Single-Prize Showdown — Single-Prizers Come Back Into Standard
[cardimg name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Hello PokeBeach readers! Isaiah here and I am happy to be bringing you another article about the Sword & Shield to Fusion Strike format! In my last article, I covered a personal project of mine, [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Leafeon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card], which I specifically designed to take down the format’s biggest threat, [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card]. As I have continued to work on that deck from my previous article, I have found other options for keeping up with the threat of Mew VMAX. I briefly mentioned that [card name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] in particular as a problem card for my Galarian Moltres V / Leafeon VMAX deck.
When I was talking with my friend Tate Whitesell about the deck a while back, we both agreed that Meloetta could be problematic, and the natural solution to this problem was to find a single-Prize attacking option. As I scoured the databases, I was looking for a card that could both be a single-Prize attacker to counter Meloetta while being a Pokemon that could threaten Mew VMAX itself, and I eventually stumbled on [card name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] which, while it cannot do it during the first turn or two, it fit the exact purpose I was looking for. As of now, I have not actually done much testing for this tech, but it got me thinking about what potential existed for single-Prize attackers in general.
Exploring Single-Prizers
One of the first decks I thought about was the ever-present [card name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] which offers a powerful option when it comes to taking one-hit Knock Outs on the massive Pokemon VMAX in Standard. Not long before I started thinking about it, Malamar began doing really well in the online scene, so I thought that it would be the best place to start. As of now, I do think the list that has circulated as conventional wisdom is the best list to use, with almost every card in the deck either being Rapid Strike or a way to find a Rapid Strike card.
Rapid Strike Malamar
This deck’s strategy is super simple: Build a hand of Rapid Strike cards, use Rapid Strike Tentacles, and repeat. However, when it comes to accomplishing this strategy, things can get a bit more complicated. Commonly considered one of the best decks to practice “sequencing” (a term which describes the skill of playing cards in the proper order to maximize the odds of making the play you want) Malamar can test your ability to put together the best play based on the cards you are given, frequently pushing you into troubling situations where you have to make game-breaking decisions on what order to play certain search cards, use certain Abilities, and more.
Deck List
[decklist name=”rs mally” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″][pokemon amt=”22″]4x [card name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Inkay” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”69″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Octillery” set=”Battle Styles” no=”37″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”Battle Styles” no=”36″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Drizzile” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”Bruno” set=”Battle Styles” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Korrina’s Focus” set=”Battle Styles” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Brawly” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Fog Crystal” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Carrier” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”6″]4x [card name=”Spiral Energy” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Card Inclusions
Malamar Line
As is typical with main attackers, we play a thick line of [card name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]. In this particular deck, we play the full 4-4 line to make sure we absolutely do not run out of them before we have won the game. As for the card itself, it has just one attack to use and that one attack is all we need. At first glance, Rapid Strike Tentacles doesn’t seem to be too powerful, but its damage output racks up quick. With just five Rapid Strike cards in your hand, you are taking one-hit Knock Outs on many Pokemon V, and with a sixth Rapid Strike card, you are able to take a Knock Out on most of the rest. Looking at the Pokemon VMAX HP bracket, eight Rapid Strike cards is the one hit Knock Out number on most of the most relevant Pokemon VMAX, such as [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], and those that eight does not Knock Out, a ninth typically does the trick. While the number of Rapid Strike cards you need for these big one-hit Knock Outs may seem intimidating, between the high volume of cards to build our hand and even higher number of Rapid Strike cards in general, it is not nearly as it seems. Notably, even Malamar and [card name=”Inkay” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] themselves are Rapid Strike cards, so extra copies are always attack fuel.
