This week we have an article from Tama Carr, who recently represented New Zealand at the World Championships in San Francisco! Have a read and see what exciting adventures could be in store for you if you decide you want to try and earn a world championship invite next year!
A Kiwi’s San Francisco World Tournament 2016
Preparation to take on the World
Unfortunately, we do not have a kiwi Pokemon yet. But hopefully Nintendo release some little flightless bird in one of the upcoming generations (I envision it will be Grass/Ground type). New Zealand would then be able to have its own region exclusive Pokemon for Pokemon Go!
Speaking of Kiwi’s, this year’s World Tournament in San Francisco had the most participants from New Zealand we have ever known. We had ten masters, one senior (who automatically qualified for Day 2) and two juniors. For the masters in Day 1, New Zealand had the 14th most participants out of the 34 countries there; a small feat we were proud of right from the start considering the relatively small Pokemon TCG community we have and the limited number of events.
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Everyone was excited to be in San Francisco |
While the past season in NZ was somewhat dominated by Night March, there was also a decent share of rogue decks that did exceptionally well during the year. We had seen many interesting decks succeed at our major events such as M Sceptile EX with a 1-1-1 line of Vileplume and a 1-1 Ariados, Toad/Vespiquen, and Trevenant BREAK with M Gallade EX. The final of NZ Nationals was between Metal and Mew/Toad/Jolteon/Zoroark, both of which were considered extremely rogue at the time. So it would be interesting to see if rogue decks would be the deck of choice for the Kiwi's heading to San Fran, or something tried and true like Night March.
After I had used the unfairness of Night March to a land Top 4 spot at Nationals, it was one of the first options for me when preparing for the World Tournament. The mentality had always been that if you can’t beat Night March, then play Night March. However, with new cards legal from Steam Siege that seemed to automatically find a space in Night March (Pokemon Ranger, Ninja Boy and Special Charge), it was difficult to work out what to remove to make room for these instant additions. The majority of Night March players I had spoken to seemed to remove a Float Stone, a Target Whistle and one copy of Hex Maniac (although some players in NZ swear by two Hex Maniac in Night March). This intrigued me because Night March seemed to have problems during our Nationals trying to knock out an Aegislash EX when they had two Hex Maniac. Now they were cutting one to make room for new cards, as well as not expecting much Greninja to show up at Worlds on Day 1.
The Deck Choice
I would try and use this to my advantage and took a skeleton deck list from the Finalist at our Nationals (shout out to Paul Su). With Ninja Boy added to the mix, the deck I arrived at felt like a Metal Toolbox as it had multiple attackers at your disposal.
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Pokemon |
Trainers |
Energy |
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2 |
Aegislash EX (PHF) |
4 |
10 |
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2 |
Genesect EX (FAC) |
3 |
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2 |
Cobalion (STS) |
2 |
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1 |
Bronzong BREAK (FAC) |
2 |
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3 |
Bronzong (PHF) |
1 |
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1 |
Bronzong (FAC) |
4 |
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4 |
Bronzor (PHF) |
4 |
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2 |
Shaymin EX (ROS) |
3 |
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1 |
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1 |
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3 |
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3 |
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2 |
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The squad was ready to go |
Cobalion is great as an early game staller while you try to set up as many Bronzong as possible, while also doubling as an exceptional late game sweeper and the potential 7th prize. My prediction was that there would be lots of special energy around at Worlds, so Aegislash fit the mix perfectly. I questioned the usefulness of Genesect EX a lot earlier in the year, but with Fighting Fury Belt it hits great numbers and is the key to getting KO’s on bulky EX’s. The ability to Ninja Boy between these Pokemon was always fun and led to some exciting plays which I will talk about later. Of course, I cannot forget Bronzong BREAK, one of the best cards I have in my deck when going up against Night March. The ability to “sweep the board” late game combined with N often meant too much for Night March to come back from.
A big difference between this deck and the one that reached the Finals of our Nationals was the inclusion of Max Elixir. The idea behind this was to maximise the chances of being able to attack with Aegislash or Genesect in turn 1 or 2. I was also expecting there to be a lot of item lock on the day and I felt that Max Elixir was a card that gave me a better reward when played in my first turns than some other item that would later become dead (such as Trainers' Mail).
This same idea was the reason I played a heavy count of tools. Three Float Stone seemed more reliable than a Switch or Escape Rope that would become dead under item lock later in the game. When combined with Genesect and its ability to return items at any time, it proved to be a consistent way of switching between my Pokemon as I was very vulnerable to Lysandre stalls.
Other options
Magearna EX – I thought long and
hard about including the newest Metal Pokemon into the deck. If I did, I would cut out one of the Genesect EX as I really liked the number of Pokemon I played. In the end, I felt the heavy damage Genesect is capable of meant I should keep two of him in the deck. Magearna admittedly helped with what I considered one of my worst matchups, Trevenant. But in the end I didn’t want to cut a Genesect, which is useful for many matchups, for a Pokemon that seemed to be useful for one matchup; especially since I had a Bronzong from Fates Collide to help limit Silent Fear.
