From: LuMaga1 - Raymond Rufa
Subject: My Milford QT report
Saturday- Most
of the day, I relaxed and prepared for Sunday's QT event at Milford. I
bought a 36 roll of film for my camera. Unfortunately, I discovered my
camera couldn't take the film. So, I went back to Rite Aid and got the last
25 roll for my camera. After that, around 8pm, my friends invited me to play
pool with them. That ended around 11:15pm and after my sister and I gave our
parents their 25th anniversary presents, I prepared the camera, set the
clock back, and went to bed.
Sunday- I got up at 5am and I had the "breakfast of champions."
That's right, I had the "ever-lasting," immortal Twinkie! And
ever-lasting it was! It was the only thing I had to eat until after the QT
was over. Anyway, I called Joe's house at 6:30am and found out he was still
sleeping. I picked him up at 7:15 and we were on our way to the Milford QT.
10am- We arrived at TJ Collectibles and met up with JohnnyBlaze (John
Chimento) and his son Nick, Ben Mancini and his son Devon. The place was
packed! Overall, I'd say there were about two hundred people at this event,
with about 100 or more being players in all three divisions. After we looked
around a bit, I ran into CharWolf and a person I have wanted to meet for a
while, Samantha from Team Rocket. Samantha is 12 years old and one of the
toughest players I ever battled with. I watched Samantha battle against
another player from her division. She won the match using her Dark deck,
which included Dark Golduck, Dark Muk, Murkrow and Skarmory.
JohnnyBlaze(John Chimento) with Devon Mancini on his left.
Samantha from Team Rocket
10:30- I got my chance to battle against Samantha twice. Before the games
started, she gave me a badge she made. It was a White badge with a big red R
in the center, which she was handing out to people she met and battled. It's
pretty cool and I put it on my hat. Also, I asked if she could autograph a
Holo Here Comes Team Rocket for me. She signed away and I have that in two
sleeves now. :D
Anyway, Samantha won our first battle. I used my Modified
"Fortification" against her, which includes Steelix, Skarmory,
Donphan, and Dark Dragonair. Unfortunately, it did not work this game and
Samantha wiped the floor with me. I used a different deck for game two. I
used my "Babysitting" deck, which includes Base Electabuzz,
Sneasel, Dark Raichu, Clefable and Flaffy. The opposite results happened
with Samantha not getting a good hand and the victory going to me.
11:15- After our battles, the judges called for everyone in the 10 and under
and the 11-14 divisions to assemble in the game room and I wished Samantha
luck. I did the same with Devon and Nick. At this time, sign-ups were going
around for the 15 and over Modified side event and all of us adults entered
the tournament. I finally got to meet Poke'Dad and later had the honor to
meet Alaka-Deka. I would tell you his name, but I promised to keep his
identity a secret. J Also, Poke'Dad's daughter, Alanya was competing in the
10 and under division. Before the pairings for the first round went up, the
judges told the 10 and under players that there would be five rounds of
Swiss to play and six rounds for the 11-14 division. Also, there would be
30-minute rounds with a five-minute grace period afterward so players can
finish their battles.
The middle individual is Poke'Pop.
All three age groups were involved in playing by the Swiss format first.
Playing in a Swiss format means there is no elimination until the end of the
last round. If you lost early, you can continue to play to help raise your
DCI rating. For the 11-14 and 10 and divisions, after the Swiss format, the
top eight ranked players move on to a single elimination format where if you
lose, you are out of the tournament. The first prize for these two divisions
is a booster box of Neo Revelation and a free trip to the WCSTS in San
Diego, California.
11:43- Round 1- Both divisions, and so… it begins!
This is the only round where both divisions began at the same time. The 10
and under division had 31 kids playing. Meanwhile, there were even more in
the 11-14 division and I guess there were 52 players. Nick and Devon were
both using Fire based decks. The difference between the two was Devon's was
a Typhlosion(Fire Recharge) deck and Nick's was a Blaine's deck with
Typhlosion.
