tSn.TCG - Competitive Pokemon TCG Team

Hello everyone! It's been a long time. A very long time and just want to bring you some of the latest scoop from us! We are slowly active but we still have love of the game. I probably won't be judging big events anymore as of right now it looks like this could be my last season to staff regionals+ but I will still help out at the local level. Aside from that, we are starting an online series and teaming up with our friends from across the globe with their donations of code cards that we will use for prizing. Our goal is to bring regional-level gameplay to the online field especially for folks that can't make it out to the official ones. Renamed to Online Trainer Tournament  We just finished hosting our first online tournament with 18 players joining! I would like to apologize as this was our first event so everybody had a game loss since I am unfamiliar with the dashboard but the next one will be okay!  The Online Trainer Tournament will be somewhat monthly tournaments pla...

By Elijah Douresseau   A new TCG/VG season is here, as we saw very established lists from the last 4 to 8 months dominate the Worlds show floor. Electing to play with what has proven to be far from obsolete seems to have emboldened players to stick to the top-tier deck lists that have gotten countless hours of playtime and have adapted to specific key matchups.    I’m excited about the new season. There are plenty of decks to make and try out, and the oldies at this point – Mew, Lost Box, Arceus variants - have stronger opportunities to hang around because the support from new sets allows them to maintain their viability in a meta where a lot of decks can be visible – even if only momentarily.    I attended a Challenge this weekend that had a healthy turnout to it. A good thirty players, from junior and master divisions, duked it out for their chance at 15 CP and sufficient Obsidian Flames prizing. Of course, since this was a premier event, the third...

The man that needs little to no introduction, let me introduce you to Victor. If you ever play or meet Victor for the first time you might think he's nervous and quiet but really he's calm, cool, and collected. As you are sitting there thinking you got an easy win, Victor is calculating every strat possible from the number of cards in his hand. While a monster in his own right, Victor has taken home several locals and also dabs in Gym Leader Challenge.  Victor has been a regular at Odyssey Games where tSn.Pokemon practice at. It wasn't until recently he was interested in joining Team SKYNITE. With his track record, why wouldn't we accept him. He's familiar with the game and he knows the team as well as other players from the local scene. From Southern California, Victor set foot in the game recently much like the other players we know (Be it, returning post-covid or new to the game all together). Victor has what it takes to help Team SKYNITe reach the big league. So...

 A GLC article by Nikki Xaysanasy The Gym Leader Challenge, as a format, has been growing – especially since Pokémon’s governing body recognized it as an alternative TCG format. It's being played online, via webcam, at locals – it’s also an established side event at major tournaments. It surely was at the San Diego Regionals I attended earlier in January. To learn more about the format, visit the GLC website at https://gymleaderchallenge.com I am planning on hosting a seasonal league for GLC online, once Pokémon TCG Live is officially released from its current beta rollout and everybody migrates over. Live’s crafting system, in which you can "buy" your own cards, will make it easier for players to get into GLC. Fortunately, almost everybody's collection from PTCGO will port over so players will not have to restart their digital collections. I played in a weekly event recently. Read below for my progress through the pairings ladder. Tournament: Gym Leader Challenge Wee...

By Elijah Douresseau The Pokémon Regionals took place at the San Diego Convention Center between January 6th and 8th. As the very first regional event of 2023, and the last to occur before Crown Zenith releases, the timing of the weekend could not have been more interesting. Versions of Lugia VSTAR and Lost Box were suspected to be the most visible in SD, with Mew and baby Regis bringing up the rear. And to no one’s surprise, this was the meta for the weekend and the decks to beat to make it to day two and beyond.  The SKYNITE Pokémon TCG Team showed up with a diverse deck list arsenal. I played my trusty Rapid box deck. I felt the most comfortable piloting the deck in a variety of situations. And I had the most hours logged with the list, even after integrating meta tweaks. The Junior in our squad played the tier-one Lugia list. And another player brought Eternatus VMAX, which actually had a fairly sizable presence beyond what I guessed beforehand.  My Rapid box an...

THE DAY OF THAT BIG TOURNEY: WHAT I DO FOR PREP – Elijah Douresseau Today is the day. You’ve practiced and practiced, and though you are aiming for the top spot in whatever high-stakes tournament is kicking off in a few hours, you are loose and prepared to play at your best, no matter the outcome. You're thinking clearly, strategizing effectively, and are minimally fouling with misplays. You, Trainer, are ready to compete.     But how else do you get ready for the big tournament? How crucial are the 24 hours before, along with the few hours leading up to round one on the day of? As promised, I’ll outline some of my rituals for bigger events and hopefully, you get some encouragement for creating a functional system for yourself.    Some immediately might scoff at these introductory paragraphs and think, “It’s just a game!” But the competitive and semi-competitive community sees the Pokémon TCG as something more. That classic opening sequence for the 9...

– by Elijah Douresseau     Lost Origin is dropping this Friday, 9/9, and I thought it would be fun to detail some of my faves from the forthcoming set.    These selections are purely subjective, mostly chosen on the bases of what I can use for my current and future decks – first – and the overall meta, second.    A quick bit of housekeeping: If you weren’t already aware, Lost Origin is bringing back the Lost Zone mechanic to standard play. The Lost Zone is a secondary discard pile that cards will be able to use to satisfy various effects. The effects will range from modifying attack damage to energy acceleration. But true to its name, anything cast to the Lost Zone is permanently discarded. No recovery is possible – at least not yet. Though counting your discarded cards will be a necessary part of calculating the cost for activating card effects. In most cases, you’ll have to have a certain number of cards in your Lost Zone to activate t...

  Pokemon 2023 Championship Series has been announced and more dates to follow! Unfortunately, local CP events such as League Cups/Challenges are still postponed but we at Team SKYNITE are feeling hopeful for an early 2023 announcement for the return. But nonetheless, more regionals this year with good average number of 20+ events across the globe! Follow the Pokemon Link for more info but a quick rundown is below: (source Pokemon.com) *Note: This is for Pokemon TCG, GO, VGC, and Unite! (And hopefully Pokken makes a return!) Get a First Look at Plans for the 2023 Pokémon Championship Series Junior Division: Born in 2011 or later Senior Division: Born in 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010 Masters Division: Born in 2006 or earlier North America Regional Championships Schedule Date Location Game(s) September 16–18, 2022 Baltimore Regional Championships Baltimore Convention Center 1 W Pratt St Baltimore, MD 21201, USA Pokémon TCG Pokémon GO September 29–October 2, 2022 Peoria Regional Champions...