Artwork by Jaywalkings

Written by Andrew Martin

Introduction

Hello readers! Andrew here with a new article covering the latest major tournament. What? An official Pokemon TCG tournament during the pandemic? Not exactly, but a tournament with an impressive scope nonetheless. The team at Limitless TCG kicked off their online tournament series a few weeks ago with their first of four qualifier tournaments. These tournaments take place online through the Pokemon TCG Online client and allow players from all over the globe to participate. The turnout for this tournament was by and large one of the highest we’ve seen this season with over 1,000 participants. While there might have been a few hiccups along the way, Limitless has made great strides in providing a competitive outlet to players who are currently sheltered inside their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This tournament has also pushed the meta further as we reach the final weeks of the UPR-SSH format. As we await the release of the newest set, Rebel Clash, we have one more tournament remaining until we close the book on this format. In this article I am going to break down the results from the Limitless Qualifier #1 and analyze what decks performed well. Finally, I will be providing my own meta predictions and suggestions for anyone who is thinking about participating in the next qualifier happening this weekend. I will not be able to play in this one, but I will provide all of my honest opinions to help others get ready for the last tournament of UPR-SSH

Let’s go!

The Tournament Structure

While these online qualifiers are made to emulate the competitive experience of a big tournament, they do use an altered tournament structure that is different from a normal sanctioned tournament.

These qualifiers are structured in 2 phases and a top cut. This is a two day tournament with Phase 1 happening Saturday and Phase 2 + top cut taking place on Sunday. Players are divided evenly into 4 pools to compete in phase 1 with 14 rounds of best of 1 (Bo1) swiss and a 27 minute cap. Players are paired through an online client, Smash GG, and play their games on the PTCGO client using their online accounts. After the 14 rounds of phase 1 are completed, players with 10-4* or better records are combined into one pool and advance to phase 2 of the tournament. Phase 2 starts on Sunday and players then play 6 more rounds of Bo1 swiss to cut to a top 8, which is Bo3, 60 minutes. Finally, top cut is played the same as any other tournament with a single elimination bracket until one winner remains.

* For this particular tournaments, players who were 2-0 in the previous qualifier that was cut short a few weeks prior were given the option to advance to phase 2 with an additional loss (9-5)

The last major difference with this style of tournament is that players have access to their opponent’s deck list during the round. This might sound like a strange decision, but it is meant to deter cheating and keep players from swapping cards/decks throughout the tournament. In case anyone was curious, all the qualifiers are using RK9 labs for deck list submissions.

Meta Analysis

While this tournament is not going to truly depict what would have gone down at the ICs and regionals that should have been taking place, it does provide us with insights as to what archetypes are strong right now and the trends we are seeing within the meta. The best of 1 format does introduce some variance but decks still need to be built and piloted optimally to be successful for over 20 rounds. 

Here is a side by side comparison of what some of the most popular decks were in each phase. These figures were provided by Kashvinder Singh Mann and Limitless TCG on their respective twitter accounts. It would be a nightmare, as well as not very useful, to cover every archetype that saw play so I’ve decided to provide a run down of the top 5 decks in each phase, which are conveniently the same. If you would like to see a full list of what decks were played I will include sources at the bottom of this section. 

Top 5 Most Played decks in Phase 1 decks			Top 5 most played decks in Phase 2
ADPZ	208		ADPZ	41
Blacephalon UNB	152		Cincinno Mill	27
Malamar	87		Blacephalon UMB	21
Cincinno Mill	85		Mewtwo Malamar	15
Malamar Mewtwo	65		Malamar	9

 ADP Zacian has been dominating the format from the start and has steamrolled many tournaments prior so it is not surprising that this deck continues to see the most play. It is hard to slow down this deck’s aggression and most decks that can are not in the best position right now. This archetype also operates on a pretty flexible deck list so there is ample room to adapt it to any meta right now. For this tournament we saw most people lean towards consistency and run lists that were pretty close to what we have seen in the past. The most common builds we saw in phase 2 were running heavy jirachi and a few copies of energy spinner to find the water energy to use ADP’s GX attack (Alter Creation GX). However, we did see some lists commit to using a tag call engine instead. We also saw some variants tech in multiple copies of Pokemon Catcher alongside the typical four copies of custom catcher to increase their odds of finding gust cards. This deck loves to adapt in all sorts of ways so I expect that we will see this trend continue as the meta progresses.

