One Hit KO

Pokemon TCG Decklists and Articles

2012

Card Discussion

Review of Dark EXplorers and the cards that could be in it.

coolestman22 8 Comments

Introduction

I guess I’ll do the Pikkdogs intro by saying “A big hello to all you OHKOers out there”. It’s me, coolestman22, with a review of the cards that might be in Dark Explorers that are receiving some sort of hype, or I just personally feel that are cool cards. Not all of these will be in meta decks, but not all cool cards from other sets are either. I’ll explain these cards so everyone knows what they do, but most of these cards you should know about by now. If you have any questions, please tell me in the comment section, I’m open to any feedback.

Kyogre-EX

Kyogre-EX is a water-type basic from Hail Blizzard that never got released in Next Destinies, but it wasn’t that good anyway so it wasn’t too big a deal. It will get a shot at play now, so let’s see what it does.

Kyogre-EX is a water-type with 170 HP, which is good but mediocre for an EX, an awful x2 weakness to lightning, no resistance, and a hefty but Heavy Ball searchable four retreat cost, and of course the EX rule. For WC it does 30 and you have the option of switching it with one of your benched Pokemon. This is OK, but it’s not something you should be basing a deck around.

The other attack is Dual Splash, which for WWC does 50 to 2 of your opponent’s benched Pokemon. This doesn’t sound good at first, but when you think about it it’s actually a decent attack, because you can kill 2 Tynamos with it early game, if it’s set up early enough. This means to set up 2 Eelektriks you either have to go first and evolve them all or bench four Tynamo and have 2 killed, then get your 2 Eelektriks out.

The question is “is it worth it to set up a T2 Kyogre with whatever just to have it killed by a Zekrom later?
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Teach Me How to Rogue

Pikkdogs 3 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there, this is Pikkdogs here.  Today I want to talk to you guys about how I build rogue decks and rogue techs/strategies/ideas.  There are some other articles out there about how to build a rogue deck that aren’t that bad, but I thought I might as well try my hand at it since I wrote just about every other type of article-

except a winning tournament report.

Of course, who would want to write one of those.  Only people who like to brag write those.  And why are you talking?  I haven’t introduced you yet.

Well, I don’t think it will help.  When it comes down to understanding me, there are two groups of people.  One group is confused, but they did see me a couple times before.  And the other group is really confused, and an intro wouldn’t really help. 

But, I shall do it anyway.  Please welcome my extra-dimensionary sidekick Pedro.

Alright. 

The topic today is rogue decks, something I actually know a little about.

That’s the problem, you know too little about everything.

I know.  Hey are you here to give us a piece of news to start the article, or are ya here to go all Statler and Waldorf on me?

Both, but I will start us off with news.  The Associated Press reported that last weekend,  a band of thieves stole 2 tons of coffee worth about $72,000 in Austria. 

That must have been one big cup.

Indeed.

I wonder if committing this crime is “grounds” for punishment.

That pun may just be the worst joke ever.  How would you catch a thief that stole 2 tons of coffee Pikkdogs?

Keep an eye on the public urinals, and arrest the guy that stands there for 3 days straight.

I would feel sorry for the bladder of the guy who drank that much coffee.

I don’t, I have a principle where I never feel sorry for bladders.

That’s nice, just start the article all ready.

What is Rogue?

The ability to go rogue is one of the best things about Pokemon.  The ability to use your brain and t0 think up an idea or strategy that nobody else has, and use it to win is very gratifying.  It makes you feel proud and really smart, and if you are a guy like me, you need to savor those few moments.

Most people know what “rogue” means.  If not, picture all of the decks that are commonly used, the cards that are commonly included in decks, and the orthodox strategies that are used.  Now think of the opposite of all of those things, and that is what rogue is.  Rogue is going outside of the box and using your own creativity to come up with an idea.

When we normally think of the word “rogue”, we think about uncommon decks.

Actually, when I think about “Rogue” I think about Anna Paquin in a skin tight leather body suit.

True, one of the only good things about the X-Men movies.  Iceman as a kid, are you kidding me? Anyway, as I was saying.  The word rogue is thought to mean uncommon decks that people play.  But, it can have a broader definition that may encompass things like unorthodox strategies.

There is a big fallacy out there that says that the best strategies have already been thought of, and you have to sell your soul to Mewtwo EX in order to do well at Pokemon.  But, Rogue decks have always been around to show the middle finger at the conventional way of doing things.  A real rogue player is someone who is real creative and uses that creativity to find new ways at beating a stale format.

I categorize rogue decks into two types.  The first type of deck I will call a “reactionary rogue” deck.  This deck type includes all decks that seek to exploit a weakness in the current format.  For example, if you find that a lot of people are playing fire Pokemon, you can build a so-so deck that includes water Pokemon and do really well with it.  Your fire deck may not stack up to well when it meets a random good deck like a Psychic deck, but because the format is water-weak, your water deck could do well.  Another example is to build a mill deck if you find that a lot of the meta decks are using a lot of cards that thins their decks out.  Your mill deck will usually not be good enough to mill a normal deck, but if you come across these meta decks that are thinning their deck out at high rates, than this deck has a good chance.  So, this type of deck is not necessarily great by itself, but in the format it can win because of the match-ups it has.

The second type of rogue deck that I will talk about is a “conventional rogue” deck.  This type of rogue does not need any specific match-ups to do well, it has a strategy and it sticks with it.  For example, if you would use Palpitoad and Wigglytuff together in a deck to use the “Round” attack, that would be a conventional rogue.  It isn’t made because it does well against a specific deck, it is made because you think you can win while using “Round.”  Conventional decks are solid decks by themselves and are not in response to any other good deck in the format.

My History with RoguesScizor SF

Before we get in to talking about how to make a rogue deck, I would like to talk about the rogue decks and ideas that I have made.  I don’t bring this up because I want to talk about how great and good looking I am, I just want to let you in to my thought processes, so you can see how I think of rogue ideas.  All this might make some sense when I get deeper into the article, but now seems like a good time.  Here are the three rogue ideas that I have thought of and used in my playing days.

  1. Speed Engine in Scizor/Cherrrim.  I pride myself on being a no talent bum who has no effect on the outside world what so ever, but this case did make me think I effected the game in a very slight way.  Back when the format was Diamond and Pearl on, there was this cheap deck called Scizor/Cherrim.  Today, we would think of it kind of like Durant.  It was easy to make, easy to play, and good for beginners; except it did not have the negative connotation that Durant currently has.  Since this was the time that I was just starting back out, I did make the cheap Scizor/Cherrim deck.  I actually did well with it early, I got 2nd in my first tournament ever, but later I thought it was just too slow.  Then I saw that someone had created a deck that used Unown R, Pokemon Rescue, and Night Maintenance for a draw engine.  I decided to steal his idea and put it into the Scizor/Cherrim deck.  I wrote an article on my changes to the deck, and a meta deck was never the same again.  Whenever it was played after that, it usually contained the Unown R speed engine that I popularized.  No I didn’t invent the idea, but I put it into a place where it had never gone before, and that is no doubt a rogue strategy.  The speed engine worked really well and although the deck never really won anything, it was a more consistent deck because of the engine.  So, even meta decks can be played rogue, you just have to keep thinking.
  2. Who Let the Dogs Out?  This is a rogue deck that I came up with myself during Spring Battle Roads 2011.  This was when the format was in chaos because of Sabledonk, and people were trying to think of  a way to stop the trainers that  a Sabledonk player can now abuse on the first turn.  I racked my brain trying to think about how this deck could be stopped.  I just couldn’t think of any rational idea that could stop or keep up with Sabledonk without going meta.  So, I thought outside the box. I knew that I needed Spritomb Ar, and that I had to start with him.  The answer finally came to me while I was running.  I could put Legend pieces in the deck and be able to attack with them without having to risk a non-Spiritomb start.  So, I used the Legendary Dog Pokemon from the Unleashed set since they have similar energy requirements.  The deck did stop Sabledonk in its tracks, but it needed some help against SPs, Gyarados, and Gengar.  So, I wrote an article about it but I never tried it myself.  But, someone else did try the deck, and they won a Battle Roads with it!  Now I know that Who Let the Dogs Out is a bad deck, and it got very lucky to win, but it did somehow win.  So it does prove that if you think outside of the box, you can come up with a a totally strange deck that can win.   
  3. Scizor’s Late Game Durant.  This is the least successful of my three big rogue ideas, but it does show a good thinking process.  This deck is a reactionary deck to the current format, with a twist in it.  It is a tool box deck that is led by Scizor Prime, but it ends the game with 4 Durants milling your opponents deck.  I did not come up with the idea in fact, nobody actually did.  Airhawk wrote an article on Sixprizes about a deck that seemed like it used the same startegy, but it actually seemed to be more like a bad conventional Durant rogue.  I decided to actually use the late game Durant strategy, I just had to think about what cards I should use it with.  I instantly thought about Scizor because people get scared about not using Special Energies, and they tend to lose track of anything else.  Than I put in the most popular Pokemon of the day, Terrakion NV, to deal with lightning types.  And finally, I added the other fire Victini to go against Durant.  This was a direction reactionary deck to a format that thins out decks, uses fighting weak Pokemon, and uses a ton of Special Energy.  I only took it to one tournament, Michigan States, but I did get a winning record with it.  Although I wasn’t in Top Cut contention late, I was at a top table in the middle of the day, and did have a good chance at cutting until the last round or two.  It didn’t have a great day, but it did get a winning record in a very tough area.  This flimsy rogue deck was able to do a lot better than other decks that had multiple copies of the $60 Mewtwo EX card.  So, it may not have won, but it still proved that it belonged.

