What is the play for Worlds and why is it FINALLY Passimian?

So how have we ended up with this title and the fact I am sat here writing this article currently? Well it might have something to do with the fact that everyone is incredibly hyped about Worlds format currently. I wanted to explain to you what my play would be and why in the meta that is forming from Celestial Storm to which is a set which is bringing three very big cards into the format. These cards being Rayquaza GX, Magcargo and Stakataka GX. So How can you get round these cards? Let me tell you a story of a monkey that created a tribe with some friends.

Monkey's Travel in Barrels

Where the ouroboros of the meta comes round after consuming itself there is always a point when it arrives back at the start. Let me set the scene, it was the 10th of March and that was when the meta completely changed. The field was full of Zoroark decks as Adam Hakwins brought home the Malmo regionals with the Weavile version, so with everyone bound to play Zoroark Passimian seemed to be an incredibly good shout to be able to trade positively with these super consistent decks. Then Buzzwole GX came along, this was even before baby Buzzwole was legal and it completely dominated the day with I believe the majority of the Top 8 that day was Buzzwole/Lycanroc. Although I had a very tough start to the day playing teammate Andy King's Zoroark deck to a tie and then losing due to misplays to also teammate Bruce Kelf, it was looking like the monkey magic had left itself at home. This was until I played and won three game in a row to which has meant that I just needed a win and in to get into the Top 8. Sadly I lost that game against a Buzzwole/Lycanroc to which I completely destroyed them for the majority of the turns and then going down to small hands from N's in both cost me the game.

This was not a ramble on about me being annoyed at myself for misplaying that day, maybe. But it is also a sign that I believe that this could once again be the play for worlds but this time with a few tweaks to the deck to be involved to allow it to stand up against the majority of the meta at the current period. Lets go Bananas!

Fantastic Monkeys and Where to Find Them!

Passimian, Sun and Moon Base Set

The Attacking Line

So to break down the fantastic Passimian card to which you will ONLY play a one of in your deck, this is the Kobe Bryant or the Harry Kane of your attack. It has 110hp and is a Fighting-Type Pokémon, the best thing is that it is a basic Pokémon which allows it to be searchable by Nest Ball and Brooklet Hill. This means that it is incredibly easy to get a turn one search of your deck due to these cards which you play. The most important part of the first search is knowing if you have this Passimian in your control or if it is in your prizes which then makes the game a little bit harder but not much. With the retreat cost of one, makes it not too bad to move between pieces but we are playing some free retreaters.

The first attack on Passiam is Fling, but you will not be using that as the majority of the time you will be looking to use the second attack as it will more likely do a lot more damage than the first attack will but there could be a time where that could be needed but I would rather use other ways to attack the bench.

Team play, the emphasis is on the name and the effect is exactly the same. For each Passimian on your bench this attack does 30+ damage, with an extra three passimian this attack is already capped in at 100 damage without any form of weakness. This will the the attack you will be calling out for 80% of the game and trust me, its really good with the combinations you can use it with. This attack is for a double colourless energy which allows you to be able to have a single attachment and start attacking as soon as possible (story about that later).

The Defensive Line

These Passimian are the defensive set piece experts, it is like having Bill Russel or Gerrard Pique protecting your prize cards blocking each shot while making sure your attacker has the perfect tools to be able to knockout the opponents Pokémon. Lets huddle round and talk about this other Passimian!

Passimian, Ultra Prism Set

Once again it has 110hp and is a Fighting-Type Pokémon, with it being basic it can be searched by Nest Ball and Brooklet Hill which synergies with the attacking passimian. Once again it has a single retreat cost, which as you do not want it in the active position can be annoying, although you run plenty of switch and items to ease the retreat cost each time. It is also important to find out how many of these are in your deck due to the ability which we will touch on in a second. Although depending on your match up will show the need to preserve or throw away these Pokémon at ease.

The attack is nothing too special although it can be used as a secondary attack against Fighting-Weak Pokémon which can help pick up one hit knockouts on small basics. The attack Rock Hurl does 40 damage but is not effected by resistance so any Ghost Phsyic-Type Pokémon in the TCG will be hit for the same amount. This attack costs a single fighting and a colourless energy which means it is accessible via Counter energy. If you are using this attack though, there is something wrong. 