However, not far behind it in number of plays, Blacephalon UNB was the second most played deck of the tournament. However, for a deck that was arguably said to contest the BDIF, it did not perform nearly as well as people were expecting it to. This deck is strong and has been one of the best one prize decks in the format. Unfortunately, it isn’t without its drawbacks and many lists, notably ADPZ, were teching in copies of either Tapu Fini or Absol to help their matchup against this deck. Additionally, this deck was also vulnerable to high amounts of mill decks that plagued the field to which most Blacephalon lists could not account for. There were quite a few factors that influenced this archetype’s results and we will have to see if players who favor this deck will hold onto their guns or jump ship when we move into the next qualfiier.

Whether it’s from accessibility or its surprisingly solid matchup spread, straight malamar always manages to see play.  However, this deck had a similar experience to the blacephlon with the influx of mill decks. This deck also has to dig through the deck a lot to set up its game plan so its consistency can be a detriment when playing in a best of 1 format. The deck also was not greatly positioned against any of the mill decks in the field. Despite being the third most played deck of the tournament, many did not progress past day 1.

Cincinno Mill was a clear force to be reckoned with going into this tournament. With a well defined meta, this deck had strongly favored matchups across the board. Finding 6 prizes against this deck amongst an onslaught of PokeDolls while at the same time staying above 11 cards in deck has proven extremely challenging for most decks and this archetype has definitely taken a leap in play compared to previous tournaments. I think this deck oddly operates better in a best of 1 format, and more specifically in this online style of tournament. While I wouldn’t say this deck is easy to pilot because of this, it is less mentally/physically demanding to play online rather with how many actions the online client does for you. This deck also takes advantage of having perfect knowledge of the opposing decklist which means they are always aware of what resources the opponent has left and what tech cards to watch out for during the match. This was indeed a strong call for the tournament but it now carries a large target on its back so we are left to wonder if mill will see the same success it did at this tournament.

The last deck I think is worth talking about is Mewtwo Malamar. I would not have picked this deck to be one of the stronger contenders for this tournament but it did end up with the second highest conversion rate amongst the other decks at 23.08%. Looking at how the lists were built, this deck seems to function well in an open meta due to its tool box versatility. Additionally, being able to abuse Marnie + the Night Watch attack on Trevenant Dusknoir GX is a great combo for keeping most decks from getting too aggressive and can be played off many other follow up attacks.  I would say the thickest thorn in this deck’s side is still the presence of one prize decks like Malamar and Blacephalon. This deck also has some general consistency issues, but if it sets up then it is poised to beat just about anything. This deck appeared to be like a solid call for the tournament and if we see a decrease in one prize decks then this deck might continue to make results.

That takes us through the major archetypes of this tournament. Now I would like to focus on the results from the top 8. We saw a bit of what we expected with most of the bracket being either ADP or mill decks, however, there were a few decks that I was surprised to see in the top cut. 

Breakdown of all the decks played – Provided by Limitless TCG

Deck lists for all Phase 2 decks – Provided by Limitless TCG

Top 8 Breakdown

Top 8 Decks
ADP Zacian	2
Cincinno Mill	2
Mareep Mill	2
ADP Spiritomb	1
Fire Toolbox	1

ADP Zacain

Two ADP Zacian decks were able to make it through the second phase and find their way to the top 8. I am sure this is not surprising anyone. Something interesting to note is that both lists were quite different. Oliver Rochin’s build was closer to the traditional style but was running several techs cards including high counts of energy switch to handle any energy disruption. The other lists, from Ithiel Arki, was using a tag call engine and had heavy gust counts (4 Custom Catcher + 4 Pokemon Catcher + 1 Great Catcher) to get control of the board as well as to be able to get around Poke Dolls from mill decks.  Both lists were excellent calls for this tournament and had great pilots behind them. This archetype continues to show its strength and it has more room to grow as we approach the next qualifier.

