Hey, my name is Kabir and this is my Canadian Nationals report. This was my first Nationals and I was very excited to go, and I had a great time. I wasn’t planning on going to Nationals, but I ended up winning Regionals and getting the free trip and the byes. So it was worth my while going and I’m glad I went.
Friday:
My flight left at 9:30 that morning from YVR in Vancouver. I was extremely excited and couldn’t wait to get to the Double Tree Hotel. As soon as I got to the hotel, I dropped off my suitcase and rushed downstairs to get some last minute testing done. Words cannot describe how much I hated my Magneboar list after that. So at 1:00 AM my buddy Jack and I were done changing my Magneboar list, and it was ready to go. Now that I look back, my list was still very out of the ordinary (3-2-2 Eboar haha), but I still managed to pull through fine. I headed up to my hotel room and managed to squeeze 5 hours of sleep in before the big day.
Saturday Morning:
My stress from Friday night had eased a bit as I got up at 6:30 AM. I had breakfast, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and threw my lucky clothes on. I quickly sleeved my deck and went downstairs. As I walked into the tournament area I saw that it was flooded with people. I was amazed to see the diversity of decks, and I just loved the vibe the whole event brought on. I grabbed two decklists, and Jack and I sat down and filled them. I was pretty pumped and nervous as this was my first Nationals, I doubted my list, and I really wanted to make the cut. As I got up to get my deck checked the judge was very nice and complemented my reverse holo expedition switch. I was all set to go as Jack and I went to go sit down for the announcements. As expected there were 44 seniors and a top 8 cut. Once we were dismissed and the pairings were up, I headed up to my room.
Round One: Bye
I really enjoyed this time as it gave me the opportunity to watch TV and get my mind of things for a while. I got some rest and calmed down. After about half an hour I went downstairs to check everything and waited for the next pairings to go up.
1-0
Round Two: Bye
When the pairings went up I checked to see if I was 1-0, and I was. Everything was fine as I got pumped for the third round, my first match of the day.
2-0
Round three: Magneboar VS Mewgar
I was pretty nervous for my first match of my first Nationals. I stayed confident and calm as we began our match. He opened lone Slowpoke while I opened with Cleffa and Magnemite. I admit that I had a pretty good start, I had Magnezone up T2, and Emboar up T4. My opponent got rolling around T5 or so. None of my key Pokemon were thrown into the lost zone which made it a lot easier on me. I took 4 prizes with Magnezone, then my last two with RDL for game.
3-0
Round four: Magneboar VS Stage One Tool Box
Jack and I were both happy we were 3-0, but unfortunately we got paired up. I would have to say that luck played a big role in this game, as both his Phanpys were prized, and they were his last prizes too. Magnezone managed to rip the field up late game, but I suffered early game due to Yanmega. Magneboar was loyal to me this round as I got the engine going. I took all six prizes for game.
4-0
Round five: Magneboar VS Yanmega / Kingdra
This was one deck that I had not tested at all against. I had a very slow set up as he quickly got set up, and managed to knock out all three of my Magnemites. I had to Flower Shop Lady them all back, which wasn’t pretty. It was for sure a speed race, and I lost that race. He quickly took all six of his prizes for game.
4-1
Round six: Magneboar VS Reshiboar
I go first, I Tyrogue Donk. Nuff said.
5-1
Saturday Afternoon:
The standings go up and I am glad to see that I made the cut, placing second. I looked to see whom I would be playing against the next day, and it was none other than Nathan. Luckily Jacob had played him in swiss, and told me what he was playing, which gave me an advantage and allowed me to test that night. That night the guys and I went out for dinner and got back at around 1:00 AM. I quickly got ready for bed, and tried to get a good night sleep in preparation for the big day.
Sunday Morning:
I was told last night that top cut started at 10:00, so I was glad that I could sleep in for a bit. As I gradually woke up, and looked over at the clock and saw that it was 9:00 AM. In a rush, I quickly rushed downstairs with my things. I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous because these three games I was about to play decided if I was going to get the invite to Worlds or not. But, I was glad that I made it this far and was hoping for the best.
