The top10 decks of the current format: Part 2!

Will Landorus EX live up to its hype
on my list?

Hi everyone!


It’s New Year’s Eve, so there is nothing better to do, but to list the remaining top5 decks of the current format. If the top10-top6 wasn’t surprising for you, I’m sure that the top5 will include some big surprises for everyone. The only thing that I think you won’t be surprised of is the number one (or who knows, maybe you are?!).

My Japan’s trip will be closing in, but I’ll hopefully be able to make at least one entry before going to Japan and then bring some really great information from Japan when I get back from the trip. I hope everyone has a great New Year – I’m sure I’ll have a blast as soon as I get this entry released!

Enjoy and remember to have good time!

The top10 decks of the current format: Part 1

Once upon a time BDIF

Hello everyone!


I hope everyone had a great Christmas holidays! However, now Christmas is over and New Year is closing in. New Year is always time for all kinds of lists. For the first time, I also decided to give a try for list-making. Today, I’ll be discussing the top10 decks of the current format – in my opinion. I’m never done anything like this, so I’m pretty excited how it will turn out and what you think about it!

I’m sure that everyone has their own point of view to the top decks of the current format, so I hope this creates discussion and that you let me know if you disagree with anything and maybe showcase your own list! I hope you enjoy.

When I made the list, I was very surprised how difficult it was to make. It seemed like I always missed some deck or that I wasn’t really sure about the order of the deck. However, in the end, I managed to do a list that I feel very comfortable presenting to you and that clearly reflects my opinion about the current format. Anyways, this is a two-part entry. This first entry will include the first half of the list while the other half will be released on upcoming Monday.

Merry Christmas from The Deck Out!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Just like last year, I want to wish every single one of you a great Christmas with a Christmas card of my own making. I hope this delights your Christmas and that everyone has the best Christmas and new year ever!

Click me to enlarge!

Landorus EX/Darkrai EX - Smashing through Cities

Hammerhead+Hammers=????

Hello everyone!


Sorry for the lack of updates last week, but my life i so hectic at the moment that I haven’t almost had time for even playing Pokémon TCG. However, as my Japanese trip is nearing, things will change after that. For now, let’s take a look at the deck analysis of today. The deck I will discuss today have done fairly well in CCs and in the beginning of CC-season, I thought it wouldn’t make much of an impact since Ether wasn’t released. Surprisingly though, the deck stand against the metagame decks and become a tier1 (or a tier2 at least).

In this entry, I’ll take a look at two kinds of Darkrai/Landorus builds: the standard build and the build I was going to play in Cities, but couldn’t, because I didn’t get my hands on Landorus EXs. At this point of the season it’s easy to say that Landorus EX is one of the most dominant forces in the metagame, so I hope this entry will help you to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of these builds.

First, the standard list.

Featured Writer: Axel Sonnleitner - Dusknoir.dec

Esa's favorite card from Boundaries Crossed!

Hi all!

I have exam week this week, so I won’t probably be able to write an article this week, but thankfully I got an article from The Deck Out’s 3^rd featured writer – Axel Sonnleitner from Germany. I’m very happy that Axel was able to write for The Deck Out since he’s from Europe and I like to give chances to European players to show what they are really made of. I really enjoyed Axel’s article and I’m sure you do as well.

Anyways, I’ll let Axel introduce himself since I’m as new with him as you guys probably are. As always, feel free to ask any questions regarding the deck and I’m sure Axel is ready to answer them. Also, let me know what you thought about the article and if these occasional featured writers are a good idea (I think they are!)

Now, let’s enjoy Axel’s article!

Hammertiming Regionals!

Stop! Hammertime!

Hello everyone!


Yesterday I played in a tournament. That’s right – played! It was my first tournament in a month so I was pretty excited! This is a tournament report from that tournament. I’ll have special treat for you guys later on this week as well, as I have my 3 ^rd featured writer ever make his debut in my blog!

I was pretty clueless on what to play since I don’t have any cards from Boundaries Crossed (it’s a joke you know). So, I was forced to play something good but old. And what is good and old? (Especially for me). Well, Hammertime of course! I wasn’t completely sold on if Hammertime was a good play, but since I couldn’t afford to a “better” deck (i.e. more expensive deck), I was just going to make most of what I could. And in the end the result were more than satisfying! I won’t spoil you with details, so let’s just start with the list.

The Decklist Out updated for Cities!

Tornadonk failed me.

Hello everyone!


