Garch's Seven BR's: 5 wins, a second and a wiff plus deck review.

[Garch]

After being out of the game for ten months, I’m finally back. I (re)-started playing just before the Dragons pre-release, and have nothing new. No Darkrai EX, no Mewtwo EX, not even catcher. Because of this, I decide to build a cheap deck while working on something more competitive. In the weeks before BRs start, I manage to get an entire Garchomp deck ready, but it’s not what I want to play because, after much testing, I know it’s just not good. By a stroke of pure luck, I manage to get 2 Darkrai EX, 3 Hydreigon, and 4 catchers before battle roads. I decide that, even without 3 Darkrai, DarkDragon is still a better play than Garchomp. The day before the first BR, and I’m set.


Day 1: Eels, eels everywhere
9/8/12 Memphis, TN

When my brother and I get there we franticly try to borrow everything we need. He manages to get all the cards he needs for his Empoleon/Accelgor, and I get the 3rd Darkrai EX and Mewtwo EX I need. We register and test with friends until round one. After scouting the competition, I note that there are whole ton of eels being played.

Round 1: George w/ Eels

Eels right of the bat. I lead with Sableye to his Raikou EX. He goes first and leads with N, puts down Tynamo, pass. I get an energy, juniper, Deino, Darkrai, and junk hunt a few things. He attaches, and thunder fangs. No supporter. He hits heads, so I’m paralyzed. I would have had the turn two night spear. Noting his lack of supporter, I decide to hold the N while getting both a Darkrai and a Hydreigon out. On his turn he doesn’t attach or play a supporter. He gets nothing the rest of the game and I roll through his field with Darkrai.

1-0

A good start, nice and easy. My brother lost round one. At least I won’t have to play him.

Round 2: ??? w/ Garchomp.

Since I was going to play Garchomp originally, I’ve played this matchup a ton. His deck isn’t the best built Garchomp I’ve seen, and, after taking out his only two Altarias and attaching Eviolite to Darkrai, he can’t do enough damage to win and I run him over.

2-0

Brother is 1-1 now. It’s lunch break now, but we decide to just stick around and play.

Round 3: Brandon w/ eels

I play him multiple times each league, so we both know how to win this match. We both get strong starts, and I decide to Dragon Blast his Rayquaza EX to take out his only attacker. He drops another Ray EX, and almost gets enough to take out Hydreigon, but whiffs the fire energy. If he’d hit it, I’d have had no energy. A very risky play by me that pays off. I start attacking with Darkrai and start taking out eels, slowing him down. In the end a very close game, but I eek it out.

3-0

My brother is now 2-1, so were happy with how it’s going.

Round 4: Brit P. w/ Darkrai EX/ Groudon EX/ Terrakion

He gets a far stronger start than I do, as I whiff a supporter for a few turns in a row. It wasn’t much of a game, but when it’s 1-6, I play N, drop everything, and pull 2 prizes with Hydreigon. He uses Sableye to get the game winning catcher, and I don’t have an N. I lose 3-0. He goes on to win the whole thing.

3-1

My brother is 3-1, so we both have a chance to make top 4 this. I’m nervous because I have to win my next game to get anything.

Round 5: Yvan w/eels

Yay, another eels. He opens Mewtwo to my Deino, and it doesn’t look like he has much. I attach, juniper, drop a Darkrai and dark patch. He still doesn’t get anything and X-balls for 40. I candy, Hydreigon, attach, and Night spear, just as I realize I could have ultra balled for my Mewtwo EX, X-ball donk. Ah well, T2 night spear is a strong start anyway. He tries to get something set up, but with my turn 2 start there isn’t much he can do, and I slowly win.

4-1

Alright, 4-1! My brother went 3-2, which is too bad. Even though I wasn’t undefeated until the end, my resistance gives me second place! A very strong start to my season for having been gone for a year.
After the battle road, the store hosts a win a box tournament. My brother and I enter. Best 2/3, no time limit. I’m not going to do a full report on this.

Round 1: Sam L w/ borrowed eels

Just what I need, another eels game. Knowing how to play it, I win both games with relative ease.

Somehow, my brother wins. Good stuff.

Round 2: ??? w/ eels

Well, what’s this, another eels. Great. I win game one handily, but can’t get a fast setup game two, and he starts rolling. Fortunately, DarkDragon is good at comebacks. I pull out of it, and bring it to 1-1. In the end, he misplays the max potion to let me win.

2-0

My brother lost, but there are only 3 2-0. In the interest of time (we’d been there 8 hours) we decide to split the box. I get 18 packs. The box overall had Ho-oh EX, Giratina EX and FA, 3 Garchomp, 1 Hydreigon, and 4 Garbodor. Crazy stuff.

A great start for returning to my favorite game. I get home and prepare for tomorrow. Since I got second, I decided not to change my list. It worked once, it’ll work again, right?





Day 2: NOT filled with eels.
9/9/12, Dyersburg TN

The drive is an hour and a half, but it doesn’t start till 1, so we don’t have to leave till 11:30. We get there at one on the dot, and start borrowing. I get the Darkrai and Mewtwo I need, and the dark type Deino/Zweilous I somehow hadn’t managed to get yet. At 2, things start rolling, and it turns out we have 31 masters. T_T Guess I’ll have to not lose.

