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Baby Dragapult was one of the most annoying decks to play against, but so much fun to play... It would be nice to see more Pokémon like it in Standard I definitely think there's a place for something like Baby Pult in the meta right now! (Also I absolutely love the story about your first win, I can assure you that your opponent was 't the only one who said "how do I win" against Pult... I said that a lot too haha 😅)

I'm with you, the GX era up until Team Up (and... Tag Teams, ugh) was super fun to play, and lots of things (especially single prize decks) were viable back then! Everything went downhill as soon as ADP took over and the game hasn't been the same since

Neutralization Zone doesn't stop Dusknoir, and it falls into the same pitfalls that other Stadiums like Festival Grounds fall into (I gave more details about that at about 15:00). It's a very strong Stadium in a lot of niche scenarios, but it just isn't enough to keep single prizers in meta contention.

Oh, I didn't forget! I actually made an entirely seperate documentary on ADP in a different video a few months ago!

Cube formats have always interested me, but I've never had a chance to give it a go... I'll have to look into checking them out!!

Glad you enjoyed it!! Thank you for watching! 😁

It's really unfortunate to see how heavily single prizers rely on ex support Pokemon... it just defeats the whole purpose of playing single prize decks to begin with. Single prizers definitely need more self-sufficient support

I had tons of fun with Malamar, it was super succesful and a blast to play... I miss it too, mate 🥲

I play GLC as much as possible! I've been finding tons of success with Colorless lately!

ForTheWin was actually one of the main inspirations for this video! I talked with him a few times on this issue and it helped give me a lot of the ideas for talking points throughout the video!!

The problem started with Tag Teams and just kept getting worse and worse until now, where one or more gatekeeper cards are in literally every meta deck...

I'm glad you're finding big success with Roaring Moon! It's such a great choice against the 2-prize "beat stick" decks, but I'm hoping that you're able to avoid those pesky Dragapults... that matchup is awful

Literally my answer against those is discard as humanly POSIBLE literally in turn 3 (or 4 if im second in my first turn) i need to deal at least 220 damage and god liepard is so perfect for that (discard a card draw 2)

I honestly would take it a step further, watching 3 Ralts get obliterated Turn 2 is actually just disgusting... there's not really anything you can do to protect yourself, and it's a really bad issue.

It was on the list of considerations while I was scriptwriting! Apologies that it didn't make the final cut!

Cool to see diversity like that, really

3 Heads on Undersea Tunnel or bust!!

@@pikiptcg the biggest satisfaction xD wug is the goat

I actually like the idea of shutting off Abilities like Teal Mask Ogerpon, Fan Rotom, Lumineon V, Squawkabilly ex, and a ton of other setup cards! Honestly, I think that's a lot more valuable than playing a Mimikyu and praying that your opponent can't KO it lol 😁

When I was editing that segment, at one point I just stopped and stared at my screen and wondered, "how the heck did I come up with this" 😅 I'm glad you liked it lol

Thanks mate!! I worked really hard on this video (34 hours!) and I'm glad that you enjoyed the thumbnail! (I had to use a new software and everything for it... but I think I could do it again for the next high quality video!! 😁)

@pikiptcg hell yeah man, it looks like the views and everything are starting to reflect your hard work 🔥🔥

I agree, you can play out a more engaging and in-depth game rather than losing to a Turn 2 Kyurem or double Dusknoir/Charizard combo (which is sadly quite common right now... )

That's very true! I wouldn't be very happy if I were experimented on by someone with a goofy haircut in a lab coat either! 😅

Kyurem only seen play in Regidrago, not as a tech in an on itself. I don't even see Kyurem teched in smth like Gardevoir. It is because Kyurem is *too restrictive* , it needs someone play Colress cards to make it work, which is rare outside Lost Box, which is not common rn.

Exactly! This is like the perfect summary for this situation! 💯

Oh yeah!! Those two have higher HP, so they don't really have to worry about gatekeepers! That's pretty sweet!

I feel like there would be a place for a single prize only format, especially if it was officially sanctioned. But I agree that players could easily set up alternative formats if they wanted to play without gatekeepers as well! (Or just play more GLC, my Colorless deck is gathering dust and I really want to play at locals again... 🥲)

The tradeoff in the prize race has only gotten worse over time for single prize decks thanks to power creep, you're definitely right! The mere existence of gatekeepers only makes things worse for anything that isn't Ancient Box or Klawf...

I agree with the "silver bullet" philosophy, but I'm not sure if it's because TPCI hates single prize decks specifically. I personally think it's more of a marketing situation, they want to make cooler and flashier cards that have absurd effects to say, "hey, look at what this stupidly overpowered card can do!" The two examples you gave are perfect representations of a deep hatred for single prize decks, though, so you might be right 😅

If I were to give single prize decks an immediate fix right now, I'd definitely prioritize better protection against gatekeepers. I like the idea of Prize card control, maybe an effect that only benefits single prizers just to give more on an incentive to play them? I like your thinking process here!

