[Tokyo Champions League Top 64] Green's Search Arceus & Dialga & Palkia
Please find the original Japanese-language article here. Note my translation is not a perfect translation and I have rearranged and reworded some parts of the original article for clarity and readability. Find also some explanatory comments inside square brackets, italicised.
Hello, my name is Manaty (@midsummer_poke).
I managed to go 8-2 at the Tokyo Champions League held on
the 22nd of September, which netted me a top 64 placing. I'm writing
this tournament report so I can look back on it in the future.
I was actually on stream in the 8th round, but my
opponent wasn’t able to do much so it was over in three turns. If you're
interested in seeing how the deck functions, consider checking out the video.
You can read the whole article for free, but there's an
option to donate. If you do wish to donate, I will be very happy as I will use
that money to buy gummies and rice crackers to snack on at work.
The Deck
I ran a Green’s Search Arceus & Dialga & Palkia
deck.
We had a draft of the deck by mid-September, and my
relatives (mainly my brother) improved upon the list.
If you are interested in reading about how the deck changed over
time, you can read this article: https://note.mu/mopperikoppe/n/n77122283a0b6.
Additionally, I think the winning Senior had a similar
concept as we did. For your reference: https://www.pokemon-card.com/info/2019/20190922_002099.html
Tournament Summary
Round 1: Zoroark,
First, W, 6-1 (Fuo)
Round 2: Arceus
& Dialga & Palkia, Second, L, 0-1 (Hayao)
Round 3: Reshiram
& Charizard, First, W, 6-4 (Maaya)
Round 4: Fire
Mewtwo & Mew, First, W, 6-4
Round 5: Blissey,
Second, L, 0-3
Round 6: Arceus
& Dialga & Palkia Froslass, Second, W, 6-1 (Lily)
Round 7: Fire
Mewtwo & Mew, Second, W, 6-1
Round 8: Reshiram
& Charizard, Second, W, 2-0 (Streamed)
Round 9: Hoopa
Alolan Persian, First, W, 6-3
Round 10: Fire
Mewtwo & Mew, First, W, 6-5
Final Standing: 63rd Place
Why I Used this Deck
I also answered this question on stream, but I thought this
deck could beat Reshiram & Charizard and Mewtwo & Mew. However, until
the day before the tournament, I was actually tossing up between Reshiram &
Charizard, Mewtwo & Mew and Zoroark.
Reshiram &
Charizard
Pros: It's a streamlined deck with high firepower, and
Brilliant Flare allows for versatile turns.
Cons: If you go second in the mirror and can’t draw exactly
what you need, the match becomes very difficult. You run the risk of losing to
a deck with techs.
Fire Mewtwo & Mew
Pros: With two Welders you can deal 300 damage, making it
easy to take return knock outs on Tag Team Pokemon. You can also charge up your
benched Pokemon with Turbo Strike, preparing for the subsequent turn.
Cons: You're stopped by Power Plant and you're restricted by
Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff GX.
Zoroark
Pros: Whether you're playing a Tag Team deck or a single
Prize deck, there's always a route to winning.
Cons: You can lose if your opponent plays down Power Plant
turn one. The Arceus & Dialga & Palkia matchup is also rough.
(On the day before, at around 10PM, I was eating my
tonkatsu-teishoku and wondering what to play. My brother told me, “Here you
are, wondering about which 60 cards you’re going to play! I’m at a point where
I’m just trying to figure out my 60th card!”)
So on the day of the tournament, I decided to play Arceus
& Dialga & Palkia.
Greens Arceus &
Dialga & Palkia
Pros: The Reshiram & Charizard and Mewtwo & Mew
matchups are relatively advantageous. You have great control when going first.
You have the capacity to handle single Prize decks. Your opponent will also
have a difficult time trying to predict your next turns.
Cons: You autolose to Fairy decks and Hoopa.
In addition, I thought it would be good to have an out to
Lucario & Melmetal’s Energy disruption (i.e. by using Ultimate Ray from the
second turn).
