Return of the King – Cherrim / Tapu Bulu and the State of Standard

Hello PokeBeach readers! Once again, I’m back with a Standard-format article!

At long last, the Vivid Voltage formats are coming to a close, and not a moment too soon. With Battle Styles on the horizon, I am ecstatic to see a new breath of fresh air in the format — for me, the current one has been getting fairly dull, and I’m sure quite a few of you are feeling the same way. Aside from scattered promos and the extremely limited supply of good cards in the Shining Fates expansion, the competitive meta hasn’t changed much at all since Vivid Voltage released in November 2020 — and even then, the set didn’t have a major impact on the format, so really, I’d say the format has been pretty static since last August’s release of Darkness Ablaze and rotation to Team Up-on. As for the Expanded format, six changes have been made to the ban list since the release of Vivid Voltage and a lot of the cards released in the past year have had somewhat significant impacts on the format as a whole, but even then, a lot of the decks have stayed fairly stagnant, with most changes being minor optimizations rather than new archetypes being born.

But all that Expanded talk is for another day! Right now, let’s talk about Standard.

Pre-Battle Styles State of the Game (Standard)

I can confidently say that the current state of the game is one of the weirdest it’s been in the nine years I’ve been playing competitively — rivaled only by the [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”custom”]Night March[/card] days of 2016 or the “[card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Next Destinies” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] Wars” of 2012. As of writing this, I think it’s safe to say that the best deck in the format is [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], whether it be a linear build with multiple [card name=”Yveltal” set=”Team Up” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] or a Poison-based build around [card name=”Toxicroak” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]. I prefer the former, but I think both builds have to be taken together as “the strongest” because of their ability to blow over the opponent with a turn-two Dread End for 270 out of seemingly nowhere. As a result of this deck’s success, many decks, including Eternatus VMAX itself, have begun to play [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] — a card which I’ve grown to despise over the past few months.

[cardimg name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Crushing Hammer is one of the few Trainers that are essentially able to “win the game” when used at the right time, often crippling a board. At face value, this could easily be worse. I mean, cards like [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] are also able to win the game at a single use, right?

The big difference between Boss’s Orders and Crushing Hammer is that the latter requires heads on a coin flip to work. This is where Crushing Hammer crosses the barrier from being an interesting card to being, for lack of a better term, toxic. In a universe where Crushing Hammer doesn’t have this coin flip, the card is much more interesting. You can play with the guarantee that they will hit it if they find it, which is relatively easy. However, with the card requiring a coin flip, not only do you have to plan for them drawing the card, you also have to consider the outcome of your opponent flipping tails. As such, it’s ideal in most situations to just play with the hope that they are unable to land a Crushing Hammer — but then if they do, you may end up more or less losing the game instantly.

The Crushing Hammer problem is further exacerbated by the card’s versatility. Being an unconditional Item card (barring its coin flip requirement), Crushing Hammer can be teched into any archetype. Not only that, because of the nature of the attackers in the current format, Crushing Hammer has the impact it has against Eternatus VMAX against a majority of the format. For instance, take [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. Pikachu and Zekrom-GX often uses [card name=”Boltund V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] as a form of early acceleration to power up Full Blitz, but even still, sometimes Crushing Hammer can completely ruin a play that you need to win a game, especially if you’re playing an [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] build with the intent to build up combos with Energy already in play.

That being said, not all decks take major hits from Crushing Hammer. Take the various [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] decks of the format, especially [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] Both of these decks essentially turn Crushing Hammer into a dead card due to how easily they accelerate Energy. Furthermore, with the popularity of [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], these Fire decks are can score quick Prizes against nearly half the format with relative ease. As such, Fire decks like these can rival even Eternatus VMAX in power, between their tendency for explosive starts and the ease with which they prey on the format’s main threats.

Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the infamous [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] / Zacian V deck. With a strategy all too familiar to most players, this deck aims to explode with a turn-two Altered Creation GX, typically ending the game in an average of four turns (usually with the sequence of Altered Creation GX, Boss’s Orders, and then Boss’s Orders again). Due to its fantastic efficiency, Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX has proven to be the ultimate gatekeeper in Standard. Since Altered Creation GX makes a [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] Knock Out worth three Prize cards, decks are punished for using their Dedenne-GX too aggressively. On the flip side, decks that go too slow will succumb to the speed of the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX and Zacian V combo. For most prospective rogue decks, it’s a lose-lose situation. Typically, in a field of as many multi-Prize Pokemon as the current Standard format has, we would see an emergence of single-Prize attackers like the [card name=”Polteageist” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”83″ c=”custom”]Mad Party[/card] deck. Since Altered Creation GX makes them give up two Prizes, though, even decks like Mad Party that are built to be efficient are unable to trade well.

