Cyrus
Iron Chef - Master Emeritus
~~~DENDROBATIDA~~~
”Great card, especially for this format - interesting power, interesting attack, a variety of combos, some heinous limitations to try to overcome. Good balance for Iron Chef. I had some spare time after the In-laws left to tinker a bit with it, so I tried it with Cacturne d, with Gengar, with split bomb pokemon, with Gatr EX...heck, I even tried it with tyrogue-hitmontop. I would have loved to have paired it with dark raticate, but the little vermin just missed the format cut. Rats....
In the end, with game after game on apprentice, I just couldn't find anything more consistent, or nastier, than pairing it with Jolteon Ex. In many of the other cases, Absol Ex was reduced to being used solely for its power, and thus being relegated to strictly bench work. Jolteon Ex just provides so many extra options, and the synergy between the two is so good (powers that help each other, Super Scoopability, etc.), that they beg to be married (is that possible?).
***
Absolut Damage
4 Absol EX (PK)
4 Eevee (Call for family)
4 Jolteon EX
1 Umbreon d
1 Latios EX d
1 Latias d (dual aura)
2 Holon's Magneton
2 Holon's Castform
Total: 19
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Windstorm
4 Holon Transceiver
3 Holon Mentor
2 Holon Adventurer
1 Holon Scientist
1 Holon Farmer
4 Professor Elm's Training Method
4 Mary's Request
3 Battle Frontier
Total: 30
4 Darkness Energy
7 Lightning energy
Total: 11
TOTAL: 60
Strategy: Spread damage, and do it early and often. With an absol Ex start, it is not impossible (and is, in fact, fairly likely) to have 50 damage on the active (a ko?) and 20 on the bench by the end of t2 (t1 attach, t2 evolve an eevee to jolteon and attach to absol, hit for 40 with a dark....). That's the aim, of course, but if we can't start with Absol, an eevee will work just fine, calling for family to gather other eevees, our first absol (we don't want to call for family the later absols - we'd rather lay them in play from our hand). It can then evolve into a free-retreating jolteon to pave the way for Absol Ex. Ideally, the damage should begin to accrue quickly, so that we can take advantage of Absol Ex's power to swing knockouts in our favor, whether by taking prizes during our turn, or setting up pokemon for knockouts with our attack. On apprentice runs, I find it fairly common to nail the active for 40 or so, then have them play a 50 hp basic the next turn. I lay a jolteon to hit it for 10, play an absol Ex (mentor is divine...) to move 30 from the active to the bench, and then knock out that basic and do 40 more to the active that turn with absol EX's attack. This sort of early damage spread and manipulation makes opponent setup more difficult, but if they do manage to get something big and nasty up, the secondary use of Absol's power kicks in - loading something up with counters for jolteon's second bite. If there are 2 pokemon in play with 30 damage on them, you can go from a dead-end situation to taking 2 prizes in a hurry. Your eevee with 1 energy on it, with a mentor and a jolteon in hand, can actually take the thing out - mentor for 2 absol and a castform, attach, evolve, do 10 damage, lay the 2 absol move 60 to the active, which now has 70, and second bite the thing for 90 - a nasty comeback surprise for the EX player....
As usual, there's a fair amount of tech in here, most importantly the lati@s combo, so a single-card explanation will follow in the next message.
Deck (9/10): Wow, what a way to end the Iron Chef ToC! This list is extremely solid…free retreat for the latis, and very legit Pokemon lines. You have ways to deal with Gyms/Cessation, a very high-quality draw/search engine, and even healing/switching in the form of SSU (not to mention very easy retreat costs to work with). Your energy isn’t skimpy at all; it’s just all about whether you start with one or not. Also, the SSU as your only method of switching can cause issues. This list is a big win, though!
Creativity (4/5): While one would think that another Jolteon ex/Eeveelutions-esque deck would be boring, this is anything but! Absol/Jolteon have amazing synergy, and seeing these two cards go together is like watching two pieces of a puzzle come together. Umbreon d was also a very neat play, but couldn’t at least one more eeveelution (or rather, axing one for another) have been huge?
Card Use (4/5): You do just as great a job here as anywhere else in the deck. Both the attack and the power are abused very well. My one and only issue is how vulnerable the deck might be to fighting, but that’s okay because you simply KO most of them before they become threats. Very nice, very nice!