Round 1: Drew w/ Garbodor/Terrakion/Terrakion EX/Groudon EX

The one deck I never wanted to face, Garbodor. I go first, lead Sableye and, seeing that he’s playing Garbodor, drop the Mewtwo with Eviolite on it. It is then his turn and he plays. Very. Slowly. (Almost all of his games go to time). He attaches to Terrakion drops Groudon and N’s. I attach to Mewtwo and set up a Hydreigon, which may seem like a bad play, but I still had my abilities and was able to swing for 80, putting on the early pressure. He gets a Garbodor set up and attacks for 70. I decide to take out his energys and down the Terrakion. He has to take another turn to start attaching. I catcher-knock the Garbodor. He gets another Garbodor down, but doesn’t hit a tool, even after playing Juniper. I take full advantage of this and max potion my Mewtwo. He still can’t get the tool, and I slowly start taking prizes. The game goes to time after he catchers my Hydreigon to stall, but I’m ahead 1 left to 4, and win.

1-0

My brother also won. He’s still playing Empoleon/Accelgor. Since my game went to time, round two starts quickly.

Round 2: ??? w/ Empoleon/Roserade.

Before my brother played Empoleon/Accelgor, he played Empoleon. So I know how to do this. I put down only two bench and… can’t hit the Eviolite, even though it’s not prized. He keeps trying to take out my Hydreigon with catcher/attack command, but I max potion all his damage 4 turns it a row. I finally hit the Eviolite, and he’s left with nothing. Strait forward game, relatively easy win.

2-0

I’m happy with how I’m doing, but scared of some of the decks still left. My brother won again, so we’re both 2-0

Round 2: ??? w/ Garbodor/Terrakion/Mewtwo.

Great. ANOTHER Garbodor deck. I’m scared of this deck right away. I lead Darkrai to her Terrakion and Trubish, bench Deino and Mewtwo, attach and pass. She attaches… and passes. Works for me. I get a Hydreigon down, Dark patch, attach, put everything on Mewtwo and swing for 80. She gets a Garbodor set up, attaches, and swings 30. Too bad. I attach again and take the Terrakion. She sends in a lone Garbodor, and drops Mewtwo DCE. The last two cards in her hand. I Juniper, and don’t hit the catcher. So… I pass. She draws, passes, and the catcher is my next card.

3-0

I’m very happy with how my deck is preforming so far. It doesn’t whiff, and when it sets up you don’t lose. My bro is also 3-0, we can hardly believe it.

Round 4: Brit P. Terrakion/Darkrai

Here we go again. He’s the only one I lost to yesterday. We both start by playing Juniper out of necessity, discarding way more resources then we want to. He sets up faster than me with an Eviolited Darkrai and starts swinging. I swing back the next turn, but only for 70. The prize exchange goes back and forth for a while, till were at 1-2, him ahead. After we go through an N war, he has one card left in his hand, and decides to Junk Hunt for the game winning catcher and energy switch. Next turn, he would have catchered the Darkrai, energy switch Terrakion 180 game. Instead, I N him to one, X-ball 100 K.O. I have 3 energy, Darkrai, Mewtwo, and Hydreigon on the field. He sends in the Darkrai with 70 damage I hit at the start of the game. He draws, stares at his two cards, calculates that there’s no way X-ball can take him, and uses Night Spear. I attach, retreat to Hydreigon, move energy, and Dragon Blast 120 for the game. That was a thoroughly nerve racking game.

4-0

I can hardly believe it. I watch as my bro’s Empoleon goes through a Ho-oh EX, making him the only other 4-0. We are stunned. I already know my victory is assured because of how much we’ve tested this matchup.

Round 5: Jarrett A. w/ Empoleon/Accelgor/Mew EX

We both get strong starts, and I go one card away from the turn two night spear. He gets a crazy good start, with two Empoleons and two Accelgors turn 3, catchers the Darkrai, drops Mew Double colorless, and Deck and Covers. I catcher an Empoleon, and he doesn’t hit the switch. Knowing that I have to take out his support to win, I Dragon Blast his Empoleon. He sets another one up in two turns while stalling me with deck and cover. I let Hydreigon go down (due to how the math works, poison KOs it going into my turn) and send in the next Hydreigon. Then I catcher KO another Empoleon. He then Catchers a Darkrai and slowly deck and covers it to death. I send in Hydreigon, N his huge hand down to three, catcher his last Empoleon, and Dragon blasts it. Somehow, he is able to deck and cover for the next 4 turns, but max potion saves me, and eventually, he runs out of Accelgors. A good game overall.

5-0

Crazy. My second tournament of the season, and I’ve already won something. My bro’s resistance nets him 3rd (which he’s happy with) and I pull a Rayquaza EX and Garchomp out of my 4 packs. That was the best way to return to the game.

Props:
My brother Jarrett for endless testing.
Everyone who let me borrow cards, Scott A., Justin A., Brandon, and Josh M.
27 Championship points
Back to back 2nd and 1st
Jarrett taking 3rd
Darkrai/Hydreigon
Empoleon/Accelgor
Good pulls
1st, 2nd, and 3rd place Victory Cup
My mom, for putting up with how far this hobby makes us drive.

