Double Dog Dare — Two Options for Lucario-GX
What’s up Beachers! We just wrapped up Charlotte Regionals, and we have another Standard Regionals right on its heels: Portland! We have already had two Regionals in this BREAKthrough through Ultra Prism format, but this one is shaping up to have a wildly different metagame, and it’s all due to one recently released promo card: Lucario-GX.
Lucario-GX bears a striking similarity to [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card], as both Pokemon have the potential to deal 30 plus 90 for a single Energy and have powerful synergy with [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] to consistently heal and attack again. Setting itself apart, Lucario-GX has the advantage of [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] to boost its damage output by an additional 20, [card name=”Regirock-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] to boost it by another 10, and most importantly it can hit for Fighting Weakness. If you have been looking at the top decks in the past six months, you should have noticed [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] is dominating and warping the format around it. Due to Zoroark-GX’s Fighting Weakness, Lucario-GX is poised to be a powerful counter to Zoroark-GX.
The traditional counter to Fighting-type Pokemon has been [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], which did a fair job swinging the advantage against [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] since its 120 HP is an awkward number for [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] to hit. Lucario-GX, on the other hand, can easily deal 120 damage to return a Knock Out against Mew-EX and keep the Prize trade even.
As you may have guessed, we are going to be looking at two different ways to build a deck around Lucario-GX. First up is the most obvious in my opinion, Zoroark-GX / Lucario-GX.
Zoroark-GX / Lucario-GX
You should notice some strong similarities between this list and most Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] lists. Lucario-GX functions similarly to Golisopod-GX in this deck.
Card Choices
4-4 Zoroark-GX
[cardimg name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
At its core, this is still a [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] deck. We run a 4-4 line to maximize our ability to Trade and get Zoroark-GX out early. Zoroark-GX tends to have a snowball effect, where getting one Zoroark-GX out lets us draw into more cards, so that we can get another Zoroark-GX out, and then draw into more cards to set up even more Zoroark-GX. By adding more copies of Zoroark-GX, we help our deck achieve that critical mass to have an explosive turn two.
3-2 Lucario-GX
This is still looking pretty similar to Golisopod-GX lists, which run this exact line-up. We run more copies of [card name=”Riolu” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] than Lucario-GX because we need to have unevolved Riolu sitting on the Bench for Lucario-GX to hit for maximum damage. It is important to prioritize keeping a Riolu ready on the bench for our next turn so that we can strike when needed.
For our Riolu line-up, we play two copies of [card name=”Riolu” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] from Ultra Prism, and one copy of [card name=”Riolu” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] from Burning Shadows. The Ultra Prism one is better in most situations, since its first attack Detect is so powerful. A coin flip is less than ideal, but the fact that the effect is on Riolu instead of the Defending Pokemon is huge. If you hit Heads on Detect, you are essentially guaranteeing that Riolu will stay alive for your following turn. If your opponent does not remove the Energy, it means you will even have a Riolu with Energy already attached which is a huge leg up. Your opponent may [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] around the Riolu, but that means they aren’t Knocking it Out. Riolu’s 70 HP is also important, because it means attaching an Energy to Riolu does not bring it within Knock Out range for [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. With 60 HP Pokemon, attaching an Energy is a liability since it increases our opponent’s chance of Knocking it Out.
We also play one copy of [card name=”Riolu” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] from Burning Shadows. This version has a second attack which deals 30 damage. Against a Pokemon with Safeguard, like [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], the ability to deal extra damage with one of our few non-GX Pokemon can be huge. There are also times where we miss evolving to Lucario-GX, but we can pivot our strategy by simply attaching a second Energy to Riolu and taking an unexpected Knock Out.
One Tapu Koko
Oh boy, [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] is so much better in this deck than it is in the Golisopod-GX version. Lucario-GX is a bit of a combo card, with four different damage modifiers to boost its damage. The first is evolving, which adds 90 damage. Strong Energy can add 20 more damage, 30 more from Choice Band, and finally another 20 from [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. All said and done, we can potentially deal 190 damage with Lucario-GX. The problem? We can’t always hit every piece of that combo. Professor Kukui is probably the hardest piece for us to hit, since we usually need to play a draw Supporter to get all of our pieces together. So in practice we are usually hitting for 170 with that still being a difficult to achieve every turn.
A single Flying Flip from [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] lets us knockout 190 HP Pokemon (like [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]) without needing to hit Professor Kukui. It also gives us the potential to knockout 210 HP Pokemon if we can get every piece of our combo. Since this deck still focuses on Zoroark-GX, those Fighting-types like Buzzwole-GX and Lucario-GX can be seriously dangerous if we let them take multiple Knock Outs. Having an easier way to deal with them is great.
