Pokémon TCG Mafia: Postgame
Spreadsheet
I could make this either 1 or 100 pages long. I decided to do something inbetween. Disclaimer: in this postgame, I try to look smart by providing reasoning for my design that I thought up while or after actually hosting the game. (just kidding - this is not true for every bit of reasoning. just a few.)
First, I'll explain all the underlying game mechanics that I didn't reveal from the start or through answering questions. You can follow this on the sheet by looking at the Master Start tab, which is a copy of what the Master Sheet looked like at the start of the game.
This game consisted of four groups, each consisting of six Pokémon. I kept these numbers unknown to increase confusion and paranoia, even though there were very simple. This way, you only knew you had to kill four other Pokémon in your group, but you didn't know if that meant all of them or not. Of course, this kind of confusion never lasts for the entire game. In addition, it allowed the possibility of a neutral claim or rumor to take root. Or just people claiming to be in a group that doesn't exist, like Delta Species. Or "Pokémon that can evolve into two different species". Heh.
There were roughly 64 cards in the game that I distributed over people's hands. At first, I was going to include Trainers and Stadiums, but I didn't want to make it even more work to manage, so I ended up cutting them out. This gave everyone a 2-3 card hand. If I had to distribute cards again, I would have made sure Pokémon that had to evolve or Level Up to reach their full potential got 3 (with Stage 2s > Stage 1s > SP > Haymakers for my priority concerning this) before I started handing that extra card to Haymakers. They needed to trade more, after all.
There were four copies of every Energy card (including Double Colorless, Metal and Rainbow), and four Rare Candies. There was only one of every evolution/level up card. I tried to distribute them so that everyone had an easy time trading for cards they need. For example, Luxray GL starts with Steelix Prime, Fighting Energy, Water Energy. The Steelix could be traded with Onix in exchange for a Lightning Energy, the Fighting Energy could be traded with Phanpy for Luxray GL Lv X, and the Water Energy could have been traded with Horsea for a Double Colorless Energy. Of course, I figured many of the trades I "set up" wouldn't actually happen - this type of game has very low predictability. But I really wanted many roles to see their full potential before dying or winning, so I didn't want to make it unnecessarily difficult to do that. To my delight, a large percentage of those who could develop did so: 4 out of 6 Stage 1s evolved, 2 out of the 4 Pokémon SP who could Level Up got their card (Dialga G never used his), and from the Stage 2s,
four of them reached Stage 2, one of them got to Stage 1, and one of the Stage 2s even got as far as Stage 2 Level X. Granted, out of these, only Charizard and Jumpluff made a real offensive impact as Stage 2s.
I decided upon the Unicycle system to keep things going. Lynches are very often boring, after all, especially in the first turns where they do little damage. Unicycle had been tested, and even though that game sucked, the system worked flawlessy, so I decided to give it another spin. It definitely improved the game, and it cut the playtime in half.
I have puzzled a long time about what to do with the discard pile. At one point, I had it figured out as some kind of Junk Yard a la Viva la Mafia, except its entire contents would be revealed at the start of every Cycle (which I ended up renaming Turn right before I started the game), but I settled with this way because it made it easier to manage the spreadsheet (since I wouldn't have to move KO'd people's cards around). The every other turn restriction was fair, in my opinion, or everyone would spam their scavenging instead of strategically planning it (see: UncleSam's Lightning Energy, where no less than four people whiffed).
For those wondering about scavenge priority and the whole "compatibility" deal, you can see this on the Priority tab:
"Trapinch > Steelix/Mewtwo > same type > others"
What it means is that Trapinch/Vibrava's Gather Sand gets priority on Energy, then Steelix Prime (when using Energy Stream while scavenging Metal Energy), then Mewtwo Promo (when using Energy Absorption), then people who were scavenging their own type of Energy (eg Charizard scavenging Fire Energy), and then everything else. If you tried to scavenge an evolution card you were compatible with, you would always get it. There was only one real all-around scavenging tie in the game, which was when Fatecrashers tried to dig out a DCE at the same time as RBG (Turn 6). Scavenging did have higher priority than poison damage, after all.
While you're looking there, the priorities on that very same tab have been publicized very early, and were very straightforward. The reason I let Trade go through even if one of the players is Knocked Out is because I wanted Trades to go through as often as possible. And I liked the idea of two people who had a soft alliance staying friendly even if one is about to die. This decision ended up being important a few times, and I haven't really regetted it.
The attack priority, surprise surprise, was almost entirely randomized. I was pretty sure the only time they'd really get into conflict was in the case of doing damage before or after being KO'd: most if not all side effects of an attack, such as Horsea and Hoppip's life saving attacks, went through even if higher priority people were KO'ing them. I am pretty sure there are very few really ways to resolve priority in this type of game, and I really wanted to keep it managable. Being able to ask your attack's priorities as a freebie was a minor but good idea of mine, if you ask me. It rewarded people who dug their way through the enormous amount of rules, and allowed you to plan attack orders with each other carefully, maybe even false claim priorities (I don't think anyone did this). Thankfully, attack priority has rarely REALLY mattered in this game.
I have little to say on the Safe Claims. I didn't expect any lies, elaborate or not, to last long, but I enjoy it when people lie to each other (games are more fun to watch when not everything is known about one another), so I made sure to provide as much help as I could to those who wanted to lie. Of course, the fact you have to trade to get your Energy and evolutions a lot of the time means you'll have to tell at least one guy what kind of cards you're interested in.
Weakness/Resistance were all +30/-30 because...that's easier. I avoided multiplication whenever I could. If I had to do it again, I'd do +20/-20, but I don't think resistance ended up mattering anywhere...I've seen a few instances of people being hit for their weak spot though. I haven't paid THAT much attention to weaknesses/resistances within groups, because it's way too hard to make perfect circles or anything else there that's completely fair. I did make sure there were no unfair match-ups in the secondary target system (type-wise, at least), and for the most part I tried to make each group as diverse as possible.
This way of making groups, trades and cards also made it very interesting to see if, when and how people would claim, since there was no village leader, and making your name public made you a target for your own personal enemy (which, by the way, was always mutual), as well as your own group. I knew people would call out for the cards they could trade WITH (for example, zorbees asking Charmander to come to him for a trade because he had Charmeleon), but I also hoped people would be paranoid of traps, and I hoped people would set traps as well (like LonelyNess saying he has a Rare Candy to lure other Stage 2s).
And now, the part everyone is actually reading (or skimming) this for: personal performances! Unfortunately, not everyone talked to me as much as I would have liked, and due to the amount of people you could work with, it is almost impossible for me to detail your entire journey through this game. I can, however, give accurate comments on the design of your card and group, and of course I'll try my best to talk about your performance as well.
