Toxic Tempest — Rayquaza-GX / Garbodor, Best Rayquaza

By: Rukan Shao · Posted Posted onJul 29, 2018 at 7:29 PM · 0 Comments

Hey there readers! Rukan here with my latest archetype review for Celestial Storm. A lot happened since the previous Forbidden Light set review. Rayquaza-GX won all three divisions at the Japan Championships. Meanwhile Tord Reklev took 2nd place at the North American International Championships using a rarely seen [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] Control deck. The Celestial Storm set finally brings Rayquaza-GX to our format and introduces a powerful new consistency tool for Zoroark Control decks. These are exciting times, so join me as I take a deep dive into the upcoming set!

With no other major events before worlds, the community already shifted focus to Celestial Storm and started producing a bevy of content. So instead of writing a more generalized article on Celestial Storm, I will focus predominantly on Rayquaza-GX. Rayquaza plays differently from other major archetypes in our current Standard format, and I feel like many players misunderstand the strengths, weaknesses, and playstyle of the archetype as a result. I think I have the definitive best way to play Rayquaza for Worlds, and this article explains the how and why. Then I’ll conclude the article with my own thoughts on a potential Worlds Meta and the types of decks worth considering.

Rayquaza-GX — Storming the Format

Japan’s Champion

Before I start talking about my own Rayquaza list, let’s take a look at the Masters division list that won the Japan Championships. Our Standard format differs from the Japanese format. I need to cut the [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]. But what other cards do we cut and what do we add?

[decklist name=”Japan’s Rayquaza” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”11″]4x Rayquaza-GX (Celestial Storm)2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x Latias Prism Star (Celestial Storm)1x [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”47″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”35″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”14″]7x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]7x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”168″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Tech Options

Acro Bike

The Celestial Storm set reprints [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], a powerful consistency tool for Rayquaza-GX. I never feel bad drawing into one of these as a Rayquaza player, because even if the Rayquaza-GX archetype provides explosive early game setups more consistency other archetypes even without the inclusion of Acro Bike, it also flounders more when it whiffs those early setups. But at the end of the day, I need to decide whether any tech cards are worth keeping over Acro Bike. I would happily cut tech cards such as [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] to make room for them, but would probably keep something like [card name=”Red Card” set=”Generations” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] over Acro Bike.

Garbotoxin

Rayquaza-GX cannot beat [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] or Buzzwole on its own. It needs some sort of tech to deal with the Prize trade pressure from Buzzwole and the threat of Black Ray GX from Malamar. Fortunately, one tech helps both of these matchups while simultaneously boosting the overall power level of the deck: [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. Garbotoxin reduces damage output from Buzzwole, shuts off their [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], sometimes stalls out a Malamar, and provides general utility in nearly every other matchup.

[cardimg name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Rayquaza itself uses Abilities, but by the time you attach a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] to your Garbodor, you should already have around three Rayquaza-GX on the field. I think Rayquaza / Garbodor takes a different spin on the Garbotoxin variant. Past Garbotoxin partners such as [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card], and Zoroark-GX could did not deal enough damage to take big one hit Knock Outs and typically relied on powerful control options played from hand. Rayquaza on the other hand, takes a far more aggressive strategy aiming to dump the entire deck onto the field and discard pile. This both puts the opponent on a much shorter clock and makes the deck far less susceptible to a lategame [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] than previous Garbotoxin variants.

Parallel City

The winning Japanese list ran two copies of [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card]. But remember that [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] exists in the Japanese format, and Zoroark decks run that Stadium almost exclusively. I believe Rayquaza lists needed to run both [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] and Parallel City to counter Zoroark-GX. Instead, Zoroark archetypes in our Standard format run Parallel City. This discourages the inclusion of Parallel City in our Rayquaza-GX lists. If your opponent plays a Parallel City, you need to hit both Field Blower and Parallel City in order to counter. I don’t think Rayquaza lists have room to tech more than one copy of [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], if any. As a result, I would not include Parallel City at all. I think better tech cards exist for the Buzzwole, Malamar, and Zoroark matchups.

