So after some consideration, I decided to play "The Void" again (a la Rockford Cities), but made a few adjustments: swapping two of the "fodder" Evolution cards for Shaymin EX and Zekrom, and messing a bit with the Trainer and Energy engines.
After a good 7.5 hours of sleep, I woke up at 06:30 to the Cipher Peon theme from Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. I had half of a red bell pepper and an apple for breakfast, and after packing my bag, checking the temperature outside, and doubling back a few times for fear of forgetting something, I finally left at 07:10.
The bike ride was very foggy, but easy. Unfortunately, the way I wanted to get there was on my Trek road bike, but it was STOLEN this last Tuesday. The Dahon Cadenza still got me there safely and in good time.
Let me just skip past the pre-game festivities and get to the matches. I've probably already bored you enough.
ROUND ONE: Noah vs. Stephen M. (????) I started a lone Riolu to his Mewtwo EX. I didn't get to play a card. Noah loses Round One and is 0-1.
Well, that was a real bummer. I have a feeling that Mewtwo will be everywhere today, and honestly I don't know how well my deck is prepared for it. I also lost to a Durant in a for-fun match afterward, with no luck in drawing.
ROUND TWO: Noah vs. Adam B. (CMT) After winning the coin flip, I found myself facing Tornadus with my Relicanth, and was not donked. I got some good Collector opportunities to keep pushing the Relicanth, and each turn managed to get Pokemon into the Lost Zone. Lost Remover was very helpful as I had removed one of his DCE, and after he took his fourth Prize, he had 2 Celebi on the Bench, 1 Mewtwo EX with one Grass Energy, Tornadus with 2 Grass Energy, and Active was the Tornadus with just a DCE and Eviolite. My key plays: Lost Remover, Catcher on his Benched Tornadus, Ruins of Alph, DCE on Lucario, and N. He didn't draw another Energy so that I circumvented Mewtwo. Noah wins Round Two and is now 1-1.
ROUND THREE: Noah vs. Jacob A. (Quad Terrakion) I started a solo Zekrom to his Terrakion, but he could only get 2 Energy in play after the first 3 turns, while I got timely Collectors to get my Relicanth and Absol in play. After the Outrage for 140, I sacrificed a few Prize cards before getting Shaymin EX out. With him only having 2 more Terrakion in play, I won despite losing the Prize battle 4 to 3! Noah wins Round Three and is now 2-1.
I'm having a great time, regardless of how I do. That is a good thing, because I hit a few misplays and bad draws...
ROUND FOUR: Noah vs. Michael R. (Zeels) Winning the flip, I saw Thundurus and Tynamo against my Absol. I didn't have Collector, so I could only attach Special Darkness and pass. The next turn, I was forced to use Communication in order to get Relicanth. But he used Catcher on Absol to KO it, which saved me. I then managed a Collector and got 2 Riolu and 1 Relicanth in play. As I stalled and set up, I tried using Catcher on Eelektrik, but each time he wriggled out of it with DCE. I made a HUGE misplay--thought I had attached EXP. Share to Riolu but had not, and so wasted another turn. Thus, I had no recourse and lost badly. Noah loses Round Four and is now 2-2.
The last time I played Michael was last year in round eight of Nationals in a matchup of 2-5's. OK, so I'm now 1-1 against him.
ROUND FIVE: Noah vs. Kasper B. (Zeels + Mewtwo) Winning the flip with an ideal setup, I had Relicanth against his Thundurus, and had Magmortar to send to the Lost Zone. He used Collector to grab 2 Tynamo and Mewtwo EX, and attached DCE to Thundurus before Charge. Two turns later, we traded Prizes: Disaster Volt for a supereffective Dimension Sphere. Then, Mewtwo took out Lucario and a Catchered-up Riolu, but I had two consecutive turns of Lost Remover. Unfortunately, that didn't buy me enough time, as Mewtwo was enough to roll my team. Noah loses Round Five and is now 2-3.
