Icy Stars — A New Look at Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX

Hello everyone! Brilliant Stars will soon be here, online events with it should be starting soon, and with any luck, so will official events barring a last-minute Utah cancellation.

In my last article, I talked a lot about how Brilliant Stars will affect existing archetypes. The main conclusion there was that [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] decks would become a lot stronger, bench-damaging decks would become weaker, and the rest of the meta would warp around that shift. While we don’t have any results from Brilliant Stars events from this side of the world (at least, not at the time of my writing this), we do have some Japanese results to go off of thanks to their City League events.

While that format isn’t quite a one-to-one with our own due to the difficulty of acquiring certain cards (such as [card name=”Rotom Phone” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card]), it is rather close, to the point that you can use it as a solid starting point for exploring the Brilliant Stars meta. Looking at those results, it is clear that Mew VMAX is a dominant deck as expected. Non-Pokemon V decks — [card name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] in particular — have also been doing well, as have Single Strike decks (presumably due to their strong matchup against Fusion Strike decks). The rest of the format has been diverse, though those three archetypes seem to be more successful than the others. Aside from those three, there is one other deck which has been consistently finishing well: [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card]. Were it not for this article title tipping you off, this may have come as a bit of a surprise, as Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX isn’t a Mew VMAX counter quite like Single Strike and Malamar decks are. In fact, in the pre-Brilliant Stars format, Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX has a pretty bad matchup against Mew VMAX decks, despite being teched heavily for it with [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Fan of Waves” set=”Battle Styles” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card]. With Mew VMAX gaining so much from Brilliant Stars, it is interesting that Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX might actually have a good matchup against it. What’s more, the Japanese lists haven’t been disruption focused like many of the current pre-Brilliant Stars Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX lists have been — in fact, many don’t seem specifically teched to beat Mew VMAX at all. How then has Ice Rider been able to be successful? 

The New Ice Rider

[cardimg name=”Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”203″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX isn’t a deck I went over in my last article, but it has gained quite a lot from Brilliant Stars. Like almost every other deck, Choice Belt is a great addition, particularly given the already high damage output from Max Lance. With Choice Belt, the maximum damage output from Max Lance increases to 280, which is awfully close to the OHKO range of other Pokemon VMAX. By combining the extra damage from Choice Belt and a [card name=”Leon” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], you can pump that up to 310 — the exact damage needed to OHKO a Mew VMAX. [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card] prevents you from using your normal Quick Shooting strategy to augment your damage, and while you can get around that by using Fan of Waves, it can still be a bit dicey if your opponent can attach multiple Fusion Strike Energy to one Mew, not to mention that you can’t use Quick Shooting until turn three, at which point you may already be too far behind. The Choice Belt + Leon combo gets around that issue. Of course, you also will have Quick Shooting, so the damage output in this deck is suddenly a fairly large threat. Even tankier Pokemon VMAX like [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] can find themselves on the receiving end of a OHKO once you add everything up! The extra damage from Choice Belt changes Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX from an efficient 2HKO oriented deck, to one that can focus on OHKOs, even while maintaining the same level of speed and consistency. 

If you want, you can simply take an existing Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX / [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] list, add in two or three Choice Belt and a Leon, and you’ll have a greatly improved deck compared to what you had before Brilliant Stars. However, while the resulting deck will be better against most Pokemon VMAX decks, it will still have a pretty tough matchup against Mew VMAX. The problem here is that Mew VMAX also benefits greatly from Choice Belt, and likewise has a much easier time getting OHKOs against Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX. The disruption aspect will give you a decent chance, but I’ve found that in general, if the Mew VMAX player can get a OHKO, they’ll tend to win the matchup. With Mew VMAX becoming such a central focus of the meta, I wouldn’t recommend playing a deck with a poor matchup against it, and since the existing Ice Rider lists don’t quite meet that standard, I can’t recommend sticking with them. That’s not to say they are a terrible play — realistically, you can do quite well with them, especially if you can get a bit lucky in the Mew VMAX matches — but there are better options. 

And with that, we’ve come to the end of this article! Just kidding, as this certainly isn’t the stopping point for Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX decks when it comes to Brilliant Stars! I mentioned before how some of the Japanese lists don’t actually play any specific anti-Mew VMAX techs, and that they don’t play the Path to the Peak and Fan of Waves that existing Ice Rider lists have used to slow Mew down. Instead, these decks take a bit of a different approach, both in terms of deck construction and strategy. Rather than disrupt, these lists double down on the speed and consistency aspect of Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, but switch things up by introducing a new secondary attacker, one whose tankiness and lower Prize yield helps to turn the tide in the battle against other aggressive decks like Mew VMAX. The new Pokemon in question is Arceus VSTAR, and its inclusion gives an entirely new dimension to this archetype. 

