The Endless Road — The Current State of Standard and Musings on Expanded

How much Pokemon is too much Pokemon? I’m obsessed enough with the game — or dedicated, to put a more positive spin on it — that a few days after coming back home from the Oceania International Championship, I was competing again in the Special Event in Cannes. Sure, this one is far closer to home, but it’s still an eight hour drive from Paris, where I live. I do get one weekend of rest coming up (although I’ll attend a League Challenge) and then I’ll be travelling overseas again to play Expanded in Toronto. I guess this is what it must be like to be an American player.

On the bright side, this forces me to keep up with both the Standard and Expanded metagames, which is good news for you readers! The last couple of weeks have been exciting from a competitive point of view as we’ve seen decks rise and — seemingly — fall. That’s why, in this article, I’ll explore the changes happening to Standard, [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Charizard” set=”Team Up” no=”14″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ c=”name”][/card], and more, and what they mean for the future of the format. I’ll also talk a little bit about Expanded in preparation for the two North American Regionals coming up.

1. Blacephalon-GX and Pikachu and Zekrom-GX

[cardimg name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This isn’t the first time I made this comparison, but it bears repeating: Blacephalon-GX and [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] play similar roles. Both cards were the most hyped of their respective sets. Both make for fast and aggressive decks that can win games even against unfavored matchups through sheer speed. Both laugh at the notion of a damage ceiling. Both rely on high counts of basic Energy — that may seem like a coincidence, but it also means that they generally beat stall decks since those don’t have enough to stop them. Both generally have a linear game plan: Pikachu and Zekrom-GX does have more options at its disposal, with some versions being able to use [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] for their first few Prizes before switching to bigger attackers, but the aggressive version that Jose Marrero brought to a Top 4 finish at the Oceania International Championship is entirely focused on using Full Blitz, then Tag Bolt GX.

We now have two decks that use Basic Pokemon-GX to Prize race their opponent. Note that this is different from Lost March, which also goes for OHKOs but uses one-Prize, low-HP Pokemon; or from [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] decks, which have a lower average damage output but benefit from a consistent draw engine; or from [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] decks that can play the Prize race but can also use non-GX attackers and come back from a Prize deficit thanks to [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]’s Sky-Scorching Light GX. Nothing is more similar than Blacephalon-GX and Pikachu and Zekrom-GX in the current metagame.

It stands to reason that if these decks are trying to accomplish the same simple game plan, one must be better at it than the other. Indeed, I’ve argued that Pikachu and Zekrom-GX is a better version of Blacephalon-GX, and I mostly stand by it.

Why did Blacephalon-GX win the Collinsville Regional Championship and get Top 8 in Cannes?

The reason is that, although both decks do the same thing, they demand different answers. Take Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], for example. I explained last week how I built a version of the deck that beat Pikachu and Zekrom-GX: with [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card], basic Fighting Energy, and [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]. This version was good enough to reach the finals in Melbourne. However, this version of the deck is terrible at playing against Blacephalon-GX because it can’t OHKO it, except once with Dangerous Rogue GX.

On the other hand, there are ways to build Zoroark-GX to better deal with Blacephalon-GX: [card name=”Weavile” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] is a solid attacker, and [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Devoured Field” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] can allow Zoroark-GX to reach the 180 damage required to OHKO a Blacephalon-GX. However, a version of the deck that includes these cards will do much worse against Pikachu and Zekrom-GX. And since it’s impossible to fit all these cards together in the same list, a Zoroark-GX player has to make a choice. Because of Pikachu and Zekrom-GX’s success in Oceania and Blacephalon-GX’s lack thereof, most players geared their lists towards beating the former.

