Theory øƒ InSaNiTy (As seen on WizPog !!!) By Lurili InSaNiTy X: Well, this is the big climax before the release of InSaNiTy X to the public. Hey, don't ya think it's quite a coincidence Mac OS X comes out next week? Hehehe. Anyways! That was just to set a date to this whole article and a nice ice-breaker, you know. Well, now we go on to the true reason your probably here: The HisToRy of InSaNiTy InSaNiTy Well, just to give you an overview of the current status of InSaNiTy so that you know how far this little document goes. Right now I am on the imminent release of InSaNiTy X or Project X as my friends deemed it. It is the tenth version of InSaNiTy. Right now I have just recently repost the 9th Version of the deck for my records and so that you can enjoy the final glimpse before a new era. With that aside, I can now take you back to the days that were and when InSaNiTy X is released I can take you into the future and show you what will be. In the beginning... The introduction of InSaNiTy was quite a big event. It rocked the Pokemon community and produced a whole new form of thinking and deck-building which is still utilized today. The InSaNiTy ReVoLuTiOn The InSaNiTy ReVoLuTiOn was begun by the famed originator of InSaNiTy: The Deranged Parrot. He posted the first version of InSaNiTy on the PokeGym UBB on November of the year 1999. The first version of his then untitled deck went as follows: 4 Fossil Magmar 4 Scyther 4 Bill 2 Oak 4 Energy Removal 4 Super Energy Removal 4 Scoop Up 4 PlusPower 4 Energy Search 3 Energy Retrieval 3 Computer Search ItemFinder 4 Double Colorless Energy 13 Fire Energy Well. In retrospect, the deck really wasn't all that. It had too much energy, too little PC Searches, and too little Oaks. After T.D.P. posted this marvelous piece of work, he recieved some help on the project from the originator of modern day PokePhysics: tedv. This mastermind helped T.D.P. evolve this deck into it's current status. Along with tedv, Clash of the Titans, and Paragon of Virtue jumped aboard the project and thus a name was given to the project: InSaNiTy. This group of guys then introduced the revolutionary idea of Trainer involvement in the game. The main thought tedv stated was the fact that 4 Professor Oaks were not enough. tedv then proceeded to introduce the first of his Einstienish theories: "Now lets evaluate our trainers mathematically. Versatility (V) is the chance of wanting to play the card. For example, if want to play Super Energy Removal 80% of the time it's in my hand, V is .8. Resource Trade Factor (RTF) is the number of resources the card will give you for playing it. Super Energy Removal has a RTF of 2, because it nets a 2 energy loss from your opponent. Card Cost (C) is the number of cards lost to play the card. Bill and energy removal cost 1 card while Super Energy Removal costs 2 cards. CPU Search costs 3 cards. I estimate that Oak costs 2 cards because you have to play the oak and you generally discard 1 other card (after you're done with Item Finder and CPU search). Advantage (A) is RTF * V - C. Positive numbers mean you've gained pure card advantage. Zero means you've broken even (but hopefully are winning on another resources such as time-- which is why energy removal is good.) Negative means you've given up card advantage. Negative advantage cards should only be played if they have a powerful synergy. For example, using CPU Search before a Professor Oak isn't really losing cards because you would have discarded those cards to Oak anyway. Name: RTF V C A Oak: 7 .7 2 2.5 Bill: 2 1.0 1 1.0 ER: 1 1.0 1 0 Energy Search 1 1.0 1 0 Gust of Wind 1.2 .7 1 - .16 (RTF is from prize and/or lost energy) CPU Search: 3.5 .7 3 - .35 (High RTF because of oak) Item Finder: 3.5 .7 3 - .35 Scoop Up 1 .6 1 - .4 SER: 2 .7 2 - .6 Energy Retrieval 2 .7 2 - .6 Plus Power .3 .9 1 - .73 (Might get prize from extra damage) When choosing trainers for this deck, we rank the cards on usefulness. We have 33 trainer slots to choose from. We play 4 copies of every card with 0 or higher usefulness because these cards cost us NOTHING. 