Parallel Evolution — A Different Look at Expanded Rayquaza

By: Stephane Ivanoff · Posted Posted onJan 16, 2019 at 12:18 PM · 0 Comments

Hello, PokeBeach readers. I’ve composed several rants on social media about my belief that a big problem with the Expanded format was that there were too few events, making it impossible to metagame. The format is almost nonexistent outside of North America, and even in some parts of the U.S., from my understanding. With few League Cups played in this format, there was very little data to use to establish the metagame. This means that every Expanded Regional would feature a clash of old and new ideas. Some people would play tried-and-true decks, some would play archetypes introduced in the newest set, some would bring back an old concept, some would adapt a Standard deck to Expanded, and most of the matchups between these various decks would not have been tested. As a spectator, as entertaining as I found it to see so many different decks, I always got the feeling that it was a bit random which decks would do well at any event.

[card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] put an end to that. Decks based around it became so dominant in the 2017 – 2018 season that it defined the metagame by itself. At this point, we knew which decks would be played — decks based on Zoroark-GX — but the issue was figuring out how to counter them. Even decks specifically made to counter Zoroark-GX, such as [card name=”Glaceon-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card], could not do so reliably enough, and had issues against other powerful decks. In the end, [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Ghetsis” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] had to be banned to curb Zoroark-GX’s power.

In my opinion, Expanded is in a much better state right now than it was last season. Sure, Zoroark-GX still does well, but I don’t think it is as oppressive as it used to be. Time will tell whether more bans are necessary (possibly Zoroark-GX itself) or if other decks will prove strong enough to deal with it, but it feels much more fair.

More to the point, I believe that the Expanded metagame is much more clearly established than it was two years ago. I think the fact that the U.S. gets two consecutive Expanded Regionals helps people focus more on the format. Players at Expanded League Cups testing for next weekend’s Dallas Regionals can get inspiration from, or just copy, decks that did well at last month’s Anaheim Regionals, and the results from these League Cups shape our understanding of the metagame for Dallas. The people who post the results from League Cups on social media, week after week, have done a lot to help the format, in that regard.

In this article, I’m going to talk about the state of Expanded now that the metagame has settled somewhat. In particular, I believe that [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t being played to the best of its potential, so I’ll present a different version of the deck and explain its advantages over the one that has gained popularity recently.

The State of Expanded

Expanded has finally arrived at a point where there is a variety of playable decks, but the metagame is still reasonably predictable. This is what I expect to face at Dallas Regionals:

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[cardimg name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

