Looking Forward – Analyzing the Structure of the Players Cup III

Hello everyone! I’m happy to once again be bringing you an article considering the state of the game and looking into the one event on everyone’s mind right now: Players Cup III. Before that, though, I also wanted to touch on what else has been happening lately. As of now, not a lot of notable decks and events have been popping up, aside from the ever present Players Cup III and Team Challenge. This past weekend, I had events connecting to both of those, with the VGC side of Players Cup III (I did rather mediocre, unfortunately) and then I had a local Team Challenge Qualifier, in which I played [card name=”Decidueye” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], which I will also be covering rather in-depth in the latter portion of this article. Unfortunately, I narrowly lost one of my rounds, getting me a 3rd place finish, narrowly missing my team once again. With that introduction and recap out of the way, let’s move onto what we are here for: preparing for Players Cup III.

As I am sure most readers are aware, the Players Cup III (and the previous two) is broken into three phases: Qualifiers, Regional Brackets, and he Global Finals. Each of these sections is structured differently from each other and, as a result, require different mindsets when playing in them. My intent here is to better explain how each of these work, how to think about each of them, and then also possibly provide a basic deck for each level of competition. Some of this may start to sound like fellow writer, Blaine Hill’s article Third Time’s the Charm, so I also highly advise checking out his article, as it is brilliantly written with concrete reasoning behind each of his suggestions.

Phase One: Qualifiers (Tournament Keys)

[cardimg name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Phase One is by far the most overly complicated part of the event, and it is an extremely effective way of making the competition pool smaller. Leading up to the Qualifiers, which are about a month long, each player’s Pokemon TCG Online account will be given 50 Tournament Keys, which can be used for a single entry into a Players Cup III Qualifier event. These events are eight people, single-elimination, best-of-one, and played in the Standard format. As a result, they are extremely quick events that realistically do not take up much more than an hour of your time if you win the whole thing. Based on your performance, you are allocated an amount of Tournament Rep (similar to Championship Points in the traditional circuit) and you move onto the next event, trying to amass as much Tournament Rep as possible.

With this in mind, I believe that the best way to prepare for the Qualifiers is to practice playing decks with extremely linear game plans that are consistent and effective. This is because, in a best-of-one and single-elimination, you simply cannot afford to draw badly, so the best plays are decks that seldom draw poorly. As a result, this usually weeds out decks built around [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card], as their low Supporter and high Energy counts are inherently inconsistent and give the decks problems in games where they cannot find Welder to attach Energy or Energy to play Welder at the right time. Going into the Qualifiers, I would tend to think a deck like [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] / Zacian V are the strongest because they are both extremely consistent at doing what they do and Zacian V’s Intrepid Sword provides a powerful way to guarantee that you can at least draw some cards every turn, reducing your chances of bricking.

A Basic Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V Deck List

This list is an extremely straightforward build of Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V that is built to both be consistent and less vulnerable to prizing copies of key cards, with extra copies of cards like Water Energy and Zacian V. Additionally, I included [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] as the deck’s pseudo answer to cards like [card name=”Altaria” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card] in order to not take a definitive auto-loss while also not harming consistency too much.

[decklist name=”ADPZ” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″][pokemon amt=”13″]2x [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Mawile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Eldegoss V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”35″]4x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Skyla” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”168″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]9x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]3x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Phase Two: Regional Brackets

The second phase of the Players Cup III, the Regional Brackets, are significantly dialed back in terms of its complexity, but I also consider them to be much harder to prepare for.

In order to move onto the Regional Bracket phase, you need to place in the Top 256 of the Tournament Rep Leaderboard of your, non-Russia and non-South Africa, TPCI Rating Zone (Top 128 in Oceania) in the Qualifiers phase, which is no simple task thanks to the Qualifiers’ volatile nature. During Players Cup II, players in the United States and Canada Rating Zone ended up needing 88 Tournament Rep to safely qualify, with a few people that had 87 making the cut and some missing. In other Rating Zones, this number was a bit lower, but there were also significantly larger ties at the border placings than seen in the United States and Canada.

As for the phase itself, the Regional Brackets are played over the course of two weekends, in a 256 (or 128 in Oceania) player bracket that is best-of-three and double-elimination. However, in order to move onto phase three, you also do not need to win your regional bracket, you just need to place in the Top 4, which is only slightly more manageable. The ideal route to this would just be winning seven consecutive matches, but it is possible that, if you lose round one, you may have to win over a dozen consecutive matches in order to make it into the Top 4.

When looking at the Regional Brackets, there are a few different routes that a player could take. Option one is to continue with the same strategy that we saw in the Qualifiers where a player plays a hyper-consistent deck like Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX in order to minimize poor draws and be able to compete in every game. This option also gets a bit more flexible now, as you can make your deck slightly less consistent thanks to best-of-three and double-elimination by including a few more tech options into your deck such as [card name=”Cobalion-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] to handle [card name=”Raichu and Alolan Raichu-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Aegislash V” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] as more of a hard-counter to [card name=”Altaria” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card] , [card name=”Decidueye” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]. Alternatively (and my personally preferred route) is to play decks that are less consistent to set up, but are far more potent when they do set up. Examples of this include [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] and other [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] decks. This particular thought process is heavily influced by a thought process that fellow writer Michael Catron has used in the past where you “only have to set up in 66% of your games,” meaning that you can play decks that are much less consistent because you can always afford to take one loss per best-of-three. 

