Taking Out the Trash — How I Made Top 8 with Sableye / Garbodor at San Jose Regionals

By: Alex Koch · Posted Dec 26, 2016 at 5:57 PM · 0 Comments

Hello everyone! Alex back at you with a simple, yet surprisingly long article about my tournament in San Jose. Nothing too fancy, just giving the people what they want to hear!

[cardimg name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Target audience. Those two words alone scare the living daylights out of me. The Pokemon community is so divided based off skill level, that it makes it almost impossible to write an article without offending someone. People are always either going to be looking for more, get bored with your article, or tell you that you’re an idiot because you’re saying things that they already know.

That’s why today I’m glad to give you something that I know 100% of people will enjoy, a tournament report on my weekend at San Jose. I don’t have to worry about competitive players giving me grief on a list that they deem “uncompetitive,” nor do I have to worry about writing thoughts down about a World Championship format that a good portion of you aren’t going to. Instead, just good, honest advice on a deck that is one of the best in the format, but hard to pick up and win with.

This is also going to be a lot of fun for me to write as well! Ego aside, I’ve actually written a lot on [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] in the past. However, a lot has changed from then until now, so I can’t wait to compare the articles and see my growth in this subject matter.

For those of you who haven’t looked at the tournament results yet from San Jose, I managed to get fifth place with my most recent Sableye / Garbodor list. In Swiss, I was undefeated, going into round 12 with a 10-0-1 record. My last three matches were either an intentional draw or a scoop to finish out my day at 10-1-3 as the first seed going into the Top 8. A quick 0-2 loss to Kenny Britton in the first elimination game cut my tournament short, resulting in the aforementioned fifth place finish.

But before I go into the matches I played, the thought process behind my card choices, or anything else you’re actually here to read, I should probably show you my list.

Sableye / Garbodor

[decklist name=”Sableye/Garb 2″ amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″][pokemon amt=”11″]4x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Latias-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”85″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”43″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Flashfire” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/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″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Noble Victories” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Team Aqua’s Secret Base” set=”Double Crisis” no=”28″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”6″]6x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Now, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million times over: there is no such thing as a perfect list. However, this is as close to perfect as I’ve personally ever come. The common question you get asked after a deep run in a tournament is “If you could make any changes to the list, what would they be?” Honestly I can’t think of any outside of [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card].

Team Rocket’s Handiwork is not the world’s most important card in the list, but it’s necessary for any tournament where you’re going to play a best two out of three. The biggest issue that a lot of people point to with this kind of deck is how slow it is, and how it will tie a lot of games. I think that if you play fast enough, you can squeak out game threes with ease with Rocket’s Handiwork. Picture this scenario, you play a semi long game one at 30 minutes of length. Game two you get rolled in 10-15 minutes. Now you only have about 10-15 minutes more to finish up a game three. One of two things then happen.

[cardimg name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”124″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Your opponent will try to agro rush you down, playing multiple [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] and other drawing cards to burn through their deck and win before time is called. In this case, Team Rocket’s Handiwork will help them plow through their deck. Prize denial is fairly easy, and only one or two [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] attachments are needed for games like this. Junk Hunt will target [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] for Handiwork and maybe a [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Generations” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] to keep them at bay.
Your opponent accepts the tie and goes into stall mode, drawing and passing, maybe playing an Energy here and there. In this case, [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] gives you a fighting chance of milling. It’s not a perfect solution, but if you draw, Handiwork, and Junk Hunt right away, you can finish a game in 10 or 15 minutes. Don’t forget to threaten a judge call!

So yes, Team Rocket’s Handiwork is needed if you’re going to finish a best two of three. In all my rounds in San Jose, I only went to time twice (1-0-1 in those games) and actually managed to win two game threes in my rounds. I thank Team Rocket’s Handiwork for that.

It’s also nice if you’re feeling a bit lucky! We all know that [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] is about denying resources, Energy, and fun. A double heads flip on Handiwork can yield incredible results if you mill the right stuff. I can’t remember exactly who it was against, or if these were even the right cards, but one of the few double heads I hit I milled a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], two [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], and a [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card]. Mind you stuff like that doesn’t happen all the time, and you seem to hit more double tails than double heads, but the point still stands.

