N's Zoroark Deck Guide: Standard Lists, Counts and Matchups

N's Zoroark is a Darkness deck built around N's Zoroark ex, whose "Night Joker" borrows attacks from the N's Pokémon sitting on your Bench, mainly N's Zekrom and N's Reshiram.

It's the fifth most played deck in Standard right now: 309 lists, 6.2% of the field and a 54.2% average win rate, with a best finish of 1st. Usage and win rate are both stable (+0.5 and +0.4). The thing you need to know about it is that the matchup spread is lopsided. It's 54% to 67% into most of the Dragapult and Mega Kangaskhan Slowking field, then 20% to 34% into four specific decks. Whether you should register it comes down to how many of those four you expect to play against.

How it wins

The engine is one attack. "Night Joker" costs two Darkness Energy and lets N's Zoroark ex use any attack from one of your Benched N's Pokémon. N's Zekrom and N's Reshiram never really attack themselves. They sit on the Bench so Zoroark has "Rampaging Thunder" (250), "Virtuous Flame" (170) and "Shred" (70, ignores effects on the Defending Pokémon) available whenever it needs them. You pay Night Joker's cost, not the cost of the attack you copy, so the Bench Dragons can stay bare.

Zoroark also draws for you. "Trade" lets you discard a card from your hand to draw 2, once per turn. With four Zoroark in the list, you'll often have two or three of them drawing every turn.

Pecharunt ex and Binding Mochi push the damage up. "Subjugating Chains" switches a Benched Darkness Pokémon into the Active Spot and Poisons it. Binding Mochi gives attacks from a Poisoned Pokémon 40 more damage to the opponent's Active Pokémon. So you put Mochi on a powered Zoroark on the Bench, Chains it up, and the Poison you'd normally avoid is now a damage boost. Add Black Belt's Training against an Active Pokémon ex and that's another 40.

You take Prizes by picking off whatever you want with Boss's Orders (3.2 copies, more than any other top deck except Crustle Mega Kangaskhan) and finishing with the right borrowed attack. Late in the game Special Red Card wrecks the opponent's hand when they're close to winning.

Key cards and counts

The Zoroark line: 4-4

N's Zorua and N's Zoroark ex both average 4 copies at 91.8% inclusion. Zoroark is your attacker and your draw engine at the same time, so you max it out. Every extra Zoroark on board is another "Trade" each turn.

N's Zekrom (1.8, 100%) and N's Reshiram (1, 78%)

Every single list plays Zekrom, most of them two. It's what gives Zoroark "Rampaging Thunder", the deck's biggest hit, and it's a Basic with 130 HP you'd hate to have Prized as a single copy. Reshiram is the second Dragon in 78% of lists and gives you "Virtuous Flame" for 170. Remember Rampaging Thunder carries a "can't use attacks next turn" clause, so having a second option on board matters.

Search and recovery

Poké Pad (2.8) grabs anything without a Rule Box: Zorua, Zekrom, Reshiram, Munkidori, Tatsugiri. That's lower than most top decks (Dragapult Munkidori plays 4), because Cyrano (2.1, 99.5%) handles the ex side by fetching up to three Pokémon ex at once, typically Zoroark ex, Pecharunt ex and Fezandipiti ex. Ultra Ball (2.5) doubles as a way to discard Energy. Buddy-Buddy Poffin (3.9) puts two Zorua on the Bench turn one, since Zorua's 70 HP qualifies. Night Stretcher (1.8) brings back a Pokémon or a Basic Energy.

N's PP Up (3) and Darkness Energy (7.9)

N's PP Up attaches a Basic Energy from your discard pile to a Benched N's Pokémon. That's why you're happy to throw Darkness Energy away with "Trade" and Ultra Ball: each one is a future PP Up target. Combined with your manual attachment, a Benched Zoroark can go from zero to ready for "Night Joker" in one turn. The median list runs 8 Energy, so this count barely moves.

Pecharunt ex (1, 99.5%) and Binding Mochi (1.7, 97.8%)

One Pecharunt is plenty: you can only use one "Subjugating Chains" a turn anyway. It's also your pivot. Zoroark has a Retreat Cost of 2, and Chains gets it into the Active Spot for free. Mochi sits at 1.7 because it only does anything on the Pokémon you plan to Poison.

The rest of the core

Lillie's Determination is a locked 4. Black Belt's Training (1, 98.9%) is your answer to big Pokémon ex. Fezandipiti ex (1, 95.1%) draws 3 with "Flip the Script" after you lose a Pokémon. Munkidori (1, 91.8%) uses "Adrena-Brain" to move up to 3 damage counters from one of your Pokémon to one of theirs, as long as it has Darkness Energy attached. Special Red Card (1) shows up in 96.2% of lists, far above its 56.3% play rate across the format. Secret Box is the ACE SPEC in 79.7% of lists, and Tatsugiri (72%) digs for Supporters from the Active Spot.

