draw/search Supporter cards. I don’t know how seriously he and Worlds runner-up Mike Pram (“SHPanda) were taking this list due to its appalling prima facie – “at first glance” – consistency, but I decided to incorporate some of the more interesting elements into my own build.

Pokemon (19):

2 Dialga G
1 Dialga G LV.X
2 Uxie LA
1 Uxie LV.X
3 Garchomp C
1 Garchomp C LV.X
1 Toxicroak G Promo
1 Dragonite FB
1 Ambipom G
1 Unown Q
1 Crobat G
1 Bronzong G
1 Azelf LA
1 Skuntank G
1 Lucario GL

Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (29):

4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy
4 Pokemon Collector
4 Poke Turn
3 Energy Gain
2 SP Radar
2 Bebe’s Search
2 Snowpoint Temple
1 Miasma Valley
1 Aaron's
1 Premier Ball
1 Pokemon Communication
1 Energy exchanger
1 Junk arm
1 Twins
1 Expert Belt


Energy (12):

4 Double Colorless
3 Metal (special)
2 Metal (basic)
2 Warp
1 Psychic


What Worked – Stadiums and Skuntank worked, that’s what! Having stadiums most certainly helped, but the question is…Which Stadium is the best? While I can’t answer that definitively, I’ll list off the reasons why I used the ones that I did, and some of the advantages to other Stadiums…

*Snowpoint Temple: since a major focus of the Dialgachomp deck is to “tank” Dialga G LV.X, giving it an extra 20 HP is extremely helpful. It also gives you the option to play the SP mirror entirely differently, giving Dragonite FB a new lease on life with proper timing (no Earthquake-responses are nice). I ran two because I figured that tanking Dialga would be my biggest asset on the day, so an extra 20 HP buffer seemed extremely useful.


*Miasma Valley: one of the more unusual options of Pram’s/Chad’s, this card functions as a way to spread counters in appropriate matchups. Nice to get out-of-range attackers such as Machamp and Gyarados prematurely within-range during the mid game! I decided to run one of these to round out my stadiums for this reason, but also because I knew I’d be needing to bump Snowpoint in case it stopped being useful.

As for the Stadium I didn’t play…

*Pokemon Contest Hall: the quintessential Stadium for SP, this card is a way to boost consistency and activate Skuntank, but also a mean by which to get out all of your major attackers with their tools. A lucky heads on Contest Hall is also useful because it’s an easy way to get Expert Belt on your dialga, as well as a way to get Energy Gain attackers in play through Vileplume trainer lock (assuming you can’t access your Dialga G LV.X Time Crystal for some reason).

In hindsight, I should have just bit the bullet and ran three of these, as is done in the typical build. While Snowpoint and Miasma have their uses, I’m beginning to consider the value of Contest Hall as the ultimate selling point for a list not flexible enough to include Call Energy.

Since my Pokemon felt just high enough to justify it even past bad hands, I decided to make the switch from Luxury Ball to Pokemon Communication. This worked wonders, and I feel content running it in any SP build with 19 or more Pokes.

Last of all, I fit in Lucario GL! While Machamp didn’t factor in at all during the day, this thing definitely would’ve tilted it for me on top of everything else. Plus, it stood to be a gross attacker in my Tyranitar Prime matchup in case my Dialga G and Toxicroak G both broke down.

What Didn’t – while it’s definitely not hard to play around, I’ve become addicted to running Call Energy in any list that it makes sense in. Since my build ran zero Power Spray, though, I felt less of a need to force them in. Although Yuta Komatsuda could win one of the toughest World Championships ever undefeated with a no Call Energy list, shaky starts just don’t vibe well!

Oh yeah, zero Power Spray was beyond lame in the mirror, as not having a say to what your opponent does with his or her Set Ups, Galactic Switches, and Bright Looks will most certainly put a nail in your coffin against a well-oiled build. Also, the exclusion of Staraptor FB LV.X was a pity, as it’s a truly amazing card in Stadium-Dialgachomp lists.

With that all in mind, let’s see how it faired on the day…

[Note: due to this post being fairly late, I’ll be brief – and therefore fairly anticlimactic – about the matches. Some dogs needed me to play with them, and for dogs, I gladly sacrifice my hopes and dreams for /blog. ]

Round 1: BYE

Thirty seven masters, and I get the bye? I never thought I’d say this, but as a player caught in the rat race of ratings and rankings, I was actually disappointed that I got a freebie.  Call me an arrogant kung-fu guy or whatever, but if a free win is causing “anyone” to feel anything less than ecstatic, then you know something is wrong with your (Play! Pokemon’s) system.

Win (1-0)

Round 2: VS Tyler (Tyranitar Prime/tech Houndoom)

Cool tech…Apparently he runs a 1-1/1 Houndoom/Prime line to do the following: against SP’s Toxicroak G Promos and Lucario GLs, use the regular Houndoom from Undaunted to score some amazing surprise-KOs; and for every other matchup, make knock-outs more accessible with the occasional lucky string of flips on burn. While I can’t say I’m a big fan of the latter, I very much like the idea of using the normal Houndoom, since SP is bound to use those cards against you.

Fortunately, I had heard about this tech the week before, and so I was able to adjust accordingly; that is, I held off on benching Lucario GL or Toxicroak G Promo prematurely, and just settled for tearing his setup apart with Dialga G and Skuntank G’s Poison Structure. I fortunately never had to whip out either of my fighting attackers, but they were there just in case…

Win (“2-0”)

Round 3: VS Michael (Tyranitar Prime/tech Honchkrow SV)

Wow…So at Plano, I got two Yanmega in a row, and in Dallas, I got two Tyranitar in a row? I can just imagine Robin saying, in as campy a voice as possible:

“Holy matchups, Batman – you’re one lucky SoB!”

Yes I am, Robin. Yes I am…

Admittedly, Tyler from the previously round had a somewhat sub-par start; however, with his ample supply of draw, Michael never really missed a beat with his Tyranitars, while I had to play some serious catch-up. But, by the glory of Toxicroak G Promo and Lucario, this was made into a fairly decisive win for me. As expected, his Honchkrow SV never once factored into the game, and even when he tried to start attacking with it, I was quick to Garchomp C LV.X snipe it.

Win (“3-0”)

Round 4: VS Ron (Vilegar)

Much like my sixth round game against Amalio the weekend before, I started absolutely horrid against Ron: 4 basics and no Supporters. Fortunately for me, though, he didn’t have a Spiritomb Arceus start, and so my setup wasn’t impeded too horribly. I was forced to aggressively Time Crystal a bit earlier than I would’ve liked, but it was all for the best.

The details are fuzzy, but long story short, I ended up securing a very safe timed win by replacing my Snowpoint Temple with Miasma Valley at the right time. Also, he ran a very interesting set of techs: 1 Froslass GL, which is very useful at disrupting the opponent while he/she is under Trainer lock; and 2-1 Mewtwo LV.X, which tends to be the ultimate “screw you, buddy!” to decks featuring SP without a counter.

Win (“4-0”)

Round 5: VS Cameron H. (Luxchomp/ERL)

More or less, he had the edge on me in our exchange the whole game due to some energy whiffs, as well as too many powers (read: all) being allowed to break through. This naturally gave him a decisive edge, and for the decisions I made in today’s list, it was well due for me to suffer. One thing that gave me some notable trouble, though, was that – despite some very thorough shuffling – I somehow began this game with two of my three Stadium cards. While Stadiums can do nice things to tilt matches when you need them to, when you’re in desperate need of a Set Up, they’re actually beyond horrid to have…Ugh.

After I fell behind enough, he saw the opportunity to Thunder Fall in the late game, and seized the win.

Loss (“4-1”)

Today was his day to shine against me though, especially since I had beaten Cameron out of the finals the past two weekends. I felt like many tweaks to his build (Twins/Dragonite FB) were smart plays that were well ahead of the national metagame, with the Twins having particularly nice synergy in orchestrating a game-winning Thunder Fall. However, his list made one very suspect move: three (3) Poke Turn instead of four (4), on account of the logic that it’s not needed. While this may sound very absurd to you guys, in the Junk Arm era, I find it totally acceptable for players to do this: you’re practically getting the use of four (or more) Turns a game, and so can therefore justify cutting one if it means more space. However, the issue about his list with me was that he ran zero Junk Arm, therefore nullifying that argument. Without Junk Arm, I ultimately felt like the decision was unjustified.
So if anyone tries this move, be sure to play Junk Arm in your list. I’ve found direct play-testing success with it, and Nats winner Chris F., who’s extensively tested it himself, thinks such a move is “fine” as long as it’s tempered by the Junk Arms.

Round 6: VS Chris (Blazechomp)

…And speaking of people named Chris, here’s another one. Long story short, I surprised the heck out of him by turning a useless Skuntank G start into an immediate edge-out in the mirror by the second turn, took firm control of it until he played a Looker’s, gave up some momentum, and then finally regained it in time for the last three turns on the clock. It was 2-4 by then, and I felt confident in my ability to take the last two, so it seemed pretty decisive. Thanks 3-1 Garchomp/Draggy/Ambipom!
Oh yeah…and I started with two stadiums. Again. My, what skilled cutters this state has, hah.

Win (“5-1”)

    Despite all of these games seeming like they went par for the course, the fact of the matter is that I was seeing my Dialga crashing and burning. And badly…Like, “worse than the Hindenburg”-badly. So what’s a guy to do?
He drops from the tournament. That’s what.

And on that note…I’ll leave today’s lengthy entry on a bit of a cliff-hanger. Tomorrow (technically today), I’ll discuss all of the following topics to close out my City Championship report series/arc:


*An examination of all of the reasons why I dropped from this event. When I do drop, I usually have many good reasons for doing so, seeing as how I’ve only dropped from three tournaments since I started playing competitively back in 2003.

*A detailed examination of this event’s metagame, which I was able to gather absurdly-accurate information on (34/37 of the decks are 100% verified and confirmed).

*An incisive, honest discussion of why I think I did so well during the 2010-2011 City Championship season, and what I could have done to turn 31-4 into 38-0.

*Some nice, cliché closing line that’ll make you cry out of sheer happiness.
Within the next few days, I also plan on writing a couple “gaiden” (Google it) reports on events that I didn’t attend.

12/31/2010: Plano, TX​

With the two week interim between Tom Bean and Plano, I felt a metagame shift coming on.

“There’s no way people would let a Luxchomp without a Mewtwo counter go unchecked for that long, is there?” said I. Granted, that isn’t enough of a reason to switch to Dialgachomp, since you could just as easily play Luxchomp with a 1-1 Dialga and be just fine. But to thicken the plot, I had been hearing about several successful decks emerging from the Georgia marathon: Alex B’s unique take on Regigigas; Jim R’s zany Yanmega/Magnezone rogue; and Guy B’s Steelix Prime were all making a notable splash. While few players are as connected with up-to-date metagame info as I am, I felt that between the 50+ Masters who would be attending this event, at least a couple of them would play something inspired by the ‘thon.

Originally walking into this event, I was going to play a very typical Dialgachomp with Skuntank, Staraptor FB LV.X, and Pokemon Fan Clubs…But when I looked around at my metagame, I noticed that it was just SP, and lots of it. However, I was surprised to find that Vilegar had also picked up serious steam since my last tournament, and since any variation on Dialgachomp has a superb matchup against that deck, I felt set in my ways.
However, given the heavy showing of SP, and given how you ought to beat Vilegar regardless of running Skuntank G, I felt safe in cutting those half a dozen cards for a few mirror-savvy things, such as the Ambipom/Dragonite pair and the Looker’s.
Before we move on to my list, I’d like to give you a few fair warnings…Since I don’t like the idea of sending anyone off with a deck that may not (read: “probably won’t”) do well for you at a future event, it’s vital to give some disclaimers. I’ve seen countless articles try claim goodness in builds as terrible as tweaked theme decks, so for my sake and yours, let’s list a few things off…

[WARNING: THE FOLLOWING LIST MAY CONTAIN PURE, UNCENSORED SUCK.]
[WARNING: THE FOLLOWING LIST MAY CONTAIN UNLEADED, UNTESTED SHENANIGANS]
[WARNING: THE FOLLOWING LIST WAS MOST LIKELY USED BY A LUCKSACK]
[WARNING: THE FOLLOWING LIST DEFINITELY CONTAINS 21 SINGLE COPIES OF CARDS]

Pokemon (17):

2 Dialga G
1 Dialga G LV.X
2 Uxie LA
1 Uxie LV.X
3 Garchomp C
1 Garchomp C LV.X
1 Toxicroak G Promo
1 Dragonite FB
1 Ambipom G
1 Unown Q
1 Crobat G
1 Bronzong G
1 Azelf LA

Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (29):

4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy
4 Pokemon Collector
4 Poke Turn
3 Energy Gain
2 SP Radar
2 Bebe’s Search
1 Aaron's Collection
1 Looker’s Investigation
1 Premier Ball
1 Luxury Ball
1 Energy exchanger
1 Junk arm
1 Twins
1 Technical Machine TS-2
1 Expert Belt
1 Power Spray

Energy (14):

4 Double Colorless
3 Metal (special)
3 Call
2 Metal (basic)
1 Psychic
1 Warp

(In order to include a 1-1 Staraptor FB LV.X, 1 Skuntank G, and any 3 Stadiums of your choice, you’ll have to make some rough edits. Some lists I’ve seen scrap single copies such as Junk Arm, and others scrap their Call Energy entirely. Regardless, it’s going to be rough.)