Top 8 match 1: Magneboar VS Sammurot / Feraligatr
I was nervous going into this match, but I eventually calmed myself down. Nathan didn’t seem very nervous himself. As we shuffled I was deep in thought about this battle I was about to embark on, hoping that all would turn out well. I recall that I was so “out of it” that I was humming the PROF-IT theme song to myself. So, as we drew our cards I noticed that I don’t have a bad start. I start off with an active Tepig and a benched Magnemite. Nathan starts with an active Cleffa, and an Oshawott on the bench. Nathan wins the coin flip and T1 Eeeeeeks flipping tails after. I top deck a Collector, and the game is off! I eventually get a Magnezone up T3, and Eboar up T6. I wreck with a Magnezone until Nathan knocks it out. The way the game turns out is that I need one more fire energy to win the first match. I have 4 cards left in my deck, and 4 cards in my hand. I burn a Collector in my hand, as the other 3 were unplayable at the time. I see that I have one fire energy left in my deck, the game winning energy. So, I Magnetic Draw for 3- no fire energy. The energy is the last card in my deck. With a great sigh, I pass. Nathan manages to stock up on some water energy and hit me for 80, while I already had 50 damage on me. I start my turn by drawing my last fire energy, attach, and take my last prize card with Lost Burn. I have to say that in that match I flipped heads on all my Reversals, while Nathan flipped tails on all of his. I Reversaled up his Croconaw early game and knocked it out, which really hurt him. Soon after that he managed to get a fully powered KGL and destroy 5 cards from my deck which really put me in a tough situation. It was a very close game but it turned out all right.
Match 2:
Nathan starts lone Totodile while I start Cleffa Magnemite. I get a Magnezone up T2 with two energies on it. I retreat Cleffa and knock out his lone Totodile for game. Nathan couldn’t draw into any basics, or anything to get him rolling. I move on to top 4.
Sunday Afternoon:
I was really happy about advancing onward as this was my first Nationals, and I had just gotten an invitation to Worlds. I was starting to get nervous about my next match, as this would decide if I would get into the finals.
Top 4 Match 1: Magneboar VS Reshiboar
At first, I wasn’t to worried about this matchup. My opponent was the same player I had donked in swiss, so I was hoping to have a legitimate game with him. The game starts off with me getting a Mulligan 4 times. I finally hit a basic, and it’s a Magnemite, which isn’t too bad. But, my hand was just dreadful. I had 3 Junk arms, 2 Pokemon Communication, and a lightning energy. My opponent starts with a Reshiram active and a Tepig on the bench. He wins the coin flip, attaches Rescue Energy to Reshiram then passes. I was very unhappy with my hand, so I hoped to topdeck something good. I topdeck Flower Shop Lady. I attach the lightning energy then pass. My opponent Rare Candy evolves Tepig to Emboar, and attaches 2 fire energy to Reshiram for the game. He knocked out my poor little helpless Magnemite, all alone on my field. I slowly get over the loss, and continue on to game 2.
Top 4 Match 2: Magneboar VS Reshiboar
I think to myself “it’s ok, I can make a comeback and get into top 2. I just have to win the next 2 games.” But, this match was the “swiss revenge” match for my opponent. I start lone Cleffa, hoping that he doesn’t have the donk. I flip over Cleffa, he flips over Tyrogue. The sad thing is that I forgot that I could choose who got to go first this round, which could have changed everything around. But, I accepted this fact and wished him luck in his top 2 match.
Sunday evening:
I reflected on my first Nationals experience, and it was a pretty good one. I made a lot of new friends, got some good trades in, got the Worlds invite, and won a lot of other great prizes. That evening I went out for Sushi, and my friends and I were in the pool for 3 hours, just having a good time. I packed my things up and got a good night sleep in preparation for my flight back to Vancouver.
Conclusion:
I feel that this Nationals was a great experience for me. I think I did pretty good coming 3rd, and I hope that I have as great a time at Worlds as I did at Nationals this year. I would like to thank Jack, Joey, the Lesage brothers, Tyler, and anyone else I missed for making my Nationals experience such a great one.
