Let me tell you a little story. About 10:00 am this morning, I woke up. I went over to the window, looked out and saw that it was a lovely sunny day. As I turned around, something hard and painful smacked me in the side of the head. I recovered, bent down and picked it up off the floor. It was reality. It reminded me that I have no life, and that I was going to sit down at my computer on this perfect day and write an article to Pojo about Neo Discovery. So here I am, sitting in my comfortable computer chair, eating cake (mmmm.....chocolate) and typing my latest misguided thoughts about the game that we call Pokemon. I can guess that there are probably five possible reasons why you are reading this article:

A) You have no life and have nothing better to do

B) You want to laugh at some amateur player’s badly written article

C) You actually care about my opinion and what I have to say

D) You accidentally clicked on the link

E) You were gonna read this article until you saw who wrote it

Those of you in categories B, D and E can leave now. There are plenty of other better ways you could be spending your time. Why not check out some of the other features of this wonderful Pojo site? I am sure you have something more important to do than read a few more pages of my drivel.....

Ok then, back to business. Firstly, may I just say a HUGE thank you to Pojo for posting my last article in the Featured Articles Section. Also thank you to those who replied to my article, I have received so many e-mails. Sorry that I don’t have time to reply to you all, but please realise that I do read all of them, and I appreciate hearing your opinions.

As you may recall, my last article concerned the format for the ECSTS. This event was held recently in New Jersey over two days, and from most of the reports I have read, it was a fabulous event. I think I will be the first to point out before anyone else does that I WAS SO WRONG in my article. Sure, Steelix and Slowking were both prominent players on both day, both making the top eight in several divisions. However, like many others, I did not predict that Feraligatr, the mighty Riptider, would steal the show. In this format, Feraligatr was able to dominate games, with 120 HP and brute strength toppling many Slowkings and Steelixes, among an assortment of other fire decks. With Blaine’s Arcanine and Steelix so rampant, nobody was going to use grass, leaving the door wide open for Feraligatr. Anyway, from what I have read so far, it sounds like the STS was a wonderful event, with great competition and fun events. WOTC may not be able to print Scizor correctly, but they sure do know how to run a Super Trainer Showdown!

With the STS now over, life returns to normal, and players are starting to focus on the newly released set of Neo Discovery in regular US Standard competition. This is a relatively small set, consisting of just over 50 cards, but a few cards are going to make a decent impact on the environment. My article today is going to focus on the way in which Neo Discovery affects today’s playing environment.

Before we look at Neo Discovery, I am going to refresh your memories about what the game was like before this set’s release. Neo Genesis brought more positive things to the game than any set previously released, although with it came some new problems. These were the dominant decktypes after the release of Neo Genesis:

Sneasel Haymaker This pokemon added heaps to the speed of haymaker decks, allowing them to hit for huge damage on turn two. This deck was very popular, played commonly by those who couldn’t think up anything better. It was a solid deck, but never able to achieve much consistency without the aid of hand manipulation.

Dark Vileplume Cleffa allowed Dark Vileplume to function more effectively, allowing the player to draw cards after the Plume had been played. Sneasel and Murkrow were commonly used in this deck, using free retreaters with Dark Gloom to confuse their opponent’s active pokemon, and then preventing the opponent from retreating. This was a powerful deck type, able to beat Slowking consistently, although it never achieved the same popularity, because it did not give total control to one player.

Trapper You may argue that Cleffa killed trap, and in a way it did, but this deck still proved to be dangerous. Unless you picked up a Cleffa in your starting hand, a trap deck could put you in trouble if your opponent started. Even if you did have Cleffa, you had to pick up an energy after being trapped to be able to Eeeeeeek. Using Sneasel as a beatdown, this deck won a lot of games, but the fact that it was so reliant on starting meant it was unable to achieve a great level of consistency.

Clefable Yes, with the popularity of Rocket’s Zapdos and Sneasel, a good Clefable deck armed with Energy Removals was effective. Sprout Tower of course hurt it, but with countergyms this was often not too hard to work around. Although never hugely popular, this deck could be deadly to many archetypical decks when played correctly.

Arithmetic Rocket’s Zapdos and Metal Energy was quite powerful with Gold Berry, allowing damage to be removed, while still dealing 60 a turn. Of course this deck was hurt by Energy Removal, but the removal type of deck seemed less common at this time, overshadowed by the Ecogyms of Sneasel decks.

Wigglytuff Injured by Sprout Tower, Wigglytuff was not played as often as perhaps it should have been. Able to knockout Sneasels in one hit, Wigglytuff was often ignored by players seeking the damaging power of Darkness Energy. Still a powerful deck, always dangerous against those who didn’t play Energy Removals or Sprout Tower.

Steelix I only include this deck because I did see it played quite a lot, even though it was never very powerful. A Steelix deck bet on the fact that your opponent did not use Energy Removals, as was the case in most Sneasel Haymakers. Dangerous at times, this deck could become unstoppable when it got started. Unfortunately, this never happened enough to make it consistent at a high level of play.

