Kayle
Active Member
This was an interesting weekend for me. After a very uneventful and underwhelming start with Battle Roads being a complete flop for me, followed by a series of 4-2s and 3-3s at Cities that give way to one top 8, I felt so exhausted by both Pokemon and by finals that by the time this weekend rolled around - the school quarter completed - I was just ready to give up and relax. I almost wanted to stay home, and kept telling Ethan I didn't feel like a winner. Introverted pathetic Kayle is introverted and pathetic.
Regardless, though, my friends are great people and Pokemon is a great game, so I ventured down for two hours to Lakewood Sunday morning. I left 90% of everything I needed at home - bringing only barely enough for a deck, and without really knowing which deck I wanted to play, but also bringing no sleeping supplies because who needs a blanket when sleeping at a friend's house with 11 other guests? Seems fine.
We arrived at Lakewood before the store opened, feeling drained and cold, so we went to a nearby Starbucks to pick up some extra heat (and some protein. breakfast sandwiches op.) where I expressed my concern about my deck choices to Ethan, my fellow Figter and great testing partner. He was enjoying his Ho-Oh build adapted from Pooka's and Pram's lists, and was willing to let me borrow anything he wasn't using, so I ended up taking an Empoleon/Mewtwo build we had toyed with a few weeks back that he had only had moderate success with [same day as my top 8]. It was supposed to be tailor-made to beat Landorus/Mewtwo by winning mewtwo wars while preventing Landorus from being a factor. It didn't really succeed in that, but I liked the idea, and remembered enjoying Diving Draw a lot, so I took his list, copied it out into a decklist, and took it back to the Game Matrix.
Here is the list I ended up playing on Sunday, which is only one card off from the list I played Saturday.
4-1-4 Empoleon
3 Emolga
2 Mewtwo EX
2 Terrakion
4 N
4 Cheren
3 Skyla
4 Catcher
4 Rare Candy
3 Switch
3 Pokemon Communication
2 Level Ball
2 Max Potion
1 Super Rod
1 Energy Switch
1 Computer Search
5 Water
1 Fighting
3 Blend WLFM
3 DCE
I don't think the deck is fully viable anymore, but if I were to try, I would take out Terrakion entirely and just focus on Mewtwo a little more. The problem with this is that it's harsh to bench Mewtwos for extra Attack Command damage. But then, Terrakion is harsh to bench too, as it's huge catcher bait. One finds themselves with many Emolga in play.
We wander around, get told off for taking our bags into the store part of the Game Matrix, and end up wandering around more anyway until pairings go up. As I recall there were 54 masters for 6 rounds with a T8.
Round 1: Justin O. w/ Mewtwo/Rayquaza
I don't remember clearly what happened. What I remember is that he only benched a couple of things that ended up being KO'd quickly after I have a nice starting set up. Wished him luck in the rest of his games and went to go listen to some music.
1-0 :: Round 2: Ethan B. w/ Ho-Oh and stuff
Ugh. Worst case scenario. Ethan is convinced that this is an autoloss - and it's definitely unfavorable. But the thing about matchups in this game is that there's almost always options because big basics are just good. I swarm piplups - getting four and an Emolga into play by the end of turn one - where he starts Bouffalant, and gets a Tornadus out, followed after a bit by a Mewtwo and a Terrakion. He manages to catcher/hurricane KO a Prinplup I think, and is doing some hefty damage to Empoleons, using his non-EXs to try to keep up the prize trade in his favor.
But the fact of the matter is I'm doing marginally more damage with better mobility and draw. We're slow, thoughtful players, so - if I remember right - time gets called when I have three prizes to his two, but I set up mewtwo + DCE + energy switch against his active Mewtwo after he lures me into thinking he has an N (unintentionally).
I promise him I'll give him good resistance and go to find my next opponent.
2-0 :: Round 3: Paul J. w/ Landorus/Mewtwo
Paul is everyone's hero. He is absolutely adorable and everyone likes him, not to mention he's an excellent player, taking a top 2 finish Sunday to add on to his back-to-back wins from two weeks ago. This is a matchup I'm built to beat, so I'm pumped about being paired up with it, but simultaneously I am also worried about playing such a great opponent because he's not without his ways of beating me.
He opens with Mewtwo and Bouffalant, and I set up with Empoleons and just swing into him repeatedly without fear, holding on to a Mewtwo play and waiting for an opportunity to bench him. But he wisely only benches new threats just in time to prevent from being benched, to limit Attack Command damage. We get to each with two prizes remaining and he Ns me; I Diving Draw repeatedly to try to grab the pieces of my Mewtwo play again, and try to force Paul to KO something so I can promote a Emolga and be able to retreat into Mewtwo. The gambit works and I'm able to Mewtwo + DCE + Energy Switch for game. Really nerve-wracking and very good game - now I've got to carry two people on resistance. Pressure's on.
Lunch is uneventful, I just hang out with Ethan at Jack in the Box. w/e. Feeling good about 3-0.
