Hmmm nobody played Speed Lugia. Looks like I got to show it off in New England. 
Keldeo's 2014-2015 Pokemon Season (Updated with MA Regionals)
- Thread starter My Little Keldeo
- Start date
Congrats! I tested Big Basics Garb but didn't actually play it That's probably because my version is bad (it plays 4 SSU). Did you play healing cards? Also I can't believe the metal deck won in top 8 without Lysandre and Switch! Woah! It probably got paired against Plasma or something haha.
That's probably because my version is bad (it plays 4 SSU). Did you play healing cards? Also I can't believe the metal deck won in top 8 without Lysandre and Switch! Woah! It probably got paired against Plasma or something haha.
RogueChomp said:
I find it interesting that you chose not to play Megaphone, but I suppose it was done for the sake of consistency/ versatility in the matchups where it's not really needed. I still figure Virizion is a respectible answer to Toad since it can two-shot them wihout being hit hard in return due to the resistance. I used it in my own Fairy deck to discourage my opponents from using Quaking Punch, but I suppose it's a moot point once I have stronger attackers going.
Gengar master said:Hmmm nobody played Speed Lugia. Looks like I got to show it off in New England.
Plasma's really fallen out of favor in a lot of metagames because of Seismitoad. Even with Garbodor being less popular than in the past, the Item lock slows the deck down significantly. On top of that, with Lugia being weak to Lightning and Thundurus weak to Fighting, there's going to be a lot of easy prizes to be taken.
grantm1999 said:Congrats! I tested Big Basics Garb but didn't actually play it
Thank you! I feel like it's a pretty solid play right now, but you need a very aggressive build in order to stay ahead of straight Seismitoad decks. That said, I don't run any healing cards with my current list in favor of pure speed and power. In the past I've experimented with Max Potion and Pokemon Center Lady, but never SSU. I've never been a fan of flip cards (part of why I won't run straight Toad) since I always seem to get tails at the most critical of moments. As for the metal deck, I didn't see the match so I don't remember what he was playing in T8 (RogueChomp may remember haha), but I have to admit he must have been pretty skileld to make it without Lysandre and Switch. Even with those gone i had a good run for my money.
Good thing I don't play Thundurus EX I will probably add another Leafeon to my deck then. Good thing is, I always have the first turn not under Item lock, no matter who goes first. I know it's not the best deck, but I think there is still hope.
I will see how it goes next weekend.
I will probably add another Leafeon to my deck then. Good thing is, I always have the first turn not under Item lock, no matter who goes first. I know it's not the best deck, but I think there is still hope.I will see how it goes next weekend.
My Little Keldeo said:RogueChomp said:
I find it interesting that you chose not to play Megaphone, but I suppose it was done for the sake of consistency/ versatility in the matchups where it's not really needed. I still figure Virizion is a respectible answer to Toad since it can two-shot them wihout being hit hard in return due to the resistance. I used it in my own Fairy deck to discourage my opponents from using Quaking Punch, but I suppose it's a moot point once I have stronger attackers going.
Gengar master said:Hmmm nobody played Speed Lugia. Looks like I got to show it off in New England.
Plasma's really fallen out of favor in a lot of metagames because of Seismitoad. Even with Garbodor being less popular than in the past, the Item lock slows the deck down significantly. On top of that, with Lugia being weak to Lightning and Thundurus weak to Fighting, there's going to be a lot of easy prizes to be taken.
grantm1999 said:Congrats! I tested Big Basics Garb but didn't actually play it
Thank you! I feel like it's a pretty solid play right now, but you need a very aggressive build in order to stay ahead of straight Seismitoad decks. That said, I don't run any healing cards with my current list in favor of pure speed and power. In the past I've experimented with Max Potion and Pokemon Center Lady, but never SSU. I've never been a fan of flip cards (part of why I won't run straight Toad) since I always seem to get tails at the most critical of moments. As for the metal deck, I didn't see the match so I don't remember what he was playing in T8 (RogueChomp may remember haha), but I have to admit he must have been pretty skileld to make it without Lysandre and Switch. Even with those gone i had a good run for my money.
Yeah, I didn't have megaphone because I did not expect normal garb decks to be prevalent, which is understandable as they haven't been too successful. Megaphone doesn't really help vs seis garb which is the most popular version as of now.
I think the metal's opponent dead drew lol.
I need to play megaphone haha. Twice this Cities season I've been screwed over by a random scrub's Rock Guard. Random scrubs are a little better in masters than seniors
City Championships - The Gamer's Edge, Stroudsburg, PA
This is one of my favorite game shops. Ever. If you're in northern New Jersey or eastern Pennsylvania, this place is worth checking out. Friendly staff, great community, lots of stock, including old video games and systems, and it's right off route 80. They host a Pokemon tournament every Sunday night which is both fun and competitive atthe same time. I frequent this place, and I strongly suggest visiting it if you get the chance.
I decided not to go to a Cities on Saturday because one of my high school friends was in town for the weekend. He lives far away now, which means I don't get to see him much, so spending the day with him was more important, as much as I'd like to rack up some CP.
Anyway, going into this event on Sunday, I was admittedly cocky after taking first place last week. My deck was exactly the same other than replacing one card. I feel very comfortable with this list in spite of the one pretty bad matchup (Yveltal) and one somewhat bad matchup (VirGen). What Fighting / Big Basics lacks in autowins, it makes up for with versality, especially with a balanced decklist. By not focusing on a single "main" attacker, you can leave your opponent guessing as to just what you'll swing at them with, and the varied attackers are all-around good rather than techs for specific situations.
