I'm gonna record this because Caden's not gonna play cloth, but let's talk about, let's talk about cloths, Mew, matchups.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:So if you could play spirit tomb, right? And spirit tomb's obviously very good against DTMU. Um, but you Crobat. But ironically Spiritomb is like kind of a trap against Fusion Mew because they'll put the fusion energies on the Genes X and then you can't poison them. So like your escape ropes do not become two prizes when you do that. So it's uh, it's kind of weird. So like Spirit Tomb is like actively bad against Fusion Mew. I mean, a Fusion Mew player is good. They can just put the fusion energies on the Genes X anyway. Uh, but they won't really think to do that unless you play the spirit to, so, but D-T-M-U-I think is okay because, um. Uh, even without spirit tune,'cause you can, uh, you can just kind of rope and take prizes and, and whatnot. Uh, I mean, I don't think it's, I don't think either is gonna be favorable, but I think it, they're winnable. Winnable, matchups.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Okay. Is cloths what? So what are cloths? Like? Bad matchups, obviously. Gardy.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. I mean, guardian's really, really, really bad. It's really bad if they know what they're doing. Like it's borderline unwinnable. Unless you go up like three, six, um, you pretty much always go up four, six. Um, but even at four, six you're unflavored. So, um, but really that's the only, like, really bad one. Um, I think I haven't really played too much against loss zone stuff besides Los Tino. I think Las Tino's fine. I haven't played against, uh, like the new Lost Box, SC Grainages. I played a little bit against Sard that felt unfavor, but not like crazy Unfavor. Um. Snorlax is not great. Um, but everything else is pretty good. Jars are, uh, pretty good. Maria, ride-ons good. Uh, I don't know what else is, what else is in the format? I, I gotta pull up my tier list,
Track 1:I, I, I was, I was gonna say, I feel like, I feel like the strategy for the pod today is to review the tier list, right?
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. Oh, Intel Ursh is not good. That's a bad matchup. Uh, GPA's fine. P uh, Luie is bad. Roaring Moon is amazing. So I don't know. It's matchups aren't great, but you beat, you beat, charge and ride on, that's two of the big three,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:but you have an auto loss against the third one, so.
Track 1:And, and are those the big three or like, like, uh, dude, let's do the intro and then let's get into it real quick. All right. Welcome to the Trashalanche podcast. Chris Webbys, Webster's Laboratory is the intro. We'd like to just say that from time to time so we can acknowledge that that's a thing that happens. Attendance is 133%. Gangs all here, Caden, Liam, Mike, me, all that stuff. It's the only podcast about the Pokegear trading card game. It's the Lan. We're all on Twitter. You can find us all there. If you leave a five star review, we will read it on the pod. If you tweeted us, we'll probably read that also, um, speaking of which, at some point we should talk about whether or not we need to try to get together some merch. You know,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Hmm.
Track 1:I, I tried to, uh, spend a few minutes looking at like custom Ink to figure out if there was like really super high quality merch. And it turns out like there are not a lot of Japanese T-shirts that get screen printed by Custom Ink or something like that. Like no Loop wheel t-shirts or anything. Anyway, neither here nor there. Dragon Shield sends the sleeves from time to time. Uh, let's jump into it, guys, because San Antonio is mere moments away, and, and Liam Mc Kidden are both gonna be there. Um, Mike, uh, do you wanna talk about Stucker or you wanna jump right into your tier list?
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I mean, I'm sure we'll get to plenty of the, the stuck guard stuff. So Yeah. Yeah. I posted, uh, a tier list pretty much, I don't know, maybe the day after our podcast last
Track 1:Yeah, that was a real betrayal by the way.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:it was, I don't know.'cause I was just think, you know, I had some people, uh, local people going to San Antonio that I've been talking to and they asked my thoughts about the meta game, blah, blah blah. And so I mostly put the tier list together.'cause that's just how I think about the format and like both in terms of some type of combination of popularity and quality of the decks. Uh, and. That was just kind of the representation that, uh, it, it took, um, having Charar Maron and Gardevoir being kind of the big three. Uh, and then Mew kind of like just a little bit under them. And then, you know, a handful of decks that I think are, are, are good. Um, and then the decks that I think are not so good. Um, and it's funny'cause uh, actually, you know, you know the, you know, the reason that I I, I ended up posting it is because I listened to, uh, the, the, the tag team podcast and Maho. Basically had the, uh, exact same thoughts. We, I did talk about it last week, um, when I was like, oh, the big three are, you know, guardian, right on Charar. I did say that on the podcast last week, and when I heard Maho say that too, I was like, okay, yeah, yeah, uh, I think that's, uh, correct. Um, so yeah, so I threw that together post on Twitter and then, then I posted the updated one yesterday where cloth is above cloth tier. Now all the other decks are definitely worse than cloth. Um, and I think we saw it in Stuttgart, uh, jars are right on. And Gardy were the three most popular decks, day one. I think that's not true for day two. I think Giratina might have cracked the top three. Um, but they, they certainly were the most popular. Um, so that's validating, I guess. And I think they'll probably still be the three most popular decks going into San Antonio.
Track 1:Yeah, so I, I haven't done the, the delta. What, what changed besides cloth moving up a tier from cloth tier to its own tier,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Uh, no, no, that was it. That's the only
Track 1:that's the only change. Oh, okay. Nice, nice, nice, nice,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah.
