Hello everyone and welcome to the thread. I am very much looking forward to Lost Thunder coming out and I'm excited to try a Zeraora deck as the main attacker. I've extensively tested the deck to make it as consistent as I can and I'd love to get your opinion on it. It is a lengthy read but I will try to be concise.
Pokémon - 14
4 Zeraora-GX LOT
3 Wimpod BUS
1 Golisopod GRI
1 Golisopod-GX BUS
2 Shuckle LOT
1 Poipole LOT
1 Naganadel LOT
1 Tapu Lele-GX GRI
Trainer Cards - 24
3 Acro Bike
3 Energy Switch
2 Nest Ball
4 Net Ball
4 Ultra Ball
2 Choice Band
3 Electric Power
2 Po Town
1 Thunder Mountain
Supporter Cards - 13
4 Volkner
3 Tate & Liza
2 Lillie
1 Apricorn Maker
3 Guzma
Energy - 9
7 Lightning Energy
2 Grass Energy
Objective
This deck prefers to go second and use Zeraora's GX attack to charge 5 energies at once (a perfect turbo). I have seen other decks claim this, but I feel this deck offers one of the most consistent ways into actually achieving it. To be able to do a Full-Voltage GX on the first turn, there are three conditions that must be met;
1. Zeraora in the active
2. A Shuckle in hand (to search and discard 3 energies from the deck)
3. A Lightning energy in hand (to use the GX attack)
The deck is designed to be as consistent as possible while still containing the vital cards that are used mid/late game. With this decklist I am confident you will at the very least be able to use the GX attack with the minimum 3 energies in the discard a majority of the time. A perfect turbo happens about the same as a failed turbo, approximately 15% of the time. The reasons that lead to a failed turbo are the opposite to the previously mentioned conditions and are thus;
1. Shuckle/Poipole/Tapu Lele-GX stuck in the active
2. Unable to find and use Shuckle
3. Unable to provide Zeraora with a Lightning energy
Partner Pokemon
In order to maximize the odds of achieving our first condition, having Zeraora in the active, we need a free retreater. Because of this we use Wimpod who has an ability which reads:
"During your first turn, this Pokémon has no Retreat Cost."
Now you may ask, "Why not use Baby Toko?" This is because natural free retreat becomes redundant after the first turn with Zeraora's ability. In addition, Golisopod hits 120 for a single Grass Energy but also hits for weakness against Lycanroc which is one of Zeraora's big threats. Since we are playing Net Balls which also double as a Grass Energy search, they are a great pair.
Then we have Poipole and Naganadel. This deck has the bench space for 1 more Pokemon (since I only ever put one Wimpod on the bench). I've considered draw support with the new Zebstrika, item searching with Alolan Ninetales-GX, but eventually I settled on the new Naganadel. The reason for this is because of Buzzwole and Garbodor, the biggest threats to Zeraora that Naganadel can hit both for weakness. Naganadel also has extra synergy with this deck because we are playing multiple copies of Energy Switch which I will go into more detail later, but being able to charge an energy from the discard and move it around is great.
Item Cards
A quick rundown:
Acro Bikes are used to set up on the first turn better and also have the extra benefit of discarding an energy to be used for the GX attack. I would run 4 if I had room.
Energy Switch synergizes with this deck because it can be used as a switch. If the wrong Pokemon is in the active, use a Lightning energy to free retreat into Zeraora then use the Energy Switch (which can be searched out with Volkner) to move to Zeraora and GX attack. Mid/late game we can move Lightning Energy from Naganadel to where ever it needs to go. I started with just 1, but eventually decided on 3.
4 Net Balls in order to maximize the odds of playing Shuckle WITHOUT playing too many Shuckles because we absolutely do not want to start with him in the active. Yes, we are risking prizing 2 Shuckles, but if we were to put in 3 we are risking a failed turbo by having a Shuckle stuck in the active. The other balls are used for consistency and also the Ultra Ball will often discard excess energies to achieve a perfect turbo.
2 Choice Bands and 3 Electric Powers. Usually I'd run 3 and 4 respectively, but because the deck is tight as is and we have means of item search via Volkner I think we can afford to go down one each.
Thunder Mountain is a stadium that there's no reason not to use. It potentially can allow us to GX without even needing the Lightning Energy as well, so that's always something to keep in mind if you draw into it on your first hand.
Po Town. The other stadium people are thinking of using is Aether Paradise Conservation Area but since this deck is primarily a super fast OHKO deck Po Town softens stage 1s and stage 2s into a more desirable range. For example, Zoroark goes from 210 to 180, OHKO with just a choice band OR an electric power. If Sceptile evolves twice it goes to 170 and there are many other examples.