I finally had time to put all of these lists together as I've been testing pretty intensely the past few weeks. As always, let me know of any calculations errors/typos or anything else in The Decklist Out. The Decklist Out is meant completely for you, so I want it to be as smooth to read as possible. Also, if you feel like there is any list missing from the list, let me know and I'll consider if I'll add it!

Also, for those who didn't know yet, I'm going to visit Tokyo in early January and will hopefully be able to visit local league(s) there and discuss with some people and watch Japanese players play games. I'll try to take lots of pictures as well!

To keep yourself up-to-date about my tournament season and my Japan's trip, remember to follow me on  Twitter and Facebook!

Enjoy the lists and feel free to use them as you wish!

Darkrai EX for Cities

Darkrai EX ain't going nowhere

Hi everyone!


The – in my opinion – real Pokémon TCG season has finally started thanks to City Championships! Last weekend was the first weekend of Cities, so we don’t have a full point of view to how the metagame really looks like. One thing’s for sure either way – the current format is very versatile. In fact, the current format seems a lot more versatile than I first thought it would look like. Everything from Eelektriks to Garchomp/Landorus EXs has been winning the tournaments. I’m sure the metagame will get more focused during the weeks of Cities, but for now let’s enjoy for the good format.

Anyways, today, I’m going back to basics and discussing Darkrai variants. Included in this entry will be of course my new Hammertime variant, Speed Darkrai variant  and the a lot discussed Darkrai/Fighting. Also, if you haven’t yet seen the Gym Challenge winning decklists from Japan that included one very interesting Darkrai EX variant, I’ll take a quick look at it as well.

So, lots of lists and analysis. I’m feeling like writing an UG article! So, let’s start with the Japanese winning list, if you hadn’t seen it yet!

Blastoise/Keldeo EX - The comeback of Raindance

O Raindance, where art thou?

Hello everyone!


Today, I’m going to take a look at a deck that can be called old school, because it has so many predecessors in the past formats. Rain Dance –like Abilities have been around from the Base Set and they have always been tournament-winning concepts. I expect nothing less from the new Boundaries Crossed Blastoise – even though its Ability’s name is Deluge, not Rain Dance.

Blastoise has been one of the most discussed cards of BC ever since it was released in Japan, because of its history. However, it hasn’t really been that successful in the Japan. What is the reason behind this and is it going to break its way to the tier1 in the west? I’ll answer these questions and more in this article. I’ll take a look at many different Blastoise variants and discuss which techs are the best and why.

Why everyone should love Ditto

How can you not love me?

Hi everyone!


Today’s article will be very unorthodox article for me, because I’ll be concentrating on one card and one card only. The card is Ditto from Boundaries Crossed. What was the reason, why I chose Ditto? You know that I’ve made articles of single cards like Mewtwo EX in the past, but Ditto is nowhere as good as Mewtwo EX – or is it? I don’t think these two cards can even be compared, because they have so different functions in their decks. 

However, the reason why I chose Ditto for this article was simple – it’s one of the most controversial cards of the new set and has caused a lot of discussion. Some players – like myself- have been hyping it, some have been saying that it just isn’t good enough card to put into a deck and some don’t really know what to think about it. No matter, what’s your opinion, I hope I’ll be able to give you some food for thought about Ditto. Also, for those who are still wondering what’s with all this discussion about Ditto, I’ll hopefully be able to provide a throughout guide to how and why correctly play Ditto. I've got SO many questions about Ditto from players all over the world that I believe this entry will answer all the answers I have received and more!

So, here it is. Why YOU should love Ditto.

Impact Crater: Boundaries Crossed

Keldeo EX rushes in to save
the format.

Hello everyone!


As Pokebeach.com has finally released all of the scans from Boundaries Crossed, we now all the cards of the set, which means it’s time for another Impact Crater! I’m glad that I didn’t do an Impact Crater earlier about the Boundaries Crossed, because as you know it missed some key cards when compared to the Japanese Freeze Bolt set. However, even though the loss of some cards really hindered the playability of the set, the set still surprising amount of playable and especially interesting cards. Interesting doesn’t necessarily equal competitive, but you have to start from something, right?

As you know, in Impact Crater, I analyze all the most playable and the interesting cards and since the set has 150 cards, this Impact Crater also includes a big bunch of cards. I was positively surprised just how many interesting cards the set has even though I’m still very disappointed due the lack of cards like Ether, Escape Rope and Bicycle. As there are so many cards I need to take a look at, let’s get going!

