Keldeo's 2014-2015 Pokemon Season (Updated with MA Regionals)

My Little Keldeo

My Little Keldeo

Submarine Reflection!
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So... I decideed to go through with this and make one of those fancy report threads where I talk about every matchup I faced. I've already been to a few events LCs and Regionals, but I don't really remember my matches., so I'm just going to start with Cities.

City Championships - Redcap's Corner, Philadelphia, PA​

(For reference, Swiss rounds at Cities are single game while top cut is best of three.)

Deck: Donphan

Round 1: Mirror (Win)

It didn't dawn on me until after the game was over that my opponent was none other than Simon Narode, who had gotten second place at Worlds in 2013. I probably would have been much more nervous had I realized that going into the match, but he's a real nice guy and I enjoyed playing with him. He actually wound up winning the entire tournament as things would turn out. Regardless, I was able to keep ahead the whole time and managed to build up two Donphans with enough energy to Wreck. Oddly, I didn't use my Kyurem tech much here.

Round 2: VirGen (Loss)

Going second against VirGen is never a good thing (Hawlucha certainly helps though), but to make matters worse I went two turns without drawing into any energy at all. I did managed to catch up by cleverly using Lysandre on Deoxys and knocking it out, meaning Genesect with a Muscle Band can't hit that magic 130 on Donphan. The game came pretty close, but it was the snipe damage on Megalo Cannon that eventualyl did me in, as my opponent did 120 to a Donphan after a Red Signal, and then sniped it next turn for the last prize.

Round 3: Mirror (Win)

I was also interestingly ahead for the entirety of this game as well. Being clever with Lysandre and VS Seeker is perhaps more key to winning Donphan mirror matches than Kyurem. It's fun to see peoples' facial expressions when they KO a Robo Subsitute... and receive no prize for doing so. Getting rid of the opponent's Kyurem early also helps, as does going first.

Round 4: Mirror (Loss)

This was a close game, with my opponent and myself trading prizes left and right. Bad draws and getting hit with an Enhanced Hammer kept me from pulling ahead, and before I knew it i was out of energy and on the verge of decking out. This is one game where I would have liked to have Lysandre's Trump Card in my deck, though I've been otherwise glad that I removed it before the tournament. A good time was had by the both of us, though this put me at 2-2, meaning I could not afford to lose or even ID in the final round of Swiss if I wanted to make top cut.

Round 5: Plasma/ Seismitoad (Win)

This was without a doubt the most interesting deck I faced all day. Kyurem PLF is certainly a card to look out for, as the 30 snipe damage provided by Frost Spear adds up over time, not to mention it can wipe the field of Robo Substitues before I'm ready to promote them active. Even without the bench damage, with a Muscle Band and two Deoxys on the bench, it can instantly KO any Donphan that's been dragged up. This was a tough game, which I won for two reasons. First, I was able to manipulate his Deoxys, Toad, and Lugia and nab two prizes at the right moments. Second, he played Lysandre's Trump card and Shadow Triad to recycle Plasma Energy rather than Thundurus-EX, in order ro reduce vulnerability to Donphan. Trump Card can help, but it does waste your Supporter for the turn, not to mention give your opponent back all of their resources, and that's exactly what happened to me. My opponent also dead draw, and for a good portion of the game had only one card in hand. I feel this match could have gone differently if a few things were changed.

Quarter-Final/ Top 8: Yveltal (Loss 0/2)

It so happened I was playing against one of my good friends and testing partners. That said, I knew what to expect, and I knew I was in for a rough game because he runs Max Potions, a high count of Yveltal XY, and Seismitoad-EX to give Donphan a hard time. Game one was a complete washout for me due to being item locked and unable to bench Robo Substitues or play Float Stones and Muscle Bands. I ended up scooping and going to game two. At first I thought this would be better because I opened with Zekrom and had a DCE in my starting hand. Outrage works wonders on Yveltal XY, which Donphan alone has trouble with. I managed to nab a few prizes, but looking back, I think I misplayed and Lysandred the wrong Pokemon (I was trying to take out all his non-EX Yveltal first) rather than grab two prizes when I could have. I have no regrets though, and I was simply thrilled to actually make a top cut.

