Hello, my name is Scooter, and I play a Sneasel deck.
      While it doesn't get written about as much as it used to, cards like
Sneasel, Buzz, Scyther, and Wiggly are still considered evil by many, many,
players.  What's thought of as even worse, are the decks that use these
cards.  Commonly known as an Architype deck, this is just a design that works
very well, and as a result, is vastly overused.  Many people are complaining
that Architypes have taken over the environment, and that Pokemon is no fun
anymore.  I agree with this, personally, I have never played in a DCI
tourney, and I like to think I really play the game for fun.  I have about
500 cards, since I collect a lot of the cards I think are cool, like
Nidoking, Blastoise, and Venusaur.  But as a deck, well, Sneasel, Cleffa,
Scyther, and Magby, with a buttload of Trainers.  
      I have been playing the TCG since my Freshmen year of High School
(currently a Junior), and of the original group of us that used to play after
lunch and such, only two of us remain.  And we are the Hardcore players, the
ones that go to unsanctioned tourneys (mainly becuase the won'y allow us),
buy and trade to make killer decks, and teach the younger ones how to play.  
I would also like to add; WHY SHOULD I BE ASHAMED OF USING MY OWN DECK?  I
agree, Sneasel is evil, but should it really be banned?  I don't think that
one card, can make the whole game so bad, that everyone bellyaches about it
constantly.  If you can't stand the volume of these cards being played, don't
go to tourneys, be like me, and play at local shops and with friends.  This
will teach you to play better than checking out the latest card fads at a
STS.  
      So are you thinking I'm a hypocrite?  I don't like popular cards, and
yet I play them?  hmm.  This is where it gets annoying for me.  as you sit
there and make phony FBI most wanted lists with Scyther and other such
"broken" cards, ponder the people that originally invented Haymaker,
Raindance, Wigglytuff, and any other Architype.  I have no way of proving
these facts, but I was one of the original users to make use of such popular
cards as Rockets Zapdos, Cleffa, and Wigglytuff.  I used Wiggly way back,
when my deck was so bad, I usually didn't even play freinds.  Granted, I
didn't use a deck centered around this card, I just put it in because I had a
few.  I found Rockets Zapdos while I was looking at the spoilers for the new
gym set, and it was love at first site.  It gave me a reason to play the game
all over again, and I set about making a deck centered around it.  Then all
of a suddden, I'm finding all these killer deck reports that are bursting at
the seams with the bird!  During one game in which my friend and I were
playing open handed, and telling eachother our strategies, I came up with the
idea to use a Lass, mess up my friends hand, and then Eeeeeeek.  Then I was
reading deck fixes, and everyone is talking about the awesome Lass/Eeeeeeek
combo!  So, unlike many people think, everyone who plays an Architype is not
someone who has no skill, and just got their deck from the internet.  I have
never gotten a deck fromt the web, I make all my decks, I think them out,
playtest them, make a "Scrapper" (a deck made to beat it) for them, and do
any other test I can think of, and if it passes, hey, it's good.  I find my
strategie happens to be Insanity, which is a lot of Trainers with low energy
Pokemon.  That's just the way I play, I consider myself a good player, many
others do as well, and I got there by playing what I thought was good, and
worked for me.  
      Yes, I play a deck that has become extremely popular, well, what can I
say, my deck is really, really, good.  So, if someone else makes a deck like
it, why shouldn't it be equally as good?  
      One more thing I'd like to add, it sickens me to hear that WOTC has
come to banning, so what, a good card comes out, and immediatly we have to
burn it and destroy the evidence?  That just doesn't make sense, is the
tournement scene in a few years going to be a rash of the new "Sleeping Gas"
architype, because "everything else was ruining the game and needed to be
banned in order to have a fun experience for all"?  I mean, I understand
creativity, I'm glad to see that Typhlosion was a hit, I liked that card (The
level 55 one, god help the other one), I thought it could definatlely be fun
to make a deck around one.  But I see not the point in deciding to use a
sub-par card, in a sub-par deck, just to show that you have an orignal
Strategy.  I have an original strategy, and if I don't, what is an orignal
strategy?  Haymaker was at some point, all it takes is to be sure you thought
the deck up yourself.  If you got some help from an expert, good.  If you
looked at your deck in a magazine, try to do something yourself.  Hey, I've
gotten tips from decks I saw in magazines that made a lot of sense to me, and
improved my deck.  
      Well that;s it for me, I'm glad you read this though, and hope you
learned something.  That Sneasel is evil, and so are many other cards, but
hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.  
Scooter can be reached for all purposes such as (but not limited to) deck
repairs, tips, chats, Flames, and anything else, by E-mailing at
Lordotter@aol.com, or IM at ScooterX7k  Thank you!