OVERALL: 17/20
~~~Gymbo ex~~~
”Well, I just want to say that it's been unreal getting here. I realize that this is something done for fun and some people may not take it seriously, but there's something really special about being able to take seemingly random cards and make decent and sometimes amazing decks with them. It's something I've enjoyed doing for a long time. There's nothing like taking something you've made yourself and getting 1st in States or 4th in Regionals. That's what I hope those who read these Iron Chef submissions learn. Archetypes are nice, but sometimes it's just a bit sweeter to win with your own deck ideas. Also, I wanted to say that in this final matchup, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather compete against than Jake. He's an incredible player, deckbuilder, strategist, and an even better friend. Seems we've been through a lot together in this game bud. Wishing you the best of luck, but I'm doubting you'll need it. Anyways, on to my list...
This ingredient was rather unique in the fact that it hasn't been officially released yet, which is pretty interesting. It's actually not that bad of a card. In fact with the certain backup and focus it can ABSOLutely be good (Stole that from Jake). Har har, on the pun. Anyways, the card is Absol ex. And let's break it down first before I explain how I built a deck around the card.
Absol ex 100 HP
Basic Dark Pokemon
PokePower: Cursed Eyes: Once during your turn when you play Absol ex from your hand to your Bench, you may move 3 damage counters from one of your opponent's Pokemon to another of his or her Pokemon.
DC: Psychic Pulse: 30 Does 10 damage to your opponent's Benched Pokemon that already have damage counters. Do not apply Weakness or Resistance to Benched Pokemon.
Weakness: Fighting
Resistance: Psychic
Retreat: 1
Cursed Eyes is what makes this card money. Psychic Pulse isn't bad either, compliments Cursed Eyes sort of. But Cursed Eyes is where I focused my deck around. The trick was finding a good, consistant, powerful Pokemon that could abuse Cursed Eyes. My deck isn't some intricately amazing deck that my opponent will probably produce. It's a simple, yet effective, and powerful combo I found in...
Pokemon: 16
4 Growlithe (LM)
4 Arcanine ex
3 Absol ex
2 Absol (LM)
2 Lunatone (LM)
1 Solrock (LM)
As I said before, I focused on Absol ex's Cursed Eyes. Arcanine ex can really benefit from Absol ex. The key to this deck is using Overrun repeatedly early on, spreading the damage around. Then using Absol's Power to move the damage either from the Active to the Pokemon you hit for 20 presumably for an additional KO (40-50 HP Basic). Or moving the 20 damage from the Bench to the Active (also for a potential KO). Or by moving the 20 damage from the Bench to the Active, then Flame Swirling something big and nasty. That's 150 damage over two turns, which pretty much wipes out anything. After drawing your 1-3 prizes, smile and repeat. However, let's not count Absol ex's attack out either. It's a nice backup. Overruning until an Arcanine is KOed and then using Psychic Pulse to sweep up some final Prizes can also come in handy. Absol and Arcanine synergize with their attacks (and Absol's Power). The other Absol from LM works nice if you start with it because you can then fetch the Arcanine ex after either Benching the Growlithe or Mentoring for it. Feint Attack is also handy, especially with it's ex Brother. LunaSol is LunaSol, it's disruption which helps versus the lingering Magcargo and Milotic d support. 2/1 Luna/Sol is satisfactory for me because it's not a requirement of the deck, it just helps. I considered a second Solrock, but would rather have additional other things. Lunatone is also not bad to start with to grab the Holon Transceiver. Now, you may be asking several questions. The first being "Why not use Houndoom?" Well, against a smart opponent they might actually have a larger Bench than myself. I have to play Absol ex to the Bench in order to use it's power. They can take advantage of that and Lonesome could become a waste, I prefer the guaranteed disruption in LunaSol, even if it isn't as good as a BF Lock with Houndoom in play. Next, "If Absol is your ingredient, why not max out on him?" Well, I did for a long time. I went 4 Absol ex and 3/3 Arcanine. However, I decided that I would rather want the 4th Growlithe over the 4th Absol because I don't want to start with Absol because then it's Power is wasted. So basically, in a scenario like that, I am left with 3 usable Absol anyways.
Energy: 16
9 Fire
4 Darkness
3 React
Pretty standard. Almost standard. I went in favor of a 9th Fire over a 4th React. I did that because I focus more on Overrun than Flame Swirl. Flame Swirl is used only for big or critical KOs. Also the extra Fire helps with Arcanine's Fire Remedy PokeBody. The Darkness Energy is there to feed each of the Absols' attacks. Woot.