Deck: Fighting Fusion
Round 1: Night March / Flareon (Win)
Night March can be very strong, and throwing Flareon into the mix complements the strategy well, and perhaps provides and even better late-game attacker than the Night Marchers themselves. Dimension Valley allows Pumkaboo to attack for a DCE, and Mew-EX for just one energy if you have aJoltik benched. That's where the problem arises though. With just 120 HP, Mew is quite fragile and can easily be KOed by Hawlucha, a non-EX attacker. On top of that, Joltik has just 30 HP, so Landorus-EX's Hammerhead can snipe them for a free prize. My initial strategy was to Lysandre up the Night Marchs and KO them with Seismitoad, so my opponent couldn't search them out for Mew to copy (I wasn't able to get Garbodor out early), and lost access to Battle Compressor. After my first Seismitoad went down I was already ahead on prizes. Eventually my opponent had two prizes left while I had one. Not even needing Lysandre, I simply used Landorus to snipe a Joltik for the win.
Round 2: Mirror (Win)
This was one of my friends with whome I had collaborated to buid our decks. Fighting is very strong in this format, and I'm sure you can see more of it as Cities comes to a close and we look ahead to Regionals. My big advantage in mirror matches is that most lists only run one Seismitoad while I run two. I don't run the second Toad only for this, since it's good almost everywhere, but it really does shine in the mirror. Pulling up Landorus and keeping my opponent locked down is the secret to winning this match. Being ahead in the Mewtwo war and getting rid of them as soon as a DCE is attached is also a good idea.
Round 3: VirGen (Loss)
Opening with a lone Trubbish and no Supporters is bad. My opponent opened with a lone Deoxys-EX, but started drawing better than me quickly. While my deck doesn't necessarily struggle with VirGen, it can be a rough matchup because I can't use Seismitoad (my preferred early game attacker) and Lasers have no effect until Garbotoxin is active. Regardless, I couldn't really get anything I needed out so a loss was pretty much inevitable.
Round 4: Mirror (Win)
Losing the third round meant I couldn't simply ID into top cut. I now found myself playing the same friend of mine who i had faced in the final round last week. Our games then were close, so I had been looking forward to another exciting match. Sadly he didn't draw as well this time and his options were limited. I was partially to blame for that.... because of that second Seismitoad I mentioned earlier. The cool thing about mirror matches is that I don't have to worry about Garbodor and can focus entirely on aggression.
Rounds 5: Yveltal/ Garbodor (Win)
Ho boy. I was expecting this to be my last match, since Yveltal is tricky for a lot of reasons. Thankfully, though, this was the slightly slower Garbodor varient, and my opponent didn't seem to be drawing well. At the same time, I had everything I needed and made the most of my attacks. I managed to come out on top of this one just by being aggressive, though I do feel my opponent wasn't very experienced. There were at least two instances that really seemed to be misplays, and he was playing rather slowly.
Quater-Final / Top 8: Cancer Toad (Win 2-1)
Cancer Toad is a very fascinating deck. To me it seems like one of those fun decks that you play at League when you're bored, but not in a tournament since it's so reliant on coin flips. Still, I know it's had some good performances and I respect it as a competitive deck... just not one I'd use myself. I just see so many things wrong with it. Running just four DCE puts you at risk of Xerosic, The damage output is also low, especially if you can't play Lasers / Muscle Band. And getting tails on a critical Roller Skates or Super Scoop Up can lead to trouble. But for decks that don't run Seismitoads of their own, I see why it's a problem. That said, I just use my Toads to make my opponent unable to play items, while building up a bench of Hawlucha and Mewtwo to outdamage them in the late game. By this point I have massive damage power (Mewtwo with six energy anyone?) and with my Toads in the discard they're reluctant to play Trump Card to start the thing all over again. I did lose once due to a stupid misplay and bad draws, but I'm certain Fighting has a major advantage in this matchup.
Semifinal / Top 4: Yveltal / Hard Charm / Manectric (Loss 0-2)
The first game was close. The second game... less so. In addition to the Fighting resistance, Yveltal-EX can easily outdamage anything I run, including Mewtwo. Getting three energy onto Landorus for Land's Judgement is hopeless; a smart opponent will Lysandre it ASAP to get it out of the picture. Sniping with Hammerhead helps however, as does disabling Hawlucha's Shining Spirit via Garbotoxin so it can hit Darkrai for weakness. Almost out of resources, I needed to power up a Mewtwo and hope for the best if I wanted to take my last two prizes. Unfortunately my opponent had a Lysndre in hand and that was that. In game two I opened with a lone Trubbish, a hand full of special energy, and a Sycamore. Not good. I knew I was going to lose and was ready to scoop, but my opponent suggested I play it out for the sake of learning. He wasn't being cocky or anything (he was a really cool guy and offered me advice after the match), as I really had no options... just a Trubbish and a Hawlucha. Bad luck happens, but making top four is still nothing to complain about.
Final Record: 4-1-0 (Swiss), 1-1 (Top Cut) Top Four
Closing Thoughts
I might not have done quite as well here as I did at Time Warp, but as always I had a great time playing Pokemon and hanging out with friends. I may know my deck inside and out, but that also means I know its shortcomings and need to accept them. There really is no "perfect deck," nor should there ever be. This is an open format, but that means there's a lot of threats, and you need to be prepared for anything. I haven't faced any crazy rogues myself, but I have both witnessed and heard about rogue decks popping up and being successful. One of the decks that made top eight was Dragonite / Manectric, which I'm looking into myself now. In any sense, this is a tricky format due to the metagame being somewhat hard to predict. There's surprises at every corner.... and I like it.
