The Big Dog is Back — Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX for Memphis

By: Stephane Ivanoff · Posted Posted onOct 4, 2018 at 9:29 PM · 0 Comments

Readers, hello! I’m back from Frankfurt Regionals, and what an event it was! Although [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] comprised a quarter of the field according to the official coverage, Europe’s largest Regional to date ended with longtime player Hampus Eriksson winning with a deck so unlikely that most people were surprised to even see it in day two: [card name=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. The surprises didn’t stop there, though: Sander Wojcik, the mad genius of stall decks, reached Top 8 with another of his unwieldy creations, this time featuring [card name=”Wailord” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Steelix” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card], and even [card name=”Looker” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card].

Stall decks certainly deserve attention as we look to Memphis Regionals this weekend, but I believe a different archetype that saw a resurgence in Frankfurt will be more relevant: [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. One of best players in the game right now, Pedro Eugenio Torres, piloted the deck to a Top 8 finish. I’m familiar with his list, as I almost played it myself. I strongly believe that Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX is going to make a comeback in the Standard format and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it happen very soon. That’s why, in this article, I’ll try to give a thorough explanation of the deck, including card choices and its gameplans against other decks. I’ll also talk a little about my own Frankfurt run with [card name=”Ho-Oh-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Salazzle-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]. Make sure to stick around until the end, where I will give some last-minute predictions for the Memphis Regionals metagame.

Before I go any further, I’d like to announce that I will now be writing articles here on a weekly basis. (Should I say I’m writing a column? It sounds cooler that way.) Thanks to PokeBeach for this opportunity! Hopefully you’re all as excited as I am.

BuzzRoc’s Return

[cardimg name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Great decks never die![/cardimg]

Great decks rarely disappear after a rotation unless all the core cards of the deck are completely gone. That’s something I’ve observed during my eight years of playing this game. I became particularly aware of it in 2015 when the rotation of [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] didn’t stop [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] from dominating Standard, contrary to many players’ expectations. Sure, some decks will die because their most fundamental cards rotate: think [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] this past season. Let’s consider a little more, though. Outside of a small resurgence in day two of the 2018 World Championships, Greninja was no longer a meta deck at the end of the format. Its hour of glory was in 2016, when it made the finals at Worlds. After that season’s rotation, with the loss of [card name=”Dive Ball” set=”Primal Clash” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] and any good counters to [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”name”][/card], the deck was declared dead. And yet, because its core concept was so strong, Greninja remained a threat during the early 2017-2018 season. What stopped it wasn’t rotation — it was other decks getting progressively better. That’s what happens to great decks: they disappear slowly, eroded but not broken by rotation, instead getting power-creeped or countered out of the meta. But still, as much as they can, they adapt.

As it was for Greninja, so it is for the great decks of last season. Zoroark-GX variants suffer from the loss of [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card], but they have adapted, now playing higher counts of [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] as well as four [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] in order to set up consistently. [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] lost [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], but a new variant with [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] has emerged. [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] can no longer play [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] to set up at lightning speed, but it adapted to the new format by partnering with [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card].

There’s no doubt that Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX was another of the great decks of 2017-2018. It won an International Championship and multiple Regionals; and Jimmy Pendarvis even called it the best deck of all time. It’s only logical, then, that it would retain a spot in the metagame this season. With that in mind, here’s a newly-designed list:

The List

[decklist name=”Buzzwole / Lycanroc (Pedro Torres, top 8 Frankfurt)” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″][pokemon amt=”15″]4x [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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=”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][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]4x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Evolutions” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Multi Switch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]10x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]1x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

This is the list Pedro Eugenio Torres used to Top 8 Frankfurt. Pedro actually played one [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”73″ c=”from”][/card], but he stated afterward that it’s probably better just to run two of the Forbidden Light print.

This list was created by Heddi Brahmi. If you’re not familiar with Heddi, he’s probably the best player to have never made Top 8 at a modern-era Regional or International Championship, although he came very close when he got 9th at Latin America Internationals this past April. He tests with many of the top minds of the game. To give only one example, he was one of the strongest advocates for the Schulz brothers and their team to play Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] last season. Although Heddi is semi-retired this season, he continues to influence top players and works particularly closely with Pedro.

