The Formats’ Crossroad — Reflections on Standard and Expanded

Hello readers! After our back-to-back weekends of Expanded Regionals, we find ourselves at a crossroads. Looking back, we can observe the results of Toronto and Greensboro and reflect on the Expanded format as a whole. For the first time in a while, most of the opinions I’ve heard about Expanded since Team Up‘s release have been positive. Though it’s still one of the best cards in the format, [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]’s power has been tempered, and the most “unfair” or oppressive strategies are mostly gone due to the banlist updates. That seems to be enough for people to enjoy the format!

Looking ahead, we can try to use these results to prepare for the next Expanded tournaments. And of course, in a different direction altogether, we can look at the Standard format. All over the world, it seems like it’s mostly the same decks doing well at Regionals and Special Events in that format. If you’ve been immersed in Expanded recently, it’s time to look at what the rest of the world’s been up to! Europeans like me will be attending a Special Event in Bolzano, Italy, this weekend, and later, players from all over the world will clash in the European International Championship in Berlin in April. Between these two dates, there will be Standard events on every continent, so wherever you’re from, you should be able to benefit from this article.

Let’s dive in!

1. Expanded

[cardimg name=”Hitmonchan” set=”Team Up” no=”74″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Last week, I made some predictions about Greensboro Regionals. To summarize, I expected [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] and Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] to have strong finishes (on a French discussion board, I even predicted that those two decks would make up five-eighths of the Top 8, and that one of them would win the tournament), while Night March and [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] would drop in meta share. I also expected [card name=”Hitmonchan” set=”Team Up” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] to be a good pick again. How did my expectations match up with reality?

Pikachu & Zekrom-GX did indeed perform very well. Eight players made Day 2 with the deck, and two of them reached Top 8. Pikachu & Zekrom-GX’s success in Greensboro, compared to its disappointing performance in Toronto, shows that it’s still a powerful deck in Expanded, and that it likely only struggled in Toronto because it was the most targeted deck in the room. Interestingly, there’s absolutely no consensus about how to best build the deck. Some players in Greensboro added [card name=”Jolteon-GX ” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM173″ c=”name”][/card] counter the dreaded [card name=”Pyroar” set=”Flashfire” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], while others went for a faster build and even dropped [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] from their lists, abandoning the possibility of a double KO with Tag Bolt GX if they hit an opponent playing [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. Both approaches performed roughly equally well. We also saw diversity in techs: [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card], Jolteon-EX, [card name=”Xurkitree-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM68″ c=”name”][/card] Mr. Mime, [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] And although most of the Day 2 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX players opted for [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] as their Ace Spec, two of them went with [card name=”Scramble Switch” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] instead.

In my opinion, Pikachu & Zekrom-GX will be one of the decks to beat at Daytona Beach, the next Expanded Regional Championship. I expect players to test the various lists that did well in Greensboro; the fact that there’s so much variance between those lists reflects playstyle differences between players, certainly, but it’s also a sign that the deck still needs to be explored, compared to more established archetypes like Zoroark-GX / Garbodor. (I’m not an expert on the deck, so I don’t have much of an opinion of what’s the best list; however, I think Jolteon-EX is a smart inclusion given the popularity of Basic Pokemon in Expanded.)

Speaking of Zoroark-GX / Garbodor, five players made Day 2 with the deck in Greensboro, and two reached Top 8. I actually expected better numbers from one of the safest and strongest decks in the format, but it’s worth mentioning that all five decks in Day 2 ended up in Top 16. This means that the deck had good matchups against the field on Day 2, which is always a desirable trait.

Zoroark-GX / Garbodor is a well-known archetype by now. There’s room for players to add their unique touches to the deck, but the same skeleton is always present:

[premium]

[decklist name=”ZoroGarb skeleton” amt=”55″ caption=”” cname=”Klefki” set=”Steam Siege” no=”80″][pokemon amt=”22″]4x [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Zorua” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”54″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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]2x [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Klefki” set=”Steam Siege” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”27″]2x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ 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=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Dragon Vault” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”6″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

That’s a 55-card skeleton. Some may argue about my use of “skeleton”, since Arlo Neel played a 2-1 split of Trashalanche to Garbotoxin Garbodor, Justin Bokhari played [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] rather than [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card], and Tanner Detlef used Rainbow Energy rather than Psychic to accommodate his [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] and Acerola techs. Indeed, some players deviate from this skeleton, but the changes are generally minute, so I feel like calling this a skeleton is still warranted.

