Kash Top 30 List: Best Pokemon Cards Released in 2020

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. Those of you reading this know me from playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game, be it in real life or online but whatever the case is, 2020 has been an interesting year for the game with the introduction of Vs and VMaxes to counter the Tag Teams (with little to some success). 

So I thought, instead of doing a top 30 cards from a set, why not for once do a top 30 cards released in the year 2020. We've gotten 4 main sets and one mini set out, some have been great, some have been not so great but lots of good cards have been introduced to the game, some helping to bring a new archetype into the meta and others making an already good deck more broken. 

These are just my own opinion and as always, it's from someone who hasn't proven or done much in the game for real with my limited opportunities to do so (which will get even more limited due to the new Asian qualifying system) so if you disagree with some of these, that's completely fair. I just thought it'd be nice to look back at all the good cards we got out of 2020.

Prices were taken from Troll and Toad on the 10th of December 2020.

#30 - Turbo Patch - Darkness Ablaze - 172/189 - Uncommon - $0.20

Seen play in: Eternatus VMAX, Turbo Zacian V, Torkoal V, Sableye V

Turbo Patch was one of the more hyped up cards to be released from the Darkness Ablaze format. Sadly, it has not lived up to the hype mainly due to it needing to hit heads to attach energy from the bench. At least it can attach any energy which is why it's seen niche plays in various different types of decks but still not enough to show how good or bad it truly is. Not the like-for-like replacement of Max Elixir many were hoping for it to be.

#29 - Telescopic Sight - Vivid Voltage - 160/185 - Uncommon - $0.34

Seen play in: Inteleon VMAX, Blacephalon UNB

Finally some help was given to decks who are able to snipe the bench, specifically onto GX/V targets but sadly, the only ones who can make full use of it for the time being are the likes of Inteleon VMAX (which doesn't see play due to PikaRom still be popular), Cramorant V, Weezing or Ampharos V. Eventually this will find a space somewhere, the effect is too good to ignore.

#28 - Coalossal VMAX - Vivid Voltage - 99/185 - Ultra Rare - $9.99

Seen play in: Coalossal VMAX

We thought this would be the answer for the current meta. With PikaRom and Eternatus running havoc in the game and both having fighting weakness, it was thought that Coalossal would be a major player in the game. Sadly that hasn't turned out that way, PikaRom now has Mew3 to deal with it and Eternatus still isn't getting one-shot by Coalossal most of the time. But worry not Fighting type fans, help is on the way in the next set.

#27 - Dragapult VMAX - Rebel Clash - 93/192 - Ultra Rare - $8.45

Seen play in: Dragapult VMAX

The big game changer coming out of Rebel Clash, Dragapult VMAX forced many decks to be build differently solely because of it's ability to pick off single prize bench sitters at anytime. Coupled with Distortion Door Giratina and Obstagoon, benched Jirachis were never safe. Deck saw a lot of success in the Rebel Clash format and that was it as Eternatus VMAX has pretty much made the deck unplayable, even with all the disruption tools. It could make a comeback in the next set with many strong cards all weak to Psychic.

#26 - Jirachi Amazing Rare - Vivid Voltage - 119/185 - Amazing Rare - $29.99

Seen play in: Coalossal VMAX, ADPZ

While Jirachi from Team Up is still in Standard, it will still see more play over Jirachi AR. It's ability for the time being makes the most sense for decks like Coalossal who needs to discard an energy off the top of the deck or Zacian decks needing that one Metal energy for the ability. It will never compare strongly to Jirachi TEU but still a good consistency helper. 

#25 - Cinccino - Sword & Shield - 147/202 - Uncommon - $0.20

Seen play in: Control decks, Excadrill CEC

Zoroark-GX's trade ability came back in the form of Cinccino so obviously, it was going to see some play even though it wasn't as good as an attacker as Zoroark was. The deck found it's home mostly in Control decks just for it's drawing power but also saw play in Excadrill CEC to help thin the deck out as much as possible. I expected it to see way more play in other decks but that was never the case. 

#24 - Coating Metal Energy - Vivid Voltage - 163/185 - Uncommon - $0.35

Seen play in: LMZ

The perfect replacement for Weakness Guard Energy for LMZ players since it was a Metal energy, meaning Zacian now had the weakness removal effect. It has seen a bit of play in ADPZ as well but mostly in LMZ, just to cover it bases against the likes of Blacephalon, Centiskorch and ReshiZard.

#23 - Vikavolt V - Darkness Ablaze - 60/189 - Ultra Rare - $3.13

Seen play in: Vikavolt V, PikaRom

Quaking Punch returns but this time it needs more work to establish the item lock. Vikavolt was at it's best in the short space of time it was Standard legal with Thunder Mountain and Electropower, making it one of the best decks for the POG 2020 Championships. Since then it's been a tech choice for PikaRom, and saw fringe play with Amoongus. 

#22 - Bird Keeper - Darkness Ablaze - 159/189 - Uncommon - $0.20

Seen play in: Centiskorch VMAX, Control, Decidueye

One of the better supporters to be released later on in the year. Bird Keeper had the same draw 3 power as Welder but with the added effect of switching your active which can be useful in many different situations. 

It's a natual partner for Control decks to put a wall into the active or even Rowlet to hit for 60 for free. It has seen more play in Centiskorch recently to counter the Paralysis issue from PikaRom. This will likely see more play as more decks show up.

#21 - Metal Saucer - Sword & Shield - 170/202 - Uncommon - $0.20

Seen play in: Any Zacian decks

Only Zacian decks have been able to utilise Metal Saucer but you can see why it's stupidly good. Dark Patch and Water Patch had always seen play during their time and Metal Saucer had the same results, giving Zacian decks that comeback-ability when things are not looking so good. Addition energy attachment during a turn is always a huge bonus and it makes the already powerful Zacian V (and Zamazenta V in some cases) even that more painful to deal with.

#20 - Decidueye - Darkness Ablaze - 13/189 - Holo Rare - $0.98

Seen play in: Decidueye

The only playable Stage 2 in the current meta only because of it's wall-like ability. A lot of decks are built in such a way that they usually don't have a non-GX or non-V attacker, which helps Decidueye greatly. It's still a stage 2 deck meaning it'll still struggle a lot of times but once it's sets up, you'll be getting a few free wins. It should still see play until it's rotated just for it's ability alone.

#19 - Tool Scrapper - Rebel Clash - 168/192 - Uncommon - $0.20

Seen play in: ADPZ, LMZ, PikaRom, Coalossal VMAX

Simple effect. Remove two tools. Simple yet effective. It's ADPZ answer to help beat fellow Zacians, or an answer for other decks to get rid of annoying tools such as the bulky Big Charm or the annoying Stealthy Hood. Still doesn't see as much play as many first thought it would as not many decks are depending on tools for the most part, that could change soon.