Congrats on Top 4! This meta game is so fun. There are tons of decks out there in Cities that are making top cut that haven't before, thanks to Phantom Forces.
I agree, one can't "predict the meta game" as one used to. If the deck has a weakness to a certain deck like VirGen, you should still play it. There are many decks going around so maybe there is only 5 VirGens that day. Chances are you won't be facing them (depending on attendence)
Do you have any more Cities left? I have 2 coming up this weekend.
I agree, one can't "predict the meta game" as one used to. If the deck has a weakness to a certain deck like VirGen, you should still play it. There are many decks going around so maybe there is only 5 VirGens that day. Chances are you won't be facing them (depending on attendence)
Do you have any more Cities left? I have 2 coming up this weekend.
You going to Nanuet?
Gengar master said:
Thanks! It's really interesting to see just what decks are making top cut these days. However, as Cities comes to a close this weekend and we look ahead to Regionals, it's not easy to predict what the format will look like then. Some Cities are less competiive than others, so without knowing how many people attended each event and the ratio of veterian to more casual players, it's hard to tell just how viable some of these rogues really are. Also with Regionals far less focused on local meta, I think consistency is a better thing to work on than trying to predict a meta and be dead wrong. That happened to me in the fall, and it cost me.
RogueChomp said:
Most likely. That should be my final Cities since I have other plans on Sunday. Now that college started back up again I have less time for testing, but I want to get as comfortable as possible before Regionals.
Congrats on Top 4 MLK and that Yveltal deck that you lost to seems to be the play right now as not many play Zapdos/Manectric from what I'm seeing. I am guessing though we all will see more Donphan when Regionals comes around, its just too easy of a deck to play and do counters with other decks currently in the Meta.
Good luck on your next cities and hopefully you get to take another 50 points.
Good luck on your next cities and hopefully you get to take another 50 points.
How far away do you think (time wise) is Stroudsburg from Morris Plains/All in One?
City Championships - ToyWiz, Nanual, NY
This report is going to be rushed because it's one in the morning. Anywho...
I don't go to this place much because it's a little far away, which is a bit of a shame. It's a nice venue with a lot of gaming space. There's also easy access to fast food, and they have a seletion of packs from old sets, not to mention Japanese card sleeves at reasonable prices.
Getting on to the actual event, I arrived and quickly discovered the joys of playing 20 Question s with Pokemon cards... and some people are better than it than others. As a hint, always start broad and work your way toward the specifics. It's a fun game though, just take a random card and put it face down on the table. Then see if a friend can guess what card it is in 20 questions or less.
Onto the event, I was a little nervous, but I always am. I still feel like a scrub, and I doubt that feeling will be going away any time soon. But we have a nice community full of friendly people.
Deck: Fighting Fusion
Round 1: VirGen (Win)
VirGen isn't one of my better matchups, but I had a rather explosive start and was able to keep the punches flying for the whole game.... with one Garbodor prizes and not drawing Ultra Balls. VirGen is at a real disadvantage if it doesn't go first, since you need two attachments on Virizion-EX to get Emerald Slash rolling. So me going first is kind of a big deal. With Seismitoad being a death wish, Landorus is your friend. What you need to do is get snipe damage on each and every one or their Genesects while getting two DCE on a Mewtwo. This is easier said than done, but I feel my opponent made a mistake by Enhanced Hammering Landorus' Strong Energy rather than a DCE from Mewtwo. From that point forward, Mewtwo kind of just plowyed through everything.
Round 2: Mirror (Loss)
Talking to people locally and online seems to confirm that Fighting / Big Basics really is catching on as a viable deck, and for good reason. I faced this player two weeks ago at Time Warp (he was using a different deck), and he definitely learned from my playstile, and was doing a good job piloting the deck. I didn't draw particularly well either, and I couldn't keep ahead in the Toad War. He was also clever enough to run Pokemon Center Lady just like me (so much for secret techs!). Even with the loss, this deck will always be a favorite of mine and I'm glad to see it catching on. Sadly I don't think Fighting will be "the play" at Regionals.
Round 3: Fairies (Arjun/ RogueChomp) (Win)
We're at the point where we don't play seriously anymore. We sort of just crack jokes, troll each other, and let the game play out while we're half distracted. Arjun is cool like that. It's nice to have someone you can count on for lighthearted fun during a tournament, but the matchup itself was certainly a contributing factor. Fairies don't like bags of garbage for good reason, and Toad makes it even rougher. Thankfully this time, he didn't price three Fairy Gardens and a Keldeo so the match had a little more exchange. However, the climax was without a doubt taking four prices in one turn via Landorus' snipe.
Round 4: Manectric / Fighting (Win)
This was an interesting Fighting varieant. Rather than going for aggro and pressure, this particular build uses M-Manectric-EX to charge up Landorus-EX for Land's Judgement as often as possible. It's an interesting idea, but Seismitoad kind of rains on the parade. Dragging up a Landorus that isn't ready to go is basically two free prizes, and Mewtwo punishes energy hogs. I think my advantage is that by running DCE attackers, my deck becomes much more adaptable and less methodical. Without ways of hindering the opponent, a speedy deck has an advantage.
