Believe in the One-Hit KO — Single Strike in Standard

[cardimg name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”168″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Hello everyone! In today’s article, I’m going to be going over Single Strike, as it is one of my favorite archetypes in the new post-rotation meta. I had dabbled with the Single Strike archetype somewhat during the Chilling Reign format — [card name=”Tornadus VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] was one of my go-to decks then — so I was quite happy when Evolving Skies made the archetype a lot stronger! Now, rather than being an off-meta choice, Single Strike has established itself as one of the top decks in Standard.

While there are a few different ways to play Single Strike, the deck I’ve found to be the best is also the one that’s seen the most tournament success: [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Houndoom” set=”Battle Styles” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card]. Compared to the other Single Strike decks (Tornadus VMAX, Non-Pokemon V [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card], and Umbreon VMAX sans Urshifu), this build has been the strongest, mostly thanks to the higher damage of G-Max One Blow. The addition of Umbreon VMAX to this deck has been a game changer — not only does it shore up Single Strike Urshifu VMAX’s Weakness to Psychic-type, but its Ability is one of the strongest in the game, especially for a direct-damage deck like Single Strike Urshifu VMAX. 

The main plan for Single Strike decks as you might expect, is to get OHKOs. To accomplish this, the archetype uses hard-hitting attackers along with positive damage modifiers, so that no Pokemon is out of OHKO range. In a format where Pokemon VMAX are prevalent, having the ability to deal 320+ damage is a tremendous advantage, and it is this advantage that gives Single Strike Urshifu VMAX its strength. Houndoom’s Single Strike Roar provides consistent Energy acceleration, so that the deck can hit fast and start getting Knock Outs as early as turn 2. Umbreon VMAX makes things even easier with its Dark Signal Ability, ensuring that you can KO the target of your choice. Combine those three Pokemon, and you have a fast, hard-hitting deck, with built in gust support and few weaknesses. If that sounds pretty good, that’s because it is! To start things off, here’s my list for Single Strike Urshifu VMAX:

Decklist and Explanation

[decklist name=”Single Strike Urshifu” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″][pokemon amt=”19″]2x [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”85″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Umbreon V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Houndoom” set=”Battle Styles” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Houndour” set=”Battle Styles” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Shining Fates” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Urn of Vitality” set=”Battle Styles” no=”139″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tool Jammer” set=”Battle Styles” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Tower of Darkness” set=”Battle Styles” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]4x [card name=”Single Strike Energy” set=”Battle Styles” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”233″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

My list here admittedly isn’t anything groundbreaking — most lists I’ve seen are within a few cards of this one — but I would consider it optimal in terms of its card counts. Aside from the one [card name=”Tool Jammer” set=”Battle Styles” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card], we don’t have any tech cards; the base strategy is strong enough that we can focus on consistency.

Pokemon

Since [card name=”Houndoom” set=”Battle Styles” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] is critical to the function of our deck, we play a full 4-4 line. While it is pretty rare that we will have more than three Houndoom in play, having four protects us in case one is in the Prize, and makes finding it a bit easier than if we were to only play three. For our attackers, we go a bit thinner with 3-2 lines of each. With no Pokemon recovery, this can be a bit awkward if we’re forced to discard one of our Pokemon VMAX, but you typically won’t use more than one of each Pokemon VMAX so two is sufficient in most cases. One of the keys here, as I’ll be going over in the strategy section, is that you don’t actually need to use your Pokemon VMAX in most cases. While it’s certainly not optimal if you’re forced to discard your only [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], doing so doesn’t mean that you’re out of the game. Some more recent builds have taken this to an even further extreme, and replaced one of the Single Strike Urshifu VMAX with a copy of [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card]. I haven’t gone that far due to the Prize issues associated with playing a one-of, but it goes to further illustrate the point that you can do quite well with the thinner Pokemon VMAX counts. The one [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] serves its typical role as the emergency draw out. You can also use it early to help speed up your setup if you otherwise aren’t finding enough [card name=”Houndour” set=”Battle Styles” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card].

