Preface
An overwhelming sense of defeat gutted me as I took a long, hard glance at my final result for the World Championships. My total swiss score was an utterly abyssmal 1 - 6. Yes, 1 win and 6 losess, putting me at the 2nd last of the pile. The putrid stench that I felt hanging around me and engulfing me for losing this many games at the most prestigious (arguably) event of the year for Pokemon TCG felt like a shameful burden to bear. Nay, scratch that... it IS a tremendous burden. A truly unpleasant and unforgettable experience it was then. Its excruciating effects on my ego will never leave my side should I ever deign to recall this rueful day. This disgraceful mark on my Pokemon journey will forever be a blemish unto my name as a player for as long as I walk the Path of the Trainer. Even the very fact that my losses were against some of the very best in the business provided zero comfort. A loss is a loss, a failure always a failure, and being an utter disgrace to myself, my community and my friends who spurred me on and helped me was the only morbid reality I knew of then.
That was the Pokemon TCG World Championships in San Diego, during the year 2011.
My thought process regarding Deck Choices for Worlds
Fast forward to the present day, around the period right after the States Championships leg of the season concluded, what would be the final set of the season would be unveiled. I had accumulated sufficient Championship Points (CP) to qualify for the 2012 Pokemon TCG World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, by virtue of my good results in Premier Events earlier in the 2011 - 2012 season. I was busy testing heavily proxied builds of decks that were projected to do well in the upcoming format, netdecking solid lists from from websites such as thedeckout blog, firstly grinding out online games versus randoms on playtcg, then testing with actual proxies with my friends with increasing frequency as Worlds drew ever closer.
Darkrai was exceptional as expected, performing inordinately well in testing and later on in Premier Events. Also, the good builds were quickly identified and popularized during the Battle Roads (BR) leg of the season. As the National Championship of various countries started rolling around, Darkrai's dominance became even more marked. I was extremely happy with the fact that Darkrai's dominance simply meant a pretty easy deck choice for a good deck, as well as giving me plenty of time grinding at one deck archetype until my ability to pilot it became extremely polished. One of the causes that I alluded to my screw up at the 2011 Pokemon TCG World Championships was my fickleness when it comes to deck choices, leading to unfamiliarity with my final decklist and the consequent blow out. Having only one archetype to work on virtually eliminated that possibility.
However, an interesting development at the US National Championships made me reconsider my stance. Despite Darkrai's majority presence at the top 16, the field was far more even than was expected, with ZekEel having only one spot less. With the highest placing Darkrai deck being Jay Hornung's Darkrai/Mewtwo deck, a rather uncommon Darkrai build which won only one Nationals prior (Sweden Nationals, by my friend Hampus Eriksson). This made me rather skeptical of Darkrai's consistency. The build I had the most faith in, Darkrai/Terrakion, did not place as highly as I had expected, and Darkrai/Mewtwo excelled instead. I gave Jay Hornung's list some runs and they did not operate as smoothly as when I used Darkrai/Terrakion, yet it placed the highest. I quickly deduced 2 things: 1) Darkrai/Mewtwo was definitely one of the best, if not the best build of Darkrai (as later evidenced by the stellar results its produced at the higher spots at Worlds 2012) and 2) I could not use it optimally even with a list as exemplary as Jay's. This made it an unappealing deck choice for someone like myself.
CMT was a viable deck choice as well. It was the very deck that brought me enough success during States to lock me in for a Worlds invite, my only losses being to unlikely situations (straight Celebi and energy all games, clutch topdecks and my encounter with Magneboar, to name all 3). I only lost 2 Premier Events games during the States period while piloting CMT in fact. Thus, my confidence in it was still intact, despite the fact that Darkrai and ZekEel have reached an extent of success that blatantly overshadowed CMT's in recent times, causing me to recoil in horror and disgust at the thought of running it for Worlds on occasion. Thanks would then be rightly accorded to my league member and good friend Jeremy Leong who proved to me that CMT could still stand up well against Darkrai, consequently re-opening my eyes to CMT's potential.
After that, I tested it rigourously, compiling an entire matchup table on Microsoft Word on it, then throwing up a couple hundred solitaire games against my compilation of the top decks of various archetypes fed to me from various top players who excelled at Nationals, plugging in percentages in my table as I go, and small notes on how I optimally approach the matchup. As my table was almost complete, my good friend Nelson Chua (5 - 2 Worlds 2011, 17th place, provider of extremely sound advice), reminded me I had to test Accelgor. As of then, the table was filled with either favourable or even matchups for CMT, so what would be one more deck archetype to face? I plucked up all my courage (I took 3 days to debate if I should make an outrageous move like that) and asked John Kettler for his Nationals Accelgor list. He was extremely nice about it and not only provided me with his list, but also a comprehensive breakdown of the deck and how to operate it well. I played Lilligant Lock at league for fun from December onwards and I totally dug the "perfect KO" aspect of the deck.
I solitaired the CMT vs Accelgor matchup for 20 straight games and was dismayed to find my CMT finally had an unfavourable matchup against Accelgor. After performing well against the decklists of various top players aboard and locally, I finally met my Achilles heel. I started to wonder if it would be rampant at Worlds and try to find a way against it, or accept that one bad matchup. In the meantime, I slowly began to dig the deck's "perfect KO" attribute and took a very marked interest in it. I have to owe plenty of thanks for John Kettler for opening my eyes to this unique deck concept, and providing me with a sick decklist to go with it, in a time where the exact lists of the really good Accelgor lists (like Kettler's and Harrison Leven's) were still a closely guarded secret. On a positive note, this intensive period of solitaire with the various decks of the top players gave me deep insight into them and I learnt how to deal with them better, regardless of whether I chose to run Darkrai/Mewtwo, CMT or Mew Prime/Accelgor Lock.
After throwing my CMT across the room with Kettler's Accelgor despite my experience of 3 - 4 months with it (beating all manner of decks along the way) compared to my one day experience with Accelgor, I had a very strong feeling I might have a monster on my hands, and immediately put it to work. The very next day from when I first received Kettler's Accelgor list was a HS-on tournament, which included my country's World Championship representatives in it, sort of like a test for us before we head off a month later. With only 1.5 days of experience with the deck, I took it to the tournament, which was the equivalent of tossing a newborn baby into deep water. However, that was a baby monster I was tossing, and he took to the water extremely well, faring well even against Xavier Chua's (my fellow top 16 Worlds 2012, 10th place, all-round nice guy and excellent player) CMT deck to be the only Worlds representative to cut in that tournament, with a perfect swiss score of 5 - 0. However, I lost in top 4 to a 4 - 4 Weavile deck. While I am totally positive such a deck with such a thick Weavile line (a bane to Twins-reliant decks like mine) will not be played at Worlds, the fact that I lost to a key misplay (and you can't afford to risk misplay even ONCE especially with something like Mew Prime/Accelgor, much less misplay an important move) due to my pressure to cope with the time constraints this deck will experience in Best of 3 made me hesitant to run it. Time constraints = stress = misplay... such a deadly equation.
However, having tested CMT to the ground, I took the next 4 months remaining to Worlds to practice Accelgor versus various metagame matchups, ignoring rogues since this deck might fold to them and that rogues might not be played at Worlds or cannot be prepared for in textbook ways since rogue decks can take a zillion forms. I moved on to timed games as well as testing against lists packing shenanigans such as 1 - 2 Eelektross (for ZekEel), 1 - 1 Espeon Techs (with a possible Poke Center to prevent it from getting torn apart quickly by Chandelure) and 1 Unown Cure/2 - 3 Seeker as I became increasingly fluent with the deck, anticipating all sort of hate decking if it makes a strong showing in the gaming room and even the LCQ. I also started to modifiy it from Kettler's original list to suit my style. For example, a change that was big was -1 Tropical Beach (Kettler told me his list, which ran 2, was found to be overkill) and +1 Terrakion, since T1 Night Spear was found to be extremely annoying and a threatened Retaliate under Vileplume lock would be able to keep matters under control, allowing me to stick close in prizes if he tries to rampage with Darkrai, and if he goes on the defensive, I would be able to set up smoothly. In testing the Terrakion created the win-win situation I required against T1 Night Spear. Incidentally, Terrakion laid the law with mirror (since mirror tends to devolve in Darkrai wars as no one wants to be the first to send Accelgor to the lost zone, so the go at each other with the best alternate attacker in the game, Darkrai of course, and my Terrakion would be great then) and against ZekEel, tearing Raikou EX's existence asunder if they try to snipe my Chandelure line while I manually go through the Chandelure evolution under Vileplume without the help of Rare Candy.
In all, these 3 decks have their own merits. I did not consider running ZekEel because I felt that I was not a good ZekEel player to begin with. There is something I cannot grasp about the deck that would allow me to do well, so I studied on how to beat various ZekEel builds instead. Heading towards Hawaii, my deck choice was not 100% confirmed, but it went something like this: 50% chance to use CMT (due to likely top 32, so a well rounded deck for swiss and cut like CMT would be welcome), 30% chance to use Mew Prime/Accelgor (if Worlds, being in Hawaii and thus having a smaller attendance gives a possible top 16 cut, I will need a strong swiss deck like Mew Prime/Accelgor, then wing it past the fewer Best of 3 rounds and hope my practice pays off), and 20% Darkrai/Mewtwo (in case of any interesting developments in the LCQ that would make running the other decks a bad choice for Worlds).
My Holiday In Hawaii
Tuesday - Wednesday Afternoon: A Dreadful Delay (Warning: Tons of Rambling and Other Boring stuff)
I was set to arrive on the Big Island on Tuesday. However, my transit point to Hawaii, which was Manila in The Philippines. It was pretty anti-climatic really, with me, fellow TCG player and Worlds veteran Nelson, Head Judge of South-East Asia, Worlds Judge Adrian and our VGC representative Soon stranded in the airport for hours.
We were so chuffed at being finally on the road to Kona, Hawaii, but when we were at the waiting room, about to board the plane to that tropical island, disaster struck. Gloomy clouds swarmed the skyline of the airport runway as we helplessly peered over the window. To kill time, Nelson and I simply sat down and played a few games of Pokemon TCG (a misplay we later found, for the carpet floor was damp for some reason, and I had to wash my hands with soap repeatedly and resleeve all 60 cards), where Nelson used his ZekEel to beat me good and proper. It was a thorough drubbing, 3 - 0 and no less. It caused a huge dent in my confidence, but I had to thank him in the end for the beating as it eventually resulted in me formulating a rather unorthodox and decidedly better game plan against ZekEels. We got up and glanced at the wall clock, only to see that it was 7:15 pm, while we were supposed to board at 7:00 pm.
Frustrated, I started to kill time by playing Vanguard (a Japanese TCG and my side hobby) with Adrian, and chatting up an ex-player of the game who saw us playing and approached us to chat and kill time. 8 pm and 9 pm came but there was nothing but announcements over the PA system that our flight was delayed. Nelson, who was down with a flu that time, was evidently not enjoying the delay, and we cursed the weather. Metal tables, completely makeshift, were brought out and on them, rock hard raisin buns and tiny cups of apple juice were laid out and distributed, as were cheap pillows and too-wooly black blankets. We felt more like refugees in a bomb shelter eating meagre food and huddling ourselves in blankets on cold hard plastic chairs than World Championship participants representing the country on the way to a luxurious room in Hilton, Hawaii. At 11:30 pm, 4 and a half hours later than we were expected to board, we got the signal to enter the plane. I fell asleep quickly, finally glad to be on the way to Hawaii...
I woke up 3 hours later to an announcement stating that we were about to taxi back to the airport due to weather delays.
Spending 2 more hours in the dreaded waiting room, we were told that our flight will be delayed till further notice, and that a hotel room will be prepared for us, as will breakfast and lunch. Praying for no more raisin bun and apple juice rations, we took the shuttle bus, waded the last few slippery and damp metres to the lobby of Shangri-la hotel, where we endured a dreadful 30 minutes queue to secure a room. Breakfast was an excellent affair though, an all-you-can-eat intercontinental buffet with bacon strips, garlic rice, cornflakes, yoghurt dessert in endless quantity. To top it off, a personal cook to fry your omelettes for you with virtually any side ingredient you want. Eating nothing but airplane food and refugee rations for nearly 24 hours, this free service was a real treat I had to admit. I went to my room, borrowed Adrian's laptop to check Facebook and other stuff (like looping Oppa Gungnam Style video) a little, then KO-ed until lunch, which was just as great as breakfast.
