Building More Spite — A Guide to the New Spiritomb
[cardimg name=”Spikemuth” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”170″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Have you heard of [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]? Dealing 270 damage for two Energy is pretty strong, but what if I were to tell you that there’s another Darkness-type Pokemon that can deal 310 damage for only one Energy? And it’s a Basic Pokemon that only gives away one Prize? That’s right, I’m talking about [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]!
Spiritomb was already a solid deck in the Rebel Clash metagame, but two key cards in Darkness Ablaze could turn it into an absolute terror. [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] adds +50 HP to give Spiritomb 110 HP. This means it can hold up to 10 damage counters so its Anguish Cry attack deals 310 damage maximum. Sure, [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”168″ c=”name”][/card] can be very dangerous when you put more than six damage counters on a Spiritomb, but this card is scarcely seen. Plus you can play around it as I’ll discuss later on.
The other card is [card name=”Spikemuth” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], an amazing Stadium that helps to get a lot of damage on Spiritomb. Thanks to this card, putting 10 damage counters on Spiritomb is absolutely possible if you build your deck the right way. By maxing out on switching effects, it’s possible to get a lot of damage in play fast. For example, if you can get your Spiritomb out of the Active Spot once in a turn, that’s already two damage counters. Add a [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] plus Spiritomb’s own Ability and you hit four damage counters. Add [card name=”Jynx” set=”Unified Minds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] and you get to five damage counters. Spikemuth makes Jynx easier to use because it can put damage counters on your other Pokemon like [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], then you can move these damage counters to Spiritomb. You don’t need to move damage counters from a Spiritomb to another or play [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] to get damage counters on your own [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]. If you can move Spiritomb out of the Active Spot a second time, that’s seven counters in one turn — or 220 damage (enough to OHKO [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”195″ c=”name”][/card]).
It is not an exaggeration to say that Spiritomb can trade favorably with some three Prize Pokemon. I’ve oneshot a [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] that used its GX attack and had a [card name=”Metal Frying Pan” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] attached (with the help of [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]). I’ve won games against [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] because I dealt 280 damage to it on turn 2.
Here’s another argument if the deck doesn’t appeal to you: Spiritomb is fun to play! In order to make the most out of Spikemuth’s effect, you need to play plenty of mobility cards that makes last season’s Jirachi / [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] deck jealous. Figuring out in which order to play these cards to achieve the best result (including using as many Jirachi’s Stellar Wish as you can) is a pretty fun exercise! If you enjoy this sequencing minigame in decks like [card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”custom”]Archie’s[/card] [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card], you’ll like this new version of Spiritomb.
I’ll explain how to build the deck and give tips on how to play it well. I’ll add my thoughts too on its viability in the metagame and what to expect for its main matchups. The short version is that it’s a solid deck that’s faster and has more versatility than similar one-Prize archetypes such as Mad Party and [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card]. But it is weak to similar decks with Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V being the main culprit. On the bright side, there are issues that other one-Prize decks have that Spiritomb deals better with. Spiritomb is definitely strong enough to make Day 2 in the POG Championships. It’s easy to build as it doesn’t require any rare cards from Darkness Ablaze.
That’s the short version. I hope you stick around for the long version!
Spiritomb Deck List
[premium]
[decklist name=”Spiritomb” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″][pokemon amt=”14″]4x [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Jynx” set=”Unified Minds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Bird Keeper” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Hustle Belt” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Adventure Bag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lana’s Fishing Rod” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”195″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Spikemuth” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]4x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Hiding Darkness Energy” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”175″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Aurora Energy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Like many one-Prize decks, [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] relies on Jirachi and [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] to improve its draws rather than a battery of two-Prize Pokemon (I do play one Dedenne-GX for times when you need better draws). The core of the deck is moving Spiritomb and Jirachi in and out of the Active Spot, racking up damage counters with Spikemuth Stadium in play which you can transform into massive damage to the opponent’s Pokemon. This is why the deck plays so many mobility cards: [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], Scoop Up Net, [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Bird Keeper” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hiding Darkness Energy” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] all help to accomplish this general plan.
I don’t think many of the four-ofs need a detailed explanation, but I think it’s worth talking about some of the other choices in the list.
One Buzzwole, and One Blacephalon-GX
Spiritomb uses [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card], which means we’re free to add other one-Energy attackers like last format.
