Run It Back — Adding Hypnotoxic Laser to Seismitoad-EX / Zoroark-GX

[cardimg name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The ban of [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] effectively killed off the [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] variant that dominated Expanded format events early in the year. The combination of fast draw and Quaking Punch was a lot for decks to handle with the Lusamine loop to never run out of resources.

Seismitoad-EX has always been a disruptive card in any format. I love playing it because it opens the door for you to better control the plays your opponent can make. I’ve been testing a new version of the deck centered more around a quick and oppressive Quaking Punch paired with [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] to augment the damage done. This is the second take I’ve made of this archetype after the Lusamine ban, the first using [card name=”Milotic” set=”Primal Clash” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] to recover resources and then [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] to spam the Milotic over and over to create another infinite loop. Almost obviously, this hurt the consistency of the deck and is much slower in comparison to Lusamine since Sparkling Ripples only recovers one card at a time.

The version of the deck with Hypnotoxic Laser uses a more aggressive strategy, but it retains the best part about the original deck: Item lock that can stop an opponent from playing the game as they normally would. Zoroark-GX is a solid closer and allows you to abuse [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]. Seismitoad-EX has 220 HP with a [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], enough to avoid many one-hit Knock Outs to which you can Acerola time and time again with [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] and four [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] is a mainstay in this deck as well to go into the all-out control concept when the opportunity is right.

One breakthrough I made in the development of this deck was the addition of the [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] engine; this deck especially doesn’t want to play the [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] (or [card name=”Pokémon Fan Club” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card]) setup game plan. Lillie is great for a few reasons: it helps you compile a better second turn with outs to Zoroark-GX, and it also helps you dig for a first turn Quaking Punch. In Standard, many Zoroark-GX decks use [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] to dig on the first turn in Zoroark-GX decks. In Expanded you have access to [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], so that takes the place of Nest Ball and also works as yet another out to the first turn Lillie with [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]. This engine has been working very well for me and I’m a huge fan. With thirteen total Basic Pokemon, you have a 37.68% chance of starting with Seismitoad-EX outright. This means you’re going to need to be able to do some digging to still get the first turn Quaking Punch in this deck. The Lillie template is awesome; here’s the list for y’all:

[decklist name=”.” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″][pokemon amt=”17″]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]3x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”39″]2x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ 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=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ 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″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Now you might still be trying to figure out why this deck is good now. Dating back to early 2018, the Hypnotoxic Laser version of this deck got hyped up a ton going into Dallas, Texas Regionals. This hype caused many players to include [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] in that event, and the deck subsequently did poorly. Won’t that just happen again? The difference now is that a Pokemon Ranger isn’t as powerful even if it is played. Formerly when [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] was legal, decks could play Pokemon Ranger and have massively explosive turns where they could recover too many resources for you to be able to handle all in one turn. Aside from that, Pokemon Ranger is less strong because Quaking Punch isn’t as common and things like [card name=”Giratina-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] aren’t as strong with many decks running basic Energy. The game has changed a lot, but the power of Poison, potentially Sleep, and Item lock is as oppressive as ever.

Explanations

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Three Seismitoad-EX

Starting with Seismitoad-EX is nice. The difference in probability of going from three to four is about 8%. While that is a significant jump, I would rather play other cards first, still. You have a good chance of getting the turn one Quaking Punch with the Lillie engine and a Shaymin-EX. While the first turn Quaking Punch is amazing, the rest of the cards in this list are included for other reasons and I don’t want to devote an unnecessary number of cards to the first turn attack.

Seismitoad-EX is your main attacker. Playing three ensures that you can attack with as many times as you need to win. Having one on the Bench at all times is nice so you have a Pokemon to promote after a Knock Out and in doing so you can save some [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]. One on the Bench also saves you a Float Stone if you’re using Acerola on your Active to reset a Seismitoad-EX to full HP.

One Tapu Lele-GX and One Jirachi-EX

Two of these gives you more outs to the first turn Lillie. I like keeping the count of both the way to get Lillie and Lillie itself at two so not to be hurt by bad Prizes. I like this sentiment when concerning decks that rely on Brigette, also.

Jirachi-EX makes all of your Level Ball a live out to get a Lillie right away. Jirachi-EX can be a bit of a liability but the risk is completely worth it because four Level Ball all become Lillie outs, which is insane.

Two N

Seismitoad-EX loves [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]. If there’s a Supporter other than Lillie that you want to double up on, it’s this one. Two N defends you against [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] and its Get Lost as well as running out of VS Seeker in the late game. You could just play one, but I’ve liked having two so that you can Stellar Guidance or Wonder Tag for one early and maybe play one naturally. It’s such an important card to the deck that it pays to have more outs to it throughout the game. A late-game N while playing a Seismitoad-EX deck can be the difference between winning and losing — it’s that strong. Item lock is already pretty degenerate, but then when your opponent gets stuck with a small hand their options can be severely limited.