Closing Thoughts

Like every Pokemon event I've ever been to, I had a great time regardless of my performance. I'm glad we have a friendly and supportive community, which can't be said of some other card games. Based on the fact that exactly half of my matches were mirrors, and in top cut exactly half of the decks were Donphan (which won the day) show just how dominant the deck is, and for good reason. By nature it counters most EX-heavy decks, which comprise much of the rest of the metagame. It also outperforms other non-EX decks like Pyroar, Flareon, and Night March. And the strategies that do counter Donphan typically are either shaky or break consistency against other threats like Yveltal and VirGen. Donphan will continue to make a big showing at Cities and probably beyond, and Spinning Turn its way to the top tables.
 
Awesome report! You played against the world champion 2013 though!? That's pretty crazy. Donphan sure is performing really well atm though. "Donphan will continue to make a big showing at Cities and probably beyond, and Spinning Turn its way to the top tables." Best description ever lol.
 
Before I begin with this report, I'd like to extend a big congratulations to Pokebeach's very own Machamp the Champion, who came in second place at today's event! It would have been nice to have played against you myself, but that's just the way events work sometimes.

City Championships - Zern's Farmer's Market, Gilbertsville, PA​

Deck: Donphan

Round 1: Yveltal (Win)

I continue to assert that in Donphan vs. Yveltal, your build is key to a victory or defeat. Both decks have ways of dealing with each other, or going out in a spectacular explosion. My opponent was one of my friends and testing partners, who is certainly no stranger to the competitive scene. Of course, a Colress for ten cards is bound to get you at least something useful, and I happened to draw myself into two Lysandres and a VS Seeker. I never got hit with an N, and over the course of three turns, I took my six prizes.

Round 2: Fairy / Laserbank (Loss)

This was a very interesting rogue deck. This is of course a generalization, but a great number of Pokeparents that I've played against tend to use the most interesting decks that you'd never expect to see. in some cases, it's because their kid(s) in Juniors/ Seniors have all the "good" cards, but as with any lot, some people like to be creative regardless. My luck wasn't the greatest here, but I was also anticipating to see more "normal" things that never came out. The game was over fairly quickly. After the natch we played a rematch for fun and I did better, though we had to cut the game short since they announced pairings for the next round. In any sense, I'm glad to see some rogue decks flourishing in this format.

Round 3: Mirror (Win)

Not only was this the only mirror match I faced today, but it was against the exact same person I played at Philly cities last Sunday during round three. The game played a little differently, but by the late game my setup was nearly the same. I started out behind, but eventually I built up two two Donphans with enough energy to Wreck, and that basically sealed the game. I'm starting to get a lot more comfy playing the mirror match. Lysandre and VS Seeker are definitely my friends, since knocking out Robo Substitutes and even Sigilyphs doesn't get one very far.

Round 4: Yveltal (Win)

This was an interesting variant that ran Toxicroak-EX in its lineup. I can definitely see that as a surprise tech, as Triple Poison combined with Virbank City Gym deals a whopping 50 damage between turns... but not to a Sigilyph. I'm getting a lot better facing Dark decks and predicting what they're going to do. With Garbodor losing popularity, many Dark Decks are relying on Darkrai-EX for the free retreat and playing limited copies of switch cards. Once again though, manipulating the opponent and going for big kills rather than just trying to Spinning Turn everything in sight paid off. Darkrai's weakness makes it an easy target for Donphan, and once it's been KOed, the Yveltal player will start dancing, as they're down two prizes and lost their free retreat engine. After that I keep using Lysandre to go for big KOs and win the match.

Round 5: Manectric / Zapdos / Jynx (Loss)

Look out guys, you'll probably be seeing more of this deck once word starts spreading around. The combination of M-Manectric-EX, Zapdos NXD/ LTR, and Jynx FFI seems like an odd formula, but it's something that has nice matchups against both Donphan and Yveltal, two of the big dogs in the format. Zapdos' Random Spark does 50 damage to any Pokemon on your opponent's board for three energy. That's a bit of a hefty cost, but M-Manectric helps to power them up... while providing bait for an unsuspecting player. I went in with my usual strategy of "go for the EXs," but that's precicsely what my opponent wanted. Meanwhile, he continued to snipe my Donphan from the bench, caring not for that active Kyurem with the Float stone. I'm thinking about putting Dedenne in my deck just to deal with something like this. Zapdos has a Fighting resistance, so Donphan has a hard time dmaging it to begin with. Normally I could two-shot a Zapdos (it has 120 HP) with a Strong Energy and Muscle Band, but Jynx healing it for just 10 damage messed with my math. In any sense, I went out with pride, even though I didn't make top cut.