It’s not only Zoroark-GX — Malamar / Ultra Necrozma-GX decks, for example, have mostly removed [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] from their lists. This card is great against Blacephalon-GX, as Moon’s Eclipse GX is the perfect amount of damage required to KO a Blacephalon-GX, and it forces the opponent to use Guzma instead of a draw Supporter. This potentially prevents them from finding their Beast Ring in time, and sets them back in the Prize race. As anecdotal evidence, I played Malamar in Cannes. My list used [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] to improve the mirror match and the Zapdos matchup, and two [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] to fight Pikachu and Zekrom-GX and Zoroark-GX decks. However, these cards were useless against Blacephalon-GX and, although I can’t claim this was the only reason, I did lose a series to Joël Nguyen, who reached Top 8 with Blacephalon-GX.

The takeaway is that there’s a tradeoff between beating Blacephalon-GX and beating Pikachu and Zekrom-GX. Now that Zach Lesage proved that Blacephalon-GX is still a contender in the metagame, I expect more players to take the deck seriously and Blacephalon-GX to fall down, although it will always threaten to come back.

Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, on the other hand, will only benefit from players tweaking their lists to beat Blacephalon-GX. Don’t forget that Gustavo Wada ended up winning the Cannes Special Event with it as well! In my opinion, Pikachu and Zekrom-GX is still the deck to beat. It’s simply powerful, versatile, and most decks need to focus heavily on it (Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX / Lucario-GX, for example) to have a favorable matchup.

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2. Vileplume and Stall

[cardimg name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Before Oceania, I stated that one Stage 2 deck that had a shot at beating the upcoming Basic-centered metagame was [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ c=”name”][/card]. A few days later, former World Champion and master deck builder Shintaro Ito would reach the Top 4 of Champions League Chiba in Japan — the biggest Pokemon tournament ever, with close to 1800 players — with an anti-meta deck based on what else but Vileplume. Of course, we play in different formats. If anything, the Japanese metagame is even more focused on Basic Pokemon, with more dominant Tag Team Pokemon such as Buzzwole and Pheromosa-GX and Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX. Nevertheless, Vileplume was also successful in the Western world, when Riley Hulbert reached Top 4 in Collinsville with it. His teammate Athavan Balendran bubbled out of Top 8 with the same list.

Shintaro Ito’s deck attacked with Vileplume, whereas Riley Hulbert’s was a stall deck with the usual tools: [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] HAND, and so on. This difference in approach can probably be attributed to Japan’s best-of-one, 30-minute format which disincentivizes passive decks. That said, the idea was the same in both cases: use Vileplume as a win condition, since many decks, like Zapdos / [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Nihilego” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] and Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, can’t do anything about it.

Well, Pikachu and Zekrom-GX can Guzma around Vileplume and use the extra damage from Tag Bolt GX to Knock it Out when it’s on the Bench, but if there’s a second Vileplume, they’ve lost. Zoroark-GX decks can be beaten by running them out of Energy, as usual, whereas Malamar decks have no choice but to attack with Malamar itself. Malamar is a bad attacker and needs three attacks to KO Vileplume, but Shintaro Ito actually included two copies of [card name=”Last Chance Potion” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] in his deck, which can heal Vileplume after it’s endured two attacks from Malamar, allowing Vileplume to win the trade. I’ll be honest, this is one of the cutest techs I’ve ever seen.

The Inclusion of Jolteon-GX

If the prospect of facing a new variety of stall doesn’t excite you, there’s good news: Lightning decks have a powerful weapon at their disposal to beat Vileplume. I’m talking about [card name=”Jolteon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM173″ c=”custom”]Jolteon-GX[/card] , which can fit into both Pikachu and Zekrom-GX and Zapdos builds. With one [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card], Jolteon-GX can OHKO Vileplume. Of course, it has more uses than that: it’s a solid attacker versus Malamar, it can deal with [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] more easily than other attackers, it has free retreat, and its GX attack can swing the mirror match.