A New Partner

One of the more awkward things about playing Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX is the fact that when playing it, you necessarily have to attack with a Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX in order to do an adequate amount of damage. If you’re equally trading OHKOs or 2HKOs, this means that there won’t be any point where you can reliably force your opponent to take more than two Knock Outs, or make up any ground if you happen to fall behind. In some pre-Brilliant Stars lists, this issue was addressed by including [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card]. Suicune V is somewhat squishy though if you don’t add [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] along with it, and its damage output, while high, isn’t high enough to reliably OHKO other Pokemon V early on, though Choice Belt does help in that regard. In contrast, Arceus VSTAR is among the tankiest two-Prize Pokemon out there, which gives it a ton of utility when fighting a Prize race against other Pokemon V. Even with Choice Belt, Arceus VSTAR cannot be OHKO’d by [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] or Suicune V, and it is out of the KO range of even many Pokemon VMAX. The best example is against Mew VMAX, where they’ll need to have both a Choice Belt and two [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”name”][/card] to OHKO Arceus VSTAR with anything other than a four-Fusion Energy Melodious Echo. Arceus VSTAR’s damage output is strong too, as it can OHKO many Pokemon V with a Choice Belt attached, even if it also has a damage reducing effect from using Double Turbo Energy.

This build of Ice Rider takes a more aggressive path to victory, as you’ll see below, so having a tanky two-Prize Pokemon like Arceus VSTAR can help to turn the tide in what might otherwise be a losing 2HKO exchange. More importantly, by using Arceus VSTAR, you can increase the number of Knock Outs that your opponent needs to take by one, since they can’t win by KOing an Arceus VSTAR and a Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX like they could if they KO two Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX. If you can make them miss a OHKO on the Arceus VSTAR — which tends to happen a lot — then you’ll be at an even bigger advantage. From there, you also get to add in the incredible consistency boost that you get from having Arceus VSTAR’s Starbirth Ability once a game, which can all but guarantee that you’ll have the resources you need to get a turn-two Knock Out. From those two aspects alone, Arceus VSTAR can completely turn around what may have otherwise been tricky matchups. Last but not least, you have the Energy acceleration from Arceus VSTAR’s Trinity Nova attack, which is the final piece that allows this aggressive Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX deck to consistently win games. 

At first glance, the Energy acceleration from Trinity Nova may not seem like the most helpful thing, since Max Lance only needs two Energy, and [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] already gives us some Energy acceleration. However, in the context of an aggressive Ice Rider deck, the extra three Energy from Trinity Nova can be critical. When you have those extra Energy attachments, you won’t be as reliant on Melony to attack, which means that you can use [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] or Leon instead. As such, you’ll be able to truly take advantage of the Choice Belt + Leon combo to get those OHKOs. Trinity Nova also makes it easier to continually attack without using Melony even when you’re discarding two Energy per attack. So, if you need to, you can win by using Leon twice in a row, or Boss’s Orders twice in a row. Those kinds of scenarios come up quite often, so it’s nice to be able to actually take advantage of them. In fact, many games with this deck will be won by those exact lines of play, to the point that the strategy probably wouldn’t work without that Energy acceleration.

From the other direction, Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX makes a good partner for Arceus VSTAR thanks to its efficient damage output and good typing. The Water-type is a naturally strong type for Arceus VSTAR because of the extra acceleration from Melony, which gives you the ability to power up an Arceus VSTAR in a single turn if needed. This means that you can get off a turn two attack even if you get unlucky and you miss a first-turn Energy attachment, or if your opponent has a fast start and can KO a benched Arceus V with an attached Energy. Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX also has an advantage in that it doesn’t actually need Trinity Nova in order to power up; that is, you can use it without using Arceus VSTAR first if you need to. This is definitely an important aspect against matchups where Arceus VSTAR isn’t as useful, and it also means that this deck is far more consistent than it would be if you needed to use Arceus VSTAR as your first attacker in every game. 

