So apparently a local card shop hosts a quick tourney-style League on Sundays at 1.30. I get there...at 12.30 because I went there straight from church and I had some other things to do anyway. I check the YGO singles to see what I need, and I managed to snag 2 cards for my Extra Deck (Mist Wurm and Ancient Fairy Dragon) for 12 and 4$ respectively. You can memorize those numbers if you want; they'll be important later.
About 1.15, the rest of the tourney-goers show up - read that as "the guys from my league who come here on Sundays". One of them I was waiting for, since he wanted an EV trained Eelektross off me and I said I wanted to meet him today to discuss negotiations. Then a little later, one of the Seniors who's at my league arrived and he managed to snag a Naturia Beast for $12 (when they normally go for at least 20), since he knew I wanted one. I offered to buy it off him, and he accepted. And now my Extra Deck is complete. Woohoo!
I pay $2 for the admission fee. All the divisions play together, but the prizes are divvied up between the three age divisions. There are about 15 players overall, and with that, the battle begins. 4 rounds...let's see how well I do.
FWIW, my deck of choice was Zekkion (Zekeels w/Terrakion). I had to make a few last minute modifications before the tournament, because I was proxying a Mewtwo - apparently someone bought the last Mewtwo tin in stock before I arrived so I couldn't get my own. I decide to replace it with a Super Rod, meaning I'm running 1 Super Rod now. It turned out to be worth it in the end.
Round 1 vs Jakob F (Wailord)
He told me beforehand he was running Wailord. He was the only Junior I had to face. I figure since I'm running Zekrom this would be pretty easy. It was. I don't get the best start in the world - ironically enough, I didn't get really 'good' starts all day, but this one was workable: a Tynamo, a Zekrom EX, and an N. This match was basically nothing special, as I swing around with Zekrom and Zekrom EX like crazy, OHKOing everything in sight.
I did get forced into a corner at one point since he Catchered up an Eelektrik and I couldn't switch it out, but later on he powers up a Bouffalant and Catchers my Zekrom EX and hits it for 120, leaving me with 30 HP left. I'll forever be mystified as to why he did that. It basically gave me free license to curbstomp him however I pleased.
1-0
Round 2 vs Kyle L (Hydreigon/Darkrai)
Kyle's good - very good. I know this because not only does he go to my league and I know his skill, but apparently he's also the Pokemon store champion for the store the tourney's being held in. I go into the match fully expecting to lose.
I start with Terrakion (lol); he starts with Sableye. We both have pretty lulzy starts but we both get up and running pretty quickly. He gets out a Shaymin EX and gets an early kill on a Terrakion (that dispatched his first Darkrai), forcing me to resort to Zekrom EX, which swings about and takes a few prizes off it. At one point, I wanted to draw into my Tool Scrapper and OHKO the Shaymin with Bolt Strike (it was Eviolited), but I didn't and he Max Potioned it off later. Oh well, it was still 2 easy prizes in the end.
In the end it's his 2 (or was it 3?) prizes to my 1. We both have pretty good fields - he's got double Hydreigon, a Darkrai, and 1 or 2 other things (Sableye iirc), and he Ns my somewhat large hand away...the infamous 1-card N.
I draw my card and it's a Juniper. lolgg
Tbh, I had a great time playing Kyle. We both played our best, and we each hit a few snags, but the whole time we were basically both playing on an even field. Great game, Kyle!
2-0
Round 3 vs Elsa L (Terrakion/Mewtwo/Darkrai)
lol now I end up having to play Kyle's mum. I know she ran an odd straight-Terrakion deck last time I saw her and I get worried since I took my Tornadus out for consistency. I end up starting with Zekrom and she with Mewtwo, then I see what she's playing. Fortunately, everything in the deck is an EX, so I only need to land 3 kills and I'm good. Unfortunately, one of them is Terrakion.
I start out with a Zekrom and DCE - not the worst thing in the world, and I'm able to Level Ball for some Tynamos. Sadly, she spends the first few turns Catchering up my Tynamos and X-Balling them, slowing me down considerably. The Super Rod really helped at this point, since I could shuffle my lampreys back into my deck. I get rid of the Mewtwo with Strong Volt (which I was doing fairly consistently the whole day), and when she gets out the Terrakion, I Catcher it and hit it for Bolt Strike, which would come in handy later. It only had 2 Energy and I was hoping she didn't have the 3rd - she did. She then debates whether to play N or not, since she has a few Energy in her hand. She does - she loses all her Energy, and I get N'd basically into the exact same hand. Zekrom falls, and now it's getting close. I draw and topdeck a Juniper - thank goodness - and use it to turn around and set up a Terrakion, which Retaliates the Terrakion EX for a KO - I'm now down to 2 prizes and she's at 1, but all her Energy is gone, save for a single Dark on Darkrai. She can't do a whole lot so she retreats Darkrai to send up a Terrakion EX to stall for time. I attach a Fighting, Catcher the Darkrai, and Land Crush for the finish.
