Note: This report is not for the faint of heart! If you have a history of heart disease or fainting spells or just don't like to read about someone losing a lot, read something else. It's also a bit long.
My nine-year old son Tanner and I leave our rural Hoosier home at 7:30ish. The minivan is fully stocked with the huge card box, our handy Tupperware decks holder, Mapquest directions, and a 2 liter of Diet Pepsi. After his T4 performance at IN SC, he's excited about his chances at the GL Reg. He says to me, "Dad, after my T4 performance at IN SC, I'm excited about my chances at the GL Reg, and, hey, wasn't that a crow that just flew by?
I reply, "I'm sure you'll do fine, honey, but you know how Daddy hates it when you use Pokemon acronyms. Just say 'Top Four.' And, no, I think that was a raven. Wouldn't that be an interesting bit of foreshadowing if we both did really poorly at the tourney today?"
"Dad, stop talking like an English teacher. It's Saturday. I'm going in back to listen to my mp3 player."
Before I tell you about our decks, let me just say that neither of us likes to play decks that resemble any kind of archetype; we'd rather just have fun with something we built. He's playing the same deck list he played at IN SC, the first deck that he came up with the strategy for all by himself. It's a Legend Maker deck using Tentacruel, Huntail, Gorebyss, and Persian. After deciding against playing his same deck list to see how it will do in 15+, I decide on a concoction I call "24-hour Toy Store" that's a LunaSol variant with Claydol, Hitmontop, Misdreavus, and a lone Mew ex to round things out. It's been playtested all of two times. This will not bode well.
"Is this telegraphing the foreshadowing too much, honey?"
"Dad! Again: It's Saturday. You're off duty. Besides, this is just a rhetorical device you're using in the tourney report."
So, I turn the radio to "Car Talk" on NPR and he turns on Josh Rouse (plug) until we get to Fantasy Games in South Bend. Unfortunately, they're not open yet, so I'll have to settle on old sleeves for the tournament. This does, however, give us a chance to pee and eat at Burger King (in that order) before heading out to Pokagon.
After Tanner changes out of his syrup-stained pants (French Toast sticks are good) and into the shorts his mom made him bring ("It's going to get hot today, and at least you'll have them."), we head to the tourney hall. When we arrive, we're greated by judge extraordinare (Annisa)Rich and see a somewhat familiar clean-shaven man in a Prof's jacket.
"Is that Bruce (Grim Reaper)?" Tanner asks.
"I think it is!" I respond. "And he's judging. This can't be a good sign."
"Dad, you're telegraphing again."
After buying a few packs with squat pull and checking to see that the regulars are all here (Indianapolis crew? Check. Chicago bunch? Check. Foisey? Dang. JK) We sit down next to the Stumps, and I trade for an extra Plusle while Tanner makes friends with some new players from nearby. Then it's registration time, and soon after, the fun begins.
First round vs. Bagshaw with a stall deck (Hypno and Misdreavus):
I start with Baltoy against his Misdreavus. I'm looking to grab Mew ex quick, but a search with Scott shows me that my lone Holon Mentor is prized. He gets out a Hypno to prevent Baltoy from evolving, and I'm eventually able to get a couple of Claydols and a mini LunaSol swarm ready to go, but when he replaces my Battle Frontier with Cursed Stone and starts picking away at my Claydols, it's a drawn out affair. As time is called, he's ahead by one prize. It was a quite fun game, but now I'm:
0-1
Tanner loses to an ex heavy deck when he's unable to get any React Energies out to protect his Tentacruel. He gets down on himself for losing, and gets the "it's all about having fun" talking to.
Second round vs. Brandon (Icemelter) with POW! Block
This game was completely different for Brandon when compared to his super-fast Full Flame out in round one, but it was more of the same for me. He sets up quick while I Deep Sleep him and try to get set up, but a well-timed Heal Energy, a couple of rounds of "Admin. this" and two Protective Orbed T-Tars make it hard for either of us to do much of anything until I go for some gusto and knock out one of his Pokes, which activates his Scrambles. I'm one turn away from tying it on prizes when time is called. A real fun game, but now I'm:
0-2
Third round vs. Aaron (?) with Gengar:
This guy starts out saying that he doesn't have a whole lot of experience, and he makes a few misplays to prove it. Nothing major, just a couple of laid-it played-it take backs and a failure to account for Solrock's HP boost to Lunatone. Eventually, I'm able to get out Mew ex with a Psychic, a Fighting, and a Multi, and it's all down-hill for him from there. Hey, hey, I'm:
1-2
Fourth round vs. Dave with UF Houndoom and Hypno:
This was a fun, yet frustrating game for me. We both start with Misdreavus, and he wakes up first. His Houndoom gets out quickly, so I'm stuck with a bunch of worthless Warps and Swoops and such in my hand until I can plink and plunk the dog to death. By then, it's too late, and even though he graciously refuses to admit that he's won until he draws the last prize, I suffer my only 6-knockout loss of the day, making me:
1-3
Fifth round vs. Vince with POW! Block:
I have some success slowing him down when LunaSol shuts down both "Quick Search" and "Smooth Over" for him, and it's his five prizes against my four with five minutes or so to go when he decides to Bomb his 'Trode to go for the win. I try to stop him with Misdreavus and a desperate attempt to paralyze his T-Tar with Lunatone, but neither are successful. It's too late for him, though, and I have two prizes to his three when time is called. GG, Vince. That makes me:
2-3
Tanner's group is done, and he's only won his second-round match, so we decide to call it a day instead of waiting around for me to finish two more rounds (Even though Rich has warned the young guys that their fathers [and mothers] control when bed time is and to just be patient with the old folks). Plus, Tanner needs to get home to watch "Naruto." We tell Farbsman that I'm dropping and say our goodbyes.
