So, this year is the year! I'm attempting to travel to Worlds now that the Championship Point cost is only 400. In this post I'll be going over recent tournaments and decks that I found to be interesting along with match-up information and new decks that arise as the year goes by. Let the games begin!
#1 League Challenge
Though League Challenges may not be as important, I played in one at the beginning of the year to get back in the swing of things. I chose to play Garbodor/Drampa GX due to most of my experience with that deck (I will be posting my list soon). Here are how the matches went (to forewarn everybody, there wasn't as many people there, so only three matches were played (not per person) and no top cut).
1-0-0*Water Box: I won the match, though I started out with a pretty horrible hand (saved by my opponents turn 1 N). It was a relatively short game as my opponent played item after item until there was nothing my opponent could do.
2-0-0*M Gardevoir EX/Xerneas Break: I won the match, though it was a close game (to let you know, M Gardevoir EX {the energy relative version} was a popular deck choice at the time). My opponent monitored their item count until they drew into a horrible hand late game and was forced to dump a bunch of items, clearing the path for my victory.
3-0-0*Tapu Bulu GX/Vikavolt: I won the match, drawing a very great hand beginning game along with going first. My opponent could get nothing set up as I had a turn two Drampa GX charged and I targeted any Grubbins that were benched.
So over all, I won the tournament with a 3-0-0 record, winning a bunch of packs (which I pulled nothing from) and 15 CP. The main reason for entering was the confidence boost, which I certainly received (and ended up helping me next tournament).
Championship Points: 15
#2 League Cup
This was the first necessary win for a tournament of the year, the points were on the line and if I didn't earn anything, it was a long distance to the nearest League Cup besides the two I had planned for. Once again, I went with my trusty Garbodor/Drampa GX deck, and with the recent Burning Shadows set legal for tournaments, I included Acerola, Po Town, Guzma, and Necrozma GX. There was a good amount of people, so there would be five rounds (one match each) and Top 4 cut.
1-0-0*Turbo Dark: I won, barely. I underestimated the speed of Turbo Dark and was a turn or two behind as the match move along. Fortunately, my opponent played a lot of items, so two Trashalanches and a Beserk won me the game.
1-1-0*Tapu Bulu/Vikavolt: I lost, prizing the Brigette and watching my opponent burn through their prizes until their was nothing I could do to come back. Even got the Field Blower, Guzma, Grass Energy my opponent needed to win the game. Oh well.
2-1-0*M Mewtwo EX: I won (obviously). I felt bad for the guy, as it was his first tournament and he chose what used to be the (arguably) best deck until Trashalanche came along. Sorry that had to happen.
3-1-0*Garbodor/Slyveon GX: I won, and learned a fun new way to play Trashalanche (even though I never tested it). My opponent told me (after a quick match of my great hand vs. a bad hand) the idea of the deck was to remove all of your opponents energy with Crushing Hammers, Enhanced Hammers, etc. and force them to play items. It was a fun concept, but unfortunately it did not draw well, hence the win for me.
4-1-0*Garbodor/Espeon GX: I won, but it was a very shaky setting. My opponent would be 5-0-0 along with another player if they won, guarantying Top cut. My opponent was willing to I.D with me, but there were four other 3-1-0 players (at the time). If I did I.D, I would not be guaranteed Top cut if other people I.Ded as well. I decided to play the match, and fortunately, I won and got my place into Top cut.
Top Cut: (best of three, two rounds)
2-1-0*Garbodor/Espeon GX: I won in a 1 win, 1 loss, 1 win, against the same guy who offered to I.D. All three matches were close, but in the two games that I won, Acerola came up big time. I returned my last GX on the board when my opponent had 2 prizes left, and I took two knockouts on Espeon GXs to win the set on the last game.
2-1-0*Volcanion EX: I won in the same sequence as the first Top cut round, with more crucial Acerola plays. My opponent was playing a standard (as in normal) version of Volcanion EX, and I took advantage of the Max Elixirs, Fighting Fury Belts, and any other item that he played. The last game came down to the wire, both of us with two prizes left. My only charged attacker at the time was a Tapu Lele GX, and my opponent had two damaged Volcanion EXs on the bench. He tried softening my Lele GX with a baby Volcanion (due to most of his energy in the discard along with his Starmie and 2 energy left in the prizes) and after two turns, I drew and Acerola to reset the damage on my Lele GX. This proved to be game as the next card was a Guzma for game, and if I hadn't done that, my opponent had game with a Float Stone and Fire Energy.
So, I won my first League cup of the year along with more packs (containing Marshadow GX and Tapu Bulu GX FA) and a cool Ho-oh placemat. My year was off to a great start; the next tournament happening a week later.
