Mimicking Mind Moves — Mewtwo & Mew and Malamar
[cardimg name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
It happened again! Just as [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] was moving off everyone’s radar, it came back to win the São Paulo Regional Championship this weekend — just like it did in Sheffield and in Daytona Beach. Once again, I’m sure some people will write it off as a fluke, citing a lucky Top 4 match against [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] Control, which is almost an autoloss, but who happened to dead draw two games in a row. And sure, luck was involved there, just like it is in any major event win. However, Gardeon was a strong call in the Brazilian metagame. Not only was [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM191″ c=”name”][/card] the most played deck in Day 2, but Bruno Sermann also included a [card name=”Fairy Charm L” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] in his deck to deal with the return of [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card] which helps a lot against the rise of [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card]. Since these were two popular decks, it’s no surprise that he did so well.
I still find it interesting that you can never let your guard down: whenever you don’t think about Gardeon for a moment, the deck finds a way to come back in the spotlight. It’s getting to the point where I almost have to respect the deck for the Oceania International Championships, because no one would expect it in the upcoming [card name=”Zacian V ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] metagame, and that means that Gardevoir & Sylveon-GX once again has the effect of surprise.
With that said, enough talk about Gardeon. The real star of the weekend was, in my opinion, the second place deck, Pedro Pertusi’s Mewtwo & Mew-GX / [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. If you’ve been following Japanese results, you know that this deck has been doing quite well in the post-Sword & Shield-era (and Pedro himself said that this is where he got the idea), but this was the first time it did anything in our current Standard format. I started seeing it online a few weeks ago after Bochum Regionals and I thought it might secretly be strong, but I delayed testing it and now it’s not me you discover this deck from. My bad!
Mewtwo & Mew-GX / Malamar sounds like, and is, a hybrid deck of Malamar and Mewtwo & Mew-GX. Therefore, it’s only natural to ask the following questions:
- Why play this deck rather than Malamar?
- Why play this deck rather than a classic Mewtwo & Mew-GX?
The answer to the first question is simple. Classic Malamar, using only one-Prize Pokemon, has proven to be rather weak in the current format, since it has issues with [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card], and other widely spread cards. This is why we’ve seen players add some stronger attackers in the deck, such as [card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM217″ c=”name”][/card]. It gives the deck worse starters, and opens a player to the possibility of losing the Prize race to an opponent taking multiple Prizes at once, but it also gives more options than simply spamming [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] every turn, which is not enough against most decks now. With that in mind, adding Mewtwo & Mew-GX is nothing outlandish. You include more GX Pokemon, sure, but it fits into the idea of using bigger attackers that can use Psychic Energy very well. You can also keep playing classic Malamar attackers: Giratina and [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card].
As for the second question, the debate comes down to burst, Supporter-based Energy acceleration ([card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card]) and slower but continuous Energy acceleration (Malamar). Using Psychic Energy means you don’t have to play a specific Supporter so you can rely on the usual draw Supporters, [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]. This, in turn, makes you less reliant on [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], which frees up space on our Bench (which is good since we need it for Malamar) and makes you not as weak to [card name=”Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card].
However, there’s another reason to run Psychic Energy, and that’s the usable attacks themselves. Since Worlds, every Mewtwo & Mew-GX list has played Welder, but still used Psychic attackers — at least [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Espeon and Deoxys-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] — because of their strength. Other attackers that need Psychic Energy have included [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], Giratina, [card name=”Muk and Alolan Muk-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], and Mewtwo & Mew-GX itself. That’s right, with more Psychic Energy, you can think about using Miraculous Duo GX more than once in a blue moon, and that’s a good thing too! It gives the deck a strong healing option, which is especially good against anything that can’t OHKO you (such as ADP). Miraculous Duo GX is also the only attack Mewtwo & Mew-GX can use when it’s affected by [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]’s Ability, and the healing lets it remove the damage counters that prevent it from using its other attacks.
