Mark's 2013 Metagame Analysis!

Our very own Worlds VGC competitor Mark has sent in this fantastic article to inform us about the coming VG Metagame! Thanks, Mark!

Introduction:

VGC2013 is very similar to VGC2012, much too similar in my opinion. The only new additions are the hidden hollow and dream world abilities which were not released in VGC2012, the new forms of Landorus, Tornadus and Thundurus and the new move tutor moves. VGC'12 was a great metagame and I hope this one is just as good.

Top 10 Pokemon of VGC2013

10. Landorus(Theridan form)

For two years, Landorus was overshadowed by Tornadus and Thundurus because of their amazing ability, Prankster and their higher speed but now we have this guy. By far the best Theridan form, Landorus-T will be one of the most used Pokemon in VGC'13 because of it's intimidate ability and 145 base Attack. It also has decent speed and great moves like Earthquake, rock slide and U-turn(which works very well with intimidate). Unfortunately due to the new move tutors making it possibe for a lot more Pokemon to get ice moves, a lot more Pokemon like Hitmontop and Scrafty can OHKO it so a Yache berry will definitely be the most common item on Landorus.

Standard Nature: Adamant

Standard Moveset: - Earthquake

                               - Rock Slide

                               - U-Turn 

                               - Protect

9. Hitmontop

Hitmontop does what he did in VGC'12: Intimidate + Fake Out then hit hard with Close Combat, Sucker Punch and Stone Edge. Hitmontop also Great for keeping Pokemon such as Terrakion, Scrafty and Mamoswine in check. Cresselia is the best counter to Hitmontop as Psychic/Psyshock is a guaranteed 2HKO. 

Standard Nature: Adamant

Standard Moveset: - Fake Out

                               - Close Combat

                               - Wide Guard

                               - Stone Edge/Sucker Punch

8. Garchomp 

Garchomp is not as good as he was in VGC'12 because of ice punch move tutors but he still is a powerful Pokemon which can hit Pokemon like Hydreigon, Heatran and Metagross for huge damage. Garchomp also has a great choice of abilities: Rough skin which helps deal a little bit of extra damage when Garchomp has been hit by a Physical attack and Sand Veil which raises accuracy and increases the opponent's rage stat when sandstorm is in effect. His best counters are: Mamouswine, Cresselia, Conkeldurr and anything with Ice Punch.

Standard Nature: Jolly

Standard Moveset: - Earthquake

                               - Dragon Claw

                               - Rock Slide/Substitute

                               - Protect 

7. Hydreigon

Hydreigon's power was underestimated by some before but after both the seniors and masters World Championship winning teams containing this Pokemon, people realised it's full potential. Hydreigon is the best dragon because it is the bulkiest dragon without an 4x ice weakness and it can take many Pokemon out in one hit with Draco Meteor, Dark Pulse and it's new addition: Earth Power. Hydreigon is the only Pokemon that has benefited from the new move tutors. This guy's best counters are Hitmontop, Scrafty, Latios and Conkeldurr. 

Standard Nature: Modest

Standard Moveset: - Draco Meteor

                               - Dark Pulse 

                               - Earth Power/Flamethrower 

                               - Protect

6. Tyranitar

Tyranitar is a great Pokemon and is used because it is the best counter to Cresselia. He is also one of the best Pokemon for switch ins on special moves like Draco Meteor, Heat Wave, Thunderbolt and most neutral and resisted special attacks. It can withstand all these hits because of it's rock typing and instant sandstorm. It also can deal with Volcarona, Thundurus and Zapdos with it's Rock slide. Tyranitar's best counters are Conkeldurr, Scrafty, Hitmontop and the two physical steel types: Metagross and Scizor.

Standard Nature: Adamant

Standard Moveset: - Rock Slide

                               - Crunch 

                               - Low Kick

                               - Protect

5. Scrafty

Scrafty has been majorly improved since VGC'12 because of it's new ability; Intimidate. This ability essentially Makes it a better Hitmontop. It can fake out, has intimidate and is a fighting type. The things it has over Hitmontop are it's better defences, healing with drain punch and an immunity to psychic attacks. The most important of those are it's immunity to psychic. This lets it hold it's own against Metagross and become one of the best counters to Cresselia. Scrafty's best counters are Hitmontop, Conkeldurr and any other fighting types so most Scraftys will hold a Chople berry.  

