tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46335995406375320192024-03-06T01:02:13.108-05:00Pokemon ToxicHome base for Team Toxic and other competitive Pokemon playersPokemonToxichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10736119051677581827noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633599540637532019.post-43673599622796339812016-05-07T13:32:00.000-04:002016-05-07T13:40:22.063-04:00Recaps, Regionals, and Nationals oh my! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiD9u4x7FNzzJLaGTpRjGYAFFRJuJSZK-JSIa4zehefFCHp-dU6UlG2DzbTLMK1xnewu65JbHameo2X1lun2Cp475rHIUFFnv_TfrCngFTgVsSbdN-GUhLJTzLpfhlW5FgV-GayN4ircbY/s1600/Pokemon-tourney-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiD9u4x7FNzzJLaGTpRjGYAFFRJuJSZK-JSIa4zehefFCHp-dU6UlG2DzbTLMK1xnewu65JbHameo2X1lun2Cp475rHIUFFnv_TfrCngFTgVsSbdN-GUhLJTzLpfhlW5FgV-GayN4ircbY/s320/Pokemon-tourney-logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Expanded is nearly back again</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So here's my recap on the format so far, and a look forward on things to come.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm going to end up name dropping </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a lot</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> here - so don't be terribly surprised if you see your name here. It's not a bad thing, I promise.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-0286c1a6-8c1a-b9de-10c4-d8678f388819" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The whole "recap of the season" idea came to me when Owen Robinson posted his Championship Point rundown on Facebook - just the playmats and League Challenge promos corresponding to his successes, along with the iconic cards from decks used.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starting at square one I suppose - prior to this season, I had never had any championship points whatsoever. I was a much more casual player, and also judged occasionally.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This all changed back in September at the first League Challenge I won... with Tool Drop. I know, I know. League Challenges aren't huge achievements by any means, but it was my first taste of success, and I was hooked. With Giratina having just been printed though, I knew Tool Drop probably wasn't getting me anywhere in the long run, so I had to find something new to play. 4th round of the same LC that I had won, that deck hit me directly in the face- it was the Worlds '15 winner's deck, Blastoise/Keldeo, at the time piloted by Kevin Baxter.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qRCOSgDH7BUB4Ulbw38guy-_EAv50751i-40TMWfmos4JcLzM301jdylRoJvzohC8cyNCXnDJEE2hyphenhyphene1wxexwU65l_e3sT3-8k093kbOV_8e-Ax9dAn59Cr0LZsZ42MNkWcOdy9sPvU8/s1600/13173447_10206290332278209_324398077782753795_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qRCOSgDH7BUB4Ulbw38guy-_EAv50751i-40TMWfmos4JcLzM301jdylRoJvzohC8cyNCXnDJEE2hyphenhyphene1wxexwU65l_e3sT3-8k093kbOV_8e-Ax9dAn59Cr0LZsZ42MNkWcOdy9sPvU8/s320/13173447_10206290332278209_324398077782753795_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">+1 Dimension Valley</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blastoise/Keldeo seemed like my speed, and I figured I could pick it up relatively easily. Following this, I started toying around with it. I quickly dropped Mewtwo-EX for a second Articuno, due to the high amount of Night March in my area, and eventually picked up a Kyogre-EX DEX to help with combating Vespiquen as well. This was a good choice, as I've only lost to Vespiquen variants twice in the entirety of my B/K use, once with 2 Archie's, Blastoise, and Kyogre prized; the other to extremely good use of Wobb by Connor Finton at Collinsville Regionals. I believe my record is something like 11-2 against Bees.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, moving onto specific tournament use; my first major tournament with Stoise was Ft Wayne Regionals. I started out very strongly, sweeping through several Vespiquen decks (Sorry Charles Randall), including donking my round 1 opponent, who seemingly dropped the entire tournament following the donk. Looking back, it probably wasn't a great choice, as I ran into Toad variants literally the rest of the day, Luckily, those 2 Articuno pulled their weight, and I was able to stay in the game with repeated Chilling Sighs while setting up. My end record was 5-3-1; top 64. Not the greatest, not the worst, and certainly not enough to deter me from the deck just yet.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With very minimal changes going into Cities, I continued the Blastoise train into December. I hadn't yet found my way in Standard, so I predominately avoided Standard Cities tournaments and went to Expanded Cities out in St Louis and the Missouri area.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing I did change was Float Stone for Assault Vest. It probably helped in more games than in hurt, but the main time it did hurt was in Finals of STL Cities against Josh Marking - aka Squeaky. I got excessively overzealous with energy and stadiums, and ended up dumping my extra stadiums and using my excess energy wastefully. Squeaky noticed and took advantage of this, by dropping a well timed Silent Lab to shut off Rush In and using Lysandre to drag up my Blastoise. I ended up decking out from here, having exhausted any options available. Semi Finals of this same Cities ended in about 25 minutes, with me getting revenge on the Bees player who had demolished me a previous round when I prized all my Archie's. In game 2, after having won game 1, I used Kyogre-EX Dual Splash going second to take out his only two Pokemon.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXN02OiohmHs2fOFoDoVvhyphenhyphenZbPbT0McD6w6zpxFHPRQ1jxysDzxa0x-zrQdEdn8sgV0HzSIpZlhKuQ8cvHmb6wJ7j3Wd7LzzfLg0cIo1jlbjfjGabVyLj9bO8QuyNs7J36CuJri7-IbPc/s1600/1d8ce10ee06850778067119d66075c76.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXN02OiohmHs2fOFoDoVvhyphenhyphenZbPbT0McD6w6zpxFHPRQ1jxysDzxa0x-zrQdEdn8sgV0HzSIpZlhKuQ8cvHmb6wJ7j3Wd7LzzfLg0cIo1jlbjfjGabVyLj9bO8QuyNs7J36CuJri7-IbPc/s320/1d8ce10ee06850778067119d66075c76.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MVP in so many games. </td></tr>
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</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the Cities prior to the crushing defeat to Squeaky in Finals, at Yeti Gaming, I actually ended up going 'undefeated' in Swiss round play. Going into the last round, I got downpaired 4 points to a friend, and felt extremely comfortable simply scooping this game to get us both into cut. We started off in cut on the same side of the bracket, with me in first seed and Charles Randall in second or third, so my decision certainly paid off. I ended this streak by losing to another friend, Carington Huffman playing Sableye Garbodor, setting up very a riveting Sableye Garbodor mirror match in Finals.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Cities runs with Blastoise ended with me having three 3rds and one 2nd, never winning, but coming quite closing and coming away satisfied.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I continued playing Stoise for a few more LCs, soft capping my LCs with Stoise with 4 total Jirachi cards - 2 EX, and 2 Stardust. This came in particularly clutch against a very Special Energy heavy Hippowdon/Garbodor, as I was able to 5 HKO his primary Hippowdon with a Muscle Banded Jirachi steadily running him out of energy, with the second Jirachi taking the last 10 damage and effectively getting rid of all his energy. I hit several Toad/Tina decks along the way as well, and Jirachi certainly pulled its weight every time in that matchup. I went through 3 LCs ending a 4-0-1 with this deck, pulling out 1st every time.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Blastoise train was soon at its end - Collinsville Regionals was the final nail in the coffin for me using Stoise in larger tournaments. With Wobbuffet variants and M Rayquaza being in full attendance, along with the mandatory Toad Bats, I could no longer justify playing Blastoise after the tournament. I started off pretty strong, but that turned into a nose dive after pulling out a close game against Owen Robinson's Toad Bats. I think the only game I won after this was against a M Rayquaza player that scooped both games after I decimated his DCEs with my handy Jirachis. In a previous round against Zander Bennett's M Ray, I wasn't quite as lucky, but the look on his face when I dropped a second Jirachi after he went far out of his way to kill the first was certainly worth it.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5i9Htrp2BG7khyphenhyphenQQSZou7I2gG9sCX7OEC8c-urrGDinRTGOLwbbxZRWM8_at1Rjeo6jsQgt-PjQPG7xqglwkAgw_ad8j-OZJMxn07HrNEBu4RofPjJyq1t4fJQQZi3UFT-m16qBDIxv8/s1600/13131619_10206290326758071_9136902977892059799_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5i9Htrp2BG7khyphenhyphenQQSZou7I2gG9sCX7OEC8c-urrGDinRTGOLwbbxZRWM8_at1Rjeo6jsQgt-PjQPG7xqglwkAgw_ad8j-OZJMxn07HrNEBu4RofPjJyq1t4fJQQZi3UFT-m16qBDIxv8/s320/13131619_10206290326758071_9136902977892059799_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those pesky Ultra Balls</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Okay, okay, enough of Blastoise. Not that the next deck is too much better - Vespiquen was certainly a solid contender in Expanded, and Andrew Wamboldt made sure it was in Standard as well.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Andrew first mentioned the deck concept during the Cities Marathon, I laughed and called the concept terrible. I would soon eat my words when he got 2nd the following day, and I had a deck I actually liked for Standard now. I practiced a ton with this deck leading into States, and it certainly paid off. I ended my runs with 2 undefeated Swiss runs at <a href="http://toxicpokemon.blogspot.com/2016/03/buzzing-around-forest-of-giant-plants.html">Missouri </a>and <a href="http://toxicpokemon.blogspot.com/2016/03/flower-power-top-4-nebraska-states.html">Nebraska </a>and 3rd place at both after top cut, and a Top 16 for 30 more points at Iowa States (where the deck ended up winning anyway). This deck is a powerhouse on so many levels. Its damage cap is only limited by how many Pokemon you can ditch, and to add insult to damage, it can item lock you while it hits hard. I don't have terribly much more to say about this deck that I haven't said in other articles already which can be found linked above, but I certainly never thought I'd have success in Standard prior to this deck.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Q2CMEOYEuMt1uhj3eK0IwLSb4rkkX_plwYN-tuW5Z9BT9juLDD_Ys9zjqk53kOamaWCCyhOwYjSN9BYG9aM1HwhSQQVblX4AQxYXGgumqmDX5mhvSVmPIyiCjyrYGvPN3wAdVHJnTVsM/s1600/12321550_10206009533498415_6718904375015255608_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Q2CMEOYEuMt1uhj3eK0IwLSb4rkkX_plwYN-tuW5Z9BT9juLDD_Ys9zjqk53kOamaWCCyhOwYjSN9BYG9aM1HwhSQQVblX4AQxYXGgumqmDX5mhvSVmPIyiCjyrYGvPN3wAdVHJnTVsM/s320/12321550_10206009533498415_6718904375015255608_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">-1 Gloom, +1 Jirachi</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The recap is over! But there's still more format analysis to be had. Regionals and Nationals are coming up, and my indecision about both of these are certainly at a peak as well.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Regionals Expanded format only gained two things from the previous Florida Regionals in my opinion - those are Revitalizer and Jolteon-EX. There are a few other niche cards in Generations that could have an impact, but I don't really see that happening just yet. So the powerhouses of the format either stay unchanged or get slightly better- Eels and M Manectric get a cool new toy, Virizion Genesect and Vespiquen get a cute recovery card that may or may not see play, and everything else is on about the same level.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This leaves Regionals power decks, with a few additions, to look something like this:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yveltal Variants (Speed, Archeops)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Groudon/Wobb</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trevenant BREAK/Wobb</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sableye Garbodor</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vespiquen Flareon</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">M Rayquaza</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">M Manectric</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Raikou/Jolteon/Eels</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Toad Variants (Bats, Giratina)</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with "surprise" plays looking like Night March, Blastoise, and Accelgor variants. The surprise plays, in my opinion, aren't very strong right now for various reasons. Night March has hard matchups against several of the top decks, primarily Sableye, Trevenant, an iffy matchup against Bees, and a slightly tough matchup against anything that plays a multitude of Fury Belts. It will still certainly see play due to hype from Standard carrying over. Accelgor just has a tough time against Virgen, Keldeo in any deck, Giratina EX in any form, and Archeops in particular. It still has potential, but has to hit good matchups to make it. Blastoise, alas, is just not in a good place right now. Too much Wobbuffet, too much Item/Ability lock, and Fury Belt throws math way off in many cases as well. Ghetsis also decimates Blastoise in particular - it's powerful against every deck in the format, but Blastoise not being able to get a T1 Archie's due to having no cards going into their turn is kind of a problem.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtO1Pd_X0LQKGTZfY0uCzloPCWURScE2MfPOpoiyt6SgOr-iN6LOM9O2orReN5r1-_Shz7Dsvb7pLTZYFtNE5kDPjhkwD6-bczWwB6DnNtx4KJspaEW4PRs3AA4JYLynmfNNmnRkK4aNM/s1600/200px-GhetsisPlasmaFreeze115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtO1Pd_X0LQKGTZfY0uCzloPCWURScE2MfPOpoiyt6SgOr-iN6LOM9O2orReN5r1-_Shz7Dsvb7pLTZYFtNE5kDPjhkwD6-bczWwB6DnNtx4KJspaEW4PRs3AA4JYLynmfNNmnRkK4aNM/s1600/200px-GhetsisPlasmaFreeze115.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Expanded's King, basically </td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rest of the lineup I'm having extreme difficulty picking between. It certainly doesn't help that I have all the cards I need to build any of them- for week 1, at least. They're all strong choices, and only a few of them have major flaws. The decks I'll avoid due to said flaws will end up being Eels due to the weakness to Hex and ability lock, Toad Variants due to a general preparedness to deal with them and reliance on Special Energy, M Manectric and Trevenant for it's inability to hit high numbers in one turn (I know that's a really odd reason, but without hitting weakness it can't take out something putting heavy pressure on it that has high HP, and that's kind of a concern) and Groudon and Vespiquen for the overtly slow nature in a fast format. No matter how much they tried, Tyler Turner and Charles Randall couldn't get me on the Groudon hype train. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This leaves me with Yveltal, Sableye, M Ray. I have very limited time to make the decision, but it's proving to be a tough one. It certainly doesn't help that a few new options open up for Kansas City Regionals with Fates Collide being legal, but I'm trying not to think about that just yet.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nationals is a whole other beast entirely. Night March will still most certainly have the strength carrying over from States (along with the target on its head), and that severely limits viable options going back into Fates Collide legal Standard format.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">N's return makes for an interesting twist as well- Night March will have a slightly tougher time having precisely what it needs at every point of the game after it reaches the 3 prize hump if their opponent times their N well.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Looking at Andrew Wamboldt's States results, the decks that carry over well tend to be:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vespiquen Vileplume</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Night March</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Toad Hammers</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trevenant BREAK</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yveltal</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Greninja</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and M Rayquaza/Jolteon</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The main two variants we didn't see as much that will probably come up now are Fighting, Wailord, and Metal. Metal gained some nice new techs with FTC Bronzong, Bronzong BREAK, and Genesect-EX. All three of these are most certainly worth note, as Bronzong is a powerful counter to Trevenant, and the BREAK can manhandle Night March if they're not careful. Genesect is just a good card with an all around solid ability and attack.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fighting gets two new Carbinks, Carbink BREAK, Zygarde-EX, and Regirock-EX. As if Fighting didn't have enough damage modifiers in Fighting Stadium and Strong Energy while having Focus Sash to prevent OHKOs, it gets a new Safeguard, energy acceleration in Carbink BREAK, another high HP (190HP!) attacker in Zygarde with Regirock to boost damage. Fighting is back with more options than ever.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What changes with Wailord, you say? The only thing it was missing in Standard from Expanded - a Safeguard Pokemon. It has Hugh in the form of Chip Off Durant, it often plays either Lugia-EX, Shaymin-EX, or Lucario-EX to take out opposing Bunnelby, Max Potion, Rough Seas, and now has Carbink to take the place of Suicune. Unfortunately Carbink can't utilize Rough Seas as Suicune could, but it still gives it the edge back it once had.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really like all the perks Metal currently brings to the table, but testing stands to prove whether it will be enough or not. Aegislash isn't as strong in the format as one would expect, with Hex Maniac being quite popular in most decks that would normally have an issue with it, and I can certainly see Hex doing enough to Bronzong decks to stop it from getting too far in the game. That said, I have almost no reason just to default to Vespiquen, and that will always remain a contender in my choices for Standard right now as well.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, Expanded definitely provides more choice and variety than Standard, which inevitably leads me to be more indecisive about it than Standard as well. For those who know me, know this is a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">VAST </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">switch from a few months ago. I used to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">absolutely hate</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Standard and had absolutely no idea what to do. Now I only slightly despise it, and my extreme indecision has been flipped into Expanded, leaving me to muddle through the next week with not nearly as much testing as I'd like, and a difficult decision looming on the close horizon. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTp086F5QUEkF02J4ADks6Q8knCby9OVGM17UMWWJpft_uvAx-E-p-5I1ZonZXgWYnQDdmPP0k9VerJxiUP9AJSm2hu7FNtI22m1TS3RHabhltUIdmaizsyRy86d16uXs4cHyxMfwvqP_2/s1600/13178889_994327310623164_8860497550974061255_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTp086F5QUEkF02J4ADks6Q8knCby9OVGM17UMWWJpft_uvAx-E-p-5I1ZonZXgWYnQDdmPP0k9VerJxiUP9AJSm2hu7FNtI22m1TS3RHabhltUIdmaizsyRy86d16uXs4cHyxMfwvqP_2/s320/13178889_994327310623164_8860497550974061255_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nationals mat, Ala Brandon Smiley/Virbank City</td></tr>
