Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! As I mentioned in my last article, there was a high likelihood of an interesting meta dynamic popping up: 1) aggressive decks, like Roaring Moon, having a favorable matchup into Iron Hands decks, like Chien-Pao, which 2) are favored into one prize decks, like Gardevoir, which 3) are favored into aggressive decks. In this dynamic, we have a seemingly … Continue reading Gardevoir for LAIC 2023 and Beyond

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I’m Michael Davidson, a Master who recently aged up following a Seniors season including a Regional win, NAIC Top 8, Worlds Top 16, and numerous other Top Cuts, finishing 5th globally in Seniors Championship Point Rankings. I’ve made Day 2 in two out of four major events I’ve attended this season, with my highlight being an 11th place finish … Continue reading Zard ex in the New Paradox Rift Format

The future is now, subs! Welcome back to another article, where I’ll be going over some new and interesting topics concerning the Paradox Rift Standard format. This piece will detail some of the biggest meta changes, cards that influence it, and my personal Roaring Moon list. We will also briefly go over a tier list for this new format, with some predictions for LAIC. I’m … Continue reading “Shoot for the Stars and Land on the Moon”: The Paradox Rift Meta

Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! With the conclusion of the previous format at Toronto Regionals, it is now time to turn the page with the release of Paradox Rift. In just a week, our first event of the new format (LAIC) will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This set adds new archetypes to the game as well as many upgrades to existing decks, … Continue reading Is Giratina VStar Good Again? A Look at the Deck in Paradox Rift

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! Today I have a variety of topics to discuss for the new Paradox Rift format. I am super amped up for this set, as it has a ton of cool cards, with a ton of potential, and control gets buffed a ton. As a short disclaimer, I haven’t done much testing with these cards, however I have put a … Continue reading Looking at the Past and Future: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Paradox Rift Format

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I’m Alex Arand, the latest addition to DDG and one of the inaugural VGC players on our team. With several Regional events unfolding since the initiation of Regulation E in early October, beginning with the Peoria Regionals, I’d like to take this opportunity to recap the recent developments in the VGC landscape, and share insights on what we might anticipate … Continue reading From Peoria to the Future: A Breakdown of VGC’s Regulation E

Welcome back, subs! Coming off a mediocre 5-2-2 finish at Sacramento Regionals has me pondering the idea of what disadvantages you can face when you’re becoming complacent with a comfort deck. I’ve stated in previous articles that picking a comfort deck that is well-suited for the meta is mostly going to be that: comfortable. Skill, variance, and predictability are factors that will show more when … Continue reading “Trials and Tribulations”: Dissection of Comfort Decks

Hey, what’s up everyone! Hope you have been enjoying a month full of Pokemon events. In just the past few weeks, we have seen multiple Regionals take place, with Peoria, Sacramento, and Lille Regionals all crowning separate decks. In Peoria, we saw Lost Box Kyogre with the Zamazenta take down the event. In Sacramento, we saw none other than Lugia VSTAR return to the top … Continue reading Returning to an Old Friend: Single Strike Lugia for Toronto Regionals

Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! With Sacramento in the rearview mirror and a few Regionals already behind us this season, it will soon be time to prepare for the release of Paradox Rift, which becomes legal starting at LAIC in a month’s time. Before that, however, we still have a big event left in North America: Toronto Regionals. Throughout this format, we have seen … Continue reading Back on the Box? My Adaptations to Turbo Lost Box to Keep Up With the Meta

I most recently got back from the Peoria Regional Championships, placing 38th out of over 1700 players, and I was able to collect a lot of data on the format, heading into the next major event: Sacramento Regionals! What’s up, everyone! SmartTCG here, and I am stoked to be writing another article for you all! Peoria Regionals just wrapped up, with Raymond Long taking down … Continue reading “Burning Down Sacramento:” Charizard ex for the Upcoming Regional

What’s happening, Subs! Peoria Regionals has just concluded, crowning yet another Lost Kyogre Champion from the land of poutine. As this piece is being typed, I’m headed to Sacramento to compete in my second Pokemon Regional of the year. Together, we’ll break down the results of the two American Regionals, why Miraidon has risen to a top contender, and my personal build. The Battle Styles-to-151 … Continue reading “City Bike’s Up”: Miraidon’s Road to Success

Hello, Cut or Tap Readers! As of writing this, the Peoria Regional Championships is a few days away, then the weekend after that, Sacramento, and finally, Lille Regionals. While these events may affect the meta of the next format quite a bit, I believe that the many variants of Charizard ex will see good success across all three events.  After Worlds, the Obsidian Flames expansion … Continue reading The Four Horsemen of the Char-pocalypse

Power creep: A term often thrown around in discussions of card game design. Broadly, it describes the phenomenon of cards becoming gradually more ‘powerful’ over long periods of time. In my view, the way most people talk about power creep is superficial. Discussions I’ve seen only focus on the surface and elude anything worth being concerned over from a player’s perspective. What I’ll be exploring throughout … Continue reading Power Creep, and Its History in the Pokemon TCG

Howdy! As many of you know, I have decided to take this season off. I simply do not have enough time to start a home improvement business and go for my 8th Worlds invite. Still, I will play in Sacramento Regionals, seeing as I live in Sacramento, and I have been preparing for the event. Peoria is of course happening before then, so any of … Continue reading An Exploration of Colorless Lugia and Some Thoughts about 151

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I’m Michael Davidson, a Master who recently aged up following a Seniors season including a Regional Win, NAIC Top 8, Worlds Top 16, and numerous other Top Cuts, finishing 5th globally in Seniors Championship Point Rankings. In my first Masters Regional, Pittsburgh, I was able to take Gardevoir ex to an 11th place finish – the highest placement with … Continue reading “The Gardy 151:” Guide to Gardevoir in the Upcoming Format

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! The new season is officially underway, with a few major tournaments already in the books. This includes a Special Event in Spain, a Champion’s League in Japan, and a Regionals in Pittsburgh. I myself was able to place in the Top 4 at Pittsburgh with a relatively straightforward Lugia VStar list, a deck which has been in a good spot … Continue reading Lugia VSTAR: Current Analysis and Moving Forward

Pittsburgh Regionals has just concluded and Andrew Estrada strikes first blood, securing his Worlds invite and taking down over 1700 players with Lost Zone Kyogre. The 2014 World Champion reasserted his place as one of the very best, and the season is officially underway. Whats up, everyone! SmartTCG here, and today I am going to be diving into one of the best cards in 151, … Continue reading “Restart and Reload:” A Look into Mew ex

Introduction I would like to start off this article by saying that the current format has been my favorite to play for a while. It feels like many different decks stand chances right now, and this might be the first format where taking a loss to Lost Zone Box isn’t the worst thing in the world. In this article, I will capture all of my … Continue reading My Favorite Decks Of The Obsidian Flames Format

As promised, I’m back with my post-Pittsburgh article, bringing you along on my 12th place finish at the largest tournament to date. I say “to date” because I expect Peoria to quickly break this record, so my accomplishment won’t last for too long. This tournament had its ups and downs, both before and also after. I want to start this article off by saying I … Continue reading “The Pittsburgh Steal”: My Bubble Run at Pitt

Obsidian Flames is upon us as competitive Pokemon players, gearing us up for the start of the 2024 season. League Cups and Challenges have been posted across the states, alongside the online meta developing through large events like The Late Night. My focus of this piece is to detail two archetypes that are established but not brand new, using results and consistency to break through … Continue reading “Don’t Fix What’s Not Broken:” When to Break the Meta