Memory Capsule - A Pokemon TCG Podcast: Recent Episodes
Rafal Gladysz
Welcome to the Memory Capsule Podcast, where we interview members of the Pokemon Trading Card Game community. Our goal is not just to focus on the current meta or the most recent tournament results, but to take a deep dive into the history of the TCG and its players with some laid-back conversation. Every episode we’ll learn how our guest got involved in the Pokemon TCG, and give them an opportunity to share their love of the game with our listeners.
Today’s guest is JW Kriewall. While many of you may know him as a member of the Pokemon Trading Card Game's premier podcasting trio, JW is also a three-time Regional Champion, having taken the gold at Fort Wayne 2013, Richmond 2019, and most recently Toronto 2023, where he achieved an automatic worlds invite with Miraidon. JW is also a Youtuber, Twitch streamer, and a prominent figure in the Pokemon TCG community on Twitter.JW's Twitter - https://x.com/RealJohnWalterTag Team Podcast - https://x.com/tagteampokemon
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Today’s guest is Cyrus Davis. Cyrus is an incredibly talented player, who is perhaps best known for winning NAIC 2023 with Urshifu Inteleon. They also have several other incredible achievements, including a Regional top 16 and top 4, as well as a 9th place finish at the 2023 World Championships. Cyrus is also known for playing several unorthodox deck archetypes to great success, and has also written several high quality guides and articles for the Shuffle Squad, Metafy, and Schemanske’s Corner.Cyrus' Twitter - https://twitter.com/CyrusDavisTCG-----------------Follow the Podcast!
Today’s guest is Rahul Reddy. Rahul is a player and content creator who has been playing the Pokemon TCG for over 10 years. Rahul has several incredible achievements as a player, including multiple International top cuts, almost a dozen Regional top cuts, and many strong finishes at Worlds, including a top 16 finish in 2018 and top 32 in 2019. Rahul has had success with multiple deck archetypes, perhaps most famously with Bee Revenge Vespiquen in both the Standard and Expanded formats, as well as innovating the Regis deck during Lugia Vstar’s dominance.Rahul's Twitter - https://twitter.com/thefleeee-----------------Follow the Podcast!
Today’s guest is Kyle Sabelhaus. Kyle is a veteran player who has seen success in the Pokemon TCG for two decades. Today he is best known as one of the incredibly talented members of the Pokemon TCG commentary team. Over the years Kyle has had great success across all levels of the Pokemon TCG, winning regionals, placing high at Nationals, and finishing as high as Top 16 at the World Championship. In between stints on the commentary desk, Kyle has continued to attend events to this day, making it to day 2 at several regionals in the past few years.Kyle's Twitter - https://twitter.com/KSabelhaus-----------------Follow the Podcast!
Today’s guest is Lucas Zing. Lucas most recently won the Los Angeles Regional Championship, the final NA regional of the season. But Lucas has also been tearing up the Pokemon scene across the world over the past three seasons, having some of the most consistent regional placements we have ever seen. With a regional win, 2 regional top 4s, 3 top 16s, and 6 top 32s in three years, Lucas is a force to be reckoned with. While he might be best known for his immense success with Chien-Pao, Lucas has seen success at the highest level with several archetypes, winning LA with Pidgeot Control.
Lucas' Twitter - https://twitter.com/XingGod-----------------Follow the Podcast!
Today’s guest is Toine Lay. While Toine may be best known in the Pokemon TCG community as the first Twitter that players go to check for translations of cards coming out in Japan, they are also a very talented player with incredible achievements. Toine splits their time between France and Japan, and placed top 4 in two Champions Leagues, as well as top 16 in the 2021 Japan National Championship. They have also achieved top 32 and 64 finishes at major events in Europe over the past year.
Toine's Twitter - https://twitter.com/ToineLay-----------------Follow the Podcast!
Today’s guest is Aneil Saini. Aneil has played the game on and off for over a decade, returning in the past few years without missing a step. Placing top 16 at two regionals with Mew Vmax as well as top 16 at LAIC 2023 with an innovating Turbo Miraidon list, Aneil has shown that he is among the best players from the competitive Toronto area. Aneil is also one of the hosts of the Shift Gear Podcast.Aneil's Twitter - https://twitter.com/TCG_AneilShift Gear Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@ShiftGearPodcast-----------------Follow the Podcast!