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<br />Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691918065328310780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633599540637532019.post-6464443538305018512016-03-27T20:45:00.000-04:002016-05-07T12:55:03.974-04:00Flower Power - a Top 4 Nebraska States Tournament Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3UJBzSuEsmul8FvPOYDTO4tJBdLrL54oWp3I_xHNocz2X38TX9O5RmDPAypAiaYSR5kxGtIICo9aJEwWw_9jvUNytwUp04YYv5Vrj3ztvmWB4nX-84xEInFXlvqBvY5BuveC_fbCeZRg/s1600/NETop4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3UJBzSuEsmul8FvPOYDTO4tJBdLrL54oWp3I_xHNocz2X38TX9O5RmDPAypAiaYSR5kxGtIICo9aJEwWw_9jvUNytwUp04YYv5Vrj3ztvmWB4nX-84xEInFXlvqBvY5BuveC_fbCeZRg/s1600/NETop4.jpg" /></a></div>
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Hey, Brandon Flowers here with my top 4 report from Nebraska States!<br />
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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7RDoIvfQZMNR4pu2zoc3bKI8RWa558FeVxReK9P_7VRlFruiqoKwuR_E4PzEEmTlFQq1g29AYga2GBTr832I9imBFchpqRLdakxPvP7EJkaiTyJ-L9eDbmpuzLywpxG34B_O1neUru_J/s1600/cloudsm4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7RDoIvfQZMNR4pu2zoc3bKI8RWa558FeVxReK9P_7VRlFruiqoKwuR_E4PzEEmTlFQq1g29AYga2GBTr832I9imBFchpqRLdakxPvP7EJkaiTyJ-L9eDbmpuzLywpxG34B_O1neUru_J/s1600/cloudsm4.jpg" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXlLIMNMQZISOX0iB6njdkgfK1hvpYtCGmC7b-u_w3_Qm7v0fhW0JjGwGH0O_s2v1tlNiK8Hjtyl5bURY1jIAzi8yf_36qHRYC2vRNMHXc7eL77On859htHyI82Sj-1-W12GUyokTB9K0/s1600/cloudsm4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>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.<br />
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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 <span style="color: #1b7cff;"><a href="http://www.pokemonpapercraft.net/">papercraft </a><a href="http://www.pokemonpapercraft.net/">(shameless plug, click here to visit my site pls) </a></span>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.<br />
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Round 1 – Michael McChesney, Yveltal Gallade Zoroark<o:p></o:p></div>
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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 <b>Game 1</b> 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.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Great card against VV, if you can get it out.</span><br />
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<b>Game 2 </b>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.<br />
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WW 1-0</div>
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Round 2 – Treynor Wolfe, Night March<o:p></o:p></div>
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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.<br />
I believe he starts <b>game 1</b>, 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.<br />
In <b>game 2 </b>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. </div>
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WW 2-0<o:p></o:p></div>
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Round 3 – Carington Huffman, Night March<o:p></o:p><br />
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.<br />
He starts <b>game 1</b> 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.<br />
In <b>Game 2</b>, 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.</div>
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WW 3-0<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq22CWWAOqlp7l2oAxB_EPmTeWegTHMb-PE7gQARuyvVVpuhTi5fnk7gIs7zND0V9aBf1_fxvgPGO3yfPEiE9e5IJOrY4U-4ohBD0f_p_cdZ8lLk2O2SUnoqKNZlEuxbNTT4RRUasBBZSJ/s1600/blurrykrabs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq22CWWAOqlp7l2oAxB_EPmTeWegTHMb-PE7gQARuyvVVpuhTi5fnk7gIs7zND0V9aBf1_fxvgPGO3yfPEiE9e5IJOrY4U-4ohBD0f_p_cdZ8lLk2O2SUnoqKNZlEuxbNTT4RRUasBBZSJ/s320/blurrykrabs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">When you play against Night March 8 out of 13 rounds</span></td></tr>
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Disclaimer: after 8 rounds against Night March over 2 weekends, the details of matches began to slur together a bit. Some of these games were too similar to keep distinct, so unfortunately they may not be as accurate as I'd like.<br />
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Round 4 – Dawson Michel, Entei/Charizard<o:p></o:p></div>
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This round was by far the most controversial of the day, if not the most interesting.<br />
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.<br />
In <b>Game 2</b> 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.<br />
In <b>Game 3</b>, I get a perfect set up against his lone Entei, and he scoops before even taking a full turn.<br />
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WLW 4-0</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
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.</div>
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Round 5 – Steven Singer, Trevenant BREAK<br />
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.<br />
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TTT 4-0-1<o:p></o:p></div>
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Round 6 – Miguel Escutia, Night March<o:p></o:p></div>
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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.</div>
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TTT 4-0-2</div>
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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 6<sup>th</sup>
round, we found the final top cut to be (in order):<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5HGVvoUr-0wFimT89I-Qp2HWYnwKAG4DUrwrQbRODjEbVTMb9upd4R5jm493_RJKlyzye9d8p8Pe06QNV9sxvX3KNKQupS5JoCBhOUd1f9XTNftfn8cfKc__liBNy7iaJS1njCKO-4Auo/s1600/NEStates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5HGVvoUr-0wFimT89I-Qp2HWYnwKAG4DUrwrQbRODjEbVTMb9upd4R5jm493_RJKlyzye9d8p8Pe06QNV9sxvX3KNKQupS5JoCBhOUd1f9XTNftfn8cfKc__liBNy7iaJS1njCKO-4Auo/s320/NEStates.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
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Trevenant<br />
Vespiquen Vileplume<br />
Night March<br />
Giratina/Uno Tyrantrum/Bronzong/Aegislash<br />
Night March<br />
Night March<br />
Night March<br />
Night March</div>
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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. </div>
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Top 8 vs Miguel Escutia, Night March<br />
This feels oddly familiar... Coming back around to Night March in top 8 against an opponent I had crossed paths with in Swiss.<br />
Also oddly familiar, I lose the flip. Surprise.<br />
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.<br />
In <b>game 2</b>, 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.<br />
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WW to Top 4</div>
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Top 4 – Kaleb Higdon, Night March<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwFdaJ0c20uX2x3LmMHzfwAYHIapacFgoeNFIQKZlBJxn1pDt-OQH8JPCTXYmWwnf8fkNEMQ-_tFecqY_DQoesgquo6RpU1KvYQEvMXsbpm3tq0zOsIkpbw3iH-yhEoLlud1kivkr2D3J/s1600/kyogredex.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwFdaJ0c20uX2x3LmMHzfwAYHIapacFgoeNFIQKZlBJxn1pDt-OQH8JPCTXYmWwnf8fkNEMQ-_tFecqY_DQoesgquo6RpU1KvYQEvMXsbpm3tq0zOsIkpbw3iH-yhEoLlud1kivkr2D3J/s320/kyogredex.png" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fear of donks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This game is a bit of a different match than my previous top 4, but my deck approaches it quite the same. I win the flip to go first, but my slight moment of triumph is thrown directly back into my face when I draw Unown, Toxicroak-EX, Gloom, Vileplume, Vespiquen, Vespiquen, and Revitalizer. Literal worst hand I have ever seen, and barely workable in any setting. I opt to start Unown, expecting to have to stall a turn at least and not wanting to get Toxicroak donked if I whiffed on Farewell Letter (a similar Top 4 experience of me donking my opponent in an Expanded Cities with Kyogre-EX DEX after he whiffed off an Unown came to mind). I draw into... Lysandre. Yay. I drop Croak and pass, expecting this one to be quick. Surprisingly I'm able to draw into something after a couple of turns into him starting to 3HKO Croak with Joltik+a Lysandre'd Shaymin, but it's too late. I'm essentially 3 prizes down and he handily takes the game from here.<br />
<b>Game 2</b> 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.</div>
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LL – Out</div>
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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.<br />
Kudos to Kaleb for taking down two lock decks in a row to take it all!<br />
Overall, my opponents were generally more friendly out in Nebraska, which was also awesome. Always feels great to be welcomed in unknown territory.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
1. Kaleb Higdon<br />
2. Steven Singer<br />
3. Brandon Flowers<br />
4. Kyle Haverland<br />
5. Dustin Born<br />
6. Treynor Wolfe<br />
7. Miguel Escutia<br />
8. Brandon Smiley </div>
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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:<br />
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<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'helvetica neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<b>Here is the list I played for the tournament:</b></div>
<table border="1" class="decklist" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; width: 469px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(231, 231, 231); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 0.8125em 9.375px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="decklist-head" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<strong class="amzn-taggable-text"><span style="color: black;">Pokemon – 28</span></strong></div>
<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Combee AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Vespiquen AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Oddish AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Gloom AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">3 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Vileplume AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">3 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Unown AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Shaymin EX</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">1 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Bunnelby PRC</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">1 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Toxicroak EX</span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(231, 231, 231); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 0.8125em 9.375px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="decklist-head" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<strong class="amzn-taggable-text"><span style="color: black;">Trainers – 28</span></strong></div>
<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<span style="color: black;">2 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Professor Sycamore</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">1 Lysandre</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">1 AZ</span></span></span></div>
<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Ultra Ball</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">2 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Revitalizer</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">3 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Acro Bike</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Trainers’ Mail</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Battle Compressor</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">1 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Town Map</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">2 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Float Stone</span></span></span></div>
<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Forest of Giant Plants</span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(231, 231, 231); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 0.8125em 9.375px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="decklist-head" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<strong class="amzn-taggable-text"><span style="color: black;">Energy – 4</span></strong></div>
<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: black;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Double Colorless</span></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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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. <a href="http://thecharizardlounge.com/2016/03/21/how-night-march-won-week-1-of-states/">Andrew Wamboldt's article from last week</a> 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).<br />
<br />
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.<br />
Good luck to all going to more States, and see you around at Regionals and Nationals!<br />
<br /></div>
Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691918065328310780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633599540637532019.post-50509691935003039862016-03-21T13:27:00.000-04:002016-03-21T14:26:23.246-04:00Buzzing Around a Forest of Giant Plants – A Top 4 Report from Missouri States<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMbOtqMN5Fj14im_q4aVrfV2CXOhrEp7axZyvwv-eer7zvJ87gz2OwPCMoEo3VMIluMqrGtBkCb8VlIEPRKDP_GQlnKBo06JJcREPdssF9Z0ZdGTry3TFRu51cp0HrsS3kjE6G3C0qFZm/s1600/VV.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMbOtqMN5Fj14im_q4aVrfV2CXOhrEp7axZyvwv-eer7zvJ87gz2OwPCMoEo3VMIluMqrGtBkCb8VlIEPRKDP_GQlnKBo06JJcREPdssF9Z0ZdGTry3TFRu51cp0HrsS3kjE6G3C0qFZm/s400/VV.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gang's all here</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hey, Brandon Flowers here with my top 4 report from Missouri States!<br />
I’ve been anticipating States in general since tripping up
at St Louis Regionals not all too long ago; which is saying something, as I’m
not the biggest fan of the Standard format overall, and this weekend didn’t
really alter my outlook greatly on that either. Both formats, Expanded and
Standard, definitely have things people consider issues or annoyances, and the
biggest is the sheer prevalence of lock decks and their ability to warp the
meta.<br />
<br />
It should then come as no surprise that this tournament
report revolves around such a deck – Vespiquen Vileplume. Since Andrew Wamboldt’s
(and Michael Hopkins) inception of it during the Chicago Cities marathon, this
deck has been buzzing around without fail. Luckily I was around to pick up on
the concept and make it my own a little, however slight, and get my own success
with it this past weekend.
