Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I’m Michael Davidson, a first year Master following a Seniors season where I ranked 5th globally in Seniors Championship Point Rankings, and am currently just outside of the Top 16 in North America. I’ve made Day 2 in five out of eight Regionals I’ve attended this season, with my highlight being an 11th place finish in Pittsburgh. I’ll be attending … Continue reading “Better Than Ever Before:” Post-Rotation Chien-Pao

Greetings from the future, subs! We are steadily approaching rotation and the release of Temporal Forces, which I couldn’t be more excited for. This past format has felt stale, with the top three decks being so powerful that your tournament finish will depend on your matchup roulette between them. These three – Gardevoir ex, Giratina Vstar, and Charizard ex – are not rotating from the … Continue reading “The Future Is Now:” It’s Just These Hands

Yooo, what’s popping, Cut or Tap readers! It’s Braiden here, joined by my friend Julian to bring you an awesome-sauce Arc/Armarouge deck. We are going to cover everything you need to know to hit your opponents with the fiery combos. Just like the classic Arc decklist, this deck is a toolbox with a bunch of random attackers for specific matchups in the meta. With the … Continue reading “Ode to the Volcano” A Guide to Arceus Armarouge

Gardevoir ex has been one of the most dominant decks since its release in Scarlet and Violet. As one of the most rewarding and punishing decks in the format, it has made itself one of the most infamous decks of the past year. I have been on an absolute tear with the deck recently. In the past four events I have played Gardevoir, I have … Continue reading Perfecting the Best Deck: Gardevoir ex for Vancouver Regionals

Whoop Whoop, Subs! Welcome to a show I thought would never get performed: the Gholdengo show. Dortmund Regionals has concluded, leaving some interesting decks in the finals. With no hesitation, I say that this tournament was an anomaly, meta-wise. We have been playing in the Paradox Rift Standard format for some months now, and I wouldn’t believe you if you said “Chien-Pao ex and Gholdengo … Continue reading “The Weather Man:” Gholdengo’s 2nd Place Finish at Dortmund

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I just got back from an 18th place finish at the Knoxville Regional Championships with Lost Zone Box! I’ve been playing a ton of Lost Zone decks recently, such as the Groudon/Roaring Moon build for San Antonio, as well as testing a ton of Tina. However for this event, I went with a build utilizing Super Effective Glasses to … Continue reading “Triumphant Frames:” Supereffective Glasses in Lost Zone Box for Knoxville and Beyond

Welcome back, subs! I’m finally back from Knoxville Regionals, which was an amazingly smooth event, so shout out to Day 2 Events for that! In my previous article, I posted that I would be playing Lost Box Kyogre/Groudon, Charizard ex, or a rogue that I had been working on. Unfortunately, due to travel delays, I didn’t feel I had the mental power to pilot LZB … Continue reading “Knoxville Recap:” 39th Place with Charizard ex

Welcome back, Subs, and all praise to the most high! We’ve just finished this string of on-and-off tournaments, taking us from Portland to Charlotte then Liverpool, now heading into a double-Regional weekend for Melbourne and Knoxville. A fantastic time to be a Pokemon fan, and a tougher time to be a competitor. As stated over my last few articles, the meta has shaped up to … Continue reading “God is Real:” Arceus’s Creep Back Into the Format

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I am thrilled to be back, writing and sharing my experiences playing Pokemon! In this piece, I’ll be diving into the intricacies of my Miraidon deck, which recently brought me to a noteworthy 5th place at the Portland Regional Championships and a solid 36th place at the Charlotte Regional Championships to kick off 2024. I will walk you through the … Continue reading Miraidon Unleashed: A Tale of Two Regionals

Sorry for the delay, Subs! We’ve had some small technical issues preventing me from posting articles after Portland and before Charlotte, so I’m excited to tap in with you guys! Some very interesting meta information has been developing, and finally we’ve reached a meta that seems to be close to RPS, or “Rock, Paper, and Scissors.” This refers to a meta where the top three … Continue reading “Master of Land and Sea:” My Unique Lost Box Variant