Trainers: 28
4 Holon Transceiver
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Prof. Elm's Training Method
4 Battle Frontier
3 Mary's Request
2 Copycat
2 Holon Mentor
2 Warp Point
1 Holon Scientist
1 Holon Adventurer
1 Holon Farmer
Here's always the most intricate section of any deck. I went again with the Holon Engine, moreso because I have no "Fetching Basic" such as Tauros or Luvdisc. Maxed out the Transceiver because I can grab them with Lunatone, or just drawing one with the sheer number of them. In a heavy area of Houndoom, going 3/3 Mentor/Transceiver could be a good idea too. Maxed out the PETM because I could, that and it helps getting Arcy out very quickly. Like T2 quickly. Battle Frontier is a pretty good play in this deck. Moreso than Windstorm or Holon Legacy. Windstorm is pretty much my standard anti-Stadium, but I wanted something that forced my opponent to counter. Battle Frontier hurts the increasing amounts of MetaNite that are springing up and is just a good Stadium. Good thing my Absols are Basics.
Perhaps the most daring concept I went with in this deck was the fact that I am running no ER2 or Reversal. I typically will put a combination of the two in any standard Arcanaine deck. In case you didn't notice, this is Iron Chef, we go for beyond Standard. This deck focuses around getting KOs anywhere, especially on the Bench. Why do I need to Reversal something or remove its energy card when I can just KO it outright with Overrun and Cursed Eyes? So, instead I went with Super Scoop Up. It's like candy for Absol, it loves it that much. (Probably Snickers). You simply pick back up the Absol ex and use it again. This is another reason why I did not max out Absol ex, I knew I'd be using Scoops. Scoops are also nice when you are about to lose an Arcanine ex. It's one of my favorite Trainers. Mary's Request and Copycat are supplemental draw and deck cycling, pretty obvious choices there. And as you continue down the list you see the Holon Line that I typically use in my decks. 1/1/1 Scientist/Adventurer/Farmer is a pretty balanced choice in terms of drawing and recovery. Farmer is especially nice in this deck with Arcanaine's potential discarding. Warp Point is also another money shot in this deck. It adds to the disruptiveness and gives more potential to draw multiple prizes in the same turn.
[FINAL LIST]
Pokemon: 16
4 Growlithe (LM)
4 Arcanine ex
3 Absol ex
2 Absol (LM)
2 Lunatone (LM)
1 Solrock (LM)
Trainers: 28
4 Holon Transceiver
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Prof. Elm's Training Method
4 Battle Frontier
3 Mary's Request
2 Copycat
2 Holon Mentor
2 Warp Point
1 Holon Scientist
1 Holon Adventurer
1 Holon Farmer
Energy: 16
9 Fire
4 Darkness
3 React
And there you have it, amongst all of my crazy gibberish, you have my Finalist Iron Chef Deck. I did my best this entire tournament and had a great deal of fun being a part of this environment. I wanted to thank Patriarch, and each of my competitors from the previous rounds (Jermy, Ross, and Kyle), and I wanted to wish my friend Jake the best of luck.
Thank you once again,
~Jim
Deck (8/10): Probably the best list I’ve seen from Gymbo since round one. It has an extremely solid draw count, good searching/drawing, switching, natural healing via the Arcanine poke-body, and some consistent starters. I would have liked to see a slightly more versatile energy lineup, such as a trode for PETM'ing, or a 4th react, and maybe even windstorm to deal with cessation (not a voting issue, just a suggestion). Last of all, the Pokemon seem a little bit unfocused due to the multiple starters, but the list is pretty much great.
Creativity (3/5): This is a pretty solid, creative way to take Arcanine and make it as good or better than it is right now. Despite being a clever surprise deck, this just seems like another Arcanine variant. I’m happy with the job you did here, but it looks like the deck’s innovations could have gone even further.
Card Use (4/5): Let’s see. While you didn’t totally abuse this card in every possible way, Curse Eyes is totally abused, and lets you KO even the nastiest of threats with Arc. Psychic Pulse is also a cool way to start ripping apart your opponent’s field combined with the mutt. SSU and the addition of Darkness energy are also great in solidifying harder/bad matchups. Types are also covered pretty well, so good going!
OVERALL: 15/20
After an exciting year+ worth of deciding invited competitors, a long wait process before the start of this ToC, and the endgame, I must say that it's been great doing this. The skill exhibited by these fourteen competitors (and even the two who didn't turn in decks) is impressive, and what an accomplishment on Dendrobatida's part to win it all! For aftermath, tournament organizer comments, and prizes for the final four, check out the new topic coming up!
