u/CosmoticTravels

And why would one not just play the Pitch Black version for 70hp?

My LGS is having their Worlds celebration on Saturday morning, and I'm currently digging between Alakazam, Cynthia's Garchomp, and Raging Bolt. The local meta here is pretty much ran by N's Zoro, Slowking, Festival Lead and Mega Excadrill (with some people running between Ogerpon/Hydrapple and Dhelmise and ofc the couple of Dragapults).

I've been leaning towards Raging Bolt, but any arguments for or against one of those three in particular?

I’m having trouble playing people where, in most cases, I have automatically assumed are better and smarter than me at the game and thus have also drawn into a way better hand than me and can counter anything that I do. regardless of deck, regardless of tech, regardless of board state, I never feel confident in a game (even if I’m ahead!) because of it and I know it’s the hugest barrier to my development as a player.

I’m trying to be battle tested in time for Vegas in December and I don’t think I’m progressing in any way.

Hi folks,

I recently bought a Lucario LBD for my partner, who is just getting into the game (which I am so happy about!) We've played about 10 or so games together already, and her learning curve is steep so far, although now it is starting to plateau slightly. The first 5-6 games played were with the LBD straight out of the box, but I edited it some based on what could be some better plays for Alakazam in particular.

For context, I'm currently playing her with an Alakazam / Dudun / Toucannon deck, which is already a disadvantage for her, and I'm going to start encouraging her to join me in going to locals as the new season kicks up in a couple of weeks. I may switch over to my Marnie's Grimmsnarl or even my TR Mewtwo deck for her to get exposure to other archetypes and have a more level playing field.

Anyhow, this is the current build, any deck changes to make or any sequencing tips that she should keep in mind? Some things that I notice is that her attacking lines are all over the place right now, and tries to attack with even Hariyama or Lunatone when really they're mostly just support pokemon rather than actual attackers. She also amasses a huge discard pile pretty often for spamming ultra balls in the early to mid game. I'm not an experienced Lucario player, so this may be normal.

Her current deck list is:

3 Riolu

3 M Lucario ex

2 Lunatone

2 Solrock

1 Fezandipiti ex

2 Makuhita

2 Hariyama

4 Lillie's

2 Boss

2 Judge

1 Wally's

4 Fighting Gong

4 Premium Power Pro

4 Ultra Ball

3 Poke Pad

2 Night Stretcher

1 Switch

1 Secret Box

2 Air Balloon

2 Gravity Mountain

1 Rocky Fighting

12 Fighting Energy (this count may be too high and not enough of the Rocky Fighting)

Appreciate any and all tips, as always.

Trying to work on this Alakazam deck in time for my LGS' Worlds Celebration in 3 weeks, any tips?

Pokémon: 12

4 Kadabra MEG 55

4 Alakazam MEG 56

1 Shaymin DRI 10

1 Genesect SFA 40

2 Trumbeak PBL 67

1 Psyduck ASC 39

4 Abra MEG 54

3 Pikipek PBL 66

2 Dunsparce TEF 128

2 Dudunsparce TEF 129

1 Fan Rotom SCR 118

3 Toucannon PBL 68

Trainer: 13

3 Night Stretcher ASC 196

1 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144

4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119

2 Kofu SCR 138

3 Poké Pad POR 81

1 Lana's Aid TWM 155

2 Battle Cage PFL 85

2 Boss's Orders MEG 114

1 Strange Timepiece MEG 128

1 Neutralization Zone SFA 60

2 Rare Candy MEG 125

1 Special Red Card CRI 113

1 Handheld Fan TWM 150

Energy: 3

2 Mist Energy TEF 161

2 Basic {P} Energy MEE 5

4 Telepathic {P} Energy POR 88

Immediately, I know that I need to add Crushing/Enhanced hammers, probably Enriching energy over the Neutralization Zone, and a Nighttime Mine? Maybe switch out Mist energies for Prism?

Hi folks,

What are some of the prime strategies with raging bolt as it pertains to sequences and ideal turn 1s/2s? I am looking to use it for TCGL testing and just as another deck to use at weekly locals, where I’ve noticed a handful of players run Festival, dark boxes, or Slowking. Interested in hearing from you all.

For context I’ve only ever played with decks with one or two primary attackers, like Marnie’s Grimm, Alakazam / Toucannon, and Rockets Mewtwo.