What Worked: for starters, I had MANY options to combo, string plays, etc…Since my all-time favorite decks play a lot of single cards, this jived with my style, and so I felt like all of the moves were natural.

As you can see, it’s also very pumped up to deal with mirror. Twins and Energy Exchanger are both great for SP mirror, and actually make more sense in a Dialga list than Luxchomp, which is more prone to fall behind in some matchups. Due to these two cards, I was easily able to tank up on Special Metals, and heal as I pleased.

What didn’t: Many, many, many things. Without a Lucario, or without a Toxicroak G Platinum, it has a negative Machamp matchup, and without stadiums and Skuntank G, it has a negative matchup against most Gyarados lists. Since Gyarados is a solid tier one deck, and since Machamp is a constantly-played tier two, a list such as this one was obviously a HUGE gamble. Granted, the Technical Machine-TS 2 is a saving grace in each of those games, but not enough of one to save you consistently.

Some of the single copies were not good choices: one Power Spray was risky beyond belief, and I think it showed in my game against Amalio, which could’ve been tilted in my favor by even the slightest tweak to my list. As for the one Warp Energy, that too was a waste, and could’ve easily been a 4th Call, 2nd Power Spray, Lucario GL, 4th Special metal, or anything else…Good.

Basically, this build suffered from being caught in limbo between Luxchomp and conventional Dialgachomp. While that played in my favor throughout the event, this list is easily a couple cards off of how to properly play such a deck.

If I knew then what I do now, here are the following tweaks I would make to a Luxchomp-wannabe Dialgachomp list:


-1 Technical Machine TS-2 (still helpful in some matchups, though)
-1 Warp Energy
-1 Bebe’s Search

+1 Uxie LA
+1 Lucario GL
+1 Power Spray or Call

With these tweaks, you’re giving up on Gyarados in exchange for a solid Machamp, as well as a better mirror. In my metagame, that would have been a sound play.

Regarding the uncertainty on Call: I’ve found Energy Exchanger to be sufficient in acting as your faux-fourth call in a pinch when going second, and going first, it doesn’t make that much of a difference in your starting percentiles to justify playing the forth. Hence, I make the third tweak be Power Spray “or” Call, with heavy favoritism towards the second Power Spray. For more faux-Luxchompy goodness, you may even want to find space for a third Power Spray!

That’s enough about the list…Now onto the matches. With over 50 people, we were bound to have a long day, with six rounds of swiss and a top eight cut. Yikes…

Round 1: VS Cade K. (Donphan/Yanmega Primes)

My first round of the tournament, and I’m already thankful for making the switch, as what could have been a contentious game with Luxchomp was instead turned into an auto win for Dialgachomp. All I needed to do to assure a game in my favor was to just tank Dialga G with Special Metals, keep a Power Spray/Junk Arm in hand for any moment where he could pull a surprise KO on me, and Poke Turn up a seriously-damaged attacker. Most importantly, though, is keeping Time Crystal in play at all cost, which shuts off both Yanmega Prime’s Insight and Donphan Prime’s Exoskeleton.
Due to his energy lineup, he was left with virtually no options against me, and so Dialga was able to charge into a very solid 6-0/6-1 victory on prizes.

Win (1-0)

As I walked towards the next round pairings, I was beyond shocked to see my round two pairing: Demarcus, who I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt was playing…Yanmega. Yes, you read that right: a Dialgachomp got two Yanmegas in a row. Given that there were only about 3 Yanmega decks in the whole field, the odds of this were beyond absurd. However, you take good fortune as it comes…

Round 2: VS Demarcus R. (Yanmega Prime)

Due to his list being much more focused, as well as my start being less than stellar, he was able to assert a furious charge against me with an early Yanmega; however, once my board began to stabilize, and I could finally access a Dialga G LV.X, things turned around very quickly. While he used cards such as Judge and Giratina to disrupt me, SP’s attackers are just too powerful, and I was able to find several adequate targets for Dragon Rush sniping this match (due to circumstance, I was unable to really ever “tank” a Dialga until later on).

Win (2-0)

Round 3: VS Demetre F. (Machamp/Prime)

I suppose it’s fair that, after getting two Yanmega Prime variants in a row, I pair against a bad matchup in the form of Machamp. However, he mulliganed at least three times, which gave me a good idea of what his deck list consisted of: standard fare for a Machamp SF/Prime list, but an unusual card that stuck out to me was Ruins of Alph. It does make some sense to run as a Gyarados counter, but for me and every other SP player there, it was a wasted slot.

Anyways, he went first, Machop to my Bronzong G. After attaching and benching an Uxie for Set Up, he hit me for ten, and I took the time needed to build a bench, ready for an imminent Machamp KO. This much happened, but – perhaps fearing a Lucario/Uxie LV.X response I didn’t have – he opted to exert the resources to go for a turn two Machamp Prime KO instead of one with Machamp SF, which he had access to. Given this, I setup a play to catch back up involving a hit for 50 followed up with a couple Flash Bites and a Technical Machine TS-2 the next turn (via Twins)…But he just Judged my hand away. However, the 50 hit was just enough to make the x2 weak Machamp Prime vulnerable to a clean KO from Uxie LV.X anyways, and so he was left to struggle from there. I think after this he Looker’s Investigation’d for five cards, only to be a single one off of the response Machamp. After sniping his Machop, and after drawing one more prize, he scooped from there, as he had no way to keep up with my rate of knock-outs.

Win (3-0)

Round 4: VS Cameron H. (Luxchomp/ERL)

This game, Cameron went first with a Luxray GL, opting to just draw and pass with no other options. Although playing hard for it, I somehow whiffed on the DCE or Energy Exchanger necessary to score the first turn knockout with Dragonite FB; however, this energy whiff, as well as my initial jump on setup, were enough to give me a decisive early edge in our tried-and-true mirror exchange. I believe that he had whiffed some sort of attachment a few turns after this as well, which made things even harder to recover. Although I never fell behind on prizes, making Twins useless, I felt like the Dragonite/Ambipom combo, as well as the Energy Exchanger, were extremely useful in helping me edge out SP mirror. I can only imagine what Staraptor FB LV.X must be thinking some games…Hah.

Win (4-0)

Round 5: VS Josh H. (Gyarados/Mew Prime)

Gyarados/Mew is currently the second-most popular variant on Mew Prime, and for good reason, as a 120 damage Tail Revenge is very, very useful. However, in the Dialgachomp matchup, all those Mews and Psychic Energy generally become useless in the face of Time Crystal. That’s just what happened, and so he was starved of one of his most crucial elements of the deck.
Still, he was able to function with just Gyarados, and so he put up his fight that way. However, my snipes helped put me too far in the lead, as well as my tanking Dialga G LV.X for good measure. Between these two, Josh was hard-pressed to ever edge me out of the win.

Win (5-0)

Round 6: VS Amalio O. (Luxchomp/Mewtwo)

While I was glad with being assured top cut, I didn’t like the prospect of starting a mirror game with Dialga G…Or with no Supporters…Or with nothing good in my prizes, either (Azelf yielded junk). To make matters worse, a turn one Toxic Fang from Crobat G made tanking against him null, so I just tried to aim for a quick KO via my own Crobat G’s Flash Bite, a Poke Turn to reuse it, and a second strike. I got this, and it helped me wiggle out of a losing game, but no luck. Eventually I drew into a Twins while behind, which was enormous in helping me get back into this match; unfortunately, though, he always seemed to have everything he needed for a response.
A rather strange play of his helped give me a shot at victory, though: a Mewtwo LV.X promotion, which was easily parried by Dialga G LV.X and its Time Crystal. While I, by the grace of 3-1 Garchomp and several other happenstance things, got this game down to 1-1 prizes, he eventually had the Bright Look response on one of my cheap guys near the end for a final knock-out, and the end of a very good game.

Loss (5-1)

The above was about the only match on the other (aside from the Machamp one) where I felt like a Luxchomp/1-1 dialga would’ve been the more optimal play. But yes, it most certainly would have…However, I also get the vibe that this game was cost through either some sub-optimal play or a sub-optimal deck decision. Be it a slight shift in resource conservation, or the inclusion of a second Power Spray, I feel as if "anything" could have turned the tide in my favor this game...But oh well: live and learn.

Anyways, here’s everything that cut:

1st Seed Amalio (Luxchomp/Mewtwo) VS 8th Seed Cameron (Luxchomp/ERL)
4th Seed Ron (Vilegar) VS 5th Seed Dana (Garchomp C/Honchkrow SV)
2nd Seed Me (Dialgachomp) VS 7th Seed Cade (Donphan/Yanmega Primes)
3rd Seed Josh (Gyarados/Mew Prime) VS 6th Seed Robert (Gyarados)

Unlike many of the past City Championships I have either played in or heard about, this field was very diverse, as were the decks that succeeded: there were only two duplicates (Luxchomp/Gyarados), and even their lists were noticeably different from one-another.
 

Top Eight: Cade K. (Donphan/Yanmega Prime)

Games One and Two –  by the mercy of good fortune, I hit my absolute best matchup out of every deck in top cut, and so I approached it much the same way I did in my swiss match against Cade. The only difference was that there was one window of opportunity for him to claim some board control, but he didn’t hit the Expert Belt to pull it off. That immediately-proceeding turn, I sealed up all holes in my iron-tight Dialga defense, and won as comfortably as I did previously.
Yeah…I have a feeling Cade didn’t expect anybody to be playing Dialgachomp today…But I have his word he’s made the list better against Dialgachomp since, so I look forward to a potential rematch in the future. :P

Win (6-1)

Top Four: Josh H. (Gyarados/Mew Prime)

Game One – My hand this game was looking awesome enough to cruise me directly into the top two…However, there was only one problem:
Josh plays Judge.

And he also just happened to not play it against me in our swiss match, which made it a total surprise to me here in cut. This alone was rough enough, but the fact that I drew an unplayable hand as a result was murder. Thus, for the rest of the game, I would go without playing a single supporter…Horrid? Yeah, you bet.

However, by the glory of something, I was able to hang on for dear life, scoring little chump knock-outs whenever I could. So, despite not getting to play Supporters, I “did” bring myself down to two prizes thanks to Dragon Rush, Dialga attacking, and a Technical Machine TS-2 kill.

Games Two and Three -  Unlike the last game, these were much like the swiss match. His Judges made things scary for me once or twice, but unlike the first game, I was able to pull off a quick Azelf to gather vital intelligence on what to draw so that I could get out of my rut. Time was called deep into game three, but I was well on my way to winning it (I believe I was three prizes up after the “+3” turns).

Win (7-1)

Finals: Cameron H. (Luxchomp/ERL)

Game One – despite starting with a lone Azelf and no other benched Pokemon – horrid vis-à-vis his Garchomp with other basics – I was able to rapidly edge him out with my colorless basic advantage. Miraculously, I got the situation turned around so hard, he felt it necessary to save time…Prudent on his part, sure, but surprising nonetheless.

Game Two – once again, I started weirdly with Dialga G; however, I was able to make this work in my favor, as Deafen kept his equally weird starter, Bronzong G, stuck in the active position. This allowed for a rare Second Strike KO being good in the mirror, triggered through either my own Flash Bite or his Galactic Switch – I don’t remember. From here, I started playing the exchange regularly, and we kept very close the entire match. Eventually, due to me topping off his setup with Looker’s Investigation, I was able to edge further ahead. Unfortunately, I was a resource or two off of nabbing my last prize, so he was given the window of opportunity to set up a very slick Roserade GL play…However, I finally hit what I needed to get out of the active position, and snipe for the last prize.

