Double Double Blaze

Hey there 6P readers! I’m back again with a new article. The World Championships have concluded and with that, I am excited to start the new season. I’m coming off a Top 32 finish at Worlds with Ability ReshiZard. I was finally able to get past the Top 64 mark, a feat which had been eluding me for a while. To have made it into Top 32 with the best players in the world meant a lot to me. In my opinion, a successful Worlds outcome is Top 32 or higher because that is where the extra prizing comes in. Top 64 used to at least give out Championship Points for the new season, but not anymore.

For this next article, I will compare my Ability ReshiZard list with that of Tord Reklev from Top 4 as they have differences which I believe are worth noting. This is not to say one list is better than the other, but I’m simply here to take a closer look at both and showcase their unique aspects.

Worlds Report

Deck Decision

At first, my top two deck choices going into Worlds were Green’s ReshiZard and Blacephalon-GX/Naganadel LOT (similar to what Shintaro Ito used to place 2nd, which I talked about in my article right before Worlds). I decided against playing Blacephalon-GX/Naganadel LOT because many players were playing Tapu Fini UNM on Day 1. I figured this trend would carry over to Day 2, so I changed decks last minute.

I also disregarded Green’s ReshiZard because I was so intrigued by Ability ReshiZard. I wanted to be less prone to Reset Stamp, which hinders Green’s ReshiZard more so than Ability ReshiZard.

It’s not usually smart to change decks at the last minute, especially at Worlds. However, in my circumstances, I figured it was the right call. It is funny how Blacephalon-GX/Naganadel LOT almost won Worlds anyway.

JoseZard

This is the list I decided to play at Worlds 2019:

Card Choices

1 Heatran-GX

This card is mainly used for its Hot Burn-GX attack, which can take down a big hitter, such as an opposing TAG TEAM attacker. Its 1st attack, Steaming Stomp, is good against small attackers, such as Giratina LOT.

1 Turtonator DRM

This is a great attacker to close out games after using Double Blaze-GX. You transition into Turtonator and take another TAG TEAM down. Turtonator is also useful against Keldeo-GX, Bronzong TEU, Altaria-GX, and Latios-GX UNM.

1 Tapu Fini UNM

This is included specifically for Blacephalon-GX, but it can also be useful against Malamar FLI should they play Ultra Necrozma-GX. Against Blacephalon-GX, you have to make sure you have a backup attacker if you are going for a turn 1 or 2 KO on a Blacephalon-GX with Tapu Fini. What you want to do is manually attach to Tapu Fini then Welder onto either ReshiZard or Turtonator. This way the opponent has to deal with Tapu Fini and thus the attacker you Weldered to should be safe to KO the next Blacephalon-GX or threat. Next, you want to attach manually to the attacker you Weldered onto, then attack with that. Try to leave your Double Blaze-GX option for after Tapu Fini takes a KO. After that, you should be able to Flare Strike or already win with Double Blaze-GX.

1 Mew UNB

I was on the fence whether I should play this card. After more thought, it made its way into the list because it can be useful in a number of situations, namely against PikaRom to deny their Bench damage, as well as Dark Box’s. Not only that, but setting up KOs with Psypower comes in handy, especially against PikaRom because placing 1 damage counter on PikaRom means Flare Strike can take a 1HKO.

4 Welder, 1 Pal Pad

This is what everyone was shocked to see: only 4 Supporters. We must be nuts. Nope—4 Supporters was actually fine since they were all Welder. Being able to accelerate attackers and draw 3 cards over and over made the deck powerful. The inclusion of Pal Pad also made sense because you want to keep using Welder.

2 Pokégear 3.0

I included 2 copies of these to try and find Welder easier. It would be nice to fit 4, but you can’t. Room is too limited. When I heard about Tord’s variant, I thought for sure he was playing 4 copies of Pokégear 3.0, but to my surprise, he didn’t play any.

1 Reset Stamp

At first, my list didn’t play Reset Stamp, but after a few testing games, it made its way into the list and I am glad I played it. Having at least 1 Reset Stamp was nice because it meant that I could potentially make a huge comeback, which I did in my last round of Worlds. In Round 7 against PikaRom, I Reset Stamped him to 1 while I was at 6 Prizes. I then took back-to-back KOs on a PikaRom then Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX to take that game, thanks to Turtonator.

