N’s Zoroark ex

     It’s no wonder N’s Zoroark has been gaining tons of hype lately—the deck made appearances in the top cut of both Lille and Gdansk Regional Championships recently. With strong matchups to the top two decks in the format, Gardevoir and Dragapult, this deck is a great one to try out on your own. In this article, I’ve studied and tested with the top performing decks from these tournaments and amalgamated them into a list I like a little better, taking inspiration from each of them to come to a final 60 I would gladly take to upcoming major tournaments. In this article, we’re going to take a look at the lists from Lille and Gdańsk, my take on the list, and how current matchups play out/the general gameplan in each.

First, let’s take a look at Piper’s list from Lille!

Pokémon (20):	Trainers (33):	Energy (7):
4 N’s Zorua JTG 097 4 N’s Zoroark ex JTG 098 2 N’s Darumaka JTG 026 1 N’s Darmanitan JTG 027 1 N’s Reshiram JTG 116 2 Munkidori TWM 095 1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 038 1 Okidogi ex SFA 036 1 Pecharunt ex SFA 039 1 Cleffa OBF 080 1 Psyduck MEP 007 1 Yveltal MEG 088	3 Boss’s Orders 3 Cyrano 3 Iono 2 Hilda 2 Professor Turo’s Scenario 4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin 2 Counter Catcher 2 N’s PP Up 2 Night Stretcher 1 Energy Switch 1 Nest Ball 1 Pal Pad 1 Secret Box 1 Super Rod 1 Air Balloon 1 Binding Mochi 2 Artazon 1 Team Rocket’s Watchtower	6 Darkness 1 Reversal

 

     Piper Lepine’s top four list from the Lille Regional Championships utilizes a Pokémon not commonly seen in most high-placing Zoroark lists: N’s Darmanitan. N’s Darmanitan offers a less linear way of playing the deck that can put opponents in tricky situations very fast, taking two Prizes on single-Prize board states. It’s effective in early disruption and closing out games just the same. Often, Zoroark will just be copying N’s Reshiram’s second attack, Virtuous Flame, for 170 damage to two-hit Knock Out your opponent’s Pokémon. However, this can open up lines to clean up these Pokémon ex and another of your opponent’s Pokémon in one final attack to take three or four Prize cards at a time. Playing Reversal Energy allowed Piper to also play cards like Hilda which find the Darmanitan and the Energy with a single Supporter card and attack with a single-Prize Pokémon which is not usually possible in other lists.

     One thing I did not like about Piper’s list is playing only one Team Rocket’s Watchtower. Typically, I find one-of lock stadiums like this where you are trying to lock Abilities or Tools to be undereffective. You play the one copy and hope the opponent doesn’t have a counter-Stadium. I’ve found decks that rely on Colourless Pokémon Abilities play multiple counter Stadiums and locking the one Watchtower in play can be difficult. I do understand the deckbuilding philosophy here, however. Firstly, there needs to be room for the Darmanitan line, and utilizing the one-Prize attacker can mean Watchtower will not be as pertinent. With the option to use Darmanitan, you can also effectively Knock Out two of your opponent’s Hoothoot in play, negating the need for the second copy of Watchtower.

     All-in-all, Piper’s list makes a TON of sense, is cohesive, and executes a fairly strong and consistent gameplan. This list is one I would recommend giving a try if the option of Darmanitan is appealing to you.

Next, let’s look at Cal Connor’s list from Gdańsk:

Pokémon (18):	Trainers (35):	Energy (7):
4 N’s Zorua JTG 097 4 N’s Zoroark ex JTG 098 1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 038 1 Mega Absol ex MEG 086 1 Pecharunt ex SFA 039 2 Munkidori TWM 095 2 N’s Reshiram JTG 116 2 Yveltal MEG 088 1 Cleffa OBF 080	3 Cyrano 3 Iono 2 Boss’s Orders 2 Lillie’s Determination 1 Eri 1 Janine’s Secret Art 1 Penny 1 Professor Turo’s Scenario 4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin 2 Counter Catcher 2 Energy Switch 2 Nest Ball 2 Super Rod 1 N’s PP Up 1 Pal Pad 1 Air Balloon 1 Binding Mochi 1 Hero’s Cape 2 Artazon 2 Team Rocket’s Watchtower	7 Darkness

