The Shift Gear Podcast

On this weeks episode we are joined by a legend of the game, Curtis Lyon. He is a National Champion, Regional Champion, State Champion, and has some deep finishes at Worlds as well. For the first time Curtis talks about his side of one of if not the most famous cheating scandal in the history of the Pokemon TCG. He also breaks down how he was able to innovate so much during his time as a player, w...

Dialga Vstar is king! Aneil thought he was cool and unique for playing Dialga to day 2 at the Indianapolis regionals but Andrew Hedrick had the same idea and now Dialga is king. With Chien-Pao on the rise and declining Zard populations, we investigate how the meta could evolve going into LA regionals. We also look at expanded for the first time in years. Let us know your thoughts on expanded and i...

The worlds invitation system needs some changes. In this episode, we go over the NAIC registration debacle and share our opinions on how the Worlds invitation system should be revised for 2025. Let us know below how you would handle the NAIC debate and how the invite system should be structured! Find Ciaran: linktr.ee/ciarantcg Find Aneil: inktr.ee/TCG_Aneil

There hasn't been much meta development so we decided to look ahead to Twilight Masquerade this week. Find out what we think of cards like Unfair Stamp, Greninja ex, Dragapult ex, Tatsugiri, and more! We are also giving away 18 packs! To enter follow Aneil and Ciaran on Twitter and BananaGames on IG. Then comment which bucket hat Aneil should get next!

We are joined by the winner of the largest TPCI Regional Championship of all time, Liam Haliburton. He breaks down his winning run and his Charizard list. We ask him to break down some of the matchups and how he has been able to transition successfully between the age divisions. We also put his Lebron fandom to the test and have him weigh in on the Goat debate!

In this episode, we're joined by Julian Gort-Barry fresh of his 17th place finish at the European International Championships. Julian walks us through his deck and matchups, and also provides some insight for those looking to pick up the deck for Orlando this weekend! What is the plural version of "Arceus"? Let us know below : Find Julian : https://twitter.com/julianG_835 Find Ciaran: linktr.ee/ci...

In this episode, we both go over our top 3 choices (and our personal lists) for the European International Championship this coming weekend (April 5-7). What should you play for the weekend? We provide our metagame forecast as well as some "dark horses" to look out for heading into this very puzzling metagame. Link to all decklists : https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1tGDrGlXTnl_no0xyh_Nh...

Join us this week as we recap Vancouver regionals and give our insights on what to expect at EUIC post rotation. We also get a new intro and a "customer review"! We go through Charizard ex, Chien-Pao ex, Future Box, Ancient Box, Arceus, Great Tusk, Snorlax, and more! Find Ciaran: linktr.ee/ciarantcg Find Aneil: inktr.ee/TCG_Aneil

LDF joins us once again to go through the top 10 Pokémon cards of all time (excluding Trainers & Energy cards). These were selected on criteria consisting mainly of the strength of a card relative to it's own era. We struggled making this list so please roast us in the comments and let us know your top 10! This is the third video in our walk through Pokemon history mini-series, you can check o...

On this week's episode, we're joined again by LDF for part 2 of our mini-series. This week we go through the top 10 decks of ALL TIME. These were selected on a criteria consisting of mainly overall dominance in their respective metas, and (admittedly) were a bit tough to contrast at times. Enjoy this walk through Pokemon tcg history!

This week we are joined by fellow Canadian, LittleDarkFury (Matthew Wood) to break down the Top 10 Pokemon TCG Players of all time. The three of us all had very different lists, but we combined them together to give you our Top 10! We are also holding a group session ahead of Vancouver Regionals. If you want to be better prepared, or just want to have the chance to talk Pokemon with us, sign up! h...

This week for episode 21, Aneil & Ciaran review some more post rotation tournaments, tell stories, and relate top decks to casino games.

This week we take a look at the results from the most recent Japanese Champion's League that took place in Fukuoka. There were a lot of new cards revealed, including a pretty powerful ace spec!

