Another Day, Another Deck: Squeaky’s Cities Marathon Report

Memphis_skyline_from_the_airen.wikipedia.org
Memphis, TN

I am not good at introductions so I will just jump straight into the tournament reports and my first decklist. The only things to note are that my name is Squeaky and I told my friends I would play a different deck each day of the mini Tennessee marathon.

Also, these matches are really hard for me to remember because I had to play 5 days straight of Pokémon, so I am sorry if I don’t remember everything or get matches mixed up.

Day 1 – Madison, TN

I told my friend Justin Aaron that I would play Landorus/Mewtwo on day 1, so here is my list.

Pokémon – 8

4 Landorus-EX

3 Mewtwo-EX NXD

1 Bouffalant DRX

Trainers – 39

4 Professor Juniper

4 Skyla

4 N

3 Bianca

 

4 PlusPower

4 Pokémon Catcher

3 Eviolite

3 Switch

3 Ultra Ball

2 Enhanced Hammer

1 Energy Search

1 Tool Scrapper

1 Max Potion

1 Potion

1 Computer Search

Energy – 13

9 F

4 Double Colorless

Round 1

sigilyph-dragons-exalted-drx-52pokemon-paradijs.com
My nemesis on the day.

I play against Stan who is playing Ho-Oh and friends. In this game I go up early in Prizes but near the end he drops a Sigilyph DRX and doesn’t drop down another Pokémon.

I had already discarded my Bouffalant earlier in the game which of course made me lose because I had no answers to Sigilyph.

0-1

Round 2

I play against one of the Memphis people named Jarret. He had just told me that he got donked last game because he opened Tyanmo to a Landorus and lost. Well fate was out to get him because I also opened up a Landorus to his Tynamo which lead to the donk. I feel bad but a win is a win.

1-1

After this there is a lunch break so a couple of Memphis people and I head over to Chick-fil-A. We get a bite and head back over to the place and I learn that my next opponent is Miller Cochran. None of my friends knew who he was, so I prepared for the worst.

Round 3

pokemon-catcher-dark-explorers-dex-111pokemon-paradijs.comI finally meet Miller and we set up for our match. When the match starts he flips over a Kyurem NVI and I start Landorus. I decide to just straight Hammerhead his Kyruem which pays off. He has a slow start getting out a Blastoise, but he eventually comes back and starts taking Prizes.

The game gets called to time and I need a Catcher on my last turn. During my next turn I use my Bianca to get the Catcher and bring something up for the game.

2-1

Round 4

My next opponent is Calvin Cochran and he lets me know that I beat his brother the last round so he is out for revenge. This game I open up Mewtwo to Gothita and some other Psychic Pokémon. I just load a Mewtwo and just start 1-shotting his Psychic Pokémon.

Turns out he is playing Gothitelle EPO 47/Reuniclus BLW/Cresselia-EX/Victini NVI 14. The point is to use Gothitelle and Crushing Hammers to get rid of all Energies and win that way.

3-1

Round 5

klinklang-black-white-blw-76pokemon-paradijs.comIt turns out that the Cochrans have a third brother and this time I’m playing Bowen Cochran. He is playing Klinklang which I feel pretty good about because of my quick damage and 2 Enhanced Hammers. My plan works and he never sets up a Klinklang and I use my Enhanced Hammers to discard away his Prisms which sets him back a lot.

I 6-0 him and now I am at 4-1. Also, because I beat all three Cochran brothers in a row I feel like I should be awarded a real badge of some sort.

4-1

Round 6

In order for me to make top cut I am positive that I have to win this game. Well the theme of the day seems to be brothers and I end up playing Jarret’s brother Kenton Anderson. Now Kenton is from Memphis and I know he is playing Ho-Oh with a tech Sigilyph so I have to save my Bouffalant for that.

The game starts and I am fairly sure I take the lead at first. As soon as he drops down the Sigilyph I start to power up my Bouffalant, but on his turn he either powers up a Terrakion or a Landorus and Knocks Out my Bouffalant.

