Roaring Moon took everyone by surprise at the Shrouded Fabled 2024 World Championship, securing second place in the biggest competitive Pokémon TCG event. The deck is known for its straightforward playstyle and its ability to counter popular matchups like Regidrago, while still holding its own against other top meta decks. Its combination of powerful attacks and resource management made it a standout contender in the tournament.
Decklist
Pokémon: 11
4 Roaring Moon ex PAR 124
2 Pecharunt ex SFA 39
2 Squawkabilly ex PAL 169
1 Roaring Moon TEF 109
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Radiant Greninja ASR 46
Trainer: 40
4 Professor Sada's Vitality PAR 170
2 Judge SVI 176
1 Boss's Orders PAL 172
4 Dark Patch ASR 139
4 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
4 Nest Ball SVI 181
4 Ultra Ball SVI 196
4 Trekking Shoes ASR 156
4 Pokémon Catcher SVI 187
2 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
1 Prime Catcher TEF 157
1 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Pal Pad SVI 182
4 PokéStop PGO 68
Energy: 9
9 Darkness Energy SVE 7How to Play
Roaring Moon ex is a straightforward deck centered around using Roaring Moon ex as the primary damage dealer. The main strategy is to utilize Calamity Storm to knock out the opponent’s Pokémon, dealing up to 220 damage by discarding a Stadium in play. With 4 PokéStops included in the deck, you can reliably get the +120 damage boost, making it easier to knock out high-health Pokémon.
Frenzied Gouging is a powerful move that can KO any Pokémon regardless of its health, but it comes with the drawback of dealing 200 damage to Roaring Moon ex, putting him in a vulnerable position on the upcoming turn. This attack is best used against Pokémon with more than 220 HP that pose a threat to your Pokémon.
This deck’s strategy focuses on knocking out 2-Prize Card Pokémon, setting up the game for a final win using Frenzied Gouging. To ensure you’re targeting these 2-Prize Pokémon, cards like Boss’s Orders, Pokémon Catcher, and Prime Catcher help pull those Pokémon into the Active spot for an easy KO.
Basic Roaring Moon is a secondary attacker, capable of KOing low-health Pokémon with Vengeance Fletching. It’s great for taking down 1-Prize Pokémon or finishing off already damaged 2-Prize Pokémon. Additionally, because Basic Roaring Moon only gives up 1 Prize Card when knocked out, it can slow down the opponent’s progress toward winning, providing you with more time to set up bigger plays with Roaring Moon ex.
Draw Potential
Fezandipiti ex stays on the bench, watching over your Roaring Moon as it fights your battle. When one of your Pokémon is knocked out, it activates Flip the Script, allowing you to draw three cards, generating resources to create more plays.
Meanwhile, Radiant Greninja plays a key card value role. You’ll want it on the bench to use Concealed Cards, which discards an Energy card from your hand to draw 2 cards. With multiple cards in the deck to retrieve and attach Energy from the discard pile, Radiant Greninja helps generate value and activate your cards to attach more Energy to your Pokémon.
If you have Squawkabilly on your first turn, your goal is to play as many cards as possible to empty your hand, maximizing the value of its Squawk and Seize ability. This ability lets you discard your hand and draw 6 new cards, giving you a fresh start with more resources to work with right at the beginning of the game.
Judge is one of the strongest resource management cards in the deck, not just because it draws you 4 cards, but because it also disrupts your opponent’s hand. When played, Judge shuffles both players’ hands into their decks and draws 4 cards. This can be especially powerful if your opponent is holding onto more than 4 cards, reducing their resources and potentially disrupting their strategy. You want to play all your important cards before you go for the Judge play.
Energy Resource
We only need Basic Darkness Energy in this deck, which can be attached on Basic Roaring Moon, Roaring Moon ex, and Pecharunt ex to start activating their attacks.
Dark Patch and Professor Sada’s Vitality help accelerate your game plan by attaching Basic Darkness Energy from the discard pile. Dark Patch attaches a Basic Darkness Energy to one of your Benched Darkness Pokémon, while Professor Sada’s Vitality attaches a Basic Energy to two of your Ancient Pokémon, so it can only target Basic Roaring Moon and Roaring Moon ex.
These cards help you attach Energy cards on Roaring Moon faster, allowing it to attack a turn earlier. It’s also helping you set up Roaring Moon on the bench with Energy attached, ready to move into the Active spot when needed.
We also have additional ways to draw Basic Energy. Earthen Vessel forces you to discard a card to draw 2 Basic Energy cards directly from your deck, ensuring you have the Energy needed to start attacking. On the other hand, Night Stretcher offers more versatility, giving you the choice between drawing a Pokémon or a Basic Energy card from your discard pile, providing flexibility depending on your game state.
Switching Around
With Dark Patch attaching Basic Darkness Energy to benched Roaring Moon, Pecharunt ex‘s Subjugating Chains ability adds a powerful movement option to the deck. This ability allows you to freely move Basic Roaring Moon or Roaring Moon ex with enough Basic Energy into the Active spot, enabling a more aggressive game plan.
Additionally, Subjugating Chains serves as an answer to the Snorlax deck, which used to be a challenge for this deck. It allows you to bypass Snorlax‘s stall tactics and continue applying pressure with Roaring Moon.
Since our strategy focuses on knocking out 2-Prize Pokémon, we rely on Boss’s Orders, Pokémon Catcher, and Prime Catcher to bring the targeted Pokémon into the Active spot. Opponents might try to stall by moving a 1-Prize Pokémon into the Active spot to buy time. That’s where these cards come in clutch, allowing us to switch in the 2-Prize Pokémon we want to KO, keeping our pressure on and maintaining control of the game.