 

     Foregoing N’s Darmanitan, Cal’s list takes a different approach to the game plan. Focusing on consistently attacking, setting up a wall of defense in the Hero’s Cape ACE SPEC, Cal’s list also plays the less-oft used Janine’s Secret Art which accelerates a Darkness Energy to each of two Darkness-type Pokémon in play. This results in being able to also set up a quick and consistent Mega Absol ex in one turn! Through Janine, Energy Switch, and using your attachment for turn, Mega Absol ex can come out of nowhere and start stripping your opponent’s hand of key resources. Coupled with Hero’s Cape and the one Penny he plays, once Absol has taken a considerable amount of damage on its effective 380HP, you can just Penny it out of play and keep attacking! As much as Darmanitan is a great option to have in the deck, I do like the consistent, straightforward approach the lists that don’t play it are afforded. I’m also a fan of playing two Watchtower, of course—some of the hardest matchups for this deck are decks that use Noctowl. Tera Box, Raging Bolt, and Flareon are all relatively difficult matchups, so being able to Iono your opponent to a low hand size once they’re ahead and sticking a Watchtower in play will make taking over the game not only possible, but much easier.

Cal’s list also chooses to be more consistent with two copies of N’s Reshiram. Playing two copies of this card ensures you can consistently copy the Virtuous Flame attack, dealing 170 damage. In Piper’s list, if this card is Prized, you will have to rely on cobbling together one of Okidogi ex or Darmanitan, which can be unideal at best and game-losing at worst. The biggest difference between the two lists, however, is that Cal chooses to play Mega Absol ex over Okidogi ex as the Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex counter. While Mega Absol ex is extremely powerful, as discussed in my previous article, I do find it harder to use in this deck than Okidogi ex. Stripping a card of your choice from their hand is absurdly powerful, but hitting for only 200 damage can sometimes be detrimental. You will try to utilize Terminal Period rather than anything else, but this can also be tricky to setup effectively. Okidogi ex can also set itself up using its Poisonous Musculature attack, whereas Mega Absol ex can only be setup by manually attaching over a few turns or by using Energy Switch. Okidogi being able to set itself up is invaluable to an aggressive strategy where you can choose to go second. Use Cyrano to grab Pecharunt ex, Okidogi ex, and a third Pokémon ex, using Pecharunt ex’s Ability Subjugating Chains to switch the Okidogi ex in, use Poisonous Musculature and let your opponent figure out how to deal with a 250HP monster that’s going to one-shot basically every Basic Pokémon ex in the format. 

With all of this information gathered, here’s a list that I’ve put together which amalgamates the two ideas into one and provides a cohesive skeleton for N’s Zoroark ex.

Pokémon (18):	Trainers (35):	Energy (7):
4 N’s Zorua JTG 097 4 N’s Zoroark ex JTG 098 1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 038 1 Okidogi ex SFA 036 1 Pecharunt ex SFA 039 2 Munkidori TWM 095 2 N’s Reshiram JTG 116 1 Cleffa OBF 080 1 Psyduck MEP 007 1 Yveltal MEG 088	4 Cyrano 3 Boss’s Orders 3 Iono 1 Janine’s Secret Art 1 Penny 1 Professor Turo’s Scenario 4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin 2 Counter Catcher 2 Energy Switch 2 Nest Ball 2 Night Stretcher 1 N’s PP Up 1 Pal Pad 1 Super Rod 1 Air Balloon 1 Binding Mochi 1 Hero’s Cape 2 Artazon 2 Team Rocket’s Watchtower	7 Darkness

 

This list seeks to benefit from the powerful options that exist in both lists. Using Psyduck and Okidogi ex as in Piper’s list combined with Janine’s Secret Art can give you better play patterns into certain decks. Overall, I think this list accomplishes a lot of what I would like in a lot of matchups. Let’s go over matchups here:

MATCHUPS:

Gardevoir ex (65/35):

With a Darkness-type weakness, Gardevoir ex decks struggle against Zoroark. Even with the addition of Mega Diancie ex, Zoroark still withstands most threats that Gardevoir can send its way. Since this list plays Hero’s Cape, even Mega Diancie ex can’t one-shot the Zoroark. Target down their Gardevoirs, take two Prizes at a time, and you should be able to close out the game easily.

