Triple Threat Battle Roads Report – Spring 2011 NC/SC

Donk (in Pokémon): The act of aiming for getting a Prize card within the first or second turn of a game upon which they deal heavy damage to an opponent’s weakest or most crucial Pokémon.
From: The Nature of Deck Building – A Collaborative Article Part III

pokebeach.comIn the MD-on format with Black and White rules, this is no longer an accurate definition of the word “donk.” With the way the rules have changed, specifically allowing trainers on the first turn, our definition has changed. A donk now is winning before your opponent even has a chance to play his or her first turn.

Fortunately for us and for the future of this game, Pokémon Organized Play has decided to rotate early and give us a fresh format for Nationals and Worlds.

Before I go on, allow me to introduce myself. My name is David, known round these parts as Skytso and I’m a Pokémon Professor as well as one of the League Leaders in Summerville, SC. I’ve been playing the game again since the end of last August but originally played when Pokémon first came out then stopped around the time the Neo sets came out.

I’ve played several other card games, am an avid gamer of all types and all around nerd. I like to sing karaoke and I’m not a fan of sparkling vampires.

One more thing, this is a monster of a report. As such, I’m putting the short version at the beginning…

tl;dr: I took 4th at Anderson, 1st at Summerville and 4th at Charlotte. Lots of donks. Lots of luck. Everyone was awesome.

Since I went to multiple Battle Roads and took notes at each one I figured I’d go ahead and report on all of them. Speaking of which, taking notes at a tournament is a wonderful habit to get into. If nothing else, it helps you accurately retell your exploits when your friends at league ask about how it went. That and the whole “learning from your mistakes” thing. That’s good too.

My Deck

When I first saw the Black and White scans, Cinccino caught my eye. Doing 100 for a Double Colorless Energy with a full bench? Yes, please! After testing several different iterations, I was finally satisfied with the deck that I have now. It’s extremely consistent and performs very well against most of the meta that’s popular now.

It also has the ability to donk but maintains momentum past the first couple of prizes which most donk decks have issues with. I don’t like being able to donk, but in the format, it’s donk or be donked. Without further ado, the decklist.

Pokémon – 19 

4 Sableye SF
4 Cinccino BLW
4 Minccino BLW
2 Crobat G PL
2 Uxie LA
1 Mesprit LA
1 Unown UD
1 Unown Q MD

Trainers – 34 

3 Professor Juniper
3 Seeker
2 Pokémon Collector
1 Bebe’s Search
1 Palmer’s Contribution
4 Poké Turn
4 Super Scoop Up
4 Poké Drawer +
3 Junk Arm
2 Dual Ball
2 Pokémon Communication
2 Broken Time-Space
1 VS Seeker
1 Luxury Ball
1 Expert Belt

Energy – 7 

4 Double Colorless
3 Special D

Battle Road #1 – Anderson SC

pokebeach.comThe first Spring 2011 Battle Roads we attended was at Planet Comics in Anderson, SC on May 29th, 2011. A few weeks prior, I looked at all the upcoming events and selected out which ones I could make it to and this was the first one on the list. I chatted with some friends and ended up heading up with Patrick Orgel and met Will Beers in Anderson. Patrick goes to school up there and was familiar with the area.

It took just over 3 hours and since we were there before the venue was open, we decided to stop and get lunch. His recommendation was Cookout and it was delicious. It’s a locally owned fast food place in Anderson within 5 minutes of Planet Comics and I can’t describe how wonderful, filling, and cheap the food was. It’s like $5 for a burger, two sides and a drink. Yum.

Jeff Reynolds organized the event (and all of the ones we attended) and it ran extremely well. There were 10 Masters, 5 Seniors and 1 Junior. This allowed the Masters 4 rounds with a top cut of 2. While standing in line for deck registration we were talking about decks and what we were worried about seeing.

My two biggest fears with this deck were Trainer Lock and Fighting types. These were both realized in VileChamp. One or the other I could usually deal with, but that one deck scared me a bit. Hobie, one of the locals and friends with Patrick, mentioned that he just put together VileChamp and was going to see how it did that day.

Of course, this brought much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but he couldn’t be convinced to change his mind last-minute. My hope was to simply not get paired against him.