A few weeks ago, Heddi sent me a draft of Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX that differed from the list above by only four cards. After some testing, including at a League Challenge where I lost in the finals to Sylveon-GX (how’s that for foreshadowing!), I believed the deck was worthy of Heddi’s hype. As I mentioned, I considered playing it in Frankfurt — and perhaps I should have — but I didn’t have time to prepare for the Buzzwole / [card name=”Shrine of Punishments” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] matchup and didn’t want to play sub-optimally against one of the most popular decks in the room.

[premium]

The Gameplan

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

This new take on Buzzwole changes the way the deck operates. In the early game, it acts almost like a Shrine of Punishment deck. You set up [card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] and attack for small amounts of damage with [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], boosted by [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] helps you find Diancie, Buzzwole, and Rockruff. As with a Shrine deck, you force your opponent to take Prizes one by one so they inevitably run into a turn where your Sledgehammer attack deals additional damage. That’s when Buzzwole / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] hits its power surge. You can use Sledgehammer to take a KO on a two-prize Pokemon such as Zoroark-GX or perhaps a [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] + Diancie Prism Star. On that turn, or on the next one, you can also play [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] to set up [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. By this point, the deck feels more like the Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX of old: you have multiple big threats on your board and the opponent simply can’t deal with all of them.

This is what differentiates Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX from Buzzwole / Shrine of Punishment. The Shrine deck’s damage output can certainly reach high numbers, but it depends on the opponent: if they manage to limit the number of Items they play, Trashalanche will not be as effective. In Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX, you have access to higher-damage attacks in the form of Knuckle Impact, Absorption GX, and Dangerous Rogue GX. With the right modifiers, each of those attacks can even OHKO a [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card]. This means that decks that rely on healing to beat Shrine of Punishment decks cannot rely on that strategy when facing Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX.

Here’s how a typical game with Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX might unfold:

  • You take one Prize in the early game with Buzzwole, while your opponent KOs two of your non-GX Pokemon.
  • On your Sledgehammer turn, you take one or two Prizes. Your opponent retaliates by Knocking Out either Buzzwole or a Pokemon on your Bench, maybe [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] or Magcargo.
  • You then use Beast Ring on Buzzwole-GX, possibly also evolving into Lycanroc-GX to use Bloodthirsty Eyes, and KO a Pokemon-GX with one of your GX attackers.
  • Your opponent Knocks Out one of your Pokemon-GX attackers.
  • Your other Pokemon-GX attacker takes the final KO.

This is a blueprint, but you will often deviate from it. Games can go down very differently from this template, and the ability to adapt is necessary to doing well with the deck. For example, in some situations, it can be effective to go for the turn-two Claw Slash with Lycanroc-GX.

I hope this short explanation gives you an idea of how the deck works. I feel that, in a format with limited disruption, it is useful to map out your Prize-taking strategy in advance.

Card by Card

Now that we’ve seen the gameplan this deck seeks to put into action, let’s see how the deck list is built to work toward that goal.

