Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Report (Fabien Garnier, Masters, 5th, Smub_it.deck)

Fabien

New Member
Hey guys ! My name’s Fabien Garnier, from France. I went 5th at Worlds with a Gyarados deck called SMUB IT, but I think that I could’ve gone much farther with a bit of luck.

First, I didn’t playtest the decklist at all, so I didn’t know before if it was gonna work. Of course, I knew the deck, because I played Gyarados at Nats (11-0 record), but because of no playtest, I had some dead cards in my deck whereas some cards were lacking.

I changed the decklist during the grinder, and I knew that it was much better than the old one, but I wasn’t sure if it was good enough for Worlds. Me and 2 friends decided to play the same deck (in the beginning, they wanted to use a classical Beedrill), and one of us (Aloïs de la C) played 1 Warp Point instead of a Switch.

Our friend playing the LCQ (Sébastien Minard) went 6-2 (lost because of bad luck in a favorable matchup), and he was playing an old decklist (not Nats’ one, a better one, but still an old one). Another french played a Gyarados (Dany G) and qualified (6-1 record), with a decklist with 1-1 Luxray GL (like the World Champion), but his decklist was a bit different from ours (no Call Energy !).

So, we knew that the deck had much potential. I also knew it because my friend and team-mate William Gilbert, IMO one of the best guys in Pokémon TCG, told me that Gyarados could make the top-cut. And he’s always right (he told me that Nidoqueen.dek was gonna win Worlds when Queendom won, he also told me that Raichu was gonna win US Nats when Raieggs won, and he told me that Mewtrick was gonna win Worlds before it did… This year he talked about Beedrill. He’s the best.). He's used to play a rogue deck at every Nats and always does great but he’s just unlucky.

It’s also William that said « OMG ! This card can do 90 for 0, let’s play this it’s just great*» when SF was released. And we made our Nats decklist together, working hours to make it as great as possible. Thank you Kiwill, you’re the best and I would never do any result without you.

So, here’s the list I used (after testing it at Worlds, I would make some changes) :

Pokémon : (20)
4 Magikarp SF
4 Gyarados SF
3 Sableye SF
1 Pachirisu GE
1 Toxicroak G Promo
1 Registeel LA
1 Baltoy GE
1 Claydol GE
1 Uxie LA
1 Azelf LA
2 Crobat G

Trainers : (33)
4 Roseanne’s Research
4 Felicity’s Drawing
3 Bebe’s Search
2 Buck’ Training
1 Cynthia’s Feeling

4 Pokémon Rescue
1 Night Maintenance
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Poké-Turn
2 Luxury Ball
1 Switch

3 Broken Time Space

Energies : (7)
4 Call Energy
2 Psychic Energy
1 Darkness Energy (basic)

The goal is to discard 3 Magikarp and to do 90 every turn.

WHAT ? NO UNWON G AND ONLY 1-1 CLAYDOL ?
Let’s explain. I just made a crazy bet. The original decklist had 2-2 Claydol and Unown G. But I thought : « No serious player is gonna play Gengar ! ». So, nobody’s gonna shoot my Claydol easily, and it didn’t matter, because Claydol was here just in case : we played 14 Supporters so it was enough to play without Claydol, and we often did it by the way. So the goal was to play with 14 cards hands. Uxie was just in case of bad hands, and I used it. But I won’t explain every card here. I also thought that almost no deck was playing Looker’s except Gengar, because it makes you lose 1 turn of Supporter. Also, we don’t see any TGW anymore because people know that almost everybody’s playing Claydol, and so this card is dead.

AND IT WORKED !

BTW, I played 2 Luxury at Nats too, and it was always useful. This time, we generally discarded both Luxury Ball with Felicity’s or even Registeel. So I think –1 Luxury Ball, and +1 Warp Point, that would’ve been very useful.

OK, let’s report the games.

Round 1 : Ondrj Hus (CZ), Luxape

OK, I don’t really remember, but Luxape is a really favorable matchup, so well… Sorry if I don’t remember, please if you remember something tell me, and I’ll add it to my report !

1-0

Round 2 : Josue Palomina Garcia (MX), Flygon ?

