----Original Message Follows---- First of all, my name is Eric Williamson and my email address is ericj@csranet.com. Now that that's out of the way, I just want to say that whatever jerk wrote that article about you (I just can't believe Bill even posted it!) needs to lighten up. I'm just waiting for a full Thrashfest because I have a feeling that's the only time I'll ever see any of my decks reviewed. Plus, they're just so funny! Don't listen to guys like that--they're just jealous because they don't play good enough to be good enough to even be considered to be a deck mechanic. (Now that the sucking up is out of the way, maybe you won't delete this message. Everything I said is true though.) The basic idea behind this deck is to screw with your opponent's head and pretty much shatter their strategy. I haven't had much experience with it (that's the price of living in a smaller city in South Carolina and being 18--no tourneys) except against my other two decks, a fire-water Eevee deck and an electric-psychic deck (which I'm overhauling into a fighting-something else deck). I know you're tempted to just close this message now and hit <<>> or to forward this to Thrashfest 99 (where I think every deck I have ever submitted ended up) but please just read my deck. I'm begging--I'm going off to college soon (two weeks) near a large city where there will be tourneys, and I want to actually have a tourney worthy deck before I go. So here goes… Most of the problems can easily be traced back to card stock. (I sell most all my holos to get money to buy more cards, and there aren't but five suppliers in my hometown, and two of those charge $4.99 per booster, and I just won't pay that, so I've only got 400 or so cards of which not enough are rare or grass energy. If I didn't love the color so much I'd just build a fire deck and be done with it.) The other problems are probably just inexperience. Nameless Deck Energy: 16x Grass Energy (Yes, I know it's not much. If I had more, I'd have them in.) 2x Double Colorless Energy Grass Pokemon: 3x Bulbasaur 2x Ivysaur 1x Venusaur (If I get him out, the energy problem is helped a lot!) 3x Bellsprout 2x Weepinbel 1x Victreebel (Real fun--Gust of Wind and acid are a deadly combo! Get out a weak guy and then keep aciding and he can't retreat it) Colorless Pokemon; 3x Pidgey (Whirlwind is pain!) 2x Pidgeotto (Ditto Pidgey) 1x Pidgeot (Hurricane is SO wicked--the other guy just spent the game building up Charizard, but now he's gone for at least three turns and can't attack for four!) 2x Doduo (Never play any energy on, just use to get Dodrio) 1x Dodrio (Never a fighter, just Retreat Aid) 2x Spearow 1x Fearow (I don't know about this one--he'd probably go first if I got more energy) 1x Chansey (Stall for Venusaur, although he'd probably go in favor of energy) 1x Clefairy (Good for late-game after Venusaur so that he can metronome on the turn he comes out.) 1x Tauros (He'd probably go, too, just like the Fearow tree) Trainers: 2x Energy Retrieval (Helps with the energy problem) 2x Energy Removal (Just plain mean!) 4x Gust of Wind (Ditto) 1x Computer Search (If I had more, I'd play them I think) 1x Pokemon Center (Great for late-game) 1x Pokemon Trader (Drawing power) 1x Imposter Professor Oak (Again, just plain mean) 2x Bill (Get the cards I want--I'd run four, but I just have the two) 1x Professor Oak (Ditto Bill, except for the four part. Two would be nice…) Well, that's my deck. It doesn't have a name. I was thinking maybe "Grass-Kicker," just because it's a fun pun. The other consideration is "Switcheroo" because that's what I usually do with it--switch my Pokemon, his Pokemon, my energy cards. It needs some help, but I think it'd work. I think I covered the basics (except for energy, but that's not my fault... and multiples of trainers... again not my fault... the only trainer I have a lot of is the all to useless Pokemon Flute...) I'd like to get an Exeggutor in here, and I have the Exeggutes to do it, but I just need the big guy. I also thought about dropping the Spearow/Fearow in favor of three Koffings or three Porygons. I also had the idea to add a little Psychic energy and drop the retrievals, Tauros, the Fearow Tree, and Chansey so that when I get Exeggute/Exeggutor in here I can use Hypnosis. Any advice on cards to drop or add would be welcome, but