National Championship 10 x 10 — Ten Top Tens

By: Alex Koch · Posted Posted onJun 29, 2016 at 9:59 AM · 0 Comments

Hello everyone, It’s me, Alex, back with some lists! In fact I’m coming at you with ten lists! Not the typical lists that people use to net deck, but lists that will help you prepare for National Championships. Just to clarify, these aren’t only deck lists, but rather lists of things that relate to the Pokemon National Championships.

I’ve always loved making lists. All through High School, College, and even today, I make a list for everything. Top 10 movies? Inception, Spaceballs, and Cool Runnings top that list. Top 50 Bands? Gorillaz, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Muse are the winners there. So why would I leave Pokemon out of the equation? Usually you see different people make a “Top 10 Plays for X Tournament,” style list. While that’s all fine (and definitely one of the things I will be doing in this article) I thought that I would spice things up and give you not one but ten lists to digest! Some of them will be silly, some actually helpful, but all will (hopefully) leave you entertained!

As an aside before I dive in I would like to update you on my article series. I have the third and final article on my ‘Summer of Alternative Formats’ series in the works. I felt that this article would be of more benefit to those going to nationals. For those of you waiting on that article about U150, it will come out shortly after the U.S. National Championships! Now, onto the rest of the article!

List One: Top 10 Ways to Prepare for National Championships

10) Chewing Gum

I don’t know about you, but gum is always a way to help me keep my cool while playing. There is a lot of research and information out there about how gum can lower stress levels during times of high anxiety. I always make sure to pack a few packs on gum so I have enough to last me the tournament. I expect to go through at least two packs on the weekend alone. I’ll probably go through a total of five or six on the drive over plus the weekend.

9) Meet New People

Okay this might seem like a little bit of an odd thing to put under “a way to prepare,” but hear me out. Many people in the Pokemon community are not the most social butterflies in the world. Practicing your skills in talking with other people might eliminate some of the stresses of being in a room full of people you don’t know. Think about this; if you’re super confident when you go in for that hand shake, and your opponent isn’t, you’re going to have the upper hand in the moral battle that can plague even the best of players. Again, kind of a weird thing, but it definitely can’t hurt your experience.

8) Pack a Lunch

[cardimg name=”VS Seeker” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”100″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Hunger can strike when you least expect it. It’s good to have a back up apple, Protein Puck, or something else that can give you that extra boost of energy needed to finish out a tournament strong. Usually a tournament will have an ample lunch break, but what if the round before your lunch break lasts a bit too long, and then you’re stuck waiting in line for the hour they give you? You’re going to wish you had a quick snack to munch on!

7) Eat Before

Going hand in hand with packing a lunch, getting a good meal in to start your day is also a smart idea to keep that sustained energy flowing. You hear it all the time; “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” and that’s no exception here. Starting off your day groggy or in a funk and not awake is probably not the best way to win a tournament. Imagine being hungry, crabby, and then losing your first round. You’re going to regret making the decision to come right away.

6) Get Rest

Like I just said, nobody wants to start their day groggy or in a funk. I know it can be hard to sleep before a big tournament. After six years of competitive play, I still can’t fall asleep at a decent time before tournaments, even League Challenges. I guess I put that pressure on myself. Though at at the very least, it doesn’t stop me from trying to go to bed early. Instead of play testing with my friends or going out on the town I try to catch those last few Z’s before I have to focus the next day. There’s no reason to stay up playing cards when you’ve just spent the last month (hopefully) practicing with your team or online.

5) Charge Your Phone

This one is actually a biggie. It’s always a tragedy when a phone dies, but it’s even more sad when it dies during a Pokemon tournament. Online pairings? Nope, now you have to wait in line. Wondering where your friends are going for lunch? Now you have to eat alone. Girlfriend trying to call you to check in? Now she thinks you’re ignoring her, and you get dumped when you get home! Make sure you’re at 100% as the day starts. Finding an outlet is hard enough as is.

4) New But Shuffled Sleeves

We’re getting into the really important stuff now. There are a lot of things you can do to avoid deck check errors, and one of them is buying new sleeves about a week before the tournament and playing a few games. Every player has a couple of sets of black sleeves, and none of them seem to match. In order to avoid that, get some new ones and only use them for the big dance. Playing a few games in them is never a bad idea, since you don’t want them sliding all over the place, but on the other hand you don’t want them so worn or dirty to be considered marked. I actually just got a new pack today. I’ll probably shuffle them while in the car to National Championships to get them ready to go.

3) Print Your Deck List Beforehand

Just like the sleeves, double and triple checking your deck list the night before and printing it off is a great way to avoid penalties due to errors. As long as you don’t make any last minute changes to your list, you should be fine to head to the library, a friend’s house, or to the computer in your house and print off your deck list. Not only that, but you also avoid all of the deck checking sharks that linger around trying to get a better grasp of the meta. These people have not done enough research and are already in a hole to start the tournament. Don’t give them any help!

2) Watch

[cardimg name=”Fossil Researcher” set=”Furious Fists” no=”110″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

There are so many places to watch people play Pokemon. Your local leagues, streaming sites online, and videos posted everyday by content creators. Pro athletes study game film, movie stars watch movies, and Pokemon players watch other people play. It’s all part of getting better, and there’s no harm in doing it. I for one tune into streams daily, no matter how good the well known the players are. It’s not only a good way of getting some alternative thinking, but also a good way of tapping into the current meta to see what people are thinking about.

1) Research

And easily the best way to prepare for the U.S. National Championships is research. This can mean a lot of things; from brushing up on all of the current legal cards, to checking out articles here on PokeBeach. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you’re getting those brain juices flowing and thinking about Pokemon. My roommate and I sit down once a month and scroll through all of the currently legal cards to make sure there aren’t any ideas we are missing. Sure, this can generate some very bad decks, but at least we know what things do! You never want to be that person who has to reach across the table to read a card. Most players view that as a sign of weakness and might pounce the moment they sense any lack of confidence on your part. Research is by and far the best way to improve your game and to prepare for the largest tournament in the world.

