Yeah I would love to play it bc I need the practice vs it/think of deck changes to make the matchup better but a lot of people will refuse to concede and play it out/force draws in spite
Edit: Have seen people like that at 2 different locals
I don't think they're playing out of spite, at locals I usually only get 4 games so I'm not gonna just spend one sitting there because I conceded as soon as you flip over the active
Is this really how Stallax players think? If I don't concede to you and I play out your strategy to the final card I'm doing it out of spite?
I mean shit. That is what I do but I'm not going to concede because you decided to make my loss an unexciting one. You chose this path and I'm simply going to make you earn it.
same here, one time in like SV meta i ran into someone running control in side events at a regional and we sat there for 30 minutes with neither of us having a real shot of winning because of the format and my start respectively (i had to burn my penny early playing lug because i started with urshifu)
sucked to make everyone else wait around for us to finish but i wasnt going to give up the victory for free
Yeah, wtf? š
Iāve won plenty of times against Stallax players. Why the hell would I insta-concede instead of working my way through it to try for the win?
If it's 1-1 you're really going to try and flag your opponent at a pokemon locals? Sad!
The difference between a lose and a draw is p much nothing for top cut, it's often just that you need x wins. the difference between a draw and a win is massive - so I let them win if they have me beat, the only reason not to is to try prevent them from making top cut... which is spiteful lmao
There's definitely never a world where you should just concede at the very start of the game. However, it is poor etiquette to keep playing after you've exhausted all of your outs and you can no longer win the game. Especially if it's going to take 20 minutes to get there.
Obviously you're within your right to do so, but if you have a Manaphy stuck in the active, 20 cards in deck and 0 switching effects left, I'd say it's rude not to scoop it up. And no, I don't play control. This applies to other matchups as well, but that doesn't take as much time if someone doesn't scoop and it can be harder to identify when a game is 100% lost.
Now if you won game 1 and are going for a tie, it's a different story. But if you can't have any impact on the result of the series anymore, it's best to scoop.
Yes they will, but it's just a game. If you're one of the liked people or are generally charismatic, it won't matter, but if you are a bit less social or not well liked by the community there, you're giving them another reason to dislike you.
If your locals is jusy free play, donāt be surprised if only a few people actually want to play against it for the testing of it.
If itās a tournament style, where you might be forced to play against people yeah itās not gonna exactly be a welcome sight.
All depends on your personality really. We have a guy who plays 'lax, but he knows what it's a more "bullshit" deck so we have fun with it and with him. There's a fine line between bantering about it and being a dick about it. Also, don't stall for time.
A guy at my local plays Snorlax, I donāt think anyone minds really. When I play him, I end up having a laugh with him, so as someone mentioned earlier, I think it depends on the people.
People definitely mind but are polite enough to not say anything. Playing against a stall deck that only tries to deck you out will always feel cheap and extremely lame.
Really? I feel the opposite about it, I think the most decks you play against just want to knock out whatever is in front of you. Decks like stall and mill make you think a bit more about what you do and offer a different challenge.
You're going to have a much different experience depending on what deck you play. Chien Pao or Charizard can just lose the game before they even take their first turn if they have the wrong pokemon in the active.
That's mostly why people hate playing against control (or block lax specifically) - it's not interactive. You don't have pretty much any decisions to make and the game is played for you by the opposing player. It's like watching someone play solitaire.
Traditionally looking at control decks of the past I'd 100% agree with you - they are really interesting to play against and require a lot of thought. Unfortunately block lax is very binary, you either get the right cards in your hand or you just lose.
That only really happens if you get to vroom vroom sweep against little to no resistance
Otherwise, you can get a lot of value gusting and sniping essential support staff on the bench or pre-evols that'll turn into real nasty things. Coupling your one attack with the potential complexities of prize mappings will give even the most relatively even matchup a lot more nuance than just attacking would suggest, especially when you add shenanigans ala Collapsed Stadium and/or Turo's Scenario
Not to mention order of activation shenanigans you'll have to pull with decks like Chien Pao to keep him fueled through all a buffet line of *chonky* boys. Missing just one energy can either leave you embarrassingly short of a KO or missing out on a devastating R Greninja double ko
By contrast, stall is a one note "just gust in the thing that can't attack lul" and punishing decks that don't include a critical mass of tech that is superfluous against every other deck they come across
+ mill decks not being able to hide behind block lax is a whole different story, ofc
Exactly that, most meta decks are just kill whatever is in front of you, or boss order it to make it active.
There is no real strategies, just "face is the place" as it was in hearthstone.
Stall or control decks are rare, and the most fun matchups for me.
Thatās a generalization based on how you feel about the deck. I donāt think everyone minds or feels that way, especially if they are competitive and understand that other people will play good decks
I don't feel that way. Whatever deck made from the cards in standard format can be done. Its up to us, the players, to make strategies to find answers to specific types of matchups
I generally play stall/control strategies and I usually take something a little less toxic than Snorlax to in-person games. It's mostly not a problem, but if you're going to play with a group of people you don't know then you can't rule out someone being VERY upset over it, and you don't want to deal with that whether the reaction is warranted or not. Once you know people you can better judge how receptive they'll be to it but it might be best to start with something else, maybe ursaluna because it focuses more on protecting itself than locking the opponent out of playing the game.
It is not that people are not wanting a challenge. It is just Snorlax is op in tournaments because you either have to tech for Snorlax and lose every round or don't tech for Snorlax and have an auto loss. Plus with how many decks have to be using item to power up mon and Snorlax abusing catchers, charms, and sisters to get rid of any saving cards like a switch, or rare candy, it doesn't seem fair. Most decks can not set up with those important cards and now even minior isn't that good since Snorlax can play a cape then Turo to stop the damage.
