Sword & Shield, En Garde! — Preparing for OCIC

Hello! This will be my last article before the Oceania International Championship. At the time of writing this, Sword & Shield has been available on TCGO for almost a week, and players have been hard at work searching for the best decks. Although we won’t get a glimpse of the actual metagame until OCIC, a number of trends have already emerged, and recognizing these trends is a good start to understanding the format.

I don’t know for sure what the best deck in the format is and I don’t know what I’ll be playing in Melbourne. However, I’m dedicating all of my time until the tournament to finding out. Hopefully, my insight can be valuable to you anyway! My goal in this article is to explain what the tier list is looking like, and why; and, when possible, to explain how I believe each deck should be built. I’ll also include lists when I have something new to bring to the table.

This article is not is an analysis of every deck in the format. There are some decks I don’t have anything new to say about, so I simply won’t talk about them here. However, don’t think that it means they’re bad!

The Rise of Mill

[cardimg name=”Cinccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”147″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I don’t think Mill is the best archetype of the format. However, I think it’s one of the most important stories to come out of Sword and Shield. For the first time since [card name=”Durant” set=”Noble Victories” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] in 2012, there’s a Standard archetype that wins by actively discarding the opponent’s deck! There have been Stall decks and Control decks since then, which win when the opponent has no cards left in their deck, but these are not Mill decks. They win by exhausting the opponent’s resources or controlling the board state. Decking out the opponent is just a formality afterwards, not the point of the deck. This adds some originality to the metagame, but that’s not the only reason why I chose to begin my article by talking about Mill.

In the past, I talked about gatekeeper decks: widespread decks that prevents some other decks from accessing the top tier of the metagame, because they can’t beat it and it’s too popular to hope to dodge at any tournament. I can only recommend you read the article I linked above (at least its introduction) for a deeper look into the subject. The example I gave at the time was [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] in the Team Up format, which prevented many decks like [card name=”Alolan Exeggutor” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”2″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Charizard” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM158″ c=”name”][/card] from ever having a chance. I believe that [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] Mill could play the role of gatekeeper of this format, at least early on. It will depend on its popularity, of course, but the deck has a pretty straightforward game plan, and it’s very strong, so I can see many people trying it out. Even those who didn’t enjoy [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] Stall or [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] Control could pick up Cinccino Mill because it’s less reactive. That makes it much easier for less experienced players as well.

[premium]

Many decks that simply want to take a Prize every turn could be kept away from the format by Mill if they don’t have a way to deal damage past the wall of [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] before the opponent destroys their whole deck. To give one example, I think [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM192″ c=”name”][/card] is a more elegant concept than Zacian V / [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]. It is more consistent and can build around its strengths, whereas Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX suffers from the classic issue of it being amazing when it goes off, but sometimes it doesn’t and it’s really bad. It’s also hard to fit everything you want into 60 cards (more details in the next section). However, I can only see myself playing Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, because Zacian V / Lucario and Melmetal-GX doesn’t put enough pressure on Cinccino Mill to win.
If you dislike these decks that don’t seem to play the game fairly, you’re probably frustrated at Cinccino’s success. Take heart, though: Mill is also gatekeeping Control decks out of the format. Pidgeotto Control would have issues with [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”from”][/card] and Zacian V either way but they can’t lock a deck with Cinccino and they’ll lose cards faster than they can put them back in the deck.

I understand the frustration with Mill decks. I think milling is a legitimate win condition but I’d rather we had something like Durant, which was both a very thematic deck (playing against it, you could feel the small metal ants eating your deck) and one with direct counters. Having the main card of the deck be a very obscure Supporter doesn’t feel very Pokémon-like to me and playing against Lillie’s Poké Doll is an exercise in frustration. Although others disagree, in my opinion, Lillie’s Poké Doll is the worse offender than [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card]. My reasoning is that I’d rather have a format with Bellelba and Brycen-Man but no Lillie’s Poké Doll, in which we can actually hit back at the Mill deck, than a format with Lillie’s Poké Doll but no Bellelba and Brycen-Man, in which there will still be annoying strategies you can’t really fight against without teching.

