This tournament is at the Hastings in Kennewick, WA, and I'm Matthew, AKA matthewssandslash. I'm sending this on the 10th of July, though the tournament was on the 5th. OOH ya. Sick. Seriously. I'm playing with RK9 0wnz U for the last time... ::cries::... you'll see why below.

Here's the report!

Woo-hoo! Season 5 tourney, and boy am I up to it! But this Arcanine deck probably won't ever play again... you'll see why.

I won my first three tournaments (and nobody had ever won 3 consecutive tourneys before at this Hastings), which were the Rainbow, Fighting, and !YES! Fire, before some problems led to my being absent from the fourth. Fransisco won, rumored to have been using a Slowking deck. I considered using Muk, but realized that not only do I need the deck space, I don't want to look like I'm a coward, metagaming him. Just as I was about to depart, I did a last-second check, and found out that I had a 54-card deck! I didn't have 6 empty slots, I had 6 missing cards! I had 2 RK9 and 1 Growlithe, for example. No! Fortunately, I was able to replace those cards well enough.

Pokémon: 15, 12 basic

3 ND Growlithe

3 Base RK9

17.4 Base Set Gastly

2 Fossil Magmar

3 Neo Cleffa

1 Neo Elekid

1 Neo Pichu

1 Jungle Scyther

1 Neo Gligar

Quite good support. It's won for me quite a few matches... heeheehee. 3 Cleffas' a gimme, and leads to my "unbelievable" setup speeds (in the eyes of the kids there). <(-_-<) |(-_-)| (>-_-)> (Kirby dance, don't ask why) Hmm... which of my Pokémon just "doesn't belong"?

Energy: 19

11 Promo Reverse Foil Fire Energy

2 Genesis Recycle Energy

3 Genesis Metal Energy

3 Base Double Colorless Energy

Hey, it's good enough.

Trainers: 26

3 Base Computer Search

3 Base Oak

1 Genesis Elm

3 Genesis Gold Berry

2 Base Item Finder

2 Base Gust of Wind

1 Base Switch

3 Base Lass

0 Heroes Minion of Team Rocket

1 Genesis Sprout Tower

1 Genesis Ecogym

3 Base Super Energy Removal

1 Team Rocket Nightly Garbage Run

2 Pluspower

Sprout is my default, Eco my lifeline versus HEAVY removals. SER is great most of the time, Lass is the epitome of power, GOW helps me dominate the match, Switch gets me out of tight spots: it's saved my butt multiple times. Oak, Search, and IF all get me what I need. Nightly is the rarely needed anti-decking, mostly it just gets what I need back. Gold Berry heals, Pluspower doesn't, and Elm is for those lovely hands of 3 Metal, 3 DCE and a Pichu.

Round one: RK9 0wnz U versus Little One with No Brain

Bye! Yes! A quick glance at the chart says that I'm the No. 1 seed! BOO-yah!

Round two: RK9 0wnz U versus Chris with Dark Water deck

As you can tell, this is a bad matchup. He also got the first 5 coinflips for him heads, while I got 3 tails... I then say "Let's do rock, Paper, Scissors" and he agrees (he sucks at it, and I don't lose another flip). He gets out Dark Gatr shamefully easily, with a Dark Wartortle to match! I am stalling with GOW while I build up Arcy. He played Rocket's Hideout, but I defaulted it with Eco. If he would've had a Gust, boom, 100 damage to Arcy, KO, and I'd lose. He passes, I attach to Arcy. DCE threatens Take Down for the KO. He draws, and lays down his draw... a Surfing Pikachu! I'm like "YES!" and he's like "huh?" and I say "If you'd've had a Gust, I would've practically lost!" and he's like "I don't play Gust" and I'm like "YAHOO!!!!! RESIGN!!!!!!" (not spoken, implied). He attempts to attack the baby, fails. I attach DCE and *Take* him *Down*. He Mirror Shells, I SER him and pass. He says "Oh shoot!" and passes. I attach Pluspower and *Flame* him down, *Throw* his Dark Wartortle into the discard, all with the help of the *ER*... that was Super. I'm like "Woo-hoo!" I destroy all he comes up with from then on, but when he gets a N4 Mantine, and laments that he doesn't have the energy he needs, I tell him offhand that that card has "become a bigger part of my life then you would know (EZboard MMF discussion reference =/)." I win. Yay!

