Kash Top 15 List: Decks from TEU to CRE and how rotation will affect them

Rotation is coming soon so I thought why not see which current top decks will be least or most affected by the rotation coming in September (one month away). And that's with one more extra set still to come this month (Evolving Skies)!

Just like before for lists like these, I'll use decks that have done well in the past few month in the online tournament circuit, getting their total prices in case anyone wants to build the deck right now and also the percentages number for how much of the current deck will be rotated out. 

Prices are from TCG Player based on US Dollars as of August 9th 2021.

There are some top decks that I won't cover for the obvious reasons:

• Lucario & Melmetal-GX/Zacian V as the LM part is rotating as will most of the defensive tool from the deck
• Mewtwo & Mew-GX/Dark Toolbox, or basically anything with Mewtwo & Mew-GX as that is rotated and kills of that toolbox variant
• Spiritomb UNB since the main attacker and all of the important pieces will be rotated
• Pikachu & Zekrom-GX is finally gone
• Caturday Toolbox as all Caturday attackers and Persian are rotated
• Welder decks are sadly gone

Sets that will be legal are: SWSH, RCL, DAA, CPA, VIV, SHF, BST, CRE and the upcoming EVS set.

#15 - Tornadus VMAX

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 0

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 2

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%

The fact that Tornadus is only losing 13% of the deck was one of the reasons why I had it in mind for this list even though it's the only deck not to have won a tournament yet. I wanted to include a Single Strike deck and this is the best one I could come up with. Losing TAE is the biggest thing for Tornadus which might mean the deck returns to more of a Single Strike Toolbox style of deck with the likes of Single Strike Urshifu VMAX and the new Gengar VMAX making it's way into the deck soon. 

#14 - Blaziken VMAX/Zeraora V

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 1

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 7

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 15%

The Blaziken/Zeraora deck won't actually lose much, just mostly tech cards, some of which could be replaced by other searching out cards (Level Ball, Evolution Incense). It's not the main Rapid Strike deck but with Mew from Unbroken Bonds rotating, Zeraora V might become an even bigger threat purely for it's ability to hit the active and the bench (and hit more than G-Max Rapid Flow as well).

#13 - Corviknight VMAX

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 1

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 5

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%

These Bronzong-style toolbox deck, be it Corviknight focused or otherwise, in all honesty, are losing nothing from the rotation. LM-GX was a tech choice and everything else is easily replaceable. And with ADP-GX gone, this may be the best way to play a Zacian deck, apart from a turbo-style Zacian deck by itself with perhaps Inteleon that has been seeing success in post rotation events.

#12 - Inteleon VMAX

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 2

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 7

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 11.67%

Just like the first few decks, Inteleon VMAX won't actually lose much from the rotation, just consistency boosters being the main loss. The biggest thing it'll gain is the fact that Pikachu & Zekrom-GX is finally rotating, giving it full reign for once. And there's another, possibly an even better Inteleon VMAX, coming soon to make the deck even better than it could be.

#11 - Blissey V

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 2

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 15

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 23.33%

Blissey is one of the decks that rotation will hit hardest purely for the fact that it's main draw/discard engine, Hapu, is rotating. It also doesn't help that Weakness Guard Energy is rotating, which makes the Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX matchup near impossible now. The deck will likely need more new cards to be released to give it help in the next few months. It's still one of the better decks in Expanded format at least!

#10 - Malamar CRE/Rapid Strike Toolbox

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 9

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 20

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 6.67%

The malamar rapid strike deck was a terrible game design mistake. Seriously over powered. Needed to say discard the cards instead of shuffle back. It consistently 300 damages for 1 energy. And the scary fact that only 6% of the deck is rotating means we'll keep hearing about this. The biggest losses being Oricorio-GX does hurt it's consistency and losing Mew means it's an open target for snipe decks.

#9 - Rillaboom Toolbox

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 9

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 19

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 26.67%

Rillaboom toolbox-styled decks will survive in some way, but it won't be able to set up consistently now that EggRow-GX is rotating, meaning it'll have to depend on the trusted old Rare Candy method. The deck will have to go through a big overhaul with all of it's Tag engine rotating. Rillaboom may not even be the preferred Grass deck going forward with Leafeon V soon to be released. 

#8 - Victini VMAX

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 2

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 21

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 36.67%

Victini VMAX will still see play post rotation simply due to the fact that all GXes are gone, and with a V-format, Victini will have an easier time dealing with 2 & 3 prize attackers. The issue will be that it will have to do that without our good friend Welder who will sadly rotate. Personally, that makes me very sad since most of my success in the game has been with Welder decks. It'll also need a complete makeover as it's tech attackers are all gone along with the Jirachi/Dedenne engine.

#7 - Malamar VMAX

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 8

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 34

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 40%

Just like Victini VMAX before it, Malamar VMAX can still feature in post rotation but it will need a complete makeover. Losing the Weavile-GX/Red & Blue engine will hurt it's ability to attack quickly, now needing to rely on Galarian Moltres/Energy Switch for that role. Losing Weavile also means Cheryl will most likely not see play in the deck going forward. Losing Forest also hurts Moltres' ability to quickly charge itself up.

Just a note, I've included the Sneasel from CRE. Sure, it's not rotating but the fact that Weavile-GX is rotating means there is no reason to play it thus why it's included in the numbers .

#6 - Decidueye DAA

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 13

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 51

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 15%

Decidueye's biggest loss would be Rosa which hurts it's ability to set up Decidueyes rather quickly but the Inteleon engine has been doing that job for it quite smoothly so it won't be the biggest loss. This deck will continue to wins tournaments out of nowhere just because of Decidueye and prey on people with no answer to it. 

Also for note, I'm not counting the Rowlet here as there is a like-for-like replacement in other sets as Decidueye is still legal unlike the case for Weavile-GX mentioned for Malamar VMAX.

#5 - Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 35

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 151

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 6.67%

Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX is the least effected top deck from the upcoming rotation which may be part of the reason why many think it could be the best deck going forward. The only real loss in Reset Stamp meaning it won't be able to the old "Path and Stamp" tactic going forward to make others stuck. Ice Rider has seen a lot of success since it's release and will continue to do so with 90% of the deck sticking around for the long haul.

