Toronto Regionals 2022 - 246th Place

 

Went 5-3-1 at Toronto Regionals with Regis, placing 246th/1058. This was my first in-person regional event, so I was nervous about playing on such a big stage. Here's how my matches went:

R1: Lugia LWL

R2: Mewtwo V-Union LL

R3: Sablezard Lost Box WW

R4: Blissey WW

R5: Mew WLW

R6: Lugia WW

R7: Regis LWT

R8: Lugia LL

R9: Regis WW

Overall I'd say the list performed pretty well, and there weren't any wasted spots. 3 Ordinary Rod and 3 Scoop Up Net really stretches the deck thin but it's workable with proper resource management. I don't think only having 3 Rod was a direct contributor to any of my losses. Some more info on those losses:

Round 1 vs Lugia I had a pretty decent game 1 but dead drew the last few turns as his AR Yveltal swept my board. Game 2 I locked down an early Path with a solid setup and he scooped. Game 3 was very back and forth and it eventually came down to my last few cards in deck. I needed to draw into a Rod to get a Regi back to stay in the prize trade, but I made the mistake of attaching a Gift Energy to my active Regidrago before using research. I didn't draw the rod off the Research, but I drew a Speed Lightning energy that would draw my last 2 cards in deck to grab the Rod. A very close series.

Round 2 vs Mewtwo V-Union was my own error. I mindlessly discarded resources instead of playing to my outs of Regice's Choice Belt-boosted Blizzard Bind under Path + Belted Regidrago's Giant Fangs to 2HKO Mewtwo. My own carelessness cost me the series, and I was feeling pretty down going into round 3.

I got into the groove and some really solid sets followed, but round 7 was one of my most dreaded matchups: the mirror. Game 1 I went first but my opponent got the first attack, so I scooped shortly. Game 2 I also went first and got a 3-prize lead before he started attacking, but he played the game out instead of scooping, which worked to his benefit. Game 3 I went second and had one of the most explosive starts I've ever had with the deck, getting a turn 1 Regidrago attack. I had a dominating lead but it wasn't enough to close out the set, with time being called when I had one prize remaining. On turn 3 of extra time, the match was declared a tie. Perhaps my hesitancy based on my own resource management cost me a few extra minutes I could have used to close out the game.

Round 8 was a rough one. After getting promptly blown out during game 1, being forced to Electromagnatic Sonar with Regieleki ASR 2 turns in a row, I fell too far behind and scooped to go to game 2. In this game I made a crucial misplay and accidently drew an extra card off my opponent's Marnie. A judge was called over and assessed the situation and gave me a double prize penalty in addition to letting my opponent choose a card from my hand without looking and having it shuffled into the deck. Once he chose the card, the judge shuffled it in. What we failed to notice was that the Marnie'd cards on the bottom of the deck were shuffled back in with the rest of them, so we had to call the judge again. We were asked if it was ok to resume the game state and we both agreed. I was barely leading on prizes but since my opponent had 2 fewer prizes to take to win, I wouldn't be able to trade effectively with his attackers. So, that's where my day 2 dream ended.

This Regi build differs a lot from my last build. After watching OmniPoke's video it made me rethink my approach of the deck. Here's the changes I made for this event:

-2 Energy Loto

-1 Lost Vaccum

-1 Escape Rope

-1 Scoop Up Net

-1 Ordinary Rod

-1 Ultra Ball

-1 Boss's Orders

-1 Capture Energy

+2 Serena

+2 Gift Energy

+1 Regigigas ASR

+1 Regieleki ASR

+1 Choice Belt

+1 Air Balloon

+1 Path to the Peak

Serena and Gift Energy were the most obvious additions. Serena is great as it performs two functions the deck really appreciates, a discard/draw option and a gusting option, although most of the time it was used for the former. Gift Energy as a one-of isn't very impactful, so two were added to take advantage of the improved recovery option it gives the deck, making it Marnie and Roxanne-proof. 

I initially saw the third copy of Regigigas as unnecessary considering the deck functions fine with two and Rod can be used to shuffle the other copy back in if needed. With the addition of the third copy, however, I realized how effective of an attacker it could be. It's the only Pokemon in the deck that can attack while Temple of Sinnoh is in play, and its huge influence on the Mew matchup can't be understated.

I heavily underrated Regieleki ASR in terms of the flexibility it offers the deck. Being able to get any trainer out of the discard is great for situations where there isn't anything else to do with the turn or to get back a crucial discarded resource, and the snipe option is always nice to have. Although it has 3 retreat as opposed to EVS Eleki's 2, 130 HP is a massive improvement, especially against Lost Box.

Choice Belt is another card that I was comfortable using in its previous count, but the addition of the third copy made all the difference. It made it much easier to find, which was crucial against Mew and Lugia, and the extra damage was always nice to have.

Air Balloon was the most impactful change. It was incredibly useful as a pivot for Drago to draw some extra cards when I didn't need the extra 30 damage from belt, or even just sticking it on another Regi to use it as a low cost retreater, or in Eleki EVS's case, a free retreater.

The 3rd Path was seen as warranted based on the heavy number of counter stadiums being played due to the introduction of Lugia (Collapsed Stadium, Temple of Sinnoh, etc), and the addition of another V-ability heavy deck to the meta (Lugia) made me prioritize the 3rd Path over the 3rd Pokestop. Fewer items in this build also helped make my decision easier.

The cards I cut were either techs specifically for certain metas (Escape Rope, Lost Vacuum) or support/consistency cards that were nice to have, but not 100% necessary and/or not as crucial to the build based on the addition of other cards (4th Rod, 4th Net, 3rd Ultra Ball, etc).

The one card I changed from OmniPoke's list was the addition of a Boss's Orders over the 4th Rod. I made this because I felt the deck was lacking a universal gust option, and especially in the Lugia mu, thought it would be a good way to take care of Dunsparce to set up easier kos on Lugia considering Lugia decks typically don't run recovery cards. Boss also opens up a scenario with ASR Eleki where you can soft counter Eiscue EVS by gusting a benched pokemon and sniping the Eiscue with Targeted Bolt. if Manaphy is in play, you can Boss that up instead, ko it with another Regi, and possibly hold off for a few more turns to bring back the Boss with Electromagnetic Sonar and snipe the Eiscue if the opponent can't put Manaphy back in play. An unlikely situation, but an option more universal than Yell Horn against a card that otherwise walls the entire deck.

I think Regis is in a decent spot right now. Palkia and Kyurem's reduced presence in the meta hurts its matchup spread, but in return Goodra has fallen out of the meta and Flying Pikachu sees minimal amount of play. The Lugia matchup is roughly 50/50, or even favorable if they're not playing Dunsparce. The new Lost Box builds with Kyogre can be threatening, as Regis lacks a bench barrier option, so the best thing to do for that situation is probably a well-timed Marnie. Judging by this past weekend, the 4th Scoop Up Net may be warranted if paralysis becomes popular due to Articuno and Zekrom. Overall, Regis is still very playable at the moment and is a solid pick for a tournament. As long as its counters don't start appearing in droves, I think it can do well.