Flaming_Spinach
Feature Editor
*****
Report 1
*****
Well, the first Gym Challenge of my season is in Portland OR on Saturday. I decide to play Politoed because it only has 1 really bad matchup in the whole format (something I didn't expect to see >.<). It's an awesome deck, and I TecH it to my own tastes and get ready to play!
ROUND 1
Vs. a guy with Eeveelutions/Crawdaunt-ex
Not really hard. I get setup and just tear through him. Crawdaunt never used its power, and none of my Politoeds ever took damage.
WIN 1-0
ROUND 2
Vs. a guy with Meganium-ex/Dusclops-ex
I get a Politoed up quickly, but I have no bench. About T4 he can bench me with his Meganium if he only has a Boost Energy (I saw he had some while he was shuffling). He uses TVR. No Boost. I am so relieved. So I follow up with a Stevens for 4 and draw 2 Fossils. I get setup, and my numerous ruins and Curse Stones hurt him pretty badly.
WIN 2-0
ROUND 3
Vs. PokeMATHter with Metanite
He can't hit my bench, so as long as I setup, this one is pretty much an auto-win. That's exactaly what happens. I get setup, confuse, and h.a.r. a bunch of times, and win on time up by 3.
WIN 3-0
ROUND 4
Vs. a guy with Espycham
He gets a really bad start and suffers from an energy shortage. However, he does get an Eevee out with a Multi and Fighting Energy, so I can't leave Politoed active because Espeon could come out and OHKO it. I grab 3 prizes before he gets a Medicham out, then I start Dunsparce Spamming, and he can't take a single prize by time.
WIN 4-0
By this time, I have only lost 3 prizes all day, and I need 1 more win to guarantee a spot in the Finals, so I figure I should have an easy time. That isn't what happened...
ROUND 5
Vs. Tyler (NW Regional Champ) with Flariados
Woohoo! The 1 matchup Politoed can't win (unless the opponent is a complete moron). Needles to say, Tyler is a good player, so he beat me. I drew 1 WP all game, and it was quickly hit by ER2.
LOSS 4-1
ROUND 6
Vs. Levi (Monkeyman8889888989899888) (ID State Champ) with LBS
Wheeee! Another bad matchup! Although this one is completely winable if you play Politoed correctly and get a little luck. Anyway, he gets off to a really strong start, and I Dunsparce Spam from Turn 1. He burns BOTH Switches to retreat his Steelix (then procdes to Ash a Dunsparce each time). Then, he Retreats his Steelix after I confuse it with my third Dunsparce. He's starting to run low on enery, and my Ruins grabs me 2 prizes somewhere along the line. So, eventually, time is called on my turn, down by 1. He has his Porygon2 active, and I can easily OHKO it for the tie, but he has a Lugia on his bench, so I can't leave Politoed active if he has enough energy to attack. I ask him if he has the energy and Holons Electrode, and he shows them to me.
LOSS 4-2
Alright, my resistance is pretty high, but I still need to win this next one to make it in, since only 1 or 2 4-3s will make the cut.
ROUND 7
Vs. Paul (Hoennash) (OR State Champ) with LBS
Lemme just interupt my report here for a moment. I'd just like to say that I just LOVE the fact that the computer paired me up against a Regional Champion, and 2 State Champions in 3 consecutive games. Not only that, but all 3 of them were playing decks that can beat Politoed. I think the computer is out to get me.:nonono:
Back to the game. I get an Uber start, BFing and sniping a Pidgeot very early, then switching my BF out for a Curse Stone so I could snipe his Blastoise about 2 turns later. I'm up by 3 prizes, but he mounts a comeback with a second Blastoise and a Steelix. He OHKOs my first Politoed with Lugia (IIRC), and snipes the second with Steelix. I decide to start Spamming with Sparcy, so that's what I do. I confuse him once, but he plays a switch and retreats to finish off my second Politoed (I mentioned that already). So I confuse again, but he plays Island Cave (wha???) and lays an energy, then Ashes a Sparce, his 5th prize. So I confuse him AGAIN, and he lays ANOTHER Island Cave and plays another energy and Ashes my last Sparce for the win. His Steelix had 140 damage on it at that point.
