The Voice of a Champion

2007 Pokémon TCG National Champion Chris Fulop hopes for a repeat.

The Pokémon TCG is all about fun, even when the best players in the country gather to compete for the National Championships. The U.S. National Championships begin tomorrow (June 28), but players are warming up today with some exhibition tournaments including a Modified tournament, a Sealed Deck tournament, and the 2008 Professor Cup.

Between matches, Go-Pokemon.com had the opportunity to speak with Chris Fulop, the 2007 Masters Division U.S. National Champion, and winner of more than $15,000 in scholarships from participating in Pokémon Organized Play.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

2007 Pokémon TCG U.S. National Champion Chris Fulop.

I've been playing since it came out in the Winter of 1998.

When did you begin playing competitively?

I've been playing competitively pretty much since the game came out. I started playing TCGs in the 3rd grade, and Pokémon TCG came out when I was in the 7th grade. So, I already had the competitive spirit going into that. My first major national-level event was the East Coast Super Trainer Showdown in 2001.

What was your strategy in the 2007 National Championships?

Man, last year … I used a deck called Speed Spread. I want to drop the name because there is a little bit of controversy about whether it should be called Speed Spread or Absolution. I'm going to put an end to that right now. It's called Speed Spread.

Basically, there was no hand disruption in the entire format. People would use Delta Draw from Holon's Castform to build hands with 12 or more cards and infinite resources, and the only card that could disrupt their hand was Vaporeon ex. That was the starting point for us to start using the different Eevee evolutions. Then, when Power Keepers came out, Absol ex came out, and the Bench damage theme became much more viable. We used it at the State Championships, and I was actually the only person who used it who did not go on to win. It ended up winning a Regionals, we won Nationals when I used it, and it ended up taking Worlds as well.

So you work with other people when creating strategies?

One of the keys to my success, and to the success of the better players, is that we have strong testing teams. I have friends that are also good at the game, and we work together on building deck ideas and testing different match-ups. I have a couple groups of friends that I test with, and they're pretty much responsible for building the Speed Spread deck. I wish that I could take credit for being the main innovator, but my friend actually did most of the work on the deck. We've had the same testing team for the last four years. All six of us earned invites to Nationals last year.

Does your testing team have a name?

The name is Foresight. An embarrassing fact is that it was taken from the attack name of a Girafarig.

What is it about the Pokémon TCG that keeps you playing after all of these years?

Number one is that it has a great, friendly environment with a bunch of great players. But also, it's competitive. A lot of games are super-competitive, but there's not much more to the game other than that. There may be a lot of prizes, but it's not a lot of fun. Then, there are other games that are a lot of fun, but have no prize support at all. Pokémon is great because it's always been a lot of fun. I love the franchise, I love the players, and it has a great mix of competitive play and fun. It's kept me going in the game for 10 years now.

What types of decks do you expect to see tomorrow?

I'll make a prediction, and I feel very confident about this. The deck that's been winning all season long, the Gallade / Gardevoir deck, will probably represent 1/3 of the winning decks that will make day two. Another 1/3 will be Empoleon variants that came out with Majestic Dawn, and the last third will probably be Rogue variants. My team has a couple variants that we're working on.

How do you define a Rogue deck?

In my opinion, a Rogue deck is any deck that is not an Archetype. An Archetype is any deck that has done very well at numerous tournaments.

Do you take pride in coming into a tournament like this with a Rogue deck, or something that has been tried and true?

I take pride in coming to an event with what I know is the best deck. If that's a Rogue deck or a deck that hasn't been seen very much in the past, then I'll definitely use it. The deck that I won Nationals with was generally still off the radar when I used it. I know that there are players out there who take excessive pride in creating their own original decks. Some people play a Rogue deck just for the sake of being Rogue. If you have a new deck that can beat the rest of the field because you know what the established decks are, then it can be a great choice. The deck that won the 2006 Nationals, the Delta deck with Raichu 'Delta' and Exeggutor 'Delta' is an example of that.

Some people just try to come up with something that they think can beat the format. Sometimes it's possible, and sometimes it isn't.  You just need to be able to realize when the best play is something that's already established.

Are you willing to reveal any of the strategies you have planned for the tournament tomorrow?

[laughs] Well, when is this article going up? Today or tomorrow?

It's going up today.

OK. Well then my main strategy is to win. [laughs] Basically, the best strategy is to consider the two best decks, and then go in with a deck that is at least 50/50 against each of those, and preferably stronger.

How did your life change after becoming a Pokémon TCG National Champion?

I've become a hero amongst the ladies! They love Pikachu and Pokémon. [laughs] But really, I have a history of choking. I've placed 2nd at a huge number of events. I never really had that big win. So for me, it was a personal victory.

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. Good luck tomorrow!

Thanks.