NB: This report might be my last so I’ve gone for a lot of detail. Feel free to skip to the end, I won’t be offended if you do lol.
I started to get geared up for the event about 2 weeks before it started. I research some of the top decks and some of the new stuff from MD and it’s pretty clear there are two decent decks in this format that suit my playing style, Empoleon and Plox. I try proxy versions of both of them and I decide I’ll plump for Empoleon. With a little work I made myself a basic list and with some advice from Team M, and people like Nitesh, Kish and Russ Murray I put together a decent list. It’s not perfect but given my time it was the best I could do. On the advice of Magic_Umbreon (Legend!) I play 1 Mew* d for the mirror, and after a little testing I decide to go with a single Omastar PK for it’s devolution by attack – it’s a great way of beating Plox and it hurts the active, something that Omastar MD lacks a little imho. Only disappointment was not getting a Chatot in time but hey. List was as follows;
1 Empoleon Lv. X
3 Empoleon MD
3 Prinplup DP
4 Piplup DP
1 Claydol
1 Baltoy
3 Phione MD
1 Mew* d
1 Omastar PK
1 Omastar MD
1 Omanyte
2 Helix Fossil
4 Celios
3 Roseannes
3 Stevens
3 Team Galactic’s Wager
3 Rare Candy
2 Night Maintenance
2 Warp Point
1 Castaway
2 Cessation Crystal
3 Scramble
2 DRE
4 Call
6 Water
So anyway I leave early on the tube, but get caught up in some delays so get there a little later than expected. Turns out me and Afirule were on the same train so we meet up and walk to the venue from Marble Arch.
We get there, exchange some cards for each others decks, and have some practice games, register and I chat to people I haven’t seen since this time last year. Anyway it’s announced that the tournament will be 5 rounds, Top 16 cut so I figure I have a shot and aim for a 3-2 or a 4-1.
R1 – Katie? – Salamence ex d/Altaria ex d
A perfect opening match up. She was playing the water versions of their earlier stages with Castform as an intended starter. I get my Mew* d out T2 and I’m setting 20 on everything and she can’t get the break to KO it. Unlucky match up for her creative deck, I hope she keeps playing and I’m sure she could be a top player.
1-0
R2 – Ren – Mirror
I really didn’t want to be paired with Ren, he made Top 4 last year and is one of our best players. Anyway I open with a Piplup/Call energy/Water/Candy/Empoleon which is awesome and I was putting 30:30 all over the board turn two. I stayed disciplined and didn’t go ahead on prizes and it looked like the advantage was with me. I think I played a Wager early-mid game though and off that and a Cosmic Draw he gets a Warp Point, Helix Fossil, Omastar and Rare Candy. He pulls of the combo and Ko’s a key Empoleon and with my Claydol line prized I went about 3 or 4 turns without supporters before the took the decisive KO. The mew* d was also prized early on but by the time I got it I was down on prizes and really couldn’t afford to use it. Great game though and great comeback. I think he went on to top cut, maybe top 8 iirc.
1-1
R3 - George – Mirror
Another Mirror, but this was much better. I get a Phione start and set up my claydol and get Mew* d out to attack his full bench T2. I comboed this with a Cessation/Wager to kill of any plans he might have and he was left with a minor energy drought whilst I was spreading 20 on everything. I think I got 4 attacks in before he managed the KO by which time I set up something for a devolution using Empoleon. Next turn I drop down Omastar PK, Knocking out 4 Pokemon crucially including his active and clinching the game. I know people criticized me over Omastar PK so this is an example of there it can be game winning. For what it’s worth we also played a fun friendly that was much closer - you were unlucky George so keep playing
2-1
R4 – Nigel – Kabutops/Omastar/Aerodactyl
Nigel is usually a judge but today decided to join our side of the game and had built a superb fossil deck. This was a very tricky match up and I hadn’t really tested it at all so my work was going to be cut out. He plays Holon fossil and gets a t1 Aerodactyl. With it being basic that spoilt my plan of 30 splitting him twice with something else then dropping in Omastar to Ko and use powers as normal. OK so I make a decision to leave the Claydol behind but start with a baltoy and call energy, I call for a Phione and a Piplup. He gets some decent flips on Holon fossils but very poor draw and gets the Kabutops out before I successfully get 2 Empoleons and crucially a helix fossil in play before a trainer lock. I start doing disciplined 30:30 splits on any Kabuto he plays to mark it for a KO later on using surf together. I also get some 30:30 splits on his Chatots and I have my 6 prizes fairly well planned and I take out the Aerodactyl. He promotes a fully powered Kabutops and hits me for 70. I use surf together with a full bench for the KO. Flip for the crucial damage…. Tails. He promotes a new Kabutops and Ko’s my Empoleon and spreads 10 on the lot. I promote an Empoleon and use the bench space to get a 3rd one ready. I flip and get another tails and suddenly as I remarked at the time my bench full of Phiones/Helix/Piplup suddenly looked a little vulnerable. He didn’t get the key Ko though and we bounce between each others warp points, him trying to get my damaged Empoleon back on the bench for a Omastar drop but I prepped the backing Emp with a Cessation, stopping the Omastar drop. As a result I kept both Empoleons alive and took out the last three prizes in a few turns. Like I say, the ability to take out the active and beat power locks is why you need Omastar PK in these builds. It’s essential imho.
