Remember how you would have a few cards left after finishing a box of sleeves? Well, Dragonshield sleeve boxes usually have a couple of extra sleeves so the customer doesn’t end up a few sleeves short if the factory doesn’t put all 100 in (or in case one gets damaged), so it was probably those extra sleeves that threw off your calculations.
Concerning how many Worlds decks Mew was featured in, 2013 and 2014 totally count as Mew EX decks. Mew EX is the glue that holds the tenuous Gothitelle/Trevenant and Accelgor together. Those decks are as much Mew decks as Mewtrick. That makes 2006, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022 and 2023; six decks.
I was around at the beginning of the stream but left to do some PoGo community day stuff, glad to have the rest of the stream to watch while I do some work! Can't wait for the next one.
@holon_phantom You can always use the boxes the sleeves came in as deck boxes and store them in rows in a drawer. If you have a drawer or five that fit 44 of those boxes, that’s 11 years of decks safely stowed away. It doesn’t even need to be in the same room as your collection of the decks would be safer that way. Just make sure the conditions are room temperature and not moist (I sound like a badly translated box for a cheap pair of sun glasses).
@jay11 There is a Pokémon called Milotic from Evolving Skies that has an ability that protects you and your hand from the effects of your opponent’s Supporter cards. If you’re wondering what sorts of effects are done to “you,” that would be cards like Avery that say “your opponent [does such and such],” but more often Milotic will be useful for protecting you against cards like Iono. However, Milotic is a stage 1, and since cards like Bibarel, another stage 1, let you draw cards, which can both help you recover from Iono and actively help you find the cards you need throughout the game, Milotic was only used in decks that do more damage for each card in your hand, like Tinkatink ex or the meme deck using Golurk from Brilliant Stars.
Also, if you’re playing Pokémon in the official Standard Format, Milotic just rotated out. If you’re new to the game and aren’t familiar with rotation, official tournaments only use cards that were printed or reprinted the year the tournament is being held and the prior two years. This is because the best decks you can build when every card in the game’s history are legal can win in a single turn, like in Holon Phantom’s video Porygon2 vs Mew VMAX. Most casual players don’t have the right cards to build those decks and can thus use whatever cards they own when playing at home with no problem, but in tournaments players will buy all the cards they need to build the best deck possible, so they would inevitably all use these decks that win in one turn.
At first I was disappointed you didn’t get transparent sleeves, which means we’ll never see those World Championship card backs again, but you know what using opaque sleeves means? You can optimize the lists now! (Which is great, because some of the decks, especially the 2004 decks, are not up to scratch. Blaziken has been more or less reinvented in the past few years so it can compete with the Gorebyss variants that can pump out consistent damage right out of the gate, and the Swampert and Gardevoir lists weren’t that great in their day compared to Chris Fulop’s Blaziken list.)
@Whimsicast It won’t save you from Lugia (or Chien-Pao with a Bibarel in play), but Unfair Stamp should help you punish Ancient and Future for taking off too quickly. The cool thing is that it also gives you a workable hand, so searching for it with Arven still gives you a chance to draw into what you need, not to mention it won’t feel useless against decks that run bench consistency engines since it’s a shuffle draw item you can draw into. Will it be enough to give you that 2023 Gardevoir sense of control? That’s more than I can answer. But as the next “comeback” mechanic coming down the pipeline, I thought it was worth mentioning.
Sorry @WhimsicottTCG I used the wrong tag. Also, I’m not sure if we’ll get many actual comeback cards at this point. Luxray was the most original comeback card from 2023, but apart from that the other comeback cards fill the roles of Solid Rage (Defiance Belt), Scramble Energy (Reversal Energy), Admin. (Iono), and Pow! Hand Extension (Counter Catcher). There’s not many more cards to print spiritual successors of, with Radiant Charizard and Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex being close to delta species Rayquaza ex and the much more recent Ace Trainers having a spiritual successor in Roxanne. A Twins/Teammates successor probably wouldn’t promote comeback situations so much as improve consistency for certain types of decks. Would cards like Dawn Wings Necrozma GX, Counter Gain, Tapu Koko GX or Martial Arts dojo help? Maybe, but whole Holon Phantom suggested more comeback mechanics would balance out the decks mentioned above, Energy acceleration counters may be the next solution to try if Unfair Stamp doesn’t help.
