Diving into the Abyss — Buzzwole and Gardevoir for Worlds
[cardimg name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Hey there PokeBeach readers! Last time, I talked in depth about the strength of [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] and looked at three different builds for the deck. While Zoroark certainly is a strong card that has become the center of our metagame, that does not mean there are not other decks that are viable in this meta. Today, I will be looking at the only two other decks I consider to be viable plays for the World Championships and the Nashville Open this weekend: [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]. I will be taking a look at both, and talk about some important cards in my lists and why I play them.
Buzzwole
As long as Zoroark is around and a threat in the metagame, Buzzwole decks will always have a place near the top of any tier list. With multiple strong attackers to abuse, plenty of damage modifiers, tons of Energy acceleration, and different Weaknesses for its attackers as well as hitting for Weakness against the best card in the format, Buzzwole has tons going for it that make it a huge threat headed into the World Championships.
While most BuzzRoc lists are only a few cards off nowadays, there were three things I made sure to include in my list when I went about building it: a 2-2 Lycanroc-GX line, a 2-2 [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] line, and two [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card]. Now that we know the objectives I was aiming to hit, let’s take a look at my list and discuss why I wanted these specific card counts.
[decklist name=”BuzzRoc” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”155″][pokemon amt=”15″]3x [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]9x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]3x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Three Buzzwole and Two Buzzwole-GX
While many lists leading up to NAIC started swapping to four baby Buzzwole in order to play a non-GX game, I have chosen to switch one out for a second Buzzwole-GX for the Zoroark Control matchup. With many Zoroark decks playing multiple copies of [card name=”Weakness Policy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] at the moment, I found myself struggling to keep up with the two-shot trading that Zoroark Control aims to do. Whether it be because they were playing [card name=”Reverse Valley” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] and one-shotting my baby Buzzwole or trading two-shots with us while healing their Pokemon with [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card], I was not coming out ahead on the Prize trade often even though I was using non-GXs to attack.
[cardimg name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
As such, I have chosen to play two Buzzwole-GX, as it can easily one-shot Zoroark even if it has a Weakness Policy attached. Buzzwole-GX is also difficult to Knock Out unless Zoroark uses [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], which should then be two free Prizes for Buzzwole to take as long as our board position is not horrendous. In this situation, we would be ahead on Prizes 2-4 with a baby Buzzwole in the Active versus whatever they decide to put Active, making this a favorable trade that we want to take.
2-2 Lycanroc-GX
Lycanroc-GX has been my absolute favorite Pokemon to play this season, and that has not changed with the release of Celestial Storm. This card has so much packed into it: the second best Ability in the game behind [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], a 70 HP Basic that gives it extra tankiness before it evolves, an incredibly strong GX attack that can potentially one-shot any Pokemon in the game, and a Weakness to an underpowered type.
While Lycanroc is incredible in every matchup, it specifically shines in the Zoroark / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] matchup. Since all of your other attackers are weak to Psychic, it is imperative that you get a Lycanroc attacking before you have played too much into Trashalanche. An early Lycanroc can sweep through ZoroGarb’s board with no trouble at all, as many ZoroGarb lists aren’t playing [card name=”Shaymin” set=”Shining Legends” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Counter Energy” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] or are cutting their [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card]s. Once your first Lycanroc goes down, you should have hopefully had enough time to get another [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] on board with an Energy that can keep up the pressure. If you can seamlessly transition from one Lycanroc to another in the ZoroGarb matchup, you will win handily.
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2-2 Octillery
The second thing I wanted in my list, as mentioned above, was a 2-2 Octillery line. While [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] has been getting more popular, Octillery helps me play the style of game that I prefer to play with BuzzRoc, as well as providing fantastic draw outs against [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Red Card” set=”Generations” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] when Garbotoxin is not online. When I play BuzzRoc, I prefer to be constantly using [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] in order to pick off weak Pokemon for easy Knock Outs. For example, versus Zoroark decks, I like to Guzma early game as much as possible in order to take as many easy Knock Outs on [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] as I can; if I can stop them from getting access to multiple Trades per turn, my chances of winning significantly increase. Since I want to be playing Guzma often, it is imperative that I have Octillery to continue to refresh my hand and draw new cards.
Since Octillery is often focused down either when it is a [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] or right after it is put into play, I felt as if a 2-2 line was important to help me not only establish Octillery on my board, but also to make sure it stayed there so I could use it throughout the game.
