The Turn 3 Win — Post-Rotation Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX

By: Zakary Krekeler · Posted Posted onJul 27, 2020 at 10:39 PM · 0 Comments

Hello everyone! Now that Darkness Ablaze prereleases are around the corner, we can take a more thorough look at the post-rotation format. In my last article, I went over how some of the current meta decks will have to change and adapt to the rotation. Now, it’s time to delve a bit deeper and take a closer look at the decks that the post-rotation meta will likely consist of.

Darkness Ablaze comes full of neat new viable cards, including Eternatus VMAX and Centiskorch VMAX, among others. In my testing however, there is one deck in particular that has been the defining deck of the initial Darkness Ablaze meta. Despite the excitement of the new set, this deck isn’t new at all; it’s the same combo that has been strong since it was released: [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card].

Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX

[cardimg name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

At this point, Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX is a pretty well-known concept. I’ve written about Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX a few times now, but I have never felt it to be as dominant as it is post-rotation. Other decks may have slowed down with the rotation, but Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX was almost certain to continue to be a competitive deck, even before any changes from Darkness Ablaze. Add in the various gains that the deck has gained from Darkness Ablaze and the deck has gone from strong to completely overpowered. What used to be a consistent turn 2 Altered Creation GX (with possible counterplay) has turned into an easily obtainable turn 1 Altered Creation GX that is practically impossible to prevent. Between the addition of Crobat V and the slowdown of many other meta decks, everything seems to have gone right for Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX. The idea of a turn 3 win is absurd, but with this deck, it is very probable. Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX is easily among the fastest Standard decks that I have ever seen, and I have no doubt that it will be remembered as such. The strategy is naturally robust; barring the printing of something like [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], it is difficult to see how exactly this deck would be pushed out of the meta prior to the 2021-2022 rotation.

Each time a new set is revealed, I’m on the lookout for anything that could possibly combat Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX — so far, there has been nothing. At this point, it is realistic to assume that Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX will continue to be a defining deck of the Standard meta from now until the end of the 2021 season. Given how strong the deck is, I can’t think of a better deck to write about to start the new Pokemon year. 

I’ll be honest, I’m not terribly thrilled with the idea of Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX being the BDIF, let alone a gatekeeper that will keep many cards from being competitively viable. You’ll love it if you’re a fan of fast, aggressive decks, especially the build I have in this article. But if that isn’t your playstyle and you don’t enjoy playing games that are over by turn 3, then you probably won’t be happy either.

When I say that this deck acts as a gatekeeper, I meant that because of Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX’s oppressive speed and Prize bonus, there are a wide swath of decks that, while they might be sound in concept, will likely never see competitive success. There are many new concepts I have tried from Darkness Ablaze that have been able to get off the ground and play competitively against various other decks, but they cannot stand up to Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX. The biggest problem is the extra Prize from Altered Creation GX, and how early on Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX can use the GX attack. Even if an opposing deck can match the damage output of Zacian V, the fact that the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX deck will be taking Prizes one turn faster will end up giving them the advantage.

This is especially tough if you enjoy playing counter-meta decks, as I often do. Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX is so oppressive with few counters to Altered Creation GX, that devising a strategy that beats only Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX is difficult — let alone a strategy that can both beat Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX and other decks in the meta. However, there are a few strategies that have managed to work against Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX and allowed certain decks to compete with it. I’ll be going over those strategies later on in this article, but first let’s take a look at what made Zacian V / /Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX stronger. 