3-0 :: Round 4: Corey M. w/ Landorus/Mewtwo
Yay! Another matchup I'm supposed to win! Except opening Piplup against Mewtwo + DCE, going second, and somehow failing to get basics on your one turn left is really bad. Soooo that didn't work out so great. Oh well.
3-1 :: Round 5: Trevor W. w/ Landorus/Mewtwo
I believe he either opens with Landorus or benches it before realizing his peril, but I - paranoid after last round - also start with a Mewtwo along with my piplup. Mistake. We end up trading these EXs and playing a 4-prize game. I don't clearly remember what else happens but I know that I prize deny with Empoleon because he does a great job at preventing me from getting another good opportunity to use my own Mewtwo. Sorry I can't remember this game well, but I did win. Trevor's a nice enough guy and I'm glad he was doing well but it sucks to beat your pals.
4-1 :: Round 6: Johnathan A. w/ Rayeels
So Rayeels, I guess. Not what I expected to see, and a matchup I wasn't excited about. I try to KO Eels like a good boy, but I set up just a hair behind him and he lands both Super Rods early in, giving him access to 6 Eels and 7 Fire Energy or something. I'm unable to prevent him from just Dragon Bursting everything to pieces.
4-2 Finish, 7th seed. Also in cut are Lane T, Amelia B, John A, and Jacob VW.
I have great resistance, with pretty much everyone I played against going 3-3 or better, so I decide to order my deck on the off chance I get in, and halfway through Ethan and some others come up to me and announce excitedly that I made the seventh seed. Yay! Even more exciting, I get to exact my revenge against Corey in top 8! Yay!
TOP EIGHT: COREY M.
Sorry. Low detail overview here.
G1: I don't even remember this game except that I stomped him. Empoleon is a pretty good attacker against Mewtwo even on its own, and it sets up safe Mewtwo KOs.
G2: I draw more poorly and can't set up enough Empoleons to prevent them from being KO'd quickly. I end up scooping after realizing that I have no way to prevent him from taking his last prizes.
G3: I don't draw as well as game one, but better than game two. I'm able to take a couple of Mewtwos down, but I think he stomps my own Mewtwo once. Time gets called, and I'm able to Catcher and KO a Bouffalant with Land Crush to take a prize lead and the win.
TOP FOUR: ALEX P. w/ Ho-Oh/Tornadus EX
I've never met Alex before, but he seemed like a nice guy, and revealed after our match that this was only his second Cities, and also his second Top Cut. I liked his deck and his gameplay, but Empoleon/Mewtwo makes for a hard game against Ho-Oh, so I'm prepared for another strong matchup.
G1: He starts extremely slow with Bouffalant and I start strong. He actually gets a few things rolling, but not enough to really pose a great threat, so I claim the first game quickly.
G2: If I recall right, he goes first and starts with another Bouffalant, and I set up a little slower but about the same speed, while he can't really get anything going for fear of presenting me with two free prizes with Ho-Oh or walking into a Mewtwo play. He does get me to a point where a miraculous sets of cards, if he is able to draw them, would prevent him from losing immediately and severely damaging my board position... but he doesn't draw them haha, and I'm able to finally beat down his Mewtwo for game.
FINALS: JAMES G. w/ Landorus/Mewtwo/Terrakion
James is well-known in Washington for his great luck and strong undefeated records in several CCs. But he's playing exactly what I'm built to beat. So I'm ready.
G1: He starts Mewtwo to my Piplup. I get an Emolga into play and Call for Family, but find myself without a supporter while he gets DCE + Pluspower to KO my Emolga... and then starts just stacking more and more DCE on his Mewtwo, even though he knows I play a Mewtwo that I can respond with. Unfortunately I don't find it, or anything else, before he destroys my field.
G2: Moderately tilted, I stop joking around and start playing serious a few turns in. I struggle to keep multiple Empoleons in play, and he Eviolites everything so Attack Command has a harder time doing any serious damage; I'm able to KO a Landorus he starts with if I remember right, I take out a Mewtwo, and when he Ns me to two and responds with his own Mewtwo, I'm able to drop DCE + Mewtwo and retreat from Emolga into it for game (he has three energy on his Mewtwo because I always made him use three!).
G3: I don't remember this game all that well, but I do remember not drawing all that great and having him again take strange risks with Mewtwo and Landorus that pay off because I can't draw into stuff.
Soooo aggro linear play is super good, I guess. Oh well. Second is good and 40 more CP is great. I pull a Skyla (normal), Dusknoir, and reverse Charizard and Vileplume. Whooooooo.
We all get a super late dinner at Applebees which is really good. I hang out with the Font of Wisdom and play a bunch of World Championship decks with Ethan (banette ex is pretty okay), and fall asleep to the VWs and Sorina and everybody playing Risk. Lol you guys and your silly alliances.
I convince Ethan to take up Empoleon/Mewtwo along with me for the second day, and head over to OCC with Kenny. We wander to Fred Meyer for some sandwiches for breakfast and return to begin the tournament. There were 48 Masters for another T8 with 6 rounds.
