Two-Time — Looking at Another Win for MewMew in Knoxville

By: Caleb Gedemer · Posted Posted onOct 18, 2019 at 3:00 PM · 0 Comments

[cardimg name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I played [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] for Regionals again and this time it went better for me. I went into Friday night wanting to play some tech cards to “beat every matchup”, but eventually caved to the extra consistency of [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]. The techs were one [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], one [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], and one [card name=”Lysandre Labs” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card]. Jimmy Pendarvis and Michael Pramawat decided to use these, but Azul Garcia Griego, Daniel Altavilla, and I went for the smoother approach. We opted to drop the fourth [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card] for a fourth Acro Bike as well, valuing the guaranteed card drawn off the latter more than the chance to get a [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card]. Overall I liked this change, as did I the dropping of [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] from the Atlantic City, New Jersey, list for a [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] to protect yourself more against [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card]. The metagame had shifted a little bit towards denying the Abilities of Pokemon-GX, so this change was a good one and well worth it.

The deck ran very smoothly for me with the exception of rounds nine and eleven, but other than in those two losses I couldn’t ask for much more. I unfortunately faced two [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] decks again and without the techs I was helpless. I managed to pull a tie out of the first due to some unfortunate draws from my opponent and I tried my best to pull of a [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] Tag Purge lock into [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] to Burning Magma GX for deck out — but to no avail. This strategy is valid, but it requires an opponent to opt not to play [card name=”Xerneas-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] or prize it — making it very difficult to accomplish in most cases. Here is my round-by-round:

  • Round One versus [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] WLW 1/0/0
  • Round Two versus Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX WL 1/0/1
  • Round Three versus [card name=”Greninja and Zoroark-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] WW 2/0/1
  • Round Four versus [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Shedinja” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] WW 3/0/1
  • Round Five versus Pikachu and Zekrom-GX WW 4/0/1
  • Round Six versus [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] Control L 4/1/1
  • Round Seven versus Pidgeotto Control WLW 5/1/1
  • Round Eight versus Pikachu and Zekrom-GX LWW 6/1/1
  • Round Nine versus Pikachu and Zekrom-GX LWL 6/2/1
  • Round Ten versus Pikachu and Zekrom-GX LWW 7/2/1
  • Round Eleven versus [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] LL 7/3/1
  • Round Twelve versus Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX LL 7/4/1
  • Round Thirteen versus Malamar WW 8/4/1
  • Round Fourteen versus Welder Toolbox WW 9/4/1
  • Round Fifteen versus Pidgeotto Control LWW 10/4/1

As you may know, Daniel Altavilla took this one home and Azul Garcia Griego was not far behind with a Top 4 finish. With these results I still firmly believe that Mewtwo and Mew-GX is the best deck in the Standard format and will likely continue to be until the release of Cosmic Eclipse. In this article I will analyze the day two metagame from the Regionals, talk about the top-performing decks and gaze a bit into the future of the Standard format with a short introduction to some of the changes with the release of Cosmic Eclipse. All decks and their lists at this Regionals were made public here. Let’s begin!

Day 2 Decks

  • 13 Mewtwo and Mew-GX
  • 12 Welder Toolbox
  • 12 Pikachu and Zekrom-GX
  • 10 Malamar
  • 9 Pidgeotto Control
  • 7 Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX
  • 6 [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]
  • 2 Restored Pokemon Toolbox
  • 2 [card name=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card]
  • 1 [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] Control
  • 1 [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]
  • 1 [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card]

Final Top Eight Decks

  • Mewtwo and Mew-GX
  • Pikachu and Zekrom-GX
  • Pikachu and Zekrom-GX
  • Mewtwo and Mew-GX
  • Pikachu and Zekrom-GX
  • Blacephalon-GX
  • Pidgeotto Control
  • Pidgeotto Control

Mewtwo and Mew-GX proved to nearly be the most popular deck — it was on Day 2 by a hair — but Day 1 had Pikachu and Zekrom-GX slightly more popular. The event shaped up much like I expected it to, although I did not see Pidgeotto Control being quite as popular as it was — it was truly everywhere, mirror matches, the whole bit. Pikachu and Zekrom-GX again outperformed itself again, I still don’t think the deck is quite as good as it shows in its performances. A few surprise rogues cropped up like the Lucario and Melmetal-GX deck and the baby Blacephalon build. While Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX was probably the most hyped deck going into the weekend, it still finished without a single Top Eight slot; likely because so many lists were teched out to beat it.