Tapu Koko-GX

I tested [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM33″ c=”name”][/card] in my games against Buzzwole, Malamar, and Zoroark. It felt terrible in all those matchups, although the least so against Buzzwole. Sky High Claws hits for 130 against baby [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], and can do so in early turns. The Ability also lets you pull Energy off an injured Rayquaza-GX, making it more difficult for your opponent to lower your total Energy count as well. I would conclude that the winning Japanese list ran Tapu Koko-GX predominantly to swing the mirror in their favor, utilizing the GX attack for either early pressure or to close out a game after losing too many Energy. This card may be worth including for worlds if Rayquaza-GX becomes a significant share of the Worlds meta. If not, I would not bother.

Xurkitree-GX

When I began testing, Rayquaza-GX took a favorable matchup against Zoroark. The matchup became even when the Zoroark decks included fairy tech cards, such as [card name=”Tapu Lele” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Sylveon-EX” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC32″ c=”name”][/card]. In order to run Tapu Lele, Zoroark decks typically need to include either [card name=”Unit Energy FDY” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card] to pay the attack cost. As a result, this gives Rayquaza-GX the opportunity to cheese some matchups with [card name=”Xurkitree-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM68″ c=”name”][/card]. And fundamentally, I’m not against the idea cheesing a matchup with a one-of card, especially when Rayquaza-GX runs the Lightning Energy to capitalize on the GX attack in other matchups. But it’s still not hard for Zoroark decks to tech against Xurkitree-GX. For example: Zoroark-GX / Banette-GX can run a single Psychic Energy and [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] to Knock Out Xurkitree-GX in one attack. And a Zoroark-Control deck could opt to mill you instead of attack at all. So while I probably would not run a Xurkitree-GX into a blind meta, it’s still a tech worth considering.

Mr. Mime

Rayquaza-GX fundamentally needs to bench many GX pokemon to function. Black Ray GX and Shrine of Punishments naturally punish Rayquaza for doing so. This makes Rayquaza particularly vulnerable to spread, so a single [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Generations” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] could be worth the slot going into worlds. It’s still a long ways until worlds, and I have not heard much hype for spread archetypes, but it’s far from impossible. I won’t include it from my lists right now, but we should all keep Mr. Mime in the back of our minds.

Red Card

If we remember back to an Expanded event at Dallas earlier this season, a deck won by using [card name=”Red Card” set=”Generations” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]. We can employ a similar strategy in Rayquaza-GX / Garbodor by adding Red Card to our list. In my most recent playtesting, I began running three to four copies of Red Card in an attempt to beat Zoroark-GX / Garbodor. And I overall found a slightly positive matchup against Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] once I cut copies of Acro Bike to make room for Red Card. Unfortunately, Red Card does not hurt decks like Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX nearly as much and I found the inclusion also hurt the Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX matchup. But overall I think the card is worth including to further improve your Zoroark matchups and give the deck a true out to beating the Garbodor variant.

[premium]

Matchups

[cardimg name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX

  • Unfavorable for Straight Rayquaza
  • Favorable for Rayquaza / Garbodor
  • Neutral for Rayquaza / Garbodor if Buzzwole runs Field Blower

I began my playtesting against the previous format’s BDIF: [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. I started that testing with a straightforward, maximum consistency Rayquaza-GX list similar to the winning list from Japan. I found the matchup unfavorable for the straight Rayquaza deck. Rayquaza-GX does not trade well against a powerful single Prize attacker like baby Buzzwole. [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] only helps to a limited extent as Lycanroc-GX either targets unbelted Rayquaza on the Bench or removes belted Rayquaza-GX with Dangerous Rogue. The matchup became favorable once I included Garbotoxin in my Rayquaza list. Ability lock makes it difficult for Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX to Knock Out a healthy Rayquaza-GX with Swing Around, target benched Rayquaza with Bloodthirsty Eyes, or dig for their crucial [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card].

Psychic Malamar

  • Unfavorable for Straight Rayquaza
  • Neutral for Rayquaza / Garbodor
  • Favorable for Rayquaza / Garbodor / Red Card

Straight Rayquaza struggles a lot versus Psychic [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. Rayquaza decks cannot feasibly play around the threat of Black Ray. That combined with the release of Tapu Lele allows Malamar to trade Prizes with remarkable efficiency. Garbodor can occasionally buy you enough time to win, but not always. Sometimes Malamar hits its Field Blower or enough [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] to execute its strategy, and when it does, it can remove three to six Energy off your board at once.