Finally the reason why we play this card over the other Passimian for the last card slots taken up by cards with the same name. Power Huddle, it allows you to do 30 more damage if your Passimian attacks into an evolution Pokémon, this does stack with the attacking Passimian's Team play so where you would usually be doing 100 damage for three benched monkeys, it does a grand total of 190 damage instead now. Obviously this is for against evolution Pokémon and not basics which this deck does struggle with but this is why we play other cards to help hit the weakness' of other cards in the meta.

The Rumble in the Jungle

The Pokemon that really make this deck tick are the tech options which you can choose. There is a vast majority of options you can add into the deck for a specific meta you are expecting to see. But there is first the need to identify what draw support you are going to be using in the deck so lets talk about out playmaker in the team.

Creativity and Vision

Octillery, BreakThrough Set

This is your Tom Brady of the deck which will be looking to feed you your combination cards to be able to constantly achieve the same effective turns of attacks over and over again. This will be Octillery, which sadly will be rotating out of the standard format for the next season. Remoraid has fantastic consistency factor being able to drag it onto your bench from Brooklet Hill and Nest ball to then ultra ball to find the Octillery that you need to evolve into later on in the game. It has 90hp and has a two retreat cost which means it is difficult to move out of the active position at times which is why we run switches and Float stones.

The main reason for Octillery is the ability, Abysall Hand. This allows you to draw cards until you have 5 in your hand, which in a deck which has a high item count you can easily discard many items and supporters to be able to draw the cards you need to be able to take a knockout or set up for the rest of the game. This ability is only able to be used once per turn and as you will be playing a 2-1 Octillery line there will not be a chance to use it twice in the same turn by having two fully functioning. 

The Special Team

I promise this is the last time I use a sporting reference in this article, but without these guys in the deck the chance of being even thought about as a meta deck would be completely wiped away. But due to the versatility of the deck and the type of energy that it uses it has a giant advantage against other decks of having to pile loads of energy onto a Pokémon over numerous turns. This deck can power up its techs with the same single energy attachment as it can Passimian. So what could some of these techs be and why?

Mew, Fates Collide Set

The whole point of teching in a Pokémon into a deck is to either help add consistency to a deck to find specific things needed or to be able to turn a match up on its head. Where Passimian only does enough damage to be able to knockout Fighting-Weak Pokémon, it needs other basic attacker which can hit for weakness against other decks as well.

The first card which allows the deck to be able to compete with the majority of the meta currently is Mew, not the EX one but the Fates Collide version. Not only is it a single prized attacker but the actual ability of the Mew is incredible and changes a lot of difficult match ups on its head. The little 50hp attacker with free retreat needs to have an ability like this to justify the small hit points of one of the most popular Pokémon in the game. 

Memories of Dawn allows you to copy anyone of your Basic Pokémon's attacks and use it as Mew's as long as it has the energy to be able to use the attack. This means Pokémon such as Buzzwole Gx and Necrozma Gx will be hit for weakness and Knocked out from copying Passimian's Team Play. The best part of Mew is the fact it allows you to have four Passimian on the bench which means you can hit up to 160 damage with a Choice Band, meaning you are just shy of a knockout if you are looking to hit into a Tapu Lele Gx or anything with 180hp.

Tapu Koko, Sun and Moon Promo

With the fact Mew misses out on hitting the important numbers when facing big Gx Pokémon that are not Buzzwole or Psychic-Weak, its important that we do have a way of reaching these numbers. In comes Tapu Koko, the promo from the collection box that released over a year ago now and is still finding relevance in the competitive TCG. Not only does it provide a good spread option, but it also is a Lightning Type which allows you to have a more favourable match up against Pokémon like Celesteela and Ho-oh. Having free retreat allows you to be able to move in between your benched Pokémon so easily that you should be able to end the turn with a card you would like in the active position. The only down side is the 110hp the card has which means it is easily knocked out by Buzzwole GX and gets one shot by Zoroark.

The main attack we are looking at is Flying Flip which allows you to spread 20 damage to each of your opponents Pokémon, only applying weakness to the active though and that goes for the choice band as well. This attack can even be combined with Mew to enable you spread against psychic weak attackers like the Malamar decks that will enable you to get rid of all their energy spread. The second attack is not going to be used as much as Flying Flip but there is the possibility to be able to use it due to the deck playing counter energy. Electric Ball does 100 damage which means that it will be knocking out any Lightning-Weak Pokémon with a Choice Band. Although this combination is hard to achieve, it can be a deadly attack to most Pokémon.

