Introducing Eternatus VMAX — M Rayquaza-EX Reborn

By: Caleb Gedemer · Posted Posted onAug 2, 2020 at 8:51 AM · 0 Comments

Recently, I’ve been tinkering around with Expanded some, but until there are official bans made in the format, it’s a headache. That said, I’ve spent some time the past few days getting to know one of the first major players from Darkness Ablaze, Eternatus VMAX.

First of all, frankly, I don’t see anything stopping this deck from becoming the clear-cut best deck in Standard. [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] (the former title-barer) is going to be all but dead with the rising popularity of Eternatus VMAX. There is absolutely no chance that the Darkness-weak Dragapult VMAX will be able to hang any longer, it may still square up favorably against the rest of the format, but playing a Darkness deck is going to slam the breaks on any run. Eternatus VMAX is almost entirely composed of new cards, clearly, this was a deck that the card design team thought up and wanted to be successful (at least for the time being).

 

New Decks to Expect

Moving forward in the pre-rotation Darkness Ablaze Standard format you can expect to see:

  • Baby [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Centiskorch VMAX
  • Dragapult VMAX (rendered obsolete)
  • Eternatus VMAX
  • Mad Party
  • [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Some Decidueye deck
  • Some Golisopod deck
  • Vikavolt V
  • [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]

Out of these, the Fire-type decks are the scariest since they can one-shot you, although that’s quite difficult. Golisopod is also potentially problematic and Decidueye could be annoying, depending on the list. It’s also worth mentioning that Vikavolt V could be an irritant itself, but only in the early game when you’re trying to set up.

Why Eternatus VMAX

Eternatus VMAX brings one-hit Knock Out potential to the table as well as massive HP for itself. It’s a nearly indestructible tank that brings the necessary offensive power for success. It’s low maintenance, and Eternatus V can Power Accelerator to charge up an Eternatus VMAX, the two go hand in hand. [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] goes well in this deck, and if not Capture Energy, you could even play [card name=”Draw Energy” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”209″ c=”name”][/card]. Dread End has that all-important Colorless Energy in its cost, so you have some flexibility in your Energy lineup.

Crobat V is the perfect support Pokemon for this deck and has enough HP to withstand a hit or two. the Eternatus VMAX deck practically builds itself since you have to play strictly Darkness type Pokemon, there’s not a lot of room for ingenuity in the Pokemon lineup. The personal flair you get to put on comes in the form of your non-GX/V Pokemon techs, and there are a few that are available. This deck clearly reminds a player of [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card], however, that deck did not do well against one of the format’s most popular decks at the time: Night March.

This deck brings a little different tempo to the table and can even hang with single-Prize decks because of [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] and its Ability. You can gain Prize advantage back by taking a Knock Out per game with Headbutt Tantrum. My list contains four of them, they’re great Bench sitters, and [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] lets you reuse them. One of my first observations with the following list is that there might not actually be enough Basic Pokemon to function as consistently as I would like, there’s still more to learn about this deck… Let me walk you through my journey with it thus far.

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The List

Here’s the list I’ve been playing:

 

[decklist name=”.” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Hoopa” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY90″][pokemon amt=”18″]4x Eternatus VMAX (DAA #117)4x Eternatus V (DAA #116)4x [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x Crobat V (DAA #104)1x [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x Hoopa (DAA #111)[/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”185″ 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=”Black Market Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]7x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]4x [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

A few generalizations to keep in mind before I dig into the cards specifically:

  • There are fourteen Basic Pokemon in this list.
  • There are eight draw Supporter cards.
  • There are eight Pokemon search cards.
  • There are four switching cards.
  • There are eleven Energy cards.

Breaking Down the List

[cardimg name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Four Galarian Zigzagoon and Four Scoop Up Net

You want Darkness type Bench-sitters in this deck and these do that, and more. Dread End tops at 270 damage before modifiers which isn’t enough to one-shot some things, so the Ability can complement that and finish some larger Knock Outs. You can use one multiple times with [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card], so among all four and four Scoop Up Net you can deal eight additional damage counters wherever you want. This is great against low HP things that you can Knock Out with the Ability damage alone and of course it’s essential to finish off massive Pokemon VMAX. With any not-Eternatus VMAX line Pokemon, worst case, these are Bench-sitters that will add to your damage.

Four Eternatus V and Four Eternatus VMAX

It’s your main attacker and you want to find it ASAP. You could drop down to three of the Pokemon VMAX, but making your Pokemon Communication better is nice. The one awkward part about this deck is you don’t have great search for Eternatus VMAX, so having the extra Pokemon, and an extra copy of itself is ideal. Obviously you’re going to attack with three of these in a game tops, there’s not Prize room for more than that. [card name=”Black Market Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] can get your third Pokemon VMAX into the fold, but it’s likely that a [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] will disrupt that before the plan comes together completely.