The New Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX / Arceus VSTAR Deck List

Before I go any further into the strategy of this deck, let me share with you my Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX / Arceus VSTAR list. This list is adapted from many of the Japanese City League lists that I have seen going around, with some refinements made to improve the deck following my own testing with it. Here’s the list:

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[decklist name=”Ice Rider + Arceus” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Lumineon” set=”Stormfront” no=”4″][pokemon amt=”20″]2x [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x Arceus VSTAR (SWSH9 #123)3x Arceus V (SWSH9 #122)2x [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Drizzile” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x Lumineon V (SWSH9 #40)[/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]3x [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Leon” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ 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=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x Choice Belt (SWSH9 #135)2x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Capacious Bucket” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Training Court” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]7x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]2x Double Turbo Energy (SWSH9 #151)[/energy][/decklist] 

As you can see, this list is built for damage output, as opposed to disruption. There’s no [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Fan of Waves” set=”Battle Styles” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] or anything like that; instead, those are replaced with cards like Choice Belt and [card name=”Leon” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card].

The Pokemon line here reflects the split importance of Arceus VSTAR and [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card]. In some matchups, you’ll want to prioritize one or the other, but which one isn’t consistent enough to justify cutting either line down to a 2-2. One of the things I have been trying is including a fourth copy of Arceus V (to make it a 4-2), so that you increase your chances of being able to find one early. I already have the maximum number of [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] that could search for it, so a fourth Arceus V would effectively maximize the number of guaranteed outs to it. Arceus VSTAR tends to be the more important card early on, which is why you would want that over a fourth Ice Rider Calyrex V. As for the [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] line, this is the first deck in a while where I haven’t included a full 4-4 [card name=”Drizzile” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] line, as it’s been cut to a 3-3 in this deck. Arceus VSTAR’s Starbirth changes things up a bit as far as early consistency goes, and the aggressive nature of this deck means that the Drizzile and Inteleon line isn’t quite as important. They’re still good, but I’ve found that you can cut down from the full 4-4 Drizzile line to a 3-3, so that you can open up two spaces for other important cards. You might also notice that we only play one copy of Quick Shooting [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card], versus two copies of Shady Dealings [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] — this is because you’re actually more likely in this deck to need the search than the extra damage. Rounding out the Pokemon, I’ve also included one copy of Lumineon V, to make it easier to search out any particular Supporter when you need it. Our count of draw Supporters isn’t terribly high, so it’s nice to have it as an out, and it also makes it much easier to find [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] or Leon when you need one late. We have eight Pokemon-searching Items that can find Lumineon V, so by including it, we effectively increase our draw Supporter outs from seven to sixteen, which keeps us consistent even if we don’t have a Drizzile to use. Since the early-game priority for this deck has us finding Arceus V and [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] before [card name=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card], situations where you need Lumineon V can come up quite often, so it’s been a great addition.

For our Items, we go heavy on the Pokemon search, with a particular emphasis on Items that can find our Pokemon V. The return of Ultra Ball is felt heavily here, as it doubles our number of guaranteed ways to find our Basic Pokemon V. We also have a 2-2 split of [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card], to make finding our Drizzile line and our Arceus VSTAR even easier. I may end up switching all of the Level Ball over to Evolution Incense, to further increase the chances of getting an Arceus VSTAR into play early. But I admittedly haven’t tested that change yet, so for now, I would stick with the above counts. Adding to that, we have a copy each of [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Capacious Bucket” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], which are all useful cards to search out with Drizzile. It can be awkward if any one of these is Prized when you need it, but I haven’t found myself needing multiple, so for the sake of deck space, I’ve limited them each to one copy. Finally we have our three Choice Belt. Choice Belt is one of the most vital cards in this deck, and you’ll realistically want to have one attached every time you attack. This is another card where you could justify including another copy, simply to ensure that you have it when you need it. 

Our Supporter line here favors impact Supporters over draw Supporters; aside from early in the game, you’ll typically be opting for the former, so you don’t need as many copies of the latter, especially since we have Lumineon V and Drizzile to help search them out. There are games that you will end up winning by using Boss’s Orders three times, so you don’t want to cut below this number. The Leon could theoretically be cut to one, but you can run into issues with one in the Prize it if you do, and it is nice to have the threat of back-to-back damage boosts, especially against tankier decks like [card name=”Duraludon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card].

The [card name=”Training Court” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] is included to give us a counter-Stadium, so that we have a way around [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] if our opponent is able to get it into play before we can use Arceus VSTAR’s Starbirth. Training Court in particular was chosen to help alleviate our smaller Energy count. Nine is as low as I’ve felt going in that regard. I have experimented with cutting one Water Energy for a second copy of Capacious Bucket, but I kept running into issues where I wouldn’t have enough Energy to accelerate with Trinity Nova, especially if I Prized any. So, I changed it back to the seven Water Energy / one Capacious Bucket split.

