Getting ready for Worlds by Zero

dmaster

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Member [member]Zero[/member] has written an article detailing how to get ready and be prepared for the 2011 World Championships on August 12th-14th. Hopefully, this will ensure you will be ready for anything Worlds has to offer this year and in future World Championships to come. We wish everyone that is going good luck!

Getting ready for Worlds
By Zero
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Table of Contents
  • I. Pretalk
  • II. Weeks Before Worlds
  • IIA. How to Pick Your Deck
  • IIB. Planning
  • IIC. Packing
  • III. What Decks to Expect
  • IV. The Week of Worlds
  • V. Final Words
I. Pretalk

First off, congratulations for deciding to come to Worlds! If you aren’t coming, you should consider coming next year. Worlds is one of the best events of the year. Over 20 nations are represented at Worlds each year, and each and every player is there to have a great time and to compete. No matter their nation of origin, everybody speaks the same language: Pokemon. This is a fantastic event to meet many new people from many places around the world who share an interest. Be ready for a very exciting weekend of fun, games, and friends! If you don’t have many friends, be ready to make them quickly.

That being said, Worlds is more competitive than any other tournament this season. The sheer skill of all of the players in attendance is always shocking to first timers. Contrary to popular belief, even the Grinder (or the LCQ as it will be called here) is very competitive. To do well, one must prepare extensively and be ready for any challenges that may come at Worlds. Luckily enough, these preparations are very simple if you know how to do them. The challenges that one is likely to face are also very simple to predict by using previous knowledge.

II. Weeks Before Worlds

This is probably the most important step on the road to succeeding at Worlds. While it is the most time step, it is also the most easy and the most fun step to complete. This step involves picking your deck, practicing, knowing your matchups, practicing, packing, and practicing. Did I mention practicing?

IIA. How to Pick Your Deck

Picking your deck is probably the most important step in preparing for any tournament (especially Worlds). First off, if you wish to do well, consider a large number of decks. Ensure that you have the ability to play many different decks before you decide on one to build. The best thing you can do to decide on a deck is to practice a bit with each. Play about 5 or 6 games with each deck that you are able to build. Usually, it is best to do this to help a friend practice with his or her deck choice against a large number of decks. When doing this practice, use generic builds of decks. Notice how they play against other decks and how consistent they are. To do well at a large tournament, consistency is the key.

Once you have chosen a list of 3 or 4 decks that you’d be happy playing, start teching those decks and “run a gauntlet”. What this means is that you should test against a majority of decks in this format with your 3 or 4 decks. Whichever deck you are most satisfied with as far as matchups and overall consistency should be your Worlds choice.

Do: test a lot of decks that you are able to bring to worlds before ruling decks out
Do: test against a multitude of people with a multitude of decks
Don’t: give up on a deck completely due to a single bad matchup
Don’t: decide on a deck last minute.

IIB. Planning

Planning for Worlds is very important. You cannot simply show up and play. You must first do major planning steps. This may seem very obvious to some, but other people actually forget this step. Worlds this year will be in San Diego, so ensure that you either book a flight or know where to drive. The tournament will take place at the Hilton in San Diego. The address is 1 Park Boulevard, San Diego, California, United States 92101. Expect to stay Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The grinder is held on Friday. Side events and the main event are on Saturday. Finally, the finals and a giant prerelease are held on Sunday. Don’t forget to book a flight home (people have seriously forgotten to do this).

Next is the less obvious step of planning. Plan where and when you are going to meet your friends. Expect to playtest quite a bit. Don’t forget to let them know what you are wearing if they have never met you in person before. Thursday is when you should meet people as it is far less hectic than any day with a tournament. Just be sure to see as many friends as possible.

IIC. Packing

This step could fall into that of planning, but it is somewhat different. Expect to bring quite a bit of stuff to worlds. Obviously bring your deck, but you should also bring a trade binder and many good uncommon and commons if you decide to make a last minute change to your deck. Expect to bring about $50 for product alone. The Japanese players bring Japanese-only sleeves to worlds, so expect to get very good product. Moreover, the official store sells play mats, binders, and other Worlds-exclusive products. Bring clothes and toiletries. Just do a last minute check over your stuff before you leave.

