The Newest VSTAR Approaches — A First Look at Lucario VSTAR

Hello everyone! Astral Radiance might not be coming out for another month, but Pokemon has nonetheless given us a taste of what’s to come. Most of the cards from the recent Japanese Pokemon VSTAR decks will be coming out in Astral Radiance in May, but they decided to release Lucario VSTAR a bit early in the new Lucario VSTAR Premium Collection. Notably, we don’t have to wait to use this card — it will be legal for tournament play in the Europe International Championships (EUIC), and in fan-run events you can play it now. Box sets like this aren’t always good, but this one certainly is, as Lucario VSTAR is on par with our existing Pokemon VSTAR, even exceeding them in some regards. So, in this article, I’ll be taking a look at our newest Pokemon VSTAR: Lucario VSTAR!

Compared with the other six Pokemon VSTAR we have so far, Lucario VSTAR stands out with its damage output and its typing. While its Weakness isn’t ideal, being a Fighting-type means that Lucario will match up well into some of the best decks in the format, including [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Gengar VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Jolteon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. Even without Weakness, Lucario is still a force to be reckoned with. While Fighting Knuckle is conditional on your opponent having a Pokemon V, most of the things you need extra damage to deal with are Pokemon Vs, so you can assume that you’ll be hitting for 240 damage most of the time, not 120. If you are attacking for 120 damage, you’ll be likely to take a Knock Out anyway, since most non-Pokemon V are below that range. [card name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] are the two main exceptions, so it is something to be aware of — but for the most part, we can treat this as a three for 240 damage attack. That’s a higher damage output than any other Pokemon VSTAR, and with no major downside. With a [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], this means that Lucario VSTAR is capable of taking an OHKO against pretty much any other Pokemon VSTAR; the only ones that would be out of its range are Arceus VSTAR and [card name=”Charizard VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card], but Arceus VSTAR is weak to Fighting-type, and Charizard VSTAR has to have damage on itself in order to fully use Explosive Fire, so it can typically OHKO them as well. Fighting Knuckle can also OHKO many of the tankier basic Pokemon V — even if they have a [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] attached. This importantly means that Lucario VSTAR can OHKO [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Galarian Zapdos V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card], totally disrupting those Cape of Toughness strategies. Aura Star can also be a devastatingly strong attack against any deck that tends to put a decent amount of Energy on the field. If they have five Energy attached — basically, a main attacker plus a follow-up — Aura Star can Knock Out even high-HP Pokemon VMAX. Against something like [card name=”Duraludon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] that relies on its bulk, Aura Star is a useful asset to have. If nothing else, forcing your opponent to play around Aura Star can put Lucario VSTAR decks into an advantageous position, even if you can’t actually manage to take a Knock Out with it.

Given the above, it’s clear that Lucario VSTAR at least has the potential to be good. The important questions will be, what is the best way to utilize Lucario VSTAR, and will Lucario VSTAR be a better option than comparable Fighting-type Pokemon VMAX. [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lycanroc VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Sandaconda VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] are all established Fighting-types that I would want to compare Lucario VSTAR to, especially if the deck is otherwise similar. For example, if you were to fit Lucario VSTAR into a Arceus VSTAR / [card name=”Beedrill” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] deck as your Fighting-type attacker, you’d only want to stick with that if Lucario VSTAR was proving to be a better option than Sandaconda VMAX. Otherwise, you’re playing the same deck, but worse. On the flipside, if Lucario VSTAR does seem to be better, then you should definitely add it to your deck instead. 

When comparing Lucario VSTAR to those other Pokemon VMAX, the one thing that stands out again is Lucario VSTAR’s direct damage output. Like when we compared it with the other Pokemon VSTAR, Lucario’s damage output stands out as high in this case as well. Single Strike Urshifu VMAX is the only one that can do more damage, but it requires an extra Energy, and you can’t use it multiple turns in a row like you can with Lucario VSTAR. Sandaconda VMAX, Lycanroc VMAX, and Stonjourner VMAX all hit for a good bit less. Lucario VSTAR is the only one of these that can reliably Knock Out other Pokemon VSTAR and those tanky Pokemon V with Cape of Toughness. That’s before we even get to pointing out that Lucario VSTAR only gives up two Prizes, not three. Having a higher damage output and giving up fewer Prizes tends to be a winning strategy! So, if our goal is to play a hard-hitting Fighting-type to take advantage of Weakness, with the side goal of having a high damage output for dealing with a varied field, Lucario VSTAR is an excellent option. As it can deal with many decks in a way that those other Pokemon VSTAR and Fighting-type Pokemon VMAX cannot, that leads us to the conclusion that Lucario VSTAR should be able to stand alone in its own meta niche. The question then becomes, how exactly do we build around Lucario VSTAR?

