The Beeblonian
New Member
The DecK
2-0-2 Pidgeot D (SW Pidgey)
4-3 Furret
4 Piplup (1 MD cause I'm a noob)
2 Prinplup (DP)
3 Empoleon (MD)
1 Empoleon Lv. X
1 Holon's Castform
1 Raltz
1 Gallade
4 Celios
1 Bebe's
4 Roseanne's
3 Steven's
4 Rare Candies
3 Galcia's Stadiums (I guess I was expecting more Crystal Beach or Garchomp or BattleFrontier)
1 Warp Point
2 Night Maintenence (Could have survived with 1 because I sacrifice so much junk early anyway)
4 Water
3 Holon WP
3 Scramble
2 DRE
2 Call
For those of you not familiar with Holon Phantoms Delta Pidgeot, his Pokebody stops all players from using pokepowers when he has a Holon Energy attached to him. One may recognize the Furret/ Delta Pidgeot combo from an article by Jimmy Ballard, but my friend Brian actually also came up with the idea independantly of Jimmy, in one of his unfathomable number of deck ideas that had a chance to counter the metagame. Given more time to perfect this deck, we probably could have made it just a little stronger (-1 Glacia's -1 Maintenence +1 Call Energy +1 DRE, and maybe take out Castform because I started with him 3 times out of the 11 different individual games
but this is what it was.
The Tournament
Round 1 vs. Ben (Speed Magmortar / Claydol)
I took it as a good omen that my first round happened to be against a Magmortar and happened to be at table 1. I started with a sentret active and went 2nd. He had a Magmortar. He attached and benched a Baltoy. I Roseanne's for a Pidgey and Sentret and Groped. He evolved to Magmortar and Claydol, played some quick balls and hit my Sentret for 40. I evolved to Furret and Keen Eyes'd for a Candy and Holon Energy. He energized and Leveled up to Flame Blast my Furret for KO. I brought up Sentret, evolved to Furret, celio's for Pidgeot, and candied and attached Holon to Pidgeot for the T3 Pidgeot Lock, and I benched a Piplup and Keen Eyed. He played a TGW (a nice healthy dose of Furret bane but 1 turn to late to be devastating), and sniped my back Piplup with Flame Bluster. After a couple more supporters and Keen Eye's I was able to get out a couple of Candied Empoleons with scrambles for the OHKOs and quickly tore up his Magmortar Lv. X, followed up by some DRE snipes on back Magmortars. I was worried at first, but I think that he would have had a better chance if he sniped my Pidgeot because the lack of an engine soon caught up to him.
1-0
Round 2 vs. Rob (Empoleon / Eevee / Cessation)
The most amazing starting hand! I have a sentret and a pidgey with the option of getting the T1 PidgeotLock if I go 2nd (Celios, Candy, Holon in hand). How ironic that he also doesn't use Powers in his deck. He uses Lapras and Carries In for cessation and some cards while I get a Furret and set up the Pidgeot Lock anyway (I'm still afraid of an Omastar drop or Dusknoir chuck even if they don't run an engine). He gets Empoleon quicker than me, and plays a Crystal Beach. I rare candy Raltz to Gallade, play Glacia's, and OHKO his Empoleon. I get one more KO with Gallade and have some back up Empoleon's, and he is forced to send up some weak guys for the sacrifice. He comments after the game that he could have carried in for a celio's, leveled up, and sniped my Raltz, but he went with Rose so he could ensure a full bench for the long ball. I guess it's mistakes like these that cost people games.
