Iron Chef Top 4 RESULTS! OFFICIAL!!!

[Vegeta ss4]

Welcome to the "sort of" end to the Top 4 of the Iron Chef. This is unofficial because I am still waiting on Ness(guest judge) to open his PM inbox so that these entries may be graded. There was a lot of confusion to this round, which I am not sure why to be honest. Things happen and everyone figured it out it a timely matter. This was a tough to grade because we dont always deal with 40 card decks which is what the challenge was.

We also had an online portion in which everyone would test their theorymon lists against one another. I felt this was appropriate to truly see which list was superior, also I just wanted to see some online playing with this. As you all know, I changed the grading criteria a bit to compensate for "draws." The grading system is X/10 Deck, X/10 Creativity, X/5 Card use. Without further waiting, here are the unofficial scores of the Iron Chef Top 4 2011!!!

The challenge was as follows
Singleton 40 card deck 4 prizes.
max of supporters and energy
only pokemon, items/trainers, tools, fossils had to be in single.
Ban list
Rare Candy
Cleffa(from any set)
Uxie
Claydol
SP Pokemon

Cyrus vs Bullados

Cyrus

Pokemon (18):

1 Gothita EP #43
1 Gothorita EP #46
1 Gothitelle EP #47
1 Voltorb SF #80
1 Electrode Base
1 Feebas EM #49
1 Milotic HL
1 Grimer RR
1 Muk Fossil
1 Celebi ex POP 2
1 Azelf LA
1 Spiritomb AR
1 Sableye SF
1 Holon's Magnemite
1 Holon's Magneton
1 Holon's Voltorb
1 Holon's Electrode
1 Holon's Castform

Trainers (19):

4 Pokemon Collector
2 Lanette's net Search
1 Mr. Briney's Compassion
1 N
1 Seeker
1 Broken Time-Space
1 Erika
1 Misty's Wrath
1 Professor Oak
1 Gust of Wind
1 Focus Band
1 Computer Search
1 Item Finder
1 Junk Arm
1 Luxury Ball

Energy (3):

3 Scramble



Building a deck for the unlimited metagame is daunting, and doing this while conforming to singleton is even more daunting. However, I decided that some decks were bigger threats than others:

*Porydonk
*Haymaker variants
*Dark Vileplume/UD 'Plume/ex
*Anything with a good ability

In general, denying trainers/items should help beat the first two decks, while denying Pokemon Powers should help beat the first and third. Thus, I went with a Gothitelle build using a 1-1 Muk tech.

The main strategy is simple: setup behind a Spiritomb Arceus, and then once you're down a prize or two, rush the opponent with a charged Gothitelle. This is made very easy through Scramble, Holon's Energy, and Electrode Base's Buzzap. Between all of these, Gothitelle's Mad Kinesis should be dealing 130-190 damage without much trouble at all.

Sustaining one Gothitelle for a full game is challenging, however, so we run a 1-1 Milotic line to keep it afloat via Healing Shower. Between the initial Power, Briney, Seeker, Item Finder, Junk Arm, and Celebi ex, you can replenish your Gothitelle's health so many times that you'll almost never let the lock crack.

As explained earlier, I run Muk to lock all Pokemon/Poke Powers that would be harmful to the deck. Our biggest concerns by far pertain to Gengar Stormfront, its Fainting Spell, and the Vileplumes that would keep us from dumping our hand down to zero trainers/supporters; however, there are also a lot of soft Poke/mon-powers that would otherwise make life difficult, such as Jolteon*'s Yelow Ray and Kingdra Prime's Spray Splash.

Pokemon:

*Celebi ex is useful for just about everything - particularly for reviving basics when they get knocked out turn one. This is stronger than retriever/Town Volunteers/etc because you can pull it off over trainer lock.

*Spiritomb and Sableye are essential in unlimited because they ease the overwhelming advantage an opponent enjoys when going first.

I/S/S:

*The reason why I run so many Pokemon Collectors and Lanette's is because they give me access to my full, complete setup. Plus, odds of starting with these is overwhelmingly high in the 40 card format.

*The reason why I split Briney/Seeker is due to the Celebi, as well as the want for some potentially crafty Gust of Wind plays.

*N makes unwinnable situations winnable by wrecking the opponent's hand. I considered running more, but our replenishment cards can just get it back.

