Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor. 3rd Place Texas Report!

JokerBoi

Active Member
Okay let us begin from the beginning. I have been playing this game since right before EX: Deoxys. I stopped playing for competitively 2-3 years and ever since my FL states win in 2008. I kept up with the cards and formats but didn’t really physically play any until about this year. Over this last season I have been slowly preparing my return to the game. Since I returned I got top 16 at Georgia and Florida States, and 3rd at Alabama States. So I had been feeling really good about the game and this year. It has been the first time that I got to go to a lot of major events in one season. When I was younger I only would be able to make it to states and regionals every year and that was it. My parents were never enthused about the game enough to take me anywhere. So my chances of doing well were so limited compared to others. Competing in Florida used to be extremely hard but I feel as if it only made me a much better player in the long run and also gave me some good relationships with the top players.

So around last year during Battle Roads I saw that Lilligant was doing well in the Northwest region. It really intrigued me, as everyone knows that I like rogue decks. I have never been a fan of playing meta because I absolutely hate mirror matches, they are no fun. My idea of an amazing format is an environment where a different deck can win every tournament. I feel that there are so many cards that just become a waste of paper and that is simply unfair. After hearing about the Lilligant I was on the blog titled TheDeckOut and I read the article entitled “eye on japan”. In that article Esa described how Japanese players used Lilligant to dominate a format in which NXD was their latest set. I was extremely intrigued by this and decided to e-mail Esa to see if I could get a skeleton decklist. He told me he didn’t have one but he knew it played mewtwo as an essential part of the deck.

So I built a list of my own right before NXD was released and went to testing. The results were amazing. It beat all the decks that Americans were currently hyping and with mewtwo ex you didn’t have to completely rely on flipping heads with lilligant. Shaymin ex A.K.A. Shea Butta made the deck way more strategic because you could allow your opponent to get down to one prize and then sweep out of nowhere for the win. The only change I ended up making was taking out a gloom for a seeker. I ended up not playing the list for GA states deciding to go Donphan, which got me top 16 losing to Jayson K. I played LilliLock at FL because I am from there and that was going to be my “fun” week. Things got serious when I actually did well with it but learned that despite all my testing I still hadn’t mastered the deck due to constant misplaying. I also played the petilil from NV thinking that 60 HP was the better than the 50 hp one with stun spore… big mistake. The week after Florida States I played Lando/Terrakion in Alabama using Curry's list. I always liked Landorus but I never knew how to get it to work. I went 6-1 there and finished 3rd place losing to Brad C. with CMT in the semi-finals.

The time between states and regionals somehow Lilligant began to generate a little buzz. Other decks like Mew/Vannilluxe were also being discussed. I soon found myself arguing with people on why Kingdra was ridiculous with Lilligant. Then I found myself in a situation where I would have been a hypocrite if I did not play it at regionals. I was testing Lando/Terrakion but for some reason I couldn’t defeat CMT so I took it apart and put Lilligant back together and decided to do what I did when I was younger. Test until I knew the deck inside and out.

On the night before regionals I was still afraid to play it but Ryan Vergel and Jon Viveros convinced me. I had been working on it for so long and I knew that with the release of Dark Explorers I would never get to play it competitively again so I went for it. Now I can honestly say I am glad I did…

Round 1: VS Zeel
I wish I wrote down the names but I didn’t. He was a PokeDad. He started Zekrom and I started two oddish. I got petilil out and retreated to it. During the next two turns he manages to KO both my oddish because I couldn’t get the Mary Kate and Ashley after he KO’d the first oddish. At this point I am thinking to myself, what would a kingdra player do in this situation? Then I thank god that I am not playing Kingdra. So I promote my mewtwo and then began to outplay him with Mary Kate and Ashley tricks between bemusing flips. My victini never gets catcher up and I ended up winning in the long run.
1-0

Round 2: VS Emboar/Typhlosion
So he starts victini and I start Shea Butta. When I saw fire I felt I was in trouble but I knew it was emboar so I wasn’t too concerned. He attaches and passes and I get out pichu and play ground. He gets some vulpix, a pignite, and Reshi ex. The next turn he promotes Reshi and catches Shea Butta. He attacks me but whiffs both flips with victini doing 100. I tell him, “sorry victini only works for me lol”. So the next turn I get shea butta out of there and get my vileplume up. I proceed to bemusing him. I do whiff the flip once and he Kos my lilligant with ninetails. In the end I N him down to one so his mewtwo cannot easily KO mine. When his mewtwo does finally knock mine out Shea Butta is waiting for my last two prizes.
2-0