Looking forward however, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Lately, the number of Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX decks in major online Standard events has been on the decline, going from a fairly consistent 35 in any given event four months ago to seldom breaking the 20 mark now, and often below even 15. This change can likely be attributed to the increase in popularity Crushing Hammer, since one heads flip on an early-game Crushing Hammer can stop the turn-two Altered Creation GX in its tracks. I would welcome this change with open arms, since Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX’s decline would theoretically mean more room for strong single-Prize decks, but unfortunately, aside from Blacephalon and the extremely inconsistent Mad Party, no single-Prize deck has yet managed to take on the format. However, I expect this to change with Battle Styles with the emergence of a new deck that I’m quite fond of: Cherrim / Tapu Bulu.

As some readers may remember, as I mentioned it in my first article, I was extremely fond of the [card name=”Tapu Bulu-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM32″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] archetype, even having been one of the driving minds behind the first successful list alongside fellow writer Charlie Lockyer and a few others. As such, seeing a pseudo reincarnation of the deck in Battle Styles made me extremely excited, and I immediately got to work on two lists, both of which I will be covering in today’s article.

Straight Cherrim / Tapu Bulu

The strategy of this version of [card name=”Cherrim” set=”Battle Styles” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Tapu Bulu” set=”Battle Styles” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] lives up to its title. It’s extremely straightforward and seldom deviates from the strategy of loading up Tapu Bulu, swinging with Nature’s Judgement, and repeating. As a result of the linearity of this strategy, we can fit more consistency cards, so we can provide constant pressure on the opponent and take games handily on the Prize trade alone. Going forward, I think this simple deck has a lot of potential to be one of the next big hitters in the Standard format.

Deck List

[decklist name=”Straight Bulu” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Cherrim” set=”Battle Styles” no=”8″][pokemon amt=”16″]4x [card name=”Cherrim” set=”Battle Styles” no=”8″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cherubi” set=”Battle Styles” no=”7″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Tapu Bulu” set=”Battle Styles” no=”16″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”10″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Bruno” set=”Battle Styles” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Rocky Helmet” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Primal Clash” no=”126″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Training Court” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Card Inclusions

Four Cherrim and Four Cherubi

A 4-4 Cherrim line should come as no surprise — I’m a big fan of consistency. However, my choice here also comes from extensive experience playing archetypes like this one. Over the years, I’ve spent a lot time playing decks like [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Emboar” set=”Black and White” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], both of which rely on Abilities nearly identical to Cherrim’s. In my experience with those decks, a majority of games were decided not by the consistency of your attacks, but by the consistency of establishing the support Pokemon early, often, and consistently. You can also see this in my generally high Pokemon search count, totaling nine.

Four Tapu Bulu, One Shaymin Prism Star, and Four Rocky Helmet

[cardimg name=”Rocky Helmet” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”159″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

As the main attacker of the deck, it should come as no surprise that I am playing four of them. Tapu Bulu’s attack dealing 160 damage may be a little underwhelming, but it’s at least capable of scoring a one-hit Knock Out on [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] — always a great starting point. In addition, the consistent 160 guarantees that you will always have at most a two-hit Knock Out on every Pokemon in Standard. And finally, in the cases where you’re unable to score that two-hit Knock Out, you have [card name=”Shaymin Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card].

While Shaymin Prism Star is generally only usable once per game, it has the huge benefit of being able to significantly exceed Tapu Bulu’s damage cap. In some cases, Shaymin may even be able to score a one-hit Knock Out on some higher HP Pokemon like [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. Furthermore, its extremely convenient Retreat Cost of zero means it can also act as an easy pivot all game. However, Cherrim is unable to accelerate Energy onto Shaymin Prism Star, so make sure to begin preparing it at least one turn in advance!

If you had told me five years ago that I would be including [card name=”Rocky Helmet” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] in a deck, I probably would have made fun of you for hours. However, in this deck, unbelievably, Rocky Helmet manages to find itself a niche. It deals the last 20 damage needed to get the two-hit Knock Out on major threats like [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] or Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX. In addition, against [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], Tapu Bulu can only do 100 damage to a Zacian V with a Metal Goggles. With the addition of Rocky Helmet, however, we are able to add on that extra 20 damage to hit the two-hit Knock Out right on the nose. In this deck, Rocky Helmet is not just a good fit for solving some mathematical issues — it’s the perfect fit.

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One Mew

[card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] is just as simple an inclusion in this deck as it is in most: we really don’t like to get hit by Tag Bolt GX. However, with Battle Styles, Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX also comes with a powerful spread option, so Mew conveniently stops that issue as well.

One Dedenne-GX and One Oricorio-GX

Currently, I think this is the best combination of support Pokemon for a single-Prize deck like Cherrim / Tapu Bulu. Dedenne-GX turns all of your Pokemon search into outs to draw cards, while [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] provides a much more consistent draw option throughout the game, especially when you need to pull together a counter-attacking Tapu Bulu.

Three Bruno

Bruno is likely one of the best Trainer cards, if not the best Trainer card, in all of Battle Styles. Being a spiritual successor to [card name=”Cynthia’s Feelings” set=”Legends Awakened” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], Bruno provides a decent draw option at any point in the game, only drawing one less than [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card], while also turning into essentially a [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] following a Knock Out. As such, I felt it was the best secondary Supporter in this deck.

