renfield89
New Member
Alex, Jared and Donny arrived at my place close to midnight on Friday, and we played Pokemon Black & White for a few hours, trading, battling and advancing the game. The most epic battle was a double battle between Alex and I versus Jared and Donny. Carmen (my Hydreigon) totally caught them off guard, so they panicked to knock it out while Alex’s Electross dished the heat, never going down. When Donny’s Victini turned out to be Zoroak, mass confusion made for interested trade offs, but in the end Alex and I had four remaining Pokemon to their zip!
Around 2 AM we finally decided to play some TCG, lol. I had been set on all but one card in my Garchomp C/Luxray GL deck since cities. I had extensive testing with both Regice LA and Drapion 4 RR, but could not for the life of me decide which to play. Regice was a means around T1 Spiritomb with Collector in hand, could dump trainers versus Vileplume or Pokemon versus LostGar, and could create a switch for a final prize in some matchups, but had a terrible retreat cost and was dead weight in several other matchups. Drapion 4 was a one-card fix for LostGar; whereas Weavile G requires [D][C][C] and Expert Belt or [D][C], Energy Gain and several Flash Bites to OHKO a Gengar Prime, Drapion requires the [P][C][C] and Energy gain, which is the same energy as a Belted Weavile without needed a Dark Energy in my deck (I also play Toxicroak G PR). I can be powered up in a single turn, and has some other unique options, such as [C][C] for 50 and maybe paralyze versus Gengar SF and putting 20 damage and maybe paralyze on Gyarados in the event you are power locked from Flash Bite/Flash Impacting. I finally decided on Drapion 4. In the two matches I lost, I really missed Regice, but I Drapion won me two games on the day single-handedly, so I can’t regret it too much.
After five games, I went to bed at 5 AM, woke up and showered at 6 AM. Matt meets us in the morning, and I drive Alex, Jared and Matt to Lansing, MI in 2 ½ hours. We had breakfast at McDonalds, (thumbs up to orange juice and thumbs down to oatmeal), then arrived at the tournament location. Team Sugarbush played as follows: Alex finalized his Garchomp C/Luxray GL list, Jared wrote down his Gyarados list, and Matt and tested Gengar/Vileplume against my deck meanwhile. The list he used was one I developed, and one Alex and I played at two cities before Matt finished the cities season with it. He became very adept with it, and tried out a few new cards in one game before the tournament. Against my judgment, he takes Alex’s opinion and his instincts and keeps the list intact except for the addition of 1 Mr. Mime CL.
7 rounds, top 16 in Masters! Let the recap begin!
R1: Robert M. (Gengar Prime/Lost World)
Robert opens Gastly, attaches Psychic, attempts Spiritomb’s Spooky Whirlpool (Power Sprayed), and Pitch Darks my active. I attach to benched Luxray GL, Cyrus for another Spray and pass. He Rare Candies into Gengar SF, attaches, Psychic Binds, attempts set up for 4 (Power Sprayed), and Poltergeists for the KO. This aggressive open catches me off guard. I Cyrus for another spray, Psychic and Collector, level up and Flash Impacting for 60 on Gengar SF. He Collectors for Mr. Mime and another Uxie, which is Sprayed, but Trick Reveal shows me that he has the Seeker to Set Up next turn, so I know he has resources. He Warp Points and Poltergeists Garchomp C for 90 to KO. Now down 2 prizes, I Collector for Azelf and two Uxies. I Time Walk for Drapion 4, attach Psychic, and set up into DCE, Junk Arm and Collector. I Flash Impact for KO, Fainting Spell is /heads/ ><. Now 3 prizes left to my 5. He sends in a Gengar Prime and places 4 counters on a Luxray GL. I Collector for 2 Pokemon and Junk Arm them for a Power Spray, DCE on Drapion 4 and Mega Impact for the KO, 4-3. He Seekers, has Uxie Sprayed, and Collectors for Palkia G and Gastly. After promoting it, he passes. I Galatic Switch DCE to Luxray GL, PokeTurn Drapion 4, level up a Garchomp to Healing Breath, retreat to Luxray GL, attach and Trash Bolt for the KO, 3-3. From here, Drapion takes the remaining 3 prizes.