Eye on Japan: Sneak Peak to Freeze Bolt and Plasma Gale

Is Landorus EX the western
Lands' Judgment as well?

Hello everyone!


It’s been a while since my last Eye on Japan article, and as Regionals were just played and so were Battle Roads, I thought it would be a great time for another Eye on Japan. I’ve been discussing about both formats with Yuki, the BW- Boundaries Crossed and the BW- Plasma Gale format. However, in this article I’ll concentrate on the format, which is more important for everyone in the near future – the BW – Boundaries Crossed format.

The article will include lists that are the most interesting in my opinion. They all include one of the best cards that will be released in Boundaries Crossed – Landorus EX. Anyways, I’ve also decided that I’ll try to get a more in-depth with Japan by interviewing the local players (older and younger players) with the help of Yuki and I’m asking you, if there is anything you would like to ask from a Japanese players. Send me a question request on

- Facebook
- Twitter
- thedeckout@gmail.com

Or put in the comments field.

Rant: I wrote this article before Ether was revealed not to be released in the new set, so I apologize for the Decklists that have the Ether/Pokédex engine. However, there are other things in this article as well and not just the deck lists so I hope you still enjoy.

There are lots of interesting things on the way, so without further chit-chat, let’s get in the business.

Analysis of tournament winning deck lists: Battle Roads

Hello everyone!


Today, I’m going to take a look at the winning deck lists of Finnish Battle Roads. Thankfully there were a lot of variety among the deck. Ok, saying “a lot” is exaggerating, but let’s just say that there was enough variety to make the tournament enjoyable. In this entry, I’ll take a look at the top4 decks of the Masters Division AND the winner list of Seniors. I wanted to take the Seniors winning deck to this entry, because I really enjoy the deck’s concept and I was positively surprised when I saw the decklist.

I know Boundaries Crossed is just right behind the corner and Eye on Japan will be coming on Monday, but I still wanted to take one more look at the present format, before we look to the future. We’ll be playing the BW-BC format for over 3 months and all the City Championships, so I’m pretty sure everyone will get everything out of the new format in time. Also, to understand the present, it’s important to understand the past – that’s why looking at for example BW-Dragons Exalted Hydreigon/Darkrai EX and comparing it to the upcoming Hydreigon lists, makes us understand the very roots of deck building.

Once again, thanks for the players that gave me the permission to use their lists! There will be 5 decklist analyses in total, so it’s quite a ride we’re going to have.

Back in business - tournament report from Battle Roads!

Back with Hammers!

Hello everyone!


As promised, it’s time for my very first tournament report of the season. There have been a few Battle Roads in Finland before, but I have only attended one before this tournament – as a head judge of the tournament. Anyways, this entry will include my tournament report with the very expected rogue I promised to play.

I’ll try to get my hands on the winning deck lists from each tournament series, so I can be able to show you not only my competitive deck lists, but also decks that have been proven to be working in a tournament play while showing another way to build deck lists – not just my way of building them. That’s why I’ll later on this week analyze the Battle Roads winning deck lists from our local players. Thank you for everyone for giving me a permission to use your lists in my blog!

Also, as said on Facebook  and Twitter, I’ll try to get the first Eye on Japan of this season released this week, so be sure to look for it. I have a pretty busy schedule this week, so it’s scheduled to be released next Monday t. Now, on to the report!

Eelektrik - What's the play?

Is Rayquaza the best Eelekrik variant?
Read to find out my opinion!

Hello everyone!

The first Regionals are closing in and everyone should start preparing for them. For international players like me, there are still Battle Roads, which you can go to. Today’s article will discuss the most successful (and played) variants of Battle Roads – Eelektrik variants. In this article, I’ll take a look at three different Eelektrik variants: the most played Zeels variant, the most successful Rayquaza/Eelektrik variant and also the very interesting Eelektrik/Techs deck.

If you aren’t yet settled with your deck choice for your upcoming, give a good read for this entry, because I’m sure that everyone can agree on just how good and versatile can Eelektrik decks be when tweaked a lot. Eelektrik decks will also be around for the whole season, so if you’re looking for a deck that you can play throughout the season, Eelektrik is a very good option.

Let’s start with the most popular version.

Featured Writer: Matijs Moree - Darkrai EX

THIS GARDEN IS FOR EVERYONE!
~Kumis

Hello everyone!

