It's a Jungle Out There: Expanded Techs, Decks, and Theories for Dallas Regionals

Dallas Regionals is on the horizon and this meta is a tricky one to crack. Zoroark-GX/Seismitoad-EX has won the last two expanded regionals (Portland and Anaheim) and there is still a very real possibility that it wins a third this weekend in Dallas. Trevenant took up the most Day 2 spots out of any one archetype in Portland, while Zoroark-GX/Garbodor BKT/Garbodor GRI filled this role and then some in Anaheim. In this article I will be highlighting tech inclusions for your decks to help combat specific matchups, several lists for decks you will see and should consider playing yourself, and also provide some general thoughts I have on the meta, the possible ways it could develop this weekend, and some rogue ideas that may come to fruition with a proper list, skill, and of course a bit of luck along the way.

A Collection of Thoughts

This section will be a collection of thoughts I have had on the Dallas meta that may or may not inspire new ideas, validate existing thoughts, or leave you with more decks to test than you already had to begin with.

Golisopod-GX comes to mind as an attacker that has the advantage on the opposing side of Seismitoad-EX and other grass weak Pokemon (Like Blastoise, Keldeo, and Wailord Magikarp Tag Team). We will get to a list and more on the archetype, but Golisopod-GX provides a fairly bulky body, an efficient main attack, and a typing that has found itself in a possibly favorable meta.

Sceptile-GX is another Pokemon that is good against Seismitoad-EX, and this one also has qualities that are good against Zoroark-GX. Sceptile’s Mach Cut does 60 damage (120 to Seismitoad) and discards a special energy from the defending Pokemon (which is detrimental to both Seismitoad-EX and Zoroark-GX since they both utilize Double Colorless Energy). Sceptile’s high HP of 230 means that Zoroark-GX cannot one-shot it with Riotous Beating unless a Professor Kukui has been played. We will also come back Sceptile-GX later on.

Gallade BKT one shots Zoroark-GX for a DCE and can be fit into a couple of archetypes. With the pairing of Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick (Rest in Peace), a one-of Gallade can be added into the already existing Vespiquen Flareon archetype. Gallade can also be used alongside Gardevoir-GX and utilize Korrina which is a very strong supporter that allows you to search for a Fighting type Pokemon and an Item card (Gallade and Rare Candy sounds good).

Wailord Magikarp Tag Team-GX is very good for Archie’s Stoise and is inspiring new builds of the archetype. Wailord Magikarp’s GX attack can sweep a board of pre-evolutions early or finish up multiple kills later on. Its first attack hits 210 with a choice band which also makes it a threat. Re-evaluate your deck’s Archie’s Stoise matchup since there is a new card and some new lists.

Wobbuffet (PHF) shuts off important abilities like Blastoise’s Deluge, Zoroark-GX’s Trade, Shaymin-EX’s Set Up, and Exeggcute’s Propagation. Donphan has been paired with Wobbuffet in the past with the hit and switch strategy to ideally leave Wobbuffet active at the end of each of your turns, but that deck has been found to only beat Zoroark-GX variants and sometimes fail at even that. I have worked with an archetype similar to Donphan, which is Hitmontop Wob. Hitmontop has a similar hit and switch attack but being a basic Pokemon it leaves more room for tech attackers and Shrine of Punishments. Short of dead drawing, this deck has tested well versus Zoro Garb but that is about it. While Wobbuffet can mess up many decks with its ability restriction, the deck is fairly fragile and can lose to lack of momentum that can last an entire game. Here is a deck profile I put together on the deck.

Mill decks oftentimes find themselves in a good spot when players are preoccupied with so many other archetypes and techs, but Oranguru UPR (a natural counter to mill) has become a frequent inclusion in Zoroark-GX variants which deters mill decks from popping up. Also worth noting is that mill can struggle against Archie’s Stoise and Rayquaza-GX as these decks use only basic energy and it is hard to stifle their damage output long enough to deck them out.

Decks and How to Tech for Them

This is my list of decks that I expect to be popular in Day 1 of Dallas Regionals. In order of most popular to least popular, these are the decks I would be prepared to face if I was playing in Dallas.

1. Zoro Garb
2. Archie’s Stoise
3. Buzzwole-GX variants
4. Rayquaza-GX
5. Trevenant
6. Zoro Exodia
7. Zoro Toad

With such a vast card pool and countless archetypes that have been established over the years, I have narrowed my list down to 7 decks that I expect to each take up 5%-15% of the Day 1 meta share (Zoro Garb taking up a predicted 15%~ and Zoro Toad taking up a predicted 5%~). Zoro Garb took up 37.5% of the Day 2 meta in Anaheim and I expect it to take up less than that in Dallas, but still be widely popular.