Win (8-1)

Unfortunately, I didn’t take the time to report on the unabridged metagame of this event. Due to there being over 50 players, and due to Dialgachomp requiring me to play long, drawn-out games at every step of the event, I was really left without any other option.

I hope you got something out of this report. While this Dialgachomp is far from perfect (haha), it should give you a variety of ideas to chew on, and to maybe incorporate into your own list come States/Provincials/Territorials. Tomorrow, I’ll be posting my fifth and final report, which again features Dialgachomp...Only this next time, it'll actually have Stadiums.
 

I've been writing a lot of Luxchomp tournament reports lately, but the only problem is that I don't do much guiding as to what plays are ideal, what plays are not ideal, etc. In order to help iron this out, I decided to post an article written by 2010 Worlds Qualifier Alex Fields, a.k.a. Butlerforhire. While the content located herein pertains to the Diamond and Pearl-on format, you'll find that it is very much relevant even today.

(Originally posted 6/22/2010)

"Luxchomp Strategies"

By Alex Fields

"Although Nationals is just a couple days away, Alex Fields (butlerforhire) wrote an excellent Luxchomp analysis I wanted to share with all of you. So if you're still unsure about what you want to play, or how best to prepare for Nats's most popular deck, then this article will help you in many, many ways.

Luxray GL/Garchomp C

This is the reigning titan of the current format and has been for the majority of the season. Every single player from all three age divisions needs to be well-educated on how this deck works if he or she expects to do well at National and/or World. The deck has been strong ever since it debuted with the release of Supreme Victors, although the re-release of DCE-- Garchomp C lv. X's fuel of choice-- has elevated it into an overpowering position over much of the format.

For this article I will begin by explaining how the deck works and then move on to an analysis of its match-ups and finally how to play against it. I will be writing from the perspective of one who is using Luxray/Garchomp, not playing against it.

The deck wins because it abuses virtually every trick that can be abused in this game and has an incredibly wide arsenal of weapons at its disposal throughout the game. Here is a breakdown of what makes the deck so effective:

- Both of the primary Pokemon can attack anything your opponent has in play-- Bright Look brings your chosen target active and Dragon Rush snipes as you see fit. Nothing is ever safe for your opponent or out of reach for you.


- Garchomp C, Luxray GL, and Ambipom G can all donk on the first turn with the aid of DCE and, if going second, Energy Gain and Flash Bite (s).


- The TGIs allow you to: shrug off damage with Poketurn and reuse your game-winning Powers, negate whichever of your opponent's Powers you choose with Power Spray, accelerate your attacks with Energy Gain, and search out whatever SP Pokemon you want-- including lv. X cards-- with SP Radar.


- Cyrus' Conspiracy hooks you up with any of those TGIs as well as the energy you need to attack and the Supporter of your choosing, generally another Cyrus to keep the flow of TGIs, energy, and options going.


- Garchomp C lv. X's Healing Breath forces your opponent to OHKO you or often end up wasting turns doing damage that will just get removed with this broken Power. It also cleans up messy Flash Impact recoil damage.


- Crobat G and Toxicroak G can both poison; in certain match-ups, this is a big deal, particularly Donphan (which is otherwise often un-winnable once set up, barring specific tech-work against it such as Frost Rotom or Quagsire GL).


- Bright Look gives you constant control of what your opponent has in the active position. You override his or her choice of an active Pokemon every time you level up. There are all kinds of broken tactical advantages that this gives you; an entire article could be written solely about Bright Look abuse.


- Ambipom G can move your opponent's energy around and possibly remove it from play if you target something to transfer the energy to with an Unown G on it/something like Mewtwo lv. X that can't be affected by you.


- Crobat G lets you rain down a damage counter anywhere you want, which is amazing when that single damage counter nets you a KO you otherwise would not have gotten. With Poketurn, you can bridge all kinds of damage gaps standing between your attack and a KO.


- Bronzong G lets you move your energy around, allowing you to: not fall behind in energy drops when you Poketurn something energized, execute surprise attacks that your opponent didn't think you'd be able to power up that turn, conserve energy if you are about to suffer a KO, etc..


- Lucario GL makes all Pokemon in play double weak, which still matters-- even though double-weakness is back for everything in the HGSS block-- because prevalent pre-HGSS Pokemon like Gyarados and sometimes Flygon/Garchomp/Kingdra/Machamp are only +30 weak with huge HP. With their weakness modified to double, you can get important OHKOs on them.

Primary strategy in most match-ups:

- Eliminate Claydol either before it comes into play by Bright Looking Baltoy and KOing it or after it has come into play with Dragon Rush
- Deny Uxie's Set Up with Power Spray
- Alternate between Luxray and Garchomp to take out whatever your opponent attempts to (or does) develop
- Deny your opponent prizes with Poketurn and Healing Breath

The ideal start of the deck varies from match-up to match-up. Sometimes, an opening Garchomp C with DCE is very strong, while other times you want the Luxray GL start so you can be primed for a turn 2 level up and Bright Look. Still other times you will be thankful to open with Amibpom G and DCE against your opponent's low-HP Basic.

Going first, Call energy is often desired to get you set up and take away any risk of being donked; it can also give you the opportunity to Power Spray your opponent on their next turn by giving you a total of at least 3 SP Pokemon in play.

Going second, you can play Energy Gain and will often want to attack right away even if you do have Call in hand; Garchomp C can do a respectable 50 if you have the DCE and the Energy Gain, for example. You can also play Roseanne's Research or Pokemon Collector to provide you with the set up that Call would without sacrificing your chance to attack.

Match-up Analyses:

Donphan:

This is one of the deck's few unfavorable match-ups. Donphan's Body is especially effective against you because your damage output is relatively low-- with an Expert Belt attached to Donphan, you need to Dragon Rush it twice AND hit it with 2 Flash Bites in order to get a KO. Meanwhile, your opponent can SSU the Donphan or heal it with Blissey(PL or HGSS)/Nidoqueen/Pokehealer.

Luxray is rendered largely impotent as it is OHKOed by Donphan for a single energy and also only hits it for 20 with Flash Impact after resistance and Exoskeleton are factored in; for these reasons, it will remain out of the action in the match-up aside from the occasional Bright Look, which will typically be used to grab a prize on something that isn't Donphan at the end of the game to seal the win or to bring up a bench sitter like Claydol or Regirock so that Garchomp can snipe comfortably for a turn or two.

The opponent will often get a quick active Donphan into play using Earthquake while powering another Donphan on the bench for Heavy Impact. With Expert Belt, that second Donphan is able to OHKO every card in Luxray/Garchomp, which is problematic.

The best way to play against Donphan in the absence of a direct counter capable of OHKOing it such as Frost Rotom is to use Crobat G as both an attacker and a buffer. With Fighting resistance, you require the opponent to Belt and use Heavy Impact while you can begin double-Poisoning them for a single energy (and Energy Gain). The idea is to Toxic Fang, take your hit from Earthquake, retreat for Garchomp C, level up and heal everything on your side, and then Dragon Rush it. As long as they have remained Poisoned and aren't Belted, you will be KOing it (3 rounds of Poison for 20 and 60 damage from Dragon Rush); even if they are Belted, Flash Bite can be used to make up the difference (Donphan should already have a damage counter on it from the Flash Bite you used when you brought Crobat G into play so all you need is one Poketurn or a second Crobat G to bridge the gap caused by Expert Belt).

You can also take the route of teching specifically against Donphan with a Water-type attacker. There are a number of options to choose from, but the best is Quagsire GL. It does not OHKO Donphan but it can provide the same function as Garchomp C lv. X by getting the KO immediately after you Toxic Fang it, running away to the safety of the bench while that same Crobat G (that should have been Poketurned after taking a hit from Earthquake/non-Belted Heavy Impact) comes active as a buffer.

If your opponent ever gives you the chance to KO a Phanphy (typically via Dragon Rush, although you might also be able to Bright Look + Poison Revenge, etc.), you should generally take it. Don't expect your opponent to bench a Phanphy they can't immediately evolve often, though-- with BTS or Rare Candy there will often not be a Phanphy hitting the bench that does not become a Donphan in the same turn. Take advantage of the rare occurrence when it arises. Also take as many of your prizes off of benched Uxies/Claydols/Relincanths etc. as you safely can. Sometimes it is okay to sacrifice Luxray GL lv. X to grab prizes off of these Pokemon, particularly if you only need a KO or two to end the game.

Summary of tips against Donphan:- Attack with Crobat G and Garchomp C as a tag team
- Don't attack with Luxray until the end of the game, and never use it directly against Donphan
- Take any easy KOs you can on Pokemon other than Donphan


Gyarados:

This match-up is the main reason that Lucario GL is included in the deck; getting it out is a priority here and thus it should be one of the first cards you Call or Roseanne's/Collector for.

The goal is to be able to OHKO Gyarados while either avoiding the OHKO in return or having the means on hand (Aaron's is searchable and easy to grab in advance) to resurrect a Luxray GL lv. X immediately after that KO does come. Gyarados is only able to OHKO a fresh Luxray GL lv. X with damage modifiers, usually in the form of Expert Belt or two Flash Bites (or two PlusPower, although they are less common). You can't avoid the Expert Belt, although you can take advantage of its presence by making sure you have an Aaron's, a Crobat G and a back-up Luxray ready to Trash Bolt for 2 prizes on your turn. The Flash Bites, fortunately, are avoidable with Power Spray; Flash Bite is the main Power that you will be Spraying here.

In addition to setting up Luxray to OHKO Gyarados, you should also set up Garchomp C lv. X to take as many easy prizes off of your opponent's low-HP-filled bench as possible while also providing a full heal for Luxray after it has been hit with Tail Revenge. Virtually every supporting Pokemon in the deck aside from Regice is OHKOed by Dragon Rush. For Gyarados to be able to OHKO you, they will once again need damage modification. The supply of Flash Bites will eventually run out between attempts to OHKO both Garchomp and Luxray, and Belt makes them give up two prizes while only gaining one, so you should be able to take 6 prizes before they do through your ability to maintain a steady stream of OHKOs.

If your opponent drops an Azelf before you have seen all 4 Magikarp and you have the means to Power Spray it, do so because you are likely cutting off access to one (or possibly more) Magikarp that is stuck in the prizes. If you can reduce Tail Revenge to 60 base damage, you have essentially already won-- you will never be OHKOed and you will always be able to OHKO their Gyarados as well as their entire bench.

If your opponent benches Regice, you should Bright Look it up and Dragon Rush around it for easy prizes for as long as possible. Your opponent will be forced to waste SSUs or Warp energy on it due to its high retreat cost and the deck's low energy count. You might eventually be able to lock it active and either win the game on time or take your remaining prizes from the bench.

Although Regice is a liability for the opponent once you target it with Bright Look, its Power can lead to Gyarados taking easy prizes off of your bench- while your opponent may not be able to OHKO your active Luxray or Garchomp lv. X, nothing on your bench aside from another Luxray or Garchomp lv. X can withstand 90 damage.

You can tech in a Looker's Investigation or a Judge in order to push the match-up further in your favor. The deck needs to keep its hand large and well-stocked with Pokemon Rescue and back-up Gyarados in order to keep attacking, and having a 10+ card hand full of those crucial pieces reduced to 4 or 5 random cards right before you KO his or her Gyarados is usually crippling.

Summary of tips against Gyarados:

- Get Lucario GL in play so you can OHKO Gyarados

- Deny OHKOs/bait out an Expert Belt you can make your opponent pay for by Spraying Flash Bites

- Take prizes with Garchomp from the opponent's bench

Kingdra Prime:

This match-up is lopsided in Luxray/Garchomp's favor due to Kingdra Prime's double weakness to Luxray combined with Kingdra's difficulty in dealing 110 damage. Although Kingdra can OHKO Luxray GL lv. X or Garchomp C lv. X with a bit of effort, such as a Belt and 3 Spray Splashes/Flash Bites, it will be a relatively rare occurrence-- Power Spray's ability to negate a crucial Flash Bite or Spray Splash lowers the odds of a OHKO even further-- whereas your type advantage and damage output lets you OHKO Kingdras with ease. If your opponent does pull off a OHKO, they will almost always be Belted and since you have the means to return the OHKO for two prizes, he or she will usually suffer more than you do.

You should focus early on crippling the opponent's set up in the usual way through Dragon Rushing Claydol and Spraying Uxie. If the opponent cannot Cosmic Power, the amount of Kingdra Prime that come into play will be low and you will have even less of a chance of getting OHKOed by a swarm of Spray Splashing/Belted Kingdras.