Standard Nature: Adamant

Standard Moveset: - Drain Punch

                               - Crunch

                               - Fake Out

                               - Protect/Dragon Dance/Bulk Up

4. Thundurus

Thundurus is arguably the best electric type in the metagame. It has a great ability in Prankster and it's good bulk let it use multiple priority thunder waves in every game it is used in. It also has great special attack and hits very hard with it's thunderbolt. There is not much else to say about Thundurus as most of Thundurus' greatness has already been talked about extensively. The best counters to Thundurus are Tyranitar and Mamoswine.

Standard Nature: Calm

Standard Moveset: - Thunderbolt

                               - Hidden Power(Ice/Flying)

                               - Thunder Wave

                               - Substitute/Taunt

3. Rotom-Wash

Rotom-Wash is(in my opinion) the best electric type in the metagame. The reason it is better than  Thundurus because it has a great typing which means it is only weak to grass attacks and it is bulkier. It also hits Tyranitar very hard with Hydro Pump and can also hit with huge Thunderbolts just like Thundurus. Rotom-Wash doesn't have many counters but the best ones are Virizion and most faster Pokemon with a big neutral hit. Most Rotoms will carry either Sitrus Berry or Water Gem.

Standard Nature: Modest

Standard Moveset: - Hydro Pump

                               - Thunderbolt

                               - Hidden Power(Grass)

                               - Protect

2. Metagross

Metagross is the best steel type in the Metagame because it has no 4x weakness and has loads of resistances. It is the best Pokemon for switching in th e metagame as well since it is resistant to psychic, the most used type in the metagame. Metagross also has huge attack and can OHKO Hitmontop, Metagross and Terrakion very easily. The best counters to Metagross are Landorus-T, Garchomp and Volcarona.

Standard Nature: Adamant

Standard Moveset: - Meteor Mash

                               - Zen Headbutt/Ice Punch

                               - Bullet Punch

                               - Protect

1. Cresselia

And the best VGC Pokemon for the second year in a row is Cresselia. Why?, because it is the bulkiest Pokemon in the metagame and also has the best selection of support moves to assist your team. It can also deal good damage with Psyshock and Ice Beam to big metagame Pokemon like Garchomp, Landorus-T and Hitmontop. Cresselia's best counters are Scizor, Tyranitar and Scrafty.

Standard Nature: Calm

Standard Moveset: - Psyshock/Ice Beam

                               - Thunder Wave/Icy Wind/Trickroom

                               - Helping Hand/ Swagger

                               - Rest/Icy Wind/Thunder Wave/Trickroom/Helping Hand

Honourable Mentions

11. Scizor

Second best steel type in the metagame and can sweep after swords dance.

12. Latios

A bit frail but one of the biggest hitters in the metagame.

13. Zapdos

Third best electric type. Has heat wave for coverage and Tailwind for support.

14. Heatran

Third best steel type and best fire type in the metagame.

15. Salamence

Great intimidate user and one of the best dragons.

Secret Weapons

These are a few lesser used Pokemon which I consider to have a great niche in the VGC2013 metagame.

Conkeldurr

Conkeldurr has been greatly improved by the new move tutors in Pokemon Black/White 2 as he now gets Ice Punch which let's him take out many Pokemon such as Garchomp and Latios in one hit.

Gastrodon

Gastrodon can work in almost any team because of it's great ability in storm drain and good defensive typing.

Excadrill

A brilliant sweeper in sand and excellent typing.

Chandelure 

Unpredictable and has huge special attack.

So there you go. I hope this has been informative and I hope to talk more about the VGC after winter Regional Championships in the U.S.