I was watching the last hour or so of the stream, but as I was on my phone I couldn’t comment in the live chat. Unfortunately I was in the passenger’s seat going through Indiana and my service was spotty, so the video froze at several points just when I wanted to hear what you were saying most. :/
Torterra/Sceptile is a great deck. It does have an unfavorable Gardevoir matchup, but it’s the only deck that has a favorable Empoleon matchup (which is why Jay Hornung plays it), and it has an 80-20 win rate against Blissey, my arch nemesis (which is why I started playing it). I would say stick with Jay Hornung’s list, and don’t bother with Super Scoop Up like the early lists did. Part of what makes the Blissey matchup so favorable is Torterra Lv. X’s attack… you can set up a benched Blissey for a OHKO, and if you are behind in prizes, you can use its Forest Breath Pokémon Power to set up a two prize turn. Speaking of Empoleon, Empoleon certainly contends for best deck in format. 30 damage to two Pokémon for 2 Energy is very strong, and Swim Together’s brute force is worth the less than threatening consequence of damaging each of your benched Pokémon by 10. Bronzong is also an excellent partner, helping to spread damage around and let you abuse Scramble Energy while trading well with Gardevoir. The 2008 meta on TCGONE shifted away from Gardevoir to Empoleon, hence Jay Hornung’s decision to start playing Torterra in Quickplay Ranked.
Please do! Torterra was my first partner Pokémon in Diamond Version, my first Pokémon video game besides mobile games like Pokémon Duel (it was nice knowing you, my Trading Figure Game tribute friend). Turtwig and Torterra are probably up there with Lapras and Charmander as my favorite Pokémon.
Speaking of Torterra, the 2010 version, Flygon Torterra, actually DOES have a favorable Gardevoir matchup. There was a Sixprizes article all about it. Between Unleashed Torterra’s healing attack, Expert Belt and Nidoqueen, Gardevoir can’t leave a scratch, and Gallade can only OHKO one Torterra a game without using a Fighting Energy tech, and even then the matchup is favored towards the Torterra player. It’s amazing that every gen 4 Torterra except the Platinum one found its way into either the 2008 or the 2010 version, and even more neat that both versions are the best counter to a deck that has more recently stolen the spotlight from the historic Best Deck In Format for their respective formats.
1:08:09 What Pokémon game is this music from? I’m as confused as I was when I heard the Mirror B theme for the first time… does that mean it’s also from Stadium or Colosseum, since the only other Pokémon game music with actual vocalization I remember was from those games?
AND HE MENTIONS THE MIRROR B THEME TWO MINUTES LATER!!! The Ludicolo versus Tyranitar battle needs a rematch, by the way. It felt too one sided due to a misplay. (Not that I’m unbiased, since that video was how I discovered your channel.)
Remember how you would have a few cards left after finishing a box of sleeves? Well, Dragonshield sleeve boxes usually have a couple of extra sleeves so the customer doesn’t end up a few sleeves short if the factory doesn’t put all 100 in (or in case one gets damaged), so it was probably those extra sleeves that threw off your calculations.
Concerning how many Worlds decks Mew was featured in, 2013 and 2014 totally count as Mew EX decks. Mew EX is the glue that holds the tenuous Gothitelle/Trevenant and Accelgor together. Those decks are as much Mew decks as Mewtrick. That makes 2006, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022 and 2023; six decks.
I was around at the beginning of the stream but left to do some PoGo community day stuff, glad to have the rest of the stream to watch while I do some work! Can't wait for the next one.
I'll be back next weekend!
@holon_phantom You can always use the boxes the sleeves came in as deck boxes and store them in rows in a drawer. If you have a drawer or five that fit 44 of those boxes, that’s 11 years of decks safely stowed away. It doesn’t even need to be in the same room as your collection of the decks would be safer that way. Just make sure the conditions are room temperature and not moist (I sound like a badly translated box for a cheap pair of sun glasses).
In other words, PLEASE DON’T THROW THE BOXES AWAY!
@jay11 There is a Pokémon called Milotic from Evolving Skies that has an ability that protects you and your hand from the effects of your opponent’s Supporter cards. If you’re wondering what sorts of effects are done to “you,” that would be cards like Avery that say “your opponent [does such and such],” but more often Milotic will be useful for protecting you against cards like Iono. However, Milotic is a stage 1, and since cards like Bibarel, another stage 1, let you draw cards, which can both help you recover from Iono and actively help you find the cards you need throughout the game, Milotic was only used in decks that do more damage for each card in your hand, like Tinkatink ex or the meme deck using Golurk from Brilliant Stars.
Also, if you’re playing Pokémon in the official Standard Format, Milotic just rotated out. If you’re new to the game and aren’t familiar with rotation, official tournaments only use cards that were printed or reprinted the year the tournament is being held and the prior two years. This is because the best decks you can build when every card in the game’s history are legal can win in a single turn, like in Holon Phantom’s video Porygon2 vs Mew VMAX. Most casual players don’t have the right cards to build those decks and can thus use whatever cards they own when playing at home with no problem, but in tournaments players will buy all the cards they need to build the best deck possible, so they would inevitably all use these decks that win in one turn.
Sorry, @J11, I tagged you as jay11. I had some advice to add to Holon Phantom's advice about protecting yourself against Iono.
2:36:18 Live Holon Phantom reaction.
