Still the King of Standard? — A Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX Breakdown

By: Caleb Gedemer · Posted Posted onApr 15, 2018 at 6:31 PM · 0 Comments

I’d never played [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] at an event before. I was nervous, and I wasn’t exactly confident; starting 2/2/0 didn’t help either. These are a collection of thoughts and feelings from Portland, Oregon Regionals, an event at which I finished in the Top 8. Taking a new deck to a tournament usually gives me some moderate anxiety, especially one that I barely practiced at all. Usually this sort of change backfires as I tend to do my best with lots of reps with a particular deck. The release of Lucario-GX completely changed my testing regime heading into this one as it was extremely difficult to pinpoint how much it would be played. Lucario-GX is a polarizing card, as it was said to completely shift the flow of [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] in the metagame. Zoroark-GX has been dominating the Standard format for some time now and the advent of Lucario-GX meant that change would likely be on the horizon.

[cardimg name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I originally planned to play Zoroark-GX with Lucario-GX myself for this event. However, as time progressed, I become wearier of Zoroark-GX decks in general because of the rising Lucario-GX-themed menace. I was not at all confident in winning that matchup, so I turned my attention to Lucario-GX itself, and [card name=”Tapu Bulu-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM32″ c=”name”][/card]… Lucario-GX was my preferred choice of the two, but it lacked the general consistency I like to find in a deck. I felt like Lucario-GX was a one-trick pony against competent players, meaning those that wouldn’t attack into it and beef up the power of Cantankerous Beatdown GX. Dumbing Lucario-GX down to a Pokemon that eats up most of its power the turn you evolve it was very unattractive to me after a handful of games that weren’t going extremely well.

My teammate and fellow PokeBeach writer, Rukan Shao, tried to sell me on a Buzzwole-GX / Lucario-GX deck at the last minute. This deck ran decently, but again, I felt like it was just lacking a little something. This is when I turned my attention to Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX, a deck I had never played before, and locked it an as my deck choice for the event after a couple games. I trusted its power after dominating results from North Carolina Regionals, so I figured I’d give it a go. Not much about the deck changed with the release of Lucario-GX, and the matchups against the deck seemed just fine. I still think Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX is an amazing deck so let me break it down for you!

Portland, Oregon Regionals

[decklist name=”Buzz” amt=”60″ caption=”f” cname=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM69″][pokemon amt=”16″]3x [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM69″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM06″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”31″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”67″ 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]1x [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]9x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]4x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

8th Place | 10/4/1

  • Round 1 versus Tapu Bulu-GX / [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] 2/0; 1/0/0
  • Round 2 versus Lucario-GX / Lycanroc-GX / [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] / Regirock-EX / Tapu Lele-GX 0/2; 1/1/0
  • Round 3 versus [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] / Tapu Lele-GX 2/0; 2/1/0
  • Round 4 versus [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] / Tapu Koko 0/2; 2/2/0
  • Round 5 versus Ho-Oh-GX / [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] / Tapu Lele-GX / [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] 2/0; 3/2/0
  • Round 6 versus Lucario-GX / [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] / Tapu Koko / Tapu Lele-GX / Zoroark-GX 2/1; 4/2/0
  • Round 7 versus Buzzwole-GX / Lucario-GX / Lycanroc-GX / Octillery / Tapu Lele-GX 2/1; 5/2/0
  • Round 8 versus Lycanroc-GX / Mew-EX / Mewtwo / Tapu Lele-GX / Zoroark-GX 2/0; 6/2/0
  • Round 9 versus Mew / Oranguru / [card name=”Shaymin” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] / Tapu Bulu-GX / Tapu Lele-GX / Vikavolt 2/1; 7/2/0
  • Round 10 versus [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Starmie” set=”Evolutions” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Tapu Fini-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card] / Tapu Lele-GX 0/2; 7/3/0
  • Round 11 versus Hoopa / Mewtwo / Oranguru / Tapu Koko 2/1; 8/3/0
  • Round 12 versus Greninja BREAK / Starmie / Tapu Fini-GX / Tapu Lele-GX 2/0; 9/3/0
  • Round 13 versus Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX / Octillery / Oricorio / Regirock-EX / Sudowoodo / Tapu Lele-GX 2/1; 10/3/0
  • Round 14 versus Intentional Draw 10/3/1
  • Top 8 versus [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / Tapu Lele-GX / [card name=”Tauros-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] 1/2; 10/4/1

As you can see, things didn’t start well but I was able to pull back! This deck can really get on a tear and I think I progressively got better at playing it as the rounds went on. I was immediately blocked from further advancement in Top 8 by a horrendous matchup, but that’s okay. I was able to take a game on it which made me happy. It turns out a Lycanroc-GX with three [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] is pretty good against Espeon-GX…

Explanations

Three Buzzwole-GX | Cut Factor: 0%

[cardimg name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Your main attacker is very strong and deserves all the spots it can get in this deck. You’re going to want to start with [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] as often as you can and find it early and often during all parts of the game.

