Hello there SixPrizes community!
My name is Nicholena Moon, and I’m very excited to share my first Underground article with you. Before I begin, I’ll tell you a little about myself for those of you who don’t already know me. I’m fairly new to the Pokémon community, as this is my third competitive season. Last year I ended the season with 482 Championship Points, only 18 short of a Worlds invite. Needless to say, it was a bit disappointing. The season did have some highlights: making top cut every day of the New Jersey City Championship marathon, top 16 at Delaware States, coming out of Ontario’s Spring Regionals Swiss rounds as the first seed and finishing second at the first US Nationals Regionals side event. Hopefully I will be adding to the list this season!
facebook.comI realize that my list of accomplishments is not as extensive as the majority of this website’s Underground writers and I am honored to have the opportunity to share my thoughts along with theirs. However, as a female player, I like to think that I have a unique perspective on the game and our community as a whole. Speaking of women in the TCG, is it just me, or have the girls really been taking over this fall? I spoke to Sorina Radu, Natalie Shampay, and Mia Violet about their impressive Regionals runs. In addition to my interviews with them, I will discuss my own Regionals experience and explain the list for Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX (V/G) that Jimmy Pendarvis piloted to a top 4 finish in Houston, Henry Ross-Clunis took to a top 8 finish in Houston, and I finished in top 32 with in Ft. Wayne.
The Women of Fall Regionals
Things girls like about fall: pumpkin spice lattes, boots, leggings, and oh yeah—Pokémon TCG Regionals.
Obviously I’m just kidding around. There is nothing less basic than playing Pokémon competitively and I actually hate pumpkin. I talked to three like-minded women who did well at Regionals about themselves and their views on the Pokémon community.
Sorina Radu
Age: 25
Plays in: Seattle, WA
Played for: I began playing competitively toward the tail end of 2012, after moving back home from college, but I first started getting to know people in the community in January of 2011.
Accomplishments: Top 8 at Phoenix Regionals was my best performance so far at a major tournament. Otherwise, I ended up in the top 16 at Vancouver, BC Regionals this past weekend and during the 2012–2013 season and in the top 128 at Nationals 2014.
What deck(s) did you play for Regionals?
For Phoenix Regionals day 1 I played Yveltal-EX/Raichu XY/Mewtwo-EX/Seismitoad-EX and went 6-2-1. My two losses that day were both to Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX decks. I ultimately decided to ID with my round 9 opponent so that I could make day 2. I’m not really sure if this was the right call (you of course want the best record you can have going into day 2), but I decided that getting day 2 Championship Points (regardless of how many) would be better than not getting Points at all.
For day 2, I played the same deck, but took out Seismitoad-EX and put in Sableye DEX and Dark Patch. My record ended up being 4-1 (10-2-1). My top 8 match was against Kristy Britton (the eventual winner) and her Pyroar deck. The matchup is definitely not favorable, but it’s not something I see as unwinnable. Taking Seismitoad-EX out of my deck didn’t help, but the 2-2 Raichu line and the Hypnotoxic Lasers (with the help of Sableye) can do enough to damage to Knock Out 4 Pyroar. Unfortunately I had a Pikachu Prized in each game, and I drew my Ns early on, whereas Kristy’s deck ran just fine. I also only played 2 Virbank City Gym vs. her 3 Tropical Beach, and I ended up losing that Stadium battle both games—a finer point that I’ll pay more attention to in the future. Ultimately they were two good games, and I’m glad she won the whole thing!
For Vancouver, BC Regionals I decided to play Yveltal-EX/Seismitoad-EX/Garbodor LTR. Theoretically the deck was supposed to be good against a lot of what I thought would be in the meta (Donphan, Virizion/Genesect, Fairies). I ended up with a 6-2 record, which put me at 10th place without a day 2. My two losses were to a streamlined Yveltal/Darkrai deck and an Yveltal/Raichu deck (this was against Tyler Ninomura—the match was streamed by On The Bubble and should be online in the future).
Are you going for the invite this season? What are your goals?
