January 2012

Teaser: “Next Destinies: How it Will Impact the Game”

Hey guys.  I just got done reading Jak Armstead’s latest article over at ProPokemon.  I think it covers a lot of good points about how the new cards will impact the tournament scene.  He presents new possibilities as well as the impact on current popular decks, and each time he presents a decklist.  I just did a quick count, and it looks like there’s at least 10 decklists in there.

First, he discusses Mewtwo EX which can’t be ignored.  Everyone is discussing it, but he’s got some very good points.  Here’s an excerpt in which he’s discussing a new deck that could be built around Mewtwo EX.

Mewtwo decks are going to form an important part of the metagame for State Championships, and learning how to play against them, and how to play with them, is going to be a major test for players. The two Prize mechanic will lead to the kind of intense strategic encounters not seen since the days of Gardevoir/Gallade decks back in 2008. Then, as now, the taking of Prizes will need to be carefully planned. Taking the initial KO with a Mewtwo-EX will generally be something to avoid, as all it will take is for the opponent to drop their own Mewtwo, a Double Colourless Energy, and a PlusPower and then you will find yourself down on Prizes. Learning to master the ‘Mewtwo Wars’ is essential for anyone with aspirations to win in the upcoming format.

Click here to see the full article at ProPokemon.

Later, after that discussion, his 6133 word article gets into how the new cards effect current established archetype decks.  Here’s one example where he’s discussing the current reigning City’s Champion, Magnezone/Eelektrik. Read More

Pikkdogs Went to a Pre-Release

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a Pre-Release tournament report.  I usually wouldn’t write you a PR report, but it could provide a nice break for me while I write my next article, which may take a little while.  Why don’t we take this time to welcome my extra-dimensionary sidekick Pedro.  How was your weekend Pedro?

Pretty good, a nice sports weekend.  We had the Pro Bowl, the NHL All Star Game, the finals of the Australian Open, the Royal Rumble, and even some Free UFC on Fox. 

I watched that UFC on Saturday.  There is no doubt that it takes a man much tougher than me to step into the Octagon, but on Saturday it seemed like UFC is just an excuse for two dudes to cuddle in the corner of a cage.

Those are big men, I wouldn’t be calling them gay. 

I didn’t call them gay, I implied it.  Plus, they always wear those bright T-shirts, you can’t wear that many pastel colors without some questions.  Let’s get onto the article before I say more things that I will regret.

 

The Introduction

I did not plan on going to my Next Destinies Pre-Release on Sunday.  I wanted to, but I just didn’t have the money.    That all changed on Saturday.  I came back to my apartment after going out for lunch, and I found a strange package at my door.

Oh, somebody gave you their package?

Yes, I guess you could say that.

Was it a big package?  A long package?

No, it wasn’t that big.

Oh, so somebody gave you their small package.

Will you stop with the penis jokes, they aren’t working.  Anyway, the mailman left me a pack!. A box, the mailman left me a box.   In the box was a gift from my sister and her two kids.  They had given me a box of chocolates and 25 bucks.  I’m not sure why they did that; perhaps just to be nice, or a late Christimas present, or perhaps an early Valentine’s Day gift.  My first thought was, “sweet!. a Pre-Release, and chocolate.”

So I was able to head to the Pre-Release Sunday.  It was held at a venue about an hour away from me.  It was snowing a little bit on that day, so the roads weren’t that good, but I’m from the U.P. and a little snow  doesn’t scare a Yooper.  So, after a longer drive than usual, I made it to the venue.

I was expecting maybe about 40-50 people at the event, but we ended up having 80!  They even had to turn people away.  I never heard of anybody getting turned away from a PR before.  So things were cramped to say the least.  I did see a lot of cool people there.  Some of the members of Team Warp Point were there, like Frank S. and Bohdan.  I also saw some people from Lansing like my buddy Andrew, and some people from Ann Arbor’s Team Victini.  So, after saying hi to people and finally finding a chair, I saw down to open my packs.