Other potential additions to this deck include Cheren’s Care, Manaphy, [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card]. None of them have made it into my above list, but they all can be useful at various times and against various decks. Cheren’s Care, for instance, is strong against decks that can’t OHKO Arceus VSTAR but are otherwise aggressive like [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]. Manaphy is naturally strong against [card name=”Jolteon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], which can be tricky matchups. The other cards have more general utility, though I’ve found you can play without them so long as you’re a bit careful with your discards. 

General Deck Strategy

The overarching idea behind this deck is that if you can get the first KO, you should win without any trouble. If you don’t get the first KO, then your opponent will still have to fight through multiple high-HP Pokemon in order to win; if they miss a OHKO at any point, then you should win instead. 

In the early-game, the most important Basic Pokemon to search out will typically be Arceus V, followed by Ice Rider V, then finally Sobble. Without your Pokemon V in play, you won’t be able to get your Arceus VSTAR or Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX into play, which would mean that you’re drastically limited in terms of your attacks. So, you want to make sure to get those down before going after the consistency of Sobble. Arceus V tends to be higher priority, since it does give you the powerful search of Starbirth, and because Trinity Nova will set up your second attacker without needing to commit any more resources to it. The plan is to force your opponent to go through three high-HP Pokemon, ideally one Arceus VSTAR and two Ice Rider Calyrex VMAXs. That way, even if you somehow miss a OHKO, your opponent will be likely to at some point as well, so you should still be able to come away with a victory. Starbirth and Shady Dealings provide you with the consistency you need to make sure that you don’t miss an attack at any point. You’ll typically use Starbirth as soon as you evolve, though you can refrain from using it if you have the cards you need in-hand already. In most games, I’ll find myself searching for a Double Turbo Energy to get off the turn two attack, plus either a Choice Belt or Boss’s Orders if needed, or a Pokemon to further develop my board. You do want to make sure that you have another attacker ready to go after your Arceus VSTAR; if you can, it’s a good idea to get multiple Ice Rider Calyrex V into play and to spread out your Energy attachments on them, so that you aren’t slowed down if your opponent decides to KO one via Boss’s Orders. 

Depending on how the game starts and what you’re going against, your path to victory will come from either continually KOing your opponent’s active attacker, or by using Boss’s Orders multiple times to KO Pokemon V on their bench. Ideally, you’ll want to KO their Active Spot Pokemon if you can, but if you can’t, you should always opt for a OHKO over a 2HKO. The rule of thumb is that whatever gives you the most Prizes for the fewest resources should be your target. You don’t need to worry much about your opponent attacking you; your goal is to be aggressive and win first, as opposed to slowing down your opponent in any way. Most of your strategic goal will be to figure out how to keep your attackers coming, and how to get the Supporters you need every turn. Other than that, this deck is fairly straightforward; the nice part about aggressive decks is that you can focus on your deck’s plan, as opposed to the strategy of your opponent. 

Important Matchups

Vs. Mew VMAX

[cardimg name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

If you’re used to playing current builds of Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, then you will probably think of this [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] matchup in terms of disruption; that is, to beat Fusion Strike, you need to slow them down, so that you can creep past them in a slower race for Prizes. With the Arceus VSTAR build however, your strategy will be nothing like that. Instead, our plan is to beat them by using the same strategy that they do. That is, we will be fast, hit hard, and win by taking Knock Outs on turn two, turn three, and turn four.

Against Mew VMAX, your ideal attacker will be Arceus VSTAR. Even with Choice Belt, it’s difficult for Mew to OHKO Arceus VSTAR, as doing so requires either a board of four Fusion Strike Energy, or Choice Belt plus two [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”name”][/card]. If you can force them to use two Power Tablet to KO an Arceus VSTAR, then they won’t be able to OHKO your Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, which will put you at a huge advantage. Realistically, a lot of this matchup will involve using Boss’s Orders to get around the Active Spot Pokemon, so that you can take a KO on the Bench — and the same goes for the Mew VMAX player. If you can get the first KO, you should win so long as you don’t miss an attack. If you don’t get the first KO, then it’ll typically come down to whether or not the Mew VMAX player was able to KO a Pokemon V, or was forced to KO a Sobble. If they were forced to take down a Sobble, then your best bet will be to avoid evolving into Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, and instead to focus on attacking with Arceus VSTAR until they get down to one Prize. If they did KO a Pokemon V, then things become much tougher, as you’ll pretty much need them to miss a KO on a later turn. In that case, you’ll want to try to be as tanky as possible, though keep in mind you’ll need to keep getting OHKOs to have a chance. If you can, you’ll want to aim to go from Arceus V directly into Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, ideally with no other Pokemon V on the board. That way, your opponent won’t be able to win via Boss’s Orders, and will instead have to KO your attackers. Doing this can lead to victory, though you have to have a near-ideal board beforehand to make it work. In general, you should win when going first, and you should win a decent chance even when going second. Overall, it’s a good matchup, which is what you want when facing the BDIF. 

