Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

OK, So I'll Be Aging Up...

Nekizalb

Nekizalb

New Member
The 2009-2010 season was my last year in Seniors. Starting during the 2010-2011 season, I will be a Master. I have made top cut at pretty much every event I've attended this year as a Senior, I've performed well against lots of players at large events, and I have a lot of fun playtesting with Masters.

I honestly am not too worried about aging up, but I was wondering if there were any tips anyone could give me for aging up. Keep in mind that there might be other people who are viewing this thread and are in my situation, so they might benefit from posts here as well.

Discuss.
 
NOOOOOOOOOO! Why did you have to age up lol. Im staying in seniors for another year. So everybody will be leaving me behind. WHYYYYYYYYY!!!! Well good luck in masters, I know you'll do well.
 
Masters is a lot more mentally draining than Seniors is. You'll notice that at bigger tournaments especially -- you're playing more rounds against (generally) more quality players. Endurance is really important when it's past dinnertime and you've already played 8 rounds at a huge, crowded event.

Metagaming is a lot different as well. When I was in Seniors, I lost a fair amount of games to non-mainstream decks that weren't particularly good but had my weakness or I had no idea what to expect. (One that comes to mind is this Tyranitar Delta ex / Dragonite Delta ex deck I almost lost to in top 4 at a States a couple years ago.)

Decks like that -- ones that beat only certain cards but do poorly otherwise -- don't usually make it past the first couple rounds in Masters. Decks are (generally) better and more consistent and it's much harder to do well with something unestablished.

That said, it's easier to metagame in some ways because most people play what you'd expect them to -- the best decks available. Random things that factor into the Seniors metagame don't make as much of an impact in Masters.

One last thing: don't be intimidated if you have to play a "big name" player. It doesn't matter how well you know your matchups or how good your deck is -- if you let yourself get worked up about the game before you even sit down, you're already at a disadvantage.

Summary: Get enough sleep/food, avoid headaches, playtest, and be confident.
 
Rogue is much less common in masters than compared to Seniors really. As Bobby said, you will play against what is expected to be played, but theres no telling what types of techs people will try out to differ themselves from the rest.
 
Bobby said:
Masters is a lot more mentally draining than Seniors is. You'll notice that at bigger tournaments especially -- you're playing more rounds against (generally) more quality players. Endurance is really important when it's past dinnertime and you've already played 8 rounds at a huge, crowded event.

Metagaming is a lot different as well. When I was in Seniors, I lost a fair amount of games to non-mainstream decks that weren't particularly good but had my weakness or I had no idea what to expect. (One that comes to mind is this Tyranitar Delta ex / Dragonite Delta ex deck I almost lost to in top 4 at a States a couple years ago.)

Decks like that -- ones that beat only certain cards but do poorly otherwise -- don't usually make it past the first couple rounds in Masters. Decks are (generally) better and more consistent and it's much harder to do well with something unestablished.

That said, it's easier to metagame in some ways because most people play what you'd expect them to -- the best decks available. Random things that factor into the Seniors metagame don't make as much of an impact in Masters.

One last thing: don't be intimidated if you have to play a "big name" player. It doesn't matter how well you know your matchups or how good your deck is -- if you let yourself get worked up about the game before you even sit down, you're already at a disadvantage.

Summary: Get enough sleep/food, avoid headaches, playtest, and be confident.
Click to expand...

Paragraph 2 is the story of my life in seniors. I am also moving on to masters this year.
 
just remember that if you get your butt handed back to you on a silver platter its not cause u aged up, its cause your playing against ppl, on a bigger average, who play the right things/play well its more like top cut material in every match rather just in top cuts.
 
I aged up this year and did better than last year. That being said I suggest you prep for the most popular deck without overteching (you're good at teching).

Don't worry about anyone, the game is alot of luck. Also, sleep! It is very exhausting.
 
This is actually a thread I wanted to start (thanks Nekizalb, you're pro). I am moving up too. I did OK in seniors, though I have a tendancy to play non-meta decks (I played Breloom for states which is a prime example of what I usually do in my freetime). I think there may be a chance for fun decks in this format, though does SP have to be played or a speed deck in this format??

---------- Post added 08/14/2010 at 11:02 AM ----------
Elite_4_Allen said:
i need advice for aging up to seniors!

On topic: good luck, i can't give you any tips though.
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Easy, it is basically playing in juniors though without the theme decks the first 1-2 rounds. The meta isn't harder either.
 
Like people have said before, Masters has longer tournaments against higher-quality opponents and decklists.

Very rarely will you come across that one guy playing "random-water-deck" in a tournament, especially in the later rounds. After you've won the first 2-3 matches in a tourney, expect the REST of the tournament to be playing against people who ALL have the ability and deck to WIN the tournament.
 
I too am aging up to masters, and Im going to miss winning with a random dark deck. Can anyone tell me if it's the same during battle roads? Do people play red face paint there?
 
amphachu said:
Rogue is much less common in masters than compared to Seniors really.
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I would disagree with this statement. I see a lot more rogues and abnormal builds of meta decks in Masters than I do in Seniors. And they're not, like, Froslass GL/Floatzel GL rogues, either. They're actually good rogues. In Masters, pretty much the only thing I can say is that the quality of player you'll be going up against, along with the quality of deck, will change drastically.

In the early rounds of a big tournament, you have a good chance of getting paired up against a Poké Dad running Rhyperior, but in the later rounds, those people tend to get weeded out and you're left with the cream of the crop. That's the biggest difference IMO. In Seniors, you still had mediocre to bad player making top cut, simply because they netdecked something alright and got lucky matchups. In Masters, that's not how it works.

However, ageing up is truly a good thing. You will drastically improve as a player, and Masters players and decks will change how you think about the game. Techs are more valued, as are complex strategies. Consistency still matters, but it's not the be-all and end-all of your deck. After playing for two years in Seniors, and topping most events, the first tournament I actually won was in Masters. Good luck, looking forward to playing you.
 
ashinto said:
This is actually a thread I wanted to start (thanks Nekizalb, you're pro). I am moving up too. I did OK in seniors, though I have a tendancy to play non-meta decks (I played Breloom for states which is a prime example of what I usually do in my freetime). I think there may be a chance for fun decks in this format, though does SP have to be played or a speed deck in this format??

---------- Post added 08/14/2010 at 11:02 AM ----------


Easy, it is basically playing in juniors though without the theme decks the first 1-2 rounds. .
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would say something about this if it wasn't 10000% true.
 
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