brendan2236
New Member
So, about three weeks before Nats I haven't been able to play much, only testing a few games with Garchomp, Leafeon variants, and Empoleon. But, after talking to GrandmaJoner, I realized that I better start testing hard if I want to have any shot at winning. Basically I test the format and realized that Plox is the play, and after Gino wins US Nats with it, I'm totally set on Plox. My brother and I spend the week before testing some more, and for the first time in a while, I actually feel ready for a tournament. So, Saturday morning, we arrive at the hotel, I have to borrow a bunch of cards off people, and once that’s done, my brother and I get in line, register, and then get ready to start swiss.
63 masters, six rounds of swiss, t16.
I'm running standard Plox with 3 Kirlia, 2 Cessation Crystal, Cressalia and Dusknoir.
Oh, I apologize if I can't remember all my opponents’ names, my memory is a bit foggy atm.
Round 1 (Empoleon w./Crystal Beach/Pidgeot d.
I'm worried about this match up, as beach could be a pain, and Pidgeot was rather annoying as well. I get Gallade out, and Sonic Blade a couple guys, I wager her, and after that she isn't able to get much setup, even though Pidgeot d's power continues to slow me down. Eventually, I'm able to Ko Pidgeot with Gallade ftw. Win. Good Game.
Round 2 (Empoleon)
This was a fun game, and my opponent was really nice, we both get setup, but I get out Gardy/Claydol, then wager, and that messed up his setup. I Psychic Lock a couple times, followed by Gallade with CC, as well as using Full Moon Dance to move counters around. Win. Good Game, really fun.
Round 3 (Malcolm S-B w/Plox)
Sooo, I start Duskull, and have Wager in hand, but I decide against playing it, (bad play) and setup Gardy and p-lock him, but he has Lake Boundary/ PP in hand, which wrecks me, and I lose. Good Game.
After round three we had a lunch break, and I have pizza from the hotel restaurant, which was fine, and I talk to Gordon/Sebastian about what records will make cut, and Gordon tells me that backwards (Mike M.) calculated that almost half the 4-2's will miss cut. Anyways, on to round 4.
I check the pairings andddd.......
Round 4 (Gordon Coates w./Plox)
Ugh, so I'm playing Gordon, which was the one person out of all 2-1's that I least wanted to play, considering that the loser could very well miss cut. We both get setup, but he gets the early p-lock, and I'm left trying to draw into an energy while he grabs prize after prize. Eventually I draw scramble, but by that point it's too late, and he Ko's me ftw. Loss. Good game.
So now I go from 2-0 to 2-2, and I'm pretty worried about missing cut, considering what Gordon said earlier about the number of 4-2's missing it.
Round 5 (Parasect)
This deck was really scary to play against, as I had an iffy start, and Parasect can be nasty t2. He gets out a fast one, and hits me for 60/asleep/poisoned. Basically, I'm able to setup Gallade and grab a few prizes, but Parasect continues to be annoying, especially when I can't flip heads for asleep. Eventually, I'm able to wake up, and use Gallade some more ftw. Good game, cool deck.
Round 6 (Plox)
Another mirror and I think we ran virtually the exact same lists. I setup, use Cessation Crystal/P-lock to hinder his setup, and am able to Ko stuff till he has nothing but Claydol/Baltoy left, I Ko them ftw. Good game. Afterwards, he flips over his prizes, and has three Ralts prized, so I really felt bad about that. Win.
I finish swiss at 4-2, and wait to see if I made cut. Sebastian went 5-1, and Gordon missed cut, which wasn't cool, as he deserved to make it. Alex D made it also at 5-1 I believe, and Mike and I believe Willy as well both missed, which also sucked. So standings go up, and I make cut in 14th, and look to see who I'm playing: Brendan Nolan vs. Sebastian Crema. Ugh, I was really hoping to avoid this pairing, both because he's one of the best in the world, and because I really wanted both of us to go far in the tourney, but now one of us would be out t16.
T16 (Sebastian w./Plox)
Game 1: I get t2 Claydol w./Ralts active + candy/Gallade in hand, I Cosmic Power and draw DRE for the donk. That wasn't the way I wanted to win, but oh well.
Game 2: He gets Gardy lvl X. out fast, and donks me ftw. So now we’re even, and both games took a total of 5 minutes.
Game 3: I believe I started Duskull here, and shuffled in his Steven's Advice, which was his only draw card. so, that slowed him down a bit. He then had a string of bad luck, losing RPS several times. I went 3-prizes to 5, then 2-4 I believe, he benches Jirachi ex, and I know if I can KO that, then I win. But that’s not going to happen, since he has two benched so I can't warp point it, but I'm able to grab another prize, and then KO active Gardy lvl. X ftw. Win. Great Games. I felt like a jerk for winning like that, and I apologize to him, but he seems cool. Though, I'm still mad we got paired up t16, but I guess that happens sometimes.
