TheDarkTwins
Active Member
So since I wasn’t exactly sure what to play it was very helpful that my first cities didn’t take place until the 2nd weekend. I knew that I liked Gliscor but I was going to settle on Kingdra, however after talking to Matt G. about how he played Shen and lost to him, I figured I would try to test it. So, with the help of my friend Greg we did about 10+ hours of playtesting for the first Cities. We perfect (or so I thought as I think I can still make it better) the list. I go to Denville to play in my first Cities of the season.
Denville, NJ (12/5) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 – Jimmy O. – (Gengar/Queen/Spiritomb)
My track record against Jimmy is pretty bad, he seems to ALWAYS get the better of me in tournaments. However I am to get the Gliscor Lock in with Luxray and even though he is able to get out of it once via Warp Energy. I ended up taking 4 prizes to his 1 or 2 when time is called. I am fairly certain I would have been able to take the last two prizes, but I will take the win.
Win – (1-0)
R2 - ???????? – (Salamence/Delcatty)
He starts with Uxie and my Spirtomb locks his trainers for enough turns (3 or 4) that I end up KO’ing it and benching him.
Win – (2-0)
R3 – Kyle P. – (Flygon/Machamp/Palkia/Techs)
I know that Gliscor doesn’t like Palkia, so I have to worry about it. I use Luxray Lv. X bring up his Claydol and poison it. He can’t get out of it for 2 turns and finally top decks a Fighting energy which he attaches to Flygon, which he sends up and Level’s Up after using Cosmic Power to get Bebe’s. He already has a Memory Berry attached. I discard a card and then draw. I then realize I can’t get out of the lock as my Tomb has colorless resistance and I had already attached Unown Q to the Spirtomb. :frown: I proceed to scoop on about T4 or T5 less than 10 minutes into the round.
Loss – (2-1)
R4 – Michael B. – (Palkia Lock)
So, most say that Gliscor can’t beat Palkia Lock, however I bet to differ, you just need to know how to play it. He misplays T2 by not calling out Psychic Bind. I am not sure it made a huge difference, but I get up a Gliscor Lv. X with 2 energy and a Expert Belt up. He decides to take out my Claydol, which SEVERELY cripples me setup. However I keep swinging with Gliscor Lv. X for 80 and then sending up Spiritomb. The game stays close, but finally I catch a break. We are tied 2-2 and I know he can’t take a prize this turn. I go I draw into a Poke Turn (I may have had two). I play down Crobat G after scooping it up after I retreated Spiritomb. He can’t spray it and I end up KO’ing his active Palkia G with 90 on it. Seeing how both his benched Pokemon had less than 80HP he scoops.
Win (3-1)
R5 – Luke D. – (Gengar/Spiritomb)
I get a great start to his awful start. I just sweep thru him.
Win (4-1)
So, I figure that I made cut, as only 1 4-1 misses, but I find out there were NO undefeated players left and I somehow manage to grab the #1 seed going into top cut, I guess the fact that two of my opponents including my R1 opponent went 4-1 definitely helps.
The top 4 is the following going in –
1st – Drew G. (Me) – Gliscor/Tomb
2nd – Kyle P. – Flygon Variant
3rd – Jimmy O. – Gengar/Queen/Spiritomb
4th – Anthony – Garchomp/Luxray/Blaziken (SP)
T4 vs Andrew H. – Garchomp/Luxray/Blaziken (SP)
G1 – I get an okay start, however he seems to be upset at his prizes. I think his Blaziken Lv. X was prized and he couldn’t get it out. Had he been able he would of definitely put me in a bind. I get a Tomb active and then work on Building up a Gliscor Lv. X with an Expert Belt. Once I get that going I start running thru him by doing 80 every turn. He can’t keep up and I he ends up scooping G1 when it is 5-1 or 2.
G2 – This is more of the same, but his start is a bit bad. I get setup quickly again and proceed to beat him with about 15 minutes left in the T4 round.
Win (5-1/6-1)
T2 – Jimmy O. – (Gengar/Nidoqueen/Spiritomb)
I am happy that Jimmy beat Kyle as I had a MUCH better matchup IMO against Jimmy’s deck than against Kyle’s. However saying that, my record against Jimmy is not good. I would need to beat him 3 times in the event to win, and I had MAYBE beat him 4 or 5 times (or somewhere near that number) in the 8-9 years I have known him. I always have had issues and he ALWAYS beat me and I was hoping that would change for this event and in the future as well.
G1 – I end up going 2nd and starting with Baltoy. He starts with Unown G attaches a Psychic and says go. I go and draw a card, which is a SSU and see that I can donk him. I SSU twice to try to the Baltoy up after I laid the Unown Q down to send up. I flip the 2nd one heads and pick it up. I then Roseanne for two of my Crobats play them, attach the call energy in my hand and proceed to T1 him with Unown Q.
G2 – So, we start game two and this game goes a bit more like the game in swiss expect I do thing a little differently. I am having trouble drawing into what I need, however and he is able to hit my Claydol for 60 as I couldn’t get G attached. He gets up the Curse Gengar and Skuntank out so that he can poison my active as he has Moonlight in play. I decided to G my Claydol to get another turn out of it before he moves enough damage to KO it. I send up my Gliscor with 2 Energy and decided to poison him and stay in play which makes him forced to retreat because I can Pester for the KO without having to worry about a flip. He sends up Uxie and restores back into the deck. I believe I got a KO before on his active Spiritomb at some point, however and after both of us have taking a prize after he KO’d my Claydol. I top deck a Poke Turn and send up Luxray GL, Level it up to bring up his Curse Gengar with no damage but two energy on it. I proceed to Turn Luxray and then play in back down, while sending up Gliscor and Leveling it up and doing 100 with Pester via Expert Belt for the KO in-between turns. I am getting some nice draws but I get stuck doing Night Slash for 80. I can’t draw anything and did end up having to Psychic Restore early just so I could Roseanne for Uxie again. I have the 2nd Baltoy in my hand, but I can’t for the life of me draw a 2ND Gliscor, Bebe’s, or Claydol all of which were in my deck. So we are tied 4-4 with his Fainting Spell Gengar Active. I then proceed to make a huge mistake. I Flash Bite active 3 times, with 2 Crobat and a SSU heads. I then realize I don’t have a back up attacker and I might be in serious trouble if I attack and he flips heads. I decided that at that point, I put myself in a position that I have to pray he flips a tails. I do Night Slash for 80 and the KO and he flips, (and says OH NO when he sees where it is going to be) TAILS. I take a prize lead because of the tails, as he would of got 2 prizes had he flipped Heads. I then KO something else to go up 4-2 on prizes taken. He sends up an Energy-less Queen w/Expert Belt and I knew I was in good shape. He asked me if I am going to drop the Stadium like a Pro (Moonlight was in play). I say yes, and play it. I had still had another BTS in my hand. So, I do Night Slash to his active Queen for 80. I sent up Uxie hoping that he will KO it. He does so and I tell him I have him. I send up Luxray and level it up bring back up Queen, I then retreat and Night Slash for 80 and my final two prizes.
Win (6-1/8-1)
So I am able to grab some points, the medal, and packs which I managed to pull a Tomb, Expert Belt, and 2 Lv. X (Gengar/Arceus)
So after going 6-1 with Gliscor the previous week I decide to stick with it. I had 2 events and I wanted to play Gliscor for 1 of the 2 and play something else for the other one. I have learned from the past that playing a deck for multiple tournaments isn’t a good idea as people start teching against you or learn how to play against your deck which isn’t a good thing. I talk to a few people including Kettler about decks. He expresses his feelings about Dialga/Garchomp. I didn’t have a Dialga G Lv. X at the moment so I told him it wasn’t an option. We also disagreed on which had the favorable matchup as far as Gliscor vs. Dialga/Garchomp. I did find that Flygon is a VERY hard matchup for Gliscor and seeing as how Flygon has died in my area due to the it losing to most decks in my area I decided to go with Gliscor. I debate on if I should make any changes to my list. I was unsure if I needed Palmer’s or Unown K. I felt that for now, that Palmer’s was needed even though I only used it in 1 game out of 9 and I didn’t need to use it the game I did. I figure that I can deal without the Unown K as it only helps in my opinion in Flygon matchup which is severely in their favor anyways. So, I take out the Unown K for a 2nd Luxray GL.
Northfield, NJ (12/12) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 – ??????? – (Beautifly/Masquerain/Shaymin)
So, lucky me, I get to play against a deck that is completely resistance to me. I decide to go after his Shaymin first as I drag it up with Luxray and then KO it via Gliscor. He starts to run into energy issues and I start my 80 and switch lock which helps and eventually I take all 6 prizes, however it wasn’t as easy as I would of liked it to be.
