Not Shiny But Still Strong — A Competitive Look at ‘Shining Fates’

[cardimg name=”Coalossal VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”99″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Hello everyone! I hope your Players Cup III events are going well! At the time of my writing this, I’m finishing up my own qualification run with [card name=”Coalossal VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] — apologies to any [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] players I might have hit along the way! If you’re looking for a fun deck to play for that event, I do highly recommend Coaloassal VMAX — I’ve had the most success with a [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] + Consistency variant (see my Coalossal VMAX article for more!).

These qualifications represent some of the last events of the TEU-VIV format — pretty soon we’ll be adding in new cards, with the release of Shining Fates! We’ve had plenty of time to get acquainted with Vivid Voltage, so for this article, I’ll be looking slightly into the future, at the impact that Shining Fates might have.

For collectors, Shining Fates is easily the set of the year (well, thus far at least!). For us competitive-focused players, however, Shining Fates might not seem worthy of the price tag. The number of new cards in the set is relatively small compared to the set’s total size, to the point that they can be easy to overlook. Even so, there are a few cards that could end up seeing play. There are some decent Trainers, some nice new support Pokemon, and a few intriguing VMAX Pokemon that are all worth exploring. All in all, Shining Fates might not be the set of the year for us, but it certainly shouldn’t be ignored!

New Pokemon

Cramorant VMAX

Each of the new VMAXs in Shining Fates has potential, but if you’ve ever read my article about [card name=”Blissey” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card], you might know why this is my favorite competitive card to come out of Shining Fates. The math still works the same as it did for Blissey, but the difference here is that rather than using its attack as an easily-KO’d single-Prize Pokemon, you are instead using it as a tanky VMAX. As the Standard format ebbs further toward VMAXs, Cramorant VMAX will become even stronger as it is one of the few Pokemon that can OHKO an opposing VMAX even without Weakness. While we no longer have [card name=”Victini” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card], we do thankfully have its Ability on a Stadium ([card name=”Glimwood Tangle” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card]). We also still have the [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] acceleration engine, which I believe is the best way to play this kind of deck. Because Cramorant VMAX is difficult to one-shot (unlike Blissey), it is also rather easy to build up a giant Cramorant VMAX with plenty of Energy, so that you can more easily hit the high-damage numbers that the card is capable of.

My initial build of this deck is based on [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] decks, as the idea behind the two is fairly similar; in both, you want to load a ton of Energy onto one big VMAX, and run through your opponent with it. Likewise, the playstyle is also rather similar. Here’s my Cramorant VMAX list:

[decklist name=”Cramorant VMAX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Cramorant VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”55″][pokemon amt=”19″]3x Cramorant VMAX (SHF #55)3x [card name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x Ditto V (SHF #50)1x [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dubwool V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”153″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Eldegoss V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”81″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Stadium Nav” set=”Unified Minds” no=”208″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Memory Capsule” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Glimwood Tangle” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]10x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]3x [card name=”Triple Acceleration Energy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”190″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Like [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card], the goal with this deck early is to go second, find your way to a [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], and use Flare Starter to power up a [card name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card]. Welder provides even more Energy acceleration, so you should be able to get plenty of Energy into play quickly. In theory, you could even be swinging with a ten-Energy Max Jet by turn two! Once you’re ready to begin attacking, you’ll want to replace [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] and put Glimwood Tangle into play, to maximize your odds of getting a OHKO. For surprise bursts of damage, you have [card name=”Triple Acceleration Energy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card], though it may not always be necessary.

Cramorant VMAX has an additional trick, and that is that so long as it has a [card name=”Memory Capsule” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] attached, it can use Cramorant V’s Spit Shot for a single Triple Acceleration Energy. Not only does this give the deck a nice way to easily snipe any [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], but it also is an easy way to take out any Pokemon against which you might have missed the OHKO. In a pinch, you can also use Beak Catch to find helpful cards for a future turn, if you aren’t in a position to properly attack. 

