Broken Yveltal — NAIC’s Surprise Deck and Improved Gardevoir-GX
[cardimg name=”Yveltal BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”66″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
What’s up Beachers! Having just finished up the North American International Championships, we are now in that awkward lead up to the World Championships. As they have done in the past couple years, Pokemon is releasing a brand-new set to be legal just in time for the World Championships, which means players will have little time to prepare. In fact, the latest set, Celestial Storm, will not even be released for over two weeks! Until then, it will not be available on Pokemon Trading Card Game Online, which leaves competitors to testing with paper proxies.
When choosing a deck for this undefined metagame, I decided to look back toward the North American International Championships for some inspiration. One of the coolest decks I saw in the top 64 was one featuring [card name=”Yveltal BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]. Interestingly, four players came up with the deck independently of each other, built wildly different lists, and piloted them to day two finishes — Aaron Tarbell even took the deck all the way to Top 8! Most players, myself included, had to look up the card when hearing this to figure out why it was so good.
[card name=”Yveltal” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY06″ c=”name”][/card] and Yveltal BREAK fill a unique position in the “triangle” of top decks. Yveltal is a Dark-type Pokemon, which allows it to hit [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM101″ c=”name”][/card] for Weakness, but it is also resistant to Fighting, which allows it to take a beating from [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. Combined with [card name=”Latios” set=”Shining Legends” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card], Yveltal BREAK can do some serious damage to the top decks in the format.
Looking onward to the World Championships, I believe Yveltal BREAK is in a phenomenal position. It was a powerful play for NAIC, and its prospects only improve with Celestial Storm. One of the best cards from Celestial Storm, Shrine of Punishments, is practically written with Yveltal BREAK in mind. It gives Yveltal BREAK that little bit of extra damage to take Knock Outs on Pokemon-GX/EX and, more importantly, it places damage counters on Benched Pokemon-GX and -EX so that Baleful Night does Bench damage to them.
Another deck I have been testing is an old favorite: [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], but with a few techs and twists to help the deck compete with the insane speed of Buzzwole-GX.
First, let’s start by taking a look at Yveltal BREAK:
Yveltal BREAK
[decklist name=”Yveltal BREAK” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”13″]2x [card name=”Yveltal BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Yveltal” set=”Steam Siege” no=”65″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Yveltal” set=”Shining Legends” no=”54″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Latios” set=”Shining Legends” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x Shrine of Punishments (CLS #143)[/trainers][energy amt=”14″]10x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
As mentioned above, multiple players built lists for the deck that they piloted to strong finishes at the North American International Championships. Having tested different versions, I found Aaron Tarbell’s list to have the most options, and my list ended up looking closer to that version than any other. The biggest change with Celestial Storm is the addition of Shrine of Punishments. This is such a powerful card that I added four copies to the deck. To accommodate this change, I started by cutting down on the Pokemon counts. While it is nice to have additional copies in case one is prized, I usually prefer lower Pokemon counts to keep my deck streamlined.
Card Choices
Shrine of Punishments
Shrine of Punishments is an incredible addition to this deck! We want to draw into this card as early as possible to start racking up damage early. Beyond that, we also want to counter any other Stadiums in play that can keep this effect away. If we can run our opponent out of Stadiums and win the Stadium war, this is a guaranteed two damage counters for every turn we take. It cannot be overstated how important that is.
Hoopa
One of the great things about running Dark Energy is that we can utilize [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] to help in one of our harder matchups: [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card]. If our opponent has little to no counters to Hoopa, we can shut them out of the game.
Oranguru
Almost every deck needs some sort of draw engine. The main contenders lately have been Zoroark-GX and [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. Unfortunately, neither of these engines work with our deck’s strategy. Zoroark-GX is a Pokemon-GX, which doesn’t mesh at all with our strategy. Octillery is an option, but since we are not playing [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] it is too slow and inconsistent for us to rely on. This leaves us with [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] as our draw support.
The three cards from Instruct aren’t enough to bail us out of every situation, but they’re enough to save us from a late-game [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] completely destroying the game for us.
