Because this couldn't fit in my player's thread lol....
I'm bad with intros, but I'll make this report as thorough as possible.
Why I played the deck:
I had been testing Blastoise and Darkrai as my main Nats plays for a long time but Blastoise kept coming out on top as the better play. It's main issue was inconsistency and a harsh set up; but once it was past that, it demolished every deck in the format. Darkrai couldn't keep up with the KO's and Plasma couldn't keep energy on the field. It also had a good matchup against Gothitelle (although granted, it often came down to who went first). It's only true two bad matchups are Klinklang and Garbodor, both of which are close to unwinnable but weren't very popular. After testing and coming up with a list that was very consistent, I locked it in as my choice. I didn't really like Plasma because I knew everyone was going to be using it and I couldn't seem to fix the problem of keeping energy on the field. I also didn't want to face mirror the entire day. Plasma was a great play, it just wasn't for me. I also hated Gothitelle because it needed so much set up, and it's matchups were only ok (Darkrai was terrible if they ran two Keldeo and Blastoise, again, is a coin flip).
The tournament:
No intro cuz I don't like them. I get there early, do some testing, and it begins.
Round 1 vs. Bye
This was a tough one guys. Not playing is one of the hardest things a player can do in the game right now. I somehow pulled through and got the win though.
1-0
Round 2 vs. Bye
ok i'm done with the jokes
2-0
Round 3 vs. Cobalion EX/Sigilyph/Aerodactyl
Uhhh....what? This was 2-0? HOW???? He opens Sigilyph with me going first and I'm like "please don't let me lose to Quad Sig at nats." He then plays....a metal energy. To make a long story short, I get 4 energy on a Blastoise to KO his Sigilyph, and then burn through everything else with BKEX and Keldeo. I benched him around turn 4 or 5.
3-0
Round 4 vs. Ty Smith w/ Teched Mirror
Joy. A teched mirror. My favorite >_> /sarcasm. I go first and get a t2 Blastoise and start Slashing squirtles to take prizes. He gets a Kecleon, and plays N. I draw another N, play it, and get crap. He takes out my lone BKEX with Kecleon and I can't get another attacker going with crappy draws. I eventually N him to 1, and set up a Keldeo. The game plan was to rotate between Keldeos to stop him from taking his last prize. He hits a catcher off the N though, so that didn't really work.
3-1
Round 5 vs. Plasma
She goes first with a decent start. She catchers up a squirtle, but just misses the KO and hits it for 50 with Kyurem. I grab another Squirtle, a Keldeo, and a beach, and begin to set up. She takes out the Squirtle with the Kyurem, but she misses an energy attachment, which is huge. I explode with a t2 Blastoise and 4 energy to KO her Kyurem, cleaning her field of energy. She manages to actually take out the Keldeo next turn with Deoxys, but I grab a Black Kyurem EX, KO the Deoxys, and she's left with nothing to work with. A few more Black Ballistas and the game is over quickly.
4-1
Round 6 vs. Mirror
He goes first. Game over.
...no but seriously, gg. I would say more, but I whiff Blastoises for the entirety if the game and get crushed considering he hits his entire deck's worth of energy in about 3 turns. Mirror was a reason I didn't want to play Blastoise and this was coming back to haunt me.
4-2
Round 7 vs. Darkrai
FINALLY. JEEZ. I hadn't gotten to play this the whole day and it was about time. He gets a fast start with Absol and I have a little bit of a shaky set up but I get a Keldeo around t3 for the KO. He then drops down....an EXP Share? What? It was actually really annoying because I couldn't clear energy off his field as easily. I play out the game normally, using BKEX against the Darkrais and Keldeo against the Absols. Unfortunately, due to his fast start, he keeps up with the prize exchange. Eventually, I N us both to 3, and KO his Darkrai to clear the energy AND attackers off his field. There's no way he can get another attacker at this point, he's burned through too many resources and he has so few cards in hand...right? WRONG. Off his 4 cards he gets Absol, Dark Patch, Energy (which he attaches to the active Sableye), and an N which brings me to one card. I proceed to draw a Blastoise (totally useless) and he draws his last Dark Patch off 3 cards to fully power up his Absol to KO my Black Kyurem EX. We're now 1-1 on prizes, and my only attacker is a Keldeo with 2 energy. He has the win next turn because I have a Squirtle sitting on my bench, so I need to topdeck an energy. I draw...