Zoroark-GX Variants

  • Favorable for Rayquaza / Garbodor / Red Card
  • Potentially Unfavorable without Red Card

If Rayquaza does not run Red Card, then I think [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] variants need two tech lines to take a favorable Rayquaza matchup: Both a thick line of [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] and some sort of Fairy attacker. I do not think a fairy tech attacker alone swings the Rayquaza matchup. The Zoroark player wants to take two big one shots in order to win the Prize race, but can struggle to do so while under pressure from Garbotoxin and [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. Zoroark needs to land a Parallel City early in the game to disrupt the Rayquaza player from fully setting up their board. In order to do that, the Zoroark player needs to run a thick line of Parallel City. With one copy of Parallel City, a Zoroark player can expect to draw a Parallel City by their second turn every roughly one in four games. With two copies, you can expect to draw it roughly one in three games. And with three copies, you can expect to draw it a bit more often than one in two games by the second turn.

But, I think if Rayquaza decks do run both Garbotoxin and Red Card, the matchup becomes unfavorable for the Zoroark player, regardless of whether they run fairy tech cards or not.

The Core List

I listed some tech cards earlier, but I wouldn’t worry too much about techs this far in advance. I want to wait and see what decks other players talk about. I might not even play Rayquaza-GX at all if certain decks receive too much hype. For now, I want to build a fast and consistent core list with solid matchups across the board.

[decklist name=”Rayquaza Garbodor” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”10″]4x Rayquaza-GX (Celestial Storm)2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x Latias Prism Star (Celestial Storm)1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”36″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”145″ 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=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Red Card” set=”Generations” no=”71″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Wishful Baton” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”14″]7x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]7x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”168″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Playstyle

Rayquaza can either opt to play aggressively, hoping to hit several [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] and start attacking early on. Alternatively, it can try to lead with Latias Prism Star in order to develop a massive board state. In most matchups, I generally aim for the latter. Your opponents will often knock out a Rayquaza-GX if you take the slow approach, but then you respond with Garbotoxin plus [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] to sweep the game.

Rayquaza does need to play aggressively in some matchups though. Shrine of Punishments matchups come to mind as one example. Some archetypes put Rayquaza on a tight clock where I do not feel like I can afford to approach the prize race in a more leisurely fashion.

Against [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], I almost always want to develop a massive board state. This typically involves one Latias Prism Star, two to three Rayquaza-GX, and a [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. I ideally want to develop enough Energy to carry me through the whole game. Unfortunately Zoroark-GX decks tend to run Parallel City. This leaves little room for a Garbotoxin after Latias Prism Star and the three Rayquaza GX. Against Zoroark-GX / Garbodor, I typically keep a Garbotoxin in order to protect myself from Trashalanche. Against other variants, I may forego Garbotoxin completely to maintain more Energy on my board.

Worlds Contender or Not?

So, would I play Rayquaza-GX / Garbodor at Worlds? Early on in testing, I thought Rayquaza-GX made itself too vulnerable to a wide variety of counters such as [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card], and Shrine of Punishments. But after more testing, I found the combination of Red Card and Garbotoxin could indeed make the Zoroark-GX / Garbodor matchup feel favorable. With that matchup under the belt, I feel much more comfortable calling Rayquaza-GX / Garbodor a top tier contender for worlds. I would currently rank it one of my top three picks for worlds.

Slaying the Dragon

Everyone I’ve spoken to agrees: Rayquaza-GX will see a lot of play at Worlds. It carries a lot of momentum from the Japan Championships and the fast, heavy hitting, high roll playstyle tends to appeal to many players. If I bring a deck to day one of Worlds, I definitely would not take a poor matchup versus Rayquaza-GX. So that begs the question: what decks should we consider? I covered Rayquaza in depth for most of this article, but let’s take a brief moment to run through other archetypes for worlds and how they beat Rayquaza. Then using this information, I’ll try to review each deck’s position in the Meta.