Note that if you’re committed to using Psychic Energy as your main type, then more attackers become available, including Trevenant & Dusknoir-GX and [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card], and if you add another type of Energy (such as [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card]), you can use even more powerful attacks. I’ll discuss them further in the next section.
How do these attackers compare to their Fire-type brethren? Much better than you’d think. Take [card name=”Charizard-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM211″ c=”name”][/card], for example: dealing 300 damage for only four Energy is definitely strong. However, if you’re using Psychic Energy, you can use [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] instead, and deal 260 damage for the same amount of Energy, without using your GX attack. That’s enough to deal with some Tag Teams (Pikachu & Zekrom-GX and Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff-GX, to name two). Against a stronger foe, you can still achieve an OHKO if you add one more Energy.
Overall, Mewtwo & Mew-GX / Malamar is a sound concept. One of its appeals is the number of ways you can build it. Mewtwo & Mew-GX is the perfect example of a toolbox deck, since you can add many different GX Pokemon to cover a wide variety of matchups and situations. In the next section, I’ll explain the Pokemon that you can run in this deck, then I’ll give my own list for the deck, which is quite different from Pedro Pertusi’s. And of course, we’ll cover what Sword & Shield changes for the deck, and why you shouldn’t ignore it.
Building Blocks
Mewtwo & Mew-GX / Malamar is, at its core, a Mewtwo deck, more than a Malamar deck. That means that Mewtwo & Mew-GX is the main attacker, and therefore you should consider which attacks you want it to use. Let’s talk about the possibilities:
Trevenant & Dusknoir-GX
This is the main one. Night Watch is a fantastic attack as soon as the opponent gets a low hand size, and having it as an option means that they can never let their guard down because, if they end a turn with two cards in hand, they’ll have to shuffle their whole hand back in their deck. It’s very strong against [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] decks (and Blacephalon in particular), since they don’t have any way to draw many cards at once (such as Dedenne-GX). You can combine it with [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] in the late game, but you don’t need it. Even when your opponent has a decent hand size, Night Watch is usually the best attack to use if you want to KO a small Pokemon ([card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] for example). The disruption may be limited in this case, but it’s still better than nothing.
Pale Moon GX is also good, situationally. A good example is against Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX decks, where you can remove the Energy after they use Altered Creation GX. This gives you more time to set up more Energy in play for stronger attacks.
Gengar & Mimikyu-GX
[cardimg name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”165″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Another card I would consider indispensible, Gengar & Mimikyu-GX has two great attacks. Horror House GX can be used on turn 1 to basically skip the opponent’s next turn. This gives you more time to set up, and you should consider using it on turn 1 whenever you have the chance, unless you know you’ll need a more important GX attack later on (for example, Stinger GX against Pidgeotto Control). Poltergeist is not very reliable since it relies on the opponent’s hand, but it’s an attack that can be used for two Energy, which is important. This deck doesn’t have amazing mobility, so if you open with Mewtwo & Mew-GX Active, you may have to attach an Energy to it on turn 1 and on turn 2, without the opportunity to bring it back to the Bench to Psychic Recharge to it.
Naganadel-GX from Unified Minds
Venom Shot has been good enough to run in almost every Mewtwo & Mew-GX list so far in the season, and these are the ones running Fire Energy. In a deck that runs Psychic Energy, it’s an obvious inclusion. You don’t need me to tell you, but 170 damage is pretty good to take two Prizes on a Dedenne-GX.
Latios-GX
Although it’s not as important as it used to be, due to decks having more ways to deal with Tag Purge (including [card name=”Phione” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card]), Latios-GX is still a solid attacker against PikaRom and the mirror match, and a has free retreat. Clear Vision GX can also be used against ADP, or any other deck that relies on its GX attack (for example checkmate decks that want to use [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card]’s Stinger GX).