Round 1: Jordan O. (Eely stuff)
He gets some Eels going but I kind of smash everything with Empoleons before he can get anything else. I just had a phenomenal setup this game. I'm guessing he's the son of the guy I played in round one yesterday, and I kind of feel bad about beating them both so badly, so I wish him great luck in his future rounds (which was a major feat, he's so quiet and it scares me ._.) and he gives me this brief happy smile and it makes me feel AWESOME.
1-0 :: Round 2: Johnathan A. (Rayeels)
Hey I remember this guy. I try for a new tactic this game, after trying to KO eels stopped working yesterday - I let him get them out and instead try to pressure his Rayquaza EX and take prizes off of that. It doesn't take me long to realize that this is a very, very bad idea. He gets four Eels into play, and Dragon Bursts a fourth Empoleon for 240 damage (leaving him at 1 prize remaining). I'm ready to just take the loss at this point.
I've super rodded an Empoleon back in and am sitting on a Piplup or Prinplup, and I have an Emolga active. He has to retreat out to something (Emolga I think) so he can power up his Rayquaza. He dynamotors to it twice and passes, or Static Shocks, or something. I draw, sift through my four card hand, but have really already scooped mentally - so I drop Mewtwo and attach a DCE, then retreat, catcher his Rayquaza out (both because it's silly to swing into the beast that will destroy me, but also forcing him to have the energy in hand to win that turn). X Ball for 100. He laughs with me and draws, looks at the field, and realizes he can't KO mewtwo this turn - and begins to freak out, also realizing he COULD have won last turn if he'd Dynamotored to an Eel and knocked out my Emolga.
He tilts bad, and retreats out to Emolga again, Dynamotoring to Ray to prevent from making the same mistake twice, but I actually hit a second Catcher, bring it up, and knock it out. I can scarcely believe it but I'm at 1 prize remaining now and he's throwing away the game rapidly. He does find another Rayquaza EX but doesn't find the Fire, and instead Dynamotors to an Eel, promoting his Emolga and passing. I find Empoleon, Diving Draw myself into another energy and an Energy Switch, and claim my final prize.
I like John a lot and I feel bad about this win - he HAD it - but at the same time, I have to admit that he deserves to lose, for paying so little attention at the end. It wasn't that I got a cheap win out of him; it's that he didn't lock down and pay enough attention, and left me an out. I think he saw it the same way, but I know he was aggravated and I understand completely (the people hanging around our table watching with wide eyes as the game turned around was no help, I'm sure). I really hope he has some more luck in the future, and I hope he learned to pay some closer attention to the game state.
2-0 :: Round 3: Polo L. (Ho-oh)
He groans as we sit down across from each other, and for good reason - it only gets worse when he starts with Ho-Oh and I flip the graceful Emolga start. I set up quickly and nearly bench him - first by taking a Mewtwo KO with my own Mewtwo, then by nearly KOing Ho-Oh - but he's able to find a Tornadus and make a game of it. Unfortunately the Ho-Oh start just sets him too far back and I easily claim the game from there. Polo has a history of bad luck when playing against me, but hopefully someday we'll play a real game. Hopefully, I'll win that one too, haha.
Lunch break. We (the VWs, Sorina, Ethan and I) go driving around for a Teriyaki place that was literally a faster walk, sit down, and take forever to get our orders taken. We get about a quadrillion gyoza because it's the play, for serious. We end up having to rush back to OCC to make it in time for the next round though. Whoops!
3-0 :: Round 4: Amelia B. (Darkrai/Hydreigon)
I felt like today was going to be going much worse than yesterday; the metagame changed slightly, and my deck was no longer an accurate counter play. I was hitting less favorable matchups. But then this game happened, and things started to get stupid.
I lead with a slower start than most of my games, but I find myself drawing literally everything I could possibly want. You'll see what I mean. She gets a Deino down turn 2 and I don't have the empoleon to respond to it, so I watch her next turn with insane dread as she Computer Searches and... doesn't QUITE get the Hydreigon, instead opting to Junk Hunt the computer search back into her hand along with a Catcher I think. I slam down an Empoleon, a Catcher, a Water, and an N - flushing her hand, giving me the retreat into Empoleon, and KOing her Deino. I've got two Terrakions, and by the end of the next turn I've got a Blend on both of them as well. She goes into Mewtwo and swings, but I have nothing to fear from her and swing back for almost twice as much damage; she retreats out of there and goes back to Junk Hunting, dropping another Deino and Ning me. I draw the Catcher without even needing to diving draw for it. Before KOing her Deino, I drop a Fighting on one of my terrakions. So I've got two - one with Blend/F, and one with Blend.
At this point she's getting understandably frustrated. She AGAIN Ns me, drops another Deino, catchers out the Terrakion with Blend, and Night Spears, hitting both Terrakions. I think I do have to Diving Draw this time, but I wind up with DCE and Energy Switch - she lets out a sigh of exasperation - AND Catcher. Land Crush KO on her Deino. She promotes Darkrai again, catchers my other Terrakion, and Spears, putting them both at 120 damage. I find a Switch on the following turn, and she scoops to the Land Crush for my fifth prize.
