Kash Top 50 List: Points scorers in Hegster Top Deck Series

So here's a for fun list, with our favourite TO and new TPCi commentator Ethan Hegyi announcing the Hegster Endgame Regional Event, the last Hegster TDT event, I thought why not pay tribute to what Ethan and his crew have done with a look back at the players who did well during his run, and even the decks that ran riot during that era. But first, many might not actually know what Hegster TCG is all about so here's a little summary of the run for Hegster and his crew.

The first Hegster Top Deck tourney took place on the 18th of June 2020, over on the Challonge platform. The event had a small crowd at first, just the 10 took part in the first TDT, going as high as 33 and as low as 13. But the thing that made players keep playing in Hegster was the fact that Ethan would stream his tournament through his Twitch channel and it wasn't just the top cut games that were stream, even the swiss games which gave many players the platform to showcase themselves to more audiences which in time kept growing to the big amounts we got to see by Season 3.

After a month, Ethan and his crew moved over to the Battlefy platform starting with TDT 11, where it would stay as the home for Hegster for the next 4 months. Attendance was at an average of around 20+ but with the start of Season 2, the events just kept getting bigger and bigger as more players started to take notice and join in on the fun for a Hegster event with more big name players joining in as well. The first event started with 64 players and by the third event, we had crossed the 100+ mark. The highest attendance would be 209 for the 9th event, never once dipping down below 100.

By October, Hegster was among the many online organizers to make the switch to the brand new Play Limitless platform that, as of writing, is still the host of choice for every big online tournaments. With the switch to a centralized Pokémon platform, more players would join in on the action, with only one event dipping below 100 players during the next 6 months. TDT S3 #16 and #17 were the first to hit 200+ players and we would reach that mark near the end of Hegster's run, the highest being 371 players for the first event of the cancelled Season 4 of Hegsters (sadly the results page is no longer on play limitless due to some bugs during that event).

As with all good things, Hegster TCG run came to an end by April 2021 with Ethan having been away months before for personal matters and the team deciding to call it a day. Plans for an IRL Hegster event soon came to light for the month of August but sadly was cancelled. And thus we now have the pleasant surprise of one final Hegster event, the Hegster Endgame Regional event tomorrow night (14th May).

The tournaments were fun, but what about the players who took part in it, and the ones who did well. I was trying to think of a way to do this list and I couldn't figure the best way so I thought, I'll just go for the top 50 points scorers of players who competed in Hegster's Top Deck series! I'll even do a short summary of the decks that did well during that time (from UPR to RCL at the start to TEU to BST at the end). 

For the points, I followed Ethan's point scoring system from Season 3 just to have some consistency:

• 1st = 10 points
• 2nd = 8 points
• 3rd and 4th = 6 points
• 5th to 8th = 5 points
• 9th to 16th = 3 points (50+)
• 17th to 32nd = 2 points (100+)
• 33rd to 64th = 1 point (200+)

Some results aren't in the list as I couldn't find the finishing results for a few tourneys so I just went with the ones I had. And for the player bio, I tried my best to find every relevant results for these guys to show the calibre of players who did well in these events. Also you will notice that majority of the players on this list are either from the US, Canada or Latin America and the events are at a timing best suited for players from that region. 

I did a short summary for the best decks as well and right at the end you'll see a bit of a "Hall of Fame", the 1st and 2nd place finishers and what decks they used for each Hegster Top Deck Tourney results I was able to find. 

Results shown under Hegster Results can be a bit misleading so I'll point out that it's the finishes where points were accounted for just in case.

#50 Manuel González Fernández - Chile

Achievements:

• 141st - Limitless Online Series Qualifier 1
• 4th - GGToor Showdown #12
• 4 online tourney wins

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S3 #5)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 0

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 3

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 3

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 36

#49 Benjamin McEachen - United States of America

Achievements:

• 27th - Richmond Regional 2019
• 112th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier 4

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S1 #2)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 1

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 1

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 2

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 36

#48 Edward Valencia - United States of America

Achievements:

• 1st - Limitless Online Series Weekly #1
• 1st - Late Night Series #17
• 7 online tourney wins

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S2 #6)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 1

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 1

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 3

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 36

#47 Nolan Benson - United States of America

Achievements:

• 1 online tourney win

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S2 #16)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 1

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 1

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 2

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 36

#46 Jimmy Mulligan - United States of America

Achievements:

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 0

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 0

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 38

#45 Richard Yannow - United States of America

Achievements:

• 88th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier 4
• 13th - Limitless Online Series Weekly #3

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 0

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 5

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 3

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 38

#44 Aaron Friedman - United States of America

Achievements:

• 4th - Limitless Invitational 2020
• 5th - Players Cup 4 Global Finals
• 7th - Anaheim Regional 2018

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 0

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 1

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 

Points: 38

#43 Justin Newdorf - United States of America

Achievements:

• 6th - Chill Series #14
• 12 online wins

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 4

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 3

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 40

#42 Nathan Hargreaves - United Kingdom

Achievements:

• 125th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #1
• 126th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #4
• 3rd - Atlas $2K Annual Championships 2021

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 1

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 4

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 4

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 1

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 40

#41 Vaughn O'Brien - United States of America

Achievements:

• 2nd - Indianapolis Regional (Seniors)
• 31st - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #2
• 2nd - Late Night Series #19

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 4

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 1

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 1

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 41

#40 Vinicius Augusto Gomes - Brazil

Achievements:

• 20th - Belo Horizonte Regional 2017
• 47th - Sao Paulo Regional 2020
• 80th - Sao Paulo Internationals 2019

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S3 #19)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 0

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 2

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 8

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 42

#39 Daniel Altavilla - United States of America

Achievements:

• 1st - Sao Paulo Internationals 2018
• 1st - Mexico City Regional 2017
• 1st - Toronto Regional 2018
• 1st - Memphis Regional 2018
• 1st - Origins Open 2019
• 1st - Knoxville Regional 2019
• 1st - Costa Rica SPE 2020

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S3 #14)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 1

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 3

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 4

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 45

#38 Michael Ginchereau - United States of America

Achievements:

• 3rd - Chill Series #41
• Top 4 Florida League Cup (x2)

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S1 #19)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 3

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 3

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 1

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 0

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 48

#37 Juan Andree - Chile

Achievements:

• 3rd - Lima SPE 2020
• 15 online wins

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 1

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 6

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 51

#36 Mike Gibbs - United States of America

Achievements:

