Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

The French National Championships!!

L

lev

New Member
Here’s the report I promised to do! I’ll only deal with my rounds and my opinions, as I can’t say for the others. First of all, the deck I ran:

21 Pokémon

-4 Ralts
-3 Kirlia
-3 Gardevoir
-2 Gardevoir EX
-3 Wynaut
-2 Wobbuffet
-4 Dunsparce

19 Energies

-15 Psychic Energy
-4 Boost Energy

20 Trainers

-4 Professor Oak’s Research
-3 Copycat
-2 Prof Elm’s Training Method
-1 Town Volunteers
-3 Rare Candy
-2 Master Ball
-2 Dual Ball
-1 Fast Ball
-2 Switch

They made an announcement: “Only cards from Expedition, Aquapolis, Skyridge, R&S and SS are allowed. Besides, the tournament will be run in 6 Swiss Rounds”. No Top4 or 8? Yeah, that’s right, it sounds weird...

11h, am: First Round
VS Sceptile (R&S n°11)
Oh! For the first round I’m against a “friend” of mine, whom I helped to finish his deck. I won the first game pretty easily (6-0), so I thought everything was OK for the second game. My opponent was so stressed that I was angry against him. I told him several times to chill out... He made everything wrong, he mixed up my cards upside down and so on...
Second game, I had such a bad hand that I didn’t to anything but watch him pounding me...
Third game “2 minutes left”... He knew I could win so he waited, took one minute to choose his starting Pokémon although he had only one in hand... “It’s over”. OK. A draw. What a good start...
0-0-1
1 point

12h, am: Second Round
VS Espeon SS
Psychic Weakness, the thing I hate... It’s difficult to play with a weakness that is also the one of your opponent. First game, he crushed me so quickly that I did nothing. Second game GEX and Gardy came out easily, so that was a win. But the third game was so awful... A correct starting hand, then I do Copycat for 6 cards: 5 Psychic and 1 Dunsparce. OK, that’s it...
0-1-1
1 point

1h, pm: Lunch Time
Two rounds, and only one point. Needless to say that I was in a bad posture. My girlfriend did the same thing with the deck I made for her. She learnt to play Pokémon 2 months ago, and she has never tried the deck I made for her, so she was not so surprised. OK, let’s start the third round...

2h, pm: Third Round
VS my girlfriend (Blaziken+Delcatty)...
We had the same amount of points, so that was predictable. I won without any glory, but we had a really really good time together!
1-1-1
4 points

3h, pm: Fourth Round
VS a strange deck based on luck...
That guy was SO funny I will always recall him! My girlfriend had a bye, and that guy was OK to keep her next to me. All we’ve done is to laugh with him, and sometimes we played... :p He played the Pokémon that evolves from Zigzaton, and which does 40 times the number of heads you get until having tails. Sometimes he did nothing, and sometimes... 160! But all of his Pokémon had low HP, so GEX took all of them... It was a really nice round!!
2-1-1
7 points

4h, pm: Fifth Round
VS a Steelix/Xatu deck
His idea was to have a Defensive deck to slow down the opponent. But actually it slowed down... his deck! He had some problems with Gardevoir, because in French it’s bad-translated (a Boost does +30 for Psy Burst in English, in French it does only +10...). We applied the English Text but he didn’t want, even though two judges told him it was like that... So after a while he agreed, and then he lost...
3-1-1
10 points

5h, pm: Sixth and Last Round!
VS Michel, a great player from Belgium
A mirror match! That sounded hard to beat him, but I was so pleased to play against him that it didn’t matter. He’s a really great player and a so nice guy. I talked with him before the tournament and so on. Everyone was against him as he was a player from Belgium and he won everything. I think it is sad to reach such a point... They don’t know him, and if they did they would know he’s likeable.
He won 4 times and a draw (because of someone who waited, as the guy did in my first round, that’s sad...). So if he wins against me, he will go to Florida. If I win and the guy that has 12 points loses, I’ll go to Florida! So I played as well as I could.
He won easily the first game, although I has a decent hand. The second game was really a good game, both of us had 1 prize left. I won but it was just... GEX and Gardy came out quicker for me in the third game, and he had no Pokémon left, so I won. The Judge said “30 seconds left”. Michel didn’t wait. He’s not stupid as the others were...
But unfortunately, the other guy won, so I couldn’t be first... Too baaad. I so much wanted to go United-States...

6h, pm: The results
Congratulations to the first one, Cyrille Buono, who will represent France in Worlds. And the second is... me! I thought I was 3rd or 4th, but, no! Second! Like I’m in the plane, and finally, they said nooooo go back home in car... Too bad, too sad... But I’m happy in the meantime, because it’s my best ranking ever. And it’s the first time that I win a complete box (team Aqua/Magma). I also won a lot a rather nice goodies, and medals for being twice first in CC!

It was a rally nice tourney. I met a lot a rather nice people. It was too bad that there were players waiting for a draw, or other people that do not listen to judges... Eventually I want to thank Bullados and Whicker, for having helped me a lot, giving me tips and so on. You helped me being second, thank you so much!
 
No, only the very first one. And even though I won an Invite, I think I would not go to USA, because the trip is too expensive unfortunately... But if someone wants to pay it for me, it would be great ^o^ It doesn't matter, as usually, I'll try next year!
 
Very nice report Lev.

