The Best of the Rest: Tier 1.5 and Expectations for Denver

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

In my last article, I wrote about the Standard format for the Collinsville Regional Championships, by going over what I had considered the four “Tier 1” decks in Standard: [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM168″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM159″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Malamar” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM117″ c=”name”][/card]. Since then, we’ve had quite a few tournaments around the globe – three Standard Regional Championships and four Standard Special Events in total – plus the usual smattering of League Cups and other local events. We are now thoroughly deep into the SUM-TEU format, despite still having about a month to go in the quarter. So far, tournament results have continued to favor those same four decks that I wrote about back in February. Those decks have made up 46 of the 56 Top 8 spots in those aforementioned Regionals and SPEs – an 82% success rate – and have won every event with the exception of Collinsville Regionals, which was won by Zach Lesage’s [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card]. I had commented before about how remarkably unsurprising the Standard format had been since the release of Team Up; over a month later, it remains the case that Team Up Standard has been incredibly predictable! For the most part, the meta remains centralized. There have been some decks that have gone up or down in popularity, but those appear to be changes from within the non-Tier 1 share of the meta, as opposed to a shift away from those four Tier 1 decks.

Out of the non-Tier 1 decks, two certainly deserve consideration as having had results that are clearly better than the rest of the field, putting them into a sort of Tier 1.5. Those two decks are Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel, and wall / stall decks ([card name=”Regigigas” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] / Energy removal). These two decks, in addition to having performed well in my own testing, have made up nine of the other ten Top 8 spots (6 and 3 respectively), and had multiple Day Two finishes in addition. The two have also been rather popular League Cup plays, despite issues that Wall can have in best of one formats. The Wall decks can be divided into those with and without [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ c=”name”][/card], though the general strategy for both variants is about the same. Both of these decks are popular enough that one should have a reasonable expectation of running into them in Denver. So, since my last article focused on the “Elite Four” Tier 1 decks, for this one, I’ll instead be focusing more on those two Tier 1.5 decks: Blacephalon-GX and wall. I’ll also take a brief look at how the lists for the aforementioned four decks have changed since Collinsville, and of course, finish up by telling you what I’ll be playing in Denver!

Denver Meta Expectations

We’re now about a week away from Denver, and yet my expectations remain pretty much the same as they were heading into Collinsville. Lighting decks, Malamar decks, and [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] will make up the majority of the field, and likewise games against those decks will make up the majority of your tournament matches. I do think it is worth noting that in Collinsville (the one Standard tournament we have complete meta information for), those four archetypes made up about two-thirds of the field, yet were able to take ~80% of the Day 2 spots, on par with the Top 8 results that those decks have had in the other major events. This implies that the decks were actually able to over-perform in Day 1; that is, their comparative strength in terms of results isn’t due to simply being more popular than other decks, but because they actually are stronger than most of the less popular concepts out there. The four decks have continued to dominate events, and there haven’t been any rogue decks popping up that appear to threaten that dominance. Moreover, the results have been rather well distributed; that is, no deck has managed to establish itself as the “deck to beat”. This is rather important, as it both means that there isn’t a clear favorite as far as which of the four will be the most popular, and that there isn’t an obvious group of counter decks or techs that we can expect.

[cardimg name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Prior to Collinsville, the strong performance of Lightning decks at the OCIC made it somewhat easier to predict that Fighting-types and Lightning counter decks would be more prevalent. Zoroark-GX + Fighting-types did end up being the most played archetype in Collinsville, as expected, and Fighting decks were among the more popular of the non-Tier 1 decks played. We don’t seem to have that luxury heading into Denver, so it is difficult to say which of the four appear to be the most threatening, or which one a player would be more likely to encounter. While Malamar does appear to have the least results as far as tournament finishes, that was also the case at the OCIC – and yet Malamar variants were the second most-played decks at Collinsville, ahead of both Zapdos and PikaRom, which had performed much better. All in all, I don’t think that you can reliably make the case for any of the four decks as far as predicted popularity going forward; which deck is more popular at a given tournament appears to be dependent on the particular makeup of whatever player base happens to be at that tournament.

