From Fool to World: Intricacies of the Nationals Format

en.wikipedia.orgNow I’m sure you know that, just like all the other writers, there’s much more to my life than Pokémon. However, did you know that Pokémon cards aren’t the only ones I enjoy?

(Hint: it isn’t Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, Poker, or even those things they give you in Vegas…)

Tarot is, in fact, the only card game I truly consider my “other” alongside Pokémon. While I enjoy the latter for its rich strategy, collectability, and competitiveness, I also know how to do tarot readings, and I’m pretty good at it.

(It may not be my manliest hobby, but rest assured: my masculinity is completely intact.)

Anyway, in tarot readings, there are 22 major “trump” cards, and of those, there are two that stand above the rest when it comes to reading: the Fool and World cards. Generally, the Fool is where you are when you start out on your journey, while World signifies completion, as well as the end of an adventure or even era.

Now “Fool” may sound like a negative thing to say, but since the card signifies bravery, open-mindedness, and eagerness, it’s actually a card with some of the greatest potential for a good reading.

Now you guys aren’t paying membership to have your fortunes told, but I actually have a purpose here with this analogy. Whether you’re a Fool for this format (meant as a compliment) or at some other position, you need to have as complete an understanding of this format as possible, so that you can eventually reach the end – the “World” – of your competitive path.

In this article, I’m going to go over a few things. First, I will discuss my play-testing results, as well as several alternative stock lists for archetypes and rogues alike (“Hierophant”). Second, and perhaps most importantly, I will share some major observations about the HGSS-on format (“Hermit”). Finally, I will offer a few unusual tactics I have discovered in my many play-testing games to help offer an edge in some sight spots (“Star”).

So with all that in mind, let’s hop into the mess of things, shall we?

The Hierophant: Testing in HGSS

en.wikipedia.orgAside from its most obvious connotations, the Hierophant card also relates heavily to fundamental forms of education and learning. In the case of a trading card game such as Pokémon, the first fundamental or a new format after having built a few decks is play-testing them!

Thus, you’re fulfilling the Hierophant every time you rush to Red Shark, Apprentice, or league to figure out the newest, best formulation of your deck. Below, I describe several of my testing experiences, with three in-depth Lostgar games.

EMBOAR/MAGNEZONE

This is the deck that everyone has been talking about, and since just about every other author has opined on it, it looks like this is the perfect time for me to finally offer my take on it. I’ve actually been testing myself, but for the most part, the list below has remained unchanged for some time.

Pokémon – 21

3 Tepig BW07
1 Pignite BLW 17
3 Emboar BLW 20
3 Magnemite TM
1 Magneton TM
3 Magnezone Prime
1-1 Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND
1 Reshiram BLW
3 Cleffa CL
1 Tyrogue CL

Trainers – 24

4 Junk Arm*
4 Rare Candy
4 Pokémon Communication
4 Pokémon Collector
3 Professor Oak’s New Theory
2 Energy Retrieval
1 Twins
1 Pokémon Reversal
1 Switch

Energy – 15

10 R
5 L

*[Denotes counts during testing that I might change soon]

pokemon-paradijs.comThis list makes some fairly unusual choices in comparison to some of the other Emboar/Zones out there, so let me explain its finer points.

For most list aficionados, the first thing that ought to jump out is the Supporter count: a meager seven “hard” Supporters, with one passive Supporter in the form of twins. My reasoning for this is that I have pursued a slightly different approach to the deck, in which I simply focus on conserving resources for the mid and late game as opposed to blow through the early game with Sage’s.

This has had mixed results: on one hand, I don’t enjoy the jump I would normally with 4 Sage’s, but on the other hand, my options are that much more expansive, and I’m more well-equipped to win with weak hands or come-from behind scenarios. This is especially true in Judge matchups, where Sage’s Training is noticeably weaker.

Beyond that, the only real unusual things about my list are the lack of Flower Shop Lady, the Tyrogue, and the Reversal. My reasoning for excluding FSL is simply because I have shifted focus: if you aren’t aggressively Saging, then you can conserve your resources well enough so that the spot isn’t so much of a lifesaver.

As for the others, Tyrogue’s been discussed in ample detail prior to this article, but Reversal is an answer to early game gridlocks between babies. Rather than just twiddle your thumbs while an opponent’s Sweet Sleeping Face baby has all damage prevented to it, the tech Reversal forces your opponent back into the game. Furthermore, it’s the perfect way to get back into a game, and a real surprise in case the opponent has some vulnerable spot on his bench.

But enough about my list – this isn’t another Emboar article, so let’s talk about my findings!

