K2theAblaM
New Member
Hi, my name is Chris and I'm a Pokeholic. I've been playing since Base Set but took a long hiatus after my cards got stolen during Neo Discoveries. This is my first major tournament (outside of the 2011 World's Grinders) and I'm pretty excited to be playing at a higher level with so many world class players under one roof. Let's get to it....
Pairings are up!
Round 1: Kyle Kitchen - Yanmega Magnezone
I have mixed feelings about mirror, mostly because there's such a monumental advantage on who is able to burst out of the gates first but at the same time I'm pretty comfortable with it since I know it so well. I win the flip, and open with a single Yanma while we wait for the round to begin. I have a collector in hand and two lightning energy and immediately think if my Pachirisu isn't prized then I have a good chance at taking game 1, since his starters all have less than 50 hp, save for Pachi/Jirachi.
No dice.
It turns out Pachi IS prized, but I get a commanding setup regardless out of the collector and a Yanmega turn 2 while he doesn't set up very well at all. From there it's just a catcher game focusing on knocking out his basics, prioritizing Magnemites over everything else. I take the first game very easily, and wish him best of luck for the rest of the day and the season.
1-0
Round 2: Heath Durrant – Yanmega Magnezone Kingdra
Heath is also from Utah, and as I found out a friend of Kyle, my first opponent. He's also playing Yanmega Magnezon, but also has a Kingdra line that immediately gets my attention. I already know that if we both get fully set up, he will have the advantage unless I take Kingdra out. Well as it turns out, I lose this matchup in the very same fashion I won my round 1 mirror. Unable to stabilize and draw anything, I'm forced to keep my hand size as low as I can to avoid my opponent matching hand size but resistance proves to be futile. By the time I get my first Zone I’m staring down the barrel of his Yanmega, Magnezone, Magnezone, Kingdra and there's little I can do. I catcher Kingdra for a 2 energy lost burn but in the end, I shake his hand and wish him the best of luck throughout the day.
1-1
Round 3: Andrew... ?: MewGar
I know this list pretty well since I've seen it go 6-0 at a local Fall Battle Roads. I let him know I'm running PrimeTime while we wait to even the playing field. The atmosphere was pretty friendly between us and we both had a mutual respect for each other’s list and ability to push it to the maximum. I don't remember specifics but I do know that I made a lot of mistakes with game play that he let me take back, like drawing an extra card for magnetic draw. I take prizes pretty easily with Yanmega while building up 2 Magnezones purely for drawing power and to minimize the chance of holding Pokemon in my hand. I saved my junk arms for when I held a collector or had Pokemon in my hand so I could discard them. It turns out 2 of his mew were prized and he had no resources to respond to the 5 prize to 3 Lost Zoned Pokemon lead that I had. Good Game bud, I hope to see you soon.
2-1
Round 4: Martin Moreno – Yanmega Magnezone
My man Mark G mentioned before the tournament to watch out for this guy. I said who?!.... and he points across the room to the guy in the backwards hat and says, “That guy...He's Martin Moreno, the National Champion from 2006.”
I'm excited.
We shuffle up, draw and Martin opens with a collector while I have no drawing power at all, completely whiffing on a pokegear. I start with Yanma & Magnemite attaching energy trying to keep my hand as low as possible once again just to make it harder for him to match hands. Again... I'm in a dead draw while Martin wisely picks off Magnemite after Magnemite. He takes his third prize while I have no more basics to even put up a fight. Good Game Martin, I wish I could have given you a better match. We exchange handshakes and wish each other good luck.
At this point I'm 2-2, and pretty discouraged about my chances. I know I can make cut if I win out but if I keep drawing dead like I have been, I will have a zero chance.
Round 5: Dustin Collins - Leafeon, Roselia Status condition lock
Dustin's a really cool guy and a great person to talk to at the tables. Everyone around us realizes 2-2 isn't so bad if you have someone to joke about it with
I don't remember this match too precisely but I know I open up really strong and I see he benches an Eevee and Roselia. His deck is outmatched once I build up a few Magnezones and proceed to have my way using Yanmega and Catchers/Junk Arms. Good Game sir.
(If you're reading this, let me know who you are so I can credit you in this post)
3-2
Round 6: ??? - ZPST
I know this matchup extremely well and have teched heavily for the early Tornadus/Zekrom onslaught. I know right off the bat that I'm in for a tough grind if I can't get a Magnezone within the first two rounds. I don't remember specifics but I think I was lucky enough to go first with a Pokegear open leading to a Collector. Surprisingly, my opponent was off to an extremely slow start allowing me to get a Magnezone up with a few energies on the field without falling behind too much. I set up extremely well and KO his lone Zekrom pretty easily. Good game.
4-2
Round 7: ??? - Gothitelle
This is a pretty delicate matchup where I have to get Zone out as quickly as possible. I only run a single copy of Magneton so I'm screwed if I run into a T2 Gothitelle. Additionally, my game plan has always been to focus all my early resources on taking out as many Solosis/Duosions as I can, knowing that I can handle Gothitelle with Yanmegas as long as my opponent can't energy swap. I play judge every chance I get to try and slow Gothitelle down and it works. I'm able to get a Zone out turn 2 or 3 and begin my assault on Solosis.
As planned, Yanmega was the star early game, as I Catchered my opponent's Solosis leaving it active while I snipe the second one on the bench, forcing them to have a switch or burn an energy attachment to retreat. It works. Even though I've activated twins, I've forced my opponent to retreat with a switch or an energy, rare candy the Solosis so it won't get sniped AND rare candy into a Gothitelle to stop my next catcher. That's a pretty tall order. My opponent plays Twins, rare candy's the Reuniclus (so it won't get sniped or catchered for Sonic Boom) switches and evolves a benched Gothorita leaving a Gothita active.