After this the game is basically over because he just uses Sigilyph to take more Prizes.

4-2

quad sigilyphI end 4-2 the first day losing two games because of Sigilyph. There was a Quad Sigilyph that went 5-1, and in the finals it was Kenton with Ho-Oh coming victorious over Drew Cate, also with Ho-Oh. Both of these decks teched in Sigilyphs so I knew I should play a deck that counters Sigilyph the next day.

That night I build my Darkrai/Hydreigon deck which I already won Cities with and test some games with John Collier because he had just arrived and needed some playtesting.

Day 2 – Murfreesboro, TN

Pokémon – 15

4 Deino DRX 93

1 Zweilous DRX 96

3 Hydreigon DRX 97

3 Darkrai-EX DEX

2 Sableye DEX

1 Mewtwo-EX NXD

1 Shaymin EX

Trainers – 34

4 Professor Juniper

4 N

4 Skyla

1 Random Receiver

 

4 Pokémon Catcher

3 Dark Patch

3 Max Potion

3 Rare Candy

3 Ultra Ball

1 Level Ball

2 Eviolite

1 Energy Search

1 Computer Search

Energy – 11

7 D – Basic

4 Blend GRPD

Round 1

deino-dragons-exalted-drx-93pokemon-paradijs.com
O Deino, where art thou?

I find out that I am playing the one and only Ann-Marie “The Best” Thompson. I am excited about this game because I knew she was an amazing player and I have never played against her before. We start playing the game I find out that 3 Deino are prized!!

So, I never get a Hydreigon set up and I have to manually power up a Darkrai. I finally Knock Out a Keldeo-EX to get a Prize and I draw a Deino but then she Ns me. From there she wipes my board and I lose the game.

0-1

Round 2

After that I just hope I play a real game so I can have fun. My next round opponent is Drew Cate who got second the day before and is one of my good friends. The only thing I can remember is that he never really gets set up and he is really tired from day 1. I take this win.

1-1

Round 3

This game is against another friend which is Roman. It turns out that he is playing a Big Basic deck with Darkrai EX/Tornadus EX/Bouffalant DRX/Terrakion NVI. Once again I can’t really remember that much.

The main thing is that it was a really close match because he plays Aspertia City Gym/Eviolite/Bouffalant which took some careful playing by me. I wish I could remember more. I get the win.

2-1

Round 4

hydreigon dragons exalted drx 97pokemon-paradijs.comIt seems like my memory is really bad because I can’t remember my opponent’s name this round. I do know that this game was very one-sided. He was playing Blastoise/Keldeo, but he never gets up a Blastoise and I get everything set up.

I hate that after 4 rounds 2-of my games where wins because my opponent never gets set up.

3-1

Round 5

Before this round my friend T is telling me how he is 3-1 with a Shiftry NXD/Sableye DEX deck. I have never even heard about this deck, but he was making people rage quit because he kept hitting heads on Shiftry. I just hope I don’t play him next round because I have no idea how to beat his deck.

But instead of playing him I play against a super bad matchup for me. It turns out that I am playing Stephen Clark with Big Basics focusing around Landorus. This game I let him take the lead because I know he has a bad late game once he gets rid of his resources.

My plan works and he goes up in Prizes and when he uses Land’s Judgment to KO something I use a N on my turn. He gets a crap hand and never hits a Supporter again and I end up coming back to win the game.

4-1

Round 6

zweilous-dragons-exalted-drx-96pokemon-paradijs.com

Once again I am in the situation where I have to win this round and of course once again I play against Kenton. But unlike the other day I know how to handle this matchup because I have played it a lot. This game is really scary because I Juniper early to discard multiple dark Energies.

The main thing I remember is that I run out of Energies and I have to use Zweilous to get more D Energies out of the discard. I don’t remember much besides that but it was a close game and I get the win.

5-1

I find out that T lost his last round so he whiffs top cut with his rogue deck. But I make it to top cut and I find out that I am playing against Calvin Cochran. I get nervous because if he gets the lock up I know I basically lose the game.