A big problem for any off-meta deck trying to break through into Tier 1 is the variety of decks and strategies within that top tier. The Lightning decks are aggressive, and cut down both other aggressive decks (by outclassing them) and slower setup decks, Stage 2 decks in particular. The Zoroark-GX decks outclass any other mid range variant, due to their versatility and superior consistency. Tanky decks such as [card name=”Celebi and Venusaur-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM167″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Magikarp and Wailord-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] also struggle, thanks to the practically unlimited damage output of Malamar. Basically, there aren’t any decks that are reliably better than the Tier 1 options given a particular strategy, nor do there exist any decks which can reliably win against all of those strategies. With that said, it is certainly possible for a non-Tier 1 deck to have a positive matchup against some of the Tier 1 decks, or even a highly favorable matchup against one of them. For decks that can compete with the Tier 1 decks, and still hold their own against the rest of the randomness in the format, there is certainly a place in the format; these decks make up the Tier 2 and below options. Of those non-Tier 1 options, the two archetypes that appear closest to breaking through are Blacephalon-GX and wall variants. Blacephalon-GX has had a consistent presence at tournaments, a presence which have only increased since Zach Lesage’s Regionals victory. The deck fills the aggressive deck lane well, and unlike the aggressive Zapdos or PikaRom decks, isn’t easily countered by [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] or teched Fighting types. Wall decks have had less of a presence, but have been steadily threatening despite their lower numbers. Collinsville was an excellent example of how these decks can win in a format that isn’t prepared for them, as the deck was able to obtain multiple Day 2 spots, as well as a third place finish. Both of these decks have established themselves well enough to be threats in Denver, and I would expect to hit at least one of the two, if not both.

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Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel

Heading into Collinsville, this deck was largely written off as unable to compete in a post-Team Up meta. Even Zach Lesage, the Blacephalon-using tournament winner, had severe doubts about the deck’s viability prior to that event! As it turns out, the deck is far from dead, and has reemerged as a viable tournament option. In fact, in the five major tournaments held after Collinsville / Cannes, Blacephalon has actually obtained more Top 8 spots than Malamar has (4 vs 3, respectively)! Right now, Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel is about as close to a perfect example of a Tier 1.5 deck that one could have. The deck hasn’t quite matched the prestige or meta share of the four Tier 1 decks – the deck has only about half of the League Cup placements as Malamar, for example – but it does stand clearly above the rest of the non-Tier 1 field as far as its results.

For my testing, I’ve been using Zach Lesage’s winning list. All four of the Top 8 lists from the post-Collinsville events have been based off of that one, two being exact 60 card copies, the other two being within two cards of Lesage’s list. Likewise, I would expect most Blacephalon-GX players to be playing something based off of that winning list – I certainly would! Blacephalon-GX, as a deck, doesn’t have a ton of possible variation as far as techs and decklist options go, so there’s no reason to expect people to stray from what has proven to be successful. Here is Zach’s list, for reference:

[decklist name=”Blacephalon” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”17″]4x [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Poipole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”55″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Alolan Grimer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”27″]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Erika’s Hospitality” set=”Team Up” no=”174″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Ultra Space” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”16″]15x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”15″][/card]1x [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