Yes! I’d love to get my invite this season. My main goal is to focus more on Pokémon in general—I’d like to test and play more often than I did last season. Hopefully this results in an invite! Regardless, I’d just like to get more serious about how I play.
How do you feel about being a female player in an overwhelmingly male-dominated competitive scene?
This honestly (and surprisingly) hasn’t been too much of an issue. Perhaps what’s most intimidating for me is a personal fear that others will judge me and believe that my accomplishments are not my own (something that I would say is definitely a gendered fear as well). I just want to prove myself and show that I am ultimately responsible for my own success.
Any advice for other girls looking to succeed in the TCG?
Don’t be afraid to reach out to others if you’re looking for friends or support! There are a lot of women who are part of the TCG community, they just may not necessarily be playing competitively—TOs, judges, moms, and parents and whatnot. I’ve found the community in general to be very welcoming and supportive, so definitely don’t be afraid to engross yourself within the scene and start playing competitively (if you’re not already). I’m also always willing to talk over Facebook, so feel free to reach out about anything!
Sorina’s Lists
Phoenix, AZ – Day 1
|
Pokémon – 16 |
Trainers – 32 4 N 4 Colress 1 Lysandre 1 Pal Pad
3 Switch
|
Energy – 12 8 D |
Phoenix, AZ – Day 2
|
Pokémon – 13 |
Trainers – 35 4 N 3 Colress 1 Lysandre 2 Bicycle
3 Switch
|
Energy – 12 8 D |
Vancouver, BC – Day 1
|
Pokémon – 14 |
Trainers – 34 4 N 3 Colress 2 Lysandre 3 Bicycle
2 Switch
|
Energy – 12 8 D |
Mia Violet
Age: 26
Plays in: Portland, OR
Played for: I’ve been playing for roughly two years now. My first event ever was the NXD Prerelease. That makes me relatively new compared to many of my friends who’ve been in the game for 6–8+ years.
Accomplishments: Top 8 OR States 2013, Top 16 WA States 2014, Top 4 BC Provincials 2014, Top 8 OR Regionals 2014, Top 16 Worlds 2014, Top 16 BC Regionals 2015, 1st at Portland’s City Championship 2014 with the first cash-prize event we’ve ever hosted ($200)
What deck(s) did you play for Regionals?
My play for the BC Regionals was Darkrai/Dusknoir, to the surprise of nobody ever. I’ve tested the deck a bit myself before the event at a League Challenge for fun, but was considering playing M Heracross-EX for weeks, as the deck is extremely fun. At the last minute, I changed to Duskrai due to expecting a lot of Donphan or Pyroar, the first of which I had little experience against with Heracross, but knew how to beat with Duskrai.
I started the event going strong at 3-0, and ran into my first tie at the hands of Dylan Mitchell, a good friend of mine running Toad/Pyroar. Following that, I won my next match, and then faced off against the TX Regionals winner Sam Chen in round 5, with him running Donphan/Zekrom/Walls. I lost the first game against same, as my 6th and final Prize was my 1 Seismitoad, which is very important in that matchup! Game 2 was much more in my favor, with control being in my favor. We didn’t have time for Game 3, and tied it up. Right after this, I tied yet another series against a Yu-Gi-Oh player after not being able to close out Game 3 quickly enough with a win. I won my final two matches to end the day at 5-0-3, undefeated, but still bubbling out of top 8 due to resistance.
Are you going for the invite this season? What are your goals?
After doing better than I had expected at Worlds 2014, my goal for the new season is to try and break into the top 8 spots at the event, or at least place 1st at a States or higher event this season. So, with the meager 80 Points awarded for top 16 at Worlds, I’m shooting for my second invite!
How do you feel about being a female player in an overwhelmingly male-dominated competitive scene?