Driving up Friday afternoon to save ourselves some drive
time, our little Champaign crew began our trip to Sarah Beckwith’s soon to be
crowded household, excited for the weekend to come. I still hadn’t decided
between Plume and Night March, but a few test games with my friend Cookie
decided that pretty quickly – while Night March was by no means a bad play,
Vespiplume forces people into tough situations with little room for outs just
as much, if not more than Night March, and can take nearly, if not all options
away from Night March itself at times. <o:p></o:p>
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Round 1 – Random Bye<o:p></o:p></div>
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Riveting, I know! I started the day with the random bye,
lucky me- it gave me a chance to chill out, play a few games of Pokken, and get
in the zone. And of course, scope out the competition. It was at this point
that I found out Andrew Wamboldt of Charizard Lounge fame appeared to be the
only other running Vespiplume, and the field was saturated with Greninja and
Night March. While there were a few Trevenant running rampant, but I was in
hopes I could avoid them (or go first). Flareon-EX saw much more play than I
expected, but I wasn’t terribly worried about that either. <o:p></o:p></div>
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??? 1-0</div>
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Round 2 – Rick Neiheiser, Greninja <o:p></o:p></div>
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After scoping out the field previously, this wasn’t terribly
surprising. Much to my opponent’s chagrin, I won the flip and went first. I got
the optimal setup, passed, and gave him a turn. He played Sycamore and
immediately scooped, having no other Pokemon and knowing he would be knocked
out next turn.</div>
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<b>Game 2 </b>was slightly more eventful – he went second, got a
few Pokes out, and then passed. I got my setup, knocked out the active, and
turned it over to him allowing him to Water Duplicates to get 2 Frogadier out –
he frantically searched multiple times in hopes he missed the third somewhere,
but alas, it was prized. I knocked out the next Frog and turned it back over to
him – he attached, and played Judge in hopes to get a Greninja. When he missed
it, he scooped this game as well. <o:p></o:p></div>
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WW 2-0<o:p></o:p></div>
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Round 3 – Dema Boatman, Night March/Puzzle/Milotic<o:p></o:p></div>
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This was the matchup I was ready for, and most anticipating.
These games were much longer (and more intense) but I’ll just hit the high
points to keep with the flow. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dema wins the flip, and goes first of course. He gets a
fairly optimal setup, prepared for what to come, and passes. Much prize and energy trading
ensues – when I can, I Sky Return for knockouts to preserve my few energy and
keep up with the constant barrage of Night March. He is able to outpace the
attacks, and with a final clutch Milotic play, gets the last energy he needs to
take game 1.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdeZoTG5vG2VTcZJi4NWpaxojawSYa5euHRt63TlJwTaR3IRu0MiEQ5GzuhUKFIUf-Dwt07N69CzxI6bsodpgdeegp11Hh01my55Ls30IuBthDLjF-Ez1X5oKCDmL8Ddkv15EzAZYMj9f/s1600/hex.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdeZoTG5vG2VTcZJi4NWpaxojawSYa5euHRt63TlJwTaR3IRu0MiEQ5GzuhUKFIUf-Dwt07N69CzxI6bsodpgdeegp11Hh01my55Ls30IuBthDLjF-Ez1X5oKCDmL8Ddkv15EzAZYMj9f/s320/hex.png" width="224" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simply Maniacally good.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Game 2 </b>I go first, but have an awful decision laid out in
front of me immediately- I start Sycamore, Double Colorless (DCE), DCE, Oddish,
and Toxicroak EX. I’m forced to drop the Croak and attach the DCE to it, hoping
it isn’t immediately killed if I miss the Vileplume or just go unused. Off the
Sycamore I get the setup, but find in my initial search my remaining DCEs are
prized. This is definitely an uphill battle. Luckily I’m able to use Triple
Poison to take 4 prizes before Dema can get setup, and take the energy I need
to finish off the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Game 3</b> was a great end to a great series – it went very
similarly to game 1, but I was able to pull ahead a bit more with better draws
and good Town Map utilization to play off prizes. The game ended in time on
turn 3- turn 0, I get a Judge played on me and knocked out. Turn 1, I lay down
a clutch Shaymin, drop a Combee, and Sky Return the active Joltik to take
Vespiquen off my prizes. At this point, he only has a Milotic left, and
Vespiquen wins me the game. He passes, I use the Float Stone on my active
Vileplume to retreat into Combee, evolve, attach, and end the game. Luck was
definitely on my side here, even without winning the opening flip. Hex Maniac certainly made a difference in this series too, and allowed for some interesting plays here and there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LWW 3-0<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Round 4 – Kyle Haverland, Night March/Puzzle/Gallade<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This round was the beginning of a trend that won’t stop til
top 4 – even seeing some repeats along the way. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I lose the flip again, and he goes first. I don’t recall
anything especially different about this game, as it went very similarly to my
game 1 against Dema – including losing game 1 of the round. The main thing that
went different was Kyle using Maxie’s for Gallade turn 1, allowing him to control
his top 5 cards for the rest of the game and use this advantage to his favor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515VWfvoeaL._SY300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515VWfvoeaL._SY300_.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe not MVP, but definitely clutch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Game 2</b> went a bit more in my favor. I went first, got my set
up, and passed. Not having anything, he immediately scooped to settle things in
game 3. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Game 3</b> was… Interesting. He went first, used Puzzle of Time
to see the top 3 cards of his deck and arrange them, but not play much else. He
played Hex Maniac, knowing this would give him at least a turn, and passed. I
was able to get about a third of the setup with just items, getting out a few
Combees and a Gloom, but had to turn it back over to him without doing anything
too spectacular. He got a decent turn, and we began the prize and energy
exchange anew. Once I had whittled him down to 6-7 cards in deck, 1 Dimension
Valley left, 1 Double Colorless left, a seemingly stranded Pumpkaboo on active
and an inkling he didn’t have either in hand, I took a different route. I
turned to Bunnelby to pull the rest of the weight and he took the mantle well.
My first Burrow hit the last Dimension Valley, and I knew I was in safe territory.
I used Burrow for the remainder of the game to deck him and take the series.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LWW 4-0<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Round 5 – Dalton Fowler, Night March/Vespiquen<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seeing Vespiquen made me a little leery. I knew immediately
I would have to rely on my own Vespiquen a bit more, and as such would need to
get to my energy in a timely manner.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Game 1</b> of this series is very similar to the previous two
series – I lose the flip, he goes first, and takes the first game. This had a
bit less Sky Return and a bit more Bee Revenge, but he was able to edge me out
of game 1 to start the series off in his favor. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Game 2,</b> I went first, and believe I got decently set up immediately –
one of these games I didn’t and it got interesting, but I believe this one went
relatively quickly and we went onto game 3.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IO8sjkYeZLYXz4KCs0CnD37prS5zgnG4NCLDxmW1h3_fTqFtr3w_bVKW_xFWIFPl11SIXyPzwI6scC8-uUqVhAJzIQfJrXRs6hOGTUQonhLrgzFAn-jakjDsDh3Gfws-ZFNpSLcmyWde/s1600/revita.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IO8sjkYeZLYXz4KCs0CnD37prS5zgnG4NCLDxmW1h3_fTqFtr3w_bVKW_xFWIFPl11SIXyPzwI6scC8-uUqVhAJzIQfJrXRs6hOGTUQonhLrgzFAn-jakjDsDh3Gfws-ZFNpSLcmyWde/s320/revita.png" width="224" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of few non-reprints in Generations</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Game 3</b> was rocky – he went first and started off well, and I
went second and hit all the bad luck I had coming to me. I had a very
unremarkable first turn, and had to pass without doing much. He started the
prize exchange quickly after, forcing my top deck to be usable – luckily it was
an out to get going. Getting an out to a Shaymin and getting back in the game,
I quickly got the lock into place and started attacking myself. After a couple
of turns of back and forth, I’ve killed off two of his energy, with two left in
a sizable (approximately 25 card) deck, but I’m on my last energy. In this
moment I know I have to go hyper aggressive and use Vespiquen to try and take my last 4 prizes before he
gets to an energy or I don’t stand much
of a chance. While Bunnelby was waiting on the bench patiently, this wasn’t his
time, as I didn’t have a reliable out to get any energy put back into the deck.
Vespiquen starts the exchange, taking 2 prizes before Dalton begins an Unown
chain – Farewell Letter into Farewell Letter into… nothing usable. He then
gives me my second to last prize, draws his next card, and concedes finding it
isn’t an energy. I take my last prize and the game. The best part – his very next
card was the DCE he needed to edge me out of the game. Had I even slightly
hesitated I would not have lasted. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This game was certainly the most riveting, and one of the
friendliest opponent’s I had all day. Most people get a little disgruntled
upon finding out my deck choice, but he was intrigued by the concept and really
liked my utilization of Revitalizer for a fallback in setting up your grass
lines. After talking a bit after the game, I even find out he had played Sarah
earlier in the day and she had offered him a place to crash as well. Good wrap
up to one of the closest games all day.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LWW 5-0<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Round 6 – Conner Lavelle,
Manectric Toolbox<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Being the only 5-0 so far, we take a mutually advantageous tie,
and then banter a bit about what we expect to see in our now guaranteed top 8
placements. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
TTT 5-0-1<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Round 7 – Andrew Wamboldt,
Vespiquen Vileplume<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Neither of us wanting to play this one out just yet, we once
again take a mutually advantageous tie. This match would come back around to me
again, but for now, we’re both guaranteed cut.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
TTT 5-0-2<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now knowing both myself, Andrew, and Conner were all
guaranteed, we waited on the remainder of cut to be decided by the final
rounds. Seeing an interesting set of decks make top 8 after 7<sup>th</sup>
round, we found the final top cut to be (in order):<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvMLkObti2iSORejXx3Z5NbpAzJyNADi1eE5NRFPx2TMpp0UI5sDr-Y-hQ2ygoJ0JpH-uAxEVNYz4tl4gY3maAvVOVHXi0LiOuOQv1TYSaNI01krZXIDkD0tslxYsF4GWo56yaRdoAkw6/s1600/MOStates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvMLkObti2iSORejXx3Z5NbpAzJyNADi1eE5NRFPx2TMpp0UI5sDr-Y-hQ2ygoJ0JpH-uAxEVNYz4tl4gY3maAvVOVHXi0LiOuOQv1TYSaNI01krZXIDkD0tslxYsF4GWo56yaRdoAkw6/s320/MOStates.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit to Kolton Day for the solid picture</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vespiquen Vileplume<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Manectric Toolbox<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Night March/Milotic/Puzzle<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vespiquen Vileplume <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Night March/Gallade/Puzzle<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seismitoad-EX/Giratina<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trevenant/Disruption<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Night March/Gallade/Puzzle<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Coming back around to more Night March! Our top 8 was played
the following day, so I had a chance to rest up and return bright and early through
our dreary, Midwestern snow flurries the following morning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Top Eight vs Kyle
Haverland, Night March/Gallade/Puzzle<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Knowing exactly what he’s playing due to Swiss play, I feel
fairly confident in my matchup here. I psyched myself up quite a bit the night
before, just so I kept myself in check and didn’t get cocky, but I know how to
play the matchup and didn’t get too overeager.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Actually winning the flip for the first time in 4 rounds, I
choose to go first. This goes exactly like our second game in Swiss- he watches
me get the setup, waits for me to pass, and immediately scoops to go to game 2.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Game 2 here goes remarkably close to our previously game 3
as well, with a little twist. He was able to chain Hex Maniac for a couple
turns, keeping me at bay for a bit. I made a remarkably dumb misplay here that
could have easily cost me the game – I started Unown, had a benched Vespiquen
by turn 2, and 2 DCE in hand. I’m so used to getting Shaymin and such Lysandre’d,
or the Unown killed, that I didn’t even think to attach to Vespiquen and pass
and have game the following turn by killing his active Pumpkaboo with Bee
Revenge. Instead, I hold both DCE in anticipation of getting a turn of
abilities. He used Hex Maniac again to bide a bit more time for himself, and it’s
at this point I realize my dire mistake. I start attaching to Vespiquen now,
attempting to rectify the mistake, but Kyle is in the game at this point as
well- going back to him, he is able to net an Ultra Ball to start using
Shaymins and his trainer draw engine to get set up. He kills the active Unown
now and actually gives me a turn of abilities, allowing me to set up my own
