The Purge — Groudon Erupts into the Meta

Hello PokeBeach readers! Isaiah here, and I am happy to be writing another article for you all! Last time, I talked about [card name=”Great Tusk” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], both as a tech card and as a dedicated strategy. I still think that this card is good going forward, but I concede that the dedicated strategy is a bit weaker than I would have hoped. As I continued to play it, I noticed some of the deck’s flaws, and while I think the strategy at its core is viable, its less-than-stellar [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] matchup is a massive hurdle to overcome.

One deck that has interested me more than I expected lately has been [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]. While I don’t see myself playing the deck for the upcoming Indianapolis Regional Championships, I do expect the deck to be pretty strong for the event, especially following its Top 4 finish at the Orlando Regional Championships. Gardevoir was one of the most overlooked decks at Orlando, largely because it barely missed Top 8 at the Europe International Championships a short time prior. Even following Orlando, the deck has yet to gain much traction in the eyes of the community, but Indianapolis could be just the moment it’s been waiting for.

Speaking of decks that have been overlooked because they failed to make Top 8, I don’t think I’ve heard of a single player in the community talking about Hunter Butler’s ninth-place Lost Zone Toolbox deck. Over the last few months, both pre-rotation and now post-rotation, Lost Zone Toolbox has sort of struggled to find an identity outside of [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], which is not really the same deck. Most of the time, people have played [card name=”Kyogre” set=”Celebrations” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] or the occasional “Paradox Box,” which played [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], but those decks have not produced the strongest results.

In the new format, it seems this Paradox Box strategy has become the standard for Lost Zone decks, but outside of a second-place finish in the hands of Nicolas Galaz at the recent São Paulo Regional Championships, it has not seen that much play. Hunter Butler took a slightly different approach, using [card name=”Groudon” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] as an efficient Iron Hands ex answer as well as an overall versatile attacker. It caps at 240 damage, which is able to take meaningful Knock Outs against many of the top decks in the format, including [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] and, after Weakness, [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]. When I first saw this deck, I immediately saw that it had potential, and got to work playing the deck and looking for ways I could make meaningful improvements. I quickly found that the deck was extremely strong, and for that reason, I think there is a fairly high chance that I end up playing the deck at Indianapolis. With that being said, let’s take a look at what drew me to the deck, before looking at how I changed it.

What I Liked About Groudon

[cardimg name=”Groudon” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”199″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I have always kind of been a fan of Lost Zone Toolbox decks, as I think they offer their pilot an incredible amount of tools in any situation thanks to the versatility of [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] alongside the power of the in-archetype attackers, [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]. Sableye in particular gives the player the unique ability to set up extremely complex plays with high rewards by meticulously dealing damage in pursuit of the perfect checkmate, but it also acts as one of the most powerful aggressive tools the deck has access to. Against decks like Charizard ex, which can have their [card name=”Charmander” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] run over if they do not play [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card], this comes in particularly handy.

As always, Lost Zone decks get most interesting when you look at what surrounds the actual Lost Zone engine. As I highlighted previously, Groudon is integral to this deck as its catch-all answer for a variety of problematic attackers in the format. It deals with direct counters like Iron Hands ex, and also has broader uses against things that are just a bit too big and awkward. I personally like this card over something like a [card name=”Hoopa ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] / Roaring Moon ex combo because Groudon is only worth one Prize card, making it actually useful against other single-Prize Pokemon like [card name=”Roaring Moon” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. I think that Groudon generally complements the other core Pokemon in Lost Zone decks better than the Roaring Moon ex / Hoopa ex package, too, which is a big part of why I like using it.

Iron Hands ex is another core piece to this deck, offering an advantage against single-Prize Pokemon in the Lost Zone mirror or against [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]. Arm Press is also useful in a few cases, like for getting a one-hit Knock Out on [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card]. However, for this specific case, [card name=”Raikou V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card] is generally better. As your primary user of [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], Raikou V hits the board in a surprising number of matchups, offering instant access to a [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] or other utility card while also being a reasonable and cheap attacker in many situations. Raikou V is a huge part of the Ancient Box matchup, as it’s a cheap way to Knock Out [card name=”Flutter Mane” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] so you can start trying to progress the game, with the expectation that you’ll regain the advantage by using Iron Hands ex at the end of the game. Raikou V is also integral to the Prize map against Charizard ex, crippling their Pidgeot ex while also taking a couple of quick Prize cards at the same time. This allows you to more reliably set up your late-game attacking options in the matchup — especially [card name=”Shaymin V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card]. Shaymin V was the final piece that really got me to consider this deck, as it very efficiently takes down Charizard ex, even making it into one of your most solid matchups.