Missing in Action

Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX

[cardimg name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

  • Seven people played it in Day 2 with abysmal results: three Top 32 and four placements below that
    • The reason I call it “missing in action” is because it again missed Top 8 and for a largely represented deck that’s not a good sign — people running techs usually just beat it so I presume as the Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX marched up the tables they would fall right back down again after running into prepared players; its Pidgeotto Control matchup is also nearly unwinnable, so those playing that were just farming up this Fairy type deck
  • The deck is so linear that it really can’t do much against matchups where it’s not favored or if your opponent has a tech
    • Some Malamar lists played [card name=”Lunala Prism Star” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] to two-shot it and avoid a one-hit Knock Out in return with 160 HP
  • This was the hype deck going into the weekend, but things were drastically changed because of the techs in Pikachu and Zekrom-GX decks
    • People played multiple Lysandre Labs, [card name=”Pachirisu” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card], and even [card name=”Farfetch’d” set=”Team Up” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] to counter [card name=”Fairy Charm L” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card]; some of these techs were applied to other decks, like Mewtwo and Mew-GX, as well
  • Outlook: Negative, I don’t see anyone looking at this past weekend’s results and being like “Wow I really want to play GardEon!” — it does what it does and it does it well, but its linearity is unavoidable and it will run into situations where it lacks an option to respond

Malamar

  • I’ll admit that Malamar is better than I’d expected in this format, but that’s not saying much; I still don’t think I’d play it myself with its consistency and slow-paced nature
  • One of the deck’s main struggles is bricking one of the three games in a set and then struggling to finish the series — even if it looks projected to be a win; the attackers are strong enough and with the lists people are running lately it’s decently consistent, just falls slightly short of the “next level” of decks
  • Ten people played it in Day 2 with honestly bad results: a few Top 32 and then the rest finishing far below that
    • Like Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX, it proved it has a hard time competing with the format’s best decks and couldn’t crack the Top 8, or even Top 16, as a result
  • Outlook: Neutral, the deck will remain the same for the most part, still dealing 130 with Shadow Impact and taking really close matchups with most of the field — it’s hard to get too creative with the deck without compromising consistency, so the deck will likely remain mostly the same until Cosmic Eclipse drops

Quagsire / Naganadel

  • Still super inconsistent and while many innovations have been made (especially in the two identical lists from this past weekend) like [card name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Team Up” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], the deck still suffers from the same problems
  • Two people played it in Day 2 and did alright: one got Top 32 and the other was just shy of it
  • While not quite as hyped as Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX going into the weekend, it was said to be “disrespected” in New Jersey
    • Sure this might be true, but it was right to be disrespected if you ask me
  • Outlook: Neutral/slightly negative, I can’t see the deck picking up at all after this weekend, it should remain about the same — or worse; players may see its results being a drop off from Atlantic City and decide to skip over it in the future

Welder Toolbox

[cardimg name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”214″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

  • Most people have designated this deck as a high roll play by now and that’s what got most people off it; it seems to fare well Day 1 and then completely bottom out Day 2 mostly due to playing better players and decks that have adjusted around the original format-dominating Welder Toolbox decks
  • Reset Stamp counts going up have really hurt these decks; the Blacephalon addition was originally very strong, but with the addition of more Reset Stamp to most lists, it’s almost unplayable
  • Twelve people played it in Day 2 with solid to poor results: for this, it’s really any Fire-based deck ([card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] lists were the best-performing), there were some in the Top 17, Top 32, but amongst some of the worst-faring players were Welder Toolbox people at the very bottom of Day 2
  • Outlook: Negative, people will continue to play the deck because ithas that appeal and does have a lot of unique attacking options, but it’s not positioned well and moving forward I don’t think it will get much better — Charizard and Braixen-GX coming out should help it some, so look out for that in the future