T8 (Ranny ?? w. Plox)
Game 1: This was a long game, taking about 40 minutes, we go back and forth, but he has the better setup, but mine is decent so I play it out, but am forced to scoop with 20 minutes to play.
Game 2: I get out a fast Gallade and am able to win pretty fast.
Game 3: We both setup, but time expires when I'm ahead in prizes, so I win.
Good games.
So I’m in t4, which is an invite, which is awesome.
T4 (Jerry ?? w. Empoleon)
Game 1: For some reason I thought he was running Plox, so I was surprised when he flipped over Piplups. Anyways, I'm able setup pretty fast, he uses Empoleon to Dual Splash a few guys, but I think I was able to Gallade/CC/Wager/Psychic Cut, leaving him with not much setup, so he scoops within a few turns.
Game 2: Again I get a good setup, I'm able to get some KO's and the lock him, and he doesn't have much left, so he scoops. Win. Good Games. He seemed really happy to get the invite/make t4, so that was cool.
Kevin lost to Malcolm in the other t4 match, so I now know my finals opponent.
Finals (Malcolm S-B w. Plox)
Game 1: This game went back and forth, I was able to Gallade+CC lock him at one point. He benches Stantler. I Bring Down a Ralts I believe. I bench Dusknoir and attach DRE, he KO's Gardy lvl. X. Prizes come down to 1-1, He pushes up Gallade and hits me with Sonic Blade. He has only Stantler on the bench, and at that point I know I have the game, Dusknoir has 2 DRE's on him, so I show him the warp point, and it's GG. Win.
So at this point, we have about 5 minutes left for Game 2. I start with Duskull, He starts with Baltoy, but I have 2 Roseanne’s in hand, so I know I have the game. He uses Psychic Balance, but shuffles his hand into his deck, and gets a game loss for that. GG
So, after all that.................... I'm the 2008 Canadian National Champion!!!!!
So, I wait around a bit, then we have the trophy presentations, and then I say thanks/bye to everyone, and get to head home after a long day, as the champ!
Props:
-Sebastian, Gordon, Alex, Willy, Kevin, Mike and everyone else I forgot to mention for being cool and for lending me cards and stuff.
-Steve, Terry, Patrick, Geoff, John, and everyone else who helped judge and run a great event.
-My mom/brother.
-everyone else
-Dusknoir
-POP
-Plox
-Gino for winning US Nats with Plox and giving me confidence to run Plox as well Cressalia.
Slops:
-none
Sorry if this report is a little sketchy on details, but I'll add more as I remember them.
63 masters, six rounds of swiss, t16.
I'm running standard Plox with 3 Kirlia, 2 Cessation Crystal, Cressalia and Dusknoir.
Oh, I apologize if I can't remember all my opponents’ names, my memory is a bit foggy atm.
Round 1 (Empoleon w./Crystal Beach/Pidgeot d.
I'm worried about this match up, as beach could be a pain, and Pidgeot was rather annoying as well. I get Gallade out, and Sonic Blade a couple guys, I wager her, and after that she isn't able to get much setup, even though Pidgeot d's power continues to slow me down. Eventually, I'm able to Ko Pidgeot with Gallade ftw. Win. Good Game.
Round 2 (Empoleon)
This was a fun game, and my opponent was really nice, we both get setup, but I get out Gardy/Claydol, then wager, and that messed up his setup. I Psychic Lock a couple times, followed by Gallade with CC, as well as using Full Moon Dance to move counters around. Win. Good Game, really fun.
Round 3 (Malcolm S-B w/Plox)
Sooo, I start Duskull, and have Wager in hand, but I decide against playing it, (bad play) and setup Gardy and p-lock him, but he has Lake Boundary/ PP in hand, which wrecks me, and I lose. Good Game.
After round three we had a lunch break, and I have pizza from the hotel restaurant, which was fine, and I talk to Gordon/Sebastian about what records will make cut, and Gordon tells me that backwards (Mike M.) calculated that almost half the 4-2's will miss cut. Anyways, on to round 4.
I check the pairings andddd.......
Round 4 (Gordon Coates w./Plox)
Ugh, so I'm playing Gordon, which was the one person out of all 2-1's that I least wanted to play, considering that the loser could very well miss cut. We both get setup, but he gets the early p-lock, and I'm left trying to draw into an energy while he grabs prize after prize. Eventually I draw scramble, but by that point it's too late, and he Ko's me ftw. Loss. Good game.
So now I go from 2-0 to 2-2, and I'm pretty worried about missing cut, considering what Gordon said earlier about the number of 4-2's missing it.