Point #1: Fulop is every bit right about Pokémon Reversal disabling this deck. In one game, I lost because my opponent was able to go 3/3 heads on Reversal, killing my Magnemites every time. It was also this game that helped inspire my decision to include Pokémon Reversal in Emboar, and as a result, I found that I have been dishing out some serious hate to mirror.

Furthermore, I’ve even had a prime opportunity to give the aforementioned 3/3-on-Reversal opponent a taste of his own medicine…I love this thing!

Point #2: There could be a valid argument for a 4-2-4 or 4-1-4 Magnezone list. In a format ripe with flips and disruption, you may be well served playing this to the maximum. In addition, this might be a solid option for many of the same reasons why 3-1 Garchomp became such a mainstay in the 2010-2011 season: you win the Magnezone exchange, and as such, win the match at large. This is mostly “Theory-mon” for the time being, but I believe it to hold promise.

Point #3: I’ve had a much harder time warming up to Emboar #19. Its quality is apparent to me, but practically, it’s just a very difficult card to get out and attacking. Furthermore, it’s just like Flower Shop Lady in the sense that it’s a relatively weak early game card.

Despite all of these complaints with it, I’ve been finding in more practical situations that having a sixth hard attacker is paramount to success. If it isn’t two Magnemites prized, it’s a Magnezone and a Rayquaza/Deoxys LEGEND piece; and if it isn’t either of those, then it’s some other horrid combination of poor prizes.

For these reasons, my testing list is finally going to run a 2/1. Despite my resistance to it, it’s a beautiful split that allows for great versatility in bad scenarios.

CINDRA

One card I certainly wanted to experiment with this format is Cincinno: it’s fast, hard-hitting, and oh-so similar to my beloved Jumpluff. Unfortunately, the rise of Emboar/Magnezone as the deck to beat has forced Cincinno to evolve, as well as find new solutions to the 30-50 HP hurdles it needs to jump in order to KO Emboar #19, Magnezone Prime, and Reshiram.

That solution? Kingdra Prime.

Your strategy is as easy as it’s ever been with most Cincinno variants, but the difference is that you use Kingdra to back you up, Spray Splashing counters to put the format’s biggest threats in range for easy KOing. It also serves as a secondary attacker against non-fire decks (notably Donchamp), as well as a really easy way to get around Sweet Sleeping Face.

So here’s the list I used while seriously testing. Its initial build turned out pretty good, but it quickly evolved into what you see before you.

Pokémon – 22

4 Minccino BLW
4 Cinccino BLW
4 Horsea UL
2 Seadra UL
4 Kingdra Prime
3 Cleffa CL
1 Tyrogue CL

Trainers – 27

4 Pokémon Collector
4 Professor Oak’s New Theory
4 Pokémon Communication
4 Junk Arm
3 Professor Juniper
3 Rare Candy
2 PlusPower
1 Energy Exchanger
1 Pokémon Reversal
1 Revive

Energy – 11

7 W
4 Double Colorless

 

Point #1: Decks without consistency crutches NEED to run high draw counts. In the earliest phases of testing, this list before you ran only three Junipers and two PONT. Sure enough, I found that I was either wearing out in the late game, or that Judge was far too brutal to this deck construction. As a result, I added more and more draw, and it rose to a higher level, winning far more games than it previously did.

Point #2: A single Energy Exchanger is AWESOME in decks that require Double Colorless Energy. Again, keeping up momentum is absolutely vital for Cincinno to get anywhere in this format, and running one of these cards helps maintain the attack flow.

Point #3: In decks with lots of Trainers, PONT is as effective as straight draw. Usually the downfall of shuffle draw is that it fails to thin your deck, and up your odds of hitting the game-winners you need. Here, however, you’ll find yourself dumping your hand down to sizes of 1-2 cards, so it practically reads as “draw 4-5 cards.” Thus, PONT gains a great deal of power in explosive turbo decks.

Point #4: Despite all of these great observations, I’m not too thrilled about the competitive prospects of Cindra. Perhaps I haven’t pushed the envelope enough on this rogue deck, but I think that Emboar/Magnezone is ultimately going to outmuscle it, leaving that critical matchup as a 40/60.

Donchamp is of course a great matchup, and Zekrom is surprisingly easier than the Lightning Weakness of Kingdra would lead you to believe. But even with those nice wins on your side, the unacceptable Emboar match, coupled with vulnerability to Reversal and Judge, is enough to make hesitant to play this in an event.

Despite those shortcomings, I would wholeheartedly encourage you guys to explore its potential, and perhaps advance it into newer territories.