Slowking Well, I saved the most powerful to last. Slowking dominated after the release of Neo Genesis, no matter what anyone else tries to tell you. The sheer power of this thing was incredible, turning a lot of games into a lottery, where whoever started and got their Slowkings out first won. A good Slowking deck, with Sneasel and sometimes Murkrow, was very hard to beat without Muk, Magby, or some really lucky coin flipping. This deck was horribly unfair, giving total control to one player, and generally became known as the newest and most annoying archetype. Its use was widespread, combined with not only Darkness pokemon but also Wigglytuff, and even Moltres. There were few ways to counter this deck, allowing it to dominate the environment.

Now of course there were other decks, but those mentioned above seemed to be the main ones played. Although WOTC had given us Cleffa to help fight against trap decks, they had also provided us with a new problem, Slowking. As per usual though, they have eliminated this problem in the next set released, Neo Discovery. For once, perhaps WOTC have eliminated a problem from the game without creating a new one.........I hope...........

This set has definitely had an effect on the environment, although there are few very influential cards in the set. The card of the moment is of course, Igglybuff. This little balloon has single-handedly destroyed Slowking and Dark Vileplume decks. I think this would be a suitable place for a round of applause............

Not only does Igglybuff stop Slowking and Plume, it also acts to stop some less dominant pokemon powers. Although Igglybuff’s power only stops pokemon powers of one of your opponent’s bench from working, you can still use this power and then Gust of Wind out an Erika’s Dratini or Ditto for example, to get the knockout.

The other cards in this set that are going to make a difference, are Unowns N and D. Thanks to these little friends, the power of Wigglytuff, Sneasel and Clefable is reduced. Unless of course, your opponent has an Igglybuff to stop the Unowns from doing anything.

Probably the last cards of note in Neo Discovery are Tyrogue, nice against Wiggly and Clefable, Scizor, which is useless because it was misprinted (thanks WOTC), Foretress, which cannot even be used with Gust of Wind in a combo and gets beaten by Igglybuff anyway, Tyranitar which you’ll never get DDCC on, and Yanma, which is unlikely to see much play due to it requiring grass energy, although it could be useful in taking out baby pokemon.

The last card I want to mention before I begin talking about combos, is Fossil Egg. This card had the potential to be great. What could be better than an Aerodactyl on turn one? Well, unfortunately, it actually won’t do anything, because Igglybuff can ensure that your opponent will continue to evolve at their will. This is an unfortunate price to pay for the destruction of Slowking and Plume........

There are many combos and cards that can be used effectively, when combining Neo Discovery cards with cards from other sets.

Tyranitar/Unown D Yes I’ll deal 70 damage and ko my opponent’s bench while doing nothing to myself.....

Foretress/Dark Vileplume Confuse your opponent’s active pokemon, forcing it to take damage when it retreats

Hyper Devolution Spray Could be useful when combined with Dark Golbat, or perhaps Meganium L54, or other pokemon that have effects when they come into play. However I don’t think we will see the true power of this card until Neo Revelation is released, with Blissey

Fossil Egg/Aerodactyl Very useful, preventing evolution on turn one

Tyrogue/Focus Band KO Jigglypuff in one hit, play flipping games with Chansey and Clefable.....

Yanma/Rocket’s Minefield Gym No more baby pokemon

Igglybuff/Gust of Wind Take out pokemon with pokemon powers that you normally wouldn’t be able to

Pichu I just had to add this in here to show everyone that Igglybuff and Unowns D and N will not completely dominate......

That summarises most of the combos from Neo Discovery, although you may notice that I have left one off the list. I wanted to do a separate piece about this particular combo, and how powerful it is. This combo features our fluffy plump cute friend from Base Set, Chansey, combined with some other Neo cards......

- Chansey

- Unown N

- Metal Energy

- Gold Berry.

Steel Chansey did exist before the release of Neo Discovery, in the form of Arithmetic, although it is Unown N which has strengthened the deck so much. Also, now that Dark Vileplume and Slowking are gone, the risk of Sprout Tower being locked in play is gone. The whole point of this deck is of course, dealing huge amounts of damage. If you have a Chansey powered, with perhaps a Double Colourless Energy, Recycle Energy and Metal Energy, with Unown N in play, you can deal 70 damage to your opponent while only taking 30 damage yourself. That is four pokemon you can take out, and with a Gold Berry, the Chansey’s lifespan is increased. Not bad, huh?

Not only that, but Chansey is also a great staller, protecting itself while you power it up. It can take huge amounts of damage while you build up another pokemon. Then a simple Scoop Up and you are ready to start hitting. Of course, Chansey is prone to Energy Removals, but with Energy Charge you can take them back, because in a Steel Chansey deck you don’t need evolution, allowing space for cards like Energy Charge or perhaps even Defender.

