Hello all. I apologize for being away for a bit, but I had some minor
abdominal surgery and it's kept me laid up for the past few weeks. Let me
assure all who read this that, when the physician says "discomfort", that is
just doctor slang for "excruciating pain". Take this sentence: "This shot in
the groin will cause you some discomfort." You should interpret this to mean
"This shot in the groin will make you wish for a swarm of killer bees, hyped
up on tequila and Cuban cigars, to fly up your left nostril and take
residence in your sinus cavity." This is the kind of pain I was wishing for.
   To deal with the pain, they gave me Tylenol. This is like saying to the
pain, "Bad pain!! You stop being painful! Bad!" It only works in the minds
of dreamers and doctors who don't have to listen to the screams.
  I feel much better now, however, meaning that I am once again capable of
brushing my teeth without keeping them clenched for the entire time.
  With this newfound mobility, I thought I'd slowly make my way to the
office. For the past week or so, my secretary has been in charge and I kind
of half expected to see The Leningrad Circus in my waiting room, or a huge,
smoldering crater. I was hoping for the crater, honestly.
  Well, to my surprise everything is intact, and work was actually done.
Files were filed. Bills were paid. Photocopies were photocopied and without
gratuitous body parts in the pictures! So, this leaves me free to examine a
few decks. Let us slowly...ooh..that hurt..make our way into my office. I'll
hit myself over the head with a ballpeen hammer to dull the pain in my
abdomen and then we'll proceed.

>
>Name:Mewfusion
>Deck Name:Freezing Point
>Subj:Freezing Point-Need Help With Deck
>
>-Freezing Point
>
>Energy:
>
>24xWater Energy
>
>Pokemon:
>
>4x Squirtle
>1x Wartortle(Until I get another Breeder)
>2x Blastoise
>3x Magikarp
>2x Gyarados
>2x Articuno
>3x Lapras
>
>Trainers:
>2x Pokemon Breeder
>2x Pokemon Trader
>1x Comp. Search(I Brat Stole my Other one) >_<
>1x Lass
>3x Gust of Wind
>2x Prof. Oak
>3x Bill
>2x Recycle
>3x PlusPower
>
>Strategy:
>
>I use Gyarados instade of Dewgong to combat my weakness,but I don't
>lay down Magikarp unless I have Gyarados in my hand,because Magikarp
>is a easy "Gust of Wind" Target.  And I like Lass,because it lets me
>look at the oppnets hand so I can get ahead of the game,but I think
>I need one more,and Like most people that play a RainDance I use PlusPowers
>to kill Hitmonchan,Electabuzz and Scyther in one hit.
>But,I don't think I need those Recycles,I mean Heads,get a card out
>of your discard pile and put in on top of your deck,tails nothing.
>And Duh,Like all RainDance I try to get Blastoise on the second turn.
>So Please help me with my deck,Thank you.
>______________________________________________________
>
  Let me sit down...YEArrgh...aaahhhh....OK. This deck is decent. But it
could use a few touches here and there.

  Team Rocket is out and will no doubt reshape the tournament environment
somewhat. Raindance didn't receive anything tremendous. Most of the new
tactics work best with Wigglytuff or combo decks. However Raindance did get
Dark Blastoise, a battleship that can whomp an enemy for up to 70 risk free
damage. Consider this guy.

  I'd remove the Magikarp/Gyarados line personally. If you still feel the
need to use Magikarp, use the new Rocket variety. It can rapidly evolve into
Gyarados for 3 Water Energy, which Gyarados will need anyway. It has
slightly higher HP and a useable attack too. But I would just eliminate them
altogether from this deck. Yuo don't really need them. Articuno has the same
lack of weakness and Fighting resistance, without the Magikarp problem.
  Place in one more Wartortle. He's not bad really, and with players getting
wise to Raindance by using Lass to whisk away your Pokemon Breeders, you may
need to evolve naturally. The new Sneak Attack won't help you either, since
it's a slightly different Lass in effect.
  I'd try to get a hold of at least 1 Dark Blastoise also. Late in the game,
he can clean house for you.

  Now your TraAIeeee!! That one hurt a lot. I guess I can't bend that way in
this chair. I learn new things every day. Things such as I just should have
lived with the ulcers. OK, I think I'm better now. As I was starting to say,
your Trainers aren't bad, but there is need for some improvement.
  You definitely need 2 more Pokemon Breeders. You must have 4 to make this
deck operate efficiently. Any less and you're taking chances of not getting
it when you need to.
   Add another Bill. Card drawing is important to Raindance and Bill is a
sweet deal. 1 card for 2 new ones. That's great.
   Put in another Computer Search. Early on, it's crucial to find either
that Pokemon Breeder, Blastoise or Professor Oak to get the game going your
way. Computer Search will help you find the card you need.
   Remove the Lass. It will only hurt you. Your main goal is to hit fast and
hard with Blastoise, Articuno and Lapras. Removing your own Trainers will
NOT help this out any.
   The Recycles are a step in the right direction for Raindance. Often
you'll speed through your deck looking for cards and Energy. But in Team
Rocket, the new Nightly Garbage Retrieval is an even better option. For one
card, you can place up to any combo of three Energy, Basics or Evolutions
back into your deck. This gives you more gameplay in terms of turns and gets
back those guys who were KO'd early on, like Lapras. Put in 3 N.G.R.'s.
   PlusPower is a decent idea, but I don't see a way to fit them in with the
other cards that make Raindance the monster it is. You need a couple of Item
Finders to make sure you can get back Gusts of Wind or Breeders in the later
game. PlusPower is a great early game card, but Raindance focuses upon the
middle to late game. Sorry, Item Finder wins over PlusPower.

   Let's see if I can give you your revised decklist without screaming in
pain. Maybe I'll surprise myself. Or maybe I'll just pass out from the
torture. One never knows around here. Here goes..ow....

  4 Squirtles (Base set)
  2 Wartortles
  2 Blastoises
  1 Dark Blastoise
  2 Articunos
  3 Laprases (Lapri?)

  4 Bills
  2 Professor Oaks
  2 Pokemon Traders
  4 Pokemon Breeders
  3 Gusts of Wind
  2 Computer Searches
  3 Nightly Garbage Runs
  2 Item Finders

  24 Water Energy

  There you are. Your deck is cured, although I've got a long way to go.
There's not a lot of new strategy to Raindance, aside from watching for Lass
and Sneak Attack!. Team Rocket will definitely impact things a lot, but it's
too early to know exactly how the chips will fall. The best I can say is to
keep your eyes open to new things for the next month.
  Excuse me if I don't see you out of my office. I've decided to never move
again. Please tell my secretary to feed me twice a day and maybe point me
toward the window on sunny afternoons. Once I begin to feel better, I may
try to stand up and walk again, in say...5 years.

         Good...ow...Luck
         Dr. Crash Landon

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