My next move was Catcher Reuniclus and Lost Burn for 100 to eliminate the possibility of damage swap. A few turns later, I catcher up a fully loaded Gothitelle that my opponent has been building and lost burn it for the KO. Everything else is downhill and pretty easy to contend with once Reuniclus is out of the picture. My early Judges also proved to be an asset early game since the disruption is hard to combat without the aid of Tropical Beach, which my opponent never drew.
5-2
Almost there. Last game of the day and I know I made cut if I finish this right.
Round 8: ZPST
This matchup was a lot tougher than my previous one vs. ZPST. I've forgotten most of the specifics but I was able to set up a Magnezone with 2 energy, 2 Yanmegas and a bouffant with DCE on the bench while my opponent was working with an active Tornadus with DCE, 2 Zekrom (one with 2 lightning energy), a Pachi and Shaymin.
The beautiful thing about the Tornadus matchup is takes exactly one sonic boom and a linear attack to deal 110 damage to knock it out. That means that after a sonic boon to the face, I can catcher a benched Pachi or Shaymin and snipe tornadus on the bench, once again forcing my opponent to either waste an energy attachment to retreat or have a junk arm/switch in hand. In short, it creates a situation where my opponent has to burn resources to play defense and retreat rather than use those resources to go on the offense. I find it's the best technique to slow zekrom down and keep the tempo in my favor, since every attachment for me means an extra 50 damage with Magnezone.
I was never worried about the Zekrom on the bench since I have 2 attackers in Magnezone and Bouffalant that can knock it out if it ever bolt strikes anything. Once the Tornadus was sniped with a Shaymin in the active slot, the energy flow slows down considerably so it'll be at least another turn to power up the second Zekrom for 2 consecutive Bolt Strikes. At this point the game is completely within my control, lining up his Pachi and Shaymin with Sonic Booms and his Zekrom with a lost burn or revenge KO with Bouffalant.
I'm able to close game 8 and secure a spot as the 25th seed in top cut.
6-2
Top 32: Jesse Hernandez - Reshiram Typhlosion
Game 1:
Jesse, I know you're reading this and if you can help me out on the match, I'd greatly appreciate it. All I remember is it was one of the toughest matches I've ever been in, with both of us getting set up (me with Yanmegas and 2 Magnezones and you with at least 2 Typhlosions if I recall correctly). The first game is extremely long as we both had a lot of tough, game changing decisions to make. I don't believe one of us made a misplay throughout the entire game and it came down to 1-1 prizes on my turn after he played his hand down to 3 and knocked out a damaged Magnezone, hoping I couldn't match sizes. A junk arm for catcher would give me the revenge KO on his Cleffa and a judge would allow me to match hand and snipe it for the win. Luckily had both in my hand and secured game 1 after 40-45 minutes of intense decision making.
Game 2:
I set up a lot faster this time around and grab a 3-5 prize lead before time is called. On turn zero I catcher a Cyndaquil for my 4th prize and secure the game, since Jesse would have to take 3 prizes on his next 2 turns to tie the game. Great, great match, Jesse.
7-2
Top 16: Eric Ha - Troll.dec (Tornadus, Thundurus, Zekrom, Tyrogue, Terrakion)
Troll deck is legit, and is (in my opinion) a lot stronger than ZPST. Even though it's not as lethal on the first turn as ZPST, it is the definition of agro with the capabilities of a very, very strong end game. I have a similar build it and run this deck myself so I'm well aware of it's matchups, capabilities, weaknesses and how to approach it.
Game 1:
I go first but don't set up very well against his tyrogue start. I do get a Yanmega out and begin to put in work against his Tornadus, Sonic Booming for 70 and setting them up for future linear attacks after I drag something heavy up. Tornadus is the heart of the deck and is the deck's main attacker. Without it, the deck's tempo really slows down so I prioritize all my efforts on eliminating that threat. Eric also benches (to my surprise) a Thundurus and begins to build him up while pinging my Yanmega with Tyrogue. I use the same strategy and after trading some blows, I catcher a Terrakion and begin sniping Tornadus and Thundurus for prizes while my Bouffalant sits on the bench ready to exact revenge if my Yanmega's get knocked out. I pull further ahead and Eric scoops. I'm pretty stunned since I didn't even have a Magnezone out at the time. I still thought it could have went either way but he later admitted that he ran out of resources to continue the match, and that Yanmega would have taken easy prizes on the rest of his field.
Game 2:
He starts with a Tyrogue and double plus power KO's my active Magnemite. I also start with a god hand and have Collector, Yanma, Magnezone, Yanmega, Rare Candy, Lightning, and Magnemite. I collector, and have 2 Yanmega's and 2 Magnezones by Turn 2 and get myself right back in the match.
Eric leads with Tornadus using Hurricane to power up his Thundurus while I answer with multiple Sonic Booms, rotating damaged Yanmegas with fresh ones from the bench. At one point I also had to catcher a fresh Tornadus with DCE and Lost Burn for 200 damage just to ensure that it wouldn't be able distribute energy to his field.
Then I make one key play to seal the game. Eric has a fully loaded Thundurus active with 2 prizes left (against my 3) and I have a Yanmega active, one Magenzone with no energy and 100 damage on the bench and another damaged Yanmega with 80 damage, fully aware that Thundurus can take 2 consecutive prizes with ease. With about 15-20 cards left in my deck, I junk arm for pokegear, play it, and hit EXACTLY what I was looking for... BLACK BELT. I slap it down, match hand sizes and Sonic Boom for 110 taking the KO on Thundurus, removing all the energy from his field. He scoops 2 turns later realizing that once again he has ran out of resources and can't continue the match. Max potion also played a KEY role allowing me to heal up my Yanmegas while dealing with Tornadus. Great freaking match, Eric.