try to suggest some common and uncommon cards to add because I have almost all of the base set uncommons and all the base and jungle commons so card stock problems won't figure in. Another thought was to drop those same cards (except Chansey) and put in an Alakazam family with no psychic energy just to get to the pokemon power and be able to damage swap to Chansey and move any energy on him off for Pokemon Center and keep using him over and over that way, but I don't have an Alakazam. Let me know if you think that would help. Maybe I can get to a tourney soon, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I've learned that being 18 and playing Pokemon at tourneys generally don't mix. If anyone out there besides Chipmunk ever sees this, and you go to Erskine College, look me up. I can't be that hard to find, and I'll play any and all takers. I hope this deck isn't completely bad, because it's really fun to watch the look on my opponent's faces (who usually aren't that experienced anyway and are usually playing one of my other two decks). I've won several games but Hurricaning away all my opponent's basics on the bench. ------ Nice detailed analysis. I would have thrashed this deck if it wasn't for the fact that you said you had a limited card stock. That's the thing that saved your deck from the deleters of hell. Here it goes. I know you said that you didn't have more, but you still need that extra Grass energy. D.C. energy helps, but if your Opp. plays energy removal, you're screwed. This is actually going to be interesting, because I can't just say "get these rares". The first thing besides the energy that I would do is that I would take out the Bellsprout family. They really aren't good, and there are better basics. You have 6 of the family in the deck, so I would try 3 Koffing and 3 card slots that we could use later. (Oh, and all you people out there reading this, I am going to show the final version of the deck afterwards, but this is a special case, so don't think I have the tim to do it to EVERY deck). I wouldn't add the Porygon. They wouldn't help in this case. In fact, it's hard to have Porygon maximize his help in any deck. Going on down the deck, I make it into the Colorless portion of the deck. I understand why they are so low, because many of them are rares, some of which are hard to come by. The pokemon I would take out are Tauros and (when you get that energy) the Doduo family. I mean, he's not attacking, and retreat aid when you have more energy can help, but there could be better cards. I would actually keep the Spearow Tree, for the 0 retreat and the Agility on Fearow(a very broken attack if the coin likes you). I would keep the Chansey, but maybe lose the Clefairy. Even in the late game, a pro will just not let you abuse him with the little guy. It's the funniest thing when you see a Dratini beat a Clefairy down. I have done it many times. :) As we move on to the trainers, I want to scream card drawing, but I know that you don't have them. I am going to add the 2nd Oak(I know you can get one) and take out some of the BS. The Imposter has to leave. It really doesn't mess your opp. up. You could try Lass, but that's a metagame card. You can get more Bills, so I am definately adding more. Well, here's the deck. Hopefully it should work better: Energy: 22 20 Grass Energy (When you go to a tourny, I know you can get 4 more) 2 D.C. Energy Pokemon: 21 3 Bulbasaur 2 Ivysaur 1 Venusaur 3 Pidgey 2 Pidgeotto 1 Pidgeot 3 Spearow (You'll see) 1 Fearow (This is where you see. Get another Fearow and add it in) 3 Koffing 1 Chansey 1 Clefairy Trainers: 17 4 Gusts (Can you say free prize card?) 2 Energy Retreivals (Definate help with low energy) 3 Bills (You can get the 3rd) 2 Oaks (The Broken card of the base set. Period.) 1 Trader 1 Comp. Search 1 PokeCenter (If you can pull it off with Venusaur) 3 Energy Removal(Helps stall them until you get set up, and good card) There's the deck. You want to get Venusaur out first and upmost. He will definately help you do your attacks and retreats. Usew the Removal on any real big threats, but conserve them for when you need them. You only have 3. After you get Venusaur, go for Pidgeot and Fearow, for the Hurricane(which used properly is good) and Agility. Happy Battling _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com