The Tùlkun Way Blog

Honoring my Zorobox Pokemon deck before rotation (Mar. 14, 2024)

My friends have probably noticed before the little notification on Discord that frequently says I am playing Pokemon TCG Live. I play this game more than any other game lately. It’s just an app that lets people play the Pokemon card game on their computer or phone.

Well, every year, old cards will rotate out of Standard play. And sadly, this spring, keystone cards of my Zorobox deck are rotating out, including Zoroark itself. So, I wanted to honor my Standard Zorobox deck during its final days of play. I’ll explain how the deck works. Also, the decklist will be at the bottom of this blog entry.

Zoroark has an ability called Phantom Transformation that allows it to be replaced with any Stage 1 Pokemon in your discard pile. So, this deck’s gimmick is to have a strong Stage 1 Pokemon in your deck for every type advantage and a few extras for specific scenarios in play. During the game, your goal will be to figure out which Pokemon you’ll need to get into your discard pile, send them there, then unleash them on your opponent.

Let’s start with the set-up. There are 10 Basic Pokemon in the deck. There’s one you’ll absolutely want to get in play ASAP. That is Hisuian Basculin of which there is 1 copy. You’ll want to opt to go second, not first. This way, you’ll be able to use Hisuian Basculin’s Gather the Crew attack, which allows you to find 2 Basic Pokemon in your deck and put them on your Bench. The other Basic Pokemon in the deck include 4 Zorua, 3 Ralts, 1 Manaphy, and 1 Jirachi. In a normal game, you’ll want 2 Ralts and 2 Zorua or their evolved stages minimum at a given moment in play. Then you can decide if you need Manaphy and/or Jirachi in play as well. Zorua is generally more important to have in play than Ralts, so if you’re in a scenario where you have one Ralts on your Bench and you need to choose 2 Basics to gather, pick two Zorua.

The following Stage 1 Pokemon are in the deck and their roles are:

Arcanine - serves as your powerful Fire-type attacker. It’s also a card with beautiful art.

Cetitan - when you attach a Special Energy, in this case, a Reversal Energy, you will attack for 220 water damage. Cetitan is this deck’s most powerful attacker. Even if the enemy isn’t weak to Water, many V cards are 220 HP or less, allowing Cetitan to score you two prize cards.

Exeggutor - can use Psychic Loop for 160 Psychic damage and when you use this attack, your Reversal Energy can be returned to your hand. This means you can use Exeggutor as your strong Psychic attacker and against weaker Pokemon without discarding a Special Energy card.

Kirlia - you’ll only use Kirlia as a draw engine, we’ll get into that later. Note that in a pinch, if you have several Zoroark ready to go, you can transform into a Kirlia that’s in your discard pile if you are struggling to draw.

Kleavor - a Fighting-type that has two useful attacks. Rout does 10 damage + 30 damage for each of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon. You can use Rout with either a Reversal or a Double Turbo Energy, which gives you some flexibility. Rocky Tackle does 150 damage for a Reversal Energy and serves as a reliable Fighting-type attack.

Mightyena - can perform a powerful Dark-type attack with a Reversal Energy. However, if your opponent has a Pokemon VMAX in play, you can attack for free. This card basically exists to destroy Mew VMAX decks.

Scizor - a Metal-type attacker and can attack for one Metal Energy. Its attack does 10 damage + 50 damage for each of your opponent’s Pokemon in play with an ability.

Scovillain - a powerful Grass-type attacker that can also burn an opponent for one Energy of any type.

Slowbro - you’ll only use Slowbro when your opponent has one prize card remaining. Its attack Twilight Inspiration allows you to take two prize cards if your opponent has only one prize card remaining. This is your clutch card. You can use a Double Turbo or a Reversal Energy if you have two prize cards remaining, but if you’re in a situation where you and your opponent both only have one prize card remaining, you’ll need to use a Double Turbo. So, keep this in mind to avoid getting stuck.

Togetic - you’ll use Togetic to deck out your opponent if they end their turn with 3 cards or less. Paired with Professor Turo’s Scenario or Switch, you can use Togetic to win against Snorlax Stall decks.

Zebstrika - serves as your powerful Lightning-type attacker.

For your draw engine, you will need to evolve Ralts into Kirlia to use its Refinement ability. Discard a card in your hand to draw two cards. This is crucial for a Zorobox deck, because you can discard all those Stage 1 Pokemon in your hand! Ideally, you will want to have two Kirlia on your Bench at a time, however, if your opponent is using Avery against you, you may have to settle for one.

Now I’ll explain how to use the Trainer cards well in this deck. You will be using up Zorua and Zoroark a lot as you play. Use Super Rod and Miriam wisely. Do not waste them. You can use Pal Pad to bring Miriam back to your deck for a second use if need be. There are two Iono cards. Iono can help you draw a fresh hand or shuffle cards back into your deck if you’re afraid you’ll deck out soon. Arezu allows you to draw three evolution Pokemon of your choice from your deck. This can help you set up your draw engine, grab Zoroark, and grab Stage 1 Pokemon to discard for transformation as need be. Professor Burnet will allow you to discard two Stage 1 Pokemon from your deck of your choice. This helps a little with deck thinning, but also has an advantage over Arezu where you can be assured that you’ll have two crucial Pokemon in discard, even if Kirlia or Zoroark aren’t ready to go.

