Format history, and current comparisons.

[PokeDaddy]

Steve -

Excellent article. I reread your first post several times. Very, very nicely put.

Sniper, I agree with you and the format. Good for the game, not good for skilled players (I am not one, its my son).

Once again, gj on this. The only suggestion I have is that your decks mentioned through the years tend to reflect the Masters Division. In 07, Flygon ex dominated Juniors.

 

[Avmozz]

Awesome read Stevie, GJ matey!

I like the fact there is no 'one' deck......it will save me buying 150 Medicham EX's from Japan for worlds.......lol

 

[NoPoke]

instead you will have to buy 50 of every LvX

 

[Prime]

Easy to refute your points with one sentence: The attacks are unbalanced now and the recovery should be unbalanced.

Stating that the format needs unbalanced recovery because of unbalanced attacks only diverts the subject away from my points; The current recovery not being worse than the older recovery, just more balanced than the older unbalanced recover.

I don't disagree that the format needs unbalanced recovery to recover from unbalanced attacks, or a removal of the unbalanced attacks through a set rotation. Since we can cannot control when TPCi decides to rotate out sets, and this year is a perfect example of that, the most we can do is just cope with what we have.

 

[ShadowCard]

Also , I agree with Chad's post- the attacks today are too unbalanced!!

Remember the days when having 130HP actually meant something?

 

[Rocketman]

Best post in the history of PokeGym.

-spaz

ditto...............

 

[ChubbyChilupa135]

2008: Gardevoir/Gallade was clear BDIF. Empoleon was best counter.

ACTUALLY..... toxicroak/scizor was the best counter to GG.... anyway good read lol....

 

[Pidgeotto Trainer]

I don't see why this format is less skill based. Choosing a deck will require so much more strategy for this year's nats and worlds than last year's. Deck is still the bigger amount of skill than in-game play when you have 2 great players imo. I think if there's more room for deck building, there's more room for player skill. Last year anyone decent copied the generic GG list and had a shot.

I think many of the year's listed were not #1 deck and its counter as much as #1 deck and #2 deck. That's how I feel about 04, Blaze and Gardy and 08 Gardy and Empoleon. 07 Metanite did not dominate all year. Flygon beat it with Mew pop 5s and Infernape was what killed it by nats/worlds, not speed spread. 06 Storm killed all the other Pidgeot decks, but that still left a few viable options for worlds: Mewtric, Delta, Dragtrode, some others. I think the first post oversimplifies how each year's metagame evolved. Each metagame has definitely evolved a lot from from brs to nats to worlds though 08 was an exception because GG was just too good.

 

[Tego]

In the good old years.. 2001-03 was Entei/cargo & Kingdra BDIF i dont exacly in which seson it was but they had there times

Entei/Cargo was big in 2001. Such a great deck! I remember the Kingdra that had the built-in memory berry, and it was big in 2002-2003 as far as I can remember.

Snorlax, Chansey, Alakazam, Mr. Mime, Double colorless Energy, and Scoop up.

That'd be Damage Swap, not Sponge, yeah.

Damage Swap didn't usually run Snorlax and it definitely did run Pokemon Center. It also wasn't really an effective Haymaker counter due to its general slowness and vulnerability to Gust of Wind, although Mr. Mime and Alakazam could create a vicious lock if the deck did get set up.

Damage Swap wasn't just a bad counter to Haymaker, it was the kind of deck that kept Haymaker so strong - the slow Stage 2 deck that never really got anywhere because of cards like Gust of Wind and Energy Removal existed. Mr. Mime and Alakazam could never really create any lock. When I won Norway Nats 2000 with Sponge, I faced a Damage Swap deck in the Top 4 (or 8, can't rememember). What I remember doing was just to gust out their Alakazam, knock it out, and then take care of the Mr. Mimes with Electabuzz's first attack and Plus Power.

 

[Master Yoda]

Entei/Cargo was big in 2001. Such a great deck! I remember the Kingdra that had the built-in memory berry, and it was big in 2002-2003 as far as I can remember.

It´s so funny to tell the new players about cards like Slowking, Sneasel, Cleffa and Tyrouge xD
I´m so happy that i played since 2000




Hopfuly i see you at worlds last time we meet us was worlds 2004 and you signed me a Blaziken that has all Judges singed ^.^

 

[Naki Feralkin]

I dig the OP's post. It is extremely accurate and shows all of the good decks and their matchups to this point. I hate the power creep at this point in time, but it has certainly made this format interesting.

Good read here!