Perhaps more importantly, cutting off the opponent's draw power should also make it harder for them to access the Luxray counter that most lists will run, such as Donphan Prime or Machamp. If you do have to deal with one of these counters, don't panic- most lists won't run more than 1 line of the counter of choice and you can KO it with the same tricks you would use if you were playing against it in its own deck.

Poketurn and Healing Breath render Spray Splash a non-issue as long as it isn't aiding a OHKO. Other decks have to worry about the damage being spread across their field because it is permanent, but you do not have to share that concern because you have two unstoppable ways to negate it.

One way that Kingdra might pose a problem is if it goes off on turn 1 and is able to OHKO your opening Basic; 80 damage is much easier to do than 110. You might also get hit by Judge and find yourself unable to access your lv. Xs, which would generally mean a loss.

On the other side of this, you can donk Horsea and Baltoy with ease-- Luxray GL with a DCE is a Flash Bite away from OHKOing LA Horsea and Garchomp C with DCE and Energy Gain OHKOs both Horsea and Baltoy.

Summary of tips against Kingdra Prime:
- Take the OHKOs on Kingdras
- Dragon Rush Claydols
- Avoid Spray Splash abuse via Poketurns/Healing Breath

Palkia G/Garchomp C:

Luxray GL lv. X OHKOs the central Pokemon of the deck, Palkia G lv. X, which gives you a huge natural advantage. However, the threat of a counter-KO from Toxicroak G keeps you in check. Azelf MT is also used to add C to all of your attack costs, which combined with the constant Power-locking from Mesprit/Power Spray that the deck is founded upon and the threat of Hydro Shot and Dragon Rush on anything you try to develop makes the game more difficult for you than simply "Flash Impact every Palkia G in play for the win."

If you can take out Azelf MT with Dragon Rush without losing your Garchomp to your opponent's own on his or her next turn, you should generally do it to keep Downer Material from crippling you throughout the game. Once you start suffering KOs on your over-energized Pokemon and have to sit there and essentially pass a few turns for lack of energy on the field, you will allow the opponent to take control and keep you in a position where you are playing from behind permanently, which you clearly do not want.

Take any KOs on Toxicroak G that you can get. Your opponent might keep that card in hand along with a Psychic and an Energy Gain for the "surprise" drop-- really it is just to keep you from getting any hits on it before it attacks since no good player should be "surprised" by it at this point-- and if so, you will just have to capitalize when it does hit the field. The best way to KO Toxicroak G is with Uxie lv. X-- Dragon Rush plus Flash Bite is unreliable since you can be Power Sprayed or locked by Mesprit and come up 10 damage short.

The very presence of Luxray should keep Palkia on the bench for the majority of the game unless there is no threat of Flash Impact/Trash Bolt during a given turn (which can be arranged with Azelf MT). The absence of Palkia in action is nice for you because it means you will only have to deal with Garchomp C and the occasional Toxicroak G/Uxie lv. X as attacking forces. You should attempt to counter the Garchomp C with Ambipom G or your own Garchomp C just as you would in a mirror match.

If you run 2-2 Luxray or have an Aaron's/Premier Ball in hand, you can go ahead and target the Palkia G lv. X and suffer the Toxicroak G retaliation sometimes to your benefit, especially if you also have the means to OHKO that Toxicroak G lined up. Just do not give up a Luxray GL lv. X when you don't have a way to get another one out immediately or if you will fall into the Downer Material deficit as soon as you are revenge KOed.

Summary of tips against Palkia G/Garchomp C:
- KO Azelf MT with Dragon Rush as soon as you safely can
- Do not recklessly KO Pokemon with Luxray GL lv. X because you will get OHKOed back by Toxicroak G
- Orchestrate OHKOs on Toxicroak G whenever possible
- Abuse weakness when it is safe to do so

Gardevoir/Gallade:

This is one of those match-ups that becomes harder and harder the more that the opponent is allowed to develop.

Most builds will run Spiritomb, which you will always struggle against. You are in good shape if you open with Luxray and DCE and can quickly KO Spiritomb before it gets several Darkness Grace attacks off/acts as a wall and Power Spray-blocker for the opponent for several turns. If you happen to draw into one of your lv. Xs, you are in even better shape, and if not, you need to grab Bebe's with Cyrus' immediately so that you can get them. One problem with fetching Bebe's via Cyrus' is that you are susceptible to getting hit with Judge before you get the chance to use the Bebe's. There is no counter to this; you just have to deal with it if it happens and hope for a good 4 cards

If your opponent begins relying on your Cyrus' to fetch Judge with Telepass (after Spiritomb has left and you are being attacked with Gardevoir/Gallade), you can stop it, although you won't know what your opponent is going to do with their Telepass until after you let them use it. Thus, you should consider the game state before you decide whether to Spray Cosmic Power or Telepass; if you fear having a Judge searched out and used against you, Spray Telepass.

If your opponent opens with something other than Spiritomb, it is wise to assume that he or she does run it and will be attempting to get it active against you as soon as possible. Thus, you should use the trainers you can during that window when you aren't Keystone Seal locked-- get lv. Xs with SP Radar a turn early, drop Energy Gains, and so forth.

Most lists will run 1 or 2 Mesprit to lock you out of Powers the turn (s) before they begin using Psychic Lock. With Spiritomb active, you can't Spray Psychic Bind and have even less of a window to try to get an important Bright Look off. Some lists also run Azelf MT as well, so be wary of it. Not being able to use trainers, not being able to use Powers, having your hand reduced to a random 4 cards, and having your attack costs all raised by C will almost certainly guarantee a loss for you, so use everything at your disposal to avoid falling completely into this hole.

Psychic Lock strips you of Powers, and your deck runs on them-- this is obviously bad for you. Even worse, you will not be able to build up a huge hand full of options due to the aforementioned Judge, which the deck will often run between 2-4 of. You can expect Judge to be used against you with even more frequency than Gardevoir uses it against other decks-- due to your own Cyrus' and Telepass, it can be searched out. You also rely on hand-stacking-- via Cyrus'-- more than most decks and are thus a better target for hand disruption.

Gallade is another potent threat against you, being able to OHKO every card in your deck with Psychic Cut. Against Luxray, it doesn't even need to flip any prizes over to do so. As devastating as Psychic Cut can be against you, you can view the assault from Gallade as a cloud with a silver lining since it will give you the opportunity to use Powers and get back into the game.

The best way to approach the match-up- although with Spiritomb, Mesprit and Judge disrupting you it isn't always possible-- is to get hits in on Gardevoirs and Gallades before they can hit you with Bright Look and Dragon Rush so that when they do strike, you will only have to attack once more to KO them. Because both Pokemon attack for 3 energy, it will take your opponent at least two turns to prime the next Gardevoir or Gallade, and in that time you can do the same thing-- hit them before they can hit you and keep them a step behind the whole game. Most of the time, they will not have either Pokemon powered up until turn 3, and even then they may not be able to attack you due to the lack of Moonlight stadium or Unown Q to retreat their active Spiritomb. If you can immediately Cyrus' for a Bebe's and get Luxray GL lv. X into play, you can not only attack your opponent before he or she is ready, you can also play your TGIs.

If you run Uxie lv. X, you have the opportunity to OHKO Gardevoir and Gallade with Lucario GL in play (Gallade requires a Flash Bite). The downside to using Uxie lv. X to attack is that it will get return-KOed by Psychic Lock. You can also use a Mewtwo counter like Mismagius effectively here, either stripping the opposing Gardevoir of an Expert Belt/however many tools you want to get rid of on your side and dealing decent damage or using Horror Chant to hit for 70 while returning a charged Gardevoir/Gallade to your opponent's hand.

Mewtwo fits into Gardevoir easily and is impossible to OHKO if your opponent uses Psychic Lock or Psychic Bind the turn before they level up-- you can't Flash Bite it and you can't Bright Look it, so you will be dealing with Mewtwo lv. X. If your opponent benches it before they lock your Powers, try to OHKO it as usual or begin setting up your counter.

If you play Judge or Looker's in your list, do not use it in this match-up unless you are in dire straits and absolutely need the hand refresh to remain in the game. Otherwise you will be getting your hand disrupted potentially every turn that a Gardevoir remains in play.


If you run Chatot, you may be able to win the game with Chatter against Spiritomb. Warp energy is uncommon here, but you may see Unown G. If your opponent's bench is already full and they have no way to KO the Spiritomb with Darkness Grace damage, go for the lock.

Summary of tips against Gardevoir:
- Hit Gardevoir and Gallade before they hit you whenever you can arrange it
- Be careful with your Cyrus' chaining because you will eventually be hit with Judge
- Try to abuse psychic weakness with Uxie lv. X and/or your Mewtwo counter
- Relish any chance you get to use Powers, such as after an attack by Gallade
- If your opponent doesn't open with Spiritomb, use as many trainers as you can before they bring it active
- Spray Telepass more than Cosmic Power

Curse Gengar

Out of all the decks in the format, this is the one that can cause you the most trouble if it fully sets up.

The goal of your opponent will be to keep you from playing trainers for as long as possible with Spiritomb, which does not go away after the first few turns as it does in most other set up decks which use it. Gengar AR will Shadow Skip and switch out to Spiritomb repeatedly, letting you take prizes on them while keeping Gengar safe on the bench. With Expert Belt, Shadow Skip does 80 damage, which is a big deal considering Gengar lv. X's Level Down and your inability to play Poketurn with Spiritomb active.

If your active Luxray or Garchomp lv. X is targeted by Level Down and you can't block it with Power Spray-- whether it is due to Spiritomb or simply having none in hand-- you will lose your de-leveled Pokemon to a Belted Shadow Skip. You can also be hit with a Belted Shadow Skip first and then get Leveled Down for an instant KO on your opponent's next turn with no chance to use Poketurn due to Spiritomb. Both of these scenarios are bad and difficult to avoid.

You can also anticipate having your hand disrupted with Judge or Looker's Investigation (or maybe a combination of both).

The way to win this match-up is to disrupt the hit-and-run strategy that the deck depends upon to succeed. Bright Look and Dragon Rush let you do this, although because of Spiritomb and Level Down you will have a hard time maintaining the control. Bright Looking Claydol-- especially if they have already dropped what is likely their lone Unown Q on Spiritomb-- and sniping Gengar is one of the best plays you can make here. Poketurning your level Xs when you are not attacking with them can also be wise because then you only have to fear Judge/Looker's and not the once-per-turn Level Down. For example, if you do Bright Look Claydol and have Garchomp C lv. X waiting, you can Poketurn the Luxray GL lv. X up so that you can repeat the process once the Claydol ends up back on the bench.

Keep in mind that Gengar resists Garchomp. With 160 HP once leveled up and Belted, you KO it with 2 Dragon Rushes-- but only if it is on the bench. This shouldn't be an issue since it runs to the bench every turn anyway, but there may be a time when you need to break the Spiritomb lock and are tempted to bring up Gengar over something like Claydol thinking you can still 2HKO it with Dragon Rush. Don't make this mistake.

Bright Look is also your way around Keystone Seal, so take advantage of the break in the trainer lock whenever you are able to send a Spiritomb to the bench-- drop Energy Gains, use SP Radars, etc..

If your opponent gets SF Gengar in play and threatens to use it over Cursegar, manage your trainers as well as you can-- it will be harder under Spiritomb lock. Fortunately, if you are attacked by SF Gengar, you will have the chance to play as many trainers as you want afterward because Spiritomb will not be in the active position.

Because the deck is psychic, it can easily run Mewtwo lv. X, so be wary of the possibility for its appearance when you go into the match-up. If you run Mismagius as a counter, you're in luck on two fronts because you will find that it has another, non-Mewtwo-related use here: sending charged Gengars back to your opponent's hand with Horror Chant. If you can pull this off, you will set your opponent back 3 turns and also open them up to the vulnerable position of having to bench and attach to a Gastly that you can snipe or bring active with Bright Look. If you run Belt AND Mismagius, you can even OHKO Mewtwo at the same time that you send back the Gengar to your opponent's hand-- you'll now be doing 120 to the Mewtwo with Horror Chant. You can just discard the Expert Belt later with Crash Chant if your opponent threatens to KO you so that you don't give up the 2 prizes.

If you run Chatot, you may be able to win the game with Chatter against Spiritomb, but you probably won't be so lucky since most lists will run 1-2 Warp energy/Unown G. If you see that your opponent has already played a Warp energy or two or their (likely) one Unown G, you might be free to secure the lock.