Finally, since my draw Supporter lineup is lower than most BuzzRoc lists, 2-2 Octillery is important to make sure I do not dead draw at any point in the game. This deck constantly needs Energy more than anything else in order to attack and keep up its pressure, and Octillery can provide enough draw support that you can get away with only seven draw Supporters and still get all the Energy you need. The only time this strategy can backfire is on turn one if you do not draw into a draw Supporter or a way to get Octillery in play, but this has not happened enough in testing for me to be concerned about it.
Four Max Elixir and Two Beast Ring
This is a change that I made recently based on the advice given to me by one of the best players of all time, Michael Pramawat. Since my list is focused around attacking with Lycanroc and using it nearly every game, it made sense to increase my [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] count to four in order to give myself the most Energy acceleration options for Lycanroc.
While playing only two [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] hurts my mid game a little bit, as I will be less likely to flood my field with Energy when my opponent plays into Beast Ring, I do not believe that this is a net negative change. Because of Lycanroc’s irrelevant Weakness, the Energy devoted to it will stay on the field for longer, which makes it overall more effective than streaming multiple Buzzwole in this metagame.
[cardimg name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Two Field Blower
While the majority of BuzzRoc lists that I have seen do not play [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card], I have chosen to follow in Ahmed Ali’s footsteps from NAIC and include it in my list.
I believe Field Blower is one of the best Items in the game. It might currently have more uses in Standard than it has at any other point in its history. Garbotoxin is prevalent again after ZoroGarb won NAIC and continues to succeed in the first weekend of League Cups with the new set, [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is played in nearly every deck due to the popularity of Zoroark decks, many of those Zoroark decks are playing Weakness Policy to beat this specific deck, and nearly every deck plays Tools such as [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. As such, Field Blower is rarely, if ever, a dead card. This deck specifically wants it to ensure that Garbodor does not shut off its Abilities as well as to discard Weakness Policy.
I have chosen to play two copies because, unlike Zoroark decks, BuzzRoc does not have ways to search for any card it wants every turn and Trade for it every turn, nor a way to recover cards from the discard whenever it likes — you have to draw into your Field Blowers the turn you need them. I do not feel like one copy of Field Blower is sufficient, and as much as I would like to play three copies, the deck does not have the space unless I want to cut into one of my 2-2 Pokemon lines.
Gardevoir
Ah, [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card]. I am pretty sure that I have talked the most about Gardevoir out of anyone on the Internet, outside of maybe Mike Fouchet whom I have been constantly testing Gardevoir with the entire year. While it certainly was not viable during the Forbidden Light format, Gardevoir seems to have a place near the top of the metagame right now. Gardevoir still struggles versus [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] unless it heavily techs for it, but it has strong matchups versus any Zoroark variant, as well as a favorable one versus [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] variants. This matchup spread has led many people to consider picking back up last year’s World-Championship-winning deck and giving it another spin, even after considering the inherent consistency issues that come with it being a Stage 2 deck.
[decklist name=”Gardevoir” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”32″][pokemon amt=”17″]3x [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”69″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ralts” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]7x [card name=”Fairy Energy” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
4-2-3/1 Gardevoir-GX / Gallade
The first thing I want to point out is the specific [card name=”Ralts” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Kirlia” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] I am playing. I am playing Psychic-type Basics and Stage 1s so that I can grab them with [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card]. With Psychic attackers like [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] largely gone from the metagame, I do not have to worry about their Psychic Weakness being abused and losing pre-Evolutions to early Knock Outs. This also means that I can deal decent damage to opposing Buzzwole with my pre-Evolutions: Ralts can do 100 damage with a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] and a Choice Band to a [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], while Kirlia can do up to 120 if you flip two heads. While neither of these should be integral parts of your strategy, it is nice to be able to deal meaningful damage if you are in a pinch.
[cardimg name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The other thing you might notice about my list is that I am only playing a single copy of [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. “But Eric, you have been saying for your past two articles that [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] decks are the most popular decks in the format, why would you not play two Gallade to counter it?” Good question! I have found through hundreds of games versus Zoroark decks this year that Gardevoir-GX is actually the superior attacker versus Zoroark. Gardevoir has absolutely no way of getting one-shot unless you mismanage your Items versus [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], while Gallade can get easily one-shot in return by a [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]. While it may seem like trading one Prize for two is a trade worth taking, the trade isn’t in your favor when you consider how much more difficult it is for you to set up a Stage 2 compared to how easy it is for them to set up a Zoroark. Gardevoir is guaranteed at least two turns in play, and it usually survives more thanks to [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] and the criteria Zoroark needs in order to two shot it. Gardevoir also doesn’t struggle to one-shot Zoroark late game; while you two-shot early game with a Gardevoir that you are constantly healing, you are setting up a big Gardevoir in the back that can one-shot anything they put Active.
