Haha I bet the title got your attention. No, my swiss record wasn't actually 0-5, but something was. And with the new rating system I might as well have gone 0-5.
Since I still just got back into this game I don't have any cards except for the Stage 1 deck. However, I hate the Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark version so I went with the next best thing and bought a Weavile line for 6 dollars and played Donphan/Yanmega/Weavile. Basically the founding strategy was to Tyrogue donk with 9 free retreating basics, 4 PlusPower and 4 Junk Arm with Seekers and Pokegear to get them. Then when that inevitably fails, you use Weavile to delay their setup and get up enough prizes that you can ultimately win the prize exchange. Not the ideal deck to be running, but it's all I could run, it's fun to play and it's better than Megazord. So onto the report.
The deck was really undertested too - I only played other stage 1 decks and Vileplume/Reuniclus. It was doing pretty well against both of those, but because I had no idea how to play anything else I wasn't expecting to do too well. With school, I just don't have enough time to put into the game.
Round 1 vs Reshiram/Typhlosion/Smeargle (played by David C)
So I congratulate him on his worlds win a month late, but oh well. He goes first with Smeargle. He Smeargles my Oak's and then after playing like 3 Pokegear finally hits a Collector for 2 Cyndaquil and a Reshiram and starts to get setup. I don't open with Collector but slowly get myself setup with a T2 Yanmega and Weavile. I Oak's on this turn for the hand match, and then draw into a Seeker and Pokegear. He misplayed and if he had attached the last turn to Reshiram (he could have) he could have copied Seeker and Blue Flared my lone Yanmega for game. Instead he couldn't copy the Pokegear and had to copy Seeker, returning the Weavile to my hand. We basically both have dead hands at this point, but I manage to Catcher + PlusPower KO his Quilvava with Yanmega. The next turn, I topdeck Oak's and then use my Pokegear for Collector. Then I Catcher KO his other Cyndaquil and he scoops because he prized the rest and I guess he didn't run Revive.
1-0
Apparently I'm now the only undefeated player in WA... Let's see how long that lasts.
Round 2 vs Typhlosion/Reshiram
So he wins the coin flip. However, I go off with 2 Claw Snags on T2 and I think I also get out Yanmega. After those, he can't get anything setup and he whiffed on the Collector. Eventually he has no cards in his hand, a Reshiram active with 1 energy and 70 damage and a Vulpix benched. He topdecks Ninetales and evolves but doesn't have the fire. I topdeck Seeker, play it forcing him to pick up his only basic and then retreat to Donphan and Earthquake for 60 and game.
2-0
Round 3 vs Reshiram/Emboar/RDL/Ninetales/Twins
It's ironic how I cut Zoroark from my list because I didn't think anybody would play Reshiram. Now I'm playing it for the third round in a row lol - but anyway, he wins the coin flip to go first. We both get setup pretty well, but he gets an absolutely amazing start and gets 2 Ability Emboar, a Reshiram and a Pignite by T3 before I can even Claw Snag. So I quickly realize the only way I'm going to win is to deny him energy and strand an Emboar active. I go down a couple prizes doing this (but do it successfully). I make a stupid misplay and snag a Twins instead of a Retrieval but it doesn't matter in the end. I start sniping around trying to take enough prizes to tie it before time gets called. I get put in a really awkward position at one point where my hand is Junk Arm, Donphan, Donphan, Yanmega and Judge and I need to Catcher an Emboar back up. I discard the 2 Donphan because he killed 1 Phanpy and the other is somewhere in my prizes. So time eventually gets called when we're tied at 3 prizes a piece. My plan is to keep his Emboar stuck up there and then on turn 3 KO it with Yanmega for the game. I have 2 cards in my deck so I can still do it since time got called with him at turn 0. I have 2 options for the hand match on turn 1 - one being to waste a PlusPower and an energy and the other being to Oak's. I burn the PlusPower and energy because I spaced about having a 2nd Oak's in my deck so I was figuring the turns to deckout would be the same either way. So then on his turn 2 he plays out like 7 cards from his hand, going down to 1. I can't hand match, so that's the end of it - I deck out next turn. I would have won if I had Junk Armed the Yanmega and Donphan instead of double Donphan because then I would have drawn Donphan and the hand match wouldn't have been relevant. Or if I had saved the 2 expendable cards and Oak'sed for the hand match instead I could have gotten it again next turn. Better player won this game, although he misplayed once too by Switching into his Emboar with 4 energy and then retreating it.