[cardimg name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Blacephalon-GX, as a deck, is somewhat straightforward as far as its attacking strategy goes. Since the deck has nothing as far as Bench attacks or spread attacks, you can pretty safely assume that whatever attacker the deck uses, it will be hitting the Active. Because of its simplicity, Blacephalon-GX is one of the top decks that I would recommend for newer players, younger players, or those who haven’t had a ton of time to playtest. The deck’s strategy can be picked up fairly quickly, and the deck is strong enough to obtain quite a few wins despite that relative simplicity. Burst GX allows the deck to take an early Prize while the deck is setting up, and is generally one of the first attacks that you will use, after which point Mind Blown becomes the go-to attack. Once multiple Naganadel are set up (an easy feat for the deck, given its nine Pokemon search cards), then Blacephalon-GX will have no problems Knocking Out whatever you throw at it. Because of that, if Blacephalon can obtain a Prize lead, it is an incredibly difficult deck to stop. Naganadel’s Turning Point can also be used in most matches as a way to get a KO with a non-GX, giving the deck an opportunity to jump ahead if it’s fallen behind at all. If you are in a pinch, Bursting Burn is also an excellent attack against an opposing Pokemon that you can’t quite OHKO; Confusion tends to be both annoying and difficult to get around, so the move will either force your opponent to use some resources or, if they don’t have those resources, buy you a turn to get that KO.

When playing against Blacephalon, you’ll want to make sure not to bench any GX Pokemon unnecessarily. The more you can focus on attacking with non-GXs, the better off your match against Blacephalon will go. Playing around the boosted Turning Point turn is important – try and make sure you have a way to bring up and attack Blacephalon-GX. Beast Ring is something to be aware of, but isn’t something you can avoid if they have them. A boosted Tag Bolt GX can be devastating if you can pull it off, but Mind Blown can OHKO Pikachu & Zekrom GX easier than you might think, so you don’t want to commit to that play unless absolutely necessary. In most games, the match against Blacephalon-GX will be a race for Prizes; these games tend to go quite quickly!

Matchups

Vs. Zapdos

In my experience, this matchup tends to go similarly to the Zoroark matchup for Zapdos; that is, the game generally comes down to whether or not the Blacephalon player can get [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] into play. If they can, then Zapdos will struggle, as it tends to when it’s locked out of Abilities. If the Zapdos player can prevent the Alolan Muk from coming into play, then the Zapdos player has a distinctive advantage. Blacephalon-GX doesn’t have anything in the way of healing cards, and Turning Point doesn’t do enough damage to OHKO a Zapdos outside of the boosted turn, so the game becomes a trade of 2HKOs from Zapdos to OHKOs from Blacephalon-GX. The Zapdos deck does have the potential to get a OHKO on Blacephalon-GX via an [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] boosted attack or via [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM50″ c=”name”][/card], which is what gives it the advantage in games without Alolan Muk (since it isn’t terribly difficult to acquire those cards through repeated use of Stellar Wish). If the Blacephalon player cannot get Alolan Muk into play, [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card]’s Let Loose will become the primary way of disrupting that Zapdos play.

Vs. PikaRom

This matchup is a fairly difficult one for Blacephalon, but it is winnable. The game tends to come down to how well each player draws. If the PikaRom player struggles, Blacephalon can easily get ahead; if they go off instead, then the Blacephalon player needs to draw pretty hot to match them! Specifically, the Blacephalon player often will need to hit and utilize two [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card], in order to both have the available Energy to KO an attacking Pikachu & Zekrom GX, and to have enough on the board to deal with the next one. Marshadow is great in this matchup. Use it either early to hinder their setup, or later, to push them off of any potential winning cards.

Vs. Zoroark-GX

As it was prior to Team Up, the Zoroark-GX matchup is a positive one for Blacephalon. This seems to be the case now more than ever, since Zoroark-GX players are dedicating more spots of their deck to beating the new Team Up Lightning variants, rather than including techs which could improve the Blacephalon matchup. Zoroark-GX decks, while efficient, generally have a difficult time matching the pace of Blacephalon-GX. It takes quite a few resources for either Zoroark-GX or any partner attacker in the deck to OHKO a Blacephalon-GX. Lycanroc-GX’s Dangerous Rogue GX can get one, and Zoroark-GX can possibly get another via a full Bench Riotous Beating + [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] + [card name=”Devoured Field” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] + [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card], but the odds of them getting a third OHKO are rather low. Marshadow’s Let Loose greatly reduces the odds of that the Zoroark player will be able to pull off the Professor Kukui combo.

