“Going Mad for Madison” — The Rogue Side of the Metagame

[cardimg name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Buzz? More like zzzzzzz…[/cardimg]

What’s happening, PokeBeach readers? I am back with another article, and I want to change it up a bit today. While most of our other writers will go over the bigger decks in the format, I wanted to go over some concepts that you may not have even heard of. I know some of you readers may want to read about another [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM69″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], but I hope that my take on this article is refreshing. Before we dive into my juicy deck lists, I do want to take a tour through a brief history of outlier decks in the game…

History of Outlier Decks

In the history within our game of Pokemon, I think there are a few factors that can be used to advance your game and one of those factors is thinking out of the box and creating unique decks. The advantages of using unique decks is that they usually have an answer to specific decks with the added bonus of forcing your opponent to play against an unfamiliar matchup. Some decks frolic in the open while other decks hunt in the shadows. Let’s look at a few instances of decks that came out of nowhere to see success.

Worlds 2004 — Tsuguyoshi Yamato playing a Team Magma’s Groudon Deck

In 2004, Tsuguyoshi Yamato won the World Championships with a relatively unknown deck. While the story of Japan storming Worlds with a Team Magma deck is a year or two before my time, the story is still told among some circles. Yamato played this deck due to the synergy between the Magma-based engine and search cards available to make the deck incredibly smooth. With players from the United States being deemed the best in the game heading into the first World Championships, Yamato’s win here set Japan as one of the strongest competitive countries in the game. This win can be attributed to Japan’s secrecy in the game, their foresight on an overlooked concept, and Yamato’s willingness to play an unknown concept.

Worlds 2011 — Ross Cawthon playing a Vileplume / Reuniclus / Donphan / Tropical Beach Deck

In 2011, Ross Cawthon coined the deck name of “The Truth” after smashing the World Championships to a second place finish. This is actually one of my favourite stories in the game because Worlds 2011 is where [card name=”Tropical Beach” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW28″ c=”name”][/card] released and Cawthon successfully built his deck the night before the main event. There are many questions to ask here… Is Cawthon human? Did he go to a wacky party with interesting substances? In all seriousness, Cawthon is an excellent deck builder and found a concept that really came out of nowhere. The deck is used to counter whatever your opponent sends up based on the metagame of Worlds 2011 and to deal some major damage with a slew of different Pokemon. I personally remember building variants of this deck shortly after the conclusion of Worlds, having great success with them, and being able to terrorize my opponents with a still-unknown strategy. This placement can be attributed towards Cawthon’s deck building capabilities, having the knack to predict a given metagame, and guts to run a card released the day before without any prior knowledge.

US Nationals 2015 — Enrique Avila playing a Wailord-EX Deck

[cardimg name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Whalin’ Out[/cardimg]

In 2015, Enrique Avila played an obscure disruption deck with a group of his friends at the US National Championships. This has been considered one of the game’s most controversial major tournament finals after three-time World Champion Jason Klaczynski used time in the finals to his advantage to take down Avila in an otherwise bad matchup. Since then, the community has embraced this rogue deck as a full-on archetype from that point on. The Wailord-EX deck used cards such as [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] to disrupt other decks in that format. This placement can be attributed to Avila’s playtesting group creating a deck that nobody properly prepared for heading into US Nationals.

Worlds 2016 — Shintaro Ito playing a M Audino-EX Deck

In 2016, Shintaro Ito played one of the most recent rogue decks and this one truly took the cake for being so unique. At this World Championships, the room was flooded with top players playing Night March, [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Aegislash-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card] and Ito seemed to foresee all of this. He ended up picking a deck that had strong matchups across the board to eventually become the 2016 World Champion in San Francisco, California. Ito’s success could be attributed to his ability to foresee the metagame, counter that said metagame, and the secrecy of his deck heading into the event.

While all of these stories are unique to those places in history, they are also very similar. Each story has an element of foresight, an outlier deck being created, and flexibility to adapt to whatever deck they needed to play to see success. The following deck lists that I am including in this article try to mimic that surprise factor that has been prevalent in the above decks, all while remaining competitive against most decks in the current metagame. Both of the below decks utilize drastically different strategies, require an ability to plot out win conditions in advance, and are generally fun to play. After taking a page straight out of the history books for Pokemon, you might want to take a crack at building your own secret deck. Let’s look into some of the factors that would aid you in this process:

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Creating Your Own New Concept

After reading the above history of outlier decks, you may be thinking about creating your own masterpiece to take the world by storm. Whether you are a new player, a local champion, or a season professional player — we can all join hands to step forward to bring some creativity into the format. The steps in order to do so have been scattered throughout this article, but I will reiterate them here:

Have a Purpose

The goal of your deck should be to have either a unique strategy that is difficult to solve or to counter a group of certain decks. Sometimes a deck can fall into both categories (see [card name=”Goomy” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] below) or will directly counter multiple decks. Regardless, first and foremost your deck should achieve whatever goal it is intended to execute and make sure that you fine tune it as you go along.

