Intro
With only a few days until the Last Chance Qualifier, Worlds, and the crowning of our new champion, there are still unanswered aspects of the current format, as well as unmentioned threats to watch out for. These “eleventh hour surprises” change EVERYTHING, and what once looked like a relatively cut-and-dry metagame transforms into something very unusual.
Be it due to the surprise leak (and subsequent proliferation) of a secret deck, or just a play that the majority of the world didn’t see coming, things look and feel different when the player base is actually at the physical location of an event.
In this article, I will try my hardest to diffuse the “surprise factor,” and alert you to some last-second developments in the Worlds 2011 metagame. We will jump straight into what decks are favored by which areas of the world, my personal testing results, and some major recommendations for techs. This ought to construct an overall idea for what surprises are in store for both the Last Chance Qualifier and the main event.
Above all, you competitors ought to gain new knowledge to arm yourselves for this exhilarating weekend, and even you non-competitors will receive a huge jump-start on the rest of the competition.
This is going to be one of my most concise articles in a long time, but it will also be one of my most useful. So if you are interested in reading all of the latest developments, then read on, dear Underground members…Read on.
Metagame Developments
[Note: due to my constant communication with/observation of Masters players, this will be a Masters-centric portion of the article. However, I expect all of these developments – especially those involving Japanese players – to trickle down to the younger groups.]
[I also expect all of my previous advice about Seniors and Juniors from “Canadian Nationals” to hold over, but if you have any more specific questions, then please don’t hesitate to ask me in the forums!]
1. Japan
Of all metagames, Japan’s holds the most mystique in our community: they’ve won two Worlds with unorthodox lists, and – for all intents and purpose – are cut off from us, both competitively and communicatively. For these reasons, we ALWAYS care about what they’re playing, as well as who they’ve got in the running for a given season.
This year is no different on those counts, but due to the cancellation of qualifier events, there is uncertainty as to what impact their base will bring to Worlds this year.
First off, expect an above average turnout from the Japanese crowd in the LCQ. The players from Japan that dish out the funds to travel internationally to play are usually playing for keeps, so they’re already “above average” skill-wise; however, when you factor in that they lost any domestic opportunity to score invitations, they’ll be doubly prepared to bring their best to the Grinder.
With no doubt in my mind, this year is serious business for this group, and given the reasons for which they are competing, this seriousness is justified.
As to what decks they’ll be using, expect a respectable amount of each of the following: Zekrom, Reshiram variants, Tyranitar, and Donphan – each of which have prominence in their own metagame.
Keep in mind that the success of these decks is in the context of a format with Catcher and Crush Hammer, so things might be a little different; however, the Japanese aren’t 100% familiar with our “condensed” version of their format, so if you’re unfamiliar with a field, you go with what you know. In my opinion, it is these four decks their players know best.
Before we move on, I ought to elaborate on what I meant by “Reshiram variants.” Unlike the rest of the world, which seems to be trending towards Typhlosion, my information suggests that Emboar is its partner of choice in Japan.
You’ve seen Emboar before on this site, but here’s my take on the deck – a relatively non-teched, aggressive style of build that is likely very similar to what will be played by some of their competitors:
