Eh-hem. So, I figured I'd actually post a Cities Report this time. Not sure why, but everyone else is doing it, and that's always a good enough reason to do something, is it not? This was written by memory, and some of the details may be wrong, but it's accurate for the most part. I've seen some people write down everything that happened and considered doing that, but that would probably be too much of a distraction for me during the game. I should probably mention that I played with Ho-Oh n' stuff. Well, without further ado:
Round 1: Andrew; Darkrai/Hydreigon
Crap. This is the guy I lost to in top two at the prior Cities. I just know I’m going to lose, and 0-1 is not a god way to start a tournament. I start Mewtwo; my opponent starts Deino (the {DRG} one). He Ultra Balls for Darkrai, Dark Patches, and passes. I attach Double Colorless, get T1 Ho-Oh with one energy, and Energy Switch to Mewtwo to kill the Deino. He had the Hydreigon and Candy in his hand, too. For the next two turns, I Catcher the Deinos as he benches them. I know for a fact he doesn’t run Super Rod, so there’s no chance of a Hydreigon this game, meaning I win.
1-0
Round 2: Some random person whose name I don’t recall (sorry);Darkrai/Landorus
He goes first with Sableye, but that’s not saying much since he had to attach a {F}. He fails the Confuse Ray flip. I attach Double Colorless to Tornadus, get a Ho-Oh in the discard, and bench Mewtwo. I really hate going second because he’s probably going to get heads this time on the Confuse Ray, and I don’t have too decent of a setup. He benches Landorus and Dark Patches to the Darkrai he had benched previously. He flipped tails again, so on my turn, I proceed to Hurricane his Sableye, moving a {F} to a benched Terrakion. It’s another few turns before he gets his first Supporter I believe. By this point I’ve Land Crushed a Darkrai. I don’t remember the rest of the game except that he almost made a comeback… Almost…
2-0
Round 3: Mrs. Pam; Terrakion/Tornadus
My opponent starts Mewtwo to my own, and attaches a Double Colorless. It’s not looking good. I’m forced to bench my Terrakion so that I’m not T2’d, but off of a Juniper, I get a Tornadus anyway. I attach an energy top Tornadus, and Switch for it. She hits it for 60 while benching a Tornadus with an energy. On my turn, I use Hurricane and move an energy to Terrakion; I have a feeling I’m actualy going to be using it this match up. She catcher my Mewtwo and KO’s it, but it’s not the end of the world since I get the {F} energy and Retaliate her Mewtwo so we’re even on prizes. Unfortunately, I have Terrakion stuck active doing a pitiful 30. Eventually I get rolling with two Ho-Ohs (That’s how many were prized.), and the game comes down to sudden death, with her playing a Switch every turn for prize denial. Finally I take my fifth prize. Good thing we were in sudden death because that turn, she would have top decked a Catcher for a damaged Mewtwo. Plus, I would have decked that turn anyway.
3-0
Round 4: Patrick; Blastoise/Keldeo
I finally get to go first! I start Mewtwo to his Squirtle. I get the T1 40. He benches Keldeo with a {W} and Rushes In. I bench some stuff, but importantly, I Catcher Squirtle and KO it. He sends up Keldeo, attaches Double Colorless, and uses Sacred Sword for 70. I attach Double Colorless and fail the Rebirth flip with two Energy Switch in hand. (If you’re keeping up, that would have been 180.) He can’t bench anything else, so it’s game the next turn.
4-0
Round 5: Mikey; Darkrai/Hydreigon
Don’t do what this guy did and that is be a friend. I’ve dealt with this guy before, and I wasn’t sure if he was joking around, or in fact, well, a friend, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. I win the coin flip, and I think he bangs the table with medium force and takes the Lord’s name in vain. Apparently, he hasn’t gone first today. I do 20 to his Darkrai with Mewtwo. So much for early pressure. He benches Deinos and a Sableye, attaches to Darkrai, and I think some other stuff. I attach to Mewtwo and Catcher his Deino. I believe he drops the “f” bomb. He sends up Sableye and Junk Hunts for some stuff; I kill it. I want to say there’s a repeat of what happened in round one where I KO all of his Deinos , but I’m not entirely sure At some point I had to Bench a Terrakion prematurely and ditch two Energy Switch, meaning three total in the discard. He takes notice, and while I’m shuffling for an N that was played, says something along the lines of ‘You’ve ditched most of your Energy Switch, a card you really need in this matchup, and now I’m about to kill your Terrakion,’ in an almost threatening manner. I think he was scared and was trying to get in my head. So he does, sending a {F} and a {D} to the discard along with it. After he KO’s Terrakion with Darkrai, I flip heads on the Rebirth, bench Terrakion with an energy, and use my last Energy Switch, getting the {F} from Ho-Oh. What was that about an Energy Switch? I say good game, and offer my hand as is good manners. He refuses saying, “I don’t shake hands with the lucky,” or something, which is probably just as well because I don’t shake hands with sore losers either. I think my actual reply was, “5-0 isn't luck.” He calls over the judge and says, “He won… on accident.” The first comeback that came to mind was, “And you lost on accident.” (weak, I know). He takes it as a compliment, but he shouldn't have because it implies he was a derp and misplayed.
5-0
Being the only 5-0, I’m guaranteed top cut. Yay. My opponent in top four is Jacob, my friend who decided to use my list after having no luck with Hammertime while I took first at Cities not too long ago. The mirror match inevitably ends up in a Mewtwo war, which is what happened game one with me on the wrong side of victory. Second game, I get to go first. I attach Double Colorless and do 40 to his Ho-Oh. He Ultra Balls Ho-Oh and an energy for Mewtwo and attaches Double Colorless. He fails the Rebirth, and ditches an Energy Switch with Junper. That was close! He flips heads with a Super Scoop Up, though, and picks up the Mewtwo and rebenches the Mewtwo without the energy. He probably should have tried Rebirth before attaching, but it wasn’t too big of a deal since he got heads. We eventually exchange Mewtwos, and then he buffers with Ho-Oh because he can’t keep the Mewtwos up. He hits my Mewtwo for 80. I Catcher his Mewtwo and with no energy and use Psydrive on it. He attaches the fourth energy to Ho-Oh and KO’s Mewtwo that way, but I attach my second Double Colorless to my third Mewtwo and KO his Ho-Oh for game. Third game was kind of blurry. I remember starting Tornadus and using Hurricane on Mewtwo. I finish it off later with Terrakion. The mirror kind of blurs together, especially since I played it three in a row, so I don’t remember anything else except that I won.
Mikey also made it to top cut. I asked his top cut opponent who won. He said he beat Mikey. I glance over to see Mikey glaring at me; we lock eyes for a few seconds. “Some luck,” I say as I pass by him on my way to the table, but I don’t think he heard me. I notice some ripped up commons in front of him as I walk by. According to the tournament director, he had at some point punched a wall. I high five my opponent for beating Mikey and denying him any opportunity for revenge or bragging rights as we sit down to play for top two… of which I remember absolutely nothing. He was playing Darkrai/Hydreigon, and I won the first and third games, but other than that, I draw a blank… Sorry for the lack of a climatic resolution.