Track 1:Turns out cloths, the Strat.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. Uh, okay. Yeah. Day two of Stu was Gardevoir and Giratina basically tied for first and then me ride on, and then Char art. So Giratina Giratina did really well overall, despite Liam's
Track 1:I was about to say. Well, how come, how come we trash Giratina on this, uh, pot all the time and yet Giratina?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Mean, it's, it's the easiest lost zone deck by I think a sub pretty substantial margin
Track 1:Oh, for sure.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Like easiest to play, is that what you mean?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah, I think it's the easiest deck, lost zone deck to play, um, of like the primary lost zone variance.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Mm-Hmm.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:and I don't know, I think it's, it's very easy to play poorly into Giratina and if,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Because they can capitalize on a lot of different things, I suppose.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:yeah, I, uh, I think it has, I don't think it's hard to play. I don't think it's that hard to play Giratina. I think it can be hard to play against Giratina is sort of what I'm trying to say. I think, um,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Hmm.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I think
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:That, that's fair. I, I kind of like
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:there are some intricacies to the matchups that can give the Giratina player a big advantage if you don't. If you don't capitalize on it, I don't know.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I wouldn't even say that. I think it's, um, I think it's hard to play against because like, it's counterintuitive to not take prizes, but like you just have to read the cards in their deck and all of'em say like, you know, if your opponent's taking five prize cards, you get to win the game now. So like, you know, just like, don't like go down to two prizes on turn two with like your only attacker in the active, and then get like no path, Roxanne, start out of the game or whatever, and you're fine. Like, just make sure you're set up before you go like two prizes and you should win like, probably like 80 to 90% of your games.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah. I, I, I stand by the belief that the deck, I, I think it's fine. I like, maybe I, I think it's fine, but I don't think it's particularly great. Do we wanna just kind of like, go through each of the decks on this tier list quickly and like briefly talk, touch on our thoughts on them. Um.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Going into San Antonio.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Antonio? Yeah.
Track 1:Sure.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah. So start off with C zd. I think C zd Isard is honestly out of most of the like, top, top Medex, the one I have touched the least. Um,
Track 1:can we take a step back before we dive into the list? Caden, have you been like, hardcore testing the last two days?'cause I get the impression you have not been testing a lot in like the six weeks previously or something. I just wanna get a, get a sense of how ready you are for San Antonio.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Um, I would put my, I, I think I am like d I'll put it this way. I have a decent amount of games in like an okay amount of games in on the decks that I am kind of interested in playing. I have a very select, I have like two decks that I am even really considering playing. Um, maybe kind of three decks. I'm really considering playing for San Antonio and I have an okay amount of games into those,
Track 1:Yeah, you, you have two because cloth is definitely not the, the play.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Cloth I cloth is the outsider that, who knows maybe. But that, that was not one I was counting. Um,
Track 1:Alright. The fourth deck.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:the, the like primary decks I'm considering right now are like, um, moron. Or maybe like, you know, I, I have a lot of, I've played a lot of Mew, so maybe some variant of Mew, but um, that's sort of where my head's at.
Track 1:Gotcha, gotcha. Alright.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:into those, but outside of that,
Track 1:Gotcha. And, and, and are you, are you, do you think you're more like honing in on those decks or do you think you're like gonna test a million different things over like the next two or two or three days?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Definitely not gonna test a million in different things. I think those are really, that's really all I'm considering. You know, I have a, there, there are a few little ideas that trying out, but I don't really expect those to go anywhere.
Track 1:yeah. Is it, is it all testing all the time for you now? Are you like totally done with college for the foreseeable FUT issues?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:am on winter break now. Um, I wouldn't say, I wouldn't say all testing all the time, um, but I, I am, I am on winter break. I have time to test versus the no time previously.
Track 1:Gotcha. I, I always thought that college was, when you like, uh, could just go crazy and do stupid stuff, and it seems like you are a responsible person. I,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:it, it just depends on what your goals are and
Track 1:when I reflect on my college experience, it's difficult for me to relate to that.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Let's fax kid.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:mean, I, I didn't play like any Pokegear when I was in college. I was doing,
Track 1:I, you know, it's, it's funny, I, I feel like I've always, I've always told my kids, uh, every time they're like, Hey, can we stay up all night tonight playing video games or whatever. I'm like, that's what you do in college. Don't, don't talk to me about that. But, but like, I get the distinct impression that when you look around, like kind of the Pokegear community, there's a lot of people who took college off.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Mm-Hmm.
Track 1:Like you, Sam? Um, uh, I don't know. Maybe those, those
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I mean, there's a lot that don't
Track 1:they, yeah. I mean, I guess like if you look at somebody like Raul, there's a guy who like, you know, he, he did the, he did the Brent style, the, like colleges when you do have bad judgment
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:just about
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, but it's also, um, there's a much larger incentive now to play, like when I was in college, if you won a regional, you made$0.
Track 1:right, right.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:yeah.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah, I think, I think there's also something that feels, and this might just be a me thing, but. Like, it feels a little harder to justify, like, flying out, um, for, for a weekend and like, and potentially missing Friday as well. And like for, for a Pokegear tournament, I don't, and I don't know, this might just be me, but it feels harder for me to justify than in high school, but.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:that's fair.