Nick defeated an Electric/Dark deck including Rocket's Zapdos and
Holo-Umbreon.
Devon defeated a Feraligator Deck and Samantha defeated a similar Gator deck
with Parasect in it.
12:10pm- Round 2- 11-14 division
Devon defeated a Fighting/Grass deck including Pupitar, Scyther and Metapod.
Samantha also won against a Fire/Fighting deck including the Igglybuff
Promo, Rocket Hitmonchan and Blaine's Growlithe.
Devon during round 2(Third chair in, white shirt)
12:27pm- Round 2- 10 and under division
Nick described his opponent's deck as "Lugia… and stuff!"
Nick won this round very easily, according to him.
Nick is at the very end on the left.
Meanwhile, while I was keeping tabs on the rounds, people were assuming I
was a reporter. I kept getting asked if I was from a newspaper or from
Wizards of the Coast because I was taking pictures and carrying around a
clipboard. I explained I was taking notes for online reports and mentioned I
would post at WizPog, Pogo and Pokemon Zeo. Even though I'm not a reporter,
it felt good to be mistaken as one.
12:54pm- Round 3- 11-14 division
Devon and Samantha won their matches. Devon faced a deck with Rocket's
Zapdos, Noctowl, Cleffa and Pichu. Samantha faced a Fire/Water deck with
Dark Charizard and Misty's Tentacruel.
12:56pm- Round 1- 15 and over Modified tournament
This is the first of two side events they had at the QT. We had 19 players
in this tournament and they were all tough players! There would be 4 rounds
with a 30 minute time limit. I went in the tournament with my Fortification
deck(Fighting/Steel), Joe used his Sabrina deck with Movie Promo Mewtwo and
promo and non promo Misdreavus. JohnnyBlaze used a Feraligator deck and Ben
used a Grass deck including Erika's Victreebel. We all won our first round
matches:
I defeated my first round opponent David Geary, who played a Blaine's deck.
John defeated Derek Kaupp's Fortress deck.
Ben won his first round match against Paul Vieira, who played a Fire/Psychic
deck.
Joe pulled off a 1st turn victory over Gavin Butler. The match was Joe's
Sabrina's Abra(Lv. 11) vs. Gavin's Koga's Grimer and Joe went first.
John vs. Alaka-Deka
1:08pm- Round 3- 10 and under division
Nick also won his third round battle against a grass deck with Erika's
Victreebel.
1:37pm- Round 4- 11-14 division
Devon and Samantha both won their matches. Devon faced a deck containing
Rocket's Hitmonchan, Celebi and Smeargle. Samantha faced a Rocket's Zapdos
and Steelix deck. However, Samantha's match and victory was a little more
complicated. According to Samantha and a couple of other players, Samantha's
opponent was doing things that were not legal. At first, Samantha lost the
round, but after the match the judges decided to award the match to
Samantha. She was happy about that and I believe her opponent was
disqualified, but I'm not too sure.
1:39pm- Round 2- 15 and over Modified tournament
I won my match against Nick Estes. He played a Psychic/Dark deck.
Joe lost to a tough player named Barbara Geary. She had a Fire deck based
around Macargo, Holo- Revelation Entei and Houndoom. Personally, I'm glad I
didn't run into that deck. :D
John and Ben had to face each other this round. Ben defeated John and I
learned that this was the first time Ben had defeated John in tournament
play. Congratulations Ben!
John on the right and Ben on the left, furthermost table in.
1:55pm- Round 4- 10 and under division
Nick faced off against Poke'Dad's daughter Alayna and won the battle. Alayna
played a Typhlosion deck and this would not be the first time these two
would battle. I found out this information during my third round battle
against Poke'Dad.
Nick vs. Alayna, end of table.
2:21pm- Round 3- 15 and over Modified tournament
Finally, Sugar Ray has come face-to-face with the Poke'Dad! J Unfortunately,
our battle didn't last too long and he defeated me. Poke'Dad was playing a
Giovanni's Machamp deck with Revelation Aerodactyl. This would not be the
first time we'd battle this day.
