Due to schedule conflicts, sickness, and knowing I can't go to worlds without a paid invite, I haven't gone to many Battle Roads. This is my second one and I decide to go with ZekEels because I just had a feeling it would be a good play. I used Darkrai yesterday and did fairly well, but I didn't like it. The way I played it was too luck-based. Anyway, 5 rounds, top 4. Here's the report:
Round 1 vs with Zekrom/Eelektrik
I go first, opening with Smeargle, and N her. I draw fairly well, and Portrait, revealing that the only Supporter she has is a Collector. I use that to get my setup. She continues to draw dead while I set up a Terrakion and wreck her field.
Round 2 vs Empoleon/Terrakion
It's funny because the guy I'm playing convinced me to play a Tornadus-EX right before the tournament started, and that should help me in this matchup. I go first and get a T1 Collector and Charge, so I start out in a fairly good position. On his turn, he benches a Terrakion with Exp. Share and Fighting, and gets out some Piplups. I Catcher up his Terrakion and Disaster Volt it for 80. He whiffs on the Catcher, so he's forced to hit my now-Eviolited Thundurus for 40 damage and he doesn't have Empoleon out yet. Thundurus takes care of it with another Disaster Volt. I have a couple Eelektriks in play now too.
On his turn, the tide starts to shift. He gets out two Empoleon, a full bench, and two more Terrakion. He uses Attack Command to even the prizes at 5-5. I get out an Eviolited Zekrom and Bolt Strike for a KO. He only runs 1 PlusPower and he whiffs it, so he's forced to Attack Command for 100 and falls 10 short of KOing me. I want to Catcher his benched Terrakion with an Energy, but I whiff the Catcher so I have to just kill Empoleon.
From here, it's a KO exchange until we're even 2-2 on prizes. It's his turn and he Portraits. I happily reveal my hand with only a Juniper, as I Junk Armed the PONT the turn before. He's forced to discard a huge hand, and only has six cards left in his deck. (Made even more annoying for him by the fact that I decked him at yesterday's Battle Roads with an N.) However, one of them is a Super Rod, so he has three turns to take two prizes.
I'm out of Zekrom, as he just revenged my last one with Terrakion. I have no way to OHKO the Terrakion, so I promote Tornadus-EX with 4 energy and hit it for 100. I have an Eviolite on the Tornadus-EX, and I have three Eelektriks in play and a Raikour-EX in my hand to KO his benched Smeargle. So the game basically comes down to whether he runs 4 Junk Arm and 4 Catcher and didn't prize either of them. He's already discarded 3 of each and he needs two Catcher KOs in the next 2 turns to win. He has them, so it's over.
Round 3 vs Zekrom/Eelektrik
I start out in a really bad position. He opens Mewtwo + DCE and I prize my Mewtwo, so he starts taking prizes left and right. He's taken two prizes when it's my turn 4. At this point, I've got three Eels out but am still worried about being down prizes and not having Mewtwo. I Portrait, revealing that he has a dead hand. I play my own Oak and hit Dual Ball for Raikou. He really comes through for me here, as I happily Catcher up his Eelektrik, knowing that he can't retreat it, then Volt Bolt Mewtwo-EX for 100. He's stuck, so he attaches a Lightning to Eelektrik and passes. I play Catcher on the Mewtwo (now with 130 damage because I hit it with Retaliate T2), triple Dynamotor to my Eelektrik, and use its attack to KO it. I'm so cool...
Now, it's tied 4-4 on prizes and I'm in a much better position than I was at the beginning of the game. However, he still has two Eels out and these are enough to let him keep up on the prize exchange for a little. It gets down to 1-3 (ish) in my favor when he Catchers up my Eelektrik without energy, and uses the N he topdecked to get rid of my Junk Arm. He hits Raikou off of it, but I sniped one of his 2 Eelektriks and he's stuck with another dead hand, so it will take him 3 turns to charge it. Well, time gets called on the second turn, and he has an Eelektrik stuck active too. It doesn't matter because I topdeck PONT on turn 2 and hit a Switch.
Round 4 vs Terrakion
This was a lame game. I was really worried at first because I only run 1 Tornadus-EX and I go second. He just attaches a Fighting to Terrakion and passes. I get a T1 Collector and start to get set up. He puts a Rescue on the Terrakion then Junipers. He Catchers one of my Tynamos and Retaliates for the KO. I get out Tornadus-EX and hit Terrakion for 100, flipping heads to keep the energy. He Crushing Hammers one of my energy but then plays a Ruins of Alph so the first attack will KO him anyway. He hits me for 90 but doesn't bench anything, so I KO him for game.
