Discussion Tournament Analysis: Malmö

[FrostBiter12]

Hey everyone, here is the first of a series of articles I will be writing here on the Pokebeach PTCG Competitive Play forum. There will be a main topic for each article of which I have three; Tournament Analysis, Deck Profile, and Card Breakdowns. If you have any suggestions on new topics to discuss, let me know on my homepage (here is a link to my homepage which will contain links to all of my articles) and I will see if I can create it! I will be writing a new article each week, so be sure to check back for more! Hope you enjoy them!

Immediately after the new Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon - Ultra Prism set became legal, the doors to Malmö Regionals were opened to players. Hundreds of people flocked to the venue, some with a few tricks up their sleeves that would reveal a portion of the power in Ultra Prism. At the top of the standings were two new and unique decks that took many players by surprise and earned Adam Hawkins 1st place at the tournament. That deck is Zoroark GX/Weavile using the new Weavile from ULP which dominated the ability-heavy format. Here are the players who made Top 8 (for the Masters division) at Malmö and what decks they used.

1st. Adam Hawkins: Zoroark-GX/Weavile
2nd. Nico Alabas: Zoroark-GX/Weavile
3rd. Jack Gregory-Campbell: Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX
4th. Jake Mallender: Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX
5th. Bert Wolters: Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX
6th. Stéphane Ivanoff: Turbo Ho-Oh-GX
7th. Benjamin Pham: Zoroark-GX/Golisopod-GX
8th. Lucas Henrique de Araujo Pereira: Zoroark-GX/Golisopod-GX

Also, here is the list Adam Hawkins piloted to 1st place:

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 20

* 2 Sneasel UPR 73
* 4 Zorua BKT 89
* 2 Weavile UPR 74
* 2 Zoroark BKT 91
* 3 Zoroark-GX SLG 53
* 2 Zoroark BREAK BKT 92
* 1 Tapu Koko PR-SM SM30
* 1 Mew-EX PR-XY XY126
* 3 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60

##Trainer Cards - 32

* 1 Acerola BUS 112
* 3 Brigette BKT 134
* 1 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 1 Professor Kukui SUM 128
* 3 N FCO 105
* 3 Guzma BUS 115
* 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135
* 4 Puzzle of Time BKP 109
* 2 Evosoda GEN 62
* 2 Field Blower GRI 125
* 3 Choice Band GRI 121
* 1 Devoured Field CIN 93
* 3 Cynthia UPR 119
* 1 Mallow GRI 127

##Energy - 8

* 4 Darkness Energy 7
* 4 Double Colorless Energy SUM 136

Total Cards - 60

****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******

So, as you can see from the standings, many people chose to stick with what they were familiar with and not change their strategy at all. Buzzwole GX/Lycanroc GX made decent showings along with Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX and Turbo Ho-oh GX. Even though they have had success before, for some reason, they had trouble with this Zoroark GX/Weavile deck. Why was that you say, well, Weavile itself had a lot to do with it. Almost all decks include multiple Pokémon with abilities, some (like Tapu Lele GX) only for the abilities, and players are depending heavily on them for draw support and disruption. Many find it hard to control the amount of Pokémon on their field with Abilities as they are just so powerful in today's format. Weavile instantly takes advantage of this and deals tons of damage with just a single Dark Energy. Almost like how Garbodor (GRI) immediately took advantage of the absurd amount of items people played, but as we can see now, players learned to adjust to new threats just as they did with Garbodor. If players can learn to not lean so heavily on Abilities (by playing a higher Supporter/Item count), then they can find it easier to counter this new threat.

On the other hand, Zoroark GX and Zoroark/Zoroark Break (BKT) make a great partner for Weavile as draw support and backup attackers. If you haven't noticed yet, a lot of this deck's core strategy rely on your opponent's side of the field for damage output such as the amount of benched Pokemon, Pokemon with abilities, and the defending Pokemon's attacks. This makes it really hard for opponents to maneuver around as they have to avoid three different scenarios, which can severely limit their options. They do have the ability to control their opponents moves though, so cards like Parallel City can really deny your opponent any chance to disrupt you (by removing benched Pokemon with abilities to decrease Zoroark and Weavile's damage). If you limit your opponent to only one option of attacking (such as Zoroark Break), then you obviously know what there going to do next turn, so take advantage of it!

