Last Minute Tips for Worlds

[cardimg name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM168″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Hello! By the time this article is published, if you’re in Washington, D.C. this weekend for Worlds or the Open, you’ll probably have your deck chosen and built already. However, if you’re still looking for last-minute advice, this is the article for you! I’m not going to introduce new concepts here, that you wouldn’t have time to practice with anyway. Instead, I want to give you updated, simple lists and some tips that you can apply even a few hours before the event.

Pikachu & Zekrom-GX

It’s no secret that [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] is considered one of the strongest, if not the outright best deck in the format. I’ve written about it in the past and I still think that lists based on [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] are very strong. However, if you’re about to pick up Pikachu & Zekrom-GX just before the event, you might want a simpler approach to the deck. (Simpler doesn’t mean worse!) Here’s a very aggressive list that my testing group built this week.

[decklist name=”PikaRom” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″][pokemon amt=”11″]3x [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Raichu and Alolan Raichu-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”54″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”38″]4x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Electromagnetic Radar” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”82″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tag Switch” set=”Unified Minds” no=”209″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Lysandre Labs” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

As you can see, this list prioritizes aggression. Here are some notable choices and why they fit into this approach to the game. This list can be considered “highroll”: that is, it is potentially extremely strong, if you’re a bit lucky. However, it is also more susceptible to variance and can also be disappointing. As I’ve discussed last week, this kind of deck can be worth playing at the World Championships, where the high level of your opponents and the low number of rounds played mean that you’ll need some part of luck anyway to succeed. For example, this deck can achieve turn 1 Full Blitz (going second) better than any other PikaRom list I’ve seen. That said, there also games where it completely blows up on itself.

3 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, 1 Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX

Pikachu & Zekrom-GX is the ideal starter, so we play three copies of it to maximise the odds. Also, it’s not uncommon to follow Full Blitz with Tag Bolt GX, so Pikachu & Zekrom-GX is definitely the main attacker in the deck. In comparison, we use [card name=”Raichu and Alolan Raichu-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] less, so we only play one copy.

2 Rayquaza-GX, 4 Cherish Ball

The main addition to this deck is [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], that can act as a sort of [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]-lite. [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] searches for everything in the deck (except Tapu Koko Prism Star), including Rayquaza-GX, and you can then use [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] to move the Energy around from Rayquaza-GX to your attacker.

1 Tapu Koko Prism Star, 0 Pokémon Communication

There’s no way to search for Tapu Koko Prism Star in this deck. While [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card] is not a bad card, this deck has access to better cards, so we accept to not search for Tapu Koko Prism Star as a trade-off. You can see Tapu Koko Prism Star just like [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] in the pre-Unified Minds format: you can’t search for it, but it’s very good whenever you draw into it.

4 Lillie, 4 Cynthia, 0 Volkner, 4 Acro Bike

Speaking of drawing into it, this deck maxes out on draw Supporters in order to get more cards. As good as [card name=”Volkner” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] is, getting more cards gives you better odds to get everything you need… but also deprives you of the option of getting exactly what you need at the right time. Once again, this fits with the high risk, high reward mentality. [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] is much the same.

4 Custom Catcher

The strange thing here is not the inclusion of [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] but the fact that, without Volkner or Jirachi, there’s no way to search for them. Still, Custom Catcher can be used in this deck because it’s easy to thin the deck thanks to cards like Cherish Ball, Acro Bike and [card name=”Electromagnetic Radar” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card]. As long as you don’t discard Custom Catcher, your deck gets thinner, which means the Custom Catcher density increases. Then, you can use Cynthia or Lillie to draw into the precious Items. This may seem random, but there are precedents for it. Pedro Eugenio Torres got Top 4 at last year’s Worlds with a Rayquaza-GX list that included four [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. Similarly to Custom Catcher today, there was no way to draw specifically into Puzzle of Time, but he still managed to regularly get two of them in his hand at the same time for this reason.

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Dark Box

Since the last time I wrote about the deck, I’ve started losing faith in Dark Box, as did many other players, according to some conversations I’ve had recently. The deck has a lot going for it in theory, but can often fall one Energy short of a powerful attack in practice. It needs Custom Catcher to be strong and capitalize on [card name=”Umbreon and Darkrai-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]’s Black Lance Bench damage, but this only adds to its inconsistency. I’ve started thinking that the best way to improve its chances is to not run [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s great in theory, but in practice it just makes the deck riskier than it needs to be.