Round 5 vs Zekrom/Eelektrik/Terrakion
This guy is just getting back into the game after being gone for at least four years. He seems like a really good player, but he makes some strange deck choices (X-Transciever, namely). I get off to a decent start, but his is better. He Retaliates one of my Tynamos right away and I prize another. I open Mewtwo, so I'm basically forced to X-Ball for 80 on Terrakion and hope he can't do anything to it. I do set up an Eelektrik though. He plays two PlusPowers then Junipers and makes a huge misplay by Catchering my Tynamo instead of my Eelektrik to Retaliate.
My Mewtwo finally manages to take out his Terrakion but he's up on prizes and I don't have a supporter in my hand. Fortunately, he can't take another prize immediately. I'm able to Portrait into a Twins. I grab a Skyarrow and a Juniper and get going again from there.
The next turn or two is fuzzy, but we're both stalling each other a little and it's still my 5 prizes to his 4. I drop a Terrakion and a Fighting in the hope of baiting out his Zekrom-EX to KO it. He doesn't know I run 2 Terrakion, and since he only runs one he probably assumed I did the same. This plan works, so I happily drop my 2nd Terrakion, play a Prism, Oak's to hit the Junk Arm, Junk Arm a Lightning for a PlusPower, Dynamoor, retreat my Smeargle, and Retaliate his Eviolited Zekrom-EX for two prizes.
On his next turn, time is called. He can't OHKO my Terrakion, so he has to Bolt Strike it for 120. I Catcher his Raikou-EX (why he dropped it is beyond me) and Juniper, praying to hit one of my two remaining Prism/Fighting. I hit it on the 6th card. I attach it to Terrakion, play Switch to my Mewtwo which still has two energy on it, retreat that for Terrakion to get rid of 1 of the energy (preventing a revenge KO) and Land Crush to put me at 1 prize to his 3. He can't KO my Mewtwo (the only EX I have in play), so the game's over. I could have won on the next turn anyway.
Unfortunately for me, I lost early on so I bubble at 5th. Two 4-1's missed, which is really stupid. There should really be a top 8 in these kinds of situations. It's better to have a couple people make it on resistance, than to have a couple people get screwed by it.
Round 1 vs with Zekrom/Eelektrik
I go first, opening with Smeargle, and N her. I draw fairly well, and Portrait, revealing that the only Supporter she has is a Collector. I use that to get my setup. She continues to draw dead while I set up a Terrakion and wreck her field.
Round 2 vs Empoleon/Terrakion
It's funny because the guy I'm playing convinced me to play a Tornadus-EX right before the tournament started, and that should help me in this matchup. I go first and get a T1 Collector and Charge, so I start out in a fairly good position. On his turn, he benches a Terrakion with Exp. Share and Fighting, and gets out some Piplups. I Catcher up his Terrakion and Disaster Volt it for 80. He whiffs on the Catcher, so he's forced to hit my now-Eviolited Thundurus for 40 damage and he doesn't have Empoleon out yet. Thundurus takes care of it with another Disaster Volt. I have a couple Eelektriks in play now too.
On his turn, the tide starts to shift. He gets out two Empoleon, a full bench, and two more Terrakion. He uses Attack Command to even the prizes at 5-5. I get out an Eviolited Zekrom and Bolt Strike for a KO. He only runs 1 PlusPower and he whiffs it, so he's forced to Attack Command for 100 and falls 10 short of KOing me. I want to Catcher his benched Terrakion with an Energy, but I whiff the Catcher so I have to just kill Empoleon.
From here, it's a KO exchange until we're even 2-2 on prizes. It's his turn and he Portraits. I happily reveal my hand with only a Juniper, as I Junk Armed the PONT the turn before. He's forced to discard a huge hand, and only has six cards left in his deck. (Made even more annoying for him by the fact that I decked him at yesterday's Battle Roads with an N.) However, one of them is a Super Rod, so he has three turns to take two prizes.
I'm out of Zekrom, as he just revenged my last one with Terrakion. I have no way to OHKO the Terrakion, so I promote Tornadus-EX with 4 energy and hit it for 100. I have an Eviolite on the Tornadus-EX, and I have three Eelektriks in play and a Raikour-EX in my hand to KO his benched Smeargle. So the game basically comes down to whether he runs 4 Junk Arm and 4 Catcher and didn't prize either of them. He's already discarded 3 of each and he needs two Catcher KOs in the next 2 turns to win. He has them, so it's over.