How to Rogue.

Okay, that was a long introduction, now we can finally talk about how to rogue.

The first step to construct a rogue deck from scratch is to start a basic plan of what you want to do.  If you want to do a “reactionary” deck or a more “conventional” deck.  Try to think about what strategy you are trying to do, and try to think if you know of any card that could help you achieve the strategy.  At this stage it is possible that you may have thought up a rogue deck all by yourself, but more likely you would be just as lost as ever.  So let’s go to step 2. 

Step 2 is to do research.  This usually involves sometime on the carpet with a box of cards and a couple binders.  Or, it could involve sometime online on sites like www.pokegym.net/tower .  Get a good look at every card that is in the format.  When looking it is important to look at each card without prejudice.  Just because the other Donphan from HGSS has never ever been used before, doesn’t necessarily mean that it can’t be used in the future.  Try to look at each card with a blank slate in your mind, don’t come in with any preconceptions.  Doing so could kill a good Rogue Deck before it is even made.  There are a lot of great ideas out there that haven’t been thought of yet, you just have to have an open mind and think about it.  Once you take in each card in the format, you can go on to step three.

Step three is to relax.  Do something that will clear your mind and will let you really concentrate on the rogue deck that you are thinking about.  I find that I come up with almost all of my rogue ideas while I am running.  I came up with the idea for “Who Let the Dog’s Out” on a jog.

you wrote the Baha Men song while jogging?

Sure.  Anyway, do whatever relaxes you and helps you think.  Maybe you are a little hippy dippy guy from California and you like to do the Yoga, that might work.  Or maybe you are in to the meditation, that should clear your head.  Whatever you like to do, swim, hunt, or hike, I feel like that will give you time to really connect with the cards that you just looked at.  Doing this seems to make sense of whatever format you are in, and whatever cards you just looked at.  There are around 800  or so cards in the format right now, so it can be hard to make sense of them all.  Doing something relaxing both takes your mind off of it for a little, and then frees your consciousness open to really strategize about your rogue deck.  This is where your rogue idea should just pop into your head, and you can start building off of it from here.

The next step after you took a jog, or a swim, or immitated a down-ward facing dog is to get input on your idea.  To do this you may want to go back on your computer and search your idea on Google.  You may find that someone has already thought of this deck, and you can take something from their ideas, or you may have found a different idea with similar cards.  Whatever input that those searches give you will be nothing but good for your deck.  After you took whatever you could from the internet, you can now call on some of your best Pokemon friends and tell them about the idea.  They will probably have some kind of ideas about your rogue deck, and might even add to it.  One note here, if your friends shoot you down, don’t be discouraged.  I always tell my rogue ideas to Ed, and he shot down both Who Let the Dogs Out and Scizor’s LGD, but I didn’t let that stop me.  Your friends should give you honest advice, and usually honest advice for a rogue deck will usually be pretty harsh.  But, if you still have confidence in your idea even after your friends have shot it down, you can move on to the next step.

The next step is to grab a pen and paper, lay down somewhere, turn on a cool tv show, and plan out a decklist.  You probably had suggestions from your friends and from the internet about what to run, so now you can implement them here.  One problem that I always have with a decklist is that I always want to run decks with 65 cards, I just can’t fit all the cards I want in the deck.  My trick is that I usually run 1 or 2 copies of different techs instead of 4, and if I don’t like it, I can later go back in and take out what didn’t work and add what did.

Your final step to making a rogue deck is to actually play test it.  Either grab a friend, or grab two decks and see if your deck does what it is supposed to do.  If it doesn’t work you can either draw up the decklist in a different way, or you may decide to scrap the idea.  But, make sure you give the initial deck a good testing against 4-5 different decks.  Hopefully it will accomplish the task that you set out to do.  If you still like the idea, go back a couple steps and share your results and decklist with your friends again.  Don’t tell everybody of course, just some Poke-Friends that you can trust.  They will give you some more feedback and you can begin to polish your decklist.

You should be able to take it from there.  I have said all I can think of about Rogue decks, so let’s have Pedro bring us a news article to end things here,

 

Okay.  Today’s new comes from the world of Food.  Pizza Hut is offering a new hotdog stuffed crust pizza in select U.K.  locations.  This will be a normal pizza, but with a long hot dog baked into the crust. 

Really?  That sounds amazing.  You know I once stuffed a pizza with a wiener.

Is that code?

Of course.

Anyway, Pizza Hut is also serving the pizza with “mustard drizzle.”

“Mustard Drizzle” , that’s the name I used to dance under.

I thought you danced under the name “Crusty Weiner.”

Maybe, but I think we better stop now or we could get censored again.  Good night everybody

Pikks Three

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Zekrom EX, Black Belt, and Empoleon DE

Pikkdogs 8 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a Pikk Three article.  Right now in the Pokemon world people are looking towards Spring Regionals.  After that there is the release of the Dark Explorers set, so that is all very exciting.  But, we are still kind of in a slow period for a couple more days waiting till Regionals comes our way, so why don’t we do a Pikk Three article?  Now it is time for my extra-dimensionary sidekick Pedro to start us off with a news article.  Why don’t you talk about sports today Pedro?

Okay sounds good, I can do a sports thing.  This is a busy time for sports we just got over a busy weekend with the opening day of baseball, and the Masters.  But, what has been capturing a lot of the attention has been the scandal in Arkansas over head football coach Bobby Petrino.  Petrino was fired this week for inappropriate behavior with a staff memeber.  He was in a motorcycle accident two weekends ago, fortunately he was able to recover with only minor injuries.  The intrigue started when the police report stated that he was riding on his motorcycle with a 25 year-old ex-volleyball player.  Petrino did admit that there was a young woman at the scene of the crash, he just forgot to mention that that woman was the same woman who he was having coitis with outside of his marriage.  So now Petrino is involved in a cheating scandal.  What are your thoughts about this Pikkdogs?

Well, he shouldn’t be having an affair, but if he must, a volleyball player is the way to go.

Agreed, basketball players are too masculine. 

No doubt that volleyball players are the sexiest athletes.  Tennis players aren’t that far behind, but you can’t argue with those tight shorts.

Except the beach volleyball players, they get too sweaty. 

Any more news about Petrino?

It seems that he isn’t the only who is channeling their inner Bill Clinton.  The person who he was having coitis with, Jessica Dorrel, is engaged to be married.  You can still go to their wedding website and buy them some gifts from their gift registry. 

Is there a hoe on the list?

No.  But you can buy them a set of wine glasses.

Well, I could, but that wouldn’t suggest that she is promiscuous.

I think she did that herself.

Agreed, start the article!

Card #1-The Staple-Zekrom EX

Description– Zekrom EX is a 180 HP basic EX Lightning Pokemon with a 3 retreat cost and a fighting weakness.  It has two attacks.  “Glinting Claw” costs LCC and does 50 damage plus a chance at 30 more with a coin flip.  “Disaster Volt” does 150 damage for LLCC and requires a 2 energy discard.

Analysis–

Zekrom EX was of course released in the Next Destinies set, and has been one of the most played EX cards.  Maybe it didn’t have the hype that Mewtwo EX did, but it did have about as much success as Mewtwo did at States Tournaments.  It saw the most played in the Zekrom and Eels deck.  This was a lightning hodgepodge deck that used Eelektrik for energy acceleration.  Some of the more popular attackers in this deck are Zekrom BW, Zekrom EX, Thundurus, and Zapdos ND.  It was a very popular deck in States 2012, grabbing the most number of outright victories.