Once you have one Cramorant VMAX properly set up, you’ll want to start to power up your second one — but since Cramorant VMAX’s damage output is variable, how do we know if we have enough Energy? Once again, to find the typical damage output from Max Jet, we’ll want to go back to the tables from the Blissey article. I’ve posted them here for reference (just pretend Powerful Slap = Max Jet and Victini = Glimwood Tangle). These tables also will give you an idea of how much damage you’ll typically deal per attack, given your Energy in play. I highly recommend studying up on them if you plan to play this deck competitively! For further insight, I do also recommend going back and checking out the previous Blissey article, as it goes in-depth as to the logic behind why a deck that relies on coinflips like this one can still be a great play despite the variance.

There is, of course, one big disadvantage that Cramorant VMAX has, and that is its Weakness to Lightning. [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM168″ c=”name”][/card] is a top-tier deck at the moment, and it certainly isn’t one you want to run into with a Lightning-weak deck. On top of that, most PikaRom lists play heavy counts of [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card], which makes [card name=”Weakness Guard Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”213″ c=”name”][/card] a pretty terrible safeguard. Against this matchup, you’ll want to utilize the [card name=”Dubwool V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] to take KOs while avoiding Weakness; I only use the Cramorant V line to either snipe Dedenne-GX, or to attempt to take my last Prizes.

Overall, not only is this deck is a ton of fun, but it is also the deck from Shining Fates that I think has the best chance to see success right away. It would not at all surprise me if Cramorant VMAX found its way into the regular meta rotation — I’ll certainly be doing my part to make that happen!
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Ditto V and Ditto VMAX

At its most basic, V Transformation effectively allows Ditto V to act like a [card name=”Revive” set=”Black and White” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] for V Pokemon, which could come in handy given the lack of Pokemon recovery in our current format. As an added bonus, it’s a searchable Revive, given that you can find Ditto V easily with [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card]. 

Admittedly, this effect isn’t terribly useful as far as pure recovery is concerned, as most decks already won’t play four of any one V as you might in a single-Prize deck. However, Ditto V is a tremendous boon to decks that utilize multiple different V attackers. For such decks, not only does Ditto V function as a wild-card Pokemon that can let you adapt your field to fit the matchup, but it also can allow you to consolidate deck space (and thus add extra cards). For example, rather than include, say, three [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] and three [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] in a deck, you could instead opt to include two Zacian V, two Zamazenta V, and one Ditto V. This lineup gives you access to three of each V, as you had before, but now you can include one additional card in your deck that you couldn’t before. This effect becomes more impactful if there are more different Vs in your deck. While you could try to do something similar by using [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card], Ditto V provides a far more consistent and direct method of Pokemon recovery — again, it isn’t like you can Quick Ball for an [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card]!

Ditto V also lets you more easily utilize tech-attacking Vs, such as [card name=”Aegislash V” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] or Stoutland V, since it gives you the opportunity to re-use them without including multiple copies. In the above Cramorant VMAX list, I use it to give the deck a potential second copy of Dubwool V against Lightning-type decks, since it’s a better option than a second Dubwool (in other matchups, it can turn into a Cramorant V). As more and more V Pokemon enter our metagame, Ditto V’s effect will become even stronger, to the point that it may become a staple in many Standard archetypes.

For decks that already want to play Ditto V, and also play either [card name=”Triple Acceleration Energy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card], or some other way to quickly put three Energy on a Pokemon, Ditto VMAX can be a tempting option. With that said, there aren’t actually many Pokemon in our current Standard meta that are worthwhile targets for Ditto VMAX. Aside from Zacian V, most attackers won’t get OHKOd by Max Transform, as many of the powerful attacks in today’s Standard meta have some sort of qualifier that Ditto VMAX won’t be able to reach. The VMAX is all but useless against [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] (unless you also happen to play Fire), [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], and most of PikaRom’s attackers, nor would you want to use it against [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Coalossal VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. In a future format, Ditto VMAX might be good, but right now, I would not recommend it.

Crobat VMAX

Crobat VMAX has an interesting niche use as a way to remove an easily KO’d Pokemon ([card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card]) from your Bench. That is, if you evolve Crobat V into Crobat VMAX, your opponent will no longer be able to simply use [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] to take two Prizes. Against decks such as [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], this is tremendous, even if you’ll never actually use Crobat VMAX itself. While I’m still not entirely sure such a play is actually worth the deck spot, that is a potential option to consider.