Two Octillery, One Remoraid, and One Remoraid| Cut Factor: 0%

Without [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] this deck would be garbage. It can be inconsistent sometimes even with it, comparatively to a Zoroark-GX deck; but Octillery provides you with some much-needed draw support to get you going in games where you’re running on fumes. Most of the cards in this deck are immediately playable (Max Elixir, Tools, etcetera) so you can generally get a strong yield from Octillery to the tune of around two or three cards on average, just enough to give you the boost you’re looking for!

Two Lycanroc-GX, One Rockruff, and One Rockruff | Cut Factor: 0%

[card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] is what made me play this deck for Portland because I think it gives the deck some much-needed versatility to win games. Bloodthirsty Eyes is an amazing Ability and instantly makes decks better, so I really like it with Buzzwole-GX to make Knock Outs more accessible. Most decks are playing upwards to two Psychic Pokemon counters like [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] and/or [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. These techs are easily combated by Lycanroc-GX if you commit to powering it all the way up to use Claw Slash. A split of Rockruff is very valuable as they both have their merits. Corner has won me multiple games, including a game against Jon Eng’s [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] deck in Oregon! The Rockruff with Tackle helps give you a chance against silly [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] decks or to soften up a threat with a poke for somewhere in the 30-damage range with a [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card].

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One Tapu Lele-GX | Cut Factor: 0%

This deck relies on having a variety of different Pokemon on the Bench so there isn’t much room to put down extra things. Octillery, [card name=”Regirock-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] and backup attackers all want a spot on the Bench. You also want to have a very low starting rate of [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck since you want to be as aggressive as possible. Having a single copy for insurance against bad draws by turning your Ultra Ball into outs is the reason that there’s a copy in the deck.

One Sudowoodo | Cut Factor: 0%

Watch and Learn is a great attack with special usage in nearly every matchup. It’s especially strong against Zoroark-GX to take it down in one hit if your opponent ever uses Riotous Beating, and I really like it against decks like [card name=”Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Tapu Bulu-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM32″ c=”name”][/card] as well. Both aforementioned Pokemon have attacks take also one-shot the respective Pokemon if used against them, so Sudowoodo is your perfect countermeasure to Pokemon that deal a lot of damage. It can be super to copy GX attacks as well like Dangerous Rogue GX in mirror matches. Even Gardevoir-GX isn’t safe when using Infinite Force!

One Regirock-EX | Cut Factor: 0%

Numbers matter, and often times you’re just 10 shy without Regirock-EX! I’ve considered two copies, but I want to refrain from starting with it. Riolu and Wimpod are the only two relevant Pokemon with 70 HP right now so a second Regirock-EX won’t be able to put in much work… Let me explain where it can be super important:

  • 60 HP Pokemon
    • Jet Punch with Strong Energy and Regi Power
  • 190 HP Pokemon
    • Knuckle Impact with Strong Energy and Regi Power
  • 210 HP Pokemon
    • Dangerous Rogue with Opponent Having four Benched Pokemon and Regi Power

One Oricorio and One Mew | Cut Factor: 75%

These are both techs for Psychic-weak Pokemon like Buzzwole-GX and Lucario-GX. I think [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] is worse than Mew and probably the most cuttable card in the deck. I’ve found that Buzzwole-GX mirrors are determined more by hitting [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] drops than anything else, rather than getting cheeky with counters. Throughout all the games I’ve played with this deck I rarely find myself using Oricorio. Mew is nice against Hoopa decks, mirrors, and against Mew-EX. I like to use it as a non-EX/GX to switch things up a lot of the time, too.

[cardimg name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ align=”right” c=”Fight Mew-EX with Mew!”][/cardimg]

Four Professor Sycamore | Cut Factor: 0%

Aggression is the name of the game, and playing four of the best way to draw cards in the format makes a ton of sense. You want to plow through your deck with Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX so that you can find [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] in the late game to buy you Knock Outs to finish off the rest of your Prizes.

Four Guzma | Cut Factor: 0%

As just mentioned, using four Guzma allows you to get ahead and stay ahead in the Prize exchange and plays right into this deck’s goal of being hyper-aggressive and getting an edge in matchups for that reason. Guzma very nicely resets Knuckle Impact after use, too, so you can realistically get back-to-back Knock Outs!