A Basic Centiskorch VMAX Deck List

Typically, most people prefer to play the reliable straight Centiskorch VMAX lists with [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card], etc., but since Blaine also covered that particular style over in his article Third Time’s the Charm, I will instead cover the version that features [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”184″ c=”name”][/card], which also happens to be my preferred build.

I prefer the Silvally-GX style of Centiskorch VMAX because I think it is more consistent throughout the game, not relying as heavily on hitting Scoop Up Net and [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] every turn after digging for Welder, or any other Trainer cards, with Jirachi. Additionally, I think the inclusion of Silvally makes using cards like [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] more viable each turn because you are able to consistently draw cards after using their effects unlike in most other decks. Lastly, I also like the attacking option that Silvally-GX provides. Although it is not the most powerful card in the world, Silvally-GX’s Brave Buddies attack is nothing to scoff at. It is consistently able to take one-hit Knock Outs on support Pokemon like [card name=”Frosmoth” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] as well as some single-Prize card Pokemon like [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card].

[decklist name=”CentiVally” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″][pokemon amt=”20″]4x [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Centiskorch V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”184″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Type: Null” set=”Unified Minds” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Eldegoss V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]11x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card]1x [card name=”Heat Fire Energy” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”174″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Phase Three: The Global Finals

At last we reach phase three, The Global Finals. In this phase, we see the Top 4 from each Regional Bracket combine into one 16 player, best-of-three, and double-elimination bracket to face off and become the Players Cup Champion. This phase is essentially identical in terms of the structure of the event, with the only change being a 16 player bracket instead of a 256 (or 128) person bracket. As such, a lot of the strategy could be considered the same.

However, The Global Finals does have one really complex side, that being the consideration of how well you want to do. Obviously, the goal of any competition is to become the winner, as designated by the famous phrase “if you aren’t first, you’re last,” but in the case of the Player Cup, the person that gets fourth and the person that wins the tournament get and identical prize, being a travel award to any international Championship, aside from the title of champion, so this warrants two different game plans for the event: play for Top 4 and play to win.

Going into The Global Finals, I would personally choose the play for Top 4 option, as the prospect of traveling to a foreign International Championship is awesome to me as a person who has never left the United States. However, I am sure that there are plenty of people that are on the other side of that, where they only want the title, so I intend on looking into both sides of things.

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Playing to Top 4

I think this side of things is much like the Qualifiers. Obviously, you do not NEED to win every game when doing things this way, so you want to think about playing a really consistent deck that can do well in most of the games it plays. Decks like [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] come to mind once again when looking at things this way, but as I briefly mentioned when looking at the Regional Brackets, thanks to the best-of-three and double-elimination format, you can afford to play techs that are matchup specific. I would encourage these techs in the Global Finals even more than I would consider them in the Regional Brackets because in such a small event, winning a single match because you aggressively teched for a matchup has a much more profound effect on your result than it does when you are working your way through a 256 person bracket.

Playing to Win

Unlike the option of playing to Top 4, when you play to win, you have to consider that you need to win pretty much every match you play, which you simply cannot do without getting lucky in some capacity. A mindset that I often hold when I look into tournaments that it takes skill to do well and it takes luck to win. This thought process is easily seen in the results of major events where generally less consistent decks may do well just because the pilot simply just got the right luck. Typically, I hate chalking up my my failures to luck, but it really is the truth you cannot win without getting lucky.

With this in mind, I think the decks that are strong in the Regional Brackets are much more strong in this situation. Since you need good luck to win anyway, you may as well try your luck a little bit more by playing less consistent and more powerful decks to the event. I think this is perfectly shown at the 2016 World Championships. On the first day of the tournament, [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] was a relatively unpopular deck because you needed your deck to always be functioning in order to move on to day two. However, on the second day, Greninja BREAK spiked in popularity because people recognized the factor that you cannot win a tournament without good luck, so it was easier to justify a less consistent deck.

My Top Pick

At last we come to my personal top pick going into not just phase one, but the entire Players Cup III. As I have mentioned quite a few times, the best decks will be able to consistently setup their flurry of attackers to win the game. However, there is only one deck in the format that can easily deal with almost every deck’s flurry of attackers, and that deck is none other than the infamous [card name=”Decidueye” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card].

In the late days of the previous Players Cup, I found a ton of success playing my Fossil Lock deck that I mentioned in Cambrian Combo thanks to how easy it was to just throw up [card name=”Altaria” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card] and win the game. As such, I am planning on playing a lot of Decidueye / Galarian Obstagoon for Players Cup III to feed off of unprepared players while still having a chance against the prepared ones.