Of course, like everybody else, I was here for a chance at a Mewtwo EX.  I was also looking for all the other EXs, and maybe cards like Musharna and Cilan.  And, of course I was looking for as many Growlithe cards as possible, the chick in the background of that card is pretty hot.

So, I got my 6 packs and I actually pulled fairly well.  In my second pack I pulled a Full Art Shaymin EX!  That was always good, and for the tournament I got a cool card in Zekrom.  I know that Reshiram and Zekrom are good cards, but when will it stop being fun for Nintendo to print those cards?Seriously there are more Reshiram and Zekrom cards than are legal to play!   I also got some pretty good PR cards, like Starmie, Hippowdon, Luxray, Simisage, Mienfoo, and Level Ball.  I didn’t  get Mewtwo EX or Musharna, but it’s not right to complain about a Full Art.

The tournament was only 3 rounds today, but I suppose that’s enough for it starting as late as it did.  I quickly made my deck with Shaymin, Zekrom, Mienfoo, Basculin, Simisage, and Hippowdon.  I didn’t get a lot of the consistency cards that are in the set, but I did get some decent cards that are quick, so I knew I had a little chance.

Round 1

This game was against Evan, a player from Lansing.  He didn’t get a good start, he had a lot of energies in his hand and not many Pokemon.  I started with an active Basculin, and I had a Hippowdon and a Level Ball in my hand.  I started attacking with Basculin, and started setting up the Hippowdon.  He started with Riolu and a bunch of Kricketots.  I ended up getting the knock with Basculin, and got 3 energies on Hippowdon.  He eventually did find a Zekrom, but that didn’t help him when I had Hippowdon running this hot.

1-0.  So an easy win because of the tank that is Hippowdon.

Round 2

I don’t know exactly who this guy is, but I think he might be a friend of a Warp Pointer.  He sat right next to me when we were making our decks.   I got a good start with a 2nd turn Mienfoo   But, he got about as good of a start as I did.  He did start with Basculin and had a Lapras on the bench.  He got the KO on my active, and then I returned it with Pansage. He then was able to return it with Lapras.  But, then I got a Hippotas going and returned his KO.  The prize I took that time was Hippowdon, and the game was over from there.  He could not match the tank that is Hippowdon.

2-0.  Chalk another one up for Hippowdon.  I know PRs don’t mean anything, but it would be nice to leave undefeated.

Round 3

This game was against a member of Team Victini, he is a really nice guy, so It was nice to play him.  It was too bad that he started terribly.  He had a Moltres active and a bunch of stage 1’s in his hand.  I started with the super bass, Basculin, and was able to take advantage of weakness.  My opponent had three turns to top deck a basic, but he never did.  So I was able to get the KO with Basculin and he had no basics to promote.

3-0.   I know it doesn’t matter, but whenever you leave undefeated it is not a bad  feeling.  We did not play enough rounds to crown a true winner, but sharing 1st place with around 4 other guys is still 1st place.  It doesn’t mean much, but it could give me a little momentum and confidence as we progress into States.  And if it is one thing that I need after my disastrous Cities season, it is confidence.

So, a big thanks goes out to the Judges and Derek, the TO.  You guys make all this possible.  Another thanks to everyone that attended, you guys made the day that much better.  It seemed kind of weird that I won all my games, but never really used my two best cards, Zekrom and Shaymin EX.  That just shows you how weird PR’s can be.  Sometimes they go by the book, and other times they are unpredictable. 

Conclusion.

So you are bragging about winning a PR? PR’s don’t mean anything.

                I didn’t brag, I just reported what happened.  Instead of picking on me, why don’t you wrap things up.