Enough about the deck though, let's discuss what people will take from this event. Ultra Prism is still a new set with lots of potential, so how come there was only one deck that relied on cards from the set? Many people were probably not very confident in their strategies as the haven't been able to play in any minor tournaments beforehand, so I think that we haven't seen all of what's in store for us in Ultra Prism. There is still change to come in the format, what we can take away from this tournament though is that Weavile is a very disruptive and dangerous card, and if you aren't careful, you will be quickly destroyed by it. Be expecting it in tournaments for the next month or two, but I predict that we'll be able to counter Weavile with deck building just as everyone did with Garbodor.

What else is in Ultra Prism that we need to keep an eye on? Well, there are a few decks with major potential including Dusk Mane Necromza GX/Magnezone, Empoleon/Octillery, Garchomp/Lucario, Passimian/Mew, Leafeon GX, and Glaceon GX. Some might not be all they are cracked up to be, but I expect many of them to have decent showings in tournaments soon (especially since a lot of people will be wanting to try them out for the first time).

Well, that is all for today's article, let me know what your thoughts/opinions are and I'll be sure to get back to you. Also, tune in next week for another article here in the PTCG Competitive Play forum. Thanks!

Update: Thanks to the contribution from @Marowhacker, we have new information regarding Malmö Regionals! First and foremost, the top 2 decks for the Senior division were Buzzwole GX/Lycanroc GX (which won 1st place) and Golisopod GX/Garbodor (which won 2nd). Also, from what @Marowhacker saw at Malmö, there was a lot of Espeon GX/Garbodor in the tournament though none of them made Top 8, probably in an attempt to counter Buzzwole GX players.

 

[Marowhacker]

Hey, just thought I would let ya know that the top 2 decks in the Senior division were Buzzwole/Lycanroc(winner) and Golisopod/Garbodor, as far as I'm aware. Sadly couldn't get the lists.

I went to the tournament and... eh, it didn't go too well. I picked up my form in the second half of the day but early games were rough and knocked me off. There were some weird lists floating around though - I spotted ZoroFrogs, Rainbow Road and a LOT of Espeon/Garbodor too. Idk if any of this is any help, but cool article anyway and I hope you do more analysis in the future!

 

[Kietharr]

I think that the issue with ULP is most of the cards that people looked forward to and were hyped for are either stage 2s or in stage 2 dependent decks which are going to be inherently less consistent than Zoroark. While there are some great interactions within the set like Magnezone/Coronet/DM, Garchomp/Lucario, ect, these are all much more conditional than the very reliable Zoroark and its built in consistency engine.

Until we get something that drives Zoroark out of the spotlight of the meta, most of these strategies won't amount to much. And let's specify, we need Zoroark hate that doesn't work better in Zoroark than it does outside of Zoroark. Weavile is a prime example of an anti-Zoroark card that is very easily co-opted by the monster it is meant to slay. Zoroark is such a great card because of how well it synergizes with anything. Let me list the Zoroark variants I've seen turn up at events so far: Zoroark/Weavile, Zoroark/Lycanroc, Zoroark/Golisopod, Zoroark/Gardevoir, Zoroark/Fire, Zoroark/Greninja, Zoroark/Garbodor

To start with Dusk Mane/Magnezone, I was kind of skeptical of this deck from the minute I realized that it was, more or less, effectively a less consistent Bulu/Vikavolt. It has a higher damage cap but you will almost never need those damage numbers, the only matchup where it comes into play is Gardevoir-GX. You need a stadium and an ability to effectively chain attacks while Vikabulu only needs an ability. Bulu also has no weakness, and the 180 vs 190hp distinction doesn't matter as much as it used to back when Drampa was in everything.