One Mew-EX
That darn [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] can be a real thorn in our sides. [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] gives us an easy way to respond to it and take a quick Knock Out. It is also a great answer against opposing Lucario-GX. Earlier in the season, Fighting-type decks were mostly unprepared for Mew-EX, and we could sometimes take four Prizes with it before getting Knocked Out. Now we should expect several Mew-EX counters in any deck playing Buzzwole-GX or Lucario-GX. It would be smart to expect an even Prize trade when we swing with Mew-EX. Fortunately, we only have to take six Prizes and we play Zoroark-GX. This means that if we can get ahead on the Prize race and take ourselves down to two Prizes quickly, we honestly don’t care if they Knock Out the Mew-EX. It did its job and got us to a point where we can close out the game with a double [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] to [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] up either a Psychic-weak GX Pokemon to take a Knock Out with Mew-EX again or anything within KO range of our Lucario-GX. Taking that quick KO with Mew-EX forces our opponent to ignore everything else on our board to respond to it, letting us close out the game on the following turn.
Two Evosoda
This is another innovation [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] decks have been playing for some time. As mentioned above, Zoroark-GX works by hitting a critical mass where Trade lets us draw into more Zoroark-GX, which gives us more ability to Trade. The two copies of [card name=”Evosoda” set=”Generations” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] gives us two more outs to Zoroark-GX and makes the chain more consistent. It also gives us two more outs to Lucario-GX, which we usually need as part of a combo with Strong Energy and Choice Band. By having more outs, we make that combo much more consistent. And yes, Evosoda does add the additional damage to Lucario’s Aura Strike (it is only required to Evolve in general).
Two Strong Energy, Two Fighting Energy
Our Energy lineup is always a compromise between power and resource conservation. [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] is how we hit 170 with Lucario-GX so it is a pretty key piece of our combo. This makes it fairly easy to KO [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] in one hit. The downside is that Strong Energy is a Special Energy, which makes it weak to all of the Special Energy hate currently in the format. Many lists right now are using solely Special Energy, which gives them an autoloss to any deck playing even a single copy of [card name=”Xurkitree-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM68″ c=”name”][/card]. Knowing this, I fully expect any stall or mill deck to play that one copy to pick up some free wins against unprepared players. Strong Energy is also susceptible to [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] which means in most matchups attaching the Energy before we attack will usually be the same as simply throwing it away. With Basic Fighting Energy, we can safely attach to [card name=”Riolu” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] and use Detect. If we hit Heads on Detect, we know for sure that Riolu will be alive with Energy attached to either Evolve and smack our opponent with Lucario-GX, or retreat and hit with Zoroark-GX.
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Matchups
Other Zoroark-GX Variants
[cardimg name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Lucario-GX gives us a big edge against all of the existing [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] variants by giving us an easy means to take Knock Outs on their Zoroark-GX and limit their ability to Trade. [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] is about the only threat we do not have an easy answer to. If possible, we need to Knock Out any [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM06″ c=”name”][/card] with Energy to prevent a powered up Lycanroc-GX from coming into play at all. If they attach to Zoroark-GX instead, we need to focus on Knocking Out Zoroark-GX to prevent our opponent from taking advantage of [card name=”Multi Switch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] to power up Lycanroc-GX in one turn. This can be tough to pull off on demand though. If our opponent gets Lycanroc-GX up despite our best efforts to prevent it, we have two main options for dealing with it. If we are ahead on the Prize race, we can simply ignore the Lycanroc-GX and try to take our last Prizes using [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] before our opponent does the same thing. This usually isn’t a great plan, because our opponent will be taking easy Knock Outs on Zoroark-GX, which is our means of drawing into the cards we need to win the game. The other strategy is to swing with Lucario-GX for either 140 or 170, leaving Lycanroc-GX with either 60 or 30 HP left. If our opponent simply ignores the Lucario-GX and uses Guzma to get around it, we can still finish off Lycanroc-GX without needing to evolve. Lucario-GX is an interesting wall, because Cantankerous Beating punishes our opponent for attacking Lucario-GX without taking a Knock Out. If they hit Lucario-GX, we can respond with our GX attack and take a Knock Out on whatever we like.
Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX
In this matchup, attacking with [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] and Flying Flip is huge in setting up our Knock Outs with Lucario-GX. If we can get a single Flying Flip in, Lucario-GX has an easy time taking Knock Outs against Buzzwole-GX. From our opponent’s perspective, they see Lucario-GX as their biggest threat. They will be trying to take care of it with [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] and will usually succeed, but only once. After that, they will usually avoid damaging Lucario-GX in fear of a Cantankerous Beating. Instead, they will use [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] or Bloodthirsty Eyes to play around the Lucario-GX entirely. This gives us a chance to just keep attaching to Lucario-GX until we can use its second attack. Cyclone Kick is often overlooked because its three Energy cost; however, if our opponent keeps ignoring our Lucario-GX, repeatedly attaching to it becomes much easier. I like attaching the second Energy to Lucario-GX because it gives our opponent two bad options. Either they attack Lucario-GX and get hit with a massive Cantankerous Beating, or they ignore Lucario-GX and get hit with a nice Cyclone Kick. Either way we’re about to smash something on their board.
Gardevoir-GX
I like this matchup for the most part. [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] has seen some great success against [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] in tournament play. Though, I can’t explain to you exactly why. Any time you look at the matchup on paper, it sounds like Gardevoir-GX should have the upper hand. But, when cards hit the top, Zoroark-GX comes out on top more often that not. This is due to the intangible value of drawing a million cards every turn. We should start the game off a Prize or two ahead of our opponent just because of the quick pressure Zoroark-GX is capable of applying. Once our opponent gets a Gardevoir-GX into play, our best avenue is to attack with Lucario-GX. Attacking with Aura Strike sets up an easy two shot on Gardevoir-GX. Since we only attached one Energy, it is difficult for our opponent to Knock Out the Lucario-GX in one turn. Gardevoir-GX needs seven total Energy between the two Pokemon, with a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] substituting one of those Energy. With a single Gardevoir-GX in play, our opponent can add four Energy at most, again counting Choice Band as an Energy. If Lucario-GX only has one Energy attached, that leaves our opponent still short by two Energy. That means our opponent realistically would need to have an Energy attached to [card name=”Ralts” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] ahead of time, get two Gardevoir-GX into play, and draw into two Fairy Energy, one Double Colorless Energy, and a Choice Band. That is not a realistic combo for our opponent to get consistently.
If our opponent cannot Knock Out Lucario-GX, they usually will either pass or go ahead and use Twilight GX. If we managed to put damage on Gardevoir-GX ahead of time, this lets us attack again with Zoroark-GX to finish up the KO.
Lucario-GX / Lycanroc-GX
[decklist name=”Lucario-GX / Lycanroc-GX” amt=”60″ caption=”undefined” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”19″]2x Lucario-GX2x [card name=”Riolu” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Riolu” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”31″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”67″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Regirock-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”43″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]3x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Generations” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]8x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]4x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
[card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] in an Evolution deck?! Madness, I know. This deck is built with the expectation that we will be using every one of Lucario-GX’s attacks. Our general strategy in this deck is to spread Energy around and keep one Energy on multiple different Pokemon so that we can always simply attach and attack.
Card Choices
4-2 Lucario-GX
Playing only two Lucario-GX is a bold move, but I like it more and more in testing. Our opponents always seem to like Knocking Out poor little [card name=”Riolu” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] so we don’t get to keep very many of them on the board. I try not to play cards that I will not use, and it is rare that we will ever use more than two Lucario-GX. We also play a [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] so we can recover Lucario-GX if we absolutely have to. We play an even split of Riolu in this deck because, while Detect is still a great attack, we have more chances to attach twice to [card name=”Riolu” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] because of [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. Swinging with [card name=”Riolu” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] for big numbers can be pretty fun.
2-2 Lycanroc-GX
[cardimg name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Bloodthirsty Eyes is such a great Ability. Lucario-GX can take quick Knock Outs on [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] but it does require some combo cards to make that work. Drawing into those cards while also playing [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] as our Supporter for the turn can be tough. By using Bloodthirsty Eyes instead, we turn this into a fairly consistent combo. Beyond that, Lycanroc-GX has one of the most powerful GX attacks in the game and for only two Energy. We play the Corner version of Rockruff in this deck because we already have four copies of Riolu filling the same role as the [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM06″ c=”name”][/card] capable of dealing damage.
Two Sudowoodo
I love [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card]. Every time I announce Watch and Learn as my attack, I feel like I pulled off a real big brain move. It gives us an easy response to [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Ho-Oh-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Tapu Bulu-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM32″ c=”name”][/card]. One of our early priorities, once we are able to start attacking, is to get an Energy on Sudowoodo so that we are prepared to respond to our opponent. Having two copies of Sudowoodo protects us against bad Prizes, and lets us grab another Sudoowoodo and Knock Out whatever took out the first Sudowoodo. This also makes our Zoroark-GX matchup even stronger.