...water energy.
5-2
Aaaaand that's the end of Day 1. I need to win at least one more the next day to make cut.
Round 8 vs. Gothitelle/Accelgor
I go first.
Do I really need to say more? /format
I get a t2 Blastoise, and beach into double Keldeo. He whiffs the Gothitelle, and I Juniper into the equivalent of 8 energy. Owned.
6-2
Round 9 vs. Carl Scheu w/ Klinklang
Welp. I can't win this lol. Apparently he runs four Max Potion too which just makes it even worse.
...until he goes first, draws, attaches, and hits for 30. Awesome. I get a bunch of Squirtles and pass. He topdecks Skyla D: and goes for a Juniper, after which he catcher KO's the damaged Squirtle. I get a Blastoise but not much else. He Junipers, grabs a ton of Klinks, and hits for 30 on my Keldeo (which is a misplay, he should have just beached). I hit his Cobalion EX for 110, and that's the end of my EX reign, as he proceeds to get a Klinklang out the next turn. I manage to power up my Blastoise though and KO his Cobalion EX. The game slowly proceeds as we hit each other for medium amounts of damage back and forth (although he gets a BW Klinklang out so he has access to Max Potion). He whiffs a big Max Potion one turn though and I manage to KO his second Cobalion EX for my 4th prize. He moves up Cobalion NV and Iron Breakers my Blastoise. Big mistake. I Rush in and retreat to get out of Breaker, shovel more energy onto Blastoise, and KO Cobalion, getting my 5th prize, and clearing the energy off his field. He's forced to move up a Cobalion EX and hit for 30. It's useless though; I toss another two energy onto Blastoise, bringing me to the magical 8 energy and I catcher KO his Klinklang for the last prize. Wow.
7-2
So, I finish swiss at a clean 7-2, as the 16th seed in the orange flight. I get information from Pram on who my opponent is and I find out it's Mudkip711 from Pokébeach. Funny how that turned out.
Top 128 vs. Michael Zele w/ Plasma
Game 1: I go first and get a decent start with a couple Squirtles and a Keldeo. He powers up a Kyurem, catchers Squirtle, and hits the benched Keldeo. I proceed to explode and put 3 energy on my Keldeo, then Juniper...only to whiff. Sigh. I grab a Black Kyurem EX and beach. He doesn't do much else but he gets a lot of energy on the field, which looks really bad. I manage to get the KO on the Kyurem, followed by which he KO's my Keldeo with Deoxys. I get another, but my hand is dead except for a ton of energy. I decide to play it risky and shovel 6 energy onto the Keldeo, hoping to get something out of my prizes. I get crap, and he plays N. The favorable looking game takes a giant turn around and I draw dead for the rest of the game. Ugh.
0-1
Game 2:
I go first once again with a much nicer start. I don't remember the beginning of the game, but it goes how it's supposed to, with me KOing Kyurems with Keldeo and other stuff with Black Kyurem EX. I took out a Kyurem with Black Kyurem EX also to prevent a Deoxys play. There's a point at which he miscalculates damage and hits my Black Kyurem EX for 170 damage. The game swings heavily in my favor and I win the prize trade by an overwhelming amount.
1-1
Game 3:
He goes first with a pretty meh start. He's forced to start attaching to multiple Deoxys because he can't get another attacker out. I have a fairly normal start, but after getting one Blastoise, I can't get another Squirtle out. After he takes 2 prizes a decent amount into the game, this becomes huge. After an N to 4, he pulls of a nightmare of a play that I thought was close to impossible off that kind of hand. He Skyla's for catcher, Scramble Switches to a Kyurem, attaches another Prism, and KO's my only Blastoise, leaving me with no energy on my field. I luckily grab another Squirtle, which he doesn't KO the next turn, allowing me to to grab a Blastoise. However, I don't get the KO, and on his turn, time is called. Uh oh. He KO's another EX, bringing the prizes 6-2 in his favor. I now have to KO two EX's and leave the rampaging Kyurem be, which is horribly annoying. I can still do this though. I Ultra Ball for BKEX, Superior for the energy I need, and Colress for 9 to hit the catcher KO on a benched Deoxys. It isn't enough though. He Colress's for 9 too and hits the Hypno for the KO on my Black Kyurem EX, ending the game :/
1-2
Oh well, I did ok. I get some Play! sleeves and 8 packs, from which I pull a Deoxys.