 

-Mark

Edinburgh City Championships - Sunday, December 9th, 11AM

I have just sanctioned our Edinburgh City Championship Tournament, so I'm going to (re)post a brief guide to help new players prepare for the tournament and so everyone knows what to expect. This info is mostly a repost of information about our previous Battle Roads Tournaments, but much of the information is transferable.

First of all, to participate in the tournament each player will require a 60-card deck of cards that are in the Modified Format. The current Modified Format is Black & White - Boundaries Crossed. Card sleeves can be helpful to prevent damage to your deck, and in case a card becomes damaged or marked in some way which could preclude it's use. Card Sleeves will be available for purchase from the League on the day.

Each player needs to have a deck list, which is a detailed listing of every card that is in that player's deck. You may want to print out a deck list before the tournament using an online resource such as Steve P's Deck List Program atPokéGym, as it will save you hassle on the day. However, if you are unable to make a list before the tournament, there will be people to help write up deck lists at the tournament during registration. Obviously all of this means that you can't change or alter the cards in your deck in any way after you are registered for the tournament. Please ensure that all your card sleeves are of uniform size, colour, and wear, and that your deck lists are utterly accurate. Any deviations from your printed/written list can result in penalties or disqualification.

Registration for the tournament costs £5. Registration is open between 11:00 and 12:00, so understand that if you arrive later than 12:00 you will not be able to participate in the tournament. Depending on the number of participants that attend, players will usually be paired in their age divisions. After registration I will announce the number of rounds, and the pairings for the first round. If you finish your match before the round is over it is imperative that you do not interfere with the matches that other players are participating in, as doing so could result in penalties or even a disqualification.

It might be a good plan to bring your DS, snacks, or even a book to read between rounds. Sometimes one match will lag behind the others, and while there is a round time limit you can still end up with a lot of free time between games. It is better to have ways to entertain yourself than to be bored! However you are allowed to have practice matches between rounds, as long as you immediately put that game aside as soon as the next round is announced.

The tournament will be done in Swiss Rounds, so the number of rounds and length of the tournament depends highly on the number of participants. There will be a Top Cut depending on attendance, which I anticipate will be high enough to justify a cut.

Prizes will be awarded based on performance in the tournament.

I may have missed out on some information here, or some of this might be vague. If you have absolutely any questions about the Tournament or the League in general, please feel free to ask.

I hope you're all looking forward to City Championships!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to expected high attendance, preregistration is required for this event. Please email your Name, Date of Birth, and POP ID to edinburghpokemon@gmail.com to register!

Top 5 Trainer cards of Boundaries Crossed

As promised, here are my picks for the best Trainer cards in the upcoming set, Boundaries Crossed. I should point out that not all of the cards have been confirmed to be in the new set, so it's possible that some of these cards will not be released in the English set.

Additionally, as English text copies of many of the cards are not yet revealed, you'll need to click on the card names if you want to read the text of the card!

5) Virbank City Gym

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(This card is now confirmed to NOT be in Boundaries Crossed. I'm leaving the review here for future reference, though.) Hey, anything that increases the damage output from status effects is going to see play, most likely. Some trainers just want to watch your Pokémon burn. Or be poisoned, in this case. Regardless, Virbank City Gym makes poison do an additional two damage counters to poisoned Pokémon, making most poisonings do thirty damage per turn. That might not seem like much, but damage like that quickly adds up, is not dampened by Eviolite or Abilities, and can increase depending on the Pokémon dealing out the status. It might not be a common play, but expect to see it alongside Amoongus/Ninetales and others.

4) Ether

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(This card is now confirmed to NOT be in Boundaries Crossed. I'm leaving the review here for future reference, though.) Universal energy acceleration?  Yeah, this is going to make the list. However, to get the most out of this card, you need to be able to determine if your top deck is an energy card or, more likely, manipulate your top card in order to adequately use Ether. That where Pokédex, Musharna, and Lunatone come in. This card is going to see play, and it's very existence in our metagame will make speed decks much more possible to run.

