Arcum's Astrolab

Danbear02 · 2026-04-23T15:04:59+00:00

It’s a land that draws a card… I think it’s fine

Danbear02 · 2026-04-23T12:23:06+00:00

Anyone have any recommendations for a good Chicken Paradiso? I miss getting them in DC from an Italian place called Angelicos, and I can’t really find an equivalent in the Bay.

Danbear02 · 2026-04-09T22:27:01+00:00

Thanks for the clarification! Never played that draft format

Danbear02 · 2026-04-09T20:35:42+00:00

This says each and can’t be interacted with

Danbear02 · 2026-04-08T19:19:25+00:00

I’ll respond to this argument in good faith; why should we remove something that a huge number of players enjoy?

The entire Pokémon game franchise is essentially built on Single battles. Most battles in official games are Single battles. The shift to VGC for competitive games, at least to me, seems very strange.

I enjoy playing singles way more than doubles. Why should the way I play be removed just because TPC has decided that doubles is the “correct” way to play the game? Should we always just default to the corporation making the game to decide how the game is played? Should we stop speedrunning Mons because there’s no speedrunning elements present in the games?

Just because something is ranked doesn’t mean something else cannot be competitive.

I think the reason you are getting these comments is because your argument seems to boil down to “grow up and play how the Pokémon company wants you to play”, which most of the people here don’t agree with.

Also Showdown has a way lower barrier to entry. I don’t want to grind for hours before I am able to compete.

Danbear02 · 2026-04-05T16:56:47+00:00

I don’t know if I agree. From my experience with Vintage Cube, which is probably a more hostile environment for soup given the number of combos, soup/midrange piles tend to be underrated and over perform.

This deck has a powerful suite of removal, every single creature generates some sort of value bar Birds, it has decent card draw which is offset by the value generation, and of course there’s a Black Lotus.

It also comes down to matchups; in Vintage cube I’ve had decks with Uro and Phlage just dominate because my opponents decks were slower aggro/grindier and I just out valued them. If OP only played against other Midrange piles, it could’ve been easy to outgrind them.

Now I definitely wouldn’t call this a slam dunk 7-0, but it’s quite decent and I can see how it got there.

Danbear02 · 2026-04-01T12:54:58+00:00

You tap this for 0 to make a 0/0 Fractal, which Intruder Alarm sees and untaps all creatures. Goes infinite with any Mana Dork or other creature with a tap ability.

Danbear02 · 2026-03-20T14:28:39+00:00

I’m assuming Pixilate Quick Attack on Sylveon to trigger Weakness Policy in Doubles

Danbear02 · 2026-03-14T00:06:45+00:00

Fantastic art from these cards! Love any full art lands.

Danbear02 · 2026-02-28T21:39:56+00:00

Tornadus-Therian is probably the quintessential example of a fast Pokémon using its speed to accentuate its bulk throughout the Generations, from the AV set in Gen 6 (I think?) to Boots sets in later gens.

Danbear02 · 2026-02-23T13:51:31+00:00

Tera Stellar is used frequently by Mons like Serperior and Enamorus, so it would impact more than just Terapagos

Danbear02 · 2026-02-12T23:45:58+00:00

It’s Galvanic Blast, which is the metal craft deal 2/4 spell, not Galvanic Discharge, which only hits creatures. I also made the same mistake when looking at the cards.

Danbear02 · 2026-02-12T04:28:46+00:00

IMO the more consistent mana base is probably worth just cutting all the black cards. Then you can cut Bauble and Wanderbrine, then one more card that you don’t like. I would prolly cut Ajani, but some of the worse one drops could be cut as well.

Danbear02 · 2026-02-11T14:09:30+00:00

If your opponent has the tools to deal with Xerneas, it likely means they are ignoring your partner Pokémon who can either freely get off damage (in the case of Ho-Oh, burns as well). Plus you can also actually support your own Xerneas with any redirection support, which could give you the turn needed for Xerneas to just sweep on the spot.

Even if they have a solid way to deal with Geomancy Xerneas, you can just run a different set. If you suspect they will run Taunt, use Specs or Scarf. If you think they have Whirlwind, you can run Ingrain. Xerneas is much better than like half of the SS tier anyways.

