The Return of Healing — Switching Up Standard with Cheryl

By: Zakary Krekeler · Posted Mar 19, 2021 at 6:10 PM · 0 Comments

[cardimg name=”Cheryl” set=”Battle Styles” no=”123″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Hello everyone! I hope you all are as fired up for this new set as I am! Battle Styles is looking like a great set for playability; unlike Shining Fates that was more geared towards the collector, Battle Styles seems to have been made with the competitive player in mind. We’re getting two new keyword-based archetypes, as Rapid Strike and Single Strike Pokemon make their debut, as well as a litany of other playable Pokemon and Trainers. There are plenty of new competitive decks to build, as well as some nifty additions to existing ones.

While the new Pokemon are pretty sweet, the card I am most excited for is a Supporter. As you might have guessed from this article’s title, that Supporter is [card name=”Cheryl” set=”Battle Styles” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]. I believe it has the potential to have the greatest impact on our Standard meta out of any card in this set. The reason for this is that Cheryl represents the return of a different kind of deck strategy — healing-based — which does not currently exist in our Standard metagame (and hasn’t for some time now). While there have been a few tanking archetypes and a few stall ones, there haven’t been any successful healing decks since the 2019-2020 rotation. The biggest reason for this is the lack of effective healing cards themselves. Once [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] left the format, there wasn’t any card remaining that you could build around as far as healing goes. Sure, [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card] was decent, but it wasn’t quite strong enough to be a centerpiece especially as the format pushed more toward OHKOs. Cheryl, in contrast, fully heals a Pokemon, which means that even in today’s high-damage metagame, tanky Pokemon VMAX can fully take advantage of their high HP.

Cheryl decks don’t involve a tremendous switch-up in strategy — yes, you will still be KOing your opponent’s Active Spot Pokemon with a powerful damaging attack — but there is a major difference in that the goal of these decks isn’t to be aggressive and get KOs as fast as possible. Rather, the plan here is to win over time, by preventing your opponent’s KOs so that if you don’t quite have the damage output or speed that they have, you’ll still be able to emerge victorious. For players who prefer a less aggressive strategy than what you’ll find in many current Standard decks or simply want to try something different, these Cheryl decks are a great option.

Utilizing Cheryl

In theory, you can use Cheryl with any Evolution Pokemon. But realistically, the actual number of Pokemon that you can use Cheryl on in a competitive setting is pretty limited. First, the Pokemon in question needs to be able to survive most attacks without getting OHKO’d. Given the high damage output of cards in the current Standard metagame, this means that we are mostly limited to looking at Pokemon VMAX. While there are some non-Pokemon VMAX Evolutions that can survive in some circumstances, such as [card name=”Decidueye” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card] or perhaps tanky Stage-2s like [card name=”Blastoise-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”35″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Flygon-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card], most have been the victim of power creep to the point that they aren’t viable targets for Cheryl. Additionally, while the healing effect of Cheryl is excellent, the Energy-discarding downside isn’t as nice. Because of this downside, you can’t throw the card into any deck; rather, it takes some planning ahead to make sure that Cheryl is going to be worth the deck space. To have a successful Cheryl deck, you’ll need a tanky Pokemon VMAX capable of functioning given Cheryl’s Energy discard.

Option One: Single Energy Attack Cost

There are three main ways to get around the negative discarding effects of Cheryl. The first is to use an attacker that has an attack cost of a single Energy card. That way, even if you are discarding your Energy every turn, you can attach another one the following turn so you can attack again. Unfortunately, there aren’t many Pokemon VMAX that can attack for such a low Energy requirement. Even among those that do, most are basic, low damage attacks such as [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]’s Shred, or [card name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card]’s Hydro Snipe. While you can theoretically expand this subset to include Pokemon that can utilize [card name=”Triple Acceleration Energy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card], any deck that relies solely on it is likely to fall apart quickly, due to a lack of consistency — especially since you can’t use Cheryl and a draw Supporter in the same turn. The one Pokemon currently that I think can utilize Cheryl in this way is the new [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card]. Gale Thrust can hit for a solid 150 damage, which is enough to get consistent 2HKOs on non-Pokemon VMAX, and isn’t too far off from a 2HKO on a Pokemon VMAX. Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX can also utilize [card name=”Octillery” set=”Battle Styles” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] — quite useful if you need to find a replacement Energy every turn. Furthermore, Cheryl fits in well with the deck’s existing strategy, since you’ll be discarding your Energy after using G-Max Rapid Flow anyway. With that said, I wouldn’t necessarily consider including Cheryl in an Urshifu VMAX deck to be built around Cheryl (so as to consider it a “Cheryl Deck”), more that Cheryl is a nice tech addition to those Urshifu VMAX decks. I would certainly play Cheryl in Urshifu VMAX, but doing so or adding more to make it a focal point, wouldn’t take any major changes from an already refined Urshifu VMAX list. For such a list, I would advise you to check out Gabriel Pino Semedo’s article about the two Urshifu VMAX decks! In the future, we might get more Pokemon VMAX that can use Cheryl in this way, but for now, it is probably best to move to another option.

