Pumpkin Spice — A Memphis Analysis and Two Rogue Decks for Standard

By: Grant Manley · Posted Posted onDec 24, 2017 at 3:10 PM · 0 Comments

Hello everyone! Grant here. I just got back from Memphis Regionals, and I had been fully expecting to have a Top 8 report for you guys, but it looks like Ahmed and Andrew will have that honor this time around. I unfortunately ended up 5-4-0 with an unusual [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] list, but I’ll try not to waste too much time talking about that.

The results from Memphis were certainly interesting. I had been expecting tons of [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], which proved to be a correct prediction, but I was surprised to see [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] flop, as they were my two top picks. I spent a great deal of time testing [card name=”M Scizor-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], Quad [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] variants, but I ultimately found none of them to be strong enough to bring to the tournament. For this article I’d like to briefly cover the decks that appeared in Memphis, and then share two rogue decks that I’ve succeeded with at recent League Cups.

Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX

[cardimg name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

It’s probably safe to say that [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] (henceforth known as Dogs) dominated Memphis to a greater extent than anyone was expecting. 10 of the 35 day two competitors played Dogs, and four of them advanced to Top 8, where Michael Pramawat used the deck to snag his record seventh Regional win. However, it bears consideration that both Sam Chen and Ryan Sabelhaus played the deck and did not make day two. These are two of the greatest players in the game, playing the most dominant deck, so I suppose their luck must have been truly awful that day.

In my opinion, Dogs has a lot of questionable matchups, so I suppose it did so well because it is extremely consistent and because many top players chose to pilot it. Usually, a clique of top players chooses the same deck for a given Regional, and then that deck wins the Regional. This is evidenced by [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY173″ c=”name”][/card] in Hartford, [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] in Daytona, Night March in San Jose, and now Dogs in Memphis. Does this mean that the deck is the BDIF? Not necessarily. Of course Dogs is a “good” deck, but this is just something to keep in mind.

Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX

The second most popular deck in Memphis was [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / Lycanroc-GX. This means that Lycanroc-GX was included in 19 of the 35 day two decks, or about 54%. This is noteworthy because Lycanroc-GX was previously almost nonexistent in Standard, but new cards such as [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] and Buzzwole-GX can now serve as the partners it needed to jump onto the competitive scene. Even after Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX took two Top 8 placements in London, I thought the deck completely sucked. My opinion has since changed. I think it succeeded in Memphis because of its innate consistency and unique ability to pick on Zoroark variants via Weakness. I do think its matchups elsewhere are suspect; however, being able to hit for 180+ damage by turn two or even turn one in this format is absolutely insane. This deck can also slaughter [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] better than pretty much everything else. In a nutshell, Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX has a very easy time taking six Prize cards each game and I expect it to be a consistently strong force in the Standard metagame for some time.

Shoutout to PokeBeach’s own Andrew Mahone for making Top 4 with the deck! (But let’s all give him a hard time for using three different Buzzwole-GX arts…)

Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX

I’ve never really been a fan of “Tord.dec” and I’m not surprised by the middling success it saw in Memphis. Three made day two, and one advanced to Top 8 — a fairly vanilla finish for one of the most hyped decks in the format. The deck is obviously consistent, but it seems to be largely outclassed by the two decks I’ve just discussed above. I don’t have too much to say about this one; it is still a decent contender and will see a little bit of play, but I don’t recommend playing it or expecting too much from it from now on.

VikaBulu

Alright, this is the deck that everyone loves to hate. I’ve covered VikaBulu quite a bit in some of my articles this season, and it was one of my most-tested decks. I even made Top 64 in Hartford with it. However, I completely abandoned the deck sometime about two weeks before Memphis, as I no longer considered it viable. The fact that even John Roberts II, the “Bulu God” himself, also abandoned it solidified this belief. And then it goes and takes three day two placements at Memphis.

While this may be a point of controversy, I think VikaBulu is similar to Gardevoir in the current format. It is a somewhat inconsistent Stage 2 deck that theoretically has fantastic matchups and blows everything up. When you look at the Memphis meta, its success is no surprise: the deck destroys Zoroark-GX, Lycanroc-GX, and Buzzwole-GX, and plenty more besides. But this comes at the cost of a sketchy Gardevoir-GX matchup — as well as the phenomenon known as “Bulu hands.” The deck is extremely powerful, but its consistency wavers when your opponent starts mowing down your [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card].

