A Deft Duo

Hey SixPrizes readers! I am back with yet another Expanded article, to add onto what I delivered last week. I have been testing quite a bit to ensure I am ready for the event, and I have really been enjoying it! Expanded has just been a lot of fun for me, getting to pilot a bunch of different decks and play a few interesting matchups. As for what I have been testing, the decks I talked about last week are certainly still in the lineup, and I will provide a quick update on each of them toward the end of this article. Additionally, I have found myself liking a pair of decks that haven’t really appealed to me in expanded thus far, Buzzwole and Trevenant. These are the decks I will be sharing with you today, talking about why I like them and how I am playing them. Lets get started with a look at the main mosquito himself, Buzzwole.

Buzzwole

This is an updated version of the list that Austin Ellis piloted to a top eight at Portland Regionals, beating me pretty badly along the way. The list is a bit of a twist on the way Buzzwole decks are usually built, not including the ever so popular Lycanroc-GX. We saw James Arnold see success with this style of deck at last year’s Virginia Regional Championship, so it certainly isn’t a brand new concept, but I feel like the deck just never caught on.

This deck focuses on being aggressive and incredibly consistent, and the whole list is built around executing that game plan. I am a big fan of it in expanded because it has solid matchups against a lot of the other good decks, and I think a lot of people are overlooking it right now. Lets take a look at the list now.

Card Choices

3 Buzzwole, 2 Buzzwole-GX

Having non-gx attackers is always a great thing, especially when this single prize attacker happens to be the best one available. Baby Buzzwole has been the way to play Buzzwole since its release, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Sledgehammer is a great way to apply pressure early, especially when buffed by any of the damage modifiers this deck has to offer. Additionally, Sledgehammer is very scary for an opponent that is about to go down to 4 Prizes, as that usually means you will take two in response. Buzzwole-GX is certainly still a mandatory inclusion because you want a heavy hitter that you can use with Beast Ring. Jet Punch is a great attack in the early game, especially when playing against decks with low HP basics, such as the ever popular Exeggcute.

Landorus-EX, Zygarde-EX

p0kegifs.tumblr.comThese attackers are included in the deck to help handle any Psychic Pokémon that we might run into. Without them, you have pretty much no answer, and will likely not be able to handle the prize race. However, these two beefy attackers make all of the difference. Landorus-EX has Hammerhead, the same attack Buzzwole has, so you will be using it for that option a majority of the time. With Zygarde-EX, the story is a bit different. Zygarde has a three attacks and all of them are pretty good, so there are times where Zygrade will end up with three energy on it, and be doing a ton of damage. When I played vs Austin in Portland, the Zygarde was his main attacking option because it could attack for eighty damage on consecutive turns until he was able to build up to a devastating Land’s Wrath.

Giratina XY184

Not too much to say about this card honestly. This is included to improve the Trevenant BREAK and Greninja BREAK matchups, and it does make a huge difference. Against other decks, it is useless and just gets in the way. I would remove it if I didn’t expect to play against BREAK decks in Anaheim, but I definitely expect Trevenant to be popular.

Lysandre

Instead of playing a third Guzma, the list plays one copy of Lysandre. Truly a blast from the past! At first, I was skeptical of this cards usefulness, but I have come around to liking the inclusion after playing a few games. While there are times where you will wish it was a Guzma, I haven’t had the difference be devastating thus far. On the other side of the coin, I have had multiple situations where I would not have been able to use Guzma, but Lysandre was the perfect card in the situation. This has been especially true against Seismitoad-EX because it denies me the use of Float Stone, which makes using Guzma efficiently a lot harder.

Muscle Band

One of the best options to grab in the early game with Korrina. I think one is the perfect number because you want the option of using it for that first KO. I have played with Buzzwole decks in the past that played only Muscle Band, and I really missed the extra damage that Choice Band provides. Obviously, Choice Band is going to be worse against single prize attacker decks, but you usually won’t have an issue with those anyway.

