Kash Top 30 List: Reasons why the "Player's Cup" is just not good

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...

Ok I'll cut to the chase, this is more of a joke list. Because it's about a big joke going on with Pokemon scene, TCG, VGC or Pokken. You might have heard of it, the "Player's Cup". There's a reason why I have a strong emphasis on "Player's Cup" in the way I've written it. I did have some interest when it was first announced but after a few more announcement, that started to slide away until the point of yesterday where my interest in completely gone.

Still, those of you who are interested, please do give it a go and all the best in qualifying for it. I'll be keeping tabs on how my friends are doing and watching their streams to watch their games. I of course won't be trying because of a few reasons. But just for fun, my top 30 list this time are reasons why I think this will fail. There'll be a running joke if you catch it.

#30 - Only Masters

Pretty simple, only players in the Masters division are allowed in due to legal reasons so Juniors and Seniors can't even attempt which is a shame. Ever since I started playing in more of these online tournaments, I've gotten to know a few Seniors from around the world and they are some of the better players I've played against (shoutout to Noah and Pablo, they're killing it every week for the Sunday Open). It sucks that they can't even attempt to try to qualify.

#29 - It's rubbish

#28 - Leaderboard is buggy

Need I say more? So many of my friends have complained about how they were either not showing up on the leaderboard or how their points were not updated to what it should have been.

#27 - Wrong Location

And it's not just that some points are incorrect, some aren't even in their region! How that is even possible, I'll never know.

#26 - It's rubbish

#25 - Zero information on PTCGO

Surely for a tournament based on points scored in the Pokemon Trading Card Game Online, why can't the game do a simple update and have something in the game to let players know about the "Player's Cup"? They do that for pre-releases and new sets releasing soon but not this?

#24 - It's rubbish

#23 - Best of 1 Format

You already know.

#22 - PTCGO's own issues.

The game is not perfect. It still has so many bugs ruining it, especially with the current bug of Metal Goggles interaction with Horror Energy. In fact, I lost one of my games in the recent Limitless online qualifier because the game has bugged out on me. I tried to use Tag Call but nothing happened, and I got timed out, costing me one turn and pretty much losing me the game.

#21 - It's rubbish

#20 - Tickets

One of the biggest reasons why I'm not a fan of this. The main way to qualify for the first part is to score enough Tournament Reps and to do that, you need to do well in these PTCGO 8-man tourneys. And the best way to do that? Keep playing in tourneys but it does take 8 tickets to enter in one.

Here's my issue, not everyone has saved up as many tickets as say myself (I've got 1400+ tickets) and those guys would have a real disadvantage trying to make the top 256 (or 128 for Oceania) of their region. We might have a situation where a really good player may win all the tourney they've enetered with the limited amount of tickets they have but miss out on a spot to some ordinary joe who spams all of his tickets, loses in the first round and keeps entering in more tourneys. Rinse and repeat. I just don't think that method will work the way the intended it to do so.

#19 - It's rubbish

#18 - Solution for lack of ranked ladder?

Was this their best idea to get a "ranked" system in PTCGO? It's not the best way to go about it honestly. Still would prefer a ranked ladder like many other games have done so.

#17 - It's rubbish

#16 - One less spot for Oceania

Seriously why? The amount of players to qualify for North America is 256. Latin America, 256. Europe, 256. Oceania however only has 128. I was already upset when I saw this. Not sure why that was the case but we got our answer a few days later...

#15 - "Player's Cup" Kickoff Tourney

Don't get me wrong, I think this is a great idea. Seeing 8 of the best from TCG, VGC and Pokken fight it out in a mini tournament is great, but why is it at the expense of one more spot for a player in Oceania?

Just to make a point, who are these big name players competing in it?

TCG:

• Andrew Mahone (USA)
• Henry Brand (Australia)
• Michael Pramawat (USA)
• Nathália Fernandes (Brazil)
• Pablo Meza (Mexico)
• Rahul Reddy (USA)
• Ross Cawthon (USA)
• Tord Reklev (Norway)

That's a great list of players but unless Henry wins it, a place that should have gone to an Oceania player would go to someone from the other regions. To me that's not right. They've already got more qualifying spots to fight for anyway.

#14 - It's rubbish

#13 - Other games have done it right

I saw a comment on Azul GG's post on why he wouldn't compete in it and this comment from Edward Khodaei made complete sense to me. I don't really play other card games so I didn't know how they might do with their tourneys but this made sense:

"Yugioh duel links does it correctly. They have a qualifier round where you play until you're level 20. Once you reach the you play for ranking. Based on the amount of wins/ losses you have determines your placement.

This is strictly a "if you're decent and have a lot of tickets, you'll do well" tourney. There's no caps on points, nothing. So it literally is just grinding points. Punishes players who are still working in the pandemic. Punishes players for not having tickets. It's just a bad system overall."

Agreed.

#12 - It's rubbish

#11 - Why a limit of 256/128?

Seriously why can't they just do what Limitless TCG did with their Qualifier events? They opened it up to everyone, giving everybody a fair shot to do well. And their events always had a 1000+ players in them. Sure there we some issues for the first few ones but it got better eventually. Won't be the first time I'll mention this tourney too. So why limit it to just 256 or 128 people when Limitless has shown that it's possible to run an event with more people involved.