Make it Work

Sometimes I come out with deck ideas that are downright awful, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t salvageable — you sometimes need to tweak a few cards. Maybe that [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] draw engine isn’t working, or maybe the deck would be better suited to playing a [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] line. The best way to grow from deck building is to step forward with testing, find meaningful results, and to proceed on. Deck building will also allow you to learn about new cards, discover more about the game, and pick up new strategies along the way.

Tech Cards vs. Consistency

There is an age-old debate between players that some decks are meant to be teched out the wazoo and other decks are meant to be boring but consistent with plentiful amounts of draw Supporters. I think it is in every player’s interest to find their correct play style, adapt to the current metagame, and to have enough support within a deck to sustain it. In my personal play style, I try to keep a balance between decks being super consistent and decks having enough “spice” to keep me interested in playing them.

Rogue Doesn’t Mean Bad

Just because your deck is not mainstream doesn’t mean your deck is inherently bad or not a great play. The same thing can be said towards certain cards that are within the deck. This principle can also go the other way: sometimes a card that is never played is just not as good as other options being used — don’t play [card name=”Hau” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] just because [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] is too mainstream. When it comes to deck building, your goal is to win the game quicker than your opponent, so be sure to use the correct tools and mindset to get there.

Make Sure the Metagame is Right

Sometimes you will create a fantastic deck and the metagame will shift away to make it unplayable. This doesn’t necessarily mean to scrape the idea, but you should keep a vigilant watch on the metagame to make sure you are always making the most ideal play for any given event. Throughout my years of playing, I have seen dormant fields flip over night and player bases can all swap decks autonomously. When looking to gather information, use local social media and PokeBeach to find out the current mindset of the player base.

Like any experience in Pokemon, you will always come out on top of you find ways to grow as a player and a person. Hopefully you create some fun new decks, sink your mind deep within the game, and profit from your findings.

Goomy

[decklist name=”Goomy Deck” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Goomy” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”91″][pokemon amt=”4″]4x [card name=”Goomy” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”56″]4x [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Plumeria” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Team Skull Grunt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Lysandre Labs” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”0″][/energy][/decklist] 

[cardimg name=”Goomy” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”91″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Sticky Membrane is Pesky![/cardimg]

Okay, okay! You may have not looked at the unreleased Forbidden Light scans a few months ago and instantly jumped for joy when you read [card name=”Goomy” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]… Well, it was one of the first decks that my deck building circle and I created. Goomy is an interesting Pokemon because it often stops your opponent from advancing their board state for a turn due to its Ability, and that is where we strike our opponent with our Energy denial tactics. The goal of this deck is to put your opponent through a grinder of a matchup of requiring them to use extra Energy attachments, denying their Energy attachments, and to eventually run them out of Energy. Additionally, the deck can utilize [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] to bring up a Pokemon with a heavy Retreat Cost and utilize [card name=”Lysandre Labs” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] to turn off the ever-so-prominent [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]. An issue with this strategy is the prevalence of [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], but our opponent is limited to only running four copies of that card so we can eventually run them out of that option too. There are also a few copies of [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] to fluidly adapt to a deck-out strategy if necessary.

If you look at the Standard metagame right now, we have [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM69″ c=”name”][/card] variants, [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] variants, and [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] variants. In order for Buzzwole-GX to use its best attack against Goomy, Jet Punch, our opponent is now required to have access to two Energy to Knock Out a Goomy. While it is possible for them to use [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], it is also possible for you to hit multiple Energy-denial cards in the same turn. The only reason why Malamar variants are unfavourable at all is due to Malamar having the Ability Psychic Recharge. That Ability allows our opponent to easily stack multiple Energy on a Pokemon and eventually overrun our field. The matchup isn’t entirely hopeless though; you can potentially run them out of Energy by forcing them to attach four Energy to a [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] and if they split their Energy with another one, that’s all of them. Then if we play something like Hoopa SHL, we could make the Energy on Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX completely useless. Lastly, Zoroark-GX is a fairly easy matchup due to needing to attach two Energy to Zoroark-GX to use Riotous Beating and the limited amount of Energy they play in their deck. The one exception to the Zoroark-GX matchup is the inclusion of [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] which shuts off Goomy from using its Ability. The matchups section below should give you some insight into how this deck should perform in your given metagame:

