SizzleFest '01
by Tom Z
East Coast Super Trainer Showdown 2001
June 23rd & 24th
Meadowlands Convention Center
Secaucus, NJ
15+ division
Approx. 250 participants
16th overall
Hi there people. Here is my deck report from the
ECSTS, I drove there from
Chicago with my son and we both participated in the tournament, a first for
both of us. We have played in local tourneys, but this was the biggest and
the best. We played both days. Saturday, well Saturday we don't wanna talk
about too much. We both got squashed like the bugs on the windshield after
the days driving. My son was playing a Giovanni's Machamp deck with Erika's
Weepinbell and I had the Sizzlefest deck, which on Sunday did me well, here
it is:
Pokemon (27)
4 Cyndaquil (fireworks)
4 Quilava (char)
3 Typhlosion (Lv. 55 Fire Recharge)
4 Blaine's Charmander (kindle)
3 Blaine's Charmeleon
2 Blaine's Charizard
2 Magby
1 Magmar (neo)
2 Elekid
1 Electabuzz (neo)
1 Cleffa
Trainers: (14)
4 Professor Elm
3 Master Ball
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Gold Berry
2 Cinnabar City Gym
Energy: (19)
17 Fire
2 Full Heal Energy
I know it seems a bit unbalanced with so many Pokemon, but I didn't want to
get stuck with a lot of trainers and get zapped with a slowking, nor did I
want to get stuck with a Cleffa and mean looked. Two stage 2's you say? Well,
evolve means instant undoing of status effects. Most of the babies had some
way of damaging the defending pokmeon (for mean lookers). The best object was
to get out two typhlosion on the bench, and Blaine's Charizard active, Fire
Recharge and attaching energy (17 energy works well) to do a continual 60
damage (rolling 2 tails was a sparsity). All in all it worked out quite well,
here is how Sunday went for me. I don't recall the "play by play"
action of
each round, so I did the best I could.
Round 1 vs. Electric deck
This guy had started out with Lt. Surges Electabuzz and discarding energy for
Charge. I had an Elekid out and the odds were against him. He had to do a lot
of dice rolling to attack, which gave me time to get a Typhlosion fired up
and a Quilava Charring away. He got a couple of my Pokemon before I started
cleaning house . . . .Sizzled.
1-0
Round 2 vs. Psychic Deck
I felt kind of bad for this guy, his deck didn't seem to want to get going.
He started out with a 40hp Abra, I had a Cyndaquil and won the flip. I
attached and fireworks with heads, kept my energy. He benched another abra,
gastly and Elmed, which he later told me he had evolutions in that hand, but
needed energy. I pulled out Blaine's Charizard, but struggled with energy. I
finally got Typhlosion benched while he was whittling away at Blaine's
Charizard, then he De-evolution beamed him with 80hp, KOing the lessor
Charmeleon. I whipped out Typhlosion and Sizzled out the rest of his pokes. .
. .
2-0
Round 3 vs. Grass Deck
This guy felt the squeeze as soon as we flipped our cards over. He started
with Rocket's Scyther, and I had Blaine's Charmander. He shadow imaged me,
and I quickly kindled his energy away, but I couldn't get a good flip to do
much more damage until I found Charmeleon, all the while he was powering up
an Erika's Victreebel on his bench while I was Elming and using Master Ball
to seek out the big guy. I had another Charmeleon on the bench with a fully
powered Quilava just waiting for him to pull his big gun out. Once he did and
took out my Charmeleon, I pulled the other one and popped down Blaine's
Charizard, and crisped the rest of his Pokemon. Sizzled. . . .
3-0
Round 4 vs. Dark Electric Steel Deck
I think this was my most challenging game all day. This man had a well
constructed deck, started with a Murkrow against my Blaine's Charmander mean
looked him while he started to construct his bench with Rocket's Zapdos and
loading up his Steelix. I quickly kindled his dark energy away saving my
bench for the time being. He retreats and brings out the electric bird while
I am trying to Elm or Masterball, to no avail with that darned Chaos Gym he
so kindly put out. He wipes out 3 of my Pokemon and I begin to break a sweat
across my brow, until I pulled a Cinnabar City Gym, killed that Chaos Gym and
the ball started rolling for me. I managed to get out 2 Typhlosion benched,
Blaine's Charizard at the helm, plenty of energy in my hand as well as my
discard pile, and fire recharging away. He opted NOT to pull out his steelix,
which had 3 steel energy on at the time. I pretty much Roasted the rest of
his pokemon. Sizzled.
