Flower Power - a Top 4 Nebraska States Tournament Report
Hey, Brandon Flowers here with my top 4 report from Nebraska States!
Going into week 2 I didn't really have a specific need to change anything up too dramatically, so I stuck with my friend Charles Randall's solid meta calls and just played Vespiquen Vileplume again. Having published my list however, I felt a near requirement to change a few cards up, and did just that to get a bit of an edge should my opponent's know my list card for card. Thanks definitely go to Charles (Charks) Randall for keeping my meta calls on point and testing extensively with me (and Jake and Jerrick) to help me find my groove going into my first successful Standard tournaments.
Starting the long drive from Champaign, IL, we started by driving out to the MO border to meet up with Sarah Beckwith and begin the even longer trip to Lincoln, NE. The drive was a bit tedious, but combined with the power of an inverter and a Wii U, playing Smash 4 in the back on the way made it pass a bit quicker. It was also a well needed distraction to take away the nerves. Unfortunately we couldn't play Pokken at all, as the Wii U gamepad served as our screen for play, and that meant Pokken turned into a single player game for the purposes of the trip.
Once we finally got there it was around 11:30pm, and we all just crashed in anticipation of an early morning and a long day. Once we did wake up and make our trek across town, I discovered (in my unsurprising moment of lack of paying attention to venue info) that the States was taking place in a HobbytownUSA. Awesome! I would get to check out some model kits in my down time and scope out a well earned reward for myself if I did well. As a side hobby, I love model kits in general and even do papercraft (shameless plug, click here to visit my site pls) when I have the time. After some whirlwind trading with Kolton Day and Sina Zojaji, the day begins and I have to focus on what's to come.
Round 1 – Michael McChesney, Yveltal Gallade Zoroark
Starting the day off with a roughly even matchup if he can draw out of the lock, I knew this would be a bit more interesting and potentially more challenging than the barrage of Night March I hit in Missouri. He wins the flip, and starts off Game 1 going first, He opens a solid hand to use Maxie's to get Gallade into play, and does just that, knowing it will give him some edge to have both a way to stack his deck effectively and an attacker that can prize exchange well by killing anything in my deck (given he hits a supporter). He gets a Zorua in play as well, promotes either a Shaymin-EX or Yveltal XY as a sacrifice (I don't exactly recall which, but it's not super relevant really) and is forced to end his turn. I then go, do my thing and get Plume and Vespiquen up attacking. I start the prize exchange and hand it over to him. He attaches a DCE to Zorua, uses Sycamore hoping to hit the Zoroark, but misses. He drops another Zorua, promotes another sacrifice, and passes. I have my trusty Lysandre ready to go here, and actually Lysandre around the active Shaymin to hit a Zorua with energy. If these get up and attacking, it can run through my Vespiquens pretty handily. In his following turn, he tries to Sycamore into a Zoroark again after attaching another DCE, but misses. We go into Game 2.
Game 2 he gets another Maxie's, and is able to Lysandre during his turn 2 to kill my Vileplume. Unfortunately for him, he would have been better off killing the active Vespiquen with energy, as I would have had a much harder time following up. I later find out Lysandre was his only Supporter, and he wouldn't have been able to KO anything without it due to Sensative Blade's stipulations. We begin the prize exchange a new, and he's actually able to get 2 Gallade into play during the game, but it isn't enough. He misses energy too often, and is forced to bench an Yveltal-EX just to have a heavy hitter to attach a Dark Energy to. This is his downfall, as it enables me to Lysandre it for my last two prizes.
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| Great card against VV, if you can get it out. |
WW 1-0
Round 2 – Treynor Wolfe, Night March
While considered a better matchup than YGZ generally, there's also more of a potential for him to outmaneuver and take games too. Fortunately for me, but unfortunately for him, he doesn't end up getting much room to do so.