Fire Tool Box

Firebox is a deck we’ve seen get notable results in the past but it’s popularity has fallen off in more recent formats. Versatility can be a powerful asset when it comes to tackling a big tournament like this and this deck has plenty of options for talking most of the format. However, the main drawback to this deck is its consistency. Firebox is notoriously known for being on the high-roll side given the nature of needing the extra attachment from playing welder to keep the pressure on your opponent. 

However, that isn’t to say that there isn’t potential for this deck to do well, especially with Kevin Kruger getting top 8 with this deck. There is a lot of variance involved in a 20 round, best of 1 tournament. You are going to play against a wide array of decks and players with varying experience levels. I’ve already mentioned this deck’s versatility with match ups, but it also can take advantage of players who are unprepared to play against this deck. With access to high amounts of gusting and ways to swing for huge damage out of nowhere, this deck loves to capitalize on misplays and any inexperienced player can swing the match out of their own favor depending on what they bench or how greedy they get. 

ADP Spiritomb

This was another addition in a long stream of Ross Cawthorn surprising us with something different. I’ve seen people mess around with this idea when ADP was first released, but Spiritomb just didn’t hit the numbers. Now with the addition of Big Charm you can get 8 damage counters on Spiritomb, and combined with the additional damage from ADP, you can swing for 280 with only one attachment as well as take extra prizes. In a meta where ADPZ decks are vulnerable to one prize deck such as Baby Blacephalon and Malmar, this deck combats those issues by utilizing the same prize mapping strategy with ADP except with an efficient one prize attacker. 

On the flip side, there are a lot of resources this deck has to manage. One of the most unique features of this deck is how it manages damage counters on its own board as a resource in order to streamline its attacker.  Utilizing attackers that are always a few damage counters away from being KO’d, you do have to be careful not to set up your board to be wiped out by damage spread attacks from Mew or CEC blacephalon. This is where having access to your opponent’s deck list during the round is a huge advantage. Ross had a strong run with this deck and I wouldn’t be surprised if we continued to see more of this deck in the next qualifier.

Cincinno Mill

Mil decks in general saw a lot of success at this qualifier, with 4 of them making it into the top 8. As mentioned before, Cininno Mill was one of the more expected decks by players to make a showing. The draw engine of Cincinno + Zacian is insanely strong when coupled with all the tools this deck has to drag out the game for as long as it takes to run their opponent’s deck out of cards.. Aside from tech choices, both lists were pretty typical versions of the deck. 

An interesting footnote was seeing senior player, Wyatt S, make it all the way to the top 8. It’s not common for all the age divisions to be competing together, so it’s an awesome sight to have a younger player outperform even a majority of the masters division.

Magcargo Mill 

This seems like it could be the next iteration of mill decks. Instead of trying to set up multiple cincinnos to develop a large and powerful hand, this version settles for using Magcargo’s “Smooth Over” ability to any specific card on top of their deck and then draws it using either SWSH Oranguru or Zacain V. While it does not accumulate as many cards per turn as the Cinccino variant, it takes marginally less set up time and has a bit of an easier plan for recovering from Marnie. 

The other interesting difference with this variant is how they are abusing LOT Mareep’s ability with the Slumber Forest stadium to force their opponent into flipping two coins for sleep. This is great for many reasons, namely that it helps the deck accumulate cards and build a strong hand. While Poke Dolls are already a huge advantage for this type of strategy, lowering the likelihood that they are able to get KO’d means that there is less pressure on the mill player to keep the streamline of dolls going every turn and that they can focus on getting the cards that inch them closer to winning the game. However, now that this deck is exposed to the masses, this idea might not perform as strongly if people decide to tech for it or learn the match up. 