Two N | Cut Factor: 0%

[card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] is still a great card for many reasons. This deck takes Prizes quickly, but some games you won’t be that fortunate. You’ll want an out to get back into lost-cause games where you fell behind, and N is going to get you there. It’s a generally useful draw Supporter as well and that’s just a nice bonus.

One Cynthia | Cut Factor: 0%

You want to use Professor Sycamore most turns, but having a single copy of Cynthia along with your N count will bail you out of hands where you don’t want to discard important resources. A hard draw of six is really nice!

Four Ultra Ball | Cut Factor: 0%

These all count as extra outs to Supporters, when figuring in Tapu Lele-GX, and they’re also super nice to thin your hand down so you draw more cards with Octillery and Abyssal hand. Thinning your deck well with this archetype is important since you do play a higher count of Energy as opposed to something like Zoroark-GX. You want to have as much reach as possible to key cards in the late game.

Four Max Elixir | Cut Factor: 0%

Powering up Buzzwole-GX and its big attacks make this deck tick! Max Elixir can even be used on a Rockruff before it evolves so that way you can get a Lycanroc-GX going in one turn when starting from scratch. Having a full count of four of these is going to give you opportunities to recover when you miss them. While you can certainly win games that you do miss Max Elixir, hitting them can be critical to your success. I’ve found that most games you connect on two, which is enough to get out there with your big attacks!

Four Float Stone and Three Choice Band | Cut Factor: 25%

Why should [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] be favored over [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]? It’s pretty simple and it has to do with being aggressive! You want to attack as soon as you possibly can and having four copies of them is going to allow you to do that in many cases. Whiffing a Float Stone when you’re playing four is quite unlikely with a draw of at least six. Choice Band is useful in a variety of situations, but I’ve never been wanting a fourth. You don’t always need it to finish off two-Prize Pokemon-EX/GX. Remember, the entire goal of this deck is to aggressively chase six Prizes in as few turns as possible. You could take a Float Stone out, but consistency is king and getting those quick attacks off is huge!

One Super Rod  | Cut Factor: 0%

Putting Fighting Energy back into your deck to improve your odds of getting Max Elixir Energy drops is very nice. Recovering attackers like Sudowoodo or Lycanroc-GX is fantastic too, as Super Rod can allow you to potentially use them multiple times in a game! The biggest thing about Super Rod is the fact that it doubles as Energy recovery.

One Energy Switch | Cut Factor: 15%

[cardimg name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”117″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I am a big fan of Energy-switching cards in general. It gives you more reactability to what your opponent does and leaves you less punished in situations where you might want to change your approach depending on what he or she does. You can more easily power a Claw Slash up in a single turn for your Lycanroc-GX with Energy Switch as well as many other options. [card name=”Multi Switch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] is less strong in situations where you want to build an attacker up more on your Bench. I am a big fan of Energy Switch and don’t want to take it out, in fact another copy would be cool!

Three Brooklet Hill | Cut Factor: 5%

This Stadium ties everything together: it becomes an integral part of your strategy in that it can get you Remoraid to evolve later, and it gets you almost all of your attackers! Brooklet Hill is an amazing engine that makes this deck click like clockwork. The only way I could ever see cutting one of these is if it were in exchange for a [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] or two. I value consistency much more so that’s not a change I will be making.

Nine Fighting Energy and Four Strong Energy | Cut Factor: 0%

Nine copies of Basic Energy are the bare minimum you can play in Max Elixir decks in my opinion. Some Buzzwole-GX lists have been opting for 10 Energy instead of nine but I don’t think that the sub-five-percent that you gain is worth it. Four Strong Energy is a necessity in nearly every Fighting deck, this one is no different, they help you hit the numbers needed for Knockouts!

Matchups

Buzzwole-GX / Lucario-GX | Slightly Favorable

You need to use Lycanroc-GX to your advantage in this matchup. Dangerous Rogue GX gives you one-shot potential that your opponent lacks with Lucario-GX. Keep in mind that Knuckle Impact with a Strong Energy and a Choice Band is enough to take down a full HP Lucario-GX.

Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX | Even

The mirror match is very dumb. You’ll need to run better than your opponent on Max Elixir and you’ll want to try to attack with Mew and Oricorio if you can. Oricorio is something that I think should be removed from the list, but Mew will be nice to have in the matchup, even still.

Garbodor / Espeon-GX | Unfavorable

Gosh, this matchup is awful! You need to run hotter than the sun with a quick Lycanroc-GX, but that’s pretty unrealistic. You can just race Prizes too if you connect on all of your Max Elixir to build multiple Buzzwole-GX, but again that’s a far-cry. Limit your Items to save face!