This deck is pretty good, but I have to admit, I drew literally everything I could possibly want at every time except the turn 2 Empoleon. Feeling a little shaken (and not entirely happy about the win) I go socialize a little to raise my spirits, before returning for round 5. It doesn't get any better from here.
4-0 :: Round 5: Charlie N. (Rayeels)
Charlie's a great player and usually very serious and quiet. My initial attempt to socialize with him today is a bit weak, but following a poke from James (who's on my right, the next table down) he lets out a quip that sends the entire top three tables into roaring laughter. So it was a great start to my fifth round.
But not as great as the start I get from my hand. I think he Ns me with an Emolga on the field, and gets out his own Emolga to CFF for three Tynamos, but he Ns me into an insane opening that nets me I think two turn 2 Empoleons, and a Catcher to KO his only Eel. Then another Catcher next turn for his next Eel. Then another... and another.
Four catchers for four Eels, literally one turn after another. I could scarcely believe it. With a 3-prize lead (he got an Empoleon at some point with Dragon Burst) and only two prizes remaining I've easily got the game in the bag. He promotes an Emolga to try to stall and power up another Dragon Burst, which I consume greedily; then he benches and promotes Rayquaza DRV, which probably has the most HP of anything he is willing to let me deal damage to. (It's a strange play, with me out of catchers and with him surely having more Ray EXs that would have more HP and free retreat.). But with his bench completely full I'm able to find two Basics and drop them for 120 damage and game.
What just happened?
5-0 :: Round 6: James G. (Landorus/mewtwo/bouffalant/terrakion)
He starts Landorus I think, and I start with a really bizarre hand that requires me to Computer Search to have a chance at doing anything. I have Piplup, Empoleon, and Prinplup all in hand, but end up CSing away the Prinplup to get something I need for the t1 Call for Family (I have the Emolga, so it was either energy or Switch, since he catchered up my Piplup). When I start my next turn I realize I have no supporter or draw options. I think I was still just shaky from my last match, but I mentally scoop as soon as I realize that, and just let him KO everything in play with Land's Judgment after that. I know I'm in anyway, so it doesn't matter that much.
5-1 finish, 3rd seed. Also in cut are Paul J, James, Tyler N, Sorina, and Charlie N.
I order my deck calmly and wait for the standings to come up. I feel bad for Ethan, who has been having absolutely terrible luck all day (but managed to finish 4-2 even so, though his resistance is awful). He started the Terrakion guy, and then the Empoleon/Terrakion guy, but after today he was done with relying on Diving Draw for consistency (which has been shaky I admit).
I was actually the only 5-0 in the fifth round so I thought I might still be top seed, but as it happens I'm 3rd seed instead, and paired up against 'someone' who just decided to bring Pangaea to our meta and see what happens. Everyone - including my opponent - is dead certain that I'm going to easily win, as my deck is one that Pangaea's normal strategy completely fails against. But from my experience with Tornadus EX I know that that's one of the few EXs that really scares Empoleon, and I'm ready for these to be some hard games.
TOP EIGHT: LIAM W. w/ PANGAEA (Sigilyph/Tornadus EX/Landorus EX)
I'll be honest, when I first met/saw Liam I wasn't really all that... impressed with him (this was a long time ago mind you), but this match was my first really direct encounter with him, and now I know he's an insanely nice and funny guy. We joked around a lot about what I'll put in my report and how I should say that he's cute (to be fair he's pretty cute) but I seriously liked him a lot and was very glad to have this match against him. I can't wait to hang out with him some more at future Cities and at Regs.
G1: He starts Sigilyph to my Emolga. I call for family, standard stuff. He rips Tornadus/Pluspower/Skyarrow/DCE for the turn one KO. We both kind of stare at the board in surprise, and he proceeds to completely destroy me. Tornadus is good against evolution decks... who knew?
G2: He doesn't start off nearly as well and I'm able to actually establish myself, but I think I have trouble getting all the cards I need - about time. What I do know is that the combination of smart Aspertia City Gym play and careful retreating and prize denial makes it impossible for me to take KOs, while he's easily 2HKOing my Empoleons left and right until I'm literally left with none. At one point I catcher a Tornadus with some amount of damage on it and X Ball to bring it to 180 - but he has Aspertia, and I'd forgotten about it. Nooooo! I very nearly deck him but it turns out his last card is N, allowing him to refresh his deck, and it gives him enough longevity to take his last prize against me with 2 cards left to draw.
So, everyone is surprised except me. I wish Liam luck in top 4 and Ethan and I get something to eat, discussing our plans for next weekend and enjoying the fact that I actually have a respectable (ish) number of CP now. We intended to wait for Paul to finish as we were his ride back to Seattle, but he makes it to the finals and Lane arranges to take him home instead, leaving Ethan and I the chance to get started on our two and a half hour drive back to Bellingham. I find out later that Tyler took the win on that one, so good job to him.
Props and slops are stupid.