8-2
Top 8: Wes – Reshiram Typhlosion
Wes is well respected with accomplishments in every major tournament to back it up. Today, he was the pilot of another super consistent Reshiram/Typhlosion list that also techs Mew for Gothitelle (I wouldn't want to be Gothitelle in that matchup I'll tell you guys that much)
Game 1:
The worst thing about the Tyram matchup is watching your opponent collector for 3 cyndaquils, knowing that even if you KO one, there's still 2 more left to be rare candied into Typhlosions. Well that's exactly what Wes did. I have to take early prizes on Cyndaquils to stand a chance in the game and manage to successfully Catcher + Sonic Boom one, but Wes's consistent build responds immediately and gets fully set up with 2 Typhlosions and 2 Reshiram and begins to knock out my Yanmegas.
And then the KEY PLAY of the match: After a Blue Flare KO, I'm able to Catcher out a Fresh Typhlosion, draw Bouffalant (with communication I believe), attach DCE and play BlackBelt for a revenge attack worth a whopping 130 damage on a fresh Typhlosion. This was HUGE! And a key play for the match since it forced him to knock out his own Typhlosion with Afterburner to allow a Reshiram active to continue his assault. During the next few turns I manage a catcher + Lost Burn KO on his last Typhlosion leaving only 2 Reshiram on his field and no energy acceleration. Wes scoops, on to game 2.
Game 2:
This game was another clash of titans. Wes opens first with a Reshiram and Cyndaquil and Collectors for THREE MORE CYNDAQUIL! (Making 4 total). Wes Manages 2 Typhlosion really early in the game while I'm scrambling to build up some kind of momentum. It doesn't look good at all until he promotes a Typhlosion to KO my active Yanma. In my hand I'm holding a Bouffalant, DCE, BlackBelt & Pokegear and already know my next move is ANOTHER Bouffalant + BlackBelt KO...
But before I do, I play pokegear and search for a Judge. I lay it on the table as I shuffle my cards back in the deck and see that Wes had mistakenly thought that I had PLAYED the judge! I stop him immediately but he had already slid his hand into a slot in his deck. We called the judge and they deliberated for a good 10-15 minutes and decided because Wes was able to recall his hand EXACTLY in the order they were as he slid it into his deck, he was able to continue the game... with a prize penalty. Normally, I wouldn't mind getting an extra prize, but if I do, our prizes would be even and I wouldn't be able to play my BlackBelt for a 130 revenge KO on Typhlosion. BAH! Oh well. I pass on the free prize and decide to earn it with a Typhlosion KO, closing the gap between Wes's dominant board position and my subpar setup. (I only had a few Magnemites and a Yanma in play, along with the Bouffalant that was going to get KO'd anyways.
--Please note that I had no intention of “tricking” anyone into losing a prize (or the game for that matter) It was an honest mistake on both of our parts and I'm glad that the game was able to continue without a hitch thereafter. Wes, you were a great dude and a great sport throughout all of this. I'm sorry it even had to come up but I'm glad there were no repercussions on either side..--
Later in game 2 I notice his deck looking a little thin after about 3 Junipers. Knowing that I can't win the game through prizes, (I think he was leading 3-5 prizes at the time with a dominating board position) I decide to NOT scoop and play this one out till the end, hoping that I might force a deck-out for the win or win in sudden death game 3 with my faster deck.
In the end, Wes is left with 2 prizes, (to my 5) and about 4 cards left in his deck. I notice a Cleffa on his bench and make it a priority to destroy it, and any chance of replenishing his deck through EEEEEEEK. I promote Yanmega, snipe the Cleffa and take a prize. “Good move.” he says. A few turns later and we're left at 1-4 prizes with 2 cards in his deck and an active Typhlosion vs. my active Magnezone. “Flare Destroy for 70.” I Magnetic Draw for 3 and HIT A JUNK ARM and immediately play it for my Max Potion on my active Magnezone. He's now forced to OHKO my fresh Magnezone or Catcher a Yanma for his final prize on his final turn. He doesn't have the resources to pull it off and I move into the top 4 to face Dallen Fell and his Donchamp Vileplume build.
Great Great match, Wes.
9-2
Top 4: Dallan Fell – Donchamp Vileplume
This match will be tough. I know I have to respect the lock and pay close attention to his energy attachments, since Donchamp is normally dependent upon a string of Machamps tagging each other in and out. I also know that my one strength is early game judges and Yanmega's linear attack. I know his deck loses a tremendous amount of power without trainer lock since I'm guessing Dallan doesn't run PlusPower, Catcher or Switch so I prioritize his Oddishes, making sure I judge him often to keep twins out of his hand as much as possible.
Game 1:
Dallan opens with an Oddish active, attaches energy and is able to bench a second Oddish, Machop and Phanpy (I believe). Perfect. I counter with a Turn 2 Yanmega, catcher up the Oddish with no energy and snipe the Oddish with a single energy on the bench. In doing so, I force him to have the energy to retreat (I don't believe he plays switch) and evolve it in order to not get sniped next turn. He retreats, benches another Oddish, promotes Cleffa and EEEEEEEKs.
I Judge him after his EEK and snipe the second Oddish but he does manage to draw a Twins from the Judge and administers the Vileplume lock right after, along with a Tropical Beach which he uses that turn.
Now I'm in trouble.
I'm up in prizes, but he's got the lock with a hand of 7 making it very hard to match without the use of supporters, which I was forced to use early game. I'm forced to promote sacrificial Yanmas (which he has to 2 shot with Donphan) in order to stall while I build up my field using Tropical Beach myself a few turns. It's now 4-4 prizes and I have 2 Yanmega, one Magnezone and a Bouffalant with DCE benched staring down 2 Machamps, 1 Donphan and a Vileplume. Dallan leads off with Donphan against my Yanmega while I rotate damaged ones for fresh ones, sniping his Vileplume. I use 3 turns and 2 different Yanmegas to snipe it while he catches up on prizes with his Donphans. I believe it's now 3-3, but the trainer lock is gone and I now have access to all my catchers, MAX POTION and Junk Arms. I set up my final two knock outs in my head against his Cleffa and a 3 energy Lost Burn on any one of his benched Pokemon. Dallan also sees this and scoops. On to game 2.