[decklist name=”Dark Box” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Greninja and Zoroark-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”201″][pokemon amt=”18″]2x [card name=”Weavile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Sneasel” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Poipole” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Darkrai Prism Star” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Umbreon and Darkrai-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mega Sableye and Tyranitar-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”226″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Greninja and Zoroark-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”201″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Team Up” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Black Market Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

[cardimg name=”Incineroar-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”97″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Instead of Super Scoop Up, I added [card name=”Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] to the deck, which doesn’t have the high upside but is more reliable. Since it’s a card to need to either switch to a different attacker or get rid of paralysis, the reliability is more important than the potential healing in my opinion. This also lets me add [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Team Up” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] to the deck. Otherwise, this list is pretty close to the previous ones, so I refer you to my Dark Box article for more information.

I believe that if there’s a way to break Dark Box, it’s by using [card name=”Incineroar-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] instead of [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card]. The downsides are obvious: it’s a stage 2, forcing you to add [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card], you can’t use [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], and so on. However, both [card name=”Litten” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”27″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Sneasel” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] have 60 HP so you can use [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] to search for them, and you can then use Cherish Ball to search for Incineroar-GX. Once Incineroar-GX is in play, it accelerates Energy in play much faster than Naganadel. The only issue is that it’s very hard to fit everything the deck needs in sixty cards. I gave up on the deck but here’s an exoskeleton list (refer to my [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Dewgong” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] article for explanations on the concept of the exoskeleton list).

[decklist name=”Dark Box 2″ amt=”64″ caption=”” cname=”Darkrai Prism Star” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”77″][pokemon amt=”17″]2x [card name=”Weavile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Sneasel” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Incineroar-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Litten” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”27″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Umbreon and Darkrai-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mega Sableye and Tyranitar-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”226″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Darkrai Prism Star” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”36″]4x [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Team Up” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Unleashed” no=”82″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Black Market Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Even cutting some cards I wish I had like a twelvth Dark Energy, a Sneasel, Greninja & Zoroark-GX, and some that are too cool not to play (the non-GX [card name=”Incineroar” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] stands to mind) I still stand at 64 cards. If there is a way to cut down on some cards without destroying the deck’s stability, I think it would have a pretty good shot at beating the format.

Blacephalon-GX

There are many ways [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] is being played right now, from teched-out lists with [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Team Up” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Persian-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] to [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] builds that don’t play Naganadel. It may not surprise you that my favorite build is the one with a Pokémon-based draw engine! [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] lets you discard Ultra Beasts and draw cards, which, combined with cards like [card name=”Ultra Space” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], can let you draw into cards like Custom Catcher. Here’s what that looks like.

[decklist name=”Blacephalon” amt=”60″ caption=””undefined][pokemon amt=”18″]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]4x [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Poipole” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”26″]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/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″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”16″]15x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”15″][/card]1x [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Most of the list is pretty straightforward. By maxing out your Naganadel-GX line, you give yourself more Ultra Beasts to discard with Ultra Conversion, which makes your engine more consistent. You often only need two Naganadel and one Naganadel-GX in play, but that can change depending on the circumstances.

The most elegant addition to this list would be a single Psychic Energy, in order to use Venom Shot in the midgame. You can get it with [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] and it allows you to snipe a [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] or other Bench sitter, taking two Prizes with an attacker that has higher HP than Blacephalon-GX.

Even if you don’t go that road, though, keep an eye for possible uses of Venom Shot using [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] as your Psychic Energy. It’s rare, but I’ve seen scenarios in my testing where that attack could be used to win a game that would otherwise be lost. That usually requires keeping a Fire Energy on Naganadel-GX after using Mind Blown. Then, going into your Beast Ring turn, you can Beast Ring to Naganadel-GX and attach your Beast Energy Prism Star, if you draw it, to attack. Since it’s rarely useful to keep a Fire Energy on the non-GX Naganadel at this point, it’s often worth keeping one on Naganadel-GX just in case. Even if you don’t end up using Venom Shot, you can always discard that Energy a bit later.