Energy Loto

Huge fan of this card! It is another great option to grab off of Korrina in the early game when you either don’t have an energy, or need to dig for a special energy to do some extra damage. With a high energy count, you should hit an energy a majority of the time when using this. Additionally, after adding in Super Rod, I have never felt like I would be better off just playing another energy instead of this Energy Loto.

Super Rod

I removed Rescue Stretcher from Austin’s list in favor of this Super Rod. I found myself rarely using Rescue Stretcher for immediate value, probably because Oricorio is not currently in the deck. Additionally, I found myself running low on energy in games where I either prized a couple, or had to discard some early. The Super Rod made the whole experience much smoother, especially when trying to setup for a couple Beast Rings. I have found the Super Rod to be very strong against control decks that attempt to run you out of energy, so that is an additional bonus to this inclusion.

Potential Inclusions

Max Elixir

This would be somewhat easy to include, actually. I am just not sure if it is worth it, but I certainly plan to find out. I plan to try removing the Energy Loto, the Field Blower, and a Beast Ring to fit three Max Elixir. If I like them, it will become a permanent change, but I am just not super confident in the necessity of the Max Elixirs. They would be helpful in certain situations against most decks, but would only be especially strong in prize races against opposing GX decks. Outside of the mirror match, where this would make you favored, I haven’t really been struggling against other GX decks.

Oricorio GRI

This card was included in Austin’s list, and that was to handle Night March. Night March had a small showing in Portland, and I expect it to be even less popular in Anaheim. The deck has a lot of issues right now, and has decreased in power substantially since the banning of Puzzle of Time and Hex Maniac. If I end up expecting Night March to be at the event, I would include this Oricorio for sure.

Trevenant BREAK

In the past, this deck felt very meta dependent, but I feel as if it has improved in that aspect as of late. Additions like Espeon-EX, Marshadow, Morty, and Faba make the deck capable of handling a large range of situations. In the past, it always felt like there was a deck at the tournament that Trevenant could never really beat, but the playing field is a bit more even now. While I still understand this deck takes a poor matchup to a well prepared Zoroark control opponent, I don’t expect that deck to be too popular, and the matchup is a bit more winnable with the new list. Against other decks, Trevenant is pretty solid all around. Sure, some people will have Giratina promo which is annoying to deal with, but I think people over estimate the impact that it has. You definitely have room to wiggle around it, and even have a couple of soft answers for the situation. Anyway, time to walk into the forest and see what the trees have to offer.

Card Choices

Morty

This card has really impressed me in this deck! I was a big fan of Morty upon its release, but there just wasn’t a great deck for it to be included in headed into Brazil. Now that I have access to the technology of Trevenant, Morty has been winning me games just like Delinquent has in other decks. Morty is a better option than Delinquent in this deck because the opponent’s hand can get pretty large, mostly because they can’t play trainers. Morty can just rip two crucial cards out of their hand, such as both of their supporters.

Brigette

I hadn’t really seen this inclusion before Aaron Tarbell played it in his Portland list. With three Tapu Lele-GX and four Mysterious Treasure, you have decent odds of being able to Brigette turn one when you want to. You definitely aren’t looking to use Brigette on turn one every game, sometimes you won’t have a good follow up, and sometimes you’ll be missing an energy for Ascension. However, the Brigette is worth the inclusion because of the games you do get to use it. Having a field full of Phantump right off the bat allows for a very smooth start, and reduces the amount of pieces you need to find after you get that first Trevenant in play.

4 Enhanced Hammer

Despite the inclusion of Faba in this deck, I still think four Enhanced Hammer is needed to handle Zoroark decks. Faba is not a supporter you will be able to use consistently because it requires you to pass up drawing cards for the turn. With Trevenant, you are looking for a certain card or two on a lot of your turns. This makes Enhanced Hammer a lot easier to use, because you can remove their Double Colorless Energy and still draw a ton of cards with Professor Sycamore.

