Your Guide to Getting an Invite and One Hot Play for Worlds
Hey Beachgoers! I’m back from U.S. Nationals with another awesome article for you guys. I’m sure “post-nats depression” is hitting you guys hard as you are home from an incredible weekend with your best friends and the rest of the stellar Pokemon community. I hope you took a chance to say hello to myself or any of the other writers. This will be a bit of a technical article about dealing with this off period between Nationals and next season. I know some of you guys are going to Worlds, so I will make sure to appeal to those of you who are attending or playing the Worlds format.
The first part of this article will be more of a “how to earn your Worlds invite” article. A lot of people are looking to start fresh next year and to push themselves even harder than last year. The second part of this article will cover some plays for Worlds that I’ve been considering.
So You Wanna Be a Pokemon Master?
A lot of people are of unsure how difficult, time consuming, and expensive it can be to earn a World Championship invite. Pokemon’s bar at 300 Championship Points is difficult, but not impossible. The biggest key to earning a Worlds invite is to travel and gain experience. In addition, the most important practice when working towards your invite is networking.
The Power of Networking
[cardimg name=”VS Seeker” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”100″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Much like getting a job in the real world, Pokemon is very much about “who you know”. I can’t stress the importance of introducing yourself to others in this game. Pokemon is a social game, so make sure you make some friends at every tournament you go to! Friends and other players pick you up when you’re down, hook you up with lists, and they give you insight into the format by discussing what they’re testing. Even more important than making friends is forming a testing group with them, or to have decent players to talk to over Facebook or Skype. Most Pokemon players are open to giving advice or discussing their thoughts outside of articles such as this one.
I’ve made many friends in this game that are fairly skilled and I rarely test alone. I also rarely make deck decisions alone. I get a lot of insight into the format by asking my friends what they are testing. Most of my friends play across the country, so I strongly encourage you to make friends outside of your own area and get a gauge of what is popular country-wide. Perceptions and ideas tend to stay uniform amongst players in a specific area.
A lot of what goes into my decision to play a specific deck requires a lot of playtesting, question asking, and conversations about the testing of others. I don’t necessarily mean to form a team or anything like that, but I mean make friends with others at your tournaments. Befriend the big names in the game. We’re all friendly people. Every decent player that I know speaks to other players or has a support group of their own that they keep in contact with.
So make sure you introduce yourself to the winners of events in your area, or people that you know are high profile players. Sending them a message on Facebook will most likely give you a response and a ton of insight into the format. I personally love talking Pokemon, so whenever a newer player or someone who is going for an invite messages me on Facebook, I happily talk about my thoughts.
Travel
The number one way to earn an invite is by traveling to a lot of tournaments. Primarily around Cities season (we’ll get to that later). The schedule for the last two years has remained relatively the same for each type of tournament (Cities, Regionals, Nationals, etc). I heard that there may be big changes coming up this year, but for now let’s simply go over our current structure.
I’m going to break down each kind of tournament and when they normally happen. I’ve been traveling to Pokemon tournaments for five years now, so I’m familiar with how these tournaments go and how important they are to earning your invite.
Of course, if you’re in a different country than the United States, this is going to be drastically different for you than it is for the Americans that are going for their invites. I have never competed internationally, so I cannot speak for you, but this should still be somewhat interesting for our international readers!
League Challenges (All Year)
League Challenges happen all year and they are an excellent source of points if your area runs a lot of them. I know some areas that run one every weekend at the multitude of different stores at that particular area. League Challenges offer a small amount of points, but they really do add up. With a best-finish limit of six, you can earn a potential 90 points from them!
Each League Challenge will usually only have about 10-15 players at each one. If you show up with a somewhat decent deck, these should be easy points for you. You’ll want to go to these early in the season and get the finishes out of the way. I finished my season this year with two first place finishes, two second place finishes, and two third place finishes. This netted me a total of 74 points, which is even more than getting Top 4 at a State Championship!
These tournaments are very important. I’d attend as many as you can in your local area throughout the year. They’re cheap and free points, and, even if you have your invite, they will help you earn a stipend.