Top 8

My worst fears came true in both games he hits the Rare Candy + Gothitelle which means I can never use my Items of course. Game one I Prized my Zweilous so I can’t even manually evolve and in game two when I do start attacking with Mewtwo EX he returns a Knock Out on my Mewtwo EX with his Gothitelle.

0-2, 5-2

The dream ends at top 8. In the finals it was my friend Scott DeGraw playing Blastoise/Keldeo versus an Empoleon DEX/Duskinor BCR/Landorus-EX deck. Both of these decks are weird with Scott playing Eviolites and Gold Potion to help the Prize denial. But in the end the Empoleon deck ends up winning.

That night Sam Liggett decides to make Klinklang deck for the next day and I decide that I want to play the same list to show how luck based this game really is.

Day 3 – Franklin, TN

Pokémon – 15

3 Klink DEX

1 Klang DEX

3 Klinklang BLW

2 Keldeo-EX

2 Landorus-EX

2 Darkrai-EX DEX

1 Shaymin EX
1 Sigilyph DRX

Trainers – 33

4 Cheren

4 N

4 Skyla

2 Professor Juniper

 

4 Max Potion

3 Pokémon Catcher

3 Rare Candy

3 Ultra Ball

3 Heavy Ball

1 Super Rod

1 Computer Search

 

1 Tropical Beach

Energy – 12

4 Prism

4 Blend WLFM

4 M – Basic

Round 1

prism-energy-next-destinies-nxd-93pokemon-paradijs.comOnce again I play the one and only Ann-Marie “The Best” Thompson. I hope that this game I actually have a chance to set up. She tells me that she built a new deck the night before and she thinks that she will lose but that didn’t matter.

This game I run Supporter dry and she uses a combination of Tornadus EX and Mewtwo EX to Knock Out my Pokémon which leads to my defeat.

0-1

Round 2

After that game I just hope that the next game I hit a Supporter to have a chance. This round I play against Scott Arnold who is probably the best playmat designer in the world so props to him. We start the game and he flips over a Mewtwo EX and Trubbish NVI on the bench and I knew I was in trouble from here. He attaches a DCE to his Mewtwo EX and swings for 20 on my Klink.

From here it goes all downhill and I once again run Supporter dry all game and never have a chance to do anything. I go 0-2 which in my head makes me think I have no chance making top cut, so the next games are really fuzzy because I wasn’t paying that close of attention.

0-2

Round 3

landorus ex boundaries crossed 89My opponent is Josh and he is playing a Darkrai/Hydreigon. This game goes really good for me and I set up everything that I need. One turn he does Dragonblast my Klinklang to try and make a comeback but I have 3 Energies on my Landorus so I keep Knocking Out his Darkrais because I have been spreading 30 the whole game.

After having my first real set up I win my first game of the day.

1-2

Round 4

My next round I am playing a Blastoise/Keldeo deck. I felt good about this matchup because I play Sigilyph and Shaymin EX to help, but they turn out to be useless during this game. During this game I never let him set up a Blastoise and I end up winning this game fairly easy.

2-2

Round 5

I play against Don who is playing Darkrai/Sableye with 2 Enhanced Hammers. Oh yeah did I say he played Enhanced Hammers with Sableye?

This game is basically an auto-loss though I have a chance to win, but instead of attacking with Darkrai like I thought he was he retreats to Sableye and Junk Hunts back the Enhanced Hammers and I don’t have a N in my hand. I end up 2-3.

2-3

Round 6

This was my round 4 opponent from day 2. If you remember he never set up and I win that game. But this game I never hit a Supporter and he wins this game really easy.

2-4

Top 4

squeaky top 4

On the left Taylor vs. Miller and on the right Sam vs. Scott.

Top 2

035

It seemed that fate was out to get me this day because 3 games I never set up or see a Supporter. I also play a Hammers deck which is basically an auto-loss for me.

But Sam Liggett ends up winning the whole tournament with the same exact decklist which proves that the list is good. This just shows that Pokémon is about luck because he told me he never ran Supporter dry.