In best of one games, I say dump the card. Yeah I know, I just went into this whole big thing about how it speeds up games. But one big thing people don’t realize, is that it’s fairly easy to win games in under 30 minutes, you just have to play with the appropriate pace. Here, I would cut it for another consistency card, probably a third [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card], a fourth [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Fates Collide” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], a third [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], an [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card], or a [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]. A lot to consider, but it is always tricky to decide on counts and techs for this deck.

Speaking of techs, another one I was always asked about was [card name=”Latias-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card]. This was a tech that we had included in our [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] Toolbox deck down in Arizona, and one that TJ Traquair included in his Top 8 Sableye list. It’s mainly for the [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] matchup. The idea is, that since they can’t hurt you with Trevenant, their only way to deal damage is to retreat into [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card], thus breaking the Item-lock and letting you go wild. And by wild I mean benching and attaching to a [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card] so that you can evolve into [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. My buddy Ben and I both played the same 60 cards down in San Jose, and we were a combined 3-0 against Trevenant in the tournament, so this tech works.

The last card that seemingly got the most attention is [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Generations” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card]. Fans of this deck might remember [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] being teched into [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] decks back in last year’s Cities format to help deal with the mirror. That’s not why we played Pokemon Center Lady though. We played it for the [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] matchup. Originally, we had planned to go with [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] plus [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] as our way of dealing with Greninja, hopefully disrupting their hand enough to have them draw dead. However, Center Lady proved to be a better deterrent, as with Parallel City, Greninja only deals 60, assuming no they have no [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]. This allowed us to create a semi-infinite loop to stall early game against Greninja. The idea was never my own, as credit is due to Grant Manley for suggesting this. Although I never played against the deck, Pokemon Center Lady would have helped me against [card name=”Accelgor” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ c=”name”][/card] as well.

Other than that, not a lot of questions were asked about the list. The card I used the least was [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]. Its inclusion is for [card name=”Archeops” set=”Noble Victories” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card], as Ability-lock is super important in the Maxie’s Yveltal matchup. The couple times I played against a Maxie’s deck, my opponent opted to go for the turn one [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. I think this is a mistake in the matchup since having free Retreat with [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] is very important, but then again leaving a two Retreat Archeops on the field is quite scary. You’re almost better off not playing Maxie’s. Players seem to think Premonition is important in that matchup, but between [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card], you’re going to make their Premonitions quite useless. In either case, Hex Maniac is definitely something we considered dropping. It would give you a worse [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, but those matchups can be corrected with other things.

Most of the list is fairly straightforward otherwise. Every card makes sense with how the deck is supposed to run. The relatively low counts of [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] are there to cut corners and make room for important counts and techs. As fun as it is to tech this deck out, I think consistency needs to be at an all-time high, since once the game state gets out of control, it is very difficult to get it back. Two [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] is necessary, as prizing your one and only can cause problems down the stretch of the game. And before you ask, yes, I did Trick Shovel myself successfully once during the tournament.

So moving on from the list, I feel like going over all of my matchups should help explain how I was able to go undefeated, while at the same time give you an idea on how to play against certain matchups. It’s quite strange, no matchup is really all that great for Sableye, but then again there are no real auto losses either.

Tournament Report

Round 1: Win, 2-0 Against Ian Cabacunhan with Greninja

[cardimg name=”Imakuni?” set=”Generations” no=”63″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

So right off the bat I flip over a [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] and he flips over a [card name=”Froakie” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card]. Great, this is how my day is going to start. In terms of the short list of decks to dodge, [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] was public enemy number one. However, my fears were quickly dashed when he leaned over and said, “Can I read what Sableye does?” This was his first major tournament and he was about to learn the history of the game, and what Sableye did. Nice kid, I loved playing against the guy, he just didn’t really know what Sableye / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] was supposed to do. Game one was the close one. He was able to get out three of his four Greninja after using Water Duplicates for the full value. I managed to hit a [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] on a Greninja early and was able to lock the final [card name=”Frogadier” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card] in the Active. He played both [card name=”Sacred Ash” set=”Flashfire” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card]. Both times he shuffled the final Greninja back in I was able to Shovel it later.