#10 - No easy access to tickets

If you're one the players struggling with tickets, it's not looking good for you sadly. The fact that there isn't any real easy access to gain tickets other than login bonuses and ladders just makes it harder for newer players especially.

#9 - Armbar! Oh wait, wrong list. It's rubbish.

#8 - Problems linking accounts

I can't remember how many times I've seen many people asking about this. Quite a number of guys have had issues trying to link their accounts to the one on their game and the process for some to get it back sounds very tedious. Some good players might miss out just because of this.

#7 - Others have done it better

Look at how Limitless went about with their qualifiers. I'd say it was an all round success despite a shaky start. PokeX held a 200+ person tournament, free for anyone, and that ran smoothly too. In fact they added more slots in just so others could join in. PokeStats continues to hosts current and past formats that are popular to even the biggest names in the games.

Yet TPCi suggestion was this. Azul GG said it best in his video, it's just sad.

#6 - No effort

Clearly not much effort was put in into this idea for the "Player's Cup". And even if they did, it was a poor excuse of an idea.

#5 - Back up your own saying

"The Pokémon Company International is committed, in its role as the sanctioning body of Play! Pokémon tournaments worldwide, to fostering an environment that is inclusive to all participants regardless of factors including but not limited to age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and/or disability."

If you're gonna preach it, follow with it.

#4 - It's rubbish

#3 - It's rubbish. Yup I've ran out of stupid points to cover. This list was meant to be a joke anyways.

#2 - "Player's Cup"

They might as well change the name because not all players will be able to compete it in right? I've got a better name, the Ticket Cup.

#1 - Oceania - but only Australia & New Zealand players

So here's the thing, I had already made up my mind that I wouldn't really care if I qualified or not. I tend to enter these PTCGO tourney events for the sole purpose of giving decks I wanted to play in either league cups or online tournaments a test run and I'd usually do 3 events to see what my deck can do. So I'd still would have done events, my points would still be somewhere.

But here's the kicker. Of those 128 spots, it's only going to Australian and New Zealand players. So what about the players from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Phillipines, Taiwan, Vietnam, UAE, Israel, China to name a few. All these Asian and Middle Eastern countries fall under the Oceania banner but are not included for this "Player's Cup". Why?

I honestly cannot think of a good reason why that even is the case. I'm not upset that I can't attempt to qualify, like I said, I couldn't be bothered by it. I'm more upset that many friends of mine can't even try to qualify for this event just because of their location. The Junior/Senior bit made sense to me but this (and Quebec for NA) doesn't make any sense to me at all.

As if it wasn't bad enough as a player from Asia trying our luck to compete in the Limitless qualifier in the middle of the night to early morning, now we can't even try our luck to qualify for a tournament that was to cater for certain regions. And if you think TCG players have it bad, my VGC friends have it worse. I feel even more upset for them because they've been hard at work this whole time and now their efforts don't mean anything. That's just not right nor is it fair.

But hey I'm not all that bitter or disappointed by this, I won't suddenly just give up playing the game I've enjoyed playing for the past 2-3 years. There may not be any events to look forward to but I'll keep training and testing and grinding out games. I've still got online events such as JGB's tourneys, PokeX's tourneys, Sunday Open's tourneys to compete in, those are my only ways to play in this constant search for competition to continuously improve myself as a player. As for those of you trying your luck for the "Player's Cup", I wish you all the best, keep grinding out those results and I'll be cheering on my friends to do well.

Also, if you caught the running joke, let me know. And if you got a good laugh out of some of these, my job is done. We're all facing tough times now. Be nice to each other, take care of one another and stay safe.

Kash Top 30 List: Cards from Rebel Clash

Even though we're in a strange times where there won't be any official Pokemon TCG event going for the next three months, there's still a lot of to be excited about the new set coming out today in Rebel Clash. With many online tournaments going on, players will still be wanting to get some of these cards, either in real life or on PTCO. So why not keep the Top 30 List gimmick going with the best 30 cards, in my own view, from the latest Sword & Shield base set of Rebel Clash?

There's a number of good cards in this set, so much so I had 36 cards down for the initial top 30 just from scanning through the card list and it took me a while to get it down to 30. Some old favourite concepts are coming back, some good for the game, some I'm not looking forward to playing against because it feels a bit toxic for some fun deck players. Hopefully the new introduction will make the game a bit more fun then the last set did.

And like the previous time, these are my own opinions, aka the opinions of an unproven player who does enjoys building decks whether it's good or not (AND I'VE NOT DONE ANY TESTING FOR THIS SET). My ideas are my own opinions, what I think could be good but may be bad to others or vice versa, take it with a pinch of salt since I'm coming into this set a bit blind and have been asking others for their opinion on most of these cards anyway. My ranking is dependent on these card's playability and what deck ideas you could build off them.

Side note, prices are taken from Troll and Toad as pre-order prices on the 26th April 2020. As always, prices are for the lowest rarity.
R - Rare
RH - Rare Holo
UC - Uncommon
UR - Ultra Rare

#30 - Cursed Shovel - 157/192 - UC - $0.25

If the Pokemon this Tool is attached to is Knocked Out by damage from an opponent’s attack, discard the top 2 cards of your opponent’s deck.

I don't really like this card since it helps Mill even more but it's obviously good so I don't have much of a choice but to add it on the list as much as I'd rather have some other card on this list like Malamar V-Max or Durant or whatever it may be. This card is good for only one type of deck and I'm never touching it so there we go. Got nothing to suggest since I don't play these god awful decks.