Honestly, I feel as if there are far too few ladies who play at the level of shooting for a Worlds invite right now. There’s a significant lack of women in North America who were near qualifying in 2014, totaling less than 1% of players above 300 Championship Points before Nats. With the first set of Regionals in the 2015 season, we saw a 1st place finish by Kristy Britton with Sorina Radu rocking in at 6th. Sorina and myself both placed well at the BC Regionals. Nicholena Moon (author’s note: that’s me!) should have her info report, too. I think that 2015 will see a lot more women placing well! There are even some smart girls in the Juniors and Seniors here in Oregon that seem to have their eyes on fire this season!
My feelings regarding this are pretty simple, as I’d just love to see more women competing. I’ve worked in the video game industry for quite a few years now, and have been a competitive gamer in other fields, so being in a tournament, convention hall, office, or just online surrounded by mostly all men has become sort of expected. (Boys are scary!)
Any advice for other girls looking to succeed in the TCG?
There’s not much advice I could give, I think, because it’s mostly up to how that girl feels about being competitive. Some ladies aren’t interested, and play only for fun, which is perfectly fine! But if you’re feeling like you want a good challenge, and also would like to destroy males on their own home turf, then it’s entirely possible to succeed! Males don’t have anything that women don’t have for succeeding in Pokémon, so your only hurdle is getting experienced.
Mia’s List
|
Pokémon – 16 |
Trainers – 34 4 N 2 Colress 1 Lysandre 3 Bicycle
1 Max Revive
|
Energy – 10 7 D |
Natalie Shampay
Age: 18
Plays in: Painesville, OH
Played for: I started playing around Nationals 2012, but didn’t really get very competitive until last season.
Accomplishments: I haven’t won anything big, so all I have are some City, States, and Regionals placements. (Author’s note: Natalie is too modest. She made top 8 at Kentucky States last season and top 16 at the very competitive Philadelphia Regionals this year!)
What deck(s) did you play for Regionals?
I chose to play Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX, as I didn’t expect a lot of Pyroar and I feel like it has solid matchups against Fighting decks and Yveltal-EX decks. My favorite card all day was most definitely Herbal Energy! I don’t think it was expected because I had quite a few people double-check that it actually healed 30 damage. It works out really well for math in a lot of matchups and especially in the mirror.
I was feeling pretty confident about Virizion, so I decided to play it day 2. I dropped Mr. Mime because Fighting decks started to drop off toward the end of day 1, so I figured this spot would be better off going to something else. Lysandre didn’t come in super helpful most of the day, although it wasn’t a waste, I thought Shaymin-EX would be a lot better. I added back in Skyarrow Bridge and Super Rod, as they are some of the best cards from Virizion-EX decks from Black & White-on.
Unfortunately, my losses day 2 came down to me just drawing really poorly in Game 3. I had a few too many Jirachi-EX starts without Supporters! (Author’s note: I’ll be sharing my thoughts about Jirachi in Virizion/Genesect later!) I know there were a few changes that I would have made looking back on my list, both day 1 and 2. Other than some suboptimal draws, I think Virizion/Genesect was still a great play and I should have just made a few better choices. I had a good run and placed in the top 16.
Are you going for the invite this season? What are your goals?
I guess I would consider myself going for an invite, although I’m mostly just looking to improve; I’m definitely taking this season more seriously than last. I’m just trying to do the best that I can!
How do you feel about being a female player in an overwhelmingly male-dominated competitive scene?
It’s interesting. The community is generally positive, but I’ve had a lot of instances with demeaning comments and actions. I try not to let it get to me anymore. Overall though, I think that Pokémon has a lot of a better attitude with female players than what I’ve heard of other competitive games.
Any advice for other girls looking to succeed in the TCG?
Don’t let the general lack of girls intimidate you, and don’t let any of the rude and demeaning players and comments get to you. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to treat you any differently because of your gender. Find yourself a group of supportive friends, ask questions, and practice a lot, and you will surely do great!