Round 5: Seismitoad/ Garbodor (Jason Klaczynski) (Loss)
It's kind of a shock and awe to think such a well known player would travel all this distance to attend the very same Cities that I did, but it was the closest for him apparently. This was my first time meeting Jason, and I have to say he's a really cool guy. We joked around and had some fun before the match started. I was actually one card short of a first turn donk, and going for it didn't cost me the game on its own, but it did contribute. Jason opened with a lone Trubbish going first and didn't get any other Basic Pokemon out on his turn. While I had Hawlucha active, it was stuck asleep due to a Laser flip. With a DCE in my hand I decided to Ultra Ball for a Mewtwo rather than a Toad and go for that donk. Sadly I didn't get a Switch or Escape Rope to make it happen, and the game had to go on. From there I was completely Item locked and unable to get attackers charged up. Regardless, it was nice to meet someone so reknowned, who came all the way out to grace us with his presence (Frank and Mike Diaz were here too of course, but they live in the area so that's less of a surprise).
Round 6: Metal / Seismitoad (Win)
Interesting idea, but Bronzong tends to be slow. I don't think that couples well with Toad. Rather, Seismitoad can't pull its own weight without hitting for weakness or using Lasers to boost damage. He also ran Aegislash-EX, whose ability was disabled by Garbodor, as well as Heatran and Dialga. The game actually got pretty close since he was able to slowly get some attackers powered up. Even without Garbodor, Chrono Wind gets real annoying real fast, so getting Dialga out of the picture is high priority. Very interesting deck, but I had an advantage thanks to a certain pile of trash.
Final Record: 4-2-0 (Swiss), 10th place out of 46 Masters
Closing Thoughts
I sadly bubbled, and didn't make top cut. Only one 4-2-0 made it in, but that's sort of to be expected. It always depends on the number of players and rounds played, but it's pretty rare for X-2s to make top cut, relatively speaking. Fellow PBer Blah did make it in, and as you can read in his report did reasonably well. Congratulations, dude!
As Cities comes to a close, it's time to start looking ahead at Regionals, not to mention the effects Primal Clash will have on the meta. I don't expect the format to remain this open, and I think I'll need to shift to a more focused deck with Yveltal and VirGen to probably increase. We might even see Donphan return, especially with the new set since Robo Substitute will allow it to make amazing use of Teammates. With Cities over you probably won't be seeing as many updates, but do stay tuned as we prepare for winter Regionals! Until next time, may your top decks ever be in your favor!
I think it's spelled Jason Klaczynski
Anyway that's so crazy! This is the reason I hate living in Europe, you don't get to meet that kind of players
Interesting how Donphan went from the best deck in the format to a little less. Next set it will probably return though.
Anyway that's so crazy! This is the reason I hate living in Europe, you don't get to meet that kind of players
Interesting how Donphan went from the best deck in the format to a little less. Next set it will probably return though.
State Championships - Ramada Inn, Newark DE
So... most of you know I went to Florida regionals. My performance with M-Gardevoir was less than stellar, and by the time I made it home I forgot most of my matchups Disney World does that to you. I don't think I need to mention the surprise deck that won. I certainly kept that in mind when deciding on my own deck to play- I was expecting a good deal of both Flareon and Night March, as well as Yveltal, Seismitoad and Landorus/ bats. My predictions were a little off center (at least for what I faced), but I feel like I undoubtedly made the right deck coice.
Deck: Donphan
Yup, you read that right, Donphan. I was actually bent on playing with Flareon, but made a last minute meta call due to having more experience with Donphan and analyzing the metagame. Expecting to see Flareon and Night March in droves, I needed a deck that could consistently hit hard, but has a way of keeping its resources in play. With Garbodor coming back, Fairies was not an option, and it's still possible for Flareon/Night March to hit 210. Since Donphan uses Robo Substitutes to deny prizes (unless they have Lysandre), it's a good pick against Night March. Hawlucha makes Seismitoad and Yveltal bearable, and the deck seems to be solid all around with its hit-and-run strategy. I also felt like everyone forgot about it after Cities, with Zapdos and Hard Charms disappearing from decklists, so I figured I would be a good surprise play. No regrets.
After considering possible techs, I opted to go with Mr. Mime, Dedenne, and Sigilyph/ Float Ston. Other options I looked at were a 1-1 Primal Groudon (still a fan of this idea), and Maxie's Hidden Ball Trick with a single Machamp. This seemed inconsistent, so I decided to stick with the classics.
Round 1: Mega Charizard / Emboar (Win)
This was an interesting deck. Unfortunately there were a couple of problems. First off, Stage 2s really don't fly in this format (with a couple of exceptions of course). Aside from Seismitoad (which I didn't run obviously), the loss of Tropical Beach and Level Ball was kind of crippling to Stage 2 decks, making them much to slow. On top of that, wasting a turn to Mega Evolve your Charizard (no Spirit Link sadly) can hurt, especially when it's stuck active and Donphan keeps chipping away at it. Lastly, there's the matter of overkill. Even when Donphan is pulled into the active, 300 damage with 50 recoil (unless you have Protection Cube) is a bit much to only take one prize. M-Charizard Y can be two-shotted by a Donphan with a Strong Energy, Silver Bangle, and Fighting Stadium. As much as I love Charizard, this was a pretty quick set of two games.
1-0-0
Round 2: Yveltal (Loss)
I like playing against my testing friends in tournaments. At the same time I dislike it. For the one thing, we can be casual during play, keep up a conversation as well as the game, and joke around. I also know what to expect, since I had known beforehand what my friend had been running... for the most part. He had opted to remove his Garbodor line in favor of a consistently Yveltal list. The things you can add in when doing that (Energy Switch, Max Potion. etc) can make a big difference in this matchup. Actually, the reason I decided not to fear Yveltal was because of Garbodor- it takes up six slots and limits your space for techs. That said, I was in for a nasty surprise when he double Energy Switched onto a Seismitoad-EX late game and cut off my access to Robo Substitute. All of the game were close regardless, and it basically came down to whoever drew into a Lysandre/VS Seeker first. Unfortunately that wasn't me, but since neither of us dead drew, I can fairly say this was one exciting match.
