The Top 50 Decks of Sun & Moon - Lost Thunder Part 3: Tier 1 1-8

Disclaimer, if you can not respect the opinion of another player this article is not for you. If you think a deck is not on the list that should be or a deck is on the list that should not be, leave a comment to tell me why I'm wrong, if you're respectful I'll probably respond. Also, credit to LimitlessTCG for the English translated card scans.

There are eight decks I believe to be in tier 1. I have ranked these decks from what I believe is the worst of them to the best from my many hours of testing with them; however, I still think that all of them have the potential to win a regional or international championship. I expect all of these decks to have results and three or four of them to end up establishing themselves as the go to decks of the format, pushing the other decks on the list down into tier 2. Lastly, it is worth nothing that because of Ditto Prism Star, thin stage 1 lines can be very easily teched into decks like Zoroark-GX. So when I call a deck Zoroark-GX/Insert Pokemon Here that doesn't mean you shouldn't play a thin line of Insert different Pokemon here.

Number 8. Zoroark-GX/Weavile

This is a risky deck to put into the top tier; however I think I may even be putting it too low. The problem with ranking it so highly is that the strength of Weavile is dependent on how the format shapes. As of now though I am confident that there will be many ability reliant deck for Weavile to prey on. Of the eight decks in this tier, six of them are reliant on having multiple Pokemon with abilities in play, and none of them can afford to bench less than two Pokemon with abilities in most games. Even just looking at our current meta, Weavile is very good against the very dominant Marshadow-GX/Malamar deck. Its biggest problem right now is Buzzwole and Buzzwole-GX; however if the new Giratina is as good as the hype surrounding it, I expect Buzzwole to still be very popular, but not quite as popular as it is now.

Other New Potential Inclusions

Professor Elm's Lecture makes your deck much more consistent because it guarantees you the three basics you need rather than hoping to hit them off of Lillie (Yes, there is a Sneasel with 60HP).

Nihilego is specifically for the Buzzwole/Lycanroc-GX matchup but it is just a strong card in general. The hope of this card is that when your opponent goes down to two prizes you are already at two prizes in which case you can use a powerful attack (typically a GX attack since this deck doesn't have any of its own) two take your last two prizes. Nihelego can also use relatively weak attacks to KO something like a Buzzwole-GX or Marshadow-GX. If you aren't in range to take the game Nihilego can also be used in combination with something like a Judge to put your self down to one or two prizes then force your opponent to have the Guzma to take their last two.

Ditto Prism Star is just a very good and versatile card. If you are playing two stage 1 lines it is almost always goo to play Ditto Prism Star in the deck so you can evolve to either or depending on what your opponent does. The combo I like to pull off with Ditto is if I want for example an additional Zoroark-GX and a Weavile for the next turn, I can play down one Sneasel, one Zorua, and a Ditto and no matter what my opponent Guzmas for, I have that option to evolve into both Weavile and Zoroark-GX on the next turn. It makes it much more comfortable to fit something like a thing Magcargo or Lycanroc-GX line, you could even play a Garbodor line to improve your Buzzwole matchup.

Girafarig is specifically a counter to mill decks. If you play one Oranguru to keep yourself from decking out, the game will inevitably reach a tie as they can Lusamine all of their supporters into their hand except for one Lusamine, then play Judge, rinse and repeat. With Girafarig you can put the Lusamine in the lost zone, before following up with Resource Management with Oranguru, even if the opponent plays three or four Lusamine you can simply use Girafarig until they only have one left and thus can not cycle it back.

Lastly, Faba is simply a powerful disruption card in the format. Zoroark-GX has a lot of access to cards you only play one of and often plays Pal Pad allowing you to once or twice a game just disrupt your opponent by discarding one of their resources. I don't know how much better this card is than just an Enhanced Hammer and a Field Blower but overall it is a good card and only time will tell how successful it will be.

Giratina is a very interesting tech card I've been trying in Zoroark-GX variants. I'm not sure how viable it is yet but the idea is that if it is in your discard you can use it to guarantee an additional Pokemon on your bench. Another very strong use for the card is being able to spread 10 damage to two Pokemon with 190HP to put them in Range of Riotous Beating with Choice Band, Professor Kukui, and Devoured Field. The 10 damage spread can also just be used so that you don't need Devoured Field to knock out something with 180Hp or 130HP.

