Rebel Clash and Rotation — What to Play Now for Success Later

By: Zakary Krekeler · Posted Posted onMay 29, 2020 at 12:40 AM · 0 Comments

The end of the 2020 season has been the most unique in Pokemon’s history. The cancellation of major events including the World Championships has completely changed the landscape of what competitive Pokemon players have to look forward to. Normally, this time of year would be dedicated to testing for the end-of-season Regional Championships as well as the North America International Championships. Instead, we’re caught in an awkward in-between, where we haven’t actually started the 2021 season yet but for all intents and purposes are now in the middle of it. Thankfully, we aren’t without Pokemon entirely as there are numerous player-run tournaments. Plus, TPCi themselves have announced the upcoming Players Cup to be played on PTCGO. However, this puts competitive players in a bit of a dilemma. All of these current tournaments use the pre-rotation Rebel Clash format, but the official events needed to earn that 2021 Worlds invite (the League Cups and Regional Championships) will be in the post-rotation Darkness Ablaze format. If there is a continued delay to the start of the 2021 season, we do know for almost certain that tournaments won’t be coming back until after the rotation occurs. Thus, any testing done for the Rebel Clash format will in a sense be “wasted” at least for the 2021 season. Hence the dilemma: If your goal as a player is to make it to the 2021 World Championships, how can you prepare for the post-rotation format while playing in the present?

Given the amount of potential play time coming up during the Players Cup Qualification and other online events, one of the best things that you can do to give yourself a head start for the 2021 season is to be familiar with a deck that will be good now and post-rotation. If you can have months of experience playing your deck (or decks) of choice heading into next year, that will automatically put you ahead of the rest of the field. It’s a concept akin to the idea of playing the same deck for Standard and Expanded formats to maximize your testing output during a busy season. Except that in this case, the two formats are much more similar. Qualification for the Players Cup alone will likely require hundreds of games of Pokemon — all of which you can use to your benefit. If over that time you learn to master one or more of those decks, then you’ll be able to enter the 2021 season with a considerable advantage over a player who doesn’t have that level of practice. After all, the more experienced you are with a deck, the more comfortable you’ll be playing it and you’ll win more games as a result.

I can save you some of the trial and error (and time) required to figure out which of the current meta decks will remain competitive! After all, most of my recent testing has admittedly been with an eye toward the post-rotation Team Up-on format. At this time of writing, we don’t know all the Darkness Ablaze cards, but we do have most of them — enough to make predictions on the set’s impact on current decks. Since we know the rotation will be Team Up-on, we know almost the exact post-rotation card pool. That’s the format I’ve been testing and while there are some strong decks on the horizon (Eternatus VMAX and Centiskorch VMAX, for instance), the broader current concern is how much those card pool changes will affect our current meta decks. So, for this article, I’ll be taking a look at how each of the current top decks will be affected by rotation, as well as by our next set Darkness Ablaze.

Rotating Decks

As far as decks to avoid, it should be fairly obvious that if the deck in question is about to rotate out of the format, practicing it won’t do you any good after rotation. In this case, however, the rotation may impact plenty of decks, but there aren’t actually a ton of current decks that will have their main Pokemon rotate out of the format. While many of the rotating cards have been good in the past — [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], for example — none of them are currently considered top meta decks. The one card rotating out that could be considered as such is Resource Management [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], The central piece to most current stall / disruption decks. However, most of the deck core remains intact, though stall will have to adapt to the loss of Oranguru.

Since the list of competitive decks that are rotating is so small, I won’t dwell on this point much. But avoid spending too much time playing any deck that you clearly won’t be able to play a few months from now. If you do want to give a long beloved deck a few last hurrahs or try out a unique concept for the last possible time, then I won’t blame you — but for actual playtesting, you’ll want to move on.

No Longer at the Top

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Mewtwo and Mew-GX

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

This deck was already barely hanging on to its spot in the meta, and I don’t believe things will become any easier for [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] in 2021. Since there are no new Pokemon-GX coming out, its Perfection Ability is limited to what we have now. What’s more, the rotation will eliminate some of those good Pokemon-GX options, further limiting Mewtwo and Mew-GX in what it can accomplish. The [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] variant of the deck will be losing its Energy acceleration in [card name=”Solgaleo-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM104″ c=”name”][/card], its big damage attack in [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card], as well as its emergency backup plan in [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]. The [card name=”Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM217″ c=”name”][/card] variation loses [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], which should all but eliminate the deck’s viability. The format doesn’t appear to be getting any better for Mewtwo and Mew-GX either; both Centiskorch VMAX and Eternatus VMAX will be able to OHKO Mewtwo and Mew-GX without too much trouble, whereas Mewtwo and Mew-GX lacks any reliable counterattack strategy against the bulk of those Pokemon VMAX.