Buzzwole / Lycanroc

  • Rayquaza Tech: [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Straight Rayquaza Matchup: Favorable with Field Blower
  • Rayquaza / Garbodor Matchup: Neutral with Field Blower
  • Rayquaza / Garbodor / Red Card Matchup: Unfavorable

Buzzwole / Garbodor

  • Rayquaza Tech: Field Blower
  • Rayquaza Matchup: Very unfavorable. Jet punch does not apply enough pressure

Psychic Malamar

[cardimg name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

  • Rayquaza Tech: Black Ray GX plus one Prizers or Promo Tapu Lele
  • Straight Rayquaza Matchup: Very favorable
  • Rayquaza / Garbodor Matchup: Slightly favorable
  • Rayquaza / Garbodor / Red Card Matchup: Unfavorable

Ultra Necrozma-GX Malamar

  • Rayquaza Tech: Black Ray GX plus Promo Lele can work work, but not as naturally as in Psychic Malamar
  • Rayquaza Matchup: Much less favorable than Psychic Malamar

Zoroark Variants

There’s quite a few Zoroark Variants, all of which take different matchups. I’ll rank them in the following order, from most favorable versus Rayquaza to least favorable:

  • Zoroark-GX / Weavile
  • Zoroark-GX / Gardevoir-GX with Fairy [card name=”Tapu Lele” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Zoroark-GX / Garbodor
  • Zoroark-GX / Banette-GX with four Rainbow, two Choice Band, and one Tapu Lele
  • Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX with two Choice Band, one [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card], and one [card name=”Dedenne” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Zoroark-GX / Magcargo with two Choice Band and a Fairy Tech
  • Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX with two Choice Band, two Unit Energy, and one Fairy Tapu Lele

With Red Card, I think Rayquaza-GX beats all Zoroark variants, even if only by a slight margin. Without Red Card, [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] / Weavile and Zoroark-GX / Banette-GX all beat Rayquaza with minimal techs. Zoroark / [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM62″ c=”name”][/card], Magcargo, and [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] need to commit multiple deck slots in order to check Rayquaza. I believe a Zoroark variant with only one Choice Band and a Fairy Tech cannot hope to beat a good Rayquaza deck on average. Running a thicker Fairy tech line will only hurt those archetypes in other matchups, while making the Rayquaza matchup slightly favorable at best, and still unfavorable if they run Red Card.

Hoopa Variants

  • Straight Rayquaza Tech: None
  • Rayquaza Garbodor Tech: Shrine of Punishments and [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM58″ c=”name”][/card] for Rayquaza / Garbodor
  • Straight Rayquaza Matchup: Autowin
  • Rayquaza / Garbodor Matchup: Favorable with tech

Greninja BREAK

  • Rayquaza Tech: Shrine of Punishments and Field Blower
  • Rayquaza Matchup: Likely still unfavorable, even with Shrine of Punishments

Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX

[cardimg name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

  • Rayquaza Tech: [card name=”Sylveon-EX” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC32″ c=”name”][/card], Baby Buzzwole, and Field Blower
  • Rayquaza Matchup: Neutral to Slightly Unfavorable

Beast Box

  • Rayquaza Tech: Don’t bother
  • Rayquaza Matchup: Beast Box cannot win without essentially playing a different deck

Trashalanche Variants

  • Rayquaza Tech: Trashalanche
  • Rayquaza Matchup: Favorable, but Garbodor decks tend to be inconsistent and Rayquaza can mow them down if they whiff even a single turn. Slightly Unfavorable if Rayquaza runs Red Card and Garbodotoxin.
  • Sidenote: I think Zoroark Garbodor would see much more play than any other Trashalanche variant

Spread

Worlds Contenders

It is too early to make an accurate call on a Worlds metagame, but I still want to give it a shot. I will list out a few notable picks for Worlds, explain their position in the Metagame, and rate them on a score out of five.

Decks with the Most Momentum

Three decks stood out in events leading up to Worlds: Zoroark Control, Zoroark / Garbodor, and Rayquaza. As stated before, I think Rayquaza definitely makes a big appearance due to its novelty and appealing playstyle. Tord Reklev took Zoroark Control to second place at NAIC. So I could see Zoroark Control decks seeing some experimentation due to the introduction of Magcargo and sheer popularity of Tord Reklev. Finally, Zoroark / Garbodor combines a naturally positive Rayquaza matchup with the tremendous momentum of winning both the NAIC and Valencia SPE in the time leading up to Worlds. It may be wise to explore explore decks that beat all three of these matchups.

