Event Tournament Analysis: Charlotte

[FrostBiter12]

Hey everyone, just got back from Charlotte Regionals with some new results! This much-anticipated tournament for Pokémon players in eastern portion of America brought new ideas and displayed the strength of past decks. How has the new Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon—Ultra Prism expansion affected the format, and what deck had the most hype going into Charlotte? These are some of the things we will be discussing in this article, so stay tuned to find out!

Metagame Before Charlotte------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ever since its debut at Europe's International, Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX has taken a spot as one of the most powerful decks in the format. Consistency and the extreme draw support provided my Zoroark GX means that almost any card in your deck is accessible. Need an Acerola? A Double Colorless Energy? Trading three times should give you enough resources to get them. Any situation can be maneuvered out of, making Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX the most versatile of the format. The potential to beat any deck gave it the position of the most popular deck going into Charlotte Regionals. Hot on its heels were Zoroark GX/Lycanroc GX, Buzzwole GX/Lycanroc GX, and Buzzwole GX/Garbodor.

After being tournament legal for about a month, Ultra Prism based decks haven't been making much noise, even with a variety of strategies included in it. This would be a opportune time for these decks to take a spot in the standings such as Glaceon GX, Dusk Mane Necromza GX, and Weavile variants (which have had great success in Malmö Regionals).

Now that we've got a good idea of what the meta looked like before Charlotte, let's go over what actually happened at the tournament!

Master's Division Top 8------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is the Top 8 of Charlotte Regionals (brought to you by PokeStats.com)!

1st. Ryan Sabelhaus: Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX/Mew
2nd. Alex Schemanske: Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX/Oricorio
3rd. Joe Ruettiger: Greninja BREAK
4th. Igor Costa: Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX/Mew
5th. Kyle Sabelhaus: Zoroark-GX/Gardevoir-GX
6th. Athavan Balendran: Glaceon-GX/Zoroark-GX
7th. Kyle Lesniewicz: Sylveon-GX
8th. Edwin Lopez: Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX

Alex Schemanske's List------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately, I was unable to locate Ryan Sabelhaus's list, but I can provide Alex Shemanske's variant (which doesn't differ from Ryan's by much). The only major distinction is that Ryan plays a Mew (FCO) while Alex plays an Oricorio (GRI 56).

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

##Pokémon - 15

* 3 Buzzwole-GX CIN 57
* 1 Regirock-EX FCO 43
* 1 Rockruff GRI 73
* 1 Rockruff PR-SM SM06
* 1 Sudowoodo BKP 67
* 2 Lycanroc-GX GRI 74
* 1 Oricorio GRI 56
* 1 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 137
* 2 Remoraid BKT 32
* 2 Octillery BKT 33

##Trainer Cards - 32

* 3 Brooklet Hill GRI 120
* 3 Choice Band GRI 121
* 1 Cynthia UPR 119
* 2 Energy Switch SUM 117
* 4 Float Stone BKT 137
* 4 Guzma BUS 115
* 4 Max Elixir BKP 102
* 2 N FCO 105
* 4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135
* 1 Super Rod BKT 149

##Energy - 13

* 9 Fighting Energy 6
* 4 Strong Energy FFI 104

Total Cards - 60

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

The Rise of a New King?-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, as we can see from the standings, not a single Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX made Top 8. In fact, only 4 decks out of the Top 34 (one unique thing about this tournament was that Day 2 included 34 players instead of the regular 32) were Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX (there were only 4 Zoroark GX/Lycanroc GX in Top 34 as well). The deck with the most success was actually Buzzwole GX/Lycanroc GX; 3 out of the 6 that made Top 34 also made Top 8. Surprisingly, the three Buzzwole GX/Lycanroc GX decks that made Top 8 were the only ones out of the 6 that played a Mew EX counter, either Mew (FCO) or Oricorio (GRI). I think this means that Buzzwole GX players in general are learning how to combat the onslaught of Mewtwo (EVO) and Mew EX (PR) by taking advantage of their [P] weakness (not to mention against opposing Buzzwole GX variants as well), almost making themselves weakness-less!

Let's not forget who else made Top 8, Joe Ruettiger piloted Greninja Break to 3rd place, going 9-0-0 in Day 1! Alongside him were Kyle Sabelhaus (Zoroark GX/Gardevoir GX; 5th place), Athavan Balendran (Zoroark GX/Glaceon GX; 6th place), and Kyle Lesniewicz (Sylveon GX; 7th place). Let's make a minor breakdown on each of these decks and see why they made Top 8.

