Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR — My Favorite Archetype from Lost Origin

Hello to all PokeBeach readers! This is Gabriel Semedo again with another Pokémon TCG article, and this time, I’m going to talk about [card name=”Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] and analyze the list I’m currently using.

Before starting the main subject of today’s article, I want to comment on the two Regionals that we had in the current format, Sword & Shield through Lost Origin, in October, which were Peoria and Salt Lake. What are the most popular decks of the format? At those two tournaments, with 1084 and 837 people, the metagame was represented like this:

[cardimg name=”Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”147″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

• [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Kyurem VMAX” set=”Lost Origin” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card] / Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR
• [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] /[card name=”Hisuian Goodra VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]
• Arceus VSTAR / [card name=”Flying Pikachu VMAX” set=”Celebrations” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] Lost Box
• [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] Lost Box
• Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR
• [card name=”Blissey V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]

About ten decks make up the competitive metagame right now, and the next step is to understand why these ten archetypes in particular were most successful. Each of them has specific strengths to take down the format’s other strong decks, but they also have weaknesses that keep them from reigning supreme. This is where the work begins, because you need to do a theoretical and practical analysis of the lists.

In the interval from the Peoria Regional to the Salt Lake City Regional, players analyzed these ten decks for their strengths and weaknesses. They did not find any particularly fantastic new ideas, but they did identify which of these ten could do better based on the most successful decks from the previous tournament.

The big highlights of Salt Lake were Arceus and Regigigas. There were four Regigigas decks in the Top 8, making it the great meta call of the tournament due to its good matchup against Lost Box, Palkia / Inteleon, and Kyurem / Palkia. However, two Arceus decks, taking advantage of the Regis’ success in clearing the field of any Giratina Lost Box, were able to beat two Regigigas decks in Top 4 to set up an Arceus mirror final in the end.

The third and final step is to look forward. You have to understand the current metagame in order to build up the future metagame, and thus increase your chances of choosing the right deck for the next competition. This is where the creativity factor can be a big differentiator, because depending on the quality of your analysis, you may be able to create a perfect answer for your accurately predicted metagame, either by creating a new deck or by simply choosing the right existing one.

In the context of Salt Lake, we can make some assumptions about the metagame of the next tournament based on Regigigas’s great showing and Arceus’s continued success. Some known ways to counter Regigigas are cards like Flying Pikachu VMAX, [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], while against Arceus, players often win with cards like Giratina VSTAR, Kyurem VMAX and Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR.

Speaking of Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR, I would bet on it winning a Regional in the future, because its most ideal metagame seems to be emerging now.

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[decklist name=”Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″][pokemon amt=”17″]3x [card name=”Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Hisuian Zoroark V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Empoleon V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Gengar” set=”Lost Origin” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dunsparce” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”207″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Hawlucha” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”81″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]3x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Celebrations” no=”24″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”200″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”195″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cheren’s Care” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”168″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”237″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”EX Delta Species” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Damage Pump” set=”Lost Origin” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Gapejaw Bog” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”142″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]4x [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]5x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Why Is Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR Good?

To understand what makes Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR good, we have to ask ourselves what makes it stand out. In my opinion, it is its ability to deal 280 damage on the second turn, and the fact that even if your opponent Knocks Out your Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR in response, you’ll probably have another one attacking for just as much damage on the following turn. Of course, there’s a price to pay for this powerful offense, which is that you have to find ways of putting damage counters on all your Pokémon, be okay with [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] on your field offering your opponent easy Prizes, and several other small weaknesses.

The real truth is that by itself, dealing 280 damage on consecutive turns isn’t enough for Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR to be a winning deck. It’s a strong asset, particularly against Arceus decks, but you need to develop your plays and use your other Pokemon as well. One great card Zoroark can take advantage of is [card name=”Cheren’s Care” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card], which helps a lot against single-Prize decks like Lost Box with [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] and Regigigas. In the case of Regigigas, [card name=”Dunsparce” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”207″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] are essential to have on the Bench for Cheren’s Care to be effective.

Another advantage is being able to combine Hisuian Zoroark with any type of other Pokémon and basic Energy. You only need two Colorless Energy for your attack, which you can fulfill with Double Turbo Energy or with the help of cards like [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Gardenia’s Vigor” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card].