Final Record : 3-2-0, 7th place out of 20 Masters.

Closing Thoughts

I think I had more fun here than I've had at any Cities in the past... and I didn't make top cut or win any CP. Being with friends and making new friends (not to mention meeting up with fellow Beachgoers) is always good. Once again, congratulations to Machamp the Champion for coming in second place!

Today's winner was a friend of mine, playing Bronzong. The lesson I learned today is that the metagame is more open than a lot of people (including myself) might realize. It's good to see Metal, non-Donphan Fighting, and rogue decks making it to top cut. Curiously, I didn't see a single VirGen deck in any the three age divisions.

On a final note, I have to say that is one of the coolest venues I've ever been to. It's located literally in the middle of nowhere, and it has an awesome country charm. The game store is just one of dozens of cute little shops in this farmer's market. There were stores selling all sorts of things, including bulk (cheap!) candy, homemade pies and cookies, fresh produce, hand crafts and antiques. There's also quite a few food stalls to choose from. I had the best sauage sandwich and fries that I've had in a long time. I'd highly reccomend that anyone visiting eastern Pennsylvania check this place out.
 
Who played the Manectric Zapdos deck? My friend and I have just started testing that (with Jynx too)... I wasn't expecting anyone else to use it so soon...

It needs a perfect game against VirGen and lacks OHKO power, but it's an alright deck. It needs a counter stadium for Shadow Circle, and there's literally no stadium in format that benefits Manectric. Did the Zapdos player play Mewtwo? Sorry for all the questions.
 
The player using Zapdos / Manectric was Mike Diaz, someone I know personally and is of course no stranger to competitive play (just like his brother Frank who I played in round one, he was avenged haha). He just build the deck recently, but is doing reasonably well to it. He lost in top cut to Machamp the Champion, but Fighting / Drifblim is without a doubt not a good machup for it.

And yes, he did play a Mewtwo-EX, which I hadn't been anticitpating, but there's no reason not to since the deck's already running DCE. As far as counter stadiums go, that's a valid point, and I can't think of something that could benefit the deck either. Laserbank would be inconsistent and the damage boost doesn't make any of the math easier. On that note, most of the Yveltal players around here only run Laserbank and no Shadow Circle, but it's certainly something to think about when going to a big event like Regionals.
 
Thanks. Right now we've got a single Dimensional Valley and a single LTC to deal with Shadow Circle, which seems to be popular in some areas.
 
Nope. A Mega Evolution is an evolved Pokemon, but it is neither a Stage 1 nor a Stage 2. Its evolution type is Mega. Stage 1s and Stage 2s are specifically marked as such in the upper right-hand corner of the card, and Training Center specifically states that only Stage 1 and Stage 2 evolutions get its bonus.
 
City Championships - The Only Game in Town (TOGIT), Somverville, NJ​

Deck: Donphan

Round 1: Fighting / Manectric (Win)

I dopn't understand the viability of this deck, but research seems to confirm that it's a thing. While M-Manectric-EX should vastly improve the Yveltal matchup, I don't see how this deck is able to handle threats like Donphan and Seismitoad. I completely steamrolled this match, as my opponent's only Pokemon capable of damagiing Sigilyph was Landorus FFI, which doesn't hit so hard and can be countered fairly easily. My opponent (a Pokedad I'm quite familiar with) and I had a fun time messing around with each other, and we wished each other luck. This turned out to be my only win for the day.

Round 2: Mirror (Loss)

Dylan Bryan is a cool guy and I'm proud to call him a friend, but if he didn't invent Donphan on his own, he certainly made it popular. He was running some very interesting techs that day, including Xerneas XY to sponge up damage from Yveltal, as well as Magnetic Storm to negate the resistance. Going first, I actually was ahead for the first half of the match, and got all the way to one prize before I ran out of resources.