I believe he starts game 1, but doesn't get much going for him throughout his first turn. He's forced to pass it over to me, and I get the lock into place and start prize exchanging on his Night Marchers. Due to his slow turn 1, he now has limited options and I'm able to simply out prize exchange to go to game 2.
In game 2 he also has a slow start, and this game goes similar to the first. He's unable to draw out of the item lock and come back, and ends up getting out exchanged again.
I believe he starts game 1, but doesn't get much going for him throughout his first turn. He's forced to pass it over to me, and I get the lock into place and start prize exchanging on his Night Marchers. Due to his slow turn 1, he now has limited options and I'm able to simply out prize exchange to go to game 2.
In game 2 he also has a slow start, and this game goes similar to the first. He's unable to draw out of the item lock and come back, and ends up getting out exchanged again.
WW 2-0
Round 3 – Carington Huffman, Night March
Night March once again wasn't a matchup I minded much, but unfortunately it was my friend Carington on the other side of the table this time. He starts out bragging about his 3 Hex Maniac, but if he can't get to them, they don't have the ability to help too much, haha. I really wish we were both in a position to ID here though, as I wanted him to go onto top 8 nearly as much as I wanted to.
He starts game 1 off with an okay start, and is able to get into a decent position for my turn. I believe he ends his turn by playing Hex and passing. I don't play too much, just enough to not get benched, and pass. He continues on his previous lead by playing out a bit more of his hand, and kills active. I'm then able to get the lock in place and start taking prizes in return. He draws poorly from here, and we go onto game 2.
In Game 2, he starts lone Shaymin-EX and has to Judge with the hopes of drawing into something useful (and me not). He Judge's himself into nothing, and me into a Shaymin, DCE, and Trainers' mail to start running through the deck to evolve my active Combee for the win. I discard 7 Pokemon and Sycamore into a Forest, Vespiquen, and Battle Compressor for the win.
Night March once again wasn't a matchup I minded much, but unfortunately it was my friend Carington on the other side of the table this time. He starts out bragging about his 3 Hex Maniac, but if he can't get to them, they don't have the ability to help too much, haha. I really wish we were both in a position to ID here though, as I wanted him to go onto top 8 nearly as much as I wanted to.
He starts game 1 off with an okay start, and is able to get into a decent position for my turn. I believe he ends his turn by playing Hex and passing. I don't play too much, just enough to not get benched, and pass. He continues on his previous lead by playing out a bit more of his hand, and kills active. I'm then able to get the lock in place and start taking prizes in return. He draws poorly from here, and we go onto game 2.
In Game 2, he starts lone Shaymin-EX and has to Judge with the hopes of drawing into something useful (and me not). He Judge's himself into nothing, and me into a Shaymin, DCE, and Trainers' mail to start running through the deck to evolve my active Combee for the win. I discard 7 Pokemon and Sycamore into a Forest, Vespiquen, and Battle Compressor for the win.
WW 3-0
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| When you play against Night March 8 out of 13 rounds |
Round 4 – Dawson Michel, Entei/Charizard
This round was by far the most controversial of the day, if not the most interesting.
Dawson wins the flip and starts off strong. He gets two Entei on the board, both Assault Vest/Muscle Banded, hits a DCE and Blacksmith, VS Seekers a Sycamore back to his hand for next turn and ends his turn. I get a Vileplume but otherwise lackluster start against his imposing board, and opt to Sky Return a Shaymin off the field instead of doing subpar damage with Vespiquen in hopes to hit KO numbers. In the next couple turns he kills off a Shaymin and a Vespiquen, but after the Vespiquen KO I'm able to finally knock out his first tank of an Entei. After doing so, I turn it over to him and he starts his turn by attaching a Japanese VS Fire Energy. Wait, what? As many of you may know, Japanese cards of any sort, including energy, are not legal and I'm required to inform a judge. Apparently his friend's opponent behind me heard me say "that japanese energy isn't legal, I have to call a judge" and confirmed his own suspicions and also called a judge. Both Dawson and his friend got Game Losses for an illegal deck situation, even though I strongly suspect he would have taken the game and series from here, and we go to a game 2 after he replaces the energy.