Even if all, or most of, the players were against me, only one has won against me, ... you ;)

I've had a lot of fun in Paris, and like I already said, my only regret is that there are players who prefer to stall to draw instead of playing ... at round 1 or 3 !
I've always found that players like that are 'little players'and, honestly, I wouldn't be proud to draw like that.
But they do what they can, and they probably can't do more than that ;)

Tormentsoul, you forget an important thing ... we're in Europe. I don't want to start a new discussion about US vs Europe, or differences between European countries. These subjects are discussed in other topics.
Just want to say that, according to the countries in Europe, and according to the very changing decisions short before the event, trips awarded may vary from a place to another. But no European country gives 4 trips to Worlds.

Like Lev said, an invite is not a prize ... unless you have 2500 USD to spend on the trip and hotel :cool:
 
Congratulations on 2nd and thanks for posting your report! I'm glad you find some hope for the distrubutor improving the game there.
 
I did a lobby for more invitations at Nationals and got a big NONO from PUI. So only nr 1 gets an invitation (+ trip incase it's an inhabitant).
Looks like they only want a few European overthere, because some of us are going to Florida on own expence and an invitation would have been nice iso playing the Grinder tourny.
 
we should put a post in a place where people would see it and ask people to donate money so you can go to the worlds. what do you guys think?
Drew
 
Nice idea TheDarkTwins ;)

For your information, trip + hotel for 2 people (1 adult + 1 child) from Thursday to Monday costs approx USD 2500 - 3000 from Belgium.
I suppose it must be the same from other European countries.

European players looking for sponsorship ... :)
 
MIchel , I found a sponsor and quess who? PSgames
Jasper 1st place 10- Nationals
Jeanette 2nd 11-14 Nationals ( but Jeroen Robert was 1st so she got the trip)

Auhg, someone is going to have a nightmare this week.
 
GREAT !!!!!!! :clap:

Congrats to you and the kids. :thumb:
Have fun in Orlando

PS Games must be happy, it's not a foreign player who'll go to Worlds :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Thanks for the report.
Looks like you had fun.
thats most important. The people.

Its expensive for US players also to go...Please remember that.
Some of us have a few thousand miles to travel to attend.
Michigan to Orlando is further than Madrid to Berlin :)

PS Games is the distributer where?
What event did they run?

My son is excited to meet the foreign players. I dont think he cares how he plays.
 
Last edited:
annisarich, PS Games is the distributor in Holland and they've run the National in Holland.

These so friendly people have announced, one week before their National, that foreign players were not allowed to win the trip, which was the opposite of what they had said for months. (see topic in the Professor section)

You may tell your son that meeting foreign players at an event like Worlds is an unforgettable experience. We've had the opportunity to play in NY, SD, Seattle and Hawaii, and more than the game itself, it's the people we've met that we remember today.
 
Michel, I "discussed" Nationals a year ago with PSgames.
At that time they told us that Nationals were for inhabitant only and we laughed at them and said we will wait and see.
Than the announcements of CC and Nationals came and they allowed everyone to get the prices.
At that point we said look they are doing it again, saying A doing B.
Than 10 days prior they changed minds again and I don't like it that they mess with players that way.
Lot's of 15+ didn't show up because of this.

If they only had listened and builded on a real playersbase last year, attendance could have been much more.
If they only did their homework and made Nationals invitation only getting in by being in top8 of CC's (with more CC's) and announce on time what to expect for foreign players. Then only there were no hard feelings.

Now it only looks like a victory, but it isn't.
We attended in Belgium in the hope that if there are enough players coming Intrafin will take care of a normal prizestructure in the future. That they meaby will listen to the veterans, but I really don't know if it worked.

It's not about selfrespect, because what players do they have left if the ignored and foreign players are out of the attendance. meaby 50 or less.
You say they don't care, but there are people like me who will again and again point that out to them.
For now it's only my victory, I'm ignored and insulted the whole year, not getting support and our (unofficial club) players dominated all 3 top 8's.
So PSgames didn't want to give us louzy promo's then we take the trips. As long as they refuse to listen they will not earn any money on my players, because we will not buy cards inside this country.We will pay entrance and walk away with all the prizes like we did on the CC's and now Nationals.

It's their descission.
 
Rainbowgym, do you really believe that distributors will think that much about it ?
They have figures, and they don't care where these players come from.
They now may say that, in Belgium and Holland, their National were a success, ... without the veterans, or dispite them.

When I talk about self respect, I talk about the people from my country who have been to Utrecht to play a tournament run by a company who, IMO, has treaten them like sh...

I don't care if a National is open to people from the country only. They've told it in the UK since the beginning, and it's OK.
But I don't accept that a distributor change his mind 9 days before an event, I don't accept that the owner of the game and OP do agree with that.

A few European players have won a trip to Worlds. And if 9 days before the event PUI say that it's open to US players only and that you may come to play the side events but not the championship ?
Of yourse you'll be happy, trip+hotel free to Orlando and side events is nice. But if you have to pay for the trip and hotel, if you've reserved everything, if you've planned your trip ?

This topic is about the French Championship.
In Paris, Asmodee has not changed their decision, they've respected the foreign players.
That's what I call 'responsibility and respect'. Not the same everywhere unfortunately.
 
If they would change the entrance for World I would leave the US saturday, get my kids back on school on time and not get a fine up to 2250 euro a kid.
And the bill for the ticketchange should be send to the distributor.

I know it's all about respect, but who is listening to us.
It's a difficult choise for me, because if I had to make a decission only for myself as adult I should not attended Nationals. But because I'm clubleader of 30 kids my choises are made to pleasure them.
 
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