1-0
R2: Ryanlver K. (Magenzone Prime/Ninetales HS/Rayquaza LA)
Ryanlver and I played at last years Michigan States, so we talk a bit about decks. I really liked his take on the recent Magnezone hype. Unfortunately, I am playing down. Ryan opens Vulpix to my Luxray GL and Garchomp C and discards a fire to draw two for Reheat (nice!) I am a Turn short of the T1 win, so I instead Cyrus’s for Lightning, Collector and SP-Radar, and DCE to Bite. His turn is nice, Candying into Magnezone Prime, attaching fire, BTSing to Ninetales and playing down Rayquaza with Bench Shield. However, with 3 fire already discarded, he forgets to use Rayquaza’s power. I capitalize Collectoring for Ambipom G, Uxie and Azelf to get (Toxicroak G), Bright Looking Rayquaza, PokeTurning Lux X, attaching the DCE to Ambipom G and Snap Attacking for the KO, 5-6. He promotes Magnezone, sets up a Magneton, Magnezone SF and second Ninetales, attaches lightning, Judges, then Lost Burns two for the KO, 5-5. My hand is great: Cyrus, Psychic, Collector and Premier Ball. I Collector for Crobat G, Flash Bite and Poison Revenge OHKO thanks to Rainbow Energy, 4-5. He promotes Magneton, evolves, attaches fire and uses Magnezone SF to attach again, Judges again, and OHKOs my Toxicroak, 4-4. I draw Cyrus, grab Aaron, Bright Look SF Zone and Flash Impact for 60. He Warp Energies, promotes Q’d Ninetales and passes. Luckily, I had Bit this one T1, so I Flash Impact KO it, 3-4. He promotes Zone Prime, Super Connectivities and attaches, and removes 3 (Warp Energy) for the KO, 3-3. I Aaron for Croak, and that pretty much game as he can’t set up another Zone Prime with time called, 2-3.
2-0
R3: Joel (Machamp and Friends)
I can’t say much about this match. Not to disrespect players of different skill levels, but he opens Cubone and Bidoof, so I have to consciously remain poised. He benches a Machop T2, and I Bright Look/Flash Impact it. He benches another, I Dragon Rush it. I KO all four Machops the turn they are benched like this. Because I feel badly, I stop myself and Bite a Bibarel, allowing him to take a prize before I take my 6th.
3-0
R4: Joshua P. (Uxie Donk)
I play down again =[ He mulligans, showing PokeDex, Drawer+ and Seeker, so I assume Uxie. I open Toxicroak, Garchomp C, Call Energy and Collector. Going first, I Call for two Luxrays, having the X, lightning, Gain and Premier Ball as my other cards. With 4 SP’s in play, I bluff having a Power Spray on his first 3 Set Ups, hoping to make him play conservatively enough to mess up the deck-out. However, after 8-10 minutes have passed and he has half a deck remaining, I quit the acting and allow him to finish without interruption to save time. After 15-18 minutes on T1, he decks himself, 8x Flash Bites/PokeBlower+’s one Luxray for a prize (6-5), and Belts/4 PlusPowers an Uxie to KO Toxicroak and bottom deck (6-4). Playing fast I promote Garchomp C. Realizing that he only plays 2 energy, both Cyclone, I Premier Ball and level up Garchomp C. I Collector for Drapion 4 and 2 Uxies. I Bright Look and KO a Crobat, 5-4. He does his thing, triple Flash Bites Drapion 4, but comes up one short. When he Cyclones, I promote Drapion 4, he hits for 60 (resistance) and bottom decks. I PokeTurn, rebench, Cyrus for a Spray, Radar for Bat and Flash Bite/Flash Impact an Uxie, (4-4). He continues his Uxie Loop, and this time I promote Garchomp X to take the 80. I Cyrus for a second Spray to hold. I EGain and DCE Garchomp, realizing he cannot KO it because of Cyclone, and Dragon Rush his other Crobat G, 3-4. Time is called, he draws Uxie and attempts Set Up, which I Power Spray. His one card in hand is, as I predicted, Seeker. He Seekers Uxie, I use the second Power Spray, and he scoops.