Game 2:
Dallan starts, but I open really, really fast with a Yanma active and a collector for Yanma, Yanma Magnemite. I know Yanmas are going to be integral during the early game so I bring out as many as I can to continue with my strategy from the first game – eliminate Oddishes while trying to keep twins out of his hands with Judge. At worst, Yanmas can stall against Donphan for a turn buying my time to build something up if it comes down to it. My game plan works, and I don't believe he's ever able to get 2 Oddish on the bench at the same, thanks to Linear Attack. The rest of the match plays out like a regular Donchamp matchup but the major difference is the lack of Catcher, PlusPower and Switch in his deck. The turning point was relatively early in the game (turn 5-6 I think) where I was able to Lost Burn KO his Machamp with 4 energy on it, completely eliminating all energy from his field. I rotate Yanmegas against his Donphan and Dallan scoops a few turns later. I'm in the finals.
Thanks Dallan for such a great matchup. You milked the hell out of that deck and are one hell of a player. I hope to see you soon, bud.
10-2
Top 2: Brandon J - Magneboar
I'm pretty excited at this point but I try as hard as I can to keep my wits about everything, playing the matchup in my head before we even begin. I feel I have a slight advantage if I can prevent a full setup so I go into this match with one thing in mind: Take out his Tepigs while keeping Twins out of his hands with judges. (Crimz from thetopcut.net has this match on video. Hopefully it gets posted and you guys can see what actually happened during the bout. Thanks Crimz, you're a super cool dude and I think I speak for the entire community when I say we're really lucky to have people care enough about the game to devote their time and resources into making it grow.)
Game 1:
I go first and I forget what I opened with but I remember it was really strong. I draw an early Yanmega + Catcher and take Tepigs as he lays them down. I believe Brandon is forced to EEEEEK quite a bit, giving me a huge advantage with Judge. A good amount of turns pass by and I manage 3 KO's on 3 Tepigs, completely ignoring his Magnezones and Reshiram. Brandon scoops without any energy acceleration and we move on to game 2.
Game 2:
I feel good. One game away but my focus is directed right across the table. Brandon shoots out of the gate this time and gets set up a lot faster than last game. I manage a Yanmega as well but no catcher to bring up Tepigs so I settle for a Linear Attack on a benched hog. There's a lot of back and forth and I build up my first Magnezone, hoping to draw a catcher to continue my assault on Tepigs but at this time it's a bit too late. The KEY PLAY of this game was Brandon Catchering + Lost Burning my Magnezone with 3 energy on it. OUCH. He sets me back 3-4 turns while he sits across the table with an Emboar, 2 Magnezone ( I believe) and a Reshiram, all with 130hp or more. I have about 7-9 cards left in my deck and 5 prizes to take. There's Zero chance of me taking 5 prizes in the next 9 turns so I scoop and drop my first game of the day in the finals. I flip over my final 4 prizes to find that most of my resources were prized, including 2 junk arm and a catcher. Darn... oh well. Time to focus on game 3.
Game 3:
I choose to go first and open with a Cleffa, Pokegear, Judge and a handful of rags against his lone Magnemite. No chance for a Pachi donk without the energy but I play Pokegear and whiff on Collector. I play Judge and draw a near PERFECT hand of Yanma, Magnemite, Energy and Junk arm. I lay everything down, attach the energy, EEEEEEEK and stay asleep. Brandon doesn't draw a single pokemon, but plays an Oak's New Theory and completely whiffs off his 6 cards! With no basics, he's forced to pass the turn with a lone Magnemite active.
My Cleffa wakes up...
My 6 cards off EEEEEEK consisted of Pokemon collector, Communication, Energy, some pokemon and some other irrelevant cards. I immediately see my out. I Pokemon Communication for a Yanmega, evolve, and play Collector for 3 Pokemom matching our hand sizes at 6! Cleffa retreats and Yanmega takes game 3 with a turn 2 donk and I win my first major tournament ever!
11-2
I'm FLOORED! I turn right to Brandon and immediately congratulate him on taking Magneboar to the finals! If you're reading this Brandon, you put up a hell of a fight. Someone from the back of the room yells out CALI!!!... and that was that. After some paperwork, a lot of hugs from my Pokefriends (who all managed to top cut BTW, SoCal representing) and hugs and shakes to all the judges, our adventure is over. Now to focus on cities...
I posted this on Facebook the night of, but I think it applies here as well...
“THANKS to everyone for such a great event! Thank you Chris and the ENTIRE staff of judges for making sure everything goes according to plan. Thanks to all my opponents for providing one memorable matchup after another and thanks to all my friends who helped me test and supported me throughout!
I had a blast, see you guys at cities! “
Props to:
- My Team - #TeamTech
- My friends
- The Judges
- My opponents
- Mark G for collaborating on the ABSOLUTE BEST YANMEGA/MAGNEZONE list in the entire tournament …possibly the world?!? (First in Juniors, First in Masters, and Top 16 in Masters with an 8-0 Swiss)
- Patrick for DOMINATING Juniors (1st in TCG, 1st in VGC)
- Team Dragon Rush (who took 3rd, 5th, and Top 32'd the event)
- Bouffalant – this guy is real. Believe in the Bull
- Second City Gym and Kim Cary
- Nationals travel & accommodations along with the cool prizes
- Alex for the VADER matt
Slops:
I have none, really. I could have went 0-3 drop and still have no complaints about the event. The event was run perfectly with great vendors, spacious rooms to play and plenty of eateries within walking distance. LB Convention center has my vote for the permanent spot for Socal Regionals.