field, kill his energy, stadium, and item lock him. In the process of getting
the Float Stone on my Vileplume however, I had filled my bench with Shaymin-EX
and put myself down to 2 cards in deck. Luckily Kyle is only able to Sky Return
me, and puts out another Pumpkaboo in anticipation of sacrificing something. I take
the opening, assuming without Kyle having a Dimension Valley on the field, I
should be safe to Sky Return and open a space for Bunnelby on the bench. He
passes, and I see my chance – I draw my last card in deck, drop the Bunnelby
and DCE on the Bunnelby, and begin a Rototiller chain. I used 6-7 turns to
safely pad my deck with stadiums, Vespiquen lines, and lost energy, and a
Sycamore just in case. During this time Kyle isn’t drawing anything useful and
is only biding his time to attach a DCE to something that can attack and Judge
me. Once I break the Rototiller and knock out the active Pumpkaboo, he does
just that, padding my deck even more with my approximately 16 card hand going
back to my deck after the Judge was played. Having recovered any useful
resources, I’m able to outpace him for the rest of the game and take the game
on prizes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
WW – to Top 4! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The misplay that I caught a turn too late is
something I (hope) to learn from and not make the same mistake again. Previous
confirmation bias led me to make a bit of a stretched conclusion and play
suboptimally. I didn’t let it get to me however, and the game still came back
around to me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At this point I got a bit more at ease, as I started the
tournament at 230 championship points, and top 4 was my primary goal. Just
having made top 4 nets me 70 championship points, putting me at 300 and my
invite! Not even entirely sure it’s fully sunk in just yet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Top 4 – Andrew Wamboldt, Vespiquen Vileplume<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODrMvzqv93U_5lSe7QIRiOJdxHW7LPA8A33yFUV9kqTmd4eWyWj_M6CJP-QBvFs33p1PCqtdD4o_rDOz6Q5ZUosl754peSB-UV8Gxrfp7i2QQsRoOrUu6zv2YsdcXCC3ZDElyq0LjovNA/s1600/vespi.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODrMvzqv93U_5lSe7QIRiOJdxHW7LPA8A33yFUV9kqTmd4eWyWj_M6CJP-QBvFs33p1PCqtdD4o_rDOz6Q5ZUosl754peSB-UV8Gxrfp7i2QQsRoOrUu6zv2YsdcXCC3ZDElyq0LjovNA/s320/vespi.png" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So this is what all the buzz is about.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anyone who knows the tournament results knows how this one
goes – Andrew did not in fact lose to his own deck at this Missouri States, and
ended up taking this one home. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Games 1 and 2 are nearly identical – I go first, whiff the
setup entirely, and am forced to pass. Game 1 Andrew just entirely edged me out
and handily took the game. Game 2 went a bit differently from here though – he also
had a terrible first turn, and was forced to pass it back to me. I go deep and
start to go agro to see if I can make a come back. Unfortunately, I went 1 card
too deep, and took my second to last prize in the same turn I took the last
card from my deck. Thus ends my run.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LL – Out</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Only giving a full round to the eventual winner and creator
of the deck, I’m pretty happy with my run here. I ended up walking away with a
box of Breakpoint, a T4 M Scizor mat, a Mewtwo hat (sorry Finals for leaving
you guys with Hoopa), just enough points to make it to Worlds and a peace of
mind that I can have a bit more fun with the rest of the season without being
on edge, and even making a few more friends along the way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kudos to you if you made it this far too! I know I’m long
winded, and I’m definitely a sucker for the details. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few
new things that I toyed around with in this deck that I liked were:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Revitalizer – all around great card. Allowed for super aggressive games against
mega decks without going for Plume, giving easy access to more Vespiquen lines
when needed. Not that I played any though, but it was good to be prepared. Was
also the way I got the Vileplume about half the time – early discarding a 1-1-1
line gives you access to a Gloom/Vileplume it as soon as you hit one of these. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toxicroak-EX – This was in fact great. I was mostly forced
to use it against Night March, but its ability to kill Pumpkaboos going back
into your turn was clutch. And if they didn’t have Valley or 9 Night March in
the discard for Joltik, it can also take a bit of a beating. The Aegislash-EX
tech turned utility attacker did its job well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516II8tR-xL._SY355_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516II8tR-xL._SY355_.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mapping your turns ahead.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Town Map – Too good. I dropped Red Card for it when I
realized a lot of games have to be played off of prizes when your ability to
get outs to get cards gets limited by your own lock. Especially when you have
Vespiquen lines or DCE prized (or both, which happens often) this card allows
you to literally play off prizes as you take the necessary cards for your
future turns.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other considerations:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Judge or Lysandre. I considered Judge for the exact reason
it saved me in Top 4 – when you dig too deep for the set up, you average about
10-16 cards left in deck, and have limited time to win the game. Not drawing
your energy timely means this may not be enough time, and being able to Judge
your large hand back in when close to deck out gives you more time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lysandre is just a good card to have the option of,
especially when your opponent isn’t expecting such a deck to play it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If I
could have played 63 cards, I would have certainly added Judge, Lysandre, and a
third Float Stone. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'helvetica neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<b>Here is the list I played for the tournament:</b></div>
<table border="1" class="decklist" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em; width: 469px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(231, 231, 231); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 0.8125em 9.375px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="decklist-head" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<strong class="amzn-taggable-text"><span style="color: black;">Pokemon – 28</span></strong></div>
<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Combee AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Vespiquen AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Oddish AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Gloom AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">3 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Vileplume AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">3 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Unown AOR</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Shaymin EX</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">1 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Bunnelby PRC</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">1 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Toxicroak EX</span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(231, 231, 231); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 0.8125em 9.375px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="decklist-head" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<strong class="amzn-taggable-text"><span style="color: black;">Trainers – 28</span></strong></div>
<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<span style="color: black;">3 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Professor Sycamore</span></span></span></div>
<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Ultra Ball</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">2 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Revitalizer</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Acro Bike</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Trainers’ Mail</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Battle Compressor</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">1 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Town Map</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">2 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Float Stone</span></span></span></div>
<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Forest of Giant Plants</span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(231, 231, 231); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 0.8125em 9.375px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="decklist-head" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<strong class="amzn-taggable-text"><span style="color: black;">Energy – 4</span></strong></div>
<div class="amzn-taggable-text" style="margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
<span style="color: black;">4 <span style="color: #000;"><span style="transition: all 0.18s ease-out;">Double Colorless</span></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
While States meta varied widely state to state, I feel I
definitely made the right meta call for this one. More importantly, I was well
versed with the deck, having tried it out at a few Cities during the Chicago
Marathon, winning a moderately sized League Challenge with it, and constantly playing test games with it to find any pitfalls that may occur and how to work around them. In my opinion,
knowing your deck inside out and trusting your gut will get you a lot farther
than simply playing the most popular deck around. It just happens to help if
said deck is one of the stronger ones in the format, haha. Congrats to fellow TT Jay Young for making Top 4 as well, and Andrew Wamboldt for taking it all and also rounding out his invite to Worlds.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Anyway, this past weekend was a great one overall, and I
hope to see some of you around at the next few weekends of States (and
Worlds!). <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691918065328310780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633599540637532019.post-80334208787866368162016-02-04T16:52:00.002-05:002016-02-14T23:46:02.957-05:00Gotta Play Big to Win... Small? - TPCI New Prize Structure for Regionals 2016<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Gotta play big to win big?</i></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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Isn't that the phrase? Not in Pokemon it isn't. Under Pokemon's new prize structuring found here: <a href="http://www.pokemon.com/us/play-pokemon/winter-regional-championships-2016/">CLICK HERE</a><br />
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Under the new system Pokemon will now payout (<i>with packs most likely from their newest set Break Point</i>) to lower than usual finishers. <b>Packs will now <u>uncharacteristically</u> be paid out to top 128</b>. Graph A breaks down the payouts for each finishing group (specifically the masters division). Line 1 is what you will recieve if you placed in a specific tier (<i>ex. Players finishing in T8 would recieve 54 Booster Packs</i>). Line 2 is the total pack payout for that specific tier <i>(ex. those finishing 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th, will split a total of 216 packs).</i> Lines 3-4 are specifically what the payout percentage <i>(based on the 2016 packs being given out in total to each person's placing and the placings all together). Example:</i> Players finishing in T8 will split 10.71% of the total prize pool amoung its 4 other competitors or each will recieve 2.68% of the overall total prize pool.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VV-rCyEB4TV97duQeVFpqjZKkYBnglqY167aTdCOmNh1-SutyncAq9GBPS4E3emPv3vVdEORmpgPhR-fpUUhlnCG5g2IEIJ0oRY0oWz8DA4xknYyuChMiMvdM6S6WPkK1og3yNXdN3aT/s1600/xy-breakpoint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VV-rCyEB4TV97duQeVFpqjZKkYBnglqY167aTdCOmNh1-SutyncAq9GBPS4E3emPv3vVdEORmpgPhR-fpUUhlnCG5g2IEIJ0oRY0oWz8DA4xknYyuChMiMvdM6S6WPkK1og3yNXdN3aT/s320/xy-breakpoint.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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According to the Pokemon.com link above (<i>and with simple addition</i>), 2016 booster packs will be given out to masters in total at each regionals <i>(regardless of total attendance).</i><br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Graph A</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKnK_kCC8XKjcJy9CTc_OfANfrFzDh_4zhQjj4yKzklFwu1mCpoZlITMmkpDGfHTOa_CfnM1dKGrZTPe_DEgdpHsLka26jOF839xtsAQM-5FlHNmKLI5oolWOabnbBYspI3p2j46D39YA/s1600/NEW.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKnK_kCC8XKjcJy9CTc_OfANfrFzDh_4zhQjj4yKzklFwu1mCpoZlITMmkpDGfHTOa_CfnM1dKGrZTPe_DEgdpHsLka26jOF839xtsAQM-5FlHNmKLI5oolWOabnbBYspI3p2j46D39YA/s640/NEW.png" width="640" /></a></div>
So by my calculations (not shown, and based on prior event knowledge), an estimated 400 person regionals, a record of 5W-4L-0T (<i>15points</i>) will net you a top 128 seeding. A 5-4 record, you know, slightly better than a .500 season will net you payout. I personally feel that taking winnings from the top 8 and allocating it to the bottom T64 & T128 isn't good for the competitive nature. It indirectly discouages and de-incentivizes good players from doing their best. Why put in long hours of play testing and meticulous deck construction/meta gaming when I can coast and get a decent enough payout?<br />
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The only last incentive left (<i>after the prize restructuring and cutting t4 trophies</i>) is championship points and round 2 byes at nationals. I argue that even with championship points being untouched, and that the day 1 invite bar is so low I could not care less between 20-30 points. <b>If I'm not winning/finishing top 8 at multiple regionals/nationals, I only need my 300 points and then I'm done for the season.</b> I no longer have the incentive to attend, try hard, buy more product, or push the (<i>meta</i>) game to the limits without being properly rewarded for my efforts. I have already won my chance to play the best.<b> <i>I can push the game to the limits when it actually matters ... in August. </i></b><br />