Joe lost his match to Brett Schwarm. Brett was using a deck he named
"Anarchy." I had a opportunity to look at the deck after the
tournament and it looked tough! The deck is a Fire/Dark deck and has Dark
Charizard, Dark Dragonair, Murkrow and Houndoom in it. Nicely built and
another deck I didn't want to face.
This is the professor, Poke'Pop!
John won against Patrick Montinho who was playing a Piloswine deck.
Ben won his match against Scott Kukshtel. Scott's deck was another
Feraligator, but with Elekid and Magby.
2:37pm- Round 5- 11-14 division
Well, the match that I did and didn't want to see happened. Devon and
Samantha were paired up. After my third round battle, I got to watch the
battle between my two friends. The battle took a while, but Devon pulled
through. Samantha's deck eventually got worn down due to Devon's Typhlosions.
Devon vs. Samantha, A Saiyan Duel! :D
After the round was over, I had the good fortune and honor in meeting
Marill2k from Zeo. We talked for a bit, he got Joe and I in a picture with
his digital camera and I got a picture of him. He gave us promo Muk cards
and we asked him to autograph the cards.
Marill2k, and that's all I'm saying about his name. :P
3:02pm- Round 4- 15 and over Modified tournament
Well, final round of the first side event for the day. I won my match
against Brian Jessig (Hoped I spelled it right). He played a deck similar to
Joe's with Sabrina's pokemon and with Movie Mewtwos.
This is BJJ763... long SN.
Joe lost his match against Derek Kaupp.
John won against Nick Estes and his deck with Umbreon and Espeon.
Ben won his match against Barbara Geary, making him one of two undefeated
players in the tournament. Meanwhile, John and I both had 3-1 records and
Joe had a 1-3 record.
Joe vs. Alaka
3:15pm- Round 6- 11-14 division
This is the last round of Swiss for this division. Devon won against a Grass
deck with Erika's Victreebel and Samantha lost her match to a Slowking/Steelix
deck. Devon had an undefeated record while Samantha was 4-2.
3:20pm- Round 5- 10 and under division
Wondered what happened here? Well, according to the judges, the computer was
being a little difficult. So, the final round of Swiss for this division
could not begin until they corrected the problem. Well, Nick won his match
against a Psychic deck and also achieved an undefeated record.
The standings for the 15 and over Modified went up. First place was awarded
with 9 booster packs of Neo Revelation. Second place was awarded six, third
was awarded five packs and fourth was given three packs. Ben came in second,
I came in third, John came in fourth and Joe came in eighteenth place. Soon
after, the standings for the other two divisions were posted. Samantha came
in 11th place, earning her four packs of Neo Revelation. Devon and Nick were
both rated first place and moved on to the Top 8.
Before both divisions began the single elimination rounds, Samantha and I
opened our packs. I pulled a Holo-Psychic Celebi and a Holo-Porygon2 while
Samantha pulled a Shiny Gyarados. Most of us agreed the Shiny Gyarados was
worth going through the tournament for. After that, Samantha had to leave,
so I shook her hand and her mom's hand and took a picture of them together.
I was honored and glad to have finally met her in person and we agreed next
time, we will have to battle again.
Samantha and her mother, Kodak moment and I was using Kodak flim to!
While Charwolf and I was going around getting people involved in a booster
draft, Nick and Devon were advancing to the Final Four of their divisions.