Before we get too far into analysis, let us look at the stats of this card.  180 HP is the best in the format for EXs, so that is really good.  The retreat cost could be better, but the rest of the card makes up for the sub-par retreat cost.   The fighting weakness is not great, but it is manageable.  Donphan Prime has fell out of favor among players, and the only real fighting Pokemon left is Terrakion NV.  Terrakion is usually a Pokemon that you can deal with by an early attack and the use of Pokemon Catcher.  So the stats as a whole are really good.

As mentioned, Zekrom EX had a lot of success in its short lifespan.  It may or may not have been the most important card in the current Zekrom deck, but it certainly has a major impact on the deck.  It is the card that can put the hammer down on the defending Pokemon.  150 damage is a whole heck of a lot of damage, it may not be the most damage ever recorded, but it is more than enough to knock most Pokemon out right now.  Whenever this card hits the field we know that what happens to it will probably decide the game.  It is a hugely impactful card that is one of the most feared right now.

The bad part of the card is of course the drawbacks that are inherent to most EX Pokemon, the high retreat cost and the 2 prize penalty at knockout.  Although Zekrom EX is great, it is hard every time you have to give up an extra prize.  Every time that Zekrom EX hits the field, there is a chance that it could cost you the game rather than helping you win it.  You must think really hard whenever you drop this card, because an extra prize could go a long way in a close game.

Final Rating–  8/10–  It is not the best card in the format, and there are some serious things wrong with this card.  But, its success speaks for itself.  It can be a very powerful card for you if you can use it right.

Card #2- The Underdog-Black Beltblack belt

Description-Black Belt is a supporter card that lets you do 40 extra damage when you are losing the prize battle.

Analysis-Black Belt came out in the Triumphant set.  When the card came out, SP decks were ruling the format with Gyrados trailing not too far behind.  Black Belt was thought of as a one of card that could be used in every deck to take an important prize card when you really need it.  It was especially useful with VS Seeker, because you could use it or discard it, and then use it whenever you really need it.  After the hype of the Triumphant set wore away, Black Belt fell out of favor.  Once in a while it would pop up in a rogue deck, but for the most part it wasn’t played until the Durant deck came out.

Durant does sometimes play Black Belt.  The Durant player could tech in an attacker like Cobalion, and do up to 120 damage in a single turn, something that Durant could never do without Black Belt.  It is a nice card to tech in when Durant is playing a deck that can knock out Durants easily.  There is a good chance that taking out just 1 attacker could play big part in the game, because most Durant counters are ran only as a one of card.

Black Belt is a good card because nobody expects it.  It is so important to estimate how much damage your opponent can do next turn, but nobody factors in Black Belt.  If you would tech this card into your deck, you will take your opponent by surprise.  It is especially important now because of the two prize card giving EX cards.  An EX knock-out out of nowhere will really change the shape of a game.  So if you are looking for a card that will give you a surprise advantage for only a 1 card slot investment, Black Belt can be a good card to insert into almost any deck.

The bad part of Black Belt is that it is a card that is only useable in certain situations.  If you get the card early game, it is basically a dead card.  And, if you have to discard it with Juniper, Sage’s Training, or Junk Arm; it is now gone forever.  Black Belt will only help you if you get it late in the game when you are trailing in prizes.  You just can’t expect the card to stay in the deck that long and to come in to play exactly when needed, it really does not help your consistency.  Consistency is very important in this game, and this card seems to go against this principle.

Final Rating– 6.75/10– This is a good card for this format because it works and your opponent is not expecting it.  It is a card that will take your opponent by surprise and perhaps when you a game or two in the course of along tournament like Regionals.  But, it is not without its drawbacks.

Card #3- The Young Gun-Empoleon DE

Description–

One of the cards that is expected to be in the Dark Explorers set that caught my eye the most is Empoleon.  There hasn’t been an Empoleon in the game since the Platinum set (unless you count Empoleon FB, which if you do, you are probably crazy), so the format is due for a cool Empoleon card.

It is a 140 HP Stage 2 Water Pokemon with a lightning weakness and a two retreat cost.  It has a cool Ability and a cool attack.  The Ability is called “Diving Draw”, and it lets you discard one card to draw 2 cards from the top of your deck.  The attack is expected to be called “Attack Command”.  It cost 1 water energy, and does 10 damage for the amount of Pokemon in play.  This makes it like a Jumpluff, but with more HP and a built in draw engine.

Analysis–

Let us start with the basics.  140 HP is decent for a stage 2, even though some EXs can one shot it.  The lightning weakness is fairly terrible, because the Zekrom deck is one of the most played decks in the current format.  Any deck that solely relies on Empoleon will not do that well because it will be auto-loss to Zekrom.  The 2 retreat cost is not great, but it is what is expected from a stage 2 Pokemon.

The Poke-Power is very interesting.  There is currently no Pokemon that is played a lot that has a built in draw engine.  The fact that you need to discard one card from your hand probably is not a huge deal, in fact, it could be a good thing.  Perhaps Zekrom decks will play it so it will be easy to attach energies with Eelektrik.  It could also be played with rogue cards like Steelix Prime.  The ability to draw 2 cards is not amazing, but it is very good if you plan to attack with Empoleon.

This brings us to the attack.  I think that the attack is actually fairly good.  For just one energy you can do up to 120 damage!  The effectiveness of the attack will vary based on the deck you are playing against.  A Zekrom deck will probably get you 120 damage, whereas a Terrakion deck may only get you 80 damage.  Being able to attack for only 1 energy is always great, and if you splash Empoleon into another deck, you can still use it to attack with only one Rainbow Energy.  But, the attack probably is not good enough to base an entire deck around.

So if you probably should not build an entire deck around Empoleon, what will Empoleon be played in?  I don’t know for sure, but it seems like it has some promise.  For just a 2-1-2 line, Empoleon can be a draw engine and a secondary attacker.  I think it can make a real difference in a deck.  But, I don’t know which deck it will be in.  It might just be in a rogue deck, but I think it should see some kind of play.

The bad parts of Empoleon have to do with speed.  Most decks right now rely on basics or Stage 1 Pokemon, really fast decks and Pokemon lines.  Empoleon is a lot slower, so it will probably get ripped apart before it can be evolved.  So, it should not be a primary attacker.  However, I do think that it could be a secondary attacker.  This is because it is a decent draw engine without being that much of a Pokemon Catcher target.  If someone does use Pokemon Catcher on it, they will need to be a lightning Pokemon to get an easy KO on it.  If they want to stall with Empoleon active, you can just attach a Rainbow Energy and hit for up to 120 damage.

Final Rating– 7/10–  I am not sure if this card will be all that great, but I do see a lot of promise here.  I think it can be a good tech in some decks as a draw engine.  It is always great to draw more cards and increase consistency.  It is weak to Zekrom, but Empoleon could be in the format long after the Zekrom deck falls out of favor. I could see this deck doing well.

Okay, that is all for me, do you have a news story to end the article Pedro?

Sure, according to The New York Press, a boy in China has sold his kidney for an IPad and an Iphone. 

What does he use to pay for the monthly charges?  Teeth?

I don’t know, back to the story.  This story highlights two major problems in China, the poor wages that laborers are paid, and the amount of people that need organ transplants. It is assumed that over 1.5 million people need transplants, while only 10,000 operations are preformed each year.   The boy, who is identified as Wang,  had the transplant preformed in the black market without the consent of his parents.

Well, I can relate to that.

You have sold your organs on the black market?

No, I let my Wang do the thinking for me.

Sounds about right.  Good night everybody.

Stupid Deck Idea

Pikkdogs Stupid Deck Idea: Regigigas/Cofagrigus NV #46/Vanilluxe ND

Pikkdogs 14 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a Stupid Deck Idea for you.  Stupid Deck Ideas are a series of articles where we talk about decks that are more towards the fun side of the game, more than the competitive.  We also might call it a Stupid Deck Idea because we haven’t tested it a lot, which is the case with this deck.  Before we tell you all about the deck, why doesn’t Pedro come in and give us a little news story to get us going?  Hey Pedro.

Hey Pikkdogs.  Today we have some news from the world of technology.  Google has released information on a new product that will allow people to do things like check their email and surf the web without having to use a hand held device.  “Project Glass” is a program that involves the use of smart phone goggles.  They are an eye piece that you would wear like glasses that is connected to your smartphone, and you use them to view a webpage without the use of a handheld device.  One would make the “click” on a link or scroll down a page by making head movements.  Do you want to wear Smart Phone glasses Pikkdogs?

Not really, they look like the game that was being passed around on the Enterprise during The Next Generation Episode “The Game”.  And I don’t have any special allegiance to the Ktarians.

You don’t think that Project Glass is just a mind control technique by the Ktarians to give away military secrets?

Well, maybe not the Ktarians, that would be crazy.  Maybe the Russians.

Cause, we all know the Russians run Google. 

