Standard Zoro/Roc/Cargo

[Geist1848]

I have only recently started to follow and play PTCG after about a 15 year hiatus. I have assembled a strong Blacephalon/Naganadel deck but am also trying to compile a strong Zoroark centered deck list.

I have a decent understanding of the current meta, and I don't see many decks lists that combine Zoro, Roc, and Cargo. Sometimes I see a single set of Slugma and Cargo added to ZoroRoc as a tech, however it seems to me that the combination of Smooth Over and Trade is a match made in heaven, providing perfect deck control.

One of the concerns I have is that I have too many Cargo and/or Slugma. If I only include one Cargo I run the serious risk that it ends up as a prize or it gets knocked out, etc. I have contemplated keeping two Cargo and removing one Slugma since I have the Ditto Prism Star as an alternative Basic.

The second concern is the Supporter list. I was considering running more Ball cards, but with three Prof Elm's Lecture, I don't know if more are needed. I Initially included Three Guzma, but since I have two Switch and Lycanroc's Ability both fulfill the function of Guzma in their own way, making the need for 3 less pressing. I am also not sure about including Judge, having the ability to have perfect draw power it would seem logical to have some sort of disruption as this deck attempts to have cards for every eventuality. Also, is another Kukui worth including at the expense of a Lillie since it is necessary if I want to reach the 170 or 180 damage for the one hit KO's that seem to be required in this meta.

Regarding Item cards the only real issue I have is the Weakness Policy, is it worth including, or should I replace it with another Devoured Field to protect against Shrine or to make room for another supporter?

These are just some of my concerns and any help from more experienced, knowledgeable players would be greatly appreciated for this old timer trying to wet my feet in the water of PTCG once again.

Zoro/Roc/Cargo
Pokemon: 17
3 Zorua (SL)
3 Zoroark GX
2 Rockruff (GR)
2 Lycanroc GX
2 Slugma (CS)
2 Magcargo (CS)
1 Ditto Prism Star
1 Tapu Lele GX
1 Oranguru (UP)

Energy: 10
4 DCE
4 Unit Energy FDY
2 Fighting Energy

Trainers: 33
4 Cynthia
3 Prof. Elm’s Lecture
3 Lillie
2 Guzma
2 Acerola
1 Prof. Kukui
4 Ultra Ball
2 Timer Ball
1 Nest Ball
2 Switch
2 Choice Band
2 BB Dumbbells
1 Weakness Policy
1 Multi-Switch
1 Rescue Stretcher
1 Field Blower
1 Devoured Field

 

[snoopy369]

I think Magcargo works well with Zoroark, but it's also sometimes more of a 'win-more' card. Zoroark-centric decks are already going through their whole deck pretty fast - when I'm playing one, I usually am down to 10 cards or so in my deck by the time one of us is close to picking up the sixth prize, and so I've usually got most of the cards I need. Being able to get them at a particular time is helpful, but it's not necessarily *that* helpful, and Slugma/Magcargo themselves are weak points in an otherwise high HP deck. Brokan or Spread will easily target them and pick up cheap prizes where they'll otherwise have difficulty doing 200+ damage.

You also need to look at bench space. What's your ideal 6 card setup? Probably something like this?

Active: Zoroark
Bench: Zoroark, Zoroark, Lele, Lycanroc, Oranguru

No room for magcargo there, is there? You can swap out one of the Zoroarks for it certainly, but you also would love to have one more Lycanroc/Rockruff, I suspect. You can also dump Oranguru, when not going up against control decks, I suppose, but still - you have at most one spot for Magcargo, hence I think the rationale behind having just 1- 1 line.

The other problem with having 2 Slugmas is it's more likely you will start with Slugma, which is pretty painful. One Slugma and one Ditto <> is not a bad idea; then you're more likely to start with Ditto <> and then can use it for Zoroark or Lycanroc, whichever you actually need in the active.