One Hit KO

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVkUvmDQ3HY[/youtube]

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there. As Eminem said, I am back after a short week break.

Well, it is finally here.  The post Nationals wait is all over with, and we can finally find out what our format will be like.  We can because the scans for the next set have finally been released!  Not only does this mean that we can now start planning our decks for Battle Roads, but it also mean by quarterly article about Pre-Releases is finally out.   Before we get into the article, let me introduce my sidekick from another dimension, Pedro.  Pedro, do you have a news article for us.

I sure do.  Welcome everybody. Well the thing that is on every news station right now is the Chick-fil-A controversy.  I know you are a big Chick-fil-A fan Pikkdogs, you must have an opinion on this.  The story is that the owner of Chick-fil-A has stated that he contributes money to groups that promote the values of traditional marriage.  Liberals have pounced on this news saying that the restaurant chain is a hate-full anti gay organization. Some people have called consumers to boycott the restaurant chain, and some cities have tried to keep this organization outside of their town.  What do you think about this Pikkdogs?

While I do not consider myself a liberal or a conservative, I do consider myself a fat guy who loves chicken.  If gay people are going to stand in my way from really good chicken, I gotta say that I don’t really give a $###.

Don’t you stand up for gay rights?

Well,of course I wouldn’t support any hate.  I actually took part in a gay pride parade once.

True, but that was just because you wanted to wear ass-less chaps around town.

True, I guess that’s whats life’s all about, chicken and ass-less chaps.

A-men. 

Classic Tips to Win a Pre-release.

No matter what pre-release you are at, there are some tips to win that you can apply.  Here are a quick run through of the rules if you haven’t been through one before.  You build a 40 card deck through 6 packs, and you lay out 4 prizes.  That is about it, the only different rule is that there are no card quantity limits.  So if you pull 30 Emolga’s you can play all 30.  Here are some good tips to take to heart at any pre-release.

1. The usual balance for a deck is 15 Pokemon, 15 Energies, and 10 Trainers.  Put more Trainers in if you have them, that will only increase consistency, and that is a great thing.  Don’t go over 15 energies unless you really need to.  And try to stay with 2 energy types, go three if you must, but 2 is best.
2. Play as many consistency trainers that you can.  You want to try to run as many trainers as possible because that increases consistency.  For this pre-release there are not going to be a lot of good consistency trainers.  Rescue Scarf is good, but that is about it.  Giant Scarf also won’t hurt you, but it won’t increase consistency.
3. Look for consistency Pokemon.  You do not usually play a Pokemon that lets you draw 2 cards for one energy, but for a PR, this one will be a good card.  Any card that let’s you draw cards, search for cards, or evolve is great for a PR, so it is to your advantage to play these cards even though you know they will get no play after the PR season is over.  In this set we can look at cards like Emolga for consistency.
4. Build your deck with the Ultra Rare cards in mind.  Even though this is just a PR deck, that doesn’t mean you can’t plan to counter the best cards in the format.  For example, during the Next Destinies PR I played a fighting deck.  The rationale here was that if I saw a Regigigas EX I would be able to take it, while others deck couldn’t.
5. Be careful with Stage 2′s.  It is almost always a good idea to avoid Stage 2s in a PR deck.  It is just so hard to pull a 3-2-2 line of a Stage 2 Pokemon in a PR deck, and if you don’t have a line like that, there will be no consistency.  If you can get a Stage 2 out it will be great, but it is really hard to get it out.  What makes  it harder is the fact there are no Rare Candies in this set   Stage 1 Pokemon and basics are the way to go, they have the best damage output and are fairly consistent.  If you can get an EX that is great, but not everybody will pull one of those.