Today I¨ll have a featured writer to do the job for me! You may be familiar with Matijs Moree, who wrote almost a year ago his first article to The Deck Out. He is a very good friend of mine and like me he enjoys rogue deck building. However, this season Matijs has decided to take things a bit more seriously and has a Worlds invite as his goal. Getting a Worlds invite in a country like the Netherlands, which has a lot of great players is a difficult task, so Matijs has changed his strategy and played a metagame deck in Battle Roads. You can say he has changed to the Dark Side (literally). 

I´m glad that the article will discuss Darkai EX variant, because - in my opinion - Darkrai EX is underdiscussed in the current Internet debate. Darkrai EX is one of the strongest attackers out there and gives trouble to any tier1 deck.

If YOU are willing to write an article to The Deck Out, send me an e-mail to: thedeckout@gmail.com or hit me on Facebook or Twitter. Somehow I managed to lost all the previous e-mails that everyone send to me, so send them again! Anyways, now I give the stage to Matijs' article.

The Decklist Out Updated for BW-on!

Still going strong

Hello everyone!


I’ve finally made – updated The Decklist Out to match the current format. When I did it I understood how many competitive decks there really were in the past format compared to the current format. If I was going to win a tournament, there would only be 3 different decks, I would choose from. All the decks that are in “the hottest decks now” section are good deck choices for a highly competitive player. I’ve also spent a long time testing all the lists in this update, so I hope you make the most out of them.

If you notice any errors in the lists, just let me know. Also, if you feel like some deck is missing from the list, let me know, so I can add it to there. The new set is coming in the near future, so The Decklist Out will be edited soon after that one, just after the U.S. Regionals.

I know many of you are waiting for an Eye on Japan – entry, so I’ll try to make a new one soon. I’ll also try something new for the Eye on Japan –entries, so I hope you’ll like it. Maybe I’ll finally get an interview from a Japanese player.

Anyways, let me know if you find anything to fix in The Decklist Out!

AggroHammer - almost a tournament report

Imma' be milling

Hello everyone!


First of all, sorry for the lack of updates. I fell ill for the first time in 3 years and have been having a fever during the whole last week. I was able to finish my UG article just in time, which I used all of my power for. What I was surprised for, was that writing English becomes pretty challenging when you’re sick and you have a headache. However, the week was pretty productive for me nonetheless since I was able to read The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers (finished it today), Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, The Golden Compass, and The City of Dreaming Books. Last week I probably read more books than I have ever read during my whole life, haha.

I was also in Battle Roads the last weekend, but I judged instead of playing. That’s why there was no report from that Battle Roads. Also, I was supposed to attend Battle Roads this weekend, but as I missed the train, I missed the tournament as well. In this article, I will analyze the deck I was supposed to play in that Battle Roads. As promised, I'm going to play more rogue this season than last season and this tournament was no different.

There are lots to discuss so let’s get going right away!

Garbodor - Hit or Miss?

Garbodor- total garbage?

Hello everyone!


Sorry for the lateness of the article. I still don’t have an apartment from my study city and it may very well be that I don’t have an apartment from my study city until November! That would be a nightmare. And since I’m having the first two weeks in my new university, I have been a lot less on computer than I was last season. However, now I’m finally finished with the article, so I hope you enjoy it!

Anyways, today is a remarkable day, because today, I’ll be releasing my first BW-on entry. And what could be a better topic for the first entry than one of the most contradictable cards of Dragons Exalted – Garbodor. In this entry, I’ll discuss Garbodor and ability-lockers in general as well as Garbodor variants that are bound to be popular in the early season.

As I promised, I’ll try to bring new depth to my articles while the article quantity decreases, so after reading this, let me know what you think about my renewed article style. Of course not all the articles will be like this, but I’ll be changing article formats just like I do with my SixPrizes Underground articles. Also, as the new season gets to start, let me also know what decks and things you want to get analyzed. By giving me your ideas, it will help both me to come up with good articles while giving you good reading experience!

Anyways, let’s get in to the main topic of this article – Garbodor (or in fact Trubbishses).

Re-booting The Deck Out for BW-on

Hello everyone!


It’s about time to restart my blog, don’t you think? In the past few week I’ve been chilling (in fact, I’ve been working the whole time), but at least I’ve chilling off blog. As you have noticed, I’ve asked your opinion about a lot of things considering the next season of my blog. I must thank every and each one of you for answering my questions and giving me your precious opinion. That has helped me greatly with renewing my blog for this season.

