Hey people! I'm never on the 'gym but I decided I would write a report on what happened to me at U.S. nationals. It's kinda sad IMO but w/e. I'm in the senior division.
After spending last night and most of the morning testing beedril and palkia/dialga, I psyched myself out of playing a deck I didn't know and decided to play Plox with a dusknoir tech.
First Round: SP toolbox (?)
So the guy has no claydol and never power sprays me. I get set up and start psychic locking him. Without poison his toxicroaks can't do damage to me. Easy win.
1-0
Second Round: Spread (Obamasnow/Giritina)
This was kinda tricky. I start with my duskull and nothing useful but topdeck a roseanne's. by the time I've set up he's taken two prizes with abomasnow and has my weavile down to 10hp. I decide that since Giritina takes sooo long to set up and he didn't have another obama in play to go crazy with gallade. I take three prizes and start ploxing and he can never get set up again.
2-0
Third Round: Mirror (literally a 4-card difference between lists)
I got the worst start I think I've ever seen. My opening hand is Sneasel, two Pokehealer+, two Rare Candy, Gardevior (platinum), and a psychic. I go first and draw gallade. I attack. I draw a dark. I attack. I draw a baltoy. I attack. For about 6 turns taking a prize while he sets up a gardevior. Then he ploxes me and I die. We played again later and I beat him by getting out dusknoir before he did and stopping his plox so I could use dark palm.
2-1
Fourth Round: Dialga
I start with a similiar hand in the third round against dialga. He gets the T1 deafen lock on me and I'm stuck. About the same time I get a gardevior he starts taking prizes. He power sprays me four times in a row.
2-2
Fifth Round: Rampardos
I don't remember this game at all, only that I won and it was extremely easy.
3-2
Sixth Round: Gardy/Gengar
This round makes me mad. So we played a really close game, he got set up faster but I one-shotted his first psychic lock gardevior with the platinum one. Time is called at two prizes a piece. I still haven't used either of my unown G's and he has no more attacking pokemon except a gengar and a gallade with 90 damage on it and both prizes flipped. I also still have all 4 pokehealers. I can't draw into the healers and the gardy lv. x to bring down his gallade so I guard whatever he attacks and plox him once, figuring I can use dusknoirs hard feelings later to get around his fainting spell. My last energy is prized so I can't attack with dusknoir. he hits heads on faintiong spell and I lose all my energy and am forced to conceed.
3-3
So after this round I start thinking about dropping. Before the tournament I was 3rd in North America and after two terrible starts i'm getting afraid of a third one. But by the time I decide I want to drop pairings are up and I have to play another round.
Seventh Round: Magnezone
YAY something I can counter!: He gets an early start on me with his free retreat magnezone and two claydols out by turn 4. he RC's into a metagross on the bench and scares me when he flips heads on magnetic reversal. He misplays and knocks out my ralts instead of my gardevior, so I RC into dusknoir and dark palm his metagross (he has a full bench) and start ploxing. I pokehealer tank my gardevior and with weavile in play hit him with plox every turn until he loses.
4-3
So I drop at 4-3. Just to be on the safe side. With one of my losses to the guy who's second in the nation (the plox player) I figured that I break roughly even on points and should get my invite to worlds.
Props:
Greg and THE ONE DECK going 5-3
Judging staff and organization of the event =)
David&Steven for being cool
Slops:
nobody from washington making top 32 -.- (except ian but he lost there in juniors)
Gengar winning the majority of games in seniors
Lack of food near the convention center
the heat =(
Bad starts
After spending last night and most of the morning testing beedril and palkia/dialga, I psyched myself out of playing a deck I didn't know and decided to play Plox with a dusknoir tech.
First Round: SP toolbox (?)
So the guy has no claydol and never power sprays me. I get set up and start psychic locking him. Without poison his toxicroaks can't do damage to me. Easy win.
1-0
Second Round: Spread (Obamasnow/Giritina)
This was kinda tricky. I start with my duskull and nothing useful but topdeck a roseanne's. by the time I've set up he's taken two prizes with abomasnow and has my weavile down to 10hp. I decide that since Giritina takes sooo long to set up and he didn't have another obama in play to go crazy with gallade. I take three prizes and start ploxing and he can never get set up again.
2-0
Third Round: Mirror (literally a 4-card difference between lists)
I got the worst start I think I've ever seen. My opening hand is Sneasel, two Pokehealer+, two Rare Candy, Gardevior (platinum), and a psychic. I go first and draw gallade. I attack. I draw a dark. I attack. I draw a baltoy. I attack. For about 6 turns taking a prize while he sets up a gardevior. Then he ploxes me and I die. We played again later and I beat him by getting out dusknoir before he did and stopping his plox so I could use dark palm.
2-1
Fourth Round: Dialga
I start with a similiar hand in the third round against dialga. He gets the T1 deafen lock on me and I'm stuck. About the same time I get a gardevior he starts taking prizes. He power sprays me four times in a row.
2-2
Fifth Round: Rampardos
I don't remember this game at all, only that I won and it was extremely easy.
3-2
Sixth Round: Gardy/Gengar
This round makes me mad. So we played a really close game, he got set up faster but I one-shotted his first psychic lock gardevior with the platinum one. Time is called at two prizes a piece. I still haven't used either of my unown G's and he has no more attacking pokemon except a gengar and a gallade with 90 damage on it and both prizes flipped. I also still have all 4 pokehealers. I can't draw into the healers and the gardy lv. x to bring down his gallade so I guard whatever he attacks and plox him once, figuring I can use dusknoirs hard feelings later to get around his fainting spell. My last energy is prized so I can't attack with dusknoir. he hits heads on faintiong spell and I lose all my energy and am forced to conceed.
3-3
So after this round I start thinking about dropping. Before the tournament I was 3rd in North America and after two terrible starts i'm getting afraid of a third one. But by the time I decide I want to drop pairings are up and I have to play another round.
Seventh Round: Magnezone
YAY something I can counter!: He gets an early start on me with his free retreat magnezone and two claydols out by turn 4. he RC's into a metagross on the bench and scares me when he flips heads on magnetic reversal. He misplays and knocks out my ralts instead of my gardevior, so I RC into dusknoir and dark palm his metagross (he has a full bench) and start ploxing. I pokehealer tank my gardevior and with weavile in play hit him with plox every turn until he loses.
4-3
So I drop at 4-3. Just to be on the safe side. With one of my losses to the guy who's second in the nation (the plox player) I figured that I break roughly even on points and should get my invite to worlds.
Props:
Greg and THE ONE DECK going 5-3
Judging staff and organization of the event =)
David&Steven for being cool
Slops:
nobody from washington making top 32 -.- (except ian but he lost there in juniors)
Gengar winning the majority of games in seniors
Lack of food near the convention center
the heat =(
Bad starts