Friday:
My flight left at 9:30 that morning from YVR in Vancouver. I was extremely excited and couldn’t wait to get to the Double Tree Hotel. As soon as I got to the hotel, I dropped off my suitcase and rushed downstairs to get some last minute testing done. Words cannot describe how much I hated my Magneboar list after that. So at 1:00 AM my buddy Jack and I were done changing my Magneboar list, and it was ready to go. Now that I look back, my list was still very out of the ordinary (3-2-2 Eboar haha), but I still managed to pull through fine. I headed up to my hotel room and managed to squeeze 5 hours of sleep in before the big day.
Saturday Morning:
My stress from Friday night had eased a bit as I got up at 6:30 AM. I had breakfast, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and threw my lucky clothes on. I quickly sleeved my deck and went downstairs. As I walked into the tournament area I saw that it was flooded with people. I was amazed to see the diversity of decks, and I just loved the vibe the whole event brought on. I grabbed two decklists, and Jack and I sat down and filled them. I was pretty pumped and nervous as this was my first Nationals, I doubted my list, and I really wanted to make the cut. As I got up to get my deck checked the judge was very nice and complemented my reverse holo expedition switch. I was all set to go as Jack and I went to go sit down for the announcements. As expected there were 44 seniors and a top 8 cut. Once we were dismissed and the pairings were up, I headed up to my room.
Round One: Bye
I really enjoyed this time as it gave me the opportunity to watch TV and get my mind of things for a while. I got some rest and calmed down. After about half an hour I went downstairs to check everything and waited for the next pairings to go up.
1-0
Round Two: Bye
When the pairings went up I checked to see if I was 1-0, and I was. Everything was fine as I got pumped for the third round, my first match of the day.
2-0
Round three: Magneboar VS Mewgar
I was pretty nervous for my first match of my first Nationals. I stayed confident and calm as we began our match. He opened lone Slowpoke while I opened with Cleffa and Magnemite. I admit that I had a pretty good start, I had Magnezone up T2, and Emboar up T4. My opponent got rolling around T5 or so. None of my key Pokemon were thrown into the lost zone which made it a lot easier on me. I took 4 prizes with Magnezone, then my last two with RDL for game.
3-0
Round four: Magneboar VS Stage One Tool Box
Jack and I were both happy we were 3-0, but unfortunately we got paired up. I would have to say that luck played a big role in this game, as both his Phanpys were prized, and they were his last prizes too. Magnezone managed to rip the field up late game, but I suffered early game due to Yanmega. Magneboar was loyal to me this round as I got the engine going. I took all six prizes for game.
4-0
Round five: Magneboar VS Yanmega / Kingdra
This was one deck that I had not tested at all against. I had a very slow set up as he quickly got set up, and managed to knock out all three of my Magnemites. I had to Flower Shop Lady them all back, which wasn’t pretty. It was for sure a speed race, and I lost that race. He quickly took all six of his prizes for game.
4-1
Round six: Magneboar VS Reshiboar
I go first, I Tyrogue Donk. Nuff said.
5-1
Saturday Afternoon:
The standings go up and I am glad to see that I made the cut, placing second. I looked to see whom I would be playing against the next day, and it was none other than Nathan. Luckily Jacob had played him in swiss, and told me what he was playing, which gave me an advantage and allowed me to test that night. That night the guys and I went out for dinner and got back at around 1:00 AM. I quickly got ready for bed, and tried to get a good night sleep in preparation for the big day.
Sunday Morning:
I was told last night that top cut started at 10:00, so I was glad that I could sleep in for a bit. As I gradually woke up, and looked over at the clock and saw that it was 9:00 AM. In a rush, I quickly rushed downstairs with my things. I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous because these three games I was about to play decided if I was going to get the invite to Worlds or not. But, I was glad that I made it this far and was hoping for the best.
