Countering the Rock, Paper, Scissor Format with Malamar Counterbox

Chris Diller
June 29, 2018
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Hey people of Flipside Gaming. My name is Chris “PokéDad” Diller. I have been on YouTube for about three years, but I took over a year hiatus because my workload was too much. Recently, I started up my YouTube channel “PokéDad Plays” again, but I decided I needed another creative outlet for all my ideas. So today, I'm writing my first article.


The Sheffield Regional in Europe just finished, and NAIC is just 2 weeks away. The meta seems well defined as a triangle meta or a rock, paper, scissor format. The threes prongs of the format included Malamar variants, Buzzwole variants, and Zoroark variants. These have emerged mainly because they hit the other decks for weakness, but each of them have their own unique characteristics that are exploitable.


I like to keep out of the triangle meta, and thus I tend to play decks that are considered counter-meta. So I want to take a brief look at each of these decks, analyze some of the opportunities to take advantage, and then share a deck that I have been working on that can counter all of them.

Rock: Buzzwole Variants

Let's look at Buzzwole first. Right now the main variant, Buzzwole Lycanroc, has been focused on playing a high count of the Baby Buzzwole and only one or two Buzzwole GX. The main idea is that the baby Buzzwole can attack for just as much damage as Buzzwole GX and can take 2HKO on GX pokemon or KO small pokemon with one energy. Then after two of the babies have been KO'd, the focus shifts to using the Sledgehammer attack for a lot of damage while simultaneously using Beast Ring to power up Buzzwole GX and the other baby Buzzwoles. The early pressure from the baby combined with the ease of powering up in the late game through Beast Ring make Buzzwole a force to reckon with. Alongside Buzwole,  Lycanroc can be used for gusting, but keeps your opponent in check by threatening a Dangerous Rogue at any part of the game.


So when we analyze Buzzwole's weaknesses, the main things we see are that it depends on buffs through Diancie, Regirock, and Strong Energy. Secondly, it is a deck that focuses mostly on basic attackers. Finally, the vast majority of its attackers are Psychic weak. So if we can focus on cards like Enhanced Hammer, Jolteon EX, and good Pyschic attackers, we can generally counter Buzzwole decks.


Paper: Malamar Variants

The next deck I want to analyze is Malamar variants. Malamar variants love to use attackers that can have energy recharged to them for big OHKO attacks but have enough flexibility to play one prize attackera to counter baby Buzzwole. Malamar's Psychic recharge ability makes streaming attackers a breeze and many times can finish a game in the first 5-6 turns.


Malamar's weaknesses are a little more pronounced. Ability locking cards like Garbodor with Garbotoxin and Greninja's Shadow Stitching can shut down the whole strategy of Malamar. Furthermore, cards like Zoroark, Golisopod, and Lycanroc have HP that is just outside the range of Necrozma and Ultra Necrozma attacks; so Malamar variants are reliant on Max Elixirs to get even more energy acceleration or Choice Band to make the math work. Finding those cards can sometimes be difficult and can put a Malamar deck behind a turn if they whiff them. Also, Malamar variants tend to only play basic attackers; so Jolteon EX can be a hard counter to the deck. You may be noticing a trend now.

Scissors: Zoroark Variants

The final deck to analyze in the triangle meta is Zoroark Variants. These tend to focus on 2HKO with healing like Acerola (Golisopod)or hitting OHKOs at the right time (Lycanroc). They do not have any energy acceleration mechanic. They tend to use a lot of special energy to attack efficiently with one attachment or two attachments at most. Zoroark variants can swiftly find what they need in their deck because of Zoroark's Trade ability. This allows them to more reliably find the exact card they need in any given moment to win the game.


Zoroark's weaknesses come in the form of ability lock, special energy denial, and fighting weakness. They also don't tend to have many single prize attackers other than Mewtwo from Evolutions. Cards like Garbotoxin Garbodor, Enhanced Hammer, and Scoundrel Guard Hoopa can give Zoroark problems.


So by taking a look at the weaknesses of each deck, we can begin to formulate a deck that can counter each of the decks in the triangle meta. By doing this, I came up with the idea of Malamar Counterbox.



Malamar CounterboxChris Diller Inkay (50) Malamar(52 Hoopa (55) Ultra Necrozma GX Marshadow GX Sudowoodo (67) Jolteon EX Dawn Wings Necrozma GX Giratina (XY184) Mewtwo (77) Mewtwo GX Tapu Lele GX Professor Sycamore Cynthia N (105) Guzma Lillie Brigette Mysterious Treasure Ultra Ball Max Elixir Field Blower Rescue Stretcher Float Stone Choice Band Psychic Energy Rainbow Energy


I chose Malamar because the Psychic Recharge ability is such a strong engine to stream any attacker that we may need. The skeleton of the deck is similar to an Ultra Necrozma variant; however, with the inclusion of rainbow energy and three important techs, we have the necessary cards to counter any of the big three decks. I won’t talk too much about the standard cards like Dawn Wings Necrozma GX, Ultra Necrozma GX, Marshadow GX, or Giratina promo. Those cards are typical inclusions. However, I do want to spend some time talking about the other attackers in the deck.


