Funny Victini Deck — Turn Off Your Brain and Beat Mew!

After a bit of a rocky start in its first few days in the Standard format, the [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] archetype has picked up some steam. In fact, that’s a bit of an understatement: Mew VMAX is the dominant force in the meta right now. I wasn’t too keen on the deck initially, but after several top players tested it more and pushed the deck to its limits, it became clear that Mew is quite good, to say the least. At the time of writing, Mew VMAX is everywhere on the PTCGO Standard ladder, and it’s also taken first place at the past five large online events.

To many players, this is a reason to play the deck to pick up some wins. To me, this is an incentive to counter the deck — I would much rather beat the dominant deck than play it. That, and the deck is quite expensive, at least by online standards. To be sure, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, but Mew is certainly beatable.

Today I’ll be talking about one of the decks that has a positive Mew matchup — [card name=”Victini VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card]. If nothing else, Victini is an interesting deck, and I have quite a bit to say about it. It’s also a bit controversial, but it’s definitely competitively viable. Let’s take a look at the list, one that recently won two online events (post-Fusion Strike, just before Mew’s win streak began).

Deck List

[decklist name=”victory” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Victini V ” set=”Battle Styles” no=”21″][pokemon amt=”8″]4x [card name=”Victini VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”22″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Victini V ” set=”Battle Styles” no=”21″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”42″]4x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Kabu” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Sword and Shield” no=”174″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Fan of Waves” set=”Battle Styles” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”175″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]10x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”XY” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card][/energy][/decklist]The list is rather straightforward, with almost every card count maxed out at four. [card name=”Victini VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] is a powerful attacker capable of crushing opponents’ setups with its 220-damage attack as early as turn two. This deck attempts to overwhelm the opponent completely by complementing Victini’s early aggression with a wide variety of disruption cards. You’ll notice high counts of stuff like [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Fan of Waves” set=”Battle Styles” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card]. These are all annoying cards to play against, and they aim to slow or shut down the opponent altogether while Victini wins the game as fast as possible with high-powered Max Victory attacks starting on turn two.

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

Basically, the deck aims to end the game before it even begins. However, the disruption cards also offer something not often found in this format — a means to a comeback. This is Victini’s backup plan, and it actually works. The disruption cards allow you to slow down opponents not only at the beginning, but also throughout the entire game. Thanks to Victini’s low-cost and high-damage attack, the disruption allows you to jump right back into games that other decks would be too far behind to compete in.

One of the selling points of the deck is also one of its controversies: it’s rather brainless, and relies a lot on luck. This is especially true when considering literal coin-flip cards like Crushing Hammer and Pokemon Catcher, but the luck also comes into play when you need to draw into specific disruption cards. The only draw power of the deck comes from Supporters — no Shady Dealings, no Intrepid Sword, just one draw Supporter per turn. That said, the deck obviously works because we’ve designed it to work. Victini doesn’t get luckier than other decks; it’s just built to be as consistent as possible with four copies of everything and tons of Supporters.

Another luck aspect of the deck comes into play before the game even begins. I’m not referring to deck construction, but rather the opening coin flip. For Victini, the difference between going first and second is monumental. Victini going first with average draws feels unstoppable. You can decimate opponents’ boards and quite easily shut most decks out of the game. But Victini going second feels slow, and can easily get punished by fast KOs or opposing Energy disruption. Basically, Victini is susceptible to getting a taste of its own medicine. The backup plan, relying on comeback cards, most often comes up when Victini is forced to go second.

Victini Split

The Sword and Shield [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] undoubtedly has better attacks. Energy Burst is no joke, especially considering that you can attack with one Victini V essentially for free, and opponents still have to fight through two VMAX. However, the Battle Styles [card name=”Victini V ” set=”Battle Styles” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card]is possibly even more important. Why? Because it has one retreat, as opposed to the other one’s two. The deck has no switching cards, so you don’t want the two-retreat one on your Bench at the beginning of the game. If that happens and you start attacking with Victini VMAX, you’re susceptible to stalling tactics from a [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] for at least a turn. You always want any non-energized Victini V on your Bench to be the one-retreat one. This is a seemingly minor but very important detail.

Four Boss’s Orders, Four Pokemon Catcher

These cards allow you to aggressively select your targets for each attack. By getting full Prize value from each Max Victory, you can win the game as quickly and efficiently as possible. For example, if you KO a two-Prize Pokemon on turn two against Mew, attacking into any [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] from that point on is a waste of time. Ideally, you can just KO two [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] off the Bench over the next two turns. Things don’t always go that well, but it’s an example that can loosely apply to several matchups.

