Brent: 0:06

Welcome to the Trashlanch podcast. It's the only podcast about the Pokemon trading card game. Brent Halliburton, Abonamet, Liam Halliburton, coming from three different places. This is an absolutely unheard of thing for Brent and Liam. It's absolutely wild. guys, I think we gotta focus on the Baltimore meta today, but there are a couple of things that we absolutely have to talk about first. The first thing we gotta talk about, and I think that this is a first for you guys, is We got a review. As always, people, if you leave a review, we will read it on the pod. this review is five stars, which we very much appreciate, and says, Amazing. Amazing podcast. Keep up the great work. Also, I have a question. I've been playing the TCG with my friends, and I think I'm really good and want to get into the competitive scene. Where should I start? Thanks, a fan. what do you guys think? What advice would you give someone who is getting into the game, thinks they're really good, wants to get in a comp?

Abaan: 1:12

you go first Sam.

Liam: 1:14

yeah, I guess I would say, I would say like one start going to locals and then two, get on Twitter. I think that's like the easiest way to become familiar with the, competitive scene like,

Abaan: 1:26

If you asked me even a month ago, or like two months ago, I'd have a completely different answer. But I think now, I think, look at the last few tournaments, just rip some lists from there, you know, rip all the top meta lists and just play ladder. I think ladder's lit. I was hating for no reason, you know, I thought like,

Liam: 1:41

yes, I know me,

Abaan: 1:42

that.

Liam: 1:43

me and Bond have gone on the

Abaan: 1:44

players are not good. I still don't think ladder players are very good, but I think it's like, they're like regional player good, you know? Like, that's what you're gonna see at regionals, so,

Liam: 1:53

Yeah. I think the quality of play is lower, but you have a lot of compensation for that in the volume of games. it does a better job recreating, the competitive environment, and the lists are closed. when you do testing with your friend, after the first game, the lists are basically open, because you're playing the same decks, back and forth at each other, and it, really affects how you play the game, and, how rash you are approaching every decision. And so, yeah, I think ladder, it's obviously the sauce, bro, every good player's on the ladder.

Abaan: 2:24

I think all my complaints about the ladder are still valid, it's just that my biggest issue with it is you're right, lists are open when you play against your friend, but the problem is that people on ladder play, so bad around Closed Lists, they just give you the game, and you feel weird, like, am I supposed to, abuse the fact that I play a tech for the situation, especially because I've been playing a lot of Pigeon on Ladder, they'll just bench some, thing that, gets Ogre Pawned, and, that's it, the game is just over, and it felt like kind of a use, I feel like my Ladder win rate is, artificially high on certain decks the surprise factor is too high, you know?

Liam: 2:49

Yeah, I agree, but I think that's also like, it's like a very realistic thing to expect. a lot of people don't approach it this way. it really goes to show how new our game is. And then I think a lot of people are thinking on like level one, right? For like poker, right? Which is like, I'm not exactly sure. Ivan's more familiar with these levels than me, but it's like, just like what do I have? And like, what does my opponent have?

Abaan: 3:12

No, like level one of poker is like, what do I have, like they don't even think about what do they have,

Liam: 3:15

like, well, there's a little bit of that, but there's also at least for me, and I think a lot of players in the same band that I am, I miss a lot of ideas based on what does my opponent think I have, where I prize something, and I'm like, okay, I have to build some strategy around this prize, when I miss ideas that are just what if I'm just a dog, and They don't know I prized this, you know, so I can just jam it down in this random way that we completely lose the perfect knowledge, right, of course, they don't know what's happening

Abaan: 3:40

Not so much when you play like you prize something, like you make it too obvious, like there is some level of like, not even good or bad play, like there is like a knowledge disparity, right? And so sometimes when you prize something and then you start trying to play around it, then your opponent within five seconds is like, oh, this must be prized. And they get that knowledge for free, right? If you're just playing normally, and the thing is prized, as long as you don't try to, grab it at some moment where, you're supposed to grab it, using the knowledge disparity is, an actual aspect of the game, it's not, abusing how, bad or good they are at the game,

Liam: 4:06

Yeah,

Abaan: 4:10

I think, literally, if you jammed, like, hundreds of ladder games, you literally must get good,

Liam: 4:15

dude, I've jammed so much louder,

Abaan: 4:17

Yeah, me too.

Liam: 4:18

three months, bro.

Abaan: 4:19

Yeah, I hate it, but, it's fun.

Brent: 4:21

how much do you think your win rate is artificially inflated? Because, yeah, if you play a deck like Pidgeot or like Snorlax or something, the guy's like, I could beat you, but I ain't got all day, so I'mma scuba go next.

Abaan: 4:33

I don't think that happens that often because I've had people do the opposite to me. Like, they're completely lost and they just sit there and,

Liam: 4:39

No, yeah,

Abaan: 4:40

to scoop.

Brent: 4:41

Yeah, is that

Liam: 4:42

but I actually think, I was like thinking this about the same thing today earlier, but I think, the opposite of like they refuse to scoop is actually more common, like much, much more common, like at the early rounds of a regional where like, you know, they're dead lost, all they can do is hit for like 20 each turn into your snx. But like, because it's a regional and you know, like they paid a bunch of money to be there, they don't wanna scoop like round three,

Abaan: 5:05

They're also cooking themselves. They're literally knocking them a chance to win the series.

Liam: 5:08

no, they, like, I would say like the scoops usually happen early on, but like. You know, especially in the game 2, right, like, there's like, no incentive to scoop, you know?

Abaan: 5:17

Yeah, yeah. I I I No one's ever scooped, like, a game 2.

Liam: 5:19

They just, they just stick it out, like, always, right? Whereas on ladder, I think it's like, it's more of like a coin flip of whether or not they like, scoop too early, or just never scoop at all, you know?

Brent: 5:30

Alright, so, I think the advice I would give somebody if they said, I think I'm good at Pokemon, but I want to get into competitive, is, like, if you're not going to your locals, you gotta go to your locals. Like, League Challenges and League Cups are posted on Pokemon. com. Go, put in your zip code, find some local League Challenges and League Cups, and go, and, like, do it. Go to a bunch of those. Like, we didn't even understand how to qualify for Worlds when we started going to Locals. And, like, it wasn't until after Liam, like, did well at one or two Locals that, like, somebody explained to us what the heck that meant. But, like, we were just having fun, like, playing with Locals. And, like, the next step after Locals is, like, Regionals. And when you go to Regionals, most of the time you're gonna travel a fair distance. Even if you're going to, like, the only Regional of the year that's close to you, anywhere close to you. It's probably still a fair distance away, and, uh, uh, you'll wanna, like, see your homies from locals there. Um, you know, if you feel like you haven't yet built a relationship with anyone that's, like, in your local region playing competitively, um, You should play more locals because you probably haven't played enough because Pokemon's like the friendliest game in the world and like the locals want to be homies. And if you are there and you're excited, they'll be excited for you and like excited to have you. And then you'll have like locals, uh, that know the competitive scene, know how to get into regionals, which can be hard to get into because uh, they frequently sell out And yeah, I mean you can't just show up at a regional and think you're gonna get, uh, to compete like back. You could back in the day. You have to, like, get your ticket well in advance, and it's, like, much easier to, like, go to Locals, do League Cups, do League Challenges, and, and test yourself that way, and get a sense of, of how you stack up against your Locals, before you say, hey, let me go compete against 3, 000 other people and see how good I am. Compete against 50

Abaan: 7:35

I think one

Brent: 7:35

are.