  • Four Buzzwole: This is the deck’s main attacker in the early game. You want to start with one so you can attack with it as early as possible. You may use three Buzzwole in a game: when the first two get Knocked Out, the third will be the one using the boosted Sledgehammer. You will rarely need the fourth copy, as you have better attackers in the late game. For this reason, it is possible to only play three Buzzwole, but four is optimal so you have a greater chance of starting one and a lower chance of having fewer than three available due to Prizes.
  • [cardimg name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]One Buzzwole-GX: This is your chief heavy-hitter in the late game. The question is: why only play one? As a two-Prize Pokemon, Buzzwole-GX is not a good starter. If you’re forced to play one down early, your opponent has a way to skip the Sledgehammer damage boost: they can KO a one-Prize Pokemon and then KO the Buzzwole-GX, going directly from five Prizes to three.
  • 2-2 Magcargo: As in Buzzwole / Shrine of Punishment decks, a heavy Magcargo line is used to ensure the deck’s consistency throughout the game. Since you rely on single-Prize Pokemon for much of the game, games with this deck can last awhile, which means that Magcargo will provide a lot of value. As with Shrine decks, you should prioritize setting it up, and remember that it will usually be the priority target for your opponent if they want to gust up something on your Bench for a KO.
  • Four Lillie, Three Cynthia: We often see these counts switched, but four [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] makes a lot of sense in this deck. It’s by far the best Supporter to play on turn one. Also, unlike [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], it can be used after Smooth Over to draw the exact card you want.
  • Two Beast Ring: It may seem strange to play only two copies of such an important card, and, indeed, most Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX lists post-Forbidden Light have played three. But there are two reasons why you can be content with just two copies. First, this is a format with few disruption cards, which means that if you draw a Beast Ring in the early game, you can often just hold onto it until you want to play it. Second, you can use Smooth Over to find it when you need it. If you manage your Energy smartly, using just one Beast Ring is often enough.
  • One Multi Switch: Being able to move Energy around allows for some surprising plays. You can accelerate Energy onto the field with Beast Ring and then move one to Lycanroc-GX to use Dangerous Rogue GX out of nowhere. I should mention that I prefer [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck, but Pedro swears by the [card name=”Multi Switch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card]. Both are equally good and it’s a matter of personal preference.
  • One Field Blower: [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is still a great card in any deck that can find a slot for it. You can use Magcargo to grab it when you need it. Field Blower can be used to to punish reactive Tools like [card name=”Wishful Baton” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Bodybuilding Dumbbells” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], but it’s particularly useful in this deck to counter [card name=”Weakness Policy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card], a card that is finding its way into more and more Zoroark-GX lists. A Field Blower on Weakness Policy at the right moment will allow for a big, potentially game-winning KO.
  • One Double Colorless Energy: There’s little reason not to include one copy of this card. Lycanroc-GX’s Claw Slash is effective against Fighting-weak opponents (did someone say [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]?), and will also OHKO every Pokemon in a Shrine of Punishment deck with the additional 20 damage from Diancie Prism Star. [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] allows Lycanroc-GX to use Claw Slash as early as turn two.

There’s also a card not in this list whose absence you may find remarkable: indeed, Pedro played no Tapu Lele-GX. The reason for this omission is the same as in Buzzwole / Shrine of Punishment: Tapu Lele-GX is a poor starter, and if you Bench it early, you give the opponent an opportunity to avoid your big Sledgehammer turn, just like with Buzzwole-GX. While it may seem dangerous to remove Tapu Lele-GX entirely, it works out in the end. The deck is still consistent enough with Magcargo and [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], and what you give up in draw control, you gain in game flow control: you can be assured that, unless your opponent is playing some kind of spread deck, they’ll have to give you a Sledgehammer turn. This is far from trivial: it means that you can decide in advance what you want to KO with your boosted Sledgehammer. Thus, removing Tapu Lele-GX actually gives you another, less obvious form of consistency.

GX-heavy Variant

My above description of the deck may have given the impression that Pedro and Heddi had a revolutionary idea when they decided to play [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] in the new Standard format. This is not the case. The deck was winning League Cups as early as September 8th, and my teammate Bert Wolters pitched me a list even before that. Even this past weekend, Pedro was not the only successful BuzzRoc player: several UK players brought the archetype as well. Alex Dao and Luke Kirkham played a list that was one card was different and reached 13th and 18th place, while Gavin Irving took 11th with a more unusual list that included [card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] and four Double Colorless Energy but no Magcargo. All of the UK players and lists had one thing in common: they included a heavier count of [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], typically three, and also played Tapu Lele-GX.

In my testing, this approach to the Buzzwole archetype is not as good; it’s too easy for opponents to [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] around a Pokemon-GX in the early game to skip the Sledgehammer boost. Even if your opponent starts out by KOing a Pokemon-GX and going down to four Prizes, you may not have set up Magcargo yet and can’t find Beast Ring to respond. I’m not saying that the heavy-Buzzwole-GX version is bad; clearly, it has the ability to do well. It is weaker to Shrine of Punishment, though, and much worse against Psychic-type attackers.

Matchup-specific Advice

I don’t want to write too much about the deck’s matchups because I would end up repeating myself. I already explained the general game plan, and in most matchups you just want to follow that. However, the following notes may help you understand some nuances in some of the most popular matchups. The important thing to note is that Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX can beat basically everything. It doesn’t have a truly bad matchup, outside of fringe decks. [card name=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] might be its worst matchup, which could become a problem now that Sylveon-GX won the biggest European Regional.