4-0
R5: Andrew A. (Machamp/Umbreon/techs)
Andrew is a cool guy, we and Tracy chitchat about the video games. He opens Machop, benched Eevee and passes. I have a great start with Smeargle, Garchomp C, Cyrus and Collector, and topdeck DCE. I Collector for Ambipom G, Q and Uxie, bench the 2, attach DCE and Set Up, Quick Smeargle in preparation to Snap Attack KO his Machop, and Portrait. SEEKER! Double donk!
We play a fun game, which is more competitive. I began losing, but come back to win 0-3.
5-0
R6: Matthew K. (Gengar/Vileplume)
Ugh, Vileplummme. And me without my Regice. I open Luxray and DCE, but little else. He T1 Graces into a Haunter with benched Oddish. I Cyrus for Collector and stuff, and DCE-Bite. He doesn’t miss and evolution, getting Gengar and Vileplume flawlessly. I draw Twins, so I am hesitant to KO the Tomb, but don’t want to wait around with my otherwise dead hand. I KO it, and he plays Smeargle/Q and Portaits my Twins >< Rescue’d Vileplume is ugly. Between several Luxray X’s Flash Impacts and Bright Look/Zen Blades, I KO two Vileplumes, but the third one to get in play can’t be removed, and without constantly trying to kill them, the number of trainers in my hand was enough to be OHKO every turn.
5-1
R7: Collan B. (Mirror)
Collan is an up-and-coming member of Team War point who I’ve played in my last few northern tournaments. I open Smeargle and Portrait a Collector, grabbing Garchomp C, Dragonite FB and Luxray GL, and attach lightning to Dragonite FB. Unfortunately for me, he Collectors for Roserade GL and Poison Binds, setting up several Garchomps. I Cyrus for a Spray, Cyrus and lightning, attaching to Luxray GL, assuming Garchomp C will be Dragon Rushed. He Poison Binds again, and I draw a DCE and keep it in hand, Cyrusing for an EGain. On his next turn he grabs a 2nd Spray with consecutive Cyruses and Dragon Rushes the Garchomp, allowing the Smeargle to faint by poison in between turns, 6-4. A two prize lead in SP mirror is devastating, but I stay focused. I Snap Attack KO the Garchomp, and he responds by Dragoniting it, 5-3. I Bench Garchomps, and attempt Bright Look, which surprisingly goes through, and KO some benched Pokemon, 4-3. He attempts to Galactic Switch the Psychic from Dragonite FB, but I Spray it, and he stalls a turn, having no energy to play. Next turn I Twins for 2 DCEs, which allows me to win the Garchomp war, along with 2 more Power Sprays of Galactic Switch, which deprive him of energy. I eventually win 0-1.
6-1
I am the 2nd seed going into Top 16, while Alex and Matt get in with 5-2 records. Jared fell to 4-3 and goes to sleep in the lounge to wait out top cut.
Top 16: Nicholas (Gengar/Vileplume/Blaziken FB)
G1: I open Luxray GL to his Spiritomb with Bebes and Uxie X in hand. He goes first and Graces an Oddish to Gloom. I Uxie for several, attach lightning and pass. He Sets Up for 2 or 3, but has nothing, Gracing into Vileplume. I Bright Look/Zen Blade it with a DCE in hand, and he scoops shortly afterward.