Number 7. Buzzwole/Buzzwole-GX

Before I talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the deck I would like to preface with my opinion on its partners. It is my opinion that Buzzwole-GX does not yet have an optimal partner or optimal partners. It has many very strong partners and we will just have to wait and see which variants come out on top. As of now I think they all have very similar match ups and deserve the same spot on this list. To start with Lycanroc-GX gives you type coverage against Psychic decks which are relatively popular, Dangerous Rogue-GX is also a great GX attack, allowing you to take a one hit knockout on a Pokemon-GX if you need to before you get a Buzzwole-GX powered up. Lastly, it is worth noting that Rockruff is one of the potential partners with a basic Pokemon that can be searched out with Brooklet Hill, making it more consistently available. Secondly there's Alolan Ninetales-GX. Alolan Ninetales-GX as a lot of uses but the main one is to use it when your opponent goes down to four prizes to search your deck for two Beast Ring. Overall however, Alolan Ninetales-GX's ability is very versatile and search out many useful cards like Switch, Ultra Ball, and Choice Band. There is also a Unit Energy that provides Fairy, Fighting and Dark Energy so if you would like to, you can play a few of those and attack with Alolan Ninetales-GX. Its first attack is very strong against Lost March and Fairy weak decks like Rayquaza-GX. Its GX attack allows you to take an easy KO on a Blacephalon-GX, Buzzwole-GX, or other Ultra Beast Pokemon at some point in the game. Finally, there's Zebstrika and Magcargo. Zebstrika is very simple, it just allows you to dig harder for the things you need, but you may lose crucial resources in the process. Magcargo allows you to search for anything and draw it off a Professor Kukui, Acro Bike, Lillie, or even Zebstrika. Magcargo usually serves a similar purpose to Alolan Ninetales-GX but it is worth noting that you need a way to draw the card you searched for, you can't Brooklet Hill for Slugma, it has no viable attacks, and it doesn't evolve from the great consistency Pokemon that is Guardians Rising Alolan Vulpix. Now about the deck as a whole. Buzzwole has a lot of new tools to work with and as everyone knows by know, is simply an inherently strong deck. I think Buzzwole is going to go back and forth between dominating a major event, and just doing very spectacularly. This is because if it is going to succeed it has to be at a Tournament without a large showing of Giratina/Malamar. The deck is not an auto loss for Buzzwole; however, unlike the current format, where Malamar doesn't have a strong answer to a Lycanroc-GX, I think that Giratina can handle it quite well by spreading Spell Tag and Giratina damage on to Rockruff or Lycanroc-GX in the early game. If Buzzwole manages to avoid Spell Tags, Flying Flip and Shrine of Punishment can still put that damage there. Buzzwole is likely to excel at events dominated by decks like Zoroark-GX and will fall off at events dominated by psychic type decks like Malamar and Garbodor.

Other New Potential Inclusions

If you are playing to of the mentioned partners Ditto allows you to evolve into either of them depending on the situation.

Custom catcher is a new card that combos very nicely with Buzzwole as a whole. Buzzwole loves gusting effects, which is why in the past is has gone so far as to play Lycanroc-GX in addition to four Guzma. However Custom Catcher basically turns Alolan Ninetales-GX into a Lycanroc-GX as well, since you can search out two Custom Catcher or one and something else if you already have one in hand, and use it to pull up an opponents Pokemon. Beyond Alolan Ninetales-GX, Custom Catcher also combos quite nicely with Magcargo. You can search out a Custom Catcher with Magcargo if you already have one or alternatively you can use Custom Catcher's first effect to draw the card you used Smooth over for. The first effect the card is actually very good in Buzzwole and should not be forgotten about.

Sightseer, although it may not look it at first, is easily one of the best supporters in the format. Sightseer allows you to simply discard the card you don't want, keep the cards you do, then draw some new cards. Unlike Cynthia in Buzzwole it also allows you to draw a card you used smooth over for.

Number 6. Alolan Exeggutor

This deck being as high as it is on this list may surprise people, but I think it is more than deserving of the spot. Alolan Exeggutor is a very strong card when it is completely set up. 160HP is a very annoying to hit number on a non-GX Pokemon and 120 is a lot of damage to do for a single basic energy. In our current format Alolan Exeggutor is relatively inconsistent and there aren't really any good ways to get five different types of energy into the discard quickly; however, with Shuckle, in addition to some of the new support cards I will talk about shortly, the deck get hit huge numbers very early on. The goal of the deck is to put out high damage in combination with Shrine of Punishment to overwhelm your opponent. The deck simply heats good numbers and has a strong typing in the current format. With Lurantis Promo the deck even perfectly hits 170 damage on Tapu Lele-GX and 140 damage on things like Giratina and Buzzwole. Being a grass type allows the deck to hit for a one hit knock out on Lycanroc-GX and makes it searchable with Nest Ball and Grovyle. The Sceptile form Celestial Storm that prevents damage done by ultra beasts to Pokemon with a grass energy attached also means that the deck has a strong match up against ultra beast decks like Buzzwole and Blacephalon-GX.