Round 2: Win, 2-0 Against Peter Kica with Night March

I figured I was going to be able to play two or three rounds against newer players before I started to hit the big names. I was wrong. Peter is definitely one of the top U.S. players. His name is forever linked with Night March, so I knew I was going to have a tricky time. If I prized my [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], it was going to be all over, as the matchup comes down to Prize denial and [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] denial. Can he take around nine Knock Outs before I can hammer off around nine Energy? Again, game one is the one to talk about, as I was able to hit a turn one [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] on a Double Colorless, followed up by a turn two Shovel onto another Double Colorless. Pokemon is a third how you build your deck, a third how you play your deck, and a third luck. That last component seemed to help me big time against Peter. I will be the first to admit I got lucky against him and in this tournament, but I’ll take that over being good any day of the week.

Round 3: Tie, 1-1 Against Russell Laparre with Zygarde-EX / Carbink BREAK

Again, no easy or free wins for Alex in the early parts of the tournament. During round two, I was sitting next to Russell, who was playing against Zane Nelson’s [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and crushing it. Mind you Zane’s build was vastly different from mine, but it still looked it was going to be an uphill battle. Carbink was definitely a deck that no one really expected, so I had zero practice of the matchup. Sableye is all matchup dependent. I also learned that [card name=”Carbink BREAK” set=”Fates Collide” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] can Diamond Gift to itself, making it very hard to keep Energy off the field. Game one Russell had to pitch a [card name=”Zygarde-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY151″ c=”name”][/card] early on. Thankfully, my [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] wasn’t prized, and I was able to stick it in the Active and get some clutch Shovels during the mid-game. His last [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] was prized in the end, meaning he lost a very long game one. Game two he stomped me hard, and game three started as time was called. In the end, I came away with the knowledge that I would rather play against Greninja than Carbink.

[premium]

Round 4: Win, 2-0 Against Alex Mai with Maxie’s Dark

During the player meeting, I sat next to Alex and was chit chatting with him about what he was playing and his past accomplishments. I learned that he was a first year Master, and that this was only his second tournament in the age division. When we sat down to play, he asked me if I wanted to ID so that we could go get lunch. From that point, I knew I had him. [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] doesn’t only aim to break down your opponent’s deck, but also your opponent’s confidence (more on that later). He was able to get a turn one Maxie’s off, but instead of targeting [card name=”Archeops” set=”Noble Victories” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card], he went for [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. Throughout both games I was able to properly execute the strategy of locking fatty two Retreat Pokemon in the Active, while Hammering away at their Energy. Between [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], it’s actually rather hard to get the full lock off against Dark decks, and your strategy switches to agro Hammers until they scoop. I love this matchup, and wanted to play against it all day.

Round 5: Win, 2-1 against Isaiah Williams with Maxie’s Dark

Again, another younger player in the game and again, another bright young mind making a great run in the tournament. This match did not start out very well, as I started a lone [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card] and passed into his [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card]. First donk of the tournament for me. I had around 45 minutes to try to finish two games, so I knew I was going to have to really hurry. Honestly games two and three were such a blur that I don’t remember too many details. I do remember that Isaiah also opted for the [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] over the Archeops, which allowed me to win a very fast game two. Game three was all about hitting those clutch Handiwork flips. We finished game three probably about five to ten minutes before time was called. I wish this game was streamed, because it showed how fast you need to play [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] to avoid ties, a question that nearly everyone asks me. Isaiah is a great player, and ended up finishing in ninth place, but this game was all about the Alex show. This was the win that made me realize that I had something special going for me.