We were then informed our flight was ready and we were whisked off to the bus (and stood for 30 minutes waiting for it) to the airport. Things were scarily smooth later on and our 10 hour flight involved tons of napping so it passed really quickly. At Honolulu we were held up for a while and missed our original flight, but ran like madmen to catch a domestic flight with last minute vacant seats. The rest of the journey was ALMOST a breeze in comparison, what with 30 minute flights feeling nothing more than taking a bus ride. However, a final infuriating delay due to failure to transport my friend's luggage from Honolulu to Kona got on our nerves as we waited for 1 and a half hours without so much as a proper lunch, munching on peanuts and giving me a mildly painful throat. Then we were off, taking the taxi past a desolate landscape of white shrubs and endless piles of volcanic rock lining the road, as well as the occasional glimpse at some faraway beach with the glittering blue of the ocean.
Then the taxi drove up the road to the country club - esque lanes of Hilton Waikoloa and dropped us off at the lobby of the hotel.
Wednesday Evening - Thursday Evening: Gaming Room and Stuff
We made our way around the hotel, trying to figure out where the main event would be held, as well as the all-important gaming room, a Pre-Worlds tradition for us to visit for games and purchasing of Japanese sleeves and deckboxes. We located it but there were not many people (it being a WEDNESDAY and it being NEAR DINNERTIME). However, strong, well-known players like Jason Klaczynski and Sami Sekkoum were there, and I wanted to watch their games to see if there was anything I could learn. It was simply a thrill, in any case, to watch such Titans play. However, my 3 friends violently protested and wanted something to eat. I can't say I blame them, it was a long flight with hardly any decent food, if any. However it still took them some dragging and a threat to leave me alone, stranded in the gaming room, to join them.
I was whining about how I wanted to go to the gaming room so badly and nothing else mattered while on the way there, so I was made to hold the map of Hilton to shut me up, as I became their navigator. I took a very long, roundabout path to Lagoon Grill, in which case I was criticized mercilessly on failing to spot a tiny vein of a road on the map that would take them there much more quickly. As food was served, we dug in furiously, and everything else was momentarily forgotten. The Crispy Korean Chicken was so awesome, and I felt like I can eat it for the rest of my life and not tire of it at all.
I was also made fun of for my inability to purchase alcohol, for I was the only one in our group of 4 who was under 21, and unlike in Singapore, the legal drinking age was 21 and above, not 18 and above. I was ID-ed for it (because people still think I play in the Senior category based on appearance alone =.=") and refused. So I simply stole a few sips of Mai Tai from Soon's cup. Soooo gooood. Lagoon Grill is the nexus of a plethora of Hawaii's stereotypes, like Palm Trees, Sunsets, Rastafarian Music in the Background, Sea Breezes... etc. I chilled out from my urge to run back to the gaming room a little, and enjoyed my first real good meal from the really long airplane flight, as well as basking gladly in the glorious fact that not even a typhoon can keep me from reaching Kona, Hawaii for the Pokemon TCG World Championships 2012.
We met the other component of Team Singapore later in the evening after boat right (sailing past the gaming room area at too leisurely a pace), consisting of Bobby and his Parents, Dario and his Dad, and our National Champion, Reuben "Master" Fong. They touched down later at night and we rejoined them right after dinner (gaming room after our HAPPY REUNION maybe?). Then I had to unload my stuff at Dario's (who I was bunking in with) room (I wanna go to the gaming room!). Then wait a little before we headed down to the open gaming area once more. Still, not many people were there and so we took a look at what little merchandise there was (meh...) and did a little troll playtesting with Durant/Terrakion/Mewtwo. Finally, we went back to our respective rooms at 1:30 am, and slept in the extremely comfortable bed Dario and his Dad offered us, while Dario and his Dad had to share 1 bed together. I felt blessed that they showed such consideration for me, given that the room was really Dario and his Dad's, and they are not obliged to give me an entire bed for myself while they had to share 1, for no reward or compensation. I was grateful for it and still am now, thanks Dario and Calvin! So I soon slipped off to slumberland thankfully and blissfully, recharging myself for another activities-packed day in Hawaii.
I woke up, my eyes staring squarely at an unfamiliar ceiling. The smell of coconut-scented soap was incredibly thick in the air. The air-conditioning in the air was a tad too cold for my liking, and the unexpected temperature setting struck me as odd. The springs on the bed was too yielding, pillows too soft and numerous. I sat up, mind hazy, trying to figure out exactly where I was, for my mind could not register where I was exactly at this point in time. Then it hit me, like a sudden splash of pleasing cold water onto parched skin in the middle of a hot summer day.
Yes, I am in Hawaii.
I got up, got myself ready and stuff, then was raring to go in the open gaming area. However, of course they had to go down to King's/Queen's for breakfast because people were hungry. #rollseyes. I playtested with Dario using Durant for a while waiting for the others, then off we went. We had a darn good time making jibes at our National Champion Reuben when we went to Arby's, constantly pointing towards Super Reuben, one of the dishes on the menu. He proclaimed that he would buy us all a Super Reuben if he made top cut! Food was good, portions were huge (it's America!) and my antics of mixing every possible beverage available on the drinks machine gave me a surprisingly tasty concoction, as well as a few pokes from my friends and comments on food poisoning. To my chagrin, they all decided to shop for supplies. I was dragged myself off to them, mind already with the wonderful deckboxes, sleeves and fingers itching to play cards.
However, shopping was a blast! Reuben picked out a kickass Hawaiian Aloha Shirt while I was struggling to find one that suited me, but to no avail. >.< I was tempted to pick up a brown Hawaiian beaded necklace (Akuma much?). I was fascinated with the gigantic can of AriZona (well gigantic considering the size of the cans from where I'm from, haha) green tea and bought a large quantity, amongst other things. Nearly forgetting my backpack, we were finally back on the way to the hotel (and the open gaming area). I was having a mock quarrel with the bus driver for having to pay 2 dollars instead of 1 dollar for "small people" (rough translation of a signboard in Japanese stating the bus fares for different kinds of passengers), quoting my inability to purchasing alcohol despite being 20 years, 11 months and 9 days old then. :D
Finally, we were at the gaming room, extremely crowded by then. Met up with my friend Ty Smith, watching him play a game using his Accelgor vs Freddy K (a 5 time Worlds contender, including this year, from the United Kingdom)'s ZekEel. Definitely a cool experience meeting both of you guys! #shoutout. Played a few casuals and then we went over to King's/Queen's for lunch, but had no appetite for the huge portions offered. After which, I went over to Dustin Zimmerman's makeshift Pokemon merchandise store and he was trying hard to set me his 3D mudkip card for 10 USD. Frankly speaking I wanted to buy it off him later on, but it always slipped my mind. >.< I also brought a much needed Shiny Chandelure to complete my Mew Prime/Accelgor deck from Ty's friend Kevin Murphy. Thanks alot Kevin! As the afternoon went by, Ty, Dustin and Harrison Leven were busy hollering and selling Dustin's wares for a good part of the afternoon. I met a cool person in David Reichenberger and watched as he and Harrison went at it with 2007 World Championship decks. The match piqued my curiosity, for I had a bad understanding of the format, not being a player in those days, and I definitely learnt a few new things as few. As Harrison said: "2007's all spread.", and from what I've seen, that much was pretty apparent.
So Jit Min and Xavier Chua finally touched down, almost completing Team Singapore's presence in Kona, Hawaii. He had a game with Sami Sekkoum, as did Reuben. I had a game with Jason Klaczynski, where I had my ass handed to me, as expected. A good learning experience, though it was rather humiliating. However, it was a true privilege to play someone like Jason Klacynski, a person I respect greatly in the game. My defeat spurred me to skip dinner (remember I did not have a proper lunch) and continue grinding games in the gaming room until I've got my matchups sorted out, and finally decided to play Mew Prime/Accelgor for Worlds. Thanks much to Ty Smith for helping me get those games sorted out before retiring for the evening.
I turned in, feeling like I've done alot in the open gaming area for the whole day, but at the same time feeling as if I had not done enough. Then again, at Worlds, you cannot never prepare enough. You are up against the very best out there and they have years of experience more than you, and no amount of training in this relatively short period of time can prepare you for what you are about to face on the days themselves. With that uneasy thought, I slipped off into slumberland once more.
Friday: A Day Off!
I woke up pretty late. This day was supposed to be a chill one, the proverbial calm before the storm. We queued up for our Worlds registration and merchandise. Soo stoked! So we endured the long queue for our Worlds freebies. Nothing eventful on that front. So we went to the open gaming room and took a good look at games. We endured the annual "Hi can I trade my Japanese Tropical Beach for your English Tropical Beach since you look Japanese" nonsense as people approached us. A foreign couple approached me and tried to get me to sell the 2012 Worlds Pin for 10 USD. I cared not for that tiny piece of shiny metal and agreed, being mistaken for a Japanese all this while. I was later chastised for this "misplay" by my friends as they felt the pin was worth a lot more, and could not be purchased at the Worlds Shop. Oh well, no point dwelling on such matters, and move on! I also met my friend Hampus Eriksson, Sweden's multiple time National Champion and fellow Mew Prime/Accelgor player at the LCQ area, watching Drew Holton's Mew Prime/Accelgor deck in action. Soon, I lost interest in the event (very bad at pushing past crowds to get a good view of games) and went back to the hotel room to change my clothes and ready myself for lunch.
Under the insistence of Nelson and Reuben, we hit the pool! I lugged EVERYONE'S baggage while they all ran headlong into the beach, the feel of feet on powdery sand, while I put EVERYONE'S stuff down. Props to Dario's Dad for helping to take care of all our things while we enjoyed a swim in the pool! So into the salty water we went. Nelson swam ahead like a boss, to much cheering as he swam to the other side in double quick time, and put the rest of his stuff there. Then Nelson, Reuben, Xavier and I went swimming to the other side to see turtles. I was the slowest swimmer and failed to latch onto Reuben's Kayak to get a speed ride to the waterfall at the end to see the turtles, but it was still great fun nonetheless. Then we spent the good part of the half hour trying the capsize the kayak, flip it upright once more, and then hijacking it, only to get capsized by the other 3 again. Rinse, lather and repeat. Back at the shore, Bobby, our Junior Champion, was using "Sand Attack" to great effect and much laughter. It was then I felt an itch on my arm. I had to rush over back the hotel room for a good rinse. Turned out I was allergic not only to seafood, but now to sea water. Another big misplay to go swimming in the "sea-pool"!
After recovering from the mighty, pan-body itch that could only arise from immersing yourself in brackish, bayou-quality murk, we went queueing for merchandise. One look at the queue and I thought to myself: "hey, this ain't too bad!", and then I lined up with the rest of Team Singapore.
Nearly 3 hours later...
Emaciated, we stood at the head of the queue, elusive, Worlds-exclusive merchandise within reach. In the midst of our horridly long and energy-sapping wait, Lee Soong Teck, our final representative for Singapore, joined us to catch up and tell us the sights and sounds he experienced, with the same level of enthusiasm as when we first arrived on the Big Island. His appearance marked the entire of Team Singapore's presence in Kona, Hawaii, and we welcomed him for it. Other than whiling the time away with small talk, we tried to combat the boredom and utter tedium of a seemingly immobile queue by playing kiddie games like "chopsticks" (no kidding, it started after we saw some Americans behind us in the queue playing the same thing!). Finally we got to shop and we just threw all we wanted onto the counter and were done with it, like finally!
After a relatively uneventful (but very good!) dinner, we rushed towards what would have been the last bus, only to find it swarmed with tourists all over, all trying to catch the last bus after dark, and we knew we could not enter the bus by any means. To our great joy, the bus driver promised that the bus will come back for us one last time. Grateful, Soong Teck, Xavier and I ran to the convenience shops nearby to grab drinks, something we originally could not do in our rush to grab the last bus. As a result, we almost missed the bus after that and had to stand for our "late-ness"!
