Jordan VH’s 2010 US Professor Cup Report

Hey all! I know some people have been waiting for this report, but I have been busy the past few days and have not had time to do it until now. So, here you go!

The Professor Cup took place on the Sunday of Nats when Top 16 cuts in the main event were going on. This year the format was Platinum-on and your deck could only contain 30 cards, with no more than 2 of any card in it. For game setup, there were 25 minute rounds and each player set out 3 Prize cards instead of the usual 6.

I am going to be honest, I did not really prepare for this tournament since I spent the majority of time testing for the main event. I had decided the night before that I would just play Donphan since it is fast and has high HP. I included 2 Crobat G’s for extra damage placement, as well as a few secret techs. After playing a few games, I decided on running the following list:

Pokémon (10)

2× Phanpy (HGSS)
Donphan Prime (HGSS)
Crobat G (PL)
1× Ponyta (AR-Ascension)
1× Rapidash (AR)
1× Snorunt (AR)
1× Glalie (AR)

Trainers/Supporters (13)
Poké Turn
Pokédex
Professor Oak’s Visit
Professor Oak’s New Theory
Expert Belt
Broken Time Space
Pokémon Communication
Energy (7)

F
Rainbow
Double Colorless

pokemon-paradijs.comObviously everyone knows what Donphan Prime is all about, but for those who don’t, I will explain briefly why I chose to play it. First, for only 1 fighting energy, you do a whopping 60 damage with “Earthquake.” Not bad for 1 energy, eh? The drawback is that you do 10 damage to each of your benched Pokémon. Also, Donphan Prime has a body, “Exoskeleton,” which reduces damage done to Donphan Prime by attacks by 20…that’s pretty solid!

Next, since I was expecting a lot of SP to be played, I teched in a 1-1 Rapidash from Arceus. Its attacks are mediocre, but its Poké-Body is where this card really shines. This body is called “Wild Guard,” and it prevents all effects of attacks, including damage, done to Rapidash by Pokémon SP. So, by just getting this card into play and not setting any bench, you lock your SP opponent completely!

Finally, I added a 1-1 Glalie from Arceus into my deck. Glalie is a water-type Pokémon with an attack called “Wreck,” that does 20 base damage. BUT, if there is a Stadium card in play, the attack will do 70 damage and you have to discard that Stadium. Ok, big deal…so what’s the point?

Wait a sec…isn’t Donphan Prime double weak to water? Also, don’t Donphan Prime players also have Broken Time-Space in their decks? Do the math: 70 x 2 = 140. You 1HKO Donphan Prime…nice!

Since I was also expecting tons of Donphan, I thought Glalie would be gold! I arrive for the tournament and sit down with my fellow Professors until the pairings go up. Here we go! Unfortunately, I forgot most of my opponent’s names, so I will explain their demographics to the best of my ability.

Round 1 vs. ????? with SP

This guy was from Missouri and was a good sport. First off, my Rapidash was prized the entire game, so I could not get it out. In all honesty, I actually don’t remember much detail about the match until the end. We are down to 1-1 in prizes and he has an active Palkia G with damage on it. I have my Glalie active with 2 energy on it. I need to rip my Expert Belt for the win. I double Pokédex, and I manage to get it…GG!

1/0

Round 2 vs. ????? with SP

I believe this guy was from Texas. Unfortunately, this match was very short. I manage to get out Rapidash turn 2 and he scoops since he told me that he had no counter for it. Sorry.

2/0

Round 3 vs. ????? with Rotom

I believe this lady was from Pennsylvania. I start off by getting out a T1 Donphan and taking my 1st prize, but she responds by promoting up Frost Rotom and attaching Double Colorless to it. She then 1HKOs my Donphan with “Crushing Ice”…sick.

I promote Glalie, attach the Double Colorless to it, lay down Crobat, Poké Turn it back, and use it again to KO the Frost Rotom. She promotes Mow Rotom and attempts “Mow Down” to discard my energy. She gets tails…phew. Next turn, I double Pokédex, lay down the 2nd Broken Time-Space, and play Expert Belt on my Glalie for game.

3/0

Round 4 vs. ????? with SP

I actually don’t remember where he was from. Anyway, this was also a short game. Once again, I get my Rapidash in play by turn 2. After having a little fun, he finally scoops. Time for lunch!

4/0

Round 5 vs. Travis Claypoole with Arceus

Finally, an opponent that I remember! Travis is from Tennessee and was a very nice guy. He was playing Arceus, a deck which I really wanted to play because it takes advantage of opponents’ weaknesses. Anyway, I get a T1 Donphan out and get my 1st prize. But he promotes his water Arceus, levels it up, and 1HKOs me using his benched fire Arceus’ attack, “Bright Flame.” On the plus side, he flips tails, and has to discard his attached Double Colorless Energy.

