Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR Turbo — My Favorite Deck from Astral Radiance So Far

Hello readers! Gabriel again with another Pokémon TCG article and this time I will talk about Turbo [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], a Japanese-origin deck that was successful in winning some online tournaments. I was one of the players who also won a tournament with the deck, so I want to analyze it — mainly because I think it’s a good option to use in the North American International Championship (NAIC) and Worlds 2022.

[cardimg name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

On June 7th the player Reiji Nishiguchi decided to play Turbo Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR in the 41st edition of the Late Night online tournament, a free and open tournament for players from all over the world to play, and he ended up winning the 320-player tournament with his never-before-seen deck. The following week, the deck won Late Night again, this time with another Japanese player, nicknamed Wavedaze.

These two factors were enough for me to decide to further test the deck, which stood out not only for the fact that it brought Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR to the competitive metagame, but also for the intriguing deck mechanics that made a Pokemon that needs five Energy to attack able to be powered up in only two turns. This mechanic, which involves [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card], was also utilized by other decks, with the most prominent being a version of Turbo [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] — a deck that won the Melbourne Regional and had good placements in an important tournament in Japan.

Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR’s Place in the Meta

As I said before, several other “turbo” decks were created based on the list presented by Reiji Nishiguichi, but many consider Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR to be the best option for a turbo deck currently. In terms of strength and consistency, it’s perhaps the best version, but the metagame won’t give Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR peace of mind, as it’s a strong and popular Pokemon. A great example of this is the success of [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Flying Pikachu VMAX” set=”Celebrations” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card], a variant that only exists because it aims to beat Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR. On the other hand, Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR will have an easier ride; its Weakness is Fire, but Fire Pokémon are weak to Water — the type of Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR and other strong Pokémon present in the metagame.

[decklist name=”Dialga Vstar Turbo” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″][pokemon amt=”14″]4x [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga V” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pyukumuku” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dialga” set=”Celebrations” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”35″]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Trekking Shoes” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Energy Search” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Black and White” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Training Court” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Cboice of Pokémon

Four Mew

Finally a good deck with [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] from Celebrations! I expected Mew to be used in many decks, like [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] with the Stellar Wish Ability was, but in the end, searching for a Trainer card and searching for an Item card are quite different things.

The idea is to be able to open the game with Mew to be able to search for your Pokémon search Items to aid your setup. It’s important that you find [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] as soon as possible, as its Ability offers great draw power while discarding Metal Energy for [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card]. It improves your early game consistency and leads to better opening hands.

Two Origin Forme Dialga V, Two Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR

An [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] with five energy will win 80% of your games. The line of only two [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga V” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] and two Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR turns a lot of heads as it is your main attacker and there is the risk of not having Pokémon to attack at the end of the game, but in practice, this is a count that works well. It is important to say that because it is a turbo deck, its main objective is to use as few copies of Pokémon and Supporters as possible and more copies of Item cards, which have immediate effect and can be used without limit. The focus of the strategy is to load up Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR with five Energy fast, to be able to win in a few turns and not have to power up several attackers.

The main idea of ​​the deck is to get off the VSTAR Power Star Chronos attack, which ends up being one of the best attacks in the game, although being difficult to achieve. With this attack, you can Knock Out an opponent’s Pokémon V, and on the next turn, you can swing for 280 damage and KO a VSTAR Pokémon. In many cases, it’s a four-Prize play. The biggest challenge in the game is finding a way to make this move, and sometimes this challenge takes time and intelligence to achieve.

In certain matches, you will find yourself in the position of having to play two Origin Forme Dialga V and accept that one of them is going to be Knocked Out. The opponent’s first and main criterion will be which of the two Origin Forme Dialga V has more Energy, as Knocking Out the one with the most Energy means you have more work to get the Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR powered up with five Metal Energy. In view of this type of situation, the idea is to leave the two Origin Forme Dialga V with as equal a number of Energy as possible and avoid using [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] at all costs. You need to keep the Metal Saucer on hand so when one of the Origin Forme Dialga V gets Knocked Out, you can juice up the Pokemon that’s still in play from the discard pile.

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One Zacian V

I call this the Punisher. In addition to aiding the early-game setup, [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] manages to make high-impact moves and plays an important role in the game, which is to get the last two Prizes. In a match where your strategy plays out as you would like, Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR has the mission to take four Prizes, while Zacian V or the second Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR will take the remaining two. In practice, the work will mostly be for Zacian V as it’s easier to achieve — you want to bench it at the beginning of the game to use the Intrepid Sword Ability anyway while riding the Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR.

As for the high-impact move I mentioned, it’s the ability Knock Out an opponent’s Pokémon V on the first turn. Thanks to the turbo build, it is possible to consistently power up a Zacian V with three Energy as early as turn one.

One Radiant Greninja

This Pokémon is undoubtedly one of the strongest draw power cards of recent times, especially with [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card]’s main function is to find [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] to get [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] as soon as possible, and then find Scoop Up Net to use the Concealed Cards Ability more than once per turn. In the same turn, you can draw ten cards with four Scoop Up Net and in the next turns, you can still draw two. Unlike [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], it is a single-Prize Pokémon, and often unappealing for the opponent to Knock Out from the point of view that the fastest way for them to win the game is to Knock Out three Pokémon V.