Great Game though and I really enjoyed it - a thinking game for the pair of us. Keep on playing and judging Nigel!
3-1
R5 - Yacine S – Plox
Ok so I was 3-1 and I need a final win to guarantee a top cut, a loss might still leave me in it but I didn’t even consider that as a possibility. However somebody decided to pair me up with the UK’s kindest and one of the best players by a mile. He’s one of the nicest people to play and is a real role model – as a result is probably the most liked person in Pokemon in the UK. So we set up and I know this match up fairly well – I’d tested it a lot in the previous week. My approach is spread on everything, then Omastar PK to beat the Plox and win and I figured I was 60:40 but was at a slight disadvantage given the quality of my opponent.
He starts with Chatot I think, I get a Phione/Baltoy. He Roseanne’s for a Pachirisu and fills his bench with the key components, including a Duskull so I knew I had to hold back on my bench. I Celios early for the Piplup and Phione it to Prinplup knowing I had another Celios if I wanted an Empoleon/Claydol next turn. He gets a Claydol out and Rare Candies to Dusknoir. With a full bench I Claydol, draw and decide to go agro, aqua showering his full bench. He plays a Kirlia/energy and does 30 with Pachirisu. I Aqua shower again, everything now on 20 and it’s looking a little healthier for my strategy. I also Rare candy a new Empoleon in preparation. He plays a DRE/Gardevoir/Warp Point and I bring up Phione and he brings up Gardevoir and Ploxs me from then on. I think I sacrificed the Phione and went to town with Empoelon doing 30:30 and I was able to keep up a constant stream. I marked up the Dusknoir, the active Gardie X and a benched Gardie as well as a Ralts being prepped for Ko’s whilst he kept up the Plox. Eventually I get a little impatient and Wager him, attach a cessation and Ko his Claydol and a benched Ralts just to ensure I have some prizes as time was looking a little short, putting me 2-1 up. Him following with a KO on my Empoleon, me being reluctant to Rare Candy a backup with the importance of Omastar PK being obvious. I sacrifice another benched Phione to Plox and he goes ahead just before time is called at the beginning of my turn.
Hmm…. So I have 1 turn to equalize and nothing in my hand. I promote Helix as if I could pull of the miracle and candy/Omastar PK him that’d get me 3 Prizes and the win. Really I need a Stevens, or a Wager out of the top deck. I pick up the card in hope, look at it… a DRE. I looked at all my options and I discarded the fossil to bring up an undamaged Claydol, attach the DRE to do 30 to take out the active Gardie X and keep the game alive. He though as I expected promotes Dusknoir and attaches the last energy he needed to do 80 exactly and claim victory.
Straight after he asks me why I was spreading v. Plox, I show him Omastar PK and he acknowledges if we had a few minutes extra I could have got it. Still though I can’t begrudge him a deserved victory. Even loosing it was probably the most enjoyable and maybe the last game of my 3 years of Pokemon.
3-2
So as you might have gathered I didn’t make the cut, finishing 18th with T16 making it through.
Well this looks like it’ll be my last tournament for a while. In all honesty I planned to quit last nationals but I couldn’t end on a really sour note with my performance. Frankly today wasn’t amazing but I was happy, didn’t make any misplays and enjoyed all my games. I think this is probably a suitable note to end on
Props;
TO’s and Staff, People like Russ, Ben, John, Kish etc without you this game would be nothing!
People like Chris Sparks, who considering what he had to work with has pretty much saved OP in the UK.
Team M and those who gave me vital advice - you know who you are!
The Sekoums for being an amazing bunch of players and people. I know some people don’t want them to win; I’m certainly not one of them. Let’s face it they are the best and will be great representatives for the UK in Orlando, and they do have terrific spirit of the game.
Fellow players, too many to mention! Particularly Andy, Alex, Freddy, Scott, Irwin etc. It’s been a pleasure playing you and I wish you all the best!
Slops;
There were slops today, but I won’t dwell on them. At the end of the day I’m happy and thank you all for these 3 years of play.