The addition of [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] is for its Burst GX attack. This is a general purpose GX attack to finish a game easily. There is only one [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck. If that seems too few, think of it like a Blacephalon deck. We’re not trying to find the easiest target on the Bench, we want to KO whatever is Active regardless if it has a lot of HP. The downside to this plan is that the opponent can stop us with high HP Pokemon, especially in the late game. There are some Pokemon ([card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card]) whose HP are too high for Spiritomb to OHKO. Like in a Blacephalon deck, Blacephalon-GX can be invaluable in this scenario to take the last Prize more easily.
The Fighting-type [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] is very valuable in this format: Eternatus VMAX, [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Vikavolt V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] all have Fighting-type Weakness. It’s not easy to get Buzzwole with a Rainbow Energy attached at the right time, but the benefit you gain from a well-timed Sledgehammer is well worth the cost.
One Galarian Zigzagoon
Sometimes, it’s easier to add another damage counter on the opponent’s side than our own. [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] lets us reach higher than the hypothetical 310 damage if needed, but it’s more common to use it to reach lower numbers. For example, you can KO [card name=”Decidueye” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card] with four damage counters on Spiritomb and one Headbutt Tantrum Ability from Galarian Zigzagoon. The synergy between Galarian Zigzagoon and Scoop Up Net is another point in its favor.
Three Cape of Toughness, Two Hustle Belt, One Escape Board, One Adventure Bag, and One Lana’s Fishing Rod
[cardimg name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Let’s call this the Tool package. [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] is strong in this deck, but [card name=”Hustle Belt” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] is not without value either! While the damage ceiling with Hustle Belt is lower than with Cape of Toughness, you’ll reach its maximum damage faster. Hustle Belt is great if your opponent started with Dedenne-GX since you’ll only need three damage counters on Spiritomb for an OHKO. Additionally, you can KO Vikavolt V with five damage counters. [card name=”Adventure Bag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card] helps to find these tools early and [card name=”Lana’s Fishing Rod” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”195″ c=”name”][/card] can get both a Spiritomb (or other Pokemon) and a Tool back. But Lana’s Fishing Rod is arguably one of the most cuttable cards in the list.
I think one Escape Board is enough. Yes, the deck has four [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] but there are many other ways to switch. More importantly, you can only manually retreat once per turn and it’s often better to do it with Spiritomb (thanks to Hiding Darkness Energy) since it will put more damage counters on your field.
Four Hiding Energy, Four Rainbow Energy, and One Aurora Energy
Rainbow Energy doesn’t need to be justified. Hiding Darkness Energy is helpful to add more damage on Spiritomb thanks to [card name=”Spikemuth” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card]. I think eight Energy isn’t enough, so there is an additional [card name=”Aurora Energy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] (if you don’t play Blacephalon-GX, change it a [card name=”Unit Energy FDY” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card]). I’m not opposed to playing a tenth Energy card, but at the moment I don’t know if that’s needed.
Other Deck Options
I want to mention other cards that could be worth playing. Some of them didn’t make the cut, while some are ideas I’ve yet to try.
Yveltal-GX
You can deal 40 damage with [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] for one Energy with only one damage counter, followed by [card name=”Yveltal-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]’s Doom Count GX to KO the opponent’s Pokemon no matter its HP. Alternatively, you can put the 40 damage with some combination of Galarian Zigzagoon’s Ability and damage from Spikemuth. Yveltal-GX is something I considered in order to deal with [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], since you’ll lose the Prize race if you don’t KO it early. But I think it’s more effective to try to KO Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX with Spiritomb.
Crobat V, Eldegoss V and Oricorio-GX
These are all strong options to add consistency. However, it’s easy for the opponent to win if we fill the Bench with two-Prize Pokemon. You don’t have a lot of space on the Bench either, because you need several Spiritomb, [card name=”Jynx” set=”Unified Minds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], and at least one [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], plus [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] or Galarian Zigzagoon. That said, [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]’s Ability is pretty nice combined with [card name=”Bird Keeper” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] (cards and Abilities that draw more cards go better together than a straight draw effect or a discard and draw effect).