#4 - Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 29

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 103

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%

Rapid Strike Urshifu may lose some important techs but what it gains is the fact that Mew UNB is gone, which might just make it the BDIF going forward as decks may not be able to deal with it's constant pressure. Losing Karate Belt does mean it can't just rely on going down on prizes for constant G-Max Rapid Flow. Losing Jirachi-GX also hurts vs Shadow Rider or any new Psychic type deck going forward but that may not be an issue if you can strike them first as seen in this format so far.

#3 - Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX/Galarian Moltres V

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 25

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 86

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 16.67%

The devil is dead. Two of the biggest pains in the past year or so, ADP-GX and Mawile-GX are both gone. But the funny thing is the fact that the deck won't actually lose much apart from the obvious losses. So that begs the question, can a Turbo Zacian or Turbo Moltres style deck (or together) still survive with the remains of this deck without the attack and prize boost of ADP?

#2 - Eternatus VMAX

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 31

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 141

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 20%

Even though I've got it at 20% loss here, Eternatus VMAX won't actually lose much. Before Moltres arrived on the scene, the deck didn't have the likes of Weavile-GX and 3 Swells, two of the main things it will lose from rotation. The deck will have to go back to a Moltres/Energy Switch engine to speed up it's attacks. Losing Swell might be the biggest pain for the deck as it will have a much harder time dealing with Path to the Peak. Eternatus will always be a force to be reckon with, anything that can possibly hit for 270 for just two energy cannot be taken lightly. 

#1 - Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX

Total Tourney Wins in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 74

Total Top 4 Finishes in TEU-CRE (as of Aug 9 '21): 249

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%

Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX won't lose much of from the rotation but it will lose Gengar & Mimikyu-GX, which has been part of the reason why it's been so successful to help buy an extra turn to set up or even take cheeky turn 2 KOs. Losing Marshadow won't be a pain with the new Pumpkaboo that does a similar job. The deck should still be one of the best decks in the format even with the loss of Gengarkyu but time will tell if that is true or not since it won't lose much from the rotation. 

Just a summary of which decks are more or least affected:

Not affected by much: (0-10%)

• Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX - 6.67%
• Malamar CRE/Rapid Strike Toolbox - 6.67%
• Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX - 10%
• Corviknight VMAX - 10%

Slightly affected: (11%-20%)

• Inteleon VMAX - 11.67%
• Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX - 13.33%
• Tornadus VMAX - 13.33%
• Decidueye DAA - 15%
• Blaziken VMAX/Zeraora V - 15%
• ADP-GX/Galarian Moltres V - 16.67%
• Eternatus VMAX - 20%
• Pikachu & Zekrom-GX - 20%

Severely affected: (21%-40%)

• Spiritomb UNB - 21.67%
• Blissey V - 23.33%
• Rillaboom Toolbox - 26.67%
• Lucario & Melmetal-GX/Zacian V - 28.33%
• Victini VMAX - 36.67%
• Malamar VMAX - 40%

Gone case (41%-100%)

• Caturday Toolbox - 45%
• Blacephalon UNB - 48.33%
• Mewtwo & Mew-GX/Weavile-GX Dark Toolbox - 53.33%

And just a recap or how cheap or expensive these decks are:

Budget Friendly ($0-$100)

• Blissey V - $41.80
• Rillaboom Toolbox - $54.78
• Malamar CRE/Rapid Strike Toolbox - $57.31
• Corviknight VMAX - $62.79
• Tornadus VMAX - $62.79
• ADP-GX/Galarian Moltres V - $68.71 (Yes, an ADP-GX deck is now budget friendly!)
• Blaziken VMAX/Zeraora - $71.77
• Inteleon VMAX - $76.48
• Decidueye DAA - $78.29

Standard Prices ($101-$200)

• Malamar VMAX - $109.79
• Ice Rider Calyrex - $112.69
• Victini VMAX - $115.27
• Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX - $116.84
• Eternatus VMAX - $119.94
• Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX - $185.84

Spend big to Win ($200 >)

• For once, there is no deck that falls into this category, showing how affordable the game has become with 9 of the decks listed here all under $100 total! I've never seen that before.

Thanks for reading and have a good day!

My Vivid Voltage journey & results - Sticking with the trusted formula the entire format (4 months worth) - Centiskorch VMAX

So Centiskorch VMAX did a whole world of good for me back in the Team Up to Darkness Ablaze format and with Vivid Voltage (and Shining Fates for that matter), not really giving us any new stuff to work with, I thought why not stick with Centiskorch and keep making it better for this particular format. I enjoy playing the deck, and I have said that I will continue to play Welder until the day it rotates, so why not keep representing the Skorch Gang at these online events? 

So I pretty much decided early on that I was mainly going to focus on Centiskorch for the entire TEU to VIV/SHF format just to see how I could keep improving on the deck and also to prove the doubters wrong about the deck. Everyone has this weird illusion that the deck is bad and it's easy to play but once you see the results, you'll know the truth. And I can say for a fact, just because it's a Welder deck, it's not that easy to make Centiskorch work, you don't just stack all the energies on one guy and attack, that's just stupid.

But first of, I might as well share the backbone of the deck that I have been playing for the past 4 months (and also the previous 3 with the Darkness Ablaze format). I wanted to see how I could use one base list, work on it for an entire format and see how far my friend Thomas Brophy and I can push it, use the deck to it's most potential and get the very best out of it. 

And I'd like to think we did prove that the base-line works but I never expected it to have seen as much success as it has, and with many others playing the base-line list too which makes me really happy and proud. That just shows that people believe we made something that was good but also consistently getting high placings. I've tried to make my own lists work many times before so it felt good to know this one was well received by many others (and that hey, maybe I can make something work). But of course, without the help of Thomas, Jake Pilch, Alex Schemanske, Josh Frink and a few others, this would have never taken off as it did. 