Archie’s now has two established variants because of Wailord Magikarp and it is a deck that people enjoy to play and already have a lot of the cards for. Buzzwole-GX and Rayquaza-GX decks are similar to Archie’s, as players likely have some of the cards for them from standard format and they aren’t terribly difficult to learn how to pilot in a day or two. Trevenant and Zoro Exodia will have some level of popularity to them due to player’s always enjoying degenerate decks that can lock the opponent out of the game. Zoro Toad should not be too popular as players will quickly realize that it takes a lot of experience with this deck and knowledge of matchups to pilot it to the degree of which Jimmy Pendarvis has at the past two Regionals.

If your goal is to make it through the 9 swiss rounds of Day 1 with a match record of 19 points or greater to make it into the next day of playing, do not overwhelm yourself with techs. There are a lot of things that go into having a successful tournament run: skill, matchup knowledge, luck of the draw, pairings, and your deck running consistently for the most part. Teching out your deck to have an answer for every thing will often leave your deck inconsistent and unable to capitalize on having a tech for the specific match you are currently in. It is better for the deck’s consistency to choose a couple of matchups that you would like to be better prepared for and include techs if the techs improve those matchups in practice. Of course if your goal is to win the whole tournament, then you may need techs for some of the lesser popular decks that you could come up against later in the tournament like Zoro Toad and Vespiquen.

As Zoro Garb is predicted to be the most played deck (see my meta forecast for data and opinions which support this notion) I implore you to be prepared for this deck. If you are losing multiple games during practice because you successfully Field Blowered the tool off of their Garbotoxin but failed to repeat this play next turn when they locked your abilities all over again, you might consider adding another Field Blower, a Faba, or even more draw supporters like Colress or Professor Juniper to help you dig into your deck for the Field Blower.

Mr. Mime with Bench Barrier is also a tech that I posit will be very valuable to have in any Zoroark-GX deck so Wailord Magikarp Tag Team-GX doesn’t sweep your bench with it’s GX attack. Mr. Mime also helps against Buzzwole-GX and any other bench damage that you might come across.

Zoroark Golisopod

I really enjoy the options that this list provides. It feels like there is a check for almost anything that you could play against at Dallas.

Vs. Zoro Garb: In the event that your opponent limits your bench with Sudowoodo, your Golisopod-GX can still OHKO Garbodors and Shaymin-EXs and your Zoroark BKT can OHKO anything if they have a wide bench. In the event of ability lock, this list has 2 Field Blowers and 1 Faba which is 3 outs to removing the tool outside of simply using Guzma and knocking out the Garbotoxin. Once Faba is in your discard pile, you then have 1 possible out to removing the Garbotoxin tool in each Vs Seeker that is in your deck.

Vs. Archie’s Stoise: this is a fairly easy matchup if you are playing against the older variant which uses Articunos and Kingdra-GX due to hitting weakness on many of their Pokemon with Golisopod. Versus the Wailord Magikarp variant, prioritize benching Mr. Mime to keep your benched Pokemon safe from the GX attack. I have heavily considered finding room for 1 Bodybuilding Dumbbells to prevent Wailord Magikarp one-shotting Golisopod and Zoroark, but ultimately I think that Choice Band is more important so that First Impression or Armor Press Kukui can OHKO the Tag Team for 3 prizes.

Vs. Buzzwole-GX variants: Zoroark BW w/ the Foul Play attack was recently cut from my list for a second Mind Jack Zoroark, but it does make these matchups more comfortable. Usually you can keep their Buzzwole-GX in check with Mew-EX, Lycanroc-GX and Zygarde-GX in check with Golisopod, and also OHKO pretty much anything with Riotous Beating or Mind Jack + Choice Band and/or Kukui.

Vs. Zoro Toad: I argue that this matchup is favored for Zoro Pod. The Zoro Toad lists do not play anything that allows them to OHKO your Golisopods, so a Golisopod will usually take a knockout on a Seismitoad-EX and then get extra damage in next turn or be Acerola’d before your opponent can KO it. Of course, Zoro Toad can win games by applying the Quaking Punch item lock coupled with energy removal and Parallel City.

Sceptile-GX/Decidueye

This is probably the closest I got to a non-Zoroark-GX deck that I would consider playing for Dallas. Once your establish your Grovyle’s and maybe even a Decidueye or Sceptile on turn 2, your game plan is pretty much on board. Mid game you will usually just need an energy or a utility supporter of which this list has many to offer. I didn’t get to do as much as testing with this list as I would have liked to, but I can say that it functions and is refreshing to play. If you were already working on a Sceptile-GX variant for expanded, hopefully you can use this information to expand on it.

Zoro Garb and Closing Thoughts

As for Zoro Garb, I haven’t changed my list much since my last article on it. I still enjoy the rather aggressive nature of the list as opposed to going for a control strategy. This deck is very midrangey and can adapt to play aggressive, disruptive, or a combination of both. Here is the list with a single change being the addition of a Pokemon Ranger.

I believe that the best choice for this tournament is one of three decks: Zoro Pod, Zoro Garb, or Vespiquen. Vespiquen being an archetype that I did not speak on much, but I believe that it is going to go fairly unchecked during Day 1 with a lack of techs like Oricorio and Karen throughout the field. Good luck, have fun, and play well!