[cardimg name=”Banette-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”66″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

  • Zoroark-GX variants: This is what BuzzRoc is made to beat. The deck has an especially good [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / Lycanroc-GX matchup, which can explain its success in Frankfurt, where Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX was one of the most-played decks. Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Banette-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] should be the hardest Zoroark-GX variant to beat because of Banette-GX’s Fighting Resistance, Psychic typing, and ability to dodge the Sledgehammer turn with Shady Move. That said, you can still win by focusing on Knocking Out Zoroark-GX, which are necessary for the opponent’s deck to run smoothly. Zoroark-GX / Banette-GX pretty much always plays Weakness Policy, so keep [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] available to deal with that. Generally speaking, you should be happy to see your opponent flip over a [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] at the beginning of a round.
  • Buzzwole / Shrine of Punishment: This can be a close matchup. You want to avoid playing Items in the early game; as long as you have three Items in your discard pile, [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] can’t OHKO your Buzzwole without playing a [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. Lycanroc-GX can be an excellent attacker in this matchup. Bloodthirsty Eyes lets you pull up an important opposing Pokemon such as Magcargo to KO it.
  • Malamar: It may seem like Psychic decks would be a disaster for Buzzwole, but you can KO an [card name=”Inkay” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] early and then try to follow the gameplan I outlined earlier. If your opponent doesn’t bench any Pokemon-GX, they won’t have an answer to Lycanroc-GX. If they do, you can trade with them thanks to Dangerous Rogue GX and Knuckle Impact. It’s not an easy matchup, but it’s a winnable one.
  • Vikavolt / Rayquaza-GX: This matchup has been slightly favorable in my admittedly limited testing. [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] has a Fighting Weakness, which means that you can KO it with Sledgehammer if you have [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. Often, you can simply try to trade with [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. A good opponent will try to use [card name=”Dhelmise” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] as much as possible, but they’ll still need to build up a Rayquaza-GX to deal with your Buzzwole-GX.

I mentioned earlier that, in some situations, you may want to use Claw Slash in the early game. I’ve seen this work effectively against Shrine decks and in the mirror match. An early Lycanroc-GX is hard for a Shrine-playing opponent to deal with since Trashalanche can’t hit for big numbers yet. If they don’t take care of it, Lycanroc-GX will simply win the game for you on its own. This means that they’ll have to 2HKO it, basically trading two of their Pokemon for it; you can then keep the Prize exchange in your favor by taking a third Prize with a boosted Sledgehammer. Also remember that Buzzwole-GX’s Jet Punch can be used to take two Prizes in one turn, potentially skipping an opponent’s Sledgehammer turn.

Ho-Oh-GX in Frankfurt

[cardimg name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Rather than pulling the trigger on Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX in Frankfurt, I chose to play a deck I was more familiar with: [card name=”Ho-Oh-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Salazzle-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]. The list I played was almost identical to the one in this article: I cut the two [card name=”Switch” set=”Shining Legends” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] for a fourth [card name=”Po Town” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and a Professor Kukui. I think Professor Kukui was an amazing addition; it’s one more way for the deck to change an almost-OHKO into an OHKO. It allows [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] to reach 210 damage with [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], Ho-Oh-GX to OHKO Lycanroc-GX without Choice Band, and more. Since the list plays four [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], it’s easy to find the Kukui when you need it. I was happy with this inclusion and would keep it going forward.

There are several reasons why I played Ho-Oh-GX / Salazzle-GX. First, it was the deck I was the most confident with. I knew that the archetype was underrated and that my list was well constructed, so I would have the advantages of surprise and consistency throughout the tournament. I also admit that there was an element of pride; I wanted to prove that my pet deck was viable. Moreover, since the deck’s Zoroark-GX matchups are good, and I expected a lot of Zoroark-GX, it seemed like a good meta call. It also beat some other decks that were being hyped as counters to Shrine of Punishment decks like [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Magnezone” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], and even [card name=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. Finally, I had a busy week leading up to the tournament and I didn’t get as much sleep as I should have. I knew I would be prone to misplays if I played a deck I didn’t have a lot of experience with.

