June 2010

Things to Think About After Rotation.

Hello to all members of Omar-Nation. Pikkdogs here, back with a little different article.  This one is all about switching our decks to the new modified format that starts in September.

Before we get into that, I’d like to say a little about Nats, which was held this weekend.  I wasn’t able to make it there, but I heard it was a great weekend.  A sablelock deck won, and luxchomp decks had a great showing.  So it looks like disruption decks are huge late in the season, but will it continue into the next season?

That is what this article is about.  Some players (Sp players) will be able to take 1 or 2 cards out of their deck and replace them with similar cards to make them modified legal.  But other people will have to totally remake their decks.

So what exactly will be popular after rotation?  Well no one knows exactly but here are a couple of decks we know will see lots of action.

1.  Sp Decks– As mentioned we know SP decks won’t lose much, so if their good now, they will be good later.

2. Donkphan Decks- Donkphan decks aren’t losing much either.  They already use Uxie instead of Claydol and are very fast.

3.  Charizard Decks- I haven’t heard of anyone playing this deck at this years Nationals, but it has done pretty well at some Battle Roads.  It is a fast deck that doesn’t rely on Claydol, hence it isn’t losing very much.  It can hit for a lot of damage early, doesn’t rely on a lot of trainers, and doesn’t have a x2 weakness.

All of those three decks have two things in common, they aren’t losing anything and the strategy of those decks will remain the same.  But what new decks will see play?  And what new strategies will we see?  I’m not sure but here are a couple of things to think of.

Think of New Draw Engines

Of course we are losing Claydol GE, so most decks will look for other draw engines.  The most obvious which is Uxie.  Some people will try to replace Claydol with two Uxies and 4 Super Scoop Ups.  While others will try fire or colorless decks and play Ninetails HGSS.  But there are other options out there to be explored.

The Other Side of Claydol’s Exit.

When the rotation was announced everyone knew that Claydol leaving the format means that decks will get a little slower.  But Claydol’s exit also changes strategy up a little.  Since Claydol is gone Garchomp C cannot snipe him, Blaziken FB cannot burn him, and Luxray Gl cannot “Bright Look” him.  That means decks like Sablelock will have to change their play a little.  This fact makes me think that Power Sprays will be more important (to stop Uxie) and Garchomp C will be less important (though only slightly).  So we might be seeing decks play more Power Sprays and less sniping.

What up G?

Unown g is also leaving the format.  Even though he is not half as popular now as he once was, Unown g’s rotation will effect the game.  Machamp SF, Crobat Prime, and Gengar SF will probably see more play, so be on the look out for those decks.

Get your Supporters Straight

One card that we are losing that will effect almost every deck is Roseanne’s Research.  This was a great card that not only let us set up our Pokemon, but gave us energy.  Now that we no longer have this card we need to change our supporter structure.  Of course Pokemon Collector will become a staple in every deck, but how does one get enough energy?  Interviewer’s Question is a card that could get more play.  Or maybe players will tend to use more drawing supporters like Copy Cat and Profesor Oak’s New Theory.  Or maybe people will just run 1 or 2 more energies.

Look towards the future

A lot of the cards that will dominate next years format have not been released yet.  So look at the new cards as they come out and judge if any of them are worthy enough to be in your deck.  Some of the most anticipated cards are Vileplume (which creates a trainer lock), Magnezone Prime (which is a Claydol like draw-engine), and the stadium card called “Lost World” (which adds a new way to win a game).  Take a really hard look at those cards that were in the Japanese “Lost Link” set.  They won’t be crossing the ocean until later in the fall, but when they do arrive here they will change the game.

Those are my thoughts on the rotation, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Team Beast Day 1 Nats

I just talked to Omar. We may have to rename the to Team Beast if he keeps this up. It seems that Omar’s only loss was to his unlucky pairing against Tyranitar. Otherwise, he won tough matches against Jumpluff and Sabledonk. He ended the day 6-1, which has to put him in the running for the top cut.

He mentioned that there were 1336 players (which he pointed out was one short of the LEET 1337 / 826 masters, 300 seniors, 210 juniors). That field is split into two groups, and there will be a top-64 in each group. I believe that the field will be cut down to top-16 in each group by the end of Saturday.

