The Sideboard – Garchomp SV

Garchomp SV is, in my opinion, one of the most criminally underrated cards in Pokemon’s storied history. It sports a rather annoying Poke-Body, backed up by an equally annoying Guard Claw attack, making KOs on the land shark a real nuisance to achieve. Speed Impact rounds out its attacks, threatening large damage in a formatContinue reading “The Sideboard – Garchomp SV”

New RS-PK Decks & Tournament Results

Hey everyone! While the North American International Championships were being held in Columbus Ohio, there was a retro tournament happening across the sea in Japan that might have flown under everybody’s radar. I don’t want to write too much since many of the participants as well as the Tournament Organizer have already written articles onContinue reading “New RS-PK Decks & Tournament Results”

A Look Back at the 2014-2015 Season

The 2014-2015 season was a turbulent one – each set released new archetypes that saw a lot of success. Sometimes these new decks were immediately powerful, and other times they took a while to be fully optimized. As a result, the meta was constantly shifting around from tournament to tournament. From extremely aggressive decks toContinue reading “A Look Back at the 2014-2015 Season”

“Game Over” – A Lost Combo Deck From 2011’s MD-COL Format

Let’s talk about alternate win conditions. Other than taking prizes, Pokemon has had a few different ways players can win the game. While most of the time, they just kind of “happen” depending on how the match plays out, sometimes, there are entire decks devoted to winning through these strategies. Running the opponent out ofContinue reading ““Game Over” – A Lost Combo Deck From 2011’s MD-COL Format”

The Sideboard – Plox (2008)

Looking back on 2008 as a format, it’s very easy to see why many players weren’t (and still aren’t) the biggest fans. When Mysterious Treasures released in August, the format was actually pretty healthy and diverse. A wide variety of strategies were viable, with some (such as Infernape/Delcatty or Machamp/Lucario) carrying over from 2007, whileContinue reading “The Sideboard – Plox (2008)”

The Sideboard – Flygon (2009)

Historical Context As somebody who was in their last year of seniors, and only their 2nd full season playing the game competitively, I don’t think I ever really appreciated just how impactful every new set of 2009 was. Legends Awakened released early, and we saw a metagame where Kingdra and AMU were extremely strong. Then,Continue reading “The Sideboard – Flygon (2009)”

The Sideboard – Empoleon (2008)

2008 was an interesting time in the history of the Pokemon TCG – it was one of the very few formats that was absolutely defined by a true “tier 0” archetype that stood alone above the rest. Gardevoir/Gallade (also known as GG or Plox) ran the format once Secret Wonders released in November, and GreatContinue reading “The Sideboard – Empoleon (2008)”