1-1-0
Round 3: Primal Groudon (Win)
Primal Groudon is certainly a beast, but it's not working to its full potential when it's only taking one prize with Gaia Volcano. It also doesn't help that Donphan can easily hit Landorus FFI for 60-80 damage, then put up Hawluch. Thanks to Resistance, Shout of Power does no damage at all unless there's a Strong Energy / Muscle band. In my haste I didn't test this matchup beforehand, but it seems to be highly favorable for Donphan. With all of the boosts (Strong Energy + Fighting Stadium + Silver Bangle), i can actually two-shot Groudon with Hawlucha. I'm also abel to take advantage of Scorched Earth for some extra draw... and then drop a Fighting Stadium which does my opponent no good. Silent Lab is a bother because I can't use Sigiyph, and is one of the reasons I'm considering removing Sigi before this weekend. Regardless, I wrecked the opposition, both literally and metaphorically.
2-1-0
Round 4: Exeggutor / Crawdaunt (Nicholena Moon) (Tie)
As i had gone with Donphan as a last-minute decision, I had no experience playing against this deck with it. The matchup turns out to be very interesting.... but slow. Crawdaunt quickly becomes a dead card, as there are not Pokemon-EX for Hawlucha to hit, other than the stray Jirachi, and Donphan runs back to the bench after attacking, keeping its energy safe from Unruly Claw, as well as Team Flare Grunt. Hammers hurt as always, but only so many can be played, and by keeping only one energy in play I can be conservative and keep chipping away at Exeggutor. Not being able to play Supporters certainly hurts, but having access to Robo Substitute helps to keep my Donphan safe. Hawlucha also works nicely here, as once my opponent ran out of Hypnotoxic Lasers, she was three-shotting them. Trump Card is difficult to play, as it returns my energy to the deck, but is needed to get Exeggutor back. Overall, Donphan seems to do well against this deck... but it is long and grueling. We were 1-1 and just starting game three when time was called. Seeing as we both still have 5-6 prize left, Nicholena and I simply agreed to the tie rather than playing out the three turns.
2-1-1
Round 5: Yveltal / Hard Charm (Win)
So... of the three Yveltal decks that I played against, the one I beat was the deck that I should have expected the worst matchup. Yveltal XY's Fighting Resistance, coupled with a hard charm reduces damage by a whopping 40. This is pretty crippling, as Fighting Stadium adds nothing, and this was the attacker my opponent decided to focus on. I do feel like this wasn't the best way to deal with Donphan regardless, as he kept building them up to use Darkness Blade rather than powering up a Yveltal-EX. That said, and lacking Virbank / Laser, there was nothing on his field to discourage me from spamming Wrecks and taking out Yveltal that way. This could have been a pretty deadly matchup, but the way my opponent played simply leaved me with nothing to fear. I ended up scooping one game due to dead draw, but I came out on top in the end.
3-1-1
Round 6: Yveltal/ Seismitoad (Loss)
Ugh... dead draw for life. For two whole games I couldn't get a single think out or top deck a Supporter. During game two I stalled for a bit by top decking a stream of Robo Substitutes and hoping for a miracle, but to no avail. It bugs me how this kind of thing can happen after getting consistent draw during the rest of the event (including when I was Supporter locked), but that's just the way the game is, I suppose. On the bright side I was able to stay focused, since usually by this point the lack of sleep gets to me and I'm no longer at the peak for my game.
3-2-1
Round 7: Exeggutor / Crawdaunt (Win)
I felt more empowered going into this match after playing against Nicholena piloting a similar deck. The games went a little more smoothly, with me knowing how to handle Exeggutor. By hoarding energy in my hand and only keeping one Donphan powered up at all times I can consistently two-shot Exeggutor while hiding behind Hawlucha. Lysandre really does nothing for my opponent in this matchup, as Donphan can't be OHKOed by Blockade, and will simply run back to the bench on my turn. On the first game I did run into some dead draw problems and couldn't get an energy onto Donphan in time. I also had two Donphan thrown away early in the game. I decided to scoop and go to game two. The second game was much better, and with my derived strategy I came out on top.
Then the unexpected happened. Going into game three, my opponent offered me a coin flip for the game. As any competitive player should know, that's a big no-no, and as a Professor I need to uphold the Core Values and Spirit of the Game. I politely informed my opponent that I had no choice but to call a judge. He immediately offered to scoop, but that didn't sway my decision. When the judge arrived, he said he was scooping and basically ran off. Enough of that, but a win is always nice. Regardless, I felt like I could have won in game three had this not occurred. I'm more sured that someone would actually try this at an event, and the judge told me it wasn't his first time doing it. No more comments.
Final Record: 4-2-1 , 28th place
Closing Thoughts
I had expected to see a lot of Flareon, and well as a good deal of Night March. Toad seemed to rule the day, but I didn't encounter any of it outside of Yveltal in my matches. I really liked how Donphan performed for me, but I am afraid of Seismitoad. I think that 1-1-1 Primal Groudon idea is worth considering, though it will require giving up some consistency. I'm mildly satisfied with my placing, and I at least got some Championship Points... getting me a little closer to an invite.
This format is quirky, but in spite of all the Seismitoad it's amazing how many different decks can thrive here. Looking ahead to next week, it's not easy to simply pick a deck that counters the meta... as the meta right now is so open. This is going to be an interesting four weeks for sure. Congratulations to Machamp the Champion on another top 8, and I'm looking forward to PA States next week!