Gardevoir-GX

[card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], the Standard powerhouse and (previously) uncontested BDIF, had a whopping two placements in the Memphis day two. That’s right, TWO! I was surprised, to say the least. While Gardy can be inconsistent and clunky at times, at least compared to Zoroark-GX variants, I still think it is the BDIF. Its lack of success in Memphis can probably be contributed to its unpopularity among top players as well as its occasional inconsistencies. I haven’t played the Gardevoir-GX versus [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, but every Buzzwole-GX player has told me that it’s far too easy to rush the Gardevoir-GX player and take control of momentum in the game. Gardevoir-GX can easily destroy a loaded Buzzwole-GX (or Lycanroc-GX), and it is difficult for the Buzzwole-GX player to come up with a response OHKO, let alone build a third attacker to do it again. Currently, though, this is just speculation. In any case, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gardevoir-GX make a resurgence, at least until Ultra Prism comes out with all its Metal-types. As was the case with VikaBulu, this deck has great matchups and lots of power, but it can be clunky at times.

Decidueye-GX

[cardimg name=”Rare Candy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”165″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I basically want to copy-paste everything I said about Gardevoir-GX into this section, even though it is a wildly different deck from [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card]. Decidueye-GX is a slightly clunky Stage 2 deck that had a lot of hype going into Memphis, and yet it took only two spots in day two. I think this deck is okay, but at Memphis it was simply outclassed by the other top decks of the format. It can also struggle trying to deal with Buzzwole-GX.

Golisopod-GX / Garbodor

I think it is quite funny how this deck completely fell of the face of the earth after being one of Standard’s top contenders for several weeks, and then Azul randomly brought it back for a second-place finish in Memphis. (I heard that Brad Curcio also played the deck, but unfortunately dropped from the tournament due to sickness.) Golisopod-GX / Garbodor has something special going for it: an absolutely incredible matchup spread. Every other relevant deck has a difficult time defeating a stream of Golisopod-GX while under Ability-lock.

However, I also think that this is one of the clunkiest decks in the game. Its clunkiness was perfectly demonstrated in Memphis’s finals, where Michael Pramawat was able to beat it despite playing a deck with an unfavorable matchup. Golisopod-GX / Garbodor has very little draw power and often loses to late game [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]. I am surprised it survived until the finals before succumbing to its own inconsistency. People will try to bring this deck back after seeing Azul’s success, but I don’t know if it will stick.

[premium]

Greninja BREAK

I thought Greninja had absolutely amazing matchups going into Memphis, so I figured that as long as the deck could be made consistent, it should be able to capitalize on its fantastic matchup spread and take many easy wins. I went so far as to call this list a “free Top 8.” Needless to say, I was wrong. No Greninja players made Top 32 in Memphis, and our own Ryan Grant unfortunately finished 35th as the deck’s sole representative in day two. Below is the list I played (Ryan’s was quite different):

[decklist name=”Ninja” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″][pokemon amt=”21″]3x [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Frogadier” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”39″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Froakie” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Starmie” set=”Evolutions” no=”31″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Staryu” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Fini-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”39″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]4x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Random Receiver” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Evosoda” set=”Generations” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]6x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card]4x [card name=”Splash Energy” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

I still think this is the optimal Greninja list for the current format. It was built to have maximum consistency as well as a favorable [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] matchup.

[cardimg name=”Random Receiver” set=”Fates Collide” no=”109″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The low count of [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] may seem strange, but I’ve found the counts of three Ultra Ball and two [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] to work amazingly well. I also found value in the second Staryu: many matchups are incredibly difficult if your only Staryu is prized. I would have liked a second Starmie as well, but I had no idea what to cut for it, so I just took the risk.

[card name=”Random Receiver” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] is the most interesting card in the list. The only Supporters Greninja really needs are [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] and N. Random Receiver makes it much easier to find those cards and also increases early game consistency by quite a lot. Skyla totally sucks in Greninja and I can’t believe people still run that awful card. It does so little.