I should note that I took very little creative liberty with changing cards, mostly staying true to how the cards work in the real TCG. Unless the design of the game didn't allow it, due to the lack of discard pile, deck, specific opponent, or bench, of course.
Pokémon SP
The Pokémon SP are the modern day Haymakers. They are actually Basic Pokémon (even in the real TCG), but they have the names of evolved Pokémon. While they will never be as strong as a fully evolved Pokémon, they start out better than most Basics, and some of them can Level Up to become even more powerful. All Pokémon SP except Dialga G have 80 HP, and all of them except Ambipom G and Crobat G could Level Up.
Use a Pokémon name followed by a * for easy Ctrl-Fing.
1. UncleSam - Luxray GL*
Dear UncleSam,
You are:
Luxray GL
Lightning, 80 HP
W: Fighting
R: Metal
CC: Bite - 30
LCC: Trash bolt - 70
Choose an Energy card from your hand. It will be removed from play. If Luxray GL is KO'd, it will be available for scavenging along with your hand. You cannot use this attack if you don't have an Energy card in your hand.
Your hand is:
1. Steelix Prime
2. Fighting Energy
3. Water Energy
You are in the group: Pokémon SP
You win if you outlive Charmander and four Pokémon SP.
Luxray GL Lv X
+30 HP
Power: Bright Look - The Cycle during which you Level Up to Luxray GL Lv X, choose two targets. Any attacks that would target the first now target the second. Cannot pick Luxray GL.
LC: Flash Impact - 60
Luxray GL does 30 damage to itself.
I like how UncleSam was number 1 on my sheet, and the first person to die. I also like how Luxray GL and Garchomp C were the first casualties (with Dialga G as first winner), what with those being pretty much THE best decks in tournament play right now.
Luxray's Bite was cheap, and if he wanted to really hit hard he had to pay through the ass in either HP or Energy requirements. In the TCG, this guy needs to win matches fast or he often ends up losing, which is somewhat close to how I imagined Luxray to operate. He had no chance against a fully evolved Charizard, or a charged Dialga G Lv X (despite his Metal resistance).
UncleSam got very involved, perhaps a little too much for his own good, as he ended up being a target for imperfectluck and the general public. He managed to Level Up, but got Knocked Out with no room to spare (a Jab from Hitmonchan did 50 due to weakness, Dialga G's Second Strike added 40 to that, and the 20 lynch damage was his demise. A school example of one of the few things of this game I didn't really like: the people who did the most end up being killed. Thankfully, I know of a few ways to fix this.
Redirecting is one of the things I used instead of switching. It was a pretty powerful one-timer, but sadly the guy he told it to (Altair) ratted the way he used it to imperfectluck. I didn't allow him to use it on himself as I thought that'd be a little bit too much of a no brainer. In retrospect, it would have been pretty amusing if he could have done that, but still a little cheap.
2. Fishin - Blaziken FB*
Dear Fishin,
You are:
Blaziken FB
Fire, 80 HP
W: Water
R: Luring Flame - Choose two players. Any attacks that would target the first now target the second. Second target is now Burned. Cannot pick Blaziken FB.
RC: Vapor Kick - 30
If target is in a group with a Water Pokémon this attack does 30 extra damage.
Your hand is:
1. Lanturn Prime
2. Fighting Energy
You are in the group: Pokémon SP
You win if you outlive Machop and four Pokémon SP.
Blaziken FB Lv X
+30 HP
Body: Burning Spirit - If Blaziken FB attacks or is attacked, and the target is Burned, that attack does 40 more damage.
RC: Jet Shoot - 80
Any attack that does damage to Blaziken FB Lv X during this Turn does 40 more damage.
Blaziken could have been really, really scary to people, due to his cheap attacks - which is why I didn't have him start with a Fire Energy and only two cards (which could have been traded for his Lv X and Chinchou's Fire Energy - he would have to scavenge his second Energy). His first attack was Luxray's Bright Look in attack form, with an added burn, so perhaps even more devastating. It sets up the Lv X's Body perfectly, but even without it, it could have been a large nuisance. Being Burned made you take 20 damage the turn you got it, and then again 2 turns later. So it's as if you're playing the TCG and you flip heads 50% of the time, and tails 50% of the time. Vapor Kick, funnily enough, only did 30 against his own group by default, but it did 60 damage against the Haymakers and the Stage 2s due to the existence of Lapras and Horsea. Against the Stage 1 group, the only way he'd do 60 is if Chinchou evolved to Lanturn, and used its Poké Power (Deep Dive). And of course, Jet Shoot is just fantastic, doing 80 damage for so little.
Fishin tried his best to stay under the radar, but pretty much the only thing that could go wrong did go wrong: he traded for the Lv X with Agape, and Agape told it to a member of imperfectluck's clique. Fishin decided not to Level Up so he could cure status, which didn't end up making a difference as the combination of attacks that was used on him was enough to KO even his improved 110 HP.
3. Laundry - Garchomp C*
Dear Laundry,
You are:
Garchomp C
Colorless, 80 HP
W: Colorless
CC: Claw Swipe - 30
CCC: Earthquake - 50
Does 10 damage to Garchomp C for every Pokémon SP that is alive before using this attack (don't apply Weakness).
Your hand is:
1. Seadra
2. Lightning Energy
You are in the group: Pokémon SP
You win if you outlive Growlithe and four Pokémon SP.
Garchomp C Lv X
+30 HP
W: Colorless
Power: Healing Breath - The Turn Garchomp C Levels Up, choose one other player. Remove all damage from that player and Garchomp C Lv X.
CCC: Dragon Rush
Choose 2 Energy attached to Garchomp. They will be returned to your hand. Choose any number of players, and put 80 damage on these players in any way you like. Garchomp C Lv X cannot use Dragon Rush or attach Energy next Turn.
The best attacker in the current tournament format, but on here he is not as convincing due to the lack of a bench. I felt I had to deal with Earthquake in the way I did, which made Donphan more balanced, but it might have nerfed Garchomp C here a little too much. Then again, Healing Breath was very, very potent, and promotes allying with one other guy very closely (I didn't have the heart to make him able to only heal SP Pokémon like in the real game). Dragon Rush is an example of how I handled sniping: I turned it into spreading. This is obviously the most useful if you know roughly how HP people have left, which is hard to figure out if you're not close to them. The restrictions on Dragon Rush might seem a little harsh until you realize there were four Double Colorless Energies in the game, and he could also use every other type.
Alas, it wasn't meant to be, as Laundry was part of a group that would be devastated by vonFiedler and the rest of imperfectluck's alliance. Laundry's highlight was probably going up to Midou at complete random, and saying something like "what's up, Electabuzz?". A lucky guess that scared poor Midou to death (sacre bleu) but it ended up in an alliance between the two, as well as RBG. Laundry died early though, as the guy who held his Level X (Toothache) wasn't willing to trade with him, even though he had a perfectly usable Lightning Energy for him.