• 37th - Denver Regional 2019
• 49th - Madison Regional 2019
• 79th - Indianapolis Regional 2022

Hegster Results

Win: 2 (S2 #18 and S3 #39)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 1

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 3

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 0

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 5

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 52

#35 Grayson Lang - United States of America

Achievements:

• 1 online win

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S1 #14)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 3

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 0

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 0

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 53

#34 Stephen Maxlow - United States of America

Achievements:

• 13th - Late Night Series #6
• 3 online wins

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S1 #22)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 1

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 1

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 3

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 54

#33 Anya Johansson - Norway

Achievements:

• 4th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #3
• 49th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #1

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S1 #5)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 3

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 5

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 0

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 0

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 55

#32 Saavan Verma - Canada

Achievements:

• 5th - Late Night Series #5
• 6 online wins

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 3

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 3

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 9

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 55

#31 Alex Garcia - United States of America

Achievements:

• 17th - Daytona Beach Regional 2019
• 24th - Richmond Regional 2019
• 30th - Atlantic City Regional 2019

Hegster Results

Win: 2 (S1 #7 and S3 LCQ)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 1

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 2

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 2

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 59

#30 Azul Garcia Griego - United States of America

Achievements:

• 1st - Orlando Regional 2016
• 1st - Toronto Regional 2017
• 1st - San Jose Regional 2017
• 1st - Atlantic City Regional 2019
• 2nd - Sao Paulo Internationals 2018
• 1st - Players Cup 3 Global Finals

Hegster Results

Win: 2 (S2 #17 and S2 Invitational)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 0

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 1

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 4

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 2

Points: 59

#29 Regan Retzloff - United States of America

Achievements:

• 1st - Indianapolis Regional 2022 (Seniors)
• 1st - Daytona Beach Regionals 2019 (Seniors)
• 1st - Salt Lake City Regionals 2018 (Seniors)
• 7th - World Championships 2018 (Juniors)

Hegster Results

Win: 2 (S2 #9 and S3 #6)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 3

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 5

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 61

#28 Fernando Cifuentes - Chile

Achievements:

• 53rd - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #4
• 144th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #1
• 6th - Atlas $2K Annual Championships 2021

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 5

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 10

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 61

#27 Jake Gearhart - United States of America

Achievements:

• 44th - Salt Lake City Regional 2022
• 1st - Wisconsin Regionals 2016 (Seniors)
• 28th - Pokemon Online Global Championships 2021

Hegster Results

Win: 2 (S2 #7 and #13)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 3

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 2

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 2

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 61

#26 Christian Chase - United States of America

Achievements:

• 43rd - Knoxville Regional 2019
• 59th - Atlantic City Regional 2019
• 73rd - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #3

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S1 #23)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 5

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 3

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 0

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 1

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 61

#25 Patrick Fenne - United States of America

Achievements:

• 2 online wins

Hegster Results

Win: 2 (S1 #10 and S2 #3)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 5

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 0

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 0

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 62

#24 Henrique Jorge - Brazil

Achievements:

• 1st - Chill Series #33
• 1st - Chill Series #21
• 11 online wins

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 1

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 9

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 8

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 62

#23 Gabriel Fernandez - Brazil

Achievements:

• 4th - Sao Paulo Regional 2022 (Seniors)
• 7th - Joinville Regional 2022 (Seniors)
• 1st - Limitless Weekly Online Series #11

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 1

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 3

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 5

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 13

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 63

#22 Marco Garcia - United States of America

Achievements:

• 2nd - US Nationals 2016
• 6th - Dallas Regional 2016
• 16th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #3

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S1 #25)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 3

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 2

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 2

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 65

#21 Justin Lambert - United States of America

Achievements:

• 36th - Atlantic City Regional 2019
• 50th - Dallas Regional 2019
• 12th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #4

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S1 #9)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 3

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 5

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 2

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 2

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 65

#20 Vinicius Fernandez - Brazil

Achievements:

• 2nd - Sao Paulo Regional 2022 (Seniors)
• 2nd - Joinville Regional 2022 (Seniors)
• 2nd - GGtoor Chill TCG Showdown #10

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S2 #1)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 5

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 8

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 66

#19 Patton Courie - United States of America

Achievements:

• 42nd - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #4
• 3 online wins

Hegster Results

Win: 3 (S1 #11, #13 and #15)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 3

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 4

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 5

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 70

#18 Fabrizio Inga - Peru

Achievements:

• 1st - Peru SPE 2019
• 1st - Buenos Aires SPE 2020
• 4th - Sao Paulo Regionals 2022

Hegster Results

Win: 2 (S3 #8 and #30)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 3

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 4

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 5

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 70

#17 Yusuke Saeki - Japan

Achievements:

• 17th - Pokemon Online Global Championships 2020
• 78th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #4

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 6

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 4

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 7

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 72

#16 Angel Aranibar - Peru

Achievements:

• 4th - Players Cup 4 Global Finals
• 63rd - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #4
• 1st - GGToor Showdown #4

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 4

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 6

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 10

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 72

#15 Lucas Oldale - Canada

Achievements:

• 1st - Melbourne Internationals 2020 (Juniors)
• 4th - Santa Clara Regionals 2019 (Juniors)
• 6th - Portland Regionals 2018 (Juniors)

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 6

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 3

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 2

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 7

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 73

#14 Thomas Brophy - United States of America

Achievements:

• 1st - GGtoor Chill TCG Showdown #2
• 16th - Atlas $2K Annual Championships 2021
• Top 16 NA Players Cup 2 and 3

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 5

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 5

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 5

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 73

#13 Andrew Hedrick - United States of America

Achievements:

• 21st - Indianapolis Regional 2022
• 32nd - Pokemon Online Global Championships 2020
• 42nd - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #1

Hegster Results

Win: 3 (S2 #2, #5 and S4 #2)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 1

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 1

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 9

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 4

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 77

#12 Le Bui - United States of America

Achievements:

• 4th - Anaheim Regional 2018
• 13th - Portland Regional 2019
• 29th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #3

Hegster Results

Win: 2 (S3 #10 and #36)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 4

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 3

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 7

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 77

#11 Zac Cooper - United States of America

Achievements:

• 3rd - Salt Lake City Regional 2022
• 8th - Colinsville Regional 2020
• 8th - Costa Rica SPE 2020

Hegster Results

Win: 3 (S1 #12, #27 and S3 #26)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 2

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 2

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 4

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 78

#10 Marco Cifuentes - Chile

Achievements:

• 4th - Santiago Regional 2018
• 4th - Santiago Regional 2019
• 4th - Chile SPE #1 2018

