Life of the Mad Party — Reflections on UPR-DAA and What Comes Next

By: Stephane Ivanoff · Posted Sep 1, 2020 at 12:24 PM · 0 Comments

Hello! The short-lived Ultra Prism to Darkness Ablaze (UPR-DAA) format is already coming to an end, killed by the rotation. The 10 days between the release of Darkness Ablaze on PTCGO and the POG Championships were the only reason anyone cared about this format. Unlike more similar ephemeral formats (like those used for Pokemon World Championships until 2018), I believe this format was more explored with a high density of online tournaments.

The POG Championships were designed as a replacement for Worlds. It doesn’t have the same level of prestige, but the fact that we had a two-day event comprised of a tough qualification phase and a second day featuring the best players of the world makes it appropriate to talk of it as the unofficial Worlds of this year. This is why I’m proud to have reached Top 32, something I never achieved at the actual World Championships (even though their Day 2 usually has less players).

The deck I played surprisingly was Mad Party. This was not my original plan at all; I made the decision to switch to it while watching Day 1 of the event. Don’t think for a minute that this deck was the secret BDIF — it had plenty of weaknesses! However, as I studied the metagame it became apparent that Mad Party had a shot at doing very well because of what was and wasn’t actually played.

Playing this deck was a gamble, but it was one of the strongest metacalls I’ve made. This is why I want to talk about this deck. I’ll discuss the list as usual, however I think the most important lesson I can give regarding Mad Party is not how to play the deck but why I chose to play it. In other words, how to recognize when to play a lower-tier deck instead of a more mainstream one. I’ll give my thoughts on what to play after the rotation as well.

An Introduction to Combo Mad Party

[cardimg name=”Polteageist” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”83″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Mad Party is not the hardest deck to build as there are 16 auto-include cards (the Mad Party Pokemon [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dedenne” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Galarian Mr. Rime” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Polteageist” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card]), not counting [card name=”Sinistea” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Twin Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card], etc. Basically, you want to include ways to discard Pokemon and draw cards.

There were two variants of the deck circulating when I started testing the deck. One (which to my knowledge comes from Daniel Altavilla) included a [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] line to use Stinger GX since the deck played [card name=”Triple Acceleration Energy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card]. It has been a long time since I used Stinger-GX, but I liked this option a lot in theory to deal with a deck like [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]. Use the Mad Party attack on Eternatus VMAX, Follow up with Stinger GX, then hit it again with Mad Party to KO it and take three Prizes. However, as I was testing the deck I found that I wasn’t using Stinger GX. Against Eternatus VMAX, I could win the Prize race without having to use a GX attack. This led me to cut Naganadel-GX.

The other common Mad Party build was popularized by Azul Garcia Griego. It was focused on Bunnelby and originally played one Sinistea. While it was possible to attack with Polteageist, it wasn’t the main attacker by any means. Instead, the list played [card name=”Duskull” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rose Tower” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] to try to discard and draw more cards. I believe this approach is better suited to the Expanded format, but in Standard the draw power of Polteageist was very valuable.

My own take on the deck was to include [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card], Mr. Mime and [card name=”Jirachi Prism Star” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. This gave me an advantage against other one-Prize decks because I could win the Prize race even if (being slower) I started at a disadvantage. My original list only played one Prize Pokemon (including [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]) to make better use of [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] and go without [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]. While it was decently effective, there were times when it was too slow. It didn’t play Stadiums, which could be dangerous against decks using [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card], or worse, [card name=”Black Market Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card].

After sharing the list with some friends and including their suggestions, this was the final list I played:

[decklist name=”Mad Party” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Polteageist” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”83″][pokemon amt=”25″]4x [card name=”Polteageist” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”83″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Sinistea” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Dedenne” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Galarian Mr. Rime” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”36″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Team Up” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jirachi Prism Star” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Roxie” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”205″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/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=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rose Tower” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Twin Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”174″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Triple Acceleration Energy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”190″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

[premium]

No Duskull

Polteageist is the main attacker, although you’ll often use one Bunnelby in the early game and perhaps a second copy later. Jirachi was cut to make space for [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] and Rose Tower. However, I wasn’t impressed by Duskull. I think Duskull doesn’t make sense in this list for two reasons:

First, we need space on the Bench. To use Polteageist, we need to have a backup Polteageist (or Sinistea at least) on the Bench, and it’s common to play down three Sinistea early so we can evolve them later. We’ll need space for the combo cards and [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. That doesn’t leave a lot of space for Duskull.
Second, Duskull’s Ability is not needed. Polteageist is great to discard Pokemon with Mad Party, but for the most part you don’t want to discard other cards. [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] can be useless in the late game but you can play them if you don’t want to draw them again if your opponent plays [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card].