Alright, today. January 30th, is the anniversary of the first presidential assassination attempt.  Richard Lawrence, a house painter, fired two single shot revolvers at point blank rage at Andrew Jackson, and both guns misfired.  Jackson then proceded to beat Lawrence’s ass with his cane.  Jackson thought that Lawrence might have been hired by the Whig party to kill him, so that he would not be able to shut down the Bank of the United States.  Do you like the Andrew Jackson Pikkdogs?

I love the Andrew Jackson, probably my favorite president.  Shutting down the bank of the United States was probably one of the best things a president ever did.  You also gotta love the fact that he won the battle of New Orleans,  that he had a strict interpretation of the constitution, and he advocated for states rights. 

But, he helped slavery expand and forcefully relocated thousands of Native Americans away from their homes.

Ahhhhhhh, well………………… good night everybody. 

 

 

Pikkdogs Guide to Winnning your Next Destinies Pre-Release

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with your ticket to winning your Next Destinies Pre-Release.  ND PR’s start this weekend!!  So if you can, try to go out and hit some PRs.  They are great because they help support your TO, and they give you the best chance to get some great cards.  You not only get 8 packs, but you get a chance to do some trading with everyone else at the event.  Most people don’t go to a Pre-Release to win, but if you do win, it could give you some good momentum going into states.  Plus, it is always good to win.  Some places give the winner an extra pack, while others just give the winner bragging rights.  Here is what you need to know to win the NV pre-release.

Basic Pre-Release Tips

If you never played at a tourney before, here is what happens at a normal Pre-Release.  You sit down at a table, and a judge will come over and hand you 6 packs.  You open all of your packs, and then build a 40 card deck consisting of only the cards that you have pulled, and basic energy cards that are provided to you by the TO.  If you pulled any special energy cards you can play them, but they will not be provided to you.

When building your deck, the most important thing to focus on is consistency.  Most modified format decks have cards like Professor Juniper and Pokemon Communication that greatly increase consistency, you don’t have these in your pre-release.  So it will be harder to get Evolution cards out. and other cards that you only have 1 card of.  What you need to do is run cards that increase consistency, for example you can run Simisear. He has the “Collect” attack that let’s you draw 3 cards for just 1 energy.  Or you can run Lapras #25, he let’s you search your deck for 2 basic Pokemon and put them onto your bench.  But, consistency usually means running a lot of trainers.  In this set, we do not have a lot of search or draw trainers.  We do have Level Ball and Heavy Ball.  Level Ball lets you search out a Pokemon with 90 HP or less, while Heavy Ball does the same with a Pokemon that has 3 or more in their retreat cost.  Energy counts in a PR deck usually run around 14.  If you pull a Cilan or 2, you will be able to run about 12 or 13.  Along the same lines, make sure to not run too many energy types.  Cilan will help you with energy consistency, but try to run at the most 3 types of energy. Read More

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Kyurem NV, Jumpluff HGSS, and Pokemon Center

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a Pikk Three article for you.  I don’t expect to hear anything about the next set until Thursday or Friday, so while we wait for all the card scans and the official list, let’s do a Pikk Three article.  This time it will be an old school Pikk Three, with one card that is used a lot, one card that I feel is under-rated, and one card is from a new or yet to be released set.  But first, I must introduce my extra-dimensionary sidekick, Pedro.  Hey Pedro?

Yo.

I was thinking-

That’s a first.

Will you let me talk for one moment.  Geez, extra-dimensionary sidekicks ya can’t live with em, ya can’t destroy their interdimensionary portholes.  As I was saying, I was thinking that since you have been with me on my articles for so long, there are probably new readers who don’t know much about you. 

Could be.

So, why don’t you re-introduce yourself so that new readers will know who you are, and it won’t be so weird. 

I think the ship has sailed on the weird thing, but I’ll go along with it.  I am a half human/ half alien humanoid from a different dimension.  I sometimes write articles with Pikkdogs to help him out.  Things are a lot funnier when I’m around, and I can be here to knock him down once he starts to get proud or boastful. 