#29 - Galarian Meowth - 126/192 - C - $0.25

Ability: Evolution Roar
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may discard 2 cards from your hand. If you do, search your deck for 1 Galarian Perrserker, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.

[M][C] Scratch: 20 damage.

The good Galarian Meowth has finally shows up and this will surely see play in some Metal decks because of it's ability to help you search out Galarian Perrserker to get that extra 20 damage. No need for Comms or Evo Incense when you've got this little guy doing just that for you.

#28 - Sigilyph - 80/192 - R - $0.49

Ability: Strikes Back
If this Pokemon is your Active Pokemon and is damaged by an opponent’s attack, place 3 damage counters on the attacking Pokemon.

[P][C] Psychic Damage: Does 30 damage plus 10 damage for each damage counter on the opponent’s Active Pokemon.

The very last card I added to my list after reading it more from seeing a list a friend had sent to me about cards I should get and now I see why it's good. Spread decks will love this not just for his attack to hit more with however many counters the opponent already has but for the ability, adding more damage countes if Sigilyph is hit. Add Horror Psychic energy to it and that just adds up even more. And don't get me started on Spell Tag.



#27 - Cinderace V-Max - 36/192 - UR - $7.49

[R][C] Counter: 30+ damage. This attack does additional damage equal to the amount of damage done to this Pokemon by attacks from your opponent’s Pokemon during your opponent’s last turn.

[R][R][C] Grand Fire Ball: 170 damage. Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Burned.

Of the three Galar starters with V-Max in this set, I'd say this one is slightly better than Inteleon (but worse than Rillaboom). The second attack is not bad, pretty much doing 190 which is a nice number to hit on certain attackers. And if your opponent is silly enough to hit you with a big attack that doesn't finish this guy off, just Counter them back and maybe gust someone up for game to take the easier KO.

#26 - Capacious Bucket - 156/192 - UC - $0.25

Search your deck for 2 [W] Energy, reveal them, and put them into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.

This is only really good for one deck but it makes that one deck much more playable, and that being Frosmoth. Now it'll be more easier to power up attackers such as Lapras V-Max, Keldeo V, Volcanion Prism, Inteleon, Inteleon V-Max, Milotic V just to name the more likely ones to see play with Frosmoth. It might even see play in ADP decks just to get that Water energy out but I'd rather stick to Energy Spinner or Viridian Forest for that job in that deck. Capise?

#25 - Ninetales - 25/192 - R - $0.49

[R] Hex: 30+ damage. If your opponent’s Active Pokemon has an Ability, this attack does 90 more damage.

[R][C][C] Flickering Flames: 90 damage. Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Asleep.

Not the first Ninetales you'll see on this list but this one is also not bad. The second attack isn't the most impressive attack but the first sure is. For just one energy, it can deal 120 to a Pokemon with an Ability on it. If you need that final 120, this Ninetales can get you there. And the best part is that it cleanly one hit KOs a Zacian V (or a Zamazenta V as well). Don't think it'll see much play since the gusting Ninetales is far more important in the decks using it.

#24 - Vikavolt - 66/192 - RH - $0.49

[L][C][C] Powerful Storm: 60+ damage. This attack does 20 more damage times the amount of Energy attached to all of your Pokemon.

[L][C][C][C] Electric Beam: 170 damage. This Pokemon does 30 damage to itself.

This Vikavolt has to be good surely. We've seen similiar attack to Powerful Storm and they've always found some way to work and having the use of Battery Charajabug, those numbers will just keep going up. Just by having the three energies on this Vikavolt you're dealing 120 damage. Say you've got 4 more energies with 2 Charjabug as those energies, that's another 80 damage, 200! And don't forget about Electropower.

  #23 - Galarian Cursola - 79/192 - RH - $0.79

Ability: Perish Body
If this Pokemon is your Active Pokemon and is Knocked Out by damage from an opponent’s attack, flip a coin. If heads, the Attacking Pokemon is Knocked Out.

[P][C] Corner: 60 damage. The Defending Pokemon can’t retreat during your opponent’s next turn.

I'm not a big fan of this card because I know some bugger will cheese a win out of me just by flipping coins and getting lucky by doing nothing which is what I hate most about the game. It's there, someone will abuse it and I will hate it. It's always a sad day when you lose because of someone else's luck and by something possibly out of your control.

#22 - Falinks - 109/192 - UC - $0.25

[C] Call For Family: Search your deck for up to 2 Basic Pokemon and put them on your Bench. Then, shuffle your deck.

[C][C] Team Attack: This attack does 30 damage for each Pokemon on your Bench with “Falinks” in its name.

This little guy reminds me of Passimian and I like it. If you've got a bench full of Falinks and Falinks V, you are doing 150 damage, not bad for a tingy 90 HP pokemon. That can go up to 190 with Fighting Dojo on board. And it can make best use of the new Twin Energy as well. Still not convinced? Falinks V ability means you take 20 less damage, which is still not bad. Might be the best budget deck to come out of this set.

#21 - Turffield Stadium - 170/192 - UC - $0.75

Once during each player’s turn, that player may search their deck for a [G] Evolution Pokemon, reveal it, and put it into their hand. Then, that player shuffles their deck.