Oranguru

The main thing I learned from playing this deck is that Oranguru is great and not only because of its interaction with Jirachi Prism Star and Mr. Mime. This deck wants to draw very aggressively with Professor’s Research and Dedenne-GX’s Dedechange. At the same time, there are resources you don’t want to discard, especially Energy cards, [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card]. Oranguru can protect these cards by putting them back on top of the deck before using Professor’s Research or Dedechange. I’m convinced that Oranguru deserves a spot or two in the deck in post-rotation too, when Jirachi Prism Star can’t be used anymore.

Thunder Mountain Prism Star

Thunder Mountain Prism Star is the most unexpected card in this deck. Since I played this deck in a tournament with open decklists, I couldn’t afford to have no way to retreat my Dedenne-GX. In an IRL tournament that wouldn’t be an issue, because my opponent would most likely assume I had a way to retreat Dedenne-GX and wouldn’t try to bring it up to the Active Spot to stall. However, they can see my decklist in online tournaments. A smart opponent would recognize that this could be a legitimate win condition. All my other Pokemon can be picked up with a Scoop Up Net, but this card obviously doesn’t work on Dedenne-GX. The only way to retreat Dedenne-GX if it got pulled up to the Active Spot was to attach a Twin Energy and retreat. However, I would need to have an Energy in play elsewhere (something that wouldn’t be the case if I used Triple Acceleration Energy to attack on the previous turn), and Twin Energy only provides one Energy to Dedenne-GX. I would be in trouble if my opponent played [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card].

The most reasonable addition to fix that issue would be something like Air Balloon, Switch, or [card name=”U-Turn Board” set=”Unified Minds” no=”211″ c=”name”][/card]. Instead, I went with Thunder Mountain Prism Star. If my opponent brought up Dedenne-GX, I could attach [card name=”Twin Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card] and use its Tingly Return GX attack to get Dedenne-GX back in my hand plus the Twin Energy. I only used that attack once in the tournament (which allowed me to reuse Dedenne-GX when I was in a difficult situation), but that’s not the point; by its simple inclusion Thunder Mountain Prism Star may have saved me from getting stalled out in multiple games.

Mad Party Matchup Spread

Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V

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

You win more often than not against the most expected deck of the UPR-DAA format, [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]. I prefer going second because of the risk of a turn 1 Altered Creation GX if you go first. You’ll want to KO Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX and a two-Prize Pokemon (usually the attacking Zacian V or a Dedenne-GX on the Bench) for the game using the [card name=”Jirachi Prism Star” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] combo along the way. After using Altered Creation GX, Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V will win in three turns; this means you have three turns to win as well. If you didn’t get to attack before Altered Creation GX, you can use Mad Party twice to KO Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX. Usually you can deal 120 damage the first time and 160 damage the second time; if the opponent plays [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] it’s better to try for 140 and 180 damage. Then you should easily reach 220 damage for the last attack of the game.

This strategy works well because most Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V lists don’t play a lot of cards to disrupt that game plan. They have a few [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card], which won’t be used in the early game as they’ll be looking to draw more cards to use Altered Creation GX. Most lists don’t play Reset Stamp, or [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Mawile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] can be an issue if they get to Bench Mr. Mime or Jirachi Prism Star, but you have [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card]. Apart from that, it should be easy to use [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] and Mr. Mime’s Abilities in the same turn to get Jirachi Prism Star into your Prizes. Note that since you only have one Dedenne-GX, there’s no risk in playing it. If your opponent takes a KO on it, they’ll need to KO two other Pokemon. It won’t speed up their game plan.

Eternatus VMAX

It’s harder to 2HKO [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] but the matchup is fine. [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] is a pain and your opponent will often take a KO on a [card name=”Sinistea” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] with multiple uses of its Headbutt Tantrum Ability, but you should still win the Prize race. You can try to 3HKO Eternatus VMAX then KO a [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], which gives you six Prizes in total if you account for Jirachi Prism Star. Depending on the one-Prize attackers your opponent plays however, the game could play out differently.