[premium]

Building Lucario VSTAR

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

As strong as Fighting-type is against many other types, in our current metagame, being weak to Psychic-type can be a rather large disadvantage, given how prevalent [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] is. To counteract this, Lucario VSTAR will almost necessarily have to be played with some sort of anti-Mew package. In my last article, I went a bit into how strong the Fighting-type and Darkness-type combo is right now, so the first pairing I looked at was to play Lucario VSTAR with [card name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. This Moltres package has proven to be quite strong against Mew VMAX, and has the added benefit that if you play [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card], they can also act as acceleration for your Lucario VSTAR. This combo gives you a strong matchup advantage against a wide swath of the metagame, expanding what was an already nice anti-meta deck to include Mew VMAX as well.

The most common build I’ve seen when other people have played Lucario VSTAR have been to pair it with Arceus VSTAR; this also happens to be the build that I have been favoring the most as well. This makes a lot of sense, not only because Arceus VSTAR is a great card itself, but because Arceus VSTAR gives the deck easy Energy acceleration with Trinity Nova. The idea here is to build the deck a lot like you would other Arceus VSTAR / Pokemon VMAX decks, where the plan is to go into Arceus VSTAR early to set up your secondary attacker, then finish by using two of that attacker. The advantages that the Arceus VSTAR build has are its Energy acceleration, and its additional consistency from Starbirth. While I did try a number of other builds of Lucario VSTAR, such as with [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] or a more focused heavy Supporter build, I kept coming back to the Arceus VSTAR build as the best option. While the others were decent, the Energy acceleration was hard to replace, even if you were to focus heavily on stuff like [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Raihan” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card], or even something like a three-type deck with [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card]. Starbirth also gives the deck a great added bit of consistency, and is particularly useful in matchups where you might not need to use Aura Star. Below, I have my list for Lucario VSTAR / Arceus VSTAR / Galarian Moltres, which I’ve been having a lot of success in testing with. Here’s the list:

[decklist name=”Lucario VSTAR” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″][pokemon amt=”20″]2x Lucario VSTAR (Promo #SWSH214)3x [card name=”Lucario V” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”27″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Arceus V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Bidoof” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]3x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Raihan” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”237″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Training Court” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]5x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card]3x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Pokemon

One of the biggest goals I had in mind when building this deck was to have a way to power up Lucario VSTAR even in games where I wouldn’t be able to use [card name=”Arceus V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]. If I can do that, then not only would that help the deck’s consistency, but it would also give me more strategic flexibility when playing it. To achieve that goal, I added a few extra ways to accelerate Energy with the multiple Energy Switch and the one copy of [card name=”Raihan” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card]. The Energy Switch and Galarian Moltres V make it somewhat easy to power up even if you’ve been somewhat unlucky and haven’t been able to get an Energy attachment. They can also enable some surprise higher damage attacks that your opponent might not be expecting. That is, there are quite a few situations where you can use Energy Switch plus an attachment to power up a Pokemon, instead of having to use [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card]. Even when you aren’t playing against Mew VMAX, you’ll still have a use for the Galarian Moltres and the Galarian Moltres V, because of how they can act as pseudo-Energy acceleration with your Energy Switch.

The typical plan with this deck will be to start with Arceus VSTAR, then use that to power up your Lucario VSTAR. Since that means you have more of a need to have Arceus VSTAR early, this deck likewise has a larger Arceus line, even though more of your focus will be on Lucario later in the game. The 3-2 Lucario VSTAR line is thick enough to where you should be able to reliably set up two of them; while you can cut this down to a 2-2 line, it was always a bit awkward whenever you would prize a [card name=”Lucario V” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”27″ c=”name”][/card]. For your Lucario V, you want to use the older version from Champion’s Path, not the new one from the box set. The big difference is that the older one is actually a decent attacker, capable of getting some OHKOs whereas the new one doesn’t have that kind of damage output. While Crushing Punch has some theoretical uses, it isn’t worth not having Lucario V as another potential attacker. 