Octillery Line
One of this deck’s most important hand-building tools is [card name=”Octillery” set=”Battle Styles” no=”37″ c=”name”][/card]. Once per turn, Octillery allows us to search out a Rapid Strike card, giving you an automatic out to 40 extra damage. While this damage may seem somewhat insignificant, it can often be the difference between doing 280 and 320. In addition to being a damage boost, Octillery can also find pieces of our Malamar line or a [card name=”Spiral Energy” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] to make sure we are able to continue a steady stream of attacks until we have won the game. The best part of Octillery? It is also a Rapid Strike card!
Inteleon Line
What makes this line good is that we have [card name=”Drizzile” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] to search cards, and it evolves into [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] to search more cards or the Rapid Strike [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] to put a little extra damage on the board.
While the direct purpose of Shady Dealings Inteleon and Drizzile is critical to this deck’s success, it is honestly impossible to overstate how good it is. The most simple purpose of Shady Dealings is that it searches for [card name=”Bruno” set=”Battle Styles” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to refill our hand after a Knock Out, meaning that we are able to chain together massive one-hit Knock Outs repeatedly. Additionally, Shady Dealings can go find any of many Trainers that are either Rapid Strike cards themselves or search for other Rapid Strike cards, with Inteleon essentially being two Rapid Strike cards for just one hand slot, which is one of few ways to increase your hand size beyond seven cards.
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As for Quick Shooting Inteleon, it provides a little extra damage, but considering some of the deck’s awkward math numbers, this extra damage can go a long way. One of the most important increases is that one Quick Shooting turns 160 into 180 (one-hit Knock Out on [card name=”Mew V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]), 200 into 220 (one-hit Knock Out on most Pokemon V), and 320 into 340 (one-hit Knock Out on “bigger” Pokemon VMAX). Additionally, while this coming up is a rarity, if you ever get two Quick Shooting in play, the extra 40 damage is basically reducing the number of Rapid Strike cards you need for any Knock Out, which is especially important for the seven (280) to eight (320) jump. Also, Inteleon is a Rapid Strike card, so it does some good just sitting in your hand too!
As much as I am talking up Drizzile and the two Inteleon, [card name=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] really carries the importance of this evolution line. Thanks to Keep Calling, Sobble offers an excellent setup attack, which is great for a deck that needs to get several evolution Pokemon on the board in very early stages of the game. Keep Calling is able to find all of the Basic Pokemon in the entire deck, including more Sobble, so the possibilities of Keep Calling are truly limitless.
Now for the most important distinction about the Inteleon line: Is it the best option? Oftentimes, Malamar lists will choose to play [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] instead of Inteleon, but I think this is outright incorrect. Sure, Cinccino has its fair share of pros, such as making it easier to increase your hand size, but its cons far outweigh its pros. Cinccino’s biggest cons are that it is harder to setup and that it often has to discard Rapid Strike cards, but there is absolutely no con that Cinccino has that is bigger than the fact that it is not a Rapid Strike card. Since it is not a Rapid Strike card, it feeds into the issue of being harder to setup while also not being fuel for Malamar’s attack, so extra copies are significantly less useful. As a result of these cons, I not only think Cinccino is worse than Inteleon, but it is also outright incorrect to choose Cinccino instead.
Bruno and Korrina’s Focus
Both of these cards serve near-identical purposes, being the ability to refill your hand after a massive Knock Out. However, the way they accomplish this purpose is slightly different. In Bruno’s case it allows you to fully reset your hand from often one to three cards all the way up to seven. This huge increase in hand size typically is enough to fill your hand back up with the resources to take the big one-hit Knock Outs this deck needs to win. On the other hand, [card name=”Korrina’s Focus” set=”Battle Styles” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] only allows us to draw until six cards. While this effect is not bad, as it allows us to keep some cards that are already Rapid Strike in our hand, it is also a Rapid Strike card itself, as opposed to Bruno which is ironically Single Strike, so it is able to directly fuel Rapid Strike Tentacles if needed.
