Somewhere Back In Time

Pokémon [19]

2 — Hoopa EX — Ancient Origins (89/98)

4 — Alakazam EX — Fates Collide (125/124)
3 — M Alakazam EX — Fates Collide (118/124)

4 — Deoxys — Roaring Skies (33/108)
2 — Hoopa — Steam Siege (51/114)

2 — Porygon — Plasma Blast (72/101)
2 — Porygon-Z — Ancient Origins (67/98)

Trainers [27]

1 — Master Ball — Plasma Blast (94/101)
2 — Rare Candy — Dark Explorers (100/108)
3 — Ultra Ball — Flashfire (99/106)

1 — Elesa — Legendary Treasures (RC20/RC25)
2 — N — Dark Explorers (96/108)
2 — Colress — Plasma Storm (118/135)
2 — Teammates — Primal Clash (141/160)
3 — Cheren — Dark Explorers (91/108)
4 — Steven — Roaring Skies (90/108)

2 — Sky Field — Roaring Skies (89/108)
2 — Dimension Valley — Phantoms Forces (93/119)

3 — Alakazam Spirit Link — Fates Collide (90/124) 

Energy [14]

4 — Mystery Energy — Phantom Forces (112/119)
3 — Double Colorless Energy
7 — Psychic Energy

Epilogue

In this rendition of Masterpiece Theater, Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrian is being dragged on a journey through time and space by the legendary immortal Eddie the Head, who's hunting down some of the most notorious evils ever to haunt the tides of time. Now this probably wouldn't have ever been the case, but Nicko McBrian doesn't have anything better to do. He's all out of dope—and the end of his rope.

And thus begins our journey somewhere back in time, in hopes of scoring some ancient treasure from the past—with our endearing heroes Eddie the Head (portrayed by Deoxys and Hoopa)—and Nicko McBrian (portrayed by Alakazam).

You've got to watch them be quick or be dead, and that's why we want to always play first if we can, and on our best games, probably lead with [Close Encounter] Deoxys to get the jump on our game. Our first move is looking to get Hoopa EX on the table and summon up as many Alakazam (or Mega Alakazam) we can use to fill the bench, and setup for the grandeur of Mega Evolution.

You see, our old friend just isn't suited for the harsh conditions of time travel. He has a fear of the dark, and it's not likely that he would last very long as he stands. For this reason, we're seeking to ascend Nicko McBrian to the legendary status of Time Lord (king of all the land—in the kingdom of the sand).

This of course would be a dream come true for Nicko McBrian (who's always dreamed of being a Time Lord)—and a dream come true for his road crew (who have always dreamed of possibly traveling time with one). With that said, they've pledged their loyalty to Nicko McBrian, and their secrecy to Eddie the Head to help us with as much as they can.

Know them well—and know well enough to lead with anything that's a straight draw when the consistency of the deck is in its highest concentration—unless of course the hand itself is empty. We have two power plays with MI6 Colress. We'll want to save them for when the bench is fully loaded. Two power plays Teammaters. We'll want to save at least one of them for an emergency—in case we need to locate a Porygon-Z (hallowed be thy name) and have it take us home through the Stargate.

From there, we have four plays with Steven and three plays with Cheren (both representing Bruce Dickerson). Now, we can't take Bruce back in time, because he'll be running all over the place and touching everything. But with all the energy he has (and the compensation we offer him) he can work some miracle to pull some strings for us in the present.

As always, a great 1-2 Supporter play involves Steven—then Cheren. As one tactically thins the deck, and sets up for the other to make a more concentrated draw next turn. Cheren is also great to net some extra cards as bait for Ultra Ball—so don't even go thinking you know better and removing them for something else.

Last in line, we have two powerplays with Jesusfreak Steve Harris (aka N). We can use one right away (and it's recommended to do so) but we'll always want to be cautious to save the other for the end of the game. That's when Eddie is likely to reveal the tragic revelation to him that Jesus was truly a terribly man—and when N most prominently become the savior himself—shuffling our hand back into our deck and potentially saving us from running out of cards and losing the game.

Now from here, our offensive will mostly depend on our place in time between—Dimension Valley (the brutal past) [1]—and Sky Field [1] (the unforeseeable future).

Dimension Valley is obviously our most favorable hunting ground, since it enables us to lead with attacks such as [Close Encounter] and [Hyperspace Punch] for free—while enabling us to use other attacks such as [Hyperdrive Smash], [Suppression], and the powerful [Zen Force] for a single energy.

However, we'll always want to lead with Sky Field unless it's a matter of life and death. The reason for this is because Sky Field serves but one purpose, and then doesn't have much potential afterwards. This purpose involves playing Sky Field and bridging off multiple Hoopa EX to overload the bench—then acing out Sky Field to remove the otherwise sitting duck Hoopa EX from the enemy's line of sight.

[Hyperspace Fury] is far too resource demanding here for us to make any use of—and therein lies the importance of removing Hoopa EX from play as a liability once his work is done.

Not that we aren't prepared for all out war here, because we are. With many tactical additions such as 4 Mystery Energy to provide free retreat to almost everyone—and 3 Double Colorless Energy to suite the tactical retreat of cards like Hoopa, Hoopa EX, and Alakazam especially. Since this power play help us to significantly preserve those resources and put them to greater use—it's still significant.

Playing Sky Field first also helps to draw out Stadium bait from our opponents—so we can more comfortably make the jump to Dimension Valley without as much fear of getting trapped between from here to eternity (the worst song in Iron Maiden history).

An with that said, may we all take a lesson from Eddie the Head,

"Do not waste your time always searching for those wasted years. Face up...make your stand. And realize you're living in the golden years."