The [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] is this deck’s main source of additional consistency. If you haven’t tried Bibarel in Arceus VSTAR yet, I highly recommend it! Not only do you get the immense satisfaction of being able to play a deck with [card name=”Bidoof” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] in it, but it gives you a great way to keep up your consistency throughout the game. [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] are additional consistency Pokemon. Crobat V acts as some emergency draw early, whereas Lumineon V is best for finding one-of Supporters in the late-game. The idea behind the [card name=”Crobat VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] is as a way to give you a better chance against [card name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], since you can use it to KO Malamar, then bounce back to a single-Prize Pokemon. Otherwise though, it is nice to have a way to sort of get Crobat V off of the board, and it isn’t a bad extra attacker if you need something just a bit tankier. You can also use the bounce-back strategy to set up a 2HKO against Pokemon VMAX, before finishing them off with Lucario VSTAR.

Trainers and Energy

[cardimg name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]

A lot of the Trainers are what you might expect — ten Pokemon-searching Items, and a fairly standard Supporter lineup of [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Marnie” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card]. I’ll explain some of the one-ofs, however. Our one-of Supporters are Raihan and [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card]. Klara is mostly used for [card name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] against [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], otherwise it isn’t terribly important. If you prize a Lucario VSTAR, it can also be used as a way to recover that so that you can use it a second time. The Raihan isn’t absolutely necessary in most games, but it is a nice bonus when you do get to use it. At times though, it can be an important comeback card if you haven’t been able to adequately power up your field with Energy. Specifically it gives you a way to power up any of your Pokemon VSTAR in a single turn even from a zero Energy board. In games where you haven’t been able to use Arceus VSTAR, Raihan will typically be how you power up your second and possibly third Lucario VSTAR. If you need to use any of these Supporters twice, or more likely, if you have to discard one of them early with Professor’s Research, then I also have one copy of [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] to recover those back into the deck. In matchups where they aren’t as necessary, you’ll typically use the Pal Pad to recover Boss’s Orders. 

For our tools, we have a small mix. The one [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] gives us a way to retreat for free; you typically don’t retreat often with this deck after turn 1, so it isn’t as necessary, but it’s nice to have an option for early switching, or to have a pivot option for after Knock Outs. The three [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] are the most important tool, as they allow you to fully take advantage of Lucario VSTAR’s damage output. Many of the important Knock Outs that Lucario VSTAR can take — against Pokemon VSTAR and Pokemon V with [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] — rely on you being able to have a Choice Belt attached. By having three, not only will we be able to reliably get it when we need it, but that also means you have a lot of flexibility as to how you can attach those Choice Belt. That is, you don’t have to worry if you attach one to Arceus VSTAR early, or if you have to attach one to a non-Lucario VSTAR due to Professor’s Research. You can also play one [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] in place of one Choice Belt, as that does help in a variety of matchups, particularly against VMAXS that can otherwise one-shot you, like [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card]. With that said, I kept finding myself wishing I had a Choice Belt instead of the Big Charm, so I swapped the two.

As for this deck’s Energy, I have a slightly higher count of Darkness Energy than Fighting Energy, as it’s a bit more important to have Darkness Energy for our Galarian Moltres + Energy Switch acceleration. Conveniently, we only need one Fighting Energy to attack with Lucario VSTAR, so three gives us an adequate number to reliably have those Fighting Energy, and to avoid it stuck among your Prizes. [card name=”Training Court” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] helps further in that regard, since it means that we aren’t in trouble if we have to discard those Fighting Energy early. The four Double Turbo Energy are included to maximize the chances of being able to attack with Trinity Nova quickly, as well as to attack with Lucario VSTAR if things have gotten a bit awkward. With that said, if you do get to use Trinity Nova, you typically won’t use any Double Turbo Energy later, so you can often discard them from that point if needed.

Deck Strategy and Matchups

Like with other Arceus VSTAR decks, the major priority will be to get Arceus VSTAR into play on turn 2, so that you can attack with it and accelerate Energy to your subsequent attackers. In this deck, our early game pressure is a bit lower than what you might encounter otherwise, since our Energy Switch package means that you don’t absolutely need to have an Energy attachment on an Arceus V on turn 1. With that said, an ideal first turn will typically involve that, as well as getting one Bidoof in play. After this, your priorities should be to find Lucario V or another Arceus V, depending on the matchup. If you don’t get Arceus V into play, then you’ll instead want to evaluate your options for the following turn. Again, since we can use Galarian Moltres V for acceleration, not having Arceus doesn’t mean that we’re doomed, but it can make things a bit awkward. Whatever your board, you’ll want to make sure to get an Energy attachment down; even if it isn’t to an ideal Pokemon, doing so gives you the option later to move that Energy with Energy Switch to whatever you do want to attack with. Lucario V will be your first go-to for the early game if you don’t have Arceus V, but if you don’t have that either, both Galarian Moltres V and Crobat VMAX can be adequate while you work to continue setting up your board.