They may not run Google, but what if the game started with the Google Guys, and know they are passing it on to everybody, and pretty soon everyone is passing around military secrets.  Without Lt. Commander Data to save us, we might be overrun by the Russians.

Or maybe it is not a mind control device and it is just a way to view your email.

Possibly.  A little bit of trivia about that episode, Ashley Judd plays Wesley Crusher’s girl friend.

And why is that significant?

Because, I now get a chance to show a sexy picture of Ashley Judd.

Before we start talking about the Judds, why don’t just get on with it and talk about the article? 

Okay, I guess.

The Idea

I always wanted to do something with Regigigas EX since he was released.  The artwork on the Full Art is just so darn pretty that I couldn’t help myself.  It is just a crazy cool looking piece of art.  My idea to combine him with Cofagrigus and Vanilluxe came from a deck idea that I saw on www.sixprizes.com.  I think someone had combined those two with a Zekrom deck or something.

The glue that holds this deck together is Vanilluxe ND.  He is here for his “Slipper Soles” Ability.  This lets you switch you active Pokemon with one from the bench, and then allows your opponent to switch his/her active Pokemon with one from his/her bench.  This is handy for when people try to bring up a bench sitting Pokemon to stall, you can just use this power to get the Pokemon you want to use back in the active spot.  You can also use it to attack a Pokemon that your opponent does not want you to.  It is a cool Ability that can be used in a lot of situations, and it is really useful in this deck which is kind of made for it.

So, Vanilluxe is probably the most important Pokemon here, yet he is not your main attacker.  You can get into a debate on who the main attacker is in this deck, but that’s not a debate that I want to have with myself, so I will just skip it and talk about Regigigas EX.  He is your first attacker in this deck, or, he will at least be the first Pokemon you want to have active.  He can do 60 or 80 damage for CCC, or 50 damage for CCCC plus 10 damage for each damage counter you have on him.  With a whopping 180 HP, there is no doubt that Regigias is a tank in this deck.  You want to use him for some early attacking, but you mostly will want to use him to absorb hits from the opponent.  When you have run out of avaliable HP on Regigas, you just use “Slippery Soles” to bring us Cofagrigus #46.

Cofagrigus is hard to spell, but I will give it my best.  This is a very interesting card.  He has 90 HP, a dark weakness, and a three retreat cost.  His second attack is called, “Perplex” and it does 30 damage and gives Confusion for PCC.  The first attack is called “Damagriiigus”, which is not a real word.  The attack is impossible to say, and for PC, it lets you switch damage counters from one of your benched Pokemon to the defending Pokemon.  This means that you can have Regigigas EX take a lot of hits, and Cofagrigus can throw it all right back at your opponent while healing the Gigas.

The Good and the Bad

Now that we know what this deck is all about, let us discuss the good and bad parts of it.  The good part is that you seem to have a fool proof strategy.  No Pokemon can OHKO Regigigas EX when he has an Eviolite on him (okay, so there are some, but it is fairly hard to do so), and it should be easy to switch out Gigas and bring Cofagrigus to switch the damage counters around.  Another good thing is that the deck seems to cover a big weakness with Vanilluxe.  You should not have to worry about having to pay retreat costs when “Slippery Slope” is avaliable.  And there is no real way to counter “Slipper Soles” without knocking out Vanilluxe.  Another good thing about this deck is that it is different and it is fun to play.  No other deck out there right now is similar to this deck.  Troll feels a lot like CMT and Six Corners, but this deck is very different from all of those decks.

The bad things about this deck are numerous.  One thing is that things do not always happen as we see them.  In out heads we see Gigas switching off to Cofagrigus effortlessly, but in real life it could be hard to do this when Cofagrigus only have 90 HP.  It can easily be knocked out before it does its job, and without Energy acceleration, it could be hard to get energies at the right moment.  This brings us to another problem, energy.  While both attackers can attack with only 2 cards, energy drops are very important to this deck.  Energy must be where it needs to be at the right time, and this can be very hard to deal with when your opponent is trying to disrupt you.  Another problem with this deck is that it relies on at least two evolutions.  You need to get a stage 2 out, and 1 stage 1.  Historically, that is not a huge problem.  But, in this format it can be very hard to get evolutions out when Pokemon like Mewtwo EX are out there attacking for large amount of damage very quickly.  Getting the right number of evolutions out is going to be a problem when the format is so fast and basic friendly.

How to Setup

Setup with this deck is  very important.  Since some CMT decks can control the game from turn 1, you must get things going quickly.  Hopefully, you will get a turn 1 Pokemon Collector, and are able to get 2 Yamasks and 2 Vanillites out, as well as your active Gigas.  You are then going to want to quickly try to burn through your deck to find evolution cards and Rare Candies.  Perhaps you could run a list that has Smeargle and Skyarrow Bridge in it, that would make it easier for you to get a fast setup.

The most important thing for you to do in the first couple turns, besides attaching energy, is to get a Vanilluxe going.  If you get that out, things should get much easier.  You can begin attacking, and hopefully a Cofagrigus or two will come soon enough.

The List

As I mentioned before, I did not test this deck out, it is just a rough idea in my head.  So of course this decklist isn’t very good right now.  But maybe someone will like it as a fun deck and make it.  I made the trainer lines kind of weird in this deck to see if Smeargle will help you out.  If it doesn’t work, take Smeragle and the Skyarrow Bridges out, and make it more Supporter driven.  I don’t have room for Eviolite in this list, but I think I need this card in the deck.  So maybe it can be worked in somehow.

Pokemon-20

  • 3-Regigas EX
  • 4-Yamask
  • 4-Cofagrigus NV #46
  • 3-Vanillite
  • 1-Vanillish
  • 2-Vanilluxe ND
  • 3-Smeargle

Trainers-28

  • 1-Super Rod
  • 3-Skyarrow Bridge
  • 3-Rare Candy
  • 3-Junk Arm
  • 3-Pokemon Catcher
  • 4-Pokemon Collector
  • 3-Twins
  • 4-Professor Juniper
  • 3-Professor Oak’s New Theory
  • 2-Poke Gear 3.0

Energy-12

  • Double Colorless Energy-4
  • Psychic Energy-8

Match-Ups

Since this is just a fun deck I will not go in-depth with match-ups, since this deck probably won’t be doing that well.  But, I will be  talking a little about what this deck is good and not good against.  This deck is good against decks that aren’t that fast, don’t have fighting Pokemon, and don’t do a whole lot of damage.

This deck is good against decks like Reshiphlosion and Zekrom.  None of those decks normally run fighting Pokemon, so you are good there.  The decks are also not super fast.  Although you should worry about an EX doing 150 damage a turn, these decks normally will only be doing 2-3HKOs.  You should be able to absorb a couple hits, and then bring up Cofagrigus to heal and knock out at the same time.  These decks shouldn’t give you a huge amount of disruption, this will let you run your deck according to plan.  Durant should be a good match-up too.  As long as you keep energy on Regigas EX, you shouldn’t have much of a problem.  You just need to pray that they don’t get a lot of heads on Crushing Hammer flips.

This deck is bad against decks like Troll, 4 Terrakion, and CMT.  Troll and 4 Terrakions can hit this deck for weakness, so you don’t want to get into a match with these guys.  CMT is just too fast and probably won’t let you setup all of your evolutions.

Conclusion

So, now you should know a little about this deck.  It probably is more of a fun deck that lets you use your pretty Regigigas EX cards, than something you want to take to Regionals or Spring Battle Roads.  But, who knows maybe you will give it a try and like it, stranger things have happened.

Okay, I’m all done.  Hey Pedro, what do you have for us to end the article with?

Well as we all know, today is a big day.  It is Croatian Independence day!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!

Ahhh Pedro, I don’t think we care that much about Crotian Independence.

Why Not? On this day in 1941, Italy and Germany, of the Axis Powers, helped create the country of Croatia out of Yugoslavia.  It was originally just a puppet state for the Axis, but as the Allies Invaded deeper into Europe, a democratic government was soon elected. 

Yeah, still not a big fan.

What’s wrong with the Croats.  In the world of sports today, a lot of people are Croation or  have Croatian ancestry.  People like Milwaukee Bucks Center Andrew Bogut, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichek, tall tennis pro Ivo Karlovic, ESPN’s Mike Golic, Former member of Michael Jordan’s Bulls teams Tony Kucoc, and former Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjonovich.

Yeah don’t like anybody there.  If I want a tall tennis pro, than I got my buddy John Isner. I hate Belichek, and I think Golic is too much of a company man for me to like him.  So I’m not feeling the Croats today.

Well then you can just go to hell, cause I love the Croats!  Good night everybody, and long live Croatia!

