Trainer Spotlight

inks_tcg

@inks-tcg

A player who loves refining deck lists, finding the 'Perfect 60', and understanding what makes players tick and why they play the decks they do. "TCG is a cerebral game first and foremost and I want to find THE deck for me and help others along the way."

I'm inks_tcg and I'm a UK-based Pokemon TCG player. I always loved the videogames, getting my start with good old Gen 1 as a kid, but only recently started playing the TCG in February 2024. PTCG is the ultimate mix of a social, competitive, mentally challenging hobby that allows creative expression in deck choices so it's the perfect fit for me. I love poring over tournament data and refining lists and a special interest of mine has been understanding what makes certain players gravitate towards certain archetypes and how they can maximise their potential, even when everything's stacked against them. I've always strove to find my perfect deck and really enjoy the process of iterative deckbuilding, as well as being able to give back that knowledge to others. Everyone should be able to play to their full potential and sharing knowledge and having in-depth discussions is immensely rewarding.

Favorite Cards in Play

Mega Greninja ex — If you've seen my Twitter, you'll know that my favourite card at the moment is Mega Greninja – the Ability is insane and I think it'll really reward highly skilled players who know when to promote it and also chain its Ability.

N's Zoroark ex — N's Zoroark has always been one of my favourite draw engines of all time – I love being able to trim the fat from your hand to make subsequent Lillie's/Stamps/Judges less likely to misfire. And drawing 2 'for free' essentially with a permanent draw engine is always beneficial. I

Hilda has become a firm favourite for being able to fetch so many different combinations of support Pokemon, your star attacker and any kind of Energy to create explosive turns.

Favorite Cards in Collection

Espeon — Ever since I saw my cousin pull this (I always got lousy pack luck in their presence!), I fell in love with the card and when I had adult money, it was the first one I bought when I started collecting again.

Hydreigon ex — Hydreigon was the deck I played to my first ever regional. I didn't do amazing with it, but I worked as painstakingly on the list as I have with Mega Greninja and I was nearly in the top 5 of all Hydreigon players at the event! I'll never ever forget some of those games.

Professor Turo's Scenario — This card was my profile picture/banner on my shorter-lived accounts: turo_tcg and turos_lab. I look a bit like Turo in real life and am sometimes referred to as him at locals. This card will always have a place in my heart as it got me my start in creating online TCG content.

Featured Decks

Night Bomber v4.1

18339

PokémonTrainerEnergy

Q&A

TD
TCG Dexter@tcgdexter
What's your go-to archetype in the current meta?
I
inks_tcg@inks-tcg
There was a time where I really dug Stage 1 decks because they could evolve 'immediately' and apply significant pressure – my go to picks back then were decks such as Archaludon-Zoroark and Ceruledge. But with Megas on the scene, I've reverted to my first love – Stage 2 decks with spread (except Dragapult). I really enjoy having a bulky Pokemon that can withstand hits, while working for my wins through careful manipulation of the board. Honing my skill expression through those kinds of archetypes and refining their lists gives me a lot of joy.
TD
TCG Dexter@tcgdexter
How do you test, and when do you lock your list?
I
inks_tcg@inks-tcg
I usually start by trying to lab the list myself so I can try to understand what a card is asking me to do, then comparing it to winning lists to see how close I got. I don't always nail it first try, but it's important to be able to build from scratch to an extent and this is a lifelong skill. I usually run a few games to see what the main issues are – enough Ball Search, enough consistency turn 1, enough recovery or gusting etc. If I'm REALLY invested in a future archetype, I'll print proxies and test with friends or vs myself at home, and constantly tinker with the lists until all of the counts are right. I'll grind a lot on PTCGL mainly for reps and to understand my lines, but also to quickly see whether it has legs vs real opponents. I'll usually try every iteration of a list and I have a list of 'unusual techs' and analyse the entire card pool to see if there's anything I missed or any functionality that's been overlooked, hence the inclusion of Kieran in the above lists. A great player once told me: 'if the data supports what you're doing, then its ok to go against the grain and you have to believe in your list'. My lists will usually undergo 20-30 iterations till I've finally nailed them, and by the end it's usually 1-2 card swaps till everything's perfect. That's when the list is finally locked and unless something major comes out, they stay static even with new releases.
TD
TCG Dexter@tcgdexter
What's the next deck you're working on?
I
inks_tcg@inks-tcg
With Marnie's Grimmsnarl making a semi-comeback in Japan, I want to see if I can make it work in this format despite its heavy losses. Speaking of spread, I had my eye on the 'Hide 'n' Sneak' archetype from the upcoming Pitch Black set. Doubters say the Spiritomb won't work but I see 6-prize turns in my future with all those Megas around!

Spotlight History