The final oddity is the lack of [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]. Field Blower is completely useless and you shouldn’t be playing it in Greninja for the time being. I wasn’t expecting any Garbodor decks, and the two most popular decks (Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX and Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX) slaughter Greninja regardless of how many Field Blower you run. I choose to rely on three [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] to deal with troublesome Stadiums such as Po Town and Parallel City. Anyway, here’s how my rounds went.

  • Round 1 vs. [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] WW
  • Round 2 vs. [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / Garbodor LL
  • Round 3 vs. Greninja LWL
  • Round 4 vs. [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] WW
  • Round 5 vs. [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”name”][/card] LL
  • Round 6 vs. Greninja WLW
  • Round 7 vs. Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] WW
  • Round 8 vs. [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark-GX / Metal WLW
  • Round 9 vs. VikaBulu LL

Final record: 5-4, 260th place or so (unfortunate Top 256 bubble)

The plan was to hit two (or fewer) in any combination of Giratina and Garbodor while beating everything else, thus ending day one at 7-2 or better. While I did hit only two decks playing Giratina or Garbodor, some things went horribly wrong in rounds three and nine, so I ended with an abysmal 5-4 record. Oops. I was extremely confident in the mirror match and the VikaBulu matchup, and I think I should win both of those more often than not, but things happen. And yes, I’m still pretty salty. Don’t play Greninja, kids.

With its failure in Memphis and Michael Long’s inevitable ban, I expect Greninja to completely fade from existence. The resurgence of Golisopod-GX / Garbodor may also expedite that process.

The Rest of Day Two

[card name=”Venusaur” set=”Shining Legends” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Shining Genesect” set=”Shining Legends” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card], Volcanion, Buzzwole-GX / Garbodor, and Disruption / Walls all managed to sneak into day two with one spot each. This statement will anger a lot of people, but: none of these decks are actually that competitively viable. Don’t get me wrong, they are coherent decks that can win games, but they won’t have consistent success at a high level. Their day two appearances in Memphis were complete flukes. I don’t want to tear them apart any more because I still appreciate the ingenuity of the players who used these decks.

Rogue One — Gourgeist

[decklist name=”pumpkin spice” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″][pokemon amt=”21″]4x [card name=”Gourgeist” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Klefki” set=”Steam Siege” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”35″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Dashing Pouch” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Champions Festival ” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY176″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Generations” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

My, my, this is a fun deck. I actually won a League Cup with it the week before Memphis, so I guess you could say “rogue won!” Now we’ve got to call this deck pun-kin spice instead of pumpkin spice, am I right? Ok, I’ll stop now.

[cardimg name=”Gourgeist” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”45″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Gourgeist” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] is insane! It’s a non-GX that OHKOs everything for just a [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]! The goal is to flood the board with enough Pokemon Tool cards to consistently OHKO your opponent’s Pokemon with Gourgeist’s Pumpkin Bomb attack. The various draw-support Pokemon help you consistently find Tools, as well as the [card name=”Klefki” set=”Steam Siege” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] + Rescue Stretcher combo. Choose your Tool discards wisely. Unless I really need some extra damage (or I’m facing a non-GX deck), I usually leave a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] on my Active Gourgeist.

Oh yeah, this deck legitimately runs [card name=”Champions Festival” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY27″ c=”name”][/card]! The rarely-played Worlds promo Stadium is included as a way to counter [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card]. Why not use [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] instead? Removing Tools is mostly useless for Gourgeist, unless you expect to face [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. If you do expect Garbodor, then use Field Blower. If not, run Champions Festival to heal 10 from everybody every turn. This is useful against decks like Buzzwole-GX and Decidueye-GX, as well as anything that runs [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card]. Decidueye-GX is a difficult matchup, and Champions Festival’s healing actually improves it significantly.

As you can probably tell, this deck sucks against Ability-lock decks like [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]. I wouldn’t worry about either of those too much, though you can easily tech for either or both matchups if you want to. Gourgeist does fine against everything else. Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX is pretty much an autowin, as is Gardevoir-GX. This deck is extremely fun and powerful, so definitely give it a try!

In case you are interested, here are my matchups from that League Cup. They were fairly unexciting.

