"The Fatality"- A Better Than Expected States Report!

     Hello, fellow Pokemon players! My name is Evan Smith and today, I am going to tell my tale of participating in Maryland States.

The Deck 

A very shocking experience!

Why I Chose to Play My Deck

     I was going to play Vespiquen/Night March, but Evan G. gave me some advice. He recommended that I play ManectricEX/Bats, my other deck, since it has better match-ups against Trevenant, Yveltal, and MetalRay (Which was actually used by a significant amount of players), but it loses to Jolteon. 

     My Vespiquen/Night March deck was also netdecked, and my ManectricEX/Bats deck was custom-made, so I was naturally more comfortable playing ManectricEX/Bats, even though I have more experience playing Vespiquen. 

     Most of the seniors playing were also playing decks that would beat Vespiquen/Night March, like Trevenant, Mega ManectricEX/Non-EXs, ToadTina, and Vileplume.

The Deck List 

     My ManectricEX/Bats list was very consistent and didn't dead draw much throughout the tournament. Here is the list:

Pokemon-16

4 Zubat

3 Golbat

3 Crobat

3 ManectricEX

2 ShayminEX

1 SeismitoadEX

Trainers-35

4 Professor Sycamore

1 Judge

1 Lysandre

1 Delinquent

1 AZ

1 Xerosic

1 Hex Maniac

4 VS Seeker

4 Ultra Ball

3 Trainers' Mail

3 Max Elixir

3 Fighting Fury Belt

2 Head Ringer

1 Escape Rope

1 Super Rod

4 Rough Seas

Energy-9

9 Lightning

Card Explanations

4-3-3 Bats Line

     I didn't play 4 Golbat due to space. It's also just not needed. 4 Zubat was a must though.

3 ManectricEX/1 SeismitoadEX

     I didn't play a full 4 ManectricEXs and opted for 3 and 1 Toad. You only need about 2 ManectricEXs per game. The one Toad does help stall in your first few turns (Especially with Fighting Fury Belt!), it definitely helps you start setting up your Bats. 

3 Trainers' Mail/3 Max Elixir/1 AZ/0 Super Scoop Up

     I didn't have enough space for 2 AZ, so I got away by playing one. I also opted out of playing Super Scoop Up because it is a flippy card, and I'd rather play it safe than risk it all. I play 3 Trainers' Mail and 3 Max Elixir for speed and acceleration.

1 Escape Rope/0 Switch

     I only played one item switch card due to space, and I'd also want a pseudo-Lysandre card. I typically don't switch out cards, and if I do I just retreat since I only have a 1 or 0 retreat cost on most of my Pokemon.

4 Rough Seas

     This is my hard Trevenant counter. It heals all the damage Trevenant BREAK does to ManectricEX and SeismitoadEX (Nobody needs bats and ShayminEXs alive!). It also serves as a counter stadium. 

9 Lightning/0 Flash/0 Double Colorless

     I chose to run all Basic Energy due to Jirachi (Even though it's not relevant anymore), Enhanced Hammer, and Xerosic. It also increases the chances I will get an energy attached with a Max Elixir.

The Report

The Tournament has begun!

     Here is the tournament report:

Round 1 vs. Rick J. w/ Greninja BREAK

     Game one was rough for me even though he dead drew the first few turns of the game. Once he got set up my deck couldn't keep up with damage since he didn't use any tools. Game two went badly for me again even though I used SeismitoadEX to slow him down. I was literally 10 damage away, and it would've been two turns for me to get the Fighting Fury Belt. The funniest part was 5 minutes after the match, they called time. So if I had won game 2, it would've been a tie instead of a loss.

0-1-0

Round 2 ??? vs. Latios Theme Deck with Other Cards

     I exploded both games and he got completely annihilated. He was also pretty new since he had a judge helping him the whole time. Of course my deck explodes when it just needs two energies the whole game.

1-1-0

Round 3 ??? vs. Team Magma's Aggron/ ROS manectric/ Hitmonlee

     My deck set up much quicker than his both games so I ended up winning even though he could hit me for weakness.

2-1-0

Round 4 vs. Anthony C. w/ Regice/Noctowl/Vileplume.

     Why do they ALWAYS pair Anthony and me at every tournament?! Game one I dead drew like I don't know what. Games 2 and 3 Anthony dead drew even though he got his Vileplume out quickly.

3-1-0

Round 5 vs. Luca M. (a.k.a. the Dark Machamp) w/ Night March Milotic

     We I.D.ed since wethough Jon was going to play his game out with London, and that would've put me in at 4th seed.

Final Record: 3-1-1

     Jon ended up I.D.ing with London and then Logan beat Anthony C. for 2nd seed. This is the result: 

     I ended up getting 5th place overall. I was pretty disappointed that I barely missed t4 but at least Luca got his invite to worlds (Congrats, Luca for making the finals!). I met Dylan Bryan in person, got 12 BreakPoint packs, and here's Anthony's shoutout! I had a great time. 

The changes I would make to my deck would be:

-1 Zubat-

-1 Crobat

-1 SeismitoadEX

+1 Trainers' Mail

+1 Max Elixir

+1 Parallel City 

3 BreakPoint Booster pack codes:

S5U-DN66-R9B-D6A

GMR-U76N-TXH-KC6

BVE-NYE4-DYL-TBD

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