Bees and Zebras — Vespiquen / Flareon / Zebstrika in Expanded

[cardimg name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Hello again! Recent League Cups gave us a peek at what to expect in the Expanded Lost Thunder format, and following those, the Anaheim Regional Championships represent our first major tournament with the new expansion. And while Expanded tends to change slowly, I expect players to implement quite a few cards from Lost Thunder. Between new tech cards such as [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”208″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”custom”]Girafarig[/card], and new archetypes such as [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”199″ c=”name”][/card] and Lost March, Lost Thunder should impact the format more than other sets in recent memory.

In this article, I go over how the new set affects my top archetype for Expanded: [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]. That’s right, I’ll be talking about bees once again! In Caleb Gedemer’s recent article, he discussed the impact of [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] in Night March — I believe that it benefits Vespiquen even more. In addition, [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]further improves consistency and offers more tech options to play! Read on, and I offer some new lists for this powerful archetype, as well as tips on gameplay strategy, matchups, and other tech options!

New Stuff — Lost Thunder

First, let’s go over the new options from Lost Thunder. Vespiquen gained plenty from the new set — aside from the new Vespiquen deck! As I mentioned above, Zebstrika and Ditto Prism Star become immediate inclusions. As with Night March, Zebstrika’s Sprint synergizes well with Bee Revenge and Vengeance. It gives a quick and reliable way to discard Pokemon, a better defense against a late [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card], and durability against [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card]. In a deck which already focuses on getting Stage 1 Pokemon into play, Zebstrika feels natural, and not at all clunky, especially with the option of using Ditto Prism Star.

Ditto Prism Star fits in any Stage 1 deck, doubly so in decks with multiple different Stage 1 lines like Vespiquen. It offers incredible flexibility, suiting Vespiquen perfectly. I use it in almost every game I play with the deck. Ditto Prism Star also enables tech Stage 1s such as [card name=”Machoke” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card]. It also gives you an element of surprise, allowing you to hide the Basic your Stage 1 tech evolves from. But even without those techs, Ditto Prism Star is an auto-include just because this wild card Basic reduces missed attacking turns as a result of mismatched Basics.

But with the benefits, Lost Thunder brings some new difficulties. In particular, you need to watch out for Faba, [card name=”Shuckle-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”17″ c=”custom”]Shuckle-GX[/card], and Girafarig. Faba threatens the deck’s reliance on [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card] while nullifying [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]. Girafarig simultaneously threatens Vespiquen’s damage output, Supporter engine, and any Energy in discard! And Shuckle-GX threatens to slow you down, especially if it is used in conjunction with Energy disruption. All in all, I only consider these new tech cards annoyances for Vespiquen, rather than major threats the way I might consider Karen and [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card].

Deck List and Explanations

With that, let’s take a look at a deck list!

[decklist name=”Vespiquen/Flareon/Zebstrika” amt=”60″ caption=”buzz buzz” cname=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”102″][pokemon amt=”28″]4x [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Combee” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”31″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Eevee” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Blitzle” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Unown” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”30″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

This list offers a straightforward take on Vespiquen / [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] / Zebstrika. While plenty of other tech Pokemon exist for Vespiquen, I consider Flareon the go-to, since this effectively lets you run seven of the same Stage 1 attacker, with only a bit of added inconsistency from matching different Basics and Stage 1s; but the deck’s already high consistency and the additions of Zebstrika and Ditto Prism Star marginalize this inconsistency. This pairing offers advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, your success hinges less on drawing into the right Pokemon in the right order and you get some type diversity. On the other hand, the two possess the same strategic weaknesses.