Abaan: 7:37

I don't know how many, like, juniors and seniors listen, but, like, the biggest key code ever if you're younger than a master's is, like, go to your, like, card game like, card store local. I don't know how common it is, like, I obviously live in Seattle, so, like, I have Tabletop, which is, like, one of the most lit, like, locals you can go to, but if you, like, have any kind of, like, reasonable local, like, 10 entry, It's like store credit pricing, like, if you're younger than Masters, like, playing with Masters is like the biggest cheat code ever to get good fast. Like, I didn't realize this when I was a kid, and I wish someone, like, you know, tapped me on the shoulder and told me, like, you know, you're not actually good at the game, you're just like, you're in Seniors, so like, you feel like you're good, but like, I don't know. Once you, like, play against Masters, it's just like, it's just, the whole world, like, opens up, you know? I feel like in Juniors and Seniors, it's like, every game is like the standard, like, you attack when you can, and you do as much damage as you can, and see what happens, you know?

Brent: 8:28

Absolutely, and, and, I mean, Tabletop is one of the best, but there are, my impression is If you live in a major city, there's definitely multiple good card stores near you. If you live in like a B tier city, like major metro area, there is good card stores near you. I mean, we've played at locals in San Antonio, Paris, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, D. C., Baltimore, there are like good local card stores like everywhere. You can find a good local card store. Las Vegas, I mean. We, uh, so many times when, uh, Liam and Walker were little, when we went on vacation, we'd be like, let's just go to whatever local card stores around here, and they were always lit. It was always fun, and the locals were always, like, super cool guys that thought it was absolutely wild that, like, some random juniors were rolling in, uh, with, like, tier 1 decks and blowing them off the board and sending them home. Uh, that happened, that happened all the time.

Abaan: 9:32

Oh, that happens on Tabletop too, it's kind of funny, like, all the juniors, like, they're all coached by, like, Chinoy or someone, so, like, they always, they always have, like, the most, they always have, like, our lists, like, I'd say, like, the Tabletop, like, people like me, like, the Kawasaki stuff, like, all the kids have our lists, so, if you're, like, it's, like, weird, like, the middle tier, like, Masters and stuff, they, like, they often lose to the kids who just have, like, the most lit lists, and they just, like, draw well and play alright and get it done, you know?

Brent: 9:57

Yeah, yeah, well, and, and, you know, what's funny, I think, I think a lot of, a lot of locals, the locals have their, like, kind of, like, own weird squirrelly metagame, so if you just show up at a random local with a Tier 1 deck, it'll, like, do pretty well, because they're, like, all teched out for this, like, squirrelly metagame, and, and you're like, I just have an incredibly consistent list that I hit people with. And they're like, D'oh, you got me there. Right, like, they're playing their pet decks, and you show up with a good deck, and you're like, Yeah, this good deck just beats your pet deck. Of course it does. It's a good deck. It's not bad.

Abaan: 10:32

That's why it's a good deck.

Brent: 10:33

Yeah, exactly. Alright, um, we very much appreciate the review. Thanks, a fan. Even if you're not Mike Fouchet, we really appreciate the review. It's really, really good stuff. Um Eban, I wanted Cam and Mike to be here for this part, but we also have to say, I think Liam's first classes are tomorrow.

Abaan: 10:54

Yeah.

Brent: 10:54

Do you have, do you have big college advice for Liam the day before he starts college?

Abaan: 11:00

Uh, I mean, like, one advice I give you is like, if you start skipping class, you like, never stop. Like, realistically, like,

Brent: 11:09

Liam's like, great!

Abaan: 11:11

no, no, no, no, like, once you skip, like, you're like, it's like, the first class, you're just like, ah, man, like, I just didn't wake up in time, no big deal, right? And then like, then you don't feel any consequence, like, no one's like over your shoulder, like, you gotta go. And like. I'm not gonna say that you're gonna like completely crash and burn if you start missing classes But like it catches up to you like especially if you don't like rectify the situation yourself like I don't know It like it just catches up to you like I've had

Liam: 11:36

exactly, bro, like, missing, missing one class is like, no big deal, but then you think it's no big deal, and you start missing a lot of classes,

Abaan: 11:42

Yeah, and like once it starts being different classes that you start missing that's when it's like it's so cooked You're like man today. I have to sit in the library and catch up on two different like Like, two different sets of like seven lectures, like, oh my goodness, bro, like, it's like the worst day ever. And then I guess, other advice is like, I felt like I, I, I didn't play Pokemon for the first couple years of college, and like, I don't know, it was alright, I guess I made some friends and stuff, but like, I regret it. Just keep playing Pokemon, bro, that game's lit, the game's lit, game's lit right now, just. If the game ever becomes like, trash to play for some reason, I don't even know what the former would have to be. Then like drop like don't play if you're not having fun, obviously, but like as long as this format's even remotely playable Never let it go, bruh. Game's lit. That's my two piece advice. You're welcome.

Brent: 12:34

Alright, guys, let's talk about Baltimore. Baltimore is, I guess, a week and a half ish away. Uh, um, so I went and looked at like the play limitless results from yesterday, and there was like Sunny's Weekly, and then there was like some other tournament, and Drago won them both. And I thought, uh, either Online's a complete fraud, or, uh, the meta is gonna be like wildly different in Baltimore. And like, I mean, let's be clear, probably that means Online's a complete fraud, because also it's Sunny's, like, cloth top aided, I mean. That sounds like a fraud to me. I don't know.

Liam: 13:15

Um, no, I think, uh, I think Drago's still a very legit deck. Like, of course, everybody knows it's, like, the best I can format. Even if bad matchups are not that bad, it's good matchups are amazing. Like,

Brent: 13:27

No, no, not Regidrago. Dragapult.

Liam: 13:30

Oh, Dragapult?

Brent: 13:32

won both.

Liam: 13:33

it won both? Wow, I, I'm really blown away by that. Um,

Abaan: 13:38

I'm looking right now like,

Liam: 13:40

not, not because I think the deck is bad, I'm just, I'm just kind of surprised. I, I actually think it, like, I think there's going to be

Brent: 13:47

Oh, it was Deckout Mondays was the other tournament. So this was a 193 person tournament and a 128 person tournament.

Liam: 13:54

Um, I don't think any of the best players are going to show up with it, but I think there's going to be like, you know, one like, you know, somewhat notable group that shows up with um, or player who shows up with like, a sick Dragapult list, and there's also going to be a bunch of like, you know, Dragapult Xatu in the masses, um, I think. Like, not a ton, but um, a solid amount. Like, like that deck is like well positioned. It's a, uh. It's a good answer to the, uh, the Beatstick decks. It's like, solid against Ancient Box, solid against Raging Drago, like, the deck is solid.

Abaan: 14:36

I feel like I'm gonna sound like a broken record on this, but like, man, I thought that too. I was like, oh. Like how I like I want to play Drago, but all these B Stick decks are so terrible. And then I like watched like good players play Drago and did B Sticks and like The way they use, like, Kira, and, like, you can Jaren with Cleffa, and, like, Radzard is lit, like, I don't know, man. I think Draugr is, like, the, it's just, it's already the better Dragon Ball deck in, like, a lot of, like, like, mirror matches against Zard, etc, etc, but it's, like, it also handles the B6 just fine. I think, like, you're probably slightly unfavored into, like, Bolt. I think you're, like, fine to ride on. I'm not even sure, like, of the B6, like, which one you're, like, the least happy to play against. Like, all three feel, like, Totally

Liam: 15:18

they're like all the same. Yeah, like, they literally, it's the same engine, and they all just have to hit like, boss KO three times in a row. And like, it's not like significantly harder for any of them, right?