Shoutouts:
- Liam is freaking adorable
- Kenny for being awesome and hosting us
- Ethan for being awesome in every way imaginable
- Jacob VW for ruining my childhood Sunday morning, what a great gif to wake up to, you jerk
- Finals/Fall Quarter for being over
- Empoleon for being super good
- Tyler for getting some hard-earned CP Sunday
- Polo, stop feeding bot lane you idiot
I feel re-energized and ready to tackle some more Cities.
Regardless, though, my friends are great people and Pokemon is a great game, so I ventured down for two hours to Lakewood Sunday morning. I left 90% of everything I needed at home - bringing only barely enough for a deck, and without really knowing which deck I wanted to play, but also bringing no sleeping supplies because who needs a blanket when sleeping at a friend's house with 11 other guests? Seems fine.
We arrived at Lakewood before the store opened, feeling drained and cold, so we went to a nearby Starbucks to pick up some extra heat (and some protein. breakfast sandwiches op.) where I expressed my concern about my deck choices to Ethan, my fellow Figter and great testing partner. He was enjoying his Ho-Oh build adapted from Pooka's and Pram's lists, and was willing to let me borrow anything he wasn't using, so I ended up taking an Empoleon/Mewtwo build we had toyed with a few weeks back that he had only had moderate success with [same day as my top 8]. It was supposed to be tailor-made to beat Landorus/Mewtwo by winning mewtwo wars while preventing Landorus from being a factor. It didn't really succeed in that, but I liked the idea, and remembered enjoying Diving Draw a lot, so I took his list, copied it out into a decklist, and took it back to the Game Matrix.
Here is the list I ended up playing on Sunday, which is only one card off from the list I played Saturday.
4-1-4 Empoleon
3 Emolga
2 Mewtwo EX
2 Terrakion
4 N
4 Cheren
3 Skyla
4 Catcher
4 Rare Candy
3 Switch
3 Pokemon Communication
2 Level Ball
2 Max Potion
1 Super Rod
1 Energy Switch
1 Computer Search
5 Water
1 Fighting
3 Blend WLFM
3 DCE
I don't think the deck is fully viable anymore, but if I were to try, I would take out Terrakion entirely and just focus on Mewtwo a little more. The problem with this is that it's harsh to bench Mewtwos for extra Attack Command damage. But then, Terrakion is harsh to bench too, as it's huge catcher bait. One finds themselves with many Emolga in play.
We wander around, get told off for taking our bags into the store part of the Game Matrix, and end up wandering around more anyway until pairings go up. As I recall there were 54 masters for 6 rounds with a T8.
Round 1: Justin O. w/ Mewtwo/Rayquaza
I don't remember clearly what happened. What I remember is that he only benched a couple of things that ended up being KO'd quickly after I have a nice starting set up. Wished him luck in the rest of his games and went to go listen to some music.
1-0 :: Round 2: Ethan B. w/ Ho-Oh and stuff
Ugh. Worst case scenario. Ethan is convinced that this is an autoloss - and it's definitely unfavorable. But the thing about matchups in this game is that there's almost always options because big basics are just good. I swarm piplups - getting four and an Emolga into play by the end of turn one - where he starts Bouffalant, and gets a Tornadus out, followed after a bit by a Mewtwo and a Terrakion. He manages to catcher/hurricane KO a Prinplup I think, and is doing some hefty damage to Empoleons, using his non-EXs to try to keep up the prize trade in his favor.
But the fact of the matter is I'm doing marginally more damage with better mobility and draw. We're slow, thoughtful players, so - if I remember right - time gets called when I have three prizes to his two, but I set up mewtwo + DCE + energy switch against his active Mewtwo after he lures me into thinking he has an N (unintentionally).
I promise him I'll give him good resistance and go to find my next opponent.
2-0 :: Round 3: Paul J. w/ Landorus/Mewtwo
Paul is everyone's hero. He is absolutely adorable and everyone likes him, not to mention he's an excellent player, taking a top 2 finish Sunday to add on to his back-to-back wins from two weeks ago. This is a matchup I'm built to beat, so I'm pumped about being paired up with it, but simultaneously I am also worried about playing such a great opponent because he's not without his ways of beating me.
He opens with Mewtwo and Bouffalant, and I set up with Empoleons and just swing into him repeatedly without fear, holding on to a Mewtwo play and waiting for an opportunity to bench him. But he wisely only benches new threats just in time to prevent from being benched, to limit Attack Command damage. We get to each with two prizes remaining and he Ns me; I Diving Draw repeatedly to try to grab the pieces of my Mewtwo play again, and try to force Paul to KO something so I can promote a Emolga and be able to retreat into Mewtwo. The gambit works and I'm able to Mewtwo + DCE + Energy Switch for game. Really nerve-wracking and very good game - now I've got to carry two people on resistance. Pressure's on.
Lunch is uneventful, I just hang out with Ethan at Jack in the Box. w/e. Feeling good about 3-0.
3-0 :: Round 4: Corey M. w/ Landorus/Mewtwo
Yay! Another matchup I'm supposed to win! Except opening Piplup against Mewtwo + DCE, going second, and somehow failing to get basics on your one turn left is really bad. Soooo that didn't work out so great. Oh well.
