Other Takes on Zacian V — Plus Zacian V as a Tech?

[cardimg name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I was hoping to talk about [card name=”Morpeko V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Stonjourner VMAX” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] today, but both of those decks turned out to be hot garbage. Instead, I’ll be going over what’s set to be the most popular deck at upcoming Standard format tournaments: [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]. The card is broken–whenever you don’t attack, you can draw cards and maybe attach some Energy. It benefits from high HP, and while it has a relevant Weakness, you can escape the threat with [card name=”Metal Frying Pan” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] to disregard that factor completely.

Zakary Krekeler went over Zacian V for PokeBeach about a month ago now, so I figured an updated piece would do you guys some good. So where to start? Zak took a look at two updated Japanese lists for the deck, one defensive and the other offensive. While I concur that these two sects are where the deck is seated right now, my testing has deviated even further away from these lists. He covers relevant matchups in his own piece, so look back to that for those references if you’re interested. I’ll be dissecting my lists, other options, and other random thoughts and ideas that spring to mind as I sell you on these builds.

A Proper Look at Zacian V

Before we begin let’s talk about something; Zacian V is set to be as polarizing a deck as anything else. It is truly a new “best deck” injected into an already lively metagame, however, the field is now filled with new uncertainties, with a completely new set of cards, and first turn rule changes. My favorite part about Zacian V is that it’s completely comfortable playing first in most games, regardless of the version. The Intrepid Sword Ability can get you a turn or two ahead if you hit an Energy, and the extra cards drawn are always desirable.

A couple of years back at Collinsville Regionals, the first where Ultra Prism set was legal, the Metal [card name=”Magnezone” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] was hyped up. Ironically, Zacian V follows in its footsteps but I expect it to actually do well. The Magnezone deck was the most-played at that tournament with over one hundred pilots and quite literally zero of those players making it to Day 2; that’s sad. While this isn’t analogous as far as the deck’s strengths are concerned, I expect the same kind of burst of popularity to rise all at once like at those Regionals. pretty much all of the Zacian V decks are simple to pilot and much more consistent than the Magnezone deck and certainly more powerful, all as a Basic Pokemon.

On its own Zacian V is enough to forge a deck, which is another reason why it’s so great. You have ample space to fill your 60 cards out in whichever direction you choose. If you want something aggressive, the space is there. Something that always one-shots? Again, the space is there. Defensively, you have options too, Zacian V doesn’t always need to be an attacker. The Ability is so good that some decks will play it purely to have something to do at the end of their turns–drawing three cards is nothing to scoff at; see [card name=”Tropical Beach” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW28″ c=”name”][/card] for a similar effect in Expanded. You can also consider Zacian V as some mill deck’s new best friend. from Japan, a [card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]-playing deck with four [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] surfaced, along with three Zacian V. The later count makes no sense, but I’ll elaborate on this some more further on. Zacian V gives this deck something to do while it leaves a [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card]! One last thing: Zacian V is relatively safe as a Bench-sitter because [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] can’t gust it up. Now, [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] can, but those are harder to pull off. Enough rambling, time for lists, in similar fashion to Krekeler, I’m going to use the titles of “defensive”, “offensive”, and for a special surprise, “mill”.

Defensive List

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[decklist name=”.” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″][pokemon amt=”9″]4x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dusk Mane Necrozma” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”40″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Team Yell Grunt” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”184″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Metal Frying Pan” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Four Zacian V and Four Quick Ball

This version gets its advantages in mirror matches by not playing [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], you take away two easy Knock Outs there for six Prizes (post-Altered Creation GX). Therefore, without Dedechange, you need to have another way to draw cards; you’re going to want to naturally start with [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] as often as possible so you can use Intrepid Sword immediately, drawing cards and maybe accelerating Energy. Your only sure-fire way of finding Zacian V is [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] which there’s four of, so this is going to optimize your consistency.

One Team Yell Grunt and Four Crushing Hammer

[cardimg name=”Team Yell Grunt” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”184″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

These two cards, [card name=”Team Yell Grunt” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”184″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] is another quirk of this deck. The idea is to gain advantages in defensive ways, stopping attacks will do that, then, when your opponent does manage to attack you have [card name=”Metal Frying Pan” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] and the effect of Full Metal Wall GX reducing the damage done even further. You can use [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card] and get out of that, healing down, and use a fresh Zacian V to attack. This deck reminds me quite a lot of older [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card] decks that played Crushing Hammer; it wasn’t an obvious pairing, it was mashing the best card in the game with a degenerate effect. The end result was creating game-winning situations where you attack more times than your opponent and win.

Two Reset Stamp

Normally, this isn’t something that needs an explanation, but most lists I’ve seen forgo [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] in this version of the deck. This is a huge mistake because you’re going to be trying to start with [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM192″ c=”name”][/card] almost every game, getting the first or second turn Full Metal Wall GX. That’s three Prizes that you can opt to award to your opponent and then one Zacian V after that puts them down to one Prize. The Reset Stamp has a lot of expected value in this deck for that reason, and it should be in any deck playing a Tag Team Pokemon-GX as well as one two Prize Pokemon due to the power of Reset Stamp to one card. This doesn’t apply to more aggressive decks that want boosts in speed or consistency, but this deck wants all the slowing effects it can get, Reset Stamp being one of those.

