Is there more to the Metagame than Archetype'd Decks?

Frost Mage

Frost Mage

Pegasususus
Member
I've been seeing a lot of the same decks being used, and I was wondering, do people who get to Nationals even try out decks that aren't super generic? It's just boring seeing the same old Black Kyurem/Blastoise decks online when I play, with a bunch of Blastoise and Black Kyurems and no other Pokemon or creative use of Trainer cards, and it seems like no one is that into using decks they've created themselves that don't consist of 3-5 of each stage of a Pokemon, or a deck that works off of a certain EX. I don't know much about how the competitive TCG works, but right now it seems a little bland if one were to start playing the TCG competitively.
 
Personally, I play for fun, and that's why I'm going to Worlds. However, Metagame decks are fun to build and fun to play, depending on the deck. Sure, the decks that you make yourself can be fun too, but a deck with a good solid strategy that can win often is pretty... eyebrow raising.
I'm running soon to be one of the cheapest decks out there, but yet very fun to play and very strong and well thought out. If you're looking for help on deckbuilding, I can help you with a couple strategies that I've learned through looking all over the place.

Sure, I run a generic deck... but they aren't boring, though.
 
I feel the same way you do about this. I find it very boring that the metagame is just a few deck types. That's why I've chosen to primarily play a rougue deck. I'm in the process of building my own :D
 
While yes, there are only a few tier one decks, there's a lot of other possibilities that if you run them right they can do surprisingly well

Besides the four main deck archetypes (Blastoise, DarkGarb, VirGen, and Plasma) here's a bunch of other playable decks with potential to beat the best:

Tool Time (Sigilyph PLB, Trubbish PLS)
Fluffy Chomp (Mach Cut Garchomp, Fight Song Altaria)
Darkrai/Hydreigon (Darkrai EX, Dark Trance Hydreigon)
Vileplume (Vileplume BCR)
Empoleon (Attack Command Empoleon)
Flareon (Flareon PLF)
Big Basics (Landorus EX, Mewtwo EX, Tornadus EX)
Weaville/Eggsecute (Weaville PLF, Eggsecute PLF)
ZebGarb (Zebstrika NXD, Garbodor DRX)

Will they perform as well as the top archetypes? Probably not, but each of them has their advantages. Not to mention even more fringy decks, like Dusknoir, Porygon-Z, and Emboar. And then there are always people who spin the main archetypes to give themselves an advantage, like Henry Prior at the KO. The reason most people play the archetypes online tends to be because they're not the most confident in making their own deck, and so go off of proven heavyweights. It's a lot more fun imo to play lesser tier decks, however, and teaches you a lot more about the game after you get the basics down!
 
People play decks that are good and have the ability to win. It's just how any metagaame works.
 
ImBlue said:
While yes, there are only a few tier one decks, there's a lot of other possibilities that if you run them right they can do surprisingly well

Besides the four main deck archetypes (Blastoise, DarkGarb, VirGen, and Plasma) here's a bunch of other playable decks with potential to beat the best:

Tool Time (Sigilyph PLB, Trubbish PLS)
Fluffy Chomp (Mach Cut Garchomp, Fight Song Altaria)
Darkrai/Hydreigon (Darkrai EX, Dark Trance Hydreigon)
Vileplume (Vileplume BCR)
Empoleon (Attack Command Empoleon)
Flareon (Flareon PLF)
Big Basics (Landorus EX, Mewtwo EX, Tornadus EX)
Weaville/Eggsecute (Weaville PLF, Eggsecute PLF)
ZebGarb (Zebstrika NXD, Garbodor DRX)

Will they perform as well as the top archetypes? Probably not, but each of them has their advantages. Not to mention even more fringy decks, like Dusknoir, Porygon-Z, and Emboar. And then there are always people who spin the main archetypes to give themselves an advantage, like Henry Prior at the KO. The reason most people play the archetypes online tends to be because they're not the most confident in making their own deck, and so go off of proven heavyweights. It's a lot more fun imo to play lesser tier decks, however, and teaches you a lot more about the game after you get the basics down!
Click to expand...