Championship Points: 65
#3 League Cup
Here is another opportunity to gain some points, prizes, etc. and move a little closer to Worlds. Once again, I chose to play Garbodor/Drampa GX but with one tech. I opted to play one Jolteon EX due to more Tapu Bulu GX/Vikavolt and Volcanion EX and it proved useful throughtout the tournament. A lot of people showed up, so there would be four rounds and Top 4 cut. Here are the matches.
1-0-0*Bye: Not much happened, but I fortunately got a preview of what everybody else included in their decks.
2-0-0*Xerneas Break/Garbodor: I had heard that someone was playing the Xerneas Break deck, but I didn't see who it was. When I sat down to play, I went first and my opponent started with a Tapu Lele GX. He mulligened once and I saw Fairy Energy among the cards and it didn't register that he was the one playing Xerneas. I assumed he was playing Gardevoir GX and immediately went for my Necrozma GX/Espeon EX combo. Even though it took me by surprise, I pulled through and took the win thanks to Po Town helping with a few damage counters.
2-1-0*Espeon GX/Garbodor: I lost to the same guy I won against in the last League Cup, missing energy and literally drawing nothing but a Trubbish for three turns. Somehow, I came within two prizes for the game, but my opponent was to far ahead and won before I had the chance.
3-1-0*Turbo Dark: I won, barely squeaking into Top Cut in third place. It was another fast paced, intense game that had me on the edge of my seat the whole match. Clutch hand after clutch hand for both of us continued until my opponent bricked on a N to two and I took the last prizes on a Darkrai GX.
Top Cut: (best of one, two rounds)
1-0-0*Volcanion EX: I won the match thanks to the decision to play Jolteon EX. Guzma after Guzma got rid of the Shell Traps my opponent used until finally, I was to far ahead for my opponent to come back.
0-1-0*Garbodor/Espeon GX: Unfortunately, my streak stops here as my opponent once again defeats me. I could not get anything set up due my opponent drawing the Brigette in his first hand (he went first) and not using more than two or three items the entire game. Oh well, you can't win them all.
So, second place at League Cup isn't bad, boosting my points to ninety and earning three packs (I pulled a FA Tapu Lele GX!). This will conclude my first season, ending with a sufficient 90 CP and with a bright look to the future. Tune in next season to learn more about how my Road to Worlds turns out. Thanks!
Championship Points: 90
*I'll update this thread as the year goes by. Wish me luck!
#1 League Challenge
Though League Challenges may not be as important, I played in one at the beginning of the year to get back in the swing of things. I chose to play Garbodor/Drampa GX due to most of my experience with that deck (I will be posting my list soon). Here are how the matches went (to forewarn everybody, there wasn't as many people there, so only three matches were played (not per person) and no top cut).
1-0-0*Water Box: I won the match, though I started out with a pretty horrible hand (saved by my opponents turn 1 N). It was a relatively short game as my opponent played item after item until there was nothing my opponent could do.
2-0-0*M Gardevoir EX/Xerneas Break: I won the match, though it was a close game (to let you know, M Gardevoir EX {the energy relative version} was a popular deck choice at the time). My opponent monitored their item count until they drew into a horrible hand late game and was forced to dump a bunch of items, clearing the path for my victory.
3-0-0*Tapu Bulu GX/Vikavolt: I won the match, drawing a very great hand beginning game along with going first. My opponent could get nothing set up as I had a turn two Drampa GX charged and I targeted any Grubbins that were benched.
So over all, I won the tournament with a 3-0-0 record, winning a bunch of packs (which I pulled nothing from) and 15 CP. The main reason for entering was the confidence boost, which I certainly received (and ended up helping me next tournament).
Championship Points: 15
#2 League Cup
This was the first necessary win for a tournament of the year, the points were on the line and if I didn't earn anything, it was a long distance to the nearest League Cup besides the two I had planned for. Once again, I went with my trusty Garbodor/Drampa GX deck, and with the recent Burning Shadows set legal for tournaments, I included Acerola, Po Town, Guzma, and Necrozma GX. There was a good amount of people, so there would be five rounds (one match each) and Top 4 cut.
1-0-0*Turbo Dark: I won, barely. I underestimated the speed of Turbo Dark and was a turn or two behind as the match move along. Fortunately, my opponent played a lot of items, so two Trashalanches and a Beserk won me the game.
1-1-0*Tapu Bulu/Vikavolt: I lost, prizing the Brigette and watching my opponent burn through their prizes until their was nothing I could do to come back. Even got the Field Blower, Guzma, Grass Energy my opponent needed to win the game. Oh well.