The Deck

The base line I'd like to think are made up of these 50 cards that have been a constant the entire time I've played Centiskorch VMAX in this format. So no matter how the list looks like, these cards will 100% be in them:

Pokemon: (14)

x2 Jirachi - TEU
x2 Volcanion - UNB
x3 Centiskorch V - DAA
x3 Centiskorch VMAX - DAA
x2 Dedenne-GX - UNB
x1 Crobat V - DAA
x1 Eldegoss V - RCL

3-3 Centiskorch V-VMAX has been a constant for me, you don't need a 4-4 line since you're heavily reliant on the support Pokemon in the deck. I have tried the 4th Centiskorch V but whenever I try it, I seem to have a much harder time to get them out, which is weird is the odds of getting them should be better but it never works out that way. 2 Volcanions have been fine so far to help get the first turn Flare Starter or to counter stuff like Decidueye or Altaria.

As for the support Pokemon, I personally prefer 3 Jirachi but 2 is a definite must no matter what. 2 Dedenne-GX to help you speed things up as would Crobat V does (I personally prefer having 2 of them). And of course Eldegoss V to get you the Welder you need or the game winning Boss, or even that Bird Keeper to help you get out of a mess.

Trainer & Energy: (36)

Search: 
x4 Quick Ball
x3 Pokemon Communication

Switch Outs:
x4 Scoop Up Net
x4 Switch

Fire Energy Engine
x3 Giant Hearth
x1 Fire Crystal
x4 Welder
x11 Fire Energy

Gust
x2 Boss's Orders

7 search outs doesn't sound much but it works well for me, 4 Quick Ball is a must and 3 Pokemon Communication is alright, if there was extra space a 4th Comm would be ideal.

8 switch outs is perfect. The deck relies heavily on Jirachi so you need the 4 Nets but the tech options like Zigzagoon and Giratina will come in handy. 4 switch is a must.

The 2 Boss's Orders have been alright, I recently tried 3 and it just never quite worked strangely enough so I prefer the Great Catcher and Phione as my other gust options.

As for the Fire engines, 3 Giant Heart is a must, and I personally prefer to have 2 Fire Crystal which helps against Swell and even help in niche situations whenever one big attacker goes down. 11 energy seems to be the perfect number for the deck. And of course, 4 Welder is a must. Need I say more? Without Welder, you can't hit for crazy amounts of damage or draw more cards.

Now with the base-line set, it's time to fill up the last 10 spots in the decks with various tech options to choose from so this is what I've got for the last few spots in the deck at any given time:

Spot #1 - Alternate Attacker

• Reshiram & Charizard-GX (My Preferred Choice)
• Heatran-GX
• Talonflame V

Spot #2 - Chance of Comeback

• Cramorant V (My Preferred Choice)
• Reset Stamp

Spot #3 - 3rd Consistency Booster

• 3rd Jirachi TEU (My Preferred Choice)
• 3rd Volcanion UNB

Spots #4, #5, #6 - Single Prize Tech Options

• Galarian Zigzagoon SUM (My Preferred Choice)
• Giratina UNM (My Preferred Choice)
• Phione CEC (My Preferred Choice)
• Marshadow UNB
• 4th Jirachi TEU

Spot #7 - More Support

• 2nd Crobat V DAA (My Preferred Choice)
• 2nd Eldegoss V RCL
• Professor's Research
• Marnie
• 4th Pokémon Communication

Spot #8 - Additional Supporter

• Bird Keeper (My Preferred Choice)
• Mallow and Lana

Spot #9 - Additional Item

• Great Catcher (My Preferred Choice)
• 2nd Reset Stamp

Spot #10 - Additional Energy

• 2nd Fire Crystal (My Preferred Choice)
• 12th Fire Energy
• Ordinary Rod

So just to make it easier for anyone, I'm not saying you should follow this, you can pick a different card from those spots or just mix and match and take whatever you please, those are just my reasoning for those cards. I mean for the most part Reset Stamp was the must include in my deck and now it's just not even a preferred choice for these additional spots, just to prove that it can be a mix and match however you like it.

For the additional attackers, I personally prefer Reshiram & Charizard-GX as it can apply early pressure to stuff like PikaRom and even Eternatus at times and can be annoying to deal with late on. Heatran-GX is good to absorb all of Centiskorch VMAX's energy but I'd rather not go down that route, that just tells me the Skorch is not even doing it's job. 

I've been cutting Reset Stamp because Stamp IS A LIE. So I'd rather get Cramorant in as my comeback attacker but it's also very useful as a first attacker against stuff like Eternatus VMAX and even in the mirror match.

As for the 3rd spot of Volcanion vs Jirachi, I prefer Jirachi to get out stuff I need like Quick Ball or Comm or Giant Hearth since you're most likely going to made to go first so I'd rather make full use of Jirachi whenever I can.

As for the tech spots, Phione, Giratina and Galarian Zigzagoon are the choices for me. Goon helps with many numbers you need to hit and can help stop some stuff from working. Giratina helps massively against LMZ and even decks like Eternatus and Coalossal that heavily relies on special energies. As for Phione, it's amazing. It pretty much helps you beat ADPZ without ever needing to hit the big boy and catch people out when they bench just one thing. 

For the additional support, I prefer the 2nd Crobat over Eldegoss or Research or even Marnie since you'll likely get Marnied or Stamped and an additional Crobat gets you out of bad hands. You can even try a 4th comm to get some of these stuff but that's the 61st card in my deck most of the time.

Bird Keeper > Mallow & Lana every time. I just prefer it since I can draw additional cards of it too. 

If I need another item, it's always going to be Great Catcher since it helps massively against PikaRom, ADPZ and Blowns.

As for the last spot regarding energy, I'd go for the second fire crystal since you're bound to hit Swells and with Cramorant as a new addition, it makes perfect sense to me. And now with that, onto the journey that was the Vivid Voltage/Shining Fates format.