3-1 :: Round 5: Trevor W. w/ Landorus/Mewtwo
I believe he either opens with Landorus or benches it before realizing his peril, but I - paranoid after last round - also start with a Mewtwo along with my piplup. Mistake. We end up trading these EXs and playing a 4-prize game. I don't clearly remember what else happens but I know that I prize deny with Empoleon because he does a great job at preventing me from getting another good opportunity to use my own Mewtwo. Sorry I can't remember this game well, but I did win. Trevor's a nice enough guy and I'm glad he was doing well but it sucks to beat your pals.
4-1 :: Round 6: Johnathan A. w/ Rayeels
So Rayeels, I guess. Not what I expected to see, and a matchup I wasn't excited about. I try to KO Eels like a good boy, but I set up just a hair behind him and he lands both Super Rods early in, giving him access to 6 Eels and 7 Fire Energy or something. I'm unable to prevent him from just Dragon Bursting everything to pieces.
4-2 Finish, 7th seed. Also in cut are Lane T, Amelia B, John A, and Jacob VW.
I have great resistance, with pretty much everyone I played against going 3-3 or better, so I decide to order my deck on the off chance I get in, and halfway through Ethan and some others come up to me and announce excitedly that I made the seventh seed. Yay! Even more exciting, I get to exact my revenge against Corey in top 8! Yay!
TOP EIGHT: COREY M.
Sorry. Low detail overview here.
G1: I don't even remember this game except that I stomped him. Empoleon is a pretty good attacker against Mewtwo even on its own, and it sets up safe Mewtwo KOs.
G2: I draw more poorly and can't set up enough Empoleons to prevent them from being KO'd quickly. I end up scooping after realizing that I have no way to prevent him from taking his last prizes.
G3: I don't draw as well as game one, but better than game two. I'm able to take a couple of Mewtwos down, but I think he stomps my own Mewtwo once. Time gets called, and I'm able to Catcher and KO a Bouffalant with Land Crush to take a prize lead and the win.
TOP FOUR: ALEX P. w/ Ho-Oh/Tornadus EX
I've never met Alex before, but he seemed like a nice guy, and revealed after our match that this was only his second Cities, and also his second Top Cut. I liked his deck and his gameplay, but Empoleon/Mewtwo makes for a hard game against Ho-Oh, so I'm prepared for another strong matchup.
G1: He starts extremely slow with Bouffalant and I start strong. He actually gets a few things rolling, but not enough to really pose a great threat, so I claim the first game quickly.
G2: If I recall right, he goes first and starts with another Bouffalant, and I set up a little slower but about the same speed, while he can't really get anything going for fear of presenting me with two free prizes with Ho-Oh or walking into a Mewtwo play. He does get me to a point where a miraculous sets of cards, if he is able to draw them, would prevent him from losing immediately and severely damaging my board position... but he doesn't draw them haha, and I'm able to finally beat down his Mewtwo for game.
FINALS: JAMES G. w/ Landorus/Mewtwo/Terrakion
James is well-known in Washington for his great luck and strong undefeated records in several CCs. But he's playing exactly what I'm built to beat. So I'm ready.
G1: He starts Mewtwo to my Piplup. I get an Emolga into play and Call for Family, but find myself without a supporter while he gets DCE + Pluspower to KO my Emolga... and then starts just stacking more and more DCE on his Mewtwo, even though he knows I play a Mewtwo that I can respond with. Unfortunately I don't find it, or anything else, before he destroys my field.
G2: Moderately tilted, I stop joking around and start playing serious a few turns in. I struggle to keep multiple Empoleons in play, and he Eviolites everything so Attack Command has a harder time doing any serious damage; I'm able to KO a Landorus he starts with if I remember right, I take out a Mewtwo, and when he Ns me to two and responds with his own Mewtwo, I'm able to drop DCE + Mewtwo and retreat from Emolga into it for game (he has three energy on his Mewtwo because I always made him use three!).
G3: I don't remember this game all that well, but I do remember not drawing all that great and having him again take strange risks with Mewtwo and Landorus that pay off because I can't draw into stuff.
Soooo aggro linear play is super good, I guess. Oh well. Second is good and 40 more CP is great. I pull a Skyla (normal), Dusknoir, and reverse Charizard and Vileplume. Whooooooo.
We all get a super late dinner at Applebees which is really good. I hang out with the Font of Wisdom and play a bunch of World Championship decks with Ethan (banette ex is pretty okay), and fall asleep to the VWs and Sorina and everybody playing Risk. Lol you guys and your silly alliances.
I convince Ethan to take up Empoleon/Mewtwo along with me for the second day, and head over to OCC with Kenny. We wander to Fred Meyer for some sandwiches for breakfast and return to begin the tournament. There were 48 Masters for another T8 with 6 rounds.
Round 1: Jordan O. (Eely stuff)
He gets some Eels going but I kind of smash everything with Empoleons before he can get anything else. I just had a phenomenal setup this game. I'm guessing he's the son of the guy I played in round one yesterday, and I kind of feel bad about beating them both so badly, so I wish him great luck in his future rounds (which was a major feat, he's so quiet and it scares me ._.) and he gives me this brief happy smile and it makes me feel AWESOME.