Finally I believe this is the space which can be the most interchangeable but personally I think in the way the meta is shaping up, this could be the right call for playing in this Worlds format. Previously I have played the likes of Sudowoodo (Watch and Learn), Shaymin (Rally Back), Reshiram (Outrage) and Keldeo (Resolute Blade). But I have finally settled for this format the little electric mouse that is just so powerful it can take out a legendary Pokémon in one shot. That Pokémon is not Pikachu, but it is your favourite little snuggle Pokémon, it is Dedenne.

Dedenne, Forbidden Light Set

The little electric/fairy mouse that is able to be used with double colourless energy which also adds synergy with Passimian, Mew and Tapu Koko can easily be charged up in one turn. Although the little mouse is a low Hp for an attacker coming in at 60 hp, you will be able to keep recycling Dedenne through your deck. It has a single retreat cost which is not ideal but better than Octillery, although usually you would promote one of your free retreat Pokémon if you can. 

So why get so excited over Dedenne? It is all in the attack. Electrichain for a double colourless energy allows you to do 30+ damage, if the Pokémon has a tool card attached it does 30 more damage. Now you are sitting there thinking how can this be any good? Well let me show you. It will be able to take a one hit knockout on Rayquqza Gx, it will be 10 short of a knockout on Ultra Necrozma and also with the possibility of Noivern seeing some play, it is a very good single prized attacker to have. The reason why I like it so much is because you do not need to use Counter energy onto it to be able to take the Knockouts but you can just use Double Colourless Energy which can allow you to be able to play less Counter Energy for an extra deck space.

Statistics of Damage Output in Match ups

In terms of match ups, this is the whole reason why I am feeling a genuine buzz around this deck at the moment due to the maths which comes with the pure amount of damage this deck can do. It only really struggles against Basic Pokémon it does not hit weakness to, as said above depending on the meta you are seeing can change specific mechanics and make the deck better for each match up you think you will have. So, lets finally crunch some mathematical numbers and see what this deck can really do against your opponent!

Scizor Gx, Celestial Storm Set

Basics:

• Passimian in active and 3 benched Passimian does 100 damge to a Basic Pokémon.
• Passimian in active and 3 benched Passimian does 190 damage to an Evolution Pokémon.
• Passimian in active and 3 benched Passimian does 220 damange, with Choice Band, to Evolution Pokemon.
• Passimian in active and 3 benched Passimian does 240, with Choice Band and Diancie Prism, to Evolution Pokémon

With this basic structure you can see that doing damage to Evolution Pokémon is the whole key of the deck. It has the possibility of being able to hit those big numbers against decks which involve Decidueye, Gardevoir and Greninja Gx's, meaning that it can take two prizes incredibly easily. The

other benefit is being able to do damage over what you need, for example a Golisopod Gx Armour Press' so it actually has 230 Hp. This is no issue because you are able to hit the numbers needed to knockout that Golisopod. The same goes for the new Scizor Gx, does 30 less damage of your opponents attack, just hit the 240 damage that you need to knockout the Scizor. 

So you can see the benefits of having Passimian but what about Mew, does it really stand up against other Pokémon that well? Well lets have a look at when the Mew attacks:

Stakataka Gx, Celestial Storm Set

• Mew in active and 4 benched Passimian does 130 damage to a Basic Pokémon.
• Mew in active and 4 benched Passimian does 160 damage, with a Choice Band, to a Basic Pokémon.
• Mew in active and 4 benched Passimian does 130 damage to an Evolution Pokémon.
• Mew in active and 4 benched Passimian does 320 damage, with a Choice Band, to a Psychic-Weak Pokémon.

This is why Mew is so overpowered in this deck as it is able to take Passimian's attack and use it for its own. The current meta being Buzzwole Gx, Necrozma Gx and what seems to be gearing up towards Naganadel Gx, this deck can pack a punch against the majority of decks in the current Meta. Even with Stakataka Gx being a threat by making Naganadel more bulky, it still takes a knockout past the ability of the new metal brick Pokémon. As you can see from the simple maths of the deck itself, there is a lot of room to move and develop as you go through the gears playing this deck. 

Final Thoughts and A Sad Goodbye!

