The Best Anti-Meta Deck – Inteleon Weakness Box

Hello everyone! It looks like the Fusion Strike meta has finally settled down. There’s a variety of decks being played, which is a good thing. However, [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] remains the clear frontrunner. Following closely behind are [card name=”Jolteon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], an inherently strong deck in its own right; Dark Toolbox, a deck designed to counter Mew; and [card name=”Duraludon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], spiking in popularity after I won an event with it and brought it into the limelight. As always, [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] variants have middling popularity as well. I think it would be fair to put all of these decks in Tier 1, besides Mew, which belongs in Tier 0.

[cardimg name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

All this is to say that now is the time for anti-meta decks to shine. Although the diversity makes things a bit tricky, the predictability helps to even that out. Recently, I’ve been playing with various [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] decks, as that’s the obvious counter to Mew. However, Moltres isn’t that great against anything that isn’t weak to Dark. I saw an interesting toolbox deck in an online event that used [card name=”Aurora Energy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] to power up attackers like Moltres, [card name=”Galarian Zapdos V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Celebi V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card]. The list was unrefined, but the idea was inspired. In fact, a lot of interesting Suicune toolbox decks have been popping up recently, which I’m happy to see. It’s funny because Suicune is Water-type, which isn’t even a good type right now. But Suicune is also a low-maintenance beatstick that comes with its own draw power. You can easily use Suicune as an in-between or all-purpose attacker in toolbox decks.

After several hours of testing and refining, I’m here with my current toolbox deck. I don’t know if this is fully optimized yet, and it’s not completely broken, but it’s certainly a strong deck that fits nicely into the meta.

[decklist name=”boxing ring” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″][pokemon amt=”18″]3x [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”87″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/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][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]3x [card name=”Raihan” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ 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″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Capacious Bucket” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Training Court” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]6x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”XY” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card]4x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”XY” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Rapid Strike Energy” set=”Battle Styles” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]The plan is simple, but the execution is anything but. While playing this deck, I consistently found myself using far more brain cells than I bargained for. This deck has a lot of options at all times, thanks to its ability to keep multiple Shady Dealings open between several [card name=”Drizzile” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card].

[cardimg name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The plan is to hit really hard with a situationally appropriate attacker. If the opponent has Weakness, it makes things easy. Occasionally, you go with a single-Prize attacker, so keep that in mind and limit the two-Prize Pokemon on your board when you could get punished for them. The Prize count and Prize trade are important in nearly every matchup, as we attack with a mix of one- and two-Prize Pokemon. And don’t forget, even though Shady Dealings is a broken support Ability, Inteleon is also a big attacker when it needs to be — Aqua Bullet is a legitimately good option in several situations.

Oftentimes we hold our two-Prize Pokemon until we’re about to insta-activate them with [card name=”Raihan” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card]. That way, opponents can’t snipe them and get two free Prizes. [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] is something of a foil to this strategy, though, which is why Drizzile and Inteleon are so important. With several open Shady Dealings on the Bench, you minimize the amount of luck you need to hit your combo, even after an opponent’s Marnie. Thanks to Shady Dealings, you need so little to do so much. Also, always look for [card name=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card]’s Keep Calling when you’re forced to go second. Going second is actually fine if you can use Keep Calling on that turn.

For several hours of tournament gameplay with variants of this deck, you can check out my VODs on twitch.tv/tricroar, where I stream every weekday!

[premium]

Three Galarian Moltres V

Aside from its role as the Mew counter, Moltres is your most reliable attacker, especially for the early game. [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] is only a one-of, Inteleon and baby [card name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] don’t start attacking until later, and opponents can sometimes play around your Suicune. Moltres V can start attacking on turn two, which is especially useful when you go first for some fast pressure.

However, note that it’s usually a liability against Jolteon and some other decks, unless you get the turn-two KO on a two-Prizer specifically when going first. It also shouldn’t be your main strategy all game — it’s mostly a last resort in the late game, as you usually have better options at that point.

The exception to all of these rules is against Mew. Moltres is almost always your best attacker against Mew. You just throw a few Moltres at them and win the game.

Two Suicune V

Like Moltres, Suicune can be a situational go-to attacker for the early game. It usually does decent damage on turn two and isn’t hard to set up. Fleet Footed also helps with early-game setup. If you’re really lucky, you can even get the turn-one Blizzard Rondo.

Suicune is best used against Dark Box, because it can kill [card name=”Galarian Weezing” set=”Shining Fates” no=”42″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Sableye V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] for only two Energy. It’s also a good attacker against Single Strike, but note that it should never be put in play against Jolteon. As I mentioned earlier, it’s sort of an in-between attacker that can be useful in random matchups.

One Rapid Strike Urshifu V, One Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX

[card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”87″ c=”name”][/card] is your Jolteon slayer. After just one use of Raihan, Hundred Furious Blows is all ready to go. Delay dropping it until you’re ready to accelerate to it with Raihan, though, so that it never takes 100 damage before it gets to attack.