Supporters
Volkner is vital to the consistency of this deck because he allows to us achieve 2 out of the 3 conditions needed to successfully use the GX attack. If we have access to Volkner on our first turn it is highly likely that we will be successful and will be able to pull off a perfect turbo. I will not be convinced to making him any lower than four as he will be your go to support 90% of the time.
Next we have Tate & Liza. Originally I tested Hala: it only made sense that if we are using our GX attack on the first turn of the game that Hala would be a perfect fit. However, the first turn of the game is the most critical turn and thus the 4 card draw is very likely going to be a hindrance. I view this card as a high risk, little reward. Then I considered Cynthia. Cynthia is definitely better than Hala in this deck because on the first turn she has a +2 on Hala and only a -1 from every turn after that. Since the first turn of the game is the most important, Cynthia trumps Hala in this deck. Which leads me back to Tate & Liza. Personally, it doesn't make too much of a difference but having the choice to switch your active Pokemon can be just the thing we need to GX on our first turn when Lele or Shuckle is in the active. Because of that, I think Tate & Liza win this battle but Cynthia is a fine choice as well.
Lillie. This deck plays 2 Lillie's because she is super powerful on the first (most important) turn of the game. In saying that, she isn't the ideal first turn support because she never guarantees the card we need so I would not risk Lele-ing for a Lillie unless all the conditions for a successful GX have already been met. I think 2 is the perfect number.
One Apricorn Maker because sometimes we have the energy but desperately need to get both a Zeraora and a Shuckle. The need for this isn't as high as Volkner, but it does come it handy. However, Apricorn Maker is generally a useless card the longer the game is going on whereas Volkner is valuable throughout the entire game. I am happy with just 1 Apricorn Maker.
Energy Count
Finally the energy count. Because we're playing Net Balls I wanted to use Grass Energy. It's important to remember that Zeraora's offensive attack is 2 Lightnings and a Colorless, so being able to search out a grass energy works for both Zeraora and Golisopod. The moment we have a Shuckle in hand, any Nest Ball is effectively a grass energy. So I will search it out and try to discard it through an Ultra Ball if given the chance.
Lastly, 7 Lightning Energy. We can afford to go lower, since most of the energy is sought out via Shuckle and Volkner, but then there's prizing to consider as well. I think 7 is the ideal number.
Final Thoughts
So that's my reasoning. I experimented with Order Pad and while they're great if you land the coin flip it just sucks when they don't work and it could have been a something else like another Acro Bike. I also plan on testing Sightseer when I get the chance, but since the first turn is the only important turn I think Lillie is likely to be better. I'm very interested in receiving any feedback and if you made it this far, I appreciate the time you took to read and maybe comment.
Pokémon - 14
4 Zeraora-GX LOT
3 Wimpod BUS
1 Golisopod GRI
1 Golisopod-GX BUS
2 Shuckle LOT
1 Poipole LOT
1 Naganadel LOT
1 Tapu Lele-GX GRI
Trainer Cards - 24
3 Acro Bike
3 Energy Switch
2 Nest Ball
4 Net Ball
4 Ultra Ball
2 Choice Band
3 Electric Power
2 Po Town
1 Thunder Mountain
Supporter Cards - 13
4 Volkner
3 Tate & Liza
2 Lillie
1 Apricorn Maker
3 Guzma
Energy - 9
7 Lightning Energy
2 Grass Energy
Objective
This deck prefers to go second and use Zeraora's GX attack to charge 5 energies at once (a perfect turbo). I have seen other decks claim this, but I feel this deck offers one of the most consistent ways into actually achieving it. To be able to do a Full-Voltage GX on the first turn, there are three conditions that must be met;
1. Zeraora in the active
2. A Shuckle in hand (to search and discard 3 energies from the deck)
3. A Lightning energy in hand (to use the GX attack)
The deck is designed to be as consistent as possible while still containing the vital cards that are used mid/late game. With this decklist I am confident you will at the very least be able to use the GX attack with the minimum 3 energies in the discard a majority of the time. A perfect turbo happens about the same as a failed turbo, approximately 15% of the time. The reasons that lead to a failed turbo are the opposite to the previously mentioned conditions and are thus;
1. Shuckle/Poipole/Tapu Lele-GX stuck in the active
2. Unable to find and use Shuckle
3. Unable to provide Zeraora with a Lightning energy
Partner Pokemon
In order to maximize the odds of achieving our first condition, having Zeraora in the active, we need a free retreater. Because of this we use Wimpod who has an ability which reads:
"During your first turn, this Pokémon has no Retreat Cost."
Now you may ask, "Why not use Baby Toko?" This is because natural free retreat becomes redundant after the first turn with Zeraora's ability. In addition, Golisopod hits 120 for a single Grass Energy but also hits for weakness against Lycanroc which is one of Zeraora's big threats. Since we are playing Net Balls which also double as a Grass Energy search, they are a great pair.