While Gallade is not as useful as Gardevoir versus Zoroark, Gallade is still useful when combined with [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], giving you consistency and draw power on the same level as the Zoroark / [card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] combo. If you ever have a spare Kirlia that you can afford to evolve into Gallade to boost your consistency, I highly recommend you do it. However, if that is your only Kirlia on the board, or that Kirlia is needed for a secondary attacker, Gardevoir is the Stage 2 you should evolve it into.
2-2 Octillery and Two Super Rod
As a Stage 2, Gardevoir is reliant on a lot of different resources to execute its game plan. As such, it is incredibly important that you get Octillery into play as soon as possible to ensure that you can set up your first Gardevoir as well as backup attackers behind it. By playing a 2-2 line plus two [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card], even if your opponent targets down your [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] or Octillery, you will always have another on board to evolve or one that you can put down.
Some people prefer playing [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM13″ c=”name”][/card] over Octillery, but I think Octillery is far and away the superior choice. Oranguru only draws until you have three cards in hand, which is not nearly enough draw to help you hit all of the cards you need to keep up with less resource-reliant decks. Plus, you can get Remoraid into play with [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] if your opponent is playing it, which is another advantage Octillery has to Oranguru.
While Super Rod’s main purpose is to recover your Pokemon lines, two Super Rod has always been important in Gardevoir decks to recover Energy lost due to Max Potion. I think two Super Rod is an absolute must, and something that cannot be touched unless the Max Potions are removed from the deck entirely.
Three Max Potion
[cardimg name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”164″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Speaking of Max Potion, they are back in Gardevoir and in force. Since nearly every single deck in the format besides BuzzRoc and Rayquaza rely on two-shotting, Max Potion has become important once again.
Max Potion turns the Zoroark matchup into a near auto-win once you set up. If you get a Gardevoir on board, unless you draw extremely poorly, it should almost never get Knocked Out in that matchup. Max Potion is also helpful against Buzzwole decks that play heavy baby Buzzwole counts; that version focuses on taking two-to-three-shot Knock Outs with non-GX Pokemon, and has few responses outside of Buzzwole-GX and Lycanroc-GX if you are able to heal the minimal damage the non-GXs are doing. Lycanroc can be played around by simply not benching a lot of Pokemon, making it even harder for Buzzwole to get a clean one-shot on a Gardevoir.
Two Field Blower
While [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is just a universally good card as I said in the BuzzRoc section, it is especially important in Gardevoir.
First, you never want your opponent to have Garbotoxin online against you: all of the Pokemon in the deck have an Ability, and all of them outside of Gallade’s are important to keep the deck functioning.
Second, since Gardevoir is a Stage 2 deck, it needs a field filled with multiple Ralts, one to two Remoraid, and most likely a Tapu Lele for fetching a Supporter like [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] in order to help it set up. This makes [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] a huge hindrance to this deck and something that we want to keep out of play as much as possible. Part of the reason I am playing my own Parallel City is to prevent my opponent from playing their own against me.
Because Field Blower deals with so many important issues facing the deck, it is an absolute must to play at least two copies. The only reason I am not playing more copies is because I usually target them with Twilight GX and recycle both my Field Blowers. However, if you test the deck and find yourself wanting another copy so that you can hit it before you Twilight or so that you never have to worry about Garbotoxin or Parallel, I certainly would not blame you.
Conclusion
Thank you so much for reading my latest article! I think over the past month or so I have covered nearly every viable deck in the Worlds metagame outside of [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], so hopefully by now you have a general idea of what the metagame is shaping up to be and what to expect in Nashville this weekend.
Personally, I am between this [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] list or a [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] list that is within a few cards of the one I posted in my last article. I think they are the two strongest decks for Worlds; BuzzRoc feels stronger yet more inconsistent, while ZoroGarb is less dominating but able to squeak out some unexpected wins due to its consistency and the combination of [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card], Garbotoxin, and Parallel City.
As always, if you want to keep up with my thoughts on the game as well as other personal ramblings, please go follow me @OrgansmanTCG. If you see me in Nashville, come over and say hello! I love meeting new people, so please do not feel shy to approach me.
Good luck at the World Championships!
Eric
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