Round 3: Seismitoad / Reshiram (Loss)

This is an up and coming deck that seems to be getting a good deal of attention lately. Seismitoad-EX blocks the opponent's items, while Reshiram LTR has two solid attacks for a non-EX. Blacksmith powers them up very quickly. Being unable to play tools or bench Robo Subsitutes is certainly one way to beat Donphan, and a couple of Enhanced Hammers played at critical moments seals the deal. A Toad with a Muscle Band and Laserbank, or a Reshiram with just a Muscle band is all that's needed to KO a Donphan that's been Lysandred up or forced to use Wreck. I didn't see a single Pyroar in this matchup, but Reshiram is an equally strong attacking option here.

Round 4: Psychic Assault (I don't even know what to call this!) (Loss)

Dimension Valley can made a fair deal of Pokemon that one would never expect to see competitive play suddenly viable. In addition to Mewtwo-EX and Drifblim, I was treated to being plastered with Gengar-EX, Chandelure-EX, and even Trubbish (Tool Drop). My opponent ran this Trubbish in addition to Garbodor, and I saw both of them during the match. Having never seen a deck like this before, I had no idea how to handle myself. Fighting resistance, destroying special energy, and surprise attacks were all my downfall. I even got hit with a Psydrive (did you know Mewtwo-EX has a second attack below X-Ball?). By this point both my opponent and myself were 1-2-0, so I'm not sure how competitive this deck really is, but I certainly have some respect for it after this performance.

Final Record : 1-3-0 Drop.

Closing Thoughts

The two friends I drove down with also weren't doing well, so we decided to head home early. The metagame here was far more diverse than many of us had predicted or tested against. I feel as though players are getting more accustomed to seeing Donphan running around, and are looking for ways to combat it. Garbodor, which had been so dominant the past few months is really falling out of favor now, but it still exists. The decks running it tend to be more on the rogue side than to play Yveltal/ Garb or traditional Big Basics. Yveltal is trending towards straight versions or partnering with M-Manectric to improve its own mirror match, while VirGen really seems to be dying off around here (I only saw one, and it was in Seniors).

That in mind, and with the South Jersey Cities marathon coming this weekend, I'm starting to look at other options. I think that Aromatisse, which has lurked in Garbodor's shadow for so long could finally have a chance to come out of the closet in the coming weeks. I also think that it's Metal's turn to shine, and even non-Donphan Fighting. We could see many other interesting decks come out of an open metagame like this. Some people whom I've talked to are even exploring rogue options that wouldn't have flown before Phantom Forces.
 
i've noticed too that people are starting to find better ways to counter donphan. i am hoping i have better luck with khan and the fairies on jan 1st which is our cities.
 
Sorry about the losses :( Donphan is alright but everyone is ready for it at this point.

pygohan said:
Isn't technically Mega a stage 1 and would fall into the benefits of training center?
Click to expand...

I swear if I had a dollar for everytime someone asked this... Anyway Keldeo is right, training center would give no benefit for zaptric.
 
(Finally got around to reading this.)

Really like reading your tournament reports - keep 'em up! And thanks for the congratulations. It was really nice getting to meet you in person. Sorry about that last tournament. Going 1-3 is never fun lol. Hope to see you at more upcoming Cities!
 
South Jersey Cities Marathon​

Deck: Aromatisse with M-Gengar-EX

I'm just going to do a write-up on the marathon rather than a full report. This is partially because due to being busy I didn't have a chance to write this all week. Being that long ago, I don't remember all of my matches over the course of three days, I didn't do particularly well, and I didn't have my computer with me to report from. I was also sick over that weekend, having just come off an ear infection and I still had a cold. You guys who saw me that weekend can probably attest to me not being 100% myself. In any sense however, I feel I owe it to you guys to write something up before we get to the stellar news in the next post. You can check out Blah's report for a more in-depth breakdown of what went on during the marathon. I ended up not going to the last event because I wasn't feeling great and had enough of Pokemon for one weekend.

Cities is an interesting time because the metagame can get shifty. And with the format being as open as it is right now, "shifty" might not even begin to describe it. Donphan certainly got the hype going into Cities, and it dominated for the first couple of weeks. Not employing Pokemon-EX makes the deck so different from the rest of the format, and it screws with decks like VirGen that rely on hitting very high numbers to make big KOs, since they need to devote a lot of resources and only take one prize. However, people are getting smarter now, and figuring better ways to counter it. Aromatisse messes with Donphan's strategy to chip away by healing damage with Max Potion, and running an eclectic set of attackers that can get around Donphan's tricks. Seismitoad decks can also pose a problem by making the Donphan player unable to use tools, which are crucials to the deck's strategy. The current wave of Toad decks that are heavy on disruption and locking the opponent can keep Donphan from setting up.

