Since this was a big occasion for me, I'm posting a thread separate from my season thread. I also plan to make this somewhat detailed.
I drive up the night before, and get there to meet Glace at my hotel (who nearly didn't make it because his plane BROKE lol). I test a few games with my Klinklang against his Garbodor and lose all of them, but it's not like I expected to beat it lol. I knew Garbodor wasn't going to be very popular in Masters, so I decided not to worry about it. The area's meta had been Darkrai, Blastoise, and Big Basics all throughout states so I was hoping it would be the same. After about an hour, Glace leaves, and I go straight to bed in preparation for the long next day.
Day 1:
Wake up at 7:00, get a terrible breakfast because the hotel sucked, and get driven over the Gillete Stadium, where I immediately sign up and start scouting the meta. I talk to Sava and David for a bit, explain to them my reasoning behind playing Klinklang, and Sava turns to David and says "He's going to win the whole thing, why didn't we think of that." I wasn't actually expecting to make it very far at this point because I have never done better than making the first round of Cut.
Anyway, I had to decide between Tool Scrapper, Mewtwo, or a 3rd Max Potion as the last card in my deck. I saw almost no Garbodor but I was told by people that it was out there. After a really long time and a test game against RogueChomp, I decide to just play Scrapper because it's what I I had been testing with and I didn't want to accept the near auto loss to Garbodor. I find out there will be 8 rounds with 222 masters, with all 6-2's making cut and zero 5-3's making it. After some time, pairings go up, and the tournament begins.
I'm playing a very simple version of Klinklang whose only attacker is the three Cobalion EX. It's extremely consistent and almost never whiffs the early PlasmaKlang.
Round 1 vs. Darkrai
Ooook...so to be honest, I had never actually played this matchup because I couldn't find anyone good who was willing to play against me with it. I went first and got two Klink out and a Cobalion EX with an energy, which is near perfect. The next turn I make a play that nearly cost me the entire day. I decide to go for the Shift Gear KlinKlang instead of the PlasmaKlang because I knew I could get it out next turn and I wanted to get the Shift Gear into play. I get a Klang on my other Klink, get another Klink out, attach another energy, and hit for another 30. He proceeds to explode with a T2 Night Spear...and hits the catcher off the N to knock out my Klang. Uh oh. Suddenly my situation went from being very strong to extremely bad. My previously amazing hand was now almost complete garbage except for an N, which I got nothing off of. I attach and hit for 100. He catcher KO's my Klink, putting me in an almost impossible situation to win. I manage to hit a Klink that turn, but I assume he's just going to catcher it again and I'm going to lose. He plays down catcher and my first thought it "welp, round one loss due to a misplay." However, since I hadn't played down PlasmaKlang at this point, he DECIDES TO CATCHER THE BW KLINKLANG INSTEAD OF THE KLINK. I look at my field in shock, wondering how I actually had a chance. I candy into PlasmaKlang, max potion the damage off my field, switch to Cobalion EX, and begin sweeping. He tries to catcher the PlasmaKlang to kill it with poison, but I just attack with it instead and kill everything on his field with Heavy Bullet. Eventually, after a shaky start, I make the comeback and take round 1. Phew.
1-0
Round 2 vs. Rob w/ Blastoise/Keldeo/Black Kyurem
LOL. THIS GOOFBALL. Just kidding...Rob's a cool guy. Anyway, we set up, and I'm going first with a great hand...but NO. RANDOM DECK CHECK. After 20 minutes, we have to re do the set up. I luckily go first again (I would have been MAD if I hadn't) and get off to a great start with Coba EX and two Klink. Truthfully, this game went like the Blastoise matchup should, so there isn't much else to say. I slowly burned away his energy by KOing Blastoises, healing off damage with Max Potion and attacking with PlasmaKlang when necessary. After his third and final Blastoise goes down, he just scoops because there's nothing he can do.
2-0
Lunch break! I get a burger with Glace and Tri3sten and get back to playing an hour later.