Abaan: 15:30

Uh, I will say, like, Raging Bolt has, like, the

Liam: 15:33

Yeah, Raging Bolt, it loses all the energy.

Abaan: 15:35

No, but Raging Bolt gets to kill a Drago V Star. Like, where I don't never be able to kill a Drago V Star is relevant. Like, it comes up. For sure

Liam: 15:44

Yeah, yeah, I, I, I agree with that, but I, I think you have, like, some compensation in, like, other areas. Like,

Abaan: 15:49

I'm aware. I think that's why, like, it's roughly 50 50 for, like, all three of them. Or maybe, like, slightly unfavored. But I don't know. I'd honestly

Liam: 15:56

Yeah, I mean, like, there's slight differences in how you approach each one as Drago, but yeah, it's all, like,

Abaan: 16:01

But do you think Dragapult is favorite into all of them? Like, Dragapult's all that beats them all? That sounds

Liam: 16:07

I mean, like, it's, it's kind of like, you do, like, the same thing as, like, Dengar, like, you basically get to play Drago except you don't have to bench three Teal Masks on turn one, right? Like, At least that's the idea. And like, you lose a lot of the other, like, Drago sauce, right?

Abaan: 16:25

Yeah.

Liam: 16:25

don't, you don't have to bench a bunch of Teal masks. Um,

Brent: 16:31

are you guys, are you guys on like a sneaky deck now? Or are you guys on like something that's just like so meta we should talk about it?

Abaan: 16:40

I guess it's kind of sneaky, but like, honestly, Like, even if I I think we can talk about it, kind of, like,

Liam: 16:46

Yeah, we,

Abaan: 16:47

into, like, card specifics,

Liam: 16:48

it. Nobody, nobody really cares. I actually, I actually think, like, Some of these ladder players, they have it ingrained into their mind what this deck is, bro.

Abaan: 16:57

Really? You think you and I have been beating that many people on ladder that they're, like, Traumatized.

Liam: 17:02

I hit the same players like over and over and over

Abaan: 17:05

No, same, I know, like, Haru, like, PokiKa, something, like, a bunch of numbers, like, that guy, I own him. Every time I see him, like, he started insta pooping to me now, actually. I've seen him, like, five times, like, he's just literally over it, man. Poor guy.

Liam: 17:18

Yeah, the queue times have gotten like so long too.

Abaan: 17:21

Yeah, yeah. Are you, like, 2k yellow as well, right now?

Liam: 17:25

like 2, 500 right now.

Abaan: 17:26

You're 12? Damn, bro. Okay, I

Brent: 17:28

He's playing a lot of ladder, he said it.

Abaan: 17:32

No, I know, but I thought I was playing a lot of ladder

Brent: 17:33

like five days but classes haven't started. I assume he's just

Liam: 17:37

It's been, this is like the most chill five days of my life, bro. I like,

Abaan: 17:44

Have you actually just been playing ladder at college, bro? That's my third piece of advice, don't do that. Like, go outside. I don't know. Playing ladder

Liam: 17:52

been doing a lot of that.

Brent: 17:55

You know, is it, is it different making friends in college when people have like devices? Like I mean, obviously, I went to college at a time where I didn't have cell phones, like, nobody had cell phones, so there was just, like, freshman packs, like, wandering around everywhere, because, like, they didn't have anything else to do except for wander around.

Liam: 18:13

packs, bro.

Brent: 18:14

Yeah, like, like, all, like, it would be like 15 people being like, oh, let's all go to dinner, because, like, what were they going to do? There was nothing else to do, we didn't have devices.

Abaan: 18:22

I think it's a little different for me because I went to my state school, but, like, I would say it's kind of similar for me too, as your experience. I made friends just going to the dining hall, and then I saw some people from, high school or something I knew. I don't know. And it just like, everyone knew someone and it became like a bigger and bigger group.

Brent: 18:41

Yeah. Yeah.

Abaan: 18:43

Liam on the other hand, he's cooked, bro. He's not seeing like the grass, he's not seeing anything, bro. It's just his roommate and

Liam: 18:49

I've actually been, I've been playing a lot of basketball

Abaan: 18:52

Ooh,

Liam: 18:53

the last few days, cause yeah, I uh, dude, I, literally there's like a 5 on 5 game like, 2 minute walk away from me, bro. Like, it's like lit. I, um,

Brent: 19:05

That's sweet, that's sweet. But you know what, I always feel like the problem with basketball for me is like, it's too intense. I don't know if like, I would become friends with people I, I don't know, I mean I've kind of become friends, obviously like the guys I play basketball with, I've been playing basketball with them for like 10, 12 years now, so like, like I kind of am friends with them, but like I, I know, I always used to tell Liam he should join the Ultimate Frisbee team because my impression is like they don't really care, so like it's easy to be friends and hang out because Like they're not that invested in winning. At least that was what I felt like was the difference between the intramural ultimate

Liam: 19:40

Yeah, no, I don't know, basketball's been pretty chill, um,

Abaan: 19:43

do you ever get dinner with the guys after or do you just go home?

Liam: 19:47

ah, no, no, not yet.

Abaan: 19:50

All right, that's like, that's like one of the few ways, after like a long, long like pickup session, like, uh, we're hungry, bro. Gotta go to like

Liam: 19:57

Bro, do you not have to, you don't have to like, go shower afterwards, bro?

Abaan: 20:01

Nah bro, you're all sweaty, just go, go eat.

Liam: 20:04

Word.

Brent: 20:05

you go. All right. Um, so, so, uh, so what's the play then guys? Talk to me about Baltimore. Talk to me about the meta. Talk to me about how you win it.

Abaan: 20:16

the whole format is defined by Drago. It's like, you need to have a solid answer to Drago, but that's kind of a paradox. There's really nothing that beats Drago percent of the time. I think we have an answer that's maybe slightly better than that, but it hinges on information disparity. I think if Drago knew exactly the 60 cards we're playing in Pidget It'll probably be close, closer to 55. So I don't know, if you're going to Baltimore though, and you don't have to play, literally just spam Drago. That's my that would be my advice to anyone who's like, not sure what to do. Just just spam Drago all week, and the next week. Get as good as possible, and rip it.

Liam: 20:58

Um, I guess specifically to answer your question about our deck, we've been playing like a Snorlax Pidget hybrid. Um, basically just like, back to the basics on this like, uh, this Pidget control thing, like, where Alessandro started out, um, when he first made the deck, like, with like, we're just playing a Snorlax build, except we cut some of the supporters for a Pidget line, and That has, like, you know, ups and downs. Um, it fixes, like, some of your matchups, but when you can't get the Pidget out into, like, other matchups, it's harder to spam, like, the Sisters and the Eerie. The Pidget becomes your access to those. Um, and, like, sometimes it's beneficial, sometimes it's, like, detrimental. Dex, like, it's got some weaknesses, but I think it's really good still. Um,

Abaan: 21:47

I think the simplest thing that we've brought up about it was like, in the matchups where you don't go Pidget, like, if you need to hit Eerie or Sisters, it's like, not acceptable to try to just be raw Blockbox, because you only have one of each. So like you're just not gonna see those cards, right? And you only have two gears. Maybe even less, I just saw your message. One gear is crazy work, bro. I don't know. I'm not sure if I can rock with that.