LOSS 4-3
Wonderful. I take a look at the standings from the previous round, and figure that 1 person who's 4-3 MIGHT make it in at 16th place. If that happens, it would most likely be me, since my last 3 opponents went 7-0, 6-1, and 5-2 respectively. I talk to Thor, he says there's no way I'm getting in. Shawn takes about 3 days to get the standings, I expect just to annoy me.
He announces the top16, and I am very relieved to come in 16th (my resistance was about 68%). However, my relief doesn't last long when I see who my next opponent is.
TOP16
Vs. Tyler (same guy from Round 5) with Flariados.
Game #1
I manage to prize 2 of my WPs, and can't draw the other to save my life. He kills 2 Sparces, 3 Poliwags, and 7 fossils before I concede game 1.
LOSS
Game #2
I finally get a good setup aganst him. 2 Sparces with Water and WP attached. However, he has it all figured out. When I finally play a Polywag, he retreats and drags it active. I retreat it and confuse him, but he just keeps it up until my Polywag/whirl doesn't wake up, then he kills it. This goes on 2 times before I decide to not play anymore Poliwags. This is the time that he unleashes his genious anti-Politoed strategy on me. I'm not going to say what it is, but I'll just tell you I never had a chance.
LOSS
16th place overall. Whoopee.
*Insert some comments about getting a ride to BC gym and leaving right after top8 ended.*
*****
Report #2
*****
So, when we got to BC, I decided to metagame a little. I looked around and saw a bunch of Flariados, and LBS around. The two big things that can beat Politoed. I'm cautious about playing it, but I still want to. Then, about 5 minutes before registration starts, I hear a rumor that 1 or 2 people are TecHing ATM-Ice in their decks just for me. Well, that's it. I do some quick thinking and decide to play Queen instead. Since it beats both Flariados and LBS, I figured it would be a good deck choice.
ROUND #1
Vs. some n00b with random deck.
I'll be honest. All I saw was a Mewtwo-delta, a Wynaut, and a Crobat-ex (while he was shuffling). This wasn't hard at all.
WIN 1-0
ROUND #2
Vs. Sebastion (GrandmaJoner) (BC State Champ) with Pow!-Block.
I get setup and take a strong lead. However, he plays a devastating ATM and starts to come back. I have a chance to stall him out for the win, but I just can't do it to someone who fought so hard to win this match. I let him have his turn with about 10 seconds left and he finishes me off. This would end up costing me.
LOSS 1-1
ROUND #3
Vs. a guy with Slamence-ex/Camerupt
He gets a Salamence or two up, but Toxic, Ruins, and Clutch bring them down. This was another easy match.
WIN 2-1
ROUND #4
Vs. a Thor with S1 Liability
I hate this matchup. I could easily take a huge advantage early in this game, but I can't topdeck an energy for 4 or 5 turns. Then, Once I'm 3 prizes behind, I FINALLY get out a Nidoqueen that can OHKO some stuff. That Queen takes 4 prizes before it dies of poison. He kills another thing because of my lack of energy, so he only needs 1 prize left to win, and I need 2. I think about my next move for awhile, and decide that I can attack with Queen, but if he has 1 energy in his 2 card hand, he'll win. I risk it. He does have the energy. ouch.
LOSS 2-2:frown:
So, at this point, I have a slim chance of making the cut. My resistance is good, and a few 3-2s will make it, so I still have hope.
I look at the pairings and see I'm paired down. Any hope I had nearly vanishes.
ROUND #5
Vs. a random with Silver Sea Theme Deck
He's playing a theme deck. I'm playing the deck that WON WORLDS. gg.
WIN 3-2
I go around, trying to figure out if my resistance will be good or bad. I find out at least 3 of my previous 4 opponents had all lost their last match. Thanks guys. :nonono: My resistance drops about 18% in one round.
Interesting Fact: I was in 12th place after round 4, I won round 5, and ended up in 14th place. That's the end of that.
So we drive home and junk...etc. etc. No one ever reads this anyway...
Props:
Everyone who lent me Politoeds and Nidoqueens. You guys Pwn.
High Resistance.
APT for winning BC with MY Manectric-ex. Awesome Job!!
Sebastion for winning.
Paul, for winning.
Thor, for being himself.
Chris C. for driving all night.
Wendys lunch.
Slops:
Levi getting 3rd twice. If anyone deserves the invite, it's him.
Computer Pairings.
Medicham.
Thor, for being himself.
Low Resistance.
Delays at border crossings.:tongue:
Not stalling out Sebastion for the win when I easily could've.