Hey, what’s up, Cut or Tap readers! SmartTCG here, and I am stoked to bring another article for you all! I hope you have been having a wonderful 2024, and I hope to have another content-filled year to share with everyone.  Today, I have a different style of article that has been widely requested. I have been paying attention to feedback on articles, and know … Continue reading The Ultimate Charizard Guide

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I am happy to be back writing another article as we move further into the Paradox Rift format. We have seen the meta change over the past couple of months, with Charizard ex and Miraidon ex emerging as the two most popular decks in format, taking up over 18% and 17% (respectively) of the Day 1 meta at the San … Continue reading DTE Mew in Paradox Rift – How Mew Continues to See Success

Greetings, Cut or Tap readers! I am Carson Washer, a Pokemon TCG Senior for Dead Draw Gaming, and I’m thrilled to share my journey to a Top 4 finish at the San Antonio Regional Championships in the Senior Division! I decided to play “DTE Mew”, with a touch of innovation: two Fusion Strike Energy and one Elesa’s Sparkle. In this article, I will provide insights … Continue reading Mew VMAX San Antonio Top 4 Tournament Report

It’s a winter wonderland, Subs! Welcome back to another piece from Yours Truly, where I break down the slipperiest of slopes that is the Paradox Rift format. Portland Regionals is just a week away, and the meta is finally starting to become centralized. My last few articles have gone over top decks and ideas surfacing throughout the stabilization of this meta game. We’ve gone through … Continue reading “Snowfall in Portland:” Two Cold Rogues

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! While Gardevoir has been lacking some major finishes recently, I think the deck is in a fantastic position for local events and Regionals, as it is absurdly consistent and has a solid matchup against everything. With Gardy, it is important to keep your techs to a minimum, as playing the deck has led me to understand the importance of … Continue reading “New Year, (Not-So-) New Decks:” Gardevoir and Snorlax Control for Portland

Welcome back, Subscribers! San Antonio Regionals has just concluded, crowning Azul GG a six-time Regional Champion with his straightforward Charizard ex/Pidegot ex variant. From new decks to old, we’ve seen this meta take some twists and turns since its release. This time we’ll go over how some of these top decks have adapted to the new meta, while also taking a look at newer decks … Continue reading “Professor Butler’s Analysis:” Updates on Paradox Rift Decks

Miraidon is on top of the world, and it continues to dominate the Standard format. What’s up, everyone! SmartTCG here, and today I am going to go over one of the current best decks in the standard format. As of right now, the format has been shifting quite a bit. Paradox Rift warped the format substantially, and things are looking quite different out on the … Continue reading “Journey to the Peak:” A Look into Miraidon for the Paradox Rift Format

Greetings from the Lost Zone, readers! I’m back from my Amazon travels with minor rewards. I played Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex to a 282nd place out of 1300 players. Not the finish I wanted, but due to some unfortunate situations like playing with a 59-card deck, not calling a judge to reach a penalty on extra drawn cards, and losing to an unexpected Thorton in Chien-Pao … Continue reading “The Lost Boys:” Lost Zone in the Paradox Rift Format

Paradox Rift is the brand new set to come out, and the Pokemon TCG may never be the same. With the new set’s arrival, the game is feeling fresh again, and there are so many intriguing combinations of cards you can pair with each other. The Latin American International Championships just occurred this past weekend, where we saw Miraidon take down the entire event. This … Continue reading The Tides Have Turned: Where Do We Go After LAIC?

Counter Catcher is undeniably one of the strongest cards from Paradox Rift. As an Item card, it allows for advantage-swinging combo plays that include the effect of a Supporter card, to be executed by any deck that expects to fall behind on prize cards in the early game. Among the traditional prize-trading decks, Gardevoir ҼX and Giratina 𝙑sᴛᴀʀ stand to benefit the most, as they … Continue reading Block Lax Strikes Back