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 7

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 5

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 6

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 88

#9 Gabe Shumway - United States of America

Achievements:

• 10th - Atlantic City Regional 2019
• 11th - Salt Lake City Regional 2022
• 37th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #1

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S3 Invitational)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 5

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 7

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 11

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 3

Points: 107

#8 Jonathan Patricio Ch. - Chile

Achievements:

• 1st - Late Night Regionals #1
• 11th - Atlas $2K Annual Championships 2021
• 23 online wins

Hegster Results

Win: 0

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 8

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 5

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 7

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 5

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 110

#7 Gabriel Smart - United States of America

Achievements:

• 6th - Salt Lake City Regional 2022
• 22nd - Colinsville Regional 2020
• 37th - Frankfurt Internationals 2022

Hegster Results

Win: 2 (S2 #15 and S3 #23)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 3

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 7

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 3

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 13

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 111

#6 Augusto Beringuer - Brazil

Achievements:

• 6th - Sao Paulo Regional 2017
• 7th - Salvador Regional 2018
• 8th - Joinville Regional 2022

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S3 #3)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 7

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 11

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 7

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 116

#5 Vitor Lugon - Brazil

Achievements:

• 3rd - Pokemon Online Global Championships 2020
• 11th - Sao Paulo Regionals 2022
• 19th - Sao Paulo Internationals 2019

Hegster Results

Win: 4 (S2 #14, S3 #11, #15 and #24)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 2

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 4

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 7

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 11

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 119

#4 Logan Mckay - Canada

Achievements:

• 94th - Limitless Online Series Qualifier #2
• 2nd - GGtoor Chill TCG Cup #5
• 3rd - GGtoor Chill TCG Cup #8

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S1 #1)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 10

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 4

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 4

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 6

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 120

#3 Orion Sutherland - United States of America

Achievements:

• 17th - Daytona Beach Regionals 2019
• 33rd - Knoxville Regionals 2019
• 61st - US Nationals 2015

Hegster Results

Win: 1 (S1 #4)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 4

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 6

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 6

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 18

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 0

Points: 121

#2 Kashvinder Singh Mann - Singapore

Achievements:

• 8th - Singapore SPE 2019

Hegster Results

Win: 3 (S1 #26, S2 #12 and S3 #16)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 8

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 4

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 6

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 8

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 2

Points: 142

#1 Caleb Rogerson - United States of America

Achievements:

• 1st - Frankfurt Internationals 2022 (Seniors)
• 1st - Salt Lake City Regionals 2022 (Seniors)
• 4th - Indianapolis Regionals 2022 (Seniors)

Hegster Results

Win: 7 (S1 #16, #17, #18, #24, #29, S3 #17 and #29)

Top 4 Finishes (2nd to 4th): 3

Top 8 Finishes (5th to 8th): 9

Top 16 Finishes (9th to 16th): 6

Top 32 Finishes (17th to 32nd): 12

Top 64 Finishes (33rd to 64th): 1

Points: 178

Decks that did the best during the Hegster Top Deck tournaments:

(1st = 5p, 2nd = 3p, 3rd-4th = 2p, 5th-8th = 1p)

Hegster Top Deck Tournament "Hall of Fame"

Thank you for reading and to Ethan, Jake, Gabe, Gabe and everyone else who had a hand in running the Hegster Top Deck tournaments and the streams as well, thanks for the all fun games, streams and just a fun time overall playing the game we all enjoy. 

Kash Top 20 List: Top Decks from SSH-BRS, prices of the decks and how rotation will affect them

 Now that we've got IRL events again (well some of us at least), we don't just need to rely on results from online events to find the best decklists around, and I believe most of us will probably lean on the decks we seen that have done well in these big events. So far we've had 3 Regionals in 3 different regions (OC - Brisbane, NA - Salt Lake and EU - Liverpool), and we've got one coming this weekend as well (LA - São Paulo). 

So I thought why not try this again, finding some of the best decklists around, compare them in terms of price and how the 2022 Rotation will hit them (I know, that's 6 months away but still doesn't hurt to have an early peek right?). I've always been curious on how cheap or expensive a playable deck can be and it could be helpful for others who are looking for a cheaper alternatives to the usual Mews and Arceus decks (which we know will be expensive).

I wanted to try to do this list differently and instead of ranking them by how each deck has done, I thought I'd rank by the archetype and just have them go back to back on these lists even if one version has done super well and the other not so much, to make it easier to compare if a certain version of Arceus is more expensive or cheaper than the other and which one is better for the long-run, well past rotation. Decks that I've gotten on here have scored at least a top 16 finish in these regionals and the ones who didn't, scored a top 8 finish at 256+ players online events so have something consistent to work with.

Decks featured on here:

• Mew VMAX
• Arceus VSTAR
• with Inteleon
• with Duraludon VMAX
• with Galarian Moltres/Inteleon
• with Galarian Moltres/Galarian Zapdos V/Galarian Moltres V
• with Galarian Moltres/Inteleon/Crobat VMAX
• with Gengar VMAX
• with Beedrill/Flygon V
• with Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX/Inteleon
• Malamar
• with Inteleon
• with Cinccino
• Gengar VMAX
• Suicune V/Ludicolo
• Jolteon VMAX
• Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX
• Zoroark Control
• Galarian Moltres/Hoopa/Inteleon
• Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX
• Durant Mill
• Dragapult VMAX

And also a short summary at the end:

• Decks affected by rotation
• Not by much (0-25% or 15 or less cards)
• Slightly (26%-41% or 16 to 25 cards)
• Severely or Gone (42%+ or 26 or more cards
• Prices of decks
• Budget Friendly ($0 to $100)
• Standard ($101 to $150)
• Spend big to win ($151+)

And as you will see, the guys over at Limitless have made things easier for us and made my life a lot easier when trying to look up these information by showing us how much each card would cost to build the deck and the total price itself. So now you don't have to look at my excel (except for the online based lists) and instead see what you'd see from their excellent site. To keep things consistent with them, I'll also use USD for this and prices are taken from TCG Player as of March 31st 2022.

#1 Mew VMAX

List: 1st Brisbane Regional - Natalie Millar

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 16.67%

Total Price: $162.53

The undisputed BDIF (best deck in format) in this set, last set, next set, and probably up until it rotates in the middle of 2023. No deck has the tools Mew VMAX has and the scary part is, most of it are staying on for the start of the next season, all it really loses is Quick Ball which can be replaced, Rotom Phone which has a straight swap with Switching Cups, and two Switch which at the moment has no straight swap. 

