Box of Fail
New Member
I went into Regionals just knowing I wanted to play something crazy and weird. So I was testing a Giratina spread deck for the few weeks leading up to the event. I thought about playing Shuppet, but I decided that was too metagame, and today’s Masters results reaffirm my assessment. The strategy was pretty simple: Spread for 30 to everything by ideally the third turn of the game. The Lost Zoning capabilities also helped a lot.
Anyways, I believe I can safely say that we in New England have had a better Regionals experience than anyone in any other part of the United States. The event was spectacular, the venue was beautiful, the people were ever so kind. This was truly an unprecedented Regionals experience. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, New England Regionals was a two-day event, with league play on Friday similar to the league play at Nationals. Swiss and Mutant Drafts on day 1, top cut on day 2. Anyway, on to the list!
Pokémon (20):
2 Giratina PL #27 (Broken-space Blow)
1 Giratina PL #10 (Over Slash)
1 Giratina LV.X
2 Baltoy GE
3 Claydol GE
2 Spiritomb AR
2 Crobat G
1 Luxray GL
1 Luxray GL LV.X
1 Mewtwo MD
1 Mewtwo LV.X
1 Chatot MD
1 Azelf LA
1 Unown G
Trainers/ Supporters/ Stadiums (26):
4 Bebe’s Search
4 Roseanne’s Research
4 Team Galactic’s Invention G-105 Poké Turn
2 Pokémon Collector
2 Expert Belt
2 Premier Ball
2 Team Galactic’s Wager
2 Moonlight Stadium
1 Luxury Ball
1 Warp Point
1 Palmer’s Contribution
1 Night Maintenance
Energy (14):
5 Psychic Energy
4 Double Colorless Energy
4 Call Energy
1 Lightning Energy
So we head to the convention center at 6:30. Woops! Nobody there except a knitting convention. We eat and come back down. Tom Shea, our awesome PTO, just happens to be opening the doors to the massive play area as we return. (To my great dismay, “GreenFest Today” are next door, and I have a strong aversion to environmentalism.) Fill out our decklists, and head up to Tom’s room to test with Jordain, Nathaniel, Noah, Henry, and Tom, of course, for the next hour. We form Team Topdeck, determined to lucksack our way through Regionals sans skill. With the pressure on, we head back down to be paired up for round 1.
R1 VS Rose (?) w/ Random deck
Didn’t really get to see this deck well. At the time, I was sitting next to two people who stood to gain from learning my deck, so I attacked with only Mewtwo and used Cosmic to put Giratina under the deck whenever I drew it, in case they saw my hand. Giga Burn KO’d her charged-up Ho-Oh, and Psyburn with a belt took care of the rest.
1-0
R2 VS Kiko G. w/ Luxchomp
I start with Tomb and go first. Call for Mewtwo and Baltoy. He attaches to his active Luxray and does some stuff, then calls. I Bebe for Claydol, Cosmic, then retreat and level-up Mewtwo. I attack for a few turns and he realizes I’m not going to bench another basic, then he scoops.
2-0
R3 VS Jordain H. w/ Gengarchomp
Bummer. I have to play a Team Topdeck member. This is only the beginning, too. Oh well, at least this means we’re doing well; we’re almost all 2-0. It still stinks to get paired against each other. Anyways, she hadn’t really played against me while we were testing with the team, so while she knows I’m playing Giratina, she has no idea how I play it. I Bright Look Claydol and start spreading. Pretty quickly I Lost Zone three Pokémon, and then her Garchomp two-shots me. Tomb sets up another Giratina without allowing a Poké Turn. She Shadow Rooms my Giratina twice before I retreat, Bright Look Garchomp, and Flash Impact. She tries to KO Giratina but forgets about Tomb locking her Poké Turns on Crobat. I get off another spread, and have time to prepare the next Giratina. I double Flash Bite Gengar to KO it and avoid triggering Fainting Spell, then spread a few more Pokémon to death. Too bad it was a Team Topdeck member. And this is where it gets worse…
3-0
R4 VS Thomas A. w/ Luxpluff
AGAIN?! Another Topdeck member down, regardless of who wins. Double Bummer. So apparently he has an absurd start, in an I’m-gonna-kick-your-butt way. But you see, there is one huge problem with this hand. He goes first and passes with a lone Baltoy. I start Giratina, but I Moonlight, Roseanne for Azelf and Psychic Energy, drop Azelf, Time Walk just in case, retreat, attach, Flash Bite and Belt for a total of 50 damage. Sorry for the donk, man, I would’ve totally gotten my butt handed to me if it weren’t for that.