Thanks for reading! Have naize day!
-chris
Pairings are up!
Round 1: Kyle Kitchen - Yanmega Magnezone
I have mixed feelings about mirror, mostly because there's such a monumental advantage on who is able to burst out of the gates first but at the same time I'm pretty comfortable with it since I know it so well. I win the flip, and open with a single Yanma while we wait for the round to begin. I have a collector in hand and two lightning energy and immediately think if my Pachirisu isn't prized then I have a good chance at taking game 1, since his starters all have less than 50 hp, save for Pachi/Jirachi.
No dice.
It turns out Pachi IS prized, but I get a commanding setup regardless out of the collector and a Yanmega turn 2 while he doesn't set up very well at all. From there it's just a catcher game focusing on knocking out his basics, prioritizing Magnemites over everything else. I take the first game very easily, and wish him best of luck for the rest of the day and the season.
1-0
Round 2: Heath Durrant – Yanmega Magnezone Kingdra
Heath is also from Utah, and as I found out a friend of Kyle, my first opponent. He's also playing Yanmega Magnezon, but also has a Kingdra line that immediately gets my attention. I already know that if we both get fully set up, he will have the advantage unless I take Kingdra out. Well as it turns out, I lose this matchup in the very same fashion I won my round 1 mirror. Unable to stabilize and draw anything, I'm forced to keep my hand size as low as I can to avoid my opponent matching hand size but resistance proves to be futile. By the time I get my first Zone I’m staring down the barrel of his Yanmega, Magnezone, Magnezone, Kingdra and there's little I can do. I catcher Kingdra for a 2 energy lost burn but in the end, I shake his hand and wish him the best of luck throughout the day.
1-1
Round 3: Andrew... ?: MewGar
I know this list pretty well since I've seen it go 6-0 at a local Fall Battle Roads. I let him know I'm running PrimeTime while we wait to even the playing field. The atmosphere was pretty friendly between us and we both had a mutual respect for each other’s list and ability to push it to the maximum. I don't remember specifics but I do know that I made a lot of mistakes with game play that he let me take back, like drawing an extra card for magnetic draw. I take prizes pretty easily with Yanmega while building up 2 Magnezones purely for drawing power and to minimize the chance of holding Pokemon in my hand. I saved my junk arms for when I held a collector or had Pokemon in my hand so I could discard them. It turns out 2 of his mew were prized and he had no resources to respond to the 5 prize to 3 Lost Zoned Pokemon lead that I had. Good Game bud, I hope to see you soon.
2-1
Round 4: Martin Moreno – Yanmega Magnezone
My man Mark G mentioned before the tournament to watch out for this guy. I said who?!.... and he points across the room to the guy in the backwards hat and says, “That guy...He's Martin Moreno, the National Champion from 2006.”
I'm excited.
We shuffle up, draw and Martin opens with a collector while I have no drawing power at all, completely whiffing on a pokegear. I start with Yanma & Magnemite attaching energy trying to keep my hand as low as possible once again just to make it harder for him to match hands. Again... I'm in a dead draw while Martin wisely picks off Magnemite after Magnemite. He takes his third prize while I have no more basics to even put up a fight. Good Game Martin, I wish I could have given you a better match. We exchange handshakes and wish each other good luck.
At this point I'm 2-2, and pretty discouraged about my chances. I know I can make cut if I win out but if I keep drawing dead like I have been, I will have a zero chance.
Round 5: Dustin Collins - Leafeon, Roselia Status condition lock
Dustin's a really cool guy and a great person to talk to at the tables. Everyone around us realizes 2-2 isn't so bad if you have someone to joke about it with
I don't remember this match too precisely but I know I open up really strong and I see he benches an Eevee and Roselia. His deck is outmatched once I build up a few Magnezones and proceed to have my way using Yanmega and Catchers/Junk Arms. Good Game sir.
(If you're reading this, let me know who you are so I can credit you in this post)
3-2
Round 6: ??? - ZPST
I know this matchup extremely well and have teched heavily for the early Tornadus/Zekrom onslaught. I know right off the bat that I'm in for a tough grind if I can't get a Magnezone within the first two rounds. I don't remember specifics but I think I was lucky enough to go first with a Pokegear open leading to a Collector. Surprisingly, my opponent was off to an extremely slow start allowing me to get a Magnezone up with a few energies on the field without falling behind too much. I set up extremely well and KO his lone Zekrom pretty easily. Good game.
4-2
Round 7: ??? - Gothitelle
This is a pretty delicate matchup where I have to get Zone out as quickly as possible. I only run a single copy of Magneton so I'm screwed if I run into a T2 Gothitelle. Additionally, my game plan has always been to focus all my early resources on taking out as many Solosis/Duosions as I can, knowing that I can handle Gothitelle with Yanmegas as long as my opponent can't energy swap. I play judge every chance I get to try and slow Gothitelle down and it works. I'm able to get a Zone out turn 2 or 3 and begin my assault on Solosis.
As planned, Yanmega was the star early game, as I Catchered my opponent's Solosis leaving it active while I snipe the second one on the bench, forcing them to have a switch or burn an energy attachment to retreat. It works. Even though I've activated twins, I've forced my opponent to retreat with a switch or an energy, rare candy the Solosis so it won't get sniped AND rare candy into a Gothitelle to stop my next catcher. That's a pretty tall order. My opponent plays Twins, rare candy's the Reuniclus (so it won't get sniped or catchered for Sonic Boom) switches and evolves a benched Gothorita leaving a Gothita active.