#18 - Cramorant V - Sword & Shield - 155/202 - Ultra Rare - $3.10

Seen play in: Blacephalon, Centiskorch VMAX, ReshiZard

The attacker that no-one ever sees coming. The natural partner for Welder decks for it's 3 attack cost. It has seen play more for it's ability to take down Dedenne-GX for the last two prizes since Dedenne-GX sees play in most decks. The ability to snipe anyone is something only Cramorant can give decks that many others can't, making a great set-up attacker vs VMAX decks too. It may start to see less play once Welder rotates so it'll be harder to power it up. 

#17 - Galarian Zigzagoon - Sword & Shield - 117/202 - Common - $0.30

Seen play in: Obstagoon, Decidueye, Eternatus VMAX, Centiskorch VMAX, Dragapult VMAX

Speaking of snipers, Zigzagoon is one of the rare cases where the first line of an evolution sees more play just for it's ability to hit 1 damage counter to anyone. The one damage counter has come in very handy in many different situations, be it for Dragapult to snipe off benched basics or to help fix Centiskorch's or Eternatus' numbers to get a KO. This will continue to be used in many different decks all to fix up the numbers.

#16 - Speed Lighting Energy - Rebel Clash - 173/192 - Uncommon - $0.19

Seen play in: PikaRom, Vikavolt V, Ampharos V

Having the ability to draw extra two cards has made it a must have for PikaRom players who usually need to the perfect set-up to take KOs. Consistency boosting cards is always a good thing and PikaRom is already known for being one of the most consistent decks. It may only see play in PikaRom mostly but it's still one of the best decks in the format for a reason. 

#15 - Big Charm - Sword & Shield - 158/202 - Uncommon - $0.22

Seen play in: ADPZ, PikaRom, GreenZard, Mewtwo & Mew-GX

+30 HP? Why not! Big Charm sees play most in 3-prize attackers because as if they weren't already difficult enough to take down, having 30 more can sometimes gave them that extra turn to survive an onslaught. It can also be a great defensive tool, keep stuff like Dedenne-GX and Crobat V safe from being it for 180 or less damage. 

It's also a helpful tool for decks like Green's ReshiZard that already uses Heat Energy to buff it's HP up or even decks like Coalossal VMAX to make it near impossible to take down.

#14 - Oranguru - Sword & Shield - 148/202 - Holo Rare - $1.08

Seen play in: ADPZ, Magcargo-GX, Zacian Combo, Coalossal VMAX

Oranguru is just super helpful in many different situations, being able to swap one card with the top card of your deck can sometimes be the big game changer. Paired with Mewtwo UNB, it gives you a supporter straight back as well. 

It's seen play in ADPZ just to save important cards like a Boss Order's, help Coalossal VMAX stack a Fighting Energy to hit for 130 and is the piece to help Zacian pull off the Jirachi Prism Combo. Because of it's varied uses, Oranguru will continue to be one of the best tech choices for many different decks until it's rotated.

#13 - Air Balloon - Sword & Shield - 156/202 - Uncommon - $0.20

Seen play in: ADPZ, PikaRom, Mewtwo & Mew-GX

It's no float stone but it still gets the job done. Have the free retreat on certain attackers/bench sitters thanks to Air Balloon has been super helpful to many decks not needing to rely on Switch all the time. 

Stuff like Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX and Zacian V cannot consistently hit for paralysis or a big 230 damage if not for the ability to retreat into something else and getting back into the active. 

#12 - Centiskorch VMAX - Darkness Ablaze - 34/189 - Ultra Rare - $9.95

Seen play in: Centiskorch VMAX

One of the best attackers to come out of Darkness Ablaze, Centiskorch has now become the natural replacement for Fire Box for it's ability to hit a lot of damage from out of nowhere. It's one of the few attackers with no damage cap. 

With enough energies, it can even one shot stuff like the 340HP Eternatus VMAX. The deck might struggle once Welder is rotated but it can still find it's way back, since the best card in the game right now, Zacian V, has a fire weakness after all.

#11 - Boltund V - Rebel Clash - 67/192 - Ultra Rare - $6.89

Seen play in: PikaRom, Mewtwo & Mew-GX, Turbo Boltund V

The perfect starter for lighting decks and also the perfect finisher, Boltund V is one of the reasons why PikaRom made a comeback to the top of PTCG. 

It's first attack is already helpful enough to get your attackers ready for Turn 2 but also a strong enough late game attacker to hit for possibly 250+ damage if all your main attackers are still around. Boltund may disappear from the format once PikaRom is rotated. 

#10 - Aurora Energy - Sword & Shield - 186/202 - Uncommon - $0.20

Seen play in: Mewtwo & Mew-GX, Welder Box, ADPZ

Aurora Energy was the perfect replacement for Rainbow Energy. It was even better for Mewtwo & Mew-GX as it discards a card from your hand, helping you add an attacker to your discard pile which is a bonus. It's seen play mostly in toolbox-style decks, specifically Welder decks giving you many attackers to choose from.

#9 - Eternatus VMAX - Darkness Ablaze - 117/189 - Ultra Rare - $9.49

Seen play in: Eternatus VMAX

The big hitter of the new format. The Mega Rayquaza-EX "look-alike" hits for 270 with an all-dark bench which goes up to 8, which can be easily filled with the likes of Crobat V (draw power), Zigzagoon (damage buff), Toxicroak, Slowbro (Poison) and Yveltal (free retreat). 

The deck will continue to be the ultimate beat stick right up until it's rotated. It might have some issue coming in the next set though. 

#8 - Marnie - Sword & Shield - 169/202 - Holo Rare - $0.99

Seen play in: ADPZ, PikaRom, Dragapult VMAX, Eternatus VMAX, LMZ

The only other hand disruption card available to us in Standard for the time being alongside Reset Stamp. It's can be worse to deal with as it shuffles your hand away and you'll be getting whatever is on top of your deck which can ruin combos your opponent is building up. 

It's the card that decks like Blacephalon, Centiskorch and Control don't want to see. It'll see play just for the disruption aspect with Reset Stamp rotating soon. 

#7 - Eldegoss V - Rebel Clash - 19/192 - Ultra Rare - $3.39

Seen play in: ADPZ, Centiskorch VMAX, Mewtwo & Mew-GX, PikaRom

Similar to Tapu Lele-GX of older rotation but instead of search your deck for a supporter, you take a supporter from your discard, similar to VS Seeker from yester years. 

Eldegoss has been the winning card in so many games, to get the Boss for game or stop your opponent winning with Marnie or helping you get the damage you need with Welder. Eldegoss will always see play in as many different decks as possible. 

#6 - Scoop Up Net - Rebel Clash - 165/192 - Uncommon - $0.92

Seen play in: Most single prizer decks, Centiskorch VMAX, Dragapult VMAX, Eternatus VMAX

One of the best items to be released in 2020. With Escape Board gone, Scoop Up Net is now the preferred switch out option for Jirachi but Net gives so you so many more options than that. It's Acerola for single prize cards but in the form of an item card so it's crazy good. It's so good, it's one of the only few new cards I've bought during the pandemic. 

