---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: Amanda Morgan <amanda@morgan22.demon.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 15:49:07 +0100

>Dear Aaron,
>          Ihave been colecting pokemon cards for a long time and want to
>enter some tornaments.Please tell me weather my deck's up to tornament
>standeds. Here it is.....
>
>Dark Dragonair x1
>Dratini x1
>Dark Arbok x1
>Ekens x1
>Beedrill x1
>Kakuna x1
>Weedle x1
>Vileplume x2
>Gloom x2
>Oddish(TR) x2
>Tangela x1
>Nidoqueen x1
>Nidorina x1
>Nidoran(F) x1
>Dark Gyarados x1
>Gyarados x1
>Magikarp x2
>Blastoise x1
>Wartortle x1
>Squirtle x1
>Articuno x1
>Poliwrath x1
>Poliwhirl x1
>Poliwag x1
>
>  12xWater energy
>  11xGrass energy
>  Full heal energy x1
>  Potion energy x2
>  1x Bill
>  1x Pokemon Trader
>  1x Nightly Garbage Run
>  1x Professor Oak
>  1x Goop Gas Attack
>  1x Pokedex
>
>
>            From James Morgan

-----------------------

This is as good a time as any to once again rant on Multiples...

As much as us mechanics enjoy getting decks like this (It's true! It's true!)  I'd just as soon never see one again.  We've all spoken on numerous occasions on multiples and while some people have different opinions on the subject... one thing is clear.

DECKS LIKE THIS DO NOT WIN!

What are the odds you will draw your only Dratini in your opening hand, or even during the duration of a game?  Since I was an English major in college I'm not even gonna try to do the math, but trust me when I tell you the chances AIN'T GOOD!  (It's True!  It's True!)

So, knowing that... what happens when you DO draw your Dragonnair or worst yet Dragonite and your lone Dratini is nowhere to be seen?

You get screwed, that's what.

To take this even one step further, assume your deck had NO evolution cards in it at all so you didn't have to worry about the above example.  In that case you could just throw 14 or so different basic Pokemon into a deck, right?  Yes you could, but why on earth would you? 

A much better strategy would be to figure out what the best cards are (check my articles on good picks) and use 4 of those cards!! 

Why?

Because you have a much better chance of drawing a card if you have 4 of them in a deck instead of just 1!  That's a good thing since we WANT to draw our good cards so we can win... right?!

So, for this deck my advice is simple... pick the cards in the deck you like most and play with multiples of them.  The ones that are left over, dump! 

Hope this helps(It's true! It's true!)...have fun!
Aaron