First, I asked you what kind of content you would like to read from my blog. The answers were what I expected: things from Japan, in-depth quality articles and of course rogue articles. Second, I asked you how many articles you think is enough per week and if I should have more featured writers. I’m very happy that almost everyone appreciated quality over quantity and the main consensus was 1-2 articles per week. That is manageable for me while maintaining the high quality of the articles (even without featured writers!). I was very happy when I heard that most of you were satisfied with one quality article per week. However, there was a big yes to occasional and even monthly featured writers as well.

This is where this entry comes in. I’m in a need of high-quality featured writers. I think I’ll have a quest writer each month or every other month. I’m not quite sure about the amount yet, but I know I need more. Of course, I’ll first ask help from my fellow Finnish players (including Kumis), but I know I need you guys also. So, if you’re interested in writing to the front page of The Deck Out shoot me with an e-mail to: thedeckout@gmail.com

Since I know that what makes my blog special is that most of things are discussed from my (subjective) point of view, I won’t be having too many featured writers. However, if you’re interested in writing to The Deck Out, here are the things I hope from you and your article:

- The topic of the article is timeless and interesting
- The topic of the article creates discussion (and maybe even criticism)
- No theorymon – your own experiences
- You’ll be able to write the article, you promised to write

What I DON’T expect from you (what most other sites do):

- Perfect grammar (you know how my grammar is since I’m Finnish so I can’t expect more from you)
- Accomplishments of any kind in Pokémon TCG

So, if you’re interested, let me know!

As for my articles, first entry considering BW-on, will be released tomorrow, so be sure to check it out!

BW-on Poll time! Part 2

Quality or quantity?

Hello everyone!

September is closing and so is my blog’s first entry for the 2012-2013 season, but before that I would like to hear your opinions once again for something. Week ago I asked you how should my content change next season. I must thank everyone for being active since thanks to you, it became clear to me what the main things I should concentrate on in the upcoming season are. From last poll, these 3 things were the most voted:

- More rogue articles!
- More things from Japan!
- More in-depth articles!

It’s pretty clear that what you want from my blog: high-quality content what you can’t find from anywhere else. Of course this means that I must use more time writing and making research for each entry and that’s why I make this second poll. There are two questions, so I hope you’ll pick one answer for both questions. The questions are:

- How many entries should I release per week?
And
- Should I use more featured writers, so I could get more entries?

Remember, more entries per week will mean less-in depth articles, while less entries per week will mean more in-depth articles. Also, featured writers may lead to the increase of quality or decrease of quality. There are always risks when it comes to featured writers.

That in mind, let me know by voting and commenting just like last time. Remember, I write for you, so I want to know what you want me to write about!

BW-on Poll time!

My blog will become as versatile as
Mew EX

Hi everyone!

I said that I would take a 2-week break before continuing my blog, but of course I couldn’t do that completely. The new tournament season is going to start very soon and the new season always brings new things (like for example Battle Roads without top cut). I’m also hoping to reach the freshness of the new season with my blog. However, for that I need YOUR input.

What do you want me to write about? Did you enjoy the last season and hope that I’ll mostly concentrate on analysis of metagame? Or do you want me to take more rogue-ish point of view in my articles? Would you like still like to see Eye on Japan articles, even though Japan is covered on the other sites as well? Are there any article types you would like me to write, but haven’t seen me to write yet? To make things easier, you are able to vote in a poll on the right. However, it would be great if I could hear your opinions about what kind of content you would like me to provide.

You can reach me with comments on this entry
with e-mail to: thedeckout@gmail.com
with My Facebook
and with My Twitter

I hope I am able to provide great Pokémon TCG info this season, just like last season!

World Championships 2012 and TTCI Report

Me playing in The Top Cut Invitational
against Jason Klaczynski

Hello everyone!


So, Worlds are over and the new World Champions are crowned once again. Even though my results from both – the World Championships and The Top Cut Invitational – were what I would call horrible, the whole Worlds experience was my best so far. That’s a lot to say since these Worlds were my 7^th Worlds.

At the moment, I’m still jet-lagging a lot (a 27-hour flight combined to 13 hour time difference takes time to recover). However, I wanted to get the report up as soon as possible so I can concentrate fully on next season as soon as possible. I’ll be posting this report to my blog, SixPrizes and Pokegym.net since I think it will be an interesting read for everyone. In advance I want you to forgive me for every single grammar error, I’m going to make in this report. Yes, I’m going to make a lot of those.

The World Championships 2012 - entry

Eelektrik won't be in my Worlds' deck!

Hello everyone!


I’m writing this entry from the sunny Hawaii. We arrived to Hawaii two days ago (on Saturday evening). I’m still trying to survive from a bit of a jet lag, so I could be at 100% in the World Championships. Worlds are only 5 days away and I simply can’t wait for it!