Dragapult ex/Dusknoir (60/40):

This matchup can swing a little more than the Gardevoir matchup. Specifically, because this matchup tends to hinge on if you have access to Psyduck in a timely manner or not. If it’s Prized, you’re going to have a more difficult time navigating the matchup. What you’ll want to do in this instance is just Boss plus Knock Out their Duskulls as often as possible. Since Dragapult has no solid way to one-shot a Zoroark, they can almost never swing into one unless they are taking a Knock Out, because you’ll return with a Powerful Rage attack for 400 damage! Generally, this matchup will play itself—get your Psyduck down and just use Virtuous Flame over and over. Just be aware of what you are Benching and what Prizes you will be giving up by doing so.

Joltik Box (40/60):

This is going to be one of the more unfavoured matchups. Their game plan will include some combination of getting a Knock Out early with Iron Hands ex on a Zorua or Cleffa, and then a Knock Out with Pikachu ex and then Iron Leaves ex. Keep in mind that both Iron Leaves ex and Pikachu ex cannot one-shot a Zoroark with a Hero’s Cape on it. Use this to your advantage by setting up a Munkidori to move some damage off the Zoroark onto a Pikachu ex, allowing you to bypass the Resolute Heart Ability. This will also allow Zoroark to return Knock Out an Iron Leaves ex if it doesn’t one-shot your Zoroark.  This will always still be one of your harder matchups to navigate. The one thing to look out for, however, will be if they fill their Bench, use up their Prime Catcher, and don’t play Switch. This will allow you to use Yveltal to Clutch a Pokémon of theirs in the Active Spot. Subjugating Chains will allow you to Poison the Yveltal, giving you damage to move off with Munkidori. This is a slow, grinding process, but it can have devastating efficacy in the matchup. Overall, I believe the matchup will still be quite unfavoured, but if you can find this spot and exploit it, you will have a chance to pull ahead.

Gholdengo ex (20/80):

This matchup is rough. There’s nothing really more to be able to say about it. Most Gholdengo variants play 1 or 2 Professor Turo’s Scenario and/or a Pal Pad to recover them. Yveltal stalling is not a viable option. Admittedly, this matchup is far more favoured if you play Darmanitan, but even this does not shore up the matchup to a great degree, which is why I’ve opted to cut it from the list. Since there is not good way to one-shot any of the Gholdengo, and they will one-shot you in return, the Prize trade will almost never be favourable for you, and it will be an incredibly difficult matchup regardless of what you do.

Mega Absol ex/Mega Kangaskhan ex (50/50):

This matchup is largely a war of attrition in a lot of ways. The first person to swing into the other’s Pokémon and not take a Knock Out will result in a one-shot in return. Yours will be via the Powerful Rage attack and theirs will be via Munkidori and using Terminal Period on your Zoroark. However, the same is true for whoever can Boss and take Knock Outs off the Bench aggressively enough. Since this list plays 3 Boss and a Pal Pad, you usually have enough firepower to take Knock Outs on their Benched Pokémon. Usually, you can let one Pokémon fall to a Terminal Period from Mega Absol and be okay. The important thing to remember is that they also heavily rely on Mega Kangaskhan to draw cards to get out of dead hands. Sticking a Team Rocket’s Watchtower early can hinder their setup pretty effectively. Importantly, this matchup is dependent on who draws their outs first and one misstep can spell disaster for either player.

 

CONCLUSION:

Overall, I believe N’s Zoroark is well-positioned in the current metagame and is able to outdraw and outmuscle a lot of decks in the format. Give this list, or any of the other top-placing lists from recent tournaments, a try and you’ll see why the deck is being played so much now! I hope you’ve all enjoyed this read! Follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @prcngnpkmn and let me know if you enjoyed! I love hearing feedback from everyone on this, especially on what I could do better and remember I also offer coaching! Best of luck to everyone playing in the Las Vegas Regional Championships this weekend as well!

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