This will still be a force for the next months, and surprisingly enough it's not even the most expensive archetype on this list! In fact it wouldn't even make the top 5 for the priciest decks of all listed on here. This is also likely to be the base list for most Mew VMAX decks you'll see being the first Regional winning deck in 2 years.

#2 Arceus VSTAR with Inteleon

List: 7th Salt Lake City Regional - Xander Pero

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 30%

Total Price: $199.12

And the reason Mew VMAX is not even on the top 5 priciest decks is simply down to Arceus VSTAR. A 4-3 Arceus line already cost $166, more than the entire Mew deck! Not just that, the Inteleon line on here would cost you another $15. So for that reason alone most Arceus decks will be quite pricey. This one is just third on that list. 

This is likely to be the base line for many Arceus decks as well as it has been one of the popular versions for Arceus decks and has been successful in two different regionals already. This version of Arceus will have to adapt when rotation hits as important pieces such as Drizzle, Quick Ball, Evo Incense, Scoop Net and Big Charm will all be rotated.

#3 Arceus VSTAR with Duraludon VMAX

List: 2nd Brisbane Regional - Louis Pozzacchio

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 25%

Total Price: $177.99

Initially the favoured partner for Arceus VSTAR, Duraludon VMAX has taken a step back lately but is still one of the better decks in the format for it's tankability against most things. It plays differently to all of the other Arceus decks and it doesn't use any other support Pokémon which does make it a little cheaper as you don't have to get the Drizzle lines. It's also one of the least affected by the new season rotation.

#4 Arceus VSTAR with Galarian Moltres/Inteleon

List: 3rd Brisbane Regional - Peter Lo

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 33.33%

Total Price: $146.85

While most were trying to make Dark Box (Galarian Moltres/Hoopa/Inteleon) work in the new format, Peter decided to try something different and add an Arceus line into that package. And now it's one of the more viable ways to play Arceus. In fact, the next two decks following this one on the list have been in some ways inspired from this version to include other V attackers and even a VMAX one. And with Mew still the top target, Moltres will continue to be a viable option for these decks. 

#5 Arceus VSTAR with Galarian Moltres/Galarian Zapdos V/Galarian Moltres V

List: 4th Salt Lake City Regional - Nicholas Moffitt

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 35%

Total Price: $145.76

The one good thing about playing just a 2-2 line of Arceus is that it won't cost as much as the other lists, just $100 for the 2-2 line, $22 for the Inteleon line and the other $20 for the rest of the deck including the Galarian Birds. With Mew and Arceus the two top decks we have, Dark and Fighting type attackers are some of the best counters to have and this deck is one of the few to make good use of both. It plays different to the other Arceus decks since it's not the main center-piece and more of another part of a big puzzle along with many other pieces. 

It is also the cheapest Arceus deck to build if that helps, but on the flip side it gets affected by rotation the hardest of all but one of the Arceus decks mainly due to the Inteleon line and the pieces with it (Quick Ball, Net, Air Balloon) and the pieces to get those counters going (Energy Search, Cape, Court). Future Arceus-style counter boxes will need more help for the future sets to find the like-for-like replacement for these cards.

#6 Arceus VSTAR with Galarian Moltres/Inteleon/Crobat VMAX

List: 4th Liverpool Regional - Alessandro Frenda

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 35%

Total Price: $203.47

This is the other deck hit hardest by the upcoming rotation in 6 months and also the 2nd most expensive deck on this list. As mentioned before, the 4-3 Arceus line and the Inteleon line here would cost you around $180 but that's the price of having a combo that works I suppose. It's built similarly to the previous list but with more of a focus on Arceus with the option of Crobat VMAX to take cheeky KOs. Like the last deck, it's also the hardest hit of the Arceus decks when the next rotation comes around.

#7 Arceus VSTAR with Gengar VMAX

List: 1st Salt Lake City Regional - Drew Kennett

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 30%

Total Price: $216.74

Would you be surprised if I told you this deck was the most expensive deck on the list? Probably not as it does feature two lines of two very strong evolving attackers, but not known to work together. That is until Salt Lake where it won the whole thing as a pair. The 4-2 Arceus line itself cost $130 and the 3-2 Gengar costing $71, with the other $15 spread around the rest of the deck. 

Maybe it's a good thing this deck prefers the Bibarel engine over the Inteleon engine. And because of that, it won't lose as much as other Arceus decks (Quick Ball, Evo Incense, Switch, Big Charm, Air Balloon being the main losses). This list could also be used as a base line for future Arceus decks that might feature other VMAX attackers as the supporting or secondary attacker.

#8 Arceus VSTAR with Beedrill/Flygon V

List: 9th Salt Lake City Regional - Charlie Lockyer

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 30%

Total Price: $147.93

Now for a different kind of Arceus deck that does not feature either an Inteleon engine or a Bibarel engine. The Beedrill box plays a little different as it relies a lot of V support mons like Crobat and Lumineon to get some of the pieces and let's not forget, Arceus VSTAR is also does search out two things for you, another great support mon. 

Not having to rely on a Drizzle engine does have some benefits as the deck is one of the cheaper Arceus decks and also one that won't be that affected by rotation, losing stuff like Quick Ball, Ordinary Rod, Training Court and Air Balloon mainly. 

#9 Arceus VSTAR with Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX/Inteleon

List: 10th Brisbane Regional - Duy Le

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 21.67%

Total Price: $177.93

Initially hyped up as the preferred partner for Arceus but lately has seen little play, with just a one top 16 result in Brisbane and Liverpool which is still better than nothing to be fair. I'm still willing to say the deck hasn't been explored with that much and it could still be a contender if someone breaks it. It is after all one of the better options for an Arceus deck with a VMAX mon.

And it's got a few plus sides too. It is one of the cheaper Arceus decks to build even with the 4-3 line that costs $166, the rest of the money will go into the Inteleon line, the 2-2 Ice Riders and that should be about it. And the deck is also one of the least affected by the upcoming rotation, losing said Inteleon line and a few stuff like Quick Ball, Leon, Incense, Buck and Net. Losing Leon might be the more painful one which takes away the option for one-shotting some VMAXes especially with Quick Shooting Inteleon gone as well.