Other Cards

Overall this list is polished. I’ve played over twenty games with it and like where it’s at. The [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] creates Custom Catcher plays for any deck, and in Zacian V you can throw a Metal Energy on top that you can then use Intrepid Sword. Setting up or finishing Knock Outs that Brave Blade can’t take on it’s own is [card name=”Dusk Mane Necrozma” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM107″ c=”name”][/card] and it also serves as a solid one-Prize attacker for game plans where you use three Zacian V as well as the one Dusk Mane Necrozma. I’ve played around with some different Stadiums in this deck but don’t like any of them, in fact, [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] may be better than any of them. I tried [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lysandre Labs” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card], all to lackluster results. The big thing is that none of them tilted games in my favor or ended up winning games for me. There’s a reason to play any of them, but this isn’t a deck that gets a ton of value out of multiple Stadiums so you’ll be playing only one or so, and they aren’t amazing in such a low count.

Eleven Metal Energy has been a great count, I’ve gone to ten to try it, but hitting Energy on Intrepid Sword is so good that I was convinced to go back up. I’ve had as many as twelve, but space needs to be shaved off sometimes. The more Energy you have the greater likelihood of finding one to discard with Quick Ball, then use [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] to get it into play; a higher Energy count is never a bad thing.

Offensive Build

[decklist name=”.” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″][pokemon amt=”11″]3x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Skarmory” set=”Team Up” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Phione” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”35″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”175″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Metal Frying Pan” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”14″]10x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]4x [card name=”Aurora Energy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Three Jirachi

This deck changes a whole lot from the previous build! We all know by now that [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] is a speedy card, increasing your chances of getting the second turn Altered Creation GX and it pulls this deck altogether. I like it even more in here because instead of lists that play multiple [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], you can use a more balanced approach with some Jirachi to avoid putting your own Dedenne-GX into play.

One Skarmory

[cardimg name=”Skarmory” set=”Team Up” no=”98″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I believe [card name=”Skarmory” set=”Team Up” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] to be the best one Prize Pokemon in this version of the deck, with [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] being a close second as with [card name=”Aurora Energy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] you can still manage to use Thunderous Assault. The difference for Skarmory is that it can be used without a [card name=”Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] to boost its damage and it also does more damage in general. Calm Strike swings for 120 after Altered Creation GX, but Thunderous Assault only gets to 110. This is important against Bench-sitting [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] and more. With a single [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] and a single Energy you can power up Calm Strike right away, while this is less Energy efficient than Zapdos, it’s fine.

Three Cynthia

Honestly, [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] is terrible. it’s a better [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card], and usually more disruptive too since the “good cards” go to the bottom of the deck meaning you can’t redraw them, but [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] is an extra card and always does what you want it to. A [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] can still be played to disrupt an opponent more so in the late game, but I don’t like the five cards from Marnie and don’t think the card is as great as most are making it out to be in the first place.

One Big Charm

Against stuff like [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], an [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] with 310 HP is strong with Flare Blitz GX only deal 300. The [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] is only better on your Tag Team Pokemon-GX though, as [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] would prefer [card name=”Metal Frying Pan” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]. I’m unsure if I want to keep this in, but it has helped in the past with using a fresh Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX and using Ultimate Ray. There is a fear that you could be OHKO’d and Big Charm helps mitigate that risk. When you use Ultimate Ray, your board is made for you and games are more favorable.

Two Shrine of Punishment

The [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] are mostly for opposing Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, with two ticks you can use Brave Blade after you use Altered Creation GX for a one-hit Knock Out. Against [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] with a Big Charm, after Resistance you deal 240, with a few Shrine of Punishment ticks you can get back to one-hit Knock Out range. This is sort of a midrange answer to some of the HP-boosting or damage-reducing effects in the format; [card name=”Galarian Perrserker” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] is a more definitive answer but takes up more space and it’s nearly impossible to find the Stage-1.

Other Cards

I’ve also worked extensively on a turbo list for this deck. At this point I prefer the balanced version, but the turbo list used [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] specifically to get a turn one Altered Creation GX. With the turn 1, you would lose very few games; sadly, your hit rate there was around roughly 60% of games. At that, you also have to play second to even be able to do it; I don’t believe it to be worth it anymore. In addition to Energy Switch, [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], and even [card name=”Judge Whistle” set=”Team Up” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] ideas being tossed around. Again, this deck is far too all-in for me, if you miss the first turn GX attack in the games you even get to use it, the Energy Switch lose almost all their value and the rest goes out the window. The more balanced approach seems to work better and allows the play of Tools like Metal Frying Pan and Stadiums like Shrine of Punishment. Having other Supporters on tap that can get you out of a pickle is strong as well.