On the ride back, I told Xavier how I was tempted to pick up CMT last minute seeing as the LCQ had tons of ZekEels and I fear it would be tomorrow's metagame. After receiving a sound drubbing by Nelson's ZekEel a few days back, I loathed the matchup as a Mew Prime/Accelgor user, but was happy with my chances as a CMT user, having tested the matchup to the ground since States. Xavier and I remembered the times where we were keen to be paired against ZekEels as CMT players, for barring a horrible strain of misfortune, we felt the matchup was securely in our great favour, and still is. My big problem was my inability to borrow a sufficient number of Mewtwo EX for my deck, for I was the only one in my team not running the card if I chose to run Mew Prime/Accelgor. It was then I have to truly thank Xavier for reassuring me that since I have tested Mew Prime/Accelgor so much, it would be a complete waste to not run it for Worlds, no matter what. With enough understanding of the deck, even the toughest meta in the deck could be feasibly overcome. Moreover, there was no point worrying about something that I could not do much about (like being able to borrow enough Mewtwo EX to run my CMT by tomorrow morning). Thanks Xavier for the reassurance and sound advice! I also told him about how his winning streak kept snowballing and told him that he was not bound to stop at any time soon, not even at Worlds. I certainly hope those words kept him going all the way to top 16, if anything. Finally, I also told him that I would see him as a fellow competitor in the top cut on Sunday, and what a prescient act that turned out to be!
Nothing much occured after that, and I eventually sank into an uneasy sleep, apprehensive of the incredible adversaries I would go toe-to-toe with in a matter of hours.
Saturday: Pokemon TCG World Championships 2012 - Day 1
I had a drink of water and 1/12th of a Hawaii Roll Bun to eat, then went to the tournament area. Once again, it was a grand affair. It was not as big as in San Diego, but I did not come here to enjoy the fanfare, but to compete. The ensuing introductory programme, while full of spunk and pomp, failed to relieve my mixture of nerves and single-minded focus on the battles ahead. I told myself that I needed to do well, and nothing else mattered.
Without rest, we were ushered into the waiting tables while the staff went about their administrative duties in preparation for what was about to come. Decklists were submitted, rules were explained, and a top 16 cut was announced. My reaction was that of chagrin and a small measure of joy. Chagrin because top 16 makes for a far more challenging Worlds tournament for me to compete in, but a little joy was felt at the thought of top cutting and having to endure less Best of 3 rounds in the end.
Pairings were up.
I jostled my way past the crowd and craned my neck to get a look at my matchup. Tension, anxiety gripped me in monumental measures as my eyes scanned the list for my name and the name of my adversary who will conduct the first battle against me on arguably the grandest stage in the business...
Round 1: Vs Zachary Mirman (America, CMT)
Opponents at Worlds are high-level players by definition, and the apprehension felt across the field during round 1 definitely gave rise to the influx in stern faces. Having a really tough opponent with a stern, tense face staring down at you across the table would be a daunting experience. However, Zachary was an extremely nice fellow. He was extremely friendly and we had a little small talk before the game started. For that to do it with an opponent you have never met prior, in an extremely high level tournament, he has to be a pretty cool person, and this turned out to be the case. Topics such as his cool-looking Lilligant/Gardevoir sleeves (striking green-coloured Pokemon against a bright red backdrop, great colour scheme!) compared to my relatively drab-looking blue ones came up. Being a person who favours plain-looking designs compared to over-the-top ones, my preference for his sleeve design says alot. Despite the friendly talk, I knew my opponent was a Worlds competitor and would prove to be a tough adversary later on. His name seemed familiar and I feared it might be due to seeing it in tournament placings and/or high up in the CP ranks. In any case, let's get on to the battle report!
I started well with 2 Pokemon, Mew Prime and Litwick, while he opened a lone Tornadus EX. Mew Prime and Litwick were extremely good Pokemon in the early game, giving me an option to utilize See Off or Call For Family to contribute to an early set up, and one of each on board helps me avoid the donk. Whiffing on Pichu, I used Mew to See Off Accelgor to apply early game pressure, since Call For Family does very little in the face of rush decks like his. He drew, attached a grass energy, and then passed. I felt really good about my chances, and then went about setting up my board with Pichu, and evolved the initial Litwick. With a dead hand of his (I presumed), a full bench would not be enough, for he had to burn resources in order to make use of the Smeargle he searched out and then portrait the only supporter in my hand, the then-useless Twins.
However, I'm not sure if it was a topdeck or crafty Pichu-baiting into a potential set up, but he dropped N right after, much to my dismay. He then snagged a switch off his fresh 6 cards into a Smeargle and portrait-ed my new hand, consisting of Sage's Training, giving him a route to discard redundant trainers before the lock was up, then had enough resources to switch in again to an attacker to lay waste to one of my Oddishes (seeing no Twins in my hand). From a perceived dead hand to a sudden development on the very next turn, nothing less from a Worlds-calibre opponent!
With Twins gone from N, I had to use Sage's for a T2 Vileplume, or lag behind a turn using Pichu again. Sage I did, and I ended up being able to use Pokemon Communication to snag a Rare Candy + Vileplume combo. However, I still a long time debating the move, for it would not hurt to use Pichu to nab another Oddish and then develop my Chandelure line instead, using as many trainers as I could. However, I caught myself before this dangerous mindset took full control over me. An early Vileplume was key in the matchup, what was I thinking? Shaking off what I realized was nerves, I searched for Vileplume and then forced my opponent into trainer lock.
He took a few more prizes from Pichu and other useless Pokemon while I attached Rainbow Energy to Chandelure and loaded 2 Mew Prime with a Double Colourless Energy each as insurance against a potentially devastating N, switching Chandelure in after every other sacrificial Pokemon to put damage where it suited my game plan the most. From Pichu, he only sought out one Celebi Prime, and I happily dropped 30 on it to prevent him from throwing it out in front of me so that my Mew Prime instantly kills it and prevents a perfect KO from taking effect. I want Mew Prime to strike the opponent's Pokemon such that it gets knocked out from poison going into my turn or Chandelure's Cursed Drop, so that they can never find an opening to attack even once, and there is where I would make my comeback from the prize deficit. This is dubbed as the "perfect KO". Celebi getting knocked out, leaving room for a counter attack on my opponent's turn prevents that. Now with 3 damage counters on it, Celebi is merely a Cursed Drop from getting me a prize, a potential snack for me to munch on and grab a prize in order to possibly recover from N.
Once I laid enough damage counters on the field for my Mew to score perfect KOs without much trouble (allowing him to take 4 prizes in the process if I remember correctly), I began running the field through, looping the KOs I scored into my turn again and again, missing the beat once, resulting in one Mew with a DCE on the field on any one turn instead of 2, putting me at the risk of an N later in the game. Regardless, I ploughed on. I must mention Zachary's sportmanship and eye for detail when he stopped me from taking a prize when I dropped 2 damage counters onto his Mewtwo EX for the knock out, and shot my hand out towards my prizes, prepared to take 2 of them. He reminded me that I had to finish dropping all 3 damage counter on the field before taking my prize(s). Props to him for an extremely sharp eye for detail and sportmanship for reminding me of my mistake before it became something he could call a judge on me for, as he very well could if he chose not to stop my from committing such a lapse and then call a judge after I did. Thanks to this close shave I never came close to committing this error for the entire tournament as well.
There was one final hurdle present when a well-timed fresh attacker hit the board and I could not throw enough damage onto it on time to make a perfect KO, and was thus force to place a sacrificial Pokemon in front, while said attacker would be KOed from poison, and it would be his turn already. He had the opening to promote a Smeargle, portrait the Twins I could not discard (he had 2 prizes left to my 1) and grabbed the 3rd N with it. Dropping the N and nabbing the KO on my sacrificial Pokemon put us at 1 - 1 prizes, and I had probably 1 or 2 turns worth to wall with Chandelure and/or Darkrai before a fatal whiff would allow him to steal the game. However, the deck was already thin and I was able to grab a supporter after his N, and played it down to get the last Deck-and-Cover attack, combined with Chandelure's Cursed Drop damage, in order to win a very close fight. Good game, Zachary!
After signing the match slip, the tension that I did not know was there earlier slipped away, leaving only relief in its wake. I checked my watch to see how long the entire game took. It took me a mere 20 minutes! This was a great result considering I played much more slowly than normal out of pure nerves. I anticipated my playing speed would pick up as I would get used to playing more intense rounds in time to come. To my joy, I also learnt that a good number of Team Singapore was up 1 - 0, and they were watching a certain match with great intensity. I then realized Xavier was missing from the group and turned my eyes to witness an unbelievable sight.
Our friend Xavier was locked in combat against none other than the US National Champion, John Roberts II.
It was incredible to witness one of our own homegrown talents fight one of the top players hailing from an established powerhouse country in the international stage in an gruelling contest that went into overtime. Even though the table was too far away, and partially obstructed by a judge supervising the match to see the exact progression of the game, I still experienced gripping nervousness and exhilaration witnessing the 2 of them go at it. As battle finally concluded and the dust of battle was still up in the air, it was hard to tell who emerged the victor of the battle, as both players packed up their cards with unreadable expressions. However, the dust soon settled and the judge responded to our queries to the outcome of the match by pointing to Xavier and nodding. We erupted into cheers at this feat, and for Xavier scoring one for our country! Morale was high and with great joy we confronted our next challengers.
After taking a look at the pairings, I walked, perhaps with a little spring in my step from the heady euphoria of winning my first match and of Xavier's accomplishment and what it meant to Team Singapore, towards my table to face my next adversary.
Round 2: Vs Cristian Vidal (National Champion of Chile, Magneel)
Sitting down opposite my opponent, I quickly learnt that he was the National Champion of Chile, representing a community of players who are freshly revived from a dry spell of Organized Play just this year. I recalled those days in which Pokemon was dead in Singapore and remembered how our own community was then a fledgling one on our maiden year back in 2010, when Organized Play was resurrected, so to speak. Looking at where we are now a mere 2 years later, with 6 representatives from our country playing in Worlds in the Masters Category, no small amount for a country other than America, I felt grateful and fortunate to see our very own community come a long way. I definitely wish the Pokemon TCG players of Chile all the best in regrowing their community to match or exceed their previous standard! Definitely a feasible and noble ambition to work towards by any standard.
Meanwhile, Reuben came over to the edge of the competition area, just next to my table. Seems like he received a bye (free win) for this round, must be nice! I grumbled half-humouredly about how he received a free win in of all tournaments, Worlds! Reuben grinned and took a photo of me setting up for the game.
The game began and I soon learnt from his Pokemon Collector that he was running Magnezone Prime/Eelektrik. I was a little winded by this unexpected development, for I had zero testing against the matchup. However, I took comfort in the fact that his main attacker, Magnezone Prime, had exactly 140 hp, putting it instantly within range of a perfect KO from Mew Prime without any modification from Chandelure. With this in mind, I decided that the development of the Chandelure line should take a backseat and I focused on developing a really quick Vileplume instead. On his second turn, he played a Judge after I searched out all my relevant Pokemon with Pichu, rightly anticipating I could lock his trainers on the very next turn if my hand was not disrupted. Judge scared me a little for it was more disruptive in the early game than N, which worked in his favour, for his deck had a shaky early game.
However, running 15 draw/search supporters in my deck, I recovered well enough. It was precisely because of this heavy supporter count that I have often fought out of well-timed late game N numerous times in playtesting, and that time was no exception. Although I did not have the T2 Vileplume, I had one half of the Rare Candy/Vileplume combo and a Sage's Training in hand to get a very likely Vileplume up and running on the next turn, barring another Judge on his part. I did manage to See Off Accelgor though, and I was making great progress regardless.
He finally could retreat into the Thunderus he searched out from my use of Pichu, and immediately used Charge with hardly any other move, save for a Tynamo evolving into Eelektrik. I took it that his hand was pretty much stuck and used Sage's Training to nab the cards required to force him straight into trainer lock. However, other than Trainer Lock, my hand was pretty much dead and I decided to sacrifice my unevolved oddish for his Thunderus to KO, so that I could use Twins to complete my set up, as my Chandelure line was rather undeveloped, and none of my Mew had enough energy to go for a Deck-and-Cover. He indeed took the kill on my sacrificial Oddish with his Thunderus, and I went about using Twins, starting a Twins chain (looking for one card that I want, and a Twins to use later so I could "chain" utility of the card) and sacrificing more Pokemon while I prepare myself to lock him in for the entire game. However, his prize seemed to net him a Judge and he played it down, only to allow my hand to once again be filled with nice cards, like a Double Colourless Energy to lock him in using my Mew, and a Professor Juniper to get even more desired cards.
