Legendary Trio — Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno-GX in Expanded

Hello again PokeBeach readers, Caleb Gedemer here with some updates on an interesting rogue deck in the Expanded format. [card name=”Moltres and Zapdos and Articuno-GX” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] is not a commonly played Tag Team in Standard, but in Expanded, it gains a variety of additional tools that can make it the centerpiece of a surprisingly strong deck. This archetype originated in the hands of Drew Kennett, who most recently took it to a Top 16 placement at the last Expanded Regionals.

The premise of this deck is as follows:

• Your main attacker, Moltres and Zapdos and Articuno-GX deals a very solid 210 damage for four Energy
• Sky Legends GX, when used to full effect, can clear multiple weak or low-HP Pokemon off the board at once
• [card name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] is played for its Rebirth Ability: get some different types of basic Energy into the discard pile, flip a heads, and then use [card name=”Ninja Boy” set=”Steam Siege” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] to turn your fully-charged Ho-Oh-EX into a Moltres and Zapdos and Articuno-GX, attach another Energy, and start swinging!

This might sound complicated, but it’s perfectly doable, and I believe there’s an even better way to execute this strategy. The list I’ll be talking about today differs from Drew’s in a few ways. Here’s Drew’s 60 from his Top 16 finish:

[decklist name=”.” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Moltres and Zapdos and Articuno-GX” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”44″][pokemon amt=”19″]3x [card name=”Moltres and Zapdos and Articuno-GX” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Litleo” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pyroar” set=”Flashfire” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]2x [card name=”Ninja Boy” set=”Steam Siege” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ 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=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]3x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Weakness Guard Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”213″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

You’ll notice, of course, a few banned cards in there. Those obviously need to go, and after testing this deck with those cards removed, I think a bit of a different structure is needed. Rest assured, the banned cards were by no means necessary to make the deck competitive, they simply made it better, as they did for most archetypes. The main problem I have found in this build is the reliance on [card name=”Ninja Boy” set=”Steam Siege” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card]. While it is a guaranteed way to get a Moltres and Zapdos and Articuno-GX powered up after flipping heads on Rebirth, it can be difficult to do that and then still be able to do something else on your turn since you cannot play another Supporter. My testing has led me to prefer a somewhat different approach to the deck using [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]. This leads to a faster and more draw-based list, rather than a slower list that guarantees combos, but I would rather play a draw Supporter for the turn than be “forced” to use Ninja Boy just to attack. Another card I’ve added is [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]: with it in the deck, you have more Bench space for using Rebirth as well as playing down your setup Pokemon.

Here’s my complete updated list:

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[decklist name=”.” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Moltres and Zapdos and Articuno-GX” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”44″][pokemon amt=”11″]4x [card name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Moltres and Zapdos and Articuno-GX” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Reshiram and Zekrom-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”157″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]2x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]5x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card]5x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card]2x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Four Ho-Oh-EX

[cardimg name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

In any version of this deck, [card name=”Ho-Oh-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] is absolutely essential. Rebirth is the engine to power up your attackers, in combination with Energy Switch. Since this list is more “turbo” than Drew’s, the turn 1 attack with Bird Trio is a bit more likely, so you want to play a full count of Ho-Oh-EX to maximize your chances at Rebirth heads flips. I have considered both [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] for even more Energy acceleration. Focusing on Rebirth has worked best for me, but remember that if you find just Ho-Oh-EX unsatisfactory in your own testing, there are more options for Energy acceleration.

Two Shaymin-EX, One Tapu Lele-GX, and One Dedenne-GX

These setup Pokemon help you pop off as soon as turn 1, especially if you get a [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] into play. You can extend your turns and find more pieces to power up your attackers. The turn 1 attack is not necessarily a goal of the deck, but it can certainly occur. In the games I’ve been able to do that, I have felt extremely favored.

One Reshiram and Zekrom-GX

Pokemon-wise, this is the big addition I made in contrast to Drew’s list. Fabled Flarebolts can swing for 270 damage, KOing most Pokemon in the format. Also, [card name=”Reshiram and Zekrom-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card]’s Energy requirement fits with the Energy types you already run in the deck, and is a bit easier to power up than Bird Trio’s attacks. Moltres and Zapdos and Articuno-GX caps at 210 damage, so I think giving the deck a higher damage ceiling is important. [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] can take that further if you choose, up to 300 for stuff with 280 HP and the like. I think this is the card that gives this deck the biggest boost compared to its previous iteration.