Round 6: Win, 2-0 Against Mike Moreno with Archie’s Blastoise

[cardimg name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

What a fun game and a fun guy! Archie’s Stoise is one of those nearly free wins for Sableye, as they have to get a [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] online to keep up with your Hammers, which ironically plays into Sableye’s favor, as a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] plus Garbodor lock puts a big four Retreat Pokemon in the Active for them. If I were to list all of the matchups in the history since Sableye has been legal, I would put Blastoise as the second easiest deck to beat, losing the top spot only to Plasma decks. Game one I opened up Sableye and said, “Man, I hate starting this guy,” on the off chance that he didn’t know I was playing mill. He hadn’t heard, and spent turn one blowing through half of his deck. I then benched a Sableye on my opening turn and he realized his mistake instantly. I got the turn one Trubbish down, he missed the Lysandre, and from there it was over. I was able to research enough of his deck game one that I knew he didn’t play [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Tool Retriever” set=”Furious Fists” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card]. Game two I opened an Ultra Ball and grabbed [card name=”Latias-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] and passed. Even with the lock, he still missed Blastoise every single turn, and I took an easy win. His deck was super aggressive. He said that he only missed turn one Blastoise against me.

Round 7: Win, 2-1 Against Bodhi Tracy with Darkrai-EX / Giratina-EX

Always a good time when you get to play against Bodhi. He’s a good buddy, and always has a great, positive attitude when it comes to Pokemon. I honestly expected a bit more [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] with the release of [card name=”Salamence-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY170″ c=”name”][/card], and was a little disappointed that this was the only Dark / Tina that Ben or I played against all tournament. It’s a very good matchup because of their reliance on both [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] and a two-Energy attacker in the form of Darkrai-EX. With all of that said, you still can’t dodge a turn one donk. I can’t remember exactly how he did it, but game two my Sableye bit the dust before I was able to get a Junk Hunt off. Because of the long game one, I was able to find out that he didn’t play any sort of Tool removal in his deck, so game three I knew I would be safe to establish the Ability-lock and go for the aggressive [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] over and over again. After day two, Bodhi needed a room to crash in, so he stayed with Ben and me in our room. Big shout out to Bodhi, I’m glad I got to know you a little better this weekend my man!

Round 8: Win, 2-0 Against Eric Wallig with Trevenant

Eric is another Seattle player and a good buddy. I always enjoy having conversations with him and playing games against him. At this point I’m sitting at 6-0-1 and more than okay with just intentionally drawing to end my tournament. However, [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] generally has a positive matchup against Sableye / Garbodor. The amount that we practiced this matchup seemed to put it more in our favor though. So we play it out. Game one I managed to hit an early [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] and loop it with [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card]. There was a conversation after the game about a misplay on my part, followed by a misplay on his part regarding an Energy I left on his Active [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], and then him not using Sky Return. Either way, he couldn’t handle the loop, and I eventually drew into my [card name=”Latias-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] and it was over from there. Game two I had Latias in my opening hand, and he prized his one and only [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]. Since he didn’t play Mewtwo-EX of Wobbuffet, the game was over right then and there.

Round 9: Win, 2-0 Against Ramon Reyes with Rainbow Road

If you didn’t know, Rainbow Road is a fantastic matchup for Sableye. Their acceleration is purely in the form of [card name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card], which gets shut down by Garbodor. Even without Ability-lock, the [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] spam can prevent Ho-Oh from ever using its Ability if they miss the turn one flip. Ramon is a PokeDad who got into the game from his son, and this was his first ever tournament. It was quite impressive to see him sitting at 7-0-1, so I congratulated him on that achievement! However, since he was new, he didn’t really know the point of Sableye / Garbodor, and didn’t find out until a little bit through the game that the idea was to mill him. Both games weren’t close, as I was able to mitigate his Energy drops and keep his Bench full with Target Whistle.

After round nine ended, I went to go look at the Top 32 cut and to no surprise to anyone, I came in at the number one seed with a 8-0-1 record. I was also happy to see that five of my nine day one opponents had made day two, and that only one of them had a losing record. It gave me some extra validation for the fact that I am a good player and deserved to be there. I often struggle with confidence at large tournaments, because I know I’m a good player, but I still don’t have that level of fear that well known players can strike into opponents by just sitting down. This weekend definitely helped me get to that point. My resistance was also through the roof, which was going to be good for any tie breaking situations.