STRAIGHT ZEKROM

One thing that surprised me up to this point is why nobody has experimented with a more focused “straight” Zekrom before. Thus was my motivation to experiment with Zekrom: to see if Yanmega Prime was unnecessary baggage or not.

Pokémon – 12

4 Zekrom BLW
3 Shaymin UL
3 Pachirisu CL
1 Cleffa CL
1 Tyrogue CL

Trainers – 30

4 Pokémon Collector
4 Professor Juniper
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Junk Arm
4 Pokémon Reversal
4 PlusPower
3 Professor Oak’s New Theory
2 Dual Ball
1 Revive

Energy – 18

18 L

Basically, what this list has done in comparison to your more standard build out there is remove the Yanmega, exile its accessories, and then replace those several spots with things that further your Zekrom. The result is a much weaker Donphan matchup, but at the same time a more Emboar/Magnezone game.

pokegym.netI’ve also done a few more subtle things to promote the donk: a high energy count, maxed Juniper, and 4 PlusPower/4 Junk Arm. As a result, I’ve been scoring first turn KOs at least 75% of the time (estimate accounts for baby flips).

Point #1: Speed counts. Lists with big Yanmega counts just don’t have the speed that a straight Zekrom would, and only have a marginal amount of strength in some matchups. I’m toying around with putting some degree of Yanmega back in, but I don’t think I will ever want to take the focus off of Zekrom again. I think there are much better ways to play Mega anyway, such as Magnezone Prime.

This variant, on the other hand, is without a doubt the speediest in the format, and is easily a favorite over anything else in sudden death. This may not make it the best deck by any means, and it certainly doesn’t suggest a strong late game, but it’s far more competitive than I ever anticipated it to be.

Point #2: Vileplume hurts this deck worse than almost any other. In order to get a feel for some of the less common weaknesses straight Zekrom would take, I played many games against Vileplume variants (specifically, Vileplume UD/Muk/status effecters). The results were not nearly as good as I wanted them to be initially, but with a couple card tweaks, I corrected it, and this match is most certainly a positive.

Regardless of this one matchup, Vileplume in general is a very big problem for a non-Yanmega variant. This build may be good in its own right, and does a far stronger job against every non

Point #3: It has a shabby late game. Part of what makes Yanmega good in any deck this format is its ability to snipe straggler babies in the endgame, be it for sudden death purposes or for that sixth prize. Meanwhile, this build crumbles if a game has gone on for too long, and other builds’ “inevitability factor” will kick in.

TYRANITAR

Remember that example deck I posted for “Lacks-Chomp”? Well it turns out that it’s actually a pretty competitive deck, especially in a format where its main attacker can 1-shot Reshirams, Zekroms, Magnezone Primes, and RDL’s with ease.

It’s still in some rough spots, and I’ve yet to get the perfect list down, but its evolutions have led to some good playtesting results.

Pokémon – 23

4 Larvitar UL 51
2 Pupitar UL 39
4 Tyranitar Prime
2 Snivy BLW 1
1 Servine BLW 3
2 Serperior BLW 6
3 Zorua BLW
3 Zoroark BLW
1 Cleffa CL
1 Tyrogue CL

Trainers – 23

4 Pokémon Communication
4 Rare Candy
4 Pokémon Collector
3 Professor Oak’s New Theory
2 Professor Juniper
2 Twins
2 PlusPower
1 Switch
1 Energy Exchanger

Energy – 14

4 Double Colorless
4 Special D
3 D
3 Rainbow

Tyranitar Prime Unleashed 88Point #1: It is extremely difficult to justify running many babies in a Tyranitar list. I think that a couple, such as in the list above, help correct for hiccups in consistency and aggression. Also, a small count gives you the ability to instantly trigger Twins by executing your own benched baby via Darkness Howl.

But despite these advantages, you can’t rely too much on the critters; otherwise, you’ll occasionally have games where you’re caught in an impossible scenario, where you must choose whether to Darkness Howl and give up 2 Prizes, or pass and lose the game.

Point #2: Zoroark is so much stronger when it’s utilizing both of its attacks. With a Darkness list, you get the best of both worlds: you have a 100 HP beast capable of setting up your board, yet at the same time have an instant answer to the most powerful cards in the game. Zoroark is a clear winner, and in most decks running it, I’ve never wanted less than 3-3-of it.

Point #3: Anything running two or more Judges will probably smash this list in. Against the vast majority of the field, this thing can certainly hold its own, but against other, more disruptive builds, its attacker-based setup is going to flub out.

DONPHAN VARIANTS

For the majority of my testing covered in this article today, I messed with a wide variety of builds. Among those builds, I’ll be addressing notes on three of them: Donchamp, Samurott/Donphan, and Donphan/Serperior.

