Night March is ALWAYS the Play — Cities Recap and a Look at Regionals
What’s up Beach Nation? Steve here, back with another article to close out my City Championships run for this season. Needless to say, one deck did pretty much all the work for me over the last two months. While I played decks like [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] for a few Cities, it was Night March / [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] that did most of the heavy lifting during a grueling, eight-week-long run of tournaments that made up this year’s Cities.
Today we will be taking a look at not only the list I started with for the aforementioned Night March / Vespiquen / Bronzong deck, but also each change I made from tournament to tournament, why I made those changes, and even a look at an Expanded version of the deck, since two of my Cities were played in Expanded. The deck has given me some fantastic results at Cities this far, taking out many top players and difficult matchups along the way. I expect Night March to stay a major threat during Winter Regionals, and remaining strong for the future of States and Spring Regionals. You don’t want to miss out on my well-tested and proven final Night March list that I plan to take to Regionals, complete with in-depth analysis of my many City Championship runs!
But first, I want to inform each and every one of you that PokeBeach has partnered up with TCGPlayer to offer an even greater experience, especially for premium members! If you haven’t purchased a premium membership here yet, now is definitely the time to do so, given the many new features of the program! With PokeBeach and TCGPlayer partnering up, we’ll be running tournaments with awesome prizes on a regular basis! You’ll also have the opportunity of writing your own articles, if you so choose. With this partnership, things are only going to get better for all of you here on PokeBeach! (No, trust me. I’ve spoken with a Celebi who recently returned from the future, and the time-travel Pokemon confirmed this in full.) It’s going to be one heck of a party, and you won’t want to miss it!
In my previous article, I went over the Indiana Mini Marathon, which included three City Championships, the third of which I was a semi-finalist in with Yveltal-EX / Zoroark / Gallade. But just for a quick refresher, let’s look at my list from that tournament:
[decklist name=”Yveltal / Zoroark / Gallade” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″][pokemon amt=”16″]3x [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Zorua” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]2x [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]7x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
I originally received this idea after watching both Kevin Baxter and Dustin Zimmerman reach the semi-finals on day one of the Indiana Mini Marathon, prompting me to ask them more about the deck and how it works in order to build my own variant for the following day. While I didn’t do so hot on day two, I was able to ride this list to four consecutive wins opening up the final day of the marathon, allowing me to intentionally draw my last two rounds to qualify for that day’s top cut. After winning a mirror match in Top 8, I was ultimately booted from the event by the combination of [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Flash Energy” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] in Top 4. Although this was the last time I would touch an [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] deck during Cities this year, it was just the beginning of a solid Cities run overall.
While writing my last article, I discussed the Night March / [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] deck that dominated the first day of the marathon, providing a basic 60-card list with as few tech cards as possible in means of emphasizing consistency and the bare bones of the deck. Little did I know the list I provided would end up becoming my deck of choice for the majority of the remaining Cities this season.
Mt. Summit, Indiana
Just one week after a Top 4 finish with [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] in Indianapolis, I drove back to Indiana for another City Championship. This time I came ready with my newly-built Night March / [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] deck, using the exact list I came up with as an example of the deck I saw in the Indiana Mini Marathon. In case you need a refresher on the list, however, here it is:
[decklist name=”Night March / Vespiquen / Bronzong” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″][pokemon amt=”24″]4x [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Combee” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”9″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Bronzor” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
One thing you may notice right away is that, with the exception of a few Supporters, every card in the deck is run in multiples. This ensures consistency in a deck list, plain and simple. Running more copies of a card means you have better chances of drawing that particular card throughout the game, making you better able to execute your strategy at a much higher rate.
This means more opening turns playing two or three copies of [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and more 180 damage attacks as early as the first turn! Unless, of course, you’re going up against a deck that doesn’t have a bulky Pokemon-EX in the Active spot, or if you’re hitting something for Weakness (would you like your [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] original recipe or extra crispy?). In these particular cases you’ll likely only need five or six Night March Pokemon in your discard pile in order to start taking OHKOs every single turn. Overall, being able to consistently set up on the first turn makes the deck that much more explosive and that much stronger. I will take consistency over a pile of techs any day of the year.
Why Vespiquen?
[cardimg name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
I expected to see a fair amount of [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] decks going into this tournament, and I knew how problematic that could be for pure Night March. Both [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] can be OHKO’d by a simple Oblivion Wing from [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] that simultaneously accelerates Energy onto the opponent’s Benched Pokemon. [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card], however, can survive an Oblivion Wing while dishing out enough damage to potentially deliver a OHKO against the 130 HP Yveltal, forcing the opponent to either two-shot it or bring out something bigger to attack with. If you play with a limited Bench, Zoroark will also be unable to take a OHKO here. In this scenario, unless Gallade has been brought into play via [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] or an Yveltal has enough Energy attached to use Darkness Blade, your opponent will miss a KO for at least one turn. This is usually all you’ll need to take command of the Prize race and ultimately win the game.
Vespiquen is an alternate attacker capable of hitting big numbers, particularly in the late game when you’re likely running low on Night Marchers. Being able to retreat for free is an added bonus here. Vespiquen would prove her worth several times over during the period I played this deck.