Natalie’s Lists
Philadelphia, PA – Day 1
|
Pokémon – 10 4 Genesect-EX |
Trainers – 34 4 N 1 Colress 4 Skyla 1 Lysandre
3 Switch |
Energy – 16 9 G 4 Plasma 3 Herbal |
Philadelphia, PA – Day 2
|
Pokémon – 10 4 Genesect-EX |
Trainers – 35 4 N 1 Colress 4 Skyla
1 Switch
|
Energy – 15 8 G 4 Plasma 3 Herbal |
So there you have it! I expect to see many more standout performances from these three during the rest of the season. I should also note that I reached out to Kristy Britton, the Arizona Regional Champion, for inclusion in this article, but received no response. Regardless, congratulations to Kristy!
Now, let’s move on to my own Regionals experience this fall.
“Your Deck Matches Your Hair!” – A Very Virizion Regionals Tale
As you might have noticed, right now my hair is extremely green. It may or may not be a coincidence that my favorite deck is Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX. Okay, it is a coincidence—I won’t lie to you. But the number of times I’ve been asked about it is shocking!
A Rocky Start
This fall, I undertook the crazy task of attending all three Regionals. Luckily, Philadelphia is very close to me, as I live in Baltimore, MD. It was only a short drive away. There is nothing interesting to note about my day, as I dropped after my third loss. I played a Fighting deck along with my testing buddies Jimmy Pendarvis and Kevin Baxter. The deck was good, but it ended up being worse against Yveltal-EX than we had thought, and there were way more Yveltal-EX/Seismitoad-EX decks there than we expected. Additionally, I don’t think I faced a deck that didn’t play Beartic FFI. The list was still fun to play, so here it is:
|
Pokémon – 12 |
Trainers – 38 4 N 1 Colress 3 Korrina 2 Skyla 3 Lysandre
2 Switch
|
Energy – 10 6 F 4 Strong |
The strategy with this deck is to lead with Landorus-EX, place early damage on the board, and sweep up with Hawlucha. The high Pokémon Center Lady count is there to keep Landorus-EX alive under fire from Seismitoad-EX. Terrakion is there to deal with non-EX threats that Hawlucha can’t handle. After Philadelphia, we changed the list to this version:
|
Pokémon – 12 |
Trainers – 37 4 N 1 Colress 4 Korrina 3 Lysandre 2 Bicycle
2 Switch
|
Energy – 11 7 F 4 Strong |
We found that the tendency of Yveltal players to build up a large Yveltal-EX on the Bench was problematic for the deck, so we decided to include a Dedenne. With the success of Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX week 1 and the inevitable decline of Seismitoad-EX decks, we replaced Pokémon Center Lady with Max Potions. We added Bicycle to deal with late game Ns, as you can use Korrina to grab it and draw a couple of extra cards immediately.
Houston, Hello!
For week 2, I made the long hike to Houston, Texas with Jimmy Pendarvis and Henry Ross-Clunis. I was planning on playing the Yveltal/Garbodor deck that Ryan Sabelhaus played day 1-of Philadelphia, but in the practice games I played the night before, I could not win a game against Jeremy Jallen’s Fighting deck. Henry was all set to play Donphan/Outragers, but also couldn’t seem to get the deck running smoothly the night before. We were dissatisfied with every deck, it seemed.
The deck I have had the most success with in the past is Virizion/Genesect, making top 8 at Ontario Regionals with it in the spring. When Jimmy had the idea that it might be a good play for Texas, I won’t deny that I was excited about it. Here is the list the three of us played for day 1:
|
Pokémon – 14 4 Genesect-EX 1 Jynx FFI |
Trainers – 32 4 N 1 Colress 4 Skyla
2 Switch |
Energy – 14 10 G 4 Plasma |
The first thing you might notice is the lack of a Pyroar counter in the list. Our thinking was that the matchup is very difficult even with a 2-2 Beartic line, and including it weakens all of your other matchups besides Landorus-EX, which we didn’t expect to see much play. Therefore, we just accepted the loss to Pyroar. If the Pyroar player draws poorly, the Virizion player can win, but if they don’t draw poorly, it’s practically impossible. Luckily, Pyroar decks are very inconsistent day 1, as they don’t have the option to run Tropical Beach and must rely on Roller Skates and Bicycles for most of their draw.