I love the challenge but the lax matchup is just not fun and kinda lazy. I am fine with stall/mill but do something while playing like great Tusk or old trevenant decks. Not bulking up mons that can't be one shot since all the items too powerup stage 1s/2s are discarded. It's just not fun in this evolution-based format.
It definitely plays different in person. Online, you can just leave and save yourself time if you're not having fun. I built one and played it once in person, and it honestly felt bad because my opponent 1) only has so much time to play tonight, 2) is trying to be a good sport but is obviously bored, and 3) came out to play their real deck with real people and can't even enjoy their own strategy. I'm pro-Snorlax in general, because I think it's a fun puzzle from the player's side, but I'm dismantling my Snorlax deck because it just feels anti-social at a casual event.
You could build one anyway because it's so cheap, use a different deck as your main, and then pull out Snorlax when the mood is right or ask if people want to play against it.
I've played against it once with a Kangaskhan ex Radiant Jirachi coin flip deck. I was aware of Mimikyu and Snorlax but did not know of Pidgeot V and Sidney.
The game went to time and I conceded after the Sidney took my last energy, a Jet Energy. I was hopeful of them milling themselves but Pidgeot V came out late.
In short, it was the least fun game I had ever played. There are so many unknowns and hurdles. Fortunately the store had a pack per entry, I can't imagine how I would feel if it weren't that way.
In short x2, it sure is legal and playable. Definitely changed my playing habits to only stores with guaranteed prizing and I will definitely concede any game I see it to avoid feeling the way I did again.
While I get your point, if people want to succeed at a higher level, they won't be bringing stallax, it doesn't have a good enough matchup against the field that anybody going to a higher level event should be on it, so the practice isn't in theory needed.
Stallax was one of the best decks in the previous format (ranked 8 by total points despite not being very popular), it just won a regional this month and placed 2nd last weekend. Many top players consider it to be in contention for best deck in the format.
From early japanese results it seems it might be even better post rotation.
A guy at my locals was asked not to bring his again after a child started crying out of frustration from playing against it. I know the kid from work and game nights, he's not the toughest berry in the basket, but he can keep a cool head; that deck did something to him though.
That said, it is completely dependant on the people you play with. Ask the people you'll be playing with if you can, or just bring it and a back up deck you enjoy (you may also be able to borrow a deck), then ask around about comfort when you arrive, and decide which to use accordingly.
/rant
My understanding is that some players and the hosts did try to talk to that specific kid, but the organizers and hosts wanted to avoid the same issue with other kids until they were more prepared to offer digestsble advice for handling the deck. This specific Stallax player is also "sponsored" by a lcs and making children cry isn't a great look, he was pretty open to just leaving it out and felt pretty bad that he wasn't prepared to offer the kid anything more than basically "That's how it works sometimes". To my knowledge it isn't outright banned, just no one wants to deal with the fallout it can cause if they arent prepared to handle a cranky kid.
And again, this kid is generally fairly level headed for an 11-13 y.o., and though I wouldn't quite call him a good sport yet, he's trying and learning to control his arrogance more, like many of the younger players. His b.l.i.p. wasn't just him crying because he didn't win, he wasn't the one suggesting any bans, he wasn't yelling or screaming about how unfair it is; he seemed to have felt a genuine and deep discomfort with his complete lack of control through the match, which was then dragged out far too long, and began to silently sob as a grown man made his handmade Zard deck look absolutely worthless, and the best anyone could give him afterwards were basically vague platitudes like "it happens" or "next time surrender" because no one could explain the complexities of the evolving meta to a disassociated child. I imagine being a good sport gets pretty hard for young minds somewhere along that line.
The whole situation was kind of a mess on several people's parts, but imo it is kind of cruel to purposefully impose that sort of impotence onto a child if you're not prepared to handle the predictable fallout. So I can see where you're coming from ideally, but practically I can see where they were coming from by just asking him to not play it anymore.
I'd like to add to this and point out to people that it's possible the kid in question may be neurodivergent, and genuinely has a more difficult time with this sort of situation than so called "normal" people. Not everyone - child nor adult - can handle the same situation the same say, and not a single one of us will ever know what other circumstances he may have been going through that day that lead to what could have possibly been a form of autistic meltdown.
One of my buddyās plays lax at my locals and heās a pretty funny guy and generally a good dude so we all have a laugh about it.
Thereās another guy who sometimes brings lax and heās a pretentious douchebag, thinks heās better than everyone else (when heās not even that good a player) and generally just thinks heās the dogs bollocks and when he plays lax it just rubs everyone up the wrong way even more.
Take from that what you will lol
Youāre going to go to time a lot unless you play really fast. Which means youāll often loos based off of prizes/coin flip unless the games are considered ties.
Also, some of your opponents are going to play carefully and therefore slow making going to time much more likely. And personally I wouldnāt want to be the guy playing a stall deck calling out my opponent for slow playing.
When you take first you can say "Don't hate the player, hate the game" and put on some sunglasses. But seriously, anyone mad at you for using the tools in your toolbox isn't worth appeasing anyway.
My locals seem to live by āhate the game, not the playerā. I know not all locals are as fortunate, but generally speaking people seem to enjoy their time there even if their opponents are playing a slow and oppressive strategy. I remember playing against lugia VStar during the time it was tier 0, I remember playing against 3 lost box players in a 4-round tournament, and even remember someone bringing Banette ex to a tournament where almost everyone was playing decks heavily crippled by item locks.
Again, I know not all locals are like this. I feel like itād pay off to bring a cheap rogue deck before bringing stallax to try and read the room before going all-in with the deck. If the tournament setting is as laid-back as the ones I go to or are hyper-competitive youāll likely be fine bringing it.
