We’re well into the Cities season, but because of my fiance’s work requirements, the only CC we’ve been able to attend is the one held on Sunday, December 13th at Olympic Cards & Comics in Lacey, WA.
The local metagame thus far has been almost entirely SP dominated, with LuxChomp, BlazeRay, etc. all ruling the roost. Not knowing how to play Machamp, and being an SP player since their introduction, I decided to stick with my old favorite, LuxApe. In hindsight BlazeRay or LuxChomp probably would’ve been the better choice, but I felt far more comfortable with LuxApe, just based on how long I’ve played it and how much I’ve tested with it.
There are 30 players in the Masters Division, which means a T4 cut. Just 2 more and we would’ve ended up with a T8. Sad face.
Anyway…
I got the feeling that this guy was a new player as I didn’t recognize him from any past events, and he was playing an odd deck in no sleeves, heh. He goes first with a lone Ekans GE. He attaches and passes. I draw, start with Infernape 4, attach a Fire Energy and an Energy Gain, and proceed to drop 2 Crobat Gs, and Poke Turn them both, using their Flash Bite Poke-Power a total of 4 times for 40 damage on Ekans. I then use Infernape 4’s Split Bomb attack for 20 damage and the KO. I don’t enjoy winning like that, and it was made all the worse by Andrew being such a great guy. 1-0
Round 2: Chad w/ Scizor/Cherrim
This game was much like the last, unfortunately. He goes first, opening with a lone Cherubi SV to my Infernape 4. He attaches and attacks with Razor Leaf for 10 damage. I draw, attach a Fire Energy and an Energy Gain to Infernape 4, drop 2 Crobat Gs for a total of 20 damage, and then Split Bomb again for the K.O. and win. 2-0
Round 3: Jim w/ SP Toolbox
As any experienced SP player knows, SP mirror matches can be very difficult, so suffice to say I wasn’t exactly looking forward to this one. I forget exactly who went first or second, but the game was fairly close up until Jim played Regigigas FB and uses it’s Rainbow Lariat attack to swing for 120 damage every turn, essentially killing everything I had. 2-1
Round 4: Jerrod w/ Scizor/Cherrim
At this point I’m beginning to think that I am incredibly lucky and there is no way I can win at this game without donking. Much like the other games, he opens with a Grass that’s weak to Fire, does some stuff, and then I Flash Bite and Split Bomb for the win. I am terrible at this game. 3-1
Round 5: Ashley C. w/ Gengar
Oh look I’m playing my fiance. Better yet, this match will determine which of us makes the cut and which of us doesn’t, heh. This is a very long game and I don’t remember exactly all of the details, all I know is that I had to K.O. her Mewtwo Lv. X on 3 occasions, and that’s what really sealed the game. Still, it was pretty competitive, with her a prize ahead when time was called. I was happy that the better player won, and that B-Side had at least some representation in the top cut.
All in all I ended up getting 8th, which makes me even more bitter there wasn’t a T8, haha. Still, I had fun with friends and teammates and thought that I played to the best of my ability, and that’s really what the game is about, right?

