Kayle
Active Member
People seem to be complaining that the game is way too simple right now... but in the last few months, where the format has not changed at all except for the addition of Lost World, I have seen a huge number of creative deck mixtures come into prominence.
The "Big 4" that I hear about is:
- Luxchomp
- Sableye
- Dialga
- Gyarados
And a common Tier 2 is Steelix, Machamp, Vilegar...
But are the tiers really necessary? Steelix and Vilegar have proven that they're viable decks in this format, evening the format out to six decks just like that. But there's more!
I'm looking at the What Won SPTs thread now. It says, and I quote:
Scizor, Dusknoir+Vilegar, Magnezone, Lostgar, Steelix, Machamp, even Arceus. Yes, only one win for most of those. But... looking at Top Cuts...
T2: Vilegar x4, Machamp x2, Absol/Gliscor, Mewperior, Magnerock x3, Lostgar, Lucario/Palkia, Steelix;
T4: Lostgar x4, loads of Vilegar, Machamp x7, Steelix, Donphan, Jumpluff, Tyranitar x3, Tangrowth/Jumpluff, Magnerock x2, Yanmega, Regigigas, Infernape 4/Garchomp C;
As well as some odd ones like Raichu, Gliscor/Gengar, Charizard, etc in Top 8.
This implies to me that there are many viable decks, and they just aren't seeing a lot of play. Past Top 4 or so I'm pretty sure even at States, you aren't fluking your way in.
Add to that the ridiculously silly but perfectly viable alternate-win decks like Game Over and KGL...
Am I missing something? Are most people's top cuts flukes? Yeah, I can see top cutting with Luxchomp being a fluke... but with Steelix? Tyranitar? Magnerock? Lostgar?
I've heard some fantastic rumors that the format used to be HUGE, and I doubt we're anywhere near what I have heard, but it seems like there are a lot more very viable options than the "Big 4" we complain about... and they're mostly just not being played.
If you haven't decided on a regionals deck, play something OTHER than the Big 4, please. Let's just see what happens if we throw the so-called "top decks" out the window...
The "Big 4" that I hear about is:
- Luxchomp
- Sableye
- Dialga
- Gyarados
And a common Tier 2 is Steelix, Machamp, Vilegar...
But are the tiers really necessary? Steelix and Vilegar have proven that they're viable decks in this format, evening the format out to six decks just like that. But there's more!
I'm looking at the What Won SPTs thread now. It says, and I quote:
Masters Winning Decks:
16 Luxchomp (1 w/Honchkrow)
5 Sablelock (1 w/ Luxray SP) (2 Chenlock)
4 Vileplume/Gengar
4 Gyarados
3 DialgaChomp
2 Lostgar w/Vileplume
2 Machamp (1 w/ vileplume)
1 Arceus
1 Steelix
1 Scizor Prime
1 Vilegar / Dusknoir
1 Magnezone
Scizor, Dusknoir+Vilegar, Magnezone, Lostgar, Steelix, Machamp, even Arceus. Yes, only one win for most of those. But... looking at Top Cuts...
T2: Vilegar x4, Machamp x2, Absol/Gliscor, Mewperior, Magnerock x3, Lostgar, Lucario/Palkia, Steelix;
T4: Lostgar x4, loads of Vilegar, Machamp x7, Steelix, Donphan, Jumpluff, Tyranitar x3, Tangrowth/Jumpluff, Magnerock x2, Yanmega, Regigigas, Infernape 4/Garchomp C;
As well as some odd ones like Raichu, Gliscor/Gengar, Charizard, etc in Top 8.
This implies to me that there are many viable decks, and they just aren't seeing a lot of play. Past Top 4 or so I'm pretty sure even at States, you aren't fluking your way in.
Add to that the ridiculously silly but perfectly viable alternate-win decks like Game Over and KGL...
Am I missing something? Are most people's top cuts flukes? Yeah, I can see top cutting with Luxchomp being a fluke... but with Steelix? Tyranitar? Magnerock? Lostgar?
I've heard some fantastic rumors that the format used to be HUGE, and I doubt we're anywhere near what I have heard, but it seems like there are a lot more very viable options than the "Big 4" we complain about... and they're mostly just not being played.
If you haven't decided on a regionals deck, play something OTHER than the Big 4, please. Let's just see what happens if we throw the so-called "top decks" out the window...
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