Then we have Poipole and Naganadel. This deck has the bench space for 1 more Pokemon (since I only ever put one Wimpod on the bench). I've considered draw support with the new Zebstrika, item searching with Alolan Ninetales-GX, but eventually I settled on the new Naganadel. The reason for this is because of Buzzwole and Garbodor, the biggest threats to Zeraora that Naganadel can hit both for weakness. Naganadel also has extra synergy with this deck because we are playing multiple copies of Energy Switch which I will go into more detail later, but being able to charge an energy from the discard and move it around is great.
Item Cards
A quick rundown:
Acro Bikes are used to set up on the first turn better and also have the extra benefit of discarding an energy to be used for the GX attack. I would run 4 if I had room.
Energy Switch synergizes with this deck because it can be used as a switch. If the wrong Pokemon is in the active, use a Lightning energy to free retreat into Zeraora then use the Energy Switch (which can be searched out with Volkner) to move to Zeraora and GX attack. Mid/late game we can move Lightning Energy from Naganadel to where ever it needs to go. I started with just 1, but eventually decided on 3.
4 Net Balls in order to maximize the odds of playing Shuckle WITHOUT playing too many Shuckles because we absolutely do not want to start with him in the active. Yes, we are risking prizing 2 Shuckles, but if we were to put in 3 we are risking a failed turbo by having a Shuckle stuck in the active. The other balls are used for consistency and also the Ultra Ball will often discard excess energies to achieve a perfect turbo.
2 Choice Bands and 3 Electric Powers. Usually I'd run 3 and 4 respectively, but because the deck is tight as is and we have means of item search via Volkner I think we can afford to go down one each.
Thunder Mountain is a stadium that there's no reason not to use. It potentially can allow us to GX without even needing the Lightning Energy as well, so that's always something to keep in mind if you draw into it on your first hand.
Po Town. The other stadium people are thinking of using is Aether Paradise Conservation Area but since this deck is primarily a super fast OHKO deck Po Town softens stage 1s and stage 2s into a more desirable range. For example, Zoroark goes from 210 to 180, OHKO with just a choice band OR an electric power. If Sceptile evolves twice it goes to 170 and there are many other examples.
Supporters
Volkner is vital to the consistency of this deck because he allows to us achieve 2 out of the 3 conditions needed to successfully use the GX attack. If we have access to Volkner on our first turn it is highly likely that we will be successful and will be able to pull off a perfect turbo. I will not be convinced to making him any lower than four as he will be your go to support 90% of the time.
Next we have Tate & Liza. Originally I tested Hala: it only made sense that if we are using our GX attack on the first turn of the game that Hala would be a perfect fit. However, the first turn of the game is the most critical turn and thus the 4 card draw is very likely going to be a hindrance. I view this card as a high risk, little reward. Then I considered Cynthia. Cynthia is definitely better than Hala in this deck because on the first turn she has a +2 on Hala and only a -1 from every turn after that. Since the first turn of the game is the most important, Cynthia trumps Hala in this deck. Which leads me back to Tate & Liza. Personally, it doesn't make too much of a difference but having the choice to switch your active Pokemon can be just the thing we need to GX on our first turn when Lele or Shuckle is in the active. Because of that, I think Tate & Liza win this battle but Cynthia is a fine choice as well.
Lillie. This deck plays 2 Lillie's because she is super powerful on the first (most important) turn of the game. In saying that, she isn't the ideal first turn support because she never guarantees the card we need so I would not risk Lele-ing for a Lillie unless all the conditions for a successful GX have already been met. I think 2 is the perfect number.
One Apricorn Maker because sometimes we have the energy but desperately need to get both a Zeraora and a Shuckle. The need for this isn't as high as Volkner, but it does come it handy. However, Apricorn Maker is generally a useless card the longer the game is going on whereas Volkner is valuable throughout the entire game. I am happy with just 1 Apricorn Maker.
Energy Count
Finally the energy count. Because we're playing Net Balls I wanted to use Grass Energy. It's important to remember that Zeraora's offensive attack is 2 Lightnings and a Colorless, so being able to search out a grass energy works for both Zeraora and Golisopod. The moment we have a Shuckle in hand, any Nest Ball is effectively a grass energy. So I will search it out and try to discard it through an Ultra Ball if given the chance.
Lastly, 7 Lightning Energy. We can afford to go lower, since most of the energy is sought out via Shuckle and Volkner, but then there's prizing to consider as well. I think 7 is the ideal number.
Final Thoughts
So that's my reasoning. I experimented with Order Pad and while they're great if you land the coin flip it just sucks when they don't work and it could have been a something else like another Acro Bike. I also plan on testing Sightseer when I get the chance, but since the first turn is the only important turn I think Lillie is likely to be better. I'm very interested in receiving any feedback and if you made it this far, I appreciate the time you took to read and maybe comment.
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