  • [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]  / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] will probably be the most popular deck. I think that most people have switched to a version that includes one [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] GRI and one or two Psychic Energy — and if they haven’t, they should! Trashalanche is an excellent attack in the Item-heavy Expanded format. The Basic Energy are also useful to retreat one-Retreat Cost Pokemon and to use [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card]’s Garbage Collection attack.
    • My current list for the deck includes one copy of Trubbish NVI, [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Red Card” set=”XY” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card]. I also favor [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] over [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]. I explained the first two choices in my previous article on Zoroark-GX / Garbodor. Red Card is a powerful disruption card when you play it on the turn you activate Garbotoxin, and you can use it on the same turn as [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]. Delinquent is an additional way to get rid of an opposing stadium like [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], and it forces the opponent to play around it if they know you run it. As long as it is in your discard, you can grab it with [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] whenever your opponent goes down to three cards in hand. This can force them to make sub-optimal plays to retain a hand size above three.
    • Obviously, Red Card and Delinquent can work together to put the opponent down to one card and possibly discard some key pieces in the process. This combination isn’t the goal of the deck, it’s just an option. I’ve found that it works well against stall decks. You can use Red Card and Delinquent to make them discard key cards, and then put [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] on top of your deck with Garbage Collection, allowing you to reuse Red Card on the next turn if necessary. If your opponent still has nothing, you can keep putting resources back in your deck, and repeat the Red Card plus Delinquent combo (or just the Delinquent) a few turns later. This strategy makes Oranguru unnecessary, which is why I think Special Charge is better as a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] recovery card, since it does not use up an attack.
  • Other Zoroark-GX variants have been popular as well. The “Exodia” variant that uses a combination of Red Card, Delinquent and [card name=”Peeking Red Card” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] to completely dismantle the opponent’s hand on turn one is certainly strong, but not as consistent as I expected. I think this version will see a fair amount of play, but several decks, such as [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], can build a solid board on turn one if they go first and will not be bothered by the disruption.
    • Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] has seen a little hype recently, because Golisopod-GX’s Grass typing is very useful in the Expanded format due to the presence of [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], and others. I wouldn’t expect to face this deck more than once during the tournament, though.
  • Among the non-Zoroark-GX decks, [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the stronger options. I will go into more detail below, since it’s the focus of this article, but basically, this is a very strong deck that relies entirely on Basic Pokemon and Basic Energy. It can reasonably expect to finish turn one with three or four Energy in play, sometimes more. This allows it to take a quick lead against Zoroark-GX decks by knocking out a [card name=”Zorua” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] or some other Basic Pokemon, and then proceeding to KO Zoroark-GX on the following turn.
  • At the start of the season, [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]  had much of the same strengths as Rayquaza-GX. After its success at the earlier tournaments, it was expected to have another good showing in Anaheim, but it was heavily countered by Zoroark-GX / Garbodor and didn’t even make Top 32. Despite that, Blastoise remains a popular deck and I expect to see some in Dallas.
  • Following its second-place finish in Anaheim, [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]  / [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] has come back to the forefront of the competitive scene. It’s one of those decks that many people find particularly enjoyable to play (it was my own favorite deck in the format for a long time), so I wouldn’t be surprised to see some top players sticking with the deck. [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card], the Night March counters that also buried Vespiquen, are not very popular anymore, and Vespiquen can now beat them anyway thanks to some new additions from Lost Thunder. [card name=”Machoke” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] is easily teched into the deck (via [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]) to remove the threat of Oricorio, while [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] allows the deck to discard Pokemon after they’ve been shuffled back into the deck by Karen.

On top of these, of course, the massive card pool of the Expanded format allows for a huge variety of other decks. These include [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]  / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], Night March, Lost March, Shock Lock, Primal Groudon-EX, and more. It’s impossible to prepare in depth for all of these matchups, but having some concept of the metagame can help you choose what techs to run.

There is one card that will be legal in Dallas that wasn’t in Anaheim, and that is Magikarp & Wailord-GX. Last week, I explained how this card could be used in a combo deck based on [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] DAMAGE. I don’t expect this deck to see much play in Dallas, but Magikarp & Wailord-GX could still make an appearance. There are two ways I think it could be played.

The first is as a huge wall in stall decks, replacing [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card]. The additional 50 HP can be decisive against decks with high damage output, such as Rayquaza-GX. Although Magikarp & Wailord-GX gives up an additional prize when KO’d, the whole idea of the deck is to not let it be KO’d, so this shouldn’t matter too much.

These Expanded stall decks generally require [card name=”Tropical Beach” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW28″ c=”name”][/card] , a card with very limited availability, so I don’t think we’ll see too many of them. However, I think among the players who do have access to Tropical Beach, there are good reasons, beyond the new 300 HP wall, to run such a deck. While testing several of the format’s popular decks, I’ve noticed that they often have one glaring weakness. Rayquaza-GX, for example, only uses EX or GX attackers. It occasionally runs a non-EX/GX Pokemon such as [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card], but many new lists have cut that. This makes Rayquaza-GX very weak against [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]. Similarly, Vespiquen exclusively runs Double Colorless Energy and is therefore powerless against [card name=”Xurkitree-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM68″ c=”name”][/card]. Both Hoopa and Xurkitree-GX are rarely played, so Rayquaza and Vespiquen don’t typically bother teching against them. This means that they are perfect to run in a stall deck, since they can win certain matchups singlehandedly.