”Great card, especially for this format - interesting power, interesting attack, a variety of combos, some heinous limitations to try to overcome. Good balance for Iron Chef. I had some spare time after the In-laws left to tinker a bit with it, so I tried it with Cacturne d, with Gengar, with split bomb pokemon, with Gatr EX...heck, I even tried it with tyrogue-hitmontop. I would have loved to have paired it with dark raticate, but the little vermin just missed the format cut. Rats....
In the end, with game after game on apprentice, I just couldn't find anything more consistent, or nastier, than pairing it with Jolteon Ex. In many of the other cases, Absol Ex was reduced to being used solely for its power, and thus being relegated to strictly bench work. Jolteon Ex just provides so many extra options, and the synergy between the two is so good (powers that help each other, Super Scoopability, etc.), that they beg to be married (is that possible?).
***
Absolut Damage
4 Absol EX (PK)
4 Eevee (Call for family)
4 Jolteon EX
1 Umbreon d
1 Latios EX d
1 Latias d (dual aura)
2 Holon's Magneton
2 Holon's Castform
Total: 19
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Windstorm
4 Holon Transceiver
3 Holon Mentor
2 Holon Adventurer
1 Holon Scientist
1 Holon Farmer
4 Professor Elm's Training Method
4 Mary's Request
3 Battle Frontier
Total: 30
4 Darkness Energy
7 Lightning energy
Total: 11
TOTAL: 60
Strategy: Spread damage, and do it early and often. With an absol Ex start, it is not impossible (and is, in fact, fairly likely) to have 50 damage on the active (a ko?) and 20 on the bench by the end of t2 (t1 attach, t2 evolve an eevee to jolteon and attach to absol, hit for 40 with a dark....). That's the aim, of course, but if we can't start with Absol, an eevee will work just fine, calling for family to gather other eevees, our first absol (we don't want to call for family the later absols - we'd rather lay them in play from our hand). It can then evolve into a free-retreating jolteon to pave the way for Absol Ex. Ideally, the damage should begin to accrue quickly, so that we can take advantage of Absol Ex's power to swing knockouts in our favor, whether by taking prizes during our turn, or setting up pokemon for knockouts with our attack. On apprentice runs, I find it fairly common to nail the active for 40 or so, then have them play a 50 hp basic the next turn. I lay a jolteon to hit it for 10, play an absol Ex (mentor is divine...) to move 30 from the active to the bench, and then knock out that basic and do 40 more to the active that turn with absol EX's attack. This sort of early damage spread and manipulation makes opponent setup more difficult, but if they do manage to get something big and nasty up, the secondary use of Absol's power kicks in - loading something up with counters for jolteon's second bite. If there are 2 pokemon in play with 30 damage on them, you can go from a dead-end situation to taking 2 prizes in a hurry. Your eevee with 1 energy on it, with a mentor and a jolteon in hand, can actually take the thing out - mentor for 2 absol and a castform, attach, evolve, do 10 damage, lay the 2 absol move 60 to the active, which now has 70, and second bite the thing for 90 - a nasty comeback surprise for the EX player....
As usual, there's a fair amount of tech in here, most importantly the lati@s combo, so a single-card explanation will follow in the next message.
Deck (9/10): Wow, what a way to end the Iron Chef ToC! This list is extremely solid…free retreat for the latis, and very legit Pokemon lines. You have ways to deal with Gyms/Cessation, a very high-quality draw/search engine, and even healing/switching in the form of SSU (not to mention very easy retreat costs to work with). Your energy isn’t skimpy at all; it’s just all about whether you start with one or not. Also, the SSU as your only method of switching can cause issues. This list is a big win, though!
Creativity (4/5): While one would think that another Jolteon ex/Eeveelutions-esque deck would be boring, this is anything but! Absol/Jolteon have amazing synergy, and seeing these two cards go together is like watching two pieces of a puzzle come together. Umbreon d was also a very neat play, but couldn’t at least one more eeveelution (or rather, axing one for another) have been huge?
Card Use (4/5): You do just as great a job here as anywhere else in the deck. Both the attack and the power are abused very well. My one and only issue is how vulnerable the deck might be to fighting, but that’s okay because you simply KO most of them before they become threats. Very nice, very nice!