4-0
R5 VS Nathaniel L. w/ Gyarados
AGAIN. Triple Bummer. Seriously, the third time in five rounds that I get paired against a Team Topdeck player. At least this is one of my best matchups. It takes me little effort to Lost Zone one of his Magikarps. Now he’s dealing 60 damage for the rest of the game. After that, a bit of spreading and a Wager sealed the deal.
5-0
R6 VS Aylam R. w/ Cursegar
He techs Manectric?! Seriously?! I buy time to set up by chattering and locking up his Spiritombs, then Bright Look Manectric and Chatter. He Guards and drops Warp Energy. Hoo boy. Not much I could do after that, as I couldn’t touch his Gengar or his Claydol.
5-1
The standings are posted, and Team Topdeck has 2 players on the bubble with 4-2 records and two 5-1 records guaranteed to make it in. The moment of truth resulted in the worst possible luck our team could’ve had. Not only did Nathaniel and Thomas both miss the cut, but the two remaining members had to play each other in Top 8. That’s right, I had to play against Jordain first thing tomorrow morning. I go Mutant Drafting, help Jordain test against my deck, and then go out to eat at the mall with Tom, Jordain, and Henry. Then Tom, Nathaniel, Henry and I go swimming, and that was it. Mike B. came too. We rise at 6:30 the next morning, and head down to top cut. Tom keeps telling me to lose
T8 VS Jordain H. w/ Gengarchomp
Game 1: Tom had been coaching her on how to beat my deck, I could tell. She kept sniping the basic Luxray, which she didn’t do in Swiss. I still managed to just get up there and spread, while Flash Biting the Gengar to avoid Fainting Spell. Tomb played a big role too, locking her Poké Turns at the right times.
1-0
Game 2: I get total garbage and am forced to retreat for a Baltoy and Psychic Balance for 2. Luckily, I hit a Roseanne’s and she isn’t able to KO the Baltoy. While we both get set up, it takes me too much effort to KO the Gengar without risking the coin flip and she is one prize ahead of me.
1-1
Game 3: I open not-so-well, but it wasn’t complete junk. I use Wager, though, which makes my hand much better. Turn two I Broken-space Blow her Gastly. She Pitch-Darks, and I Luxury Ball. Woops. She doesn’t notice, but I tell her that I performed an illegal game action upon noticing it myself, and we call the judge. I get a prize penalty. I think it was a little harsh considering I had already seen my deck and my prizes, and I didn’t do anything afterwards, but I understand that it was I who screwed up, so oh well. Life goes on. Anyways, we get a three-minute time extension, and while I am still a prize ahead, my Giratina is belted. She Dragon Rushes and does 60. I do lots of stuff, but can’t hit a Poké Turn to seal the game. So I just Darkness Lost. She draws, Bebe for Crobat, Flash Bite, Poké Turn, Flash Bite, Dragon Rush. I already had 70 on me. It would’ve been perfect, except for one minor detail: she had an empty hand, so Giratina’s Invisible Tentacles Poké-Body makes her attack do nothing. She can’t take the two prizes, and she had spent a lot of time thinking during her turn, so time had been called, for them and for us with our extension. So I won.
2-1
Top 4 are posted, and I freak out. I’m playing Mike B. I thought I would be paired against Mark (Gyarados, which is an autowin). Awww man. We both played Mewtwo and no other counter, so this promised to be an interesting match.