Also, when I practiced against Mismagius-based Gardevoir
decks I was worried that I would take all the good cards out of my deck with
Green’s Search, and also realised that the situation could turn very badly if I
didn’t have access to a Supporter. However, with Tag Call and Cynthia &
Caitlyn I could recover from bad hands and Reset Stamps. Additionally, Ultimate
Ray can thin your deck very quickly, allowing your deck to cope better than a
traditional Mismagius-based deck.
Tournament Report
Round 1: Zoroark,
First, W, 6-1 (Fuo)
I mulliganed twice, and in my third hand I found an Arceus
& Dialga & Palkia GX. My opponent started with Ditto Prism Star.
I was able to get a turn 2 Ultimate Ray and played down
three consecutive Power Plants, and by my opponent’s third turn he had
forfeited.
Round 2: Arceus
& Dialga & Palkia, Second, L, 0-1 (Hayao)
My opponent opened with Jirachi and I started with
Misdreavous. Going second, I wasn’t able to find another Basic Pokemon. My
opponent, with two attachments and an N’s Resolve, was able to get three Energy
onto his Arceus & Dialga & Palkia GX and knocked out my Misdreavous.
Round 3: Reshiram
& Charizard, First, W, 6-4 (Maaya)
My opponent opened Absol and I with Arceus & Dialga
& Palkia GX.
I didn’t have a single Supporter in my hand. Although I had
Nest Ball, I debated whether to use it or not, and I ended up ending my first
and second turn by attaching Metal Energy (being unable to gain the additional
effect of the GX attack…)
My opponent attacked with Flare Strike on their second turn,
dealing 230 damage.
On my third turn, I found Dusk Stone and in order to reduce
my hand size I used Great Catcher on the benched Reshiram & Charizard GX
with two Energy on it. I then used Mysterious Message to draw seven cards. I
used Ultimate Ray and accelerated Energy onto my benched Blastoise & Piplup
GX.
My active Arceus & Dialga & Palkia GX was knocked
out by Outrage, but I used Reset Stamp and my Blastoise & Piplup GX was
able to take down two Reshiram & Charizard GX and I won.
Round 4: Fire
Mewtwo & Mew, W, First, 6-4
My opponent opened Let Loose Marshadow and I opened Arceus
& Dialga & Palkia GX.
I got a turn 2 Ultimate Ray and powered up my benched Arceus
& Dialga & Palkia GX.
However, on my opponent’s second or third turn they used
Flare Drive GX for a one shot knock out on my Arceus & Dialga & Palkia
GX. The following turn I used Reset Stamp, played Power Plant, used Counter
Catcher to gust up an Energy-less Dedenne GX and then used Altered Creation GX
for its additional effect.
My opponent had discarded their Reset Hole Marshadow and two
or three Stadiums, so I thought I would probably be alright. In the following
two turns I knocked out Dedenne GX and Tapu Lele GX to win.
Round 5: Blissey,
Second, L, 0-3
My opponent opened with Jirachi, and I started with Arceus
& Dialga & Palkia GX.
My opponent attached to Chansey and then used Let Loose. On
the following turn my opponent used Welder, attached Triple Acceleration
Energy, rolled six dice to attack for 400 damage and I lost.
Well, I suppose these kind of things happen to the best of us…
Round 6: Arceus
& Dialga & Palkia Froslass, Second, W, 6-1 (Lily)
Lily is my teammate who I had practiced with for the
Champions League. The day before when we were practicing I had won twice in the
same matchup, so I did the same thing this time and won. As we were both 3-2 at
this point, Lily dropped.
He told me to “do my best on his behalf.” I won five matches
in a row.
Round 7: Fire
Mewtwo & Mew, Second, W, 6-1
My opponent opened with Mewtwo & Mew GX and I opened
with Blastoise & Piplup GX.
My opponent didn’t seem to have much, so I relentlessly
played down Power Plant and used Altered Creation GX. I won by knocking out a
Tapu Lele GX and a Mewtwo & Mew GX.
Round 8: Reshiram
& Charizard, Second, W, 2-0 (Streamed)
This was the first time I had ever been streamed!