That said, I think it’s far too early to call for bans in the Standard format. Much of Cinccino Mill’s success for now (it won a couple non-official tournaments in the US and has been doing well on ladder online) comes from people not being prepared for it–sometimes, not even knowing that the deck exists. However, there are ways to fight back! Here are some weaknesses the deck has:

[cardimg name=”Phione” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM220″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

• You can use [card name=”Phione” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] to deal with Lillie’s Poké Doll. The Mill deck can bench two Lillie’s Poke Doll to protect themselves from this plan. Phione is definitely not a card that wins by itself. However, it works well when you combine it with either [card name=”Victini Prism Star” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card] or a Pokémon that can attack the Bench. In both cases, Cinccino Mill will need to bench a tech ([card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], respectively), which takes up space they can’t use for a Lillie’s Poké Doll. I expect Phione to rise in popularity as people learn how to deal with Mill.
• [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] can help against Mill as well to KO Zacian V or Cinccino on the Bench. A heavy count of both would be needed to win this way and it’s not reasonable to play four of each (not to mention, some will get milled anyway). But again, this works in combination with the strategy above. This is what [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] can do to win: between Tag Bolt GX, Phione, and Custom Catcher, they have a lot of ways to improve this matchup.
• More effective than Custom Catcher or Pokemon Catcher are cards that give you a permanent Gust effect. You’re probably thinking of [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Team Up” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card], which is very good against Mill. However, [card name=”Venusaur and Snivy-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card] can also be used which means that [card name=”Rillaboom” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”14″ c=”name”][/card], of all things, has a good Mill matchup!
• Taking six Prizes against Mill is hard; taking three is easier. There are two GX attacks that let you do that: [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card]’s Stinger GX and Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX’s Altered Creation GX. Stinger GX is especially effective combined with [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card]. Any deck which can use this combination ([card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] decks and [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card]) has a great chance against Mill. Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX doesn’t win as easily but it can definitely beat Mill.
• Cinccino Mill tends to come close to decking itself out by drawing before they start recycling cards. It’s not unusual that it has a very low deck size in the end game. It’s counter-intuitive but it’s possible to deck out the Mill player. For example, a Mewtwo and Mew-GX could use [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card]’s Burning Magma GX to remove the last cards of the opponent’s deck. In theory, any deck could run their own Bellelba and Brycen-Man and get a surprise win against an unsuspecting Mill player. That said, it’s not that easy. If you just run one, the odds are that it will be milled at some point. Even if you get it in hand, for example using a [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card], the opponent will know that you have it and can play around it. The same goes for Magcargo-GX.

Forcing the opponent to keep enough cards in the deck can still be effective though. It means they’ll have to put more cards in the deck after using Bellelba and Brycen-Man. For example, they’ll need to play two [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] and use [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]’s Resource Management to get out of Burning Magma GX range. This slows them down since they need to make sure they have the resources they need before a mill turn. It also forces them to use Resource Management more often, which gives you more targets for KOs.

My main advice is if you play this deck, include a [card name=”Magneton” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] (along with [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]) for the mirror match. In a Mill mirror, you’ll be ending most of your turns with Resource Management so there’s no actual risk of decking out as long as you still have Energy. By using Magneton, you open up the possibility of using the famous [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card], Bellelba and Brycen-Man, Bellelba and Brycen-Man, and using Burning Magma GX, milling eleven cards. This means that your opponent now has to stay at 12 cards in the deck not to lose, whereas you can safely go down to nine. Therefore, even though the effect of Bellelba and Brycen-Man is symmetrical, you benefit more than your opponent from deck sizes getting low.

The Zacian V Phenomenon

Although [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] is seeing play as a support Pokémon in Mill decks, it’s also a fantastic attacker in any deck that can use it. It can be played either in a pure Metal shell with [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Dusk Mane Necrozma” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM107″ c=”name”][/card], or in combination with [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]. As I mentioned in the previous section, I prefer the first approach. With more Metal Energy, the deck makes better use of [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], and with only Metal Pokémon (apart from techs), it is great with [card name=”Metal Frying Pan” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]. Combine it with Full Metal Wall GX, and you can withstand huge attacks. However, as I’ve mentioned, the threat of Mill has pushed me to focus more on Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX. And that deck is much harder to build properly. Let me explain.