Tournament Recap

R1 Shedinja LOT—Zachary Cooper LWT (0-0-1)
R2 Blacephalon-GX/Naganadel LOT—Manuel Jorach WW (1-0-1)
R3 Ability ReshiZard—Tatsuya Kobayashi WW (2-0-1)
R4 Ultra Necrozma-GX/Malamar FLI—Bernardo Dias WW (3-0-1)
R5 Green’s ReshiZard—Pacco Saurus WLL (3-1-1)
R6 Mew Box—Ryota Ishiyama LL (3-2-1)
R7 PikaRom—Tristan Lackey WW (4-2-1)

Final: 4-2-1, 22nd of out 118 Masters

Matchups

Mew Box

This matchup can be tricky, and the biggest threat against you is their Magcargo-GX. This is because it has the potential to 1HKO multiple ReshiZards with a non-GX attack. Your biggest attack will be of course Double Blaze-GX to take down the first Mewtwo & Mew-GX. Now, the 2nd one becomes difficult to take down, especially if the opponent starts to spam Tag Purge and transitions into Lava Flow. That is where Turtonator comes in. It has the potential to take down the 2nd Mewtwo & Mew-GX, even through Tag Purge. However, I recommend you have Mew on the Bench so that the opponent can’t snipe Turtonator with Naganadel-GX’s Venom Shot. Try to save your Reset Stamp until the opponent is down to either 1 or 2 Prizes.

PikaRom

This matchup is fairly straightforward. Tapu Koko-GX rotated out, meaning you can freely attach more than 4 Energy onto the board without the fear of Tapu Thunder-GX to punish you. You will want to get your Double Blaze-GX KO on either PikaRom or Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX. I would recommend targeting Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX if it’s powered up because later in the game it’ll be more difficult to take it down. If your ReshiZard survives a 1HKO, then Turtonator should be able to close the game out for you. Don’t forget to utilize Ninetales TEU when you can and start putting on early pressure. Also, be sure to use your 1 Reset Stamp wisely.

ReshiZard (Green’s and Ability)

I grouped these together because your game plan is the exact same for both: get the first Double Blaze-GX KO then transition into Turtonator. To be honest, that game plan can apply for PikaRom too, depending if they play Zapdos or non-GX attackers that can be annoying. Be careful of a late-game Victini. It’ll take some time for it to be able to 1HKO a ReshiZard, so in the meantime try to put on as much pressure as you can.

Blacephalon-GX/Naganadel LOT

I did not want to lose to this deck going into Worlds, so I added a Tapu Fini UNM and I am glad I did. In my Round 2 match I faced Blacephalon, and I easily 2-0ed it, even when my opponent had triple Beast Ring by turn 2. Tapu Fini was the MVP for sure. Otherwise, the matchup is favored for Blacephalon. If you don’t want to play Tapu Fini, then your game plan is to try and use Turtonator and Double Blaze-GX.

Pidgeotto Control

I am fairly confident this matchup is fine because the deck plays 4 Switch, 2 Escape Board, and 4 Fire Crystal. You are going to want to use Ninetales over and over to KO their Pidgeottos because that is their source of draw power. Save your GX attack for when they use Articuno-GX to remove your Energy. This way you can immediately KO it. Holding onto Reset Stamp can also be crucial, especially if the opponent forgets all about it and leaves their deck with fewer cards than what they would draw off of Reset Stamp, and decks outs.

Dark Box

Against any TAG TEAM-focused deck, Double Blaze-GX then Turtonator will be your game plan. However, eliminating the opponent’s Weavile-GX is what you want to do. This way they can’t move their Energy around freely. Ninetales TEU will be useful in this matchup, so prioritize it early. Mew will also be useful to deny the Bench damage from Umbreon & Darkrai-GX, but don’t bench it too soon before it’ll be useful.

Malamar/Psychic Attackers

This is one of the more difficult matchups. This is because unlike Green’s ReshiZard the deck does not play healing cards. Things like Spell Tag and Distortion Door can be troublesome. However, Heatran-GX can be good here because it does 130 base damage, which is enough to take down multiple Giratina LOT. Spamming Outrage with ReshiZard after it’s been hit will be useful as well in taking Prizes. Other than that, try and take down as many Inkay and Malamar as possible so that the opponent can’t accelerate Energy as often. That is where Ninetales TEU comes in. Try to get it out as soon as possible.

GardEon

This is one of your easier matchups. Double Blaze-GX should almost always take down 1 GardEon. After that, you can use Turtonator to take down a 2nd one or simply hit GardEon as hard as you can and 2-shot them. The good thing about having Fire attackers is that GardEon does not have any way to deny their damage because there is no Fire-based Fairy Charm available.