Deck List

[decklist name=”DeciGoons” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Decidueye” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”13″][pokemon amt=”19″]3x [card name=”Decidueye” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”13″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Dartrix” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”12″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Rowlet” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Phione” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Bird Keeper” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”180″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]3x [card name=”Aromatic Grass Energy” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Card Inclusions

Three Decidueye, One Dartrix, Four Rowlet, and Four Bird Keeper

Normally, I would refer to Decidueye as this deck’s “main attacker,” but considering the nature of this deck, I feel like that is an improper title, considering the attack is only really a tool for removing threats. Decidueye’s Ability is the real backbone of this deck, acting as an ultimate wall against the format. Essentially instantly claiming victory against [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] lists that aren’t ready for it, Decidueye poses as a powerful and simple win condition in a lot of cases. The only reason I do not play four is because you seldom need a fourth when a single copy is often enough to outright win the game, especially with the amount of search cards in the deck.

[card name=”Dartrix” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] is a pretty straightforward inclusion, acting as a more consistent way to get out a Decidueye than going for [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”180″ c=”name”][/card].

Also, as the main Evolution Pokemon, you must play four [card name=”Rowlet” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card]. I play four of Sky Circus Rowlet alongside four [card name=”Bird Keeper” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] because of how absurdly powerful Wind Shard is. In a lot of games, you are able to use Bird Keeper as an early Supporter to draw some cards and then hit a potential threat on the opponent’s Bench for a substantial amount of damage, reducing (or even eliminating) the threat. Additionally, this package is really strong against Mad Party ([card name=”Polteageist” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card]) because all of the attacking Pokemon have 60 HP or less, allowing Rowlet to pick off their attackers with ease when [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] is not in play.

One Galarian Obstagoon and Two Galarian Zigzagoon

[card name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] serves a dual purpose in this deck, with an excellent Ability and attack, especially when the Ability can be paired with [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] to drop massive amounts of damage on the opponent’s board before you attack. Notably, Obstagoon also does the 30 damage needed to hit 120 Damage with Decidueye, taking a Knock Out on its biggest threat, [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]. With this all being said, I only play a 2-1 line of Galarian Obstagoon because, while it is really good, having it on the Bench can be a liability when you are trying to just wall with Decidueye.

Three Jirachi, Two Snorlax, One Mewtwo, and Four Scoop Up Net

[cardimg name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Replacing [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck, [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] are all here to help us assemble Decidueye as quickly as possible in order to try and stop the opponent as fast as possible. I opt for three Jirachi and two Snorlax because they both serve distinct purposes and, especially in the early game, there are plenty of situations where you would want either in the Active, but Jirachi is usually preferred, so I play more of it. Additionally, Jirachi synergizes with [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] better than Snorlax does, allowing you to Stellar Wish several times per turn. Scoop Up Net is also why we play Mewtwo, as it is just a natural fit in any deck that plays Jirachi and Scoop Up Net.

In addition to the reuse of Galarian Zigzagoon, Jirachi, and Mewtwo, Scoop Up Net is also able to pick up any unnecessary Pokemon to create an unbreakable board and lock the opponent out of the game.

One Phione

[card name=”Phione” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] finds a place in this deck for its Ability, as usual. However, we play Phione more for the part that sends it to the deck than for the switching effect. Phione allows us to have an infinite deck against decks like Lucario and Melmetal-GX where they may lock us in a board state where neither player can damage the other.

Four Rosa

We play four [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”name”][/card] because it essentially says “you win the game” in some matchups, as it goes and finds Decidueye, Rare Candy, and an Energy. Additionally, it is just a generally good card to help put together complex combos against matchups where Decidueye fails to provide an automatic win.

Three Aromatic Grass Energy, Two Grass Energy, Two Darkness Energy, and Two Capture Energy

At first glance, this is an extremely strange combination of Energy, but it really is pretty simple. [card name=”Aromatic Grass Energy” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] is a way to stop pesky Special Conditions such as Posion or Burn from being applied to Decidueye, protecting it from some of the more popular answers like Crobat V’s Venomous Fang or [card name=”Muk and Alolan Muk-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card]’s Severe Poison and Nasty Goo Mix GX. We play two Grass Energy and two Darkness Energy because they power up our attackers while also being searchable with the effect of Rosa. Lastly, we play two [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] as an extra way to find our Basic Pokemon on the first turn, and since both of our attackers take a Colorless to attack anyway, this does not hurt the consistency of our attacks too much.

Conclusion

With that, my article comes to a close. I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts on how to approach Players Cup III and take them into consideration while you are making your final preparations for the event. Additionally, make sure you have Decidueye / Galarian Obstagoon on your radar for the event, as I am sure you would hate to take a loss to me! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me in the Subscribers’ Hideout, on Twitter (@ICheville), or on Facebook (Zaya Lee). Good luck in Players Cup III, I hope to see you in the Regional Bracket and beyond!

– Isaiah

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