Mewtwo (Pressure)

Although this card is already seeing play in Malamar decks, I cannot stress enough how good this card is in the format. In the Buzzwole matchup, this card can sometimes take 2-3 prizes before going down. In the Zoroark matchup, this can take 2HKO on Lycanroc and Tapu Lele without the need for a choice band. And when this card is combined with Giratina, it makes it very difficult for Greninja to keep its ability lock going as each Greninja will only be attacking for 20 damage with Shadow Stitch.


Jolteon EX

 

It seems there are very few relevant EX cards left in the current standard format. However, Jolteon EX can still be a strong play when used in the right scenario. The other day, my friend Caleb Vance and I played the same 60 card VikaBulu list at a cup. We added Jolteon EX as a tech, and it worked beautifully. Caleb recounted for me how Jolteon single-handedly won a game against a Buzzwole Garb deck since they had no evolved pokemon to attack. I also was able to use it in one of my matches against a Malamar variant to win the game. Buzzwole and Malamar are the best matches to use with  this card. It is especially effective to use after a Dawn Wings GX has used a Moon's Eclipse GX attack. Even though Jolteon cannot hurt the Dawn Wings on the next turn, you are making it so that they cannot attack you the next turn either unless they want to attack with their Malamar. In fact, Jolteon can many times just finish out the game against an opposing Malamar deck. One warning, if you are playing against Buzzwole, make sure you take out the Rockruff because Lycanroc GX is deadly to Jolteon; never bench this card against Zoroark variants.


Hoopa (Scoundrel Guard)


Hoopa is another wall card that we use to help in particular matchups. Against Buzzwole, you will not want to play this card down. Baby Buzzwole will feast on your Hoopa all day long. However, in the Malamar and the Zoroark matchups, Hoopa is a solid card to use. Some Zoroark variants have one or zero one-prize attackers, and Hoopa can just win the game. Even if they do, most of the time it is not an efficient attacker against Hoopa. Tapu Koko promo and Mewtwo EVO cannot OHKO the Hoopa, and you can bring in other attackers to dispose of them, before setting up Hoopa to win the game. In the Malamar matchup, I really like Hoopa because with a Choice Band it can OHKO Dawn Wings Necrozma GX, plus it can still be a valuable attacker if they don't play many non-GX pokemon. Fair warning: If you see an Oranguru from Sun and Moon base Set be careful. It can OHKO a fully energized Hoopa.


Sudowoodo (Watch and Learn)

The final of our tech pokemon that must use the rainbow energy is Sudowoodo. This guy is just an enforcer, especially in the Zoroark matchup. When your opponent attacks with a Riotous Beating or a Dangerous Rogue attack, you can plop the Sudowoodo down, attach Rainbow Energy, and Psychic Recharge to take a positive prize trade since you can copy those attacks for the KO. Even just having it on the field can cause your opponent to have to play around it. It can be used against ultra necrozma or necrozma after its attack and can just copy generally good attacks in any matchup.


Mewtwo GX

The final attacker I want to talk about is Mewtwo GX. Even though it is already seeing play in many Malamar decks, I want to reiterate its solid uses in each matchup. Against Buzzwole, it can take KOs on Buzzwole GX and baby Buzzwole for three energies. Although Dawn Wings Necrozma GX and Mewtwo (pressure) are more efficient attackers in general against buzzwole, don't hesitate to use Mewtwo GX if needed in the Buzzwole Matchup. In Zoroark Matchups, Mewtwo GX can take out a Lycanroc GX with its GX attack and can take out a Zoroark GX with a Choice Band attached . Versus Malamar, Mewtwo GX can OHKO a Dawn Wings Necrozma GX that just used Moons Eclipse GX. And finally, in the Greninja matchup, Mewtwo GX can heal itself for 30 while doing 60 damage to a Greninja. If they are shadow stitching for 40 damage, then Greninja is netting only 10 damage a turn.


If you are still looking for a  solid play for NAIC, and want to avoid the Triangle meta, then consider giving Malamar Counterbox a shot. In my testing, I have won close to 65% of my matches with the Buzzwole Matchup being more than 65% and the Zoroark Matchup being slightly less than 65%.  I urge you to try the deck out. It is fun and enjoyable. Also, check out my YouTube channel “PokéDad Plays” for more content on decks designed to counter the meta.