III. What Decks to Expect

After you have decided on a deck to play, it is very important to learn your matchups. It is impossible to name each matchup, but here are some decks that you should expect to play against:

MegaZone
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This should be your most expected matchup. Megazone involves Yanmega Prime and Magnezone Prime. The combination is fairly simple. Each turn, the Megazone player attaches an energy to power up Magnezone while attacking for free with Yanmega. This deck plays heavy Copycat and Judge lines matching the opponent’s to maximize the probability of matching the opponent’s handsize to attack with Yanmega each turn. The player will usually attack with Yanmega to do 70 per turn and then use Magnezone to knock out bulky Pokemon. A common tech the deck will play is one or two Kingdra Prime to help one-shot benched Pokemon with Yanmega’s Linear Attack.

This deck is both extremely strong and versatile. It has very strong matchups against almost everything due to its ability to snipe Pokemon and deal massive damage. To play against this deck, players most of the time completely ignore Yanmega as a target early game. The best way to beat this deck is to KO Horsea an Magnemite before they evolve. Once this deck gets a Magnezone in play, expect to play a prolonged game involving many Yanmegas. Most builds of this deck play four Rare Candy, four Pokemon Communication, four Pokemon Collector, and three or four Junk Arms, so it is very possible for this deck to get a turn two Magnezone out. When this happens, your deck better be able to play a prolonged game against it. Its worst matchup is most likely Zekrom variants. Zekrom is fast enough that it stops Megazone from getting too much damage on the board, and Zekrom is able to one-shot Yanmegas without getting one-shotted by Yanmega back. This is the deck to beat at Worlds, so expect to play against it a lot.

Reshiram Variants
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These decks are all very bulky builds that involve Reshiram to do 120 damage each turn and tank damage. Reshiram Variants will generally use either Typhlosion Prime or Emboar to attach energies to Reshiram to do 120 damage each turn with Blue Flare. Typhlosion variants sometimes involve either Ninetails or Magnezone, and a heavy line of Typhlosion. Because of this, they are usually more consistent than Emboar varients. Emboar variants, however, often use Magnezone Prime for draw. Emboar variants, once they get going, are able to take a prize each turn without much fail. These variants are not afraid of attacking with Magnezone Prime while Typhlosion variants typically only attack with Reshiram. A common tech that is expected in Emboar variants (and few Typhlosion variants) is Deoxys & Rayquaza Legend that is used to take the last two prizes of the game.

Both of these decks have a mild early game. They rarely start attacking until turn three. Emboar variants are very susceptible to decking out due to Magnezone Prime’s Magnetic Draw Poke-Power, and running out of energies to attack with. Typhlosion Prime variants’ weakness is primarily a numbers game. Because Typhlosion Prime’s Poke-Power damages the Pokemon that the fire energy is getting attached to, those Pokemon are easier to knock out. For example, 120 is considered “the magic number” for most Reshiram/Zekrom variants. This “magic number” is achieved due to Typhlosion’s Poke-Power, so the opponent does not have to do damage in another way. If your deck has a strong early game, you should do fairly well against both of these decks, but they become very dangerous near the end of the game. Players consider Reshiram variants to be one of the best decks to beat Yanmega Prime with, so expect to see many Reshiram variants at Worlds

Stage 1 Variants
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These decks can include just about any Stage 1s, but there are usually some things in common. More often than not, the Stage 1s take one energy (or a Double Colorless Energy) to attack. Common choices include Donphan Prime, Zoroark, Cinccino, or Yanmega Prime. Rarely, if the deck plays Donphan, it will play at least two Zekrom to benefit from the damage that Earthquake deals to the bench, so be on the lookout for that tech. These decks are ultra-energy-efficient. The variants will sometimes play three Stage 1s. Usually there will be 4-4 of one Pokemon, 3-3 of another, and 2-2 of a third. Variants can also use 3-3 of three different Pokemon, or 3-3, 3-3, and 2-2. The decks will deal pressure to the board by turn two in some aspect, because of their fast speed and consistent setup. They will most likely play PlusPower to help one-shot or two-shot certain Pokemon.