Round 3 vs. Blastoise/Keldeo/Black Kyurem
This was an interesting match. I start Durant and go first, almost surely expecting to lose because I have nothing. No supporter, no Klinks, zero. I literally draw, attach, and pass. He gets a very good start with two Squirtles and some other stuff. I draw...and pass. He doesn't do much except get more Squirtles out. I draw...into Klink. Phew. I drop Klink and pass. He gets a Keldeo going and KO's the Klink. Great. I draw...and it's a Juniper. Lucky me. I use it and get another Klink and a Cobalion EX with an Energy on it. He gets another Blastoise with 4 energy on it, so he's all prepared for the PlasmaKlang when it goes up. He KO's the Durant and I send up Coba. Luckily, I have the Candy PlasmaKlang in my hand so I don't have to worry about Keldeo or BKEX anymore. I grab another Klink with a Heavy Ball and attach to Coba EX. Unfortunately, I don't get the Shift Gear Klinklang out the next turn, so I just have to start attaching to another Cobalion EX and hit his Blastoise again. He's about to go up 2-6 in prizes. I finally KO the Blastoise on the next turn, get the Shift Gear Klang, and from there start taking prizes as fast as I can. I Max Potion when necessary, use various attackers, and after his second Blastoise goes down, he has nothing so I take 2 more prizes as fast as I can. When time is finally called, he has no way to damage me and since we're even on prizes, he just decks out.
3-0
Round 4 vs. Zach Lesege w/ Blastoise/Keldeo/Black Kyurem
Jeebus another one?! Apparently this guy is one of the best players in Canada so this match wasn't going to be easy. He curses his bad luck for playing against Klinklang and gets two Squirtle and a Black Kyurem regular T1. I get my standard start with Coba EX and two Klink. He gets a T2 Blastoise but does not get an attack off. I get a T2 PlasmaKlang, attach, play a supporter, and pass. He gets an attack off, but I get the Shift Gear going the next turn and I begin to slowly take out Blastoises. After taking out a massive three Blastoise and a Black Kyurem regular, he finally runs out of steam and I just win my spamming Heavy Bullet.
4-0
Round 5 vs. Sava w/ Big Basics.
Ouch. He saw the pairing, facepalmed, wished me good luck and said "There is no way I'm going to win." Actually, I had a really shaky start this game so it did look like Sava had an opening. By turn 4, I still didn't have the PlasmaKlang out. However, he N's, and I finally get the candy + PlasmaKlang, with the Shift Gear one going up a few turns later. He ran a gargantuan three Bouffalant and EXP share, which was incredibly annoying, but I got a lot of energy on the field before he got a KO and with well-timed Max Potions, I took all three down and the game just ended there. No damage = no way to win. I was sorry I had to beat a friend during the tournament, especially with such a bad matchup, but I suppose it happens.
5-0
Round 6 vs. Noah w/ Darkrai
I completely slaughter him because he draws dead early, but if you want to see my amazingness, check out the streamed match:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H1BCO7MXrg
I'm on the left.
Durant is just too pro.
6-0
Round 7 vs. Hamza w/ Garbodor
I've made cut at this point so I don't particularly care that it's one of my worst matchups. It's not like I would have won anyway, but I draw nothing for 4-5 turns and he benches my Klink. Whatever. I was streamed this match but they didn't record it because it was so bad lol.
6-1
Round 8 vs. Sean Zheng w/ ...Big Basics/Ninetails???
Whaaaaat how did this make it to 6-1. He goes first and burns by Cobalion EX with Vulpix. I switch to a benched Coba EX, get a Klink, and pass. He plays Ninetails, brings up Klink, and hits for 40. I get a PlasmaKlang, attach an energy, switch to the Cobalion EX, and hit for 30. He doesn't get anything so he switches out the Ninetails and passes. I miss the catcher and just hit for 30 after attaching again. Hr brings up Ninetails, and uses Hypno for the big flip...but it's tails. He shakes his head and retreats his Ninetails and passes again. This time, I get the Shift Gear Klinklang up, switch to a fresh Cobalion EX, attach, move all the energy, catcher up the Ninetails, and KO it. His last Ninetails is prized, so the game pretty much just ended there as a bring up Durant to recycle all my resources. The coin flip is what made the difference in this game.