Blacephalon

Against other one-Prize decks such as [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], Mad Party is favored because of Jirachi Prism Star. Classic Mad Party lists and Blacephalon tend to play more two-Prize Pokemon, so you can KO them to catch up. There was a match against Blacephalon I won because I used Jirachi Prism Star’s Ability four times in two games! That’s one of the rare matchups where you can use Scoop Up Net to reuse the Mr. Mime and Jirachi Prism Star combo.

Centiskorch VMAX

This can be a tough matchup because of [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card]’s high HP, ability to heal, and [card name=”Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card]. You can play around Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star because you can attack with [card name=”Triple Acceleration Energy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card] attached to [card name=”Polteageist” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card], but without Stadiums of your own it does make life harder. Boss’s Orders is very important in this matchup to prevent your opponent from retreating a damaged Centiskorch VMAX into a new one. Great Catcher can be used to get two easy Prizes on Dedenne-GX.

Vikavolt V

This matchup is one of Mad Party’s worst nightmares. To win [card name=”Vikavolt V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] you need a fantastic start because you only get one turn of Item use to put six Mad Party Pokemon into the discard pile. This lets you 2HKO Vikavolt V with a Cape of Toughness attached. Use the Mad Party attack for 120 damage, your attacker gets KO’d in return, then your next attack deals 140 damage. Plus you’ll need to keep drawing attackers and Energy cards in order to stay competitive. It’s not easy to use Jirachi Prism Star in this matchup; most of the time you’ll have to KO three Vikavolt V. You’re at a further disadvantage if your opponent plays [card name=”Giant Bomb” set=”Unified Minds” no=”196″ c=”name”][/card].

Pikachu and Zekrom-GX

I haven’t tested the [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] matchup enough. The main threat is Vikavolt V but most lists only play one, so once you manage to remove it you should be able to win. I did lose this matchup twice in the actual competition so Mad Party might be unfavored overall. But for the most part, games were very close apart from one match where I didn’t draw anything and Vikavolt V crucified me. I think the matchup is close to even.

Control and Mill

Control and Mill are terrible matchups. You can’t break through the wall of [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] and you’ll get your Energy discarded.

How to Choose the Right Deck for a Tournament

There’s a common misconception that top players play every deck. Apart from some content creators who will play all top tier decks (and some decks which are very far from top tier) to showcase them for their audience, I don’t think that’s true. An example is how my own testing went for the UPR-DAA format. Before the set was released on PTCGO, I started by building some decks with proxies and either goldfishing them or playing them with my housemate. “Goldfishing” is a term from Magic: The Gathering. It’s the process of playing a combo deck by yourself, assuming that your opponent is a literal goldfish and won’t counter your cards or disrupt your plan.

The decks I built this way were Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V, Eternatus VMAX, [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] Control, Pikachu and Zekrom-GX and [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]. The first two were clear contenders for Tier 1; Cinccino Control seemed to be very good against Eternatus VMAX and I wanted to see how it would fare against other decks, especially Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V. Pikachu and Zekrom-GX is one of those decks that’s never bad. Spiritomb was my own pet deck I wanted to try out. In no way was this an exhaustive list of all good decks, but playing games with these decks gave me a first impression of the format.

When Darkness Ablaze was was released on PTCGO, I didn’t try every deck in the format. The decks I played on ladder were (in no particular order) :

Pikachu and Zekrom-GX
Vikavolt V
Mad Party
Spiritomb
[card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]

I may have played a handful of games with other decks, especially against friends who wanted to play against something specific. But these five decks were the main ones I wanted to try against strangers. This means that I was most likely going to play one of these decks as the POG Championships were approaching.

I didn’t play [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] or [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] on the ladder. Part of the reason is that I find them boring to use and had no interest in playing them. Another reason was that if I played them, I would probably go up against mirror matches and other matchups decided mostly by luck. That’s not what I wanted. You may think that the first reason is not important or it’s an excuse I’m telling myself, while the actual reason is the second one. Actually, they’re one and the same. The least interesting decks to play to me are usually the ones where playing is very linear. Mirror matches often come down to who goes first or achieves a particular step. In the case of the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V mirror, that step is using Altered Creation GX first.

These decks are easy enough to play. Plus I had experience with them, especially Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V that I played in previous formats. If someone come up to me and showed me a perfect decklist that was sure to win the event, I would have played it. However, I felt that the limited time I had to practice this format would be better employed playing other decks.