Trainers

Our Supporter counts are the standard four [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Shining Fates” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], as they remain the best options in the game. In addition, we also have two [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], despite the fact that we play [card name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]. As nice as it would be, you can’t rely solely on Dark Signal for your gust effects — realistically, you’re likely to only be able to use it once per match. So, we have a few Boss’s Orders to fill that gap. In general, Dark Signal will be used early on, whereas Boss’s Orders will be used in the mid- to late-game.

[cardimg name=”Urn of Vitality” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”229″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Since this is a deck where we need to find our Pokemon quickly (Houndour and Houndoom, in particular), we likewise want to play as many Pokemon-searching Item cards. If I could play 61 cards, I’d happily fit in a fourth [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], but the rest of our cards are a bit too important to add it in otherwise. While you can theoretically play fewer than four [card name=”Urn of Vitality” set=”Battle Styles” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Tower of Darkness” set=”Battle Styles” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], I would not recommend doing so. Urn of Vitality is one of the most important cards in this deck, and you’ll likely use it multiple times in a game. If you don’t have it when you need it, that can mean missing an attack. That’s why we play four copies to maximize our chances of having it in those critical situations. As for Tower of Darkness, this Stadium provides a subtle yet impactful extra draw power, which is useful throughout the game. An extra two cards every turn (or at least most turns) is great, and the deck-thinning effect that Tower of Darkness provides helps you guarantee some extra late-game consistency. A heavy Stadium count also gives you more outs to removing [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card], which can be a bit obnoxious if you need to use Dark Asset or Dark Signal.  

Tool Jammer is in this deck mostly to counter [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card], which is seeing play in Turbo [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] and a few other Pokemon V archetypes. Without some sort of Tool disruption, Zacian V can escape the OHKO range of [card name=”Umbreon V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] / Umbreon VMAX and [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card], so you want to have a way around it. While the two are pretty similar in practice, Tool Jammer is slightly more effective than [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”168″ c=”name”][/card], as it can be used to pre-emptively disrupt an opponent using [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] or a damage modifying tool. If you are in a local meta in which Turbo Zacian V (or similar decks) don’t see play, then you can cut this card for a fourth Great Ball or different tech card. But in a wider field, I like having the one-of copy of Tool Jammer. Finally, we have two Air Balloon to give us some switching options; we don’t need to switch out often when playing this deck, but it is nice to have a few options if we start with a non-ideal starting Pokemon (Houndour, for instance). This is another card that can be changed if needed — if you’re running into a lot of Tool Jammer yourself, then you’ll want to swap these out for a pair of [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card]. If not, Air Balloon is a touch more useful, since it can give you a free-retreat option to bring up following a KO.

Energy

Four [card name=”Single Strike Energy” set=”Battle Styles” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] is a given in this deck, but you do have some options for other Energy cards like [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card]. This is the most effective secondary Energy, since it increases your number of early-game Basic Pokemon search cards — this is extremely important given this deck’s reliance on Houndoom. All of our attacks do have at least one Colorless Energy as a requirement, so we can safely play Capture Energy without affecting our attack consistency. The one-of basic Fighting Energy is occasionally useful for using Laser Focus, but most of the time it will just be a ninth Energy to increase your consistency.

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Other Deck Options (and Why I Don’t Play Them)

Karen’s Conviction

When it does work, [card name=”Karen’s Conviction” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] can be an excellent late-game card against opposing Pokemon VMAX decks, as it gives you the potential to OHKO a Pokemon VMAX with either Moonlight Blade, Max Darkness, or Impact Blow. Otherwise, you are reliant on G-Max One Blow, which isn’t always possible. In theory, Karen’s Conviction increases your number of late outs and can help you play around some of your opponent’s strategies. The problem is that it’s rather difficult to have Karen’s Conviction in your hand in that late-game situation where it would be useful. We have no way to search for or recover it, which means you have to draw into it naturally, plus we have to be lucky enough not to discard it early on. In addition, Karen’s Conviction isn’t useful at all in non-Pokemon VMAX matchups, While it can be discarded with Tower of Darkness, there are better cards that we can have in this slot instead. While it can be a nice extra tech card, I’ve chosen not to use it in this list. I love this card, but unfortunately, I wasn’t finding it to be all that useful in my games.

