Every time a new set comes out or scans of new cards are revealed, people start theorizing about which cards are going to be good, which decks are going to be popular, and how the set will shape the metagame. And every time someone gets excited about a card, there's at least one person who shoots them down, saying it's too early to know which cards will be good and that we shouldn't speculate. Okay, even if it is too early to speculate, what's the harm in trying? For some players (me included), it's fun to look at new cards and think of possible combos and how they can alter the metagame. Why rain on their parade?
What's wrong with early predictions?
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HappyHaunter
New Member
Yeah I used to notice this a lot before laser came into play. I remember telling one person about it and he quickly shot me down in a strong manner. I don't remember the full conversation anymore but he went on to say something about only focusing on what cards are available at the moment because that's all what matters in tournament play. But I could definitely sense the frustration when I brought up future cards.
Charranitar
Member
There's a lot of people in this game who can't theorize card combinations and come up with how new cards will properly be utilized, and need other people to come up with the ideas first before flocking to them, so something they can't understand they will just shoot down.
I remember a lot of players shot down Darkrai EX as being a bad card, when it obviously was going to be very strong. Garchomp/Altaria was hyped as one of the best decks headed into BLW-on, even though it was horrible. People thought Blastoise would be a bad deck, even though Keldeo EX could OHKO everything! Almost no one played Landorus/Lugia during states, even though it was clearly one of the best decks (with one player who did believe in it winning at least 2 states).
I think in general people are just too dismissive of certain cards. We just see it over and over again. People dismiss every card outside a few, and then pretty much every card with an interesting Ability or attack, someone somewhere finds some way to put the card into a successful deck.
The most obscure card I think I've done well with was making top cut at a states with Pinsir NXD in my CMT. It has an attack called Power Pinch, that for a Double Colorless Energy lets you flip 2 coins, and for each heads discard an Energy off of the Active. I thought it would be a good card to fit in to try to disrupt Energy for decks without Acceleration or limited Acceleration, giving my deck an extra layer of strategical depth. I think I only used it once during the tournament, but against a Vileplume/Donphan/Cobalion deck, I was in a pretty bad spot, looking to get run over pretty hard, but I looked at my hand, had DCE+Pinsir in it, reteated to Pinsir, attached DCE, rolled two dice for double heads and that completely swung the game for me.
The way I always try to look at every new set is go through, and make a list of every card that I think has a good attack or a good Ability (or almost any Ability for that matter). As far as attacks go, it doesn't always have to be universally good, but just looking for something that is able to KO Lightning weak Stage 2's, or EX's, etc. in one hit is the type of stuff I look for.
I remember a lot of players shot down Darkrai EX as being a bad card, when it obviously was going to be very strong. Garchomp/Altaria was hyped as one of the best decks headed into BLW-on, even though it was horrible. People thought Blastoise would be a bad deck, even though Keldeo EX could OHKO everything! Almost no one played Landorus/Lugia during states, even though it was clearly one of the best decks (with one player who did believe in it winning at least 2 states).
I think in general people are just too dismissive of certain cards. We just see it over and over again. People dismiss every card outside a few, and then pretty much every card with an interesting Ability or attack, someone somewhere finds some way to put the card into a successful deck.
The most obscure card I think I've done well with was making top cut at a states with Pinsir NXD in my CMT. It has an attack called Power Pinch, that for a Double Colorless Energy lets you flip 2 coins, and for each heads discard an Energy off of the Active. I thought it would be a good card to fit in to try to disrupt Energy for decks without Acceleration or limited Acceleration, giving my deck an extra layer of strategical depth. I think I only used it once during the tournament, but against a Vileplume/Donphan/Cobalion deck, I was in a pretty bad spot, looking to get run over pretty hard, but I looked at my hand, had DCE+Pinsir in it, reteated to Pinsir, attached DCE, rolled two dice for double heads and that completely swung the game for me.
The way I always try to look at every new set is go through, and make a list of every card that I think has a good attack or a good Ability (or almost any Ability for that matter). As far as attacks go, it doesn't always have to be universally good, but just looking for something that is able to KO Lightning weak Stage 2's, or EX's, etc. in one hit is the type of stuff I look for.
losjackal
Technical Administrator
It's the Internet! People love to show off they think they're right, even when it's at the expense of someone else. (And yeah, I'm only human, I admit I fall into this sometimes.)
Still, when that kind of reply comes from experienced (winning) players, I try to see the truth in it. I'm coming to realize that the game is second nature to some people, whereas it still takes time for me to see a winning move, or to appreciate a game state. I believe think can sense when a card combination is just a bit too out of reach to be consistent enough to be able to win tournament after tournament with.
But in the end, this "news and gossip" forum should encourage speculation IMO.
Still, when that kind of reply comes from experienced (winning) players, I try to see the truth in it. I'm coming to realize that the game is second nature to some people, whereas it still takes time for me to see a winning move, or to appreciate a game state. I believe think can sense when a card combination is just a bit too out of reach to be consistent enough to be able to win tournament after tournament with.
But in the end, this "news and gossip" forum should encourage speculation IMO.
rivershock
Member
I can see both sides of this to be honest. On one hand, coming up with combos that will be powerful in the future is useful for a variety of reasons, both to try and use said combo and how to counter it, but it IS annoying hearing people drone on about certain combos that WON'T succeed. (Virtually every set has had at least 1 card that someone here has become totally obsessed with before it even came out and feels it's the most broken thing ever, and then never uses it once it does come out. I think Palkia EX was the last such card. >.>)
Doesn't bother me as much when it's one of those general opinions that everyone feels strongly one way or the other on, like Cradily, Haxorus or Garchomp, as you hear it enough times that you don't really feel the need to argue the point.
Doesn't bother me as much when it's one of those general opinions that everyone feels strongly one way or the other on, like Cradily, Haxorus or Garchomp, as you hear it enough times that you don't really feel the need to argue the point.
I think that anything that hits the magic 90 for 3 energy (especially if only one of those energies is a specific type) has potential. That's why I think Emolga, while extremely weak for an EX, could actually find a niche somewhere. GoGoat is another one I think is at least passable. (GCC) hits the magic 90 (a heavy charm could reduce the self damage), and it also has a way to retrieve supporters if you're in a tight spot. If it doesn't see any play in modified, I at least think it would be an ideal pokemon for draft.
I also think anything that hits 60 for one could find a use. With a silver bangle, you can take down an EX that's weak to you for just one energy. Lanturn, Cacturne, and the upcoming Dugtrio are some examples of this. They have drawbacks, but there are ways to get around them (Mr Mime).
The reason ends up being that for every sound prediction players make about cards, there are also many made that end up being crazy after the cards hit the meta. It's not so much "quit talking about possible card combinations." It's more "calm down; the sky is not falling." Theory is all fine and dandy, but theory doesn't win tournaments. Skill and playtesting do.
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