Mewtwo
Another option to add some consistency to the deck in the midgame. [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM214″ c=”name”][/card] only gives away one Prize and you can get it off the board (or reuse it) with [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card]. I tried it for a while and pretty much never used it, so I cut it.
Marshadow
It should be clear by now that Spikemuth is central to our strategy. This means that if an opponent plays [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card], it can delay us putting damage counters in play for at least one turn. [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] counters Chaotic Swell. If Chaotic Swell gains a lot of traction, I could see Marshadow being worth playing, but right now I don’t think it’s needed.
Mew
Classic anti-[card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] tech (especially useful since its Tag Bolt GX could be used to skip our Buzzwole’s Sledgehammer turn) that has some uses against other attackers such as [card name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] could be worth playing depending on the metagame.
Nihilego
A tech attacker. Unfortunately, [card name=”Nihilego” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] is not very strong against most new attackers. There’s nothing useful to copy against [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card]. While copying [card name=”Vikavolt V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]’s Super Zap Cannon is good, it doesn’t do enough damage to OHKO it. In the right metagame, I could see Nihilego being great, but right now it doesn’t seem good enough.
Hoopa DAA
Another attacker that works very well with all the mobility in the deck. My initial plan for this deck was to use [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] as an early game attacker while setting up Spiritomb, but I ended up using Spiritomb in the early turns so I cut Hoopa. Against targets that are too big for Spiritomb such as Pokemon VMAX, Hoopa can be useful to soften them up.
Terrakion
I saw a Japanese list that played [card name=”Terrakion” set=”Unified Minds” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] along with [card name=”Twin Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Karate Belt” set=”Unified Minds” no=”201″ c=”name”][/card] to OHKO Eternatus VMAX and other Pokemon with Fighting-type Weakness. Since it’s easy to get a lot of damage counters in play and move them around with Jynx, Terrakion will often deal 200 damage with its first attack. However, finding the Twin Energy and to a lesser extent (because of [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Adventure Bag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card]) Karate Belt at the right time is unreliable. I can’t recommend adding the three cards to this list; I could see a list devoting enough slots to Terrakion as a secondary attacker (cutting Blacephalon-GX and Buzzwole) being good, but only in a specific metagame full of Eternatus VMAX.
Great Catcher
Since Bird Keeper (to move more Pokemon around) and [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] (to draw the highest amount of cards) are the Supporters we want to play, it makes sense to add an Item-based gust effect to the deck. [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] is alright, but it loses value when many decks start playing few or no Pokemon-GX. You can use it to catch a Dedenne-GX in many matchups.
Tool Scrapper or Dangerous Drill
Your opponent attaching [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] can put some Pokemon out of range of Spiritomb. That’s where [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”168″ c=”name”][/card] comes into play. The main draw of this card would be to remove Cape of Toughness from Vikavolt V, but you can’t do this when it’s Item locking you. I think Tool Scrapper will find a use in many matchups, but it may be a dead card in most situations. I’d love to play [card name=”Dangerous Drill” set=”Team Up” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] instead, especially since it can remove Chaotic Swell, but we would need to play more Darkness-type Pokemon (Hoopa or more [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]) for this; Spiritomb is very rarely a card we want to discard.
Darkness Energy
Spiritomb autoloses to [card name=”Xurkitree-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM68″ c=”name”][/card] (unless you run Yveltal-GX). You would be forgiven for not caring about this since Xurkitree-GX is very rarely played. However, we are seeing new decks that only use Special Energy such as Mad Party. One could imagine Xurkitree-GX finding its way into a Vikavolt V or Pikachu and Zekrom-GX deck. An easy way to deal with it is to include a single copy of Basic Darkness Energy! It’s good if the opponent plays [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] too.
Maximizing Mobility
[cardimg name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Now that we’ve seen what the deck looks like, it’s time to talk about how it plays. The unique part about [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] is how it encourages and forces you to switch your Active Pokemon several times a turn. It is important to learn how to maximise the value of your switching cards.
Let me explain with an example: Your opponent takes a KO and you have to promote a Pokemon. You have a [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and a Spiritomb with a [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card]. Which one should you bring up? Unlike in most decks, the answer may not be Jirachi! There are several lines of play depending on the board and your cards in hand. First, you should count how many switching effects you have. For this example, let’s assume that your hand includes a [card name=”Bird Keeper” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] for a total of three switching effects. Let’s also assume that [card name=”Spikemuth” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] is in play. What are your switches going to look like?
