I've tried to stay out of the archetype argument for as long as I could, but
I must step into the warzone. Let's get started, shall we?

Type of Archetypes
Archetypes can be classified into 3 groups. They are:

-The major ones (Haymaker, Stall, Raindance, TuffStuff)
-The minor ones (Energy Trans and Burn, Bench Destruction, Status Effects)
-Hybrids (combos of any 2 or more archetypes)

Major Archetypes
Decks: Haymaker, Raindance, TuffStuff, Stall

These are the ones that everyone hates. I see several pros and cons with
them. They are:

Pros
~You can't really mess up the strategy.
~You know what cards to put in.

Cons
~Everyone knows you weakness.
~You'll get yelled at because you "aren't original."

Overall, I try to avoid these guys because they just don't seem to appeal to
me (plus I have never owned a Blastoise). They still are very lethal and good
for new players who need a decent deck.

Minor Archetypes
Decks: Bench Destruction, Speedrill, Status Effects, Psychic Beatdown, Cleaner

These have tons of great strategies and ideas, but the formula for them is
hard to make. What works for one guy doesn't work for everyone else, thus
preventing large scale copying. Here's the pros and cons:

Pros
~People won't know what's in your deck.
~They are more fun to play with (to me, anyway).
~Your weakness won't be as well known.

Cons
~Like I said, getting the right formula is tricky.
~The strategy won't always be perfect.

I like these a lot, and they are easier to customize. Not much more to be
said.

Hybrids
Decks: Any combo of ideas that work.

These are my favorites. Take 2 ideas, fuse them together, and you have a new
formula (I like the word formula). My own favorite idea is a Status Effect
and Bench Destruction combo. Here's the pros and cons for Hybrids:

Pros
~Tons of fun to play with!
~Very original ideas.
~Can be extremely lethal.

Cons
~VERY hard to build correctly.
~Can fail miserably.

With Hybrids, remember that your creation can be a super war machine and a
hideous Frankenstein. Build with care.


Thanks for reading! Hope you liked my article.

Send all hatemail to me at King_Cobra64@hotmail.com so I can test out my mail
filters.

You can also send me good mail too, at King_Cobra64@hotmail.com

~King Cobra and Arbok (and Raichu)
Email: King_Cobra64@hotmail.com
OR
Mewtwo2498@aol.com