Ray of Hope — Rayquaza-GX / Vikavolt’s Unexpected Comeback

By: Stephane Ivanoff · Posted Apr 17, 2019 at 10:46 PM · 0 Comments

Welcome! We’re seeing some interesting changes in the metagame recently.

First, Tord Reklev won the Tablemon Invitational last weekend. For those who don’t know, the Tablemon Invitational was an online exhibition tournament organised by Pablo Meza, featuring eight of the world’s best players. Interestingly, Tord’s deck was [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], a deck whose decline I was documenting last week. I saw several people wondering what Tord’s victory meant in that light. Personally, I don’t think it changes much to my assessment of the deck. An 8-man tournament doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things; the sample size is too low for any statistical analysis. It should also be pointed out that although the games were streamed this weekend, the tournament started much earlier, so the decks were chosen about a month ago, and I don’t know if our deck choices would be the same if the tournament was held now. That said, Tord’s victory may have an effect, in that despite these facts, people may feel inspired to give Malamar another try, perhaps using a very consistent build similar to Tord’s. This means that we may actually see more Malamar soon, even if the deck still has issues. I would definitely be more wary of playing a Malamar-weak deck now.

The other change in the metagame is the possible return of a long-forgotten deck, [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]. As you may know, especially if you’ve read many of my articles since it’s a recurring theme for me, metagames often evolve cyclically. Decks appear, get refined, get countered, and then disappear until they come back. This kind of cycle is usually faster in Standard than in Expanded, but Vikaray is definitely a counter-example. After getting Top 32 in Denver, Jose Marrero used the deck again to win the Guatemala SPE last weekend. At the same time, the deck also made an appearance in Top 8 of the Philippines SPE. Of course, both of these events were relatively small, but strong decks can often appear in smaller events before they get success elsewhere (think about [card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] last season); these events were also attended by some world-class players, so it would be foolish to discard their results.

Rayquaza-GX / Vikavolt certainly piqued my curiosity. If this is also your case, then good news! This article is dedicated to Vikaray: why it came back, its chances in the metagame, its matchups, and some possible changes to the list that found success recently.

1. A Surprising Resurgence

[cardimg name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Before these last two weeks, Vikaray had been absent from the competitive meta since November! Let’s start with a refresher: once considered the best deck in the format at the very beginning of the season, the deck got left behind as the meta evolved. It got 9th place at the International Championship in Brazil after the release of Lost Thunder, and a couple of Day 2 spots at Roanoke Regionals the week after, but then didn’t find any success at higher events than League Cups — at least in the West. In Japan, the deck was decently successful at the Niigata Champions League in December, reaching as high as Top 4, in a format that is close to our current Team Up format, although with the notable exception of Tag Team Pokemon. Since it’s a bit confusing switching from our sets to Japanese ones, here’s an explanation: the format in Niigata included Japanese sets from Sun & Moon to Dark Order, the last set before Tag Bolt, where the Tag Team mechanic was introduced. This means that, for example, [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] was part of the format, as was [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], but [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] wasn’t.

This is an explanation for Vikaray’s success, but not a satisfying one. Sure, if the deck did well in Japan, it’s probably good, and if it’s a good deck, it’s not surprising it can do well elsewhere. But at the same time, you may be wondering: Is it actually good in a format with Tag Team Pokemon? If so, why? If it’s so good, why is it only coming back now? These were my questions as well, and here are the answers I’ve come up with.

First, it’s worth remembering what ended Vikaray’s hour of glory. It started the season in a dominant fashion, but soon people found out how to counter it. [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] decks, as well as some [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] variants, started including [card name=”Weavile” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], which could easily KO Rayquaza-GX due to all the Ability Pokemon in the deck. Malamar also rose to prominence, and many lists included [card name=”Chimecho” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card], which prevented Grubbin from evolving into Vikavolt, as well as benching Rayquaza-GX (or [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM85″ c=”name”][/card]). [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card], although not a hard counter, was also fairly difficult to deal with, as it could take a KO with Moon’s Eclipse GX and force the Rayquaza-GX player to have a Guzma. Finally, although [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] was a nice addition to the deck after Lost Thunder, both [card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] also found success at the same time, and both could abuse Rayquaza-GX’s Fairy Weakness. This left Vikaray in a bad spot in the metagame.

