NAIC 2023 - 241st Place + 2022/2023 Season Recap
Went 5-2-2 at the North American International Championships placing 241st/1897 playing Gardevoir ex. I've been playing Gardy ever since Fort Wayne concluded and thoroughly enjoyed playing it throughout the BST-SVI format. Paldea Evolved gave it a lot of new tools to work with at the cost of becoming a bigger target in the metagame. Even still, it's a force to be reckoned with once it gets going. Here's how the matchups went:
R1: Turbo LZB WW
R2: Gardevoir ex W (opponent couldn't play)
R3: Arceus/Giratina WW
R4: Fusion Mew WLT
R5: Gardevoir ex WW
R6: Lugia Single Strike WW
R7: Turbo LZB WLT
R8: Gardevoir ex LL
R9: Giratina LZB LL
When the deck was hot, it was hot. It's very contingent on getting a solid opening with 3+ Ralts T1 to start drawing cards and if the Kirlias get online, the deck starts chugging. Lost Engine decks were definitely the hardest matches of the day, and even with multiple Ralts early on and damage-soaking mons taking hits in the early game I could only barely win. The mirror had its own weirdness, but the rest of the MUs ran as expected.
R1: Turbo LZB (1-0-0)
- Game 1: I went second and got a T2 Gardy ex, Zacian put in work to attach energy and take a hit before being Collapsed'd away. After I Iono'd him I was surprised when he drew into Colress + double Mirage Gate + Drapion out to OHKO my Gardy, but I got another ex out shortly. Later on I mistakenly benched a Pokemon which gave him an out to take his last prize with Lost Mine. I Iono'd him again and he found the Klara but not the switch out. I can't remember this part very well but he promoted Raikou V somehow to stall. Then I used Super Rod for Cresselia and Mew to get a Moonglow Reverse ko on one of his Comfey.
- Game 2: He starts Manaphy and whiffs T2 attack. I get T2 Gardy again and we trade prizes until I win on time.
My opponent offered to ID with me because he had a reservation for the Pokemon Center, but I had to decline. He was nice about it though, in a later round I might have taken it but it was just too early in the day.
- Game 1: I've had middling games against this deck in practice but everything that could go right went right here. I go first and get 3 Kirlias and an ex in play T2. My opponent plays a Research but whiffed the DTE for the attack, and scoops.
- Game 2: He starts Giratina V and I ko it with baby Gardy. When he got his Arceus VSTAR online he couldn't find another basic V to Trinity Nova to, so I used Memory Skip to stall. The 10 damage actually helped out massively, because combined with my energy in the discard and the V Guard attached to his VSTAR, The math worked out perfectly to get the ko. I took the last 2 prizes by Bossing his Arceus V and attacking with baby Gardy. Very clean set, I always had the stadiums and draw support to get out of Judge/Path. Finished both games in 30 min.
- Game 1: A bit slow in getting energy in the discard but Reversal absolutely pulled its weight here. A massive Research led to an OHKO on Mew VMAX with baby Gardy and right before I announced Brainwave I benched Zacian as an insurance attacker. At 3 to 4 on prizes, my opponent promotes Meloetta and Bosses the Zacian for 2 prizes. In all honesty I didn't even realize that Reversal was turned back on for around a minute of gametime, so then I quickly Bossed up his benched VMAX for the game.
- Game 2: This time he made sure to put only one VMAX in play. I had a rougher setup this game and couldn't get much going. With time running out my only out was to fill my bench with single-prizers and bump my ex with Collapsed to ensure that he would only be able to take one prize at a time. I failed to realize this and on turn 3 of time he Bossed up my ex for the win.
- Game 1: This was the strangest set of the whole tournament. Around the second turn I realized I prized both ex, which squandered my ability to capitalize off my 4 Ralts setup. I immediately started to get a Zacian going to hopefully take a prize before getting rolled, but luckily my opponent had a slower start as well. "No way it happened to both of us" I say because at this point there's no way he doesn't know I prized them. He still took the first ko with Cresselia, but then my baby Gardy with Reversal was poised to start trading kos. I take my own Cresselia off the first prize, and then my baby Gardy gets ko'd. I respond with Zacian and only then do I take an ex off the prizes. At this point we were tied 4-4 on prizes but my opponent mistakenly thinks that his own Reversal is activated, so his baby Gardy's Brainwave fails to ko my Zacian. I take the game from there. At this point 40 minutes have passed so 2 turns into Game 2 he just scoops. We had a chuckle and wished each other luck in the next set.
- Game 1: This was the most unbelievable double brick I've ever seen. He gets double Lugia VSTAR and a Tyranitar on the bench, but nothing else. I have little aside from a Ralts and Kirlia with maybe a Radiant Greninja as well. To get any basic Pokemon in play at all I was forced to discard both of my baby Gardys as well as a Super Rod, so if I had to dump the other it'd be game-ending. I Boss up his Tyranitar to prevent Read the Wind and we draw pass for a few turns. He attaches 2 Single Strike Energy to Tyranitar but luckily I find an Iono and the game actually begins. We trade prizes, favorable for me because of baby Gardy, and we go to game 2.
- Game 2: This game actually plays out like it should, although it got very down to the wire. He benched a Yveltal but didn't have the Single Strike Energies to attack with it so he had to attack with Lugia. At this point my only Pokemon in play were the Kirlia with 2 energy in the active and the ex on the bench. Off the Research I drew I needed Super Rod and Ultra Ball for baby Gardy, and found both.