Note that you could also choose to not run Custom Catcher in order to increase your consistency. Some good additions would be a fourth Cherish Ball and a third [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]. The Psychic Energy would also be good in this case to keep a way to attack your opponent’s Bench.

Techs

Those of you playing on Saturday, whether because you’re attending the DC Open, or because you made it through Day 1 (congratulations!), will have more information at your disposal than the Day 1 players. By that time, we’ll have an idea of what the meta actually looks like, what decks were played in Day 1 and, most importantly, which ones were successful. If half the field is Pikachu & Zekrom-GX but they all bombed, not only will these PikaRom players not make it to Day 2, but the deck’s failure (and its probable consequences, such as players being prepared for it or it having worse matchups than expected) may deter some Day 2 players from playing it. The PikaRom matchup, then, may not be that priority if you’re in Day 2. If you’re in the DC Open, though, you may see these PikaRom players that failed through Day 1 play it again. The bottom line is this: to predict the DC Open metagame, you should look at the decks that were played in Day 1 of Worlds. To predict the Worlds Day 2 metagame, you should look only at the decks that were successful in day 1 of Worlds.

What good is predicting the metagame? Obviously, it lets you prepare for it better. Consistency is a very important part of any deck, but sometimes, a tech can let you swing a matchup in a certain direction. Here are some strong techs for this Worlds format, which decks should run them and why.

Mew

[card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] is mainly for use against Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, the most hyped deck in the format, but it has other applications. Naganadel-GX, for example, will surely see play, if not as the star of its own deck, then as a tech attacker in a [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] deck. Mew should be a strong consideration in any deck that plays Mysterious Treasure, such as [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel, and Mewtwo & Mew-GX Box. Other decks could use it as well if they have Pokémon Communication, but it’s in Mysterious Treasure decks that Mew shines the most.

Hoopa

[cardimg name=”Hoopa” set=”Unified Minds” no=”140″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

As strong as [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Unified Minds” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] is against Malamar (it OHKOs [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] without getting OHKO’d in return), it’s not for every deck. Decks with a strong linear game plan, such as Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, are better off sticking with their usual Full Blitz into Tag Bolt GX or Lightning Ride GX plan. On the other hand, Hoopa shines in non-GX decks by giving them a way to trade with Malamar decks. These decks also tend to run high amounts of Pokémon Communication as well as Professor Elm’s Lecture or [card name=”Pokémon Fan Club” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card], so they can search for Hoopa. (Professor Elm’s Lecture is used to get Pokémon in hand, which can then get traded for Hoopa with Pokémon Communication.) That said, Hoopa is a bit overrated in my opinion and doesn’t help that much unless your Malamar matchup is already close.

Absol

Given Malamar’s reliance on Jirachi, [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] is a better tech than Hoopa most of the time. Absol can often make a Malamar player skip a turn and, unlike Hoopa, since you don’t use it to attack, it will continue to have an effect all game long. This is why you can use Absol in more decks than Hoopa, since you only need to search for it once. Absol can work in any deck, as long as you’re running Pokémon Communication. This includes variants of decks like Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, Blacephalon-GX, and so on.

Tapu Fini

I don’t think Blacephalon-GX will see as much play as we expected at the beginning of the format. That said, if, based on Day 1’s results, or your own intuition, you expect a lot of Blacephalon-GX, then [card name=”Tapu Fini” set=”Unified Minds” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] is a strong tech. For only one Energy, it KOs a Blacephalon-GX, which can swing the Prize trade. As with Absol, you only need to use one, so as long as you can search it with Pokémon Communication, you can make great use of it.

Oranguru

I don’t expect high amounts of [card name=”Shedinja” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], because of the deck’s difficulty to balance the need to close out games with the amount of consistency necessary in a format without [card name=”Gladion” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]. That said, there are decks which can use [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] to shore up that matchup. One of the most important cards to get more uses out of is Custom Catcher, so I would only play Oranguru in a deck that’s already running them — which is most of the format.

That’s all for today! This article is a bit shorter than usual, but there’s not much time left until Worlds anyway! Whether you’re playing in Worlds or the DC Open, I wish you the best of luck. Don’t hesitate to say hi if you see me this weekend!

Stéphane

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