I used Deck-and-cover onto his Thunderus for 70, but was busy loading up my Lampent with Rainbow Energy to repeat the Deck-and-cover, so I used Tropical Beach and passed into his turn, poison damage leaving Thunderus at 30 damage. I left a basic Pokemon with 50 hp in the active spot as a sacrrifice to give him incentive to retreat his poisoned Thunderus and attack with his rather well-charged Eelektrik. Thunderus with 30 hp remaining would be a great Pokemon to take a prize off via Chandelure's Cursed Drop later, so I could get more cards in my hand in case of late-game N or a fatal Judge, so this ploy of mine worked.
I finally got my set up ready, while he had a Magnezone and a Magneton on field, as well as 2 Eelektrik. His set up was far from exemplary, and I even managed to buy enough time for a detour to lay a Rainbow Energy onto Vileplume in anticipation of a possible Eelektross using Slurp Shakedown to trap Vileplume in the active position for the kill to eventually break out of trainer lock. I then ran him through by looping perfect KOs one after another, keeping a look out for the possible Eelektross. However, as it turned out, it was not necessary to look a gift horse in the mouth, and my well-developed lock kept him within my reins.
When I was about to equalize the prize count, I noticed his pace of play dropped dramatically. I started timing his moves by the seconds using my watch and indeed he took longer than was legally acceptable, based on what I knew as a Pokemon Professor. I knew that his turns consisted of draw-and-pass sequences with the occasional energy attachment from the hand or via dynamotor. After a particularly long spell in which he was debating whether or not he wanted to use Professor Juniper to toss away what was clearly a dead hand (as I later learned). I motioned to a nearby judge and asked for a pace of play check. My opponent's expression changed to one of anger, and he called over another judge to complain that I was accusing him of stalling while I took an extremely long time searching my deck using Pichu on my first turn, and thus it was ironic that I could accuse him of slow play. I saw huge problems with that complaint, since searches on the first turn tend to take longer to check if important cards are prized, especially with decks like mine, which require no small amount of key cards to achieve the desired set up for a smooth game. Also, expressing anger against my complaint would not get me any penalty, nor would it deter the judges from passing the correct judgement, for anger alone does not make for a good argument. The Head Judge, Vince, was then called over and he ruled in my favour, giving a 3 minute prize extension to the game, and assigning a judge to ensure that the pace of the game was adequate, which was what I originally required for. I was right and the Head Judge ruled as he should, but instead of relief I felt anger instead, for I was not happy at someone trying to stall out a slow deck like mine (I lost important games due to slow play, intentional or unintentional regardless). Even if he did not intend to stall me, his sudden outburst to a harmless, no-penalty request on a pace of play check galled me, and he gave me a very bad impression of himself, for his conduct on the field of battle proved to be appalling. I apologized to him for the incident, not because I felt that I was wrong to call a Judge over, but merely out of courtesy as I saw he was rather flustered. I still maintain that I was in the right, and did all I could in my power to ensure that the game does not slip out of my hands for any conceivable reason.
I continued locking him in place, keeping a keen eye out for his Magneton, fearing that he could simply evolve out of the paralysis lock to grab an opening to attack once more. Fortunately, that fear did not materalize and I took this game without further incident. Without saying anything to him, I signed the match slip, packed up my cards, dices and other belongings, and stalked out of the playing area with a very strong dislike for his nasty attitude.
I met with the rest of Team Singapore and was happy to see that our players in all categories attained a record of either 1 - 1 or 2 - 0, a great start to the day. We went off for our luxuriously long (nearly 2 hours!) lunch break in high spirits, and I even had enough time to head back to the hotel room for a shower if I so wished! Lunch break was a relatively uneventful affair, and soon I found myself back at the Championship venue, eyes locked upon the matchup sheet. My opponent was Steven Mao, a very skilled player from Europe, and the reigning National Champion of Germany.
Round 3: Vs Steven Mao (National Champion of Germany, CMT)
For those who don't know Steven Mao, he is an outstanding player in the Pokemon TCG. Other than being National Champion of the biggest Nationals outside the US and Canada, he was also the Winner of a prestigious event, the European Challenge Cup (ECC) in 2011, a pan-continental event that attracts the top players of Europe to compete. He also excelled in TCGs outside Pokemon, being #2 at the Worlds equivalent of another TCG, known as Weiss Schwarz (WS). With these accolades in mind, I brace myself for a good fight with a worthy adversary. We had some friendly small talk before the match and had to endure the Head Judge giving announcements in 15 different languages, while on our side of the competition area, we were already raring to go. Finally, we were given permission to being our games and off we went.
I was off to a pretty standard start with Pichu and he demonstrated an extremely good understanding of the matchup by benching 2 Celebi Prime amongst other attackers, like Tornadus EP as a reliable sweeper early game and a non-EX to prevent me from locking him in early to snag 2 prizes with little effort, as well as the obligatory Mewtwo EX to load up during his spare time so that I could not wall with Chandelure and/or even Darkrai EX during the late game to buy time to recover from N. He definitely understood the game well and I knew that no matter what, it would be a hard fight. However, I was confident in myself, for I have tested the matchup with people who knew about Mew Prime/Accelgor well, forcing them to use CMT against me and attacking me in the most anti-Accelgor way they could think of, and Steven Mao's set up wasn't too far off. Not only that, my hand was good, and in fact I was holding a T2 Vileplume (which would be my first in the tournament, about time!) and a Lampent. A great start by any measure.
However, disaster struck as he played an N early in the game. I was a little shocked at the early game N, for CMT typically runs less N than ZekEel or Darkrai, and he would wind up having less N to stop me late game. Then it occured to me that it might be because it was his only way to secure a better hand, and accepted this latest development as it was. To my horror, I ended up having a new hand of 6 Pokemon, all of the wrong kind, save for a consolation Lampent. Examples of the "wrong kind" of Pokemon were Relicanth when there was no bench space, Litwick when I had more than enough, Terrakion when I did not need it, the list goes on. I did snag a Twins after his first kill, but I had to dedicate the 2 cards Twins afforded me to Rare Candy and Pokemon Communication (for Vileplume of course), and continued to struggle with my crappy hand.
There was not much to say after that, I eventually got a Chandelure to switch in after every sacrifice and deal paltry amounts of damage with, but still no energy to See Off an Accelgor until the mid to late game transition, a little too late by any means. I eventually did get Professor Oak's New Theory to bail myself out of my clogged hand, only to get an N to the face right after. My hand turned from that of a really good one to that of consisting of the wrong kinds of Pokemon, part 2, with Vileplumes when I had one already, surplus Accelgor, and the like. I was not very pleased, especially after my initial feelings of hope for a comeback as his N would get me a fresh hand of 5 or 6 while he would receive 2 or 3 cards, an opening if there ever was any. When he was down to 1 or 2 prizes, I was forced to wall with Darkrai EX (instead of Chandelure due to its bulk), a 3 hit KO for everything except his Tornadus EX, and I was hoping his Tornadus EX would not have enough energy to use Power Blast. However, he was willing to spend energy to retreat into his Tornadus EX and it immediately went to work, hitting me for 100. His Tornadus EX had 4 energy attached to it, signifying that he wanted to use this Pokemon to end the game by smashing me with 100 damage again and again if possible. I topdecked a Professor Juniper and played it down, praying to get the energy to retreat my Darkrai and wall with Chandelure instead, simultaneously being able to spread 6 damage counters over the course of 2 turns and retreat into a Mew Prime to freeze his Tornadus EX if he insists on keeping it there. However, with a fresh hand of 7 after drawing dead cards, there was still not a single energy card to be seen, and I drew into even more dead cards, and my damaged Darkrai EX stood in the active position, facing a Tornadus EX with enough energy to use Power Blast to win.
With that, I extended my hand in congratulations to Steven for his victory, and wished him all the best for the games ahead. He was very nice about it and wished me the same, and we had a little small talk as we signed the match slip and went out of the playing area. Great game, Steven!
I remembered seeing those from Team Singapore who scored 2 - 0 so far being paired against really famous players. An example would be Nelson being paired with Jay Hornung (Worlds 2009 3rd place, Worlds 2011 top 16, US Nationals 2012 3rd place and eventually Worlds 2012 top 4). I went to see how he did and he was already outside the playing area, shaking his head miserably. I told him I did not fare well either, and there was a moment of silence for that. Another case of our local players going against a Superstar in the Pokemon TCG fraternity was Jit Min versus none other than the Supernova of the Superstars, Jason Klaczynski (the only person in Pokemon TCG history who won Worlds more than once). His encounter went much for favourably, and Jit Min was ecstatic over his feat, and we shared in his joy for the David-vs-Goliath outcome of the game. I offered him a handshake and a word of congratulations, but could not muster up the same enthusiasm with which I greeted Xavier with after his win, for the memory of my loss still lingered strongly in my head with a bitter aftertaste. A sobering reality hit me: it was a raw enough deal to fight the strongest from all over the World, but when you fight others who also scored X - 0 in the higher levels of the tournament, the matches will get exponentially harder than they already are, and you might even have to fight a big name in the game, National Champion or otherwise. I was happy for Jit Min who survived this "boss fight", but at the same time I was afraid of what I might face in the future.
Xavier was still locked in an intense mirror match with Stefan Tabaco, who will eventually go 6 - 0 in swiss before losing to Sami Sekkoum, and then become the only CMT left in the top 8, against 7 other Darkrai decks. Another tough battle for Singaporeans who 2 - 0ed! I caught some Americans watching the match talking about some Japanese guy and his moves, then I realized, to my amusement, they were referring to Xavier! A clutch N made an already close match even more nail-biting, but Stefan edged Xavier out by constantly belting out Hurricane to whittle him down, as Xavier whiffed a crucial Pokemon Catcher to close the game. Stefan emerged the winner, while we have another 2 - 1 player amongst our ranks. However, we still had hope, especially Jit Min with his perfect score, and so we looked to the next match. I tried to steel myself to overcome my fears of facing a really powerful adversary, and went to take a look at the matchup sheet.
And so I prepared to face my next opponent.
Round 4: Vs Curtis Lyon (National Champion of Canada, MagneBoar)
Great, just when I was trying hard to deal with the sobering realization over the fact that an X - 0 or positive record at World will net you incredible opponents, this guy had to be sitting opposite me as my opponent. I have heard much about him from Jit Min (Curtis' friend!), who often stated that he is an amazing player from Canada, amongst other names like Matt Koo, for example. A 3-time consecutive National Champion from the neighbouring country of Malaysia, Yee Wei (he is a player I hold in high esteem too as well), lost to him back in 2010 in a top 16 match, allowing Curtis to cruise to a top 8 finish at Worlds. To top it off, he is now the National Champion of Canada by winning what is one of the biggest National Championships in the World, and the 3rd National Champion I had to face in a row. A player with such decorations in front of me is a sight I have not mentally prepared for. However, he was ultra friendly, and we chatted casually a little before the game began. He was very well-attired, with a relaxed air about him that made it seem like he was playing in nothing more than a casual league friendly, and that unnerved me as much as it made me envious of how he manages to keep a firmly positive outlook despite the competition around him. Definitely props to the most cool-headed person I have seen the entire tournament!
I knew this was the psychological point of the tournament. Losing this would mean a sudden plummet from a X - 0 position to an even score, placing me on the precipice of a negative scoreline, in which case 2 consecutive defeats and the pressure of losing would make for very powerful assaults on my mental faculties if I ever were to be caught in such a predicament. A win here would produce a complete opposite effect, placing me at 2 wins away from a likely top cut placing, and a cushion for a loss, as well as a comfortably positive scoreline to sit on. We began and he flipped open a Magnemite, attached (I think) and passed. This was the 3rd time someone passed on me for the first turn, and the other 2 times it turned out they had something up in store for me, topdeck or not I am not too sure myself. Thus, I was very wary of this seemingly short turns of his. Him flipping over Magnemite also made me gawk a little for I recalled my nasty experience versus a Magnezone-based deck in round 2, and I knew Magnemite and Magneton could help him out of the lock, for Magnemite could be used as a sacrifice to force me out of the perfect lock, while Magneton can evolve out of Paralysis and immediately become an attacking force when it is a Magnezone Prime.