Jolteon-GX was included both in Gustavo Wada’s winning Pikachu and Zekrom-GX list, and Pedro Eugenio Torres’ Top 4 Zapdos deck from Cannes. In my opinion, it is the best way to play Zapdos right now, but this is partly due to the differences between the European and American metagame. Only four players from the Top 32 in Cannes played Zoroark-GX, so Buzzwole doesn’t seem as important. In Collinsville, a third of Day 2 was comprised of Zoroark-GX decks, so Buzzwole is more valuable.

Hoopa / Regigigas Stall

Since we’re talking about stall decks, it would be a mistake not to mention Alessandro Cremascoli’s second place in Cannes with [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. Most players, including myself, expected stall to die out because of Pikachu and Zekrom-GX. However, Alessandro, a dedicated stall player, managed to reach the finals with it. In an interview on stream, Alessandro claimed that the Pikachu and Zekrom-GX matchup was actually favorable because Lightning players had limited ways to deal with Hoopa. However, Alessandro played against Gustavo Wada’s Pikachu and Zekrom-GX thrice in the tournament, and lost each time. Although he told me several of these losses were due to donks, Gustavo did win the finals by taking all six Prizes, using [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] as his main attacker, since it could 2HKO Regigigas even through [card name=”Ancient Crystal” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card]’s damage reduction, as well as OHKO Hoopa.

If Pikachu and Zekrom-GX regains its spot as the best deck in the format, then stall might not be the deck to play. However, whenever more players run decks designed to beat Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, such as Zapdos or Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX / Lucario-GX, stall has the potential to take over the metagame.

Another deck that can be categorized as stall is [card name=”Celebi and Venusaur-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card]. I think the tanky, Grass-type behemoth was actually a solid play for last weekend, since it beats Zapdos, Zoroark-GX and, with the right list, has a shot against Pikachu and Zekrom-GX. One of my reasons for playing Malamar was actually that it could deal with Celebi and Venusaur-GX. However, only Ryne Morgan made Day 2 with the deck in Collinsville. I don’t know whether this lack of success is due to few players picking up the deck, or if Malamar was far more popular in the general field than it was in Day 2, but, in theory, the deck had good matchups overall, and I’m a bit surprised not to see it do better.

A deck that many people were surprised to see, but I wasn’t, is Charizard. I predicted that the deck would do well in the right metagame — potentially towards the end of the format — and Anthony Cognard reached Day 2 with it in Cannes this weekend. I mention it in this section because, should more players pick up Vileplume, stall decks, or even Celebi and Venusaur-GX, then Charizard would be the perfect counter. The deck’s main issue remains Malamar, a near autoloss, but I expect players to pick up the deck now that there’s a blueprint for it, and do well at League Cups with it despite this bad matchup.

3. Malamar

[cardimg name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

If Zoroark-GX is popular in America and on the decline in Europe, Malamar is the opposite. Fourteen decks of the 99 in Day 2 of Collinsville, or about one in seven, were Malamar decks. However, ten decks from Cannes’ Top 32 were Malamar, or about 30%.

In Europe, almost every Malamar deck that did well was teched for the mirror match, which is to be expected given the deck’s popularity.

Many players, myself included, used Tapu Koko as a way to improve the mirror matchup. The idea is to spread damage with Flying Flip, putting Malamar in range of a Sky-Scorching Light GX KO with the help of Distortion Door. Other players used [card name=”Jynx” set=”Team Up” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] for that same purpose. Compared to Tapu Koko, Jynx is more versatile, as it can also focus its damage on one or two Pokemon. Tapu Koko has two advantages, though: it has free retreat (and, with an [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], can keep its free retreat against [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card]), and it’s more reliable against Zapdos decks. Those will tend not to bench too many Pokemon, so Jynx is not as effective. Plus, Tapu Koko hits Zapdos for Weakness, so it’s easier to set up a multi-Prize turn.

The other card that’s useful in the mirror and is becoming more common is Acerola. Although it’s useful in other matchups, such as Zapdos or Zoroark-GX, in order to heal a damaged Ultra Necrozma-GX, Acerola shines in the mirror match to save one of your Pokemon and free up space on the Bench. In order to understand, I should clarify how the Malamar matchup goes.