4. Colonel M - Crobat G*
Dear Colonel M,
You are:
Crobat G
Psychic, 80 HP
W: Lightning
R: Fighting
Power: Flash Bite - Put 10 damage on a player of your choice. If that player is Knocked Out, that Knock Out takes effect immediatly (as soon as the host reads this PM).
PC: Toxic Fang - Target player is now Poisoned for this Turn and the next. This player takes 20 damage instead of 10 every turn.
Your hand is:
1. Jumpluff
2. Double Colorless Energy - Provides CC.
3. Rainbow Energy - Provides any Energy type to any Pokémon. Does 10 damage to a Pokémon when attached.
You are in the group: Pokémon SP
You win if you outlive Exeggcute and four Pokémon SP.
Flash Bite had the potential to be so much fun, up until its very last turn. Until Toxic Fang was appropiately fueled, it acts as a weak, free attack. It had some amusing side effects like putting shade (Mewtwo) in OHKO range for dak (Donphan).
Toxic Fang was actually pretty damn good: 20 instant damage isn't too bad for PC, but the next turn it does another 20. And he can use it every turn: in combination with Flash Bites, he could actually rack up damage pretty quickly. Crobat G had 3 cards when he actually really only needed two to do stuff, so that could have been another card on the Stage 1s/Stage 2s I guess. The main problem with Crobat G is, surprisingly, speed-related: Toxic Fang's poison damage is the last thing to happen during a turn. Which ended up screwing him over in his final stand-off vs Exeggcute, who was going to die at the end of that turn.
This was the Colonel's first mafia game, and I really only included him because of his TCG playing experiences. That's also why I gave him this role. Sadly, he idled Flash Bite one or two times, and mostly used Toxic Fang to benefit others, most likely because for a majority of the game, he either didn't know his enemies or nearly all of them were eliminated: for quite a few Turns, the only guy left for him to kill was the somewhat well-hidden Exeggcute. I don't think he played so astonishingly well that he totally deserved the win, but compared to blue_light, who has played and even hosted so many games by now but hardly played any better...I would definitely prefer having seen him come out on top. I did like how he blocked a lot of people from evolving by trading their evolution cards, though, especially Exeggcute's.
5. imperfectluck - Ambipom G*
Dear imperfectluck,
You are:
Ambipom G
Colorless, 80 HP
W: Fighting
C: Tail Code - Choose one player, and then another. Neither can be Ambipom G. The first Energy card that first player attached is moved to the second. You cannot use this attack on ether of those two players again.
CC: Snap Attack - 60
If the target player has Energy cards attached, this attack does 20 damage instead.
Your hand is:
1. Kirlia
2. Water Energy
3. Psychic Energy
You are in the group: Pokémon SP
You win if you outlive Scyther and four Pokémon SP.
Ambipom the troll Pokémon, a perfect fit for imperfectluck. Tail Code and Snap Attack were both ridiculously powerful, but obviously I knew beforehand imperfectluck would never last long (and I made the priority really low).
imperfectluck played the way he always does. He goes around making "alliances" with people, always managing to find out something crucial about at least one player. He claimed to be in some nonexistant Pokémon Prime group which was really funny. He ended up making two spreadsheets: one not very serious one he shared with like ten people, and one more serious one which he shared with his close allies: Da Letter El, Fatecrashers, vonFiedler and Agape. The latter sheet ended up being rather complete, though unbeknownst to them they mixed up quite a few Pokémon (because their owners didn't talk enough...read: they didn't get tricked by ipl). He practically set up vonFiedler for a win by Tail Coding zorbees' Grass Energy to him, and died quickly after: Grinded to death by Trapinch's devastating lap dance.
6. vonFiedler - Dialga G*
Dear vonFiedler,
You are:
Dialga G
Metal, 100 HP
W: Fire
R: Psychic
MC: Deafen - 10
During the next Turn, target player cannot vote.
MCC: Second Strike - 50
If target player has taken 20 or more damage, this attack does 70 damage instead.
Your hand is:
1. Skiploom
2. Rare Candy
3. Metal Energy - Provides M. Reduces damage taken by 10. Reduces damage dealt by 10 unless holder is M type.
You are in the group: Pokémon SP
You win if you outlive Lapras and four Pokémon SP.
Dialga G Lv X
+20 HP
W: Fire
Body: Time Crystal - Whenever Dialga G attacks or is attacked, ignore any Bodies other than Time Crystal.
MMCC: Remove Lost - 80
The first Energy card target attached is permanently removed from the game.
I can imagine people saying this role was way too overpowered after how it performed in the game, but you have to keep in mind that he was pretty much helped in the saddle by imperfectluck's Tail Code and large amount of information. Consider that he needed 2 Energy cards just to do 10 damage, whereas most other SPs could put a hurting of around 30 or more with a combination of any Energy card types (except Fishin), and he's a lot less appealing. He did have a 3-card hand with some good straight-up trades, and of course an enormous amount of durability between his 100 HP and the ability to thrive off Metal Energy without the drawback. Deafen's side effect was, in retrospect, not very useful since by the time votes really matter you want to use your more powerful attacks, but I didn't want to put in more "Target can't attack next turn." than I already had. Remove Lost is absolutely ridiculous, both in price and pay-off. I never really had any hope of seeing it in action. But then again, the same could be said for Arcanine's Firestorm.
But what really got vonFiedler his (relatively easy, but nonetheless deserved) win was that he managed to get on imperfectluck's good side, despite being in his group (a mistake of ipl's, tbh), and he got him to Tail Code an Energy from zorbees to him somehow. From there he had the most powerful attack out of everyone earlygame in Second Strike, which thanks to its low priority, and a partnership with the Jabbing Hitmonchan (Agape), could dispose of someone pretty much every turn. vonFiedler is not the guy you'd normally put in an Expert game, but since he asked me in private if he could be in since he was interested in designing a game of this type, I decided to give him a shot. Fresh blood is good.
Haymakers
Haymakers, like Pokémon SP, are high HP Basic Pokémon. The Haymakers generally have Energy requirements easy to fulfill, but a low damage cap, and to compensate for that I gave each of them an Energy card of their own type to start with. I imagined them to be calling the shots earlygame, until people manage to evolve. Generally, these "this group was intended to _____" things don't really work at all and I hate reading them in most postgames, especially when the goals are unrealistic. But in this case, I think it was justified.
7. Agape - Hitmonchan*
Dear Agape,
You are:
Hitmonchan
Fighting, 70 HP
W: Psychic
F: Jab - 20
FCC: Special Punch - 40
Your hand is:
1. Blaziken FB Lv X
2. Fighting Energy
You are in the group: Haymakers
You win if you outlive Horsea and four Haymakers.
