Swinging Around Madison — Madison Aftermath
[cardimg name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Hey there trainers! Rukan here. It’s been over two weeks since Madison Regionals, where a version of [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] deck with three copies of [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] made its big debut. The meta shifted rapidly since the Regional — players scrambled to adapt their list to this oppressive new Buzzwole variant. In this article, I begin by reviewing my thoughts on the three core archetypes; Buzzwole, [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]; and how they’ve shifted in the meta since Madison. Then I’ll discuss some rogue archetypes briefly. Finally, I will close with my thoughts on what decks to consider for your particular metagame.
Core Archetypes
Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX
The “secret” Buzzwole deck dominated Madison, but card counts (aside from the three baby Buzzwole) varied significantly from player to player. I compiled a list of important card counts in the table below:
While I wouldn’t draw any strong conclusions from such a small sample size, it would seem lists with higher Energy and [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] counts saw greater success than lists that opted for thicker lines of Lycanroc-GX and/or [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. I suspect this was due in large part to the surprise factor of running such thin lines of important Pokemon. From what I’ve heard, players at the tournament took notice of these thin lines in the latter rounds of the tournament and began to apply significant pressure by targeting [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card]. Based on this feedback, I would still try to fit a 2-1 Octillery line to protect myself from opponents aiming to target my Remoraid. As for the Lycanroc, I would actually deliberately ignore the Madison results and find space for a 2-2 Lycanroc line. Why? Recent League Cup results indicate all Malamar and some Zoroark decks have adapted to deal with the threat of baby Buzzwole. A thicker Lycanroc line allows a Buzzwole pilot to answer counters such as [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM77″ c=”name”][/card] Promo and [card name=”Trevenant” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card] more consistently.
Deck counts aside, I would not bring a Buzzwole variant to a League Cup in the upcoming weeks unless I knew for sure that a specific League Cup would not have many Malamar decks. Buzzwole decks have a huge target on their backs now after Madison, and League Cup results indicate players know how to counter the triple baby Buzzwole variant. But if I had to take Buzzwole to an event, I would try to bring a list with a greater focus on Lycanroc and lesser focus on baby Buzzwole to make my matchups more robust.
Malamar
If any deck can counter the threat of baby Buzzwole, it’s Malamar. And we saw exactly that happen at League Cups throughout North America. Based on League Cup reports I was able to find, Malamar variants earned nearly twice as much CP as Buzzwole / Lycanroc in the weekend immediately after Madison. Buzzwole / Lycanroc still earned a substantial amount of CP, but none took first place in any of the League Cups results I was able to find. Malamar decks adapted almost instantly and dealt a swift and decisive blow to the baby Buzzwole archetype from Madison.
Mewtwo
[cardimg name=”Hoopa” set=”Steam Siege” no=”51″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
When Malamar players adapted to baby Buzzwole, many went to the [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM77″ c=”name”][/card] Promo with the Pressure Ability. This Mewtwo stopped Buzzwole players from skewing the Prize race in their favor. It also reduces damage to Bench, disrupting a Buzzwole player’s ability to set up numbers on a Benched [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card]. It even reduces damage taken by Shadow Stitching in the [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, as that also made a significant showing at Madison.
Hoopa
After the first week of Cups, some Malamar players felt comfortable enough with the Greninja BREAK and Buzzwole matchups, and looked ahead to once again beating Zoroark variants. One option was the [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Steam Siege” no=”51″ c=”from”][/card]. This one prize psychic attacker does not counter Buzzwole nearly as hard as Mewtwo, but it does enough damage to knock out a Zoroark-GX in two hits as well as set up Black Ray plays without need for choice band.
Giratina Promo
[card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”name”][/card] should turn the Greninja BREAK matchup into an auto-win for a Malamar deck.
The exact strategy differs from each Malamar variant. For Metal Malamar, you need to open with early pressure from your attackers that don’t discard Energy. Then eventually in the mid to late game, you want to use a GX attack from [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] to fix your math. For Psychic Malamar, you want to pressure with Mewtwo Promo, Hoopa, or [card name=”Mewtwo-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card]. Promo Mewtwo and Steam Siege Hoopa both apply significant pressure while tanking a large number of Shadow Stitches. Mewtwo-GX can heal some damage with Super Absorption, but it’s not as good as Mewtwo Promo or Hoopa.
Given Giratina also functions as a reasonable attacker in other matchups, I consider it a solid inclusion for Malamar lists.
Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX and Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX
When I think of [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] variants, [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] come to mind as the two primary partners. I’ll discuss some less popular rogues in the sections below.
