Hi all! I hope you've all had a great week! I can't wait for Fossil and I'm sure most of you guys out there can't either. In this time in the pokemon world we're in sort of a drought, many of the cards' potentials are being used and exploited. So this means that people are getting alot more used of the Pokemon TCG they're finding ways to get around old stratigies and thinking up ways to start new stratigies. At this point one of the things that will really give you an edge in Tourneys is how you play out your cards, like who you bench, when you evolve. I'm gonna give you some tips on what to do in many situations, I'm not gonna give you some slicky little things you can do to "psyche out" your opponent. Just tips that'll help you stay in the game, here goes... -BEFORE THE TOURNEY- 1-KNOW YOUR DECK! This rule is very important, one of the keys to success is to know your deck THOURGHLY. So before you head to a tourney, you need to get used to using your deck, then you'll know it's weaknesses and how good it is against what. To do this you need to play games, ask your friends, family members, or if all else fails you can play against your self, just act as smart as you can on both sides. -DURING THE TOURNEY- 1-BE COOL Don't get too nervous, sometimes this can cause you to do something bad, like maybe overlook something that could effect the outcome of the game. 2-KNOW WHO YOUR ACTIVES ARE Before you go to the tourney you should know your deck well enough to know which pokemon start off the best but here's some tips: HP and speed are key! You don't want to be caught without a benched pokemon and lose early, but if you have a fast attacking pokemon, then you may catch your opponent without pokemon. Also you have another choice, a staller. If you think it's appropiate you may want to put out a stalling pokemon as your active. Stasis attacks take awhile to get early in the game, so you should find stalling fairly effective. Also attacking your opponent with quick stasis attacks is great as well. 3-ANALYZE YOUR OPPONENT'S DECK! As soon as you see his pokemon and what pokemon he plays you should know what type of deck he's playing or at least what pokemon types are in it. If it looks like a beat-down deck (a deck that pretty much has a couple evolutions with hard hitting pokemon), just play out your strategy as best you can. This is what you'll probably want to do against most decks, save these: STALL DECK- These decks may take awhile to anaylze but they're usually made up of Psychic pokemon (like Alakazam and Mr. Mime). If you're up against of one of these keep in mind how many turns you have left to win (you start out with 48), try not to use Bills unless you think you have it wrapped up, or any card drawing card for that matter. Also NEVER use Prof. Oak he's what your opponent wants you to use. MULLI MEW- This deck is hard, but beatable. First of all it should be extremly easy to spot as he'll probably mulligan for a long time. If you have a starting pokemon or trainer that either, could make MewTwo lose energy, paralyze it or put it to sleep don't draw two cards. If you don't have one of these you should probably draw, but don't draw too much. HAYMAKER- Against a deck like this you'll want to execute your strategy ASAP! You can usually identify this deck from the starting pokemon, if you see alot of Electrabuzz, Hitmonchan, Scyther ect. Then you'll know it's a haymaker. Try to focus on your benched pokemon a Haymaker will almost always take out your first active. So add energy to your benched pokemon not your active. Stallers really hurt Haymakers and if you can get some big hitters out you should have the game. RAIN DANCER-This deck is fairly easy to beat if you can get some good attacking pokemon out quick. You can easily identify this one if you see lots of Squirtle, Poliwrath and other water types, then watch out. Rain dancers are very hard once they're pumped up you need to hit em with all you've got early in the game. DON'T STALL you need to give damage to the smaller evos. of Blastoise before he can execute his strategy! Also stasis attacks really kill these types of decks so call out that Lickitung! 4-THINK EVERYTHING THROUGH No matter what you're doing whether it be attaching an energy card or evolving a pokemon THINK IT OUT FIRST. Make sure you're using that energy or trainer card to its fullest abilities one mistake could cost the game. 5-KNOW WHEN TO EVOLVE Don't evolve before you have enough energy for the evo. unless it's an emergency. Also if you really want your evo. to go a long way evolve it on the bench if possible. 6-SPEAK UP! Watch your opponent, most people are honest but some may make mistakes. If you know he's doing something against the rules call for the judge! This could cost you the game so ignore your opponent if he nags you about it. 7-BE A GOOD SPORT Don't get real sore if you lose, you can't win everytime. Also pay attention on what's winning and if your tournament is held often with the same people plan a deck strategy to beat em. Learn from your losses exp. is one of the things that will make you go far in the pokemon world! -Jared Schroeder >) Questions and Comments go to: protoss_warrior@hotmail.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com