City Championships, Surrey BC, Nov 25 2012
Pre-tournament:
The night before Bidier told me to play and he had a deck for me, HAMMER TIME. He used it in a Seattle-area City's the week prior and won so I figured it was good to go despite not using it before. I had an extremely long week and didnt sleep till 8am on Saturday so I crashed around 1045pm.
I woke up at about 945am (slept right through my alarm) and texted Bidier asking how much time I have left (fully expecting that it was way too late cause I wanted to go back to bed and it was a 30+ minute drive away). Bidier says, 'Still have an hour and a bit (11am)'. Argh, guess I have to play now.
Tournament:
I show up at about 1050, Bidier gives me the deck and I quickly write up my decklist sheet. I miss the player roster/meeting cause I was in the bathroom then I go to see my round 1 pairing. My name is not on there, but someone with a similar name (Juan instead of Julian) was. I quickly go to the TO and try to figure out what happened. Turns out the TO misread my writing since it was the equivalent of a child's scribbles and she had to re-enter my real name. That was strange lol.
6 rounds top 8 cut.
Round 1: Mark's Ho-Oh and friends
I mulligan 4-5 times lol. He starts Ho-Oh EX (ouch) and I start Keldeo EX. I dont really recall what happens but he does use Bouffalant to give me problems. Eventually Enhanced Hammer gives him problems and I have more energy on board and eventually take it.
1-0. I was 0/4 with Crushing Hammer this game.
Round 2: Chen's Landorus/Mewtwo/Bouffalant/Terrakion/Tornadus
Enhanced Hammer puts in work again this game. Mid-game he puts all his energy on a damaged Terrakion to take a KO and i kill it so he has no energy left on board. The only heads flipped this game was the opening roll lol. I proceed to win.
2-0. I was 1/4 with Crushing Hammer this game.
Round 3: Mirror Match
I forgot who I play against but I remember it was a mirror and won due to more successful Crushing Hammer heads.
3-0. I was 3/4 with Crushing Hammer this game.
Round 4: Chase's Blastoise/Mewtwo/Keldeo
He had 3 Keldeo prized and I was 2-hitting his EX's.
4-0. I believe I hit 1-2 Crushing Hammer.
Round 5: Brad's Hammertime
Im losing by 1 turn in the Darkrai hits due to a poor energy attachment early game. Hes chasing for catcher so he uses Professor Juniper....to deck himself out. ssttrraannggee
.
5-0. I was probably going to lose this game, extremely lucky break to say the least.
Round 6: Kevin's Hammertime
He has a better start and hits more Crushing Hammers.
5-1. This seems to be common factor this tournament lol. That being said, I was already 5-0 and will probably be a high seed so I'm not too worried about it. I order my deck and hand it to the Head Judge.
Standings after swiss
1. Kevin
2. Brad
3. Ricky
4. Garik/Chase
5. Garik/Chase
6. David
7. Julian* (WTF??!??!? HOW AM I 7th??)
8. Gavin
So apparently due to the comedy of errors before round 1 involving the TO, myself and my poorly written decklist sheet, I got a tardy which automatically puts me as the lowest of my record regardless of resistance (68% wouldve put me 2nd). Instead of playing RayEels when Im running HammerTime with Keldeo EX, I have to play the card for card mirror match. It is absolutely my fault for poorly writing up my decklist as being rushed is not an excuse, but WOW that tardy that wasnt suppoesd to be there (we didnt even know it was on there till standings were printed at the end) absolutely changed the tournament and there was no way to remove it. With Championship Points on the line and the matchup game being oh-so-important in this state of the game, this was incredibly disappointing.
That being said, I know it was unintentional by the TO and the judges and I greatly appreciate their sympathy due to this situation as there was nothing that could be done. I was still in the top 8 without a game loss or decklist error (hahahah Kevin) so I eventually sucked it up and played on.
Top 8: Brad's Hammertime.
1: He went first and a slightly better setup and won.
2: I went first and had a fantastic start. He then N'd it away into a poor hand and I was soon far far behind lol.
5-2. Good game Bradley, glad you won it in the end.
All things considered (I didnt wanna play today afterall) I had a good run. Despite the tardy snafu, many more dedicated players rarely top cut so I shouldn't take for granted that I can just pick up a deck and have it work out as often as it does.
Props:
-Bidier, what a G that guy is
-Jasmine and Sandy for their kind words despite the unfortunate situation
-tournament ran smoothly and quickly
-WILD HENRY APPEARED
Slops:
-the tardy snafu and resulting consequences =\
-Oh Crushing Hammer you
-Malcolm was supposed to show up
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City Championships, Langley BC, December 9 2012
Pre-tournament:
I had top 8'd the previous cities with HammerTime but I was rocking a solid < 10% on crushing hammer round 5 and onwards. With I think 4-5 Darkrai variants in the top 8 at that tournament, I decided Darkrai/Terrakion was the play for the next citys. With the help of Curtis Lyon the day before/of the tournament, I made a list I was content with.