 

[Garch]

Weekend #2


After the first week, I knew my deck was the play. Still, it needed something. I only changed two cards: lowered Level Ball from two to one and Zweilous from two to one, and added a second Mewtwo EX and 12th energy (9 dark 3 blend). This weekend, the most convenient battle roads were in Mississippi, a four hour drive away. We decided to stay overnight and hit two.

Day one: Mississippi
9/15/12, Brandon MS.

My brother and I get there, and we recognize one other Tennessee player. We turn in our decklists and await the start. My brother is still playing Empoleon/Accelgor, same list as last weekend.

Round 1: Sam L. (Eels)

Right of the bat I have to play the only other Tennessee player. He starts a Thundurus to my Darkrai. I lead N, attach, play Deino and pass. He attaches, plays two level ball… and no supporter. I set up a turn two Hydreigon, attach, and pass. He attaches, gets an eel down, and swings 80. I Max potion, attach, and start the assault. He gets another eel in play, but still hasn’t hit a supporter. He decides to drop a Mewtwo, Dynamotor, attach, retreat, and swings for 80. I Max Potion, drop my own Mewtwo, move three energys to it, and take him. He drops another Mewtwo, double Dynamotor, swing and KO. That’s when I drop the second Mewtwo. I’m now up 4 to 1. He tries to stall with Raikou EX’s thunder fang, and manages 4 heads in a row to my Eviolited Darkrai, but then hits tails and I end the game.

1-0

My brother also won his game. A good start.

Round 2: Kyle B. (Empoleon/Roserade)

In short, he never even got a Prinplup down. I get a T3 night spear after he Junipers for nothing, and go through 5 Piplups and a Roselia, 6-0. Not much to see here.

2-0

My brother takes out a Garchomp, one of Empo/celgor’s easiest matchups.

Round 3: Jarrett A. (Empoleon/Accelgor)

Aaaand I have to play my brother early. This game was fun. Since we know the matchup, we’re able to rush the turns without misplaying. I get a T2 night spear and go through all his Shelmets, leaving him with nothing. I clean up a few more Pokémon for the game. Another easy win.

3-0

Apparently, my brother lost to a Darkrai/Hydreigon. Too bad.

Round 4: Daniel M. (Garchomp/Altaria)

He gets a turn two Garchomp and I wiff an energy attachment on turn 2 and 3. Somehow, I get two Hydreigon set up, and start swinging with Darkrai. He goes after my Hydreigons, and it’s not looking good, until I go through two Garchomps in two turns. He’s left with one on the field with 60 on it, and no way to take out the Darkrai or Mewtwo that will take it next turn. He runs out of attackers, and, after a slow start, I mop up the game.

4-0

My brother won his game, too. After that, I’m the only 4-0 left, but with 18 players we have to play one more round, so I’m paired down.

Round 5: Scott D. (Darkrai/Hydreigon)

The first mirror match I’ve had to play yet. I go first, but can’t seem to find a Darkrai, despite setting up a Hydreigon turn 2. He gets the turn two Night Spear on my Sableye, leaving me with only a Hydreigon and dark energy on the field. I have to play Juniper, so I drop Mewtwo on my bench and Juniper, finally finding a Darkrai. And Dark Patch. And Energy. I can now strike back. I hit Darkrai for 90. He drops a Mewtwo of his own, moves three of his four energy to it, catchers my Mewtwo, and Psydrives for KO. I then drop Mewtwo number two, move 3 of 4 of my energy to it, and X-ball for the KO. He only has one energy on his field. He attaches and misses the attack that turn.
At this point, he has taken a lead, 1 prize left to 4, but I’m now in the swing of it. I realize that to beat me, he’s going to need to hit Mewtwo for 30 with Darkrai, then Dragon Blast it. He has a Zweilous, Hydreigon, Sableye, and two Eviolited Darkrai out, no damage and about 4 energy (including a blend). I have Hydreigon, Mewtwo, and 3 Darkrai EX with 30 damage on Hydreigon and 5 energy in play. It’s my turn. I catcher Zweilous, take it and his Sableye for 30. As I expect, he sends in Darkrai and Night Spears my Mewtwo for 30 and Darkrai for 90. I catcher his Hydreigon, and N him to one, hitting Catcher, Bianca, and Dark Patch. I use my Hydreigon to Dragon Blast his, 2 prizes left. Pull a Dark Patch off the prize. I just pray he doesn’t have the game ending catcher for my Darkrai off that one card. He sends in Sableye to Junk hunt for the game winning catcher. I double dark patch, and instinctively think I should play N, but all I need to stop Darkrai from being KOed is a Max Potion or Eviolite. There are 2 Max and 1 Eviolite left in my small deck. Instead of N, I Bianca for four and hit Max Potion, then KO his Sableye with Mewtwo. He sends in Darkrai, and swings for 90. I move 8 energy to Mewtwo and one hit his Eviolited Darkrai for the game. Super intense game, best I’ve had this season.