List Two: Top 10 Road Trip Albums

Here is a list of albums that are either fantastic for road tripping, and / or albums I plan on listening to on my drive from Spokane to Columbus.

10) Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John

9) Whitey Ford Sings The Blues by Everlast

8) AM by Arctic Monkeys

7) Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars by Fatboy Slim

6) Lukas Graham by Lukas Graham

5) Fight With Toys by Flobots

4) Audioslave by Audioslave

3) The Getaway by Red Hot Chili Peppers

2) 1 by The Beatles

1) Demon Days by Gorillaz

List Three: Top 10 Things to do at U.S. National Championships

10) Watch the Live Stream

Live sports, going to the movie theater, and seeing a concert, all things infinitely better then just sitting at home and watching it on your screen. Same goes for Pokemon. Usually the stream is displayed on a big screen where you can sit and watch it. Cheering on your friend or favorite player is a lot of fun when you’re doing it as a group. I have heard that there are going to be multiple streams this year, so hopefully that means multiple options to watch you donk people with [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card].

9) Play Unique Formats

Shameless plug. Go check out my last two articles about the Cube and the Elite Format! I will be bringing my Cube to Ohio this year, and I plan on doing a day where a couple of you readers sit down and Cube with me! But U.S. National Championships is a great time to play some different formats with people who love Pokemon. Sometimes (especially living in a small area like I do) it can be hard to find enough people to want to try new things. At the National Championships, there is never a shortage of people looking for new and exciting ways to try Pokemon!

8) Play Old Formats

Similar to alternative formats is the old format crowd that always brings LuxChomp to large events. Playing old World Championship formats is a great way to tap into the game and look at the history of how the current format has evolved. I’ve always said that playing different formats and alternative formats is a great way to improve your play and here is no exception. Only with this, you’re actually playing a format that used to be used.

7) Side Events

If for some reason you make the hike out to Columbus but don’t want to slave away at the main tournament, you can always play in pick up tournaments! There are always cool win-a-mat and small tournaments going on to hone your skills with, as well as win some cool swag. They usually don’t cost too much, and are a great way to pass the time. If it’s your first year playing, and you don’t have a lot of experience in just yet, this might be the route to go to get the feel for the environment without having to shell out 30-60 dollars on entry fees.

6) Meet Famous People

Yes, this one might be a bit of a stretch, but let me attempt to sound all wise and wisdom-like. There’s probably some famous saying about meeting one’s heroes, and at the U.S. National Championships, you will find no shortage of heroes of the Pokemon game. I see a lot of people with their playmats all blinged out with signatures of some of this games great. Take a moment to realize that you’re standing among some of the greatest players in the game.

5) Meet New People

While not everyone’s cup of tea, this is easily my favorite thing to do at large tournaments. There are so many cool people in this community, and I enjoy meeting every single one of them. I’m also excited to meet many of you guys too! The people that read and enjoy my articles are some of my favorite people I’ve never met. Also since I just jumped on to the PokeBeach premium writers squad a few months back, I finally get to meet all the rest of the gang in person!

4) Meet Friends

It seems I enjoy connecting ideas on my lists. This one also goes hand in hand with meeting new people, is meeting old people! Or rather, people you’ve already met and know and love. I’m aware of how weird that all sounds. But yes, a large tournament like this is the best time for the Pokemon family to come together and enjoy all there is to offer in the great game of ours. I’m grateful to have grown in this community. Before I was one of those lame west coast players that always seemed to struggle to get over to the Midwest. Now that I know some more people, I’m even more excited to see some people I never get to see!

3) Buy, Sell, Trade

At everything but the World Championships, you’re not going to find a higher concentrated group of vendors and traders in the world than at U.S. National Championships. I have found tons of hard-to-find cards for my Cube at this tournament over the years. Not only that, there are a lot of bulk buyers to take those extra cards off your hands for a little extra spending money for the tournament. I’ll be selling mine for the gas money to drive all the way back to Washington. Yikes!

2) See the Area / Ohio

I’m not from the Midwest, so I’m not sure what to recommend in this category, but I do know there are some cool things that I plan to see as far as a tourist is concerned. There’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and other things too! I actually don’t really know a lot about Ohio, but wherever U.S. National Championships is held in the future, take the time out of the weekend to look around a bit. Traveling is always fun, no matter where you go! The biggest thing on my bucket list has always been to see every baseball stadium in the country. I got to check off Fenway Park last year in Boston, and this year in Ohio I’ll be able to check off Great American Ball Park and Progressive Field. Who knows, on the way home I may check out U.S. Cellular.

1) Play in the Main Event

And of course, the number one thing to do at U.S. National Championships is, well, the U.S. National Championships! It’s the reason everyone goes to the event in the first place. And now, with this year having the most prize support out of any year ever, we can expect there to be record amount of people at this tournament. It sure is going to be a really fun time all together! Please, if you see me, come up and say hi!

List Four: Top 10 Favorite Pokemon

Not necessarily the cards but the actual Pokemon.

10) Machop

9) Celebi

8) Giratina

7) Vaporeon

6) Magnezone

5) Shaymin

4) Miltank

3) Empoleon

2) Ampharos

1) Wobbuffet

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List Five: Top 10 Mentalities to Keep

10) Too Blessed to be Stressed

Think about how lucky you are to even be there in the first place! You’re among the greatest in the game! You’re playing at the Pokemon National Championships! Think about how awesome that sounds to other people (at least how awesome you think it sounds). That should help a little bit of the nerves right? Or at least come fairly close to. Who knows, it might work!

9) Take Your Time

Speedy play can throw your game off just as quickly as you’re playing. This doesn’t mean to take your time and go to time every round, but you want to really think about each and every play before you make it. It may seem like the obvious play, but you want to double check with yourself before you actually do it. This is where copious amounts of practice comes in. The better you know your deck inside and out, the better you will perform in the tournament, since these simple decisions are a lot easier to double check after you’ve played hundreds of games with your deck.