Option 1 : Jirachi -> Spiritomb -> Jirachi -> Spiritomb
Promote Jirachi, use Stellar Wish, Scoop Up Net the Jirachi, promote Spiritomb. Bench Jirachi, play Bird Keeper targeting Jirachi, use Stellar Wish again, play Switch to bring up Spiritomb again. This is the most natural line of play. Note the order of the cards: Scoop Up Net is used on Jirachi and not Spiritomb, but we use it first to use Stellar Wish again. Bird Keeper is used before Switch because we increase our options by drawing cards.
With this line of play, Spiritomb and Jirachi will both gain two damage counters due to Spikemuth. If you have [card name=”Jynx” set=”Unified Minds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], you can move a damage counter to Spiritomb. Adding a damage counter from Rainbow Energy and Spiritomb’s Ability, Spiritomb gets five damage counters total. That’s great if it has [card name=”Hustle Belt” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card]. However, five damage counters is not enough if you want to reach higher numbers by putting [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] on Spiritomb. That’s the main drawback of option 1: You only get one Spikemuth activation on Spiritomb. You should choose this option if getting multiple Stellar Wish is more important than getting multiple Spikemuth activations on Spiritomb. For example, if you’re setting up your board and looking for cards like [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] (or [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] for an Energy). If you don’t have Spikemuth, sending up Jirachi first is better so you can search for it with Stellar Wish.
Option 2 : Spiritomb -> Jirachi -> Spiritomb -> Jirachi
Promote Spiritomb, play Bird Keeper, bring up Jirachi, use Stellar Wish, play Scoop Up Net, bring up Spiritomb again, play Switch moving Jirachi to the Active Spot. Compared to the previous option, Spiritomb now took four damage counters instead of two. Plus there are two damage counters on Jirachi, so you can move them with Jynx. The main issue here is that you end up with Jirachi in the Active Spot and not Spiritomb, so you can’t attack. But you drew three cards with Bird Keeper and used Stellar Wish twice, so it’s likely that you’ve found an additional Switch or Scoop Up Net during the turn!
This is the line you should take when you need to get a big KO. It’s possible to reach very high numbers with Spiritomb even if you start with only one damage counter on it, but you have to commit. That often means bringing up Spiritomb first, retreating to Jirachi and hoping to find one (or sometimes two) additional switching effects during the turn.
When looking for these big swing turns, note that getting two additional damage counters on Spiritomb requires two additional switching effects (to get Spiritomb in and out of the Active Spot). However, if you only have one Scoop Up Net left with Spiritomb Active, you can use it on Jynx to reuse its Ability and move another damage counter to Spiritomb (provided you have some damage counters elsewhere on your board, which you normally would). You can combine the two. If you need three more damage counters on Spiritomb and have a Switch and Scoop Up Net, you can Switch to Jynx (getting two counters), play Scoop Up Net targeting Jynx to get Spiritomb back Active, then put Jynx on the Bench and use its Ability again.
The actual switching options you have in hand can sometimes affect what you should do. For example, if you have Bird Keeper and two Scoop Up Net then option 1 is more viable than option 2. This is because Scoop Up Net can only be used to retreat a Jirachi, not a Spiritomb (since you’ll remove damage counters from it), so you can only retreat Spiritomb once with this combination of cards. Therefore Jirachi -> Spiritomb -> Jirachi -> Spiritomb is possible, but not Spiritomb -> Jirachi -> Spiritomb -> Jirachi. Of course, you can try to find a Switch with Bird Keeper and your first Stellar Wish.
I’ve mentioned Switch, Bird Keeper and Scoop Up Net as switching effects, but don’t forget you can also retreat manually once per turn and you should try to do it. This is as simple as bringing up a Spiritomb with [card name=”Hiding Darkness Energy” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] in the Active first, then retreating to Jirachi. Remember that if you manually retreated a Spiritomb with Hiding Darkness Energy, you can’t manually retreat a Jirachi with [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] and vice versa. It may seem obvious, but when you’ve made three switches in a turn already you can forget whether you already used your manual retreat. It’s happened to me more than once!