I decided against using Pichu so early in the game, opting for a quick See Off instead, knowing very well that Pichu helps Magnezone-based decks alot, and that I could very well afford to slack on my set up phase as such decks don't get to attack so early, so my allowance was big. I decided against any Oddish for myself this time, and merely used See Off. He acquired enough resources to nab a Pichu and we began setting up our respective Pokemon onto our bench. Curtis knows that his Pichu helped me out alot, but I would soon learn that it benefitted him much more greatly. I went about my usual business, trying to draw into evolutionary lines but to no avail, so I settled down with a Twins waiting in my hand, and passed. His Pichu allowed him to set up as he wanted, and so he enjoyed a huge turn, securing a Magnezone Prime AND an Emboar before my trainer lock was up (it is a very fast and consistent MagneBoar deck indeed, setting up so quickly without Twins!), then using Magnetic Draw for even more cards. I later learnt he did not run a single copy of Pignite, so his Pichu into the abovementioned set up was a great move even if he did assist me in my set up a little. He scored a cheap knock out an active Pokemon by burning a mere one energy for 50 damage using Magnezone Prime, and my Twins took effect, bringing him into Trainer Lock. Having 140 hp, I rammed him with Mew Prime twice to score a perfect knock out and cutting off his draw power, while I tried to set up my Chandelure line as he played down N after N to slow me down. I sacrificed one more Pokemon so that I could be behind in prizes to abuse Twins and also buy time to attach a Rainbow Energy to my Lampent so I could switch in as a Chandelure later on.
Then a huge turn occured as he decided against attacking me and used Pichu instead to set his bench up further, for he knew that in the long run, my constant KOs and locking under trainer lock will weaken his field beyond recovery. His Pichu remained asleep as I hoped, and used Deck-and-cover to replace his Sleep condition with Paralysis and Poison conditions instead. This was not done before consulting a Judge to make sure that his sleeping Pichu indeed would be Paralyzed and Poisoned instead (I have to thank Belpyghus, my best playtesting partner, for showing me that mechanism when he brought his Vanilluxe deck to fight my ZPST deck earlier in the season, when he paralysed my sleeping Cleffa so that I could not use it to stall him out and switch in to another attacker if it woke into my turn). This allowed me to set up 2 Mew Prime with a Double Colourless Energy each (as insurance against N, which I strongly suspected he ran 4 of) during the lull period when his Pichu was KO-ed by Poison alone, and when I threw up yet another sacrifice for him to kill. Being insured against N and then sticking close to him in prizes was huge and I proceeded with the locking process.
I took KOs on a benched 2nd Pichu of his with my Chandelure, while setting his board up for perfect KOs. Despite my eventual control over the game, he kept very calm, making me over-analyze matters, wonder if the empty bench space he constantly kept on the board was for an Unown Cure drop. Towards the end, I was one more Cursed Drop away from killing a benched Magnemite for the 6th prize, but his serene demeanour made me wall with Oddish after a Deck-and-cover, fearing that an Unown Cure drop, followed by a retreat into an attacker would do my Chandelure a world of pain. He chose this moment to drop an N, putting me at 2 cards. I immediately realized that putting an Oddish in front to wall was a potential misplay, for he could grab a Magneton from his N to evolve his partially damaged Magnemite out of KO range, and a whiff on the energy to retreat to Chandelure would buy him more time to grab the greatly needed Magneton. Fortunately for me, as his active Pokemon died via poison going into my turn to add a prize to my 2 card hand, and as I drew a card going into my turn, I managed to have a DCE in my 4 card hand, while he whiffed on the Magneton. I retreated with Double Colourless Energy, and used Cursed Drop onto his damaged Magnemite for the win. Thanks for the intense game, Curtis! I definitely learnt that keeping your cool in a match had many merits! He went on winning every single game after that (even the one against the reigning US National Champion, John Roberts II. Congrats, Curtis!) for a 5 - 2 record and top 32 finish. Props!
I spotted Jit Min walking out of the competition area when we were not even into our first turn, and I quickly learnt that he scored a fast win against Ross Cawthon (Worlds 2005 #2, Worlds 2011 #2, Creator and Progenitor of The Truth), another big name in the game. Score yet another one for Team Singapore. He was understandably pleased at his giant-slaying streak and I congratulated him for it once more. Time went by quickly and I spent it chatting up with friends and wishing one another the best for the upcoming rounds. The matchup sheet was up and I went to my table for my next match.
Round 5: Vs Remo Lehmann (National Champion of Switzerland, ZekEel)
My 4th National Champion opponent in a row! How pleasant indeed. This time it was against Remo, a really nice guy with a constant smile on his face, even in the heat of battle. I knew a few people from Switzerland, all great players in their own right, and here was their Champion sitting opposite me, with a 3 - 1 record. As friendly as he was, I knew I was in for a tough fight, as it soon proved. Let's get right to it!
He flipped open a Smeargle and promptly attached a Fighting energy to it, and his Portrait yielded a Professor Juniper. My initial conclusion that he was running CMT changed to that of trepidation as I saw the contents of his discard. He was playing ZekEels! Contingency plans flooded my mind as I recalled all my fights against ZekEel. Plans against Eelektross (counts of 1 and 2), plans against Spark + Raikou EX, they all rushed into my brain like a torrential flood. I went to work quickly, using Pichu to set up my standard configuration of 2x Oddish and 2x Litwick.
He smartly used Pokemon Catcher to force one of the Oddish into the active position, then used Spark for a double hit on both my Oddish, and I quickly identified that if whiffing Vileplume does not kill me, the eventual Raikou EX snipe would. I set to work developing my Chandelure line aggressively instead, for I frequently encountered trouble with Raikou EX dealing a lot of damage on my board by sniping my Chandelure line while I was trying to evolve my Litwick/Lampent into Chandelure manually without the help of Rare Candy under an early Vileplume lock. He successfully got 2 damage counters onto both my Tynamo, while I failed to retreat Oddish to promote Mew Prime for the See Off.
With well-practised movements, he used Mewtwo EX to bring the KO down on my active Oddish, while charging a Raikou EX for the ensuing snipe onto my Vileplume if the benched Oddish with 2 damage counters on it got to evolve using Twins. His game plan was solid, and I knew I had to keep up. I had a Rare Candy in my hand, and a Twins. I used Twins to grab Vileplume and another Twins, evolved my damaged Oddish and used Pichu to grab yet another Oddish, praying he would not use N to cause me to whiff on my Twins. Praying for my Twins to stay with me, not getting even a single See-off, and having my first Vileplume at the mercy of Raikou EX, I was in a tough spot indeed. Thus, I was grateful that neither a single Oddish nor Vileplume was prized, and I made absolutely sure that was the case before his next turn, where he predictably went after my Vileplume. I played Twins again for my second Vileplume, and got Mew Prime out for a See Off. He took the prize off the Mew as well, and I was at a 3 prize deficit.
Thanks to my Chandelure receiving a Rainbow Energy earlier by virtue of an aggressive Chandelure-centred set up, I could get right to work with the perfect lock, with a perfectly healthy Vileplume, a Darkrai and a good hand to get the Mew + Double Colourless Energy set up in place. Lack of energy placement on his Eelektrik (and his board, for that matter) meant that it was highly probable that his list did not run Eelektross, as did the presence of Fighting Energy, signifying how tight his list was. Thus, I did not take my usual detour to place a Rainbow Energy onto Vileplume to allow it to retreat past a Slurp Shakedown, and went about locking him and thinning my deck as insurance against N. I could not put 2 Mew with 2 DCE on my bench as per normal for my bench space was indecently tight, so thinning my deck aggressively would have to do, moreover, he only took 3 prizes, so I have plently of allowance to come back from an N.
As it turned out, the rest of the game went unbelievably smoothly, and I was pleased to see that he indeed did not run Eelektross and that I was not hindered by the possibility of an N drop throughout the game. I won the game without any further incident, shook his hand and wished him all the best for the next round, but not before adding that he gave me plenty of early game scares. A truly powerful opponent, and a friendly one at that too, with a ready smile and awesome attitude, fighting resiliently to the end despite being locked up in a vortex of perfect KOs. A pleasure meeting and facing you in battle, Remo!
At this point, my head was feeling light and spirits were rather high after surviving close shave against a really good opponent. All those whom I beat had a positive record, and my only loss was to someone who was currently 4 - 1. My resistance was looking very good and I was just one win away from getting a very likely spot in the top cut. I was pumped and ready to take on my next opponent, completely forgetting my low point in the tournament when I just sustained a loss to Steven.
However, before that, I was to witness a treat.
As I joined my friends, we watched as our fellow Singaporean, Xavier, was once more confronted with a massive challenge. His opponent was none other than The Jason Klaczynski. I was watching the end phase of the game, where Jason took his 5th prize using his lone Darkrai EX, undamaged and Eviolite-d. Xavier had a benched Terrakion with a Fighting and a Grass Energy attached, ready to Retaliate, but needed the PlusPower to secure the win by knocking out Jason's only Darkrai EX. He promoted Smeargle, hoping to grab a draw supporter off his hand for the Junk Arm/PlusPower to win the game. Jason's hand yielded nothing for Xavier to use, despite being massive in quantity of cards, and Jason had a Pokemon Catcher in his hand with which he could draw his last prize from if played down the next turn. Xavier then played and N to force Jason's hand to 1 card in a bid to cause him to whiff the game-deciding card, then promoted Terrakion for the Retaliate, having missed the PlusPower. In the end, Jason did not manage to draw into the Pokemon Catcher he needed, and conceded sportingly to Xavier, for a Retaliate the next turn would seal the game.
This was once again another score for Team Singapore, as we offered our congratulations to Xavier once more for the big win against a Titan in the game, and we rested a little before the pairings were up. Once again, we went to the board to check the venue and opponent for the next battle.
Round 6: Vs Nobuo Yano (LCQ Qualifier from Japan, Hammertime)
By virtue of a 4 - 1 record, and good resistance as a result of the strong records of my previous opponents, I was almost assured a place in the top cut if I won this battle. As it turned out, my what could potentially be my final obstacle to being the first ever person in my country's history to top cut at the Pokemon TCG Worlds took the form of a player who would fit the Pokedad stereotype. Not just a Pokedad he was, mind you, but a dishevelled, disorientated one. Glasses askew, a constant confused frown upon his countenance, disarrayed attire, a markedly hesistant shuffle and emaciated look on his face was not what I had in mind for an opponent who would challenge me with a "boss battle" for the top cut spot at Worlds. However, appearances can be deceiving. I kept in mind that he hailed from Japan, the birthplace of Pokemon, with a perfect run in the LCQ (in my opinion the harshest, most punishing way to earn an invite) to qualify, and is now also sitting on a 4 - 1 record, on the brink of top cutting in arguably the toughest tournament in the game. Perhaps certain features of his might bear testament to his prowess, like his tired expression might be due to multiple really close battles he endured and came out on top of through sheer grit and skill, I will never know. In any case, he had to grind all the way in the day before to reach an enviable 4 - 1 record in the main event, and I knew I had to look past his outward appearance and accept that this was a player who has achieved much over the past 2 days against the World's best, and deal with him with as much respect and effort as I could reasonably muster.
At this point, I strongly resolved to look past any and all irrelevant details for this all-important round, and keep my attention and focus upon the game at hand.
I greeted him the best I could in fragmented Japanese, and the battle began. He flipped open a lone Darkrai, attached, benched a Sableye (a telltale sign of Hammertime Darkrai) and played a Supporter, but whiffed the T1 Night Spear. This was expected of the Hammertime variant of Darkrai, which placed greater emphasis on sustainability of resources and momentum throughout the game, as well as mild disruption, over speed. I did my best to prevent using Pichu this game, fearing that a T2 Night Spear would put him at a very good position to steal the game by cruising on the prize lead alone, Terrakion or not. I got a reasonably good bench, most notably with 2 Oddish on the field, without Pichu. Then I used See Off.