That night we looked at the bracket some more and did a little bit more research into what decks I had the possibility of playing. It was going to either be Josh Fernando playing Archie’s Blastoise, or Drew Kennett playing his Greninja. Obviously I was hoping to get the former matchup. Talking to Josh, I found out that he played a [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] in his list, but I wasn’t too concerned since he would never be able to Xerosic plus [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] or even Xerosic plus [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] in the same turn, so my Garbodor was going to stay safe the entire game. If I ended up getting paired against Drew I was going to draw into one of the best Greninja player in the U.S. Unfortunately, I got paired against Drew, which prompted one of the best games of Pokemon I’ve had the privilege to play in my career.

Round 10: Win, 1-0 Against Drew Kennett with Greninja

[cardimg name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

As I just mentioned, Drew is one of the greats when it comes to Greninja. Even with the deck’s short life span, if you win a Regional Championship, your name will forever be linked to the deck you won with. Game one was tense. I vividly remember my heart beating faster than it had all weekend. Sableye is a stressful deck, as one top deck can spiral the game out of control. He opted into the [card name=”Talonflame” set=”Steam Siege” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] start, which I found a bit odd, but he played to that strength very well. I had to play [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] almost every single game to keep his Aero Blitz from being effective. Eventually he played N and drew himself into an unplayable hand and I established the lock and won. Game two was much of the same, but with a little added scare at the end. Time was called on my turn. He had one Prize left, no cards in hand, and no Energy on the field. My [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] and both [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] were in the discard. I was faced with a choice, either retreat into Shaymin-EX and pass, or Junk Hunt for the two Puzzles and risk the Water top deck. I thought about it more after the game, and realized that using Junk Hunt was the wrong move. Thankfully, he top decks a Rough Seas and passes to me. With the win, I was all but guaranteed Top 8 with four rounds still to play.

Round 11: Win, 2-0 Against Ramon Reyes with Rainbow Road

The rematch! I asked Ramon if he talked to anyone the night before about how to play the matchup. He said that he hadn’t, but had some ideas about how to change his fate. These games were definitely closer, as one game he was able to take three quick Prizes against me. If I recall correctly, I think he had the chance to donk me if he dug through his deck and hit a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card]. I don’t remember the exact outcome, but I do remember him playing [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] for three cards and hitting an [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Fates Collide” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] off of it to keep his turn alive. Either way I was able to take the win and secure my tenth win of the tournament.

Round 12: Intentional Draw Against Kenny Britton with Greninja

At this point in the tournament, I was sitting at 31 points, locked for Top 8, with the second highest player, Kenny, sitting at 26 points. Since this is such a unique situation where one player is so massively far ahead of the pack, nobody really knew what to do. The idea we worked out involved scooping to or trying to beat certain matchups to potentially give myself better Top 8 matchups. Greninja was originally something I considered a bad matchup, but when I sat down with Kenny he told me he was scared to play me. I was confused at first, but based off his lack of confidence, I was inclined to scoop to him. That’s such a hard decision to make, either play the game and hope to get a “bad matchup” deck out of the top cut, or scoop to someone who is worried about playing against your deck. With all of that in mind, I let Kenny decide what to do, since no matter what I was going to be happy. I did give him the warning that after three or four turns that if he decided to not ID, the offer was off the table. He starts, plays N, then asks for the ID. My hand had a significant lack of Supporter, Shaymin-EX, or Ultra Ball, so I agreed to the ID. Maybe that decision was the wrong one, but that’s something I can’t dwell on.

Round 13: Scoop Against Kian Amini with Maxie’s Dark

Some people think this matchup is closer to 50 / 50 than any other matchup. I strongly disagree with them, because no matter how many [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], Yveltal XY, Sableye, or [card name=”Olympia” set=”Generations” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] they play, they will never be able to catch the amount of denial that can come out of Sableye. Having already beat two Maxie’s Yveltal the previous day, I decided to scoop to Kian and give him the guaranteed Top 8 in hopes to get paired with him in top cut. I found out later that he was more than okay with taking the tie. I probably should have, purely for the reason of having an unblemished record.

Round 14: Intentional Draw Against Isreal Sosa with Maxie’s Dark

At this point it didn’t matter if I scooped or played it out, we were both in. A quick ID set the stage for the top cut. Looking back, I probably should have waited at least a little bit to see the results of the other games. That way, if I wanted a lower pairing, I could have scooped to Isreal and give Kian the number one seed instead of me. I know Isreal wanted to go get food, so I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle to keep him around waiting for my decision. Plus, if my opponent’s win percentage was lower than Kian’s, I was going to fall to the second seed anyway. But how can you possible know how everything is going to fall quickly and easily? Maybe more trouble than it’s worth, but maybe that was a $5,000 mistake.