True.  But, what it all comes down to is that you are my sidekick.  You assist me as I write articles.  You are the Ed McMahon to my Johnny Carson.

Or, the Lamar Odom to your Khloe Kardashian.

I guess, but I thnk it’s more like the Robin to my Batman.

I see it more as the Ava Braun to your Hitler. 

Hey! How come in my examples I am Batman and Johnny Carson, and in yours I am a Kardashian and Hitler?

Hey, I just go with what I know man.  I don’t  look that good either.  I get to be an old guy that is known for giving away money, a little above average basketball player who is married to the big Kardashian , and  a young guy who always wears spandex.  Come to think of it, I could get used to the Spandex.

I’m sure you could,but, I don’t wanna hear it. Let’s just do the article. 

The Staple-Kyurem

Description– Kyurem is the long lost brother to the Unova Dragons, Reshiram and Zekrom.  His card is just about the same as the other dragons.  He has 130 HP, he has a 2 retreat cost, and he has the “Outrage” attack.  Unlike the other dragons, Kyurem is a Water Pokemon, is weak to metal, and has the “Glaciate” attack.  “Glaciate” spreads 30 damage for WWC. 

Analysis– Reshiram and Zekrom have had so much success so far that is always great to have a little more of the Unova dragons.  If a little is good, more is better. 

This card has seen a lot of play despite the fact that it has only been in the format for the City Championship season.  It saw play in three different decks.  It first saw play in a Donphan and Dragons deck.  This deck already used the other 2 dragons to soak up damage counters and reflect them onto the opponent, so Kyurem was a logical fit here.  It gave the user a lot better matchup against fire decks, such as Reshiphlosion.  It could really maximize the potential of “Outrage” without needing to rely on the fickle “Glaciate” attack.  Next, the card saw play in the CaKE deck.  This deck used Electrode Prime to bring together Kyurem and Cobalion NV.  The deck was versatile and maximized the potential of both Kyurem and Cobalion.  The problem was that it wasn’t as consistent as some other decks, and didn’t have the best matchups ever.  It survives today as a good deck, just not the best one.  The third deck it saw play in was the Six Corners deck.  This is a very strange deck that uses the Unova Dragons and Virizion NV as the basics for a deck that is able to take advantage of weakness on nearly every deck that it plays against.  In this deck, Kyurem again served as more of an “Outrage” attacker, and only used “Glaciate” when absolutley neccessary.  I do not see much of a future for Six Corners because the format is becoming smaller and less diverse. 

The stats of this card are very similar to the other dragons.  Of course, 130 HP and the “Outrage” attack are a deadly combo.  This card is weak to metal, which is good, but not as good as it was without Cobalion NV in the format.  With just the “Outrage” attack, Kyurem was destined to see some play.  But the key to it seeing long lasting play is “Glaciate”.  I never liked this attack.  Sure if you can get this attack off 4 times you probably have just won the game, but it rarely is that simple.  Some decks have healing or damage counter moving abilities that would mess with this strategy.  Other decks would take away Kyurem before it could attack more than once or twice.  Because the attack takes three energies, it will be hard to get more than 1 or 2 powered up in one game.  You could use Pokemon like Feraligatr Prime for energy acceleration, but that just leads to more problems than it solves.  I never really liked this card for more than the “Outrage” effect. 

The bad things about Kyurem are as follows.  Firstly, Cobalion can hit it for weakness, this is not a huge problem, unless Cobalion becomes a widely played  anti-Mewtwo EX tech.  The last negative about Kyurem is the “Glaciate” attack.  I just don’t think it is on the same level as “Blue Flare” and “Bolt Strike”.  The spread has been dead for a long time, and this card does nothing to bring it back. 

Final Rating7.75/10– Although “Glaciate” is a dissapointment, “Outrage” is still perhaps the best attack in the game,  It can always fill a roll for hitting fire Pokemon for weakness, even though it is not the main attacker that Reshiram and Zekrom are. 