Win (1-0)
R2 – ??????? – (Dusknoir/Gardevoir/Cresselia)
I start with Tomb, and he proceeds to make a few mistakes (including not using Lock Up on my active Tomb). I get setup and he uses Cresselia’s Lv. X attack to KO my Tomb and take 2 prizes. However after some nifty playing and a serious error on his part by using Shadow Command to put his active Dusknoir Lv. X at 40, I double flash bite and then use Night Slash for 80 to KO it. After that while he is still head his deck loses a lot of steam. I proceed to replace the Dusknoir Lv. X with a BTS and proceed to the take the game in the few turns.
Win (2-0)
R3 – Justin B. – (Dialga/Garchomp)
His start is awful. He starts with Azelf and his Dialga Lv. X is prized. I get the 80 and switch lock going. He manages to grab a prize after I have KO two Dialga G. He rips the Lv. X but by then it is too late and he just is too far behind.
Win (3-0)
R4 – Dylan B. – (Dialga/Garchomp)
So, I get to play the same matchup again. He has an awful starting hand. He can’t draw a supporter to save his life. He saw a Uxie (for 5) doesn’t draw into one. He did see Aaron’s but that doesn’t help as I have an awesome start. He does draw a call and gets a Baltoy. I assume he has the Claydol in his hand so I use Luxray to drag it up and KO it, which pretty much seals the game for me.
R5 – Evan B. – (Dialga/Garchomp)
Yay, 3 in a row. So, after watching Evan use Chatot to lock someone I decide that I am going to play this matchup a bit differently. If I think he can get the lock in, I am going to send up Crobat instead of Tomb. However he start isn’t that good and both of his 1-1 Claydol is prized. I make sure to not let him take a prize before I KO the Baltoy via Luxray and Night Slash. It goes down as he doesn’t really draw into anything helpful and he doesn’t Mimic via Chatot into anything good.
Win (5-0)
So for the 2nd straight event I am the #1 seed going into the top cut. I am lucky and I have to play against Gengar which for Gliscor is about a 95/5 matchup IMO.
T4 is the following –
1ST Drew G. – Gliscor/Tomb
2nd/3rd – Dylan B. – Dialga/Chomp
2nd/3rd – Evan B. – Dialga/Chomp
4th – Aaron F. – Gengar
T4 – Aaron F. – (Gengar)
G1 - He is playing Dusknoir, or so I believe so I keep my bench at 3 until late game when I decided that he doesn’t have it, which was correct. He takes a small lead, but I KO a few of his Pokemon. When, I use Luxray to bring up his only Gengar on the bench and then hit the SSU to scoop up Gliscor Lv. X and then use it to use Pester for 100 + 10 via Poison because I have Expert Belt he scoops G1.
G2 – He starts with Unown Q and nothing else. He tells me to go first. I go and then he draws and scoops. I would have triple flash bite him to win, but as he only had Unown Q and nothing else he decided to scoop.
Win (6-0/7-0)
T2 – Dylan B. – (Dialga/Garchomp)
G1 - I get to play this matchup again, which is fine. I feel pretty good about it after going 3-0 in swiss. I get another good start and he gets an okay. I do a massive amount of damage. I however am unable to get a KO on any of his Pokemon. He ends up play Garchomp Lv. X which doesn’t help me as I hadn’t taken a prize. I still manage to prevent him from drawing into anything helpful and continue the onslaught of 80 and switch via Night Slash. However when he drops his 2ND Garchomp Lv. X (yes he played 2), which I was not expecting at all my heart sinks as I am know I am in SERIOUS trouble, and things started to go downhill really, really fast. I was unable to keep up and proceed to have issue. After deciding that scooping was a good idea when he had a 4-1 prize lead and I had no way IMO of coming back from such a large hole even though I had done a heck of a lot more damage to him.
G2 – We have about 35 minutes for G2. I decided to go 2nd because of my start. I get setup and manage to Looker him at the right time and he draws into almost nothing helpful. G2 is a lot more like our swiss game where he just can’t get going. He decides to scoop when I only have 1 prize to his 4 or 5 as he knows he can’t prevent me from taking another prize.
G3 – He tells me to go 1st. I have a really bad hand, but what makes matters worse is that we only have 5 minutes to play. He starts with Quagsire and I start with Gligar. I could of played this differently, but chose not to. I had to get up a Claydol but his ability to attach a gain to his active Quagsire did me in. I most likely could of done a few things to prevent the matchup, but I went the wrong root and he takes the first prize. I have a chance to tie it up but I didn’t have enough energy in play to do anything. He takes it. I am fairly confident had the game been a 6 prize game I would have had a great shot as my start actually didn’t turn out all that bad as I had both Claydol and Gliscor Lv. X up by turn 3. However we will never know.
Loss (6-1/8-2) (I am not sure if I should count game 3 as 3 turns isn’t really a game IMO but I will mark it down as a loss since that what is was.)
So after playing 19 games with the deck I finally decided that Palmer’s isn’t helpful at all as I only used it once in 19 games. I drop it and the 2nd Luxray GL for 2 Warp Energy. I choose to use Gliscor instead of Kingdra due to a lack of testing and the fact that Gliscor was just not losing.
Blue Bell, PA (12/13) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 - ??????? – (Scizor/Cherrim)
I sit down and I am not happy to see that I am playing Scizor/Cherrim. I have a slight feeling that if they can get setup, I might have some issues. I start with Spiritomb, which is nice, as they don’t have a great starting hand. My opponent misses a few energy drops and attacks, as he couldn’t find evolutions. I end up winning 6-1 on prizes as he could only get one good attack from Scizor off.
Win (1-0)
R2 – Greg S. – (Gyarados)
I know that this match is close to an autowin, but if I had to play it again, I would of DEFINITELY played this differently as I almost cost myself a win. Greg does get a great start and at one point he doesn’t have any Magikarp or Gyarados on the field, but has a full bench. I end up taking a prize and slowly start using Luxray to KO his bench Pokemon allowing his Gyarados KO my active Tombs. I end up taking 5 prizes to his 3, when I start to have issues. He is able to scoop up 2 of his 3 benched Pokemon. I am lucky that he didn’t have a turn or I would have had an issue. He makes it 5-4 on prize taken. I proceed to set up for a KO next turn. But I know that I need to prevent him from drawing a few cards. I know he has the Cyclone in his hand as one of his Pokemon on the bench had it when he scooped it up. I decide to Looker him and get rid of his hand. He ends up drawing a Poke-Turn, but can’t draw the Cyclone. I had sent up my last Tomb to prevent him from using it. I made a few mistakes in this match. Not going for the Regice first and not KOing the Gyarados first. If I had I would of most likely won this match a lot easier than 6-5, which was close because of me being a complete moron in this matchup for some reason even though I knew the correct way to play it.
Win (2-0)
R3 – Frank D. – (Gengar)
I knew that Frank was playing Gengar after seeing him playing it after one of the rounds. This was my seventh tourney this year and it was a little surprising it took this long for the two of us to face off. I knew that my matchup against it was a good one. However I wasn’t too happy on having my Unown G for my Claydol being prized. My start was pretty bad in this game and I was forced (and succeeded) to waste a SSU on getting Azelf off my bench. He played a version that was more focused on the AR Gengar than the other one. I used Luxray to bring up his Claydol early to stall for a few turns. I totally expect that he wouldn’t be able to get it out for at least 2 turns and then would also be short on an energy on his benched Gengar to attack still. So, I figured his Claydol would live but I would have a few turns before he attacked. He then proceed (he told me afterwards) to put both an energy and a Roseanne on the bottom of his deck and then went energy dead for about 5 turns. I was able to KO his Claydol and that gave him all sorts of issues. I then started my 80 and switch lock. He was able to KO some of my Tombs, but I ended up taking a 2 prize lead. The prizes were 5-4 when I used my Luxray to bring up his Gengar Lv. X with 90 on it, Flash Bite twice and then use BITE for the KO. I couldn’t use either of my Gliscor as they both had Expert Belts on them and I didn’t want to risk him flipping heads. I did take out his Queen early to prevent him from healing any damage on his Pokemon which was pretty big in this match.