3-0
woohoo 3-0, and I'm feeling really good about myself! And I didn't even need Mewtwo! There's one other guy who's 3-0 - the Senior who got me Naturia Beast - and I know I'm in for a rough time.
Round 4 vs Aaron F (Terrakion/Garbodor)
I get a terrible start and it doesn't get too much better. I'm struggling to get rid of his Mewtwo, which eventually I do, and when I'm able to I make a fantastic comeback. The early game was pretty boring so I'll breeze over it, but I manage to fight back from a difficult situation and tie the game at 3-3, but in the process I have to burn up a Tool Scrapper and 2 of my 3 Junipers, and I haven't even seen the Garbodor yet.
It hurt, because I had 2 Juniper and a Random Receiver in my hand. I hope to chance the RR for an N, but instead I get a Cheren. I'm forced to Juniper the other 2 Supporters away.
After I take my 3rd prize, though, things get ugly fast. He Junipers, gets 2 more Terrakion EX and a Trubbish and puts Tools on all of them. I've only got 1 Tool Scrapper in my deck left and I do everything I can to draw into it, seeing as I have 3 Eels on my bench - I don't. Had I drawn it, I probably would have won. In the end it got down to 2-0 prizes, and with my Zekrom EX down and my regular Zekrom locked out of his Dynamotor assistance, I have no choice but to concede the game. I did well, though, and I have no regrets.
3-1
So I get 2nd overall - my round 4 opponent being the only 4-0 and him being my only loss - and I had good matches all the way through the day...and I didn't even have Mewtwo! Would it have come in handy? Probably, but there's no way to tell.
However, since I'm the highest placing Master, I'm granted 2 packs so I pick Dark Explorers (since every EX card is usable or tradable). I don't get an EX, but I get a holo Krookodile and holo Haxorus, plus an RR and an N. In addition, all competitors get league promos, and one of the juniors who got a pack pulled 2 Emolga (1 was RH), and he offered to swap one for a Darkness Energy league promo. I accepted.
In the end, I spent $30 on cards and didn't have a thing to eat since leaving home this morning, but it was TOTALLY worth it.
About 1.15, the rest of the tourney-goers show up - read that as "the guys from my league who come here on Sundays". One of them I was waiting for, since he wanted an EV trained Eelektross off me and I said I wanted to meet him today to discuss negotiations. Then a little later, one of the Seniors who's at my league arrived and he managed to snag a Naturia Beast for $12 (when they normally go for at least 20), since he knew I wanted one. I offered to buy it off him, and he accepted. And now my Extra Deck is complete. Woohoo!
I pay $2 for the admission fee. All the divisions play together, but the prizes are divvied up between the three age divisions. There are about 15 players overall, and with that, the battle begins. 4 rounds...let's see how well I do.
FWIW, my deck of choice was Zekkion (Zekeels w/Terrakion). I had to make a few last minute modifications before the tournament, because I was proxying a Mewtwo - apparently someone bought the last Mewtwo tin in stock before I arrived so I couldn't get my own. I decide to replace it with a Super Rod, meaning I'm running 1 Super Rod now. It turned out to be worth it in the end.
Round 1 vs Jakob F (Wailord)
He told me beforehand he was running Wailord. He was the only Junior I had to face. I figure since I'm running Zekrom this would be pretty easy. It was. I don't get the best start in the world - ironically enough, I didn't get really 'good' starts all day, but this one was workable: a Tynamo, a Zekrom EX, and an N. This match was basically nothing special, as I swing around with Zekrom and Zekrom EX like crazy, OHKOing everything in sight.
I did get forced into a corner at one point since he Catchered up an Eelektrik and I couldn't switch it out, but later on he powers up a Bouffalant and Catchers my Zekrom EX and hits it for 120, leaving me with 30 HP left. I'll forever be mystified as to why he did that. It basically gave me free license to curbstomp him however I pleased.
1-0
Round 2 vs Kyle L (Hydreigon/Darkrai)
Kyle's good - very good. I know this because not only does he go to my league and I know his skill, but apparently he's also the Pokemon store champion for the store the tourney's being held in. I go into the match fully expecting to lose.
