Tricks of the Trade — Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX / Lucario-GX After OCIC
[cardimg name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”122″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The Oceania International Championship came to a close last weekend. It was an amazing event for me: I came close to a second International Champion title, losing in the finals to fellow writer Isaiah Williams. Beyond that, I enjoyed visiting Melbourne for my first time travelling to Oceania.
As you may have seen, heard or read by now, I played [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card], a unique take on the deck that Benjamin Phan suggested to me few days before the event. Oceania Internationals was not the first time that this combination of Pokemon was played; it had some success at League Cups last season when Lucario-GX was first released; though, I’m pretty sure it was the first time the deck did anything this season. Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX is nothing new; I’ve explained before why I considered it a safe pick going into an unknown metagame. The Lucario-GX innovation was to beat the scary new challenger, [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card].
Many people have asked me about the deck — some already used it to success in League Challenges, others are planning on taking it to Regionals. In this article, I will tell you about how the deck came to be, the reasoning behind the inclusion and exclusion of some cards, and the deck’s matchups. I will also discuss the future of the deck as the meta evolves according to the results of the International Championship.
The Creation
I arrived in Melbourne on Sunday evening, along with Dutch players Bert Wolters and Bryan de Vries. After some complications that are not interesting enough to relate here, we settled into our hotel. At this point, I was feeling confident with [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], while my roommates were testing Lightning decks, mainly Pikachu and Zekrom-GX.
The next day, we messaged Robin Schulz in order to meet up to playtest. In the afternoon, we went to his apartment, which came to be referred as the “Broken Airbnb”. Over the week, many European and American players gathered there to play many games of different matchups. This playtesting allowed us to revise our opinions on the metagame. For example, I became frustrated by losing again and again to Pikachu and Zekrom-GX with Malamar, despite trying all sorts of techs, including [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card], even [card name=”Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card]. We also built a [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] list that had a lot of potential. Bert, Bryan, and Robin ended up playing the updated version, with Bert achieving a Top 8 placement with it. I liked the deck, although I felt the pure Lightning version was more consistent. Had I played the deck, I would have included [card name=”Jolteon-GX ” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM173″ c=”name”][/card] over the [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Nihilego” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] package.
At that point, Zoroark-GX decks were not performing well. Most of our testing group wouldn’t touch them, stating that Zoroark-GX was not good enough right now. On Wednesday, though, Benjamin Pham sent us a Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX / Lucario-GX deck that I decided to try out. I must point out that, without the massive volume of games we played with other decks, I would have never tried out the deck; it’s only because we had a good understanding of matchups between the other decks like Malamar, Zapdos / Jirachi, Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, and Lost March, that I felt it was worth trying out this idea. We realised that the deck did well against the most powerful deck: Pikachu and Zekrom-GX. The deck also beat the pure-Lightning versions of Zapdos / Jirachi, but wasn’t especially favored against the Buzzwole version, and its Malamar matchup was 50-50 with the opening coin flip being primordial.
As I kept refining the list, it became apparent that it was a potential play for the weekend. Sam Chen and Rahul Reddy also expressed interest in the list, but switched back to Pikachu and Zekrom-GX on Thursday when I lost two best-of-three matches to our Pikachu and Zekrom-GX list. Although we agreed that the matchup was in favor of Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX / Lucario-GX, they didn’t want to play the deck unless its matchups were favorable enough.
I was worried about playing the deck, but I felt it was my best option. I sleeved the deck up on Thursday evening and went to bed.
The List
[decklist name=”ZLL OCIC” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″][pokemon amt=”22″]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=”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=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Riolu” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]4x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
This is the final list I took to the International Championship. As usual, I will not bore you by explaining every single card, but only those that warrant discussion.
[premium]
Two Lucario-GX, Two Riolu
I decided to play a 2-2 [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card] line for more consistency. The deck could conceivably use only one Lucario-GX, but having two makes the [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] matchup more comfortable. It’s also good to have extra Pokemon as [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card] targets.
Despite taking the same amount of space as [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], I consider Lucario-GX a tech. The reason why is that Lycanroc-GX’s Ability and GX attack — or at least the threat of it — are useful in every matchup, whereas Lucario-GX is there only for Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], and can sometimes be used against [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] or Jolteon-GX in Zapdos / Jirachi. It’s okay to bench a [card name=”Riolu” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] most of the time in other matchups if you need the extra 20 damage from Riotous Beating, but you’ll generally discard Lucario-GX.
You pretty much never use Cantankerous Beatdown GX, but the threat of it often forces your opponent to play around Lucario-GX. With [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] seeing more play than ever because of Jirachi, that’s not hard to do.