Abdi and Benny are also representing Team Omar. Each of them are 3-4 at the end of Day 1. That puts the team at 12-9, which I’m very proud of. Cheffords, reporting for #TeamOmar, went 4-3 for the day with his daughter going 3-3 in Juniors.

I also heard a little about the rest of the MN players. This could be completely wrong, but I’ll mention it anyway. It sounded like Andy, Radu, and Emmanuel were having a tough time with their Kingdra/Machamp. They were something like 3-3 before the final round. Jon (Jake Long) and Michael (short) had the same record as Omar (5-1) heading into the final round of Swiss. Hopefully they’re both 6-1 also.

I think that covers it for Day 1. Good luck to all of you. Keep wrecking the field, Omar!

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Uxie Lv.X, Cherrim SF, and Espeon Prime

Hello all members of Omar-nation.  This is Pikkdogs here bringing you the often imitated but never duplicated “Pikk” Three article.  In this article, like every article, I will review three cards; one that is played often, one which I feel is underated, and one from a new or unreleased set.

I wish to say “Good Luck” to all those headed to Indy at the end of this week for the U.S. Pokemon National Championship. I hope you guys have a fun time and get to meet a lot of cool people.

For those of you, who like me are unable to go, I hope that we get some good testing done.  It is a good time for us to take apart all our decks and make new ones that fit the post rotation rules.  This year Teamomar.com will hook us all up and with twitter feeds live from the tournament, so we just have to check in at the .com and see how our twitter correspondents are doing and what kinda things they are seeing.  I don’t think the list of correspondents is finished yet but I know a Minnesota player here, Andy, will be updating us, and also my buddy Cheffords from Michigan will take the trip south and keep us informed.

Now enough with the chit-chat lets Pikk three.

The Staple: Uxie Lv.X

Description: Uxie X is a psychic Pokemon with 90 HP, a x2 psychic weakness, and a 1 retreat cost.  It has the Poke-Power named “Trade Off”.  This power lets you look at the top 2 cards of your deck and choose one to put in your hand, the other goes to the bottom of your deck.  It also has an attack named “Zen Blade.”  This attack does 60 damage for CC.

Analysis: The basic stats of this card don’t seem very impressive. It only has 90 HP, a retreat cost, and a x2 weakness.  But it actually is a really good card, and one of the better cards in the format. It is mostly used for its Poke Power, but “Zen Blade” can also be a useful attack.

It is used mainly in SP decks to give the deck a little more draw power.  “Trade Off” can be just what you need to get that card you need late in the game. “Zen Blade” can also help the SP decks have a better Machamp matchup, with the use of only one Double Colorless Energy.

But with Claydol GE leaving the format soon, Uxie will now become the best draw engine in the game.  So players may want to use Uxie Lv.X in all of their decks in which they use Uxie.

That being said, Uxie La is a great card by itself.  Its Poke-Power is a lot better than the Lv.X’s, it might be unnecessary to run the Lv.X if the regular Uxie will suffice.  It also is a Lv.X so to use Uxie X you will need to make it active and then retreat it.  This will require you to slow down your attack, use Unown Q, or use Bronzong G or Shaymin Ul’s Poke Power.

7.5-All in all its a good card, it can fit into almost any deck because almost every deck runs Uxie.  And “Trade Off” is a Poke-Power that could be useful.  But, “Trade Off” is inconsistent in getting you useful cards, and it is hard to retreat Uxie.  So I would only use it in SP or DCE decks.

The Underdog: Cherrim SF

Description– Cherrim SF is a grass Pokemon, has a low 80 HP, a 1 retreat cost, and a + 20 weakness to fire.  Its Poke-Body “Sunny Day” adds an extra 10 damage to any attack done by fire or grass Pokemon.  It has two attacks, the first attack is called “Salty Sweet Pollen.”  This attack does 20 damage for no energy.  The second attack is called “Solar Beam” it costs GCC. Remember each attack does 10 more because of its Poke-Body.  

Analysis– Cherrim is a common Pokemon in the Scizor/Cherrim deck, but I think it has more potential than that.

Its stats arent very great, but it doesn’t have a x2 weakness and it has a useful no energy attack.