Naganadel-GX from Forbidden Light
Speaking of Stinger GX, it’s a powerful option against Control and Stall decks, in combination with Blacephalon. We’ve seen it played in [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], and it can work just as well in this deck. This is the game plan that Pedro Pertusi and his teammates used against Pidgeotto Control at São Paulo Regionals: put both players at three Prizes remaining, then use Fireworks Bomb to Knock Out several Pidgeotto in one turn. Tord Reklev also used this combination in his Mewtwo & Mew-GX deck at Bochum Regionals, even though he was playing the Welder variant of the deck.
Espeon & Deoxys-GX
This is the other way to deal with Pidgeotto Control. Although it’s popular in the Welder version of Mewtwo & Mew-GX, it’s not as good in the Malamar version, because it takes too long to set up. With Welder, you can use Cross Division GX by turn 2. In a deck where you have to set up multiple Malamar, this takes much longer. You also don’t have the option to use it on turn 1 for ten damage counters to Knock Out a Pidgey and Ditto Prism Star. Overall, I’m sure Espeon & Deoxys-GX can be good in some scenarios, but I think there are better ways to use its spot.
Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff-GX
A common attacker in Mewtwo & Mew-GX, and another way to help against Tag Team decks such as PikaRom and the mirror match. This is definitely a solid option, but I would only recommend it if you know the metagame you’re heading into, as it would be useless against many decks. Unlike Latios-GX, Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff-GX is a pretty bad starter.
Ultra Necrozma-GX
This is one of the main reasons to use Malamar. Photon Geyser is a non-GX attack that can OHKO anything. It’s similar to [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card]’s Lava Flow, but deals more damage per Energy, and the cost of discarding your Energy isn’t as high when you have Malamar to get the Energy back.
Garchomp & Giratina-GX
As long as you’re willing to include another type of Energy, Garchomp & Giratina-GX is another option to deal big damage. The issue is that this deck has less ways to put damage on the opponent’s board than regular Malamar: no [card name=”Spell Tag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card], and Giratina isn’t the main focus of the deck. Therefore, it’s not easy to get a KO with Calamitous Slash. But GG End GX and Linear Attack also provide some utility outside of the main attack, so it’s something to consider, even though I’m not a fan.
Dragonite-GX
If you want to stick to Psychic Energy, then you can still have OHKO potential with [card name=”Dragonite-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card]’s Sky Judgment, whose 270 damage can KO almost anything. It’s not as good as Charizard-GX’s Flare Blitz GX (one more Energy, 30 less damage) but it’s repeatable.
Solgaleo & Lunala-GX
In a similar vein, [card name=”Solgaleo and Lunala-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]’s Cosmic Burn deals 230 damage for four Energy, which isn’t enough to KO a Tag Team, but should be enough for any other GX Pokemon. Its downside is really no issue in a Mewtwo & Mew-GX deck. Right now, I don’t think the card is too relevant, since decks tend to attack either with Tag Team Pokemon (Mewtwo & Mew-GX, [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], Gardevoir & Sylveon-GX…) or Basic Pokemon (Blacephalon, Giratina…). The one exception is [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card], but obviously Cosmic Burn isn’t going to help there. However, that could change after Pokemon-V join the game — but more on that later.
Naganadel & Guzzlord-GX
I like this inclusion because Chaotic Order GX is a way to improve your matchup against non-GX decks, especially Malamar. If you can get a Prize on turn 2 with Poltergeist and then keep slowing them down with Night Watch, then your last two Prizes are free.
By the way, as with any other Basic Pokemon in this list, you can bench [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] and attack with it directly if needed. Usually this is dictated by necessity, for example if you happen to start with a Pokemon, or if you need to Bench it to copy its attack with your Active Mewtwo & Mew-GX because you have no way to discard it. However, in the case of Naganadel & Guzzlord-GX, this allows you to use the Violent Appetite Ability. Not only can this make you last longer against Giratina, but it’s also a way to discard Psychic Energy and GX Pokemon! (Remember, you can use the Ability even if there’s no damage to heal from NagaGuzz.)