1-0 :: Round 2: Johnathan A. (Rayeels)
Hey I remember this guy. I try for a new tactic this game, after trying to KO eels stopped working yesterday - I let him get them out and instead try to pressure his Rayquaza EX and take prizes off of that. It doesn't take me long to realize that this is a very, very bad idea. He gets four Eels into play, and Dragon Bursts a fourth Empoleon for 240 damage (leaving him at 1 prize remaining). I'm ready to just take the loss at this point.
I've super rodded an Empoleon back in and am sitting on a Piplup or Prinplup, and I have an Emolga active. He has to retreat out to something (Emolga I think) so he can power up his Rayquaza. He dynamotors to it twice and passes, or Static Shocks, or something. I draw, sift through my four card hand, but have really already scooped mentally - so I drop Mewtwo and attach a DCE, then retreat, catcher his Rayquaza out (both because it's silly to swing into the beast that will destroy me, but also forcing him to have the energy in hand to win that turn). X Ball for 100. He laughs with me and draws, looks at the field, and realizes he can't KO mewtwo this turn - and begins to freak out, also realizing he COULD have won last turn if he'd Dynamotored to an Eel and knocked out my Emolga.
He tilts bad, and retreats out to Emolga again, Dynamotoring to Ray to prevent from making the same mistake twice, but I actually hit a second Catcher, bring it up, and knock it out. I can scarcely believe it but I'm at 1 prize remaining now and he's throwing away the game rapidly. He does find another Rayquaza EX but doesn't find the Fire, and instead Dynamotors to an Eel, promoting his Emolga and passing. I find Empoleon, Diving Draw myself into another energy and an Energy Switch, and claim my final prize.
I like John a lot and I feel bad about this win - he HAD it - but at the same time, I have to admit that he deserves to lose, for paying so little attention at the end. It wasn't that I got a cheap win out of him; it's that he didn't lock down and pay enough attention, and left me an out. I think he saw it the same way, but I know he was aggravated and I understand completely (the people hanging around our table watching with wide eyes as the game turned around was no help, I'm sure). I really hope he has some more luck in the future, and I hope he learned to pay some closer attention to the game state.
2-0 :: Round 3: Polo L. (Ho-oh)
He groans as we sit down across from each other, and for good reason - it only gets worse when he starts with Ho-Oh and I flip the graceful Emolga start. I set up quickly and nearly bench him - first by taking a Mewtwo KO with my own Mewtwo, then by nearly KOing Ho-Oh - but he's able to find a Tornadus and make a game of it. Unfortunately the Ho-Oh start just sets him too far back and I easily claim the game from there. Polo has a history of bad luck when playing against me, but hopefully someday we'll play a real game. Hopefully, I'll win that one too, haha.
Lunch break. We (the VWs, Sorina, Ethan and I) go driving around for a Teriyaki place that was literally a faster walk, sit down, and take forever to get our orders taken. We get about a quadrillion gyoza because it's the play, for serious. We end up having to rush back to OCC to make it in time for the next round though. Whoops!
3-0 :: Round 4: Amelia B. (Darkrai/Hydreigon)
I felt like today was going to be going much worse than yesterday; the metagame changed slightly, and my deck was no longer an accurate counter play. I was hitting less favorable matchups. But then this game happened, and things started to get stupid.
I lead with a slower start than most of my games, but I find myself drawing literally everything I could possibly want. You'll see what I mean. She gets a Deino down turn 2 and I don't have the empoleon to respond to it, so I watch her next turn with insane dread as she Computer Searches and... doesn't QUITE get the Hydreigon, instead opting to Junk Hunt the computer search back into her hand along with a Catcher I think. I slam down an Empoleon, a Catcher, a Water, and an N - flushing her hand, giving me the retreat into Empoleon, and KOing her Deino. I've got two Terrakions, and by the end of the next turn I've got a Blend on both of them as well. She goes into Mewtwo and swings, but I have nothing to fear from her and swing back for almost twice as much damage; she retreats out of there and goes back to Junk Hunting, dropping another Deino and Ning me. I draw the Catcher without even needing to diving draw for it. Before KOing her Deino, I drop a Fighting on one of my terrakions. So I've got two - one with Blend/F, and one with Blend.
At this point she's getting understandably frustrated. She AGAIN Ns me, drops another Deino, catchers out the Terrakion with Blend, and Night Spears, hitting both Terrakions. I think I do have to Diving Draw this time, but I wind up with DCE and Energy Switch - she lets out a sigh of exasperation - AND Catcher. Land Crush KO on her Deino. She promotes Darkrai again, catchers my other Terrakion, and Spears, putting them both at 120 damage. I find a Switch on the following turn, and she scoops to the Land Crush for my fifth prize.
This deck is pretty good, but I have to admit, I drew literally everything I could possibly want at every time except the turn 2 Empoleon. Feeling a little shaken (and not entirely happy about the win) I go socialize a little to raise my spirits, before returning for round 5. It doesn't get any better from here.
