The Owls Return to the Hunt

When Decidueye was first released it saw a lot of attention because of its spectacular ability Feather Arrow. After the 2016 Latin American Internationals Decidueye-GX had overtaken Yveltal Garbodor as the best deck in the format and saw consistent success until Forest of Giant Plants which was the main engine of the deck was banned in expanded and rotated in standard. For a while Decidueye was suspected to have fallen off the map without Forest of Giant Plants but now its back!

Decidueye saw a little bit of play with Ninetales-GX but it just couldn't keep up with some of the other top contenders in the format. However, now we have Zoroark GX. This pairing seems odd but Zoroark gives Decidueye some much needed consistency. The deck was played around with a bit leading up to the London International Championships where we saw several top players piloting the deck. This opened the eyes of many players to the viability of the deck and its ability to overcome most of the other decks in the format. Also, the sudden disappearance of Garbodor and the decline of Volcanion aided Decidueye's rise and made it one of the best decks to play in the current format. It is a very fun deck to play but also one of the most skill intensive.

The List

This is the Decidueye Zoroark list I am currently testing. The list is pretty straightforward. I like this deck for its flexibility, you have many ways to win the game. You can steal the game through healing, devolution, or just one shotting. If you expect a lot of Buzzwole-GX I would cut the regular Zoroark for a Mewtwo to apply pressure to an opponent trying to set up a big Buzzwole.

The three Max Potion is something I know many disagree with but I find the third incredible. When you aren't drawing what you need Max Potion buys you some time while you drop Feather Arrows around the board.

A third Tapu Lele-GX would be nice but I find bench space very crucial in the deck and don't want to clog the bench with more than one Lele.

Other Options

Mewtwo (Evolutions)

3rd Zoroark-GX

Latios (Shining Legends)

3rd Field Blower

2nd Rescue Stretcher

Mallow

3rd Tapu Lele-GX

I have done some testing with Buzzwole-GX in the deck but you have trouble drawing the right energy at the right times. Some other interesting partners for Decidueye are Ninetales-GX, spread attackers like more Tapu Koko and Latios, and Rainbow Energy with mixed type attackers, however none of them seem as strong as Zoroark in the deck.

Matchups

Zoroark-GX/Golisopod-GX

This is a very even matchup in my opinion. It all comes down to how many Decidueye you manage to set up. If you can set up at least 3 then you can one shot Golisopod-GX and Zoroark-GX with your own Zoroark-GX with a full bench and a Choice Band. If not place your arrows carefully so you can finish them off next turn or devolve them.

Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX

This variant is slightly harder to beat than the Golisopod variant because the deck is more aggressive and can easily on shot Decidueye with Lycanroc-GX's Dangerous Rogue-GX and Claw Slash can tear apart your Zoroark GX's. Your goal is to try to knockout Rockruff before they evolve or before they can attach a second energy. Otherwise you have to commit to attacking with Tapu Lele-GX, Mewtwo, or Breakthrough Zoroark. If you can set it up it can also be nice to take a knockout on Lycanroc-GX with a Choice Banded Razor Leaf.

Gardevoir-GX

This matchup is close but mostly depends on the exact Gardevoir list. If you're playing against the Sylveon-GX variant you have to worry about Parallel City plus Plea-GX. You need to have access to field blowers to get rid of Parallel City and hope to reestablish your Decidueye without too much trouble. Against the Brokenvoir build, your focus is on devolving because if you rush into battle against double Gallade you're likely to be taken down quickly. You need to spread out your Feather Arrows so that all of the damage done can't be undone by one Max Potion. You play for the end game and hope to cripple your opponent's set up with one well-timed Miraculous Shine from Espeon-EX.

Conclusion

Overall, Decidueye Zoroark is a skill intensive deck to pilot even with positive matchups against a lot of the field. In the right metagame, it is a great deck to play although I would recommend doing a lot of testing with the deck prior to taking it to a tournament to reduce misplays. Always do your math for the long game before placing Feather Arrows and attacking to make sure you hit exact numbers. Without any further ado, I hope you guys enjoyed the article and have yourself a great day!

"Keep Calm and Feather Arrow."