The Urshifu VMAX is seldom used against Jolteon, as this list struggles to consistently use Gale Thrust. Urshifu VMAX is included simply because it has a ton of HP, and because G-Max Rapid Flow is a stupidly good attack. It’s especially good against Dark Box, and situationally good against other Inteleon decks and even Single Strike. Admittedly, though, given the lack of support for it, these benefits may not be enough to warrant its inclusion. It’s entirely possible that you could cut the VMAX and be just fine.

One Galarian Moltres

[cardimg name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Galarian Moltres is the most insane single-Prize attacker in the format, with the caveat that it’s useless until late in the game. Still, it’s useful in nearly every matchup — so much so that we play [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] to easily use it twice.

If you play carefully, you can transition into a purely single-Prize-attacker deck in the second half of the game. This is a sneaky move that allows you to win many Prize trades that you otherwise couldn’t. In contentious matchups, this is a line you should be looking for, as it’s won me many games. You have to be very judicious with your board though — this deck plays several multi-Prize attackers that can very easily turn into game-losing liabilities.

Also, since Moltres requires three Energy in hand to use, you should be thinking about it one or two turns in advance. If I have extra searches with Shady Dealings or Raihan, sometimes I’ll just grab Darkness Energy to help prep a future Moltres.

Supporters

The Supporter counts are the lowest you can get away with. Any fewer [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card], Raihan, or [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] and you’ll run into serious issues closing out games. Marnie and [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] are for consistency. It would always be nice to have more of them, but the list unfortunately doesn’t have the space.

Two Energy Search, One Capacious Bucket, One Training Court

Energy Search is broken because it lets you search out Darkness Energy with Shady Dealings. This doesn’t sound exciting, but it’s game-changing in its efficiency. Capacious Bucket is cool too, but only useful if you’re prepping Melony or trying to attack with a Water-type. Meanwhile, Training Court is basically Energy Search for the late game. It’s a shame that it’s useless early on, but it makes up for this with its insane synergy with Galarian Moltres. You can also use it multiple times if the opponent doesn’t get rid of it.

One Scoop Up Net, One Air Balloon, One Escape Rope

Each of these switching cards offers its own utility. [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] is extremely strong, as it can basically search out three Trainers for free by scooping up an Inteleon. However, it’s quite bad until later in the game. [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is better than Switch or a second [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] because it counters [card name=”Galarian Weezing” set=”Shining Fates” no=”42″ c=”name”][/card]. We still play one Air Balloon, though, because it provides a pivot all game long. Pivots are extremely useful for Raihan-based toolbox decks, as you won’t have your desired attacker in play until the turn you start attacking with it. This is also true for Galarian Moltres. That said, one copy of Air Balloon is enough to get the job done — Tool Scrapper isn’t too big right now; it’s mostly used in Jolteon, and in that matchup, the game ends so fast that the pivot barely matters.

Matchups

Mew – Favorable

Mew is probably this deck’s best matchup. Don’t play down many two-Prize Pokemon early, or they’ll get sniped off and you’ll lose the Prize trade. You’ll have to Knock Out their early-game [card name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] with a two-Prize Pokemon, so you’ll go down in Prizes early, but then they’ll have to attack with Mew VMAX, which you can OHKO with Moltres. Also, they don’t play hand disruption, so you can build combos with Shady Dealings to ensure that you will always win in the endgame. If they don’t go early Meloetta and save it for the late game instead, you can take the Knock Out with Inteleon to avoid feeding them a two-Prize attacker. Baby Moltres can always swing the Prize trade back in your favor in a pinch.

This matchup does take some getting used to, but it’s always favorable. Due to Mew’s predictability and linear mode of attack, you can play around it quite easily, and this deck has plenty of options to delete their attackers and win the Prize trade. The only way to lose is by bricking with terrible draws, which, to be fair, happens to any deck from time to time.

Jolteon – Slightly Favorable

This matchup is annoying. When the plan works, it looks so easy, but sometimes you don’t draw well and fold to Jolteon’s immense pressure. Overall, the matchup feels favorable, but it may be closer to 50-50.

Set up as many Sobble as possible, as they will drop like flies against Jolteon VMAX’s Max Thunder Rumble. Try to have Raihan and Urshifu ready as soon as possible, so you can take all six Prizes with Urshifu alone. If they set up perfectly and force a dead hand with [card name=”Fan of Waves” set=”Battle Styles” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] plus Marnie, they can still beat this strategy, but they need to draw unreasonably well and have you dead draw in order for that to happen. You’re more likely to lose by failing to set up in the first place, which there’s not much you can do about.

If they don’t respond to your first Knock Out with an immediate Fan–plus–second VMAX, you can take another Knock Out with Hundred Furious Blows and finish with G-Max Rapid Flow. Don’t feed them two-Prize Pokemon — go all-in on the Urshifu strategy, as that’s your only real option.

