Choose Your Starter — Three Decks to Kick Off Your Season

By: Rukan Shao · Posted Sep 3, 2018 at 7:44 AM · 0 Comments

Hey there, everyone! The World Championship marks the end of the previous season as well as the start of a new journey! I am Professor Rukan Shao and I will ask you two questions that set your new Pokemon adventure in motion:

Are you a boy or a girl?
What starter Pokemon will you choose?

Actually, forget that first question, this article will present three solid and easy to pick-up deck skeletons to play and evolve as the season progresses. They are:

[card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]

[cardimg name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The first choice is my personal favorite, Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX. The deck can play aggressively, take Prizes in quick succession and disrupt their Bench. But it can also transition into a slower, more control focused late game using Greninja-GX. It provides a low skill barrier to entry, but has a moderate skill ceiling for those looking to leverage their talents.

The second choice is an aggressive, consistent, hard hitting, albeit fragile take on the Malamar archetype. Early in testing, Malamar felt clunky with the loss of [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]. The Stadium card, [card name=”Altar of the Moone” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], can help but it requires an extra Energy attachment in order to function, limiting the decks early game aggression. The list in this article solves the Float Stone problem; to produce the fastest, hardest hitting Malamar variant I have tested thus far in post rotation, albeit at a cost.

The third and final choice is Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX to round out our type triangle. I’d love to tell you my Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX list provides as much power, consistency, or versatility as Malamar or Zoroark-GX, but I cannot. Fighting archetypes felt underwhelming time and time again in my testing, but I will provide the best list I worked on at this point and explain why I think the Fighting archetype underperforms compared to the likes of Malamar or Zoroark-GX.

Please keep in mind that all lists provided are minimally teched. I encourage you to adapt them as you playtest and as the post rotation metagame reveals itself to us.

Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX

When Forbidden Light came out, everyone began testing ways for Zoroark-GX to beat [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / Lycanroc-GX with [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]. My teammate, Poet Larsen, introduced me to Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX as a potential solution. The Abilities of [card name=”Frogadier” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] and Greninja-GX allowed the deck to skip the turn they are able to use [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] by taking many Prizes in quick succession and mitigate the threat of Lycanroc-GX by applying early Shuriken pressure to an energized [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]. The archetype stuck in our minds as one of the most, if not the most, powerful Zoroark-GX pairings. Unfortunately, the archetype simply could not execute its game plan with [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] rampant in the format. With Parallel City leaving the format, we can finally unleash the greatest Zoroark-GX partner into the Standard format.

[decklist name=”Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″][pokemon amt=”22″]2x [card name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Frogadier” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”23″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Froakie” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”22″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Latios” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Apricorn Maker” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”142″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cyrus Prism Star” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Timer Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Aqua Patch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ 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]

Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX Engine

[cardimg name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Before I move onto the simulated results, I played out a few hundred solitaire games with a number of search and draw engines to get an overall feel for the best optimization.

Test 1: Four Nest Ball, Two Lillie, Four Cynthia

I began my testing with four [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], two [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], four [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] and a simple thought: “What if Lillie outperforms [card name=”Pokémon Fan Club” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Apricorn Maker” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]?” Sometimes it does, but far too often I found myself wishing I could grab some Basic Pokemon.

Test 2: Four Nest Ball, Two Lillie, Four Cynthia, One Apricorn Maker

I added a single copy of [card name=”Apricorn Maker” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] and this made games much more stable, and most importantly, less vulnerable to [card name=”Zorua” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM83″ c=”name”][/card] snipes. However, I feel like I missed out on its value by not running any [card name=”Timer Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card].

Test 3: Four Nest Ball, Two Lillie, Four Cynthia, One Apricorn Maker, Two Timer Ball

It did not take many games before I regretted using Apricorn Maker to grab two Timer Ball. Playing a Supporter represents a much greater commitment than playing a single Item card. If I play Cynthia, draw a Timer Ball, and flip one tails, it feels bad; but not too bad since I still drew five other cards. If I play an Apricorn Maker and flip zero to one heads, I feel like I wasted my entire Supporter for the turn.