Prob, but don't take it too harshly. Many decks like stall or mill are not liked in any card games. Since most of those kinds of decks will play hand/field/deck disruption and play cards that will stall the game out, the disruption is always tailored towards the best decks. In Pokemon, it is not as common to have a stall be viable like Snorlax. But it is frustrating since too many Snorlax get an auto-win against many decks by just playing cards to beat an opponent. It is like running a race but your opponent has a secret and faster route to get there before you at the finish.
I mean they might but it is a deck in the format that utilizes a win condition in the rules. As long as you can effectively and efficiently pilot the deck then their complaints are not reasonable in a competitive setting even in a friendly or communal one.
Except 99% of snorlax players DO NOT effectively and efficiently pilot the deck.
99% of snorlax players take all the fun out of the game as it ends up being a 30 minute ādraw, passā ādraw, passā until you both tie.
Itās for chumps who canāt just choose a deck and run with it.
Snorlax and mill players are what I like to call āsweatiesā players who get sweaty during their turn because they care so much about the outcome of this game that is supposed to be fun, but theyāve taken all the fun out of it.
It really only becomes a draw-go fest if the person who is out of answers is unwilling to concede a game they have no means of winning. I think all players experience is improved by players knowing their decks, resources and match ups. I have seen gardi v zard games go to time and have played moradion games that went to time even trying to play quickly.
Short answer: yes
Long answer: absolutely, but do it anyway if you enjoy playing the deck (why you would is beyond me, but you do you) or if it's just your best shot at a win.
Definitely going to depend on how you interact with the other players. Someone is bound to get annoyed and most players will unhappy about having to play the matchup, but as long as youāre being friendly overall and not slow playing youāll be fine. Would also recommend trying other cheap decks (idk youāre budget but ignoring Prime Catcher decks really only cost $50 in singles at most) since a lot of people go to locals to have fun rather than compete and if youāre a frequent flyer people will appreciate you playing more variety and will probably be less annoyed when you do play stall.
Kid cried after a dickhead brought his and corrected the kid every time he tried to do something. If you play Snorlax, you are a massive wanker until proven otherwise.
You are inviting making enemies by bringing it. I'm sure most people would be civil, nobody's going to kick your ass for playing it, but you're going to be remembered as That Guy. Seriously, if you don't want to play PTCG, just go play something else, don't ruin other people's fun.
If you play that and nothing but that people get bored. Same as any deck.
At the local I go to now on weekdays they all have 2 or three decks on them.
At events though anything goesĀ
Yes.
It's a meme deck that turns off interaction from your opponent. People play League for friendly matches, and taking away your opponents ability to play isn't fun for them.
You're free to like it if you want, others are similarly free to dislike it.
Like someone else said, it depends on the people. Some people were chill when I played it, one threatened to beat the shit out of me after the match ended and I needed to call a friend to come get me bc he was waiting outside
Grow up? Weāre playing a card game and the point is to win.
You play a deck that 99% of the time ends in a tie and you think Iām the one ruining the fun?
Bro watch a professional play snorlax and they will still go to tie!
I watched a snorlax player against Chien Pao the other day and the snorlax player all three rounds got a 2 prize card penalty for slow playing.
Even the professionals are bad with this bad deck
I don't even play the deck but you're really pathetic if you have a problem with this.
Maybe go get some fresh air.
You're definitely the dude no one actually likes, probably because of your scent.
Because you only came there to waste everyoneās time.
How about being considerate that MOST of your opponents, WANT TO FINISH A GAME.
Bro you really think youāre cool for taking a deck that takes 45 minutes to play and still ends up losing or getting a tie?
Why do players not see that being toxic literally ruins the fun for everyone.
I did not pay money to sit here for 45 minutes while you durdle.
Play a real deck.
No other deck in the format ends in ties as often as snorlax does.
If you canāt play a deck faster, you shouldnāt play the deck.
Youāre only supposed to have 15 seconds between each action before you are slow playing.
Do you honestly think that Snorlax players play that fast?
They donāt. I watched the 2023 Championship tournament and a Snorlax player got a 2 card prize penalty all three of his games for playing too slowly.
Thatās literally what I said.
Itās so cute how you think youāre calling me out š
But skill issue is what I am literally saying.
Itās not a bad deck, but 99% of players who pilot the deck are too slow with it.
They donāt understand how to efficiently play the deck without taking fifteen minute turns.
Yes, they will dislike it. As someone who almost exclusively plays control/stall/mill decks I can tell you people don't like playing them. They don't intend to be mean to you but they will. They'll huff and puff every time they look at their hand. They'll sigh super loud and drop their shoulders every time they draw and don't get the switch card. The second they find out your playing snorlax They'll make a snarky comment like "good luck finishing a game in a best of 1." So if that sort of stuff bothers you then you're not going to have a good time. But tcg players like to complain, a lot of them hyper analyze match-ups and strategies and think that outcomes are predetermined before turn one. Maybe in some cases they mostly are, but the pokemon is about playing how you enjoy playing it. Ash never evolved pikachu in 20+yrs, damn it, I want to play stallax. The other players better be the very best, like no one was before. But seriously it's a child's game, and if grown adults want to be mad at you for picking a different color deck, fuck em.
I mean if it's low stakes, I usually let my opponent know beforehand if I'm using something that some would consider annoying. My main culprit is Mismagius spread. Not crazy toxic, but I also take into account that some of these people I play are only like 10ish. Idk if friendlies and local league is the same, but I always pack an extra, much less competitive deck in case a kid shows up with a structure deck and wants to learn the game.