Probably gonna netdeck one I saw on Play Limitless that has:

3 TM Ogerpon
3 Meowth
2 Lillie’s Clefairy
2 Mega Kang
2 Raging Bolt
2 Latias
1 Fez
1 Iron Leaves
1 Wellspring Ogerpon
1 Bloodmoon Ursaluna
4 Crispín
3 Cyrano
3 Lillies
3 Boss
1 Ciphermaniac
4 Ultra Balls
3 Energy Switches
1 Unfair Stamp
1 Night Stretcher
1 Energy Retrieval
1 Special Red Card
3 Area Zero
7 Grass
2 Psychic
2 Electric
2 Fighting
1 Water

I came to my locals today and one of the pro players that frequent every so often came by and started asking us if we had any Acerolas, Kangs, Ice Creams, or another card I didn’t quite catch. He said it was for a secret meta deck following Delta Reign’s release that he didn’t wanna share but I’m curious what it might be if anyone else has heard of something similar 🤔

Hi folks,

I’m currently preparing myself for Las Vegas in December, and I am so far looking to commit myself to 3 decks in particular:

Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex (I have doubts on continuing this one)
Alakazam/Toucannon
Mega Excadrill/Metagross (Hero’s Cape build)

I’ve been wanting to add about one more deck to this list and put regular reps in on TCGL and weekly locals, and so far all I’ve thought about is Chandelure control, Mega Lucario, or Cynthia’s Garchomp. What do you all think?

Mega Rayquaza box with Mega Kangaskhan and Talonflame looks good for when it releases in November (would it be legal in time for Vegas?)

Appreciate any and all advice that could be given.

I don't have as much experience as you all may have in terms of playing this game, so my thoughts may feel incorrect or misplaced, but there were a few cards that caught my attention from the reveal of the remainder cards.

Frankly, draw support is still thin and lacking (Jellicent has a wonky version of Recon Directive, which will come in handy next spring/summer when [redacted] is out of our hairs for good, but nothing resembling a Flip the Script at all), so I wonder what strategy TPC might be trying to implement for the card game after H block leaves the standard format. Anyway, card thoughts below.

Raikou ex - not a good decision to have 200 HP and its strong move have a coin flip decision on whether it attacks next turn, but with free retreat, it may not be completely unviable. MAYBE a secondary attacker in a Manectric/Vikavolt deck.

Altaria - free retreat for basics, we have the next budget Latias (unfortunate that it's a stage 1 evolution though)

Giratina - new Slowking attack, yaaaay!

Mega Golurk - not sure what in the world they thought making that ability, maybe a way to integrate the new legendary stadiums, but with current H block cards it should be OK to use for the time being in an Alakazam deck (god forbid you get Judged though)

Heat Rotom ex - 2 colorless that multiplies by discarded fire energy makes for a sneaky good attack IMO, probably not a main attacker at all, though.

Groudon & Kyogre - both of these will get some level of usage in meta decks, I would say, especially Kyogre with that Savage Whirlpool that does shred damage across the bench with the new stadiums. Groudon hitting for 270 as a one prizer is enormously good too.

Magmortar and Electivire - fun pairing but not too sure how it'd fit in anything competitive.

With tools like the Rayquaza cap and stuff, I think there are some cards that can find themselves nicely in competitive decks, but I think less than Pitch Black. But I think it'll be a bit more impactful than the two releases prior to PBL.

Any other cards y'all saw that look cool? The azurill one looks interesting but I don't see a good translation on it.

With the set reveal for Storm Esmeralda happening soon, reportedly, I am curious if there are any specific abilities, supporters, or item effects not already revealed so far that you are hoping gets revealed in this set. There was a tweet by Josh Frink recently about poor draw support/hand disruption cards outside of Lillie's (and perhaps even Judge / Explorer's Guidance) so it got me thinking.

Hey folks,

My partner and I are visiting the city for Pokemon Worlds at the end of next month, and we have a budget of $900-$1000 for a 4-night stay. Any good recommendations? Preferably we'd like to stay as close to the Moscone Center as possible, but anything with reliable transit options there, even if further away into North Beach or something can work with us.

It’s a fine deck that SHOULD have good matchups into some of the larger metas like Dragapult and the dark decks, but unfortunately the game is played on mats and not on paper.

Want to pivot to something that will feel more cerebral and not just depend on Proton / Transceiver on T1. MAYBE bug catching set will help me with consistency and no energy bricks but I am really feeling bleak about that right now.

Hi folks,

I've been excited about the Lurantis ex card since I saw it, not sure how relevant it will be (especially once H rotates out with supporting cards like bug-catching set, TM Ogerpon, Hydrapple), but I'm trying to utilize a regulation I-J deck list for when that rotation happens at the start of the new year.