Report 1
*****
Well, the first Gym Challenge of my season is in Portland OR on Saturday. I decide to play Politoed because it only has 1 really bad matchup in the whole format (something I didn't expect to see >.<). It's an awesome deck, and I TecH it to my own tastes and get ready to play!
ROUND 1
Vs. a guy with Eeveelutions/Crawdaunt-ex
Not really hard. I get setup and just tear through him. Crawdaunt never used its power, and none of my Politoeds ever took damage.
WIN 1-0
ROUND 2
Vs. a guy with Meganium-ex/Dusclops-ex
I get a Politoed up quickly, but I have no bench. About T4 he can bench me with his Meganium if he only has a Boost Energy (I saw he had some while he was shuffling). He uses TVR. No Boost. I am so relieved. So I follow up with a Stevens for 4 and draw 2 Fossils. I get setup, and my numerous ruins and Curse Stones hurt him pretty badly.
WIN 2-0
ROUND 3
Vs. PokeMATHter with Metanite
He can't hit my bench, so as long as I setup, this one is pretty much an auto-win. That's exactaly what happens. I get setup, confuse, and h.a.r. a bunch of times, and win on time up by 3.
WIN 3-0
ROUND 4
Vs. a guy with Espycham
He gets a really bad start and suffers from an energy shortage. However, he does get an Eevee out with a Multi and Fighting Energy, so I can't leave Politoed active because Espeon could come out and OHKO it. I grab 3 prizes before he gets a Medicham out, then I start Dunsparce Spamming, and he can't take a single prize by time.
WIN 4-0
By this time, I have only lost 3 prizes all day, and I need 1 more win to guarantee a spot in the Finals, so I figure I should have an easy time. That isn't what happened...
ROUND 5
Vs. Tyler (NW Regional Champ) with Flariados
Woohoo! The 1 matchup Politoed can't win (unless the opponent is a complete moron). Needles to say, Tyler is a good player, so he beat me. I drew 1 WP all game, and it was quickly hit by ER2.
LOSS 4-1
ROUND 6
Vs. Levi (Monkeyman8889888989899888) (ID State Champ) with LBS
Wheeee! Another bad matchup! Although this one is completely winable if you play Politoed correctly and get a little luck. Anyway, he gets off to a really strong start, and I Dunsparce Spam from Turn 1. He burns BOTH Switches to retreat his Steelix (then procdes to Ash a Dunsparce each time). Then, he Retreats his Steelix after I confuse it with my third Dunsparce. He's starting to run low on enery, and my Ruins grabs me 2 prizes somewhere along the line. So, eventually, time is called on my turn, down by 1. He has his Porygon2 active, and I can easily OHKO it for the tie, but he has a Lugia on his bench, so I can't leave Politoed active if he has enough energy to attack. I ask him if he has the energy and Holons Electrode, and he shows them to me.
LOSS 4-2
Alright, my resistance is pretty high, but I still need to win this next one to make it in, since only 1 or 2 4-3s will make the cut.
ROUND 7
Vs. Paul (Hoennash) (OR State Champ) with LBS
Lemme just interupt my report here for a moment. I'd just like to say that I just LOVE the fact that the computer paired me up against a Regional Champion, and 2 State Champions in 3 consecutive games. Not only that, but all 3 of them were playing decks that can beat Politoed. I think the computer is out to get me.:nonono:
Back to the game. I get an Uber start, BFing and sniping a Pidgeot very early, then switching my BF out for a Curse Stone so I could snipe his Blastoise about 2 turns later. I'm up by 3 prizes, but he mounts a comeback with a second Blastoise and a Steelix. He OHKOs my first Politoed with Lugia (IIRC), and snipes the second with Steelix. I decide to start Spamming with Sparcy, so that's what I do. I confuse him once, but he plays a switch and retreats to finish off my second Politoed (I mentioned that already). So I confuse again, but he plays Island Cave (wha???) and lays an energy, then Ashes a Sparce, his 5th prize. So I confuse him AGAIN, and he lays ANOTHER Island Cave and plays another energy and Ashes my last Sparce for the win. His Steelix had 140 damage on it at that point.
LOSS 4-3
Wonderful. I take a look at the standings from the previous round, and figure that 1 person who's 4-3 MIGHT make it in at 16th place. If that happens, it would most likely be me, since my last 3 opponents went 7-0, 6-1, and 5-2 respectively. I talk to Thor, he says there's no way I'm getting in. Shawn takes about 3 days to get the standings, I expect just to annoy me.