Vs. Malamar[cardimg name=”Malamar” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM117″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Malamar can be tricky, but like the PikaRom matchup, these games tend to come down to draws. If the Malamar player can set up well, and continually get KOs with Ultra Necrozma-GX, then they can easily win, whereas if they struggle to set up, then they will also struggle in the game. Malamar can potentially play other ways to give it an edge, such as [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card], but most current variants do not. For both decks, drawing well and using Marshadow well will be the key to victory.

Vs. Blacephalon-GX

The Blacephalon-GX mirror match is one great race to take Prize cards as quickly as possible. Neither player has a particularly reliable way to prevent their opponent from doing so, so taking Knock Outs should be the priority. Marshadow’s Let Loose can be critical to the game’s result; if you can get set up, and then Let Loose to hinder your opponent’s set up, then you’ll have a distinct advantage, and vice versa. In theory, Naganadel + [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] can OHKO an opposing Blacephalon-GX during the three Prize turn, but I’d only recommend trying that line of play if you are trying to get ahead, and can attack in conjunction with a Let Loose (to reduce the chance that your opponent will be able to [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] around the Naganadel). Otherwise, it can be useful insofar as reducing the Energy requirement for a Mind Blown OHKO by one.

Vs. Wall Matchups

Naganadel is the key to this matchup. Turning Point may only do 80 damage, but Naganadel can do that damage consistently, since Charging Up makes it all but immune to Energy removal. Naganadel can two-shot [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], and isn’t walled by [card name=”Shuckle-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ c=”name”][/card]. Against Regigigas, [card name=”Poipole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]’s Spit Poison is a useful move, since it puts the Regigigas into two-shot range for Naganadel. While Spit Poison + Turning Point + Turning Point is still a three turn KO combo the same as Turning Point + Turning Point + Turning Point, the Spit Poison strategy is far stronger if the Wall player attempts to heal via Max Potion. In that scenario, the opposing Regigigas will be two attacks away from being KO’d, rather than three, thanks to the poison damage. The Wall deck can potentially loop [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] if Naganadel is the only attacker, but Blacephalon-GX can KO Regigigas and [card name=”Magikarp and Wailord-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] easily enough.

Wall Decks

Despite being reasonably popular after the release of Lost Thunder, wall decks have found it difficult to keep up with the new developments out of Team Up. The advent of the new Lightning decks, in particular, have been rather difficult for wall variants to deal with. Between [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], the Lightning decks don’t need a ton of resources to power up and obtain KOs on cards such as Hoopa and Regigigas, and Pikachu & Zekrom GX’s Energy acceleration makes an Energy denial strategy rather difficult to pull off. These decks have adapted somewhat, however, and I think are worth noting as being toward the top of Tier 2, if not in the Tier 1.5 category with Blacephalon-GX. In Collinsville, Wall variants were able to take advantage of a lack of evolution Pokemon in the Lightning decks, by including Vileplume. Other than that, however, the wall decks have remained fairly similar to how they were prior to Team Up. [card name=”Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] has been an excellent new addition to these decks, as have Magikarp and Wailord GX and the new Supporter, [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Team Up” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card]. Wall variants are notorious for taking advantage of a field that doesn’t expect them, so in that way, Denver may be a ripe field for the deck to do well. Here are two lists that I’ve been using to test against, one with Vileplume, one without. First, here is Riley Hulbert’s 3rd place list from Collinsville, Vileplume included:

[decklist name=”Vileplume” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”91″][pokemon amt=”13″]2x [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Oddish” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”4″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Magikarp and Wailord-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Shuckle-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”17″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Articuno-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”46″]4x [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Team Up” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”153″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”142″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Gladion” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Plumeria” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”208″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Team Skull Grunt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mars” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tate & Liza” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Copycat” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Life Forest Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”180″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mount Lanakila” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”1″]1x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