Week 1 (Nov 14th - 15th 2020)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 1st - PokeX S3 Online Challenge #4 - 8/2/0

PokeStats Points: (5 points total)

• 1st - PokeX S3 Online Challenge #4 - Centiskorch VMAX - 5 points

PokeX S3 Online Challenge #4

Winning one of the first TEU-VIV events felt great, I usually don't start a season off quite well. I'm typically a slow starting, always struggling at the start and finding my footing only later on. We tried Talonflame V to see if it was any helpful and while it did help in a few games, I found it wasn't the biggest of help. 

Week 2 (Nov 16th - 22nd 2020)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 4th - Coffee Cup #4 - 4/2/0
• 7th - PokeMob Standard #1 - 4/2/1
• 7th - Atlas VIV Mini 2 - 5/2/1

PokeStats Points: (3 points total)

• 7th - PokeMob Standard #1 - Centiskorch VMAX - 2 points
• 15th - E&D's S2 Qualifier #2 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point

Coffee Cup #4

I just was never a fan of Stamp, be it 2 or 1, in Centiskorch so I thought I'd cut one to add in space for more stuft to try out. I wanted to test if Dubwool was a viable alternate attacker seeing as it could take a clean KO on PikaRoms and Mew3 but this is when people starting to play Big Charm so that idea was out. Tested Ordinary Rod over the 2nd Crystal more to see if I can keep recycling Heatran for some quick damage and it worked a few times.

Week 3 (Nov 23rd - 29th 2020)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 7th - Jal Cup #5 - 4/2/0

PokeStats Points: (1 point total)

• 12th - Chrollo's Flygon Open - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point

Jal Cup #5

I took Great Catcher out to see if Phione would be better and right from the get-go I could tell Phione might become a mainstay in the deck, it single-handely won me my Top 8 game in the Jal Cup. But I did regret taking Zigzagoon out for the 2nd stamp, the Goon would have come in handy in certain matches.

Week 4 (Nov 30th - Dec 6th 2020)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 9th - PokeMob Standard #3 - 5/1/1

PokeStats Points: (1 point total)

• 9th - PokeMob Standard #3 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point

PokeMob Standard #3

I needed to be sure if Zigzagoon was really needed and while I did alright, I was pretty sure it had earned it's merit and I still wasn't keen on the 2nd stamp. 

Week 5 (Dec 7th - 13th 2020)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 5th - Atlas VIV Mini #5 - 6/2/1

PokeStats Points: (3 points total)

• 5th - Atlas VIV Mini #5 - Centiskorch VMAX - 2 points
• 15th - PokeMob Standard #4 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point

Atlas VIV Mini #5

Same list as above and by this point I was pretty sure on how the perfect 60 should look like for the next few weeks.

Week 6 (Dec 14th - 20th 2020)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 4th - E&D's S2 Qualifier #5 - 6/2/1

PokeStats Points: (5 points total)

• 4th - E&D's S2 Qualifier #5 - Centiskorch VMAX - 3 points
• 11th - Atlas VIV Mini #8 - Eternatus VMAX - 1 point
• 16th - DaxPTCG Stones Series Weekly #1 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point

E&D's S2 Qualifier #5

After losing to a few PikaRoms, I had to get Great Catcher back in and I sure missed it, it came in super helpful to get me into top cut of E&Ds. By this point I was pretty happy with the list but I kept losing to dead draws, either off Marnies or Stamp so I wasn't completely happy with the list yet. I was also having doubts on whether Heatran-GX should be the alternate attacker.

Week 7 (Dec 21st - 27th 2020)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 1st - Hegster S3 Top Deck 16 - 10/2/0
• 2nd - E&D's S2 Qualifier #6 - 8/2/0
• 2nd - Coffee Cup Invitational - 4/1/0

PokeStats Points: (11 points total)

• 1st - Hegster S3 Top Deck 16 - Centiskorch VMAX - 5 points
• 2nd - E&D's S2 Qualifier #6 - Centiskorch VMAX - 4 points
• 13th - Chrollo's Holiday Bash - Reshiram & Charizard-GX - 1 point
• 16th - Chrollo's Tournament #4 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point

Hegster S3 Top Deck 16

And now it's almost perfect. I decided to cut a Stamp for a 2nd Crobat V to help me get out of dead draws and it paid off right away, helping me to win Hegster S3.16, getting me out of a few bad hands on many occasions. By this point I was happy with 59 cards of the deck apart from Heatran-GX, even though it could have won me the game in finals earlier, I still for some reason wasn't getting much use of it. And that's when we (Thomas, Jake and myself) thought, why not go back to Reshiram & Charizard-GX?

Week 8 (Dec 28th 2020 - Jan 3rd 2021)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 3rd - Advant-Edge Tournament #5 - 7/2/0

PokeStats Points: (4 points total)

• 3rd - Advant-Edge Tournament #5 - Centiskorch VMAX - 3 points
• 16th - Mew Squad Tournament #1 - Eternatus VMAX - 1 point

Advant-Edge Tournament #5

And here we have what I would say is the perfect 60 for our deck in this format. I had tested ReshiZard-GX in the deck a couple of times in the TEU-DAA format and thought to myself, wait this could actually be better than Heatran since ReshiZard can give cheese out some donks and it was helpful to take out support Pokemon like Crobats and Dedennes and it worked right away. It gave me a top 4 finish on my 31st birthday too!

Week 9 (Jan 4th - 10th 2021)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 1st - Coffee Cup S2 #1 - 7/0/1
• 2nd - Hegster S3 Top Deck 18 - 10/2/1
• 7th - Atlas VIV Mini 14 - 6/3/0
• 7th - Sunday Open - 7/3/1
• 11th - GGToor Chill TCG Showdown #2 - 9/3/1

PokeStats Points: (9 points total)

• 2nd - Hegster S3 Top Deck 18 - Centiskorch VMAX - 4 points
• 7th - Atlas VIV Mini 14 - Centiskorch VMAX - 2 points
• 7th - Sunday Open - Centiskorch VMAX - 2 points
• 11th - GGToor Chill TCG Showdown #2 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point

Every tourney this month

So I made myself this challenge to play the same 60 for every tournament I could enter in the month of January, just to see how good it really was and if there was any changes I could make to make it even better. The only thing I found I might be missing was Cramorant V which I thought would be helpful in the mirror but at this stage, no-one was really playing Centiskorch VMAX anyway apart from us.