You do realize you just admitted the metagame is run exclusively by archetype decks, right? I mean, you answer was basically "no, we don't use only four deck archetypes... we use thirteen."

Catfish said:
People play decks that are good and have the ability to win. It's just how any metagaame works.
Click to expand...

Please notice that, in your answer, "fun" is lacking.

Is it a good game if you can't you can't have fun using the deck you want and made yourself for fear of losing? Is it even a game? I think that is the real question asked in this thread.

Food for thought.
Ta Ta!
 
professorlight said:
ImBlue said:
While yes, there are only a few tier one decks, there's a lot of other possibilities that if you run them right they can do surprisingly well

Besides the four main deck archetypes (Blastoise, DarkGarb, VirGen, and Plasma) here's a bunch of other playable decks with potential to beat the best:

Tool Time (Sigilyph PLB, Trubbish PLS)
Fluffy Chomp (Mach Cut Garchomp, Fight Song Altaria)
Darkrai/Hydreigon (Darkrai EX, Dark Trance Hydreigon)
Vileplume (Vileplume BCR)
Empoleon (Attack Command Empoleon)
Flareon (Flareon PLF)
Big Basics (Landorus EX, Mewtwo EX, Tornadus EX)
Weaville/Eggsecute (Weaville PLF, Eggsecute PLF)
ZebGarb (Zebstrika NXD, Garbodor DRX)

Will they perform as well as the top archetypes? Probably not, but each of them has their advantages. Not to mention even more fringy decks, like Dusknoir, Porygon-Z, and Emboar. And then there are always people who spin the main archetypes to give themselves an advantage, like Henry Prior at the KO. The reason most people play the archetypes online tends to be because they're not the most confident in making their own deck, and so go off of proven heavyweights. It's a lot more fun imo to play lesser tier decks, however, and teaches you a lot more about the game after you get the basics down!
Click to expand...

You do realize you just admitted the metagame is run exclusively by archetype decks, right? I mean, you answer was basically "no, we don't use only four deck archetypes... we use thirteen."

Catfish said:
People play decks that are good and have the ability to win. It's just how any metagaame works.
Click to expand...

Please notice that, in your answer, "fun" is lacking.

Is it a good game if you can't you can't have fun using the deck you want for fear of losing? Is it even a game? I think that is the real question asked in this thread.

Food for thought.
Ta Ta!
Click to expand...
You do have some awesome points that are valid. But isn't it fun when you win?
I mean, I get tired of losing after a while. Even if my decks are just for fun. I run one rogue deck and one meta deck.
 
Winning is only fun if you had something to do with that win, something a lot of metagame players can't say, as they all run the same decks.
 
Frost Mage said:
Winning is only fun if you had something to do with that win, something a lot of metagame players can't say, as they all run the same decks.
Click to expand...

I currently play Plasma and while my list is very similar to most standard lists, I find a lot of fun in reacting to my opponents and maximizing my own plays by understanding everything about it. Did I build the list entirely myself? Nope. Did I fine tune the deck to my liking resulting from continuous play? I did and I love it. I genuinely enjoy playing against meta decks because I like to see the small variations among the archetypes.

I don't exclusively play that way though, I build silly decks too. I'm currently working with Fossils to play at League.
 
I personally just hate people who say that they're playing a different deck in a high level tournament just for the sake of being unique. It's a long story but it's those kinds of people that tend to have false sense of being good.

Meta right now, either you play the Top 4 decks or you play the counter deck that consists of stuff liek Sawk and Drifblim, other than that, you're having a slim chance of winning.

And yes, winning is fun. Losing consistently is frustrating and I just can't understand how it's fun to lose 10 games in a row.
 