Fast-forward to now. Weavile is almost unseen; a few Zoroark-GX variants still use it but they haven’t had much success. Apart from Rukan Shao’s Tablemon Invitational deck, Chimecho has deserted Malamar lists, and so has [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] for the most part, as Malamar lists started focusing on Ultra Necrozma-GX. Granbull and Gardevoir-GX are no longer part of the metagame, as they have a hard time dealing with new and bigger threats such as [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM168″ c=”name”][/card].

In short, all the cards and decks that countered Vikaray are scarcely seen anymore, and the new decks that replaced them are much less dangerous to Rayquaza-GX. As always, this means it’s the perfect time for it to come back.

2. The List

Before I explain how the deck deals with the current metagame, it’s a good idea to take a look at the list. This is Jose Marrero’s list, presented without changes.

[decklist name=”Vikaray” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″][pokemon amt=”17″]3x [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Grubbin” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”13″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”10″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dhelmise” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”22″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]3x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Volkner” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Unleashed” no=”82″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Lysandre Labs” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]7x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]6x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

All in all, not much has changed since the lists from the early season. [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] is an obvious inclusion in the deck, since it accelerates two Energy cards, which means that [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] gets to deal an extra 60 damage. It also lets Rayquaza-GX attack earlier even in situations in which you don’t manage to set up Vikavolt. For example, by benching Rayquaza-GX, attaching an Energy with Stormy Winds and using Tapu Koko Prism Star, you get three Energy in play in the first turn. This lets you attack on turn two with no [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] needed! (Or even on turn 1 with a Guzma, but that’s a very unlikely scenario.)

[premium]

[cardimg name=”Shaymin Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”10″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Shaymin Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] is a fantastic attacker since it does the same thing as Rayquaza-GX, but with a more relevant typing, as a non-GX, and with free Retreat. It’s a great answer to [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], for instance. [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] is not a new card, but it’s included only now in order to counter Lightning-type Pokemon, and especially [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM168″ c=”name”][/card]. Thanks to the latter’s Weakness, Marshadow-GX only needs four Energy on the board to KO the big Tag Team Pokemon with Dragon Break — and three Energy can even suffice if it copies Dhelmise’s or [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]’s attacks.

Speaking of Dhelmise, it’s still in the deck as another non-GX attacker. It hits relevant numbers against non-GX Pokemon and its HP lets it take attacks from some non-GX Pokemon, like [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], much better than Shaymin Prism Star.

Perhaps the most interesting card in the list is [card name=”Lysandre Labs” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s basically the deck’s ace in the hole that helps in a surprising number of ways. For example, against [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM161″ c=”name”][/card]-based decks, Lysandre Labs shuts down [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], making it harder for them to chain Zapdos attacks. Against [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], it cancels the effect of [card name=”Bodybuilding Dumbbells” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], making it so Rayquaza-GX needs seven rather than nine Energy for a KO. It shuts down [card name=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card]’s [card name=”Wishful Baton” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Weakness Policy” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] if anyone includes it — and obviously, [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], the most popular of Pokemon Tools. Also noteworthy is the fact that many decks only play two Stadium cards, so by playing three Lysandre Labs, you should win the Stadium war.

The issue with Vikaray is the same as always: setting up a Vikavolt. If you can do it on turn two, you’re golden: Zeraora-GX solves switching issues, you get Energy every turn, and Rayquaza-GX can trade very well with most decks. However, the deck does have consistency issues, and often you’ll have to settle for a later Vikavolt. Depending on the matchup, this can be more or less mitigated.

Speaking of matchups, let’s delve into how Rayquaza-GX / Vikavolt does against some of the most common decks in the format!

3. Matchups

Pikachu & Zekrom-GX

There are several variants of the deck. The faster versions of PikaRom, that focus on Full Blitz at the expense of other attackers, are getting more popular recently, and that’s good news for Vikaray. Thanks to [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card], you can answer a quick [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. It should be noted that using Marshadow-GX is not as straightforward as it looks, as you need to discard an attacker. There are enough ways to discard cards ([card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], and Stormy Winds) that it’s not unrealistic by any means, but you should still be wary of ending up with a Marshadow-GX all charged up, and no attack to copy.