Regional Championships - Sturbridge Host, Sturbridge MA
Most people who are "in the loop" know the fiasco about the organizer who previously hosted New England regionals, and this event wasn't even announced until they found someone else. After all of that, there just happened to be some massive antique show going in in the same town on the same weekend, and everything was crowded up. That in mind, there were not as many people here as there were in Florida. In fact, we didn't even have enough people for nine rounds, just eight! Regardless it was a competitive event with plentt of top tier players and good friends in attendance. A scrub I may be, but I came out of this event pleased with myself.
Deck: Flareon / Raichu
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I had been testing with Flareon variants ever since it won Florida regionals, though I was never bold enough to play the deck myself at a large tournament until this week. I settled on a tech-oriented list that was designed to work with what's in your hand and what you have in play rather than digging for what you need at that moment. You'll note the lack of Acro Bike in the list. I've gradually become less and less of a fan of this card, as it's completely worthless against Seismitoad and it has a tendency to blow away precious resources, such as when you play it only to find two DCE on top of your deck.
Pairing Raichu with Flareon is certainly nothing new, but since Florida and with Yveltal's apparent decline, it has seen less play. Yveltal was in the back of my mind when I put this list together, but I see Raichu as more than just a tech against one matchup, and its versatility warrants me devoting space in my deck for a 2-2 line. Free retreat is always a good thing, and it therefore eliminates my need for Float Stone, allowing me to fit a third Silver Bangle into the deck. It's also just a great attacker in general that can hit pretty card for a DCE. It's something good to swing with after your opponent plays Lysandre's Trump Card (or you needed to play it yourself). Empoleon can then stay safely behind on the bench where I can draw cards and don't need to use it to attack. I did run Water energy in case I ever needed to use Attack Command however, as most everthing else operates off only colorless. The single Grass was for the Energy Evolution Eevee and in case I ever wanted to use Leafeon PLF's Leaf Blade. In retrospect I wish I had run a second.
Round 1: Yveltal (Win)
Having a type advantage against all of Yveltal's attackers does give me a major advantage in this matchup. It's also easier to KO Seismitoads here than anywhere else, because your opponent will need to put a Dark Energy on Yveltal-EX before attacking with Toad, so they can KO the Leafeon next turn. Three energy on your opponent's field is the magic number for getting KOs with Energy Crush. Having three Silber bangles makes them easier to draw on the first turn, and as long as you have one on the field before you're Item locked, you're in very good shape. This match went very smoothly, and I simply rolled my way through without any trouble.
1-0-0
Round 2: Donphan (Win)
A friendly Pokedad who I had met before, this was a fun match because we were casualy chatting back and forth while we played. Winning against Donphan comes down to being able to get Lysandre and VS Seeker at the right moment. On the plus side, Donphan can't one-shot Flareon without devoting a lot of important resources (a Muscle Band and two Strong Energy, pulling this off is almost a win condition for Donphan). However, Robo Substitute is extremely annoying as it gives me no prize for knocking out. Fortunately for me, my Lysandre was never prized and I was able to keep re-using it every turn. For much of game one my opponent was dead drawing, and I was able to pull up his Phanpies, preventing him from attacking me at all until I was well ahead on prizes. Game two was a little more event. Insterently, he did not run Trump Card, so once i cleared the field of Robo Subsitute it was pretty smooth sailing.
2-0-0
Round 3: Virizion / Genesect (Win)
This matchup is well... a slaughter. There really isn't much that V/G can do to stop Flareon from destroying it, not to mention win the prize trade. Interestingly, this player was running Virbank City Gym and Hypntoxic Laser in his list, which I thought was a cool idea. With this and a Muscle Band, Virizion can one-shot a Flareon. However, it's still only one prize versus two, so as long as I'm able to keep the rythm going the game stays every much in my favor. My opponent managed to score KOs almost every turn, but I never felt like I was in a rough spot.
3-0-0
Round 4: Yveltal (Win)
Second Yveltal of the day. This one was a little tougher, but it played out much the same. Yveltal's weakness is that it simply can't restrict how much energy stays in play, so any Seismitoad can easily be one-shotted by Leafeon. Energy Evolution Eevee is really helpful here, as Teammates lets me pull both it and the Grass I need to evolve out of my deck right away and get cracking. I didn't have too much trouble, though this match was closer than the first one of the day. This isn't an autowin in the same sense that I have against V/G, but with Raichu and Leafeon the matchup is very much favorable. Other than against V/G, I was noticing by this point that I wasn't actually attacking with Flareon very often.
4-0-0
Round 5: Seismitoad / Mewtwo / Bats (Tie)
Definitely afraid going into this one. Drew Guritzky is a pretty well known and skilled player, and though we've faced each other several times before, this was by far the most intense match we've ever had. Bats isn't has bad as getting all of my energy hammered away, but it's still a very unfavorable matchup, even with Leafeon. Unlike with Yveltal, straight Seismitoad decks can operate with just a DCE in play, and any seasoned player knows not to lay down any more energy than that. Even with a Silver Bangle, Leafeon is only hitting for 140, letting the Seismitoad player use Super Scoop Up to negate the effects. Very annoying indeed. During one game I managed to pull off a Leaf Blade with a Bangle. That's of course an instant KO, but it requires both a DCE and a Grass on Leafeon. In this matchup I wished that I had run more than just one Grass, and given how I never attacked with Empoleon all day, that seemed like a good idea. If I continue to play Flareon in the next format, I will likely add more Grass energy.