The Tournament
Now Murphy’s Law decided to mess with me as early as the first round of the Mt. Summit City Championship, handing me a round one matchup against Kevin Baxter and his [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] deck. I knew I would be tested immediately and, although Kevin and I have played tons of games over the past couple of years, this certainly wasn’t a matchup I wanted to play in the first round of the tournament. Nonetheless, we played a close game throughout, trading Prize for Prize until I ultimately ended up one card short after he played a [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] late in the game. He locked the game up on his following turn due to [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] reducing my [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]’s damage output so it was 10 damage short of taking the final KO. Losing the first round is never good, but at least I lost against someone I felt could win the tournament entirely and give me solid resistance.
I got paired up to a 1-0 opponent in round two who was also playing an Yveltal-EX / Zoroark / Gallade deck, but he was only able to start with a lone [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and had no way to draw out of a dead hand. Needless to say, I KO’d his Shaymin-EX and won the game on the second turn. I would’ve loved to play a real game and see if I could win this matchup after coming so close in the first round, but, little did I know, I’d get that opportunity in a couple more rounds.
In round three, I went up against an unusual [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] variant that ran [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] instead of using [card name=”Landorus” set=”Furious Fists” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] to accelerate Energy. He benched a pair of basic [card name=”Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] but never evolved them or attached any Energy to them, making them easy targets for [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] KOs. Instead, he just attached to Lucario-EX and started swinging. I brought [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] to the forefront and hit for Weakness, taking an easy OHKO on Lucario. Then there was [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card], who couldn’t even touch my Night Marchers to begin with. I won this game without too much trouble and went on to round four. It was after this round that I learned my first round opponent was 3-0 and could reach Top 8 by intentionally drawing his last two rounds, while my second round opponent was 2-1 at the time, meaning my resistance was looking pretty good.
During round four, I went against another Yveltal / Zoroark / Gallade deck, confirming my expectation of seeing lots of Yveltal decks to be rather accurate. Much like my first round, this game went down to the wire with each of us trading Prizes one by one until I was able to Lysandre up his Benched Shaymin-EX for two Prizes. When he was unable to find a Lysandre of his own for my Shaymin-EX on his next turn, I promptly played a [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] for my lone copy of [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] in order to remove it from my Bench, preventing my opponent from taking a two-Prize KO for the remainder of the game. This proved to be clutch as he did, indeed, have access to Lysandre as soon as the following turn, but was unable to regain control of the Prize trade against a field of my one-Prize Pokemon. We exchanged one-Prize KOs until I’d taken my last Prize card, winning the game and allowing me the luxury of intentionally drawing my final round of Swiss to get into Top 8 with a record of 3-1-1.
Top Cut
My top 8 matchup was against a [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] deck sporting [card name=”Flareon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Jolteon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] in order to hit multiple types for Weakness as well as allow the deck access to [card name=”Blacksmith” set=”Flashfire” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] for added Energy acceleration. However, Night March is simply faster than Vespiquen since both [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] can attack without having to evolve first. This proved to be the difference between winning and losing this match, as my opponent was forced to play from behind early on in both games. The one-Prize lead I gained at the beginning of each game was enough to match him Prize for Prize throughout the two games and come out on top both times. This brought me to top 4 feeling confident in my chances to go the rest of the distance.
My Top 4 opponent was running a [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Aromatisse” set=”XY” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] deck with a couple of techs. I knew I needed to KO the [card name=”Gardevoir-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] before it reached its Mega Evolution in order to win this match. Thankfully, this wasn’t an issue as I dealt out 180 damage on the first turn. With such momentum from a strong start, I costed to a win. He managed to set up a M Gardevoir-EX in game two, but his Bench was loaded with Pokemon-EX that were ripe for the picking, so I made excessive use of my one [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] via several [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]s to take my six Prize cards once again and move onto the finals.
[cardimg name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]
My day ended in the same manner it began, with a matchup against [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. I knew the matchup would be difficult, but I also knew it was winnable. It mostly came down to who took the first Prize and if either of us could avoid benching any Pokemon-EX — or starting with them. That didn’t work out so well for me in game one, as I was forced to use an [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] for the dreaded [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] to draw out of a dead opening hand. While I planned to dig for [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] so I could get Shaymin-EX off the board as quickly as possible, my opponent used a Lysandre to KO it before I could find the aforementioned AZ. From there on out, I trailed in Prizes and ultimately lost the game. Game two went much smoother for me, particularly because he opened with an Yveltal-EX and had a limited supply of Supporters for the first two or three turns, until he was eventually able to stream KOs against me. By that time, I was up by three Prizes and had multiple attackers set up along with a pair of [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] equipped with [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]s. I couldn’t ask for a better setup than that. However, he didn’t whiff attackers in game three, while I whiffed a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] on the first turn and fell behind by one Prize. Throughout the game, that proved to be the difference, with each of us benching a single copy of Shaymin-EX during the game. He used Sky Return to KO one of my Joltiks, while I was able to bring mine back to my hand with the use of AZ. In the end, he claimed his last Prize while I still had one remaining.
This was a close game; one slight hiccup proved to be all that was necessary to decide who won. That said, reaching second place with a “bare bones” deck list is pretty darn good, and it gave me more than enough reason to keep playing this deck throughout Cities.
