"Double Sudden Death"- A 1st Place Cities Report!

     Hello fellow Pokemon players! My name is Evan Smith and today I am going to give you my 1st place VA Beach cities report!

The Deck
                                                 
                                  Wait? What? Why did you play Mienshao of all the decks?

     Very late at night, I wasn't satisfied with my Lucario/Bats deck, so I made my very own Mienshao/Hawlucha/Hammers deck from scratch. Here is my card-for-card list that I played:

Pokemon-11

4 Mienfoo

4 Mienshao

3 Hawlucha

Trainers-41

3 Professor Sycamore

3 Professor Birch's Observations

3 Korrina

1 Lysandre

4 VS Seeker

4 Robo Substitute

4 Level Ball

4 Crushing Hammer

4 Enhanced Hammer

4 Focus Sash

2 Eco Arm

1 Professor's Letter

1 Super Rod

3 Fighting Stadium

Energy-8

4 Fighting

4 Strong

     The list may seem very inconsistent, but it works while playing it. This deck typically is on the defensive side of the game, and you usually win by deck out, since you normally don't take 6 prizes with this build. I am going to go over many unusual card counts and explain them:

4 Mienfoo/4 Mienshao/3Hawlucha/0 Other Pokemon

     I chose to stick with, what I thought was, the bare minimum. I didn't use a one-of ShayminEX due to a 1/8 chance of starting with only that in my opening hand, and I would've had to make room for Ultra Ball. I didn't run an Eeveelution line due to space being very tight. The best part about the Pokemon line-up was that my opponent would have to knock out 6 of the 7 Pokemon out (which all attack) and deal with the 4 Robo Substitutes.

3 Professor Sycamore/3 Professor Birch's Observations/3 Korrina/1 Lysandre/0 Tech Supporters/4 VS Seeker

     I played only 3 of each main supporter and one Lysandre to make sure that I can max-out my Hammer counts. I also have 4 VS Seekers to retrieve them. Best of all you have a 70.72% chance of getting a Professor Sycamore, Professor Birch's Observations, or a Korrina in your first turn (as long as your opponent didn't use Judge).

4 Level Ball/0 Ultra Ball

     I opted to not play any Ultra Balls because I want to conserve resources, and all the Pokemon in my deck have 90 HP or less. I also have 3 Korrina to get out any Pokemon, since they are all Fighting, and get a Focus Sash or a Hammer.

4 Crushing Hammer/4 Enhanced Hammer

     I wanted to make sure that my opponent couldn't attack me easily, and to conserve my Focus Sashs. This also helped stall the game if I didn't have any Supporter cards. I honestly would've liked to have at least 2 Head Ringers to stall even more.

4 Focus Sash/0 Muscle band/2 Eco Arm

     I opted to play 4 Focus Sash to ensure I had the lock. I played no Muscle Band because I already opted to go defensive, so why should I try to go offensive too? The 2 Eco Arms was because those were all that I managed to get right before the tournament.

The Report

                                         
                                           This is what Supporters do, they betray you.

Round 1 ??? w/ Nigh March/Bronzong

     I started off dead drawing for the first few turns. While I was dead drawing I got rid of my opponents energy, stalled, and he was close to decking out. So when I used Professor Sycamore and set up, he had barely any cards and energy left so he scooped.

1-0-0

Round 2 ??? w/ Night March

     Kind of like the first game. I dead drew the first few turns. She wasn't close to decking out. I set up. The game was in my favor the whole time, it was the only game (that isn't sudden death) that I got all 6 prizes, and she had 0 cards left in her deck. Thank goodness I took the KO first and not win by another deck out.

2-0-0

Round 3 ??? w/ Metal/Ray

     I dead drew the whole game, he set up quickly. I lost this game very quickly.

2-1-0

Round 4 (Final Round before T4) ??? w/ Lucario/Bats

     I used a supporter almost every turn. He played too aggressively, which caused him to deck out, I used Hammers at the right times, and he didn't get many KOs. This game went perfectly.

3-1-0 (2nd seed)

Top 4 ??? w/ Mega ManectricEX/Raikou   

      Game 1: I didn't dead draw the whole game. I got a nice set up with a Focus Sash on each Mienfoo in play, he had to go through 4 Robo Substitutes, and I got rid of his Flash Energies with Enhanced Hammers. Win.

     Game 2: This game was like the first game, just a little more intense, okay I lied, it was WAY MORE INTENSE than the first game. I didn't dead draw, but my Mienfoos were KOed, and I only had one Pokemon left, Mienshao. I used Aero Turn on his Mega ManectricEX and I had no prizes, and Pokemon, left. What was even worse was that I had a Mienfoo in my hand so I could've won that game. Since me and my opponent had 1 win condition each, we had to do a sudden death. Time was called and I lost the sudden death by dead draw, and he won on the third turn. (And my deck isn't meant for fast starts!). An easy win turned into a catastrophy. Loss.

     Game 3: Since time has been called, and we each had on win each (Game 2 counted because someone (me) had taken at least 4 prizes.), we had to do a Sudden Death again. The judge was surprised for there to be two Sudden Death games in a row. My opponent dead drew while I had all the resources (and Hammers to remove the Flash Energy.) to win the game. Win.

Top 2 ??? w/ Night March

     Game 1: This game went quickly, I accidentally used Aero Turn instead of High Jump Kick and lost, Mienshao was my only Pokemon out. Loss.

     Game 2: My opponent conceded after being close to decking out, and I had a full set up. Win.

     Game 3: My opponent conceded after being dangerously close to decking out and there wouldn't be enough turns before decking out to get 4 prizes. I didn't even set up. Win.

                                                                          

My picture after winning.

Out of 18 Breakthrough booster packs, not bad. Also pulled Zoroark (Stand In), Magnezone, Raikou, Assault Vest, and more good cards!

     Shout out to Anthony because today is his birthday! 

     To celebrate Anthony's birthday and me getting first place, I am giving away half of my PTCGO Breakthrough Booster Pack Codes (9 of them):

88T-UY3C-VHE-6SS

C4S-EUNE-HJQ-BT8

FK9-5FVW-KFX-W7A

F9P-NSAM-TGF-EBQ

JTA-3VLH-SH5-RDV

MCN-94WR-9V7-FWA

GPC-QUNY-5YS-FXY

GT8-AWNT-KMN-DUM

KGR-ALS8-QKB-RE3

     Thanks for reading, and until next time, test on!