My next move was Catcher Reuniclus and Lost Burn for 100 to eliminate the possibility of damage swap. A few turns later, I catcher up a fully loaded Gothitelle that my opponent has been building and lost burn it for the KO. Everything else is downhill and pretty easy to contend with once Reuniclus is out of the picture. My early Judges also proved to be an asset early game since the disruption is hard to combat without the aid of Tropical Beach, which my opponent never drew.
5-2
Almost there. Last game of the day and I know I made cut if I finish this right.
Round 8: ZPST
This matchup was a lot tougher than my previous one vs. ZPST. I've forgotten most of the specifics but I was able to set up a Magnezone with 2 energy, 2 Yanmegas and a bouffant with DCE on the bench while my opponent was working with an active Tornadus with DCE, 2 Zekrom (one with 2 lightning energy), a Pachi and Shaymin.
The beautiful thing about the Tornadus matchup is takes exactly one sonic boom and a linear attack to deal 110 damage to knock it out. That means that after a sonic boon to the face, I can catcher a benched Pachi or Shaymin and snipe tornadus on the bench, once again forcing my opponent to either waste an energy attachment to retreat or have a junk arm/switch in hand. In short, it creates a situation where my opponent has to burn resources to play defense and retreat rather than use those resources to go on the offense. I find it's the best technique to slow zekrom down and keep the tempo in my favor, since every attachment for me means an extra 50 damage with Magnezone.
I was never worried about the Zekrom on the bench since I have 2 attackers in Magnezone and Bouffalant that can knock it out if it ever bolt strikes anything. Once the Tornadus was sniped with a Shaymin in the active slot, the energy flow slows down considerably so it'll be at least another turn to power up the second Zekrom for 2 consecutive Bolt Strikes. At this point the game is completely within my control, lining up his Pachi and Shaymin with Sonic Booms and his Zekrom with a lost burn or revenge KO with Bouffalant.
I'm able to close game 8 and secure a spot as the 25th seed in top cut.
6-2
Top 32: Jesse Hernandez - Reshiram Typhlosion
Game 1:
Jesse, I know you're reading this and if you can help me out on the match, I'd greatly appreciate it. All I remember is it was one of the toughest matches I've ever been in, with both of us getting set up (me with Yanmegas and 2 Magnezones and you with at least 2 Typhlosions if I recall correctly). The first game is extremely long as we both had a lot of tough, game changing decisions to make. I don't believe one of us made a misplay throughout the entire game and it came down to 1-1 prizes on my turn after he played his hand down to 3 and knocked out a damaged Magnezone, hoping I couldn't match sizes. A junk arm for catcher would give me the revenge KO on his Cleffa and a judge would allow me to match hand and snipe it for the win. Luckily had both in my hand and secured game 1 after 40-45 minutes of intense decision making.
Game 2:
I set up a lot faster this time around and grab a 3-5 prize lead before time is called. On turn zero I catcher a Cyndaquil for my 4th prize and secure the game, since Jesse would have to take 3 prizes on his next 2 turns to tie the game. Great, great match, Jesse.
7-2
Top 16: Eric Ha - Troll.dec (Tornadus, Thundurus, Zekrom, Tyrogue, Terrakion)
Troll deck is legit, and is (in my opinion) a lot stronger than ZPST. Even though it's not as lethal on the first turn as ZPST, it is the definition of agro with the capabilities of a very, very strong end game. I have a similar build it and run this deck myself so I'm well aware of it's matchups, capabilities, weaknesses and how to approach it.
Game 1:
I go first but don't set up very well against his tyrogue start. I do get a Yanmega out and begin to put in work against his Tornadus, Sonic Booming for 70 and setting them up for future linear attacks after I drag something heavy up. Tornadus is the heart of the deck and is the deck's main attacker. Without it, the deck's tempo really slows down so I prioritize all my efforts on eliminating that threat. Eric also benches (to my surprise) a Thundurus and begins to build him up while pinging my Yanmega with Tyrogue. I use the same strategy and after trading some blows, I catcher a Terrakion and begin sniping Tornadus and Thundurus for prizes while my Bouffalant sits on the bench ready to exact revenge if my Yanmega's get knocked out. I pull further ahead and Eric scoops. I'm pretty stunned since I didn't even have a Magnezone out at the time. I still thought it could have went either way but he later admitted that he ran out of resources to continue the match, and that Yanmega would have taken easy prizes on the rest of his field.
Game 2:
He starts with a Tyrogue and double plus power KO's my active Magnemite. I also start with a god hand and have Collector, Yanma, Magnezone, Yanmega, Rare Candy, Lightning, and Magnemite. I collector, and have 2 Yanmega's and 2 Magnezones by Turn 2 and get myself right back in the match.
Eric leads with Tornadus using Hurricane to power up his Thundurus while I answer with multiple Sonic Booms, rotating damaged Yanmegas with fresh ones from the bench. At one point I also had to catcher a fresh Tornadus with DCE and Lost Burn for 200 damage just to ensure that it wouldn't be able distribute energy to his field.
Then I make one key play to seal the game. Eric has a fully loaded Thundurus active with 2 prizes left (against my 3) and I have a Yanmega active, one Magenzone with no energy and 100 damage on the bench and another damaged Yanmega with 80 damage, fully aware that Thundurus can take 2 consecutive prizes with ease. With about 15-20 cards left in my deck, I junk arm for pokegear, play it, and hit EXACTLY what I was looking for... BLACK BELT. I slap it down, match hand sizes and Sonic Boom for 110 taking the KO on Thundurus, removing all the energy from his field. He scoops 2 turns later realizing that once again he has ran out of resources and can't continue the match. Max potion also played a KEY role allowing me to heal up my Yanmegas while dealing with Tornadus. Great freaking match, Eric.