All the best!
I started to get geared up for the event about 2 weeks before it started. I research some of the top decks and some of the new stuff from MD and it’s pretty clear there are two decent decks in this format that suit my playing style, Empoleon and Plox. I try proxy versions of both of them and I decide I’ll plump for Empoleon. With a little work I made myself a basic list and with some advice from Team M, and people like Nitesh, Kish and Russ Murray I put together a decent list. It’s not perfect but given my time it was the best I could do. On the advice of Magic_Umbreon (Legend!) I play 1 Mew* d for the mirror, and after a little testing I decide to go with a single Omastar PK for it’s devolution by attack – it’s a great way of beating Plox and it hurts the active, something that Omastar MD lacks a little imho. Only disappointment was not getting a Chatot in time but hey. List was as follows;
1 Empoleon Lv. X
3 Empoleon MD
3 Prinplup DP
4 Piplup DP
1 Claydol
1 Baltoy
3 Phione MD
1 Mew* d
1 Omastar PK
1 Omastar MD
1 Omanyte
2 Helix Fossil
4 Celios
3 Roseannes
3 Stevens
3 Team Galactic’s Wager
3 Rare Candy
2 Night Maintenance
2 Warp Point
1 Castaway
2 Cessation Crystal
3 Scramble
2 DRE
4 Call
6 Water
So anyway I leave early on the tube, but get caught up in some delays so get there a little later than expected. Turns out me and Afirule were on the same train so we meet up and walk to the venue from Marble Arch.
We get there, exchange some cards for each others decks, and have some practice games, register and I chat to people I haven’t seen since this time last year. Anyway it’s announced that the tournament will be 5 rounds, Top 16 cut so I figure I have a shot and aim for a 3-2 or a 4-1.
R1 – Katie? – Salamence ex d/Altaria ex d
A perfect opening match up. She was playing the water versions of their earlier stages with Castform as an intended starter. I get my Mew* d out T2 and I’m setting 20 on everything and she can’t get the break to KO it. Unlucky match up for her creative deck, I hope she keeps playing and I’m sure she could be a top player.
1-0
R2 – Ren – Mirror
I really didn’t want to be paired with Ren, he made Top 4 last year and is one of our best players. Anyway I open with a Piplup/Call energy/Water/Candy/Empoleon which is awesome and I was putting 30:30 all over the board turn two. I stayed disciplined and didn’t go ahead on prizes and it looked like the advantage was with me. I think I played a Wager early-mid game though and off that and a Cosmic Draw he gets a Warp Point, Helix Fossil, Omastar and Rare Candy. He pulls of the combo and Ko’s a key Empoleon and with my Claydol line prized I went about 3 or 4 turns without supporters before the took the decisive KO. The mew* d was also prized early on but by the time I got it I was down on prizes and really couldn’t afford to use it. Great game though and great comeback. I think he went on to top cut, maybe top 8 iirc.
1-1
R3 - George – Mirror
Another Mirror, but this was much better. I get a Phione start and set up my claydol and get Mew* d out to attack his full bench T2. I comboed this with a Cessation/Wager to kill of any plans he might have and he was left with a minor energy drought whilst I was spreading 20 on everything. I think I got 4 attacks in before he managed the KO by which time I set up something for a devolution using Empoleon. Next turn I drop down Omastar PK, Knocking out 4 Pokemon crucially including his active and clinching the game. I know people criticized me over Omastar PK so this is an example of there it can be game winning. For what it’s worth we also played a fun friendly that was much closer - you were unlucky George so keep playing
2-1
R4 – Nigel – Kabutops/Omastar/Aerodactyl
Nigel is usually a judge but today decided to join our side of the game and had built a superb fossil deck. This was a very tricky match up and I hadn’t really tested it at all so my work was going to be cut out. He plays Holon fossil and gets a t1 Aerodactyl. With it being basic that spoilt my plan of 30 splitting him twice with something else then dropping in Omastar to Ko and use powers as normal. OK so I make a decision to leave the Claydol behind but start with a baltoy and call energy, I call for a Phione and a Piplup. He gets some decent flips on Holon fossils but very poor draw and gets the Kabutops out before I successfully get 2 Empoleons and crucially a helix fossil in play before a trainer lock. I start doing disciplined 30:30 splits on any Kabuto he plays to mark it for a KO later on using surf together. I also get some 30:30 splits on his Chatots and I have my 6 prizes fairly well planned and I take out the Aerodactyl. He promotes a fully powered Kabutops and hits me for 70. I use surf together with a full bench for the KO. Flip for the crucial damage…. Tails. He promotes a new Kabutops and Ko’s my Empoleon and spreads 10 on the lot. I promote an Empoleon and use the bench space to get a 3rd one ready. I flip and get another tails and suddenly as I remarked at the time my bench full of Phiones/Helix/Piplup suddenly looked a little vulnerable. He didn’t get the key Ko though and we bounce between each others warp points, him trying to get my damaged Empoleon back on the bench for a Omastar drop but I prepped the backing Emp with a Cessation, stopping the Omastar drop. As a result I kept both Empoleons alive and took out the last three prizes in a few turns. Like I say, the ability to take out the active and beat power locks is why you need Omastar PK in these builds. It’s essential imho.