Test 4: Four Nest Ball, Two Lillie, Four Cynthia, One Apricorn Maker, One Olivia

I tried running [card name=”Olivia” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] over Timer Ball. This felt much better. Searching out two [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] on turn two feels like the optimal Supporter play. At the same time, searching out two [card name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] on later turns can win games. It never feels bad to see an Olivia in your hand; and I find myself opting to trade away Cynthia over Olivia so I can guarantee an explosive finish.

Test 5: Four Nest Ball, Two Lillie, Four Cynthia, Four Apricorn Maker, One Olivia

In my final batch of physical test hands, I tried going all in on Apricorn Maker, and it ran surprisingly well. You may think running this many copies of Apricorn Maker wastes too many deck slots that you could spend on “juice” cards like [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]. But here’s the thing: when you run only a single copy of Apricorn Maker, you usually need to play [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] to search it out. In a Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX deck, every Tapu Lele-GX you bench limits your damage output by 50 over the course of a game. When you run four copies of Apricorn Maker, you can frequently fill your Bench without ever putting down a Tapu Lele-GX. Thus, the extra Apricorn Maker feel like they “juice” your game plan even if they do not directly contribute more damage output, healing effects, or gust effects to your deck. I even found myself using them in mid to late game turns to guarantee Knock Outs or Bench snipes.

[premium]

Simulation Results

I have not posted any simulation results in my articles since my Vikavolt / Tapu Bulu article nearly half a year ago. I dusted off the old simulator script to better understand the new format; I will conduct a number of simulations with one million iterations per list to understand the relative value of each consistency card.

Experiment Batch #1 – Apricorn Counts

For the first batch of experiments, the lists will contain: two [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], four [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], four [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], four [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card], one [card name=”Olivia” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], one [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], and three [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]. I will then vary the number of [card name=”Apricorn Maker” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] from one to four in each experiment to determine the relative value of Apricorn Maker.

One Apricorn Maker – 1.29 [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] out by turn two
Two Apricorn Maker – 1.37 Zoroark-GX out by turn two – 1.066x better than one Apricorn Maker
Three Apricorn Maker – 1.44 Zoroark-GX out by turn two – 1.046x better than two Apricorn Maker
Four Apricorn Maker – 1.49 Zoroark-GX out by turn two – 1.038x better than three Apricorn Maker

If you recall from my Vikavolt / Tapu Bulu article, I explained exactly why I consider cards that improve setup consistency by ~5% worthwhile. Thus, I think you run a minimum three Apricorn Maker in Zoroark-GX decks, because it essentially provides roughly 5% improvement in setup consistency. In the specific case of Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX, Apricorn Maker offers late game utility by providing guaranteed access to [card name=”Frogadier” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] that you might need to secure a Knock Out. I recommend four Apricorn Maker in Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX and three in most other Zoroark-GX variants.

Experiment Batch #2 – Tapu Lele Counts

For the next batch of experiments, the lists will contain: two Lillie, four Cynthia, four Nest Ball, four Ultra Ball, four Apricorn Maker, one Olivia, and three Brooklet Hill. I will then vary the number of Tapu lele-GX from one to four in each experiment to determine the relative value of Tapu Lele-GX. Earlier in the article, I mentioned I considered a lower Tapu Lele-GX in order to use Bench space more efficiently. This experiment will reveal exactly how that affects the deck’s setup consistency.

One Tapu Lele-GX – 1.49 Zoroark-GX out by turn two
Two Tapu Lele-GX – 1.57 Zoroark-GX out by turn two – 1.052x better than one Tapu Lele-GX
Three Tapu Lele-GX – 1.62 Zoroark-GX out by turn two – 1.033x better than two Tapu Lele-GX
Four Tapu Lele-GX – 1.66 Zoroark-GX out by turn two – 1.026x better than three Tapu Lele-GX

Do note that high counts of Tapu Lele-GX no longer improve Zoroark-GX setup consistency nearly as much as it did before rotation due to the loss of [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card]. I would definitely not run three Tapu Lele-GX in Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX due to the value of Bench space in that particular deck. In other Zoroark-GX variants, I may even consider opting for two Tapu Lele-GX, as the third Tapu Lele-GX does not improve setup consistency dramatically, and would exist moreso to search out Guzma and Acerola in the late game.