As mentioned it is common in Scizor/Cherrim decks, but it can work in other decks.  My nephew runs it, with some success, in his Jumpluff deck.  Cherrim lets Jumpluff attack hard enough to knock out almost every Pokemon for just 1 energy (with an expert belt).  Some people are also starting to build Torterra Ul decks.  If you were to add Cherrim to a Torterra Ul deck the user would be able to use his “Giga Drain” attack to do 80 damage ( with an expert belt and two Cherrims) and remove 8 damage counters from him.  This could be a deadly combination if set up fast enough.

7/10– This card can fit into any Grass or Fire deck and make an immediate impact.  The ability to add damage is invaluable.  But it is not a great attacker and does not help speed your deck in any way.  It can be a good card in the right deck, but is not a game changing card.

The Young Gun: Espeon Prime UD

Description-Espeon Prime is expected to be included in the Undaunted Set.  Here are its stats: it is a psychic Pokemon wiht 100 HP, a psychic weakness and a 1 retreat cost.  Its Pokebody, “Memory Of Evolution,” lets Espeon use any attack of any Pokemon on your bench that evolves from Eevee.  Its has 1 attack of its own, named “Solar Ray.”  For PC you do 30 damage and remove 1 damage counter from each of your Pokemon.

Analysis– The Eeveelution decks never seem to be very good, but people always love to play them.  I feel that the new eevee’s coming out in the Undaunted Set will share the same fate.

This Espeon is pretty cool though, it has the option to use an attack of any Pokemon on your bench that evolves from Eevee.  So if you are playing an Eeveelution deck and are playing a deck that is weak to psychic you can play Espeon Prime and load him with at least one Rainbow Energy and use any attack that benefits you.  Its not a great attack but it will be a fun Pokemon to play in an Eevelution deck.

Its stats (besides the Poke-Body) are very bland and un-impressive.  So if you are using this deck you are using it for the Poke-Body.

5/10- Its not a great attacker or support Pokemon, but if you must play an Eevee deck, this card is a must play.  It is a versatile card that may be able to get you out of a tight spot.

Well thanks for stopping by for another installment of “Pikk” Three.  As always I look forward to reading your take on these cards, and if you have any suggestions for future articles please leave them in the comments box.

Pokemon TCG US Nationals Schedule for the Indiana Convention Center

Since I haven’t seen this discussed much, I figured I’d put it up for those of you who care. Please note that this may not be official or correct. I have taken my information from this schedule and this post.

Check our our Nationals Coverage if you can’t go but still want to follow along. If you are going and want to provide updates to those that can’t, please feel free to use the #teamomar hash tag.

Thursday, June 24th
4PM – 8PM : Preregistration (get your National Championships T-shirt and promo card)

Friday, June 25th

Get in line for registration by 8:30am, or you’re lookin’ at a first-round loss. Have your decklist complete and get seated by 9:30am. Then there will be a players’ meeting. If you’re not ready and seated, you may be dropped from the tournament.

8AM – 9AM : Final Registration (just the National Championships promo card)
9AM : Play Begins, Game On!
10AM – 5PM : Pikachu Character Appearances
10AM – 6PM : Mini League Play
10AM – 6PM : Creative Center
12PM – 11PM : Side Events
12PM – 2PM : Travel Allowance and Travel Reimbursement Pick-Up
5PM – 7PM : Travel Allowance and Travel Reimbursement Pick-Up

Saturday, June 26th

Be seated by 9:00am, or you’ll get a game loss for that round and will be dropped from the event if you’ve not reported by the end of that round. Top cuts will be played until there are 16 players left.

9AM : Play Begins, Game On!
10AM – 5PM : Pikachu Character Appearances
10AM – 6PM : Mini League Play
10:30AM – 5PM : Creative Center
12PM – 9PM : Side Events
12PM – 2PM : Travel Allowance and Travel Reimbursement Pick-Up

Sunday, June 27th

Today’s main event is the remaining single elimination rounds (top-16) for all age groups. Be ready to play by 8:30am!

8AM : North American Professor Cup
9AM : Game On for the top 16 players!
9AM – 3PM : Side Events Read More

Are You Atwitter For Nationals?

First of all, I’d like to hear some comments on this one. I have some ideas to present, and I would appreciate some input. Before we get to that, though, I am curious how many of you are going to the US Pokemon Nationals. If you didn’t know, it’s in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 25 to June 27. Here is some recent news about the registration process.