Unfortunately, I won’t be sharing a Donchamp list with you today. Because it looks so much like the others that have been posted, I feel that there’s no use in doing so. However, I can’t stress enough that even a deck as powerful as Donchamp NEEDS a good draw count; otherwise, it’ll just collapse to bad draw or disruption.

pokemon-paradijs.comLikewise, I’m not going to list Samurott/Donphan, but my reasoning for doing so is different. In my play-testing, I initially began with it, yet quickly moved into a Donphan-centric build, and then inevitably settled on a Donphan/Serperior/Zoroark (which will be listed).

Donchamp point: My aforementioned rule of “seven or more draw” is perfectly applicable to this variant of Donphan. In the majority of my Donchamp testing, I decided to give Kenny Wisdom’s list a whirl, and for the most part, it worked fantastically.

Unfortunately, though, my first few hands weren’t too hot. I then added some draw to make it tighter for later games, and it held up so much better. This deck, like Cindra, is resource-intensive, and if you don’t have regular access to more stuff, then you’re just going to fizzle out in a mid-game flop.

Samurott/Donphan point: It works beautifully as an Emboar/Magnezone counter, but fails to really progress too far beyond that. Sure, you may have responses to Magnezone, Reshiram, and even RDL, but where’s your answer to Yanmega? How about Machamp? Or what about Gengar – got a way to consistently 1HKO that thing? I’m not very convinced that this deck has what it takes to last throughout a major event.

Donperior point: Before I get into my overall impression about Donperior, let’s first take a look at my sample list…

Pokémon – 20

4 Phanpy HS
4 Donphan Prime
2 Snivy BLW 1
2 Servine BLW 3
2 Serperior BLW 6
2 Zorua BLW
2 Zoroark BLW
1 Cleffa CL
1 Tyrogue CL

Trainers – 27

4 Professor Juniper
4 Pokémon Collector
4 Pokémon Communication
4 Junk Arm
3 Professor Oak’s New Theory
3 PlusPower
3 Pokémon Reversal
2 Switch

Energy – 13

9 F
4 Rainbow

For the most part, this build applies the principles discussed in Straight Zekrom to Donphan, allowing for the quickest turn two KO possible (or if it’s your cup of tea, a 70 damage Tyrogue or Fail via PlusPowers and Junk Arms). Likewise, it’s carrying on the same “heavy draw” principle consistent with a lot of my other builds.

pokegym.netIncluded are four Rainbows to A) further abuse Zoroark; B) keep Serperior from being a sitting duck without any attacking potential; and C) trigger Flail when convenient. This is as rogue as Cincinno/Kingdra, but all in all, I feel quite satisfied with the list I’ve been testing with, and believe that it has a shot against much of the competitive metagame.

However, my one major point is that if you’re running any non-Donchamp variant of Donphan Prime, Serperior is a MUST to have on the board. I fear that without it, you’ll basically set yourself up for a bunch of squishy KOs, as well as easy snipes for Gengar Prime/Elekid/Yanmega Prime.

Zoroark serves a unique role in this deck. While it can serve all of the uses it can in my Tyranitar or in Jwittz’s disruption deck, its one true purpose is to simply deter Rayquaza/Deoxys LEGEND attacks. That thing is without a doubt Donphan’s biggest Achilles’ heel, so if you can just keep it from wreaking havoc, then you’ll be in a good position.

LOSTGAR

As I said in my last article, I had seen some great success with a slightly techier version of the deck, featuring a 1-1 Slowking and Mime Jr. This is what my newest (and so far most successful) version of the deck looks like…

Pokémon – 20

4 Gastly TM
2 Haunter TM
4 Gengar Prime
3 Cleffa CL
2 Spiritomb TM
2 Mime Jr. CL
1 Mr. Mime CL
1 Slowpoke CL
1 Slowking CL

Trainers – 29

4 Pokémon Communication
4 Pokémon Collector
4 Seeker
4 Rare Candy
3 Professor Oak’s New Theory
3 Twins
2 Copycat
2 Lost World
2 Switch
1 Alph Lithograph FOUR/Rotom UD

Energy – 11

11 P

The previous article covers my thoughts on the deck as a whole well, so these are more just things to consider about the changes I’ve made. If you want a more holistic discussion of Lostgar, then go check it out.

Point #1: Running Mime Jr. is a much more far-sighted choice than Tyrogue. As I contend in my last article, Tyrogue helps setup Cursed Droplet KOs – an absolutely true point, but why spend two to three turns setting up a potentially countered KO when you can just mill the deck of your opponent?