Discussion about the winning List

Oliver’s ADP Zacian list

Pokemon – 14	Trainers – 36	Energy – 10
3 Jirachi (TEU 99)	Marnie SSH 169	Metal Energy 8
3 Zacian V (SSH 138)	3 Professor’s Research SSH 178	2 Water Energy
2 Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX CEC 156	4 Metal Saucer SSH 170
2 Dedenne-GX UNB 57	4 Quick Ball SSH 179
1 Oranguru UPR 114	4 Custom Catcher LOT 171
1 Oranguru SSH 148	4 Switch SSH 183
1 Absol TEU 88	3 Energy Switch SSH 162
1 Tapu Fini UNM 53	3 Acro Bike CES 123
	2 Energy Spinner UNB 170
	1 Great Catcher CEC 192
	2 Escape Board UPR 122
	1 Metal Frying Pan FLI 112
	2 Shrine of Punishment CES 143

I know it is probably less exciting to see the same archetype take down another tournament, but I am always interested in the way these decks can adapt. It takes a lot to win a big tournament. You need the right deck + the right match ups + the knowhow to navigate those matchups. Thrown in a dash of luck and then you have a great tournament run. This deck was all of those things. To finish off this tournament analysis, I want to point out some of the important components of this list that I feel helped Oliver to come out on top.

Energy Switch 

Probably the biggest difference in this list from other ADPZ lists is the inclusion of 3 copies of energy switch. While this isn’t a typical card we have seen in this deck, it was a smart inclusion for the tournament. Many players were beginning to run copies of energy disruption cards to stop ADP from getting off their GX attack on turn 2. On top of this, Cincinno Mill was already looking like a strong play for this tournament so expecting to see quite a few hammers was par for the course it seems. This would obviously be detrimental to the ADPZ game plan of attach-attach-attack so running energy switch to combo off of metal patch or Zacian V’s Intrepid Sword, is a great counter to those strategies. 

Besides countering disruption, it does open up the possibility of pulling off a turn 1 Alter Creation GX which can be game changing in the mirror. ADPZ mirrors can snowball really quickly depending on who uses their GX attack first. The mirror tends to favor whoever goes first for obvious reasons, but having this out can swing things back into your favor. 

Oranguru UPR

This card is pretty self explanatory why it is here. Something I had not considered until watching the finals match was his game plan with the oranguru. In his match we saw Oliver use Alter Creation GX, followed by Ultimate Ray to accelerate 3 energies to Oranguru. This is smart for a few reasons. The most obvious one being that it gives you multiple turns to recover resources into the deck with resource management without worrying about crushing hammer rendering your oranguru useless. The other is to use Oranuru’s other attack “Profound Knowledge”. After using ADP’s GX attack, oranguru hits perfect math to KO both Cincinno and Magcargo with Profound Knowledge for 90 damage (60+30 for those keeping track). This is devastating not only for their board but also because you can pivot between the two attacks until you take all of your prizes. This card was definitely the linch pin for this deck’s triumph over all of the mill decks running rampant during the tournament and it was a very streets ahead move to play the match up this way.

Tapu Fini + Absol

Both of these cards are common techs by this point but both were important inclusions for the tournament. Absol is a great inclusion for any deck that can afford to run it. The card can provide so much pressure just from the bench and can put your opponent into messy board states when they cannot find switch.  I do not think I need to explain why Tapu Fini is useful, especially against the baby blowns match up, but to run both Fini and Absol isn’t something that was common in most ADPZ builds in phase 2. I think Oliver’s build to have both creates a lot of pressure for the Blacephalons to deal with and in a best of 1 format that can sometimes be enough to squeeze a tight match up.