Autumn Regionals (October)
Other than League Challenges, Autumn Regionals are when everyone gets back together after the off season. It’s the first tournament where any major traveling happens and it’s where all the rust from the long break gets shaken off. This is where most friends reconnect and is everyone’s first real opportunity to earn points.
These tournaments are important, but they’re larger events with a lot of players and aren’t a great source of Championship Points unless you expect to perform well at them.
This means that you probably won’t dash your chances at an invite if you choose to skip these. It’s the first big tournament series of the season, so you will have many more opportunities in the future.
City Championships (Late November – Early January)
Cities are both numerous and profitable for those looking to earn an invite. These tournaments tend to be small, with 20-50 participants at each Cities. If you’re serious about getting the invite, these tournaments are crucial. There are a lot of these each year, so it is relatively easy to earn Championship Points at these events.
I personally earned 150 points from City Championships alone, half of my invite. After attending eight Cities, I was able to achieve a win, a second place, and three Top 4s, with a best finish limit of four.
You want to spend just about every weekend in December attending these tournaments. The cap for Cities is four finishes, so once you place well at four of them, you can probably call it quits for that particular series.
If you’re serious about your invite, these tournaments are where you earn it. I’ve seen players not attend a lot of Cities and still earn their invite, but it’s hard. Cities are far from free points, but they tend to be local tournaments where your competition may not be too difficult, so you want to reap these Championship Points while they are out there.
There are also Cities marathons in places like Texas and Georgia, along with other various states throughout the country, where events are held every day for a span of roughly five days. If you can spare a week of work, feel free to attend a City Championship every day for a full week!
By the end of Cities you’ll be pretty Pokemon’d out, so take your break before going to Winter Regionals.
Winter Regionals (Late February – March)
These are the midpoint of the season where it breaks off from the small, casual tournaments to the larger-scaled and more serious ones. You want to be about halfway to your invite by this point. It’s still feasible to earn your invite if you are a little under 150, but you should shoot to have around 120 points if you have few League Challenge finishes — or more than that if you have a lot of finishes at League Challenges.
Winter Regionals are fairly similar to Fall Regionals. You see a lot of the same faces, plus ones from farther away areas. This is a great time to network and talk to others in areas farther away from yours. For example, St. Louis Regionals had players from Wisconsin to Nebraska to Georgia, which would make it a great opportunity to meet the best players from those areas.
These are still difficult tournaments, but the format shouldn’t be too drastically different than Fall Regionals.
Things get more serious after this point as tournaments get larger and points become harder to obtain. After this point, you get a lot more points for higher finishes, but earning those finishes is much more difficult.
State Championships (Late March – April)
My bread and butter. These tournaments award points to players down to the Top 16 and this is where the majority of Worlds invites are finished. After States, it’s difficult to seal in your invite outside of League Challenges, since Spring Regionals and Nationals are larger and more challenging events.
States are wonderful tournaments since they aren’t overly large, but some States give out huge points regardless of their size. Take Nebraska States for instance: we usually have 40-60 people show up, yet the point payout is still the same as a larger States such as Texas. Almost everyone has a State Championship like that in their area.
These events are fairly similar to the Cities format, so most players will have some experience with it. There’s usually a new set involved with States, so there’s a slight difference when shifting from Cities to States. Additionally, these tournaments are played in best-of-three, 50-minute rounds, so you must be mindful of time and know when to concede.
The Top 16 of a States gets a whopping 30 points, so it’s totally worth playing through all of the way for the chance to increase your point count.
What’s more, there are usually a States in every area all four weekends of the month. So if you can travel Easter weekend, that’s four different opportunities to earn some huge points. I highly recommend traveling to all four States if you have the opportunity.
Spring Regionals (May)
Now it’s really crunch time to earn your invite. This is your last big opportunity before U.S. Nationals. This is also near the end of the season, and the last chance to earn points towards a travel stipend to help pay for Worlds.
By this point in the season, a few additional sets have released since the previous Regionals and have changed some things up, so don’t necessarily expect things to play out the same way as they have at the other Regionals.
This is also the last Expanded event before next season, so if you have any awesome plays, pull them out now.