Other New Potential Inclusions

Net Ball makes this deck run so much smoother, it searches out everything in the deck except for Ditto Prism Star in addition to the energy you need, which in turn allows you to play a lower energy count. Net Ball makes the deck overall very consistent and fairly fast.

Sceptile-GX is another option that Grovyle offers to you. Although Sceptile-GX can often be overwhelmed by one hit KO decks, Shrine of Punishment decks, and fast decks on its own, it has great fit in Alolan Exeggutor and all of its attacks are very strong as supporting options. Mach Cut is very strong against Zoroark-GX and other ability reliant decks, Leaf Cyclone hits good numbers against Pokemon like Buzzwole and Giratina, and Jungle Heal-GX gives you a healing option to give Alolan Exeggutor additional durability.

Life Forest Prism Star is another healing option for the deck. Overall I think Life Forest is a relatively weak card in this deck but it could definitely be helpful in some situations.

Grovyle is the engine of the deck. It allows you to search out your Lurantis line, your Alolan Exeggutor line, and your Shuckles. Grovyle is very strong for helping you set up in the early game and stream attackers in the mid to late game. The reason Grovyle is a must play in this deck and Shiinotic did not see play in any decks is because it searches out Shuckle which allows you to discard three energy from the deck to ramp your damage output, and it evolves into two great secondary attackers/support Pokemon for the deck.

See Buzzwole/Buzzwole-GX for Sightseer.

See Zoroark-GX/Weavile for Ditto Prism Star.

Number 5. Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX

Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX has been a top tier force in the standard format since last season's Memphis regional championships. The reason for its continued success is the overall strength of the combination of Zoroark-GX and Bloodthirsty Eyes to knock out evolving Pokemon and disrupt the opponent's set up, Dangerous Rouge-GX to take a big one hit knockout, and Lycanroc-GX's fighting type giving you a strong attacker against other Zoroark-GX decks. In the new meta none of this changes, Zoroark-GX variants as a whole only get strong with some of the new inclusions I will mention shortly, and many new set up decks like Alolan Exeggutor and Gardevoir-GX become a much more relevant force. I have put the deck lower on this list than it is on my tier list for the current standard format simply because I think it has gone from the strongest Zoroark-GX variant to the third strongest Zoroark-GX variant. I think other variants are better equipped to deal with top tier match ups like Buzzwole and Blacephalon-GX while still being able to fit in something like a 1-1 Lycanroc-GX line with Ditto Prism Star.

Other New Potential Inclusions

Counter gain is an amazingly powerful card in this deck. Counter gain allows you to Dangerous-GX for just one Fighting Energy if you are down on prizes, making a Rockruff always an active threat.

See Zoroark-GX/Weavile for all others.

Number 4. Zoroark-GX/Magcargo (and Oranguru)

Zoroark-GX/Magcargo is looking to be a very strong deck going into the new format. Mill archetypes in general gain a lot of small tools but I think the also gain a lot of shaky match ups. That's why being able to switch from a two hit knockout healing deck, to a one hit knockout combo deck, to a disruption or mill deck, is incredibly powerful. This deck doesn't have many overwhelmingly strong match ups, there are a lot of tech cards like Oranguru in Zoroark and Chimecho in Malamar that can make match ups of this deck a lot closer; however, it has very even match ups across the board and unlike with a deck like Rayquaza-GX where your even match ups are mostly decided by luck, it is my opinion that a good pilot of this deck can make even match ups feel favored by out playing their opponent because you are very consistent and can search for the cards you need almost every turn. I also think this deck has the strongest Zoroark-GX mirror, I was going to give it to Lycanroc-GX but I think this deck can just out resource every other Zoroark-GX deck.

Other New Potential Inclusions

So Magcargo-GX is actually a card that I think is really good in this deck. Magcargo-GX can help to thin the deck faster with its ability, but more relevantly its GX attack allows you to simply discard the top five cards of your opponent's deck.

See Zoroark-GX/Weavile for all others.

Number 3. Blacephalon-GX/Naganadel

This archetype is one of the most hyped archetypes going into the post Lost Thunder format due to its success at the Tokyo Championship League in Japan. In my opinion, the hype and success this deck has earned is deserved. The deck is inherently very strong and very consistent. The deck wins games in a very simple manor, the same way that Rayquaza-GX/Vikavolt is know for winning games. You either draw considerably rough but hit exactly what you need to scrape away with the knockout every turn, or you set up well and just flood the board with so much energy that you can respond to anything your opponent puts in the active. What makes this deck so much better than Rayquaza-GX is that you do not need a stage 2 to set up, you have Beast Ring to flood the board, and a weakness to water is much less exploitable than a weakness to Fairy. Within the top eight there really isn't anything Blacephalon has an overwhelmingly positive or negative matchup against, the deck just goes even at worst against most decks.