And, here is the list without Vileplume that I’ve used for testing, based on several well performing lists:

[decklist name=”Wall, no Plume” amt=”60″ caption=”undefined” cname=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”91″][pokemon amt=”11″]4x [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Magikarp and Wailord-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Shuckle-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”17″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Articuno-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”31″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”48″]4x [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Team Up” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”142″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”153″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Plumeria” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Gladion” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”208″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tate & Liza” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Team Skull Grunt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mars” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mount Lanakila” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”1″]1x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

[cardimg name=”Regigigas” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”84″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The wall deck’s strategy is one of Energy and resource denial. The general strategy, while quite different from Blacephalon’s, is about as straightforward. The Wall deck seeks to win not by obtaining Knock Outs, but by preventing them, by using “wall” Pokemon such as Hoopa, Shuckle-GX, Regigigas, and Magikarp & Wailord GX to absorb (or prevent) attacks. If the opponent fails to OHKO the wall Pokemon, then Max Potion and Acerola will ensure that the previous turn’s damage gets undone. While healing, the Wall player will also do what they can to remove Energy and force the opponent to burn through resources, in order to continue to attack. If the opponent runs out of resources, then the Wall player wins, either by eventual deckout, or by using [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] to end the game. One thing worth noting with this deck is that while the general strategy is straightforward, the execution of that strategy is often not. You have to be able to think ahead quite a bit; basically, you want to have an idea of how you will go about winning the matchup the moment you figure out what your opponent is playing. [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] can be tricky to use, and it can be difficult to know when to optimally utilize healing cards and Lusamine. So, unlike Blacephalon-GX, Wall is not a deck I would recommend for newer players, younger players, or those crunched for time.

When playing against Wall decks, however, you don’t need to know the entire format, you simply need to know how the Wall deck will approach your matchup in particular; the decision making on your end tends to be easier as well. These matchups tend to be a bit too dynamic to have a specific plan to stick to, but there are certain aspects which you’ll want to take note of when playing against it. All games against Wall are games where proper management of your resources is absolutely key. Before the tournament, you’ll want to note are how many Energy you need to attack their various Pokemon, which non-attackers (such as Malamar) that could get stuck in the Active, and what kind of resources you’ll need to conserve in order to have success in the late game. You should treat your Energy as if they’re your Prize cards – from the Wall perspective, they are pretty much one and the same. During the game, you’ll likewise want to keep a careful count of both your resources and your opponent’s – don’t forget to take what is in your Prize cards into account as well! If you play Marshadow, you’ll want to save it for times where you can put yourself into a game winning position if they don’t draw what they need off of it, such as if you are putting them down to only one Pokemon in play. If you have the time, play this matchup a few times to get used to it. The clock can end up being a notable factor when your opponent’s strategy is to mill you out, and you don’t want to end up losing a match 0-1 because you spent too much time thinking about how to approach the game!

Vileplume or Not?

Since Collinsville, Vileplume hasn’t seen much success in the Regionals/SPEs, and hasn’t been included in the wall lists that have done well. An interesting development is that Stage 1 Pokemon have become a more popular addition to Zapdos decks, either in the form of Fighting type techs such as [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], or as a 1-1 or 2-2 [card name=”Jolteon-GX ” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM173″ c=”name”][/card] line. Some of the PikaRom variants have also taken to including a thin line of Jolteon-GX as well. In fact, of the 20 Lightning-type decks to have made the Top 8 post-Collinsville, only four of them were not playing some form of dedicated Stage 1 attacker – and three of those four still had [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] as an emergency option against Vileplume. The one Tier 1 deck that Vileplume remains useful against is Malamar, since Malamar itself is the only way that the deck can damage Vileplume. At only 60 damage a turn, that means that Malamar will take three hits to KO a Vileplume, hits which can easily be undone by the Wall deck’s many healing cards. [card name=”Life Forest Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”180″ c=”name”][/card] is particularly strong in this scenario, since it will automatically undo any damage from Malamar until it is removed from play. Without Vileplume, Malamar can be a problematic matchup for wall decks, since Malamar can Knock Out most of the wall Pokemon in one way or another by using the right attacker at the right time. Given the lack of rogue decks in the meta, and the new developments in Lightning decks, I personally wouldn’t play Vileplume, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if I ran into a deck that played it. When testing, I would recommend playing against the version of Wall without Vileplume, so you can get the hang of that matchup first; even if you play a Vileplume counter, you’ll still have to deal with the rest of the deck after all!