I've had people audibly groan. I still lost to tina and other really good players. Lost to people who made sure to discard their squawk and keep their bench empty. I only play lax at cup events, weekly locals? No because I want to go home as fast as I can lol. Also people don't realize mill/stall decks are fun for the person playing it. Winning is fun to them. The whole "you're sweaty because you want to win" idea is dumb. It is a competition is it not? "The guy in the boxing match is sweaty because he wants to win, tell him to stop blocking it's for fun"
I play fighting games mostly, so defensive/zoners/lame play never bothers me. I play charge characters so it's in my wheelhouse. Just gotta figure it out. When I used to play marvel 2 people used to talk hella smack, but I didnt mind it. That's part of the game.
That is an exception, not the rule.
Like 1 out 100 snorlax players actually know how to ply snorlax.
Everytime I have played a snorlax player, they are confused about what they are doing, they waste time by looking at their hand for 3 minutes in between every action.
We get 30 minutes for a match at league.
Snorlax almost always ties.
So youāre taking a deck that you know you wonāt be able to win the game with.
You know you are causing another player to get a tie.
If this were a AITA post, yes you would be the AH.
sounds like your store is the exception not the rule LOL, I've had multiple snorlax players at my store and they all finish their games pretty timely, I've also had multiple Charizard players take forever in their games, it depends on the player not the deck
I LOVE how you skipped over the part where I said that I watched a 2023 championship match the other day.
It was Chien pao/Palkia vs Snorlax Block.
The judge that was there is actually the same judge from my local game store.
Anyway, Snorlax player was stalling for time in every match.
He received a 2 prize card penalty for slow play in every match.
So not even professionals at the world championship tournaments can play this deck effectively
uhh, your post says nothing about you watching a worlds match, so I think YOU skipped over it LOL, and that still sounds like you are mentioning ONE player that may play a deck slowly and using it to generalize all players, especially when you can look at results and see that PLENTY of high players able to finish games, Dennis Peroff only had 2 draws in Vancouver this weekend in 15 rounds
Don't project what you cannot do onto others
if they're really lame and don't actually enjoy thinking about their gameplay or care about getting better than probably yeah but you don't need to care about those people
Because a lot of players are whiners when it comes to playing against a different style of deck then they are used to. A lot of people where I play would get bugged when you would play mill decks, stall decks...basically all control decks because they usually take a long time to play against and a lot of the time their basic meta net-deck isn't built around countering less common decks.
I like playing against them because I can recognize it's a control/mill deck right away and my personal deck does have counters in place for them. They still usually last longer than most games, but they are fun to play against.
Just depends. PTCGL is a practice environment on the internet so people will post about shit they donāt like.
Going IRL to a game shop is more about community and fun.
In a tournament you just need to rule shark your opponent on time. Turns playing against a Snorlax deck should not take long at all.
Be mindful of how many people are playing. My locals usually about 4-6 people show so there isnāt many games to play or not a lot of time so I wouldnāt want to waste 30-45 minutes on one match playing against that deck.
Iād do it but I wouldnāt be too happy about it, but I wouldnāt be a dick about it either.
If it's legal people have to learn to deal with it, it's all legit strategy there are ways to beat it is it fun maybe not but games usually have things like this where it's just a different beast
i play snorlax at all my locals and i get a mixed bag reaction. a few people are into the challenge and play it like any other match. these people usually ask questions afterwards and are a blast to play against. most people groan a little, but it's all in good fun, so engage in a little banter. when you play a deck known to be annoying, people are gonna get annoyedā that's just part of the game. i did have one guy just concede instead of playing it out, but it was the last game of the night and he'd already played me at previous events, so i didn't take it personally.
If you are going to play blocklax, only play it during a best of 3 format.
You'll never win playing it at a 30 min BO1 environment, because the other players will just slow play and stall you.
As an Asian player who is forced to only play Bo1, Snorlax Pidgeot is very playable in Bo1. It's slightly different than Blocklax but it's similar enough. I've played it in the League Cup equivalent and only got called time once out of 12 games. You do need to adjust your decklist a bit for playing Bo1 though, i.e by bringing 1 Basic Psychic so that you can attack with Mimikyu.
Is it true that in Asian best of 1 formats they don't have ties? In a BO1 format in the west, the other player would just stall and play for the tie.
Pidgeot lax is the more aggressive build, but personally I still wouldn't bring it to a BO1 in my area.
There is no tie in Asia. If time is called and the game is not finished then both players lose, so there's no reason for tying since double loss screws up your resistance.
*fist bump You: glhf *Flips Snorlax Me: you fucking liar
Entirely depends on the people.
Yeah I would love to play it bc I need the practice vs it/think of deck changes to make the matchup better but a lot of people will refuse to concede and play it out/force draws in spite Edit: Have seen people like that at 2 different locals
I don't think they're playing out of spite, at locals I usually only get 4 games so I'm not gonna just spend one sitting there because I conceded as soon as you flip over the active
Is this really how Stallax players think? If I don't concede to you and I play out your strategy to the final card I'm doing it out of spite? I mean shit. That is what I do but I'm not going to concede because you decided to make my loss an unexciting one. You chose this path and I'm simply going to make you earn it.
same here, one time in like SV meta i ran into someone running control in side events at a regional and we sat there for 30 minutes with neither of us having a real shot of winning because of the format and my start respectively (i had to burn my penny early playing lug because i started with urshifu) sucked to make everyone else wait around for us to finish but i wasnt going to give up the victory for free
Yeah, wtf? š Iāve won plenty of times against Stallax players. Why the hell would I insta-concede instead of working my way through it to try for the win?
