The State Of Things
Archetypes, Expansions, and Nifty Ideas

   My best friend and I, who are probably the only two 15+ Pokemon TCG fanatics within a good twenty miles of our hometown, recently pondered joining the League so we could compete against people other then ourselves. While it sounded fun and challenging, after a rather lengthy conversation, we managed to convince eachother that it would probably be a waste of time. Why? Well, for starters, neither of us probably has a chance.
    While I think most would agree that he and I are fairly experienced and good players, and have been since the game's release about two years ago, we still seem to be ever-doubtful of our own competence, simply because of our deck design techniques. No, they don't have something like four Kabutos (yeah, I know we've all played with them, haven't we?) coupled with a walloping 4 Omastar sets to make the ultimate "Fossil Challenge" or something lame like that, but they don't have four Hitmonchans, Four Scythers, and an exorbinant amount of those famed/infamous cards we've all learned to love or hate, depending on whether or not we're willing to shell out X-too-many dollars for singles. Our decks are (for lack of a better word) nifty. I recently got a box of Gym Challenge boosters for everyone's favorite commercialist holiday and was elated to put together what I think are some of my best decks yet, but even as I made them, I knew they wouldn't last a second at any tournament!
. One of my decks even makes fun of   Don't get me wrong, I'm all FOR competition. Without it, what would the card game be anyway? But, alas, so many cards get left in my filing boxes because I know I shouldn't bother. The solution? That's a complicated question, I suppose.
   Now believe me, I'm very against sketchy-facism, or facism in general, but (stay with me here, please) I think "Resticted Tournaments" could be a novel idea. Yes we have Prop-15 and Watchamacalit-3, but I don't think we can truly create a good Tournament that allows people who DON'T buy singles of the same fast-punching fighter and strange bug-dinosaur menaces to have a chance, unless we got VERY nitty gritty and nit picky.
   I KNOW there are probably many of you out there thinking, "This is just some angry kid who can't afford to buy Scythers and Hitmonchans and who has bad luck with boosters," but I think the TCG has lost something when I knowingly open booster after booster to discover another otherwise fine rare card that won't do anything for me should I join a league. And NO, I'm not just talking about Scyther and Hitmonchan being the only problems either. Who hasn't gotten fed up after battling unsucessfully against three Promo Mew cards, or wanted to call it quits when Movie Zapdos and Articuno seem to be coming out of nowhere? Maybe not THOSE cards, but something like that, and we all have been through it, maybe just when we were beginning and hadn't yet started buying certain singles like mad, but we've all been through it, haven't we?
     Maybe I AM just someone who wishes they too could build a Haymaker, because at some point or another I have, but with all these very vicious Archetypes on the Tournament scene involving four of the latest "really killer cards" backed up by four of the "old reliables" and four "other old reliables", I'm wondering just how much longer I even want to stay on the scene, or get further into the scene, since I have attended (but not competed) in a number of tournaments. Maybe not too much longer, but then I'll really regret those card files sitting up in my room...
     The time is now people, we need a revolution! I say we not abolish the use of certain cards, but have new sub-leagues, that allow people who specialize in new deck-ideas to have their day in the sun, and little by little change the scene for everyone.. Yes, we have new expansions, but I think it's high time that we stop just griping like I have for most of this lengthy article and do something about it, or urge those who can (ie: League Administrators) to do so! VIVA POKEMON CARDS! VIVA THE UNDERDOGS! VIVA NEW IDEAS! VIVA REVOLUTION!

Brian Alexander
ferioemeraude@cephiro.com

P.S. All you people using Haymakers and the like out there: This doesn't mean the rest of us don't love you.