In literally all of the games I’ve played since putting it in, Mime Jr. has made MVP-tier performances, garnering me at least one or two Lost World counts a game.

Perhaps most important of all is the fact that it allows you the time needed to build a Gengar Prime up for a significant Hurl Into Darkness. By utilizing Mime Jr., you can keep placing yourself in situations where you keep asserting the Lost World win condition, yet allow for a potential late game bombshell.

Point #2: Slowpoke is a target for Reversal decks. Often, even faster Reversal-based decks can hiccup, but by hitting a timely heads, they can keep this thing stuck in the Active Spot for much longer than it needs to be. For that reason, I like having two Switch available.

Point #3: I might remove Alph Lithograph Four/Rotom [Trick Reveal] for a Revive. Often, the only reason I actually need to dig into my prizes is to uncover a missing basic, so by running this, I stop passively trying to build up my field, instead opting for a more aggressive shot at Gastlies, sniped single-copy basics, or Mime Jr.

Point #4: Lostgar is a heavily underrated deck. In a metagame where hard hits and going first mean the world, Lostgar is very much above the fray, winning through permanent disruption in place of KOs. Granted, this may be its downfall, because once your opponent sets up a beefy attacker, it’s not probably going to ever leave the field (especially Rayquaza-Deoxys LEGEND, which stands a good shot of drawing 6 Prizes in three turns if you don’t Hurl a piece away or otherwise shield an attack).

In spite of these issues, it is a very real threat, and can win against a good majority of the field…Other than Sneasel, anyway.

The Hermit: Observations Pertaining to the New Format

en.wikipedia.orgWhile the Fool signifies beginnings, and the Hierophant stands for fundamental lessons, the Hermit trump card can sometimes be read as a mixture of both. Above all, however, the Hermit’s purpose is to spread his experiences t others after spending time in solitude…And seeing as how I’ve dealt out at least a couple hundred games of this format already, I would most certainly qualify as a “Hermit” myself!

Okay, so maybe this tarot analogy is quickly progressing into “gimmick” territory, but the point still stands: I’ve discovered a lot of major things in this short period of time. Below, I will discuss several of those points in detail.

Insight 1: This format evolves QUICKLY!

As all of you are keenly aware of, Majestic Dawn-on had a lot of precedent to work off of: at the start of the season, SP mirror was already maxed out, the once-rogue Gyarados was over a year old, and Vilegar was quickly falling into place as one of the only major new archetypes. Consequently, the format really didn’t shift that much, thus leading to great stagnation.

Needless to say, HGSS-on is nothing like that. Despite the likelihood that it holds the record for smallest card pool ever found in a Nationals format, its decks, techs, and metagame are all evolving at a shockingly fast speed. For example, look at my discussion of Lostgar last month: the evolution of that decklist may make it seem like it’s gone through several months of ringing, but that actually took place over a mere week. Since then, I’ve only tested the third list, but it just goes to show you how quickly tastes can change.

Perhaps a better example is the evolution of Emboar. When this format’s pre-announcement was made back in May, lists I saw floating around were mostly just vanilla Ninetales/Reshiram builds, but nowadays, you’d be hard-pressed to find a list that isn’t finessed, isn’t full of options, and isn’t Magnezone-based.

I’d even argue that current content on Underground (including the above lists in this article) may not be moving fast enough to match the speed at which top tier players are revising and revamping their decks. Don’t take that as criticism, because criticism suggests that it’s a problem we could fix.

The fact of the matter is that play-testing circles are achieving huge leaps and bounds in a short period of time, so there’s no _way_ you can truly keep up with it all if you’re just reading articles and not actually testing.

Your solution to this problem?

Insight 2: Test Every Day Prior to Nationals

Yes, we talkin’ ’bout practice.

The one surefire way you can hope to keep up with the meta is to play pretty much every day. Now quantity isn’t necessarily quality – you could play twenty times a day, every day, and still not do much for yourself if those games are against turbo Dunsparce.

However, by at least playing one good opponent a day, you should drastically increase your chances of staying in touch with major changes in deck construction, teching, and have a much more accurate view of how Nationals will truly pan out.

We play this game for fun first and foremost, but every one of us wants to win, and in order to win, it’s absolutely paramount to not just play a game every day, but to actually test – challenge – yourself every day, which is something good players are great at doing.