CHIEN-PAO DID IT! This week Ciaran & Aneil recap Dortmund regionals, compare QBs to meta decks, and explain why we will never be letting our girls go to an Usher concert. All that and more on this weeks 20th ever episode of The Shift Gear. Check out our sponsor here : https://bananagames.ca/ Our Links : Aneil: linktr.ee/tcg_aneil Ciaran: linktr.ee/ciarantcg

Ciaran and Aneil are joined by fellow Canadian and Banana Games teammate, Jackson Ford. He breaks down his run to top 8 with Giratina Vstar, and discusses how to play the deck going forward. Ciaran breaks down his run with Chien-Pao, and we discuss our newfound passion for Buc-ees!

This week Ciaran and Aneil are tasked with legacy questions, lots of questions about VIP in Gardevoir, and explain why Patrick Mahomes is NOT our goat. Knoxville prep continues on and we're here to answer all your questions this week on the pod. We're proudly supported by Banana Games in Toronto, find them here : https://bananagames.ca/ Find us: Aneil: linktr.ee/tcg_aneil Ciaran: linktr.ee/ciarant...

This week Ciaran and Aneil are joined by Rafal Gladysz following his top 64 at the Charlotte Regional championships with a unique build of Roaring Moon that included Pokemon Catcher. He also breaks down the journey to making his first day 2 and the rest of Charlotte. We end by discussing the drama around misreporting your deck on Pokestats and debate closed/open decklists!

Ciaran and Aneil are joined by one of Canada's brightest young stars, Christian Labella. He breaks down how he has been able to transition from seniors to masters successfully and helps us preview Charlotte Regionals and the new cards revealed from Temporal Forces! GIVEAWAY RULES: 1. Follow Aneil, Ciaran, The Shift Gear Podcast, and BananaGames 2. Comment your favourite Pokemon

Ciaran and Aneil discuss the results from the Portland Regional Championships. They run through all the interesting decks and discuss where the format currently stands. We are graciously sponsored this week by Manta Trading, who are helping us give away 2 Giratina VSTAR. GIVEAWAY RULES: Follow @TCG_Aneil, @ciaran_tcg, and @mantatrades on Twitter/X Subscribe to The Shift Gear Podcast on Youtube Com...

In this episode, Aneil & Ciaran recap their top 10 Pokemon and Trainer cards in competitive play during the 2023 cycle. They also get a new (questionable) sponsor, and the apparent new ability to agree on everything in their lists.

This week Ciaran and Aneil take a look at the newly revealed cards from "Wild Force" and "Cyber Judge!". They spend time giving their gripes with Prime Catcher and a general commentary on game design. The Kyoto Champions League just concluded and had some interesting decks in the top 8 such as Roaring Moon, Gholdengo/Palkia, and Arceus/Zerora. The duo spends some time analyzing if these are one hi...

We are joined this week by San Antonio Regionals Top 8 Competitor Dan Hugar. He breaks down how he had success with his Lost Zone Giratina deck, some tips on how to play it, how he translated his Player Cup success to in person tournaments, and spends some time on the mental aspect of competing in the Pokemon TCG!

With San Antonio on the horizon and some interesting results from last week, Aneil & Ciaran dive into some San Antonio top picks as well as discuss implications from the successes last week. Additionally, in response to an "ask me anything" tweet put out earlier this week, they answer several listener questions in what ended up being the longest but most fun episode to date!

In this episode, Aneil and Ciaran have the GOAT debate. With Jason Klaczynski and Tord Reklev both having such dominant careers, who is the true GOAT? They also dive into some interesting decks that have emerged with the last week of results to try and figure out how they may shake up the meta along with how having the same format for multiple months on end may effect the game.

In this episode, Aneil and Ciaran dive into what happened last weekend at the regionals around the globe. Amongst these results were some really cool decks that are certainly worth taking a look at. In a time where big tourneys are at a bit of a pause, we can all take this time to have a breather and take a look at how this 5 month long metagame might evolve further.