Don’t forget that Aura Strike only deals bonus damage if Lucario-GX evolved from Riolu specifically: you never want to evolve Lucario-GX from [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card].
One Alolan Muk, Zero Alolan Grimer
I know this decision has been the topic of a lot of discussion, especially after Isaiah KO’d my Ditto Prism Star before it could evolve in all three games in the finals. Playing zero [card name=”Alolan Grimer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] was fine. Most decks can’t KO Ditto Prism Star early on like [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] decks. The deck performs well against [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] even if you can’t get [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] into play.
It’s important to take into account the element of surprise. If you know your opponent isn’t playing Alolan Grimer, it makes sense to try to KO Ditto Prism Star at all costs if your deck is weak to Muk. Going into the tournament, my opponents didn’t know my list so they didn’t know exactly what I could and couldn’t do.
One Absol
[cardimg name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Seven decks from the Top 8 played [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] as a tech, and almost every Pikachu and Zekrom-GX or Zapdos list from Day 2 did as well. Absol is invaluable in the current metagame to stop Jirachi from retreating freely with an [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] and force players to run enough hard switching cards.
In this deck, Absol is a great plan-B against Zapdos / Jirachi decks if you can’t set up Alolan Muk. Played on turn one, it can prevent an opponent from getting a KO early on.
It also works well against Malamar decks, who find themselves reliant on Jirachi and Escape Board as well. It often forces them to attach an Energy to Jirachi, which can prevent Ultra Necrozma-GX from KOing your Pokemon. It can prevent [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] from retreating manually to another Pokemon after an attack, since it would only have one Energy attached.
Absol was very useful and I would definitely run it again over Alolan Grimer.
One Diancie Prism Star
Most Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX decks have turned away from [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], but it has uses in this deck since we run another Fighting-type attacker. Although the damage boost can be useful in many situations, there are three specific uses for this card in the Oceania metagame:
- Allows Lycanroc-GX’s Claw Slash to get a KO on Zapdos despite its Fighting-type Resistance.
- Use Claw Slash to KO a Pikachu and Zekrom-GX. This can conserve your GX attack if you haven’t used it, and it can help if the Pikachu and Zekrom-GX deck purposefully limits their Bench to avoid a Dangerous Rogue GX OHKO.
- Lucario-GX can KO Tapu Koko-GX with Aura Strike, with a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card].
That last bullet is important because in the Pikachu and Zekrom-GX matchup, Tapu Koko-GX is often their most dangerous attacker as it can OHKO Lycanroc-GX; even if you only have a Fighting Energy and [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] in play, they only need Choice Band and [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card]. On top of that, it has no Fighting-type Weakness.
Lillie Engine: Four Lillie, Four Ultra Ball, Four Nest Ball, Three Pokemon Communication
I’ve explained before why I now favor playing [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] over [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card]. It is more crucial in this deck since Riolu has 70 HP and Ditto Prism Star can’t act as one. Many decks run [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card], and Lillie is great to get you out of a four-card hand. As for Pokemon Communication, it has a lot of value in a deck with 22 Pokemon. There are times when you can’t play it, but being able to find a turn-one [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] or a turn-two Zoroark-GX consistently is worth those times. I try to use Pokemon Communication on turn one before a Lillie to grab another Basic Pokemon. If my set up is strong enough without it, or if I need a follow-up and my hand is weak, I might keep Pokemon Communication to get Zoroark-GX on turn two.
One Mallow
This goes hand in hand with Lucario-GX, as [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] allows you to get the cards needed to use Aura Strike, such as Lucario-GX, Fighting Energy, Choice Band, and Diancie Prism Star.
With Pikachu and Zekrom-GX being a huge threat when it’s on the field, games can come down to whether you have an answer after a Full Blitz. Unlike [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] or Lillie, Mallow guarantees an answer, even early on when you don’t have access to many uses of Trade.
One Field Blower
I was afraid that [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] decks would run [card name=”Weakness Policy” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card], which makes the matchup much harder. None of those I played against did, so my one copy of [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] wasn’t necessary. It did help to discard Stadiums, Escape Boards and Choice Bands. I would recommend removing it from the list only if you’re not afraid of Weakness Policy.
Two Viridian Forest
This deck was running [card name=”Devoured Field” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] at first, like most [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] decks. During playtesting, I noticed that I would never use Devoured Field except to get a KO on Zapdos sometimes, which was useful but rarely game-changing. There were games I lost against Pikachu and Zekrom-GX because I didn’t have an Energy to attach to [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] early on. This is why I made the switch, and I don’t regret it.