Single Strike Scroll of Scorn

On a similar note, I’ve also chosen not to include [card name=”Single Strike Scroll of Scorn” set=”Battle Styles” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card], as it was another card that never quite reached its theoretical potential. This Tool card is best against other decks that can come close to OHKOing your Pokemon VMAX, but can’t quite get there. Against [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] for example, a 250-damage Max Lance can make things close, especially once you add on some self-damage from Houndoom’s Single Strike Roar. In such a scenario, you can get a return OHKO for the cost of only a single Energy, which can be nice if the damaged Pokemon is a Single Strike Urshifu VMAX that had discarded all of its Energy. The thing is, this is a pretty niche scenario — and it’s one that your opponent can play around if they see it coming. Additionally, if your opponent hasn’t been able to get a OHKO, you should be at least a turn ahead anyway. In my games, Single Strike Scroll of Scorn always felt like a “win more” card, as opposed to a card that would decide games on its own. 

Piers

Given how important it is to find your Houndour and Houndoom, [card name=”Piers” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] fits into this deck well. On turn 1, you can use it to find Houndour and a Capture Energy. Later on, you can use it to find Houndoom or Umbreon VMAX, along with a Single Strike Energy. Being a Supporter, using Piers does mean that you can’t use Marnie or Professor’s Research, but most of the time, it finds you the cards that you were looking for anyway. The one big downside of Piers is that it is a Supporter, you can’t use it on turn 1 when going first. Compared with Great Ball, you’re more likely to have a poor opening using Piers when you do go first. Going first is always optimal with this deck, so it’s a bit awkward to have a card in here that doesn’t help you in the early game when you win the coin flip. I’ve chosen to include Great Ball instead of Piers, as I think it helps the deck run more consistently overall. 

General Deck Strategy

[cardimg name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”95″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

As I said in the last section, it is always optimal to go first when playing this deck, and that’s true no matter what you’re playing against. This isn’t only because you don’t have any effective turn 1 attacks to use, but also because of the immense pressure you can put on opposing decks with your turn 2 attack.

By going first, you’ll only give your opponent one turn before your attack, as opposed to two when going second. Against Pokemon VMAX decks in particular, this means you get to attack them before they can evolve. With Dark Signal, it’s relatively easy to bring up and KO one of their basic Pokemon V, which can cripple their setup right away. This deck reminds me of [card name=”Victini VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] in that sense, except that it might be easier to pull off such a play in this deck thanks to [card name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]. Moreover, you don’t actually need to use your Pokemon VMAX to get those KOs; thanks to the damage bonuses from [card name=”Single Strike Energy” set=”Battle Styles” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card], you can OHKO most Pokemon V with [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Umbreon V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card].

On your first turn, your primary focus should be to get two or three [card name=”Houndour” set=”Battle Styles” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] into play, so that you can set up some [card name=”Houndoom” set=”Battle Styles” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] on your following turn. Once you get Houndoom into play, opposing players tend not to go after them, as doing so won’t give them a big advantage in most cases (since KOing Houndoom means they aren’t dealing with your powered up attacker). Even so, you can’t get anything attacking unless you have at least one so you’ll typically want two or three to make sure you can power up any Pokemon whenever you want. Next, you’ll want to grab your Pokemon V. If you’re going first, Umbreon V will generally be more important, as it gives you a chance to pull off the Dark Signal — KO play, but Single Strike Urshifu V can be more helpful if you’re going second and anticipate that you’ll be facing down your opponent’s Pokemon VMAX. 