United States National Championships (July)
This tournament is the biggest Pokemon event in the entire world and probably one of the most challenging. This is your last shot at earning your invite and it will be grueling. Hopefully you’re close, otherwise it will be extremely unlikely you will get that invite.
We normally have close to a month to prepare for U.S. Nationals, but since it’s so competitive and challenging, there’s plenty of other things we look forward to doing at U.S. Nationals, such as being with our friends. That doesn’t mean it’s less competitive, however. Qualifying for day two at this tournament is incredibly difficult. You have to win seven rounds on your first day and lose no more than two. You’re also competing with close to 1,000 other competitors that want to win just as badly as you do.
World Championships (August)
Hopefully by this point you have your invite or else you won’t be competing at Worlds! The most competitive tournament of the year for everyone, Worlds is an incredibly challenging tournament, but a more rewarding experience. I highly recommend going even if you don’t have your invite just to soak it all in and enjoy yourself.
[Insert City Name Here] Open (August)
The Boston Open took place on day two of Worlds and I expect there to be a San Fransisco equivalent this year. This is a Regionals held at Worlds where you can earn Championship Points for next season. That right there is huge! You’re pretty much competing for next season at Worlds before the rotation. Don’t miss out on this excellent opportunity to earn some early Championship Points and use your Worlds testing to the best of your ability.
So there you have it. Earning your invite to the World Championships is a year-round commitment. If you want to reach that 300 Championship Point mark, you have to put your all into it — it’s no easy task.
[premium]
Deck Selection and Testing
Other writers and I have covered this subject pretty extensively in all of our articles. I’m going to hammer in what your choices should be based on the tournament that you are going to.
For the most part, you want to test as soon as possible before the event. Of course, you want to allow yourself some breaks, but usually testing a couple weeks before the tournament is key. You’ll want to test against decent players, in addition to stress testing the consistency of your deck on Pokemon Trading Card Game Online against random matchups. Testing against the friends that you’ve made is how you get some idea of how matchups really are. They aren’t always as they seem on paper.
Watching videos and watching people play can also show you strategies or ideas about a matchup that you may not have expected. Usually playing the matchup yourself is the key, but watching videos or reading articles can suffice if you’re lacking testing partners.
Knowing matchups will have a huge bearing on whether or not you play a specific deck. Talk to people in other areas as well to get their thoughts on what “the play” is. Get some lists. Send your lists. Talk matchups. These things go into my thought process when I select decks and it should for you too.
Deck selection is about half of what goes in to tournament success. Some part of that is luck, some part of that is skill, and some part is what you face throughout the day. You really shouldn’t just select a deck without playing it or testing it. That’s a grave mistake I see a lot of players do.
[cardimg name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”107″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
For each particular tournament, you want to select a deck for the size of said tournament. For example, a question I ask myself is, “Can I see myself playing this deck for nine rounds and not get frustrated?” If the answer is no, then I will rarely play that deck. Of course, winning will drive you to wanting to play more, but making your deck enjoyable for you to play is a key to making you win.
So you want to play a deck you enjoy with relatively good matchups across the board. Now, when you go to large tournaments, I highly recommend you stick with a very consistent build of a deck. You want to play something that won’t fail on you when you need it in round six or seven.
Some players tend to get a little techy and try to metagame a tournament and you just cannot do that at a large event in my opinion. Let me take my Madison Regional Championships as an example. This was week three Regionals with the XY – BKP format.
- Round 1: Turbo Darkrai
- Round 2: [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]
- Round 3: [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]
- Round 4: [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]
- Round 5: Maxie’s Yveltal
- Round 6: [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]
- Round 7: [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]
- Round 8: Night March
- Round 9: [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]
- Round 10: [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]
- Round 11: Night March
- Round 12: [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card]
- Round 13: [card name=”Accelgor” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card]
- Round 14: Turbo Dark
What a weird and open tournament. Even though you can argue that this is the very open Expanded format, I expect to see the variation I see here at Nationals in Standard. I totally wasn’t expecting Seismitoad-EX / Giratina-EX at all and I played it a ton. I sorta expected Primal Groudon-EX and I sorta expected Night March. But everything else really threw me off.
I played Maxie’s Yveltal for this tournament and I took it because of its balance and its overall good matchups across the board.