Sorry my memory sucks, please tell me =(

2-0

Round 3 : Tia Toppari (FI), Flygon

Ahaha, great game. Ok, I didn't know how to play against this, so I played my Claydol. I manage to do a OHKO on the Flygon X thanks to Buck's, Crobat G and Poké-Turn. At a moment, she Invites my Claydol. I just couldn't get any Energy to prepare my retreat, so I was really frightened. I use my Switch with a little smile, and then I saw disappointment on her face. On her next turn, she asks me "how many cards in your hand ?" and I say "13" with a smile, and she says "oh ok..." and she didn't invite me anymore but evolved and attacked. Ok Tia, I only played 1 Switch and I burned most of my SSU. I think you would have won without that misplay... Or at least it would have been more close.
GG Tia, it was nice meeting you, you did a great result !

3-0

Round 4 : Esa Juntunen (FI), Palkia Lock

I don't remember, but I think that I did a Pachirisu surprise at one point. Sorry for my memory man, please tell me some details !

4-0

Round 5 : Michael Pramawat (US), LuxTric

Ok, I should've lost this because I did many misplays and I was jsut lucky. I didn't deserve to win. The MU is a bit in my favour, but well, I put Claydol into play. Then he used Bright Look on my Claydol, and I didn't find the time to attach any Energy because I didn't know that he was playing LuxTric : I only saw Luxray ! So, I have an Active Claydol with 0 Energy. I think that he played Electrike-Manectric thanks to BTS and used Poké-Turn on Luxray. Then he does 30 almost everywhere thanks to Manectric's first attack. Guess what I did ? SSU, heads, great, I send Gyarados. AND I PUT CLAYDOL INTO PLAY THANKS TO BTS ONCE AGAIN AND THEN HE JUST BRIGHT LOOK IT ONCE AGAIN ! I'm so silly. And I used SSU. And heads. I've been luck despite my misplay, so very sorry man.

5-0

Round 6 : Karl Blake (UK), Flygon

See other Flygon matches I think, please if you have more information tell me

6-0

Round 7 : Koujiro Tsuruta (JP), Sableye ToxiTank with 1-1 Mewtwo X
At this point I was happy and I didn't care if I won or lost, but I still wanted to be 7-0. This guy was very friendly and I really enjoyed him. So, let's start. I have an Active Magikarp and... Nothing else. He has a Sableye and Starts, and he attaches a Darkness Energy and wins. It lasted only for 2 seconds. Everybody around was laughing, I was laughing too, it was very funny (but if I was 4-2 before the round of course I wouldn't have laughed at all). GG guy xD
6-1

I was really happy because I didn't see any deck that could beat me of all the day, except some Kingdras that wouldn't make the cut. The last game, I knew thanks to a friend of mine (Anne-Sophie, that took notes for me, if she didn't do so then I wouldn't know who were my opponents so thanks Anne-So) that he played Sableye ToxiTank, so I knew that the MU was in my favour. Anyway, we weren't on the same side so we could only meet in final. So, at this point, I was extremely confident in my deck and I knew that I couldn't lose except because of bad luck.

The evening, we had to play TOP32.

TOP32 : ?? (JP), Palkia Dialga Mesprit
This player was just great. He did NO misplay, he played very well, and it was very hard. Both games.
1st game : We both got some decent stars I think, and at one point he did 2 KO with Mesprit because I had to send low HP Pokémon (no Rescue or BTS I think). He played great and always managed to do a full turn and having the right number of cards in hand. I didn't even know this attack before he killed me. LOL. He's just great. I think that I missed 3 or 4 SSU so I was a bit fed up and we were know down to 1-1 prize. If he gets Dialga G X, he wins. he has about 8 cards in hand and 6 more in the deck. He doesn't have anything to get it directly, so he plays Cynthia for 8. He draws, 5 cards in the deck including Dialga G X. I've been SO lucky, sorry man ! GG

2nd game : I won more easily but it was still very tight and very hard. Thank you man, you're a great player, and you were my strongest opponent of the day. You're great, I really enjoyed those 2 games and they were 2 of my best games ever.

TOP16: ?? (JP), LuxApe
The hardest LuxApe I've played against. Japanese players are definately really good. But I think I wasn't lucky.
1st game : I have to scoop when he has a 3 prizes lead, jsut because I couldn't find any BTS.