#10 Malamar with Inteleon

List: 11th Salt Lake City Regional - Gabe Shumway

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 21.67%

Total Price: $33.80

The best budget deck on this list has to be Malamar. Why? It's got two different versions that has placed very well in Regionals, even making finals with this list. Not the easiest deck to play, this takes a lot of practice to perfect as I have been finding it out myself lately. And the two lists are in the top 3 for the cheapest decks to build on this list! This one being a bit pricier only because of the Inteleon line, the 4 Drizzles alone cost 1/3rd of the total price needed to build this deck.

Last time I did a list like this, Malamar was the least affected deck by rotation. It gets a bit more affected this time, losing 17 cards namely the Inteleon line, Incense and Net (which all go together). The next Malamar on the list might have an answer for the future.

#11 Malamar with Cinccino

List: 14th Salt Lake City Regional - Nathaniel Kaplan

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 30%

Total Price: $21.19

And here is the cheapest deck on the list, all it cost is under $22! And it got 14th out of 600+ players so it's a proven quantity even if it's not the favoured way to play Malamar (even Nathaniel mentioned that the Inteleon version might be better). The other reason is cheaper is the lack of any expensive cards in this list, specifically Drizzle. 

Cinccino is the more expensive piece in this deck. But it's also part of the reason why the deck will suffer a bit more from the upcoming rotation too since Evo Incense, Great Ball, Scoop Up Net and Ordinary Rod are all rotating too. The good news is that there is a like-for-like replacement for Cinccino in Liepard so that part fixes itself. So Malamar is still likely to be a strong deck going into the next season.

#12 Gengar VMAX

List: 3rd Salt Lake City Regional - Zac Cooper

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 26.67%

Total Price: $130.71

With Mew VMAX being the undisputed BDIF so far, surely there has to be a Dark deck that counters it right? Many have tried and most have failed but Gengar VMAX is one of the few that has given Mew some troubles so far. The deck can be bricky at times but when it works, it has got answers to a lot of the top decks in the current format as we speak.

It's one of the cheaper 4-3 VMAX decks to build too that has gotten big results at a Regional (with a Top 4, Top 8 and a few Top 16s as well). That's not the only good news, it's also one of the few deck that doesn't get that affected by rotation. Losing Marnie does hurt the Path+Marnie combo but the new Roxanne might fix that, not a clear replacement as it needs to meet a criteria. Only other thing you'd lose are Quick Ball and Switch, which is a big one as Gengar VMAX does need to reset it's second attack so future lists might have to rely on Escape Rope for the time being.

#13 Suicune V/Ludicolo

List: 2nd Salt Lake City Regional - Phinnegan Lynch

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 41.67%

Total Price: $49.46

One of my favourite decks on this list, and the one I played the most ever since Welder rotated but thanks to the emergence of Jolteon, Suicune has not showed up as often as it did early on. It's still a good deck and if you need any evidence, watch Phinnegan's games from the Salt Lake City regionals. There is a reason why it finished 2nd out of 600+ players.

Strangely enough, it is also one of the cheaper decks on this list. For a deck relying on 4 Vs, it costs less than $50 USD in total! And almost 20 of that is going into the Inteleon line. Sadly it's one of the hardest hits decks in the upcoming rotation, mainly because it's main partner, the Inteleon line, will be gone. Quick Ball, Evo Incense, Rare Candy, Cap Bucket and Cape are all gone as well so any Suicune V deck looking to see play next rotation will need to find a new bunch of partners to make it the force it once was.

#14 Jolteon VMAX

List: 8th Salt Lake City Regional - André Chiasson

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 43.33%

Total Price: $132.06

Since it was released, Jolteon has been a force in the meta and even with the new Manaphy being released to stop spread decks, it hasn't stopped Jolteon from topping a few big events, even winning an online regional before this top 8 result from Salt Lake. The deck didn't gain anything new from the latest set but it didn't need it much and it was already a very successful deck. 

Jolteon V being a promo does make it one of the more expensive VMAX decks around since the V wasn't even in an actual set. It also will lose it's Inteleon pieces come September and many of the search power along with it. It also loses one of it's best game plan of going Path and Marnie as the latter is also rotating (but Roxanne is coming).

#15 Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX

List: 1st Liverpool Regional - Robin Schulz

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 40%

Total Price: $46.83

The old favourite has been missing since the start of this format but former World Champion Robin has brought it back to the spotlight and many will likely rely on his new list for it as it is a regional winning list, even if it may look very different to other Rapid Strike Urshifu lists of the past year. It is now the cheapest deck featuring a V or a VMAX attacker on the list, mainly due to the League Battle deck and because this list only uses a 2-2 line, you could take that deck, add in the Inteleon lines, the Dark package and the wacky 1-offs and the supporters to have the deck ready to play.

The deck will soon  have to face the rotation which means it's favoured partner since the release of Chilling Reign, the Inteleon line, will be missing in action. The deck did so alright without it first but it will need a new draw/search engine to keep up. And many other stuff for that matter as 40% of the deck will be rotated. It should still find a way as stuff like the Octillery engine and the Dark stuff will stick around.

#16 Zoroark Control

List: 5th Liverpool Regional - Sander Wojcik

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 48.33%

Total Price: $31.59

Well Control is back and surely we're not surprised by this, Sander always finds a way to make it work. This list will likely be the backbone for all Control decks going forward for the next few months with a few changes likely to be made to adapt to the meta. There are some pros and cons for these types of decks, the pro being how cheap the deck is to build, it's the second cheapest on this list. The con however is the fact that almost half the deck is rotating, the second highest of any deck on this list.

#17 Galarian Moltres/Hoopa/Inteleon

List: 16th Salt Lake City Regional - Muhammad Ideis

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 43.33%

Total Price: $50.26

This version of Dark Box has been a budget favourite for the last few months, relying mostly on just Galarian Moltres, Hoopa, sometimes Galarian Weezing, and a few times Sableye V as well. The deck has evolved to a point where having a few V attackers is the right way to go, with both Moltres and Zapdos in this list but both not costing that much to get making the deck still a great budget choice. 

It will sadly take a big hit when the new rotation comes. The Inteleon line will be gone, and taking Quick Ball, Scoop Up Net, Evo Incense, Energy Search, Air Balloon, Training Court and Energy Retrieval along with it, all very important pieces to allow the deck to keep attacking with Moltres and whichever attacker is needed. One of them, Hoopa, is also rotating so it'll need to likely rely on a new support attacker for the early game. 

