Hey trainers! In this video Michael Perez and I explain the Gardevoir VS Vespiquen matchup, over a best of three series using a Gardevoir list from similar to the one from this article, and a Vespiquen list that you can see bellow the video. This is the second episode in a series where I analyze some of the more complex matchups of our formats. This … Continue reading Gameplay Analysis Episode 2 – Gardevoir VS Vespiquen Machoke
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Frank Percic, and I picked up my first Pokemon card in November of 2016. Seven months later, I found myself at 394 championship points trying to clinch my invite with a Top 64 at NAIC. I had a lot of help on my short journey – probably more than most. That being said, the … Continue reading Average Joe to Ultra Pro: Frank Percic’s Do’s and Don’ts of Learning the Game
Hey reader! Many of us are preparing for a format including a set that does not exist in English yet. For most Worlds competitors the format that is relevant at the moment is including Burning Shadows. The only tournament we have to base our format on is the 2017 Japan championship, which actually is a different format because they have many more sets legal. For … Continue reading Primal Clash through Burning Shadows – Gardevoir, Greninja, Darkrai, and Noivern
Hey, Cut or Tap readers! My name is Isaac Milaski, and I’ll be talking about my recent tournament experience at the North American International Championships. I ended up placing 6th in the Senior division after some unfortunate events in Top 8. I chose Darkrai/Garb for this tournament because it had 50/50 matchups or better against the entire field of what Seniors were expected to play. … Continue reading Darkrai garb, a shadowed play for U.S. intercontinentals (By Isaac Milaski)
Hey trainers! In this video I explain the Garbodor Espeon VS Zoroark Umbreon matchup, over a best of three series using the Garbodor list from this article, and a Zoroark list that you can find here. This is the first instalment in a series where I analyze some of the more complex matchups of our formats. This video will feature lists from the current Standard format (no … Continue reading Gameplay Analysis Episode 1 – Zoroark Umbreon VS Garbodor Espeon
Hey guys, Bubble Boy back again with another tournament report. US Intercontinentals was this past weekend with a somewhat diverse meta and tons of interesting information to talk about. I ended the event with yet another bubble, but this time it wasn’t as painful because it was only for Top 16 rather than Top 8. I took notes about my matches throughout all of Day … Continue reading “International Espeonage:” 17th-Place Tournament Report with Espeon/Garbodor
USA Intercontinentals is less than a week away, and the unfortunate truth is that most people still don’t know what they are playing. I am here to help those players figure that out with my metagame predictions, and with what decks I expect to be making it to Day 2 of the event. Some archetypes will be better for players just looking to hit Day 2, … Continue reading “Choose Your Character!” Meta Predictions for North American Intercontinentals
Hey friends, Phinn again. This article is mostly an update on lists going into Nationals. Most of my time has been put into practicing Vespiquen, Zoroark, and Garbodor; however I have come up with some other lists like Raichu Lycanroc, and Raichu Bats. I’m not going to go into a ton of detail on any of these decks, because I have already covered all of … Continue reading “Divide (GX) and Conquer:” My Options for US Intercontinentals
[Editor’s Note: This piece was originally intended as an analysis for the Mexico Regionals meta (tournament date June 10-11).] Hey Cut or Tap readers! My name is Charlie Kerr, and I am a player from the Florida area that recently aged up to Masters. I am going to be a sophomore in high school next year. Today I am going to reflect on Madison Regionals … Continue reading “Nitro T’ank You:” Three Plays For The Nationals Meta
Hey guys! Caleb Rice here with my first article for Cut or Tap! Before we get underway, I want to take a moment to tell y’all a little about myself. I am a competitive player playing out of Charlotte, NC. I have only been on the scene for a little over a year, starting my career with a Top 16 at South Carolina states last … Continue reading “Crystal Bae:” Caleb Rice’s Look at Ninetales for Indianapolis
Hey guys, Phinn again, back with some more weird decks. Seems like the last two articles about Zoroark were very well received. Literally half of the players at my last League Cup were using Zorokark Umbreon, and in Finals was my new friend Frank Percic and I played a mirror. However after winning the Cup I felt like there was not a whole lot for … Continue reading “Dangerous Rogues:” Two Standard Decks to Challenge the Three BDIF’s
Hey guys, Phinn again. Madison Regionals just wrapped up and we saw a complete change in the meta. Seattle Regionals was dominated almost entirely by Garbodor variants, while Madison had a very diverse meta, and only eight Garbodor decks. This is still a very significant number, but what is more significant is the number of decks that people have found to either counter or go … Continue reading “Mind Jack of All Trades:” Introducing Zoroark Umbreon, Darkrai Regirock, and Garbodor Sandslash
Hey friends, Phinn once again with an in-depth report on Seattle Regionals. This article is going to cover how the event panned out for me, and why I went from the highest record to missing Top 16 during Day 2. The event gave me a lot of insight about the format, the way to build Garbodor, what can counter the deck, and the future of … Continue reading “Nope, There’s Only Trash Here:” From 1st to 19th in Seattle with Espeon Garbodor
The release of Guardians Rising means my comfort deck (Darkrai) is longer viable. Field Blower is a huge problem because the deck’s strategy revolves around Fighting Fury Belt and Exp. Share. Choice Band presents an even bigger issue because Darkrais can now be knocked out in one hit easily. Darkrai could come back with a new set next year, but at the moment it is … Continue reading “Sophie’s Choice Band:” Vespiquen for the new Standard Format
Phinnegen Lynch pilots Darkrai against Conner Pedersen using Decidueye Jolteon Vileplume! Connor is using the same list that had just won the Intercontinentals in Brazil, while Phinn is using his Darkrai list from his most recent article. Does Darkrai really have an autoloss to Jolteon Decidueye? You might be surprised… Continue reading Darkrai VS Decidueye Jolteon Vileplume
I know we’re all excited to use the new cards from Guardians Rising, but we still have a couple events before the set is legal. May 19th is when we have sanctioned tournament access to the new set, which means both Toronto and Virginia Regionals will be in the current format, along with several League Cups. Hold off on Tapu Lele; we have to work … Continue reading “Tri-, Tri-Again:” Three Picks for Facing Standard’s Big Three
Phinnegan Lynch starring in the sequel to his last Regionals, return of the 9th. I thought for sure after getting 11th, 10th, and 9th, I could not bubble again. The Gambler’s Fallacy is a fallacy for a reason. While I do think I could have either played better, or use a better list in my last three Regionals, in this case I cannot find much … Continue reading Salt Lake City Regionals 9th Place Tournament Report & Deck Analysis