*The single Broken Time-Space is honestly not there to "speed" you up. The main purpose it serves is to ease transitions between Muk and Milotic, as well as to counter Crystal Beach - a card that would realistically see play since Boost, Scramble, DRE, and Holon's energy are all very common cards. (And between Seeker/Item Finder/Celebi ex, I should never get Crystal Beach locked for a whole game!)

*Erika/Wrath/Oak are all strong forms of non-supporter draw, and hitting them at almost any point in a game is a godsend. In this variant, Erika's "drawback" can be negated when followed up with an N.

*Gust of Wind is very good in a control deck, but we only need to run one copy because that's all we realistically require to wreck an opponent with a good ability-centered deck.

*Focus Band acts as a failsafe against every worst-case scenario that could befall your Gothitelle. I considered Protective Orb, Unown G, and Expert Belt to counter a variety of threats (psy attackers, Drifblim, and Reshi/Zek respectively), but in the end, nothing else gives as much coverage against OHKOs as Focus Band.

*Finally, I don't run max Scramble because one is usually all we need. Plus, we have Celebi to be our de facto 4th.



...Well that's that! There were several cards I wish that I could have fit, but with 40 cards, we can't have our entire list of wants.

Thanks for judging, and I look forward to my games vs Bullados.

Not entirely creative, but it gets the job done for sure. I would have liked to see a switch and a warp point, because you could get a bad start or two. But I fully understand why you wouldn't even need to switch. You have ample searchable energy, and your goal is to get behind in prizes. It just seems slightly inconsistant for the challenge. Card use is QUITE extensive though, every card has a purpose, and the synergy for each card works efficently. I absolutly love the N here, when this card is played right, you will simply win the game. The goal of this deck is to fall very far behind, perhaps even 1 prize left for your opponent before you start bringing up your main guy. It is risky to say the least, the slight hiccup and you lose.

Your score is as follows
Deck- 10/10
Creativity- 7/10
Card Use- 5/5
Online Gameplay- 1/3
Total=23

Bullados

Pokemon (8):
1 Kyurem
1 Reshiram
1 Zekrom
1 Druddigon
1 Tornadus
1 Thundurus
1 Pachirisu CL
1 Shaymin CL

TSS (22):
3 Collector
3 Cheren
1 Town Volunteers
1 Expert Belt
1 Energy Root
1 Rocky Helmet
1 Eviolite
1 Catcher
1 Junk Arm
1 Item Finder
1 Gust Of Wind
1 Energy Exchanger
1 Energy Removal
1 SER
1 Lost Remover
1 Professor Oak
1 Swoop! Teleporter
1 Giant Stump (just to be weird ^_^)

Energy (10):
4 DCE
1 Rescue
4 Lightning
1 Cyclone

The strategy is fairly simple. Big attackers with support that's not vulnerable to KO. I choose my Pokemon Tools specifically to maximize the strengths of my 100+ HP Basic attackers. I'm giving them more HP to take advantage of Outrage with Belt and Root. Or I'm defensing them from self-damage with Eviolite. Or I'm making my opponent think twice about attacking with Rocky Helmet.

I'll usually go Accelerate with either Thundurus self-charging with a single Colorless Energy, or with Pachi/Shaymin if I've got more than 2 Energy in hand.

Outside of that, it's just take what the deck gives me. I thought that, with the absence of limitations on Special Energy, that Lost Remover would just be another Energy Removal, and I included the original ER and SER to make sure my opponents never get a chance to attack. With Junk Arm and Item Finder, I've got 5 chances to slow them down. Plus, with Catcher, Gust of Wind, and Cyclone Energy, I effectively control their field as long as I'm able to play Trainers of any consequence. And with Giant Stump, I limit my opponent's options to a certain extent while my own are generally unhindered after Pachi and Shaymin are on the field.

Plus, I control my own board quite nicely. Pachi/Shaymin is a well-known combo. But what about Pachi/Swoop? That particular one is game-changing, allowing for a second Pachi drop while still giving you incredible energy acceleration.