On the three days of the marathon that I attended, each day a different deck claimed the trophy. Day 1 in Burlington was won by veteran player Dylan Bryan with Aromatisse, a deck that's received a lot of hype lately, and for good reason. By nature it wears Donphan out, and by running M-Manectric-EX it has a solid attacker that not only hard counters Yveltal, but also reattaches discarded basic energy. This can give Aromatisse a very strong late game, especially when combined with attackers like Mewtwo and Yveltal. Still, Fairy has trouble with Seismitoad, which won Day 2. This list was particularly interesting, as it had a very low Supporter count and used Random Receiver, Jirachi-EX, and Super Scoop Up to Juniper almost every turn, then cycle everything back with Lysandre's Trump Card. Before moving on however, I need to congratulate Pokebeach member Blah for making Top 8!

Day 3, and from what I've been told Day 4 as well were won by Yveltal. Dark may no longer be the dominant deck, as M-Manectric's semi-splashability keeps it in check, but it's still a good play, and has its fair share of good matchups. Yveltal-EX has two very useful attacks, and the extra room the deck has allows for lots of different variants. Yveltal / Garbodor may have fallen out of favor somewhat, but Yveltal / Seismitoad, Speed Yveltal, and Defensive Yveltal (Hammers / Hard Charms) have all performed well.

On a closing note, I think this format is really cool beacuse right now there isn't really a "deck to beat." The open metagame allows for creative strategies to fly, and the sheer number of viable decks works to keep too many people from bandwagoning onto something blindly. Perhaps what fascinates me most right now are the many variants that each archetype has right now. I discussed Yveltal's options already, but we can also use Seismtiad-EX as an example. In addition to being a good tech in many decks, it can function on its own with Garbodor, or Pyroar, even Slurpuff (Tasting). We can expect to see more creative builds in the future, but at the same time, Quaking Punch's low damage output means it's suspectible to losing to VirGen (weakness), as well as anything that can outdamage it for little investment, like Fighting. All in all I had a good time playing with my friends and meeting new people, even though I didn't perform that great (3-3, 3-3-1, and 3-3) and I wasn't feeling quite myself.
 
City Championships - Time Warp Comics, Cedar Grove, NJ​

I was determined to do better today than I had done at the marathon last weekend. I came to the realization that Fairy requires too much thinking for my idiotic mind, and I should stick with simpler, aggressive decks. Regardless, my attitude was to basically play some games, chat with friends, and either drop out early or perhaps stick around and win a couple of packs. My plan was to get home by 4:00 PM, take a nap, and then go watch TV or something. That never happened.

Deck: Fighting Fusion

Round 1: Donphan (Win)

This was hardly a game. I always feel guilty whenever I donk someone, but it's of course part of the game, and it does happen from time to time. He began with a lone Phanpy and couldn't get anything else out on his first turn other than a Strong Energy. I opened with Mewtwo, and having gone first already had a Muscle Band on it. From there I simply Ned into a DCE and won the game.

Round 2: Seismitoad (Win)

I was a little scared going into this one, but I managed to pull through in the end. While my own deck does run Toads, it's not centered around them (my deck really isn't cenetered around anything haha). Still, they were a handy method of keeping my opponent from doing much to my stronger attackers while I powered them up. Since were were both item locked, the game didn't go much of anywhere for a bit. Hawluch was the star here though, as my opponent had discarded all of his Virbanks away, thinking it was also the only stadium I ran. The surprise Fighting Stadium not only gave Hawlucha a much-appreciated boost, but prevented my opponent from KOing it in one hit, even with a Laser. This was one of those interesting varients that ran Lysandre's Trump Card, but by that point I had so many things in play that he couldn't really take control of the game.

Round 3: Pyroar/ Reshiram (Win)

I was basically relying on Seismitad-EX for the entirity of this match. Outrrage is annoying to deal with, especially when you can't draw a Virbank / Laser to KO it in one hit. Landorus also let me take a quick two prizes with some Lysandre shenaningans and snipe damage. For a while I kept my opponent from getting Pyroar out between picking off Litleos and Item lock. Eventually though, he not only managed to get a Pyroar, but he also Lysandred my Garbodor and got rid of it. Things got shaky from there, but by using Seismitoad I was able to keep him from getting more Pokemon out (Pyroar was his only Pokemon in play). I also happened to poison it with a Laser, and eventually I did get my second Garb, winning with two prizes left because he had no more Pokemon in play. Benching out doesn't happen all that often, especially during the mid/ late game, but if you can keep your opponent's options limited, you just might get a little saving grace.