Brawly
I’ve played Malamar on and off since it released in June 2021, but to this day I am still skeptical of [card name=”Brawly” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card]. With an effect that is identical to Keep Calling, Brawly is an amazing setup Supporter if you go second, especially if you get to combine it with Keep Calling, instantly filling your Bench. However, the biggest issue is the if part of that sentence. If you do not get to open Brawly, you are just kind of bummed as you just have three mostly dead cards in your hand for the rest of the game. Fortunately, one benefit to Brawly is that it is at least a Rapid Strike card so being stuck with one in your hand is a bit less of a bummer. Also, as an inherent Rapid Strike card, it is a great target for Shady Dealings to directly target rather than grabbing something like a [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card], which you have to discard to turn into a Rapid Strike card, reducing the number of outs to Rapid Strike cards in your deck.
Scoop Up Net and Rescue Carrier
[cardimg name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”207″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Both of these cards accomplish the same goal differently: Increase your hand size.
Of these, [card name=”Rescue Carrier” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] is far more simple, as it directly adds Rapid Strike cards to your hand. While Rescue Carrier is typically pretty useless early on, its ability to become two Rapid Strike cards for one hand space is fantastic. In all honestly, I’d love to play another copy of Rescue Carrier, but between deck space it being virtually a dead card early game, I have decided against it.
Unlike Rescue Carrier, [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] is absolutely incredible at all points in the game and it is probably the second best Trainer in the deck, behind Bruno. Remember how almost all of the Pokemon in this deck are Rapid Strike? Well, Scoop Up Net picking them up is another excellent way to add more Rapid Strike cards to the hand. All of a sudden, jumping from Bruno’s seven cards to eight, nine, or even ten is far more feasible thanks to Scoop Up Net. In many cases, Scoop Up Net’s target will be your Octillery after using Rapid Strike Search, but sometimes it is best to pick up just a Drizzile so you have another Drizzile to use and Sobble keep the Sobble in hand as a Rapid Strike card. You can even pick up a Malamar in dire situation, but make sure you have a backup Malamar just in case! One of my personal favorite plays that I have been able to pull off was using Scoop Up Net on a Drizzile, use the Drizzile for another Scoop Up Net to pick up that Drizzile and keep Sobble, use Drizzile AGAIN to go find another Scoop Up Net to pick up Octillery after using Rapid Strike Search for a Spiral Energy to pull off a one-hit Knock Out that I initially thought was impossible based on the mediocre hand that I had gotten off of a Bruno. As should be clear, Scoop Up Net is an absolutely incredible card.
Another Single-Prize Deck
Stepping back to my thinking about single-Prize decks, another deck that had crossed my mind was a single-Prize Darkness-type deck created by Ross Cawthon that featured [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. When Cawthon first made the deck, I felt it was a bit underwhelming due to it lacking damage output against a lot of decks and the vast amounts of spread attacks. However, with Fusion Strike, the game changed for Cawthon’s deck, as the most played deck in the format became a Darkness-type deck and the amount of prominent spread attackers reduced significantly. Unbelievably, about eight hours after I thought of this, Cawthon played the deck to an online event with 71 players and won the event. Clearly I was on the right track! The deck quickly spread to be played by other players, who also saw some success with it.
Ross Cawthon’s Darkness Deck
This deck is a bit complicated and, quite frankly, awkward to play. At first glance, it seems like it absolutely should never beat anything other than [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], but to my surprise, the deck gets to be quite powerful, especially in the late game. The first few turns are typically spent chipping away at the opponent with [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] while setting up [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card]. Then, after the opponent has taken a couple Prize cards, it is time for [card name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] to swoop in and start doing big damage. By the final turns, Galarian Moltres is able to do as much as 270 damage and with Quick Shooting, it can take easy Knock Outs on Pokemon VMAX, regardless of their Weakness. As of now, my deck list is only marginally different that Cawthon’s, but I do think the changes are wise ones.