I start with Terrakion (lol); he starts with Sableye. We both have pretty lulzy starts but we both get up and running pretty quickly. He gets out a Shaymin EX and gets an early kill on a Terrakion (that dispatched his first Darkrai), forcing me to resort to Zekrom EX, which swings about and takes a few prizes off it. At one point, I wanted to draw into my Tool Scrapper and OHKO the Shaymin with Bolt Strike (it was Eviolited), but I didn't and he Max Potioned it off later. Oh well, it was still 2 easy prizes in the end.
In the end it's his 2 (or was it 3?) prizes to my 1. We both have pretty good fields - he's got double Hydreigon, a Darkrai, and 1 or 2 other things (Sableye iirc), and he Ns my somewhat large hand away...the infamous 1-card N.
I draw my card and it's a Juniper. lolgg
Tbh, I had a great time playing Kyle. We both played our best, and we each hit a few snags, but the whole time we were basically both playing on an even field. Great game, Kyle!
2-0
Round 3 vs Elsa L (Terrakion/Mewtwo/Darkrai)
lol now I end up having to play Kyle's mum. I know she ran an odd straight-Terrakion deck last time I saw her and I get worried since I took my Tornadus out for consistency. I end up starting with Zekrom and she with Mewtwo, then I see what she's playing. Fortunately, everything in the deck is an EX, so I only need to land 3 kills and I'm good. Unfortunately, one of them is Terrakion.
I start out with a Zekrom and DCE - not the worst thing in the world, and I'm able to Level Ball for some Tynamos. Sadly, she spends the first few turns Catchering up my Tynamos and X-Balling them, slowing me down considerably. The Super Rod really helped at this point, since I could shuffle my lampreys back into my deck. I get rid of the Mewtwo with Strong Volt (which I was doing fairly consistently the whole day), and when she gets out the Terrakion, I Catcher it and hit it for Bolt Strike, which would come in handy later. It only had 2 Energy and I was hoping she didn't have the 3rd - she did. She then debates whether to play N or not, since she has a few Energy in her hand. She does - she loses all her Energy, and I get N'd basically into the exact same hand. Zekrom falls, and now it's getting close. I draw and topdeck a Juniper - thank goodness - and use it to turn around and set up a Terrakion, which Retaliates the Terrakion EX for a KO - I'm now down to 2 prizes and she's at 1, but all her Energy is gone, save for a single Dark on Darkrai. She can't do a whole lot so she retreats Darkrai to send up a Terrakion EX to stall for time. I attach a Fighting, Catcher the Darkrai, and Land Crush for the finish.
3-0
woohoo 3-0, and I'm feeling really good about myself! And I didn't even need Mewtwo! There's one other guy who's 3-0 - the Senior who got me Naturia Beast - and I know I'm in for a rough time.
Round 4 vs Aaron F (Terrakion/Garbodor)
I get a terrible start and it doesn't get too much better. I'm struggling to get rid of his Mewtwo, which eventually I do, and when I'm able to I make a fantastic comeback. The early game was pretty boring so I'll breeze over it, but I manage to fight back from a difficult situation and tie the game at 3-3, but in the process I have to burn up a Tool Scrapper and 2 of my 3 Junipers, and I haven't even seen the Garbodor yet.
It hurt, because I had 2 Juniper and a Random Receiver in my hand. I hope to chance the RR for an N, but instead I get a Cheren. I'm forced to Juniper the other 2 Supporters away.
After I take my 3rd prize, though, things get ugly fast. He Junipers, gets 2 more Terrakion EX and a Trubbish and puts Tools on all of them. I've only got 1 Tool Scrapper in my deck left and I do everything I can to draw into it, seeing as I have 3 Eels on my bench - I don't. Had I drawn it, I probably would have won. In the end it got down to 2-0 prizes, and with my Zekrom EX down and my regular Zekrom locked out of his Dynamotor assistance, I have no choice but to concede the game. I did well, though, and I have no regrets.
3-1
So I get 2nd overall - my round 4 opponent being the only 4-0 and him being my only loss - and I had good matches all the way through the day...and I didn't even have Mewtwo! Would it have come in handy? Probably, but there's no way to tell.
However, since I'm the highest placing Master, I'm granted 2 packs so I pick Dark Explorers (since every EX card is usable or tradable). I don't get an EX, but I get a holo Krookodile and holo Haxorus, plus an RR and an N. In addition, all competitors get league promos, and one of the juniors who got a pack pulled 2 Emolga (1 was RH), and he offered to swap one for a Darkness Energy league promo. I accepted.
In the end, I spent $30 on cards and didn't have a thing to eat since leaving home this morning, but it was TOTALLY worth it.