Some readers may think that it’s impossible to misplay with Ho-Oh-GX / Salazzle-GX since it’s an “autopilot” deck, but I disagree. I won a game last weekend because I used [card name=”Kiawe” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] on a [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], allowing me to OHKO my opponent’s [card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] with Energy Drive on turn two. In another game, my opponent who was playing Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX had attached a Fighting Energy to his Benched Tapu Lele-GX. I won because I only attached three Energy to my Active Ho-Oh-GX with Kiawe to prevent my opponent from OHKOing my Ho-Oh-GX with Energy Drive if he found [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] + Choice Band + Professor Kukui. As with any deck, skill matters when playing Ho-Oh-GX / Salazzle-GX.

I started the tournament 6-0-0, beating a Buzzwole / Shrine of Punishment and a bunch of Zoroark-GX decks, then ID’d round seven, beat [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] in round eight, and lost to Buzzwole / Shrine of Punishment in round nine. I entered day two as the fourth seed and was feeling pretty confident. However, day two didn’t go well at all. I lost a close series against Buzzwole / Lycanroc-GX in round ten, and then proceeded to lose the next three rounds due to a combination of misplays and bad opening hands. Against my teammate Fabien Pujol and his Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Banette-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] / Lycanroc-GX, I needed an Energy and a Guzma to win the game and only had the Guzma in hand. I played a [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], expecting to draw into both for the next turn, instead of using a Kiawe in my hand to attach the needed Energy and win on the next turn with Guzma. I whiffed the combo off of Cynthia and lost the match due to this misplay, which left me pretty tilted for the rest of the tournament.

Next Stop: Memphis

The first European Regional of the season is over and, contrary to what many players expected, Zoroark-GX didn’t win. Actually, Zoroark-GX didn’t even put up convincing results. Several of the game’s top players, such as Tord Reklev and the Schulz brothers, played Zoroark-GX decks and didn’t make day two. This solidifies my opinion that Zoroark-GX is not great right now. Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX is still powerful enough to compete, and Zoroark-GX / Banette-GX has some good matchups, but, in general, I wouldn’t choose to play any Zoroark-GX variant right now. I should, however, mention Ilya Kornilov’s Top 8 Zoroark-GX / Buzzwole-GX deck. It’s certainly interesting, but similar ideas had already existed. I think Ilya’s deck was mostly designed to beat other Zoroark-GX decks.

[cardimg name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Now what? For the time being, I expect Zoroark-GX to dip down in popularity. It won’t disappear completely, of course, and I still expect Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX to find day two placements and probably even a spot in Top 8 in Memphis, but I think the deck will see less play this coming weekend. Instead, I assume many players will gravitate towards the other decks that keep doing well: Buzzwole / Shrine of Punishment and Vikavolt / Rayquaza-GX. Buzzwole / Shrine of Punishment won the previous American Regional, while Vikavolt / Rayquaza-GX got as far as the finals in Frankfurt. Both those decks also boast good League Cup results. Sylveon-GX’s Frankfurt victory is not irrelevant, but I don’t think it will cause dramatic change. Sylveon-GX is not a deck that anybody can pick up overnight. I’m sure some fans of the deck will feel emboldened and find the courage to play it in Memphis, but in addition to being a hard deck to master, Sylveon-GX also has a high tie rate, especially with an unskilled pilot. What’s more, the right time to play the deck is not when it just won a major event, but when it’s unexpected and people are cutting — not adding — tech cards such as [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]. For that reason, I don’t think you need to be scared of Sylveon-GX if you’re playing in Memphis Regionals. Metagross-GX and Magnezone might see some more play, and I think both decks are decent. Metagross-GX, especially, is consistent and would benefit from Zoroark-GX’s anticipated drop in popularity. Another deck that would benefit from a decrease in Zoroark-GX decks is [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Shrine of Punishments” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card]. Patrik Holler took third place in Frankfurt with the deck and I would definitely keep an eye on it going forward.

That’s all from me this week! Hopefully, this information helped you for Memphis or whatever your next Standard tournament is. I can’t wait to see what new decks may appear in this weekend. So far, Dragon Majesty has had basically no impact on the meta — could that change in Memphis? If you have any feedback on this article, don’t hesitate to comment! You can also find me on Twitter and on Twitch.

Until next time,

Stéphane

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