Other events: (I'll do quick reports on these)
I build Flipz for laughs, play a game against Garrett who is using Darkrai/Garbodor, and I actually beat him lololololol.
Last Chance for CP: (I play Flipz)
Round 1: Bye
Round 2 vs. Darkrai Hydreigon
I manage to Doom Decree a Darkrai which is totally awesome but Night Spear is annoying. Oh well lol. I play against Lex during the bye round and I LEGITIMATELY beat a full Plasma deck. OWNED.
Side Event 1 w/ Flipz:
Game 1 vs. Jeremy w/ Plasma
Jeremy has a "momentary lapse of judgement" and deiced to screw around for a few turns because he underestimates the true power of Flipz. I proceed to Black Magic a Deoxys for 280 damage and Doom Decree another EX. I get down to two prizes, and need to hit the flip for Doom Decree....but I whiff it. Totally unfair, am I right? Definitely should have won.
Side event 2 w/ Flipz:
Game 1 vs. Quad Snorlax
I miss a crucial early Doom Decree flip to bench his lone Snorlax but I end up losing on time. Definitely should have won.
Total Flipz win count: 2 (so epic)
Side Event 3 w/ Plasma Lugia
Game 1 vs. Plasma W
Game 2 vs. Plasma W
Game 3 vs. Tornadus EX lucksack L
Side Event 4 w/ Plasma
Game 1 vs. Flareon L (I whiff energy for 15 turns straight and he hits 3 Juniper of 7 Pokemon each in a row.)
Props:
7-2
Top 128
Deoxys pull
FLIPZ
Meeting people
That moment when someone uses Ghetsis for 27
Slops:
Top 128 :/
Losing on time
Flight getting delayed and cancelled
FLIPZ not being more pro
And that was the end of Nationals. Hopefully I'll see everyone next year!
US Nats 2013
I'm bad with intros, but I'll make this report as thorough as possible.
Why I played the deck:
I had been testing Blastoise and Darkrai as my main Nats plays for a long time but Blastoise kept coming out on top as the better play. It's main issue was inconsistency and a harsh set up; but once it was past that, it demolished every deck in the format. Darkrai couldn't keep up with the KO's and Plasma couldn't keep energy on the field. It also had a good matchup against Gothitelle (although granted, it often came down to who went first). It's only true two bad matchups are Klinklang and Garbodor, both of which are close to unwinnable but weren't very popular. After testing and coming up with a list that was very consistent, I locked it in as my choice. I didn't really like Plasma because I knew everyone was going to be using it and I couldn't seem to fix the problem of keeping energy on the field. I also didn't want to face mirror the entire day. Plasma was a great play, it just wasn't for me. I also hated Gothitelle because it needed so much set up, and it's matchups were only ok (Darkrai was terrible if they ran two Keldeo and Blastoise, again, is a coin flip).
The tournament:
No intro cuz I don't like them. I get there early, do some testing, and it begins.
Round 1 vs. Bye
This was a tough one guys. Not playing is one of the hardest things a player can do in the game right now. I somehow pulled through and got the win though.
1-0
Round 2 vs. Bye
ok i'm done with the jokes
2-0
Round 3 vs. Cobalion EX/Sigilyph/Aerodactyl
Uhhh....what? This was 2-0? HOW???? He opens Sigilyph with me going first and I'm like "please don't let me lose to Quad Sig at nats." He then plays....a metal energy. To make a long story short, I get 4 energy on a Blastoise to KO his Sigilyph, and then burn through everything else with BKEX and Keldeo. I benched him around turn 4 or 5.
3-0
Round 4 vs. Ty Smith w/ Teched Mirror
Joy. A teched mirror. My favorite >_> /sarcasm. I go first and get a t2 Blastoise and start Slashing squirtles to take prizes. He gets a Kecleon, and plays N. I draw another N, play it, and get crap. He takes out my lone BKEX with Kecleon and I can't get another attacker going with crappy draws. I eventually N him to 1, and set up a Keldeo. The game plan was to rotate between Keldeos to stop him from taking his last prize. He hits a catcher off the N though, so that didn't really work.