8) Walk Around / Stretch / Get Fresh Air

Oh man, we all know how smelly and cramped a big room of nerds can get right? If you sit in that environment for too long, it can start to affect your emotions. Keeping your head up and staying positive is the key for these long tournaments, so any way that you can remove any unnecessary stress is a good thing. It may not seem obvious at the time, but getting a good stretch in outside can improve your mood by just enough to get you through the tournament. I personally like to walk after every single round to make sure I keep a level head.

7) Don’t Forget Why You’re There

Everyone comes to the National Championships for a different reason. Some people go to sell and trade cards. Others go to win prizes. A lot of people go because it’s fun and they get to see friends. Whatever your reason for going is, don’t forget it. It’s kind of a metaphor for life? Never lose track of where you are going in life and you’ll have success. That’s how that goes right? Why does Pokemon have to be any different?

6) Forget About How Your Friends Are Doing

[cardimg name=”Victory Piece” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”130″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This may sound a little self centered and mean, but it’s true, you can’t let anyone else distract you from you. If your friend gets bounced from the tournament early and isn’t feeling that great about it, you can’t let their negativity influence your play. I’m somewhat grateful that I’m not and have not made the trip with friends, less people to worry about. Sure, literally every other aspect of the trip is less enjoyable without good people nearby, but at least I can focus on what matters during that Friday and Saturday.

5) You’re Not Trying to Impress Anyone

Nobody is going to think that you’re the “next big thing,” because you had one deep run at National Championships. Most people only care about the deck you’re playing and what matchups you beat and so on and so forth. Nobody stops to take a look at the player name. That level of fame comes from a whole career of doing well. The players in the game that are well known are known because of their consistent play. You don’t have to have a great track record to win the title, just enough skill and luck to do it once is enough.

4) It Doesn’t Matter If You Win By An Inch or a Mile, Winning is Winning

Now, this one might seem a little contradictory to the point of having fun, but it’s definitely a way to boost your confidence in times of stress. Sometimes you have to do things you may not want to get the win. Stuff like playing that [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] instead of the [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] to prevent Prizes, or sacrificing your low HP Pokemon-EX in order to [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] them next turn. Just remember that it doesn’t always have to be about making a flashy play or getting greedy with a Sycamore. Do what you need to do to win the game.

3) It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint

One match does not define your tournament experience. There are a lot of games to play in the day, so don’t let a bad game, or even a shaky performance ruin your entire tournament. Even if you start poorly, remember that every game is a new game and that you can easily crawl out of whatever hole you find yourself in. Get in your head that you’re going to be in that big room with thousands of players for the entire day, so don’t let it surprise you when you start to get worn out come rounds seven and eight.

2) Remember to Have Fun

Sure, at the end of the day, winning is really nice. I mean, it’s really nice. I like winning a lot. But what is better than winning is having fun while doing it. I mean, nobody gets into Pokemon for the money or the fame right? Because both of those things can be quite lack luster in the community. We all signed up for this adventure to have a good time with our buddies. The winning comes along for free. You’re there because you want to have fun, and if you do, it will make the stress of trying to win that prize money a lot less painful.

1) Pretend Everyone is a No Name

This is honestly one of the best pieces of advice I can give you as a new player, or as a veteran of the game. It’s not as simple as “just have confidence in yourself,” but it means somewhat of a similar thing. I have seen pro-gamers turn off opposing player’s names in their games so they don’t get all caught up in who they are playing. A perfect example of this is when I played against my hero, Dylan Bryan in Boston last year. I fan-girled all over him while trying to play it cool and I lost track of the match and ended up getting 2-0’d. If you pretend like everyone you are playing against is the same scrub from your neighborhood back home, you’ll have a much better chance at coming out on top of the game with less misplays. It can be a hard thing to switch your mind to, but it definitely helps.

List Six: Top 10 Decks I Miss

10) Goodra

It’s hard to miss a deck that never really had the chance to shine. I love the idea of this deck and still do for that matter, but there are just too many things working against it to make it good. Shame, it really is. On the plus side, I have Championship Points with this deck, so there’s that.

[decklist name=”Goodra” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Goodra” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”18″]3x [card name=”Goodra” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Sliggoo” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”59″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Goomy” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Jellicent” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Frillish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”30″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]4x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Heavy Ball” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Team Aqua’s Secret Base” set=”Double Crisis” no=”28″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

9) “Utah Eels”

We saw a group of people from Utah playing this version of Eels a couple of seasons ago. We thought it was super interesting at the time, we so took it home and played it ourselves. It’s still one of the coolest ways to play this deck by far.

[decklist name=”Utah Eels” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Rayquaza-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”85″][pokemon amt=”16″]3x [card name=”Rayquaza-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”85″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Eelektrik” set=”Noble Victories” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Tynamo” set=”Noble Victories” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Raikou-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rayquaza” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Emolga” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”49″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Zekrom” set=”Black and White” no=”47″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”49″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Random Receiver” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Bicycle” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch” set=”Black and White” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Noble Victories” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Town Map” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Black and White” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Skyarrow Bridge” set=”Next Destinies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]9x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]3x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

8) Audino / Eels

This deck is just fun. No more real explanation needed. I loved this guy for the longest time.

[decklist name=”Audino” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Audino” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”83″][pokemon amt=”20″]2x [card name=”Audino” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”83″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Darmanitan” set=”Next Destinies” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Darumaka” set=”Next Destinies” no=”17″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Eelektrik” set=”Noble Victories” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Tynamo” set=”Noble Victories” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Victini” set=”Noble Victories” no=”14″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Next Destinies” no=”54″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]4x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Bianca” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Switch” set=”Black and White” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Noble Victories” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Skyarrow Bridge” set=”Next Destinies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]9x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]3x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

7) Donphan

I’m going to mess this one up for sure. I jumped on this deck’s bandwagon really quickly and took it to a runner up finish at Vancouver Regionals last season. This was when you could change your deck for top cut, so I switched to [card name=”Pyroar” set=”Flashfire” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] for the second half of the tournament.

I do remember playing a version of this way back when that used [card name=”Sigilyph” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Latias-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] to wall, but it wasn’t very good since [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Fighting Stadium” set=”Furious Fists” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] were still a couple of years away.

Anyway, here is what I remember to be close to the deck list I played.

