The Fly Swatters — Two Expanded Options to Beat One Muscular Mosquito
Hello everyone! The next major event in the U.S. tournament schedule is Roanoke Regionals, and boy am I hyped for this one. Not only is Roanoke the first major US event with Forbidden Light legal, but it is also going to by my first Pokemon event after a two month long break. With all the Fighting-type support in the new set, [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] is gaining lots of hype. I think this hype is somewhat undeserved, as [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] can easily incorporate techs such as [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Next Destinies” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] to manage Buzzwole, and [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] can add [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card]. However, that’s not to say that Buzzwole is to be underestimated. Buzzwole will still see lots of play in Roanoke. Fighting variants saw some usage in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago, and the archetype only gains more strength with the release of the new set.
Night March
My goal for this event is to find a strong deck that is favored against the trio of Zoroark, Buzzwole, and Garbodor. This is easier said than done. I am currently considering a strange [card name=”Glaceon-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card] build as well as the Zoroark / Hex deck that I encourage you to check out in my previous article. However, the two decks that I will share with you today are stronger against Buzzwole than those other two decks. The first one may come as a bit of a surprise coming from me, and that would be none other than Night March. For once in its too long life, Night March is positioned quite well. With a few techs, it can easily destroy Buzzwole. It possesses the power to deal with most random decks, and it can thin its deck to the point where disruption such as Red Card and Garbotoxin doesn’t bother it a whole lot. Here’s my current list:
[decklist name=”NM” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″][pokemon amt=”19″]4x [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ 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=”Flashfire” no=”99″ 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]4x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Town Map” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”XY” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Sure, this is more or less a typical Night March list. You can go with the same general strategy in every matchup. Discard Night Marchers, blow things up. I like Night March now because it has drastically declined in popularity lately, and as such there is less of a presence of counters such as [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card]. If you look at the past three Expanded events worldwide, Night March only has one obscure placement in the Top 32 in total. Therefore, if your opponent bothers to counter Night March, they probably aren’t very good and you should beat them anyway. Night March also destroys Buzzwole, so that’s cool too. Let’s go over some techs.
One Mew
[card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] is here to help with our insect invasion. Buzzwole decks pack high counts of [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], so we can’t always rely on [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] to enable our Psychic-type pumpkin. Mew can copy Joltik’s attack, and it can OHKO Buzzwole with ease. Mew also is an extra Night Marcher of sorts, so you don’t have to lose a Night Marcher when you already have nine or 10 in the discard.
One Oranguru
Also known as consistency-boi, [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] makes it so that we don’t lose to [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card], and that’s really important. You can also use Psychic off Mew with [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] in play.
One Mr. Mime
I’m putting Mr. Mime in every deck, and you should too. Mew would suck against Buzzwole if they could just Jet Punch it and Joltik for two Prizes, so Mr. Mime is here to protect our little guys from Jet Punches. Mime is also neat for blocking Tree Slams. Here’s the rule of thumb for deciding which Mr. Mime to use in your deck. If you run [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] or any sort of Psychic Energy (Unit, Rainbow, etc.), use the [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] from Plasma Freeze. If not, run the Fairy-type one.
If you can’t use Psy Bolt, the Fairy-type Mime is better for a few reasons. It’s got an uncommon Weakness to Metal, a potentially-relevant Resistance to Dark, and a really bad attack. The reason why you want a bad attack is so that your opponent can’t potentially copy a good attack instead.
[cardimg name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ align=”right” c=”custom”]A necessity now[/cardimg]
Zero Hex Maniac
And here is your token controversial Grant decision! First off, [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] is almost completely useless against Buzzwole because it turns off your own Mew and Mr. Mime. It’s also mostly useless against [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]… for obvious reasons. That only leaves Zoroark, and usually you want to Guzma or Sycamore in that matchup to be honest. Hex is best used against Zoroark when combined with [card name=”Red Card” set=”Generations” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], and we don’t have that kind of space. Hex is still good to have in Night March, I’m not condemning it. I just find the spot to be better used on anything else that’s currently in the list.