Today’s guest is Alex Schemanske. While he is perhaps best known for winning EUIC 2023, Alex has a litany of achievements dating back over a decade. He is a consistent day 2 competitor, with over a dozen Regional top 8s. Alex is known for innovating in the Pokemon TCG, having success with unexpected decks and pushing the metagame to its creative limits. Alex is now also the owner of his very own Pokemon TCG store in Michigan.Alex's Twitter - twitter.com/aschemanskeKey Card Collectibles - twitter.com/KeyCardCollect-----------------Follow the Podcast!
Today’s guest is Kevin Clemente, also known in the Pokemon community as Mellow_Magikarp. Kevin is an incredibly talented player, achieving a Worlds invite in 2019 - just his first season playing competitively - as well as 2022. He has had multiple strong finishes at major events, including 2 Regional top 16s. He is also the host of the Lake of Rage podcast, where he’s interviewed Regional, International, and World champions as well as content creators and other important individuals in the Pokemon TCG community. His Youtube channel is a valuable online resource, providing players with decklists, meta predictions, and lessons on how to improve as a player. In this episode we discuss his rapid growth as a player, how he feels about achieving a Worlds invite this season, the development of his online content, and more.
Kevins's Twitter - https://twitter.com/Mellow_Magikarp Youtube and Lake of Rage - https://www.youtube.com/@MellowMagikarp Memory Capsule Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcast Host's Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladysz
Today’s guest is Mike Fouchet. Mike has two decades of experience in the Pokemon TCG, having seen consistent success over the years on a variety of decks. Some of his biggest finishes include 2nd place at Philadelpha Regionals, Top 4 at US nationals in 2008, multiple top 32 Worlds finishes, as well as countless other Regional top cuts and top finishes. He is also one of the hosts of the Trashalanche podcast, which he has been doing for over 3 years. This episode was recorded before NAIC, after which Mike went on a tear, getting his Worlds invite and making it into day 2 of the 2023 World Championship.
Mike's Twitter - https://twitter.com/mikefouchet Trashalanche Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/0AaRgOBvDVqvTsz7lzipqP Memory Capsule Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcast Host's Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladysz
Today’s guest is Steffen Eriksen. Steffen is a player from Denmark with almost 2 decades of Pokemon TCG experience, and he will be joining us for the next two episodes. He has multiple Regionals finishes, Nationals finishes, and has 11 Worlds invites. He is also the host of the Youtube channel Steffen's Classroom, where he makes videos diving into the statistics and math behind the Pokemon TCG. Steffen is also an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and will also be judging at Worlds in Japan this year. In this episode we focus on Pokemath, the odds of starting the Basics you want, do some fancy calculations, and more!
Pokemath Videos Referenced Pokemath Episode 1 Pokemath Episode 2 Pokemath Episode 5 Pokemath Episode 57
Steffen's Twitter - https://twitter.com/steff5001 Steffen's Classroom Youtube - www.youtube.com/@SteffensClassroom Memory Capsule Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcast Host's Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladysz
Today’s guest is Steffen Eriksen. Steffen is a player from Denmark with almost 2 decades of Pokemon TCG experience, and he will be joining us for the next two episodes. He has multiple Regionals finishes, Nationals finishes, and has 11 Worlds invites. He is also the host of the Youtube channel Steffen's Classroom, where he makes videos diving into the statistics and math behind the Pokemon TCG. Steffen is also an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and will also be judging at Worlds in Japan this year. In this episode we go over his history as a player and how involved his family has been to his passion for the TCG, what it's like to transition from playing to judging, and begin our discussion about Pokemath, which will be the focus of part 2.
Steffen's Twitter - https://twitter.com/steff5001 Steffen's Classroom Youtube - www.youtube.com/@SteffensClassroom Memory Capsule Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcast Host's Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladysz
Mateusz Laszkiewicz is a player from Poland who recently won the Stuttgart Regional Championship with an incredible innovative Palkia/Vikavolt deck. He has also had strong finishes throughout the past year, getting 9th place in Bremen and Top 4 at the Turin SPE. In this episode we discuss how Mateusz went from a player who mostly played Expanded online to one of Europe's top players. We talk about how he put together the creative list that took down a Regional, how he got into the game, and how he has grown as a player through the help of his friends.