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Another issue with the new structure is that regionals attedance can range from 150 to 500 masters division players. Example: Ontario Canada regionals versus St. Louis Regionals. Ontario Canada regionals has an expected turnout of less than 200 (based on last years attendance and current regional trends). Last year top 64 extended to records who were 4W-3L (<i>12points</i>). <b>With the extension of prizes, Ontario Master players have a chance even with a negitive record to recieve payout support. </b>Now take into consideration St. Louis regionals, last year who had an attedance of 360+ Master players (double the player base on Ontario). Top 128 there would roughly estimate a record of 5W-3L-1T (<i>16points</i>) <i>[an above winning record there]</i>. I'm not sure if I agree TPCI static (regardless of attedance) payouts now...<br />
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Now lets reflect: take a look at last years regionals payout. This was from Pokemon.com's Fall regionals information page: <a href="http://www.pokemon.com/us/play-pokemon/autumn-regional-championships/2015/about/tcg-faq/">CLICK HERE</a><br />
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<b>Graph B</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXfVSJf1R9X30KocM4ag6WZAEIhKbbaf67dcoqlv8riogIcuQZhkPOKkWd_MBcWye_PV9HzXPCaPmAEBm7ts6ECNWwfC6H6annkLQgXsnTuyZc6YlVr9nDs9Y3g-rViEc3Rv1aGQy_sI4z/s1600/PREV.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXfVSJf1R9X30KocM4ag6WZAEIhKbbaf67dcoqlv8riogIcuQZhkPOKkWd_MBcWye_PV9HzXPCaPmAEBm7ts6ECNWwfC6H6annkLQgXsnTuyZc6YlVr9nDs9Y3g-rViEc3Rv1aGQy_sI4z/s640/PREV.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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By compairing the two regionals payouts, serious cuts were made to those finishing in the Top 4 and minor cuts to Top 8. The <u style="font-weight: bold;">champion now (under new structure) wins the same amount as second place.</u> What is this even? If you compare the payouts in any other tournament <b>2nd should never pays out to a 1:1</b>. It would be like if you were on Jeopardy and you won $15,000 in final Jeopardy and the 2nd place opponent (regardless of his/her score) would also get $15,000 even though he/she was outplayed? But you won and you get the trophy right? You could completely 6-0 your opponent twice in the finals at Regionals this year. However, you're both going home with the same amount of prizes (<i>minus 2nd place does not recieve a trophy</i>). Where did your prize support go originally? It got spread to players in the lower Top 8, mostly into those with <u>slightly</u> above average records.<br />
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So what can Pokemon do to encourage players to play the best <i>(like no one ever was)</i>?<br />
In theory you could follow in the footsteps of the largest collectable card game, Magic: The Gathering. They must be doing something right if they can draw in thousands of people for <i>(what I feel and other players feel the Pokemon Regional equivalent)</i> Grand Prix(s) (<i>GP for short). </i><br />
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<a href="http://img08.deviantart.net/cf8d/i/2011/170/6/b/magic_the_gathering_dotp_2012_by_jenack-d3jcych.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img08.deviantart.net/cf8d/i/2011/170/6/b/magic_the_gathering_dotp_2012_by_jenack-d3jcych.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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I located the payout structure for the upcoming 2016 GP(s). I then calculated it's percentage payouts per person versus its payout pool. Example: First place recieves $10,000 of its $21,200 (<i>min. 3000+ players</i>) static (independent of its attendance) total cash prize pool. I then proceeded to replicate the percentage payouts to emulate that of MTG into Pokemon's booster pack payouts. A full breakdown on MTG GP payouts can be found here:<br />
<a href="http://magic.wizards.com/en/content/grand-prix-event-types-events">CLICK HERE</a><br />
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<b>Graph C</b><br />
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<b><br /></b></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8eD-R2R7IUQcLdLY3A9G616YKRWQonYAO8a3WoMZaeYoVPe3XjhaxengQRCzHZqExSxjZ0t47ZXGXm2kfocOWoH2BEuuACCzij9y-lD2ITVG_dsc-LsS1kDBvO0hbQwGn2oKfTpWv7eP/s1600/mtg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8eD-R2R7IUQcLdLY3A9G616YKRWQonYAO8a3WoMZaeYoVPe3XjhaxengQRCzHZqExSxjZ0t47ZXGXm2kfocOWoH2BEuuACCzij9y-lD2ITVG_dsc-LsS1kDBvO0hbQwGn2oKfTpWv7eP/s640/mtg.png" width="640" /></a><br />
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<b> </b><br />
From Graph C above, you can see that the payouts between each placing is exponentially higher. 1st Place would <i>(in pokemon packs) </i>recieve 972 packs <i>(slightly adjusted higher to get a number divisiable by 36, which is 27 boxes!) </i>based on the MTG percentage payout. From there, payouts get much smaller where anyone finishing outside the top 8 not even recieving a full box. The MTG structure robs alot of the lower placings players of packs and puts a much higher weight (<i>and pressure</i>) on finishing 1st.<br />
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A loss in the finals means your winnings are cut by nearly 55% and even futher as you place lower. Records in day 2 top cut are so close <i>(mainly lower T8 vs upper T16 as well as lower T16 vs upper T32) </i>that something as close as 1 point (<i>or even tie breakers</i>) could cut your winnings in half. I don't necessarly agree with this drastic variance in winnings but is still to be considering when structuring.<br />
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Other competitive games have huge variances such as Super Smash Bros Melee / Super Smash 4 structure being a 60%/30%/10% payout. I did not include this since payout is based on TO entry fee, venue fees and overall attedance. Smash Bros and other competitive E-sports games have little luck to factor as skill is the main driver. Consistent players can continue to recieve these payouts over and over again. There are too many factors (when calculating payouts) to consider this scheme but I digress.<br />
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I continued to search for a more balanced payout structure... Then I came across professional poker...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.pokerstars.com/en/blog/owen_robinson_final_table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://www.pokerstars.com/en/blog/owen_robinson_final_table.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I took the payout scheme from professional poker found here & implemented there structure for a 351-475 player tournament (<i>similiar to a large Pokemon regionals attedance</i>):<br />
<a href="http://www.fulltilt.com/poker/tournaments/payouts">CLICK HERE</a><br />
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<b><br /></b></div>
Again, I used the percentages to emulate a Pokemon payout structure. I had to restructure payouts as some of Top 8 was not divisable by 36 <i>(as it has been in the past). </i>I attempted to get as close to 2016 packs <i>(total given for master division)</i>. It took a considerable amount of time to adjust percentages as Professional Poker is played on tables of 9's versus Pokemon standard tradition of 8's (<i>So the numbers do not quite match the ones on the website)</i>.<br />
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<b>Graph D</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYznunpFr-d-2ZM10RF5TB9u_YBhspWdEBDN7Vrx74ZwwhuCD1e8-W6u00fjJCZT5N4Gx3aOa2z_Y2gKqnXRZBfLEEizd5q8aF60ioktkuCXqeJgsnF29Ou4aICoaq3jYGSMJue76CPD8q/s1600/POKR.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYznunpFr-d-2ZM10RF5TB9u_YBhspWdEBDN7Vrx74ZwwhuCD1e8-W6u00fjJCZT5N4Gx3aOa2z_Y2gKqnXRZBfLEEizd5q8aF60ioktkuCXqeJgsnF29Ou4aICoaq3jYGSMJue76CPD8q/s640/POKR.png" width="640" /></a><b><br /></b><br />
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<a href="http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/7/79/Gambler_Stadium.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/7/79/Gambler_Stadium.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Call me a gambling addict or a guy who loves making spreadsheets or someone who has too much time on their hands(or all 3), but I feel professional poker structure is the way to go. </i></div>
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I feel that there is a balance in doing well. A loss in the finals doesn't cut your winnings in half <i>(they are cut enough to feel it but you aren't burned by it)</i>. Payouts still get a decent amount (T64 receiving 10 packs is still a good day especially a typical T64 record is 6-3; an above average winning record). Missing cut isn't devistating when you only recieve 5 less packs behind your counterparts in 17-32nd places. Its not fun but you definitely do feel like you are at least going home with something.<br />
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When I finished top 64 at Ft Wayne and I went home with 15 packs and a T-Tar regionals mat, I was satisfied that my time, effort and hours testing was for something. It was not by any means easy where I could coast on skill alone to a 6-3 record. If didn't test or put hours into testing, I know I could coast into Top 128 seed with a mindless autopilot deck and get a disappointing 6 packs for 9 hours. I know my heart wouldn't have been in it to win it because of the lower payout (montetary and other reasons stated above).<br />
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I don't agree with your "everyone should get something" attitude but TPCI is going to do what it wants regardless of the competitive scene. I will most likely be trying at a bare minimum. No longer will I stress over deck picks and metagaming for hours on end to obtain a small pool of packs. The only drive I have left is to get 300 and finish.<br />
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Andrew Wamboldt of Charizard Lounge once told me "Once you have 300 points, its really going to come down to how well you do at [US] Nationals anyways whether you get a day 2 or not [or degree level of stipend(s)]."<br />
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Until then...<br />
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ORPokemonToxichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10736119051677581827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633599540637532019.post-7290170367221705222016-01-20T23:27:00.002-05:002016-01-21T01:48:16.148-05:00Team Toxic Double Win at Ohio City Mini-Marathon!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8uHMsFFQVNjhRURr2Sfs0WmvlRDQk7Mo4dd2ww_Y0VnxZhEJgfYYBz-eLvMKljElTj3_Cvy8csIHZAPdDaWg51JGL-4Ud1jWJuy1lydL-rUB9Ht0NQv3468kT5kP22WvbNginqcnLOdr/s1600/12509280_535721429928460_7470628491733013856_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8uHMsFFQVNjhRURr2Sfs0WmvlRDQk7Mo4dd2ww_Y0VnxZhEJgfYYBz-eLvMKljElTj3_Cvy8csIHZAPdDaWg51JGL-4Ud1jWJuy1lydL-rUB9Ht0NQv3468kT5kP22WvbNginqcnLOdr/s320/12509280_535721429928460_7470628491733013856_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>(Now if I could ever just look directly in the camera...)</i></div>
<br />
Hey everyone! Tyler T here & <i>Owen (in Itallics text)</i>. I just got back from the Ohio City Mini-Marathon late on Monday night, and boy was it a great marathon. It was the last week of cities so I tried my best to earn some last-minute championship points, to which I did!<br />
<br />
Bryan H and I left New York around 2 PM on Friday to head to Owen R's place in Ohio to stay with him for the marathon. After a fun night of pizza and play-testing, the three of us were ready for the first city in Massilon, OH. Owen was going to run M Mewtwo Y/Dark, Bryan was going to run Entei, and I was set on a winning deck list one of my friends Chris Hoag gave me, Toad/Regice/Zoroark. After a decent night's sleep (except for Owen, who wasn't able to get any shuteye), we were ready for our first city.<br />
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After getting to Massilon we analyzed who was there that we may have had to go up against. There were around 54 Masters which meant there were a total of 6 Swiss rounds, and before we knew it, the first round had started. I didn't do that great, as I had a lack of experience with the deck I was using and some of my match-ups weren't that great, resulting in me ending with a 2-4. Bryan had the same unfortunate day, coming in with a 1-5 record. Owen, however, ended with a 4-1-1 in Swiss and he made it into top 8, eventually making it into the finals and winning the city championship!<br />
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Owen's matchups for the day were as follows:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Round 1 against Houdoom EX/Bunnelby</b></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I played against a typical Pokedad. Knew what he was doing but have the experience to take his game to the next level, average run of the mill player. I saw from posts the previous night (thursday) on the event Facebook page, many people were asking for Team Aqua Secret Base[s] which indicates 2 possible decks; Wailord EX or Houndoom EX Mill. The dad was playing Houdoom EX mill. I had played an experienced Houndoom EX mill player who viturally cut every cities he played it. I knew I had to steer into the skid. On a clutch judge (which I considered cutting at one point) helped me refill the deck enough so that my M Mewtwo Y with 4 Energies took out his last Houndoom with 2 Energies and Hard Charm.</i><br />
<i>1-0</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLEz2W-N_1_T8NIYhC1U5RiKcWE2vrLc0MVyHVGgekxpbkXg2_EtGN5FBtyEg8JROaGhSDRFbm6Xmab5-nahzoPlrNfZ2Y8GCDZNfeJl_9urhPi_5M3yfkdTBy_W-IjTt39nFzDkVnjus/s1600/229.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLEz2W-N_1_T8NIYhC1U5RiKcWE2vrLc0MVyHVGgekxpbkXg2_EtGN5FBtyEg8JROaGhSDRFbm6Xmab5-nahzoPlrNfZ2Y8GCDZNfeJl_9urhPi_5M3yfkdTBy_W-IjTt39nFzDkVnjus/s1600/229.png" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Round 2 against Entei AOR/Charizard EX</b></i><br />
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<i>So coming off the first win, my next opponent seemed like a well versed card player compared to the dad in round 1. I opened very well using battle compressor for 1 dark, 1 sycamore and 1 judge. I debated whether or not I should sycamore or judge. I opted to judge since I still had Hoopa and 1-2 Shaymins left in deck if I drew an ultra ball off judge. I was feeling checky and turned 1 judge'd my opponent into absolutely nothing. He spent the next 4 turns drawing and passing only playing 1 acro bike forfeiting a prof letter to take a charizard ex to not bench out. Game ended when a 6 Energy M Mewtwo Y (3 DCE) rolled through until its over. </i><br />