The Underdog-Jumpluff HGSS

Description– It’s hard to believe that Jumpluff has never been in a Pikk Three.  It has been in the format forever and seems to be the elder statesman of the card pool.  It is a stage 2 Grass Pokemon with 90 HP, a weakness to fire, and a free retreat cost.  It has two attacks that both cost one grass energy.  The  second one, “Leaf Guard”, does 30 damage and reduces damage done to him next turn by 30.  The first attack, “Mass Attack”, does 10 damage for every Pokemon in play. 

Analysis– Jumpluff has been in the game a long time and has an impressive resume.  When it first came out,it had its own deck.  The Jumpluff deck was one of the best decks around, it ran lots of Claydol GE and Uxie LA.  It had draw power that is light years ahead of anything that we currently have in the format.  It was a fast deck, and needed to be,, since it needed to replace a Jumpluff each turn.  Because it only had 90 HP, the Jumpluff player knew that he/she might be in a prize race.  So, the goal was to always have a Jumpluff on the bench waiting for next turn, because both players could take 6 prizes in around 7-8 turns.  It was a really good deck, but it left the format once Claydol GE was rotated out.  The next deck for Jumpluff was in a rogue Vileplume deck after Unleashed came out.  It didn’t do that well, and was only a weird rogue play.  Then, during this season the card saw play in a Mew Prime deck.  It gave the deck the attacking power that it was missing.  It was a good deck for a while, but never won anything of note.  It left the format as quickly as it came.  So, Jumpluff stands here today waiting to possibly recapture its former glory.  The question is, can it be done in a Mewtwo EX dominated format?

Before we answer that question, let’s look at the stats.  Of course, 90 HP is terrible for a stage 2.  The fire weakness is not good with Reshiram around.  All Reshiram needs to do is have 3 damge counters on it, and it can OHKO Jumpluff for a DCE.  However, Jumpluff makes up for being fraile by the fact that he attacks very quickly.  Jumpluff will be ready with just 1 energy, and can do up to 120 damage!  He may be fragile, but he can sure attack quickly and hard when needed. 

I really think that Jumpluff needs some more hype in the upcoming format.  Although he has been around for a long time and his playability has been low for over a year, he might have a second wind when Mewtwo EX comes out.  I don’t think that Jumpluff will ever see itself in a deck like it did in a Claydol format, but I do think it can still win with Mew Prime.  If you put Jumpluff in the Lost Zone, Mew Prime can use “Mass Attack” and hit Mewtwo EX for weakness.  That means that there only needs to be a total of 9 Pokemon in play to OHKO Mewtwo EX, or less if you factor in Plus Powers.  Since you only need to knock out Mewtwo EX 2 or 3 times to win, Mew Prime and Jumpluff seem like a great Tag Team to get rid of Mewtwo EX. 

This combo is not perfect, you do need a first turn “See Off” to get Jumpluff in the Lost Zone in time. Mew Prime is also very fragile, and is vulnerable to any attack that Mewtwo can throw at it.   What is also unknown, is what this combo will do when it goes against non-Mewtwo EX decks.  Will it be able to “See Off” something else?  Will it need something like Donphan Prime to keep it in the game?  There are still loads of questions to be answered. 

haha, loads

Final Rating8/10– It has yet to be proven if this combo can work on Mewtwo EX, or the format as a whole.  But, it does show a lot of promise.  Remember, you don’t need to match Mewtwo EX blow for blow, you just need to get 2 or 3 good attacks off on him.  Right now nothing is sure about the coming format, but if it is Mewtwo EX dominate, Mew and Jumpluff could become fast friends. 

The Young Gun- Pokemon Center

Description– Pokemon Center is a stadium card that will probably be released in the set after Next Destinies, though it still could come out in ND.  Don’t get this card mixed up with the Base Set trainer card of the same name, that card did something like Blissey Prime’s Poke-Power.  This card is different, it is a stadium card.  The effect of the card is that once during your turn you can choose one of your benched Pokemon and remove 2 damage counters from it. 