  • Round 1 vs. Bye W
  • Round 2 vs. Volcanion W
  • Round 3 vs. Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX ID
  • Round 4 vs. Buzzwole-GX / Zygarde-EX W
  • Round 5 vs. Volcanion ID
  • Top 8 vs. Buzzwole-GX / [card name=”Zygarde-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] WW
  • Top 4 vs. Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX WW
  • Finals vs. Volcanion LWW

Interestingly, all of my Swiss opponents made Top 8. I also only had to win two actual games to make Top 8 (because of the bye), and the Cup was extremely easy for Gourgeist, as you can tell from my matchups.

Rogue Two — Solgaleo-GX

[decklist name=”Solgaleo” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Magearna-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”75″][pokemon amt=”22″]3x [card name=”Solgaleo-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Solgaleo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”87″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Cosmoem” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”65″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Cosmog” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”64″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Rayquaza” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dhelmise” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”59″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Generations” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Magearna-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”27″]4x [card name=”Skyla” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Hala” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”126″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Heavy Ball” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]8x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”XY” no=”139″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]3x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

I got second at a League Cup with this deck the day before my Gourgeist adventure. I screwed myself over by cutting [card name=”Dhelmise” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”59″ c=”name”][/card] at the last second, causing me to narrowly lose in the finals against [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card]. Solgaleo did not win, so it is Rogue Two and not Rogue Won…

Look at those Supporter counts! They’re optimal, I promise. All you really need to aim for is that glorious turn two Sol Burst GX. From there, everything works itself out. One Professor Sycamore is nice because you can Wonder Tag for it when you need it (which isn’t very often). [card name=”Hala” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] is pretty great in this deck and N is basically just a crutch for when you get really ugly opening hands. [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] is how you finish almost every single game with this deck, so you always need to have some available. And [card name=”Skyla” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] is useful for setting up the turn two Sol Burst GX as well as finding [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] in the mid and late game.

[cardimg name=”Solgaleo-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”89″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Zoroark-GX complements Solgaleo by giving the deck a good way to KO low-HP Pokemon like Zorua and Tapu Koko without discarding Energy, though it is mainly used for its Trade Ability to give the deck some sustainability. Rayquaza is used to power up a Solgaleo-GX to use Sunsteel Strike multiple times. The baby [card name=”Solgaleo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”87″ c=”name”][/card] is useful against mid-range-HP Pokemon that aren’t handled particularly well by Zoroark-GX or [card name=”Solgaleo-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card](the most relevant ones are [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] [card name=”Registeel” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] and Volcanion.) I also found its first attack useful to OHKO some of Vikabulu’s potential threats, such as [card name=”Clefairy” set=”Evolutions” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s a great card to have, but you definitely won’t use it in every matchup. [card name=”Magearna-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] is mainly in the deck to counter [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card].

This list loses to Greninja, but as I mentioned, I don’t expect to see much Greninja from now on. At the League Cup, I played Giratina instead of Dhelmise and easily beat Greninja in Top 8. Like Gourgeist, Solgaleo has a hard time with Garbodor. I’m not sure if Field Blower would help much in that matchup or not.

Here’s how that Cup went.

  • Round 1 vs. Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX W
  • Round 2 vs. Decidueye-GX / Zoroark L
  • Round 3 vs. Metagross-GX / Zoroark W
  • Round 4 vs. Decidueye-GX / Zoroark W
  • Round 5 vs. Silvally-GX / Metal W
  • Round 6 vs. Decidueye-GX / Zoroark W
  • Top 8 vs. Greninja WW
  • Top 4 vs. Zoroark / Golisopod-GX WW
  • Finals vs. Decidueye-GX / Zoroark WLL

I hit four Decidueye-GX decks, basically one every other round. I went 3-3 in total games against it — without Dhelmise — which I thought was pretty solid. I played against zero Gardevoir-GX in both Cups!

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! That’s all I’ve got for today. I hope I did a decent job of covering the Memphis aftermath. I really do love Gourgeist and Solgaleo, and they are fairly good decks, so definitely give them a try. If you don’t have access to Champions Festival for Gourgeist, try [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] instead.

See ya!

[/premium]