Just like the bucket before this, this stadium only makes one type of deck good but it makes it insanely better. Rillaboom will love this as it's now easier to gain access to your Rillabooms if you've got Candy in hand. And hey, Rillaboom V-Max is an evolution pokemon after all. And of course, those silly people who play Lost March will play this since it helps you get Skiploom out easier.

Also great for decks trying the new Flapple spread decks to get those bigger apples out to do their abilities before they head back into the deck.

#20 - Dragapult - 91/192 - HR - $0.75

Ability: Infiltrator
If this Pokemon would be damaged by an attack, flip a coin. If heads, prevent all damage done to this Pokemon.

[P][P] Ghost Dive: 120 damage. Put 3 damage counters on your opponent’s Benched Pokemon in any way you like.

Not the first Dragapult you'll see on this list and this one is not bad itself. We've seen the ability before in the form of Greninja and Whimsicott-GX and they've always bee annoying to deal with. The second attack is just like Giratina but for one less energy and instead of 4 damage counters on your side, you put 3 on your opponent's bench. But of course the down side is that it's a Stage 2 Pokemon which isn't the easiest to get onto the board. I still can see it being played in some ways.

#19 - Rillaboom V-Max - 18/192 - UR - $6.99

[C] Scratch: 50 damage.

[G][G][G][C] Max Barrage: 130+ damage. You may discard up to 3 [G] Energy from this Pokemon. This attack does 50 more damage for each Energy you discarded in this way.

Rillaboombox gets a new attack and it's V-Max version is not a bad attack itself. The four energy attack cost might look much but Rillaboom fixes that issue for you. Two Rillabooms is a god sent here. 130 is nice enough but if you're discarding 3 energies, that's 280 damage! Even discarding two will still dish out 230 damage, that will take care of all V Pokemons that have not gotten to the Max. Most GXes can't survive that hit and that includes a certain ADP-GX. 330 HP is nice but Fire weakness is still something I wouldn't want on my Pokemon.

#18 - Capture Energy - 171/192 - UC - $0.25

This card provides [C] Energy only while attached to a Pokemon.

When attaching this card from your hand to 1 of your Pokemon, search your deck for a Basic Pokemon and put it on your Bench. Then, shuffle your deck.

At first I wasn't sold on this Energy but after talking to a few friends I can see why it's good. Just a vanilla colourless energy but the ability to put any Basic onto the bench cannot be ignored. It has seen play in Japan with the likes of Falinks, Rillaboom and even ToxGarb! I'm curious to see how players will make full use of this particular energy. You could use this just to get a Zacian out for the draw power which some annoying decks will probably try to do.

#17 - Coalossal - 107/192 - HR - $0.49

Ability: Tar Generator
Once during your turn, you may search your discard pile for up to 1 [R] Energy and 1 [F] Energy and attach them to your Pokemon in any way you like.

[F][C][C][C] Burning Avalanche: 130 damage.

Sure it's a Stage 2 but I like Coalossal! Anything that gives Energy acceleration speaks to me instantly and this one gives it with two different energies. I've already had this in mind with Charizard V-Max but sadly that is not in this set so my idea might have to wait a while before I can try it out. Sanaconda V might make the best use of it for the time being. 

I do like this in ReshiZard or Braixzard too helping you to power up that four attack cost and maybe do more damage with Fighting Dojo. I'm curious to see how other players will use this ability and who will it see play with in upcoming tournaments, if it see plays.

#16 - Copperajah V-Max - 137/192 - UR - $7.99

[M][M][C] Dangerous Nose: 100+ damage. If your opponent’s Active Pokemon is a Basic Pokemon, this attack does 100 more damage.

[M][M][M][C] Giant Hammer: 240 damage.

You've seen the meme. This tanky boy is a beast to deal with. As if 340 HP isn't already big enough, add Pan and LucMet's GX and it becomes 400 HP, which is very difficult for many decks to handle. The attacks aren't bad either so I can see Metal decks or even ADP adding this in for more options. But as the meme showed, Baby Blace can still knock this out in one hit.

#15 - Galarian Weezing - 113/192 - RH - $0.75

Ability: Poison Pool
Once during your turn, if there is a Stadium in play, you may leave your opponents Active Pokemon Poisoned.

[D][C][C] Sludge Bomb: 80 damage.

This gives me nightmares. Not so long ago when I first started out, of course I'd only play fun decks being just a casual player but the thing that almost made me quit Pokemon TCG straight away for one match with this arrogant player who for the first time since I got back made the game feel not fun for me. He had a Garbodor ability lock stall deck and I of course couldn't comprehend at that time, kept making mistakes forgetting the lock. This dude kept shit talking me "do you even know how to play?", which wasn't nice, since I had only just returned and I found out from the other players he wasn't the nicest player around. So yeah Galarian Weezing already has a bad rep for me just because of it's similarity to that Garbodor and that experience I had back then with that arrogant player.

Back to this card. It's gonna cause a lot of problems. Many decks I can't deal with it. I don't really like it but let's see how it goes. I just sadly know this will somehow be good. I know my friend Luke is hyped on it and don't be surprised to see more people locking others out soon. Decks that rely on just poisoning others will love this. Stall will love this. I just don't want to see this mainly because I exclusively only play decks with abilities, makes the game more fun to me that way.

#14 - Milotic V - 43/192 - UR - $3.49

[W][C][C] Aqua Impact: 10+ damage. This attack does 50 more damage for each [C] in your opponent’s Active Pokemon’s Retreat Cost.