After this we drive from the Nashville area back to the Memphis and we prepare for the next cities at Dyersburg. What I mean by prepare is I throw up and feel super sick.

I don’t know if it was from the Einstein’s Bagels or the Mexican food. So, I fall asleep and wake up to decide to play RayEels.

Day 4 – Dyersburg, TN

Pokémon – 14

4 Tynamo NVI 38

4 Eelektrik NVI

3 Rayquaza EX

2 Rayquaza DRX

1 Keldeo-EX

Trainers – 33

4 Professor Juniper

4 Bianca

4 N

 

4 Switch

4 Pokémon Catcher

3 Level Ball

3 Ultra Ball

2 Tool Scrapper

2 Super Rod

1 Computer Search

 

2 Skyarrow Bridge

Energy – 13

8 Lighting

5 R

One important note before I talk about the matches when me and Justin Aaron arrive at the tournament I notice that there are a lot of Eels floating around so, I give him my Landorus/Mewtwo deck from the first day. This of course makes me nervous I know that I have a super bad match up against him, but I wanted to see the deck do well.

Round 1

tynamo-noble-victories-nvi-38-no-watermarkpokemon-paradijs.com
Goodbye, cruel world!

I guess fate was out to get me because I play Justin round 1. This game is basically an auto-loss for me, but I think I might have a chance if I can draw it out long enough. My idea never came true because once again I am Supporter dry and Justin ran hot all game.

Every time I bench a Tynamo he Catchers it for the Knock Out. Once again I lose my round 1 game.

0-1

Round 2

I find out that my round 2 opponent is from my high school and goes to same college which was strange because I have no idea who he is. Turns out his name is Wallace and when he starts he opens double Rayquaza, so I thought I was playing the mirror match.

During my first turn I get everything set up and prepare to see what he does during his turn. But during his turn he drops Electabuzz BCR which confuses me a lot. He Celestial Roars and hits 2 Lighting and a Fire. Next turn I power up a Rayquaza EX on the bench but have nothing to switch the active.

His turn he drops another Electbuzz and attaches a Lighting Energy to it and Knocks Out my active. From here I just use my Rayquaza EX to take all the Prizes and it turns out he is new to Pokémon, which explains everything.

1-1

Round 3

random receiver dark explorers dex 99pokemon-paradijs.comMy next round is exciting because I am playing against Travis who is playing Darkrai/Hydreigon. During this game Travis Catchers up my Tynamo and ran super hot to make sure I never get an Eel in play. But eventually he runs out of Catchers so I can start setting up.

The next thing I remember is that he Junk Hunts for two Catchers and during my turn I N him to two cards. I Catcher up his Darkrai and Knock it Out. For his turn he needs a Catcher and an Energy to Knock Out a Rayquaza on the bench.

He drops the Energy straight away and uses a Random Receiver which gets him a Skyla for the Catcher. This was easily one of the most fun games of all my Cities and I go 1-2.

1-2

Round 4

The next round I play against a local Dyersburg person named Spencer. I go first and open a Shiny Rayquaza to his Gible. I attach an Energy and get the donk. I hate doing this and how it works, but a win is a win.

We play another game after this for fun, but he never sets up a Garchomp.

2-2

Round 5

My next opponent is Johnathan. He opens up Keldeo and attaches a W Energy and passes. During my turn I get out Tynamos and get set up. Then he drops a Wailmer DRX and uses Switch to use Sing to put me to Sleep. But I start swinging that turn with Rayquaza EX and win this game really quick.

It turns out the he is playing Wailord/Blastoise, but he only plays a 1-1-1 line of Blastoise and no Rare Candy.

3-2

I end the day going 3-2. The cool thing is Justin Aaron makes top 4 against Vince Krekeler who is playing Garchomp DRX 90/Landorus-EX. Justin wins that and then plays Louis Thompson in the finals.

squeaky marathon vince

Louis is playing Darkrai EX/Ho-Oh EX/Shaymin EX/Terrakion NVI. In the end Justin wins the whole tournament which makes me happy because it proves that my Landy/Mewtwo deck is good.

squeaky marathon

Day 5 – Memphis, TN

The next day I decide to play Keldeo/Blastoise because Ann-Marie “The Best” Thompson told me to play it one day. I text her and she gives me her list to use which means I can’t post the list, sorry guys. But thank you Ann-Marie “The Best” Thompson, you are the best. Also, this is my hometown so I hope that I do well at this tourney.

