Greetings, Cut or Tap readers! With the conclusion of the 2024 European International Championships, I would like to reflect on my tournament run, sharing what went well and what could have been improved. In this article, I hope to provide you with some valuable insights into the position of the Chien-Pao/Baxcalibur deck in the current metagame. Chien-Pao is a deck that has been on my … Continue reading I Played Chien-Pao at the Largest Tournament Ever

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! With EUIC quickly approaching, I figured we should take a look at the Lost Zone archetype, as it performs well and grows in popularity. Utilizing the consistency of Comfey, and a variety of attackers such as Roaring Moon ex, Radiant Charizard, Giratina VSTAR, and more, the deck can be built to counter a specific meta. The only concern now is: … Continue reading Lost in London: Building Lost Zone Decks for EUIC

Hey there, Cut or Tap Readers! Today I am going to share what I believe to be a superior version of a deck that has seen some popularity in the post-rotation Temporal Forces format: Ancient Box. This deck typically features heavy lines of Koraidon and Roaring Moon from the new Temporal Forces set, with some other ancient Pokémon sprinkled in.  The real star of the … Continue reading Forget Ancient Box, Just Play Roaring Moon Instead!

Welcome back, readers and Subscribers! Hunter here once again to talk about the mighty Lizardon – or Charizard for those who aren’t Japanese! I’m going to cover different takes on the current Charizard variants and where they fit into the meta. I’ll be listing some interesting tech options for certain difficult matches, and finally share with you all my Charizard list I have been working … Continue reading “Heavy is the Crown:” Charizard ex, King of the Format

This article is the second part of Tanner Drabek’s analysis of the Ancient Box archetype for the upcoming Temporal Forces format. Part 1, looking at the deck’s construction and Tanner’s current list, can be found here. For EUIC, we’re going off our earlier assumption that the meta spread will be similar to that of Japan. With that, it is still a very wide meta. Normally, … Continue reading “Back For Revenge, Part 2:” Dino Box’s EUIC Matchups

This article is the first in a two-part analysis of Ancient Box for the upcoming Temporal Forces format. The second part will give an in-depth analysis of the deck’s expected matchups. Hello, Cut or Tap readers, and welcome! My name is Tanner and I play competitively in central Iowa. I have spent a lot of time, both this season and last, testing, building, and bringing … Continue reading “Back for Revenge, Part 1:” Building Dino Box for EUIC

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! The Paradox Rift format is starting to get stale after about five months or so, and because of that, I’ve prioritized theory-ing and testing post-rotation a lot more than for Vancouver, so today I’m going to share some of my findings on everyone’s favorite card: Snorlax PGO!! There are a few different variants to cover, starting with the simplest … Continue reading “Control Freak:” Control Lists and Theory for EUIC

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I’m Michael Davidson, a first year Master following a Seniors season where I ranked 5th globally in Seniors Championship Point Rankings, and am currently just outside of the Top 16 in North America. I’ve made Day 2 in five out of eight Regionals I’ve attended this season, with my highlight being an 11th place finish in Pittsburgh. I’ll be attending … Continue reading “Better Than Ever Before:” Post-Rotation Chien-Pao

Greetings from the future, subs! We are steadily approaching rotation and the release of Temporal Forces, which I couldn’t be more excited for. This past format has felt stale, with the top three decks being so powerful that your tournament finish will depend on your matchup roulette between them. These three – Gardevoir ex, Giratina Vstar, and Charizard ex – are not rotating from the … Continue reading “The Future Is Now:” It’s Just These Hands

Yooo, what’s popping, Cut or Tap readers! It’s Braiden here, joined by my friend Julian to bring you an awesome-sauce Arc/Armarouge deck. We are going to cover everything you need to know to hit your opponents with the fiery combos. Just like the classic Arc decklist, this deck is a toolbox with a bunch of random attackers for specific matchups in the meta. With the … Continue reading “Ode to the Volcano” A Guide to Arceus Armarouge