Win (3-0)
R4 – Josh H. – (Infernape/Luxray/Blaziken)
I know Josh is a good player, but he wasn’t feeling too good. This led to him making a few mistakes. I started with Spiritomb and the fact that he had some Energy issues definitely didn’t help him out. I also went 3 for 4 on SSU which definitely hurt him. Luxray was a killer as I was able to prevent him from using Luxray by KOing it. He did KO my Claydol, and I was going to get my second one, but my other Claydol was prized (and I never took it as it was my final prize) and I wasn’t going to get Azelf to go get it. I also had some huge trouble because I couldn’t draw my Expert Belt. But lucky for me Jet Shoot makes it a little easier as one Flash Bite and a Night Slash does the damage I need. I was able to take a prize lead and Uxie definitely helped. I was able to use Uxie twice which was huge. I believe the first time I as able to force him to power spray something else and then dropped the Uxie for 5, which was huge. I had to Looker’s late in the match and proceed to lose my Luxray Lv. X into the deck. I was up 5-4 on prize, but Josh was having energy issues. I top deck the Premier Ball. I use it to get Luxray Lv. X. While I couldn’t of won that turn, unless he had a Power Spray I had it in two or three turns depending on if he still had a Spray. I am guessing since he thought I had the turn or something he decided to scoop when I got the Luxray Lv. X. Josh didn’t look to well so I offered him a free sealed water (which he gladly accepted) because I thought it might make him feel better as fluids usually do.
Win (4-0)
I didn’t see my ride after the round so I asked the PTO if he had dropped. She informed he had. I knew he was 1-2 after R3 and wasn’t too happy about doing so badly. Seeing as the weather was pretty bad (it was raining pretty hard) and we were over 90 minutes from my house and his was another 40 from me, I decided to drop as well, so he could get home in a timely manner because I didn’t want him to feel rushed to get home, plus the fact that I knew he didn’t want to stay for another 2 hours or more waiting for me after not doing so well. I didn’t want to, but being a good friend I decided to drop from the tournament. I believe I would of played Kyle in the final round of Swiss who was playing Palkia Lock, which is a hard matchup for me, but definitely winnable. Josh who I beat in R4 ended up winning the tournament.
So, after having a great week by going 10-1 with Gliscor, I really don’t want to use it again. I know in previous years that every time I use a deck more than 3 times in a row during Cities I do awful with it. However after not being able to really test, knowing that I have about two weeks to test any new idea since there are no events for me until the 3rd, and also know that most of the players in NYC don’t know my list too well, I decide to go with Gliscor. I only make one change. I drop a Gligar for a Lightning Energy as I didn’t need 4 Gligar. I also was unsure about going because I had a feeling I wouldn’t do so well. I also was worried about the Snow Storm that was going to hit the area and drop over a foot of snow. I didn’t want to get stuck in NYC for any reason so I knew that once the snow was starting to get heavy it would be time to leave to prevent anything bad from happening on the way home.
Brooklyn, NY (12/19) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 – Raymond C. – (Ampharos/Manectric/Spiritomb)
I have a horrible start. I mean beyond awful. He starts with Electrike and I with Baltoy. I have no supporters and I have Unown Q as my only other Pokemon if I wish to play it. I planned on using Psychic Balance to draw a few cards if I needed to. However when he flipped heads with Electrike’s attack, I couldn’t. I topdeck into my Luxury Ball and I play it to get Tomb. I then use SSU to try to save from using my Q on Claydol. I flip head send up Tomb and evolve into Claydol. From their it went downhill for him as I was able to get setup up fairly quick and he wasn’t. I ended up running through his fighting weak Pokemon by a combination of Luxray and Night Slash.
Win (1-0)
R2 – Eric B. (Gengar/Metagross)
I start out with a decent start. However this game was silly for about 15 minutes in the middle. We both start trading prizes. However he makes a huge mistake when he is 10 damage off on my active Gliscor after sending the Lv. X back into my deck. We both had taken 3 prizes each when the fun begins. I messed up by taking the wrong Pokemon with SSU earlier, but the other issues I had was that I couldn’t draw back into the Gliscor Lv. X. Anyway to make a long story short. I had to keep dragging up his Metagross because I didn’t have a way to keep up KOs without losing my trainer lock. Anyways. I when is finally going to be able to retreat and I know that there is about 2 minutes left. I have to KO something. I use Luxray to bring up his Meta after his Claydol was active to KO it and I put 30 on Azelf. He goes and time is called. He proceeds to get a 2nd Metagross out (I didn’t expect the 2nd) as he played a 2-1-2 line I would guess, Turns and drops two Crobat and proceeds to use Gengar Lv. X attack to take two prizes and the game 5-4 on time. It was a great play by Eric who seems to go about 50/50 with me and playing him is always a fun time as our games are usually down to the wire. I wish him luck in the next round and hope that he continues to win.
I am fairly confident that I was still in good shape, but time prevented us from finding out. Had I draw the Lv. X the next turn I think I would of won. I could of used Gliscor Lv. X Power and then hit for 80 and switch. He would have then been at 100 when my turn came as he played his only Warp Energy Earlier in the game I still had a Tomb left. I would of used Uxie to Psychic Restore getting a KO and tying it up. He then would have had NO Gengar and just 2 Crobat and a Metagross and I am would think that would be enough to win the game for me, but we will never know.
Loss (1-1)
So at this point, I know I have to pretty much WIN out to make cut or go up in ratings.
R3 - ?????? – (Leafeon/Shaymin)
This wasn’t really a game. I am able to keep KOing everything in one shot which prevents him from really getting anything going. I am able to hit 2 SSU on Gliscor Lv. X to keep reusing its power to get the needed damange to KO his Pokemon.
Win (2-1)
R4 - ?????? – (Eeveelutions)
So, I play another Eevee deck. I start getting setup and this is pretty much the same scenario as the game before. I use Gliscor to start using Night Slash to KO his Pokemon. I am able to one shot most of them with the help of Luxray and Crobat so that I continue to take prizes. A few turns after the Night Slashing begins, it ends with another victory.
Win (3-1)
At this point it has started to snow. My ride who brought me started 3-0 and was now 3-1 and still had a shot at top cutting the event. He doesn’t usually make top cuts but I was trying to help him improve which in the few tournaments we had tested for he had. We decided that no matter what I did that if he lost we would go as the snow was starting to make me a bit nervous considering we had to drive on a few bridges that were IMO narrow could be slippery.
R5 - ?????? – (Dialga/Garchomp)
I start with Spiritomb which is EXACTLY the start I need. I also got my perfect start. I had on T2 Claydol and Gliscor with an Energy. It couldn’t of been better. I then proceed to start Night Slashing. I use Crobat and Turn to KO his active Dialga G with 3 energy on it and a special Metal as he couldn’t prevent me from doing so. From there it started to go down hill as he could never break the trainer lock. I have found that in this matchup it is never close. It is either lopsided in my favor or theirs and most of the time if I can start with Tomb it takes a while for them to setup which usually turns it to my favor unless they play Multiple Chomps on me, which can kill me.
Win (4-1)
So, I know that I make cut as I believe Eric went 5-0. However seeing as my ride lost and the snow was starting to get really bad we deicded to leave. I am happy and my head was killing me. I get my 10 or so rating points and we head home. I most likely would have had a great shot of winning as the top cut was Gengar x2, Gyarados, and GG. If I faced the GG I may have had issues, but the other three decks I would have been fine against especially Gyarados. However they all took the train/subway to the tournament so it was easier for them to stay. I don’t like dropping but this year I have a rash of things that made me do so. The weather being a big one for me leaving early. Anyway it was a good day overall.
After going a total of 20-3 with Gliscor over a total of 4 events, I was hoping that with a 2 week break that we had, that I would be able to switch from Gliscor to something that might be better. However an event was cancelled and was rescheduled for the 27th of December and while it was close, I didn’t have a way to get to and from the event. I wanted to go, but the lack of a way to get there prevented me from going, so I enjoyed some football games including the Jets beating the Colts and watching New Orleans KO me out of my survivor pool with only 4 of us remaining as they lost to Tampa. Anyways I was seriously trying to figure out what to play for my one event on the 2nd as I was going to the Jets/Bengals game on the 3rd. I finally gave up as I felt I had a 50/50 matchup with most of my area if not better. I knew the deck and while in most other areas it was giving people trouble to get it working, I knew my list was amazing and the fact was I was able to easily beat people with it if I could get set up which happened a majority of the time. I was feeling a bit uneasy about playing it, but figured to stick with it anyways. I lent out 6 cards to Mike F. who showed up and ended up winning the event.
Cedar Grove, NJ (1/2) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 – Greg S. – (Gyarados)
I realized how much this matchup was 50/50. After trying to go about the matchup one way, I decided to go a total different way, and had the same result coming down to 1-1 in prizes. However I had played it well. I had already attached an energy to my benched Luxray GL. On my final turn (I would of lost next turn had I not been able to do this) I level up Luxray and attach the Lightning I had to it. I then attach Expert Belt. I see that I am 20 short of the KO, so I decide to Bebe’s for my Crobat G. I use it to place 1 damage on his active. I then have to hope I can draw my final Poke Turn to win from my deck. I use Cosmic Power and the first card is the final Turn FTW.