Liam: 22:09

I don't know, dude. I Earlier today, I, uh Open with double gear, miss both. Gah! Get those cards out of here, bro! Like,

Brent: 22:18

Misses both gear and says, you know what I should do? I should cut all the gears.

Abaan: 22:22

Yes.

Liam: 22:23

I have both of them on my hand and I'm bricked, bro? Like, get me a Let me play some good cards, bro.

Abaan: 22:30

Give me an Irda. That's your answer. Give me an Irda.

Liam: 22:35

No, I also like the second Rotom, because it ups my chances of the heavy ball turning into a Rotom. So,

Abaan: 22:41

like, you have the weirdest reasoning for this

Brent: 22:43

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Playing a second Rotom so you're more likely to prize the Rotom does not sound like a super strategy.

Abaan: 22:50

I would be more down with that logic if we're still on 2 heavy, right? Then I'd be like, oh, that makes a lot of sense, like, increasing our outs. But now we're on 1 again.

Liam: 22:58

no, like, it's also because, like, yeah, it's because the Rotom is, like, a good raw draw. Like, it's a better raw draw than this gear, bro. Like, let me get my Rotom down turn one, and I think, if you miss Rotom turn one versus getting Rotom down turn one, that's like a, probably an 80 percent swing to your, like, general win rate, bro. Like, maybe like 50, 60 percent. Like,

Abaan: 23:21

You

Liam: 23:21

you go from like, dead loss to like, straight winning in so many matchups.

Abaan: 23:26

You know one thing I wanted to ask you, Liam, is like, what do we think about quad thorns right now? Cause like, to me, it never made sense. So, like, I have no finger on the pulse, like, it didn't make sense before Worlds, it, like, won Worlds, I guess, and then, like, it still doesn't make sense to me, and I'm actually surprised it's, like, worse, like, are people playing this deck or not, like, is it graphic worthy, or?

Liam: 23:48

I don't know, bro. One thing's for sure. I'm keeping this like, triple Mimmy, bro.

Abaan: 23:53

Really?

Liam: 23:54

yeah,

Abaan: 23:55

I think it's, I've been wanting to cut

Liam: 23:57

It's like what you said earlier, bro. Like, like, I actually think it, obviously, it Quadthorns player is. Like, you will, you will lose if you don't just like, rip, bro. Right? And you play less than three Mimmy. It's like, so easy to lose. And like, I play three Mimi, Syned up over the Thorn, oh, I win,

Abaan: 24:18

It's relaxing, yeah, I just put it down,

Liam: 24:20

it's over, like,

Abaan: 24:22

And I think Quadthorns is off the radar, so, like, they're not gonna, like, They're the Quadlords players aren't gonna be worried about three mibis enough to put like, the the text in, like the Sylene, or the third colon third colon is a crazy word, Sylene, right?

Liam: 24:33

yeah, I like, I think so too, like every single time, every single time I hit these Thorns on the ladder, bro, I'm like, they always play it all the way out, always. Literally, I bench the three Mimi and they don't scoop it, I'm like, bro, do you have like, Sandaconda, and I'm like, aggressively digging for Eerie and Sisters, and like, trying to spam them, hit with the Luxray, like, I'm like, I'm like, Doing everything I can to hunt for this Cologne, and then like, I like, don't get it, and then they're like, Cologne, Kayle, Mimi, Cologne, Kayle, Mimi, and I'm like, bro, I have the last one, like, you know, I basically just lose to another Cologne, and sit there and draw a pass for 30 turns, bro. but yeah, like, it doesn't, it doesn't make sense for them to ever, like, adjust that much, I guess, for like, their, their Mimi, because it's like, so much easier for us to go, like, Mimi for Cologne with them, because the, the deck space means a lot more to them,

Abaan: 25:18

So is it graphic? Or no? You think it's best of the rest?

Liam: 25:22

Best of the rest.

Abaan: 25:24

of the rest? Yeah.

Liam: 25:25

Yeah, best of the rest, dude, cuz like, all these beatsticks are gonna like, take up spots on the graphic, even though it's

Abaan: 25:32

each other,

Liam: 25:33

same deck in disguise, right?

Abaan: 25:35

of catalyze each other, right? Like, how many Beastic players are there gonna be, like, you know?

Liam: 25:40

I don't know. I think there's gonna be a lot, bro. I think, um, or like, I think there's gonna be like, slightly more than Thorns. Like, you know, like, Raging Bull gets in at like, 7, and is like, 5 or something,

Abaan: 25:50

Sure, sure. Do we want to do like a Baltimore meta share? Like from top to bottom? Because I haven't like thought about it actually. I'd be

Liam: 26:02

Sure.

Abaan: 26:04

I think Draugr goes firmly at 20.

Liam: 26:07

Firmly at 20?

Abaan: 26:08

Yes, I think that deck is

Liam: 26:10

Dude, I have it at like, 15. Tops.

Abaan: 26:13

Really?

Liam: 26:14

Yeah, I

Abaan: 26:14

I don't know. I think every single good player in the room is

Brent: 26:17

It was 25 at Worlds, right?

Liam: 26:19

yeah, I think if we re ran Worlds right now, like, all the Worlds players basically played a second event, I think it'd be like 20. I think it's in like a worse spot than it was before. Right? It's not, um, as clearly, like, dominating everything. Like, the Beat Sticks have gained a lot of traction. Um, I think it's, like, slightly worse than it was before. Is, like, the general perception. And then we're going into an event that's not just the world's players. We're

Abaan: 26:42

Yes, that's a good point. I actually, I think you're right. It's probably closer to like 17, 18. I like kind of was in the world's mindset and I think 20 percent of like World's competitors will have Draugr, but like, that's

Liam: 26:55

I agree.

Abaan: 26:56

not the meta share, right? Like, that's not how

Liam: 26:58

We're gonna have, like, 40 percent other. Yes.

Abaan: 27:03

And then deck two? What's natural? Like, it already gets dicey for me, picking deck two.

Liam: 27:09

I think it's I think it's actually gonna be Charizard. Um

Abaan: 27:12

Really? I was thinking like Maraadon.

Brent: 27:16

I do think there's

Liam: 27:16

No, I definitely think the Beat Sticks are actually gonna drop off a little bit. Um, I, I think Ancient Box is gonna be more popular than, they're, they're gonna be like pretty popular. Mmm, I don't know, I,

Abaan: 27:31

we, you and I both played Ancient Box for like, two games, and like, Could just not

Liam: 27:36

they're, they're, they're,

Abaan: 27:37

right?

Liam: 27:39

they're delusional. They're gonna play Ancient Box,

Abaan: 27:41

They're that

Liam: 27:42

People are high on that.

Abaan: 27:43

But how can you even play the deck in testing at all and not just like want to vomit? Like, it's so bad. It doesn't work.

Liam: 27:50

Bro, that like, they always send it anyway, bro. And like, it's also because we haven't been testing against, like, we've only played Ancient when we're testing against, like people in our group, right? Um, we haven't like hit the ladder with it. Like, I think that deck hits different once a beatstick. Like, oh yeah, this,

Abaan: 28:11

Oh yes, we're two shotting and then all of a sudden we're one shotting and the whole time we're just one prizers. Like, that does sound reasonable, yeah.