Round three versus Mr. Loser with Really Bad Deck

GOSH, this kid was annoying! Honestly! First, we spent like a minute wherupon he INSISTED that I call it BEFORE he flipped, instead of in the air. Then he questioned the Metal ruling, got the Gym Leader, and he said Arcy does 70/20 with a Metal! EGAD! OMG, I was PO'd. Oh well... this deck is now USELESS, I'll make a  Dark Muk or something, I dunno. But I played on, and when the GL called time, I led 3-1 on prizes taken, and went on (especially since I had a rampaging Arcy out).

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ruin my deck, why don't ya, Mike (the GL)!

BTW, the kid then said that my card sleeves were marked, I was like "Whatever". I was SO PO'd. Still am.

Round 4: RK9 0wnz U versus Someone with a big Fire Evolution deck.

Growlithe vs. Houndour. I got two hits on it, I had 10 damage... he topdecked a Vulpix, and evolved to N3 Houndoom almost simultaneously, ouch, almost. He Dark Flames, I don't care, I evolve and Take Down. He gets a N4 Cyndaquil, I KO Vulpix, he Smokescreens, I Item Finder for Switch (discarded for Comp. Search) and free myself of the screen, and Take him Down for the KO... or not. He says "You still have to flip!" After arguing with Mike for 10 minutes about Metal, I didn't want to involve him again, so I flipped, and got heads. Phew. The kid wasn't nasty at all. I sorta think he's sorta cool.

FINALS: RK9 0wnz U versus Fransisco and his SSM deck (A real deck? OMG!)

WOW! A REAL DECK! WHOA! Fortunately for me, the kid was playing 4 useless Rainbow energy (thanks to ANOTHER brilliant decision by Mike). I pointed out that the two crappy rulings (I said "detriminal", not "crappy", of course) sorta canceled each other out, though I think we both knew that he was hurt far worse then I. I go first, YES! I Comp. Search, Lass, Eeeeeeek! YES! He's only stalled for a couple of turns, as he soon draws Comp. Search and then Oaks, of course. I was somewhat relieved that he couldn't get Slowkings out that turn. I build up Arcanine later, but past one Take Down, I can't do anything, he ERs me too much. Elekid was very useful. :) Once Elekid was finally taken out, I laid my trump card: Pichu! I first Smogged away the last Sneasel I ever saw, then SERed when he Feint Attacked. I Gusted up a Slowpoke, and Zzzapped for 20 to his sole Slowking and 20 to a Ditto. He couldn't touch Pichu. I finally was 40 away from KOing Slowking, and his Ditto had 20. He then brought up Ditto and successfully Zzzapped, and then I told him that not only did Pichu not have a power, but Ditto did, and so did his Slowking, and his Ditto was KO'd. Mike, unbelievably, verified all this! YES! I draw my third prize, he has 4 drawn. I Zzzap, and away goes a King. 4 prizes drawn. He KOs Pichu. I'm in trouble, but his deck is low. I bring up Magmar, double Pluspower, Oak, Gust, and Smokescreen his OTHER Ditto for 30 and the KO! He Lasses multiple times, replenishing his deck only slightly. My Magmar, at 30, takes 30 from a Scyther, I retreat it for a Growlithe, and put a Fire on it. He has 2 cards left. He draws, and Slashes. I draw... SER! Yes (had I not got this, I would've needed an unsuccessful Baby check to win)... now, listen to this. His bench consisted of a Slowpoke, a Cleffa, and a Murkrow, all unenergized. his Scyther had a DCE and a Recycle. Knowing his deck was one trainer, almost certainly, I SERed the Scyther... but ONLY DISCARDED THE DCE! He was a little surprised, and then realized. I explained for the benefit of the others. "See, if I would've removed the Recycle, he could've retreated and Eeeeeeeked to stay alive. This way, he can't." People start realizing what I did. Mike comments "He's right, he's right." I feel really happy. For the first time all game he and I both realize that not only do I have a chance to win, he doesn't. Not since my early Lass/Eeeeeeek did I feel so confident. He drew his last card and resigned. OMG. That was the toughest battle I've ever had. Yessiree. Life rocks now, I'm the champ. Again. Yahoo!

Props/Slops

Props to Mom and Dad for bringing me here

Props to Estabon (4th) for having a brilliant first round

Props to my 2nd, 4th and 5th round opponents

Props to Mike for being nice

Xtra props to my finals opponent for -gasp- having a good deck, and giving me the best battle I've ever had in months, if not years. No hyperbole, whatsoever.

MAJOR slops to incorrect rulings

MAJOR, MAJOR slops to my third round opponent

This is another fine report by matthewssandslash, now undisputed KING of Hastings. E-mail me at yeagers@urx.com please, but no bashes or viruses whatsoever.

Cya,

Matthew.