Top 8 Decks----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greninja Break, though first released in 2016, has been placing relatively high ever since. The potential to snipe any Pokémon in play while putting your opponent under ability lock with a non-GX/EX attacker is just so powerful in an ability heavy format. The downside is that it occasionally bricks, but if it gets going, almost nothing can stop it. Joe Ruettiger gave us a good example of the power Greninja Break has with his undefeated record in Day 1 and taking 3rd place as his prize. You can never count Greninja Break out I suppose!

As we can see, Zoroark GX/Gardevoir GX's massive draw power and the potential to OHKO anything (especially energy-heavy Buzzwole GXs) put Kyle Sablehaus at 5th place. Getting 2 to 3 Zoroark GX out is key to this decks survival, so cards like Evosoda give you more outs to Zoroark GX. Once you get past that part, almost any card in your deck is in reach, and when that is combined with Gardevoir GX, not much can keep up with it as Kyle Sablehaus demonstrated.

Featuring one of the new cards from ULP, Athavan Balendran was able to maneuver Glaceon GX/Zoroark GX into Top 8 and snag 6th place as well. The disruption caused by Glaceon GX's Freezing Gaze ability slows your opponent's down to the point where you can set up and consistently Frost Bullet. Seven [W] energy and two Energy Loto can usually get you turn 1 Energy Evolution on Eevee into Glaceon GX, so going first is what all players of this deck hope to do. If not, Lapras GX can draw you into a chunk of cards for next turn! Unless your opponent can break free of this lock or manage to catch you off-guard, you should be set for victory!

Though it hasn't seen much play, Sylveon GX has the potential to disrupt your opponent and give you a decent amount of time to dispose of their energy. One interesting trio of cards in Kyle Lesniewicz's list was the 1 Ralts, 1 Rare Candy, 1 Gardevoir GX line. This was played to allow Kyle to Max Potion and use Plea GX or Fairy Wind immediately afterward (through Secret Spring), not to mention a giant 230 HP Pokémon to stall with. All of this was possible due to Magical Ribbon searching your deck for any three cards and preparing you for next turn. As long as you can stay one step ahead of your opponent, Sylveon GX can lock your opponent out of the game and take the win!

Now that we've gotten a good look at what happened in Charlotte Regionals, let's discuss where we go from here!

The New Metagame-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With Buzzwole GX/Lycanroc GX taking three spots of Top 8, we can surely expect more of these decks to pop up and be successful. Now that Buzzwole GX players have figured out how to combat Mew EX (our main counter to Buzzwole GX), we need to find an alternative option (maybe more Mewtwo (EVO) or even Spritomb (ULP)). This also means that the format has shifted to a much faster pace then before considering that most turns end with a two-prize K.O. (which is where Lycanroc GX is great at dragging them up into the active position). If you can keep up with your opponent (which decks like VikaBulu do very well at), you should be on track to victory.

On the other hand, disruption decks like Hoopa Mill, Wobbuffet Mill, Sylveon GX (which just took 7th place), and Wishiwashi Mill will most likely gain some ground as well. Personally, I think that we're going to see meta alter to a more Garbodor heavy format due to large amounts of Buzzwole GX and item/ability-heavy decks. If not that, then I'm sure that the new Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon—Forbidden Light set will shake up the format with cards like Malamar, Ultra Necrozma GX, and Zygarde GX (which will probably be a new Fighting type deck of its own with Bonnie as well).

Conclusion-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the end of Charlotte Regionals, all eyes turn to the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, OR to see how players will answer to the rise of Buzzwole GX/Lycanroc GX. Will people play Garbodor, is Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX going to make a comeback, or will Buzzwole GX/Lycanroc GX remain on top? Tune in next week for results on Portland Regionals and discussions here in the Pokebeach forums! Also, check out my Article Homepage for articles on past tournaments and decklists.

Until next time!
~FrostBiter12

 

[VioletValkyrie]

This is a wonderful read, I'm surprised I only came across your articles now!

I have one small point to bring up.