Reshiram and Charizard-GX

While [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t exactly a top tier deck anymore, but I wanted to address its future potential here as the Reshiram and Charizard-GX League Battle Deck was recently released. Welder Box will likely be a strong post-rotation play, but Tag Team Pokemon-GX will not be the way to play it. This is bad news for anyone who bought the Reshiram and Charizard-GX League Battle Deck, though the good news is that many of those Fire pieces will be useful. The problem is that both Reshiram and Charizard-GX and [card name=”Charizard and Braixen-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] will have the same meta difficulty as Mewtwo and Mew-GX, in that they’ve been power-crept out of competitive viability. The HP on Tag Team Pokemon-GX isn’t enough anymore (not with Eternatus VMAX around) and the damage output is now lacking as well. Even a boosted Double Blaze GX can’t OHKO any of the Pokemon VMAX. New options in Centiskorch VMAX and Charizard VMAX will give life to Welder, and Welder Box has been doing well without either of those Tag Team Pokemon-GX in the Rebel Clash meta to where you can alter the deck to test without them. 

Dragapult VMAX

This is a fun, complex deck, which has emerged as one of the best decks to come out of Rebel Clash. Unfortunately, [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] will not remain a top deck for long. The problem for Dragapult VMAX isn’t the rotation, but rather our upcoming set Darkness Ablaze. Specifically, the future emergence of Eternatus VMAX is likely to cause monumental problems for Dragapult VMAX. My early testing of Eternatus VMAX has  found that it does live up to the hype. I have no problem predicting that it will be a Tier 1 deck immediately upon the release of Darkness Ablaze. This is a major problem for Dragapult VMAX as it is weak to Darkness-type. Eternatus VMAX can get a OHKO against Dragapult VMAX without using its Ability; with only five Bench Pokemon, Dread End can hit for 360 damage after Weakness. The ease at which Eternatus VMAX can attack (only two Energy with no downside) means that Eternatus VMAX will have the speed advantage, in addition to the clear benefit in terms of damage output. Even against rather unrefined Eternatus VMAX lists, this matchup is a near-autoloss for Dragapult VMAX. If Dragapult VMAX decks can find a way to get around Weakness, they would be at a disadvantage due to speed, though perhaps not to the same extent. There aren’t many ways to address Weakness for Dragapult VMAX. [card name=”Weakness Guard Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”258″ c=”name”][/card] is one option, but it can’t be used to provide for any of Dragapult VMAX’s attack costs (none of which can use Colorless Energy). What’s more, Eternatus VMAX decks will likely be able to include [card name=”Dangerous Drill” set=”Team Up” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] with no issues, which means that Weakness Guard Energy may not be a reliable way to tech for this matchup. The only Pokemon with an Ability that can protect against Darkness-type Weakness is [card name=”Chandelure” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], yet that would require including a Stage Two line in the deck. Unless a card gets revealed that can give Dragapult VMAX an edge against Eternatus VMAX (something like [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Team Up” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] but for Darkness-types) this matchup will be an atrocious one. Assuming Eternatus VMAX does live up to the hype (which I firmly believe it will), the best case scenario for Dragapult VMAX would be to somehow beat all non-Eternatus VMAX decks, which I don’t believe is something that the deck is capable of. Besides Eternatus VMAX, Dragapult VMAX will likely struggle against Centiskorch VMAX and Grimmsnarl VMAX (both of which can OHKO Dragapult VMAX fairly easily). The deck isn’t in a dominant position in the current meta with enough positive matchups to make it a reliable choice. Dragapult VMAX won’t be a strong option so long as it has an auto-loss to one of the best decks in the format. 

Dragapult VMAX best represents the idea that you don’t want to invest heavily in a deck that you can’t use for long (or at all in person). For example, if you were to build a Dragapult VMAX deck, the 3-3 line of Dragapult VMAX would cost you around $80 currently. That’s a big investment for a deck that you would likely never have the opportunity to play at a League Cup or Regional Championship! As fun a deck as Dragapult is, I wouldn’t recommend putting time into learning it nor spending the relatively large amounts of money to build it.