Conclusion about Oliver’s List

Looking at the decks that were expected to do well at this tournament as well as what actually did perform, Oliver had tailored his ADPZ list to handle the most prominent decks. It was very smart and shows how a solid understanding of the meta can elevate your tournament results. While I anticipate changes to the meta happening leading into our last tournament with this format, I would not be surprised to see identical builds of ADPZ at the next qualifier.

Closing thoughts on the Limitless Qualifier #1

We are experiencing a very innovative time in the Pokemon TCG. While the official tournament season is currently non-existent, Limitless has brought the community together to keep the competitive spirit alive. I was impressed to see them pull off a tournament this large and I look forward to seeing how each qualifier will improve as time goes on. 

While I was not able to play in this tournament, I was able to tune in throughout the weekend to see how it was going. It quickly dawned on me that we are very much witnessing history in the making as far as online tournaments go. While many online tournaments have circulated during this time, we have not experienced one of this size take place. Obviously these tournaments are not going to precisely capture the same experience of a big IRL tournament, but they do offer players from anywhere an opportunity to still compete while the official circuit is cancelled until future notice. I’ve also seen the Limitless crew tackle hurdles of adversity to get this tournament to fire. For that I will say, this is largely uncharted territory here and it is going to take a really committed group to pull this off. I’m glad to see Limitless tackle this with a level head and a willingness to learn from each mistake. My expectation is that these will not be perfect tournaments, but each one will be a marginal improvement from the last 

Meta Predictions moving forward

Anyway, to get off my soapbox, there is another qualifier that is happening in a few days and it will be one of our last tournaments of the UPR-SWSH format. I want to wrap this article up by talking about my predictions for how the meta is going to shape up and offer several decks that I personally would be considering to play for this tournament.

My first prediction is that we are going to continue to see a wide ranging meta at this tournament. Even though ADP Zacain is clearly the best deck in the format, there are plenty of players who are more interested in trying something different. The results from phase 2 of the qualifier showed us a huge variety of decks and I would be prepared to play against almost anything for the first few rounds.

My second prediction is that blacephalon is going to still see a lot of play at the next qualifier, but nearly as much as it did for this qualifier. Mill is incredibly strong right now and I do not see a way blacephlon can beat that deck unless they adjust their lists. I could see girafarig being a meaningful inclusion because it then forces the mill player to play differently and may give you the edge against a less experienced player.

My final prediction is that mill decks will continue to show up. Even if players begin to tech for it,I think that there is still a ton for these mill decks to evolve and grow. Mill has more than enough tools at their disposal to combat an open field. I feel like a lot of the success for that archetype going into this weekend is going to hieng on  who shows up with it and whether people decide to tech for it. 

Five decks I would consider for the tournament

Zacian ADP

This deck is a no brainer. It is the uncontested BDIF of this format and has found its way to the top of many tournaments. The trick to finding success with this deck is obviously knowing your match ups but also making sure your build is right for the meta. However, even just a simple, consistent run of the deck could still make decent results. However, I would not expect to win the tournament with this deck if you haven’t done your homework and have an understanding of your matchups.

Blacephalon UBR

I believe this deck is still insanely strong, but it is going to need to figure out a way to handle the mill decks in order to perform well past the first phase. This deck still can take down a good chunk of the format so getting through the first phase shouldn’t be too difficult unless things are going terribly wrong. I would most likely tech in something like Girafarig to help handle the mill decks and then just aim for straight consistency. There is also a chance that players drop their Tapu Fini techs which might give the deck some leverage for the tournament. If you are still looking at playing a single prize deck, this deck is still the best one.

Mewtwo Malamar

I think this deck is highly underrated. I believe this build of Mewtwo has the most potential right now because of the its ability to handle a wide meta. You have single prize options, ways to blow up big tag teams, as well as a strategy to handle mill. The Marnie plus “Nightwatch” combo is also very strong and can help push this deck ahead in a close game. The main drawback is the deck’s overall consistency. The deck can sometimes get stuck in its tracks to a bad Marnie draw and that can be devastating for sustaining tempo. If you choose to play this deck, make sure you are deck thinning as much as possible as well as keeping your board clean.

