Dark Armor
-------------
What has always been the main characteristic of Team Rocket's "Dark"
Pokemon?  I'll tell you: They often have very strong attacks, but their HP
is abysmal!  Dark Charizard, for example, has 50 less HP than Base Charizard
(70 vs. 120).  This is a major impediment vs. Haymaker decks.  But with Neo,
you can abate the problem somewhat.

As an intro to the deck components:

Dark Energy (Special Energy) - limit 4

When Dark Energy is attached to a Pokemon, that Pokemon's attacks do 10 more
damage.  If the Pokemon is not Dark type or does not have "Dark" in it's
name, it take 10 damage every turn (An effect hereaftered refered to as
"Dark Poison", since it acts like Poison status).  Provide 1 Darkness
energy.

Metal Energy (Special Energy) - limit 4

When Metal energy is attached, attacks do 10 less damage to the Pokemon.  If
the Pokemon is not Steel-type, it's attack damage is reduced by 10.


The key lies in how these work together.  Metal energy alone protects, but
reduces attack.  Dark energy increases attack, but does nothing for defense.
Attch them TOGETHER, and you essentially have a permanent half-Defender with
no attack penalty, as the 10-dmg reduction from Metal-on-non-Steel is
counteracted by the 10+ damage from Dark energy.  That 10 HP that Metal
energy saves each turn will keep those "Dark" Pokemon in the fight longer.
Dark Armor also works for Dark-type Pokemon, like Murkrow.  Throw in
No-Removal Gym and Energy Charge to keep your precious Special Energies in
play.

Note: For heaven's sake, don't try to startup Dark Armor until you evolve to
a Dark.  Rocket Basics can be Dark Poisoned, too.



The trouble with Dittos
-----------------------
Ditto is a great card.  With it's ability to become the defending pokemon,
and the facet of its Transform power that essentially makes all energy
Rainbow, Ditto is the ultimate splasher.  It is not without drawbacks,
though, which I have run into in actual play:

Clefable - I had a Ditto out and my opponent sent out a Clefable.  We were
stuck, in that neither of us could do anything but Minimize (Metronome? With
what?).  It was deadlock until 1 of us returned our Pokemon.  This is a
great Stall or Force (Make him recall his Clefable), though.  Use the break
to charge up your bench to take care of the interloper.

Mysterious Fossil - AARRGHH!  He sent out MF!  What to do now? I must either
Switch, Gust, or discard Ditto.  MF may not be useful for much, but it stops
Ditto cold.

Muk:  Ditto is attackless, so is rendered helpless by Power-stopping moves
like Muk's Toxic Gas Power and Magby's Sputter attack.  At least with this
Ditto can make a break for it.

Still, despite these weaknesses, I like Ditto.  I hear the Vending set Ditto
can become anyone on the board, not just the defender.  That would rock!



Energy Charge (From Neo Genesis)
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Flip a coin.  If head, shuffle up to 2 Energy cards from discard pile into
the deck.

I use Special Energies a lot, so I love this card.  Becuause it does not
specify BASIC energy, you can use it to recover Double Colorless, Potion,
Full Heal, Recycle, and even Rainbow Energies back into the deck, saving
them from Discard.  It was specifically designed to retrieve Dark and Steel
Energy (And is useful for that, too: See "Dark Armor" above), but this
card's versatility goes way beyond that.  Of course, getting the energy back
out of the deck is tougher, only Computer Search can do it, as far as I can
see (at a cost of 2 cards from your hand for 1 energy).  Still, very useful
to fans of the above energies.



The Fraud of Water Gun
-------------------------
Water Gun sounds great.  You get an early attack, plus the oppurtunity to
boost it by adding more Water Energy.  But the +20 for 2 limit is a brick
wall.  Take Promo Marill, for example.  It's WG does 20 for 2, plus 10 for
each extra water up to 2.  Keep in mind what that means; 40 dmg for 4 Water!
Poor if you have Blastoise, awful if you don't.

A better alternative lives in Neo, and it's name is Lanturn.  It's an
Electric with a twist.  Each water energy you add after paying the initial 2
L for Floodlight adds 10 dmg, with no limit!  So add Lanturn to your water
decks, pay it's cost with 2 L or Rainbow energy and Rain Dance your way to
instant KOs once you have 10 W attached.  Add No Removal Gym, to keep your
strength up, and Bills, Erikas, and Oaks to grab energy, and be feared by
your competitors!   The investment in energy may seem large (Basic + Stage 1
+ 12 Energy), but you are getting an instant-KO machine.  You'll win by TKO
or or Prize-out before you have to worry about decking.

I hope this letter helps you integrate Neo into your card-playing lives.

Scott Parker
sparx_2@yahoo.com