Two Professor Sycamore, One Colress, and One Guzma

This is a aggressive and speedy deck. There’s little time to use setup-based or disruption-based Supporters, you just want to take your Prizes as fast as you can. I’ve included two copies of the best draw Supporter in the game; a [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] can help you dig a bit deeper if you need to. You’ll often have hands with a lot of combo pieces that you want to retain and not discard, so Colress is better in those situations as well. [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] could be an option in place of the [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], but with multiple attackers, a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], and Pokemon with a single Retreat Cost in the list, I think having the switching utility is more valuable. My list even has an [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] that you could play down before Guzma if you need to pivot the same Active Pokemon back in.

Four Max Elixir and Four Energy Switch

Just like a Turbo Dark deck, this deck wants to max out on these Energy acceleration cards. Energy Switch on its own isn’t really an accelerator, but in combination with Rebirth, it serves that purpose in this deck. Playing four of each of these cards is needed to ensure you can attack as quickly and efficiently as possible.

One Field Blower and One Escape Rope

These are both outs to Ability lock–[card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] for [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and Escape Rope for [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ c=”name”][/card]. Once you have your Abilities back, you can dig for enough resources to set up an attacker, so you really only need one copy of each of these cards. You can remove those problematic Pokemon from play entirely with Sky Legend GX anyway.

One Computer Search

This slot could very well be a [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] for similar reasons as in a Turbo Dark build (the idea being that recovering resources is more important than an extra consistency out). So far, [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] has felt better because this deck doesn’t “snowball” into big damage like Turbo Dark; it needs to get there all at once and thus is a bit more combo-based.

Five Lightning Energy, Five Fire Energy, and Two Water Energy

For any Max Elixir deck, 12 Basic Energy is a good starting point and usually about where you land when you’ve finalized the list. Prioritizing Fire Energy and Lightning Energy is best because of Reshiram and Zekrom-GX. Water Energy still needs to be included, but I think only two are needed; you can easily recover them with Rebirth.

Other options

Third Moltres and Zapdos and Articuno-GX

An extra copy of the Bird Trio would be nice for Max Elixir drops and allow you to virtually guarantee that you’ll have an attacker on your Bench at all times. With just two in the deck, you can sometimes (though rarely) run into boards where you lack a proper attacker and don’t have anything good to attach to with Max Elixir.

Pyroar

[cardimg name=”Pyroar” set=”Flashfire” no=”20″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

A blast from the past! I didn’t copy this card over from Drew’s list. Intimidating Mane is a strong Ability, but it doesn’t warrant an inclusion in today’s metagame if you ask me. I can only guess why Drew played [card name=”Pyroar” set=”Flashfire” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], but it seems likely that it was for non-GX decks like Night March. It does have fringe use against a Turbo Dark list that doesn’t play [card name=”Weavile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card], but I think almost every Turbo Dark list should be playing that by this point. Pyroar makes this deck more clunky and doesn’t do enough to help your matchup spread in my experience.

Mew and/or Marshadow-GX

A non-Tag Team attacker is always welcome. Either [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] works, but my problem with them in testing is that while they do award fewer Prizes, their low HP means it isn’t usually a good idea to invest four Energy into them when they’ll likely just get OHKOd. I think it’s better to commit to your big three-Prize attacker and attempt to force your opponent to two-shot it.

Ninja Boy

While I’m not against [card name=”Ninja Boy” set=”Steam Siege” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card], I don’t think it’s the best way to play this deck. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s a bad inclusion in here. A single copy offers an extra twist to your strategy and can easily be obtained with [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] plus [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. I think playing one would be worth it, but I do need to test it more.

Weakness Guard Energy

Lightning-type Weakness isn’t terrible, but Night March and [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM168″ c=”name”][/card] do exist in Expanded, so a copy of [card name=”Weakness Guard Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”213″ c=”name”][/card] could be a good inclusion if those seem like top-tier decks in your expected metagame. However, it does somewhat get in the way of your strategy of running solely basic Energy to fuel Max Elixir, so if I were to play one, it might be my 13th Energy card.