In addition, all five Day 2 Zoroark-GX / Garbodor players ran [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] in their deck, showing respect for Night March. [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] was also a near-ubiquitous inclusion. [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] was a popular choice as well, in order to hinder the strategies of Ability-based decks like Archie’s Blastoise on turn one, before Garbotoxin can be activated. Other tech cards included [card name=”Red Card” set=”XY” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Team Up” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] from Team Up. The latter is particularly devious against [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] decks using [card name=”Rescue Scarf” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], in addition to its more common use against cards like AZ and Acerola.

I expect Zoroark-GX / Garbodor to remain popular for the next Expanded events. I feel like the skeleton shown above will still be the basis for most players’ lists — the open spots provide enough space to tech against whatever feels most dangerous in the metagame. If anything, I expect future lists to be even more similar to each other, as Wobbuffet may become part of the core list due to the success of Archie’s Blastoise.

I’ll be honest: I didn’t predict Archie’s Blastoise doing as well as it did in Greensboro. Last week, I wrote that the deck had potential and would probably grab a spot in Top 8, but with nine players piloting it to Day 2, it was actually the most successful deck in the whole tournament. In retrospect, this makes sense: even with Wobbuffet’s newfound popularity, Archie’s Blastoise has more powerful tools than ever at its disposal. [card name=”Eevee and Snorlax-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], in particular, gives the deck a powerful weapon against Zoroark-GX. I think Archie’s Blastoise has even or positive matchups against much of the field, and Towering Splash GX gives it the ability to make impressive comebacks — Azul Garcia Griego’s six-Prize turn against Alex Schemanske in Top 8 may be the purest example we’ll ever see. Archie’s Blastoise is pretty much always a popular deck, and with its new tools and good results, I expect the deck to be very popular again in Daytona Beach. Popular doesn’t always mean successful, though, and I think it might be countered heavily.

[cardimg name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

There are other decks that did well this weekend. Andrew Martin won the whole event with [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / Garbodor, a deck that was definitely under the radar. I assumed that with Zoroark-GX being less popular, Drampa-GX / Garbodor would lose the mainstream appeal it had last season, but it seems that it can still compete with the rest of the field. Shock Lock made an appearance in Top 8 as well. With [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] banned, players are much less worried about control decks, and Shock Lock can definitely take advantage of that lack of preparation or anti-control techs. Rahul Reddy made Day 2 with [card name=”Celebi and Venusaur-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card], a defensive deck that could pick up steam now that Archie’s Blastoise is at the forefront once again. Like in Dallas, [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] bubbled out of Top 8 on resistance, but the deck clearly still has potential, as [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Shaymin Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] seem to offer the deck some good alternate attackers. Hitmonchan / Wobbuffet, my pet deck, didn’t do as well as I’d hoped, but it was still the fourth-most-represented deck in Day 2 (tied with Drampa-GX / Garbodor), so I think it’s clear by now that it’s a legitimate deck.

The big winners in Toronto — Night March and Trevenant — were losers in Greensboro. Only one Night March player reached Day 2 at the latter tournament (Peter Kica, the game’s preeminent Night March player), and only two Trevenant, a far cry from the deck’s domination the week before. Of course, that’s no surprise: those decks had giant glowing targets on their backs after their Toronto success. And so the cycle of Expanded goes: decks that do well are targeted at the next tournament, and there are enough counters to make sure that no deck is untouchable. Zoroark-GX decks are probably the most resilient to counters, which is why they are generally considered safe choices. However, they also don’t dominate matchups as much as some other decks do.

So, what’s the takeaway, if you’re looking ahead to the next Expanded events? I would expect Archie’s Blastoise, Pikachu & Zekrom-GX and Zoroark-GX / Garbodor to be very popular, with Archie’s Blastoise probably being the most played of the three. For this reason, I think Archie’s Blastoise will be heavily countered and I would be wary of playing it myself. Instead, I would heavily consider Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, since in my opinion, the perfect 60 cards haven’t been found yet, so the deck has a higher potential than we’ve seen.