Win (1-0)
R2 – Bill Russo – (Kingdra)
I get an awful start. I hadn’t seen this bad of a start in any of my games. He gets setup and is able to KO 2 Tomb and my Azelf before I can get setup, but lucky for me he had a full bench, with 3x Uxie, Azelf, Crobat G and Kingdra as his active. I use Gliscor to Poison/Paralyze him and then I Night Slash. He goes and uses Bebe’s to grab Baltoy. I then use my 2nd Looker’s (I used the first my first turn as my hand was really bad) and I see that he has Baltoy, Claydol, Warp Point, Water, and card I can’t remember. Realizing that I have BTS in play I choose to make him shuffle knowing that if he gets anything remotely decent I am in serious trouble, but I had to do it as I couldn’t risk him having a Claydol out as I am sure I would of lost in a few turns had he gotten it out. He draws in to absolutely nothing and I am able to take 5 prizes straight to take a 5-3 lead before he can get out another Kingdra. I use Luxray to bring up his Azelf for my final prize to win the game.
Win (2-0)
R3 – MK Choy – (Dialga/Chomp)
This was a great game, we went the first 20 minutes prevent each other from taking any prizes, but the issue was in mid game I was able to put him in a serious jam. However he being the smart player Chatter Locked me. I play 2 Warp Energy and went 3 turns without drawing one of them. Had I draw them any sooner he would of definitely lost. I had two turns that had I used Cosmic Power before using Bebe’s to draw more cards that I would of drawn it including both of the first two turns I was locked. Time is called on my turn, but I messed up by using Crobat on the wrong Pokemon and attacking with the wrong Pokemon. I felt really stupid as had I done so I would of prevented him from being able to setup the win. However, I didn’t and I couldn’t do anything on my final turn to prevent him from taking his 4th prize as we were tied 3-3 when time was called. I am not sure who would of won the game had the game continued except to say that it would of gone down to the wire. I have a feeling I might have had him due to him having energy issues, but not sure. It is a tough loss especially knowing that I had him and should of won.
Loss (2-1)
R4 – Kyle P. – (Kingdra)
If I thought my other start against Kingdra was bad, this was almost as bad and to make matters worse is his start was almost as bad. However, he grabs enough of a lead that I can’t come back and he takes in 6-4 (I think) in prizes. I wasn’t too happy about being 2-2 and Kyle was the first person to be able to beat me twice.
Loss (2-2)
R5 – Brian G. – (Tyranitar)
Brian didn’t want to play so he just didn’t show up. Gliscor gives Tyranitar all sorts of issues as it is weak to me. Granted I can’t OHKO him, but the fact I can do a lot to it, doesn’t help it. I am fairly confident had we played I would of won, but we will never know.
Win (3-2)
R6 – Michael B. – (Flygon/Machamp)
I see him flip over Trapinch and Machop and I know I am in SERIOUS trouble. He however makes a huge mistake on the first turn he can get trainers. My start is okay, but I am able to play smartly and avoid having any Lv. X down when he has Flygon Lv. X out. I am able to somehow KO 2 Flygon (one being Lv. X) and Machamp and win the game 6-4 or so on prizes. I was a bit shocked that I won as I knew the matchup was one of two that I should almost always lose to, but I was happy to get the win.
Win (4-2)
I wasn’t sure if I would make cut, but after my two losses were 6-0 and 4-2, I was pretty sure that I would be able to squeak in as one of three or four 4-2’s that made it. However, I know both my friends including my ride went 3-3. I ask them if they want to leave, but one is judging a side event so they say no. I decided that I will see if I make cut and if so I will play. However about 2 minutes after the round is over (but before all the games are reported) then say they want to both go. I am like great as I have to RUSH over to the TO and tell them to drop me. I am told I am good and I can drop still without getting a loss if I made cut as all games weren’t reported. I am sure I would of and I am positive I would of done well as I think all the matchups were close to being in my favor as I still think most SP is a favorable matchup for me. I would have had to go 2-1 or 3-0 in the Top Cut to gain any points with going 3-0 netting me most like 15 to 17 points, but had I lost any sooner I would of lost 10+. I really haven’t enjoy this format much which could lead to my dropping from more events this year (5) than I have in the last 9 years (1) I have played. I however think I will be dropping from the next event (Burlington) as well as I want to get home to watch the Jets/Bengals game at 4:30. I expect that I can play 4 rounds before having to leave which could net me a cool 20 points if I go 4-0, but not sure what is going to happen as far as what I will play, but I am thinking about playing Blaze/Ray/Chomp even though I don’t like playing SP too much as I always feel like I am in trouble even though I am winning games with it.
So after not really having a ride to Burlington until to late, I decide to not go and watch the Jets/Bengal game on TV and the SHU/CIN and NJD/MTL games as well after the game. I go to league and test SP but decide that since I wasn’t comfortable with it and was having issues with making mistakes as I hadn’t played SP for a long while and go with Gliscor. I was getting pretty sick of doing nothing but Night Slash for 60/80 so I was really happy that Cities was ending. I figured if I went up a few points, I would be happy, but was thinking I wouldn’t gain too much or I would lose a few points as I figured we would only have 5 rounds, which was the case. I have to take mass transit. But I could of done without the 3 hour train ride and the 20 minute walk from the train station in the freezing cold uphill however.
Nanuet, NY (1/10) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 – Dawn Marie – (Garchomp/Spiritomb)
I get a decent start and decide that I will go after Weavile before she can use it. I then take out her Claydol for my first two prizes. With no way to charge up a 2nd Garchomp I am in charge and I finish by using Crobat 3 times via 2 heads on SSU to take the final two prizes on my last turn.
Win (1-0)
R2 - ???????? – (Gyarados)
He wasn’t aware of the matchup and didn’t have the techs to make it in his favor. After I knock out his first Gyarados he is unable to my double Tomb lock to get another into play and I manage to take all my after he takes the first one.
Win (2-0)
Frank Durso – (Kingdra)
This game went a total of one turn, he goes and starts with Unown G. I go and I let him know that there is a shot that I could OHKO him. I go I start with Luxray play down Baltoy and Unown Q. I drop the BTS and I Bebe’s for Claydol. I evolve and play down the Uxie in my hand for 6. I draw an energy but not the Crobat I was hoping for. I attach to Uxie and use the Poketurn on my active Luxray send up Q and use Cosmic Power for 3. My 2nd card is the Expert Belt and I proceed to T1 his lone Unown G FTW.
Win (3-0)
I ask to get a ride home, but the say they are going to leave after the T2 of Juniors is done. I say fine as I really didn’t want to stay so late or have a insanely long train ride. I drop happily with my 12 or so points and head home happy.
I played in a total of 6 events going a total of 27-5 all with Gliscor/Tomb after goin 18-3 with Gyarados and Flygon during BRs. I averaged a 4.5-0.8 record per event. I dropped quite a bit, but the weather or just the fact that I didn’t want to play as I was tired or bored from doing Night Slash for 80 and switch. I would of top cut most of my events had I not dropped, but I did gain a lot of points (near 130) from using the deck and that was even with the nay sayers on this site saying it wasn’t that good. The deck was quite good in the right hands and I felt like 4 of my 5 losses being completely winnable. I only played 2 top cuts as I dropped in the other 4 before the top cut and I won 1 and got 2nd in the other after going undefeated. I didn’t really want to play in all 6 events, but I couldn’t figure out anything that much better so I went with it. As I feel that I won’t play Gliscor again and the fact that States should change the format, I am going to post my list as I really don’t have any inclination to play Gliscor ever again as I found the deck to win but be incredibly boring.
Here is my list that I used for the final few cities. To see what I changed from the first CC to the last read my report as I state what I took out from each event to get to the following list. I most likely could of dropped one BTS but decided that I didn’t need to do so.
Pokemon – (24)
4x Spiritomb AR 32/99
3x Gligar LA 94/146
3x Gliscor LA 5/146
1x Gliscor Lv. X LA 141/146
2x Baltoy GE 60/106
2x Claydol GE 15/106
2x Unown Q MD 49/100
2x Crobat G PT 47/127
1x Luxray GL RR 9/111
1x Luxray GL Lv. X RR 109/111
1x Uxie LA 43/146
1x Azelf LA 19/146
1x Unown G GE 57/106
Trainers – (26)
4x Roseanne’s Research
4x Bebe’s Search
4x Broken Time-Space
4x Super Scoop Up
4x TGI Poke Turn
2x Looker’s Investigation
2x Expert Belt
1x Luxury Ball
1x Premier Ball
Energy – (10)
4x SPECIAL Call Energy
3x BASIC Fighting Energy
2x SPECIAL Warp Energy
1x BASIC Lightning Energy
Thanks for reading, :thumb:
Drew
Denville, NJ (12/5) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 – Jimmy O. – (Gengar/Queen/Spiritomb)
My track record against Jimmy is pretty bad, he seems to ALWAYS get the better of me in tournaments. However I am to get the Gliscor Lock in with Luxray and even though he is able to get out of it once via Warp Energy. I ended up taking 4 prizes to his 1 or 2 when time is called. I am fairly certain I would have been able to take the last two prizes, but I will take the win.