This week will probably be the most exciting week of 2012 for me. Last week, my laptop decided to broke down, so I had to bring my girlfriend’s IPad (I hate typing with touch screen) with me, so I could keep updating my blog, Facebook and Twitter. I hope you will join me in Facebook and Twitter during my journey in World Championships and The Top Cut Invitational. I’ll try to update my result after every round if I can get an access to the Internet. Here are the channels, you can follow me from:

Facebook
Twitter

Anyways, let’s take a look at what makes this weekend so special for Pokémon TCG and for me personally. Some pieces of information of the metagame and my deck choice will also be included.   

LCQ and Worlds metagame brainstorming

Worlds and LCQ will be the
last stand of Vileplume

Hi everyone!

First of all, I've gotten a ton of questions how my name is pronounced. It's a short name, but it's very challenging to pronounce if you aren't Finnish. I have heard so many variations of my name that I didn't even know that my could be pronounced in that many ways! Anyways, if you click this link: Esa and press the speaker button, it will pronounce the name as close as the real pronounciation as possible with Google translate.

Also, my laptop just broke down, so I this entry was delayed a bit. This also means that I have to take my gf’s IPad with me to Hawaii to be able to update my Facebook and Twitter. I hate typing with touch screen, but I do what I got to do since I’ll try to update FB and Twitter between every round, so anyone not going to Worlds can follow my tournament run in real-time.

Just a week ago, I was pretty sure that this entry would be about Garchomp/Altaria. However, the more I thought about it, the more absurd the idea grew. I’ve only played a handful of games with the deck and don’t really have any too in-depth thoughts about it. I want to offer the best for you, so I’ll start analyzing BW-on when I myself am testing it.

This leads me to the main topic of this entry – the last hurray of the HGSS-on format- the 2012 World Championships. I’ve already made a mass entry about World Championships for the UG, so in this entry I’ll concentrate on things that I didn’t concentrate so much on in the UG article. It’s good to brainstorm once in a while, so this entry will probably be my most “bloggish” entry so far with just everything that pops up into my head while writing.

Let’s get going.

The Top Cut Invitational 2012

Hello everyone!

Today I got some very exciting news from Kyle "Pooka" Sucevich of The Top Cut. Last year The Top Cut hold a tournament called "The Top Cut Invitational" after the Worlds 2011, which included 8 of the worlds' best players. These players included for example the two time World Champion Jason Klaczynski, the legendary Japanese player Tsuguyoshi Yamato among other great players.

This year The Top Cut team will hold the tournament once again and this year the invitation list looks like this:

- Jason Klaczynski (2-time World Champion)
- Tsuguyoshi Yamato (World Champion and 1 time top 4 in the Worlds)
- Sami Sekkoum (Multiple times the U.K. Nats winner and World top cutter)
- Yuta Komatsuda (World Champion and 1 time top 4 in the Worlds)
- John Roberts II (The U.S. National Champion of this year)
- David Cohen (Last year's World Champion)
- Esa Juntunen (Me?)
- Tom Dolezal (Worlds top4 and multiple times Nationals top cutter)

So, as you can see, I was invited to the tournament full of elite players! I can't really describe how honored I was to get the invite to this tournament. I know there are tons of players that disagree with the decision that I was invited to the tournament, so I'm very grateful for The Top Cut staff for inviting me.

How Finnish players prepare for Worlds: Part 2

Hey everyone!


It's only 3 weeks to Worlds and the heat is on! In fact, in my 9 year career, I've been never as excited about Worlds as this year. Although I haven't been testing as much as in the first years, I feel more ready than ever. The 3rd annual Kettus-camp took place last weekend in Pälkäne and the whole Finnish team was there once again.

This time the whole team was very concentrated on Pokémon and even though we got a set-back for our Master team(the Finnish CP winner Jouni Lehtinen can't come to Worlds due military service), the team is all set-upped for the tournament. Everyone has chose their decks (except me and the 2006 World Champion Miska Saari). Even though I haven't yet chosen my deck, I already have ruled out many decks. I'll probably make the final decision on the spot in Hawaii, when looking at the Grinder metagame.

Anyways, here are the pictures from Kettus-camp that me and Ville V. took. You'll notice that the way to become a true Champion is filled with sweat and tears. I hope you enjoy the pictures and get to the Worlds-mode if you already aren't!

How Finnish players prepare for Worlds: Part 2

The sun always shines while play testing.