Sixth round vs. Null:
We're both drowning our sorrows in the biggest one-scoop waffle cones you'll ever see.
2-4
Seventh round vs. Null:
Hey! Look! The minivan's turning over to 100,000 miles! Now back to "A Prairie Home Companion."
2-5
All in all, it was a fun day for both of us, even if it wasn't productive. I was surprised to see so many disruption decks. There was none of the LBS, Queendom, Medicham ex, or Metanite that I expected to see. Maybe those will show up at the Gym Challenge.
I wish now I would have splashed a Minun and a Magnetic Storm into my deck, 'cause Bodies and Resistance killed me. I also wish Tanner and I had someone other than just ourselves to play against. That doesn't help either of us to get much stronger.
Oh well, we did get to stop at Fantasy Games on the way home to get some sleeves (but the only solid color they had was green) and some dice and a dice bag. Plus, we got Steak-n-Shake to bring home to Mom.
Props:
Derek and the rest of the staff (as always). It's a pleasure to be around such professionals. There's no way Tanner and I would have come back to the game if you guys weren't around.
Pokagon for having such a great state park and a superb conference room.
My kind and courteous opponents.
Tanner, for losing graciously.
Slops:
Two re-pairings. Uggh. But Derek handled them smoothly.
Having to put our match slips in a cardboard box. Oh, the humility.
My nine-year old son Tanner and I leave our rural Hoosier home at 7:30ish. The minivan is fully stocked with the huge card box, our handy Tupperware decks holder, Mapquest directions, and a 2 liter of Diet Pepsi. After his T4 performance at IN SC, he's excited about his chances at the GL Reg. He says to me, "Dad, after my T4 performance at IN SC, I'm excited about my chances at the GL Reg, and, hey, wasn't that a crow that just flew by?
I reply, "I'm sure you'll do fine, honey, but you know how Daddy hates it when you use Pokemon acronyms. Just say 'Top Four.' And, no, I think that was a raven. Wouldn't that be an interesting bit of foreshadowing if we both did really poorly at the tourney today?"
"Dad, stop talking like an English teacher. It's Saturday. I'm going in back to listen to my mp3 player."
Before I tell you about our decks, let me just say that neither of us likes to play decks that resemble any kind of archetype; we'd rather just have fun with something we built. He's playing the same deck list he played at IN SC, the first deck that he came up with the strategy for all by himself. It's a Legend Maker deck using Tentacruel, Huntail, Gorebyss, and Persian. After deciding against playing his same deck list to see how it will do in 15+, I decide on a concoction I call "24-hour Toy Store" that's a LunaSol variant with Claydol, Hitmontop, Misdreavus, and a lone Mew ex to round things out. It's been playtested all of two times. This will not bode well.
"Is this telegraphing the foreshadowing too much, honey?"
"Dad! Again: It's Saturday. You're off duty. Besides, this is just a rhetorical device you're using in the tourney report."
So, I turn the radio to "Car Talk" on NPR and he turns on Josh Rouse (plug) until we get to Fantasy Games in South Bend. Unfortunately, they're not open yet, so I'll have to settle on old sleeves for the tournament. This does, however, give us a chance to pee and eat at Burger King (in that order) before heading out to Pokagon.
After Tanner changes out of his syrup-stained pants (French Toast sticks are good) and into the shorts his mom made him bring ("It's going to get hot today, and at least you'll have them."), we head to the tourney hall. When we arrive, we're greated by judge extraordinare (Annisa)Rich and see a somewhat familiar clean-shaven man in a Prof's jacket.
"Is that Bruce (Grim Reaper)?" Tanner asks.