One Faba

This deck doesn’t have the time to disrupt an opponent all too much outside of Quaking Punch itself. [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] is the best disruption Supporter you can play if you get to choose only one, and it’s served me well. Most Expanded decks use Special Energy in some way, usually [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card], and with Faba you can slow those decks down and potentially run them completely out of Energy after multiple uses with VS Seeker.

One Pal Pad

Quaking Punch doesn’t do a ton of damage so you need to be able to last late into the game when playing this deck. [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] can recover important Supporter cards and give you a little bit of extra juice to last into the late stretches of a game and pull wins out. While I’m not ever worried about decking out with this deck, not having the power to get the last couple Prizes was an issue before this inclusion.

If you ever need to you can [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] for it, increasing the value you get out of one use of your Ace Spec.

Playing the Deck

The starting turns are simple: Lillie for maximum value, get as many [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] into play as possible, evolve them into Zoroark-GX, and Quaking Punch. I value a first turn Quaking Punch more than an extra Zorua because locking your opponent down right away will give you extra time to find more Zorua anyways.

Once you’re in the game, plot out your Prize cards so that you don’t waste your Hypnotoxic Laser drops on Pokemon that don’t matter as much in your path to winning the game. Look for ways you can force your opponent to end their turn with a Poisoned Pokemon in the Active that will get Knocked Out coming into your turn. That’s one of the most disruptive concepts you can employ when playing a Seismitoad-EX deck: it’s like a free [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] but your opponent’s previous Active Pokemon is Knocked Out.

Other than that, be mindful of all the cards you play and look for points where you can attack with Zoroark-GX to eliminate an impending threat or close out a game. Looping Acerola is essential to winning games with this deck, so keep those Seismitoad-EX out of harm’s way as soon as possible with Fighting Fury Belt! Using N repeatedly once your opponent has taken some Prizes is another key to victory and making comebacks.

Matchups

Blastoise: Even

This matchup is hard when your opponent pops off. Formerly, with the [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card]-based version of this deck, you could [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] up, drop [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], then Quaking Punch for 10 while you discard your opponent’s resources. Now, you need to avoid Knock Outs and take your own Knock Outs.

It might seem like the Blastoise’s deck sheer power and HP will steamroll you every time, but their big attackers are possible to overcome. Take the example of a quick [card name=”Magikarp and Wailord-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM166″ c=”name”][/card] attacking you: with Quaking Punch, Poison damage, and [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] you can Knock Out a Magikarp and Wailord-GX in just a matter of time.

[cardimg name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”142″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t necessarily needed to deny every single attack for a Knock Out, but you can completely deny your opponent if you wish, provided you have the means to do so with [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. Most Blastoise lists don’t play a Pokemon with high scaleable damage these days ([card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] and/or [card name=”Palkia-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card]), so you can freely deny Knock Outs with Acerola and just attack until you get the Knock Outs you need.

From there it’s simply a Prize trade, and maybe there’ll be a [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] down on the Bench for you to Knock Out to finish the game off. Getting a heads on a [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] is an added bonus — missing a turn of attacking as a Blastoise player just gives you more time to keep attacking and can really hurt your opponent in the long run.

It’s worth mentioning that without [card name=”Superior Energy Retrieval” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] a Blastoise player is limited to one or two attackers at most per game. Not all lists play [card name=”Fisherman” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], but, if they do, that can give them access to one additional attacker.

Regardless, this matchup comes down to your ability to dodge Knock Outs and eliminate the one or two threats you’ll face. Finding Fighting Fury Belt early is important so try to dig for it.

If [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] doesn’t come down then you’re set right away as long as you can Quaking Punch; it will happen sometimes. In the games that your opponent misses Blastoise before Quaking Punch they will do their best to break out of the Item lock. Watch out for Guzma for something that could get stuck, [card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] using Chilling Sigh, and even [card name=”Volcanion Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] using Jet Geyser to get out of it. Make sure you have a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], Guzma, or Acerola (if you’re damaged) available to get out of those situations.

This matchup might tilt to slightly favorable sometimes, but it’s pretty close. Stressful at first, but once the attacker your opponent committed everything into is down, you’re good to go. Use N as a crutch late game to stave off the potential for another attacker to be built.

Drampa-GX / Garbodor: Slightly Favorable

Using Quaking Punch isn’t a good idea in this matchup. For this one I would go straight into the control strategy behind [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]. Stream Dowsing Machine, [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] back into the deck and get rid of all of your opponent’s [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card]. Limit your Items so that [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]’s Trashalanche isn’t too strong. Garbotoxin will be the bane of your existence so leave plenty of ways for you to get the [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] back even if it gets shuffled away with [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]. Righteous Edge makes attacking with anything using a Double Colorless Energy a bad idea, so avoiding that until the end of the game when your opponent’s Double Colorless Energy are gone is a good plan. Your opponent will need multiple basic Energy to attack once the Double Colorless Energy are gone so long as Trashalanche isn’t boosted, and then you can just attack and eventually Knock Out those Pokemon. Hypnotoxic Laser is also nice to avoid turns of attacking from your opponent if you get a heads and then they flip tails.

