I agree fully with Jason on just how bad "modified" is. In going for original decks, Wizards destroyed some potential new decktypes before they even got a chance to start. One such deck is a combo of Base Alakazam and Sabrina's Golduck, a nasty healing combo that could shift the tide of a game in 1 round. Another bad effect of the ban is that some deck colors, like fighting that were already weak in today's environment only got weaker with their good hitters banned. Most good players know that trainers are the key to a good deck. Since most of the vital trainers came from the sets Wizards banned, deck options are cut down to size again. The lack of vital trainers also makes the game even more dependant on luck then before. The recent polls themselves tell that the majority of Pokemon TCG players strongly dislike the bans. (66% disaprove entirely, 19% say the ban went too far, and only 14% approve.) The bans themselves are a waste because the neo sets gave people good ways to deal with the broken cards of the first 3 sets; cards like Sprout Tower, Slowking, Jumpleff, Wooper, Recycle Energy, and others. What we need to do as pokefans is (POLIETLY!!) tell Wizards what we think of the ban and the bad things it has done with the game. I myself am an avid but old, (18) pokemon fan and I don't want to see a great, fun, and simple to learn TCG do down the drain because of bad decisions. If you agree with me, my email address is magnum@cnmnetwork.com