It’s typically a good idea to avoid using Starbirth if possible, since this means you’ll get to attack at some point with Aura Star. The scenarios where I typically will use Starbirth are if I need to do so so that I can use Trinity Nova, or if doing so will take a Knock Out on an opposing Pokemon V that I wouldn’t have otherwise. In that latter case, that typically means searching for a Choice Belt, or for an Energy Switch so that I don’t have to have the damage reduction from Double Turbo Energy.

Once you get past the early game, this deck’s gameplay is fairly straightforward, as almost all of your attacks are simple direct damage attacks. Your main priority will once again be to make sure that you have follow-up attackers for when your Active gets Knocked Out. In most cases, you’ll want to have Lucario VSTAR as your attacker, since it hits the hardest. 

Vs. Mew VMAX

This matchup is the main reason we have our Darkness-type package in this deck. Lucario VSTAR isn’t all that strong, as it both gets OHKO’d and cannot OHKO [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] in response. Your Darkness-types do one-shot Mew VMAX without too much trouble, however. As always, you should expect Mew VMAX decks to be able to attack quickly. You also have to be prepared to deal with a [card name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], as that’ll be the main way that they have to force you to use more attacks than you would otherwise. If they’ve taken a Knock Out first, [card name=”Galarian Moltres” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] can be a solid attacker against Meloetta, since you’ll only give up one Prize yourself if they don’t use Boss’s Orders to go around you. Aside from your Pokemon, your other key cards in this matchup will be Klara, so you can recover your Galarian Moltres, and [card name=”Raihan” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card], so that you can power up a [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] in one turn without putting it on the board first (which would give your opponent an opportunity to take a Knock Out on Galarian Moltres V). If you go first, then you can be aggressive with [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] to pressure your opponent, as it is somewhat tough for them to OHKO an Arceus VSTAR. If you go second, then you’ll want to anticipate their Meloetta attack, and put forward a [card name=”Bidoof” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] to take it if possible, and be ready with a Galarian Moltres to take out their attacker. If they don’t get it, then that’s another turn that you’ll have to win the game. Overall, this matchup tends to be favorable, but Mew VMAX can always just overwhelm you if you don’t draw well, so it isn’t quite an auto-win. Still, with the Moltres package, it is favorable enough to where I would be able to consider this deck as a viable option.

Vs. Arceus VSTAR / Inteleon

Against Arceus VSTAR, you’ll easily win with OHKOs if they don’t play [card name=”Dunsparce” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”207″ c=”name”][/card] — simply attack as much as you can with Lucario VSTAR, and things will go well. If they do play Dunsparce, however, then they can potentially turn the advantage to their favor. At that point, things will basically turn into a 2HKO battle, except that they’ll have [card name=”Cheren’s Care” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] to eliminate the effects of some of your attacks. Against the Dunsparce builds, Boss’s Orders becomes a critical card. The easiest thing to do is to simply Knock Out their Dunsparce, as a surprisingly high number of Arceus VSTAR / [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] decks don’t play any Pokemon recovery. That will buy them a turn, but you’ll still win three attacks later, which is two attacks ahead of the six that they’ll need to win. Galarian Moltres can also be a decent attacker in this matchup, particularly if you can get them to go down to one Prize. If you can do that, then Galarian Moltres will be able to attack for 300 with a Choice Belt, which does OHKO an Arceus VSTAR if they don’t have Big Charm attached. If you’re in an odd situation where they do play recovery, or you can’t manage to find the Boss’s Orders needed to KO their Dunsparce, you can use Galarian Moltres as an attacker to set up your 2HKO, with the idea that doing so will both save you a Prize, and activate Moltres as a late-game attacker. For the most part, this is also a quite favorable matchup, though it can get more difficult if they play the Dunsparce and Klara that some builds do.

Vs. Other Arceus VSTAR Decks

[cardimg name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Against the Arceus VSTAR / Birds archetype, it’s the same deal: if they don’t play Dunsparce, you have a big advantage. In that matchup, the biggest curveballs will be that they may be able to take a late Knock Out with Galarian Moltres themselves if you aren’t careful, and they may be able to take an early Knock Out with [card name=”Galarian Zapdos V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] against Arceus VSTAR. Other than that, not much changes, and from your end, you’ll still want to use Lucario VSTAR as much as possible. 

