Aggro Altered Creation — Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX’s Warping of the Meta

Recently, several Pokemon TCG organizers grouped together to hold an online tournament. It is a two-day event held as a replacement of sorts for the Pokemon World Championships, on the weekend it was supposed to take place (22-23 August). This tournament will use the Ultra Prism to Darkness Ablaze (UPR-DAA) format, which differs from the current UPR-RCL format and the post-rotation TEU-DAA format.

I appreciated last year’s change when rotation happened before Worlds, making the 2019 World Championships format in August last year the same as the post-rotation format played from the following September to November. In my opinion, this is good for two reasons. For players, this means that the time they spend preparing for the most prestigious event of the year isn’t wasted, since the decks they tested and prepared for are playable for more than one weekend. For spectators watching the stream, this means that the decks they see on display at Worlds can be used in the coming months, instead of the format being a novelty to be abandoned afterward. Therefore, they have an incentive to watch Worlds in order to get an understanding of the format they want to play afterwards.

Because of this, you might expect me to dislike that this online tournament uses the same ephemeral format, but I’m fine with it given the current situation. Since it’s an unofficial event with less prestige (and fewer prizes) on the line, there isn’t the same pressure to do well there compared to Worlds. I’m of course preparing for the event, but not as much as I would have if it had been the official World Championships instead. If there is a stream for the event, it won’t get as much viewers as the official Worlds stream would have so the argument above in regard to spectators doesn’t work either. In addition, while it’s true that time spent on the UPR-DAA format is time not spent on exploring the post-rotation meta, there are no official competitions in sight in that format either. Again, I will continue to play in online events post-rotation (as will many other competitive players), so that format does matter. But I’m fine not touching it before the online tournament. It’s not like there will be Regional Championships one or two weeks later for which I need a solid deck.

There is one reason why I like the UPR-DAA format. I tend to like end-of-season formats more than early-season ones. The card pool is wider so decks are more powerful, and I prefer clashes between high-powered decks where everyone has a lot of options at their disposal. Although some decks might be close to degenerate.

For now I’m focusing on UPR-DAA. This format has been played a little bit in Japan (with the usual caveat being their Standard format is missing a few cards compared to ours, including [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card]). While big, official competitions did stop, there are local store events and a few invitational tournaments featuring pro players and non-Pokemon personalities. It’s not enough to paint a clear picture of the metagame but it does offer us glimpses of what it can be.

In this article, I want to summarize my current research into this format, and explain how the release of Crobat V may lead to [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]’s rise in popularity and how to counter it.

Crobat V’s Impact

Darkness Ablaze brings many powerful cards. Vikavolt V could be a spiritual successor to [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], Centiskorch VMAX is at the center of a new, powerful [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card]-based archetype, and Bird Keeper offers a new draw Supporter that doubles as a switch effect to replace [card name=”Tate and Liza” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card]. Eternatus VMAX has the most HP seen on a Pokemon, deals up to 270 damage for two Energy, and has an Ability that makes utility Pokemon such as [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] easier to use. It might have the biggest impact on the format and some expect it to be the best deck of the format. However, if we’re talking about widespread use, the card that is most likely to see play in a high number of archetypes is Crobat V. It’s [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], except you can only use its Ability once per turn. It doesn’t take a genius to predict that most decks will play it.

What’s interesting is that while you can’t use Crobat V’s Ability twice in a turn, you can play one Crobat V and one [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] in one turn. While you would expect Dedenne-GX and Crobat V to compete for slots in a deck at first glance, they’re better when used together. If you want to draw a bunch of cards and play your Supporter for the turn, the best you can do (with Basic Pokemon; excluding a [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] engine or something similar) is to use both Crobat V and Dedenne-GX, allowing you to draw up to 12 extra cards. That takes space on the Bench so it’s not like you can do this every turn, but if you need to dig for something on one turn — whether that’s a turn 1 attack or a late-game [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] for the win — you have the means to do so. It’s easy to see how a deck like [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] could combine Dedenne-GX and Crobat V to achieve a turn 1 Full Blitz, for example.