So going into top cut I was the number one seed. This was the third time that I’ve been in this position, with the previous two times yielding a second place and a third place finish. I’ve seen success in this game, and I’ve had a lot of opportunity to go further with my career, but yet I still haven’t broken through in a big way. I don’t know if people consider me a top tier player, let alone a good player, but I know that if I took this one home, I could rest easy knowing I would become a feared player in this game. Backed by the love and support of my friends and family back home, I prepared myself for Top 8.

The bracket came out and I was devastated. I had to go through Greninja, and then likely Sam Chen’s [card name=”Carbink BREAK” set=”Fates Collide” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] list to get to the finals. If I won this tournament, there was no way I would ever get as lucky ever again. The other side of the bracket had four Dark decks, so I was upset that I didn’t decide to scoop to Isreal to fall to second seed. Oh well, I had my work cut out for me, and a lot of confidence going up against Kenny who was worried about the match.

Top 8: Loss, 0-2 Against Kenny Britton with Greninja

[cardimg name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Generations” no=”68″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I want to say I did everything I could to win this matchup, and I’m pretty sure I did, but to not come away with a victory, and only have one loss all tournament is a hard pill to swallow, especially after being told by a lot of people that this was my tournament to win. Kenny did everything he needed to during the match as well. He definitely spent time learning about the matchup. His list wasn’t exactly prepared to beat Sableye, as the lack of [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] really hurt him when [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] was turned against him. I feel like I could have won game one if my [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] wasn’t prized. All tournament long it never hurt me the games it was prized. For example, the game where my Trubbish got donked, Life Dew wasn’t in my deck. I don’t want to take anything away from Kenny since he played masterfully the entire tournament, I just feel that I was at a severe disadvantage because of that. Still, I almost ran game one back. He had one Prize left, but I had him locked. I just needed to mill all of the Water Energy away. For the final Prize, I believe I played four [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] in a row and milled two Water Energy, a [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card], and a [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], and he still top decked another Energy. Granted most of his deck was Energy, but still. I’m glad Kenny made it to the finals, because if you’re going to lose, you might as well lose to a guy who made the finals. Game two could best be summed up by my Prizes, as I had two of my three Puzzles over there. I was trying to play lightning fast anyway and go for a quick mill, so it really didn’t matter anyway.

So that’s where my day came to an end, in fifth place, just shy of the ultimate glory that eludes me every time I sit down for a tournament. Oh well, I still had an absolute blast! And I hope I gained a little bit of street cred by going undefeated in swiss with Sableye / Garbodor. I just want people to fear me when I sit down across from them. Tournaments would be so much easier that way. Speaking of which, going back to my earlier point about confidence, I feel like Sableye / Garbodor is the ultimate deck to really break down your opponent during their game. I’m not trying to be a mean person, I’m just trying to win a few games. Sableye dangles the win condition of six Prizes right in front of their face, but never lets them have it. It’s just like that scene in The Dark Knight Rises, where the jail is built with a big hole in the ceiling to give people hope, but never lets them actually have it.

I think something like that is really the key to winning games here and there. If you can get inside the head of your opponent, you’ve already won the game. That’s why my goal is to become a well-known player, not just some West Coast scrub that beats up on the innocent. The goal isn’t to win every tournament I go to, but rather make it easier for myself to get to that point by winning a game before I even sit down to play it. Baby steps. It starts with winning on the local level, then the state level, then the regional level, and so on. But in order to separate yourself from the rest of the pack, you can never just count on your playing ability alone. Take the game cribbage for example. Once you know the optimal route of play, the decisions you make in the game have very little impact on your career as a whole. Same goes for Pokemon. You can never control the variable of luck, but what you can control is momentum and motivation. Don’t let anyone keep you down! Keep your chin up! Go get ‘em slugger!

