StormFront
New Member
I wrote this article 2 months ago and was intending to submit it to pokégym. However, I just don't think enough content is there to justify submitting it. So its effectively been gathering dust on my computer. I haven't added the necessary links and images which would be expected to make it submission worthy. I don't think there is any spelling errors, but they'll probably be an array of gramatical errors (although it will not be noticable to most casual readers) which is to be expected for a first draft. I'm giving my opinion on Catcher and what effects it will have on the game. Hopefully it should be interesting to most people. It's a shame I can't post images as I was proud of the front page image I made.
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I understand this card has been the part of heated debate for the last 8 months or so, and I do not think there is much I can say to alleviate members who are against the release this card. All I can do is to provide information to what the meta is likely to be and how to play round it. The following article is intended for people who are on fence about this card, and are unsure of what the impact will be. The deck list provided in the article is only meant as an extreme example of how deck might specifically try to abuse Catcher. It may not be successful if every deck runs 8 big basics and 4-6 bench techs. However, I am fairly certain that many sucessful decks in the future will be simalarly structured in that they will not run many pokémon and close to half the deck will comprise of trainer cards.
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Here's an example of a deck we might see come Cites. I have done no testing with this deck and have not considered the likely future threats which will be need to be teched against.
4 Mew
3 Minccinno
3 Jirachi
2 Shaymin
4 Cinccinno
[16]
4 Pokémon Collector
4 Pokemon Catcher
4 Junk Arm
3 Revive
4 Super Scoop Up
2 Pluspower
4 Professor Juniper
3 Dual Ball
2 Energy Retrieval
[30]
4 Double Colourless
10 Psychic
[14]
Strategy: Lost Zone Cinccinno using Mew to abuse his do the wave attack and swarm with Mew and Cinccinno for the rest of the game. Jirachi is used devolve rare candied pokémon and provide energy acceleration for Mew and Cinccinno via combination of Stardust Song and Shaymin's Celebration Wind. Catcher and Junk Arm is maxed out to provide consistency for taking out weaker benched pokémon.
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I think most of the people complaining about Catcher are the ones who realize their pet deck is likely to suffer due to this card, but guess what? This a trading card game where new cards are continually being released all the time, and sometimes they turn the metagame on its head. The reason why last season was so terrible was due to the fact new cards being released created very few playable decks or anything that threatened the current top decks. In fact it only made the best decks beforehand even better which made the format even more staler as a result. Without farther ado I will discuss the 7 reasons why I do not think catcher will be bad for the health of the game.
Back in the base-set days it was essential every deck ran 4 Oak, Bill and Item finder which allowed for crazy draw power. They could be played as often as you liked and could pretty much guarantee you would be able to draw into and search out most of your deck. However, back in these days, attacks were only doing 20-30 damage and it was a common sight to see Scoop Up and Switch being run, so there was no problem getting the pokémon that was dragged active the previous turn out of the active spot. This format, there is a lot of theorymon when it comes to match ups and viability of decks and techs on the forums. People assume that a player will have access to a particular card right away and can rare candy a stage 2 on the second turn; get Ninetales on the field and have Reshiram doing 120 damage all on the same turn. With the old Professor Oak, Bill and Item finder it might be plausible to do all that consistently. However, the best draw power in the format are supporters, which any seasoned player knows can only be played once a turn. It will not always be in the best interest to play Juniper because you will be getting rid of crucial pokémon and other supporters. With less draw power its much less likely you or opponent will have access to catcher or junk arm to reuse Catcher.
Most people have quickly realized this format that using Stage 2 pokémon for attacking purposes is not viable this format and that is without the existence of catcher. However they are used as bench sitters because of their abilities or poképowers and there will be even more on the way. Lets face it attaching unlimited energy every turn, moving/placing damage counter(s) in whatever way you like, rearranging top decks and even stopping evolutions from being played are all extremely strong powers in any format. At the moment there is no reliable way to stop your opponent from locking or overwhelming you with their powers and abilities. Catcher will hurt stage 2 setup decks, but its far from making them unplayable which I will explain later.