This is one of those creative liberties I was talking about: I changed Special Punch from FFC to FCC so he could use a DCE or different Energy types, to match him up better with the other cards. I could have buffed the Haymakers in general since they were mostly facing cards from the later sets (which are generally more powerful), but I don't think it made a huge difference since they mostly had each other to kill. There is not much else to say about Hitmonchan besides the fact that his damage output is fast but vanilla.
Agape was active and talked to a bunch of people...whether he talked too much remains to be seen as I forgot the details on everything. But he got into ipl's small circle and worked with them to land a bunch of KOs. ipl traded him his DCE on the Turn he died, and from there he went Special Punching people until he got hit by Exeggcute Hypnosis, Magmar Smokescreen and Crobat Toxic Fang at once, which had him die at the end of the turn after.
8. Midou - Electabuzz*
Dear Midou,
You are:
Electabuzz
Lightning, 70 HP
W: Fighting
L: Thundershock - 10
Target cannot attack during next Turn.
LC: Thunderpunch - 30
You can do 10 damage to Electabuzz. If you do, this attack does 40 damage instead.
Your hand is:
1. Wigglytuff
2. Lightning Energy
3. Metal Energy - Provides M. Reduces damage taken by 10. Reduces damage dealt by 10 unless holder is M type.
You are in the group: Haymakers
You win if you outlive Hoppip and four Haymakers.
Probably my favourite Haymaker, he can Thundershock people for 10 to stop them from attacking, and Metal Energy allows him to Thunderpunch for 30, taking away both the recoil and 10 from whatever attacks him. Alternatively he could trade away the Metal Energy for something else and Thunderpunch for 40 with 10 recoil, but I never considered that option a very serious one, it was just my way to simulate the TCG Thunderpunch (which flips a coin, and does 40 with heads, or 30 and 10 to himself with tails).
Midou was a good idea to put in just like vonFiedler was. I vouched for him to be put in big_bigest after Altair told me how well he played in FF3 mafia, and even though some could call his big_bigest_performance disappointing, I didn't mind his play much in this game. Laundry ruined any plans of his to stay anonymous though because he guessed what Pokémon he was at complete random, and from there it was only a matter of time before he was taken out by either Agape or someone working with him. It ended up being Da Letter El, his mortal enemy, who Mass Attacked him, which only barely KO'd due to the Metal Energy and all the deaths that had occurred in their groups so far (read Mass Attack if you don't get it).
9. zorbees - Scyther*
Dear zorbees,
You are:
Scyther
Grass, 70 HP
W: Fire
R: Fighting
G: Swords Dance - During the next Turn, Scyther's Slash's base damage is 60 instead of 30.
CCC: Slash - 30
Your hand is:
1. Charmeleon
2. Rare Candy
3. Grass Energy
You are in the group: Haymakers
You win if you outlive Ambipom G and four Haymakers.
Scyther may very well have been the best Haymaker. He might not have been able to actually do damage on turn 1, but with just one DCE trade (which he could and did make with Charmander) he would be set for doing 60 on turn 2, and then 30 in subsequent turns. His weakness was to one of the weaker members in the group (Magmar Fossil) and he resisted Hitmonchan.
Unfortunately, zorbees crossed paths with his arch rival imperfectluck, and got his Grass Energy from turn 1 Tail Coded away. From there it would have taken him a while just to get into attacking mode again, but he also just had to get lynched and attacked. Perhaps another case of being active and getting mauled for it. zorbees is another guy that hasn't been in an Expert game before but he definitely hasn't disappointed.
10. shade - Mewtwo*
Dear shade,
You are:
Mewtwo Promo
Psychic, 70 HP
W: Psychic
P: Energy Absorption - If you attempt to scavenge an Energy card during this turn, your priority will be boosted and the Energy card will be attached to Mewtwo if the scavenge is successfull.
PPC: Psyburn - 40
Your hand is:
1. Machamp (Stormfront)
2. Psychic Energy
You are in the group: Haymakers
You win if you outlive Phanpy and four Haymakers.
Silly shade, this role wasn't weak. Energy Absorption was only beaten in priority by Trapinch (and Steelix Prime getting Metal while using Energy Stream), which means a PPC cost isn't that difficult to fulfill considering all the Rainbow Energy out there. Which, btw, don't do their usual 10 damage to him if he equips them through Energy Absorption, just like in the TCG. 40 for PPC isn't too great in the TCG nowadays, but against the other Haymakers, it was a solid 2HKO (other than on Electabuzz if he had Metal equipped both times). Hell, he could OHKO Hitmonchan! And Mewtwo was weak to his own type, so nobody else in his group.
Because of that, I think the 2-card hand (one of which is an Energy he can use right away) and the mighty Donphan Prime as an enemy are justified. Still, dak ended up coming out on top here, thanks to Colonel M using Flash Bite on shade to bring him into Earthquake KO range. shade laid pretty low for most of the game, which paid off for the most part, but not when it came to it. Not everyone is as lucky as...
11. reyscarface - Magmar*
Dear reyscarface,
You are:
Magmar
Fire, 70 HP
W: Water
R: Smokescreen - 10
If the target tries to attack Magmar next Turn, it will fail.
RC: Smog - 20
Target is Poisoned for 2 Turns.
Your hand is:
1. Flygon (Rising Rivals)
2. Fire Energy
You are in the group: Haymakers
You win if you outlive Jigglypuff and four Haymakers.
Magmar was very weak overall, pretty much unable to KO anyone but Fire-weak Pokémon by himself. Smokescreen had a nice side effect though, since the target wasn't told what exactly it did: they might have wasted a turn attacking him. Smog would essentially do 30 damage in one turn for RC, of which 10 was the low priority poison damage, and then another 10 next turn.
rey won, though whether he "deserved" to is debatable. He didn't really need to trade anything per sé other than to avoid the damage after Turn 5 - he could either have tried to get rid of his enemies through politics or just try not to draw attention to himself. Still, it says a lot that he didn't know he could scavenge until like Turn 5, or that he didn't bother to attach and attack until Turn 3. Considering that, I'd gladly try some other fresh Expert players out in this spot if I had to do it all again.
12. billymills - Lapras*
Dear billymills,
You are:
Lapras
Water, 80 HP
W: Lightning
W: Water Gun - 10x
Does 10 damage times the number of Energy cards attached to Lapras, at a maximum of 30.
WW: Confuse Ray - 10
Target can only act on Even Turns from now on, until Confuse Ray is used on something else, or until Lapras is KO'd.
Your hand is:
1. Gardevoir Lv X
2. Rare Candy
3. Rainbow Energy - Provides any Energy type to any Pokémon. Does 10 damage to a Pokémon when attached.
You are in the group: Haymakers
You win if you outlive Dialga G and four Haymakers.