Week 10 (Jan 11th - 17th 2021)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 4th - Coffee Cup S2 #2 - 5/2/1

PokeStats Points: (0 points total)

• Nothing here to see :(

Week 11 (Jan 18th - 24th 2021)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• Nothing here to see :(

PokeStats Points: (0 points total)

• Nothing here to see :(

Week 12 (Jan 25th - 31st 2021)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 2nd - Garnai Nameless Tourney #2 - 4/0/0

PokeStats Points: (1 point total)

• 12th - Hegster S3 Top Deck 24 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point

Nothing for these 3 weeks since I spent 10 days away for my Army reservist so the only time I got to play was the weekends. I didn't play much during Week 10 as I was preparing myself for the army stuff and when I did play, I just didn't do so good sadly.

Week 13 (Feb 1st - 7th 2021)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 2nd - Hegster S3 Top Deck 26 - 7/1/2
• 2nd - Gazerbeam Tourney of Dreams #2 - 10/2/1
• 6th - Garnai Cup #0 - 4/2/0

PokeStats Points: (10 points total)

• 2nd - Hegster S3 Top Deck 26 - Centiskorch VMAX - 4 points
• 2nd - Sunday Open - Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX/Zacian V - 4 points
• 14th - Advant-Edge Tournament #9 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point
• 15th - Professor Oak's Paradise S3 #4 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point

Gazerbeam Tourney of Dreams #2

For Gazer's tourney, since ADP was banned, I took Phione out since that was my ADP counter and put Dubwool in thinking it'll help vs PikaRom and Mew3. Although I made it to the finals again, I just couldn't take it home. Dubwool didn't help much either. Also a funny note, I finished 2nd in the Sunday Open with ADPZ, losing to Thomas who played the usual 60 we had been for the month of January.

Week 14 (Feb 8th - 14th 2021)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 2nd - Hegster S3 Top Deck 27 - 9/1/2
• 2nd - Advant-Edge Tournament #10 - 6/2/1
• 4th - Hegster S3 Top Deck 28 - 6/2/1

PokeStats Points: (12 points total)

• 2nd - Hegster S3 Top Deck 27 - Centiskorch VMAX - 4 points
• 2nd - Advant-Edge Tournament #10 - Centiskorch VMAX - 4 points
• 4th - Hegster S3 Top Deck 28 - Centiskorch VMAX - 3 points
• 16th - Chrollo S3 #2 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point

Hegster S3 Top Deck 27

Same list but now I was starting to wonder if Giratina and Stamp were needed. I was never a fan of Stamp to begin with since I felt it usually helped my opponent out more than it did to hinder them. As for Giratina, with LMZ not seeing much play and Etern not using special energies, I wasn't sure if it was needed anymore.

Week 15 (Feb 15th - 21st 2021)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 3rd - Garnai Cup #1 - 6/2/0
• 9th - Hegster S3 Top Deck 30 - 5/2/0

PokeStats Points: (8 points total)

• 3rd - Garnai Cup #1 - Centiskorch VMAX - 3 points
• 8th - Mew Squad Tournament #7 - Mewtwo & Mew-GX/Welder Toolbox - 2 points
• 9th - Hegster S3 Top Deck 30 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point
• 12th - E&D's S3 Showdown #1 - Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX/Zacian V - 1 point
• 16th - Atlas VIV Mini #24 - Pikachu & Zekrom-GX - 1 point

Garnai Cup #1

Decided to put Cramorant V in Giratina's place with the rise of others playing Centiskorch since Cram helps massively in the mirror match. This is where I realised Giratina was still useful to slow other decks down when needed.

Week 16 (Feb 22nd - 28th 2021)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 2nd - E&D's S3 Qualifier #4 - 6/2/1
• 4th - Coffee Cup Season 2 Invitational - 2/1/0
• 6th - Hegster S3 Top Deck 31 - 7/2/1

PokeStats Points: (10 points total)

• 2nd - E&D's S3 Qualifier #4 - Centiskorch VMAX - 4 points
• 4th - Mew Squad Tournament #9 - Turbo Zacian V - 3 points
• 6th - Hegster S3 Top Deck 31 - Centiskorch VMAX - 2 points
• 14th - Jal Cup #8 - Centiskorch VMAX - 1 point

E&D's S3 Qualifier #4

Hegster S3 Top Deck 31

I decided to mess around with a few stuff from tourney to tourney, playing with and without stamp, with and without Giratina while keeping Cramorant in more for the mirror match.

Week 17 (Mar 1st - 7th 2021)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 1st - E&D's S3 Qualifier #5 - 8/1/0

PokeStats Points: (5 points total)

• 1st - E&D's S3 Qualifier #5 - Centiskorch VMAX - 5 points

 E&D's S3 Qualifier #5

Back to the original list and it got me my first tourney win after 6 straight 2nd place finishes in finals so that was nice to end that run. 

Week 18 (Mar 8th - 14th 2021)

Top Centiskorch Results:

• 1st - Saturday Night Nitro - 10/2/0

PokeStats Points: (10 points total)

• 1st - Saturday Night Nitro - Centiskorch VMAX - 5 points
• 7th - Hegster S3 Top Deck 36 - Centiskorch VMAX - 2 points
• 8th - Hegster S3 Top Deck 35 - Centiskorch VMAX - 2 points
• 13th - Chrollo S3 #5 - Reshiram & Charizard-GX - 1 point

Saturday Night Nitro

Went back to Cramorant but decided to take Bird Keeper out with PikaRom starting to see less play and it worked out nicely in the Nitro event. Was my 50th win in a PTCG tourney too.

And finally the PokeStats TEU-VIV/SHF Invitational:

Thomas and I decided to go back to the orginal list without Cramorant V, thinking it'd do well. I used 30 of my in game tickets to play in 8-man pod tourneys to practise for the event, winning 16 of them so I felt confident going into it. I went into this event as the 2nd place qualifier so I was putting too much pressure on myself to finally get a big result in a big event.