Decks I Would Recommend

Luckily, most of the other top decks in the format remains more or less intact. [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] are excellent options for the current meta. I believe that they can be adapted to maintain their competitiveness after the post-rotation shakeup. While I can’t speak for any of the more “rogue” decks, most of the other less prevalent lists do appear as if they will end up mostly unharmed by the rotation. 

These are the decks that I would recommend playing in Rebel Clash events, as they are both top tier options currently, and look to remain competitive going forward into 2021.

Pikachu and Zekrom-GX

[cardimg name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

  • Major Gains: Turbo Patch, Vikavolt V, and Crobat V
  • Major Losses: [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Volkner” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] 

The deck to beat in online Rebel Clash tournaments is [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. Thanks to the League Battle Decks, it happens to be one of the most accessible decks for any player both online and in person. If you don’t play Pikachu and Zekrom-GX yourself, you will be playing against it often over the next month. It has an excellent combination of speed and win percentage that makes it an ideal choice for anyone trying to grind tournament rep for the Players Cup, especially for players who don’t already have a large online card pool to work with. 

Pre-rotation, there is no doubt that Pikachu and Zekrom-GX is good. But what about post-rotation? While none of this deck’s main core rotates, Pikachu and Zekrom-GX will nonetheless be heavily impacted by the rotation. The loss of Thunder Mountain Prism Star not only takes away one of the deck’s Energy acceleration options, but greatly weakens the effectiveness of [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”229″ c=”name”][/card]. In addition, the loss of Electropower weakens the deck’s damage output severely. No longer will Pikachu and Zekrom-GX have the flexibility to increase its damage output when it needs to in order to get that last bit of damage for a KO. Further, it means that Pikachu and Zekrom-GX will no longer have the ability to OHKO Pokemon VMAX or Tag Team Pokemon-GX. [card name=”Boltund V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] can get there theoretically but that requires ten Energy to be in play, which isn’t likely to happen in most games. Zeraora-GX and Volkner are less impactful losses, but they will have to be accounted for via increased counts of [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] and other consistency cards. 

On the positive side, Darkness Ablaze will provide this deck with two new cards to help improve its speed, which may give it what it needs to maintain competitiveness despite the deck’s decreased damage output. Crobat V is an excellent card as [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] was before it. Between [card name=”Speed L Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]’s Dedechange, and Crobat V’s Night Asset, it’s possible to draw as many as 15 cards without playing a Supporter! This Ability-based draw power makes it much easier to use utility Supporters such as [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]. To replace the Energy acceleration from Thunder Mountain Prism Star, I’m using another new card, Turbo Patch. Pikachu and Zekrom-GX already tends to discard plenty of Lightning Energy, so Turbo Patch tends to feel as effective as [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] to power up attackers. The one major downside is that you can’t actually attach Energy with Turbo Patch to Pikachu and Zekrom-GX (as you can’t attach to Pokemon-GX), so you’ll need to play [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] in order to move the Energy over. The good news is that Pikachu and Zekrom-GX already plays Energy Switch, so there’s no need to fit in any extra cards! Turbo Patch thankfully attaches to the Active Pokemon, perfect for powering up a Boltund V that you might have started with.

Another interesting addition is Vikavolt V, which can give the deck a possible disruption option on a turn where you might not be able to get a more powerful attack off. Vikavolt V is especially good against [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] decks because most will now rely on Switch and [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] as opposed to [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] (which rotates). Vikavolt V’s second attack gives Pikachu and Zekrom-GX another utility attacker when needed, which you can transition immediately after using Paralyzing Bolt if needed. Without Electropower, I feel this card may end up replacing [card name=”Tapu Koko V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] in many of the lists that play it or be played in addition to it.

I imagine this deck will become much more focused around Boltund V post-rotation, particularly in the early-game. There’s the possibility that Boltund V decks will end up replacing Pikachu and Zekrom-GX entirely, though without Electropower and Zeraora-GX I don’t think that rather linear strategy will be effective enough to be competitive. Overall though, the main goal of the deck won’t change — you’ll want to set up quickly, plan out your Prizes with Boss’s Orders and Pikachu and Zekrom-GX’s Tag Bolt GX, then race ahead to win. When playing the deck pre-rotation, try to imagine how you would approach matchups if you didn’t have Electropower; this should give you some idea of how best to approach post-rotation when Electropower will be gone. If you want to test the post-rotation build, an easy way to do so in person is to treat the Electropower as Turbo Patch, Zeraora-GX as Crobat V, and any other rotating cards (such as Volkner) as different consistency cards. 