ROUND SIX: Noah vs. Kevin A. (Tyram) Absol was immediately up against Cleffa, with Cyndaquil, 2 Reshiram, and Cyndaquil on his Bench. I bought some time when I Catchered up Reshiram, and as we both set up, I took the first Prize with Relicanth's Granite Head with 4 Pokemon in my Lost Zone. This was followed by his successful Legend Box for RDL, which blew up my Lucario for 2 Prizes. Though I could have KO'd it immediately, I made the terrible misplay of Catchering up his Typhlosion and being 10 damage short of the KO. Pretty much, that 4-Prize swing did me in, though I did hang tough until the end. Noah loses Round Six and is now 2-4.
So my goal of going north of .500 has vanished, but let's see if I can win this last one. I am not one to drop due to a bad result.
ROUND SEVEN: Noah vs. Paul G. (Zeel + Shaymin EX + Virizion) This time, I lost the flip and had Absol and Riolu against his Thundurus and Shaymin EX (sounds familiar). But I got a Collector and got Riolu and 2 Relicanth out. After Thundurus took 2 Prizes, he sent out Shaymin EX and Revenge Blast was only doing 40 or 60 damage to my Relicanth, allowing me time to further set up. After this Relicanth fell to put me down 0-3, I had 2 Lucario in play, one with sufficient Energy. I sent the OTHER one out, attached DCE, dropped Ruins of Alph, and played N. This led to a 4-0 run for me, and he sent out Zekrom EX, which was perfect fodder for Dimension Sphere. Noah wins Round Seven and finishes at 3-4.
Afterward, I biked back to Evanston, in good time, but hitting nearly every single red light. I got home just before 17:00. Good timing.
PROPS:
* ("mad props") Jimmy, for the expressly-run tournament like always.
* All my opponents, for being seemingly pleasant whether in victory or defeat.
* The Top Cut crew, just because.
* Redemption from my last Premier Tournament at Science and Arts Academy (the 0-6 Battle Road).
SLOPS:
* ("mad slops") The bike thief who made off with my road bike on Tuesday.
* Mewtwo EX, for being so unbalanced. It would have been more balanced if it required (P)(C) for X Ball.
After a good 7.5 hours of sleep, I woke up at 06:30 to the Cipher Peon theme from Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. I had half of a red bell pepper and an apple for breakfast, and after packing my bag, checking the temperature outside, and doubling back a few times for fear of forgetting something, I finally left at 07:10.
The bike ride was very foggy, but easy. Unfortunately, the way I wanted to get there was on my Trek road bike, but it was STOLEN this last Tuesday. The Dahon Cadenza still got me there safely and in good time.
Let me just skip past the pre-game festivities and get to the matches. I've probably already bored you enough.
ROUND ONE: Noah vs. Stephen M. (????) I started a lone Riolu to his Mewtwo EX. I didn't get to play a card. Noah loses Round One and is 0-1.
Well, that was a real bummer. I have a feeling that Mewtwo will be everywhere today, and honestly I don't know how well my deck is prepared for it. I also lost to a Durant in a for-fun match afterward, with no luck in drawing.
ROUND TWO: Noah vs. Adam B. (CMT) After winning the coin flip, I found myself facing Tornadus with my Relicanth, and was not donked. I got some good Collector opportunities to keep pushing the Relicanth, and each turn managed to get Pokemon into the Lost Zone. Lost Remover was very helpful as I had removed one of his DCE, and after he took his fourth Prize, he had 2 Celebi on the Bench, 1 Mewtwo EX with one Grass Energy, Tornadus with 2 Grass Energy, and Active was the Tornadus with just a DCE and Eviolite. My key plays: Lost Remover, Catcher on his Benched Tornadus, Ruins of Alph, DCE on Lucario, and N. He didn't draw another Energy so that I circumvented Mewtwo. Noah wins Round Two and is now 1-1.