8-2
Top 8: Wes – Reshiram Typhlosion
Wes is well respected with accomplishments in every major tournament to back it up. Today, he was the pilot of another super consistent Reshiram/Typhlosion list that also techs Mew for Gothitelle (I wouldn't want to be Gothitelle in that matchup I'll tell you guys that much)
Game 1:
The worst thing about the Tyram matchup is watching your opponent collector for 3 cyndaquils, knowing that even if you KO one, there's still 2 more left to be rare candied into Typhlosions. Well that's exactly what Wes did. I have to take early prizes on Cyndaquils to stand a chance in the game and manage to successfully Catcher + Sonic Boom one, but Wes's consistent build responds immediately and gets fully set up with 2 Typhlosions and 2 Reshiram and begins to knock out my Yanmegas.
And then the KEY PLAY of the match: After a Blue Flare KO, I'm able to Catcher out a Fresh Typhlosion, draw Bouffalant (with communication I believe), attach DCE and play BlackBelt for a revenge attack worth a whopping 130 damage on a fresh Typhlosion. This was HUGE! And a key play for the match since it forced him to knock out his own Typhlosion with Afterburner to allow a Reshiram active to continue his assault. During the next few turns I manage a catcher + Lost Burn KO on his last Typhlosion leaving only 2 Reshiram on his field and no energy acceleration. Wes scoops, on to game 2.
Game 2:
This game was another clash of titans. Wes opens first with a Reshiram and Cyndaquil and Collectors for THREE MORE CYNDAQUIL! (Making 4 total). Wes Manages 2 Typhlosion really early in the game while I'm scrambling to build up some kind of momentum. It doesn't look good at all until he promotes a Typhlosion to KO my active Yanma. In my hand I'm holding a Bouffalant, DCE, BlackBelt & Pokegear and already know my next move is ANOTHER Bouffalant + BlackBelt KO...
But before I do, I play pokegear and search for a Judge. I lay it on the table as I shuffle my cards back in the deck and see that Wes had mistakenly thought that I had PLAYED the judge! I stop him immediately but he had already slid his hand into a slot in his deck. We called the judge and they deliberated for a good 10-15 minutes and decided because Wes was able to recall his hand EXACTLY in the order they were as he slid it into his deck, he was able to continue the game... with a prize penalty. Normally, I wouldn't mind getting an extra prize, but if I do, our prizes would be even and I wouldn't be able to play my BlackBelt for a 130 revenge KO on Typhlosion. BAH! Oh well. I pass on the free prize and decide to earn it with a Typhlosion KO, closing the gap between Wes's dominant board position and my subpar setup. (I only had a few Magnemites and a Yanma in play, along with the Bouffalant that was going to get KO'd anyways.
--Please note that I had no intention of “tricking” anyone into losing a prize (or the game for that matter) It was an honest mistake on both of our parts and I'm glad that the game was able to continue without a hitch thereafter. Wes, you were a great dude and a great sport throughout all of this. I'm sorry it even had to come up but I'm glad there were no repercussions on either side..--
Later in game 2 I notice his deck looking a little thin after about 3 Junipers. Knowing that I can't win the game through prizes, (I think he was leading 3-5 prizes at the time with a dominating board position) I decide to NOT scoop and play this one out till the end, hoping that I might force a deck-out for the win or win in sudden death game 3 with my faster deck.
In the end, Wes is left with 2 prizes, (to my 5) and about 4 cards left in his deck. I notice a Cleffa on his bench and make it a priority to destroy it, and any chance of replenishing his deck through EEEEEEEK. I promote Yanmega, snipe the Cleffa and take a prize. “Good move.” he says. A few turns later and we're left at 1-4 prizes with 2 cards in his deck and an active Typhlosion vs. my active Magnezone. “Flare Destroy for 70.” I Magnetic Draw for 3 and HIT A JUNK ARM and immediately play it for my Max Potion on my active Magnezone. He's now forced to OHKO my fresh Magnezone or Catcher a Yanma for his final prize on his final turn. He doesn't have the resources to pull it off and I move into the top 4 to face Dallen Fell and his Donchamp Vileplume build.
Great Great match, Wes.
9-2
Top 4: Dallan Fell – Donchamp Vileplume
This match will be tough. I know I have to respect the lock and pay close attention to his energy attachments, since Donchamp is normally dependent upon a string of Machamps tagging each other in and out. I also know that my one strength is early game judges and Yanmega's linear attack. I know his deck loses a tremendous amount of power without trainer lock since I'm guessing Dallan doesn't run PlusPower, Catcher or Switch so I prioritize his Oddishes, making sure I judge him often to keep twins out of his hand as much as possible.
Game 1:
Dallan opens with an Oddish active, attaches energy and is able to bench a second Oddish, Machop and Phanpy (I believe). Perfect. I counter with a Turn 2 Yanmega, catcher up the Oddish with no energy and snipe the Oddish with a single energy on the bench. In doing so, I force him to have the energy to retreat (I don't believe he plays switch) and evolve it in order to not get sniped next turn. He retreats, benches another Oddish, promotes Cleffa and EEEEEEEKs.
I Judge him after his EEK and snipe the second Oddish but he does manage to draw a Twins from the Judge and administers the Vileplume lock right after, along with a Tropical Beach which he uses that turn.
Now I'm in trouble.
I'm up in prizes, but he's got the lock with a hand of 7 making it very hard to match without the use of supporters, which I was forced to use early game. I'm forced to promote sacrificial Yanmas (which he has to 2 shot with Donphan) in order to stall while I build up my field using Tropical Beach myself a few turns. It's now 4-4 prizes and I have 2 Yanmega, one Magnezone and a Bouffalant with DCE benched staring down 2 Machamps, 1 Donphan and a Vileplume. Dallan leads off with Donphan against my Yanmega while I rotate damaged ones for fresh ones, sniping his Vileplume. I use 3 turns and 2 different Yanmegas to snipe it while he catches up on prizes with his Donphans. I believe it's now 3-3, but the trainer lock is gone and I now have access to all my catchers, MAX POTION and Junk Arms. I set up my final two knock outs in my head against his Cleffa and a 3 energy Lost Burn on any one of his benched Pokemon. Dallan also sees this and scoops. On to game 2.