Out of my packs, I pulled a Celebi and a Computer Search along with two Raticates I had also traded for earlier. Oh well.
Props:
going undefeated in swiss
getting first place
free mat from Patrick
relatively good pulls
Slops:
getting a rival
denying a pack that turned out to have a Keldeo in it
Round 1: Andrew; Darkrai/Hydreigon
Crap. This is the guy I lost to in top two at the prior Cities. I just know I’m going to lose, and 0-1 is not a god way to start a tournament. I start Mewtwo; my opponent starts Deino (the {DRG} one). He Ultra Balls for Darkrai, Dark Patches, and passes. I attach Double Colorless, get T1 Ho-Oh with one energy, and Energy Switch to Mewtwo to kill the Deino. He had the Hydreigon and Candy in his hand, too. For the next two turns, I Catcher the Deinos as he benches them. I know for a fact he doesn’t run Super Rod, so there’s no chance of a Hydreigon this game, meaning I win.
1-0
Round 2: Some random person whose name I don’t recall (sorry);Darkrai/Landorus
He goes first with Sableye, but that’s not saying much since he had to attach a {F}. He fails the Confuse Ray flip. I attach Double Colorless to Tornadus, get a Ho-Oh in the discard, and bench Mewtwo. I really hate going second because he’s probably going to get heads this time on the Confuse Ray, and I don’t have too decent of a setup. He benches Landorus and Dark Patches to the Darkrai he had benched previously. He flipped tails again, so on my turn, I proceed to Hurricane his Sableye, moving a {F} to a benched Terrakion. It’s another few turns before he gets his first Supporter I believe. By this point I’ve Land Crushed a Darkrai. I don’t remember the rest of the game except that he almost made a comeback… Almost…
2-0
Round 3: Mrs. Pam; Terrakion/Tornadus
My opponent starts Mewtwo to my own, and attaches a Double Colorless. It’s not looking good. I’m forced to bench my Terrakion so that I’m not T2’d, but off of a Juniper, I get a Tornadus anyway. I attach an energy top Tornadus, and Switch for it. She hits it for 60 while benching a Tornadus with an energy. On my turn, I use Hurricane and move an energy to Terrakion; I have a feeling I’m actualy going to be using it this match up. She catcher my Mewtwo and KO’s it, but it’s not the end of the world since I get the {F} energy and Retaliate her Mewtwo so we’re even on prizes. Unfortunately, I have Terrakion stuck active doing a pitiful 30. Eventually I get rolling with two Ho-Ohs (That’s how many were prized.), and the game comes down to sudden death, with her playing a Switch every turn for prize denial. Finally I take my fifth prize. Good thing we were in sudden death because that turn, she would have top decked a Catcher for a damaged Mewtwo. Plus, I would have decked that turn anyway.
3-0
Round 4: Patrick; Blastoise/Keldeo
I finally get to go first! I start Mewtwo to his Squirtle. I get the T1 40. He benches Keldeo with a {W} and Rushes In. I bench some stuff, but importantly, I Catcher Squirtle and KO it. He sends up Keldeo, attaches Double Colorless, and uses Sacred Sword for 70. I attach Double Colorless and fail the Rebirth flip with two Energy Switch in hand. (If you’re keeping up, that would have been 180.) He can’t bench anything else, so it’s game the next turn.
4-0
Round 5: Mikey; Darkrai/Hydreigon
Don’t do what this guy did and that is be a friend. I’ve dealt with this guy before, and I wasn’t sure if he was joking around, or in fact, well, a friend, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. I win the coin flip, and I think he bangs the table with medium force and takes the Lord’s name in vain. Apparently, he hasn’t gone first today. I do 20 to his Darkrai with Mewtwo. So much for early pressure. He benches Deinos and a Sableye, attaches to Darkrai, and I think some other stuff. I attach to Mewtwo and Catcher his Deino. I believe he drops the “f” bomb. He sends up Sableye and Junk Hunts for some stuff; I kill it. I want to say there’s a repeat of what happened in round one where I KO all of his Deinos , but I’m not entirely sure At some point I had to Bench a Terrakion prematurely and ditch two Energy Switch, meaning three total in the discard. He takes notice, and while I’m shuffling for an N that was played, says something along the lines of ‘You’ve ditched most of your Energy Switch, a card you really need in this matchup, and now I’m about to kill your Terrakion,’ in an almost threatening manner. I think he was scared and was trying to get in my head. So he does, sending a {F} and a {D} to the discard along with it. After he KO’s Terrakion with Darkrai, I flip heads on the Rebirth, bench Terrakion with an energy, and use my last Energy Switch, getting the {F} from Ho-Oh. What was that about an Energy Switch? I say good game, and offer my hand as is good manners. He refuses saying, “I don’t shake hands with the lucky,” or something, which is probably just as well because I don’t shake hands with sore losers either. I think my actual reply was, “5-0 isn't luck.” He calls over the judge and says, “He won… on accident.” The first comeback that came to mind was, “And you lost on accident.” (weak, I know). He takes it as a compliment, but he shouldn't have because it implies he was a derp and misplayed.
5-0
Being the only 5-0, I’m guaranteed top cut. Yay. My opponent in top four is Jacob, my friend who decided to use my list after having no luck with Hammertime while I took first at Cities not too long ago. The mirror match inevitably ends up in a Mewtwo war, which is what happened game one with me on the wrong side of victory. Second game, I get to go first. I attach Double Colorless and do 40 to his Ho-Oh. He Ultra Balls Ho-Oh and an energy for Mewtwo and attaches Double Colorless. He fails the Rebirth, and ditches an Energy Switch with Junper. That was close! He flips heads with a Super Scoop Up, though, and picks up the Mewtwo and rebenches the Mewtwo without the energy. He probably should have tried Rebirth before attaching, but it wasn’t too big of a deal since he got heads. We eventually exchange Mewtwos, and then he buffers with Ho-Oh because he can’t keep the Mewtwos up. He hits my Mewtwo for 80. I Catcher his Mewtwo and with no energy and use Psydrive on it. He attaches the fourth energy to Ho-Oh and KO’s Mewtwo that way, but I attach my second Double Colorless to my third Mewtwo and KO his Ho-Oh for game. Third game was kind of blurry. I remember starting Tornadus and using Hurricane on Mewtwo. I finish it off later with Terrakion. The mirror kind of blurs together, especially since I played it three in a row, so I don’t remember anything else except that I won.
Mikey also made it to top cut. I asked his top cut opponent who won. He said he beat Mikey. I glance over to see Mikey glaring at me; we lock eyes for a few seconds. “Some luck,” I say as I pass by him on my way to the table, but I don’t think he heard me. I notice some ripped up commons in front of him as I walk by. According to the tournament director, he had at some point punched a wall. I high five my opponent for beating Mikey and denying him any opportunity for revenge or bragging rights as we sit down to play for top two… of which I remember absolutely nothing. He was playing Darkrai/Hydreigon, and I won the first and third games, but other than that, I draw a blank… Sorry for the lack of a climatic resolution.
