I wish to try to expand on DWZ's previous deck rating
system. I read it over, and I think he's right on.
However, there's a little more to be said. Let me go over
some specifics:
Offense: This is defined as the ability to KO your
opponent's Pokemon; simple as that. This means being able
to KO them early game, late game, and mid game. The
saying "The best defense is a good offense" certainly
remains true in this (even though it isn't entirely). If
you're not a Stall deck, Offense is important; keeping your
opponent pinned down throughout the game makes for easy
going. PlusPowers may help when, say, they put an energy
on a Scyther with 30 damage hoping to come back for 50 next
turn, when suddenly, bang, PlusPower, he takes 40 instead
of 30, and he's gone, taking out a threat. In fact, I'll
say it now: PlusPower helps in most of these categories.
Defense: Defense is the ability to take, deal with, and
manage damage. One of the best examples of a defense is
Alakazam. However, in most decks you won't want to go to
such extremes. Pokemon with good HP and skills that deal
damage fast (preventing them from taking damage) inflict
status effects (keep the opponent from getting a change to
attack) or blunt your opponent's ability to attack (like
attacks such as Hyper Beam and Agility). Note that Defense
is heavily tied in with Disruption; Disruption is often the
key to holding a good defense.
Speed: A deck that suffers a 1st or 2nd turn kill won't do
you any good. Basic Pokemon should be able to either cover
themselves well or attack quickly to cover themselves; it's
the principle of "hunt or be hunted". The person who takes
the offensive first is often the person who will have the
edge the whole game. Being able to control the game fast
is crucial.
Endurance: Yet another opposite, Endurance does what Speed
can't. Endurance is what determines if you can develop as
fast as your opponent and keep dealing and taking damage
without faltering. Healing, low retreat costs, and
disruption attacks are all part of endurance. A deck must
have endurance to survive until late game, which will
inevitably have to happen sometimes (no speed is ever
perfect). This also means keeping up with the pressure;
evolution is the most common way of doing this.
Disruption: This often makes or breaks a game. Disruption
is your methods of screwing up your opponent. Whether it
be changing their active Pokemon, removing energy,
preventing evolution, powers, or attacks, or nullifying a
powerhouse, constant disruption is the way to keep control
of the game. It keeps your opponent on the edge, always
keeping them one step behind of turning the game. This
will probably affect most of your other criteria, including
attack (increasing damage, effects), defense (preventing
damage), speed (slowing them down or speeding you up), and
all of the further criteria.
Tolerance (previously called Prevention/Comeback): I have
reworded this to make it a little more self-explanatory.
Once again, an opposite of Disruption, Tolerance is how
much Disruption you can take from your opponent. Zero
retreat, low energy costs, and minimal reliance on other
cards are normally key to good Tolerance.
Versatility: This is how universally effective your deck is
in dealing with the attacks of multiple types of decks.
Can it handle weakness and resistance? That's a big key.
If a deck can't handle most major archetypes, then it
probably isn't Versatile enough. Good examples include
using multiple types, multiple weaknesses, and multiple
types of Trainers.
Independence: This is more hand-in-hand with Versatility
than opposite. Independence is a good thing. Example?
The Aerodactyl/Mew combo is normally considered killer, but
what happens if it faces a BBP haymaker? Because it
depends on evolution, the dependence in turn lowers
versatility, and the evolution Disruption planned, and as I
said earlier, Disruption is linked to almost everything, so
it works like a chain reaction, lowering the effectiveness
of the deck dramatically. Another example is with Muk's
power; it's only good if your opponent uses Pokemon
Powers. This also overlaps with the Tolerance category in
that Inependence from many different things a good
Tolerance. This is the main reason why I had people who
focus their decks to a razor's edge, then go bragging about
have good it is. So what if your Bad Vileplume can stop
Trainers and Evoution? If I get a Scyther out, I simply
hack through while you're sitting there dependent on
Vileplume's power to save you (sorry, I read that article
today and I'm always ticked off when people praise such
utterly conditional cards; that's why Muk and Aerodactyl
and Mew haven't seen wider use).
I hope you've been educated a bit. And now, before you go
bragging about how you can take out a Raindance deck with
your Muk deck or you can stop a Nidoking deck with your Mew
and Aerodactyl, tell me that you can also handle the three
big boys: Raindance, Haymaker, and Stall. If you can't
handle those three easily, then your deck should probably
be worked out of the focus and into the realm of
Versatility and Independence. So, let's do a quick review:
Offense: Ability to do damage
Defense: Ability to take and deal with/prevent damage
Speed: Ability to gain the upper hand quickly
Endurance: Ability to keep the upper hand throughout the
game
Disruption: Ability to inflict disorder and chaos upon your
opponent
Tolerance: Ability to manage/avoid/dispel disorder and chaos
Versatility: Ability to maintain your control in any
environment
Independence: Ability to function on as little as possible
and to maintain effectiveness against any deck
So, it's basically grouped into two main categories:
Offense/Speed/Disruption/Versatility:
Ability to gain the upper hand and keep your opponent from
developing enough to gain it
Defense/Endurance/Tolerance/Independence:
Ability to keep functioning effectively through punishment
and to maintain the deck's current control status
So, I hope you've learned a little bit (actually, a lot)
about the principles of what guides a deck in play.
Send comments/questions/arguements to:
Fanha
Fanha@xoommail.com
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