> From: <jasondyer@usa.net>
> To: <ThePoJo@thepojo.com>

>
> Allright, I am getting rather annoyed at some of the strategy postings. 
> First off, I would like to smack the fools who send in "mandatory" cards you
> need.  NONE, thats right, NONE of my decks have bills in them!  Why?  They do
> have the disadvantage of running cards out of your deck, and 2 extra cards
> isn't incredible.  Instead, I fill those spots with searching cards, such as
> pokemon traders and computer searches, so that I can get the pokemon I need. 
> Don't get me wrong, its pretty good, but its not the be all and end all of
> trainer cards.
>  
> On the scyther/farfetched debate, I would say use scyther if you have grass,
> otherwise use farfetch'd.  What makes the farfetch'd good is that you can
> deal 30 the first turn, and then quickly get up and potsmash.  Scyther is
> really good when you can deal 60 on the third turn (or second, if you have a
> double colorless) after using swords dance, but otherwise I would prefer
> Farfetch'd.
>  
> Now, energy removals and gusts of wind are excellent cards, but once again,
> not every deck needs them.  Removing 1 energy slows them down, but a super
> energy removal is really needed to make it a hard hitting shot.  Of course,
> then you need to discard 1 of your own energy.  All in all, I recomend having
> at least a couple energy removals in your deck though, if only to kill the
> mewtwo deck.  Gusts of Wind are also great, but I account for them by never
> having more then 1 or 2 pokemon on the bench that don't have power.
>  
> This is perhaps the one biggest mistake I see being made: people placing tons
> of pokemon on the bench.  You should only have as many as you can be powering
> up at a time on your bench, so if you have a 2 color deck, only 2 pokemon
> should be out without energy.  Think about it, if you have 2 machokes down
> without energy, you can only be giving 1 energy, so why not wait to put down
> the other machop/machoke so when its down, you can power it up.  This avoids
> your opponent using a gust of wind and bringing out a vulnerable pokemon. 
> Always have at least 1 on the bench, but don't put down more then you can
> power.  For example, in a water electric deck, you might put down a poliwag
> and a magnemite.  This way, you can give any water energy to the poliwag and
> any electric to the magnemite.  But, if you place a poliwag and a squirtle,
> then when you get a water, it goes to 1 or the other, so there will be 1
> without power for a while, so it could be hit by a gust of wind.  You could
> also place a poliwag and a farfetch'd, and give electric energy to the
> farfetch'd.  Now, once the poliwag had been powered up, then you could put a
> squirtle.
>  
> Lastly, don't have too many copies of the same pokemon on your bench if it
> can evolve.  for instance, if you have 3 machops on your bench, even if they
> all have energy, then when you get a machoke you may well not have enough
> energy to power it up.  In this situation, 2 would be the max I would have,
> and only so if 1 fainted, the other could take its place.  Once that
> happened, then I would place the third and its energy.  You might have more
> then 2 copies down if it takes time for them to be powered up, like poliwag,
> but always be mindful of geting evolutions.
>  
> That wraps up my strategys, e-mail me with feedback, flames, etc. at
> <mailto:JasonDyer@usa.net>JasonDyer@usa.net.
> Oh yes, and if your in MA, Sundays at 1 there is a nice tournement at Sports
> and More at the Liberty Tree Mall, and I'd be happy to battle you there!
>  
>  
> "Nobody ever won a war by dieing for their country.  You win a war by making
> the other son-of-a-bitch die for theirs!"
> "My eyes!  My beautiful eyes!"
> "Ewww.  This is the worst place yet."
> "We've smashed their fingers, we've branded their bums,
> nothing is working... Bring out the Nuns!"
>  
> :^B -Seal of TwoTongue