With enough Energy on the field, though, it’s even possible for Rayquaza-GX to OHKO Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, although this requires at least two turns of [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]’s Ability, which in turn means that you had a very fast start, or that your opponent had a subpar one. It’s still a decent way to end the game if you can’t get a [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card].

If you can, avoid benching [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] so that you don’t give an easy Bench target for your opponent, should they manage to use Tag Bolt GX. This is also true of Marshadow-GX, the other Pokemon-GX with less than 180 HP in the deck, but the point of Marshadow-GX is to KO Pikachu & Zekrom-GX before it gets enough Energy to attack. It may happen that the opponent manages to Tag Bolt GX anyway: for example, if they used Full Blitz to attach Energy to a second Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, and you Knock Out the first, then they could manually attach to the second Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, Energy Switch an Energy from somewhere, and use [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card]. Marshadow-GX should be Active, though, so they won’t be able to take four Prize cards off this attack. You’re still in a bad spot if they can KO your attacker and a Vikavolt, but if you can setup another Vikavolt, you may get enough Energy in play to return the KO.

Slower versions of Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, featuring [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and higher counts of [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], are more annoying. They will chase your Grubbin to try to KO them before you can evolve them, then pivot to Pikachu & Zekrom-GX when you don’t have a way to retaliate. This matchup is unfavorable, but Lysandre Labs can help you by disrupting the Jirachi and Zapdos synergy.

Zoroark-GX

Again, there are many ways to play [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], but the good news is that they all have issues with Rayquaza-GX. Zoroark-GX can’t OHKO a Rayquaza-GX, but Dragon Break can easily KO Zoroark-GX once Vikavolt is set up. Decks that only use Zoroark-GX, such as Zoroark-GX Control, can’t do much; neither their attacking or disruption options are effective. (I’ll go more into detail about disruption options when I talk about the Stall matchup below.) Zoroark-GX’s main partner, [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], is weak to Grass, so Dhelmise and Shaymin Prism Star can trade very effectively with it.

[card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] can attack into Rayquaza-GX’s Weakness, although with Lysandre Labs in play, it can’t use [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to get an OHKO. Weavile is also very effective because Vikaray tends to have a lot of Ability Pokemon on the field: Rayquaza-GX, Vikavolt, Tapu Lele-GX, Zeraora-GX, Marshadow, etc. Both Alolan Ninetales-GX and Weavile have seen some success in Zoroark-GX decks at League Cups, but very little at higher levels of competition in the current format, so I wouldn’t be worried. Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX (sometimes with [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card]) and Zoroark-GX Control are by far the two most popular ways to run Zoroark-GX right now.

Zapdos / Jirachi

[cardimg name=”Dhelmise” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”22″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

As explained above, Zapdos is an issue for the deck, because the deck can go after Grubbin to prevent it from evolving. It’s certainly not impossible for Vikaray to set up a [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], but it will often be behind in Prizes when it does so. Rayquaza-GX also doesn’t trade very well against Zapdos and other attackers: it can OHKO them but gets 2HKO’d in response, so it’s hard to come back.

In this matchup, you want to use your non-GX attackers, especially Dhelmise, to trade favorably with Zapdos. Even Vikavolt can be a decent attacker thanks to its HP. However, it’s hard to prevent Zapdos from taking Prizes on the Bench. In addition, [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] is the deck’s trump card against Rayquaza-GX, able to take two Prizes at any time. Obviously, it can be KO’d back, but a smart Zapdos player will keep it in hand until they can end the game with Tapu Thunder GX.

The Ultra Beasts variant of Zapdos / Jirachi seems to be the most popular at the moment, and it’s also the hardest to deal with. [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Nihilego” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] are both relevant threats, and [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] damage can change the math: for example, one tick of Shrine means that Rayquaza-GX gets OHKO’d by Zapdos with a Choice Band and two [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card]. Lysandre Labs will help, but dedicated Zapdos / Jirachi decks run many switching cards so they’ll most likely manage to deal with it. I would consider this matchup definitely unfavorable.

Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel

This matchup is a simple Prize race. Both decks will use a GX Pokemon as their main attacker and trade KOs back and forth. The matchup is close, but as long as it gets a decent start, I think Vikaray has the upper hand. [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] / Naganadel isn’t very aggressive in the early game, so you can set up Vikavolt while the opponent can’t access [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], and possibly take the first KO. Then, it’s easy for Vikaray to set up a new attacker every time one is KO’d, so it’s more likely that Blacephalon-GX will miss a beat.

Stall

Here are some good news: if you hate Stall and refuse to lose to it, then Rayquaza-GX / Vikavolt is the deck for you! The deck works in such a way that none of Stall’s strategies work; let me explain why. Note that by Stall, I mean [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] decks and those who work in a similar way, but most of what’s below also applies to Zoroark-GX Control.

First, Energy denial is out of the question. Vikavolt accelerates two Energy every turn, so no amount of [card name=”Plumeria” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] will stand up to this. The deck also has two [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] to get the Energy back, as well as [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]’s Full Voltage GX. In short, you can never run out of Energy.

Vikaray also doesn’t have a damage cap, for all intents and purposes. It can deal effortlessly even with a Regigigas with [card name=”Ancient Crystal” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] attached (not even getting into the fact that Lysandre Labs shuts down that Tool). It differs from other decks with no damage cap in that it can deal its damage turn after turn with no issue. Blacephalon-GX, for example, doesn’t run enough Energy to KO a full board of Regigigas with Mind Blown, but Rayquaza-GX can use Dragon Break turn after turn with no downside. Even Malamar / Ultra Necrozma-GX can have trouble attacking each turn since you need to get Ultra Necrozma-GX on the Bench to Psychic Recharge to it; Vikaray, on the other hand, puts the pressure on the opponent every single turn and forces them to have an answer, at a much faster speed than Stall is comfortable with.

[card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] can’t stop Rayquaza-GX. Dhelmise and Shaymin Prism Star can both OHKO it, and should they both end up in the Lost Zone, even Vikavolt can take their job.

You can’t stall the deck by bringing a Bench sitter to the Active spot, thanks to Zeraora-GX’s Thunderclap Zone. And there’s no GX attack that can shut down the deck: [card name=”Articuno-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lugia-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card], the two most popular GX attackers in Stall decks, will barely set Vikaray back. Discarding all of Rayquaza-GX’s Energy is no big problem, and there’s no Pokemon so precious that having it in the Lost Zone would lose Vikaray the game.

Even [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ c=”name”][/card] does not win the matchup, unlike in Expanded, because Vikavolt can easily KO it.

I must admit I’m not a Stall expert, and I’m regularly impressed by innovations to the deck. I’m sure an experienced Stall deckbuilder would have some ideas on how to make the matchup better, but I think the issues to overcome are so numerous that it would be hard to do without sacrificing plenty of better matchups.

Malamar

[cardimg name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Like Blacephalon-GX, the [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] matchup is a simple Prize exchange. Vikaray used to be fast enough to have the upper hand, but with more Pokemon-searching Items being played in Malamar, as well as [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] to help their consistency, it’s not as easy. That said, a turn two Vikavolt should still let Rayquaza-GX take the first Prize. From then, it should have the upper hand, as Malamar needs a Pokemon-GX to KO a Pokemon-GX, so Vikaray still keeps the Prize lead. Just be careful about the Prize trade: even if you trade non-GX for non-GX, and GX for GX, your opponent can still win by letting you go down to one prize then KOing a GX. You can avoid this by not benching GX Pokemon if you don’t have to (or not using them to attack, in order to force the opponent to have [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]). Remember that Shaymin Prism Star can KO even a GX Pokemon if you can get enough Energy into play, so you don’t have to attack with Rayquaza-GX.

[card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] is an issue for the deck, because Moon’s Eclipse GX can give them one turn of protection, allowing them to come back from an unfavorable situation. However, it’s mostly been abandoned from lists now. For this reason, I think Vikaray does well in this matchup, although it’s less consistent.