There’s lots of ways to win but you should always remember to conserve your Items and put back Dowsing Machine and Field Blower with Resource Management above all else. A lot has to go wrong explicitly for you to lose, but N and Garbotoxin always remains an issue, even if you haven’t taken any Prizes.

Once the road is clear and you’ve put back enough Items you can feel free to attack; I would always start with a Guzma for a Garbotoxin [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and get that threat out of the way so you can always go back to using Resource Management if needed. Oranguru with a Fighting Fury Belt attached is super difficult for your opponent to take out, so it’s a force to be reckoned with on its own.

Prizing the Oranguru can hurt, in which case it’s best to target the Garbotoxin and take down any [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card] that could also become one later on. Cheap Prizes are best so you can take the most Prizes you can before Parallel City starts to run you over, all in hopes that you find the Oranguru and can recover.

Pikachu and Zekrom-GX: Slightly Favorable

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

Like in Standard, this might be confusing at first glance. [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] cannot be one-shot by a [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] with a Fighting Fury Belt, though, and then it makes more sense why this matchup is in our favor. They can’t play [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] under Item lock so you can deny all the work they put into Knock Outs.

Similar to Blastoise, the goal here is to eliminate one big threat and from there your opponent will likely sputter out. Poison damage will help you here. You can Quaking Punch a few times on two Pikachu and Zekrom-GX and then knock them both out with Riotous Beating, or just finish one of the Knock Outs with Seismitoad-EX itself and then go into [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] for the final three-Prize Knock Out on another Pikachu and Zekrom-GX. There’s a lot of ways to deal with this, but they center around denying Knock Outs with Acerola. Your opponent doesn’t have an out to Acerola so you’re free to spam it until you run out of ways to.

The one thing to avoid in this matchup is the superfluous Bench placement of Pokemon-EX/GX. Tag Bolt GX is your opponent’s single shot at winning this matchup so you don’t want them to be able to take multiple two-Prize Knock Outs at once because you can lose that way — the pressure can be too much. You don’t win via brute strength like your opponent, you win by denying Knock Outs and if you fail to do that you will lose. Figure to give up at least one two-Prize Knock Out before you stabilize with multiple Zoroark-GX in play and a Seismitoad-EX attacking; avoiding a devastating Tag Bolt GX is important. Avoiding Knock Outs while doing just enough damage to eventually take Knock Outs is the name of the game for this deck and this matchup is no different.

Zoroark-GX / Garbodor: Slightly Favorable

[card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] is big here. Without it, your opponent would have the advantage if they can get around your N plays.

Zoroark-GX decks struggle when they don’t have access to all the cards they normally use and Item lock shuts off a lot of their most important cards. A Seismitoad-EX with a Fighting Fury Belt cannot be taken out with a Riotous Beating, even if a Zoroark-GX happened to get a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] down before Item lock hit. Garbodor is unusable following your Field Blower (if it does get a Tool) because of Item lock. Once you get Quaking Punch to go, you can Faba, deny Energy, deny Knock Outs with Acerola, use [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] to stop even more Energy, and lock something up for a cheap Knock Out with Counter Catcher if you fall behind. N will always be there in the end to close out a game as well if you need it. Between Energy denial, Knock Out denial, and the annoyance of Poison and potentially Sleep from Hypnotoxic Laser, it can be hard to lose this matchup under ideal circumstances. You can even get three-shot by a Zoroark-GX if you have a Fighting Fury Belt down and Sudowoodo in play.

The concerning part here is the late game of Trashalanche, so using Oranguru to put some Items back at some point could be a good idea. Once you’ve denied enough Items and feel comfortable your opponent might whiff an attack, those are some of the best times to use Oranguru, or in a situation where you make it extremely difficult to attack when you’re using it. Perhaps following an opponent’s Knock Out you could play Counter Catcher, N, and then use Resource Management.

Regardless, lead this game off with Quaking Punch and go from there. Sudowoodo and Quaking Punch is a lot for a Zoroark-GX deck to get around so you’ll be in good shape as soon as you can get those two pieces to work at the least.

Conclusion

I really like this deck and it’s one of the only “new” concepts I’ve thought of in this Expanded format. Aside from this, I’m trying Pikachu and Zekrom-GX with [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] (like a completely turbo list like Blastoise, but with a stronger first turn), and a little Zoroark-GX / Garbodor with [card name=”Jirachi Prism Star” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] and Mr. Mime from Detective Pikachu. I’m leaning towards a control deck again for this event, so we’ll see what happens. With the mashing of this Expanded event between a bunch of Standard events it’s been harder to test but this deck shows some promise. Hopefully it works out and you see me playing it in Daytona Beach, Florida this weekend. If not, it’s still a good deck and I hope you try it out yourself — it’s in a great spot with virtually no [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] or other threats around.

Thanks for reading everyone, hit me up in the Subscriber’s Hideout if you need anything as always, and good luck out there! Take care, see ya later.

Peace,

Caleb

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