Against other Pokemon VMAX decks, you’ll follow a pretty similar strategy to this, though you should have a better matchup, if only because other Pokemon VMAX decks aren’t quite as consistent or aggressive.

Vs. Single Strike Decks

Both [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Gengar VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] were favorable matchups for [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] prior to Brilliant Stars, but now I would put these matchups as 50-50. A big difference is that with Choice Belt it’s much easier for a Single Strike player to get a OHKO on Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, even when using the Gengar VMAX build. Of course, this is true for us as well, which is why these matchups tend to be OHKO slugfests. Arceus VSTAR is nice for fighting their non-Pokemon VMAX, since it only gives up two Prizes, but its Fighting-type weakness means that it is likely to be OHKO’d as well, so you can’t really take advantage of its high HP. The winner of this matchup tends to be the one to get the first KO, so be sure to go first if you win the flip and focus on getting an attacker out for turn two. After that, make sure you have follow-ups for turns three and four; you likely won’t reach turn five. If you can, try to use Arceus VSTAR first, and keep your [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] unevolved until your opponent evolves and attacks with their Pokemon VMAX. If you’re playing against the Gengar VMAX build, then they’ll typically only have one [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card], so they will be forced to attack with a Pokemon VMAX once you’ve Knocked Out that Urshifu. If your first Prize comes from KOing a [card name=”Houndour” set=”Battle Styles” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], you’ll need to have them go into a Pokemon VMAX at some point, so the longer you can focus on using your Arceus VSTAR, the better.

Vs. Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX and Jolteon VMAX

These bench-damaging decks have traditionally been poor matchups for Ice Rider; current tournament stats have the [card name=”Jolteon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] matchup in particular at a miserable 30-70. I would expect to see both of these matchups quite a bit less often due to the presence of Manaphy, but even if you do run into them, your odds of winning have gone up a bit with this new build. In the case of Jolteon VMAX, being able to get a OHKO completely changes the matchup outlook in Ice Rider’s favor. You still will have to get an [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] into play, or figure out a way to use [card name=”Leon” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] twice in a row, but that’s a much easier task than trying to win via 2HKOs. [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] is a bit trickier to deal with, as it is further out of KO range, and it also benefits greatly from the addition of Choice Belt. It can also easily OHKO Arceus VSTAR, which makes that card not nearly as strong in this matchup. In particular, your opponent can get a double KO against Arceus VSTAR and [card name=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Drizzile” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] by using G-Max Rapid Flow, which will give them a huge advantage in terms of the Prize race. For this reason, you’ll definitely want to avoid using multiple Arceus VSTAR; by transitioning from the first to a loaded-up Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, you can force them to use three attacks to win, which will likewise give you enough time to win if you’ve taken the first Knock Out. Against Rapid Strike, the path to victory I’ve had the most success with is to use [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] to hit a non-Pokemon V with Arceus VSTAR, accelerate all three Energy onto a single Ice Rider Calyrex V, then to get the last two KOs via a combination of using a second Boss’s Orders to KO a Pokemon V, and a Choice Belt + Leon + Quick Shooting OHKO against Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX. Make sure to evolve into your Inteleon as quickly as possible to ensure that this move can be pulled off. If your opponent decides to hit your Ice Rider Calyrex V with the G-Max Rapid Flow bench damage, instead of KOing an Sobble or Drizzile, then you’ll want to put a second Ice Rider Calyrex V into play so that you have a third attacker. You’ll also want to make sure that you don’t have any Sobble or Drizzile left in play, either by evolving them or using [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] to pick up one that you can’t. Otherwise, your opponent can win by finishing off your Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX and KOing a Drizzile to take a four-Prize Knock Out, whereas you can limit them to three if you can get your Drizzile out of the way. For this reason, try to avoid putting down too many Sobble — so long as you get one Quick Shooting out, you’ll have what you need to win the game. If you are finding these matchups to be a struggle, consider adding in a Manaphy, but at least initially, I don’t anticipate these decks being popular enough to warrant that spot either way.