By the time the draft began, Nick and Devon were in the finals and while we
were building our decks, Nick and Devon won their final matches. Nick's
final round opponent was Alayna Callanan. The battle was a long one, but
Alayna flipped tails against a baby power and Nick moved in with his
Blaine's Arcanine. Later, in the match, Nick "powered up"
Typhlosion and had the advantage from then on. It was a tough match and I
congratulate all that fought hard during the QT. After all the paperwork was
signed and the prizes collected, John and crew left for home. Overall, I'd
say these events went pretty well. To my knowledge, no one dropped from the
tournament and from what I noticed, everyone had a good time and they liked
the pizza. J
Meanwhile, signups went well for the booster draft side event. We got 12
people including Poke'Dad, Nick Estes, Brett Schwarm, Marill and a host of
newbies. Unfortunately, the booster draft could not be a DCI event because
of my inexperience with Pods in a draft. The pods are groups of people
sitting in the draft, separated from other groups, so that the pickings in
the draft can be more helpful. The maximum amount of people in a Pod is
eight people, but I had everyone draft in one large group, so the draft
became a normal draft. Sorry about that, I'll do better next time.
Most of the booster draft crew. Marill on the right and on the left,
Charwolf(Green shirt) and Joe.
A booster draft is simple, once you get experience from it. We drafted four
packs, one Neo Genesis, two Neo Discovery and One Revelation. At the
beginning of the draft, you open a selected pack, look through it, take any
one card (It doesn't have to be the rare), place it face down so no one else
sees it, and when everyone's ready, pass your pack to the person on your
left. You will receive another pack from the person to your right. You look
through that pack and do the same thing. When that is done, you take another
pack and pass it in the opposite direction, etc.
You draft what you need for making a deck to your liking and hope you get
what you're looking for. After all the packs are drafted, you go to a
secluded area and build your deck. The deck can be only 40 cards, no more
and no less. The game is played the same way, but with four prize cards
instead of six, making the game a lot faster.
Anyway, the drafting started at 5 and ended at 5:40. We were given twenty
minutes to make our decks, and then and 6, the pairings were up. We played
four rounds with 15-minute time limits because the store wanted to close by
7. After the first round, one of the players dropped, bringing the number of
players down to 11, which meant someone was getting a bye the next round. It
turned out to be Joe getting the bye for Round 2 and I got paired up with
Poke'Dad again.
Before the match started, Alayna gave me a Misdreavus Promo and Poke'Dad
made a joke. During the match, he confused my Ursaring and surprising
enough, my Ursaring starting killed Poke'butt! However, when it got down to
one prize each, he brought out a Flaffy and used Discharge with one Electric
NRG. Now, here's the funny part, he shook the large twenty sided dice in his
and said it would come up 4. He rolled it and what do you know … it
came up four! The three of us had a good laugh over it and I was defeated
again by Poke'Dad, but I think we'll remember that battle for a long time. J
I got the bye in the third round and I was paired up with Joe in the fourth.
He had me on the ropes at the start, but only I got Quagsire and Ursaring
going, he was done. My record in it was 2-2 and I came in 8th while Joe's
was 1-3 and he came in 10th . This was Charwolf's first booster draft and he
did quite well for his first time. Charwolf came in first with a 4-0 record,
Evan Macisaac came in second and Brett came in third, both with 3-1 records.
Somehow, Brett managed to build a "Mini Anarchy" deck with what he
drafted. Marill also did well, coming in 5th and Poke'Dad came in 11th. The
first place prize were six packs of Discovery, second place was four packs,
and third place was two packs.
Overall, I believe the draft went well and we said goodbye to Marill,
Charwolf and the rest of the group. We were given "clues" as to
where to find a nice restaruant by the judges. We started to travel but, we
ended up going in a huge circle three times! Giving up, we decided to stop
at an Applebee's for dinner. The place was nice, except for one small detail…
the heater was broken. The food more than made up for it, especially the
fries.
Applebee's!!!
The judges, who were also the organizers of the QT are Tom and Judy. They
wanted to know if we thought they did a good job because this is the first
major pokemon event they were ever involved in. We told them we liked it and
we said we would say nice things about the store. So everyone, the place is
a nice store. There, I said it! :D In all seriousness, the place is pretty
cool and I highly recommend checking it out. Also, they will be starting
tournaments in the second week of December, so we hope to see you there! I
hope you enjoyed reading this report and I'm sure I covered everything this
time.