Track 1:All right. All right. Anyway. Okay, ARD.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:So Charr, I like Charizard. Um, I played it, uh, I played it like an okay amount. Uh, I actually probably played the most cha art that I have. In the last week or so? Um, I mean, I think the lists are kind of converging on like the same, like 57 ish cards. Uh, just like Char Art Palkia, you gotta choose if you're playing Palkia VI or Rot to, based on that, you have a couple different choices. Like if you play road time, you probably should be playing a collapsed stadium as your third stadium. If you're playing Piot, that gives you a little flexibility of playing, uh, like a third law city or an Artisan, or, I've been toying around with the idea of playing one path for the Guardian matchup. It's probably not worth it. But, uh, something I, if I was going to San Antonio, I probably would test that out. Um, you have a choice of like what tool. Or what tools you're gonna play. Like it's for sure one forest, seal stone, you could run a second forest seal stone, um, or you could run like some combination of vitality band, a glove, a defiance band. Um, but really those are like the only choices, uh, to really make. Um, I guess the other choice is like, do you play the level ball and the 90 HB Charmian or do you play nest balls? Uh, I've seen a lot of people start playing more and more of the level balls and the charmian, which I think is probably correct. Um, but otherwise charr it seems pretty solved in this format. And, uh, I think it's really good. I mean, it's only really bad matchup is, uh, oh, I guess that's not true. Guard's a bad matchup. Uh, rapid strike's a bad matchup, and, uh. Anything with, with devolution, TMM is a bad matchup. So the, uh, the winning list from Stu Art not so great probably for Char Art, but you're like pretty favorite against literally everything else. You're good against moron, you're good against Mew, you're good against other lost zone decks. Uh, you're pretty fine against, um, Valiant. Uh, oh yeah, you're not gonna get the Snorlax, but I think Snorlax is like pretty bad this weekend. Um, but we can talk more into that. So I think Charizard is good if, if you've been playing Charizard, just play Charizard. It's a good deck.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I hope you do.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:meta, uh, this meta, honestly as a whole, you know, I was talking about this with Liam. Every, every deck really has one to two matchups that really are bad and there isn't a real way to fix it for the deck. Um, and so it feels like a lot for this weekend, as I talked about with Liam previously, was, is like you have to pick one, maybe two decks that you don't think are gonna show up that much. Which decks are gonna be the least popular? Which decks can I afford to take losses to? And then just pick off of that.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:yeah.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:like you, you could do like something super dumb, like you could play the, uh, the toad, squirrel EX, I guess in Charr that would help your stuff against the TM devolution. But, uh, I dunno, that doesn't seem good to me.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Um, I mean, the only reason I'm even thinking of that is'cause we had talked about running, like we saw the, the, the other toad squirrel played in Charizard at the very beginning of the format, and then people had chatted about playing the EX as well. So like, that is an option I guess. But,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:It's harder to do without the TM Evo version or whatever, which
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:true. That's true. Yeah. Okay. So me ride-on right onto the deck that I have barely played. I think it's a good deck, but I don't have very, uh, strong feelings about it. I, it's a deck that I would not play, but I think it's a good deck and you guys have more on me. Ride-on. So you guys talk about me on.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah, sure. Um. I think Maria on has, I mean, Maria on, I think has proven itself to be a top contender in this format. Uh, it's performed quite well the, these past few tournaments and I think it has, you know, so a solid matchup spread, like all of the top decks two. Um, I, yeah, I don't, I don't really know how much, how much I to say on it, but it's pretty, it's solid. It's fun. It's a, it's a fun deck. It's a, I, I would, I'll give him a ride on this. It is certainly a very fun deck.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:That's cap. Um,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:it. Okay.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:but. Deck's really good, bro. Just'cause the, the Mew player like triple prize genes doesn't mean the results like completely invalid. Has like, I'm pretty sure like 90% of the community was like instantly in all their like group chats or whatever, like, oh my god, dude. Of course Theum player's just always sack. It's like the, the deck like isn't actually good. It just only does well because these likeon players high roll over and over and over, whatever. But no decks actually pretty good and like, you know, everybody high roll people, juston.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Do you guys, would, would you guys play, um, paths or beach court? What kind?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I, I think I would probably go path,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Okay. And,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:the merit for both.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:and the list that got second at Stu was, uh. A decent, decent, bit different. Um, it ran, no Arvin, it ran a, so it's supporter count was four, research, three, boss two, io two judge. So it kind of went back to a little bit more of a heavier disruption and played two path, one beach court. Do you like that or do you like couple Arvin?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I definitely wouldn't play a couple Arvin. Oh yeah. I probably wouldn't play Arvin. I dunno if go to Judge two io or like three IO or three one, um, or maybe play like one Arvin. I, yeah, I don't know. I wouldn't play that. It's, it's fine though. It's my ride on play. A lot of generators, play a lot of energies. They're still fine.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah, I mean I as always, as is literally pretty much always true. Disruption plus Ability Lock is a very strong combo that if your deck can utilize that, like, you know, it's definitely worth, at the very least, heavily considering running because it will give you a lot of, a lot of free wins.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Thanks.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I think the only thing I don't like about this list is the only one rope. I think rope is really good. Am I right
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, brother. That's like the best card.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. It, it, it plays one switch, one rope, one switch cart. It's a little
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:That's unbelievable.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. Just play more rope. Um,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:played a little bit with like heavy switch carts versus the rope, and I can con confidently say rope is, uh, better.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:yeah, bro wrote real good as a guard player. I'm like, please don't rope me, bro.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:because it's like all, all your, all your egen are already switches. Like if you just like double hit off the, you get attached retreat, so like. I, I feel like the deck is like lacking and targeting much more than it is like rough switching.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. Cool. All right. Uh, Gardy. So, um, Gardy is still great, but it's place in the meta is a bit weaker than it was for sure. Um, obviously Maria Ride-on is not the matchup it used to be, uh, slightly unfavor for sure. Um, the new matchups are still close, but favored, um, I haven't played against this Radiance Ard with devote tmm. It's like probably still Guardi favored, but a lot closer. Like Guardi was always pretty favored against Radiant Char art. Even, um, even like before Iono came mad, I think that matchup was favored for Gardy. Uh, so I think the Devo Tmm probably makes it closer, but, but. Still probably fine. Um, but like rapid strike is tough matchup. Like it's still close, but, uh, it's tough. Um, so I don't know. Guardi, Gardy iss still great. I, but it also has the time issues, right? Um, I did play a cup this weekend with Gardy and I got second, uh, lost to Fusion Mew in the finals. I like definitely made a mistake or two in the finals, but my opponent also went seven for seven or something like that on cramp flips. Uh, which was a little unfortunate, like both game one and game two, uh, they hit a cram flip. So win the game, like I still needed like another turn or two, but it was like, oh, if they just hit this cram flip here, I insta lose. And they did. Uh. So I still like Gardy. I would probably play VIPs, uh, if I was playing at this event. Uh, Gabe Smart's list from Stuttgart, uh, I, I really liked, except for it didn't run lumon. I would run Lumon over something in his list. But other than that, that list looked really good to me.