[premium]
Sandusky, Ohio
After placing second in Mt. Summit, I kept my Night March / [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] deck ready for the following weekend’s City Championship up in Sandusky, Ohio. One thing I don’t have much of anymore is spare playtesting time, since my extra time is mostly devoted to my son these days, but I was able to look into some newer decks that were popping up so I could properly prepare for them.
The most notable of these decks was [card name=”Entei” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”15″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Charizard-EX” set=”Flashfire” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] which runs several copies of [card name=”Assault Vest” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] in order to limit damage dealt by attackers with Special Energy cards attached to them, while also possessing the 170 damage output to easily deal with heavy hitters like [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]. While Bronzong is imperative in this matchup, I decided to drop the [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] from my list in favor of a [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], which could also prove helpful against another irritating card in the meta: [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. The downside of this change is my two [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] became the only way to move a Bronzong unfortunate enough to enter the Active position. Although 59 / 60 cards are the same as the previous tournament, here’s the list anyway:
[decklist name=”Night March / Vespiquen / Bronzong” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″][pokemon amt=”24″]4x [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Combee” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”9″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Bronzor” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Once again, I opened the tournament against an [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] deck, although this time I was fortunate enough to take the first KO without whiffing an attack, resulting in an early lead in the Prize trade. It was pretty much the same old, same old from there on out, exchanging one Prize attackers for the majority of the game until one of us took all six, which was me this time. There really isn’t anything else I can say about this game that I haven’t already covered. Still, not a bad way to start off the day.
I went up against my friend and fellow PokeBeach premium writer, Andrew Mahone, in round two, just one day after he busted out his Lucario-EX / Hammers deck and took it directly to the finals in another City Championship. While I loved the idea of hitting [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] for Weakness as well as having almost complete immunity from [card name=”Hawlucha” set=”Furious Fists” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card]’s attack — I’m looking at you, [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] — the thought of having to deal with [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] made my brain itch a little bit, even with a [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. He went first, hit me with a [card name=”Red Card” set=”XY” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], and immediately began to set up a Lucario on his Bench. I proceeded to bench both of my Shaymin-EX in order to draw a ton of cards off of their Abilities before putting the rest of my resources to work, ultimately leading to a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] of Andrew’s Lucario-EX, followed by my [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] smacking it upside the head for a 200 damage touchdown to swing the momentum my way. I must’ve missed the extra point though; I lost a bit of steam after that. All football jokes aside, the Hammers and Focus Sashes began to take their toll on me, especially since I struggled to set up a [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] until late game, which resulted in me decking out against a field full of Hawlucha with Focus Sashes equipped that I simply couldn’t take out. It would’ve helped if I had a Lysandre or [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] available still, but all of them were sadly gone by that point.
In the third and fourth rounds I met two more Yveltal-EX / Zoroark / Gallade decks, both of which I won against. One of my opponents chose to bench an Yveltal-EX, which made life easy for me as I simply Lysandre’d it up for two quick Prizes. The fourth round was a bit more of a struggle, as my opponent put not one, but two [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] into play on the first two turns. This quickly turned into an offensive onslaught, with [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]’s slightly higher HP not meaning a thing against a pair of attackers hitting for 130 at a time. Fortunately for me, he also had to bench two copies of Shaymin-EX to get those Gallades into play, meaning I had four Prizes ripe for the taking. Unfortunately for me, the second Shaymin-EX fled the board via Sky Return before I could KO it, taking one of my [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] with it. I was still ahead in Prizes though, which allowed me to control the board state for the most part and claim another win, resulting in a 3-1 record at the end of the fourth round.
Sadly, I wasn’t able to guarantee myself a place in Top 8 via an intentional draw in the last round, meaning I was forced to play the game out against a somewhat unfavorable matchup — [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]. To make matters worse, my opponent led with a [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card], then benching a [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] and supplying it with a Lightning Energy and a [card name=”Manectric Spirit Link” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card]. However, for the second time that day, I went second and saw that my lone copy of Lysandre was in my hand. I used it immediately to drag up the Manectric and temporarily rid myself of Wobbuffet’s Ability lock, allowing me to take advantage of an [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] I planned on using to grab a Shaymin-EX. This started another massive chain that resulted in a first turn OHKO of a Pokemon-EX, this time dropping nine Night Marchers into the discard pile on turn one! The game played out in a back-and-forth manner until I had four cards left in hand and one card left in deck, with the win assured on my last turn. These numbers kept my opponent from playing [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] to disrupt my winning hand. I proceeded to lock up the game, as well as a spot in Top 8.