Playing Against Vileplume

Even if I do have a counter to Vileplume, my general strategy against a Vileplume deck is to play as if I don’t. That is, I try to target down and KO the [card name=”Oddish” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] as fast as I can, with the goal of making my opponent believe that Vileplume is their key to victory, while also not revealing any cards that I have that could be used to KO Vileplume. By doing this, I can get your opponent to play nonoptimally, by getting them to devote resources to develop their Vileplume, which don’t pose much of a threat given that I am playing a Vileplume counter. Against a deck such as Wall, this also means that I can easily acquire several Prizes easier than I could if my opponent had abandoned the idea of getting out Vileplume and focused instead on the Energy denial and healing aspects of their deck.

Obviously, if you don’t have a Vileplume counter, you also want to prioritize attacking their Oddish! If they do get it into play, then your bluff needs to be the opposite – don’t scoop immediately, but instead try and play it out for at least a bit. In the best of circumstances, your opponent will continue to bench additional Pokemon to prevent losing to a possible counter, in which case you can utilize your Guzma and other opposition switching resources to try and get the win anyway. For a deck such as PikaRom, you can also obtain an out this way by eventually powering up for a boosted Tag Bolt GX, which can KO the Vileplume when it is on the Bench. For a Zapdos player, you’ll probably have enough resources between [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] to win if they overfill their Bench. Even if they do end up beating you, the threat of a Vileplume counter may cause them to play differently in the second game, which is to your advantage. This strategy won’t work every time – but it will give you a chance that you wouldn’t otherwise have if you give into defeat.

My Play for Denver

As for my deck of choice for Denver, I will once again be playing [card name=”Jolteon-GX ” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM173″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM159″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM161″ c=”name”][/card]. In fact, my list will likely remain unchanged from Collinsville! Collinsville itself was a bit of a rough ride for me, as I ended up playing five of my nine rounds against Zoroark-GX + Fighting Types + [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card], which was one of the few decks which I would have considered to be an unfavorable matchup. I was only able to amass a 2-3 record against those Zoroark decks, so, while I did end up finishing with the highest placement of any player not in Day Two (as a result of beating everything else I faced), I can’t help but be a bit disappointed in that result! Since then, I’ve won two League Cups in the two tournaments I’ve played with the deck, bringing my total tournament record with the deck (excluding IDs) up to 23-4. While it may be somewhat of a fallacy to choose a deck solely on record, I am certainly reluctant to switch from a deck that has given me a tournament win rate of over 85 percent! The deck continues to perform well, and the various techs and list choices have worked pretty much as planned. More importantly though, the format going into Denver seems to be more favorable than the one at Collinsville. The emergence of Blacephalon-GX and Wall decks is a positive development for Jolteon-GX / Zapdos, not only because Jolteon / Zapdos has a positive matchup into both of those decks, but because both of those decks also have a positive matchup into Zapdos’s worst popular matchup, Zoroark-GX (+ Alolan Muk). On top of that, the meta share of the Tier 1 decks appears to have become a bit more mixed, as opposed to Collinsville, where Zoroark-GX + Fighting attackers + Alolan Muk had an increase in popularity as a reaction to the OCIC results. All together, the format looks to once again be conducive to success for Jolteon-GX / Zapdos, and so despite the continued threat of Alolan Muk and [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], I will once again be sticking with my preferred deck. With any luck, my post-Collinsville success with the deck will continue! To save you a click, here once again is my Jolteon-GX / Zapdos list:

