Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! Today I will be covering a deck that has fallen off since its initial popularity following rotation: Tera Toolbox. I just played Tera Box to 4th place at Portland Regionals, and I think the deck is very underrated at the moment. Being able to capitalize on Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex’s Torrential Pump attack to KO multiple low-HP Pokemon at once can be extremely strong against Dragapult ex and Gardevoir ex, while the deck’s other attackers allow you to win the prize trade in the other popular matchups.
Being a Noctowl deck, Tera Box capitalizes on the strength of Fan Rotom to find multiple Hoothoot on Turn 1, in addition to a Noctowl for Turn 2. In many cases, it can be good to search Ditto with Fan Rotom’s Fan Call to find a Tera Pokemon so that Noctowl’s Jewel Seeker will be active the following turn. Typically, Wellspring Mask Ogerpon or Pikachu are best, depending on whether you’re against a deck with small-HP setup Pokemon or high-HP aggressive Pokemon. Past Turn 1, Tera Box looks to combine Crispin and Sparkling Crystal to put on early game pressure, with the backup of Energy Switch and Teal Mask Ogerpon ex’s Teal Dance to provide additional energy acceleration in the late game if necessary.
The List
The list myself and Rahul Reddy played to Portland is fairly normal when compared to the Tera Box lists that have seen success lately. Daichi Shimada piloted a list to Top 4 at Melbourne Regionals that was only two cards different from what I played this past weekend, playing Budew and Buddy-Buddy Poffin while I played Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex and Judge. Ursaluna is mainly in the deck as a strong late-game attacker that takes little energy to power up. It can often help close the game against Gardevoir or Dragapult, since you end up shuffling all your energy back into the deck with Torrential Pump throughout the game. Additionally, Ursaluna allows you to easily close out the game when you are ahead in the prize trade against Raging Bolt, Joltik Box, or Eevee Box. Judge is an interesting choice, mainly playing a disruption role when combined with Torrential Pump’s ability to disrupt your opponent’s setup. Using Judge on Turn 2 can be particularly strong against Gardevoir or even against other Noctowl decks when combined with a Fan Rotom KO for a single prize.
After upgrading your membership, you will see the rest of the article, and an audio recording of this article, narrated by Andy Hyun: 
You must have a Premier Membership or greater to see the rest of this post. If you don't have a Premier account, you can Sign Up for one here.
You must have a Premier Membership or greater to see the rest of this post. If you don't have a Premier account, you can Sign Up for one here.