Round 1

garbodor dragons exalted drx 54pokemon-paradijs.comThis game I play against Scott Arnold who is playing his Garbodor deck and I am in trouble. I open up double Squirtle BCR to his Trubbish NVI and I am scared. During his turn he retreats his Trubbish to a Landorus-EX.

This of course makes me feel great because I know I can manually power up a Keldeo-EX to Knock Out his Landorus, but instead I power up a Mewtwp EX to kill his Garbodor. Then the next turn I kill his Trubbish. After this he Knocks Out my Mewtwo EX with his Mewtwo EX.

My turn I topdeck a Juniper and which leads me to get 6 Energy on my active Keldeo-EX and a 3 Energy on my benched Keldeo-EX. After I KO his Mewtwo EX all he can do is swing with Landorus EX and of course I Knock Out his Landorus-EX with my other Keldeo-EX for the game.

1-0

This is the first win I get for my round 1 which makes me feel like today is a good day.

Round 2

I play my friend T and I had heard rumors he was again playing another troll deck. While we are setting up he mulligans multiple turns and gets Judge Balled to get a Landorus-EX. I of course do not take the mulligans because I think he only plays one Pokémon and is trying to deck me out in some way.

I go first and draw nothing. During his turn he drops an Energy, PlusPower, and Juniper and whiffs on the donk. The next turn I set up and Knock Out his Landorus-EX.

It turns out he is playing one Landorus-EX, 4 Aerodactyl DEX, and Trainers to heal himself and disrupt his opponent.

2-0

Round 3

shiftry next destinies nde 72pokemon-paradijs.comI see that I am playing Rick Mitchell and I heard rumors he was playing T’s Shiftry deck. But I knew how to play this matchup because I have talked about it multiple times with T on how to beat it.

So during the game I only take 1 Prize and then don’t take anymore Prizes till he uses all of his Ns. After he uses his fourth N I start to take out Sableyes and Nuzleafs when I can. This plan plus him flipping mostly all tails leads me to the victory.

3-0

Round 4

I go to my table and find out that I am playing against Travis. Now I am nervous because I played him the other day, so I think he is playing Darkrai/Hydreigon which I have no idea how to play against, but to my surprise he flips over a Mewtwo EX.

I go first and set up everything up perfectly. During his turn he attaches an Energy and passes. My turn I get the turn 2 Blastoise and Ultra Ball for the Mewtwo EX. Now I have an Energy Retrieval, 2 W Energy, and a Juniper.

It takes me a second to think of this, but of course I attach the two W Energy to Keldeo-EX, retreat to Mewtwo EX, Energy Retrieval, and attach two Energies to Mewtwo EX. I use the Juniper and hit a bunch of Energies and get the turn two donk.

Once again it sucks to win the game that easily because of a donk. Also, it sucks because Travis is a good friend of mine.

4-0

Round 5

blastoise boundaries crossed 31ebay.comAfter going 4-0 I was 100% positive that I make top cut and I am too excited to even really think about my next game. I end playing Kenton Anderson and he opens up with a Landorus-EX. This of course leads to me getting set up really fast with a turn 2 Blastoise and Knocking Out his Landorus-EX.

I don’t remember much of the game but I do end up winning to go undefeated during Swiss. Also, this is the third time I played Kenton during the final round.

5-0

Top 8

It turns out that I am playing Louis Thompson, which to me is going to be fun because I have never played him against him in a tournament. Also, he is playing the Dakrai/Ho-Oh/Shaymin deck which means the games can go 50-50 depending on who get sets up first.

Game 1

He sets up early and I whiff the turn 1 Blastoise which leads him to victory.