G2: My start is very subpar here. I bench two Luxray GLs and Drapion 4, but to my surprise, he plays Blaziken FB and Rainbow, Luring Flaming my Drapion after his first Vileplume hits the field. I try to paralyze the active Gengar twice, but fail both, while he snipes around me for several prizes. I know I can’t win, but I run through some pointless Fainting Spells to keep the clock running. Eventually I lose, 2-0.
G3: This game is kind of a blur. I remember that an early Gengar gives me trouble, but eventually I KO the Vileplume and reassert my lead, 2-3. However, as time is called he drops another Vileplume line, removing my win in hand. Luckily, one prize ends up being enough, as I keep my trainers to 3, allowing me to pass the final turn and advance.
7-1
Top 8: Tracy K. (SP Toolbox including Garchomp C, Luxray GL, and Dialga G)
G1: I open Toxicroak G going first, and topdeck Azelf. I Time Walk for an Uxie and Set Up into Dragonite FB, so I play him and use Call Energy for Garchomp C and Smeargle. I am able to Spray her T1 Set Up for 3, and she Looker’s Investigations her own hand. She uses her starting Pokemon Weavile G’s CCF attack to get SPs. I flip to return Toxicroak G to the hand, send up a Smeargle to view her hand, and she junk, so I use Dragonite FB’s Mach Blow on Weavile, and shortly after she scoops with the prizes around 3-5.
G2: We both had equally terrible starts. I use my one Bebe going second for Smeargle, only to find no supporters in her hand. Without energy to retreat besides a DCE, we both literally draw/pass for about 3 turns each, but I draw a Cyrus first and get to work. She return KOs a few of my opening KOs, but time is called, and I have more DCEs, allowing me to Earthquake/ Mach Blow more than her.
8-1
Top 4: MATT B. (Gengar/Vileplume)
This is Matt’s best career tournament performance, so I am very happy to have us both in Top 4. Alex unfortunately lost in Top 8. Matt has never beat me in a tournament to this point, but I am the creator of his list, so I know how lethal it is to my deck.
G1: Neither of these games were great. He has Gengar and Plume by turn three, and I fail to draw any supporters after my initial Collector and Set Up. I fail in my attempts to stall with Drapion 4, and my Smeargle is quickly Flash Bit/Shadow Roomed. >< I scoop with prizes at 5-2.
G2: DCE/Snap Attack and a Garchomp is all that’s in my opening hand, so I opt to go first against his lone Pokemon. It’s a Gastly, and I topdeck the Collector, so I’m irked. I Snap Attack, and he Collectors for Spiritomb, Oddish and Uxie, Gracing to Gloom. I topdeck Garchomp C X and take the risk, with Collector getting me Bronzong G, Uxie and Q, and Dragon Rushing the Gloom. I take another prize with Snap Attack on Spiritomb, but that Set Up nets me absolutely nothing in the realm of supporters. As Matt ties the game with Poltergeist 4-4, I try in desperation to stall with Drapion 4 on Gengar Lv. X. I deal 40, flip heads, draw nothing. Deal 40 more, flip heads, draw nothing. Deal 40, flip tails, and get Polergeisted to hell. And the run ends.
8-2
I am glad that a Sugarbush member beat me to advance this late in the tournament. The finals would be Matt versus my other loss on the day Matt K. Matt lost game one, won a close game two, and time was called while they set up for game three, so sudden death they had! Matt won on turn three, when on turn two, he used Haunter TM’s Sleep Poison on the Spiritomb to prevent the retreat and Poltergeist win. Matt K. failed the sleep check, had no Warps in his 8+ card hand, and revealed his Looker’s in open fashion to whiff, allowing the T3 Sneaky Placement win! The deck really was a team collaboration, and Matt played on this day far better than even he probably anticipated.
Props:
-MATT!
-Top 4 and Top 8 for Alex and I
-Derek and crew for a smooth and enjoyable tournament, once again
-Little kids and “I can shuffle my own deck!”