In the end, Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR has everything it could want: it can take one-hit Knock Outs, it can take a good amount of damage and be healed with Cheren’s Care, and it has no Weakness due to Dunsparce. The other Pokémon in the deck will serve only as a complement to do what Zoroark can’t do alone.

Double Empoleon

[cardimg name=”Empoleon V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”40″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The best deck to use [card name=”Empoleon V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] is not Palkia but Hisuian Zoroark. With the combination of Melony, Water Energy and Double Turbo Energy, you can attack on the first turn and already Knock Out a [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card]. You won’t always be so lucky, but it gives you a great advantage when it happens. If you can’t attack with Empoleon V on the first turn, you can attack from Zoroark V’s Void Return attack, which allows you to deal damage for free and promote Empoleon V to the Active Spot. This attack takes away the need to find Air Balloon if you start the game with Zoroark V, and consequently greatly increases the chances of promoting Empoleon V in the first turn.

Another point to note is that Hisuian Zoroark already needs four copies of a Stadium, Gapejaw Bog. This is good for us, since Tord Reklev won Peoria Regionals with a Lost Box build that played four [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card], and this is the most popular version of the deck precisely because of how easily it stops Empoleon V. In general, never use Empoleon V in a deck that doesn’t have a full set of Stadiums to back it up against Path to the Peak.

Dunsparce and Manaphy

These Pokémon were present in several Arceus / Inteleon lists at one time, though currently that deck no longer has much of a meta share. However, Hisuian Zoroark can benefit from them as well, giving it a strong matchup against, for example, Regigigas, a deck that is very prominent in the current format.

Other threats, like [card name=”Galarian Zapdos V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], can also be stopped by these Pokémon, although Zapdos is rarely seen in this format and Radiant Greninja doesn’t ultimately affect the deck that much.

What is the best Radiant Pokémon for the deck?

That’s a tricky question, as there aren’t any Radiant Pokemon particularly well suited for the deck in the way Radiant Greninja is for Palkia. It’s okay not to use one of these Pokémon: they are all so good that it can seem like a waste not to use one, but if you don’t like any of them for your list, the correct thing is to just avoid them and play another, more useful card instead.

In the case of Hisuian Zoroark, there are at least two Radiant Pokémon that are useful in important metagame situations: [card name=”Radiant Hawlucha” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Radiant Gardevoir” set=”Lost Origin” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card]. Radiant Hawlucha helps you Knock Out important Pokémon VMAX like Kyurem VMAX, Mew VMAX, and Flying Pikachu VMAX, while Radiant Gardevoir can help you survive an attack from Giratina VSTAR, although in practice this probability is low. Overall, I find that Radiant Hawlucha turns out to be more effective.

Radiant Greninja and [card name=”Radiant Blastoise” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] can be interesting options too, but for that we would need to increase the number of Energy and run more copies of [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card].

Matchups:

Arceus VSTAR / Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (70/30)

Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR puts a huge strain on Hisuian Goodra VSTAR with its heavy, fast, consecutive damage, and this results most of the time in a quiet victory for Hisuian Zoroark. As much defensive power as Goodra VSTAR has, it’s important to remember that Zoroark also has quite a lot of defensive power in this matchup, as it can easily withstand an attack from Goodra VSTAR or Arceus VSTAR, and you have the option of healing this damage with Cheren’s Care. In the end, the matchup is clearly advantageous because Zoroark’s offensive and defensive power is superior.

Arceus VSTAR / Flying Pikachu VMAX (70/30)

Another variant of Arceus VSTAR, another good matchup for Hisuian Zoroark — but this time Flying Pikachu VMAX is also a good target for a Hisuian Zoroark Knock Out thanks to Radiant Hawlucha.

The big change for Flying Pikachu from the Worlds-winning list is that [card name=”Hisuian Decidueye VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] has tended to be replaced by [card name=”Espeon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card]. Although Espeon VMAX is far superior for the current metagame, we’re happy to see it, because Hisuian Decidueye would be much more problematic for Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR, especially if Dunsparce ended up in the Prizes.

The matchup can only go poorly if the opponent uses [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] plus Path to the Peak and you draw a bad hand.