But alas it just wasn't meant to be. I never found the time to rest up before the event, and since it started at my 12am (and I had to get up at 5am the morning prior), I was going in very fatigued. In fact I was struggling to keep my eyes open at 11.30pm while watching the F1 Bahrain GP too. 

We won the first set vs my good friend Joshua Sutherland, he played Lucario & Melmetal-GX. It went smoothly for me, winning 2-0. Then on to winners R2 where I lost to eventual winner Vitor Lugon. I prized 6 energies in Game 1 and 4 energies in Game 2. So yeah that was fun. The event was closed decklists as well.

Now we're moved down to Loser's bracket for Round 2 vs my good buddy Tate Whitesell and his Ditto VMAX deck. It wasn't the cleanest of games for either of us, I made a horrendous error of not benching a Centiskorch V thinking I played Cramorant in the deck only to realise it after my turn was done (it was my 3am at this point and I wasn't really out of it physically and mentally). I got a bit lucky that he missed the KO so I got the win there.

Round 3 of losers I played Jonathan Smiley and his EggRow deck, again I didn't play well in this set and got a bit lucky in Game 3 when he couldn't find his Rillabooms after I KOed the first two.

Round 4 of losers I was up against Eddie Bulmer and his Eternatus VMAX deck. And this is where I was completely out of it. I for some reason chose to go 2nd in Game 1 not realising I'm playing against a guy who's only been playing Eternatus! I managed to beat him Game 2 but the two other games in the set were a shocker. I pretty much played myself into a losing situation by going after the wrong attackers and then in the last game going for the risky play since I missed energies, not realising there were two Crystals in my hand, which pretty much meant game over for me. I ended up 9th, so yup, I still can't break into a top 8 finish at a big invitational. I just can't seem to do well in them and I honestly don't know if I ever will.

And now onto the next format, TEU-BST. Even though Centiskorch will pick up at least 3 bad matchups now, I'm still going to try to make it work at least. Thanks for reading!

And one last fun stat, the points I scored with each deck from this past PokeStat TEU-VIV season: 

Kash Top 30 List: Favourite Wrestling Theme Songs

 Well here it is. One whole year of doing top 30 lists every month after I turned 30. As I write this, I have just turned 31 years old but I still plan on doing lists every once in a while when the time calls for it or when I'm bored and need something to fill the time with. 

So for the last one, I thought I might as well continue with the music gimmick from the last one but this time have the Wrestling version. Wrestling does have a lot of good music so why not share some of my favourite ones and let me know of your own favourite ones too. You won't some here because there's a lot of popular ones that I honestly don't like at all. 

This will probably be my shortest list but it's all good. I just want to spend the last few hours of my birthday doing other things while I have the time. Enjoy and thanks for reading all of my lists so far!

30) Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW

I still prefer his classic theme to his current WWE one even though that one is pretty good itself!

29) Triple H (The Game) - WWE

I did mention it in my previous list so I had to include it at least. I'm no Triple H fan but he always did get the really good themes. 

28) Will Ospreay - NJPW

I dare you to listen to the music and not sing along to the lyrics. It's just too good. Hopefully Will keeps this even with his new change in character. 

27) Owen Hart - WWF

I always liked this one over his others. Owen Hart was just too good, shame we never got to see him at his best.

26) Jeff Hardy - TNA

The only time I've seen Jeff Hardy as a heel (bad guy) was in TNA back in 2011 and crazily enough, it somehow worked? And he sung this kick-ass theme for himself too! Not his last appearance on this list. 

25) Drew McIntyre (Broken Dreams) - WWE

Shame he won't use this theme anymore, I always liked it but it just doesn't suit the current WWE Champion Drew McIntyre in the current time. So I had to share this remix-ed one.

24) Hardy Boyz - WWF

The looked like rock stars, they acted like rock stars, they probably were! And still in the case of Jeff (not so much for Matt, sorry). And this song was always a classic. 

23) Ultimate Warrior - WWF

Ultimate Warrior was still around just as I got into wrestling and he may not be one of my favourites but I always did like his theme, it just kicked ass, suited his gimmick to a tee since he was just there to kick some ass.

22) Rob Van Dam - WWE

Like his theme song said, Rob Van Dam was truly one of a kind. One of my favourite theme songs from that era for one of the best from that era. I'm a sucker for a good Frog Splash too.

21) Asuka - NXT

Maybe, just maybe, Asuka is the greatest female wrestler I've ever seen. I've not seen anyone who can come close to her level just yet and she sure has one awesome theme to send her down to the ring as well.

20) Edge - WWE

"On this day, I see clearly, everything has come to light". Edge's theme isn't just good, it might have some of the best lyric to any wrestling song I've heard ever.

19) Goldust - WWF

What a strange dude Goldust was ever since we first laid eyes on the man from Hollywood back in 1995. But one thing always stayed, his theme stayed and it was always amazing. 

18) CM Punk (Fire Burns) - WWE

This song actually debuted with Randy Orton for one show but I liked it right away so I was glad to hear it again this time with CM Punk for his first "run" with the company. His next theme was equally good, if not better.

17) Randy Orton (Voices) - WWE

A lot of people might not like this song but I actually dig it. At one point it was in my Top 10. This song just fits a psycho killer like Randall Keith Orton and he's still rocking it and yes, he's still as crazy as always even in 2021.

16) Kenny Omega - NJPW

Kenny Omega's current AEW theme is one of the better ones on this roster and I tried to include it onto this list but I just had to get Devil's Sky on here, it's still my favourite of his themes. Especially the Terminator version from Tokyo Dome back in 2017, how they edited the song to fit the Terminator theme was just brilliant. 

15) The Undertaker (Rollin) - WWE

I had to. You know I had to. Keep on rollin! It's not even the best Undertake entry on the list yet it's still pure gold.

