Perplexing Pine — Zoroark-GX / Shiftry-GX for Worlds
Let’s talk numbers, 240 HP and an unrivaled raw power of 180 damage, before modifiers; Shiftry-GX is a beast! It is perhaps a better partner with [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] than [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] or other Stage 2 Pokemon were. Adding [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] brings the damage up to 210! That’s enough to deal a one-hit Knock Out on a Zoroark-GX, as well as other popular Pokemon like [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card]. Hitting 180 damage is already enough to pop a Rayquaza-GX or [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], speeding things up in your favor in a trade of Prizes. The downside is matching your opponent’s hand size. It is easy using Zoroark-GX’s Trade, [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], and so many other ways to add or subtract cards from your hand. Doing 180 damage in an easily accessible fashion is going to be a huge burst of potential. In addition, Perplex is a solid way to stall a turn and force your opponent into an awkward situation. Den of Iniquity GX is a failsafe for when you can’t knock something out; putting a Pokemon and all cards attached to it back into your opponent’s deck is just about as good as taking a one-hit Knock Out, you’re just removing the immediate threat. Its Weakness is mostly irrelevant and a retreat cost of two means [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] can handle it.
Why is Shiftry-GX Good?
I see you’re confused, “Why is this even good with Zoroark-GX? Zoroark-GX isn’t good on its own, it’s underpowered and underwhelming in the Standard format.” Don’t get me wrong, disruption cards are a “partner”, so don’t be confused if you think I’m underselling the Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] deck. Shiftry-GX can take multiple hits if you’re playing it with Zoroark-GX. Better yet, you can power it up in one turn using Masked Royal or [card name=”Multi Switch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card]. When you come out of nowhere with a huge Stage 2 with 240 HP, your opponent will need a lot to address it. The Grass typing makes you strong against [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], and Seedot (60 HP) is a formidable attacker against a Lycanroc-GX itself! Stampede does 30 damage, and with a Choice Band you can smack a Lycanroc-GX for 120! It’s enough to give you another option in what would have otherwise been a rough matchup. Perplex presents some nice math in conjunction with Stampede against a Lycanroc-GX with 200 HP and Grass Weakness: Stampede for 30*2 = 60; Perplex with Choice Band for 70*2 = 140, 60+140 = 200 damage.
A strong partner deserves a home where it can be successful. Zoroark-GX is always going to welcome Shiftry-GX with open arms and I’ve found it to be the best place for it to have that success. You can use the [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] engine like Tord Reklev did with Zoroark-GX / Gardevoir-GX back in Oceania to get Shiftry-GX going more efficiently. The best thing about this deck and what gives it a leg up on Zoroark-GX / Gardevoir-GX is that it has more HP and deals with Lycanroc-GX more effectively. Arguably, you could say that Shiftry-GX is better fitted for handling Zoroark-GX mirrors as well by surviving more hits than something like [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card].
[decklist name=”Zoroark-GX / Shiftry-GX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″][pokemon amt=”17″]2x Shiftry-GX (CLS #14)3x Seedot (CLS #12)4x [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”36″]4x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4 x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4 “][/card]4x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Evosoda” set=”Generations” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Multi Switch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Explanations
Four Zorua and Four Zoroark-GX
This no different from other [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] builds. You are playing a Stage 2 in your deck and you need to prioritize a consistent approach that will get you Zoroark-GX as quickly as possible. Having a complete set of four copies will give you better odds of finding it sooner and getting multiple in play so you can then build up Shiftry-GX and go to town.
Three Tapu Lele-GX
In the same light of consistency, having four [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] as well as three [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] gives you more than a 70% chance of starting with Brigette on your first turn. [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] also gives you more ways to get a Mallow on your second turn, and a Shiftry-GX thereafter. The whole idea behind the Mallow engine is that it’s insanely hard to Knock Out a Shiftry-GX. This said, as long as you just get one on the Bench you’ll always have the Multi Switch play ready and your opponent will have to deal with other things in the meantime while you wait patiently for a Multi Switch play to present itself, or you just power up the Shiftry-GX manually!
Three Seedot and Two Shiftry-GX
You only “need” one Shiftry-GX per game. This is the optimal line to save space and resources on if you’re only looking to get a single Shiftry-GX out per game. Three Seedot protects you in case your opponent targets them, and two Shiftry-GX protects you against your Prizes or an unfortunate discard. You don’t want to play Nuzleaf in here because it’s just too slow and on the turn you put it down your opponent can then subsequently [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] and KO it, wasting that Seedot entirely. I’d rather leave the ambiguity of not knowing when and where the Shiftry-GX could come down, making it more difficult for your opponent to pick any Seedot. The [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] mechanism is just faster and more reliable in the long run to setting up Shiftry-GX, the ultimate goal.
One Mew-EX
I think every Zoroark-GX deck besides [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] variants should be playing at least one copy of [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card]. With it, you have an amazing answer to Psychic-weak Pokemon in a pinch and you also give yourself the best counter there is to [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] decks. While Mew-EX does give up two Prizes, you can usually get that many or more with it copying the attacks of your Pokemon for Knock Outs. While Shiftry-GX gives you an advantage against [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], Mew-EX is there to fill in against Buzzwole and [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], as well as other things like [card name=”Mewtwo-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] against [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] decks.