5-0

So my second battle road win in a row. My brother manages to win his last game, and takes second. Sam takes third, for a Tennessee Victory Cup sweep! My bro pulls a Shiny Serperior from his four packs, and I pull my 6th Aggron. I don’t like Aggron. Overall, an awesome day.


Day two: Garchomp, Garchomp everywhere. (And whiffing)
9/16/12 Flowood, MS

After checking out of the Hotel at 11, we have two hours to kill. We eat at Taco Bell and arrive a bit early to the event, to find it’s going to start late because the venue thought we were arriving an hour later. We get checked in and stand around until it starts at 2:20. 16 masters, only four rounds. Kinda nice, as we have to drive home tonight.

Round 1: Kyle B. (Garchomp/Altaria)

I played him round 2 yesterday, but he’s changed decks. I lead Mewtwo to his Emolga, attach, N myself into a terrible hand, and pass. He Level Balls for Swablu, attaches, and calls up 2 Gibles. I attach, catcher Swablu, and take a turn two prize. He sets up two Gabite, a Gible and two Swablu. I finally hit a few things, and get a Hydreigon online, then Catcher and take out his Gabite with Energy. He N’s me two four useless cards, and takes out Hydreigon. After whiffing for a while (but not giving up a prize) I hit a supporter and get into the swing of things, winning the game 5-0.

1-0

My bro wins. Good stuff. Not much to see.

Round 2: Andrew O. (Eels)

I lead Sableye to Tynamo, and get a decent setup. He can’t set much up, and I get the ideal Hydreigon/ 2 Darkrai setup. I go through quite a bit before he decides to swing with Mewtwo. I then KO it with my Mewtwo. He takes it with his. I can’t hit my other Mewtwo, but I’m ahead 2-4. I Night spear the Mewtwo for 70 (Eviolite) and his benched Raikou for 30. He sends in Raikou to Try and stall with Thunder fang, tails. I send in Hydreigon and Dragon Blast for the game.

2-0

My bro loses to Garchomp. D: Ah well. At least I’m 2-0.

Round 3: Daniel M. (Garchomp/Altaria)

I played him yesterday in round 4. He goes first and N’s me into junk. Fortunately, he N’ed himself into junk. We both wiff pathetically, me missing an attachment for the first two turns, despite setting up two Hydreigon, two Darkrai and a Mewtwo. He sets up 3 Garchomp and 3 Altaria. Unfortunately for him, an Altaria I catchered is stuck active due to massive energy whiffing. He finally N’s us out of our evil hands, and wiffs an energy again. I Can Night Spear this turn, but opt to Junk Hunt for two catcher, since he’s still whiffing on energy. Once again, he draws and passes. :/ I then start swinging away. Eventually, all his Garchomps go down (as is apt to happen to that deck) and I clean up. What miserable whiffing.

3-0

My bro wins again, so he’s still in the running. The only other 3-0 is running Garchomp. Weee, another one.

Round 4: Jacob W. (Garchomp/Altaria)

Short story, he wiffed like a champ. He attached once. All game. I get set up easily, he doesn’t, and I run him over, 6-0. A stress-less game to end the day.

Another victory! Unfortunately, my bro lost to an eels running something like 10 switch. I take home another Victory Cup and pull a Garbodor. One four hour drive later, and I’m writing a report in the comfort of my home.

Props:
Winning
18-1 over four Battle Roads
Three straight BR wins
57 Championship Points
Memphis sweep day one
Brother getting second
Two Mewtwo
The staff and the venues for two well-run tournaments
Darkrai/Hydreigon, the best deck


After those two weekends, here are my thoughts on DarkDragon:

4 Max Potion is a must. It’s the point of the deck. It makes the mirror easier, it makes everything easier.
2 Zwelious/2 Level Ball makes setting up Hydreigon much, MUCH easier. I noticed the difference week two.
At least one Mewtwo is a non-negotiable staple. All other techs are techs.
11 energy is just enough to run this deck. 12 is safer, but not necessary.
4 Dark Patch, not necessary, but oh so helpful. If you have room, run four.
Hydreigon is an amazing attacker. Always watch for opportunities where Dragon Blast can change the game.

Thank you for reading my reports! Best of luck to you all at your next tournaments.

 

[mr_tech]

This is a well thought out report! Congrats on placing so high consistently. Especially with this format where there are slot of variations of decks, it's hard to win back to back local tourneys.

 

[jbcheshire]

Yes, awesome play with your deck. I'd be interested to see how yours compares to mine. I am still having trouble getting it built right and would appreciate to see how a VERY successful one is built.. Would you mind sharing?

 

[ScraftyG]

I was the one who played you r2 of the Win-A-Box. I was really tired. :[
Good job.

 

[Garch]

Updated the game against Scott D. If you read nothing else, read that game. (Week two, day one, round five)

@Mr-tech, Thanks. I think a lot of my success is due to the deck. It's the most consistent deck I've tested.

@jbcheshire, I'd like to keep the exact list under wraps for now. It's not to different from most, just no silly techs like Sygliph or Shaymin EX (other than Mewtwo). I posted a few tips at the end, I hope they help.

@ ScraftyG, cool, I didn't think anyone around here had a Gym account. Good luck at any other tournaments you make it to.