The Crobat V and Dedenne-GX Combo

[premium]

On paper, [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] didn’t gain much from Darkness Ablaze. It isn’t like the set was full of type-specific Items and Supporters designed to make Zacian V more competitive. That said, the impact of Darkness Ablaze on Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX isn’t in the number of cards that help the deck, but in the strength of the few that do. The most important new card is Crobat V, which if you haven’t seen it, will be the most sought-after and played card to come out of Darkness Ablaze. This newfangled version of [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] is good, but what makes it particularly strong right now is that you can use it in conjunction with [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]’s Dedechange in order to pull off a crazily explosive turn. While you can’t use multiple Dedechange in a turn, nor can you use Crobat V’s Night Asset multiple times either, you can use one of each per turn. Between Night Asset, Dedechange, and [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card], you can draw up to 20 cards in a single turn! When you consider search Item cards as well ([card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card], etc.), you can thin your deck out further. There have been numerous games where I’ve been able to use the above cards to get down to around 20 cards left in my deck — on turn 1! Even if you don’t get the full six cards from Night Asset or you aren’t searching out as many cards with your Items, you can easily go through half of your deck on the first turn of the game. For any deck that desires speed, Crobat V is an absurd addition to the Standard meta. Prior to this, there is no doubt that Dedechange with Professor’s Research was strong, but to add what is effectively another draw Supporter on top of that pushes the engine from good to absolutely ridiculous. Playing this combo feels like an aggressive Expanded deck with multiple Shaymin-EX, and it seems to be about as strong as you might expect from that comparison.

I would expect the Crobat V with Dedenne-GX combo to become a mainstay of competitive Standard decks; if you’re already playing one, there isn’t much reason not to play the other. In most of my lists, I’ve grown fond of playing two copies each of Dedenne-GX and Crobat V, that way you’ll almost never be in a scenario where you won’t have access to both. If a deck is tight on Bench space or naturally wouldn’t play either (such as a single-Prize attacking deck), then it makes sense not to include Crobat V. But in general, the draw power that comes with playing both is too strong not to have.

For Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, the Crobat V with Dedenne-GX combo is a dream come true. Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX doesn’t require plenty of Bench space, so players can play both Crobat V and Dedenne GX without any trouble. The deck takes full advantage of the extra draw power, as Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX is a fast, downhill, aggressive deck that is already looking to draw through as much of the deck as possible early game. In addition, the idea that opposing decks have access to both Crobat V and Dedenne-GX is wonderful news for Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, as both of those cards represent three easy Prizes for Zacian V, or Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX itself. If more decks end up building their engine around Crobat V and Dedenne-GX, that puts Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX into a better meta position. Given how utterly strong the combo of Crobat V and Dedenne-GX is, it will be hard to build a deck without them. Without both cards, the deck be at a distinct disadvantage compared to other decks that do play both.

The New Decklist

Many of the lists going around for Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX right now are fairly similar, but this one goes a step further with an all-out devotion to using Altered Creation GX as fast as possible. Here’s my latest Standard list:

[decklist name=”Standard Clay-cian” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″][pokemon amt=”14″]3x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x Crobat V (DAB #104)2x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Milotic V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”43″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Duraludon” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mawile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”35″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Clay” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]8x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]3x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Strategy Overview and List Explanations

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

When building this deck, the goal I had in mind was to maximize the odds that I would be able to use Altered Creation GX on the first turn of the game when going second. This list achieves that — after cutting down somewhat to include minor techs, the deck can pull off the turn 1 Altered Creation GX attack a good majority of the time. Much of this list is fairly standard compared to others that I’ve seen. There isn’t much to change about the Pokemon or Trainer cores, though there are a few distinctive differences in this list that give it an advantage. 

The strategy for this deck isn’t any different than it was prior to Darkness Ablaze, and doesn’t vary much based on the opposition. There are subtle things that vary based on matchup (what techs to use, etc.), but the strategy remains the same. You want to use Altered Creation GX as fast as possible, then attack two or three times after that against optimal targets to win. The biggest difference when playing this list compared to previous ones is the importance of the first turn. The goal is to use Altered Creation GX as fast as possible, and that means doing so with your first opportunity to attack.