Hydreigon/Darkrai - The Dark Dominator

Klinklang^5

Hello everyone!


It’s finally time to begin the BW-on era in my deck articles. I’m obviously preparing for Worlds, but thankfully the deck I’m going to analyze today, is very close to Nationals winning deck – Klinklang. I’ve tested the deck moderately and in BW-on environment it works like a dream.

As you know if you are a regular visitor of my blog, the deck I’m talking about won the Worlds Qualifiers in Japan. In this article, the list I’ll analyze differs only a few cards from the winning list since the winning list was a very good list (obviously it wouldn’t have won, if it was a bad list!).

Anyways, that’s for the introduction; let’s start by looking at the list.(All the translations are from the Pokebeach, by the way).

Worlds prize breakdown revealed!

Hey everyone!

It’s exciting news. Pokémon Company International finally released the prize support for Worlds 2012 and to everyone’s surprise, they were changed! I’m more than excited about Worlds now since it seems that PCI wants Worlds to be THE tournament of every season. I think Worlds deserve to be the highlight of Pokemon TCG season and these changes to prize support makes Worlds THE tournament to win.

If I wasn’t already excited about Worlds, now I am! I’ve copypasted the prize support from Worlds’ site, so here they are. And remember, these prizes apply to each age group.

How Finnish players prepare for Worlds: Part 1

Hello everyone!


The 7th annual Miska-camp took place this weekend. Miska-camp is a place where Finnish players gather and test for Worlds. At first it was only for testing and we played very hardcorely at least 8 hours a day while fixing our decks. However, over time other activities have taken over Pokémon TCG and Miska-camp is nowadays much more than just a Poké-camp.

I tested enough in the Miska-camp and even though I haven't decided my Worlds deck yet, I'm pretty certain of, which decks will do well. In this entry, I won't be analyzing any metagame for you, but show you how Finnish players prepare for Worlds. This is a good recipe since Finland has 2 World Champions, 4 top4 placements and 8 top8 placements in the history of World Championships!

Here are the pictures I and Ville V. took from this year's Miska-camp. Check the pictures from the entry below this. Click the pictures to enlarge. Enjoy.

How Finnish players prepare for Worlds: Part 1

Hyvinkää - my home town. Miska's house is about 15mins away from Hyvinkää.

Let's Celebrate - the 100th entry!

It's party-time!

Hello everyone!

It’s true – this is my 100th entry and this is the entry that I’ve been implying to for a while now. When I first started my blog, I would’ve never believed that I could get this far with my blog. A long time I debated, if I should write on Finnish or in English and in the end I decided to write in English. I’m glad that I did. If you have been following my blog for the very beginning, it must have been interesting to see how my entries have developed during time.

Since this is the 100th entry and since I love statistics, I’ve gathered some interesting statistics from my blog during the 100 entry-span. I’ll also walk through the remarkable dates that were important for my blog’s popularity and that have greatly affected the wide-spread conspicuousness of my blog. I’ll also tell you about how the idea of my own blog came to me. I know this might not be useful information, but thankfully it’s fun and interesting information! (At least in my opinion!).

So, let’s start dig deep in the past to the first remarkable day of my blog. I hope you enjoy!

The Nationals analysis and farewell to the HGSS-on -era

In the U.S. Nationals Klinklang didn't need
to Grind its way through (pun intended)

Hello everyone!


The last Nationals were played this weekend and what a weekend it was. A huge variety of decks took the top spot of the last 4 National Championships of this season. These 4 tournaments include Portugal, The United Kingdom, Canada and of course The United States. In this entry, I’ll mostly focus on the results of the U.S. Nationals and to all the past Nationals before it.

Also, as you know, I asked you to vote if you want me to write about BW-on decks or HGSS-on decks after last Nationals. The consensus among readers was pretty clear, over 80% of you want me to write about BW-on decks. However, some of you wanted me to make a breakdown of the U.S. Nationals, so players going to Worlds can get something out of my blog as well. I thought it was a great idea, so this will be my very last entry of HGSS-on format (excluding my Worlds report of course). I’ll be doing 1-2 entries for SixPrizes UG before Worlds, so if you are going to Worlds and want to learn about my opinion about World Championships metagame etc., tune into SixPrizes. 

Before Worlds, I’ll only probably make 1-2 entries per week, because I’ll spend so much time play testing for Worlds (all my free time that is). I will go to Hawaii 4^th of August, so after that you’ll probably only hear from me once in a while in Facebook or Twitter. It may be that I’ll sometimes update my status on my blog as well. But if you aren’t yet following me on Facebook/Twitter, now it’s the time to join, if you want to hear about my Worlds experience in real time.