ADP Spiritomb

Maybe I am a sucker for rogue decks, but this idea makes perfect sense right now. One of Zacain ADP’s biggest drawbacks is the prize exchange it can have with SPA decks like Blacephalon and Malamar. Spiritomb is a very efficient single prize attacker and it is not hard to streamline them with the way this deck is set up. I also like the very unique plays you can make with “Building Spite” and “Ominous Posture” (Jynx). This is definitely a deck that I’d want to play a lot of games with first because there are a lot of opportunities to trap yourself with how you position your board. However, if you’re someone who likes playing something different that still attacks, this would be a solid option.

Cincinno Mill

I hate to say it, but this deck is still solid and I definitely would consider running it for the tournament. It’s on the bottom of my list however, because while I believe it is strong, this archetype has a huge target on its back. A few good reasons to run this for the next qualifier would be that you are extremely confident with this type of deck and can navigate a field of gurus or that you believe people are not going to tech for mill for this tournament. It always feels like a toss up on whether people decide it’s worth it, but with the winning ADP list running both UPR guru and energy switch, I would bet that a majority of players will also take that idea and run with it. If you are feeling gutsy and enjoy alternate win conditions then this deck is probably what you should take.

Bonus Deck: Fire Tool Box

I think this deck could be a sleeper pick for the upcoming qualifier. Initially when I saw this deck in top 8 I was extremely skeptical since Fire Box is notoriously known for its “hit Welder or bust” strategy, but after the addition of SwSh cards I can see that the deck has inherited some new life that makes it viable. I think the best part of this deck is the ability to utilize consistent gusting options with Ninetales. I mentioned earlier that this deck can punish any player who missteps and pick off Dedenne GX for easy two prizes. This can swing an entire match up, which is something I would consider if you are up against this deck.  

Some additional notes about the deck are that Quick Ball added a lot of much needed consistency to the deck, not only as a way to search for Dedenne GX, but also as a way to establish a Vulpix. Pokemon Communication is still necessary for the Ninetales, but now the deck has a way more streamline-able way of getting the board set up. Victini V was a great addition for this deck, that probably goes without saying. I do like that you can use “Spreading Flames” (Victini V) turn 1 to set up this insane board for a Heatran GX to swoop in and swing for high numbers. However, the deck is still not going to be the most consistent, at least not as consistent as ADPZ, but I will say that the deck rewards a skilled player more than it used to. I would be interested to see what happens to this archetype, but I think it has what it takes to do well at this next qualifier.

What I would play (If I were playing):

Mewtwo Malamar

Like I said earlier, I think this deck is highly underrated. It has some consistency issues but it also has so many options to play off of. The best strategy I’ve had to combat its drawing issue is to deck thin as much as you can and manage your bench spots. I would no’t say that this deck will always fire on all cylinders, but I feel like in a best of 1 format I am less opposed to playing something that is more high roller if the match ups are good. There are a bunch of good psychic attackers to use with Malamar and Mewtwo that this deck has a game plan for most decks in the field. The one prize match ups are still dicey, but with Blacephalon on a decline I do believe there is room for this deck to make a good run at the tournament.

