Tyranny of Tyranitar
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Hi, and thanks for opening my article. I'm writing this article in part to spotlight a new area of competition in Washington: one where many memories, friendships, and fierce battles take place. I'm the League Owner for the League of which this particular Cities Championship was held, and it was an extremely fun event for seemingly everyone who went. Dreams do come true, as I was not expecting so many people to come to the Championship today let alone top cut. This is my first article, and I'm average in writing, so please consider that in your criticism.
My friend let me stay at his place for the weekend, since there was another CC nearby on Saturday. Neither of us did well that day, so during the course of the night, we tried to help each other out with improving our decks. He was running a Darkrai/Weavile deck, I was running a deck that ran three full lines of Tangrowth/Sceptile/Shaymin (hence the name of the title, Growth). Food wasn't much of an issue, a simple stop at a fast food place that night was good enough to unwind us from that day's mishaps.
When we arrived at the second Championship on Sunday, the store was packed with many players. I wasn't able to recognize a single Junior, a testament to the advertising I had done and great on my standings. I recognized almost all of the Masters there though, so I knew the competition would be fierce. There were so many players, tables had to be set outside the store in 40 degree weather (a fate my friend was doomed to twice). After filling out my deck list, I talked to a couple of people that showed up, then the pairings were posted. Round 1 had begun!
Round 1: Mightytank
As soon as I sat down, I feared I was going to auto-lose. I've known my opponent for at least half a year, he was one of the few that traveled over to the Tri-Cities (Richland, WA) City Championship a month ago, a CC where his fire deck obliterated the deck I was running now. He sort of fears me as well, my other decks haven't been too nice to him in the past. We begin the match, I Mulligan, and the second try I get a basic. I noticed his deck is different from before, so 'maybe I have a chance' I thought. He managed to set up quite quick, even laying a Nidoqueen RR down right away. Panicking, I rush to maintain pace. I grab Shaymin Lv.x from my deck with the newly added promo Claydol and try to ward his pokemon away with a beefy Tangrowth AR active and a Sceptile GE benched. I eventually had to attack with the Shaymin to KO one of his pokemon, and he sends in Nidoqueen afterwards and smacks it hard. I put up Tangrowth, the Lv. X at this point, and return the favor. I later get my own Nidoqueen out and my opponent becomes unable to overwhelm all the healing I keep doing. Time is called on his turn, and I have a Sceptile AR ready to finish him, three energies attached (each doubled btw) fully healed. He can only hit the Sceptile for 80 damage, and I win due to a prize count of 1-3. GG.
1-0
Round 2: Blastiose/Empoleon
I didn't know this person, but he seemed to like purple based on his shirt and matching deck sleeves. He said he had started playing only a week ago and was invited to the tournament. My deck was running lackluster, but I had laid a Miasma Valley and poisioned my opponent's turn one Blastiose with a GE Grovyle, preventing him from using Dig Well and thus smashing right through me. Grovyle later became Sceptile AR and a Treecko on the bench became a Sceptile GE while I attacked him with a Shaymin. I retreat Shaymin for a now pumped-up Sceptile and proceed to sail through his deck. 200 to Squirtle, 260 to Claydol, gg.
2-0
Round 3: Lucario/Kecleon
Another person I knew. He's the dad of one of the Pokefamilies that goes to our League. He started with a Zangoose to lead, a Riolu, and a Kecleon. He kept using Invite and Strike to lossen up my pokemon a little bit, until I draw Claydol and Uxie. I pull Sceptile GE from my deck and try to build up a now Tangrowth Lv X against a Kecleon with two Darkness energy under a Snowpoint Temple. I am pretty frightened since Tangrowth is x2 to Kecleon's +20 boosted Fire-typing but Triple Smash lays down three tails and little is dealt. I try to save Tangrowth and attack with Shaymin. Healing Growth keeps failing me, so I have to resort to Shaymin's Aromatherapy attack. Kecleon managed to avoid being dealt a KO by using the Dawn Stadium I had in play, and retreated for Spiritomb AR. I smash it, and slowly work my way through the field with Tangrowth SF. With Nidoqueen and Tangrowth SF working side by side and Tangrowth Lv X on the bench, my opponent is eventually unable to do much while I strike three pokemon at once. GG, though, my opponent had constant bad flips.