One Pyukumuku

[cardimg name=”Pyukumuku” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”77″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This card is An interesting option for a turbo deck. The list already has a series of favorable cards for [card name=”Pyukumuku” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] to be good, as if you start the game with this Pokémon you can take it out of the field with Scoop Up Net, which is not bad. On the contrary, it’s one more Pokémon to increase your chances of not starting with Crobat V.

The deck’s strategy is to get an explosive but simple setup, evolve a Stage One Pokémon in the second turn, the rest will be support cards to help get five Energy on it, so it will be common for you to have cards like Quick Ball and [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] that are useless since during the entire sequencing to thin the deck you end up finding many of the Pokémon you need without dedicating an Item to it.

One Dialga

This was the only different card I used from the Japanese one and it allowed me to solve a big problem in the deck, which will become even bigger since [card name=”Blissey V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Miltank” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] made the final in the Milwaukee Regional. The need for this Pokémon didn’t only come from the matchup against Blissey / Miltank, but from the fact that if any player decides to put a Miltank in the deck, Turbo Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR simply doesn’t know what to do. This happened a lot to me on the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online ladder and after it happened three times in a row, I decided to look for a Single-Prize Pokémon that could at least give me a chance to win the match, and I found it on [card name=”Dialga” set=”Celebrations” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] to be the best option, providing a chance to beat Miltank and also having some way to aggregate in other matchups.

The Temporal Backflow attack is what made me prefer Dialga over other options like [card name=”Dialga” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Heatran” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Canceling Cologne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]. I tested the Vivid Voltage Dialga and despite coming close to solving it, I didn’t like the result, since this Pokémon’s attack discards two Energy from itself, while for Heatran and Cancelling Cologne I would have to make adjustments to the list that it wouldn’t like. Heatran, despite being able to knock out a Miltank with [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card], needs Fire Energy, and I would need three copies of Cancelling Cologne to at least have a chance. Going back to the Temporal Backflow attack, I’ve been using it more times than I thought I would. During the ten rounds of the online tournament that I won last week with 120 players, I didn’t face Miltank once, but the Temporal Backflow attack was useful to me in several moments — most of them to return [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] — but it also saved me against a [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] plus [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card], in which I was able to retrieve [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] to get back in the game and win the match.

About how to beat Miltank, you need to prepare your entire field and save certain resources so that your single Dialga is able to knock out as many Miltank as needed. If you realize that you are going to face Miltank, avoid benching Pokémon, but know that it will be essential to have an [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] always ready if necessary. If the Blissey V / Miltank player sees that you have Dialga but no VSTAR on the field, they will bench Blissey V and KO your Dialga instead. With Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR in play, they can’t even bench Blissey V, as it will get Knocked Out easily and sacrifice two Prizes. When the opponent doesn’t have any Pokémon other than Miltank in play, then it’s time to bench Dialga and start work. With few Pokémon on the field, Dialga is able to withstand two attacks from Miltank until you have to use Scoop Up Net to heal yourself, so the advantage is yours as Dialga’s first attack can return any card from the discard, usually being the most important Scoop Up Net and Metal Saucer. From there you have two ways to win; the first can be by deck-out, and the second is by getting KOs with Dialga. The two paths will usually converge in the end.

Two Crobat V

[card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] is the real star of the deck when it comes to draw power, but you can’t ignore the power of [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], which has been driving strong setups and plays since the days when the same Ability was printed on [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]. In some games you won’t need Crobat V, in many games, you will only need one and rarely need two. I considered thinking of another consistency card to replace the second Crobat V, but the biggest problem would be if you start the game with your only Crobat V, so the replacement card would have to help you in some equivalent way.

Supporter Cards Inclusions

Two Marnie, Two Avery

[cardimg name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”187″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Marnie and [card name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] are great Supporters, as they offer you moderate draw power while hindering the opponent in some way. This is speeding up your setup while slowing down your opponent’s. Supporters with stronger draw power like [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Peony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Zinnia’s Resolve” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] ask you to discard cards and this is difficult when you already need to pitch other cards, which consequently means a loss of resources.

Zinnia’s Resolve and [card name=”Milo” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] are still possibilities, as they involve only a partial hand discard, but Professor’s Research and Peony in many cases will discard Metal Saucer or Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR, and will make it very difficult to win, or may even mean defeat.

Three Boss’s Orders, No Cross Switcher

Boss or Cross? This is a difficult question, and the difference between them is not exactly what you might be thinking. It’s obvious to say that with three copies of [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] you have three gust effects while with four copies of [card name=”Cross Switcher” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”230″ c=”name”][/card] you only have two gust effects, that is, you gain more space in the deck and have a higher chance of obtaining this effect if you choose Boss’s Orders, but it’s important to remember that Cross Switcher is a [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] too, so you can play with fewer alternative switching cards.

