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Is this the kind of players you endorse?

Tmagician0
Tmagician0 Member Posts: 5
Name Dropper First Comment
edited June 5 in Decks & Strategy #1

For players like this to take the fun… using snorlax so I can't retreat, took all my energies and even if used items to change he just kept changing it onto a pokemon that couldn't attack he didn't even had energies for the pokemon and even when I was winning the timer got me out, because even when he didn't had any other card he just used pidgeot over & over again even when I had two prizes the [Edited by Mod_Pandaroo - Please keep language appropriate for all audiences]timer killed me 25 min of pure spamming…

You should implement rules for cases like these… it's not possible to abuse this and get unpunished

IF the timer is put it should check how are the prizes or else [Edited by Mod_Pandaroo - Please keep language appropriate for all audiences] like these guys will keep repeat it

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Answers

  • MorgaineBlu
    MorgaineBlu Member Posts: 3
    First Anniversary 5 Agrees First Comment

    Your opponent was playing a deck archetype called Snorlax Stall. The point of the deck is to try to get your opponent's pokemon that can't attack effectively stuck in the active spot, unable to retreat due to Snorlax's Block ability, while using supporters and items to discard their switching cards until they're locked. Once locked, the deck uses Pidgeot V's ability to effectively have an infinite deck while they wait out their opponent either running out of cards to draw or timing out. This deck has been around for quite some time with subtle variations, and is actually in the top 10 decks played in online tournaments. Azul Garcia Griego recently won the Stockholm Regional event with this deck, coming in first place. Nobody is going to "punish" it because it's a legitimate deck, best to just learn what it is and how to beat it when you're up against it.

  • grriffinn
    grriffinn Member Posts: 134 ✭✭✭
    100 Comments Second Anniversary 25 Likes 5 Answers

    Snorlax Stall is a viable deck strategy that’s seen tournament-level play since EUIC 2023, it’s not getting banned until early 2024 or if Creatures, Inc. decides to rotate out F regulation block cards before then.

    That said the fact that they ran down the timer rather than forcing you to deck out tells me they probably had no idea what they were doing, Snorlax Stall wins matches by putting an opponent’s “utility” Pokémon onto the Bench and either start whittling away at Items cards (with Eri/Miss Fortune Sisters), whittling away Energy cards (with Crushing Hammer, Enhanced Hammer, and Giacomo), or a mix of the two before looking that back with cards that return Supporters and Items to the deck (Cyllene, Pal Pad, and Team Yell’s Cheer).

  • Mettalicdragon
    Mettalicdragon Member Posts: 3
    First Comment

    Legitimate strategy or not it's forces the game into an "un-fun" state. Most tcg's in the world ban decks like this. In the past pokemon has done something similar with a mewtwo deck I believe. Stall decks are also one of the biggest reasons players will exit a tcg. No one wants to sit at the table being slow played to death. If they won't ban snorlax then bringing back escape rope would be the next best option. The presences of stall deck in a tcg shows evidence of lack of testing and care for the game.

  • Octowen
    Octowen Member Posts: 631 ✭✭✭✭
    250 Agrees 500 Comments 100 LOLs 100 Likes

    I think that a perspective you are not seeing this from is the point of view of Stall players. Obviously they enjoy playing stall, or they wouldn’t be playing it. Offering a larger variety of viable decks and methods of winning diversifies gameplay and actually shows evidence of thoughtful testing and care for the game.

  • Tmagician0
    Tmagician0 Member Posts: 5
    Name Dropper First Comment

    finally… someone with some criteria… most of the people just accept it…

    no wonder the TGC is dying and players are leaving the game, the prices are absurd because of 2nd rate retailers that hoard the prices… or it's the same strategy just different cards…

    and yet they only add bugged updates… and brain dead broken pokemon… even the official rules now suck… the first turn for both oponents were to get energy or Pokemon, but now your opponent can attack on phase 2, where did the strategy of the old days went… now it's to get the most broken pokemon out first and pray for some luck on 2nd turn… and that's it

  • Octowen
    Octowen Member Posts: 631 ✭✭✭✭
    250 Agrees 500 Comments 100 LOLs 100 Likes

    @Tmagician0 if you want good prices, order from TCGPlayer or directly from Pokémon Center.

    Some decks are based on hitting fast and hard. You don’t like that? Play a slower deck that sets up slowly and comes back later. (cough cough, Gardevoir)

    Also, I love how you portrayed yourself as agreeing with @Mettalicdragon when they were complaining about slow games and you were complaining about fast ones 😂

  • Silentsiren0
    Silentsiren0 Member Posts: 8
    First Answer Photogenic 5 Agrees Name Dropper

    this is exactly what i've been saying since path to the peak dropped out of standard with no reprint or equivalent, ability based decks (stall or otherwise) have free reign over the format with no solid counter-play besides "be better".

    between this and those who exploit the fact that tgc live has the stability of some of the newer Pokemon games, if nothing is done we may be looking at the end of the card came atleast for online.

  • Silentsiren0
    Silentsiren0 Member Posts: 8
    First Answer Photogenic 5 Agrees Name Dropper

    so your saying that its a good thing to hat fun and game balance