Solgaleo-GX
Finally, let’s mention [card name=”Solgaleo-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM104″ c=”name”][/card]. Turbo Strike is much less impressive in a deck that already gets Energy back from the discard, but 120 damage for two Energy is certainly not bad, and sometimes, it can be helpful in situations where you don’t set up Malamar quickly. I wouldn’t recommend it, but I still think it’s an option.
Assembling the List
Here is my current list:
[decklist name=”Mew3 Malamar CEC” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Blacephalon” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM221″][pokemon amt=”19″]3x [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Inkay” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM217″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM221″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]4x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokemon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]8x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]3x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]I think the concept is new enough that it’s worth explaining some of my choices here.
The Consistency Engine
Four Lillie and four Cynthia are standard. The absence of Jirachi might surprise you, though.
Here’s my reasoning: I see this, as its core, as a Mewtwo & Mew-GX deck, not a Malamar deck. There’s plenty of reason to play [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] in classic Malamar lists, but here, it would slow down the deck and take a lot of space. Including Jirachi means running four, most likely, and also some [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]. You would also need to max out on [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card], both to search out Jirachi and to get some use out of your extra Jirachi. However, I don’t like Pokemon Communication very much in Mewtwo decks. You need your Pokemon to go to the discard, not back in the deck. In addition, we have ways to attack on the first turn, so we don’t want to search for Jirachi and end the turn after using Stellar Wish. Plus, wasting a Pokemon Communication on Jirachi when we need to set up Mewtwo & Mew-GX and the Pokemon it needs to copy its attacks from, as well as some [card name=”Inkay” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] and Malamar, is undesirable.
Overall, it’s better to run Dedenne-GX in the deck. Instead of Pokemon Communication, we only need to add [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card], which works much better with the rest of the Pokemon. Dedenne-GX being a two-Prize Pokemon doesn’t matter that much since we already run all kinds of bigger Pokemon, and discarding cards with Dedechange can be great to get rid of a hand full of GX Pokemon.
[premium]
As for the Items, [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] is obviously the best Pokemon search we have, but we need to play other cards as well. Cherish Ball is good, but I don’t want to rely on it too much, since it can’t search for the Malamar pieces. For the remaining spots, I included some [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card]s, which can search for Mewtwo & Mew-GX and Gengar & Mimikyu-GX for a good first turn, or Trevenant & Dusknoir-GX later on. Finally, I did have to add some Pokemon Communication for their versatility. I did say I didn’t like them much, but it’s good to have two more cards that can search for Inkay, Malamar or Dedenne-GX, depending on the circumstances.
A quick note on Tag Call: it’s always tempting to include Tag Team Supporters to go with it. I started out with a copy of each [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card], Mallow & Lana, and [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card], but ended up keeping only the latter — and even then, it’s still a card I’m unsure about. Cynthia & Caitlin is good, but this deck already has some good draw options, with eight draw Supporters and Dedenne-GX, so there are not too many situations in which we want to use it. Mallow & Lana’s healing is nice, but this deck’s mobility can be awkward (see below) and you don’t want to play Mallow & Lana, then pass because you couldn’t retreat your Pokemon. More to the point, if you’re against a deck in which healing is good, you can usually try to use Miraculous Duo GX for a similar effect.
Guzma & Hala is nice because of its uniqueness. [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] and Rainbow Energy are two cards that can be desperately needed in some situations (against Mimikyu and when you need to use Photon Geyser, respectively), so having a way to search them can be worth a deck spot. That said, I wouldn’t consider Guzma & Hala a necessity in this deck.
On Mobility
Sometimes I’m not sure whether the terms I use are commonplace, so in case this needs clarification, what I mean by a deck’s mobility is the ease with which it can switch between its Pokemon. For example, last season’s Jirachi / [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] deck is one of the most mobile decks in the game, thanks to Guzma, Switch, Escape Board and [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]. The deck needed that mobility since Zapdos must go back to the Bench to use its attack’s full effect, and the switching cards would also let you use situational attackers ([card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Nihilego” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card]) at the right time. [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] is a tech whose effect is to reduce your opponent’s mobility, and obviously that works better against decks that need mobility (such as the aforementioned Jirachi / Zapdos) than others.