<i>2-0</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBRIbG5GawN3ZIVkVSHEku3geamhvmiARdZLkEbXWin_XmB_R9723Io9AP5vO78sNiL0kYBSilepdb6jz4f8baQ0YX2I71p9Hivge3Ecu353SybJfJaC3CDZnPgWMziHwn6pXXeWfDAWE/s1600/244.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBRIbG5GawN3ZIVkVSHEku3geamhvmiARdZLkEbXWin_XmB_R9723Io9AP5vO78sNiL0kYBSilepdb6jz4f8baQ0YX2I71p9Hivge3Ecu353SybJfJaC3CDZnPgWMziHwn6pXXeWfDAWE/s1600/244.png" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Round 3 against Night March</b></i><br />
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<i>Night March is my least favorite matchup with this deck since I play 5 non EX attackers (3 Yveltal & 2-2 Zoroark Line). The goal is to stream them all and take a Shaymin or 2 when convient. Problem is Zoroark only hits 100 with a bench of 3. A smart Night March player will not over commit since Zoroark is always threatening. My opponent did no such thing; I had to improvise with a Mewtwo EX. I threatened his bench Feebas with a Photon Wave. He only had Joltik and Shaymin in play so that Joltik would come up, he would be 10 shy. He had compressor in hand and tossed the last joltik in deck and I was now losing the prize trade. He still had Pumpkiboo and DCE in deck; My final turn judge could not prevent him from getting the last two pieces. LOSS.</i><br />
<i>2-1</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxuZKdtPjaGB6fMAtwok3R9YWC0kw5vsbMhv25nocByFPXOklXUv4RDl3XgwZWLs7kbr9rTekVY8ZuRxJa4W-0F5v8Fkn6IEOoIb1vCKsAEdsTpc2Pc57ufmUg5TR5OMyE-SJivkkOM2Q/s1600/595.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxuZKdtPjaGB6fMAtwok3R9YWC0kw5vsbMhv25nocByFPXOklXUv4RDl3XgwZWLs7kbr9rTekVY8ZuRxJa4W-0F5v8Fkn6IEOoIb1vCKsAEdsTpc2Pc57ufmUg5TR5OMyE-SJivkkOM2Q/s1600/595.png" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Round 4 against Wobbuffett Bats</b></i><br />
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<i>This matchup also super unfavorable. Mewtwo Y does not hit for weakness meaning it requires 4 energies to kill an empty 110HP wobbuffet. After my opponent missed crucial energy drops and being under parallel city for too long, he decided to focus Miltank FLF. Miltank was no problem for Zoroark to come up and trade 1 for 1 which won me the game</i><br />
<i>3-1</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgaCW2bAVhj5XZxLieo4SZ9P47Va2bMwFse1HBs2YYiudkrETigcWDPWTGyWPoaHkWI4Xj0BVZbS0KcPmNhzPqXI_9mst5QCLqq2VJO9C46ViTldwe1PdkakAYXiOfZxttPIrXJptv0Dg/s1600/202.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgaCW2bAVhj5XZxLieo4SZ9P47Va2bMwFse1HBs2YYiudkrETigcWDPWTGyWPoaHkWI4Xj0BVZbS0KcPmNhzPqXI_9mst5QCLqq2VJO9C46ViTldwe1PdkakAYXiOfZxttPIrXJptv0Dg/s1600/202.png" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Round 5 against Seismitoad EX/Manectric EX/Empoleon BKT</b></i><br />
<i>This match was streamed so just watch the VOD.</i><br />
<i>Link: http://www.twitch.tv/kemony/v/35835968</i><br />
<i>Link: http://www.twitch.tv/kemony/v/35837521</i><br />
<i>4-1</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9REKYfQgMPowtLRPL1VtdUfJmkB1B2dz18XPu7-NciVdjnETE82sCEpbbX1AoLAZQl7DRBJii55wv2Zw0yrrNmQj1DT2A1yCWgEVJ8QtKyowMAB3QUE8cH2Lnjs4EkEMa_RP-wL2PjKaI/s1600/537.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9REKYfQgMPowtLRPL1VtdUfJmkB1B2dz18XPu7-NciVdjnETE82sCEpbbX1AoLAZQl7DRBJii55wv2Zw0yrrNmQj1DT2A1yCWgEVJ8QtKyowMAB3QUE8cH2Lnjs4EkEMa_RP-wL2PjKaI/s1600/537.png" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Round 6 against Night March </b></i><br />
<i>I played against my friend who was 4-0-1. With that, I opted to ID even though it was a strong chance of missing. Two or Three 4-1-1s missed cut</i><br />
<i>4-1-1</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIflcIH3xyZbWw4AzRM7Ub7Uym50o_hi4tj4ewYRAmrGN1OU5aFDVgH0cbnCss13CWaRjyeJIOXAkN3sUFO4QABQoR3dRgo9Urx63Uty2N63WE090R_V4zXWAz3xdjoihqgPxLpHK6iO4/s1600/595.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIflcIH3xyZbWw4AzRM7Ub7Uym50o_hi4tj4ewYRAmrGN1OU5aFDVgH0cbnCss13CWaRjyeJIOXAkN3sUFO4QABQoR3dRgo9Urx63Uty2N63WE090R_V4zXWAz3xdjoihqgPxLpHK6iO4/s1600/595.png" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Top 8 against YGZ</b></i><br />
<i>Finally back into top cut. Haven't been in since week 1 and this was the final week (8) of cities. Struggled so hard to get here. Played a slew of decks with minimal luck placing T16 (4-2 or a lucky 3-3) at every city weeks 2-7. Played an extremely close first game. Mistake was paralleling my opponent so I couldn't KO Shaymin EX with Zoroark. Game 2 she made a crucial misplay where she ultra ball'd her sycamore away and she threw the game away. Game 3 the luck turned for the worse for my opponent. Zorua open and passed. I had a near perfect setup where I Photon Wave the Zorua and had another Mewtwo ready, Mega in hand with another DCE + VS seeker (with lysandre/sycamore in discard). She tops Yveltal and Oblivion wing's a dark to Zoura. Lysandre Psychic Infinity. Yveltal EX comes down, O Wing again. Lysandre Psy Infinity again for 190 damage KO. O wing, pass. Shake hands. </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjle5LQMwNE7scg85Y0sQNsnvLWgSpZm77ZMTP2BzJrbyXdKT7X3yJNClcjlIe9iFENU4h1yqu-6KzaUazOlvNwwMEkiPbVYGmHpxFUzIRa4vGPNi7LK861DiOaob4fGmKCngEfGTxuasNd/s1600/717.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjle5LQMwNE7scg85Y0sQNsnvLWgSpZm77ZMTP2BzJrbyXdKT7X3yJNClcjlIe9iFENU4h1yqu-6KzaUazOlvNwwMEkiPbVYGmHpxFUzIRa4vGPNi7LK861DiOaob4fGmKCngEfGTxuasNd/s1600/717.png" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Top 4 against Vileplume</b></i><br />
<i>First game was an extremely close game. Coming down to the wire. I got Turn 1 plume so not items most all the game. I knew if I played patiently I would prevail. Had to spend many turns waiting on Mega evolutions but I didn't need much more than a DCE to kill Vespiquen. Vespiquen struggled to 1HKO M Mewtwo so I was ahead in prize trade. Game 2 came down to a final turn. I had two choice to win game. My opponent had 1 card left in deck and a hand of 10, I could Lysandre stall the Vileplume with no float and hope he doesn't play a third AZ or Sycamore to hit a DCE where Zoroark can stepin to take last Vespiquen Kill to deny him the last prize. I rolled a die on the table because I didn't know what to decide. I told myself heads would be Lysandre and tails would be Sycamore. It rolled tails but I knew in my heart sycamore was wrong so I lysandre stalled the plume and he then shook my hand. He did not play a third AZ and his fourth DCE was unfortunately prized. </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvSJ9aNeIQ2Ks4-T2WEkyIHGFqbXiiFkiuNW2O6HZ416lu7Olk0SKAD9a7Zms7-BCsn3UzwI2rIwKqRFJkpi-BDMgGt7_SRIEK8W7gNFzx_qtns5HodjuROk6K06XZUD5TIbA8TiTFvGhX/s1600/045.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvSJ9aNeIQ2Ks4-T2WEkyIHGFqbXiiFkiuNW2O6HZ416lu7Olk0SKAD9a7Zms7-BCsn3UzwI2rIwKqRFJkpi-BDMgGt7_SRIEK8W7gNFzx_qtns5HodjuROk6K06XZUD5TIbA8TiTFvGhX/s1600/045.png" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Finals against Seismitoad/Manectric/Empoleon [rematch]</b></i><br />
<i>All you need to know is that I played Seismitoad/Manectric/Empoleon again. The full final VOD can be found here:</i><br />
<i>Link: SOON</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKUBX1uH-YgXXHBNUb2AzNptxkSTaOB7VD25TbuLAoGsNF2gx6liYONUs6slyQUxxFRLvOtBuPPNRV9pDnQz83cVVi7qh5pbaHsFwzhDiddW2uHcWC9J-RGJ_BKK2PLdDLIYIVh9sszsR/s1600/537.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKUBX1uH-YgXXHBNUb2AzNptxkSTaOB7VD25TbuLAoGsNF2gx6liYONUs6slyQUxxFRLvOtBuPPNRV9pDnQz83cVVi7qh5pbaHsFwzhDiddW2uHcWC9J-RGJ_BKK2PLdDLIYIVh9sszsR/s1600/537.png" /></a></div>
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We celebrated that night, as this was Owen's first City win of the season, putting him at a total of 174 CP. We decided to test some more that night, and Owen planned on running the same deck again the next day. Bryan was deciding between Bunnelby Mill, Houndoom/Bunnelby Mill, and M Houndoom/Bats, ultimately settling on the latter. I decided to test and run the next day with M Manectric/Raikou. After some more testing, we settled in for the night.<br />
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The next city we went to was in Alliance, OH. As were finished writing down are decklists, Bryan went to the bathroom and when he came back, told us that there were a group of at least 5 playing YZG. This of course scared me a little, as I didn't like that matchup with M Manectric/Raikou. Bryan also became hesitant on his deck choice. He then switched his deck to Manectric/Bats, a winning list provided by one of our friends Nick Chimento from NY. I couldn't decide, so at the very last minute I jotted down a new decklist, running the exact same list as Bryan. I barely finished it in time, and had one of the judges laugh at how terrible my handwriting was when I turned it in (it is <i>very </i>bad). After Swiss matches had ended, Bryan came in 10th with a 4-2 record, Owen squeaked in at 8th with a 4-1-1 record, and I managed to get in at 7th with a 4-1-1 record as well. Owen unfortunately lost his top 8 match to Toad/Tina/Bats. I was fortunate enough to win my top 8, and eventually win the entire event. Team Toxic had another city win under it's belt. Here is what my matchups looked like during the day:<br />
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<b>Round 1 against M Glalie/Regice: </b><br />
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I never actually tested this matchup, and at face value, the deck doesn't seem super-competitive. But against Manectric/Bats, it was a bit tricky. Once he had a M Glalie going I had to make sure I didn't put 10 damage counters on it otherwise I was in for a world of hurt. I took down that goliath, but before I knew it another one was up and running. Luckily, I was able to squeeze out a win. With the first round being kind of rocky, I didn't have too much confidence in the rest of the day.<br />
1-0-0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwuyqxbidCDaG8VAjeB9IMiClx_6beqYwjr6E7dqLI3AEbYSv13YL2q3lQaVGYor85u95esDt-HHY6JtDlZ4YH9d-RGCKJbR7tOzzU4KT-hNlgLII45tzScrS4He746fjt80fdH870Kq4/s1600/362.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwuyqxbidCDaG8VAjeB9IMiClx_6beqYwjr6E7dqLI3AEbYSv13YL2q3lQaVGYor85u95esDt-HHY6JtDlZ4YH9d-RGCKJbR7tOzzU4KT-hNlgLII45tzScrS4He746fjt80fdH870Kq4/s1600/362.png" /></a><br />
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<b>Round 2 against Giratina/Toad:</b><br />
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I didn't test this matchup that much either, but I definitely knew what was in store for me heading into the round. Unfortunately, he got the turn 1 Head Ringer on my active Manectric. After a first turn of whiffing a supporter, it was all downhill from there. He got off two crushing hammers a couple of turns later, and afterwards I scooped very early to him. I already knew that I was too behind, so decided to cut my losses and give him the win.<br />
1-1-0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKC9w3CNLXs__2x7y1SL8n87w7gVcErIcfqvRRFY9DWTDR-aJqIn-Msawvpnl04GrURFmEAlWz_NKASGqoa_FtWGnuQoIhms6qRKEc0mxUYDfunYMY3ohQ08HOE5QptoQPV61D868V5IS/s1600/487.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKC9w3CNLXs__2x7y1SL8n87w7gVcErIcfqvRRFY9DWTDR-aJqIn-Msawvpnl04GrURFmEAlWz_NKASGqoa_FtWGnuQoIhms6qRKEc0mxUYDfunYMY3ohQ08HOE5QptoQPV61D868V5IS/s1600/487.png" /></a><br />
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<b>Round 3 against M Mewtwo Y/Dark:</b><br />
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This matchup I had tested the night before, and I knew it pretty well. I could hit for weakness with bats against the Mewtwos, and against the Yveltals with Manectric. I was able to consistently set up my bats and set up knockouts, eventually getting a double knockout on two Mewtwos. After that he scooped as he was way too far behind.<br />
2-1-0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRx9klCplbExlXyheBE5Kj_lJUHFCqY2NnSB56zTmcQivH2Cq5scFDOkuDCUaDqLvmt9a-x97AOx1SuarMkSocdmSEvboFZNsG4C0mvRwkHwhBO-7ZylxjPdgGi0fgXNejzgC_EBX_sAjj/s1600/150.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRx9klCplbExlXyheBE5Kj_lJUHFCqY2NnSB56zTmcQivH2Cq5scFDOkuDCUaDqLvmt9a-x97AOx1SuarMkSocdmSEvboFZNsG4C0mvRwkHwhBO-7ZylxjPdgGi0fgXNejzgC_EBX_sAjj/s1600/150.png" /></a><br />
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<b>Round 4 against Manectric/Bats(Bryan):</b><br />
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The funny thing is, Bryan and I have a tendency to almost-always face each other in tournaments, and this one was no different. I feel like I may have jinxed it, as after we both had the same record after round 3, I pointed out there's a good chance we could face each other. Bryan managed to get the flip and go first. Right then and there I knew if he got at least two bats down I'd be in for some trouble. He managed to get 3 bats down, and put 2 muscle bands on each of his Manectrics, preventing me from Head Ringer-ing him. My turn 1 wasn't that strong, as I missed the muscle band on my active Manectric. After I attacked for turn, he dug for a Head Ringer and stuck it on my Manectric. I didn't have much faith after that, but I still kept going. Luckily I was able to swing the game around near the last third of the round and took the lead, eventually getting the lysandre for a benched Shaymin EX for game. This meant that Bryan had effectively been knocked out of a chance of getting top 8. Sorry bud!<br />
3-1-0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UWgRf_6jNrDiIhjaO3P3W5IE9IzRhvoTclGe8CpPGNcLQP5iMAIh5KpxcjFl3gr1GpDI00XQsPAfci8i0gkEHCPJFurybzSjVoaaTGQkbKA81Kn_dLpatuRc1mlsoe_WZR5UmdZST0HZ/s1600/310.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UWgRf_6jNrDiIhjaO3P3W5IE9IzRhvoTclGe8CpPGNcLQP5iMAIh5KpxcjFl3gr1GpDI00XQsPAfci8i0gkEHCPJFurybzSjVoaaTGQkbKA81Kn_dLpatuRc1mlsoe_WZR5UmdZST0HZ/s1600/310.png" /></a><br />
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<b>Round 5 against Yveltal/Bats/Vespiquen:</b><br />
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I heard about this deck doing well in certain areas, but I wasn't too familiar with it. I also had no testing against it. I called the flip correctly and was able to get 3 bats down turn 1. My opponent started Yveltal and benched a Combee, another Yveltal, and a Shaymin EX after Set-Up. He forewent his entire bat line with three Battle Compressors, as he felt he didn't need them against me. Once he attacked for turn, I was able to set up for two knockouts that turn, thus effectively preventing him from setting up a Vespiquen and eventually running him through.<br />
4-1-0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizehIiv5dHUCSBQx6jjEm7MGvH_oMTH7LLtcXkAiIIlRCukIe419Z-C7PLkcK8udgP9iQKCkF6YawFYLDRjC0qLlQCJk75zrl2fcz6YTxbvnWbpKYZRNISxYgBkFRrJ5Nhng6r3Q8yGbtf/s1600/416.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizehIiv5dHUCSBQx6jjEm7MGvH_oMTH7LLtcXkAiIIlRCukIe419Z-C7PLkcK8udgP9iQKCkF6YawFYLDRjC0qLlQCJk75zrl2fcz6YTxbvnWbpKYZRNISxYgBkFRrJ5Nhng6r3Q8yGbtf/s1600/416.png" /></a><br />