Game 2:
Dallan starts, but I open really, really fast with a Yanma active and a collector for Yanma, Yanma Magnemite. I know Yanmas are going to be integral during the early game so I bring out as many as I can to continue with my strategy from the first game – eliminate Oddishes while trying to keep twins out of his hands with Judge. At worst, Yanmas can stall against Donphan for a turn buying my time to build something up if it comes down to it. My game plan works, and I don't believe he's ever able to get 2 Oddish on the bench at the same, thanks to Linear Attack. The rest of the match plays out like a regular Donchamp matchup but the major difference is the lack of Catcher, PlusPower and Switch in his deck. The turning point was relatively early in the game (turn 5-6 I think) where I was able to Lost Burn KO his Machamp with 4 energy on it, completely eliminating all energy from his field. I rotate Yanmegas against his Donphan and Dallan scoops a few turns later. I'm in the finals.
Thanks Dallan for such a great matchup. You milked the hell out of that deck and are one hell of a player. I hope to see you soon, bud.
10-2
Top 2: Brandon J - Magneboar
I'm pretty excited at this point but I try as hard as I can to keep my wits about everything, playing the matchup in my head before we even begin. I feel I have a slight advantage if I can prevent a full setup so I go into this match with one thing in mind: Take out his Tepigs while keeping Twins out of his hands with judges. (Crimz from thetopcut.net has this match on video. Hopefully it gets posted and you guys can see what actually happened during the bout. Thanks Crimz, you're a super cool dude and I think I speak for the entire community when I say we're really lucky to have people care enough about the game to devote their time and resources into making it grow.)
Game 1:
I go first and I forget what I opened with but I remember it was really strong. I draw an early Yanmega + Catcher and take Tepigs as he lays them down. I believe Brandon is forced to EEEEEK quite a bit, giving me a huge advantage with Judge. A good amount of turns pass by and I manage 3 KO's on 3 Tepigs, completely ignoring his Magnezones and Reshiram. Brandon scoops without any energy acceleration and we move on to game 2.
Game 2:
I feel good. One game away but my focus is directed right across the table. Brandon shoots out of the gate this time and gets set up a lot faster than last game. I manage a Yanmega as well but no catcher to bring up Tepigs so I settle for a Linear Attack on a benched hog. There's a lot of back and forth and I build up my first Magnezone, hoping to draw a catcher to continue my assault on Tepigs but at this time it's a bit too late. The KEY PLAY of this game was Brandon Catchering + Lost Burning my Magnezone with 3 energy on it. OUCH. He sets me back 3-4 turns while he sits across the table with an Emboar, 2 Magnezone ( I believe) and a Reshiram, all with 130hp or more. I have about 7-9 cards left in my deck and 5 prizes to take. There's Zero chance of me taking 5 prizes in the next 9 turns so I scoop and drop my first game of the day in the finals. I flip over my final 4 prizes to find that most of my resources were prized, including 2 junk arm and a catcher. Darn... oh well. Time to focus on game 3.
Game 3:
I choose to go first and open with a Cleffa, Pokegear, Judge and a handful of rags against his lone Magnemite. No chance for a Pachi donk without the energy but I play Pokegear and whiff on Collector. I play Judge and draw a near PERFECT hand of Yanma, Magnemite, Energy and Junk arm. I lay everything down, attach the energy, EEEEEEEK and stay asleep. Brandon doesn't draw a single pokemon, but plays an Oak's New Theory and completely whiffs off his 6 cards! With no basics, he's forced to pass the turn with a lone Magnemite active.
My Cleffa wakes up...
My 6 cards off EEEEEEK consisted of Pokemon collector, Communication, Energy, some pokemon and some other irrelevant cards. I immediately see my out. I Pokemon Communication for a Yanmega, evolve, and play Collector for 3 Pokemom matching our hand sizes at 6! Cleffa retreats and Yanmega takes game 3 with a turn 2 donk and I win my first major tournament ever!
11-2
I'm FLOORED! I turn right to Brandon and immediately congratulate him on taking Magneboar to the finals! If you're reading this Brandon, you put up a hell of a fight. Someone from the back of the room yells out CALI!!!... and that was that. After some paperwork, a lot of hugs from my Pokefriends (who all managed to top cut BTW, SoCal representing) and hugs and shakes to all the judges, our adventure is over. Now to focus on cities...
I posted this on Facebook the night of, but I think it applies here as well...
“THANKS to everyone for such a great event! Thank you Chris and the ENTIRE staff of judges for making sure everything goes according to plan. Thanks to all my opponents for providing one memorable matchup after another and thanks to all my friends who helped me test and supported me throughout!
I had a blast, see you guys at cities! “
Props to:
- My Team - #TeamTech
- My friends
- The Judges
- My opponents
- Mark G for collaborating on the ABSOLUTE BEST YANMEGA/MAGNEZONE list in the entire tournament …possibly the world
?!? (First in Juniors, First in Masters, and Top 16 in Masters with an 8-0 Swiss)- Patrick for DOMINATING Juniors (1st in TCG, 1st in VGC)
- Team Dragon Rush (who took 3rd, 5th, and Top 32'd the event)
- Bouffalant – this guy is real. Believe in the Bull
- Second City Gym and Kim Cary
- Nationals travel & accommodations along with the cool prizes
- Alex for the VADER matt
Slops:
I have none, really. I could have went 0-3 drop and still have no complaints about the event. The event was run perfectly with great vendors, spacious rooms to play and plenty of eateries within walking distance. LB Convention center has my vote for the permanent spot for Socal Regionals.
Thanks for reading! Have naize day!
-chris
Last edited:
