Cards to Think About in Boundaries Crossed Pt.2

Welcome back! I hope everyone voted yesterday if you were able to, I know I did.

I'm here to bring you the rest of the cards that are still left in Boundaries Crossed which have a chance to be seen in a future deck.

• Flygon

Sand Slammer is what really makes Flygon shine from other cards in this set. Even though 10 damage doesn't seem like a lot, it builds up. Just think of how many times you were 40 damage short from killing a Darkrai EX, that's just two of your turns with Sand Slammer. Since it is an ability it's able to go around Eviolite which is big. Flygon's attack "Flying Beatdown" looks great at first, auto paralyzing by discarding two energies? Yes please. But four energy to deal 80 is underwhelming and it is impossible right now to loop the paralyze. He does get some help from Celebi EX and Vibrava, but needing to evolve manually to a stage two is too slow in this format (not to mention Celebi EX only has 110 HP). All in all on the outside, Flygon has all the makings of a great card but it just takes too much to get going; it's going to have to be saved for another day.

• Ditto

Ditto is an interesting prospect. No attacks, only his "Transform" ability. When people first saw the Japanese scans, Ditto was gathering a lot of hype and people loved it. It has the ability to become any basic you put on  top of it; it could be a surprise EX or a tech stage two pokemon that has a fragile basic. As long as Ditto has been in play for a turn it means that you can go ahead and evolve the basic that you just laid down. It helps those stage pokemon like Dusknoir, which are meant only for support, to survive for a little longer. As of right now Ditto's hype has died down because as more people get the cards and test out new decks, they find the strengths and weaknesses of more and more cards (Ditto being one of them). Being weak to a card that is going to see a lot of play as a fast attacker is a big downside to ditto helping out slower stage two decks. A lot of ideas were to also use him in Eelektrik decks to supplement Tynamo's 40 HP, but opposing players could just put 40 or more damage on Ditto to where you can't transform into a Tynamo without getting knocked out. Who knows, someone may find a use for this adorable pokemon, it just won't be that crucial to most decks.

• Skyla

Finally! We are giving a new supporter to abuse in every deck. Skyla allows you to search for any trainer in your deck and put it in your hand. This means items, stadiums, and supporters. In reality, it lets you search for anything in the deck as long as you are playing the right cards (e.g. Energy Search, Computer Search, Ultra Ball). With such a variety of different trainers available in this format, Skyla has a variety of uses in every deck. It combos nicely with Computer Search and Sableye, allowing for thinning and access to everything in the deck very quickly. The best thing Skyla gives to the game is the ability to search for Pokemon Catchers anytime during the game. The only thing bad about Skyla is that it takes your supporter for the turn, but the tremendous upside it brings to the table guarantees it at least a spot in every decklist this format.

• Computer Search

Now many people were upset when we found out that the Base Set Computer Search was illegal to use, including me, but they need to make money somehow right? This is definitely the best ACE-SPEC in this set, with it being able to search for any card, although some decks cannot afford too much discarding of their resources. Computer Search goes really well with Sableye's Junk Hunt (probably too well) and Dark Patch. It also gives more options to decks whose main goals are to get stuff in the discard like Ho-Oh and Eelektrik. Computer Search will definitely have a huge impact to the game even when some decks shouldn't waste their resources for it.

• Gold Potion

Gold Potion, the other playable ACE-SPEC, has been getting a lot of hate recently. "Why would you play Gold Potion, when you could just play Computer Search?" Well, there are a lot of decks that don't really have a lot of options for discarding resources and therefore it is too costly to play Computer Search. Healing 90 damage is also a huge deal considering the main card in the format is Darkrai EX, that is essentially having them waste a full turn, which can turn the tide in a match. I believe Gold Potion will find it's home in more decks than people expect.

• Cards that have potential but didn't make the list

1. Munna - It might give people a reason to play Musharna and it goes well with Keldeo EX's Rush In.
2. Meloetta - It could be seen as a Sigilyph counter but you would need to be playing psychic, Prism Energy, or Blend Energy
3. Toxicroak - While Revenge is really good, it being a stage one lets your opponent know whats coming and it takes the surprise out of the attack which was its strong point (it's sad because Croagunk is my favorite pokemon).
4. Scizor - In the same sense as Sigilyph, it is to counter EXs with Steel Slash, but with Pokemon Catcher in the format it is too easy to play around it.
5. Audino - The ability "Busybody" seems useful but the chance of starting with it is too much of a risk. We might see more of it if special conditions become big again.
6. Raticate - Super Fang seems awesome at first but only 60 HP and fighting weak means he will not live to see three energy. Sure you could play Ditto but if he has 30 damage on him the you will not survive a transformation into Rattata. Asperita City Gym may help a little but it is not enough.
7. Stoutland - The ability to stop your opponent from playing supporters is amazing, but with a horrible attack and Pokemon Catcher in the format, Stoutland has no chance to survive.

Well, I hope I have given you a sense of what is to come in this new format that we are heading into. Remember that City Championships are just 10 days away. Happy testing!