Your opponent will be loathe to bring out a pokemon with less than 90 HP, knowing that a Chansey is waiting to strike, with a few Recycle Energies on it. Without a Metal Energy, you can still deal 80 damage, and an Unown N in play helps you nicely, by reducing the damage you take to 50, a much more manageable sum. Whatever your opponents play, chances are a Chansey and a Gust of Wind will be able to cause them trouble. I am a huge fan of this deck, not only because it is powerful, but because it is FAIR. Unlike Trapper and Slowking decks, Steel Chansey gives your opponents a fair chance, but then just knocks them to the ground. Your opponent can play whatever they like, but that Chansey will still be sitting there grinning away. For once, a truly powerful deck does NOT need hand manipulation to be successful. The last time I saw a deck like this would be a long time ago, when Raindance was invented. But let’s be honest.......Chansey is so much CUTER than Blastoise!!!!!

The only real weaknesses of Steel Chansey appear to be:

Sprout Tower Countergyms anyone? And besides, for baby pokemon it can be quite nice dealing 30 less to yourself.....

Energy Removals Recycle Energies and Energy Charge can help here

Tyrogue This could be really annoying, although I have never actually even seen it used in a deck.....

Pichu This could prove to be annoying by removing your Unowns without them even becoming active

Gligar/Hitmonchan Hitmonchan is never used, and Gligar can be overcome easily with Scyther

Apart from Steel Chansey, which has and will probably continue to be used increasingly, what other deck types are going to be effective now after the release of Neo Discovery? From my recent play experience, I can tell you that Slowking and Dark Vileplume have thankfully died, everyone is too paranoid about Igglybuff.

Clefable People no longer use four Sprout Tower and four Item Finder in every deck, allowing this deck to come back to power along with Wigglytuff. A good Clefable deck can be extremely difficult to beat, because it can everything you can do for less energy. I have played quite a few well constructed Clefable decks recently, although Unown N does hurt it considerably.

Haymaker I have seen quite a lot of Haymaker decks lately, and not all of them use Sneasel. Some have returned to the Electabuzz and Rocket’s Zapdos way of life, using Ditto, Gligar and Scyther, and Gold Berries to keep them in play longer. This seems to work wonders, and Electabuzz can quickly tear through baby pokemon with a Lightning and Recycle Energy.

Wigglytuff Once again, people have started to see the power of this card, and it has come into favour with many players. Sprout Tower is still around, but Igglybuff can be used to stop Unown N, as with Clefable decks. I think this deck could reclaim the power that it once held.

Surprisingly, most of the decks I have played since Neo Discovery’s release fall into one of the above categories. Of course there are lots of variations of Haymaker decks, and even with Wigglytuff and Clefable, variations can include Chaos Gym, Lass and Cleffa, and varying energy types. There are many other different decks, which are not archetypical, although most of these decks could be consistently beaten by one of the above. The current play environment demands that every deck plays Energy Removals, to keep Sneasel, Steel Chansey, and Steel TR Zapdos from dominating. The bottom line is that with Slowking gone, it is nearly impossible to achieve consistency without Energy Removals.

Personally, I much prefer this environment to the one after Neo Genesis, because although some decks are still kind of overpowered, THESE DECKS ALL GIVE YOUR OPPONENT A REASONABLE CHANCE. And that, my friends, is what the game is all about. Both players are able to play their cards, and games are not won in the first few turns. With Slowking gone, and trap no longer as powerful and consistent, the level of skill demanded in the game has increased. Sure, you still need luck, but now you will find that the better player is winning most games, not the one with the most luck.

Apart from the few trap decks that remain, the only thing you can worry about is Lass and Cleffa, which is annoying, but not as devastating as other forms of hand manipulation. So from DRG3, the Neo Discovery set gets two thumbs up ^_^. May we look forward to the release of Neo Revelation (which unfortunately could screw up the environment again), and an entire set made up of 151 different Miltank cards......I wish.......^_^

At this point, you would probably expect me to do a short editorial on what Neo Discovery had added to No Rares competition. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but there isn’t one. Neo Discovery has added nothing that I haven’t already mentioned to No Rares. Igglybuff stops Erika’s Dratini, Tyrogue and Unown N hurt Erika’s Jigglypuff, but that is about all. Perhaps Eevee will provide an alternative method of evolution, probably only useful for Dark Jolteon or Dark Flareon. Hey......I did just do a short editorial didn’t I?

Well, having completed my article, and consumed an assortment of confectionary in the process, it is time for me to bid farewell once again. That means you can wake up now. HEY! I said you can wake up now! That’s better. Now, onto the formalities. As usual, you can e-mail me your comments and opinions at drg@xtra.xo.nz

Perhaps you have read this article, and still haven’t found anything that even remotely relates to any card game you have ever played in your entire existence. Or maybe, you understand what I am saying, but have figured out how hopelessly wrong I am. But if anyone out there has enjoyed this article, agreed with what I am saying, or has even been inspired to build a rogue Miltank deck, then I have done my job. I shall write again, as usual, when I see something that is worth commenting on, or when once again, I am struck by reality.........

Cheers

DRG3

PQOTW     "Americans have different ways of saying things.  They say "elevator", we say "lift" ... they say "President", we say "stupid psychopathic git." - Alexai Sayle