Round 1
vs. Hobson Chandler with VileChamp

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When I saw the pairings for this round, my heart sank. I knew it would be an uphill battle unless I got the donk. I just hoped for a good start and that I could prevent the Trainer Lock as long as possible. I started with Minccino and Unown Q on the bench.

No Sableye, but a godly hand. He started with Uxie active and Oddish on the bench. Without a Spiritomb start, I might be able to get the donk! I had two Poké Drawer + and a hand full of trainers that would be most useful. All I needed was to win the flip.

Unfortunately, no such luck. He won the flip and started with a Pokémon Collector for Spiritomb and Unown Q, used “Quick” to attach Unown Q to Uxie and free retreat for Spiritomb. Then used “Darkness Grace” to evolve Oddish into Gloom. I recovered reasonably well and had a Cinccino out by turn three or four and managed t

o Knock Out a Machamp SF. But by then he already had Vileplume setup and I couldn’t keep it going. Between being energy starved and Hobie pulling a full Machamp Prime line from a Professor Oaks New Theory… twice. There was nothing I could do.

The key component of that match was definitely “Fighting Tag.” There were a couple of times that I had him on the ropes but he just slapped down a Machamp Prime and used Fighting Tag to switch it in for a 1HKO. Overall a good game but the matchup that I classified as auto-loss ended up being just that. In the end, I was able to take 2 Prizes, both of them being Machamp, but I had to sacrifice too much to get those KOs to even think about winning the game.

0-1

Round 2
vs. BYE

I was definitely not pleased that my first round loss got me a bye in the second. This almost guaranteed my missing top cut. With only 4 rounds, I needed to go 4-0 or 3-1 with my only loss in the last round to get into top cut. Either that or an act of God. I’m not one to give up so trudged onward through the rest of the rounds.

We did get to grab food during this round. One of the local guys, Evan, donked his opponent so we ran to Taco Bell… The phrase of the Spring Battle Roads became “It’s ok little Johnny, maybe you’ll get a turn next round.”

1-1

Round 3
vs. Jim Alexander with Leafeon / Roserade

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I haven’t seen this played before, but I heard that last round it wrecked one of the guys who came up with us. We got set up and I started with Sableye active with a Sableye and Minccino on the bench. He started with a Sunkern.

I had a wonderful hand of various things that wouldn’t help me get a dark onto Sableye so played Juniper. I pulled a Pokémon Communication and a Pokémon. Thankfully, Unown UD was not prized. I played it to the bench and used “Dark” to search for a Darkness Energy. Attached that to my active Sableye and used “Overconfident” for the donk.

We played a couple of fun matches after that. After four more donks in a row, I switched to the post-rotation deck I had with me, Speed Zekrom. After one last donk by the Zekrom, Pachirisu, Shaymin combo, we had a decent fun game. His deck was good, but he was not able to one shot Zekrom making for a very hard match. Outrage just hurts too much.

2-1

Round 4
vs. Jacob Sandel with Eeveelutions

A friend had just played Jacob a couple rounds back and was destroyed by the Eeveelutions so I was definitely expecting a rough fight with this pairing. I started with Sableye against his two Eevee. I had somewhat of a dead hand so couldn’t burn through to find a Seeker or enough Crobat G and Poké Turn for the donk, but took the turn 1 Prize instead.

He used “Call for Family” to get another two Eevee out but didn’t play any Supporters. I did some more setup, got another “Flash Bite” to make Overconfident another KO. He didn’t do much the next turn and I could tell he was stuck. So I finished it quickly and used Seeker and another Flash Bite to KO his last Eevee to win.

Honestly, it seemed like he just couldn’t get a Supporter or Eeveelution to save his life. It probably wouldn’t have helped much though since I had a solid three turns to get setup, but not being able to do much of anything is just not a fun time. It’s one thing to get beat by someone. It’s completely different when you get beat because your deck just doesn’t work.

3-1

I ended up taking 4th. Will took 3rd and Guy Bennett top cut with Salamence to face off against Mike Reynolds and Gyarados. After a quick couple of games, Mike won and Guy took 2nd. Overall a good tournament, but definitely discouraging to those who were on the receiving end of donks. We stayed for a bit and taught some of the guys how to play Munchkin. Then grabbed some wonderful Mexican food before getting back on the road for a nice and easy ride back home.