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Stupid Deck Idea: Volcarona’s Crash & Burn

balasar 18 Comments

Note: This deck contains cards that are not yet released. 

Deck Strategy   

I was looking at the Dark Rush scans to predict what will be coming in our Dark Explorers set, when I saw the new Volcarona in Dark Rush. Here is the direct translation from Pokebeach:

“Volcarona –Fire–HP110
Stage 1 – Evolves from Larvesta

Ability:Burning Scales
As long as this Pokemon is in play, the number of damage counters placed on your opponent’s Burned Pokemon in between turns is now 4.
[R][C][C] Heat Wind: 70 damage. You may choose 1 Energy attached to this Pokemon and discard it. If you do, the opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Burned.
Weakness:Water(x2)
Resistance:none
Retreat: 3
15/69″
 
    I instantly thought of a crazy rouge idea to drive the EXs insane. What you do is you set up Volcarona on the bench then you also set up Houndoom Prime on your bench. The goal of the deck is to do massive amounts of damage using burn and attacking with Blaziken. Blaziken’s purpose in the deck is to be an extremely strong attacker and possibly deal burn. This is the translation for Blaziken:
Blaziken – Fire – HP140
Stage 2 – Evolves from Combusken
[R][C] Blaze Kick: 40 damage. Flip a coin, if heads this attack does an additional 30 damage. If tails the opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Burned.
[R][R][C] Flamethrower: 130 damage. Choose 1 Energy attached to this Pokemon and discard it.
Weakness:Water(x2)
Resistance:none
Retreat: 2
12/69
Deck List
  This is what a skeleton list for the deck I now dub “Crash&Burn” would look like:

Pokemon: 18
2x Houndour 54/90 UD
2x Houndoom Prime
2x Larvesta DarkRush
2x Volcarona DarkRush
3x Torchic DarkRush
2x Combusken DarkRush
3x Blaziken DarkRush
2x Entei EX DEX (confirmed to be in Dark Explorers)
 
T/S/S:24
4x Collector
4x Junk Arm
3x Communication
3x Rare Candy
4x PONT
2x Juniper
3x PETM
1x Seeker
 
Energy:10
10x Fire
 
Total: 52
Free Space: 8
 
I find that all of the cards in here have either been explained or are self-explanatory.
 
Techs:
Typhlosion Prime: a 2-1-2 line won’t be enough, but this deck could use a good source of energy acceleration.
Houndoom UD+ Rainbow Energy: we all know that Dark.dec and Zeels will be on the rise, therefore, it would make sense to say that Troll and Quadrakion will be big too. This helps seal the Troll match-up by doing that extra damage if Fighting types are on your opponent’s field.
Pokemon Catcher: This one is a pretty obvious tech as it lets you control which Pokemon is getting Burn damage.
Switch: You may need to retreat some for this deck.
 
Matchups:
            As much as I hate to say so, this section is purely theory because we don’t know what cards will be out and what won’t.
 
Zeels: 45-55:
            This matchup comes down to who gets set up first. If the Elektriks are set up before your Volcarona and Blaziken, to put it simply, you’re dead.
CMT: 35-65:
            This deck is just too fast for Crash&Burn. The Celebi are set up too fast. If you get lucky and face a CMT with Terrakion, that’s when the Houndoom UD comes in handy. If you’re scared of this matchup, put Houndoom Prime and UD in Crash&Burn.
 
Durant: 40-60:
            Once again, you have a deck that tends to be quicker than Crash&Burn. You also have the problem of the Durants milling you. Crash&Burn is not equipped to lose resources. Not the most favorable of matchups.
 
Dark.dec/Darkrai.dec/Dark Toolbox/ etc.: 35-65:
            Look! It’s the deck of many names! To put it gently, you have very little to no chance of winning this. Dark.dec is fast and has free retreat. Free retreat is the worst nightmare for this deck because when you Burn someone, it just gets retreated.
 
 Conclusion
 
            So that pretty much wraps up the deck. It has some synergy, but not a whole lot. The main key is to get set up as fast as possible and cause the opponent to crash, and then Burn.
Deck Discussion

Deck Analysis: Troll

Pikkdogs 10 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a deck analysis.  Today I will be talking about a deck that is called Troll.  Though the deck is really just an Anti-Format Toolbox deck that uses Tornadus, Terrakion, and Mewtwo EX.  Before we get into it more about the deck, we must say hello to my extra-dimensionary sidekick Pedro.  Hey Pedro, how are things going today?

Hola, estoy bien. 

Any reason why you are speaking in Spanish today?

Not really.  Me Gusta Espanol. 

Well, that’s fine,  but will you start this article off with a news story for us, in English.

Si.  Today is the anniversary of the arrest of Irish Play-write and author Oscar Wilde in 1895.  He was arrested for preforming Homosexual acts, and was sentenced to two years of hard labor.  Do you like the Oscar Wilde Pikkdogs?

Love the Oscar Wilde.  My favorite play is the Importance of Being Earnest.  Love that thing.  Also thought that “The Picture of Dorian Gray” was a genius idea for a story.

It would be nice if we could still arrest people for being gay, just for one day, so we could finally get rid of Barney Frank for a while. 

Also wouldn’t mind getting rid of “How I Met your Mother” for a couple years.  Seriously, how long can 4 people sit in a booth.  There on like 7 years of just sitting in a booth.

At least it doesn’t have Rob Schneider or Whitney Cummings in it.  Seriously, do they choose who gets a sitcom based on how annoying people are? 

I think so.  Well, enough about sitcoms, let’s go to the article.

Deck Descriptions

Troll is kind of a mix between Six Corners and Stage 1 Rush.  It does have the tool boxy feel of Six Corners, but it is much more controlled feeling like Stage 1 Rush.  It uses basic Pokemon like Six Corners does, and it uses some of the same exact Pokemon.  The main Pokemon are Terrakion NV, Tornadus EP, and Mewtwo EX.  Terrakion is here to return knockouts Boufallant style, and to counter all of the fighting weak Lighting Pokemon that are being played right now.  Just be careful to use him carefully.  If Terrakion gets pulled active with no energy, that could set you back a couple turns.  Tornadus is probably the main attacker here.  Although he is lightning weak, he can attack quickly and do a decent amount of damage.  He is really good against other Terrakion players.   Mewtwo EX is here to counter any other Mewtwo EX that your opponent will be playing.  It is important to use your Mewtwo wisely, since another deck will probably use Mewtwo better (with energy acceleration) he can be a free two prizes for your opponent.  Make sure that if you get into a Mewtwo war, you are not the one who starts it.  If you play Mewtwo down, you are going to want to lay it down and attack with it on the same turn.  Otherwise, it is just 2 free prizes for your opponent, and that will likely end any hopes you have of winning that game.

Most Troll decks also include Shaymin and Tyrogue.  Shaymin is used mid-game as an energy mover.  “Celebration Wind” lets you move energy around as you see fit, that means you can quickly recover after someone has just Catchered your Terrakion active.  You can also use it to move an energy back after a “Hurricane.”  It is a cool versatile card, just don’t star with it.  Tyrogue, on the other hand, you do want to start with.  He can attack for 30 without an energy.  This means that if your a bunch of Plus Powers and Junk Arms, you can get about 60 damage from Tyrogue on the first turn if things go your way.  This would take out all of the Tyanmos that your opponent runs, and if you get lucky, possibly even some Durants and Celebi Primes.  Though, it is not the most useful card once things get evolved on your opponent’s side.

How To Setup

The first thing you want to do with this deck is look for a donk.  If they start with Tyrogue, Tynamo, or Cleffa; than you gotta go and get your Tyrogue and see if you can get him active.  If you need more damage ouput, hopefully you can get a Juniper so you can have access to Plus Powers and Junk Arms.  Remember, you can Junk Arm a Plus Power that you just used.  Hopefully you will be able to get the donk and the easy win, but if not, than you are going to want to get out the appropriate counter.  If you are playing a Zekrom deck, than go get some Terrakions.  If they got anything else, than you should probably get some Tornadi going, and then you can whip out Mewtwo EX or Terrakion later.  The setup with this deck is not that complicated, or super important as it is to other decks.  Your main goal here is to first look for the donk, and your second look goes to countering whatever they have going.  Fairly simple, the only thing that will screw you up is a bad start.  If you start Terrakion and they ain’t using Electric Pokemon, you might want to look for your Super Scoop Up.

The List

I will give you a list that is similar to the one that I have been testing with.  It is not a great list and does need a lot of improvement.  So don’t complain that this list isn’t great, I already know that.  I just included it so people have an idea of what a Troll deck is.  Hopefully someone can take this list and polish it all up for Regionals.  Note, this list does not have  Tyrogue, but you should probably have him in this list.