In Game 2 he gets a very similar start as Game 1 despite being on tilt due to the events of said game, and handily edges me out of the game. To Game 3 we go.
In Game 3, I get a perfect set up against his lone Entei, and he scoops before even taking a full turn.
WLW 4-0
Dawson wins the flip and starts off strong. He gets two Entei on the board, both Assault Vest/Muscle Banded, hits a DCE and Blacksmith, VS Seekers a Sycamore back to his hand for next turn and ends his turn. I get a Vileplume but otherwise lackluster start against his imposing board, and opt to Sky Return a Shaymin off the field instead of doing subpar damage with Vespiquen in hopes to hit KO numbers. In the next couple turns he kills off a Shaymin and a Vespiquen, but after the Vespiquen KO I'm able to finally knock out his first tank of an Entei. After doing so, I turn it over to him and he starts his turn by attaching a Japanese VS Fire Energy. Wait, what? As many of you may know, Japanese cards of any sort, including energy, are not legal and I'm required to inform a judge. Apparently his friend's opponent behind me heard me say "that japanese energy isn't legal, I have to call a judge" and confirmed his own suspicions and also called a judge. Both Dawson and his friend got Game Losses for an illegal deck situation, even though I strongly suspect he would have taken the game and series from here, and we go to a game 2 after he replaces the energy.
In Game 2 he gets a very similar start as Game 1 despite being on tilt due to the events of said game, and handily edges me out of the game. To Game 3 we go.
In Game 3, I get a perfect set up against his lone Entei, and he scoops before even taking a full turn.
WLW 4-0
I do feel bad for him this round, as it is a rough mistake to find out about in the fourth round of States after being previously undefeated. For anyone who doesn't know still, please don't play Japanese or illegal cards! It puts your opponent in a weird situation where they either call a judge on you and get what some would consider an unfair advantage, or allow you to continue playing an illegal deck. It's awkward and unfortunate for everyone. The whole situation was a bit unsettling, but I don't have any particular regrets about how I handled it overall.
Round 5 – Steven Singer, Trevenant BREAK
While not 100% guaranteed, drawing here gives us both a very strong chance of topping, and neither of us particularly want to play this out. We opt for the ID, as there are only 58 people/6 rounds.
While not 100% guaranteed, drawing here gives us both a very strong chance of topping, and neither of us particularly want to play this out. We opt for the ID, as there are only 58 people/6 rounds.
TTT 4-0-1
Round 6 – Miguel Escutia, Night March
A tie gets me in for sure, and Miguel at 4-1 has a very strong chance of cutting too. I didn't know it at the time, but he was playing Night March, and definitely didn't want to play this one out just yet. We opt to ID and prep for cut.
TTT 4-0-2
Now knowing both myself, Steven, and Kaleb Higdon (Steven's round 6 opponent who was also 4-0-2 now) were all
guaranteed, we waited on the remainder of cut to be decided by the final
rounds. Seeing an unsurprising set of decks make top 8 after 6th
round, we found the final top cut to be (in order):
Trevenant
Vespiquen Vileplume
Night March
Giratina/Uno Tyrantrum/Bronzong/Aegislash
Night March
Night March
Night March
Night March
Vespiquen Vileplume
Night March
Giratina/Uno Tyrantrum/Bronzong/Aegislash
Night March
Night March
Night March
Night March
Coming back around to more Night March! Surprise. Our top 8 was set for about half an hour after standings were posted, so I prepped for the fated game against Miguel.
Top 8 vs Miguel Escutia, Night March
This feels oddly familiar... Coming back around to Night March in top 8 against an opponent I had crossed paths with in Swiss.
Also oddly familiar, I lose the flip. Surprise.