Tapu Koko and Latios
[card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Latios” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM88″ c=”name”][/card] are our two spread attackers that enable Yveltal BREAK to hit the high numbers required for Knock Outs. Shrine of Punishments removes some of their necessity, but it only functions on Pokemon-GX and -EX. Some of the bigger threats in the game right now are one-Prize Pokemon. For example, Latios can spread damage onto a [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and allow us to slowly Knock Out several of them using Yveltal BREAK.
Yveltal BREAK
Yveltal BREAK is the unique component of our deck that brings it all together. The extra 20 HP takes Yveltal out of Knock Out range from some of the biggest threats in the format. As mentioned before, the attack is great in combination with our spread attackers and Shrine of Punishments.
Nest Ball
[card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] was not included in Aaron Tarbell’s NAIC list, but from my testing it has been a helpful addition to the deck. Our deck has a bit of a toolbox element, where we only use some of our attackers in specific matchups. We also play a tight list where we can’t always afford to discard everything away with [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card].
Most importantly, Nest Ball becomes a consistency card since we are playing Oranguru. If most of our hand is playable but we are missing a Supporter, we can use Nest Ball to grab our monkey and get back into the game. Finding Oranguru early can be huge to respond to an N to a low hand size.
[premium]
Matchups
Any deck outside of the “triangle” of [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], Zoroark-GX and [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] must have answers to those decks in order to survive. Our list has that toolbox element that allows us to adjust our strategy to answer each of those three decks. We’ll take a look at each individually:
Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX
Despite having zero placements in Top 8 at the North American International Championships, Buzzwole-GX / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] was considered the best deck in format going into the tournament. It was one of the most heavily played decks in the tournament and you cannot afford to ignore it.
In this matchup, an early Latios is huge to put pressure on our opponent. If our opponent starts with Buzzwole-GX Active, we can even attack with Latios and a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to swing for 120 damage, and set up an additional 30 damage on the Bench. Other than Latios, [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] can pick up Knock Outs on any [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] or Buzzwole-GX that has three Energy, or on any previously damaged Buzzwole and Buzzwole-GX.
Our biggest threat in this matchup is Lycanroc-GX. We do not have an easy way to deal with a 200 HP Pokemon, and it has the ability to take several Knock Outs in a row before we can stop it. Proactively spreading damage to any [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] on the Bench helps us Knock Out the Lycanroc-GX once it starts attacking us. One of the best combinations we can use to knock it out is deal 30 damage with Latios while it’s on the Bench, then 150 with Yveltal BREAK and a Choice Band once it’s Active, then deal the last 20 with the chip damage of Shrine of Punishments.
[cardimg name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Zoroark-GX Variants
The number of Zoroark-GX variants is getting ridiculous. We have Zoroark-GX paired with [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card]; or with Lycanroc-GX; or with [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]; and now even a version that uses only Zoroark-GX, [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], and disruption cards to function. Each of these requires a slightly different approach. If our opponent does not play Oranguru or Garbodor we can likely get away with using [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] almost exclusively to deny our opponent Prizes while we attack and take Prizes ourselves. One great thing about playing only one-Prize attackers is that we can afford to let our opponent take several Knock Outs and still win the game by creating a board state where it is impossible for us to lose.
If the Zoroark-GX variant does play Oranguru, we are still okay. Fortunately Zoroark-GX is capped at 120 damage against non-GX Pokemon, which means they cannot Knock Out [card name=”Yveltal” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC16″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Yveltal BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] in one hit. The addition of Shrine of Punishments makes this matchup easier for us. Normally, Zoroark-GX is able to use [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] to pick up any damaged Pokemon so that we fail to ever take a Knock Out. If we can spread damage to several Pokemon simultaneously, we can prevent our opponent from keeping damage off of their board. Then, Yveltal BREAK can start taking Knock Outs and swinging the momentum back towards us.
Malamar
There are two primary Malamar decks: [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] with all Psychic Energy, and [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] with Psychic and Metal Energy. In a vacuum, I believe pure Psychic is the stronger, more consistent variant. The problem is that pure Psychic sports a distinctly unfavorable matchup against almost every Zoroark-GX variant. After Zoroark-GX’s incredible showing at NAIC, and the addition of Magcargo only making the deck stronger, you simply cannot afford to have a bad Zoroark-GX matchup in this format. As a result, I expect to see Ultra Necrozma-GX represent the vast majority of Malamar decks at Worlds. With that in mind, it is important to focus more on that matchup than the matchup against Necrozma-GX. That’s unfortunate for us, because our matchup against Necrozma-GX is much better.