Out of my packs, I pulled a Celebi and a Computer Search along with two Raticates I had also traded for earlier. Oh well.
Props:
going undefeated in swiss
getting first place
free mat from Patrick
relatively good pulls
Slops:
getting a rival
denying a pack that turned out to have a Keldeo in it
I typically think posting Prerelease reports are pointless, since they are completely noncompetitive, but I had such a good time, and I won so maybe just this once.
I would like to start by saying that our area is unique (or maybe it’s not and everyone does this) in that for our prereleases, we use team play rules—a “double battle” if you will. You sit opposite your teammate with an opponent on either side. Play goes in a counter-clockwise direction. You set out two prize cards, and your teammate does the same so that you have a combined four prize cards. Once during your turn, you may ask your opponent one yes or no question.
Now that that’s over with, on to the narration. I get there way too early, and have to wait for them to set up the printer to print out the registration. I eventually get to open my packs, and pull utterly useless crap. Nothing remotely useful, even for a prerelease. I did pull 2 Colress, a Team Plasma Grunt, and a rh Bicycle. I decide to wait for Andrew, my teammate, to show up and see what he pulls. You are allowed to use your teammate’s cards, so I was hoping he’d pull some of the Basics and Stage 1’s to complete the partial evolution lines I pulled. He pulls 2 Golbat and 2 Chimchar, which I have the Infernapes and we each have the promo Crobat. That’s only enough for one deck. I decided it would be best for me to see what I pulled in the annoying status department, which is not much. I was losing hope when Andrew turns to me and asks me if he should use a Heatmor. I now know exactly what I’m running. Here’s the list:
1 Heatmor
2 Durrant
1 Escape Rope
36 Fire Energy
Yup, I’ve got nothing better to run. The plus side is that My friend can use all of my Supporters. He pulled a few himself, and he has the Crobat as a draw engine, so theoretically, we have a pretty good chance to win this thing. I play a few test games with Andrew. In the first one, I’m only a turn behind; he gets out Crobat with Virbank in play when I have one last prize card. I win the next game, but I think to myself, “My own teammate can beat me. That means his deck is pretty consistent. Even if I fail outright, he can probably handle himself on his own.’
Round 1
I we lose the dice roll, and because I inadvertently mentioned letting me go first regardless and I kept getting mulligans with a hand full of Fire Energy, one of my opponent correctly assumed basically what my strategy was and decides to go first, making me go last. When it comes around to my turn, I use Call for Backup, next turn I bench Heatmor with an energy, and retreat to use Luring Flame to prevent my opponent taking a KO on Andrew’s Active Zubat and bring up a Lunatone, who has a hefty retreat. Unfortuanely, Andrew decides to throw a wrench in the system. He takes a KO on our other opponent’s Active. He has a Carvahna benched with a Grass energy, top decks the Water he needs, and hits me for 40. I decide to stay in, attaching and passing. He hits me for another 40, putting me at a scary 80, but I have the energy I need to attack and discard the top four cards of my deck for 200. Poor Carvahna. (This benches him, by the way.) The burn damage KO’s Lunatone going into Andrew’s turn, and on my turn, I take the last prize.
1-0
Round 2
Meh, I don’t remember this game. I get set up T4 no problem and Lick them to death.
2-0
Round 3
We’re up against some of our friends in the last round. I finally get to go first, starting Durant, and Calling for Backup. Jacob has a Patrat swinging for 20 a turn, and because Andrew started Giratina, there’s nothing we can do about it at the moment. Christopher has Rotom out drawing off of his attack. I want to use Luring Flame, but Christopher has a Zapdos benched, and I have to get the other Durant out of my deck. Since the Escape Rope is in my hand, my deck would be all energy, ensuring a OHKO. Next turn, I retreat and use Luring Flame on his Zapdos. He has to waste his energy for the turn to retreat. When it comes around to my turn, I kill his Rotom. Andrew is finally ready to attack, and I tell his to attack Christopher. He’s unsure, but thankfully he trusted me. Cristopher only has two Benched Pokemon, so I use the Escape Rope, retreat Durant, and OHKO his Zapdos for the win.
3-0
Woo, we won. We win nothing for our troubles (not even bragging rights since it’s a prerelease), but out of my two packs at the end, I get a Golden Random Receiver! (Finally, an Ultra Rare from the new set.)
I would like to start by saying that our area is unique (or maybe it’s not and everyone does this) in that for our prereleases, we use team play rules—a “double battle” if you will. You sit opposite your teammate with an opponent on either side. Play goes in a counter-clockwise direction. You set out two prize cards, and your teammate does the same so that you have a combined four prize cards. Once during your turn, you may ask your opponent one yes or no question.
Now that that’s over with, on to the narration. I get there way too early, and have to wait for them to set up the printer to print out the registration. I eventually get to open my packs, and pull utterly useless crap. Nothing remotely useful, even for a prerelease. I did pull 2 Colress, a Team Plasma Grunt, and a rh Bicycle. I decide to wait for Andrew, my teammate, to show up and see what he pulls. You are allowed to use your teammate’s cards, so I was hoping he’d pull some of the Basics and Stage 1’s to complete the partial evolution lines I pulled. He pulls 2 Golbat and 2 Chimchar, which I have the Infernapes and we each have the promo Crobat. That’s only enough for one deck. I decided it would be best for me to see what I pulled in the annoying status department, which is not much. I was losing hope when Andrew turns to me and asks me if he should use a Heatmor. I now know exactly what I’m running. Here’s the list:
1 Heatmor
2 Durrant
1 Escape Rope
36 Fire Energy
Yup, I’ve got nothing better to run. The plus side is that My friend can use all of my Supporters. He pulled a few himself, and he has the Crobat as a draw engine, so theoretically, we have a pretty good chance to win this thing. I play a few test games with Andrew. In the first one, I’m only a turn behind; he gets out Crobat with Virbank in play when I have one last prize card. I win the next game, but I think to myself, “My own teammate can beat me. That means his deck is pretty consistent. Even if I fail outright, he can probably handle himself on his own.’
Round 1
I we lose the dice roll, and because I inadvertently mentioned letting me go first regardless and I kept getting mulligans with a hand full of Fire Energy, one of my opponent correctly assumed basically what my strategy was and decides to go first, making me go last. When it comes around to my turn, I use Call for Backup, next turn I bench Heatmor with an energy, and retreat to use Luring Flame to prevent my opponent taking a KO on Andrew’s Active Zubat and bring up a Lunatone, who has a hefty retreat. Unfortuanely, Andrew decides to throw a wrench in the system. He takes a KO on our other opponent’s Active. He has a Carvahna benched with a Grass energy, top decks the Water he needs, and hits me for 40. I decide to stay in, attaching and passing. He hits me for another 40, putting me at a scary 80, but I have the energy I need to attack and discard the top four cards of my deck for 200. Poor Carvahna. (This benches him, by the way.) The burn damage KO’s Lunatone going into Andrew’s turn, and on my turn, I take the last prize.
1-0
Round 2
Meh, I don’t remember this game. I get set up T4 no problem and Lick them to death.