The only issue with [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] is that it helps your opponent. In Lightning matchups, this doesn’t matter much because you have to assume they’re getting their Energy anyway, but it makes your Malamar matchup slightly worse because you help them find Metal Energy for Ultra Necrozma-GX.
One Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star
Finally, the weirdest inclusion of them all. The original reason for including [card name=”Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] was to help against Lost March. Most Lost March lists at the time of Oceania didn’t play Stadiums, including the one posted by Caleb Gedemer earlier this month. Even if people started including a copy or two of Viridian Forest or [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card], they would probably not expect to keep it for Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star, at least in game one. Although it doesn’t make the matchup an auto-win, it was good enough that I would feel confident playing against an average Lost March player.
It was useful in other situations as well. I used it to counter Shrine of Punishment and prevent [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] from attacking, to delay Full Blitz, and even to prevent [card name=”Chimecho” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card]’s Bell of Silence. I don’t have a hard rule on when to play it; it was sometimes a desperation move when no other option would work; the element of surprise was important.
Matchups
Pikachu and Zekrom-GX
[cardimg name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
I went 8-0 against [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] over the course of the tournament. Even though the matchup isn’t an auto-win against the best Pikachu and Zekrom-GX lists, it’s still favored.
The key part of the matchup is to have two threats at all times — threats being either a [card name=”Riolu” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card], or a Rockruff, [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] with at least one Energy. As long as this is the case, you can answer Full Blitz with either Lycanroc-GX or [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s important to have these threats out as early as turn one, even if that means not playing a second or even a first [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], though you’ll naturally get a Zorua most of the time. If your opponent plays down a Pikachu and Zekrom-GX or starts with it, you should try to KO it as soon as possible.
If you have the choice between taking a KO with Lycanroc-GX or Lucario-GX, you should always go with Lycanroc-GX. This is because you still keep two threats in play: Lycanroc-GX and Riolu. If you use Lucario-GX, the opponent can KO Rockruff and you can’t retaliate with Lucario-GX.
Most of the time, your opponent will try to use Zapdos in the early game, so you’ll use Zoroark-GX to KO it. In the late game, their main threat is [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] if you don’t have [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] out. Try to avoid having too much Energy on the field, or be ready to answer Tapu Koko-GX with Lucario-GX, [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card].
Jirachi / Zapdos
I went 3-1 in this matchup in Oceania and would still consider it a good matchup. The main issue is that Zapdos can take a lot of Prizes on your Benched Pokemon thanks to [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], but they should lose steam after a point. Alolan Muk stops this deck in its tracks, especially if paired with [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] to make their life harder. Zoroark-GX is the main attacker in this matchup, and [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] is an important card to have. Keep in mind the threat of Tapu Koko-GX and you should be fine.
Versions using [card name=”Jolteon-GX ” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM173″ c=”name”][/card]are easier to handle as you can KO them after Jolteon-GX’s Swift Run GX if you use both Guzma and Bloodthirsty Eyes to send Jolteon-GX to the Bench and back to the Active.
The hardest version of the deck to deal with is the one that plays [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Nihilego” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card]. You may have to sacrifice two Prizes to Sledgehammer unless you can shut down their draw engine with Alolan Muk, or take a Prize with Lycanroc-GX rather than Zoroark-GX on the key turn to force your opponent to have Guzma. Try to use Acerola on Lycanroc-GX before you take your fourth Prize to prevent Nihilego from copying Dangerous Rogue GX. I was able to beat Bert Wolters playing this deck in Top 8 because I knew his list only ran 1-1 [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card], but a 2-2 line would be harder to deal with.
Zoroark-GX Variants
Lucario-GX helps in this matchup, but Lycanroc-GX is the key. Lucario-GX can OHKO Zoroark-GX but not Lycanroc-GX, whereas Lycanroc-GX can OHKO anything.
The player going first has a big advantage since they can attach an Energy to Rockruff on turn one, and also start getting KOs on opposing Rockruff before they can evolve. I played against only one Zoroark-GX deck in Oceania, and lost 1-2 to it, with the player going first winning each game.
Using [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] could be useful in this matchup to allow Lycanroc-GX to attack with one Energy.
Malamar Variants
Against the [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] variant, the player going first has a big advantage. If Zoroark-GX goes first, they can set up and start getting KOs on [card name=”Inkay” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] on turn two, as well as set up Alolan Muk uncontested. If Malamar goes first, they can set up two or three Malamar before the opponent does anything, and get the first KO on turn two. For this reason, the matchup is even. With [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / Lycanroc-GX / Lucario-GX using Viridian Forest, I would say that Malamar has a slight advantage overall, as it’s easier for them to overcome the first player advantage by using Photon Geyser to get some key KOs.