Overall in terms of the current meta the only issues which face Passimian is the Greninja Break matchup but this deck has seen less play thanks to the Giratina promo tech in the majority of Malamar/Necrozma decks. This is dynamic and accesses the reaches of the upper echelons of the damage needed to knockout the highest Hp Gx Pokemon, while also hitting meta decks of the likes of Rayquaza, Buzzwole and Zoroark. This is why I think Passimian has such a great placing in the meta considering its consistency lacks at times but when it runs hot, WE HAWT!

As I finish this artcle, it comes me that this is going to be the last time that this deck will get a chance in its current state which hopefully it can adapt and overcome some of the previous challenges of rotations to come but a loss of staples such as Puzzle of Time and Octillery, we could be saying goodbye to one of the most fun and budget friendly decks we have at this current moment in time. So as I finish writing this I urge everyone to at least give Passimian a chance before the rotation, as this is just one monkey that needs it final hurrah. 

Thanks for reading, any questions or helps on a list do not hesitate to contact me on twitter.

Charlie

@ThePelipperPost

0/??? Championship Points

How To Train Your Dragon, Possible Rayquaza GX Decks

Rayquaza Gx is one of the strongest cards to come out of the Celestial Storm expansion causing mass hysteria over the set and with everyone itching to get a hold of their favourite emerald dragon, there are a few things first you must know about the mechanics of the card which will lead to the devastation of your opponents board state. But first you need to know your classification of your dragon!

Classifying Your Dragon - Rayquaza GX

Rayquaza is a 180hp Dragon-Type Pokémon which means that it has a weakness to Fairy-Type Pokémon, previously other Rayquaza cards have been colourless. With a hefty three energy retreat cost, Rayquaza is a powerful Pokémon that does not get around easily but uses the wind to gracefully soar the skies of the Hoenn Region. While appearing to look quite friendly and not very menacing with its mainly toothless grin, this Legendary can really pack a punch with all three of its key mechanics being an energy accelerator for itself to power up its Draconic attacks.

Stormy Winds is the ability on the Rayquaza Gx card which is much suited to the Pokémon due to its direct links to how the Pokémon works in its own origins within lore and the video games. This ability reads, "When you play this Pokémon from your hand onto your Bench during your turn, you may discard the top 3 cards of your deck. If you do, attach a basic Energy card from your discard pile to this Pokémon". This means that any energy cards that get discarded will get accelerated back into the field of play to allow energies to constantly recycle themselves. If you play 4 Rayquaza Gx you can discard up to 12 cards from your deck this allowing you to thin naturally without the need for Supporters such as Professor Sycamore. While being able to accelerate energy to itself, there is no other card which can do that from the discard pile other than Malamar or Rayquaza from Guardians Rising, without using a GX move.

Rayquaza GX, Celestial Storm.

Rayquaza's main attack is Dragon Break, making reference to the old Mega Rayquaza card with the Emerald Break attack which was previously extremely played. With the use of Dragon Break, "This attack does 30 damage times the amount of basic Grass and basic Lightning Energy attached to your Pokémon", Meaning that the energy acceleration of the Rayquaza GX can allow for stronger attacks to hopefully sweep the opponents Pokémon off their feet. Zoroark Gx being one of the main threats coming out of the format currently has around 210hp which means 6 energies in play and a choice band will allow the player to take a knockout. With Rayquaza being a basic it will also have access to a Fighting Fury Belt, meaning the card have 40+hp and 10+ damage still meaning either a Tapu Koko Spread or 7 energies in play will be required to take a knockout.



Finally the GX move being Tempest GX, quite fitting that it is the attack of Rayquaza with it being the Sky-High Pokémon being able to control weather aspects of wind and thunder. This Gx move allows you to "Discard your hand and draw 10 cards. (You can't use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)". This creates a similar effect of Drampa's Big Wheel GX, although it is discarding your hand. Which looking from multiple views can be seen as good with the energy acceleration from discard but I believe that it will not be used unless the player is incredibly desperate.


Now we have analysed our Dragon it is time to, just like the film, delve into other classifications we can put within our already founded Rayquaza Gx card to form deadly combinations to help devour the competition.

Strike Class - Attacking Aids

In terms of attacking, Rayquaza is by far one of the most powerful cards in the current TCG. The attack that does 30 for each grass or lightning energy stacks up to do disastrous amounts of damage as you stack up your bench with the emerald dragon. The question is how do you accelerate that energy onto Rayquaza and the answer? It is really easy.