I didn’t practice [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] because I was pretty used to the deck and I preferred trying out new concepts. I don’t have a good reason for not trying out [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card]. At first, I didn’t think the deck would be amazing. When it turned out that it was pretty good, I didn’t have a lot of time and chose to allocate my time to testing other decks. I didn’t have a great insight into what the best way to build the deck was either. Usually I try out a deck once I have a specific idea of how to play it or when I see a decklist that looks promising.

There are three ways to choose a deck to play for a competition, in my opinion:

Option 1 — Play a known Tier 1 deck. It might not be original and it might not be surprising. But it’s good and it can lead you to a great result if you play it well.
Option 2 — Play a deck (or variant) that’s Tier 1, but that people don’t classify as such. You’ll have good matchups and the element of surprise but you need a lot of preparation.
Option 3 — Play a deck that’s not Tier 1, but remains a good choice in the metagame. Maybe the deck’s bad matchups are not going to be played, maybe it’s the perfect counter to a very popular deck.

This is all assuming that you’re playing competitively. Casual players may bring a deck because they think it’s fun to play and enjoy it even if they have no intention of winning the tournament. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that but that’s not the way I approach the game.

Option 1 is solid. Top players often try to add their own twist to top tier decks, small as it may be to gain an edge over players who only practiced against cookie-cutter lists. However, the most classic lists can be very good and take down tournaments. For example, I used Dragapult VMAX in most of the tournaments I played in the Rebel Clash format. It was a Tier 1 deck and no one would be unprepared against it, but that doesn’t mean that beating it was easy. Option 1 is what I recommend if your goal is to secure a certain placement (such as Top 32) and not necessarily to shoot for first place.

Option 2 is the best but the hardest to achieve. Finding a deck that’s both great and unexpected is a rare thing! I think [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] (North America International Championships 2018) is one of the best examples. The deck wasn’t unknown but it was definitely underrated. After its win, most people agreed it was a top tier deck and it was one of the most expected decks in the Worlds that followed. Sometimes, option 2 is not bringing a new deck, but an older one that became good again for some reason (usually because of a new card).

Option 3 is the most risky, because it requires reading the metagame, but it is very rewarding to play an option 3 deck because it is the right call for this specific time, knowing that one week later that deck would be a bad play.

Alternative Decks I Considered

For most of the week leading to the POG Championships, I planned on playing [card name=”Vikavolt V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]. My list was modelled after the list that won the unofficial online Japanese National Championships, and other lists similar to it that did well at local events in Japan. Here is the list I would have played in Day 1:

[decklist name=”Vikavolt” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Vikavolt V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”14″]4x [card name=”Vikavolt V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Raichu and Alolan Raichu-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”54″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”81″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”35″]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″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Erika’s Hospitality” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Bird Keeper” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”159″ 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=”Switch” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Giant Bomb” set=”Unified Minds” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]4x [card name=”Speed L Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]5x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card]1x [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

[cardimg name=”Vikavolt V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”60″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This list was strong overall and could beat anything in theory. [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] deals with [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]. Buzzwole’s Sledgehammer attack doesn’t OHKO Eternatus VMAX with [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] attached, but it does OHKO after one hit of Vikavolt V’s Paralyzing Bolt. I diligently recorded the games I played with it on the ladder and my final record was a solid 19-7. However, as Day 1 progressed several factors made me afraid to play the deck:

Two of my friends played it in Day 1 and didn’t qualify (they went 3-4 and 5-4). Their losses were due to a combination of hard matchups and bad hands.
I knew from experience that games could be long and tense. I was feeling nervous about the tournament and playing eight or nine rounds with this deck could be mentally taxing. In addition, you couldn’t afford a single mistake and the tournament could finish pretty late for me. There was a risk that I would misplay due to fatigue.
There was a risk of getting into ties because games are so long. Not only is that not great for your tournament record, it means you don’t have time to take a break between rounds.
Most importantly, the metagame wasn’t very good for Vikavolt V. [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] was performing well. Many Eternatus VMAX lists were playing [card name=”Hiding Darkness Energy” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card], which meant there was no way to lock up a [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] to the Active Spot to buy some time while I set up my board. [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] was making a comeback. These were all bad matchups for Vikavolt V. In addition, [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] was the most played deck as most people expected. While I had a positive record against it during testing, I knew the matchup could go very wrong if the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V player had a good start. It was not a matchup where I felt in control and that scared me.