My opponent opened with Volcanion and I opened with
Blastoise & Piplup GX. Under the pressure of Blastoise & Piplup GX, my
opponent was unable to play down Reshiram & Charizard GX. My opponent
played down Team Rocket’s Harassment but their new hand wasn’t good. I knocked
out two Volcanion to win.
Round 9: Hoopa
Alolan Persian, First, W, 6-3
My opponent opened with Tapu Lele GX and I opened with
Arceus & Dialga & Palkia GX.
I needed one more win to be able to confirm my spot at the
Aichi Champions League, so I was very happy to see my opponent open with Tapu
Lele GX. I played down Power Plant and ended my turn.
My opponent benched a Hoopa and I blanked out.
I had to win against stall. I used the dice in my damage
counter bag to keep track of how many cards were left in my deck. I used Altered
Creation GX and kept draw passing. When I was attacked by Hoopa twice, I used
Great Potion. My opponent then benched Alolan Meowth.
I realised I would win if the Alolan Meowth evolved into
Alolan Persian GX so I became very tense, and lo and behold it did evolve. I
used Power Plant, Choice Band and Great Catcher to bring up the Alolan Persian
and the next turn I used Guzma to knock out the Tapu Lele GX to win. When the
Alolan Meowth was benched, I had had two Power Plant in my discard, so my
opponent said to me, “I didn’t think you would play another Power Plant.”
I was thinking that maybe because I played Great Potion my
opponent assumed I didn’t have the space to run more Power Plant. Also, this
was the only time I used Great Potion at the tournament.
It was a miracle win.
(My relative who had been watching the match told me that my
face became sombre when I saw the Hoopa played, and that I grinned when I saw
the Alolan Persian GX come into play and that I should try to maintain a poker
face.)
Round 10: Fire
Mewtwo & Mew, First, W, 6-5
My opponent opened Charizard & Braixen GX, while I
started Arceus & Dialga & Keldeo GX.
My opponent played a turn one Kiawe and powered up Mewtwo
& Mew GX.
I wanted to attack into Mewtwo & Mew GX with Ultimate Ray,
but I was unable to find the parts that I needed so I attacked into Charizard
& Braixen GX instead.
My opponent’s board comprised only to Charizard &
Braixen GX and Mewtwo & Mew GX, so I decided I would win by knocking out
two Tag Team Pokemon.
I decided to use Bubble Launcher GX on my opponent’s Mewtwo
& Mew GX, so I began to power up my Blastoise & Piplup GX.
Given the board state, I was able to use Ultimate Ray again,
allowing me to accumulate six Energy onto my Blastoise & Piplup GX.
I had attached Choice Band to my Blastoise & Piplup GX
but it got Field Blowered away and my Arceus & Dialga & Palkia GX was
knocked out by Flare Drive GX. Without Choice Band, I couldn’t knock out Mewtwo
& Mew GX.
Things weren’t looking good. Regardless, my hand was such
that I could use Reset Stamp and Power Plant. I was thinking that as long as my
opponent didn’t have Switch or Acerola I would win, but my opponent topdecked
Acerola and scooped up the Mewtwo & Mew GX with 250 damage.
The match continued for about three more turns, and it came
to a point where if my opponent drew Double Colourless Energy from one of four
cards I would lose. But they didn’t.
On reflection, I should’ve just waited until I needed to
attack to attach the Choice Band – then I would’ve won on that turn.
(The reason why I attached Choice Band was because I was
afraid of hand disruption and it didn’t seem like my opponent played Field
Blower. I had lots of PokeGear 3.0 and Green’s Search left in my deck, and I
think I would have had a good chance of drawing into it even if my hand had
been disrupted …)
Summary
The deck was strong.
I was also lucky, but I did have bad luck I had in the two
games I lost.
I was able to hit mainly meta decks so I was very lucky that
my previous preparation came into use.
Thank you to everyone who supported me.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading thus far.
Next, I want to focus on the upcoming City Leagues.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please send me a
message on Twitter (@midsummer_poke).
Special thanks to:
- Everyone who I played against in the conference room the day before
- Everyone who practiced with me for the tournament
- The people who helped perfect the deck, @mopperikoppe and @2kamaeabc32
- @Tray_sy26 for lending me 59 cards on the day of the tournament
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