Round 3: VS Zeel
So everything this game goes accordingly. I get plume out and began to bemuse. After I hit the first one I go to flip for the second. He asks me if I can roll a dice. I say “No”. So then he asks can I flip his coin. I say “No”. I had my lucky Totidile coin that Ryan gave me and there was no way I was going to walk out on it. After the judges tell him that there is nothing wrong with me continuing to flip my coin we finish playing our game. At one point I misplay. I have a lilligant with 80 damage and one on the bench with no damage. Instead of retreating to my clean lilligant I leave the one with 80 active and whiff the flip. He has to retreat to smeargle and go for the KO for the win. He whiffs his flip allowing me to win the game. I thank God for allowing the odds to be in my favor after that HUGE misplay. I understand how Lilligant works and should have retreated. I keep that situation in mind for the rest of the day.
3-0

Round 4: VS Zeel
I don’t remember much about this game. I know I get out plume. I bemusing, mewtwo, and then use bemusing some more. Eventually I allow him to get down to one prize as I place Shea Butta on my bench. He realizes he can’t win and scoops.
4-0

Round 5: VS CMT
I set up like I am supposed to. Bemusing, Mewtwo, Whiff some bemusings, and mewtwo some more, and end Shea Butta to win the game.
5-0

Round 6: VS CMT
So my starting hand is Lilligant, Lilligant, Victini, Petilil, Mewtwo, Shea Butta, Energy. Yay me. He is stomping me until I finally draw an N with mewtwo active and hit the DCE to KO his mewtwo. Still that bad hand put me in bad shape and I lose.
5-1

Round 7: VS Donphan (Ninja)
I was pretty confident but he ran mewtwo so I couldn’t be too sure. I get the vileplume up and he really doesn’t know how to play against me too well. I fail some flips on purpose because it is donphan but he hits most of the confusion flips. However my board control is too much for him and he ends up losing.
6-1

Round 8 CMT
I am playing another CMT. I get my vileplume going and he is another one who really doesn’t know how to play too well against my deck. When someone has to read the card you play it is always a good sign. I bemusing, whiff some bemusing, mewtwo some more. In the end my field advantage and ablility to control the game with my good girls Mary Kate and Ashley won me the game.
7-1

Round 9 Zeel
I set up rather quickly and under trainer lock he isn’t able to get much out. I am winning for most of the game as he cannot get to his mewtwo. So I decide to just go agro mewtwo for the win. At one point I whiff bemusing and he goes “What happens if you flip tails? Nothing?”

I jokingly responded, “This card isn’t Vanilluxe, It is actually good.”
8-1

So 8-1 with lilligant ☺, not too shabby. Everyone else I came with Vergel, Bianchi, Viveros are also in top cut. The look on people’s faces when they learned that Lilligant went 8-1 was priceless!

Top 32
So I play Ninja again for some more “Black On Black Crime”
Game 1: He rolls through me by hitting all the flips when he needs them and my slow start. He also gets out many mewtwo with multiple energy. I good strategy in defeating my deck as I usually only can bench one mewtwo at a time.
0-1
Game 2: I completely dominate the board with plume and Mary Kate and Ashley abuse. I believe both victini were prized but against donphan I really didn’t need the too much. Every time he tries to do something I have a well-prepared answer and Shea Butta wrecks his donphans.
1-1
Game 3: This is the one that went to time. He can’t energy accelerate fast enough to one shot a lilligant and when time is called he has to retreat a donphan for 4 energy and bring up mewtwo to avoid the loss. I just lock his mewtwo for a turn and then come up with my own for the win.
2-1

Top 16
Now I am playing Lando/Terrakion
Game 1: Things are going decently for me. I think we both start mewtwo and I end up taking the first prize somehow. I remember one point in the game I misplay and bench Shea Butta and attach to it without plume down. The next turn he uses Shaymin UL to attach about 5 energy to his mewtwo, catchers the Butta and knocks it out. I then proceed to call up Mary Kate and Ashley for my own Mewtwo to KO his. My mewtwo play totally surprises him and allows me to win.
1-0
Going into the second game I ask him if he knew I played mewtwo and he told me that he didn’t.
Game 2: So this game he starts lando and gets the t1 harvest. I get out the two oddish. He catchers one for the KO allowing me to go off the next turn. In the end he is up 1 prize to my 4. Things were looking ashy so I asked Mary Kate and Ashley to call in Shea Butta and my good friend N. Once I get him down to one card in hand the Butta KOs his active mewtwo and takes my last 2 prizes before he can KO it with his other mewtwo.
2-0