I started thinking about possible plays for Day 2. Mewtwo and Mew-GX / Welder seemed pretty good and I thought about playing it. Then I remembered that I hadn’t played the deck since September because of consistency issues. While I could see the deck doing very well, I didn’t want to play games of Welder with no Energy in hand. [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] seemed like another good play. I was experienced with the deck and I noticed that top Japanese player Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi had made Day 2 with a unique Blacephalon list. It included [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] to deal with Vikavolt V. While I wasn’t a fan of all his choices (two [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] UPR to have a better Mill matchup I assume), I briefly tried his list and I might have played something of the sort. But I was thinking about Mad Party again.

Both Blacephalon and Mad Party were one-Prize decks. That seemed strong since I expected to face decks like Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V, Centiskorch VMAX, Eternatus VMAX and [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. I thought that players might shy away from Vikavolt V like I was and Mill didn’t seem to be a big part of the metagame. These conditions were all very good for one-Prize decks to shine. However, if I faced Blacephalon I would much rather play Mad Party as it had a built-in way of winning (the [card name=”Jirachi Prism Star” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] combo) than the coin-flippy Blacephalon mirror match. In addition, I felt like Mewtwo and Mew-GX might see some play and that seemed like a good matchup for Mad Party. Most Mewtwo and Mew-GX lists played nothing for this matchup apart from [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card], which I’d need to watch out for its Burning Magma GX attack. I realised later that Mewtwo and Mew-GX’s Psychic-type Weakness made the Mad Party matchup very tough for them.

Mad Party isn’t an underrated Tier 1 deck. While I think the Jirachi Prism Star combo was overlooked (it fits very well because Mad Party wants to play [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] anyway), the deck has plenty of weaknesses. [card name=”Vikavolt V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and Mill are bad matchups. [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] destroys Mad Party. You can’t do anything to [card name=”Xurkitree-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM68″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Alolan Persian-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card]. Anything that can spread damage is dangerous. There are too many ways to beat the deck for it to reach Tier 1 status. However, for this specific event the circumstances made it a good choice.

It was a gamble that I took and I know it could have backfired. I was lucky enough to play twice against Mewtwo and Mew-GX lists that couldn’t do anything to me. Then I was unlucky enough to face a Mewtwo and Mew-GX list that had a million counters to my plan (including [card name=”Horror P Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Jirachi-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Espeon and Deoxys-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card]). I think the final result was worth it. While it’s possible that I could have done better had I played Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V or Eternatus VMAX, I might have ended up in the middle of the standings too.

To recap, if you want to play an unexpected deck it’s important to know what are its strengths and its weaknesses. Use recent results to predict the metagame to know if you’ll be in a position to exploit your deck’s strengths or if its weaknesses will be its ruin. I recommend having at least one Tier 1 deck that you can play, as well as other decks. That way, you can select your deck based on what you think you’ll have to play against. If you’re unsure or everything seems bad, you can fall back on the tier 1 deck.

Post-Rotation Format Insights

Rotation is happening very soon on PTCGO as I write this and we’re already seeing some online tourneys, so my thoughts on the format might become dated as soon as this article is published. Right now it looks like Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V, Eternatus VMAX, [card name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] and Mewtwo and Mew-GX are all strong plays.

All these decks use three-Prize Pokemon, so we’ll probably see a one-Prize deck rise in order to counter them. I don’t think Mad Party will be that deck as it isn’t strong enough without Jirachi Prism Star, not to mention it loses [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]. I think Mad Party might have potential later depending on what consistency cards get released, but for now I think [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] and its friends belong in the binder. I could see [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] or Blacephalon being good. I think that [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] will be necessary to play especially in Spiritomb to avoid Inteleon VMAX’s snipe damage.

I believe that Pikachu and Zekrom-GX isn’t dead. While it’s definitely weaker than it used to be, I wouldn’t be surprised if it manages to perform well in the new format. One of the main factors in Inteleon VMAX’s sudden rise is that it doesn’t have to fear Lightning-type attackers any more, but it might be in for a surprise. Without [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card], Pikachu and Zekrom-GX’s Full Blitz doesn’t OHKO Inteleon VMAX, but its Tag Bolt GX attack does and that’s important. I think Pikachu and Zekrom-GX lists might focus more on Vikavolt V for their early game.

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great time exploring the new Standard format. I’ll see you soon with, hopefully, new and better decks to play!

–Stephane

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