7-1
I check the roster and I'm at a comfortable 3rd seed, higher than I've ever been before. The 8-0 is Big Basics/Victini who beat Hamza in the last round. I check who I'm playing against in Top 32 - it's Azul, who's playing Bis Basics
lucky me. Better yet, my Top 16 match is either against Big Basics or Darkrai. I'm really excited to make at least Top 8 the next day, so I get some dinner with Tri3sten, go back to my hotel, and going to sleep after letting people know how I did.Day 2:
I wake up at 6:30, grab a quick breakfast, shower, pack up, and head to the stadium. Top Cut, here we come!
Top 32 vs. Azul w/ Big Basics
Game 1:
I go first with a T2 PlasmaKlang. I would write more but that was pretty much the game right there. His Bouffalants came too late to save him.
Game 2:
He goes first, gets a Bouffalant, and Hammerheads with Landorus. I grab a few Klinks, a Cobalion EX, and beach for a bunch of cards. He then plays...Aspertia City Gym? I have to say I didn't see it coming at all. His Bouffalants suddenly got a whole lot more annoying to KO. Luckily, I get a really quick PlasmaKlang and Shift Gear Klang again so I'm fine. I Max Potion away any damage from the Bouffalants, and once both are KO'd, I just win because he has nothing left. He did manage to take a few Prizes off Klinks and a Cobalion EX this game because of the Aspertia though, so if my start wasn't as fast as it was, it was possible I could have lost. He played it well, it's just such a difficult matchup for that deck.
I now have to wait like an hour for the next round to start because there's a dispute in the other match. Unfortunately, the Garbodor beats the Klinklang is sudden death. was hoping that Garb would get knocked out soon because otherwise I had to face it very shortly. Anyway...
Top 16 vs. Jason w/ Darkrai
Well, apparently this guy is one of the best players in my area. To make matters worse, I talked to him beforehand, and he said he had never lost to a PlasmaKlang before. Gulp. I didn't know if he was teching for me, but I sure hoped not going into this match.
Game 1:
He goes first...and passes. Talk about a bad hand. I once again get my standard start of two Klinks and a Cobalion EX. After a few turns, I play Tropical Beach which allows him to start setting up. I flood my field with a lot of PlasmaKlangs early though so he won't be able to KO them all with Laser. I begin to KO Sableyes with Heavy Bullet and Steel Bullet. He manages to take down a few PlasmaKlang's actually, but I get a 4th one up from a Super Rod. I finally take down his last Sableye, but I'm very low on resources, so I'm forced to Durant for about 10 turns to get everything I need. He realizes he needs to burn the clock down in order to have a chance, so he just trolls with his leftover Lasers and Catchers. Eventually, when I'm done Duranting, I just take my last few prizes as quickly as I can.
Game 2:
He goes first with a much better start. He gets the T1 Laser/Catcher and begins Junk Hunting right away. I get two Klink, a Cobalion EX, and beach for a few cards. He catchers a Klink, Lasers it, N's, and Junk Hunts. I look at my hand and proceed to pull of the most insane combo of all time. Heavy Ball, Rare Candy (2 cards) into PlasmaKlang, Dowsing (5 cards) for the Heavy Ball, then rare candy (6 cards) into Shift Gear Klang, Switch (7 cards, my whole hand) into Cobalion EX, and Beach for 7. It was awesome. He deteriorates very quickly after that as I attach a few more energy, get another PlasmaKlang out, and begin KOing all of his Sableyes. After the last one goes down, I move up Durant, and he just loses because he can't take any more prizes.
Somehow, the Darkrai beat the Garbodor during that round, so I was against Darkrai again
.Top 8 vs. Adrian w/ Darkrai
Adrian knew what I was playing and told me beforehand that he hoped to have a fun match but realized he was going to lose. He was a really nice guy and we talked for a bunch before the round started.
Game 1:
I go first, turn two PlasmaKlang. I've faced enough Darkrais for the day that I think you know what happens after that.
Game 2:
Allrighty...so he goes first, but I get a T3 PlasmaKlang (he gets a Night Spear off which is annoying but it doesn't devastate my field). I attach energy, begin Heavy/Steel bulleting, and am pretty sure I can easily take the game. He KO's a PlasmaKlang but I'm like "whatever, that always happens" and continue to KO Sableyes. Then, I misplay. Instead of being safe and going to Durant, I go to my Cobalion EX just to finish the game quickly. He catchers up my last PlasmaKlang, poisons it, and I'm out of switch so I can't do anything. It gets KO'd going into his turn, and he Night spears twice to take the rest of his prizes for the win. I was shocked that I had lost and really concerned that I was going to lose because of a dumb misplay.
