Mox the Mox: Ballroom Brandish

. . . Continued from my last report.

Once again, I came back for more on Sunday at the Walt Whitman Mall in Long Island, NY

Preface: Well, the night after the tourney, I was up late. I was all upset and misty (no pun intended) eyed over my defeat to DCI trash. I was thinking, though, and I was preparing. It was at 11 o'clock that the caffeine from my Pepsi had kicked in and realized the perfect deck lay right before me, one of my greatest achievements, Mox the Mox!

Strategy: Speed kills, ever notice that? The fast I go, the easier my opponent dies. Single strategy, beat down my opponent with Rocket's Scyther until Shadow images goes away or something around that premise. Then, if I happen to be against Wigglytuff or something big, just kick back and Meditate till' I win or Psyburn with Mewtwo or. well, you get the idea. Mr. Mime was the one loophole I needed to get somewhere, and it got me really far, just let me tell you.

<Please note: Only Wiggly, Sponge, and Raindance were being played with seldom Haymakers popping up here and there along with a Preconstructed Deck and several other BAD decks>

2x Mr. Mime:
Meditate and Invisible Wall really make this guy an impenetrable fortress on his own, definitely useful against every deck that was being played there.
3x MP Mewtwo:
Didn't get much play, due to Wigglytuff, but is still a REALLY easy way to send a giant hammer through your opponent's front line. Best used with Oak or Computer Search 1st turn, but due to the trillions of Sponge-ers, I guess you know that already.
3x Jungle Scyther:
<Note: One was taken out AFTER the qualifier (for the Timewarp tourney) in favor of another Rocket's Scyther>
A first turn Swords Dance with a DCE in your hand and a Plus Power to boot is actually how I started some games. Otherwise, he rarely sees combat (but usually sits on my bench wasting a DCE) and acts as a firewall in emergencies.
2x Rocket's Scyther
<Note: One was added AFTER the Qualifier (for the Timewarp Tourney) instead of a 3rd Jungle Scyther>
When my opening hand held one of these, it was usually a perfect one. From what I remember, at least 60% of the time I pulled a R. Scyther in my opening hand, it was usually with a DCE and Grass energy. The Shadow Images attack screwed over almost all of my opponent's early game and seldom let them recover.
<Pokémon Count: 10>

4x Bill:
Behold the power of two cards. Turn geological upheaval into a tactical advantage as you could draw that last Plus Power needed to win the game! Has it happened to me? At least five times!
2x Professor Oak:
Bah! I can't do anything with this hand. I sure do wish there were some way I could get a new one.
2x Computer Search:
The thing is, I don't NEED more. Skorne (Justin Smith, who regularly goes to New Dimensions Comics in Cranberry, PA) and everyone who just does not like this card really need to play the game in a challenging environment. Of course you don't need to rummage through your deck when you're facing a 9-year-old with a Charizard deck with a single Charmeleon and no Breeders! And the discard is the beauty of it, if you know your opponent is hold a RSA, just get rid of the trainers or any other unneeded card for anything in your deck. Maybe I don't need that 3rd Scyther since my bench is full, and maybe my MP Mewtwo could use some energy to Absorb, there are two cards I could just use to bring out whatever I want with.
4x Plus Power:
Easy way to end games when you chose.
4x Super Energy Removal:
It's fun watching the disgust on my opponent's face as their strategy blows up on them. If your Wigglytuff can't attack, what good it is against my Rocket's Scyther?
2x Narrow Gym
Combat sickness from giant balloons got you down? Your 70 HP Scyther can't survive because you don't have any way to stop the 60 damage it's about to get after that one Thundershock it took in the 1st turn of the game? Worry no more! Now your Wiggly worries should all be gone, as your opponent can't do a direct 60/70 damage without tons of deck thinning! Leave them without a deck as they desperately comp. Search for a Plus Power that's in their prizes! Brought to you by Balmmo!
2x Gust of Wind
Hey, that benched Wigglytuff with 40 damage on it looks scrumptious, and my Mime is hungry.
1x Itemfinder
My 5 SERs can beat your 4!
4x Super Energy Removal
Wiggltuff isn't as annoying as Dark Charizard. Douse his flames with something-other then water.
3x Scoop Up
Your Mewtwo having psychic backlash? Scyther in a fevered convulsion? Well, come on down to the Scoop Up, where all Pokémon are healed for free!
1x Super Potion
Oh no! Electabuzz flipped heads while using Thunderpunch? This should help. Look, all better!
2x Nightly Garbage Run
If you didn't have these in your STS deck, you would definitely lose. The games would end up in a stall out against your favor. It did prove useful in getting back Mimes and Scythers.
2x Energy Retrieval
No, the energy isn't too low, but with only 19, one can't be too safe.
(Trainers: 33)
7x Grass Energy
8x Psy Energy
4x Double Colorless Energy
(Energy: 19)

While in line.
I met the creator of the Cleaner, people I met yesterday, and talked with Lissanne about the matches ahead. Her boyfriend was equally enthusiastic about today; I felt change was in the air.