Scoop Up Cyclone

This has been my ACE SPEC of choice whenever I play Trevenant for a while now. Computer Search just feels so awkward to use in a lot of your hands because the deck doesn’t have a bunch of cards it wants to discard. Scoop Up Cyclone provides a ton of value for this deck because of how flexible it is. You can reuse support Pokémon such as Marshadow or Tapu Lele-GX, which is especially nice with the singleton Marshadow. This ACE SPEC can also allow you to leave yourself with only Trevenants in play, denying your opponent the option of breaking the Item lock with Guzma.

Potential Inclusions

Tapu Lele SM45

I see this in a ton of Trevenant lists, but it just never felt right to me when playing with it. Whenever I used it to wipe my opponent of useful Pokémon, or simply take the rest of my prizes, it felt like I was going to win the game regardless. This meant that sure, I was winning faster with Tapu Lele, but it felt like it provided me with minimal value because I was going to win anyway. That being said, I listed it as a potential inclusion because it does occasionally provide some extra comeback potential, and it can catch an opponent off guard.

An Update On My Last Article

Zoroark Control

This is a deck that a majority of players seem to want to stay away from, as it is a very complicated deck that involves a decent amount of preparation. Additionally, the list can be adjusted for the expected meta, and while that is a positive trait to have, it makes getting the right list a tough task. With that being said, I would still keep this in mind as a potential play, and it is definitely on my short list of decks. It is a very rewarding deck to play, as you are essentially attempting to out resource the opponent and beat them in an unorthodox fashion. The deck does have a couple iffy matchups though, with Buzzwole and Keldeo/Blastoise both being very close. As for its popularity at the event, I would say that the version in my last article will see little play. As for the Seismitoad-EX version that I played at Portland, I could see it being played, but I think that deck is a bit weaker in the meta.

Archie’s Blastoise

While I prefer decks that don’t require a big turn one, this deck is just so consistent at doing so. I have obviously had plenty of games where I was a bit slower, but I feel like the Blastoise comes out way more often than not. The deck has a ton of attackers at its disposal, and feels like it can be tweaked to handle a majority of decks. With that being said, Garbodor definitely still gives it some trouble, but the deck feels very solid otherwise. I can guarantee you that this deck will see play in Anaheim, and I would highly suggest getting some games in with it yourself before going to any expanded event. Even if you don’t end up playing it yourself, the deck is a ton of fun and you will be more prepared for the tournament.

Blacephalon-GX

Out of the three decks I talked about in my last article, this deck has got to be the one disappointing me the most over the past couple days. This isn’t a huge knock to Blacephalon as Zoroark control and Blastoise are two of my favorite decks, but it does leave me with doubts about sleeving it up for the event. I am a big fan of decks that have a chance against everything, as opposed to polarizing matchups, and Blacephalon does not really fit that description. While it has very dominant matchups against GX/EX based decks, and can even handle the control decks, it feels very weak against decks using 1 Prize attackers. With Night March already being in existence, and Lost March being on the rise, this has made me pretty uncomfortable. With that being said, this deck will remain to be something I test against, but it is looking like the meta would have to be ideal for this to be my choice.

That is all for today’s Expanded rundown, and I hope that you enjoyed it! Buzzwole and Trevenant will definitely be making an appearance, so if you aren’t interested in playing them yourself, I definitely recommend making sure you are prepared for them. I am excited to keep playing games in preparation, despite the fact that I haven’t come up with anything even remotely spooky. The format is just a lot of fun to play and it really makes expanded testing enjoyable! I hope that all of your testing is going well if you are attending Anaheim or enjoying the holidays if not. If you will be at Anaheim, feel free to come say hi to me! I say this every article and I really do mean it, I promise I do not bite. Anyway, that is going to wrap up today’s article! Peace.

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