Keep in mind that often, you’ll have multiple Jirachi and Spiritomb in play. A third option would be Spiritomb 1 -> Jirachi -> Spiritomb 2 -> Spiritomb 1. This lets you put damage counters on multiple Spiritomb, which is very nice in the early game since it allows you to prepare for big swing turns where you get nine or 10 damage counters on Spiritomb to OHKO a Tag Team Pokemon-GX.
Managing Damage Counters
In many matchups, you’ll be the only player putting damage counters on your board. The opponent will only OHKO your low HP Pokemon. Sometimes, the opponent has ways to add damage counters to your board, most commonly with [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], but sometimes with other cards as well ([card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Spell Tag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Horror P Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Roxie” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”205″ c=”name”][/card] + [card name=”Weezing” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Decidueye” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card]’s attack). This requires you to be a bit more cautious.
As a general rule, unless you know that your opponent is not playing [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”168″ c=”name”][/card] (or they do but already used it), don’t put six damage counters on a Spiritomb with Cape of Toughness. Not only is this very risky because you could lose a strong attacker if they play Tool Scrapper, you don’t need six damage counters. With Spiritomb’s Ability, Jynx, and one Spikemuth Stadium activation, you can easily go from five to nine damage counters in one turn. You only need a second Jynx or a Scoop Up Net (or Rainbow Energy) to reach the maximum 10 damage counters. You don’t need to stand so close to the edge!
In a similar spirit, don’t put more damage counters than you need for the matchup. For example, against [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] you can put three damage counters on a Benched Spiritomb, knowing that you can use its Ability to add a fourth damage counter in order to OHKO Blacephalon when you’ll attack with it. Some Blacephalon lists may play Galarian Zigzagoon, so by not damaging Spiritomb more than you need to you’ll make it much harder for your opponent to get additional KOs on your Spiritomb. If you have several Spiritomb close to being KO’d, your opponent could take multiple KOs in one turn with Mew’s Psypower. That holds true in other matchups as well.
Overall, be aware of how many damage counters the opponent can add to your board and play around that. For example, Decidueye can deal 20 damage to the Bench, so don’t have a Spiritomb with 10 or 20 HP left on the Bench! You can force your opponent to damage your Spiritomb for you if you can keep a very low Bench count, but you don’t need to. You can keep a Spiritomb with one damage counter on it, and it won’t be very hard to reach five damage counters (or four plus one Galarian Zigzagoon, or three plus Hustle Belt) to KO Decidueye.
Quick Matchups Guide
I don’t have enough experience to tell you exactly how good or bad most matchups are, but here is what to generally expect:
Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V
This is unfortunately an issue for [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], and the main reason to be afraid of playing this deck. Winning is absolutely possible but you need a strong start. You need to KO [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] after it uses Altered Creation GX. Nothing in this deck withstands Ultimate Ray, so if you don’t get the KO at this point then the opponent will take three KOs in three turns and you won’t be able to outspeed them. On the other hand, if you can remove Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX after Altered Creation then you’re very favored.
Eternatus VMAX
This matchup depends on what their list looks like. Straightforward lists should be fine since it’s easy to 2HKO [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] with Spiritomb, and [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] also helps. Lists with several one-Prize attackers (such as [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Unified Minds” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]) can be more troublesome because the Prize trade is not as advantageous for us. In this matchup, be aware of the [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] threat. Try to attach [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] on your Spiritomb and don’t put too many damage counters when you don’t need to; you’ll be looking for 2HKOs, not OHKOs (except on [card name=”Eternatus V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card]) anyway, so you don’t need to get to 10 damage counters. Be mindful of [card name=”Dangerous Drill” set=”Team Up” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card].
Pikachu and Zekrom-GX
Good matchup, you can OHKO [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] with Spiritomb, and Buzzwole is a great asset. The main threats are Pikachu and Zekrom-GX’s Tag Bolt GX and [card name=”Vikavolt V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], but one Vikavolt V isn’t enough to change the matchup.