Top Cut
My Top 8 match was against my friend Deon Lunsford, who reached top cut with his [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] deck. This was bittersweet as I knew it was a highly positive matchup for me, but knowing that we both couldn’t make Top 4 on a day when 5th-8th place wouldn’t receive any Championship Points bothered me a little. Still, I played the match with my foot on the gas as much as possible, leading to a rather interesting first game that I took after a series of dead drawing on both ends. The second game was much less interesting, as M Rayquaza-EX’s Lightning Weakness took its toll when it met an army of four [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]. It stinks having to eliminate a friend from a tournament, but we’ve all been in this situation before. It’s a part of the game. Now moving on to Top 4, and my opponent is playing…
[cardimg name=”M Houndoom-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”22″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]
[card name=”M Houndoom-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card]? Whoa! I mean, that’s really freaking cool! Don’t ask me how, but Justin Boughter found a way to take M Houndoom-EX all the way to this point, still pushing forward for first place. Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised that he made it work; after all, Justin is one of Ohio’s best players and has come up with creative ideas before. This one surprised me just a little bit, so I didn’t know what to expect. The game started slow with me taking a couple turns to get going and him having only an [card name=”Entei” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”14″ c=”name”][/card] to attack with at first. Eventually he was able to get a [card name=”Houndoom-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] down and use Grand Flame to KO a Joltik as well as accelerate some Energy to a Benched Houndoom-EX with the attack’s effect. However, Grand Flame deals a mere 50 damage, meaning it comes up short of KO’ing a [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card]. This ended up being a huge factor during the game, as he was only able to deal 50 damage to one of my Pumpkaboo, sending the Prize trade heavily into my favor and allowing me to cruise to a win shortly thereafter. Game two was symbolic of my entire day, as Justin led with a Houndoom-EX and watched as I dropped nine Night Marchers into my discard pile and dealt out a first turn 180+ damage for the third time that day! It was smooth sailing from there out. I took KOs each turn and ended up cruising to victory, moving on to the finals for the second consecutive week.
My finals matchup, [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] — or Crobuffet, as I prefer to call it — was, quite possibly, my worst matchup thus far. My opponent was running a pair of [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] in order to deal with a somewhat rough Yveltal matchup. Now if only he’d opened with said Manectric-EX every game, or something along those lines, things would have been much easier. Game one went back and forth, with me managing enough damage to take KOs on his Wobbuffet early and often, only to watch my attackers getting picked off by Bats and attacking Wobbuffets in return. I went through a series of bone-headed misplays that somehow didn’t cost me the game when my opponent evolved into Crobat not once, but twice during a three turn span in which I used [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] back-to-back-to-back thanks to [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. In the end, he played an [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] to bring one of his Crobat back to his hand and proceeded to bench the [card name=”Zubat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] once again. On my last turn, I Lysandre’d up the Zubat, used both of my [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card]’s Abilities to attach two Metal Energy onto my Benched Bronzong, then added a Double Colorless Energy and swung for the game with Bronzong’s Hammer In attack! Wow! Talk about stealing a game that I theoretically should’ve conceded several turns earlier! Game two, on the other hand, was a complete and utter dead draw session for me. I lost in a matter of three or four turns. Game three was similar, except my opponent also dead drew a bit, so we both struggled to make any plays. I finally got some board presence when time was called, and I ended up being one turn short of tying up the Prize trade and likely winning due to my opponent having no resources left. Can I petition for untimed finals, please? In any case, I logged back-to-back second place Cities finishes for a second consecutive year.
Findlay, Ohio
I decided to go back to running [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] instead of [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], as it did little for me in the Sandusky tournament. This meant I was running the exact same list I ran at Mt. Summit. I was able to test the [card name=”Entei” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”15″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Charizard-EX” set=”Flashfire” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] matchup a bit and felt [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] alone was enough to win against it, especially considering how many copies of [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] are typically benched by an Entei player during the course of a game. [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] could still prevent any attempted OHKOs, but it certainly isn’t unbeatable without Tool removal. Taking a Shaymin-EX off of the board seemed much more beneficial than discarding a few Tools, especially since AZ can be reused with [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. Now let’s get to the Swiss rounds and see if we can make cut with the same deck at a third consecutive Standard City Championship!
My first opponent was running a deck built to bring out [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] on the first turn through [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. Fortunately for me, this never happened. I loaded up my discard pile with Night Marchers on my first turn and never looked back, KO’ing a [card name=”Miltank” set=”Flashfire” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card], a Shaymin-EX, and eventually a [card name=”Gloom” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”2″ c=”name”][/card] en route to winning by benching her out. My opponent showed me after the game that her main attacker was actually [card name=”Regice” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card], which never saw the board due to her dead drawing from the start. Nonetheless, Vileplume could’ve been scary if she managed to set it up on the first turn, considering she went first in this game!
With round one in the rear-view mirror, I went up against a [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] deck in round two. My opponent had no idea what I was running and led with a Manectric-EX. He regretted it immediately upon seeing my Active [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], benching a Wobbuffet, [card name=”Zubat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], and a pair of Shaymin-EX. He attached an Energy to his Active Manectric-EX and passed. I breathed a sigh of relief that he didn’t retreat into Wobbuffet, and I proceeded to play all four [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]s on my first turn, eventually leading to yet another first turn OHKO of a Pokemon-EX! Bats slowly picked off a couple of my Night Marchers as the game progressed, but my opponent didn’t bother benching another Manectric-EX, meaning [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] was able to do most of the dirty work from there on out, leading me to a 2-0 start.