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I, I never thought I would say this, but I actually think Gardy is probably the weakest pick outta the top three for this event.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, that's probably true.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I such cat, bro guard beats everything right now. You just have to like be a a God player. It's, yeah,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I, I,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:percent be playing guard right now if I thought I could pilot it at like a really high level.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:and manage your time perfectly, like yeah, sure.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, bro. Exactly. If you play the deck perfectly, if I thought I could play it perfectly or at like, at least like a really high level, I don't a hundred percent be playing it. It's easily the BDIF. You just cook everything, bro.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:know if I would say it's easily the BDIF, however, I.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:easily.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I agree that Gardy, I think is out of the, out of, um, probably every deck and format every other deck and format the one with the highest skill cap. Um, I think it beats all the lost box variants, but.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:It was pretty crazy about Guardy, bro. Like I'm pretty sure your favorite, or like you, you're straight winning in every game, that you don't go down like two to six, like.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. Uh, there's some matchups where you can lose down three to six, but like you're still can be in a very much winning position, uh, for sure. At three to six. Yeah. At, there was, dude, there was a funny game at our cup this weekend. Um. Antonucci was there, he was playing Gardy, and he goes down two to six against my ride-on, and then he just goes, counter catcher, fluffy Iono to two scream tail, kill a Squawk two, four. The dude goes attached to Fluffy Pass. He goes, uh, counter catcher, back up, uh, EX, KO two two. The guy did not have a way to take two prizes, and then Ryan won the next turn. He got hand, he got hands on turn, whatever on turn two, and then turned three for four prizes. Uh, so I was like, yeah, that's sick. It doesn't happen every game. You'd go down two six, but it was still, uh, pretty sick.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, man. I know all the, the Maria on kids were like, oh my God, why didn't that guy touch that energy to the flay beforehand? Bro,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Right? Sometimes you can't, right? Like if you're, if you're going all in on hand, sometimes you just can't, uh, do that. You, Yeah. Guardia's Guardian's great.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I'm definitely not playing guard. That's too hard.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:It's, it's so much easier in best of one. I will definitely say that. Like in,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Time pressure.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:yeah, it was so, like, it was so easy playing the Swiss games in my cut and then our top cut was best of three 50 minutes and I was like, I, I was playing noticeably worse for sure. Um, yeah. So Guardi good. Uh, all right. Mew, Caden, I hope by the end of this podcast I can convince you to play Mew because I think Mew is great. I think Mew is really good right now. I think both versions are good. Um, it's just like consistent. It beats my ride on. Um, I think you can beat Zad with, uh, some lists. I think the guard match ship is like fine. It's like, it's hard to play from the guard side. Um, so I think if you're playing against like just okay guard players, it's a. Uh, very reasonable for you to win. Um, yeah, and I think it's like pretty good against all the decks below it, in my tears. I just, like, I, I don't think there's any reason, um, you should be losing to a lot of these decks.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah, I agree. I think m is a fantastic, I think m is a fantastic pick. Um, I, I actually have no idea which variant is better. Uh, I think that the, uh,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I mean, I think it's pretty straightforward, right? Like DTMU is just like way better if people aren't playing spear to, and fusion Mew is better if they are. I think that's, it's pretty much as simple as that.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:well, yes, this is the, I mean, I, I agree. That's the hard part though. Um, I think though I've been trying to figure out which variant I Mew I would actually wanna run, but I, I would say Mew right now is my top choice. Um, Maria Don has felt kind of, I kind of iffy at times, but. Mew Mew is certainly a powerhouse as it literally always is.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Uh, I'd definitely send Fusion. Um, I think like
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:think like
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:the best thing Mew has going for it is, is the urch intel matchup in, in my opinion. Um, I think, I think like the other matchups are like, definitely solid, but like a hundred zero urch a hundred zero snor wax, and then like, being like maybe slightly favored 50 50 to everything else is like a pretty good matchup spread if, if you're suddenly like, stinky into Urch because, you know, every single one of them plays tomb. Or not even stinky, but like, you know, that matchup is close and like, you know, whatever Snow Xs decide to run tomb or like, and you, you lose a bunch of, um, percentage points in everything else that plays tomb. Like, I, I wouldn't lose to, um,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I think I agree. Like, I like playing DT Mew like way more, but I think I agree with you Liam. Um, and I think I like the ice cube right now as kind of like your second one prize guy. Uh, like I I, that, that was like the ice cube is the reason that I lost the finals for, besides the cram flips, like the ice cube is just really good in NAIC Gari. Um, it's pretty good. In Zaza is so the, like the, the big matchup downside for playing fusion is like your ZD matchup sucks. Like your, the DTMU matchup is like okay in Azar, but Fusion Mew definitely sucks.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:man.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:winnable but it's not good
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:So many bad cards in that deck, dude. Lord.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Infusion Mew.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. Just opened fist like.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:yeah. This is part of my feeling every time I play Fusion Mew. My deck just feels so clunky and then I pick up DTMU and all of a sudden, like the cards are just flowing
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:like I have everything I could ever possibly want it.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:And then you play a game, your, your opponent flips over the spirit tomb and you're like, ah, I'm going back to fusion.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. It's, it's unfortunate. All right. Let's move. Let's move along. What'd you guys think of
Track 1:This is the one I wanna talk about here.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Christian Fonta knot's, radiant ard, lost box deck? What were some of your reactions?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Man. I always feel like radiant. I always feel like radiance art just falling outta the format and then every time I start to think that it just comes and wins a regionals. Um, I mean, I think this deck has, I. I, my feeling is at this stage, this deck has proven that, um, it is never going to go anywhere. Like this deck is just kind of always gonna be solid. Um, and so, yeah, I think the deck's quite good. I think the deck's really good. I mean, it is lost box as pure as lost box can be. Um,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:It's true.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:as it turns out, lost box is a very strong engine that
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:All right, bro.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:an overwhelming amount of pressure. Yeah.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I got a question for everyone here. What deck am I playing? Playing that has a bad lost box. CR matchup.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:What deck are you playing?