The best part about it is the various plays you can use with it. Extra damage with Zigzagoon? Check. Extra energy denial with Giratina? Check. Saving a damaged attacker? Check. Nets will continue to see play in all sorts of decks, especially single prize decks. 

#5 - Crobat V - Darkness Ablaze - 104/189 - Ultra Rare - $15.77

Seen play in: ADPZ, PikaRom, Welder Decks, Eternatus VMAX, Coalossal VMAX,

As long as Dedenne-GX is still in Standard, it will always be the preferred choice for a Pokemon to draw you out of dead hands since it discard cards. Crobat V just fills your up to 6, same as what Shaymin EX used to do but the big difference is Crobat can only be used once. After the next rotation, Crobat will see more play as the natural replacement for Dedenne-GX. 

For now it's mostly seen in aggro decks trying to get all the pieces together. It's also the perfect partner alongside Eternatus VMAX since it only plays Dark pokemon and all you really need is Crobats to keep drawing you out of bad hands while adding more damage for your attacker.

#4 - Professor's Research - Sword & Shield - 178/202 - Holo Rare - $0.75

Seen play in: 3-4 off in almost every deck, 0-1 off in Welder decks

The discard hand and draw 7 effect made it's return back in Sword & Shield with Research. It first showed up in Base Set and since then, it's seen play many times before in the guise of Juniper and Sycamore and always saw play in almost every deck. 

Drawing 7 is just too good, most of the time you'd want to use that to clear your hand off and give you more stuff to work with. It will continue to see play until it's rotated out of Standard but will likely come back in another guise.

#3 - Boss's Orders - Rebel Clash - 154/192 - Holo Rare - $5.95

Seen play in: Almost every deck.

Lysandre came back in the form of Boss's Orders. A simple effect on this card, gust up one of your opponent's benched Pokémon. Simple and straight to the point. 

Lysandre saw play in almost deck when it was around, it's predecessor Guzma also saw play in almost every deck so it's no surprise to see Boss' Orders seeing play in almost every deck so far. It is usually the winning card, to grab an easy target off your opponent's bench for the win. Boss's Orders, like Research before it, will see play until it's rotated.

#2 - Zacian V - Sword & Shield - 138/202 - Ultra Rare - $3.47

Seen play in: ADPZ, LMZ, Zacian Combo, Control Decks, Blacephalon

The most played deck of 2020 is easily ADPZ. It's called that for a reason and the Z (Zacian) has been part of the reason why the deck has seen a lot of play, online or in real life. 

Zacian isn't just a great attacker, making it a natural partner with ADP-GX, but also great for set-up decks just because of it's ability to draw three cards at the end of the turn, seeing play mostly in Control deck for it's draw power.

Zacian has also been in it's own deck, either in a defensive style deck with Lucario & Melmetal-GX or a Combo-style deck with Jirachi Prism and Mr Mime. A great all rounder card, perhaps the reason why ADPZ is such a huge problem to deal with. It would be easily the best card released if not for another card released in Sword & Shield. 

#1 - Quick Ball - Sword & Shield - 179/202 - Uncommon - $0.19

Seen play in: Every. Single. Deck.

No question the best card to be released from this year has to be Quick Ball. It's a 4-off in almost every deck for a good reason. 

It's the best search card in the game since it gets you any Basic for the price of just one card, pretty much taking Ultra Ball's spot in decks in formats of the past. 

This card will continue to see play until the last day of it's rotation and even then, it'll continue to see play in Expanded. 

This one may look a bit messy as it took me a few weeks to finish due to my new working schedule but in any case, I hope you enjoyed reading it! Enjoy the holidays!

Kash Top 30 List: Favourite Pictures from my Nikon D5100 Camera

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.

Yes I know what's going on with the world at the moment with the Covid-19 pandemic which means all of us are most likely stuck at home under quarantine trying to avoid contacting this virus. So what do I really miss doing? Travelling around and using my camera and taking photographs, which was something I picked up back in 2011. Sadly when the pandemic is over, I won't be able to go "trigger happy" with my photos as my camera was spoiled by some dumbass renovation workers last year so thanks for that.

So I thought why not share my favourite 30 pictures I've taken from my Nikon D5100 camera. It'll be mostly on F1 as I got my camera primarily to use in these races anyway but I've had some fun exploring the world and using it as well. 

#30 - Foreign Neighbourhood - Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Just a random shot but it shows how different things are for me when I was in Calgary compared to being in high rise buildings all around back home in Singapore.

#29 - Sunset + Clouds = Awesome - Elk Grove, California, United States of America

This just came out too nicely while I was just messing around with my camera at my cousin's house, I couldn't believe I managed to get that!

#28 You know this place - Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan

Akihabra, what a place. You just have to visit it to know what I love it there.

#27 Brake!!! - 2014 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

#26 - Stay Classy - Sacramento, California, United States of America

I just like the classic stuff and the plate saying "Clasy", it sure is staying classy! One of my better pictures taken from my USA adventures. 

#25 - Fireworks! National Day Parade - Singapore

Well, look at it!

#24 Flying kick? - Singapore

Took this at a random football match the one time I went to see my hometown team, Balestier Khalsa play and somehow managed to get this on camera! Talk about perfect timing. 

#23 Best fans! - 2018 Singapore Grand Prix - Singapore

The one cool thing about watching these races is at the end, usually the winning driver will wave to the crowd as he drives past them during his "victory lap" and I've not had much luck capturing these moments so this is the best one I got from Lewis Hamilton. 

#22 Wallpaper shot! - San Francisco, California, USA

For the longest time I had this bit of the Bay Bridge as my header picture and a wall paper because it came out so nicely!

#21 Statue of Liberty but I'm not in NY - Odiaba, Tokyo, Japan

Yup, you can see the Statue of Liberty even if you're not in New York! Something about seeing this here in Odiaba always cracks me up.

#20 Suit up! - 2014 Singapore Grand Prix

Just a random shot but this was just perfectly timed!

#19 The Birdman flies - 2014 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

It was cool to see the legend himself Tony Hawk doing his stunts live in person while roaming around during my second visit to the Australian Grand Prix. Lucky me!

#18 Flinders St Station - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

This place just looks amazing. Everytime I drop by Melbourne, I always find myself trying to take a picture of Flinders St station. I don't know why but it looks majestic enough for me to try.

#17 The Yes Man cometh! - Singapore

It's always cool to see a WWE superstar live in person especially someone I liked, and here it was Daniel Bryan. I got to meet him too and got him to sign his book I had bought a few months back.

#16 Quite the overview - 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The one thing I do like about the Malaysian Grand Prix when it was still hosting F1 races was the vast amount of opportunities to take clean pictures of these cars without barriers in the way. But this was one of my favourites, having an overview of half the circuit!  