I also chose my attackers deliberately to take advantage of either DCE or Lightning Energy. All of them have a purely Colorless attack that's incredibly useful as long as they're not getting OHKO'd (not likely in this format). Outrage is an effective attack. It either forces your opponent to take their licks, or to stop attacking. Either way, it's a win for me while I set up one of Tornadus, Thundurus, or Zekrom for the sweep. It's also helpful that most of my guys retreat for 2 or less, making switching and stalling tactics not impossible to pull off.

Town Volunteers is IMO the superior form of recovery for this deck. At the expense of 1 card compared to Flower Shop, I get more flexibility, a major plus when dealing with Basic Pokemon and a relatively small amount of Basic Energy.

Very smooth deck, I am not shocked someone tried to go this route. It sadly is obviously not too creative, but it is consistant. I think I would of liked to see some Rainbow energy in here instead of Cyclone and rescue. Also wondering why there are no Dbl Colorless, too good to pass up. The energy count isn't something I'd go with. 12 energy would work for me. Good list with the exception of the energy in my opinion.

Your score is as follows
Deck- 9/10
Creativity- 7/10
Card Use- 4/5
Online Gameplay- 2/3
Total=22

Goldedda vs Waynegg

Goldedda

TOTAL CARDS: 40

POKEMON: 9
Level-Up: 1
1 : Garchomp Lv.X, MD-97
Stage 1: 4
1 : Delcatty ex, CG-91
1 : Mandibuzz, BW-73
1 : Clefable, J-1
1 : Exeggutor, LA-54
Basic: 4
1 : Azelf, LA-19
1 : Sableye, SF-48
1 : Absol (Prime), TM-91
1 : Mew (Prime), TM-97

TRAINERS: 25
Trainers: 19
1 : Great Ball, EP-93
1 : Pokemon Catcher, EP-95
1 : Item Finder, B-74
1 : Lass, B-75
1 : Pokemon Rescue, PL-115
1 : Junk Arm, TM-87
1 : Master Ball, PK-78
1 : Gust of Wind, B-93
1 : Dual Ball, CL-78
1 : Energy Removal, B-92
1 : Computer Search, B-71
1 : PokeGear, NGen-88
1 : Erika, GH-100
1 : Warp Point, MD-88
1 : Quick Ball, MD-86
1 : Professor Oak, B-88
1 : Scoop Up, B-78
1 : Imposter Oak's Revenge, TR-76
1 : Luxury Ball, SF-86
1 : Swoop! Teleporter, TRR-92
Pokemon Tools: 1
1 : Expert Belt, AR-87
Supporters: 4
1 : Roseanne's Research, OP8-11
1 : Professor Juniper, BW-101
1 : Bill's Maintenance, OP5-6
1 : Cyrus's Initiative, SV-137

ENERGY: 6
Special Energy: 4
4 : Darkness Energy (sp), CL-86
Basic Energy: 2
2 : Darkness Energy, BW-111


Strategy:
4 basics in the deck. Sableye your preferable starter which allows you to go first and sometimes with the combination of special dark and expert belt grab a cheap first turn k.o.But it also serves in this deck as a pokemon that allows you to set up by impersonating either a rosseannes research/proffessor juniper. Also with addition of "lock"cards such as Lass and Imposter Oak's revenge i added cyrus intiative which can gives me a chance to "lock" my opponent on the 1st turn of the game.
The next card is azelf. I mainly run azelf because i have only 1 main atacker and i wish for it not be prized.
Absol prime is the main attacker of the deck. It deals a fast t2 70 damage which allows for fast knockouts when only playing with 4 prizes. also sending pokemon to the lost zone is a bonus as you will be able to use Mew to use nifty attacks.
Mew is another attacker in the deck that can abuse BIG evoloution pokemon attacks that use only a few energys.

BIG pokemon which hopefully get lostzoned
Garchomp lv.x: after an absol dies it allows me to restore the absol and make it ready for another viscous claw
Delcatty EX: has a decent attack that helps to replenish energys that were discarded due to junk arms/ item finder
Exeguttor: can be abused to mid-game lock opponents and give me the winning edge
Mandibuzz: Absuing absols body in order for mews to hit for 50 damage on weak benched pokemons
Clefable: It has the same attack as zoroak but for a cheaper energy cost which allows mew to blow devastating attacks on big pokemon such as reshiram/zekrom

notes there only 5 evo pokemon as one only needs to draw 4 prizes and hopefully will be able to lost zone most of them, also if most of them were prizes , one can still desperately lost zone azelf/sableye.