The main attacker in the Malamar matchup is [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. You can take Prizes with Ultra Necrozma-GX, but it can get stuck in the Active spot if you don’t have a switching card, and your opponent can get a KO on it with their own Ultra Necrozma-GX. In any case, players will generally trade the first few Prizes while putting damage on the opponent’s Bench with Distortion Door. With Jynx or Tapu Koko, you can set up a board state where three or four of your opponent’s Pokemon have 60 HP or less — typically Malamar and [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. This creates a stalemate: once five Prizes have been taken, the next player to attack and take a Prize loses the game, since they allow their opponent to use Sky-Scorching Light GX for the win.

There are two ways to break this stalemate. The first is to use Acerola to heal one of your Pokemon, typically Jirachi. If your opponent has one less target, they can’t win the game with Sky-Scorching Light GX, so you’re free to take a Prize, and then use Sky-Scorching Light GX yourself the next turn.

The second way is to take the sixth Prize of the game in total with Giratina’s Distortion Door, and then attack with Sky-Scorching Light GX in the same turn. This requires you to put one opponent’s Pokemon at exactly 10 HP, and have access to Distortion Door. Acerola helps here as well, as you can use it to take back a Benched Giratina, discard it using Viridian Forest, then use Distortion Door again. It also frees up space on the Bench, which can be necessary in order to play down both Giratina and Ultra Necrozma-GX.

If you don’t know what to play, Malamar is a strong choice altogether. I would recommend this list as a starting point:

[decklist name=”Malamar” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”17″]4x [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Inkay” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]4x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Erika’s Hospitality” set=”Team Up” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Switch” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]7x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]3x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

This is what I played to get Top 16 at the Cannes SPE, with one card difference. This deck has a shot against basically any deck in the metagame, and is overall well rounded. Depending on what you want to beat, you can change some cards around. The most cuttable cards are the fourth Viridian Forest and one of either Cynthia or Erika’s Hospitality.

Second Marshadow-GX

If Pikachu and Zekrom-GX returns with a vengeance, which I expect, then playing a second copy of [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] would help to deal with their main attacker. It’s also useful against Zoroark-GX.

On the flip side, it’s useless in other matchups and actively detrimental if you start with it against a non-GX deck or in the mirror match.

Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX

Although it’s a good card in general, Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX especially shines against Blacephalon-GX and [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] because Moon’s Eclipse GX shifts the Prize trade in your favor. If these decks are popular then it’s worth a deck slot, but I think there are better cards to include.

Gengar and Mimikyu-GX

I haven’t been impressed enough with [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] so far. Horror House GX does help to get time to set up, especially against Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, but Poltergeist feels unreliable to me. It’s a good attack to use or copy for only two Energy though, especially in the late game when the opponent has a large hand.

I do plan on testing it more, as some players reported that using it significantly helped their Pikachu and Zekrom-GX matchup.

Otherwise, it’s a high-HP Pokemon that can be used as an attacker in the late game against non-GX decks, hoping they can’t Guzma around it or KO it.

Beast Energy and Choice Band

I don’t think damage modifiers are necessary for this deck since you can simply attach more Energy to Ultra Necrozma-GX if you need more damage. The exception is Zoroark-GX: [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] lets Ultra Necrozma-GX reach 210 damage, so there’s a good reason for its inclusion. If your local metagame isn’t filled with Zoroark-GX, though, I wouldn’t recommend these cards.

Beast Energy does let Ultra Necrozma-GX OHKO that pesky Zapdos on turn two, but there’s no way to search for it so this tactic is entirely dependent on luck.

4. Expanded

If you’re from North America, it may be time to set Standard aside for now, as two Expanded Regionals are coming right up in Toronto and Greensboro.

The Expanded metagame is, once again, largely unexplored. Sure, decks like Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and Archie’s [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] can be expected to see play once again, but there are two significant differences between the format now and what it was in Dallas.