OVERALL: 17/20
~~~Gymbo ex~~~
”Well, I just want to say that it's been unreal getting here. I realize that this is something done for fun and some people may not take it seriously, but there's something really special about being able to take seemingly random cards and make decent and sometimes amazing decks with them. It's something I've enjoyed doing for a long time. There's nothing like taking something you've made yourself and getting 1st in States or 4th in Regionals. That's what I hope those who read these Iron Chef submissions learn. Archetypes are nice, but sometimes it's just a bit sweeter to win with your own deck ideas. Also, I wanted to say that in this final matchup, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather compete against than Jake. He's an incredible player, deckbuilder, strategist, and an even better friend. Seems we've been through a lot together in this game bud. Wishing you the best of luck, but I'm doubting you'll need it. Anyways, on to my list...
This ingredient was rather unique in the fact that it hasn't been officially released yet, which is pretty interesting. It's actually not that bad of a card. In fact with the certain backup and focus it can ABSOLutely be good (Stole that from Jake). Har har, on the pun. Anyways, the card is Absol ex. And let's break it down first before I explain how I built a deck around the card.
Absol ex 100 HP
Basic Dark Pokemon
PokePower: Cursed Eyes: Once during your turn when you play Absol ex from your hand to your Bench, you may move 3 damage counters from one of your opponent's Pokemon to another of his or her Pokemon.
DC: Psychic Pulse: 30 Does 10 damage to your opponent's Benched Pokemon that already have damage counters. Do not apply Weakness or Resistance to Benched Pokemon.
Weakness: Fighting
Resistance: Psychic
Retreat: 1
Cursed Eyes is what makes this card money. Psychic Pulse isn't bad either, compliments Cursed Eyes sort of. But Cursed Eyes is where I focused my deck around. The trick was finding a good, consistant, powerful Pokemon that could abuse Cursed Eyes. My deck isn't some intricately amazing deck that my opponent will probably produce. It's a simple, yet effective, and powerful combo I found in...
Pokemon: 16
4 Growlithe (LM)
4 Arcanine ex
3 Absol ex
2 Absol (LM)
2 Lunatone (LM)
1 Solrock (LM)
As I said before, I focused on Absol ex's Cursed Eyes. Arcanine ex can really benefit from Absol ex. The key to this deck is using Overrun repeatedly early on, spreading the damage around. Then using Absol's Power to move the damage either from the Active to the Pokemon you hit for 20 presumably for an additional KO (40-50 HP Basic). Or moving the 20 damage from the Bench to the Active (also for a potential KO). Or by moving the 20 damage from the Bench to the Active, then Flame Swirling something big and nasty. That's 150 damage over two turns, which pretty much wipes out anything. After drawing your 1-3 prizes, smile and repeat. However, let's not count Absol ex's attack out either. It's a nice backup. Overruning until an Arcanine is KOed and then using Psychic Pulse to sweep up some final Prizes can also come in handy. Absol and Arcanine synergize with their attacks (and Absol's Power). The other Absol from LM works nice if you start with it because you can then fetch the Arcanine ex after either Benching the Growlithe or Mentoring for it. Feint Attack is also handy, especially with it's ex Brother. LunaSol is LunaSol, it's disruption which helps versus the lingering Magcargo and Milotic d support. 2/1 Luna/Sol is satisfactory for me because it's not a requirement of the deck, it just helps. I considered a second Solrock, but would rather have additional other things. Lunatone is also not bad to start with to grab the Holon Transceiver. Now, you may be asking several questions. The first being "Why not use Houndoom?" Well, against a smart opponent they might actually have a larger Bench than myself. I have to play Absol ex to the Bench in order to use it's power. They can take advantage of that and Lonesome could become a waste, I prefer the guaranteed disruption in LunaSol, even if it isn't as good as a BF Lock with Houndoom in play. Next, "If Absol is your ingredient, why not max out on him?" Well, I did for a long time. I went 4 Absol ex and 3/3 Arcanine. However, I decided that I would rather want the 4th Growlithe over the 4th Absol because I don't want to start with Absol because then it's Power is wasted. So basically, in a scenario like that, I am left with 3 usable Absol anyways.
Energy: 16
9 Fire
4 Darkness
3 React
Pretty standard. Almost standard. I went in favor of a 9th Fire over a 4th React. I did that because I focus more on Overrun than Flame Swirl. Flame Swirl is used only for big or critical KOs. Also the extra Fire helps with Arcanine's Fire Remedy PokeBody. The Darkness Energy is there to feed each of the Absols' attacks. Woot.