This means the format will skew towards aggressive strategies. One-Prize decks that try to avoid playing cards like Dedenne-GX or Crobat V could be at a disadvantage since they can’t use this new power. Pokemon-GX, Tag Team Pokemon-GX and Pokemon VMAX decks are the ones who will benefit the most from Crobat V. The format should get faster, as it was during Shaymin-EX’s peak. Shaymin-EX’s usage only dropped when there was a way to punish decks that went too fast — like Trashalanche [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. Right now, there isn’t anything to strongly deter players from using Dedenne-GX and Crobat V’s Abilities to their full extent.

Draw Abilities go hand in hand with utility Supporters. If you can draw cards with Pokemon, then you can use a non-draw Supporter. You can use a draw-based Pokemon Ability in order to draw into that Supporter. The main utility Supporter in this format is Boss’s Orders, with [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card] a distant second. In other words, Crobat V’s existence makes Boss’s Orders better. Hoping that your opponent won’t draw into the Boss’s Orders they need to win the game, even after a [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] is much less reliable when they can draw up to 12 cards without using a Supporter. Plus, Crobat V is immune to [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], unlike Dedenne-GX.

To sum it up, we’re expecting most players to have multiple of these two-Prize Pokemon on their Bench (Eternatus VMAX doesn’t play Dedenne-GX since it’s not Darkness-type, but it will have multiple Crobat V on the Bench). What is the best way to benefit from this newfound strategy? Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX! After Altered Creation GX, Ultimate Ray deals 180 damage, enough to KO Dedenne-GX or Crobat V to take three Prizes. Repeat that and you’ve won the game, regardless of whatever the opponent has. One could argue that you don’t need Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX — instead of Altered Creation GX and two Ultimate Ray attacks, you could KO three two-Prize Pokemon in the same number of turns. However, Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX is much more reliable as it only requires the opponent to Bench two targets instead of three. Second, you only need to use two Gust effects (Boss’s Orders or [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] in Dedenne-GX’s case) instead of three. Third, you’re less vulnerable to Reset Stamp as you’re only going down to three Prizes left instead of two.

There are two other reasons why Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX benefits from Crobat V. The first is that Crobat V makes Boss’s Orders better. Boss’s Orders is an excellent card in any Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX deck because it needs to take less KOs to win the game than other decks. For example, against Mill that will never Bench more than one two-Prize Pokemon (usually [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]), you only need to use three Boss’s Orders at most. Each of them allow you to disregard [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] and target a Cinccino or another Pokemon on the Bench. A non-Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX deck would need to play the same Supporter five times (including once on Zacian V) to achieve the same effect.

The second reason is that it’s much easier for Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX to use Altered Creation GX on the first turn. In the current format, pretty much everyone who plays Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V uses multiple [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] and Boss’s Orders to try to achieve a turn 1 Altered Creation GX. But [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] is very unreliable so this can go wrong. With the addition of Crobat V, the deck gains more draw power to make the turn 1 Altered Creation GX more frequent. Sure, drawing a lot of cards means discarding a lot of cards as well whether that’s with [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], Dedechange, or something else. But the deck’s game plan is to win very fast (turn 3 is realistic) so it doesn’t matter.

So far, I’ve only talked about Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX and not about any potential partner(s). This was intentional in order to emphasize how much this card by itself can wrap up the format. That said, it should still be played with Zacian V for multiple reasons. First, to achieve a turn 1 Altered Creation GX the easiest way is to get two Energy cards on Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX with [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] and Energy Switch, so you need to play Metal-type Pokemon. Zacian V tends to be self-sufficient. You only need one in board to deal heavy damage at most — unlike [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] which has a higher damage ceiling, but needs Special Energy, a Tool, multiple copies of itself and [card name=”Jynx” set=”Unified Minds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] — all things that are hard to manage when you want to focus on speed. Zacian V “only” deals 260 damage after Altered Creation GX, but that’s enough to KO a Vikavolt V with Toughness Cape attached.

Finally, Zacian V’s Ability is very good especially on turn 1. I won’t mention it too much here because I focus on the deck going second (which is what you’ll want to do in the mirror match and against most non-Pokemon VMAX decks like Vikavolt V).

The Fastest List

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The straightforward strategy that leads me to consider [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] as a big threat is the turn 1 Altered Creation GX, turn 2 Ultimate Ray on a Dedenne-GX or Crobat V (Dedenne-GX is easier to KO because it can be targeted by Great Catcher), turn 3 Ultimate Ray or Brave Blade KO on another two-Prize Pokemon to win the game. Not all games will be as easy as this, but it’s what the ideal game will look like. In order to execute this strategy effectively, I built the simplest possible list. It is loosely based on the list that won one of the Japanese invitational tournaments I mentioned (I don’t think the winner is a well-known player, but he did beat Takuya Yoneda and Shintaro Ito in this event).