Dark Box – Favorable

I have a surprisingly high win rate against this deck. Early Suicune is usually the way to go, and Inteleon and baby Moltres are fantastic attackers, too. G-Max Rapid Flow can also be a strong option if it ever presents itself. This is another matchup where you have to be careful with your Benched two-Prize Pokemon, as they can be sniped out of nowhere by opposing baby Moltres after a Boss’s Orders.

You always have to consider their variety of attackers and try to play around as many of them as possible: Weezing’s Ability lock, [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card], baby Moltres (usually usable with Klara), [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card]’s Quick Shooting, and Sableye (only usable with Raihan). If they severely limit their Bench to play around Suicune, you may be forced to use Moltres V, but they’re hurting themself more than they’re hurting you with that strategy.

You want to press your advantage until the late game as much as possible, and try not to give up Knock Outs while building a Prize lead. This is important because Dark Box comes alive later in the game with its own baby Moltres plus multiple Quick Shootings.

Duraludon VMAX – Slightly Unfavorable

[cardimg name=”Duraludon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”123″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This matchup isn’t great, because Duraludon is simply too hard to kill, and the VMAX easily OHKOs everything in this deck. The game will usually depend on how fast they set up and how well they draw throughout the game. Since Duraludon is slow and clunky compared to other decks, you have a reasonable route to victory if you can start attacking quickly. Moltres V and Suicune are your best early-game options, and you usually want Moltres V up and running as soon as possible because it does more damage than Suicune in this matchup. As always, baby Moltres is a good option later on, and you can use Klara to get full value out of two of them. Inteleon can sometimes be used to attack in a pinch, but Urshifu is basically useless.

Try to attack into the Duraludon while it’s being set up to get some free damage. Knocking Out Zacian is pointless because you still have to fight through two Duraludon, so your attacks have more value if you’re hitting into them to begin with. This isn’t a matchup where you need to conserve Boss’s Orders, so use them whenever they give you value. The same applies for Escape Rope, which can sometimes work the same way due to their low Bench size.

Single Strike – Slightly Favorable

Single Strike operates with a large Bench and damages itself via [card name=”Houndoom” set=”Battle Styles” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card]’s Single Strike Roar. Because of this, Suicune is often a powerful attacker that can take important OHKOs. Moltres V also works if they try to play around Suicune, but it’s more of a backup option — Suicune is almost always better. Later on, as with many matchups, baby Moltres can swing the Prize trade in your favor. Limit two-Prize Pokemon on the Bench, because [card name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] and Boss’s Orders can punish you. However, if you must play them down in order to reach a KO with Suicune, it’s usually worth it to do so.

Boss’s Orders is important for you to win the Prize trade, so you must pick your spots with Boss depending how the game plays out. If you don’t use Boss efficiently and at the right moments, they will run circles around you by swapping between one-, two-, and three-Prize attackers. Basically, you want to take exactly six Prizes as efficiently as possible, without being forced to KO Pokemon that don’t fit into your plan — if you’re out of Boss and have one Prize left, the opponent can win by switching between multiple three-Prize Pokemon, letting each one take a hit. It’s hard to generalize specific Boss strategies, though, as games play out quite differently depending on the opponent’s draws and decisions.

Rapid Strike Urshifu – Unfavorable

I haven’t played this matchup much, but I’m sure it’s this deck’s worst matchup among the top decks. Fortunately, Rapid Strike Urshifu is the least-played deck of the ones I mentioned. Its glaring weaknesses to Mew and Duraludon keep it handily in check. That said, should you run into it, you have to start attacking quickly and hope they stumble. Suicune and your own G-Max Rapid Flow can both apply fast pressure. Rapid Flow is a bit unreliable though, since the only way to find Rapid Strike Energy is with Raihan. If your opponent hasn’t just taken a KO, you need to get lucky and draw into one of them.

Opposing G-Max Rapid Flows are devastating for this deck, and if the opponent can pull them off back-to-back, there’s nothing you can do. There’s also no good way to play around it, nor any winning strategy that I can think of. Your own Rapid Strike Urshifu is useful due to its high HP against Rapid Flow, but again, it’s unreliable.

Conclusion

Overall, this deck has strong matchups. No deck can beat everything, but this deck takes strategic favorable matchups against the most popular decks in the current format — hence the term “anti-meta”. The Inteleon engine gives it a big consistency boost that anti-meta decks often don’t have, and it can quickly and repeatedly generate hard-hitting attackers, making it functional and effective even against decks that you aren’t necessarily expecting. Overall, it’s versatile and well rounded. When you play against something you’re favored against, think of it as a nice bonus.

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you try out this deck in the current Standard format. It will be interesting to see how things turn out when the new set comes out next month, but there’s still plenty of time until then!

Until next time!

[/premium]