Ideally, you want to go second with this deck — you can’t use a turn 1 Altered Creation GX if you can’t attack on the first turn! Against decks that can’t attack you on turn 1, going second remains optimal, given that the percentage of time that you’ll be able to use Altered Creation GX is high. The reason for this is that if you go first, you can’t attack until turn 2, and since the attack that you’ll want to use first is Altered Creation GX, your opponent will have two turns to set up a response. If your opponent goes second, they get to use two Supporters to set up, rather than only one if they had gone first. If your opponent is playing something like Eternatus VMAX, which doesn’t have an effective turn 1 attacker, you should opt to go second against them. Going second is more important when the opponent does have an early attacker, such as [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] (for Centiskorch VMAX / Charizard VMAX), or a strong Tag Team Pokemon-GX.

When going second on the first turn, the goal is to dig through the deck as much as possible to get off a turn 1 Altered Creation GX. Alternatively, if your opponent happens to have only one Pokemon in play, a turn 1 win via [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]’s Brave Blade attack. If you’re going first, then the goal is roughly the same (to use a quick Altered Creation GX) but you’ll want to prioritize grabbing a Zacian V to use Intrepid Sword. In order to use Altered Creation GX on turn 1, you will need to achieve the following things:

  • [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] in play
  • Water Energy attached on turn 1 to Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX
  • Play [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] and attach the Metal Energy onto a non-Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX Metal-type Pokemon
  • Play [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] to transfer the Metal Energy to Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX
  • [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] to Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX (if it isn’t already on the Active Spot)

The key to success is proper sequencing, so that you maximize your odds of getting everything. For example, before using [card name=”Clay” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]’s Stellar Wish, you’ll want to use any [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] to find the Pokemon that you need first. This will boost your odds of hitting Items with Clay or Trainers with Stellar Wish. There are plenty of similar scenarios, but the underlying thought should be “How can I maximize my chance of drawing the card(s) I need?”

After turn 1, everything becomes simpler. Once Altered Creation GX has been used, the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player needs to take two or three knockouts to win. Since the deck plays four copies of [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], you can take the path of least resistance to get your six Prizes. Ideal targets are non-evolved Pokemon V, followed by easy two-Prize Pokemon such as [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and Crobat V. Don’t try and take two-hit KOs if you can avoid it, though there are some scenarios where it might be necessary against a tight Pokemon VMAX field. If the opposing deck happens to not play any multi-Prize targets, then KOing their attackers is the best way to go about taking your Prizes. If there’s no difference between KOing the Active Spot or Bench Pokemon, then you’ll want to conserve your Boss’s Orders for later in the game. If you can, use Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX’s Ultimate Ray attack to take a KO so that you can power up your benched Zacian V. This can be done if the opponent has benched either Dedenne-GX or Crobat V, as Ultimate Ray can OHKO either of them thanks to the Altered Creation GX boost. When attaching Energy cards, it’s best to spread them among two Zacian V so you’re less vulnerable to your opponent’s Boss’s Orders; otherwise, they can potentially opt to target down a Zacian V with ample Energy cards attached and ignore the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX — if they don’t have any 180HP or less targets, could mean that you need one more turn to win.

When playing this deck, the key bit to keep in mind is that you don’t need to conserve any resources on turn 1. Everything you do should be with the goal of using Altered Creation GX as fast as possible. It doesn’t matter how valuable the resources are in your hand, if getting rid of them means you can dig deeper with Crobat V / Dedenne-GX or [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card], then get rid of them without hesitation. That goes for any card — Boss’s Orders, [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card], tech cards — it isn’t worth holding onto them if it means that you have to wait a turn to use Altered Creation GX.