4-0 :: Round 5: Charlie N. (Rayeels)
Charlie's a great player and usually very serious and quiet. My initial attempt to socialize with him today is a bit weak, but following a poke from James (who's on my right, the next table down) he lets out a quip that sends the entire top three tables into roaring laughter. So it was a great start to my fifth round.
But not as great as the start I get from my hand. I think he Ns me with an Emolga on the field, and gets out his own Emolga to CFF for three Tynamos, but he Ns me into an insane opening that nets me I think two turn 2 Empoleons, and a Catcher to KO his only Eel. Then another Catcher next turn for his next Eel. Then another... and another.
Four catchers for four Eels, literally one turn after another. I could scarcely believe it. With a 3-prize lead (he got an Empoleon at some point with Dragon Burst) and only two prizes remaining I've easily got the game in the bag. He promotes an Emolga to try to stall and power up another Dragon Burst, which I consume greedily; then he benches and promotes Rayquaza DRV, which probably has the most HP of anything he is willing to let me deal damage to. (It's a strange play, with me out of catchers and with him surely having more Ray EXs that would have more HP and free retreat.). But with his bench completely full I'm able to find two Basics and drop them for 120 damage and game.
What just happened?
5-0 :: Round 6: James G. (Landorus/mewtwo/bouffalant/terrakion)
He starts Landorus I think, and I start with a really bizarre hand that requires me to Computer Search to have a chance at doing anything. I have Piplup, Empoleon, and Prinplup all in hand, but end up CSing away the Prinplup to get something I need for the t1 Call for Family (I have the Emolga, so it was either energy or Switch, since he catchered up my Piplup). When I start my next turn I realize I have no supporter or draw options. I think I was still just shaky from my last match, but I mentally scoop as soon as I realize that, and just let him KO everything in play with Land's Judgment after that. I know I'm in anyway, so it doesn't matter that much.
5-1 finish, 3rd seed. Also in cut are Paul J, James, Tyler N, Sorina, and Charlie N.
I order my deck calmly and wait for the standings to come up. I feel bad for Ethan, who has been having absolutely terrible luck all day (but managed to finish 4-2 even so, though his resistance is awful). He started the Terrakion guy, and then the Empoleon/Terrakion guy, but after today he was done with relying on Diving Draw for consistency (which has been shaky I admit).
I was actually the only 5-0 in the fifth round so I thought I might still be top seed, but as it happens I'm 3rd seed instead, and paired up against 'someone' who just decided to bring Pangaea to our meta and see what happens. Everyone - including my opponent - is dead certain that I'm going to easily win, as my deck is one that Pangaea's normal strategy completely fails against. But from my experience with Tornadus EX I know that that's one of the few EXs that really scares Empoleon, and I'm ready for these to be some hard games.
TOP EIGHT: LIAM W. w/ PANGAEA (Sigilyph/Tornadus EX/Landorus EX)
I'll be honest, when I first met/saw Liam I wasn't really all that... impressed with him (this was a long time ago mind you), but this match was my first really direct encounter with him, and now I know he's an insanely nice and funny guy. We joked around a lot about what I'll put in my report and how I should say that he's cute (to be fair he's pretty cute) but I seriously liked him a lot and was very glad to have this match against him. I can't wait to hang out with him some more at future Cities and at Regs.
G1: He starts Sigilyph to my Emolga. I call for family, standard stuff. He rips Tornadus/Pluspower/Skyarrow/DCE for the turn one KO. We both kind of stare at the board in surprise, and he proceeds to completely destroy me. Tornadus is good against evolution decks... who knew?
G2: He doesn't start off nearly as well and I'm able to actually establish myself, but I think I have trouble getting all the cards I need - about time. What I do know is that the combination of smart Aspertia City Gym play and careful retreating and prize denial makes it impossible for me to take KOs, while he's easily 2HKOing my Empoleons left and right until I'm literally left with none. At one point I catcher a Tornadus with some amount of damage on it and X Ball to bring it to 180 - but he has Aspertia, and I'd forgotten about it. Nooooo!
I very nearly deck him but it turns out his last card is N, allowing him to refresh his deck, and it gives him enough longevity to take his last prize against me with 2 cards left to draw. So, everyone is surprised except me. I wish Liam luck in top 4 and Ethan and I get something to eat, discussing our plans for next weekend and enjoying the fact that I actually have a respectable (ish) number of CP now.
We intended to wait for Paul to finish as we were his ride back to Seattle, but he makes it to the finals and Lane arranges to take him home instead, leaving Ethan and I the chance to get started on our two and a half hour drive back to Bellingham. I find out later that Tyler took the win on that one, so good job to him. Props and slops are stupid.
Shoutouts:
- Liam is freaking adorable
- Kenny for being awesome and hosting us
- Ethan for being awesome in every way imaginable
- Jacob VW for ruining my childhood Sunday morning, what a great gif to wake up to, you jerk
- Finals/Fall Quarter for being over
- Empoleon for being super good
- Tyler for getting some hard-earned CP Sunday
- Polo, stop feeding bot lane you idiot
I feel re-energized and ready to tackle some more Cities.