2-1-0*M Mewtwo EX: I won (obviously). I felt bad for the guy, as it was his first tournament and he chose what used to be the (arguably) best deck until Trashalanche came along. Sorry that had to happen.
3-1-0*Garbodor/Slyveon GX: I won, and learned a fun new way to play Trashalanche (even though I never tested it). My opponent told me (after a quick match of my great hand vs. a bad hand) the idea of the deck was to remove all of your opponents energy with Crushing Hammers, Enhanced Hammers, etc. and force them to play items. It was a fun concept, but unfortunately it did not draw well, hence the win for me.
4-1-0*Garbodor/Espeon GX: I won, but it was a very shaky setting. My opponent would be 5-0-0 along with another player if they won, guarantying Top cut. My opponent was willing to I.D with me, but there were four other 3-1-0 players (at the time). If I did I.D, I would not be guaranteed Top cut if other people I.Ded as well. I decided to play the match, and fortunately, I won and got my place into Top cut.
Top Cut: (best of three, two rounds)
2-1-0*Garbodor/Espeon GX: I won in a 1 win, 1 loss, 1 win, against the same guy who offered to I.D. All three matches were close, but in the two games that I won, Acerola came up big time. I returned my last GX on the board when my opponent had 2 prizes left, and I took two knockouts on Espeon GXs to win the set on the last game.
2-1-0*Volcanion EX: I won in the same sequence as the first Top cut round, with more crucial Acerola plays. My opponent was playing a standard (as in normal) version of Volcanion EX, and I took advantage of the Max Elixirs, Fighting Fury Belts, and any other item that he played. The last game came down to the wire, both of us with two prizes left. My only charged attacker at the time was a Tapu Lele GX, and my opponent had two damaged Volcanion EXs on the bench. He tried softening my Lele GX with a baby Volcanion (due to most of his energy in the discard along with his Starmie and 2 energy left in the prizes) and after two turns, I drew and Acerola to reset the damage on my Lele GX. This proved to be game as the next card was a Guzma for game, and if I hadn't done that, my opponent had game with a Float Stone and Fire Energy.
So, I won my first League cup of the year along with more packs (containing Marshadow GX and Tapu Bulu GX FA) and a cool Ho-oh placemat. My year was off to a great start; the next tournament happening a week later.
Championship Points: 65
#3 League Cup
Here is another opportunity to gain some points, prizes, etc. and move a little closer to Worlds. Once again, I chose to play Garbodor/Drampa GX but with one tech. I opted to play one Jolteon EX due to more Tapu Bulu GX/Vikavolt and Volcanion EX and it proved useful throughtout the tournament. A lot of people showed up, so there would be four rounds and Top 4 cut. Here are the matches.
1-0-0*Bye: Not much happened, but I fortunately got a preview of what everybody else included in their decks.
2-0-0*Xerneas Break/Garbodor: I had heard that someone was playing the Xerneas Break deck, but I didn't see who it was. When I sat down to play, I went first and my opponent started with a Tapu Lele GX. He mulligened once and I saw Fairy Energy among the cards and it didn't register that he was the one playing Xerneas. I assumed he was playing Gardevoir GX and immediately went for my Necrozma GX/Espeon EX combo. Even though it took me by surprise, I pulled through and took the win thanks to Po Town helping with a few damage counters.
2-1-0*Espeon GX/Garbodor: I lost to the same guy I won against in the last League Cup, missing energy and literally drawing nothing but a Trubbish for three turns. Somehow, I came within two prizes for the game, but my opponent was to far ahead and won before I had the chance.
3-1-0*Turbo Dark: I won, barely squeaking into Top Cut in third place. It was another fast paced, intense game that had me on the edge of my seat the whole match. Clutch hand after clutch hand for both of us continued until my opponent bricked on a N to two and I took the last prizes on a Darkrai GX.
Top Cut: (best of one, two rounds)
1-0-0*Volcanion EX: I won the match thanks to the decision to play Jolteon EX. Guzma after Guzma got rid of the Shell Traps my opponent used until finally, I was to far ahead for my opponent to come back.
0-1-0*Garbodor/Espeon GX: Unfortunately, my streak stops here as my opponent once again defeats me. I could not get anything set up due my opponent drawing the Brigette in his first hand (he went first) and not using more than two or three items the entire game. Oh well, you can't win them all.
So, second place at League Cup isn't bad, boosting my points to ninety and earning three packs (I pulled a FA Tapu Lele GX!). This will conclude my first season, ending with a sufficient 90 CP and with a bright look to the future. Tune in next season to learn more about how my Road to Worlds turns out. Thanks!
Championship Points: 90
*I'll update this thread as the year goes by. Wish me luck!
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