Summary of tips against Cursegar:

- Bright Look around Spiritomb; bring up Claydol whenever you can so you have time to snipe Gengar freely/play your trainers/disrupt their energy drops
- Do not let Gengar sit safely on the bench; bring it active or snipe it with Dragon Rush
- Get Mismagius out even if there is no Mewtwo in sight so you have the Horror Chant disruption option
- Power Spray any Level Down that you have the chance to

Here is an analysis of the Jumpluff match-up:

Jumpluff:

Jumpluff becomes a troublesome match-up when your opponent is able to set up a volatile field of Claydol(s) and Jumpluffs and score OHKOs on your lv. Xs, which is not difficult-- with a full bench on their side, 3 Pokemon on yours (2 benched and 1 active) and an Expert Belt/2 Flash Bites, 110 damage is being dealt for a single energy. If you have 4 Pokemon on your bench, Mass Attack is already starting at 110. Playing with a small bench hurts you because it limits your options-- you are going to be paying for your Uxie/Azelf drops, for playing Bronzong G down, for trying to set up 2 Luxrays and 2 Garchomps at the same time, etc.. You should attempt to keep your bench as small as possible even though it is detrimental to your development; you don't want to give your opponent OHKOs if you can help it.

As is the case against any deck, you should attempt to prevent set up and keep Jumpluff from coming into play/a swarm of Jumpluff from developing. The problem is that the deck tends to run 2 Uxie and 3-3 Claydol as well as Broken Time Space and 4 Pokemon Communication. It is thus not unusual for a Jumpluff player to get an Uxie and a Claydol out in the same turn, followed by a 2nd Claydol soon after, and if that happens, your Sprays might as well be saved for Flash Bites/Bright Looks because you won't be able to Spray enough to cripple them.

Trying to simply OHKO every Jumpluff you see with Flash Bite/Dragon Rush is not the best way to approach the match-up unless you are able to cripple your opponent's set up to the point that they cannot maintain a swarm/cannot OHKO you back. You will generally run out of resources before they do if their set up is solid enough-- Flash Bite is needed for you to get the OHKO and you will have to reuse it via Poketurn, which means you will have less of those to heal your Garchomps or give you additional Bright Looks.

The best course of action against a Jumpluff that fully sets up is to snipe the bench after bringing Claydol active with Bright Look. If they attach energy to the Claydol to prepare for a retreat on their next turn, you retreat yourself for Ambipom G and Tail Code that energy to something irrelevant like an Azelf. Your opponent will generally recognize the futility in attaching any more energy to that Claydol because it will always be removed immediately after it is dropped. This hurts Jumpluff in two ways: it depletes their low energy count and it keeps Claydol trapped until the opponent draws into a Warp Point. If their bench isn't full, beware the Unown Q that will allow them to retreat with only one energy drop. Make sure that you have both a Power Spray in hand as well as a way to KO that Unown Q before you attempt to perform the lock. You might have to deal with it again if they Night Maintenance/Palmer's it back, and the odds are that you won't be able to stop it again. However, even if Claydol does eventually return to the bench, the disruption you perform to their energy, the time you make them waste, and the easy, safe prizes you allow yourself to take with Dragon Rush all make it well-worth it to initiate the lock.

If your opponent runs Judge and/or Azelf MT, you can get locked out of the game, especially if you overextend and walk into a OHKO. Losing a Garchomp C lv. X with AMU in play and/or after having your hand reduced to 4 cards is devastating. You also have to be wary of Expert Belt, which takes away your chance to OHKO Jumpluff (unless you can get 3 Flash Bites off/run Belt yourself and Dragon Rush plus Flash Bite-- neither scenario is common) while allowing Jumpluff to OHKO you even when you are managing your bench space well.

You can also use Luxray to bring up weak Pokemon like Uxie, Crobat G and any Hoppip/Skiploom that your opponent didn't get a chance to evolve for easy prizes that diminish Mass Attack's damage output, rather than go head-to-head with Jumpluff itself.

If your opponent runs Luxray, it should be one of the first things you Dragon Rush (obviously the regular form and not the lv. X) after you bring up Claydol with Bright Look. You don't want your opponent to Warp Point out of the lock AND get a Bright Look of their own off against you.

Because Hoppip has an abysmally-low 30 HP, you actually have decent odds of donking your opponent or at least scoring a quick KO with either Luxray or Garchomp (or Ambipom). You might also be able to KO a Hoppip via 3 Flash Bites.

Summary of tips against Jumpluff:
- Disrupt set up, as always
- Keep your bench limited
- Bright Look Claydol repeatedly and snipe around it, forcing opponent to burn Warp Point
- Eventually lock Claydol active with Tail Code if you can

Kettler Edit: Due to Claydol being a nonfactor in Majestic Dawn-on, I feel like this matchup has changed siginificantly enough to warrant some extra discussion.

There are two popular variants of Jumpluff out right now: one which runs Spiritomb and Vileplume; and another which runs high counts of Pokemon Communication/Supporters/other cards meant to produce a "turbo" effect.

*To have the best possible time defeating the Spiritomb AR/Vileplume UD variant, you may need to treat the early matchup much like the Vilegar matchup - that is, Bright Look up Vileplume as soon as possible, and take it out shortly thereafter with Zen Blade (ideal), two Flash Impacts, or three little attacks if the opponent doesn't have enough energy to retreat yet.

*To have the best possible time defeating the turbo variant, it may actually be in your favor to snipe Jumpluffs whenever possible. However, Mesprit and possible hand disruption will give you a ton of trouble, so watch out. Power Spray will be a lifesaver here, both in halting high-yield Uxie Set Ups, as well as painful Psychic Binds or Crobat G Flash Bites. This matchup may take some practice to get a good feel for when and where to Power Spray, but the quintessential "modern" list (3 Power Spray and at least 1 Junk Arm) should make life very easy for you here.

In both matchups, be sure to limit your bench whenever possible!


Dialga G/Garchomp C

This is a match-up that will generally require you to be on your toes the entire game just like in the mirror match. Expect to be burned out by the finish.

The central combo of the deck revolves around Healing Breath removing all of the damage from a Belted Dialga G lv. X tanked up with Special Metals; Warp energy/Warp Point, Bronzong G and Poketurn all allow the opponent to continually abuse Healing Breath while losing no energy or getting stuck with Garchomp active after it heals.

Because of your heavy reliance on trainers, Deafen hurts you just like Spiritomb does but moreso because the effect is placed on you and is not contingent upon Dialga remaining active. Unlike Keystone Seal, Deafen also does damage-- not alot, but damage nonetheless. Even 10 damage on Garchomp C can be a big deal if it isn't allowed to Healing Breath-- an opposing Garchomp C only needs to Earthquake for a OHKO instead of Dragon Rush, which can be huge.

Luxray fortunately resists Dialga, rendering Deafen a damageless attack (unless they use it with Expert Belt attached) and keeping Luxray GL lv. X out of OHKO range from a Belted Remove Lost (whereas only a Flash Bite is needed to OHKO Garchomp C lv. X with this attack). Possessing resistance to Dialga is not enough to win the match-up, of course-- Expert Belt negates your resistance and allows Dialga to 2HKO you like it does most other Pokemon. It also "resists" everything when it has Special Metals attached to it, turning what would be 2HKOs from Flash Impact/Dragon Rush into 3HKOs or even 4HKOs.

Another reason that resisting Dialga is not necessarily game-breaking is Garchomp's presence; it is this card above all else that makes the match-up difficult. Your opponent can Deafen you for several turns, restricting your set up and barring you from using SP Radar to get out your lv. Xs, while they build their own Garchomp Cs on the bench to Dragon Rush yours. You might also get hit with Judge or Looker's Investigation after enduring several turns of Deafen so that you don't get to finally play down all of your trainers once the lock has ended. If that happens, you will have 4-5 cards in hand and you will have lost the first Garchomp of the game-- in other words you will be in a poor position.

Your opponent will also likely be running Toxicroak G promo to keep your Luxray in check should you attempt to take down Dialga with it. Although your resistance to metal isn't game-winning, it does give you an edge against Dialga itself and without the threat of a OHKO from Poison Revenge, you could comfortably rely on Luxray for most of the game, healing with Poketurn or Healing Breath before Dialga can KO you (since it can never OHKO a fresh Luxray GL lv. X barring a Belted Remove Lost and 3 Flash Bites). Since you do have to worry about Toxicroak G, however, you need to be careful how you actually go about KOing Dialga Gs. Having an Uxie lv. X ready is a good idea in case they do drop the Toxicroak against you.

If your opponent gets a Belted Dialga G lv. X in play, consider using Toxic Fang against it just as you would against Donphan. Double-poison is a solid counter to the tank strategy if your opponent cannot respond with Warp Point/Warp energy right away. Also consider using Toxicroak G against it following a KO so that you can poison it in that fashion while also doing damage.

Take out your opponent's Garchomps as soon as you can. You will usually be up against a 2-2 line and you should keep this in mind whenever you Dragon Rush one and leave another unleveled-up Garchomp on his or her bench. Try to set up an Ambipom G as well for the occasion when your opponent Dragon Rushes you and ends up energyless in the process. Whenever you can take a KO on a Garchomp C or Garchomp C lv. X without leaving your own Garchomps in harm's way, you should generally do it, and Ambipom G happens to be the best card for that purpose.

Your opponent is going to be running Claydol. You can try to turn it into a liability by bringing it up with Bright Look and then sniping around it for a turn or two. This isn't always going to work since your opponent can immediately retreat with DCE/the aid of Galactic Switch or escape back to the bench with Warp Point/Warp energy (or simply Spray your Bright Look); sometimes, however, you will be able to pull it off. You can also try to take advantage of your opponent's reliance on Cosmic Power by Spraying it at critical times/KOing Claydol just as you would against any other deck running it-- remember, Dialga/Garchomp functions at its best when it has access to largely unsearchable cards such as Special Metal, Warp energy/Warp Point and Expert Belt and so you might be able to cripple them by taking their draw power out. You might run into a counter-KO from a Garchomp C if you Dragon Rush Claydol though, or a Toxicroak G counter-KO if you kill it or Baltoy with Luxray, so be careful; attack with discretion after sizing up the current game state. Also don't use all of your Sprays on Cosmic Power. You will need them for Healing Breaths and Galactic Switches, particularly the former. You do not want to spend several turns whittling down a Dialga G lv. X only to have it completely healed, so Power Spray Healing Breath if you can.

One way to ensure your benched Garchomps do not get OHKOed by your opponent's Garchomps via Dragon Rush is to level up immediately even if you have nothing to Healing Breath and do not intend to attack with it during that turn. Your opponent is probably not going to be running Luxray or any other way to bring your Garchomps active once they are on the bench, so if you level up and then retreat (ie. Poketurn your active, damaged Luxray, promote a Garchomp, level up, then retreat that for another Luxray), you take away the Dragon Rush threat and instead put them in trouble as soon as they Poketurn their own Garchomp C lv. X and rebench the Garchomp C (ie. after going for the Warp Point/Warp energy/Healing Breath combo).

If your opponent tries to Deafen you early on and they have non-SP Pokemon in play such as Azelf and Baltoy/Claydol, you might consider using Ambipom G to Tail Code the Metal energy-- especially if they are Special-- off Dialga.

Summary of tips against Dialga/Garchomp:
- Use Power Spray effectively, ie. to disrupt the central Healing Breath/Warp energy or Warp Point combo of the deck
- Level up Garchomps quickly even if you aren't going to attack with them immediately so they won't get sniped for a KO on the bench
- KO opposing Garchomps whenever possible
- Bright Look Claydol and snipe around it
- Take advantage of Luxray's resistance to Dialga to prevent OHKOs against you while being wary of Toxicroak G when you're going for the KO yourself"

Although the article remains technically uncompleted, I find that to be a good thing...You know, like how Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov was supposed to have a sequel, but didn't.

I hope that transferring Alex's post from the articles section of the forum to the /blog section will give it a new lease on life.

'Til next time,

-Kettler

12/19/2010: Tom Bean, TX​

(From the list referenced in Part III, Section 1...)
​
-1 Drifloon
-1 Drifblim​
-1 VS Seeker

+1 Call Energy
​+1 Premier Ball​
+1 Uxie​

Pokemon (18):

3 Garchomp C
1 Garchomp C LV.X
2 Luxray GL
1 Luxray GL LV.X
3 Uxie LA
1 Uxie LV.X
1 Crobat G
1 Ambipom G
1 Bronzong G
1 Lucario GL
1 Toxicroak G Promo
1 Unown Q
1 Azelf LA

Trainers (30):

4 Cyrus's Conspiracy
4 Pokemon Collector
4 PokeTurn
3 Energy Gain
3 Power Spray​
2 SP Radar
2 Bebe's Search
2 Junk Arm
2 Premier Ball
1 VS Seeker
1 Looker's Investigation
1 Luxury Ball
1 Aaron's Collection

Energy (12)

4 DCE
4 Call
3 Lightning
1 Psychic

What worked: for starters, the consistency. I had finally gotten around to making space for the 4^th Call, as well as the third Uxie – two steps in the right direction which I had been meaning to take, but chose not to due to miscellaneous reasons. However, as you can tell from the past three entries, the deck didn’t change too radically, since it really was just a three card switch.