Drew had game one, though it did come down to the wire. Getting tails on Super Scoop Up and not having a means to switch does spell trouble. I managed to take the win on Game 2 due to him flipping a lot of tails and running him out of resources. We went to game three. This ended up going to time, and by the end of turn one, my opponent having just one prize left while I had two (not a problem since Toad is an EX). Unfortunately I couldn't get the KO, but Drew was also unable to knock out my Leafeon. Even though I didn't win, I was glad enough to tie against a Seismitoad deck, as it could have gone much worse. Unfortunately this was the beginning of my decline. If I was to make top cut (which I never did), I would need to fight.
4-0-1
Round 6: Exeggutor (Loss)
I'm a little salty about this one because it's supposedly a favorable matchup for Flareon. "Favorable" certainly doesn't mean that a win is guaranteed, but I had been doing so well up until now that thisdidbreak my spirits a little. My Red Bull power was wearing off, and I was beginning to feel the effects of a lack of sleep. Misplays for days. Game one I got Empoleon out pretty quickly, and was therefore able to draw cards, as much as I had trouble getting what I needed. My opponent also seemed to dead draw, as we went several turns passing. I was able to get down to two prizes, but I ended up digging too deep into my deck for what I need and decked myself out.
Game two unfortunately continued my dead draw streak, and I wasn't ever able to get control. Exeggutor's real power, in addition to removing energy with the disruption cards, is its ability to Trump Card all of your things back into your deck, leaving you with a clogged up pile from which you can only draw one card each turn. Not being able to play Archie's Ace in the Hole soon enough, I was left in a bad position. and since I was getting tired, I started making some silly misplays.
4-1-1
Round 7: Quad M-Manectric-EX (Loss)
This was an interesting deck. The only Pokemon in the entire list were a 4-4 M-Manectric line. Unfortunately just about everything this deck does other than the Head Ringers works against Flareon's strategy. Silent Lab, check. Max Potion, check. Trump Card, check. One-shot my Pokemon, check. Hitting 210 with Vengeance, while doable, is very difficult, and that's before it's all Trump Carded out of your discard pile. By definition this is certainly unfavorable for Flareon, though perhaps slightly less so than Seismitoad decks. I was also no longer at the peak of my game, so my executive function wasn't up to snuff. I made a couple of miscounts and silly mistakes which cost me the match, though I didn't have much of a chance to begin with. There went my chances of making top cut, but I was surprised enough that I had done as well as I did.
4-2-1
Round 8: Virizion / Genesect (Win)
So by this point I was really out of it. There was one round left, and while I could no longer make top cut I still had a chance at some points and prizes. However, I had nothing on my mind but finishing this quickly to get food and rest. I hadn't eaten or drank in hours, and I was about ready to throw in the towel. My opponent told me he felt the same way, and after some friendly banter the round began. I wasn't expecting to play an exciting game in my current state, but my face lit up when he flipped over his active to reveal a Virizion-EX. Even with the slops I knew I was going to make, the odds were very much in my favor.
Just like the V/G that I faced earlier in the day, this deck also ran Laserbank, which I noted was a cool idea, and I would likely do it myself in this format if I were to run VirGen. Game one actually came pretty close, largely as a result of this tactic. The win would have gone to my opponent if it were not for me top decking a Flareon and a DCE just in game. The big mistake I made was attempting to play a Teammates when my Flareon had been KOed by poison damage. My opponent stopped me before I actually went into my deck, so nothing came of it, but I was stuck without a Supporter that i could use. Thankfully I top decked a Juniper and was able to finish out the game strong.
During game two I learned a couple of lessons. In the first came, my Empoleon was Red Signaled up to stall a couple of turns and let my opponent nab a prize. I opted to not go for Archie this time, which is a calculated risk, but without Seismitoad I still have plenty of outs to Juniper. I was off to a slow start, but once I got set up with two Flareon on the field I was able to roll through and take the win.
Final Record: 5-2-1 , 17th place (Best I've ever done at a Regionals!)
Closing Thoughts
Wow.... I was impressed with myself. Big Time. Flareon was without a doubt a good meta call, and since two Flareon decks did make it into top 8, I can safely say it was "the play" for day one. That aside, I scrubbed out of the top sixteen by resistance, but I still got 30 CP (bringing my total to 140), and 24 packs. As luck would have it, I ended pulling not one, not two, but THREE full arts: Latious-EX, M-Rayquaza-EX, and Shaymin-EX. Quite a haul indeed. Anyway, as funny as it sounds, I think I'm actually getting better at this game. Getting comfortable with your deck is very important, but so is correctly predicting the meta and choosing a deck accordingly. I expected there would not be as much Seismitoad as was seen at States, but there turned out to be even less than I thought there would be. Yveltal always has a presence, and I was expecting VirGen and Eggs in drove, which is why I opted for Flareon in the first place. Even with my two losses and one tie, I'm satisfied with myself.
It's a shame Roaring Skies is about to become legal and the format is going to shift, because I really like Flareon/ Raichu and was hoping to keep going with this less (one more League Challenge next week and that's it before the new format). Due to time and money limits, I won't be making it to any more spring Regionals, so Nationals is going to be the next big thing. I may write up a report or two from a smaller evvent before that, but regardless I'm very much looking forward to playing in Indianapolis. Hoping to see a lot of Beachers there!
League Challenge - The Only Game in Town (TOGIT), Somerville NJ
This may not have been as large or lucrative or an event as last week's Regionals, but a handful of greated players nonetheless were in attendance, two of whom were on the verge of a Worlds invite (not me sadly, but someone we all know was indeed there). I had actually come to this event planning to give both of these players the win should I face them, with them being within ten points of getting their invites. Unfortunately the pairings never worked out that way, but regardless I had some great games.
