This question has been on my mind ever since Zoroark GX was revealed.
In the grand scheme of things, who is the better Pokemon to run for draw support, Octillery or Zoroark GX? (ignoring the fact that Zoroark GX will be our only choice between these 2 in 1 year in standard because rotation, but they might reprint or release other Pokemon with the same effect as Octillery yada yada I digress)
First I'm going to do a breakdown of their strengths and weaknesses, or at least what I perceive as their strengths and weaknesses.
Octillery:
+Due to cards like Ultra Ball, there are frequent occasions where you will drop your hand to 0, 1, or 2 cards and draw huge draws to set you up for next turn.
+Drawing up to 5 means that you are N proof at every point of the game, assuming Garbotoxin isn't chillin on the bench.
+As a 1 prize Pokemon, it doesn't really draw attention to itself and you don't have to worry about it being KO'd.
-If you brick, Octillery makes you brick harder. Your unplayable hands truely become Abyssal.
-Running Mallow with Octillery results in this same dilemma. You draw harder, but you also brick harder.
-You sometimes play wastefully in order to draw 2 to 3 cards off Octillery.
-Early game N's can end up preventing you from using Abyssal Hand if you get N'd into something unplayable.
Zoroark GX:
+You can draw 2 more cards regardless of what your hand looks like, other than completely empty. You can Sycamore for 7, then Exchange for a total of 9 draws in one turn. Considering you remove 14 cards from your deck at the start of the game, that's drawing into 9 out of your 45/46 remaining cards. One FIFTH of your remaining deck.
+Unlike Remoraid, starting Zorua isn't the worst because you can go ahead and use Zoroark GX for some early game pressure hitting for easily 80+ damage at a time to knock out some basic set up Pokemon while you search for your out.
+The discard ability can benefit some, if not all decks. If you discard energies in fire, you can Turtonator/Volcanion them back. If you discard energies in water, you can aqua patch them back on. I don't believe I need to explain the benefits for Darkness decks. If you run Rescue Stretcher, you can just discard a Pokemon then immediately add it back to your hand.
+Zoroark GX + Mallow supporter combo is live much more frequently than Octillery + Mallow.
-Zoroark GX can lose you games as a 2 prize KO, though the 210 HP is pretty beefy so that shouldn't happen if you're applying pressure well.
-You aren't nearly as N proof. If you get N'd to 1, draw for turn, and Exchange, you're looking at 3 cards instead of 5 from Octillery.
-You won't always have something that you want to discard. Ultra Ball, Zoroark GX, and Sycamore is a lot of discarding and a lot of do not want.
I'd like to hear what people think. I think for some decks it's a no brainer, aka Darkrai (if you can fit it in). But what I'm focused on is whether or not Zoroark GX is potent enough to replace Octillery as a staple.
In the grand scheme of things, who is the better Pokemon to run for draw support, Octillery or Zoroark GX? (ignoring the fact that Zoroark GX will be our only choice between these 2 in 1 year in standard because rotation, but they might reprint or release other Pokemon with the same effect as Octillery yada yada I digress)
First I'm going to do a breakdown of their strengths and weaknesses, or at least what I perceive as their strengths and weaknesses.
Octillery:
+Due to cards like Ultra Ball, there are frequent occasions where you will drop your hand to 0, 1, or 2 cards and draw huge draws to set you up for next turn.
+Drawing up to 5 means that you are N proof at every point of the game, assuming Garbotoxin isn't chillin on the bench.
+As a 1 prize Pokemon, it doesn't really draw attention to itself and you don't have to worry about it being KO'd.
-If you brick, Octillery makes you brick harder. Your unplayable hands truely become Abyssal.
-Running Mallow with Octillery results in this same dilemma. You draw harder, but you also brick harder.
-You sometimes play wastefully in order to draw 2 to 3 cards off Octillery.
-Early game N's can end up preventing you from using Abyssal Hand if you get N'd into something unplayable.
Zoroark GX:
+You can draw 2 more cards regardless of what your hand looks like, other than completely empty. You can Sycamore for 7, then Exchange for a total of 9 draws in one turn. Considering you remove 14 cards from your deck at the start of the game, that's drawing into 9 out of your 45/46 remaining cards. One FIFTH of your remaining deck.
+Unlike Remoraid, starting Zorua isn't the worst because you can go ahead and use Zoroark GX for some early game pressure hitting for easily 80+ damage at a time to knock out some basic set up Pokemon while you search for your out.
+The discard ability can benefit some, if not all decks. If you discard energies in fire, you can Turtonator/Volcanion them back. If you discard energies in water, you can aqua patch them back on. I don't believe I need to explain the benefits for Darkness decks. If you run Rescue Stretcher, you can just discard a Pokemon then immediately add it back to your hand.
+Zoroark GX + Mallow supporter combo is live much more frequently than Octillery + Mallow.
-Zoroark GX can lose you games as a 2 prize KO, though the 210 HP is pretty beefy so that shouldn't happen if you're applying pressure well.
-You aren't nearly as N proof. If you get N'd to 1, draw for turn, and Exchange, you're looking at 3 cards instead of 5 from Octillery.
-You won't always have something that you want to discard. Ultra Ball, Zoroark GX, and Sycamore is a lot of discarding and a lot of do not want.
I'd like to hear what people think. I think for some decks it's a no brainer, aka Darkrai (if you can fit it in). But what I'm focused on is whether or not Zoroark GX is potent enough to replace Octillery as a staple.