 

[Garch]

Weekend #3

Day 1: Bad Luck
9/22/12 Little Rock, AR

After the week before, I was feeling confidant. My goal was to make CP standing at each final BR I went to (3 more). After testing the night before the battle road, I was able to get turn two Night Spear two games in a row. I was liking my list, and ready for the day ahead.

I set my alarm, but somehow forget to turn it on. My mom wakes me up, and there’s still enough time to get going. Not the best start to the day. After a three hour drive, we arrive. We get there 30 minutes early, so we drive around town for a bit to kill time. We get back and register as the rest of the Memphis crew arrives. I play a test game against a friend’s Darkrai/Terrakion (EX)/Mewtwo EX. It’s a pretty epic game, where he pulls a big lead and a better field position, but I get a Mewtwo sweep for 6 prizes to his one. The first round starts shortly after.

Round 1: Preston w/RayEels

It’s easy to tell he’s nervous about today. He’s talking fast, and his voice is shaky. He also says he’s nervous. He gets a better start than I do, but I stall behind a catchered Eel long enough to get a Hydreigon out and a few energy down. He keeps stacking energy on his Rayquaza EX, so I catcher and Dragon Blast it, taking all his energy with it. He struggles to recover from that, and I slowly win.

1-0

An unlucky start followed by a careful win. Good enough. All but one of the Memphis crew won their first games, including my Brother. Round two starts shortly.

Round 2: ??? w/Darkrai/Hydreigon

He gets set up a lot faster than I do, but he supporter wiffs worse. We both set up two Hydreigon, so going after it isn’t an option. Neither of us are taking KO’s because of Max potion, so a lot of energy is building up. I drop a Mewtwo on my bench, and he drops a Sygliph, making any use of Mewtwo risky. He then makes the misplay of moving all his blend energy on one Darkrai, and all his darks on another. I catcher the Darkrai with 3 blends, stack energy on Mewtwo, and pray he doesn’t have anymore. Fortunately, he doesn’t. He’s unable to recover from that, and I win.

2-0

So, another bad start, followed by luckily picking at my opponent’s misplay. My deck needs to get it together. Four Memphis players are still 2-0, including my Brother. He has to play another Memphis player next round, and I get paired down. I don’t like getting paired down. How bad can it be, though?

Round 3: Yves w/Reshiboar

I play one worthwhile supporter all game. Through the shear fact that my deck plays well at its worst, I pull it to 1-1 prizes, and pull an N of the second to last prize. I need an energy or catcher to win the game, and hit a candy. A devastating loss. The worst luck I have ever had.

2-1

That. Was devastating. My deck just didn’t stand up that game. There’s a lunch break, giving me even more time to think about what went wrong. That one game has completely shaken my faith in this deck. I know that with this format, there’s really nothing you can do about the occasional devastating game, but this one was just awful.

2 Memphis players are still 3-0. My brother lost his game. Lunch break finally ends, and round four begins.

Round 4: ??? w/Garchomp/Altaria

I can tell from my opening hand that it’s going to be bad. In short, I never get set up, two Darkrai are prized, and, for the second game in a row, everything goes wrong.

2-2

Well, I’m out of the running now. I’m unhappy with a few of the changes I made to the deck. Apparently 13 supporters aren’t enough. Two Memphis players are the only 4-0’s left, and my brother is 3-1. At least friends still have this.

Round 5: Louis T. w/RayEels with 4 Shiny Ray

A Memphis player for my last round. He starts Shiny Ray to my Deino (dark type, thankfully), I go first, and N his two mulligan cards away. I actually manage to get a few things set up, and start putting damage everywhere. It comes to where he needs a Thunder Fang heads to win the game, and he hits tails.

3-2

With ones wins, one must also report ones losses, because losses and mistakes are what we learn the most from. I learned that there were some changes to my deck I didn’t like, and re-learned that this format, every deck is prone to whiffing. My brother goes 4-1, taking third, and Memphis takes first and second. While not a great day for me, at least my friends do well. I have a three hour drive home to ponder what to do with my deck, and hopefully will be better prepared for next week.

Props:
Friends winning
Not having a BR tomorrow, because I need the day to study for a Calculus test.
Pulling Garchomp #7
My deck, for still working even at its worst.

Slops:
Losing
Losing to Reshiboar
No BR tomorrow, so I don’t have a chance to make up for today.

 

[Warged]

Hey dude. Gratz on the win in brandon. This is Scott D. I love how I was your first mirror match and also one of the most intense considering I made my deck right before the rounds started Good luck the rest of the season.

 

[Squeaky]

Don't call me Josh M. lol
Also grats on all the wins so far!!

 

[Garch]

Week 4: Mississippi Again.

After last week, I decided that my old list was much better than the one I had switched to. I went back to my old list, made one change I really wanted, and started testing. It worked like a charm. After the deck worked perfectly test after test, I knew it was ready. I went into week four knowing my deck was better prepared than it was last weekend.

Day 1: Mississippi… again.
9/29/12 Madison MS

After waking up at 6:30 and driving for three and a half hours we arrive an hour before the tournament starts. We get breakfast at Chick-fil-a (their chicken nuggets are boss) and head to the tournament early. Three other Memphis players are there, so we sit around and chat. Brilliantly, the tournament is being held in an all you can eat pizza buffet, so you can pay once and just keep grabbing pizza throughout the tournament. After waiting a while, the tournament begins. There are 16 masters, so it’s going to be four rounds.

