Pooka
Master Trainer
Well, here we go again. Although Nationals is always a nerve wracking experience, the entire weekend is non-stop fun and is never forgotten. It's a time to see old friends and make new ones. It's a time to just let loose and have fun. It's a time to play some POKEMON! This year was no different.
Thursday night - Eric and Abe had to play in the Professor Cup the next day, so I had to stay up and help them with decks. After looking through a bunch of stuff, I told Eric to play Hariyama ex/Vaporeon ex in 30 card because Knock Off is sooo good! He did, and he ended up going 6-1 in the 30 card format. Then, I just told him to play Infernape in 2v2, because he was comfortable playing it. What do you know; Eric is now the Professor Cup CHAMPION!
Of course, I had another secret deck prepared for this event. A few weeks before Nationals, AJ threw the idea of Lucario at me. However, he played it with Medicham ex, so some changes clearly needed to be made. After a little tweaking, we came out with Lucario/Eeveelutions, which we thought was one of the best decks in the format.
While there were a bunch of fun times, I'll just skip right to the actual tournament. We were all sure that nobody really knew what we were playing, and if they did, they had no idea what our list consisted of. Yet again, we had another potential surprise Nationals winning deck.
Round 1 - Tyranitar d/ex/Magcargo (Tracy Metro)
Tracy always comes to the tournaments down in Wisconsin and Illinois, so she was a familiar face. I knew she had been playing a Tyranitar deck the entire year, but I wasn't sure if she still was. Well, she was, so this should be an easy matchup. I opened with a strong hand, and she mulliganed twice to help me out. After the long wait, we finally got to start the game. I open with Riolu, and she starts with Larvitar. If I can hit Heads on this Wild Kick, I'm fairly certain I'll be in a dominant position for the rest of the game, and it even opens up a T2 win opportunity. Sadly, I get Tails, but I should still be in a good spot. After she plays PETM, she does 10 with Larvitar. Now, I have an extremely high number of outs in order to pull off a T2 win. Surprisingly enough, I topdeck the Jolteon ex, play it, PETM for the Lucario, attach, and do 40 for the win. Sorry, Tracy.
1-0
After Round 1, everyone with the deck had won, except Bianchi, who lost to Chuck on some bad prizes. So far, so good.
Round 2 - R-Gon (Tyler F.)
Immediately I noticed Tyler was from Kentucky (by his Origins badge), and it turns out he was the State Champion. Who knew? When he turned over a Holon's Castform, I was feeling great about my position. With my hand, I should've been in complete control by turn two. With a Riolu start, a few Energy, a Vaporeon ex, PETM, and a Dual Ball in hand, I would have the devastating T2 Lucario/Vaporeon that all Castform decks absolutely dread and rarely recover from. HOWEVER, since not much seems to go my way, I whiff both flips for Dual Ball, and I can't grab an Eevee. Oh well, I'll just Wild Kick his Castform and make sure he doesn't setup. OOPS, Tails again. Well, this isn't looking too good anymore. Then, he Mentors to fill his bench, attaches to Exeggcute, and Delta Draws for five... great. So, I do the only thing I can do... PETM for Lucario, attach, KO Castform, and 20 to a Trapinch. Next, he plays Researcher for Exeggutor, RC to Flygon d, attaches, and Delta Circles for 70 with a Charm. Thankfully I drew an Eevee off my prize, so I bench that, attach to it, and Aura Sphere for 40/20 to Flygon. Then, he benches Rayquaza ex d, plays a Castform on Exeggutor (takes back his Lightning), and attaches to Flygon d... all right. So, he Split Bombs to KO Lucario and put 30 on Eevee. Fortunately, I drew a Dual Ball earlier, so I grab another Eevee. Then, I Vaporeon him to 4, attach, and Fastwave for the KO. Now I just PRAY he has no Lightning, otherwise he KO's my Vaporeon, and I'm in big trouble. He promotes the Rayquaza ex... gulp.
