After reading several TCG Tips, Killer Deck Reports, and Single Card
Strategies by Skorne, or Justin Smith, I realized that I disagreed with
almost every one of them. So, instead of replying to each individually,
I'll
just try to cover it in one article. Hmm, where to begin...?
-----------------------------
Let's start with his "Cards That Do Not Belong In Psychic Decks"
article.
Quote:
"Error #1: Kanghaskhan
This is a common mistake that annoys me. If you have enough money
to buy a
Kanghaskhan, you obviously have enough to buy a chansey. These cards
belong
in those lame Rain Dance decks, fetching, fetching, fetching."
Lame Raindance? Sure... Anyway, Kangaskhan is by no means a bad
card. It's
used differently than Chansey, but (now listen close here) NOT ALL PSYCHIC
DECKS ARE STALL DECKS. Kangaskhan has good HP, can get you the cards you
need, or dish out some heavy damage. If you're gonna damage swap, use
Chansey. It'll just sit on the bench anyway normally, so it comes down to
HP. Kangaskhan can be useful too, though.
Quote:
"Error #2: Gust of Wind
These pop up all over psychic decks. This is a STALL deck, not a psychic
attack deck. You're supposed to STALL in a STALL deck and ATTACK in an
ATTACK deck. Got it? Good. "
Here we go again. You're not listening- NOT ALL PSYCHIC DECKS ARE STALL
DECKS. Got it? Good. Who are you to declare that Psychic is a
STALL deck,
and not a psychic ATTACK deck? Plus, sometimes you need Gust of Wind.
What
about Muk? And maybe you could stall by gusting out a Pokemon with a heavy
retreat cost.
Quote:
"Error #3: Bill
Please, please don't use this card in stall decks. It makes them look bad,
and they only help you deck yourself."
Farther along in the article you also diss Professor Oak, and Item Finder
(and I beleive Com. Search, in a different article). So I ask you- How do
you plan to get Alakazam out with NO card drawing? Your opponent'll have
to
be going pretty slow, and this is the age of speed decks. Many decks are
seeing less Pokemon and Energy and more Trainers, especially card drawing.
Your opponent Oaking will get him closer to decking, but it'll also get him
the cards he needs. How do you plan to stall with a bench full of Abras?
And if your opponent IS using Bills and Oaks, you can still use card drawing
and keep more cards in your deck than him, if you use them carefully.
Quote:
"Error #4: Prof. Oak
See above. . . "
See above obvoisly refers to his explanation of why to not use Bill. Well,
my response is the same as with Bill.
Quote:
"Error #5: Scyther
Yuk, how disgusting. I actually saw Scyther in a psychic deck. He
belongs
in Gaymakers, thank you very much."
OMG!!! Scyther in- in- a Psychic!?! NO!!! j/k...
Actually, I see nothing
wrong with Scyther in a Psychic deck. Y'know why? Why do you think
people
use it?!? It's versatile! It's like ketchup, it goes with about
anything =)
Why might it work in a Psychic deck? Well, in a Psychic ATTACK deck
it can
be there for backup damage. In a stall, it is good to start with and can
absorb damage because of it's free retreat cost. Send it out, rack up some
damage, retreat. Fill up your Scythers and Chanseys on the bench and
Pokecenter. In a pinch, it has a nice attack. Oh, and GAYmaker?
Raindance
is lame and haymaker is gay? I'm beginning to see a trend...
Quote:
"Error #6: Item Finder
Why keep using item finder to get trainers back when you discard 2 valuable
cards to get it. You discard a Mr. Mime and an Alakazam to get. . .an
energy
removal. Not good."
If your playing style is to discard Alakazam and Mr. Mime to use your
Trainers as opposed to, oh extra energy or uneeded other Trainers or Pokemon,
then I'd rethink it. The idea is to get cards you NEED in exchange for
cards
you DON'T. Would't you like to be able to get that Pokemon Center back
when
you're about to be killed? Or maybe you need to Scoop up your Chansey.
To
bad, because Stall decks often spend their turn passively once established,
and just draw another uneeded card. Why not get rid of a couple for
something you need? The same goes for Computer Search. You have to
use it
with a little thought.
Quote-
"Error #7: Pokemon Breeder
Once again, I say this. WHY won't people wake up and realize that you
don't
combine archetypes? You do NOT need this in a STALL deck."
*Sigh* We're back to the "not all psychic is STALL" thing...
ANYBODY HOME?
Breeder is used to quickly get Alakazam out. It's not necessary, as many
people prefer to use Kadabra, but it by no means doesn't belong there.
Just
because you use a card that's used in an archetype does NOT mean you're
combining archetypes.
Quote:
"Error #8: Switch
Did someone forget about retreating? Why waste the space with this
card?"
Alakazam has a THREE retreat cost. Stall does NOT usually power him up.
What if your opponent uses a Gust? And, what about Status effects?