Two N, Three Sycamore
This is a small tweak to the usual 1-4 lineup, and I actually have won games because of the extra N. N is useful for when you get those clogged hands with [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], and other random stuff. This happens to Night March more than you might expect (at least for me). Sycamore is still immensely powerful in Night March, but I just wanted to use N more consistently than I could with only one in the whole deck.
Two Field Blower
[card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is absolutely critical in two of the big three matchups. Obviously, it is great for getting rid of Garbotoxin and [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] against Drampa / Garb, but it’s also nice to be able to remove [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] from Fighting-types. That’s all, really.
One Computer Search
To be completely honest, this probably should be [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card], but I can’t bring myself to do it just yet. I like Computer Search to maximize early game explosiveness.
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Seismitoad-EX / Zoroark-GX
[decklist name=”toad” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″][pokemon amt=”15″]3x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Zorua” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”41″]3x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ 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=”Flashfire” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Bent Spoon” set=”Fates Collide” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”XY” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
I guess you could say this is my “secret deck” for Roanoke. And yes, it more or less loses to [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card]. However, I am not worried about Pokemon Ranger whatsoever. There will be absolutely no Seismitoad presence in Roanoke, and there is zero reason whatsoever for anyone to run Ranger in this format. It does not help against any of the major decks and is a complete waste of space. Sort of like with Night March counters, if I run into an opponent who bothers to counter a non-Top 5 deck, they are probably unskilled and can be defeated anyway.
Now, I would’t blame you if you are wondering how on earth this beats Buzzwole. That’s a good question. You want to manage Buzzwole with Energy denial and Item lock. A Belted Seismitoad does a good job tanking Buzzwole’s attacks while healing with Acerola. I am also strongly considering both [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Next Destinies” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card], but I am not sure if I want to cut anything. If you have a slow start and your opponent manages to build a three-Energy Buzzwole, Mewtwo-EX is a reliable answer. I may cut the fourth Zorua or the third Acerola for a Mewtwo, but I just can’t decide.
[cardimg name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Pretty good when your opponent can’t remove it[/cardimg]
Anyway, as for the actual strategy of this deck, it depends on the matchup. In many matchups, such as against most Zoroark variants, you use the Toad strategy. When I refer to the Toad strategy, I mean use Quaking Punch exclusively while healing with Acerola and denying Energy. You can easily run Zoroark decks out of Energy this way. Against decks that have a hard time OHKO’ing Zoroark, you use Riotous Beating and heal with Acerola nonstop. Against decks that can both OHKO Zoroark and handle the Toad strategy, such as [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], you’re in for a rough time and will need to get creative. Let’s look at the list.
Card Explanations
4-3 Zoroark-GX
Zoroark is Toad’s current partner of choice. Zoroark is a great partner for Toad because of its draw support and its capabilities as an alternate attacker. Trade clears your hand of useless cards and allows you to chain Acerola quite easily, often alongside Enhanced Hammer. As I mentioned earlier, Zoroark becomes your attacker of choice against weaker decks such as Trevenant and Garbodor. You take advantage of the fact that these decks don’t OHKO Zoroark and chain Acerola while hitting for 120 repeatedly.
Since this isn’t a true Zoroark deck, a full 4-4 or 4-5 line isn’t needed. I prefer having four Zorua for two reasons. First, it improves early game consistency with the lack of Brigette. Ideally, you will get two Zorua in play on your first turn. You want to maximize your odds of drawing Zorua early on. Second, having an extra Zorua helps when they are targeted and Knocked Out. If you are chaining Acerola on Zoroark, you will always have to play down Zorua and wait a turn for it to evolve. If your opponent tries picking off Zorua during this time, you will run out quickly with only three in the list.
Three Seismitoad-EX
Seismitoad is your main attacker in many matchups. Unfortunately, there’s no room for [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck, so Quaking Punch has a hard cap of 40 damage with [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. However, Item lock is devastating against every deck. Quaking Punch is especially useful against the likes of Zoroark and Night March. Among other Items, you lock out [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]. Once those decks run out of DCE, they have lost the game. Quaking Punch also locks important Tools, as well as Buzzwole’s forms of Energy acceleration.