Slops:
-Trainer lock =/
-Grahams illness causing him to miss this States weekend!
-Oatmeal
-Sleepy driving
I hope this report was an enjoyable read, and detailed enough that my experience can benefit the community at large.
Signing off for now,
Kyle
Around 2 AM we finally decided to play some TCG, lol. I had been set on all but one card in my Garchomp C/Luxray GL deck since cities. I had extensive testing with both Regice LA and Drapion 4 RR, but could not for the life of me decide which to play. Regice was a means around T1 Spiritomb with Collector in hand, could dump trainers versus Vileplume or Pokemon versus LostGar, and could create a switch for a final prize in some matchups, but had a terrible retreat cost and was dead weight in several other matchups. Drapion 4 was a one-card fix for LostGar; whereas Weavile G requires [D][C][C] and Expert Belt or [D][C], Energy Gain and several Flash Bites to OHKO a Gengar Prime, Drapion requires the [P][C][C] and Energy gain, which is the same energy as a Belted Weavile without needed a Dark Energy in my deck (I also play Toxicroak G PR). I can be powered up in a single turn, and has some other unique options, such as [C][C] for 50 and maybe paralyze versus Gengar SF and putting 20 damage and maybe paralyze on Gyarados in the event you are power locked from Flash Bite/Flash Impacting. I finally decided on Drapion 4. In the two matches I lost, I really missed Regice, but I Drapion won me two games on the day single-handedly, so I can’t regret it too much.
After five games, I went to bed at 5 AM, woke up and showered at 6 AM. Matt meets us in the morning, and I drive Alex, Jared and Matt to Lansing, MI in 2 ½ hours. We had breakfast at McDonalds, (thumbs up to orange juice and thumbs down to oatmeal), then arrived at the tournament location. Team Sugarbush played as follows: Alex finalized his Garchomp C/Luxray GL list, Jared wrote down his Gyarados list, and Matt and tested Gengar/Vileplume against my deck meanwhile. The list he used was one I developed, and one Alex and I played at two cities before Matt finished the cities season with it. He became very adept with it, and tried out a few new cards in one game before the tournament. Against my judgment, he takes Alex’s opinion and his instincts and keeps the list intact except for the addition of 1 Mr. Mime CL.
7 rounds, top 16 in Masters! Let the recap begin!
R1: Robert M. (Gengar Prime/Lost World)
Robert opens Gastly, attaches Psychic, attempts Spiritomb’s Spooky Whirlpool (Power Sprayed), and Pitch Darks my active. I attach to benched Luxray GL, Cyrus for another Spray and pass. He Rare Candies into Gengar SF, attaches, Psychic Binds, attempts set up for 4 (Power Sprayed), and Poltergeists for the KO. This aggressive open catches me off guard. I Cyrus for another spray, Psychic and Collector, level up and Flash Impacting for 60 on Gengar SF. He Collectors for Mr. Mime and another Uxie, which is Sprayed, but Trick Reveal shows me that he has the Seeker to Set Up next turn, so I know he has resources. He Warp Points and Poltergeists Garchomp C for 90 to KO. Now down 2 prizes, I Collector for Azelf and two Uxies. I Time Walk for Drapion 4, attach Psychic, and set up into DCE, Junk Arm and Collector. I Flash Impact for KO, Fainting Spell is /heads/ ><. Now 3 prizes left to my 5. He sends in a Gengar Prime and places 4 counters on a Luxray GL. I Collector for 2 Pokemon and Junk Arm them for a Power Spray, DCE on Drapion 4 and Mega Impact for the KO, 4-3. He Seekers, has Uxie Sprayed, and Collectors for Palkia G and Gastly. After promoting it, he passes. I Galatic Switch DCE to Luxray GL, PokeTurn Drapion 4, level up a Garchomp to Healing Breath, retreat to Luxray GL, attach and Trash Bolt for the KO, 3-3. From here, Drapion takes the remaining 3 prizes.