Which is why you can also take a meta game deck, switch it around and change the list to your liking. I've done that, and just because it was based off a meta deck doesn't mean it has to be the same.
 
professorlight said:
ImBlue said:
While yes, there are only a few tier one decks, there's a lot of other possibilities that if you run them right they can do surprisingly well

Besides the four main deck archetypes (Blastoise, DarkGarb, VirGen, and Plasma) here's a bunch of other playable decks with potential to beat the best:

Tool Time (Sigilyph PLB, Trubbish PLS)
Fluffy Chomp (Mach Cut Garchomp, Fight Song Altaria)
Darkrai/Hydreigon (Darkrai EX, Dark Trance Hydreigon)
Vileplume (Vileplume BCR)
Empoleon (Attack Command Empoleon)
Flareon (Flareon PLF)
Big Basics (Landorus EX, Mewtwo EX, Tornadus EX)
Weaville/Eggsecute (Weaville PLF, Eggsecute PLF)
ZebGarb (Zebstrika NXD, Garbodor DRX)

Will they perform as well as the top archetypes? Probably not, but each of them has their advantages. Not to mention even more fringy decks, like Dusknoir, Porygon-Z, and Emboar. And then there are always people who spin the main archetypes to give themselves an advantage, like Henry Prior at the KO. The reason most people play the archetypes online tends to be because they're not the most confident in making their own deck, and so go off of proven heavyweights. It's a lot more fun imo to play lesser tier decks, however, and teaches you a lot more about the game after you get the basics down!
Click to expand...

You do realize you just admitted the metagame is run exclusively by archetype decks, right? I mean, you answer was basically "no, we don't use only four deck archetypes... we use thirteen."
Click to expand...


Hey, my point was just to illustrate that there's a bit more variety than just 'a bunch of Blastoise and Black Kyurems'!
 
Variety doesn't exactly mean those can all win. Of all those decks you listed out there, only Tool Time and Dark Hydreigon actually has a legit shot of winning any tournament with a higher rating than a Battle Roads.
 
Personally, the most fun I have in the game is actually deckbuilding and playing. I see no value in playing rogue decks that people play just to be rogue (if they are good rogue decks, that's different). When I play, the skill involved is what makes it fun, not the decks I choose.
 
Riskbreakers said:
Variety doesn't exactly mean those can all win. Of all those decks you listed out there, only Tool Time and Dark Hydreigon actually has a legit shot of winning any tournament with a higher rating than a Battle Roads.
Click to expand...
You're right. It's either those four, or nothing. That is why I decided to get rid of my plasmaklang deck, as it lost way too many times for my taste.
 
PKK was suckish last season when it had BW Klingklang, it's going to suck more now lol.

Fact remains that there are only four main decks and around 2-4 in limbo, anything else would be a disadvantage to use.
 
Riskbreakers said:
Variety doesn't exactly mean those can all win. Of all those decks you listed out there, only Tool Time and Dark Hydreigon actually has a legit shot of winning any tournament with a higher rating than a Battle Roads.
Click to expand...

I said they probably wouldn't do as well ;)

Someone like Pooka (on bad deck Monday) can win with these decks as long as they get lucky and play lesser skilled people, which is why I didn't want to say they will 'always' do worse. Although I'll admit in my post it sounds like I implied everybody 'has the potential to beat the best' just buy using the decks alone. It takes practice, luck, and more luck!
 
Actually, use any of the Big Four, you have a good chance of winning. Our seniors player here can top a lot even against masters just because he uses TDK and the TOM favors seniors when being merged with masters.
 
Frost Mage said:
Wow, well right now the competitive TCG sounds like a huge pile of bullshit to me, pardon my French.
Click to expand...

Welcome to any competitive card game lol.

I can't really say much more on the topic that wasn't already said. A metagame is a collection of decks that perform well basically, so yeah, they're pretty much all archetypes and standard proven decks.

dmaster out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top