4-0
Round 5 vs. the dreaded Feraligatr Deck
This round, I was the one feeling pretty low. He flips a Totadile, and I flip
a Firework shooting Cyndaquil. He attached energy and tried to fury swipe me,
no heads! Wiping MORE sweat off the brow of my eye, I attached and Fireworked
him, flipping heads and saving my energy, He draws, swipes, 2 heads, 40
damage, I evolve to Quilly, attached and smoked him for 20, he draws again,
with nothing to do, he tries to fury swipe me one final time, tails, HEADS,
aaaaaaaaaannnd, tails, I took my 60 damage, and smoked for the win. Again I
felt kinda bad, the match was over in 5 minutes, and he and I both knew his
deck had the ability to quench any sizzling I had planned. I may also add
that the judge wrote up our slip wrong, and we both signed it as HIM being
the winner. This gentleman came up to me and said they botched it up and went
with me to the Judges corner to clear it up. VERY sportsmanlike. . . . . . .
5-0
Round 6 vs. Blaine's RK9
I hexed myself this round and forgot to draw prizes. The Judge came over and
ruled for us, and we continued. This was another long drawn out match with
this guy annihilating me with Firestorm for 120, me Flame Bursting his
non-energized RK9 for 60-80. The match went down to the last minute, and he
blew up my last poke. I got sizzled at my own game!
5-1
Round 7 vs. another Feraligatr deck
This time, I wasn't so lucky, I could never get the ball rolling with my
cards, no drawing power. He gets Croconaw out and puts my flame out. (the
steam cloud plumes from my side of the table . . . SSSSSSSSSSS) = (
5-2 and I was about ready to call it a day
Round 8 vs. Electric Deck
This was a strange match. This lady had a Mareep/Flaffy/Ampharos deck, but I
never saw an Ampharos, she kept loading Mareep on her bench, I got Quilly out
fast, charred one and got heads, she flipped heads, evolved into Flaffy, kept
telling me to go without even trying to attack, I hit flaffy again for the
KO, she pulls out the other Mareep, I synged the hair off that one for 30,
she tells me to go with energy on that mareep, never attacked, so I said
fine, charred again for the end.
6-2
Round 9 vs. Dark Fire Deck
While my son was done, sitting on a seat shredding away at his 8 packs of
pokemon cards, I sat for the final round. I went from 34th to 24th after the
last win, people were dropping out of the tournament like flies, and that was
assisting my standing quite well. I thought if I won this round I'd be in
good shape. This guy started out with a Murkrow, me, a Blaine's Charmander
with a Cyndaquil on the bench. He mean looks me and I kindle away his
darkness. I was having a problem getting my hand going, but so was he. He
whips out Blaine's Ponyta, and hind kicks me for 20, I attach energy to
Cyndaquil, masterball and found Quilly, evolved, and told him to go. He hind
kicked Charmander out of the picture, and I hurled Quilly out and charred his
Ponyta with heads, he thought by benching he would rid himself of the char
parasite, not today. He brings out Cleffa, I flip heads and scorch the pink
ball, he flips on his Ponyta, heads, Sends out another Ponyta and hind kicks
me no paralyze. I char this Ponyta with heads, and now he has two with a char
counter. He pulls out his Murkrow, Flips tails BOTH times, barbecuing both of
his Ponyta's at once, I attach, evolve to Typhlosion, and flambe' Murkrow, we
put Murkrow under glass, Sizzled, game over.
I ended up 16th, just squeaking in and good enough to get an extra 12 packs
on top of the 8 for the day. Feeling pretty darned good about my first
tournament, my son and I packed up and went home.
Props:
First and formost, PROPS to ALL of you
poke'-people out there for keeping
this game alive and well.
Props to my son Tony, who got me involved by making me learn the game because
he was getting all his holos swindled away by the bigger kids at his school.
Props to all my competitors who were great players, especially the one who
knew the standings were wrong, and sought me out to correct the matter, not
too many like that in the world. = )
Props to Wizards for having this event.
Props to Pojo, for a great and informative site, you guys ROCK.
PROPS to the Rocket on format, which enabled EVERYONE a chance at winning
this time.
Slops:
Slops to New Jersey for not having LEFT TURN LANES! I drove an extra 50
miles
on account of missing the U-turn roads.
Slops to the $2.50 hot dogs that we're squashed and pathetic looking and the
overall price at the concession stands.
Slops to anyone who sneers and gets disgusted by hearing about pokemon. They
don't know what they are missing now, do they? I have shown 3 adults how to
play, and now they're poke'-freaks like the rest of us.
Tom Z.
FloorHocky@aol.com