One of our biggest advantages in this matchup is that we hit [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] for Weakness, making it an easy target. This means our opponent will most likely not bench the Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX at all, which is fine for us — losing access to the Invasion Ability hurts their deck enough that we still gain an advantage by denying that Ability.
Our other key advantage is Hoopa. Most Malamar variants play little to no counters to Hoopa. They can attack with Malamar itself, but they deal so little damage due to Resistance. Other than that, usually their only means of damaging Hoopa are [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM77″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Hoopa” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY147″ c=”name”][/card]. If they do, we can easily return the KO with [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”from”][/card] and plop down another Hoopa. In the meantime, any Pokemon-GX they benched will be taking constant damage from Shrine of Punishments. Since we play a much higher Stadium count than them, we are almost guaranteed to win the Stadium war and keep our Stadium in play. By dragging out the game with an annoying Hoopa, we make sure damage keeps racking up until our opponent is in a checkmate situation.
Gardevoir-GX… with a Twist
[decklist name=”Assault Vest Gardevoir-GX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”15″]3x [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”69″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ralts” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Assault Vest” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]7x [card name=”Fairy Energy” set=”XY” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Card Choices
[cardimg name=”Assault Vest” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”133″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Assault Vest
When I bring up [card name=”Assault Vest” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] people ask if it’s even still legal. Yes, despite not seeing play recently, Assault Vest is legal until we hit rotation.
The biggest cause of [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]’s fall from BDIF status to mid-tier deck was [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]’s ascent to the throne. One of Gardevoir’s biggest strengths is its massive 230 HP, which most decks struggle to hit in one shot. Unfortunately, with Fighting’s myriad of damage modifiers, Buzzwole-GX and Lycanroc-GX can both reliably hit 230. However, hitting these numbers generally requires the use of [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] and/or [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], both of which are Special Energy.
That’s where Assault Vest comes in. With an Assault Vest on Gardevoir-GX, Buzzwole-GX can only realistically knock us out with Absorption GX, which can only be done once per game. Also, if our opponent has been picking off low-HP Pokemon for some quick Prizes, they may not be able to take a Knock Out with Absorption GX at all.
Mysterious Treasure
Finding [card name=”Ralts” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] early is one of the biggest issues with the deck. Having three extra outs to get additional Ralts on turn one is fantastic. Beyond that, the additional [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] significantly bump up our turn one [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] odds. As another added bonus, we can use Mysterious Treasure to pick up a [card name=”Kirlia” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] on a clutch turn. Since we are playing [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], this also gives us one more way to thin our hand a bit to make the best use of Instruct.
Mr. Mime
Going back to the Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX matchup, we play [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Generations” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] to prevent some devastating early Knock Outs. Baby [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] is underwhelming against Gardevoir-GX, so our deck is one of the few where BuzzRoc sees more success swinging with Buzzwole-GX early instead of baby Buzzwole. Since we play so many outs to Brigette turn one, getting Mr. Mime with Brigette is important against BuzzRoc.
In nearly every other matchup, this card is disposable and should be one of the first you thin out of your deck.
Four N, Three Sycamore, Two Cynthia
I have been playing with a mix of different Supporter lines here. Nine draw Supporters feels like the optimal number, but the exact mix is a toss-up. Since we are one of the slowest decks to set up, and we frequently cannot afford to discard key resources, [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] is usually our strongest draw Supporter. After four slots are taken up by N, we are left with a decision between splitting [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] 4-1 or 3-2. From my testing, being able to dig further into the deck with Professor Sycamore is usually the better option over the more conservative Cynthia, so we are going to lean the split in Professor Sycamore’s favor. You could switch the fourth N to a fourth Professor Sycamore if you want to play more aggressively, but I have chosen to go with four N and three Sycamore for now.
