The main problem players have with Dark Box is bad variance. They can win four games in a row and feel like the deck beats everything, then lose four in a row and feel like the deck is garbage. I kept this in mind when building my list. If Dark Box can be consistent, it is without a doubt a very powerful archetype. The match … Continue reading Dark Box – an approach focused on consistency

Malamar lost it’s reputation for being a consistent powerful deck after it was played at Worlds. The deck saw very high numbers taking up around one third of the meta in Masters Day 1 and despite the popularity, not a single Malamar deck made it to Top 8…It didn’t even make Top 16! I felt the need to explain where competitors (including myself) went wrong … Continue reading Redeeming Malamar

Now that Worlds is over there are tons of new ideas and lists to work with. I am testing decks daily, but need a couple more days to write another piece and post it. For the time being I figured posting a short list of the decks I am testing might be helpful for you all. It also helps to have this piece out because … Continue reading Current Lists

Hey everyone, by the time this article releases the 2019 Pokémon World Championships will be completed, but I thought I would share the deck that the rest of Team Cut or Tap is going to play. First, shout out to Mike Morton Jr. as he came up with the initial concept of the deck and showed the team. Hale Obernolte made one of the initial … Continue reading Infinity Stones

My overall opinion on a few things have change significantly. I need to make this quick because we’re almost out of time. I also felt the need to tell you all that I will not be playing a deck list I posted on the site. My teammates came up with an excellent idea for a deck and as usual I do not post other people’s … Continue reading Final Worlds Lists

In this article we are going to take a look at: match ups between the commonly accepted top five decks, my lists for everything even remotely viable, and my tier tist. This piece includes updates on much of the information discussed in the last piece, especially in relation to card changes in the lists. A section at the end has updated lists for every deck … Continue reading Top plays for Worlds 2019

Since posting An Archetype Collage I have done far more testing and coaching, leading me to condense and then expand the number of deck choices for Worlds. In the process of trying to cut out the bad lists and concepts, I ended up building new decks and exploring different variants of those decks. It’s been a while since the last article. That extra time allowed … Continue reading New ideas & revisions to the previous ideas

The last two pieces have been solely focused on one archetype each, but at that pace I will only be able to talk about half the decks I am considering for Worlds. This post is about a variety of archetypes, which can help to make the playable options for Worlds a little more clear. With each deck I explain how much potential I believe it … Continue reading An archetype collage

Yo! As promised in the last piece, this article is covering the Malamar variant I prefer. The formatting is pretty similar to the last article with details about the list, techs, and other Worlds info. I also cover the general strategy of the deck, but this time with descriptions of match ups. Towards the end I briefly explain another variant of the deck focused on … Continue reading Garchomp Giratina Malamar in the Worlds format

The first deck that should be on all of our minds when preparing for 2019 Worlds is PikaRom. The deck has a track record that outperformed any of the other archetype throughout this last season, it adapts to the coming format very well, and gains some new tricks. In practice the deck has only confirmed what my colleges and I had theorized: PikaRom sweeps close … Continue reading PikaRom in the Worlds format

The North American Intercontinental Championship is starting in just a couple days and I have my top picks ready. No deck feels like it is a clear cut best option because of how diverse and open the meta seems to be. I have a different approach to how I feel the meta is changing for NAIC, which means my mentality for the event is not … Continue reading Top picks for NAIC – Zapdos Buzzwole, Gardevoir, and ZoroGong

This is a short piece where I have the lists for decks I either am sure I won’t play or doubt I will play. It’s not that any of these decks aren’t good; it’s just that I feel I have found better options. I will be talking about those other decks later (already did with PikaRom) but for the time being I just wanted to … Continue reading Decks I don’t want to play that you might like

If you have kept up with my content from articles, to features on meta forecasts, to the IRL footage, you are probably very aware with my opinion on PikaRom. Recently I have been convinced to change my mind. The deck is consistent, hard hitting, and a solid meta-call. Once it became clear to me that ReshiZard actually is not a negative match up, my eyes … Continue reading PikaRom – Cut or Tap’s forgotten archetype

Hey reader! Madison Regionals is coming up very soon and I wanted to update you all with my current lists for my top picks. This article goes over my exact lists for ZoroPersian, Granbull, Nidoqueen Meganium, and Zapdos. Why Granbull? The main issue Granbull has run into in the past was a terrible PikaRom match up, which is still present to a degree. The difference … Continue reading Updated options for Madison

We have already covered Zapdos, Zoroark, and ReshiZard recently, so going into Madison there is not a whole lot of new info to talk about in that department. The meta we predicted was the meta we saw (with the exception of Shedninja) which means all of those articles are still quite relevant. It’s time to talk rogue! Most people think of the Tag Team when … Continue reading Gardevoir GX Swampert: Rogue option for Madison

My last article covered ZoroKing and Cameron’s latest video went over ReshiZard, meaning the only deck in my top three picks that we haven’t posted about is Zapdos. Not too long ago Cameron and I covered the match ups and list in great detail, but the new meta means everything needs an update. This piece makes an argument for Zapdos, but more specifically this variant … Continue reading Zapdos Buzzwole

Unbroken Bonds gave more possibilities to Zoroark decks than most players acknowledge. Persian GX, Dedenne GX, Lt. Surge’s Strategy, Marshadow, Dewgong, Koga’s Trap, Triple Acceleration Energy, and Mew are all potential additions to the deck. This means figuring out exactly how to build Zoroark for the new format is not an easy challenge to overcome. However, it also means there is potential for Zoroark to … Continue reading Cats and Dogs: Recreating Zoroark for Unbroken Bonds

This article was initially released back in October of last year, but with not enough detail. That was when I was trying for the first time to make the deck tick after the Hex Maniac ban. ZoroGarb is the deck I am suggesting players pilot for Hartford Regionals this weekend making now a great time to rewrite this piece and post it. Any Expanded meta … Continue reading Expanded Zoroark Garbodor (Rewritten 5/3/19)

Caleb Gedemer and Hale Obernolte have put players Germany competitors in an uncomfortable position. There is a necessity to deal with these denial decks that did well in Denver, but tech’ing for these decks will most likely force your chances of beating other archetypes down. There are a few solutions to this dilemma. The easy fix to this problem is simply finding a new archetype … Continue reading Germany Internationals Top Picks: Malamar, Zapdos Buzzwole, ZoroControl, and ZoroRoc

Hello Cut or Tap readers, my name is Hunter Butler and I have played competitive Pokémon for 12 years! Some of my accomplishments as a master include top 8 at Portland Regionals 2017, 37th at LAIC 2017, top 16 at Worlds 2018, and top 16 at Greensboro Regionals. For my first article here at Cut or Tap I would like to talk about a deck … Continue reading Beach Vibes in Daytona: One Red Hot Rogue and One Cool Summer Swim