Clay Over Marnie

While much of the Trainer engine in this deck is similar to other lists, my Supporter count does have a rather distinctive difference. Rather than use [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] as the backup draw Supporter, I have opted to include three copies of Clay. The reason for that goes back to using Altered Creation GX as fast as possible. This deck’s strategy doesn’t involve any need to make the opponent slower or to force them to miss an attack. Instead, the idea is to win fast, so fast that the result will be the same no matter what your opponent does, or how well they draw, or how well they play. With that in mind, Marnie’s disruption effect isn’t important. What’s crucial is how Marnie helps the deck achieve the turn 1 Altered Creation GX goal. The key is that most of the cards needed for the first turn GX attack are Items, so Clay has an advantage as it allows you to go through more cards to find those Items than Marnie does. In addition, Clay’s distinct advantage over Marnie is that anything you get with it gets added to your hand, as opposed to replacing your hand with five different cards. Since most of what is needed for the turn 1 GX attack needs to come in a particular order, this difference can be monumental. For example, if you already have a Water Energy in hand but need an Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX to attach it to, then you’d prefer Clay. You only need to get one card with Clay, as opposed to needing to draw a two-card combo (in fewer cards) with Marnie. In extreme scenarios, this difference can make Clay a better play than Professor’s Research. The final advantage that Clay has over Marnie is that it gives the deck another way to discard Metal Energy, necessary for using Metal Saucer. 

Non-Zacian V Attackers

I do have two Pokemon in here that aren’t Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX or Zacian V, and those are [card name=”Milotic V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Duraludon” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]. Both aren’t absolutely necessary “tech” Pokemon, but with them this deck doesn’t have any real weaknesses. Milotic V is used to hit Fire-type Pokemon for Weakness; specifically, it can OHKO both Centiskorch VMAX and Charizard VMAX, and can do so for a smaller Energy requirement than any other Basic Pokemon. Since those two can OHKO Zacian V fairly easily thanks to Weakness (and match this deck’s speed on occasion), it is nice to have an easy way to take a revenge KO. Duraludon is in the list to be a counter to Decidueye; it turns that matchup from an auto-loss into an auto-win. Duraludon is one of several Pokemon that can OHKO Decidueye following an Altered Creation GX. Since it can’t get KO’d in return, it will be able to Knock Out two Decidueye on its own. If the Decidueye player plays a non-Decidueye Pokemon, target that other Pokemon for a knockout; if they only have Decidueye in play, then Duraludon can roll through them. Metal Sharpener can be a nifty attack in a pinch, which can finish off various Pokemon VMAXs if you’re forced to 2HKO one. In reality, both of these cards could be turned into different techs, depending on the expected meta. For now, these are the two I would include in these spots, though they can be switched to other cards if needed.

This list is admittedly rather lacking in tech cards, as it has no Stadiums, nor any cards such as Cape of Toughness or [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] that could potentially give it an edge in the mirror match. The list here is straightforward for two reasons. First, since we are at the beginning of the Darkness Ablaze era, we don’t have a clearly defined post-rotation meta (at least in terms of expected decklists) so it’s better to start with a baseline, then adjust it from there. There are a few changes you could make depending on the meta you are expecting, it is easy to switch things around in an attempt to counter the various ways to get around it. If cards such as Crushing Hammer become a popular way to try and counter this deck, then this deck can adapt by including Turbo Patch in addition to Metal Saucer, so as to give the deck more ways to recover Energy. If opponents try to win by using [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] or Cape of Toughness to prevent OHKOs, then this deck can add [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card]. If the plan is to use disruptive Stadiums such as [card name=”Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card], then this deck can throw in [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card] to counter them. And of course, if everyone is playing straightforward lists, then the list can add in some of those aforementioned techs themselves to gain an edge. This is part of what makes countering Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX so difficult; the idea that given proper foresight of the meta, this deck can adapt to pretty much any counter-strategy and win. The second reason that the list is straightforward is that when testing a new concept against it, a basic list is a better starting point for checking your new concept’s viability. After all, if it can’t beat a non-teched list, it won’t be able to beat a tech-heavy list either. So, if a new concept is struggling against it, you’ll know earlier whether or not you’ll have to adjust it in order to win.