Pokemon-11

  • 4-Tornadus
  • 3-Terrakion NV
  • 1-Landorus-his resistance comes in handy
  • 2-Mewtwo EX
  • 1-Shaymin Ul

Trainers-36

  • 3-Dual Ball
  • 2-Pokemon Collector
  • 4-Professor Juniper
  • 3-PONT
  • 3-Sage’s Training
  • 2-N
  • 4-Junk Arm
  • 4-Pokemon Catcher
  • 1-Super Rod
  • 2-Super Scoop Up
  • 4-EXP. Share
  • 1-Eviolite
  • 3-Plus Power

Energy-13

  • Double Colorless Energy-4
  • Fighting Energy-9

The Matchups

We know that a deck is as only as good as the matchups it has, so let’s take a closer look at them.  Since Troll is kind of a tool box deck, it is made to have good matchups against the most played decks.  But, that means if it meets a good deck that is not Meta, it could falter.  So just because it has good match-ups doesn’t mean that it is a sound deck.  But, we will look at them anyway. 

  1. CMT–Even-Like anything with CMT, it all depeneds on the first couple turns.  If CMT has a Celebi Prime start, it could easily get donked by Troll.  On the other hand, if Troll gets a Shaymin or Tyrogue start, it could easily go down to CMT.  If CMT gets a great start, it may not matter what Troll does.  CMT is that good of a deck that it can control a match-up from the start.  The one thing that Troll has going for it is that it can be the second man into the Mewtwo war, and that is always a big advantage.  If the CMT player has to start Mewtwo EX and gets a couple of energies on it, the Troll player can get a leg up on them by dropping their own Mewtwo with a DCE and get the two prize advantage early.  It all depends on how things go early.
  2. Zekrom–Favorable- Hopefully, you should be able to play this like a 4 Terrakion deck would.  Just rely on Terrakion and Landorus with EXP. Share.  Don’t crowd the playing field too much, just keep a steady stream of Terrakions coming.  If you can do that, you will win.  If the Zekrom player can use Pokemon Catcher to slow you down and then attack in the right circumstance, it could be a fairly even game. 
  3. Durant– Unfavorable- You do have a lot of attackers that can OHKO a Durant, but don’t sleep on the Durant deck here.  He will use Lost Remover and Crushing Hammer to his advantage as you will have a hard time getting three energies on your Pokemon.  The game will come down to Crushing Hammer flips, my money is on heads. 
  4. 4 Terrrakion– Favorable-This is a match-up of similar decks, but you have more variety, and that should give you the win.  Hopefully, attacking with Tornadus and a couple Terrrakions here and there will give you an eventual advantage.  It may not be easy, and you may lose a lot of energy, but hopefully you should beat out the Terrakion player in the end.
  5. Reshiphlosion–Even?- I admit that I didn’t get to test this match-up, but I want to try it because I find it interesting.  You do not do enough damage to make Reshiram BW concerned, and you can’t hit him for weakness.  You chance of winning will be using Pokemon Catchers and getting something that doesn’t have the “Outrage” attack active.  Hopefully you can eventually knockout the Typhlosion Primes and whatever else they have in their deck.  When you do have to attack a Reshiram, make sure that you have the Exp.Shares going so that you can return every K.O. 

Conclusion

So, that is what I have to say about the deck and about its match-ups.  It is a pretty good deck that takes advantage of basic Pokemon and the trainers we have avaliable to us.  I love Super Scoop Up in this format, it is just an evil card.  Exp. Share turns out to be a great card in this deck, and is always ready to help Terrakion return a KO.  This deck does not do a whole heck of a lot of damage, but it does counter the format pretty well.  Any of you guys who liked playing Six Corners will probably feel right at home with this deck. 

Okay, Pedro I am all done.  I think its time for you to put an end to this mediocre article.

Alright, I will do my best to salavage this thing.  Just try to have better jokes prepared than you did with Oscar Wilde.

Okay.

Today’s news comes from www.foxnews.com.  They are reporting that there is a new Facebook application is in development that will tell you how likely you are to get a Sexually Transmitted Disease.  Apparently, each of your friends will be able to input if they have a disease, and what people they are having coitis with.  This will tell you the likelyhood of catching a disease by just looking at who you are interacting with.  Do you want Facebook to know that you have herpes Pikkdogs?

I don’t have herpes.

Don’t you?

Well, I do, but its just cold sores and stuff.  I don’t get em down there.  I was born with them. 

That’s what they all say. 

I do kind of like the idea for this app.  They could call it……Chlamydia with Friends

Or maybe………….Angry Crabs. 

What about……….. Plants v.s. Genital Warts. 

Good one, but maybe Facebook and STDs shouldn’t mix. 

Yeah, just keep them to yourself and don’t tell anyone, that seems to work. 

That’s my plan.  Good night everybody!

Uncategorized

A Look at the Metagame: Pikkdogs does a State’s Review and your 1st Spring Regionals Preview

Pikkdogs 4 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a wrap-up of States, and a quick look ahead to Spring Regionals.  Before we get going, why don’t we have my extra-dimensionary sidekick come and start this article off with a news story.  What do you got for us today Pedro?

Well, today we will start off by some news in the world of business.  It seems that to nobodys surprise, Apple is in trouble for over-working their employees.  It seems that Apple has been forcing their workers to work over 60 hours a week and for a week without a day off.  In their defense, Apple says that  they are not overworking their laborers for an unfair wage, they said that Chinese workers are greedy and they want to work more hours so they can make more money and put the money into their savings account.  Do you believe that Pikkdogs?

Sure I do.  I also believe that the victims in the Spanish Inquisition wanted to be tortured until they died because they thought God would like it.  I also believe that the Native Americans in the early 19th Century weren’t forced from their homes, they just wanted to see what the west looked like.  That is kind of like the African slaves, they weren’t abused for the benefit of wealthy plantation owners, they were just people who liked to work but thought that money would make them evil.

Of course they did.  This may be  a controversial stance for you Pikkdogs, you know that we get a lot of attractive nerds on this site, and we all know that nerds love their Iphones. 

True.  But this is the same company that when faced with high suicide rates from their employees jumping off their buildings rather than working for meager wages, decided to put a net around their buildings to catch the divers, instead of increase wages.

Are you a commy Pikkdogs?

Only on the weekends when I like to play  the game “the Commie and the Americans”.  It is kind of like “Cowboys and Indians”, except that you play it with no pants on.

Sounds………ah……….. fun.  Let’s just go onto the article. 

States by the Numbers

According to Pokegym.net, here is the decks that won States/Province/Territory Championships.  This list does include the foreign States results as well, so it may not be a perfect look at the States Metagame.

Wins:

  1. Zekrom: 24
  2. CMT:20
  3. Durant: 4
  4. Terrakion: 4
  5. Donphan Mewtwo: 2
  6. Reshiphlosion: 2
  7. Troll: 1

As we can see, the States metagame was split between Zekrom and CMT.  Those two decks were the ones that had the most success.  I did predict that CMT would have more wins, but they were  split fairly evenly.  So we can safely say that Zekrom and CMT are the decks to look out for, they make out the tier 1 of the format.  On Tier 2 is basically everything else listed in the list.  Durant should have a “*” by it, because it probably got more play than everything else in tier 2.  Looking forward to Regionals, you need to be aware of Durant as much as you do Zekrom and CMT.

 

Analysis of What Won

What surprises me most about this list is the dissapearance of Magnezone.  I know there are a lot of Terrakions out there, but I still expected Magnezone to have a better showing than it did.  It only won 2 States and it only made top 4 5 times.  Although the 2 number is fairly expected, I expected the deck to be played in greater numbers than it was.

Another surprise was the rise of 2 great decks, Terrakion and Troll.  We will first talk about Terrakion.  Terrakion is a deck that came out of nowhere during the first week of States.  It didn’t have a whole lot of time to catch on, but there was considerable play of the deck through the next 2 weekends.  The deck relied on a simple combination of Terrakion and………..some more Terrakions.  It is a simple deck that just relies on EXP. Share to keep 90 damage going on each turn.  It also is great because Zekrom did very well, and Zekrom is very weak to Terrakion.  Even a poorly made Terrakion deck should have a decent shot at a good Zekrom deck.  I like the deck because it is a very simple deck that uses the wealth of great trainers that this format has to offer.  And I think that every deck that follows that principle should do very well.  Terrakion relied on trainers like Crushing Hammer and Lost Remover to disrupt your opponent.  While other decks could not fit in all these trainers, Terrakion is a simple deck that has the room.