So, while you’re chiming in about how excited you are to go to Nats or filling us in on your sob story of why you can’t attend, maybe you want to weigh in on the idea of a twitter feed. For those of us (like myself) who won’t be attending, this is a way we can follow fellow players during their stay and while they progress through the tourney. For those of you that will be attending, it will be a way for you to let us know how you are doing, what the metagame is like, how your nightly partying fares, and brag about your wins to a wide audience.

So, that’s the idea, but the implementation is up for discussion. Here are some basic questions. Maybe you have some ideas about them or whatever. If you’re willing to tweet from Nats, let us know, and let us know how you’d want it to work. If you aren’t going, but you have experience with this sort of thing, let us know. If you think this is a stupid idea, let us know.
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Donkphan Deck : Donphan + Mr. Mime Decklist and Report

Hey, it’s Pikkdogs again, and I’m back this time with a Donphan deck article and a mini tournament report. Recently Omar, Ed, and I were throwing around deck ideas.  Ed and Omar began talking about Adam’s SixPrizes article discussing Mr. Mime and Dunsparce tech.  The idea was to use a Donkphan (or speed Donphan Prime) list and add Mr. Mime MT and Dunsprace GS to it.  These tech cards would both allow the player to stall and to improve Donphan’s otherwise bad matchups against decks like Gyarados, Kingdra, and Jumpluff.

Ed, Omar, and I came up with some good ideas of what should be in the deck. Then I went home and used the input to build my own version of the deck.  Here’s what I came up with:
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Coon Rapids BR 1st Place Report

Jumpluff - HGSSI show up to Outpost 2000 100% set on the deck I’m am going to play (which is very odd for me). The only decision is what will be my 60th card. I am stuck between Mespirit, which is good in every matchup and can catch people totally off guard, and Unown G. I end up choosing Unown G because Emmanuel is going to be playing Gengar FB. We have tested that deck a bit and I realize the way he wins our matchup is by dragging up Claydols.

Small turnout. 10 Masters. 4 Rounds, Top 2.

Round 1: Michael- Gengar C
He is playing a fairly traditional Gengar C build. He sets up very fast using 3 Communications in the first two turns. I cannot find an energy for the first few turns and am under Pitch Dark so I can’t build my side up. Eventually he uses Garchomp to snipe my benched Luxray (for sure the right play), but this allows me to fully setup. We trade prizes back and forth. The major difference in this game is two turns that he cannot kill my pluff, just damage it. That and a missed Fainting Spell flip gives me a very close game.
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2 Wins in 2 Days, Epic

So, this weekend was full of tons of excitement and fun games. There were 2 tourneys, Ed did his reports, and hyped up mine I guess. The 2 days I ran the same deck both days, Gengar Garchomp C (again). I almost played Blaziken Garchomp day 2 since Dialga is everywhere, but decided to go with what I was successful with.

So the first day was at the source in St. Paul, and there were 5 rounds cut to top 4. So, day 1 report begins here.

Game 1: Me vs. Charlie

So game 1 I play my teammate Charlie, who was playing Blaziken Garchomp. Since I built his deck, I knew what he could and couldn’t do, and he is a newer player so he would make more mistakes then me. The game was somewhat of a game for the first couple turns; I started horrible and had to pitch dark the first 2 turns with Gastly in play and on the bench. Luckily, his entire search was trainer, and he slowed as well. I finally top collector, and start rollin. I Garchomp his Garchomps, and unown G my claydol. This keeps my claydol safe and his bench owned. I think I end up winning when he as 3 prizes left, and move to game two.
1-0

Game 2 vs. Thomas
Thomas was playing Dialga Garchomp. This was not the greatest game for me, and Gengar seems to be on bad terms with Dialga. He Garchomps my Garchomp and claydol early, and I couldn’t really get to anything to counter with enough power. I end up getting ravaged, taking maybe 2 prizes, can’t really remember if I took that many
1-1

Game 3 vs. Ryan???
God I can’t remember his name right now, and I know it’s really bad I can’t, but he was also playing Dialga Garchomp. He starts a lone ambipom G, I start Gastly. I use call and get Garchomp and baltoy. He draws, and passes. I draw. Get collector, yes. I play DCE and energy gain on Garchomp, and then collector for uxie, draw like 4 or 5, and get sp radar. I get lvl. X Garchomp and snipe his lone ambipom G for game. After the game he shows me his hand, pretty much able to donk anything I had with dce, crobat and turn. Yay for call energy.
2-1