4 Bill 4 Professor Oak 4 Energy Removal 4 Energy Search Now we need to fill in the remaining slots with relatively high A values. Technically stated the optimal solution is a complicated maximization problem dealing with V as a decreasing function, not a constant (eg. you are less likely to play the second gust of wind as the first). But I'll skip the formality and just hand tweak the remaining trainers. We have 17 slots left. We know that the following is optimal from play testing: 3 CPU Search 3 Item Finder 2 Gust of Wind Now we have 9 slots left for Scoop Up, Plus Power, SER, and Energy Retrieval. Unfortunately, all of these cards have low advantage values because they're so situational (low versatility). Now other factors come into play, namely the low number of basic Pokemon and energy in this deck. Scoop Up and Energy Retrieval are really important to support this weakness of the deck. 3 Scoop Up 3 Energy Retrieval Now we have 3 slots left and need to decide between Super Energy Removal and Plus Power. The numbers suggest SER because it has a higher advantage value, although Plus Power has higher versatility. I'm pretty sure we want: 3 Super Energy Removal But this should be play tested." Well, that last line struck home with me. I began from there on to just rigorously playtest and do the PokeCalculus shuffle too. Well, enough about me. Tedv then came to the aforementioned conclusion that: "FOUR PROFESSOR OAKS ARE *NOT* ENOUGH!" T.D.P and tedv were winning yet those 2 Scythers were bothering them. They split paths and worked on a version 2.0a and 2.0b, respectively. Version 2.0a was as follows: InSaNiTy 2.0a 4 Electabuzz 3 Magmar 3 Hitmonchan 6 Electric Energy 6 Fire Energy 5 Fighting Energy 4 Professor Oak 4 Bill 4 Energy Search 4 Energy Removal 4 Super Energy Removal 4 Scoop Up 4 PlusPower 3 Energy Retrieval 2 Computer Search and Version 2.0b was: InSaNiTy 2.0b 4 Electabuzz 4 Magmar 7 Electric Energy 9 Fire Energy 4 Professor Oak 4 Bill 4 Energy Search 4 Energy Removal 4 Super Energy Removal 4 Scoop Up 4 PlusPower 4 Energy Retrieval 4 Computer Search There was a lot of debate over the setup. 10 or 8 Basics? The deck entered a stagnant period where it was hard to really decide. Then tedv broke the ice and cut a Super Energy Removal, claiming it was too situational. From there they playtested and found out 8 Basics was just better. This led up to the Third Version of InSaNiTy: InSaNiTy v3.0 4 Electabuzz 4 Magmar 7 Fire Energy 7 Electric Energy 4 Oak 4 Bill 4 ER 4 Energy Retrieval 4 Energy Search 4 Computer Search 4 PlusPower 4 Rocket's Sneak Attack(Jap. times) 3 Scoop Up 3 Super Energy Removal with this version came the scream heard for the ages by Clash of the Titans: "Okay I just tested the most INSANE of all INSANITIES today." His deck was dubbed version 3.5: InSaNiTy v3.5 4 Magmar 4 Buzz 4 Bill 4 Oak 4 PlusPower 4 ER 4 Comp Search 4 Energy Search 4 Energy Retrieval 4 SER 4 Scoop Up 2 GOW 2 Item Finder 6 Lightning Energy 6 Fire Energy This version was the version that went through and recieved aproval from the PokeCommunity. It was just extremely beatdown oriented and won games by turn 3. Yet then things went crazy. The spread of InSaNiTy's Achilles Heel began to go around. The deck was prone to Lass and tedv and T.D.P. knew it. They tried to quickly draw up a solution but they found none. Then one day tedv just thought it through: "Heres's the solution. Play Lass ourselves." With this in mind and the then current control Wiggly had on the environment, the first version of InSaNiTy to include and introduce the word TecH was made. InSaNiTy v4.0, although the last project T.D.P and tedv worked on, was the one that lasted the longest. InSaNiTy v4.0 4 Hitmonchan or Magmar 4 Electabuzz 6 Lightning Energy 6 Fighting or Fire Energy 4 Bill 4 Oak 4 PlusPower 4 ER 4 Comp Search 4 Energy Search 4 Energy Retrieval 4 Item Finder 3 Gust of Wind 3 Scoop Up 2 Lass This was New Year's Eve 1999. By the first day of the year 2000, InSaNiTy was the BEST deck in America... Passing of the Torch... Well. The year 2000 began with a bang. A new version of InSaNiTy prepped up to take to any tourney one went to. Hell I remember that in my local area they barred the playing of such decks on the tourney scene. To hold one and use it was an act