Analysis of Attacks September 2017 – Pokemon TCG

About six months ago, I did an analysis on attacks from my opponents.  I recorded how much damage they did (if any) to the active Pokemon, and if the attack included an effect that negatively impacted my side of the board.   I decided to replicate that study during the month of September.  This way we can all have an objective gauge of where the meta is at and get an idea of what to expect in this new Standard format.

Ground rules are pretty much the same as last time:

• All of the matches were played between September 1^st and 30^th on PTCGO in the Standard format.
• I recorded how much damage was done to the active Pokemon only. If damage was done to benched Pokemon, that specific amount was not recorded or added into the total amount of damage done.
• Damage from abilities was not recorded, although damage from Special Conditions was.
• Weakness and resistance were removed from the amount of damage recorded. For instance, if a Water Pokemon did 200 damage to a Fire Pokemon, it was recorded as 100 damage.
• If a Pokemon’s attack included an effect that negatively impacted the other side of the board, that was recorded as an effect. For example, Espeon GX’s Psybeam was included as an effect; Sylveon GX’s Magical Ribbon did not count as an effect.  Effects recorded for purposes of this study include (but are not limited to) Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Confusion, Energy Discard, Burn, discarding cards from hand or deck, or returning Pokemon to your hand or your deck.
• An additional category I added to this analysis that was not present in the prior analysis was whether or not an attack was “enhanced.” Common examples of enhancements included Choice Band or Professor Kukui.

Here are the high level statistics generated from this study.  The following statistics include ALL data:

• The average damage done to the active Pokemon was 84.14.
• There were 1044 attacks for a grand total of 87,840 damage.
• The median damage done to the active Pokemon was 80.
• 7% of attacks did damage to a benched Pokemon.
• 13% of attacks had a negative impact on the opponent.
• 16% of attacks were enhanced.

The following statistics include ONLY attacks that did damage to an active Pokemon.  If an attack did zero damage to the active, it was excluded from the following calculations:

• The average damage done to the active Pokemon was 99.36
• There were 884 attacks for a grand total of 87,840 damage.
• The median damage done to the active Pokemon was 90.
• 4% of attacks did damage to a benched Pokemon.
• 10% of attacks had a negative impact on the opponent.
• 16% of attacks were enhanced.

Here is a list of the top fifty Pokemon by average amount of damage per attack with no minimums:

Charizard GX	240.00	5
Alolan Golem	200.00	1
Pikachu EX	190.00	2
Minior	190.00	1
Darkrai	180.00	1
M Charizard EX	175.00	2
Necrozma GX	170.00	9
Golisopod	165.00	2
Xerneas Break	160.00	5
Gardevoir GX	154.86	74
Typhlosion	152.50	4
Vikavolt	150.00	1
Darkrai GX	150.00	5
Ho-Oh GX	150.00	7
Volcanion EX	148.57	7
Lycanroc GX	145.00	4
Tapu Koko GX	142.61	23
Ho-Oh EX	140.00	2
Incineroar GX	137.50	4
Metagross GX	133.43	35
Gallade	133.33	9
Darkrai EX	131.74	23
Gyarados EX	130.00	1
Mew EX	130.00	1
Ninetales Break	130.00	1
Zoroark	130.00	7
Salazzle GX	126.00	5
M Blastoise EX	120.00	1
M Scizor EX	120.00	1
Lapras GX	120.00	10
Solgaleo GX	115.00	6
Marshadow GX	114.00	5
Golisopod GX	112.69	26
Toxapex GX	112.50	8
Garbodor	112.38	21
Flareon EX	110.00	2
Talonflame Break	110.00	2
Raikou	110.00	1
Turtonator GX	108.95	19
Coballion	105.00	2
Granbull	105.00	2
Passimian	105.00	6
Tapu Bulu GX	101.47	34
Lapras	100.00	1
Crabominable	100.00	2
Garchomp	100.00	3
Gardevoir EX	100.00	1
Oranguru	96.67	6
Zygarde EX	95.71	7
Delphox Break	95.00	4

 