After that, how you approach things will depend on the matchup. In some cases, you’ll want to focus on Umbreon VMAX and winning via cheaper gust KOs. In others, you’ll want to power up [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] and try to get a OHKO on their Pokemon VMAX. In some matchups, you might ignore your Pokemon VMAX entirely. Regardless of your matchup, you will want to make sure you’re sequencing your plays properly, specifically when it comes to using Single Strike Roar. It’s important to recognize what cards you need in a given situation, particularly whether or not you need to draw into a Single Strike Energy. If you do, then you’ll want to use any Pokemon search cards first, followed by any draw cards, before using Single Strike Roar. If you’re looking to draw into a different card such as a Pokemon, then you’ll want to use Single Strike Roar before any draw effects, and you’ll want to use those draw effects before using [card name=”Urn of Vitality” set=”Battle Styles” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] if possible. 

Matchup-Specific Strategy

Vs. Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX

Single Strike wasn’t the only Battle Styles archetype to improve with Evolving Skies — Rapid Strike has as well, in part thanks to an Eeveelution of its own. There are now a few different Rapid Strike variants, but almost all include [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] and the new [card name=”Sylveon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]. From there, you’ll either see [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card], or other Rapid Strike Pokemon such as [card name=”Blaziken VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Octillery” set=”Battle Styles” no=”37″ c=”name”][/card] — but as far as our strategy is concerned, there isn’t too much difference between those variants.

Going first is a huge advantage in this matchup for both players. If you go first, then you can pressure them with the turn 2 gust KO, but if they go first, they can pressure you with a turn 2 G-Max Rapid Flow. More than any other matchup, you’ll want to make sure you have three Houndour in play if you go second — if you can get four, it isn’t a bad idea to do so. Luckily, G-Max Rapid Flow cannot actually KO Houndoom without any additional damage so once you do get them in play, they are relatively safe. 

Sylveon VMAX certainly makes this matchup more difficult, as it’s one of the few Psychic-type Pokemon that isn’t weak to Darkness-type, which means that the Rapid Strike player will have a slight type advantage. While [card name=”Sylveon V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] can’t do much, Sylveon VMAX can OHKO your Single Strike Urshifu VMAX. Thanks to tricks like [card name=”Raihan” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card] and the [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] combo, it’s also possible to power up a Sylveon VMAX in a single turn, so you have to be careful if your opponent has one Sylveon V in play. For this reason, I actually like to target their Sylveon V if I can. None of their other Pokemon can threaten a OHKO, so if you can keep Sylveon VMAX off the field, you should be able to win this matchup. Umbreon V is thankfully weak to Grass-type, not Fighting-type, so you can go with an aggressive Umbreon V-focused strategy to start, and only evolve your Single Strike Urshifu V if you can win or get decisively ahead by doing so. After a few KOs with Umbreon V, you should be able to finish the game off with G-Max One Blow. So long as you don’t lose early on and don’t allow them to take advantage of Single Strike Urshifu V’s Weakness, you should be able to win this matchup.

Vs. the Single Strike Mirror Match

In the majority of your mirror match games, the game will be won by the player who goes first — there’s just such a large advantage in being able to get the first Knock Out. With that said, there are a few things you can try to give yourself an edge either way. The most important thing will be for you to KO your opponent’s Single Strike Urshifu V, as that’s the only Pokemon that can get a OHKO against your Pokemon VMAX. If you can stop your opponent from setting up their Single Strike Urshifu VMAX, then you can get into a situation where you can OHKO them but they can’t OHKO you. Dark Signal will let them get around your active Pokemon VMAX, but so long as you don’t put too many basic Pokemon V into play, they’ll be forced to deal with your Pokemon VMAX at some point. If they don’t get enough Houndour in play, that can be an alternative path to victory, though it is less likely to come up.