[cardimg name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ align=”right” c=”custom”]A necessary evil for all decks.[/cardimg]
The third round is usually when I take a loss, although the pattern of these tournaments might say it happens sooner than that. I was paired up against a pure Night March deck this time, with no [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] at all. I knew I had more resources than he did due to Bronzong mostly, but I also knew I was more likely to whiff an attack early on. Fortunately, I hit an [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] off of an [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] on the first turn, eliminating what would’ve been a dead hand and netting me a quick Shaymin-EX to draw a new hand. Since he had a Joltik Active, I was able to retreat into Shaymin-EX and use Sky Return to both KO the Joltik and get my two-Prize liability off the board. This became a recurring theme throughout this game, as I left no Joltiks on my board after the first one was KO’d, while my opponent was forced to bench three of them total. I continued to draw cards off of Set Up and use Sky Return for KOs until he was out of Joltiks, at which point I ditched both of my Shaymins with an Ultra Ball in order to set up a Vespiquen. Meanwhile, my opponent was forced to bench a Shaymin-EX that he was unable to Sky Return back into his hand, as he couldn’t take any Prize cards with the attack. This prompted my use of a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] to force it into the Active slot and take the Prize lead. I cruised from there on out, never missing an attack and having an abundance of Double Colorless Energy available thanks to Shaymin-EX continually bouncing them back into my hand.
Round four was a snoozer. I opened up with only a [card name=”Combee” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card] and an Ultra Ball, with no draw power in sight. What was the worst part? Both of my [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] were prized. Needless to say, my opponent — who happened to be playing [card name=”Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] / Hammers — quickly disposed of both of my Pokemon and got a quick win, dropping me to 3-1 on that day.
Since I lost the previous round, I needed to win this one to make it into cut. I went up against an Entei / Charizard-EX deck this time, and finally got to see if my playtesting payed off and whether or not I would regret cutting the [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. My opponent made most of the plays I expected with [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Blacksmith” set=”Flashfire” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Scorched Earth” set=”Primal Clash” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] early on and was able to set up attackers continually. The positive here was that he needed to use Blacksmith almost every turn, and he didn’t appear to run any copies of [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Kalos Starter Set” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] to bring up my Shaymin-EX for easy Prizes. Because of this, I needed to keep taking KOs every turn, which I was able to do by simply overshooting any [card name=”Assault Vest” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] protection his Entei had or using [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] to charge up attackers to deal with an Assault-Vested Charizard-EX. This game went the same way my playtesting typically did, with me taking advantage of his Benched Shaymin-EXs to win in the end, allowing me to intentionally draw in the final round of Swiss and guaranteeing myself yet another Top 8.
Top Cut
Top 8 saw me playing against another [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] deck, although there was no [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] this time around. I won the first game on the strength of a fast start and a string of OHKOs that ran him out of attackers before he could spread enough damage across the board. [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]’s slightly higher HP was useful here, as it proved more difficult to take out than any of the Night Marchers. Sadly, the second game didn’t go nearly the same, as I dead drew yet again, and ended up conceding after a couple of rough turns and falling behind by four Prizes quickly at the hands of some Crobat Evolutions. Game three was interesting, however, because, despite missing Supporters for the first few turns, I maintained attackers and was able to dump enough Night Marchers via [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] to trade KOs with him somewhat evenly. The problem was my lack of Supporters caught up with me a turn or two before I finally got my [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] for a fresh hand. By that time I’d fallen behind by two Prizes and couldn’t come back. He had a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] for one of my Shaymin-EX, which ultimately ended the game.
Although the loss is disappointing, making Top 8 in all three of my tournaments thus far seems pretty good. Shall we try for a fourth?
Springfield, Ohio
One more Standard event with this deck sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Well, I decided to change a couple things up this time. The biggest one being that I dropped [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] in favor of a slightly thinner [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] line. Why Zoroark and not just a thinner Vespiquen line? The answer here was something I’d struggled with for the previous two weeks. I desperately wanted to fit in a fourth copy of both [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]. While Trainers’ Mail is usually the superior card, it cannot get me a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] if I’ve already played my Supporter for the turn and do not have access to a [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] for additional draw power, while Acro Bike can give me a Double Colorless Energy directly as well as potentially discarding a [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”name”][/card] to fuel my attacks or a Metal Energy for [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] to take advantage of later on.
Zoroark offers an equally powerful and efficient attack while also carrying its highly useful Stand In Ability, meaning I wouldn’t need a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] on every Bronzong I put into play. I also snuck a [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] into this list, which can beef up Zoroark’s damage output as well as take easy Prizes in combination with [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card]. These were last minute changes, however, which I would normally not recommend. Let’s see if they’ll work, shall we? This is the updated list:
[decklist name=”Night March / Zoroark / Bronzong” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″][pokemon amt=”22″]4x [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Zorua” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Bronzor” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
For the second time during this season’s Cities run, I was dealt an opening match with Kevin Baxter and his [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] deck. I opened with a lone [card name=”Zorua” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] while my opponent went first, proceeding to bench an Yveltal-EX on his first turn. This made me wonder if he thought I was also playing an Yveltal deck. This was to my great delight, of course, as I could easily take it out with a [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] hitting for Weakness and a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], which happened after only a couple turns. We traded KOs similarly to the rest of my matchups against Yveltal decks, with a [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] play on his Yveltal-EX followed up with a [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] / Lysandre combo, ending the game and earning me a win.