[W][C][C][C] Hypno Splash: 150 damage. Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Asleep.

This will be an annoying attack to deal with. Aqua Impact can deal a lot of damage by itself but with the help of Galar Mine, that's an additional 100 damage. If your opponent had 3 retreat cost before adding Mine, that's an easy 260 damage right there. 

The good thing about Milotic V is that there are a few ways to power it up. The main one being Frosmoth but Welder is another choice since it does make use of 2 colourless energies in it's attack and ADP could help you get there too. Or if you want to be really colourful, why not the previously mention Coalossal (I wouldn't try that out).





#13 - Galar Mine - $1.29 - UC - $1.29

The Retreat Cost of each Active Pokemon (both yours and your opponent’s) is [C][C] more.

This stadium will see play. Adding two retreat cost is painful enough, because decks that rely on Jirachi with board or Air Balloons will get punished by it. Milotic V and Tangrowth are the two main attackers that will make full use of this stadium as might some annoying mill/control decks.

And of course, if you're already playing Absol, that just adds to the misery of your opponent and does even more damage for your two attackers previously mentioned above.

#12 - Speed Lighting Energy - UC - $1.29

This card provides 1 [L] Energy while it’s attached to a Pokemon.

When you attach this card from your hand to an [L] Pokemon, draw 2 cards

Pretty simple, attach it and draw 2 cards. Not a bad effect for Lighting decks and it's already seen play over in Japan with the likes of PikaRom, ToxGarb, Nuzzle and Morpeko V. Simple yet effective.

#11 - Dubwool V - 153/192 - UR - $3.99

Ability: Soft Wool
Damage done to this Pokemon by attacks is reduced by 30.

[C][C][C] Revenge Burst: 120+ damage. This attack does 30 more damage for each Prize card your opponent has taken.

Soft Wool pretty much means Dubwool V has 240 HP which might be awkward for some attackers to deal with. Revenge Blast is a great comeback attack. A late 270 damage but might be enough to help you snatch a win from right under your opponent's nose. Decks like Fire Box, Malamar, Frosmoth and Rillaboom might fancy trying this out.

• If your opponent has taken 1 prize, you do 150 damage.
• If your opponent has taken 2 prizes, you do 180 damage.
• If your opponent has taken 3 prizes, you do 210 damage.
• If your opponent has taken 4 prizes, you do 240 damage.
• If your opponent has taken 5 prizes, you do 270 damage.
• If your opponent has taken 6 prize, you do 0 damage. You've already lost!

#10 - Horro Psychic Energy - 172/192 - UR - $0.99

This card provides 1 [P] Energy while it’s attached to a Pokemon.

When the [P] Pokemon this card is attached to is your Active Pokemon and is damaged by an opponents attack, put 2 damage counters on the Attacking Pokemon.

The kings of the spread archetype just got more help. Even thought Malamar will be rotating in 4 months time, don't be surprised to see it using this in it's last run in the game. As if dealing with Giratina and Spell Tags weren't enough, now you might have to be even more careful on hitting a Pokemon with this energy as you'll take 2 damage counters.

Dragapult V-Max is the deck I see using this the most since it help with the damage spread tactics and that combination has already seen success in Japan so it's one I'd watch out for the most in the upcoming set.

#9 - Boltund V - 67/192 - UR - $5.99 

[L] Electrify: Search your deck for up to 2 [L] Energy and attach them to your Benched Pokemon in any way you like. Then, shuffle your deck.

[L][C] Lightning Storm: 10+ damage. This attack does 30 more damage for each [L] Energy attached to your Pokemon in play.

I actually am a fan of Boltund V. I think it's a card that has a lot of potential just because of it's two attacks. The first one is helpful in many different ways and leads in nicely with the second attack.

• With 2 Lighting Energy on board, you're doing 70 damage
• With 3 Lighting Energy on board, you're doing 100 damage
• With 4 Lighting Energy on board, you're doing 130 damage
• With 5 Lighting Energy on board, you're doing 160 damage

And it'll keep going up. You do have Electropower to add to those numbers too and it's not hard to get those energies in play. PikaRom have always had as many as 6 energies on board during it's games. Nuzzle will easily build up energies in their games as well so I can see Boltund V being a nice addition to those decks. You could even have the likes of Naganadel to help build up your energy on board. Heck, Magnezone is still in the format too. This will be a fun idea I'm surely going to try out with any of those combinations.

  #8 - Toxtricity V-Max - 71/192 - UR - $9.99

[L][L][C] Giganto Riot: 160+ damage. This attack does 80 more damage if your opponent’s Active Pokemon is Poisoned.

It's only got the one attack and even with the 2 Lighting and 1 Colourless cost for it, it's still dangerously good. 160 isn't a bad number to hit but if the opponent is Poisoned, you're hitting for 240, that's a huge number to hit these days. It's not hard to get the Poison effect too with Garbodor the easiest way to do so. And it's a lighting type, Electropower is still in the format for the time being so that number will keep going up, even enough to cleanly hit Tag Team GXes.

Toxtricity V-Max has 320 HP so it's not easy to knock it out. And sure the attack cost isn't the nicest but there are ways around it with the likes of Tapu Koko Prism, Thunder Mountain and Magnezone still around. People who like playing Lighting type deck just found a new deck to try out in the coming months.