Liam: 28:19

um, so yeah, I, I think it, I think it hits a little different once a beatstick, bro. Um, mm hmm. Yeah, and people, yeah, people cope themselves on that deck super hard, bro. Like, I, I asked them,

Brent: 28:34

know, I think this myth is why Dragapult is suddenly winning all the online tournaments, right? These guys are like, oh yeah, this is going to be great, this is going to be great. then, like, some guy playing straight Dragapult is like, we're winning this thing! It's easy!

Abaan: 28:49

Yes,

Brent: 28:50

We're farming! We're farming!

Liam: 28:54

um,

Abaan: 28:54

tournament? Actually, I'm interested, I'm gonna go look. But I'm pretty sure, like, there's like, tournaments are completely skewed by how many Ancient Box you hit. The more Ancient Box you hit, like, the better you do.

Brent: 29:04

Yeah, that's a fair question. How many intro boxes did this,

Abaan: 29:07

He hit two.

Liam: 29:08

Um, oh, yeah, I was

Brent: 29:10

yeah, that's how we do

Liam: 29:11

they're also very, like, I think they like, they overestimate their matchups into the, the tricky decks, right? Like, the, the Dragos and the Guardies, because Like, I, I, I think you have to play, you have to play like extremely well against Ancient Box with those decks to, um,

Abaan: 29:30

to realize

Liam: 29:31

make it hard for them. But like, you can make it like very easy for them, too. And like, once you play against somebody who makes it easy, you think the match is just like, ugh, smooth sailing, you know?

Abaan: 29:39

Yeah. I don't think you have to play that well, like, all you have to do is, like, think about your Curum turn and, like, everything just makes sense, you know?

Liam: 29:47

you like very in tune with the fact that, like, their deck is like very bad, you know?

Abaan: 29:53

Yes, yes, you're right, you're

Liam: 29:54

You have to be like very aware that they like just do not have it like that, right? Like,

Abaan: 29:59

Yeah, like, you could, like, boss Greninja and, like, you could just do crazy, crazy things, like, it doesn't even matter, like,

Liam: 30:05

yeah, exactly,

Abaan: 30:06

just spots, like, throughout the game you'll just find, like, great spots, right? Yeah, yeah.

Liam: 30:12

like, I don't know, like, I play, um, I feel like if I was on the Guardi side, like, the Ancient Box player would be like, Oh, yeah, this is, this matchup is lit. This matchup is lit. But like, bro, we both played against Henry, bro. Ah, ah, bro, like,

Abaan: 30:27

I don't know, I don't think Henry was doing anything that crazy to me. I was just playing Ancient Box, getting iota'd

Liam: 30:32

time I play against Henry, like, it doesn't feel like, um, he's doing anything, like, super crazy, right? But, like, I, I think, like, I would, he's just like always maxing out like every turn and like, you know, it's kind what you expect from somebody who's like, you know, a strong player that they basically just like, they know what they're supposed to do every turn, but like, that's a, that's a deck that has like a lot of options and like, it's um, at least for me, I, I think I sometimes, I have like very bad turns, um, like occasionally with that deck and Henry like never does.

Abaan: 31:03

Yeah. I think Henry has like, momentary mistakes, like, not like, planned mistakes, he's just like,

Liam: 31:08

like his, his mistakes are like. There are better mistakes to have than the mistakes that I make, like, I, like, come out of town, Oh, I just, I lost the game, bro. He's like, ah, mis sequenced this, like, Vessel Curlia. My bad, bruh. Like, I don't know.

Abaan: 31:23

Dude, I don't understand why Gardevoir is not like, super hyped going into this tournament, by the way. Like, is it? I guess the Dragon Okay, I guess the Dragonfall matchup's bad, sure, but like,

Liam: 31:32

it's because you're not playing Henry's list, bruh. If you're not playing Henry's list, like, you're stretched so far.

Abaan: 31:37

Fair enough. I guess, yeah, yeah. I forget, internal testing is like, weird. That's why you have to take the ladder. Because if you see a ladder guard of war,

Liam: 31:45

imagine you're just running with the, um, yeah, like, the list we had, like, prior to Worlds, like, That was really, a lot worse. Like, all your, your matchups like across the board except for like Charizard are like a lot more sus, right?

Abaan: 31:58

yeah. We beat Charizard pretty good.

Liam: 32:01

Yeah,

Abaan: 32:02

Do you think Charizard's gonna be like, I know you said it's the second most popular, but like, why would that be the case?

Liam: 32:07

hmm. I don't know. I like, I don't exactly know what else would be the second most popular. Like, I, I think um, there's a little bit to what you said of like, like the beat sticks cannibalize themselves. So I feel like, um, I feel like those aren't gonna be like the most

Abaan: 32:19

Is there any world where Ancient Box is just at 2?

Liam: 32:23

I think it'll be like three. Like, I feel, I, I feel like people don't want to like,

Brent: 32:27

I mean, Tord was on the Charizard, so like, some chunk of people are gonna be like, Well, I gotta pay Tord 60 because I'm a Liam Halliburton subscriber. And then, like, there's gonna be some chunk of people that are like, I played Regi and I have Regrets, so like, now I'm gonna play Charizard because

Abaan: 32:42

Damn, they're just all Liam Halliburton in disguise. They're just different phases of Liam.

Brent: 32:49

I feel the, like, Charizard, there's gonna be a bunch of people who like to play these, like, big decks, and, like, they're like, that's a big deck and it's not Regi.

Liam: 32:56

This is like, like, I feel like Charizard would be like the meta call that I'd make if I wasn't basically locked on this Snorlax. Like, if this Snorlax thing was not, like, an option, I'd be like, oh, dude, you know, like, you can dunk on the Beat Sticks and beat Ancient Box. Like, beat the, the counter and the counter to the counter, right?

Abaan: 33:14

And like, the Draugr mashup, like, I'll just I don't know. I don't understand it, but like, I assume it's not that bad, the way like, TOR, if TOR is willing to rip it, like, I assume like, I assume I could just get better at it, right?

Liam: 33:25

like, yeah, I think I think it's fine. Like, it's not good. Drago player definitely has advantage, but like, you can win it. Like, it's just draw a little bit bad two games and you get there, right? Like,

Abaan: 33:39

I don't know, man. Like, I felt like I was, I was hopeless. It was hopeless when I was playing you, in that matchup. Like, I couldn't even see the light. I couldn't even see how I would win. Yeah,

Liam: 33:49

towards list,

Abaan: 33:50

yeah.

Liam: 33:51

Yeah, I don't know if I'd rip towards list exactly. I really like Dusknere, but Dusknere is like actually broken. That's like, that's maybe the The card going into Baltimore, this Duskner guy,

Abaan: 34:01

Yes. Dusknoir is like the only thing that causes any problem, like, any plan I have with any deck, I'm like, man, Dusknoir really throws a wrench in things. Like, I hope he doesn't just have, can Dusknoir this turn, or else, like, I might be cooked. But then they're like, they're only grabbing one card a turn, so they really have to have it like that to beat you, you know?

Liam: 34:22

yeah,

Abaan: 34:22

tough, it's tougher than you'd think.

Liam: 34:25

yeah, I, I agree, um, but the, that Duskner thing went out, like, the decks that pull the Duskner off, bro, they, they hit when they, they get it, bro, like, it's, um, it's a card that just, like, naturally gives so much control over the prize trade, right? Like, you can initiate, like, a one for one whenever you want, like, that's, like, awesome. Always, always broken in this like 2 2 2

Abaan: 34:46

By the way, did you, did you get a chance to watch this little Jesse Parker match?