Now for the small tournaments, you can get techy and try to metagame your way to a win. You will know most of the players in your area and trying to tech against them will give you edge if you ever face them. It really sucks facing your friends in small tournaments, but it just happens sometimes.
I know a lot of players that look at a specific area and try to gauge what they’re going to play against and will make a deck specifically to beat that area. This works in small tournaments such as Cities and League Challenges where you are very likely to play against specific players, but it’s a nightmare at the large events such as Regionals and Nationals.
Conclusion
I hope that this guide really helps you earn your invite next season. It’ll be a fresh start for everyone and you will be on an equal playing field as everyone else. So go out there, travel, make friends, and collaborate with said friends when it comes to preparing for the big tournaments.
M Manectric-EX / Jolteon-EX
[card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] decks have always been pushed around in the past with Night March’s presence. If Karen gets printed, we won’t have to worry about Night March one bit.
I really like this deck currently as a play for Nationals, but for Worlds it’s just perfect. I’ve been testing this pretty extensively leading up to Nationals, and I see no reason why it cannot be successful at Worlds. With the format shifting more towards big Pokemon-EX using [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and two hitting each other, [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]’s attrition style of play works very well.
Here is the list I’ve been testing.
[decklist name=”megaboi” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″][pokemon amt=”11″]3x [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Raikou” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”55″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”39″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Manectric Spirit Link” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]10x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”Call of Legends” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Pokemon
3-3 M Manectric-EX
I used to use a 4-4 count, but I didn’t find it really necessary since in most games, I only really ever needed two [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] in a game. This count is sufficient assuming you only prize a single Manectric.
Jolteon-EX
Jolteon-EX is still a very useful card against just about every attacker in the format. [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card]’s Flash Ray will shut down practically any attacker in a Night Marchless Worlds format since almost all of the attackers will be non-evolution Pokemon-EX.
One Shaymin-EX
One [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] seems kind of sketchy, but it works. This deck is meant to outlast and have a slower and more consistent setup. There’s no real need to wheel into more cards like in other decks. This deck is meant to get a [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] down on the first turn with a [card name=”Manectric Spirit Link” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] and a Lightning Energy. It’s not really asking for more than that. The Shaymin-EX ends up being a huge liability later in the game as well. Most games I don’t even use it, since I simply rely on supporters such as [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card].
Hoopa-EX
I’ve had to argue for this cards inclusion with many other people and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s really a personal preference kind of card. I like having the option to get my full set up with one [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card]. It is a liability on the Bench with its big Retreat Cost of two, and that is why this list plays two copies of [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card].
[cardimg name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Trainers
One Giovanni’s Scheme
[card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] is popular, however, [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] will still be as well. Being able to hit an extra 20 damage in a pinch is incredibly useful. Especially against [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] but it’s just useful in a variety of different situations.
One Hex Maniac
This is a must play card in this deck. [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] must be handled in somehow. It’s got some moments where it’s useful against [card name=”Bronzong” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY21″ c=”name”][/card] decks as well.
Three Max Elixir
The [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] cannot be used with [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card], however, it can be used on [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] in its basic form, [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Raikou” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]. All solid attackers that can really make use of some acceleration. The deck plays 10 Basic Energy as well, so we will be hitting these the majority of the time. [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] pulling out of the deck while [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] pulls out of the discard pile means that we will be putting all of our Energy to good use for sure!
Two Parallel City
[card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is always an annoyance for other decks to face. I learned that myself when playing my Maxie’s [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] deck in Madison. Locking your opponent’s Bench to three can create some awkward situations for them and especially so against the [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] decks that are gaining popularity.
Two Rough Seas
[card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] is honestly one of the best cards in the game for free retreating Water and Lightning Pokemon. Being able to go to the Bench for free and heal off a lot of damage done to your Pokemon while another Pokemon fights is absolutely incredible. [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]’s high HP of 220 is perfect for this.
Now let’s talk matchups
Matchups
Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX / Garbodor (60-40)
This is a favorable matchup due to the fact that [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] probably won’t get Knocked Out in one hit by a [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] and that we exchange better than they do with our healing abilities. The [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] actually hinders them far more than it helps them since it takes out the [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] play that could be problematic for us. [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Jolteon-EX” set=”Generations” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Raikou” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] should easily come to the rescue for us in this situation.