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. Yeah. Like I'm gonna bring some deck to Texas and what, what deck is it where I'm like, oh my God, man. Of course, this guy's playing lost box C there any deck?
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:ride on. It's more ride on, like the worst deck
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I, bro, I,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. Yeah, I guess that's true. Yeah. Well, I did have that thought, Liam. Um, and then I also had the thought when I saw this list, so I was like, man, this looks, this looks, this list looks really good. But I know if I play five games with this, I am going to not like it. Like, I'm just gonna be like, damn, it's still lost box. Chars are, uh, but, but I also, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Liam, your, your point's a good one. Like what, what deck do you wanna see as Lost box Chars are sitting across from you?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I mean, lost Giratina. I.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Lost Giratina. Okay. I can get behind that.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:bro, like.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I'm saying is that Christian did go four one against throughout
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:mean, dude, I'm, I'm sure his matchups against like literally every deck and format were great. He just won the regional, he had like two losses on 20 rounds or something, but like,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Giratina was the deck that he played against the most. That is true.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:and like everything is a good loss box. Giratina matchup, bro.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:yeah, that, that's what I thought you were gonna say. At first. Um, he did like, he, he beat at least one of almost every deck, pretty much. Um, he beat like two chars are, it's Beat a Guardi. He beat a couple Mew, presumably those were DTE Muse and he just bodied them with Spear Tomb. Uh, he beat Aine. He beat a in Inteleon Urshifu, which seems crazy, but he also lost a one as well. But yeah, I don't know. I dunno.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:you know what, I actually, this is not really relevant to San Antonio. I find it really surprising that all of Christian's opponents from round three on, from round three to round nine all made day two. Like
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:that is cool.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:typically, you know, even if, even when, when you're like two, three, oh your, your opponents are still not nec very much, not necessarily making day two.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. Hmm. That is cool.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:yeah, I, I feel like, I don't know, I feel like. Zd lost box is, I don't know. I feel like it's strong. I just feel like it's good and I don't think it's, I don't feel able to say that it's a bad deck.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:So I guess my only worry would be is that, is Ache gonna see more play And I, I guess there is some, so charge Yard was already playing Achi, right? Achi like was already pretty stable in charge. Yard list. So that's probably not a big deal, but I think the big question is like, are s gonna play it? Um, that's like the only other deck that would reasonably play gerace, uh, I guess mirror matches as well. Like Christian had the gerace in his deck for the mirror. Um, so now people will see that and be like, oh, okay, okay. Maybe we have to play G for the mirror. Um, or like in Giratina. yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true. Um, so like all the different laws, decks could play Gera, Gardy could play gi. I don't think anybody anything else would. Um, but I guess that's something to consider.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:like why, why, why would I lose to somebody who wants to play a ji? I'm, I'm not bringing that deck, bro. I'm not bringing that deck. Like,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah,
Track 1:Fair enough.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:hmm.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:All right. What about, what about.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:lost box engines, but if I, if I did like playing lost box decks, I think I would be heavily considering this stack
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:no. Yeah, I definitely play z over like the, you know, the two prize, run them down whatever shenanigans tour was playing and like Los Giratina.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Good. Let's talk about that. That's, that's what I was gonna say next. Okay. So the next deck is like lason with Greninja, which is basically turned into what Liam just said, like two prize, pick your poison loss box. So like toward played it, uh, guy got top eight. Christian HOAs played it. He had, um, chops, Raku Gian Moltres V, iron Hands, roaring Moon. No water, no psychic, so no Greninja or bla tackling. Uh, and Pedro Torres played a super similar list, I believe, uh, to that. So, uh, some good players tour and Pedro both playing this, this deck and someone else getting top four.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I, I can't speak on this deck. I have not put in any reps with this deck,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:It looks funny though, like seeing these lists is really funny. Like a loss zone deck with Zia's resolve in it is pretty hysterical to be
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:gotta be honest, this is what I thought loss zone decks were going to be like when we first saw the engine,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:hmm.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:um, I thought they were gonna be like completely bonkers toolbox decks. And for a, a long time they weren't. They were actually pretty, you know, they were pretty contained. You usually had seye and then like maybe some water attackers, maybe some lightning attackers. Like pretty, pretty contained.
Track 1:It was a little bit like, are you playing two cramps or three cramps?
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah,
Track 1:You know.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:this is what I thought lost stone decks were going to be like. And man, it is, uh, it's a little wild.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:it is even crazier than like the, the riku qua list, right? Like those,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, no, those are so straightforward. These
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:right, exactly. Like it played a bunch of energy, but it was like pretty straightforward. Like this is just, this is going, this is going crazy easy.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:then what were,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:few games with it. It's like it's pretty good.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:which one did you play with? The top four list or towards new list? Dude, the one one Giratina is really fun. The one one Tino with, with the Forest Seal, stone Lumion is really funny.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Well.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:So he based, so a actually let's talk just quickly, like what are some of the changes from his last list? So he dropped, uh, the, the polier basically for Lumion for seal. That's kind of like,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Added the boss.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:swap. And added what?
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Added the boss.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:added boss. Right. Okay. So it's like those are, those three spots I think are pretty like one to one-ish. Uh, and then we changed some attackers. We changed Palkia for Giratina. Oh wait, that's it. Right? Just Palkia. For Giratina
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. I think
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:and still has Kayo had to switch the energy up a little bit. He didn't have jet Energies before, right?
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:yeah. They make more sense with the Giratina, right?
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah. Hmm.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I mean, I think it comes down to whether or not you wanna play. All of this just feels like, which attackers are you deciding to use?