[decklist name=”J-Z” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Mr. Mime” set=”Team Up” no=”66″][pokemon amt=”16″]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Jolteon-GX ” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Eevee” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”47″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ 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=”Wobbuffet” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Team Up” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”36″]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Volkner” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Erika’s Hospitality” set=”Team Up” no=”174″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”142″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”232″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Adventure Bag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”228″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ 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=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]8x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”165″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

To explain the lack of decklist changes, I’d like to refer back to my previous comments on Denver’s predicted meta. Since Collinsville, not a ton has changed in the Standard metagame. The same four decks that I expected in Collinsville, I also expect to run into in Denver, though perhaps at more even ratios. The two main additions to that metagame, Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel and Wall, happen to already be well-teched for with my existing list. In fact, my list seemed to almost have been designed to counter Wall, as my inclusions of Jolteon-GX, [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”201″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Team Up” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] turn this matchup into a near autowin, regardless of whether or not my opponent chooses to play Vileplume. Wobbuffet is also incredibly important into Blacephalon-GX, since their early strategy against Zapdos involves beelining to get Alolan Muk in play. The other decks haven’t changed all that much, so I don’t see myself changing either, given that those matchups were what my list was designed to beat. Malamar decks do seem to be including [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] at a higher rate than heading into Collinsville, but Mr. Mime counters that card well, so the matchup there is about the same. Zoroark-GX decks thankfully have not seemed to be including [card name=”Nanu” set=”Team Up” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card]. Pikachu & Zekrom GX haven’t changed much either, the one major addition seeming to be the inclusion of a 1-1 Jolteon-GX line.

The one deck that has had a solid amount of innovation is, amusingly enough, Zapdos. Between [card name=”Jolteon-GX ” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM173″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Nihilego” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM168″ c=”name”][/card], there are quite a few potential partners to go along with Zapdos and Jirachi. After having tested these other variants, however, none of them stand out to me as particularly stronger against a random field. All of them have remained quite weak against Alolan Muk, a flaw which appears to be rather central to Zapdos’s design. One tech which I have found intriguing is [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card], since it gives the deck a potential way to remain consistent even when [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] is in play. If I were to include any new tech in the deck, a 1-1 Zebstrika line would be it, since it improves the deck’s main weakness. The other popular new techs – the Fighting types, and Pikachu & Zekrom GX – only seem to marginally improve the deck’s already positive matchup against PikaRom, while also not doing much to help in the matchups that can cause the deck to struggle. If I’m going to opt for techs over consistency cards, I prefer my assortment of [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Team Up” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], since they help improve the matchups against a wider array of decks. For a more localized meta, I do think that the Rainbow or Fighting variants of the deck can be stronger, but I don’t believe that the Denver meta will be centralized enough to make that variation a necessary play. Jolteon-GX remains a consistent, versatile option for Zapdos; given the lack of apparent changes in the meta since Collinsville, I don’t plan to stray away from it. As for the addition of Pikachu & Zekrom GX, I do believe that the card’s tankiness and high damage output can be quite useful in Zapdos decks, particularly ones that are more “straight” Zapdos builds. However, the same role is generally filled in my build by Zeraora-GX, which also has the additional benefit of drastically increasing the odds of winning against Energy denial decks such as Wall. If Wall decks didn’t have a place in the meta, I might opt for the slightly stronger Pikachu & Zekrom GX, but since they do seem to be more than a fringe play, Zeraora-GX remains my card of choice for now.

Conclusion

With that, we’ve reached the end of this article! I’d like to wish the best of luck to everyone competing this weekend! If you have any questions, as always, don’t hesitate to ask, either by asking me directly, or by asking everyone in our PTCG Subscribers’ Hideout!

Thanks for reading!

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