We did decide to tech for Donphan, which we expected to be very popular after Dylan Bryan’s incredible run in Philadelphia. The matchup is pretty poor without the inclusion of Deoxys-EX, as Genesect-EX can normally only hit 120 damage with a Muscle Band. G Boostering Donphans is a pain since they only yield 1 Prize. Normally, this gives one Donphan the potential to Wreck multiple turns in a row, which is obviously devastating for any deck. Deoxys-EX also lets you hit magic Megalo Cannon math on 180 HP EXs. Two Escape Rope also proved to be crucial in this matchup, as it allows you “escape” from damaging into an Active Reshiram with Outrage with Virizion-EX.
We also expected the mirror match to be popular. The week before the tournament, Jimmy had the brilliant idea to include Jynx FFI in our list. Jynx allows you to heal 10 damage from your Active Pokémon once a turn. This is amazing in the mirror, because when they attack you for 70 damage with a Muscle Banded Virizion-EX, you can heal 10 damage off of your Virizion-EX, and Emerald Slash another turn without them being able to come up with a Genesect-EX and Megalo Cannon you immediately without a Muscle Band. If they attach a Muscle Band to their Genesect-EX, that leaves them unable to later attach G Booster to that Genesect-EX without Tool Scrapper in the format. Of course, if they play Deoxys-EX as well, this effect is negated, but at this point Deoxys-EX wasn’t a ubiquitous tech.
commanderalexander.tumblr.comMr. Mime was included in the list for Landorus-EX and Kyurem PLF decks, and Dedenne provided an easy solution to Yveltal-EX decks without running a clunky Raichu line. Shaymin-EX is a cheap attacker for high amounts of damage late in the game when you are unable to get three Energy onto a Genesect-EX. It allows for some impressive comebacks. One Colress Machine also helps with late-game recovery.
The last thing that is fairly different about this list is the lack of Jirachi-EX. The reason for this is that I am very against Jirachi-EX as a card, especially in Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX decks for multiple reasons. I find that the inclusion of a 90 HP EX worth 2 Prizes that you can potentially start with is not worth it, especially in an already very consistent deck like V/G. Even in most other decks, it’s much more prudent to simply include more draw support. If you start it or even have to Bench it to use its Ability, you are already probably going to lose.
Jirachi-EX will lose you more games than it will win you if you play it, and I know this from firsthand experience. I have both lost games I shouldn’t have because I played it and won games I shouldn’t have because my opponent played it. In the words of Ryan Sabelhaus, “A deck with Jirachi in it will not win a Regionals.” This is obviously an exaggeration, and Ryan was less being serious than illustrating the point that Jirachi is a double-edged sword (pun intended). I should note that Henry did not play a Shaymin-EX in his list, and he did play a Jirachi-EX in Texas.
My day 1 in Houston started off relatively strong. I played a mirror match round 1, winning the series 2-0 thanks to Jynx. I faced a Fighting/Seismitoad/Garbodor deck round 2, and again won the series 2-0. Round 3 I played against Brit Pybas‘s Donphan/Outragers deck, which was a very close series that ended in a tie.
Round 4 I faced a M Kangaskhan-EX/Fairies deck, winning the series 2-0. Round 5 I finally found myself against my worst fear, a Pyroar deck. I lost the series 2-1, winning the middle game where he dead-drew. Round 6 I won against a Plasma Kyurem deck 2-0.
Round 7 I played vs Ross Cawthon’s Landorus/Hawlucha/Raichu deck, losing the series 0-2 due to bad starts and a Prized G Booster. The matchup proved to be fairly difficult due to Ross’s attackers only needing one Energy and largely only yielding 1 Prize, making the Prize exchange unfavorable.
At this point I was 4-2-1. I still had faith that if I could avoid facing another Pyroar, I would be able to win the last two rounds and make day 2. However, the very next round I found myself opposite Jimmy with the same exact 60 cards. This greatly bummed me out, as obviously only one of us would come out of the match with the potential to make day 2. I won Game 1, but proceeded to draw very poorly for the next two, allowing Jimmy to take the win. I did not play the last round, which in hindsight I suppose I should have in order to nab top 64, but it had been a very long day.