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, I don't understand any of the attacker decisions, but the deck, the deck still feels good.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I mean like moon and hands obviously makes sense. Like both, both of those are very strong
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Mm-Hmm.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:and then it's so like you probably gotta play something else just besides those, but maybe you could just run like two of each of those. Like maybe that's just better.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I don't know.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:it's our, it's a, it's the new Ryku in Dragon
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:probably best.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:but not quite as streamlined.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah. I don't know. I think, I think deck's good. I think the deck's quite good. I would personally probably play Radian Alos box over it, but that's also because I would feel, I just feel more comfortable with that very end of the deck.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. All right. Giratina was the next deck on the list, but I feel like we've kind of talked about our opinions on Giratina and nothing's really changed, and we've talked about a lot about our opinions on lost Stone as well. So for the sake of, uh, sake of time, we, we can just move on to ante, valiant. Anything to really say with this deck?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I'm surprised you didn't put this in cloth here.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I think it's, uh, I think it's a little better than the rest of the decks below it. Um, but, but maybe it could be, it could be in cloth, which is like above cloth tear now.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah. I would probably put this in cloth,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Okay. All right, good. I
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:the deck is, um, I mean, it is exactly the type of deck that I would never, ever, ever want to run. Um, I, I feel like it just has, Ugh, I, I hate the deck. I hate the deck. I hate it.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I think I talked a little bit about it last week. Yeah. I'm, I'm not a huge, huge fan for sure. It was my one loss in my cup, though, besides the finals. I think it does have like a slightly favored Gardevoir matchup, but that's, other matchups are like, meh at best,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I don't know why I would ever play this deck over. Like many other
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:of other decks. Right, right, right, right. Yeah. Um, okay. And I think a big deck to talk about is next Inteleon Urshifu. Two of them made top eight. Did one make top four? No, no, no. They both lost in top eight. Um, and it just like seemed, I think it had the best conversion rate from day one and day two perhaps. I'm not a hundred percent sure on that, but it definitely had a really good conversion rate.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Good deck.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Good deck,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Good deck.
Track 1:What's, what's the worst matchup for the stick?
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:uh, Mew Mew and, and Roaring Moon roaring moon's also really, really bad.
Track 1:yeah, yeah, yeah. But we need a re deck. Yeah, exactly. We, we only count real texts.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:fusion
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Mew is, Mew is really bad.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Um,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Everything else is fond of,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:think that X's good. That X's really, really good actually. Um, I was considering it for a while. I ended up. For me, the, I feel like the worst part about the deck is honestly just its inherent consistency.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:yeah.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:is, I think actually maybe, I don't know if I've ever really said that. I haven't thought about this before. I think this is the only format in a while. I think this is the only deck that I would say outta the top decks in this format has like real consistency issues.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Mm-Hmm.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:And I can't remember the last time that I felt this way about a format where actually most of the decks in the format feel quite consistent.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:bro. We have like the most broken draw cards like ever.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:No, this is true. This is true. Yeah. Um,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:good point. I, I like that point.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:but Intel Ursh, I think is the one, um, fundamentally inconsistent deck in this format. However, it also has a phenomenal matchup spread.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, bro. But like you lose like 40% of your games getting like one in on.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:had a, I, I played against this at my cup in top four and. My opponent was definitely feeling the inconsistencies of Intel urs, those games. Game ga, game one, they got out an okay start, got an Octillery out, and then I scream, tailed it like immediately, and then they're like, Hmm, okay, I will now pass for the rest of my turns. Uh,
Track 1:it makes me happy to hear this'cause I feel like all I ever see is Ur She does Rolling in people.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:yeah, I mean, if it, like, that's the thing, like the games that you lose to it feel really bad because they just like, you know, they get their stuff, they get their stuff, they, they loop you and, and it's just really hard to beat. It's like,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Turn energy.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah. You know, last format everyone was complaining about. You know the feeling of losing to Chen Pal when they hit their cards? I swear, losing to Intel Urch felt worse.
Track 1:I, yeah, I feel like, I feel like, uh, uh, it must just, there. There just be must be absolutely. Really incredible. You know?
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:yeah. Yeah, like, um, one thing that's interesting is like the, I don't, I think the ma ride-on matchup is like not nearly as good as it used to be.'cause if you start an Inteleon v, like that thing is giving up the reprises
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I, I've heard this from like two different perspectives, I guess, and I, I don't know which one is correct, which is, yeah, one, like they go, um, I hands knockout turn one, and then they just like kill a VMax and they win. Or they hit like boss and like secondhand or something like that. But then the other is like, if you commit weight, like a bunch of energy to a hands, turn one and then they k with the rapid strikers v. Without evolving it and just go, uh, like the one 50 attack, then you like instantly lose. So like you wanna avoid going for hands, KO turn one, even if they open like squawk or Inteleon
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah, I think hands is a bait.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:your hands as bait.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I think usually you're going 2, 2, 2 with maybe a three prize K on an on a ur, she VMax with a ride shoe. Um, I think that's pretty much how the matchup plays out or at
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:But then if they like hit two UR shoes, you like always loose, which like feels pretty bad.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:You
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:What about
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:bravery charm
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:What about this? What if you go, uh, what if you go two, four?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:two, four. So you're
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:It sometimes happens. But you also.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:like, like let's say, let's say you go like, turn one Raku, KKO, like an Inteleon V or whatever, and then they set up the ursh. You like just smack the ursh, and then if they evolve it to a VMax, then you win. Like that could be, I don't, I don't think it's something that you play like into, but I think if this situation presents itself,'cause like you can, from taking the first two prizes, then you can go 2, 2 2, or you can go two, four. Right. Does that make sense?
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yes.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Iron Hands is just a nightmare to power up, um,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah.'cause you, that's one of the match where like it's, yeah, like something like benching zero Aura and fluffy is like, like a massive vulnerability because you get um, like double rapid flow and then you just lose,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:You can, um, is like mute that good ever in the matchup as an attacker? It seems. Okay.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:generators don't go.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. So you have to like fluffy DTE it, and then you don't have the DTE for the hands. Like if you wanna do that later.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:And, and then it's like just short of knockout anyway. Right. Which feels kind of bad.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Oh, like, uh, well I guess you would need Zap if you had zep doses. You could, you could do it.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:What?
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:What? What are you talking about? I'm talking about like the hands cleanup. KO or you're talking about Mew?