of agression toward the store in which one played. This whole little involvement was what led me to meet up with T.D.P. and tedv. We hooked and became good friends, etc. I helped a bit with 4.0 and then came the big moment. The Team Rocket set was about to be released and when I drew up some schematics for the deck and looked for T.D.P. I couldn't find him. I turned to tedv but he had other interests by March of 2000. It quickly hit me that I was alone. They left me with the task of continuing the whole project and perfecting InSaNiTy. I still kept in contact with tedv to show him the newest findings in PokeCalculus and the like but I don't have the team of theorists he worked with so the work load was a bit heavy. I quickly began work on the release of a Rocket upgrade for InSaNiTy and when I showed it, tedv was quite pleased. From there on InSaNiTy became my trademark, I became the original InSaNe Player, as my sig defines me. InSaNiTy to the MaX With the torch in my hand I held it up high and in March of 2000 introduced the fifth upgrade in the InSaNiTy series. It built on all the tedv and T.D.P. principles but added the then hardly used word: TecH. With the introduction of the Team Rocket set, came such cards as Goop Gas Attack and Rocket's Sneak Attack. Thus the deck began to rely on the ability to control the opponent rather than beatdown as it had been doing before 5.0. The environment changed so dramatically that this change came with no conflict. The only problem was the doubters, those who considered InSaNiTy to be a mulligany slush with which one could do nothing. Therefore I introduced Version 6.0. Version 6.0 was just Version 5.0, yet with tweaks. It had the same engine but incorporated Imposter Oak's Revenge. I saw it as a defensive manuever against the mulligan issue but little did I know that when I released version 6.5 it actually meant so much along the TecH lines. Version 6.5 was the turning point and evolution of InSaNiTy. InSaNiTy had by June/July lost some touch. Hardly anybody played it because of their inability to grasp the deck just right as the ones who began playing it when it came out did. InSaNiTy v6.5 really took it to a whole new level. With the imminent release of Gym: Heroes InSaNiTy just took off as a much awaited deck. InSaNiTy v6.5 was dubbed InSaNiTy to the MaX. It brought out a reality check from the PokeCommunity. Something never thought of before was tried out and suceeded. Over night InSaNiTy received the critical acclaim for which it was meant. InSaNiTy to the MaX v6.5 2 Electabuzz 2 Hitmonchan 1 Ditto 4 Bill 4 Oak 4 Computer Search 3 ItemFinder 2 Gust of Wind 3 Impostor Oak's Revenge 3 Lass 4 The Rocket's Trap 3 RSA 2 Goop Gas Attack 2 Energy Retrieval 4 No Removal Gym 5 Fighting Energy 4 Electric Energy 2 DCE 3 FHE The usual total of Basics in InSaNiTy was tested and shattered with this whole new idea. tedv told me: "8 Basics is a good min to keep to. Yet 5 allows for the Trainer theory we discussed to really shape up." Thus this configuration allowed InSaNiTy to run 41 Trainers, an extremely high and crazy amount compared to the standards of those days. Well, after playtesting over one weekend the deck really was being outweighed. I quickly refurbished it and added Magmars instead of Hitmo and thus with the Trainer theorem in my head I set out to completely abuse of Trainers all I could. With so much TecH flying around InSaNiTy could handle any situation and would also have no problem with mulliganing and the first turn Lassing. This left the deck as follows: InSaNiTy to the MaX v6.7 2 Electabuzz 2 Magmar 1 Ditto 4 Bill 4 Oak 4 PC Search 3 ItemFinder 3 GoW 4 IOR 3 Lass 4 The Rocket's Trap 4 RSA 2 Goop Gas 3 Energy Retrieval 4 No Removal Gym 4 Full Heal 4 Fire Energy 3 Electric Energy 2 DCE This configuration allowed a then heart-attack range of Trainers: 46. The PokeCommunity scorned the fact that it worked. InSaNiTy had become the bottom of the bin for archetypes because not everyone used it. Yet those who followed en suite with the 5 Basics form quickly reaped the benefits. Thus I quickly decided to completely abuse the engine InSaNiTy was running and attemtped to tweak it out to