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A few weeks ago, on the same weekend as Malmö Regionals, players in the USA got ready for the first tournament with the new Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon - Ultra Prism set (ULP) being legal at the Gateway Center in Collinsville, IL. Unlike Malmö Regionals, not a single ULP based deck made Top 8, as the format was riddled with Zoroark GX and Buzzwole GX variants. Ian Robb piloted Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX to first place with an interesting 2-2 line of Lurantis (PR) to up the damage output of Golisopod GX. Let’s take a look at who made Top 8 (in the Masters division) and what decks they played that led them to victory.
1st. Ian Robb: Zoroark-GX/Golisopod-GX/Lurantis
2nd. Natalie Shampay: Buzzwole-GX/Garbodor/Carbink BREAK
3rd. Alex Hill: Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX
4th. Pearce Blend: Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX
5th. Gustavo Wada: Volcanion-EX
6th. Russell LaParre: Zoroark-GX/Golisopod-GX
7th. Alex Bunker: Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX
8th. Joey Ruettiger: Zoroark-GX/Golisopod-GX/Lurantis
Here is the list Ian Robb played to win 1st place.
****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******
##Pokémon - 21
* 4 Zorua SLG 52
* 3 Zoroark-GX SLG 53
* 2 Fomantis SUM 14
* 3 Wimpod BUS 16
* 2 Golisopod-GX BUS 17
* 2 Lurantis PR-SM SM25
* 1 Tapu Koko PR-SM SM30
* 1 Mew-EX DRX 120
* 3 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 137
##Trainer Cards - 31
* 1 Mallow GRI 127
* 2 Acerola BUS 112
* 2 Choice Band GRI 121
* 3 N FCO 105
* 2 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 2 Float Stone BKT 137
* 3 Guzma BUS 115
* 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135
* 4 Puzzle of Time BKP 109
* 3 Brigette BKT 134
* 3 Field Blower GRI 125
* 1 Professor Kukui SUM 128
* 1 Cynthia UPR 119
##Energy - 8
* 4 Double Colorless Energy EVO 90
* 4 Grass Energy 1
Total Cards - 60
****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******
With ULP being only tournament legal for one day beforehand, it isn’t surprising to see many players hesitant to play with many of the set’s cards. Cynthia was seen in most decks, but almost all decks in the Top 32 were decks we have seen before. As we can see, consistency and the outstanding draw of Zoroark GX were still a dominant force to be reckoned with. Combined with heavy hitters like Golisopod GX or disruption like Lycanroc GX, Zoroark GX was too much for decks to handle.
One thing that stood out with this tournament though was the inclusion of Lurantis PR by both Ian Robb (1st place) and Joey Ruettiger (8th place). With the recent attention on cards like Evosoda to accelerate evolutions combined with Zoroark GX, Lurantis found a spot in this deck to make Golisopod GX leap from a two-hit-K.O to a one-hit-K.O. attacker. Some prefer to play just Golisopod GX/Lurantis PR while Zoroark GX variants have access to cards like Puzzle of Time to return resources and better draw support. The downside of Zoroark GX is the gigantic target on its back between Ability Lock and Buzzwole GX variants. Even with this added pressure, Zoroark GX can pull through and take the win against Buzzwole GX, as we can see from the results of this tournament.
The highlight of the Regional would probably be this new concept of Lurantis PR and the lack of ULP based decks. Unfortunately, there isn’t much that we can gather about ULP from this tournament besides the inclusion of Cynthia in most decks. With Charlotte Regionals on the horizon, be prepared to see new decks including Lurantis PR and the ever-so infamous Zoroark GX!
This concludes the end of this week’s article, feel free to discuss, ask questions, and make suggestions. Check back next week for another article here in the PTCG Competitive Play forum! Thanks!
A few weeks ago, on the same weekend as Malmö Regionals, players in the USA got ready for the first tournament with the new Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon - Ultra Prism set (ULP) being legal at the Gateway Center in Collinsville, IL. Unlike Malmö Regionals, not a single ULP based deck made Top 8, as the format was riddled with Zoroark GX and Buzzwole GX variants. Ian Robb piloted Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX to first place with an interesting 2-2 line of Lurantis (PR) to up the damage output of Golisopod GX. Let’s take a look at who made Top 8 (in the Masters division) and what decks they played that led them to victory.
1st. Ian Robb: Zoroark-GX/Golisopod-GX/Lurantis
2nd. Natalie Shampay: Buzzwole-GX/Garbodor/Carbink BREAK
3rd. Alex Hill: Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX
4th. Pearce Blend: Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX
5th. Gustavo Wada: Volcanion-EX
6th. Russell LaParre: Zoroark-GX/Golisopod-GX
7th. Alex Bunker: Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX
8th. Joey Ruettiger: Zoroark-GX/Golisopod-GX/Lurantis
Here is the list Ian Robb played to win 1st place.
****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******
##Pokémon - 21
* 4 Zorua SLG 52
* 3 Zoroark-GX SLG 53
* 2 Fomantis SUM 14
* 3 Wimpod BUS 16
* 2 Golisopod-GX BUS 17
* 2 Lurantis PR-SM SM25
* 1 Tapu Koko PR-SM SM30
* 1 Mew-EX DRX 120
* 3 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 137
##Trainer Cards - 31
* 1 Mallow GRI 127
* 2 Acerola BUS 112
* 2 Choice Band GRI 121
* 3 N FCO 105
* 2 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 2 Float Stone BKT 137
* 3 Guzma BUS 115
* 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135
* 4 Puzzle of Time BKP 109
* 3 Brigette BKT 134
* 3 Field Blower GRI 125
* 1 Professor Kukui SUM 128
* 1 Cynthia UPR 119
##Energy - 8
* 4 Double Colorless Energy EVO 90
* 4 Grass Energy 1
Total Cards - 60
****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******
With ULP being only tournament legal for one day beforehand, it isn’t surprising to see many players hesitant to play with many of the set’s cards. Cynthia was seen in most decks, but almost all decks in the Top 32 were decks we have seen before. As we can see, consistency and the outstanding draw of Zoroark GX were still a dominant force to be reckoned with. Combined with heavy hitters like Golisopod GX or disruption like Lycanroc GX, Zoroark GX was too much for decks to handle.
One thing that stood out with this tournament though was the inclusion of Lurantis PR by both Ian Robb (1st place) and Joey Ruettiger (8th place). With the recent attention on cards like Evosoda to accelerate evolutions combined with Zoroark GX, Lurantis found a spot in this deck to make Golisopod GX leap from a two-hit-K.O to a one-hit-K.O. attacker. Some prefer to play just Golisopod GX/Lurantis PR while Zoroark GX variants have access to cards like Puzzle of Time to return resources and better draw support. The downside of Zoroark GX is the gigantic target on its back between Ability Lock and Buzzwole GX variants. Even with this added pressure, Zoroark GX can pull through and take the win against Buzzwole GX, as we can see from the results of this tournament.
The highlight of the Regional would probably be this new concept of Lurantis PR and the lack of ULP based decks. Unfortunately, there isn’t much that we can gather about ULP from this tournament besides the inclusion of Cynthia in most decks. With Charlotte Regionals on the horizon, be prepared to see new decks including Lurantis PR and the ever-so infamous Zoroark GX!
This concludes the end of this week’s article, feel free to discuss, ask questions, and make suggestions. Check back next week for another article here in the PTCG Competitive Play forum! Thanks!
. I wonder if Buzzwole GX will lower in popularity before Charlotte Regionals because of this.