Putting Out The Fire: Defeating Reshiram & Charizard-GX

By: Zakary Krekeler · Posted Posted onJun 11, 2019 at 3:22 PM · 0 Comments

Hello everyone! Now that the Madison Regional Championships have concluded, we’re officially done with Regionals here in the U.S.! We’ve entered the finishing stretch of the season — but we aren’t done yet! A smattering of Special Events still remain — in Columbus, in South Africa, and in Brazil — as does the Jönköping Regional Championship in Sweden. Then, we finish it all off with the NAIC, the tournament that will almost certainly be the largest of the year once again.

[cardimg name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Whichever one of these events you find yourself at, one thing will be true: [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] will be the deck to beat. Even though it didn’t finish first at Madison, I don’t think there can be any doubt that Reshiram & Charizard-GX has become the BDIF of Unbroken Bonds Standard. For the first time since Unbroken Bonds was released, we had a look at the full meta data from a major event, data which confirmed Reshiram & Charizard-GX’s dominance. Reshiram & Charizard-GX was by far the most played deck at Madison, making up 21.5% of the field (127/590 decks), a solid five percent more than the next most played deck (all [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] variants combined). Even with such a high rate of play, and with a target on its back, Reshiram & Charizard-GX actually managed to outperform its meta share. Out of the 66 decks to make Day Two in Madison, 24 were Reshiram & Charizard-GX, including finishes in 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th place. The only thing the deck was missing was another Championship title! This is after the deck dominated in the opening weekend of Unbroken Bonds, and won in both the Santa Clara Regionals and São Paulo Regionals, a performance which had already put Reshiram & Charizard-GX firmly in the “top tier” category. That last bit is perhaps the most terrifying thing about Reshiram & Charizard-GX right now: that even in a format chock full of decks designed to beat it, Reshiram & Charizard-GX still found a way to succeed. Madison’s Day Two was full of Reshiram & Charizard-GX, for sure, but there were also plenty of Day Two competitors who had made beating Reshiram & Charizard-GX their main goal.

There were a solid amount of players playing decks designed as Reshiram & Charizard-GX counters, or which naturally had a strong matchup into Reshiram & Charizard-GX — decks such as [card name=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”59″ c=”name”][/card], not to mention [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] decks. On top of that, all of the Zoroark players were playing some sort of Water-type attacker in their deck, be it [card name=”Slowking” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dewgong” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Gyarados” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Water Memory” set=”Team Up” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card]. In the case of one player, Zoroark-GX was paired with three Water type attackers (Slowking, Dewgong, and [card name=”Glaceon-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card])! Even so, there weren’t quite enough auto-losses in the room, and once a Reshiram & Charizard-GX player got past them, the Water + Zoroark decks ended up being not quite strong enough to compete with the refined Fire lists.

Despite all that, there is still hope to be had for those looking to defeat the fire-breathing dragons. Reshiram & Charizard-GX may have outperformed its meta share, but the opposition did end up coming out on top, thanks to Ian Robb’s Blacephalon-GX deck. Between innovative tech cards and refined strategies, there are still plenty of ways to counter Reshiram & Charizard-GX, even without a switch to a hard counter deck. For those truly determined not to lose to Reshiram & Charizard-GX, those counter decks provide a strong option — so long as they can still match up with the rest of the format!

For the rest of this article, I’ll be going over how to beat Reshiram and Charizard-GX, with a look at the deck itself, its exploitable weaknesses, and the attributes you’ll need in a deck to beat it. I’ll also be taking a look at some of the other Tier 1 decks in Unbroken Bonds Standard, and the strategies that they can use to have success against Reshiram & Charizard-GX.

All About Reshiram & Charizard-GX

Variants: Green vs. Kiawe

Right now, there are two main variants of Reshiram & Charizard-GX: the [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”209″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] variant, and the [card name=”Kiawe” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] variant. The two were played in nearly even numbers at Madison, though the Kiawe version had significantly more success. To start, let’s take a look at the DDG Kiawe Reshiram & Charizard-GX list. This list was by far the most dominant of any that was played, as it finished 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 10th, 23rd, and 30th; thanks to those finishes, I would expect to see more copies of this list than any other variant. Here is that list, for reference:

[decklist name=”DDG ReshiZard” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″][pokemon amt=”16″]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Eevee and Snorlax-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Arcanine” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”22″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Growlithe” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”21″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Miltank” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”214″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Kiawe” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Fiery Flint” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]12x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”12″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