He whiffed on Night Spear once more and decided to put a Sableye in the active position, and passed without doing anything else. I was a little shocked at the move. Placing a 70 hp Pokemon in an active spot meant a very easy Perfect KO for me. I realized then, that while Accelgor saw a measure of success in Japan's BW-on metagame, it was with the Gothitelle version of the deck, which was far more aggressive. I do not recall hearing about any particular successful Mew Prime/Accelgor/Vileplume/Chandelure/Darkrai variant in the HS-on period in Japan's metagame, but merely news of Darkrai variants (especially Hammertime and other disruption-oriented builds) and ZekEel taking tournament after tournament apart. Thus, I deduced that this Accelgor variant, which was more concerned with getting perfect KOs, was alien to their metagame and thus their players, resulting in him unwittingly putting up a Pokemon which was incredibly vulnerable to the perfect KO mechanic of the deck, which even without a Chandelure line set up, would make for a very delicious early-game snack.
I have been whiffing on T2 Vileplume all competition long, and this was a great time as any to acquire my first T2 Vileplume, for it achieves 2 things. The first of which was to force Sableye into a perfect KO, and the second of which was to lock down any form of energy acceleration he might have in the form of Dark Patch, so I could sweep his underdeveloped Darkrai with just one Terrakion. As it turned out, I whiffed on it, and I did not even have enough energy to attempt Deck-and-cover if I wanted to. I set up my board more, burnt through more of my deck, and passed. He continued with the set up process, attached an Eviolite to a Darkrai and the active Sableye, had enough energy to finally use Night Spear, but passed. I finally got my Vileplume out and walled with Oddish, resolving to finally focus on setting up my Chandelure line. He settled on using Confuse Ray on my Oddish thrice while I got my full set up, but only enough space to place 1 Mew and 1 DCE, because Oddish JUST WOULD NOT DIE! My set up was perfect then, and my deck was paper-thin, so I decided to force a hard retreat with a DCE for Oddish, and began looping perfect KOs.
Despite a paper-thin deck, I would whiff on alternate turns or even longer, as I only had a Professor Juniper to work with. Using Professor Juniper with 5 prize cards remaining and 3 cards left in the deck would result in a deck out and complete waste of a game in which I had absolute control of had he been smart enough to play an N down then. I did not want to risk an important game like this being thrown away because of such a stupid folly, and his hand was extremely thick, mostly likely containing an N, so I dealt with the whiffs by avoiding Chandelure walls, and walled with my partially damaged Oddish. He refused to kill it, wanting me to go for another hard retreat everytime I whiffed Mew + Double Colourless Energy and had to wall with it, wasting even more resources in the long run. I had to be mobile with my Oddish too, for sitting idle for too long in the active position would result in decking out. For this, I firstly got the Mew Prime + Double Colourless Energy combo out on the bench, then attached Prism Energy to Oddish for the retreat, something I would not normally do (waste resources on a Pokemon meant to be a sacrifice). From then on, whenever I whiffed Mew Prime + Double Colourless Energy, I would wall with my now-mobile Oddish instead, and save my Chandelure and myself from wasting resources or decking out.
He saw that he could not hide from my slew of perfect KOs by merely waiting, so he went forward and took my Oddish down, and my Chandelure was then promoted to active position. I was pretty happy that things were finally moving, even if it meant that another whiff might be even more punishing. So I laid 3 damage counters onto the active Darkrai, and took quick stock of my discard, board, and hand. When I was done, I could not remember if I had used Cursed Shadow for the turn already (in my excitement of course). So I decided to ask my opponent if I had used the ability for the turn already.
Me: "I used Ability already, yes?" *Points to Chandelure's Ability*
Nobuo: "No." *Shakes head*
Me: *Picks up dice and begins putting damage counters on his board* "Jyu... Ni-Jyu. Hai." *Gestures that I was done using Chandelure's ability*
Nobuo: "No!" *Takes those dice off the board*
I asked him a few times more and the reaction was almost the same every single time. I knew there was a miscommunication abound, and we called the Judge over. Apparently my opponent was trying to tell me I have already used the ability for my turn and I could not use it again. Fair enough, and I began locking with much aplomb. At this point, a translator talking to an official and pointing towards me caught my eye, and I wondered if there was any further miscommunication, so I stopped for while and looked in their direction. Apparently, they wanted a picture of me playing cards, awesome! So I put on my sternest game face (yes, vanity was abound in great measures indeed) while I continued on with the game, scoring a perfect KO on his Darkrai shortly after, getting either a Professor Oak's New Theory or a Sage's Training from the prize cards I believe, allowing me to get the Mew Prime + Double Colourless Energy combo out more easily without the risk of decking out as a result of my opponent's well-timed N. As a result of my continuous whiffs on the lock against his 3 Darkrai throughout the game, his remaining 2 Darkrai were afflicted with varying degrees of damage, allowing me to wrap up the game by scoring only a few more Deck-and-cover attacks against them without further incident and/or whiffs. Good game, Nobuo Yano-san!
After the game, it came to my attention that my previous opponents generally did very well (later on I found out that their records then were 2 3 - 3s and 3 4 - 2s, and my only loss was also enjoying a 5 - 1 record!) and my resistance was very high, already putting me in an excellent spot to reach top cut! I was walking on sunshine and lounging on cloud nine as I knew about this.
With a relaxed mind, I went over to check my pairings as they were being posted. I was up against none other than...
Round 7: Vs Michael Pramawat (Former World #2 from America, Darkrai/Mewtwo)
Yes, I was up against a great player, former World #2, Michael Pramawat. He too, was having a good day and is also enjoying a 5 - 1 record. I was starstruck in front of a dangerously good player of the game and this probably resulted in an embarassing misplay soon after, together with the fact that my mind was on day 2 by virtue of my good results so far. He was super nice to me, and acknowledging that I had a very good chance to make top cut, he invited me to see him after the Swiss Rounds were over for an interview. I asked him if I could bring over some of my countrymen for interviews, for I knew some who had a great chance to make top cut as well, and he obliged. Awesome! Thanks so much for the opportunity!
So we began, and I had a very standard Pichu start, while he got a few Darkrai EX out, but no T1 Night Spear. Perhaps it was the result of the combination of euphoria (at being likely to top cut and then being invited for an interview by Michael's famous group later on) as well as pure nerves facing someone as well-known and as over-achieving as him, and exhaustion of having gone through 6 long rounds of swiss, I made a costly misplay. I attached Rainbow Energy to Oddish to put it at 30 hp remaining, and used Find A Friend for Vileplume to obtain what would be my very first T2 Vileplume of the competition. This was an incredibly stupid move that was fatal to my game, as he got out a T2 Night Spear, used Pokemon Catcher on my fresh Oddish on the bench and nabbed a Double Kill on both Oddishes. I then benched my 3rd Oddish and a Terrakion out, with slim hopes of distracting him with my huge bull to prevent my last Oddish from being a victim. Or at least, I could hope for a whiff on his part.
However, misplays due to distraction is something you cannot expect from a high-calibre player like Pramawat, and whiffs on a well-built and consistent deck like his are rare, as his Eviolited Darkrai EX, completely undamaged, KOed my 3rd Oddish with the correct use of Pokemon Catcher upon it, sealing the game upon me. I tried to do some damage to him using Terrakion, but it was in vain as he quickly ran over my field with Darkrai EX-es rampaging across it, ending my swiss run with a 5 - 2 record. There was nothing much to say after I committed the blunder, for if the trainer lock was not set up, the game would not be a proper one. Without a proper game, I could not say much about it, other than I simply misplayed my way into a quick loss.
Intermission
Before the game, Michael told me that no matter how good his resistance was, he would try his best to secure a 6 - 1 score. He told me 10 minutes of pain waiting on the bubble score of 5 - 2 was something no one wants to experience. Now I knew what he meant, for despite my assurance in the excellent resistances the results of my previous opponents gave me, shadows of doubt started creeping up on me, telling me negative things like: "You will never know what will happen. You will never know what mind end up screwing you out of 1 year's worth of effort!". To add to the pain, our game ended fairly quickly, for his drubbing of me was a swiftly executed affair, and I ended up having to endure 30 minutes of pain instead, 3 times more than previously projected! Whether or not 1 year's worth of hard work paid off or not culminated in those 30 minutes of agonizing waiting, as I stood with a visibly happy Xavier, who attained a 6 - 1 record in swiss to secure himself a spot in the top cut already. Great work, Xavier! I told him that I would join him in celebration later, but my mind told me otherwise, and shadows of doubts intensified as the minutes went by slowly, moment by painful moment. I paced up and down the grandly decorated ballroom, grabbing a plastic cup and taking huge swigs of complementary cool water in an attempt to calm my nerves, but to no avail. I ended up crushing the plastic cup in my frenzy.
The standings were finally up! I jostled furiously past a rapidly teeming crowd, my eyes desperate to bear witness to the testament one year of hard work has left on the World stage. My eyes went scanning all the way to the top of the standings sheet, and...
13th. Clifton Goh. I have earned a spot in the Top 16 of the Pokemon TCG World Championships!
I yelled and pushed past the crowd to where my friends where waiting for good news, and boy, did I deliver the news with great aplomb and clarity, without uttering so much as a single coherent word! My inhibitions were gone for the moment, for I allowed the fruits of the efforts of not just a year (I realized), but of all the experience I have accumulated from playing, and of the effort, time and wisdom my friends and playtesting mates poured into me, to rain down upon me to savour and celebrate with amongst friends. My normally reserved self felt absolutely no shame for yelling loudly in a grand ballroom, arms thrown out at odd angles in sheer delight, and colliding into a heap upon a ring of my friends' embraces. I ran onwards past the sea of hugs and congratulations, skidding to a halt on the carpeted floor, now on my knees, eyes closed, hand raised, palms opened towards the bright chandelier-lined ceiling, as I basked in the wonderful feeling of being officially dubbed a cut above the rest in one of the harshest ever competitions in a game I was very passionate about.
I recovery quickly and met with the Senior Champion, Dario Ang, whom I trained with regularly in my league as well. He was 5 - 2 as well and was extremely nervous about whether or not he would cut. We waited patiently with him, and lo and behold, he squeezed in by top cutting at 16th place! Great job Dario! He took the news with a much calmer demeanour than me, with a smile that said everything about how awesome he felt about top cutting as well. I underwent the official deck check (which I nearly was late for, when I was busy celebrating with friends!). It felt like a dream, as I sat with the other 15 of the World's best players in preparation for our respective deck checks, all assembled together at one table in a grand ballroom decorated richly with Pokemon paraphernalia. What a thrill, what a privilege! As promised, I took Xavier along for an interview with Michael Pramawat's Team, The Top Cut. It was an honour to do a small interview with them, and boy, was I so excited! I would have taken Dario with me as well, but he had to undergo the official deck check process while the interviews were underway, and when we were done, he was still undergoing the deck check process, so there was no chance to rope him in for the interview, sadly. Meanwhile, I received words of congratulations from friends, acquaintances and strangers alike, and it was an extremely good feeling. I feel so blessed with such good results and supportive people.
The rest of Team Singapore had small talk with other players, notably The John Roberts II, in which Reuben instantly clicked well with. National Champion affinity, I reckon. Reuben, who pulled Kyogre EX in just about every Dark Explorers Prerelease he went to, producing excellent results every single time, asked John Roberts II (who won many games of his with Kyogre EX!) to sign one of his, and that was really cool. Reuben and John both agreed enthusiastically that Kyogre EX was a "very strong Pokemon card.". Glad to see some international bonding and assent here.