Vs. Dragapult VMAX (and similar matchups)

Another fairly popular meta choice is [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] / Inteleon, which is great news for Single Strike. In this matchup, you’ll want to completely ignore your Single Strike Urshifu V, and take them on with your Umbreon and Houndoom. Dragapult VMAX will be OHKO’d by either Umbreon V or Umbreon VMAX, and it isn’t easy for them to get KOs at all. The end result is that barring poor draws, this matchup is an autowin. If you run into [card name=”Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], the same Weakness-focused strategy will work with similar positive results.

Vs. Leafeon VMAX

[cardimg name=”Leafeon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”8″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Sylveon and Umbreon aren’t the only Eeveelutions seeing success; as it turns out, [card name=”Leafeon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] has also become a common deck in the Standard meta. In this matchup, we’ll be on the opposite side of the Weakness issue, as [card name=”Umbreon V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] is weak to Grass. Even without Weakness, however, Leafeon VMAX hits hard; with [card name=”Galar Mine” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] in play, it can OHKO any of our Pokemon Vs and deal 300 damage to our [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]. That’s enough to trade KOs after our Single Strike Roar self damage, or after a few damage counters from Inteleon’s Quick Shooting. Like in the Single Strike matchup, you have to consider that your opponent will be able to trade Pokemon VMAX OHKOs with you.

This isn’t the only other matchup where that’s the case — [card name=”Rayquaza VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] is another notable one — but you can use a similar strategy in each scenario. Our biggest advantage in this matchup comes prior to the Pokemon VMAXs; that is, that we can OHKO [card name=”Leafeon V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card] without evolving, whereas they can’t do the same to our Pokemon V. If we go first, that means that we can take an early lead by picking off their Leafeon V. If we go second, then we’ll want to focus on getting plenty of [card name=”Houndour” set=”Battle Styles” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Houndoom” set=”Battle Styles” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] in play, so that we can set up for the G-Max One Blow. Since your opponent will only be able to get KOs with Leafeon VMAX, we don’t mind if they take the first KO, so long as we can follow up with a KO on their Pokemon VMAX. At that point, the opponent will have to set up a second Leafeon VMAX, after which we will win if we can pull off a second OHKO. When going second, you’ll want to focus almost solely on your Urshifu, as your Umbreon won’t be all that helpful unless your opponent has a turn of inconsistency.

In Pokemon VMAX matchups like this one, Single Strike Urshifu tends to have a big advantage when going first, and about an even matchup when going second. Overall, that’s a strong matchup advantage, and one that grows even larger if your opponent cannot OHKO you. Now, with that said, Pokemon VMAX matchups might be naturally strong for Single Strike, but non-Pokemon VMAX decks are also starting to make a mark on the post-rotation meta. The two biggest ones to watch out for are below. 

Vs. Zacian V

This deck doesn’t have a ton of variety in terms of its attack strategy, but [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] is a bit of a trickier matchup as it can be a surprisingly tanky deck, despite being a two-Prize attacker. The two biggest things to look out for: The threat of a turn 1 Brave Blade and [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card]. 

To win this matchup, you’ll have to balance attacking with your Pokemon VMAX and regular Pokemon V, so that you can try to force them to need four attacks to win. If you can do that, then even if they get the first KO you should win so long as you can OHKO them three times yourself. Since they don’t have any damage modifiers on their end, you can do this pretty easily by evolving your Pokemon V into Pokemon VMAX and not giving them too many regular Pokemon V to KO. Conveniently, G-Max One Blow does get through [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card]’s Dauntless Shield, so you don’t have to worry too much about that either.

As in other matchups, your biggest concern will be your early-game setup — given their speed, you can’t afford a turn of not attacking. You will want to make sure not to get into a situation where your opponent can win by going around your Pokemon VMAX and taking a KO your Pokemon V. While it isn’t too tricky to avoid that scenario, you will want to make sure you Prize-check so that you don’t accidentally put down some Pokemon V but cannot evolve them. You’ll also want to be somewhat cautious about using [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], but if you need to play it in order to facilitate your setup then you definitely should. One thing you will want to do is to put down two Pokemon V on turn 1 if you can; otherwise, if they KO your only copy, you can get stuck trading KOs with your Pokemon Vs, which can likewise lead to their victory. If you do run into that problem, you can still win by putting down two Pokemon V on your second turn, so long as you don’t use Crobat V that game (and evolve whichever of the two survives immediately).