Analysis– The format is low on healing right now, especially quick and consistent healing.  It is also very low on Stadium cards, so it is possible that this card is just what the format needs. 

Healing 20 from your Pokemon is always a good thing, and you get to do it each turn for only the use of 1 Stadium card.  It is very good for Pokemon like Donphan, because Donphan Prime damages its own bench.  It also would be good for Ross Decks, because they have the problem of damage counters that pile up.  Even if you don’t have a deck made  for healing you almost always will want to get rid of damage counters when possible.

One thing about this card that makes it possibly not as playable, is the fact that you cannot heal your active Pokemon.  If you want to do so, you would need to use a card like Switch, use the effect of the stadium card, and then retreat for the attacker.  It is a complicated process that probably won’t consistently work. 

Another bad thing about this deck is that both sides can play it.  This means that your opponent could get just as much help from it as you will.  It is possible that this card may help you more than your opponent, but it always have the potential of doing the opposite. 

I do like this card and I think it will have its use.  It may never be a staple, but I think I could see a couple decks using this card.  I love when new mechanics are added to the game, like healing and milling, so I am happy to see this card see some play.  It also is nice to see a stadium card out there, after no stadium card has made a real impact since Broken Time Space.   

Final Rating7.25/10– Not a great card that everyone will use, but it will see play and it will be a really fun card. 

Well, that’s all I got for today, why don’t you close out the article Pedro?

Okay, today we have a news topic to discuss before we leave.  In the world of entertainment, the American Bus Association, one of my favorite orgainizations, has asked Priceline.com to pull a commercial that shows spokeman William Shatner dying in an exploding bus.  I say that it will take more than a bus explosion to kill Captain Kirk.  Is he your favorite Star Trek captain Pikkdogs?

Nope.

So you’re a Picard guy then?

Well I do love Picard, and Archer and Kirk are great, but I gotta go with Captain Pike as my favorite. 

Pike?  He was in like one episode. 

Well, two actually.  But, he was still a cool captain.  Known for being very brave. 

Sure he was, but so were the other three.  You are crazy to like Pike, nobody likes Pike. 

Didn’t we know that already? 

I guess so.   What is your favorite Star Trek series. 

I of course have to go with The Next Generation, but I do like the others.  I didn’t get to see much of Deep Space Nine, but let me tell ya, Voyegar is pretty under-rated.

Voyager.  That’s not a good series.  The only thing it had going for it was Jerri Ryan in a one piece outift.

So, what’s your point?  Jerri Ryan in a tight suit is more than enough to sustain a series. 

I guess.  Good night everybody. 

OneHitKO.com Challenge: Wrap-Up with Budget Engine

Well, I’ve discussed much of this already, but I thought I should give a bit of a wrap-up to finalize this season’s OneHitKO.com Challenge.  Yeah, I said “this season’s” implying that there may be others on the horizon.  That’s a bit of an open-ended question at the moment, but we can discuss that later.  Let’s first get to the positives and negatives of this challenge.

Negatives

When I first dreamed up this crazy plan, I had several goals.  My overarching number one goal was to build community around this project.  Have we succeeded in that?  Well, I think it’s been mostly a unmet goal.  Looking at webserver statistics, it seems that the site is getting slightly more views now. I can’t be sure if that has anything to do with the challenge, just the fact that there have been more articles lately, or just the fact that City Championships were in full swing. Since I can’t undoubtedly attribute it to the challenge, I won’t.

What I originally hoped for (and expected) was that many people would come together and each donate maybe 4-8 cards.  I would have a bunch of random “junk” to sift through and build from.  Making a deck out of this card pool would be my challenge while donating would be yours.  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen really at all.  I had only 3 real donators, and, of them, I already had a friendship with 2.  That means that only 1 person decided to go out on a limb and risk sending me cards in order to be part of something greater.