This deck is very difficult to play against. To do well against Stage 1 Variants, you should be able to sustain damage coming from turn two every turn. The deck’s major weakness is that its damage has a cap. The deck can only do 100 damage (with PlusPower) per turn if it plays Cinccino, or however much damage your active can do if the deck plays Zoroark. Being able to out-prize-trade this deck is key. If the deck plays Donphan, sniping around the Donphan may be a winning strategy. Even so, expect to take constant damage, and be ready to dish out some serious damage. These decks play heavy trainer and supporter lines to maximize on consistency. These decks are mildly popular as Kyle S. (AKA Pooka) got 2nd at US Nationals with it. The deck is both fast and consistent which is a winning strategy to bring to Worlds.

Zekrom Variants
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Zekrom Variants (some people call them ZPS) are both very strong and very fast. They use Zekrom’s Bolt Strike attack to do very fast damage to the defending Pokemon. To do this, Zekrom Variants will use Pachirisu to attach two extra energies in a turn and Shaymin two move the energies to Zekrom. This means that a single Pokemon Collector can mean that Zekrom does 120 damage on the first turn. Generally, Zekrom will employ a stage 1 to help it in the late game. Straight Zekrom-Pachirisu-Shaymin builds are both fast and consistent, but unless they have a significant place on the board by mid and late games, the deck just can’t do well. Even so, it is a very strong play for Worlds as it has good matchups against many decks. Moreover, the deck can get Donks extremely easily. To beat this deck, knock out as many Zekrom as possible, and it will run out of steam. Just be sure to get energies out of play as soon as possible.

Those are the four most popular decks you should expect to see at Worlds. Other popular decks include LostGar, DonChamp, and Rogues, but those decks will not be as popular as the ones listed. If your deck can play well against the four decks listed, you have a very strong pick for Worlds. Just be sure to know how to play against those decks when you’re in game.

IV. The Week of Worlds

This should be fairly obvious, but be sure to get plenty of rest. Pokemon is a mental activity. Being tired is very bad when you are trying to do well in a tournament. Be sure to know the schedule before you get there. Get up nice and early to get a good spot in line. There are a few things you should know before you start playing your games, though.

The grinder is going to be a single elimination tournament. This means that when you lose, you are kicked out of the tournament. Because of this, the games in the grinder will be played best of three. Best of three games are played in 60 minutes. The first game is played normally, but the second and third games are somewhat special. The loser of the previous game gets to decide who goes first after the games are setup. Whoever wins two of games wins the match. If someone wins two games in a row, there is no reason to play a third game. When time is called, standard time procedures apply. At the end of the three turns, if it is the second game and a player has taken three prizes, whichever player took more prizes is considered the winner and then the third game goes to sudden death where both players have one prize. If neither player has taken three prizes in the second game, whoever won the first game wins the match. This may be quite a bit to take in, but the judges will walk you through the complications if this is important to you.

When best of three comes up, players have a special issue with scooping. When a player scoops, he gives up a game. Only scoop if the game is unwinnable. If you play a fast deck and you feel you can beat your opponent in sudden death, play games out – do not scoop. If you are a slower deck and you feel your current game is unwinnable, scoop to save time for your next game. It is not shameful or unfair. It is a strategy that can lead you to winning the match by a few key minutes. If you can think of any possible way to win that isn’t completely farfetched (table flipping is not allowed at worlds), keep playing.

The actual Worlds event will be Swiss with a top 32. The games will be thirty minutes. See the above for special information about Top Cut (which is Single Elimination with Best of Three).

Translation issues may come up during your Worlds experience. When you play against a foreign opponent, try not to be chatty. Be patient and point to what your cards are while you make the actions. Only call for a translator if an issue comes up. Try to avoid it if at all possible. When you need to ask how many cards are in the opponent’s hand, ask “cards in hand?” while signaling towards your hand. They should understand if they speak any amount of English. Don’t be afraid to test your limited knowledge of a foreign language. Nobody judges you for not speaking a language foreign to your country well. The concept that either player speaks a tiny bit of the other’s language really helps. If a problem comes up, call a judge and immediately tell him or her that there is a language barrier. A translator will come to help.