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Four Brigette
[cardimg name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
I prioritize four Brigette in Stage 2 Zoroark-GX decks. You cannot afford to not set up quickly, so having extra copies of Brigette will assist you in your ultimate goal of getting a Shiftry-GX quickly. When your overall strategy relies on a huge Stage 2, you cannot afford to skip a beat with…
Three N
Most Zoroark-GX decks want three [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] as a minimum, and this ia a variant that falls behind on occasion, it will be important to have three so that you have a nice stream of disrupting effects to put your opponent behind steadily. The hand refresh is fine and dandy, keeping yourself from unnecessarily discarding key resources that can help you set up like Rare Candy.
Three Guzma
Two Guzma is too few with zero [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], but I could see turning one of these into a Counter Catcher. You will want three otherwise, as gust effects are always strong and you want to make sure that you’re taking two Prizes when attacking with Shiftry-GX.
Two Mallow
Your priority starting off should be getting Shiftry-GX out so you can land some massive attacks. Two [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] protects you against your Prizes and gives you a better chance of drawing into it naturally so you can use Trade and get the cards you want. Mallow makes the Stage 2 partners to Zoroark-GX click, and I would highly recommend playing both copies.
One Professor Sycamore
I’m always a big fan of a single [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] in Zoroark-GX decks as a way to thin out junk that you don’t need anymore. The hard draw is especially great in situations where you have no hand and you use Wonder Tag for a Supporter, instead of drawing less than seven, well, you can get a full seven with no downside! Sometimes you just want to draw cards and see more than you normally would and that’s where a single copy of this Supporter is critical.
One Cynthia
One “guaranteed” number of cards off a shuffle and draw Supporter is almost always a staple in every deck. N won’t always be great because maybe you can tell that your opponent has a dead hand or maybe you just want to draw more without discarding resources with Professor Sycamore. At least one [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] is a necessity in every [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] deck.
Four Ultra Ball
Getting your Zoroark-GX out quickly and giving yourself more ways to get Tapu Lele-GX is efficient with [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] .
Four Puzzle of Time
Recovering cards from your discard pile is what makes Zoroark-GX good. You can get things back with [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] that can match your hand size to your opponent’s, making Shiftry-GX better, too.
Three Rare Candy
This seems to be the right number for me, I think you could play a fourth Seedot (60 HP) or a third Shiftry-GX before upping this count. Mallow can find everything anyways so there’s less of a reason to play a higher count of Rare Candy.
Three Field Blower
[card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t that great in this deck because it reduces damage from Shiftry-GX when you limit your opponent’s Bench. I still think one should be played for purposes of discarding things like [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] off your Bench and occasionally limiting your opponent’s Bench, but nonetheless when you’re playing a lower count of [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] you’re going to want more [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]. On top of that, Garbodor is making a bit of a resurgence with Ability lock being so great right now that you’re going to want all the Field Blower you can to counter it.
Two Float Stone
I want this list to be as consistent as possible with minimal techs and two [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] will only bolster your consistency. Having two gives you more ways to pivot your Pokemon around, get [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] into the Active spot, or even get Shiftry-GX out of the Active position to avoid a Knock Out. When you’re playing a big Pokemon that you want to protect you will want more Float Stone to make sure that it’s not stuck in the Active position early on and heavily damaged before you can use it to strong effect.
Two Evosoda
Getting Zoroark-GX out of your deck is great. In a Zoroark-GX deck that doesn’t play an accompanying Stage 1, I’d err on the side of caution before playing more [card name=”Evosoda” set=”Generations” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card], as they’ll be dead pretty quickly once you get all the Zoroark-GX out that you want in play. Two is the “just right” number.
Two Choice Band
Like most Zoroark-GX decks, [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] should be played in this deck with two copies. While it’s less good on Zoroark-GX itself, it’s more for pushing Shiftry-GX up to the point of using Extrasensory for 210 with a Choice Band. With that being such an important number to achieve, you’ll want all the Choice Band you can get without clogging your deck up, that’s where two is a fine number.
One Multi Switch
[cardimg name=”Multi Switch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”129″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Powering up Shiftry-GX in one turn is possible, but you need this or Masked Royal. I recommend playing one or the other no matter what, but I prefer [card name=”Multi Switch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] more than Masked Royal as this one doesn’t spend your Supporter for the turn.
One Parallel City
This is for defending yourself against Parallel City and sometimes discarding some damaged Pokemon or Tapu Lele-GX on your own side. You need to be careful with it or you might make a mathematical mistake with Shiftry-GX if you limit your opponent’s Bench size.
Four Double Colorless Energy
C’mon! Zoroark-GX needs these and so does Shiftry-GX; play all four copies of [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]!
Three Grass Energy
This has felt like the lowest you can go to for this deck while still keeping Shiftry-GX around as an attacker. You could add more if you want to increase the likelihood of getting a Masked Royal off if you chose to play it, but other than that, three is a solid number to start at and I’ve never wanted more than that!
