Hi there. I have a Pokemon TCG tournament blog here. This one was the first tournament in the Mega Evolutions format.
Deck Choice & Decklist
I have abandoned Archaludon ex and Ethan's Ho-Oh ex with the Armarouge engine. This time around I am going with Raging Bolt ex.
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I was considering Gholdengo ex but I prefer the variety of attackers in Raging Bolt ex with the potential one hit knockouts.
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Decklist
Pokémon: 21
3 Raging Bolt ex TEF 123
3 Teal Mask Ogerpon ex PRE 12
1 Raging Bolt SCR 111
1 Mew ex MEW 151
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Ditto MEW 132
1 Squawkabilly ex PAF 75
2 Fan Rotom PRE 85
2 Hoothoot SCR 114
1 Hoothoot PRE 77
3 Noctowl PRE 78
1 Koraidon SSP 116
1 Latias ex SSP 76
Trainer: 28
4 Professor Sada's Vitality PRE 120
1 Boss's Orders MEG 114
1 Prime Catcher PRE 119
3 Area Zero Underdepths PRE 94
1 Crispin PRE 105
1 Energy Retrieval WHT 82
4 Nest Ball PAF 84
4 Ultra Ball PAF 91
1 Iono PAL 185
1 Pal Pad SVI 182
2 Night Stretcher SFA 61
3 Earthen Vessel PRE 106
1 Energy Switch MEG 115
1 Professor Turo's Scenario PRE 121
Energy: 11
5 Grass Energy SVE 9
3 Fighting Energy SVE 14
3 Lightning Energy SVE 12
Tournament Format
This was a free tournament in Toronto's Chinatown area. There were 3 best of one 30 minutes rounds. For every win you get 1 Prize Pack Series 7 pack.
All the players later found out that there were more free stuff given out. We got extra Prize Packs in the form of Prize Pack Series Five from a year ago. You still get some playable cards from there.
Round One Vs Mega Lucario ex
My first round opponent was someone I faced against a few years ago at a League Challenge event. I remember him but I don't think he remembers me.
He played Mega Lucario ex. This made me somewhat nervous as this deck has good firepower and can beat my Raging Bolt ex deck. The Mega Lucario ex is the big attacker along with the Hariyamas.
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This match was kind of weird for me. The opponent did not really get a Solrock, Lunatone setup in the early game. I was taking knockouts here and there little by little. In the late game, I ended up with a massive lead of something like 1 prize left to his 5 prize cards left.
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My end game was a little slow but I did end up knocking out his second Mega Lucario ex for the win.
Round Two Vs Tera Charizard + Noctowl
The round two opponent played a different version of Charizard ex. This Charizard ex build was one was with Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex, Terapagos ex and later found out he ran 4 Noctowls.
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In the early game, I thought my opponent was playing Tera Box with no Charizard ex. I played slower in the early game on purpose to gather information and my hand was kind of bad. Both of our early games setup were not great
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One key moment in this game was when the opponent missed the knockout on my Raging Bolt ex with Terapagos ex. My opponent needed 8 Benched Pokemon with Area Zero Underdepths in play to get 240 damage.
Another moment for me was when I used Boss's Orders to knockout his Pidgeot ex with Raging Bolt ex. It made sense for me to remove the Pidgeot ex early on.
Over time I was extending my lead. My end game was using Prime Catcher with Fan Rotom to knockout a weak Duskull for my final Prize card.
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I am 2 wins and 0 losses so far. Very good. Looking back at this, I could have played a little bit better.
Round 3 Versus Dragapult ex + Charizard ex Mix
Before round 3 started, I felt okay. I could play free with not so much pressure.
Apparently my round 3 opponent was a friend of my round 2 opponent. This round 3 opponent played Dragapult ex with Charizard ex.
My early game was good. I used Prime Catcher & Fan Rotom to knockout a Dreepy with 1 Energy second turn.
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The opponent's next turn is Unfair Stamp, do some setup, knockout my Fan Rotom with Drakloak. Drakloak is risky to use an attacker but since he Unfair Stamped me it was okay.
I put additional pressure on my opponent, taking knockouts and extending my lead.
The late game was where things fell apart. I lost the lead due to the opponent using a lot of Iono to disrupt my hand. Mew ex and Fezandipiti ex did not help me on my final turn even though I drew 5 cards. I think I got unlucky in the end. The opponent finished me off with Boss's Orders when my final turn did not have an attack.
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Looking back there was maybe a turn where I could used something else to attack with. I thought about it during that second last turn. The opponent got a good win. I gave the opponent anxiety in the early game. If I lose while giving the opponent anxiety as they work for the win, I'll take it as a good loss.
Post Tournament, Free Stuff From Other Card Stores + Cards Shopping
I go 2 wins and 1 loss. The round 3 opponent who beat me got first. I got fourth. It turned out that the 3rd round matchup was for 1st place. Fourth is still good.
It has been a while since I have been to in-person tournaments playing Standard. I mostly playtest stuff online and offline with my brother. Playing in public local events kind of test you with how you play with incomplete and limited information.
Prize Pack Series Pack Pulls
From my 2 wins I get two Prize Pack Series Seven. The big hit I got was Ceruledge ex stamped (not shown).
One of the other Asian guys wanted a Ceruledge ex stamped card. The market value of it was $20 CAD so I traded it away for playable cards like four Fighting Gong & 4 Lillie's Determination. One Lillie's Determination is 5 CAD. I have no real plans of playing Ceruledge ex even though I have the cards to craft the deck.
Free Stuff From Tournament & Other Stores
The tournament store also gave away some old Prize Pack Series 5 packs to everyone. It was for goodwill and to clear out inventory.
This tournament store also gave one old pack of the Trick or Trade booster pack. You get 3 cards in this mini pack.
From one store, there was a section of free cards. They wanted people to give cards away before you take one of their free cards. I saw some playable Japanese Pokemon cards that I could use for playtesting against my brother.
These cards are Fighting Gong, Premium Power Pro, Solrock and Risky Ruins.
With another store, I purchased some playable cards and got some cards from their free cards bin (picture below).
Closing Notes
It was worth the trip into downtown Toronto on the Thanksgiving weekend (in Canada). I got some nice free cards, made card some purchases and picked up Korean booster boxes (see other posts for opening).
Maybe I could have played better. It was still good to get 2 wins and 1 loss. I do plan to continue with Raging Bolt ex as a top deck choice for me. My second choice is N's Zoroark ex.
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