Win – (1-0)
R2 - ???????? – (Salamence/Delcatty)
He starts with Uxie and my Spirtomb locks his trainers for enough turns (3 or 4) that I end up KO’ing it and benching him.
Win – (2-0)
R3 – Kyle P. – (Flygon/Machamp/Palkia/Techs)
I know that Gliscor doesn’t like Palkia, so I have to worry about it. I use Luxray Lv. X bring up his Claydol and poison it. He can’t get out of it for 2 turns and finally top decks a Fighting energy which he attaches to Flygon, which he sends up and Level’s Up after using Cosmic Power to get Bebe’s. He already has a Memory Berry attached. I discard a card and then draw. I then realize I can’t get out of the lock as my Tomb has colorless resistance and I had already attached Unown Q to the Spirtomb. :frown: I proceed to scoop on about T4 or T5 less than 10 minutes into the round.
Loss – (2-1)
R4 – Michael B. – (Palkia Lock)
So, most say that Gliscor can’t beat Palkia Lock, however I bet to differ, you just need to know how to play it. He misplays T2 by not calling out Psychic Bind. I am not sure it made a huge difference, but I get up a Gliscor Lv. X with 2 energy and a Expert Belt up. He decides to take out my Claydol, which SEVERELY cripples me setup. However I keep swinging with Gliscor Lv. X for 80 and then sending up Spiritomb. The game stays close, but finally I catch a break. We are tied 2-2 and I know he can’t take a prize this turn. I go I draw into a Poke Turn (I may have had two). I play down Crobat G after scooping it up after I retreated Spiritomb. He can’t spray it and I end up KO’ing his active Palkia G with 90 on it. Seeing how both his benched Pokemon had less than 80HP he scoops.
Win (3-1)
R5 – Luke D. – (Gengar/Spiritomb)
I get a great start to his awful start. I just sweep thru him.
Win (4-1)
So, I figure that I made cut, as only 1 4-1 misses, but I find out there were NO undefeated players left and I somehow manage to grab the #1 seed going into top cut, I guess the fact that two of my opponents including my R1 opponent went 4-1 definitely helps.
The top 4 is the following going in –
1st – Drew G. (Me) – Gliscor/Tomb
2nd – Kyle P. – Flygon Variant
3rd – Jimmy O. – Gengar/Queen/Spiritomb
4th – Anthony – Garchomp/Luxray/Blaziken (SP)
T4 vs Andrew H. – Garchomp/Luxray/Blaziken (SP)
G1 – I get an okay start, however he seems to be upset at his prizes. I think his Blaziken Lv. X was prized and he couldn’t get it out. Had he been able he would of definitely put me in a bind. I get a Tomb active and then work on Building up a Gliscor Lv. X with an Expert Belt. Once I get that going I start running thru him by doing 80 every turn. He can’t keep up and I he ends up scooping G1 when it is 5-1 or 2.
G2 – This is more of the same, but his start is a bit bad. I get setup quickly again and proceed to beat him with about 15 minutes left in the T4 round.
Win (5-1/6-1)
T2 – Jimmy O. – (Gengar/Nidoqueen/Spiritomb)
I am happy that Jimmy beat Kyle as I had a MUCH better matchup IMO against Jimmy’s deck than against Kyle’s. However saying that, my record against Jimmy is not good. I would need to beat him 3 times in the event to win, and I had MAYBE beat him 4 or 5 times (or somewhere near that number) in the 8-9 years I have known him. I always have had issues and he ALWAYS beat me and I was hoping that would change for this event and in the future as well.
G1 – I end up going 2nd and starting with Baltoy. He starts with Unown G attaches a Psychic and says go. I go and draw a card, which is a SSU and see that I can donk him. I SSU twice to try to the Baltoy up after I laid the Unown Q down to send up. I flip the 2nd one heads and pick it up. I then Roseanne for two of my Crobats play them, attach the call energy in my hand and proceed to T1 him with Unown Q.
G2 – So, we start game two and this game goes a bit more like the game in swiss expect I do thing a little differently. I am having trouble drawing into what I need, however and he is able to hit my Claydol for 60 as I couldn’t get G attached. He gets up the Curse Gengar and Skuntank out so that he can poison my active as he has Moonlight in play. I decided to G my Claydol to get another turn out of it before he moves enough damage to KO it. I send up my Gliscor with 2 Energy and decided to poison him and stay in play which makes him forced to retreat because I can Pester for the KO without having to worry about a flip. He sends up Uxie and restores back into the deck. I believe I got a KO before on his active Spiritomb at some point, however and after both of us have taking a prize after he KO’d my Claydol. I top deck a Poke Turn and send up Luxray GL, Level it up to bring up his Curse Gengar with no damage but two energy on it. I proceed to Turn Luxray and then play in back down, while sending up Gliscor and Leveling it up and doing 100 with Pester via Expert Belt for the KO in-between turns. I am getting some nice draws but I get stuck doing Night Slash for 80. I can’t draw anything and did end up having to Psychic Restore early just so I could Roseanne for Uxie again. I have the 2nd Baltoy in my hand, but I can’t for the life of me draw a 2ND Gliscor, Bebe’s, or Claydol all of which were in my deck. So we are tied 4-4 with his Fainting Spell Gengar Active. I then proceed to make a huge mistake. I Flash Bite active 3 times, with 2 Crobat and a SSU heads. I then realize I don’t have a back up attacker and I might be in serious trouble if I attack and he flips heads. I decided that at that point, I put myself in a position that I have to pray he flips a tails. I do Night Slash for 80 and the KO and he flips, (and says OH NO when he sees where it is going to be) TAILS. I take a prize lead because of the tails, as he would of got 2 prizes had he flipped Heads. I then KO something else to go up 4-2 on prizes taken. He sends up an Energy-less Queen w/Expert Belt and I knew I was in good shape. He asked me if I am going to drop the Stadium like a Pro (Moonlight was in play). I say yes, and play it. I had still had another BTS in my hand. So, I do Night Slash to his active Queen for 80. I sent up Uxie hoping that he will KO it. He does so and I tell him I have him. I send up Luxray and level it up bring back up Queen, I then retreat and Night Slash for 80 and my final two prizes.
Win (6-1/8-1)
So I am able to grab some points, the medal, and packs which I managed to pull a Tomb, Expert Belt, and 2 Lv. X (Gengar/Arceus)
So after going 6-1 with Gliscor the previous week I decide to stick with it. I had 2 events and I wanted to play Gliscor for 1 of the 2 and play something else for the other one. I have learned from the past that playing a deck for multiple tournaments isn’t a good idea as people start teching against you or learn how to play against your deck which isn’t a good thing. I talk to a few people including Kettler about decks. He expresses his feelings about Dialga/Garchomp. I didn’t have a Dialga G Lv. X at the moment so I told him it wasn’t an option. We also disagreed on which had the favorable matchup as far as Gliscor vs. Dialga/Garchomp. I did find that Flygon is a VERY hard matchup for Gliscor and seeing as how Flygon has died in my area due to the it losing to most decks in my area I decided to go with Gliscor. I debate on if I should make any changes to my list. I was unsure if I needed Palmer’s or Unown K. I felt that for now, that Palmer’s was needed even though I only used it in 1 game out of 9 and I didn’t need to use it the game I did. I figure that I can deal without the Unown K as it only helps in my opinion in Flygon matchup which is severely in their favor anyways. So, I take out the Unown K for a 2nd Luxray GL.
Northfield, NJ (12/12) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 – ??????? – (Beautifly/Masquerain/Shaymin)
So, lucky me, I get to play against a deck that is completely resistance to me. I decide to go after his Shaymin first as I drag it up with Luxray and then KO it via Gliscor. He starts to run into energy issues and I start my 80 and switch lock which helps and eventually I take all 6 prizes, however it wasn’t as easy as I would of liked it to be.