[cardimg name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

In contrast to the Green’s Exploration build, the Kiawe variant has many more attackers and strategies that it can potentially utilize. It is also a bit more consistent, thanks to Jirachi, Dedenne-GX, and Tapu Lele-GX; and a bit more disruptive, since it can play multiple Marshadow without any downside. The list also covers its weaknesses rather well. It plays multiple Eevee and Snorlax-GX to hinder players attempting to exploit Reshiram and Charizard-GX’s Weakness to Water, as well as Miltank and four Switch, in an attempt to prevent any multi hit KOs. Arcanine and Volcanion function as decent non-GX attackers; Arcanine also gives the deck a way around Vileplume. The lack of Choice Band is the only questionable decision in this list, but I would expect to see it in future iterations.

The Green’s variant utilizes a heavier line of Volcanion, and doesn’t utilize Jirachi or Miltank. As a result, the deck is a touch stronger against certain non-GX decks, such as Zapdos, but a good bit weaker against other strategies. Green’s Exploration does allow this build to pull off some nifty combos with Item cards, but the lack of Ability Pokemon means that the deck is far more limited than the Jirachi / Kiawe variant. For an example, here is the list that I played in Madison, which is an adaptation of Kian Amini’s winning list from Santa Clara:

[decklist name=”Zak’s Green’s ReshiZard” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Eevee and Snorlax-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”171″][pokemon amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Eevee and Snorlax-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”42″]4x [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”209″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”214″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Team Up” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Judge” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”209″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”231″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Fiery Flint” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

While this deck did perform pretty well for me, I don’t think that it is the ideal build going forward. While I do appreciate the deck’s consistency, I can’t help but feel that it’s comparatively linear nature will doom it, particularly as players focus more and more on beating Reshiram & Charizard-GX. The Green’s variant also has a difficult time dealing with the early burst from a Kiawe’d Reshiram & Charizard-GX; since the Green’s variant doesn’t play Kiawe itself, and can’t use Marshadow as a means of disruption, it can’t take as much advantage going first, and needs to get exceptionally lucky when going second. This version does have advantages in terms of damage output — Choice Band + Shrine of Punishment won me quite a few mirror match games, shout out to Jay Young for that idea — but that advantage is nullified if your opponent can KO your Reshiram and Charizard-GX before they can attack. So, even while this deck is certainly strong, going forward, I would expect more of the former list, and less of the Green’s Exploration list.

[premium]

Exploiting the Tag Teams

You aren’t going to be able to beat Reshiram and Charizard-GX in terms of speed, bulk, and damage output. Rather few Pokemon can match it in any of those attributes, let alone all of them. Instead, you’ll have to find a way to manipulate things to turn the matchup to your advantage.  

The one major disadvantage that Reshiram & Charizard-GX has is that it relies on Tag Team GXs to do most of its damage. This means that, even though you won’t necessarily be able to match Reshiram & Charizard-GX in terms of pure stats, you can swing the Prize trade in your favor if you can come decently close. If you can match them KO for KO with a non-Tag Team GX, then your deck will come out ahead, even if you’re using GXs, and they get the first KO: They’ll take two Prizes, you’ll take three, they’ll take two, you’ll take three more and win.

Of course, getting a OHKO on a 270 HP Pokemon is much easier said than done! Even with modifiers such as [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card], you would still need to have an attack capable of dealing 220 damage — and be able to pull off that attack consistently. Weakness is one way to do so; with Weakness applied, you only need an attack that does 140, or 110 if you have a Choice Band. That’s a much easier feat, but it does require you to have a Water and/or Fighting attacker (often both, since the Reshiram & Charizard-GX player can simply dodge whichever Weakness you’ve chosen to try and exploit).

Even without using Weakness to obtain that OHKO, so long as you can get a 2HKO, you’ll still be able to exploit your extra Prize-taking advantage. This can get a bit trickier when using GX decks, as they’ll then be able to take Prizes faster than you can, so you’ll need to mix some non-GXs in. In that case, Reshiram & Charizard-GX will lose if one of those GX KO turn into a non-GX KO — the key is to find one that you can seamlessly mix into your attacking strategy. The more you can utilize non-GXs, the better your odds of winning will be, since the Prize trade will swing more and more in your favor.