Great Game though and I really enjoyed it - a thinking game for the pair of us. Keep on playing and judging Nigel!
3-1
R5 - Yacine S – Plox
Ok so I was 3-1 and I need a final win to guarantee a top cut, a loss might still leave me in it but I didn’t even consider that as a possibility. However somebody decided to pair me up with the UK’s kindest and one of the best players by a mile. He’s one of the nicest people to play and is a real role model – as a result is probably the most liked person in Pokemon in the UK. So we set up and I know this match up fairly well – I’d tested it a lot in the previous week. My approach is spread on everything, then Omastar PK to beat the Plox and win and I figured I was 60:40 but was at a slight disadvantage given the quality of my opponent.
He starts with Chatot I think, I get a Phione/Baltoy. He Roseanne’s for a Pachirisu and fills his bench with the key components, including a Duskull so I knew I had to hold back on my bench. I Celios early for the Piplup and Phione it to Prinplup knowing I had another Celios if I wanted an Empoleon/Claydol next turn. He gets a Claydol out and Rare Candies to Dusknoir. With a full bench I Claydol, draw and decide to go agro, aqua showering his full bench. He plays a Kirlia/energy and does 30 with Pachirisu. I Aqua shower again, everything now on 20 and it’s looking a little healthier for my strategy. I also Rare candy a new Empoleon in preparation. He plays a DRE/Gardevoir/Warp Point and I bring up Phione and he brings up Gardevoir and Ploxs me from then on. I think I sacrificed the Phione and went to town with Empoelon doing 30:30 and I was able to keep up a constant stream. I marked up the Dusknoir, the active Gardie X and a benched Gardie as well as a Ralts being prepped for Ko’s whilst he kept up the Plox. Eventually I get a little impatient and Wager him, attach a cessation and Ko his Claydol and a benched Ralts just to ensure I have some prizes as time was looking a little short, putting me 2-1 up. Him following with a KO on my Empoleon, me being reluctant to Rare Candy a backup with the importance of Omastar PK being obvious. I sacrifice another benched Phione to Plox and he goes ahead just before time is called at the beginning of my turn.
Hmm…. So I have 1 turn to equalize and nothing in my hand. I promote Helix as if I could pull of the miracle and candy/Omastar PK him that’d get me 3 Prizes and the win. Really I need a Stevens, or a Wager out of the top deck. I pick up the card in hope, look at it… a DRE. I looked at all my options and I discarded the fossil to bring up an undamaged Claydol, attach the DRE to do 30 to take out the active Gardie X and keep the game alive. He though as I expected promotes Dusknoir and attaches the last energy he needed to do 80 exactly and claim victory.
Straight after he asks me why I was spreading v. Plox, I show him Omastar PK and he acknowledges if we had a few minutes extra I could have got it. Still though I can’t begrudge him a deserved victory. Even loosing it was probably the most enjoyable and maybe the last game of my 3 years of Pokemon.
3-2
So as you might have gathered I didn’t make the cut, finishing 18th with T16 making it through.
Well this looks like it’ll be my last tournament for a while. In all honesty I planned to quit last nationals but I couldn’t end on a really sour note with my performance. Frankly today wasn’t amazing but I was happy, didn’t make any misplays and enjoyed all my games. I think this is probably a suitable note to end on
Props;
TO’s and Staff, People like Russ, Ben, John, Kish etc without you this game would be nothing!
People like Chris Sparks, who considering what he had to work with has pretty much saved OP in the UK.
Team M and those who gave me vital advice - you know who you are!
The Sekoums for being an amazing bunch of players and people. I know some people don’t want them to win; I’m certainly not one of them. Let’s face it they are the best and will be great representatives for the UK in Orlando, and they do have terrific spirit of the game.
Fellow players, too many to mention! Particularly Andy, Alex, Freddy, Scott, Irwin etc. It’s been a pleasure playing you and I wish you all the best!
Slops;
There were slops today, but I won’t dwell on them. At the end of the day I’m happy and thank you all for these 3 years of play.
All the best!
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