I recommend one to two Tapu Lele-GX in Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX. I recommend two to three Tapu Lele-GX in most other Zoroark-GX variants. I will determine the exact count after evaluating the relative value of other consistency cards in the subsequent experiments.

Experiment Batch #3 – Olivia Counts

[cardimg name=”Olivia” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”119″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This experiment will contain: two [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], four [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], four [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], four Ultra Ball, four [card name=”Apricorn Maker” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], one Tapu Lele-GX, and three Brooklet Hill. I will then vary the number of [card name=”Olivia” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] from one to four in each experiment to determine the relative value of Olivia.

One Olivia – 1.49 Zoroark-GX out by turn two
Two Olivia – 1.59 [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] out by turn two – 1.065x better than one Olivia
Three Olivia – 1.68 Zoroark-GX out by turn two – 1.054x better than two Olivia
Four Olivia – 1.75 Zoroark-GX out by turn two – 1.044x better than three Olivia

Based on this experiment, the second copy of Olivia seems very worthwhile. In fact, a third copy could even be worthwhile, given its late game utility in Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]. But this Supporter economy could change if I start including a lot of [card name=”Timer Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card], so I will reserve final judgment until after further experiments.

Experiment Batch #4 – Cynthia versus Olivia

For this experiment, the list will contain: two Lillie, four Nest ball, four Ultra Ball, four Apricorn Maker, one [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], and three Brooklet Hill. I will try replacing Cynthia with Olivia to see if Olivia offers better set up consistency.

Four Cynthia, one Olivia – 1.49 Zoroark-GX by turn two
Three Cynthia, two Olivia – 1.56 Zoroark-GX by turn two – 1.043x better than 4 Cynthia 1 Olivia
Two Cynthia, three Olivia – 1.61 Zoroark-GX by turn two – 1.033x better than 3 Cynthia 2 Olivia
One Cynthia, four Olivia – 1.65 Zoroark-GX by turn two – 1.026x better than 2 Cynthia 3 Olivia

Please note, my 5% rule does not apply here as we are comparing two consistency cards to one another, as opposed to experiment batches one through three, where we compared a consistency card to any card that did not affect consistency. In this case, the second Olivia provides a respectable improvement to our turn two Zoroark-GX count. But Cynthia still serves the important role of cycling through your deck. I would still avoid running less than three Cynthia for obvious reasons. This experiment considered the possibility that Cynthia might be cuttable for Olivia. I will return to these numbers at the end of these experiments before drawing a conclusion.

Experiment Batch #5 – Four Timer Ball, Zero Ultra Ball

I found that discards are very painful in Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX, especially with [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] gone from the format. Given the value of Bench space, Ultra Ball for a draw Supporter never felt particularly powerful. With four Nest Ball and four Apricorn Maker, I could draw Basic Pokemon a respectable amount of the time. So I thought, “why not conduct a quick experiment to see if a zero Ultra Ball, zero Tapu Lele-GX, four [card name=”Timer Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] list could function effectively”. In this experiment, the list will contain two Lillie, four Nest Ball, four Timer Ball, four Apricorn Maker, and three [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card].

Zero Tapu Lele-GX, zero Ultra Ball, four Timer Ball, one Olivia – 1.36 Zoroark-GX by turn two

Unsurprisingly, a list with zero Ultra Ball and zero Tapu Lele-GX performed terribly.

Experiment Batch #6 – Timer Ball

For this last experiment, the list will contain: two Lillie, four Nest Ball, four Ultra Ball, four Apricorn Maker, one Tapu Lele-GX, and three Brooklet Hill. I will vary the number of Timer Ball from one to four to evaluate their relative value.

One Timer Ball – 1.51 Zoroark-GX by turn two
Two Timer Ball – 1.61 Zoroark-GX by turn two – 1.072x more than one Timer Ball
Three Timer Ball – 1.71 Zoroark-GX by turn two – 1.062x more than two Timer Ball
Four Timer Ball – 1.79 Zoroark-GX by turn two – 1.050x more than three Timer Ball

This experiment indicates that Timer Ball dramatically improves the deck’s setup consistency. I tend to shy away from Timer Ball due to their coin flip nature. A minimum count of Two Timer Ball makes sense, given its performance in the simulation and its synergy with a high count of Apricorn Maker.