2-0
Round 3
We’re up against some of our friends in the last round. I finally get to go first, starting Durant, and Calling for Backup. Jacob has a Patrat swinging for 20 a turn, and because Andrew started Giratina, there’s nothing we can do about it at the moment. Christopher has Rotom out drawing off of his attack. I want to use Luring Flame, but Christopher has a Zapdos benched, and I have to get the other Durant out of my deck. Since the Escape Rope is in my hand, my deck would be all energy, ensuring a OHKO. Next turn, I retreat and use Luring Flame on his Zapdos. He has to waste his energy for the turn to retreat. When it comes around to my turn, I kill his Rotom. Andrew is finally ready to attack, and I tell his to attack Christopher. He’s unsure, but thankfully he trusted me. Cristopher only has two Benched Pokemon, so I use the Escape Rope, retreat Durant, and OHKO his Zapdos for the win.
3-0
Woo, we won. We win nothing for our troubles (not even bragging rights since it’s a prerelease), but out of my two packs at the end, I get a Golden Random Receiver! (Finally, an Ultra Rare from the new set.)
I decided to go rogue for States and play an interesting Victini toolbox I came up with. With decent starts against most meta decks, it can pull off a T2 180 damage. I’ve had a lot of success with it online, but with my friends, it seemed to always fall short. I think I got a little too carried away with the deck and made the list inconsistent, but through the-night-before testing, I think I have a pretty good list. We woke up at 12:30 for a six hour drive. None of us slept at all during the trip. I get there, borrow some last minute additions, fill out my list in secret, take thirty minutes to remember my POP ID, and register for the tournament. I watch one of the judges’ expression as she checks my list but nothing. Some of my opponent’s had more interesting reactions, though. It was well worth not running Mewtwo/Eels.
At one point before registration, the pay phone rings. I have this urge to answer it and say 'Hello? No, this is Patrick,' but I'm too busy registering and stuff.
Round 1: Darkrai/Reshiram
I start Mewtwo to his Darkrai and go first. I Skyla for Ultra Ball for Victini and pass— lovely start. He benches Reshiram for some unknown reason (maybe fear of the unknown), attaches to Darkrai, lasers my Mewtwo, and passes. I play the Skyarrow I had been holding for fear of Virbank before playing Juniper. I get the Fire Energy and also an Escape Rope to force active his benched Reshiram and am forced to Turbo Energize to Mewtwo. Next turn he plays Escape Rope, catchering Mewtwo, Ultra Balls for his own Mewtwo, and Computer Searches for Juniper. I’m relieved when he attaches again to Darkrai and passes. I Ultra Ball for Terrakion EX, Energy Switch the Fire over to Terrakion, and attach Prism to it. I catcher his Mewtwo and hit it for 80. All he is able to do is free retreat into Reshiram. I send up Terrakion and Pump Up Smash a water to a Terraion BCR and KO his Darkrai. From this point, it’s clear I have the win, and I go on to 6-0 him.
1-0
Round 2: Big Basics
I don’t get a good start, but I manage to get set up. At some point, I misplay an Escape Rope, Rush In, retreat combo to burn my hand but fortunately get a Switch off of a four card N. It gets to the point where I’m up a prize with two left, and I misplay again. What I should have done was Juniper hoping to get the last Prism in my deck for Keldeo and Catcher to OHKO his benched Landorus, but I didn’t think my odds were good enough, so I N’d myself into a dead hand. I didn’t think about getting an energy off of Juniper so that I could just attack for 70, and then follow up with Sacred Sword for the remaining 100 damage for game. I end not being able to do anything and lose.
1-1
Round 3: Lugia
I win a Victini hat just before the match starts; oh the irony. He flips over Mewtwo and I flip over Terrakion EX. I go first and am somehow able to get a Victini and Victory Piece to the Active. I attach a Prism to the Bench and hit his Mewtwo for 100. He is forced to Juniper a lot of his resources and Benches a Lugia, Switches into it, attached DCE, and Colress Machines to it. So close. I have burned my hand down getting Victini into the Active, so I don’t top deck a Supporter. I manually attach to Terrakion and hit Lugia for 100 as well. After Scramble Switching into a fresh Lugia, he KO’s my Victini and puts 120 on Terrakion next turn with me drawing nothing. I get nothing and he like T4’s me.
1-2
Round 4: Darkrai
I go first again and this time actually start with Victini and bench a Terrakion and Benchtini, and my hand is amazing. He flips over Darkrai. I Ultra Ball for Terrakion EX and bicycle for three. I get the Victory Piece, devote my attachment to Terrakion EX, and Turbo Energize two more Fighting to it. He can’t Bench another Pokemon and I Switch out of Sleep for the T2 game.
2-2
Round 5: Darkrai
I start Victini and Keldeo and go second for the first time all day. He’s a bit confused when he sees what I’m playing, so he lasers the Victini and with Confuse Ray puts it at 40. I play some creative sum of Escape Rope, Catcher, and Rush In to burn my hand down for Bianca and get the T1 Victory Piece. I Rush In, Switch, Juniper, Catcher the Darkrai and KO it that turn, but I can’t bench anything else, which is really scary since he proceeds to KO my Victini with Sableye. I send up Keldeo with a single Prism, Ultra Ball for Terrakion with Retaliate, and attach a Fighting to it hoping to bluff him. It works, and he retreats for Sableye and Junk Hunts for Catcher and Laser. I N them out of his hand, attach to Keldeo and pass. He gets nothing off of the N and uses Junk Hunt again. I attach another energy to Keldeo and start KO’ing his Sableyes. Eventually he doesn’t have a choice but to KO Keldeo. I top deck an energy for the game.
3-2
Round 6: Lugia
He goes first and barely misses the T1 donk on Victini. I get out Mewtwo since I’m pretty confident he only uses Lugia and Sigilyph and accelerate energy onto Mewtwo. Next turn, he takes three prizes off of Victini. I N him down to three and refresh my hand and X-Ball for 80. (Lugia had Eviolite.) He gets the energy and starts setting up another Lugia. I KO Lugia, but he attaches DCE and Colress Machines to his other Lugia for game.
3-3
Round 7: Blastoise/Keldeo
A good matchup. I can finish up 4-3, get top 32 and at least win some packs. I go first, get out Virizion, and begin searching energies with Turbo Energize. I’ve prized all but one Grass energy, and there is only one Prism in left in the deck. This could be a bit of a problem. Next turn, I Juniper and whiff the Prism. I have nothing good to attack with most of the game. Thankfully, I’m able to draw into some of my prized Grass energies early, but by that point, Virizion has already been KO’d. I get a late game Shaymin and N him down to two, be he gets a Supporter off of it and is able to get a Secret Sword off for game.
3-4
Props:
upgrading all of my decked Pokemon to full arts (minus Mewtwo, but I don’t like FA Mewtwo)
having a newfound confidence in my deck idea
friends contributing interesting ideas to my list
opponent’s expressions
lots of playtesting
T2’ing a Darkrai
going first four games in a row
getting the T1 Turbo most of the time
Slops:
3-4
misplays
prizing stuff
would have/should have/could have gotten top cut
3 hours of sleep; 24 hours of consciousness
At one point before registration, the pay phone rings. I have this urge to answer it and say 'Hello? No, this is Patrick,' but I'm too busy registering and stuff.