Trainers: I use a massive trainer draw and Ballz engine because i believe with sableye allowing me to go first i grab a huge advantage can set up faster than my opponent.

Mulligan and how to counter it: well 4 basic pokemon is very low and makes this deck mulligan alot. The answer to this problem comes in either LASS which can basically tear apart your opponents hand or Imposter Oak's Revenge, TR-76 which serves for a massive hand reduction and in combination with initiative cyruses in can destroy the opponents hand in ONE turn.

Interesting, very interesting. This list is VERY consistant, without a doubt. But there are some flaws the make it less than perfect. Where is the revive for when your Mew goes bye bye, which will happen. if they just cant ko it right off the bat, then you can win, easily. But relying on an expert Belt can cost you. The energy count is great, as is the Poke line, but maybe even an Unown Q for free retreat would have helped. Great entry though!

Your score is as follows
Deck- 8/10
Creativity- 8/10
Card Use- 5/5
Online Gameplay- 3/3
Total=24

Waynegg

1 Azelf
1 Delcatty
1 Kyogre
1 Kyurem
1 Mesprit
1 Mr. Mime
1 Pidgey
1 Pidgeot
1 Skitty
1 Unown G

3 Pokemon Collector
2 Bebe's Search
1 Computer Search
1 Erika's Perfume
1 Expert Belt
1 Item Finder
1 Judge
1 Junk Arm
1 Lass
1 Luxury Ball
1 Moo Moo Milk
1 Mr. Briney's Compassion
1 Pokemon Breeder
1 Potion
1 Scoop Up

5 Water Energy
3 Psychic Energy
2 Double Colorless Energy
2 Holon Energy WP

Your strategy is to spread with Kyurem and Active Stall with a G'd Mime. I G'd Mime is all but invulnerable. This is what everything does to accomplish that task!

The Pokemon
Azelf gives you prize control and Mesprit will help with any pesky powers you may run into.

Delcatty gives you draw. Pidgeot is a higher priority to get out (because it will complete your Delcatty as soon as you do) in most cases though.

Kyogre is used only to set up your Kyurem. After it accomplishes that task, scoop it with Scoop Up or Briney and get it out of the way.

Kyurem spreads 30 to all your opponent's Pokemon. Two spreads and then follow up with the Super Mime nets you quick prizes. Scoop it before it dies, rebench, and rebuild while Mime is finishing what Kyurem started.

Mr. Mime- Active Stalls early and cleans up for the win after Kyurem spreads with Meditate (does 10 +10 more for each damage counter). Combos with Unown G to become near invincible. It's attack combos with Kyurem as well. Your opponent should have 60-90 damage on them before you need to scoop Kyurem. Then 10 plus ten becomes so broken.

Pidgeot goes off every tun giving you any card you like from your deck.

T/S/S
Also to get any card you want from your deck, you have both Computer Search to help you out.

Expert gives another deadly option to Mr. Mime when your opponent isn't hitting you for effects.

Potion and Moo Moo Milk are exclusively for Mr. Mime, but there's a tiny chance you may find the opportunity to use them elsewhere.

Lass- use it at an awesome time, combo with Decatty draw afterward, and you totally screw your opponent for the whole game. They will have to be very fortunate with their top decks to have a chance.

Junk Arm and Item Finder allow you to reuse Trainers. Item Finder also allows you to get Supporters back from the discard when you need to.

Erika's Perfume single handedly eliminates most of the threat of coming into play Powers, which are sure to be huge in this format.

Three Pokemon Collector is PLENTY in a 40 card deck. It actually provides a higher consistency than 4 in a 60 card deck. 1 in 13.333 vs. 1 in 15.

Judge is to prevent you from decking yourself if you find the opportunity to just to play with a lone Mr. Mime. You reach a point where you really don't need any more cards, so you can just hold it all until you need to fluff your deck. 10+ 10 takes a while when it's your only play for the game. Don't be tempted to use it as a disruptor when in this situation.

Energy
Holon WP allows you a free retreat as well as an Unown G effect when you have a Basic Psychic or Water (respectively) attached as well. Imagine Mr. Mime with this, Eviolite, a Water, and a Psychic on it!

Double Colorless gives you a touch of Energy acceleration. I would love to have been able to use DRE here instead, but it isn't for Basics...