At this point in the tournament, I could either ask my next 3 opponents for IDs to make it to day 2, or get one win. With the number of players, if I only got 19 points on day 1. even going 6-0 on day 2 wouldn't be enough to make top 8. So I opted to try for the win instead.
R7: Turbo Lost Zone (5-0-2)
- Game 1: I was thankful to go first and have an incredible start. Manaphy start, 3 Ralts, Cresselia, and Greninja out T1. I was able to take prizes consistently and it went pretty even on kos until the end. He picked my board apart until I had 1 ex left on board against his active Dragonite. I had Zacian in hand to drop for the ohko.
- Game 2: Didn’t hit a draw supporter all game, and got run over.
- Game 1: Opponent got T2 Zacian and I didn’t get T2 ex, he took a couple prizes before I stabilized. Trying to keep time in mind I was rushing my actions and made a mistake by announcing Storm Slash before I attached my energies with Psychic Embrace, so in the same breath I announced I was going to attach the energies first and my opponent begrudgingly let me. I was mentally getting myself down and it definitely showed.
- Game 2: Went on a tear eventually getting down to 1 prize on turn 3 of time. I had a baby Gardy with 6 energy in the active and one with 3 on the bench with no damage. He promoted his ex with no damage and I tried to find the Cresselia to retreat into and ko his Kirlia. I found it and tried to bench it but was notified by a judge that Collapsed Stadium was in play and that my bench was full. I scooped after.
- Game 1: Pretty disappointed in myself this set as I played lazy and reckless, I just didn’t have the drive anymore and it showed with my sequencing. I started game 1 with Mew and threw down Fog Crystal and Level Ball at the same time when I should’ve used the Crystal first to see my deck before committing to the Level Ball so I could potentially use it on a Kirlia if I didn’t whiff VIP Pass. I tried to walk it back but my opponent rightfully wouldn’t allow me. I couldn’t get much going and Sableye wrecked my board. In hindsight I should've just scooped turn 2 because it was clear I wasn't gonna set up to a point where I could win.
- Game 2: I had the option to start either Mew, Zacian, or Cresselia in game 2, and I chose Zacian. In an attempt to go on the offensive early, I attached + Roar of the Sword to Zacian and mistakenly benched Cresselia which left me open to an Escape Rope play, but thankfully that didn’t happen. I should’ve just started Mew and attempted to set up the traditional way, because he just set up the same way as before and Sableye wiped out any Kirlia I could get on board.
I
really could’ve tried harder near the end. It was a combination of stress from
trying to finish games on time and just apathy in general that made me lose
motivation in the last 2 sets. If I were to do it again I would practice more
timed sets to get used to recognizing when to scoop. It was disheartening
losing a game 30-35 min in and then needing to play at a breakneck pace just to
play for a tie. I could’ve asked for IDs in rounds 8-9 but wanted the win so I
could have a chance at top 8. I don’t regret that but I do regret not thinking
through my plays more in those last 2 rounds, my mentality is what cost me and
it was entirely avoidable. I’d also like to apologize to Orlando and Jacob for
trying to excuse misplays that I wouldn’t let slide if I were in their
situations, hope we get to play again someday.
The rest of the weekend was really fun. Got to try out my Psychic GLC deck in a tournament setting (even though of my two games, one was a no-show and the other was a junior) and tried some great local restaurants in the area. And of course, meeting up with friends was great, too.
Props:
Reversal Energy being game-saving
Memory Skip being clutch + not getting punished for it in the mirror (can you believe I cut both of these at one point?)
Clutching the mirror where I prized both exs
Pierogis at Barley's
My deck not being a potato
North Market
Slops:
Penny being a blank card for 5 sets
Time-related misplays
Trying to take actions back
Gardy/LZ mus taking 70 years to finish
Selling at 5-0-1
For my first season in competitive play, I'm proud with what I've accomplished. I never thought a worlds invite would've been in the cards when I first picked up the Ice Rider Calyrex battle deck this time last year. As of the time of this post, I'm 318th in the U.S./Canada region for total CP earned in the 2022-2023 season, with 219 points, 131 shy of qualifying for worlds. If I had pushed my way to top 8 at NAIC, I would've earned my invite, which is crazy to think about. With a full season of cups and challenges ahead, I'll definitely be making a run to secure my spot in the 2024 World Championships.
I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun this season if it wasn't for Regigigas and Gardevoir, and I grinded these decks almost to a fault throughout most of the season. Regigigas got me my first online tournament finishes, and it gave me confidence to push the deck as far as I could. I played the deck almost exclusively from August to April, which led to my top 256 finish in Toronto as well as my first ever day 2 finish in Fort Wayne.
RIP PTCGO :(
After that my focus shifted to Gardevoir, and even though I didn't experiment nearly as much with it, I performed well at cups and challenges in the BST-SVI format. Going into NAIC Gardevoir was poised as the deck to beat, and even though I was unsure of the counters people would bring going in, I still made another top 256 finish. Regis' time in the sun might be over, but I'm sure Gardevoir will be sticking around. Looking ahead to the recently announced September/October 2023 regionals, I'm excited for what Obsidian Flames and Pokemon 151 will bring to the table (Please Revavroom ex be good 🤞). And of course, this season would be nothing without my testing partners, the friends I've made via the Southeast MI scene, and the familiar faces I get to see at tournaments. The road to Worlds 2024 begins!
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