Based on the necessity of exploiting the Prize disparity, there are a few criteria that a deck will need to follow if it wants to reliably beat Reshiram & Charizard-GX. This isn’t to say a deck can’t win if it doesn’t meet them, but doing so will go a long way toward that deck’s success. Those criteria are as follows:

  • The deck cannot rely exclusively on Tag Team GXs
  • If the deck relies on GXs, it needs to have some non-GXs that can attack as well, or needs to be able to OHKO both Reshiram and Charizard-GX and Eevee & Snorlax-GX
  • If it can’t OHKO, it needs to at least be able to 2HKO. In this case, the deck needs to be able to attack every turn (or nearly every turn)

Then, some additional bonuses:

  • If possible, Water and Fighting types are ideal attackers
  • Ideally, the attacker should have 130 or more HP

[cardimg name=”Miltank” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”78″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Non-GX decks that meet these criteria include [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”59″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Meganium” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Swampert” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”35″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Nidoqueen” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM160″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Blissey” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card]. For GX decks, some of the best options are [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Persian-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Malamar” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM117″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]. That isn’t to say that these are the only decks that can achieve those criteria — but they do provide a good starting point!

In general, the decks which can get OHKOs will be better than the ones that rely on multi hit KOs, even if doing so requires using a GX. This is thanks to the addition of [card name=”Miltank” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] in the Jirachi / Reshiram & Charizard-GX lists, a Pokemon which can easily shut down even robust 2HKO strategies such as that of [card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]. You’ll also want a deck which can attack consistently and quickly. Attack too slowly, and you’ll risk running out of time to make a comeback. Likewise, if you aren’t consistent enough, those missed attacks can add up, leading to a loss. For non-GX decks, that isn’t quite as much of a concern, since you’ll have more turns to start attacking (and more built-in “missed turns”), but for GX-reliant decks, you won’t want to be attacking any slower than turn two. You’ll also want to account for the possibility of your opponent attacking with a non-GX, be it [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Arcanine” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Shining Lugia” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM82″ c=”name”][/card], all of which have the potential to chip away at any theoretical Prize lead you’ll get.

The Counter Deck Conundrum

Now, given how strong Reshiram & Charizard-GX has been, it might make sense to pick a deck which directly counters it. Unfortunately, there is a small problem with that plan: despite Reshiram & Charizard-GX’s dominance, it still doesn’t make up enough of the meta that you can do well by only beating it. At 21% of the field, a player in Madison might have reasonably expected to hit two of them in Day One. Even if you use the higher Day Two meta share, the expectation would still be only to face Reshiram & Charizard-GX one third of the time. That’s only three rounds, which means that you still have to prepare for six rounds against the rest of the field.

This is a bit of a dilemma, as it means that any deck we play, while it needs to be able to stand a chance against Reshiram & Charizard-GX in order to make Day Two, can’t focus solely on Reshiram & Charizard-GX to the detriment of other matchups. Even if we have an off-meta deck that can beat Reshiram & Charizard-GX every time, it won’t be a good play unless it can also beat some combination of Zoroark-GX, Blacephalon, PikaRom, Zapdos, etc. On top of that, if Reshiram & Charizard-GX does see play at that on- in-three level, the converse will also be true — you won’t make Day Two unless you can also beat Reshiram and Charizard-GX at least once, even if you do somehow have a deck that can beat everything else! If you want to find a strong anti-Charizard deck to play, then you’ll want to find a deck that not only fits the above criteria, but also has a decently strong performance against the rest of the field. This isn’t necessarily easy to do, but such a strategy did work out for several decks in Madison, such as the winning Blacephalon-GX deck.

What this means for our anti-Charizard efforts is that the strongest plays will be those decks which fit our criteria, and also performs well against the popular meta decks. Zoroark-GX / Persian, PikaRom, and Zapdos were the decks with the next highest meta share; between the three, they made up about a third of the field. If your go-to anti-Charizard deck can perform decently well against those decks, then it will be a strong play for the NAIC. If it can’t, then I would recommend playing something else, even if the deck has an auto-win against Reshiram & Charizard-GX.