I’ve had my most notable successes when I’ve held to this principle, and I’ve had my greatest failures when I’ve failed to conform to it. In this format, it’s more essential than ever to keep yourself afloat at all times.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s shift gears a bit…

Insight 3: Games in General are Faster

pokemon-paradijs.comJust a couple days ago, one of my long-time playtesting buds and I had a seven game series for the first time in months. You would think that, based off of MD-on precedent, it would take at least two and a half hours to complete…Right?

Oh how wrong you would be if that was your assumption. Our seven-game series took less than 90 minutes, and that was with four nail-bitingly close games in the mix. Yes, as this series displays, games are MUCH faster this format, and for the betterment of all: I expect far fewer games to be decided by time, and consequently, it ought to weigh less heavily on your mind.

That said, you shouldn’t just forget about it outright, since it is very possible that one of your games WILL go to time. Now I believe time management has already been dealt with at least somewhere in the Underground article canon, but keep in mind the general rule: if you’re playing a come-from-behind deck, then it is certainly in your favor to speed up your pace of play!

Decks like Lostgar could very easily see themselves going to time each round, so be absolutely prepared to speed-play your way through the first few turns, and to keep up a similar pace all the way ‘til your Lost World declaration.

I have a few more thoughts on the issue of top cut time in HGSS-on, but since they all deal with the next topic, I’ll save them ‘til later.

Insight 4: Going first rocks; going second doesn’t.

Although much of this format is a breath of fresh air, what certainly isn’t pleasant is the new first turn rule. Unlike many seasons past, the player going first is not disadvantaged at ALL by doing so: he gets first blood, first attachment ,and in most circumstances, a first shot at evolving.

To illustrate this practically, let’s look at the results of one of the people I’ve been playing against fairly consistently: Canadian Pokémon veteran Sebastian Crema. Throughout all of his games, he’s taken thorough notes on his win/loss records, recaps of the games’ goings-on, and matchup results; however, he’s also kept an informal note of how many games have been won by the player going first. That estimate? Around two-thirds!

pokegym.netSo what can you do to alleviate this problem? Not much, but one possibility includes running a deck or list with some come-from-behind potential (e.g., an Emboar/Magnezone list with Twins). Another thing you could do is actually run a deck capable of doing strong things on the first turn, such as Zekrom.

Lastly, you could just opt to run a deck that doesn’t pay too much attention to first blood, like Lostgar. Granted, baby flips may alleviate the advantage of going first, but as I’ll discuss in the next section, there are many ways around this.

But before we move on, let’s finally address those time issues in relation to going first – specifically, the dynamic between the two in a top cut match setting. What should you do to best position yourself or a loved one to win a top cut match? If you follow this plan, then you ought to have a great shot at progressing in the cut:

1. If you won the first game in a short amount of time, but you are losing the second, then it’s probably a good idea to play the full game out anyway. You will be going first in the third game, so if there is less time on the clock, then your first turn advantage is that much more valuable.

This is especially true if the judges were to call “time + 3” right after you started game three, because then you could settle the series with something as simple as a Tyrogue KO, or an unanswerable Magnezone Prime kill.

2. If you won the first game in a long amount of time, but are losing the second, then choose to go first, and capitalize on the situation. By that, I do NOT mean stall the other person out: your opponent is due his fair share of time, and you as a player are contractually obliged to give it to him.

Nevertheless, there’s no need whatsoever to rush yourself, and there’s especially no need to rush a losing opponent into playing faster. I would say that the only time you should scoop in this scenario is if there are 4-5 minutes left, and you need the first turn advantage for game three; otherwise, enjoy your win.

pokemon-paradijs.com3. If you won the first game, and are well on track to winning the second game…Then just win the game and be done with it! Worst case scenario, if your present progressive “winning” turns into “losing,” then just follow up with one of the above plans.

4. If you lost the first game, and it didn’t take much time (<15 minutes)…Then you really don’t have much control of things. Obviously choose to go first when you can, but past that, just play your heart out, and position yourself for a game three win in full or on prizes.

Probably the biggest thing to keep in mind is that for the third game, you’ll likely be severely disadvantaged if you allow a quick baby kill on the first turn: at that point, there’d probably be a mere 15-20 minutes left on the clock, so unless you play at a lively enough of a pace, then more often than not, your opponent is going to take it on time.

5. If you lost the first game, and it DID take a considerable amount of time (15-45 minutes – almost no games will go on for longer than that), then you’re probably in trouble. About the best thing you could do for yourself in this situation is score a relatively quick win, yet engineer it so that you get your choice at who goes first in game three.

But keep in mind that this could backfire on you: your opponent may very well be doing to you what I suggested in point two! For that reason, just try to set up as quickly as you can in game three, so as to have as much time as possible.