Tournament:
I showed up less than 10 minutes left before registration closes. Nothing eventful happened this time around haha.
6 rounds top 8 cut.
Round 1: Michael's RayEels w/ Victini
He has a really slow start but is paralyizing my Darkrai with Tynamo/Victini. Eventually he rolls double tails and I proceed to win the game.
1-0. Didn't need Terrakion this round.
Round 2: Rushan's Landorus/Garbodor
I dont recall much from this match but he was having energy issues and my Tool Scrapper was prized. He attempted to trap one of my energyless Darkrais but that eventually didnt matter and I was using Night Spear every turn to eventually win.
2-0.
Round 3: Seb's RayEels
He has a slightly better start but I manage to stay in it as I disrupt his Eel flow as best I can. Late in the game, I Enhanced Hammer his Prism on his fresh RayEX with 3 Lightning on it. Next turn, he whiffs on his last Fire/Prism and win the game decisively after that.
Round 4: Sam's Darkrai/Hydreigon
He Night Spear's first on turn 3 and KOs my Sableye. With all his energy on his Darkrai at that time, I go Terrakion, Energy, Energy Switch for the revenge kill. He tries to catch up all game but is unsuccessful.
4-0. This game should be on video
Round 5: Ryan's Landorus/Bouffalant/Mewtwo
We both have rough starts but he gets supporters before I do. (I didnt end up using a supporter this game haha)
4-1.
Round 6: Khen's RayEels/Mewtwo/Bouffalant
I dont remember any details but it was a fantastic game. I dont recall what happened but it was super close and intense all match. I eventually win because he miscounted an energy attachment and didnt KO my Terrakion.
5-1.
Standings after Swiss
1. Ryan
2. Me
3. Rushan
4. Ricky
5. Sam
6. Phil
7. Ethan
8. Khen
I play against Ho-Oh in top 8, Ill hope for the best.
Top 8: Ethan's Ho-Oh
1: I dont recall many details, I just remember it being close but I grinded it out slightly ahead
2: Similar to game 1 except hes ahead and he tried to trap an energyless Darkrai for game. I have 2 turns to topdeck an energy and do so on that second turn and KO the remaining energies on his board.
6-1. Good games, Ho-Oh scares me.
Top 4: Phil's Landorus/Bouffalant/Mewtwo
1: I dont remember the details but I won the grind game.
2: I dont remember the details but I won the grind game made worse when he made a mistake.
7-1. Good games, congrats on the first top cut. This game should be on video.
Top 2: Sam's Darkrai/Hydreigon
1: He goes first and opens the nuts. I try to comeback, late game he topdecks Catcher for game. Not sure if he had 2 in hand but he flopped the one he topdecked.
2: Im ahead all game and try to clinch it by chasing my 2 catchers remaining in deck so I can Land Crush a Darkrai. I whiff on Catcher after 3 Junipers (not exaggerating =\) but he couldnt knock out my Terrakion so it did not end up mattering.
3: I take the first prize by KO'in a Sableye. On his turn, time is called. He puts 90 on my Darkrai and 30 on my Sableye. I use N and topdeck Gold Potion and use it immediately. I then retreat for Sableye and Junk Hunt. He has a powered up Darkrai with Eviolite and Deino/Sigilyph on bench while I have a Terrakion with a Fighting and my powered up Darkrai. I knew to get a catcher (I had to discard 3 of them early due to Juniper) and an Energy Search but for some reason I picked Energy Search + Energy Switch probably cause I thot I had to get 3 energies on Terrakion to win to clinch the win (when I only need to Retalite since he HAS to kill something) since Id have to kill the Sigilyph if he evolves Deino into Hydreigon. I realized it quickly but not in time. He evolves the Deino into Zweilous and puts all the energies on Mewtwo to KO my Sableye. I attempt to Bianca (for 5) to get my last catcher, I whiff. Next turn, he topdecks his catcher for the win.
7-2. ARGH BIG MISPLAYS. He did have N so even if I got back catchers it wasnt for sure game but I did not make the best play and that is very disappointing.
All in all it was a good run and Im glad the deck was working out despite some not ideal starts. I did not start with Sableye/Darkrai in any of the games I played. Only one time I opened with Sableye. However, just by having a benched Terrakion my opponents would change their game plan completely. Bouffalant rarely ever attacked Darkrai and they tried to play around Terrakion as much as possible which is fantastic.
Congratulations to Sam for winning his first pokemon tournament in his 6 year career.