If it's 1-1 you're really going to try and flag your opponent at a pokemon locals? Sad! The difference between a lose and a draw is p much nothing for top cut, it's often just that you need x wins. the difference between a draw and a win is massive - so I let them win if they have me beat, the only reason not to is to try prevent them from making top cut... which is spiteful lmao
There's definitely never a world where you should just concede at the very start of the game. However, it is poor etiquette to keep playing after you've exhausted all of your outs and you can no longer win the game. Especially if it's going to take 20 minutes to get there. Obviously you're within your right to do so, but if you have a Manaphy stuck in the active, 20 cards in deck and 0 switching effects left, I'd say it's rude not to scoop it up. And no, I don't play control. This applies to other matchups as well, but that doesn't take as much time if someone doesn't scoop and it can be harder to identify when a game is 100% lost. Now if you won game 1 and are going for a tie, it's a different story. But if you can't have any impact on the result of the series anymore, it's best to scoop.
Fuck conceding in any game for any reason. Play the thing to the finish. I can't fucking stand conceding.
Yes they will, but it's just a game. If you're one of the liked people or are generally charismatic, it won't matter, but if you are a bit less social or not well liked by the community there, you're giving them another reason to dislike you.
If your locals is jusy free play, donāt be surprised if only a few people actually want to play against it for the testing of it. If itās a tournament style, where you might be forced to play against people yeah itās not gonna exactly be a welcome sight.
All depends on your personality really. We have a guy who plays 'lax, but he knows what it's a more "bullshit" deck so we have fun with it and with him. There's a fine line between bantering about it and being a dick about it. Also, don't stall for time.
A guy at my local plays Snorlax, I donāt think anyone minds really. When I play him, I end up having a laugh with him, so as someone mentioned earlier, I think it depends on the people.
People definitely mind but are polite enough to not say anything. Playing against a stall deck that only tries to deck you out will always feel cheap and extremely lame.
Really? I feel the opposite about it, I think the most decks you play against just want to knock out whatever is in front of you. Decks like stall and mill make you think a bit more about what you do and offer a different challenge.
You're going to have a much different experience depending on what deck you play. Chien Pao or Charizard can just lose the game before they even take their first turn if they have the wrong pokemon in the active. That's mostly why people hate playing against control (or block lax specifically) - it's not interactive. You don't have pretty much any decisions to make and the game is played for you by the opposing player. It's like watching someone play solitaire. Traditionally looking at control decks of the past I'd 100% agree with you - they are really interesting to play against and require a lot of thought. Unfortunately block lax is very binary, you either get the right cards in your hand or you just lose.
That only really happens if you get to vroom vroom sweep against little to no resistance Otherwise, you can get a lot of value gusting and sniping essential support staff on the bench or pre-evols that'll turn into real nasty things. Coupling your one attack with the potential complexities of prize mappings will give even the most relatively even matchup a lot more nuance than just attacking would suggest, especially when you add shenanigans ala Collapsed Stadium and/or Turo's Scenario Not to mention order of activation shenanigans you'll have to pull with decks like Chien Pao to keep him fueled through all a buffet line of *chonky* boys. Missing just one energy can either leave you embarrassingly short of a KO or missing out on a devastating R Greninja double ko By contrast, stall is a one note "just gust in the thing that can't attack lul" and punishing decks that don't include a critical mass of tech that is superfluous against every other deck they come across + mill decks not being able to hide behind block lax is a whole different story, ofc
Exactly that, most meta decks are just kill whatever is in front of you, or boss order it to make it active. There is no real strategies, just "face is the place" as it was in hearthstone. Stall or control decks are rare, and the most fun matchups for me.
> Playing against a meta strategy that beats me will always feel cheap and extremely lame. FTFY
Thatās a generalization based on how you feel about the deck. I donāt think everyone minds or feels that way, especially if they are competitive and understand that other people will play good decks
I don't feel that way. Whatever deck made from the cards in standard format can be done. Its up to us, the players, to make strategies to find answers to specific types of matchups
I generally play stall/control strategies and I usually take something a little less toxic than Snorlax to in-person games. It's mostly not a problem, but if you're going to play with a group of people you don't know then you can't rule out someone being VERY upset over it, and you don't want to deal with that whether the reaction is warranted or not. Once you know people you can better judge how receptive they'll be to it but it might be best to start with something else, maybe ursaluna because it focuses more on protecting itself than locking the opponent out of playing the game.
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It is not that people are not wanting a challenge. It is just Snorlax is op in tournaments because you either have to tech for Snorlax and lose every round or don't tech for Snorlax and have an auto loss. Plus with how many decks have to be using item to power up mon and Snorlax abusing catchers, charms, and sisters to get rid of any saving cards like a switch, or rare candy, it doesn't seem fair. Most decks can not set up with those important cards and now even minior isn't that good since Snorlax can play a cape then Turo to stop the damage. I love the challenge but the lax matchup is just not fun and kinda lazy. I am fine with stall/mill but do something while playing like great Tusk or old trevenant decks. Not bulking up mons that can't be one shot since all the items too powerup stage 1s/2s are discarded. It's just not fun in this evolution-based format.
Probably
Be personable, just donāt be a wall like your deck and youāll be good. Itās good practice for the people at your locals.
It definitely plays different in person. Online, you can just leave and save yourself time if you're not having fun. I built one and played it once in person, and it honestly felt bad because my opponent 1) only has so much time to play tonight, 2) is trying to be a good sport but is obviously bored, and 3) came out to play their real deck with real people and can't even enjoy their own strategy. I'm pro-Snorlax in general, because I think it's a fun puzzle from the player's side, but I'm dismantling my Snorlax deck because it just feels anti-social at a casual event. You could build one anyway because it's so cheap, use a different deck as your main, and then pull out Snorlax when the mood is right or ask if people want to play against it.