2-0
Round 3 vs. Jason Klaczynski (GG)
Probably the closest match of my life. Although I knew the player sitting across from me was very good based upon the conversation about last years worlds he was having with another player, I had no idea that he was a world champion until after the match because I have only been playing for a year and am somewhat ignorant of Who's Who in Pokemon TCG. I think that if I knew who I was playing, I probably would have made a crucial misplay costing me the game, so I think my ignorance worked in my favor. We both get some slow starts. I take a couple of turns to get out a Furret, and he Mimics probably until T4 or 5. He sets up a Gardevoir and Gallade before a Claydol, and I'm able to get my PidgeotLock around T5ish. After he KO's a couple of Furrets, I advance with a Raltz and Candy Scramble a Gallade for the KO. Unable to KO my Gallade because he has taken 3 prizes, he Blades him to the bench. I advance with Empoleons and start splashing about (I splash his Gallade, Gardevoir, and Chatot over the course of a couple of turns. I think I had a Holon and a water on my Emp, forcing him to flip the rest of his prizes, for an almost KO. I surf for the KO. At this point, Jason has 2 prizes left and I have 3 prizes left. He comes up with his Gardevoir, attaches a castform so it has 2 on it and levels it up. My Gallade has 40 HP left and his Chatot has 30 left. Just before anouncing his attack, he realizes that he can't Bring down my Gallade due to a ten damage differential. I was 1 surf together tails away from losinng him. He opts not to retreat his GardyX and instead just leaves him up there, and is annoyed by his misplay. I surf his Gardy for the KO, evening up the prizes. He then attaches to Dusknoir and passes. I dual splash his Dusknoir and Chatot, giving me one last prize. He Warp Points out my Holon WP Emp so I throw up something to sacrifice to his Dusknoir, giving him his 2nd to last prize. I then bring up empoleon and surf FTW. My closest game of the day, as I only won by ten damage, the difference between a heads and a tails on one Surf together. Great Game.
3-0
Round 4 vs. Mike or Michael (Another GG)
This game was back and forth the whole time. I started with Castform for the first time. He got a better start and was able to get a quick kill on my Furret, and won a wager immediately after I Furreted with my PidgeotLock in hand. I top decked a Call Energy allowing me to do something with the Castform I brought up to sacrifice. I was able to get out another Furret and pulled off the Lock the next turn. I then had to mount a resistance led by my Scrambled Gallade, only the roughest card in the game. He kept on top of me with his PsyLocks and Sonic Blades, but soon ran out of gas as he lacked an engine for the rest of the game. My Poleons came out strong to finish off the game, and I knew when he had to start playing his Tauros that the game was mine. I won by one prize, and it was probably the fastest 11 prize game I ever played.
4-0
Round 5 vs. Kyle (Leafeon Magmortar)
I had heard that Leaf/ Mag was good vs. Empoleon decks, but I had confidence that if I could time things right with my Gallade to KO his Leaf X and then finish off Magmortars with Empoleon that I would have a good chance. And of course the Pidgeot Lock would cause massive disruption on his Claydol and Leafeon's PokePowers. Unfortunately for me, I had the ugliest starting hand that I had ever laid these soft hazel eyes upon. I started with Castform, 2 water energies, 2 glacia's stadiums, and 2 rare candies. He mulligained twice, and I got a Pidgeot and a Roseanne's. I think I went first and attached to castform and passed. He began his set up. I Roseanne'sed for a pidgey and a sentret, candied to Pidgeot, and retreated for a useless grope. He got out his Claydol and a Magmortar and a evolved to Leafeon. He then kept an onslaught of Verdant Dance's and extra energy attach, as I don't hink I got out a Furret or Holon energy for my Pidgeot the whole game. I eventually got out an Empoleon, but Leafon's Leaf Guard proved too much for my Empoleon to handle. I think he won 6-0, but at the end of the game he still had a Magmortar with tons of energy on it and an active Leafeon. I felt that if I had gotten some kind of set up I would have had a good chance to win, but meh, that is the way it goes and everyone is gauranteed at least one terrible start per tournmanent.
4-1
Round 6 vs. Con Le (GG)
Con and I both get terrible set ups, and we exchange smacks and pecks for the first three turns of the game. He eventually top decks the rare candy and candies and DRES a Gallade, and starts ripping me apart. I get out a Furret and get a mediocre bench set up with an Empoleon, Pidgeot Locked, and something else I didn't want to lose. I misplay by sending up Empoleon that he is able to OHKO because I was afraid of losing my Pidgeot and removing the Lock. He pretty much just tears through the rest of my stuff with his Gallade and a backup Gallade. I don't think he even got a Gardy, not that he needed one. Con was a good sport though and gave me some advice for games like that in the future.