TordZard

The List

Differences from JoseZard

Tord’s list is much different than mine. His list is more focused on aggressiveness and an endgame Victini p play. Mine is more focused on playing a patient game and getting R Energy back from the discard.

3 Dedenne-GX, 3 Super Scoop Up

Tord played 3 copies of Dedenne-GX and I played 2. I felt that 2 was fine because you don’t want to open with Dedenne-GX. However, in Tord’s list, it’s not the end of the world because he ran 3 copies of Super Scoop Up, which has merit in this scenario.

Tord playing 3 Super Scoop Up was something that a lot of players were surprised by. I’m not a fan of Super Scoop Up because when you simply need to get out of the Active Spot and flip tails, that can lose you games, which it did for Tord unfortunately. However, being able to heal a ReshiZard can be clutch, and reusing Dedenne-GX or taking it off the board to deny 2 Prize cards is useful. However, Super Scoop Up remains a flip card, and I’d rather play more Switches.

The 3rd Dedenne-GX also helps fuel Victini p.

2 Reshiram & Charizard-GX, 4 Cherish Ball

I decided to play 3 ReshiZard because I did not want to prize 1 in a matchup where 2 were highly needed. So basically, I played 3 ReshiZard and 3 Cherish Ball while Tord played 2 ReshiZard and 4 Cherish Ball.

18 R Energy, 1 Victini p

I knew about the 18 R Energy/Victini p combo prior to Worlds Day 2, so I had the option of playing it. I still opted to go with 12 R Energy + 4 Fire Crystal. I personally like using Nine Temptations then Fire Crystal to Welder onto something. I didn’t like the idea of blindly looking for R Energy off of Welder or Dedenne-GX, even if there were 18. Being able to Stellar Wish for a Fire Crystal was also nice. Sure you can, Stellar Wish for Giant Hearth, but that now means you have more outs to R Energy and theoretically you have 24 R Energy to work with, depending on how you use your Fire Crystals.

I do admit that having a 1-Prize closer that can potentially 1HKO anything for just 2 R Energy is good. I would only recommend Victini p if you are playing at least 16 R Energy. I can see dropping 2 R Energy from Tord’s list and adding 2 Fire Crystal. There are times where I am forced to have to discard a couple of Fire Crystal off of Dedechange, which is where playing 4 Fire Crystal can hurt. However, that is usually not the case because once you find Giant Hearth, all of your Fire Crystals are now live.

Other Options for ReshiZard

Mew Box Counters

Girafarig LOT

Girafarig can Lost Zone at least 2 of their attackers from the game. The main ones you want to get rid of are Latios-GX UNM and Magcargo-GX. Girafarig also has merit against other decks, such as Malamar FLI to get rid of some of their Energy or Stall decks to get rid of their resources.

Channeler

Channeler is used to get around Clear Vision-GX, which will otherwise deny your Double Blaze-GX. Channeler gives it back, which is nice.

Lysandre p

Lysandre {} serves the same function as Girafarig LOT. However, you can potentially get more cards in the Lost Zone with it. Although, Girafarig is much easier to find than Lysandre {}, unless you are playing Green’s ReshiZard.

Conclusion

That will conclude this article comparing my Ability ReshiZard list with Tord’s. Both lists have their merits, and it’s up to you on which variant you prefer. Most players will likely opt to go with Tord’s list as it made Top 4, and that’s perfectly fine. However, I recommend giving my list a try. Who knows—maybe you will find it more to your liking.

Do be aware of your local metagame when deciding to play any sort of ReshiZard build because I see more and more ReshiZard hate floating around, namely Quagsire DRM/Naganadel LOT and Slowpoke & Psyduck-GX, so keep that in mind.

Don’t forget, I do full-time coaching, so if you are interested in taking coaching lessons, feel free to message me either on Facebook or @Jose_MarreroTCG and we can go over the details.

If you have any questions, leave me a comment below or message me through social media. I’ll be sure to get to back to you as soon as possible.

If you enjoyed reading my article, please consider giving it a like. Until next time!

…and that will conclude this Unlocked Underground article.

After 45 days, we unlock each Underground (UG/★) article for public viewing. New articles are reserved for Underground members.

Underground Members: Thank you for making this article possible!

Other Readers: Check out the FAQ if you are interested in joining Underground and gaining full access to our latest content.