Outside of this trio, I think Rayquaza-GX could be a good pick. It’s a deck that struggles with non-GX decks, but with Oricorio being popular, Night March and [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] are not in a good spot right now, and Xurkitree-GX helps with the Hitmonchan matchup. Against EX- or GX-focused decks, Rayquaza-GX generally does well.

I don’t think Trevenant or Night March should be buried, either. A corollary to the rule that decks that succeed in Expanded tend to get immediately countered is that after some time, those decks are forgotten and the counters are dropped from lists. I don’t actually think that Trevenant or Night March are very good picks for Daytona Beach, but I would certainly not be surprised to see them do well again later.

2. Standard

If Expanded is all about decks cycling in and out of the top tier, Standard is much less flexible at the moment. Because of the smaller card pool, there are less possible decks and techs. Note that it is possible, even with fewer cards available, to have a format with surprises, but in the current Sun & Moon to Team Up format, there are only a few viable decks.

Pikachu & Zekrom-GX is, in my opinion, the BDIF. The deck simply has the potential to beat everything. This doesn’t mean that the deck doesn’t have bad matchups, but you can find a solution to everything. Zoroark-GX decks, [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] decks, stall decks — there’s no deck that makes you certain you’re going to lose before you even start playing the game. When Benjamin Pham launched Benji’s Very Possible Challenge two weeks ago — a race for streamers to be the first to reach a 35 win streak in Standard on TCGO — it’s no coincidence that the best attempts, including Pedro Eugenio Torres’ eventual successful run, were made with Pikachu & Zekrom-GX. The deck can adapt its game plan, from going full aggro trying to Full Blitz on turn two and Tag Bolt GX on turn three, to taking out the opponent’s most vulnerable Pokemon with [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] before ever playing down a GX Pokémon. Outside of TCGO as well, the deck has been accumulating victories: Gustavo Wada, one of the world’s best players, has won two Special Events with the deck.

Zapdos / [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] is another consistent deck, although it has more weaknesses in [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card], stall, and to a lesser extent [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card]. Players have been trying all sorts of techs in this deck, from Jolteon-GX to [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. I don’t think Stage 1 attackers are great in the deck, though, since you don’t have reliable ways to search them unless you run more Ultra Balls than you’d like. Plus, against Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, you’ll have a hard time using them since Zapdos will KO the Basics before they can evolve. My personal version right now uses [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], inspired by the latest Japanese lists.

[decklist name=”Zapdos Jirachi” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″][pokemon amt=”15″]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Jolteon-GX ” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Eevee” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”47″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”36″]4x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Volkner” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]7x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]2x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

By playing Fighting Energy rather than the more common Rainbow Energy, you lose the option to run [card name=”Nihilego” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], but you gain access to [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]. Although there’s only one copy in the list, with Stellar Wish and [card name=”Volkner” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] it’s not that hard to find it when you need it. This deck also tends to accumulate cards in hand rather than reshuffle them, so you can keep your Beast Ring for a long time if you draw it. Beast Ring will often be used to grab your Fighting Energy and attach them to Buzzwole to use Swing Around, but it’s also a good way to accelerate Lightning Energy into play to attack with a surprise Tapu Thunder GX.

You could consider adding [card name=”Xurkitree” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card] to the deck. With the popularity of switching cards such as [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], Cablegram is not a fantastic attack, but it does force the opponent to burn such a card (as well as dig for one if they don’t have one in hand). Also, if you don’t have access to Buzzwole on the turn you want to use Beast Ring, Xurkitree is another Ultra Beast that can serve as a Beast Ring target to power up a Tapu Thunder GX.

Another deck I consider to be in Tier 1 is [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], possibly also including [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card]. After its surprise success at OCIC, I expected this deck to be fairly weak for a while as the meta changed to counter it, but it ended up getting second place at both Collinsville and Perth Regionals, as well as Top 4 at an SPE in Chile. With Pikachu & Zekrom-GX on the rise, Zoroark-GX / Fighting is actually still a good play, although now that Pikachu & Zekrom-GX lists are being optimized, the matchup is closer than you might think. If the Zoroark-GX deck gets off to a slow start, it can just get run over by early pressure from Zapdos.