#15 Roll out! - 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The other good thing about the Malaysian Grand Prix? You can get a nice view of the cars in their pit-stall in pitlane and getting cool pictures like these. Side note, this just happened to be Pierre Gasly's F1 debut as well.

#14 Majulah Singapura - Singapore

It's just the Singapore flag but it came out way too perfectly!

#13 The Champ is here! - Singapore

I've gotten to watch a number of wrestling events over the years and usually it's only New Japan where I get the chance to use my camera and this was one of my better shots of getting a wrestler during their entrance. Not just any wrestler, but some consider the best in the world, the IWGP World Champion (at that time), Kazuchika Okada!

#12 Champagne!!! - 2013 Singapore Grand Prix - Singapore 

Another instant of just right place at the right time. I've gotten to see the podium celebration up close a few times, mostly in Singapore but also once in Australia and it's always cool to see the drivers right after the race celebrating a race win or a good result. 

#11 On the starting grid! - 2014 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma - Sonoma Valley, California, USA

This was a really cool experience. Before then, I never got the chance to actually step foot on the starting grid minutes before the race actually happened so to be there for once, it was an amazing experience. Just to see how all the teams prepare before they went to battle was something I never thought I'd get the chance to see.

#10 The race winning move! - 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I've been lucky enough to take pictures of drivers overtaking each other but this one takes the cake easily. Max Verstappen waited just 3 laps to overtake Lewis Hamilton for the race lead and he went on to win the race so that was a nice moment to catch on camera. And a good birthday present for Max who turned 20 the day before!

#9 Rock 'N Roll Star - 2012 Singapore Grand Prix - Singapore

Thanks to the Singapore GP, I've gotten to see some of the biggest names in music doing their gigs during the race weekend but nothing will beat having seen both Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher live in action. Oasis will forever be my favourite musical group and getting the chance to listen to these two living legends in person was awesome. I need to go to their concerts proper next time!

#8 Briscoe Wins! - 2012 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma - Sonoma Valley, California, USA

Not many people may know this but the reason I got interested in watching IndyCar was actually because of Ryan Briscoe who joined the series in 2005. I had been following his career for a while, tuned in to see IndyCar for the first time and I've been hooked onto the series ever since.

So just imagine me, travelling all the way to Sonoma to finally watch an IndyCar race for the first time and seeing my favourite driver win the event! Best feeling in the world. Sadly it would wound up being his last win in IndyCar but at least I can say I was there to witness it live!

#7 Suzuka Ichiban - 2015 Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka, Nagoya, Japan

I've been to five racing circuits in the world and Suzuka is easily my favourite. The track is amazing for the drivers but qually as amazing for fans to watch in person! Great views all around the circuit so I had a blast snapping loads of pictures during that weekend in Nagoya.

#6 Applauding the man! - 2014 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma - Sonoma Valley, California, USA

This was another case of right place, right time. I was trying to get a picture of Scott Dixon on his final lap before winning the Indy GP of Sonoma and realised someone wearing his merch was standing up and I thought, this would be cool if I could get him in. And it came out way better than I could have ever imagined! 

#5 The Best in the World - Wrestle Kingdom 12 - Tokyo Dome, Japan

I've tried taking pictures of wrestling doing their moves before but it usually never comes off well. Except this one. I flew to Japan just to watch this match, Kenny Omega vs one of my all time favourites in Chris Jericho. And this was one of the best matches I've seen live.

#4 There he goes! - 2015  Malaysian Grand Prix - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Simply the perfect example of being at the right place at the right time. Sometimes you just need to be lucky in where you sit to find the action happening. I knew stuff would happen in Turn 1 so I chose to get seats there and lucky me, I got to see Marcus Ericsson spin off at Turn 1 while I was focusing on him to get pictures. Just my luck.

#3 Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco, California, United States of America

You know this place, you've seen it many times before. So it was cool to get a picture of it from my camera and it came out quite nicely.

#2 12 Apostles - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The 12 Apostles was one of the best things I saw during my first trip to Melbourne, something about this place just made me appreciate the world as a whole. And the picture came out perfectly. We still need to take care of our world as it shows here, it's slowly starting to crumble.

#1 Verstappen is out! - 2015 Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka, Nagoya, Japan

You can't predict this stuff. The right place, the right spot, the right time. As a racing fan, I don't ever see drivers stopping their cars whenever there is a problem still on track so this was a rare sight for many fans. But lucky me, Max Verstappen stopped his car right in front of me so I got this golden shot of him jumping out of his car. I don't think I'll get lucky enough to get a picture quite like this.

Well, I could have had I focused on my camera for a few seconds 15 minutes later as this happened...

I was using the car in front of Daniil Kvyat as practice for when I wanted to start taking pictures again and I noticed he was running wide....and then he went off and did a barrel roll! I was a bit too slow to taking a picture of anything as I was just stunned at what I was seeing but I managed to catch the last bits of it on video. If only I caught that in pictures, that would have been something. 

Thanks for reading my lists! My next one won't take as long as this one hopefully. 

My Darkness Ablaze journey - Finding the comfort deck right away for once! - Centiskorch VMAX

Darkness Ablaze time and this time I'll do this a bit differently, it'll be more of just a recap of things that happened with stuff I tried, things I did, what worked and what didn't. It may or may not turn out that way since I tend to add more stuff after finding ideas for it. Most of the focus will be on Centiskorch VMAX since it was my most successful deck during this format. I will share what I did with the other decks as well.

Topics

• 1. 2020-2021 Rotation
• 2. The Journey
• Week 1 & 2 - Testing
• Week 3 - Sunday Open Win
• Week 4 - Hegster Win
• Week 5 - Hegster Top 4 Finish
• Week 6 - Two Top 4 Finish in Three Days (Hegster and Sunday Open)
• Week 7 & 8 - Top 16 Limitless Weekly two weeks in a Row (Perfecting the list)
• Week 9 - PokeGear Version
• Week 10 - Still messing around
• Week 11 - Finals of Gazerbeam's Tourney of Dreams
• 3. The List
• 4. Matchups and stats
• 5. Next format thoughts
• 6. The other decks I played and stats

2020-2021 Rotation

Early impression from looking at the set was that obviously, Eternatus VMAX would be insane so I completely ignored it right away (it also meant I had to put Dragapult away) since I always try to work on a deck that's no considered the best. We were also in the middle of the 2020-2021 rotation so I had a few things factored in my mind:

• Goodbye Malamar
• Electropower/Thunder Mountain gone so PikaRom is worse now?
• Escape Board gone, is Jirachi still good enough to help with consistency?
• Heat Factory, Blacephalon GX and Victini Prism all gone. Any like-for-like replacements?
• Does ADPZ even lose anything?
• Shrine/Doom Count Yveltal gone, some rogue ideas are gone
• Magcargo-GX and Solgaleo-GX gone, can Mew3 Welder survive without these two?
• Energy Recycler gone. RIP the Charizard TEU dream.
• Ditto Prism and Zebstrika gone, less tech options
• Oranguru gone, is Control finally dead? Haha, problably not

So early impressions for me was that ADPZ was still the thing to beat but I had plenty of reasons to continue working on decks like Centiskorch, Mew3 Welder, Blacephalon (yes, I'm a Welder fan), Inteleon VMAX now that PikaRom was gone and maybe even try out this Eternatus thing if I was bored of the rest.