I felt pretty good going into round two, but since Murphy’s Law failed to strike me down against Kevin, it did so against my buddy Deon in round two, as I drew yet another dead hand. If this deck has one fatal flaw, it’s the dead drawing. Then again, I don’t think that’s a flaw of this deck, but more so a flaw of Standard in general. Needless to say, I lost in a matter of two turns to a five-Energy [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] in a matchup that I’d typically view as favorable.
[cardimg name=”Pyroar” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”12″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]
After the round two loss, I was thrown right back into the fire (quite literally) against an [card name=”Entei” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”15″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Charizard-EX” set=”Flashfire” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] deck that ran [card name=”Pyroar” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] as an alternative to [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card]. Fortunately for me, he never managed to get a Pyroar into play and I was once again able to overshoot each Entei by loading up my discard pile and using basic Energy to deal with Charizard. I was able to get both copies of [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] into play which helped me deal with both a Charizard-EX equipped with an [card name=”Assault Vest” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] and an Entei with two of them! Once again, Shaymin-EX was my opponent’s undoing, as a Lysandre for his Shaymin-EX provided the final two Prizes, just like what happened in the previous tournament. This is always a close game, but I’ve learned it’s not as bad as one might think.
With a place in Top 8 on the line, I went up against my buddy Chance and his [card name=”Miltank” set=”Flashfire” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Greninja” set=”XY” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] deck. This could be disastrous if he manages to get a pair of Greninja into play. However, that wasn’t the case, as he only managed to play Archie’s Ace in the Hole once and struggled to maintain enough Energy to both attack and use Greninja’s Ability for extra damage. I plowed through half of my deck on the first turn as usual and kept swinging for OHKOs every turn, winning the game quickly when he didn’t draw another Supporter.
I proceeded to intentionally draw my last round and reach Top 8 for the fourth time with my Night March deck!
Top Cut
My Top 8 opponent was Austin Reed — another buddy of mine and someone I played against at a previous event. He was running [card name=”Entei” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”15″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Charizard-EX” set=”Flashfire” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card], so, while I was prepared for the matchup, I would’ve preferred to go up against one of the two [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] decks that were in Top 8 as well. I opened game one with a nearly dead hand and no draw power, leading to him taking KOs early and often while I struggled to fight back. I ended up conceding due to being down by multiple Prizes, and my [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] being Prized. In game two, I was 10 damage away from a donk, but then he drew out of the hole and made a game out of it. I overshot a pair of Entei with [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card], then took down a Charizard-EX with a [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] before using Lysandre to bring up his [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] for the game-winning KO which forced a third game. Game three was about as even as it could get, going to time just over halfway through the Prize exchange could be completed. He used a Lysandre to bring up one of my [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] that didn’t have a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] attached. I dug furiously into the deck for a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] and managed to pay the Retreat Cost on my last turn before taking the game’s final KO, leaving me with one less Prize card remaining than he had at the end of the final three turns. Whew!
My Top 4 match was against my friend Jacob Brumfield whom I have playtested with and discussed strategies for a lot of different decks. We were both running Night March variants, with me packing [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] and Bronzong while he favored the [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] version. I lost the coin flip and was forced into going first — never a good thing in a Night March mirror — and fell behind by a Prize right away. I hoped he would need to bench a Shaymin-EX at some point which I could capitalize off of and turn the Prize trade in my favor, but, thanks to Milotic allowing him to retrieve his resources at will, that didn’t happen. It didn’t help that he ran four copies of [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] either, and managed to hit heads on three of the four to reuse his Milotics over and over. Game two featured more of the same despite me going second this time, as I whiffed Energy on my first turn and fell behind in Prizes. The rest of game two played out almost exactly the same as the first game, with me ending up on the losing end once again. Still, I played Night March at four Standard Cities and made cut every time, so it’s not all be bad.
Mansfield, Ohio (Expanded)
The last City Championship I’ll go to over here is an Expanded event that I had almost no time to prepare for. As a result, I just took my Night March list from Standard and changed a few cards to better suit it for the Expanded format. Adding a [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] was the first move and it made me feel comfortable dropping the [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]s in order to max out on [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] in return. Next, I made sure to stick with [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] for Expanded, as [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] is more likely to see play here than in Standard and Vespiquen can make quick work of this rather frustrating nuisance.
I also swapped out the [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] line in favor of [card name=”Eelektrik” set=”Noble Victories” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], due to the Lightning Energy matching up with [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]’s Gnaw attack as well as a slightly more manageable Retreat Cost should it get stuck in the Active position without a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. Finally, since there were [card name=”M Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] decks running around in my area, I opted to tech in a [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] specifically for this matchup. It is also worth noting that I did not include any copies of [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] despite their availability, as I wanted to maintain a certain level of consistency and had already opted to include the tech combo of Gallade and Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick. Below is the new Expanded form of my Night March deck:
[decklist name=”Night March / Vespiquen / Eelektrik” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″][pokemon amt=”25″]4x [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Combee” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”9″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Eelektrik” set=”Noble Victories” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tynamo” set=”Noble Victories” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
I go up against [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] to open the tournament with, knowing I’d need to grab the first Prize card to take control of the game as well as do my best to bench as few [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] as possible. This proved to work out just fine, as I was able to take the game’s opening KO and cherry-pick my opponent’s Shaymin-EX via [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] for a two-Prize lead. A steady stream of attackers and Energy paved the way for a solid start to my first Expanded tournament since Fall Regionals.