Round 1: Darkrai/Reshiram
I start Mewtwo to his Darkrai and go first. I Skyla for Ultra Ball for Victini and pass— lovely start. He benches Reshiram for some unknown reason (maybe fear of the unknown), attaches to Darkrai, lasers my Mewtwo, and passes. I play the Skyarrow I had been holding for fear of Virbank before playing Juniper. I get the Fire Energy and also an Escape Rope to force active his benched Reshiram and am forced to Turbo Energize to Mewtwo. Next turn he plays Escape Rope, catchering Mewtwo, Ultra Balls for his own Mewtwo, and Computer Searches for Juniper. I’m relieved when he attaches again to Darkrai and passes. I Ultra Ball for Terrakion EX, Energy Switch the Fire over to Terrakion, and attach Prism to it. I catcher his Mewtwo and hit it for 80. All he is able to do is free retreat into Reshiram. I send up Terrakion and Pump Up Smash a water to a Terraion BCR and KO his Darkrai. From this point, it’s clear I have the win, and I go on to 6-0 him.
1-0
Round 2: Big Basics
I don’t get a good start, but I manage to get set up. At some point, I misplay an Escape Rope, Rush In, retreat combo to burn my hand but fortunately get a Switch off of a four card N. It gets to the point where I’m up a prize with two left, and I misplay again. What I should have done was Juniper hoping to get the last Prism in my deck for Keldeo and Catcher to OHKO his benched Landorus, but I didn’t think my odds were good enough, so I N’d myself into a dead hand. I didn’t think about getting an energy off of Juniper so that I could just attack for 70, and then follow up with Sacred Sword for the remaining 100 damage for game. I end not being able to do anything and lose.
1-1
Round 3: Lugia
I win a Victini hat just before the match starts; oh the irony. He flips over Mewtwo and I flip over Terrakion EX. I go first and am somehow able to get a Victini and Victory Piece to the Active. I attach a Prism to the Bench and hit his Mewtwo for 100. He is forced to Juniper a lot of his resources and Benches a Lugia, Switches into it, attached DCE, and Colress Machines to it. So close. I have burned my hand down getting Victini into the Active, so I don’t top deck a Supporter. I manually attach to Terrakion and hit Lugia for 100 as well. After Scramble Switching into a fresh Lugia, he KO’s my Victini and puts 120 on Terrakion next turn with me drawing nothing. I get nothing and he like T4’s me.
1-2
Round 4: Darkrai
I go first again and this time actually start with Victini and bench a Terrakion and Benchtini, and my hand is amazing. He flips over Darkrai. I Ultra Ball for Terrakion EX and bicycle for three. I get the Victory Piece, devote my attachment to Terrakion EX, and Turbo Energize two more Fighting to it. He can’t Bench another Pokemon and I Switch out of Sleep for the T2 game.
2-2
Round 5: Darkrai
I start Victini and Keldeo and go second for the first time all day. He’s a bit confused when he sees what I’m playing, so he lasers the Victini and with Confuse Ray puts it at 40. I play some creative sum of Escape Rope, Catcher, and Rush In to burn my hand down for Bianca and get the T1 Victory Piece. I Rush In, Switch, Juniper, Catcher the Darkrai and KO it that turn, but I can’t bench anything else, which is really scary since he proceeds to KO my Victini with Sableye. I send up Keldeo with a single Prism, Ultra Ball for Terrakion with Retaliate, and attach a Fighting to it hoping to bluff him. It works, and he retreats for Sableye and Junk Hunts for Catcher and Laser. I N them out of his hand, attach to Keldeo and pass. He gets nothing off of the N and uses Junk Hunt again. I attach another energy to Keldeo and start KO’ing his Sableyes. Eventually he doesn’t have a choice but to KO Keldeo. I top deck an energy for the game.
3-2
Round 6: Lugia
He goes first and barely misses the T1 donk on Victini. I get out Mewtwo since I’m pretty confident he only uses Lugia and Sigilyph and accelerate energy onto Mewtwo. Next turn, he takes three prizes off of Victini. I N him down to three and refresh my hand and X-Ball for 80. (Lugia had Eviolite.) He gets the energy and starts setting up another Lugia. I KO Lugia, but he attaches DCE and Colress Machines to his other Lugia for game.
3-3
Round 7: Blastoise/Keldeo
A good matchup. I can finish up 4-3, get top 32 and at least win some packs. I go first, get out Virizion, and begin searching energies with Turbo Energize. I’ve prized all but one Grass energy, and there is only one Prism in left in the deck. This could be a bit of a problem. Next turn, I Juniper and whiff the Prism. I have nothing good to attack with most of the game. Thankfully, I’m able to draw into some of my prized Grass energies early, but by that point, Virizion has already been KO’d. I get a late game Shaymin and N him down to two, be he gets a Supporter off of it and is able to get a Secret Sword off for game.
3-4
Props:
upgrading all of my decked Pokemon to full arts (minus Mewtwo, but I don’t like FA Mewtwo)
having a newfound confidence in my deck idea
friends contributing interesting ideas to my list
opponent’s expressions
lots of playtesting
T2’ing a Darkrai
going first four games in a row
getting the T1 Turbo most of the time
Slops:
3-4
misplays
prizing stuff
would have/should have/could have gotten top cut
3 hours of sleep; 24 hours of consciousness
States + Team Play
I'm still playing my Victinibox. I don't really remember exactly what happened in good detail because I didn't feel like writing it down, but whatever. This is going to be rather brief:
Round 1: Keldeo/Blastoise
I go first and overwhelm him. I have both Virizion and Rayquaza powered up. He has Keldeo and Black Kyurem in play. What ever he does, I have Catcher for the win.
1-0
Round 2: Keldeo/Blastoise
Exact same thing as the round before.
2-0
Round 3: Big Basics
This match up kind of sucks since I had to take the Keldeo out for other things. I have no way to OHKO his Landorus and he hits Max Potions when he needs them.
2-1
Round 4: Quad Lugia
Same guy who beat me in Round 6 last week (who went on to top cut, might I add). I had prepared for this match up, though. I Bench him T2 with Zekrom, even after going second.
3-1
Round 5: Keldeo/Blastoise
I don't get a Supporter until like T3; by then, it's too late.
3-2
Round 6: Darkrai/Lasers/Hammers
I scoop to MMAmonchan because I feel sorry for him, and he might actually get top cut this time.
(It was really the hammers.)
3-3
Round 7: Keldeo/Blastoise
I don't remember what happened, but I destroyed him.
4-3
MMAmonchan gets top cut, and I think he loses in top 16. Jacob gets 1st seed but loses in top 16 as well. I get 20th place with a rogue. Not too bad, but I didn't get CP, packs, or anything. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the Team Play State Championship, which I was going to partake in, my partner being Jacob, the guy who got first seed the day before. We woke up an hour before registration and I decided on a whim to build Quad Lugia with Jacob, who was running the same. It took us about an hour to get our lists together, sleeve the cards, put the ones from our previous decks in our binders. We scramble to get there, and arrive barely on time. And with that, without any prior testing with Lugia variants at all, we go into our first match.