The Troll deck took the format by storm in the last weekend of States.  Troll is a very bad name for a deck that features Terrakion, Tornadus, and Mewtwo EX.  I hope that I will soon have a deck review on this deck.  I don’t know too much about this deck right now, but it uses EXP share just like Terrakion.  It is a deck that features basic Pokemon that can counter the format fairly well.  If you play against Zerkom you can use Terrakion.  If you play against Terrakion you can use Tornadus.  The deck also features Mewtwo EX to go against CMT decks.  The Troll deck took its cue from Terrakion and got some good trainers in its deck, it uses cards like Rocky Helmet and Super Scoop Up.

What to Expect for Regionals

The cards that we will have to use at Spring Regionals are exactly the same cards that were open to use for States.  So we should see the same basic patterns appearing at Regionals.  My prediction is that States have set the format, Regionals is the time for rogues to come in and try to break it open.  We have already seen some great rogue ideas being used, we just need some time to prefect them.  But, don’t wait for too long because Regionals are just around the corner.

We can expect that Zekrom and CMT will be the most successful decks at Regionals.  I also would think that Durant will see as much play as the other two decks, if not more.  But, the decks you will have to watch out for are the rogue decks.  Since a rogue deck can be anything, it is best to plan by expecting everything.  Make sure you take a look at a lot of the cards in the format, and try to think of the strategy that you would use if you saw those cards.  For example, how would your troll deck handle Steelix Prime? Or Scizor Prime?  Or a Weavile based deck?  Or, how would it handle new Pokemon like DarMAXitan and Cofagrius?

I think that since the format is faiirly predictable, we should see a lot of rogue decks doing well.  Now, I don’t mean to say that Rogue decks will win most of the Regionals, I just think that they could do fairly well.  CMT and Zekrom still will have the advantage when it comes to wins, but a lot of people will have their day ruined by rogue decks.

Sadly, I am too poor to be able to make it to a Spring Regionals (my area had the Fall Regionals).  But, if I were to play in one of these to win, I would first look to see if I could master the CMT deck.  This deck seems like hands-down the BDIF.  It is fast enough to outspeed almost everything else in the format, and it can hit for a ton of damage by using your own energies against you.  It is a game changing deck like Luxchomp was before it.  But, if I could not master CMT, I would look for the deck that I am most comfortable with.  Unless you have been working on a rogue for a while now, it is getting too late to start testing right now.  If you have a great rogue idea right now, you should have just enough time to get some testing in.  But, if you can’t start right now, just stick to a deck that you are familiar with.  There are a lot of decks in the format right now that are easy to play.  Playing a Troll deck or a Terrakion deck is not that hard.  You should be able to master those decks in the next couple weeks.  You just need to throw in a couple of techs to adjust to the metagame that you are playing in, and you should be ready.  If you can find a deck that fits you like a glove, you should have a good shot at doing well at Regionals.  Of course there are never any promises, but sticking with a deck you are familiar with is usually a great way to do well in a tournament like this.

Remember, Regionals is like States, it will be a large tournament.  There are too many rounds for you to be able to rely on luck for you to win.  So, don’t be taking out flippy decks and hope you get lucky, save those for the Spring Battle Roads.  Regionals is a big tournament that will make you work the entire day.  If you do not have a heavily tested well balanced deck, you will eventually be exposed by the great players in the area.  So make sure to bring a consistent deck that is ready for a long day, it is not the time to rely on luck.

 

Well, Pedro that is all I have for the readers today.  Do you have a news article to end this thing?

Sure. ESPN.COM is reporting that University of Florida Guard Erving Walker was arrested and jailed on one count of Petty Theft for stealing a taco.  It seems that Walker was enjoying some street food, and decided to walk away without paying for a three dollar taco. 

Since Walker stole the taco from a Latino area, the Hispanic heavy jury is likely to give him the death penalty.

That’s right. 

If I learned one thing from working at a Mexican bar, its don’t touch a Latino’s beer or their food.  I also learned to always check pretty girls for Adam’s Apples, but that’s another story.

Can we hear that one?

No, we must go.  Goodnight everybody!

Uncategorized

Ask Pikkdogs: How to Build a Deck

Pikkdogs 5 Comments

Hey everybody, this is Pikkdogs here with a segment of “Ask Pikkdogs”.  Why don’t you set the article up for us Pedro?

Okay.  If you guys remember about a month ago Pikkdogs asked for questions from you readers.  Well, now that States are over, Pikkdogs will respond to the most asked question.  Are you ready Pikkdogs?

Just got to get my pants on…………….okay, ready.

How professional.  The most asked question was, “Dear Pikkdogs, what is the best way to build a deck?”

Thanks Pedro, I will handle it from here.

How To Build A Deck Read More

Pikks Three

Pikkdogs Pikks Three Durant Counters: Victini #15, Volcarona NV, and Zebstrika

Pikkdogs 2 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with another Pikk Three article for you.  This will be a special Pikk Three, where I will review cards that are considered Durant counters.

For those of you that know Ed personally, I have just received some great news.  Ed and his wife welcomed their fourth daughter Friday morning.  Baby Primrose is 9 pounds and 21 inches.  Both her and Ed’s wife are doing well.  So, big congrats to my buddy Ed and his wife, very happy for you guys.  On behalf of myself and the OnehitKo community, Congrats Ed we wish ya guys the best.

So now onto another baby, Pedro.  Let us see what Pedro has for us today.  Can you give us a news article to start things off Pedro?

Well sure Pikkdogs.  Foxnews.com is reporting that a Turkish shampoo company is being asked to pull its newest commercial from the airwaves.  It seems like the commercial features Adolph Hitler speaking to men and telling them to buy this new Shampoo.  Jewish activists are appalled that a company would use someone who is associated with hate and genocide as a spokesperson.  Would you buy shampoo from HItler Pikkdogs?

Shampoo, no.  Mustache cleaner, probably.  The question is, is it too soon?  I grew up watching “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” and that had Napoleon eating ice cream and Ghengis Khan playing hockey.  Napoleon and Ghengis Khan both killed thousands, maybe even millions, of people.  Ghengis Khan once conquered a territory, and poured melted silver into the eyes and ears of the former leader of that kingdom.  These were not good people, yet I grew up with them being a “ziggy piggy” and playing hockey in the mall, and nobody seemed to think that that was wrong.  If people in the media can do that, I don’t think it’s fair to single out that one shampoo company for a Hitler advertisement.

Do you think Hitler could “eat the pig” like Napoelon did?

The bigger question is will anyone get all these “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” references?

I doubt it.  You are better off just going to your article.

Than let’s do it.  Cue the first review!

Card #1-Victini #15

Description– Victini is a basic 70 HP Fire Pokemon.  He has a water weakness and a 1 retreat cost.  It has one attack, and it is called “V-Create”.  This attack does 100 damage for RC, but if you do not have 5 Pokemon on your bench the attack does not do any damage.

Analysis– To start off our look into Durant counters we have Victini.  This is known as, “the other Fire Victini.”  There were so many Victinis released in Noble Victories that this one got lost in all the hoopla.   It was probably the one that got the least amount of hype.  But not from me, when it was released in Japan’s Red Collection I immediately saw how good of a card it was.  It seemed to me like a basic Cincinno BW, but that needed 2 energy cards to attack.  100 damage for 2 energy is always going to be good, I know that this card is the best out there, but it seems to be better than the amount of hype it got.

After its release, I cannot recall it getting that much play.  At first I thought it would help revitalize the ailing Stage 1 Rush deck, but I can’t recall anyone giving it the time of day.  I did use it in my Mew Prime/Unfezant/Vanilluxe deck as a Durant counter during Cities this season, but that’s the only play that I know that it had.

And that brings us to what we are here to talk about, Durant counters.  I think that Victini is my favorite Durant counter.  He is the only one on this list that is a basic Pokemon, so that is really great in a format where every card slot is crucial.  He does take one fire energy, but a lot of people are using Rainbow and Prism energy in their decks, and these energies work with his attack.  His attack is good because it does 200 damage to a Durant.  There may be some way to stop something that does 100 damage to a Durant, but you would have to run a lot of Defenders and Special Metals in order to survive 200 damage.  Because Victini is so versatile and powerful, I think he is the best Durant counter out there for an average deck.

There are some bad things about Victini.  70 HP is not good, and it can easily be KO’ed by your opponent’s Cobalion.  He also takes 2 energies to attack, this is not good in a format where Durant can run 8 energy removers.  It can be very hard to keep only 1 energy on the field at once, let-alone two.  He also needs a full bench to be able to attack.  This is not a huge problem because most decks run a lot of basic Pokemon and have a lot of Dual Balls and Pokemon Collectors.  But, I could see a situation where this could be a problem.