Before the new rotation came into works, I had already given Centiskorch a trial run and it was working really nicely. I made top 16 cut in the Epoch DAA Contest, 10th in Tag Bolt and even won the Yoshi Cup with it, which I think started giving many people the idea that the deck was actually good. I really should have played it for the POG World Championships, that was my one big regret out of that format. 

Right away, I knew I had to find replacements for Escape Board, Blacephalon-GX and Heat Factory Prism but the deck wasn't going to lose much thankfully. I was toying around the idea of two Eldegoss in the deck even before the rotation and really liked it. Same for two Fire Crystal which stayed in the deck for the most part of this rotation. Bird Keeper was lost in the shuffle initially but has found it's way back very late on. 

Week 1 & 2 - Testing

I had already sent my mind to playing ADPZ for the JGB Annual Championships, it was the safe pic in a field full of amazing players so I didn't want to bring something not fully tested, which was the case for Centiskorch. First run with it was Hegster S2 Top Deck 4, a decent 5-3 score but bubbling out of points at 33rd out of 126 people which is always frustrating. The first version I went with was the PokeGear version, thinking it'd be the most consistent way to get things done.

Straight away I wasn't a fan of Marnie. 5 support Pokemon also felt a bit much. I was missing Fire Crystal but I wanted to see how the deck could do without it.

For Tag Bolt S2 #8, I wanted to see how a tankier build of Centiskorch would work so I went with this:

It didn't work as well as I wanted it to. Heat Energy felt unnecessary and Big Charm always showed up at the wrong time so I was already turned off by the tankier built. I went 4-3 in the event. Most of my losses at this stage was to Mew3 Welder and Eternatus so the Heat, Charm, Mallow Lana combo was not working at all.

Week 3 - Sunday Open Win

While watching top cut of said Atlas Mini 1, the one deck that caught my interest was the genius himself, Alex Schemanske with his Scoop Up Net build of Centiskorch. It looked great as it finally fixed some of the matchups I thought I was having trouble with so right away, I abandoned ship on my other build to give this one a test run. 

I played his exact 60 in the D52 Bombers Cup, finishing 1st in swiss rounds at 4/0/2 before losing to ADPZ in top cut due to bad hands at the start. I fell in love with the deck right away, it was fun to play and it felt like the abosoulte best way to play Centiskorch. The nets with Goons made things like Blowns, Eternatus and Deci Goon even better and Giratina just gave me outs to beating LucMet and Deci Goon. 

I had planned to give that version a try for the Sunday Open but before that, I went in with a fun version of Centiskorch with Oranguru/Mewtwo in place of Eldegoss/Crobat in an effort to stop giving ADPZ free prize for the very first Limitless tourney on their brand new site, which is where all the events are now using to run these tourneys. I ended up winning it somehow, my first win of the format, I'll take it! 

Then came the return of the Sunday Open. 10 swiss rounds which was really tiring and somehow I ended up 1st in swiss at 9-1, only losing to Greens PikaRom due to brick hands. I was able to beat the decks that had troubled me in the past, that being Mew3 Welder and Eternatus thanks to the new changes. I beat Deci Goon 2-0 in Top 8, Greens PikaRom 2-1 in Top 4 and finally the mirror match 2-1 in finals to get my first Sunday Open win and my first online tournament win featuring 100+ players!

Also, it was two tournament wins on the same day, that's quite a rare feat I'd say!

The changes I made from Alex's list was having 2nd Eldegoss in place of 2nd Dedenne. The 2nd Eldegoss was a gimmick I managed to make work in the previous format, giving me a win in the Yoshi Cup and it worked really nicely here too. 3rd boss was another change I made which felt necessary and made the deck even better. 2 stamps worked like a charm. The only thing I felt that was missing was a straight answer to Zamazenta. 

The week proper started off with a 5-3 score in Hegster S2 Top Deck 10 but only good enough for 46th out of 173 people (it should have been Top 32 but my opponent was being an arsehole and decided to go into action for himself and of course he sacked me), the only change was cutting Mallow & Lana for second Dedenne. Even with the added draw power I still lost two games due to slow starts. 

Ended the week off with PokeX's Last Chance Qualifier, I needed just a top 32 finish to get me into the Invitational and I ended up finishing 6th with a score of 4/0/2 in swiss, missing a straight auto-qualification into day 2 by 5 points. The only change I made from previous list was to cut the 2nd Eldegoss for Heatran-GX as the counter for Zamazenta and it worked beautifully even in other games. This was where I was convinced Heatran was an auto-include, it would end up being my go-to person in matches against ADPZ. 

Week 4 - Hegster Win

I started to play around with different counts, wanting to see how PokeGear would help with consistency and so I brought it along for Hegster S2 Top Deck 12 along with the new addition of one Marnie in place of 2nd Stamp just to see how it'd work.

And it worked really well, I ended up winning the whole event! I went 6/1/1 in Swiss, beating ADPZ and Eternatus in Top 8 and 4 respectively, two of my more trickier matchups before beating Deci Goon, one of my easier matchups but I made it harder for myself with some misplays. I left Heatran and Giratina out to test the new changes out and even though I liked it, I still felt as though I was missing both of those options. 

And that was as good as it got for me honestly! Thanks for reading!

All kidding aside, it's sad to know that those three tourney wins (Limitless Test, Sunday Open and Hegster) with Centiskroch would be 3 of only 4 tourney wins for me throughout this format (the other being with Eternatus). I really thought I hit the jackpot finding my comfort deck early and I could finally call something for my own but it just wasn't to be. Sure I did get more good results later on but just never got a 5th tourney win with Centiskorch.

Went from a 1-2 start to a 5-2 finish at Chill a few days later and this is where I knew I had to get Giratina back in as one of my lost were to LucMet and I had no outs of getting around the Weakness Guard energy and no, Radiating Heat is not the best idea in that match. At least Heatran came in handy vs Zamazenta here. Having Tina and Heatran did help me get a top 16 finish at the very next Hegster event, so I was right to have them back in. 

Later on in the week I came close to making it a 5th win but I lost in the finals of a Japanese tourney called the Jal Cup. I tested Ordinary Rod out in place of 2nd Crystal to see the interaction with it and stuff like Heatran, Eldegoss or Dedenne and it worked nicely, I managed to beat a LucMet relying just on Zamazenta because of it. Sadly I dead drew in the finals vs ADPZ.

