Featuring a most unexpected cameo

Yet to open a god pack, and yet to see one in wonder pick ... until today

I picked the 2-star Koraidon, which I'm not too unhappy about.

I like playing a Blaine deck (i.e., Rapidash, Ninetales), so I started my ranked season to see how far I could get with it.

I started at the bottom of Ultra Ball 2 on 510 points. Forty-six battles and probably about 4 hours later, I finished at the bottom of Ultra Ball 2 on 521 points, and that's where I decided to end it. My best position during this run was around halfway up UB2; my worst was around halfway down UB1. I honestly thought my deck bricked more than usual, but 46 sounds like a reasonable sample size, so maybe it's a bricky deck in reality.

All the battles and my result are viewable below. I won 18 and lost 28, with a win rate of 39%. I haven't counted them up, but the most common decks seemed to be Mega Blaziken and Mega Lucario.

::: spoiler List of battles ? means the battle didn't go long enough for me to be sure what kind of deck it was.

1. Mega Blaziken L
2. Mega Manetric W
3. Mega Sceptile L
4. Mega Absol / Hydreigon L
5. Hitmonchan ex / ? W
6. Celebi ex W
7. Mega Lucario W
8. Mega Blaziken / Entei ex W
9. Mega Lucario L
10. Hydreigon / ? L
11. Mega Lucario L
12. Alolan Vulpix / ? L
13. Sleep / Darkrai W
14. Mega Sceptile W
15. Mega Lucario L
16. Galarian Obstagoon / Darkrai ex L
17. Mega Blaziken L
18. Mega Blaziken L
19. Mega Sceptile W
20. Suicune ex / Greninja L
21. Mega Absol / Hydreigon L
22. Meowscarda ex L
23. Magnemite ? W
24. Entei ex ? L
25. Mega Blaziken L
26. Mega Lucario L
27. Galarian Obstagoon / Darkrai ex L
28. Charizard / ? W
29. Flygon ex L
30. Darktina L
31. Mega Blaziken L
32. Mega Sceptile L
33. Entei ex / ? W
34. Mewtwo ex / ? W
35. Jolteon ex L
36. Chien Pao ex / ? W
37. Sleep / Darkrai L
38. Mega Altaria / Sleep / Darkrai ex L
39. Riolu / Falinks ? W
40. Mega Charizard Y / Entei ex L
41. Mega Lucario / Hitmonchan ex W
42. Mega Charizard X L
43. Hitmonchan ex / Lucario W
44. Mega Lucario / Sleep / Darkrai ex L
45. Mega Lucario W
46. Hitmonchan ex / ? W :::

This was my deck:

It does really struggle with megas. Megas generally can one-shot Rapidash or Ninetales on two energy, but they have a high enough HP, even without healing, to survive two or three hits. If the mega is set up on the bench, it's really difficult. On the plus side, water decks aren't that popular right now.

It is possible to play some random deck in Ranked, but you might just end of treading water, and it wasn't that fun, to be honest. I still like the deck and I have fun in random casual battles, but I think I won't be bringing it back to Ranked again.

Interesting day. Will PC partner with Labour to form the government?

With just over six weeks until the election, YouGov poll for ITV Wales in partnership with Cardiff University - the largest so far - has applied the latest MRP modelling to offer a predicted breakdown of how many seats each party will win in each of the 16 new constituencies

An increase for Labour puts them third on 13% and resulting in 12 seats, meaning Eluned Morgan’s party would not elect anyone in four constituencies, including her own in Ceredgion Penfro.

*Includes neat map at the bottom of article to check the poll's vote share/seat projections in each constituency

Medical staff had to halt the procedure, fearing a possible explosion. The hospital, unfamiliar with such protocols, immediately alerted the authorities, and around 1:40 a.m., police arrived and activated the bomb squad. The team established a security perimeter to neutralize the device so surgery could continue, though no one knew at that stage if the entire operation could blow up at any moment.

The 34-year-old plumber currently leads the Greens on Trafford Council, where she has represented the Hale ward since May 2023.

Earlier this week, the Green Party confirmed Polanski, who was born and grew up in Greater Manchester, would not be standing in the seat.

Although Campbell is right to point out that markets do play a significant role in government spending, Polanski is on to something deeper that could help reframe the debate around the UK economy. While Rachel Reeves might be celebrated for scrapping the two-child benefit cap, the latest budget doesn’t go nearly far enough in delivering the change that Britain desperately needs. Austerity has scarred the UK for the last 14 years. If it wants to finally break free, then it’s time for a radical new approach. And that starts with rethinking how government finances work.

Possible soft paywall - I got round it by opening in private tab / using reader mode

https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/tower-of-god-urek-mazino/list?title_no=8136

ToG has been on hiatus for a while. I had no idea this had started up (presumably ToG proper will be on hiatus while this is running?).

Courtesy of https://eigenmagic.net/@weirdestate/114944981782177790

I don't have a Switch 2 yet, but I wanted to upgrade my screen and would like it to be future-proof for a Switch 2 when I inevitably get one.

According to the specs, docked output can be HDR and it can do 120Hz @ 1080p and 1440p and 4K60. Output at best uses either HDMI 2.0 or 2.1 (it's ambiguous).

Has anyone who's got an HDR-capable monitor comment on whether the HDR is noticeable from what you've seen so far and if HDR gets output regardless of refresh rate? There's a 1440p monitor in my budget that is HDR400 certified that goes up to 120Hz and beyond, but I've also read that the max refresh rate the monitor can handle a 10-bit signal at is 60Hz (not sure if beyond that it does 8-bit + FRC or just doesn't support HDR). I'm not sure if this is perhaps overkill for a Switch 2 or whether I still have scope for a monitor that will make better use of the S2's output.

A post to boast or moan about how much you're dominating/suffering in ranked or what decks you're using.

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3. Check your Gift box in Pokémon TCG Pocket: they'll contain the items!

This promotion can be redeemed until May 27.

Who would've thought that with the money pumped into a few top Saudi clubs and hosting all the games from the QFs onwards in Saudi, that Saudi clubs would dominate?

Well done to Kawasaki, though. I doubt they'll go any further.

There's something cool about getting a Japanese card, isn't there?

PSA there's a big sale on the eshop until April 27. Quite a few first-party titles with a 33% discount and others with bigger discounts. I picked up Portal 1 & 2 for about £3, it really is good.

I also discovered https://www.dekudeals.com/ recently - it tracks prices over time so you can see how good the current discount is and physical/digital from different retailers.

Annoyed that I got a duplicate, but I didn't know these missions existed. I wonder if there are secret missions where you have to get two of the other shiny ex cards?