Alex Schemanske's List------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately, I was unable to locate Ryan Sabelhaus's list, but I can provide Alex Shemanske's variant (which doesn't differ from Ryan's by much). The only major distinction is that Ryan plays a Mew (FCO) while Alex plays an Oricorio (GRI).

It's not a very big issue, but in this case I would want to specify which print of Oricorio GRI Alex played in his deck, since there are multiple different prints in GRI.

I'm a really big fan of the way you write and format your articles. Are you going to write them only for the Regionals you attend, or the Regionals you feel are most note-worthy, or possibly any mix? I'm excited to see more come from this in the future.

 

[FrostBiter12]

This is a wonderful read, I'm surprised I only came across your articles now!

I have one small point to bring up.

It's not a very big issue, but in this case I would want to specify which print of Oricorio GRI Alex played in his deck, since there are multiple different prints in GRI.

I'm a really big fan of the way you write and format your articles. Are you going to write them only for the Regionals you attend, or the Regionals you feel are most note-worthy, or possibly any mix? I'm excited to see more come from this in the future.

Great, I'm glad you liked it! I've been trying some new formatting ideas to make the articles more organized and I think this one is the best so far. Thanks for the heads up by the way on Oricorio, I forgot that there was more than one (the Oricorio is specified in the deck-list by number, but I think that I can be a little more specific beforehand as well)!

I'm trying to write a new article every weekend, it just so happens that 3 out of the past four weekends were Regionals, so I wrote about them. I will be writing about every Regional I can since Collinsville (which is hard if there are two on the same weekend), but I try to make sure the ones with more interesting or format-changing decks/ideas are posted first. Also, I do deck-lists and card breakdowns (which will be discussions on techs like Sudowoodo (BKP), Mew (FCO), etc.) but I haven't had time to do Card Breakdowns just yet.

Anyways, I'm happy that you enjoyed the article! If you have any suggestions or topics you want me to write about, feel free to let me know. Thanks!

 

[CrownAxe]

Where are you getting your information about Sylveon Gx? The reason you take Gardevoir GX is for Twilight GX. The ability to Secret Spring a Fairy Energy down with a DCE is really not that important when compared to the ability to recycle 10 very valuable cards.

 

[VioletValkyrie]

Where are you getting your information about Sylveon Gx? The reason you take Gardevoir GX is for Twilight GX. The ability to Secret Spring a Fairy Energy down with a DCE is really not that important when compared to the ability to recycle 10 very valuable cards.

I'd like to state my thoughts to supply a counter-argument.

➤ I believe that between the typical amount of 2 Lusamine and 4 Puzzle of Time played in most Sylveon-GX decks, attacking with Twilight GX isn't very important, and the deck can't often spend the turn to burn Twilight GX, especially when the deck's disruption is backed quite wonderfully by Sylveon-GX's Plea GX attack.

➤ Secret Spring is a wonderful asset to have in board position for Sylveon-GX, allowing you to fully set up a Sylveon-GX for Fairy Wind or Plea GX in one turn simply from having an Eevee, or attach a DCE to an already active Sylveon-GX while evolving an Eevee on the bench using Energy Evolution.

➤ Gardevoir-GX also allows the deck to have an offensive option if necessary by powering up Infinite Force if disruption isn't an option to take out your opponent's offensive force, and there's a very big difference between a defensive Gardevoir-GX relying on Twilight GX and an offensive Gardevoir-GX with Infinite Force and Secret Spring assisting board position, especially in a deck to be practically backboned by Plea GX in quite a few situations, such as previously stated.

 

[CrownAxe]

I believe that between the typical amount of 2 Lusamine and 4 Puzzle of Time played in most Sylveon-GX decks, attacking with Twilight GX isn't very important, and the deck can't often spend the turn to burn Twilight GX, especially when the deck's disruption is backed quite wonderfully by Sylveon-GX's Plea GX attack.

Sylveon GX is about resource management deck so a GX attack that gives you 10 resources back is massive. The idea there is already Puzzles (and Lusamine only get's Supporters and Stadium so while good it's not very relevant to Twilight GX) so you don't need to Twilight GX is bad logic. It's like saying "Well I already have 4 Sycamore, why do I need more draw cards?" Twilight get's you the resources you'd puzzle for, and puzzles back. You could Max Potion 16 times if you needed to. Plus Sylveon is a disputation deck it can make the turn to Twilight GX available.