14) The Nexus - WWE

I dare say Nexus' theme might be one of my favourites from WWE. Not just as, I like the un-edited version of the song from 12 Stones as well, I've got it on my iPod so you know it's good. It's also got my favourite quote, "The only easy day was yesterday".

13) Batista - WWE

YEEEEAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. This is some good shit from Saliva.

12) Christian Cage - TNA

Christian always had some kick ass tunes, all of his WWE theme songs were always so good so I had a hard time picking which one to put on here but his TNA theme was just an instant classic as he would say it. And yes, I am part of the Peeps (big Christian fan).

11) AJ Styles - WWE

The problem with choosing an AJ Styles song on here is that he has too many damn good ones! His last two songs in TNA were great, his New Japan was awesome (and was the one I was initially going to go with) but his WWE one might just be the best of the lot.

10) Razor Ramon - WWF

Hey Yo! Razor Ramon was one the first guys I became a fan of when I started my wrestling fandom at a young age and I always remembered his theme being so good. It still is.

9) Guerrillas of Destiny - NJPW

Easily my new favourite theme song to come out in the last few years. This just kicks all kinds of ass and it suits Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa to a tee. 

8) Minoru Suzuki - NJPW

You hear the calming voice in the song but you know somebody is about to get the shit kicked out of them. Love Suzuki's theme, for someone who is supposed to be the scariest person in all of Japan, his theme just makes you feel at peace. Maybe my favourite theme in all of Japan.

7) Stone Cold Steve Austin (1996-97 version) - WWF

You hear the glass shatters, you know what's about to happen. Yes this isn't the Steve Austin theme that everyone knows about but this is still my favourite of the whole lot, the raw slow sound makes it even better for me. He already made a fan out of me during 1996 before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon and he had a kickass theme to boot as well. 

6) Chris Jericho - WWE

The classic Chris Jericho theme is still amazing after all these years, especially this version from 2001 with the ball going around before blasting off. His theme may have had different little variants but they all still sounded amazing.

5) The Undertaker (Dark Side) - WWF

Nothing can beat the classic Undertaker theme but for me this one from 1998 was just that bit better, always preferred this! Much better than the Ministry version. 

4) CM Punk (Cult of Personality) - WWE

For a song that was a rock hit back in the 80's, it still suited CM Punk perfectly back in 2011. An amazing song will find a way to still be great even in the crazy world of wrestling.

3) Shawn Michaels - WWF

Be honest, how many of you have not sung the song "Sexy Boy"? You know you can't help it. It's just a pure classic.

2) Chris Jericho - NJPW & AEW

Judas was already a hit with Jericho's own band Fozzy. And then he used it for his "one-off" appearance with New Japan back in 2018. The song just worked and I knew about it from before and I couldn't help but sing to the chorus as Jericho made his way done, that's when I noticed a few others were doing that too. Now onto 2021 and everyone is singing to Judas when he shows up. Easily one of the best wrestling themes to show up recently and my new favourite. 

1) Bret Hart - WWF

There will never be a theme song that just hits home to me quite like this. You hear the first riff and you know what's about to go down. Easily my favourite theme song of all time and of course, it's for my favourite wrestler of all time as well in Bret The Hitman Hart. Nothing will ever beat this.

Kash Top 30 List: Favourite Musical Artists

Since I'm turning 30 this year, I thought why not create a few Top 30 lists of things that I like or have done so I've done a few list that covers my interest in just about anything, be it Motorsports, Pokemon, Wrestling, Gaming and also some general things. Most of us like music, some more than others, some listen to everything out there. And then there's me.

I usually only listen to a few but the ones I like, I really do like. There are songs from many different artists that I do like and have them in my iPod but these 30 are ones that I know have got at least 3 songs that I do like. Most of them are, no surprises, rock songs, specifically UK ones too, so here's my 30 favourites. 

And if anyone have got any suggestions for new ones for me to listen to, I'm all ears. Always looking out for something new to listen to. I won't say much for this particular list but I want the songs to show why I do like these guys. I'll share 3 of my favourites from these guys.

30) Motorhead

• Ace of Spades
• The Game
• King of Kings

Of course I knew about Motorhead for being the guys singing 3 of WWE Superstar Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Triple H) and the more I knew about them, the more I started to find their old stuff and liked those as well.

29) Killswitch Engage

• The Signal Fire
• The End of Heartache
• This Fire

(Late edit, I completely forgot to put them onto my list after listening to two of their songs on my playlist). Killswitch Engage gave me a favourite wrestling song but the more I heard their other stuff, the more I liked those too.

28) Jay Sean

• Down
• Do You Remember
• Ride It

Gotta show some love to my fellow Punjab brother, the man can sing! 

27) Arctic Monkeys

• Arabella
• Why You'd Only Call Me When You're High
• R U Mine

Randonly stumbled across them searching around for CDs in Shibuya, listened to some songs, bought the album and here we are!

26) The Smiths

• How Soon is Now?
• Stop Me if You've Heard This One Before
• There is a Light That Never Goes Out

The Smiths were something else. As I started to explore older stuff, these one caught my ears more so for Johnny Marr's genius on the guitar. Some pure classic on show here.

25) Culture Shock

• Save The World
• Alone
• Beautiful

My cousin got me into listening to these guys when I came to visit the States back in 2012 and yup I sure am glad she did. Not the classic Punjabi songs but still good!

24) The Dhol Foundation

• Desi Peeni
• Peace & Love
• Naa Karde

Saw these guys in Singapore and their varities of music caught me off guard, made it even more enjoyable. The mix of Punjabi, Reggae and Irish music shouldn't work and somehow they did.

23) Avril Lavinge

• When You're Gone
• Nobody's Home
• Hello Kitty

Avril always had a unqiue voice that drew me in the first time I heard her. And she's Canadian, gotta show some love for my peeps up north!

22) Evanescence

• Bring Me Back to Life
• Call Me When You're Sober
• My Last Breath

Amy Lee's voice is still one of the best I've heard in a long while and their music was always top notch. I'll still go back listening to the classic stuff when I've run out of things to listen to from my usual playlist. 

21) The S.L.P. 