The other way to play Crobat VMAX is as a stand-alone deck. Its attacks might not seem like much, but you can put together a nifty hit-and-run combo with Stealth Poison. Crobat VMAX can easily bounce back behind a wall Pokemon, such as [card name=”Altaria” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card], or to a [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card]. Add in some [card name=”Toxicroak” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], and the damage can quickly rack up as well. Because Crobat V is both your draw power and your Basic for your VMAX, it’s fairly easy to get to a board state of only VMAXs, Toxicroak, and wall Pokemon. 

This deck has been pretty fun in testing. It is extremely obnoxious, and you can quickly whittle away your opponent’s resources between the Energy denial and Poison effects. Here’s that list, if you want to try it out!

[decklist name=”Crobat VMAX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Crobat VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”45″][pokemon amt=”16″]3x Crobat VMAX (SHF #45)3x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Toxicroak” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Croagunk” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Swablu” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”48″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Altaria” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”49″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Bird Keeper” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”U-Turn Board” set=”Unified Minds” no=”211″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dangerous Drill” set=”Team Up” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dust Island” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”168″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Black Market Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]8x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]2x [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Dhelmise VMAX

I don’t think Dhelmise VMAX is quite yet ready for competitive play, but it shouldn’t be terribly long before it is. Right now, Dhlemise VMAX combines well with [card name=”Rillaboom” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”14″ c=”name”][/card] — but this goes to yet another level once Battle Styles comes out in March. Specifically, this is a VMAX combo that can take full advantage of the card Cheryl, which should give this deck a tremendous advantage against anything that cannot OHKO it. With the acceleration from Voltage Beat, you can go from zero to three Energy on a Dhelmise VMAX at any time — which means you’ll have no trouble if you want to heal off any damage that [card name=”Dhelmise V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card] might have taken. Dhelmise VMAX’s attacks are also rather strong; G-Max Anchor can OHKO any Pokemon V, while Chain Buzz gives the card a dangerous snipe attack. One could easily power up to three Energy to take a OHKO with G-Max Anchor, then attach three more Energy on the following turn (via Voltage Beat), and have enough to OHKO a benched [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card]. When going second, the deck has a powerful early game — 240 damage on turn 2 can be quite difficult to deal with. Here’s my current Dhelmise VMAX list:

[decklist name=”Dhelmise” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Dhelmise VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”10″][pokemon amt=”17″]2x Dhelmise VMAX (SHF #10)3x [card name=”Dhelmise V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”9″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Rowlet and Alolan Exeggutor-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”1″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Rillaboom” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”14″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Thwackey” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”12″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Grookey” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Eldegoss V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]4x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x Cheryl (BST #?)2x [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x Phoebe (BST #?)1x [card name=”Rose” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3 x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3 “][/card]2x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Turffield Stadium” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]10x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]2x [card name=”Weakness Guard Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”213″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Do note that this list is built for a Battle Styles Standard format, so it isn’t quite ready to play yet (although you can with proxies or on some online platforms), but if you did want to try it out early on PTCGO/in-person, you can remove the Cheryl and Phoebe in favor of other cards. The swap I would recommend would be to add in four [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card]. After all, if you can’t heal off opposing attacks, preventing them is the next best thing!

The idea here is that you want to go second, find a [card name=”Rowlet and Alolan Exeggutor-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Grookey” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card], and preferably a Dhelmise V, and then use Super Growth to immediately put a Rillaboom into play. [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card] can get you there right away so long as you have either Grookey or Rowlet and Exeggutor-GX already, as it can find [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card]. From there, you’ll want to get out a Dhelmise VMAX, then start attacking with either it or your Rowlet and Exeggutor-GX. Every turn that your Dhelmise VMAX gets attacked, use Cheryl to heal off the damage and Voltage Beat to replace the discarded Energy — do this, and you can quickly get ahead!

Looking much farther ahead, I would expect this combo to be even better post-rotation, once [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] is out of the format (and thus Fire isn’t as much of a concern). The build will then have to change to a typical Stage 2 build (like [card name=”Coalossal” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Porygon-Z” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card]), but that might be easier to do than ever, thanks to the new Manaphy.