Option Two: Energy Acceleration

The second option for using Cheryl is to use Energy acceleration to replenish the discarded Energy every turn. This strategy utilizes a partner Pokemon such as [card name=”Frosmoth” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Coalossal” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Hydreigon” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Rillaboom” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”14″ c=”name”][/card], in conjunction with a Pokemon VMAX that can attack with those related Energy requirements. An example of a deck using this strategy is the Rillaboom / [card name=”Dhelmise VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] deck that I posted in my last article. Other potential Pokemon VMAX / Energy accelerator combos that can use this strategy include Coalossal / Urshifu VMAX, Coalossal / [card name=”Cinderace VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card], Frosmoth / Inteleon VMAX, Frosmoth / Blastoise VMAX, and Rillaboom / [card name=”Flapple VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”19″ c=”name”][/card]. For Pokemon VMAX that accelerate Energy themselves, such as [card name=”Alcremie VMAX” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] or Blastoise VMAX, you might not need a partner Pokemon, but it does help for the earlier stages of the game. The biggest issue here is that you need to find the partner Pokemon in order to use the strategy well; given that most Energy accelerators are currently Stage-2s, that can be a major detriment. Given the current heavy counts of hand disruption (especially [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card]), getting a Stage-2 reliably into play can be quite difficult. If going this route, the one Pokemon I would recommend using is Frosmoth; as a Stage-1, it isn’t too tough to find it and there are some nice Pokemon VMAX that you can use with it. Even in the case of Frosmoth however, there can be some consistency issues, as there are with current Frosmoth decks. Given that, I’ll be jumping ahead again to option three — the most successful one in my testing.

Option Three: Move Your Energy

Finally, there is the third option, which is to move any attached Energy off of your Pokemon VMAX before using Cheryl, then move it back afterward to attack. To do so, you need a Pokemon that is capable of such an effect, such as [card name=”Weavile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card]. Conveniently, we get another Pokemon with this kind of Ability in Battle Styles: [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Battle Styles” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]. Even between only those two Pokemon, there are plenty of options for building an Energy movement Cheryl deck — see below!

This kind of strategy has traditionally been quite powerful — John Roberts famously used the same concept to win US Nationals by combining [card name=”Klinklang” set=”Black and White” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], for instance — so there is plenty of precedence for this deck to be successful. Of the three strategies here, it is also the one that has done the best in my testing so far. Bronzong, in particular, has incredible potential — the lists I have below have been on par with any top-tier deck in the current Standard format.

Weavile-GX or Bronzong?

[cardimg name=”Bronzor” set=”Battle Styles” no=”101″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

As much as I love Weavile-GX (thanks to my past history with the card), Bronzong is definitely the better choice for a [card name=”Cheryl” set=”Battle Styles” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] deck. That isn’t to say you can’t use Weavile-GX, just that Bronzong is likely to be better. Bronzong has a major advantage over Weavile-GX in that it only gives up one Prize, and so it won’t be as easy to play around by using [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]. In addition, Metal-type is far better positioned than Darkness-type is, especially with [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] in the format. Thanks to those two, a Bronzong deck has a ton of built-in Energy acceleration, not to mention that Zacian V is still an incredible attacker! Since Bronzong can move around non-Basic Metal Energy, you can also theoretically play it with [card name=”Aurora Energy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] and a variety of attackers of different types, unlike Weavile-GX which is mostly limited to only Darkness-types. This can be a nice way to shore up some Weaknesses; for example, you could opt to include [card name=”Milotic V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] in a deck where [card name=”Copperajah VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] is your main attacker, to give you a better chance against Fire decks. Some Bronzong decks in Japan have even ignored the Pokemon VMAX / Cheryl combo in favor of simply using a rainbow assortment of Basic Pokemon attackers to guarantee an attack against the opponent’s Weakness. These Bronzong Box decks are quite strong as well (I’ll be talking about Bronzong Box in my next article). While we might not be using Bronzong for quite that purpose, the potential of shoring up Weakness is nonetheless a mark in its favor. If I were to use Weavile-GX, it would be as an addition to [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] so that you could use Cheryl effectively in that deck. Eternatus VMAX / Weavile-GX might be a strong variant of that deck going forward, though it does remain to be seen if it is actually stronger than the existing versions of Eternatus VMAX. While you could use it with Pokemon VMAX such as [card name=”Crobat VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Malamar VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Grimmsnarl VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], or any of the Colorless-type Pokemon VMAX, the lack of Energy acceleration would end up holding back those decks compared to their Metal-type counterparts.