Defeating Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX

In my testing, defeating the [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] strategy has turned out to be immensely difficult. After all, we’re talking about a deck that can easily take OHKOs without any trouble, and picks up an additional Prize each time. Not many decks can win in three or four turns, but in many cases that’s what it takes to beat Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX. Here are a few ways I’ve found to come out ahead.

The Pokemon VMAX Strategy

Pokemon VMAX decks have a way to slow down the [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]  onslaught by having too much HP to fall victim to the OHKO. Aside from Weakness, there isn’t any way for a Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX deck to OHKO Pokemon VMAXs. So if you can keep one Pokemon VMAX in the Active Spot as your attacker, the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player will be forced to take a two-hit knockout, which buys you an extra, vital turn. This is assuming that the opponent can’t use [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] to go around the Pokemon VMAX. The ideal board is to have only the Pokemon VMAX and single-Prize Pokemon in play, forcing the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player to need three attacks to win as opposed to the two they could win with if they are able to KO Pokemon GXs or Pokemon Vs. In this scenario, you can afford to allow them one Pokemon GX / Pokemon V knockout, so long as you don’t give them any opportunity to take a second one (be wary of [card name=”Mawile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] in that case). This means that you can use one [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] or Crobat V, or that you can afford to put two of the base Pokemon V on the Bench without needing to immediately evolve both of them. To win this way, a player playing a Pokemon VMAX deck must get off three KO attacks before the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player does. This is possible, as long as they can start taking knockouts on turn 2. If there is any truly reliable strategy that can beat Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, this is it. Everything has to go right, especially getting a turn 2 knockout (typically on an Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, barring Boss’s Orders). But if it does, the Pokemon VMAX’s HP will be enough to give the Pokemon VMAX deck a victory.

In practice, this can be very difficult. There aren’t many attacks that can reliably OHKO a Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX early game, so the Pokemon VMAX deck needs Boss’s Orders on that second turn. If the Pokemon VMAX player went first, that means they would need to set up enough to get that KO — but the Pokemon VMAX player cannot play a draw Supporter and can only afford to play only one Crobat V or Dedenne-GX for the strategy to work. When going second, things are easier for the Pokemon VMAX deck, provided it is able to reach that damage output. For [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] decks (Centiskorch VMAX and Charizard VMAX), they can OHKO an Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX in this scenario, by powering up with Welder and / or [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]’s Flare Starter. Eternatus VMAX can easily hit that damage output as well, thanks to [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]. If both players are drawing well, these games tend to go something like this:

  • Altered Creation GX is used
  • Pokemon VMAX player takes a KO on a Pokemon-GX or Pokemon V
  • Zacian V takes a KO on a Pokemon-GX or Pokemon V
  • Pokemon VMAX player takes a KO on a Pokemon-GX or Pokemon V

At this point, the Prizes remaining are three against two in favor of the Pokemon VMAX deck. If the Pokemon VMAX deck doesn’t have any Pokemon-GX or Pokemon V in play, then the Zacian V player won’t be able to take their remaining Prizes with their second KO, and thus the VMAX player will be able to win with their third attack. 

(Try to) Slow Them Down

Energy denial can’t prevent the turn 1 Altered Creation GX, but can hinder the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX deck by possibly preventing a follow-up attack. If the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player can use Ultimate Ray, they’ll be able to get around any Crushing Hammer strategy. But if you can prevent that Ultimate Ray, then you’ll be in much stronger shape. If your plan isn’t to run them out of Energy (a feat against a deck with four [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card]), a single Energy discard will make it tougher for them to attack on the second turn. Instead of only needing to attach an Energy, they would need to either have another Energy, Metal Saucer, and [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] combo, or a [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] and multiple Metal Saucer (assuming that they didn’t have multiple Metal Saucer on the previous turn). If they can’t get that, then you bought yourself a valuable extra turn. This strategy seems to work best not in control decks, but in other aggressive decks. Since it is almost impossible to actually outspeed Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX without disruption, Crushing Hammer strategies can give those decks what they need to end up winning. 