This deck is not optimal and I’ll discuss its weaknesses below. But it’s best to test simple strategies before tweaking lists to adapt to the metagame. When practicing against an archetype, you’ll want to test against a very consistent version of this archetype. This ensures that if you win it proves that you can beat it, not that it didn’t draw well because it was overteched.

[decklist name=”ADP UPR-DAA” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″][pokemon amt=”11″]2x [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x Crobat V (DAB #104)1x [card name=”Eldegoss V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”38″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]2x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]9x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Since Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V is far from a new concept, the deck’s skeleton should be familiar at this point. Nevertheless, there are some choices that I want to explain:

Three Zacian V and One Zamazenta V

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

While [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] remains the most important attacker, you shouldn’t need more than one per game. [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] serves as another Metal-type target for Metal Saucer, for the Metal Energy to be transferred to Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX. Plus, it’s a counter to Pokemon VMAX, which are inevitably going to become more popular. The base strategy to win relies on Knocking Out [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and Crobat V, so Zamazenta V is not ideal in that regard. But it provides a solution if the opponent manages to avoid Benching those Pokemon. It’s a good answer to a solo Centiskorch VMAX. Note that after Altered Creation GX, the combination of Ultimate Ray and Assault Tackle deals a total of 340 damage, enough to KO any Pokemon VMAX. The exception is Centiskorch VMAX with two Heat Energy attached, but Zamazenta V’s Assault Tackle discards one of these Energy cards so it would need a third special Energy to survive.

One Rayquaza-GX

Instead of Metal Saucer, another option to get extra Energy in play is [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. Rayquaza-GX doesn’t require an Item and can retrieve Water Energy if you had to discard it. On the other hand, it does discard resources, but it doesn’t matter when you don’t want the game to last long.

Four Cherish Ball

This card can grab Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, Dedenne-GX and Rayquaza-GX, and is another factor that makes Rayquaza-GX more reliable in some aspects than Zacian V. The fourth [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] is the most easily cuttable card in the deck.

Four Switch and One Air Balloon

There’s an argument to be made for switching the counts to 3-2 instead. [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] can be attached to a Pokemon before you get Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX in play, which makes it easier to use in combination with Dedenne-GX and Crobat V. It works well with [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] to use Zacian V’s Brave Blade two turns in a row later in the game. Rayquaza-GX does have three Retreat Cost, so if you start with it you’ll need a Switch.

Three Boss’s Orders, One Great Catcher, and One Eldegoss V

As mentioned, the strategy is to KO easy targets on the opponent’s Bench, and these cards let us commit to this strategy. A second [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] could replace one [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] if Dedenne-GX sees far more play than Crobat V. But since Eternatus VMAX is a major threat I think the third Boss’s Orders is better.

Two Water Energy and Nine Metal Energy

While Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V lists usually play ten Energy with two [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], I chose to play one additional Energy card. This deck can discard a lot of cards on turn 1 including Energy, so you want to have enough Energy in the deck to use  Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX’s Ultimate Ray’s full effect! This is especially important in the Vikavolt V matchup, because they’ll lock away your access to Metal Saucer.

Countering Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX

The list above is far from flawless. It has several very important flaws and other decks must take advantage of these flaws in order to have a chance against this deck. This is what I mean when I expect [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] to have a warping effect on the meta:  A deck that wins on turn 3 if you don’t prepare for it can’t be left alone. It doesn’t necessarily ruin the format, but it will definitely affect it. It’s important to notice the weaknesses in the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V aggro strategy and how to counter them, and how these counters relate to the rest of the expected metagame.

Decidueye

Let’s start with the obvious. The list above only uses Basic Pokemon, Pokemon-GX or Pokemon V. It has no answer to Decidueye. If you get a Decidueye in play and don’t Bench anything else that can be KO’d, then you win against Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V. I don’t think that Decidueye is a great card, but its existence means that you should probably play something else than Pokemon-GX and Pokemon V.

In Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V’s case, there are two options to KO Decidueye that has 140 HP. First, you can use [card name=”Duraludon” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]. Power Beam deals 110 damage, so it’s an OHKO after adding 30 damage from Altered Creation GX. Metal Sharpener is a useful attack against Control strategies that might want to run you out of Energy. Duraludon’s issue is that it’s not a card you want in play in most games. Since Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V only plays two-Prize Pokemon in addition to Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, it’s forcing the opponent into a seven-Prize game. If you use Duraludon in any other game, you give your opponent one Prize, so they only need to KO Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX and a two-Prize Pokemon to win the game.

The second solution is [card name=”Greninja-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM197″ c=”name”][/card]. Mist Slash will OHKO Decidueye and it’s a perfect answer to [card name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], should it see play (With Pokemon VMAX on the rise, Galarian Obstagoon gets worse but it can be tough to play against for a deck with only Basic Pokemon). You can use Greninja-GX’s Ability to put it into play directly and it’s searchable with Cherish Ball. It draws additional cards too (even under [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card]). It’s not easy to use, but you only need it in a few specific matchups. Alternatively, you can use [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], which can copy Mist Slash if you’re against Decidueye or Galarian Obstagoon, and use Altered Creation GX and Ultimate Ray as well.

Eternatus VMAX

This deck has trouble with Eternatus VMAX. With a Bench full of Darkness-type Pokemon, Eternatus VMAX deals 270 damage on the second turn of the game. If one of these Darkness-type Pokemon is a Galarian Zigzagoon, then Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX is KO’d (after using Altered Creation GX but before Ultimate Ray). It’s possible to use Zamazenta V in this situation but, depending on the Eternatus VMAX list it might have good answers to it as well. [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] can put Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX out of range of Eternatus VMAX’s huge damage output, even for only one turn. Then, it’s possible to attack Crobat V with Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX’s Ultimate Ray, charge Energy on Zacian V, and use Zacian V’s Brave Blade on another Crobat V for game.

Another consideration is [card name=”Mawile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] as a soft counter to Eternatus VMAX. Wily Bite deals 250 damage (280 after Altered Creation GX) to an Eternatus VMAX with a full Bench. That’s not a KO, but it’s one on any other Pokemon in the deck including Eternatus V.

Mawile-GX helps Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V’s strategy in two ways. First, Captivating Wink can force the opponent to Bench targets such as [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and Crobat V that you can easily KO. Second, Mawile-GX is another possible target for Metal Saucer but, unlike Zacian V and Zamazenta V, it can be searched with Cherish Ball. It has a very narrow use, but there will be situations where having Mawile-GX will get you a turn 1 Altered Creation GX.

Blacephalon

Since [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] is so focused on speed, it doesn’t play late game cards such as [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card]. This is where [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] can benefit. Blacephalon doesn’t like Altered Creation GX on turn 1, but if it doesn’t get hit by [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card], it can answer the turn 2 Ultimate Ray KO with a KO of its own. If it plays [card name=”Beast Bringer” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] or the [card name=”Jirachi Prism Star” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] and Mr. Mime combo, and it doesn’t Bench a two-Prize Pokemon that Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX can OHKO on turn 2, then it can win the game before Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V.

I’m curious whether Blacephalon has a place in the metagame. On one hand, it has the damage output to deal with Pokemon VMAX, so it can be an answer to Eternatus VMAX and other titans. On the other hand, it struggles enormously with Item lock such as Vikavolt V. Not only does the Vikavolt V deck destroy Blacephalon, but [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] decks can tech the bug to improve their Blacephalon matchup.

Vikavolt V

Not surprisingly, Vikavolt V has a chance against Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V. The deck plays so many Items that Marnie and Vikavolt V’s Paralyzing Bolt can completely shut down the deck. Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX can use Altered Creation GX into Ultimate Ray, but if it drew too many cards on its first turn it risks running out of Energy, especially if Vikavolt plays [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card].

Mill

Since Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V tends to draw and discard a lot of cards on its first turn, one way to punish it is by playing Mill. Mill went away after Rebel Clash introduced several cards that it didn’t like, but one of them — [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] — is most likely going to be unviable in the upcoming format since it folds to Eternatus VMAX. There was an unofficial National Championship held in Japan over Skype a month ago which featured two Vikavolt V decks in the finals. But the 3rd and 4th place decks were both Mill decks ([card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] respectively). Unsurprisingly, Dragapult VMAX was nowhere to be found.