In the second round I was handed a matchup against [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”custom”]Archie’s[/card] [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], which I jokingly noticed and responded by saying, “You mean I have to play against my own creation?” Something worth noting about this particular Blastoise list was the inclusion of two [card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Victini” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW32″ c=”name”][/card], all engineered specifically to deal with Night March and [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] decks. The Prize trade was even early on, but eventually my opponent started taking multiple Prizes with Articuno’s Δ Plus Ancient Trait, making the game go faster than even Night March could handle. He also surprised me with the use of a perfectly timed [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] that locked me out of an attack for a turn due to not having a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] available. This game spiraled downhill from there, and I took my first loss of the day.
Round three was very unusual and relatively scary due to my lack of Energy for most of the game. I discarded both copies of [card name=”Eelektrik” set=”Noble Victories” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] early on in an effort to draw into a Double Colorless Energy, only to whiff the [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] I needed and lose my Energy card to an [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] during my opponent’s turn. After that I was forced to dig deeper into my deck until I was down to less than seven cards, with two more Double Colorless Energy still remaining in the deck and the last one being Prized. If there was ever a point in this tournament where I desperately wanted an [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], this was it. My opponent played a deck based around [card name=”M Lucario-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], which was something I’d never seen in a tournament, but he took so much time building up his attackers that he hardly ever attacked me. This was a case of my own patience being too thin after taking a loss in the previous round and it almost cost me a game against a deck that should be an autowin for my deck. Fortunately, I had just enough turns to take KOs on three of his Pokemon-EX and escape with a 2-1 record. This was a bit too close for comfort, mainly due to my lack of patience. Needless to say, I learned something — or was reminded of at the very least — from this game.
In the fourth round I was paired up against Carl Scheu, so I knew right away that I would be going against [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] and his longtime buddy, [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card]. With [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] available, Yveltal-EX / Darkrai-EX decks gain a huge boost in power and can fire on all cylinders against pretty much anything. Luckily for me, he didn’t get the terrifying first turn [card name=”Ghetsis” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], and I was able to set up my board and discard pile to start taking KOs quickly. Carl climbed back into the game with a beautifully timed Lysandre of my Shaymin-EX which he proceeded to KO utilizing Darkrai-EX, along with one of my Benched Joltik. I brought out my Vespiquen and hoped he didn’t have access to a [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] for the win. Luckily for me, he didn’t have one in hand and wasn’t able to draw one without playing another Supporter first, so he instead played a [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], complete with sleep, and attacked me with a [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]ed baby [card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], dealing a total of 80 damage with [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] in play. This play made the entire game come down to a coin flip for sleep, which I fortunately got heads on, allowing Vespiquen to KO his Yveltal for my final Prize card and a 3-1 record.
I met a [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] deck in the fifth round, taking an easy KO on my opponent’s leading Seismitoad-EX thanks to Vespiquen’s typing. After a few turns, my opponent managed to power up a Giratina-EX and lock me out of Double Colorless Energy, but I got an Eelektrik into play and used Dynamotor to accelerate the necessary basic Energy from the discard pile to fuel Night March and KO Giratina en route to another win and a 4-1 record.
I was able to intentionally draw with my round six opponent and qualify for Top 8 yet again!
Top Cut
My reward for making Top 8 this time was a rematch against the same [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] deck that handed me my only loss during the Swiss rounds that day. After falling victim to [card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] yet again in the first game, my opponent whiffed a first turn Blastoise in game two, allowing me to take multiple Prizes before he could unleash any attacks. Articuno eventually reared its head alongside Blastoise in the mid-to-late game, but I was far enough ahead by then that I coasted to a win by continually attacking and using [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] to take two Prize cards per turn instead of one. Game three was probably the most interesting of the matches because he, once again, whiffed the turn one Blastoise, but I also struggled to set up quickly and ended up missing a KO for a couple of turns. He eventually got set up and swung at [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] with Articuno, flipping all three tails on his attack. However, he had [card name=”Victini” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW32″ c=”name”][/card] on the Bench to use Victory Star and re-flip his coins in another attempt to score a two-Prize KO, but still ended up with only one heads! I proceeded to KO his Articuno and pull off the game due to some luck on the part of my opponent’s coin flips! It might not be the most skill-based win, but hey, I will take those! A win is a win.