3-0
Round 4: Shuppet
I figured at this point, it was inevitable that I would have to face the winner of yesterday's CC, whom was in tournament playing the same deck. His deck is quick I remember, the people around me gave it a bad glare or two because of how quickly they had lost to it. We both draw, he goes first. Both of us had bad draws, I had a Baltoy SV active, he had a Unown Q active. Unable to play any Trainers, he passes. I draw, notice the Expert Belt and Grass Energy in my hand, double check Unown Q (30 HP, weak to Psychic +10), and noticed I had the strangest game end to exist. I equip Expert Belt and donk Unown Q for the game. I just donked a donk deck, seriously, what?
4-0
Top 4: MightyTank again
Due to the store's closing time, the tournament was cut a round short. I faced my first round opponent again, who was just thankful to be in his first top cut. I figured out from the match before that one of my Shaymin had a nasty way of hurting my opponent's deck. This Shaymin has Damage Aid, which attacks for 80 damage against pokemon affected by Special Conditions. Poor Mightyena, Shaymin was only trying to help for both matches. Good draws and this tactic won me both matches.
5-0
Top 2: Shuppet
It was rather surprising seeing him in Top Cut. He barely made the cut due to statistical pairings, his advantage was his first round opponent dropped due to illness. Seeing him here before me in top 2 lead me to believe that revenge was coming. Revenge is Shuppet's middle name it would seem, because, despite my high HP pokemon on the field and my desperate attempts to survive, my pokemon were picked off by Shuppet one by one. Many times a lucky draw saved him from my actions and eventually my pokemon were all KOed by the infamous power happy x4 Plus Power Expert Belt Shuppet. Oh well, I guess. :nonono:
5-1
I got 10 packs and pulled a couple of Arceus, one of them a Lv. X. I went home at least happy with my initial goal made before the two CCs of top cutting with my deck. So, I am satisfied.
Props:
- TPCi and POP
- Uncle's Games for providing the space to play and sign-up sheets for the new players.
- My best friend, who drove me to both CCs and places to eat.
- My best friend again for enduring the cold weather for two rounds.
- The amount of people that showed up. Over 40!
- My invites showed up, well, most of them.
- The awesome door prizes. Stickers!
- Second place. Not too shabby.
Slops
- The cold weather rounds. The players were rewarded for their time out there though.
- 3rd round break was short, and food was a good 5 minute walk each way.
- The PTO's Professor assistant worried the store owners, who warned me during a match. The PTO talked to me about it, nothing bad happened.
- Pairings were stuck on a door that leads outside, too many people in one area as a result.
- First would have been nice of course. :tongue:
Overall, I had a lot of fun. I'm excited for the upcoming Battle Roads and the new set Prerelease; can't wait! :thumb:
My friend let me stay at his place for the weekend, since there was another CC nearby on Saturday. Neither of us did well that day, so during the course of the night, we tried to help each other out with improving our decks. He was running a Darkrai/Weavile deck, I was running a deck that ran three full lines of Tangrowth/Sceptile/Shaymin (hence the name of the title, Growth). Food wasn't much of an issue, a simple stop at a fast food place that night was good enough to unwind us from that day's mishaps.
When we arrived at the second Championship on Sunday, the store was packed with many players. I wasn't able to recognize a single Junior, a testament to the advertising I had done and great on my standings. I recognized almost all of the Masters there though, so I knew the competition would be fierce. There were so many players, tables had to be set outside the store in 40 degree weather (a fate my friend was doomed to twice). After filling out my deck list, I talked to a couple of people that showed up, then the pairings were posted. Round 1 had begun!
Round 1: Mightytank
As soon as I sat down, I feared I was going to auto-lose. I've known my opponent for at least half a year, he was one of the few that traveled over to the Tri-Cities (Richland, WA) City Championship a month ago, a CC where his fire deck obliterated the deck I was running now. He sort of fears me as well, my other decks haven't been too nice to him in the past. We begin the match, I Mulligan, and the second try I get a basic. I noticed his deck is different from before, so 'maybe I have a chance' I thought. He managed to set up quite quick, even laying a Nidoqueen RR down right away. Panicking, I rush to maintain pace. I grab Shaymin Lv.x from my deck with the newly added promo Claydol and try to ward his pokemon away with a beefy Tangrowth AR active and a Sceptile GE benched. I eventually had to attack with the Shaymin to KO one of his pokemon, and he sends in Nidoqueen afterwards and smacks it hard. I put up Tangrowth, the Lv. X at this point, and return the favor. I later get my own Nidoqueen out and my opponent becomes unable to overwhelm all the healing I keep doing. Time is called on his turn, and I have a Sceptile AR ready to finish him, three energies attached (each doubled btw) fully healed. He can only hit the Sceptile for 80 damage, and I win due to a prize count of 1-3. GG.