This deck is as good as you can hope for a Singleton-styled deck, though it is closer to a true Singleton than (I would be willing to bet 2 points challenge points on this) probably any other entry for the round. It is tested to be consistent. It has more synergy than many meta decks. It disrupts. Active Stall, when done well, is incredibly difficult to overcome.

Very impressive, glad to see someone is using Pidgeot. I will say it seems rather hard to get Pidgeot out, but it can get out based on how small the deck is and prize count. Maybe a Pigeotto?
All in all this is one of the most consistant builds in the top 4, very impressed with it. Good energy count, good selection of trainers. All in all...fantastic, and VERY creative

You score is as follows
Deck- 9/10
Creativity- 9/10
Card Use- 5/5
Online Gameplay- 0/3
Total=23

Again, this is unofficial due to Ness being guest judge. Your fate is heldby Ness. In case of any tie, this challenge's tie breaker will be the Online Gameplay scores, no if, ands, or buts about it. This was a privilege to score these fantastic entries.

 

[Cyrus]

I have a slight quibble on the deck score: despite the fact that I run so many 1-1 lines, this list sets up reliably well almost every game. 4 Collector/2 Lanette in a 40 card format is insane consistency, and I ran all four of the best consistency cards unlimited has to offer (Wrath/Erika/Oak/Comp Search). Toss in Spiritomb's auto-search, and I think I have a good argument for a slightly higher score on that front.

 

[bullados]

I run Double Colorless. 4 of them. DCE. I thought that was known...

And Cyrus's deck sets up. Beautifully. It set up all 3 games I played against him, once turn 3, twice turn 2.

 

[Vegeta ss4]

Cyrus, I minterpreted the Lanette's, your score went up a bit, then I really looked at some synergy. One flaw I found was terrible starts, but with Sableye or Spiritomb, it makes it null n void. I relooked over everyone's scores, and have awarded Cyrus and Bullados more points.

 

[goldedda]

for my grading one flaw you have written is that i do not play revive which i don't because i run pokemon rescue, which i believe is better than a revive as it can grab me evolutions that i have discarded using discard trainers/supporters

 

[bullados]

Cyclone Energy was what got me the win against Cyrus's deck. I wouldn't have won without it. That and Giant Stump (by his own admission) were the game changers. I'm upset that I didn't run MORE Cyclone.

 

[Cyrus]

I run Double Colorless. 4 of them. DCE. I thought that was known...

And Cyrus's deck sets up. Beautifully. It set up all 3 games I played against him, once turn 3, twice turn 2.

D'awww, thank ye kindly. Yours sets up beautifully too IMO (poor Spiritomb never had a chance - Cyclone is your MVP for sure).

 

[waynegg]

Computer Search nabs the Pidgeot or the Breeder, whichever part you still need. It worked very reliably and I'm sure baby mario can vouch for that as he played around with the deck for a week or so to make sure he understood what I was getting at with it. Don't know if that would affect my consistency score or not, but thought I would throw it out there just the same.

 

[Vegeta ss4]

Factored in everything, and come to the conclusion.
All scores are final, just waiting on Ness.
Posted with Mobile style...

 

[waynegg]

Factored in everything, and come to the conclusion.
All scores are final, just waiting on Ness.
Posted with Mobile style...

No complaints here. Happy to have put my best foot forward. I hope Ness sees it the same as you! But if this is my swan song, thanks for all the time you put into running this for us. It's been fun thus far and I've honestly looked forward to each round!

Cyrus and I were talking at Cities this weekend and were hoping for an all Texas final round... Now THAT would be awesome!

 

[Sceptile King]

Good job you guys.
Posted with Mobile style...

 

[Vegeta ss4]

Information for all hands, Ness is quite busy and has informed me that he will not be able to judge. I am looking at a few candidates that are well established in Iron Chef's history. Hopefully we can wrap this round up by Thursday.

Thx
Nathan
Posted with Mobile style...

 

[Vegeta ss4]

Alright guys, I tried to get another person to judge this. He hasn't replied yet so I am deeming this round officially over. Congrats to Cyrus and Goldedda!!!!

 

[BrightRush]

Congratz John and Edmund!

 

[Vegeta ss4]

The championship challenge will be up tomorrow!
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