These gust cards also function as disruption. With the option to remove key Pokemon off of your opponent’s board, you further restrict their set up and press your advantage. These cards are particularly brutal when going first, as the fast pressure combined with gust cards easily shuts most opponents out of the game. [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] is obviously better and more reliable than [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card], and it can even be grabbed off [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Sword and Shield” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card], but Catcher is a cheeky backup option. If your current hand doesn’t happen to have Boss’s Orders, you can at least play a draw Supporter and possibly draw into a Pokemon Catcher.

Draw Supporters

This deck plays a lot of draw Supporters. There are no support Pokemon, so it’s imperative that you always have a draw Supporter in your hand. Bricking is common, especially with [card name=”Marnie” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] being so prevalent, so high draw-Supporter counts decrease your risk of losing from a bad hand.

Sometimes you stagger your extra Victini, not only as a countermeasure to Boss stall, but also to prolong the window in which [card name=”Kabu” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] is useful. Of course, this is assuming you have the luxury of playing down Pokemon when you want to, and some games don’t afford you that opportunity.

Four Path to the Peak

It’s become standard for decks without Rule Box Abilities to utilize Path to the Peak. It’s useful to harass Mew and to counter [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card]. It also has some utility in niche situations, or as a counter-Stadium in general. Marnie plus Path always has the potential to brick opponents as well, especially if they rely on Genesect V or Crobat V for draw power.

No Heat Fire Energy

[cardimg name=”Heat Fire Energy” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”174″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Heat Fire Energy” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card] was in the original list. While some extra HP is nice, though, the increased vulnerability to [card name=”Fan of Waves” set=”Battle Styles” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t worth it. This deck relies on early Energy attachments, and any disruption like that can set it quite far behind.

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Matchups

Mew — Favorable

Mew is a favorable matchup, but it’s also losable. If you go first, you can win a straight-up Prize trade against them. The only downside to going first is that you could get donked by [card name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], if they play it. That’s also if they draw the stones and you start without Path or a backup Victini. It can a bit sad to see a Victini get KO’d on turn two, especially one with an Energy attached, but it’s not too hard to mount a comeback thanks to all of the disruption cards. And going second is still fine, too.

You typically want to use [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] against [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card], even though it seems better to hit Psychic Energy so as not to devalue Fan of Waves. This is because most Mew lists play a [card name=”Training Court” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card], so they can sometimes get their Psychic Energy back anyway. Leaving Fusion Energy in play, on the other hand can power up Meloetta, and even putting it back into the deck with Fan just reactivates [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”name”][/card]. I thought it was better to use Hammer on Psychics so I’d have Fan for Fusions, but after getting punished by that a few times, I’ve learned that it’s usually better to delete the Fusions for the reasons above. Of course, this is all situational, and you’ll also want to consider where the Energy you’re targeting even are.

If you’re ever attacking into Mew VMAX, just leave the Energy on it and focus on the Bench. You’ll be KOing it soon enough anyway, and if you can focus your Energy disruption on the Bench, you can potentially stop an attack or two. Mew can easily slow down and run out of gas, especially against Path to the Peak. As always though, everything is situational. Pick your spots and analyze the board before making important decisions like this.

Another potential route to victory in this matchup is through simple gust-stalling. Mew often has to burn through several [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], and then they’ve got several two-retreat Genesect V just sitting there on the Bench. The way Mew operates, they don’t have the luxury of resource management. They need Genesect to be drawing cards, so their only mode is slamming the gas, discarding cards that clog the hand along the way. Victini, with four Boss and four Catcher, can punish this by repeatedly dragging Genesect to the Active Spot. That said, though, this is far from your primary strategy. You need to pick your spots for this one, and it usually only works in an open-list format (which most online events are). In a closed-list environment, it should be a last resort. That optional fourth switching card in a Mew list could make the difference between this strategy working and failing.

Jolteon — Even

This is an interesting matchup that, in the end, can go either way. Typically, [card name=”Jolteon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] lists have been focusing on either [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Cross Switcher” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”230″ c=”name”][/card] to deal with [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] decks or Mew decks, respectively. They may also have some other strategy to deal with Mew (such as a heavy Path count), and this means that they usually only have space for one [card name=”Cheryl” set=”Battle Styles” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]. Two Cheryl is significantly more annoying, but that means they’re worse against the rest of the field. All that’s to say is that the one-Cheryl version is fine and the two-Cheryl version is unfavorable, but you’ll most likely be up against the one-Cheryl version, so it’s fine to play with that assumption.

