Today we continue our interview series, this time focusing on TORD “THE VIKING” REKLEV, your 2017 North American International Champion! I go deep into the things that have made him a successful player, including playtesting habits, deck choices, and metagame calls. We also talk a bit about our finals match.
Introduction + History
KETTLER: Would you mind telling everyone a bit about your player profile – when you started playing competitively, some of your past major accomplishments before this season, and so on?
TORD: I have always been a very completive person, so ever since I started playing I have played competitively when I found out people did that (my mom taught me the game when I was 6) started playing in 2006.
I did a full accomplishment thing for Ross Gilbert right before US Nats, so I will just copy that one now:
11 World invites 2007-2017
Norway national champ 3 times (2012, 14 and 16, every even number)
Winning 4/4 regionals in a row 2015 in Norway, Sweden and Denmark
Top 4 at:
ECC 2012 and 2014
London internationals 2017
Sheffield Regionals 2017
Top 32 Australia internationals 2017
Top 8 SPE Lyon 2017
Top 16 worlds 2008
Top 32 worlds 2009
Top 32 Worlds 2012
Day 2 worlds 2015, 2016 and 2017 ( Top 22 2 times)
KETTLER: So it’s clear you have a pretty lengthy history with the game — you even started the same year my older brother did! How do you think this format compares to previous eras?
TORD REKLEV: Haha, yeah. This format is truly unique compared to the formats of recent years. I believe that the more turns a game takes, the more skill can affect the outcome of the game, because each player is presented with more options. With the print of Trashalanche Garbodor the format slowed down considerably once again, presenting more turns each game to each player. And the ones who didn’t want to adjust lost to Garbodor. Vileplume also helps slow down the format, making people steer away from crazy turbo item engines.
KETTLER: Does your mom still play?
TORD: She does not play anymore in tournaments, but she is happy to play with me just for the fun of it occasionally. 🙂
KETTLER: I’ve never been to the EU outside London and Paris, and I’m sure a lot of my American readers have never set foot there let alone Norway. What’s it like playing in so many different countries each season?
TORD: It is truly an amazing experience, I feel so blessed being able to travel the world while playing the game I love. Just check out my home city from my window:
PREPARATION + THE LIST
KETTLER: You have a pretty solid track record but it looks like this season in particular has been huge for you. Top four at two of the most important tournaments of the season, and first at the biggest championship in history. Have you done anything differently this season as opposed to past cycles?
TORD: This season I have been really systematic about my testing. I choose a deck early who doesn’t fold to anything, play the deck as much as possible before big events, and never change deck the night before or make huge adjustments that are untested.
KETTLER: And that’s why Jwittz said your list looked so orderly and neat! How did you settle on Garbodor/Drampa as the best choice for this tournament, and did you have any tough calls in choosing the exact 60 you played?
TORD: Choosing the archetype was pretty easy, no other decks in format needs as few cards in combination to dish out as much damage as garb/Drampa does. It is also a deck with DCE and Band, which makes it easy to justify 4 Lele. I actually changed one card the day before (I did test it!:p) and it was one Psychic for the teammates. Just being able to grab anything without praying with sycamore is a big deal. So playing the most well rounded deck matchup-wise and the most consistent version of the most consistent deck ended up paying off!
KETTLER: What made you favor Drampa GX over the equally popular Espeon GX variant?
TORD: Space and consistency issues, and because Drampa lets you refill your hand. But most important, Drampa is a Basic, which means that playing 3 Drampa over 3-3 Espeon opens up 3 spots more for supporters. There are also cases where you have to attach DCE to Eevee, praying you won’t get Knocked Out. With Garb you could draw your Energy in any order, as long as you get one you could set up and be fine
OUR FINALS MATCH
KETTLER: Generally speaking, what do you like to do to prepare yourself before an incredibly important match such as the one we had?
TORD: I usually just lose the big matches; I’m not used to actually winning anything like this, haha. I tried to get a good night of sleep, eat a good breakfast, and check out your list posted by pokemon.com. I tried to just get as much rest as possible – these big tournaments are brutal both mentally and physically.
KETTLER: Speaking of breakfast, it was a funny coincidence I ran into you and Benjamin Behrens at Starbuck’s right before the match – what’d you think about that?
TORD: It was really cool, actually made me stress down a lot, seeing you there being so casual and chill.
KETTLER: We also had a lot of waiting and build-up for the finals. What did you feel about all the presentation involved with our match?
TORD: It made it pretty epic, especially with me being an European, there has been a lot of nonsense around the NA>EU thing.
I want to say that I felt the Pressure, but honestly I didn’t, because I could still not believe that I was in the finals. It was just unreal, so I felt very calm when we sat down.
KETTLER: During the actual match, did anything happen that surprised you? I know you had a basis for how our specific lists would interact thanks to my games with Benjamin Behrens earlier in the weekend.
TORD: I knew that the game would probably come down to the timing of the Field Blower and the strength of your setup. I was kinda surprised how many turns I did get to play item cards, and how Item-heavy your deck was. But I mean, in that level of play it mostly come down to draws.
(And seeing that you destroyed Benjamin I was of course pretty scared, haha.)
MISCELLANEOUS + WRAP-UP
KETTLER: Anything else you’d like to plug or mention before we close out?
TORD: Pokemonmentor is a channel started up by my friend Benjamin, so go check it out. And once again, it was an honor meeting and playing against you John, let’s get a beer at worlds!