I am forced to promote my Glalie and hit him for 20 damage with “Wreck.” To my dismay, he rips the Double Colorless and confuses me with “Mind Bend” on his benched psychic Arceus. Here, since my hand is so bad, I am forced to attach my Expert Belt to the Glalie, and flip for the KO on the Arceus. If I get heads and KO him, I am in a great position, since he has no more energy in play. But of course, I flip tails, and he KOs me for his last 2 Prizes. GG.

4/1

Round 6 vs. Dennis Gill with Arceus

By this time between rounds, my good buddy Kyle Sucevich (Pooka!!!) is in the Top 4 of the main event, so I went to watch his T4 match with other fellow Midwesterners. But by accident, I lost track of time, and I showed up late to the round! I arrived before the 5 minute limit, so I thought it would not be a problem. However, when I get to my table, one of the Judges was picking up the slip early.

At this point I am upset, so I kind of go into a minor tirade…oops. I felt really bad because Dennis did nothing wrong, and I basically was directing my tirade toward him. Also, my action violated the Spirit of the Game. Finally, we get the matter straightened out and we get to play! I forgot to ask where he was from, but he was a super nice individual. This one was not much of a game. He pulls off a T1 “Ripple Swell” to get energy on all his Arceus’, then he gets 2 quick prizes on me. I just scoop…didn’t matter anyway! Once again, sorry Dennis! GG

4/2

Round 7 vs. ????? with Donphan

This guy was awesome! He was from Louisiana and a huge Saints fan! This game was also very short. He gets a T1 Donphan and plays an Expert Belt on it to KO my active Phanpy. I promote my Glalie, attach an energy plus an Expert Belt to it, and play a Broken Time Space to do 180 damage and 1HKO the Donphan for 2 Prizes. He gets out his other Donphan, but I just 1HKO it with my Glalie for game.

Final Record: 5/2

At this point, I was fairly certain that I would make T16. Sure enough, I am the 9th seed. Top cut started immediately, so I had no time to take a break…here we go!

T16 vs. Dana Lynch with Dialga G/Garchomp C/Dewgong

Game 1 – He gets his Dewgong out fast and I can’t respond, so I scoop……

Game 2 – We both get a prize early and he keeps moving energy with his Bronzong G to Poké Turn damage off of his Dialgas. Finally, it’s 2-1 in his favor, but he has 30 HP remaining on his Bronzong G and 50 left on his Dialga G. I triple Crobat his Bronzong and KO his active with my Donphan for my final 2 Prizes.

Game 3 – Once again, it comes down to 2-1 in his favor, and his Dewgong is active and damaged. I have my Glalie in play and I have to rip my Double Colorless in order to KO him, or he will just KO my Glalie next turn to win. So, I use a Professor Oak’s Visit and 2 Pokédexes. I am down to few cards in my deck when I realize that my Double Colorless was prized, so I scoop. GG.

5/3

After the match, I received my backpack for making T16. It had the Professor logo on the front of it, and was quite roomy. I needed a new pack anyway, so I was excited to get it! After T8, me and my crew packed our stuff and left Indy to head back home to Rockford. :( But I can’t wait till next year! :)

Props:
Making T16 with no playtesting
Putting Glalie in my deck (was money all day!!!!!)
Troy Lesky and Bullados for making T8!

Slops:
Putting on that minor tirade Round 6
Not testing out Arceus like I wanted to (I believe all of T4 was Arceus)

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed my report. I hope you guys see how awesome the Cup is, and maybe this would entice you to become Professors and play in it next year! :D Later!

Jordog18

Reader Interactions

23 replies

  1. Chris Barrieau

    Actually, that sounds like a lot of fun!! :O And it also sounds pretty challenging… I should do one of those with my friends! =] Btw I love the way you used Glalie, and taking advantage of the only 3 prize cards to grab as compared to how easily you can set up stadiums to discard. That's intense. o3o Sucks that Arceus beat you so badly though… :S Sounds like it was a bunch of pretty tough fights! Congrats on how well you did though!! And I'm totally jealous of your backpack! I want one!! :O

    Also, I've been kind of thinking of becoming a professor for a while now, but I never really got around to it… This motivated me to try harder to become one! =]

    The last time I took the test a while back, I was only one point away from passing… that was on my second try. o3o

    The professor from my area, who now retired for MagicTheGathering :(, says he took 9 tries to pass the test, and that the questions seemed easier on the 9th. o3o

    But yea, I like the idea for your deck for the Rapidash sniping, and donphan and Glalie! Interesting mix! =]

  2. Karol Nowak

    Finally, your report about the professor cup is up. Congrats on making top 16. You certainly did an awesome job playing that unique Donphan deck.

    Well, good luck in nats next year, and awesome report! I enjoyed reading it.