And Plea GX is good but only in certain match ups. When your opponent is playing Rare Candied Stage 2s or pokemon that need 3+ energy on them then it's great. But the meta right now is a bunch of Stage 1s with single energy attach attacks, Plea GX doesn't do that much to. Especially when you're playing a stall deck, they have time to just put those Pokemon back down again.

Secret Spring is a wonderful asset to have in board position for Sylveon-GX, allowing you to fully set up a Sylveon-GX for Fairy Wind or Plea GX in one turn simply from having an Eevee, or attach a DCE to an already active Sylveon-GX while evolving an Eevee on the bench using Energy Evolution.

I'm not saying Secret Spring is bad, I'm saying it's not the main reason Sylveon runs a Gardevoir which is what FrostBiter is incorrectly asserting.

Gardevoir-GX also allows the deck to have an offensive option if necessary by powering up Infinite Force if disruption isn't an option to take out your opponent's offensive force, and there's a very big difference between a defensive Gardevoir-GX relying on Twilight GX and an offensive Gardevoir-GX with Infinite Force and Secret Spring assisting board position, especially in a deck to be practically backboned by Plea GX in quite a few situations, such as previously stated.

This just proves my point. The point of my post was point out that FrostBiter is wrong about why Sylveon runs a Gardevoir in the deck . And he didn't something like this AT ALL.

 

[VioletValkyrie]

Sylveon GX is about resource management deck so a GX attack that gives you 10 resources back is massive. The idea there is already Puzzles (and Lusamine only get's Supporters and Stadium so while good it's not very relevant to Twilight GX) so you don't need to Twilight GX is bad logic. It's like saying "Well I already have 4 Sycamore, why do I need more draw cards?" Twilight get's you the resources you'd puzzle for, and puzzles back. You could Max Potion 16 times if you needed to. Plus Sylveon is a disputation deck it can make the turn to Twilight GX available.

➤ My basis for this was the belief that Sylveon-GX is not about resource management, but about disrupting and disallowing your opponent. I'm not sure our inconsistency lies with our differing mindsets on how the deck plays, or the differing in play style between different people.

➤ In my personal opinion, I don't even understand the concept of a "resource management deck" due to believing this proper management of resources is done through the way a player plays their current hand or board position, and can be quite luck based in some scenarios, as there's always the possibility of having bad luck give you hands forcing you to discard resources. In those situations, there is no resource management, and I believe in a general sense that there is no "resource management deck", since proper resource management is achieved through the player themselves playing hands or board positions in certain ways, or in some cases, even just dependent on luck, and not a basis for creating a deck.

➤ I'm not trying to state something similar to the argument of "I already have 4 Sycamore, why do I need more draw cards?", what I'm trying to state is how I believe playing Puzzle of Time and Lusamine allow the deck a solid capability to already recycle its resources, without the downsides of attacking with Twilight GX, such as ending your turn immediately, those cards being shuffled into the deck rather than your hand, or using your GX attack for the game, shutting you out of the option of using Plea GX.

➤ My line of logic for believing Twilight GX is not the basis for playing Gardevoir-GX stems from these ideas, and especially the idea that Gardevoir-GX can fill a completely separate role in the deck that I believe benefits it to a stronger degree when used for a different purpose that no other existing cards in the current deck can already fulfill, such as being an aggressive attacker, for example.

And Plea GX is good but only in certain match ups. When your opponent is playing Rare Candied Stage 2s or pokemon that need 3+ energy on them then it's great. But the meta right now is a bunch of Stage 1s with single energy attach attacks, Plea GX doesn't do that much to. Especially when you're playing a stall deck, they have time to just put those Pokemon back down again.

I'm going to supply a counter-argument to this as well.

➤ Plea GX is situational, yes, but it can benefit the player in every match-up. Even just removing the capability of having two Stage 1 attackers on your opponent's board can open up a turn to buy time, stall, or employ another possible tactic.
As an example, you can target two Golisopod-GX on your opponent's board with Plea GX. While they'll most likely just play down their Wimpod onto the bench again, this allows you a turn where they are unable to attack with First Impression if they have no other Golisopod-GX on their board, and keeping their current ones in their hand. This opens the opportunity for you to play a card such as N or Delinquent to disrupt your opponent's hand and lock them out of attacking with First Impression until they're able to have another Golisopod-GX in their hand.

