Hello, Cut or Tap readers! Last month, the World Championships took place in Anaheim, and there was a lot to take away. Gholdengo was everywhere, Charizard made a reappearance, and Grimmsnarl seemed to almost disappear. With Monterrey, Frankfurt, and Pittsburgh on the horizon in the next couple of weeks in the same format as Worlds, it’s a good time to revisit some old decks that … Continue reading Noctowl’s Time to Shine? A Look at Flareon and Tera Box

Hello Cut or Tap readers, I am excited to be back with another article! Last time I wrote, I talked about my success at a tournament with the Dragapult/Dusknoir deck and gave a breakdown of the list and possible changes. Well, I am happy to tell you that today’s article will share a lot of similarities to the last one – with one big difference. … Continue reading Dragapult ex at Atlanta: How My List was Adapted to Beat Budew

Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! We are nearing the end of our pre-Rotation format, and soon will be losing many current staples as well as seeing the release of the Journey Together set. However, there are still a couple of tournaments left in Prismatic Evolutions, and I was even able to take down the one in Vancouver, Canada a couple of weekends ago with … Continue reading The Dragapult ex Debate: How I Won Vancouver and Why the Dusknoir Version is Better

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! We are soon approaching the end of the Surging Sparks format and the introduction of Budew from Prismatic Evolutions. Regidrago VStar has dominated this format, and has been the deck I have found success with myself. At the last Regional Championships in Toronto, I was able to pick up a solid Top 32 finish with the deck, but I nearly … Continue reading Flying High One Last Time? A Look at Lugia VStar’s Potential Before Rotation

Hello Cut or Tap readers! This past weekend, the Sacramento Regional Championships took place, and I managed to place in the Top 16 with Regidrago VStar. This tournament was the first event with Surging Sparks legal, and it seemed like many players finally caught on to how good Regidrago VStar was, with it shooting up in play rate from a fairly constant 8% last format … Continue reading Is Miraidon back? A Look at Its Sacramento Success

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! The 2024 World Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii is quickly approaching, and it will feature a different metagame than the one that we have had for the last couple months with the North America International Championships and local tournaments. Following the release of Shrouded Fable, it is expected that some new decks like Regidrago VStar will emerge as top contenders, and … Continue reading “Flying High at Worlds:” A Look at Lugia VStar For Shrouded Fable

Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! The North America International Championships took place a couple of weeks ago in New Orleans, Louisiana, and I was able to win the entire tournament with my version of Lost Zone Box! This was the biggest ever event outside of Japan, and I had to close the tournament on an extremely difficult 9-0 run in order to make it … Continue reading “A Need for Speed:” Explanation of my NAIC-Winning Lost Zone Box List

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! The Indianapolis Regional Championships were held two weeks ago, and I was able to take down the tournament with Dialga VStar! This was the second biggest Regionals of all time at over 2,300 players, and I had to fight through 18 rounds and many amazing players to come away with the victory, with one of the more unique and overlooked … Continue reading Dialga’s Time to Shine: A Look at My Winning List From Indianapolis

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

Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! With the conclusion of the previous format at Toronto Regionals, it is now time to turn the page with the release of Paradox Rift. In just a week, our first event of the new format (LAIC) will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This set adds new archetypes to the game as well as many upgrades to existing decks, … Continue reading Is Giratina VStar Good Again? A Look at the Deck in Paradox Rift

Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! With Sacramento in the rearview mirror and a few Regionals already behind us this season, it will soon be time to prepare for the release of Paradox Rift, which becomes legal starting at LAIC in a month’s time. Before that, however, we still have a big event left in North America: Toronto Regionals. Throughout this format, we have seen … Continue reading Back on the Box? My Adaptations to Turbo Lost Box to Keep Up With the Meta

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! The new season is officially underway, with a few major tournaments already in the books. This includes a Special Event in Spain, a Champion’s League in Japan, and a Regionals in Pittsburgh. I myself was able to place in the Top 4 at Pittsburgh with a relatively straightforward Lugia VStar list, a deck which has been in a good spot … Continue reading Lugia VSTAR: Current Analysis and Moving Forward

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! With the hype of Worlds winding down after an exciting few weeks to be a part of the Pokemon community, it is time to start getting ready for the next season of competition. In just a couple of weeks, we will start getting our first major events of the season, with a Regional taking place in Pittsburgh on the second … Continue reading A Look at Lost Zone Giratina in the Obsidian Flames Meta

Welcome, Cut or Tap readers! I am Andrew Hedrick, excited to be back writing another article. Just a couple of weekends ago, the largest-ever Pokemon tournament outside of Japan took place at the North America International Championships in Columbus, Ohio. With nearly 1900 Masters in attendance, it was going to be a difficult challenge for anyone trying to place at the top. Cyrus Davis managed … Continue reading “Is It Still Good?” My NAIC Run with Lost Box, and the Deck’s Place in the Meta

Hello! I’m Andrew Hedrick, back with another article on Cut or Tap. This time, I will be focusing on the new set, Paldea Evolved, to help you better understand the meta going into the North America International Championships and beyond. Specifically, I will be writing about Lost Box decks, and the potential changes they will see with this new card pool and the adaptations of … Continue reading Changes to Lost Box in Paldea Evolved

Hello! I’m Andrew Hedrick, and I’m excited to be back writing another article for Cut or Tap. Since EUIC, the meta has changed quite a bit. Tord Reklev’s 2nd place Gardevoir ex list has emerged as a top contender, and almost all Lugia VStar players have begun incorporating Duraladon VMax into their deck. Another archetype that has been adapting is Mirage Gate Lost Zone Box. … Continue reading An Overview of Turbo Lost Zone

Hello! I’m Andrew Hedrick, and I’m excited to be back writing another article for Cut or Tap. Last time, I looked at Lugia VStar going into the last couple of events in the Silver Tempest format. Lugia was fairly successful at those tournaments, making up five slots in Top 8 between the two. However, now we are going into a completely open format after a … Continue reading The Key to Success: An Overview of Klefki from Scarlet and Violet

Hello! My name is Andrew Hedrick, and I am happy to now be writing for Cut or Tap. Recently, I have seen quite a bit of success with Lugia VSTAR, as it has allowed me to take down two of the largest Regional Championships ever, going back to back by winning the tournaments in Orlando and Knoxville with similar (but not the same) Lugia lists. … Continue reading Lugia VSTAR: Card Choices and How They Change going into Charlotte and Fort Wayne