Quick Matchup Breakdown

Buzzwole-GX / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] — Slightly Favourable
Turbo Buzzwole-GX — Slightly Favourable
[card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] / Malamar — Slightly Unfavourable
Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX / Malamar — Slightly Unfavourable
Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] — Slightly Unfavourable
Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX — Favourable
Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM62″ c=”name”][/card] — Favourable

Greninja-GX / Hoopa Deck

[decklist name=”Greninja-GX / Hoopa Deck” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″][pokemon amt=”19″]3x [card name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Frogadier” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”23″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Froakie” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”22″ 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]3x [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Aqua Patch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ 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″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]7x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Generations” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

[cardimg name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ align=”right” c=”custom”][/cardimg]

If you looked on my Twitter or have been following me as a player since 2015, you would know that I am a huge [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] fanboy. There is something about a hit-and-run deck that makes me excited to play Pokemon and this deck is no different.

The goal is to use Haze Slash to shuffle the [card name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] back into the deck while hiding behind a [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] to stop EX/GX Pokemon from attacking. The best part is that the deck self-recycles your [card name=”Frogadier” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] and Greninja-GX so that you can use Gale Shuriken and Shuriken Flurry multiple times a game. If you take a peak into the dynamic of this deck, your opponent is either forced to attack into a Hoopa that isn’t threatening their board or muster up enough of an attacker to swing for 230 damage to Knock Out a Greninja-GX. Yeah, it is possible to Knock Out a [card name=”Froakie” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] or two while you are setting up, but it also won’t stop your deck from getting to its final destination unless you are slightly unlucky. All while your opponent is trying to get around these loops, you can quickly amass damage from using Abilities only and plot out the best way to achieve Knock Outs.

One issue that I have with this deck is occasionally being trapped by a [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] limiting the amount of Pokemon on my Bench, but we do play a few copies of [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] to get past that. The biggest issue, though, has been my opponent using [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] nonstop within the early game which has put a damper on my parade. With this in mind, I wouldn’t be opposed to adding additional copies of a few recovery cards such as [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] and/or [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card]. Furthermore, I have found more value in Hoopa than I originally thought, so I wouldn’t be opposed to adding in the fourth copy of that card. Like I wrote above in the creating your own deck section, decks are meant to evolve as you go along. In essence, take my base list, test it, find what you like, find what you don’t like, and shape the deck to fit your play style.

Looking into matchups, all of the best decks right now play EX/GX Pokemon which means that our Hoopa can block all of the [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM69″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] that are lurking in this format. While these are the top decks right now, EX/GX Pokemon are popular within other decks in our format meaning that Hoopa will be able to put in work against other decks too.

Quick Matchup Breakdown

Buzzwole-GX / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] — Even
Turbo Buzzwole-GX — Even
Ultra Necrozma-GX / [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] — Favourable
Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX / Malamar — Favourable
Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] — Favourable
Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX — Favourable
Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM62″ c=”name”][/card] — Favourable

See Ya in Madison

Well, that’s a wrap Pokebeach readers! It has been a blast to write this article, and I hope that you enjoyed reading it. While the outlier decks may not end up always being the top decks, they do pose a threat to even the game’s greatest players because they might not have the time to test against them. As I have shown in the history of the game, there have been multiple circumstances of surprise decks doing extremely well in tournaments of all prestige levels. In essence, use this article as the inspiration to try out a some new concepts, test them within your circle, and try to come up with the next big deck heading into your next event.

In the meantime, I am currently in Roanoke, Virginia play testing for that Regionals and will be in Madison, Wisconsin next week for their Regionals. In my position in the race for the Top 16 best players in North America, I am getting exhausted — this season has been a grind! If I could leave just one piece of advice for chasing your Pokemon dream, just remember to keep a level head to see the most success. Anyways, I am sure everyone reading this loves playing the game and that you will take your journey to where it needs to go. Speaking about journeys, follow me on my Pokemon adventure on my Twitter @zlesage_pokemon to see the game through my eyes, read about my tournaments, and to get some awesome deck lists.

-Zach

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