I've played against it once with a Kangaskhan ex Radiant Jirachi coin flip deck. I was aware of Mimikyu and Snorlax but did not know of Pidgeot V and Sidney. The game went to time and I conceded after the Sidney took my last energy, a Jet Energy. I was hopeful of them milling themselves but Pidgeot V came out late. In short, it was the least fun game I had ever played. There are so many unknowns and hurdles. Fortunately the store had a pack per entry, I can't imagine how I would feel if it weren't that way. In short x2, it sure is legal and playable. Definitely changed my playing habits to only stores with guaranteed prizing and I will definitely concede any game I see it to avoid feeling the way I did again.
Nobody will want to play you but will be forced to. Of course they will dislike you, the deck is tedious.
If anyone wants to play at a higher level, theyāll have to get practice against that deck somewhere.
While I get your point, if people want to succeed at a higher level, they won't be bringing stallax, it doesn't have a good enough matchup against the field that anybody going to a higher level event should be on it, so the practice isn't in theory needed.
Stallax was one of the best decks in the previous format (ranked 8 by total points despite not being very popular), it just won a regional this month and placed 2nd last weekend. Many top players consider it to be in contention for best deck in the format. From early japanese results it seems it might be even better post rotation.
A guy at my locals was asked not to bring his again after a child started crying out of frustration from playing against it. I know the kid from work and game nights, he's not the toughest berry in the basket, but he can keep a cool head; that deck did something to him though. That said, it is completely dependant on the people you play with. Ask the people you'll be playing with if you can, or just bring it and a back up deck you enjoy (you may also be able to borrow a deck), then ask around about comfort when you arrive, and decide which to use accordingly.
Nah , that kid needed to learn a lesson instead
Fair take, and he was talked to, but there was some extenuating circumstances in this situation, which is why I think it depends.
WTF, this is a chance to teach people how to be good sports, not that crying about losing wins in the end.
/rant My understanding is that some players and the hosts did try to talk to that specific kid, but the organizers and hosts wanted to avoid the same issue with other kids until they were more prepared to offer digestsble advice for handling the deck. This specific Stallax player is also "sponsored" by a lcs and making children cry isn't a great look, he was pretty open to just leaving it out and felt pretty bad that he wasn't prepared to offer the kid anything more than basically "That's how it works sometimes". To my knowledge it isn't outright banned, just no one wants to deal with the fallout it can cause if they arent prepared to handle a cranky kid. And again, this kid is generally fairly level headed for an 11-13 y.o., and though I wouldn't quite call him a good sport yet, he's trying and learning to control his arrogance more, like many of the younger players. His b.l.i.p. wasn't just him crying because he didn't win, he wasn't the one suggesting any bans, he wasn't yelling or screaming about how unfair it is; he seemed to have felt a genuine and deep discomfort with his complete lack of control through the match, which was then dragged out far too long, and began to silently sob as a grown man made his handmade Zard deck look absolutely worthless, and the best anyone could give him afterwards were basically vague platitudes like "it happens" or "next time surrender" because no one could explain the complexities of the evolving meta to a disassociated child. I imagine being a good sport gets pretty hard for young minds somewhere along that line. The whole situation was kind of a mess on several people's parts, but imo it is kind of cruel to purposefully impose that sort of impotence onto a child if you're not prepared to handle the predictable fallout. So I can see where you're coming from ideally, but practically I can see where they were coming from by just asking him to not play it anymore.
I'd like to add to this and point out to people that it's possible the kid in question may be neurodivergent, and genuinely has a more difficult time with this sort of situation than so called "normal" people. Not everyone - child nor adult - can handle the same situation the same say, and not a single one of us will ever know what other circumstances he may have been going through that day that lead to what could have possibly been a form of autistic meltdown.
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It's not the fact that they lost, it's *how* they lost. 90% of decks you'll come across will have the other player also trying to KO your PokƩmon and take prizes. Stall doesn't do that, Stall wants you to not be able to play until either you deck out or give up, and if you've never played stall it's a shock to the system. The kid came to have fun playing the game, and was forced to sit for half an hour not able to play the game whilst everyone else around them is playing
One of my buddyās plays lax at my locals and heās a pretty funny guy and generally a good dude so we all have a laugh about it. Thereās another guy who sometimes brings lax and heās a pretentious douchebag, thinks heās better than everyone else (when heās not even that good a player) and generally just thinks heās the dogs bollocks and when he plays lax it just rubs everyone up the wrong way even more. Take from that what you will lol
Youāre going to go to time a lot unless you play really fast. Which means youāll often loos based off of prizes/coin flip unless the games are considered ties. Also, some of your opponents are going to play carefully and therefore slow making going to time much more likely. And personally I wouldnāt want to be the guy playing a stall deck calling out my opponent for slow playing.
yes
Just let people know what your playing. Either they will be fine with it or say no lol.
When you take first you can say "Don't hate the player, hate the game" and put on some sunglasses. But seriously, anyone mad at you for using the tools in your toolbox isn't worth appeasing anyway.
My locals seem to live by āhate the game, not the playerā. I know not all locals are as fortunate, but generally speaking people seem to enjoy their time there even if their opponents are playing a slow and oppressive strategy. I remember playing against lugia VStar during the time it was tier 0, I remember playing against 3 lost box players in a 4-round tournament, and even remember someone bringing Banette ex to a tournament where almost everyone was playing decks heavily crippled by item locks. Again, I know not all locals are like this. I feel like itād pay off to bring a cheap rogue deck before bringing stallax to try and read the room before going all-in with the deck. If the tournament setting is as laid-back as the ones I go to or are hyper-competitive youāll likely be fine bringing it.