One Sudowoodo
I honestly don’t even know if you need [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck, but it’s obviously really good against Zoroark. They usually just end up KO’ing it though, and you always beat Zoroark anyway, so we might just cut this for Mewtwo-EX.
One Mr. Mime
I mentioned this earlier, but Mime is going in almost every deck. Jet Punch on two Toads to prep for Knuckle Impact is truly annoying for this deck, as is [card name=”Wide Lens” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] Jet Punch on Zorua. Mime is fantastic against Buzzwole. Mime also blocks things like Tree Slam and Black Ray GX as well.
One Giratina
[card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] is getting some hype for some reason even though it is still a completely terrible deck. I like autowins against Trevenant (and Greninja), so I’m running Giratina in this deck. There may be some [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] in Roanoke as it has been lingering in Expanded. Greninja is amazing against Zoroark and Gardevoir, and it can hold its own against most other decks.
One Colress, Two N, Three Cynthia
By far this deck’s greatest weakness is its pitiful draw-power. This deck highly relies on setting up Zoroark-GX in order to draw cards, and there isn’t a whole lot of room to add cards that facilitate that. This is my favorite lineup of draw Supporters. We only run one Colress because this deck sorely needs help in the early stages of the game. Sycamore sucks for this deck because of all the Puzzle, VS Seeker, and other such cards that are useful later. [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] is the most reliable, and it doesn’t benefit your opponent in the early game like N does. However, N is still useful as a draw Supporter, and you can use it later on along with Quaking Punch for a powerful disruptive combo.
Three Acerola
[card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] is absolutely ridiculous in this deck! Depending on the matchup, you spam Acerola on either Seismitoad or Zoroark. That’s the strategy, so we definitely want three Acerola. I almost want [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] too, so I can heal and use [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] in the same turn, but there’s just no space in this list.
Four Enhanced Hammer
Four of these may seem like a lot, but we actually do need the whole playset. Running four Hammers helps to ensure that you will always have one ready when your opponent drops a Special Energy card. Enhanced Hammer is your win condition against Zoroark decks, and it regulates Strong Energy to prevent Buzzwole from ever being able to reach 220 damage with Knuckle Impact.
Three Field Blower, Two Bent Spoon
Garbodor is a difficult matchup for this deck, but I really want to beat it, so I overcommitted a little as far as counters. You always want [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] on hand to get rid of [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] and Garbotoxin. Field Blower is also great for removing relevant Choice Bands in matchups such as Zoroark and Buzzwole, as they can be attached before the Quaking Punch lock begins.
[card name=”Bent Spoon” set=”Fates Collide” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] is used primarily to protect Zoroark from Righteous Edge from [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]. Garbodor decks typically play lower counts of Field Blower because they have no need to counter Garbotoxin. Therefore, two Bent Spoon should have at least some effect in that matchup. Bent Spoon is also useful to block Paralyzing Gaze, Silent Fear, Miraculous Shine, Shadow Stitching, Acid Spray, Confuse Ray, Psybeam, and many other attacks.
Three Float Stone
This deck has no real way to dig for [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], so you just have to hope to draw into it naturally if you start with anything besides [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card]. Three improves your odds of starting the Quaking Punch lock, though four would be a bit overkill, not to mention the space constraints in this list.
Two Fighting Fury Belt
Fighting Fury Belt is insanely important, and I am considering adding a third one. The HP is more relevant than the extra damage, and the plus 40 boost allows Seismitoad to survive attacks such as Riotous Beating, most Night Marches, and most Knuckle Impacts. Item lock prevents decks from removing FFB with [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], and it also makes it nearly impossible for Night March to reach 220. Enhanced Hammer regulates Buzzwole to only one Strong Energy at a time. Along with [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], this makes Knuckle Impact cap at 200. Fighting Fury Belt also allows Zorua to survive some attacks, and protects Zoroark against Miraculous Shine to some degree.
Two Nest Ball
[card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] is our budget [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card]. Brigette is a Supporter and cannot get Seismitoad, so I’d rather just use an Item to grab one at a time. Roughly half the time you use Nest Ball for Seismitoad, and the other half you use it for Zorua. Sure, Brigette would be better when searching for Zorua, but the other half of the time it means getting Quaking Punch a turn late, and that’s no good.