3-1
Round 5 vs. Plasma
She goes first with a decent start. She catchers up a squirtle, but just misses the KO and hits it for 50 with Kyurem. I grab another Squirtle, a Keldeo, and a beach, and begin to set up. She takes out the Squirtle with the Kyurem, but she misses an energy attachment, which is huge. I explode with a t2 Blastoise and 4 energy to KO her Kyurem, cleaning her field of energy. She manages to actually take out the Keldeo next turn with Deoxys, but I grab a Black Kyurem EX, KO the Deoxys, and she's left with nothing to work with. A few more Black Ballistas and the game is over quickly.
4-1
Round 6 vs. Mirror
He goes first. Game over.
...no but seriously, gg. I would say more, but I whiff Blastoises for the entirety if the game and get crushed considering he hits his entire deck's worth of energy in about 3 turns. Mirror was a reason I didn't want to play Blastoise and this was coming back to haunt me.
4-2
Round 7 vs. Darkrai
FINALLY. JEEZ. I hadn't gotten to play this the whole day and it was about time. He gets a fast start with Absol and I have a little bit of a shaky set up but I get a Keldeo around t3 for the KO. He then drops down....an EXP Share? What? It was actually really annoying because I couldn't clear energy off his field as easily. I play out the game normally, using BKEX against the Darkrais and Keldeo against the Absols. Unfortunately, due to his fast start, he keeps up with the prize exchange. Eventually, I N us both to 3, and KO his Darkrai to clear the energy AND attackers off his field. There's no way he can get another attacker at this point, he's burned through too many resources and he has so few cards in hand...right? WRONG. Off his 4 cards he gets Absol, Dark Patch, Energy (which he attaches to the active Sableye), and an N which brings me to one card. I proceed to draw a Blastoise (totally useless) and he draws his last Dark Patch off 3 cards to fully power up his Absol to KO my Black Kyurem EX. We're now 1-1 on prizes, and my only attacker is a Keldeo with 2 energy. He has the win next turn because I have a Squirtle sitting on my bench, so I need to topdeck an energy. I draw...
...water energy.
5-2
Aaaaand that's the end of Day 1. I need to win at least one more the next day to make cut.
Round 8 vs. Gothitelle/Accelgor
I go first.
Do I really need to say more? /format
I get a t2 Blastoise, and beach into double Keldeo. He whiffs the Gothitelle, and I Juniper into the equivalent of 8 energy. Owned.
6-2
Round 9 vs. Carl Scheu w/ Klinklang
Welp. I can't win this lol. Apparently he runs four Max Potion too which just makes it even worse.
...until he goes first, draws, attaches, and hits for 30. Awesome. I get a bunch of Squirtles and pass. He topdecks Skyla D: and goes for a Juniper, after which he catcher KO's the damaged Squirtle. I get a Blastoise but not much else. He Junipers, grabs a ton of Klinks, and hits for 30 on my Keldeo (which is a misplay, he should have just beached). I hit his Cobalion EX for 110, and that's the end of my EX reign, as he proceeds to get a Klinklang out the next turn. I manage to power up my Blastoise though and KO his Cobalion EX. The game slowly proceeds as we hit each other for medium amounts of damage back and forth (although he gets a BW Klinklang out so he has access to Max Potion). He whiffs a big Max Potion one turn though and I manage to KO his second Cobalion EX for my 4th prize. He moves up Cobalion NV and Iron Breakers my Blastoise. Big mistake. I Rush in and retreat to get out of Breaker, shovel more energy onto Blastoise, and KO Cobalion, getting my 5th prize, and clearing the energy off his field. He's forced to move up a Cobalion EX and hit for 30. It's useless though; I toss another two energy onto Blastoise, bringing me to the magical 8 energy and I catcher KO his Klinklang for the last prize. Wow.
7-2
So, I finish swiss at a clean 7-2, as the 16th seed in the orange flight. I get information from Pram on who my opponent is and I find out it's Mudkip711 from Pokébeach. Funny how that turned out.