Jimmy and Henry both ended up making day 2 with the list, so here is what we changed it to for the Expanded format:
|
Pokémon – 9 3 Genesect-EX |
Trainers – 38 4 N 1 Colress 4 Skyla
|
Energy – 13 9 G 4 Plasma |
There was much less Yveltal in Houston than there had been in Philadelphia, which was absolutely flooded with the deck. Therefore, we cut one Dedenne. We also cut Jynx and Mr. Mime for more consistency. Jimmy and Henry both had a record of 6-2-1, so they needed to win three and tie one match to make top 8. The other changes were self-explanatory, as Skyarrow Bridge and Super Rod are fantastic additions to the deck. Tool Scrapper allows you to exchange a Muscle Band for G Booster in a pinch. Three Enhanced Hammer and two Max Potion keep Plasma Kyurem decks in check and also help against Donphan. Henry also played without a Shaymin-EX and with a Jirachi-EX for day 2.
They both ended up making top 8, where unfortunately they had to play each other. Jimmy emerged the victor in their match and went on to play Sam Chen in top 4. Sam decided to include the Jynx from the day before, and that ended up making a huge difference in their match, allowing Sam to win Game 3.
Better Fortune in Ft. Wayne
By week 3, we were all very tired. I drove to Ft. Wayne with Jimmy, Dean Nezam, Dylan Dreyer, and Arron Sanyer. Jimmy and I decided that nothing had really changed much in the meta for Indiana, so we went with V/G for a second time. If anything, the meta was better for the deck, as the increase in Donphan’s popularity caused Pyroar to be less played. We used virtually the same list for day 1 as we did in Houston, only cutting one Dedenne for a Super Potion to help against Donphan. We also took out Mr. Mime for a second Shadow Triad, as Fighting was declining in play and the extra Plasma Energy really helps against Donphan.
When the round 1 pairings went up, I was dismayed to see that I was playing Dean, who is a good friend of mine. I knew he was playing Donphan, so it was going to be a close series. I was right, and I narrowly won the series 2-1. The extra techs really helped out, as did the fact that Dean did not play a Reshiram.
Round 2 I played against a mirror, which turned out to be one of Jimmy’s friends, Dema Boatman, with a very similar list. I won the first game, and made a crucial misplay in the second game that actually cost me the game, causing the series to end in a tie. I was very disappointed in myself for costing myself the win, and resolved to be extra careful during the rest of the tournament.
After that, I played against an Yveltal/Garbodor deck, winning the series 2-0. next, I faced another Donphan deck, this time with Reshiram. This match ended in a tie. Games against Donphan can be very long, as it takes time to play around and you have to take six individual Prizes. Then I played against a Plasma Kyurem deck, losing the first game and winning the next two.
Round 6 I played against another Yveltal/Garbodor deck, winning the series 2-0. This is a fairly favorable matchup for V/G, in my opinion. Round 7 I played against my friend Kevin Kobayashi with Seismitoad/Garbodor, an extremely favorable matchup for me, which I won 2-0. Round 8 I won versus a mirror 2-0.
At this point, I was 6-0-2 and got paired down to my good friend Jimmy McClure at 6-1-1 and decided to ID, even though Yveltal/Garbodor was a favorable matchup for me. I wanted us to both make day 2, and I’m very glad that I did, because Jimmy ended up with a well-deserved win the next day. Congrats again, Coach!
I was absolutely exhausted after the long drive, zero hours of sleep and the marathon day 1, so I decided to just play V/G again for day 2. I really didn’t have much else built besides Rayboar and Donphan, and I didn’t really think they were going to be good plays. V/G really only gets better in Expanded, and I only needed to win three games, so I figured as long as I only played two bad matchups I could make it. I went with a very similar list to what Jimmy and Henry played for day 2 in Texas. Little did I know what was to come.
