Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I am here today to bring you some analysis of the new Paldea Evolved set, which will be legal for NAIC. By the time this article releases, prereleases will be occurring across the globe, so I will be covering some of the chase cards, their impact on the meta, as well as some of my favorite cards, and some … Continue reading Set Review and Early Analysis of the Paldea Evolved Format

I have a method for meta prediction that I use for every upcoming event, which I felt our subscribers could benefit from understanding. Without having at least a loose idea of what a meta will be, one cannot properly decide what deck is the best play or what the best techs are. In other words, meta-gaming is the foundation for deck choice and a significant … Continue reading Understanding How to Meta-Game

Hey, what’s up everyone! Gabriel Smart here! I hope most of you got into NAIC registration, as it is shaping up to be one of the biggest events ever recorded in Pokémon history! Despite NAIC on the horizon, there still are many important events that us Pokémon TCG players are preparing for. Regionals at Hartford, Malmö, Milwaukee, Santiago, Fresno, and much more are happening over … Continue reading My Top 2 Decks for Hartford

Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! As we gear up for the upcoming Hartford and Malmö Regional Championships, I am excited to share my thoughts on one of the most formidable decks in the current Standard format. I believe Mew VMAX to be a great choice for securing a high placement at these upcoming tournaments, and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to make … Continue reading Mew VMAX for Hartford, Malmö, and Beyond

Salutations, weirdos! The first North American Regional in the Scarlet & Violet meta has concluded, breathing continued new life to the game. Included in my piece will be discussion on the first meta shift of this format, a shockingly effective brand-new archetype, and my personal take on this pile o’ cards. First, I want to include a quick shout-out to Andrew Hedrick, my teammate, for … Continue reading “Keep Pokemon Weird:” Portland Recap and a New Rogue

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! It is a common consensus that you can throw any tech Pokemon together with the Lost Zone engine, and your deck won’t be half bad, as seen with Zacian VSTAR as an example. However, a frequent issue with many of these lists was the late game. This is why typically we see powerful attackers being added, such as Kyogre … Continue reading “Wrath and Storms:” The Importance of Late-Game Power in Lost Box

Portland Regionals has just concluded, and the metagame has shaken up once again. It seems every Regional gives us more questions than answers, and it becomes ever more important to continue to evolve along with the metagame. Adaptability is everything in this game – moving towards the popular trends, and being able to play multiple different iterations of decks is not talked about enough. I … Continue reading A Journey to the Northwest with Gardevoir. My Day 2 Gardevoir ex List and More

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

Note from Phinn: Michael wrote this article, but I have inserted some comments at different points throughout this article. Michael and I have tested this deck together extensively. Almost all of his opinions and gameplans for Kyogre are the same as mine. I planned on writing about this deck, but Michael beat me to it. Howd’y Cut or Tap readers! It’s Michael Perez. Some of … Continue reading A Storm Is Brewing Again

Ello bruvs! Hunter here, back from the European International Championships held in London! “Exhausted” is an understatement from the past few weeks of testing and travel. I wanna get right into the content, starting with my deck choice for the tournament. After almost 130 games with decks ranging from Lugia Vstar Single Strike to Gardevoir ex, I ended up on Giratina Lost Zone Box, or … Continue reading “ChrisTINA Aguilera:” EUIC List and Card Inclusions

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! As you may know, I love rogue (otherwise known as counter) decks, and with a ton of League Cups and Challenges happening across the globe, I will be presenting my current lists, or works in progress, of some off-meta decks. In this article, I will go over some of the pros and cons to playing rogue decks, especially for … Continue reading Attacking, Locking, and Stalling: Post-EUIC Musings on Rogue Archetypes

The biggest international Championship of all time just concluded with Alex Schemanske taking down over 1,500 players with his Arceus VSTAR / Alolan Vulpix VSTAR / Duraludon VMAX deck. To say I am surprised to see an Arceus deck win the event would be an understatement. Tord Reklev was his Finals opponent piloting quite an interesting build of Gardevoir ex. What’s up, everyone! Smart TCG … Continue reading Life After EUIC: a Look at Lugia and Arceus Duraludon

Hey there, Cut or Tap readers! Nick Moffitt here, and I just finished in the Top 16 out of over 1,500 Masters at the European International Championship! I played a rather unorthodox deck – Lost Zone Kyogre with Galarian Moltres. Today I will be taking you through my deck building process, as well as a run-through of how my Top 16 tournament run in London … Continue reading Innovating with Lost Zone Kyogre: A Top 16 EUIC Deck

Introduction Hello, Cut or Tap readers! As I write this article, I am on a train from Brussels to London! After a couple days of vacation, it’s time to do some last-minute testing and refining of my list. With that being said, today I am going to share four of my top contenders for this weekend: Sableye/Radiant Charizard Lost Box (updated from my last article) … Continue reading Across the Pond: My Top Deck Choices for EUIC

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

A new format means new opportunities, updated lists, altered play styles, and a fresh start that many of us quite frankly needed. Scarlet and Violet is upon us, and the outlook of the Pokemon TCG has never been better! What’s up, everyone! SmartTCG here. I am stoked to be writing another article for Cut Or Tap. Over the past few months, players have been frustrated … Continue reading Two Alternate Realities: A Look into Two Decks for EUIC

Welcome back, COT subscribers! The final weeks of this Silver Tempest Standard format cannot come any sooner. Decks like Lugia, Mew Vmax, and Lost Zone Box have had a chokehold on the format, making meta calls mostly fever dreams – although I will admit that Galarian Weezing claiming both a Regional win and a 2nd place was not on my bingo card. If anything, this … Continue reading “One Punch Lug:” A Breakdown of the Single Strike Variant

Hey everyone! My name is Owen Dalgard, and I am excited to begin writing for Cut or Tap. I am a professional Senior division player based in Maryland, and I travel the world playing the TCG. I am ranked in the Top 8 players in North America, and I am currently ranked #1 globally this quarter. You may know me from my Twitter, or from … Continue reading Legendary Clash: Exploring the Power of Lugia VStar and Drapion V in the Pokemon TCG

Hello everyone! This is Nick Moffitt bringing you my list of the most impactful cards we will be losing to the Standard format rotation this year. Like many of you, I feel that our current Standard format has dragged on for far too long, and I am ready to experiment with something fresh and new. This year’s rotation is pretty unique. Generally, we have rotation … Continue reading Most Impactful Cards Lost to the 2023 Standard Format Rotaion

The reason for Giratina’s potential resurgence Going into EUIC, there is room for Giratina to be viable again. Rotation and a new set release will lead to competitors playing all sorts of different archetypes and novel lists. Giratina has strength in this type of meta because of the well-rounded nature of the deck. Star Requiem takes a knock out on any ex, V, VStar or … Continue reading Giratina VStar in the Post-Rotation Format