Top 128 vs. Michael Zele w/ Plasma
Game 1: I go first and get a decent start with a couple Squirtles and a Keldeo. He powers up a Kyurem, catchers Squirtle, and hits the benched Keldeo. I proceed to explode and put 3 energy on my Keldeo, then Juniper...only to whiff. Sigh. I grab a Black Kyurem EX and beach. He doesn't do much else but he gets a lot of energy on the field, which looks really bad. I manage to get the KO on the Kyurem, followed by which he KO's my Keldeo with Deoxys. I get another, but my hand is dead except for a ton of energy. I decide to play it risky and shovel 6 energy onto the Keldeo, hoping to get something out of my prizes. I get crap, and he plays N. The favorable looking game takes a giant turn around and I draw dead for the rest of the game. Ugh.
0-1
Game 2:
I go first once again with a much nicer start. I don't remember the beginning of the game, but it goes how it's supposed to, with me KOing Kyurems with Keldeo and other stuff with Black Kyurem EX. I took out a Kyurem with Black Kyurem EX also to prevent a Deoxys play. There's a point at which he miscalculates damage and hits my Black Kyurem EX for 170 damage. The game swings heavily in my favor and I win the prize trade by an overwhelming amount.
1-1
Game 3:
He goes first with a pretty meh start. He's forced to start attaching to multiple Deoxys because he can't get another attacker out. I have a fairly normal start, but after getting one Blastoise, I can't get another Squirtle out. After he takes 2 prizes a decent amount into the game, this becomes huge. After an N to 4, he pulls of a nightmare of a play that I thought was close to impossible off that kind of hand. He Skyla's for catcher, Scramble Switches to a Kyurem, attaches another Prism, and KO's my only Blastoise, leaving me with no energy on my field. I luckily grab another Squirtle, which he doesn't KO the next turn, allowing me to to grab a Blastoise. However, I don't get the KO, and on his turn, time is called. Uh oh. He KO's another EX, bringing the prizes 6-2 in his favor. I now have to KO two EX's and leave the rampaging Kyurem be, which is horribly annoying. I can still do this though. I Ultra Ball for BKEX, Superior for the energy I need, and Colress for 9 to hit the catcher KO on a benched Deoxys. It isn't enough though. He Colress's for 9 too and hits the Hypno for the KO on my Black Kyurem EX, ending the game :/
1-2
Oh well, I did ok. I get some Play! sleeves and 8 packs, from which I pull a Deoxys.
Other events: (I'll do quick reports on these)
I build Flipz for laughs, play a game against Garrett who is using Darkrai/Garbodor, and I actually beat him lololololol.
Last Chance for CP: (I play Flipz)
Round 1: Bye
Round 2 vs. Darkrai Hydreigon
I manage to Doom Decree a Darkrai which is totally awesome but Night Spear is annoying. Oh well lol. I play against Lex during the bye round and I LEGITIMATELY beat a full Plasma deck. OWNED.
Side Event 1 w/ Flipz:
Game 1 vs. Jeremy w/ Plasma
Jeremy has a "momentary lapse of judgement" and deiced to screw around for a few turns because he underestimates the true power of Flipz. I proceed to Black Magic a Deoxys for 280 damage and Doom Decree another EX. I get down to two prizes, and need to hit the flip for Doom Decree....but I whiff it. Totally unfair, am I right? Definitely should have won.
Side event 2 w/ Flipz:
Game 1 vs. Quad Snorlax
I miss a crucial early Doom Decree flip to bench his lone Snorlax but I end up losing on time. Definitely should have won.
Total Flipz win count: 2 (so epic)
Side Event 3 w/ Plasma Lugia
Game 1 vs. Plasma W
Game 2 vs. Plasma W
Game 3 vs. Tornadus EX lucksack L
Side Event 4 w/ Plasma
Game 1 vs. Flareon L (I whiff energy for 15 turns straight and he hits 3 Juniper of 7 Pokemon each in a row.)
Props:
7-2
Top 128
Deoxys pull
FLIPZ
Meeting people
That moment when someone uses Ghetsis for 27
Slops:
Top 128 :/
Losing on time
Flight getting delayed and cancelled
FLIPZ not being more pro
And that was the end of Nationals. Hopefully I'll see everyone next year!