➤ While Plea GX surely shines its brightest light against Stage 2 Pokémon evolved with Rare Candy, or decks that have Pokémon with heavy energy costs to attack, its light still shines in practically any situation, and I believe in no match up should you ever think past the possibility of attacking with Plea GX.

I'm not saying Secret Spring is bad, I'm saying it's not the main reason Sylveon runs a Gardevoir which is what FrostBiter is incorrectly asserting.

Apologies, that isn't what I meant to imply. However, I still stand by FrostBiter's assertion, as I believe Secret Spring to be one of, if not the, main reason to play Gardevoir-GX.

This just proves my point. The point of my post was point out that FrostBiter is wrong about why Sylveon runs a Gardevoir in the deck . And he didn't something like this AT ALL.

I can't say I follow you here. May I please have an explanation of how that comment had proved your point?

Apologies for this as well, but I want to take the time to point out that I believe this thread is getting too heated,
possibly coming off too strongly as an argument, and I request we both attempt to keep this in an orderly manner.​

 

[CrownAxe]

Stall/Disruption decks are about your resources vs your opponent's resources. You need to have made your opponent run out of resources before you do. You can only Max Potion, E Hammer, and Puzzle so many times in one game. Once you run out of nonrenewable resources you are basically left with Lusamine looping to use your supporters over and over but that limits you to making an actual impact on the game once every other turn which is slow (but is supplemented with trainer's and such). This is why Twilight GX is so good because it gives your an extra 10 cards to out resource your opponent to death.

Which is the problem with Plea Gx. It doesn't actually disrupt your opponent's resources it just slows them down because it's a stall tactic. And sure there are times where you need it, it doesn't inherently bring you closer to your goal. It just delays your opponent from getting to theirs. And with a lot of the decks in the meta Plea doesn't even slow them down that much if at all. Like with your Golispod example, it only actually has an effect on the game if they didn't have a 3rd Wimpod/Golisopod on the board and if the don't also have another attacker like Zoroark GX because they can just bench their wimpods and attack with the Zoroark for 120 like nothing happened. Heck even a Lele GX sitting on the bench defeats the purpose because a single DCE on it now puts your Sylveon GX in 2KHO range cause it has 3 energy on it. You really need to combo it with some hand disruption but your opponent will always get a turn before you can do that which will greatly limit the overall effect the disruption will have in that regard.

So to bring it back to my point about FrostBiter being wrong. Secret Spring is a good ability but when do you NEED it? You Fairy Wind when you don't need to Magical Ribbon for disruption so you should already be in a position to just attach DCE normally. And if Plea GX is situational at best why commit 3 cards of deck space to do it specifically when you play Max Potion (the thing FrostBiter is claiming you take Gardevoir for). And the point of using Gardevoir as a big 230 stalling wall is bad too because Body Dumbells makes Sylveon bigger at 240 but also if you're stalling with Garde YOU AREN"T USING MAGICAL RIBBON.

The two reasons your run 1-0-1 Garde and a Rare Candy is for Twilight GX, and Infinite Force (which you already explained why). Those two reasons FrostBiter did not even mention AT ALL.

 

[The Last Shaymin]

Sylveon player here, stop arguing.

The gardevoir is to assist in beating gardevoir decks and greninja BREAK (kind of a bad matchup) and for using the GX attack.

Being able to crushing hammer 8 times in a game is pretty amazing. Or even 16, although that is rather over the top.

It can be used to attach energy, but when was Sylveon an energy machine anyway?

The point of this deck is to get rid of your opponent's energy, and then mill their deck.

When you discard all their energy, Twilight GX can assist you in getting your main mill resources back, but with running Lusamine, this is not necessary all the time.

If you don't need it, then don't play it. Simple.

 

[The Last Shaymin]

➤ Plea GX is situational, yes, but it can benefit the player in every match-up. Even just removing the capability of having two Stage 1 attackers on your opponent's board can open up a turn to buy time, stall, or employ another possible tactic.
As an example, you can target two Golisopod-GX on your opponent's board with Plea GX. While they'll most likely just play down their Wimpod onto the bench again, this allows you a turn where they are unable to attack with First Impression if they have no other Golisopod-GX on their board, and keeping their current ones in their hand. This opens the opportunity for you to play a card such as N or Delinquent to disrupt your opponent's hand and lock them out of attacking with First Impression until they're able to have another Golisopod-GX in their hand.