ROUND THREE: Noah vs. Jacob A. (Quad Terrakion) I started a solo Zekrom to his Terrakion, but he could only get 2 Energy in play after the first 3 turns, while I got timely Collectors to get my Relicanth and Absol in play. After the Outrage for 140, I sacrificed a few Prize cards before getting Shaymin EX out. With him only having 2 more Terrakion in play, I won despite losing the Prize battle 4 to 3! Noah wins Round Three and is now 2-1.
I'm having a great time, regardless of how I do. That is a good thing, because I hit a few misplays and bad draws...
ROUND FOUR: Noah vs. Michael R. (Zeels) Winning the flip, I saw Thundurus and Tynamo against my Absol. I didn't have Collector, so I could only attach Special Darkness and pass. The next turn, I was forced to use Communication in order to get Relicanth. But he used Catcher on Absol to KO it, which saved me. I then managed a Collector and got 2 Riolu and 1 Relicanth in play. As I stalled and set up, I tried using Catcher on Eelektrik, but each time he wriggled out of it with DCE. I made a HUGE misplay--thought I had attached EXP. Share to Riolu but had not, and so wasted another turn. Thus, I had no recourse and lost badly. Noah loses Round Four and is now 2-2.
The last time I played Michael was last year in round eight of Nationals in a matchup of 2-5's. OK, so I'm now 1-1 against him.
ROUND FIVE: Noah vs. Kasper B. (Zeels + Mewtwo) Winning the flip with an ideal setup, I had Relicanth against his Thundurus, and had Magmortar to send to the Lost Zone. He used Collector to grab 2 Tynamo and Mewtwo EX, and attached DCE to Thundurus before Charge. Two turns later, we traded Prizes: Disaster Volt for a supereffective Dimension Sphere. Then, Mewtwo took out Lucario and a Catchered-up Riolu, but I had two consecutive turns of Lost Remover. Unfortunately, that didn't buy me enough time, as Mewtwo was enough to roll my team. Noah loses Round Five and is now 2-3.
ROUND SIX: Noah vs. Kevin A. (Tyram) Absol was immediately up against Cleffa, with Cyndaquil, 2 Reshiram, and Cyndaquil on his Bench. I bought some time when I Catchered up Reshiram, and as we both set up, I took the first Prize with Relicanth's Granite Head with 4 Pokemon in my Lost Zone. This was followed by his successful Legend Box for RDL, which blew up my Lucario for 2 Prizes. Though I could have KO'd it immediately, I made the terrible misplay of Catchering up his Typhlosion and being 10 damage short of the KO. Pretty much, that 4-Prize swing did me in, though I did hang tough until the end. Noah loses Round Six and is now 2-4.
So my goal of going north of .500 has vanished, but let's see if I can win this last one. I am not one to drop due to a bad result.
ROUND SEVEN: Noah vs. Paul G. (Zeel + Shaymin EX + Virizion) This time, I lost the flip and had Absol and Riolu against his Thundurus and Shaymin EX (sounds familiar). But I got a Collector and got Riolu and 2 Relicanth out. After Thundurus took 2 Prizes, he sent out Shaymin EX and Revenge Blast was only doing 40 or 60 damage to my Relicanth, allowing me time to further set up. After this Relicanth fell to put me down 0-3, I had 2 Lucario in play, one with sufficient Energy. I sent the OTHER one out, attached DCE, dropped Ruins of Alph, and played N. This led to a 4-0 run for me, and he sent out Zekrom EX, which was perfect fodder for Dimension Sphere. Noah wins Round Seven and finishes at 3-4.
Afterward, I biked back to Evanston, in good time, but hitting nearly every single red light. I got home just before 17:00. Good timing.
PROPS:
* ("mad props") Jimmy, for the expressly-run tournament like always.
* All my opponents, for being seemingly pleasant whether in victory or defeat.
* The Top Cut crew, just because.
* Redemption from my last Premier Tournament at Science and Arts Academy (the 0-6 Battle Road).
SLOPS:
* ("mad slops") The bike thief who made off with my road bike on Tuesday.
* Mewtwo EX, for being so unbalanced. It would have been more balanced if it required (P)(C) for X Ball.