One Buzzwole-GX
I still like the Buzzguy because of his spread damage. There are many times we can’t take the full Knock Out and are stuck leaving just a little damage on something. If that happens, we can bring out [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] to pull out a three or four Prize turn to win the game. This is a departure from Buzzwole-GX’s normal role, which is to apply early pressure for little to no cost.
Three Max Elixir
I know, [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] is a weird choice. Our goal early on is to get as much Energy on the board as possible, preferably spread out, so that we have options as the game progresses. We only play three copies, because the Energy in our deck starts depleting as the game goes on, making the fourth Elixir likely to fail. Beyond that, Max Elixir is a luxury in this deck rather than a necessity. We will have turns where we need Max Elixir plus [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] to take a pivotal Knock Out, but getting both of those cards and having Max Elixir succeed is too hard to consistently rely on anyway.
Two Energy Switch
This is why we are playing those Max Elixir. Like I mentioned above, our goal early is to spread Energy so that we can utilize [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] later to get that Energy where we need it. Whenever we attack with Lucario-GX, our opponent is usually going to Guzma around it and just ignore the Lucario-GX. If they do this, we can attach to Lucario-GX and Energy Switch a third Energy onto Lucario-GX. When we start swinging for 180 damage, our opponent will regret ignoring Lucario-GX. Energy Switch also allows us to turn an empty [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM06″ c=”name”][/card] into a [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] swinging with Dangerous Rogue GX in a single turn.
Eight Basic Fighting, Four Strong Energy
We play a little less Energy than most Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX lists normally do, because it is not as essential to our strategy. We also only play three Max Elixir, so we are not fishing this Energy out of our deck quite as quickly. Still, this means we cannot play fast-and-loose with our supply of Energy and need to keep careful count of how much we have left. We play zero Energy recovery cards, so every Energy that hits the discard is staying there.
Matchups
Zoroark Variants
[cardimg name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
This is generally a good matchup for us, regardless of the variant. If we can attack early with Lucario-GX and get ahead on the Prize race, we should be in a strong position. We should expect our opponent to respond with [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] right away, which means we need to be prepared with a [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] to follow up with a return KO. From there, we should only need one other Knock Out, which we can usually take on another Zoroark-GX for game. If everything goes our way, this should be a short game and will only require a few Energy in total.
One other thing to be prepared for is [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card]. Most Zoroark-GX variants are playing at least two, sometimes three, copies of Parallel City. This means we should not bench more than three Pokemon that we need in these matchups. If they catch you unaware, they can seriously hurt your setup, and even prevent a Sudowoodo from using Watch and Learn to Knock Out Mew-EX.
Trashalanche Garbodor Variants
This matchup can be tough, depending on the variant. Right now there are three main versions to watch out for: [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / Garbodor, and [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / Garbodor. Trashalanche is a powerful attack, especially when it hits for Weakness. If we have even four Items in the discard, Garbodor with a Choice Band is capable of knocking out Lucario-GX in a single hit. In the Espeon-GX version, they can apply early pressure with Espeon-GX to force us into playing or discarding Item cards just to keep up.
We also play a large number of Stage 1 Pokemon, which get punished by both [card name=”Po Town” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]. You should always expect any Garbodor variant to play an Espeon-EX and prepare your board state for that possibility. If you notice your opponent spreading damage to get 60 on all of your Lycanroc-GX and at least 70 on any Lucario-GX you have in play, you can be sure your opponent is setting up for an Espeon-EX play. The worst thing they can do in those situations is to play [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] to drop your hand size, drop a Tool on Garbotoxin [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], and then use Miraculous Shine to Devolve and Knock Out any of your Pokemon with Energy. Sometimes you can’t avoid that play, but keeping your damage spread out, and preferably onto undamaged attackers, can help prevent your opponent from pulling off those powerful plays.
Final Thoughts
I fully expect Lucario-GX to massively shake up the metagame for Portland Regionals and beyond. Fighting has become a powerful type, both because of its innately good attackers and because of its strength against Zoroark-GX. It is also a risky card to play, since it relies on multiple combo pieces to function. If you plan on playing any Lucario-GX variant, I would strongly suggest testing it and getting some games in before you bring it to a tournament, since it brings some new decision making to the game to maximize your odds of hitting the combo, and predicting whether you will or not.
I am still playing with different lists, and have seen probably six different variations of both of these decks within the past couple days. Right now some sort of Lucario-GX deck is almost certainly going to be what I play for Portland Regionals. I am currently leaning towards a Lucario-GX / Zoroark-GX build.
Thanks for reading about my deck, and for supporting the Beach. If you have any questions, let me know!
-Allred
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