No Lightning! He attaches a Grass Energy to Ray and passes. Still, my hand is weak, so all I can do is Fastwave for 40. This time, he has a Scientist. He plays his hand down as little as he can (including RC to Flygon ex d, ugh!), and whiffs AGAIN! However, he grabs a Psychic with Chimecho and attaches Psychic/Holon's Voltorb to Flygon ex d. I figure I can't wait any longer, and I have to win now if I'm going to. Even though it's an extremely risky play, I Absol 30 from his Flygon to the active Ray and Fastwave for the KO. He promotes Flygon ex d and RIPS the Mentor to grab Holon's Castform and other stuff. So, he does 80 to my Vaporeon ex, and my whole bench takes Sand Damage/Psychic Pulse damage. I'm forced to evolve my Eevee to Vaporeon, but I don't use the Power, because he clearly has a weak hand. Fortunately, I drew a Lucario, so Riolu wasn't going to die of Sand Damage. I attach to the active Vaporeon and do 60 to Flygon ex. He KOs my Vaporeon with Flygon ex, and Absol is taking massive Sand Damage/Psychic Pulse damage. I know I'm on a clock because of that, and I have very little time to win. So, I calculate all the Sand Damage and such, and I realize that Absol would survive with 10 HP if he attacks again! How convenient. So, I promote Lucario, bench an Eevee, attach to Lucario, and do 30 with Feint. Now, from his situation, it must be looking good. All I have in play is a Vaporeon with one Energy, an Eevee with no Energy, and an Absol with no Energy that's about to die. However, I have two prizes left, and his Flygon ex only has 60 HP left. He figures there's no way I can KO him back, so he uses Psychic Pulse again to get down to two prizes. I take in a breath of relief, play Jolteon to put another 10 on his Flygon ex, attach to Vaporeon, and play the Strength Charm to win. Whew.
2-0
At this point, me, AJ, and Matt are all 2-0, and Bianchi is 1-1.
Round 3 - Eeveelutions
The second he flipped over the Energy Evolution Eevee, I knew what was coming... but I was a little confused when he attached a Psychic T1 and did 10 to my Eevee. Regardless, I CFF for a Riolu, then he plays a Water Energy to grab Vaporeon UF and does 20 + attaches another Energy with Aqua Supply. Right now I can feel that a Sleep flip will determine how this game will be... great. Well, I evolve to Vaporeon but opt not to use the Power because I can tell his hand is bad. Then, I just Fastwave for 40. He attaches to Flareon, then he uses Multi Bubble for 60. Sleep flip.. Heads! I can't believe it. So, I PETM for Lucario, retreat, and KO it with Feint, fearing a Strength Charm or DRE KO from the UF Flareon. Next, he uses Lady Outing to grab three Energy... and hits me for 20. I retreat, attach to Vaporeon, and Fastwave.
3-0
Right now I'm feeling good about the deck. Everything is going well. Everyone won again as well.
Round 4 - BanDoom (John P.)
Somehow I knew he was playing Banette, and I wasn't too thrilled about it. While Banette isn't exactly an auto loss, it's really close and depends on your opening hand. Unfortunately, my opening hand was pitiful, and I started with Riolu. Fortunately, he opened with Houndour. Going first, he attaches a Rainbow and uses Smog. I'm just praying for the Strength Charm so I can Wild Kick T1 FTW, but I don't draw it. So, I PETM to grab Lucario for next turn, attach, and Wild Kick.. HEADS! Next turn, he misses an Energy drop and passes, so I'm in a good spot. All I have is a Holon's Electrode for Energy, but I draw into an Eevee and bench it. I have another PETM in hand, so Umbreon can come into play when I need to. After attaching Cessation to Lucario, I KO the Houndour and do 20 to a Shuppet. Throughout the game, he misses Energy drops, and Umbreon goes to town on him. Actually, I'm not sure he knew what Umbreon did, because I used Black Cry, then he tried to Shady Move and retreat in the same turn lol. I KO a third and final Banette to win it.
4-0
Now I'm really feeling good. I know I just need to go 3-2 the rest of the way to make the cut. That shouldn't be TOO hard... right?