Round 1-of day 2 I find myself paired with Sean Foisy. He flips over a Lugia-EX, and my heart immediately sinks. This is a very bad matchup for V/G, probably the worst one other than Pyroar. If the Lugia-EX player gets a quick start, there is very little the V/G player can do to keep up the prize exchange. If G Booster is Prized, the game becomes near impossible to win. Sean gets insane head starts due to Roller Skates and Catchers games one and three. I win the middle game where he draws dead.
After that loss I sit down opposite Jason Klaczynski. He then proceeds to flip over… a Lugia-EX. What luck. I am pretty sure Sean and Jason are the only two playing Lugia there. There are also two Pyroar. So in total, four bad matchups for me. Jason proceeds to 2-0 me. I don’t even take a Prize; it was very sad.
The Tyranny of TOM
I am naturally disappointed in my 0-2 start, but I still believe I can win out and make top 8. My record at this point is 6-2-3. However, my heart sinks when I look at the pairings for round 3 and see Sean Foisy. Yes, again. Along with two other matches, I am paired with my opponent from just two rounds ago. Sean is at 27 points and I am at 21. Many players expressed their dismay at this turn of events. I learn later that multiple versions of TOM (Tournament Operations Manager) were run on multiple computers, but the staff was unable to fix the problem. They do stop us halfway through the round, giving us hope of a re-pair, but ultimately just tell us to continue the match.
In my opinion, a re-pair, although in the middle of the round, was necessary. People with games already finished at this point may have disagreed, but ultimately correcting a mistake is better than just letting it play out for the sake of convenience. Overall, the whole scenario was very confusing, with no one really knowing what was going on or why TOM was creating these terrible matches. I lose the series 2-1 again.
I obviously cannot make top 8 at this point, but if I win the last two I can make top 16. I play vs. Ian Teague’s Fighting deck, winning the series. I am feeling a bit better, thinking I can grab some points with top 16 at least.
Then I look at the pairings for the last round. Nicholena Moon vs. Jason Klaczynski. Are you kidding me? Again? A.J. Schumacher, the head judge, tells me that there is nothing he can do and advises me to go talk to Derek Farber, the Tournament Organizer. I go find him, and he just tells me he has nothing to do with the pairings. At this point I accept that my day has been ruined by TOM. I get back to the top 32 barely in time to play the match. This series is much closer. I win one game against Jason, narrowly losing the other two. The matchup is just so unfavorable, because once they have two Lugias powered up, the Genesect player can’t do anything, and they only have to Knock Out two EXs for the win.
I was extremely dissatisfied with the events that took place. Day 2 I only played three players in five rounds, which is absolutely ridiculous. I was forced to play four rounds against a terrible matchup when there were only two of those decks even being played that day. I was not even the only one this happened to. This completely skews the results of the tournament. There is no valid reason for this to happen at all.
Even if the software cannot be fixed, it is possible to hand-pair 32 players, disregarding the questionable efficacy of the extra Swiss rounds system in the first place. This is probably a controversial opinion, but I think that the inherent bias that may come with hand-pairing is still preferable in a pinch to the outrageous hijinks of TOM. Regardless, fixing the tournament software needs to become a top priority for those in charge of it.
Conclusion
Despite the extremely unfair and unfortunate circumstances of day 2-of week 3, I still had a great time at all three Regionals I attended. I’d like to thank Jimmy Pendarvis for being an all-around amazing friend, Henry Ross-Clunis for his stories, Kevin Baxter for being the dad and booking our hotels, Arron Sanyer for helping with the drive to Ft. Wayne, Dean Nezam for being Dean, and Henry Prior for being super chill and good company. Special mentions to Dylan Dreyer for supplying us all with cards, Kyle and Ryan Sabelhaus for being hilarious, and Dustin Zimmerman because nothing is fun. It’s going to be a great year for Pokémon.
Thank you all for reading my article, and if you liked it please find it in your hearts to give me a +1.
xoxo Nicholena
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