Game plan

Early game

You want two Zorua on the Bench on turn one, ideally from Buddy-Buddy Poffin, plus a Zekrom from Poké Pad. Tatsugiri is a fine starter: "Attract Customers" only works while it's Active, so a Tatsugiri start finds you a Supporter before you've done anything else. Going first you can't play a Supporter, which makes Poffin and Poké Pad the cards that matter most in your opening hand.

Don't attach Energy to your Active Zorua out of habit. Put it on a Benched Zorua that's about to evolve, or on Munkidori if you want "Adrena-Brain" online.

Mid game

Evolve everything you can and use "Trade" on each Zoroark. What you discard matters. Darkness Energy is a great discard because N's PP Up brings it back onto a Benched N's Pokémon. A typical attacking turn:

1. "Trade" with each Zoroark, discarding Energy if you need PP Up targets.
2. Put Binding Mochi on the Benched Zoroark that's going to attack.
3. Use N's PP Up and your manual attachment to get it to two Darkness.
4. "Subjugating Chains" to bring it Active. It's now Poisoned, so Mochi turns on.
5. Play Boss's Orders or Black Belt's Training, then "Night Joker" for whichever copied attack takes the Knock Out.

Pick the cheapest attack that gets the job done. "Virtuous Flame" at 170 has no drawback. Save "Rampaging Thunder" for when you need 250, because it shuts that attacker down next turn.

Late game

When your opponent is at 3 or fewer Prizes, Special Red Card sends their hand to the bottom and leaves them with 3 cards. That's often the turn they can't find their own Boss or attacker. "Irritated Outburst" on Pecharunt ex scales with Prizes they've taken (60 for each), so it can be a surprise closer late. And Fezandipiti ex's "Cruel Arrow" does 100 to any Pokémon if you need to snipe a Benched target for your last Prize.

Matchups

The numbers below are CardForge's aggregated records. Wins-losses-ties.

Where you're favored

The biggest matchup is Dragapult Munkidori, the most played deck at 17%, and you're 54% over 283 games. That's a real edge on a big sample, not a fluke. All three Dragapult decks are favorable, with Blaziken Dragapult the best at 67% over 94 games. Mega Kangaskhan Slowking at 62% is another strong one. Black Belt's Training is built for Pokémon ex in the Active Spot, which is part of why big two Prize targets aren't scary for this deck.

Lillie's Clefairy Banette looks great at 75%, but that's only 32 games, so I wouldn't lean on it too hard. Mega Lopunny Dusknoir is flagged as a small sample (20 games), so treat its 55% as noise.

Coin flips

Mega Kangaskhan Meowth is dead even at 50% over 138 games. Play it tight and it'll come down to who sets up.

Where you struggle

Four decks beat you badly: Dipplin Thwackey (20%), Hydrapple Teal Mask Ogerpon (22%), Mega Excadrill Metagross (28%) and Crustle Mega Kangaskhan (34%). None of these are small samples. One thing you can see on your own cards: N's Zorua and N's Zoroark ex both have Grass Weakness, and Pecharunt ex and Fezandipiti ex are weak to Fighting. Combined, these four decks make up about 13% of the field (3.2%, 2.8%, 4% and 3.1%). If your local scene is heavy on them, pick a different deck.

Tech options

Judge (62.1%, 1.7 copies)

Each player shuffles their hand in and draws 4. It's your mid-game disruption, and it works well beside Special Red Card. The cost is a slot that would otherwise go to more draw. With "Trade" refilling your hand every turn, you can afford a smaller hand better than most decks.

N's Castle (60.4%, 1.8) vs Team Rocket's Watchtower (56.6%, 2.6)

The median list plays 3 Stadiums, and this is the main split. N's Castle gives N's Pokémon no Retreat Cost, which frees up your Retreat 2 Zoroark and Dragons. Read the text though: it works for your opponent's N's Pokémon too. Team Rocket's Watchtower turns off Abilities on Colorless Pokémon for both players. Lists that run it generally play more copies (2.6) to keep it in play.

Yveltal (53.8%)

A non-ex Darkness attacker: "Dark Feather" for 110 or "Clutch" to stop the Defending Pokémon from retreating. It isn't an N's Pokémon, so "Night Joker" can't copy it, but "Subjugating Chains" can pull it into the Active Spot. It's a single Prize attacker for when you don't want to expose a Zoroark.

Air Balloon (50.5%)

Reduces Retreat Cost by two Colorless, which makes Zoroark, Zekrom and Reshiram free to retreat. It competes with Binding Mochi for the Tool slot, so it's for lists that want mobility without counting on Castle.