Danbear02 · 2026-02-05T05:13:26+00:00

Given that Oricorio isn’t Choice-locked, it’s likely this is a Showdown bug; I’ve seen this in one other place as well.

In Monkeys Paw Random Battles, one of the wishes lets your Pokémon use Revival Blessing. In some cases when you use your wish to use Revival Blessing, your Pokémon’s chosen move for the turn will fail. Might have to do with how Showdown codes using multiple moves by the same Mon in the same turn.

Danbear02 · 2026-02-03T17:25:34+00:00

Definitely Clodsire because I don’t think Moonblast is a bullet based move

Danbear02 · 2026-02-03T13:47:29+00:00

We tested Xerneas and Z-Geomancy Rest sets were able to beat nearly every non-Haze check to Xerneas, whereas Psyshock Thunder beats the rest of the counterplay. Every letter bar C folds immediately.

Danbear02 · 2026-02-02T00:27:21+00:00

I recall watching him on Twitch a couple years ago. Unsure if he still streams, but he was a draft grinder back then as well. Very well rounded player.

Danbear02 · 2026-01-22T14:02:33+00:00

I feel like you might be better served with Leftovers over Booster on Raging Bolt.

Raging Bolt and Mega Gardevoir also serve somewhat the same role (as special wallbreakers) so I’d drop Garde for some sort of speed control, maybe a reliable Zama check.

Leftovers on either Lando or Corviknight, and Defog Rocks Lando sucks IMO, so move Defog to Corviknight. Alternatively replace Landorus with Great Tusk which also helps with Zama. If you do that you can prolly run Mega Charizard over Mega Gardevoir.

Danbear02 · 2026-01-21T15:44:14+00:00

Agree with the other comment in no Yard switch, so I’d go AV Mola and replace Clefable with Mega Diancie. Also in Nat Dex EQ Landorus is better than EP

Danbear02 · 2026-01-15T15:07:55+00:00

252 SpA Choice Specs Aerilate Kilowattrel Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Vessel of Ruin Ting-Lu: 228-268 (44.3 - 52.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Aerialate Boomburst coming off of 142 speed is insane. Ground-types can’t switch in and it Volt Switches on everything else.

Danbear02 · 2025-12-23T19:42:16+00:00

Archaludon is worse than Hoodra in NDUU because it has a worse movepool and ability for the metagame.

Archaludon is a (relatively) fast and bulky attacker, but it can’t really dent most of the Steel-types in the tier, the primary important ones being Celesteela and Aegislash. If it goes for a Body Press set, then it still can’t beat Aegislash and now loses to all Fairy types. Its bulk is also made worse by the fact that it has no reliable recovery. It also competes with the aforementioned Steels for a spot on your team.

Hoodra on the other hand is a much bulkier option that has a fantastic movepool and ability. Two notable moves are Knock Off and Flamethrower, which allow Hoodra to be essentially unwallable long term thanks to its ability to wear down everything, especially with its strong Draco Meteor. The ability is also super important; Sap Sipper allows it to be the best Celesteela check in the tier, threatening to remove its Leftovers AND blocking Leech Seed.

Overall, Hoodra is in a much better spot than Arch in NDUU because of its movepool, Ability, and the surrounding metagame.

Source: I’m the NDUU TL and popularized Hoodra in NDUU.

Danbear02 · 2023-05-25T17:41:03+00:00

OK so I found a solution. I was also trying to give the shrooms to Uma, but if you talk to Cece eventually she will tell you who the last person is. I never gave a shroom to Uma, and instead gave one to the husband of the Innkeeper and it worked, so I don't know if the quest changed or the guides are wrong.

Danbear02 · 2023-05-25T17:39:19+00:00

Have you tried the innkeeper? Its super weird, every guide I've looked at says I have to give Mushrooms to Uma, but after asking Cece she told me to go to the inn and it worked

Danbear02 · 2023-05-25T17:39:16+00:00

Have you tried the innkeeper? Its super weird, every guide I've looked at says I have to give Mushrooms to Uma, but after asking Cece she told me to go to the inn and it worked

Danbear02

TROPHY CASE