When you’re building Zacian V / Lucario and Melmetal-GX, the best Pokémon Tool to play on your attackers is Metal Frying Pan. But what about Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX? Here are your options:

• Metal Frying Pan is still good, but only on Zacian V. It doesn’t do anything for Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX.
• [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] is a defensive option for Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, and it also works on Zacian V. It’s not as good as Metal Frying Pan on it, but if you’re only being hit once, it does basically the same thing. However, Big Charm doesn’t remove Zacian V’s Weakness, so it can still be OHKO’d by [card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] for example. Also, you sometimes need a way to make sure Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX survives a 300 damage attack, such as [card name=”Charizard-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM211″ c=”name”][/card]’s Flare Blitz GX.
• Defensive options are all well and good, but this deck is less interested in playing defensively and more on taking aggressive KOs. This is why some lists choose to include [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card]: with it and Altered Creation GX, Brave Blade deals 270 damage, which is an OHKO on [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”from”][/card] and [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], among others.

[cardimg name=”Vitality Band” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”185″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Choosing is hard because it depends on the metagame. If you expect a rush of Mewtwo and Mew-GX decks, Vitality Band is the best choice. If [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] is the main threat, go for Metal Frying Pan. However, it’s not easy to give a good prediction on what people will play at the very beginning of the format, so whichever Tool you choose to play, there’s a risk it was the wrong choice for the event.

This goes beyond Tools, of course. Do you want ways to boost damage beyond Altered Creation GX to OHKO Tag Team Pokémon with Brave Blade? You can choose between:

• Vitality Band: A Tool that is in competition with other Tools (see above).
• [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]: Searchable with [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card], but takes a spot on the Bench, and is countered by [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card], a common inclusion in Mewtwo and Mew-GX decks.
• [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card]: Damages your own Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX and also doesn’t give you an extra Prize card if it Knocks Out the opponent.
• [card name=”Galarian Perrserker” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]: A great damage boost but it’s a Stage-1, so you need to either play a heavy line to have better odds to draw into it, or adapt your Item line (by including Pokémon Communication).

Similarly, you can play Shrine of Punishment, [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lysandre Labs” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], or no Stadium at all. You can play [card name=”Aurora Energy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], or Water Energy with [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] (and most likely either of the Special Energy) and so on.
Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V is one of the best decks of the format, if not the best. However, I think that to live up to its potential, it needs to be built perfectly for the event and I really don’t know what that means for OCIC. Right now, I’m thinking that I’d rather focus my efforts on other decks but it’s possible that I’ll end up playing it after all if one of my testing partners finds a good list!

Is Ability Reshiram & Charizard-GX the Answer?

Most of us were surprised when Robin Schulz won the first International Championship of the season with Ability [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] The deck was not bad, of course, but it wasn’t particularly expected. At first glance, it didn’t even gain anything significant from Cosmic Eclipse. However, it turned out that its simple and powerful plan and the various attacking options it had were a good choice going into a new format. The deck didn’t reach Top 8 at any of the other events in the Cosmic Eclipse format though because it turned out that the various other decks of the format had higher potential when built correctly.
Now, we’re once again at the dawn of a new format and there are a few things that make me like Ability Reshiram and Charizard-GX’s chances for OCIC.

First, having Fire attackers is pretty good against Zacian V. Some will play Metal Frying Pan, but others will have Vitality Band, Big Charm or something else, which means Reshiram and Charizard-GX’s efficient attackers will be able to take favorable trades.

Second, as long as there’s no reliable Gust effect in the format, [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Team Up” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] shines. Its ability to bring up any Pokémon in the Active Spot is unique, and is especially useful against Pokémon V.

Third, the deck now has Quick Ball which is the consistency card it was missing. Thanks to Quick Ball, we can use [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM179″ c=”name”][/card] much more reliably going second, which helps to power up our attackers. The deck also gains [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] which works in a similar way. It’s not as good on turn 1 but much better in the midgame.

If your goal is to beat Mill then you can hardly make a better choice than Ability Reshiram and Charizard-GX. Use Ninetales to bring up [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] and take two Prizes on it with Volcanion or [card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]. You can use [card name=”Victini Prism Star” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card] to make sure you don’t run out of Energy and that you don’t deck out. If your opponent plays [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], you can use Nine Temptations on it. It’s overall a very easy matchup.