Liam: 34:51

Um, I watched a little bit of it, I wasn't able to watch the whole thing.

Abaan: 34:54

Dude, I feel like that was like, almost, it should be a meta defining match, but I feel like people are like, probably not gonna take it in the way like you're supposed to, but like, it like, confirms something I already knew, like, committing the bravery charm in Rhydon is like, extremely illegal, and Jesse just did it over and over again, and I'm not sure like, what people's takeaways from that set was, like, did that, like, did they just think like, wait, like, Drago has way more legs than I thought, or do they think like, oh, Like, Marado is harder to play than I thought. Like maybe if I play it like this like, I'll do I don't know like, I'm not sure what

Liam: 35:22

yeah, no,

Abaan: 35:23

the community takeaway was, but I thought it was

Liam: 35:25

I was thinking that, like, the bravery charm, like, the best spot for it is literally, like, at the bottom of the deck. Like, you have to play it, and you just pray to god you never see it the entire game. Just, like, let it sit there, you know?

Abaan: 35:38

Yeah, exactly. He was so worried about getting razzarted, but like, I think that's that was

Liam: 35:42

literally the best find for you. Like, you're begging for a Radsart, desperately need it.

Abaan: 35:47

like that right? You just go, Gus, I don't know, somehow Raikou kills something, then Bear kills something with Gus, like, if you can't get it done like that, you're

Liam: 35:54

is insane. It's exactly like the Radzard in that it's something that, it's, it's an invincible wall. You can never hit into it, right? Except it doesn't take a knockout, but it stays on pace. Like,

Abaan: 36:04

exactly.

Liam: 36:06

it does everything.

Abaan: 36:07

I have no clue why he was so obsessed with, like, not letting the Maraadon die to Radzard. And, like, not to mention Ian would have to, like, grind just so many resources to set up Radzard, or, like, as it were to beat Drago. Like, I really, I don't know what he was thinking, but, like I don't know, if you're like an average player watching that, like, what's the takeaway? Like, do you just think like, oh, Drago's like, Moraydon, like, maybe a second bravery charm? Or like, I don't know, like, I, I'm curious, like.

Liam: 36:32

I think there is, there is some takeaway of Dragos that, like, every time, I think Ian managed to pull it off, like, one of the games, or like, maybe it was because, um, like, maybe he was close to pulling it off and I was just, like, thinking it, but like, I, I don't know. I feel like I, like, I forget this part of, like, the, um, the Draugr win percentage against these, like, Maraenon decks, or, like, these beat sticks, is also, like, a turn one hit, right, like, turn one 130 or turn one Ogre Pawn, like, in, into a lot of starters, that's just, like, game winning,

Abaan: 37:07

Yeah, yeah, you, you make it happen with Kirim after, like, ooh.

Liam: 37:10

Damn, bro, that's like, you have like real winning lines until like they get first hit and you always win when you get first hit, bro. Jeez, man. It's like,

Abaan: 37:21

I don't know, you don't always, when you get first hit, like, you stretch, and then you Drago for 130, and you

Liam: 37:24

Yeah, no, you have to draw pretty well, right? But like, you have I don't know, it's, maybe there's a leak of mine as a player, right? Um, but I, I always like to be like, in control of the, in control of the prize trade, right? Because I, um, I think,

Abaan: 37:41

Then they're just watching you, I

Liam: 37:42

you get to be the main character,

Abaan: 37:43

Yeah, they're just watching you. Like, does he have it? Oh, he has it again. Shucks. You never want to be the guy on the other side like, I hope he doesn't have boss energy. Oh man, he had it.

Liam: 37:54

Right?

Abaan: 37:55

want to be the guy being like, just on the slip, bro. I have it.

Liam: 38:01

like, yeah, no, exactly, it's um, When you're on the other side, it's terrible, right? You're like, Jesus Christ, Rowan. Oh my God, no, he gets to He just drew, like, an extra card? I guess he's just gonna, like, have it now. And then, yeah, they always have it, right? Like, sometimes they don't have it. Or, like, the worst scenario is when they mess up their sequencing, and you can tell, and then they have it anyway. UGH! I had one of those games earlier, um, this week and like they like messed up their sequencing they were still drawing like two thirds of their deck there was like 15 cards they drew like 10 but they like slightly messed up so that they they drew from like 15 instead of 14 then i was like god bro i can't believe they had it bruh they were digging for like you know three outs or something bro

Abaan: 38:50

Dude, Liam's

Liam: 38:50

never punished i guess bro

Abaan: 38:52

like, his favorite line is like, he'll Iona you into a deck of like, 30 outs, and maybe your deck's like 33 cards. He loves saying, nice rip bro. It like, I don't know why, it like, it always gets to me. Like I was, I'd be like, bro, I'm like, Ultrabotting for like a Lumini on here. Like, I could've, I could've hit the Lumi, the support I'm looking for. Like, also like, my hand before the Ayano was like, no good cards. Like, my odds were like, close to like

Liam: 39:17

was locked here

Abaan: 39:18

Yeah, I was locked to win. And then he just goes, nice rip bro. And I just, I start fuming. It's a, it's a good line though. It's, I don't know, it's like, it's just a good line. Um, what other decks are there for Oh, what do you think about that new Roaring Moon thing? I know right after Worlds you thought it was like, the best deck ever. You kind of cooled down on that, or?

Liam: 39:43

Yeah, I mean, I think it's good. I think it's really 6, though. Um, it's just, it's kind of like what you said, like, there's not a lot of differentiation between the P6. Like, it has some slight advantages, right? And I think those are lit. But it's not, like, that much better than everything else, you know?

Abaan: 40:02

Dude, you know what's hilarious to me? There's people who's like, enjoyment of Pokemon, unironically, is like, playing these Beastics into each other, and like, they have like, a hundred games of like, Bolt into Moon, a hundred games of Maridon into Bolt, and like, a hundred games of like, Moon into Maridon, and they're just like, they're like, connoisseurs of the difference between the Beastics. It's like They can tell you confidently, like, oh yeah, Moon's like a 52 percent favorite into Moriartyn. Like, but, dude, I have no clue what goes on in there, like, I, I, I just try to like, avoid the B6 matches with like a, as far, I stay as far away as possible, so. I'm actually like curious, like, what

Liam: 40:33

yeah, I actually don't think I've played a single game of those.

Abaan: 40:36

Yeah, I can see him.

Liam: 40:38

maybe, yeah, like, since Worlds, bro, like,

Abaan: 40:40

Oh no, remember when I was trying to climb to like, Arceus as fast as possible on my main account, and I was playing Moriartyn?

Liam: 40:46

oh yeah, you were playing at the time of Dawn, yeah, I think I played a few games with that Turbo Moondeck, and maybe I hit a Fellow Beatstick at some point, but like, yeah, I, since that, I definitely haven't played any games with a Beatstick, so. Um, that wasn't into like, you know, art testing, right?

Abaan: 41:05

I will say that Ancient Box, Ancient Box popularity cooks this a little bit. But like, I feel like some people might be listening to this podcast just to like, hear the Dango update. I'm not sure like how many people that is, but like, I think there's probably some subset who's like interested. I think uh, Dango's still good. Dango's still really good. Like, your Ancient Box matchup is beyond terrible, so like if that's actually like number three, you can't play Dango. But, I mean, there's I don't know, like, none of the other matches got worse, like, Drago's, like, the same thing it was, it was, like, slightly favored. All the Beastics are, like, extremely favored. Uh, yeah, I don't think, uh, I don't think there's anything

Liam: 41:41

yeah, I think, I think Dinka was actually pretty sick. But yeah, I don't like the, uh, the Ancient Books matchup.