4-2
Round 7vs. Justin H. (Bronzong, Ampharos, Omastar MD AKA Aids I think)
I playtested against a deck like this the night before and felt that my deck worked superbly against it. Furrets allow me to avoid using supporters when Ampharos is out, my Glacia's can prevent weakness damage, they often rely on Scrambles which Empoleon can easily avoid giving them the opportunity to use them, and the Pidgeot Lock just shuts down their engine and Omastar drops. I start with Castform again (OMG 3 Castform starts with 12 basics in my deck ?!?>><<????!!:lol but I had a call Energy so I really can't complain about this one. I got a pretty quick PidgeotLock on him with my Sentret/ Furret start, and he got a pretty bad start, beginning with an active fossil and not too much else. He wasn't able to get out an Ampharos, so I pretty much just tore through his active guys with my Empoleons. It was a good confidence boosting match for me, and rekindled my hope of top cutting.
5-2
Round 8 vs. ???? Maybe an Eric or Drew G.? (Emp/Zong/ Dugtrio tech)
This was a very onesided game. I started with a benched Pidgey and two Pipulups with and active Furret. He got a T2 Empoleon on me and splashed both Piplups. At this point I didn't feel I could win the game. I could Candy to my PidgeotLock, allowing him to knock out both of my Piplups, and as soon as I bench piplups or a raltz again, he could splash it or snipe it. Instead I chose to candy to an Empoleon (which was probably a worse move) because it left his engine active for a long time and allowed him to keep spreading damage. I eventually got a candied Gallade, but as soon as I came up for a OHKO, he returned it with an Empoleon (both of his Bronzongs were prized). I got a couple of prizes I think, but by not getting that T3 Lock and trying to set up my brawlers, I gave him too much time to set up all he liked. But it is very likely that his victory was certain either way, because he could have tore through all of my pokemon with Surf Together even if I did choose to lose my Piplups. I realized my matchup vs. Empoleon decks is very poor because while they get the T2 or 3 Empoleon and start setting up their one hits later, I am busy Keen Eyesing my deck out.
5-3
I have the 2nd highest resistance of the 5-3s so I feel that if I win the next one, I may top cut. I cross my fingers and pray that I don't play another Empoleon deck.
Round 9 vs. Jim Ross (Speed Empoleon)
Awesome. Just what I wanted. He goes first and begins his set up. I Candy to Furret T1 and begin my Keen Eyes. I get my Lock off T2 and he comments, "This looks familiar" because he had previously played my friend Rippler who was running a virtually identical deck. I celios'd for a prinplup and evolve my Piplup just as I notice that I actually got a Piplup! :thumb: Wow it looks like the lack of sleep that I'm sure we all experienced is starting to take its toll on my playing. Jim was an awesome sport and let me actually get a Prinplup becase he knew my intent. I set up the Raltz, Candy, DRE, Gallade for the KO, and he also comments on how he could have gotten the Lv. X and sniped it while it was still a Raltz. My Gallade tears down a couple of Poleons and we trade some prizes, but the PidiLock is just too much to overcome sometimes, so I take all of my prizes. Sweet, I beat an Empoleon deck against the odds. My T2 Lock was crucial.
31 of 32 in my flight! Now if only I can get a T3 lock in 2 of these next 3 games I just might have a chance . . .
Top 64: The end of PidgiLock
I play Drew Holtz (GG), which I wasn't too upset about. I knew I was going to play someone great simply because of my 31st seed, and one GG is just like another GG when PidgiLocked, so I say bring it on. Too bad the next two games were the most one sided games I experienced all day, and likely Drew's easiest matches as well.
Game 1: I Go first and I start with my only MD Piplup, and no water energies (or any single equip for that matter), so I can't do any damage!. He starts with a Duskull and a Call Engery. Next I evolve to Prinplup, and I have a DRE in my hand, but I still can't do any damage because there is no damage on anyone, and DRE subtracts ten. I wish I had tried just a little harder to find that last DP Piplup. So I DRE him and bench something or other and pass. He gets his deck rolling a little with a Claydol. I recall getting owned earlier by the aggressive, inyourface Empoleon, so I evolve to Poleon, Castform DRE, and start Dual Splashing. This is my biggest misplay of the game because I need to get the the PidgiLock as soon as possible to put up a fight. I should have Celiosed for a Furret and retreated, discarding my Castform. He Warp Points and I finally get off a Keen Eye, but he Wagers me right after and I lose. His active GardyX has 100 HP left, so I Roseanne's to fill my bench even though he has a Dusknoir in play just so I can do something, and I felt that I needed to KO it right then just to have a chance. He brings up Dusknoir and Warp Points, so I immediately scoop. After he flings my Emp all i would have is like 4 basic Pokemon, any of which evolve he could chuck.