Final Rating–7.5/10- Gotta love this Victini.  He is the most splashable Durant counter.  Whenever he sees a Durant, he cannot help but destroy it.  Sure they can try to take his energy away, but they will do that to every Pokemon they face.  It will always be a game of, “can I flip heads on Crushing Hammer.”  For all that it is I would say that Victini is a great Durant counter, and almost every deck needs a good Durant counter.

Card #2-Volcarona

Description– This is a Durant counter that I saw this past weekend at States.  I hadn’t considered it too much before, but it is not a terrible card.

Volcarona is a 110 HP Stage 1 Fire Pokemon with a 1 retreat cost and a fire weakness.  It has two attacks.  The first attack, called “Fiery Dance”, does 30 damage for R and lets you attach one basic energy card from the discard pile to one of your Pokemon.  The second attack, called “Heat Wave” does 60 damage for RCC, and it also allows you to burn the defending Pokemon.

Analysis– Let’s start with the basics.  110 HP isn’t terrible for a stage 1, though its always nice to have more.  The 1 retreat cost is about all you can hope for from a fire Pokemon.  And the water weakness is not that horrible in this format, its fairly good.

As mentioned, I have seen this card played at States 2012.  I don’t think I heard any hype from this card, and this card was not played during Cities.  So any play that this card gets is fairly recent.  I haven’t found any decks online that have the card in it, but a few have mentioned it as a secondary attacker in  a fire deck like Reshiphlosion.  Now, I think some people are using it as a Durant counter in non fire decks, because it works well with DCE.

Although you will need to evolve Volcarona, it is still a good Durant counter because you may only need 1 energy to attack if you run a decent amount of Plus Powers in your deck.  Sure its first attack only does 30 damage, but with a Plus Power, that damage goes up to 80 on the fire weak Durant.  That will be enough to OHKO one that has a Special Metal on it, but no Eviolite.  If they do have Eviolite on it, you may need to use “Heat Wave.” Although this attack does use two energies to attack, a lot of decks use DCE’s in them anyway, so it should be an easy fit in most decks.  Since “Heat Wave” also brings the burn into the game, it can also be good against those high HP SP Pokemon that seem to survive forever.

The bad things about Volcarona are obvious.  It is a stage 1 and that means that it takes up 2 spots in your deck.  It also means that it is twice as likely to be prized, and that it is harder to get out without being knocked out first.  There also is no guarantee that the one energy attack will knock out a Durant.  Because of Crushing Hammer and Lost Remover, it is very important to knock out Durant with only one energy, which this deck can do, but cards like Defender and Eviolite can stop that.  This card is also reliant on Plus Powers and DCE, if your deck does not run a lot of those cards, you can’t run Volcarona.

Final Rating– 5.5/10- Not a huge fan of this card.  Though it is useful against the EXs and a decent Durant counter, I think cards like Victini are much better Durant counters.

Card #3 Zebstrika ND

Description– This is the only Durant counter on this list that does not attempt to knock it out right away.  This card does not use weakness to knock out Durants, instead, it tries to provide an item lock to slowly choke the life out of the Durant deck.

Kind of like David Carradine?

Well, kind of.  But, if I talk any more about that we could get censored again, so we should just leave it like that.

Zebstrika is a 90 HP Stage 1 Lightning Pokemon with a fighitng weakness and a free retreat cost.  It has two attacks.  The second attack is called “Lightning Crash,” it costs LLC, and it lets you snipe for 80 at the cost of discarding all of the energy attached to him.  The first attack is what we are all here for.  It is called “Disconnect”, and it does 40 damage for LC.  The effect is that it also stops your opponent from playing item cards during his/her next turn.

Analysis–  Let us again start with the basics.  90 HP is fairly terrible, though you are not going to put him in a position to be attacked anyway, 90 HP is actually decent enough for what you are using him for.  The free retreat cost is always amazing.  It is always great to have something that you can use to just retreat for free whenever you need to.  The fighting weakness is terrible.  Again, you probably are not going to use this guy when a fighting Pokemon is around, but that doesn’t mean that this card has to have terrible stats either.

This card received absolutely no hype when it came out in Next Destinies.  Every body was talking about all of the EX Pokemon, and nobody cared to talk about Zebstrika.  Despite the lack of hype, it got play right away at the ECC as a Durant counter.  I think the deck even made Top Cut, it did turn a lot of heads at the ECC and here in the U,S.  It did not receive a ton of play at the States in the U.S., but it did see some play.  I even played against someone who used it with Mew Prime.

It can be hard to see why this card is a Durant counter, so I will show you how.  “Disconnect” does 40 damage and stops all trainers.  This means that your opponent cannot remove energy or replace fallen Durants.  The plan is to just keep this 40 damage up until all the Durants are gone.  You will be like a Burmese Python slowly  constricting your prey until it eventually cannot do anything.

Hey Pikkdogs, if Burma is no longer a country, shouldn’t they call it a Myanmarish Python?

No.

Anyway, on to the bad stuff about Zebstrika.  Like Volcarona, it is a stage 2 Pokemon which means you need to devote 2-4 spots in your deck just for him.  That is a lot for a Durant counter, so you will be investing a lot to your Durant counter.  Yes, you can use it in other match-ups, but it is more useful against Durant.  The amount of damage it does also scares me.  If it only does 40 damage, that means 30 of that damage can be taken away because of an Eviolite and a Special Metal energy.  That means you would only be doing 10 damage, and you cannot take out Durants 10 damage at a time.  You will need to do that 40 damage, so if they attach the Special Metals and the Eviolites early, you are in trouble.

Final Rating–6/10– It does work in some Zekrom decks.  If you have some space you can throw some Zebstrikas right in there and have a decent Durant counter without having to run any other kinds of energies.  It can be fueled up fairly easy with all of the Eelektriks that people are playing now, so getting this thing out isn’t a huge deal.  I don’t think this is a great tech against Durant, but if you are playing a lightning deck, this will probably work better than trying to bring in fire energies.

Well, Pedro, that is all I have today.  Do you have something for us to close out the article with?

First, we must tell everybody to check out the OneHitKO store.  We now offer singles on the same website where you get all of your questionable strategy and deck articles.  So, make sure to help out the people who are helping you out by doing your shopping at the OneHitKO Store.  We offer fair prices on everything from the Next Destinies set, and we will soon have the best cards from other sets.  So, please follow this link and check out the store.   If you are a rebel, you can also follow this link to get you to the store, but don’t follow this link, because that’s to a Noozles video.

Love the Noozles.

Anyway, for our real news story to close things out.  Surgeons at George Washington University Hospital are reporting that this past weekend’s heart transplant on former Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney, has been a success.  Doctors say that the world will probably have to deal with Cheney for about 10 more years.  Do ya like the Dick Cheney Pikkdogs?

Of course not, nobody likes Dick Cheney.  I think he even creeps himself out when he thinks of himself.  I do kind of have positive thoughts when I think about him, because he seems very close to a real life Penguin from Batman.  All he needs is an Umbrella and a couple of henchmen and he could be the perfect Batman villan.

He would have to change his last name to Cobblepot though.

Wouldn’t that be the best name, Dick Cobblepot?

No, sounds too much like a porn name.  And if anyone knows anything about us two gentlemen, it is that we don’t like to be involved with porn in anyway. 

That’s right.  Now I must go to…………….water my plant.

Is that what you call it now?

Just end the article!

Good night everybody!

State Championships Tourney Report

Zekrom/Eelektrik (ZekEels): Calvin’s MN State Championship 2012

Calvin 20 Comments
Trust me, the banana thing works.

Greetings OHKO!

I guess I’m going to start with a brief introduction. My name is Calvin Chang and I started playing Pokémon competitively halfway through the 2011-2012 season. I actually started playing Pokémon casually when I first investigated it for a high school composition class (yeah! long story). It was fun, the people were nice and I thoroughly enjoyed the game. Then I graduated from high school, moved onto the college campus at the University of Minnesota and took a hiatus from Pokémon since I had no car and no way to continue going to league. When January rolled around, some of the guys at Pokémon asked me if I wanted to compete at Midwest Regionals in the Dells. I figured it would be fun, grabbed a Magnerock deck from some friends and started playing competitively, all the way through Nationals. I wasn’t good but at least I went positive at all the events I played in and eventually finished 10th best player in Minnesota based off ELO points. Since then, I’ve been getting more and more into the competitive environment though still doing mediocre as always.

A week before Minnesota states, I went down to La Crosse with the other guys from league. I had no idea what I was going to play, as mid-terms just finished up and I didn’t have a chance to thoroughly test my options so Joey, Lukas, Michael, Curtis and I stayed up until about 1 in the morning so that I could figure out a deck to play. I didn’t. Read More

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