It feels good to be free.
Don’t get me wrong, our current format has been very well to me. After enough trial and error, I finally found the deck that I can truly can say I know forward and back.
This season alone Sablock took me to a 45-10 record, and netted me a Battle Roads Win, a City Championship Medal, 2 2nd Places at States (are they going to send those medals ever?), a 5th Place at Regionals, and my first appearance in the top 10 world ratings. With this much success, you’d wonder why I’d ever want a rotation.
Aside from the obvious Black and White rules + Sableye dynamic, I’m just bored. I’ve probably logged upwards of 1000 games with the deck, if you include last season. I’m at the point where I just can’t learn anything more about the deck, and it would no longer be beneficial for me to try anything else.
In fact, I didn’t change a single card in my deck from States to Regionals, and I only playtested around 10 games in this format—all of them being against Magnezone. I’ve played all the matchups into the ground, and games just start to feel like autopilot for me.
From a skill-based standpoint, this is great—I find myself plotting moves out 3+ turns in advance, and nothing surprises me anymore. But from a player’s standpoint, the game just isn’t nearly as fun.
I’m supposed to be the top of my game, but only had the encouragement to play 10 games between major events. Instead, I’ve probably been playing 100+ in 2 possible future formats: RR-On, and HGSS-On. Now that the possibility of rotation has finally been revealed, I couldn’t be happier.
Not only do I get to experience the time and effort that it takes to perfect a deck once again, but I feel like my time spend practicing will help put me (and you) a small step ahead while others are just dipping their feet into the waters of a new format.
First things first, many have been discussing whether or not HGSS mid-season will even happen. After all, we’re not really sure what criteria Pokémon is looking for in determining if rotation is the right thing to do. Are they looking at number of Sabledonk wins? Number of people donked before getting to draw? Drop in attendance? Should we stack tournaments with Sabledonk to guarantee a rotation?
There are a lot of factors to consider, but in my honest opinion, I think Pokémon has this rotation planned 100%. The only thing that prevents them from announcing it right now is that it would cause MUCH more panic and rage from newer players. Now, giving the players a month to prepare and sell off/trade older cards diffuses that situation.
Also, imagine the opposite! Imagine if they now decide “MD-On for US Nationals/Worlds”. It’d induce more anger than ever, and the backlash would be terrible. I can only imagine the rotation for US/Worlds happening no matter what.
So let’s assume that we’re getting HGSS-On. Let’s also assume that you, like me, either A) are fed up with the current format and want to know what’s in store for the future (you poor non-US players that won’t get a rotation) or B) you’re planning on skipping the atrocious Black and White + MD-On Battle Roads and want to get ahead for Nationals/Worlds right away.
If you chose A or B, I’m sure you’d also love to hear how my testing has gone so far! I’ve done lots of work, you’ve paid for the material, and I’m happy to share with you everything I’ve uncovered so far:
First Things First: Universal Search/Draw
In this section, I’ll go over the best (and worst) Trainer, Supporter, and Pokémon setup cards in the HGSS-On format. This is something that many players are going to struggle with: just because it worked last season doesn’t mean that it will work this season.
With only a month until Nationals, many players will fail to perfect their basic Trainer/Supporter engines in time to have an optimal start. While my knowledge so far isn’t directly from the Pokémon Gods, I HAVE tested many engines so far, and here is my diagnosis:
Supporters:
Pokémon Collector
I might shock a lot of you by saying that this card, the definitive search staple in our current format, might not be needed in several top-tier decks. Even in Zekrom, a heavy-basic deck, I’ve found it to be a hand-clogger. Why?
Pokémon Collector does help you set up. However, it no longer promotes both setup and draw at the same time. We’re used to using Collector to obtain both 2 basics and an Uxie—using leading to both the ability to search out 3 cards (already a +2 card advantage) and then also chain into Uxie’s “Set Up” (usually a +2 or further advantage in itself).
In the end, playing one Pokémon Collector can mean seeing upwards of 7, 8, or more cards when you combine the basics and the setup. Now, when you play Collector, you just grab the 3 basics.
Seeing 3 new cards just doesn’t have the same power that straight draw Supporters have, and in my testing so far, I’ve found that you’re better off using Trainers for your search needs, and Supporters for your draw needs.
Test it yourself and see if either A) Collector fills your hand or B) you don’t miss Collector after you drop it completely. I’m still early in on perfecting engines for decks so far, but I still haven’t made up my mind on this one.
Professor Juniper
This card, on the other hand, is the real deal. Remember that exhilarating feeling of “Setup for 7”? You empty your hand, and then reach for your deck and rifle out 7 brand new cards as if it was your starting hand. It’s a rush. This card is that rush in the form of a supporter.
What’s great about it is no matter how big or small your hand it, Juniper will always grab for that next 7. In a relatively speedless format, Juniper creates speed, and seems to be the number one card I wish I had in my hand at any given time.
Many people worry things like “well what if I discard (important card x)”? From my experience, the card you discard almost never matters. If you can’t set up faster than your opponent, you can’t remain competitive. Dumping your hand to see a brand new hand to work with is almost always worth it.
I’ve had games testing against Mikey, one of our other writers, where he has discarded great cards in his hand (such as 4 fire, one half of RDL, and Emboar), only to hit everything by moving deeper into the deck on that turn.
I can understand the occasional build not being able to function if it relies on several stage 2 lines, but I still highly recommend it so far.
