I apologize for taking extra time to post this article. I wanted to make a more tested version of the standard list in this article so that I could provide you all with the best lists I can make. Most of this article will be covering my Portland experience and Dark Dragons in Expanded, however I do cover my Standard Dark Dragons list later on … Continue reading Portland Regionals 9th place Dark Dragons List and Review

This article is brought to you by too many ideas, and Drake. Expanded is huge, and is only getting bigger. With the vast number of options available to all of us, I find it hard to believe that there is one absolute best play. Through my testing and development of lists, I have come up with the longest list of potential plays that I have … Continue reading Portland Regionals (Feat. Darkrai & Donphan/Wobbuffet)

I have crept from my comfort zone. I have become accustomed to extremely consistent decks over the last two years, protesting that they are the only way to go. “Consistency is king,” “All winning Worlds decks are consistent,” etc. But recently, my mindset has changed to a degree. Calling my Vespiquen list for Anaheim consistent would be a stretch, and the Mega Mewtwo list that … Continue reading “Take Me Down to the Parallel City:” Phinn’s League Cup-Winning Mega Mewtwo Deck

Where was I last time?… Right. Covering the list. Continue reading “Toad the Line:” Updating Dark/Garb from Standard to Expanded Pt. 2

Before I get into this piece, I want to explain that this article will have two parts. I am posting the second half of the article this Saturday, so I can test some more matchups a little more before adding the matchup descriptions and strategies. With around 20 viable decks in Expanded, one needs far more time to test against all of the strong options. … Continue reading “Toad the Line:” Updating Dark/Garb from Standard to Expanded Pt. 1

I suppose it’s time for you to make a choice. St. Louis is in two days, and there are more options than ever before. I cannot tell you which is the best choice, but I can show you my Expanded Vespiquen list, which is the best thing since sliced bread. My articles that cover one deck in detail seem to be the most well-received, so … Continue reading “Flareon, My Wayward Son” – Expanding on Expanded Vespiquen

Darkrai/Giratina won Anaheim Regionals four days ago, making Kenny Britton a Regional Champion, and giving Darkrai/Tina its first major Standard accomplishment. Dark/Tina is a deck that I used to refer to as a worse version of Turbo Dark. In my “What the Hex” article, and multiple others, I argued that the decreased Max Elixir probability, vulnerability to Enhanced Hammer, and the decrease in consistency create … Continue reading “Paint it Black:” Darkrai Giratina, Turbo Dark, & Yveltal Garbodor

Hey there, Cut or Tap readers! Daniel here, teaming up with Phinn to bring you our first collaboration! Anaheim Regionals is awfully soon (tomorrow), and Standard is in a crazy place right now. As a bit of an introductory segment, I’ll go over the information we’re sitting on: Yes, these Grass decks work. Decidueye and Lurantis are two GX Pokemon that have been tossed into the … Continue reading Daniel Altavilla & Phinnegan Lynch – Exploring Passimian Raichu, Mega Rayquaza, and Solgaleo Darkrai

Vespiquen is one of the few decks that has been a very hard puzzle to crack – not only for me, but for anybody who plays it. With the current Standard format, there are a vast number of options to take up the Pokemon line in the deck. If you disagree, you most likely have not spent any significant amount of time testing and/or building … Continue reading “The Great Unown:” Building Vespiquen For the Sun & Moon Format

Hello! A long-time request I have gotten is to write a piece about how to play small events; namely League Challenges and League Cups. For most of my competitive career I haven’t felt comfortable doing so, because I didn’t actually think I did that well at them. If you’re friends with me on Facebook, you might have seen my rather annoying rants about the problem … Continue reading “Professor Lynch’s Observations:” Scientific Testing and Successful League Cup Play

Hey kiddies, it’s Phinny again. Over the last week I played a lot of Pokemon – probably too much. But you know what that means, don’t you? I made a bunch of lists! My last piece covered some more fringe decks that may have been too abstract, in hindsight. So this piece will cover three of the more commonly-played meta decks. With the Break membership … Continue reading “Beauty and the Bees:” a Look at Volcanion, Rainbow Road, and Vespiquen

Yo! I feel like a new player! If you thought I liked Pokemon before, you should see me now. Since San Jose Regionals, something in my head ticked and I have escaped the slump I was in about four weeks ago. Lots of good things are happenin’ for Phinny these days. I won a League Cup on Sunday using Darkrai – you can see my … Continue reading “Phinn: Guy of Volcano” – Expanding on Darkrai and Exploring Its Counters

Hey friends, Phinn again. I did not have the pleasure of attending Dallas Regionals. Instead, I get to stay home and build deck lists for my friends who are competing. I just happened to come up with a deck earlier this week that turned out to be really strong. I have been too excited about it to keep it to myself, so I decided I … Continue reading “What the Hex?” – Standard Darkrai Yveltal Deck List & Explanation

Hey reader, Phinn again. San Jose Regionals has just passed, and yet again, I learned a very valuable lesson. Initially, I was depressed after the event because of my poor performance. However, after a conversation with Mark Garcia, I realized that there is nothing to be sad about. I sent Mark a huge message on Facebook asking him different questions about the game, and how … Continue reading “No Shaym-in Defeat:” a Look at Consistency in Deck Building

Hey Guys, Phinn again. San Jose Regionals is in four days as I write this. I was growing tired of Yveltal when preparing for this event. I love the deck, but I realized that it might not be the best choice for San Jose. I tried to look to other options that can beat the parts of the meta that I care about. I looked … Continue reading “Sea-king the Archen-stone:” Three Choices for Water and Electric Types

Hey guys, Phinn again. As San Jose Regionals approach, the main question on my mind is: how can I build a deck that beats Trevenant and Yveltal, but also holds fair matchups against the rest of the field. This article is my answer to that question. This piece was written over about a week, and you’ll notice that there are time skips throughout the article. … Continue reading “Escape from Twist Mountain:” Introduction to Toad/Aerodactyl and a Look at Inventing Rogues