This role was probably a little too weak, but not by that much compared to other Haymakers. Lapras isn't actually a Haymaker, it's just the closest thing to it in the old sets...Lapras did have 10 more HP than other Haymakers, but I guess if he wanted to attack from the start he had to equip Rainbow Energy and take 10 damage. From there, Water Gun is about as efficient cost-wise as Scyther's Slash. Confuse Ray had potential to be very annoying. If I had to change anything about this card, it would be to remove the restriction of only being able to Confuse one guy at a time.
billymills' largest problem was that his weak attacks would never have been able to penetrate Dialga G: he would need the help of one of the many powerful Fire Pokémon to do it. He could of course be a major nuisance with Confuse Ray, and in fact I believe that was the plan at one point...I recall him asking about using Ralts (RBG) to use the "can't attack next turn" attack in conjunction with Confuse Ray to make vonFiedler completely unable to attack. Sadly, they didn't end up doing it. billymills was cleared out of the way along with many other SPs by vonFiedler's Second Strike.
Stage 1 Pokémon
The Stage 1s are something completely different. Their basic versions are all rather weak, capable of some cheap low damage attacks and very little else. They all had 60 HP to start with, which could reasonably have been lowered to 50, considering the Haymakers and SPs all had 70 or 80. The evolutions of the Stage 1s are all pretty powerful Pokémon in their own right: their average damage potential was somewhere in the 90-100, I estimate. However, they usually had large drawbacks to these attacks: usually a high attacking cost. Let's go over them. As I mentioned, everyone of these except Exeggcute ended up evolving. There were no Level X cards for these.
13. Toothache - Chinchou*
Dear Toothache,
You are:
Chinchou
Lightning, 60 HP
W: Fighting
C: Ram - 10
LC: Aqua Spark - 20+
If Chinchou has any W Energy attached to it, this attack does 20 damage plus 10 more damage.
Your hand is:
1. Garchomp C Lv X
2. Fire Energy
3. Water Energy
You are in the group: Stage 1 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Ralts and four Stage 1 Pokémon.
Lanturn Prime
Lightning, 110 HP
W: Fighting
Power: Underwater Dive - Lanturn's type is W instead of L during this Turn.
LCC: Powerful Spark - 40+
Does 40 damage plus 10 damage for each Energy attached to Lanturn Prime.
At base, Chinchou is only capable of vanilla damage. It's actually not much worse than some of the Haymakers with LW attached, but the real fun begins with Lanturn Prime. Lanturn's Poké Power allows it to shift between Lightning and Water. Shifting to Water gave Lanturn a 30 extra damage on Growlithe, Phanpy, and Onix (but not Steelix). Powerful Spark in the real TCG does 40 plus 10 for every Energy card attached to all your Pokémon...I thought it was pretty reasonable to limit it to just Lanturn. You're still looking at 70 for a Lightning and a DCE here (for example), and it could be boosted further.
Lanturn could definitely have come far, but for some reason Agape (who had obtained Lanturn Prime from Fishin in exchange for Blaziken FB Lv X) was refusing to trade it to him. He still got his hands on a Rainbow Energy and was thus able to Aqua Spark people for 30, until he was bluntly killed by Da Letter El (Jumpluff)'s Mass Attack at the request of fellow Stage 1 Fatecrashers (Arcanine).
14. Altair - Onix*
Dear Altair,
You are:
Onix
Fighting, 60 HP
W: Grass
Body: Energy Healer - Whenever you attach an Energy card to Onix, Onix heals 10 damage.
CC: Tunneling - Choose up to 2 targets. You may do 20 damage to them in any way you like.
Your hand is:
1. Kingdra Prime
2. Lightning Energy
You are in the group: Stage 1 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Trapinch and four Stage 1 Pokémon.
Steelix Prime
Metal, 140 HP
W: Fire
R: Grass
Body: Perfect Metal
Prevent all effects of attacks, excluding damage, done to Steelix Prime.
CC: Energy Stream - 30
If you choose to scavenge an M Energy card this Turn, you will gain highest priority for it, and the M Energy card will be attached to Steelix Prime.
MMCCC: Gaia Crush - 100
Steelix is just as tanky, if not moreso, than Dialga G, what with the absurd HP and the compatibility with Metal. Perfect Metal means Steelix did not have anything to fear from poison, confusion, all those hook-like attacks, Tail Code, etc. Energy Stream's cheap 30 damage is its main selling point, I'd say the part where it absorbs Metal Energy is merely a nice bonus. Gaia Crush is of course extremely expensive. Despite seeming like a mountain, Steelix had to be very careful of the three powerful Fire Pokémon in the game, all of who could one-shot him if he wasn't careful. Magmar couldn't really do much to him.
Altair definitely didn't sit still. I don't remember all the things he told me, but I do recall that people were feeding him a LOT of information just to buy his vote. I predicted him to come out victorious halfway through, but the almost-dead Fatecrashers took the mighty Steelix down with him.
15. Veedrock - Jigglypuff*
Dear Veedrock,
You are:
Jigglypuff
Colorless, 60 HP
W: Fighting
R: Psychic
C: Sing - Target can't vote next Turn.
CC: Pound - 20
Your hand is:
1. Charizard AR
2. Lightning Energy
You are in the group: Stage 1 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Magmar and four Stage 1 Pokémon.
Wigglytuff
Colorless, 90 HP
C: Sing - Target can't vote during the next Turn.
CCC: Do the Wave - 10+
Choose a target (does not have to be the same as attacking target). This attack does 10 damage plus 10 more damage for every Pokémon alive in that player's group.
It should probably say Lullaby instead of Sing. Oh well. Wigglytuff just had to be in this game, seeing as I was going for competitively viable cards. Sing and Deafen doing the same thing could be a coincidence...but it's all about Do The Wave. Up to 60 damage for three of any Energy, or any one plus a DCE is nice.
Veedrock managed to get a DCE and the Wigglytuff card, but didn't manage to scavenge the last Energy needed for his attack. The fact that dak randomly (?) Flailed him for 40 damage earlygame did not help either. Magmar couldn't be found and before he knew it he was the target of a lynch that took away his chance to win.
16. Fatecrashers - Growlithe*
Dear Fatecrashers,
You are:
Growlithe
Fire, 60 HP
W: Water
R: none
R: Stoke - Choose a target. If this player has any Energy cards in their hand, you will know. If this player has any R Energy cards in their hand, you will know as well.
RC: Body Slam - 20
Target can't attack during next Turn.
Your hand is:
1. Machoke
2. Grass Energy
3. Rainbow Energy - Provides any Energy type to any Pokémon. Does 10 damage to a Pokémon when attached.
You are in the group: Stage 1 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Garchomp C and four Stage 1 Pokémon.
