Hello to all….
As you all may by now know, I will not be attending a Regional this year. My wife and I planned a vacation earlier in the year prior to the date and time announcement for Regionals. I am really gonna miss playing in this high level and skill showcasing event. I really wish they all weren’t on the same day, but that’s another topic….
I am writing this topic today in response to some of the “Shinanigans” that went on here yesterday. Some of you may have seen several 4 corners lists posted by random individuals. Someone also went as far as creating a bogus screen name to try and exploit my decklist. This was an extremely pathetic attempt at exposing another rogue deck PRIOR to it being played at a major event. Sad day for Pokemon indeed…. I will neither confirm nor deny that the actual list made it onto the boards. It very well may still be on here.
I became inspired last night to try and give all of you some insight on how I prepare myself and my decks to combat the metagame. It is important that this information gets out, as I feel the creativity level has dropped considerably since the domination of GG and Magmortar.
First let me state this…. It is a GREAT thing for any TCG to have an established metagame. Mortar and Gardy are actually good for this game. The problem that I currently have with the game is that there are such limited options to combat these 2 decks, that it has actually made the game stale.
Armed with this information I refused to give up on this game that I love so much. Many of you know that I don’t have the PLAY TO WIN mentality. I do however have the BREAK THE METAGAME mentality. It is never about my personal achievements. I find greater enjoyment in producing decks that are little known, that become archetypes for the rogue player. Many of you know me from this.
So on to the how to do it portion….
Step 1) Know your metagame. You CANT build a deck that can take out every deck in the format. It is absolutely impossible. You can however build things that can counter your local or regional area. Understanding what is being played in your area, is probably the single biggest part of building a good rogue deck.
Step 2) Understand the capabilities and limitations of the decks currently being played. If you don’t understand the limitations of your opponent’s deck, how do you plan on exploiting those limitations (weaknesses). Example….I know that after all GG’s prizes are turned over they can max at 60, without the use of bring down. Knowing this information will aid you in building the perfect counter.
Step 3) Identify the weakness of the top decks being played. Usually this will be the actual weakness of said cards. Example… Magmortar being weak to water, etc… This will allow you to focus on certain flavors of pokemon to eliminate you wasting your time with things that will not do well against the metagame. I did this with Holon WP vs GG with my Answer deck. Not always is the counter going to be easy to find, but rest assured they are out there.
Step 4) Build and test…..Without this step you cant actually see what the problems are with your deck. Apprentice and Redshark are great for casual games, but I don’t feel that they give you an ACURRATE test of a decks capabilities. There is just no substitute for actual live play testing. It grows the game as well as allowing you to immediately recognizing and shortfalls in the deck.
Step 5) Don’t give up. If you can take the top decks to 1 prize and you got a bad draw or poor start, you can consider that game an actual win. Identify why you had a poor start or cards that didn’t help you during the match and alter it to flow better. People underestimate the difference 1 card can make in your deck. One ATM rock won me several games with eevee even though 60% of my attackers were Ex’s. Unorthodox Yes, Bad play? NO! You also need to know when it just isnt working. Some ideas just need to be scrapped right away. Like my attempt at a poison deck. YUK!!!
Step 6) Be confident in what you have in front of you. If you over think things your deck will slip into a bad place. I actually, OVER TECHED Destiny last year at worlds. I paid a heavy price for that. Know that you did all the proper play testing and be confident that what you have is what’s going to win. Attitude could really make the difference.
Step 7) KEEP IT SECRET!!! This is really important in playing a rogue deck. If you let your secret out, people will find the counter to it. Most rogue decks win events on the surprise factor. If you happen to win another event with it after the surprise factor has worn off, you have actually made yourself a new rogue archetype. Now play it all the time. It will become part of you as the season goes on. The more you play your deck, the more you become comfortable with it. Understanding the matchups combined with a clear understanding of your deck, will usually net you a win.
I don’t think people appreciate what it takes to build and run a rogue deck. It takes some real stones. Knowing that you are going war with the giants of the game with a sling shot and some pebbles is really frightening, but it is what drives my passion for the game. I do not keep lists off the Gym to cheat you people out of my ideas. I do it to try and maintain the surprise factor.
I have done my best to keep the Arithmetic deck off the boards. I did this to try and keep the surprise factor for the people who have the stones to follow in my footsteps. It was a terrible disgrace to the game and to the individual who tried to ruin it for all the people who put their faith in me to help them. It was a new low even for that particular individual. While I am not going to be playing, my deck will be out there. I wish them all the best of luck.
I will continue my mission to try and keep this game fresh and enjoyable for all. The countless PM’s become annoying, yet seem to inspire me to continue the drive….
Thank you for reading and I hope some day people will actually respect the effort it takes to try and break the metagame.
