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

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

The unknown is scary, and rotation creates so much uncertainty. Many people don’t like change, and the effect of change in Pokemon can be drastic. Even just a few cards joining the Standard format pool can completely alter an entire metagame. I actually enjoy the beginning of brand new formats because there is so much to explore, and the game feels fresh again. I personally … Continue reading Return of an Old Friend: Terapagos ex’s Return

Cut or Tap Subs, how are we feeling for Atlanta Regionals this coming week? I hope you all feel semi-prepped going into this final week and you’re getting close to choosing your deck! My testing has pretty much concluded, with the exception of some fun rogues I’ve been enjoying on the PTCG Live ladder. I’ve spent so much time on the big three and feel … Continue reading “It’s Raining in Magic City:” Gholdengo for Atlanta Regionals

Five months in from its release, Pokémon TCG Pocket is still dominating the mobile space with a constant stream of new impactful expansions and other major improvements to the app. A trading feature was introduced in January which, while still in need of some adjustments, makes card acquisition much easier than before. Most recently, last week’s update included the highly anticipated ranked ladder, including a … Continue reading Pokémon TCG Pocket: The Shining Revelry Metagame

Post Rotation is here! It seems for the past month or so, many of you have been getting ready for the big change, and it’s finally on the horizon. Starting April 11th, Journey Together will become legal for Standard play, and rotation will be happening as well. All F block cards (excluding reprints) will be rotating from the Standard format and won’t be legal for … Continue reading Perfecting the BDIF: Tera Box for the Post-Rotation Format

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

What is poppin’, Cut or Tap Subs! I hope you all have enjoyed the format previously, as now it’s finally time to move on. We have had a wild ride since our last rotation, and I want to give out some awards for the decks and cards that impacted my seasons in these formats. My “RIP to the GOAT” award goes to Radiant Greninja – … Continue reading “T.I. In ATL”: Tera Information for Atlanta Regionals

Rotation is always one of the most anticipated things to happen in the Pokemon TCG. Even five or six months before rotation, it seems that people are already talking about what’s next. The future is what so many players look at. The future is now! It is time to dive into post-Rotation before the upcoming Atlanta Regionals. I am putting a lot of chips forward … Continue reading Embracing a New Beginning: a Look into My Top Decks for Atlanta Regionals

Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! After only about a month of tournaments, the Prismatic Evolutions format is coming to an end with Vancouver Regionals being the last major tournament in North America before rotation on April 11th. In this article, I will be covering my top three deck choices for Vancouver Regionals (and Fortaleza Regionals on the same weekend), however I’m sure they will … Continue reading Top Three Decks for Vancouver Regionals

Welcome back, Subs, to another short piece by yours truly! I have felt quite stale about this format and deck choices, and this has made it hard to deep-dive into what I write. Hopefully this piece can give you some good lines and a solid safe pick for the tournament if you’re just looking to snag some points. My previous article advocated for Klawf/Terapagos as … Continue reading “Make it Snow:” Gholdengo’s Dominance into Vancouver

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

Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! The first major event of the Prismatic Evolutions format, Mérida Regionals, recently concluded with some very fascinating results. After a couple weeks of the format developing across online and local tournaments, Dragapult ex/Dusknoir, Gardevoir ex, and Lugia VSTAR/Archeops were anticipated as the top three performers of the metagame. Looking at the results of Mérida Regionals, a completely different story … Continue reading Fast Track to Top Cut: Miraidon ex for EUIC

Welcome back, subscribers, to our beginning coverage of the Prismatic metagame in preparation for EUIC. In this piece I will detail a deck that has been not only competitive but extremely fun to play. I’ve enjoyed its iterations throughout the Stellar Crown format, and now with some new inclusions, we can stand up to the rest of the format. We will go over new strategies … Continue reading “Fiesta Crab”: Klawf Box for EUIC

Hello again, Cut or Tap readers! The San Antonio Regional Championships recently concluded, and I managed to secure a Top 8 finish with Gardevoir out of over 2000 players. Unfortunately, San Antonio was the last major event before Prismatic Evolutions becomes legal, and Budew and Regigigas will completely change the metagame. In this article, I will briefly go over my San Antonio list, my concluding … Continue reading Gardevoir Top 8 Recap, and How To Change It For Prismatic Evolutions

Prismatic Evolutions might not have the most playable cards, but the ones that are playable have completely warped the Pokemon TCG. If you take a look at the metagame from two weeks ago and now today, it looks completely different. Who would have thought one little grass Pokemon could change so, so much in this game. Budew has begun its takeover, and with multiple events … Continue reading “Heading South of the Border:” Decks for Merida Regionals

Hello Cut or Tap readers, my name is Benny Billinger, and I am a player for Dead Draw Gaming. I am a first-year Master with two Top 32’s under my belt, and I was ranked #2 globally last year in the Seniors division. Block Snorlax was a deck that helped me achieve a lot of success in Seniors, including a Regional win, a Regional Top … Continue reading “A Sleeper Pick:” Block Snorlax for the San Antonio Regionals

Welcome back, Subs! I’ve had some distance from the computer as of lately and I’m excited to be writing for you all. Pokemon TCG has become quite stale when talking about the Stellar Crown format. With this in mind, it becomes harder to prepare for the upcoming tournaments that round out Standard pre-Prismatic Evolution. Birmingham, Rio De Janeiro, and San Antonio will have little impact … Continue reading “The Tail End:” Stellar Crown Format’s End

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

Hi, first-time writer for Cut or Tap here. I’m Brent Tonisson, and I am a player from Sydney, Australia who plays a lot of tournaments. I finished Rank 1 for Championship Points in the 2024 Season, and got 2nd at the recent Latin American Championships. Preparing for a major tournament may seem like a daunting task, but fortunately there are predictable patterns and ways to … Continue reading How to Prepare for Major Tournaments