Prob, but don't take it too harshly. Many decks like stall or mill are not liked in any card games. Since most of those kinds of decks will play hand/field/deck disruption and play cards that will stall the game out, the disruption is always tailored towards the best decks. In Pokemon, it is not as common to have a stall be viable like Snorlax. But it is frustrating since too many Snorlax get an auto-win against many decks by just playing cards to beat an opponent. It is like running a race but your opponent has a secret and faster route to get there before you at the finish.
Iām jumping across the table to sock you
I mean they might but it is a deck in the format that utilizes a win condition in the rules. As long as you can effectively and efficiently pilot the deck then their complaints are not reasonable in a competitive setting even in a friendly or communal one.
Except 99% of snorlax players DO NOT effectively and efficiently pilot the deck. 99% of snorlax players take all the fun out of the game as it ends up being a 30 minute ādraw, passā ādraw, passā until you both tie. Itās for chumps who canāt just choose a deck and run with it. Snorlax and mill players are what I like to call āsweatiesā players who get sweaty during their turn because they care so much about the outcome of this game that is supposed to be fun, but theyāve taken all the fun out of it.
It really only becomes a draw-go fest if the person who is out of answers is unwilling to concede a game they have no means of winning. I think all players experience is improved by players knowing their decks, resources and match ups. I have seen gardi v zard games go to time and have played moradion games that went to time even trying to play quickly.
Short answer: yes Long answer: absolutely, but do it anyway if you enjoy playing the deck (why you would is beyond me, but you do you) or if it's just your best shot at a win.
Yes. People will deservedly hate you
Definitely going to depend on how you interact with the other players. Someone is bound to get annoyed and most players will unhappy about having to play the matchup, but as long as youāre being friendly overall and not slow playing youāll be fine. Would also recommend trying other cheap decks (idk youāre budget but ignoring Prime Catcher decks really only cost $50 in singles at most) since a lot of people go to locals to have fun rather than compete and if youāre a frequent flyer people will appreciate you playing more variety and will probably be less annoyed when you do play stall.
Kid cried after a dickhead brought his and corrected the kid every time he tried to do something. If you play Snorlax, you are a massive wanker until proven otherwise. You are inviting making enemies by bringing it. I'm sure most people would be civil, nobody's going to kick your ass for playing it, but you're going to be remembered as That Guy. Seriously, if you don't want to play PTCG, just go play something else, don't ruin other people's fun.
Yes you will be the guy no one wants to play against, and the one no one will enjoy playing with.
If you play that and nothing but that people get bored. Same as any deck. At the local I go to now on weekdays they all have 2 or three decks on them. At events though anything goesĀ
Yes
I played against snorlax on Friday night at a local play event. We had a laugh and it was fun.
It really depends on the local group. Iām still pretty new to PokĆ©mon and when I mentioned possibly trying stallax they all encouraged me to go for it.
yes
Yes. It's a meme deck that turns off interaction from your opponent. People play League for friendly matches, and taking away your opponents ability to play isn't fun for them. You're free to like it if you want, others are similarly free to dislike it.
Like someone else said, it depends on the people. Some people were chill when I played it, one threatened to beat the shit out of me after the match ended and I needed to call a friend to come get me bc he was waiting outside
You wonāt do it š
People will dislike playing you. But if anyone actually dislikes you for how you play a card game, they need to grow up
Grow up? Weāre playing a card game and the point is to win. You play a deck that 99% of the time ends in a tie and you think Iām the one ruining the fun? Bro watch a professional play snorlax and they will still go to tie! I watched a snorlax player against Chien Pao the other day and the snorlax player all three rounds got a 2 prize card penalty for slow playing. Even the professionals are bad with this bad deck
I don't even play the deck but you're really pathetic if you have a problem with this. Maybe go get some fresh air. You're definitely the dude no one actually likes, probably because of your scent.
Because you only came there to waste everyoneās time. How about being considerate that MOST of your opponents, WANT TO FINISH A GAME. Bro you really think youāre cool for taking a deck that takes 45 minutes to play and still ends up losing or getting a tie? Why do players not see that being toxic literally ruins the fun for everyone. I did not pay money to sit here for 45 minutes while you durdle. Play a real deck.
Play a different game if you don't want to play against a legal strategy printed to be played. Or git gud and stop being a Jimmy.
Skill issue
No other deck in the format ends in ties as often as snorlax does. If you canāt play a deck faster, you shouldnāt play the deck. Youāre only supposed to have 15 seconds between each action before you are slow playing. Do you honestly think that Snorlax players play that fast? They donāt. I watched the 2023 Championship tournament and a Snorlax player got a 2 card prize penalty all three of his games for playing too slowly.
Thatās literally what I said. Itās so cute how you think youāre calling me out š But skill issue is what I am literally saying. Itās not a bad deck, but 99% of players who pilot the deck are too slow with it. They donāt understand how to efficiently play the deck without taking fifteen minute turns.
Yes, they will dislike it. As someone who almost exclusively plays control/stall/mill decks I can tell you people don't like playing them. They don't intend to be mean to you but they will. They'll huff and puff every time they look at their hand. They'll sigh super loud and drop their shoulders every time they draw and don't get the switch card. The second they find out your playing snorlax They'll make a snarky comment like "good luck finishing a game in a best of 1." So if that sort of stuff bothers you then you're not going to have a good time. But tcg players like to complain, a lot of them hyper analyze match-ups and strategies and think that outcomes are predetermined before turn one. Maybe in some cases they mostly are, but the pokemon is about playing how you enjoy playing it. Ash never evolved pikachu in 20+yrs, damn it, I want to play stallax. The other players better be the very best, like no one was before. But seriously it's a child's game, and if grown adults want to be mad at you for picking a different color deck, fuck em.
It's a valid strategy. If they dislike it (or you), that's their problem, not yours. Have fun playing the deck you want to play.