T4 VS Michael B. w/ Shuppet/ Luxray Toolbox
Game 1: We both get up Mewtwo and have insufficient basics for either of us to win on prizes. We draw/ pass until our decks are small, then he uses Looker and draws 1. Too bad. I Wager and draw 1. This goes on until I bench a Baltoy and he realizes I can Cosmic to keep my deck full indefinitely. This is where Karma stabs me in the back. I Purugly’d Michael into an easy win during MA states. Well, what goes around comes around, I guess. He discards all my DCEs, then pulls up Claydol. He’s winning on prizes and I can’t retreat. Bummer. I scoop, and go into game two thinking that I’ve basically lost already.
0-1
Game 2: He lays down two Mewtwos after using Premier Ball to put the X in his hand. I level-up mine, Wager, then kill one of the Mewtwos. Me chances at top two depend on this match of rock-paper-scissors. I lose, and he uses two Pokédexes before hitting the Bebe. I scoop. Well played and well deserved, Mike. GG.
0-2
All in all, I loved this event and that T4 match was one of the most fun I’ve ever played. I kind of wanted to T2 just to argue my way out of the byes at Nats (rewarding a player by having them play fewer matches? No thanks!) but whatever. It was a blast, thanks to the hard work of the best judging team and best staff in the US. No event is as efficient and still fun as TJ’s events.
Props:
3rd!
Steve for being a great judge and lending his Luxray X for the first two rounds
The rest of the judging team – Mike, Aimee, Arianne, Brian, and the new judge – sorry, forgot your name!
Tom and Judy Shea, Kirsten Hart
Aylam for winning
Bergy for 2nd
Eric A. for beating Alex and getting 4th!
All of TEAM TOPDECK: Thomas, Jordain, Nathaniel, Noah, Henry
Henry for 3rd
Shuppet for winning Masters, and Azul for playing it
Harrison & Tyler for testing on Redshark
(requested by Steve) My mom for driving me to RI and putting up with me for three days
All of my friends that I got to see!
Mutant Drafts!
Mall food!
Swimming!
The best Regional Championships ever!
And of course, GIRATINA!
Slops:
Crappy hotel cardkeys
Having to play another Team Topdeck player 4 times out of 8 matches
Using that Luxury Ball
Donking
Not playing Mark in T4
Having to win on a misplay
Thomas getting NINTH
Mediocre turnout
Anyways, I believe I can safely say that we in New England have had a better Regionals experience than anyone in any other part of the United States. The event was spectacular, the venue was beautiful, the people were ever so kind. This was truly an unprecedented Regionals experience. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, New England Regionals was a two-day event, with league play on Friday similar to the league play at Nationals. Swiss and Mutant Drafts on day 1, top cut on day 2. Anyway, on to the list!
Pokémon (20):
2 Giratina PL #27 (Broken-space Blow)
1 Giratina PL #10 (Over Slash)
1 Giratina LV.X
2 Baltoy GE
3 Claydol GE
2 Spiritomb AR
2 Crobat G
1 Luxray GL
1 Luxray GL LV.X
1 Mewtwo MD
1 Mewtwo LV.X
1 Chatot MD
1 Azelf LA
1 Unown G
Trainers/ Supporters/ Stadiums (26):
4 Bebe’s Search
4 Roseanne’s Research
4 Team Galactic’s Invention G-105 Poké Turn
2 Pokémon Collector
2 Expert Belt
2 Premier Ball
2 Team Galactic’s Wager
2 Moonlight Stadium
1 Luxury Ball
1 Warp Point
1 Palmer’s Contribution
1 Night Maintenance
Energy (14):
5 Psychic Energy
4 Double Colorless Energy
4 Call Energy
1 Lightning Energy
So we head to the convention center at 6:30. Woops! Nobody there except a knitting convention. We eat and come back down. Tom Shea, our awesome PTO, just happens to be opening the doors to the massive play area as we return. (To my great dismay, “GreenFest Today” are next door, and I have a strong aversion to environmentalism.) Fill out our decklists, and head up to Tom’s room to test with Jordain, Nathaniel, Noah, Henry, and Tom, of course, for the next hour. We form Team Topdeck, determined to lucksack our way through Regionals sans skill. With the pressure on, we head back down to be paired up for round 1.