Round 5 (Parasect)
This deck was really scary to play against, as I had an iffy start, and Parasect can be nasty t2. He gets out a fast one, and hits me for 60/asleep/poisoned. Basically, I'm able to setup Gallade and grab a few prizes, but Parasect continues to be annoying, especially when I can't flip heads for asleep. Eventually, I'm able to wake up, and use Gallade some more ftw. Good game, cool deck.
Round 6 (Plox)
Another mirror and I think we ran virtually the exact same lists. I setup, use Cessation Crystal/P-lock to hinder his setup, and am able to Ko stuff till he has nothing but Claydol/Baltoy left, I Ko them ftw. Good game. Afterwards, he flips over his prizes, and has three Ralts prized, so I really felt bad about that. Win.
I finish swiss at 4-2, and wait to see if I made cut. Sebastian went 5-1, and Gordon missed cut, which wasn't cool, as he deserved to make it. Alex D made it also at 5-1 I believe, and Mike and I believe Willy as well both missed, which also sucked. So standings go up, and I make cut in 14th, and look to see who I'm playing: Brendan Nolan vs. Sebastian Crema. Ugh, I was really hoping to avoid this pairing, both because he's one of the best in the world, and because I really wanted both of us to go far in the tourney, but now one of us would be out t16.
T16 (Sebastian w./Plox)
Game 1: I get t2 Claydol w./Ralts active + candy/Gallade in hand, I Cosmic Power and draw DRE for the donk. That wasn't the way I wanted to win, but oh well.
Game 2: He gets Gardy lvl X. out fast, and donks me ftw. So now we’re even, and both games took a total of 5 minutes.
Game 3: I believe I started Duskull here, and shuffled in his Steven's Advice, which was his only draw card. so, that slowed him down a bit. He then had a string of bad luck, losing RPS several times. I went 3-prizes to 5, then 2-4 I believe, he benches Jirachi ex, and I know if I can KO that, then I win. But that’s not going to happen, since he has two benched so I can't warp point it, but I'm able to grab another prize, and then KO active Gardy lvl. X ftw. Win. Great Games. I felt like a jerk for winning like that, and I apologize to him, but he seems cool. Though, I'm still mad we got paired up t16, but I guess that happens sometimes.
T8 (Ranny ?? w. Plox)
Game 1: This was a long game, taking about 40 minutes, we go back and forth, but he has the better setup, but mine is decent so I play it out, but am forced to scoop with 20 minutes to play.
Game 2: I get out a fast Gallade and am able to win pretty fast.
Game 3: We both setup, but time expires when I'm ahead in prizes, so I win.
Good games.
So I’m in t4, which is an invite, which is awesome.
T4 (Jerry ?? w. Empoleon)
Game 1: For some reason I thought he was running Plox, so I was surprised when he flipped over Piplups. Anyways, I'm able setup pretty fast, he uses Empoleon to Dual Splash a few guys, but I think I was able to Gallade/CC/Wager/Psychic Cut, leaving him with not much setup, so he scoops within a few turns.
Game 2: Again I get a good setup, I'm able to get some KO's and the lock him, and he doesn't have much left, so he scoops. Win. Good Games. He seemed really happy to get the invite/make t4, so that was cool.
Kevin lost to Malcolm in the other t4 match, so I now know my finals opponent.
Finals (Malcolm S-B w. Plox)
Game 1: This game went back and forth, I was able to Gallade+CC lock him at one point. He benches Stantler. I Bring Down a Ralts I believe. I bench Dusknoir and attach DRE, he KO's Gardy lvl. X. Prizes come down to 1-1, He pushes up Gallade and hits me with Sonic Blade. He has only Stantler on the bench, and at that point I know I have the game, Dusknoir has 2 DRE's on him, so I show him the warp point, and it's GG. Win.
So at this point, we have about 5 minutes left for Game 2. I start with Duskull, He starts with Baltoy, but I have 2 Roseanne’s in hand, so I know I have the game. He uses Psychic Balance, but shuffles his hand into his deck, and gets a game loss for that. GG
So, after all that.................... I'm the 2008 Canadian National Champion!!!!!
So, I wait around a bit, then we have the trophy presentations, and then I say thanks/bye to everyone, and get to head home after a long day, as the champ!
Props:
-Sebastian, Gordon, Alex, Willy, Kevin, Mike and everyone else I forgot to mention for being cool and for lending me cards and stuff.
-Steve, Terry, Patrick, Geoff, John, and everyone else who helped judge and run a great event.
-My mom/brother.
-everyone else
-Dusknoir
-POP
-Plox
-Gino for winning US Nats with Plox and giving me confidence to run Plox as well Cressalia.
Slops:
-none
Sorry if this report is a little sketchy on details, but I'll add more as I remember them.
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