He announces the top16, and I am very relieved to come in 16th (my resistance was about 68%). However, my relief doesn't last long when I see who my next opponent is.TOP16
Vs. Tyler (same guy from Round 5) with Flariados.
Game #1
I manage to prize 2 of my WPs, and can't draw the other to save my life. He kills 2 Sparces, 3 Poliwags, and 7 fossils before I concede game 1.
LOSS
Game #2
I finally get a good setup aganst him. 2 Sparces with Water and WP attached. However, he has it all figured out. When I finally play a Polywag, he retreats and drags it active. I retreat it and confuse him, but he just keeps it up until my Polywag/whirl doesn't wake up, then he kills it. This goes on 2 times before I decide to not play anymore Poliwags. This is the time that he unleashes his genious anti-Politoed strategy on me. I'm not going to say what it is, but I'll just tell you I never had a chance.
LOSS
16th place overall. Whoopee.
*Insert some comments about getting a ride to BC gym and leaving right after top8 ended.*
*****
Report #2
*****
So, when we got to BC, I decided to metagame a little. I looked around and saw a bunch of Flariados, and LBS around. The two big things that can beat Politoed. I'm cautious about playing it, but I still want to. Then, about 5 minutes before registration starts, I hear a rumor that 1 or 2 people are TecHing ATM-Ice in their decks just for me. Well, that's it. I do some quick thinking and decide to play Queen instead. Since it beats both Flariados and LBS, I figured it would be a good deck choice.
ROUND #1
Vs. some n00b with random deck.
I'll be honest. All I saw was a Mewtwo-delta, a Wynaut, and a Crobat-ex (while he was shuffling). This wasn't hard at all.
WIN 1-0
ROUND #2
Vs. Sebastion (GrandmaJoner) (BC State Champ) with Pow!-Block.
I get setup and take a strong lead. However, he plays a devastating ATM and starts to come back. I have a chance to stall him out for the win, but I just can't do it to someone who fought so hard to win this match. I let him have his turn with about 10 seconds left and he finishes me off. This would end up costing me.
LOSS 1-1
ROUND #3
Vs. a guy with Slamence-ex/Camerupt
He gets a Salamence or two up, but Toxic, Ruins, and Clutch bring them down. This was another easy match.
WIN 2-1
ROUND #4
Vs. a Thor with S1 Liability
I hate this matchup. I could easily take a huge advantage early in this game, but I can't topdeck an energy for 4 or 5 turns. Then, Once I'm 3 prizes behind, I FINALLY get out a Nidoqueen that can OHKO some stuff. That Queen takes 4 prizes before it dies of poison. He kills another thing because of my lack of energy, so he only needs 1 prize left to win, and I need 2. I think about my next move for awhile, and decide that I can attack with Queen, but if he has 1 energy in his 2 card hand, he'll win. I risk it. He does have the energy. ouch.
LOSS 2-2:frown:
So, at this point, I have a slim chance of making the cut. My resistance is good, and a few 3-2s will make it, so I still have hope.
I look at the pairings and see I'm paired down. Any hope I had nearly vanishes.
ROUND #5
Vs. a random with Silver Sea Theme Deck
He's playing a theme deck. I'm playing the deck that WON WORLDS. gg.
WIN 3-2
I go around, trying to figure out if my resistance will be good or bad. I find out at least 3 of my previous 4 opponents had all lost their last match. Thanks guys. :nonono: My resistance drops about 18% in one round.
Interesting Fact: I was in 12th place after round 4, I won round 5, and ended up in 14th place. That's the end of that.
So we drive home and junk...etc. etc. No one ever reads this anyway...
Props:
Everyone who lent me Politoeds and Nidoqueens. You guys Pwn.
High Resistance.
APT for winning BC with MY Manectric-ex. Awesome Job!!
Sebastion for winning.
Paul, for winning.
Thor, for being himself.
Chris C. for driving all night.
Wendys lunch.
Slops:
Levi getting 3rd twice. If anyone deserves the invite, it's him.
Computer Pairings.
Medicham.
Thor, for being himself.
Low Resistance.
Delays at border crossings.:tongue:
Not stalling out Sebastion for the win when I easily could've.
