Tournament report 5.1.00 Serious Games, Berlin, Germany
22 participants, 5 rounds + finals, best of 1
I went 6-1 and placed third in the finals
Here´s the deck I used; it´s an old school Haymaker type deck
"Ein Satz Warme Ohre" (eng. A Set of Warm Ears)
4 Hitmonchan
2 Machop
2 Zapdos
4 Electabuzz
4 PlusPower
3 Scoop Up
3 Gust of Wind
4 Bill
2 Professor Oak
4 Energy Removal
3 Super Energy Removal
13 Fighting Energy
12 Electric Energy

My description of the games is quite short today, as nothing really
unexpected or remarkable occurred.
Round 1: My opponent Jean-Pierre plays a Haymaker like mine, but with
Item Finder, Doduo and no PlusPowers. I hold him off with Electabuzz
and manage to build up Zapdos to beat his remaining Pokémon. (1-0)
Round 2: "Gonzo" plays a Haymaker with Dratini/Dragonair support. The
game is very quick, as he loses one Pokémon almost every turn. (2-0)
Round 3: Chris uses a Psycho/Damage Swap deck. My own experience with
this deck is that you frequently get beaten by the clock, so I´m not
very worried. Additionally, it turns out that he has no PokéCenters in
his deck. He also doesn´t manage to get the crucial Alakazam. I can
beat him down with my fighters. (3-0)
Round 4: Here´s Bodo, who likes to imitate dialects and celebrities
throughout the game. Therefore I try to make it a quick game :) Bodo
plays a Rain Dance (one of 5 at this tourney) variant with Gyarados and
Chansey. My electric Pokémon and Gust work well to beat his water
critters. (4-0)
Round 5: I play against Konstantin, the only other player with a 4-0
score. We will both enter the finals automatically, so we agree on
playing the game for the fun. He uses a strong Rain Dance deck, but
gets very bad draws. Konstantin finds it necessary to use many Bills
and Oaks to draw what he needs, but still doesn´t get enough energy.
Only once is his Blastoise pumped with 5 energy, but I have enough
energy removal to reduce his strength. Then my electrics can handle
Blastoise. Only Gyarados was more difficult to beat and knocked some
of my own Pokémon out. In the end, I get my Zapdos pumped up and win.
The Semi-Finals: Game I. Me vs. Thomas; Game II. Konstantin vs. Martin
I. Thomas plays his usual Haymaker with fighting/colorless Pokémon.
He is an experienced M:tG player and knows his deck well. With
Computer Search and Item Finders, he gets the Trainers he needs. The
game is a succession of (S)Energy Removals, and I get no electric
Pokémon early, although my PlusPowers surprise Thomas. I keep the upper
hand in energy removing, but he can scrap Zapdos´ energy a few times.
That way, Zapdos becomes more of a wall. Preventing Thomas´ Hitmonchan
attacks stalls the game for a long time, and I lose by decking.
II. Here we have two RainDancers against each other. I´m busy with my
own game, so I don´t have any details about this game.
Finals/Third Place: Konstantin´s deck rolls well this time, and he wins
the tournament. My opponent Martin has a bad feeling because he knows
I play some electrics. His Doduo doesn´t attack very successfully, and
the Rattata´s are easy prey for my fighters. Zapdos finishes the task.
I win a coupon for two booster packs (German 1st. edition).
I think I´ll exchange the Machops and maybe the PlusPower for some more
useful trainers when I next play this deck. Haymaker is not very
exciting to play, and I prefer a RainDance fun-wise.
For Questions, Comments, Suggestions: e-mail to Felix Hoefert
(FHoefert@t-online.de)