Hisuian Zoroark ex Froslass Deck Guide

Strategy Overview

Hisuian Zoroark ex Froslass is one of the more creative new tournament decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket. Rather than relying only on direct damage or straightforward Energy acceleration, this deck turns an unusual resource into its main win condition: Pokémon in your discard pile. The deck is built around Hisuian Zoroark ex, a powerful Stage 1 attacker that becomes stronger for every Pokémon you have discarded throughout the match. Its attack, Spiteful Illusion, deals 80 damage for three Energy, then adds 20 more damage for every Pokémon in your discard pile. At first, 80 damage may not sound especially threatening. However, once two or three Pokémon have reached the discard pile, Hisuian Zoroark ex begins attacking for 120, 140, or even more damage. In longer games, it can quickly become one of the most efficient attackers on the board. The key to enabling that damage is Froslass. Froslass attacks for one Water Energy with Soul Shot, dealing 70 damage. After using the attack, you must discard a card from your hand. In most decks, being forced to discard cards would be a drawback. In this deck, it is part of the strategy. Once your board is established, you can discard Pokémon that are no longer necessary and turn them into extra damage for Hisuian Zoroark ex. That creates the core game plan: set up early with Hisuian Zorua, Snorunt, Mantyke, and your draw cards; use Froslass to apply pressure while placing excess Pokémon into the discard pile; then bring in Hisuian Zoroark ex when its damage reaches the right knockout threshold. Deck Overview Hisuian Zoroark ex Froslass is a flexible Water deck with two distinct phases. The first phase is about setup. You want to find Hisuian Zorua and Snorunt early, evolve into Froslass, and prepare a Hisuian Zoroark ex on the Bench. Mantyke helps you develop your Energy more efficiently by moving a Water Energy from the Energy Zone onto one of your Benched Pokémon. This can allow you to prepare a future Zoroark ex attack while still using Froslass as your active attacker. The second phase is about converting discarded Pokémon into damage. Once Froslass has attacked a few times and you have placed unneeded Pokémon into the discard pile, Hisuian Zoroark ex becomes your finisher. Every Pokémon you discard is worth an additional 20 damage. That means a card that would usually be useless in the late game can become the difference between missing a knockout and winning the match. This deck rewards careful planning. You should not discard Pokémon randomly. Every discard decision matters. If you throw away too many important evolution pieces early, you may weaken your board and lose your backup attackers. If you hold every Pokémon for too long, Hisuian Zoroark ex may not reach the damage numbers you need. The best pilots know exactly when a Pokémon has completed its role and can safely become fuel for Spiteful Illusion. Key Cards Hisuian Zoroark ex Hisuian Zoroark ex is the primary attacker and late-game closer. Its attack costs three Energy and deals 80 damage plus 20 damage for every Pokémon in your discard pile. With one Pokémon in the discard pile, Zoroark ex deals 100 damage. With two Pokémon, it deals 120. With three, it reaches 140. This scaling makes it extremely dangerous once the game has progressed beyond the opening turns. Because Hisuian Zoroark ex is a Stage 1 Pokémon, it also benefits from Training Area, increasing its attack damage by another 10 against the opponent’s Active Pokémon. This means a Zoroark ex with three Pokémon in the discard pile can potentially deal 150 damage while Training Area is in play. You should usually avoid rushing Hisuian Zoroark ex into the Active Spot before it can take an important knockout. It is a valuable two-point Pokémon, so it should enter the game with a clear purpose: remove a major threat, finish a damaged Pokémon, or establish a winning prize trade. Froslass Froslass is the engine that makes the deck work. Soul Shot deals 70 damage for one Water Energy, which is already efficient for an early attacker. More importantly, after attacking, you discard one card from your hand. This effect allows you to discard Pokémon that are no longer useful. Extra Snorunt, additional Froslass pieces, a Mantyke that has already done its job, or a Chingling that is no longer relevant can all become damage boosts for Hisuian Zoroark ex. Froslass is especially strong in the early and mid game. It lets you attack quickly while developing your discard pile without sacrificing tempo. With Training Area in play, Soul Shot deals 80 damage, allowing Froslass to pressure smaller Pokémon even more effectively. Mantyke Mantyke is an important early-game support Pokémon. Its attack allows you to take a Water Energy from the Energy Zone and attach it to one of your Benched Pokémon. This is very useful because Hisuian Zoroark ex needs three Energy to attack. Mantyke can help prepare Zoroark ex on the Bench while you continue applying pressure with Froslass in the Active Spot. Once Mantyke has used Splashy Toss and your main attackers are established, it may no longer be necessary. At that point, it becomes an excellent discard target for Froslass. Chingling Chingling provides a disruptive option during the early game. Its attack, Jingly Noise, prevents your opponent from playing Item cards from their hand during their next turn. This can be extremely strong against decks that depend on Item cards for consistency, searching, switching, or setting up their board. Chingling can buy you an important extra turn to evolve Snorunt, develop Froslass, or attach Energy to Hisuian Zorua. Like Mantyke, Chingling does not need to be useful in every matchup. In games where the opponent is not heavily dependent on Items, it can later be discarded with Froslass to increase Hisuian Zoroark ex’s damage. Elegant Cape Elegant Cape gives the Stage 1 Pokémon it is attached to 30 additional HP. In most games, the best target is Hisuian Zoroark ex. The extra HP can dramatically change knockout math. Opponents that would normally knock out Zoroark ex in one attack may now need two attacks, giving you another turn to deal damage or use Pokémon Center Lady. Since Hisuian Zoroark ex is your main late-game attacker, keeping it alive for one additional turn can be game-winning. Froslass can also be a reasonable Elegant Cape target in certain games, especially when you expect it to remain active for multiple turns. However, Zoroark ex is usually the higher-value investment. Training Area Training Area is the deck’s damage-boosting Stadium. It gives all Stage 1 Pokémon in play, including both yours and your opponent’s, an additional 10 damage against the opponent’s Active Pokémon. This is powerful because both Froslass and Hisuian Zoroark ex are Stage 1 Pokémon. Froslass can attack for 80 damage instead of 70, while Zoroark ex can reach key knockout numbers more quickly. However, Training Area is symmetrical. If your opponent is also using Stage 1 Pokémon, they receive the same damage bonus. Do not play Training Area automatically. Before using it, ask whether the additional 10 damage helps you more than it helps the opponent.