All in all, I’d say that this is the strongest list I used all City Championship season: while I didn’t feel as powerful versus mirror as I would have liked to, I felt like the deck was very well-rounded.

This would be the last time for me to use Luxchomp, as I would switch to Dialgachomp for the last two.

What didn't: Mewtwo LV.X vulnerability is bad, but I made a metagame call that I wouldn’t have to deal with it at this tournament. I turned out to be right on the money, but if Mewtwo is everywhere, then you can’t quite as easily get by without a Dialga G LV.X or something thereabouts.

The debate between running a single Luxury Ball versus a single Pokemon Communication still rages. In the occasional hand where you have no other Pokemon, Luxury Ball is clearly the better choice, and since I’m paranoid about making bad hands playable, I deemed Luxury Ball to be the better choice. Ultimately, the higher your Pokemon count, the more justifiable Pokemon Communication over Luxury Ball is, and for today, it was less justifiable than either of my past events.

Round 1: VS Dale L. (Blaziken FB/Luxray GL/Garchomp C)

            Despite all of the added consistency bells and whistles, I would proceed to mulligan once, followed by a lone Garchomp C start going first. All I could do was attach a Lightning Energy, pass, and then watch him proceed to first turn me with two Flash Bites and a Claw Swipe of his own.

Loss (0-1)

Round 2: VS Martin M. (Luxchomp)

            In stark contrast to the last game, I would open with a very nice Luxray start, which – when combined with Call and Uxie’s Set Up) – gave me what could be the perfect opportunity to double Power Spray him. This is just what happens, and so he is forced to Mimic into a new hand. Since my first turn deck search revealed to me that my Garchomp C LV.X was prized, I knew that I had to use Azelf’s Time Walk Poke-Power to locate it, and then rearrange appropriately so I could get into it by my first prize. Perhaps a bit too overeager to get it out, I accidentally “Bite” for 50 damage instead of 60 (Chatot Majestic Dawn’s Weakness is +20 – not x2). This ended up playing to my favor later on, as it led to a bench spot being clogged on his part.

            I would redeem the misplay with a Crobat G Flash Bite KO, which helped edge me back into board control with the Garchomp. Since our lists were virtually identical, the exchange would remain very typical of the match. He pushed for a comeback when I was stuck without a KO response, but then I came right back when his own responses were dry. Our match went to time, and I drew my last prize in the “+3 turns” phase.

While he didn’t have too much trouble hitting Double Colorless Energy, I don’t think he saw Power Spray during our game, which made my last string of moves a bit fortunate.

Win (1-1)

Round 3: VS Kevin S. (Vespiquen/Shaymin/Sunflora/Cherrim)

I was stuck with no supporters or draw for the first three turns of the game, being forced to pathetically Tail Code energy off of a 30 HP Combee just so I wouldn’t get steamrolled. However, by the fourth turn, I hit a Pokemon Collector, and the matchup turned around to what both Kevin and myself believed it to be: a Luxchomp blowout. The Vespiquen’s Poke-body allowed for one easy KO on me, but it didn’t last long, as I was able to instantly respond back to it.

Win (2-1)

Round 4: VS (Charizard/Ninetales/Typhlosion)​

I very quickly dismantled this deck, scoring six prized from the first turn-onward, and having the Spray whenever I needed it. This was, yet again, another one of those stupid games where SP steamrolls a deck because it can’t set up.

Win (3-1)

Round 5: VS Dana L. (Garchomp C/Honchkrow SV)

With the inclusion of Honchkrow SV, but without the inclusion of Sableye or Cyrus’s Initiative, Dana is allowed to play his SP game as regularly as possible, yet still have some slick options in the mirror. Bar the lack of Dragonite and Power Sprays, and I thik he’d be set in every possible way.

We were looking to have a very competitive game given our starts: I had Called on the first turn, but with no Power Spray in my hand, which amounted to a solid setup on his part. However, for some reason, his Portraiting my Cyrus caused a brain fart that led to him not playing his Supporter for the turn, so he passed with just two Pokemon in play. This turned everything around, and allowed me to turn a contentious mirror match into a blowout.

He naturally felt bad about it, and I felt bad for him, since lord knows I’ve had at least a couple games like that. Still, he had a chance to redeem himself, since… Our top four cut would consist of the following:

1st Seed Dana L. (Garchomp C/Honchkrow SV) VS 4th Seed John K. (Luxchomp)
2nd Seed Dale L. (BLG) VS 3rd Seed Cameron H. (Luxchomp/ERL)

Top Four: VS Dana L. (Garchomp C/Honchkrow SV)

Game one - I don't setup too poorly, but he did get the early edge against me in our garchomp mirror despite running a 2-2. Whiffing on DCEs hurt me pretty badly, and gave him the punch. T

Granted, several things kept me in the game, such as my Power Sprays, but after it became hopeless, I decided to scoop, knowing full well that every second would count. Dragonite FB or even a 4^th Energy Gain would’ve been very nice…

Game two – Ambipom G vs Ambipom G. I hit him for a first turn 60 after a Set Up. Luckily for me, his hand was trash, so with a combo of benching Crobat G for “Flash Bite,” Poketurn, two Junk Arms, and Uxie LV.X's Zen Blade, I was able to KO both pokemon by the second turn for a double donk.

Game three – I go first, set up a bit, and pass. To thin his hand for Uxie, he makes a huge gamble by dropping an Expert Belt on his active Promocroak, as he failed the Leap Away, and whiffed on PokeTurns, so was forced to keep it stuck active. The next turn, after a stream of plays, I was able to respond to the Promocroak with a near-immediate Zen Blade, granting me the early edge From here, we kept making little prize exchanges, but the edge this gave me in resources and prizes guaranteed the game. Due to Azelf and Crobat G being prized, my hands were largely tied in terms of options, but the 3-1 Garchomp helped me persevere.

Win (5-1)

Game one –  What a miserable game: I didn’t get a single supporter until the very last turn, yet even then I was able to draw two prizes throughout. He had made a huge gamble early on, Expert Belting his Luxray GL LV.X to run through my guys – something that was continually frustrating, since I was sitting on a Toxicroak G Promo and an Energy Gain for five-six turns in a row, just waiting to top deck anything.

Some games are just not meant to be, and SP, for all its merits, has some horrid hands like this. Variance dictates that you’re simply just supposed to have the occasional game where you go fifteen turns with no supporter. This was one such game.

Game two – This game was looking much the same way as game one, but fortunately, I had many nice playing options, and was able to put up some very quick aggression: once again, I had no supporters for the first eight turns of the game, but I conveniently had everything that I needed to allow for proper prize exchanges, attacking, and so forth. Eventually, I would finally draw into a Collector, and from there, the game was mine to lose. He played this out until the bitter end, perhaps hoping to score an Entei/Raikou sudden death on me, but it just didn’t happen.

Game three – It seems as if the two horrid hands from the last two games were balanced out by how insanely good the one in this third game was, giving me the option of the first turn Power Spray, several great attackers, and the overall edge. It got to the point where he was starved of any Colorless attackers, and so my Garchomp C LV.X was allowed to go unchecked. Time was eventually called when I was up two prizes, but since I felt vulnerable to a potential Entei/Raikou Thunder Fall, I decided to use Lock Up to keep his Smeargle stuck in the active position on the “+3” turns, thus assuring the timed win.

Win (6-1)

Metagame considerations: our 20-person field was smaller than expected, but it's fortunately simple enough to give us a nearly-perfect accurate understanding of what the metagame consisted of. Below are all of the decks represented at the event...

Luxchomp x5​
Gyarados x2​
Unaccounted for x2​
Vespiquen
Garchomp C/Honchkrow
BLG
Sablelock
Vilegar
"Dark" rogue deck
Weavile disruption hand thing (could be the same deck as the Houndoom build listed above)
Jumpluff
Charizard
Scizor/Yanmega
Machamp

Yes…A tournament I got nearly every deck from!

As expected, SP was far and away the favorite to win this event. With at least 40% of all competitors using some form of it, the odds were so tilted in its favor to sweep it was disgusting. This was indeed represented in the cut, which was - surprise, surprise - all SP. Furthermore, it helped that several players with proven track records were using it: of the eight, four who used it had top cut the previous day's Cities (Watauga and McKinney, held roughly an hour and fifteen minutes away from each other).

In hindsight, I actually felt like this twenty person metagame was stronger than either of the previous two, revealing that bigger events are not always harder. Almost every deck was either a proven archetype, or a well-built rogue with a clearly-focused build (other than the 30 HP Combee, I actually thought the Vespiquen was very well-built for what it was).

So another tournament...And another win. However, this would be my last event with Luxchomp, as I decided I needed to work with Dialga for a while. How did I fare with that deck relative to Luxchomp? Well, read Part 5 to find out!

Round 1: VS John B. (Jumpluff HS/Vileplume UD/Vespiquen SF)​

This match got off to a very quick start for me, as I was able to score double knockouts by the first turn (An Ambipom G Snap Attack supplemented by three Flash Bites on the Combee from Undaunted – even if you like the damage potential of Enraged Assault, don’t EVER play this card precisely because of nonsense like this). From here on out, I was scoring roughly a KO a turn, sniping either Jumpluffs, or Hoppips, or any Combee with energy on it.

John was a very nice guy, as well as the husband of the tournament’s TO; however, it’s clear to me the deck needed some improvements. With an elimination of the Vespiquen line, and the addition of more consistency cards, I could see it being pretty good.

Win (1-0)

Round 2: VS Kalvin (Blastoise UL/Feraligatr Prime HS)

While the theoretical combo behind Feraligatr Prime and Blastoise is effective (constant hundred damage attacks to anywhere), Two stage two Pokemon in a single deck is nightmarish for players this format. Plus, I found out early on last season that the more ideal sniping partner for Feraligatr Prime is Entei/Suicune LEGEND, which is much quicker, much easier to recover, and generally not torn to shreds by Luxray GL.

That food for thought aside, Luxchomp did its dirty work against people who try to be creative: I led off with a snipe (Garchomp C was my starter and I whiffed the T1 energy), began to build up a bench with some solid support, and just never looked back from there. After about 4 prizes, he lasted long enough to see a Feraligatr Prime, but unfortunately for him, there was no available energy to attack with. Two hits later, and I had the game won.

Win (2-0)

Round 3: VS Michael (Uxie Donk)

            For anyone not aware yet, this deck – the infamous “Uxie donk” deck – is capable of a relatively easy turn one win against many setups and boards: KO two Pokemon exclusively with Crobat G’s “Flash Bite” Poke-Power and the Trainer Card Poke-Blower +; play “Seeker” to force them to return the remaining benched Pokemon to your opponent’s hand (usually the highest HP one/hardest to kill); and then finish with an Uxie ‘Psychic Restore attack,’ which should – by this point – be loaded up with Pluspowers and an Expert Belt.

            Anyways, this was my first time to play against the “new” Uxie (I had played against Shuppet donk once last season), so I was eager to see how it felt…At first, anyways. He went first, attached, and then Psychic Restored my Garchomp, while – with not much else to do – I Uxie Setup’d, benched a third Pokemon, and then attached a Call Energy to grab two more Pokemon, which made me comfortably out of range for the quadruple Pokemon donk (my and several other players’ term for luck/easy win).

            Unfortunately for me, his list for this deck happened to be very, very solid, differing only a few cards from the list of this deck’s innovator, Rob Downs (Michael didn’t own more than 1 Victory Medal, and didn’t run Alph Lithograph Four, so he ran Good Rods instead). Since this deck runs through itself in a matter of approximately 8-15 minutes, I was quick to ask him to play in a timely manner, since I knew that I’d have to play from behind. When all was said and done, he had drawn three prizes by the second turn…But by a stroke of fortune, his 4^th Pluspower was prized, which made keeping the pressure on me all the harder.

Win (3-0)

Round 4: VS Cameron H. (Luxchomp/ERL)​

Cameron would end up being my “rival” for the remainder of Cities, with both of us always using SP the whole way.

