Howdy, Cut or Tap readers! It’s Michael Perez, and I’m happy to be writing about a deck that I really enjoy and that is not Lost Box. I’ve played at least 2000 games with an assortment of Lost Zone variants, and frankly, it’s getting old.

The 2023 season is almost at an end! Yokohama approaches hastily, and meanwhile I scramble to decide what I want to play for the Yokohama Open. Oh wait… never mind.

Looking at the Top 16 placements, Chien-Pao ex/ Baxcalibur surprised me, so I built it and started testing. This deck is no joke! After my first few games of solitaire to see if it was actually consistent enough to be on my radar, I found it to be similar to Suicune V/ Ludicolo/ Inteleon, the deck that my best friend, testing partner, and teammate Phinn Lynch piloted to a second place finish at the first Regionals back from the Covid break: Salt Lake City 2022. Chien-Pao ex is combo-heavy, and decks like this are more punishing for improper sequencing than others. Suicune was one of my favorite decks last year; we worked on it for months before the tournament and still enjoyed playing it even after the event. I’m genuinely surprised to enjoy a deck in this format as much as I did an Inteleon deck from back then.

I was told by one of my close friends that NAIC’s 12th place went to a southern Florida player, Owen Rhoads, who only had one other notable finish: 100th place at Orlando Regionals. Anyone can get lucky, but to me this says the list was very consistent, contrary to prior belief, and that the pilot put a lot of preparation into the event. I think this deck performing as well as it did is the main catalyst for a significant change in the metagame for Worlds. 

Cross Switcher plus Canceling Cologne, followed up with Radiant Greninja’s Moonlight Shuriken, poses a huge threat for both Gardevoir ex decks and Lost Zone variants. Once this deck sets up, there are very few things that are capable of slowing it down. Chien-Pao ex’s Shivery Chill Ability does a fantastic job at thinning the deck throughout the entirety of the game, and guarantees the use of Concealed Cards, the deck’s main draw engine. A consistent deck with the capacity to utilize Moonlight Shuriken while ignoring Manaphy’s Wave Veil Ability, in conjunction with Chien-Pao ex’s potential to OHKO literally any Pokémon is a force to be reckoned with.

Let’s go over some potential changes to the 12th place list, the deck’s matchup spread, and how it’s positioned for Yokohama, while covering some insight from my most recent League Cup. Lastly, we’ll discuss some sequencing tips for the deck.

Here’s Owen’s 12th place list:

Pokemon Trading Card Game Live Deck Export Available at Bottom of Article

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