My losses outweighed my wins.  I had a goal to go better than 50/50 win/loss in any given tournament.  I missed one tournament and had to drop one round early from another (both events I see as negatives in their own right).  I did go exactly 50/50 in 2 of 3 tourneys, but I never achieved greater than that.  This makes me feel as if I misused the generous donations and failed on my end of the bargain (even though it was always a goal and never a promise). Read More

Pikkdogs Has Some More Tips for Beginners, and a Stupid Deck Idea: Chandelure Decklist!

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there, this is Pikkdogs here with my extra dimensionary sidekick, Pedro.  I decided that since we are not going to get information about the new set until next week, why don’t I do another article for beginners?

Because you stink.

Well, I do, but at least I know a little about the game.

A little is right. 

Just so you know Pedro, I do admit that I had a terrible Cities season, but I came to a decision that it is because I am cursed.

Go on.

So, instead of wasting time play testing, I instead am going to do the scientific  thing and try to break the curse.  I already know a couple ways to break a curse, but if any of our readers know something, I would appreciate it.

So what are you doing with all the curse breaking stuff?

I will compile a list of things, and then do all of them before states.  It probably won’t work, but it should make for a pretty cool article.

Well, that would be a first. Read More

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Gardevoir ND, Skyarrow Bridge, and Shiftry ND

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a special edition of Pikk Three for you.  As we enter in to the big calm that is the Cities to States break, we don’t have a lot to talk about.  So let’s look ahead to some cards from the Next Destinies set.  This set is coming out at the beginning of next month, and Pre-Releases start in about a week.  So a lot more info will come out on this set in the future, right now it is shaping up to be quite an impact ful set.  Before we go into 3 card reviews, let’s say hi to my extra-dimensionary sidekick Pedro.

How’s it hanging Pedro? Read More

OneHitKO.com Challenge: Grand Finale

Special Delivery

Early this week, TAndrewT contacted me and asked me for my address. He had a package to send me. Well, things didn’t go well for TAndrewT and the postal service, and we thought that the package might not arrive before this week’s finaly City Championship tournament. Instead of sending the cards to me via snail mail (does anyone use that term, anymore?), TAndrewT sent me a list of cards on Friday. He swore that he’d hand-deliver them to me the next day, and since he was judging, I figured I could bank on him being there.

Click on the pic to the left if you want to see what he donated. I think he really wanted to see how the deck and I would do if things were taken to the next level. For the final Cities here, I think he wanted the challenge deck to be a real contender. Thanks to you donators, here’s the list I was able to run today.
Read More

Deck Workshop: Chandelure/Leafeon/Samurott

This one came to me a bit out of left field.  This guy named Rafal sent me an email, because he was excited about my OneHitKO.com Challenge.  The problem is that, because my final City Championship is in 2 days from now, I couldn’t really justify having him send me cards.  They probably wouldn’t even arrive in time.  I started discussing things with him about building decks on a budget and under other constraints, and it came up that him and his friends were finding themselves in a similar position.

Rafal himself was in a good position, because he had been able to trade and borrow into cards good enough to build a workable 6 Corners style deck.  He said that, other than a Cobalion and a second Kyurem, he’s got it pretty set already.

However, he has 2 friends that are finding it difficult to build a competitive deck.  He was able to send me one of the lists, so we’ll talk about that one here.  The other, by chance, is a Raichu Prime / Eelektrik deck, which I have personal experience with.  Maybe we’ll get to that deck at a later date.  For now, let’s talk about Chandelure/Leafeon/Samurott.

We should get straight to the decklist, and then we can discuss how this deck can be improved.  I’d like lots of comments on this article, so maybe we can help get this guy sorted out.  Remember that he’s on a budget, so stuff like “add 4 Catcher” might be useless.  I’ll try to get some info on what his restrictions are, but for now, just try to keep “cheap” in mind.

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