Sure, but then you are also wasting a turn, leaving you with no fresh disruption in your hand, which can be particularly bad. You are losing a turn, and they are losing a turn too. mostly just a waste of time.

Using Twilight GX, however, is beneficial to the deck because it gives you fresh disruption, but you have to search with it.

The long-term benefit between pleaing a Golisopod and shuffling 10 cards back into your deck is ASTRONOMICAL. What are the chances that they are not going to get another golisopod in their hand? Rather low, considering Zoroark, Ultra Ball, Sycamore, Evosoda, N, and Cynthia exist in the metagame right now. Sure, you might get hit by the golisopod next turn, but aren't you glad you shuffled 4 max potions into your deck? I hope so.

 

[FrostBiter12]

Where are you getting your information about Sylveon Gx? The reason you take Gardevoir GX is for Twilight GX. The ability to Secret Spring a Fairy Energy down with a DCE is really not that important when compared to the ability to recycle 10 very valuable cards.

Hey @CrownAxe! It seems that I implied something that I shouldn't have. I am not a Sylveon GX player, granted, but I do have a good idea at how the deck works. Early game, you focus on getting rid of your opponent's energy in play through cards like E. Hammer, C. Hammer, Team Flare Grunt, etc. while stalling with Sylveon GX's 200 HP. Once you have your opponent in a position where the aren't able to get energy for a turn, you begin to mill their deck. The moment your opponent loses all of their energy, you basically win. Recycling resources like E. Hammer, C. Hammer, etc. with Twilight GX is a huge asset that I should've shined light upon, that is my bad. I would like to point out though that while Twilight GX is particularly helpful to this deck, it isn't the "main reason" it would be played (at least, in my opinion). In fact, neither the 230 HP, Secret Spring, or Twilight GX are the "main reasons", they are "collective reasons" for this card's usage. Let me explain.

If you noticed, Kyle Lesniewicz's list played eleven fairy energy. That is quite a lot of energy for a deck that only needs one per turn at most (as you were saying), but it would make sense to do so in order to get turn one Energy Evolution (and because of Max Potion). Since Magical Ribbon is somewhat susceptible to N (as most people know) and most decks play 3-4, you can guess that they will try to use it as often as possible. So, what happens when you get N'd into a handful of Fairy Energy (since you have no control over what you draw into)? That means one extra turn for your opponent to deal damage and get prize cards while you Magical Ribbon and waste a turn. Gardevoir GX can be used to get rid of energy in hand so you don't draw into them later. Though this may be a minor point, it means that there is one less card in between you and E. Hammer, C. Hammer, etc. for you to draw into.

Though Sylveon GX isn't very offensive, you may sometimes need to attack in order to either get rid of energy on a Pokémon (by K.O.ing it) or to remove a future threat. Gardevoir GX deals quite a bit of damage and is especially effective against decks Sylveon GX has a hard time with: Energy Acceleration. Turbo Fire (whichever variant: Kiawe/Ho-oh GX, Volcanion EX, etc.) gives Sylveon GX a lot of pain in order to get rid of their energy. You can't OHKO them or discard their energy fast enough by the time they OHKO you. Gardevoir GX is a great way to eliminate this threat so you can them put more effort into disrupting your opponent. Ho-oh GX takes four energy to attack which is 120 damage on the board without the energy already on Gardevoir GX. That is just a couple energy away from a K.O., forcing your opponent to Kiawe once more, which in turn gives you another easy K.O. and two prizes. Another card that gives this deck trouble is ULP Oranguru, which practically counters mill decks. The annoying 120 HP is just 10 above Sylveon GX's Fairy Wind attack which is another turn for them to recycle resources. Gardevoir GX takes only a DCE and Fairy Energy to K.O. Oranguru (assuming Oranguru already has an energy attached to it), which is one less turn for your opponent to recycle in. One other point is that sometimes, you may just have to suck it up and attack with Fairy Wind (or Infinite Force, either-or). Though it is one turn slower than a Crushing Hammer (which isn't even guaranteed), you threaten your opponent's attacker and energy, so unless they can take a OHKO on you (which would be detrimental either way), you just Max Potion next turn and Secret Spring+DCE attachment for the K.O., removing that threat.