[decklist name=”Donphan” amt=”60″ caption=”undefined”undefined][pokemon amt=”16″]4x [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Phanpy” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”71″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Sigilyph” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Reshiram” set=”Black and White” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Zekrom” set=”Black and White” no=”47″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne” set=”Furious Fists” no=”34″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Korrina” set=”Furious Fists” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Bicycle” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Flashfire” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Noble Victories” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Fighting Stadium” set=”Furious Fists” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]4x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Furious Fists” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

6) Thunderdome

Okay, hopefully I don’t embarrass myself by trying to think of my list I played. I played this is a format that was way past Thunderdome’s prime (get it?). [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Next Destinies” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] had just come out, and I didn’t own any at this point, so I played a build that aimed to kill Mewtwo-EX, without playing Mewtwo-EX. I didn’t know of this thing called “Quad Terrakion,” so my only losses of the tournament came to that deck.

[decklist name=”Thunderdome” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Magnezone” set=”Triumphant” no=”96″][pokemon amt=”18″]3x [card name=”Magnezone” set=”Triumphant” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Magneton” set=”Triumphant” no=”43″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Magnemite” set=”Triumphant” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Eelektrik” set=”Noble Victories” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Tynamo” set=”Noble Victories” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Cleffa” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”17″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Zekrom” set=”Black and White” no=”47″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Thundurus” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”35″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]4x [card name=”Professor Oak’s New Theory” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Collector” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Black and White” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Junk Arm” set=”Triumphant” no=”87″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Unleashed” no=”82″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Noble Victories” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]13x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”13″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

5) Klinklang

I wish I remember this list, I really do. This list got leaked to me somehow before it made the big boom on the National stage. This was back when I was first starting, so I didn’t fully understand the power I had in my hands at the time. I remember my list being slightly different from the winning list, so I hope I do the deck justice by trying to remember it here. I’m sure the [card name=”Eviolite” set=”Noble Victories” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] is incorrect, but I can’t remember for the life of me what those two cards were. Honestly they might have been a [card name=”Seeker” set=”Triumphant” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card].

[decklist name=”Klinklang” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Klinklang” set=”Black and White” no=”76″][pokemon amt=”15″]3x [card name=”Klinklang” set=”Black and White” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Klang” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Klink” set=”Black and White” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Groudon-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”54″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Next Destinies” no=”54″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cobalion” set=”Noble Victories” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Next Destinies” no=”5″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Smeargle” set=”Undaunted” no=”8″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin” set=”Unleashed” no=”8″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]4x [card name=”Professor Oak’s New Theory” set=”Call of Legends” no=”83″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Unleashed” no=”82″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Heavy Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Junk Arm” set=”Triumphant” no=”87″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Black and White” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Eviolite” set=”Noble Victories” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Revive” set=”Black and White” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]4x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Prism Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Undaunted” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

4) MewLux

Here goes nothing! I’m going to attempt to remember MewLux, or basically the little cousin of VVV but way cooler. This format was eons ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy, but I’ll do my best to give you the general idea

[decklist name=”MewLux” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Mew” set=”Triumphant” no=”97″][pokemon amt=”20″]4x [card name=”Mew” set=”Triumphant” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Undaunted” no=”24″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Gloom” set=”Undaunted” no=”27″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Oddish” set=”Undaunted” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Vanilluxe” set=”Noble Victories” no=”29″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Victini” set=”Noble Victories” no=”14″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cleffa” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”17″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Unfezant” set=”Black and White” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”26″]4x [card name=”Pokémon Collector” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Twins” set=”Triumphant” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor Oak’s New Theory” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Cheren” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Flower Shop Lady” set=”Undaunted” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Unleashed” no=”82″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”14″]4x [card name=”Rescue Energy” set=”Triumphant” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”XY” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

3) Exeggutor

I can’t say with an abundance amount of confidence that this is the list I used for states format last year, but I think I’m pretty close. There’s a video out there somewhere of me playing this deck to 2-0 James Good.

[decklist name=”Exeggutor” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Exeggutor” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”5″][pokemon amt=”15″]4x [card name=”Exeggutor” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”5″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Electrode” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Voltorb” set=”XY” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dragalge” set=”Flashfire” no=”71″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Skrelp” set=”Flashfire” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”47″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”9″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”38″]4x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Random Receiver” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Plasma Energy” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

2) Sableye / Garbodor

This is the list I used to take 3rd at this season’s Vancouver Regional Championships! I also used the deck through most of the Cities format, gaining over 200 points with this deck alone.

[decklist name=”Sableye/Garb” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″][pokemon amt=”12″]4x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”54″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”42″]4x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Dragon Vault” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”6″]6x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

1) Empire

I actually got put in the local paper for this one! Here is the list I used during that time. I can’t remember the exact format. I’ve been playing this deck in all of its forms. It’s definitely my favorite of all time.

[decklist name=”Empire” amt=”60″ caption=”undefined”undefined][pokemon amt=”21″]4x [card name=”Empoleon” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”29″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Prinplup” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”28″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Piplup” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”27″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Duskull” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Leafeon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Eevee” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”47″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lileep” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”3″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]4x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Skyla” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Iris” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”81″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”85″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Noble Victories” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Silver Bangle” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Silver Mirror” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”6″]6x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

List Seven: Top 10 Bold Statements With No Explanation

Like I said, no explanation, just straight, bold predictions that probably won’t be accurate, but if more than half of them become true, I look like a genius.

10) This will be the largest tournament ever put on.

9) The winning deck will be from the top six decks in list nine below.

8) An unknown player will win the U.S. National Championships.

7) [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] will spike in price after the success it will have.

6) The price of [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY112″ c=”name”][/card] at the venue will be above $10.

5) The price of [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] at the venue will be above $60.

4) Someone finds a successful build for Rainbow Road.

3) No [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] decks make Top 32.

2) [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] will take second place again.

1) [card name=”Pyroar” set=”Flashfire” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] will find a way to Top 32.

