This season was my first playing since mid-2010 and also my first as a Master.
Autumn Battle Roads
#1: 7-0 1st (Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark)
#2: 2-3 (Donphan/Yanmega/Weavile)
I was really happy to win my first tournament as a Master with a clean sweep. However, the second one shook my confidence a little. I decked myself twice, as it was my first time using a deck with 4 Juniper. I felt pretty stupid after that tournament, since I was the only undefeated player left in the state until Round 3.
Autumn Regionals
#1: 10-3 1st (Vileplume/Reuniclus/Donphan/Suicune & Entei Leend/Zekrom)
It's true when people say that it doesn't matter how many times you succeed in a major tournament, it's always incredibly rewarding. This was my second Regional win, and although I was still ecstatic, it feels like much less of an accomplishment without a scholarship attached to the win. Even though this Regional had over 4x as many people in my division than the last one I won (something like 47 to 230), I felt like I accomplished more the first time.
Cities
#1: 3-2 (Typhlosion/Reshiram)
#2: 3-3 (Typhlosion/Reshiram)
#3: 4-3 Top 8 (Magnezone/Eelektrik)
#4: 7-2 Top 2 (Magnezone/Eelektrik)
#5: 3-3 (Magnezone/Eelektrik)
#6: 4-2 Top 8 (Magnezone/Eelektrik)
#7: 3-2 (Magnezone/Eelektrik)
#8: 3-3 (Yanmega/Terrakion/Cobalion/Kyurem)
#9: 3-2 (Yanmega/Terrakion/Cobalion)
So, I attended a huge number of Cities for terrible overall results. Metagaming was my main problem. I really struggled in such a diverse format where every deck had great matchups and terrible matchups with very few even ones.
I was originally planning to play Durant; I'd grown to love Twins-based decks and the deck had great matchups against most of the format. However, I read into the format too much and assumed that most other people would be playing Durant as well. So I opted to play Typhlosion/Reshiram. I won every game I got a Supporter at the first Cities, so I decided to stick with it even though there were very few Durant players and they all did poorly. I got beat up pretty badly the next Cities, so I decided to switch to EelZone immediately after.
Upon changing decks, I immediately saw more success. I was able to dodge most of my bad matchups for awhile, cutting three of the next four Cities I played in and getting donked out of cut in the one I missed. However, around this point, everybody realized Eelektrik decks were the ones to beat. Everybody switched to Durant, Vileplume/Chandelure, 6 Corners, or some other deck built to win against Magneels. I took the worst of this Eel hate in the next Cities, whiffing cut.
This put me in a bad position rankings-wise, because it meant that I had to go deep into top cut during the final two Cities to be able to maintain a position in Top 40. I knew I had to switch decks to be able to do this. But there really wasn't another meta deck I liked. My original thought was to play Durant, but I thought that after the deck took two of the last two Cities in my area, it would be getting quite a bit of hate, much like Eel was already getting. At this point, I finally realized that in this format, any deck could get hate on any given day if it played the wrong matchups. I decided to go rogue to reduce the chance of getting hard countered.
I really enjoyed myself at the next Cities I played in. My deck worked exactly the way I wanted it to, basically functioning as a 6 Corners that didn't lose when its energy left the field. For the first time since I got back into the game, I felt like I was outplaying people. However, I played against a Truth deck and narrowly lost to it; it wasn't one of the decks I was expecting to play. I then proceeded to half-misplay against Durant, assuming he wouldn't topdeck a way to get out of his dead hand in a turn. If he didn't, I would win by KOing his lone Durant. So I hit it for 60, and he then proceeded to topdeck Collector. This ruined me because I was banking on using Spiritomb to win the matchup. However, because I damaged his Durant, I had to KO it early with Spiritomb, giving him Twins and, for all practical purposes, the win. In the final round, I ran cold against ZPST to lose my shot at cutting. At the final Cities, I was donked twice and proceeded to bubble cut despite winning all my other games.
A very frustrating overall run; so much so that I was thinking about quitting. However, I began playtesting in the new HeartGold SoulSilver-Next Destinies format and I absolutely loved it. I loved the dynamic the EX cards added to the game, and the format became much more centralized. I knew I could do better in it.
States
#1: 4-2 Top 32 (Celebi/Mewtwo-EX/Tornadus/Regigigas-EX)
#2: 8-3 Top 4 (Celebi/Mewtwo-EX/Tornadus/Regigigas-EX)
#3: 0-2 Drop (Celebi/Mewtwo-EX/Tornadus/Regigigas-EX)
I took a rough Round 1 loss to Durant in the first States, which ultimately cost me top cut after a second fairly early loss.
At this point, I knew I had to do really well really quickly to have any chance at an invite. I was falling onto the fourth page of rankings, which felt terrible. I really came through on the second week though, sneaking into cut in 16th place and having a pretty good run.
The third states was an absolute disaster, as I once again took a Round 1 loss to Durant.