2nd game : I almost got turned one because I think that I had a Magikarp start. When I saw who was my starter, I thought "Oh my god, the whole adventure will maybe stop here, whereas it's supposed to be a very good matchup...", but luckily he couldn't donk me. After that, I have a great start and he doesn't, and I crush him so he scoops.

3rd game : more tight, but this MU is really in Gyarados' favour.

TOP8 : Stephen Silvestro (US), Beedril with a little SP Engine and Crobat G and 1-1 Luxray X

1st game : He starts taking prizes on my bench thanks to Bright Look and PokéTurn, with only 2 Beedrill in play. Zt one point, I have a Crobat G in hand and 2 SSU. I know that I can KO him with 1 heads and maybe take the lead because it was tight. Crobat G Flash Bite. SSU, tails. SSU, tails. OK, bad move... He won, 6-5 I think, it was close, but I lost.

2nd game : he has a Chatot Start, I have a Sableye one I think. We both go very fast, because his Chatot gives him 12 cards hands. I take the 1st prize, and from this point, we both took 1 prize each turn. He took the 2 1st with Luxray I think, and then just did 130 <ith Beedrill... A few turns later, here we are. I have an Active Gyarados with 130HP ; he has an Active Beedrill with 110HP. Crobat G is on my bench. I have a Poké-Turn and 2 SSU in my hand. Let's play. Poké-Turn, Flash Bite. He has 100 HP left. SSU, Tails. SSU, Tails. OMG I thought I was gonna win... So, I put everything I can on my bench and try to get my last SSU in the deck I have no other option : I'm sure he can kill me during the next turn. And if he doesn't, I still lose because I can't kill his second Beedrill on next turn. So, I use Uxie, draw 2, nothing. Let's go. Cynthai's Feelings for 8. I draw 7 cards, nothing. the last one is... SSU ! I play it, Stephen says "this one's gonna be heads..." and I roll the dice. TAILS. GOD. That wasn't my day. I lose. I'm really disappointed because I did many tails and well, I really thought I was gonna win the second.

I'm even more disappointed because my friend Aloïs de la C beat him 2-0 in the evening. I know it doesn't mean a lot, but that still meant that it was very possible that I won the 3rd game if one of the SSU was heads.

To be honest, I really think that that day I could've beat any deck and that I could've gone very far after this... And I'm very sad because my goal was to be in top4 (for the trip) and now I know I can't go to Worlds next year and I'm really sad.

Anyway, GG Stephen, great deck, great games, you did no misplay and so you deserved this win too. And, I'm happy that you became World Champion, that way I lost to the champion.

My friend Nicolas H lost in top16 because of 5 tails in a row (3 SSU and 2 Leap Away), so I'm also sad for him. BAD COINS.



Those Worlds were my 1st ones (and certainly my last ones), I've met a lot of great people, I've played beautiful games, so I'm really happy. I just wish I won LOL but everybody wanted to win this day so...

Thanks everybody that was there and to all the people I met and to my friends from Team Gouda. Thanks Kiwill my friend from my team because you said Gyarados was great and then we worked on it together. Thnks pokémon you're a great game !

Thanks for reading me, sorry for all the languages mistakes and for everything that is wrong/forgotten in my report. Please tell me every mistake so I can change my report.

Bye
Fabien
 
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Hey Fabien, AWESOME job on just taking Gyarados to Worlds and getting 5th :D I met a lot of people who were talking about "that crazy French deck". You can definitely be very proud of yourself and the others who helped with the deck :D

Also, Esa was playing Palkia lock, not Flygon.
 
Awesome report Fabien. I really thought you had game 2 when you got the last SSU through Cynthia.
O and your english is :)
 
Great job with an underground deck man! I know how you feel with bad coin flips. I have a notorious habit of getting destroyed by flips (I got 18 consecutive Tails on Nidoking's Giga Horn, which needs ONE our of TWO heads D:).

Hope you can find some way to get to worlds next year man! Go ratings invite much? Go Fabien '10!
 
Hey Fabien, AWESOME job on just taking Gyarados to Worlds and getting 5th :D I met a lot of people who were talking about "that crazy French deck". You can definitely be very proud of yourself and the others who helped with the deck :D

Also, Esa was playing Palkia lock, not Flygon.