As for the remaining Pokemon in the list, [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] improves [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], Giratina gives the deck a fighting chance against [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], and all other 11 Pokemon improve draw power. All together, not counting the Ditto Prism Star, the deck runs 27 Pokemon to discard, a good number to fuel damage while still letting us conserve enough attackers to get through the game. Even after we account for Zebstrika and a plan to save six 1-1 lines to use as attackers, we can discard 14 Pokemon for added damage — enough to KO a [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM69″ c=”name”][/card] when using [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card]. That damage output increases when your opponent KOs your attackers, so few Pokemon remain out of reach. With 45% of your deck comprising discardable Pokemon, you should achieve that high damage output consistently. The deck occasionally hits for 190 or more on turn two!

After the 28 Pokemon and the four Double Colorless Energy, 28 spots remain for Trainer cards. The deck’s Trainer engine revolves around [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], both by design and by necessity, which does not leave much room for additional Trainers. The two Special Charge improve late game Energy consistency (provided you aren’t under Item lock), which you need once your opponent starts to chain KOs. The [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] serves a similar purpose and gives flexibility with what to discard with Battle Compressor. You can also use it as Pokemon search when used with Battle Compressor. The deck only runs one Stadium: [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], for the sole purpose of removing any [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] you use. You want to maintain a board of non-GXs and thus force your opponent to have to take six Prizes.

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General Strategy

The key to successfully playing Vespiquen is managing your resources. You need to balance both the continuous discarding of your own resources in order to attack and reserving some for the late game, even if that seems contradictory. You also want to play around your opponent’s disruption. You want to thin your deck quickly to protect yourself from [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card], but you also want to conserve resources like attackers and Special Charge so you can replace your attackers and Energy. All in all, the deck’s success hinges on subtle resource management decision making.

Some common issues you can encounter with this deck include:

• Running out of attackers
• Running out of Energy
• Playing into [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card] 
• Playing into [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] 
• Playing into [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] 

Almost all of these issues arise from mistakes you might make in discarding your resources. Some, such as Oricorio or lack of Energy, can be tricky if your opponent pushes them as part of their strategy, but you can avoid those problems if you can react and adjust your strategy in anticipation of theirs.

[cardimg name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]  

Of all the decisions the deck makes, utilizing Battle Compressor demands the most skill.

The first Battle Compressor is typically the easiest. You almost always start by discarding Exeggcute. After that, if you aren’t playing against [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card], discard [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”name”][/card]. For the third card, you want to discard a Supporter, generally either [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card], depending on your hand. If you have a draw Supporter already in hand, you want to discard Teammates; otherwise, you want to discard a draw Supporter even if you don’t already have a VS Seeker in hand, as it increases your odds to access a Supporter as a result of draws from Shaymin-EX, [card name=”Unown” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”30″ c=”name”][/card], or even simply the next card for turn. With a draw Supporter in your discard pile, you may lose one out in your deck, but potentially increase it by four from VS Seeker, depending on prizing, potentially increasing your number of outs to a Supporter by three cards. You would not do this against an Item lock deck such as [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] or if you prized too many VS Seeker.

Later uses of Battle Compressor become more difficult. At this point, you want to discard more Pokemon to start racking up damage with Bee Revenge. I rarely like discarding either Shaymin-EX or Tapu Lele-GX, as you commonly need them in later turns. Likewise, you almost never discard Unown early with Battle Compressor, since it draw you cards. With the easy picks already gone, that leaves the Zebstrika, Vespiquen, and Flareon lines. Here, things get tricky, as you decide which of your attackers make the most sense to discard. If you already have Zebstrika in play, then you can discard your remaining Zebstrika line. As for the Vespiquen and Flareon, you want to count how many of each you have left in the deck, both Basics and Evolutions. You also want to consider which of the Basic Pokemon you have in play. From that info, do a rough calculation of which attacker you are more likely to get into play, and then discard the other one. For example, if you have multiple [card name=”Combee” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] in play, you want to discard your Flareon pieces over your Vespiquen. Similarly, if you know you prized many of one Stage 1 line, you expect to get the other attacker into play and should avoid discarding that one. In matchups where one attacker outperforms the other (like against Grass-weak decks), then you want to save the better attacker. When in doubt, I generally try to keep my lines fairly even; that is, if my remaining pool of Pokemon between deck, hand, and board includes a 2-3 Flareon line and a 3-3 Vespiquen line, I discard the third copy of Flareon to keep things balanced.