Round 5 - Seaking.dec (psycodad)
I've known Eric for quite some time now. Of course, he always plays wacky decks because he doesn't like playing archetypes, and this time is no different. I know what he's playing, and I feel like I have a great matchup. While he opens with a Solrock, I open with a Riolu, but no Energy and no Supporters - just complete junk. Since Solrock has a two retreat cost, I attach Cessation to Riolu so he can't retreat for free with Lunatone's Body. This should buy me a few turns... Five turns later, I still haven't drawn anything, and he finally KOs my Lucario. I made a few minor gameplay errors out of frustration, but none that could have changed the outcome of this gruesome match.
4-1
Well, that's depressing. AJ got a prize penalty for having a "marked card" in his deck, so he lost, too. Still, Matt is 5-0, and the rest of us are 4-1. It's still looking good.
Round 6 - Infernape (Tom D.)
Finally! For the first time all day, I get to face an Infernape. In all my testing, I saw this as my best matchup because I knew it the best Again, I start with Riolu (5/6 so far, weird). The details of this are a little fuzzy, but I know he started out by trying to buy time with Flick Poison because his hand was so weak. Then, I dropped a Jolteon/Umbreon in the same turn to pull a double KO on his Delcatty and Monferno. From there, it was pretty much over, but he kept playing. He had a small chance if he hit four heads on Meteor Punch, but he only hit one, and the game was over. 6-0 victory for me.
5-1
I can feel that I'm making the cut now. I just have to go 2-1, and I'm in. AJ and Matt are in my spot, and Bianchi is 4-2. We all have high hopes still.
Round 7 - Mario (Emmanuel D.)
Emmanuel comes to all the tournaments in Rockford, so he's a familiar face. I wasn't sure what he was playing, but it really didn't matter, because my hand was fairly weak. We both open with Riolu, and he hits Tails on Wild Kick. I'm going over options in my head, and I figure I pretty much have the game won if he doesn't get another Basic. I'll just attach to Riolu, then next turn evolve to Lucario, attach to Eevee, hit his Lucario for 30, and that sets up a Jolteon or Espeon KO. So, I go with that plan, and hit Tails on Wild Kick. Then, he pulls Lucario/Energy/double PlusPower for the KO... With my hand, I can't recover from that. While I struggle to get back in the game, he gets RC/Machamp/DRE to KO my Lucario with 50 HP left. A Warp Point at the end seals my fate. Not a very fun game.
5-2
Now things are getting scary. AJ, Bianchi, and I all have to win out to make it. Matt, however, only has to go 1-1 to make it. The deck is on the ropes!
Round 8 - Delta (twitchy)
I really had no clue what he was playing, but I opened with a Riolu. Before the touranment, I predicted that everyone playing Lucario would T1 someone at least once. Well, when he looked at his hand, he said, "I'm so getting turn one'd." As he flips over the Pikachu, I'm thinking, "YES!" I attach and Wild Kick... HEADS! z0mg
6-2
After that, I can feel that I'm making the cut. It just seems like things are actually going my way. I'm ready to go!
Round 9 - Lucario/techs (Gino)
This is it! The last round to decide who makes it and who doesn't. I know what Gino's playing, but I don't think he knows what I'm playing. Earlier in the day I saw Matt play against him, and he managed to pull out a win, so I figure I can do the same. At the same time, I know an Eevee start can be a potential FTKO for him, so I definitely want to avoid that. Well, as I draw my hand, it is apparent to me that I am not going to Worlds this year. -_- My hand consists of a bunch of evolutions, PETM, Energy, and... Absol ex. For the first time, I open with a lone Absol. As I think about it, starting with Absol is good if he starts with Mew ex or Jirachi ex. But, you know, he starts with Riolu. I go first, attach, and pass. He whiffs the Wild Kick flip, which I think is fortunate at the time. I draw... no Basic. He shows me the Lucario/Energy/PlusPower... ughgughguhg
6-3
So, what a way to end my season. Sadly enough, AJ, Matt, Bianchi, and I all ended the day at 6-3, and nobody made the cut with the deck. We all felt we had another Delta in our hands, but nobody had the opportunity to show it in the top cut. Oh, well; there's always next year. I was really disappointed at the fact that I really played only one or two legitimate games the entire day. Every game had someone getting T1/T2'd, or someone was draw/passing, or something like that. I only had one game where both players actually setup, and it was my best game all day. I wanted to play some real games of Pokemon this weekend, and I didn't really get to.