Win (1-0)
R2 – ??????? – (Dusknoir/Gardevoir/Cresselia)
I start with Tomb, and he proceeds to make a few mistakes (including not using Lock Up on my active Tomb). I get setup and he uses Cresselia’s Lv. X attack to KO my Tomb and take 2 prizes. However after some nifty playing and a serious error on his part by using Shadow Command to put his active Dusknoir Lv. X at 40, I double flash bite and then use Night Slash for 80 to KO it. After that while he is still head his deck loses a lot of steam. I proceed to replace the Dusknoir Lv. X with a BTS and proceed to the take the game in the few turns.
Win (2-0)
R3 – Justin B. – (Dialga/Garchomp)
His start is awful. He starts with Azelf and his Dialga Lv. X is prized. I get the 80 and switch lock going. He manages to grab a prize after I have KO two Dialga G. He rips the Lv. X but by then it is too late and he just is too far behind.
Win (3-0)
R4 – Dylan B. – (Dialga/Garchomp)
So, I get to play the same matchup again. He has an awful starting hand. He can’t draw a supporter to save his life. He saw a Uxie (for 5) doesn’t draw into one. He did see Aaron’s but that doesn’t help as I have an awesome start. He does draw a call and gets a Baltoy. I assume he has the Claydol in his hand so I use Luxray to drag it up and KO it, which pretty much seals the game for me.
R5 – Evan B. – (Dialga/Garchomp)
Yay, 3 in a row. So, after watching Evan use Chatot to lock someone I decide that I am going to play this matchup a bit differently. If I think he can get the lock in, I am going to send up Crobat instead of Tomb. However he start isn’t that good and both of his 1-1 Claydol is prized. I make sure to not let him take a prize before I KO the Baltoy via Luxray and Night Slash. It goes down as he doesn’t really draw into anything helpful and he doesn’t Mimic via Chatot into anything good.
Win (5-0)
So for the 2nd straight event I am the #1 seed going into the top cut. I am lucky and I have to play against Gengar which for Gliscor is about a 95/5 matchup IMO.
T4 is the following –
1ST Drew G. – Gliscor/Tomb
2nd/3rd – Dylan B. – Dialga/Chomp
2nd/3rd – Evan B. – Dialga/Chomp
4th – Aaron F. – Gengar
T4 – Aaron F. – (Gengar)
G1 - He is playing Dusknoir, or so I believe so I keep my bench at 3 until late game when I decided that he doesn’t have it, which was correct. He takes a small lead, but I KO a few of his Pokemon. When, I use Luxray to bring up his only Gengar on the bench and then hit the SSU to scoop up Gliscor Lv. X and then use it to use Pester for 100 + 10 via Poison because I have Expert Belt he scoops G1.
G2 – He starts with Unown Q and nothing else. He tells me to go first. I go and then he draws and scoops. I would have triple flash bite him to win, but as he only had Unown Q and nothing else he decided to scoop.
Win (6-0/7-0)
T2 – Dylan B. – (Dialga/Garchomp)
G1 - I get to play this matchup again, which is fine. I feel pretty good about it after going 3-0 in swiss. I get another good start and he gets an okay. I do a massive amount of damage. I however am unable to get a KO on any of his Pokemon. He ends up play Garchomp Lv. X which doesn’t help me as I hadn’t taken a prize. I still manage to prevent him from drawing into anything helpful and continue the onslaught of 80 and switch via Night Slash. However when he drops his 2ND Garchomp Lv. X (yes he played 2), which I was not expecting at all my heart sinks as I am know I am in SERIOUS trouble, and things started to go downhill really, really fast. I was unable to keep up and proceed to have issue. After deciding that scooping was a good idea when he had a 4-1 prize lead and I had no way IMO of coming back from such a large hole even though I had done a heck of a lot more damage to him.
G2 – We have about 35 minutes for G2. I decided to go 2nd because of my start. I get setup and manage to Looker him at the right time and he draws into almost nothing helpful. G2 is a lot more like our swiss game where he just can’t get going. He decides to scoop when I only have 1 prize to his 4 or 5 as he knows he can’t prevent me from taking another prize.
G3 – He tells me to go 1st. I have a really bad hand, but what makes matters worse is that we only have 5 minutes to play. He starts with Quagsire and I start with Gligar. I could of played this differently, but chose not to. I had to get up a Claydol but his ability to attach a gain to his active Quagsire did me in. I most likely could of done a few things to prevent the matchup, but I went the wrong root and he takes the first prize. I have a chance to tie it up but I didn’t have enough energy in play to do anything. He takes it. I am fairly confident had the game been a 6 prize game I would have had a great shot as my start actually didn’t turn out all that bad as I had both Claydol and Gliscor Lv. X up by turn 3. However we will never know.
Loss (6-1/8-2) (I am not sure if I should count game 3 as 3 turns isn’t really a game IMO but I will mark it down as a loss since that what is was.)
So after playing 19 games with the deck I finally decided that Palmer’s isn’t helpful at all as I only used it once in 19 games. I drop it and the 2nd Luxray GL for 2 Warp Energy. I choose to use Gliscor instead of Kingdra due to a lack of testing and the fact that Gliscor was just not losing.
Blue Bell, PA (12/13) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 - ??????? – (Scizor/Cherrim)
I sit down and I am not happy to see that I am playing Scizor/Cherrim. I have a slight feeling that if they can get setup, I might have some issues. I start with Spiritomb, which is nice, as they don’t have a great starting hand. My opponent misses a few energy drops and attacks, as he couldn’t find evolutions. I end up winning 6-1 on prizes as he could only get one good attack from Scizor off.
Win (1-0)
R2 – Greg S. – (Gyarados)
I know that this match is close to an autowin, but if I had to play it again, I would of DEFINITELY played this differently as I almost cost myself a win. Greg does get a great start and at one point he doesn’t have any Magikarp or Gyarados on the field, but has a full bench. I end up taking a prize and slowly start using Luxray to KO his bench Pokemon allowing his Gyarados KO my active Tombs. I end up taking 5 prizes to his 3, when I start to have issues. He is able to scoop up 2 of his 3 benched Pokemon. I am lucky that he didn’t have a turn or I would have had an issue. He makes it 5-4 on prize taken. I proceed to set up for a KO next turn. But I know that I need to prevent him from drawing a few cards. I know he has the Cyclone in his hand as one of his Pokemon on the bench had it when he scooped it up. I decide to Looker him and get rid of his hand. He ends up drawing a Poke-Turn, but can’t draw the Cyclone. I had sent up my last Tomb to prevent him from using it. I made a few mistakes in this match. Not going for the Regice first and not KOing the Gyarados first. If I had I would of most likely won this match a lot easier than 6-5, which was close because of me being a complete moron in this matchup for some reason even though I knew the correct way to play it.
Win (2-0)
R3 – Frank D. – (Gengar)
I knew that Frank was playing Gengar after seeing him playing it after one of the rounds. This was my seventh tourney this year and it was a little surprising it took this long for the two of us to face off. I knew that my matchup against it was a good one. However I wasn’t too happy on having my Unown G for my Claydol being prized. My start was pretty bad in this game and I was forced (and succeeded) to waste a SSU on getting Azelf off my bench. He played a version that was more focused on the AR Gengar than the other one. I used Luxray to bring up his Claydol early to stall for a few turns. I totally expect that he wouldn’t be able to get it out for at least 2 turns and then would also be short on an energy on his benched Gengar to attack still. So, I figured his Claydol would live but I would have a few turns before he attacked. He then proceed (he told me afterwards) to put both an energy and a Roseanne on the bottom of his deck and then went energy dead for about 5 turns. I was able to KO his Claydol and that gave him all sorts of issues. I then started my 80 and switch lock. He was able to KO some of my Tombs, but I ended up taking a 2 prize lead. The prizes were 5-4 when I used my Luxray to bring up his Gengar Lv. X with 90 on it, Flash Bite twice and then use BITE for the KO. I couldn’t use either of my Gliscor as they both had Expert Belts on them and I didn’t want to risk him flipping heads. I did take out his Queen early to prevent him from healing any damage on his Pokemon which was pretty big in this match.
Win (3-0)
R4 – Josh H. – (Infernape/Luxray/Blaziken)
I know Josh is a good player, but he wasn’t feeling too good. This led to him making a few mistakes. I started with Spiritomb and the fact that he had some Energy issues definitely didn’t help him out. I also went 3 for 4 on SSU which definitely hurt him. Luxray was a killer as I was able to prevent him from using Luxray by KOing it. He did KO my Claydol, and I was going to get my second one, but my other Claydol was prized (and I never took it as it was my final prize) and I wasn’t going to get Azelf to go get it. I also had some huge trouble because I couldn’t draw my Expert Belt. But lucky for me Jet Shoot makes it a little easier as one Flash Bite and a Night Slash does the damage I need. I was able to take a prize lead and Uxie definitely helped. I was able to use Uxie twice which was huge. I believe the first time I as able to force him to power spray something else and then dropped the Uxie for 5, which was huge. I had to Looker’s late in the match and proceed to lose my Luxray Lv. X into the deck. I was up 5-4 on prize, but Josh was having energy issues. I top deck the Premier Ball. I use it to get Luxray Lv. X. While I couldn’t of won that turn, unless he had a Power Spray I had it in two or three turns depending on if he still had a Spray. I am guessing since he thought I had the turn or something he decided to scoop when I got the Luxray Lv. X. Josh didn’t look to well so I offered him a free sealed water (which he gladly accepted) because I thought it might make him feel better as fluids usually do.