Trainers' Mail – I originally had Trainers' Mail in my deck, but they were taken out for Max Elixir’s. I decided that my high supporter count meant I could cut this consistency card for the chance to attack turn one/two and even potentially ‘donk’ an opponent.
4th VS Seeker – A big part of the pre-Worlds testing was the number of VS Seeker to include. Four seemed to be universally accepted as a given. But with the expectation of Item Lock playing a big part of Worlds and a high supporter count in my list, I opted to cut one VS Seeker for a third Float Stone.
Battle Compressor – I had two copies of Battle Compressor in my original list to help accelerate energies for Bronzong and provide consistency paired with VS Seekers. But once I put in Max Elixir’s and removed a VS Seeker, it seemed less effective in the deck as I wanted to include as much Metal Energy in my deck in the early game to maximise Max Elixir.
Heatran – An option I considered as a non-EX attacker was Heatran from PHF, but at the end of the day it is completely outshined by Cobalion.
Testing, Testing 1, 2, 3
Testing the deck with the other Kiwi’s was great. I learned how my deck works and what cards I should look for in certain matchups. I tested the Night March matchup a lot and in the end was convinced I had a favourable matchup with it. This was the first step to any deck competing at Worlds so it was a good start.
It seemed that Dark decks would be the most popular choice among the Kiwi’s. Five of the masters opted to play a variation of Dark, whether it included Mew or Bursting Balloons or some other tech for what each person believed they would face. There were two players taking Night March into Day 1, one player opted to use Trevenant, one decided at the last minute to play Water Toolbox and I had my Metal deck.
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It was hard to not get distracted by Pokemon Go when preparing the night before |
I had a few friends express their concerns about my deck choice, but in the end I decided to back myself with what the testing had shown me. I set myself the goal of qualifying for Day 2 at Worlds and began the competition with high hopes.
Day 1 at San Francisco
The day started a bit later than I would have liked but I suppose that’s what happens when you have 500 participants all speaking 30 different languages.
Round 1
Quad Zoroark – Gianluca Cipriano from Italy
My deck performed horribly in this match. In the first game, I couldn’t find a Supporter for four turns. By then my opponent had set up a Zoroark with basic energy and was able to start killing my Aegislash. I couldn’t come back from being so far behind in Game 1 that we went to Game 2. To my horror, my opening hand was now filled with Supporters and a Bronzor. I had to get rid of it all while wishing that I had kept Compressors and another VS Seeker in the deck. Again my opponent seemed to get too far ahead. He even used Pokepuff to bench one of my Shaymin and I lost Game 2 in timely fashion.
LL –LOSS
Round 2
Rainbow Road – Takahiro Ueno from Japan
It felt like
my deck was suffering from stage fright or something like that. I almost got ‘donked’ by his Xerneas in Game 1 after I had to pass with a lone active Shaymin. Amazingly, he attacks for 100 damage and leaves my Shaymin with 10 HP left. From there I was able to build my bench, save my Shaymin with Sky Return and was soon hitting his Xerneas for weakness. In one part of the match I played 3 AZ in a row and replaced all the lost energy with my Bronzong, restricting him from taking any prizes. I ended up winning Game 1 in a very close game and managed to take out Game 2 as well. First win at Worlds and I was feeling pumped.
WW – WIN
Round 3
Vespiquen/Vileplume/Dark - Alex Fields from USA
I was delighted to see a Combee and an Oddish benched at the start of Game 1. Vespiquen Vileplume is indeed one of my best matchups purely thanks to Aegislash EX. However, he then benched an Yveltal and Yveltal EX. He avoided attaching DCE’s and began powering up his Yveltal’s. The Vileplume sure slowed me down but I was able to Lysandre it out. He then played AZ and scooped it up. But after playing a few items and being distracted, he then used an Oblivion Wing forgetting to bench the Vileplume back down. I couldn’t believe my luck and proceeded to play all the item cards in my hand and set myself up really well. In this match I was able to perform one of my favourite plays which is Ninja Boy an Aegislash with a Fighting Fury Belt into a Genesect and take a one hit KO on his Yveltal EX. Since the item lock dragged out Game 1, my opponent didn’t have enough time to tie it back up and I collected my second victory on the day.
W – WIN
Round 4
Quad Zoroark – Joshua Doctolero from Philippines
My second Quad Zoroark match for the day brought back some unwanted memories of my first match. I was quite keen to play this one well, mainly to try convince myself that I was unlucky in the first round. My Aegislash and Max Elixir’s did huge work for me this game. I was able to get four Metal Energy onto Aegislash by turn 2 using Max Elixir and Bronzong, and with a Fighting Fury Belt was able to knock out his Yveltal and every other Pokemon he had. Denying him his DCE’s and being able to one hit any Pokemon he had proved too good in both games we played.
WW – WIN
Round 5
Dark - Philipp Leciejewski from Germany
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Pregame banter with Philipp from Germany |
This was my favourite game of the day, mainly because the opponent was a really good dude. Yet again I found myself matched up against Zoroark’s and Yveltal’s. And yet again my Aegislash did huge work with Genesect coming out to help out here and there. Cobalion also jumped in to help me trade 1 for 1. All was going well, until I got a warning from a Judge for “Slow Play”. After the match the judge told me that he shouldn’t have given me a warning since we were both playing at a relaxed state. But the warning stuck as I got another win under my Fighting Fury Belt.