The Pokemon VMAX Combinations

One of the best parts about Bronzong is that it has a ton of potential Pokemon VMAX partners. Even after we narrow down to only Metal-type and Colorless-type Pokemon VMAX (and ignore Aurora Energy focused Bronzong / Pokemon VMAX decks), we still have 11 different Pokemon VMAX to choose from. If you do consider Pokemon VMAXs which only have one non-Colorless attack requirement, that number jumps to 14. While you can theoretically pair Bronzong with any Pokemon VMAX by using multiple Aurora Energy, you’re realistically going to run into issues with consistency and Energy disruption once you have more than one non-Metal Energy or Colorless Energy requirement, hence the omission of those other Pokemon VMAXs. Here is the list of those 14 Pokemon VMAXs for reference:

Metal-type Pokemon VMAX

[card name=”Scizor VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Aegislash VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card]
Copperajah VMAX
[card name=”Corviknight VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card]

Colorless-type Pokemon VMAX

Eevee VMAX
[card name=”Ditto VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Togekiss VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Salamence VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Snorlax VMAX” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Cramorant VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Meowth VMAX” set=”Sword and Shield Black Star Promos” no=”SWSH005″ c=”name”][/card]

Pokemon VMAX that can be used by adding Aurora Energy

[card name=”Victini VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Flapple VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”19″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Orbeetle VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card]

As you can see, there are quite a few options! For more fun, you don’t have to stick with just one Pokemon VMAX — you can play multiple! The advantage here is that you can diversify your Weaknesses so that you aren’t necessarily doomed if you run into a particular matchup. Multiple Pokemon VMAX also gives you more strategic options in a game, which can be a huge benefit. For example, you could choose to add in Corviknight VMAX to your Cramorant VMAX deck, so that you have both a non-variance option against Pokemon-GX / Pokemon V decks, as well as a potential OHKO option against Pokemon VMAX decks. You could combine Copperajah VMAX and Salamence VMAX to diversify Weakness, and to give the Copperajah VMAX deck a spread option. You could add Orbeetle VMAX to give an otherwise linear deck some spread damage. You can also do what I’ve done in one of the below lists, and add in Togekiss VMAX to give your deck more consistency. Between single-Pokemon VMAX decks and the two-Pokemon VMAX combinations, there are a total of 105 different deck options using the Pokemon above — not bad for one concept!

There is a slight downside here, in that combining two Pokemon VMAX takes slightly more deck space and is slightly less consistent. However, I’ve found that since your goal in a Cheryl deck is to prevent your Pokemon VMAX from getting KO’d, you don’t need a terribly thick line of that Pokemon VMAX; there are quite a few times where you won’t use more than one.

Now, I have not personally tested all 105 of these Bronzong / Cheryl decks, nor do I think that it is necessary to (though that isn’t to say that you can’t!). Rather, there are a few of these Pokemon VMAX combinations that you can eliminate, as they are decisively weaker. Right away, I would avoid choosing Scizor VMAX, Eevee VMAX, Ditto VMAX, or Snorlax VMAX as my main attacker, as their damage output is considerably lower and they don’t have any positive attributes to make up for that at the moment. Even eliminating those four, we still have 55 potential combinations, so let’s narrow it down a bit further.

From here, we can divide the Pokemon based on whether or not they are best as support, or as main attackers. Meowth VMAX, Togekiss VMAX, and Aegislash VMAX all fit the former category, so we can eliminate them as single-VMAX decks, as well as any combinations of them. Victini VMAX is somewhat questionable as a main attacker too, since its damage output is both lower than the others and is conditional, so it can fit into that category as well.