  3. Chris Barrieau

    Because it makes it a looot easier to come out, and this tournament was basically based off very fast wins. Arceus has a very fast setup and takes care of weakness too. In addition, you can't have super packed decks in this format, so using decks that are usually super packed would give you a great disadvantage. So Arceus, which is a super set up deck, and takes advantage of weakness, so fighting a bunch of mini-decks or rogue decks, faired very well in this tournament. =]

  4. Slowdog

    This is 6prizes you jerk! Get lost with your 3 prizes – who do you think you are? By now you may have realized that I am not sincere in this request and really have no problem with playing with different rules, since it in fact spices up your life. Very well written article and an interesting tournament formet. I am a bit curious about why arcerus was the dominating deck in this format though. Why is arcerus better here than in the normal meta?

  5. Colin Peterik

    Because of the Format being 30 cards, 2 max of each card, did this rule not apply to Arceus with the text “You can have as many of this card in your deck as you like” ? If so, that seems a bit, well, unbalanced, making Arceus the only deck with any serious degree of consistency.

  6. Adam Capriola

    Nice job Jordan!

    So top 4 was all Arceus? Do you know if they were all the same build? And which Arceus did it focus on?

  7. Chris Barrieau

    Sorry, I didn't mean to have negativity in that comment… My bad.. ^_^”

    And I think it would be easier because you have less cards to search through and top deck? =]

  8. Chris Barrieau

    Yea but the concept here was to try and divide everything by half. Technically, the arceus card limit is designed to be just “unlimited”. So I guess they just kept the ruling or something. Shrugs To me it makes more sense to have ultd amount of arceus, but I do agree that it changes the deck build by a LOT to allow ultd arceus and 2 of each other card. o3o

  9. Slowdog

    Whats with the negativity, dude :)
    Anyway, Arcerus seemed like pretty packed deck to me. If you still need 6 pokemon set up to use ripple swell but only have 30 cards it becomes a bit harder i suppose?

  10. ESP

    Top 4 wasn't all Arceus, at least 1 was SP (Andrew M./Kronar took 2nd).

  11. Mewuk85

    Great report. That Glalie came in good handy. I’ve scene it used in a kingdra prime deck for some extra attack support KO'ed a Machamp.

    The guy had Glalie in play attached expert belt , hit with wreck for 20+ 50 with dawn stadium +20 ebelt for 90. the opponent next turn he only pulled Roseanne’s and had already lost one fighting energy. He had one in the deck. so he hit with take down for 40 then Glalie came back for the KO and he was declared winner.

    I like to see people win with cards that no one is using. Show’s caricature and new strategy.

  12. Alex Pike

    Well is has to be done really. If you limit the number of Arceus to 2 as well then then it becomes totally unplayable.

    Also having a max of 2 cards the same won't ruin the consitency at all as there's only 30 cards in a deck. If you half all the cards on your 60 card deck you will have the same consistency ratios.

  13. Matthew Tidman

    I suck at math, but I think that half of unlimited is still unlimited :)

    Never would have thought or Arceus for a half-deck tournament, but it makes sense. Makes me wonder what kinds of decks would become dominant if the game was actually halved like the Professor Cup.

  14. Chris Barrieau

    o-o Is it possible that you meant to reply to Cpeterik and not me? o3o But yea, you're right… If the game were halved, it would be so different… Aw man, here's a tough challenge: play with the half rules only applying to card limits… play an otherwise regular game. That would be very tough. o3o

  15. Matthew Tidman

    Yep, my bad.

    I'm willing to bet that if they do a 30-card limit again at the next professor cup that Kyogre Groudon LEGEND will make a huge splash thanks to the deck discard ability. I mean, if you think about it, you only have 20 cards in the deck by the time setup is done. Hitting four times with the water attack is enough to wipe out any deck.

  16. Chris Barrieau

    Maybe, but you need to get four energy on your Legend card, of course, after playing it, (and they're not so easy to search either) And then attack four times. That's almost necessarily a minimum of 7 turns if you first-hand-draw your whole set of the Legend card. As has been described in the article, most of the games were already over by T4-5 or so. So I think it would first of all make the games too short, and most of all less difficult in deck building, would wreck the metagame completely, promote donk decks like no tomorrow, and basically make the game no fun. Oh yea, and I deviated from my subject again… I meant to explain that this would be too slow for the metagame if these rules applied normally. =] :P

  17. Robin Gimbel

    here is my list with i got 2. Place at the europen prof cup, just if anyone like to know

    1-1 garchomp GL
    1-1 Luxray GL
    1 Bronzong G
    1 Amipoom G
    1 Crobat G
    1 Dragonite G
    1-1 Shedinja (SV)

    10

    2 Cyrus
    2 Cyntias Guidance
    1 Collector
    1 Bebe
    1 Aaron
    2 Gain
    2 Turn
    1 SP Radar
    1 Collection
    1 VS Seeker

    14

    2 DCE
    1 Upper
    2 Lightning
    1 SP Energy

    6

  18. Cody Banker

    Great Job! Too bad I can’t do Prof. Cup for like 5 years ahah… 

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