#7 - Ninetales V - 26/192 - UR - $3.49

[R][C][C] Nine Tailed Transformation: Choose 1 of your opponent’s Active Pokemon’s attacks and use it as this attack.

[R][C][C][C] Flamethrower: 180 damage. Discard an Energy from this Pokemon.

I love this card. Another attacker to add to our Fire Box boys and not a bad one too! Ninetales V's first attack might be one of the most interesting attacks out there as it copies your opponent's attack and these effects have always seen play. The best part is you can even copy a GX move here and for that reason I can see even Baby Blowns playing this.

I can see a few different attacks I would copy. You could use this against a Dragapult V-Max and hit their own bench at the same time. You could also use Resource Management against those annoying decks. Up against ADP? You could even use Altered Creation GX to do 30 more and if by some chance you've added an Aurora/Rainbow or Water Energy to your deck, you could even get the full effect. Or just do Ultimate Ray and set up your next big attacker on the bench (Turtonator, Blacephalon-GX or Heatran-GX). I'm excited to see how people will exploit this card, easily one of my favorite from this set and probably the first one I will get.

#6 - Scoop Up Net - 165/192 - UC - $0.75

Put 1 of your Pokemon (excluding Pokemon V/GX) into your hand. (Discard all cards attached to that Pokemon.)

We've finally got an Acerola/AZ recovery style card back in the format and in the form of an item too! The main partner I can see it being used for is Jirachi. With Tool Scrapper out, Jirachi might not get to retreat easily with Escape Board missing. This is where Scoop Up Net comes in. Get your Stellar Wish in, scoop it up and poof Jirachi is not in the active anymore. Good way to get around those annoying Absol/Galar Mine too without using Switch.

My other favourite use for this is with Mind Report Mewtwo. Using this will put a Supporter card from your discard pile and with the likes of either Jirachi, Oranguru or Dedenne, you can get that Supporter into your hand with ease and use that Mewtwo again with this Scoop Up Net.

This will also see play with a few more interesting abilities. Need to put two damage counters down? Galarian Zigzagoon has your back. Need to discard a few special energies? Giratina has your back. About to get one of your Pokemon knocked out by those spread decks, use this to get them away from the board. Sadly I can see this being abused by those dirty Mill/Stall/Control decks too.

#5 - Twin Energy - 174/192 - UC - $0.99

This card provides 2 [C] Energy.

If this card is attached to a Pokemon V or Pokemon GX, this card provides 1 [C] Energy instead.

Hey we've got Double Colourless Energy back, but just as the card before this, with a catch this time. DCE saw play in many decks for how good it is helping you use some awkward attacks. Just being one colourless energy on a V or GX pokemon means it won't see play on those decks.

This is purely for 1 prize decks (and EX too but we don't care about Expanded here) and there are many out there that are happy to see this and the ones I can think of are Weezing, Falinks and Lost March mainly. There aren't many other decks that can make best use of it at the moment but this will definitely have more decks to use in the future. Anything that gives two energy cost will always be good.

#4 - Tool Scrapper - 168/192 - UC - $0.49

Discard up to 2 Pokemon Tools from either player’s Pokemon.

Tool Scrapper is back in the game and once again we finally have a Tool remover after months of Field Blower being rotated out of the format. This will see play in many decks and already has over in Japan with the likes of PikaRom, ADP/Zacian, Dragapult VMax, Falinks and Mew3 Maly to name a few.

I know I'll have a love-hate relationship with this card. Love it for the fact that it'll get rid of annoying tools such as Stealthy Hood, Spell Tag and the upcoming Cursed Shovel so we've finally got an answer to that instead of relying on Faba. Hate it because our Jirachi might not get to live their inner Tony Hawk spirit with Escape Board getting scrapped by this (Scoop Up Net can help with this thankfully).

Also worth pointing out that it gets rid of tools on either player's pokemon so if you really need to get another tool on your Pokemon, say you're worried about your Zacian V getting KOed, you might scrap your own attacking tool like Vitality Band and get a Frying Pan or Big Charm on that Zacian V. I do like that this card serves multiple purposes and for that, it will surely see a lot of playing for the next few years.

#3 - Eldegoss V - 19/192 - UR - $19.99

Ability: Happy March
Once during your turn, when you play this card from your hand to your Bench, you may put a Supporter card from your discard pile into your hand.

[C][C] Soar Upward: 50 damage. You may shuffle this Pokemon and all cards attached to it into your deck.

Remember VS Seeker? Ok it's not an item card but the effect is back with Eldegoss V and I honestly think this will see a lot of play. It'll end up being the card to get you the game winning move with Boss's Orders or my personal favourite, Welder! The attack is not bad as well, similar to Shaymin EX but does 20 more damage which could be relevant in some cases.

Eldegoss V have already seen play in many different decks such as ADP/Zacian, Dragapult VMax, Toxtricity/Garb, Lost March, Rillaboom, Welder based decks, and yes that include Blacephalon UNB. It won't see as much play as Dedenne-GX but it'll still be just as effective, mainly for the late game.

And a special note to Chatot which has almost the same ability as Eldegoss but you do need to hit heads of a coin flip so if you're a fan of trying your luck, you might prefer that instead.

#2 - Dragapult V-Max - 93/192 - UR - $17.99

[P] Shred: 60 damage. This attack’s damage isn’t affected by effects on your opponents Active Pokemon.