Top 8 match 1: Magneboar VS Sammurot / Feraligatr
I was nervous going into this match, but I eventually calmed myself down. Nathan didn’t seem very nervous himself. As we shuffled I was deep in thought about this battle I was about to embark on, hoping that all would turn out well. I recall that I was so “out of it” that I was humming the PROF-IT theme song to myself. So, as we drew our cards I noticed that I don’t have a bad start. I start off with an active Tepig and a benched Magnemite. Nathan starts with an active Cleffa, and an Oshawott on the bench. Nathan wins the coin flip and T1 Eeeeeeks flipping tails after. I top deck a Collector, and the game is off! I eventually get a Magnezone up T3, and Eboar up T6. I wreck with a Magnezone until Nathan knocks it out. The way the game turns out is that I need one more fire energy to win the first match. I have 4 cards left in my deck, and 4 cards in my hand. I burn a Collector in my hand, as the other 3 were unplayable at the time. I see that I have one fire energy left in my deck, the game winning energy. So, I Magnetic Draw for 3- no fire energy. The energy is the last card in my deck. With a great sigh, I pass. Nathan manages to stock up on some water energy and hit me for 80, while I already had 50 damage on me. I start my turn by drawing my last fire energy, attach, and take my last prize card with Lost Burn. I have to say that in that match I flipped heads on all my Reversals, while Nathan flipped tails on all of his. I Reversaled up his Croconaw early game and knocked it out, which really hurt him. Soon after that he managed to get a fully powered KGL and destroy 5 cards from my deck which really put me in a tough situation. It was a very close game but it turned out all right.
Match 2:
Nathan starts lone Totodile while I start Cleffa Magnemite. I get a Magnezone up T2 with two energies on it. I retreat Cleffa and knock out his lone Totodile for game. Nathan couldn’t draw into any basics, or anything to get him rolling. I move on to top 4.
Sunday Afternoon:
I was really happy about advancing onward as this was my first Nationals, and I had just gotten an invitation to Worlds. I was starting to get nervous about my next match, as this would decide if I would get into the finals.
Top 4 Match 1: Magneboar VS Reshiboar
At first, I wasn’t to worried about this matchup. My opponent was the same player I had donked in swiss, so I was hoping to have a legitimate game with him. The game starts off with me getting a Mulligan 4 times. I finally hit a basic, and it’s a Magnemite, which isn’t too bad. But, my hand was just dreadful. I had 3 Junk arms, 2 Pokemon Communication, and a lightning energy. My opponent starts with a Reshiram active and a Tepig on the bench. He wins the coin flip, attaches Rescue Energy to Reshiram then passes. I was very unhappy with my hand, so I hoped to topdeck something good. I topdeck Flower Shop Lady. I attach the lightning energy then pass. My opponent Rare Candy evolves Tepig to Emboar, and attaches 2 fire energy to Reshiram for the game. He knocked out my poor little helpless Magnemite, all alone on my field. I slowly get over the loss, and continue on to game 2.
Top 4 Match 2: Magneboar VS Reshiboar
I think to myself “it’s ok, I can make a comeback and get into top 2. I just have to win the next 2 games.” But, this match was the “swiss revenge” match for my opponent. I start lone Cleffa, hoping that he doesn’t have the donk. I flip over Cleffa, he flips over Tyrogue. The sad thing is that I forgot that I could choose who got to go first this round, which could have changed everything around. But, I accepted this fact and wished him luck in his top 2 match.
Sunday evening:
I reflected on my first Nationals experience, and it was a pretty good one. I made a lot of new friends, got some good trades in, got the Worlds invite, and won a lot of other great prizes. That evening I went out for Sushi, and my friends and I were in the pool for 3 hours, just having a good time. I packed my things up and got a good night sleep in preparation for my flight back to Vancouver.
Conclusion:
I feel that this Nationals was a great experience for me. I think I did pretty good coming 3rd, and I hope that I have as great a time at Worlds as I did at Nationals this year. I would like to thank Jack, Joey, the Lesage brothers, Tyler, and anyone else I missed for making my Nationals experience such a great one.