Oranguru
Our beloved monkey pal [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] has so much to teach us, as long as we have less than three cards in hand. Once upon a time, a 1-1 [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] line was common place in Gardevoir-GX lists. That was a much slower format, one that was shaped around two-hit Knock Outs and denying Knock Outs in general. In the current format, we simply cannot afford to spend two turns and multiple cards to set up Octillery. In most cases, our opponent will simply bring up the [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] with either [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] or the Bloodthirsty Eyes Ability from Lycanroc-GX and prevent us from getting any draw support in play at all. We can’t afford to sit dead in the water late-game though, so we are left with good ol’ Oranguru to fit that role.
With the addition of Mysterious Treasure we get more utility out of Instruct than normal, since we can discard down to a low hand size much more often.
Max Potion
[card name=”Max Potion” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] dovetails nicely with our Assault Vest strategy. If we deny the Knock Out with Assault Vest, we can simply Max Potion all of the damage off and keep our Gardevoir-GX alive for an extra turn. Since Gardevoir-GX is a setup deck, each extra turn we get gives us a stronger and stronger board state compared to our opponent; once we have a few Gardevoir-GX in play, our damage potential rises astronomically.
Matchups
Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX
[cardimg name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Unfortunately, even with Assault Vest and Mr. Mime, this matchup is still unfavorable. I would say it falls somewhere within the 40-60 to 45-55 range, which is a massive improvement but still dicey. This is about as strong as we can make the matchup though, since it is inherently bad for us.
It is key to get [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] down early, and to make smart use of Max Potion to keep your [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] alive as long as possible. [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] is our biggest threat in this matchup, since it can deal massive damage with Dangerous Rogue GX. If we limit the Bench to three Pokemon and get an [card name=”Assault Vest” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] on Gardevoir-GX, Lycanroc-GX cannot reasonably knock us out. When benching extra Pokemon, we have to weigh the benefits of improving our board state versus making that Knock Out more difficult. Unless you have a bad start and have to bench [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] early, keeping your Bench down to three is usually going to be the better option.
If you are not expecting much BuzzRoc, some of the BuzzRoc techs can be swapped out to improve other matchups. For example, if you are expecting…
Zoroark-GX Variants
[card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] is huge against [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]. The ability to one-shot Zoroark-GX for two Energy is incredible on its own. On top of that, with 150 HP, it is difficult to impossible for Zoroark-GX to even take a return Knock Out against Gallade. For the Lycanroc-GX variant, hitting with Dangerous Rogue GX is the only way to do it, unless they have a perfect combo of cards including a [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] to boost the damage high enough. For the [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] variant, using Crossing Cut GX is generally their only option. You can even give Gallade an Assault Vest to make some of those Knock Out methods harder! That means on top of everything else, our opponent would also need a [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] to take a Knock Out.
The one other way our opponent can Knock Out Gallade is with [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], and that may be what they resort to depending on the board state. If they do, Mew-EX is easy for us to Knock Out, and a two-for-one Prize trade is great for us. Unless our hand and board are dead, we should be able to punish that play.
Malamar Variants
To Knock Out Gardevoir-GX, our opponent needs to have four Energy on a [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]. The only way they can remotely stream attacks like that is with several [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] in play, and each time they attack they will be clearing their Energy off the board. This means bringing up the Malamar and sniping them will leave our opponent with no means to knock us out.
One interesting thing about this format is that games rarely play out with the “best-case” scenario for either player, so they take some improvising. Sometimes it may be better to focus down their attackers, or exclusively go for two-Prize Pokemon to end the game quickly. Taking out their Malamar has been the most reliable strategy in my testing, but you always have to look at the board and figure out which win condition is the easiest to achieve.
Final Thoughts
The Worlds format is interesting. Most of the top players are still in the early stages of testing. Deck lists and even people’s predicted metagames are fluctuating wildly. As off-the-radar as they are, these two decks are my top two picks for Worlds right now. The specific techs and counts are the most liable to change as we get a clearer picture of the metagame, but, importantly, I am always open to swapping out any part of my deck.
If you have any thoughts or questions on the decks, let me know in the comments or in the Subsciber’s Secret Hideout! See ya next time!
-Ryan
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