Arcanine
Fire, 90 HP
W: Water
R: none
RCC: Heat Tackle - 40
RRCC: Firestorm - 120
Choose two Energy cards attached to Blaine's Arcanine. If this attack Knocks Out your target, those Energy cards will end up with that player's revealed, scavengeable cards.
This is actually Blaine's Growlithe, but I didn't want to put that in the card as it looked silly. It's definitely my favourite Arcanine line, and overall the most viable one competitively. Due to the lack of a deck, I couldn't really make Stoke as good as it was, and I didn't want him to be able to steal Energy from other players. Body Slam is RCC in the TCG for some retarded reason, I meant to reduce it to RC but forgot to in the original PM. Arcanine got a pretty large buff as well: I removed Heat Tackle's 10 recoil, and made the Firestorm discard more manageable. I thought it was pretty fair, since Arcanine had to compete with mostly stronger, modern age Pokémon, boosted by the power creep.
The cost reduction didn't really end up mattering because Fatecrashers was a beast at gathering cards, probably due to being in imperfectluck's circle. He hasn't even used Stoke once, but he did get imperfectluck to move an Energy card to him. This allowed him to use Heat Tackle, and on his final breath, Firestorm, but it couldn't help him from dying to Colonel M's Toxic Fangs, sent at him by Altair. It's funny how most of my hosting mistakes ended up concerning Fatecrashers: I miscounted his Energy requirement twice and made another error I forgot...but thankfully, all my errors in this game have been very minor and easily reversible, and it didn't really reduce anything from Fatecrashers' relatively fun and successful time in his first Expert game. Definitely not regretting adding him.
17. lambasto - Phanpy*
Dear daquiri,
You are:
Phanpy
Fighting, 60 HP
W: Water
R: Lightning
F: Flail - 10+
Does 10 damage plus the amount of damage Phanpy has taken.
Your hand is:
1. Luxray GL Lv X
2. Rare Candy
You are in the group: Stage 1 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Mewtwo Promo and four Stage 1 Pokémon.
Donphan Prime
Fighting, 120 HP
W: Water
R: Lightning
Body: Exoskeleton - Whenever Donphan Prime takes damage from an attack from another Pokémon, reduce that damage by 20.
F: Earthquake - 60
This attack does 10 damage to Donphan times the amount of Pokémon alive in Donphan's group.
FFF: Heavy Impact - 90
This one was a bit controversial, and I can see why: 60 for a single Energy is good. Where most Stage 1s are held back by high Energy costs, Donphan's nerf is the enormous Earthquake recoil. dak actually requested Phanpy, and before he knew what he was going to evolve into already proclaimed that Donphan Prime was broken. Personally, I don't think this card is easy to win with at all. He has a two card hand with which he has to obtain his evolution and the Fighting Energy, and even though they were fairly straight up trades, a lot could have gone wrong there. In addition, Earthquake has a very heavy recoil: realistically, he could use it twice at most without a significant death risk. Exoskeleton and 120 HP were definitely key to survival.
dak allied with just the right people to get his cards (Luxray GL and Charmander), and was pretty much set up until imperfectluck Tail Coded his only Fighting Energy away. After a lot of complaining and grumbling, he scavenged a new one from Fishin's body, and Earthquaked shade at just the right time to win. You can complain until you are blue in the face, but this was simply a good player with a good card playing a game just the right way to win.
18. blue_light - Exeggcute*
Dear blue_light,
You are:
Exeggcute
Grass, 60 HP
W: Fire
R: none
P: Hypnosis - Target can't attack during the next Turn.
GC: Leech Seed - 20
Exeggcute heals 10 damage.
Your hand is:
1. Vibrava
2. Fighting Energy
3. Machamp Lv X
You are in the group: Stage 1 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Crobat G and four Stage 1 Pokémon.
Exeggutor
Grass, 80 HP
W: Fire
R: none
P: Teleport - During this Turn and the next, prevent all effects of attacks, excluding damage, done to Exeggutor.
C: Big Eggsplosion - 20x
Does 20 damage times the number of Energy attached to Exeggutor.
Exeggcute and his evo are clearly from before power creep, but I think Exeggutor was up for the challenge. Exeggcute is mostly disruptive, while Exeggutor can use about any Energy card and get a 20 damage return on each of them. Exeggutor is my personal favourite Pokémon, so I couldn't leave it out.
blue_light however, despite winning the game, kind of disappointed me. I got the idea that he didn't talk to a lot of people at all, he never got his Exeggutor card, and until he changed his target on his last Turn, he was going to lose. That may just be my perception because blue_light didn't talk to me...anyway, he does get props for obtaining the right Energy to fulfill his different Energy costs, of course.
Stage 2 Pokémon
The Stage 2 Pokémon are the most interesting of them all. Like the Stage 1s, they start out weak, but the final forms would have to be absolutely worth it. I made sure to pick a nice diverse bunch with cheap attacks, because when you have to trade for at least 2 cards (Rare Candy/Stage 1 + Stage 2) to get there, you don't want to spend forever waiting for Energy...I guess I was successful for the most part here. I really could not be bothered writing role PMs for the Stage 1s, as I didn't expect many of them to come to use: Stage 1 could either not be reached due to premature death, or skipped with one of the four Rare Candies. Turns out that in the end, all of them but one would have been of use. Still, I didn't mind the simple solution of "Stage 1 = Basic with 30 extra HP" (and the change to Vibrava's typing and weakness).
19. the pugilist - Horsea*
Dear the pugilist,
You are:
Horsea
Water, 60 HP
W: Lightning
W: Reverse Thrust - 10
If Horsea is attacked during this Turn (even if Horsea is Knocked Out), it will always end up having 10 HP remaining.
Your hand is:
1. Dialga G Lv X
2. Double Colorless Energy
3. Water Energy
You are in the group: Stage 2 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Hitmonchan and four Stage 2 Pokémon.
Kingdra
Water, 130 HP
W: Lightning
Power: Spray Splash - Once every Turn, you may use this power. Choose a target, and put 20 damage on them. If that player is Knocked Out, that Knock Out takes effect immediatly (as soon as the host reads this PM).
W: Dragon Steam - 60
If there are any Fire Pokémon alive in the target's group, this attack does 20 damage instead.
The immortal Horsea...the idea was that it was a bit of a gamble to use, since even if you got attacked by, say, Hypnosis, you would still end up with 10 HP remaining and unable to attack next turn. Reverse Thrust had plenty of work-arounds: Crobat G's Flash Bite, any kind of Poison/Burn damage, preventing Reverse Thrust from being used next turn with a disruptive attack like the paralyzing ones and Tail Code, and of course the lynch. Kingdra is a force to be reckoned with: it has a Flash Bite with higher power (and priority, by the way), and then a 60 damage attack for one Energy card. And like most if not all Stage 2s, it has impressive HP.
puggy never ended up evolving, perhaps because Kingdra Prime was being traded all over the place and he only ended up getting Rare Candies. Reverse Thrust has saved him from being killed ten times over, though, so perhaps it was for the better, even if it limited his damage potential. His mortal enemy Hitmonchan was rather informative, so he had to endure quite a few attacks, but he was saved by his own attack every time until the lynch got to him. Truth to be told, I was kind of glad he was lynched, as Reverse Thrust was looking awfully cheap at that point (even though there were so many ways around it).
