One Hit KO

After a very disappointing run at states (6-1 then losing in Top 8 at MN States, then going 3-3 in NV) I was sure of two things: 1) I would be playing LuxChomp again and 2) I was going to fit Dialga in my list.  Dialga was only a 1-1 tech, but it helped with a tremendous number of matchups.  Some of the matchups that I want Dialga in against are: Mewperior, Donphan, Uxie/Shuppet donk, Charizard, Machamp/Vileplume and Vilegar.  Add all of these plus the fact that I refused to scoop to Mewtwo (as I did in round 6 of MN States to Radu) and Dialga was going to make the cut.  I was debating a few other spots in the deck, but never questioned the deck itself.  I also had one spot built in because I had determined I wasn’t going to run Weavile G (something I would later regret).  The Lostgar threat turned out to be non-existent and I felt Dialga helped the Vilegar matchup more.  The other change to the deck since states that I LOVED was the inclusion of Twins.  It can tilt the mirror single handedly, and is an all around great card.

That's Andy To the Right (next to Mike and across from Pooka and Nick)

The week before the event, I had my list settled except for three slots.  I was questioning my Energy Gain/Power Spray/Junk Arm count.  I currently had it at 4/2/1.  If felt the extra energy gain helped a lot in the mirror, and the Sprays would be less than optimal against Spiritomb and Vileplume decks.  I later switched it to 3/3/1 and felt that the more well-rounded approach would be better, but I would later regret this change.  I was also debating my Bebe’s/Communication count; I was currently at 2/0.  Jay Hornung advocated Communication, but I felt that the chance of prizing the single Bebe’s that I needed to get Dialga G Lvl. X against trainer lock was too much, so I decided to stick with 2/0.  My last question was whether I would cut my 3-1 Uxie line down to fit 1 Chatot.  I felt that the 3rd Uxie helped so much against the possible wave of Machamp that I needed to leave it in.

I get to the tournament a half hour before registration ends, turn in my final list (I switched the Gain/Spray count that morning) and wait a LONG time before the event gets under way.

Continue reading "Topping Midwest Regionals with Andy Wieman"

It was the best of times… and then the next day it was the best of times again.  Ugh, what a start.  Sorry about that

Ed asked me to write a tournament report about my weekend at the Source and Dreamers.  I usually tweet updates as the tournaments go on (www.twitter.com/wiem0014) so those notes helped a lot in writing this report.  Sorry if I don’t remember names or all of the details.

The previous weekend Emmanuel, Lukas, Nick and I traveled to Madison and LaCrosse for the first weekend of Cities.  I performed extremely sub-par that weekend, mostly due to bad luck, but also due to a costly misplay on Saturday.  I ended up 2-3 Saturday (after starting 0-3) with Luxchomp  This was the deck I was most comfortable with, winning States with it last year, and testing it heavily for Regionals and Nats.  It was the right deck in a field of Gyarados, but I started against two Machamp decks and couldn’t recover.  I finished 3-2 on Sunday while playing a Machamp deck focused on the Prime more than most.  Jay Hornung (from IA) ended up winning both days with Luxchomp and going 13-1 on the weekend.…

I show up to Outpost 2000 100% set on the deck I’m am going to play (which is very odd for me). The only decision is what will be my 60th card. I am stuck between Mespirit, which is good in every matchup and can catch people totally off guard, and Unown G. I end up choosing Unown G because Emmanuel is going to be playing Gengar FB. We have tested that deck a bit and I realize the way he wins our matchup is by dragging up Claydols.

Small turnout. 10 Masters. 4 Rounds, Top 2.

Round 1: Michael- Gengar C
He is playing a fairly traditional Gengar C build. He sets up very fast using 3 Communications in the first two turns. I cannot find an energy for the first few turns and am under Pitch Dark so I can’t build my side up. Eventually he uses Garchomp to snipe my benched Luxray (for sure the right play), but this allows me to fully setup. We trade prizes back and forth. The major difference in this game is two turns that he cannot kill my pluff, just damage it. That and a missed Fainting Spell flip gives me a very close game.

Continue reading "Coon Rapids BR 1st Place Report"