Win (4-0)
I didn’t see my ride after the round so I asked the PTO if he had dropped. She informed he had. I knew he was 1-2 after R3 and wasn’t too happy about doing so badly. Seeing as the weather was pretty bad (it was raining pretty hard) and we were over 90 minutes from my house and his was another 40 from me, I decided to drop as well, so he could get home in a timely manner because I didn’t want him to feel rushed to get home, plus the fact that I knew he didn’t want to stay for another 2 hours or more waiting for me after not doing so well. I didn’t want to, but being a good friend I decided to drop from the tournament. I believe I would of played Kyle in the final round of Swiss who was playing Palkia Lock, which is a hard matchup for me, but definitely winnable. Josh who I beat in R4 ended up winning the tournament.
So, after having a great week by going 10-1 with Gliscor, I really don’t want to use it again. I know in previous years that every time I use a deck more than 3 times in a row during Cities I do awful with it. However after not being able to really test, knowing that I have about two weeks to test any new idea since there are no events for me until the 3rd, and also know that most of the players in NYC don’t know my list too well, I decide to go with Gliscor. I only make one change. I drop a Gligar for a Lightning Energy as I didn’t need 4 Gligar. I also was unsure about going because I had a feeling I wouldn’t do so well. I also was worried about the Snow Storm that was going to hit the area and drop over a foot of snow. I didn’t want to get stuck in NYC for any reason so I knew that once the snow was starting to get heavy it would be time to leave to prevent anything bad from happening on the way home.
Brooklyn, NY (12/19) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 – Raymond C. – (Ampharos/Manectric/Spiritomb)
I have a horrible start. I mean beyond awful. He starts with Electrike and I with Baltoy. I have no supporters and I have Unown Q as my only other Pokemon if I wish to play it. I planned on using Psychic Balance to draw a few cards if I needed to. However when he flipped heads with Electrike’s attack, I couldn’t. I topdeck into my Luxury Ball and I play it to get Tomb. I then use SSU to try to save from using my Q on Claydol. I flip head send up Tomb and evolve into Claydol. From their it went downhill for him as I was able to get setup up fairly quick and he wasn’t. I ended up running through his fighting weak Pokemon by a combination of Luxray and Night Slash.
Win (1-0)
R2 – Eric B. (Gengar/Metagross)
I start out with a decent start. However this game was silly for about 15 minutes in the middle. We both start trading prizes. However he makes a huge mistake when he is 10 damage off on my active Gliscor after sending the Lv. X back into my deck. We both had taken 3 prizes each when the fun begins. I messed up by taking the wrong Pokemon with SSU earlier, but the other issues I had was that I couldn’t draw back into the Gliscor Lv. X. Anyway to make a long story short. I had to keep dragging up his Metagross because I didn’t have a way to keep up KOs without losing my trainer lock. Anyways. I when is finally going to be able to retreat and I know that there is about 2 minutes left. I have to KO something. I use Luxray to bring up his Meta after his Claydol was active to KO it and I put 30 on Azelf. He goes and time is called. He proceeds to get a 2nd Metagross out (I didn’t expect the 2nd) as he played a 2-1-2 line I would guess, Turns and drops two Crobat and proceeds to use Gengar Lv. X attack to take two prizes and the game 5-4 on time. It was a great play by Eric who seems to go about 50/50 with me and playing him is always a fun time as our games are usually down to the wire. I wish him luck in the next round and hope that he continues to win.
I am fairly confident that I was still in good shape, but time prevented us from finding out. Had I draw the Lv. X the next turn I think I would of won. I could of used Gliscor Lv. X Power and then hit for 80 and switch. He would have then been at 100 when my turn came as he played his only Warp Energy Earlier in the game I still had a Tomb left. I would of used Uxie to Psychic Restore getting a KO and tying it up. He then would have had NO Gengar and just 2 Crobat and a Metagross and I am would think that would be enough to win the game for me, but we will never know.
Loss (1-1)
So at this point, I know I have to pretty much WIN out to make cut or go up in ratings.
R3 - ?????? – (Leafeon/Shaymin)
This wasn’t really a game. I am able to keep KOing everything in one shot which prevents him from really getting anything going. I am able to hit 2 SSU on Gliscor Lv. X to keep reusing its power to get the needed damange to KO his Pokemon.
Win (2-1)
R4 - ?????? – (Eeveelutions)
So, I play another Eevee deck. I start getting setup and this is pretty much the same scenario as the game before. I use Gliscor to start using Night Slash to KO his Pokemon. I am able to one shot most of them with the help of Luxray and Crobat so that I continue to take prizes. A few turns after the Night Slashing begins, it ends with another victory.
Win (3-1)
At this point it has started to snow. My ride who brought me started 3-0 and was now 3-1 and still had a shot at top cutting the event. He doesn’t usually make top cuts but I was trying to help him improve which in the few tournaments we had tested for he had. We decided that no matter what I did that if he lost we would go as the snow was starting to make me a bit nervous considering we had to drive on a few bridges that were IMO narrow could be slippery.
R5 - ?????? – (Dialga/Garchomp)
I start with Spiritomb which is EXACTLY the start I need. I also got my perfect start. I had on T2 Claydol and Gliscor with an Energy. It couldn’t of been better. I then proceed to start Night Slashing. I use Crobat and Turn to KO his active Dialga G with 3 energy on it and a special Metal as he couldn’t prevent me from doing so. From there it started to go down hill as he could never break the trainer lock. I have found that in this matchup it is never close. It is either lopsided in my favor or theirs and most of the time if I can start with Tomb it takes a while for them to setup which usually turns it to my favor unless they play Multiple Chomps on me, which can kill me.
Win (4-1)
So, I know that I make cut as I believe Eric went 5-0. However seeing as my ride lost and the snow was starting to get really bad we deicded to leave. I am happy and my head was killing me. I get my 10 or so rating points and we head home. I most likely would have had a great shot of winning as the top cut was Gengar x2, Gyarados, and GG. If I faced the GG I may have had issues, but the other three decks I would have been fine against especially Gyarados. However they all took the train/subway to the tournament so it was easier for them to stay. I don’t like dropping but this year I have a rash of things that made me do so. The weather being a big one for me leaving early. Anyway it was a good day overall.
After going a total of 20-3 with Gliscor over a total of 4 events, I was hoping that with a 2 week break that we had, that I would be able to switch from Gliscor to something that might be better. However an event was cancelled and was rescheduled for the 27th of December and while it was close, I didn’t have a way to get to and from the event. I wanted to go, but the lack of a way to get there prevented me from going, so I enjoyed some football games including the Jets beating the Colts and watching New Orleans KO me out of my survivor pool with only 4 of us remaining as they lost to Tampa. Anyways I was seriously trying to figure out what to play for my one event on the 2nd as I was going to the Jets/Bengals game on the 3rd. I finally gave up as I felt I had a 50/50 matchup with most of my area if not better. I knew the deck and while in most other areas it was giving people trouble to get it working, I knew my list was amazing and the fact was I was able to easily beat people with it if I could get set up which happened a majority of the time. I was feeling a bit uneasy about playing it, but figured to stick with it anyways. I lent out 6 cards to Mike F. who showed up and ended up winning the event.
Cedar Grove, NJ (1/2) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 – Greg S. – (Gyarados)
I realized how much this matchup was 50/50. After trying to go about the matchup one way, I decided to go a total different way, and had the same result coming down to 1-1 in prizes. However I had played it well. I had already attached an energy to my benched Luxray GL. On my final turn (I would of lost next turn had I not been able to do this) I level up Luxray and attach the Lightning I had to it. I then attach Expert Belt. I see that I am 20 short of the KO, so I decide to Bebe’s for my Crobat G. I use it to place 1 damage on his active. I then have to hope I can draw my final Poke Turn to win from my deck. I use Cosmic Power and the first card is the final Turn FTW.