Anyways, let’s get on-topic. The results of National Championships and how do I see them.

Wind of Change (in the metagame) - Pre-Nationals thoughts

Stay as cool as Vanilluxe at Nationals

Hi everyone!

The last (and biggest) Nationals are just around the corner and since it’ll be the last big tournament of the year for many of you, in this entry I’ll concentrate on the most popular decks of the upcoming weekend, and how they have changed from the old lists. I’ll also be discussing about Vanilluxe since I’ve gotten so many requests about it and because it has surprised many players by doing great in Battle Roads and international Nationals. Just last weekend a Vanilluxe deck won the Nationals of Czech Republic. In the end, I’ll also reveal my top3 tech choices for this weekend’s Nationals.

This may be the last entry of mine about HGSS-on format depending on your comments and requests. I know that many of you are already concentrating on BW-on format, if you aren’t attending Worlds this year, and since Worlds will be only for a small amount of people, I don’t think it would benefit anyone to write about HGSS-on format after this weekend. However, about that later on in this entry.

Anyways, let’s start this entry by discussing the most hyped deck of the moment – Darkrai.

Empoleon/Terrakion & Empoleon/Donphan

Empoleon - the HC Jumpluff (and Ludicolo)

Hello everyone!

As I have covered all the played Darkrai EX decks (or have I –let me know if I haven’t!), it’s time for a different kind of deck. This deck has done fairly well in Battle Roads and I believe that this deck has potential for more as well. So far, Empoleon/Terrakion has won only 2 Battle Roads but to be honest, it’s pretty good for a deck that isn’t that played and that is assumed to be bad.

I’ll also take briefly a look at another Empoleon variant – Empoleon/Donphan and compare it with Empoleon/Terrakion, we’ll see, which one deck is the better choice in my opinion. I’ve tested Empoleon before my National pretty extensively because I thought it had potential and as ironical as it sounds, Hammertime had the most difficult time against Donphan/Empoleon (before I added Tornadus EXs that is).

Anyways, let’s start by first looking at the Empoleon/Terrakion.

Dakrai EX/Terrakion/ Mewtwo EX

Terrakion is the anti-metagame card number one.

Hello everybody!

I just finished my entrance exam and now need something to distract me from the overthinking so here I go writing another entry once again. There is nothing like Pokémon when it comes to taking the stressing thoughts out of my head. In today’s entry I’ll discuss another Darkrai variant – Darkrai/Terrakion/Mewtwo EX.

After my Nationals victory the amount of Sableye/Darkrais increased everywhere and for example in Germany’s top32, there were 8 Sableye/Darkrai variants. I think they have been increasing in the U.S. Battle Roads’ as well. If you were running list similar to mine and did well in a tournament, be sure to let me know! I think before the Sableye/Darkrai entry, Terrakion/Darkrai/Mewtwo was the most discussed one because it won both Argentinian and Norwegian Nationals. And it’s no surprise that it won those tournaments because it’s a very strong deck with good typing against the most popular decks of the current metagame.

Anyways, let’s start with the list.

The Decklist Out updated!

Hello everyone!

Today, I finally got the time to update the whole The Decklist Out! The most important part is of course the new decks and “the hottest decks now” lists but I also updated most of the old decks with the current sets’ cards. I haven’t had the time to code the links to the respectful articles of those decks. However, I’ll update the links as soon as I have time and I’ll start making the entries of the Darkrai decks as requested.

Anyways, my entrance exams will be next Tuesday and I’ll be fully concentrating on them from this moment on so there will be no entry on Monday. However, after my exams are over, I’ll continue doing 2 entries per week. I guess I’ll keep some time off from my blog before Worlds (2 weeks or so) so I have time to test properly and have great time in Hawaii. After that it’s a whole new season, format and lots and lots of things to analyze! I hope I can keep up with my blog after August as well when I (hopefully) start my semester in my new university. It’ll be busy for me but I’ll try to make it work.

I hope you enjoy the new update of The Decklist Out and that it’s useful for you and other players as well in testing for Nationals! If you have any comments, questions or requests about my blog and it’s future, feel free to tell me in the comments, Facebook, Twitter or e-mail. Also, let me know if there is any typos in the decklists of The Decklist Out.

Once again, thanks for reading my blog and here is the updated version of The Decklist Out. You can find it also from the Pages part of the blog.