Hello everyone! This is Elena from Gaia Storm TCG and welcome to another article where we are going to talk about the incredible results of Buzzwole Lycanroc during this past weekend. Is Buzzroc the new BDIF of the format? Can it be stopped? How?

Since it was released in Crimson Invasion, Buzzwole immediately became a top Tier contender. It was initially paired with Garbodor and other fighting attackers like Carbink Break until London's Internationals, when everyone witnessed the powerful combination it made with Lycanroc, Max Elixir and Octillery. From that moment on, this Ultra Beast became one of the most played decks in standard, going hand in hand against the popular Zoroark.

Madison Regionals just ended this past weekend and, to no one's surprise, 6/8 decks from the top were Buzzwole: a demolishing figure. The reason of these numbers is none other than Forbidden Light and all the specific support it has brought. Buzzwole has gained the boost of Diancie Prism, the raw power of the non-GX Buzzwole and, above all, the insane energy acceleration of Beast Ring. The deck is currently as strong as any deck can be.

The main issue with Buzzwole is that it has no clear counter in the metagame because its aggressive style can literally hold the ground even against pure psychic decks. Zoroark variants can win the match up if they find Mew/Mewtwo when needed and so can Ultra Necrozma once it has set up. But when you go against a deck that can simply kill every single Pokémon in the format in just one hit, it is really difficult not to lose.

In the image above, you can see a typical Buzzwole build. Simple but effective. There are some versions that differ in the amount of strong energy and max elixirs, playing either 3 or 4 copies of each. Another interesting option is reducing the count of Buzzwole GX in favor of the non-GX one, which could be a great attacker when charged with elixirs. 
It is understandable that Pokémon wants to give more weight to Ultra beasts in the TCG but looking at the recent results, many players are asking: Is Buzzwole far too strong for the format? It is undoubtedly the deck to beat in this current format and many strategies are building decks with psychic attackers in order to stand a chance. Once September starts, Buzzwole will basically lose half of its power due to the loss of strong energy, elixir and Octillery… but we will have to see how everything evolves in the next week and if counter decks start to arise. Thanks for reading!