Mateusz's Twitter - https://twitter.com/Jezyk46
Memory Capsule Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcast
Host's Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladysz
Alessandro Cremascoli is a player from Italy who has has success in the Pokemon TCG for over 20 years. He is a multiple-time Regional Champion, Italian National Champion, and World's competitor. He has also started making Pokemon TCG content on Youtube for the Italian community. In this episode we go over his storied history as a player, from learning the game as a small child to taking his son to an SPE this year. We also talk about the importance of the Pokemon community and why the connections you make in the game can last a lifetime.
Alessandro's Twitter - https://twitter.com/iCaterpie
iCaterpie Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@iCaterpie
iCaterpie Twitch Channel - https://www.twitch.tv/icaterpie
Memory Capsule Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcast
Host's Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladysz
Today’s guest is Mo Ideis. Mo is a player from the Chicagoland area who is a member of the Nerd Rage Gaming Pokemon TCG team and is well on his way to his first Worlds invite. Mo achieved his first big finish at Salt Lake City last year, finishing top 16 in the first Regional since the pandemic. Since then, Mo has finished top 64 at Peoria and Ft Wayne, and Top 128 at EUIC last month. This episode we discuss Mo's journey as a player, the importance of choosing a good deck, and rave about our favorite members of our local scene.-----------------The Nerd Rage Gaming Pokemon Team - https://twitter.com/NRGTCGFind Mo on Facebook by searching for Mo Ideis!Memory Capsule Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcastHost's Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladysz
Harrison is a worlds invitee who has recently become known as an expert on deck involving Arceus Vstar. Harrison has half a dozen day 2 finishes, playing both meta and innovative deck archetypes. He has recently gotten into the streaming game, and credits Pokemon for being one of the most important factors for why he overcame great obstacles in his life, which is a subject we will discuss in our episode. -----------------Harrison's Twitter - https://twitter.com/ZanderBennettMemory Capsule Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcastHost's Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladyszHarrison's Twitch Channel - https://www.twitch.tv/harryburchTCG
Today’s guest is Zander Bennett. Zander recently got top 4 at Ft Wayne Regionals and is on the cusp of locking up his Worlds invite for the year. Zander has over half a decade of success in the Pokemon TCG, making day 2 at multiple Regionals, including top 4 at Phoenix Regionals in 2015. He is also an expert in the Cube format, a fun and alternative way of playing the Pokemon TCG that has been growing in popularity in recent years. In this episode Zander shares how to play some of the innovative decks he's had success with, goes over how to play and build Mew for the Scarlet/Violet format, and explains his love for cubing.
Zander's Twitter - https://twitter.com/ZanderBennett
Memory Capsule Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcast
Host's Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladysz
Kobe Koga - https://cubekoga.net/
Legend Box FB Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/486828845390847
JWittz Cube Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l9-FJZj3V0
Today’s guest is Christian Fontenot. Christian is a self-described Regi expert, a deck whose loss we will be mourning during our talk today. After getting top 64 at Indianapolis with Rapid Strike Malamar, Christian picked up Regis and never looked back. He’s made 6 day 2s with the deck, including a top 8 placement at Arlington Regionals. Outside of his Regis knowledge, Christian brings a unique perspective to the Pokemon TCG. He has lived in both the United States and Europe, and has achieved invites to Worlds as a representative of Denmark and the US. We will discuss the similarities and differences between the EU and NA metagames, as well as touch on the Scarlet/Violet meta and our expectations for EUIC.
Christian's Twitter - https://twitter.com/SticksPTCG
Memory Capsule Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcast
Host's Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladysz
Today’s guest is Drew Allen. Drew is a player, streamer, Youtuber, and overall expert on the history of the Pokemon TCG. He is the host of the Snowpoint Cast, a Youtube channel dedicated to showcasing old formats and decks, and one of the hosts of the Drew Too Many Podcast. Drew is also an incredibly talented player in his own right, having made top 32 and top 16 at multiple regionals through the years and receiving multiple Worlds invites. In this episode Drew and I spend time traversing the past and future of the Pokemon TCG, going over the highlights and lowlights of past formats as well as predicting what the game will look like multiple sets in the future and how deckbuilding will need to adjust.