Single Prize Attackers

Similarly to the Pokemon VMAX strategy, the goal of the single Prize strategy is to force the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player to take three knockouts to win as opposed to two. Again, success requires the non-Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player to take three knockouts themselves on turns 2, 3, and 4. To pull this off, the single Prize player doesn’t need to limit themselves to only non-Pokemon-GX / Pokemon V, but they do need to make sure that no more than one Pokemon-GX or Pokemon V ever enters play. There aren’t many single Prize decks that can pull this off, but some can if things go well — Baby [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] is a great example, as could a refined Mad Party deck.

The Size Of The Gate

All of the above strategies do have one difficult thing in common: they require the non-[card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] player to have an extraordinary damage output, and to do so extremely quickly. It’s here that we can define what the requirements are for a deck to compete with Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, and be competitively viable.

In order to beat Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, an opposing deck needs to have the capability of taking a knockout the turn following Altered Creation GX. By turn 2, the deck has to be able to deal at least 160-180 damage when using [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] as a Supporter, or 280 damage if not. Furthermore, the deck has to be able to force the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player to take three knockouts as opposed to two. If the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player can win with two attacks, then the only chance for the non-Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player to win will be to either take a KO before Altered Creation GX is used (an impossibility when compared to a turn 1 Altered Creation GX), or to somehow KO three Pokemon-GX / Pokemon V in two turns. If the deck can’t achieve either strategy, then it will need to have adequate disruption so that the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player is prevented from effectively attacking following the Altered Creation GX — to the point that the non-Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player can take three knockouts before the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player can take their Prizes.

For you deck builders out there, Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX poses a challenge. When you’re looking at a card, whether it be an unexplored existing concept, a new card from Darkness Ablaze, or an unreleased card from the future, keep in mind the above requirements. In effect, these criteria must be met in order for a deck to be viable in standard. If the card / concept / deck can’t meet those requirements, then it will not beat Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX the majority of the time, and unfortunately struggle in the post-rotation meta. If a concept sounds interesting or fun, for it to be “good”, it must be able to beat [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX. Plus, you’ll want to make sure whatever deck you’re testing can match up against that opposition as well. Overall, there is no doubt that the toughness of defeating Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX will make building any successful rogue deck more difficult. But by keeping the above in mind, you will be able to move on from non-performing concepts quicker and hopefully have a higher likelihood of finding one that works.

Testing Against Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX

Finally, a small note about testing against Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX. I would recommend playing multiple matches against Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, with the Zacian V player using different techs each time. Start by playing against a simple, non-teched out list — either the one above, or one of the other common ones floating around. If your deck can deal with the simple Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX build, then you’ll then want to test against a list that is more teched out for your deck. For example, if you’re going with an Energy denial strategy and it works against the basic Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX list, you’ll want to see how you do against a build that plays both Turbo Patch and Metal Saucer. Once you have an understanding of how to deal with the basic list, go a bit further so that you can be prepared regardless of an opponent’s build.

Since the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX strategy is so straightforward, it is rather easy to solitaire against this deck by playing both sides of the match. While this obviously isn’t nearly as good testing-wise as playing against an actual opponent, it is easier to do. Something to consider for those moments of boredom!

Conclusion

As it was in 2020, Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX continues to be a defining deck for 2021. Whether you’re planning for small-scale online tournaments or looking to the far future, odds are you will run into this deck, so you plan accordingly. If you want to play a reliable, straightforward deck that can last you throughout all of next year, it’s hard to think of a safer choice than Zacian V / Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX.

We’ve reached the end of this article! As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to message me or ask in the comments, or to ask all of us writers in our PTCG Subscriber’s Hideout! Best of luck in any games you might find yourself in, and stay safe!

Thanks for reading!

–Zak

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