#18 Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX

List: 4th Late Night 30 - Pedro Vicêncio

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 31.67%

Total Price: $61.46 (I forgot to put the $7.62 for the 2 Inteleons from CRE on this list)

Personally, Ice Rider is still my favourite deck to play out of any deck on this list. Is it the best? Even I know it's sadly not but it's one of those decks that on it's day, can take a big win just as Le Bui just did on the same day of me writing this down. This is a deck that can beat Arceus, can also beat Mew if all the pieces fell your way, can beat Gengar and can also beat Malamar if they miss a beat. 

Ice Rider is one of the cheapest VMAX attacking decks to get as well, cost only $62 at most to build the whole thing and it will get cheaper as Ice Rider will get a new league battle deck with a 3-3 line included, which will give it the Rapid Strike Urshifu effect and make it cheaper thanks to the box being easily accessible. It will lose some important parts though, mainly the Inteleon line along with Marnie, Quick Ball, Evo Incense, Cap Bucket, Scoop Up Net and Air Balloon, all cards that are not easily replaceable with cards in our current card pool as it stands so the deck, if it were to survive, will have to look a lot different come September. That or just be another Arceus deck. 

#19 Durant Mill

List: 1st Place Late Night #29 - Andrew Weiss

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 46.67%

Total Price: $36.71

We don't just have a good Control deck that has proven itself in this format but we've also got a Mill deck that has won a 256+ person tourney already, albeit in the online world. Still, it was one of the first few big events of the new BRS format so everyone was still trying to figure out what worked and what didn't. Durant apparently worked well right off the bat. 

And it's not that difficult to build, being the 4th cheapest deck on the list. That's the big plus. There is however a big minus, as it's the 3rd highest affected by the rotation of any lists on here. Sure, losing Cinccino won't hurt it much with the new Liepart but losing stuff like Quick Ball, Scoop Up Net, half of their energies, Snorlax but most importantly, Cursed Shovel and Galar Mine could give the deck a real re-think going into the next season.

#20 Dragapult VMAX

List: 6th Late Night 31 - Zach Porlier

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 48.33%

Total Price: $62.10

Once the BDIF of the format, those days are long gone now that Mew VMAX is not just the best Psychic attacker in the game but the undisputed BDIF in the game. It's still a decent choice to be fair, if it can hit all the Dark-attackers whose primary aim is to get Mew and Dragapult sadly gets in the crosshairs of that war, as does another former BDIF in Shadow Rider Calyrex. 

It is one of the cheaper VMAX decks to build in all fairness, having been released as a promo-set thanks to Shining Fates. The biggest issue for this deck is that this whole thing will be gone come rotation as Dragapult VMAX, the only main attacker on the list, is one of the few surviving VMAXes from the first few sets that still has some presence in the meta. For that reason I don't see many wanting to spend any money on this when there's a few better options out there, be it VMAX attackers, decks relying on Inteleon engines or spread attackers. 

Just a summary of which decks are more or least affected and because we're still moths away from Rotation, I'll change the numbers around to make it look more fair than say if it was 2-3 months to go:

Not affected by much: (0-25% -> 15 cards or less rotating)

• Mew VMAX - 16.67%
• Arceus VSTAR/Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX - 21.67%
• Malamar/Inteleon - 21.67%
• Arceus VSTAR/Duraludon VMAX - 25%

Slightly affected: (26%-41.67% -> 16 to 25 cards rotating)

• Gengar VMAX - 26.67%
• Arceus VSTAR/Inteleon - 30%
• Arceus VSTAR/Gengar VMAX - 30%
• Arceus VSTAR/Beedrill/Flygon V - 30%
• Malamar/Cinccino - 30%
• Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX - 31.67%
• Arceus VSTAR/Galarian Moltres/Inteleon - 33.33%
• Arceus VSTAR/Galarian Moltres/Galarian Zapdos V/Galarian Moltres V - 35%
• Arceus VSTAR/Inteleon/Crobat VMAX - 35%
• Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX - 40%
• Suicune V/Ludicolo - 41.67%

Severely affected or gone case: (43%+ -> 26 cards or more rotating)

• Galarian Moltres/Hoopa/Inteleon - 43.33%
• Jolteon VMAX - 43.33%
• Durant Mill - 46.67%
• Zoroark Control - 48.33%
• Dragapult VMAX - 48.33%

Of the decks I've got on here, only one is completely dead in the coming months (Dragapult) but a few others will need a completely new direction with the loss of Drizzle. Jolteon, Dark Box, Suicune, Ice Rider and a few Arceus decks all get quite badly hit by losing them. 

As if Mew VMAX being the BDIF wasn't scary enough, it's the least affected of the current decks as things stand! All it loses is Quick Ball (can be fixed with the new Feather Ball) and Rotom Phone (also can be fixed with either Switching Cups or Energy Lotto) so it really doesn't lose anything. The Arceus decks that don't lose out much are the ones that feature secondary VMAX attackers since they either focus on a Bibarel engine or in other cases like Duraludon, are fine without anything else. Gengar is another one that won't lose much, a possible deck to get early on to use for the next few months or the whole year.

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

Budget Friendly ($0-$100)

• Malamar/Cinccino - $21.19
• Zoroark Control - $31.59
• Malamar/Inteleon - $33.80
• Durant Mill - $36.71
• Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX - $46.83
• Suicune V/Ludicolo - $49.46
• Galarian Moltres/Hoopa/Inteleon - $50.26
• Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX - $53.84
• Dragapult VMAX - $62.10

Standard Prices ($101-$149)

• Gengar VMAX - $130.71
• Jolteon VMAX - $132.06
• Arceus VSTAR/Galarian Moltres/Galarian Zapdos V/Galarian Moltres V - $145.76
• Arceus VSTAR/Galarian Moltres/Inteleon - $146.85
• Arceus VSTAR/Beedrill/Flygon V - $147.93

Spend big to Win ($150 >)

• Mew VMAX - $162.53
• Arceus VSTAR/Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX - $177.93
• Arceus VSTAR/Duraludon VMAX - $177.99
• Arceus VSTAR/Inteleon - $199.12
• Arceus VSTAR/Inteleon/Crobat VMAX - $203.47
• Arceus VSTAR/Gengar VMAX - $216.74

Previous for the Spend big portion, I would put it as $200 or more but the differences for these decks didn't seem enough for me to justify $200 as the last part, so I went for $150 this time around. The full Arceus line itself will cost around $166 and a 4-3 Mew with 4 Genesect will cost around $147 so that made me think $150 was a better benchmark for it.