Round 1: Keldeo/Blastoise & RayEels
We BOTH get a T1 Lugia. Need I say more?
1-0
Round 2: Keldeo/Blastoise & Darkrai/Landorus
I get the T1 Lugia, and we end up Catcher-stalling one opponent's Terrakion while benching the other's Keldeos and Squirtle.
2-0
Round 3: Speed Darkrai (at Table 1!)
All four of us dead draw, but because we take extra prizes with Lugia, we ended up winning.
3-0
Round 4: Darkrai/Lugia & Big Basics
We don't get a T1 Lugia, but our opponent does, putting a lot of pressure on us. We eventually get set up, but 120 from Lugia and 60 from Tonradus knocks us out after one Plasma Gale each. Thankfully the Tornadus scored the KO's, but we still ended up losing.
3-1
Round 5: Big Basics
We trade evenly with Bouffalant for a while. The game goes into time with us even on prizes, and we KO Tornadus, taking three prizes. Our opponent OHKO's my Mewtwo, but we're still up a prize because of Overflow, and we win.
4-1
Top Cut
Surprise! For top cut, you're playing with theme decks Mikey (rather vehemently) tosses us theme decks from a black garbage bag. I get the Verdant Frost Theme Deck and Jacob gets the Royal Guard. So as to make it more skill based than luck based, we are to reduce them to 40 card decks. I wisely take out my Stage 2, and advise Jacob to at least take out the Nidoking from his. I was planning to take to disruption; I had Bellsprout with a Catcher attack, Venomoth to poison opponents, Tentacruel for the very nice Paralyze and Poison thing (Tentavolve) and Golduck just to take prizes. Jacob was going for heavy hitting. I won't bore you with the specific details.
So we win every single game in top cut, earning first place. Nearly every game came down to a coin flip. First game, Jacob's Life Herb; second, my Tripping Headbutt; third, my sleep check, fourth, an opponent's Tripping Headbutt. Tentacruel was my MVP; the math work perfectly for opposing Tentacruels, and stalling paved the way for comebacks. I think Marrowak was Jacob's MVP. I pulled Indigo Plateau in the pack that came with the theme deck, so I let Jacob use that for Marowak's attack. The look on our opponent's face when he dropped the Stadium for Bone Impact for 80 was priceless!
So we won. I pulled Dowsing Machine and a reverse holo Laser. Jacob pulls Black Kyurem and Moltres. I chose the wrong set of pack.
I'm still playing my Victinibox. I don't really remember exactly what happened in good detail because I didn't feel like writing it down, but whatever. This is going to be rather brief:
Round 1: Keldeo/Blastoise
I go first and overwhelm him. I have both Virizion and Rayquaza powered up. He has Keldeo and Black Kyurem in play. What ever he does, I have Catcher for the win.
1-0
Round 2: Keldeo/Blastoise
Exact same thing as the round before.
2-0
Round 3: Big Basics
This match up kind of sucks since I had to take the Keldeo out for other things. I have no way to OHKO his Landorus and he hits Max Potions when he needs them.
2-1
Round 4: Quad Lugia
Same guy who beat me in Round 6 last week (who went on to top cut, might I add). I had prepared for this match up, though. I Bench him T2 with Zekrom, even after going second.
3-1
Round 5: Keldeo/Blastoise
I don't get a Supporter until like T3; by then, it's too late.
3-2
Round 6: Darkrai/Lasers/Hammers
I scoop to MMAmonchan because I feel sorry for him, and he might actually get top cut this time.
(It was really the hammers.)3-3
Round 7: Keldeo/Blastoise
I don't remember what happened, but I destroyed him.
4-3
MMAmonchan gets top cut, and I think he loses in top 16. Jacob gets 1st seed but loses in top 16 as well. I get 20th place with a rogue. Not too bad, but I didn't get CP, packs, or anything. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the Team Play State Championship, which I was going to partake in, my partner being Jacob, the guy who got first seed the day before. We woke up an hour before registration and I decided on a whim to build Quad Lugia with Jacob, who was running the same. It took us about an hour to get our lists together, sleeve the cards, put the ones from our previous decks in our binders. We scramble to get there, and arrive barely on time. And with that, without any prior testing with Lugia variants at all, we go into our first match.
Round 1: Keldeo/Blastoise & RayEels
We BOTH get a T1 Lugia. Need I say more?
1-0
Round 2: Keldeo/Blastoise & Darkrai/Landorus
I get the T1 Lugia, and we end up Catcher-stalling one opponent's Terrakion while benching the other's Keldeos and Squirtle.
2-0
Round 3: Speed Darkrai (at Table 1!)
All four of us dead draw, but because we take extra prizes with Lugia, we ended up winning.
3-0
Round 4: Darkrai/Lugia & Big Basics
We don't get a T1 Lugia, but our opponent does, putting a lot of pressure on us. We eventually get set up, but 120 from Lugia and 60 from Tonradus knocks us out after one Plasma Gale each. Thankfully the Tornadus scored the KO's, but we still ended up losing.
3-1
Round 5: Big Basics
We trade evenly with Bouffalant for a while. The game goes into time with us even on prizes, and we KO Tornadus, taking three prizes. Our opponent OHKO's my Mewtwo, but we're still up a prize because of Overflow, and we win.
4-1
Top Cut
Surprise! For top cut, you're playing with theme decks
Mikey (rather vehemently) tosses us theme decks from a black garbage bag. I get the Verdant Frost Theme Deck and Jacob gets the Royal Guard. So as to make it more skill based than luck based, we are to reduce them to 40 card decks. I wisely take out my Stage 2, and advise Jacob to at least take out the Nidoking from his. I was planning to take to disruption; I had Bellsprout with a Catcher attack, Venomoth to poison opponents, Tentacruel for the very nice Paralyze and Poison thing (Tentavolve) and Golduck just to take prizes. Jacob was going for heavy hitting. I won't bore you with the specific details.So we win every single game in top cut, earning first place. Nearly every game came down to a coin flip. First game, Jacob's Life Herb; second, my Tripping Headbutt; third, my sleep check, fourth, an opponent's Tripping Headbutt. Tentacruel was my MVP; the math work perfectly for opposing Tentacruels, and stalling paved the way for comebacks. I think Marrowak was Jacob's MVP. I pulled Indigo Plateau in the pack that came with the theme deck, so I let Jacob use that for Marowak's attack. The look on our opponent's face when he dropped the Stadium for Bone Impact for 80 was priceless!
So we won. I pulled Dowsing Machine and a reverse holo Laser. Jacob pulls Black Kyurem and Moltres. I chose the wrong set of pack.
Battle Roads:
Ellisville:
Round 1: Plasma Box
I basically lose this match because I couldn't get a hold of enoug Cobalion EX to really justify using Klinklang, but I figure I have better odds than using Victini. It also doesn't help that he powers up Kyurem in one turn with attachment, Colress Machine, and Scramble Switch to OHKO Klinklang.
