It’s great to be back from the North American International Championships! After some much needed time away, I have resumed testing for the upcoming BRS-SFA format! One of the strongest decks for this format, and for World’s, is none other than Snorlax! This deck has always been powerful into the right metagame and can take down tournaments from out of nowhere. With Shrouded Fable, we have gained a few powerful cards that take the deck to the next level. There are two different ways that I would play this deck depending on the tournament you’re going to. With that being said, let’s take a look at where we’re currently at with the list for a local League Challenge or League Cup tournament:

 

Pokémon (11)

4 Snorlax PGO 055

1 Chi-Yu ex PAL 040

1 Luxray V ASR 050

1 Pidgeot V ASR 137

2 Rotom V LOR 058

1 Mantine ASR 034

1 Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex TWM 112

 

Trainers (46)

4 Arven

4 Penny

3 Eri

2 Miss Fortune Sisters

1 Boss's Orders

1 Cyllene

1 Erika's Invitation

1 Iono

1 Team Yell's Cheer

1 Xerosic's Plan

4 Counter Catcher

4 Pokégear 3.0

4 Nest Ball

3 Accompanying Flute

3 Pal Pad

1 Hisuian Heavy Ball

1 Super Rod

1 Switch Cart

2 Bravery Charm

1 Defiance Vest

1 Forest Seal Stone

1 Hero's Cape

 

Energy (3)

1 Fire

1 Fighting

2 Double Turbo Energy

 

     It’s no secret that Snorlax is one of the best decks in the format at the time of writing. It is also no secret that basically no one likes playing against it. However, I believe that is one of the best reasons to play the deck currently. Since so many people despise playing against it, they do not take the time to test into it and just accept the matchup as a loss. This increases the chances of stealing games off players simply by playing the deck. I will say, this is one of the hardest decks to play other than Pidgeot Control variants. To play this deck well you do need to be greatly knowledgeable about the meta and have the ability to anticipate what your opponent could do within the next 3-4 turns. This complexity also drives a lot of players away from the deck and means it’s surprisingly absent from many local metas.

     With all this in mind, let’s talk about the deck. The idea is to stall your opponent out by trapping a Pokémon that either cannot attack, or attacks for very little damage in the Active Spot with Snorlax’s Block Ability. From there you will run your opponent out of resources with cards like Eri, Miss Fortune Sisters, or maybe even Chi-Yu ex depending on the situation. This list is geared for a best-of-one tournament in playing Chi-Yu ex, as this allows you to aggressively mill out your opponent’s deck, effectively letting you win the game within the 30-minute allotted time per round. Without Chi-Yu ex, some decks can drag the game along for the entire 30 minutes, resulting in a tie—which is certainly undesirable.

     I think the strongest addition to the deck by far is Xerosic’s Plan. My honest thought when I first read the card was, “What?? There’s no way this is a real card.” Xerosic’s Plan reads: “Your opponent discards cards from their hand until they have 3 cards.” This card is simply absurd. In the past we had the Wailord EX stall deck that popped up to earn 2^nd place at the 2015 US National Championships, which featured “Hugh” to a similar effect. However, that supporter had both players add or discard cards from their hand until they had 5. The fact Xerosic puts only your opponent down to 3 cards completely removes their ability to Iono-stall you out of the game into a tie. Typically, most matchups that play 3-4 Iono will simply try to draw their entire deck while representing a threat on board and just play Iono once their deck gets to about 2-3 cards, basically resetting the game. This was a very good anti-stall technique that I think was healthy for the game. Now, we can remove a ton of resources in one fell swoop and essentially end the game on the spot. Xerosic’s Plan will force your opponent into a very difficult decision and open up opportunities for them to misplay as they try to determine which 3 cards they need to keep to win. The other card to be played in tandem with this is Luxray V to Fang Snipe their hand. This one-two punch can severely cripple your opponent’s ability to play the game and guarantee the win. Your opponent is most likely going to keep 1 good Supporter to rebuild their hand and taking that away with Luxray V is outrageous.

 

     With this list, I still play Mantine. I believe that in bo1 format it is an essential card to help lock a pesky Pokémon in the Active Spot, as a lot of players will use their terrible Basics as discard fodder to Ultra Ball, Superior Energy Retrieval, Earthen Vessel, etc. This allows you the chance to bring them back and then stall it the next turn. In bo3 format I believe it is still strong, but not as needed as you are less constrained to try to win one game in 50 minutes than 30 minutes. This is also why I would consider cutting Chi-Yu ex in bo3 format, as you do not really need the extra push to win the game super quick, you have more opportunity to win through a slower stall-out strategy.

 

     An underrated card that a lot of Snorlax decks still do not play is Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex. This card singlehandedly wins the Charizard ex matchup. Once they’ve taken one prize and you’ve gotten rid of their Lost Vacuum, you simply play this down with a Defiance Vest on it, and they basically have no way to get through it. You never take prizes, so typically, they will never be able to one-shot it, even if they play cards like Cancelling Cologne. Note that Charizard ex decks should be playing Dusknoir SFA as well, so they “can” force you to take prizes which can hinder your setup in a way. This is also why we do not play Mimikyu anymore, as these decks can simply use Dusknoir to knock it out, and relying on keeping a Hero’s Cape on it is just not feasible.

 

Ideal Setup and Subsequent Turns

Ideally, you will always choose to go second with this deck. This allows you the chance to play Arven as your first supporter. This will typically find you Nest Ball/Hisuian Heavy Ball to find your Rotom V and a Forest Seal Stone. Your usual first turn is spent doing this in any possible way. You just want to get Rotom V down to draw 3 every single turn to end your turn. This deck relies on having “card advantage” over your opponent to win the game. You’ll often have to use 2-4 cards to regain control of the board, so ensuring you’re refilling your hand close to every turn is tantamount to winning.

After you’ve established this board, you are looking to amass Pokégears, Arven, etc. to grant flexibility in what responses you can have to any of your opponent’s actions. If your opponent is attacking you, you will probably need to spend your Supporter on Arven to grab a Counter Catcher if you don’t already have one to lock a Pokémon active for a turn to get your board and hand set up. The point of the game is just ensuring you can stabilize and relieve the pressure your opponent is applying. As soon as you see them pass with a Pokémon stuck active, there is usually immediate relief and then we will go back to aggressively playing Eri and Miss Fortune Sisters. When playing Eri, it is important to you take note of what they have in hand. If they have a Boss’s Orders this may allow them to use it on your Rotom V to take 2 prizes. You will then need to study your hand to find the line to regain control of the board after that possibility. Playing this deck means constantly having to re-adjust your game plan in response to whatever your opponent is doing or not doing. Once you have locked a Pokémon active, you want to cycle your resources and take note of what outs your opponent has left. For example, versus Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur, while you are favoured in that matchup, you need to know that they may play a Cyllene, hit a double-heads and sweep the game away from you at any point. This is where meta knowledge comes into play in knowing what other decks “may” play so you can prepare for any board state that is possible. You never want to get cheesed out of a game because of a simple oversight. Study the meta, learn what decks “could” be playing, and always pay attention to what your opponent is doing!

 

I think this deck is one of the strongest contenders in the BRS-SFA format. Do not be surprised if you see this deck popping up more and more after Shrouded Fable’s release, and watch out for that Xerosic’s Plan card. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out to me on X (Twitter) or Discord. I’m always happy to assist with questions you may have and inquire about coaching! Limited availability, don’t miss out!

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