We were pretty much starved after a tough day of intense competition, and off we went to an awesome Thai restaurant nearby. I never really treated myself to anything big lately, but on that night, exceptions had to be given. I made a complete pig out of myself by forcing sumptuous Thai cuisine into the very fabric of my being, while Jit Min's "very spicy" Thai Soup made everyone's (or everyone who had so much as a spoonful of it) eyes water, and it was great fun. To top it off, The Top Cut Team was sitting at the table adjacent to us, as was Pokemon TCG legend, Tom Dolezal (3rd Worlds 2011, multiple high placings at US Nationals, Worlds for me to remember). It was a dream come true, a real treat, for the legends of the game to sit near me and the rest of Team Singapore, enjoying unbelievably delicious Thai Food together, almost as equals (even if it was just seating arrangements >.<). Definitely an experience to remember! Towards the end of our meal, there was a complex-wide blackout that hit the restaurant, which added a unique touch to the meal, instead of being some sort of inconvenience. Then rain started to pour outside. Someone noticed that the traditional-looking "Hawaiian" tribal torches outside were still alight with flames despite the steady cascade of celestial water.
*Pointing towards the still-lit torches*: "I wonder why the fires have not gone out?."
Someone else: "Those torches must be lighted with... *removes shades*... Grand Flame(s)!"
*Guffaws ensue*
We then engaged in the mathematically and optically challenging task of paying the bill under the dark cloak of the blackout. This nigh-surmountable task involved collecting money in precise amounts from everyone, trying to count unfamiliar-looking American currency, angling the lights of our handphones to allow ourselves to catch a better glimpse of the money amassed and the bill's contents, counting all the money (notes and coins all told), and then redoing everything once more to account for service charges. Props to Xavier for playing a huge role in this insane activity! As we finally managed to pay the bill off, the rain subsided and off we went, back into the gaming room, to make some trades. I knew that my next opponent was Japan's Ace, Yuta Komatsuda (World Champion 2010, World #4 2006, Japan's Reigning National Champion), and that he won the World Championships in the Kona, Hawaii in 2010 with my most favourite deck of all time, LuxChomp! I was trying to trade for Luxray GL Lv. X and Garchomp C Lv. X, the 2 marquee cards of said 60-card masterpiece, for him to sign when I would meet him on the very next day. After that, we went into the rooms and I fell into an uneasy sleep once more.
Sunday: Pokemon TCG World Championships 2012 - Day 2
I woke, checking the clock. It was 4:40 am. Great, I awoke too early and now my body tells me adamantly that I cannot sleep. I shut my eyes and went into a waking limbo, only to give up and wake up at 5:40 am. I decided to take a walk around the resort, hoping to calm nerves and engage in enough physical exertion to place myself in a very good position to enjoy a 1 hour power nap before it was really time to wake up. So took a short stroll I did, enjoying the sights and sounds of my last full day in beautiful Hawaii for 2012, before the heat of battle greets me, enveloping every beautiful scenery I would lay my eyes upon in a heat wave, obscuring everything in a mirage. There was nothing left to describe the pristine scene of Hawaii, I was too accustomed to the sights and sounds of the place, and the place struck me as nothing more as a fancy country club than anything else, with a stairway that led to an underground battlefield (the Grand Ballroom where Worlds was held was below ground level). I took in enough sights, all the stereotypes of a tropical resort embedded into my retinas, and I headed back to the room and slept fitfully for almost a good hour. Power napping done, I took a good bathe, ate 1/12th of a Hawaiian Roll Bun, sipped some mineral water and went out of the hotel room with Dario and his Dad. Xavier joined us on the first floor moments later and off we marched to the site of our final battles.
We met with Igor, Xavier's last swiss round opponent and eventual World Champion 2012, and had some small talk despite the apparently language barrier. He's a really nice guy! The Grand Ballroom finally opened and in we went. We met up with the other competitors. I greeted Yuta and he greeted me back with a slight smile. Without hesitation, I took out my Luxray GL Lv. X and Garchomp C Lv. X cards and with a marker borrowed from Xavier, got him to sign them. He was extremely obliging and went right to work with his cards, drawing his favourite Pokemon, Sandshrew, on each and every one on them. Thank you Yuta, for signing my cards. It means alot to me, and for that, I am extremely grateful. Also, much thanks to Xavier for lending me his marker, and then frantically helping me to dry the ink on the cards! Sorry to trouble you!
After all the administrative details were settled and out of the way, I went to sit in front one of the players whom I respected the most in this World, the man who emerged as the World Champion of the Pokemon TCG in 2010 piloting my absolute favourite deck (LuxChomp) by far in the history of the game (and the deck which allowed me to ascend to the status of National Champion in 2011), Yuta Komatsuda-san! I was pumped in anticipation for a battle against a player who is the apotheosis of skill and innovation (his Worlds-winning LuxChomp build was uncannily unorthodox), as I steeled myself to prevent the same nerves that racked me when I faced Michael Pramawat from unseating me. Then the battle began.
Top 16: Vs Yuta Komatsuda (Japan's Reigning National Champion, World #4 2006, World Champion 2010, Darkrai/Mewtwo)
Game 1
I learnt that he was the only Japanese player left in the Masters category of Worlds. For a country which is the birthplace and nexus of matters related to the franchise, hopes on him were high indeed. I was thus not surprised when many Japanese players swarmed around our table, wanting to catch their hero in action. I was honoured to have so many people so passionate about the game crowd around me to watch my game, even if their hopes were not in alignment with mine.
We opened up our cards, and the game began. I had to open with Mew Prime in the active position, and Terrakion on the bench, for fear of the donk. He went about his usual set up, laying energy to Darkrai EX, his main attacker, in preparation to tear my field asunder with Night Spear. My job was thus to prevent him from doing any such thing, as I started phase 1 of building up my lock. I had no choice but to call upon Pichu to help me with the set up, even though it was a bad idea to do so in the face of Night Spear's splash damage upon Pichu. It was a Best of 3 game, and I was pressed for time. A quick set up was absolutely vital to my success in this fight.
Apparently, Yuta sensed/realized that time was of the essence in this matchup, for me at least. He then proceeded to send a Smeargle in active position to Portrait me over and over, in order to check if I had any means to grab a Vileplume for the lock. I kept whiffing over and over, and Yuta smartly refused to take a prize card off me, very much like how my Japanese opponent Nobuo refused to do so in round 6 of Swiss. As a result, Twins was not triggered the whole of 20 minutes, while he made very good use of the time dumping as many trainer cards as he could to thin his deck and reduce the number of useless cards that would be present once I got trainer lock set up. His board developed really quickly as well, and it was a frightening experience to watch as his field grow rapidly, and his army of Darkrai EX and Mewtwo EX were well-supplied and ready to battle. All they needed was a signal to strike.
At around 20 minutes, the signal came. I kept whiffing the Vileplume, and eventually had to exhaust just about all my stock of Professor Oak's New Theory to refresh my hand over and over for I had no better supporter to filter and thin my deck out with. There came one huge turn where my Professor Oak's New Theory yielded me a horrid hand of 6 cards, the notable contents of which were one half of the Vileplume + Rare Candy combo, a Twins and a Rainbow Energy. Using portrait, he ascertained that this was the optimum moment to make his move. He used Pokemon Catcher to pull my Terrakion to active position and use Night Spear on it, giving 30 damage to one of the 2 Oddish I had on the field. I knew he was going for a double kill on both Oddish by using a Pokemon Catcher on my undamaged Oddish and taking both of them out in the process, and Twins would not yield my the much-need Vileplume then. My bench was filled with other content required to set up, so I could not lay a 3rd Oddish with Pichu to escape from the trap he laid out for me. I learnt after the match that he indeed had the Junk Arm in the hand to execute that move.
In response to this, I displayed a power move of my own. I uttered this audibly:
"Jisatsu." (Suicide).
Following this proclamation, I attached a Rainbow Energy to my damaged Oddish, knocking it out and putting myself at a prize deficit. I then played Twins to grab the second half of the Vileplume + Rare Candy combo, as well as my Tropical Beach card. My ability to attain a Vileplume set up under such difficult conditions yielded gasps from the crowd, especially from some Japanese players who kept muttering: "Jisatsu! Jisatsu!" I knew I caught everyone off guard at that moment, and even Yuta's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before his face resumed its calm, Bruce Lee-like appearance. It was my "cool moment" of the tournament and I was honestly pretty chuffed at that, for I am known to be a player who plays very standard, ordinary-looking builds and makes my plays according to the textbook. An unusual "trick shot" like this was not something you see me execute everyday and it was a real treat to do so, let alone in front of a big crowd, at the top cut of Worlds. However, I was not done. I laid another Mew Prime on the spot that was previously occupied by Oddish, laid Tropical Beach down and drew a buttload of cards, escaping from my previously dead hand to complete a huge turn of my very own, and preparing to strike him down with Deck-and-cover loops.
Your move, Yuta.
Knowing very well I could retreat my Terrakion to fight another day with just a Prism/Rainbow Energy attachment as I kept my Mew's Deck-and-cover chain going, he opted to knock it out, and intelligently placed 3 damage counters onto my Vileplume instead of Pichu, allowing him a slightly bigger hand size if he decides to use N to block off my chain of Deck-and-cover and/or Twins later on, and allowing him to work on the long-term goal of escaping from a potentially paralyzing Trainer Lock. This was the first opponent I met who refuse to take a free extra KO on Pichu using the 30 damage splash, and indeed it was the correct move to make. Great call, Yuta! I spent the next few turns looping Deck-and-cover raids on his Eviolite-d Darkrai EX, with 6 Deck-and-cover attacks resulting in 2 prizes for me and a perfect KO. However, my chain of Deck-and-covers were largely provided by usage of a small amount of draw supporters and tons of Twins abuse, right down to the 4th and last Twins of my deck. As a result, I was unable to fully develop my Chandelure line to perfect the lock.
After I grabbed a perfect KO off his Eviolite-d Darkrai EX, he sacrificed a 70 hp Smeargle for me to nab a kill on as well. Normally I would pass this off as a horrible misplay, for this gives me a free perfect KO, but I knew his turns of draw-passing would lead to this move. I knew he was holding onto at least one N in his hand (and as it turned out, he was gripping 2 N in his hand tightly, what a magnificent show of patience!). I was left with no choice, and took the kill off his Smeargle, and he dropped the N, as I feared. This achieves 2 things. Firstly, he forces me to run past 7 prizes worth of Pokemon by looping Deck-and-cover, a whiff would then result in devastation to the board. Secondly, instead of forcing an N to me when I had 4 prizes left, or when I had 2 prizes left (for it might be too late then), he left me hanging at 3, while having at least 2 very healthy and thick EX Pokemon to run through. He also checked my discard pile repeatedly, to ensure that I have exhausted a huge amount of my draw/search supporters while trying to force out a Vileplume lock and then to loop my Deck-and-cover attacks, maximizing my chances for the fatal whiff.
Needless to say, I was not thrilled, especially since I drew dead as probability projected, and while I finally had my Chandelure, I was forced to hard retreat with a DCE into a sacrifice. I knew my last Rainbow Energy was prized from an earlier Twins recon (1 was discarded in my haste to get an early Vileplume out, the other was sent to the Lost Zone via his Lost Remover as I used it for the See Off and the 3rd one was of course spent to knock out my own Oddish to pave a way to set up Vileplume), and had to settle for a Tropical Beach use, into even more dead cards. He knocked out my sacrificial Pokemon and placed 30 onto my Vileplume. Eventually, I was unable to secure the prerequisite cards for even one Deck-and-cover attack and scooped when he finally got enough splash damage onto my Vileplume and knock it out, breaking out of my trainer lock and destroying any hope I had of snatching the game from under him.
I checked my watch and to my horror, 40 minutes have passed. I was keeping track of the time all this while but the amount of time I expended still provided a fresh shock. I still maintained I was right not to scoop though, for a Deck-and-cover loop thrice would have stolen the game, and it could easily be attained by snagging a Professor Juniper off my Tropical Beach and subsequent topdecks. Professor Juniper was mercifully absent throughout the entire game, even as a Twins search revealed that none were prized. My deck grew thinner as the game wore on and I was convinced my chances of getting it was high. In the event which I did, I would be greeted with nothing put Mew Primes and Double Colourless Energies, and I doubt even another well-timed N could keep me down for long. 3 Deck-and-covers (for 150 damage total onto his active Darkrai) and 3 Cursed Shadows (onto his benched Shaymin for the 4th prize, then the remaining 20 damage onto his Darkrai, letting poison deal the last damage), with allowance for whiffs (so that I could score those Cursed Shadows without Rainbow Energy but hard retreats in any case) would be sufficient to seal game 1 with 10 - 15 minutes remaining to take at least 4 prizes. In which case, I would get the Mew Prime Deck-and-cover loop early, without the use of Chandelure, under Vileplume lock, for prize denial. He would not be able to get choosy over his kills for he has to take prizes quickly, thus giving me a way to utilise Twins and complete the lock easily. However, a quick sweep of my field as the ball went into his court instead left me with 20 minutes to spare for games 2 and 3. I knew I had a great chance of winning game 1 nonetheless, and felt that it was correct to fight all the way until the lock broke.