Props:
Bidier, youre the best. Glad you have my back
WILD Henry AND Malcolm appeared
Darkrai
Terrakion
Slops:
Misplayed
Pre-tournament:
The night before Bidier told me to play and he had a deck for me, HAMMER TIME. He used it in a Seattle-area City's the week prior and won so I figured it was good to go despite not using it before. I had an extremely long week and didnt sleep till 8am on Saturday so I crashed around 1045pm.
I woke up at about 945am (slept right through my alarm) and texted Bidier asking how much time I have left (fully expecting that it was way too late cause I wanted to go back to bed and it was a 30+ minute drive away). Bidier says, 'Still have an hour and a bit (11am)'. Argh, guess I have to play now.
Tournament:
I show up at about 1050, Bidier gives me the deck and I quickly write up my decklist sheet. I miss the player roster/meeting cause I was in the bathroom then I go to see my round 1 pairing. My name is not on there, but someone with a similar name (Juan instead of Julian) was. I quickly go to the TO and try to figure out what happened. Turns out the TO misread my writing since it was the equivalent of a child's scribbles and she had to re-enter my real name. That was strange lol.
6 rounds top 8 cut.
Round 1: Mark's Ho-Oh and friends
I mulligan 4-5 times lol. He starts Ho-Oh EX (ouch) and I start Keldeo EX. I dont really recall what happens but he does use Bouffalant to give me problems. Eventually Enhanced Hammer gives him problems and I have more energy on board and eventually take it.
1-0. I was 0/4 with Crushing Hammer this game.
Round 2: Chen's Landorus/Mewtwo/Bouffalant/Terrakion/Tornadus
Enhanced Hammer puts in work again this game. Mid-game he puts all his energy on a damaged Terrakion to take a KO and i kill it so he has no energy left on board. The only heads flipped this game was the opening roll lol. I proceed to win.
2-0. I was 1/4 with Crushing Hammer this game.
Round 3: Mirror Match
I forgot who I play against but I remember it was a mirror and won due to more successful Crushing Hammer heads.
3-0. I was 3/4 with Crushing Hammer this game.
Round 4: Chase's Blastoise/Mewtwo/Keldeo
He had 3 Keldeo prized and I was 2-hitting his EX's.
4-0. I believe I hit 1-2 Crushing Hammer.
Round 5: Brad's Hammertime
Im losing by 1 turn in the Darkrai hits due to a poor energy attachment early game. Hes chasing for catcher so he uses Professor Juniper....to deck himself out. ssttrraannggee
.5-0. I was probably going to lose this game, extremely lucky break to say the least.
Round 6: Kevin's Hammertime
He has a better start and hits more Crushing Hammers.
5-1. This seems to be common factor this tournament lol. That being said, I was already 5-0 and will probably be a high seed so I'm not too worried about it. I order my deck and hand it to the Head Judge.
Standings after swiss
1. Kevin
2. Brad
3. Ricky
4. Garik/Chase
5. Garik/Chase
6. David
7. Julian* (WTF??!??!? HOW AM I 7th??)
8. Gavin
So apparently due to the comedy of errors before round 1 involving the TO, myself and my poorly written decklist sheet, I got a tardy which automatically puts me as the lowest of my record regardless of resistance (68% wouldve put me 2nd). Instead of playing RayEels when Im running HammerTime with Keldeo EX, I have to play the card for card mirror match. It is absolutely my fault for poorly writing up my decklist as being rushed is not an excuse, but WOW that tardy that wasnt suppoesd to be there (we didnt even know it was on there till standings were printed at the end) absolutely changed the tournament and there was no way to remove it. With Championship Points on the line and the matchup game being oh-so-important in this state of the game, this was incredibly disappointing.
That being said, I know it was unintentional by the TO and the judges and I greatly appreciate their sympathy due to this situation as there was nothing that could be done. I was still in the top 8 without a game loss or decklist error (hahahah Kevin) so I eventually sucked it up and played on.
Top 8: Brad's Hammertime.
1: He went first and a slightly better setup and won.
2: I went first and had a fantastic start. He then N'd it away into a poor hand and I was soon far far behind lol.
5-2. Good game Bradley, glad you won it in the end.
All things considered (I didnt wanna play today afterall) I had a good run. Despite the tardy snafu, many more dedicated players rarely top cut so I shouldn't take for granted that I can just pick up a deck and have it work out as often as it does.
Props:
-Bidier, what a G that guy is
-Jasmine and Sandy for their kind words despite the unfortunate situation
-tournament ran smoothly and quickly
-WILD HENRY APPEARED
Slops:
-the tardy snafu and resulting consequences =\
-Oh Crushing Hammer you
-Malcolm was supposed to show up
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City Championships, Langley BC, December 9 2012
Pre-tournament:
I had top 8'd the previous cities with HammerTime but I was rocking a solid < 10% on crushing hammer round 5 and onwards. With I think 4-5 Darkrai variants in the top 8 at that tournament, I decided Darkrai/Terrakion was the play for the next citys. With the help of Curtis Lyon the day before/of the tournament, I made a list I was content with.