The fighting type Garchomp coming in SM6 is a potential coup for that deck since it gives it an easier path to an OHKO on Zoroark (you don't have to use a Cynthia, to hit the damage number, just a strong energy or choice band which allows you to be more liberal with Guzmas) but until then I don't see it going anywhere, you just need too many things to go right early on in the game while St. Louis showed that if you give Zoroark just one extra turn, it can easily recover from even the worst imaginable starts, even when in the worst possible matchups.

Empoleon is theoretically a good deck against Zoroark but again, a stage 2 attacker that requires two attachments (or counter energy, which is a conditional card) just feels vastly less consistent than Zoroark, and also requires the Zoroark player to bench things for you to get big numbers. Also Zoroark has literally the perfect counter card for Empoleon in Zoroark-BKT, a one prizer, same attack cost as Zoroark, and comfortably OHKOs an Empoleon running with a maxed bench which you can safely assume will happen because the Empoleon player needs a maxed bench to start threatening big damage on Zoroark-GX. If Empoleon can stay in the game for long enough without falling too far behind in prizes, it should generally win the matchup though. The problem is getting to that point consistently.

Glaceon has the opposite problem, it can be very oppressive and hard to beat if it moves first and has a good turn 1. If Zoroark gets one turn with abilities though and gets a Brigette off, Glaceon usually fails to keep up because, again, Zoroark is faster and more consistent. You almost have to hope they dead draw into getting donked within the first 3-4 turns it feels.

Leafeon was never, in my eyes, going to be that viable as a card. It has low damage output, the ability is too weak to turn key 2HKOs into 3HKOs given its HP and the GX attack is too conditional. It's great if you move second and have an Eevee active and have a grass energy for it, but given that it pairs best with cards that want to run high counts of other basics (namely Decidueye) to maximize how many evolutions you get with one use of grand bloom, you lower your probability of an Eevee start. I just fail to see how you can get the ideal conditions consistently and it's, like Glaceon, a card that is very dependent on things going right.

Anyways, Zoroark Zoroark Zoroark Zoroark. That's what this game is right now, that's what you have to measure every new card or deck against.

 

[FrostBiter12]

Hey, just thought I would let ya know that the top 2 decks in the Senior division were Buzzwole/Lycanroc(winner) and Golisopod/Garbodor, as far as I'm aware. Sadly couldn't get the lists.

I went to the tournament and... eh, it didn't go too well. I picked up my form in the second half of the day but early games were rough and knocked me off. There were some weird lists floating around though - I spotted ZoroFrogs, Rainbow Road and a LOT of Espeon/Garbodor too. Idk if any of this is any help, but cool article anyway and I hope you do more analysis in the future!

Great, thanks! I'll throw those results in as well. I wasn't able to go to the tournament unfortunately, so this is more of a 3rd person view based off of the Top 8, but I'm very interested to hear that Espeon GX/Garbodor was seeing a lot of play. If that was the case, I'm surprised that any Buzzwole GX decks made Top 8 without at least one of the Espeon GX/Garbodor lists making it as well. Anyways, I appreciate the information, and I'm glad that you enjoyed the article. Thanks!

I think that the issue with ULP is most of the cards that people looked forward to and were hyped for are either stage 2s or in stage 2 dependent decks which are going to be inherently less consistent than Zoroark. While there are some great interactions within the set like Magnezone/Coronet/DM, Garchomp/Lucario, ect, these are all much more conditional than the very reliable Zoroark and its built in consistency engine.

Until we get something that drives Zoroark out of the spotlight of the meta, most of these strategies won't amount to much. And let's specify, we need Zoroark hate that doesn't work better in Zoroark than it does outside of Zoroark. Weavile is a prime example of an anti-Zoroark card that is very easily co-opted by the monster it is meant to slay. Zoroark is such a great card because of how well it synergizes with anything. Let me list the Zoroark variants I've seen turn up at events so far: Zoroark/Weavile, Zoroark/Lycanroc, Zoroark/Golisopod, Zoroark/Gardevoir, Zoroark/Fire, Zoroark/Greninja, Zoroark/Garbodor

To start with Dusk Mane/Magnezone, I was kind of skeptical of this deck from the minute I realized that it was, more or less, effectively a less consistent Bulu/Vikavolt. It has a higher damage cap but you will almost never need those damage numbers, the only matchup where it comes into play is Gardevoir-GX. You need a stadium and an ability to effectively chain attacks while Vikabulu only needs an ability. Bulu also has no weakness, and the 180 vs 190hp distinction doesn't matter as much as it used to back when Drampa was in everything.