Miguel starts off game 1 with a decent start, and gets going. This goes similar to other games in that we have a pretty solid prize exchange back and forth until one of us runs out of energy. Pretty far into this game, Miguel is the first to hit a drought, as I utilize Sky Return to its fullest extent. On one occasion, I also Lysandre a bench Feebas to get a nice Sky Return KO and avoid him getting over 80 damage with Night March just yet. I'm able to take this game on prizes and we go into game 2.
In game 2, he does what my previous top 8 opponent Kyle had to do as well- he's cornered into having to chose his top 3 cards with Time Puzzle, and Hex to slow me down and give himself another turn. Literal deja vu, and definitely did not help with previous Night March matches running into each other in my mind. I set myself up just enough to avoid being benched, and pass it back. He gets a decent start, but doesn't get many Night March in the ditch. He hits an Unown for 40 and gives me a chance to get going. I get a decent setup and am able to Float the Unown off active, starting off killing a Joltik and locking him out. I start off the game by exchanging a bit until we both run low on energy, but then he gets a good Hex turn and puts me on the ropes. At this point in the game he starts ignoring my Bunnelby and getting tunnel vision on my Vileplume. He kills it to get items back, only for me to Revitilizer it back, Lysandre his Milotic, and start putting resources back in with Rototiller. His Vileplume blood lust hasn't ended though- he plays a Sycamore into what I presume to be the DCE and Lysandre that he holds for next turn to go after Plume again. At this point he has 4 cards in deck, I have a Bunnelby with a double, and not much else left. He opts to Lysandre and 2HKO Vileplume with a Fury Belted Joltik (70 each turn), which puts me in a position to Burrow for the game. Had he played a bit more conservatively he might have been able to squeak this one out, but his low damage output and even lower deck made it quite an uphill battle regardless.
WW to Top 4
This feels oddly familiar... Coming back around to Night March in top 8 against an opponent I had crossed paths with in Swiss.
Also oddly familiar, I lose the flip. Surprise.
Miguel starts off game 1 with a decent start, and gets going. This goes similar to other games in that we have a pretty solid prize exchange back and forth until one of us runs out of energy. Pretty far into this game, Miguel is the first to hit a drought, as I utilize Sky Return to its fullest extent. On one occasion, I also Lysandre a bench Feebas to get a nice Sky Return KO and avoid him getting over 80 damage with Night March just yet. I'm able to take this game on prizes and we go into game 2.
In game 2, he does what my previous top 8 opponent Kyle had to do as well- he's cornered into having to chose his top 3 cards with Time Puzzle, and Hex to slow me down and give himself another turn. Literal deja vu, and definitely did not help with previous Night March matches running into each other in my mind. I set myself up just enough to avoid being benched, and pass it back. He gets a decent start, but doesn't get many Night March in the ditch. He hits an Unown for 40 and gives me a chance to get going. I get a decent setup and am able to Float the Unown off active, starting off killing a Joltik and locking him out. I start off the game by exchanging a bit until we both run low on energy, but then he gets a good Hex turn and puts me on the ropes. At this point in the game he starts ignoring my Bunnelby and getting tunnel vision on my Vileplume. He kills it to get items back, only for me to Revitilizer it back, Lysandre his Milotic, and start putting resources back in with Rototiller. His Vileplume blood lust hasn't ended though- he plays a Sycamore into what I presume to be the DCE and Lysandre that he holds for next turn to go after Plume again. At this point he has 4 cards in deck, I have a Bunnelby with a double, and not much else left. He opts to Lysandre and 2HKO Vileplume with a Fury Belted Joltik (70 each turn), which puts me in a position to Burrow for the game. Had he played a bit more conservatively he might have been able to squeak this one out, but his low damage output and even lower deck made it quite an uphill battle regardless.
WW to Top 4
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| The fear of donks |
Game 2 I start slightly better but still whiff the setup entirely. I'm not in a position to lose in less than 3 turns, but I'm definitely not in a good position. With his few turns of items and handy lead, he's able to keep the edge even throughout my item lock and take this one too. Near the end he got within about 7 cards of decking out, and I was hoping he would go a bit deeper and open up a Bunnelby Burrow win, but he seemed to be ready for this and never dug deeper than was safe.