Vikavolt V
[cardimg name=”Vikavolt V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”60″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
A dedicated Vikavolt V deck is annoying for Spiritomb. This is a matchup I need to test more but it’s probably unfavorable. Due to your Pokemon’s low HP, Vikavolt V can use Paralyzing Bolt and not bother with Super Zap Cannon, so you’ll be Item locked most of the game. Make the most out of the one or two turns of Items you’ll get in the early game. The most important thing is to try to get Tools out. A Spiritomb with [card name=”Hustle Belt” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] can OHKO Vikavolt V (if it doesn’t have a Cape of Toughness attached) and a Spiritomb with Cape of Toughness is very threatening to Vikavolt. If you can’t OHKO Vikavolt, I recommend putting two damage counters on Spiritomb. This way Vikavolt doesn’t oneshot it with one [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] and if they attack into you, you will retaliate with a KO. If you can get a KO and they miss the return attack, you should win. Buzzwole is also good here but it may be hard to find.
Centiskorch VMAX
A good matchup. [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] will OHKO Spiritomb but you’ll 2HKO it, and there shouldn’t be enough healing in the Centiskorch VMAX deck to protect it. Centiskorch VMAX doesn’t have additional tricks, so you should win the Prize trade. Against lists with [card name=”Electrode-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card], you can KO one Centiskorch VMAX and take your last Prize with [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]’s Burst GX.
Blacephalon
Spiritomb tends to be favored against Blacephalon. For the most part, this matchup is a straightforward Prize trade which both decks can sustain. But Blacephalon is a bit more reliant on two-Prize Pokemon, so you’ll probably find a KO on [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] (or [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] or something else) at some point. Spiritomb has an easier time KOing [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] on turn 1 or 2 when players are setting up their first attacker.
Mad Party
This is pretty similar to Blacephalon. Avoid Benching a Pokemon-GX and KO theirs if they do Bench one. Mad Party doesn’t need to play Dedenne-GX in this matchup, but you can win the Prize race if the opponent plays only one-Prize Pokemon. Use Galarian Zigzagoon and two Scoop Up Net to KO a [card name=”Sinistea” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card]. You don’t need a lot of damage in this matchup, so you can keep your [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] for this purpose instead of having big turns will multiple switches.
Dragapult VMAX
This deck’s place in the metagame is uncertain, but I’m holding on to my belief that it’s a very strong play except against Eternatus VMAX. Good news then! Unlike other one-Prize decks such as Blacephalon and Mad Party, Spiritomb can handle [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. While I believe that the matchup was favored for Dragapult VMAX before Darkness Ablaze, the new cards change the dynamic. Thanks to [card name=”Spikemuth” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], it’s easy to OHKO Dragapult VMAX with a Spiritomb you Benched, so you don’t have to put your attackers at risk. In addition, if you put a Spiritomb with Cape of Toughness on the Bench, it can withstand the residual damage from Max Phantom so you can play attackers in order to not be caught offguard by a [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card]. Overall, I believe that Dragapult VMAX would have to play [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”168″ c=”name”][/card] to have a chance in this matchup.
Control / Mill
This is another matchup (or category of matchups) where Spiritomb does better than other one-Prize decks. With only one [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], Mill decks with a heavy [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] line are favored against Spiritomb, but Control decks on the other hand (I believe are more popular) tend to focus mostly on Energy disruption instead. As a one-Energy attacker, Spiritomb doesn’t care about that! The heavy [card name=”Bird Keeper” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] (and other switching cards) count means that you won’t have an issue with being trapped in the Active Spot and in the worst case scenario, you can KO your own Pokemon with [card name=”Jynx” set=”Unified Minds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] in order to switch.
Conclusion
Overall, [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] is a powerful deck. It does have some consistency issues, but they’re not worse than Blacephalon’s and that deck had a lot of success! It does have some turbo starts where you completely run over the opponent. It’s possible to win against Pokemon VMAX decks this way, for example by Knocking Out Eternatus V on turn 2 before it can evolve. Spiritomb is mostly under the radar right now, which is strange because it was a good deck in the Rebel Clash format and it gained more from Darkness Ablaze than any other top tier deck.
Spiritomb has potential post-rotation. I haven’t tested this format at all so this is only theoretical, plus the metagame may end up being hostile to it, but all the switching cards (except Escape Board which isn’t that important) stays in the format. It does lose the non Darkness-type attackers as well as Rainbow Energy, but I don’t think that’s enough to end the archetype!
If you pick up the deck, I hope you get both success and enjoyment out of it. Whether you play this or something else, good luck to all of you who will be playing in the POG Championships!
–Stéphane
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