Mew VMAX (60/40)

Another advantageous matchup thanks to Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR’s sheer offensive power, but in this case, with the help of Radiant Hawlucha, you can Knock Out Mew VMAX in just one attack. The matchup is closer to even than the previous matchups only because Mew VMAX has similar characteristics to Hisuian Zoroark, so whoever starts the game and takes the first Knock Out will tend to have the advantage. However, the chances of Hisuian Zoroark winning going second are greater due to the fact that Zoroark can take a three-Prize Knock Out on Mew VMAX.

Kyurem VMAX / Palkia VSTAR (60/40)

This is another matchup where Radiant Hawlucha is important against opposing Pokémon VMAX, but this time the task is a little more difficult because you need [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] or to attack with two basic Energy in order to get the 330 damage needed to Knock Out Kyurem VMAX.

If the opponent decides to attack more with Palkia VSTAR, then the matchup is stronger. I don’t like the consistency of Kyurem VMAX decks in general, but making the opponent play with a greater focus on Palkia VSTAR forces them to do even more work than usual, as the deck is much more oriented toward Kyurem VMAX.

Palkia VSTAR / Inteleon (40/60)

If it’s a Palkia VSTAR deck, the matchup changes completely. This matchup is close to balanced, but Palkia VSTAR is a more consistent deck and can take Knock Outs a little more easily. Some of this comes from the fact that Hisuian Zoroark is forced to play with a full Bench to deal the necessary damage, which consequently increases Palkia VSTAR’s damage to the point of being able to take the Knock Out without needing a Choice Belt.

Radiant Charizard Lost Box  (60/40)

This is the matchup where Empoleon V will do the most important job for the first few turns, or even the entire game. The idea is to play both of your Empoleon V as soon as possible and promote one of them to the Active Spot, because that way the opponent can’t use their Comfey and Cramorant. After that, you can attack with your Empoleon V to Knock Out as many Pokémon as you can. At the end of the game, attacking with Hisuian Zoroark and healing with Cheren’s Care to prevent the opponent from taking Prizes is a good option.

Giratina Lost Box (60/40)

Empoleon V plays a similar role here as in the Charizard Lost Box matchup, but Giratina V has the ideal attack to help with consistency and put more cards in Lost Zone, so it’s much rarer to see easy games where Empoleon V manages to completely prevent the opponent from playing. Giratina VSTAR can be seen as positive or negative in the matchup, because while Giratina VSTAR can Knock Out Hisuian Zoroark, the opposite is also true, and in the end it’s an even Prize trade. It just happens to be a little easier for Hisuian Zoroark.

Giratina VSTAR relies on [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] to attack, and for that it needs seven cards in the Lost Zone, something that in practice you can only get on the second turn if you use [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] on each of your first two turns. This means you can’t use [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], so your Giratina VSTAR will only be able to Knock Out a Hisuian Zoroark on the third turn, while Hisuian Zoroark can play Boss’s Orders to Knock Out the Giratina VSTAR on the second turn.

Regigigas (60/40)

This matchup can go from positive to negative if you’re not playing the right cards. The Dunsparce-plus-Manaphy combo grants protection from both [card name=”Regirock” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Regieleki” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. With those things in check, the matchup is balanced, with Hisuian Zoroark Knocking Out two Pokémon in two attacks, and Regis Knocking Out a Hisuian Zoroark in two attacks. To gain the upper hand, you can use Cheren’s Care to heal a Zoroark after one attack.

The big challenge is to prepare the Prize trade and your Cheren’s Care in time, because sometimes a Regigigas deck can set up faster than you think. It is worth remembering that Empoleon V can stop the Abilities of [card name=”Regidrago” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] and Regigigas, which is great for delaying the first and second turns. On the other hand, though, it is easily Knocked Out by Regieleki.

Blissey / Miltank (80/20)

In this matchup you only lose if you lose your cool, as you have the ideal tools to deal with both [card name=”Blissey V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Miltank” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card]. You can assemble a Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR with two Water Energy on it to deal 300 damage and Knock Out a Blissey with [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card], while against Miltank you can just attack with Empoleon V, as Empoleon’s Ability disables Miltank’s Ability. Path to the Peak nullifies Empoleon V’s Ability, however, so save your Stadiums.

Final Thoughts

The Regional results don’t explain all the hype for Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR by themselves, but I believe that a list suitable for the metagame, like the one I presented today, has all the conditions it needs to stand out. Now that the metagame is a little more defined, there will be a greater need for players to find some new solution to take the metagame by storm.

That’s all for today. I hope you liked it, and until next time!

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