Several people stated that they felt catcher should be errated to a supporter which is ridiculous. There is two pokémon currently in the format which can realistically item lock. Teddiursa from Call Of Legends can prevent players using items during the opening turns and provide a mini wall if you are lucky enough to hit heads. However, from testing I have found this lock can be pulled off consistently if the upcoming Victini is used. Victini's ability allows the player to repeat their attack if it involves flipping coins. It's not as good as Spiritomb last format but on the upside you will not be preventing yourself from playing your own items during your initial turns. Using Teddiursa to stall should buy enough time to get a Vileplume out so items can be locked all game. The only problem with running item lock compared to last season is that more cards are required to set it up. It is likely at the very least to require 4 teddiursa's, 2 Victini's, a 3-2-3 Vileplume line and 3 rare candy. This is a lot more compared to the typical 4 Spiritomb and 2-2 -2 Vileplume lines that item lock decks were running last year.However, I am fearful that a fossil Muk reprint may released in future. While a card like that will definitely effect all abilities, I am less sure if it will be extended to Poke Powers and Poke Bodys.
When Zekrom and Reshiram were first revealed in the black and white set, people were right to gasp at the seemingly ridiculous stats they had considering they were just basics, after all Reshiram is better than base set Charizard. Given the fact they have so much HP, it is unlikely they will be 1-shot if they happened to pulled active, and your opponent will certainly be weary of attacking them when there is a good chance outrage might be used against them in reply. While a Haymaker deck may not necessarily take the same skill to play compared to a stage 2 deck. It does allow a lot more room for trainers which will increase the skill of deck building. It will also give you a better chance to return a knock out with all the energy acceleration we have this format.
What annoyed me most about the SP engine last season was the fact only a select group of cards was able to take advantage of them, and frankly pokéturn and energy gain would be broken in any format. However, power spray could have been a good card for the format had every deck had access to it, as It would have been generally used to stop both players from abusing Uxie draw. With catcher in the format both players will have an equal chance to disrupt their opponents strategy.
During the first couple of turns it is unlikely your opponent will be able to do enough damage to get a knock out on anything. Since most basics have a 1 retreat cost it will be easy to get them out of the active spot not to mention nearly every deck will be running switch.
Now you have realized the threat catcher poses to your deck how can you play around it? Since you are probably using a deck that relies on stage 2 pokémon it may be advisable to run heavier lines. Instead of running 3-1-3 Emboar line, it might be better to run a 4-2-4 or even a 4-3-4 line. This will give you a better chance of getting him out later in the game if Tepig happens to be forced active and Knocked out the next turn. You also may want to search for the same two basics and play them down on the bench at the same time. Every deck including the ones that specifically abuse catcher should strongly consider running Switch. This is to prevent your opponent from dragging a pokémon active for stalling or sniping round it. Even if its a pokémon with 1 retreat cost you will need waste your energy for you turn in order to get it out of the active spot. Other things you can do are run more disruption cards like Judge,Weavile and yet to be released N. Also, cards which allow you to view your opponents hand should also be considered. Most importantly, try to avoid running cards which have a high retreat cost like the bad Tepig from Black&White.
I do not doubt Catcher will have a big impact on the game, but I do not see it ruining the game either. It is unlikely each player will have access to it every turn and they will not always have the resources to get a knock out. Don't forget if they are using Catcher they're probably not dealing with your main attacker. It will also prevent bench techs from locking you like Archeops and Slowking. It will help slower decks because catcher can be used to disrupt faster decks by pulling up a bench tech to buy those crucial turns. While not every deck will be designed to abuse Catcher, it is of the upmost importance that whatever deck you choose to play over the coming season has to have a back up plan, or a way to recover from an early setback.
__________________________________________
So there it is, there isn't much to add which I haven't already said in the article other than I think it will elimate some luck from the game, as you won't need to rely on reversal flips.