Similarly to Battle Compressor, remembering your remaining resources informs whether you use Zebstrika’s Sprint. Cards that you want to conserve include your Energy and Special Charge. You also want to keep note of your remaining Pokemon so that you do not run out of attackers. Do not hesitate to use Sprint if you need to, but understand that you might not want to use Sprint every turn.

From your opponent’s side, beware of Karen and Oricorio. With the new addition of Zebstrika, Vespiquen becomes more resistant than ever to Karen. Between Sprint, Professor Juniper, and Unown, Battle Compressor, and Ultra Ball, you should easily replenish your discard each turn. But remember to conserve Battle Compressors when up against a deck with Karen.

Unfortunately, Oricorio remains a potent threat, as no new cards have come out to help Vespiquen mitigate that threat. If you run into one, try to proceed cautiously and not discard too many Pokemon; at least, until you can set up multiple attackers, as your low HP Basics provide easy targets before they evolve. Without tech cards, you need to adapt with a more conservative playstyle, despite the problems that can arise from doing so.

Matchups

Vs. Zoroark-GX Control

With regards to resource management, no deck puts on more pressure than [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] Control. This deck can beat you in a myriad of ways: by running you out of Energy, by decking you out, by limiting damage with Karen, or by simply taking six Prizes!

Managing your Double Colorless Energy matters the most. Because of [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”208″ c=”custom”]Faba[/card], any attached Energy you have may quickly find its way into the Lost Zone, so you only want to attach Double Colorless Energy when can take two Prizes. Of the various Zoroark-GX decks, ZoroControl in particular runs the most ways to get rid of your resources and disrupt you — [card name=”Team Skull Grunt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card], Team Rocket’s Handiwork, Karen, [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], N, and [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] to name a few. The early pressure you can put on makes it difficult for them to reliably attack with Seismitoad-EX. If you can manage to establish [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”custom”]Zebstrika[/card], you also become resistant to Karen, particularly at the later stages of the game. With that said, an early Karen can cause difficulty if it is used in conjunction with a turn-two Quaking Punch. Vespiquen > Flareon in this matchup, as it gives you the type advantage that you’ll need against Seismitoad-EX. If you can properly control your resources, you can make this a favorable matchup, but you need to remain vigilant of Zoroark-GX Control’s many win conditions.

Vs. Archie’s Blastoise

Against [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], you want to prioritize Vespiquen over Flareon almost every game. The inclusion of [card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] in Blastoise makes the Weakness incredibly relevant. Against Flareon, Articuno needs only one heads versus at least two against Vespiquen. This cuts their odds of getting a two-Prize OHKO from 87.5% to 50%. Overall, I consider this matchup favorable, as the typical Blastoise list plays neither Karen nor Oricorio, and relies on two-Prize Pokemon for consistency. If your opponent gets lucky with Articuno, and can maintain a GX-free board, they can come out ahead; but in most games, Vespiquen should win out.

Vs. Trevenant

[cardimg name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Against Trevenant, Energy disruption becomes the main enemy. Without access to your Items, you cannot use [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card], which effectively limits you to only four Double Colorless Energy if your opponent can maintain Item lock. Save your Special Charge if you can for a turn where you can break Item lock with [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”name”][/card]. If you can’t, you can easily lose.

Silent Fear also presents a significant threat. If you can, stagger your Benched Pokemon and only play another [card name=”Eevee” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] or Combee when you have 60 damage on your attacker. You also want to play around Tree Slam, however, so you generally want two Vespiquen in play. Ideally, you can focus on Flareon as your attacker, but ultimately you have to take what you get. On the plus side, none of the top versions of this deck from Portland played either Oricorio or Karen.

Overall, Trevenant is tricky, but not as unfavorable as you might imagine.