If you do not make the main event, do not fret. There are a lot side events to play from 8-mans to 3DS tournaments to league. On Sunday, expect to play in a prerelease. Buy a ticket on Saturday as they will sell out very quickly. Meet many new friends and have a good time. Walk around the open game rooms when you get a chance as players are often there to trade cards or sell product that you probably cannot get in your country.

V. Final Words

Good luck and have fun at Worlds. Be sure to take many pictures and play many games. After the event, please post here how many games you played the weekend of Worlds. The average game count of a player would be approximately 30 to 40. That is a lot of games! That means that the average player will play against 30 to 40 other players from around the world. It is no surprise how the community of Pokemon grows each and every Worlds. Be sure to go in knowing what to expect, and you will come out feeling like a champion regardless if you won or got dead last place. As long as you meet many new players and you have a great time playing, your Worlds will be as fun as possible Be sure to do as much as you can. This is the best event of the year, so please enjoy it.

If you get a chance, flag me down. I want to meet as many players from online as possible. I will be carrying a Premier Ball Playmat, and my name is Zachary Mirman (it will be on my player’s card). Please let me know about your experiences and if this article helped you at all in any way. Thanks for reading and good luck at Worlds.
 
ZERO FOR PRESIDENT!

Very useful and well written article! Thanks for posting it, it is going to help lots of people.
 
idrumprettywell said:
ZACH FOR CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER!

I'm keeping up my bet. If ZPS wins at worlds in any division, I'm singing Oh Canadia and uploading it to youtube.

Thanks for the nice words ;D
 
Very good article, I'm impressed, this describes what happens at worlds perfectly, and this'll help a lot of people.
 
Mark my words. Jacob will win again :p

Great article. Almost makes me want to start the TCG again.
 
pokemon99 said:
Mark my words. Jacob will win again :p

Great article. Almost makes me want to start the TCG again.
I'd best be learning the lyrics then. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
 
Great article... it's so nice to have you back.

To be perfectly honest, this sort of makes me want to go to Worlds to play in the LCQ...
 
Glad I could help. Hope that you all get to go to a big event sooner or later... perhaps go to nats next year? :) Scizor, why u get banned after reading my thread? >.<
 
Haven't finished the article, but it looks solid from what I have read. Good job, man, we need to see more articles like these.
 
We will be posting more articles like these once we get our Article Submissions forum up. The front page will be article central from now on.
 
Water Pokémon Master said:
We will be posting more articles like these once we get our Article Submissions forum up. The front page will be article central from now on.
Great idea. I'll be sure to submit more articles some time soon. Glad to know that I was the test monkey for such a fantastic program. :3
 
Really good article, Zero! Your article for worlds preparation was extremely detailed and insightful. I agreed with the points you made with all of the popular decks that'll be popular in both the LCQ and Worlds itself, and the match procedure info was pretty useful too, especially for people who have never really played in worlds before (like me for one, as I'm yet to go against a real foreign player in the LCQ, or even Worlds if I make it in).

Also, I wish you the best of luck in the actual worlds competition!:)
 
Well you're in luck. All of the Japanese players except for 3 or 4 are playing Grinder... so have fun with that ;P Out of all the players there, the Japanese are by far the most fun to play with. One of my fondest memories of worlds is laughing with a Japanese Pokedad who did not speak a word of English about our game. The Japanese just have a way of making the game so much fun even if there is a language barrier.

I got the comment that I didn't include all of the archetypes in the article. I elected to discuss four as I figured they were the main four that you'd be seeing. There are other deck options that are good, but those four are the four most popular.


Expect a tournament report from me regardless of how well I do. :) Just thought I'd put that out there. I'll try to take note of everyone I see at worlds. ;D
 
I cannot afford a plane ticket for Worlds unfortunately.

Anyone attending the Prerelease? I wish to know what goes on there.
 
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