The other six — [card name=”Copperajah VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], Corviknight VMAX, Salamence VMAX, Cramorant VMAX, Flapple VMAX, and Orbeetle VMAX — all have at least an argument for being the best main attacker in a [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Battle Styles” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Cheryl” set=”Battle Styles” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] deck, and I think you could reasonably build a deck around each one of them. When looking at combinations, while you can pair two main attackers, you ideally don’t want to do so unless the two have different Weaknesses — otherwise, you aren’t gaining much by pairing them. For example, I wouldn’t want to play a Corviknight VMAX / Copperajah VMAX deck since both are weak to Fire-types. You don’t necessarily have to hold fast to that rule when making an attacker-support Pokemon VMAX combination — Cramorant VMAX and Togekiss VMAX can go well together, for instance. The other exception here is that Corviknight VMAX and Orbeetle VMAX do pair well together, as there is synergy between Corviknight VMAX’s required switching and Orbeetle VMAX’s Ability.

[premium]

So, after further narrowing it down, we are now left with 33 different Bronzong combinations, plus six single-VMAX decks. For reference, those are:

Corviknight VMAX / Togekiss VMAX
Corviknight VMAX / Cramorant VMAX
Corviknight VMAX / Orbeetle VMAX
Corviknight VMAX / Salamence VMAX
Corviknight VMAX / Aegislash VMAX
Corviknight VMAX / Victini VMAX
Corviknight VMAX / Meowth VMAX

Copperajah VMAX / Cramorant VMAX
Copperajah VMAX / Salamence VMAX
Copperajah VMAX / Togekiss VMAX
Copperajah VMAX / Aegislash VMAX
Copperajah VMAX / Victini VMAX
Copperajah VMAX / Meowth VMAX

Flapple VMAX / Togekiss VMAX
Flapple VMAX / Cramorant VMAX
Flapple VMAX / Salamence VMAX
Flapple VMAX / Victini VMAX
Flapple VMAX / Aegislash VMAX
Flapple VMAX / Meowth VMAX

Salamence VMAX / Orbeetle VMAX
Salamence VMAX / Togekiss VMAX
Salamence VMAX / Meowth VMAX
Salamence VMAX / Aegislash VMAX
Salamence VMAX / Victini VMAX

Orbeetle VMAX / Togekiss VMAX
Orbeetle VMAX / Cramorant VMAX
Orbeetle VMAX / Victini VMAX
Orbeetle VMAX / Aegislash VMAX
Orbeetle VMAX / Meowth VMAX

Cramorant VMAX / Victini VMAX
Cramorant VMAX / Togekiss VMAX
Cramorant VMAX / Meowth VMAX
Cramorant VMAX / Aegislash VMAX

While 39 decks might seem a bit daunting, in practice it isn’t too tough, so long as you think about them in terms of the six main attackers. Realistically, some of these combinations work better than others. This can be due to better synergy or because some are simply stronger in a given format. Most of the [card name=”Meowth VMAX” set=”Sword and Shield Black Star Promos” no=”SWSH005″ c=”name”][/card] decks, for instance, will likely be worse than their [card name=”Togekiss VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] counterparts since Togekiss VMAX is a better card — but Meowth VMAX will be stronger if you’re expecting to run into a lot of Lightning-type decks. When trying these out, I would recommend starting by choosing one of the attackers, then building the deck with only that attacker. After you get a feel for it, you can begin to work through the partner Pokemon combinations until you find the one that you like best. If one isn’t clicking, move on to the next one; if it is, then congrats, you’ve found a new deck! I’ve organized the list above in order of the combinations I consider to be best, with the best at the top — hopefully that saves you some time! Do note that for [card name=”Cramorant VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], the best pairing is Corviknight VMAX; for [card name=”Orbeetle VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card], it is [card name=”Salamence VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card].

The Generic Bronzong / Cheryl List

The first list I want to provide here isn’t for any one specific Pokemon VMAX, but rather, a “generic” skeleton list that can be used for any of the above Pokemon VMAX combinations. You’ll certainly want to make minor adjustments depending on which attacker you choose to use (you’ll need to add [card name=”Glimwood Tangle” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] to a Cramorant VMAX deck, for instance), but this works wonderfully as a starting point if you want to try out a bunch of these concepts or if you want to switch between them in the future.