When playing against other Arceus VSTAR decks, the matchup will typically come down to whether or not their pairing is strong enough to make up for the advantage that you’ll have by playing Lucario VSTAR. In the early game, if I’m using Arceus VSTAR to set up, I like to be aggressive with my Boss’s Orders, so that I can hopefully get a KO on their non-Arceus attacker. That way, I can force them into using Arceus VSTAR, which I can then take down with Lucario VSTAR. Another thing to consider here is that these matchups are among the best for using Aura Star, since the Arceus acceleration engine means that they’ll have plenty of Energy in play for you to get a OHKO. If they are playing Arceus with some sort of Pokemon VMAX, then Aura Star can be another way for you to get an advantage.

Vs. Gengar VMAX

Both Lucario V and Lucario VSTAR can OHKO [card name=”Gengar VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card], so you have an advantage in this matchup. This match will be a quick battle of OHKOs; if you get the first one, you’ll typically win. Try to attack with your Pokemon VSTAR as often as possible, as they are a little tougher for your opponent to take down. Gengar VMAX can also be quite weak to [card name=”Marnie” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] in the mid-game, so try to use that to gain an advantage whenever you can. If your opponent seems to be stuck, however, take notice, and don’t give them a new hand! In the late-game, you can also use Galarian Moltres to OHKO a [card name=”Gengar V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], so that they have to have a [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] in addition to whichever other cards they might need to get their last KO. 

Vs. Suicune V / Ludicolo

I bring up these matchups to highlight one of the best parts about playing Lucario VSTAR, and that is how many Pokemon that it can Knock Out in one attack. Even when [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] has a [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] attached, you will still be able to KO it with Fighting Knuckle. This matchup again tends to be favorable, since you’ll be able to OHKO them, whereas they’ll only be able to OHKO you if they use [card name=”Ludicolo” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card]. Since you give up the same number of Prizes as them, you’ll win so long as you either take the first two Prizes, or if they miss a Knock Out. The only advantage they’ll have is that they can get a turn 1 attack with Suicune V, so try not to overextend your bench to the point that they might get a turn 1 Knock Out. 

Vs. Malamar

The main strategy against [card name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] is to try to turn the game into a battle where each player gives up only one Prize at a time. Malamar does this rather easily, but for the Lucario player, it’s a bit trickier. What you can do is to use [card name=”Crobat VMAX” set=”Shining Fates” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] to Knock Out opposing Malamar, then bounce back to either Bidoof, [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], or Galarian Moltres. That way, your opponent will only get one Prize at a time, which will ideally give you a way to win if you can get the first Knock Out. You’ll need to use [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] in order to have enough non-Pokemon V to make that strategy work, but you can do it. If you don’t get the first Knock Out, you’ll have to have your opponent miss a Knock Out at some point. Your best bet for doing so will be to have either Arceus VSTAR or Crobat VMAX in the Active Spot with a [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] attached. Marnie can also help in that regard. It’s still a somewhat tricky matchup, particularly if your opponent plays a build with Boss’s Orders, but with this strategy, you’ll have a chance.

Lucario VSTAR In The Future

Looking forward to Astral Radiance, Lucario VSTAR has the potential to become a much stronger card than it is right now. In that set, we’ll also get all of the support cards that came out with Lucario VSTAR when it was released in Japan, namely Gutsy Pickaxe. In addition, we’ll also get the new Sparkling Hawlucha, which while it will likely help all decks take on Pokemon VMAX, the new Pokemon especially helps Lucario VSTAR since its strategy is already to have a high direct damage output. With Choice Belt and Hawlucha, Fighting Knuckle’s damage gets to 300 against Pokemon VMAX. To complete the OHKO combo, we’ll also be getting Grant, which is effectively the same as [card name=”Leon” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], except that at any point, you can grab it out of your discard pile. This is a big upgrade, as it solves a major issue with Leon in that you typically won’t have it when you need it. Like Leon, it also increases Fighting Knuckle’s damage to 330 — enough to OHKO most Pokemon VMAX.

Once we get those cards, I think that Lucario VSTAR will become an even better deck, particularly the builds without Arceus VSTAR, since Gutsy Pickaxe gives us a reliable way to accelerate Energy without having to resort to using Trinity Nova. Post-rotation, we’ll need to have a replacement for [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”TG12″ c=”name”][/card] to keep that combo working, but until then, Lucario VSTAR should remain powerful and consistent. For now though, Lucario VSTAR already has a rather stellar matchup spread, and so I wouldn’t be surprised to see it make a splash, either at the upcoming EUIC, or in a future Regional Championship. While I won’t personally be at the EUIC, it would certainly be a deck that I would be considering if I were.

With that, we’ve come to the end of this article! Thanks for reading, and as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to message me, ask me in the comments, or ask all of us writers in our PTCG Subscriber’s Hideout! Best of luck, and stay safe!

Thanks for reading!

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