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

Hey there, Cut or Tap readers! Daniel here, to silence all talk of Standard PRC-SM. I feel that it will take plenty of innovation to actually change this format. We’re in a good place right now, with the gist of it all being: Ability-heavy decks Garbodor decks to counter the Ability decks Third-party decks with no affinity towards Abilities (Spare Shaymin or Hoopa-EX) or Anti-Abilities … Continue reading “What’s Changed, Jesse?” – Breaking (a) Bad Format

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

This is a collaboration between Zach and Jay Lesage for double the reading pleasure! We were asked to do a special article as brothers and we loved the idea upon hearing it! We both have been playing for over a decade with multiple successes across the span of our Pokemon careers. — The first part of our article will be handled by Zach, discussing his … Continue reading “Double Trouble” – A Double-Take on Poke-Thoughts

Hey readers! My name is Kiernan Wagner, and I’m back again today with my fourth article written for this wonderful website. After my return from Dallas just four days prior to writing this. I was looking forward to taking a short break from Pokemon, at least for my finals week – but alas, I just can’t stay away from this game for more than a … Continue reading “Keep Calm and Jolteon:” Four Potential Plays for PRC-EVO Format

Hey Cut or Tap readers, my name is Jon Eng. I am a player from Maryland finishing up my last year in Seniors. I have been playing for just under seven years now and some of my more notable accomplishments are: Top 4 at U.S. Nationals 2014, Top 8 at Worlds 2015, 10th place at Nationals 2016, 9th place at Worlds 2016, and Top 8 … Continue reading “An Insight Into the Senior Division:” A Top-8 Dallas Report and Looking Ahead to Georgia.

Hey, Cut or Tap readers! At the time of writing this, I’ve just gotten home from Dallas Regionals. I managed to put up what was probably my worst tournament performance ever, playing Vileplume. Despite this, Dallas was a very fun experience, and I had a great time ringing in the new year with friends from all over the US and Canada. Dallas saw a very … Continue reading “Don’t Mess With Techs-as:” Better Teching with Kiernan Wagner and Daniel Altavilla

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

Good morning, Cut or Tap readers! I’ve recently been on Christmas vacation and generally just enjoying the atmosphere that the holidays have to offer, but with some heavy Regionals around the corner, I figure it’s about time I act on my call to action. You can only take so much time off from the game before you get rusty, and before you know it you’ll … Continue reading “Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall:” An In-Depth Look at the Yveltal/Garbodor Mirror

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 … Continue reading The Dallas Regionals Survival Guide

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

With the recent conclusion of the San Jose, CA Regional Championships and London Intercontinental Championships, one thing is abundantly clear: Dark is the king of both formats. Expanded format is more pertinent for me, with my upcoming League Cups in that format, and I’ve spent much of the past few months testing Expanded Dark decks with Kian Amini. While I was not able to attend … Continue reading “Black Christmas:” Dark Decks for Winter League Cups

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

This is a joint collaboration between Zach Lesage and Jay Lesage for double the reading pleasure! We were asked to do a special article as brothers and we loved the idea upon hearing it! We both have been playing for over a decade, with multiple successes across the span of our Pokemon career. The first part of our article will be handled by Jay, discussing … Continue reading “LeSage Advice:” The How-Tos of Playing Pokemon at a Top Level

Hey there, Cut or Tap readers! It has been a while, as my laptop 6-0’ed me back in the summer, but I am finally back with another article! A bit of an anecdote here, but I believe the last time I shared any content was in a brief statement on Olympia, in one of Phinn’s last articles. Collaborating with another player on an article is … Continue reading “Dark Side of the Lunala” – My Choices for San Jose and Why Sableye Won’t Work

Hello, Cut Or Tap readers! My name is Bradley Curcio, and I’m excited to share my most recent tournament experience with you. I just recently attended the Standard Regional Championships in Ft. Wayne, where I piloted Rainbow Road to a somewhat saddening 33rd-place finish out of 635 Masters. With a record of 6 wins, 1 loss and 2 ties (20 match points), I felt somewhat … Continue reading “Nearest and Deer-est:” Brad Curcio’s 33rd-Place Fort Wayne Report with Rainbow Road

Author’s Note: At the time of writing this, I was planning on going to San Jose. Due to certain complications, I’m now unable to attend. All the information I’ve given you was from my testing performed when I thought I would be attending, so you should find it still relevant. Hello Cut or Tap readers! My name is Kiernan, and I am thrilled to be … Continue reading “Kiernan’s Able Eye:” Five Expanded Decks and the Organization of Regionals

Whats up, Cut or Tap readers?!?! I am back again with another article for your reading pleasures, and this time I decided to straight-up drop some lists! I have a bunch of different decks that I always play around with online since I coach players on a professional level, and I want to share some of the lesser-discussed decks. I also wanted to include my personal … Continue reading “En-listing the Best:” Eleven Deck Lists to Expand your Testing

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

Hey guys, Phinn again. It seems like every Top 8 list in Expanded is coming with surprises. The meta has become diverse, and somewhat overwhelming. In this piece, I will cover the deck that recently took first at Philadelphia Regionals: Trevenant. With this new list, I have come to the conclusion that Trevenant is the best deck in the Expanded format. In this article I … Continue reading “BREAKing Trevenant:” a Look at Trevenant’s New Strategy, and Its Counter