0-1

Game 2

shaymin-ex-next-destinies-nxd-5pokemon-paradijs.comI set up early this game, but it becomes really close. I do some crazy play where I attach 5 W Energies on my Blastoise to Knock Out his Shaymin EX which leaves me with 2 Prizes. He kills my Blastoise and leaves him at 1 or 2 Prizes but then I respond with a Keldeo-EX with 3 Energies to win Game 2.

1-1

Game 3

He starts with Ho-Oh which basically guaranteed my win on the third game. But it was still a close game and every time he Knocks Out something with Shaymin EX I can respond with a Keldeo-EX. This leads me to victory and I move on to top 4.

2-1, 6-0

Top 4

In top 4 I am playing against Jarret Anderson who is playing his Tornadus EX/Mewtwo EX/Zekrom/Eelektrik/Raikou-EX deck.

Game 1 & 2

I don’t remember much about these games except that I have really good starts and Jarret can’t get anything going. This of course stinks because we don’t have a real top 4 match. Also I was goofing around too much so I can’t remember the fine details of the match. But I do get the win and move on to top 2.

2-0, 7-0

Top 2

It turns out that the other top 4 match was my friends Justin Aaron and Scott DeGraw. I know that Justin is playing the same deck from the day before which is Landorus-EX/Mewtwo EX and Scott is playing Keldeo-EX. Scott takes the win and has to play the mirror against me.

squeaky marathon

Game 1

I have a super great set up and he has absolutely nothing. He ends up scooping within 2 minutes because he finds out that 2-of his Blastoise are Prized.

1-0

Game 2

I think he has a slow start and I get another good start. I go up in Prizes early but I think he Ns and I don’t draw into anything. He attaches 6 Energy on Keldeo and starts to Knock Out everything in one hit. I have no way to respond to this and he takes Game 2.

1-1

Game 3

He Supporter whiffs the whole game which leads to his downfall. I have 3 Prizes left and everything set up on my board while he has nothing except a Keldeo and Squirtle. He decides to scoop because he has nothing in his hand.

2-1, 8-0

I go undefeated for the day and become Memphis City champ. I want to thank Ann-Marie “The Best” Thompson for telling me to play this Blastoise/Keldeo and giving me the decklist!

Conclusion

squeaky WINS

Overall the marathon was fun but very very VERY exhausting. I now have mad props to people who can do the 7 City marathons. Also, I learned that it is probably not wise to switch decks because every day you have learn all the matchups right before the tournament.

I just want to say thanks to Scott DeGraw for driving everywhere, John Collier for being an amazing friend and letting us stay at his house, Justin Aaron for letting me borrow cards no matter how expensive the cards were, Rick and Clay Mitchell for running all the tournaments, and finally all my friends that play Pokémon with me and help me out.

Reader Interactions

17 replies

  1. Sam Marshall-Smith

    “Game 1

    He sets up early and I whiff the turn 1 Blastoise which leads him to victory.”

    I would hope so…

  2. Amanda Kovs

    I’m really interested in seeing the Shiftry list if anybody has one.

    Also, congrats on your victories and for pulling through a long marathon!

      • Richard DiTullio  → Squeaky

        I don’t have a decklist but I did see the deck in action once. Key to the deck was several Devolution Sprays so he could devolve back to Nuzleaf, Junk Hunt the Sprays back and try the Shiftry Giant Fan the next turn then repeat with the Sprays.

  3. theo Seeds

    I noticed it says Heavy Hall in your Klinklang list, not Heavy Ball.

  4. Adam Capriola

    You da man Squeaky! I really enjoyed all the photos and thanks for sharing.

  5. Imakuni ?

    Even though some game descriptions were a bit minimal, you still managed to make this mini-marathon report entertaining and interesting. Finally winning a Cities at the end of the article was a nice touch, too. Congratulations on that, by the way.

  6. Twan van Vugt

    Good marathon report. Although sometimes it was a bit hard figuring what the opponent was playing. Maybe you can list is next to the roud next time? Still a good read :)

Leave a Reply

You are logged out. Register. Log in.