Consideration Musings
Masked Royal comes out this set, and it could actually see play here. You can use it to build a Shiftry-GX in one turn by giving yourself the opportunity to put another Energy down during your turn, and while this seems slow, a smack for even 90 damage from a Shiftry-GX is enough to justify the means for me, personally. A fourth [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] could improve Shiftry-GX odds slightly, or even another piece of its line, another thought.
This deck is close to being well-polished and I haven’t had to think about different options. More Grass Energy would improve Masked Royal synergy, although you can always just Wonder Tag for Masked Royal and skip the mess of finding it quickly. [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] is something you can choose to play in place of a [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] since we are using a [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] deck, this falls behind often. I have balanced consistency and skipped techs because you don’t need any, the single Mew-EX evens up the [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] matchup and addresses other Psychic-weak Pokemon if need be.
[card name=”Shiftry” set=”Steam Siege” no=”11″ c=”from”][/card] is another option as a non-EX/GX attacker, something this deck lacks in its current form. I’m not a huge fan, but it’s similar to [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] in Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] decks, so it could be worth running. Judge is so bad as a card that even though it matches both yours and your opponent’s hand sizes that I don’t think it’s worth it; [card name=”Copycat” set=”Call of Legends” no=”77″ c=”from”][/card] is better, but that is suspect. Last, a thin Magcargo line is okay and you would replace both Mallow for it. Bench space is at a premium for this deck so I would stay away from playing it. Other than that, this list is about as good as it gets, give it a whirl and see what you think.
Matchups
Buzzwole: Even
Shiftry-GX pulls its weight against [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] once you get it out and Mew-EX can handle just about everything else. The nice thing is that Lycanroc-GX is the only Pokemon in your opponent’s deck that can easily knock a Shiftry-GX out, but that comes at a cost by getting hit by another Shiftry-GX. As long as you can keep Lycanroc-GX subdued, you should have no problem winning this matchup consistently. Buzzwole decks can simply not handle a 240 HP Pokemon that can one-shot all of its attackers. You do fall victim to slower starts occasionally and can get overwhelmed by the speed of your opponent’s damage output, which is why this matchup hovers around the even mark.
Malamar: Slightly Favorable
This deck doesn’t have as easy of a time against [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] as other Zoroark-GX decks, but it’s still strong against them. Shiftry-GX is nearly impossible to one-shot for a Malamar deck, so you can almost guarantee two one-hit Knock Outs with the same Shiftry-GX in this matchup. Zoroark-GX is always good against it, since Malamar doesn’t have a great one-shot answer to it either, so I wouldn’t worry about this one much. As long as you set up nicely and get to attacking quickly you can even target Malamar down to stop your opponent from executing their strategy efficiently.
Naganadel-GX: Slightly Favorable
[cardimg name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”56″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Beast Box is a little harder for Zoroark-GX decks to beat than it was in the past, with Stakataka-GX reducing damage down to their Ultra Beast Pokemon. While Shiftry-GX more than likely won’t be able to one-shot a [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] any longer, you can rely on Perplex to soften it up and then finish it off with an Extrasensory. Mew-EX is a great way to completely eliminate a Naganadel-GX in one sweep by copying Riotous Beating for a one-hit Knock Out due to Weakness. I don’t consider this deck to be of any note, but if it becomes popular, you’ll be prepared with a solid regime of attackers than can handle it.
Rayquaza-GX: Even
This is usually hard for Zoroark-GX decks, but you can handle Rayquaza-GX a little better since you do have a one-hit threat that usually won’t be one-shot in return. All you need to do is match your opponent’s hand for Extrasensory and finish off a Rayquaza-GX! It’s pretty easy to match your opponent’s number in this one since Rayquaza-GX usually plays most of the cards in a hand down right away. Your one-shot potential should keep your opponent in check. Once the Rayquaza-GX’s start getting knocked out, then your opponent’s damage output will go down, which makes Zoroark-GX a viable attacker with low risk of falling.
Zoroark-GX: Even to Slightly Favorable
Mirrors make this deck better just because you have an advantage in them. The harder ones to beat are ones with disruption packages and sometimes Lycanroc-GX if it can eliminate your Seedot before they Evolve. The beauty of Shiftry-GX is that it can attack with Perplex. As a one Energy attack cost it’s a legitimate threat to slow your opponent down and at least two-shot a Lycanroc-GX if you get a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] for at least one of the attacks. The disruption variants are hard because they can remove all of your Energy from a Shiftry-GX and set you back quite a bit. An [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] of your own could assist in recycling your resources and getting more Shiftry-GX set up. More traditional Zoroark-GX decks like [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] are much easier since you can take one-hit Knock Outs on all your opponent’s Pokemon unless Armor Press is online; you can see the divide between “even” to “slightly favorable” here.
Conclusion
It’s always fun to try out new partners to Zoroark-GX. Shiftry-GX has been a good one in my testing and it’s one of my options for Worlds right now. It should be a great pick for local events if you’re not attending Worlds, or even the Nashville Open if you plan on taking on that tournament. Good luck out there, I’ll be back next time with a journal-style detailing of my testing so far for Worlds. Take care!
~Caleb
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