Trainers: 28
4 Holon Transceiver
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Prof. Elm's Training Method
4 Battle Frontier
3 Mary's Request
2 Copycat
2 Holon Mentor
2 Warp Point
1 Holon Scientist
1 Holon Adventurer
1 Holon Farmer
Here's always the most intricate section of any deck. I went again with the Holon Engine, moreso because I have no "Fetching Basic" such as Tauros or Luvdisc. Maxed out the Transceiver because I can grab them with Lunatone, or just drawing one with the sheer number of them. In a heavy area of Houndoom, going 3/3 Mentor/Transceiver could be a good idea too. Maxed out the PETM because I could, that and it helps getting Arcy out very quickly. Like T2 quickly. Battle Frontier is a pretty good play in this deck. Moreso than Windstorm or Holon Legacy. Windstorm is pretty much my standard anti-Stadium, but I wanted something that forced my opponent to counter. Battle Frontier hurts the increasing amounts of MetaNite that are springing up and is just a good Stadium. Good thing my Absols are Basics.
Perhaps the most daring concept I went with in this deck was the fact that I am running no ER2 or Reversal. I typically will put a combination of the two in any standard Arcanaine deck. In case you didn't notice, this is Iron Chef, we go for beyond Standard. This deck focuses around getting KOs anywhere, especially on the Bench. Why do I need to Reversal something or remove its energy card when I can just KO it outright with Overrun and Cursed Eyes? So, instead I went with Super Scoop Up. It's like candy for Absol, it loves it that much. (Probably Snickers). You simply pick back up the Absol ex and use it again. This is another reason why I did not max out Absol ex, I knew I'd be using Scoops. Scoops are also nice when you are about to lose an Arcanine ex. It's one of my favorite Trainers. Mary's Request and Copycat are supplemental draw and deck cycling, pretty obvious choices there. And as you continue down the list you see the Holon Line that I typically use in my decks. 1/1/1 Scientist/Adventurer/Farmer is a pretty balanced choice in terms of drawing and recovery. Farmer is especially nice in this deck with Arcanaine's potential discarding. Warp Point is also another money shot in this deck. It adds to the disruptiveness and gives more potential to draw multiple prizes in the same turn. [FINAL LIST]
Pokemon: 16
4 Growlithe (LM)
4 Arcanine ex
3 Absol ex
2 Absol (LM)
2 Lunatone (LM)
1 Solrock (LM)
Trainers: 28
4 Holon Transceiver
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Prof. Elm's Training Method
4 Battle Frontier
3 Mary's Request
2 Copycat
2 Holon Mentor
2 Warp Point
1 Holon Scientist
1 Holon Adventurer
1 Holon Farmer
Energy: 16
9 Fire
4 Darkness
3 React
And there you have it, amongst all of my crazy gibberish, you have my Finalist Iron Chef Deck. I did my best this entire tournament and had a great deal of fun being a part of this environment. I wanted to thank Patriarch, and each of my competitors from the previous rounds (Jermy, Ross, and Kyle), and I wanted to wish my friend Jake the best of luck.
Thank you once again,
~Jim
Deck (8/10): Probably the best list I’ve seen from Gymbo since round one. It has an extremely solid draw count, good searching/drawing, switching, natural healing via the Arcanine poke-body, and some consistent starters. I would have liked to see a slightly more versatile energy lineup, such as a trode for PETM'ing, or a 4th react, and maybe even windstorm to deal with cessation (not a voting issue, just a suggestion). Last of all, the Pokemon seem a little bit unfocused due to the multiple starters, but the list is pretty much great.
Creativity (3/5): This is a pretty solid, creative way to take Arcanine and make it as good or better than it is right now. Despite being a clever surprise deck, this just seems like another Arcanine variant. I’m happy with the job you did here, but it looks like the deck’s innovations could have gone even further.
Card Use (4/5): Let’s see. While you didn’t totally abuse this card in every possible way, Curse Eyes is totally abused, and lets you KO even the nastiest of threats with Arc. Psychic Pulse is also a cool way to start ripping apart your opponent’s field combined with the mutt. SSU and the addition of Darkness energy are also great in solidifying harder/bad matchups. Types are also covered pretty well, so good going!
OVERALL: 15/20
After an exciting year+ worth of deciding invited competitors, a long wait process before the start of this ToC, and the endgame, I must say that it's been great doing this. The skill exhibited by these fourteen competitors (and even the two who didn't turn in decks) is impressive, and what an accomplishment on Dendrobatida's part to win it all! For aftermath, tournament organizer comments, and prizes for the final four, check out the new topic coming up!
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