20. Da Letter El - Hoppip*
Dear DaLetterEl,
You are:
Hoppip
Grass, 60 HP
W: Fire
R: Fighting
G: Bounce - 10
If Hoppip is attacked during this Turn (even if Hoppip is Knocked Out), it will always end up having 10 HP remaining.
Your hand is:
1. Arcanine
2. Psychic Energy
3. Metal Energy - Provides M. Reduces damage taken by 10. Reduces damage dealt by 10 unless holder is M type.
You are in the group: Stage 2 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Electabuzz and four Stage 2 Pokémon.
Jumpluff
Grass, 90 HP
W: Fire
R: Fighting
G: Mass Attack - 10x
This attack does 10 damage times the number of Pokémon alive in Jumpluff's and target's group.
G: Leaf Guard - 30
During this Turn, the total amount of damage done to Jumpluff is reduced by 30.
I thought Jumpluff was pretty damn scary despite the low HP: Mass Attack had the potential to do up to 120 damage for just one Energy, and alternatively he could use Leaf Guard to keep himself alive while still doing a reasonable 30 damage. And Hoppip's Bounce was just as annoying as Horsea's Reverse Thrust (except this one could also be bypassed with Kingdra Prime's Spray Splash). Because of that, I decided not to give Hoppip a Grass Energy to start with, but the cards in his hand are all easily traded for the ones he needs.
I was very pleased with Dale's playing. He ended up working with imperfectluck's group, where vonFiedler had Skiploom, Fatecrashers a Grass Energy, and he did the trade for the Jumpluff with Colonel by himself. Sadly, he struck a deal with Fatecrashers to use Mass Attack on Toothache for 120, instead of attacking jumpluff (the user) in his own group. I think it had something to do with Fatecrashers agreeing to use his 120 attack for Dale's good or something. Either way, because of this, jumpluff could survive and evolve into Charizard a turn later, only barely killing Dale with Steady Firebreathing followed up by a Fire Wing.
21. jumpluff - Charmander*
Dear jumpluff,
You are:
Charmander
Fire, 60 HP
W: Water
C: Call for Friends - Choose a target. You will get to know this player's group.
FC: Steady Firebreathing - 20
Your hand is:
1. Donphan Prime
2. Double Colorless Energy
3. Fire Energy
You are in the group: Stage 2 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Luxray GL and four Stage 2 Pokémon.
Charizard
Fire, 140 HP
W: Water
R: Fighting
Body: Fire Formation - Charizard's attacks do 20 more damage for every Fire Pokémon in the game that isn't Knocked Out (excluding Charizard).
R: Fire Wing - 30
RRC: Burning Tail - 80
Return an Energy card attached to Charizard to your hand. You cannot attach this Energy card to Charizard next Turn.
Definitely a great role off the start. Call for Friends is one of the very few informative roles in the game, and Charizard's Fire Wing has the potential to be both cheap and powerful, while 140 HP and Fighting resistance keeps it alive. Fire Formation had the potential to add 60 damage, feeding off Blaziken FB, Magmar and Arcanine. I didn't expect Burning Tail to be used, like most expensive attacks on evolved Pokémon, but there's no reason not to include them, right?
I gave Charmander to jumpluff because of her SPL team name. jumpluff found dak (Phanpy) early, and they worked out a threeway deal with UncleSam (Luxray GL). She was furious when zorbees didn't end up completing the Turn 1 trade (Charmeleon for DCE), but it ended up happening the next turn, and from there it was pretty smooth sailing. It took a while for her to find Charizard, since Veedrock had traded it away to Midou, but once she added Midou to her little alliance she evolved, and none too soon, as Dale was out for her blood. While Call for Friends always always hit people outside of her group, she managed to find all her enemies through progress of elimination (and the help of her allies shade, dak, Midou and I believe Agape?), she took down the biggest threat in Dale (jumpluff killing Jumpluff......). She decided to work with RBG even though he was in her group, and together they pretty much wrapped the game up, getting some revenge on the lap dancer Lightwolf and her cousin Thorns.
22. Lightwolf - Trapinch*
Dear Lightwolf,
You are:
Trapinch
Fighting, 60 HP
W: Water
R: Lightning
Body: Gather Sand - Trapinch has higher priority when scavenging Energy cards.
C: Grind - 10x
This attack does 10 damage times the number of Energy attached to Trapinch.
Your hand is:
1. Gardevoir Lv X
2. Grass Energy
3. Rainbow Energy - Provides any Energy type to any Pokémon. Does 10 damage to a Pokémon when attached.
You are in the group: Stage 2 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Onix and four Stage 2 Pokémon.
Flygon
Colorless, 120 HP
W: Colorless
R: Lightning
CC: Sand Wall - 40
Choose a secondary target. Flygon and this secondary target cannot take damage from the public vote during the next Turn.
CCC: Power Swing - 60+
This attack does 60 damage plus 10 damage for any evolved Pokémon in the game (excluding Flygon).
Flygon Lv X
Colorless, +20 HP
Power: Wind Erosion - Once every Turn, you may use this power. Choose a target. That player will have to remove one card from the game from their hand during the next Turn (if they have any cards in their hand). If they are ever Knocked Out, the card will be united with their other cards.
CCC: Extreme Attack - Choose a target. If target is a Pokémon Lv X, this attack does 150 damage to that Pokémon.
Woah, lots of text here. The Flygon line is interesting, they have a lot of little neat tricks and it was a lot of fun to make it into a mafia role. Except Rainbow Float, I couldn't think of anything for it besides a boring "Prevent all effects of attacks excluding damage" one, and I decided I had enough of those. Trapinch was the closest thing this game had to a real scavenger, able to pick up dead Energy from people. Grind worked very well with that. Sand Wall is one of my favourite attacks here, sadly it never got used...Power Swing had ridiculous potential, especially since so many people managed to evolve. As for Flygon Lv X, I'm of the opinion that if you reach Stage 2 Lv X, it doesn't matter how broken your powers are: you deserve to win at this stage. Wind Erosion had the potential to be very annoying, though lategame you'd think most people have the things they want to use attached. Extreme Attack might as well say "kill this if it's a Pokémon Level X".