I looked up for a moment while shuffling my deck, and found Tsuguyoshi Yamato, the first-ever Pokemon TCG World Champion in the Nintendo-era and Pokemon TCG Legend, staring right at me. He has one of the scariest stares I have ever known, and knowing his reputation for being one of the friendliest players out there so much so that people often feel that he would be the worthiest ambassador for the game made it all the more frightening. Yet, what I felt was not fear. The reason why my interest into competitive Pokemon TCG play was piqued was thanks to him. It was because of him that I picked up his World Championship Deck at a local card shop to play with as a young teenager. Seeing this Japanese player becoming the first ever Nintendo-era World Champion for the Pokemon TCG in the complementary information sheet, as well as the unforgettable sight (even if it was just photos on a booklet) of top players all over the World congregating in one grand location for a common passion sparked my desire to enter the universe of organized play, and hopefully join them in this massive celebration of the game someday. I only truly entered competitive play much later, when I had more disposable income than when I was a poor young teen living off my parent's pocket money, and was free of strict parental objection, but that dream never left me, and Yamato's inspiration to me never ever wavered or faded. Now, here I was, in the thick of an event I always wanted to be part of, staring right back at the man who started me on that path. I felt a powerful and great sense honour that even he, together with the other Japanese players, wanted me to be down for the count, for I indeed have come far enough to stand in the way of Japan's only hope for the Pokemon TCG World Championships 2012. With that tremendous thought, I steeled myself and resolved to play my very best in game 2 and beyond.
Game 2
I knew I had to resort to a completely different style of play to end game 2 in time for game 3, which would most likely be a sudden death game and would require a miracle for me to win, but I resolved to take game 2 down anyway and think about miracles later on. My game plan was centred around a very aggressive line of play, devoid of perfect KOs by Chandelure, and heavily based on an early See Off, followed by alternative Mew Prime (to deal with Mewtwo EX and to soften or even KO Darkrai EX) and Terrakion (for a very fast way to dispose of Darkrai EX), all under trainer lock. The game began and I opened with a Mew Prime start, opting to go first and hit the ground running with a T1 See Off.
He went about his usual set up, but missed the T1 KO on any of my Pokemon. So for the first time in the entire tournament, I got myself a T2 Vileplume. Stoked, I scored a perfect KO on his active Smeargle, and it fell coming right into my turn. I then did a little damage onto his Eviolite-d Darkrai EX using another Deck-and-cover move, setting myself up to strike it down with a Terrakion if I whiffed any part of my Deck-and-cover chain later on. I did whiff and so I attached a Rainbow/Prism Energy to Terrakion in anticipation of any Darkrai kills onto my sacrificial Pokemon, so that I may take 2 more prizes off his Pokemon and go closer to winning game 2. Any Mewtwo EX kills will be dealt with using Mew Prime. He wents for the Night Spear KO on my sacrifice in any case, and my Terrakion went off like a rocket, ramming straight into his Darkrai EX and putting me at 3 prizes remaining. This was precisely what he wanted from me as he used N to put me at 3 cards, then promoted Mewtwo EX and hit for me for 100 damage using Xball.
I managed to get a Deck-and-cover attack on him though, and retreated my Terrakion and struck his Mewtwo EX. Another Deck-and-cover later, and I had one prize remaining, but a completely dead hand, exhausted of all resources since those were spend on Mew Prime, trying to pull off 2 Deck-and-covers with what little I had with the cards I possess. He seized this lapse and grabbed a double KO with another Darkrai EX, one off my sacrificial Pokemon, and another off my damaged Terrakion which has 30 hp remaining then. A couple of whiffs later closed a very short and aggressive game 2, as well as my Worlds run.
After seeing that there was no way I could prevent him from taking his 6th prize card for the win, I extended my hand in congratulations to him, and he smiled and was shook. The Japanese in the crowd burst into exuberant cheers, being the passionate players that they were, but I knew their cheers were not for me. I felt an incredible wave of sadness, disappointment, shame, disgrace and even fear at the criticism for failing to live up to expectations. However, I quickly took comfort in the fact that I did not make a single misplay during the entire game, at least to the best of my ability, save for drawing the wrong number of cards off N twice in game 2, which was more of something I did out of haste than an error per se. The realization that I had washed off all of my nervousness during the course of the game, a problem that has been plaguing me ever since I started competing on a big stage like Worlds a year ago and one of the main causes of last year's horrible result, made me feel that I have grown as a player, and that sitting in front of and playing against a big name player now had little adverse effect on me. This made me happier.
What made me happier still, and completely erased my negative feelings, was the fact that I was outplayed completely by my opponent, despite not misplaying and even with brilliant moves like "Oddish no Jisatsu". This may seem like a very odd thing to be happy about, but I was extremely glad that there was so much more for me to learn and get better in for the game, and that made my prospects for my future in the game all the more exciting. I resolved not to to see the task of doing well in the next season as yet another year of grinding, but as another opportunity to grow as a player and enjoy discovering more about the game. Someday soon, I would rise to the occasion and hopefully reach Yuta's level of play in the game. However, until then, I had to be content with my top 16 finish, and remain content with the fact that a better opponent taught me alot in our encounter, and I have emerged much more enlightened afterwards. Like Xavier said after we both stood outside of the competition area when we were both eliminated, I look a little too happy for someone who has lost an important match. Until next time then, hopefully at Vancouver for next year's edition of the Pokemon TCG World Championships!
Conclusion: Aftermath, Afterscience
As the matches for Top 8 cut rolled around, I tried to get into a good position to spectate the matches. However, I was unable to do so. Thus, I entered the gaming room, lugging my newly-acquired top cut Timbuk2 Pokemon World Championships sling bag, amongst other goodies. I spent a huge wad of cash on the Pokemon 15th Anniversary Set, which was the only set of Playmat/Sleeves/Damage Counters/Burn Counter/Poison Counter I have purchased for myself. I took an immense liking to the sleeves in the set, as well as the Poison Counter, after seeing Yuta use them. I was never a fan of over-the-top designs, but I also felt that plain sleeves maketh a dull player. Thus, the elegantly decorated sleeves, with black trimmings and gold print against a white background, appealed to me greatly, as did the classy-looking black-and-gold poison counter (with an awesome polished finish!), my first ever poison counter! It may be my only purchase of TCG-related merchandise other than cards, but I felt it was enough and well worth it.
We stood in line for the Sunday league at Worlds, and I got in some games with random strangers with the only deck I had on hand: my Mew Prime/Accelgor deck. It still proved to be golden, as it won me every single match participated in then, even one when my opponent requested for a 4 prize card game! I did not win much, however, but I still had fun playing casual games instead of serious ones, or playing for the sake of testing. This was a great respite from the intense training and games I underwent in recent times. I skipped the closing ceremony as I stood in line, hoping for a game against Pokemon TCG Legend Tsuguyoshi Yamato, but to no avail unfortunately. Nonetheless, it was a great pleasure watching his games!
Dinner was once again at Lagoon Grill, which was the very first diner I ate at in Hawaii. Once again, I ordered Crispy Korean Chicken, and recommended it to those we were not with me the first time I dined in Lagoon Grill. They took my recommendation, and no one was disappointed. It was definitely better than those back at home! We went back one last time to the gaming room, where Soon was already mingling with his VGC peeps. He offered me a bottle of beer, and I took it with me to see Ty and the rest of the HT.org people I knew (nice meeting you guys, especially Matt and Kevin!). I played using Harrison Leven's collection of 2007 Worlds decks that were in Ty's possession (those were great fun, thanks!) and learnt much about a new format that seemed especially fun. I was so emgrossed in the game and this piece of history that was the 2007 format (all spread!) that I forgot to consume more of the delicious Primo beer next to me. Soon, it was time to go back to our rooms.
However, we won't hit the sack before we play a booster draft with the box of Dragons Exalted that I won! Rufflet/Braviary/Rescue Scarf brought me much success in the draft, and it was a great thing no one wanted to pick good ol' Rufflet and Rescue Scarves for the draft! Happy with an eventful and enjoyable day, I thankfully sank into sleep after completing my packing.
It seemed like a few minutes after I went to sleep that Nelson was trying to wake me up, and it was time to leave the Big Island. At the airport, we met Yamato and friends, who seemed as sleep-deprived as us. I guess they were enjoying themselves late into the night as well. He presented Adrian, our Head Judge who was travelling with us back to Singapore, a complementary deck box, much to my envy! I took a picture with Yamato to remember this wonderful coincidence by. After grabbing a bite, we boarded the airplane as we bid goodbye to Kona. It was an enjoyable and fruitful journey to remember for time to come.
Props and Slops
Props
- Belpyghus, one of my closest and best playtesting partners, as well as his supportive girlfriend, Bee Ping.
- The members of Empyrean Gym, my league, who have always been there for me, rain or shine.
- John Kettler, for his tireless and incredible help in my growth as an Mew Prime/Accelgor player, and for being the one who set me on this difficult but rewarding path.
- Heytrainer.org, for being an incredible community to go to for Pokemon TCG help, or just to brighten my day.
- The Heytrainer.org people I met at Worlds, especially Ty Smith, who helped me clock games on Thursday to sharpen my play to the very last moment, disregarding everything else.
- Shiny Chandelures for good luck! Thanks to Wee Kiat for being able to lend me one and Kevin Murphy for selling me the other!
- Wee Kiat for forcing me out of my lazy slumber almost daily to playtest, and for being a high level player to test my Accelgor against.
- Belpyghus and Dario (and his Dad) for being an excellent source of cards to borrow from.
- Dario (and his Dad) for providing me with a free room to bunk in with for Worlds, and an entire bed to myself despite the room being under the ownership of you guys, very grateful!
- Soon for providing me Financial Support to afford an air ticket to Worlds, notably by setting up the Robo Cup fundraising project together with Adrian!
- Those who contributed to my Worlds fund at the Robo Cup.
- Melvin Shaw (National Champion of New Zealand) for offering my friends and I a room to stay in, in the event we have nowhere to go to. Thanks alot for the offer, Melvin!
- Team Singapore (Nelson, Xavier, Soong Teck, Jit Min, Reuben, Dario and Dad, Bobby and Family, Soon and Adrian) for being cool to hang out with at Worlds, for playtesting and for leisure!
- Team Robo (The Singapore Pokemon TCG Community) for bringing us this far.
- Michael Pramawat, for the opportunity to have an interview with The Top Cut, and The Top Cut crew for conducting said interview.
- Nelson Chua and Hale Obernolte for schooling me with ZekEel to educate me in the matchup.
- Most of my opponents at Worlds for great games, and Yuta especially for showing me that I still have a long way to go before becoming a Pokemon Master. Thanks for the signed cards!
- Top Cutting at Worlds for the very first time!
- Primo Beer!
- 2007 World Championship Decks!
- Kayak Wars!
- Turtle Plushie! Good to stroke, great to stroke some more!
- Super Reuben!
- Hawaiian Food!
- You, the reader, for enduring my extremely long tale!
- Many many more!
Slops
- Horrible delay and abysmal service at Manila airport. I'm getting an insurance claim for this... $$$ FTW!
- Not going to the gaming room as often as I liked before the main event, why!
- Being a lousy navigator.
- Allergy to seawater.
- Opponents who stall and then complain when they get a pace of play check called on them.
- Cringe-worthy misplay in Swiss.
- 30 minutes of pain.
- Not progressing further in the tournament and being a disappointment to myself, my community and my peers this year. Sorry for not doing better, guys!
- Not having a game versus Yamato this year.
- Not bringing the Turtle Plushie home this year! Nooo Turtle, why did I not remember to bring you home?!
- Leaving Hawaii, and having a bout of PWD.
THE END
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