Manaphy and Celebi

As the newest [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]-style cards, Manaphy and Celebi are both worth taking a look at. These are the “find a Pokemon”/“find an Energy” varieties of Jirachi, though both thankfully don’t put themselves to sleep, which might give them an advantage over Jirachi when it comes to including them in certain decks. In particular, Manaphy is a solid inclusion in decks where finding Pokemon is a priority, such as [card name=”Charizard” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], Mad Party, or Stage 2 decks such as Porygon-Z, [card name=”Decidueye” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card], or Coalossal.

Celebi is unfortunately much worse, as there aren’t many decks where finding Energy is the priority, but I could see this card finding niche play in [card name=”Twin Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card]-reliant decks. To add in Manaphy, simply replace any Jirachi or Amazing Rare [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] that are already in the deck with Manaphy — you should then see a slight improvement in consistency. If you don’t, or if you see a decline (which could happen depending on your exact list), make sure to revert back.

New Amazing Rares

Like the previous Amazing Rares, these cards all have amazing attacks, with extremely cumbersome Energy requirements. With that said, Reshiram and Yveltal have some of the highest upsides of any of the Amazing Rares (while Kyogre is neat, spread simply isn’t what it used to be) — if you can figure out how to attack with them. In theory, you can power up Reshiram in a single turn by using [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and Welder. However, I think that for all of these, the hard-to-meet Energy costs will prevent them from seeing any kind of success in Standard. In Expanded, they can fit in rather well in decks like my ADP / Amazing Rare deck — and I would immediately opt to include Reshiram at least in that deck. Barring stronger Energy acceleration in Standard, however, I don’t believe these will be worth including in anything outside of a few niche decks (namely, Porygon-Z).

New Trainers

Rusted Sword

Somehow, despite the fact that [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the strongest Pokemon in the history of the TCG, Pokemon’s card developers determined that it still wasn’t quite strong enough. So, in Shining Fates, we get two new tools: Rusted Sword for Zacian V, and Rusted Shield for [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card]. These cards are somewhat reminiscent of the [card name=”Crystal Edge” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Crystal Wall” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] cards from Boundaries Crossed, with the notable difference that these are not ACE SPEC cards, and that they are going to already extremely powerful Pokemon. On paper, Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield are obvious inclusions in any deck that attacks with Zacian V or Zamazenta V. 

In Zacian V / [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], Rusted Sword increases the damage output of Brave Blade from 260 to 290; in [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] decks, it increases it to ADP’s level of 260. At a damage output of 290, Zacian V would be able to OHKO all Tag Teams, as well as any V even if they have [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] attached. If you wanted to go a bit further, you could add [card name=”Leon” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], which would put some VMAXs into OHKO range, notably [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. I do feel it is worth noting that with regards to being able to OHKO Tag Teams, such a move was already possible for ADP / Zacian V players, if they had chosen to include [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] — so Rusted Sword may not actually move the needle that much in terms of matchups. The notable Tag Teams that now come into OHKO range when considering that change are Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card], Lucario and Melmetal-GX (with one damage reducing effect), and [card name=”Raichu and Alolan Raichu-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card].

As for VMAXs, there’s no doubt such a OHKO would be incredible, though given that ADP can be more than successful by simply using [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] to go around the VMAX, I don’t believe that the more complicated Leon play would be worth it. Oddly enough, my early indications are that Rusted Sword will actually be stronger as an addition to Lucario and Melmetal-GX decks, rather than ADP decks. This is simply because there is a more meta relevant card — [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] — that it will be able to bring into KO range. In both ADP and LucMetal decks, I would opt to include one copy, though you could go up to two in ADP if you were anticipating running into a Tag Team-heavy meta.