Strategies for non-Counter Decks

For those of you looking to stick with one of those established Tier 1 decks, you’ll want to refine your strategy so that you can beat the BDIF. Here are some things that you can do:

Zoroark-GX / Persian-GX

In this matchup, you’ll want to utilize some sort of attacker that can take down a Reshiram & Charizard-GX. [card name=”Slowking” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Dewgong” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] are the most popular inclusions; I would certainly recommend playing at least a 1-1 line of one of the two, if not more. Zoroark-GX, being a GX, can’t do much to gain a Prize advantage on it’s own, but with those non-GX Water attackers, it can swing the matchup into its favor. You’ll want to get both the basic [card name=”Slowpoke” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Seel” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] into play early, as well as your [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], so that you have two ways to evolve into your Slowking / Dewgong. Otherwise, they can simply use [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”231″ c=”name”][/card] to bring the lone Basic into the Active, and thus KO it and nullify the threat. The other option they’ll have is to bypass the Water Weakness and focus on attacking with [card name=”Eevee and Snorlax-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM169″ c=”name”][/card]. If they Bench one of those, you’ll want to try and attack it quickly with a [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] of your own, or by damaging it with Dewgong’s Dual Blizzard, before it can attack you. By doing that, you can set it up for a 2HKO, so even if they do get a KO with it the following turn, you’ll be able to take it out without too much trouble. [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] is an excellent attacker into Eevee and Snorlax-GX, since they can’t KO it without either switching to a different attacker, using multiple damage modifiers, or using their GX attack. If you can get them to use their GX attack, you’ll have a much better advantage in the late game, since they’ll no longer have access to a three-Energy attack; this disadvantage can easily cause them to miss a turn of attacking, and give you the win as a result.

[cardimg name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Another option is to try and use a Fighting-type attacker against Eevee & Snorlax-GX, but the options for such an attacker aren’t quite as easily included. My brother played a copy of [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] in his Zoroark list; the plan was to use [card name=”Koga’s Trap” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”211″ c=”name”][/card] and copy [card name=”Alolan Grimer” set=”Team Up” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card]’s Chemical Breath, which, when aided by a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card], was enough to OHKO an Eevee & Snorlax GX. It sounds a bit convoluted, and, in practice, it ended up being a bit too difficult to pull off, even with the benefit of [card name=”Persian-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”207″ c=”name”][/card]’s Cat Walk and the extra cards from Trade. [card name=”Marowak” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] is another attacker that can be used without adding any Fighting Energy, but it relies on the opponent having a Tool card attached. In the Reshiram & Charizard-GX matchup in particular, this requirement is nearly impossible to meet, since the opponent won’t have any reason to attach a Tool. They don’t benefit from attaching Choice Band to Eevee & Snorlax GX, and will want to save it to increase the damage from Double Blaze GX to 230. So, the only way Marowak will be effective is if they happen to randomly attach one — and that isn’t going to happen often enough to make Marowak a reliable attacker. If you opt to include some Fighting Energy, you can use [card name=”Marshadow and Machamp-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], but both of these will also need either a [card name=”Multi Switch” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] or a [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”230″ c=”name”][/card] to get powered up in one turn. [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card] is another potential option, but you’ll also need to include a [card name=”Riolu” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] to use it, since Aura Strike doesn’t gain a damage bonus when evolving from Ditto Prism Star. Finally, there’s the option of including [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]. Silvally-GX is one of the few cards that can OHKO both a Reshiram and Charizard-GX and a Eevee and Snorlax-GX, making it a theoretically ideal Pokemon for this situation. Unfortunately, it does come with some downsides; you need both the correct Memory card and a [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] to get one of those KOs, and, unlike Slowking, Silvally-GX gives up two Prizes when it does get Knocked Out. In practice, Silvally-GX ends up being great when things are going well, but doesn’t give you too much opportunity if you happen to miss the cards you need. If you are playing it, make sure to get plenty of [card name=”Type: Null” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] into play, same as you would with Slowpoke.

Zapdos

Both variants of Reshiram & Charizard-GX provide their own unique challenge to [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], but this matchup is far from terrible. The Green’s variant plays heavy counts of [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], which are incredibly rough for Zapdos itself to deal with. The Kiawe version is much more reliant on Tag Team attackers, but it also includes [card name=”Miltank” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], which can make it difficult to obtain a multi hit KO. Against both builds, [card name=”Tapu Koko-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] should be your go-to GX attacker. If you play [card name=”Nihilego” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], you also have that as an option for getting a OHKO.

