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

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