[P][P] Giganto Phantom: 130 damage. Put 5 damage counters on your opponent’s Benched Pokemon in any way you like.

Possibly the best attacker to come out of Rebel Clash. Dragapult might even be the best V-Max released so far too. The first attack is really good as we've seen these kind of attacks being useful against annoying decks trying to deny you.

But the selling point is Giganto Phantom. For just two Psychic energies, you're hitting 130. Same damage output as Giratina but for one less. Great isn't it? It gets better, instead of putting 4 damage counters on yourself, you put five damage counters on the other side, in any way you like and combined with the likes of Spell Tag, Horror Psychic and other spread attackers such as Mew, Blacephalon or even Roxie, that might be too much for your opponent to deal with. This will be a top tier deck.

This has already seen success in Japan and will continue to do so in our upcoming online tournaments. The best part of Dragapult V-Max is that it can even see play in a few different partners, be it Malamar or Roxie or maybe even something we've not discovered yet. I'll give this one a try for sure being a fan of spread decks myself.

#1 - Boss's Orders - 154/192 - HR - $12.99

Choose 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon and switch it with their Active Pokemon.

You know this card and you know what it does. Lysandre saw play in every deck when it had it's time in the game and I am confident enough to say that Boss's Orders will see play in pretty much every deck from now till the time it rotates. We've finally got a powerful answer to those annoying mill/stall decks that rely on Dolls.

Even decks with a consistent gust engine will find a way to put this into the deck. I can see decks like Fire Box, even with Ninetales, will find a way to add a Boss's Orders or two in the deck. This card will win games. It's done it before in it's former guise as Lysandre and Guzma, it will continue to do so for the next two years.






I hope you've enjoyed reading this list and if anyone found it helpful, I'd be happy to hear that. I'm looking forward to seeing how the new set will impact our current online tourneys. Sadly I won't get to open or collect many cards from this set and I'm still putting myself in a strict no going out regime due to this pandemic but there will be some cards from these bunch I need to order since I can see them being use for the next 2 years to come.

Kash Top 30 List: Things to do during Self Isolation/Quarantie/Circuit Breaker

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. This one however might have come at the worst possible time.

Yup we're still stuck in this crazy current condition the world is in right now with the virus now having affected 2 million plus people around the world and most of the world are either in lock-down, or as Singapore would say, a "Circuit Breaker". So since most of us are in self-isolation right now, things can be pretty boring at home and I thought I'd try to do a list for things we all could do during these times. For once none of these are ranked, maybe with the exception of number 1 for obvious reasons.

30) Wake Up

It's a simple thing but I'm always thankful to get up in the morning to start my day. It's the simple things in life that matters the most.

29) Wash Up

Especially during these times, please wash up regularly. If you've left the house, wash those hands! You never know what you may have touched.

28) Watch TV

What else is there to do when you're stuck at home right? But we are in this age where TV isn't just enough for most people, the show you really want to watch might not be on at the moment. But it still works. I usually just watch TV for sports and wrestling and well there's no sports going on at the moment. Thankfully we still do have WWE and AEW entertaining us with some live wrasslin action. But if TV is still not enough...

27) Watch YouTube/Twitch

...YouTube has your back! Need to catch something quick for lunch, find something funny to watch on there during that time. I've probably spent most of my time probably just watching stuff on YouTube, from local skits to highlights of past sporting actions or laughing to the comedic genious from Whose Line Is It Anyways or even playing along on Family Feud. My favorite thing to watch right now is a game called Killer Game, it's some good stuff!

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TON3DEEuUh4" width="480"></iframe>

Also Twitch is not a bad spot to check out, more and more people are starting to stream their games so why not support your friends or people you may look up to and chat with them during their streams. If that's still not good...

26) Watch Netflix (Other streaming services applicable)

...Then Netflix (or Hulu, or whatever else is out there) it is! I'm still new to it so I'm not too keen on watching it all the time like some people I know. I'm still watching the classic That 70's Show on there. Drive to Survive is easily my favorite series there. If anyone has got a good series for me to watch, let me know!

25) Watch Virtual Sports

We're in a weird time where almost every sporting league in the world is closed. So what's the best alternative? Virtual sports! I'm not sure about other sports but motorsports have been doing virtual racing a lot lately and it's been fun to follow, I tend to get hooked onto those races, just as I would for the real thing.

F1 have got their own series but with a few of the actual drivers in it on the PC game, IndyCar has most of theirs on iRacing as do Supercars and NASCAR. There's also an all stars series done by the Veloce guys. At least this gives me something to look forward to each weekend.

24) Play Video Games

Most of us are probably doing this anyway right? While I'm still trying to fix my PS4, I've mostly been playing on the PC, usually playing F1 2019, Football Manager or Motorsports Manager. And on Switch it's Mario Kart, Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Let's Go Eevee. I need suggestions for new games to get!!!

Of course, I'm still playing Pokemon TCG Online in a way to keep myself ready just in case we can play in tournaments again (not gonna happen until 2021 at least, that's my guess). But there's still online tournaments to try so why not try my luck there. I am still trying to get better at this game so why not keep practicing on the online game while we're at it.

23) Play Board/Card Games

If you're lucky enough to have others in your house to play games with, why not some old school board games or card games? Things like Monopoly, Uno or Scrabble have and will always be fun to play.