[decklist name=”Bronzong / VMAX” amt=”50″ caption=”” cname=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″][pokemon amt=”12″]3x [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Battle Styles” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Bronzor” set=”Team Up” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ 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]3x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Cheryl” set=”Battle Styles” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/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]2x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]8x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]2x [card name=”Coating Metal Energy” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

From there, if playing only one Pokemon VMAX, add in a 4-3 line of that Pokemon VMAX. If playing two, add in two 2-2 Pokemon VMAX lines, plus one [card name=”Ditto V” set=”Shining Fates” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] or a third copy of the Basic Pokemon V for your main attacker. In [card name=”Flapple VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”19″ c=”name”][/card], Orbeetle VMAX, or [card name=”Victini VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] decks, cut the two [card name=”Coating Metal Energy” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] and two Metal Energy for four [card name=”Aurora Energy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card]. In decks that only use non-Metal-type attackers, cut the two Coating Metal Energy for two basic Metal Energy or an appropriate Special Energy (Aurora Energy or [card name=”Triple Acceleration Energy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card]).

From that point, you’ll have three extra cards to include as a single-Pokemon VMAX deck and one extra card to include in a combination deck. Again, you’ll likely want to adjust this slightly to account for which specific Pokemon VMAX combination deck you are using, as there may be some tech cards which fit well with a certain Pokemon VMAX but not others, or you might want heavier counts of some of these cards with certain Pokemon VMAX. As a baseline though, this list works quite well — it’s what I’ve been using as the starting point for all of my [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Battle Styles” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Cheryl” set=”Battle Styles” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] decks.

To explain this list, let me give you an example with my favorite of the above combinations: Corviknight VMAX / Togekiss VMAX.

My Combo of Choice: Corviknight VMAX and Togekiss VMAX

[cardimg name=”Corviknight VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”110″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

While the attacking Pokemon VMAXs are all on rather even footing, Corviknight VMAX is the one that I think has the most potential and is likewise the one I’ve had the most success with in my early testing. G-Max Hurricane matches the damage output that you can get with [card name=”Copperajah VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] and Salamence VMAX, but does so for one fewer Energy, which provides enough of an upside that it easily makes up for its downside of requiring a switch-out every turn. The fact that Corviknight VMAX retreats for free is also wonderful, as it allows for easy pivoting between attackers. Finally, Corviknight conveniently has an Ability that prevents [card name=”Giratina” set=”Unified Minds” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] from discarding any Special Energy that might be attached to it. Since most Fire-type decks currently use Giratina instead of [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card], this means that Corviknight VMAX decks can reliably use Coating Metal Energy to prevent Weakness. This factor I believe gives Corviknight VMAX a decisive edge over both Copperajah VMAX and Salamence VMAX, as both of those decks will have a worse matchup spread due to their Weakness. With that said, if Fire-type decks decide to switch out Giratina for the new [card name=”Fan of Waves” set=”Battle Styles” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card], this advantage could vanish. If that does happen, you’ll likely want to swap out the Coating Metal Energy for Aurora Energy, and find room for a [card name=”Milotic V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card].

Of the combinations, Corviknight VMAX / Togekiss VMAX seems to have the most synergy, though Corviknight VMAX / Cramorant VMAX and Corviknight VMAX / Orbeetle VMAX are quite good as well. The largest benefit that this combination has is its added consistency. Since Cheryl does use up your Supporter for the turn, these Cheryl / Bronzong decks can occasionally get into dicey situations or struggle to find Cheryl often enough to use it in consecutive turns. Since G-Max Hurricane and Max Glide can combine to 2HKO an opposing Pokemon VMAX or Tag Team Pokemon-GX, you can plan to use Max Glide to boost your hand, while not sacrificing any additional damage output. Both Corviknight VMAX and Togekiss VMAX have free Retreat Cost, which gives this deck excellent mobility.