On the other end of things, Turbo Zacian V will be trying to make you take an additional attack, by preventing your OHKO with their Cape of Toughness. Matchups like this one are why we play our Tool Jammer, so that we can get OHKOs with Umbreon VMAX even against Cape of Toughness. You can also use G-Max One Blow, but that can be a bit less consistent because you’ll need to use [card name=”Urn of Vitality” set=”Battle Styles” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] to recover that Energy, so Umbreon tends to be a better attacker if it can get a KO. If you cannot find your Tool Jammer, then you’ll want to try to gust around to get a OHKO if you can.

If you run into any other Pokemon V decks, you can approach them in the same way as in this matchup.

Vs. Suicune V / Ludicolo

One of the newest decks to hop on on the scene is [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] and it is definitely strong. If you haven’t checked out Gabriel’s article about the deck, I would highly recommend doing so! Suicune V is a tricky matchup — not only is it a non-Pokemon VMAX deck, but it also has the potential to get a OHKO against our Pokemon VMAX thanks to [card name=”Ludicolo” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card]’s Enthusiastic Dance. As such, you need to be extremely cautious about evolving into a Pokemon VMAX if your opponent has [card name=”Lotad” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lombre” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] in play. Because of how Single Strike archetype works with Houndoom, it’s pretty difficult to limit your Bench to the point that Suicune  V won’t get a KO on your non-Pokemon VMAX. The extra damage from Single Strike Roar also hurts us in that regard, so I’ve found that you should assume that your opponent can get OHKOs all the time and focus on the matchup with that in mind.

Because of the Ludicolo threat, you can’t treat this matchup exactly as the Zacian V matchup. Most of your plays will be quite similar — you’ll want to rush to find your Houndour and Pokemon V — but you’ll need to be a lot more cautious about putting Pokemon V into play. One nice thing is that Suicune V players won’t be able to both use a gust effect and get a KO with Suicune V. If you can, force them to KO a Houndour instead of one of your Pokemon V. Do this, then quickly evolve into two Pokemon VMAX so you’ll either force them to find a way to use Ludicolo twice, or take an extra turn of attacking to win. That strategy isn’t foolproof as it is possible for Ludicolo to be used more than once, but it does give you a good chance. 

Vs. Single Prize Decks

Single Prize Pokemon attacking decks can be particularly tough for the Single Strike archetype, since they don’t care about our OHKO strategy — that’s what they expect against any matchup! We also don’t have any sort of spread damage to turn the game to our favor. As a result, these games tend to be unfavorable for Single Strike. In these matchups, your best bet is to actually attack with Houndoom if it can get a OHKO (such as against Rapid Strike [card name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]), while simultaneously powering up a Pokemon VMAX without using Single Strike Roar. It’s a bit of an uphill battle, but doing things this way will maximize the number of attacks that your opponent will need to make. If you can’t get a KO with Houndoom (such as against a deck like [card name=”Regidrago” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]), then you’ll want to try to make your opponent fight through a regular Pokemon V and two Pokemon VMAX if you can. Disrupt them with [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] whenever possible, and do your best to buy yourself as many turns as you can. 

Overall, Single Strike is a great option for our new Standard meta. It has an excellent matchup spread, it’s consistent, and it’s always fun to win without giving your opponent a chance! If you like this style of deck, I would highly recommend Single Strike — you won’t be disappointed! We’re now at the end of this article, but if you had any unanswered questions, as always feel free to leave a comment or send me a message, or ask all of us in our Subscriber’s Hideout! Best of luck in your games, and stay safe!

Thanks for reading!

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