Tournament:
I showed up less than 10 minutes left before registration closes. Nothing eventful happened this time around haha.
6 rounds top 8 cut.
Round 1: Michael's RayEels w/ Victini
He has a really slow start but is paralyizing my Darkrai with Tynamo/Victini. Eventually he rolls double tails and I proceed to win the game.
1-0. Didn't need Terrakion this round.
Round 2: Rushan's Landorus/Garbodor
I dont recall much from this match but he was having energy issues and my Tool Scrapper was prized. He attempted to trap one of my energyless Darkrais but that eventually didnt matter and I was using Night Spear every turn to eventually win.
2-0.
Round 3: Seb's RayEels
He has a slightly better start but I manage to stay in it as I disrupt his Eel flow as best I can. Late in the game, I Enhanced Hammer his Prism on his fresh RayEX with 3 Lightning on it. Next turn, he whiffs on his last Fire/Prism and win the game decisively after that.
Round 4: Sam's Darkrai/Hydreigon
He Night Spear's first on turn 3 and KOs my Sableye. With all his energy on his Darkrai at that time, I go Terrakion, Energy, Energy Switch for the revenge kill. He tries to catch up all game but is unsuccessful.
4-0. This game should be on video
Round 5: Ryan's Landorus/Bouffalant/Mewtwo
We both have rough starts but he gets supporters before I do. (I didnt end up using a supporter this game haha)
4-1.
Round 6: Khen's RayEels/Mewtwo/Bouffalant
I dont remember any details but it was a fantastic game. I dont recall what happened but it was super close and intense all match. I eventually win because he miscounted an energy attachment and didnt KO my Terrakion.
5-1.
Standings after Swiss
1. Ryan
2. Me
3. Rushan
4. Ricky
5. Sam
6. Phil
7. Ethan
8. Khen
I play against Ho-Oh in top 8, Ill hope for the best.
Top 8: Ethan's Ho-Oh
1: I dont recall many details, I just remember it being close but I grinded it out slightly ahead
2: Similar to game 1 except hes ahead and he tried to trap an energyless Darkrai for game. I have 2 turns to topdeck an energy and do so on that second turn and KO the remaining energies on his board.
6-1. Good games, Ho-Oh scares me.
Top 4: Phil's Landorus/Bouffalant/Mewtwo
1: I dont remember the details but I won the grind game.
2: I dont remember the details but I won the grind game made worse when he made a mistake.
7-1. Good games, congrats on the first top cut. This game should be on video.
Top 2: Sam's Darkrai/Hydreigon
1: He goes first and opens the nuts. I try to comeback, late game he topdecks Catcher for game. Not sure if he had 2 in hand but he flopped the one he topdecked.
2: Im ahead all game and try to clinch it by chasing my 2 catchers remaining in deck so I can Land Crush a Darkrai. I whiff on Catcher after 3 Junipers (not exaggerating =\) but he couldnt knock out my Terrakion so it did not end up mattering.
3: I take the first prize by KO'in a Sableye. On his turn, time is called. He puts 90 on my Darkrai and 30 on my Sableye. I use N and topdeck Gold Potion and use it immediately. I then retreat for Sableye and Junk Hunt. He has a powered up Darkrai with Eviolite and Deino/Sigilyph on bench while I have a Terrakion with a Fighting and my powered up Darkrai. I knew to get a catcher (I had to discard 3 of them early due to Juniper) and an Energy Search but for some reason I picked Energy Search + Energy Switch probably cause I thot I had to get 3 energies on Terrakion to win to clinch the win (when I only need to Retalite since he HAS to kill something) since Id have to kill the Sigilyph if he evolves Deino into Hydreigon. I realized it quickly but not in time. He evolves the Deino into Zweilous and puts all the energies on Mewtwo to KO my Sableye. I attempt to Bianca (for 5) to get my last catcher, I whiff. Next turn, he topdecks his catcher for the win.
7-2. ARGH BIG MISPLAYS. He did have N so even if I got back catchers it wasnt for sure game but I did not make the best play and that is very disappointing.
All in all it was a good run and Im glad the deck was working out despite some not ideal starts. I did not start with Sableye/Darkrai in any of the games I played. Only one time I opened with Sableye. However, just by having a benched Terrakion my opponents would change their game plan completely. Bouffalant rarely ever attacked Darkrai and they tried to play around Terrakion as much as possible which is fantastic.
Congratulations to Sam for winning his first pokemon tournament in his 6 year career.
Props:
Bidier, youre the best. Glad you have my back
WILD Henry AND Malcolm appeared
Darkrai
Terrakion
Slops:
Misplayed
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