Blacephalon

  • Major Gains: Meta and Crobat V
  • Major Losses: [card name=”Fiery Flint” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Ultra Space” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] 

On one hand, [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] appears to be perfectly poised to take on the Pokemon VMAX heavy post-rotation meta; on the other, it does lose some rather critical pieces. If the format does end up dominated by bulky three-Prize Pokemon attackers, then it’s hard to beat a non Pokemon-GX / Pokemon V that can reliably get OHKOs against any opposition. There’s no doubt that the loss of Fiery Flint will hurt this deck. What’s more, there doesn’t appear to be any easy replacement for Fiery Flint. Without that quick burst of Energy to hand, what might be a reliable KO pre-rotation will be much harder to obtain post-rotation. [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] will give the deck plenty of ways to recover Energy once they’re gone, but getting them in-hand in the first place will be much more difficult. The loss of Blacephalon-GX hurts too, as it makes Blacephalon more susceptible to getting “walled” late-game by a large Pokemon VMAX or Tag Team Pokemon-GX. With Blacephalon-GX, you could use plenty of resources to KO the first Tag Team Pokemon-GX / Pokemon VMAX, KO a Dedenne-GX or other weak Pokemon-GX / Pokemon V, then end the game with Burst GX. Without Burst GX as a fallback, what happens is that the opposing player can force the Blacephalon player to play a seven or eight Prize game by attacking in the late-game with something bulky. Blacephalon tends to be in a somewhat awkward position, as it needs to use [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] consistently. This means it struggles to use Boss’s Orders; most lists don’t play Boss’s Orders for that reason. The loss of Heat Factory Prism Star and Ultra Space hurts consistency somewhat, but those two can be replaced in the list by [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] which should help mitigate the lack of Fiery Flint.

In post-rotation variants of Blacephalon, I’ve maximized the counts of Fire Crystal, Energy Retrieval, and Giant Hearth to replace Fiery Flint as best I can. It isn’t the same but it is close, to the point that I believe that this deck will be an excellent choice post-rotation especially if someone can further refine the deck. Despite being named Darkness Ablaze, the upcoming set doesn’t actually have anything to offer Blacephalon. Crobat V is somewhat nifty as an additional form of Ability-based draw, but I’m not sure it’s actually necessary. Rose Tower could be another good option, particularly for dodging a late-game [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card]. Strategy-wise, this deck remains exactly the same after rotation as it is before rotation. The only major piece you need to consider is the lack of Blacephalon-GX; other than that, “get Energy, get KOs” is all that you’ll need to do.

Galarian Obstagoon

  • Major gains: Turbo Patch and Hoopa
  • Major losses: [card name=”Yveltal-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] 

The meta might not look ideal for [card name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] at first glance, a format chock-full of Evolutions doesn’t bode well for the effectiveness of its Obstruct Ability. But I believe that a Pokemon VMAX heavy meta is perfect for Galarian Obstagoon to thrive in. The key here is not Obstruct, but [card name=”Sableye V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]’s Crazy Claws. If a Galarian Obstagoon player manages to place five damage counters on an opposing Pokemon VMAX (not too tough of a challenge) then Crazy Claws can finish that Pokemon VMAX off with a single attack. Prior to Darkness Ablaze, the main problem with the Sableye V strategy has been the Energy requirement. After all, there isn’t a great way to power up two Dark Energy in a turn. Aside from using [card name=”Bede” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”199″ c=”name”][/card] as your Supporter, it’s largely impossible and if you can’t do that, then you have to telegraph your intentions in advance and give your opponent a chance to pick off the Sableye V via Boss’s Orders. However, there’s a new card that gives Galarian Obstagoon the capability of powering up Sableye V out of nowhere: Turbo Patch.

Turbo Patch is an excellent card for any Sableye V strategy, whether it’s based on Galarian Obstagoon, [card name=”Roxie” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”205″ c=”name”][/card], or anything else. All of the previous Energy acceleration options for Galarian Obstagoon / Sableye V had restrictions; only Bede could be used on Sableye V whereas Counter Gain could not. Since Turbo Patch is an Item, it gives the Sableye V player more flexibility; you can use it in the same turn as a Boss’s Orders, for example. Given a heads, you can set up the Sableye V from a single [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”name”][/card] (for Sableye V, a Darkness Energy and a Turbo Patch), which is much easier to get late-game than a Bede and two Energy. The major downside here is luck. An unlucky string of Turbo Patch flips could end up being decisive in a loss, whereas some well-timed flips will leave this deck victorious. On paper, you only need two heads to get two KOs with Sableye V, though problems can occur if you can’t find enough Turbo Patch to flip those heads. Losing Yveltal-GX does hurt this strategy. If it was in format then the odds of winning via Turbo Patch would be much higher. My hope is that the new Energy acceleration provided by Turbo Patch will be enough to offset the loss of that powerful GX attack, but you do have to power up two Sableye V.