Battle Road #2 – Summerville, SC

The following Saturday, June 4th, 2011, was Battle Roads in Summerville, SC. There were 14 Masters, 2 Seniors, and 1 Junior which put the Masters at 4 rounds with a top cut of 2. I knew that I would need to go undefeated or with only one loss in the final round of Swiss to have a hope of making it into top cut.

Being my hometown, I was reasonably confident of my knowledge of the meta and there were not many players from out-of-town. Actually, the only people not from Charleston or Summerville, I knew well and had seen their decks before. Even so, I knew that there were several very good players and this was definitely not going to be an easy tournament.

Round 1
vs. Jordan Vandygrift (Senior) with Mightyena PL / Skuntank G

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Going into this match, I kept telling myself that it wasn’t a sure thing and to not underestimate Jordan just because she’s a Senior. I didn’t know what she had or what she could do with it, but I’ve seen Jordan play before and she knows the game well.

When I opened with Minccino against her active Skuntank G and two Poochyena benched, I started to get a little worried. I won the flip and immediately used Collector, expecting to go for Sableye, Unown Q, and Uxie. Unfortunately, both of my Uxie were prized. I checked my deck three times before the truth set in.

I didn’t have access to my most powerful hand refresh. I ended up deciding on Sableye, Unown Q, and Unown UD. Not my desired outcome, but it would have to do. She used Collector for more Poochyena and an Uxie.

Now, you must understand, I’m relatively new to the game. I was not playing when Platinum came out. I wasn’t even playing when HeartGold SoulSilver came out so I’m not familiar with some of the older combos that used to be played.

Because of this, when she searched for more Poochyena, I had no clue what I was playing against. I saw energy being set down and things going on, but I simply didn’t know what to expect. The next few turns took quite a while as, though Jordan is a good player, she is very deliberate.

During her turn, she makes absolutely certain that she knows what she wants to do before she does it. It’s a bit frustrating when you do not know what to expect. Still, she was playing at the same pace the entire match so I couldn’t question it.

When she dropped Mightyena, and I got to read its Body, I had a bit of a panic attack. Since I hadn’t seen the combo before, I didn’t know any of the counters.

pokebeach.comShe retreated the Skuntank G for Mightyena, played Pokémon Reversal and flipped heads to pull my benched Minccino up. After dropping a stadium, she used Poison Structure and then Desperate Attack for 50. Poison KO’d me between rounds and the only counter that came to mind was to bump her stadium. So I burned some cards and ended up getting a BTS to remove her stadium.

Thankfully, I was able to get a Cinccino set up with a Double Colorless Energy and almost fill my bench while doing this, all without Uxie, mind you. I switched Cinccino to active and used Do the Wave for 80 which was enough for a KO because of the 10 damage from poison last turn.

I pulled my prize, but no Uxie. On her turn, she got another couple of Mightyena set up but couldn’t get a Stadium out. I was safe for a turn!

It finally dawned on me during a Dual Ball incited search through my deck. Mesprit turns off Poké-Powers. My opponent’s deck revolves around a Poké-Power. I can break the combo with Mesprit. I search one out and drop it to the bench. Psychic Bind! I used Do the Wave for another KO and pulled an Uxie.

Maybe my luck was finally turning around. The rest of the game was just a series of burning through cards until I got a Super Scoop Up or Seeker to pick up and drop Mesprit for another turn of Psychic Bind. I didn’t let it drop once for 5 turns.

Time was called during her turn, but I was already up several prizes. She finished her turn and I was able to get Psychic Bind one more time thereby rendering the combo sterile on her last turn. It was not a pretty win, but it was a win nonetheless. The game finally ended and I had 1 Prize left to her 5 left. I complemented her on a very well put together and somewhat frightening deck.

1-0

Round 2
vs. Mike Reynolds with Gyarados

pokebeach.comI’ve seen Mike play several times before and have had the opportunity to play against him in a couple of prerelease events but this was the first time I’d be facing him in a Premiere tournament. I was a bit worried going into the match because he not only knew how my deck worked but could donk it as well.