Spring Regionals
#1: 7-3 Top 8 (Celebi/Mewtwo-EX/Tornadus/Regigigas-EX)
I knew I had to do well at this tournament, although I couldn't shake the feeling I already had no chance at an invite unless I won. I ended up losing mirror in Top 8, but got a few points anyway so I was satisfied. I was even more satisfied by the fact that I was able to sweep a Durant deck (my biggest enemy this format) in Top 16, winning the entire match in eight turns.
Spring Battle Roads
#1: 3-2 (Darkrai-EX/Smeargle)
#2: 4-1 Bubble (Zekrom/Eelektrik/Mewtwo-EX/Smeargle/Terrakion)
#3: 6-1 1st (Zekrom/Eelektrik/Mewtwo-EX/Smeargle/Terrakion)
#4: 4-1 Bubble (Zekrom/Eelektrik/Mewtwo-EX/Smeargle/Terrakion)
#5: 4-2 Top 4 (Zekrom/Eelektrik/Mewtwo-EX/Smeargle/Terrakion)
At first, I was pretty set on Darkrai. However, I quickly realized that Terrakion destroyed it, even with Defender. So I switched to the deck that was able to hit Retaliates the most consistently: ZekEel. I made a great meta call, and was incredibly consistent throughout the rest of Battle Roads. I really felt like my overall skills as a player peaked at the beginning of this format.
Nationals
#1: 8-4 Top 32 (Zekrom/Eelektrik/Mewtwo-EX/Smeargle/Terrakion)
I knew I had to make Top 8 just to qualify for Worlds at this point, and I fell short, losing to a ZekEel deck that had a heavy Raikou/Max Potion line. It was a bad loss, but even so, I was happy with the run I had at the end of the season with ZekEels.
Overall
Championship Points: 43
ELO: 1825.11
Play Points: 61
Win/Loss Ratio: 101/50
Ranking in North America Masters (CP): 59
Ranking in North America Masters (ELO): 69
Ranking in North America Masters (Play Points): 173
I'm a little worried going into next format because it seems a lot like the HS-NV format we played in 2011 Cities. I really struggled in that format, compared to the other formats this season. However, it's a good opportunity for me to improve on my overall skills as a player. I have two goals:
1. Play better decks! I always feel like the format is one step ahead of me. I'll go into a tournament expecting to play one group of decks and end up playing a completely different group of decks. I need to read the metagame better and make my deck choice accordingly.
2. Focus on overall game strategy. If you took any one turn in a game and looked solely at that turn, without looking ahead at all, chances are I wouldn't have made any misplays. However, I tend to forget to think a few turns ahead in a lot of cases. A lot of players have problems with thinking too far ahead and making mistakes because of it; I have the opposite problem.
Autumn Battle Roads
#1: 7-0 1st (Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark)
#2: 2-3 (Donphan/Yanmega/Weavile)
I was really happy to win my first tournament as a Master with a clean sweep. However, the second one shook my confidence a little. I decked myself twice, as it was my first time using a deck with 4 Juniper. I felt pretty stupid after that tournament, since I was the only undefeated player left in the state until Round 3.
Autumn Regionals
#1: 10-3 1st (Vileplume/Reuniclus/Donphan/Suicune & Entei Leend/Zekrom)
It's true when people say that it doesn't matter how many times you succeed in a major tournament, it's always incredibly rewarding. This was my second Regional win, and although I was still ecstatic, it feels like much less of an accomplishment without a scholarship attached to the win. Even though this Regional had over 4x as many people in my division than the last one I won (something like 47 to 230), I felt like I accomplished more the first time.
Cities
#1: 3-2 (Typhlosion/Reshiram)
#2: 3-3 (Typhlosion/Reshiram)
#3: 4-3 Top 8 (Magnezone/Eelektrik)
#4: 7-2 Top 2 (Magnezone/Eelektrik)
#5: 3-3 (Magnezone/Eelektrik)
#6: 4-2 Top 8 (Magnezone/Eelektrik)
#7: 3-2 (Magnezone/Eelektrik)
#8: 3-3 (Yanmega/Terrakion/Cobalion/Kyurem)
#9: 3-2 (Yanmega/Terrakion/Cobalion)
So, I attended a huge number of Cities for terrible overall results. Metagaming was my main problem. I really struggled in such a diverse format where every deck had great matchups and terrible matchups with very few even ones.
I was originally planning to play Durant; I'd grown to love Twins-based decks and the deck had great matchups against most of the format. However, I read into the format too much and assumed that most other people would be playing Durant as well. So I opted to play Typhlosion/Reshiram. I won every game I got a Supporter at the first Cities, so I decided to stick with it even though there were very few Durant players and they all did poorly. I got beat up pretty badly the next Cities, so I decided to switch to EelZone immediately after.
Upon changing decks, I immediately saw more success. I was able to dodge most of my bad matchups for awhile, cutting three of the next four Cities I played in and getting donked out of cut in the one I missed. However, around this point, everybody realized Eelektrik decks were the ones to beat. Everybody switched to Durant, Vileplume/Chandelure, 6 Corners, or some other deck built to win against Magneels. I took the worst of this Eel hate in the next Cities, whiffing cut.