Abaan: 41:49

Dude, why does that deck get populated, dude? Like, it's the same one Okay, actually, the other the next question is Lugia. Like, I've been, like, treating Lugia like it's not gonna be a deck, but that's probably incorrect. I'm not sure where to

Liam: 41:59

yeah, I actually, I don't know, I saw, I saw Cash put out like the, um, the weekly online summary or whatever, and Lugia was actually like number three. Um,

Abaan: 42:09

right, we're putting the Jaffa Moat back in. All right, brother.

Liam: 42:12

I, I never cut it, bro. Um,

Abaan: 42:14

my goodness.

Liam: 42:17

yeah, I think, I think it's too late for the, uh, the Mirror and the, uh, the

Abaan: 42:21

The mirror, as in like, you know, you and me playing Finals. You're gonna have Jok'Mo, I'm gonna have Cutted.

Liam: 42:26

really, really any, like, um, Pidget with, uh, like, DTEs, right?

Abaan: 42:33

Dude, I can't even conceptualize

Liam: 42:34

like, the Mists, like,

Abaan: 42:35

by the way. Because the miss is important, and the DT is important, right? You don't want to get Devo'd. Yeah, it's so

Liam: 42:41

eh, dude, ah, you always get max value out of the Jack of Hearts, it's so lame, like, ah,

Abaan: 42:46

No, I think you're just not allowed to miss the Pidget. You literally cannot miss the Pidget. You just have to tank the Devo to the face.

Liam: 42:53

yes, but also, like, all the Pidget decks are only playing Toucandy, like, or

Abaan: 42:58

Yeah, yeah, I know. No, I know, I'm like, I thought about this for a while, actually, like, but you literally can't afford to.

Liam: 43:05

so, like, it's lame,

Abaan: 43:07

they're not playing all that, bro. They're not playing that.

Liam: 43:12

There's a lot of people that I think, I

Abaan: 43:13

No, no, we don't lose this entry, by the way. Like, at all. We add a city, we add a city.

Liam: 43:18

We don't have VAC right now.

Abaan: 43:21

Oh my god, they're caping the, oh, that's actually, that's, that's smart, yeah, yeah. Obviously if they do that, you're cooked.

Liam: 43:27

Yeah.

Abaan: 43:28

But sometimes they don't think it through like that. They don't expect the city.

Liam: 43:31

then you get them, and you get them game one. Game two is never finishing, youngblood. Ah!

Abaan: 43:36

Hold on. Yeah, basically what you said, but not in so many words. Yeah, I think it done, that matchup. But yeah, what is the Lugia matchup spread? Like, I feel like I don't play enough Lugia to even understand. Every Drago under the sun was playing Sinnoh at Worlds, but maybe that's, like, gonna change.

Liam: 43:54

Yeah, I don't know. I think, I think it's not helpful to conceptualize like the Lugia like matchup spread as like numbers, but more like, what do you win? It's like, well, these beatsticks are like bad, but if you think you're gonna, you're gonna rip fire, bro, they're actually really good. like, same with Drago. Same with, um, pretty much your entire matchup spread, I think. Um, yeah, yeah, no, I, Ancient you can call just straight favored. Um,

Abaan: 44:23

do you think? The list, but like Second Bear is like good enough. I think Second Bear is like mandatory right at this point.

Liam: 44:29

I love Second Bear, um, and yeah,

Abaan: 44:32

I mean, we've always thought it was mandatory. It just no one, no one cares. They're all just running the list.

Brent: 44:38

So if I told you you were going to draw absolute fire the entire tournament, what deck would you play?

Liam: 44:45

maybe Lugia,

Brent: 44:46

Yeah, that's why I asked,

Liam: 44:48

But also,

Brent: 44:48

Lugia, if you knew you were going to have perfect draws every turn, Lugia is like the greatest thing

Abaan: 44:53

what? No. If I knew I had Perfect draws every turn, I play Draga.

Liam: 44:57

I don't, I don't even, it doesn't even matter what I play, like, if you have perfect draws every turn, like, you literally can't lose with whatever deck you have, like, all the decks are pretty

Brent: 45:04

Oh yeah, yeah, I mean, if you're going to outdraw

Abaan: 45:06

No, no. You can lose with, uh, you can lose with Box because inch

Brent: 45:10

what I was thinking. Why would you play Ancient Box? It takes you so long. If you're going to have perfect draws, you might as well win in two turns.

Liam: 45:19

yeah, I, I play, like, Dawn or something, like, you can get there with any of the beatsticks if you're, like, guaranteed to turn one with the Prime or, like, the catcher heads every single time, like

Abaan: 45:29

Yeah, every Iona, you just have boss, energy, generator,

Liam: 45:32

Yeah, all right, like, you get there with the beat sticks, you get there with anything.

Abaan: 45:37

I think actually, no, but I'm interested in the concept of your question. I think Draw goes like an immature answer, let me think. I think it's, Has to be like, bold, actually, right? Like, The fact that you could, like, with Perfect Draws, one shot everything, And I assume Perfect Draws includes just, you get to go second, like, You get to one shot everything, and like, you can guess every time, I don't know, is bold, like, the play? I don't know.

Liam: 45:57

Dude, feel like I always win the flips, bro, and then, but my last major event at Worlds, I lost, like, I think I lost, like, every flip, bruh. Like, yeah, bro. It's

Brent: 46:09

Well, I mean, you're wondering why you did poorly. Like, there you go. I mean, I do, right? Like, part of why I ask is, I mean, at some level, I mean, you have to draw well to win. Like, that's how the game is played, right? Like, if you were going to draw poorly, I don't know if, like, there's a deck you can choose that's going to fix those problems.

Abaan: 46:27

Nah, bro. Play Block Clack, get it done. You just win like half your games anyways. I look at my hand, they're just so atrocious, but then my opponent just like, creates a liability. I was just sitting there, with nothing.

Liam: 46:37

yeah, like, I know, right? You, like, look at the hand, you're like, the only thing I'm gonna do for the next, like, three turns is, like, Bench Block lacks, and like, maybe it's Penny, but it's Boss, right? And like,

Abaan: 46:48

They vomit all over themselves and like,

Liam: 46:50

somehow get it done, bro.

Brent: 46:52

Yeah,

Abaan: 46:52

think Block Clacks is the, like, I'm gonna draw bad, I'm gonna somehow still make it happen.

Brent: 46:56

right. Alright, you know, if you feel like you have a deck where you can outplay people, that's the sauce right there.

Abaan: 47:02

Oh yeah, we're playing it. Liam and I are locked.

Liam: 47:04

deck is like, actually like, pretty consistent, too. Like, I feel like every time I draw like, these like, actual atrocious, like, double gear, double miss hands, I'm like, able to like, you know, just, you know, take them on the chin and just be like, or like, turn the other cheek, whatever, um, the saying is, and like, like, It's not happening again, bro. And then just like, boom, five, six, seven, eight, nine games. We're like, just, wow.

Abaan: 47:25

I mean, getting 2500 ELO, like, I think ELO is, like, fake on live, like, it doesn't really matter, but, like, there's something to be said for, like, how are you winning games? Like, your deck can't be that bad if you're winning, because, like, you need a certain level of draws to, like, get it done, you know?