List Eight: Top 10 Sleeper Picks for the U.S. National Championships

Before I dive into this list, I just want to make sure you guys understand what I mean by sleeper picks. By rank / seed it means that this is a list of 20th-11th of the best decks in format. This list is a collection of decks that I think the masses have either the wrong idea about or a lot of people aren’t expecting to do well. Some of them might seem a little crazy, but I think these are decks that with the right metagame call, could easily rise up to the top.

10) Lugia / Bronzong

[cardimg name=”Lugia” set=”Fates Collide” no=”78″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Now this is a deck that I haven’t seen many, if not anyone playing. It’s basically the Standard version of the [card name=”Raikou” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] / Eels deck that surfaced during Regional Championships this Winter. [card name=”Lugia” set=”Fates Collide” no=”78″ c=”from”][/card], with the Ability Pressure, is actually surprisingly durable against the meta. Bring on the [card name=”Lugia BREAK” set=”Fates Collide” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] that boosts it’s HP up to 150 and you have yourself quite the bulky attacker that only gives up one Prize. I saw the deck get combined with [card name=”Hard Charm” set=”XY” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] as well, plus I think a couple of [card name=”Max Potion” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] to really abuse the Prize denial nature of the deck. When I first saw it, I was spamming testing on [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and got absolutely rocked. Between [card name=”Max Potion” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] and only taking one Prize, it was hard to keep up early.

The deck actually has some great matchups as well. A tech [card name=”Aegislash-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card] can really shine through against Night March, as hitting through Mighty Shield with a [card name=”Hard Charm” set=”XY” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] can be quite the difficult task at times. Against Trevenant, a tech Fates Collide [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Fates Collide” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] can help swing that matchup into a favorable position. [card name=”Greninja” set=”XY” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] might actually be one of the hardest matchups for the deck. Any deck that runs a heavy count of Pokemon-EX without a lot of healing is in for some trouble, since getting smacked for 120 damage every turn is hard to deal with. I haven’t tested this deck very much, but it sounds like a great way to spend your tournament.

9) Mew Box

If I’m not mistaken, this deck has seen a little bit of international success at various National Championships around the world. The idea behind it is to attack with the correct wall in a particular matchup. Abusing the attacks of [card name=”Regice” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Glaceon-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] is the idea behind this wall tactic. I’m not the biggest fan of how fragile the main attacker, [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card], can be and that’s one of the biggest reasons this deck isn’t cracking the top ten.

With all of that being said, this deck is on the quicker side of things. With free Retreat on half of the Pokemon in the deck, [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], you can start attacking with your desired attacker within the first few turns. You have Jolteon-EX for the big heavy hitting Basics like those found in Night March and Dark based decks. Glaceon-EX is included for Mega decks and [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]. Regice rounds out the stall with a good attack against most all of the hot decks in the meta right now. I would say the biggest struggle for this deck is Trevenant, which is a problem, as that deck expects to see quite a bit of play for National Championships. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this deck move onto day two, but I would be very surprised to see it win.

8) Gallade / Octillery

My roommate came bursting into my room the other day screaming nonsense about [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. This deck was the new hotness of the Standard format during the City Championship season. While I see its value, I don’t really see it making that much of a splash at National Championships. However, the reason I include it on the list is because of its fantastic matchup with [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. There are actually quite a few decks that struggle with a quick Gallade, so it would make sense that getting a couple of Gallade up early could work wonders.

[card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] are all popular looking plays that are easy pickings for a Sensitive Blade attack. There are ways you can tech Gallade to deal with some of its more negative matchups. A couple of [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] will help combat the Water Shurikens from Greninja, as well as the Item-lock from [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] and Trevenant. Some [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] will put in work against Night March and [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] will be one of the few outs the deck has to Giratina-EX, as well at boosting the Night March matchup even more. There is a lot of space and a lot of unique ways to play this deck, so if you’re expecting a particular meta, this is the deck for you.

7) Rainbow Road

I think this deck will always have that soft spot in my heart, as my roommate and I worked very hard on a big Basics deck for the City Championship season, which granted us some well deserved Championship Points. Even now, we’re still trying to get this deck to work, trying almost every combination of cards known to man. The rise of the new Metal deck really puts a solid clam on this deck, as well as the other non-EX decks providing a unfavorable Prize-trade for our hero. Like most people, I do expect this deck to get quite the boost from the new set when the dual type Pokemon hit the field, but for now, I think this deck remains a very low tier pick.

If you find the right techs, this deck could actually be a very sneaky play. One big reason we kept coming back to [card name=”Xerneas” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] is because of its amazing matchup with Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX. Darkrai-EX has a tricky time taking a Knock Out on a [card name=”Xerneas” set=”XY” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] with a [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and Resistance, while the Fairy Weakness of Giratina-EX is a liability. If you can find that oh so right combination of cards to make this deck run smoothly, then honestly I can see it making a deep run. We’ve tried it with [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], and practically every other tech under the sun and still haven’t cracked the code.

6) Quad Zoroark

Oh boy, Quad [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. This is a deck I have flip-flopped on more then any other choice so far. At one point, it was definitely my pick for Ohio. The next moment, I didn’t even want to think about this deck. It does have a lot going for it right now. It has quick attacks, needing only one attachment to use [card name=”Zoroark BREAK” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] or Mind Jack. It uses nothing but non-EX Pokemon, so a favorable Prize-trade is always in sight, and it has a great damage output against most of the field that are benching Pokemon like crazy.

Much like Gallade, this deck has a lot of room to tech against unfavorable matchups. Adding in high counts of [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] will bring a lot of other decks closer to a favorable time for you. The one true shining card tech for this deck has got to be [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card]. Not only does this factor in to the Prize-trade situation by making [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] easy Prizes, but it also adds 30 damage to your attack every time you play it. It’s honestly not the worst deck choice in the world. I’ve seen people actually put this in their top ten fairly high. I guess I’m just writing this at a time where I’m not big on the deck. Check back with me tomorrow and I might have a different opinion.