[cardimg name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] is also strong, but it struggles against both Pikachu & Zekrom-GX and Zapdos. It does, however, have good matchups against the rest of the field. Whether it’s [card name=”Charizard” set=”Team Up” no=”14″ c=”name”][/card], Celebi & Venusaur-GX, [card name=”Passimian” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card], or other rogue decks, the combination of Ultra Necrozma-GX’s virtually unlimited damage output and the recurring damage-spread threat of [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] gives the deck a way to handle basically everything else. I think Malamar / Ultra Necrozma-GX is a decent play overall if your goal is something like “make Top 32,” and a good deck in an unknown metagame, but because of its bad matchups against the best decks, it has a hard time actually winning events.

[card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] is inferior to Pikachu & Zekrom-GX in my opinion, except when it comes to beating Fighting decks (including Zoroark-GX variants with Fighting types). In a field full of Zoroark-GX decks, Blacephalon-GX is a great pick, but otherwise, I’d stick with Pikachu & Zekrom-GX. Nevertheless, Zach Lesage showed that the deck was good enough to win a Regional with more than 1000 Masters, so the deck can’t be underestimated.

Finally, we have stall decks. Compared to the other decks on this list, stall decks — whether based on [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ c=”name”][/card], or something else — are bound to be less popular, since stall/control is a very particular playstyle that doesn’t appeal to many players. This doesn’t mean you can afford to underestimate the deck, though, since stall beats many decks that doesn’t prepare for them — Zapdos / Jirachi and Zoroark-GX are especially weak to them. Stall decks haven’t had any significant results since Collinsville Regionals and Cannes SPE, but I attribute this more to their unpopularity than to a lack of power.

Obviously, there are other decks beyond these six, and I hope to talk about them in more detail soon, but to be honest, I can’t see any deck outside of these six winning a Regional or SPE. In my opinion, if your goal is to win, you should play one of these six decks, unless you’ve found some amazing rogue deck that can hold its own against a majority of them.

My own pick for the Cannes SPE will probably be either the Zapdos / Jirachi list above, Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, or Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX / Lucario-GX. The latter strikes me as a good pick now that recent results have shown how good Pikachu & Zekrom-GX is, especially with Malamar slightly on the decline. Since I was the first to play the deck, I might as well share my current take on it:

[decklist name=”ZLL” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″][pokemon amt=”23″]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=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Alolan Grimer” set=”Team Up” no=”83″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Latios” set=”Shining Legends” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]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=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ 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=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ 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]3x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

I think [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] is necessary considering the Bolzano SPE takes place in a country that has historically favored control decks, especially after Alessandro Cremascoli reached finals with Regigigas at the Cannes SPE. If you’re planning on playing the deck at another event where you feel like you won’t play against too much stall, don’t hesitate to replace the Oranguru with another card — I suggest [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] if you think you’re playing against a lot of Zoroark-GX decks, since using Dangerous Rogue GX for a single Energy attachment is extremely strong. [card name=”Switch” set=”Shining Legends” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] is also a consideration.

The inclusion of [card name=”Latios” set=”Shining Legends” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] is inspired by Brent Tonisson’s use of [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] in his second-place list from Perth Regionals. The idea is to use Break Through to take two KOs at the same time, and therefore avoid the dreaded Beast Ring turns against Blacephalon-GX. Zoroark-GX can deal 150 damage with a Choice Band, which leaves Blacephalon-GX with only 30 HP. Latios can also finish off a Naganadel that you hit for 120 (or 100) damage with Zoroark-GX. Also, Latios can OHKO [card name=”Inkay” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card], which gives you a bit of an advantage against Malamar decks.

With no [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Devoured Field” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], you’re not trying to reach for big OHKOs with this list, unless you’re hitting for Weakness.

Some players have started favoring [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] as the Stadium of choice, since it acts as another way to find Basic Pokemon, further improving your consistency. I think Viridian Forest is still a good inclusion, but I like having one Brooklet Hill as an alternative, since giving your opponent free access to an Energy can hurt you sometimes. I’ll admit that I’m not yet sure about this split, though.

Conclusion

That’s it for this article! I’ll try to cover some unusual decks next week, so keep an eye out for my next article!

~ Stéphane

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