The Luxchomp mirror match centers heavily around the exchange of Garchomps, as well as the possession of crucial resources such as DCE, and the ability to pull off very nice Power Sprays). While a 3-1 line opens the door to a marginal chance of having your Dragon Rusher prized, I found very quickly in this game that it was giving me a substantial edge on him. However, things stayed constantly close, with us fighting for board control through Power Sprays careful attachments. Since I knew he was running Entei/Raikou LEGEND (“ERL”), I did my best to avoid giving him too many benched targets. However, when this became too difficult, I instead just prepared to Power Spray his Bronzong G Galactic Switch in case it would arise as an issue. While it never would factor in this game, it came awful close to doing so…But instead, I ended up just winning by a couple prizes or so. Sorry this matchup was a little vague, but my memory has since become rusty over the exact circumstances here.

Win (4-0)

Round 5: VS Carlos W. (Vilegar)

So Carlos was running what looked to be a pretty standard ‘Gar, but it also included the following techs: Gengar Prime; Mesprit; Crobat G; and…Technical Machine TS-2. At first I wondered about the TS-2, and while I still don’t agree with it, in hindsight it’s probably very useful against Gyarados in case your Vileplume doesn’t/can’t stick to the board. It’s conditionally useful against mirror, but may ultimately be a waste in that matchup.

Regarding the actual game, I was fortunate enough that my Luxray GL LV.X was prized, meaning that I had instant access to it via Pokemon Collector. This helped me break through his exceptionally fast lock, and pull ahead very quickly. However, he got back into the game somewhat due to his small hand (roughly 5 cards) having all the means to Gengar Prime, which subsequently led to a Hurl into Darkness on my Garchomp C LV.X. Through Cursed Droplets, he was also able to send my Uxie LV.X into the Lost Zone. While I was able to just keep charging into his attackers with the non-leveled forms, it was still a pain to get around, as he ran Seeker to keep him going. Eventually I had at last used enough Trash Bolts to leave him option-less, and so he was forced to give up a KO.

After standings and swiss, top cut was...

1st Seed John K. (Luxchomp) VS 4th Seed Mark (Vilegar)
2nd Seed Carlos W. (Vilegar) VS 3rd Seed Cameron H. (Luxchomp)

Top Four: VS Mark (Vilegar)

Game One -  By a stroke of fortune (roughly 1% odds), this would again be the second game in a row where I'd have Luxray GL LV.X prized, meaning easy access to my #1 method to kill Vileplumes. I proceeded to drag up his Vileplume on the third turn of the game, and proceed to Zen Blade it with Uxie LV.X. While his setup improved, not being able to stick Vileplume again for the rest of the game severely crippled him, and allowed me to easily play around Poltergeist. When I was nearing my second-to-last prize, he scooped. 

Game Two - My luck with the prizes finally ran out, and in a most horrifying fashion: all of my prizes this game were trainers/Supporters, meaning that Mark's Poltergeists were guaranteed to do 30 extra damage every time. Combined with a fairly clunky hand on my part, as well as a fast Vileplume/inability to quickly get out Level X, attackers, Mark was able to pull some pretty mean Poltergeist Shenanigans against me. However, I was finally able to get rid of my massively unplayable hand via Looker's, and get back into the game with the subsequent cards I hit. I roared back into the game, and right around time was called, I won on prizes.

Finals: VS Carlos W. (Vilegar)​

Game One:    Unfortunately, there would be no more magic Luxray prizes against Carlos, and due to my relatively clunky, unplayable hand (VS Seeker and Junk Arms...), I actually fell behind a bit early to his powerful start.  However, because of his very low hand count, I felt safe in making a gamble to Bright Look + Lock Up his Vileplume. This move paid off, as he did not have a Warp Energy for any of the two turns between my Lock Ups, thus allowing me to instantly turn the game around with all of my Galactic's Inventions.

Game Two: Long story short, I was caught with several minor basics, no Cyrus's, nothing good off of Set Up, and no easy way to stay ahead. After scoring a couple cheap KO's, he ends up "winning' this game 3-4 in prizes, and so we go to sudden death per the new rules.

Game Three: So...About SP having the edge against Vilegar in sudden death. While that's every bit true, is it "as" true when you have a hand consisting of two Garchomps, an Energy Gain, a VS Seeker, a Junk Arm, a toxicroak G Promo, and a Drifblim?

No, it isn't; instead, it becomes a painful, long, drawn-out 15 minute match where you struggle for dear life. However, his hand wasn't too much better, so we were able to go at it for a while. I would eventually top deck a DCE, but Claw Swipe or 10 is not getting you very far against Spiritomb. The sort of nonsense went on and on until, at long last, I was able to break into a Dragon Rush for the series.

Metagame considerations: Today was my biggest field so far of the 2010-2011 City Championship season, totaling 31 players. Here were the following decks I knew of:

Feraligatr/Blastoise
Jumpluff x2
Uxie Donk
Luxchomp x4
Vilegar x3
Magnezone x2
Machamp
​Gyarados​ x2
Yanmega
14 unaccounted for

Unfortunately, I'm missing a good number of the decks from this event, but the two most prominent ones at McKinney were Luxchomp and Vilegar. While the field was full of variety, the same tried-and-true tier one decks were what took the cake. Gyarados had a surprisingly  low turnout at this event, and those that did show up were quickly dismantled by Luxchomp, Vilegar, and the fringe elements of the format. 

Other than the Jumpluffs and Yanmega, the decks at this event really can't be considered "rogue," especially since I'm relatively sure that most of those unaccounteds were SP or Gengar.

So that's about all I have to say on this event: another solid City Championship outing. The next day would prove to be a nice competition collision, as several of the more successful players from the area (former nats winner Martin Moreno, Cameron H., Michael W., the Lynches) would all be in attendance.

12/18/2010: McKinney, TX

From College Station, I made the following changes…

-1 Crobat G
-1 Dragonite FB
-1 Energy Gain

+1 Power Spray
+1 Drifloon SF (secret holo)
+1 Drifblim UD

Pokemon (19):

3 Garchomp C
1 Garchomp C LV.X
2 Luxray GL
1 Luxray GL LV.X
2 Uxie LA
1 Uxie LV.X
1 Crobat G
1 Ambipom G
1 Bronzong G
1 Lucario GL
1 Toxicroak G Promo
1 Unown Q
1 Azelf LA
1 Drifloon SF (secret holo)
1 Drifblim UD ​

Trainers (30):

4 Cyrus's Conspiracy
4 Pokemon Collector
4 PokeTurn
3 Energy Gain
3 Power Spray
2 SP Radar
2 Bebe's Search
2 Junk Arm
2 VS Seeker
1 Looker's Investigation
1 Luxury Ball
1 Premier Ball
1 Aaron's Collection

Energy (11)
​
4 DCE
3 Call
3 Lightning
1 Psychic

What worked over the last list: Without a doubt, two Power Spray was a gamble, and it showed in my loss to Caleb. In this tournament, I had ample Power Spray supply, and so between those and two Junk Arm, I had all that I needed in every matchup…Mirror in particular.

What didn’t: many of the same things discussed in part two of my Luxchomp deck examination were present. However, I felt like this was one of the weakest of all the lists that I used: the 1-1 Drifblim was horrible; I was running way too many early game-dead trainers in a metagame with some decent Vilegar; and then there was that 3 Call nonsense going on again!

Posting this so I can at least offer you guys something to consider for 1/9/2010 – I’ll be sure to talk about  my tournament games and meta analysis tomorrow, and I may even be able to throw in a Deck List Dump.

Congratulations to everyone who won City Championships this weekend. If you didn’t and you’re a sixprizes.com Underground subscriber, be sure to check out my upcoming Underground article on how to recover seasons, which should be up by the…18^th or so? Nothing is set in stone, but that’s when we’re eying it!

This section, entitled "Deck List Dump," will be used whenever I either can't think of anything else good to type about, or am otherwise unwilling. I don't guarantee that the lists will be 100% amazing; however, there won't be vomit-inducing theme decks, and they will almost certainly give you a new perspective you might not have considered.

I intend to post my next four CC tournament reports for the next few days after this, but for now, consider this relatively rogue approach to 'Phan:

Pokemon (16):

4 Phanpy HS
4 Donphran Prime HS
4 Uxie LA
3 Crobat G
1 Mesprit LA

Trainers/Stadiums/Supporters (34):

4 Broken Time-Space
4 Pokemon Collector
4 Bebe's Search
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Poke Turn
4 Junk Arm
3 Pokemon Communication
2 Technical Machine TS-2
2 Expert Belt
2 Warp Point
1 Luxury Ball

Energy (10):

10 Fighting


If you want a good matchup versus Luxchomp, yet a competitive game versus evolution decks, then this is certainly a viable option. However, even with TS-2, the Gyarados game is rough, so you may consider 2 Bubble Coat, 4 Poke-Drawer/1 Bubble Coat, or a 1-1-1 Exploud SV line.

Luxchomp Deck Examination/City Championship Tournament Reports

Part 2: College Station, TX

Pokemon (19):

3 Garchomp C
1 Garchomp C LV.X
2 Luxray GL
1 Luxray GL LV.X
2 Uxie LA
1 Uxie LV.X
2 Crobat G
1 Ambipom G
1 Bronzong G
1 Lucario GL
1 Dragonite FB
1 Toxicroak G Promo
1 Unown Q
1 Azelf LA

Trainers (30):

4 Cyrus's Conspiracy
4 Pokemon Collector
4 PokeTurn
4 Energy Gain
2 SP Radar
2 Bebe's Search
2 Power Spray
2 Junk Arm
2 VS Seeker
1 Looker's Investigation
1 Luxury Ball
1 Premier Ball
1 Aaron's Collection

Energy (11)

4 DCE
3 Call
3 Lightning
1 Psychic

What I liked about it: Even though the "X-1 vs X-2" debate for the Garchomp line has been raging for the past few months, I've been playing X-1 since last season's CCs (check my old deck lists). However, the concerns back then were more associated with deck space, whereas the purpose right now is due 50% to wanting more good starters, and the other 50% to wanting to edge out mirror. If you don't believe me, then just play out the mirror some: what happens when you have Garchomps, and your opponent doesn't? You usually win - that's what. This is the core principle behind why so many players have traded in a 2-2 Garchomp line for a 3-1 this season, and I was no exception.

Some less common aspects are the heavy counts on VS Seeker and Junk Arm. The Junk Arms I'll stand by due to how extraordinary they are for consistency, for versatility, and for recovery...

*For consistency, they not only thin your hand for stronger Set Ups, but they can grab Luxury Balls/Pokemon Communications.
*For versatility, it's pretty obvious: getting back your TG'S I Inventions.
*For recovery, a combo of Junk Arm and VS Seeker allow you to use Aaron's Collection up to five times in a game.

While I would go on to cut a Junk Arm in at least one of my SP lists, I would never "not" run at least one simply due to how GOOD it is.


VS Seeker, on the other hand, is a whole other story. Between College Station and McKinney, I found that running two was simply way too much overkill: I would start way more often with a "dead hand" as a result of the wasted spot, and it was an unnecessarily high count of trainers for the Vilegar matchup.

The Dragonite FB/Ambipom G/Toxicroak G trio provide for ultimate attacking versatility in the SP mirror, and with 3-1 Garchomp, you ought to _always_ have the colorless attacker ready to go. Although not reflected in the vomit list from my earlier post, I actually learned how absurd this trio is in SP mirror due to witnessing it in action firsthand, during the eleventh hour play-testing phase the night before. For my own purposes that day, the Dragonite FB was largely irrelevant since I wasn't running SP (bar a desperate Giant Tail or a Crobat G donk with Mach Blow, Draggy FB is useless against Jumpluff)...And because of this, I would for the time being ignore it. However, now that I moved into actually playing SP, I knew that it was all-too important to return to.

Last of all is the two Crobat, which allows for maximum donk capability in a format where donks are more common than ever. While it didn't really factor in during the tournament, I can see many situations - against Gyarados in partiular - where running two can lead to some great results.

What I didn't like about it: three Call. Up until now, a dogma my deck-building had lived by was "4 Call or no Call," and my clunkier-than-desirable starts today helped show me that. However, I would remain stubborn on this choice for another tournament.

The other thing that annoyed me was Two Power Spray. All of the games I played at this event revealed to me how useless Spray becomes as a two-of; it's an unhappy balance between the zero/one (trade for consistency/emergency uses) and three/four (stop at every turn) counts. Since it's there too often when you don't need it, and too rarely when you do, I would advise against two.