[cardimg name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”107″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
My Top 4 match was against Chris Fulop and his [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] deck, which was very similar to the one Carl Scheu played against me earlier on. The first game was pretty even throughout until Chris made the exact same play Carl did with [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] and Lysandre on my [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] for a 110 damage OHKO, thanks to [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], as well as a 30 damage KO of a [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] on my Bench. The difference this time was that he had only three Prizes remaining when he made this play, so it ended the game. Onto game two we went. This time I made sure to use Joltik less frequently and keep wary of a three-Prize Night Spear play, limiting my Bench and attacking primarily with [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] and Vespiquen. He eventually laid down a copy of the [card name=”Yveltal” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”94″ c=”from”][/card], which he proceeded to charge up via Oblivion Wing and [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] until he brought it forward to KO my already-damaged Vespiquen and lay down 60 damage on one of my Benched Shaymin-EX. I considered promoting the damaged Shaymin-EX and using Sky Return to get it off the board, but figured he only ran one copy of the new Yveltal and the better choice would be to simply KO it and maintain the Prize trade, as he still had three Prizes remaining and the damaged Shaymin-EX still had enough HP left to survive a snipe from Darkrai-EX. However, Chris responded with a [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Rescue” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], Dark Patch, Double Colorless Energy, and [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] to retreat his Active Pokemon in order to launch one more Pitch-Black Spear which KO’d my Active Pumpkaboo as well as my previously damaged Shaymin-EX, thus ending the match.
After this, I decided that the Expanded version of my deck needs a [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] to help out against Bench snipers. Still, Top 4 is pretty good when you consider that I had no time to playtest Expanded at all prior to this event, and that it was my fifth Top 8 with Night March during my Cities run. I’ll gladly take those 140 Championship Points.
Marching Forward – Winter Regionals and BREAKpoint
As you likely already know, this year’s Regionals are being played exclusively in Expanded. Most players tend to shy away from Night March decks in Expanded due to the increased popularity of [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] as well as the presence of cards like [card name=”Ghetsis” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card]. The meta in Expanded leads more players who prefer this type of deck to go with [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card], as they don’t have to worry about getting OHKO’d by a Quaking Punch or getting donked by a Hypnotoxic Laser / Virbank City Gym combo.
However, I do have my counter-argument: Night March can take advantage of going second while Vespiquen / Flareon decks must evolve and usually cannot launch an attack until the second turn. Night March can also hit higher damage outputs much more quickly, gaining 20 additional damage for each Night Marcher that gets discarded, while Vespiquen and Flareon each gain only 10 more damage for each discarded Pokemon. In the head-to-head match, Night March has to be the clear favorite. Yet another point is Night March’s relative invulnerability to [card name=”Archeops” set=”Noble Victories” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] when compared to Vespiquen / Flareon, which needs a [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] to get past the prehistoric bird to continue evolving most of the time. Finally, you can gain a leg up on the Prize trade by running [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] as your Ace Spec, despite having to cut [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] to do so. This can be incredibly painful for an opponent who isn’t running any form of Tool removal, as they will fall behind in the Prize trade due to the nifty little Ace Spec card. Finally, remember to include a [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] to deal with Bench snipers like [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], which can be deadly against Pokemon with such low HP to start with. This is my restructured list for Expanded:
[decklist name=”Night March / Vespiquen / Eelektrik” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″][pokemon amt=”19″]4x [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Eelektrik” set=”Noble Victories” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tynamo” set=”Noble Victories” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Rescue” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
As you can see, I’ve removed the [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] to make room for greater consistency with [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] as well as including a [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] in case I come across [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Assault Vest” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card], or the dreaded [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] myself! I’ve also added Mr. Mime to shield my Bench from snipers like [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], and increased the [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] count up to three since [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] is more likely to be called upon as an attacker with Vespiquen out of the picture.
Given the results of my many consecutive top cut City Championship finishes, to include both Standard and Expanded, I have no reason to believe that Night March will “not be the play” in any upcoming tournaments. This deck has definitely proven its worth to me by consistently dealing heavy damage as soon as turn one. That in itself is a threat for any deck out there. Furthermore, the deck has the versatility to adapt to any sudden meta changes by swapping a few cards. I have yet to come across a meta deck that is an auto-win against this deck; it is just too hard to manage given its speed and strength.
Finally, two cards to keep an eye on in BREAKpoint are Fighting Fury Belt and Puzzle of Time. Translations for both of these cards, as well as all of BREAKpoint, have already been uploaded right here on PokeBeach, but in case you missed them, here are the two cards I’ve mentioned:
Fighting Fury Belt – Trainer
ItemPokemon Tool: Attach a Pokemon Tool to 1 of your Pokemon that doesn’t already have a Pokemon Tool attached to it.
The Basic Pokemon this card is attached to gets its max HP increased by 40 and its attacks do 10 more damage to your opponent’s Active Pokemon.
You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).
Puzzle of Time – Trainer
ItemYou may play 2 Puzzle of Time at the same time.
– If you played 1, look at the top 3 cards of your deck and put them back on top of your deck in any order you like.
– If you played 2, choose 2 cards from your discard pile, show them to your opponent, and put them into your hand.
You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).
The rest of BREAKpoint doesn’t mean much to Night March, but these two cards could definitely see play in this deck and will almost certainly see play in plenty of decks across the meta once they’re legal for play. I would love to hear from you readers about how you think the upcoming BREAKpoint set will affect this deck in particular, as well as the ever-changing meta. Do you think any or all Night March variants will soon lose their thunder? Fell free to ask any questions you may have and don’t forget to leave your comments below! That’s all I’ve got for you guys right now, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my article.
Until next time,
Cheers!
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