Mewtwo & Mew-GX / Malamar is in an awkward spot there. Since you want to use Mewtwo & Mew-GX as your attacker, you don’t need too much mobility: after all, the same Pokemon is going to be doing the attacking, even if it uses very different attacks every turn. On the other hand, Malamar only accelerates Energy to the Bench, so you do need a way to get your attackers to the Bench to charge them up, and then bring them to the Active Spot.
For the time being, I’ve chosen to simply run 4 [card name=”Switch” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card]. This helps with the high Retreat Cost of some of our Pokemon, something that Jirachi and Escape Board wouldn’t really help with. The inclusion of Latios-GX in the deck is also partially motivated by the fact that it has free retreat, which means it’s easy to bring up while you charge up an attacker on the Bench. I did experiment with [card name=”U-Turn Board” set=”Unified Minds” no=”211″ c=”name”][/card], but this didn’t work out very well. It turns out that this deck runs few 1-Retreat Cost Pokemon. There’s Dedenne-GX, but then you need to have already played a Dedenne-GX on the Bench for it to work, and that wasn’t always the case.
Other Options
As you can see, the Pokemon I’ve chosen to include were already discussed in the list in the previous section. Since Mewtwo & Mew-GX is the deck’s main attacker, running two might be low, but you can also attack directly with some of the other Pokemon, so it’s not as big a deal. Unlike in the Fire variant of Mewtwo & Mew-GX, you can transfer Energy from one Pokemon to another (by retreating and discarding them, then attaching the Energy with Malamar), so the opportunity cost of powering up, say, Trevenant & Dusknoir-GX, isn’t as high: if you need to use Venom Shot, you can always pivot to Mewtwo & Mew-GX.
Having only a 3-3 line of Malamar is another choice that may seem strange, but again, the focus of the deck is not on Malamar. Unlike in Malamar / Giratina, we’re not trying to set up plenty of Malamar to power up Giratina again and again. One Malamar is enough to have on turn 2, and we can simply set up another one later in the game. Every Japanese list I’ve seen has been running this 3-3 line, so I know this isn’t a bad decision.
[cardimg name=”Blacephalon” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”104″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Apart from the GX Pokemon, there’s also Blacephalon and Giratina. Blacephalon is mostly useful in combination with Stinger GX against non-attacking decks. Firework Bombs is a good attack, but it’s situational, and in this deck, we may want to use a more directly powerful attack in its place, such as Night Watch, so I don’t think Blacephalon is a necessary inclusion. As for Giratina, it’s the deck’s best option against Keldeo-GX. It can also be used against non-GX decks, but again, Night Watch can be a strong option in many cases.
Reset Stamp and Great Catcher are simply good cards. Reset Stamp is especially good in combination with Night March, but it’s not necessary to use both at the same time. I could see removing the Reset Stamp or adding a second one since having one copy is a bit random, but that’s what I’m working with right now.
As for the Stadiums, Chaotic Swell seems better than [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], to deal with [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] as well as [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Ultra Space” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], and so on. Viridian Forest also tends to help the opponent, and we don’t need it that much in this deck. Sure, discarding Energy is good, but there are already other ways to do so (including Dedechange), so I don’t think it’s that needed. I could be wrong, though. If you want to play Viridian Forest instead of Chaotic Swell, I would recommend finding space for a [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card].
Improvements with Sword & Shield
Although I, and many other players, have been doing my best to make Mewtwo & Mew-GX / Malamar work in the current format, the reason we’ve heard about this deck is because of its success in Japan, after the release of Sword & Shield. It accounted for three eighths of the Top 8 at the latest Champions League, and was the second-most successful deck at the City Leagues that took place in Japan in January (behind Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX / Zacian V). At first glance, it may seem strange that the first set to not include anymore GX Pokemon would be helpful to a Mewtwo & Mew-GX deck. So, what changed?