Max Elixir, BreakPoint

With Rayquaza being a Basic Pokémon, it has access to Max Elixir which has been powering turbo styled decks since the release of the card in BreakPoint. For those who do not know what it does, you can look at your top 6 cards and if theres an energy attach it to a benched basic Pokémon. This in combination with Rayquaza's ability means that you will have to run an incredibly high count of energy both Grass and Lightning. I have seen some play as little as 12 and others as much as 16 (50-50 splits), which then will be easier on the eye if you end up not having as many in your deck. 

So what else that makes Rayquaza Uber charged? Latias Prism Star. For a single energy it attaches an energy to each of your Dragon-Type Pokémon, on your bench. So, if you're running out of energies in your deck and you need to storm the field with energy, play down the prism and you can attach up to 5 energies which can tally up to 150 damage ready to roll. Latias also can be used as an energy tank for your Rayquaza's attack as it has 130hp which does not make it easy to knock out with a Zoroark GX which is seeing a lot of play.

Latias Prism, Celestial Storm

We have ways of attaching from the discard and from our deck, surely there can not be that much else that can turbo charge Rayquaza anymore with a howling roar of Dragon Break. Well there is, we can actually switch energies around when we need to with energy switch. This card has been in the TCG for a long time and the effects of the card help in these turbo styled decks. With your active Rayquaza maybe only having two energies attached it may be worth while playing two of these over a Parallel city or a extra Band/Belt. Energy Switch adds so much more versatility to an already dynamic deck which makes this archetype one of the best coming out of Celestial Storm. 

Fear Class - Fear into your Opponents!

When you play Rayquaza you have to understand that you are bringing the Year of the Dragon back early from the Chinese Calendar and show that the card will be destined to be one of the best decks at the World Championships in Nashville. To do this you will need to test vigorously against other decks so you know your outs and theorise how you will get round your bad match ups. Either that or.... I can just tell you what I have worked out from my own testing:

Hoopa, Shinning Legends

• Rayquaza outspeeds anything that does not return one hit knockouts
• In a matchup between Buzz and Rayqyaza, Which ever deck sets up quickest wins.
• Single Prized attackers are not Rayquaza's friend. (Baby Buzz, Dedenne, Hoopa etc.)
• Safeguarding Pokemon love playing Rayquaza (Baby A. Ninetales, Hoopa, Jolteon EX etc.)
• Rayquaza is fantastic against Malamar with use of Parallel City
• Rayquaza is very good at hitting on average between 150-210 Turn 2
• Rayquaza does have consistency issues so shuffle draw cards are needed in this deck.
• Gardevoir is a difficult match up but depending on each players start, it can develop quite well for the Rayquaza player. 



Dedenne, Forbidden Light

• Dedenne is an incredibly powerful card. Beware of the mouse.

In terms of testing, these are my brief notes of theorising and testing incredibly little into the pre-rotation format due to my consentration being solely on post format. Although I have enjoyed some games recently of the Worlds format as it is such a cool period to play as usually there is a lot of developing archetypes from the new set that go with old rotated cards like Max Elixir and Rayquaza.

Anyways, from these notes I have put together you can see that Rayquaza is a very favoured card in the current meta with not many bad match ups apart from those one or two players who will be developing rogue decks to come into play with single prized attackers.

Mystery Class -  How will it cope?

In Conclusion, how Rayquaza will do is a complete mystery due to how short this Worlds format is, lasting only a month before older sets are kicked out. But with the support of the new and the old I believe that Rayquaza will have a place in the future format with Dragon Majesty coming out in September which will provide a much needed boost for the typing which has seemingly been forgotten by the Pokémon Company. Especially with the amount of resources that we are losing in the coming rotation, there will be a lot of staples that this turbo deck will be missing. 

Although looking positively into Worlds format, Rayquaza is held up in some of the highest regard possible as it is a deck with a chaotic streak in the deck which can break anybody playing the TCG this summer at any events. Even with the possibility of Gardevoir seeing an uprise in play, the Emerald Dragon will sure enough be doing circles in the sky over Nashville at the end of the month.

Thanks for Reading my article, I would like to note on my absence of writing on this blog page. It has been a hard few months for myself both with my University work and launching Paradigm TCG with weekly streams and dedicating my time finding ways of expanding the team further. It has been in the pipeline for a long time and it is something which has exhausted my time greatly, but for now I am back to writing articles and hopefully solely developing my game for the moment.

Once again thank you to everyone who supports my content,

Charlie

@ThePelipperPost
0/??? Championship Points