Matchups

Archie’s Blastoise: Slightly Favorable

Most [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] lists are shifting away from [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] and more towards the Water-focused approach with cards like [card name=”Magikarp and Wailord-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM166″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Palkia-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]. The latter of these two is one of your bigger problems because of its GX attack, which can shuffle away all the Energy you worked so hard to attach to your Bird Trio. Be careful with your Battle Compressor usage so if your opponent does use Zero Vanish GX, you will have outs to get some Energy back into the discard pile. [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] decks often play down several Sky Legends GX targets such as Shaymin-EX that you can pick off to swing the Prize trade in your favor. Fabled Flarebolts can one-shot a 300 HP Magikarp and Wailord-GX if you attach a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card].

Single-Prize-attacker decks: Unfavorable to Slightly Favorable

Night March and [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] are not great matchups (especially since [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] can smack your Bird Trio for Weakness), but [card name=”Ultra Necrozma” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] is pretty favorable because it cannot one-shot you and you have Sky Legends GX to decimate their board. [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] is tough if you burn through too many Items, but it is possible to limit your use of them somewhat, then use Sky Legends GX to take the lead.

Rowlet and Alolan Exeggutor / Vileplume: Unfavorable

You’re going to have at least one turn of Items, but maybe only one, so on that turn you’re going to need to power up at least one attacker. Fortunately, Ho-Oh-EX is actually a solid attacker in this matchup! Rainbow Burn can do 160 damage after Weakness to [card name=”Rowlet and Alolan Exeggutor-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card], an efficient two-shot. Rowlet & Alolan Exeggutor-GX’s own Calming Hurricane attack can’t heal it out of Knock Out range nor can it one-shot Ho-Oh-EX. However, you will probably still need to set up a Bird Trio in this matchup, in order to deal with [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ c=”name”][/card]. By using Sky Legends GX, you may be able to pick off Oddish or Gloom before they evolve. Remember that you can also use Cross Break GX to deal with a Vileplume if you can force it to the Bench with Guzma.

Turbo Dark: Even

[cardimg name=”Greninja and Zoroark-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”201″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This matchup is just a good old-fashioned slugfest. Both decks have unique strategies that can give them an edge. You might be favored in the early game, but your lead will slip further away with every Darkness Energy that your opponent is able to get into play. If [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] comes down, you can take some Prizes off that with Sky Legends GX, but you’ll probably have to one-shot at least one [card name=”Greninja and Zoroark-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] using Reshiram and Zekrom-GX. A [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] is a possible tech to help swing this matchup by limiting how much of a board your opponent can establish.

Zoroark-GX / Garbodor: Slightly Favorable

Sky Legends GX can break this matchup wide open for you if your opponent doesn’t play a way to protect the Bench. Even if they do, 210 damage is enough to one-shot a [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] and it will be difficult for your opponent to keep up with that kind of pressure when they can’t OHKO a Bird Trio in response. I haven’t tested this matchup without playing Items with reckless abandon, so I’m unsure if it’s a matchup where you could actually hold Items, but I think it probably is not, since Garbotoxin will take away many of your draw outs in the late game so you will need to thin your deck early on. Despite Trashalanche being a threat, you can avoid it by using Sky Legend GX to remove Trubbish from play before they can even evolve.

General tips

• Your first Battle Compressor should target one Ho-Oh-EX and two different Basic Energy, probably a Fire Energy and Lightning Energy. Your second Battle Compressor should generally be used to ditch two more Ho-Oh-EX and a Water Energy.
• While Energy Switch is important to this deck, it’s a card that’s not always immediately playable. Because of this, don’t be afraid to discard one or two early on if you must do so to set up effectively.
• Remember your sequencing: thin cards from the deck before playing Max Elixir, for example.
• Map our your Prizes. In a deck with a GX attack that enables you to take multiple Knock Outs at once, you don’t want to misuse your GX by using it at the wrong time or on the wrong targets. Try to find the simplest game plan that takes the least number of attacks to win.

Conclusion

Moltres and Zapdos and Articuno-GX is a cool card and it has been testing decently well. It’s really fun to play because you can do so much so quickly, and you can gatekeep a lot of decks from even setting up by eliminating their pre-Evolution Pokemon with Sky Legends GX. Try it out for yourself before your next Expanded event (mine will be DallasRegionals!), and hit me up in the Subscribers’ Hideout with any questions you might have. Take care, and I’ll see you next time.

Peace,

–Caleb

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