Round 4: Seismitoad (Win)

Ah, another Toad matchup. Despite Landorus' weakness to Water, I feel comfident against these decks because I'm able to outdo their damage output. It seemed my opponent ran no energy other than four DCE, which did come to bite him when he was unable to draw into them. This variant also ran Garbodor, but since I had my own he didn't play it. I also feel like every time my opponent uses Lysandre's Trump Card, i'm the one who's benefitting from it more. Eventually both of my Seismitoads were out of steam, and my opponent was of course smart enough not to let me recycle them. However, by this point I had a Hawlucha all powered up with two prizes left. My opponent had a Jirachi-EX on the bench I had a Lysandre in hand. Good game.

Rounds 5-6 (ID)

I was friends with both of these players already, and regardless since we all had flawless records we decided to just ID so we could get into top cut. All three of us made it.

Quater-Final / Top 8: Fairies (Arjun) (Win 2-0)

Garbodor and Aromatisse are mortal enemies, now and forever. Lately Aromatisse has managed to step up to the plate a little, as it fulfills a crucial role of countering Donphan. But between shutting off Fairy Transfer and using Seismitoad to block Max Potions, I had the advantage. I also feel my opponent misplayed by discarding Virizion-EX, which would have annoyed me when I was letting Seismitoad do all the work. Game one I got at his Spritzees early, while game two he was unforunate to have Keldeo as well as three Fairy Gardens prized. Luck aside, I still feel I had the advantage here and had made the right metagame call.

Semifinal / Top 4: Metal (Win 2-1)

This started off rather confusing. Apparently my opponent had a decklist problem which wasn't caught until top cut, and he had to replace some cards with basic energy. The store had no extra Metal energy, so he had basic Fighting energy, and the judge (my good friend Lisanne) told me that they were proxies as Metal. That's fine, so long as I remembered it. It was after the match that i learned the cards that had to be taken out where the oh-so-crucial Lysandres and Switches. Even with those of the picture, Metal is a tricky matchup for several reasons. The attackers are somewhat less dependent on Bronzong in comparison to the similar RayEels of yore. This means that simply using Garbodor to shut off Abilitiies won't necessarily tip the odds in my favor. Second, all of my attackers except for Hawlucha are Pokemon-EX with hefty retreat costs, so Dialga's Chrono Wind is a real pain. Third, he runs Aegislash-EX. Great Shield is annoying, though Garbodor takes care of that so long as it's got a tool attached. My opponent made good use of Startling Megaphone, and that definitely won him game two, though I was also on the verge of decking out. Even with him unable to use Lysandre and Switch, game three wasn't easy because there were things he could do. This was definitely an interesting version of Metal, and i could see why he made top cut (while he had Lysndre / Switch). Even in his Top 8 game before this, he won, so I take it he was a skilled player. In any sense, I mamadge to win with a Land's Judgement.

Final / Top 2: Mirror (Win 2-1)

This was one of my friends who I had IDed with earlier. I knew he was running a deck very similar to mine, so I had dreaded this match all day. Thankfully, we had the honor of facing each other in the very last round, and all three games were close. Game one, we both open with a Hawlucha active and a Landorus on the bench. We're trading prizes left and right, and then it turns into a Toad war, but since I didn't have a Muscle Band I couldn't get far with it. I lost game one and decided to go first in game two. We both open with Hawlucha again, and once more we're going at each other with Seismitoad. Eventually I'm able to able to retreat and take it out with Landorus. Somehow this turns into a Mewtwo war, but I come out ahead, then take my last two prizes with Land's Judgement. Game three... we both open with Seismitoad (what are the odds that we always open with the same Pokemon?). I just let the items accumulate in my hand, and as soon as his Toad went down I just dropped them all. I pick off a Hawlucha at some point, and it's the same shenaningans all over again. The Mewtwos do their thing, and then we're back at it with Seismitoad. I manage to win by accumulating energy to retreat, then use Landorus to get the damage I needed.