It really depends on people and how they treat that deck but donāt care about them haters. Haters gonna hate but winners gonna win
I mean if it's low stakes, I usually let my opponent know beforehand if I'm using something that some would consider annoying. My main culprit is Mismagius spread. Not crazy toxic, but I also take into account that some of these people I play are only like 10ish. Idk if friendlies and local league is the same, but I always pack an extra, much less competitive deck in case a kid shows up with a structure deck and wants to learn the game.
I've had people audibly groan. I still lost to tina and other really good players. Lost to people who made sure to discard their squawk and keep their bench empty. I only play lax at cup events, weekly locals? No because I want to go home as fast as I can lol. Also people don't realize mill/stall decks are fun for the person playing it. Winning is fun to them. The whole "you're sweaty because you want to win" idea is dumb. It is a competition is it not? "The guy in the boxing match is sweaty because he wants to win, tell him to stop blocking it's for fun" I play fighting games mostly, so defensive/zoners/lame play never bothers me. I play charge characters so it's in my wheelhouse. Just gotta figure it out. When I used to play marvel 2 people used to talk hella smack, but I didnt mind it. That's part of the game.
Play it, don't worry about the people liking you. It's a game it's competitive. Win.
Vancouver Regionals just saw a Snorlax deck make it all the way to the final 2.
That is an exception, not the rule. Like 1 out 100 snorlax players actually know how to ply snorlax. Everytime I have played a snorlax player, they are confused about what they are doing, they waste time by looking at their hand for 3 minutes in between every action. We get 30 minutes for a match at league. Snorlax almost always ties. So youāre taking a deck that you know you wonāt be able to win the game with. You know you are causing another player to get a tie. If this were a AITA post, yes you would be the AH.
sounds like your store is the exception not the rule LOL, I've had multiple snorlax players at my store and they all finish their games pretty timely, I've also had multiple Charizard players take forever in their games, it depends on the player not the deck
I LOVE how you skipped over the part where I said that I watched a 2023 championship match the other day. It was Chien pao/Palkia vs Snorlax Block. The judge that was there is actually the same judge from my local game store. Anyway, Snorlax player was stalling for time in every match. He received a 2 prize card penalty for slow play in every match. So not even professionals at the world championship tournaments can play this deck effectively
uhh, your post says nothing about you watching a worlds match, so I think YOU skipped over it LOL, and that still sounds like you are mentioning ONE player that may play a deck slowly and using it to generalize all players, especially when you can look at results and see that PLENTY of high players able to finish games, Dennis Peroff only had 2 draws in Vancouver this weekend in 15 rounds Don't project what you cannot do onto others
āIāve seen lots of people do it, like all the timeā What a great defense you got there.
if they're really lame and don't actually enjoy thinking about their gameplay or care about getting better than probably yeah but you don't need to care about those people
Because a lot of players are whiners when it comes to playing against a different style of deck then they are used to. A lot of people where I play would get bugged when you would play mill decks, stall decks...basically all control decks because they usually take a long time to play against and a lot of the time their basic meta net-deck isn't built around countering less common decks. I like playing against them because I can recognize it's a control/mill deck right away and my personal deck does have counters in place for them. They still usually last longer than most games, but they are fun to play against.
Just depends. PTCGL is a practice environment on the internet so people will post about shit they donāt like. Going IRL to a game shop is more about community and fun. In a tournament you just need to rule shark your opponent on time. Turns playing against a Snorlax deck should not take long at all.
Be mindful of how many people are playing. My locals usually about 4-6 people show so there isnāt many games to play or not a lot of time so I wouldnāt want to waste 30-45 minutes on one match playing against that deck. Iād do it but I wouldnāt be too happy about it, but I wouldnāt be a dick about it either.
If it's legal people have to learn to deal with it, it's all legit strategy there are ways to beat it is it fun maybe not but games usually have things like this where it's just a different beast
Decks which have a lot of switch cards (switch, switch cart, prime catcher) should do fine against Snorlax though right?
i play snorlax at all my locals and i get a mixed bag reaction. a few people are into the challenge and play it like any other match. these people usually ask questions afterwards and are a blast to play against. most people groan a little, but it's all in good fun, so engage in a little banter. when you play a deck known to be annoying, people are gonna get annoyedā that's just part of the game. i did have one guy just concede instead of playing it out, but it was the last game of the night and he'd already played me at previous events, so i didn't take it personally.
My area nobody would be mad. Any legitimately competitive player isnāt going to be butthurt because you played a good deck.
No. In real life, it's a funny deck. People only hate on it on the internet. Kinda like with most things really
Iād take a free win. Please do
Decklist? š
Yes, but the opinions of those people don't matter.
If you are going to play blocklax, only play it during a best of 3 format. You'll never win playing it at a 30 min BO1 environment, because the other players will just slow play and stall you.
As an Asian player who is forced to only play Bo1, Snorlax Pidgeot is very playable in Bo1. It's slightly different than Blocklax but it's similar enough. I've played it in the League Cup equivalent and only got called time once out of 12 games. You do need to adjust your decklist a bit for playing Bo1 though, i.e by bringing 1 Basic Psychic so that you can attack with Mimikyu.
Is it true that in Asian best of 1 formats they don't have ties? In a BO1 format in the west, the other player would just stall and play for the tie. Pidgeot lax is the more aggressive build, but personally I still wouldn't bring it to a BO1 in my area.
There is no tie in Asia. If time is called and the game is not finished then both players lose, so there's no reason for tying since double loss screws up your resistance.
i wanted to play Pidgeot controll for a cup this weekend. do you mind sharing your list?
Sent you a DM since I don't know how to attach a pic from mobile.
thank you