I started with a Sableye active and one on the bench. In hand I had Uxie, 2 Poké Drawer + and other assorted junk. He started with Crobat G active, Unown UD and Magikarp on the bench. I’m feeling pretty good about this match, but don’t think I can pull off the donk unless something magical happens.

Well apparently somebody sprinkled fairy dust on my deck because it was perfection. I started and top decked a Seeker. Played both Poké Drawer + to search for Crobat G and a Poké Turn. I drop it and Flash Bite on the Magikarp, then Poké Turn to do it again. Uxie hit the bench and I used Set Up.

I pulled a Darkness Energy and a Junk Arm along with fodder. I played Junk Arm for the Poké Turn and used Flash Bite one more time on the Magikarp for the KO. The prize was my only Expert Belt. I used Seeker choosing Crobat to use one last Flash Bite on the active.

I attached the Expert Belt and Darkness Energy to my active Sableye and used Overconfident for 70 and the KO. I know I was lucky, especially after Mike showed me the Uxie he had in his hand. He decided against playing it since he was not expecting the deck to pull off a double KO with a Seeker. Sorry Mike!

2-0

Round 3
vs. Tyler Vandygrift with Sablelock

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This is my Round 1 opponent’s big brother and I knew him to be a good player with some decent skills. Settling down to get set up we were chatting about how the tournament was going and such. Turns out his deck has been donking like crazy.

It doesn’t worry me too much, but I have a healthy respect for what a good deck can do especially one that has the ability to donk. In my opening hand I get two Sableye, a pair of Communication, Cinccino and junk. He doesn’t start with Sableye so I go first. He has Unown Q active and Frosslass GL on the bench. I start by using Communication to trade my Cinccino for an Uxie.

I lay it down and pulled a Crobat, Poké Turn, and Seeker. I Seeker and Communication the Sableye I picked up for Unown UD. Played it and used Dark to search for the energy I needed to attack with Overconfident and win the game. Not one of the more interesting donks, but I’ll take the win.

We played a fun game right after and I pulled Speed Zekrom out for it. Turns out Speed Zekrom does really well against Sablelock. While I didn’t intend it, my current deck and my post rotation deck hold up really well against SP.

3-0

Round 4
vs. Eric Banizaman with Sablelock

Eric has been playing Sablelock for nearly a year now and is very good with it. He has won multiple events and even top cut at Regionals in Atlanta with that deck. His list has changed ever so slightly since then and now includes an Unown UD for the searchable donk. I started Minccino with an Unown UD on the bench.

He started with something other then Sableye. I really don’t recall much from this match as I didn’t take notes and was fully absorbed in the game but I believe he took the first prize. Then I got out a Cinccino, filled my bench and started taking a prize per turn for the rest of the match.

pokebeach.comIt helped that I always had a backup Cinccino ready to go when the prior one got KO’d. There were many KOs traded that game but I managed to pull it out in the end to Mesprit and Psychic Bind.

4-0

I made it into top cut! This was the first time I’d ever gone undefeated in a tournament and the first time I’d top cut. I was excited, but was almost certainly going to go up against Eric again and while I won the last match, playing against him still makes me nervous.

Top Cut

We got all checked in and started top cut. Both games were more of the same from the last round. Once I got Mesprit out and my Seeker chain going, I took a healthy prize lead and just kept swarming Cinccino until I’d taken my last prize.

Game two was pretty close to the same. Trading prizes, Mesprit came out, I took the prize lead and he just couldn’t recover. It was really rough for him because nothing in his deck could one shot a Cinccino without a Flash Bite except Honchkrow but everything got KO’d from Do The Wave.


Battle Road #3 – Charlotte, NC

This event was a solid three hours away and the morning started off with car issues! We ended up leaving an hour later then we were hoping after helping Alex Williams get his car off the side of the interstate. We managed to make it before registration ended and everyone got checked in without any issues.

The HobbyTown USA that was hosting the event was nice, but there wasn’t much extra space. That coupled with the fact that there were 24 Masters, 12 Seniors, and 6 Juniors meant that quarters were very cramped. I got settled in for a long day because 24 Masters meant we were playing 5 rounds with a top cut of 4.

