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Subj: Kami no Hinotama (deck
check) ============================================================ “I am the fire-mage Ben Kasen! I have come seeking the great Pokemon Lady, and would like her appraisal of my deck! And... could whoever’s there hurry with the door? Little Hidama here is scared of the rain!” The Lady, who had been sleeping at her desk again, got up from her seat and went to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw a wierd fellow standing there swathed in fire. She thought, "Must be the guy delivering the Hotwings I ordered..." and she opened the door. "How much do I owe you?" she asked, digging in a pocket for some cash... "Owe me?" asked the mage. " "Yea, aren't you the... " the Lady peered quizzically at him. "Lemme get my glasses," she said. "Come in out of the rain." The mage and his Charmander came in out of the rain and stood there dripping on the Pokemon Lady's rug. She got her glasses and looked over at the two of them, and with a start said, "You guys rejects from Mardi Gras or something?" "No." exclaimed the Mage, indignantly. "I am the grrrrreeeat Mage Ben Kasen. and this is my familiar, Hidama. " "Oh. Well, I am the Pokemon Lady, and you're dripping on my floor." said the Lady, unimpressed. "What do you want?" she said as she crossed her arms. "I would like you to look at my Pokemon TCG deck, " the fire mage explained. "Don't you have more important things to do with your time, like researching spells, or taking over small countries, or roasting marshmallows? " asked the Lady sarcasticly. The mage just shrugged at this. Hidama, his Charmander had wandered over to one of the Lady's workbenches and was examining the things on the table. The Lady's Psyduck came over and started talking to him, explaining that he shouldn't touch anything. The Lady looked over to Psyduck and Charmander and said in a soft, but authorative voice, "Go Play." and they walked into the other room. "Show me your deck list." Ben had with him a scroll, which
read: "Ok." The Lady said. "Structurally your deck is sound. What's your goal?" she asked. Ben replied, "My goal is: Crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentations of the Trainers." "That's a good goal," said the Lady. "But could you be more specific?" "More specifically," Ben answered, "I use Kanga and Chansey to defend myself and build up my power, and use Alakazam to keep the damage moving. I watch the horrified expressions of my opponents when they see my Pokemon Center. Then, when Charizard has enough power, I reduce the enemy to shriveled lumps of carbon. Energy Retrievals allow Charizard to keep on burning, Gusts of wind exist for that inconvenient Blastoise or Muk that must die. Search cards allow me to start up faster. The Abra/Kadabra/Alakazam chain is rarely used to fight, but if needed, Kadabra can fight that Hitmonchan." "That's a pretty thourough strategy. How well does your deck work in play?" The Lady pushed a button on her desk, and a chair for the Mage popped up from the floor. He sat down and continued. "My success rate is mixed," answered Ben. "It wins and loses. In general, the longer the game goes on, the better my chances are. Raindancers are a pain, as are Haymakers, at least until I can get going. Once this deck is in full throttle, it is difficult to stop, but getting there... (All right, Muk and Aerodactyl throw me for a bit of a loop, but that’s what Gusts are for.)" The Lady Hrmmmd. "Ok, so what help do you need." "General efficiency. Countering Haymakers. Any Fossils I should use to my advantage. Anything you see wrong, period." "Ok." said the lady, whipping out her trusty notebook and a pencil from the pocket protector on her white lab coat. "Here's the breakdown. Generally, decks with dual evolution series are not efficient. They simply take too long to get started and can't combat against the speed of haymakers and potpourri. your deck looks like this when we break it down structurally. You've got to get through two evolutions until you can start your damage swap, and Abra is usually dead by that time. I bet that as soon as you drop the Charmander, people worry that you're playing Fire Spin. You've got a deck that is easy to read. People know how to counter it."
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"Here's the main problem I see." said the Lady. "You're Pokemon families are to fat. Cut down both families for Charmander and Alakazam to 3-2-2. Cut Kahn to 2. Now you've got 18 Pokemon and some extra spaces for trainers. Your next problem, my friend, is with speed. With a deck that has evolutions from basic--> stage II, you HAVE to have speed if you want to counter those haymakers and everything else out there. Put in 3 Pokemon Breeders. The faster you get your Alakazam out there, the faster you are swapping damage. You have 2 places left. Add 2 Gamblers. Increase your drawing power while decrease your decking power. Transfer useless cards in your hand back to your deck and shuffle. Draw 1 or draw 8. It matters not, the card you draw just might be the card you need. Fill the empty slot in your deck with an additional Fire energy." "Hmmm." said Ben. "Some good advice. I will try it. "
He snapped his fingers and immediately the Charmander was at his side. The Lady arched an eyebrow at how well trained his Pokemon was. He gently picked up his friend, and the paper that the Lady handed him and stepped outside and said, "If I need more help, can I come back?" The Lady nodded, and he tucked his Charmander deep within the warm folds of his coat, and with a strange gesture and a thank you, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. The Lady looked at this odd thing for a moment, then shook her head. "I really need to move to someplace where it doesn't rain all the time," she thought, as she shut the door on the dark and stormy night. |