Thanks. Oh god, I'm gonna correct this. So maybe it's Josue Palomino Garcia that was playing Flygon ! I'm so stupid =D

Great job with an underground deck man! I know how you feel with bad coin flips. I have a notorious habit of getting destroyed by flips (I got 18 consecutive Tails on Nidoking's Giga Horn, which needs ONE our of TWO heads D:).

Hope you can find some way to get to worlds next year man! Go ratings invite much? Go Fabien '10!

Wow, 18 tails OMG !

Well, actually, I think I won't be able to play Nats, so no way for me to go to Worlds (I just don't have enough money to pay for my trip, I've already been qualified 4 years in a row, but I had the trip only this year and so those were my first Worlds), because I will certainly have my competitive examination at the same time... But thanks !! (And no time to qualify via ranking because of my veryyy hard studies, even if I can use my scolarship to go to Hawaii...)
 
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After i met you in Cannes and i won the Italy-France cup, i thought we had passed the French in the Pokemon level.
This year you had your GrumpigStall and you didn't just win a big tournament....YOU CAME AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THE WORLDS AND YOU BROUGHT FRANCE AT THE TOP OF THE POKEMON WORLD!!!

I still cannot believe that 2 friends of mine worked on a rogue deck and bring it to the top, having a whole nation following them with the deck.

France was good years ago with the Delambre bros? YOU CAN FORGET THEM. Now you have two new Pokemon Champions. FABIEN AND KIWILL!!!!! And you'll listen again about them!

I hope you'll keep playing and you'll make Worlds next year too.
And pay attention...it could happen that i come to France again to play against you for another time!!!
 
Hey Fabien, great deck. I thought for sure you had the second game because I had to mimic 3 times while u were getting set up. They ended up being very close.


Awesome deck man, was very rogue. I honestly believe that if you had beaten me, you could have won. Although i'm not sure you ran enough energy to get past the Jay Hornung and his flygon lock deck.


Hope to see you next year =]
 
Nice report Fab :) (even though your english is a bit rusty ^^)
Way too much credits for me though. You're the one who's been playing really well for the past years, winning nats and now this. So congrats, and enjoy your victory fully!

Andceo> haha thanks man. I hope we'll have the occasion to play together someday (Worlds final next year perhaps XD ?). Oh and, you should have played Gyarados at your nats like I said :p
 
Thats some bad SSU tails. I really wished we could have played (in the tournament or out) I think it would have been a good game.
 
To dream up a deck this cool is one thing; to succeed with it on the level that you did is another altogether. I loved reading this report.

I'm really to sorry to hear that you won't be at Worlds next year, especially since you've qualified four times and only attended once. Is it possible that you'll be back two years from now, in 2011?

Congratulations on a great showing with a great deck!
 
Andceo --> Oh yeah I'd like to see you some day !

Squirtle --> Thank you man. I really believe that the winner of our match was gonna be the World Champion. Nice deck too, hard to play against, but my deck had no skill so I didn't have to think much lol !

I really wished we could have played (in the tournament or out) I think it would have been a good game.

You should've asked me then ! Who are you ?

David --> 6-1, sorry, I wrote my report fast. Thanks !

SuperWooper, Squirtle & Andceo --> Actually this evening I've talked a lot with my parents, because my studies are too hard and I have no life except school. So maybe next year I will try something easier, I'll be fixed in a few days, and that way I'll be able to participate in my National Championships =) So, I hope to be qualified once again and to see you all in Hawaii !!!!!

Kiwill & Andceo --> You are my friends, I hope both of you will be abe to go to Worlds next year (and me too, if possible), it would be great ! Thanks men.

And thanks everybody that congrats me there !
 
Well done for doing amazingly with Gyarados! - you was so close!, hopefully you will able to go back to worlds in the future and win it with another great wacky deck!
 
guys such an amazing player, and magician :--)

Lol. Did you enjoy my trick ? I think it sucked a bit because I didn't perform for about a year, but I know some tricks at least as amazings as this one !! And I also perform them better xD
It was really nice meeting you Sami. And, GG for your 2nd place, you really deserve it !
 
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