Greninja (50-50)
[card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] is going to strike first in most instances, setting up and Knocking Out a [card name=”Froakie” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Frogadier” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card] on turn two, but in the lategame, [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] can get very scary. They will be able to set up perfect Knock Outs on [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] using Giant Water Shuriken. This is where we need to be really craft with getting Knock Outs with the help of [card name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]. We also need to limit their Bench severely with [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] since the [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] decks tend to load up their Bench pretty full. Use [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] to your advantage as well. Try to strike early and hard, and use [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Giovanni’s Scheme” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] lategame to finish it out.
M Rayquaza-EX (70-30)
I’ve debated this a lot with other people. I was even of the opinion that [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] has a favorable matchup since it takes the first OHKO. [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] really change that however. In Standard, [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] just can’t keep up with [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]. Not to mention that [card name=”Raikou” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] can disrupt the Prize-trade and tip it in [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]’s favor. [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] doesn’t really even need to mega evolve to be useful in this matchup as well. Sure, if they play [card name=”Altaria” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] this kind of changes. But using [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] to our advantage, and Knocking Out the [card name=”Altaria” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] will make things difficult. Altaria also doesn’t help against [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card].
[cardimg name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Water Toolbox (50-50)
Water Toolbox is a very dynamic deck and it takes a very dynamic approach to beat it. [card name=”Regice” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] can be dealt with by [card name=”Raikou” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] fairly easily and rarely does Water Toolbox have an empty Bench. [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] can two shot [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] even with [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] out and [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] cannot do the same to [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], but [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] is huge in changing that exchange. Not to mention if a [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is in play limiting the Water deck’s damage. I’ve played this matchup many times and it seems to go either way depending on how important the [card name=”Regice” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] ends up being.
Trevenant (70-30)
[card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] has the perfect HP to be Knocked Out by a Turbo Bolt every turn. [card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] and really high HP keeps your [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] from getting Knocked Out easily by [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] decks have historically always had decent Item-lock matchups and haven’t really ever struggled with those decks. Just chain [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]’s and this shouldn’t be a difficult matchup at all.
Metal (70-30)
[card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] decks tend to have and rely on really big benches with the help of their [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]. This leaves them very vulnerable to [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card]. In addition to that, [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]’s Resistance makes [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] need seven Metal Energy to Knock Out a [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] in one hit. This is a nightmare for [card name=”Genesect-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] decks since [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] will simply outlast and two shot their attackers while using [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] to their advantage.
The Inclusion of Karen
Karen’s inclusion into this deck may not entirely be too necessary. I think that at Worlds, Karen’s presence alone will limit the amount of Night March that this deck struggles against. If you feel the need to play Karen, you can cut a [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] or a [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] was only in the deck for Pokemon recovery anyway and with Karen, you will recover all your Pokemon when you play it, as well as disrupting and dashing the hopes and dreams of Night March players everywhere.
Karen isn’t like [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] at all. [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] put back every Item that allowed Night March to hit ridiculous numbers. Karen doesn’t. Karen just returns the Pokemon, leaving the [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]s used up. A lategame Karen should spell doom for any Night March player.
Conclusion
I hope this article was a good primer for you all going for a Worlds invite next year. I’ve had plenty of experience traveling and I earned my second World Championship invite this year, so I know the ins and outs of how to earn it!
I’ve spoken to a lot of people about decks and Pokemon this year. People that aren’t necessarily players that get results at every tournament. I’ve given insight and lists to all of them openly. A lot of Pokemon players are like that. So of anything I mentioned in my Worlds primer, I cannot stress the importance of making friends outside of your local area to talk Pokemon with. I have made the majority of my deck decisions with a lot of input and criticism of others. Most successful players do.
I’ve been testing Manectric-EX for Nationals, and don’t see any reason why it would get any worse at Worlds. Even if Karen isn’t printed, I still think it’s an incredible play with just a bad matchup to Night March, which I’m unsure a lot of people plan on playing anymore with [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] being popular, in addition to [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card]’s return.
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