Game 2: I start with Sentret (I think) and begin to Grope for a bunch of junk. He sets up pretty quickly. I get a Keen Eye off relatively early, and he Wagers right after. In my anxious/ nervous state, I prematurely throw Paper (we west coasters throw on three, we don't shoot on four) and we redo it. On the next one I go Scissors (for some reason I don't remember) and he goes Rock again so I lose. I got all three remaining Roseanne's in my deck with my three cards! The game doesn't take too much longer as he just sets up and cuts through my stuff, while I really don't have anything or a way to get anything out.
6-4
Props:
Rippler - for staying Rogue and not running GG (PidgiLock is so much more fun albeit much less consistent).
Rippler's last minute 1-0-1 Gallade tech idea to replace Dusknoir (our anti LatiLock), Gallade tears it up and won me games.
The kool Cali crew - (and specifically James, James, and Joe) for letting us borrow like 22.5 Empoleons right before our matches and more importantly being cool people to hang with.
The awesome Utah crew - for also hooking up much needed cards (and specifically Cat for those free packs, sorry no Leafeon Lv X) and more importantly, for their friendship and good times hanging out.
Pidgeot Delta - we'll miss you next season :frown:
For everyone who took the time to read this (ya I'm kinda long winded when it comes to writing).
Top cutting at my first Nationals
Great Opponents and great sportsmanship
For a great first season of organized pokemon (and beware, team Rogue Solid is coming out swinging at a Battle Roads {probably nowhere} near you).
Slops:
3 Castform starts (I'm still baffled and bitter)
Only Nevada battles Roads being it Southern Nevada
Like 7 good hours of sleep over 4 days
The hectic Friday filled with hotel and registration problems
For me not running GG? IDK I have mixed emotions about it
2-0-2 Pidgeot D (SW Pidgey)
4-3 Furret
4 Piplup (1 MD cause I'm a noob)
2 Prinplup (DP)
3 Empoleon (MD)
1 Empoleon Lv. X
1 Holon's Castform
1 Raltz
1 Gallade
24
4 Celios
1 Bebe's
4 Roseanne's
3 Steven's
4 Rare Candies
3 Galcia's Stadiums (I guess I was expecting more Crystal Beach or Garchomp or BattleFrontier)
1 Warp Point
2 Night Maintenence (Could have survived with 1 because I sacrifice so much junk early anyway)
22
4 Water
3 Holon WP
3 Scramble
2 DRE
2 Call
14
For those of you not familiar with Holon Phantoms Delta Pidgeot, his Pokebody stops all players from using pokepowers when he has a Holon Energy attached to him. One may recognize the Furret/ Delta Pidgeot combo from an article by Jimmy Ballard, but my friend Brian actually also came up with the idea independantly of Jimmy, in one of his unfathomable number of deck ideas that had a chance to counter the metagame. Given more time to perfect this deck, we probably could have made it just a little stronger (-1 Glacia's -1 Maintenence +1 Call Energy +1 DRE, and maybe take out Castform because I started with him 3 times out of the 11 different individual games
but this is what it was.The Tournament
Round 1 vs. Ben (Speed Magmortar / Claydol)
I took it as a good omen that my first round happened to be against a Magmortar and happened to be at table 1. I started with a sentret active and went 2nd. He had a Magmortar. He attached and benched a Baltoy. I Roseanne's for a Pidgey and Sentret and Groped. He evolved to Magmortar and Claydol, played some quick balls and hit my Sentret for 40. I evolved to Furret and Keen Eyes'd for a Candy and Holon Energy. He energized and Leveled up to Flame Blast my Furret for KO. I brought up Sentret, evolved to Furret, celio's for Pidgeot, and candied and attached Holon to Pidgeot for the T3 Pidgeot Lock, and I benched a Piplup and Keen Eyed. He played a TGW (a nice healthy dose of Furret bane but 1 turn to late to be devastating), and sniped my back Piplup with Flame Bluster. After a couple more supporters and Keen Eye's I was able to get out a couple of Candied Empoleons with scrambles for the OHKOs and quickly tore up his Magmortar Lv. X, followed up by some DRE snipes on back Magmortars. I was worried at first, but I think that he would have had a better chance if he sniped my Pidgeot because the lack of an engine soon caught up to him.
