Kyogre Goes off!!
Kyogre for Hartford and the future
Introduction
Hello readers! Today I am going to be discussing Kyogre Lost Zone, which is currently one of my front-runners for Hartford regionals. The deck sports an impressive array of favorable matchups and a draw engine that is unrivalled by any other deck in the format.
Why Kyogre?
Kyogre is special, in that it has the unique ability to take 4-5 prizes in one turn against multi-prize decks. The raw power of Kyogre’s Aqua Storm attack allows you to design the deck around accepting an incredibly poor early-game that leads into the most powerful swing-turn in the format. One of the biggest downsides to Kyogre lost zone is its linearity. The deck is essentially locked into the Kyogre game plan against any deck that is not a lost zone mirror match. With that in mind, you need to play to set up this end-of-game win condition. Navigating how and when to pull off the Aqua Storm combo is the biggest problem any Kyogre player will face, and, as you will soon learn, this puzzle is not as difficult as one might intuitively think.
How to set up the late game
The first thing to consider when setting up the late game is how many V / Vmax did my opponent give me to kill? This is the important part of the first few turns, as it sets the clock that you will be racing. The maximum number of prizes Aqua Storm can reap will determine both the number of prizes you will have to take beforehand and how many turns you have to take those prizes and establish a board state that Kyogre can take the game off of. This tends to be easier in matchups like Lugia VSTAR/Single Strike, where they usually have to put down more than one multi-prize Pokemon (usually Lugia VSTAR and a Lumineon V), allowing for a 4 prize Aqua Storm and requiring a mere 2 prizes to be taken beforehand.
The second question you’ll be asking yourself is how aggressive do I need to be with digging through my deck? A lot of the time, this shouldn’t be a huge concern. You can get through 10-12 cards every turn once you get the engine rolling (provided you did not prize Radiant Greninja). Only when you do prize Radiant Greninja, or had an incredibly slow start, should deck size be a real concern. Should you have a slow start, it can prove effective to readjust your game plan to be a lot slower and try to use your single-prize Pokémon that can trade evenly against decks like Mew and Lugia.
Planning ahead is crucial with this deck, regardless of match up. Each flower selecting can be a game-changing choice, and the weight of those decisions may not become apparent until the final turns of the game. It is crucial that you know what you prized in this deck, as getting rid of one extra energy than you could afford can be game-ending.
Decklist
Why no Forest Seal Stone Engine?
There are two reasons for why the current list runs no Vs. The first one is that starting a multi-prize Pokémon can be game-killing in a lost zone mirror match. With very few counterplay available in regards to starting a V, completely avoiding a catastrophic start maximizes your opportunity to play the game and removes lucky opportunities for your opponent to run away with the win.
The second reason there are no Vs is to maximize our clock. Attackers like Dragonite V and Raikou V have their benefits, as they are able to one-shot Pokémon that you would otherwise be incapable of dealing with immediately, but Kyogre is on a prize-timer and you want as much time to pull off Aqua Storm as possible.
There are additional benefits that the Forest Seal Stone package entails. Notably, the synergy with a higher count of Lost Vacuum is incredible, as it enables you to pull off Sableye’s Lost Mine attack by turn 2-3, which is significantly less realistic in the current list. Being able to get the first Lost Mine in the mirror match is critical.
2 Manaphy
2 Manaphy is a tech for the mirror match. Having access to 2 Manaphy to further prevent the Lost Mine into Moonlight Shuriken strategy acts as a safety-net in the match up.
2 Snorlax
There are multiple routes that you can chose between when building this deck. You can run it with the lightning V attackers, or you can play Galarian Moltres, but both of those require an extra energy type. However, forgoing both of those and leaning further into Snorlax allows for a streamlined list that does not mess with any extra attackers or energy types. Ironically, Snorlax cuts the fat, maximizing the deck’s consistency. Snorlax is also particularly useful in tandem with Cramorant, as the combination of their two attacks enables a clean knockout on most VSTARs.
4 Battle VIP Pass
This is more of a controversial card choice than one might think. Considering Kyogre’s plan to shred through the deck as quickly as possible, cards like Judge and Roxanne can be particularly disruptive. Cards like Fog Crystal and Level Ball are useful, as they allow you to dump more cards from your hand before you get Judged, minimizing the cards being put back into the deck, while Battle VIP Pass would be stuck in the hand. For now, I still believe that the card is well worth playing, but that opinion may change.
3 Energy Recycler
Having access to 3 Energy Recycler allows you to have a lot less pressure with resource management. Oftentimes, with this deck, you will need to burn through your entire deck in order to set up Kyogre, which means that you need 2 Energy Recyclers to pull Kyogre off. Running 3 reduces possible conflicts involving prizing or being forced to lost-zone one.