Round 1: Alan S. w/ Gothitelle/Accelgor

For some reason, he is resigned to losing. He says he built the deck last week and has played a total of 5 games with it. I open strong and set up a Hydreigon before he can get any kind of lock going. In short, he never gets anything going, and I take eight prizes while he takes none.

1-0

A nice start to the day. My brother (who’s still playing Empoleon/Accelgor) had to play another Memphis player to start and won. Other than my brother’s opponent all four other Memphis players won. Not much else to see, on to round 2.

Round 2: ??? w/ Garchomp/Altaria

My opponent knows me from two weeks back and is confidant he’s going to have a bad time. After seeing my opening hand, I know I’m the one who’s in trouble. I have Sableye, Darkrai, Dieno, Mewtwo, Hydreigon, Cather and Max Potion. Not a good hand at all. He goes first and leads Emolga, plays two Level Ball for two Gible and calls for two Swablu. I draw, bench the Darkrai I drew and pass. He’s happy with that. Fortunately for me he doesn’t get the turn two Garchomp, but he still evolves everything on his field. I draw… and top deck the Random Receiver like a boss. It nabs me an N that gives me a lot more than I used to have. I attach to Darkrai, drop another Dieno and evolve the other one to Zweilous. He gets his Garchomps in play this turn and takes down my Sableye. I send in Darkrai and get two Hydreigon down, attach an energy, Ultra Ball another energy away, Dark Patch and start swinging. He decided to play two Garchomp three Altaria with the Emolga still on the field, so I hit his other Garchomp with Night Spear’s 30. He Catchers one of my Hydreigons and takes it out. I drop another Dieno with the Hydreigon/Candy in hand and knock out his Garchomp and put his benched Chomp up to 60. He sends in Emolga and calls for another Gible. I catcher his Garchomp and take it out. He doesn’t evolve his Gible and I catcher it and take it down. He doesn’t set up another attacker, and I go from bad start to easy finish. This is why I like playing against Garchomp.

2-0.

My brother won his game, as did the other two Memphis players. As it turns out, the four remaining 2-0’s are all Memphis. I just hope I don’t play my brother again already.

Round 3: Sam L. w/Eels

Good, I don’t have to play my bro yet. We both open very strong, him getting three eels out on turn three and me getting the turn three Hydreigon, Eviolited Darkrai and Night Spear. Because of his three Eels he is able to stream between two Raikous and a Mewtwo. He strikes first and hits Darkrai for 80 with X-Ball. I Max potion and strike back for 90 and 30 on his Raikou. He sets up a Raikou, plays N and Volt Bolts my Hydreigon. His N was perfect for me. Despite not hitting a supporter, I hit the Catcher and two Max Potion I was going to need. I Max Potion my Hydreigon and Catcher-K.O. his Mewtwo. He drops another Raikou and Volt Bolts my Hydreigon again. Once again, I Max Potion the damage, effectively nulling his first three attacks. I hit his Raikou for 90 and an Eels for 30. He Volt Bolts my Hydreigon again. I don’t have the max potion this time, but I’m holding Deino/Candy/Hydreigon, so I bench the Deino and Dragon Blast his Raikou for the knock. He takes out my Hydreigon with Raikou, I set up my second one and Dragon Blast for the game.

3-0

I can tell he’s frustrated. Apparently, I get to lucky every time we play. Strange, that was the same complaint I heard when I used to play in Virginia. My brother won his game, so once again it’s us two in the finals.

Round 4: Jarrett A. w/ Empoleon/Accelgor

Bah, I’m sick of writing about this game. I’ve played my own brother more than I’ve played anyone else. We play it fast. I take out all his Empoleons with the few attacks I get and he can’t keep the Deck and Covers going without draw support.

4-0

Another win! Crazy. This makes me 25-3 on the season with 72 points. My brother takes second and I pull our second Shiny Serperior and we stand around talking with friends until my mom arrives. The tournament was relatively short so we still have most of the day to spend. We decide to spend most of it at the hotel watching TV. At one point we go out for Wendy’s (Baconators are also boss) and then go back to the hotel and watch more TV. Day well spent, haha. I go to bed confidant about the next day.


Day 2: Dairy Queen
9/30/12 Clinton MS

Since the tournament starts at 1 we have a lot of time to kill. I wake up and watch Ninja Warrior until we have to check out of the hotel at 11. We eat at Taco Bell and go wander a grocery store to kill time. We arrive at and register. The tournament is being held in a Dairy Queen. Should have just had Ice Cream for breakfast. Unfortunately the rest of the Memphis players had to leave the other day. Something about having a job and not wanting to be fired. There are 15 masters, 4 rounds, and the tournament begins.