Round 3 vs Zekrom/Eelektrik
I start out in a really bad position. He opens Mewtwo + DCE and I prize my Mewtwo, so he starts taking prizes left and right. He's taken two prizes when it's my turn 4. At this point, I've got three Eels out but am still worried about being down prizes and not having Mewtwo. I Portrait, revealing that he has a dead hand. I play my own Oak and hit Dual Ball for Raikou. He really comes through for me here, as I happily Catcher up his Eelektrik, knowing that he can't retreat it, then Volt Bolt Mewtwo-EX for 100. He's stuck, so he attaches a Lightning to Eelektrik and passes. I play Catcher on the Mewtwo (now with 130 damage because I hit it with Retaliate T2), triple Dynamotor to my Eelektrik, and use its attack to KO it. I'm so cool...
Now, it's tied 4-4 on prizes and I'm in a much better position than I was at the beginning of the game. However, he still has two Eels out and these are enough to let him keep up on the prize exchange for a little. It gets down to 1-3 (ish) in my favor when he Catchers up my Eelektrik without energy, and uses the N he topdecked to get rid of my Junk Arm. He hits Raikou off of it, but I sniped one of his 2 Eelektriks and he's stuck with another dead hand, so it will take him 3 turns to charge it. Well, time gets called on the second turn, and he has an Eelektrik stuck active too. It doesn't matter because I topdeck PONT on turn 2 and hit a Switch.
Round 4 vs Terrakion
This was a lame game. I was really worried at first because I only run 1 Tornadus-EX and I go second. He just attaches a Fighting to Terrakion and passes. I get a T1 Collector and start to get set up. He puts a Rescue on the Terrakion then Junipers. He Catchers one of my Tynamos and Retaliates for the KO. I get out Tornadus-EX and hit Terrakion for 100, flipping heads to keep the energy. He Crushing Hammers one of my energy but then plays a Ruins of Alph so the first attack will KO him anyway. He hits me for 90 but doesn't bench anything, so I KO him for game.
Round 5 vs Zekrom/Eelektrik/Terrakion
This guy is just getting back into the game after being gone for at least four years. He seems like a really good player, but he makes some strange deck choices (X-Transciever, namely). I get off to a decent start, but his is better. He Retaliates one of my Tynamos right away and I prize another. I open Mewtwo, so I'm basically forced to X-Ball for 80 on Terrakion and hope he can't do anything to it. I do set up an Eelektrik though. He plays two PlusPowers then Junipers and makes a huge misplay by Catchering my Tynamo instead of my Eelektrik to Retaliate.
My Mewtwo finally manages to take out his Terrakion but he's up on prizes and I don't have a supporter in my hand. Fortunately, he can't take another prize immediately. I'm able to Portrait into a Twins. I grab a Skyarrow and a Juniper and get going again from there.
The next turn or two is fuzzy, but we're both stalling each other a little and it's still my 5 prizes to his 4. I drop a Terrakion and a Fighting in the hope of baiting out his Zekrom-EX to KO it. He doesn't know I run 2 Terrakion, and since he only runs one he probably assumed I did the same. This plan works, so I happily drop my 2nd Terrakion, play a Prism, Oak's to hit the Junk Arm, Junk Arm a Lightning for a PlusPower, Dynamoor, retreat my Smeargle, and Retaliate his Eviolited Zekrom-EX for two prizes.
On his next turn, time is called. He can't OHKO my Terrakion, so he has to Bolt Strike it for 120. I Catcher his Raikou-EX (why he dropped it is beyond me) and Juniper, praying to hit one of my two remaining Prism/Fighting. I hit it on the 6th card. I attach it to Terrakion, play Switch to my Mewtwo which still has two energy on it, retreat that for Terrakion to get rid of 1 of the energy (preventing a revenge KO) and Land Crush to put me at 1 prize to his 3. He can't KO my Mewtwo (the only EX I have in play), so the game's over. I could have won on the next turn anyway.
Unfortunately for me, I lost early on so I bubble at 5th. Two 4-1's missed, which is really stupid. There should really be a top 8 in these kinds of situations. It's better to have a couple people make it on resistance, than to have a couple people get screwed by it.
