Table of Contents
1) Article Introduction
2) The Top Players of London Internationals
3) The Big Threats
4) Yveltal/Garbodor Revisited
5) How to Physically and Mentally Prepare For a Regionals
6) Closing Thoughts
Article Introduction
Happy Holidays to all of you wonderful Cut or Tap readers! I hope you and all of your friends and family have enjoyed your holiday season and are ready to get back into reality…the Pokemon reality! If you want to be one of the best players in the game, you need to treat Pokemon like it is a job: testing decks, creating lists, and comparing results. You need to be ready for the expected, unexpected and all of the things that will be played in between. Now don’t take my advice as a reason to not enjoy yourself or hang out with friends; you just need to make sure you have a bit of seriousness to your game and you will be fine!
My article will outline what I perceive to be the biggest threats going into Dallas Regionals, what some of the “under-the-radar” plays are, and some go-to tips to help you succeed and get some of that Regionals cash! Hopefully I can bring the hype, explain the right play(s) and continue to make Cut or Tap the ultimate source for Pokemon TCG strategy. Now, if you are reading this and you aren’t able to attend Dallas Regionals or another Standard Regionals for a while, I would recommend using my advice in this article towards your local League Cups and/or League Challenges; I always try to leave some really awesome “pro-tips” that will be sure to step your game up significantly. Well, without further ado, let’s dive right into the players that did the absolute best at the recent London Internationals.
The Top Players of London Internationals
I feel like the metagame is in a different space after the results of London Internationals. On one hand, we have all results of the most hyped tournament so far this season, and on the other hand, we need to realize some players will continue a counter-push to the metagame. Furthermore, some players will make very wrong calls en masse which can again change the metagame and allow other weird/rogue decks to prosper. Before we get into the juicy tidbits of information below, let’s look at those London Internationals Master Division results quickly before we continue:
Champion: Michael Pramawat
Deck: Yveltal-EX/Garbodor
Notable Techs:
– Team Flare Grunt
– Delinquent
– Pokemon Center Lady
– Enhanced Hammer
Finalist: Jay Lesage
Deck: Yveltal-EX/Garbodor
Notable Techs:
– Team Flare Grunt
– Delinquent
– Olympia
– Enhanced Hammer
Top 4: Philip Schulz
Deck: Yveltal-EX/Garbodor
Notable Techs:
– No Yveltal BKT
– Ace Trainer
– Delinquent
– Town Map
Top 4: Tord Reklev
Deck: Yveltal-EX/Garbodor
Notable Techs:
– Yveltal BREAK
– Jirachi Promo
– Delinquent
Top 8: Yee Wei Chun
Deck: Yveltal-EX/Garbodor
Notable Techs:
– Darkrai Promo
– Delinquent
– Pokemon Center Lady
– Enhanced Hammer
Top 8: Grafton Roll
Deck: Greninja BREAK
Notable Techs:
– Team Flare Grunt
– Max Potion
– Enhanced Hammer
– Silent Lab
Top 8: Pedro Eugenio Torres
Deck: Volcanion-EX/Volcanion
Notable Techs:
– Salamence-EX Promo
– Delinquent
– Scorched Earth
Top 8: Attar Ricco
Deck: Volcanion-EX/Volcanion
Notable Techs:
– Delinquent
Notable Mention: Alex Hill (9th Place)
Deck: Vespiquen/Zebstika/Garbodor
Notable Techs:
– Zebstrika BKP
– Garbodor BKP
As you can see, there is somewhat of a pattern of cards and decks that allowed these certain players to surpass all of the other competitors and pull in some mad prize winnings. I’m sure you can notice the combination of disruption cards in the form of Delinquent, Team Flare Grunt, and Enhanced Hammer, and that you see how these cards crushed their certain metagame. Let’s look into these cards a little bit more in depth below…
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