One Hit KO

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there, this is Pikkdogs here.  Believe it or not, Emerging Powers pre-release tournaments are just around the corner.  Although most people go to these tournaments for the cards and trading, its always nice to win; plus a lot of organizers give an extra pack to the winner.  This article will hopefully give you all the advice you need to make the most of your pulls.

Of course the biggest goal of the event is to have fun and get the cards you want.  One of the biggest advantages of being at a pre-release is that a lot of people will trade you a good older card for a decent new card.  Values of these new cards are kind of high before and after the release the set, but they will eventually fall.  So make sure you get out there and get the best value for your trades.

Now, lets focus on the swiss rounds that are played.  Of course each player gets 6 packs and makes a 40 card deck complete with energies provided by the tournament organizer.  These decks are usually not nearly as fast as modified decks, so you need to use different strategies, here are some of my basic priniciples about pre-releases.

1. Run about 12-13 energies.  Of course it depends on what your deck ends up being, but about a dozen energy cards is pretty standard.  You should have enough energies there, without having too many.  But, the more drawing supporters you pull, the less energies you can run.
2. Play most of your trainers.  Draw and search power is limited, so if you pull 7 Cheren’s, then play them all.  The only trainer that I wouldn’t play a lot of is Crushing Hammer.  It is a good card for a PR but just don’t over due it.
3. Stick to 2-3 Types.   You will not have any energy search cards, so if you run 5-6 types of energy you probably won’t be able to get the type of energy you want when you want it.  If you stick to about 2-3 types of Pokemon you should be fine.
4. Be careful about stage 2’s.  Especially in this PR, Basic Pokemon are a lot more consistent than stage 2’s.  It is very hard to get a stage 2 out especially since you usually cannot get a decent line of Pokemon.  Just because you drew a 2-1-1 line of Klingklang does not mean that you have to play it.  If you can work it in your deck and get it out in a game or two, thats great, but just don’t rely on it.
5. Starters are great.  As mentioned, you cannot run 4 PONT and 4 Juniper in a pre-release deck, so having anything that will let you draw or search is great.  Unfortunately, in EP there are not a lot of good starting Pokemon.  But you should be able to get a lot of the monkey Pokmeon, they all have an attack that lets you draw a card.  It’s not great, but anything is better than passing.

Strategies for winning your EP Pre-Release.

1.  Play the big HP basics.  All three of the Musketeer trio Pokemon (Coballian, Virizion, and Terakkion) and 2 of the Genies are in this set.  While not all of these Pokemon have great attacks, because of their HP, all of these Pokemon are great for Pre-Releases.  And since there are 3 of the Musketeer trio, and 4 versions (2 regular and 2 full art) of the Genies. you should have a decent chance of getting one of these big HP Pokemon. I would play any of these that I pull.

2.  Play the Monkeys.  I know I already said this, but play Panpour, Pansage, and Pansear.  They each have the “Collect” attack that lets you draw 1 card for one energy.  Their evolutions are also fairly good.  They each have an attack that costs CC and does 30 damage and a special condition.  Their other attack usually does 60 for that CC and the energy of their type. Its not mind blowing, but its not bad.

3.  The Stage 1’s are pretty good.  Even though there are a lot of good basics in this set, do  not sleep on the stage 1’s.  There are good Pokemon like Darmanitan, Zoroark, 2 Beartics, Sawsbuck, 2 Excadrills, and Braviary that can be very good in most decks.  If you pull any of these Pokemon I would probably try to play them.

4.  Sawk and Throh.  These Pokemon are not as bad as their BW counter parts.  The Sawk is fairly awesome.  For just FC, you flip 5 coins and do 20 damage times the number of heads.  This attack should be enough to knock out a lot of basics.  Throh has an attack that does 30 damage and lets you flip a coin for FC, if heads you prevent the defending Pokemon from attacking next turn.

5.  The Trainers here are great.  I would play any Cheren’s and Bianca’s that you find, they are great for draw power.  Pokemon Catchers are great in any format, Crushing Hammer is good as well, Great Ball is………well……..Great, and Recycle and Max Potion are useful.  I would use most if not all of trainers that you get.  As mentioned, the only one I would limit myself on would be Crushing Hammer. 

There are other good cards out there, but you will have to find them for yourself once you pull them in your pack.  The cards I alerted you to should be a good way to start.  Of course, PR’s are a lot about luck, but if you use these tips you will have a greater chance of having a better day.  Have fun at your PR’s everybody.

So long and thanks for all the fish.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Emerging Power Pre Release, How to win a pre release