1-0
R2: Ryanlver K. (Magenzone Prime/Ninetales HS/Rayquaza LA)
Ryanlver and I played at last years Michigan States, so we talk a bit about decks. I really liked his take on the recent Magnezone hype. Unfortunately, I am playing down. Ryan opens Vulpix to my Luxray GL and Garchomp C and discards a fire to draw two for Reheat (nice!) I am a Turn short of the T1 win, so I instead Cyrus’s for Lightning, Collector and SP-Radar, and DCE to Bite. His turn is nice, Candying into Magnezone Prime, attaching fire, BTSing to Ninetales and playing down Rayquaza with Bench Shield. However, with 3 fire already discarded, he forgets to use Rayquaza’s power. I capitalize Collectoring for Ambipom G, Uxie and Azelf to get (Toxicroak G), Bright Looking Rayquaza, PokeTurning Lux X, attaching the DCE to Ambipom G and Snap Attacking for the KO, 5-6. He promotes Magnezone, sets up a Magneton, Magnezone SF and second Ninetales, attaches lightning, Judges, then Lost Burns two for the KO, 5-5. My hand is great: Cyrus, Psychic, Collector and Premier Ball. I Collector for Crobat G, Flash Bite and Poison Revenge OHKO thanks to Rainbow Energy, 4-5. He promotes Magneton, evolves, attaches fire and uses Magnezone SF to attach again, Judges again, and OHKOs my Toxicroak, 4-4. I draw Cyrus, grab Aaron, Bright Look SF Zone and Flash Impact for 60. He Warp Energies, promotes Q’d Ninetales and passes. Luckily, I had Bit this one T1, so I Flash Impact KO it, 3-4. He promotes Zone Prime, Super Connectivities and attaches, and removes 3 (Warp Energy) for the KO, 3-3. I Aaron for Croak, and that pretty much game as he can’t set up another Zone Prime with time called, 2-3.
2-0
R3: Joel (Machamp and Friends)
I can’t say much about this match. Not to disrespect players of different skill levels, but he opens Cubone and Bidoof, so I have to consciously remain poised. He benches a Machop T2, and I Bright Look/Flash Impact it. He benches another, I Dragon Rush it. I KO all four Machops the turn they are benched like this. Because I feel badly, I stop myself and Bite a Bibarel, allowing him to take a prize before I take my 6th.
3-0
R4: Joshua P. (Uxie Donk)
I play down again =[ He mulligans, showing PokeDex, Drawer+ and Seeker, so I assume Uxie. I open Toxicroak, Garchomp C, Call Energy and Collector. Going first, I Call for two Luxrays, having the X, lightning, Gain and Premier Ball as my other cards. With 4 SP’s in play, I bluff having a Power Spray on his first 3 Set Ups, hoping to make him play conservatively enough to mess up the deck-out. However, after 8-10 minutes have passed and he has half a deck remaining, I quit the acting and allow him to finish without interruption to save time. After 15-18 minutes on T1, he decks himself, 8x Flash Bites/PokeBlower+’s one Luxray for a prize (6-5), and Belts/4 PlusPowers an Uxie to KO Toxicroak and bottom deck (6-4). Playing fast I promote Garchomp C. Realizing that he only plays 2 energy, both Cyclone, I Premier Ball and level up Garchomp C. I Collector for Drapion 4 and 2 Uxies. I Bright Look and KO a Crobat, 5-4. He does his thing, triple Flash Bites Drapion 4, but comes up one short. When he Cyclones, I promote Drapion 4, he hits for 60 (resistance) and bottom decks. I PokeTurn, rebench, Cyrus for a Spray, Radar for Bat and Flash Bite/Flash Impact an Uxie, (4-4). He continues his Uxie Loop, and this time I promote Garchomp X to take the 80. I Cyrus for a second Spray to hold. I EGain and DCE Garchomp, realizing he cannot KO it because of Cyclone, and Dragon Rush his other Crobat G, 3-4. Time is called, he draws Uxie and attempts Set Up, which I Power Spray. His one card in hand is, as I predicted, Seeker. He Seekers Uxie, I use the second Power Spray, and he scoops.