Deck: Flareon / Raichu
This was it, the end of an era so to speak. Roaring Skies will no doubt drastically shake up the metagame once it becomes playable later this week, so I wanted to give my Flareon deck one last hurrah before I most likely take it apart. I changed one card since Regionals- replacong a Water Energy with a Grass to improve my odds of being able to Leaf Blade and use Energy Evolution in the Seismitoad matchup. This seemed like a safe bet since Landorus has not seen success in quite a while and I've been using Empoleon strictly for draw. Still, with me running Teammates I decided to keep one Water Energy in my deck so I had the option to use Attack Command if I ever wanted to.
Round 1: Plasma Eevee / Lugia / Frosslass PLB(Win)
Eh.... it's a Pokedad. And for some reason I always seem to face him in the first round every time I come to this store. When I first started coming her he was using an almost unmodified theme deck, and while it's certainly improved since then, I'm pretty sure we both knew howt this was going to play out. I knew that Frosslass would get annoying (its Ability prevents your opponent from attaching Special Energy as long as it's active), so I planned to Lysandre around it while I was getting DCE out. Fortunately Frosslass's attack is pretty awful so I never felt threatened and I ws able to take it out pretty quickly. From that point forward i was free to deal with the Genesect and Lugia to force ad bad prize trade.
1-0-0
Round 2: Aromatisse Toolbox (Win)
With Gardevoir and Florges in vogue as of late, I was surprisd to see a Rainbow Energy-based Fairy deck around, but perhaps it was for the better, since this is the easier for me, M-Manectric seemed to be lacking, but the deck included other staple Fairy players: Keldeo, Yveltal, Cobalion, Xerneas of course, and more. This deck is nothing new in the format, but aggressive decks like Flareon and Night March, not to mention Seismitoad's popularity have put a damper on their viability.That said, this wasn't a particularly hard game, and I was ahead the entire time. Max Potion really doesn't do much when you're just one-shotting everything.
2-0-0
Round 3: Night March (Loss)
This matchup is a slap-fest. It's just a matter of trading KOs left and right, and who can Knock Out the most EXs or avoid benching them. Night Marche's advantage is that it can attakc from turn one and not worry about evolution. Flareon trades that for versalitily and additional draw power in the form of Empoleon and Slurpuff / Electrode. There's really not much to say about this game other than how methodical it was. We were pretty much even on prizes the whole time, but on my last turn I had no energy or Supporters in hand, and couldn't top deck one. That was the end. I was also downpaired during this round, so I was convinced I no longer had a chance to win anything.
Or so I thought....
2-1-0
Round 4: Night March (Jimmy O'Brian) (Win)
I got paired up this time. Another round, another Night March. Jimmy had made top four at Regionals last week and had secured his invite. I thought he would be running his Flareon list again, as he'd been running that for a while, but I was surprised when he flipped over his active to reveal a Mew-EX. I was going first... but I had a Jirachi start. Interestingly, he ran Seismitoad-EX and a few other tricks in his deck, including Swampert. There was a point at which he needed to attack a single Water Energy to a Pumkaboo, which remained on his bench for the entire time. I started out behind, as I needed to stall a turn and sacrifice my Jirachi, but i was able to return the favor by KOing his Mew and keep the rhythm floing. Back to the slap fast. I had discard most of my deck by the time I had two prizes left. There was already an Eevee with a silver Bangle on the field, but Jimmy needed to KO my active Flareon in order to not low, and he did this with Seismitoad-EX to prevent me from playing items. That single Water Energy on the Pumpkaboo came back to bite him, as i had Leafeon and a DCE in hand, so I simply promoted the Eevee with the bangle and ended the game. Jimmy told me he figured I had the Leafeon and DCE, and could have played an N instead of Trump Carding me, but since I had Electrode and Empoleon on the field, I would every likely draw into them again.
3-1-0
Round 5: Seismitoad / Mewtwo / Bats (Win)
Talk about a turnaround. I didn't think this game was going to end well... especially when I opened with a lne Exeggcute and was expecting to be Virbank / Laser donked. Lucky for me, my opponent didn't have either. Rather, he didn't even have a Supporter in hand, and on my turn I was able to get the ball rolling a bit. Unfortunately there still wasn't a lot I was able to to at first, and had to start swining at his Mewtwos with Leafeon. I was behind three prizes before I was finally able to KO the Mewtwo, and from that point I was on a roll, thanks to some pressure from a Leaf-Blading Leafeon. He was reluctant to use Seismtiado, being forced to KO with Mewto and even stall with a Crobat active at one point. I KOed that with Raichu's Circle Cicruit. I firmly believe Raichu is a solid attacker and is useful in more matchups than just Yveltal. I kept him Ned to a small hand and gothim caught in dead draw. He stalled by putting up a Seismtiaad, but lacking a DCE he passed. Despite having Trump Carded myself last turn, I plopped a Silver Bangle onto my Flareon, and managed to get fourteen Pokemon in the discard. Good game!
4-1-0
Final Record: 4-1-0 , 3rd place
Closing Thoughts
First off, congrats to Machamp the Champion for scoring his Worlds invite at this event! I never had the chance to play him, though even if I did I would have given him the win knowing that he needed less than ten points.
Anyway, what a way to end a great format. Roaring Skies is going to turn the metagame on its head, in more way than one, and will greatly affect the viability of many currently popular decks, including Flareon. I don't expect to be able to play this deck in the BCR-ROS format. I'm a little glad that I'm not going to Regionals this weekend, and I have absolutely no idea what I'd want to play. I wish everyone who is attending good luck however, and I look forward to reading your reports! Mega Rayquaza broke Ubers.... so now let's see if it will do the same to the TCG.... Emerald style.
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