1 Echoing Horn
Weirdly enough, this is one of the stronger cards in the mirror match. An opportunistic way that you can win the mirror match involves using Echoing Horn on a useless Pokémon in order to “bench lock” your opponent. Sometimes you can get a bench lock off where there’s no space for a Manaphy or a Sableye, allowing you to exploit their board state.
Another use for the card lies in its ability to force a V Pokémon onto the board in order to maximize the value of an Aqua Storm. In this right, Echoing Horn also provides an outlet for further counterplay against Lugia, enabling you to respond to them using Collapsed Stadium to remove their Lumineon from play.
2 Pokéstop
In my opinion, Pokéstop is better than Beach Court in this deck. Considering the clock that Kyogre is racing, you will almost never need the extra switching outs that Beach Court gives you. Pokéstop is a Path to the Peak counter stadium and provides additional value by helping you catch up in games where the first few turns are incredibly slow.
Possible inclusions
3rd Klara/1 Pal Pad
These are both inclusions that I have debated adding to the deck. One of the problems that you can run into is running out of ways to get back Sableye, Cramorant, or other Pokémon that you might need. This is the justification behind either of these cards and the probable cut would be the Echoing Horn.
Hawlucha
This is a card that is up in the air for me. Currently, I am a bit torn between the second Manaphy and Hawlucha. Like Manaphy, Hawlucha is particularly potent in the mirror, as it grants the ability to get two one-shots on Comfeys in a single turn with Sableye’s Lost Mine. I’m not sure yet what card I’ll decide on between the two, but they both have strong merits.
Medicham V
Currently, there is a possibility that Medicham V is included in my final Kyogre list for Hartford. Having the ability to have a 3-prize tempo-swing in a lost zone mirror match allows you to get ahead when you are behind. What you can do is place 7 damage on a Comfey and 5 on a Manaphy with Lost Mine. Should your opponent miss a Switch Cart the next turn, you can pull off the 3 prize wombo-combo.
Matchups
Mirrors (Kyogre, Forest Seal Stone, Sableye Radiant Charizard) - Even
Your entire objective is to get knockouts as quick as possible and not fall behind in the prize trade. Speed is the number one priority, so getting early knockouts with Cramorant will allow you to keep pace until you can put pressure onto your opponent’s Manaphy. Hawlucha can allow you to get a 2 prize turn, so make sure to keep this in your back pocket, but otherwise pressure is the number 1 goal.
Lugia VSTAR - Favored
Ignore Collapsed Stadium. As I stated previously, you need to watch your opponent’s first two turns to see what Pokémon you can possibly get to knockout later on with a Kyogre. This means that you will usually just try and attack with Cramorant and then a Snorlax to knockout the Lugia VSTAR the Lugia player will use to setup. Final prize can be any single prizer and then a 3 prize combo with Kyogre is key.
Arceus VSTAR Variants - Even
Same goal as Lugia VSTAR, but instead you will typically be getting knockouts on 2 V pokemon with Kyogre. The major difference is that Arceus VSTAR usually runs more Judge than Lugia VSTAR, so you will have to be more intentional with getting through your deck quicker.
Mew VMAX - Favored
Again, same goal but even more precedent of getting through your deck, as you will be Judged every single turn of the game unless the Mex VMAX player is unlucky.
Goodra VSTAR Lost Zone - Favored
Goodra VSTAR is a deck where you want to try and play around Roxanne for as long as possible. They have zero ways to remove Pokémon from play, so keep that in mind during your Kyogre calculations. Additionally, the damage spread from Sableye will stay in play (most of the time) because of this.
Conclusion
Overall I am a huge fan of Kyogre. The deck allows you to control the tempo of the game by doing risk management to see how long you have to get your combo off. This version or the Forest Seal Stone one is what you will see me playing in Hartford, as I believe it is the best deck in format. Until next time, Ian out.
Pokémon: 7
4 Comfey LOR 79
2 Sableye LOR 70
1 Kyogre CEL 3
2 Manaphy BRS 41
1 Radiant Greninja ASR 46
2 Snorlax LOR 143
2 Cramorant LOR 50
Trainer: 13
4 Switch Cart ASR 154
4 Escape Rope BST 125
3 Energy Recycler BST 124
1 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146
1 Echoing Horn CRE 136
4 Battle VIP Pass FST 225
2 Pokégear 3.0 UNB 182
2 Klara CRE 145
2 PokéStop PGO 68
4 Mirage Gate LOR 163
4 Nest Ball SVI 181
4 Colress's Experiment LOR 155
Energy: 2
6 Basic {W} Energy Energy 3
5 Basic {P} Energy Energy 5
Total Cards: 60