Four Crobat V

Crobat V‘s Night Asset is exactly like [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and it’s Set Up Ability, popular in [card name=”Raichu” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC9″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] decks in the past. It gives you extra dig to find important cards, this is especially important in the early game because, like most Pokemon VMAX decks, you cannot afford to miss an early Energy attachment. It’s the only draw support Pokemon you can run without breaking the unspoken only-Darkness Pokemon rule. The one other thing out there is [card name=”Sableye” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] to try to thin your deck a little. You want to max these out so you can have one for each of your most important turns. Eternatus VMAX games are typically quick due to your one-shot potential, meaning you’ll want a Crobat V for your first turn, last turn, and the few turns in between.

One Spiritomb and One Hoopa

These are my favorite non-GX/V attackers in here. Anguish Cry is a solid smack on a single-Prize and as far as Hoopa goes, it’s a 90 damage smack if you need to set some damage up or trade with a squishier single-Prize deck. Most lists I’ve seen play the other [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Unified Minds” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] which feels worse, on average Assault Gate and Anguish Cry are going to be doing more damage, so playing these attackers feels better. Anguish Cry for one has greater upside, the Evil Admonition Hoopa has some merit with its own higher upside, but people can play around it, so I’m unsure. It could be good in mirror matches, swinging for 190 damage tops, but that doesn’t do anything other than swing for a two-shot anyways. What’s the difference? [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] can one-shot a Crobat V if you have some damage modifiers involved, so I’m a huge fan of it.

Four Professor’s Research and Four Marnie

This is becoming the norm for most decks, but a single [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] could replace a [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] in here for me, but that’s it. This has felt like the right draw Supporter count for nearly any deck, especially Pokemon VMAX, as seen in [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] lists.

Three Boss’s Orders and One Great Catcher

Again, this has become a common gust lineup for many decks. I like it in here too because Dread End has such great power that you can pick your Prizes. Four Crobat V give you flexibility so that you’re not locked in on a draw Supporter each turn and even when you are, there’s [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] to work as extra pop if you need it.

Four Quick Ball and Four Pokemon Communication

[card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] is a given in here, it serves as a draw card with Crobat V and snags Eternatus V or any of your other Basic Pokemon. [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card] is more suspect, but you need all four. There’s not more rounded answer for Enternatus VMAX search, there’s Evolution Incense, but the problem there is that it only gets four of the eighteen Pokemon in your deck, not great value. Pokemon Communication is only alright in this deck because there isn’t a particularly great number of Pokemon in it. [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] is another option, but again, the randomness of it and a not-guaranteed way to find the Pokemon VMAX makes it another loser to me.

Three Switch and One Air Balloon

This deck needs switching cards as not everything attacks. Crobat V has a single retreat cost, so even there you need a way to get it out of the Active Spot if you still want to attack for the turn. Manually attaching Energy has become more common, especially in Pokemon VMAX decks, but again, the premise is the same: don’t miss a single drop. You will miss a drop if you have to spend a turn retreating, or otherwise. This switching lineup still allows you to get out of a Special Condition with the [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] trio, and [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] makes for a great pivot on a Pokemon that’s not going anywhere, one that’s destined to hang out on the Bench.

Two Vitality Band

[cardimg name=”Vitality Band” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”185″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

More damage! Dread End ramps up to 280 with a [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] if you have a full Bench, then Headbutt Tantrum steps in to fill out that last four damage counters if you’re poking at a Pokemon VMAX. Centiskorch VMAX figures to be the next-most popular Pokemon VMAX, so having these Tools will improve your matchup against it. In other circumstances, you can go from 240 to 250, or from 210 to 220. There are many different possibilities, one thing’s for certain: the more damage the better.

One Black Market Prism Star

Prize advantage isn’t something that comes naturally to three Prize Pokemon VMAX, so having a Stadium to award one less Prize is quite ideal! It won’t always work as planned, they might have an immediate counter to it, or you might have to discard it, but playing a card like [card name=”Black Market Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] is always worth it since it gives you such a huge advantage if it does work.

Seven Darkness Energy and Four Capture Energy

This seems like the sweet spot, but there are a few things to consider. First, there’s Eternatus V’s attack; Power Accelerator, a big part of many game plans! Power Accelerator wants to have a Darkness Energy in hand, so playing more Darkness is never a bad thing. [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] is something to consider, if you have the misfortune of going second you can turn that into a more positive thing by stockpiling more Darkness Energy in hand and even getting a Power Accelerator off if you can. [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] sets this deck up, and while it is mostly included for getting more Eternatus V, it can get a Pokemon with an Ability as well, purely so you get more damage off with Dread End. The big picture here is that Capture Energy pairs perfectly with your big Bench dreams, it searches out a Pokemon just like that and also fulfils one half of your attack cost, awesome.

Optional Inclusions

As I often do, especially in the case of a narrow-focus deck like this, I have searched the entire database of Darkness type cards to develop some additional options. There’s the aforementioned [card name=”Sableye” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] I talked a little bit about, as well as [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Unified Minds” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]. Here are the rest of the options I’ve been thinking about:

Absol

[card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] still remains a huge part of the format, even with Darkness Ablaze out and about. Dark Ambition puts a serious dent in any Jirachi strategy, so having a few of them in this deck would be a welcome sight. Here’s where we run into space problems, this deck already seems so polished to me, but having more Basic Pokemon would be nice. [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] is the front runner for an addition, but there are still other options yet.