Supporters and Consistency
Do you think Lillie and Cynthia are good? Try [card name=”Professor’s Research ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Marnie ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card], which have completely replaced them in this deck (and many others). Professor’s Research is amazing in this deck, since you can discard all the cards you want to discard, and draw more cards than either Lillie or Cynthia would have given you. As for Marnie, it shines in combination with Trevenant & Dusknoir-GX, since it adds more disruption to the deck. It’s not a total lock of your opponent’s hand — and they can always use Zacian V’s Ability to draw out of a dead hand if needed — but it does make the deck more dangerous for reasons beyond its mere damage output.
Having access to these better Supporters is also what makes this deck preferable to the Fire variant. If you’re playing Fire Energy, you have to play Welder, so even if you do run some Professor’s Research and Marnie as well, you can’t make as good use of them as the Malamar variant does. Plus, with the new Supporter rule, decks that rely on Welder get worse. Welder is still an amazing card, of course, but if you can’t play it on turn 1, it means that, to use Flare Blitz GX (for example) on your second turn, you have to play Welder on exactly turn 2. If your opponent disrupts your hand with Marnie, that might not be easy to do.
By the way, the new Supporter rule makes Gengar & Mimikyu-GX better. Now, if you use Horror House GX on your first turn, you can take two turns without your opponent having played a Supporter. Also, since they can’t play Supporters, it means that there’s a good chance they have some that are stuck in hand, which means more Trainer cards for Poltergeist — especially if they ended their first turn by drawing with Jirachi or Zacian V. Overall, the Horror House GX + Poltergeist combination is not to be underestimated.
Card Upgrades
An addition to this deck that might be just as good as Professor’s Research is [card name=”Quick Ball ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card]. Yes, it benefits every deck ever, not only Mewtwo & Mew-GX / Malamar, but it’s especially well-suited to this one. Quick Ball provides an additional way to search for Inkay, Mewtwo & Mew-GX, Dedenne, and more, at the cost of discarding one card, a cost that’s often a benefit in this deck. Thanks to Quick Ball, it’s possible to add techs such as Absol, Phione, and so on. With Quick Ball, we don’t have to bother with Pokemon Communication or Tag Call. Four Mysterious Treasure, four Quick Ball, and a couple of Cherish Ball allow us to search for a wide variety of Pokemon.
In a similar vein, Rainbow Energy is nice, but the damage counter can be annoying. Sword & Shield brings [card name=”Aurora Energy ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card], which is a huge upgrade, because it’s another way to discard a card from your hand. Even though it’s not the most flashy addition to the deck, I think it will have a much bigger impact that you would expect.
Another card that has made appearances in this deck is [card name=”Indeedee V ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. As a non-GX attacker, Indeedee V can be used to deal with Keldeo-GX. Psychic is also good against opposing Mewtwo & Mew-GX (even if they used Tag Purge), Latios-GX, [card name=”Raichu and Alolan Raichu-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card], and more. In addition, Indeedee V’s Ability can get rid of residual damage, such as the damage from [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card], which helps against Mimikyu. You might think it’s unlikely that Shrine of Punishment sees much play, but decks that use V Pokemon instead of GX Pokemon, such as [card name=”Morpeko V ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card], can easily include it in combination with Mimikyu.
A Mobility Boost
With Sword & Shield also comes [card name=”Air Balloon ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], which gives the deck some additional mobility. With this card, you can now have a Pokemon with free retreat even without playing Latios-GX. By putting it on a Malamar, you can be sure you’ll still have this pivot even if there’s an Absol on the other side of the field. It can also be used to retreat Mewtwo & Mew-GX, Gengar & Mimikyu-GX, or others if you happen to start the game with them, and you could even run it in combination with [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM101″ c=”name”][/card] (itself a usable attacker) to achieve the pinnacle of mobility: being able to bring any Pokemon Active every turn. (I don’t think this option is good enough to devote a Bench spot to Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX, but it is a possibility.)