Round 4 vs Gothitelle/Reuniclus
Yes - a deck I actually sort of know how to play against. Anyway, he wins the coin flip and goes first, flipping over a lone Solosis to my Sneasel and Yanma. If I had gone first, I could have won with Tyrogue right there. Anyway, he doesn't do anything - he topdecks Communication to get out Pichu and uses Playground for Cleffa and some other stuff. So I figure his hand is pretty bad and I kill the Cleffa with Catcher + Tyrogue. It was a risky play if he had Twins in his hand, but if I hadn't killed it he would have used Eeeek for a new hand and gotten setup anyway. Anyway, he doesn't have the Twins but manages to Rare Candy into Reuniclus. I Catcher it up and Claw Snag, leaving him with nothing. However, I can't OHKO it so there's no point in attacking. This happens again next turn while I slowly charge Donphan on my bench. Next turn I'll kill it and basically have game. Unfortunately, however, he topdecks Juniper and gets Goth into play and then active via a Switch. But I manage another Claw Snag leaving him with 1 card in his hand. I'm about to overload the damage on him next turn and then basically take game 2 turns later but he topdecks Twins for Max Potion and heals it off. But then he's still left with nothing and when I'm about to overload again he topdecks a Rare Candy for Seperior. I scoop. We play again for fun and I roll through him. Bad luck - there's nothing you can do about it.
Round 5 vs Beartic/bad Beartic/Yanmega/Manaphy/Politoed
So he wins the coin flip and goes first. He flips over a Cubchoo to my Yanma. I have absolutely no idea what this deck is, but I search through mine to see I have access to 1 Yanma and 1 Phanpy and all my other basic attackers are prized. Donphan can't do anything against water, so after he kills my Yanmega I'm left using Tyrogue the rest of the time. I finally have some luck though and for 2 turns manage to flip tails-heads to KO his Beartic and take a Phanpy from my prizes. I bench the Phanpy, Seeker my Weavile with 2 fighting and attach one of them to Phanpy. Donphan takes a prize against his Yanmega and I draw a Yanma from my prizes. He Catcher KOs it and I scoop. Looking back, I probably should have run Rainbows just because the Weaviles usually would end up with fighting on them so I could Seeker them and have the energy when I needed. Then I could have gotten my last prize off of his benched Manaphy with 30 on it from Tyrogue. But oh well.
Props:
-Pretty much everything
-The TOs finally getting their shipment of prizes so I finally got mine from the last one
-So many good players in this state
-Adding another person to the list of world champions I've beat
Slops:
-Worst record I've ever had in a tournament
-Going 2nd all five games; bad luck in general
-Pulling crap in prize packs
-Not being able to find another Pokegear until after I turned in my list
Since I still just got back into this game I don't have any cards except for the Stage 1 deck. However, I hate the Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark version so I went with the next best thing and bought a Weavile line for 6 dollars and played Donphan/Yanmega/Weavile. Basically the founding strategy was to Tyrogue donk with 9 free retreating basics, 4 PlusPower and 4 Junk Arm with Seekers and Pokegear to get them. Then when that inevitably fails, you use Weavile to delay their setup and get up enough prizes that you can ultimately win the prize exchange. Not the ideal deck to be running, but it's all I could run, it's fun to play and it's better than Megazord. So onto the report.
The deck was really undertested too - I only played other stage 1 decks and Vileplume/Reuniclus. It was doing pretty well against both of those, but because I had no idea how to play anything else I wasn't expecting to do too well. With school, I just don't have enough time to put into the game.
Round 1 vs Reshiram/Typhlosion/Smeargle (played by David C)
So I congratulate him on his worlds win a month late, but oh well. He goes first with Smeargle. He Smeargles my Oak's and then after playing like 3 Pokegear finally hits a Collector for 2 Cyndaquil and a Reshiram and starts to get setup. I don't open with Collector but slowly get myself setup with a T2 Yanmega and Weavile. I Oak's on this turn for the hand match, and then draw into a Seeker and Pokegear. He misplayed and if he had attached the last turn to Reshiram (he could have) he could have copied Seeker and Blue Flared my lone Yanmega for game. Instead he couldn't copy the Pokegear and had to copy Seeker, returning the Weavile to my hand. We basically both have dead hands at this point, but I manage to Catcher + PlusPower KO his Quilvava with Yanmega. The next turn, I topdeck Oak's and then use my Pokegear for Collector. Then I Catcher KO his other Cyndaquil and he scoops because he prized the rest and I guess he didn't run Revive.
1-0
Apparently I'm now the only undefeated player in WA... Let's see how long that lasts.
Round 2 vs Typhlosion/Reshiram
So he wins the coin flip. However, I go off with 2 Claw Snags on T2 and I think I also get out Yanmega. After those, he can't get anything setup and he whiffed on the Collector. Eventually he has no cards in his hand, a Reshiram active with 1 energy and 70 damage and a Vulpix benched. He topdecks Ninetales and evolves but doesn't have the fire. I topdeck Seeker, play it forcing him to pick up his only basic and then retreat to Donphan and Earthquake for 60 and game.