Vs. Single Prize Decks (Malamar)

[cardimg name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Single Prize decks should start to emerge more as counters to Mew VMAX; luckily, they tend to be decent matchups for this Ice Rider deck, mostly thanks to the high HP of Arceus VSTAR. Against [card name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] (the non-Pokemon V deck which has seen the most success in Japan), your best bet will be to attack first with two Arceus VSTAR, followed by an Inteleon, then finally an Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX. Malamar decks typically don’t play any gust effects, so by going this route, you can force them to do the maximum amount of damage. This will hopefully buy you enough time to win. If you can get your Quick Shooting Inteleon out fast enough, you may also be able to take an extra Knock Out via the Ability, which will further turn this matchup in your favor. If you can, target down their [card name=”Octillery” set=”Battle Styles” no=”37″ c=”name”][/card], as that will be the best way to disrupt them and potentially cause them to miss a Knock Out. Against other non-Pokemon V decks, your strategy will be pretty similar, though you can switch from using the second Arceus VSTAR and Inteleon to using two Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX if they are a deck that plays Boss’s Orders. Overall, the more damage you can force them to do to win, the better the chances will be that you’ll win first. 

Vs. Other Arceus VSTAR Decks

It’s still early into the exploration cycle of Brilliant Stars, but I would expect to see a fairly large variety of Arceus VSTAR decks coming into play going forward. Against these decks, our Ice Rider build has a nice advantage, in that Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX can easily OHKO an Arceus VSTAR. The specific matchup will likely depend on which Pokemon VMAX your opponent is using as a partner for Arceus VSTAR, but for the most part, your matchup against these decks will be similar to your matchup against other Pokemon VMAX decks. If you go first, you’ll want to use Arceus VSTAR to KO one of their Pokemon Vs, and to accelerate onto your Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX. After that, you’ll want to continue to aim for their Pokemon V, with the idea that you should hopefully win in three attacks. If you’re playing against a more Arceus STAR-focused deck, as opposed to a Pokemon VMAX deck, then Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX will be your main attacker, as that will get around any Cheren’s Care shenanigans your opponent might be trying to pull off. 

Outlook for Utah

In my current testing for the Salt Lake City Regional Championships, my first criteria for if a deck is worth considering is whether or not it has a decent matchup against [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] / Arceus VSTAR meets that criteria, and while it’s a bit closer of a matchup than I might like, it is nonetheless a favorable one. This deck has a lot of the advantages that Mew VMAX has in terms of speed and damage output, but with the advantage that it isn’t being planned for in the same way that players are planning for Mew VMAX. The above criteria is a great example. I don’t want to play a deck that might lose to Mew VMAX, but I’ve got no such hard line on a deck that might lose to Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, as it shouldn’t be popular enough to warrant such a stance. As such, Ice Rider can be an excellent play into decks where their way to beat Mew VMAX is through techs such as [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], as such decks will have no such defenses against this one, but still be just as weak to our high damage output. When testing this deck, you’ll certainly want to focus on the Mew VMAX matchup, as it should be by far the most popular deck in the initial Brilliant Stars meta. The better you know that matchup and what you need to do, the better chance you’ll have of doing well. After that, focus on some of the more popular Mew VMAX counter-decks, and then try playing against a variety of other decks, so that you have a feel for what to do in different situations. Remember, this deck is an aggressive one, so you’ll want to focus on your gameplan more than your opponent’s. In a diverse metagame, this tends to be a strong asset, as any testing games you have will be beneficial for learning your tricks and strategies. 

With that, we actually have come to the end of this article! To sum things up, if you want to play an aggressive deck, but don’t want the target on your back that comes from playing Mew VMAX, then Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX / Arceus VSTAR is a great option. This deck is as consistent and as hard hitting as anything else in the meta, and is certainly worth trying out. As always, if you have any other questions about this deck or anything else Pokemon, please feel free to leave a comment below, message me, or even ask all of our writers in the PTCG Subscriber’s Hideout! Barring any changes to the current plans for organized play, I will be at the Salt Lake City Regional Championships, so hopefully I’ll be able to see some of you there! Even if not, I hope you enjoy this deck! Best of luck in your testing, and stay safe!

Thanks for reading!

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