Final Record: 4-0-2 (Swiss), 3-0 (Top Cut) FIRST PLACE!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
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Closing Thoughts

Needless to say I'm both excited and surprised with myself. I decided to go with a modified version of the deck that I had been running before Phantom Forces was released, which I now feel like an idiot for temporarily taking apart. I'm definitely better off with fast, aggressive decks that don't require thinking and reactions to play effectively *cough*Fairy*cough*. Big Basics / Fighting decks are definitely my niche, since they're fast and simple. Garbodor is very much a "set it and forget it" thing, so I can just devote my resources to attacking. Of course you still run Lysandre to manipulate your opponent, but it's of neutralizing threats than toying with them and letting them guess what's in your mind. I'm not very good with surprises other than suddenly benching a Mewtwo and attaching a DCE. However, by applying early game pressure with low-cost attacks I can keep myself ahead.

Yet with the Cities metagame being as shifty as it is, a deck that's "the play" can be a bad pick the next weekend, or even the very next day. While Garbodor seemed to lapse in the past few weeks, I saw more of it today than I did at the maraothon last weekend (including me running it myself), so he's definitely making a comeback to deal with Aromatisse which has been growing in popularity. Non-Donphan Fighting decks are also on the rise, after they seemed to drop tier for a while. Without a doubt I made the right metagame call today, but whether or not it'll fly next weekend remains a mystery. As one deck rises, people will always find means to counter, and the most reliable of those tend to stick around. One deck I didn't see at all today is Manectric / Zapdos, which was supposedly rising in popularity. It just goes to show you how quickly things can change.
 
Great job on getting first place! I definitely agree that you should stick with a deck you're comfortable with. Even if you think a deck is the play, it won't do you any good if you don't know how to play it effectively. On the flip side, you can go a long way with a deck you're comfortable with, even if the field is full of bad match ups. I know this from experience lol. I hope you do this well at future Cities, too!
 
Nice job Aaron. Yeah, T8 I would've gotten destroyed no matter what, the luck I got was just the nail in the coffin.

Do you know how you would normally beat Donphan (without donking them)?
 
Good question. Donphan is a tricky matchup, but I would have most likely used an early game Toad to keep my opponent from placing tools and Robo Substitutes, then try to pick off Phanpies / Donphans as efficiently as I can. Garbodor allows Siglyph to be taken care of easily, and since Hawlucha can't directly one-shot thingsI can get at it with Toad / Laserbank. Even getting 100 on a Donphan and being unable to Laser it isn't terrible, since I can pick it off with Landorus later. It's still not a simple matchup by any means, but by working with what's in my hand and playing around the bait, I can come out ahead or at the very least make an honest effort. While I really like about the deck I was using is that it almost never seems to dead draw. You may not get exactly what you need every time, but in almost every scenario you'll have something you can work with.
 
yorepoor said:
1st place, nice!
Did anyone do well with Speed Lugia?
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Noooooooo, nobody plays that here.

My Little Keldeo said:
Good question. Donphan is a tricky matchup, but I would have most likely used an early game Toad to keep my opponent from placing tools and Robo Substitutes, then try to pick off Phanpies / Donphans as efficiently as I can. Garbodor allows Siglyph to be taken care of easily, and since Hawlucha can't directly one-shot thingsI can get at it with Toad / Laserbank. Even getting 100 on a Donphan and being unable to Laser it isn't terrible, since I can pick it off with Landorus later. It's still not a simple matchup by any means, but by working with what's in my hand and playing around the bait, I can come out ahead or at the very least make an honest effort. While I really like about the deck I was using is that it almost never seems to dead draw. You may not get exactly what you need every time, but in almost every scenario you'll have something you can work with.
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Ah, because that seems like a matchup that I would be concerned about, but now that I think about it, Landorus + Toad probably does a lot of work, and the deck could probably be altered to fit the matchup as well. Interesting. I was really surprised about both big basics garb decks being in T2 because it's been basically unheard of for a while.

Also I discarded Virizion because if you got Seis + garb out, I would lose anyways, and I wouldn't really want resources on it because your other pokes could come up and rid me of all my energy. What I really needed both games was Keldeo, but I couldn't get it out with energy. If you didn't realize already, I didn't play Megaphone, so if you got a Garb out, I would've not been able to move my energy. Either way, unless you dead drew, I was never winning those games lol.
 
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