 

A Look at Each Type of Cards

Consistency Cards– There are not many really good consistency trainers out there for this pre-release, so consistency Pokemon are important.  There are also not a lot of good consistency Pokemon, but there are a few.  Emolga is going to be great, it let’s you search out 2 Pokemon for just 1 energy.  If you pull an EX you should be able to get it out if you have 2 or more copies of Emolga.  Emolga could also make Stage 2’s more playable.  Another consistency Pokemon is Ralts.  He has the “Future Sight” attack that let’s you re-arrange the first 5 cards in your deck.  Even though the attack costs a psychic energy, it does let you control your top deck next turn, and that is great because 1 card can change the entire game in a pre-release.  Milotic and the Rare Roserade can also help you get a lot of good cards, but it will be hard to pull this out in a consistent manner since they are stage 1 Pokemon.  Rufflet is  a consistency card, but unless you are playing a Yanmega deck or something like that, than he won’t really help you.

Trainer Cards– Trainer Cards are very weak in this set.  Giant Scarf does give you an extra 20 HP, it is a good card but not a great one.   Deevolution Spray should not be played unless you can think of a good use for it, try to leave it alone if you can.  Rescue Scarf is a good card, not great but play it if you can.  Tool Scrapper will let you take off the Giant Scarf’s and Tool Scrapper’s that your opponent attaches, play it if you get it, if you don’t you shouldn’t be mad.

Basic Pokemon– There are not many good attacking non-EX basic Pokemon, but there are two really good ones that counter EX Pokemon.  In previous Pre-Releases if your opponent got an EX out and you can’t hit it for weakness, you were screwed.  Now we have Bouffalant and Sigilyph.  Bouffalant can hit for 120 damage to any EX for CCC, while Sigilyph can not be damaged by an EX.  Siilyph is probably good enough to be in any deck since he only needs 1 psychic energy to attack, and of course Bouffalant should be played if you pull him.  He is just too good not to play.

EX Pokemon– There is no reason not to play an EX if you pull one.  Mew EX is not great here, but I would still play him. Registeel EX is a tank he will be great for any deck.  The same goes for Terrakion, Ho-Oh, and Giratina.  Rayquaza is a little harder to work out, but I would still play him without a second thought.

Stage 1’s– Yanmega isn’t bad, Magmortar is cool, Manectric is worth playing, Honchkrow isn’t terrible, and Gabite is good for decks with Dragon’s in them.  There are not really any Stage 1’s that really jump out at me as being great for Pre-Releases.

Stage 2’s– As I said before, Stage 2’s are pretty tough to play in a PR, but not impossible.  The only Stage 2 that sticks out right now is the good Garchomp, that can attack quickly.  Other Pokemon like Hydreigon and Slaking aren’t terrible, but I wouldn’t back away from Stage 1’s for them.

Conclusion

Well I hope you all have fun at Pre-Releases. Remember this is mot the Call of Legends PR, consistency will be hatd to achieve.  With so many cards and no supporters things can get pretty slow.  Try to be as consistent as possible.  People traditionally don’t care how well they do at a PR, but if you are there you might as well win.  Although your ability to win is determined on the luck of the pull, following these rules should help you do well.  I did go undefeated at my last PR, but then again my second to last PR saw me only get 1 win.  So things are based on luck somewhat.  What you want to do most is get some good trades in.  You should be able to get some good trades in, PRs are probably the best place to trade.  So I hope you guys have fun.  Pedro, why don’t you end things here with a news story?

Okay, before we go today I have a “This Day in History” for you.  On this Day in History in 1958 NASA was created.  NASA of course led successful space flights to the moon and sent off many satelites to the far reaches of our solar system.  NASA is a very successful organization, but the talk about it right now is the fact that the government is cutting funding to NASA.  What do you think about this Pikkdogs.  

You gotta love the NASA.  I understand that the government has no money right now, but I think we should fund NASA more so we can keep going to the moon and make our first trip to Mars.  If we can afford to have military in striking distance of every country on the planet, we should have enough money for scientific research.

Stop being so sophisticated, you just want them to increase space travel so you can be like Captain Kirk and have sex with Green Women. 

Well, doesn’t everybody want that?  Who wouldn’t want an Orian Slave Girl and want to beat up the Gorn?

Al-Qaeda. 

Exactly.  Spend money on NASA!  Good night everybody.

Category: Prerelease | Tags: Dragon's Exalted Pre-Release