Round 1: Jake M. w/ Darkrai/Terrakion/Mewtwo

I lead lone Deino to a Terrakion. Fortunately, I go first, play N and get a Darkrai, a second Deino down, play a Sableye, attach to Deino and send in Sableye. Unfortunately I also hit a Juniper and two Hydreigon without a Candy. He plays a Darkrai and Sableye, attaches to Terrakion, retreats to Sableye, plays an Energy Switch to Sableye, Catchers my Darkrai and Junk hunts. I pull a Candy off the top and get a Hydreigon in play, Juniper, attach, send in Sableye and Junk Hunt. He gets a turn two Night Spear and takes out my Sableye. I Dark Patch the energy back, put an Eviolite on Darkrai and hit his Eviolited Darkrai for 70 and Terrakion for 30. He attaches Prism and Eviolite to Terrakion and swings for 70. I Catcher the Terrakion and Dragon Blast it. He doesn’t play down another Terrakion the whole game, do it turns into a Darkrai deck VS. a Darkrai deck with Max Potion. I win because I can heal and Dragon Blast and he can’t.

1-0

My brother loses his first round. At least I don’t have to play him today. Looking around, there’s a lot of Darkrai/Hydreigon today. The mirror is always a fun match.

Round 2: Adam J w/ Eels

As fun as the mirror is Eels is even better because it’s an easy win. I start lone Deino two dark a blend an N an Ultra Ball and a Dark Patch. He starts lone Tynamo. I Ultra Ball the two darks, get Darkrai, attach to Deino, Dark Patch and N. He plays a Tynamo, attaches and gets tails on Thunderwave. I go one card short of the turn two Night Spear but set up a Sableye and Junk Hunt for what I need. He plays a Thundurus, attaches, plays Sky Arrow and uses Charge. Still no supporter from him. I get Hydreigon out this turn and Dark Patch the other Dark I discarded turn one. I have five energy on turn three and he has two Tynamo and a Thundurus. I hit Thundurus for 90 and KO a Tynamo I had hit with Headbutt earlier. He finally hits a supporter and gets two eels set up, then hits me for 80. I Max potion and take down Thundurus. He struggles for a while, and I pull a 4 to 0 lead. He gets out three eels, triple Dynamotor to a Zekrom EX, attaches and catcher KO’s one of my Hydreigons. I drop a Deino and Night Spear for 90. He goes for the only logical play, benches a Tynamo, Dyanamotors to it, retreats and uses Thunderwave. Tails. I Catcher Zekrom EX, move ten Energy to Mewtwo EX and end the game with a 220 damage X-ball.

2-0

My brother wins his second game, so he’s still in the running. Not much happens.

Round 3: Carlos A. w/ Regigigas EX/ Archeops/ Terrakion/ Tornadus/ Areodactyl/ Stunfisk

This deck is really, really cool. I start lone Deino for the third time in a row, and he goes first. He leads Regigigas EX, attaches, uses Plume Fossil and hits the Archen, then plays N. I play a second Deino, a Darkrai, attach an Eviolite and dark to Darkrai and pass. He gets the turn two Archeops. This is going to be an up-hill climb. He catchers my Darkrai so that he can Bianca for more, then hits Darkrai for 60, hitting himself for 20. I retreat to Deino, hit nothing and pass. He takes out the Deino and I send in the other one. Fortunately I top a Random Receiver, hitting Bianca. I play Max Potion on Darkrai and Dark Patch the energy back, put an Eviolite on Deino, and Bianca. I attach to Darkrai, and Catcher Archeops to stall. He plays a DCE to retreat and hammers my Deino, putting himself at 40. I get another Darkrai in play, fully power up my active, and Dark Patch to the benched Darkrai. Now, if I hit his Regigigas, it will be at 130 damage, and Raging Hammer will one shot my Darkrai, if he has tool scrapper. I decide to risk it. He plays the Juniper and hits the Tool Scrapper. Blast. I send in a Sableye to stall for a minute, catcher his Archeops, bench another Darkrai and Junk Hunt for two Dark Patch. His field is active Archeops, benched Gigas with 130 Damage, Archen, Stunfisk with one energy, Areodactyl, and a Tornadus. I have Sableye with an Energy, Darkrai with 1 energy and Darkrai with no energy. I Junk Hunt for two Dark Patch. If he sends in the Gigas he knows he loses it no matter what he hits. He decides to use Switch to go to the Stunfisk, Catchers my no energy Darkrai and hits it for 60 and my benched one for 20. I attach to active, double Dark Patch to power up the benched one, retreat and Catcher the Gigas, pulling my first prizes and putting 30 on the Tornadus with DCE. He sends in Tornadus and… drops a Terrakion. Crap. He attaches fighting to Tornadus, then Hurricanes for 90, sending the Fighting to Terrakion. I send in the Darkrai with 60 Damage, and have no choice. He has one card in his hand and two prizes left, but there’s nothing for me to do. I KO the Tornadus and hit Terrakion for 30. He draws… and plays Bianca for 5. And….. wiffs the energy. I can’t believe it. He says later three of the five cards were Tornadus. I Hit Terrakion for 90 and Aerodactyl for 30. He still doesn’t get energy. I Max Potion the 90 damage of my benched Darkrai so he catch Catcher KO it with rumble (due to Aerodactyl and weakness) and KO Terrakion and hit his Aero again. He sends in Stunfisk, doesn’t have an energy, and uses Muddy water. I KO Stunfisk and Aero for the last two prizes and the game.