Vs. Lost March, Night March, Vespiquen

I’ve grouped these decks together because your matchups play out similarly. All of these decks utilize quick, low-HP, non-GX attackers, which easily take KOs and easily get KO’d themselves. You want to avoid benching any of your own Pokemon-GX/EX unless absolutely necessary, and if you do, quickly use [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] to get them off of your Bench. Likewise, if your opponent does Bench GXs, prioritize KOing them over your opponent’s attackers before they can use similar tricks to get them off of the field.

It doesn’t take too many discarded Pokemon to get KOs in these matchups, so you won’t want to discard too many unnecessarily lest your opponent play Oricorio. Get ahead in the Prize race and do what you can to stay ahead. You have a slight disadvantage in the early part of the game since you need to evolve to attack, but you should have an advantage in terms of midgame consistency.

Overall, these matchups typically come down to whether or not your opponent benches GXs. Past Night March lists seldom included Oricorio, but if you run into one that does, remember that you don’t need to discard that much to KO their Pokemon.

Vs. Buzzwole

[cardimg name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] hits hard and fast, but thankfully you do as well! Most builds of Buzzwole do not play Karen, heavy Energy removal, or Trainer/Ability disruption, making it an easy matchup to navigate. For once, you’ll actually get to use all of your cards as planned! You need to focus on continually chaining attackers by finding your attackers and Energy. Teammates helps immensely for this purpose, especially when you use it in conjunction with Sprint.

However, some Buzzwole lists do run [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card]. In Portland, two of the four Buzzwole decks in Day Two ran Oricorio. If your opponent doesn’t play Oricorio, Vespiquen should win. If they do play Oricorio, the matchup is much trickier. If you can, wait until you have multiple attackers in play before adding too many Pokemon to the discard pile, otherwise you may quickly find yourself without any attackers at all. In a pinch, Tapu Lele-GX becomes a decent attacker if you run out of other options, though it might need two DCE to deal significant damage.

Without Oricorio, your opponent should avoid using any GXs except to get ahead early or get Bench KOs. Without any GXs, they can force you into a game of trading single-Prize attackers — a game they will likely win if they can get the first KO. If your opponent does go for this strategy, you want to target their [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], as well as anything with [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] attached to make their job more difficult. If you can stop them from adding too many modifiers to their Sledgehammer, you can typically get them to miss a turn of KOs, forcing them to either try and get a double KO with Buzzwole-GX’s Jet Punch or fall behind if they cannot. Luckily, Expanded Buzzwole decks rely more on GXs than their Standard counterparts.

With Oricorio, this match is a tricky one, but without it, the matchup is highly favorable.

Vs. Garbodor

Trashalanche [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] might tempt you to conserve Item usage, but I prefer to ignore Trashalanche and instead focus on early aggression. You do not play [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card], so Garbotoxin [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] shuts down all your extra draw in Sprint and Set Up. This makes you far more susceptible to shuffle effects such as [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card], but you can mitigate that with aggressive use of [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. If I know I have access to [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], I’ll also try to use [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] early to further facilitate that aggressive Item usage, as I cannot play Shaymin-EX when Garbotoxin enters play. You should be able to set up your Vespiquen and Flareon faster than they can set up their Garbodor, especially if you can get an explosive start. However, you don’t have much defense against Oricorio in this matchup since Garbotoxin makes you less consistent and they can beat you with their other attackers fairly easily if you try to play conservatively. This matchup often comes down to a balancing act between discarding enough to easily get OHKOs, and having enough attackers left over to close out the game. If you can manage those resources well, then this matchup becomes slightly favorable for Vespiquen — unless they play Oricorio, in which case it becomes rather unfavorable.

Other Pairings and Tech Options

While Flareon may be the most straightforward partner for Vespiquen, it is certainly not the only one. For the most part, the Flareon line can be replaced by any Basic or Stage 1 Pokemon that can attack for a DCE, though the effectiveness of that replacement varies.