1-0
Round 2 vs. Rob (Empoleon / Eevee / Cessation)
The most amazing starting hand! I have a sentret and a pidgey with the option of getting the T1 PidgeotLock if I go 2nd (Celios, Candy, Holon in hand). How ironic that he also doesn't use Powers in his deck. He uses Lapras and Carries In for cessation and some cards while I get a Furret and set up the Pidgeot Lock anyway (I'm still afraid of an Omastar drop or Dusknoir chuck even if they don't run an engine). He gets Empoleon quicker than me, and plays a Crystal Beach. I rare candy Raltz to Gallade, play Glacia's, and OHKO his Empoleon. I get one more KO with Gallade and have some back up Empoleon's, and he is forced to send up some weak guys for the sacrifice. He comments after the game that he could have carried in for a celio's, leveled up, and sniped my Raltz, but he went with Rose so he could ensure a full bench for the long ball. I guess it's mistakes like these that cost people games.
2-0
Round 3 vs. Jason Klaczynski (GG)
Probably the closest match of my life. Although I knew the player sitting across from me was very good based upon the conversation about last years worlds he was having with another player, I had no idea that he was a world champion until after the match because I have only been playing for a year and am somewhat ignorant of Who's Who in Pokemon TCG. I think that if I knew who I was playing, I probably would have made a crucial misplay costing me the game, so I think my ignorance worked in my favor. We both get some slow starts. I take a couple of turns to get out a Furret, and he Mimics probably until T4 or 5. He sets up a Gardevoir and Gallade before a Claydol, and I'm able to get my PidgeotLock around T5ish. After he KO's a couple of Furrets, I advance with a Raltz and Candy Scramble a Gallade for the KO. Unable to KO my Gallade because he has taken 3 prizes, he Blades him to the bench. I advance with Empoleons and start splashing about (I splash his Gallade, Gardevoir, and Chatot over the course of a couple of turns. I think I had a Holon and a water on my Emp, forcing him to flip the rest of his prizes, for an almost KO. I surf for the KO. At this point, Jason has 2 prizes left and I have 3 prizes left. He comes up with his Gardevoir, attaches a castform so it has 2 on it and levels it up. My Gallade has 40 HP left and his Chatot has 30 left. Just before anouncing his attack, he realizes that he can't Bring down my Gallade due to a ten damage differential. I was 1 surf together tails away from losinng him. He opts not to retreat his GardyX and instead just leaves him up there, and is annoyed by his misplay. I surf his Gardy for the KO, evening up the prizes. He then attaches to Dusknoir and passes. I dual splash his Dusknoir and Chatot, giving me one last prize. He Warp Points out my Holon WP Emp so I throw up something to sacrifice to his Dusknoir, giving him his 2nd to last prize. I then bring up empoleon and surf FTW. My closest game of the day, as I only won by ten damage, the difference between a heads and a tails on one Surf together. Great Game.
3-0
Round 4 vs. Mike or Michael (Another GG)
This game was back and forth the whole time. I started with Castform for the first time. He got a better start and was able to get a quick kill on my Furret, and won a wager immediately after I Furreted with my PidgeotLock in hand. I top decked a Call Energy allowing me to do something with the Castform I brought up to sacrifice. I was able to get out another Furret and pulled off the Lock the next turn. I then had to mount a resistance led by my Scrambled Gallade, only the roughest card in the game. He kept on top of me with his PsyLocks and Sonic Blades, but soon ran out of gas as he lacked an engine for the rest of the game. My Poleons came out strong to finish off the game, and I knew when he had to start playing his Tauros that the game was mine. I won by one prize, and it was probably the fastest 11 prize game I ever played.