Game 4 vs. Gliscor Gallade
Uhm, she starts lone uxie, I start lone Gastly. She plays a psychic energy and attacks. I play rare candy Gengar, play an energy, and show the sp radar for crobat. GG
3-1

Game 5 vs. Arcanine HGSS, Typhlosion, nidoqueen
I never got to see this deck set up, and the queen that he set up I played 2 crobats, 2 turns and Garchomp to snipe it. He didn’t get anything, I got everything possible
4-1

So I go to my top 4 with Ed, abdi, and soari. So far, I haven’t really had very much competition, and I lost my only competitive game so far. But I play Ed

Game 5: Ed with shuppet
I start Gastly, pitch dark for like 3 turns, and if you read Ed’s report, you can get the just of what happened. The game took a really long time, like 50 min, and I took the last prize for game 1.

Game 2 was much shorter due to time, but the whole game I just got Gastly and used pitch dark hoping he cannot take 4 prizes in 10 min without trainers. Well, it works, and time is called when he only took 2. Sorry Ed, but I can’t win the prize race in 10 min with shuppet.
5-1

So, as a repeat match, I play soari for the victory medal again.
Game 1 was pretty 1 sided in my favor. I Garchomped anything important and hand the answer to anything he did. The one thing that wins me the game is that he jet shoots my Gengar, I get the fainting spell flip, and then snipe with Garchomp for the win. After the first game we converse a little, and he asks if that was the right move. The only response I could give is if I would have flipped tails, yeah.

Game 2 was 1 turn long. He donked my lone baltoy.

So, with about 15 min left, game 3 starts. I am in total panic, because both my Garchomp C lv. X are prized. I tried to drop azelf, but it got sprayed. I snipe his uxie, and then he snipes my something. Can’t quite remember, but it wasn’t all that significant to slowing me down. With each of our prize counts tied, I start my turn with a Gengar active and bench with a Garchomp C basic. I draw and take a look at the field, and he has a basic luxray up front, a bench full of 80+ sp Pokémon, and an unown G on uxie. Ugh. So I’m thinking there is no way without the x. then time is called. Oh boy. Well, I check my hand and see the dce and gain, and crobat G, meaning I need to find a way to top another crobat and turn, or 2 bats. I drop everything like it is hot, and still only can cosmic for 3. Well, I got the poke turns. Both of them :). So I retreat the Gengar, promote the basic Garchomp, hope that he doesn’t have spray (he didn’t get more then 2 the whole game) and KO his luxray for game. I take my 2nd tourney win ever, the 2nd mn battle roads this season, and go home for some rest and relaxation before tourney #2.
6-1

I arrive late to this tourney, scramble to fill out a deck list, and decided on the same deck again today. Unlike yesterday however, there are more people and more Gengar C then anything in the tourney. Yikes. Well, after preparing, I see soari again, and after yesterday and the tourney before that, he was fired up and ready to take the victory medal for himself this time (foreshadowing). So, let’s get to it for the second tourney.

Round 1 vs. Calvin?
I can’t quite remember his name either. Man my tourney report is lame ha-ha. Anyway, he was playing cursegar. This isn’t the worst matchup if and only if I can get his claydol out of their early, and get a Gengar set up for later. Well, luckily for me, he doesn’t play azelf, and prizes 2 haunter. This means he cannot spiritomb at all to evolve, and since I snipe claydol early with Garchomp, he never gets set up at all. I take this game with flying colors.
1-0

Game 2 vs. Louis.
This game was just too bad for my teammate again. He is running the same deck I am, but start Gastly and he starts crobat. I go first and pitch dark. He literally couldn’t play anything because of his trainer heavy hand. He passes. I set up a Garchomp c after I draw, which includes DCE and gain, and pitch dark again. He draws, and scoops. That was that.
2-0