R1 VS Rose (?) w/ Random deck
Didn’t really get to see this deck well. At the time, I was sitting next to two people who stood to gain from learning my deck, so I attacked with only Mewtwo and used Cosmic to put Giratina under the deck whenever I drew it, in case they saw my hand. Giga Burn KO’d her charged-up Ho-Oh, and Psyburn with a belt took care of the rest.
1-0
R2 VS Kiko G. w/ Luxchomp
I start with Tomb and go first. Call for Mewtwo and Baltoy. He attaches to his active Luxray and does some stuff, then calls. I Bebe for Claydol, Cosmic, then retreat and level-up Mewtwo. I attack for a few turns and he realizes I’m not going to bench another basic, then he scoops.
2-0
R3 VS Jordain H. w/ Gengarchomp
Bummer. I have to play a Team Topdeck member. This is only the beginning, too. Oh well, at least this means we’re doing well; we’re almost all 2-0. It still stinks to get paired against each other. Anyways, she hadn’t really played against me while we were testing with the team, so while she knows I’m playing Giratina, she has no idea how I play it. I Bright Look Claydol and start spreading. Pretty quickly I Lost Zone three Pokémon, and then her Garchomp two-shots me. Tomb sets up another Giratina without allowing a Poké Turn. She Shadow Rooms my Giratina twice before I retreat, Bright Look Garchomp, and Flash Impact. She tries to KO Giratina but forgets about Tomb locking her Poké Turns on Crobat. I get off another spread, and have time to prepare the next Giratina. I double Flash Bite Gengar to KO it and avoid triggering Fainting Spell, then spread a few more Pokémon to death. Too bad it was a Team Topdeck member. And this is where it gets worse…
3-0
R4 VS Thomas A. w/ Luxpluff
AGAIN?! Another Topdeck member down, regardless of who wins. Double Bummer. So apparently he has an absurd start, in an I’m-gonna-kick-your-butt way. But you see, there is one huge problem with this hand. He goes first and passes with a lone Baltoy. I start Giratina, but I Moonlight, Roseanne for Azelf and Psychic Energy, drop Azelf, Time Walk just in case, retreat, attach, Flash Bite and Belt for a total of 50 damage. Sorry for the donk, man, I would’ve totally gotten my butt handed to me if it weren’t for that.
4-0
R5 VS Nathaniel L. w/ Gyarados
AGAIN. Triple Bummer. Seriously, the third time in five rounds that I get paired against a Team Topdeck player. At least this is one of my best matchups. It takes me little effort to Lost Zone one of his Magikarps. Now he’s dealing 60 damage for the rest of the game. After that, a bit of spreading and a Wager sealed the deal.
5-0
R6 VS Aylam R. w/ Cursegar
He techs Manectric?! Seriously?! I buy time to set up by chattering and locking up his Spiritombs, then Bright Look Manectric and Chatter. He Guards and drops Warp Energy. Hoo boy. Not much I could do after that, as I couldn’t touch his Gengar or his Claydol.
5-1
The standings are posted, and Team Topdeck has 2 players on the bubble with 4-2 records and two 5-1 records guaranteed to make it in. The moment of truth resulted in the worst possible luck our team could’ve had. Not only did Nathaniel and Thomas both miss the cut, but the two remaining members had to play each other in Top 8. That’s right, I had to play against Jordain first thing tomorrow morning. I go Mutant Drafting, help Jordain test against my deck, and then go out to eat at the mall with Tom, Jordain, and Henry. Then Tom, Nathaniel, Henry and I go swimming, and that was it. Mike B. came too. We rise at 6:30 the next morning, and head down to top cut. Tom keeps telling me to lose
T8 VS Jordain H. w/ Gengarchomp
Game 1: Tom had been coaching her on how to beat my deck, I could tell
. She kept sniping the basic Luxray, which she didn’t do in Swiss. I still managed to just get up there and spread, while Flash Biting the Gengar to avoid Fainting Spell. Tomb played a big role too, locking her Poké Turns at the right times.1-0
Game 2: I get total garbage and am forced to retreat for a Baltoy and Psychic Balance for 2. Luckily, I hit a Roseanne’s and she isn’t able to KO the Baltoy. While we both get set up, it takes me too much effort to KO the Gengar without risking the coin flip and she is one prize ahead of me.