A less impactful card that I think could end up useful in Galarian Obstagoon is the new Hoopa. Hoopa gives this deck a quick, emergency attacker that can be used in a pinch to add some damage or to KO a cheap non Pokemon-GX such as Jirachi. Add some damage from Galarian Obstagoon and you could use Hoopa as a way to finish off a Dedenne-GX or another multi-Prize attacker. Galarian Obstagoon doesn’t have many attacking options that can require only one Energy, so having Hoopa will be useful for the times when the deck needs a quick attacker to apply pressure.

As for strategy, the first goal will be to determine whether you can win via Obstruct or if you’ll have to go for the win via Crazy Claws. Pokemon VMAX will likely make up more of the format post-rotation, as most of the good Darkness Ablaze Pokemon happen to be Pokemon VMAX. But the stronger pre-rotation decks should end up being as susceptible to Obstruct as they are now. At the least, you should be able to develop a solid idea of how to approach those matchups while playing this deck in any pre-rotation events.

Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX

[cardimg name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

  • Major Gains: Crobat V
  • Major losses: [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] 

[card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] has admittedly gotten off to a somewhat rocky start in the Rebel Clash meta. In most online events, its performances are clearly behind those of [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], Blacephalon, and [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. Don’t be fooled, this deck isn’t going anywhere. Since most of its cards are from recent sets, the vast majority of the Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX core stays intact. It is telling that the deck’s biggest losses are minor consistency cards! Unlike the decks that are currently ahead of it in the meta, Zacian V gets to play with roughly the same build of cards, so it shouldn’t see much of a drop-off after the meta rotates. As for gains, I’m not sure there’s a deck that is much better equipped to take advantage of the Crobat V and [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] turn. Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX is now fast enough that it can use Altered Creation GX consistently on the first turn of the game. While one might hope that the loss of Acro Bike would be enough to slow down Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, the reality is that this deck will be as fast as ever to the point that winning the Prize race could require you to defeat it on Turn 3. In theory, you could play Turbo Patch if you wanted to counter any [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] strategies, though that might be a bit excessive if Energy removal isn’t popular. 

Going forward, I would recommend including a Water-type attacker, in case Centiskorch VMAX and / or Charizard VMAX do end up seeing play; [card name=”Milotic V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] is an excellent option which can OHKO either of those. Other than that and Crobat V, there isn’t too much that I would change about current Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX builds. One thing to emphasize is the speed of the deck — the possibility of the Turn 1 Altered Creation GX. When playing the deck, try to practice going second and aim for the Water Energy, [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] combo you’ll need to get the Turn 1 GX attack. If you can pull that off now, wait until you add Crobat V to the mix. It will make Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX feel almost unstoppable. Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX is the one deck on this list where things are flipped; the deck isn’t all that great now, but it looks like it will be strong in the future. As far as decks to practice, this one should probably be toward the top even if it is showing up at the bottom of this article!

Evaluation Process for Other Decks

When it comes to any other pre-rotation deck, you’ll want to ask yourself the following: 

  • What cards does it lose to the rotation? Are any of them critical for this deck to function?
  • Are there any cards in Darkness Ablaze that would help this deck?
  • How will this deck be impacted by changes to the meta? (For this one, I’ve assumed a similar meta but with a heavier focus on Pokemon VMAX with Eternatus VMAX and Centiskorch VMAX added to the list of decks to beat.)

By focusing on these three aspects of the rotation and the new set release, you should be able to evaluate and adapt any deck that you have. To update the deck list, a simple plan would be to take out the cards that are rotating then add cards from Darkness Ablaze that help, as well as any that would help against the projected meta. If there are more spots that need to be filled, try and replace any rotating cards with ones that fulfill the role of the rotating card as best you can. For example, that line of thinking is why I would replace [card name=”Fiery Flint” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] in [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card]. When in doubt, add more consistency cards.

With that, we’ve come to the end of this article! Hopefully you’ll have come away with some idea of what you want to play, and how you can use your time playing that deck to help prepare for 2021. Whether you’re playing in any upcoming online events, preparing for next year or playing casually with friends via webcam, I wish you the best of luck!

Stay safe, and thanks for reading!

–Zak

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