Here's the list so far, it's not a full 60 so I can use your help finishing this up:

Pokémon: 14

4 Fomantis M5 3

4 Lurantis ex M5 4

2 Chikorita ASC 8

2 Bayleef ASC 9

2 Meganium MEG 10

Trainer: 28

2 Ultra Ball ASC 213

3 Pokégear 3.0 BLK 84

3 Poké Pad POR 81

4 Hilda WHT 84

2 Team Rocket's Petrel ASC 207

4 Boss's Orders ASC 183

4 Lillie's Determination ASC 192

4 Forest of Vitality ASC 188

2 Air Balloon ASC 181

Energy: 11

4 Growing Grass Energy POR 86

7 Grass Energy MEE 1

What can I add that isn't necessarily mark H? Or is it fine to just maximize it with mark H cards for the time-being? I'm thinking that rice balls card in DR might be good once it comes out in November, but let me know if I'm wrong by any means (I likely am!)

I'm trying to find a way to use both of Lurantis' moves, how to get it harmed, heal the damage, and attack in the same turn. For instance, should I play some risky ruins and activate the condition for Lively Cutter to turn to 260 damage?

Let me know what you all think. I may not want to utilize a 4-4 line, instead do 3-3 of Fomantis and Lurantis.

I think the one energy for bringing 2 psychic energies out of the discard will be very favorable into Lillie’s Clefairy decks and maybe even other megas like M Garde, Floette, Diancie

Hi folks,

So I'm a first time player, going to my first local on Monday night, and I am taking my first step into deck modification already. I bought a TR Mewtwo deck last month, have seen its dwindling rate of usage in the meta over the months, and have considered that, despite not playing a game with it, I'm going to swap the lead out with some extra cards I got from Chaos Rising packs.

The modified deck is as follows:

TR Crobat DR 122 x2

TR Golbat DR 121 x2

TR Zubat DR 120 x2

TR Mimikyu DR 087 x1

TR Articuno DR 051 x1

Qwilfish CRI 052 x1

Ferroseed CRI 062 x2

Ferrothorn CRI 063 x1

Carnivine CRI 004 x1

Mega Floette ex CRI 035 x1

Pumpkaboo CRI 040 x2

Gourgeist ex CRI 041 x1

Deoxys CRI 033 x2

Deoxys CRI 032 x1

Deoxys CRI 031 x2

Basic Darkness energy x3

Basic Psychic energy x3

Night Stretcher x2

Ultra Ball SVI 196 x4

Energy Switch SVI 173 x2

TR Energy x2

TR Transceiver x4

TR Archer x2

TR Ariana x2

TR Petrel x1

TR Factory x2

Switch SVI 194 x2

Scramble Switch SSP 186 x1

AZ's Tranquility CRI 076 x 2

Currently at 54 cards.

I'm basically using a majority of the TR supporter/item cards that don't specifically refer to TR pokemon (so no Giovanni, Ariana is there for the 5 card draw effect, but may replace her with Lillie's Determination), and running with the TR Zubat line instead of the Mewtwo along with a bunch of psychics, including Mega Floette, 3 formes of Deoxys (are they all the same pokemon, technically?), Gourgeist ex, and more. I have 6 spots available until I reach the full 60 card limit, so I'm thinking whether to just get a lot more psychic energy to make up the remaining spots for all the psychics I am using (maybe Telepathic or Wondrous Patch).

This may be misguided on my part, maybe even a little dimwitted or mindboggling of me, but I wanted to try strategizing and understanding the game by making changes to deck builds. What do you all think?

Looks like there will be pre-orders available for the next league battle deck, which will be Mega Lucario ex. Anyone think that's worth looking at as a new player?

Got a couple single boosters today (slightly above MSRP but oh well) and found a couple Deoxys in my openings, Psyspeed looks like an incredible draw engine move and I wonder if it'll be sliding into decks as soon as it's made legal.

EDIT: Thank you all so much for the advice. This is very helpful to know as I keep climbing the mountain of learning how to play TCG

Hi folks,

I'm looking to get into competitive pokemon card gaming for the first time. I've been a casual video game player for a while, but only just recently have I developed the sentience to understand most of what goes on now in TCG regionals (have been following pokemon tournaments since Seattle, going to my first Worlds as a spectator in August).

What kind of advice would you give a first time player? I honestly haven't even built a deck yet (neither in real life nor on TCGL), hence no screenshots of anything.

I posted something similar in r/VGC, only because I am honestly new to both competitive formats and would want to try my hand at both.

Hi folks,

I'm looking to get into competitive pokemon for the first time. I've been a casual player for a while playing through most generations (and discovering gens 6 + 7 for the first time (don't laugh at the unintended joke)), but only just recently have I developed the sentience to understand most of what goes on now in VGC regionals (have been following tournaments since Seattle, going to my first Worlds as a spectator in August).

What kind of advice would you give a first time player? I honestly haven't even built a team yet, hence no screenshots of anything, but for a first time player, what kind of pokemon are vital for, say, the current Champions format. I'm also located in the East Bay, CA, if there are any places that may host community events or stuff like that.