4-0
Round 5 vs. Kyle (Leafeon Magmortar)
I had heard that Leaf/ Mag was good vs. Empoleon decks, but I had confidence that if I could time things right with my Gallade to KO his Leaf X and then finish off Magmortars with Empoleon that I would have a good chance. And of course the Pidgeot Lock would cause massive disruption on his Claydol and Leafeon's PokePowers. Unfortunately for me, I had the ugliest starting hand that I had ever laid these soft hazel eyes upon. I started with Castform, 2 water energies, 2 glacia's stadiums, and 2 rare candies. He mulligained twice, and I got a Pidgeot and a Roseanne's. I think I went first and attached to castform and passed. He began his set up. I Roseanne'sed for a pidgey and a sentret, candied to Pidgeot, and retreated for a useless grope. He got out his Claydol and a Magmortar and a evolved to Leafeon. He then kept an onslaught of Verdant Dance's and extra energy attach, as I don't hink I got out a Furret or Holon energy for my Pidgeot the whole game. I eventually got out an Empoleon, but Leafon's Leaf Guard proved too much for my Empoleon to handle. I think he won 6-0, but at the end of the game he still had a Magmortar with tons of energy on it and an active Leafeon. I felt that if I had gotten some kind of set up I would have had a good chance to win, but meh, that is the way it goes and everyone is gauranteed at least one terrible start per tournmanent.
4-1
Round 6 vs. Con Le (GG)
Con and I both get terrible set ups, and we exchange smacks and pecks for the first three turns of the game. He eventually top decks the rare candy and candies and DRES a Gallade, and starts ripping me apart. I get out a Furret and get a mediocre bench set up with an Empoleon, Pidgeot Locked, and something else I didn't want to lose. I misplay by sending up Empoleon that he is able to OHKO because I was afraid of losing my Pidgeot and removing the Lock. He pretty much just tears through the rest of my stuff with his Gallade and a backup Gallade. I don't think he even got a Gardy, not that he needed one. Con was a good sport though and gave me some advice for games like that in the future.
4-2
Round 7vs. Justin H. (Bronzong, Ampharos, Omastar MD AKA Aids I think)
I playtested against a deck like this the night before and felt that my deck worked superbly against it. Furrets allow me to avoid using supporters when Ampharos is out, my Glacia's can prevent weakness damage, they often rely on Scrambles which Empoleon can easily avoid giving them the opportunity to use them, and the Pidgeot Lock just shuts down their engine and Omastar drops. I start with Castform again (OMG 3 Castform starts with 12 basics in my deck ?!?>><<????!!:lol
but I had a call Energy so I really can't complain about this one. I got a pretty quick PidgeotLock on him with my Sentret/ Furret start, and he got a pretty bad start, beginning with an active fossil and not too much else. He wasn't able to get out an Ampharos, so I pretty much just tore through his active guys with my Empoleons. It was a good confidence boosting match for me, and rekindled my hope of top cutting.5-2
Round 8 vs. ???? Maybe an Eric or Drew G.? (Emp/Zong/ Dugtrio tech)
This was a very onesided game. I started with a benched Pidgey and two Pipulups with and active Furret. He got a T2 Empoleon on me and splashed both Piplups. At this point I didn't feel I could win the game. I could Candy to my PidgeotLock, allowing him to knock out both of my Piplups, and as soon as I bench piplups or a raltz again, he could splash it or snipe it. Instead I chose to candy to an Empoleon (which was probably a worse move) because it left his engine active for a long time and allowed him to keep spreading damage. I eventually got a candied Gallade, but as soon as I came up for a OHKO, he returned it with an Empoleon (both of his Bronzongs were prized). I got a couple of prizes I think, but by not getting that T3 Lock and trying to set up my brawlers, I gave him too much time to set up all he liked. But it is very likely that his victory was certain either way, because he could have tore through all of my pokemon with Surf Together even if I did choose to lose my Piplups. I realized my matchup vs. Empoleon decks is very poor because while they get the T2 or 3 Empoleon and start setting up their one hits later, I am busy Keen Eyesing my deck out.
5-3
I have the 2nd highest resistance of the 5-3s so I feel that if I win the next one, I may top cut. I cross my fingers and pray that I don't play another Empoleon deck.