just the right level so that those naysayers would just hush up. I quickly formulated 7.0 after my visit to the League one day in August. InSaNiTy v7.o 2 Electabuzz 2 Magmar 1 Ditto 4 Bill 3 Professor Oak 4 Computer Search 3 ItemFinder 2 Gust of Wind 4 Impostor Oak's Revenge 2 Lass 4 The Rocket's Trap 4 Rocket's Sneak Attack 2 Energy Retrieval 4 No Removal Gym 2 Full Heal 2 Goop Gas Attack 3 PlusPower 3 Fire Energy 3 Electric Energy 2 DCE 2 Rainbow Energy The deck had two slots opened and missed the key ingredient for which I was scorned: the 4th Oak. I decided to leave it out. Yet after further testing it reminded me of the talks I had with tedv and I quickly threw it back in. Thus: InSaNiTy v7.3 2 Electabuzz 2 Magmar 1 Ditto 4 Bill 4 Oak 4 Computer Search 3 ItemFinder 2 GoW 3 IoR 2 Lass 4 The Rocket's Trap 4 RSA 2 Energy Retrieval 4 No Removal Gym 2 Full Heal 2 Goop Gas Attack 3 PlusPower 2 Scoop Up 4 Fire Energy 3 Electric Energy 2 DCE 1 Rainbow Energy This version was also the first of all the InSaNiTy decks to include the now infamous and rather valuable Strategy Guide for deck-matchups with InSaNiTy. Yet, as quickly as version 7.3 came out, the deck had to prepare for the next grueling task at hand: Gym: Chellenge, coincidence, eh? InSaNiTy v8.o was the specter of things to come. The Strategy Guide was revamped and the addition of the most broken Basic in the game before Neo was oobviously adpated into the deck. Rocket's Zapdos became the 20 for 1 Basics that InSaNiTy had last seen in version 5.0. Hitmonchan wasn't viable so the 20 for 1 ideal was absent. Then with the Zapdos in the game, InSaNiTy quickly formulated and evolved around it to adapt with the environments shift toward control and bigger Basics. InSaNiTy v8.o 2 Electabuzz 2 Magmar 1 Rocket's Zapdos 4 Bill 4 Oak 4 PC Search 4 RSA 4 The Rocket's Trap 4 No Removal Gym 3 Impostor Oak's Revenge 3 ItemFinder 3 PlusPower 2 GoW 2 Lass 2 Scoop Up 2 Goop Gas Attack 2 Full Heal 2 Energy Retrieval 2 MasterBall 4 Fire Energy 3 Electric Energy 1 Rainbow Energy InSaNiTy broke new ground with this version. It proved the staying power and intent of the originators, T.D.P, tedv, Clash, and Paragon. InSaNiTy 8.o was a kill house full of TecH. It had so many options it wasn't funny. yet there was something missing. The Basics were there for fun, yet how did one obtain the Basics? Moderninity I found myself wasting search and other precious sources of Trainers to get the Basics or save them from "extinction". Thus I again vigorously playtested and came out with the current public version of InSaNiTy. InSaNiTy v9.o and the theory of stagnant time The current public version of InSaNiTy, or better said the theory of stagnant time proven. This version was introduced back in about October/November of 2000 to commemerate the one year anniversary of InSaNiTy. InSaNiTy 9.o 2 Electabuzz 2 Magmar 1 Rocket's Zapdos 4 Bill 4 Oak 4 PC Search 4 RSA 4 The Rocket's Trap 4 No Removal Gym 3 IOR 3 ItemFinder 3 PlusPower 2 GoW 2 Lass 2 Scoop Up 2 Goop Gas Attack 2 Full Heal 2 Nightly Garbage Run 2 Good Manners 4 Fire Energy 3 Electric Energy 1 Rainbow Energy The introduction and adoption of Nightly Garbage Run allowed the deck to flow and have some more answers to those little problems Scoop Up just couldn't handle. It allows me to toss my Basics to search and draw without worry. This had me revved up Yet, as revved as I was I really wanted to get this project out of the way and begin work on InSaNiTy X. That's when time just stopped and went stagnant. School and all the other extra-curricular activities in which I was endowed prohibited me from really posting my findings and talking about Pokemon. Now don't get me wrong. I continued to playtest daily, it's just I couldn't share my stuff and post all the things I wanted to bundle up with InSaNiTy X until now. And here everything is. The Future Well, the main thing I have to say is watch out for the release of InSaNiTy X in the days to follow. It will be chock full of innovations from Neo and will prove to the world what the future has to hold: InSaNiTy Thank you AND FOR YOUR DIGESTION: INSANITY X

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