Gameplay Video

Early Game

Your opening priority is to establish your evolution lines. Try to place at least one Hisuian Zorua and one Snorunt on the Bench as early as possible. Poké Ball, Professor’s Research, and Copycat help you find the pieces you need. Mantyke is one of your strongest opening Pokémon because it can accelerate Water Energy onto a Benched attacker. In many games, attaching Energy to Snorunt or Froslass first is ideal because Froslass only needs one Energy to begin attacking. In other situations, you may want to start building Energy on Hisuian Zorua so that Zoroark ex can attack sooner after evolving. Chingling can be a strong opening option against decks that rely on Item cards. Preventing the opponent from using Items for a turn can slow their setup enough for you to establish both Froslass and Zoroark ex. Avoid filling your Bench without thinking. This deck wants access to extra Pokémon in hand later so they can become discard fuel. Only bench Pokémon that you expect to use.

Mid Game

The mid game is where Froslass takes control. Use Soul Shot to pressure the opponent while discarding cards that no longer serve a purpose. Your preferred discard targets are usually Pokémon. Extra copies of Snorunt, Froslass, Mantyke, Chingling, or Hisuian Zorua can all increase Zoroark ex’s future damage. Before discarding, always check whether you still need that Pokémon for your backup plan. For example, if you only have one Froslass in play and no backup Snorunt, discarding another Snorunt may be dangerous. But if you have already established two Froslass or have no realistic reason to evolve another one, that extra Snorunt becomes a valuable damage resource. During this stage, you should also begin calculating Hisuian Zoroark ex’s potential damage. If you have two Pokémon in the discard pile, Zoroark ex deals 120 damage. With Training Area, that becomes 130. This may already be enough to take out an important opposing attacker.

Late Game

In the late game, Hisuian Zoroark ex becomes your main finisher. By now, your discard pile should contain several Pokémon, allowing Spiteful Illusion to reach high damage numbers. This is the moment to use Cyrus aggressively. If your opponent has a damaged Pokémon on the Bench, Cyrus can bring it into the Active Spot and allow Zoroark ex to finish it. This is especially effective after Froslass has already softened targets with Soul Shot. Pokémon Center Lady can also be extremely important in longer matches. Healing 30 damage from Hisuian Zoroark ex may force the opponent to spend another full turn attacking it. Combined with Elegant Cape, this can make Zoroark ex much harder to remove than expected. Your late-game goal is simple: use the accumulated value of your discard pile to turn Zoroark ex into a knockout machine. Every discarded Pokémon should contribute to a meaningful damage threshold.