Tourney 1:
Round 1: I played a fairly long battle by taking many 1st bloods with R. Scyther and cleaning house with Mr. Mime.

Round 2: I played the guy who beat Steve the day before, and lost. I wasn't too upset, though.

After the Tourney.
I jetted down as fast as I could to sign up again. I got the last ticket to the next round. My luck would defiantly change for the better.

Tourney 2:
Round 1: Very quick win. I don't remember what I was playing against, I don't care. It ended up being a second turn victory and I would move on up.

Round 2: Time to break out the flyers, I won again! I guess it was another case of Do or Die in this one, only I made sure it was do.

Round 3: I played Will, the kid who posted the Chansey Sponge deck. I am the kid with the Psychic/Grass deck. It was slow and painful (for him), and within his final few cards, and a bench filled with dead Pokémon, ready to be Meditated into submission, I gave him the option of forfeiting and he decided that he may as well. I do respect his courage and honesty in a hopeless scenario, but you NEVER should give up under ANY circumstances. True, he'd need 5 prizes in 3 turns, but he could've put up a fight.


Round 4: A Wiggly Deck, oh joy. I lost after we watched some of the lower class of Gene pool scum pass and insult Pokémon (we promised to hunt them down like the dogs they were later.). I didn't really care after the battle; I had what I came for and 12 boosters to boot! I also got a hat, whose brim I'm trying to shape.

I left, opened my boosters and pulled out another Rocket Scyther, Rocket Chan, Non-Holo Misty (*drool* she is so cute on that card.), Misty's Tentacruel, Brock's Rhyhorn, B. Golem, B. Onix (rare), and other stuff (with none of the crap rares). Anyway, I fine-tuned my deck by taking out a Scyther in favor of another Rocket one.

2 weeks later.

Hey, it looked like another Saturday had come and it looked like we would actually have the Tourney this week (last week's was canceled due to a lack of people coming). Mox the Mox was still cleaning up at the league, so I thought I would stay on task and NOT change a thing.

Round 1: Vs. Ismael
We actually had new blood at the tourney and it was pretty good! This was a Haymaker-like deck with Base Magmar and Energy Search. I must admit, this kid talked too much. He basically gave away his strategy and times when he was screwed by his reactions. The battle was shorter the 2nd time around, when we had found out that Dave (the very friendly store manager who got 4 of my 11 Jigglypuff promos from the qualifier) had only told us WHO we'd be facing 1st round and had not actually started the tourney.

Round 2: Vs. Rob
I lost but didn't care because we're friends and we're really playing too seriously (well, I wasn't, anyway). Just a bad hand and a misflip when deciding who went 1st and it cost me the game.

Round 3: Vs. Steve Huyn
I was pretty agitated when I had to play him AGAIN. I beat him. AGAIN, after I told him to flip a coin, not roll a dice, for his attacks. He just wasn't too good at flipping and that did it for him. The card says flip a coin, though, not roll a die, which is something I enforce in all of my battles.

I came in 3rd after feeling like, "That's it?" I went to lunch with $7 store credit, which I'm saving for 1st edition Challenge boosters in 3 weeks. My dad came a few minutes later, so I rushed through my pizza and went home. Lame ending? Not really, I got a ton of free stuff by being good at what I do.

Send questions, comments, concerns, hate/pro email, letters to god, requests for directions to Timewarp, etc. to: Insomniac_gamer@hotmail.com

PokéPunk

"Shackles of gold are still shackles."

Hey! Read my semi-regularly posted articles on counter Hay-bashing! If you really have nothing to do, just print this out and read it until your eyes bleed!

Oh, did I forget something? Props and slops. right? K, well, here they are.
'WREAK HAVOC IN MY NAME!'
Shut up, Magmar.
'Done and done!'

Props to:
Tim for doing well the day before. Sorry I forgot about you, Tim!
Dave, the very friendly store owner of Timewarp, for hiring me for supervision at a party that took place in the back area, where I got to play Pokémon against kids and have free pizza (courtesy of the very nice people who had the party for a mob of screaming brats) and for giving me $12 for 2 hours of 'work'.
Vectorman, on Genesis; that game rules, and I beat it in an hour last time I played!

Slops to:
People against Haymakers.
That kid who interrupted me while teaching the other kid at the party to play.
The $7 3rd place prize, more people should come to the tourneys...

Anyway, I'm done.
'Don't forget that plaster is a great source of protein!'
Stop talking now. please, we don't need a higher body count then we already have because of your advice.
'Shoelaces are government ploys to make you walk faster.'
Goodnight Everybody!

Don't forget, that's Insomniac_gamer@hotmail.com for any deck help or Pokémon related stuffs!