Alolan Muk is useful in this matchup to shut down [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card]. Absol is more useful than one would expect; it may be an advantage to not play Muk in order to keep Absol’s Ability up.
The pure Psychic Malamar lists are easier since they can’t KO Zoroark-GX effectively. They rely much more on Marshadow-GX, so Alolan Muk shuts them down harder. If you can’t get Alolan Muk out, be wary of [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]’s Poltergeist being used from the discard pile. If you can, try to limit your hand and discarded Trainers so that Marshadow-GX can’t get the KO. This way, they need to use a three-Energy attack such as Shadow Impact, which can be harder to do if you manage to KO enough Malamar and/or have Absol out.
Lost March
There are three elements you can take advantage of to win the matchup:
- It takes time for Lost March to have enough Pokemon in the Lost Zone to OHKO a Zoroark-GX, so you can take a lead in the Prize race. Thanks to Acerola, you can keep this lead for several turns. Try to KO [card name=”Hoppip” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] before it evolves to limit their speed.
- Alolan Muk helps by shutting down [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card], as well as [card name=”Emolga” set=”Team Up” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] if they play it. This can prevent your opponent from getting out of a bad hand.
- If you manage to make [card name=”Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] stick, you can make your opponent skip an attack, or even more if you continually KO whichever Pokemon has an Energy.
None of these elements by themselves make the matchup favorable. However, as a whole, they give you several options and contribute to make the matchup at least even, and possibly favored.
Others
Unfortunately, many decks can give this deck trouble.
A deck like [card name=”Celebi and Venusaur-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card] is winnable, but you’ll need patience and luck. Using [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card] can help in this matchup by dealing damage and threatening a KO with its GX attack, but it will be much harder to KO a second one.
The [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] matchup is unfavored since you can OHKO only one Blacephalon-GX and they can chain OHKOs all game.
Buzzwole / Shrine of Punishment should beat you thanks to Zoroark-GX’s Weakness and [card name=”Weavile” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]’s effectiveness.
[card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] is an effective attacker that’s hard for Zoroark-GX variants to deal with.
Fortunately, all of these decks were scarce or absent from the Oceania metagame. If they come back, Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / Lucario-GX may not be the best choice.
Going Forward
[cardimg name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
I’ve stated on social media that I wouldn’t play this deck again, at least immediately. This deck was made to counter some of the decks that seemed the most threatening going into Oceania, mainly [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] / Jirachi. Now that these decks have been established as tier-one threats, we may see decks made to counter them — or made to counter Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX / Lucario-GX. For example, [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] over [card name=”Devoured Field” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] was a good choice in the Oceania metagame, but leaves the deck without an easy way to KO a Buzzwole, which makes the Buzzwole / [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] matchup a dangerous one.
I don’t think Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX / Lucario-GX is bad by any means. Going into this week’s events, it goes from a meticulously crafted meta call to a decent choice. That’s why I don’t feel as comfortable with it.
If you want to change the deck around, here are some cards you can add:
Alolan Grimer
Although I still think it’s not necessary, [card name=”Alolan Grimer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] can be good to have another way to set up Muk, especially since Zapdos / Jirachi did so well in Oceania.
You could consider cutting [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] for this card, with the reasoning being that, if you set up Muk more consistently in Lightning matchups, you don’t need Diancie Prism Star to deal with [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card].
Multi Switch
I debated cutting Wondrous Labyrinth for [card name=”Multi Switch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card]. The interesting thing with Multi Switch is if you’ve attacked with Lucario-GX, your opponent will target other Pokemon. This allows you to either move the Energy from Lucario-GX to another Pokemon — with Lycanroc-GX being the best choice — or to move an Energy from another Pokemon to Lucario-GX in order to use Cyclone Kick.
Professor Kukui
I cut [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] from the list seeing that it wasn’t used much, and Diancie Prism Star did the same thing but more reliably. Adding it could be another way to reach some damage thresholds. It allows [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] to reach 170 HP, KOing Tapu Koko-GX. In combination with Diancie Prism Star, you deal 190 damage with Lucario-GX’s Aura Strike, KOing [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card].
Conclusion
I’m pretty happy with this deck. Even if I don’t end up playing it again, it more than accomplished its purpose of countering the expected metagame. I don’t know if it will work in the format now that it’s not a mystery anymore, but it still has some positive matchups.
Hopefully this article will answer the questions you have about this deck. If not, feel free to ask them in the Subscribers’ Hideout! Even if you don’t plan on playing the deck yourself, my hope is that giving you a look into the process of creating the deck was of use to you.
Whether you pick this deck up or not, good luck in your next event!
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