3-0

That was super intense. It was all down to that energy and he missed it. It’s too bad, his deck is a very cool idea that deserves to win. I’m amazed my deck survived with Darkrai alone. The last 3-0 is another Darkrai/Hydreigon, so I get to end the game with a Mirror. My brother won so he’s still in the running.

Round 4: Tim P. w/ Darkrai/Hydreigon

Tim is a pretty cool guy. While we shuffle we chat about the mirror match and why Garchomp is a bad deck. I lead a lone Mewtwo (what’s with the bad starters today?) and he leads Sableye. He goes first and sets up two Deino on the first turn plus a Dark Patch for two energy turn one. I Attach to Mewtwo, set up two Deino of my own, and also Dark Patch for two energy turn one. He gets the Candy Hydreigon, but no Darkrai. I ALOS get the Candy Hydreigon, but no Darkrai. However, I have a Mewtwo active, and he has a Sableye. I X-ball for the first KO. Once again he misses the Darkrai, but has two Hydreigon set up. Benched one has a blend and a dark, active just has a dark. I catcher the bench, set up the first Darkrai (turn five) and put all my energy on one Hydreigon. I know that to retaliate, he would need the blend and two Dark Patch. Fortunately, he doesn’t hit any Dark Patch, although he hit the blend. At this point I have burned a lot more than him, with three Max Potion in my discard. I remember thinking, “well, this is going to come back to bite me.” It did. We had an Eviolited Darkrai war. I swung first, hitting 70 and 30 to his Hydreigon. He Max Potioned and hit me for 70 and one of my two Hydreigons for 30. I Max Potion Darkrai and hit 70/30 again. For some reason, he catchers my Hydreigon with no damage, then plays Bianca. He Max Potions both his Hydreigon and Darkrai, benches a Shaymin EX, then swings 90 and 30 on the other Hydreigon, setting them both up to be KOed by Night Spear. I know I need to KO his Darkrai at any cost. I have 9 energy on my field, so I decide to make a bold move. Despite the fact that he will be able to revenge blast for 180 next turn I send in Mewtwo, move 8 energy to it and X-ball for 180 for the one shot. Time was called during my turn, so his turn is turn one. I’m at one prize, he’s at five. He sends in the Shaymin and drops Sableye and Reshiram EX, then KO’s Mewtwo. Turn two: I send in Sableye, attach, move the blend on my Darkrai to Hydreigon, and Junk Hunt for two Dark Patch. No matter what move he makes I win. KO Sableye, I Dark Patch twice, Catcher, game. Darkrai, Dark Patch twice, Dragon Blast game. KO Hydreigon with energy, Double Dark Patch, Game. Since it’s overtime through, his only move is to Catcher KO Darkrai to even the game at one prize. And he plays N. He doesn’t hit the catcher off his three cards so it’s game right there. Just to see what would have happened, I play my Juniper and hit two Dark Patch, Catcher and an Energy, so I could have won in any number of ways. A very good game.

4-0

My brother lost his last game. I pull nothing special form my packs. We grab blizzards and start the long dive home through to pouring rain.

This is almost silly. I have now won five Battle Roads and taken second at another. I’ve nearly maxed my Battle road points at 87. My brother even got 44. When battle roads started, I thought I might win one, maybe make points at a few more. I never expected this success. My only hope is that it carries over into Regionals. I will see everyone in Houston.

My brother and my overall haul since the start of BR’s:
5 First place Victory Cup
3 Second place Victory Cup
2 Third place Victory Cup
56 packs of Dragons Exalted
87 and 44 championship points, respectively

Props:
DarkDragon the deck, for being so good.
My mom, for putting up with all the driving.
Winning a lot.
29-3, 87 CP so far.

Slops:
Rain.
Pulling two EXs out of those 56 packs.

Thank you so much for reading my report!

The Deck

This skeleton list is what I think is necessary for the deck. It’s very tight, but I wouldn’t play it without everything here.

Pokemon: 13
3 Darkrai EX
3 Hydreigon
1 Zweilous (NVI)
3 Deino (NVI)
2 Sableye
1 Mewtwo EX

T/S/S: 31
4 Professor Juniper
4 N
2 Bianca/ Cheren
2 Random Receiver
4 Ultra Ball
4 Dark Patch
4 Pokemon Catcher
4 Max Potion
2 Rare Candy
1 Eviolite

Energy: 11
3 Blend GRPD
8 Dark

That leaves only five spaces. A few notes:
Don’t run a one-of tool scrapper. You will never hit it when you need it.
11 energy is enough. It has never given me a problem. You just have to be careful with energy management toward the end game.
4 Max Potion, 4 Ultra Ball and 4 Dark Patch are all necessary. Don’t run any less.
Level ball is very good, but don’t run it as a one-of. Run either 2 or none. One is just never helpful, like Tool Scrapper.
Of the five open cards make at least one a Supporter/ Random Receiver.
I haven’t tested any techs beyond Mewtwo, but from what I’ve observed the only other one I like is Shaymin EX.

While it is a tight list I think it’s what is needed to run this deck at its full potential. If you play this deck at regionals then the best of luck to you. I fully believe it is the best deck we have right now.