5) Toad Decks (Garbodor, Bats, Giratina)

Ah yes, everyone’s old favorite deck to hate. Before Night March took over as the king of the format, [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] used to be the deck that everyone had issues with. Now, since a lot of changes to the meta have happened, this deck has quietly taken a back seat to some of the heavy hitters of today’s format. The damage output just isn’t there any more, and the prevalence of non-EX based decks have really taken this guy down a peg. But that’s not to say that Item-lock isn’t good anymore. Right now [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] rule the disruption scene, but [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t far behind. I only relegate this archetype down to the lower tier because there are just better options out there.

There have historically been three distinct ways to play Seismitoad-EX, with [card name=”Golbat” set=”Generations” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], with [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], and with [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. Each of those backup Pokemon are actually pretty good in the current meta, with Bats wrecking Night March, Giratina-EX giving Mega decks and Special Energy heavy decks a hard time, and Garbodor surprisingly shutting down a lot of the decks in our format. There are a lot of good Toad players out there still and a lot of people who refuse to let the deck die however I think that the route Toad players have to go now-a-days is Energy disruption, with a deck filled to the brim with Hammers and [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s the only way to slow other decks down to the pace of Quaking Punch, and the only chance Seismitoad-EX based decks have to rule again.

4) Vespiquen Box

Oh my love, my sweet sweet love, oh how I wish you were good enough to play in this format. I played [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] through most all of the State Championship format and loved every second of it. To be honest I don’t know why this deck gets as much hate as it does. The damage output is there, the type coverage is there, and the ability to tech cards is there. So why the lack of top cuts? I mean, you have a fantastic WaterBox, Metal, Greninja, Trevenant, and Mega based deck matchup, with ways to improve the Night March matchup.

The answer, from what I gather, is inconsistency. With the need for a higher Pokemon count and the vulnerability to disruption is what holds Vespiquen from being the Queen of the format. There are a lot of juicy ways you can build this deck. You can play Dark backup attackers to bring that early game speed. You can play Garbodor to shut off almost every deck in the format. And you can play Jirachi and Seismitoad-EX to lock up the Night March matchup. It would not surprise me one bit to see this deck in the Top 8.

3) M Sceptile-EX

[cardimg name=”M Sceptile-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”8″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Sleeper alert! Now we’re talking some great picks for Columbus. [card name=”M Sceptile-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] has the Grass typing that every deck wish it had, so it benefits from [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Revitalizer” set=”Generations” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]. It has that high HP that every deck wish it had, so it combats the dink and duck damage of Trevenant. It has that healing factor that every deck wish it had, so it avoids getting two shot by a good portion of the decks in the format. You know the one thing it doesn’t have? A good Night March matchup.

There are about three different ways you can build this deck and none of them fare well against Night March or even [card name=”Regice” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] for that matter. You always just need too much stuff. If you go the healing focused route and play [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Max Potion” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card], you’re going to suffer in the consistency department. If you go the speed route and play [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and Revitalizer, you’re going to suffer against Item-lock and lategame decks.!

2) M Rayquaza-EX

Just like its other Mega brothers, this deck has always found itself right in between the line of “Good,” and “Dude, why are you playing that?” At times, the speed and disruption of [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] can really make this deck shutdown even the best of decks in the format, while at the same time giving you a lot of free time after your two games get done in ten minutes. At other times, the Lightning Weakness, the reliability on certain Items, and the high counts of Shaymin-EX on your Bench can be cause for quick, heart breaking losses.

It’s always hard to judge where this deck will wind up. I’ve seen people hyping this deck up a lot more recently, which makes me believe that it will see a good amount of play. The rise of Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX probably hurt this deck a little bit, so anticipate a lot of [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] to be paired with [card name=”Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card]. That’s pretty much your only out to Night March as well. I’m not sure how the Metal or WaterBox matchups go here. To be honest they’re probably fairly skill-based, but it’s not something I want to dive in and find out with this little time before the tournament. I wouldn’t recommend this deck as a backup “pick up and play,” sort of option. This one needs time to figure out its place in the meta.

1) Fighting.dec

Why is nobody talking about this deck? Like seriously, nobody. It just seems like a really solid play to me. Before Fates Collide, you had [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Fighting Stadium” set=”Furious Fists” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to abuse quick attacks and stack the damage modifiers. Now you can add in stuff like [card name=”Regirock-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] to give even more damage? Seriously, I’ve heard nothing about people playing this deck. [card name=”Carbink BREAK” set=”Fates Collide” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] is also in the set people! And [card name=”Power Memory” set=”Fates Collide” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card]! I just, I can’t even sometimes.

I guess people are scared of the bad Prize-trade with non-EX decks? That has to be it right? Or maybe they’re scared of the Grass Weakness that a lot of decks have, and are scared of the counter play. Once someone figures out a good build, I think this deck will be hard to stop for sure. It makes me a little worried about playing [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] (my current favorite). Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX is going to get rolled by a deck like this and Night March will struggle trying to hit through [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] if it’s played. Greninja and Trevenant might be the only two decks keeping this choice at bay, for now.

List Nine: Top 10 Plays for the U.S. National Championships

So for this list, I want to say that I put it in order from best to worst, or most likely to get played to least likely, but I don’t know which it is. Either way, I feel like all testing circles should include all ten of these decks when it comes to preparing for National Championships. Everyone should have some sort of game plans for all of these options.

10) M Manectric-EX

Like I said not too long ago, this is my personal number one pick right now. I like how consistent it is. Once, a couple of years ago, I was told that the U.S. National Championships was the tournament to play consistency and the World Championships was the tournament to play cards that tech against the format. If that rings true, there is almost no better pick than [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] decks. The great thing about these decks is not only the consistency, but the plethora of different ways you can run the deck. You can pair it with Garbodor and shut off all of those pesky Abilities running around the format, most notably Renegade Pulse. You can pair it with Water Pokemon like Regice and [card name=”Glaceon-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] to go with the already potent Jolteon-EX. You can pair it with [card name=”Pyroar” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card], which used to be a sneaky play in the Cities format and now has made its way to the national stage. Or you can run it by itself to abuse [card name=”Flash Energy” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] and give you protection against Gallade. No matter the route you chose to take, you will find yourself winning more games then not. You just have to make sure to out play the occasional opponent to get yourself to day two.