Liam: 47:39

Yeah, um, I agree. I think, well, yeah, I think like, once you reach a certain, a certain bar, and like, that bar is not 51%, right, win rate. It's like, it's a little bit higher than that, like, You know, your ladder ELO can like, directly correlate to how much time you spend on the ladder, right?

Abaan: 47:58

Yeah.

Liam: 47:59

um, yeah, I think like, you, if you're not like, actually like, 24 7ing, it's um, your ladder ELO grows a lot more when your deck is like, functioning and able to like, win a lot of games from behind, um, and like, You know, better able to deal with variants, right?

Abaan: 48:17

The other thing is I would, like, I wish I could take out is, like, when you, like, play against a Mirado, you're, like, cooked, you're, like, like, a Mirado is, like, the example off the top of my head, you're, like, super cooked, they bench Mew, bench lock themselves, and you just, like, sit there with your Mimi Mist, and you're, like, I won this game, but, I'm not sure if this

Liam: 48:34

Dude, that's actually, like, never happened to me. The more common mistake I've run into when I, like, hit these Dawn players is I, like, flip over the Mimikyu, and they're like, um, and they just, like, instantly, like, stop going for, like, anything except the Zapdos, bro. They're just like, boom, gen, gen, gen, Zapdos, Kaya, and then I, like, shove the lax and I just, like, get to sit there.

Abaan: 48:56

I don't know, I think the thing about using Orbs and stuff is, maybe I'm just not high enough, bro, but that happens a lot. It happens way too often, actually. Like, they see the Mimmy and they Nest Ball for the Mew, and then they fill their bench. Or they leave a spot open and you just, like, go, like, I'll grab, like, Flute, uh, Sealstone, Flute, like, any Pokemon that isn't Zapdos, then, like, Nest Ball for a V, Sealstone for the Mist, and just pass. And win the game. Like, without doing anything.

Liam: 49:21

Yeah,

Abaan: 49:23

I mean, I'm not sure how much we want to get into the list, by the way. But like, if you're trying to build a Pidgeot list, one flute is the secret sauce, bro. One flute is, like, the truth.

Liam: 49:32

Dude, the, yeah, that thing actually has been going crazy, bro. I'm not gonna hold you like,

Abaan: 49:36

I'm not gonna put any more than one, but one is perfect.

Liam: 49:39

yeah bro and flute, Pidget, Silene, Flute, like, you just get the like, flute so off, Pow

Abaan: 49:46

I don't do that very often. I don't think I can't even remember the last time I started leading a flute. That that's just, like, terrible. Yeah, bro, I I just hit it the first time, bro.

Liam: 49:55

so aggressively recently, I like, um,

Abaan: 49:58

What matchup?

Liam: 49:59

like, specifically versus like Ancient Box Andrago,

Abaan: 50:03

Nah, bro, exactly. Okay, I know exactly what you think that. I just hit it the first time. I hit exactly what I'm looking for the first time. I

Liam: 50:12

the first time, then I'm like, ugh,

Abaan: 50:14

don't do all that. I just don't do that. I assume if I miss the first time, that means the Pokemon's in their hand already, and like, especially Ancient Box, there's nothing to do about it,

Liam: 50:24

you go, go and try and root the Arrakis,

Abaan: 50:25

Yeah. That's seemingly good enough. Get it done.

Liam: 50:31

Yeah. Dude, I don't know why, like, this is like multiple times this has happened to me against AncientBox, because AncientBox all over the ladder. Right? Last few days though, I like, I literally like, turn three, Erika's plus Flute. I'm looking at your entire deck right now, bro. No hits somehow, bro? Like,

Abaan: 50:49

And they're just bored as like, Moon Moon.

Liam: 50:52

yeah, yeah,

Abaan: 50:53

the weirdest thing is like, sometimes you just If they refuse to play, but they're taking prizes, and then you just like, hit them with an Ursaluna, and they're just like, oh man, I probably shouldn't have gone into range of Ursaluna so fast. Oops. I lose.

Liam: 51:05

exactly, right? They're hitting for like 150. They have like one moon down, no energy on the bench, and Iona to three, Blood Moon.

Abaan: 51:11

exactly. dude, the amo And that's what makes me disrespect Bladder, it's oh my god, yes, I won this game, but This was so useless, like, I don't, I don't know, you're, but then I play out of regional and I was like, ah, no, ladder is actually the useful one. The testing with my friends, like, the private testing was like the one that was unrealistic.

Liam: 51:28

Yeah, like, I, I, I think like, it's because it's so hard to recognize um,

Abaan: 51:35

They need that take

Liam: 51:36

what stuff's illegal, like, or like,

Abaan: 51:37

need that take back.

Liam: 51:39

no, nobody ever wants to go for the slow route in, in person, right? Like, going for the slow route, especially at like the start of games, is like, terrifying, right? Near the end of the game, where like, okay, like, I can only get punished

Abaan: 51:52

the end.

Liam: 51:53

combo minimum, and they have like five cards total left in like their hand and deck, right? Like, You know, I'll just call it right here. Pass, bro. You're a god, right? But like, um, at the start of the game, going for like the slow route, and like, not even just like the slow route, but like, not even like where you're making like a patient call with like, I'm gonna go like Candy Pidge, Pidge Charmeleon, instead of like Candy Zard and try and like run you over for some reason, right? But like, actually going for like something that's like seriously slow, just so you like never open yourself up to some like random play, is like very, very difficult to do in person, you know, or like in an event.

Abaan: 52:29

It's, because it's so upsetting, the idea that you had a hand that was fast enough. But you, like, slowed it down at loss, but the opposite doesn't, like, upset people for some reason. Like, you just went really fast and your opponent, like, answers you,

Liam: 52:41

And then they like, they hit the punish, bro. Well done. You know,

Brent: 52:44

Yeah,

Abaan: 52:45

They love that.

Brent: 52:46

it's just so, going slow is terrifying, right? If you, if you lose to who you think is objectively worse than you, and you're I could have done that, and then, and then I didn't, it's just regret all day, right?

Abaan: 52:57

Yeah, I'm not a victim to that. I truly feel nothing. I just make the good play and, like, if it's slow, is it fast? Like, I don't find that, like, an issue. And then if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. I don't feel I feel like that's like, it's a trap. Like, I'm not even that cracked at the game or anything, but like, I think that's a bad player trap. Like, to think, like, to feel like the mode of game, like, makes you feel worse or better. All

Brent: 53:22

guys, we've been going for 55 minutes, and I got stuff to do. We got to call it the John Paul's Hour outro. We'll be back next week with people's travel plans for Baltimore,

Abaan: 53:33

right.

53:34

Riverside, it's so pretty. Lookin here, we gotta get me to life. When you talk to me, I listen. Stare straight ahead, trying to pretend. I got something to say, but I'm tellin you no lies. My mind is just a little mellow. I'm the beast and I'm waking you up, If I left three tips, you'd tear three lips. Now I'm drunk, naked, and hanging from a tree, Found it on a chest, a carpet on the leaves, but, Where you wear your hats, I'm charming, You can make your name a star farmer, Put the crocs in the ground, and put a raisin up, Build a roof up above, and put a raisin up, Yeah, I'm drunk. I got two arms, wanna pick em up. I got two legs, I'll teach em how to jump. I got two legs, I'll teach em how to jump and I'm in the sun, boy, let me start. I'm in the sun, boy, let me start. It is what it is, it does what it does. Yeah, it's what it's got, we just call it art.