Now, I'm definitely not saying that Twilight GX isn't a big part of the reason Gardvoir GX is played in Sylveon GX (of which it is), and it was my mistake not to include it. However, I do disagree with you about it being the main reason it is played. I don't think that I would include three slots in my deck just for Twilight GX, and if it is so important to get out, why do you only play a 1-0-1 line (especially in a deck which doesn't take prizes very often and is especially susceptible to prizing one of these pieces, forcing you to waste a turn of supporters for Gladion). You get one GX attack (so you only need one Gardevoir GX I suppose), sure, but would you really devote three cards just for that? You can't count out the other reasons (like what I did with Twighlight GX ), no matter how minuscule you might think they are (they might be more important than you realize!). The 23o HP, Secret Spring, and Twilight GX are "collective reasons" why Gardevoir GX is played; all together is when they give benefits.

In your defense, you are correct about resource management. Mill decks are all about that, forcing your opponent to dig for resources that you have gotten rid of on the board while thinning their deck out at the same time. Twilight GX is a great way to stay ahead of your opponent by shuffling Puzzles of Time, disruption cards, etc. into your deck. I get your point, but that doesn't mean the other factors are useless. Gardevoir GX's 230 HP is nothing to scoff at, especially since Body Building Dumbbells is susceptible to Field Blower, so I do not understand why you would disregard that. Secret Spring, though situational, is another beneficial factor to combat Energy Acceleration decks and Oranguru. If your worried about it being too situational, then I would like to point out how situational Sylveon GX is by itself (a 1-0-1 line of Gardevoir GX, 1 Gladion, 1 Hoopa, 1 Body Building Dumbbells, etc.). And no, these aren't the only reasons Gardevoir GX is played, but just factors of it. Twilight GX is probably the biggest out of the factors concerning Gardevoir GX, and it was something I overlooked that I shouldn't have.

Also, everyone has a different playstyle and strategy. We each have different perspectives on the same card; I saw Gardevoir GX differently then you did. If I played Gardevoir GX in Sylveon GX for a different reason then you did, that doesn't make me any less of a player then you are or just wrong in general. That doesn't make me anymore right then you either. I see no reason why Gardevoir GX can't be used as a stall wall or a way to energy accelerate, but my fault was saying they were the main reasons for their play. As an article writer, this is very hard to navigate as I'm broadcasting my perspective to everyone, some of which will agree and some of which who won't. When I say main reason, that is what I felt it was at the time, but you disagree on this subject. We each have different outlooks on situations, so feel free to discuss them, but sometimes people look at things a little differently then you may. This is just a matter of perspective.

Anyways, I understand your point @CrownAxe, and have changed my mindset concerning Gardevoir GX. I don't think it is played just for the 230 HP wall and Secret Spring, but I don't think that Gardevoir GX is played just for Twilight GX either. All three reasons (and possibly many more) are why it is played. I will give to you that Twilight GX is probably the most impactful of them all though. Thank you for pointing this out, and I'm sure this conversation has given readers the chance to understand this (which I would be glad if it does, as I'm hoping to help the community as much as I can. Pointing out flaws is all a part of it, whether they are mine or not). If you have any more questions, feel free to let me know. Thanks!

(by the way, in the future, I implore you to try and be a little more understanding and kind with your posts. Keep in mind that I am not perfect and will make mistakes, especially since I'm younger then you are. I do not have editors looking over these articles, just myself, so I will occasionally get things wrong. If you happen to notice a mistake, feel free to let me know, as @VioletValkyrie has demonstrated. I work on these articles for the benefit of everyone here on Pokebeach, and enjoy doing it, so please do not treat me with contempt if I make a mistake. Then again, I may just be leaping to conclusions about this, but do keep it in mind .)

 

[Gameguard]

So smaller showing for masters then st louis . Meta still mostly same. St louis waz 41 i believe for day 2 might been 43

 

[FrostBiter12]

So smaller showing for masters then st louis . Meta still mostly same. St louis waz 41 i believe for day 2 might been 43

Yes, I think there were maybe a hundred less Masters in Charlotte then in Collinsville; I'm surprised that it turned out that way. I thought that more people would've attended, but it wasn't the case I suppose. I do think the meta has changed concerning the most popular deck though. Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX had the most hype going into Charlotte, but not a single one made Top 8. Buzzwole GX/Lycanroc GX came out on top and I think stole the position of most popular deck from Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX at the same time. I don't know the count on how many people made Day 2 in Collinsville, but I'll definitely check it out (Day 2 for Charlotte was 34, I've never heard of a 41-43 Day 2 though. Usually the numbers are around Top 32 or Top 64). Thanks for the input, hope you enjoyed the article!

