Hey everyone, I’m Michael Davidson, a writer for Cut or Tap who finished 5th in the North American leaderboard for the 2025 season. I played Gardevoir for the majority of my events this season, with the highlight being winning the Portland Regional Championships, along with multiple other Top Cut finishes. With the release of Frillish and Jellicent in Black Bolt and White Flare, I believe … Continue reading Exploring Gardevoir’s Three Black Bolt/White Flare Variants

Hey everyone, I’m Michael Davidson, a writer for Cut or Tap currently ranked 5th in North America for the 2025 season. After playing Gardy for a majority of events this season (almost every event since Toronto), I was able to win the Portland Regional Championships in a same-60-card mirror against Henry Chao in the finals. Our Gardy list, which borrowed heavily from William Azevedo’s Santiago … Continue reading Another Evolution: Portland 1st Place Report and Gardy Moving Forward

Hey everyone, I’m a writer for Cut or Tap, currently ranked 6th in North America for the 2025 season. While Milwaukee was possibly my worst event of the season, the Zoroark deck my group worked on had a standout performance. Zoroark has seemingly come out of nowhere in recent weeks. While the deck is inherently very strong despite its low metagame percentage, it is one … Continue reading “Night Joker:” The Rise of N’s Zoroark

Hey everyone, I’m Michael Davidson, a writer for Cut or Tap currently ranked 6th in North America for the 2025 season. I have been playing Gardevoir consistently for a decent portion of the season, achieving multiple Top Cuts and having not missed a Day 2 with the deck. Like many others, with the rotation of Refinement, I was very unsure whether Gardevoir would be able … Continue reading Gardevoir & N’s Zoroark: Like Refinement Never Left

Hey everyone, I’m Michael Davidson, a second-year Master and writer for Cut or Tap. Currently, I’m ranked 3rd in the US and Canada, and at the first major event of the Prismatic Evolutions format, Merida Regionals, I was able to place 7th with a unique build of Gardevoir, playing no Drifloon or Bravery Charm, primarily focusing on Gardevoir ex in combination with Munkidori’s ability Adrena-Brain … Continue reading Gardevoir ex: Hero of the Prismatic Evolutions Format

Introduction Hey everyone, I’m Michael Davidson, a player for Team Dead Draw Gaming and a writer for Cut or Tap. I am a second-year master, and currently, I’m ranked 3rd in the US and Canada, and just made Asymmetrical Top Cut at Toronto Regionals with the slow variant of Gardevoir. In this article I discuss how the meta shifted to allow “Slow Gardy” to maintain … Continue reading Gardevoir: A Refreshing Change of Pace

Hello Cut or Tap readers, I’m Michael Davidson. I’ll be entering my second season of Masters, following my first season in Masters where I was able to make ten Day 2’s, with the pinnacle being Top 8 at the World Championships with Regidrago Vstar. In this article I will explain the deck list I settled on with teammates Andrew Hedrick and Caleb Rogerson, discuss my … Continue reading Regidrago: Top 8 Worlds Tournament Report

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

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I’m Michael Davidson, a Master who recently aged up following a Seniors season including a Regional win, NAIC Top 8, Worlds Top 16, and numerous other Top Cuts, finishing 5th globally in Seniors Championship Point Rankings. I’ve made Day 2 in two out of four major events I’ve attended this season, with my highlight being an 11th place finish … Continue reading Zard ex in the New Paradox Rift Format

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I’m Michael Davidson, a Master who recently aged up following a Seniors season including a Regional Win, NAIC Top 8, Worlds Top 16, and numerous other Top Cuts, finishing 5th globally in Seniors Championship Point Rankings. In my first Masters Regional, Pittsburgh, I was able to take Gardevoir ex to an 11th place finish – the highest placement with … Continue reading “The Gardy 151:” Guide to Gardevoir in the Upcoming Format