Alolan Meowth

[card name=”Alolan Meowth” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card]’s Spoil the Fun attack puts on a significant amount of pressure if you’re going second, setting up a Dread End Knock Out. More importantly, though, it’s a neutral non-GX/V Pokemon that you could send up on your first turn to take a hit (or Knock Out) while protecting your first Eternatus V with Energy. It also pairs obviously with…

Alolan Persian-GX

I’ve been talking a lot about this card lately, that’s because it’s a direct counter to some popular decks. Baby [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] may be a problem for this deck, but Smug Face could step in and finish it off. That’s actually the best application I can think of for this — [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] should be in decline, and [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] should fall of hard with more archetypes wielding greater HP. If any of that changes, this card could be good in here.

Garbodor

Poisonous Puddle is like an infinite once per turn [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]. Sure, it’s a Stage 1 and requires a turn to set up, but once you have it your Eternatus VMAX will ramp up even further. I could see this being a possibility in place of [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card], as another damage modifier. However, the reach of Headbutt Tantrum is cool, and it can get you ahead on Prizes on its own.

Rose

If you fall behind on Energy attachments you could trade your hand for two of them. I don’t like it because I wouldn’t play more than one, but it’s something to consider if Energy denial becomes big again. There’s also an alternate reality where you build this deck with multiple Rose and Rose Tower to draw back up, but I like the more balanced approach I have here.

Great Ball

Is [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] or more Energy (and Capture Energy) better? I believe Capture Energy to be better at this moment, because it does two things with just a single card. It’s another Basic Pokemon, as well as half of a Dread End.

Dangerous Drill

[cardimg name=”Dangerous Drill” set=”Team Up” no=”138″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

To throw in some disruption you could play [card name=”Dangerous Drill” set=”Team Up” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], it could potentially get you ahead on Energy attachments, it depends what order an opponent attaches their Energy — and if they even play Special Energy to begin with. The Tool discard option could also be decent occasionally. The problem here is each Pokemon you discard still has a place and I’ve already wanted more Basic Pokemon in the deck, so…

Turbo Patch

On a flip you could get ahead on Energy again, but only to your Eternatus V. This is awkward and clunky, not to mention at the whim of a coin. I would skip it and look to Rose if you are desperate for some Energy acceleration.

Power Plant

It’s another Stadium that you could play, it could be disruptive, but I’d like to play [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] as well if it was added. [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] is at its best in decks that draw the game out longer, a good example is [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. This deck is far more aggressive and aims to win as soon as possible. While Power Plant wouldn’t hurt the build while in play, it would hurt the deck’s structure, as there are better cards that could be played instead.

Viridian Forest

This and [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] are always options. Of the two (without [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] as an option for this deck), [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] is going to be better because you could get multiple Energy out of it. Viridian Forest is always an awkward card though, it can sometimes help your opponent and it’s a neutral card in general — it doesn’t do a whole lot — more Darkness Energy should take precedent over either of these.

Hiding Darkness Energy

A free Retreat Cost is nice indeed, but it’s deceivingly strong — in Turbo Darkness decks in Expanded you have much more flexibility with so much Energy acceleration. This deck doesn’t have that, it’s one Energy per turn! Therefore, putting a Hiding D Energy on something like a Crobat V isn’t great, you would rather put that on your main attacker. Playing switching cards in place of Hiding D Energy is honestly better, and I don’t think that the Special Energy belongs in this deck right now.

Playing the Deck

Playing this deck is pretty simple, do the most damage you can! Plan out your Knock Outs, find your Galarian Zigzagoon and/or Vitality Band to finish them off, and choose your Prizes carefully. Try to attack as few times as you can to win the game, two Pokemon VMAX, two TAG TEAM Pokemon-GX, that kind of thing. Don’t put Eternatus V in harm’s way with an Energy if your opponent could take a Knock Out, leave it on the Bench if you have to! Bide your time, open things up with big Knock Outs and Boss’s Orders your way to victory.

There’s actually not much else I can say that’s helpful, I guess it’s worth noting that against control/mill you have to use Power Accelerator and hope that your opponent doesn’t clear all your Energy. Playing a dedicated tech for that matchup is almost always going to be necessary to win. Lastly, remember that in some matchups you don’t have to fill your Bench all the way, you might want to keep it smaller so that you don’t have as many liabilities in play like Crobat V. All in all if you remember M Rayquaza-EX, that’s a plus, this deck is extremely similar — and frankly, it’s better!

Conclusion

I’m massively excited for Darkness Ablaze to come out in the next few weeks. Hopefully the Pokemon Trading Card Game Online patch drops earlier like it usually does, that’s unclear thus far. In any case, I’ve been playing with proxies and that’s working fine. Ask away on the Subscribers’ Hideout about anything Eternatus VMAX! Thanks for reading, please stay safe, and take care.

Peace,

–Caleb

Follow me on Twitter @shredemerptcg.

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