Can Mill win fast enough before Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian takes six Prizes? It remains to be seen, but cards like [card name=”Team Yell Grunt” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”184″ c=”name”][/card] can be effective to force the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V player to dig through their deck, accelerating Mill’s win condition. If other decks use [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] a lot then that’s good for Mill.

Even outside of the Mill archetypes, [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] is a good card against Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V. Its second effect lets a player remove their easy targets such as Dedenne-GX from their Bench. Can any deck use it? No because it’s slow, but Vikavolt V slows the pace of the game enough that it can get away with using for a turn if it has trapped, say a Zacian V with no Energy attached in the Active Spot. Bellelba and Brycen-Man’s second effect is great against Eternatus VMAX, because it will make them discard five Pokemon instead of two. Don’t be surprised to see this card ran in some unusual decks!

No Dedenne-GX and/or Crobat V

Finally, the easiest way not to have Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V win by Knocking Out two of your Dedenne-GX and Crobat V… is to not run Dedenne-GX or Crobat V. I discussed in the first section that this would most likely not happen since players who don’t use Crobat V will be at a disadvantage against decks that do. But what if these decks aren’t played? What if decks like Pikachu and Zekrom-GX are much less popular than Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V, and running Crobat V is more dangerous than not running it? What if the best thing to do is to have one Dedenne-GX as a draw Pokemon and nothing else in a deck like Centiskorch VMAX, like Dragapult VMAX does currently?

In a long-lasting format, I would expect some form of cycle. Say Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V wins a tournament. People will be  wary of playing too many easy targets, so they play slower but more resilient decks. Then, something like Eternatus VMAX or Pikachu and Zekrom-GX wins because it outspeeds these decks. Slowly, people make their decks a bit faster again until Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V is once again the best deck. But UPR-DAA is a special format lasting for one or two weeks only, so you have to guess at what point in the cycle it will begin. In my opinion, players will not start the format being especially worried about a deck whose peak was four or five months ago, and won’t be prepared enough for Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V. I could be wrong, and writing this article makes the scenario I described less likely to happen if enough players read it and share its ideas. It’s a paradox.

The Threat in the Shadows

Although this article is about Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V, I’ve mentioned Eternatus VMAX several times and consider it the potential BDIF. Like Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V, it has the potential to run away with games with its incredible damage output. Why is this article about how Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX may warp the metagame and not Eternatus VMAX?

The online tournament, the only event in UPR-DAA to my knowledge (although I’m sure some local organisers will run small tournaments in this format as well), will take place only eight days after the release of Darkness Ablaze. While it’s faster to acquire cards on PTCGO than in real life, that’s still a short amount of time. We can expect the price of Eternatus V, Eternatus VMAX and Crobat V to be very high close to the release of the set. Since the online tournament is a free event open to every player, I expect most of these players won’t bother trying to get all these expensive cards. This is why I believe that Eternatus VMAX will not see a lot of play on Day 1 of this tournament. Instead, I think that Dragapult VMAX might be a great deck for this event. It is very effective against decks like Mill or Vikavolt V ([card name=”Horror P Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] is especially effective against low-damage Pokemon) that look like good ideas for the metagame. It’s not unlikely that you’ll play the whole day without facing any Eternatus VMAX deck.

I expect a lot more Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V. Many players already have the deck built on PTCGO. While it does require Crobat V, it’s much easier to get one Crobat V than a full playset of it along with a playset of the most hyped Pokemon VMAX. Since the online tournament is a replacement for Worlds and winning them would bring a lot of prestige and some prizes, I expect many players will be fine buying a Crobat V for this event. To put it another way, not teching for Eternatus VMAX is fine, but not teching for Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian seems very dangerous due to the specific circumstances of the event.

Note that this is only true for Day 1. Like at Worlds, about half of Day 2 will be players with a direct invitation (including myself) who are more likely than the average player to have all the cards they want on PTCGO. While some of these players may not bother to get Eternatus VMAX for this event and would rather test other decks, I expect Eternatus VMAX to be a popular archetype in Day 2 overall.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! I’m excited for another huge, international tournament, so I’m hoping to find a good deck to play for this event. I’ll keep writing about UPR-DAA until the online tournament, then I’ll switch to post-rotation. I hope you’ll keep reading! In the meantime, good luck and have fun!

–Stéphane

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