Zoroark / Garbodor – 4/5

Zoroark / Garbodor takes a reasonable matchup against Zoroark Control and a reasonable to favorable matchup against Rayquaza. At first glance, this puts Zoroark / Garbodor in the healthiest position of the three aforementioned decks. But I personally would not run opt to run Zoroark / Garbodor for Worlds. I think the archetype is too much of a target after its recent performances at the Valencia SPE and NAIC.

Zoroark Control – 2/5

In contrast to Zoroark Garbodor, I think Zoroark Control takes a less favorable Rayquaza matchup than most Zoroark variants. Zoroark Control needs to dedicate many deck slots to control cards. But it takes more than a single copy of [card name=”Sylveon-EX” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC21″ c=”name”][/card] and single copy of [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to defeat Rayquaza variants consistently. This pulls the deck in several directions and limits its ability to contend with any matchup as consistently as it would hope. Not to mention the deck takes a high skill level to pilot. In my opinion, those issues, combined with the possibility of Buzzwole decks running copies of Field Blower, should push the Zoroark Control archetype out of favor.

Rayquaza – 4/5

Given Rayquaza‘s reasonable to slightly favorable matchup against even Zoroark-GX / Garbodor with Red Card, I think Red Card Rayquaza stands a solid chance of seeing significant play at Worlds.

Old Favorites

Malamar Variants – 2/5

[card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] decks do not beat Zoroark / Garbodor. I think that fact alone takes Malamar decks off the table for me. Malamar can still do well, as it takes a favorable Buzzwole and Rayquaza matchup, but I would not want to gamble on my ability to dodge Zoroark decks.

Buzzwole – 5/5

I think Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX, when teched with two copies of [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], takes an even to favorable matchup against both Rayquaza-GX and Zoroark-GX / Garbodor. Buzzwole tends to function better after a [card name=”Red Card” set=”Generations” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] than something like Zoroark as well. It takes three notable bad matchups in the worlds format: Zoroark / Banette-GX, Psychic Malamar, and Beast Box. But these archetypes tend to get discouraged by both Zoroark-GX / Garbodor and Rayquaza-GX / Garbodor. If so, Buzzwole / Lycanroc could find itself very well positioned. And last but not least, I strongly discourage Buzzwole-GX / Garbodor as it takes an unfavorable matchup against both Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX decks that run Field Blower and Rayquaza decks in general.

Zoroark / Golisopod and Zoroark / Lycanroc – 2/5

I think both these archetypes become slightly worse in the Worlds format because they need to tech against too many threats. That does not make them too much worse, but it does mean their pilots take a riskier gamble to avoid certain matchups than they would have at past events. I think the threat of Rayquaza-GX / Garbodor / Red Card alone makes both these decks too risky to run for Worlds.

Rogue Considerations

[cardimg name=”Yveltal Break” set=”Steam Siege” no=”66″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX – 3/5

Not too many decks take a definitive auto win against Zoroark / Garbodor. Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX is one of the few. The inclusion of Double Colorless Energy also allows it to tech [card name=”Sylveon-EX” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC21″ c=”name”][/card] for the Rayquaza matchup. It could perform very well as a counter pick for a Zoroark-GX / Garbodor heavy meta, but I would not recommend it beyond that scenario.

Yveltal BREAK Spread – 2/5

Spread decks in general perform very well against Rayquaza-GX. And the version with [card name=”Yveltal BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] performs the best against Zoroark variants. But after significant playtesting, I found Yveltal BREAK loses to Zoroark variants with healing cards and even the slightest bit of experience in the matchup.

Closing Thoughts

Anyways, that wraps up my thoughts on the Rayquaza / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] archetype and a few potential choices for Worlds. Feel free to ask me any questions in the Subscriber’s Hideout. I’m also open to playtesting for Worlds format games on Lackey. Thank you all for reading this far and best of luck to everyone at Worlds.

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