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

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! Many of you have probably been asking yourself the question: “what should I play for Pittsburgh?” In this article, I will be telling you why Single Strike Lugia Vstar is a very underrated play and could even be the secret BDIF. The list I will be focusing on today is listed below: Pokémon Trading Card Game Live Deck Export Available … Continue reading The Secret BDIF?: A guide to Single Strike Lugia Vstar

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! With the 2024 season starting soon, and the meta looking fairly similar to the Paldea Evolved format, I thought I would take a look at how I plan to get my invite this season, as opposed to looking at the top decks for Pittsburgh, Barcelona, etc. In this article, I will cover a breakdown of Best Finish Limits at … Continue reading Planning Your Season to get an Invite and Pittsburgh Plays/Meta Analysis

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! With the hype of Worlds winding down after an exciting few weeks to be a part of the Pokemon community, it is time to start getting ready for the next season of competition. In just a couple of weeks, we will start getting our first major events of the season, with a Regional taking place in Pittsburgh on the second … Continue reading A Look at Lost Zone Giratina in the Obsidian Flames Meta