4-0
R5: Andrew A. (Machamp/Umbreon/techs)
Andrew is a cool guy, we and Tracy chitchat about the video games. He opens Machop, benched Eevee and passes. I have a great start with Smeargle, Garchomp C, Cyrus and Collector, and topdeck DCE. I Collector for Ambipom G, Q and Uxie, bench the 2, attach DCE and Set Up, Quick Smeargle in preparation to Snap Attack KO his Machop, and Portrait. SEEKER! Double donk!
We play a fun game, which is more competitive. I began losing, but come back to win 0-3.
5-0
R6: Matthew K. (Gengar/Vileplume)
Ugh, Vileplummme. And me without my Regice. I open Luxray and DCE, but little else. He T1 Graces into a Haunter with benched Oddish. I Cyrus for Collector and stuff, and DCE-Bite. He doesn’t miss and evolution, getting Gengar and Vileplume flawlessly. I draw Twins, so I am hesitant to KO the Tomb, but don’t want to wait around with my otherwise dead hand. I KO it, and he plays Smeargle/Q and Portaits my Twins >< Rescue’d Vileplume is ugly. Between several Luxray X’s Flash Impacts and Bright Look/Zen Blades, I KO two Vileplumes, but the third one to get in play can’t be removed, and without constantly trying to kill them, the number of trainers in my hand was enough to be OHKO every turn.
5-1
R7: Collan B. (Mirror)
Collan is an up-and-coming member of Team War point who I’ve played in my last few northern tournaments. I open Smeargle and Portrait a Collector, grabbing Garchomp C, Dragonite FB and Luxray GL, and attach lightning to Dragonite FB. Unfortunately for me, he Collectors for Roserade GL and Poison Binds, setting up several Garchomps. I Cyrus for a Spray, Cyrus and lightning, attaching to Luxray GL, assuming Garchomp C will be Dragon Rushed. He Poison Binds again, and I draw a DCE and keep it in hand, Cyrusing for an EGain. On his next turn he grabs a 2nd Spray with consecutive Cyruses and Dragon Rushes the Garchomp, allowing the Smeargle to faint by poison in between turns, 6-4. A two prize lead in SP mirror is devastating, but I stay focused. I Snap Attack KO the Garchomp, and he responds by Dragoniting it, 5-3. I Bench Garchomps, and attempt Bright Look, which surprisingly goes through, and KO some benched Pokemon, 4-3. He attempts to Galactic Switch the Psychic from Dragonite FB, but I Spray it, and he stalls a turn, having no energy to play. Next turn I Twins for 2 DCEs, which allows me to win the Garchomp war, along with 2 more Power Sprays of Galactic Switch, which deprive him of energy. I eventually win 0-1.
6-1
I am the 2nd seed going into Top 16, while Alex and Matt get in with 5-2 records. Jared fell to 4-3 and goes to sleep in the lounge to wait out top cut.
Top 16: Nicholas (Gengar/Vileplume/Blaziken FB)
G1: I open Luxray GL to his Spiritomb with Bebes and Uxie X in hand. He goes first and Graces an Oddish to Gloom. I Uxie for several, attach lightning and pass. He Sets Up for 2 or 3, but has nothing, Gracing into Vileplume. I Bright Look/Zen Blade it with a DCE in hand, and he scoops shortly afterward.
G2: My start is very subpar here. I bench two Luxray GLs and Drapion 4, but to my surprise, he plays Blaziken FB and Rainbow, Luring Flaming my Drapion after his first Vileplume hits the field. I try to paralyze the active Gengar twice, but fail both, while he snipes around me for several prizes. I know I can’t win, but I run through some pointless Fainting Spells to keep the clock running. Eventually I lose, 2-0.