The other deck that can run Magikarp & Wailord-GX is Archie’s Blastoise. Using Towering Splash GX for its full effect is pretty hard even with Blastoise as an Energy accelerator, since it requires eight of the deck’s 10 Energy. However, Super Splash is a perfectly serviceable attack in this deck. [card name=”Wishiwashi-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] sees play as a 210 HP attacker that can deal 220 damage, and Magikarp & Wailord-GX does slightly less damage but is much more bulky, even being able to withstand Trashalanche for some time. More importantly, Super Splash isn’t a GX attack, so it can be repeated! It’s not unreasonable to expect Magikarp & Wailord-GX to KO two Rayquaza-GX, two Keldeo-EX, or even two Zoroark-GX in a row. From there you’ll only need to take two more Prizes to close out the game. Of course, Super Splash is less coss-effective against one-prize attackers, but you can still use [card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] against those, unless you find an opportunity to use Towering Splash GX to take multiple KOs in one turn.

The biggest flaw with Magikarp & Wailord-GX is, of course, its Grass weakness. Golisopod-GX and Vespiquen are powerful attackers that can easily OHKO it.

A Slower Rayquaza-GX

Rayquaza-GX has been, as I stated above, one of the rising stars of the Expanded format. Unlike in Standard where it needs the help of a Stage 2 Pokemon ([card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]), in Expanded it is a true “turbo” deck, using [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] to accelerate Energy to use quick and powerful attacks.

[cardimg name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The list that made Top 4 at last month’s Anaheim Regionals runs [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] and tries to fill its Bench with support Pokemon like [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card]. My issue with this approach to the deck is that [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] is popular in Expanded because of Zoroark-GX, and unlike Zoroark-GX, which can partner with [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] or Garbodor, Rayquaza-GX has no way to counter it. If the opponent runs Sudowoodo, then Sky Field becomes useless, or even detrimental to the Rayquaza deck. Suddenly, many cards become unplayable: if you play [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card], sure, you disrupt the opponent, but you also take a spot on your own Bench, a spot that won’t be used for Ho-Oh-EX or another Rayquaza-GX later. (I should mention that of course, if Rayquaza-GX goes first, it can fill its Bench as much as it likes, and then discard useless Pokemon like Shaymin-EX and Marshadow when Sudowoodo comes into play. Even considering that, though, Bench management becomes awkward later in the game.)

During the latest Champions League in Niigata, Japan, on the first weekend of December, there was a bonus Expanded event, with 153 players. The results were striking: Rayquaza-GX dominated, taking first place and comprising more than half of the Top 16. Sure, there are differences between our Expanded format and Japan’s, since they had access to two important cards that the rest of the world won’t get until our Team Up set in February: Tapu Koko Prism Star and Shaymin Prism Star. Hex Maniac also isn’t banned in Japan.

Even accounting for those differences, though, the Japanese builds of Rayquaza-GX are still quite different from ours. They take a much more defensive approach, with Parallel City instead of Sky Field, and [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] instead of Items like [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] that dig further into the deck. I think the Japanese version of the deck has a lot of merit, and after some testing, I believe it is better than the Sky Field approach. Here is my current list:

[decklist name=”Rayquaza-GX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″][pokemon amt=”11″]4x [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”35″]4x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”14″]7x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]7x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

I have kept the multiple copies of Ho-Oh-EX, because they provide an additional way to get Energy back from the board in the late game (this helps with the lack of Tapu Koko Prism Star). Otherwise, most of the deck is closer to the Japanese lists. Here are the important differences compared to the Western version (see Caleb’s article for an overview), and why they matter.