Randomly thrown in motivational speech aside, I now want to take you on a quick tour of matchups. I don’t want to go too far in depth with these, as every game is different and this deck is super matchup and tech card dependent. Just a quick hitting blurb on how to approach each match up to improve your play. Remember, if you ever need some extra elaboration, feel free to message me!

Matchups

Greninja

[card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] plus [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Generations” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] early to deny Prizes and force them to dig through their deck a little. [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] them down to a low amount and hope they miss Energy. [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] and control from then on out.

Maxie’s Dark

Energy denial and Ability-lock are the name of the game. Most decks have those big two Retreat Pokemon known as Darkrai-EX and [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card], neither of which like being in the Active position much with no Energy on them. If your opponent doesn’t play [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] correctly, it’s a fairly easy win.

Turbo Dark / Dark Dragons

Quite easy, since removing [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] is simple, and most of their deck takes two Energy to attack. This is a matchup where [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] would be nice.

Archie’s Blastoise

Super free matchup. They need Blastoise to attach Energy, but he has a big Retreat cost. If they start attacking with Blastoise, [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] up a [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card], it needs two to retreat, not something that’s easy to do with no Abilities and typically only one [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card].

Trevenant

I want to put this as simple as I can: [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Fates Collide” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] for [card name=”Latias-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] and pass. They either have to dig for their [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card], or break the lock and retreat into a backup attacker. Either way you put them on the back heel early. Be careful of the reverse draw-pass scenario where they deck you out instead of the other way around.

Rainbow Road

Shutting down their Abilities means shutting down their Energy acceleration. Even if they do manage to get an attack off, a quick [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] combo shuts that stuff down really quick. [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] is also a pain for that deck to get around.

Night March

It’s a race between hitting [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card]. If you prize your Ace Spec, You should almost scoop right away, or at least fairly early on. Not free, but definitely in your favor.

Vespiquen / Flareon

[cardimg name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Primal Groudon-EX

Yeah it’s not fun. You can hope to Lysandre stall a [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ c=”name”][/card] or two during the game. If they don’t bench any, then hope to hit one with Handiwork or Shovel. Instead of establishing the lock, go for early Handiwork to try to mill Energy or Wobbuffet. You’ll never be able to truly lock them because of [card name=”Tropical Beach” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW50″ c=”name”][/card]. When in doubt, Confuse Ray.

Accelgor

Good Accelgor players will realize that without [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] in play, poison is going to KO you going into their turn. This is where [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Generations” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] really shines. Once they realize you play that, they’ll throw the Virbank down and let you Junk Hunt.

Wailord

Junk Hunt for [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card]. Play [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]. Enjoy your lunch break.

Seismitoad-EX / Anything

Once they miss a Quaking Punch, the game is over. [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] would help here, but it’s not needed. Outside of that, Garbage Collecting for your Flare Grunt or [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] is a great way to break the lock. Confuse Ray can also help stall for a turn or two while you catch up.

Carbink BREAK / Zygarde-EX

[card name=”Carbink BREAK” set=”Fates Collide” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] can Diamond Gift to itself. I would never go as far as to say there’s an auto loss for Sableye, but this might be as close as you can get. Maybe you play against a bad player?

M Manectric-EX / Anything

If they Turbo Bolt, it’s over. [card name=”Head Ringer” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] helps here, but you want to play more than one so they can’t just retreat into a second [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card]. If they open something not named [card name=”Manectric-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card], you stand a good chance of winning. If not, then it’s an uphill battle.

Bronzong or Raikou / Eels

You deny their main source of acceleration with Garbodor. Just make sure none of those other pesky Energy find the field and you should be fine!

Conclusion

Also I should mention, my career record with Sableye in major tournaments is now 28-5-2, which doesn’t include scoops or IDs. I think that’s pretty good. I didn’t know where else in the article to fit this tid bit in, so I decided to put it at the end to validate some of my stuff.

And there you have it folks! A quick rundown of this weekend for me. Like I said, I did write a previous article based off Sableye, but most of that stuff is a bit dated. If you have any other questions about the list, please ask me! Any questions about how to play the deck, please ask me! Any questions about how to properly spell my last name? Koch, pronounced “cook.” Don’t let me become a meme.

Until next time,

Alex

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