Here’s the list I’ve been using recently:

[decklist name=”AbilityZard” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″][pokemon amt=”17″]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Team Up” no=”16″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Vulpix” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”22″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Victini Prism Star” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”7″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Turtonator” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”25″]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Sword and Shield” no=”174″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Fiery Flint” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”18″]18x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”18″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Most of the list is fairly classic. The Pokémon lineup is pretty varied, and all of these options might not be needed, but they’ve worked well for me so far. [card name=”Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] is important for the [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, in my opinion. I only play two [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], but I haven’t had any issue with that. Finally, the two [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card] are something I’m trying out. [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] is obviously an important part of this deck, and Pokégear 3.0 are additional outs to it (ones you can get with Stellar Wish). I’m not convinced yet and could be convinced to add a third [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] instead.

An Update on Blacephalon

I’ve already talked at length about [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] last week, so I won’t discuss the deck and how it works again. I just want to say that my favorite list of the deck so far is the one Fabien Pujol used in the recent Limitless vs Brave Birds exhibition match:

[decklist name=”Blacephalon” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″][pokemon amt=”12″]4x [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Fiery Flint” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Shining Legends” no=”59″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lucky Egg” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Beast Bringer” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Adventure Bag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ultra Space” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”14″]14x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”14″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Blacephalon is a deck that loses pretty hard to [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] Mill. However, it can still be relevant by beating other top tier decks ([card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”from”][/card], Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]), so I think the right way to play the deck is to give up on the Mill matchup and focus on the beatable ones. Fabien chose not to play [card name=”Phione” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM220″ c=”name”][/card] but included [card name=”Mew” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM215″ c=”name”][/card] which makes the Pikachu and Zekrom-GX matchup favorable. [card name=”Beast Bringer” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] is also a good card to help against Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V: you only need to KO [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”from”][/card] with Beast Bringer attached, then Zacian V, to win the game.

The Obstagoon Enigma

[cardimg name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Finally, let’s talk about the deck with the strangest matchup spread in the format: Galarian Obstagoon with [card name=”Sableye V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”194″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Yveltal-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card].

The expectation: a deck that wins against any Basic-focused deck in the format thanks to Obstruct, with some options (Sableye V and Yveltal-GX) to deal with any big Pokémon fast. And since the metagame is mostly Basic decks, Obstagoon can simply climb to the first tables and win!
The reality is not that far away from this ideal. In some matchups, like Blacephlon, that’s basically what you do, and there’s not much they can do about it. However, Galarian Obstagoon’s way of locking up a game is fragile. Pikachu and Zekrom-GX may not have a way to attack against Obstruct normally but it can Paralyze it with [card name=”Raichu and Alolan Raichu-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card]’s Tandem Shock. Then, it can take the KO the next turn when Obstagoon can’t attack or it can [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] something else and use Tag Bolt GX to KO that target and the benched Galarian Obstagoon. It can also use [card name=”Phione” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM220″ c=”name”][/card] or tech an [card name=”Eelektross” set=”Unified Minds” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] (although that would require adding [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card] back to the deck).

Galarian Obstagoon has answers to these as well: [card name=”Switch” set=”Evolutions” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] to deal with Tandem Shock, Mew for Tag Bolt GX, and [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] for Phione. But then, Pikachu and Zekrom-GX could also have answers to that (KO the Mew, use Lysandre Labs for Stealthy Hood, etc.), and we’re back to a normal game, far from the autowin Galarian Obstagoon seems to have at first glance.

Galarian Obstagoon loses to Mill. If Mill keeps the hype it got this week, that would make it a pretty bad play for OCIC. That said, I expect many players (myself possibly included) to play strong Basic decks like Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V, accepting a bad Galarian Obstagoon matchup. Therefore, if the enthusiasm for Cinccino dies down, I could see an Galarian Obstagoon player reach Top 8 or even higher.

Conclusion

That’s all for today! There’s still a lot of work for me to do to figure out this format but I have some ideas which I can’t wait to share with you–assuming they end up working out, which is debatable right now. In any case, best of luck in your testing! I’ll write again after the International Championship when the metagame will be in a much better state to analyze.
If you’re attending OCIC, feel free to come say hi! I don’t get a lot of opportunities to meet my Oceanian readers.

–Stéphane

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