1-0
Round 2: Blastiose/Empoleon
I didn't know this person, but he seemed to like purple based on his shirt and matching deck sleeves. He said he had started playing only a week ago and was invited to the tournament. My deck was running lackluster, but I had laid a Miasma Valley and poisioned my opponent's turn one Blastiose with a GE Grovyle, preventing him from using Dig Well and thus smashing right through me. Grovyle later became Sceptile AR and a Treecko on the bench became a Sceptile GE while I attacked him with a Shaymin. I retreat Shaymin for a now pumped-up Sceptile and proceed to sail through his deck. 200 to Squirtle, 260 to Claydol, gg.
2-0
Round 3: Lucario/Kecleon
Another person I knew. He's the dad of one of the Pokefamilies that goes to our League. He started with a Zangoose to lead, a Riolu, and a Kecleon. He kept using Invite and Strike to lossen up my pokemon a little bit, until I draw Claydol and Uxie. I pull Sceptile GE from my deck and try to build up a now Tangrowth Lv X against a Kecleon with two Darkness energy under a Snowpoint Temple. I am pretty frightened since Tangrowth is x2 to Kecleon's +20 boosted Fire-typing but Triple Smash lays down three tails and little is dealt. I try to save Tangrowth and attack with Shaymin. Healing Growth keeps failing me, so I have to resort to Shaymin's Aromatherapy attack. Kecleon managed to avoid being dealt a KO by using the Dawn Stadium I had in play, and retreated for Spiritomb AR. I smash it, and slowly work my way through the field with Tangrowth SF. With Nidoqueen and Tangrowth SF working side by side and Tangrowth Lv X on the bench, my opponent is eventually unable to do much while I strike three pokemon at once. GG, though, my opponent had constant bad flips.
3-0
Round 4: Shuppet
I figured at this point, it was inevitable that I would have to face the winner of yesterday's CC, whom was in tournament playing the same deck. His deck is quick I remember, the people around me gave it a bad glare or two because of how quickly they had lost to it. We both draw, he goes first. Both of us had bad draws, I had a Baltoy SV active, he had a Unown Q active. Unable to play any Trainers, he passes. I draw, notice the Expert Belt and Grass Energy in my hand, double check Unown Q (30 HP, weak to Psychic +10), and noticed I had the strangest game end to exist. I equip Expert Belt and donk Unown Q for the game. I just donked a donk deck, seriously, what?
4-0
Top 4: MightyTank again
Due to the store's closing time, the tournament was cut a round short. I faced my first round opponent again, who was just thankful to be in his first top cut. I figured out from the match before that one of my Shaymin had a nasty way of hurting my opponent's deck. This Shaymin has Damage Aid, which attacks for 80 damage against pokemon affected by Special Conditions. Poor Mightyena, Shaymin was only trying to help for both matches. Good draws and this tactic won me both matches.
5-0
Top 2: Shuppet
It was rather surprising seeing him in Top Cut. He barely made the cut due to statistical pairings, his advantage was his first round opponent dropped due to illness. Seeing him here before me in top 2 lead me to believe that revenge was coming. Revenge is Shuppet's middle name it would seem, because, despite my high HP pokemon on the field and my desperate attempts to survive, my pokemon were picked off by Shuppet one by one. Many times a lucky draw saved him from my actions and eventually my pokemon were all KOed by the infamous power happy x4 Plus Power Expert Belt Shuppet. Oh well, I guess. :nonono:
5-1
I got 10 packs and pulled a couple of Arceus, one of them a Lv. X. I went home at least happy with my initial goal made before the two CCs of top cutting with my deck. So, I am satisfied.
Props:
- TPCi and POP
- Uncle's Games for providing the space to play and sign-up sheets for the new players.
- My best friend, who drove me to both CCs and places to eat.
- My best friend again for enduring the cold weather for two rounds.
- The amount of people that showed up. Over 40!
- My invites showed up, well, most of them.
- The awesome door prizes. Stickers!
- Second place. Not too shabby.
Slops
- The cold weather rounds. The players were rewarded for their time out there though.
- 3rd round break was short, and food was a good 5 minute walk each way.
- The PTO's Professor assistant worried the store owners, who warned me during a match. The PTO talked to me about it, nothing bad happened.
- Pairings were stuck on a door that leads outside, too many people in one area as a result.
- First would have been nice of course. :tongue:
Overall, I had a lot of fun. I'm excited for the upcoming Battle Roads and the new set Prerelease; can't wait! :thumb:
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