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. I'm,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Oh, oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Mew. Sorry. Hmm.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:right, so tell Urch. Good deck.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:is good, has consistency issues, but great matchup spread, is the,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I agree. Mm-Hmm.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:um, Snorlax bad deck. Bad deck. Very bad deck. Don't play this
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Really? fine. It's
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I, no, I agree. The deck's fine. Um,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:You just don't want people to play it.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:it is worth bringing to a tournament. Um,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Its matchup spread is getting worse too.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:yeah,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:For sure.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:you ought to lose
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I mean, Intel s
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:turro.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Intel Urch is, is a good matchup though,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:and we just hyped up Intel Urch.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:True.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:mean, I, SNX is like a bad matchup for it, but it doesn't really mean anything.
Track 1:I, you know, it, the fact that Liam is not on a, like wall deck is
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:brother, I got one for you.
Track 1:tells you a lot about the situation,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, I told him I, oh, no, I, I have serious concerns about this one, bro.
Track 1:Yeah. Yeah. No. Like he, for, for, for like 30 minutes. Uh, earlier this week Liam was like, okay, we're on Snorlax. And I was like, we're not on Snorlax.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah, I don't know. I think Snorlax is, uh, like what? I do not find that type of gameplay enjoyable. And
Track 1:you know, Liam finds it extremely enjoyable.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:gotta be honest, I en and to note, I enjoy playing controlled x. Quite a bit actually. I really enjoy playing controlled X and locked X retreat. Lock is just the most boring type of lock imaginable. And, and I do not enjoy playing Snorlax,
Track 1:this is exactly what Liam said on the pod last week. Without you, he was like, Starbucks, you're not controlling anything. You're just. You just like play counter catchers until they can't play any anymore cards.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:yeah.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:dude. Like no control over anything, bro.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Like I do not like playing. I, I enjoy playing control because you have a lot of room to outplay and make them waste resources and run them out of resources. The problem with Dex like Snorlax is they're, they're like, list check Dex. It's like, Hey, I'm here to, Hey Gardy, you got your Turo. How many switch cards are you running? Let's see. You've got, you've got enough energy retrieve like it's. It is a list check and I don't wanna play a list. Check.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:it, it, it does a really terrible job of pivoting and targeting any other resources that get wasted. So like, like most other like controlled X um, are, are usually able to like, you know, if you like bench lock yourself out of something or like you, you discard energy or something like that. Like they're able to capitalize on that even if like, they're primarily targeting switch cards. Um, Snorlax like, it, it literally doesn't do anything except like counter catch every return. So like. You don't take advantage of literally anything that happens on your opponent's board except for like, you know, having switch cards in the first five cards of their deck. Like you literally don't do anything else.
Track 1:Yeah,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Cloth.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Cloth is okay. It's,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:If you're willing to take a loss to guard, it
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:yeah, right. I think that's, I think that's true. Like there are some other matchups that you don't like super wanna see, but that's like the one big one where you're like, it's a very bad matchup and it's a popular deck. Or at least it in it has been a popular deck. If you think that gardy will dip like below 10%, maybe. Then I think cloth becomes much more reasonable to play.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I real, I probably wouldn't wanna see the, uh, the Ursi matchup either. Those seem both seem pretty bad. Um, the lists that, or the list that Yesper played, uh, I haven't looked at the list. There was like one that, there was four that made day two at Stu Art. The best one was 45th. I think he played the Arvin Build. Don't really love that. Um, but the other people that I saw, I think at least Yesper played the research io build. Uh, he had Squa Billy Collapsed stadium, um, which is good. I basically had like trekking shoes in my list over those spots. Um, and he played four VIP, which, and then less on the Nest Ball Ultra Ball, which I also don't agree with. I think just maximizing Nest and ultra. Over VIP play one, maybe two VIP uh, is is better'cause you need to be able to play cards as the game goes on to bi roll for more. But otherwise, I dunno, claps, matchups are fine besides Guardi
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah.
Track 1:Is there, is there any point? Talk about the rest of the, the, the rest of the decks, they're bad decks. Right?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah, maybe it's worth just mentioning their names. Uh, bad Decks, Chen Pal, which I, you know, I am an avid Chen Pal fan. The deck is awful in this format. It's really, really bad. Um, don't play this deck. Roaring Moon, Lugia Pulia. They're bad.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:ironically Rory Moon's probably the best of these, or at least it's done the best. I don't know if it is the best, but it's done the best.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I think Chimp Pal might be better than roaring that.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Nope. Moon is definitely the best. Uh, terrible though.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:One did get ninth. The roaring moon got ninth, but then when you look at its matchups, it played like eight Urshifu or something like that. Like something insane. Let me see.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Oh, brother. I pray to God I had some good matchups at Texas man.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yep.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:3, 4, 5. Okay, five.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:this matchup spread is insane.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah. Beat a bunch of Urshifu, beat a couple. Meh on, obviously beat the Tinas.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yes, sir. Ah, dude, it's crazy that Dick is so bad, dude. And like, you know, I see people saying on Twitter all the time, and these are the same people that play like Giratina, like constantly. They're like, oh man. Like every day I go between Te Tina's terrible, and Tina's amazing. And like, so I'm like, they clearly have a moment of like realization where they're like, wait a minute, this deck is actually garbage. And like, you know, I'm just living in a dream world where like, this deck actually works, right? And then they still send it and they're like, bro, no way. You're disrespecting Giratina. Like, I, I thought we were in.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I think you gotta play. If you're playing Giratina, you basically have to play it The way Alberto has been playing it. It's not the exact list that he's played'cause you know it's a different format, but it's like the concept is exactly the same. He really just kind of goes, no frills, just just stuff like he has two Iono and two Roxanne, who, he's got a couple extra, he's got a lot more supporters than people were playing before. Just for Nest, for Switch card he's got, yeah, I dunno. It's the most straightforward I think your Giratina can be. So if you wanna play Giratina, just play that list.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:is unbelievable to me how weird people make their lists for no reason. Like,