The list:

Pokemon – 21	Trainers – 29	Energy – 10
3 Inkay FLI 50	4 Professor’s Research SSH 178	4 Aurora Energy SSH 186
3 Malamar FLI 51	4 Marnie SSH169	6 Psychic Energy SUM 168
2 Dedenne-GX UNB 57	2 Tate & Liza CES 148
2 Mewtwo & Mew-GX UNM 71	4 Quick Ball SSH 179
2 Trevenant & Dusknoir-GX PR-SM 217	4 Switch SSH 183
1 Naganadel-GX UNM 160	3 Mysterious Treasure FLI 113
1 Naganadel-GX FLI 56	3 Cherish Ball UNM 191
1 Ditto Prism Star LOT 154	2 Air Balloon SSH 156
1 Ultra Necrozma-GX FLI 95	1 Great Catcher CEC 192
1 Blacephalon CEC 104	2 Chaotic Swell CEC 187
1 Gengar & Mimikyu-GX TEU 53
1 Giratina LOT 97
1 Latios-GX UNM 78
1 Naganadel & Guzzloard GX CEC 158

I took notes from what lists did well as well as great advice I got from Alex Garcia on the deck. The list I landed is a mix between Yu Ito and Nico Alabas. In general I like having the Stinger (FBL Naganadel) + CEC Blacephlon to handle mill matchups. Unless they can mill your Blacephlon before you can get it out, I think that combination is very strong in the match up. Although I would be wary of discarding your Naganadel until you can use it because of Girafarig. I also think LOT Giratina is great for handling the one prize attackers since you can spam it indefinitely as well as get more damage counters in play. There are also a few tech cards that I want to go over:

Tate & Liza

Like I mentioned earlier, the deck struggles with consistency so i’ve opted to run 10 draw supporters to help this. I saw Yu Ito and Alex Garcia both doing this and I think that it’s a clear cut way to give the deck more draw options. I have Tate & Liza in this list over Cynthia for a few reasons. While you draw one less card with Tate & Liza, I actually have valued the switching effect more than the draw. I like having the option to pivot my Mewtwo into a Malamar with an air balloon to stack more energy to use attacks like Venom Shot or  Photon Geyser. I also think this improves your Magcargo mill match up with the extra switch outs in the deck. You could easily swap these out for Cynthia if you are more concerned about drawing the extra cards.

Naganadel & Guzzlord Tag Team GX

While I am not 100% confident this card is needed, I have found times where Chaotic Order GX has opened up safe win conditions in the late game. It can also be great into single prize attacking decks if you are utilizing Giratina to end up pulling ahead in the prize trade. The main attack is also solid because it gives you a safe option to KO something like Dedenne GX on the bench without having to discard any energy. The ability can also be useful for getting GX Pokemon in the discard for Mewtwo. The card is also a solid attacker into anything that swings for either chip damage or any small amount that can get healed off. I’ve found it useful against Malamar if your opponent keeps trying to swing with Giratina since damage you heal is forcing them to three shot you. I would definitely call this a flex card and I could see other tech or consistency cards being swapped out.

Conclusion

All in all, I found the action for the first qualifier to be very exciting. Limitless is opening the door for the potential of new tournament opportunities. I know the meta might seem bleak with the high amounts of Zacian ADP and mill, but despite those decks being present, we are still seeing new innovations every tournament. While this probably will not go down as the best format in Pokemon TCG history, it is still one that I can say that I do enjoy playing. I am interested to see how things will unfold this weekend, hopefully some of my predictions are not far off but really anything can happen. I unfortunately cannot play this weekend, but I will be watching when I can over on Twitch.

I know it has been pretty much a year since I last published an article, but I am steadily getting back into writing. I do plan on publishing articles more frequently now that I have more time to devote to them thanks to the quarantine. I plan on covering each limitless invitational and providing my own take on the meta game.

 Hopefully everyone is able to keep some semblance of their normal life during these times. That first regional back is going to be something special for sure. Till then, we can all at least appreciate that new things are happening everyday in this game and we are all living through one of the most interesting eras in the game’s history; the era without tournaments (IRL that is). 

If you want to catch the next article, I recommend following either myself or the Sky Pillar TCG twitter page where I post updates anytime new content is posted. Stay safe and healthy and I’ll catch you all next time!

Andrew Martin

My Twitter: @theSkyPillar

Website: @SkyPillarTCG

Youtube: SkyPillar TCG