Game 3:
We're really low on time so I'm scared out of my mind that he'll get a T2 Night Spear and I'll whiff and lose. Luckily to a relived me, I get a T2 PlasmaKlang, and KO a Sableye before time is called, giving me the prize lead for the win.
I thought my next match was going to be Garbodor no matter what because I thought the bracket I was in had a Garbodor mirror match. I thought my run was over, but suddenly, my friend tells me it was actually Darkrai vs Garbodor and the Darkrai won! No way!!! I literally jumped up and down celebrating as I wen't into my Top 4 match.
Top 4 vs. Kevin Lee w/ Darkrai (Nightmare Express as he liked to call it
)So, the last Canadian player left in the tournament. I couldn't let Canada win now could I? I'm just kidding...he was a really nice guy but as with the person before, he was going in expecting to lose.
You can watch 5 minutes of it here (they didn't show more than that):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIoPdlSuLKE#t=39m09s
Game 1:
Everything seems to be going fine, even after he goes first with a great start. I get a PlasmaKlang up, have energy on the field, and play the N in my hand for a hand refresh. I draw into...crap. And I continue to draw crap for 5 turns even as he KO's my PlasmaKlang with poison and begins murdering my field. I manage to get another one up and almost make a comeback, but I unfortunately lose after a lot of time goes by.
Game 2:
Gulp. I was really worried about time now. I go first, get a fast PlasmaKlang, and start taking out Sableyes. I do so very quickly and take all my prizes in an extremely timely manner, but that doesn't shake away the fact that he's going first game 3 with probably about 5-10 minutes left on the clock.
Game 3:
He goes first, gets a Darkrai and another Darkrai on the bench, Lasers, and passes. I start Cobalion EX and I juniper into another one...and a Klink. It's a big decision for me to make. If he gets a T2 Night Spear and KO's the Klink, I'm going to lose on time. However, I decide that if he gets a T2 Night Spear and I cant get a PlasmaKlang, I'm going to lose anyway. His turn starts...and time is called. Uh oh. It all came down to these next few turns. He attaches and plays N. I shuffle up and draw my first 5. Two PlasmaKlang, and N, a Colress, and a Juniper. I nervously draw my last cards...RARE CANDY. NO. WAY. He whiffs, and I'm incredibly excited at this point. I rare candy into PlasmaKlang, watch the crowd's reactions at my insane luck, and N to grab myself another energy. He is now Turn 2. He thinks for a little while, and decides to drop the Sableye. He can't do anything else but catcher my PlasmaKlang and Poison it. I nervously look at my hand and make sure I have everything. I do; I dowsing for the switch and catcher the Sableye for the game. Good games Kevin, you played a tough matchup very well except maybe for that Sableye at the end.
I unfortunately find out that the Big Basics I'm playing against in Top 2 runs Victini. Yuck. I know how to play against it but I wasn't sure I could handle it in best out of three, especially since he beat several other Klinklangs throughout the day.
Top 2 vs. Dylan Lefavour w/ Big Basics/Victini
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0dk4ZgfaI0
Not much else to say. One thing to note is that the commentators thought getting the Shift Gear Klang would have been the better play in game 2; they were dead wrong. I prized two Klink so if I had gone for the Shift Gear one, he would have KO'd my lone PlasmaKlang with Victini and I would have just lost. I lost at the end to a sleep flip anyway, I needed to retreat to the Durant to stay in the game but I couldn't because of sleep. Oh well.
Props:
2nd place. Heck yes.
7-1 in swiss
Sava, you were almost right
Predicting the meta almost perfectly
Durant
Not playing Garb in cut
Getting streamed
Two boxes, a trophy, a playmat, and 110 CP
Two byes at Nats
Arjun getting second too
Glace getting top 8
Jeremy making cut (forgot which)
Slops:
2nd place D:
VICTINI
SLEEP FLIPS
Donk
Not choosing the right card to put in ahead of time
Jeremy, you didn't win with the inconsistent rogue :x
Reallly long days
Lunch taking too long
