What’s up, everyone! I think it has been exactly a month since I was with you, and what a month it’s been. My last article, the last in our marathon blitz, talked about Greninja, and why I thought it was a good play for Nationals. It was so good, in fact, that I played it at Nats, and then whiffed my invite — bummer!

Worlds is almost upon us, and I’m sure you’ve read some of the awesome pieces put out by our other writers. This past Saturday was the first time I touched any Pokémon cards in any meaningful way since Round 9 of NAIC, so I have literally nothing to offer you in terms of value on that front. Quite frankly, the only thought I’ve dedicated to Worlds is with regards to which top player I plan to beg for a list to play at the Anaheim Open, if I end up going.

The nature of this piece will be a little more somber than most of the articles I’ve written. I’d like to shed some light on the recent changes to the Expanded ban list, touch up on my initial findings from playing some BKT-on, and close with a reflection on my season and why it was such a tremendous disappointment.

This article — “Moving onto the Beyond” – Thoughts on the new Expanded and Standard Formats, plus a first look at Volcanion, Gardevoir, and Metagross in BKT-on — was originally published on SixPrizes.