It was Roaring Moon ex/Pecharunt ex with Baby Roaring Moon as a tech card, actually! It got second against Iron Thorns ex, but Baby Moon was one of the most effective attackers in the Finals matches!

@@pikiptcg In the Junior division, the only ex was a Fez for draw support

@@Spectre2893 Oh, you're right! I completely forgot about that, thank you for the correction! 😁

Very well written comment, my friend! Ancient Box (and Klawf, technically speaking) are less impacted by gatekeepers because of their high HP and bulk, like you said. The fact that everything is always going for the OHKO nowadays makes "ramp up" decks really difficult to play, and honestly the game is way less fun sometimes because of it. I think that Creatures needs to take a step back and look at how badly the game has been impacted with gatekeepers and try to build off of that, rather than making bigger HP, bigger damage beat stick cards.

United Wings has gotten a bit more support over time, but it just hasn't been enough. I like the idea of more powerful supporting cards that only single prizers can use, though, that's a great idea! 😁

oh i just got to that part

I agree with you 100% here! I tried to explain these points at the end of the video (different/rotating meta, especially around gatekeepers), but I like the way you worded it here! I think that Creatures will eventually get something single prize to stick!

The problem is that there are several single prize decks with high potential to work in any other meta. Ancient Box, as you mentioned, has proven its power a few times, though has a hard time pulling the numbers it feels like it should be doing. United Wings has a lot of support going for it right now, but dies too easily to spread. Festival Lead is a gimmick that can do numbers when it works. Heck Lost Zone has proven itself multiple times at this point, but is also having a hard time maintaining those against the big names. Ultimately the problem is that it is an oppressive meta towards Single Prize and Rogue decks. There just requires too much to deal with without enough answers. Hopefully we're due for a new basic protection card on the lines of a Manaphy or Jirachi, that give protection against Drago/Dusk Spread or something that limits the prizes the opponent can take. I am not certain what the solution is, but for many of us who like playing and refining non-meta/Rogue decks, a solution is going to be needed, less the meta becomes more homogenize with the meta decks gaining more consistency and power with each set.

It's basically gotten to that point lol... survival of the fittest and power creep and all that 😅

I do have to agree, ADP's base and alternate arts were absolutely stunning! I actually have the art saved as one of my phone's lock screens!

Oh lol I remember Latios GX... it blocked GX attacks like Altered Creation and made single prize decks a lot better! Very smart counter, my friend! I always love winning against my opponent's super expensive cards too lol

Power creep is such an awful downwards spiral for this game, I think I might need to start getting into retro to take a break from all this Standard nonsense too 😅

Then let me be the annoying guy that tells you that rabsca is doing exactly nothing against dusknoir ;) rabsca prevents damage and effects from attacks not damage and effects from abilities

I like your ideas about bending the rules a little bit to benefit single prize decks. It would be a bit difficult to accomplish, but that might be one of the only true solutions for the pitfalls single prizers fall into. And I totally agree that streamed games really hurt single prize decks, newer players are going to see these flashy big HP Pokémon ex and then go get a League Battle deck to play their own multi-prize beat stick decks. At this point in time, there's just no winning for single prizers

@@pikiptcg If you look at the old cards and the Pokémon TCG Pocket cards, they all have addition weakness. It wouldn’t be hard to implement this into new cards. As for making 2-prize equal in value to playing that many single prize of the same stage, I can see how that would be hard. Then again, we could just print cards that specify “[evolution] Pokémon without a rule box.” We already have one in Reversal Energy; we can make more energy, tools, and stadiums that do the same. Maybe we can even make supporters that have that condition, with an added stipulation of “during this turn, that Pokémon can’t evolve.” My point about the full arts isn’t just the flashy big prize Pokémon. But the specialty secret rares are almost always meta valuable cards. We never see beautiful secret arts for trash Pokémon, so less people want to buy them.

At first, I thought the meta would be fine before Dragapult had access to Crispin, Briar, Sparkling Crystal, and the Dusk line, but now with every few matchups being a Dragapult, it's just unfortunately impossible to play anything with 60 HP or lower, which really sucks.

@@pikiptcg yeah I added like 4 mist e energy to my fav single prize just to work around it lol. But also enamorus V prevents dusknoir which I just learned yesterday too

I agree! I would most likely cut the number of United Wings Pokémon back down to 12-14 to keep things a bit balanced, but I think that in the current state of the game, 30x would actually allow United Wings to be a contender in the meta, even with all the gatekeepers!