Roxie Squad: A Look at Roxie Decks with Sword & Shield

Garchomp & Giratina Tag Team found a home in several successful archetypes during the UPR - CEC Standard Format, including Roxie Chomp which used the Roxie +Weezing combo to spread damage and cause TinaChomp to do more damage. Roxie Chomp might gain new cards from Sword & Shield like Galarian Zigzagoon and Quick Ball. Roxie also has potential synergies with the new Sableye V. I will be exploring Roxie Chomp and Roxie Sableye V in this article. 

Roxie Chomp

Deck Overview:

Sword & Shield brings new high HP V MAX Pokémon that can be worrisome for an attacker like TinaChomp, since its strength lies in one-shotting Pokémon between 250-270 range. V MAX Pokémon are not looking like a huge threat on the forefront of the standard format, and Roxie Chomp has gained some new tools from Sword & Shield to help keep up. With the new turn 1 supporter rule, the Mismagius + Reset Stamp combo can be deadly regardless of if you go first or second. 

3 Garchomp & Giratina Tag Team GX

The main attacker of the deck, TinaChomp is able to lead the deck due to its Calamitous Slash attack which swings for 240 damage as long as the defending Pokémon already has damage counters on it. TinaChomp can set up future knockouts with its first attack which snipes 40 anywhere. It can also utilize Counter Gain or Karate Belt when playing from behind due to Calamitous Slash’s energy cost of Psychic, Fighting, Colorless. GG End GX does not take prize cards, but it has the unique potential to instantly remove a threat from the board. 

4-3 Mismagius

Mismagius is the draw engine of the deck. Mismagius’s ability allows your opponent to take a prize card while giving you more cards, which allows you to utilize Counter Gain, Karate Belt, and Lt. Surge’s Strategy. Mismagius also has Mysterious Treasure synergy with TinaChomp. 

1 Galarian Zigzagoon

Galarian Zigzagoon allows you to add a damage counter to one of your opponent’s Pokémon without playing Roxie, which is huge. It can also be an additional damage counter on top of Roxie so that you can Roxie two Weezings and play a Zigzagoon to place 3 damage counters in one turn. 

1 Mimikyu CEC

This Mimikyu is notably strong against Mewtwo & Mew since it will shut off Perfection when Mewtwo & Mew is damaged. 

1 Mimikyu GRI

Mimikyu GRI is a very strong revenge type attacker that can one shot a Zacian V that just used Brave Blade or an opposing Mewtwo & Mew that used Night Watch, due to weakness. 

1 Blacephalon CEC

If we are able to pop 3 Mismagius to put an opposing mill or control player down to 3 prizes, we can reigh terror down on their board with 12 damage counters a turn from psychic baby blown. This can be situationally good in any matchup, but I really value its potential vs. decks that don’t plan to take prize cards. 

4 Weezing CEC

4 Roxie

Roxie is very unique since it activates our main damage modifier (Weezing) and it is our main draw supporter. 

2 Lt. Surge’s Strategy

Surge allows us to play an extra supporter a turn when playing from behind; namely playing 2 Roxie a turn if able. 

1 Cynthia & Caitlin

Cynthia Caitlin is solid since we are playing Tag Call and you can execute the combo of Lt Surge + Cynthia Caitlin to get back a supporter and then use it. 

1 Guzma & Hala

Solid because of Tag Call, and it gets us Aurora Energy + Belt/Gain + Swell which is a nice combination of cards. 

1 Mallow & Lana

This is a very efficient slot in the deck since Mallow Lana both heals and switches our Pokémon. 

1 Marnie

Marnie is a great new supporter card that both disrupts the opponent and helps us dig for cards. I like it here because of the Surge + Cynthia Caitlin + X supporter combo. 

4 Mysterious Treasure

Best Pokémon search for the deck. 

3 Lure Ball

Arguably a bad card, but it is the best choice when playing a Roxie / Weezing engine. 

3 Reset Stamp

Stamp is very important for disruption throughout the entire game since we want to play from behind. 

2 Quick Ball

Extra search for consistency. 

2 Dusk Stone

Both a search card for Mismagius and an evolution accelerant. 

2 Counter Gain / 2 Karate Belt

This is a rather thick amount of gain + belt and I may go down to a 2/1 split, but hitting this card consistently when you need it is very important. 

2 Power Plant or 1 Power Plant / 1 Chaotic Swell

Power Plant + Stamp is a strong combination and I would like to keep the plant count at 2. That said, Chaotic Swell has its merits, including keeping Shrine of Punishments out of play to soften up our TinaChomps. 

2 Great Catcher

It is important to not lose to single prize attackers in hybrid decks such as Mewtwo Malamar and Ability Zard, so Great Catcher is here to gust up the GX Pokémon that we want to hit. 

1 Tag Call

Consistency card. I am not a fan of the thicker counts since I like Quick Balls to make Misdreavus hit the bench more consistently. 

4 Fighting 1 Psychic 3 Aurora

This has felt like the correct energy lineup in testing, and I favor Aurora over Rainbow since it can empty our hand more,  allowing us to draw more with Mismagius as well as not damaging TinaChomp. 

Vs. The Meta

The meta is undefined right now, but Roxie Chomp traditionally has a great time versus opposing Tag Team decks like Mewtwo & Mew, Reshizard, and ADP. ADP has changed quite a bit now that the majority of ADP variants are Zacian based, but in testing this has been a manageable matchup. Current Mill lists are susceptible to blown running through them since they are not playing Sky Pillar, so I have confidence in the matchup. VMAX decks like Lapras VMAx and Snorlax VMAx are some of the worst matchups, but I do not expect them to be overly prevalent. If Snorlax was to become popular, Marshadow & Machamp Tag Team could easily be teched in against it. 

Roxie Sableye V

Deck Overview

Roxie Sableye is a deck I planned to work on in this Sword & Shield format, and my testing was jump started by Philip Schulz’s (Limitless TCG) list that was featured in their recent content. This archetype is much more fresh than Roxie Chomp, and I think it still has room to grow. Playing both the Cinccino and Jirachi engines may look like an overabundant amount of support taking up space in the deck, but you will realize that this list is low on basic attackers and Cinccino is actually a very solid attacker here. There are two means of energy acceleration: Cinccino and Bede. Cinccino attaches an energy while dealing 40 damage, which is perfect numbers-wise for a Yveltal GX or Sableye V clean up on the following turn. Bede allows for a burst attack seemingly from nowhere much like the power that Counter Gain and Karate Belt produce in the TinaChomp version. While Roxie Sableye offers more consistent draw power and more lines of play, Roxie Chomp has disruption via Mismagius + Stamp and also the ability to lock with Power Plant. 

The Sword & Shield Meta

I think the main deck to be concerned about in the long term is Zacian ADP. Cinccino Mill is a strong and scary deck but I expect the meta to adapt around it. I will also caution you not to count out older archetypes like Ability Zard and Pidgeotto Control because they have been such strong decks very recently and they still have potential. Enjoy the lists I have provided this week, and continue to have fun with the new cards!