0-1
Round 2: Klinklang
Not much to say here; mirror matches are like that.
1-1
Round 3: Plamsa Box
Same as Round 1.
1-2
Round 4: Klinklang
Same as Round 2.
2-2
Hmm, that was rather uneventful.
Pearl:
Round 1: Matthew; Lugia/Mewtwo/Terrakion
I start Klink, bench Durant, and Heavy Ball for another Klink. He gets a T1 Lugia and KO's Klink. I send up Durant and use Pull Out for the last Klinklang piece. He doesn't get the Catcher and KO's Durant. I get out Plasma Klinklang and come back from 0-4 to 6-4. That was close!
1-0
Round 2: Daniel; Speed Darkrai
I get a T2 Klinklang, keep a low Bench, and Steel Bullet his Absols to death.
2-0
Round 3: Brian; Darkrai/Hydreigon
You're laughing now, but this guy ends up getting first place. I tried to get rid of all of his Blend energies, but he gets his last one and uses Dragon Blast to OHKO Klinklang. I can't get another one up and he starts attacking with Darkrai. The game goes into time, and I'm down down a prize card. On my turn 3, I Colress for 9, Catcher his Keldeo EX, play a Laser, send up Shift Gear Klinklang and flip only one heads... so close.
2-1
Round 4: Jake; Garbodor
For some reason, the two 3-0's didn't get paired together, so ended up playing my worst match up. I start the game figuring I've already been knocked out of top 4. He goes first and gets a T2 Garbodor, so I don't even bother setting up Klinklangs because I had to cut Tool Scrapper from the list. I don't hit my energy drops all of the time, and fall behind on attachments. He gets the first Steel Bullet and puts my Cobalion at 160. I Max Potion the damage off and hit him for another 30, so he's at 120 with three turns of poison. He uses Steel Bullet again, and I use Righteous Edge again. I he decides to use Steel Bullet again, poison will knock him out going into my turn so he Switches for Landorus and starts Hammerheading my Benched Cobalion. I Skyla for Catcher and take the KO on his Cobalion EX. He uses Hammerhead again and Laser to put me at 170, but I Dowsing Machine for the Max Potion I had used earlier to once again erase all of his efforts. I also attach Float Stone to get rid of poison. The game goes into time with me at four and my opponent at five. His Landorus has 160, and my Cobalion has 170. I use Righteous Edge, and I think did I really win against Garbodor? Then my opponent declares that poison knocks me out going into his turn, and I realized I had forgotten one detail. (I could have manually retreated into another Cobalion.) I send up the Pokemon that had the most HP remaining: the Cobalion at 150. He Skylas for Dowsing Machine for his fifth Catcher and KO's a damaged Benched Cobalion NV. We go into Sudden Death, but it doesn't matter because I decked next turn. Oh well, I still kind of feel like I won that one.
3-1
2-2
So because both 3-0's got paired down and both won, there were no 3-1's, meaning the 4-0's got first and second. I had both of them on my resistance, so I get third, and my first round opponent had the 4-0 Hydreigon and me on his resistance and got 4th. So I win, but I don't really feel like a winner because I went 2-2... It's an odd feeling.
3rd Place
Collins:
Round 1: Darkrai
I bench her lone Darkrai T4. She had absolutely nothing while I was holding on to two Klinklangs, two Candies, and a Juniper.
1-0
Round 2: Plasma
Once again, I get three muligans, start lone Klink, and get donked by this guy :'(
1-1
Round 3: Victini/Latias/Reshiram
I'm scared. I know the power of Victini, and since he hits for Weakness, I have basically no chance. Fortunately for me he's a really bad player. He realizes halfway through the game that Latias's attack goes through Plasma Steel when I KO Sigilyph with Steel Bullet. He also apparently doesn't realize Metal's Weakness is Fire.
2-1
Round 4: Brian; Garbodor
This game was close like my final round last week against Garbodor, but I don't lose off of a misplay this time. I just lose.
2-2
Once again, something weird happens and I end up in fourth place despite being 2-2.
4th place
Ellisville:
Round 1: Plasma Box
I basically lose this match because I couldn't get a hold of enoug Cobalion EX to really justify using Klinklang, but I figure I have better odds than using Victini. It also doesn't help that he powers up Kyurem in one turn with attachment, Colress Machine, and Scramble Switch to OHKO Klinklang.
0-1
Round 2: Klinklang
Not much to say here; mirror matches are like that.
1-1
Round 3: Plamsa Box
Same as Round 1.
1-2
Round 4: Klinklang
Same as Round 2.
2-2
Hmm, that was rather uneventful.
Pearl:
Round 1: Matthew; Lugia/Mewtwo/Terrakion
I start Klink, bench Durant, and Heavy Ball for another Klink. He gets a T1 Lugia and KO's Klink. I send up Durant and use Pull Out for the last Klinklang piece. He doesn't get the Catcher and KO's Durant. I get out Plasma Klinklang and come back from 0-4 to 6-4. That was close!
1-0
Round 2: Daniel; Speed Darkrai
I get a T2 Klinklang, keep a low Bench, and Steel Bullet his Absols to death.
2-0
Round 3: Brian; Darkrai/Hydreigon
You're laughing now, but this guy ends up getting first place. I tried to get rid of all of his Blend energies, but he gets his last one and uses Dragon Blast to OHKO Klinklang. I can't get another one up and he starts attacking with Darkrai. The game goes into time, and I'm down down a prize card. On my turn 3, I Colress for 9, Catcher his Keldeo EX, play a Laser, send up Shift Gear Klinklang and flip only one heads... so close.
2-1
Round 4: Jake; Garbodor
For some reason, the two 3-0's didn't get paired together, so ended up playing my worst match up. I start the game figuring I've already been knocked out of top 4. He goes first and gets a T2 Garbodor, so I don't even bother setting up Klinklangs because I had to cut Tool Scrapper from the list. I don't hit my energy drops all of the time, and fall behind on attachments. He gets the first Steel Bullet and puts my Cobalion at 160. I Max Potion the damage off and hit him for another 30, so he's at 120 with three turns of poison. He uses Steel Bullet again, and I use Righteous Edge again. I he decides to use Steel Bullet again, poison will knock him out going into my turn so he Switches for Landorus and starts Hammerheading my Benched Cobalion. I Skyla for Catcher and take the KO on his Cobalion EX. He uses Hammerhead again and Laser to put me at 170, but I Dowsing Machine for the Max Potion I had used earlier to once again erase all of his efforts. I also attach Float Stone to get rid of poison. The game goes into time with me at four and my opponent at five. His Landorus has 160, and my Cobalion has 170. I use Righteous Edge, and I think did I really win against Garbodor? Then my opponent declares that poison knocks me out going into his turn, and I realized I had forgotten one detail. (I could have manually retreated into another Cobalion.) I send up the Pokemon that had the most HP remaining: the Cobalion at 150. He Skylas for Dowsing Machine for his fifth Catcher and KO's a damaged Benched Cobalion NV. We go into Sudden Death, but it doesn't matter because I decked next turn. Oh well, I still kind of feel like I won that one.