9) Wailord-EX

The hero of last year’s National Championships, this big ol’ fatty is back at it again, with new tricks this time. We all saw a resurgence of [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] back in State Championships, this time with Energy included. We also saw some players have success with it at a couple of Regional Championships. It positioned just in the right spot to maybe catch some people by surprise. It has great matchups across the board, and only really suffers against Metal and Greninja. It’s hard telling where exactly this deck will fall into the up and coming meta swing, but it’s a deck that people can’t forget about, and should have a way to respond.

The best thing this deck has going is the vastly favorable matchup against Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX, WaterBox, Night March, and Trevenant, four of the biggest decks in the current meta. It’s this deck that makes [card name=”M Sceptile-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] an attractive choice. It’s this deck that makes [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] a worthwhile play. And it’s this deck that will make you think twice about saying “nah I don’t need to test that matchup.” This deck is anything but theorymon and definitely should be treated as such. While this deck probably won’t make the splash it did last year, it will definitely find a way to float up to near the top tables.

8) Trevenant

Ask any seasoned player about Trevenant and you’ll get two very different opinions. I ask those people that are all for the deck, and their responses generally have something to do with “Item-lock,” or “Energy denial,” or even the less popular now-a-days, “[card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card].” Those people are correct, all of those things make this deck worthy of its spot on the list.

However, I’m like the other half of the people that aren’t too hype about the deck right now. I just think the meta is all against Trevenant right now. Trevenant has two issues, Weakness to a popular type, and damage output. On the short list of decks that can accomplish both of those counter measures are Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX, [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], Greninja, WaterBox, M Manectric-EX, and Metal, in the form on [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Fates Collide” no=”61″ c=”from”][/card].

If the tree can pull an ant-like move and dodge all of those matchups or have some of those hot starts its known for, then watch out for this deck. I just think in a large, nine round tournament, you’re not going to dodge enough bad matchups to make a deep run. There might be a couple people that do it, but I was never good at playing the odds and me and lady luck don’t really have a talking relationship right now, so I’m going to give a hard pass on this deck.

7) WaterBox

[cardimg name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The seemingly newest deck on the scene, this deck has controlled a lot of the National Championships around the world. It’s creeping into the American scene as well, and to be frank I’m not super jazzed about the idea. I haven’t done a lot of testing with the deck, and I may be way off base here, but it just don’t seem to have the power to deal with a lot of things out there. For me, I think this is more of a meta call than anything else. The international scene seems to lack a lot of [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], which is a counter to WaterBox, and therefore can run wild among the field of Trevenant and Night March.

I wish I knew more about this deck to give you more of a run down, since it is a new topic for many people, but I just lack to knowledge. I put it up on the list because I know people will play it and I know some people will succeed with the deck, I just personally am not a fan and will only build it to test against it. Hopefully I didn’t lose some of you there with that spotty performance at explaining a deck, but it’s all I got!

6) Vileplume / Vespiquen

Now we’re getting into the big boys. I think the top six decks on this list all stand a serious chance at taking home the $10,000 grand prize. If I were to make a bold statement, it would be that the deck that wins U.S. National Championships will be one of these six decks. Now the reason the [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] is at the bottom of this totem pole is the seemingly random nature of the deck. There is really no middle ground here. You either go off and win two quick games and go mingle with friends, or you run into an auto loss and sit there crying for the remaining 45 minutes of the round. This deck is hard to build and easy to tech against. It’s hard to play and easy to play against. It will take home the big prize by dodging [card name=”Aegislash-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card] and finding every good match up in the room.

Touching on how to build this deck, I’ve seen about ten different philosophies on this deck. Some like to just go fast, putting in tons of draw support Items to try to win quickly. I’ve seen those that play a rainbow of attackers to counter the counters. And I’ve seen some that are just teched out to the moon. Of all three ways, I actually prefer the astronaut approach. Throwing in a [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] may seem counter productive, but it’s a way to deal with [card name=”Aegislash-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card]. I like the idea of teching in a few [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] to get back [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card]. And I also like playing cool cards like [card name=”Olympia” set=”Generations” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] to help deal with pesky counters. It sounds like I rambled a little and like I wrote this section in the time it takes to play one turn of Vespiquen / Vileplume. You’re probably not wrong. Someone is going to make a deep run with this deck, so watch out!

5) Yveltal / Zoroark / Gallade

Quick! What is the name of the famous geyser in Yellowstone? Did you say Old Faithful? Yep! That’s what Yveltal / Zoroark / Gallade is, the old faithful deck that will never leave your side. I love the matchups that this deck brings. You seemingly have an answer for every deck out there right now. Giratina-EX / Darkrai-EX? [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] is your go to. [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]? A fast start and some [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]. Metal? [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] can abuse their [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] drops. You have Weakness advantage against [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], and evolutions to slay [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s the tool box deck without being a tool box deck. And consistent to boot! Since you play a high count of [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], and other cards that plow through your deck, you can always grab what you need, when you need it.

So what is holding this deck back you say? Honestly, it’s the same thing that makes this deck good. Yes, you have an answer to everything, but that answer may not be the best possible answer out there. And it’s exactly that, an answer, a response, a reactionary play to what your opponent does. While this deck can take control and drive the state of the game, it won’t do that for you in every game. Skilled players know how to steer this deck into a winning direction, but generally speaking, it’s not a deck you can pick up and play, and that’s why it won’t crack the best four decks of the tournament.

4) Greninja

Ask me to rank this list three weeks ago and I think I would put Greninja at the top every single time. Since then, we have learned that it not only can’t catch up with some of the speedier decks, it also has some bad matchups out there that have surfaced from the international competitions. When Metal, Giratina-EX / Darkrai-EX, and WaterBox weren’t in the scene, you only had to beat Night March, Trev, and Yveltal / Zoroark / Gallade, all of which are fairly favorable matchups for Greninja. Now with the newcomers, and advancements in techs and the meta, Greninja definitely falls down a few pegs.