Game 3 vs. Bali
He is playing his own version of an SP deck that has Dialga in it with Garchomp, and then a lot of other uselessness. Well, he starts the Dialga, and I start a lone baltoy. Luckily, he goes first, and I top deck a call energy. But I prized horribly, so I had to play azelf, and the next 3 Turns he KO’s my 2 gastlys and baltoy. So, before I can even set up anything, claydol, Garchomp, Gengar, I’m down 6-3. Awesome. Well, I get the Gengar set up and snipe a benched uxie. He then warps me, and I bring up azelf, and he cannot get the KO. The next turn I bring up Gengar again and snipe another pixie. He then attacks Gengar and still doesn’t play anything else but horrible SP’s like rampardos and aerodactyle. I then Ko his active Dialga the next turn with Garchomp DCE and 2 crobats and 2 turns, and then the next turn I snipe a Garchomp he puts down to start setting up. So the prizes went from a horrid 6-3 to 3-2 I was winning. The rest of the game was him failing to get something going, and me KO’ing little guys with Garchomp C and Gengar.
3-0

Game 4 vs. Radu
Yay, he is playing sableye Garchomp honchkrow. Not the best for me. Luckily, he starts honchkrow and Garchomp, and I set up normally. Even with the countless judge and giratina, and him sniping my Garchomp on the bench, I maintained a claydol the whole game, and kept the consistency up. Eventually, I take my last prize and win by like 2. After the game he lets me know he has yet to start sableye. I apologize for the inconvenience, and take the win.
4-0

Game 5 vs. Ed.
Well, after such hateful comments on how I’m bad and luck sack everything in the post that Ed made, ill just let you read his report for game 5. I lost. Sad day.
4-1

So day 2 both Ed and I top again, but this time Michael and soari are the other competitors.

Game 6 Vs. Soari (again)
Ish. K we both have been playing the same decks for the last 3 BR’s, and I always seem to pull it off game 3 in the finals. However, this time we only got 1 round due to the inconvenience of our judge working for 23 hours straight and having to work again like 6 hours later. So he needed sleep and we all agreed it was cool. So, our game begins with him ripping me apart. He got rollin turn 1, gets everything set up, and then turn 2 he plays the Cyrus he gets with uxie and takes energy, poke turn, and Cyrus. Now I’m really afraid, because my lone claydol power will get power sprayed because he must have 1 since he didn’t take it with Cyrus. Well, that was not the case. I get the claydol off, and my poop hand gets saucy and delicious. Not really, he still gets a 4-6 prize card lead on me eventually, but he gets spray turn 2 and its gg. So, the reoccurrence of working from behind hits me again. I start getting some cheap KO’s with Gengar and snipe his bronzong with Garchomp and his Garchomp with Garchomp all the while he KO’s crobat. So it gets to 2-2, and he plays Aarons for an energy and Garchomp instead of the bronzong and Garchomp. This ultimately loses him the game, because he thought with luxray he could bring up claydol maybe. He just ko’ed my Garchomp with ambipom G, and I have my active Gengar. I snipe something little and take my second to last prize to get in the lead. He then couldn’t get anything to hit me back with, saw my win the following turn, and scoops. I apologize that 3 times in a row, I take the victory in the top 4, but you got to admit, every time we play its close and fun.
5-1

Game 7 Vs. Michael (the short one)
Yeah so he is playing Gengar Garchomp as well, and luckily for him, and for the second time in a row, I prize both Garchomp C. But the game was still really fin and really close. To first describe the intensity of the game, there were about 12 people huddled around the table, yet it was dead silent. All you could hear was the other player’s recognition of trainer plays and poke powers, and the mass shuffle of our cards in our hands in mass amounts of fear and excitement, nervousness and uneasiness, and everything in between. The game starts with him literally, running me over. Yeah I got a couple cheap KO’s with unown G and 2 bats to get baltoy, but he KO’s the Garchomp I get, the claydol I set up and kept on the attack with Garchomp. He didn’t get a Gengar for a while, but when he did, he got a cheap one on azelf. So, to speed this up to a point of extreme intensity, the prize count is 3-1, I have 3 to go, he has 1. It’s my turn. My field has Gengar lvl x (unown G attached) with 10 damage on it, a crobat G, and uxie. He has Garchomp C (basic) active with Gengar with 90 damage on it, Gastly, and crobat on the bench. Due to my fear of getting owned on the bench, I poke turn my crobat, attach an energy to uxie, and psychic restore on Garchomp C basic for 20 damage. On his next turn, he levels up the Garchomp, but doesn’t use healing breath (silly dood). So he retreats, plays the last cards in his hand which is luxury ball and gets unown G and plays Gengar X, so I cannot snipe the active Gengar. He uses poltergeist, and I take 60 damage with my energy gain and Roseanne in hand. My next turn I draw bebe’s, play Roseanne’s for uxie and an energy, and then play crobat down, attach gain to him, and put 60 damage on Garchomp C. He draws; plays poke turn, and then puts 10 on my crobat and uses shadow room for 60 on crobat G. So, on my turn, I play my bebe’s and get Gengar X, level down his X, use uxie and draw like 3 cards, and psychic restore for KO, making the prize race 2-1. He then has a couple of turns to get his poke turn to KO my crobat. He promotes Gastly, plays the call energy he drew on Gastly, and uses pitch dark so I cannot draw into anything to get crobat off of the field. I then on the next turn, I level down the Garchomp (and since he didn’t healing breath there was 80 damage on it: D) and take a prize, 1-1, and then put 60 on crobat. This means on his turn he needs to top deck something to get my crobat otherwise its game. He draws…..toxicroak G. he uses pitch dark and ends. I snipe crobat for game.
6-1