2-2
So because both 3-0's got paired down and both won, there were no 3-1's, meaning the 4-0's got first and second. I had both of them on my resistance, so I get third, and my first round opponent had the 4-0 Hydreigon and me on his resistance and got 4th. So I win, but I don't really feel like a winner because I went 2-2... It's an odd feeling.
3rd Place
Collins:
Round 1: Darkrai
I bench her lone Darkrai T4. She had absolutely nothing while I was holding on to two Klinklangs, two Candies, and a Juniper.
1-0
Round 2: Plasma
Once again, I get three muligans, start lone Klink, and get donked by this guy :'(
1-1
Round 3: Victini/Latias/Reshiram
I'm scared. I know the power of Victini, and since he hits for Weakness, I have basically no chance. Fortunately for me he's a really bad player. He realizes halfway through the game that Latias's attack goes through Plasma Steel when I KO Sigilyph with Steel Bullet. He also apparently doesn't realize Metal's Weakness is Fire.
2-1
Round 4: Brian; Garbodor
This game was close like my final round last week against Garbodor, but I don't lose off of a misplay this time. I just lose.
2-2
Once again, something weird happens and I end up in fourth place despite being 2-2.
4th place
Nationals:
So I get there, meet up with some of my friends, play a few social games, stuff like that. I get my list ready, and then go sign up for the Win-a-Box thing. I'm playing... dramatic pause... dramatic pause... Victini.
My first opponent is playing Plasma and kind of smirks when I flip over Victini. "Just wait; it gets worse," I tell him. I struggle with the details, but I know he knocks out Terrakion EX, Victini EX, and a Cobalion to put him at one prize, and I've taken out two Kyurems putting my at four. I bench Shaymin with a Prism, Energy Switch, N him down to one and take two prizes. He doesn't get a Supporter, and I get my last Catcher for game 1. Game 2 is really close, but he comes out on top, and game three, I go first with a turn one Turbo to Terrakion EX, and I think I go on to 5-0 him.
Next round is my worst matchup: Blastoise. I lose game 1 and I start to think 'Well it's been a nice run.' Game 2 starts with me going first. He can't seem to double bench Squirtles and I KO two of them without him getting Blastoise up. I don't think he gets it out til turn five, and even then it's a close game. In game 3, on my second turn, I N away Candy Blastoise, so he Beaches for four. T3, I Ghetsis the Blastoise away. I don't think he gets it setup til the very end. I win the last game very easily.
Final round for the box. My opponent is a six year old playing Darkrai, probably my easiest matchup. He wins the coin flip, and I can't seem to apply enough pressure thanks to really bad draws and his lucky Hammer flips. He wins game one, but I shuffle better and get ready for game 2. I go first and get the T1 Turbo to Terrakion EX. I put one Fighting on Terrakion EX, and the Retaliate one. Next turn, I attack to Terrakion EX, and Rock Tumble all of his Absols to death. Then I move on to Catchering the Darkais. He finally takes out Terrakion EX, and I just Retaliate for the win. He goes first next game with an okay T1 set up. I get the same set up and am all set to 4-0 him again when my hand mysteriously goes missing. The judge, his father, gives me a game loss at a side event... He stole my box! I'm telling you, that box should have been mine. What if I didn't shuffle my hand into my deck? What if when I offered him to cut, he put my deck on top of my hand? I was mad about this for the rest of the trip.
So now that side events are done for now, you're probably thinking I switched to something meta to play for Swiss. You'd be wrong. If you want to do well at Nationals, your has to be fast, consistent, and have really good match ups across the board, and Victini has that (except for the Blastoise match up). Klinklang is out of the question since it's terribly slow, and now that Plasma Freeze is out, getting Klinklang out doesn't make your opponent scoop. Plus, getting cut with Klinklang isn't nearly as awesome as getting cut with Victini. So with that, I lock in on playing Victini.
Round 1: Tournament Organizers; Account Issues
They asked everyone to check to see if their name was on the roster. My name wasn't. Apparently what happened was I wasn't opted in for Play Points causing me to not have enough Play Points to compete in Nationals, which wouldn't have been a big deal if Pokemon.com hadn't decided to put my pop ID on an account I didn't create. We get it sorted out, but I still get a round one loss even though there's still time to put me in the system... ya know, because it's completely my fault I registered in plenty of time and didn't know about the whole thing. Thanks for the heads up.
0-1
Round 2: Garbodor
My opponent this round was a whole lot nicer and more sensible than last round's. I think I might actually enjoy playing this game. She goes first attaching an energy to Terrakion EX, and I get an early set up with my own Terrakion EX. She uses Rock Tumble a few times, but she doesn't get another energy, and I 6-0 her due to an energy drought.
1-1
Round 3: Quad Snorlax
Huh, that's weird. I start Keldeo and spend a turn fishing for Victini, an energy and a Switch. Next turn I get it, and set up Keldeo with two Water Energies. I hit Snorlax with Eviolite for 70, but he keeps me asleep for a solid two turns before Max Potioning the 70 off. I hit him again, but by then the poison knocks me out leaving my turn. I promote Terrakion EX ready to go, but he Catchers Victni and my last Switch was prized. There's nothing I can do.
1-2
Round 4: Klinklang
This is going to be very fun! He goes first, but I start Victini and Skyla for Victory Piece, get a Cobalion out with an attachment, and kill a Klink he starts with. I pretty much 6-0 him from there.
2-2
Round 5: Plasma
Lovely Shaymin start. I Juniper and hit everything I need to get a T1 Turbo Energize to a Cobalion, but he has four easy prizes sitting on the Bench, and it's not enough to win.
2-3
Round 6: Plasma
T2 his lone Kyurem with Cobalion
3-3
Round 7: Empoleon
I'm surprised this went 3-3, and I'm kind of scared. He starts Exeggcute with a Benched Piplup, and I know not to knock out the Exeggcute if I can help it. I Turbo Energize to Terrakion EX. He Benches a Piplup and does some stuff. I end up Catchering a Piplup, getting confused somewhere along the way, and attaching to something else so I just use Rock Tumble for 50. That way when it evolves into Empoleon, I can at least OHKO it for 90. I'm able to Catcher another Piplup (and remember to kill it this time) before he starts attacking. He eventually knocks out Terrakion, but not before I power up Cobalion with Pump Up Smash. I Iron Breaker where I can, and when he doesn't get a Switch or a Max Potion, I Rush In to take a prize with Keldeo. The game gets really close, but I draw into Skyla for my last Catcher for my last prize.
4-3
Round 8: Mewtwo/Deoxys
Interesting idea, and unfortunately I don't directly counter Mewtwo. I attack with Victini since it 2HKO's Mewtwo for two energies, but the game comes down to him hitting his last Colress Machine and a Catcher, and he does.
4-4
Round 9: No show
5-4
Pretty good for a "bad" deck. (Technically X-3 without the round one loss.) I spent the rest of the day tearing up side events. I won several Eight-Mans and sold all of the bulk I got from the packs to TnT for about $10. I didn't pull anything good out of them except for Heatran EX and a Terrakion EX which I traded for my fourth holo Ultra Ball.