Against the Volcanion version, you’ll want to take advantage of any ancillary attacker you have that can OHKO Volcanion. In the Ultra Beast or Fighting variant, [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] is often the best option, since it can withstand High Heat Blast, and potentially get two KOs. [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] is also a strong attacker, if you happen to play it — I would recommend doing so if you use Rainbow Energy. You can also use [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] to soften up your opponent’s Volcanion so that they can be KO’d by Zapdos + one [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”232″ c=”name”][/card]. If you’re able to successfully take repeated Knock Outs on their Volcanion, the Reshiram & Charizard-GX player will need quite a few resources to keep going — basically, they need to be able to hit multiple [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”214″ c=”name”][/card] and quite a few Fire Energy, without using [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”209″ c=”name”][/card]. Once they start winding down, they’ll often be forced to bench a Tag Team GX to continue attacking, at which point you can use Tapu Thunder GX or Nightcap to end the game. If they happen to go for a strategy of using their GXs instead, take advantage of their lack of Miltank, and aim for a multi-hit KO with your Zapdos.

Against the Kiawe version, you won’t have to deal with quite as many Volcanion, but you will have to deal with Miltank. If you can manage to use Tapu Thunder GX on a Tag Team immediately after they use Kiawe, you can do a pretty good job of crippling their setup and game plan. Even if not, still do what you can to aim for their Tag Teams. If they happen to overbench, you can take easy Prizes with Zapdos against their [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card]. Miltank itself is also vulnerable here, since you only need one Electropower to KO it with Thunderous Assault. By going after their Tag Teams, you can then force them to choose between playing down the Miltank — in which case you can go after it with Zapdos — or remaining vulnerable to a multi-hit KO — in which case you want to take that KO. As against the Green’s version, Tapu Koko-GX and Nihilego will be critical to getting a OHKO — which you’ll need if you want to win.

PikaRom

As a Tag Team that can easily be OHKO’d by Flare Strike, [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] is in a bit of a tricky situation when it comes to dealing with Reshiram & Charizard-GX. The key to this matchup is to ignore the Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, and instead focus on getting KOs with your other attackers. In many respects, this matchup can feel similar to Zapdos vs. Reshiram & Charizard-GX, since your strategy will be about the same.

Tapu Thunder GX is once again going to be your go-to GX attack. In theory, you can also get another OHKO with [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], though this requires four damage modifiers — not impossible, but not easy, especially against an opponent playing multiple [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card]. Aside from that, you can go after their Jirachi and Marshadow with Zapdos, or go for a multi-hit KO on their Tag Teams. Compared to Zapdos decks, PikaRom has a relatively small amount of non-GX attackers, so there is a chance of running out of time with that strategy if your opponent can reliably hit their Guzma. Use your own Marshadow’s Let Loose to get them off of any large hands, and aim for their [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] first, to reduce their odds of drawing well.

The Reshiram & Charizard-GX Mirror Match

[cardimg name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

When I decided to play Reshiram & Charizard-GX in Madison, winning the mirror match was among my top priorities. I ended up going 4-1 against it, mostly thanks to my [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] tech and focus on consistency, but my one loss was against the DDG Jirachi / Kiawe list.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a ton of nuance to the mirror match if one of the players is using Kiawe. Turn one attach + Kiawe, followed by turn two attach + Guzma + KO whatever Tag Team has any Energy on it is a nearly unstoppable move. If you can get off a boosted Double Blaze GX onto their energized Tag Team, your opponent will have little to no way to come back from that. If you’re going first, hope that you hit that combo. If you’re going second, well, you have to hope that they don’t have that combo. If you don’t happen to have a turn one Kiawe, or if you don’t play it, then you’ll want to try and get as many Energy as you can into play early so that you can attack whatever Pokemon they use Kiawe on, and hopefully disrupt that strategy a bit. It’s an uphill climb in that scenario, even with Green’s Exploration, which is why I would recommend playing the Jirachi / Kiawe build going forward if you want to win in the mirror match. Add in a Choice Band and a Shrine of Punishment, and you’ll be in an even better position to win.

Conclusion

With that, we’ve come to the end of this article! I won’t be at Origins, but I will be at the NAIC, both as a vendor and a player! Hopefully I’ll see a lot of you there! If you have any questions, as always, don’t hesitate to ask below, send me a message, or ask everyone in our PTCG Subscribers’ Hideout! Until then, best of luck testing, and best of luck in the ending stretch of the season!

Thanks for reading!

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