Zoroark

[cardimg name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Zoroark has seen quite a bit of success with Vespiquen, including a Regional Championship win at the hands of Michael Pramawat back in 2017 (though it should be noted that [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] was still legal then), as well as a more recent Top 16 finish in last year’s Roanoke Regional Championship.

[card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]’s Trade synergizes well with Bee Revenge by providing yet another way to discard Pokemon, though I do not believe you need it with the inclusion of Zebstrika. Without [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card], and with the prevalence of opposing [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card], Riotous Beating leaves something to be desired as an attack. Even against the prospect of Karen, Vespiquen’s damage output typically outperforms Zoroark’s with Sprint. The scenarios where Zoroark does have an advantage are against Pokemon that it hits for Weakness (such as Trevenant), and against decks where Oricorio can counter Vespiquen (though Buzzwole with Oricorio still hurts). I found I prefer the non-GX [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] from BREAKthrough and Black & White. The Stand In version helps against Trevenant and the Foul Play version helps against Buzzwole. The ideal split between the two depends on the expected meta, though both are strong. If you want a list that runs non-GX Zoroark, take the above list, remove the 3-3 Flareon line, and add in three [card name=”Zorua” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], two [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”from”][/card], and one [card name=”Zoroark” set=”Black and White” no=”71″ c=”from”][/card].

Tech Options

While Vespiquen might not offer much space for techs, it does offer a wide variety of them. With Ditto Prism Star, you can easily include a copy of any Stage 1 that you might need. I mentioned Zoroark as an attacker you could include, but I would rather use Ditto Prism Star for specific Ability Pokemon than an attacker. Oricorio poses the biggest threat to Vespiquen — but you can shut it down entirely by including a copy of [card name=”Machoke” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card]. Meanwhile, [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] give the deck an easy way around wall Pokemon such as [card name=”Aegislash-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Xurkitree-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Shuckle-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”195″ c=”custom”]Shuckle-GX[/card]. Other possible options include [card name=”Marowak” set=”Fates Collide” no=”37″ c=”name”][/card] for Quaking Punch, [card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] for added consistency, and [card name=”Vaporeon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Jolteon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] for type changing, though I would hesitate to include any of those over Machoke or Alolan Muk.

[card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] offers another option. This gives you both a Basic Pokemon to attack with, as well as a powerful option for dealing with Buzzwole-GX. Of course, Mew-EX gives up two Prizes. Starting it, while unlikely in this deck of 19 Basics, is particularly bad.

One final option I have seen Flareon versions run is [card name=”Blacksmith” set=”Flashfire” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] and three Fire Energy instead of the Special Charge. Doing so gets around threats such as Aegislash-EX and Xurkitree-GX, as well as disruption strategies such as Faba (though not necessarily Girafarig). Blacksmith also gives you a one-turn Energy recovery option against Item lock provided you did not discard it, and as such makes the deck a bit more reliable against Trevenant and various Seismitoad stall decks. With that said, it does not perform as well outside of those matchups as it uses up the Supporter for the turn. Additionally, you can only target Flareon with Blacksmith. For this reason, you may prefer to flip the line of Flareon to a 4-4 and Vespiquen to a 3-3 if using this option. It also makes the space issue in this deck even worse since you need to cut two additional cards on top of the Special Charge to fit the Energy. While you could in theory opt to include only two Fire Energy, Blacksmith would become useless if one was prized.

Wrapping Up

That concludes today’s article. I strongly believe that aggressive, consistent decks such as Vespiquen, Night March, and Lost March are here to stay in Expanded, and I can’t wait to see if they can overcome the control decks in Anaheim. While I won’t attend this Regionals, I have another article coming later this month about Expanded, so look for that! In the meantime, feel free to ask any questions or contact me, either here, through a message, or ask our whole team in the Subscriber’s Hideout! To those playing this weekend, best of luck!

Thanks for reading!

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