That was a fairly lengthy description, so I might write up a flow chart sometime in a future article. For now, though, if you have any questions or concerns about these suggestions, or have more specific questions you’re curious about, then feel free to ask on the corresponding forum thread.

Insight 5: Flips are horrendous.

Flips suck. Period. But they suck even more in this format: in addition to the coin flip at the beginning of a game, you’re also at the mercy of Pokémon Reversals, Super Scoop Ups, Dual Balls, and Junk Arms to reuse them. Worst of all, you have to contend with…Sweet Sleeping Face, which is quite possibly the UGLIEST Poké-Body in the entire format.

So what’s a player to do? Consider these options, and you may be able to shut the flippers down…

clipartmojo.com1. If you run babies, then it will be greatly useful to run switching. There’s a 25% chance that without any interruption on your opponent’s part, your Cleffa will be stuck in the Active Spot…Asleep, and no matter how ready YOU are to start steamrolling your opponent, that baby will just sit on its fat face, waiting for YOU to do something.

And what more can you do but run Switch and/or Super Scoop Up? Aside from Machamp Prime’s Fighting Tag, Not much else, but they’re your only universal options aside from removing babies from your deck altogether.

2. Run Pokémon Reversal or Pokémon Circulator to get around Sweet Sleeping Face. Many of my lists above do just that, and the strategy works even better thanks to the high Junk Arm count. Granted, this may function better in larger quantities, but having at least “some” answer helps.

Now if you follow this path, then your choice becomes one between Reversal and Circulator if you don’t have the room for both. This may sound counterintuitive because it’s adding flips on top of more flips, but Pokémon Reversal is actually the better play here.

Although it rests your hopes to get around those disgusting babies on a coin, the payoff is MUCH higher if you get to kill a large attacker as well as eject the baby. Although getting around Sweet Sleeping Face is a nice short-term gain, the long-term is what you should always be focused on, and Reversal is most certainly a powerful long-term card.

3. Run a deck that naturally limits the flips in some meaningful way. Whether it’s Machoke’s Knuckle Down, Vileplume’s Allergy Flower, or Kingdra Prime’s Spray Splash, you can either alleviate or eliminate the flip problem.

So considering all that I’ve told you about going first, flips, and those God-awful babies, you might have caught on to a certain inference. Said inference is discussed in my next point.

Insight 6: Playing against the field might be a worthwhile thing to do.

pokegym.netAlthough Emboar is without a doubt a powerful deck, and is one of the clearest frontrunners for “most popular” at U.S. Nationals 2011, I feel that its dominance is not so absolute that it isn’t possible for some inspired rogue/non-archetypal deck to sneak through and cause major damage to the field.

I have a couple ideas as to how to go about this, and have confirmed that you can actually play against the popular lineup of things to solid success. Of course, the greatest advantage about pursuing your own deck is that you don’t subject yourself to the mercy of flips and bad prizes as you would in an Emboar/Magnezone mirror.

But as true as this might be, you ought to be very confident that your under-the-radar deck is capable of competing with the best, or else it will be a very bad call.

This doesn’t mean that you should be discouraged by people who say your deck is a step below theirs, but at the same time, be mindful that the rogue deck you’re trying to succeed with is a build that many fellow top tier players have failed to do anything with.

In short, pursue the challenge only if you’re up for it.

Insight 7: This Format Parallels the Past

This point may be lost on some of you new players whose concept of “the olden days” stretches back to merely the start of this season, but for the rest of you, some of these parallels ought to remind you of some very important tactics and strategies.

pokegym.netThe ultimate theme behind the Black and White video games, as well as the current TCG block, is mixing new with old, as well as respecting tradition while simultaneously progressing into the future. As a result, our “new” format is full of nothing but old decks and scenarios. Here are just some of them:

Emboar -> Blastoise (Base)
Banette Triumphant -> Gardevoir ex’s “Feedback” (Sandstorm)
Cincinno -> Wigglytuff (Jungle)
Professor Juniper and Cheren [Japan only] -> Professor Oak and Bill (Base)
Pokémon Catcher [Japan only] -> Gust of Wind
Zekrom, Pachirisu, and Shaymin -> Voltorb and Zapdos ex (FRLG)
Sweet Sleeping Face -> Baby Rule (Neo Genesis and onward)

There are many more examples of the above, as has been discussed in previous SixPrizes articles, but the major strategic point I have is that the “callback” nature of this format favors veterans of the game. For the older players who still remember slaughtering countless numbers of the horrid “Zap-turn-dos” deck, that useless old knowledge floating around in the dark backward and abysm of time will come back out in full force against Zekrom.