Week 5 - Hegster Top 4 Finish

Started the week off with my 3rd straight top cut appearance at the Hegster Top Deck series, finishing 3rd out of 115 players. I made some changes, going back to two Dedenne, cutting Gears, adding Marnie, going back to two Crystals and testing out 4 Comms to see if it helps to solve the issue of whiffing the VMAX evolution that cost me a coupe of wins days prior. It did it's job but I wasn't too convinced by it. 

Also during this tourney I was convinced 2nd Stamp is far better than a 1-1 split of Stamp/Marnie as I had to rely on it just to ruin my opponent's hand while I was stuck as well. Ended up 6/1/1 in swiss, beating LucMet in Top 8 before losing to PikaRom in Top 4 who never missed flipping heads on Crushing Hammers, even knocking all 3 of my energies out at one points after a Flare Starter. 

Later on in the week for Chill Series, I started testing Reshiram & Charizard-GX in place of Heatran-GX just to see how much better or worse it would do and in it's first match, it took all six prizes vs PikaRom so that went well. Only finished 4-3 in that tourney sadly. I also tested Zangoose in another tourney to see if it would help vs Eternatus and sadly never had the chance to find out. 

It was also during this time where a few others started taking my list to try out for themselves and the first big winner was my guy Edward Valencia, he won the first Limitless Online Series Weekly with 59 cards of what I used in Chill, with Heatran in place of ReshiZard. So that made me really happy!

A day later, I would bubble out of a top 8 finish in the first event of the 3rd season of PokeX. I gave Mallow and Lana another try in the hopes that it'd help get around Raichu's paralysis trick that kept making me lose and well....it just never did that for me. 

Week 6 - Two Top 4 Finish in Three Days (Hegster and Sunday Open)

At some point during the week, I gave Tord Reklev's version of Centiskorch a try with Greens and Magneton and I just wasn't a big fan of it, 5-7 in two tourneys. 

Went back to the normal list for Hegster S2 Top Deck 17, finish swiss with a 6-1 record (might have been 1st in swiss too), beating ADPZ in Top 8 before misplaying to the legend himself Azul Garcia Griego in top 4. I was satisfied with this list but something felt missing. I wasn't sure if 4th comm wasn't needed.

Played the same list for Jonno Cup but had no luck in that and that was also the first event where after 11 mirror matches, I finally lost to one but that was more due to me having a dead hand. 

For the Sunday Open, I kept the same list from Hegster with the only change being ReshiZard coming in place of Heatran to see how it'd deal with the ADPZ/PikaRom matchups and it seemed to do alright too, got me the win over ADPZ twice but I did feel that Heatran was probably better for other matchups plus it only gave up one prize. Ended swiss 5/0/1, beating ADPZ in Top 8 then losing to Mew3 Welder in top 4, I was put in a no win situation. 

Week 7 & 8 - Top 16 Limitless Weekly two weeks in a Row (Perfecting the list)

The Hegster invitational didn't go so well, winning the first round against ADPZ was the only good thing for me. I ended up losing the next two rounds but I liked how the deck was working with the newest addition of Great Catcher. The whole idea of it was me always finding myself in the middle of either needing Welder to power up or Boss to gust someone up in the PikaRom matchup. And then it hit me, why not Great Catcher so I can use both of them?

I kept messing around with ReshiZard for the Limitless WOS #3 and the deck worked really well, got me a 6/2/0 score, 16th out of 178 players which is not bad. Of course I knew right away ReshiZard should be Heatran, Marnie should be 2nd Stamp and one less Energy taken out so Giratina would be back in. That list for me would probably be the ideal Centiskorch list going forward and sure enough, it was! Augusto Beringuer won the PokeX Challenge the next day with those changes so my thinking was on the right path, except he went with one Fire Crystal and 12 energies. 

Now with the list set, it was time to give it a run at Sunday Open, I ended up 5/2/0, 14th out of 80 players, both losses were down to just bad luck, missing two important cards out of a 9 card deck from Dede draw and getting donked but the deck was working perfectly. 

The core idea of the list almost won 3 tourneys in a row, Liam won Sunday Open with it and Vini came 2nd for E & D's qualifier. So we were on the right path now.

While I was happy with the list, I still couldn't shake off the Lum Berry idea off my mind so I gave it a try for Chrollo #7 and got all the way to the finals with it before losing to Poison Eternatus. The Lum Berry did help me win the second game of the series but only having 2 of them in deck, they just never showed up at the right time and it was only useful against those two decks.

Just for the heck of it, I thought "why not let's run Lum Berry again" for the next Limitless WOS. And it didn't hinder me at all, going 6/2/0 for the second week in a row! 15th out of 143 people with a suboptimal version of Centiskorch sure was funny but also nice. But I knew the Lum Berry idea just wasn't cutting it. I'd rather just take the loss to Poison Eternatus and improve my matches agaisnt everything else. Lum Berry did scare the PikaRom players enough for them to make sub-optimal plays so that was nice. 

I went back to the ideal list for Perfection 1 of the 3rd season of PokeX, losing my last round to Eternatus to miss out on a top 16 finish. This was also the tourney I missed Lum Berry the most as I got paired with the combination of Poison Eternatus and PikaRom in 5 of my 8 rounds. Ended up 5-3 in the event which was nice as it was a best of 3 series in swiss but I stayed up till 6.30am so that wasn't good.

Week 9 - PokeGear Version

Went on a bit of a mixed run after that, losing win and in games in 6 tournaments in a row before bombing out of Hegster Top Deck 2 of the 3rd season. I started playing around with the PokeGear version of the list my friend Thomas Brophy had been doing alright with, wanting to see if it was any better but I just wasn't convinced as it made my LucMet matchup way worse. 

I started playing around the idea of Ordinary Rod and Marshadow to see if that would help to beat out the decks using two Chaotic Swell and sure enough, I never played against a deck using just that so I never got to see how it'd work. More testing followed with that combo but I ended up using Ordinary Rod more to get Eldegoss/Heatran/Dedenne back and I still prefered having two Fire Crystal in hand in case of Swell.

Week 10 - Still messing around

I started the week off playing in my first E & D event for their LCQ, going 5/0/2 after swiss rounds before messing up against Blowns in top 8. Had I played well, I had a real shot of winning it as all the matchups were in my favour so that was a real big missed opportunity. I did try out Ninetales V in the Net version just to see how it'd do vs ADPZ and things like Zamazenta and ChuChu, and it worked nicely to be fair. Shame I don't have the space to have two Fire tech attackers in the list.

Week 11 - Finals of Gazerbeam's Tourney of Dreams

And here we go, the last time I'll get to play Centiskorch in this TEU-DAA format and it was Gazerbeam's Tourney of Dreams, a double elimination tourney best of 1 format. I went with the Gear version thinking it'll be better suited for best of 3 not realizing it was actually best of 1! Deck ran smoothly but of course I lost to LDF and his Mad Party deck in winner's finals and grand finals. 