This was quite the intense game, and the 3rd game today I had to work from behind….not something I think this deck should have to do. But whatevs, I sweep 3 of 3 BR’s in MN this season, only to have to go to my graduation ceremony and miss the last one. Whatevs, class of 2010 FTW :)

BTW Ed, if anyone luck sacks anything….it’s you. K thanks XD Anywho, that’s all I have for my double header.

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Regice LA, Magmortar UL, and Legend Box

Hey Guys, Im back to “Pikk” three cards for you guys to look over and discuss.  As always one will be a staple card, one will be a card I think is under-rated, and one will be a card from a new or un-released set.

I hope your Spring Battle Roads season is going well.  Unfortunately I had a bad showing at the first battle roads in my area, and I wasn’t able to make it to the other ones, so its hasn’t been a great season for me.  Thats alright though, there will be more tournaments in my future.

Up until this post I had been reviewing Unleashed cards for my third category.  But now since the new set, Undaunted, has been announced I can go ahead and start looking at some new cards.  Of course the set list hasn’t been announced and only a few cards have been confirmed, but by process of elimination I know what other cards will appear in the set.  So its time to look ahead.

The Staple: Regice LA

Description- Regice’s stats are average at best.  It has a decent 90 HP, a weakness to Metal, and a horrid three retreat cost.  Its Poke-Power is called “Regi Move,” this Power lets you discard two cards from your hand and switch your opponents basic Pokemon out. It also has one attack called “Ice Reflect.” For WWC you can do 50 damage and paralyze the defending Pokemon if Regice was attacked last turn. 

Analysis- Regice is one my favorite cards in the current format.  Discarding cards from you hand doesn’t seem that important, but when you think about it, what other cards can discard cards from your hand?  There is Felecities Drawings (which will be rotating out soon) and Engineers Adjustment, but those are both supporters.  So Regice will let you free your hand of some unwanted cards and provide some disruption.

Regice is used mostly in Gyarados decks to discard Magikarps, and in Jumpluff decks to get rid of Mr.Mime Mt.  But it can be used in other decks to make room in your hand for Claydol GE’s “Cosmic Power” or Uxie LA’s “Set Up.”

But Regice can also be a liability.  It has a very high retreat cost, this can be quite the problem when most decks only run 1 Warp Point.  It’s attack is situational to say the best.

But even with these problems, I still think Regice is amazing.  8.5/10

The Underdog: Magmortar Ul

Description- Magmortar is one Pokemon that currently has a lot of versions in the format.  But I think one of the best ones is from the Unleashed set.  It has 110 HP (decent for a stage 1), a 2 retreat cost, and a weakness to Water.  It has two attacks, the first is called “Hard Crush.”  To use the attack you must discard three cards from the top of your decks and then do fifty damage for each energy card you discard, it costs FCC.  Its second attack is called “Mantle Bazooka,” which does 100 damage for FFCC and you must discard FF.

Analysis– Magmortar is every-ones favorite creepy fat fire clown Pokemon.  It was one of the cards from the Unleashed Set that creeped by unnoticed.  While everyone was talking about Crobat Prime (who nobody plays) Magmortar was dropped to “Crap Rare” status.  But I think this card deserves a second look.