Rusted Shield

Almost as if it was specifically meant to do this, Rusted Shield protects against Zacian V with Rusted Shield — otherwise, even with Full Metal Wall active and a [card name=”Metal Goggles” set=”Team Up” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] attached, Zacian V can OHKO [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card]. As far as other decks go, Zamazenta V was already rather tough to KO when it had Metal Goggles, and there isn’t much that specifically has damage output in the 290-310 range. Rusted Shield can also be a somewhat awkward card to include since unlike Metal Goggles, it doesn’t protect Zacian V or Lucario and Melmetal-GX. Again, I would opt to include one in any LucMetal deck, though I wouldn’t go above that.

Ball Guy

Setup Supporter cards have seen a severe drop in play recently, for two main reasons. The biggest one is the change in the first-turn rules that came with Sword and Shield; the other reason is that the Supporters themselves have simply been much worse than it would be to utilize an Item-based setup. Ball Guy is the first setup-oriented Supporter in quite a while that I think could end up being worth playing, specifically due to the upcoming reprint of [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] in Battle Styles. Because of Level Ball, Ball Guy can have a substantial impact on the second turn of the game in addition to the first, thus making it a useful card even if you do end up going first. In decks that have evolutions that can be searched out via Level Ball, Ball Guy can give the deck a hit more acceleration than it would have otherwise; in this sense, it is a nice addition on top of already powerful Item-based Pokemon search.

Ball Guy will thus be best for Stage One decks that both require a decent amount of setup, and can utilize Level Ball. The two decks that come to mind that meet those criteria are Mad Party and [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card]. Both of these decks have an added benefit in that they have built-in draw power once set up, which adds further justification for using Ball Guy on any given turn. After all, it is much easier to make the choice between Ball Guy for three Level Ball and using a Draw Supporter, if the Pokemon you find from Level Ball let you draw cards anyway! At worst, Cinccino can simply discard the Ball Guy also, so there isn’t much downside even if you don’t end up using it in a game. For those two decks in particular, Ball Guy is an excellent inclusion.

Team Yell Towel

Finally, the last card I want to go over is Team Yell Towel. This is the best healing Item that we’ve gotten in a while, even with its “heal your opponent” downside. In tanky decks that utilize a OHKO strategy ([card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], for example), the downside is nonexistent, whereas the upside is that you can use Team Yell Towel to prevent some 2HKOs. There are some rather important matchup-specific KOs that are prevented in this way. For example, a Centiskorch VMAX player could use Team Yell Towel to prevent a [card name=”Coalossal VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] player from getting a KO by chaining Eruption Shot and [card name=”Galarian Sirfetch’d V” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card]’s Meteor Smash, which could likewise turn the matchup from favorable for Coalossal VMAX to favorable for Centiskorch VMAX. Use multiple Team Tell Towel, and such scenarios become even more common. The decks I would look to include this in are the aforementioned tanky OHKO decks, though even tanky decks with less damage output will likely want to include it (such as Lucario and Melmetal-GX decks).

A Note on Price

Shining Fates may be a small set, but it nonetheless has some nice possibilities. Before I fully wrap things up, I do want to give some quick advice when it comes to the price of acquiring these cards. Shining Fates is a notably expensive set right off the bat — if you managed to get an ETB for under $100, you were lucky — which may be somewhat intimidating if you are wanting to build some of the above decks. However, it is important to note that traditionally, the high prices only exist for the sealed and for the top-end collectable cards out of the set. In contrast, many of the actual “for competitive play” Pokemon and Trainers in these mini-sets end up being rather cheap. In Champion’s Path, for example, none of the regular art VMAX cards exceeds three dollars per card; a similar effect can be seen with Hidden Fates, Dragon Majesty, and Shining Legends, not to mention Vivid Voltage. There are a number of theories as to why, but the important thing to note is this: all of the cards I’ve talked about above shouldn’t be expensive to acquire. So long as you avoid buying right away (and paying the early-bird premium), I would expect all of those cards except perhaps the Amazing Rares to be under $5. Just make sure you’re buying singles, and not sealed product, and the cost per deck goes way down.

With that, we have now come to the end of this article! I do hope you enjoy these decks, and if you are opening any Shining Fates, I wish you the best of luck on your pulls! As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to message me, ask in the comments, or ask all of us writers in our PTCG Subscriber’s Hideout! Best of luck in your games, and stay safe!

Thanks for reading!
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