The main new addition (or re-inclusion) was getting Bird Keeper back into the deck for an easier way to get out of Paralysis and getting Heatran into action. So it's funny how I started the format off with Bird Keeper, didn't play it until the last week of the format itself but I always did like the card. 

So that's how the journey with Centiskorch went, just 3 tournament wins out of the 49 I took part in (yes I play too much). 9 Top 4 finishes, 11 Top 8 finishes, 25 Top 16 finishes. So half of my tourneys ended with me inside top 16 so I'm quite happy with that, shows that I'm making some improvements to keep putting myself in a good spot at these events when say a year ago, I'd be struggling to make top 16. 

The List

Going into the next format, my Centiskorch list will be based off this. I don't really see many changes needed since the deck doesn't really gain anything new from the set. So let's start with the 100% for sure must haves:

- Must Have (49) -

x3 Centiskorch V

x3 Centiskorch VMAX

x3 Volcanion

x2 Dedenne-GX

x1 Eldegoss V

x1 Crobat V

x1 Giratina

x4 Welder

x11 Fire Energy

x1 Fire Crystal

x3 Giant Hearth

x2 Boss's Orders

x1 Great Catcher

x4 Quick Ball

x3 Pokemon Communication

x1 Professor's Research

x1 Reset Stamp

x4 Switch

All these are self explanatory. 3-3 line of Centiskorch is usually enough to get the job done. Those 4 support Pokemon I feel will be a must going into the next format, especially Giratina.

11 Fire Energy feels just enough to get everything you need. 3 Gust options is the best way to go about it. 7 ball search may not sound like enough but it's been doing alright for me, if you can find a space for a 4th comm that would be even more helpful. The lone Research can come in very handy in very niche situations. So that's 46 cards sorted, all you need to do is figure the rest of the 11 cards and that usuall depends on which version of Turbo Skorch you prefer and also for some card counts.

- Scoop Net Options -

x4 Scoop Up Net

x2 Jirachi

x1 Zigzagoon

If you're going for the Scoop Up Net version, these are the additional must haves. Goon only helps in small situations but when you need it, it tends to be a game changer. Jirachi is a nice pivot to have at times and because of it, sometimes I like having a Bird Keeper in the deck to make full use of it. So that's 56 cards and the last three are up to personal preference:

- Tech Options -

- Either 2nd Fire Crystal or 12 Fire Energy

- Either 2 Stamps or 1 Marnie

- Either Cramorant or Dubwool as your non-Fire attacker

- Either Heatran-GX, Reshiram & Charizard-GX, Ninetales V or 4th Centiskorch V

I personally prefer having 11 Fire and 2 Crystal as it helps me have an out to Swell. As for hand disruption, I've grown to prefer 2 stamps as using a supporter to do that doesn't really suit this deck in particular. As for the colourless option, I'd rather go with Cramorant as the snipe option can come in handy in many situations, even in the mirror match or against unfavoured matchups like Inteleon VMAX. 

And the last backup attacking choice, I've come to the conclusion that Heatran just offers so much more over the other 3 choices. 

• Heatran can help you get donk wins out of nowhere. Heatran is also extremely useful in the ADPZ matchup and dealing with Zamazenta. Also can hit 350 for 7 energies, more than Centiskorch funnily enough who only does 320 with the same amount. 
• ReshiZard can tank a hit and the thing going for it is that it does deal with support Pokemon easier than the rest, but so does Centiskorch VMAX. Giving up 3 prizes for lesser HP than Skorch doesn't feel that good.
• Ninetales I've found to be extremly useful in the ADPZ matchup and also the LucMetZ matchup. It can also copy Tandem Shock to give your opponent's ChuChu a piece of their own medicine. 
• 4th Centiskorch just to make sure you start with it.

However, if you prefer the Gears version

- Gear Options - 

x4 PokeGear

x1 Crobat V or Eldegoss V

x1 Marshadow

x1 Ordinary Rod or Volcanion

PokeGear is self explanatory. Crobat gives you extra draw power but Eldegoss gives you another option for a 5th/6th Welder or 3rd/4th Boss and I've always liked having two Eldegoss in Centiskorch anyway. Marshadow is there just to deal with Choatic Swell. And for the last spot, personal choice, either go for the 4th Volcanion to maximise your Flare Starter odds or the recovery choice of Ordinary Rod.

Matchups and stats

So here's some fun stats part, I'll share how I did against the main decks of the format and instead of giving a guess on how the matchup would go, I'll give actual facts on how it went for me in those matchups. 

vs Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX/Zacian V (55 games played, won 33 = 60% win rate)

I did always think Centiskorch was always slight favored vs ADPZ. You had so many options to take all six prizes. If you're able to knock out their ADPZ Turn 2, you're winning 90% of the time. And you have various options to get there. Turn 1 Flare Starter + Welder onto Centiskorch or a Turn 1 Welder onto Heatran to hit the ADP twice. Sometimes you might even get lucky to knock out their Zacians right away. This is also the one matchup that Ninetales V truly shines, if you decide to play it.

But it's not always a give that you'll win. You are quite reliant on Dedenne/Crobat if you have a bad start and one awfully timed Mawile can lose you the game. Sometimes they can even win just from you bricking which probably controubled to 20% of my losses.

vs Eternatus non Poison variant (33 games played, won 19 = 57% win rate)

This one is a close matchup as you need the perfect set-up to firstly take down their first Eternatus VMAX and then be able to tank a hit from the next one to take it down as well. This is one of the matchups where Goon/Nets shines the most. Cramorant tends to be very helpful here too.

vs Pikachu & Zekrom-GX (27 games played, won 12 = 44% win rate)

This matchup, if anything, is slightly favoured to the Peeks as they have various options to lose you the game, either through stupid hammer luck, or the usual stamp to 1-2 and paralyze you out of the game. I never did get a lot of luck in this matchup. Also you need to go 2nd to really stand a chance of winning.

vs Centiskorch VMAX (27 games played, won 21 = 78% win rate)

Now this one is probably the most surprising of the whole lot. It's a mirror match, so it should be 50-50 but I've been able to get the best out of the mirror match many times, especially when I'm forced to go first. In fact I started the format of with an 11 match winning streak in the mirror matches. Unlike ADPZ mirror matches, this one tends to be more interesting. You won't try to aimlessly attack into them until the right time shows up.

vs Lucario & Melmetal-GX/Zacian V (22 games played, won 19 = 86% win rate)

One of your better matchups and the win rate shows. I'm not saying it's a 100% for sure win as weird things can happen as evident from my 3 losses. My losses to this deck was mainly down to losing a Skorch to a Turn 2 fully powered Zacian V + Boss or not having a way to get around Weakness Guard. Heatran-GX made this matchup even better for our side. I've even won 2 games against this with the combination of Heatran-GX and Ordinary Rod. This is also the only match where if possible, I'd choose to go first.