Other than this diverse roster of attackers, this deck is fairly typical for a Lost Zone deck. It has most of the usual suspects when it comes to the Trainer card roster — built for consistency with a few utility cards to push it over the finish line. The deck is versatile, powerful, and consistent, and for that alone, I think it is a viable contender for Indianapolis. However, I also think that the deck list can be improved. Notably, I think that the deck has a less-than-stellar Ancient Box matchup, not just because of Flutter Mane (and no [card name=”Iron Bundle” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] to counteract it), but also because it is terrible at Knocking Out a Roaring Moon or [card name=”Koraidon” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]. With the rise in popularity of Ancient Box, I hoped that I could find a solution to make that matchup a bit better while not having to commit too many cards to it. I also hoped to find a way to beat Charizard ex outside of Shaymin V, as playing only one copy each of Shaymin V and Grass Energy is just asking for something to go wrong. Throughout my searching, I found myself focused on one card in particular: [card name=”Cobalion” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card]. After some testing, I found myself on the following deck list.

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My Updated Groudon Deck

[decklist name=”groudon” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Groudon” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”93″][pokemon amt=”13″]4x [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Groudon” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Raikou V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”48″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cobalion” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”126″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”38″]4x [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis)” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Switch” set=”Black and White” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Prime Catcher” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Board” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]3x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Key Cards

The key cards can be broken up into two sections: the cards that I changed, and the cards that I think are generally important to the list. I’m going to start off by discussing the changes.

The Cuts: Shaymin V, Grass Energy, Forest Seal Stone

Despite the strong use case against the best deck in the format, I think that Shaymin V is just a bit too situational. It’s essentially a blank card against the majority of the format. While being able to use Forest Seal Stone is a nice perk, Shaymin V is just bad most of the time, and it’s not even the best Forest Seal Stone user in the deck. In theory, if you could just come up with an attacker that is more useful against everything else while also having a similar effect against Charizard ex, it would be infinitely better. Naturally, by cutting Shaymin V, the Grass Energy must go too. And, finally, I decided it was best to go down to just one Forest Seal Stone because I was going down to just one Pokemon V. While I find the card less frequently than I would with two copies, having a second copy feels redundant, and despite the strength of redundancy in Lost Zone decks, I think that having cards that help you win specific matchups is much more valuable.

The Additions: Cobalion, Mew ex, and Psychic Energy

[cardimg name=”Cobalion” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”126″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Cobalion was one of the main cards that pushed me to try this deck. When I was thinking about the deck’s general issue with Ancient Box, Cobalion seemed like one of the lowest-effort solutions, as it allows you to take easy Knock Outs on Roaring Moon with Cramorant, which makes Prize trades much more efficient. If you use Cramorant to deal with Roaring Moon, you get to save Groudon or your [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Prime Catcher” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] for when they attack with Koraidon. This alone has made the matchup feel much more reasonable, but it wasn’t until I was a bit over halfway through my first game that I also realized it made Amp You Very Much into a Knock Out on a Roaring Moon, which is the perfect way to speed up or close out a game. Assuming you don’t get overrun by Flutter Mane in the early game, I’m fairly confident that Cobalion makes this matchup favored, and the [card name=”Dudunsparce” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] version becomes absolutely free, since Roaring Moon is their only attacker and they don’t even play Flutter Mane.

Cobalion is also sometimes useful against Charizard ex, but the deck list as before doesn’t have a great way to take advantage of it. That’s where [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] comes in. Mew ex has seen play in Lost Zone lists for a while now as a decent option for answering Charizard ex, but only when the opponent has exactly one Prize card remaining, which is generally a very narrow window of time. It also allows the opponent to safely pivot into a [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] rather than leaving their Charizard ex in the Active Spot, in order to force you to play a Boss’s Orders to reach the Pokemon you need to Knock Out.