First round pairings went up and while we were getting set up, someone noticed their name was on two different match slips. Thirty minutes of playing post-rotation games later, pairings went up again and we all headed off to new tables.

Round 1
vs. Todd Sterrett with Yanmega/Dusknoir

pokemon-paradijs.com

The tables that most of us were playing on were a bit higher then a normal folding table and most of us played either standing up with a few lucky souls who managed to find a seat on a stool. I found myself across from what appeared to be a Poké-Dad.

Now, I love Poké-parents but hate playing against them. I love that they are playing a game with their kids and being involved in something like that, but I absolutely hate playing them because they are completely unpredictable!

There is no way of telling if they are playing because of their kids or if their kids play because of them. I always enter these types of matches with some trepidation. Especially in the first round without some sort of record behind them to give me a clue as to how they’re doing today.

I started with a Sableye active, another Sableye and Minccino benched. I had a Crobat in my hand, but I’m risking that he’s not playing a donk deck and that I’d be ok with just the 3 Pokémon. He started with Unown Q. As he flips it over I can’t help but cringe for him.

In my hand, I had a Junk arm, Cinccino, and Double Colorless Energy. Fearing I might not be able to donk, I draw for my turn and pull a Poké Turn. I dropped Crobat and used Flash Bite on his Unown Q for 10. Poké Turn Crobat and Flash Bite for 10 more. Then Junk Arm, discarding my hand for the Poké Turn and Flash Bite for the KO. Not the way I’d like to win my games, but that’s the way the format is setup. Sorry Todd!

The printer was messing up and we had to wait on that to get resolved before we could leave the table, so we decided to play another fun game. I pull out my “old trusty” Speed Zekrom and we had a wonderful game. I took several early prizes but the tides turned once he got Dusknoir out as a stadium. After that he took a prize or two per turn for several turns. I ended up having to attack with Pachirisu and a PlusPower to take my last prize. It was an excellent fun game and much more satisfying than the first one.

1-0

Round 2
vs. Colton Rogers with Sabledonk

pokebeach.comColton was playing on the table right next to me the round before and he donked his opponent almost immediately after I did so I knew this would come down to who went first and if their opponent could bench enough Pokémon. I started with two Sableye again and an Uxie in hand.

I decided to keep that Uxie in hand because I would have had to Impersonate to do anything if I benched it. I won the flip and he started with a lone Uxie. I attach a Dark Energy to my active Sableye and played Uxie to Setup for 3. I played Super Scoop Up but flipped tails. Luckily I had another and played it and flipped heads. I scooped Uxie and Setup for 2 more. Nothing interesting.

This was starting to get ridiculous! I played Junk Arm, discarding junk, and got Super Scoop Up and flipped heads. I picked up Uxie and used Setup for another 3. The third card was a Collector. Finally! I played it and searched for 2 Crobat G. Two Flash Bite put his Uxie at 50 HP remaining so I could Overconfident for the win.

Since we were over so quick I asked Colton if he wanted to play a fun game. Unfortunately, he didn’t have another deck and nobody actually likes to play Sabledonk. So we went and hung out with the other people who had donked or been donked.

2-0

Round 3
vs. Luis Vera with Ampharos

I started with a Sableye active and another one benched with a Crobat in hand. He started with Celebi. I top decked a Collector and used it to search for Unown UD. I benched it and used its Poké Power to pull a Darkness Energy and attached it to my active Sableye. I dropped Crobat to Flash Bite his poor Celebi and then Overconfident for the KO.

We played a fun match afterward and it went a bit better. I did have a bit of a godly start though. Anytime you win the flip with a Cleffa active, a Pokémon Collector, and a handful of energy it is very hard for your opponent to recover. Speed Zekrom was doing pretty decently itself that day.

3-0

Round 4
vs. Patrick Orgel with DialgaChomp

pokebeach.comWe’ve played this match before. A lot. It’s always come down to either Mesprit locking for multiple turns while Cinccino runs train on SP or me sacrificing Pokémon after Pokémon to a powered up Dialga. Plus, Patrick has helped with my deck quite a bit. He knows what’s in it and there aren’t any surprises in it for him.