If this deck can withstand a few early KO’s and get that ever-so-sweet turn two (or one) Water Duplicates, you can basically sign the match slip for a win in the department of Greninja. That’s why [card name=”Hard Charm” set=”XY” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] has seen a bit of a rise in this deck, to help prevent early KO’s and put you in a favorable position transitioning into the mid to late game, a place where Greninja shines. It’s all about getting to that point that proves difficult. Max Elixir decks, combined with Night March and quick attacking Mega Pokemon are what knocks this deck back down to the number four spot.

3) Metal

[cardimg name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”64″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I don’t know if I put this deck high compared to most people or if you guys are nodding your head along with me, but Metal is exactly where it should be on this list. It’s the new hotness with a way to beat everything out there. At first, I wasn’t quite understanding the hype behind [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card], since [card name=”Dialga-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Aegislash-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card] seemed like better attackers while being a better answer to other decks. But the real key behind Genesect-EX is that ever so crucial word in the effect of Rapid Blaster; “may.” Having the option to do any amount of damage from 100 to 160 damage depending on the situation is actually a lot bigger than I ever imagined. Drive Change isn’t as flashy of an Ability as Metal Links or Mighty Shield, but it can come in handy in certain situations where you don’t want to get rid of a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] when playing [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card].

One other great thing Genesect-EX has going for it right now is the lack of Fire attackers in the format. A lot of people are scared to play decks like [card name=”Entei” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”15″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Charizard-EX” set=”Flashfire” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Flareon-EX” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC6″ c=”name”][/card] because of the prevalence of WaterBox and Greninja, which means that much more Metal can run through the format. It kind of explains why I like [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] / Pyroar so much! We even toyed around with the idea of throwing [card name=”Flareon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card] into Vespiquen decks to really put a hurting on the ever rising popularity of Metal. Regardless, I think every deck needs to have some sort of answer to Metal and that isn’t always easy. Heck, even Garbodor doesn’t hurt this deck that much, since most of the newer lists I’ve seen run [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] as well as [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card]. And remember, you don’t always have to discard the Energy, so not having to rely on Metal Links can be big against Garbodor decks.

2) Night March

If it wasn’t for the overwhelming amount of hate this deck gets, I would put it at number one. Internationally, this deck has not performed to the level that most people expected it to, and for good reason. Every player and their mother is throwing a way to counter Night March into their decks. And rightfully so! If people didn’t so that, Night March would win every tournament. But even with all of these counters, Night March still can fight through and win big tournaments in its sleep. [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] helps against [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] can get back those Double Colorless Energy. [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] can ruin a Giratina-EX’s day. At one point we thought about playing Psychic and Grass Energy in decks so that Night March couldn’t play the Energy denial game against Giratina-EX. How silly are we?

Another reason this deck will really see a lot of success is the easy nature of this deck. The easy way the deck plays and the ease of getting your hands on important cards. A lot of people will flock to this deck just because of its name, so expect to play against at least two, maybe three Night March decks throughout the tournament. The smartest thing that Night March players did recently is add [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]. The Grass Queen herself really solved the issues of Jolteon-EX and [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] without taking away the raw power of the deck. I can’t say it enough, even though people hate on this deck so much, it still remains one of the best plays you can make going into the long weekend.

1) Giratina-EX / Darkrai-EX

The secret deck is out! I’m pretty beat up about how this deck performed at the most recent tournament in Ohio. On one hand, I’m happy that this deck did so well, since it was my top choice for National Championships. On the other hand, the secret is out about how good this deck is with Garbodor in it. So it was back to the drawing board for me. What’s a guy to do huh? The big problem for the classic Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX combo with no Garbodor was the Greninja matchup. Throw in a Garbodor and a [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] and now all of a sudden that matchup and many other matchups are vastly improved. The deck hits hard, hits fast, and has an answer to nearly everything. Much like Metal, the counters to this deck are not seeing much play right now. [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the only things that can cause a serious amount of trouble for this deck. Other than that, what else does well against it?

Even though it’s on the new side of things, I still think people will flock to it based purely on how it did at the Origins tournament. Internationally, it has also seen some success without the Garbodor teched in, meaning the deck was still good even before the new addition of Garbodor. It’s a pretty easy deck to build, and fairly inexpensive Pokemon-EX are used for the bulk of the deck, meaning that the masses will probably attach themselves to it quickly. In all of my online testing, I run into this deck almost every other game. People need to counter this deck. The best and most splashable card that helps is [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card], since it will shut off Garbotoxin if need be, or reduce their damage by 40 by peeling off a [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] if need be. If you haven’t tested against this deck yet, you need to right now.

List Ten: Top 10 Tech Cards

There’s not a whole heap of words for my final list. I want to keep it short and sweet as I wind down the article here. As a note, I debated putting Xerosic on this list, but I believe cards like that are now staple in every list.

10) Ace Trainer

Play to counter: Night March, [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / Garbodor, decks with early aggresion

Reasons not to play: [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] might be better.

9) Olympia

Play to counter: Item-lock, [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card]

Reasons not to play: AZ and Cassius might be better.

8) Bunnelby

Play to counter: [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card], Energy denial, [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] decks

Reasons not to play: It could be considered the “61st” card in many decks.

7) Garbodor

Play to counter: Pretty much everything.

Reasons not to play: No room / Don’t want to counter yourself

6) Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick

Play to counter: Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX / Garbodor, [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card], Dead draws

Reasons not to play: It doesn’t quite fit with the deck mechanic.

5) Startling Megaphone

Play to counter: Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX / Garbodor, Mega Pokemon based decks, Metal

Reasons not to play: [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] might be better.

4) Hex Maniac

Play to counter: [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card]

Reasons not to play: Honestly? You should play this card.

3) Escape Rope

Play to counter: [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Regice” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Glaceon-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ c=”name”][/card]

Reasons not to play: [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] might be better.

2) Parallel City

Play to counter: [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] decks, [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] KO’s

Reasons not to play: There is a better Stadium for your deck.

1) Jirachi

Play to counter: Night March, [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]

Reasons not to play: Liability sake? One of these in every deck can win games. Period.

Conclusion

And there you have it folks! Some lists of lists and lists. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you see me in Ohio, please come say hi! And if you don’t see me in Ohio, then keep an eye out for my next article, all about U150!

Until Next Time,

Alex

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