However, Cobalion can make this a two-turn window, as you can Knock Out a Charizard ex when the opponent is at two Prize cards rather than needing to get them to one. Being able to use Mew ex a turn earlier allows you to shift your Prize map in a way that still results in you winning the game even if your opponent tries to get clever with Radiant Charizard, as you threaten a Charizard ex OHKO a turn sooner, forcing them to switch to Radiant Charizard a turn earlier, which in turn forces them to feed you a single-Prize Pokemon two turns in a row, which you can easily punish with Sableye, [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], or a variety of other attackers. Mew ex is also a fairly versatile attacker in a lot of other matchups, with a standout case being against Giratina VSTAR, where you can copy Lost Impact (or even Star Requiem if you’re feeling really cool) to Knock Out a Giratina VSTAR. This matchup is usually favored even without that extra bit of help, but it definitely helps the matchup go from “slightly favored” to “pretty difficult to lose.”

The last change I made was putting in a Psychic Energy. I am generally a big fan of using Sableye, as I said previously, and I think the card is especially strong right now, so I felt that a second Psychic was the most useful Energy to add. Another option would be a third Water Energy, as only having two makes Radiant Greninja fairly difficult to use at times, and considering how strong the ability to hit a turn-two Moonlight Shuriken generally is, I think making that play easier would certainly be wise. I would prefer not to abandon the second Psychic Energy, though, so I’ve been considering the possibility of finding room for the third Water Energy elsewhere.

Roxanne

This card is broken. That is all I really need to say.

If you need elaboration, though, [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the single most powerful cards in the game right now, especially in Lost Zone decks. With so many decks building up large hands thanks to Pidgeot ex, [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card], or the numerous cards that Ancient Box uses for this purpose — and with the decks that don’t build up large hands generally relying on [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], which is easily Knocked Out by a Lost Mine — Roxanne is extremely efficient when it comes to crippling decks in the late game. In particular, the card is very good against Charizard ex, as you can Knock Out Pidgeot ex early and then Knock Out Bibarel on the Roxanne turn to have little obstruction as you move to set up a Burning Darkness with Mew ex. The card is also generally pretty strong against Giratina VSTAR, because you can use Iron Hands ex to take a couple of Prize cards while setting up a Mew ex behind it so that, even if the opponent manages to respond to the Iron Hands ex with their two-card hand, they probably will not be able to answer the incoming Lost Impact. The card is just so, so, so powerful in the current format and I am certain that it would be an error to exclude it.

Prime Catcher and No Counter Catcher

It’s pretty obvious why Prime Catcher is good in this deck, being both a switch and a gust in the same card, but I think it’s somewhat important to examine why we keep it while [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] no longer makes the cut. This is largely because this deck is, perhaps surprisingly, usually ahead for most of the game in most matchups. A turn-one Spit Innocently is a lot harder to punish in this format, and the decks that do punish it, such as Charizard ex, usually don’t get ahead of you anyway, as Prime Catcher allows you to push a lead. As I mentioned earlier, you do have a flex turn where you can let the opponent get ahead of you, but ideally this never happens, and you continue to use your speed to push an advantage. That’s generally how this deck works in this format. A lot of decks are slow and try to meticulously craft a powerful endgame, and Lost Zone tries to be so fast that the game never is able to get to that point, or, when it does, Lost Zone still has the means to close it out with ease. As such, Counter Catcher is pointless.

Conclusion

As we move further into the era of Charizard ex, players have been scrambling to craft complex solutions to a problem that has maybe already been solved, with the answer right under our nose the whole time. Lost Zone decks offer a powerful solution, and they are able to do so relatively easily thanks to their access to a variety of attackers. While Groudon itself is not the key to the Charizard ex matchup, it is the key to solving many of a Lost Zone deck’s other issues with ease, and I think for that reason alone, it is an extremely strong contender for the Indianapolis Regional Championships.

With that, this article draws to a close. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading about one of my favorite archetypes in the format right now, and also one of my top picks for the upcoming Regionals. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments or on social media. Until next time!

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