 

[Gameguard]

Day 2 is anyone with 21 or more points. More people that attend the higher day two is i believe. St louis was the largest showing numbers wise. I think it was just over 1400 masters just under 100 junors and just under 200 seniors.

 

[FrostBiter12]

Day 2 is anyone with 21 or more points. More people that attend the higher day two is i believe. St louis was the largest showing numbers wise. I think it was just over 1400 masters just under 100 junors and just under 200 seniors.

Hmm, I thought that Collinsville had around 1,000 Masters and 1,400 players (of any division) at the venue. I'll have to double check. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Gameguard]

Just looked i was takimg pics of numbers largest before st louis was 1110 masters . St louis had 1117 masters it total was 1640 ish people

 

[FrostBiter12]

Just looked i was takimg pics of numbers largest before st louis was 1110 masters . St louis had 1117 masters it total was 1640 ish people

Okay, that makes more sense. I was surprised when I heard that it was 1,400 people, that is really large for a Pokémon tournament (though 1,117 isn't anything to scoff at). Thanks for getting the information, I appreciate it!

 

[biffthepotato]

Great article @FrostBiter12!!!

I think that BuzzRoc will definitely see a lot more play than it already has witch is unfortunate for me because I'm kinda just that one guy who plays Zoroark GX in every deck but whatever, maybe people might finally be able to counter my Mew EX with baby Mew though.

For the Sylveon debate, Gardy's Twilight GX is really great for getting back your disruption cards back so the 1-0-1 Gardy line is really good and can also allow you to Max potion, then Secret Spring and attach a DCE from hand to do 110 damage if you want to take prizes to win or something.

I thought it was cool though how ZoroGardy got top 8 because I'm a ZoroGardy player so...that's good.

I'm surprised how Greninja Break did so well though because it's so easy to Donk but I guess when it gets set up it can run through a bunch of decks.


Again great Article so keep up the good work I guess.

 

[FrostBiter12]

Great article @FrostBiter12!!!

I think that BuzzRoc will definitely see a lot more play than it already has witch is unfortunate for me because I'm kinda just that one guy who plays Zoroark GX in every deck but whatever, maybe people might finally be able to counter my Mew EX with baby Mew though.

For the Sylveon debate, Gardy's Twilight GX is really great for getting back your disruption cards back so the 1-0-1 Gardy line is really good and can also allow you to Max potion, then Secret Spring and attach a DCE from hand to do 110 damage if you want to take prizes to win or something.

I thought it was cool though how ZoroGardy got top 8 because I'm a ZoroGardy player so...that's good.

I'm surprised how Greninja Break did so well though because it's so easy to Donk but I guess when it gets set up it can run through a bunch of decks.


Again great Article so keep up the good work I guess.

Thanks @biffthepotato!

I have to agree with you, Buzzwole GX/Lycanroc GX is going to gain a lot of popularity (which is bad for us Zoroark GX players). Mew EX helps, but even then BuzzRoc players are finding ways to counter it.

As for Sylveon GX, your definitely correct. Sylveon GX players have different playstyles, some are more aggressive and some play more defensively. Either way, Sylveon GX is hard to beat .

I'm interested in Zoroark GX/Gardevoir GX myself, especially with Ultra Necrozma GX coming out soon. It sounds fun as well and has a decent Buzzwole GX matchup (due to Gardevoir GX and Psychic techs).

I played Greninja Break for a long time until players in my local League decided to tech against me (by playing Tapu Bulu GX or sometimes Giratina PR), but it is really well positioned right now since a lot of meta decks (mainly Zoroark GX) rely on abilities. Not to mention being a one-prize attacker with 170 HP and easily retrieved by Splash Energy.

I'm currently working on an article featuring Portland Regionals (which ended this past weekend), so that should be up sometime tomorrow or the day after that. The weekends have been pretty busy for me, but I should be getting back on schedule once things dial down. Once again, thanks!