3) Gold Potion

 

Gold Potion is pretty straightforward in healing 90 damage from your active Pokémon. If your deck has big basics / high HP Pokémon / EXs and you don't want to run Computer Search, this is the play. Since it's an Ace Spec you can only have a single one in your deck, but that doesn't mean it's not going to see play. The limitation to using it only on your active 'mon is actually quite an unfortunate one, but regardless, this card can win games.

2) Skyla

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skyla lets you search your deck for a Trainer card. That might not seem like much, but especially for decks running Stage 2 Pokémon with Rare Candy, or ones that run Sableye and Computer Search, this is essentially a must-play Supporter. It might not always be the perfect Supporter for the moment, but some decks will increase their consistency considerably by including Skyla.

1) Computer Search

 

I remember this card from Base Set! Man, that makes me feel old. Computer Search is an excellent card, essentially allowing you to Ultra Ball for any card. The fact that it's an Ace Spec makes it less obscenely overpowered, but of course there are ways of getting it back to use multiple times, such as Sableye and Recycle. Expect to see Computer Search taking up the Ace Spec slot in most competitive decks, at least until we have the option of other Ace Spec cards when the following set arrives!

Top 10 Pokémon in Boundaries Crossed

Hey everyone! Here I am again, posting my baseless speculation about which Pokémon are going to be the best ones from our upcoming TCG set, Boundaries Crossed. If you recall, the last time I posted one of these I made some fairly accurate predictions, and some wildly inaccurate ones. Nonetheless, here I am, taking another shot at it. So, without further delay...

10) Dusknoir

 

Maybe I'm stretching my credibility here. Dusknoir has a horrible Dark-type weakness, a mediocre attack, and he's a big fat 3-retreat lump. Someone will make use of him, however, because of his Ability "Sinister Hand" (nice name for it, too!) which allows you to manipulate the damage on your opponent's Pokémon as much as you like before your attack. He's bizarro Reuniclus. He's no great shakes, but someone will find a use for him, believe you me.

9) Flygon

I don't think Flygon is an incredible card. An Ability that spreads ten damage to each of your opponent's Pokémon is a nice extra, but has to be paired with a decent attack - and Flygon just doesn't cut it in that department. Still, expect to see him out there, paired with Raticate or Celebi EX or maybe even Dusknoir. A rogue deck in the making somewhere down the line? Maybe!

8) Ditto

I'll be honest, I'm not convinced. A lot of very knowledgeable players swear up and down that Ditto is going to see a lot of play, but I'm wary of buying into the hype. His "Transform" ability might allow you to play a basic on Ditto the turn after you bench him, and then evolve him immediately, but I don't know how consistently that will be useful, given the hand requirements for that play. However I'm putting Ditto here on this list. Why? I like him. He's a funny Pokémon with a stupid face, and he's interesting enough that I figure he's worth discussing. Here's hoping I'm wrong, and Ditto proves his worth!

7) Stoutland

Everyone thinks Stoutland is going to be largely useless, and I disagree. Sure, your opponent can use a Pokémon Catcher to get around the Supporter lock afforded by Stoutland's "Watchdog" Ability. But this is a format without Junk Arm, and forcing your opponent to Catcher after every knockout could put them in a difficult place, if they even have the Catcher in hand. Meanwhile, most decks outright rely on playing a Supporter every turn, or at least every other turn, and disrupting that is a really big deal. A respectable 140 HP, 3C attack for 90 (with the possibility of self-damage, sure) and an unfortunate weakness to Fighting types, which is really Stoutland's biggest weak point. He might not be a huge game-changer, but I suspect Stoutland will find a home in decks keen to annoy your opponent, or disrupt their plays. Also, he's totally Greyfriar's Bobby. Well, Herdier is. Still, must have civic pride and all that.