There are a few slight changes from the generic list here, as I’ve cut a [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] and a Cheryl for a [card name=”Leon” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] and an [card name=”Eldegoss V” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”5″ c=”name”][/card]. I’ve also opted to include a [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] in this list, as it’s a nice way to push your opponent away from using [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] in the late-game so that you can keep your Max Glide cards. Here’s the list:

[decklist name=”Corviknight Togekiss” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Eldegoss V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”19″][pokemon amt=”22″]3x [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Battle Styles” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Bronzor” set=”Team Up” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Corviknight VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Corviknight V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Togekiss VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Togekiss V” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ 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][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cheryl” set=”Battle Styles” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Leon” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/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]2x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]8x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]2x [card name=”Coating Metal Energy” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Four Bronzor and Three Bronzong

I initially had [card name=”Bronzor” set=”Team Up” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] at a lower count of three, but I realized pretty quickly into testing that this deck can sputter badly if you can’t get the Bronzor into play early. It’s also pretty nice to be able to have a backup Bronzong in play at any time, as this takes away the opponent’s option to turn off its Ability by KOing it. You can discard any extras or use them as targets for [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card]. You might be able to drop this to a 4-2 line; I haven’t tested that thoroughly enough to be comfortable with that change yet, but it is something I am experimenting with to free up a deck spot.

The Pokemon VMAX Lines

Like Bronzor, it is pretty important that you get at least one Pokemon V into play on your first turn so that you can attack with a Pokemon VMAX on turn 2. Against other Pokemon VMAX decks, it isn’t terribly important which one you get (since you’ll be able to 2HKO them regardless of whether you use Max Glide or G-Max Hurricane first), so long as you can get [card name=”Corviknight V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] by turn 2. In a deck like this where you only have one heavy hitter, you’ll want to play a 3-2 line of it so that you can reliably get one into play early. Against decks where G-Max Hurricane is getting OHKOs, you’ll want to get two Corviknight V into play as opposed to one of each Pokemon VMAX, since [card name=”Togekiss VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] is less useful in those particular matchups. If you were to play a deck with two pure attackers (such as Corviknight VMAX / [card name=”Salamence VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card]), you can replace the third Corviknight V with a [card name=”Ditto V” set=”Shining Fates” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] so that you can focus on one Pokemon VMAX in matchups where Weakness is relevant.

Two Zacian V

This card serves two important roles in this deck. First, [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]’s Intrepid Sword is an amazing setup Ability in this deck, as any Metal Energy you hit effectively acts as bonus acceleration to your Pokemon VMAX. Zacian V is a rather strong attacker too, which can OHKO [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card]. By using it this way, you can get around the need to play [card name=”Phoebe” set=”Battle Styles” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck and open up a valuable deck spot.

One Dedenne-GX and One Crobat V

These are the go-to Pokemon for added consistency and this deck can use them as well as any other. You do want to be careful to only play down one of [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card]. That way, your opponent will only be able to KO two two-Prize Pokemon (the Dedenne-GX plus a Zacian V), and will need to either KO a Pokemon VMAX to win or use two [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] to win by KOing [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Battle Styles” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]. In the former scenario, you should be able to stop them with your [card name=”Cheryl” set=”Battle Styles” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] (that is the goal of the deck, after all), whereas in the latter scenario, you should be able to win via Corviknight VMAX’s damage output before they are able to use Boss’s Orders four times (if they are able to at all). Whichever of the two draw Pokemon you don’t play down, you can save for the end-game in case you need to draw into something in order to win. By playing one each of Dedenne-GX and Crobat V, you’ll have more resiliency against late-game [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] than you would by playing only one — just make sure to be careful with them. If you’re playing against [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], don’t play down either of them unless you’ve managed to avoid benching Zacian V.

One Mew

This is a card that could easily be cut depending on the expected meta, but for now I have included it in case [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] becomes popular. G-Max Rapid Flow can OHKO two Bronzong at the same time — which typically results in a quick loss for the Bronzong deck. By using [card name=”Mew” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM215″ c=”name”][/card], you can avoid this fate. Mew can also attack to help to set up KOs against Tag Team Pokemon-GX — this can be quite helpful when playing against [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], as it gives you a way around [card name=”Incineroar-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]’s Darkest Tornado GX.

Supporters

The draw Supporters are fairly average and mostly needed for the early-game. You don’t need nearly as many when you have Togekiss VMAX, but you do need them for setup. The counts of Cheryl and Boss’s Orders are one lower than in the generic list, but we’ve added [card name=”Eldegoss V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”19″ c=”name”][/card] to make up for that cut. That way you can easily re-use one of them if needed, though this is best saved for a late-game play. The reason for doing so is so the deck can include one copy of [card name=”Leon” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]. Leon gives this deck a way to OHKO Tag Team Pokemon-GX, particularly [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] (which it otherwise couldn’t due to Resistance) and Mewtwo and Mew-GX (to avoid getting OHKO’d by the aforementioned Darkest Tornado GX). I admittedly do prefer having three Cheryl, but the lower count works since you can easily find it with Max Glide.