Snowpoint Cast - https://www.youtube.com/@Snowpointcast
Drew Too Many Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/5R7hX7SVvSInxcaGpTv9L5
Drew's Twitter - https://twitter.com/Drewgong__Allen
Memory Capsule Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcast
Host's Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladysz
Today’s guest is Sable Creech. Sable is a player, judge, and historian of the Pokemon TCG. They are the manager and admin of Snowpoint Temple, a Facebook group of over 2000 members dedicated to discussing and older Pokemon TCG formats. Sable is also an active Magic the Gathering player, and can help teach us ignorant Pokemon players about the similarities and differences between our beloved TCGs.
Snowpoint Temple - https://facebook.com/groups/SnowpointTemple
PTCGArchive - https://ptcgarchive.com/
PTCGLegends - https://ptcglegends.com/
Dicebreaker - https://www.dicebreaker.com/
Sable's Twitter - https://twitter.com/thaDifftcg
Podcast Twitter - https://twitter.com/MemCapPodcast
Host Twitter - https://twitter.com/RZGladysz
Today’s guest is Andrew Hedrick! Andrew has been on an absolute tear in the past year. In 2022 he placed Top 32 at Indianapolis Regionals, Top 64 at NAIC, and Top 8 at Peoria Regionals. And most recently, Andrew has won not just one, but TWO back to back Regional championships, at Orlando and Knoxville. In this episode, Andrew reflects on his recent success, explains how he got involved in the Pokemon TCG, and provides valuable lessons on how to become a Lugia VStar master.
Today’s guest is Phinn Lynch. Phinn has been a prolific player for the better part of a decade, with a Regionals win, two Regionals finals placements, a top 32 finish at the 2015 World Championship, and dozens of day twos and other top finishes. Phinn is also the owner of Cut or Tap, one of the best resources for articles on deckbuilding and tournament results. This episode Phinn gives us background on the incredible effort he put into become a successful player and content creator. We hear about his philosophy with choosing decks for tournaments, and recaps of some of his best finishes.
https://www.cutortap.com/
Today’s guest is Greg Smith. Greg is a judge, Poke-Dad, and player. Greg got involved with the Pokemon TCG more than a decade ago, and has judged Regionals, organized Cups, and helped introduce new players to the game throughout the Midwest. He is the father of multiple competitive players, and has personally seen competitive success at events he is not judging. This episode we speak to Greg about how he got involved in the TCG as a dad, and gain valuable insights on how to improve from the perspective of a judge.
Today’s guest is Kevin Krueger! Kevin is the Limitless Invitational champion, which they won after playing through multiple online qualifiers when in-person play shut down in 2020. Kevin also qualified for the Players Cup 3 Global Finals, and helped create the Arceus Corviknight deck that saw success during the Sword & Shield to Brilliant Stars format. Kevin ALSO happens to be a doctor when they’re not busy playing the Pokemon TCG. This episode Kevin will explain the work-life balance needed to pursue a career in medicine while dominating in the Pokemon TCG, and how both passions bring joy to Kevin's life.
Today’s guest is Tyler Mathews! Tyler recently finished top 16 at the Orlando and Arlington Regional Championships, as well as top 64 at LAIC, all with Lost Box Rayquaza. He also has day 2 finishes at Baltimore, Secaucus, and NAIC 2022. In addition, Tyler has had a great deal of online success playing and innovating in the Gym Leader Challenge format. This episode, Tyler tells us his history of playing different card games, how he ended up as a successful player in multiple Pokemon TCG formats, and his brief foray as a Pokemon VGC competitor.
Today’s guest is Dan Ibarra. Dan is a player from the Chicagoland area, who has consistently seen success at regionals since 2018, and received an invite for the 2022 World Championships. This episode, Dan explains how he grew as a player, including advice on how to deckbuild, play around the meta, and have a more big-picture view of how the Pokemon TCG is played.
Today’s guest is Collin Merli-Matthews! Collin has made day 2 at six regionals since competitive play resumed in 2022, including 10th place at Toronto and top 32 at Baltimore and Milwaukee. This episode, Collin will be explaining how he became a Mew VMAX fanatic, which card art he likes the most, and discusses the ups and downs of growing a Pokemon TCG collection in 2023.
Today’s guest is Dan Hugar, a player from the Chicagoland area. Over the past few years, Dan has made it to the Global Finals of Players Cup 1 and Players Cup 4. Last fall, Dan made Day 2 at the 2022 World Championships and finished in the Top 64. This episode, Dan will be telling me about how he got into the Pokemon TCG, his incredible mindset on how to improve as a player, and the winding path that led him to play in London after getting back into the game in 2018.