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7 Reasons Why Catcher Is Not Bad For The Game
PREFACE
I understand this card has been the part of heated debate for the last 8 months or so, and I do not think there is much I can say to alleviate members who are against the release this card. All I can do is to provide information to what the meta is likely to be and how to play round it. The following article is intended for people who are on fence about this card, and are unsure of what the impact will be. The deck list provided in the article is only meant as an extreme example of how deck might specifically try to abuse Catcher. It may not be successful if every deck runs 8 big basics and 4-6 bench techs. However, I am fairly certain that many sucessful decks in the future will be simalarly structured in that they will not run many pokémon and close to half the deck will comprise of trainer cards.
INTRODUCTION
Ever since the Black&White set was released in Japan, one card above all others was being talked about, and it was not Emboar, Reshiram, or Zekrom. It was effectively a direct reprint of Gust of Wind. Catcher is a card which allows you to choose one of your opponents benched pokémon and bring it to the active spot. There is a multitude of reasons for doing this, but they can be summarized into getting a KO on a weaker benched pokémon or dragging a high retreat active which allows for stalling and sniping. Clearly many popular decks we will be seeing at the upcoming nationals and worlds less viable in the future, but it will allow some other decks which are currently viewed as inferior to be more playable. ________________________________________
Here's an example of a deck we might see come Cites. I have done no testing with this deck and have not considered the likely future threats which will be need to be teched against.
4 Mew
3 Minccinno
3 Jirachi
2 Shaymin
4 Cinccinno
[16]
4 Pokémon Collector
4 Pokemon Catcher
4 Junk Arm
3 Revive
4 Super Scoop Up
2 Pluspower
4 Professor Juniper
3 Dual Ball
2 Energy Retrieval
[30]
4 Double Colourless
10 Psychic
[14]
Strategy: Lost Zone Cinccinno using Mew to abuse his do the wave attack and swarm with Mew and Cinccinno for the rest of the game. Jirachi is used devolve rare candied pokémon and provide energy acceleration for Mew and Cinccinno via combination of Stardust Song and Shaymin's Celebration Wind. Catcher and Junk Arm is maxed out to provide consistency for taking out weaker benched pokémon.
_________________________________________
I think most of the people complaining about Catcher are the ones who realize their pet deck is likely to suffer due to this card, but guess what? This a trading card game where new cards are continually being released all the time, and sometimes they turn the metagame on its head. The reason why last season was so terrible was due to the fact new cards being released created very few playable decks or anything that threatened the current top decks. In fact it only made the best decks beforehand even better which made the format even more staler as a result. Without farther ado I will discuss the 7 reasons why I do not think catcher will be bad for the health of the game.
1. There is not as much draw power as there used to be.
Back in the base-set days it was essential every deck ran 4 Oak, Bill and Item finder which allowed for crazy draw power. They could be played as often as you liked and could pretty much guarantee you would be able to draw into and search out most of your deck. However, back in these days, attacks were only doing 20-30 damage and it was a common sight to see Scoop Up and Switch being run, so there was no problem getting the pokémon that was dragged active the previous turn out of the active spot. This format, there is a lot of theorymon when it comes to match ups and viability of decks and techs on the forums. People assume that a player will have access to a particular card right away and can rare candy a stage 2 on the second turn; get Ninetales on the field and have Reshiram doing 120 damage all on the same turn. With the old Professor Oak, Bill and Item finder it might be plausible to do all that consistently. However, the best draw power in the format are supporters, which any seasoned player knows can only be played once a turn. It will not always be in the best interest to play Juniper because you will be getting rid of crucial pokémon and other supporters. With less draw power its much less likely you or opponent will have access to catcher or junk arm to reuse Catcher.
2. Bench Sitters are overpowered.
Most people have quickly realized this format that using Stage 2 pokémon for attacking purposes is not viable this format and that is without the existence of catcher. However they are used as bench sitters because of their abilities or poképowers and there will be even more on the way. Lets face it attaching unlimited energy every turn, moving/placing damage counter(s) in whatever way you like, rearranging top decks and even stopping evolutions from being played are all extremely strong powers in any format. At the moment there is no reliable way to stop your opponent from locking or overwhelming you with their powers and abilities. Catcher will hurt stage 2 setup decks, but its far from making them unplayable which I will explain later.