All images courtesy of Pokebeach.com and Serebii.net

Cards to Think About in Boundaries Crossed Pt.1

Welcome to the real beginning of this season! The time right now is a big transition for Pokemon TCG players. It is that sweet spot after Regionals and before the start of the City Championships. A new set was just released and everyone is trying to find new decks and ideas to get an edge up on the competition, and it's my job to help with that.

We are going to take a look at Boundaries Crossed and find cards that have a chance to make an impact in the upcoming tournaments.

• Vileplume

The interesting thing about Vileplume is it makes the most unlikely pokemon become one-hit machines. It allows you to abuse many different types of pokemon to make use of Allergy Panic (Landorus EX, Rayquaza, Virizion, etc.) As long as you stay focused on attackers that use single energy attacks or attacks that can abuse Double Colorless Energy, you in theory should have a fast paced set of attackers that knock out anything. All you have to do is get Vileplume out...which is the problem.

• Blastoise

This is one of the few cards everybody is talking about, well this with Keldeo EX. Blastoise is nothing new, I mean Emboar is still in the format. What sets Blastoise apart from the pack? Other than a certain attacker that was essentially made for it, Squirtle is what I believe to be THE card to help Blastoise survive in this bench damage driven format. Sure there is still catcher but when there are cards such as: Landorus EX, Darkrai EX, Registeel EX, and Kuyrem, being able to prevent early knockouts is huge when the main point of your deck is set up a Blastoise. The biggest drawback to Deluge is just like all the other Rain Dance strategies, you need the energies in your hand which makes N the decks biggest weakness (a weakness that is a four of card in every deck).

• Keldeo EX

Other than the obvious pairing of its attack with Blastoise, which is good, I really like Keldeo EX more for its ability, Rush In. It eliminates one of your opponents options of using Pokemon Catcher to bring up a Blastoise to the active spot in hopes of stalling. Rush In also allows you to break free of status conditions on any of your other pokemon, which was huge last Regionals with Victini and Tynamo/Raikou EX. The one thing that hurts Keldeo EX is the prevalence of Mewtwo EX in the format. While this card will certainly be paired with Blastoise, I believe that it will be a valuable tech in many different decks especially with its attack only requiring colorless.

• Dusknoir

Stage 2's are trying to make a comeback in this format, and one of them that has a good chance is Dusknoir. With his ability, Sinister Hand, it allows Spread damage to be more effective. The thing it has going for it is the amount of pokemon that have amazing spread attacks. Whether it is Landorus EX or Registeel EX, as long as the deck starts hitting fast it has the ability to take big prize swings later on. Unfortunately, the ability is the only thing Dusknoir has going for it.  Being weak to Darkrai EX, not having a usable attack, and having three retreat really sets back this amazing ability. I still see a use for Dusknoir as a tech, but a deck solely built around spreading and his ability, has to overcome its frailness.

• Cresselia EX

Cresselia EX is a very limited pokemon. The one thing it is good at is being a tank. Paired with Darkrai EX and Hydreigon it has a good chance of finding a place in this format. Although its attack takes four energy, once you get it going, it eliminates your weakness which is amazing against Mewtwo EX. With being able to survive hits from nearly every pokemon save Rayquaza EX, Cresselia EX is able to use Max Potion or even Gold Potion to a great effectiveness. In conclusion, I believe that it is a good card, but it definitely needs a lot of support around it to be successful.

• Landorus EX

When I look at a card like Landorus EX, I see a format breaking card. Both of its attacks are really good. The one people are going to use the most though is Hammerhead, 30 and 30 to a bench for one is amazing (it also helps that the two biggest things last format are weak to him) it is Tynamo's worst enemy. And with it only taking one fighting energy it is easy to put it into different decks as a tech or have it be the focus.  Landorus EX's  Land's Judgment is able to knockout opposing Blastoise and Hydreigons just by discarding all its fighting. Even the three retreat can be good with Heavy Ball in the format. The format would only be Landorus EX but since we got some of the best water pokemon we have seen in awhile, it might be in for some rough seas (sorry) ahead.


Cards to Think About in Boundaries Crossed Pt.2 Coming Soon...

All images courtesy of Pokebeach.com

It's a Start

First of all, I want to welcome everyone to my little experiment. I started this blog to be another resource for players to have along with The Top Cut and the very excellent Celadon City Gym. My name is Jeremy, and I have been playing Pokemon TCG for about five years now. In my time playing, people have been saying that I have done well (getting multiple city wins, Top 16 at Nationals, and Top 8 at Worlds) but I always want more. Throughout my time playing this wonderful game I have met a lot of amazing people who I can honestly say I would do anything for them. That is what makes Pokemon such a great community, I definitely would have quit this game ages ago if it weren't for my friends.

Now enough of my rambling, I'm here to help you guys. The content of this blog will be up to you guys, because that is the best way for me to get the information that you want to see. You can message me on Facebook or email me at jallenjeremy@gmail.com with any ideas you want to see articles on. It can be anywhere from deck breakdowns to recorded matches. "Help me...help you" before this house of cards falls down on top of itself.