Looking at the Top

Blacephalon-GX

  • Bit of an outlier deck that was less expected for this event
  • Both [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] sleeved up for [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] protection and the Stinger GX option against TAG TEAM Pokemon-GX decks as well as against decks that specifically aim to deny you your [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] turns
  • Lists have finally synched up and almost all are playing four Welder as they should be
    • Older lists neglected the four Welder and were terribly disadvantaged against the likes of decks like Mewtwo and Mew-GX
  • Reset Stamp was included in the top-performing list, a welcome inclusion to balance the deck’s late game
  • Six people played it in Day 2 with mild results: one Top 8, couple Top 32 or near it
  • Outlook: Neutral/slightly positive, the deck was played more than in the past and the results show how it is still a strong build, in the future it could be played about the same or slightly more, perhaps landing it the same or better results; some of its success depends on how readily other players sleeve up Tapu Fini to counter it, so it will likely be kept in a similar holding pattern moving forward of those that are confident enough to play it.

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Mewtwo and Mew-GX

  • Absolutely the best deck, honestly by a significant margin, and no signs of slowing down in the current format
    • Takes an above-average skill level player to make it deep in an event because the deck can be challenging to pilot as many games are comeback swings
  • Can comfortably tech for any matchup without completely ruining its consistency and that makes it even better, adaptable to different metagames, and hard to counter
    • Cutting down on Acro Bike or removing it entirely seems solid for League Cup events to give you a chance against everything but the extra consistency from the Acro Bike copies at the Regionals level feels best to keep your wins coming against decks that are favorable; it feels really bad to lose to something you ought to beat because you bricked or otherwise
  • Different tech ideas like [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], Shedinja, and others didn’t pan out — the best way to play the deck moving forward is the simple, consistent list with no techs
    • Adding Stage 1 Pokemon to a super streamlined deck make it too fancy and hurt consistency; these lists were played but didn’t do well
  • Thirteen people played it in Day 2 with great results: two Top 8, multiple Top 32, and only a few poor performances
  • Was expected to be the de facto best deck but still performed amazingly
    • Things like Reshiram and Charizard-GX with four Power Plant did exist but still didn’t slow it down
  • Outlook: Positive, in the current format this deck will continue to be played and do well at that; it’s one of the strongest decks to ever grace the game and its tech slots can be adjusted to beat what you need to beat

Pidgeotto Control

  • Challenging deck that focuses almost exclusively on sequencing, so if you’re a master of that art this is the one for you
  • [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] was the perfect inclusion to make the deck even better, smoothing out its consistency and making it lose less games to favorable matchups due to bricking
  • Like Mewtwo and Mew-GX decks, it can be filled out with techs to benefit itself in specific matchups
    • Against Mewtwo and Mew-GX itself, I would give Pidgeotto a very slightly unfavorable matchup designation; I played the deck three times over the weekend and only lost once, while teammates Azul Garcia Griego and Daniel Altavilla played against it even more and went completely unscathed overall
  • Nine people played it in Day 2 with great results: two Top 8, many in Top 16, and loads more near the bottom or just below Top 32
  • Still not expected much because of the high skill cap to play it well, although this was certainly disproven with the number played
  • Outlook: Positive, it should continue to do well due to the nature of the deck, no one playing a control deck really goes into an event taking losses; that’s the whole point of control decks, to try to beat everything through a controlling strategy that makes it hard for an opponent to accomplish what they’re after with their own deck

Pikachu and Zekrom-GX

[cardimg name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”162″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