• Trance
• Nobody Else
• Meanwhile in Geneva

I was a bit bummed to hear Kasabian taking a bit of a break but if Serge is doing his own thing now, it can only be a good thing with these early hits already. Heck, one of his songs is already a soundtrack on Death Stranding! Need I say more. Can't wait to see what else he'll do on his own.

20) Maroon 5

• Maps
• Animals
• She Will Be Loved

Seen them not once but twice at the Singapore Grand Prix, and they impressed me both times. One of the few pop acts that I actually like listening to. 

19) Franz Ferdinand

• Take Me Out
• Do You Want To
• This Fire

Found one of their songs from the classic Burnout 3 Takedown game and became a fan of theirs after listening to a few more of their songs.

18) Limp Bizkit

• My Way
• Rollin
• Build A Bridge

These guys kept featuing in WWF/E when I was growing up so sure enough, I would end up liking what I was listening to. They may be loud but some of these are really good shit.

17) Beady Eye

• Second Bite of the Apple
• Four Letter Word
• The Roller

Pretty much Oasis just without Noel Gallagher after 2009. They just were never the same but still managed to produced some real bangers for the short time they were around.

16) Saliva

• Ladies & Gentlemen
• Always
• King of My World

Found out about Saliva through wrestling and have been a fan of their ever since, there's a lot more songs I wish I could add onto that list!

15) MUSE

• Starlight
• Butterflies & Hurricanes
• The Dark Side

The first time I heard about them was back in 2005, their song was on the trailer for the F1 2005 game. Been following them ever since and I finally got to see them live at the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix and forgot how bloody good they were.

14) Queen

• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Don't Stop Me Now
• We Will Rock You

Is there anything I really need to say about these guys? The true classics.

13) The Beatles

• Help
• Come Together
• Ticket to Ride

Let's be honest, if not for The Beatles, most of my favourites won't even be on this list so of course I would end up liking their music as well after discovering it. 

12) Stone Roses

• I Wanna Be Adored
• Made of Stone
• I Am The Resurrection

More Manucian goodies are coming on this list but you can say it all started with these guys. Ian Brown always sounded mega and the Roses just sounded fantastic. Shame their run didn't go on for a long while. 

11) Stereophonics

• Dakota
• Live n Love
• Chances Are

I don't know how and where I found Stereophonics but I sure am glad I did. These guys are just brilliant, wish I found their stuff much quicker. Kelly Jones is one of those guys whose voice is just unique, makes it better.

10) Metallica

• Enter Sandman
• For Whom the Bell Tolls
• Now That We're Dead

Metallica. You know who they are. You know why they are here. Enjoy some pure heavy metal goodness from the geniuses behind some of it's classics. 

9) Fozzy

• Judas
• Nowhere to Run
• Lights Go Out

They started life out as a parody but Fozzy just keeps getting better and better and is now genuiely one of my favourite heavy metal bands of the whole lot! My iPod has over 20 Fozzy songs in it, and their latest album Judas kicked some metal ass. Also helps that their front man Chris Jericho also happens to be one of my all time favourite wrestler and podcaster and author. 

8) Ian Brown

• FEAR
• Stellify
• Keep What Ya Got

Ian Brown was awesome as Stone Roses frontman. He was also awesome as a solo artist by himself with some true classics of his own. Heard he might make a comeback so hopefully there'll be more good stuff to listen to soon. A true Mancunian legend! 

7) Johnny Marr

• Easy Money
• Spiral Cities
• Candidate

Speaking of Mancunian legends, here's another one! Also the first proper concert I went to was for Johnny Marr. The man just keeps making magic with his guitar from the 80's to the current day. And he just keeps getting better as a solo act too.

6) Kasabian

• Fire
• Days Are Forgotten
• You're in Love with a Psycho

These guys are just brilliant. So many of their songs have found their way onto my iPod and for good reasons, they keep producing absolute bangers. I was a bit bummed that I missed the chance to see them some years ago and now with them taking a break, we might not get more good stuff for them. At least they've given us a lot of good music.

5) Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

• Everybody's On the Run
• Ballad of the Mighty I
• It's a Beautiful World

The Chief is another Mancunian legend on this list, and to me, the greatest song writer of his generation. This songs gave us so many classics with Oasis and now a few additional ones with his own solo act. I got to see him for the Singapore Grand Prix and loved every single second of it, not everyday I get to see a genius at work.

4) Liam Gallagher

• One of Us
• Wall of Glass
• The River

Our kid is back! After a long absence, it was so good to see Liam finally give the solo artist gig a try and he sure has knocked it out of the park. The voice of Oasis somehow sounds even better as he nears 50! And maybe it's just me, but I've liked his two albums way more than I should, better than Noel as well. If the world knew good music, he would easily be #1 around the world with the stuff he's released so far.

3) Breaking Benjamin

• Diary of Jane
• Tourniquet
• Failure

I found out about these guys from a trailer of a NASCAR game of all things and was made a fan right away with their Phobia album. The last two albums just made me remember how truly great these guys are, easily one of my favourite rock bands that not many have probably heard of before.

2) AC/DC

• Back in Black
• Thunderstruck
• Highway to Hell

If you know me well enough, my top two favourites are pretty obvious. And of course it had to be the rock and roll legends AC/DC. The first moment I heard of them back in 1997, I was hooked. 23 years on, and I'm still a big AC/DC fan. As their song says "Rock or Bust" and it sure is for me. If you're ever feeling you need a good boost, AC/DC is always the go-to for me.

1) Oasis

• Rock n Roll Star
• Live Forever
• Slide Away

It had to be Oasis. There was no other way this would turn out. As if Noel and Liam Gallagher being in the top 5 wasn't already a big enough clue. The two brother have been great solo acts but together, they were the kings of music. No one did it better than the brothers from Manchester. My iPod is probably 50% filled with all of their stuff, be it Oasis or their own projects. I'm still holding on to hope that they'll reunite one day so I can watch them together live. Way too many classics to name so I had a hard time putting just 3 on here. This is music at it's finest. 

Thanks for reading and have a great 2021 ahead!