Lightwolf seemed to be thinking about this game a lot, coming up with all sorts of crazy theories half of which I don't remember. Early on he thought there would be a group for Pokémon that have different evolution paths (since he had Gardevoir), he thought rey had higher scavenge priority because his hand sucked, and some other weird things. He tried very, very hard, but due to his evolution being cockblocked by reyscarface and then Colonel M, he was stuck at Vibrava. Vibrava definitely didn't do bad though: 90 HP and Trapinch's awesome Body and attack got him pretty far, and with the DCE he picked up near the end he could have been Grinding for 50 damage. If win output was equal to effort input, Lightwolf would have won this game and the next.
23. RBG - Ralts*
Dear RB Golbat,
You are:
Ralts
Psychic, 60 HP
W: P
#: Future Sight - Choose a player, and you will get to see whether they can Evolve or Level Up.
P: Hypnoblast - 10
Target cannot attack during the next Turn.
Your hand is:
1. Flygon Lv X
2. Double Colorless Energy
3. Psychic Energy
You are in the group: Stage 2 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Chinchou and four Stage 2 Pokémon.
Gardevoir
Psychic, 110 HP
W: P
Power: Telepass - Gardevoir gets to see the hand of every Pokémon it does damage to.
PCC: Psychic Lock - 60
Choose up to three targets. All of your named targets are unable to use Pokémon Powers during the next Turn.
Gardevoir lv X
Psychic, +20 HP
W: P
Power: Teleportation - Prevent all effects of attacks, excluding damage, done to Gardevoir Lv X.
PP: Bring Down - The Pokémon with the lowest remaining HP (excluding Gardevoir Lv X) is now Knocked Out.
The next Stage 2 that had Level Up potential. Note how Flygon and Gardevoir have each other's Level X cards...I had to put em somewhere. Like Trapinch, Ralts has access to some interesting side effects. The disruptive Hypnoblast that ended up being called Psyshock for some reason and the informative Future Sight were both useful, and that was just the beginning of the line. Telepass and Teleportation obviously had to be replaced by something, I kind of like the solution for Telepass even though it is nearly useless since 60 dmg should KO anything, and Teleportation is of course very generic. Psychic Lock, in the real TCG, shuts down all the opponent's powers. I thought just the target was too little, but every Power was too much, so I picked this way. Gardevoir Lv X's Bring Down is of course totally borked, but as I said, if you get to Stage 2 Lv X, you deserve it.
I made RBG this role because he played a Gardevoir/Gallade deck, and when I ghosted for him in a tournament match it was a lot of fun. Whether his experience helped, I don't know...he didn't use Future Sight once, instead spamming Hypnoblast to great annoyance of people. He ended up getting all his evolutions, but due to lack of Energy (he traded away his DCE and just couldn't get a new one) he stuck with Kirlia. When he found out Thorns was Machoke he just kept Hypnoblasting him into oblivion, only evolving and leveling up at the very end. RBG was in an alliance with Midou and Laundry early, and later he was working with jumpluff. He could potentially have handed the game to someone else if he wanted to, but he stayed true and it ended up benefitting both of them.
24. LonelyNess/Thorns - Machop*
Dear LonelyNess/Thorns,
You are:
Machop
Fighting, 60 HP
W: P
F: Low Kick - 20
You will get to know the type of your target.
Your hand is:
1. Exeggutor
2. Fire Energy
3. Metal Energy
You are in the group: Stage 2 Pokémon
You win if you outlive Blaziken FB and four Stage 2 Pokémon.
Machamp
Fighting, 130 HP
W: P
F: Take Out
If your target is not an Evolved Pokémon or Pokémon Lv X, the target is now Knocked Out.
CC: Hurricane Punch - 20x
If the Turn number is not between 1 and 4, reduce that number by 4 until it is. This attack does 20 damage times that number.
FFCC: Rage - 60+
Does 60 damage plus 10 more damage for each 10 damage on Machamp.
Machamp Lv X
Fighting, +20 HP
W: P
Body: No Guard
If Machamp Lv X attacks or is attacked, that attack does 60 more damage.
FCC: Strong-Willed - 20
If a single attack would Knock Out Machamp during next Turn, its remaining HP becomes 10 instead.
The final Stage 2, and this one has a Level X too. Because of the sheer threat of Machamp's attacks, I left Machop without a Fighting Energy, confident he would be able to get one somewhere else. Low Kick was very good after all - if it had one of the 20 damage and the inspection it would be good already, but both of them is veeery good. Machamp is downright ridiculous, and that's after I nerfed Take Out. In the TCG, it does 40 damage to Evolved Pokémon, and Knocks Out anything else. Here, it does nothing against Evolved Pokémon or Pokémon Level X, but it still OHKOs Basics. Anyone not fast enough with their evolutions is threatened by that one Energy attack. Hurricane Punch was possibly my favourite way of implementing a quadruple coin flip, and his most viable way of attacking evolved Pokémon. Rage was of course way too expensive, but it would've been great if it happened. Machamp Lv X, I had no real confidence in. The Body is more of a hinder than a help in this type of game, but Strong Willed was a slightly worse Reverse Thrust/Bounce that had the potential to keep him alive for a while. The wording was a bit weird, but basically it means that Strong Willed only saves him once per Turn max.
LonelyNess started off good, openly stating that he had a Rare Candy in order to lure other Stage 2s. However, he had to be subbed out, and Thorns...well, his timezone didn't match up with anyone but puggy, but sometimes I dunno if he was really trying. At some point, he was being hooked by Kirlia, but he had Machamp and a DCE in his hand which he could have at least tried to use. I guess he thought all was lost at that point. It's a shame because it kept blue_light from evolving and Altair from one of the few Metals in the game that hadn't been hogged by vonFiedler.
That's it for my collection of Pokémon. Do you need awards? Fine...
Awards
The
Golden Alakazam goes to
Altair for having the first complete spreadsheet without errors.
Runner-up to the
Prime Number Alliance of
imperfectluck,
Fatecrashers,
Agape and
Da Letter El. They were pretty solid info-wise as well, but about six mix-ups took place that spread through the entire game.
The
Golden Chansey award goes to
reyscarface for having some of the best luck to accompany one of the least deserved wins in the game.
Runner-up to
blue_light for the exact same reason.
The
Golden Chatot is for
Lightwolf for his endless monologue and theorizing, overcomplicating my game in ways I could not dream of.
Runner-up is
jumpluff who was doing the same thing to a lesser extent, just in another window. I guess we could call it vagina monologues...
And the
Golden Yooterii for best newcomer is for
Fatecrashers for beasting straight towards Arcanine's final Firestorm.
Runner-up to
vonFiedler in this regard, who managed to do what pretty much no player has done so far: using imperfectluck to their advantage when he had no reason to win or even work with you!
Congrats to vonFiedler, reyscarface, lambasto, blue_light, jumpluff and RBG, and thanks for playing everyone!