Items

You want to fit as many [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] and Pokemon-searching Item cards as you can fit given how important they are. In this deck, Pokemon Communication is better than [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card], as it allows you to find Basic Pokemon V and Bronzor. These are more important to find than their Evolutions (since you need to find the Basic Pokemon first). The three [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] are included so that you can reuse G-Max Hurricane when you need to, or to switch into Corviknight VMAX in the first place. Finally, the one Reset Stamp is nice in this deck as a way to disrupt your opponent and stop them from using their disruption options, or to cut off any late-game plays they might be trying to set up.

I haven’t included any Stadiums in this deck, though you can if you prefer to have a counter-stadium for a local meta that demands it. The best for that use is [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card], though [card name=”Mt. Coronet” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] are decent options as well.

Eight Metal Energy and Two Coating Metal Energy

This is about where you want to be Energy-wise. It’s enough to where you shouldn’t have any problem getting powered up, but not so much that you’ll be flooded with it. The two [card name=”Coating Metal Energy” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] are important for not getting KO’d by Fire-types, though they are a bit more effective in this deck thanks to Corviknight VMAX’s Ability.

Other Strong Pokemon VMAX Combinations

In addition to Corviknight VMAX / Togekiss VMAX, there are a few other strong Pokemon VMAX combinations that I would recommend trying out. Corviknight VMAX and [card name=”Cramorant VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] is a strong one — though Cramorant VMAX seems to pair well with all of the other attacking Pokemon VMAXs. The reason for this is that by using Cramorant VMAX, you can give the deck a possible way to OHKO opposing Pokemon VMAXs — something most of these attackers cannot do on their own. Likewise, by having a non-Cramorant VMAX attacker, you give the Cramorant VMAX deck a way to hit specific damage numbers without variance. This eliminates Cramorant VMAX’s biggest weakness against non-Pokemon VMAX decks, so you’re basically getting the best of both worlds!

Another fun one is [card name=”Orbeetle VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card], as it pairs quite well with Salamence VMAX and Corviknight VMAX. With Orbeetle VMAX, you’re still going to focus almost entirely on the other attacking Pokemon VMAX, but you have a bonus of being able to drop a ton of great spread damage. This helps to soften up opposing Pokemon, so that the 240 damage from Max Wings or G-Max Hurricane can effectively get a OHKO. This is excellent against Tag Team Pokemon-GX decks, since it gets you those OHKOs without needing to play Leon like in the list above. The Salamence VMAX / Orbeetle VMAX combo is also incredible against single-Prize attacking decks, as you can switch to a spread damage strategy to get multiple KOs at once.

Bronzong / Cheryl General Matchup Spread

Finally, before I bring this article to a close, I wanted to briefly take a look at how these decks match up with the other decks in the Standard metagame. After all, even if they are cool, they aren’t going to change much if they can’t win! The good news is, Bronzong / Cheryl seems to have pretty solid matchups across the board. As you might expect, it isn’t great against decks that can OHKO it such as [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card]. However, it is excellent against decks that cannot. While there is some variance depending on which particular Bronzong deck you choose (due to Weakness and deck specific upsides / downsides), the matchup spread looks a bit like this for Bronzong / Cheryl:

[card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]: Good
[card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]: Mostly good, depends on Bronzong list
Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX: Even (depends on how fast the Bronzong deck gets going)
Pikachu and Zekrom-GX: Mostly good (Lightning-weak decks can struggle)
[card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card]: Slightly bad (the match can get ugly if they can OHKO you)
Blacephalon: Near autoloss
[card name=”Coalossal VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]: Good
Mewtwo and Mew-GX: Good (just make sure to play around Incineroar-GX)
Miscellaneous Decks: Good, so long as they cannot OHKO you.

Overall, it’s a pretty solid matchup spread and I would expect it to get better as Bronzong decks become more refined. The [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Battle Styles” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Cheryl” set=”Battle Styles” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] archetype is absolutely worth building, as it is easily one of the best decks to come out of this new set.

With that, we’ve come to the end of this article! If you have any questions, want tips on building any specific one of the 39 Bronzong decks, are looking for strategy advice, or anything else, be sure 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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