Other Decks

Obviously, it’s impossible to write about every matchup, even if I had tested them all. I still think it’s important to have an idea of how a deck performs against random decks, because you can always run into surprises at any tournament. Rayquaza-GX / Vikavolt has a simple game plan that’s hard to counter, as Energy acceleration often is. It uses a variety of attackers and Basic Energy, so there’s no single card that can wall it. It has an unlimited damage cap, which is always a great attribute to have in a vacuum.

Overall, Vikaray is effective against GX decks, thanks to its ability to oneshot them. For example, [card name=”Celebi and Venusaur-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card]’s healing game plan will be too slow against the massive damage from Dragon Break.

On the flip side, it generally has a harder time against non-GX decks, because an unlimited damage cap doesn’t mean much against a deck that expects to regularly get their Pokemon KO’d, and non-GX decks will either be faster or be able to OHKO Rayquaza-GX. For example, [card name=”Charizard” set=”Team Up” no=”14″ c=”name”][/card] is not much slower than Vikavolt — both decks need Rare Candy, and although Vikaray has Volkner, Charizard has Jirachi — and trades favorably with Rayquaza-GX.

4. Other Options

Finally, I want to discuss some other cards that can be included in the deck. It’s hard to find space, since the deck already doesn’t run many techs: like any Stage 2 deck, there’s a heavy core of cards that can’t be removed from the deck. Nevertheless, some other cards might warrant inclusion:

[card name=”Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card]: Although none of the deck’s attackers are Fairy-types, it’s not hard to attach an extra Energy to a Rayquaza-GX thanks to Vikavolt, so Wondrous Labyrinth is not a huge issue for Vikaray. It can be used to slow down other Pokemon, and especially Zapdos, to gain time to set up. If you want to include this card, it’s simplest to remove a Lysandre Labs, as four Stadiums would be too much. It should be noted Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star was included both in Jose Marrero’s Denver list and the Japanese lists that most likely inspired him, so there’s precedent for running it.
[card name=”Xurkitree-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM68″ c=”name”][/card]: A tech attacker, Xurkitree-GX is useful against decks that use mainly Special Energy. You don’t need it to beat Zoroark-GX, but it is useful against Zapdos / Ultra Beasts, since their tech attackers use [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], so they can’t touch Xurkitree-GX. I’m unsure if that would be enough, though, since Zapdos can still 2HKO it. Xurkitree-GX also provides value against some other, less common decks, such as [card name=”Passimian” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card].
[card name=”Switch” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]: Although Xurkitree-GX solves the deck’s retreat issues, you need an Energy on the Active Pokemon to use it, so it’s great in the mid game, when you can attach Energy freely, but not so great in the early game before Vikavolt is in play. Switch can be grabbed with Volkner, and lets you attacker more easily with Rayquaza-GX in the early game. For example, with Stormy Winds, Tapu Koko Prism Star and Switch, you can get a Rayquaza-GX attacking as soon as turn one! This can alleviate the pressure your opponent puts on you: if you KO their Pokemon, they’ll need to get another attacker, which means they might not be free to Guzma your Grubbin, letting you evolve on the next turn.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by how Rayquaza-GX still was to the current metagame. It performed better than I expected, although it does have some consistency issues compared to the top decks in the metagame. I think it’s actually a solid play for the International Championship coming up, as it might sneak under the radar and probably won’t be teched against or targeted. I plan on testing it more, although I must admit that I’m a bit worried by the consistency issues. There are games when you simply never set up a [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM28″ c=”name”][/card]. The best of three format does mitigate this issue, as you can salvage a bad game by winning two others; still, I already took the gamble of playing a Stage 2 deck this season at the Latin America International Championship and it was the only major event of the season where I didn’t get points, so I don’t want to repeat the experience. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see some Rayquaza-GX decks in Day 2, though, so if you can’t decide on your pick for Berlin (or any other event!), give Vikaray a try!

In the meantime, good luck if you’re playing this weekend in Daytona Beach or somewhere else, and see you next week for some last-minute discussion before the Europe International Championship!

[/premium]