Professor Turo’s Scenario will help you if you need to switch a Basic Pokemon or your opponent switches in one of your Pokemon that you are unable to retreat. While there is also one Switch card, Switch is not protected from the Miss Fortune Sisters card that Snorlax Stall decks use. Raihan will allow you to attach a Metal Energy from your discard pile and then search for any card in your deck that you want. You may want to use Kirlia or an Ultra Ball to discard a Metal Energy at some point to be able to make use of Raihan. Raihan can come in clutch when you are simply missing a Zoroark or Special Energy. Lastly, there is one copy of Boss’s Orders. Again, Pal Pad will let you get one more use out of up to two supporter cards. Use Pal Pad to your advantage.

A picture of the Professor Turo's Scenario card.

There are four copies of Pokegear 3.0 in the deck, because unlike other Zorobox decks, I am not utilising Gallade. I find that swapping out Gallade for Exeggutor allows for a reliable Psychic attacker and a better way to combat single prize card decks. Having Gallade or Pokegear 3.0 is vital for Zorobox decks, because there are so many Pokemon cards in the deck that you will be short on room for Supporter cards. Towards the end game, if an opponent uses Iono or a similar card against you, Pokegear 3.0 can save you from a dead hand.

Lastly, in addition to the previously mentioned Super Rod, Pal Pad, Pokegear 3.0, and Switch, we have 4 Level Ball, 2 Ultra Ball, and 3 Artazon. Artazon will help you get Basics in play, Level Ball will help you get Basics or Kirlia (it can also grab Togetic), and Ultra Ball gives you any Pokemon you want, but also serves as one more option to get those Stage 1 Pokemon or a Metal Energy into the discard pile. One more note on Artazon though: Temple of Sinnoh is a Stadium card that can counter Zorobox, as we are relying on Special Energy cards. Lost City can also be damaging if we lose Zoroark or a crucial Stage 1 Pokemon. If you suspect your opponent is playing these Stadiums, try to use Artazon as a way to get their Stadiums out of play.

Overall, which decks is Zorobox strong and weak against? Zorobox can destroy a wide variety of decks in Standard play, but some of the decks that are great at countering it are unfortunately common. Decks that rely on placing damage counters with evolved Pokemon or through abilities cannot be stopped by Jirachi or Manaphy and can snipe Benched Pokemon, preventing you from setting up Zoroark cards and crippling your draw engine. Rapid Strike decks and Iron Valiant ex fall into this category. While they aren’t a guaranteed loss, they are certainly an uphill battle. Giratina VSTAR Lost Zone decks are probably the worst match-up. Giratina VSTAR has no type weakness and a healthy 280 HP. Unless you set up faster than your opponent and are able to take out their Giratina V with Scizor or Cetitan before they evolve, you will almost certainly lose. The final unfortunate match-up is against Wugtrio mill decks. Wugtrio isn’t super common, but it does have an advantage against Zorobox decks as Zorobox decks need to thin in order to function well.

However, you’ll be surprised how many wins you can pick up against decks like Tera Charizard ex, Gardevoir ex, and Mew VMAX. This deck is fun, because it challenges the player to develop a strong familiarity with the full capabilities of what this deck can pull off when you understand all your options. Do your best to keep track of which cards are prized, in your discard, or in your deck at a given moment. Every game can feel a little different depending which of your Stage 1’s you’ll utilize. You’ll sometimes find yourself with two or three win conditions at the end of the game!

                Pokémon: 17
                1 Scovillain SVI 29
                1 Cetitan PAL 55
                3 Kirlia SIT 68
                1 Kleavor ASR 85
                1 Togetic OBF 84
                1 Zebstrika PAR 63
                1 Manaphy BRS 41
                1 Hisuian Basculin ASR 43
                1 Exeggutor PAF 24
                1 Scizor OBF 141
                1 Mightyena ASR 96
                1 Slowbro PGO 20
                1 Jirachi PAR 126
                1 Arcanine FST 33
                3 Ralts ASR 60
                4 Zorua EVS 102
                4 Zoroark EVS 103
                
                Trainer: 14
                1 Raihan EVS 152
                1 Switch SVI 194
                2 Ultra Ball PAF 91
                4 Level Ball BST 129
                2 Iono PAL 185
                1 Miriam SVI 179
                1 Professor Turo's Scenario PAR 171
                1 Super Rod PAL 188
                4 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
                1 Pal Pad SVI 182
                2 Arezu LOR 153
                1 Professor Burnet PR-SW 167
                3 Artazon PAL 171
                1 Boss's Orders PAL 172
                
                Energy: 3
                2 Double Turbo Energy BRS 151
                2 Basic {M} Energy SVE 8
                4 Reversal Energy PAL 192
                
                Total Cards: 60