Deck List
[decklist name=”ross dark” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Pyukumuku” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”77″][pokemon amt=”20″]3x [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Castform Snowy Form” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”34″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Drizzile” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Pyukumuku” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Shining Fates” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Energy Search” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Training Court” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]8x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Card Inclusions
Three Hoopa
Three [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] has felt like a goldilocks count to me so far, being the perfect spot between not too few and not too many. Most games, you only use one or two Hoopa anyway, but playing that few is really bad for the games you need more. Playing four, however, almost guarantees that you will have way more than you need so they will clog up your hand throughout the game.
As for why play Hoopa at all, it is simply the most effective way to deal damage with one Energy as a Darkness-type Pokemon, so it is effective chip damage in the early game that gives up Prizes to build up Galarian Moltres’ Fiery Wrath.
Two Galarian Moltres and Two Klara
The deck’s true “main attacker,” [card name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] is played at a pretty low count of two, but this is largely so we can avoid starting with it, but we also simply just do not need to have it early. However, once the opponent has taken a few Prizes, Galarian Moltres quickly goes from being non-useful to a necessity for closing out the game. However, powering up Galarian Moltres can be a bit awkward, but that is where [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] comes in. Klara offers a easy out to two Energy for Galarian Moltres’ Malevolent Charge while also recovering Galarian Moltres or any other Pokemon at the same time.
One Galarian Moltres V
Every single time I talk with people about this deck, they always as why even bother playing [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], but I think it is one of the most important cards in the deck. One of the best ways to deal with this deck is to just take it slow and only take Prizes when making big plays, as Hoopa is not able to do a ton by itself. However, with just one Galarian Moltres V, you are able to put an immense amount of pressure on your opponent to start making plays or else you are going to start swinging for big numbers, essentially putting them on the clock. One of the best ways to deal with this pressure is to take a Knock Out, but by doing that, the opponent takes two Prize cards, accelerating your Galarian Moltres non-V’s damage output.
Two Castform Snowy Form (!?)
[cardimg name=”Castform Snowy Form” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”34″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Yes, you read that right, two [card name=”Castform Snowy Form” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] (Snowy Castform). We choose to play Snowy Castform because it has the least relevant Weakness of all the Castform, having Metal-type Weakness rather than Fighting-type ([card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”87″ c=”name”][/card]’s Strafe can Knock Out), Lightning-type ([card name=”Jolteon V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”177″ c=”name”][/card]’s Thunder Spear), or Water-type ([card name=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card]’s Double Spin).
Wait? You were not wondering why we played Castform at all? You were not wondering about why play Snowy Castform over the other three forms?
Well, I cannot blame you for asking about why we play Castform, but its purpose is extremely simple: It has a Retreat Cost of zero. Surprisingly, zero Retreat Pokemon are a bit of a rarity in Standard and it is even more rare on single-Prize Pokemon. As such, finding the best single-Prize Pokemon with zero Retreat Cost is hard, but I believe Snowy Castform is the best. Many lists play [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], which can draw two cards with its Allure Attack, but I do not think this extra draw is nearly as valuable as Castform’s 70 HP. Being a 70 HP Basic, Castform can be searched by [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card], and being searchable by eight Trainer cards rather than four is much better. As for why we need a free Retreat Pokemon at all? Well, it is just to make using Hoopa a bit less resource intensive, allowing you to just bench a Hoopa and retreat into it rather than needing a [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] to move something else.
Conclusion
In the current Standard format, I strongly believe that single-Prize Pokemon are in the best position that they have been for a long time, and for a good reason. The current format has much less spread damage than the past few and single-Prize Pokemon are able to make much more favorable Prize trades than they have been, making their resource investment far more worthwhile.
With that, this article comes to a close. I really hope you enjoyed reading this article, as these two decks are two of the most entertaining decks in Standard right now! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out in the Subscriber’s Hideout, on Twitter (@ICheville), or on Facebook (Zaya Lee).
Until next time!
– Isaiah
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