[cardimg name=”Bent Spoon” set=”Fates Collide” no=”93″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Time to set the table[/cardimg]
Matchups
Zoroark – Free Win
It’s a shame that Zoroark isn’t quite as dominant as it once was because it is practically an autowin. Toad / Zoro is a bit slow, clunky, and inconsistent, but it still sets up more often than not and completely slaughters other Zoroark variants. All you do is use Quaking Punch, Acerola, and [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]. Once four DCE are gone, that’s the game. Zoroark / Lycanroc (or Lucario) is basically the same, though they have two or three Fighting Energy to deal with as well. Zoroark / Golisopod is favorable but not as easy, though I don’t think anyone plays that anymore. Against Golisopod, just use Zoroark and try not to play down Toads.
Drampa / Garbodor – Slightly Favorable
I tested this matchup with all sorts of combinations of Field Blower counts and [card name=”Bent Spoon” set=”Fates Collide” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] counts, and it is only favorable with three Blower and two Bent Spoon. Any less than that, and Drampa / Garb becomes heavily favored. You will probably use Seismitoad from time to time, but Zoroark is your main attacker in this matchup. The ideal strategy is to swing with a Zoroark equipped with Bent Spoon and heal it whenever necessary. You want to play as few Items as possible because when Trashalanche starts OHKO’ing Zoroark, things start going downhill for you. If they run [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card], you want to KO it as soon as possible so that you can OHKO [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] later.
Buzzwole – Slightly Favorable
At this point, I am strongly considering cutting either a Zorua or a Sudowoodo for a [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Next Destinies” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card]. I do need to test this matchup a little more, though I usually defeat Buzzwole with the list as it is right now. Seismitoad with Fighting Fury Belt can tank hits like a champ while slowing down Buzzwole tremendously. Mr. Mime keeps Jet Punch in check, and you want to keep Buzzwole without Energy by using lots of Grunts and Hammers.
Trevenant – Auto-win
The more hype this annoying deck gets, the better for us. Zoroark completely, rolls this deck, and we even have [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”name”][/card], three [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] and Bent Spoon to help out too! You can use Puzzle of Time to recover discarded Energy at some point, unless you Prize both Giratina and Guzma.
Sableye – Auto-win
Literally just use Quaking Punch. There’s no way to lose this one. Fury Belt lets you 2HKO [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card]. You have more than enough Energy to outlast Flare Grunts, and they can’t use more than half of their deck. Enhanced Hammer happens to be great in this matchup as well. You can use Bent Spoon to block Confuse Ray, but I usually prefer the math that Fighting Fury Belt enables. You can always use your three Acerola to get out of confusion, since Confuse Ray does 10 damage. If you lose to Trashalanche, then that one’s just on you.
Gardevoir – Really Bad
I don’t know what to tell you, this matchup sucks. You just gotta hope that Item lock does its thing… twice… because it’s best of three… If Twilight GX wasn’t a thing, you’d probably be fine. But it is, so after all your hard work of Energy denial, Gardevoir just chucks 10 Energy back into its deck. Then Sycamore lets them draw into all of them the following turn and then you lose.
Glaceon and Wailord – Really Bad with no Bunny
These two fringe decks are in the same section because you will deck out against both of them 100% of the time thanks to [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card]. However, if you run [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Primal Clash” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], you turn the autolosses into a pair of autowins. The only difference is that you have to run Glaceon out of Energy before you can deck them out. While I normally don’t like teching for random decks that I don’t think will be very popular, turning two autolosses into two autowins does sound quite appealing. You can also drop Bunnelby for a surprise win if your opponent ever has two cards left in their deck. This actually happens from time to time because Seismitoad forces long, drawn-out games.
Conclusion
To conclude, run Mr. Mime in everything! Anyway, these two decks are really good. I’m still not sure what I’ll be playing in Roanoke, but these are my top two picks at the moment. The Toad deck is definitely clunky, but it still manages to win games and it has been working well for me, so don’t let the awkward hands discourage you.
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