This put me in a bad position rankings-wise, because it meant that I had to go deep into top cut during the final two Cities to be able to maintain a position in Top 40. I knew I had to switch decks to be able to do this. But there really wasn't another meta deck I liked. My original thought was to play Durant, but I thought that after the deck took two of the last two Cities in my area, it would be getting quite a bit of hate, much like Eel was already getting. At this point, I finally realized that in this format, any deck could get hate on any given day if it played the wrong matchups. I decided to go rogue to reduce the chance of getting hard countered.
I really enjoyed myself at the next Cities I played in. My deck worked exactly the way I wanted it to, basically functioning as a 6 Corners that didn't lose when its energy left the field. For the first time since I got back into the game, I felt like I was outplaying people. However, I played against a Truth deck and narrowly lost to it; it wasn't one of the decks I was expecting to play. I then proceeded to half-misplay against Durant, assuming he wouldn't topdeck a way to get out of his dead hand in a turn. If he didn't, I would win by KOing his lone Durant. So I hit it for 60, and he then proceeded to topdeck Collector. This ruined me because I was banking on using Spiritomb to win the matchup. However, because I damaged his Durant, I had to KO it early with Spiritomb, giving him Twins and, for all practical purposes, the win. In the final round, I ran cold against ZPST to lose my shot at cutting. At the final Cities, I was donked twice and proceeded to bubble cut despite winning all my other games.
A very frustrating overall run; so much so that I was thinking about quitting. However, I began playtesting in the new HeartGold SoulSilver-Next Destinies format and I absolutely loved it. I loved the dynamic the EX cards added to the game, and the format became much more centralized. I knew I could do better in it.
States
#1: 4-2 Top 32 (Celebi/Mewtwo-EX/Tornadus/Regigigas-EX)
#2: 8-3 Top 4 (Celebi/Mewtwo-EX/Tornadus/Regigigas-EX)
#3: 0-2 Drop (Celebi/Mewtwo-EX/Tornadus/Regigigas-EX)
I took a rough Round 1 loss to Durant in the first States, which ultimately cost me top cut after a second fairly early loss.
At this point, I knew I had to do really well really quickly to have any chance at an invite. I was falling onto the fourth page of rankings, which felt terrible. I really came through on the second week though, sneaking into cut in 16th place and having a pretty good run.
The third states was an absolute disaster, as I once again took a Round 1 loss to Durant.
Spring Regionals
#1: 7-3 Top 8 (Celebi/Mewtwo-EX/Tornadus/Regigigas-EX)
I knew I had to do well at this tournament, although I couldn't shake the feeling I already had no chance at an invite unless I won. I ended up losing mirror in Top 8, but got a few points anyway so I was satisfied. I was even more satisfied by the fact that I was able to sweep a Durant deck (my biggest enemy this format) in Top 16, winning the entire match in eight turns.
Spring Battle Roads
#1: 3-2 (Darkrai-EX/Smeargle)
#2: 4-1 Bubble (Zekrom/Eelektrik/Mewtwo-EX/Smeargle/Terrakion)
#3: 6-1 1st (Zekrom/Eelektrik/Mewtwo-EX/Smeargle/Terrakion)
#4: 4-1 Bubble (Zekrom/Eelektrik/Mewtwo-EX/Smeargle/Terrakion)
#5: 4-2 Top 4 (Zekrom/Eelektrik/Mewtwo-EX/Smeargle/Terrakion)
At first, I was pretty set on Darkrai. However, I quickly realized that Terrakion destroyed it, even with Defender. So I switched to the deck that was able to hit Retaliates the most consistently: ZekEel. I made a great meta call, and was incredibly consistent throughout the rest of Battle Roads. I really felt like my overall skills as a player peaked at the beginning of this format.
Nationals
#1: 8-4 Top 32 (Zekrom/Eelektrik/Mewtwo-EX/Smeargle/Terrakion)
I knew I had to make Top 8 just to qualify for Worlds at this point, and I fell short, losing to a ZekEel deck that had a heavy Raikou/Max Potion line. It was a bad loss, but even so, I was happy with the run I had at the end of the season with ZekEels.
Overall
Championship Points: 43
ELO: 1825.11
Play Points: 61
Win/Loss Ratio: 101/50
Ranking in North America Masters (CP): 59
Ranking in North America Masters (ELO): 69
Ranking in North America Masters (Play Points): 173
I'm a little worried going into next format because it seems a lot like the HS-NV format we played in 2011 Cities. I really struggled in that format, compared to the other formats this season. However, it's a good opportunity for me to improve on my overall skills as a player. I have two goals:
1. Play better decks! I always feel like the format is one step ahead of me. I'll go into a tournament expecting to play one group of decks and end up playing a completely different group of decks. I need to read the metagame better and make my deck choice accordingly.
2. Focus on overall game strategy. If you took any one turn in a game and looked solely at that turn, without looking ahead at all, chances are I wouldn't have made any misplays. However, I tend to forget to think a few turns ahead in a lot of cases. A lot of players have problems with thinking too far ahead and making mistakes because of it; I have the opposite problem.