Shifts in the Metagame
I wrote about this already, but with V Pokemon on the rise, anti-GX cards are going to see less play than before, which benefits Mewtwo & Mew-GX. Keldeo-GX, in particular, can’t do much when Zacian V and [card name=”Tapu Koko V ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] are included in some of the most common decks. It would be a mistake to assume that all anti-GX decks will disappear, though. Mewtwo & Mew-GX is still relevant enough that cards Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff-GX and Power Plant could still see play. Still, it does lose some of its counters.
Gardevoir & Sylveon-GX also gives Mewtwo & Mew-GX nightmares due to its combination of Reset Stamp, Power Plant and [card name=”Fairy Charm P” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card], but this deck too should fade into oblivion, mostly due to the amazing support the Metal type gets. In the worst case scenario, Indeedee V can attack even through Fairy Charm Psychic, since it’s not a GX Pokemon.
Sword & Shield also brings some other changes that affect the deck. In the first section, I explained that Solgaleo & Lunala-GX wasn’t very effective in the current metagame because decks tend to play either non-GX Pokemon, or Tag Teams. However, after Sword & Shield, many V Pokemon will be in the right HP range to be OHKO’d by Cosmic Burn. These include Tapu Koko V, [card name=”Torkoal V ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Victini V ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Sableye V ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Cramorant V ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card]. Some GX Pokemon could also see increased play: for example, [card name=”Yveltal-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] is a staple in any [card name=”Galarian Obstagoon ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] deck, and Magcargo-GX could become better due to the new [card name=”Oranguru ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card].
I would include Zacian V in this list (it doesn’t have Psychic Resistance!) but it will usually be seen holding a [card name=”Metal Frying Pan” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], so Cosmic Burn might not be enough. That’s what Dragonite-GX’s Sky Judgment is for!
The Aurora Decklist
There are two ways to play Mewtwo & Mew-GX / Malamar in the post-Sword & Shield format. The first is to only include Psychic Energy. These lists were the most successful at the Aichi Champions League in December, and they tend to focus on Trevenant & Dusknoir-GX and Marnie.
However, more recently, Japanese players have tended to favor lists using Aurora Energy to have more options. They’re less straightforward, but I like having more options. Here’s my starting point for the deck:
[decklist name=”Mew3 Malamar SWS” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″][pokemon amt=”18″]3x [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Inkay” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM217″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Indeedee V ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Marnie ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Air Balloon ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]8x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]3x [card name=”Aurora Energy ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]Some quick notes:
- [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] is ran instead of an Inkay. This allows us to get [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] in play, which can be used to KO Galarian Obstagoon who would otherwise wall all the Basic Pokemon in the deck.
- It’s much easier to run [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] now that we have Quick Ball, and I think it’s worth it given the expected popularity of [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card].
- I expect Control decks to have a hard time due to [card name=”Zacian V ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] and especially the new Oranguru which makes achieving a lock impossible. Therefore, I’ve removed the Stinger GX + [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] package.
- [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] is a strong card but can’t target V Pokemon. There’s no perfect solution to this issue, but I plan on testing [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] to see if it could be an acceptable substitute. If the metagame is fast enough, there’s a chance that a well-timed Pokemon Catcher could swing a game, so it could be good to run, even if risky.
By the way, if you’d prefer to run a pure Psychic variant, you can remove the Aurora Energy, add a couple of Psychic Energy instead, and change [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] for [card name=”Solgaleo and Lunala-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Dragonite-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card]. With the remaining spots, consider adding [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Big Charm ” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card], or an additional Supporter! Obviously, it’s possible to make more changes than that, but that’s the simplest way to do it.
Conclusion
It’s kind of funny that a new archetype that could have existed at Worlds, with few changes, would suddenly appear at the end of the Cosmic Eclipse format and be a strong contender for next format, but that happens sometimes. It shows that you should never consider a format totally solved. In any case, the more I researched it, the more Mewtwo & Mew-GX / Malamar has impressed me. Its current incarnation does have some consistency issues, but the addition of the new Sword & Shield Supporters will make it that more powerful. If you’re preparing for the next format, don’t sleep on this archetype!
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