Legal Sets
Official Rules
- •60-card decks exactly
- •Maximum 4 copies of any card with the same name (Basic Energy exempt)
- •Must include at least 1 Basic Pokémon
- •First player cannot attack on Turn 1
- •Pokémon-GX give up 2 Prize cards; GX attack usable once per game
- •Prism Star cards limited to 1 per deck
- •All XY-era cards rotated out — no more VS Seeker, N, Float Stone, Puzzle of Time, Parallel City
- •Cynthia and Lillie are primary draw Supporters
- •Guzma remains as the gust effect
- •Let Loose Marshadow replaces N for hand disruption
- •Format used for early 2018-19 season (before Team Up release)
Format Overview
SUM–LOT represented a fresh start after the massive XY rotation. With VS Seeker, N, Float Stone, and Puzzle of Time gone, decks had to be rebuilt from the ground up. Cynthia became the format’s primary draw Supporter, Lillie provided opening burst draw, and Let Loose Marshadow served as the hand disruption tool.
Lost Thunder was the format-defining set. It introduced Blacephalon-GX (a glass cannon Fire attacker that discarded Energy for massive damage), Alolan Ninetales-GX with Mysterious Guidance for Item search, Lost March (a single-prize swarm deck using the Lost Zone), Spell Tag for Malamar spread variants, and Professor Elm’s Lecture for consistent Basic Pokémon setup.
The metagame was diverse and skill-intensive. Zoroark-GX remained the consistency engine of choice with its Trade Ability, spawning multiple variants from aggressive (with Decidueye-GX) to control (with Oranguru’s Resource Management). Malamar provided Psychic energy acceleration in two flavors: the OHKO-focused Ultra Necrozma build and the spread-damage Spell Tag build. Granbull and Lost March proved that single-prize strategies could compete at the highest level.
Key Cards
Top Decks (10)
Zoroark-GX / Decidueye-GX / Alolan Ninetales-GX
The dominant archetype. Zoroark-GX’s Trade draws consistently. Decidueye-GX’s Feather Arrow places 20 damage per turn from bench. Alolan Ninetales-GX (LOT) searches any Item via Mysterious Guidance. A consistency and damage-spread powerhouse.
Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel
Glass cannon Fire attacker. Blacephalon-GX’s Mind Blown discards Fire Energy for 50 damage each. Naganadel’s Charging Up recovers Fire Energy from discard. Beast Ring provides massive mid-game acceleration. 16 Fire Energy ensures consistent fuel.
Malamar / Ultra Necrozma-GX
Malamar’s Psychic Recharge accelerates Psychic Energy from discard. Ultra Necrozma-GX’s Photon Geyser discards all Metal for 20+80× damage — OHKOing GX with Choice Band. Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX provides free switching via Invasion.
Malamar / Spell Tag (Psychic Spread)
1st Place — Champions League Tokyo (2018)
Spread-damage Malamar using Giratina’s Distortion Door from discard and Spell Tag placing 4 damage counters on KO. Tapu Koko spreads 20 to all via Flying Flip. Non-GX attackers trade efficiently while accumulating chip damage across the board.
Zoroark-GX Control
1st Place — LAIC 2018-19 São Paulo
Resource-denial deck. Zoroark-GX’s Trade draws while systematically stripping opponent energy via Crushing Hammer, Enhanced Hammer, Plumeria, and Team Skull Grunt. Oranguru’s Resource Management shuffles disruption cards back. Magcargo guarantees the right card every turn. Wins by deckout.
Lost March (Jumpluff / Natu)
Single-prize swarm using the Lost Zone. Skiploom’s Floral Path sends itself + Hoppip to Lost Zone on evolution. Trumbeak’s Mountain Pass does the same from hand. Lost March attack deals 20× Pokémon in Lost Zone — scales to 200+ from non-GX attackers.
Granbull
2nd Place — LAIC 2018-19 São Paulo
Single-prize beatdown dealing 160 damage with an empty hand. Apricorn Maker searches Ball cards that thin hand. Ultra Ball discards 2 cards. Magcargo + Oranguru provide draw without clogging hand. Diantha recovers KO’d Granbull. Shrine chips GX.
Buzzwole / Garbodor / Shrine of Punishment
1st Place — Regional Philadelphia (2018)
Non-GX toolbox punishing from multiple angles. Buzzwole’s Sledgehammer does 120 at exactly 4 opponent prizes. Garbodor’s Trashalanche scales with discarded Items. Shrine damages all GX between turns. Trades efficiently against GX-heavy decks.
Rayquaza-GX / Vikavolt
Energy acceleration powerhouse. Vikavolt’s Strong Charge attaches Grass + Lightning from deck each turn. Rayquaza-GX’s Dragon Break deals 30× Grass + Lightning in play — scales to 240+. Rayquaza-GX’s Stormy Winds also accelerates from deck on entry.
Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX
Classic Zoroark-GX aggro with Trade-powered consistency paired with Lycanroc-GX’s Bloodthirsty Eyes gust. Professor Kukui adds 20 damage for OHKO thresholds. Diverse tech toolkit found consistently via Trade. The format’s premier ‘good stuff’ deck.
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