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Mm.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:it's just like, why would you play Turo and Gardevoir Man? And like, I wanna do all this cool stuff. But like, people are just still playing Turo for no reason, bro. Like, just play like cards you wanna see in your opening hand instead of like trying to beat like block laxing, like all this garbage bro. Like,
Track 1:You. You gotta play the good cards.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I don't know why people be adding like all these like stinky cards to beat. Like, like text. Why? Why are you adding text to your deck, bro? Just, just play your deck, man. Jesus.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Uh, this is one side of Liam. I think that today you're getting consistency. Liam. Couple weeks we might get Tech Liam back.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:This is very true. I have, I have seen both. I have seen both types of lists from Liam. Um, Liam is someone who, you know at times will love to throw in every odd new attacker for a potential new game plan against a single matchup. But
Track 1:I think, I think the best version of Liam is like, like he picks the two texts that, that, that make it like, give him a little spice.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I think
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:that's what everybody says, bro. It's so corny. Just go all in. Either play something super weird or play like the best that you can, bro. Don't be playing garbage, bro.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah. I don't know. In a meta this diverse, feels hard to. It feels hard to say commit like two to three deck slots for at most like a 10% meta share.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, I think that's a good point. Like the, yeah, and Dex play like pretty differently, so tech cards are not super versatile. Like it's hard to get like one card slot to do multiple things.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah, like I would in this format, I don't think I would really ever play DRA Beyond
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Right.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:is maybe an example
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:two. Well, and one of the big reasons I think Spirit two is better is, uh, like it just beats straight up one of the versions of Mew. Uh, and then it does have a little, it has more utility than drap on obviously in other matchups, like, uh,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:like nowhere near as bad as a starter.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true. Um, in particular, it's quite good against Stall, so if you're, like, if your deck is weak against Mew and stall plane, spirit tomb makes a bunch of sense.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Also solid against like the road and builds of.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, that's fair too.
Track 1:There we go. Tech card with utility for against many decks. We love it.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:One of the few. One of the few. All right, so Caden. Liam, what are your, what are your, what are your, uh, Ken, you've kinda already said, but maybe just reiterate top two or three choices for the event.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I'm probably gonna end up playing some, playing one of the two Mew variants. Uh, there's a world I play my ride on and maybe an even slimmer world where I play some something completely wild and weird, but most likely just one of the two Mew variants.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Cool.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Same. I'll run it down with radon or fusion meal probably. Yeah.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Nice.
Track 1:Mike, what would you play if you were going.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I'd probably just play guard devore because I like it. I like playing it. Um, or Mew. Uh, those would be the two things that I would be deciding between.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Yeah.
Track 1:um, what are gonna be, uh, are there any decks that are gonna supplant the big three? Maybe big four when it comes to like market share. When they print out the graphics, do people show up with like FU and Italian and Mass?
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:Oh, this is like, what's meta prediction?
Track 1:Yeah.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, yeah,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I anticipate Gardy probably going down a little. I think Intel Earth is certainly gonna go up. Um, I think Snorlax is gonna. It wasn't already was kind of falling off, but I think it's gonna be really largely gone. Um
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:Yeah, I think Intel Earth is gonna go up. I don't think it's gonna be super popular day one, but it's gonna have a really good conversion rate. There's gonna be a lot of good players playing it. It's gonna be pretty popular day two, like maybe top three. I could easily see it as being like the fourth deck in day two,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:hmm.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:top four. I'd say that.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:yeah. I could see maybe fourth. I don't think. I don't think top three. Um,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:top three.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:I mean I think Charleson will still be one and two guard. DeVores, probably three, but it has a chance to go to four day one, but probably still.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:I think if you're considering Zari, you should play a game against Block Hawks and tell me what your deck does. Well,'cause like there's not like a single redeeming quality about that deck in that matchup, bro. It's, it's genuinely terrible. Like,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:every like.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:no, no, no, no. But like in every other matchup, you're like, I have some way to make progress. My deck. Like actually does something like czar in that matchup. You're like, oh man, like dark, tight, doesn't kill everything now. Good Lord I lose like, it's terrible, bro. It's, yeah, man. Like tell, tell me how good that deck would be if it wasn't dark type bro. If you 0% by share, like it's just completely made by typing and then every time you hit a nine. non Mew deck. Like deck is terrible, bro.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:it's, it can be made by typing. It's still a good deck. It has a decent ma matchup spread.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:no. Actually, like, if, if your deck's made by typing, that actually means your deck is trash. Like, trash. Like,
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:All right.
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:it, it just means that your deck doesn't have the raw power to deal with like other decks. Like, except for like one or two because they're weak to you. Like terrible like is terrible. Anyone who wants to beat you can beat you. I'm not.
mike_1_12-13-2023_193554:So end the charge, our rant. Uh, when do you guys, when do you guys get in? Friday.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I land like late tomorrow. I land like Thursday evening. So
Track 1:That is a, that is a real tribute to, uh, a Caden is outta school. That, that he's able to get in Thursday night, uh, for, uh, to, to like get in on, uh, to have time to test after a long flight.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:I mean, this is also, um, a lack of flights and good flight times. Um, more so, but yes, yes. I would not be able to do this if I was in
Track 1:I, I recognize, I mean, the Halliburton family children had been traumatized many, many times by you. Like being like, we get at like eight 30 at night on a Friday night. Some terrible like that for some regional. So,
liam_1_12-13-2023_193554:And then before the plane, he is like, I'm looking forward to testing so much. And then he lands. He is like, Ugh. Gotta have dinner now.
squadcaster-0ea1_1_12-13-2023_163554:My bad, my bad for having, having a stomach that needs to be filled.
Track 1:uh, you know, you know, Liam's not a believer in that. Alright. Awesome guys. The John Pauls are our outro and we'll be back next week with first and second place reports from, uh, San Antonio regionals. Busted.