Gardevoir-GX | Favorable

Buzzwole-GX overwhelms Gardevoir-GX in the earlier game, and even if the Gardevoir-GX player manages to pull through, then your attackers with one-shot potential like Lycanroc-GX with Dangerous Rogue GX and Sudowoodo can finish things off. Jet Punch is very strong against Ralts, like I talked about earlier. Be on the lookout for Regirock-EX and a Strong Energy to make it happen!

Hoopa | Slightly Unfavorable

This matchup is winnable even though it might not look like it should be. You need to get maximum value out of your Rockruff with Tackle, hopefully taking one or two Hoopa Knockouts with it. Sudowoodo instantly buys you a Knockout on a Hoopa that decides to attack, and you can also use Mew to get another Knockout buy coping one of the powerful attacks of Buzzwole-GX. You need to get some mileage out of Super Rod too, hopefully being able to recover your Sudowoodo for another chance to get a Knockout. If you can do all of these effectively without getting swamped by Knockouts, you can certainly win! I was able to execute this strategy and take down one of the two attacking Hoopa decks I faced in Oregon.

[cardimg name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Lucario-GX | Even

This matchup is challenging, but you can win. It can depend a lot on how often your opponent can pull off OHKOs on a Buzzwole-GX. [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] counts have a lot to do with that execution. You will need to run fairly well on Max Elixir, and hopefully get a one-hit Knockout from Lycanroc-GX and Dangerous Rogue GX at some point.

Metal Decks | Slightly Favorable

Most Metal decks rely on big attacks. Sudowoodo can punish those attacks with Watch and Learn! Using Sudowoodo for two Prizes and then Buzzwole-GX using Knuckle Impact and then perhaps a Dangerous Rogue GX from Lycanroc-GX for the last two can get you the win! Focus on taking two-Prize Knockouts to give yourself the best chance to win.

Sylveon-GX | Slightly Unfavorable

Running hot is your win condition. You will need to connect on at least three Max Elixir most games to win this matchup. Once Hoopa comes up, you’ll need Rockruff with Tackle to take it down, otherwise that can buy your opponent a win. Adding a thin Carbink BREAK line could improve this matchup, otherwise just hope to get as many Knock Outs as possible before the Energy denial takes full effect.

Vikavolt / Tapu Bulu-GX | Slightly Favorable

Sudowoodo is your best friend in this matchup too! Copying the attacks of Tapu Bulu-GX is amazing and how you stay in the Prize exchange. Again, focus on taking two Prizes every time you attack. Similarly to the Metal matchup, Dangerous Rogue GX, Knuckle Impact, and Watch and Learn can certainly get you all six. Sudowoodo can be copied by Mew and then recycled with Super Rod, so that’s another strategy you can use to win the matchup. Tapu Bulu-GX can use Tapu Wildness GX to potentially avoid a Knockout, but then Choice Band will still get there for you, if you choose to use Watch and Learn. Max Elixir are fairly important to this matchup, but I think you really only need two hits on them to win.

Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX | Slightly Favorable

Take down Zorua as soon as you can to make your opponent’s deck more inconsistent. Don’t undervalue the power of a Jet Punch hitting a Zoroark-GX, as you can finish it off with Choice Band, Strong Energy, and Regirock-EX down with another Jet Punch later on while still spreading more damage!

Zoroark-GX / Lucario-GX | Favorable

This is the easiest Zoroark-GX deck to beat since if you pressure the Zoroark-GX your opponent is going to be stuck with a clunky lineup of Lucario-GX that can’t reliably do lots of damage. Lucario-GX can be simple to deal with as well with a Dangerous Rogue GX or Knuckle Impact for big damage. Be on the lookout for Mew-EX and/or Mewtwo and be sure not to play into them!

Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX | Even

Bloodthirsty Eyes and Parallel City make this matchup difficult to win, especially if your opponent is also using Mew-EX and Mewtwo. Your opponent can limit your Bench, maybe even take down your Octillery, and leave you scrambling for support. Focus on taking down Zoroark-GX again and try to limit your Bench if possible to play around Dangerous Rogue GX. Taking down Rockruff before they Evolve is strong too as you will leave your opponent with less options to deal big damage and you can focus on the Fighting-weak Zoroark-GX.

Conclusion

Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX is still the king of Standard! Zoroark-GX decks might still edge it out ever-so-slightly but it has a high-power ceiling and can compete with the best. Max Elixir adds an element of surprise to every game because if you run hot on them you can literally beat anything just by trading Prizes. If you’re in search of a deck that’s easy to pick up and win games right away, this is the deck for you. Enjoy, and thank you for reading, good luck out there!

~Caleb

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