Round 9 vs. Jim Ross (Speed Empoleon)
Awesome. Just what I wanted. He goes first and begins his set up. I Candy to Furret T1 and begin my Keen Eyes. I get my Lock off T2 and he comments, "This looks familiar" because he had previously played my friend Rippler who was running a virtually identical deck. I celios'd for a prinplup and evolve my Piplup just as I notice that I actually got a Piplup! :thumb: Wow it looks like the lack of sleep that I'm sure we all experienced is starting to take its toll on my playing. Jim was an awesome sport and let me actually get a Prinplup becase he knew my intent. I set up the Raltz, Candy, DRE, Gallade for the KO, and he also comments on how he could have gotten the Lv. X and sniped it while it was still a Raltz. My Gallade tears down a couple of Poleons and we trade some prizes, but the PidiLock is just too much to overcome sometimes, so I take all of my prizes. Sweet, I beat an Empoleon deck against the odds. My T2 Lock was crucial.
31 of 32 in my flight! Now if only I can get a T3 lock in 2 of these next 3 games I just might have a chance . . .
Top 64: The end of PidgiLock
I play Drew Holtz (GG), which I wasn't too upset about. I knew I was going to play someone great simply because of my 31st seed, and one GG is just like another GG when PidgiLocked, so I say bring it on. Too bad the next two games were the most one sided games I experienced all day, and likely Drew's easiest matches as well.
Game 1: I Go first and I start with my only MD Piplup, and no water energies (or any single equip for that matter), so I can't do any damage!. He starts with a Duskull and a Call Engery. Next I evolve to Prinplup, and I have a DRE in my hand, but I still can't do any damage because there is no damage on anyone, and DRE subtracts ten. I wish I had tried just a little harder to find that last DP Piplup. So I DRE him and bench something or other and pass. He gets his deck rolling a little with a Claydol. I recall getting owned earlier by the aggressive, inyourface Empoleon, so I evolve to Poleon, Castform DRE, and start Dual Splashing. This is my biggest misplay of the game because I need to get the the PidgiLock as soon as possible to put up a fight. I should have Celiosed for a Furret and retreated, discarding my Castform. He Warp Points and I finally get off a Keen Eye, but he Wagers me right after and I lose. His active GardyX has 100 HP left, so I Roseanne's to fill my bench even though he has a Dusknoir in play just so I can do something, and I felt that I needed to KO it right then just to have a chance. He brings up Dusknoir and Warp Points, so I immediately scoop. After he flings my Emp all i would have is like 4 basic Pokemon, any of which evolve he could chuck.
Game 2: I start with Sentret (I think) and begin to Grope for a bunch of junk. He sets up pretty quickly. I get a Keen Eye off relatively early, and he Wagers right after. In my anxious/ nervous state, I prematurely throw Paper (we west coasters throw on three, we don't shoot on four) and we redo it. On the next one I go Scissors (for some reason I don't remember) and he goes Rock again so I lose. I got all three remaining Roseanne's in my deck with my three cards! The game doesn't take too much longer as he just sets up and cuts through my stuff, while I really don't have anything or a way to get anything out.
6-4
Props:
Rippler - for staying Rogue and not running GG (PidgiLock is so much more fun albeit much less consistent).
Rippler's last minute 1-0-1 Gallade tech idea to replace Dusknoir (our anti LatiLock), Gallade tears it up and won me games.
The kool Cali crew - (and specifically James, James, and Joe) for letting us borrow like 22.5 Empoleons right before our matches and more importantly being cool people to hang with.
The awesome Utah crew - for also hooking up much needed cards (and specifically Cat for those free packs, sorry no Leafeon Lv X) and more importantly, for their friendship and good times hanging out.
Pidgeot Delta - we'll miss you next season :frown:
For everyone who took the time to read this (ya I'm kinda long winded when it comes to writing).
Top cutting at my first Nationals
Great Opponents and great sportsmanship
For a great first season of organized pokemon (and beware, team Rogue Solid is coming out swinging at a Battle Roads {probably nowhere} near you).
Slops:
3 Castform starts (I'm still baffled and bitter)
Only Nevada battles Roads being it Southern Nevada
Like 7 good hours of sleep over 4 days
The hectic Friday filled with hotel and registration problems
For me not running GG? IDK I have mixed emotions about it