Luck was on his side though as he won the flip and I started with a Mesprit, Uxie, and hand full of junk. I started just the Mesprit because I didn’t want to start completely flat footed. Besides, he would have to have an Ambipom, Double Colorless Energy AND a Crobat to donk me.

I’ve seen his deck, I know what he runs and I decided to gamble that his deck wouldn’t give him what he needed. He started with an Ambipom, Double Colorless Energy in hand and a Cyrus’s Conspiracy. He attached the Double Colorless Energy, used Cyrus to search out a Poké Radar and used that to pull a Crobat. I just got donked. By DialgaChomp.

3-1

Now, it stinks to be donked. But it hurts that much more when you had the ability to prevent it in your hand but decided to gamble. I wasn’t too upset at this though as the only person who was 4-0 after that match was Patrick. If I won my next match and he did as well, I had a shot at getting into top cut.

Round 5
vs. Jon Skinner with DialgaChomp

When I saw this pairing my heart sank just a bit. Jon had gotten to the tournament a bit late and had to take a first round loss. He won his next 3 matches and pulled his way back to the top tables. I also knew he was a good player and was a favorite to top cut in that area.

When I drew my opening hand, I almost passed out. Mesprit was the only basic. Running through my mind was “I’m about to get donked out of top cut.” He won the flip and had Garchomp active with a Skuntank on the bench.

Junk Armpokebeach.com

He attached a Double Colorless Energy and an Expert Belt. Played Crobat G and Flash Bite for 10 then dropped Uxie to Setup for 3. Thank god, no Crobat. No Stadium. No Poké Turn. He uses Claw Swipe for 50 and I live with 10 HP remaining.

I got up and running very quickly after he narrowly missed the donk. I had a Cinccino swinging by turn 2. He got started extremely quickly as well and had Dialga active with a Special M Energy, Double Colorless Energy and Expert Belt attached, using “Deafen” like there was no tomorrow.

But Dialga just does not like things that can hit for 100 every turn. Especially when they only take 3 cards to do it. I used Flash Bite and attacked. Do the Wave for 90. He had just 20 hp remaining. He used Warp Energy to switch for Skuntank then used Galactic Switch to get the Double Colorless Energy onto his active and attacked with Smoke Screen.

Finally free of Deafen, I used a Poké Turn and a Junk Arm for the same Poké Turn to Flash Bite twice more and KO the benched Dialga for 2 Prizes then flipped heads against Smoke Screen and KO’d his active Skuntank. That was the turning point for the match.

He made some valiant efforts to come back, even KOing the last Cinccino on the field. Luck was on my side though and I always had another Cinccino line in my hand, ready to go with a Double Colorless Energy to Do the Wave again. It was a very good match and Jon was gracious about losing to the chinchilla.

4-1

At this point there was just one person at 5-0 (Patrick Orgel) and three 4-1. Three of us who rode up from Charleston had just top cut. Our other two traveling companions just missed it at 3-2 each. A respectable showing overall. I went ahead and got my deck sorted and milled around for a bit, using the time to say goodbye to the locals. It was me going up against Mike Reynolds and Patrick playing Alex Williams.

Top Cut

Round 1
vs. Mike Reynolds with Gyarados

Game 1

pokebeach.comWe got set up and Mike’s face was not a happy one as he laid down a single Pokémon to start. I started with Sableye and a Darkness Energy in hand. He started with Unown UD. Have I mentioned I hate this format?

Game 2

Mike chose to go first, but I had a Sableye. Fortunately for him, he started with 4 basics. This game felt really long but only lasted 15 minutes or so. We traded two or three KOs and Mesprit was keeping one side or the other Psychic Bound most of the game. When he finally missed a Mesprit drop, I put mine down and it started the other way.

It’s actually one of the hardest matchups for Cinccino because Gyarados 1HKOs everything in the deck without having to work at it but you have to do 30 extra damage for every Gyarados. Eventually his recovery of Gyarados outlasted my ability to add 30 extra damage for every Do the Wave. I had 2 Prizes left when he pulled his last one.