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<b>Round 6 against Giratina/Toad/Bats:</b><br />
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I got paired against Tyler Bellay, who would end up first seed after Swiss rounds were over. We both ID'd to secure our placements in top 8. Afterwards, I heard that one 4-1-1 might not make it. This of course worried me, as my round one opponent went 1-5 drop. Fortunately enough, I had good resistance elsewhere, and was able to get the 7th seed in top 8.<br />
4-1-1<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKC9w3CNLXs__2x7y1SL8n87w7gVcErIcfqvRRFY9DWTDR-aJqIn-Msawvpnl04GrURFmEAlWz_NKASGqoa_FtWGnuQoIhms6qRKEc0mxUYDfunYMY3ohQ08HOE5QptoQPV61D868V5IS/s1600/487.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKC9w3CNLXs__2x7y1SL8n87w7gVcErIcfqvRRFY9DWTDR-aJqIn-Msawvpnl04GrURFmEAlWz_NKASGqoa_FtWGnuQoIhms6qRKEc0mxUYDfunYMY3ohQ08HOE5QptoQPV61D868V5IS/s1600/487.png" /></a><br />
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<b>Top 8 against Turbo Giratina:</b><br />
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I was fairly confident in this matchup, as there was no Seismitoad for him to abuse. He went first and was able to get two fire energies on his benched Giratina EX. I was able to place down a couple bats and attach a Muscle Band onto my active Manectric. Eventually, after getting a few lucky flips on Super Scoop Ups, I was able to steamroll him the first game. During the second game, however, I got my just desserts. He was able to get everything set up by his first turn attacking and I eventually got a little behind. A Lysandre for a benched Shaymin EX and being hit with a Muscle Banded Giratina put that game to a close. It was onto game three. I decided to go first, even though I was aware it was very possible for him to get a turn-1 KO on a Manectric EX because I wanted to set up as many bats as possible. The entire game went to time before there were any knockouts. And after the +3 was over, we still had to continue, as nobody had taken a knockout yet. I was able to hit an active Giratina EX with an Assault Laser for 140 damage. He switched to a fresh Tina and attacked. I was out of Lysandres and VS Seekers, so I knew my only choice was to get a Crobat to snipe his damaged Giratina. I was too afraid to put down more bats as he could have easily KO'd them, so this was my only option. I eventually was able to find a Sycamore and draw into 2 energy, effectively giving me the win.<br />
5-1-1<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKC9w3CNLXs__2x7y1SL8n87w7gVcErIcfqvRRFY9DWTDR-aJqIn-Msawvpnl04GrURFmEAlWz_NKASGqoa_FtWGnuQoIhms6qRKEc0mxUYDfunYMY3ohQ08HOE5QptoQPV61D868V5IS/s1600/487.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKC9w3CNLXs__2x7y1SL8n87w7gVcErIcfqvRRFY9DWTDR-aJqIn-Msawvpnl04GrURFmEAlWz_NKASGqoa_FtWGnuQoIhms6qRKEc0mxUYDfunYMY3ohQ08HOE5QptoQPV61D868V5IS/s1600/487.png" /></a><br />
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<b>Top 4 against Nightmarch/Milotic:</b><br />
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I knew this deck like the back of my hand, as I had tested in the entire city season, so I knew what was in store for me. He went first and I started lone Shaymin EX, much to my dismay. He was able to get a couple Battle Compressors off and set down a Dimension Valley. I ran no counter-stadium, so that D Valley was there for good. I was able to get the win the first game, relying on my bat damage to help me. He decided to go second game 2, which I thought was interesting. He eventually steamrolled me game 2, as I had whiffed a supporter one turn and wasn't able to set up enough bats. I went first during game 3, and set up 3 bats. After a very close match, I was able to get the win, putting me into the finals.<br />
6-1-1<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKyhOUY4t-Ap_Yp1MNqhZJ3htIWHgiXBqdrXgJPNzq0CGiDxKDR-lpelCVQ2HHofjaMVvdyrK_GXtEabGhU_z24qzir_xwhA8w6h8KCDanlaV7ne1r5db68D2b-0LEu7qP0db6qBRWQgo/s1600/595.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKyhOUY4t-Ap_Yp1MNqhZJ3htIWHgiXBqdrXgJPNzq0CGiDxKDR-lpelCVQ2HHofjaMVvdyrK_GXtEabGhU_z24qzir_xwhA8w6h8KCDanlaV7ne1r5db68D2b-0LEu7qP0db6qBRWQgo/s1600/595.png" /></a><br />
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<b>Finals against Nightmarch/Milotic:</b><br />
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After a stressful top 4 match against Nightmarch/Milotic, I had to once again face it. Luckily, I won the flip and put down two bats after starting with one. I was careful this time around to not put down any EXs until my second turn. Because of this, I was able to out-trade him with my bat damage and attacks. One of my attacks was killing an active Joltik with a muscle banded Golbat for free because of his Dimension Valley. He went first during game 2, but started lone Feebas. He eventually scooped after his second turn because he had an unworkable hand, thus giving me the win. <br />
7-1-1<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEFCK14bbK5n82fqd8YK8MO3DwZKirXkeLfleq2HP-AnHZjcxur3yqtyXuIaU3XRFtHUP8iq75dON02u_oNmC7qNtrLN67u22Xvxk7AMo6Dhpizvz_G4K4aqgaXUt3bpC-_bo1DPCQqU2/s1600/595.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEFCK14bbK5n82fqd8YK8MO3DwZKirXkeLfleq2HP-AnHZjcxur3yqtyXuIaU3XRFtHUP8iq75dON02u_oNmC7qNtrLN67u22Xvxk7AMo6Dhpizvz_G4K4aqgaXUt3bpC-_bo1DPCQqU2/s1600/595.png" /></a><br />
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I had done it! Winning my second city during this season was a big personal accomplishment for me.After getting back to Owen's, we decided to celebrate once again that night with a not-so-friendly game of Mario Party. Afterwards with some playtesting we decided it was Bryan's turn to win a city. All three of us settled on running the deck that Owen ran the first day of the marathon, M Mewtwo Y/Dark. We all got a decent amount of sleep that night, and left that morning to Akron, OH with our heads held high.<br />
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Despite our confidence, we all ended up flaking and didn't make top 8. Our city runs for this season had come to a close, and despite Bryan being not-so-happy with his city run, Owen and I were happy with ours. Owen and I finished this season's city run with 194 CP and 174 CP, respectively. <br />
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http://www.twitch.tv/kemony/v/36209801<br />
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Owen commentary for Top 8 and Top 4:<br />
3:50:ish is Top 8.<br />
4:51:00 is Top 4.<br />
Finals is really lame not worth watching and commentary isn't good.<br />
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After saying goodbye to Owen and the rest of our friends, Bryan and I headed back to NY in the oncoming snowstorm. It was now time to lay our decks to rest until Spring Regionals rolled by~<br />
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-Tyler (Main)<br />
-<i>Owen (Secondary)</i><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16916698008621027778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633599540637532019.post-79259311461772718832016-01-07T21:22:00.001-05:002016-01-07T21:27:35.399-05:00Yveltal EX/Gallade BKT/Zoroark BKT ... Best Standard Deck?<i>Yveltal Gallade Zoroark (YGZ)? Where did this deck come from? Shouldn't Yveltal be dead? Darkrai and dark decks died when dark patch rotate so two rotations past that shouldn't this deck die already?</i><br />
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False uneducated player from 2013. With the passing of dark patch and any hope of a reprint (<i>rip</i>), Dark decks in theory should have slown way down. Announcement in late 2014 when regionals day 2 would become expanded, Yveltal/Darkrai decks showed signs of new life. Dark patch was back in expanded but struggled a bit to keep up with the standard meta of constant Virizion Genesect Decks and Seismitoad Decks rising. Yveltal finally emerged strongest when Donphan/Dragons became the deck to beat in winter cities Yveltal would be reshape and breathe new life into a meta based on Donphan's hit-and-run versus Virizion Genesect's Cat and Mouse chase.<br />
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With the release of Primal Clash many saw success in day 1 standard in Florida proving it could tussle with the new cards in the set most notably Dylan Dryers list. Rolling into four weeks of states, Yveltal would dominate most along side Primal Groudon, Virizion Genesect, and Primal Kyogre.<br />
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Fastfowarding past US nationals where it saw minimal success, new standard became XY-Ancient Origins. In a format where standard was ignore all together Yveltal again saw high success in the expanded regionals with a Maxie's hidden ball trick engine and Archeops pairing thanks to the Sosa brothers.<br />
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<b>TL;DR</b><br />
<b>PRESENT DAY: </b>Rolling forward into an untested standard format now with Breakthrough available for use in tournaments... We are seeing this deck yet again standing the test of time. Most spectators and meta-gamers could see that standard's largest overlying problem is the lack of draw support. Decks are now forced play a combination of item search/draw support in the combo of Shaymin EX ROS + Ultra Ball + Trainer's Mail + VS + (optional) Battle Compressor. Lacking N & Colress slows the format where decks who play the slow game (setups taking two even three turns) can be viable (example Kyogre, M Sceptile, Fighting, Dragons Bronzong, etc). Expanded on the opposite side is about Turn 1/2 setups swings for 180 for virtually nothing and counters that beat it (Blastoise, Vespiquen, Yveltal/Archeops, Seismitoad Variants).<br />
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<i>Why is YGZ so good then?</i><br />
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YGZ is amazing. It covers its worst matchup and its kryptonite M Manectric EX (vairants). Gallade operates similiarly to Yveltal Archeops with Maxie's hidden ball trick providing deck thinning, a new superior draw engine, a 150HP fighting Pokemon that can withstand M Manectric and provide extra consistency with Premonition ability to choose the order of the next 5 cards.<br />
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According to CharizardLounge.com, YGZ accounts for roughly 12% of the [weighted] winning standard meta as of this posting losing only by 10CP to Night March.<br />
Night March [4020CP] & Yveltal [4010CP]<br />
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So I had to look into what makes this deck amazing...<br />
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Deck Profile<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eZkRlwEzjHg/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="600" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eZkRlwEzjHg?feature=player_embedded" width="800"></iframe></div>
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Also check out my match videos as well:<br />
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<a href="https://youtu.be/9GF5sYHf7Wo">Match #1 Versus Manectric Water</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhUWqwPPzCU">Match #2 Versus Night March</a><br />
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<br />PokemonToxichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10736119051677581827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633599540637532019.post-53815132991952645022016-01-05T20:01:00.001-05:002016-01-07T20:56:02.666-05:00St. Louis City Weekend // Chicago City MarathonHey guys, Tyler T here. Late on New Year's Day I finally got back from a 2 week long Pokemon vacation. Bryan H and I left on the 17th of December for St. Louis. We stayed with Sarah B out there and for the first weekend we went to two city championships at some local hobby/game stores in the area. Unfortunately the collective did not do well. Both of these City Championships were expanded. On the first day both Bryan H and I played a variant of Flareon/Bees to no success. The next day we opted to play Yveltal/Archeops, also to no success. Although we didn't place this weekend, we still had fun and got to chill with a bunch of friends from the St. Louis area. we normally don't see too often because we're both from Upstate New York.<br />
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After about a week of staying with Sarah B in St. Louis on Christmas day I drove up to Brandon F's place close to the Chicago area for the upcoming marathon (Standard format). I went to five of the Chicago city championships and unfortunately did not top there either. <br />
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Saturday: Night March/Bronzong. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6iMjVWfWM1wDvxW9rAnIkykUxmCJS6tFeoLIMDJdRJb5RicBPV6LIDZAgOB3x2_yFFG9Xu_I_XnL4RQCLmtaWe81f965PoAA_w9Y_K2Kip3B3X3ZywA0q48NwUU4H_k8MF7-eafPSMwkA/s1600/595.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6iMjVWfWM1wDvxW9rAnIkykUxmCJS6tFeoLIMDJdRJb5RicBPV6LIDZAgOB3x2_yFFG9Xu_I_XnL4RQCLmtaWe81f965PoAA_w9Y_K2Kip3B3X3ZywA0q48NwUU4H_k8MF7-eafPSMwkA/s1600/595.png" /></a></div>
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Sunday: Night March/Milotic. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihI33hp3Bw001m_8U122dQQyk65sCc_lMRjRTW3kjUD1UoDLfh91XPQqvYetpa6r87uqIH0UNnA7hyphenhyphenL8JTIgMEqBk1Z2dIMap6Z5i2Ox5pTLlphDSsdGBE9f9Y2SOLJLYlWScTLDUv6kk5/s1600/595.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihI33hp3Bw001m_8U122dQQyk65sCc_lMRjRTW3kjUD1UoDLfh91XPQqvYetpa6r87uqIH0UNnA7hyphenhyphenL8JTIgMEqBk1Z2dIMap6Z5i2Ox5pTLlphDSsdGBE9f9Y2SOLJLYlWScTLDUv6kk5/s1600/595.png" /></a></div>
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Monday: Vileplume/Vespiquen. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFaQ-Dl9E_qRuEPsWWg_XsKYMoXZmBxlR8CxVZ7m7cm4PktzwB_oS8BdT5Xg3d81FTi22sutvpyPsboZ5Rb2QiwWmK2vT9gML7iZVZT6e_XIOZWzIoff62MftaL_H__Dnx9UgkOHNcqm7/s1600/045.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFaQ-Dl9E_qRuEPsWWg_XsKYMoXZmBxlR8CxVZ7m7cm4PktzwB_oS8BdT5Xg3d81FTi22sutvpyPsboZ5Rb2QiwWmK2vT9gML7iZVZT6e_XIOZWzIoff62MftaL_H__Dnx9UgkOHNcqm7/s1600/045.png" /></a><br />
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Tuesday: Dragons/Bronzong. <br />
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Wednesday: Vileplume/Vespiquen again. <br />
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My closest to topping was on Tuesday when I played Dragons/Bronzong, as I had started 3-0. I lost a very close game to M Gallade/Forretress, and from there, I lost the next two to YZG and Entei. Although I was pretty upset with my performance, I understood that these things happen, and you can never win them all. It was still a lot of fun to hang with my friends during the holiday season, and I wouldn't have traded it for everyone else.<br />