22) Play Online Games with Friends

Why not grab some friends and play an online game together? My friends have been dragging me into playing Skribbl with them. It's a fun game where you try to guess what someone is drawing. I did see an article recently and I thought it was perfect for the current times and why not share it here? Spyfall and Jackbox are another two fun games to try.

https://thesmartlocal.com/read/free-online-games/?fbclid=IwAR2Lpge5K9SXiswT-LIN0tSkUhP74dzXcZTJzz25k5TeJ2fcZ3LPTTd4ELI

21) Video Calls

This one is something I don't really know as I don't have a webcam or a microphone to use nor do I really have any friends to talk to or wanting me to chat with them. But if you're a social person (unlike me) and that's your thing, good on ya!

20) Online Classes

It's not a bad time to pick up a new skill or learn something different to what you're used to and there's plenty of online classes to keep you occupied for the current time being. And well, if you're still a student, you're already doing that.

19) Study

This only really applies to those of us who are still students, catch up on schoolwork and be prepared for future exams or tests. Here's the best part, I'm saying that but yet I've still not done much revision myself. Laziness has taken over me.

18) Make a List/Planning

Even though there's not much to look forward to at the moment since we're all waiting for this pandemic to be over, why not start planning for things to do in the future? Places you want to visit or just things you want to get done around the house? It's a good time to plan your next adventure, whenever we are free to travel around again! Or in my case, make more of these types of lists just to kill time. Or your could also...

17) Write a Blog/Article/Story

...write a blog? Or even a story to let your imagination run wild or hey you're an expert at a certain thing, why not an article. People need things to read about during these times anyway so why not be the one to entertain others with a good read. If that isn't your way to go about things, there is something else to do.

16) Make a Video

Everyone has access to a phone with camera these days and every other joe around the block are doing vlogs these days so why not make a video about life around the house. Or you know, let your imagination run wild with some story and film it. Or just make a video about whatever is on your mind. Or gaming videos, that's always a welcome!

15) Take Pictures

This one is a little tricky since we can't go out much so there's really not much pictures to take but hey, if you've got some interesting stuff around the house, why not have some fun, make your own little stories with it? Like this one of my CharFam collection:

14) Listen to Music

Who else isn't already doing this anyway! Find more music, get a new album to listen to, discover something new, have fun with it.

13) Listen/Watch some Podcasts/Vidcasts

I've been listening to podcasts alot lately, mostly to help me get to sleep. There's a lot of good ones out there be it in audio form or even on video form.

12) Build Something

Remember Lego? Yup that used to be fun, building stuff because we had nothing better to do. Well, there are many other things to build now. A puzzle? A model car (I should be doing that but I'm so bad at it)? A gigantic Lego set? A new computer? A new cabinet? A new island on Animal Crossing (I don't even play the game)?

11) Draw/Paint!

I'm no artist but I do appreciate a good drawing, wish I could do some myself. I'm sure some are trying their hand with this already. And hey, there is a game called Skribbl just for that too (again, I'm very bad at drawing so apologies to anyone who has had to play me in those games).

10) Redecorate your House/Room/Area

I really should do this since my study table is a bit messy with all my notes lying around. It's really the best time to do these kind of things now, make your area look nice since you'll be spending way too much time around here anyways.

9) Online Shopping

Well since you can't go out to get stuff, why not buy stuff online! Some have been doing this for a while now and since some shops might be closed, online shopping is the way to go. I might even do that myself for some things I want to get in a few months time.

8) Try New Food

Speaking of ordering stuff, I'm sure some are already letting their imaginations run wild and cook themselves up a new food to try. Some food stores are closing for the time being so why not be your own chief. This obviously doesn't really apply to me since I'm not one to try new stuff but the funny thing is, I have eaten a few things I don't usually eat already. It's working.

7) Save Money

Probably the number one thing I'm doing right now and I'm a little glad we don't have to go out often because that means I can save more money. I have been spending money the last few years on games and cards and joining tournaments so it's nice to for once, be saving money, something I was good at doing during my teens/early 20s. Hey maybe I can treat myself to something nice once this is all over.

6) Daydream

I'll admit, I do this alot. Sometimes when I'm in need of a break of playing or studying, I'll just stare outside of my window and look at the surrounding, look at the clouds or the airplanes flying past me wondering when I can ever get on one again for my next adventure.

5) Read

People might not believe this but I do like reading books! I've got maybe a bit too many with me but hey now is a good time for starting reading some of them again. Or you know, most of us are probably reading the news almost everyday now thanks to this virus. Before it, I would hardly ever touch news sites, it's mostly boring stuff anyway.

4) Sleep

What else is there to do when there's nothing left to do. Get lots of rest!

3) Exercise or Walk around your Area/House 

This is a little tricky since we can't go out much but with the right equipment at home it's fine! I've got the cycling thingy at home and tend to do 30 minutes om it everyday. And of course walking around the house.

2) Hydrate

Simple thing but please keep yourselves hydrated at all times, especially if you're living in a hot area like myself here in Singapore.

1) Stay at Home

Last but not least, please just stay at home. It's the safest place from catching this virus. Work from home if you can, don't go out too often. Heck, I've not even left my house for almost 3 weeks now, I'm not taking any risks knowing my own situation with my health. So please take care of yourselves and hopefully things will get back to normal.

Not my greatest of lists I've done but I thought I had to share this one. Thanks for reading anyways!