Game 3

I chose to go first, but couldn’t get the donk. I believe it was just a dead hand and he had 2 basics. This game was almost exactly like the previous one except that I didn’t start quite as quickly and I screwed up early. He set up two Gyarados and hit for 60 to KO my active Sableye. I fell for the bait and burnt resources to 1HKO his active Gyarados then immediately got revenge KO’d.

I know now that I should have left it alive with 10 HP left (I had an Expert Belt on) then Flash Bite for the KO and attempted a double KO that turn. You live and learn. After he KO’d my Belted Cinccino, it didn’t take long to finish the game. In the end I had 3 Prizes left when he took his last one.
Mike went on to win against Alex within 5 or 10 minutes. I think it was basically two donks in a row.

After the event was over and we were starting to get ready to leave, I realized I didn’t have my keys. We did some hunting and discovered they were in the trunk of my car. Presumably left after someone put their stuff into the car. One phone call later, Toni had a guy coming to get the car unlocked and they stayed and hung out until we had the keys out of the car and were safely on our way. Thanks a bunch!


Conclusion

pokebeach.comWhile I did say I wouldn’t rant about the current format, I have to make some observations from the tournaments that I attended. With the powerful draw cards in the current format, evolution acceleration, and some broken Poké Powers and Bodies, the ability to donk vs a bad start is just silly.

Unless you go first and start with a Collector, your lone Pokémon is in grave danger of being KO’d before you have a chance of doing anything. This kind of gameplay is not fun. The games that I really enjoyed were the ones that lasted longer then one or two turns.

I loved my matches against Hobie, Jordan, Eric, Jon and Mike. Every other match ended way too quickly and really didn’t give any true test of skill. When you only see one or two of the Pokémon in a deck it’s very difficult to know who the better player actually is.

At Summerville, I was very lucky. At Charlotte, I was very lucky. I don’t think that winning was entirely based on luck, but there were definitely games that would have been close but we simply didn’t have the chance to play. I loved my Cinccino deck and I loved Sableye, but the format simply has to change to keep people interested in the game.

Closing Thoughts

  • Congratulations to Mike Reynolds for winning a couple BRs.
  • Thanks for everyone being gracious about being donked.
  • Thanks to Jeff and Toni Reynolds for putting together some awesome events and for having AAA come unlock my car.
  • Thanks to The Charleston and Summerville League players. It’s been quite a journey since I started playing last fall!
  • Thanks to Will Beers and Sarah Griggs for helping proofread this monster of a Battle Roads Report.

Reader Interactions

21 replies

  1. aura

    Hi, I’m the senior who won the Charlotte BR with Reshiboar. I remember seeing you go against the Sabledonk guy in round 2…

  2. Perry Going

    GJ sir… too bad i was not able to play you in Charlotte. Man I cant believe I had to play against Vilechamp my first match…

    • David Griggs  → Perry

      Indeed. VileChamp is no fun! I am definitely not looking forward to dealing with it in HGSS-on. Good games last night btw.

  3. Will Beers

    Great read, great article! You know, it’s funny… I went to all three of those Battle Roads and didn’t get matched up with you once! :P

  4. Quarter-Turn

    This is a great article! Now I’m curious about your Speed Zekrom build.

  5. samuel roach

    Hey!! I didn’t play you in Charlotte either. I’m actually the League Leade

    • David Griggs  → samuel

      We had a ton of fun and plan to come back and sweep top cut again. ;)

      Seriously though, You’ll see more of us for sure!

      • samuel roach  → David

        Well, I don’t know if you’ll sweep again, but it will be fun next time I see you guys. Who knows, I might see you at Nats!!

  6. Mekkah

    Munchkin is the most hilarious card game ever made. I bet it was worth going for that alone.

    • David Griggs  → Mekkah

      We definitely had a bunch of fun with it! I think that we’ll be bringing it to most events to waste time for the people who don’t top cut. >_<

  7. Anonymous

    what was the point?..your talking abut cards that are getting rotated

  8. Christopher Poermandya

    3 Pichus in your Conccino build would’ve helped with the set up. For no energy, you can get a full bench, and retreat for free. I would, personally, use 3-4 of them, but it is up to personal choice

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