Mill Build

[decklist name=”.” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Cinccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”147″][pokemon amt=”17″]4x [card name=”Minccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”39″]4x [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Team Yell Grunt” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”184″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]2x [card name=”Recycle Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”212″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Two Zacian V

Some lists are laughably playing three [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] Why? Who knows, other than the slightly increased chance of starting with it in your opening hand. There’s no reason to play three, the rule of two is already present with two copies; you’re unlikely to Prize both. It’s a support piece in this deck and nothing more. You don’t want more than one down at a time and [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] is played to recover it even if you do lose it.

One Wobbuffet

The [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] is for [card name=”Victini Prism Star” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card], a sly tech that will prevent you from ever decking an opponent out unless you can stop it from attacking altogether with this tech. That’s all there is to this card, there’s only space for one and you don’t need it in other matchups so playing two would be foolhardy.

One Mewtwo and Mew-GX and One Magcargo-GX

In tandem with [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], you can use Burning Magma GX and discard away five cards at once, or you can put [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] on top of [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] (also included). This complements your strategy and opens the door for a discarding turn of eleven cards, six from [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] (thanks to [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card]) and then the five from your GX attack. Really degenerate and powerful!

Four Bellelba and Brycen-Man, Three Cynthia and Caitlin, Four Pal Pad, Two Tag Call

[cardimg name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The whole point of this deck is to mill your opponent out of cards. The only way you can successfully do this is by repeatedly using Bellelba and Brycen-Man to discard all their cards. This means you have little margin for error and need to get one off almost every single turn. That said, four of them is a no-brainer and while [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t exactly “good” it’s another way to get them back and complements the pair of [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck. Four [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] is for more Bellelba and Brycen-Man, as one of the subplots of this deck is to avoid using [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] as much as you can.

Every time you use Resource Management, you’re “giving” your opponent a Prize card, so be careful when you use it, you don’t want to overextend the Prizes you can afford to give. It’s ideal to mill behind a [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] and each Resource Management is best used to retrieve three of those. You don’t want or need any other draw Supporters in this deck, you want to mill three every turn and use Make Do to supplement your draw for turn to blitz through your deck. If you ever need some “hard draw” you can use Cynthia and Caitlin for three cards. Don’t detract from your strategy; the fewer copies of the cards you want in this deck that you play means you’ll have to use Resource Management for too many things that don’t speed you along your game.

Four Crushing Hammer

This deck is supposed to operate similar to the old school [card name=”Durant” set=”Noble Victories” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] decks. You would play a few disruption cards with the hope that those cards would buy them time to use Devour more times than the six Prizes they could afford to give up. You could include [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] to prolong the process too; the same concept is alive here with [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card]. If you can hit a couple, you might get an extra turn where your Resource Management play will get you to a winning position.

Other Cards

I tried this deck extensively as the straight [card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] build to start. The Smooth Over Ability with the new [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] is potent, but a bit too slow for your methods. You want to chain together turns of Lt. Surge’s Strategy along with two Bellelba and Brycen-Man and there’s little time for anything else. You will fly through your deck with the [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] list and you will get to the cards you put back with Resource Management. It strikes me now to remind you to be careful whenever playing this type of a deck to avoid going under seven cards total in hand and deck. If you don’t keep that in mind you may immediately lose winnable games to [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card].

Notes on Zacian V

• [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]  / [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] has a favorable matchup with mill decks, the extra Prize Altered Creation GX effect is too much for them to handle in most games.
• Cinccino Mill is extremely good, easy to play, and extremely consistent thanks to Zacian V keeping its hands large on not-Resource Management turns.
• [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] is the only strong out to getting the first turn Altered Creation GX for the boost in Standard other than [card name=”Bede” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”N’s Resolve” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”200″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] is solid in Zacian V decks for hitting numbers without having to play a Stadium to do it for you; it’s searchable too which arguably makes it better.
• In the Magcargo version of mill, I had [card name=”Mareep” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Slumbering Forest” set=”Unified Minds” no=”207″ c=”name”][/card] as another way to get extra turns of mill; the problem was that it was extremely difficult to pull off without clogging your board and backfiring without a space for Lillie’s Poke Doll.
• Once you’ve solidified as the mill deck, you want to have two Lillie’s Poke Doll in play at all times to get around [card name=”Phione” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] pushing something not-Lillie’s Poke Doll up with its Ability.
• [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] is sometimes good in Zacian V for the same reasons that Galarian Zigzagoon is, but it’s not as easily searchable (sure, you could play [card name=”Adventure Bag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card]) while the latter can be pulled out with [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card]

Conclusion

Gonna call it here. Next time I’ll be doing an updated tier list, breakdowns of most relevant decks, and more in one final bit before Australia Internationals. I think that Zacian V is an amazingly powerful card, one of the best we’ve seen since probably [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] itself. It’s going to be a gatekeeper in this format, especially the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX version, so you should probably be beating it if you’re not playing it yourself. Until next time, feel free to hit me up in the Subscribers’ Hideout with any questions, and take care!

Peace,

–Caleb

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