Four Energy Retrieval, Two Ordinary Rod, and Three Training Court

This set of Energy recovery cards may be a bit excessive, but I wanted to make sure things were as consistent as possible. I was a big fan of the concept of [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] being a one-card out to two of the three Energy needed to power up a Tapu Bulu, especially when considering how important it is to stream them consistently. Conveniently, [card name=”Training Court” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] fills the third Energy in Tapu Bulu’s attack cost, essentially making it so you only have to find two cards per turn to pull off a follow-up attack after a Tapu Bulu is Knocked Out. I round my recovery out with two [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card], which is the best card for maintaining a healthy quantity of Tapu Bulu in your deck to ensure you find them on sequential turns.

Cherrim / Tapu Bulu Tool Box

Now this deck builds on the straight [card name=”Cherrim” set=”Battle Styles” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Tapu Bulu” set=”Battle Styles” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] deck that I discussed above, but here I sacrifice a little consistency for tech attackers that can deal with a variety of matchups by hitting common Weaknesses. Unfortunately, this list suffers from healing just as much as the straight build does, but it’s better equipped to handle Altered Creation GX and multi-Prize turns for a reason I’ll explain a bit later. As a result of this change in dynamic, I think this build is very well positioned going into the next format.

Deck List

[decklist name=”Cherrim Box” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Cherrim” set=”Battle Styles” no=”8″][pokemon amt=”17″]3x [card name=”Cherrim” set=”Battle Styles” no=”8″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Cherubi” set=”Battle Styles” no=”7″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Bulu” set=”Battle Styles” no=”16″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Zygarde” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Entei” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”28″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Bruno” set=”Battle Styles” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]9x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]2x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Card Inclusions

Three Tapu Bulu, Two Zygarde, Two Entei, and Two Vitality Band

In this list, I dial it back to just three copies of Tapu Bulu, largely due to space issues, but I was able to justify it with this deck’s other two attacking options.

The first of these options is [card name=”Zygarde” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], a card I would generally consider to be overlooked. With its second attack, it is able to do a healthy 160, the same as Tapu Bulu. However, unlike Tapu Bulu, Zygarde also hits [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] for Weakness. The latter of these is an easy one-hit Knock Out, but the former is a bit more dicey, as Zygarde only does 320 after Weakness. However, thanks to [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card], we can just barely get over that hump and secure the one-hit Knock Out. A Zygarde with a Vitality Band can also one-hit Knock Out [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], which is pretty much my entire reason for playing Vitality Band over Rocky Helmet in this list.

In addition to Zygarde, we also play two [card name=”Entei” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card]. Entei is our tech for all of the [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] in the format, as it can score a one-hit Knock Out as an immediate response to any Knock Out Zacian V would take. As a result of this newfound one-hit Knock Out potential and the stronger Prize trade it gives us, we have a stronger [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] / Zacian V matchup. Vitality Band also comes into play for this math, as a Vitality Band pushes Entei to 130, which doubles to 260, which takes a one-hit Knock Out on a Zacian V even after a Metal Goggles or the effect of [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]’s Full Metal Wall GX.

Two Rosa and Two Bruno

[cardimg name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I opted for a slightly lower count of Bruno in this list, running two instead of three, largely to make space for a different counter Supporter: [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”name”][/card].

Over the past month, Rosa has slowly come to be one of my favorite counterattack Supporters in Standard thanks to its use in [card name=”Decidueye” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], a deck which I’m quite fond of. However, it finds an equally strong use in this deck, as it’s able to search the deck for the perfect combination of attacker + Energy + Vitality Band or [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] to mount an immediate response off of just a single card. In all honesty, I really wanted to play Rosa in the previous straight Cherrim / Tapu Bulu list, but I decided against it because I felt that the stream of several resources was slightly more important there. Still, I might change my mind on that down the road.

Two Viridian Forest, Nine Grass Energy, Two Fire Energy, and Two Fighting Energy

A rather chaotic mix of Energy! I opt for two each of my non-Grass Energy because I wanted to reduce my odds of prizing all of my copies, especially in the case of Fire, where Zacian V matchups are extremely difficult without the added support of an Entei or two. I also opted to include two copies of [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] because of its application as another form of Energy search for these pivotal cards in the matchups where they’re needed. Rounding out the Energy, I play just nine Grass because the non-Grass Energy are still capable of filling the [C] in Tapu Bulu’s [G][G][C] attack cost.

Conclusion

To recap, I think that the Cherrim / Tapu Bulu archetype has a ton of potential going forward in the Standard format, as one of the most consistent and efficient single-Prize decks I’ve seen in quite some time. Additionally, unlike most single-Prize archetypes, you can have a variety of different approaches to the archetype, ranging from a mono-Tapu Bulu strategy to a full-on toolbox.

With that, I conclude my first Battle Styles Standard article! I really hope that you enjoyed reading it, as I sure enjoyed writing it and exploring one of the archetypes that has made me more excited than most have in the past few years. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me in the Subscriber’s Hideout, on Twitter (@ICheville), or on Facebook (Zaya Lee). Until next time!

– Isaiah

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