There is going to be a rumble in Dallas, Texas this weekend!
This weekend is going to have one of the biggest Regional Championships in Pokemon’s history! That is because Dallas Regionals is happening! At the Hyatt Regency DFW from January 26th to 28th!
This event has over 1500 players attending! What is even more amazing is that there are over 1000 Masters who are attending to play in the Expanded format. If you are planning to attend the event as a TCG player then here are a few things to expect.
Night March and Zoroark are going to be popular decks to expect from the event. Night March as been strong since its days in the Standard Format and it has gotten stronger with recently additions. Some of these new additions includes Marshadow GX and Zoroark GX.
Marshadow GX gives Night March a new attacker who has more HP and allows for more Night March Pokemon in the discard. Both of these things are great because it can live a bit longer thanks to more HP and it helps boost the power of Night March. It allows the deck to hit harder to reach numbers thanks to the fact that you can put more Night Marchers in the discard.
Zoroark GX has found a place in the deck just because it can help draw cards and attack. Trade allows Night March decks another option to draw from their deck for more resources. Getting that much needed VS Seeker is much easier now that you can give your self another chance to dig into your deck. It also give the Night March player another chance to discard Night March Pokemon in a pinch. Especially after having their Night March Pokemon force into the deck due to a Karen. If you need to clean up then Zoroark GX can simply take a Double Colorless Energy and attack to take out any unwanted foe.
If you are wanting for another deck to keep an eye out on then simply look at Zoroark GX. This card has made a splash since it’s introduction a few weeks ago. It is a solid attacker that can pair up well with anything that attacks with a DCE. You just need to have a full bench. Now that we are in Expanded, that means we have access to Sky Field. You can go from 0 to 120 with a normal full bench. Add Sky Field into the mix and now you can hit 180 which is enough to knockout Basic EX Pokemon and most GX Pokemon. If you attach a Choice Band then you are now hitting 210 damage which will take out all Basic GX Pokemon and most Evolved GX Pokemon.
Lone Zoroark GX has gotten some traction in Expanded. This deck was featured last week in TCG Jump: Featured Match. Though there are plenty of Zoroark variants running around. Some of these included Lycanroc-Zoroark and Golisopod-Zoroark. Both of these decks can attack fast thanks to their ability to use Zoroark GX as their main attacker and attacking with their partner’s when the time comes.
Expanded is such as huge format thanks to all the cards that can be played in the format. It is difficult to just pick one deck that can do well in the format. Some of that is due to so many possible decks that many of the newer players may not be familiar how to handle them. Others are just forgotten by time. Below is a quick run down of other decks that have gotten some talk.
Primal Groudon EX: This deck will just want to hide behind Robo Substitute and Wobbuffet. Meanwhile, they will simply power up a Primal Groudon EX to hit hard. Some decks may play Tropical Beach so they can draw into resources to use during their next turn. Your Trainers will not be able to touch this big guy thanks to Omega Barrier. So you can’t Lysandre or Guzma Primal Grondon EX. Crushing Hammer is out of the question too. You will need to depend on abilities and hard hitting attacks to put a dent in the set up of this Pokemon.
Wailord EX: This is just a Big Basic with big HP. It is pretty difficult to knockout a Pokemon with 250 HP. That is Wailord EX. The player is going to hide behind this huge HP Pokemon while using Trainers to discard your energy and slow you down. You will be lucky to take prizes against the Wailord EX player. Their plan is to stall you out and deck you out. If they can do that then they will get the win. If you want to win then you will need to manage your resources and focus your energy on one Pokemon to hit Wailord EX hard and then keep hitting hard. Item lock can also slow down your whale of an opponent.
Darkrai: Darkrai has been in the game in many ways such as Darkrai EX from Dark Explorers and Darkrai EX from BREAKpoint. The one to watch out for is Darkrai EX from BREAKpoint because it will do all the attacking. The Darkrai EX player will be trying to flood the bench with Darkness energy by using Max Elixir and Dark Patch. They will also have access to Darkrai GX who can use Restoration to raise from the discard with a Darkness energy attached. That will only boost the power of Darkrai EX’s Dark Pulse attack. The real killer though is Darkrai GX’s Dead End GX attack. The opponent can use this attack to take a free knockout if they combine it with Hypnotoxic Laser. This old item can put the status condition on your Pokemon to hit a dead end against Darkrai GX. You will want to remove the energy on the bench to stop this deck. This means either use Crushing Hammer or just knockouts. Make sure to use Field Blower to take out any EXP Share that are on the field.
If you do not plan to play in Dallas Regionals then that is fine! There is still plenty to do! This event will have great guests such as Mitsuhiro Arita and Ross Gilbert from PTCG Radio!
Mitsuhiro Arita is a well known Pokemon TCG artist who did the art for the Base Set Charizard card. This artist has been around the Pokemon TCG since the beginning and continues to provide art for cards. One of this latest cards was Latios from Shining Legends, Secret Full Art Mewtwo EX from BREAKthrough, and Secret Full Art Gyarados EX from BREAKpoint.
You can meet Mitsuhiro Arita at Dallas Regionals! He will be doing autographs and commissions for a set price. Mitsuhiro Arita will also be doing a few panels. You can see his schedule for the event by clicking here. If you are a fan of the artwork in the Pokemon TCG then you will want to meet Mitsuhiro Arita!
Ross “Wossy” Gilbert from PTCG Radio will also be attending the event. This guy hosts one of the longest running Pokemon TCG podcasts and has even commentated official Pokemon TCG events. We have event featured him several times in our regular Podcast Central column. You can expect to hear Ross’s voice during the event as he commentates the TCG tournament! Ross will be hosting a live podcast in front of a panel! So make sure to hit him up and hear his lovely voice!
There will be plenty of things to do at Dallas Regionals. You can take part in side events which will be run during all three days of the event. These side events range from the TCG, Video Game and Pokken. GoGames360 is sponsoring the Regional and will be hosting their own event. Those who are attending Dallas Regionals will also be welcome to take part in any GoGames360 panels for free!
Can’t make it to Dallas? Then follow everything via Twitter and Twitch!
Dallas Pokemon Regs (@Dallas_Pkm_Regs) Twitter page is always updating with the latest numbers and announcements. You can bet they will be tweeting from the event!
Want to see the TCG and Video Game action? Dallas Regionals will be streamed! Below are the links.
TCG: Click here
VGC: Click here
For more information about Dallas Regionals, click here to get everything else you need to know.
Best of luck to everybody competing at Dallas Regionals!