Other New Potential Inclusions

See Buzzwole/Buzzwole-GX for Sightseer.

See Zoroark-GX/Weavile for Ditto Prism Star.

Heat Factory is just a good consistency card as long as it is in play. The deck loves having fire energy in the discard pile and the deck loves to draw more cards.

Number 2. Giratina/Malamar

In case you haven't already seen this deck in action, the idea is to spread a lot of damage around the board with Spell Tag, Distortion Door, Shrine of Punishment, and Tapu Koko to set up the numbers for knockouts with Shadow Impact. The deck is very consistent, hits all of the numbers it needs to, has good match ups across the board, and uses single prize attackers. The only archetype that really gives Giratina trouble is Zoroark-GX. Zoroark-GX decks resist Giratina and can take a knock out on just about all of your attackers consistently. Giratina does have many techs for this match up at its disposal though such as Larvitar, Onix, and Chimecho. All of these techs can create a huge sway in the match up.

Other New Potential Inclusions

Sigilyph-GX can be an interesting Pokemon to attack with in this deck because in theory, you can put all of your opponent's Pokemon down to 170HP or less earlier in the game to force them to attack around Sigilyph-GX.

Spell Tag is one of the many spread cards played in the archetype to set up the proper numbers.

See Zoroark-GX/Weavile for Nihilego.

See Buzzwole/Buzzwole-GX for Sightseer.

Onix simply allows you to hit for 240 damage against fighting weak Pokemon like Zoroark-GX.

Larvitar is the deck's strongest counter to Zoroark-GX in my opinion as it takes the knockout very easily. If you go for two Flying Flip at the beginning of the game, then you just need to put 10 more damage on your opponent's Zoroark-GXs with either Distortion Door, Spell Tag, or Shrine of Punishment to put them in range of the two colorless knockout with Larvitar.

Number 1. Zoroark-GX/Alolan Ninetales-GX

Full disclosure, although I do think the best Zoroark-GX variant currently (and the best deck in the format currently) is one built around Alolan Ninetales-GX and its ability, I do believe this deck needs to play a 1-1 to 2-2 Lycanroc-GX line to compete with other Zoroark-GX decks.

I believe that Alolan Ninetales-GX is the optimal partner for many reasons, primarily heavy play testing with the deck, but I will try to convey the theorymon that my testing has proven makes the deck incredibly strong.

The first reason is Alolan Vulpix. If you open with Alolan Vulpix and Professor Elm's Lecture, Beacon is going to get you completely set up by your next turn. Searching your deck for two Zoroark-GX or a Zoroark-GX and an Alolan Ninetales-GX is very powerful. Secondly, Snowy Winds is actually a very good attack, it hits the right numbers against Lost March, it takes a one hit knockout on attackers like Ultra Necrozma-GX and Rayquaza-GX, and it sets up knockout with Riotous Beating later. The third reason is Sublimation-GX which is an incredibly strong attack against Blacephalon-GX and Buzzwole-GX, especially when combo-ed with Counter Gain. Next, the ability, to begin with the ability lets you grab something like two Timer Ball on turn two to search out multiple Zoroark-GX. Also, Alolan Ninetales-GX can search out many powerful cards throughout the game, these include but are not limited to, Energy Loto, Max Potion, Mysterious Treasure, Pal Pad, Field Blower, Rescue Stretcher, Counter Gain, Weakness Policy, Choice Band, Ultra Ball, and Enhanced Hammer. By combining Alolan Ninetales-GX with cards like Ultra Ball, Mysterious Treasure for Tapu Lele-GX, and Energy Loto, Alolan Ninetales-GX can virtually search out any card in your deck. This makes the deck flow very smoothly and consistently. The deck has even to favorable match ups across the board, the list is very flexible and you can tech to win any match up, or simply power through decks on sheer consistency alone. Being able to splash in attackers like Garbodor, Weavile, Espeon, Lycanroc-GX, and more make the deck list very versatile and able to do anything another Zoroark-GX variant can do but with the engine to back it up. The match up specifics can change heavily based on how you decide to go about building your list but overall the deck is simply very strong and has the potential to beat any deck in the format with an optimal list.

Other New Potential Inclusions

Fairy Charms can give you immunity against many match ups but I think the only one this deck may need will be the fighting Fairy Charm since this prevents damage from everything in Buzzwole/Buzzwole-GX except for the regular Buzzwole, so you could potentially just play a few of these for that matchup and use Alolan Ninetales-GX as your attacker against Buzzwole or even just use them to give your self immunity on the turn you go for the Sublimation-GX.

See Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX for Counter Gain.

See Buzzwole/Buzzwole-GX for Custom Catcher.

See Zoroark-GX/Weavile for all others.