6) Vileplume

Ohgodnotthisguyagain. I hated Trainer Lock Vileplume with a burning passion, he was the rafflesia arnoldii that all the obsessive-compulsive players that wanted to control every match went right for, and it drove me nuts. But that Vileplume is gone, and in it's place we now have this guy, who makes all weaknesses do x4 damage rather than x2. Ouch. He'll be the hero of 6 Corners-style and anti-meta decks that hit just hard enough to OHKO popular Pokémon with weakness. Fire isn't as popular as it used to be, either, so his x4 Fire-type weakness isn't the liability it could have been. I totally like Vileplume as a Pokémon, though, and hope we see some Vileplume Box decks played in the future.

5) Black Kyurem EX &

4) White Kyurem EX

Okay, I don't think too much of these cards if I'm honest, but I'll give them the airing they deserve. Dragon weakness is a bit of a nightmare, turning these into a potentially risky play, but with the new Ace Spec cards on the go in this set designed to basically encourage us to play them, why not? White Kyurem EX is better than Black Kyurem EX, simply because he can use his bigger attack on consecutive turns, and burn damage can mean he OHKOs Mewtwo EX, so not too shabby. However I can't help but consider these guys gimmicky, and therefore not really worth the effort. I could be wrong, however, so we'll see if my predictions hold up!

3) Keldeo EX

Okay, I'll confess, I don't like this Pokémon. Sorry, he just rubs me the wrong way. I don't really think I need to say much about him, however. He pairs perfectly with Blastoise, can use his Ability to switch automatically from the bench to active position, can be tanked to do incredible damage, has a respectable 170 HP, a negligible grass weakness - basically it'd be crazy if he didn't get played. If Blastoise wasn't coming out at the same time he might be forgotten about, but Keldeo is here to stay.

2) Blastoise

It might seem odd that Blastoise would be such a good card - Feraligatr Prime from the last format was similar, and didn't see much competitive play, after all. However a few things set Blastoise apart to make him an incredibly playable card. First of all, Blastoise himself has a basic form that can utilize an ability, Squirtle with "Shell Shield", which prevents all damage done to Squirtle when he is on the bench. With spread attackers like Darkrai EX and the upcoming Landorus EX, this ability is not to be sniffed at. Secondly, his attack, though pricey, can two-hit any EX in the game. And of course, that attack's cost is mitigated by the fact that you can use Blastoise's "Deluge" ability to attach as many basic water energies from your hand to your Pokémon as you like. Grass weakness is nothing to worry about at the moment, either. Add all of this to this the fact that he can easily be paired with Keldeo EX or Wailord for more effective attackers, and you can see that Blastoise is a contender.

1) Landorus EX

What is there to say about Landorus EX that hasn't already been said? An excellent turn one attacker that OHKOs both Tynamo and Dark-type Deino, potentially unseating two of the most popular decks in the format. A second attack that, with discard, can hit for 150, potentially killing any EX Pokémon that suffered spread from the first attack. This guy is a monster. The disadvantages are his water weakness, which is going to make a comeback with the aforementioned Keldeo EX and Blastoise, and his retreat cost. Just how much the game will shift in Landorus' favour is yet to be seen, but he'll definitely make his mark.

I hope this was an entertaining and enjoyable post for you all to read, and I'll be doing another one concerning the Trainer cards in Boundaries Crossed, so look out for that!

Boundaries Crossed Prerelease: November 4th, 11AM

Hello trainers!

On the 4th of November is our next Prerelease Event - for the new TCG set, Boundaries Crossed. For those who are new to the League or TCG in general, this is a great opportunity to pick up cards from the new set before they are officially released, and below regular retail price. The entry fee on the day will be £22.50, which covers the cost of the eight boosters each participant receives and venue rental. All participants will take part in a Limited Format Tournament using a deck made up from cards they get from six boosters and energy supplied by the League. After the tournament is complete, each player then receives two additional booster packs, for a total of eight.

If you wish to participate in the Prerelease Event, you'll need to arrive at the IPCSC between 11AM and 11:30AM. Anyone that arrives after 11:30 may not be able to join in, so please be prompt! Also, please note that if you do not stay for the entire tournament you will not receive the final two booster packs that the other participants receive.

If you attend the League but don't want to participate in the prerelease, that's no problem - you can still come and have regular League play at the venue as usual!

Hope to see you there!