Jimmy
As you all may by now know, I will not be attending a Regional this year. My wife and I planned a vacation earlier in the year prior to the date and time announcement for Regionals. I am really gonna miss playing in this high level and skill showcasing event. I really wish they all weren’t on the same day, but that’s another topic….
I am writing this topic today in response to some of the “Shinanigans” that went on here yesterday. Some of you may have seen several 4 corners lists posted by random individuals. Someone also went as far as creating a bogus screen name to try and exploit my decklist. This was an extremely pathetic attempt at exposing another rogue deck PRIOR to it being played at a major event. Sad day for Pokemon indeed…. I will neither confirm nor deny that the actual list made it onto the boards. It very well may still be on here.
I became inspired last night to try and give all of you some insight on how I prepare myself and my decks to combat the metagame. It is important that this information gets out, as I feel the creativity level has dropped considerably since the domination of GG and Magmortar.
First let me state this…. It is a GREAT thing for any TCG to have an established metagame. Mortar and Gardy are actually good for this game. The problem that I currently have with the game is that there are such limited options to combat these 2 decks, that it has actually made the game stale.
Armed with this information I refused to give up on this game that I love so much. Many of you know that I don’t have the PLAY TO WIN mentality. I do however have the BREAK THE METAGAME mentality. It is never about my personal achievements. I find greater enjoyment in producing decks that are little known, that become archetypes for the rogue player. Many of you know me from this.
So on to the how to do it portion….
Step 1) Know your metagame. You CANT build a deck that can take out every deck in the format. It is absolutely impossible. You can however build things that can counter your local or regional area. Understanding what is being played in your area, is probably the single biggest part of building a good rogue deck.
Step 2) Understand the capabilities and limitations of the decks currently being played. If you don’t understand the limitations of your opponent’s deck, how do you plan on exploiting those limitations (weaknesses). Example….I know that after all GG’s prizes are turned over they can max at 60, without the use of bring down. Knowing this information will aid you in building the perfect counter.
Step 3) Identify the weakness of the top decks being played. Usually this will be the actual weakness of said cards. Example… Magmortar being weak to water, etc… This will allow you to focus on certain flavors of pokemon to eliminate you wasting your time with things that will not do well against the metagame. I did this with Holon WP vs GG with my Answer deck. Not always is the counter going to be easy to find, but rest assured they are out there.
Step 4) Build and test…..Without this step you cant actually see what the problems are with your deck. Apprentice and Redshark are great for casual games, but I don’t feel that they give you an ACURRATE test of a decks capabilities. There is just no substitute for actual live play testing. It grows the game as well as allowing you to immediately recognizing and shortfalls in the deck.
Step 5) Don’t give up. If you can take the top decks to 1 prize and you got a bad draw or poor start, you can consider that game an actual win. Identify why you had a poor start or cards that didn’t help you during the match and alter it to flow better. People underestimate the difference 1 card can make in your deck. One ATM rock won me several games with eevee even though 60% of my attackers were Ex’s. Unorthodox Yes, Bad play? NO! You also need to know when it just isnt working. Some ideas just need to be scrapped right away. Like my attempt at a poison deck. YUK!!!
Step 6) Be confident in what you have in front of you. If you over think things your deck will slip into a bad place. I actually, OVER TECHED Destiny last year at worlds. I paid a heavy price for that. Know that you did all the proper play testing and be confident that what you have is what’s going to win. Attitude could really make the difference.
Step 7) KEEP IT SECRET!!! This is really important in playing a rogue deck. If you let your secret out, people will find the counter to it. Most rogue decks win events on the surprise factor. If you happen to win another event with it after the surprise factor has worn off, you have actually made yourself a new rogue archetype. Now play it all the time. It will become part of you as the season goes on. The more you play your deck, the more you become comfortable with it. Understanding the matchups combined with a clear understanding of your deck, will usually net you a win.
I don’t think people appreciate what it takes to build and run a rogue deck. It takes some real stones. Knowing that you are going war with the giants of the game with a sling shot and some pebbles is really frightening, but it is what drives my passion for the game. I do not keep lists off the Gym to cheat you people out of my ideas. I do it to try and maintain the surprise factor.
I have done my best to keep the Arithmetic deck off the boards. I did this to try and keep the surprise factor for the people who have the stones to follow in my footsteps. It was a terrible disgrace to the game and to the individual who tried to ruin it for all the people who put their faith in me to help them. It was a new low even for that particular individual. While I am not going to be playing, my deck will be out there. I wish them all the best of luck.
I will continue my mission to try and keep this game fresh and enjoyable for all. The countless PM’s become annoying, yet seem to inspire me to continue the drive….
Thank you for reading and I hope some day people will actually respect the effort it takes to try and break the metagame.
Jimmy
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