How did Zoroark perform after Madison? On the week of June 9th through June 10th, it performed poorly. Based on Cups results, Zoroark / Golisopod and Zoroark / Lycanroc variants combined did not even earn half the CP that [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / Lycanroc earned. And as mentioned before, Malamar variants earned nearly twice as much CP as Buzzwole / Lycanroc that same week. Zoroark got demolished the first week after Madison, but began to recover quickly afterwards. A Zoroark / Golisopod won the Mexico SPE and Zoroark variants took 12 of the 32 day two slots at Sheffield Regionals, compared to the seven slots taken by Buzzwole variants and nine by [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] variants.
It would seem that after the first wave of Malamar players adapted their lists to beat Buzzwole, players adapted quickly yet again and began to play Zoroark now that Buzzwole variants started seeing less success.
Meta in Review
In review: Madison brought a powerful new Buzzwole variant into the light, crushing Zoroark out of the meta. During the first week after Madison, the meta adapted swiftly and Malamar players saw success mowing down Buzzwole variants with their own single-Prize attackers. During the second week after Madison, we saw a resurgence in Zoroark decks as players expected Malamar to once again keep Buzzwole variants in line. In the upcoming weeks, I would expect a slight resurgence in Buzzwole decks, but nothing too significant.
Overall it feels like Madison further solidified the rock-paper-scissors aspect of our current metagame: Buzzwole decks run more baby Buzzwole, which further swings the Zoroark matchups. Malamar decks run one-Prize Psychic attackers to compensate, but these do not perform very well against Zoroark decks. And traditional Zoroark decks don’t have clean answers for baby Buzzwole.
[premium]
Rogue Archetypes
Turbo Lapras-GX
[card name=”Lapras-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”35″ c=”name”][/card] was actually one of my top picks leading up to Madison, although I ultimately chose not to play it. It won just over half of my playtesting games against older Buzzwole-GX variants while taking a favorable matchup against both Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX and Malamar / Ultra Necrozma-GX. But my teammates began hyping Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX prior to the event, and this spooked me off of the deck.
[decklist name=”Turbo Lapras” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”11″]3x [card name=”Lapras-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”35″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Volcanion Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”31″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Steam Siege” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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]1x [card name=”Manaphy-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”36″]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Aqua Patch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”158″ 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″]13x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”13″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
The list above represents what I would have recommended for Madison, assuming I had not known about the secret Buzzwole deck.
Neither Lapras-GX list that made day two at the event ran [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] or the Hoopa tech. They instead ran two copies of [card name=”Manaphy-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] and two [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Generations” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], similar to the list taken to the Mexico Special Event by my teammate Caleb Gedemer. I changed the list to include the two Float Stone and only one Manaphy-EX after hearing feedback from Caleb. The list felt like it ran much smoother with Float Stone. Hoopa also put in a ton of work in both the Zoroark-GX and [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] matchups, and occasionally hit big numbers against Malamar’s Psychic-weak attackers.
I would no longer consider this deck a top contender for this quarter’s League Cups. Neither Hoopa nor [card name=”Volcanion Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] hits good numbers against baby Buzzwole, and Lapras-GX itself does not want to be using Blizzard Burn against single-Prize Pokemon. Even the inclusion of single-prize attackers in Psychic Malamar deck causes problems for Lapras, as they allow Malamar to slow the Prize race long enough to execute a big Black Ray turn, perhaps even Knocking Out a Manaphy-EX with a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]ed Necrozma-GX.
Zoroark-GX / Garbodor
Only one [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] deck made day two in Madison, piloted by Kidd Stark. I still want to talk about the deck because it offers an alternative way to build Zoroark-GX that makes it more robust against Buzzwole.
Prior to Madison, I and most other players I knew convinced ourselves that Zoroark-GX / Garbodor could not beat Buzzwole variants and Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX. Barely a day before the event, Kidd messaged several of us claiming that the deck did in fact beat Buzzwole, but none of us took him seriously enough to ask for a list. He ended up doing very well on day one, seeded eighth at the end of day one Swiss. He did not perform nearly as well in day two, and he ended up forfeiting his last game to intentionally place 33rd in the tournament. (By doing this, he would receive his $250 prize directly at the event, whereas the other 32 players would need to wait on TPCi’s notorious customer service.)