Budew (48.9%)

"Itchy Pollen" costs nothing and stops your opponent from playing Items next turn. It's a turn one or two play. Its 30 HP fits Buddy-Buddy Poffin, but it's an easy Prize.

N's Darumaka and N's Darmanitan (42.3% each)

They always come as a 1-1 pair (it's the strongest pairing in the data, with a lift of 39.42). Darmanitan is an N's Pokémon, so Zoroark can copy "Back Draft" (30 for each Basic Energy in the opponent's discard pile) or "Flamebody Cannon" (90 to the Active plus 90 to a Benched Pokémon). Since Night Joker is the one attacking, the Energy discard falls on Zoroark, which already lives on PP Up recursion. It costs you two slots, and Darumaka can't come out with Poffin at 80 HP.

Meowth ex (40.1%)

"Last-Ditch Catch" searches out a Supporter when you play it to the Bench. Basically a Boss's Orders or Black Belt's Training on demand. The catch: Meowth ex is Colorless, so your own Team Rocket's Watchtower shuts its Ability off. Don't run both without a plan for sequencing them.

Common mistakes

Forgetting Munkidori needs Darkness Energy. "Adrena-Brain" does nothing without Darkness Energy attached. If you want to move damage counters off your Zoroark each turn, that Energy has to land early, and it's usually worth N's PP Up... except PP Up only targets N's Pokémon, and Munkidori isn't one. Use your manual attachment on it.

Pinging N's PP Up onto the wrong target. It only works on Benched N's Pokémon. You can't use it on your Active Zoroark, on Pecharunt ex, or on Yveltal. Set up the Benched attacker first, then Chains it up.

Using "Subjugating Chains" without Mochi. The switch Poisons the new Active Pokémon. Without Binding Mochi attached that's pure downside, so if you're just pivoting, know you're paying for it.

Firing off "Rampaging Thunder" when 170 does the job. The drawback says it can't use attacks next turn. If "Virtuous Flame" takes the Knock Out, use that.

Discarding the wrong things to "Trade". Dump Energy (PP Up targets) or extra copies you don't need. Don't throw your only Boss's Orders or your second Zekrom. Night Stretcher can recover a Pokémon, but you only have 1.8 of them.

Playing Special Red Card too early. It only works when your opponent has 3 or fewer Prizes left. Hold it for the turn it actually breaks up their hand.

Benching all your Pokémon ex. Zoroark ex, Pecharunt ex, Fezandipiti ex and Meowth ex all give up 2 Prizes. Don't put Fezandipiti or Pecharunt down before you actually need them.

FAQ

Is N's Zoroark good in the current Standard meta?

Yes. It's the fifth most played deck with 309 lists and 6.2% usage, and its 54.2% average win rate is among the best of the top decks. It has a 1st place finish, and both usage and win rate are stable. The weak spot is four bad matchups, all between 20% and 34%.

What are N's Zoroark's best and worst matchups?

It's strongest against Blaziken Dragapult (67% over 94 games), Mega Kangaskhan Slowking (62%) and Dragapult Dusknoir (59%), and 54% over 283 games against Dragapult Munkidori. It struggles against Dipplin Thwackey (20%), Hydrapple Teal Mask Ogerpon (22%), Mega Excadrill Metagross (28%) and Crustle Mega Kangaskhan (34%). Lillie's Clefairy Banette shows 75%, but that's only 32 games.

How many Darkness Energy does N's Zoroark run?

Lists average 7.9 Darkness Energy, and the median deck plays 8 Energy total, with almost no variation between lists. The count stays fairly low because N's PP Up (3 copies) reattaches Basic Energy from the discard pile to Benched N's Pokémon. That lets you discard Energy to "Trade" and Ultra Ball without losing it for good.

Should I play N's Darmanitan in Zoroark?

About 42% of lists run a 1-1 N's Darumaka and N's Darmanitan line. Darmanitan is an N's Pokémon, so Zoroark's "Night Joker" can copy "Back Draft" or "Flamebody Cannon" for Bench damage. It costs two slots that most other lists spend on cards like Yveltal, Air Balloon or Budew.

Why does N's Zoroark play Pecharunt ex and Binding Mochi?

Pecharunt ex's "Subjugating Chains" switches a Benched Darkness Pokémon like Zoroark ex into the Active Spot and Poisons it. Binding Mochi then gives that Poisoned Pokémon's attacks 40 more damage to the opponent's Active Pokémon. It's also a free pivot for Zoroark, which has a Retreat Cost of 2. Pecharunt ex shows up in 99.5% of lists and Mochi in 97.8%.