Snorlax control dominates Pokemon TCG tournament

A control deck has won a major Pokemon TCG tournament for the first time since December, 2022. Polish player Lucas Mazurkiewicz used a Snorlax deck to beat the competition at the Gdnask regional on November 26. 

A control deck focuses on controlling your opponent’s play until they run out of cards or concede. It is being revived as a viable option to win Pokemon TCG matches thanks to a wide meta and some new toys. Two players who used Snorlax decks placed 6th and 7th at the Brisbane regionals, while another finished 7th at the Latin America International Championships.

However, this is the first time that someone has won with control this year. Explaining his decision to use it, Mazurkiewicz said of the other decks he considered, “everything lax something.”

LimitlessTCG / Pokemon

Mazurkiewicz had a tough task in the Gdansk regional final as he was up against Erin Kingma, who had already defeated 2022 World runner-up Tord Reklev in the quarter-finals. However, his Snorlax was unmovable and Kingma was forced to concede the final game.

There are many reasons for Snorlax Control’s recent increase in popularity. The Paradox Rift expansion brought the list a new toy in gusting card, Counter Catcher, plus, a reprint of Erika’s Invitation arrived in the 151 set and allows a player to swap any card from the opponent’s hand into their active zone.

In addition, the meta is so wide that the decks at the top find it difficult to prepare for everything.

The way to stop it is with hand disruption and although Kingma’s main outs were Escape Route and Boss’s Orders, it wasn’t enough to win the final.

Mazurkiewicz explained why Snorlax control is a great option. “If your opponent gives you time, and you draw with Snorlax, you have everything you want. 

 “If you play Snorlax, the tempo pressure is all on your opponent. I just put pressure from me on my opponent.”

The win means that Markiewicz will compete at Worlds in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2024.