2-0
Round 3 vs Reshiram/Emboar/RDL/Ninetales/Twins
It's ironic how I cut Zoroark from my list because I didn't think anybody would play Reshiram. Now I'm playing it for the third round in a row lol - but anyway, he wins the coin flip to go first. We both get setup pretty well, but he gets an absolutely amazing start and gets 2 Ability Emboar, a Reshiram and a Pignite by T3 before I can even Claw Snag. So I quickly realize the only way I'm going to win is to deny him energy and strand an Emboar active. I go down a couple prizes doing this (but do it successfully). I make a stupid misplay and snag a Twins instead of a Retrieval but it doesn't matter in the end. I start sniping around trying to take enough prizes to tie it before time gets called. I get put in a really awkward position at one point where my hand is Junk Arm, Donphan, Donphan, Yanmega and Judge and I need to Catcher an Emboar back up. I discard the 2 Donphan because he killed 1 Phanpy and the other is somewhere in my prizes. So time eventually gets called when we're tied at 3 prizes a piece. My plan is to keep his Emboar stuck up there and then on turn 3 KO it with Yanmega for the game. I have 2 cards in my deck so I can still do it since time got called with him at turn 0. I have 2 options for the hand match on turn 1 - one being to waste a PlusPower and an energy and the other being to Oak's. I burn the PlusPower and energy because I spaced about having a 2nd Oak's in my deck so I was figuring the turns to deckout would be the same either way. So then on his turn 2 he plays out like 7 cards from his hand, going down to 1. I can't hand match, so that's the end of it - I deck out next turn. I would have won if I had Junk Armed the Yanmega and Donphan instead of double Donphan because then I would have drawn Donphan and the hand match wouldn't have been relevant. Or if I had saved the 2 expendable cards and Oak'sed for the hand match instead I could have gotten it again next turn. Better player won this game, although he misplayed once too by Switching into his Emboar with 4 energy and then retreating it.
Round 4 vs Gothitelle/Reuniclus
Yes - a deck I actually sort of know how to play against. Anyway, he wins the coin flip and goes first, flipping over a lone Solosis to my Sneasel and Yanma. If I had gone first, I could have won with Tyrogue right there. Anyway, he doesn't do anything - he topdecks Communication to get out Pichu and uses Playground for Cleffa and some other stuff. So I figure his hand is pretty bad and I kill the Cleffa with Catcher + Tyrogue. It was a risky play if he had Twins in his hand, but if I hadn't killed it he would have used Eeeek for a new hand and gotten setup anyway. Anyway, he doesn't have the Twins but manages to Rare Candy into Reuniclus. I Catcher it up and Claw Snag, leaving him with nothing. However, I can't OHKO it so there's no point in attacking. This happens again next turn while I slowly charge Donphan on my bench. Next turn I'll kill it and basically have game. Unfortunately, however, he topdecks Juniper and gets Goth into play and then active via a Switch. But I manage another Claw Snag leaving him with 1 card in his hand. I'm about to overload the damage on him next turn and then basically take game 2 turns later but he topdecks Twins for Max Potion and heals it off. But then he's still left with nothing and when I'm about to overload again he topdecks a Rare Candy for Seperior. I scoop. We play again for fun and I roll through him. Bad luck - there's nothing you can do about it.
Round 5 vs Beartic/bad Beartic/Yanmega/Manaphy/Politoed
So he wins the coin flip and goes first. He flips over a Cubchoo to my Yanma. I have absolutely no idea what this deck is, but I search through mine to see I have access to 1 Yanma and 1 Phanpy and all my other basic attackers are prized. Donphan can't do anything against water, so after he kills my Yanmega I'm left using Tyrogue the rest of the time. I finally have some luck though and for 2 turns manage to flip tails-heads to KO his Beartic and take a Phanpy from my prizes. I bench the Phanpy, Seeker my Weavile with 2 fighting and attach one of them to Phanpy. Donphan takes a prize against his Yanmega and I draw a Yanma from my prizes. He Catcher KOs it and I scoop. Looking back, I probably should have run Rainbows just because the Weaviles usually would end up with fighting on them so I could Seeker them and have the energy when I needed. Then I could have gotten my last prize off of his benched Manaphy with 30 on it from Tyrogue. But oh well.
Props:
-Pretty much everything
-The TOs finally getting their shipment of prizes so I finally got mine from the last one
-So many good players in this state
-Adding another person to the list of world champions I've beat
Slops:
-Worst record I've ever had in a tournament
-Going 2nd all five games; bad luck in general
-Pulling crap in prize packs
-Not being able to find another Pokegear until after I turned in my list