G3: This game is kind of a blur. I remember that an early Gengar gives me trouble, but eventually I KO the Vileplume and reassert my lead, 2-3. However, as time is called he drops another Vileplume line, removing my win in hand. Luckily, one prize ends up being enough, as I keep my trainers to 3, allowing me to pass the final turn and advance.
7-1
Top 8: Tracy K. (SP Toolbox including Garchomp C, Luxray GL, and Dialga G)
G1: I open Toxicroak G going first, and topdeck Azelf. I Time Walk for an Uxie and Set Up into Dragonite FB, so I play him and use Call Energy for Garchomp C and Smeargle. I am able to Spray her T1 Set Up for 3, and she Looker’s Investigations her own hand. She uses her starting Pokemon Weavile G’s CCF attack to get SPs. I flip to return Toxicroak G to the hand, send up a Smeargle to view her hand, and she junk, so I use Dragonite FB’s Mach Blow on Weavile, and shortly after she scoops with the prizes around 3-5.
G2: We both had equally terrible starts. I use my one Bebe going second for Smeargle, only to find no supporters in her hand. Without energy to retreat besides a DCE, we both literally draw/pass for about 3 turns each, but I draw a Cyrus first and get to work. She return KOs a few of my opening KOs, but time is called, and I have more DCEs, allowing me to Earthquake/ Mach Blow more than her.
8-1
Top 4: MATT B. (Gengar/Vileplume)
This is Matt’s best career tournament performance, so I am very happy to have us both in Top 4. Alex unfortunately lost in Top 8. Matt has never beat me in a tournament to this point, but I am the creator of his list, so I know how lethal it is to my deck.
G1: Neither of these games were great. He has Gengar and Plume by turn three, and I fail to draw any supporters after my initial Collector and Set Up. I fail in my attempts to stall with Drapion 4, and my Smeargle is quickly Flash Bit/Shadow Roomed. >< I scoop with prizes at 5-2.
G2: DCE/Snap Attack and a Garchomp is all that’s in my opening hand, so I opt to go first against his lone Pokemon. It’s a Gastly, and I topdeck the Collector, so I’m irked. I Snap Attack, and he Collectors for Spiritomb, Oddish and Uxie, Gracing to Gloom. I topdeck Garchomp C X and take the risk, with Collector getting me Bronzong G, Uxie and Q, and Dragon Rushing the Gloom. I take another prize with Snap Attack on Spiritomb, but that Set Up nets me absolutely nothing in the realm of supporters. As Matt ties the game with Poltergeist 4-4, I try in desperation to stall with Drapion 4 on Gengar Lv. X. I deal 40, flip heads, draw nothing. Deal 40 more, flip heads, draw nothing. Deal 40, flip tails, and get Polergeisted to hell. And the run ends.
8-2
I am glad that a Sugarbush member beat me to advance this late in the tournament. The finals would be Matt versus my other loss on the day Matt K. Matt lost game one, won a close game two, and time was called while they set up for game three, so sudden death they had! Matt won on turn three, when on turn two, he used Haunter TM’s Sleep Poison on the Spiritomb to prevent the retreat and Poltergeist win. Matt K. failed the sleep check, had no Warps in his 8+ card hand, and revealed his Looker’s in open fashion to whiff, allowing the T3 Sneaky Placement win! The deck really was a team collaboration, and Matt played on this day far better than even he probably anticipated.
Props:
-MATT!
-Top 4 and Top 8 for Alex and I
-Derek and crew for a smooth and enjoyable tournament, once again
-Little kids and “I can shuffle my own deck!”
Slops:
-Trainer lock =/
-Grahams illness causing him to miss this States weekend!
-Oatmeal
-Sleepy driving
I hope this report was an enjoyable read, and detailed enough that my experience can benefit the community at large.
Signing off for now,
Kyle