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

The most important thing to keep in mind in this matchup is to stagger your Bench. The way Jolteon works, it caps out at 100 damage against your Active. This means that you can hold onto backup Victini for a turn or two while your Active gets smacked for 100 turn after turn. Doing so is a little bit greedy, as you can get Marnie’d out of the backup and lose, so you have to evaluate the situation to determine how long you hold on before benching another Victini. Keep in mind that you’ll also have the option of abandoning one backup Victini for another backup Victini, as the Prize card math means you’re allowed to just feed them one Basic Victini. This logic applies to any matchup that doesn’t play [card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card].

Speaking of backup Victini, you can use either Energy Burst or Flare Shot to set up opposing Jolteon for a Max Victory KO. The reverse can also be true — Victini V can finish off a Jolteon that’s been damaged by Max Victory. This is highly situational, but good to keep in mind nonetheless.

The final piece of advice is to always KO Jolteon VMAX when you have the chance, and avoid hitting into a fresh one if they have a damaged one on the Bench, as you do not want them to heal up both with one Cheryl. This is a strategy that’s fairly consistent with your eight gust cards, so it tends to work out.

Single Strike — Even

There are a lot of luck-based factors that determine how this matchup plays out, and either deck can take the win in the end. Whoever goes first is at a huge advantage. Both decks have high turn-two damage output and tons of gusting options, so they can both take high-momentum KOs very early on. Victini can harass with disruption, and [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] has the big bear nuke. G-Max One Blow isn’t easy to pull off, especially against disruption, but its presence (or lack thereof) can turn the tides of the game.

There isn’t too much else to say about this matchup. Both players throw their cards at the table and go as aggro as possible, and whoever gets the good end of the cards wins.

Rapid Strike — Favorable

[card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] has many faces and partners these days, but none of them match up well against Victini. There’s just nothing for them to take advantage of with G-Max Rapid Flow; and Gale Thrust, while efficient, isn’t strong enough to win games. Combine this aspect with Victini’s disruption and fast pressure, and Rapid Strike is left in the dust.

The main piece of advice here is not to bench more than one Pokemon at a time, so as to limit Rapid Flow’s effectiveness. Depending on the version, I probably wouldn’t play a backup Victini down until I absolutely have to, just to neuter the Rapid Flow attack entirely. Just like with Jolteon, you also have the option of abandoning a damaged backup Victini in favor of another one that isn’t damaged, so keep that in mind as well.

Suicune — Dangerous

This matchup is not necessarily an auto-loss, but it is quite bad. Due to Victini’s consistently low Bench size, [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] needs a [card name=”Ludicolo” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] for OHKOs, which they won’t always have. Furthermore, the disruption cards are quite useful, but try not to unnecessarily trigger a [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] for them by discarding Water Energy with Crushing Hammer. [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] on Suicune is quite annoying, as it takes it out of Max Victory’s OHKO range.

For this reason, the best use of Victini V is poking for 60 with V Bullet. This is an incredibly efficient attack that perfectly puts a Caped Suicune back into the OHKO range of Max Victory. The Victini will go down, but again, you can afford to sacrifice one Victini V and still get maximum value from two Victini VMAX.

Leafeon and Zacian — Very Favorable

Although [card name=”Leafeon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] decks are quite different, they share a glaring weakness to Fire. Victini has a fun time against them, but you still have to be on your toes when going second. If they go first and pop off, it can set you back a turn. To maximize your chances, always attach to the Benched Victini on turn one, if you have one. This forces them to have a Boss’s Orders, and if they don’t, you can happily steamroll them as usual. Even if they do have it, they’ll have to fight through two VMAX, which is a tall order.

Both decks also use Abilities to set up, so if you go first, a turn-one Path can potentially cripple them. Just be sure not to run out of Path against [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card]! With four Path and the Basic Victini V as backup, Zamazenta V is a non-issue, and can only beat you if you go full-potato mode.

Conclusion

Although the Victini deck is significantly easier to play than everything else, there’s still a bit of nuance with regard to its matchups! One time I lost because I mindlessly played Crushing Hammer before [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card]. This is the obvious move 99% of the time, but it caused me to do 30 less damage with Energy Burst, which made the following game-winning Max Victory 10 damage short! I felt like such an idiot! Always make sure you have a reason for playing every card, no matter how obvious it may seem.

As you can see, though, Victini’s matchups are ridiculously good! The competition as far as meta decks go right now is super stiff, so taking a couple of 50-50s with mostly favorable matchups elsewhere is fantastic. Try not to run into Suicune, but taking an L to Suicune is at least better than taking an L to something more popular like Mew. If it happens, all you can do is shrug your shoulders and believe in the heart of the cards.

Thanks so much for reading, and check out my Twitch stream at twitch.tv/tricroar! I stream regularly on evenings and some pretty insane games have been going down lately.

Until next time!

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