Now with that out of the way, let's explore my matchups for the day...



Round 1: VS Michael S. (Jumpluff)

Jumpluff has lost so much due to the rotation, but one plus side to its Luxchomp matchup is that it now plays no vulnerable target to Bright Look (last season, the most oft-spammed play was Bright Looking a two retreat Claydol, followed up by Dragon Rush).

Anyways, things started going off for me pretty well: I was able to start scoring plenty of easy kills from turn two-onward, and never looked back. Uxie LV.X assured that I wouldn't hit a snag consistency-wise, so the game was just about me killing anything from the Pluff family. If memory serves me well, I think he had some early-game clunks, such as a Warp Point or Energy whiff, which made the sniping job even easier.

Win (1-0)

Round 2: VS Stephen S. (Gyarados)

By virtue of the double Crobat G and two Junk Arm, I came extremely close to the second turn double knock out, but a whiff on a PokeTurn (3 left in deck) or Junk Arm (2 left) from a Uxie Set Up for six required the playing of the full game. However, my decision to go after his Magikarp was well-placed, as he struggled to find a Broken Time-Space for 3-4 turns of the game. By the time he could finally get out, I was already too far ahead, and so Trash Bolt or Flash Impact + a Flash Bite from Crobat G would pretty much be enough every time.

As a side note, this has generally been my worst situation with Gyarados: when you can't get Broken Time-Space for the life of you. Granted, Mesprit is really useful in freezing them from Flash Bites/Bright Look, even after the initial Psychic Bind, you'll have troubles.

Win (2-0)

Round 3: VS Phillip B. (Gyarados)

Phil's our league's organizer, and I have to say that he's improved tremendously. He definitely did his research, and as a result, ended up with a Gyarados list that was on par with or ahead of the metagame.

Anyways, he started with a significant jump on me, getting out a turn one Gyarados with KO'ing potential. This set me back pretty far, and to top it off, my prizes were pretty trashy too. However, my one saving grace was that he was constantly forced to Belt Gyarados, which gave me the prime opportunity to score four prizes in a matter of 2-3 turns. My Looker's Investigation was clutch here, as it was able to deny him the game-winning response KO for the sixth prize, and put me into a situation where I'd draw my final two prizes due to the wrecked hand. 

Great game, man.

Win (3-0)

Round 4: VS Caleb C. (Luxchomp)

Caleb is an upstart from Houston who not only did really well at Cities up to this point, but I think nabbed a lot of early points thanks to Battle Roads. He was roughly 1700 when I played him at this point, which - for ratings and rankings purposes - can only mean good things. Be it a huge point gain for a win, or a meager point deduction for a loss, the result ends up being pretty acceptable either way...Even for the most bitter of us, lol.

However, the game ended before it began due to his double Power Spraying me, which, as any long-time SP player knows, is more than enough to take you out of a game entirely. I somehow weaseled four prizes out of him, but Caleb still never lost board control, and went on to win the non-exchange.

Loss (3-1)

Round 5: VS Dana L. (Luxray/Blaziken/Manectric/ERL)

My starting hand was initially 100% unplayable garbage, sans a single Lightning Energy. However, by a stroke of luck. I top decked a Premier Ball…Meaning that I wasn’t completely dead-on-arrival! So I dropped my energy, passed, and spent the rest of his turn uneventfully not getting donked. The next turn, I top-decked a Double Colorless Energy, which was all that I needed to start actually doing something. Seeing that he had an Electrike on the bench, I knew that leaving Manectric alone for too long would cause mirror troubles, especially if he was running Garchomp, so I promptly Dragon Rushed it. Between my prize and the top-deck on my third turn, I was able to get a Pokemon Collector and get 100% into the game. Over the course of it, I discovered that he wasn’t running Garchomp, but in fact had the Manectric in there for his own Entei/Raikou LEGEND. Between my snipes and Power Sprays, though, he wasn’t able to get out what he needed.

This was an interesting SP variant, but it seems like it was maybe one or two cards off of being truly secure in the mirror. Even with Manectric, Garchomp is the undisputed MVP in typical SP exchanges. He would later switch to a very mirror-savvy SP list a couple tournaments later.

Win (4-1)



Top cut was as follows...

1st Seed Alex F. (Luxchomp) VS 4th Seed Phillip B. (Gyarados)
2nd Seed Caleb C. (Luxchomp) VS 3rd Seed John K. (Luxchomp)

Top Four: VS Caleb C. (Luxchomp)

My memory is fuzzy, so for this match, I’ll quote from Caleb’s report. Keep in mind that the first person “I” is his voice:

Game 1
Game one was short drawing into a spray, and using Cyrus to grab a second, I did the same thing as I did in game one. This game was short, John scooping when he realized the odds were against him, and we moved onto game 2.
1-0

Game 2
The game starts off, and I feel pretty decent about my opening hand. Garchomp, DCE, and Cyrus stick out in my mind, and John decides to go second with only one active. Flipping the cards, it's a Garchomp to Garchomp battle. First turn there wasn't much I could do, so I decide to DCE, and claw swipe for sixty, man was that a mistake.

The following turn John drops a collector, two more garchomps, a uxie, and a DCE, E-gain. First turn KO's my chomp, and I struggle to recover the rest of the game. The game finish with me down by 2 or 3 prizes (I believe, correct me if I'm wrong John, I'm not the best with these types of things).
1-1

(Side-note: I think Caleb was running a 3-1 Garchomp, because I remembered this not completely crippling him despite the notable disadvantage it causes.)

Game 3
The game starts off with my having an Unown Q, call start. I draw into my Roserade first turn, but decide to just call with Q as it has free retreat on my turn (and I didn't want to waste a turn), that was probably a mistake considering that either way I would lose the energy so I could have retreated, but none the less, that's just how things go.

On John's turn he can't pull the right set-up to get the Q directly, so he drops a Azelf + Time Walk + Psychic energy, and used Lock Up for the first turn KO. I respond the next turn by dropping the Roserade, and we proceed to bind each other for the next few turns, giving me the chance to get set up a little better.

After the initial trade off, I manage to somehow get up in prizes, but it doesn't last long as John proceeds to dominate the field, pretty much taking control of the game. It ended up coming down to time, and he had 2 prizes to my three, but I have no doubts he would have one the game, even without time.”

(Side-note: “manage to somehow get up in prizes” was actually a calculated exchange on his part to end Roserade GL’s poison on my turn, followed by a Snipe.

From that turn, I would draw a prize, he would draw a prize, and then from there I would draw two more to get ahead. Time+3 was called on my turn with me drawing my 5^th prize, and being set up to draw the sixth)

Win (5-1)

Finals: VS Alex F. (Luxchomp)

Ahhh yes, another of my newer rivals. For those who don’t know him, this guy (butlerforhire) has a pretty nice track record: before he returned to the game, he was just one of a handful who got to play in the Wizards-era Tropical Mega Battle. Then, about a year or so after he returned, he went a really consistent track record last season, making top four at both of his State Championships, T16’ing Regionals, and T16’ing Nationals, which all culminated in a Worlds invite. Given this, he’s naturally one of the first people I think of when I’m asked to list off all of Texas’s good players.

Games one and two:  after consulting Alex about our match at this event, we both agree that the games went similarly enough to lump into one. Basically, the 3-1 Garchomp, Ambipom, and Dragonite FB were enough to have him at every point in the mirror. His 2-2 Garchomp also became a point of relevance in game two, because I gained a huge edge due to a FTKO on his active Garchomp via Ambipom, as well as his other one being prized. Whenever he would play 3-4 of his Cyrus’s, I would conclude both games with a Looker’s Investigation so that I could attempt to shut out his options.  

Win (6-1)

Metagame reflections: Coming in at a respectable 24 players, this field pretty much reflected the nationwide standard for City Championships of five swiss rounds with a top four cut.

Luxchomp x3
Gyarados x2
Dialgachomp x2
Uxie donk x2
BLG
Blazeray/ERL
Charizard/Ninetales
Donphan/Nidoqueen/Mewtwo
Feraligatr/Blastoise/Kingdra tech
Jumpluff
Crobat Prime
Magnezone
Umbreon/Mightyena/Houndoom dark thing? I saw this near the bottom tables, so it must've had a rough day.
Unaccounted for x6

While I don't have a totally clear idea of what the field consisted of (roughly 30% unaccounted for), this ~70% should give you a very good idea of how the rest of it was spread out. The reason why I know all of these unlisted single decks that didn't show up in any of my matches was because they were all decks being used by my friends at the College Station league. The Donphan, the Charizard, the Crobat Prime, the Gatrstoise, and one of the Uxies are all decks I've had a hand in editing at least a little, with the last one being my own deck.

Of the 17 known decks, 7 were SP. This clearly shows strength in numbers, with odds being in its favor to take the event, and that indeed happened. However, Gyarados made a minor impact, as Phillip ("Pbarta") was able to slide into the cut and put up a good fight against #1 seed Alex (again, our very own board member Butlerforhire).

I think the other decks listed didn't do as well as they could have for a number of reasons: the non-Luxchomp SP generally couldn't keep up in mirror; the Uxies were shut out by the Dialga; the Donphan/Charizard were pushed down by the moderately successful water presence; and the dark deck...Didn't do a very good job at countering the metagame it was supposed to beat.

            As an aside, none of the Gyarados I saw played Mesprit, which seemed to be a mistaken metagame play given how absurdly synergetic it is with Seeker. In testing, I've had games where Mesprit/Seeker were virtually all that Gyarados needed to assure a quick, easy victory, and without it, many decks in the format are given a chance to pull come-from-behind wins that shouldn't happen otherwise.

            While the metagame would catch up on the Gyarados front eventually, I would soon discover that it was Vilegar I had to watch out for at my next event…

Pre-Cities: the Battle Road-era vomit list, and why I had to change it

Although Worlds was an amazing experience, the event itself was a rather disappointing 3-4 bomb. Yeah...Not a good way to finish an otherwise stellar season that was marked with 4 city wins, a regional win, and an insane Nats swiss run, but as the vernacular goes...Shit happens.

However, I picked up several valuable learning experiences - especially in Yuta Komatsuda's winning Luxray GL/Garchomp C list, which was an eerie reflection of a build I used back during the first City of 09-10. Spurred on by this, I decided to use a similar build for the next few weeks after the event, which looked something like this:

Pokemon (19):

3 Garchomp C
1 Garchomp C LV.X
2 Luxray GL
1 Luxray GL LV.X
1 Dialga G
1 Dialga G LV.X
2 Uxie LA
1 Uxie LV.X
1 Ambipom G/Dragonite FB (interchanged throughout all of league)
1 Unown Q MD
1 Crobat G
1 Bronzong G
1 Lucario GL
1 Azelf LA
1 Toxicroak G PR
Trainers (29):

4 Cyrus's Conspiracy
4 Pokemon Collector
4 Energy Gain
4 Poke Turn
2 Bebe's Search
2 Professor Oak's New Theory
2 SP Radar
1 Aaron's Collection
1 VS Seeker
1 Power Spray
1 Pokemon Communication
1 Luxury Ball
1 Energy Exchanger
1 Premier Ball

Energy (12):

4 DCE
3 Lightning
2 Warp
2 Metal
1 Psychic 

I never used this list in any premier event: during all of Battle Roads I was off studying for the LSAT ("Law School Admission Test"), so the only contexts this deck was ever used in were in testing vs Fulop's Magnezone, or in College Station, TX league play. (Normally I'd be more apt to play rogue stuff, but  Phil and Caroline mentioned a need for the players to have more SP to test against.)

Anyways, the influence from Yuta is pretty clear, what with the playing of PONT, no Call, and 1-1 Dialga. However, at times it really felt like a clunky pile of nonsense - largely due to the lack of Call. Although I only dropped about one game with this during the whole time I tested it, it just wasn't good enough, and was stuck with too many disgusting hands.

It doesn't just end with that, though...Otherwise, I wouldn't call this a "vomit" list. While the draw sure was nice, it felt like it had no real solid games due to the lack of Power Spray. While Luxing and Chomping are still ever-prevalent here, I don't feel like it could've been what it should've due to all of the..."Stuff" going on.

Did I have a lot of options? Yes. Did it greatly resemble the list that would eventually be used? Also yes. However, I'm not interested in losing because my hand is trash once every other game - that's been my failing with SP, and I'd much rather not see that happen.

So I eventually traded this back in for a standard build with Calls and higher Spray, and by Cities, most aspects of it were all-out average. Still, the build I would go on to use would be far from your "typical" Luxchomp...