Obviously the spend big to win isn't all true, you don't need an expensive deck to win, Malamar almost did just win a Regional and it's one of the cheapest options for us. Those expensive decks are often times likely to win as they are usually the better decks of the format. It is interesting to see many older favourite now in the Budget friendly option like Suicune V, Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX and Dragapult VMAX, decks that at one point where quite pricey and also the top tier decks. And now that I mention it, I did spend quite a lot of money build all 4 decks (the only 4 I had before I spent on Arceus) so that's a big whoops for me. 

Thanks for reading, and I hope someone out there finds this helpful in anyway. Have a good day!

My new route to Worlds 2022 - Need to Top 4 Singapore Nationals, if I even make it there!

We finally have news on events here in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines! Finally! (And I have updated it with the latest news we've heard)

We've been patiently waiting for this news since we first heard that we were no longer a part of the Oceanaia contingent under TPCi and now fall under TPC. We've heard nothing for the longest time, no events for those of us to really look forward to. I'm not counting the remote play stuff, I don't like the idea of doing events through webcam when people can find a way to cheat through it, just not for me. I would rather wait for live events then play the webcam stuff. I mean, we still had PTCGO too.

And while everyone has been away and not playing for about 2 years, I've been playing on PTCGO almost every day with the simple aim to improve myself as a player through these online events. And now with events coming back, it's time to see if the grind was worth it, whether I've actually improved or not. So far I can't tell because I've been to locals 3 times and have gone 1-2 in all 3 local events, mostly because of Mews doing Mew things and hitting bad matchups too many times.

So we've now got news about the National Championships, something we knew about from the first announcement a year ago. Initially we thought we still had Leagues and Towns (Cups and Challenges) and by winning those, you get round byes for the Regionals or Nationals. Now we don't even have the Regionals, which was going to give the winner a spot into Worlds (which still only meant 8 people would go to Worlds which doesn't feel a lot to me).

The new details we got now makes it a bit more clearer or what will happen. So these are the details shared by my friend Nicholas Yong shared on his Facebook page The Southern Islands. And the updated news we got later on (April 1st) will be edited in and highlighted in red.

1. Official shops (certified Pokemon TCG Gym shops) will host “shop qualifier tournaments”. The winners of these tournaments will be able to participate in their country’s respective National Championships.
2. Each tournament will host 4-16 players (depending on the country’s current COVID-19 rules for group gatherings and player participation). Shops can decide how they would want to manage this. Now we know for a fact that it is just 4 players per session. 48 sessions, shops have a morning and afternoon session, some shops gets two dates. Players pick 3 choices of which sessions they want to play in and they will be assigned to one of them. Sadly, it's also a best of 1 format, 3 swiss rounds for these shop qualifiers.
3. The structure is now a bit more clear. 

• First we have the Shop Qualifiers (STAGE 1) where 48 qualifiers will be decided. A likely total of 192 players will participate all around Singapore, not too sure the number for Malaysia and the Philippines as of yet. 
• Then it is the Finalist Round (STAGE 2) where the 48 players will be divided into groups of 4 to play in 12 different sessions, also best of 1, 3 swiss round and that will decide the Top 12 
• The winners of these finalist rounds will move on to the Top Cut Playoffs (FINAL STAGE). Not completely sure how this will be done but if I were to guess, same as usual, swiss rounds, like best of 1 due to TPC's insistence on using that format, and then the top 4 will play it out to see who gets the Day 2 invite to Worlds.

1. Shops will host two tournaments each – that means each shop will have two representatives for their country’s respective National Championships! We are unsure if shops are allowed to host additional tournaments. Some do have two different dates just in case.
2. A player who has won a shop qualifier tournament cannot attend another shop qualifier tournament. That is because every player is only allowed to attend one qualifier session.
3. Based on previous posts on the Pokemon Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines websites, the winner of the National Championships gets a Day 2 invite to the World Championships 2022 in London; Top 4 places will receive a Day 1 invite.
4. Previous players who have qualified for London 2022 using the old CP system in the 2019/2020 season will play what I call “Day 0” – so there is incentive to play in their National Championships.

My first reaction is, why is Nationals now a glorified Invitational event? So not all of us can actually play in it, which is a real shame, it would be nice if everyone had a shot at winning it. Making it a glorified invitationals for just the shop qualifier winners isn't the worst idea, it means the best of the best in Singapore, Malaysia and the Phillipines will play it out to get those 4 spots to Worlds, then you really do have the best representatives for worlds for each country.

So how does one get into the Nationals in the first place?

But then that's where the other issue comes in. You have to get in through the Shop qualifiers and from what we know, they can only host up to 16 players. Trust me, more than 16 will sign up for every shop's events because there are a lot of active PTCG players here in Singapore. So some people might not even get a shot of making it to Nationals because they never even got to play in a Shop qualifier because only the previous winners won't be allowed to win so you could still end up seeing the same 10-12 people in all of these events. I do plan to play in as many of them to maximise my chance of making it into the Nationals, since it's my only shot of making it to Worlds now.

And to make things even more tricky, looking at the first point, these shop qualifiers will be done in certified TCG Gym shops. And for Singapore, if we look at the official site, we've only got 8 gyms but now we know other local shops will be hosting the shop qualifiers as well:

• Sanctuary Gaming (Somerset - Central)
• Project EXT (Bugis - Central)
• Agora Hobby (Lavender - Central/East)
• Goodness Gracious Games (Farrer Park - Central)
• Brick's Play (Toa Payoh - Central)
• Active Games Collection (Serangoon - North/East)
• Games Academia (Tai Seng - East)
• Next Gen Gaming (Tai Seng - East)
• 1 Collectables (Paya Lebar - East)
• The Imaginarium (Upper Changi - East)
• Daimonji Collectibles (Clementi - West)
• TableTop (Pearl Hill - Central)
• Toys Terminal (Yishun - North)
• War Games (Ang Mo Kio - Central/North) 
• Cardboard Collectible (Chinatown - Central)
• Rowell Video Pte Ltd (Serangoon North - North/East)
• G28 Trading (Tampines - East)
• Tanoshimou (Ang Mo Kio - Central/North) 

All these shops are technically mostly in Central Singapore apart from the last two. So no official Gyms in the West, East or Northern areas which could make travel a little tricky but still makes sense since we all go to these Central areas to play locals anyway. That is no longer an issue as non-Gym shops will be hosting these events as well so players from the Northern, Eastern and Western areas have a place closer to them to play now.