Some Final Experiment Batches

Now that we have some intuition about the relative value of various consistency cards, I conducted a few simulations on various, complete 60 card lists before coming to a final list. I will not detail the results of these simulations as they fell all over the place. But I will explain my overall conclusions and why they resulted in the deck skeleton provided at the start of this article:

Olivia was removed from my physical test hands and I put in Timer Ball. Despite my reservations around using [card name=”Apricorn Maker” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] to search out Timer Ball, the simulation results indicate much better performance.
The [card name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] line was trimmed down, which was originally 4-4-3, down to 4-3-2. Zoroark-GX decks feel like they lack consistency compared to pre-rotation, and I needed to make cuts somewhere. Cutting the Greninja-GX line made the most sense.
A second copy of Tapu Lele-GX was added. It still helps consistency tremendously, and with a thinner Greninja-GX line, I can better afford to bench it. The thinner Greninja-GX line also makes the deck less aggressive, and I will likely need to rely on key Supporters to win games more than a list with a 4-4-3 Greninja-GX line.
Brooklet Hill was cut down to one. The deck still depends predominantly on [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] to win games, and Brooklet hill does not search out Zorua. It did not make sense to cut a [card name=”Froakie” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] for additional Brooklet Hill, even though this hurts the deck in matchups against [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] decks.

In summary, Zoroark-GX decks need a lot more consistency cards now that [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] rotated. As a result, I was forced to cut down the size of my Greninja-GX line, as well as other more marginal cards such as [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and Brooklet Hill, to simply make room for more consistency.

Malamar / Marshadow-GX

The two most important tools that [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] loses to the rotation are Brigette and [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]. The deck can still function without the former thanks to [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] and by using cards like [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] for turn one plays. The latter unfortunately limits the early game aggression of Malamar significantly. The deck can play [card name=”Altar of the Moone” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] to provide a retreating option, but doing so forces an additional Energy attachment onto the Active Pokemon. This forces Malamar to dig farther into their deck, which limits flexibility, and often prevents the archetype from attacking on the second turn with anything other than [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card]. The deck skeleton below solves this issue with a heavier line of [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card].

[decklist name=”Malamar Marshadow” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″][pokemon amt=”20″]4x [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Inkay” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Sophocles” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]10x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Notable Card Choices

Two Marshadow-GX

[cardimg name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This deck wants to operate with [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] as the primary attacker. Compared to [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card], Marshadow-GX offers greater flexibility, [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] synergy, better typing, and one less Retreat Cost. The latter becomes particularly important in a format without Float Stone, as it allows Marshadow-GX to retreat for either an Escape Board or a manual attachment, as opposed to both. I attempted running three Marshadow-GX, but found two optimal. With three, the deck felt too clunky, as the deck can struggle to discard a relevant attacker for Marshadow-GX to use early game.

Four Escape Board

Our replacement for Float Stone comes in the form of [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]. It functions just as well in a deck with predominantly one Energy Retreat Cost Pokemon. Sometimes we do start with a two Retreat Cost Pokemon in the Active, but [card name=”Altar of the Moone” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] would have forced an Energy attachment to retreat anyways in that scenario.

Zero Dunsparce

I briefly considered the possibility of [card name=”Dunsparce” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card]. On paper it seems to provide a lot of potential. Putting it in the discard allows Marshadow-GX to both search out [card name=”Inkay” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] and retreat to the safety of the Bench. But in practice, the combination does not happen often when you go second. You usually need to draw Ultra Ball and Mysterious Treasure in the same hand, and at that point you had the opportunity to bench two Inkay without using Strike and Run.