3. Item lock is still viable.
Several people stated that they felt catcher should be errated to a supporter which is ridiculous. There is two pokémon currently in the format which can realistically item lock. Teddiursa from Call Of Legends can prevent players using items during the opening turns and provide a mini wall if you are lucky enough to hit heads. However, from testing I have found this lock can be pulled off consistently if the upcoming Victini is used. Victini's ability allows the player to repeat their attack if it involves flipping coins. It's not as good as Spiritomb last format but on the upside you will not be preventing yourself from playing your own items during your initial turns. Using Teddiursa to stall should buy enough time to get a Vileplume out so items can be locked all game. The only problem with running item lock compared to last season is that more cards are required to set it up. It is likely at the very least to require 4 teddiursa's, 2 Victini's, a 3-2-3 Vileplume line and 3 rare candy. This is a lot more compared to the typical 4 Spiritomb and 2-2 -2 Vileplume lines that item lock decks were running last year.However, I am fearful that a fossil Muk reprint may released in future. While a card like that will definitely effect all abilities, I am less sure if it will be extended to Poke Powers and Poke Bodys.
4. More big basics are being released.
When Zekrom and Reshiram were first revealed in the black and white set, people were right to gasp at the seemingly ridiculous stats they had considering they were just basics, after all Reshiram is better than base set Charizard. Given the fact they have so much HP, it is unlikely they will be 1-shot if they happened to pulled active, and your opponent will certainly be weary of attacking them when there is a good chance outrage might be used against them in reply. While a Haymaker deck may not necessarily take the same skill to play compared to a stage 2 deck. It does allow a lot more room for trainers which will increase the skill of deck building. It will also give you a better chance to return a knock out with all the energy acceleration we have this format.
5. All decks can take advantage of it.
What annoyed me most about the SP engine last season was the fact only a select group of cards was able to take advantage of them, and frankly pokéturn and energy gain would be broken in any format. However, power spray could have been a good card for the format had every deck had access to it, as It would have been generally used to stop both players from abusing Uxie draw. With catcher in the format both players will have an equal chance to disrupt their opponents strategy.
6. Catcher is ineffective as the start of the game.
During the first couple of turns it is unlikely your opponent will be able to do enough damage to get a knock out on anything. Since most basics have a 1 retreat cost it will be easy to get them out of the active spot not to mention nearly every deck will be running switch.
7. Players will adapt to it.
Now you have realized the threat catcher poses to your deck how can you play around it? Since you are probably using a deck that relies on stage 2 pokémon it may be advisable to run heavier lines. Instead of running 3-1-3 Emboar line, it might be better to run a 4-2-4 or even a 4-3-4 line. This will give you a better chance of getting him out later in the game if Tepig happens to be forced active and Knocked out the next turn. You also may want to search for the same two basics and play them down on the bench at the same time. Every deck including the ones that specifically abuse catcher should strongly consider running Switch. This is to prevent your opponent from dragging a pokémon active for stalling or sniping round it. Even if its a pokémon with 1 retreat cost you will need waste your energy for you turn in order to get it out of the active spot. Other things you can do are run more disruption cards like Judge,Weavile and yet to be released N. Also, cards which allow you to view your opponents hand should also be considered. Most importantly, try to avoid running cards which have a high retreat cost like the bad Tepig from Black&White.
Conclusion
I do not doubt Catcher will have a big impact on the game, but I do not see it ruining the game either. It is unlikely each player will have access to it every turn and they will not always have the resources to get a knock out. Don't forget if they are using Catcher they're probably not dealing with your main attacker. It will also prevent bench techs from locking you like Archeops and Slowking. It will help slower decks because catcher can be used to disrupt faster decks by pulling up a bench tech to buy those crucial turns. While not every deck will be designed to abuse Catcher, it is of the upmost importance that whatever deck you choose to play over the coming season has to have a back up plan, or a way to recover from an early setback.
__________________________________________
So there it is, there isn't much to add which I haven't already said in the article other than I think it will elimate some luck from the game, as you won't need to rely on reversal flips.
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