But if we do the maths, that's only 8 shops, and since they each will have two representatives, that is only 16 players competing in the biggest tournament here in Singapore. Only 16 players have a shot of getting the 4 spots to Worlds out of the 100+ active PTCG players we have around here. It doesn't make my job any easier. I mean, I still have to win one of these shop qualifiers just to make it into the big show, and that is also if I make it into the roster for these shop qualifiers! Now we know it's not just 8 shops, but around 18 shops. The issue here is only 4 players per session at one time. It's estimated that 192 players will join, and I can safely say we probably do have 192 or more active players, most either play other games or play for fun and probably do want to join in. Heck even the collectors might want to try their luck in these, you never know.

The job doesn't get any easier for me though, since it is a best of 1 format, and just 3 swiss rounds to decide who moves on to the next stage. Everyone knows how much I dislike best of 1 formats, it has little to do with the players skill because sadly, one bad hand could completely ruin your match, or in this case your entire qualifier and in the bigger picture, your whole season! Your whole season could end within minutes of the event starting because of the best of 1 format and Mew is the most popular deck in Singapore so you can imagine how bad this will go for a lot of us. 

This is why I am not a fan of this new format. I will try my best but now it's no longer about how good I am but more about how lucky can I be to avoid any trouble in 3 games, avoid possible bad matchups and don't dead draw. Just win right? That will be my plan.

So the path to Worlds looks quite straight forward right?

1. Get into one of the up to a limit of 16 registered spots for a shop qualifier tournament (8 of them in total, two qualifiers)
2. Win a shop qualifier to make Singapore Nationals (along with likely only 15 others)
3. Finish Top 4 in Nationals (Win for Day 2, Top 4 is Day 1)

Sadly it doesn't look that simple or as straight forward as it seems. I mean these shops can only hold up to a limit 16 people for starters so I might not even make it to a number of these qualifiers. 

Also, there's many active players in Singapore so imagine all of us just trying to get a spot. And I'm not sure how it even works, hopefully it's not some system where friends can book spots for their friends to be in, I've missed the chance to play in local games because of that. 

So I would need to be on the lookout for pages and info for these registrations and knowing myself, I might miss some of them because I never heard of the information. Don't worry, I didn't forget to register. I don't really have that many friends to help me get those information either so that makes it even more tougher for me. I was the one who told my friends haha!

So what are the odds of getting to Worlds for someone like myself?

I mean for starters the odds of me just being in the event (the qualifying one, let alone the National) itself is already quite low. Then we remember that I need to win a qualifier. Not get a good result, win the damn thing. And in a best of 1 format too! Can't dead draw even once, just need to win out since there is only 3 swiss rounds.

And how do we make the odds even smaller? Oh yeah did I ever mention the players I would likely have to play against? We have at least 10 worlds calibre players in Singapore already, many more who haven't made it to worlds but are good enough to make it there one day. And to think only 4 makes it to Worlds as it stands. I mean I can name you 4 players from Singapore most of you have already heard of, Clifton, Jit Min, Joey, Klive and then there's even more guys who have been to worlds before that are just as good. A few of them won't make it to worlds because of this new system. That is just crazy to me. Now my hope is that I don't see any good players in my sessions, just give me 3 people who are just playing this for fun and make my life a bit easier haha. If I do see one good player (and there is a small chance that it might happen actually, I need to be on my best to stay in the running to reach the ultimate goal of making Worlds, that's been the dream all these years).

Some already have their spot in worlds from the old CP route but this gives them a spot in Day 1 or 2 and not 0 so those guys would probably fight it out as well so now we have to add them into the mix.

And there's also the fact that there is a lot of new players in the playing scene and are eager to try their luck too. I've seen a few of them from my 3 trips to my local store and I have seen posts from other store with many more new players at these events. So we have them to add to the mix as well.

Considering all that, the odds of me being one of the four at the end of the Nationals is really really REALLY quite small. I mean, I'm still not sure why there is even only 4 of us going to Worlds as it stands. Back in the CP days, there'd be about 8 Singaporean players going to Worlds and after OCIC 2020, we were on pace to see maybe even around 12 of us make it to Worlds. 

But hey, a route is still a route to Worlds right? The journey has to start somewhere!

Even if it's the impossible task, I'm still going to try my best to get there. Honestly speaking I want to make it to Worlds not just to win the thing (I mean who doesn't) but also for the chance to see my friends in person and the rare chance to play against the best players from around the world live. I've had the chance to play some of the best players in the world in the online scene but the chance to do it live is something else. It used to be a chance we could get going to bigger events, now that's reserved only for Worlds. I must have been asleep when I wrote that last sentence because I don't even know what I was trying to say. But the point is, we used to have a chance to play in bigger events, going to regionals in say Malaysia, Australia, or go the IC events in Europe and the USA. Now, the only chance any of us will ever get to play international players in a big time setting, is the damn Worlds itself and it will only be the 4 of us. 

But if I do get there, that would be an awesome experience. But I also get to see my friends too. That's the thing that is driving me on as well. I've made so many friends from the US, Canada, UK, around Europe, around Latin America and also in Japan and other parts of Asia and I can't just go to an IC or Regionals to play and meet them, there's no point since I can't fight for points. Technically I could if I were to move overseas and change my home address and apparently I would need to make a new account as well. Money is tight for me too. What I do would do just to have a chance to see any of them (or even you, yes you the one reading this right now, I might know you too!) at Worlds, that would be fun. 

Some might say we have the hardest route to Worlds now. And now we can confirm with the latest details. Best of 1, 3 stages, top 4 out of 192 players. No CP chase, not many of events to grind for, just the one event and done for the time being. No mistakes, everything has to go right that day and that day alone. Well, everything has to go right for the 3 days for all 3 stages for me to have a shot of making Worlds. I've been playing this game a lot longer than many might actually know, but only took it seriously since 2016, and I'd love for a chance to have a shot at playing Worlds, even if it's just for one time. That would be a real dream come true, you have no idea what it would mean to me to have the chance to compete against the best players in the Worlds. Even if I only ever get the one chance, I would do everything and anything in my power to make it happen.

I didn't do good enough in my first two attempts at trying to be a competitive player and I was half-way there in 2020 before everything got wiped out. Time to see if all that game time I've been doing for the past year or so have been worth it. I know the odds are quite small but I have to try my best to get to London...for a second time in two months, the first being my graduation a month earlier (if I decide to make the trip)!

Thanks for reading and if you're in the same boat as I am (SG/MY/PH), do your best and give it your all! We don't have the easiest path but I hope that someone from South East Asia does win it all to prove that we do have some of the best players in the world here. And for the rest of you, keep chasing those CP, do your best at the regionals and get that Worlds invite! Hopefully we can meet one day at a Worlds event. :)