One Marshadow, one Tapu Lele-GX

The [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”from”][/card] becomes one of most useful support Pokemon in the upcoming format, especially for Psychic-type and Dragon-type decks. Turn one Let Loose can single handedly win games against [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] decks now that it generally needs to commit a card from hand for each Basic Pokemon it places on the Bench without Brigette in Standard. It also punishes any opponents foolish enough to believe they can get away with Beacon via [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], Magical Ribbon via [card name=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], or Algorithm GX via [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] simply because [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] rotated out of the format. I cut the [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] count down to one in order to make room in both the deck and the Bench for Marshadow.

One Diancie Prism Star

With Marshadow-GX as our primary attacker, we might as well capitalize on Diancie Prism Star. It allows us to make power plays like Moon’s Eclipse-GX on a [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] or Prismatic Burst discarding three Energy to KO a 210 HP Pokemon-GX.

One Mimikyu

One [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] allows the deck to trade efficiently against the likes of [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] as well as respond KO Zoroark-GX for only two Psychic Energy.

Two Deoxys, Zero Mewtwo

I wanted to include a beefy single Prize attacker simply to balance out [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card]’s fragility and potentially swing the Prize race in any number of matchups. I tested [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM77″ c=”name”][/card] early on, given its bulkiness. However, I found its two Retreat Cost cumbersome, particularly if it was my starting Pokemon. [card name=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] on the other hand, retreats for a single Energy. I ended up increasing the Deoxys count to two when I began to encounter significant numbers of [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] decks on the PTCGO ladder.

Zero Sudowoodo

Notable in its exclusion, is [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]. You could definitely include one to edge your Zoroark-GX matchup further. But I feel like trading a Marshadow-GX one for one into a Zoroark-GX already favors the [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] player because Zoroark-GX decks will struggle far more to develop multiple Zoroark-GX early game as well as replace each Zoroark-GX and [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] they lose. Instead, I think the Malamar Marshadow deck mostly fears the Deoxys tech card, which Sudowoodo does not mitigate.

Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX

One deck that saw reasonable success pre-rotation is [card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] / Lycanroc-GX, and it loses fewer tools after rotation than [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]. Notably, Zygarde-GX can still one shot a 60-70 HP Basic Pokemon with a Diancie Prism Star, whereas Buzzwole cannot without some combination of [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card], and Diancie Prism Star. So at first glance, Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX seems like a solid candidate, as far as Fighting archetypes go.

[decklist name=”Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″][pokemon amt=”15″]3x [card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Slugma” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”23″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”148″ 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=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”14″]10x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Card Choices

Professor Kukui versus Bonnie

I prefer [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] over [card name=”Bonnie” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] in my Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX lists. If you think about it, Professor Kukui essentially trades the damage mitigation effect for two cards, and it can function without a Stadium in play or if you have not used your GX attack yet. It provides more consistency than using Bonnie. The card draw may not seem terribly valuable, but it provides an additional trigger for [card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card], which can be just as important, if not more important than an additional Verdict-GX.

Magcargo versus Zoroark-GX versus Oranguru

I tested a few draw engines:

An older list with only [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]
One with Oranguru and Magcargo
One with [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]

Overall, I found the Magcargo engine the most powerful. The straight Oranguru list can fit more draw Supporters, but shuffle-draw feels weak in our current format and I found myself constantly missing cards I needed. The Magcargo version felt like it established powerful checkmate scenarios, where I would guarantee a win so long as I set up quickly. The Zoroark-GX engine felt like it helped me draw out of dead hand scenarios more often than either previous engine, but it would miss critical cards more often than the Magcargo / Oranguru version, and felt significantly weaker overall.

Deck Thoughts

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

Games with Zygarde-GX / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] felt polarizing. If the deck can attack with Cell Connector on its first turn and set up a Magcargo by turn three, it can checkmate Zoroark-GX decks and remain competitive against the likes of Malamar. However, if the deck misses a Cell Connector, it gets locked out of the game because it cannot swing for big damage with a single attachment, with the exception of the [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], Professor Kukui, [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], Cell Connector combo.

Overall, I dislike the deck compared to Malamar or Zoroark-GX. It lacks the consistency compared to thick Zoroark-GX lines and [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]. It deals damage much slower than both decks and it cannot apply hand disruption as effectively. At least Zoroark-GX can trade into [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Cyrus Prism Star” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], or Malamar can search out [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] with Mysterious Treasure; and the deck’s game plan simply fizzles out if it fails to keep Energy on the field.