That leaves us with one burning question: What did Kidd Stark do with his Zoroark-GX / Garbodor list to improve the Buzzwole matchup? Fortunately, we have a copy of his decklist:
[decklist name=”Zoroark Garbodor” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”21″]2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Kartana-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Evosoda” set=”Generations” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Unit Energy LPM” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Note that this deck features eight draw Supporters, as opposed to the six or so that most Zoroark-GX decks run. This thicker draw support count allowed Kidd to play games against Buzzwole without ever using Zoroark-GX! After the event, he said he might consider cutting all four [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and reducing the [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] count to three to make even more space in the deck.
Despite his innovation, Kidd still did not perform well on day two, so I would assume his deck either ran into bad matchups against Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX decks or could not handle the large number of Buzzwole decks playing three copies of baby Buzzwole.
The concept is definitely interesting, but I personally would not pilot something like Zoroark / Garbodor. It still loses to more traditional Zoroark variants, just like Malamar would. Unlike Malamar which takes an excellent Buzzwole matchup and a neutral Malamar matchup, something like Zoroark / Garbodor takes a middling Buzzwole matchup with a favorable Malamar matchup. It makes a lot of sense in a meta with little Zoroark and a lot of Malamar, like the meta immediately following Madison. But given the resurgence of more traditional Zoroark decks at events such as the Mexico SPE and Sheffield, I would avoid it.
Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX
I’ve been quite a fan of [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] since I first tested it against Buzzwole. It feels like one of the few Zoroark-GX decks that can truly race down Buzzwole variants.
Unfortunately, the deck struggles against other Zoroark-GX variants due to the prevalence of [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] in those lists. The deck also struggles to apply pressure in the early game. A deck like Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX can apply early game pressure with either a Grass or a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card]. Simply attaching a single Fighting Energy to a Benched [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] can apply significant pressure even if you pass without attacking. In contrast, Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX depends almost exclusively on [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] for early pressure, making it significantly less consistent. But in those games where the deck does take off and doesn’t get hampered by a Parallel City, it feels truly unstoppable, taking quick Prizes while constantly disrupting the opponent.
But with the advent of the “secret” Buzzwole list, we may finally see a significant decrease in play for Zoroark-GX decks. If that does end up being the case, Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX may finally have its time to shine.
We also saw a [card name=”Latios” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM88″ c=”name”][/card] / Greninja-GX list succeed in the events leading up to Madison, but I personally am not a huge fan of the list. It can beat Buzzwole, but Latios is a fragile attacker in matchups outside of Buzzwole. In my experience, Malamar can easily kill your DCE attackers, and thus forces the Greninja-GX deck to constantly dig for DCE every single turn. That’s not something Greninja-GX wants to do, especially when missing a single turn of pressure can spell a loss against a Malamar deck. I want Zoroark-GX in the list because it usually has the requisite combo of HP and Psychic Resistance to survive an attack from Malamar’s attackers. This allows Zoroark-GX to attack twice with a single Double Colorless Energy, buying you a second turn to dig out a replacement Double Colorless Energy.
Perhaps by combining Psychic attackers, Greninja-GX, and a thick draw Supporter line similar to Kidd Stark’s Zoroark-GX / Garbodor list, it may be possible to build a Zoroark-GX variant that can stand up to the “secret” Buzzwole list. I’ll provide a speculative list below, but it is exactly that, speculative. I wouldn’t play it given the resurgence of traditional Zoroark variants on the weekend of June 16th through 17th.
[decklist name=”Zoroark Greninja” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”22″]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]3x [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Latios” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Greninja BREAK
Perhaps it’s a bit rich calling [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] a “rogue” deck considering it took three day two spots at Madison and always seems to perform at least decently at Regionals. It seemingly takes a 50-50 Buzzwole matchup and is solid against Malamar unless the Malamar player runs [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s definitely a solid option for any player aiming to dodge the rock-paper-scissors triangle, but I feel like Buzzwole’s performance at Madison weakens its own position in the meta by implicitly decreasing the number of Zoroark decks floating around.
In terms of actual League Cup results, Greninja performed terribly the weekend of June 9th through June 10th. At my own Cup, all Malamar players brought Giratina and even some Buzzwole decks ran it. Greninja simply cannot function well when its presence is anticipated. It even received collateral damage when Malamar players began to include Mewtwo in their lists: Greninja can only deal 20 damage to Mewtwo with Shadow Stitching.