Win (1-0)
R2 – Bill Russo – (Kingdra)
I get an awful start. I hadn’t seen this bad of a start in any of my games. He gets setup and is able to KO 2 Tomb and my Azelf before I can get setup, but lucky for me he had a full bench, with 3x Uxie, Azelf, Crobat G and Kingdra as his active. I use Gliscor to Poison/Paralyze him and then I Night Slash. He goes and uses Bebe’s to grab Baltoy. I then use my 2nd Looker’s (I used the first my first turn as my hand was really bad) and I see that he has Baltoy, Claydol, Warp Point, Water, and card I can’t remember. Realizing that I have BTS in play I choose to make him shuffle knowing that if he gets anything remotely decent I am in serious trouble, but I had to do it as I couldn’t risk him having a Claydol out as I am sure I would of lost in a few turns had he gotten it out. He draws in to absolutely nothing and I am able to take 5 prizes straight to take a 5-3 lead before he can get out another Kingdra. I use Luxray to bring up his Azelf for my final prize to win the game.
Win (2-0)
R3 – MK Choy – (Dialga/Chomp)
This was a great game, we went the first 20 minutes prevent each other from taking any prizes, but the issue was in mid game I was able to put him in a serious jam. However he being the smart player Chatter Locked me. I play 2 Warp Energy and went 3 turns without drawing one of them. Had I draw them any sooner he would of definitely lost. I had two turns that had I used Cosmic Power before using Bebe’s to draw more cards that I would of drawn it including both of the first two turns I was locked. Time is called on my turn, but I messed up by using Crobat on the wrong Pokemon and attacking with the wrong Pokemon. I felt really stupid as had I done so I would of prevented him from being able to setup the win. However, I didn’t and I couldn’t do anything on my final turn to prevent him from taking his 4th prize as we were tied 3-3 when time was called. I am not sure who would of won the game had the game continued except to say that it would of gone down to the wire. I have a feeling I might have had him due to him having energy issues, but not sure. It is a tough loss especially knowing that I had him and should of won.
Loss (2-1)
R4 – Kyle P. – (Kingdra)
If I thought my other start against Kingdra was bad, this was almost as bad and to make matters worse is his start was almost as bad. However, he grabs enough of a lead that I can’t come back and he takes in 6-4 (I think) in prizes. I wasn’t too happy about being 2-2 and Kyle was the first person to be able to beat me twice.
Loss (2-2)
R5 – Brian G. – (Tyranitar)
Brian didn’t want to play so he just didn’t show up. Gliscor gives Tyranitar all sorts of issues as it is weak to me. Granted I can’t OHKO him, but the fact I can do a lot to it, doesn’t help it. I am fairly confident had we played I would of won, but we will never know.
Win (3-2)
R6 – Michael B. – (Flygon/Machamp)
I see him flip over Trapinch and Machop and I know I am in SERIOUS trouble. He however makes a huge mistake on the first turn he can get trainers. My start is okay, but I am able to play smartly and avoid having any Lv. X down when he has Flygon Lv. X out. I am able to somehow KO 2 Flygon (one being Lv. X) and Machamp and win the game 6-4 or so on prizes. I was a bit shocked that I won as I knew the matchup was one of two that I should almost always lose to, but I was happy to get the win.
Win (4-2)
I wasn’t sure if I would make cut, but after my two losses were 6-0 and 4-2, I was pretty sure that I would be able to squeak in as one of three or four 4-2’s that made it. However, I know both my friends including my ride went 3-3. I ask them if they want to leave, but one is judging a side event so they say no. I decided that I will see if I make cut and if so I will play. However about 2 minutes after the round is over (but before all the games are reported) then say they want to both go. I am like great as I have to RUSH over to the TO and tell them to drop me. I am told I am good and I can drop still without getting a loss if I made cut as all games weren’t reported. I am sure I would of and I am positive I would of done well as I think all the matchups were close to being in my favor as I still think most SP is a favorable matchup for me. I would have had to go 2-1 or 3-0 in the Top Cut to gain any points with going 3-0 netting me most like 15 to 17 points, but had I lost any sooner I would of lost 10+. I really haven’t enjoy this format much which could lead to my dropping from more events this year (5) than I have in the last 9 years (1) I have played. I however think I will be dropping from the next event (Burlington) as well as I want to get home to watch the Jets/Bengals game at 4:30. I expect that I can play 4 rounds before having to leave which could net me a cool 20 points if I go 4-0, but not sure what is going to happen as far as what I will play, but I am thinking about playing Blaze/Ray/Chomp even though I don’t like playing SP too much as I always feel like I am in trouble even though I am winning games with it.
So after not really having a ride to Burlington until to late, I decide to not go and watch the Jets/Bengal game on TV and the SHU/CIN and NJD/MTL games as well after the game. I go to league and test SP but decide that since I wasn’t comfortable with it and was having issues with making mistakes as I hadn’t played SP for a long while and go with Gliscor. I was getting pretty sick of doing nothing but Night Slash for 60/80 so I was really happy that Cities was ending. I figured if I went up a few points, I would be happy, but was thinking I wouldn’t gain too much or I would lose a few points as I figured we would only have 5 rounds, which was the case. I have to take mass transit. But I could of done without the 3 hour train ride and the 20 minute walk from the train station in the freezing cold uphill however.
Nanuet, NY (1/10) – Gliscor/Spiritomb
R1 – Dawn Marie – (Garchomp/Spiritomb)
I get a decent start and decide that I will go after Weavile before she can use it. I then take out her Claydol for my first two prizes. With no way to charge up a 2nd Garchomp I am in charge and I finish by using Crobat 3 times via 2 heads on SSU to take the final two prizes on my last turn.
Win (1-0)
R2 - ???????? – (Gyarados)
He wasn’t aware of the matchup and didn’t have the techs to make it in his favor. After I knock out his first Gyarados he is unable to my double Tomb lock to get another into play and I manage to take all my after he takes the first one.
Win (2-0)
Frank Durso – (Kingdra)
This game went a total of one turn, he goes and starts with Unown G. I go and I let him know that there is a shot that I could OHKO him. I go I start with Luxray play down Baltoy and Unown Q. I drop the BTS and I Bebe’s for Claydol. I evolve and play down the Uxie in my hand for 6. I draw an energy but not the Crobat I was hoping for. I attach to Uxie and use the Poketurn on my active Luxray send up Q and use Cosmic Power for 3. My 2nd card is the Expert Belt and I proceed to T1 his lone Unown G FTW.
Win (3-0)
I ask to get a ride home, but the say they are going to leave after the T2 of Juniors is done. I say fine as I really didn’t want to stay so late or have a insanely long train ride. I drop happily with my 12 or so points and head home happy.
I played in a total of 6 events going a total of 27-5 all with Gliscor/Tomb after goin 18-3 with Gyarados and Flygon during BRs. I averaged a 4.5-0.8 record per event. I dropped quite a bit, but the weather or just the fact that I didn’t want to play as I was tired or bored from doing Night Slash for 80 and switch. I would of top cut most of my events had I not dropped, but I did gain a lot of points (near 130) from using the deck and that was even with the nay sayers on this site saying it wasn’t that good. The deck was quite good in the right hands and I felt like 4 of my 5 losses being completely winnable. I only played 2 top cuts as I dropped in the other 4 before the top cut and I won 1 and got 2nd in the other after going undefeated. I didn’t really want to play in all 6 events, but I couldn’t figure out anything that much better so I went with it. As I feel that I won’t play Gliscor again and the fact that States should change the format, I am going to post my list as I really don’t have any inclination to play Gliscor ever again as I found the deck to win but be incredibly boring.
Here is my list that I used for the final few cities. To see what I changed from the first CC to the last read my report as I state what I took out from each event to get to the following list. I most likely could of dropped one BTS but decided that I didn’t need to do so.
Pokemon – (24)
4x Spiritomb AR 32/99
3x Gligar LA 94/146
3x Gliscor LA 5/146
1x Gliscor Lv. X LA 141/146
2x Baltoy GE 60/106
2x Claydol GE 15/106
2x Unown Q MD 49/100
2x Crobat G PT 47/127
1x Luxray GL RR 9/111
1x Luxray GL Lv. X RR 109/111
1x Uxie LA 43/146
1x Azelf LA 19/146
1x Unown G GE 57/106
Trainers – (26)
4x Roseanne’s Research
4x Bebe’s Search
4x Broken Time-Space
4x Super Scoop Up
4x TGI Poke Turn
2x Looker’s Investigation
2x Expert Belt
1x Luxury Ball
1x Premier Ball
Energy – (10)
4x SPECIAL Call Energy
3x BASIC Fighting Energy
2x SPECIAL Warp Energy
1x BASIC Lightning Energy
Thanks for reading, :thumb:
Drew