The fighting type Garchomp coming in SM6 is a potential coup for that deck since it gives it an easier path to an OHKO on Zoroark (you don't have to use a Cynthia, to hit the damage number, just a strong energy or choice band which allows you to be more liberal with Guzmas) but until then I don't see it going anywhere, you just need too many things to go right early on in the game while St. Louis showed that if you give Zoroark just one extra turn, it can easily recover from even the worst imaginable starts, even when in the worst possible matchups.

Empoleon is theoretically a good deck against Zoroark but again, a stage 2 attacker that requires two attachments (or counter energy, which is a conditional card) just feels vastly less consistent than Zoroark, and also requires the Zoroark player to bench things for you to get big numbers. Also Zoroark has literally the perfect counter card for Empoleon in Zoroark-BKT, a one prizer, same attack cost as Zoroark, and comfortably OHKOs an Empoleon running with a maxed bench which you can safely assume will happen because the Empoleon player needs a maxed bench to start threatening big damage on Zoroark-GX. If Empoleon can stay in the game for long enough without falling too far behind in prizes, it should generally win the matchup though. The problem is getting to that point consistently.

Glaceon has the opposite problem, it can be very oppressive and hard to beat if it moves first and has a good turn 1. If Zoroark gets one turn with abilities though and gets a Brigette off, Glaceon usually fails to keep up because, again, Zoroark is faster and more consistent. You almost have to hope they dead draw into getting donked within the first 3-4 turns it feels.

Leafeon was never, in my eyes, going to be that viable as a card. It has low damage output, the ability is too weak to turn key 2HKOs into 3HKOs given its HP and the GX attack is too conditional. It's great if you move second and have an Eevee active and have a grass energy for it, but given that it pairs best with cards that want to run high counts of other basics (namely Decidueye) to maximize how many evolutions you get with one use of grand bloom, you lower your probability of an Eevee start. I just fail to see how you can get the ideal conditions consistently and it's, like Glaceon, a card that is very dependent on things going right.

Anyways, Zoroark Zoroark Zoroark Zoroark. That's what this game is right now, that's what you have to measure every new card or deck against.

You definitely have a point, and I agree with you about Zoroark GX being the king of the format right now. It is very hard for new decks to take a spot on the podium when Zoroark GX makes up most of the meta. The way I see it, Pokémon as a game right now is just whoever can set up and consistently sustain their field. Zoroark GX is the perfect card for this as it is a Stage 1 that allows you to draw into an absurd amount of resources turn 2-3 while removing cards from your deck that you won't need later on (such as Brigette). Not to mention supporting you end game when you need that last few cards and you draw into a double Puzzle of Time.

One thing that you mentioned that I'm really interested in discussing is this "...we need Zoroark hate that doesn't work better in Zoroark than it does outside of Zoroark..." and you are very correct on that. Cards that can't be played on their own like Decidueye GX or Lycanroc GX were made playable due to the draw power of Zoroark GX. Weavile is a great card to begin with and if it weren't dark type, I think the format would be a lot healthier, but since the dark type synergizes with Zoroark GX, what other deck would you play it in? Is it worth playing Ranibow Energy in decks when four is the highest you can go and most decks can only fit in a 2-1 or 2-2 line? If there were a Unit Energy that included [D], I think we could work something out, but not with what we have now. Almost anything can be paired with Zoroark GX and still be competitive just for the power of draw, a lot like how Shaymin EX was. The major difference is that Zoroark GX has 210 HP, a decent attack, and other evolutions like BKT Zoroark to back it up. Shaymin EX was a low HP liability that was the main influence to that outcome of a game whether that is by getting K.Oed for the last prizes or drawing into the resource you need. Zoroark GX isn't affected by that which makes it a lot stronger.

