4 scyther
4 magmar
4 electabuzz (new - against rain dance)

9 fire energy
8 electric energy
4 DCE

4 bill
3 oak
3 cpu search
4 pluspower
2 scoop up
3 gust of wind
3 energy removal
3 SER
1 item finder
1 energy retrieval

From last week's deck, I took out 1 oak, 1 scoop up, 1 energy removal, and 1 item finder (ouch, that hurt the deck having to take out 4 more trainers) to add 4 electabuzz, and I changed the energy from 17 fire to 9 fire (smog takes 2 fire) and 8 electric (thundershock takes 1 electric and one colorless).  That's why there is more fire.  I figured now I was back to a somewhat normal haymaker.  I kept the same name for the deck, but I played with a japanese holo scyther, so I guess the deck did have a holo, but it didn't have to.  Next week, if I play a similar deck, I will take that out so the deck can keep it's name accurate.  By the way, Arizona Gamer is located on Baseline and Mill in Tempe (i think), AZ, a suburb of phoenix.  There was under 32 participants I think cause of the number of bye's in the 1st round of single elim.  This'll probably be my shortest report yet, cause it's sunday evening, and I have a little homework still (i've been busy ALL weekend).

Round 1: BYE

Wow, my 1st ever bye at Arizona Gamer.  I guess with the single elim there wasn't exactly 32 people, so there were quite a few of us that had bye's...from then on out nobody would have one.  That was the easiest win I've ever gotten in a pokemon tourney :) - my first bye ever

Round 2 vs. kid with grass deck

He had also gotten a bye the first round, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been in the tourney.  The old grass status change kid deck, with lots of coin flips.  I beat him easily in both games, with him having no energy for his pokemon half the time, and my electabuzz and especially magmar tore through his grass pokemon.

Round 3 vs. brat

Well, this kid was really annoying.  I wish I remembered his name...  He had his mom sitting next to the game, and wouldn't even call the coin toss till he was ready to.  We were sitting there for like 2 minutes before he'd call the flip...then he finally lost.  He was so annoying, he was like reciting short passages out of the rulebook to explain what paralysis was before he flipped the coin with buzz' to see if it even worked.  He also had a really bad attitude and said he was gonna win like always.  I told him i'd kick his butt cause of the way he was acting.  I opened with a lonely magmar against his hitmo/full bench of buzz, scyther, and another hitmo.  Hah, after bragging so much he filled his bench with 3 of the pokemon being 2 retreat...I just don't get why some people do that.  So, he started with a hitmonchan out front, and didn't have a single fighting energy!  hah!  that was funny.  So, he told me he relied on his deck to get him energy.  On his first turn (i smokescreened, cause I went first), he topdecked a fighting energy.  He told me he was good at getting the cards he wanted out of his deck, and told me next turn he'd take off my energies off magmar.  So, I kinda smiled, and smogged this time, not poisoning him (his attack didn't work after smokescreen last time).  He topdecked a SER, and I kinda got suspicious.  I drew an oak, and got 2 scythers and an electabuzz.  I played a scyther, and an energy on magmar, then retreated.  I built up scyther and had an electabuzz ready by the time I took out his hitmo.  He brought up an electabuzz.  Now came the highlight of the day :).  I played a pluspower, oaked, bill, bill, pluspower, oak, comp search.  Layed down 2 more pluspowers, and KO'd buzz in one hit with scyther.  wow!  That's something that rarely happens.  Shoulda seen the look on the kids face.  From that point on, he kinda shut up (not entirely...but somewhat), and that was definately the turning point.  When he'd bring up a scyther I'd bring up a magmar.  When he brought up a hitmo I had a scyther out front.  The energy removals and SER's, along with item finder kept him at bay while I KO'd pokemon to take the rest of my prizes, without him takin a single prize.

Game 2.  A friend or 2 was watching the game now, cause finally they found someone that could beat their friend...  I don't recognize him from prior tourneys, but game 1 took care of his mouth.  I started with scyther and magmar, and he started with scyther.  He went first, played an energy.  I went second, retreated, smokescreen, energy removal.  He played an energy.  Smog + pluspower = game. 

Round 3 (semifinals) vs. Joe Lidner

I think that's his name, I might be confusing him with someone else.  Anyway, he seemed to be playing an identical deck to mine, except for some trainers.  Pretty much our match was a haymaker duel.  Retreating, scoop up, energy removal, pluspower, etc. throughout the game.  I won game 1 without a ton of trouble.  Game 2 went right down to the wire.  I had about 10 cards in my deck, and 4 prizes, and he had a full bench and an active scyther (3 of those total were scythers) without damage.  I got down to 1 prize and 2 cards left.  He had 2 scythers without damage, and that was it.  I did 40 with magmar, he gusted out electabuzz and retreated.  1 cards left, and I played a DCE to retreat buzz for magmar.  40 more to scyther.  He scooped up magmar or buzz or somethin on his bench, and retreated for that...and that was game.  he ran me outta cards.  1 more turn (bill isn't ALWAYS good :)), and I probably woulda had him. 

Game 3

This was another typical haymaker battles.  I had the upper hand, however, because I had a buzz out with energy, and was powering up my bench, and also had energy removals.  Toward the middle of the game I had 3 or 4 prizes left, and he had 5 or 6.  He double super energy removaled me, taking out my 2 powered up pokemon's energy - scyther (w/DCE), and magmar.  Ouch, that hurt.  However, those 2 energy were all that he could draw, and once I powered up my buzz, he didn't play more than 2 or 3 energy all game.  So, I was off to the finals.

Finals vs. person

It wasn't a kid.  I should know his name, but I really suck at remembering names.  He's not really a kid, but he's not a parent either...somewhere in the middle, I'd have to guess college age or so.  He was packing a rain dance deck, and finally my deck would go up against the deck that slaughtered my previous deck last week - and the reason I added buzzes.

Game 1

Man, he had me here.  Magmar vs. squirtle and articuno.  Articuno up front.  He oaked, and didn't get a blastoise.  I got a buzz out, and he played a 2nd energy on arti.  I thundershoked away, and did 40 damage.  He 30 and paralyzed twice, then gusted for magmar and KO'd it???  Wow, that saved me.  I then drew an oak, KO'd articuno and had a scyther on my bench along with another buzz with an electric energy.  He breedered to blastoise.  From then on he was kept on his heels, and I took the game over.  Had he destroyed electabuzz he woulda won.

Game 2

This time I didn't let him get the blastoise out.  He tried to prevent it, but I opened with a buzz, and he with a lapras.  10 to me, 20 + paralyze to him.  Energy on squirtle (benched), I KO lapras and do 10 to myself.  He brings up an articuno.  I gust for squirtle and take it out.  He keeps the squirtles comin, and I keep drawin GOW.  He can't win without the blastoise, and I take the game, and the tourney.

I won a charizard (no shadow, oh boy).  They had the price of the one without the "shadow" on the right of the pic for $40, and that's what I got.  They had a regular one for $28.99 i think.  I traded a reg. zard and 3 bucks and got 2 gym 2 packs, and got a white diamond chansey, kazam, and mewtwo.  I traded in the no-shadow zard for 2 packs, and got blaine's charizard!  That's the reason I was gettin the packs.  I had every zard (except blaine's and promo - that includes - 1st edition, normal base set with "no shadow", normal base set, evil charizard, and now blaine's charizard.  Now, to get my hands on the promo :)...also, the promo jiggly and clefable will complete my american collection for now, giving me every american card (1st ed, except for base set, which is unlimited - only got 10 base set 1st ed. holos).

Anyway, I got my blaines zard, and 2 more white diamond chansey's, so I was happy.