Its first attack is poorly named, but has a lot of potential.  It does 50 damage times the amount of energy in the top 3 cards of your deck.  Of course it wouldn’t be smart to just hope that you find energy at the top of your deck, so lets look at other cards that increase your chances.

The most obvious is Delcatty Pt. Its Poke-Power “Power Circulation” lets your bring two energy cards from your discard pile to the top of your deck.  Another combo is Ninetails HGSS.  Its Poke-Power “Roast Reveal” lets you discard a fire energy and draw three cards.  If you set up Ninetails and Delcatty on the bench, you are sure to get 2 energy cards at the top of your deck each turn. Another combo is Dialga Pt #5.  It has the “Reverse Time” Poke-Power which lets you bring three energy or Pokemon cards from your discard pile to the top of your deck once you lay him down.

7.5/10– I think this Magmortar/Delcatty/Ninetails deck could be a decent deck.  I dont know if its any better than the Charizard deck, but its not much worse.  It can use DCE but it does take 3 stage 1’s to set up, so it might be a little slow.

The Young Gun: Legend Box

Description: Legend Box is a trainer card that is expected to be released in the upcoming Undaunted set.  It has a simple effect, look at the top 10 cards of your deck and if there are two halves of the same Legend card there, you can put it onto your bench and attach any energy cards that were also in the top 10 cards that you revealed.

Anlaysis– Legend Box was one of the most anticipated cards from the Unleashed set, but it never made it for that set, so it will be even more anticipated when it is released in the Undaunted set.

A lot of people say that it will change the format and make Legend cards playable.  While I hope that is so, I dont know if this card is consistent enough to make it in next years format.  The fact that Claydol will be gone will hurt this card because your deck won’t be as thin then as it is now.  So there is less of a chance that those 2 legend cards will be there.

Using this card is a big risk, I know when people use this card they will reveal only 1 legend piece, or maybe no pieces, or maybe 2 of the same pieces.  So this cards effectiveness will be determined on how fast you can thin your deck and how lucky you are.

This card can be useless if there are no good Legend cards to play.  Right now the legend cards are not very flashy.  A lot of them have the dreaded lightning weakness, and all of them have high energy requirements.  Entei/Raikou Legend has seen a little play so far, and it will only get better once people use more Uxies.  Lugia Legend could also be a good card if you are lucky enough to reveal enough energy with Legend Box.  And this set will bring three new legend cards, perhaps one will be a good attacker.

6.5/10- It is hard to predict how well a new card will be, but Im looking at this card with pessimism.  How good this card will be will be determined on how lucky you are, and how good the new legend cards will be.  And I don’t know about you, but I don’t like my deck to be based on luck.  It can be a great card if your lucky, but if not it will be best to use Bebes Search and Pokemon Communication.

Well thats all I have to say about these cards, I hope you all will leave comments and tell us how good you think the cards are.  Also let me know if you have a card you would like me to “Pikk” next week.

Battle Roads: Dreamers, St. Louis Park, MN

Saturday saw Team Omar take 3 of the top 4 spots in MN’s second Battle Roads. Sunday brought us a new opportunity to claim a Victory Medal. This time it was at Dreamers. My daughter, Ava, had birthday parties to attend both days, so she couldn’t attend. Here’s how my day went down. This will be somewhat of a mini-report, because Omar is going to come along and give full coverage of the weekend’s events.

Austino's GyaradosRound 1: Radu Ciocan – Sabledonk/SPionage/Sablelock
Radu starts Uxie. I donk him with my Sableye.
1-0

Round 2: Thomas Veazie – DialgaChomp
It wasn’t a super-quick battle, but Thomas never got anything set up for long. Most of the game was me bringing up his 110HP Pokemon and one-shotting them with Gyarados.
2-0

Round 3: Mark – BLG (Blaziken, Luxray, Garchomp)
This was a pretty good battle. I donked Mark the previous day when I played Shuppet and he played Jumpluff. Today was a tougher battle. Garchomp uses up a lot of energy, and if they can’t take prizes each turn, it’s tough once I get Gyarados set up. He got desperate near the end, and I recall having to use many Warp Energy and Super Scoop Up to get Regice and Claydol out of the way. In the end, it’s was all that Warping that won me the game.
3-0
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