How do we counter it though, and from what I've seen, people just decided "if you can't beat them, join them" and throw Zoroark GX in a deck and win a tournament. Glaceon GX is an option, but that is just a disruption of it's own and has unfavorable matchups outside of Zoroark GX (and it loses if it can't setup before the opponent). Passimian hits weakness and Empoleon takes advantage of the amount of Zoroark GX on the opponent's field, but I don't know if that will be enough to keep up with the speed of Zoroark GX. There are many options for decks from ULP, but I'm afraid that most can't keep up with the speed and consistency of Zoroark GX unless paired with Zoroark GX.

Dusk Mane Necrozma GX, if consistent enough, can do better then Tapu Bulu GX in certain cases. The problem is finding a list as consistent as Tapu Bulu GX, which when you add more pieces like Stadiums, things start to get clunky. What I think sets Tapu Bulu GX and Dusk Mane Necrozma GX apart is Dialga GX and Timeless GX. Tapu Bulu GX doesn't have access to two turns worth of damage and draw support, which is time to set yourself up for late game. One thing that I wish we had is Battle Compressor as that would work so well in Dusk Mane Necrozma GX, thinning out the deck of unneeded resources for late game. I wonder if there is any way we can copy that concept, maybe playing more Items so they can be used for some effect or just for the sake of getting rid of them (like Order Pad, Maintenance, etc.) so you can draw cards back with Oranguru, Octillery, or Dialga GX (whichever one you play). One thing I've noticed (since I play a lot with and against Dusk Mane Necrozma GX), is that you draw into unnecessary cards for that turn such as extra Stadiums and Supporters (lowering the effect of your draw support options). I wonder if there is a way to decrease those chances with one of the cards I mentioned above or with something I haven't though of yet.

Personally, I don't think Garchomp is a viable option at the moment, just because of the required two energy attachments and Cynthia every turn (not to mention being a Stage 2). That goes for a lot of decks including Leafeon GX and Glaceon GX. If we had a "Dragon Patch" or a "Grass Patch", then I think there would be a chance (I know that Glaceon GX has Aqua Patch, but since the deck focusses more on disruption, there isn't much room for them anyways. Not to mention the [W] gets attached from the hand most of the time, all that is missing is the DCE).

Empoleon, in my eyes, has a shot at being competitive, but since it requires on your opponent for damage output (like Garbodor), especially one that your opponent has more control over with cards like Acerola, I don't know how well it will do. Aqua Patch and Counter Energy are great resources (I wonder if Splash Energy can be used as well), but finding space for them in a Stage 2 deck with around 18-20 Pokémon can be rough. As for Zoroark, I wouldn't be too worried about it since most decks only play a one-of and they waste a slot for Zoroark GX by evolving into Zoroark, hurting them late game.

The one thing I think Glaceon GX has going for it is that the list I'm thinking of (which is a Quad Glaceon GX deck with four Tapu Lele GX+Red Card, Delinquent, etc.) is that Brigette isn't required. This leaves room for the one card that can really help the deck. Ninja Boy. If you start with Tapu Lele GX (I play one Oranguru as well for late game draw support), you have the ability to shuffle in the active Tapu Lele GX (recycling your main draw support) and throwing an Eevee into the active without any complicated maneuvers. Then again, this only works if your playing this variant of Glaceon GX and if you have the [W] in hand (as well as another Tapu Lele GX in hand)

Leafeon GX decks are just too clunky in my opinion, and since it take the two turns to attach, if your opponent takes out your attacker turn 2-3 (which isn't very hard), then your left with nothing to attack with. Also, most of the time you don't have room for another Leafeon GX on the bench anyways. The deck still has hope though, but I don't know if it has a place in the current format.

Anyways, thanks for the feedback, I do appreciate your opinion to which I agree with. Zoroark GX is definitely a major threat and we need to exploit its weakness, whether it is through abilities, disruption, or bench space.