1-1
Game 3: I open not-so-well, but it wasn’t complete junk. I use Wager, though, which makes my hand much better. Turn two I Broken-space Blow her Gastly. She Pitch-Darks, and I Luxury Ball. Woops. She doesn’t notice, but I tell her that I performed an illegal game action upon noticing it myself, and we call the judge. I get a prize penalty. I think it was a little harsh considering I had already seen my deck and my prizes, and I didn’t do anything afterwards, but I understand that it was I who screwed up, so oh well. Life goes on. Anyways, we get a three-minute time extension, and while I am still a prize ahead, my Giratina is belted. She Dragon Rushes and does 60. I do lots of stuff, but can’t hit a Poké Turn to seal the game. So I just Darkness Lost. She draws, Bebe for Crobat, Flash Bite, Poké Turn, Flash Bite, Dragon Rush. I already had 70 on me. It would’ve been perfect, except for one minor detail: she had an empty hand, so Giratina’s Invisible Tentacles Poké-Body makes her attack do nothing. She can’t take the two prizes, and she had spent a lot of time thinking during her turn, so time had been called, for them and for us with our extension. So I won.
2-1
Top 4 are posted, and I freak out. I’m playing Mike B. I thought I would be paired against Mark (Gyarados, which is an autowin). Awww man. We both played Mewtwo and no other counter, so this promised to be an interesting match.
T4 VS Michael B. w/ Shuppet/ Luxray Toolbox
Game 1: We both get up Mewtwo and have insufficient basics for either of us to win on prizes. We draw/ pass until our decks are small, then he uses Looker and draws 1. Too bad. I Wager and draw 1. This goes on until I bench a Baltoy and he realizes I can Cosmic to keep my deck full indefinitely. This is where Karma stabs me in the back. I Purugly’d Michael into an easy win during MA states. Well, what goes around comes around, I guess. He discards all my DCEs, then pulls up Claydol. He’s winning on prizes and I can’t retreat. Bummer. I scoop, and go into game two thinking that I’ve basically lost already.
0-1
Game 2: He lays down two Mewtwos after using Premier Ball to put the X in his hand. I level-up mine, Wager, then kill one of the Mewtwos. Me chances at top two depend on this match of rock-paper-scissors. I lose, and he uses two Pokédexes before hitting the Bebe. I scoop. Well played and well deserved, Mike. GG.
0-2
All in all, I loved this event and that T4 match was one of the most fun I’ve ever played. I kind of wanted to T2 just to argue my way out of the byes at Nats (rewarding a player by having them play fewer matches? No thanks!) but whatever. It was a blast, thanks to the hard work of the best judging team and best staff in the US. No event is as efficient and still fun as TJ’s events.
Props:
3rd!
Steve for being a great judge and lending his Luxray X for the first two rounds
The rest of the judging team – Mike, Aimee, Arianne, Brian, and the new judge – sorry, forgot your name!
Tom and Judy Shea, Kirsten Hart
Aylam for winning
Bergy for 2nd
Eric A. for beating Alex and getting 4th!
All of TEAM TOPDECK: Thomas, Jordain, Nathaniel, Noah, Henry
Henry for 3rd
Shuppet for winning Masters, and Azul for playing it
Harrison & Tyler for testing on Redshark
(requested by Steve) My mom for driving me to RI and putting up with me for three days
All of my friends that I got to see!
Mutant Drafts!
Mall food!
Swimming!
The best Regional Championships ever!
And of course, GIRATINA!
Slops:
Crappy hotel cardkeys
Having to play another Team Topdeck player 4 times out of 8 matches
Using that Luxury Ball
Donking
Not playing Mark in T4
Having to win on a misplay
Thomas getting NINTH
Mediocre turnout
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