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Here's to hoping for a good season this year!<br />
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-TylerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16916698008621027778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633599540637532019.post-54417766961855317432015-12-10T14:11:00.002-05:002015-12-12T03:52:58.986-05:00Tale of Two City Championships // NY Champion & T8 Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello everyone! Tyler here. This is my first post so I'll try my best to make it as interesting as possible.<br />
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The city championships for the 2015-2016 season started on November 27th. Bryan and myself traveled to the Albany, NY area (roughly a three-and-a-half-hour drive) to stay with a friend for the weekend. We attended the city championships in Watervilet on the 28th and Catskill on the 29th. Both of these events were expanded.<br />
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The night before the Watervilet championship I was testing a lot with some friends and Bryan. I was pretty set on playing Speed Rayquaza (Also known as HexRay). The list I was testing was very similar to Zander Bennet's list that he topped four with during the first week of fall regionals this season. The only matchups I was pretty concerned about was Vespiquen/Flareon and M-Manectric. After a not-so-good night's sleep, we awoke, got ready, and drove to Watervilet. As I was about to write down my list, I heard there was going to be some M-Manectric (there actually wasn't, at least to my knowledge) so I last-minute switched to something I was fairly comfortable with, Vespiquen/Flareon. I played a list similar to Dylan Bryan's list from Lancaster regionals. <br />
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So the first round started, and guess what my first MU was against? Yup, Speed Rayquaza. I was pretty comfortable playing against it, also because my opponent didn't play an Altaria line to combat me taking advantage of the AOR Jolteon. He whiffed a couple Mega Turbos and I was able to swing the game and clean up quick.<br />
1-0-0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTtgQCay1ObyAdpbcL-H8yaMIJ23Vnx8m87S3k1UpbA9NFXiJkMpUSFio3dyIV28jQw_bmm9ESumfrNscoe8IyP0m9Ln9z4BQ1_f8jt-k33sp5o3Z8U4b-ND1pRtC78Jj6rK4ASwzawaT/s1600/384.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTtgQCay1ObyAdpbcL-H8yaMIJ23Vnx8m87S3k1UpbA9NFXiJkMpUSFio3dyIV28jQw_bmm9ESumfrNscoe8IyP0m9Ln9z4BQ1_f8jt-k33sp5o3Z8U4b-ND1pRtC78Jj6rK4ASwzawaT/s1600/384.png" /></a><br />
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My next game was against Giratina/Toad, a pretty unfavorable matchup for me. To try to combat this and prepare for it I made sure I threw in two Stardust Jirachis in to give myself a good chance. He had a pretty bad start, and wasn't able to get a Giratina going after I knocked out his Seismitoad with my Vespiquen. He couldn't recover quickly enough and I was able to snag the win, only using Jirachi once in the game.<br />
2-0-0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkCqBRx_7Wevpgi0YubbZ6A9V-RtOQR_NzN7pBbFKRqRDmzofNYVfAHKNPGs9EmWO6iGvz335prO8WDRey6GAr3tdujf_jG1l37ySAhKeApdYZhX4gmStIOMuDPfbewx1IcePRy5M3M9W/s1600/487.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkCqBRx_7Wevpgi0YubbZ6A9V-RtOQR_NzN7pBbFKRqRDmzofNYVfAHKNPGs9EmWO6iGvz335prO8WDRey6GAr3tdujf_jG1l37ySAhKeApdYZhX4gmStIOMuDPfbewx1IcePRy5M3M9W/s1600/487.png" /></a><br />
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My third match was against a really old but super nice guy. I forgot his name, but he was playing a Gardevoir/M Gardevoir deck. I knew this was a really favorable matchup as well because I go for the OHKOs, so he wouldn't be able to take advantage of Aromatisse's Fairy Transfer ability to Max Potion heal his Pokemon. He whiffed two turns of energy attachments and the rest was history.<br />
3-0-0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfCe2hTWhLwDQXWkPHcJWy64UXGJH4UTK6NnjHxa4GyxVwQ-TdDvcJLSBkIppoAHKhpgaTJbPG9qnK6ULWvIJmp5FOunFzUK4-vIIFLNqTw7CXPCLUo9D7fRrVR2243r6g0wODO7ERDRM/s1600/282.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfCe2hTWhLwDQXWkPHcJWy64UXGJH4UTK6NnjHxa4GyxVwQ-TdDvcJLSBkIppoAHKhpgaTJbPG9qnK6ULWvIJmp5FOunFzUK4-vIIFLNqTw7CXPCLUo9D7fRrVR2243r6g0wODO7ERDRM/s1600/282.png" /></a><br />
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My fourth match, the match before the dreaded lunch break (I almost always do terrible after a lunch break at tournaments. I don't know why), was against one of the friends I stayed with over the weekend, Chris Siakala. Chris is a pretty formidable opponent who was playing Seismitoad/Bats. Because of this, and because he was my friend, I asked him if he wanted to ID. He politely declined, and joked about how now that he declined he'll lose the match. This was a difficult match, and it usually is for two reasons. One, being that it's toad and, if you don't set up enough Vespiquens with at least seven Pokemon in the discard, you won't be able to play any items that help you draw and discard Pokemon to power up Vespiquen's Bee Revenge attack. The other reason is that enough bat damage stacks up and can get easy knockouts. Chris went first and dropped a Silent Lab right from the top-deck. My stomach sank once I saw this because I had no counter-stadium and Silent Lab messes with my MANY basic abilities (Shaymin Ex, Unown, Exeggcute, etc.). He put down two more Zubats on the bench after he started with one. He also threw down a toad. It then went to me and all I could do was start with my Combee and bench a Combee, then Colress for four. I couldn't play anything from that hand so I passed. Chris overextended to try to donk both of my Combees. He put down a Virbank, lasered me, and was only able to find one Golbat. He also whiffed the DCE. Because of this, I was able to bounce back after a lucky Sycamore top-deck, and not having to worry about Silent Lab anymore. I was able to get the win after a very close game.<br />
4-0-0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1usGKBZvc9mmDecxxFICo7HNRwaoLLauI1BnNse8Z6_VWpHzCZcEo7NmbFzRPpznpYWzcUWSBDSxw4KN4BF7LT3EHqNwn4LDeJkbZX7yEQDtQhvr-sNyJnqlwAiM81D_9UVswij5WDYW-/s1600/537.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1usGKBZvc9mmDecxxFICo7HNRwaoLLauI1BnNse8Z6_VWpHzCZcEo7NmbFzRPpznpYWzcUWSBDSxw4KN4BF7LT3EHqNwn4LDeJkbZX7yEQDtQhvr-sNyJnqlwAiM81D_9UVswij5WDYW-/s1600/537.png" /></a><br />
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Lunch break. After I came back I decided to ID my next two rounds to secure my top eight placement. I ended up third seed.<br />
4-0-2<br />
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My first match in top eight was against Giratina/Tyrantrum. I tested this matchup and it was roughly even. The first game took probably around thirty minutes, and I was able to win it. The next game he won as I couldn't get set up once he was swinging with Giratina. Right as we were shuffling to start game three, time was called. That meant sudden death. We each started with one prize and I led with a Jirachi intentionally (I knew he would try to start Giratina). Unfortunately for me, he won the coin flip so he went first. Guess what? He started Giratina. He attached a DDE, which I then thought, "Okay, sweet, I have a fire energy in hand so I can start Stardust'ing him". Boy was I wrong. Right before he ended his turn, he attached a Rock Guard. My stomach sank, as I knew what that meant. I drew for turn, threw down a couple Combees and one Eevee, attached a fire energy to Jirachi, and played Sycamore. I KNEW I had to get the Life Dew off of the Sycamore otherwise I would lose. I managed to get it and attach it to Jirachi, thus preventing him from winning when I attacked into his Giratina. He attached a basic steel energy onto his Giratina for the turn and passed. I was then able to attack with a Flareon for 100 damage, thus taking 60 in the process. He was only able to attach a DDE and pass. He had no other bench Pokemon so I attacked him again with Flareon, taking the match. <br />
5-0-2<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdzNvhZqpk9Ul4OVudjdcF4lOZZJdBTK__HiNbPSaoOSf7NZCTfNvo5RkyvhqsWAPfbxUYs2HexANPQvw5hh85zjlJ2WpEU8BvGo_qE1guLPLb_xnvUFS8NFeXwoTXUCzYfdFHnb2ukhR/s1600/697.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdzNvhZqpk9Ul4OVudjdcF4lOZZJdBTK__HiNbPSaoOSf7NZCTfNvo5RkyvhqsWAPfbxUYs2HexANPQvw5hh85zjlJ2WpEU8BvGo_qE1guLPLb_xnvUFS8NFeXwoTXUCzYfdFHnb2ukhR/s1600/697.png" style="cursor: move;" /></a><br />
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My top four match was against Peter Kica, who was also playing Vespiquen/Flareon. He was playing Computer Search in his build, which I thought gave me an edge because I could up him on the prize exchange. I won the first game, then he was able to pull out a win on a very close second game. The third game was also pretty close, and Life Dew attached to one of my Shaymin EXs on the bench prevented it from getting Lysandre'd up for the game. I was able to pull out a win by counter-Lysandre'ing one of his benched Shaymins. This was by-far the most stressful game of the entire event for me.<br />
6-0-2<br />
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I made it into the finals, and my nerves were starting to act up. I had to face Archiestoise, which I thought was nearly an autowin for me because of Keldeo EX's weakness. I was definitely wrong, as this match went to game three as well. As any smart player should when playing Archiestoise against Bees, you should focus Tri-Edge Articuno, which he did. That was his saving grace against me, as he was able to pull a quick win in the first round. I was able to take the win in round two after about twenty minutes of play. The final game was pretty tough, and after he N'd me down to two cards, I thought I was done, as he had a better board-state once he knocked out my Flareon. I needed a Lysandre and a DCE to be able to pull out the win. Fortunately for me, he N'd me into a DCE and a VS Seeker, which I used to grab Lysandre for the game. I got pretty lucky on that one.<br />
7-0-2<br />
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I won my first City Championship of the season! I was ecstatic, and was really happy in my performance. My plan for the next day was to at least get top eight, which I ended up getting.<br />
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After a celebratory night of drinking and Taco Bell, my friends and I prepared our decks for Catskill the next day. I decided to run the same deck, except I took out the Jolteon for a Faded Town. A decent night's sleep, and on the couch this time, I felt ready for my next City Championship. <br />
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I'm not going to go into as much detail on this city run, but I did manage to finish with the same record in Swiss as I did the day before, 4-0-2. My first match in top eight was against Peter Kica. After a close game three, he was able to get his revenge on me. Unfortunately for him, he was only able to get top four again. Bryan and my friend Chris were playing the same deck as Chris's from the previous day, except they both used Rock Guard this time. Chris was able to pull out a second place finish which was awesome! He faced the same Archiestoise deck that I faced in the finals the day before. Bryan, unfortunately, was unable to get a top eight during the weekend. The first day he played Giratina/Tyrantrum.<br />
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With both of those placings over the weekend, I was sitting at a comfortable 94 CP. Owen is now sitting at 124 CP after he got top four at Willoughby, OH. with Mienshao (Standard).<br />
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The following weekend (Dec 5th), Bryan and Owen went to Ashtabula, Ohio. It was a Standard City Championship but nothing noteworthy came of the tournament both members placing far outside top 8.<br />
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To wrap things up, I just wanted to say Bryan and I will be heading down to the St. Louis area on the 17th and will be staying with another friend. We will go to two cities during that weekend and a week from when we get there, I'll be heading up to another friend's place to take part in the Chicago City Marathon, as was what Bryan and I did last year. The competition will be more difficult, but I'm looking forward to at least getting a few top eights. Wish us all luck!<br />
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-TylerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16916698008621027778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633599540637532019.post-66493472284980898792015-11-17T17:00:00.000-05:002015-11-18T03:27:07.178-05:00Owen || TOXIC featured on Rogue Tuesday? - Team Fish KnucklesAyyy lmao.<br />
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Anyways, I happened to be playing some Pokemon Trading Card Game online late last night (Monday 16th NOV) and on a team skype call with Tyler T (and later Bryan H) when I came across a popular screen name Stike41 which happens to be Josh Marking aka Squeeky Aka Squeeky of Team Fish Knuckles. He was playing a peculiar deck Florges Break. Not to spoil anything, take a moment to check out the video and support a fellow Pokemon competitor and a friend of Pokemon Toxic. It was an intense and interesting battle spotlighting the potential Florges EX has in the current standard meta (XY-Breakthrough).<br />
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So shout outs to our friend Josh, Team Fish Knuckles and all of TFK's fans/Subscribers<br />
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Video:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/heTX3ZvRCXE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/heTX3ZvRCXE?feature=player_embedded" width="420"></iframe><br />
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Owen's appearance & battle: 20:01-39:27 (End of Video)<br />
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<br />PokemonToxichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10736119051677581827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633599540637532019.post-33112587741168411822015-10-21T00:17:00.002-04:002015-10-21T00:33:37.661-04:00First!?Hello, This is the first official post for Team (Pokemon) Toxic. We are a competitive Pokemon Team with of main focus of the Collectable Card Game (TCG). Our crew spans the midwest into the east coast. The team is exclusive with junior members and regular associate acts as well.<br />
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Our Social Media Links:<br />
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Twitch.tv/PokemonToxic<br />
Twitter.com/PokemonToxic<br />
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-OPokemonToxichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10736119051677581827noreply@blogger.com0