Pikachu and Zekrom-GX in Expanded

[cardimg name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

First, Team Up has been released. If Pikachu and Zekrom-GX looked like a danger in Standard, then it does even more so in Expanded, where it can use [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] in addition to Tapu Koko Prism Star and [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] to reliably use Full Blitz on turn one or two.

Other cards from Team Up, such as Zapdos or even Jirachi, should not affect the Expanded metagame as much as they did Standard, but we’ll need to see more.

New Banned Cards

Second, [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card], Lusamine and [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] have been banned.

Unown’s ban only affects decks that were specifically based on it, which were marginal, so it doesn’t matter too much. Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick was played in some [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] lists, but the ban’s main purpose was to prevent broken combinations with the new [card name=”Kabutops” set=”Team Up” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Omastar” set=”Team Up” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], so, once again, the ban doesn’t change too much from what we’re used to.

On the other hand, Delinquent was a key part of the Zoroark-GX / Exodia build that aimed to use [card name=”Red Card” set=”XY” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], Delinquent and [card name=”Peeking Red Card” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] on turn one to destroy their opponent’s hand, and was also played as a tech in Zoroark-GX / Garbodor. As for Lusamine, it shined in [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark-GX, as well as various other slower decks such as [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Sceptile-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card].

All in all, it seems the format gets much faster. The release of a new turbo archetype, combined with the loss of a card that made slower decks viable, means that we can expect many matchups to be fast-paced Prize races. Archie’s Blastoise, Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, and Rayquaza-GX all fit into this category. I’m not sure whether Rayquaza-GX will remain viable, but it does gain Tapu Koko Prism Star and [card name=”Shaymin Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card], and can use [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM33″ c=”name”][/card] to fight against Pikachu and Zekrom-GX.

Deck Ideas

To beat these aggressive decks, a popular choice is to play non-GX decks with high damage output that can expect to win the Prize trade; these decks include Vespiquen, Night March and Lost March. But their damage output might actually be too low when facing Basic Pokemon with 240 HP or more.

A more meta-dependent choice is Buzzwole / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. Thanks to Beast Energy Prism Star, [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Furious Fists” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], Choice Band and [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card], a simple Buzzwole can almost OHKO a Pikachu and Zekrom-GX! It should be noted, though, that Lightning decks can include [card name=”Flash Energy” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] to remove Pikachu and Zekrom-GX’s crippling Weakness. This, in turn, would force Fighting decks to run [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] (which they can grab with [card name=”Korrina” set=”Furious Fists” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]).

As for Garbodor, it is a great attacker against aggressive decks, which tend to play many Items, including Max Elixir, [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], etc. If the metagame is full of aggressive decks, then Garbodor gets better, as a rule.

If Garbodor is strong, then Zoroark-GX / Garbodor is an appealing pick, especially since Seismitoad-EX should decline in popularity. There are two issues with the deck, though: First, it has a hard time against non-GX decks such as Vespiquen and Buzzwole / Garbodor. Second, it can’t OHKO Pikachu and Zekrom-GX unless there are eleven items in their discard and a Choice Band on Garbodor, which shouldn’t happen. A possibility to fix the second issue is [card name=”Gumshoos-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card], which is seeing play in Japanese Expanded Zoroark-GX lists. For one Energy, it can OHKO a Pikachu and Zekrom-GX with five or more Energy, which prevents them from setting up Tag Bolt GX. It’s also useful against [card name=”Magikarp and Wailord-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM166″ c=”name”][/card].

I need to test the format a lot in order to be ready, but, at first glance, Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, Zoroark-GX / Garbodor and Buzzwole / Garbodor are the main decks I want to try. I also feel like Primal Groudon-EX might have a place, as always, but this will require far more testing.

That’s all from me today! Next week, I plan to expose much more precise results from my Expanded training.

Until then, good luck in all your games!

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