Overall, Nats was amazingly fun. There were a lot of great times I'll never forget, and I can't wait to do it again next year. Scottfonte FTW! (I hate you AJ)
-Pooka
Thursday night - Eric and Abe had to play in the Professor Cup the next day, so I had to stay up and help them with decks. After looking through a bunch of stuff, I told Eric to play Hariyama ex/Vaporeon ex in 30 card because Knock Off is sooo good! He did, and he ended up going 6-1 in the 30 card format. Then, I just told him to play Infernape in 2v2, because he was comfortable playing it. What do you know; Eric is now the Professor Cup CHAMPION!
Of course, I had another secret deck prepared for this event. A few weeks before Nationals, AJ threw the idea of Lucario at me. However, he played it with Medicham ex, so some changes clearly needed to be made. After a little tweaking, we came out with Lucario/Eeveelutions, which we thought was one of the best decks in the format.
While there were a bunch of fun times, I'll just skip right to the actual tournament. We were all sure that nobody really knew what we were playing, and if they did, they had no idea what our list consisted of. Yet again, we had another potential surprise Nationals winning deck.
Round 1 - Tyranitar d/ex/Magcargo (Tracy Metro)
Tracy always comes to the tournaments down in Wisconsin and Illinois, so she was a familiar face. I knew she had been playing a Tyranitar deck the entire year, but I wasn't sure if she still was. Well, she was, so this should be an easy matchup. I opened with a strong hand, and she mulliganed twice to help me out. After the long wait, we finally got to start the game. I open with Riolu, and she starts with Larvitar. If I can hit Heads on this Wild Kick, I'm fairly certain I'll be in a dominant position for the rest of the game, and it even opens up a T2 win opportunity. Sadly, I get Tails, but I should still be in a good spot. After she plays PETM, she does 10 with Larvitar. Now, I have an extremely high number of outs in order to pull off a T2 win. Surprisingly enough, I topdeck the Jolteon ex, play it, PETM for the Lucario, attach, and do 40 for the win. Sorry, Tracy.
1-0
After Round 1, everyone with the deck had won, except Bianchi, who lost to Chuck on some bad prizes. So far, so good.
Round 2 - R-Gon (Tyler F.)
Immediately I noticed Tyler was from Kentucky (by his Origins badge), and it turns out he was the State Champion. Who knew? When he turned over a Holon's Castform, I was feeling great about my position. With my hand, I should've been in complete control by turn two. With a Riolu start, a few Energy, a Vaporeon ex, PETM, and a Dual Ball in hand, I would have the devastating T2 Lucario/Vaporeon that all Castform decks absolutely dread and rarely recover from. HOWEVER, since not much seems to go my way, I whiff both flips for Dual Ball, and I can't grab an Eevee. Oh well, I'll just Wild Kick his Castform and make sure he doesn't setup. OOPS, Tails again. Well, this isn't looking too good anymore. Then, he Mentors to fill his bench, attaches to Exeggcute, and Delta Draws for five... great. So, I do the only thing I can do... PETM for Lucario, attach, KO Castform, and 20 to a Trapinch. Next, he plays Researcher for Exeggutor, RC to Flygon d, attaches, and Delta Circles for 70 with a Charm. Thankfully I drew an Eevee off my prize, so I bench that, attach to it, and Aura Sphere for 40/20 to Flygon. Then, he benches Rayquaza ex d, plays a Castform on Exeggutor (takes back his Lightning), and attaches to Flygon d... all right. So, he Split Bombs to KO Lucario and put 30 on Eevee. Fortunately, I drew a Dual Ball earlier, so I grab another Eevee. Then, I Vaporeon him to 4, attach, and Fastwave for the KO. Now I just PRAY he has no Lightning, otherwise he KO's my Vaporeon, and I'm in big trouble. He promotes the Rayquaza ex... gulp.