LL – Out
While I obviously would have liked to have gotten a bit further than 3rd again, I couldn't complain at all. Kaleb ended up going into finals against Trevenant (which is at best on a coin flip for me) and pulled off a pretty quick win to take down the States tournament. Once again went undefeated in swiss, with my only eventual loss to the winner of it all. Starting to see a pattern here.
Kudos to Kaleb for taking down two lock decks in a row to take it all!
Overall, my opponents were generally more friendly out in Nebraska, which was also awesome. Always feels great to be welcomed in unknown territory.
Cut also only shifted around a little bit to end the day, being the closest I've seen to precut seeds resolving in a near perfect postcut distribution.
1. Kaleb Higdon
2. Steven Singer
3. Brandon Flowers
4. Kyle Haverland
5. Dustin Born
6. Treynor Wolfe
7. Miguel Escutia
8. Brandon Smiley
Kudos to Kaleb for taking down two lock decks in a row to take it all!
Overall, my opponents were generally more friendly out in Nebraska, which was also awesome. Always feels great to be welcomed in unknown territory.
Cut also only shifted around a little bit to end the day, being the closest I've seen to precut seeds resolving in a near perfect postcut distribution.
1. Kaleb Higdon
2. Steven Singer
3. Brandon Flowers
4. Kyle Haverland
5. Dustin Born
6. Treynor Wolfe
7. Miguel Escutia
8. Brandon Smiley
Nothing super new here, as I only took Andrew Wamboldt/Tyler Holt's adaptations from week 1 and stuck them into my list, and ended up at the following list:
Here is the list I played for the tournament:
Pokemon – 28
4 Combee AOR
4 Vespiquen AOR 4 Oddish AOR 4 Gloom AOR 3 Vileplume AOR 3 Unown AOR 4 Shaymin EX 1 Bunnelby PRC 1 Toxicroak EX |
Trainers – 28
2 Professor Sycamore
1 Lysandre 1 AZ
4 Ultra Ball
2 Revitalizer 3 Acro Bike 4 Trainers’ Mail 4 Battle Compressor 1 Town Map 2 Float Stone
4 Forest of Giant Plants
|
Energy – 4
4 Double Colorless
|
Don't mess (too much) with a good thing really. As States go on, I'm starting to see some dicier matchups popping up a bit more, which isn't entirely surprising. Trevenant and Giratina are strong in this format, and the fact that they didn't show up any sooner in larger numbers was either due to mass indecision (welcome to Standard) or a fear of Greninja and other strong sleepers, which have options to take down both of these decks. And of course, Night March, which has outs to beat anything. Andrew Wamboldt's article from last week on the overpowering strength of Night March was only reinforced this week, as Night March once again topped in swarms and took down both Nebraska, New York and Tennessee (and possibly more).
Given my own fears and the general trend of the format, I could certainly see Toad/Giratina with a tech Latios/Muscle Band taking a few placements next week, as it hits some key weaknesses in the format (Energy and Item lock with a soft Mega lockout) and opens up possibilities to donk Trevenant, Night March, Vespiquen, and Greninja. Were I going to States this weekend this would be the deck I'd be optimizing and have my eye on, but I'll likely sit this one out to conserve money for Regionals/Nationals.
Good luck to all going to more States, and see you around at Regionals and Nationals!
Given my own fears and the general trend of the format, I could certainly see Toad/Giratina with a tech Latios/Muscle Band taking a few placements next week, as it hits some key weaknesses in the format (Energy and Item lock with a soft Mega lockout) and opens up possibilities to donk Trevenant, Night March, Vespiquen, and Greninja. Were I going to States this weekend this would be the deck I'd be optimizing and have my eye on, but I'll likely sit this one out to conserve money for Regionals/Nationals.
Good luck to all going to more States, and see you around at Regionals and Nationals!
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