Although there are many obvious differences between the old days and now, I encourage you long-time members of the Pokémon TCG community to try to draw back up all of the comparable scenarios from the past, and then be sure to do what you did right back then, today.

The Star: Tricks and Tactics to Trump the Field

So with all of those dramatic points, let’s close out with one more “knowledge” card: “The Star,” which often exemplifies sudden moments of inspiration and enlightenment. These are some of the major revelations that have jumped out at me during play-testing, and are likely to help you in the last three weeks leading up to U.S. Nationals (two if you’re Canadian).

Do NOT leave a 30 HP Pokémon hanging if you can avoid it!

So you think you’re off the hook of turn one losses since Pokémon SP are gone, and you can’t play Rare Candy on the first turn?

Rather than hear it from me, let’s consult Lex Luthor on the matter:

[Check your sound settings…]

Yes, it is without a doubt a misconception that you’re safe from donks, especially if you run four to five 30 HP Pokémon in your decks. As a result, you will have to make several tough pre-game choices so as to avoid an early defeat, usually manifesting themselves in alternative Active positioning, as well as extra benching.

For the former, all that encompasses is just opting to start with a non-baby Pokémon, but instead a basic you’d normally be less willing to go in with, such as Tepig. The logic behind this is that you starve your opponent’s Tyrogues of turn one wins, thus assuring your long-term success in a game.

Normally this isn’t necessary – you may have a Supporter in your hand, which would allow you the opportunity to chance it with Cleffa, or you may not have the decision available at all (i.e., starting with a lone baby). But for the games where your hand is trashy, and a Cleffa is the only way out, I would seriously consider some alternative move-making.

Regarding the second point, there’s no real extra elaboration necessary: you just have to bench an extra Pokémon you normally wouldn’t. This becomes tougher when the decision involves benching a Pachirisu or Shaymin, but in the end, it’s definitely worth it if it means losing.

Basic counts are low again – exploit this!

pokegym.netIn MD-on, we saw basic counts in decks reach to unprecedented levels: the standard Fulop/Sami Luxchomp model, for instance, ran no less than 14 basics, with a majority of them being 70 HP or higher. Nowadays, you’ll find it difficult to find too many lists with such a high count. Be it due to space constraints or lack of necessity, this is the path that deckbuilding has taken.

If you want some absolute proof of this, then take a look at the three Emboar/Magnezone lists posted by Chris Fulop and Kenny Wisdom (four if you include mine). All three feature no more than 11 basics, and of those basics, four are 30 HP punching bags.

Now while the specifics of these decks are for the most part safe from the general public, many of their core elements will undoubtedly be the basis for the standard Emboar at Nationals. As a result, you’ll probably have a shocking number of builds running around with low basic counts.

It was abusing this weakness of Emboar/Magnezone’s that initially incentivized me to include Tyrogue in all of my lists a month and a half ago, and I can safely say that it’s paid off so far. Granted, many more players are using it, so its advantage is diluted at the upper levels of play; however, I am confident that this is still an advantage to be enjoyed by every player running Tyrogue, Pachirisu, or any other fast-hitting basic at least once in a large event.

Diversify your list where appropriate.

This final point is actually something that actually fleshed itself out to me mid-way through writing this article, but it is probably one of the most important pieces of advice I will ever give you…BE SURE TO PLAY YOUR OWN DECK!

Net-decking a card-for-card list off of Underground, no matter how good it may be, is a plan that sets you up for failure. There are over two hundred subscribers to this website, and every one of them has access the same lists you do.

So for that reason, if you or a loved one run a list on here exactly as-is, there’s a good chance he/she will be outplayed by a fellow Underground member over the course of Nationals. Sad to say, but if your opponent knows your list, then it is MUCH harder to win!

So what to do to cure this dilemma? Simple: keep on testing! If you do, then you might discover a point at issue you have with one of our lists, and once you do, you can appropriately edit it. Alternatively, you might even find that we’re missing something huge, and go down your own path. This will ultimately lead to you having a far less predictable game, and therefore a higher chance of winning the biggest event of the season.

The World (Conclusion)

This is easily one of the greatest competitive challenges we as a community have been placed in: with only a few weeks left, we have to master a format with no domestic precedent, and on one of the biggest competitive stages out there.

However, it’s all part of the journey, and all part of achieving completeness in your Pokémon TCG playing career. Even if things don’t go the absolute best for you, take the defeat with a grain of salt, and then come back in full force for the next season, or even the Last Chance Qualifier.

But above all, work your hardest. If you do, then your World tarot may lead to a World Championship dream run.

Good luck, everyone!


…and that will conclude this Unlocked Underground article.

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