  • Parallel City over Sky Field: This is the most important difference, in my opinion. I’ve explained that whenever the deck faces Sudowoodo, Sky Field becomes a liability. However, I haven’t gone over the multiple benefits of Parallel City.
    • The first, obviously, is the ability to limit your opponent’s Bench. A turn one Parallel City, if the opponent doesn’t have an answer, can completely disrupt their setup and basically win you the game, especially in the mirror match and against Zoroark-GX. Slower setup decks, should they be seen, can have similar issues. [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] or Shock Lock, for example, need space on their Bench. Remember that Parallel City was one of the most oppressive cards in last year’s Standard format!
    • Note that even with Parallel City in the deck, you still want to play a Sudowoodo of your own, like some [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]  / Garbodor lists did last season. Having not one but two Bench-reducing effects makes it that much harder for the opponent to achieve their game plan.
    • You can also use Parallel City to limit your own Bench. This can remove unwanted Pokemon such as a Ho-Oh-EX you started the game with or a Shaymin-EX. When the Parallel City is removed, you get more space to Bench Rayquaza-GX or Ho-Oh again.
    • Finally, playing Parallel City to limit your Bench also reduces damage from Grass, Water and Fire Pokemon. Against Vespiquen, this can make it harder for them to take an early KO, and it also prevents them from playing their own Parallel City to discard their Benched setup Pokemon. If they can’t discard a Shaymin-EX they used to set up, you can target it for an easy two Prizes. Against Archie’s Blastoise, Parallel City can limit the damage of all of their attackers: for example, Magikarp & Wailord-GX, should it be played, would only deal 160 damage with Super Splash and fail to OHKO a Rayquaza-GX. If Rayquaza-GX has a Fighting Fury Belt attached, Parallel City can let it withstand Wishiwashi-GX’s Blue Surge GX.
  • Fighting Fury Belt: This card is underrated. It’s true that defensive Tools are risky when the opponent can just play [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] to remove them; at first sight, [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] would seem to be a better option. However, since Rayquaza-GX forces fast gameplay, forcing the opponent to dig for their Field Blower or use Faba as their Supporter for the turn to remove the Fighting Fury Belt is, in itself, a powerful effect. The additional 10 damage that Fighting Fury Belt provides can prove very helpful against Pokemon with 130 HP such as [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], or ones with 190 HP such as [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card].
  • Float Stone over Zeraora-GX: This is a logical change to make since we have less space to work with on the Bench. If you expect to face Sudowoodo, you only have four spots on the Bench, and you can’t afford to dedicate one of them to Zeraora-GX. Float Stone also makes it easier to Dragon Break on the first turn: you don’t have to search for Zeraora-GX and attach a Lightning Energy to your Active Pokemon. As a bonus, unlike Zeraora, Float Stone is unaffected by Alolan Muk or [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card].
  • No Battle Compressor, no Marshadow, no Trainers’ Mail, more Supporters: The lack of Sky Field forces Rayquaza into a slower playstyle. You can’t draw through your whole deck in one turn with this build.
    • Just like Zeraora-GX, Marshadow is a waste of a Bench spot.
    • Battle Compressor is also unneeded in the deck. Discarding Ho-Oh-EX early is good, but it’s in the mid to late game that Ho-Oh is most wanted, and you can generally discard it naturally before then, via [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card]. You generally discard Energy fast enough that you don’t need to run an item to do so. Trainers’ Mail is decent to find Max Elixir, but it’s not that important to the deck, and there are better cards to run instead. Note that playing fewer Items also makes the deck better against Trashalanche. This gives Rayquza-GX an advantage compared to Archie’s Blastoise, a deck that otherwise has similar strengths and weaknesses (reliance on Basic Energy and Basic Pokemon, ability to build a powerful board in one single turn) but requires a large number of Items to function.
    • Instead of those Items, we run more Supporters. Without Battle Compressor, we need these to have a greater chance of finding an out to draw on turn 1. Colress isn’t very good in a deck that doesn’t run Sky Field and often limits its opponent’s Bench size, whereas Professor Juniper is ideal to discard Energy and Ho-Oh-EX, especially on turn one. The second copy of Guzma makes it easier to target Pokemon on the opposing Bench. It also means that even if one gets Lost Zoned by [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], you still have access to a Catcher effect.

I’m considering playing a non-GX attacker in the deck in order to not lose to Hoopa, since stall decks should be good matchups apart from that. Shaymin Prism Star would be absolutely fantastic in this deck, but since it has not yet been released, [card name=”Dhelmise” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] is probably the best option. Its Grass typing makes it good against Primal Groudon-EX, Seismitoad-EX, and Lycanroc-GX, although it unfortunately won’t KO a Magikarp & Wailord-GX, even with a Fighting Fury Belt on it. Oricorio is also an option, giving Rayquaza-GX a better chance against Vespiquen and Night March.

That’s all from me this week. I encourage you to try Rayquaza-GX if you haven’t already, as it’s very powerful and easy to play. Its main issue is that you don’t have many options to outplay your opponent, since your game plan is extremely linear. Despite that, it’s a deck I’m considering for Dallas, because of its sheer power.

See you next week!

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