"I think it is!" I respond. "And he's judging. This can't be a good sign."
"Dad, you're telegraphing again."
After buying a few packs with squat pull and checking to see that the regulars are all here (Indianapolis crew? Check. Chicago bunch? Check. Foisey? Dang. JK) We sit down next to the Stumps, and I trade for an extra Plusle while Tanner makes friends with some new players from nearby. Then it's registration time, and soon after, the fun begins.
First round vs. Bagshaw with a stall deck (Hypno and Misdreavus):
I start with Baltoy against his Misdreavus. I'm looking to grab Mew ex quick, but a search with Scott shows me that my lone Holon Mentor is prized. He gets out a Hypno to prevent Baltoy from evolving, and I'm eventually able to get a couple of Claydols and a mini LunaSol swarm ready to go, but when he replaces my Battle Frontier with Cursed Stone and starts picking away at my Claydols, it's a drawn out affair. As time is called, he's ahead by one prize. It was a quite fun game, but now I'm:
0-1
Tanner loses to an ex heavy deck when he's unable to get any React Energies out to protect his Tentacruel. He gets down on himself for losing, and gets the "it's all about having fun" talking to.
Second round vs. Brandon (Icemelter) with POW! Block
This game was completely different for Brandon when compared to his super-fast Full Flame out in round one, but it was more of the same for me. He sets up quick while I Deep Sleep him and try to get set up, but a well-timed Heal Energy, a couple of rounds of "Admin. this" and two Protective Orbed T-Tars make it hard for either of us to do much of anything until I go for some gusto and knock out one of his Pokes, which activates his Scrambles. I'm one turn away from tying it on prizes when time is called. A real fun game, but now I'm:
0-2
Third round vs. Aaron (?) with Gengar:
This guy starts out saying that he doesn't have a whole lot of experience, and he makes a few misplays to prove it. Nothing major, just a couple of laid-it played-it take backs and a failure to account for Solrock's HP boost to Lunatone. Eventually, I'm able to get out Mew ex with a Psychic, a Fighting, and a Multi, and it's all down-hill for him from there. Hey, hey, I'm:
1-2
Fourth round vs. Dave with UF Houndoom and Hypno:
This was a fun, yet frustrating game for me. We both start with Misdreavus, and he wakes up first. His Houndoom gets out quickly, so I'm stuck with a bunch of worthless Warps and Swoops and such in my hand until I can plink and plunk the dog to death. By then, it's too late, and even though he graciously refuses to admit that he's won until he draws the last prize, I suffer my only 6-knockout loss of the day, making me:
1-3
Fifth round vs. Vince with POW! Block:
I have some success slowing him down when LunaSol shuts down both "Quick Search" and "Smooth Over" for him, and it's his five prizes against my four with five minutes or so to go when he decides to Bomb his 'Trode to go for the win. I try to stop him with Misdreavus and a desperate attempt to paralyze his T-Tar with Lunatone, but neither are successful. It's too late for him, though, and I have two prizes to his three when time is called. GG, Vince. That makes me:
2-3
Tanner's group is done, and he's only won his second-round match, so we decide to call it a day instead of waiting around for me to finish two more rounds (Even though Rich has warned the young guys that their fathers [and mothers] control when bed time is and to just be patient with the old folks). Plus, Tanner needs to get home to watch "Naruto." We tell Farbsman that I'm dropping and say our goodbyes.
Sixth round vs. Null:
We're both drowning our sorrows in the biggest one-scoop waffle cones you'll ever see.
2-4
Seventh round vs. Null:
Hey! Look! The minivan's turning over to 100,000 miles! Now back to "A Prairie Home Companion."
2-5
All in all, it was a fun day for both of us, even if it wasn't productive. I was surprised to see so many disruption decks. There was none of the LBS, Queendom, Medicham ex, or Metanite that I expected to see. Maybe those will show up at the Gym Challenge.
I wish now I would have splashed a Minun and a Magnetic Storm into my deck, 'cause Bodies and Resistance killed me. I also wish Tanner and I had someone other than just ourselves to play against. That doesn't help either of us to get much stronger.
Oh well, we did get to stop at Fantasy Games on the way home to get some sleeves (but the only solid color they had was green) and some dice and a dice bag. Plus, we got Steak-n-Shake to bring home to Mom.
Props:
Derek and the rest of the staff (as always). It's a pleasure to be around such professionals. There's no way Tanner and I would have come back to the game if you guys weren't around.
Pokagon for having such a great state park and a superb conference room.
My kind and courteous opponents.
Tanner, for losing graciously.
Slops:
Two re-pairings. Uggh. But Derek handled them smoothly.
Having to put our match slips in a cardboard box. Oh, the humility.
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