vs Mewtwo & Mew-GX/Welder Toolbox (24 games played, won 15 = 62.5% win rate)

This one is a tricky one as it should be 50-50, Mew3 has various of ways to beat Centiskorch but they always do seem to miss some tricks to get there which is probably why I won more times than I lost. You do need to be mindful of Indeedee V showing up out of nowhere or the usual Nasty Goo-GX trick so not spamming Switches is vital. 

vs Blacephalon UNB (15 games played, won 10 = 67% win rate)

This one is a little surprising as I honestly believe Blacephalon UNB is favoured in this matchup as it can easily get those huge KOs. Them depending a lot on their support Pokemon does help give us free targets and that's how I kept beating them I suppose. If it was a 33% win rate, I wouldn't be surprised. 

vs Poison Eternatus (9 games played, won 2 = 22% win rate)

Yup, this one is just terrible. There's really not much you can do but hope and pray. Your only realistic hope is knocking our their Eternatus VMAX on your 2nd turn with 8 energies on your VMAX and try to survive the next attack. The problem is their Poison trick is a bit too much to handle. 

vs Decidueye/Obstagoon (8 games played, won 8 = 100% win rate)

Normally, I don't like to say a match-up is an auto-win since anything can happen, you could have the worst start possible and lose. But yeah this is an auto-win. Their tricks won't affect you if you play correctly, using your Volcanions and Centiskorch at the right time.

vs Green's Reshiram & Charizard (8 games played, won 4 = 50% win rate)

50-50 matchup and the score proves it. For this, whoever goes 2nd pretty much wins. If you can get your VMAX running quickly, you just run over them. If not, they just run over you easily. 

Next Format 

Right now, I still don't have a clue on what will do well in the next format or not but one thing is for sure, I will still be doing my best to keep making Centiskorch as good as it can be. With LucMet/Zacian projected to jump into Tier 1, that gives us one really good matchup. ADPZ will still be around, so make it two. Jury is still out on the Coalossal matchup but I do hope it scares away the PikaRoms and Eternatus, two of our worst matchups.

As for new additions, I'll be testing out the new Talonflame V out for sure just to see if it's worth having the new hand after Turn 1. Typically, if I have to go first, I'd rather have my first energy on my Centiskorch V to build up a possibly 200 hit for turn 2 so that is already conflicting with some of my game plans. Ninetales V is an interesting choice with many new interesting attacks to take advantage of.

No new cards really catches my eye as things needed to add into the deck but 100%, Giratina will be good. I might even want to test two of them. I'll likely stick to the Scoop Up Net version since it's working well for me.

Other Decks I Played

I didn't just play Centiskorch the whole way though. I knew that if I wanted to really improve, I needed to get used to playing all sorts of decks and try to get decent results with most of them. The ones I refused to play were decks with Crushing Hammer as I'm not a fan of that card and I don't want to rely on luck to win games and also Control decks, it's just not for me.

• Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX/Zacian V
• 9 Events
• 38 Wins/23 Losses/3 Ties - 59% Win Rate
• 0 Wins
• 0 Top 4 Finish
• 1 Top 8 Finish
• 4 Top 16 Finish
• Average Placement - 26.89%
• Best Finishes:
• Atlas DAA Monthly 1 - 10th/94
• Epoch Tuesday Cup 1 - 7th/38
• Hegster S3 Top Deck 4 - 14th/123

• Eternatus VMAX
• 11 Events
• 41 Wins/30 Losses/2 Ties - 56% Win Rate
• 1 Win
• 1 Top 4 Finish
• 2 Top 8 Finish
• 5 Top 16 Finish
• Average Placement - 39.18%
• Best Finishes:
• Atlas DAA Mini 11 - 1st/52
• Coffee Cup #2 - 5th/16
• Prof Oak Paradise S2 Tourney #7 - 9th/39

• Mewtwo & Mew-GX/Welder Toolbox
• 10 Events
• 38 Wins/30 Losses/0 Ties - 53% Win Rate
• 0 Wins
• 0 Top 4 Finish
• 2 Top 8 Finish
• 3 Top 16 Finish
• Average Placement - 35.2%
• Best Finishes:
• Atlas DAA Mini 12 - 7th/60
• Atlas DAA Mini 1 - 8th/69
• Yoshi Cup 15 - 9th/18

• Mewtwo & Mew-GX/Lighting Toolbox
• 2 Events
• 9 Wins/5 Losses/0 Ties - 64% Win Rate
• 0 Wins
• 0 Top 4 Finish
• 0 Top 8 Finish
• 0 Top 16 Finish
• Average Placement - 23.3%
• Best Finishes:
• Chill TCG Series #10 - 18th/121

• Blacephalon UNB
• 2 Events
• 6 Wins/8 Losses/0 Ties - 42% Win Rate
• 0 Wins
• 0 Top 4 Finish
• 0 Top 8 Finish
• 0 Top 16 Finish
• Average Placement - 39.87%
• Best Finishes: 
• Atlas DAA Mini 5 - 30th/75

• Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
• 2 Events
• 8 Wins/7 Losses/0 Ties - 53% Win Rate
• 0 Wins
• 0 Top 4 Finish
• 0 Top 8 Finish
• 0 Top 16 Finish
• Average Placement - 34%
• Best Finishes: 
• Chrollo Tourney #10 - 21st/73

• Lucario & Melmetal-GX
• 3 Events
• 10 Wins/9 Losses/0 Ties - 52% Win Rate
• 0 Wins
• 0 Top 4 Finish
• 1 Top 8 Finish
• 1 Top 16 Finish
• Average Placement - 39.87%
• Best Finishes: 
• 9outofBen DAA League - 6th/11

Others:

Excadrill (1 Event) - 3/4/0

Dragapult (1 Event) - 0/2/0

Deci/Goon (1 Event) - 0/2/0

Fire Box (1 Event) - 1/2/0

Green's Centi (2 Events) - 5/7/0

Inteleon (1 Event) - 3/3/0

Charizard VMAX (1 Event) - 0/2/0

And of course, the stats for the main deck:

• Centiskorch VMAX
• 49 Events
• 209 Wins/120 Losses/13 Ties - 61%
• 3 Wins
• 9 Top 4 Finish
• 11 Top 8 Finish
• 26 Top 16 Finish
• Average Placement - 27.3%
• Best Finishes: 
• Limitless Test Tourney 1 - 1st/17
• Sunday Open (14th Sep) - 1st/139
• Hegster S2 Top Deck 12 - 1st/160

So yup, I can only do well with Centiskorch apparently but I did get some good results with the likes of Mew3 Welder, ADPZ and of course, that rare one-off tourney win with Eternatus. Hopefully I can add to these tourney wins with the new upcoming format. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day!