Top 8
Now I am playing rokman with CMT
Game 1: Rokman has to be the only player who had a good strategy versus my deck. He used smeargle to check my hand to he could prevent me from hitting my plume. It was pretty neat. He also uses my totodile coin to his advantage lol. Game one is looking ashy at first but I play it out. I end up whiffing a baby flip allowing him to get down to one prize while I have two left. Eventually he has a celebi active with no damage. I bench a petilil attach to it and use bemusing to lock celebi. Coming back to me celebi has 40 damage on it. I then promote petilil to lock it with paralysis so that it will get KOd coming back to me. Rokman forgets about Shea Butta on my bench and he thinks that if he promotes gigas he can buy himself a turn but I point out that the Butta hits for 180. Once he realizes there is nothing he can do he scoops.
1-0
Game 2: He gets a better start than me. I whiff a good amount of times and he wins rather easily by playing all of his trainers early and getting fast KOs.
1-1
Game 3: I set up perfect and I am in a really good position. Time is called and we both have 6 prizes. I have two chances to lock and I lock his smeargle on the first try for the win.
2-1

At this point I am just happy to know that an deck that I worked so hard on and that was my own original list got me to the top 4. I really wanted Lilligant to get its well deserved spot on those top 4 regional lists. I felt that after playing this game for so long that my skill was finally starting to show. Also I got to get another trophy.

Top 4
I am playing Andrew with Zeel
Game 1: He started Zekrom Ex and I start pichu. I get the perfect set-up. Turn two plume. Lilligants galore. I am comfortable as ever. So then I start flipping for bemusing… whiff. He flips for confusion… hit. I flip for bemusing… whiff. He flips for confusion… hit. I move up petil flip for stun spore… whiff. He flips for confusion… hit. I eventually have to KO his zekrom with my mewtwo and I believe he had the answer. There is a point where I think I may still be able to pull the win off. I am looking at my discard while switching my active lilligant for a benched pichu. This would allow me to baby stall him and save my lilligant cause his active was getting KOd from poison going back to his turn. When I look up I have mewtwo ex active… I think how did that happen. I ask if I can take it back and he says no of course. Then I realize I lose that game.
0-1
Game 2: Again a perfect set up with me going first and the turn two plume. I whiff again on bemusing flips while he retreats out of everything and manages to KO stuff. When I need to stall him with petilils I whiff those too and cannot hit a Mary Kate and Ashley or a Lilligant to evolve and began to lock. So I lose that game too.
0-2

So I finish 3rd place. Get my trophy and box. I sell my box for $80 breaking even on the money I spent to get there which wasn’t bad at all.

First and foremost I thank God because in my break from the game I had been through a lot of experiences that were direct attacks on my life. If it weren’t for my faith I don’t think I would have even been sitting down playing this past weekend. I was thanking him each and every step of the way.

I want to give a special thanks to the community. The main reason I love playing this game is the players and how welcoming and fun they are. It was nice meeting so many people. I had so much fun with Curry, Brit, Orion, Pierre, Bianchi, Viveros, Vergel, Mune, Saia, Rokman, SnowGlobes, and many others I can’t think of right now. Also the players that weren’t in Texas that would always help me in the past Sabelhaus, Twitchy, Greg, Sanchez, and Christian.

I also want to thank Ryan Vergel, Omar Izaguirre, Chris Bianchi, and Jon Viveros for rooting me on and supporting me in all of my matches and having confidence in me playing a deck that SO many people laughed at. They constantly helped me test it no matter how annoying it was. Also my league leader Patrick Jefferies for helping me come back into the game after I stopped playing for all those years.

I also would be a fool not to thank the legendary Heidi Craig for allowing me to travel with her to the event. She has been so helpful to me ever since I started playing this game back in 2005. I don’t know what us Floridian players would do with out her. She is a true example of a dedicated hard-worker within this community.

Lol with the way I wrote this report you would think I won XD.

Anyways…

Props:
Shea Butta!!!
Mary Kate and Ashley
Not being sour
Breaking Even
Another Trophy
Doing well in the past 4 events I attended
Fun Car Ride

Slops:
Whiffing so many flips all in top 4
Bald Heads

See you guys at Nationals!
Also please check out my youtube channel. It is username: RobbieEctor
 
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