Cross Switcher is a great option to be able to attack an opponent’s Benched Pokémon even if they have the new [card name=”Diancie” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] from Astral Radiance in the Active position, but in addition to being a tech for this instance, it’s also an Item card. Because it’s an Item card, Cross Switcher gives you more freedom to use a draw Supporter or even a Supporter with a different effect, such as [card name=”Raihan” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Cyllene” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]. On the other hand, Boss’s Orders gives you a little more stability in your play, something that is no longer easy to obtain when using a Turbo style deck. It’s a style of play that involves searching, discarding, and accessing many of the cards from your deck in the same turn, making Cross Switcher riskier.

Playing with Boss’s Orders and more switching cards is still my safe bet, but certainly, the most promising way to improve the list is to play with Cross Switcher.

Item Cards That Make the Cut

Four Trekking Shoes

A turbo deck wants to do everything it can to draw cards and find all the cards it needs to make an absurdly strong turn, so it’s impossible to use less than four [card name=”Trekking Shoes” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]. The effect of this card is similar to that of the old [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], but the difference is that with Trekking Shoes you have a slightly lower draw power, but with the good advantage of having the chance to avoid losing a precious resource like [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], as with Trekking Shoes you only discard a card if you want to — if Acro Bike found two vital cards, you would inevitably have to get rid of one of them.

The effect of this card is so good that it is already possible to see their inclusion in several other decks that are not considered “Turbo”.

Four Scoop Up Net

[cardimg name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Enjoy [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] while you can! This card has brought a unique form of consistency by allowing you to use Abilities that theoretically could only be used once, up to four more times in a single turn. At the end of its lifespan in Standard format, Scoop Up Net will still be broken, accommodating some of the best strategies in the game.

In addition to the power of consistency that this card offers, it’s important to mention the role it plays in the metagame to prevent you from some opponent’s moves, whether to reduce [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]’s damage or to remove [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] from the field to prevent the opponent getting and easy Prize.

Four Quick Ball, Two Ultra Ball, One Hisuian Heavy Ball, Two Battle VIP Pass

I confess that every time I have to spend twelve spaces in the deck purely to search for Pokémon, I end up getting frustrated. A deck has 60 cards and at least 12 of them are spent on aiding setup, meaning fewer cards to aid your overall strategy. Mew from Celebrations and [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] will greatly increase access to these cards and the setup is not complex.

Two Energy Search

The only advantage is being able to find it with Mew, as you will use this Ability several times in a match. Finding Energy is not a priority for any part of the game, but it’s important that you take advantage of Mew to significantly increase access. If your opponent’s deck probably uses [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] a lot, avoid using [card name=”Energy Search” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] if you don’t need to — you want this card back in the deck to save you later.

One Switch, One Escape Rope, One Air Balloon

Switching cards are good for the strategy since you can use another Mew Ability, but you also need it to switch your Pokémon V, especially if [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] comes into play early and you need to attack again. The most obvious warning is to save these switching cards to give priority to retreating your Pokémon V, only use it with Mew if you know you’re in a good position. If your opponent sees too many switching cards in your discard, they are free to exploit your lack of mobility.

Four Metal Saucer

This is the card that makes the deck work. The great challenge of playing with [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] is being able to get Energy on the field without needing [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], whether in the first attack of [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga V” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Dialga” set=”Celebrations” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] to return Metal Saucer or by the Intrepid Sword. Of course, it’s only with Metal Saucer that you’ll be able to make the strong plays in the later game, but it’s important that you make your life easier whenever possible so that you don’t depend all the time on finding three or four Metal Saucer at once.

Two Training Court

[cardimg name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Stadiums Cards is necessary because it is a strategy that is heavily dependent on [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], both Pokémon with Abilities that are stopped by [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card]. For Turbo Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR, one or two turns with Abilities might be enough, plus Path to the Peak isn’t that popular in the meta right now.

The best option to get rid of this Stadium is still [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], but you won’t need it — you can get rid of it in a simpler way, replacing it with a Stadium card that can benefit you, Training Court for example. This will provide you with Energy to discard with Radiant Greninja, and also help ensure you don’t miss your attachment for turn, which you should never fail.

Energy Count

Eleven Metal Energy

Six Energy for Origin Form Dialga VSTAR, Five for the rest. The big concern you is that you need six Energy on Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR to hit for 280 and KO your opponent’s Pokémon VSTAR, after that you’ll probably need three more to win the game with Zacian V.

Final Thoughts

In my opinion, Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR is a deck ready to be used in the biggest competitions. It’s a complete deck with a unique strategy that can beat anything thanks to the VSTAR Power attack and unlimited damage capable of Knocking Out the main VSTAR and VMAX threats. It may be that the deck’s future results don’t represent my excitement, but I also don’t see why it would be any different.

This list is a great example of deckbuilding creativity and I’m thrilled to see creations like this. It’s a World Championship-looking list and has all the elements I’ve ever seen in a deck that won this competition. I’m excited about this deck and I intend to play a lot with it!

That’s all for today, I hope you liked it and until next time!

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