Gardevoir ex has been one of the most dominant decks since its release in Scarlet and Violet. As one of the most rewarding and punishing decks in the format, it has made itself one of the most infamous decks of the past year. I have been on an absolute tear with the deck recently. In the past four events I have played Gardevoir, I have … Continue reading Perfecting the Best Deck: Gardevoir ex for Vancouver Regionals

Whoop Whoop, Subs! Welcome to a show I thought would never get performed: the Gholdengo show. Dortmund Regionals has concluded, leaving some interesting decks in the finals. With no hesitation, I say that this tournament was an anomaly, meta-wise. We have been playing in the Paradox Rift Standard format for some months now, and I wouldn’t believe you if you said “Chien-Pao ex and Gholdengo … Continue reading “The Weather Man:” Gholdengo’s 2nd Place Finish at Dortmund

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I just got back from an 18th place finish at the Knoxville Regional Championships with Lost Zone Box! I’ve been playing a ton of Lost Zone decks recently, such as the Groudon/Roaring Moon build for San Antonio, as well as testing a ton of Tina. However for this event, I went with a build utilizing Super Effective Glasses to … Continue reading “Triumphant Frames:” Supereffective Glasses in Lost Zone Box for Knoxville and Beyond

Welcome back, subs! I’m finally back from Knoxville Regionals, which was an amazingly smooth event, so shout out to Day 2 Events for that! In my previous article, I posted that I would be playing Lost Box Kyogre/Groudon, Charizard ex, or a rogue that I had been working on. Unfortunately, due to travel delays, I didn’t feel I had the mental power to pilot LZB … Continue reading “Knoxville Recap:” 39th Place with Charizard ex

Welcome back, Subs, and all praise to the most high! We’ve just finished this string of on-and-off tournaments, taking us from Portland to Charlotte then Liverpool, now heading into a double-Regional weekend for Melbourne and Knoxville. A fantastic time to be a Pokemon fan, and a tougher time to be a competitor. As stated over my last few articles, the meta has shaped up to … Continue reading “God is Real:” Arceus’s Creep Back Into the Format

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I am thrilled to be back, writing and sharing my experiences playing Pokemon! In this piece, I’ll be diving into the intricacies of my Miraidon deck, which recently brought me to a noteworthy 5th place at the Portland Regional Championships and a solid 36th place at the Charlotte Regional Championships to kick off 2024. I will walk you through the … Continue reading Miraidon Unleashed: A Tale of Two Regionals

Sorry for the delay, Subs! We’ve had some small technical issues preventing me from posting articles after Portland and before Charlotte, so I’m excited to tap in with you guys! Some very interesting meta information has been developing, and finally we’ve reached a meta that seems to be close to RPS, or “Rock, Paper, and Scissors.” This refers to a meta where the top three … Continue reading “Master of Land and Sea:” My Unique Lost Box Variant

Hey, what’s up, Cut or Tap readers! SmartTCG here, and I am stoked to bring another article for you all! I hope you have been having a wonderful 2024, and I hope to have another content-filled year to share with everyone.  Today, I have a different style of article that has been widely requested. I have been paying attention to feedback on articles, and know … Continue reading The Ultimate Charizard Guide

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I am happy to be back writing another article as we move further into the Paradox Rift format. We have seen the meta change over the past couple of months, with Charizard ex and Miraidon ex emerging as the two most popular decks in format, taking up over 18% and 17% (respectively) of the Day 1 meta at the San … Continue reading DTE Mew in Paradox Rift – How Mew Continues to See Success

Greetings, Cut or Tap readers! I am Carson Washer, a Pokemon TCG Senior for Dead Draw Gaming, and I’m thrilled to share my journey to a Top 4 finish at the San Antonio Regional Championships in the Senior Division! I decided to play “DTE Mew”, with a touch of innovation: two Fusion Strike Energy and one Elesa’s Sparkle. In this article, I will provide insights … Continue reading Mew VMAX San Antonio Top 4 Tournament Report