Despite its weaknesses, it can still cripple unprepared Zoroark-GX decks by taking too many Prizes and Zorua Knock Outs before they set up. Personally, I would not play this deck for its inconsistency alone.

Matchup Considerations

Zoroark-GX versus Malamar

Before rotation, the player base considered [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] unfavored against Zoroark-GX builds. But with [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] leaving with rotation, Zoroark-GX lost many of the tools needed to stop Malamar in its tracks. Is that enough for Malamar to beat Zoroark-GX decks?

Early in testing, Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] felt favored against early versions of my Malamar lists. Without [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], Malamar ran slowly, allowed Zoroark-GX to set up, then simply lost the Prize race to Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX. That changed when I made the Malamar / [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] list. This new list applied significantly more early pressure to Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX, limiting the number of Zoroark-GX on the field disrupting Zoroark-GX players hand with Let Loose Marshadow. In fact, I often found the [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] in my Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX list enabled Malamar to establish checkmate scenarios by providing guaranteed access to replacement attackers. The matchup feels more competitive now, with the favor going to whichever deck techs harder and sets up more consistently.

I suspect it may require a heavily teched Zoroark-GX deck or variant such as Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Weavile” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] or Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] to take a favorable Malamar matchup.

Malamar versus Fighting

Malamar destroys [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] variants due to type advantage. [card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] also takes an unfavorable Malamar matchup despite its Grass-type Weakness. Losing [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] makes Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX susceptible to early Knock Outs. The deck can lose the Prize race to Black Ray GX followed by single Prize attackers. Lastly, Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX can simply fail to set up when it gets hit by an early Let Loose Marshadow. I believe if any Fighting variant sees continued success in the future, it would be the [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / Garbodor variant, as Trashalanche provides an answer to numerous decks in the format, including Malamar.

Zoroark-GX versus Fighting

Zoroark-GX sets up much less consistently than it did before rotation, on the other hand Fighting-type decks become a lot less powerful. Overall, I think Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX takes a favorable matchup against Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX. I often found myself playing games where Buzzwole would frequently limit me to a single Zoroark-GX, but could never develop an answer for a Greninja-GX. That Greninja-GX would effectively Knock Out two GX Pokemon, all while skipping sledgehammer and [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] turns. It felt like Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX needs to use tech cards such as [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Po Town” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] in order to deal with the threat of Greninja-GX. Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX on the other hand, feels much better simply because Cell Connector allows it to ramp into one hit Knock Outs against Zoroark-GX much more quickly than Buzzwole, which tends to lose its ability to apply significant against Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX in the late game.

Conclusions

I think [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] becomes a significant deck to beat in the upcoming format. It combines high damage output with consistent hand disruption in a format with otherwise minimal hand disruption. I expect [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and Zygarde-GX variants to fall to the wayside as they take a bad matchup against Malamar and lack the consistency provided by Mysterious Treasure and Zoroark-GX. Meanwhile, I expect Zoroark-GX decks to continue to succeed, but I expect them to either commit a significant number of deck slots to dealing with Malamar or to run a partner that can counter Malamar, such as Trashalanche or Weavile. I can see early Zoroark-GX variants taking a loss to more refined Malamar lists. Finally, I expect Garbodor / [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] variants, be it with [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] or Buzzwole or even other partners to see some success. Garbodor capitalizes on the heavy Item usage in the new format, while some combination of Hoopa, Buzzwole, and Shrine of Punishment provide a soft answer to Zoroark-GX decks.

Based on early testing, I feel like we transition into a format with Zoroark-GX / Greninja-GX, Malamar / Marshadow-GX, and Shrine of Punishment variants as the top three archetypes of the format. So far, I cannot tell if any of those three archetypes takes a clearly favorable matchups against the other. The matchups seem dictated by how each deck techs for the others.

I hope you everyone has fun building and testing my decks. Please keep in mind that all decks provided here are skeleton decks, I encourage you to tweak and tech them as you continue playtesting. And please feel free to ask me any questions in the forums.

~Rukan

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