At first I was disappointed you didn’t get transparent sleeves, which means we’ll never see those World Championship card backs again, but you know what using opaque sleeves means? You can optimize the lists now! (Which is great, because some of the decks, especially the 2004 decks, are not up to scratch. Blaziken has been more or less reinvented in the past few years so it can compete with the Gorebyss variants that can pump out consistent damage right out of the gate, and the Swampert and Gardevoir lists weren’t that great in their day compared to Chris Fulop’s Blaziken list.)
@Whimsicast It won’t save you from Lugia (or Chien-Pao with a Bibarel in play), but Unfair Stamp should help you punish Ancient and Future for taking off too quickly. The cool thing is that it also gives you a workable hand, so searching for it with Arven still gives you a chance to draw into what you need, not to mention it won’t feel useless against decks that run bench consistency engines since it’s a shuffle draw item you can draw into. Will it be enough to give you that 2023 Gardevoir sense of control? That’s more than I can answer. But as the next “comeback” mechanic coming down the pipeline, I thought it was worth mentioning.
Sorry @WhimsicottTCG I used the wrong tag. Also, I’m not sure if we’ll get many actual comeback cards at this point. Luxray was the most original comeback card from 2023, but apart from that the other comeback cards fill the roles of Solid Rage (Defiance Belt), Scramble Energy (Reversal Energy), Admin. (Iono), and Pow! Hand Extension (Counter Catcher). There’s not many more cards to print spiritual successors of, with Radiant Charizard and Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex being close to delta species Rayquaza ex and the much more recent Ace Trainers having a spiritual successor in Roxanne. A Twins/Teammates successor probably wouldn’t promote comeback situations so much as improve consistency for certain types of decks. Would cards like Dawn Wings Necrozma GX, Counter Gain, Tapu Koko GX or Martial Arts dojo help? Maybe, but whole Holon Phantom suggested more comeback mechanics would balance out the decks mentioned above, Energy acceleration counters may be the next solution to try if Unfair Stamp doesn’t help.
Four and half hours! Not bad! I'll watch this in batches lol
I'm still not even halfway done! We'll continue next week!
@@holon_phantom what day/time?!
Saturday at noon!
I was watching the last hour or so of the stream, but as I was on my phone I couldn’t comment in the live chat. Unfortunately I was in the passenger’s seat going through Indiana and my service was spotty, so the video froze at several points just when I wanted to hear what you were saying most. :/
Stop by next time!
Torterra/Sceptile is a great deck. It does have an unfavorable Gardevoir matchup, but it’s the only deck that has a favorable Empoleon matchup (which is why Jay Hornung plays it), and it has an 80-20 win rate against Blissey, my arch nemesis (which is why I started playing it). I would say stick with Jay Hornung’s list, and don’t bother with Super Scoop Up like the early lists did. Part of what makes the Blissey matchup so favorable is Torterra Lv. X’s attack… you can set up a benched Blissey for a OHKO, and if you are behind in prizes, you can use its Forest Breath Pokémon Power to set up a two prize turn.
Speaking of Empoleon, Empoleon certainly contends for best deck in format. 30 damage to two Pokémon for 2 Energy is very strong, and Swim Together’s brute force is worth the less than threatening consequence of damaging each of your benched Pokémon by 10. Bronzong is also an excellent partner, helping to spread damage around and let you abuse Scramble Energy while trading well with Gardevoir. The 2008 meta on TCGONE shifted away from Gardevoir to Empoleon, hence Jay Hornung’s decision to start playing Torterra in Quickplay Ranked.
I need to build that deck
Please do! Torterra was my first partner Pokémon in Diamond Version, my first Pokémon video game besides mobile games like Pokémon Duel (it was nice knowing you, my Trading Figure Game tribute friend). Turtwig and Torterra are probably up there with Lapras and Charmander as my favorite Pokémon.
Speaking of Torterra, the 2010 version, Flygon Torterra, actually DOES have a favorable Gardevoir matchup. There was a Sixprizes article all about it. Between Unleashed Torterra’s healing attack, Expert Belt and Nidoqueen, Gardevoir can’t leave a scratch, and Gallade can only OHKO one Torterra a game without using a Fighting Energy tech, and even then the matchup is favored towards the Torterra player.
It’s amazing that every gen 4 Torterra except the Platinum one found its way into either the 2008 or the 2010 version, and even more neat that both versions are the best counter to a deck that has more recently stolen the spotlight from the historic Best Deck In Format for their respective formats.
1:08:09 What Pokémon game is this music from? I’m as confused as I was when I heard the Mirror B theme for the first time… does that mean it’s also from Stadium or Colosseum, since the only other Pokémon game music with actual vocalization I remember was from those games?
AND HE MENTIONS THE MIRROR B THEME TWO MINUTES LATER!!!
The Ludicolo versus Tyranitar battle needs a rematch, by the way. It felt too one sided due to a misplay. (Not that I’m unbiased, since that video was how I discovered your channel.)
That music is from Black & White, it's the Village Bridge theme.