  • I personally expected it more than any deck and that was almost certainly true; I faced a bunch of them myself, as did others, and it was everywhere — it still seems to be the go-to deck of choice for many players
  • I still don’t like the deck, many top players using it this weekend told me and others that they thought the Mewtwo and Mew-GX matchup was unfavorable; making it even worse a play in my eyes
    • Azul Garcia Griego lost his very first sanctioned match with the deck in Top 4 to Jon Eng, although that can be blamed mostly on bad beats; the matchup is favorable
  • The optimal Supporter lineup is four [card name=”Volkner” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] and three [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]
    • There are a lot of different variants out there, but this has been best for me; [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Team Up” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] is alright, too, but sometimes you just want to refresh and draw cards — Cynthia is better
  • Twelve people played it in Day 2 with amazing results: Top 2, Top 4, Top 8, and oodles more across the board from thereon out
  • With a bad matchup to Mewtwo and Mew-GX, how does it win? — Reset Stamp with Tandem Shock can cheese out games so it’s certainly not out of the running in the matchup and it can also win many games just from being a low-maintenance style deck with little that can go wrong as far as setup goes
  • Outlook: Neutral, the deck won’t really change for the time being after this Regionals, it will likely remain on many players’ radars and some will play it just because it’s Pikachu and Zekrom-GX; its matchups shouldn’t change too much and it won’t stop being super consistent all of a sudden either — I would expect to play it at least once at each League Cup or locals you attend, so be prepared

Peek at Cosmic Eclipse

Enough about the past, now to look into the future with some of the soon-to-be meta-shaping new cards!

Great Catcher

Great Catcher – Trainer
Item

Discard 2 cards from your hand. (If you can’t discard 2 cards, you can’t play this card.)

Switch 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon-GX or Pokemon-EX with their Active Pokemon.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).

This will change the game! [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] has become a staple without Guzma in the format, but Great Catcher will be giving it a run for its money. Many of the things you want to drag up with Custom Catcher are Pokemon-GX so this will be a perfect fit in the Standard format. This card will also make [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] even more of a liability and maybe even change how decks are built. I don’t believe this to be unbalanced, although it is really good, and it will certainly shake things up.

Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX

Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX – Colorless – HP240
Basic Pokemon (TAG TEAM)

[C][C][C] Jumping Balloon: 60+ damage. This attack does 60 more damage for each of your opponent’s Pokemon-EX and Pokemon-GX.

[C]+ Puff Smasher GX: Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Asleep. If this Pokemon has at least 4 extra Energy attached to it (in addition to this attack’s cost), this attack does 200 damage to 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon. (Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokemon.) (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your TAG TEAM is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 3 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Jumping Balloon goes well in literally any deck. [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] will be able to Full Blitz and load it up and anything with [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] can power it up in a pinch as well. Decks these days are super full of Pokemon-GX and with just three in play your Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX will be dealing 240 damage. Sky’s the limit from there, but this will also be changing the game and introducing some strategy to how many Pokemon-GX you put down at a time in Standard.

Mimikyu

Mimikyu – Psychic – HP70
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Shadow Box
As long as this Pokemon is in play, each player’s Pokemon-GX with damage counters on it has no Abilities.

[C][C] Perplexing Tail: 20 damage. Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Confused.

Weakness: none
Retreat: none
Retreat: 1

If you thought [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] was bad enough, this card might be the end to the [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] archetype in Standard. Shadow Box can almost completely shut down your opponent’s Mewtwo and Mew-GX deck. It can be targeted for a Knock Out with Venom Shot or Custom Catcher, but it’s going to be really hard to do that when your deck isn’t functioning as normal. This will be a lovely tech in anything that struggles with Mewtwo and Mew-GX, but it will be interesting to see how many people actually play it. [card name=”Tapu Fini” set=”Unified Minds” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] was supposed to herald in the end of [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], but didn’t, and this card could be very similar.

Supporters Galore

There are so many… I’m not going to reference any of them, just go read them for yourself. From consistency to new effects, the way lists are built will be changing very soon. I will reference Tag Whistle, though, as it’s going to make every Standard deck much more consistent since you can now take out TAG TEAM Supporter cards and have lots of firepower for the whole game just like that.

Tag Whistle – Trainer
Item

Search your deck for up to 2 TAG TEAM cards and put them into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).

Conclusion

Next time I’ll be back with some Expanded talk. Stateside we’ve got Richmond, Virginia, followed by Portland, Oregon, coming up. Right after those I’ll drop something Standard with the new cards for Brazil — that event seems like it’s going to be a good time with all the new cards. I hope this was a good wrap up to the presumed end of this Standard format, at least in the United States, and it’s already time to be thinking about new things. Expanded looks to be just as interesting, just hope you get a turn to play the game! Until next time, take care, and thanks for reading!

Peace,

Caleb

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