Zoroark-GX / Trevenant
[cardimg name=”Trevenant” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”65″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Jeremiah Schmutz told me about his idea to play [card name=”Trevenant” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”65″ c=”from”][/card] immediately after Madison. The deck obviously completely loses to any other Zoroark-GX deck that gets a reasonable start. At his Cup, Jeremiah himself lost to Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX when he took two Prizes too quickly, enabling Ryan Allred to use an early [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], KO Jeremiah’s only Trevenant and putting Jeremiah in a position where he could not respond. But the list does seem to have a lot of potential. My teammate Poet Larsen has been testing the list, and claims it beats both Buzzwole and Malamar. But like almost all other rogue Zoroark variants, Zoroark / Trevenant suffers from a rough matchup against more traditional Zoroark variants.
Buzzwole / Garbodor
Buzzwole / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] received some attention from several prominent players the first week after Madison, including Azul who piloted it to a League Cup win. However, the strict Psychic weakness on the deck results in an extremely difficult Malamar matchup. Caleb Gedemer from our team went 3-3 with the list after he ran into a few too many Malamars. However, the combination of Garbotoxin and [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]s makes you quite strong against traditional Buzzwole lists. And you still retain a solid Zoroark matchup by simply running Buzzwole.
Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX
We saw a [card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] / Lycanroc-GX deck do well at two foreign events. Klive Aw piloted the deck to two second-place finishes. On the surface the list seems quite underwhelming. Both Buzzwole and Malamar decks run a lot of one-Prize attackers (and Mewtwo-GX) to get around Verdict GX. However, the thick basic Energy line combined with [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]s and [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] allows the deck to focus on Lycanroc-GX as an attacker, and Lycanroc-GX can deal with single-Prize attackers such as baby Buzzwole relatively efficiently. I can see the deck perform well enough against Buzzwole / Lycanroc decks while stealing wins against Zoroark / Lycanroc.
League Cup Metagaming
That covers the major and most minor archetypes, as well as my thoughts on meta shifts since Madison. Let’s wrap things up by summarizing my picks depending on a given meta. For better or for worse, we are playing in a rock-paper-scissors meta. I don’t think a general “best pick” exists, so I’ll try to divide my thoughts based on each possible meta.
Unknown Meta
[cardimg name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Assuming you can’t find information ahead of time, I would recommend a Psychic [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] deck with either [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Steam Siege” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] or Pressure [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM77″ c=”name”][/card]. This way you can protect yourself from casual players that simply copy [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] lists from Madison. I would personally skew towards Hoopa given the performance of [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] decks in the most recent events.
More Zoroark than Malamar, More Malamar than Buzzwole
In any meta with minimal Buzzwole presence, I’d recommend Zoroark / Lycanroc. It takes the best matchup against Malamar and Zoroark Variants.
More Malamar than Zoroark, More Zoroark than Buzzwole
I’d still recommend Zoroark / Lycanroc in this scenario, but a large Malamar presence provides an opportunity for rogue Zoroark variants to shine. Of the three mentioned in this article, I’d probably recommend Zoroark / Trevenant with a lot of Special Energy hate over the other two rogues, as it provides the most stable matchup against more traditional Zoroark variants.
More Buzzwole than Malamar, More Malamar than Zoroark
In a meta with minimal Zoroark presence, I’d recommend either a rogue Zoroark variant or Malamar. The exact choice depends on whether you expect more Buzzwole or more Malamar. Malamar takes a more stable Buzzwole matchup so in this scenario, I’d recommend Malamar over a rogue Zoroark variant.
More Malamar than Buzzwole, More Buzzwole than Zoroark
Conversely, rogue Zoroark variants tend to take solid Malamar matchups, so I’d recommend them over Malamar in a scenario with little Zoroark and lots of Malamar.
More Buzzwole than Zoroark, More Zoroark than Malamar
Any field with minimal Malamar is tempting for Buzzwole. But at the same time, I personally wouldn’t be happy expecting to play a lot of mirrors. I might consider a rogue Fighting variant such as Buzzwole / Garbodor or Zygarde / Lycanroc in this kind of situation just to dodge the mirrors.
More Zoroark than Buzzwole, More Buzzwole than Malamar
A meta with lots of Zoroark and minimal Malamar obviously provides a great field for a simple Buzzwole / Lycanroc list. It’s also quite good for Greninja, as Greninja hopes to run into lots of Zoroark and dodge the many Malamar lists that tend to run Giratina promo these days.
Closing Thoughts
Thanks everyone for reading this far. We’re definitely in a rock-paper-scissors scenario where predicting a field provides a huge advantage. I can’t tell you what you’ll see at your own League Cup, but I hope I’ve provided you with the tools to find the deck you need. I wish you all the best of luck at Cups, and if you have any further questions feel free to message me on the Subscriber’s Hideout.
[/premium]