Gust +
Poison or Confusion means Alakazam's power is or will soon be useless.
Quote:
"Error #9: Tauros
Puh-leeze. When was the last time you've actually played someone who used
tauros? I can't remember the last time. The reason- it's simple.
Just too
weak"
I think I know why you're not familiar with Tauros in a Psychic deck- it's
used in ATTACK decks! Know why?? Because Damage Swap can power him
up!
Brilliant, huh?
Quote:
"Error #10: Snorlax
Oh, brother. Its attack is far too energy-intensive, its pokemon power is
useless, and its HP is awful. Why use it?"
I admit I don't really like Snorlax. However, he can stall for awhile with
beefy HP and resistance to status effects. I'm getting the feeling you
don't
get much good competition...
-----------------------------
That covers the first article... Let's move on to "Is the TR Set The
End Of
Wigglytuff Decks?"
Quote:
"The Pokemon (in wiggly): Wigglytuff, DUH! Along with an assortment
of weak
and useless pokemon that just sit on the bench and do nothing while a Jiggly
Lullabys and Pounds or a Wiggly Lullabys and Does the Wave."
A good wiggly isn't gonna use "weak and useless Pokemon", sorry.
By some
other articles of yours you seem to have the impression that they're crammed
with fossils and clefairy dolls. Wrong- they usually use big basics like
Mewtwo, Scyther, Ditto, etc. I sense a great deal of predjudice here.
Quote:
"(The Solution): Whenever I play Wiggly decks, the players always seem to
forget to charge up their benched pokemon. That's the big problem. I
don't
know why, but Snorlax and other high-retreat pokemon quite often pop up in
wigglytuff decks, maybe to stall for time, I don't know. A Gust of Wind or
bench-damaging attacks are the main loophole. There are plenty of Rocket
Pokes you can use, still. Try combining Gust of Wind with a Dark Dugtrio
or
Dark Muk (the latter, preferably) active for a nasty effect. What about
Dark
Arbok, though? Usually, I see plenty of pokemon on the bench with 80-90
HP.
Let's pretend you're fighting your friend, Rick. Rick's got a Wigglytuff
active (fully powered for do the wave, of course), and he has 3 Kangaskhans
and 2 Snorlaxes benched. With some ERs or SERs, a fully-powered Dark
Arbok,
and time, you could knock out the Wigglytuff, and when Rick sends out one of
his pokes, with another poison spray, you could knock out the rest of his
pokemon. Not bad, huh? "
I thought you didn't use Gust of Wind! And, you're contradicting yourself-
other articles say that wigglys are crammed with fossils and clefairy dolls.
Snorlax and Kangaskhan? How about Electabuzz, Scyther, Ditto, etc..
See my
point?
Quote:
"The Trainer Cards: Hm, nothing much here but an assortment of useless
cards"
OUCH! The Trainers give Wiggly the speed it needs to be fast and powerful.
Do you think it's the Wigglytuff that kills you? No, because without
Trainers a Wigglytuff would be slow and probably pretty easy to beat.
Bill,
Oak, Com. Search, Gust, Pluspower, Trainers are the oil for the machine, as
with all decks.
Quote:
"Usually, though, they have such a useless assortment of card-drawing
trainers like Bill, Prof. Oak, etc., that they'll just deck themselves
anyway"
Please see above.
-----------------------------
Boy, you seem very predjudiced against all the archetypes. Yet you're fine
with damage swap, one of the original big 3, and you're set in your belief
that Damage Swap is the only good Psychic deck. That sounds like Hypocrisy
to me, and that you're whining about a deck because it beats you. I don't
especially like playing against Wiggly and Raindance and Haymaker, but I
accept it. They're strong, whether or not overplayed, and you're gonna
have
to face the fact that people will still use them UNTIL they either get bored
with it or a new deck is able to regularly beat it. By whining and
complaining, you sound like a spoiled child who didn't get his way.
Quote:
"A trainer reverts to Gaymaker if:
1) He has no life
2) He can't think of strategies
3) He enjoys being boring, bland and dull
4) He's obviously never been to pojo's killer site that has so many tips for
other deck types (the ultimate mistake)"
See what I mean? You're not fooling anyone.
Now let's see, what else...? SI Mew + Rainbow Energy combo isn't a bad
idea,
and it's probably the only way to use the card, but with 30 HP, and Rainbow
deals 10 to it, the Mew won't last long. I see combo possible w/ Mew,
Energy, and the VM Haunter that does 20 + 20 more for each prize your
opponent has picked up.. Start w/ mew, deal damage, and after your opponent
KO's your Mews you send out Haunter... However a strategy that relies on
your opponent drawing prizes is probably not sound...
Lastly, your Saffron City Psyche deck has 3 Stage 2's, which is usually bad.
I already replied to the Lily Pad Mew article seperately, so I guess that's
all I have to say.
Comments, deck fixes, and Hatemail from Justin goes to:
Souper@Pojo.com