W – WIN
Round 6
Dark – Alex Dao from Great Britain
This game was almost identical to the previous. My opponent was a great guy from the UK and was piloting a dark deck with lots of Yveltal. But I didn’t see any Zoroark the whole game which surprised me. I tried the same thing again, with setting up an Aegislash limiting his DCE’s. I was preparing to have a Genesect come out with Ninja Boy at some point. However, it was his Fright Night Yveltal that caught me off guard. He managed to get 3 basic energy onto it and started sniping my benched EX’s. Luckily I changed the game plan and put the focus on my Cobalion’s which were immune to the Fright Night snipe. Game 1 was a close game and close games are where Cobalion really shines. My opponent was gracious in defeat after being unable to come back from a Game 1 loss. I was absolutely tripping out after this game as I realized I only need one more win to get into Day 2. With 5 wins in a row, I felt I had the momentum to get the job done.
W – WIN
Round 7
Metal- Ippo Kito from Japan
This was by far the toughest game of the day. It ended up being a mirror match, at least so I thought. My opponent indeed had Aegislash, Genesect and Bronzong; but also was using Zoroark and Tornadus from Furious Fists. We traded blows and slowly set up our Bronzong’s. In a very tight game I managed to get ahead using Cobalion, a Pokemon he didn’t seem to have in his deck. I took Game 1 and we went on to Game 2. My opponent started playing very differently as he realized he was under the clock. He made quick but clinical moves and took an advantage in the game as he was able to start taking quick knockouts with a Magearna EX. I asked for a translation on his Japanese card and he asked the judges to stop time. We continued to play under the watchful eye of a few judges as we went beyond the same clock everyone else was using. In the end, he needed to take his last prize on Turn 3 of Game 2. I tried my best to stop him and used a VS Seeker for Sycamore to find a bulky Pokemon he couldn’t knockout. I found a Genesect, attached a belt and put him active. But he simply played Lysandre on a Bronzong and won Game 2 in his last turn.
WL – DRAW
Round 8
Water Toolbox – Agustin Campo from Argentina
5-1-1 was the record my opponent and I had. He was from Argentina and didn’t speak too much English, but enough to say to his mate that this game was “Win and in”. We needed six wins to guarantee a spot in Day 2, so we both understood what was at stake. He flipped over a Toad and I flipped over an Aegislash. He had a great first turn setting up two toads, a Manaphy and a belt on both. I tried to do as much as I could before I would become under the item lock, but it wasn’t enough. I tried to power up an Aegislash to start damaging his Toad, but he was able to use a Quaking Punch followed with a Grenade Hammer to KO all my EX's. It was in the turns that he used Grenade Hammer that I needed to find an answer with my items, but I simply didn’t have an answer.
He continued the same strategy in Game 2 after winning Game 1 and I continued to end up with Aegislash EX when I was trying to find a Genesect EX. My damage output was simply not enough, especially with Rough Seas in play for most of the game as I only played two Sky Field. In the end, I lost Game 2 in a similar way.
LL – LOSS
End of the line
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I couldn’t help but think about my match in Round 7 and what would have happened if I had played N instead of Sycamore. It would have been a better play as it would have given him one card and me three. But who knows, I could have N’d him to the Lysandre he needed or I could have missed the EX I needed in my last turn. You can’t think about moves like that too much though, you just need to make the best move you think at the time and move on. It was disappointing to come so close but I had a blast. I never really expected to get so close and I was buzzing so much from the tournament that I didn’t sleep that night.
Some other tips I learned from the day:
- Don’t try and beat every deck, it’s not possible. Make sure you can beat the deck you think will be the most popular and go from there.
- Manage time well. This isn’t saying play fast or play slow, but be aware of your situation and what you need to do in order to win with the time left.
- Listen to your friends and ask for their advice. I always ask my friends a tonne of questions about what cards to play. Most of the time I realize the answer myself just by talking about it and they don’t need to provide a direct answer.
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Just missed the cut |
I was a few seconds off achieving my goal of making it to Day 2. I considered that I was very lucky to end up with a 5-2-1 record as a lot of the games I won could have gone either way. I was lucky one of my opponents forgot to bench his Vileplume, I fortunately managed to dodge all Trevenant and almost went the whole day without playing any Water Toolbox. I was surprised I didn’t play a single Night March but playing so many Dark decks with Zoroark and Yveltal worked well for me.
San Fran was an awesome tournament and I will never forget it, especially the dream run from Round 2 to Round 6. But in the end it was the amount of Kiwi’s we had at the event that made it special. Having 10 masters there made it an amazing holiday/tournament which felt like a once in a lifetime experience. But who knows, maybe it won’t be…
Good luck with the new season of Pokemon TCG.
Tama
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The Kiwi’s with World Champion, Shintaro Ito |
P.S. Congrats to Dylan Chen and Jason Jiang for making it to Day 2 and representing New Zealand proudly