No Lightning! He attaches a Grass Energy to Ray and passes. Still, my hand is weak, so all I can do is Fastwave for 40. This time, he has a Scientist. He plays his hand down as little as he can (including RC to Flygon ex d, ugh!), and whiffs AGAIN! However, he grabs a Psychic with Chimecho and attaches Psychic/Holon's Voltorb to Flygon ex d. I figure I can't wait any longer, and I have to win now if I'm going to. Even though it's an extremely risky play, I Absol 30 from his Flygon to the active Ray and Fastwave for the KO. He promotes Flygon ex d and RIPS the Mentor to grab Holon's Castform and other stuff. So, he does 80 to my Vaporeon ex, and my whole bench takes Sand Damage/Psychic Pulse damage. I'm forced to evolve my Eevee to Vaporeon, but I don't use the Power, because he clearly has a weak hand. Fortunately, I drew a Lucario, so Riolu wasn't going to die of Sand Damage. I attach to the active Vaporeon and do 60 to Flygon ex. He KOs my Vaporeon with Flygon ex, and Absol is taking massive Sand Damage/Psychic Pulse damage. I know I'm on a clock because of that, and I have very little time to win. So, I calculate all the Sand Damage and such, and I realize that Absol would survive with 10 HP if he attacks again! How convenient. So, I promote Lucario, bench an Eevee, attach to Lucario, and do 30 with Feint. Now, from his situation, it must be looking good. All I have in play is a Vaporeon with one Energy, an Eevee with no Energy, and an Absol with no Energy that's about to die. However, I have two prizes left, and his Flygon ex only has 60 HP left. He figures there's no way I can KO him back, so he uses Psychic Pulse again to get down to two prizes. I take in a breath of relief, play Jolteon to put another 10 on his Flygon ex, attach to Vaporeon, and play the Strength Charm to win. Whew.
2-0
At this point, me, AJ, and Matt are all 2-0, and Bianchi is 1-1.
Round 3 - Eeveelutions
The second he flipped over the Energy Evolution Eevee, I knew what was coming... but I was a little confused when he attached a Psychic T1 and did 10 to my Eevee. Regardless, I CFF for a Riolu, then he plays a Water Energy to grab Vaporeon UF and does 20 + attaches another Energy with Aqua Supply. Right now I can feel that a Sleep flip will determine how this game will be... great. Well, I evolve to Vaporeon but opt not to use the Power because I can tell his hand is bad. Then, I just Fastwave for 40. He attaches to Flareon, then he uses Multi Bubble for 60. Sleep flip.. Heads! I can't believe it. So, I PETM for Lucario, retreat, and KO it with Feint, fearing a Strength Charm or DRE KO from the UF Flareon. Next, he uses Lady Outing to grab three Energy... and hits me for 20. I retreat, attach to Vaporeon, and Fastwave.
3-0
Right now I'm feeling good about the deck. Everything is going well. Everyone won again as well.
Round 4 - BanDoom (John P.)
Somehow I knew he was playing Banette, and I wasn't too thrilled about it. While Banette isn't exactly an auto loss, it's really close and depends on your opening hand. Unfortunately, my opening hand was pitiful, and I started with Riolu. Fortunately, he opened with Houndour. Going first, he attaches a Rainbow and uses Smog. I'm just praying for the Strength Charm so I can Wild Kick T1 FTW, but I don't draw it. So, I PETM to grab Lucario for next turn, attach, and Wild Kick.. HEADS! Next turn, he misses an Energy drop and passes, so I'm in a good spot. All I have is a Holon's Electrode for Energy, but I draw into an Eevee and bench it. I have another PETM in hand, so Umbreon can come into play when I need to. After attaching Cessation to Lucario, I KO the Houndour and do 20 to a Shuppet. Throughout the game, he misses Energy drops, and Umbreon goes to town on him. Actually, I'm not sure he knew what Umbreon did, because I used Black Cry, then he tried to Shady Move and retreat in the same turn lol. I KO a third and final Banette to win it.
4-0
Now I'm really feeling good. I know I just need to go 3-2 the rest of the way to make the cut. That shouldn't be TOO hard... right?
Round 5 - Seaking.dec (psycodad)
I've known Eric for quite some time now. Of course, he always plays wacky decks because he doesn't like playing archetypes, and this time is no different. I know what he's playing, and I feel like I have a great matchup. While he opens with a Solrock, I open with a Riolu, but no Energy and no Supporters - just complete junk. Since Solrock has a two retreat cost, I attach Cessation to Riolu so he can't retreat for free with Lunatone's Body. This should buy me a few turns... Five turns later, I still haven't drawn anything, and he finally KOs my Lucario. I made a few minor gameplay errors out of frustration, but none that could have changed the outcome of this gruesome match.