And here is a list of the top fifty Pokemon by average amount of damage per attack with a five attack minimum:

Charizard GX	240.00	5
Necrozma GX	170.00	9
Xerneas Break	160.00	5
Gardevoir GX	154.86	74
Ho-Oh GX	150.00	7
Darkrai GX	150.00	5
Volcanion EX	148.57	7
Tapu Koko GX	142.61	23
Metagross GX	133.43	35
Gallade	133.33	9
Darkrai EX	131.74	23
Zoroark	130.00	7
Salazzle GX	126.00	5
Lapras GX	120.00	10
Solgaleo GX	115.00	6
Marshadow GX	114.00	5
Golisopod GX	112.69	26
Toxapex GX	112.50	8
Garbodor	112.38	21
Turtonator GX	108.95	19
Passimian	105.00	6
Tapu Bulu GX	101.47	34
Oranguru	96.67	6
Zygarde EX	95.71	7
Gengar	94.00	5
Kommo-O GX	92.50	8
Solgaleo	90.00	6
M Alakazam EX	88.00	5
Mew	88.00	5
Alolan Muk GX	87.50	8
Alolan Ninetales	86.00	15
Lucario	85.00	6
Tapu Lele GX	83.29	73
Greninja Break	81.25	8
Tauros GX	79.17	24
Alolan Ninetales GX	75.41	37
Kingdra	72.50	8
Glaceon EX	70.00	7
Lurantis GX	68.46	13
Heracross	68.00	5
Drampa GX	65.87	46
Noivern GX	64.00	5
Scizor EX	62.00	5
Greninja	61.82	11
Espeon GX	56.67	45
Sylveon GX	50.00	20
Volcanion	48.70	23
Talonflame	41.90	21
Yveltal	40.00	11
Tapu Koko	29.17	12

 

A list of Pokemon that attacked me the most and how many times they attacked me (minimum  10 attacks):

Gardevoir GX	74
Tapu Lele GX	73
Drampa GX	46
Espeon GX	45
Alolan Ninetales GX	37
Metagross GX	35
Alolan Vulpix	35
Tapu Bulu GX	34
Golisopod GX	26
Tauros GX	24
Tapu Koko GX	23
Volcanion	23
Darkrai EX	23
Garbodor	21
Talonflame	21
Sylveon GX	20
Turtonator GX	19
Alolan Ninetales	15
Lurantis GX	13
Diancie	13
Tapu Koko	12
Houndoom EX	12
Greninja	11
Yveltal	11
Lapras GX	10

 

Here is a running total by percentage of damage done to the active Pokemon:

Amount of Damage	Frequency	Running Total	Amt, of Dmg.	Freq.	Running Total	Amt. of Dmg.	Freq.	Running Total
0	15%	15%	110	2%	66%	220	0%	97%
10	2%	17%	120	6%	72%	230	1%	98%
20	6%	23%	130	5%	77%	240	1%	99%
30	6%	29%	140	2%	79%	250	0%	99%
40	5%	34%	150	7%	86%	260	0%	99%
50	5%	39%	160	4%	90%	270	0%	99%
60	6%	45%	170	1%	91%	280	0%	99%
70	3%	48%	180	3%	94%	290	0%	99%
80	7%	55%	190	1%	95%	300	0%	100%
90	3%	58%	200	1%	96%
100	6%	64%	210	1%	97%

 

The number of zero attacks is the most frequent quantity of damage done to the active Pokemon, with 80 and 150 the next most frequent.  Just by eyeballing this, you can see that the vast majority of attacks do less than 160 damage, and very, very few attacks do more than 210 damage.

In conclusion, I hope that this analysis provides you with valuable information to think about.  I hope that you can use this information to help you better understand the game.  Again, all of this data is from matches played on PTCGO, and I understand that PTCGO is not the same as playing in a major tournament.  I am finding that about half of the matches I play on PTCGO are against “meta” decks.  Whether you’re an IRL player or a player who exclusively plays online, this analysis provides at least a basic framework to help you improve your win percentage in the Pokemon Trading Card Game.