4-1
Well, that's depressing. AJ got a prize penalty for having a "marked card" in his deck, so he lost, too. Still, Matt is 5-0, and the rest of us are 4-1. It's still looking good.
Round 6 - Infernape (Tom D.)
Finally! For the first time all day, I get to face an Infernape. In all my testing, I saw this as my best matchup because I knew it the best Again, I start with Riolu (5/6 so far, weird). The details of this are a little fuzzy, but I know he started out by trying to buy time with Flick Poison because his hand was so weak. Then, I dropped a Jolteon/Umbreon in the same turn to pull a double KO on his Delcatty and Monferno. From there, it was pretty much over, but he kept playing. He had a small chance if he hit four heads on Meteor Punch, but he only hit one, and the game was over. 6-0 victory for me.
5-1
I can feel that I'm making the cut now. I just have to go 2-1, and I'm in. AJ and Matt are in my spot, and Bianchi is 4-2. We all have high hopes still.
Round 7 - Mario (Emmanuel D.)
Emmanuel comes to all the tournaments in Rockford, so he's a familiar face. I wasn't sure what he was playing, but it really didn't matter, because my hand was fairly weak. We both open with Riolu, and he hits Tails on Wild Kick. I'm going over options in my head, and I figure I pretty much have the game won if he doesn't get another Basic. I'll just attach to Riolu, then next turn evolve to Lucario, attach to Eevee, hit his Lucario for 30, and that sets up a Jolteon or Espeon KO. So, I go with that plan, and hit Tails on Wild Kick. Then, he pulls Lucario/Energy/double PlusPower for the KO... With my hand, I can't recover from that. While I struggle to get back in the game, he gets RC/Machamp/DRE to KO my Lucario with 50 HP left. A Warp Point at the end seals my fate. Not a very fun game.
5-2
Now things are getting scary. AJ, Bianchi, and I all have to win out to make it. Matt, however, only has to go 1-1 to make it. The deck is on the ropes!
Round 8 - Delta (twitchy)
I really had no clue what he was playing, but I opened with a Riolu. Before the touranment, I predicted that everyone playing Lucario would T1 someone at least once. Well, when he looked at his hand, he said, "I'm so getting turn one'd." As he flips over the Pikachu, I'm thinking, "YES!" I attach and Wild Kick... HEADS! z0mg
6-2
After that, I can feel that I'm making the cut. It just seems like things are actually going my way. I'm ready to go!
Round 9 - Lucario/techs (Gino)
This is it! The last round to decide who makes it and who doesn't. I know what Gino's playing, but I don't think he knows what I'm playing. Earlier in the day I saw Matt play against him, and he managed to pull out a win, so I figure I can do the same. At the same time, I know an Eevee start can be a potential FTKO for him, so I definitely want to avoid that. Well, as I draw my hand, it is apparent to me that I am not going to Worlds this year. -_- My hand consists of a bunch of evolutions, PETM, Energy, and... Absol ex. For the first time, I open with a lone Absol. As I think about it, starting with Absol is good if he starts with Mew ex or Jirachi ex. But, you know, he starts with Riolu. I go first, attach, and pass. He whiffs the Wild Kick flip, which I think is fortunate at the time. I draw... no Basic. He shows me the Lucario/Energy/PlusPower... ughgughguhg
6-3
So, what a way to end my season. Sadly enough, AJ, Matt, Bianchi, and I all ended the day at 6-3, and nobody made the cut with the deck. We all felt we had another Delta in our hands, but nobody had the opportunity to show it in the top cut. Oh, well; there's always next year. I was really disappointed at the fact that I really played only one or two legitimate games the entire day. Every game had someone getting T1/T2'd, or someone was draw/passing, or something like that. I only had one game where both players actually setup, and it was my best game all day. I wanted to play some real games of Pokemon this weekend, and I didn't really get to.
Overall, Nats was amazingly fun. There were a lot of great times I'll never forget, and I can't wait to do it again next year. Scottfonte FTW! (I hate you AJ)
-Pooka
