United States of United Wings
In 2014, the XY: Phantom Forces expansion was released, featuring a litany of meta-defining cards and deck archetypes. One of those, of course, was Night March. Night March was an attack that did 20 damage for each Pokemon with Night March in the discard pile. In total, there were three Pokemon with the Night March attack. This strategy ended up dominating the game for two years, with countless tournament finishes. In later years, the archetype was reprinted a couple times. You may know the reskins as Lost March or Mad Party, but neither of them were anywhere near as competitively viable as Night March was.
[cardimg name=”Flamigo” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”227″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Now, once again, the concept is reborn as United Wings from Paldea Evolved. And just like old times, the attack does 20 damage for each United Wings Pokemon in the discard pile. Surely, nearly a decade later, this damage output does not hold up compared to the power creep of other cards? Wrong. United Wings is a deceptively strong archetype from the new set, thanks to the unique characteristics of the three United Wings Pokemon. First up is [card name=”Flamigo” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], which can instantly search out the rest of the Flamigo from the deck. This conveniently puts them straight into your hand to be discarded via [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”name”][/card].
The other two United Wings Pokemon are [card name=”Wattrel” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Murkrow” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], which “coincidentally” cover almost every relevant weakness in the meta. The card designers knew what they were doing with this one. Normally with this deck’s damage output, you would not expect to OHKO anything with a lot of HP, but hitting for Weakness enables easy one-shots on many top-tier Pokemon. With this straightforward lineup of United Wings Pokemon, you can feast upon opposing [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] decks, which happen to be three of the top meta-defining decks at the moment.
However, you may notice one exclusion from that list of meta decks. Lost Zone decks, particularly those utilizing [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], are a real problem for United Wings. I’ll elaborate on this a bit more later, but that matchup is horrendous. This is the main downside of the United Wings deck, but a similar issue didn’t seem to matter much for Gardevoir ex in the Scarlet and Violet format.
After a bit of testing and revision, I am currently at a rather straightforward list for the deck. That said, the format is still in its infant stages, so there is potentially more work to be done with the deck. Here’s my current list.
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United Wings
[decklist name=”united states of smash” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Murkrow” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”131″][pokemon amt=”24″]4x [card name=”Murkrow” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Wattrel” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Flamigo” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Gallade” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”81″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Ralts” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Ditto” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]3x [card name=”Serena” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Carrier” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]4x [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”XY” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]Unfortunately for United Wings, there isn’t a crazy engine for it, so it’s left with [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] as its backbone. Kirlia isn’t so bad though. Refinement’s discard effect is crucial for ramping up United Wings’s damage, and the draw is good enough to protect you from hand disruption.
As a single-Prize deck, you don’t want to play multi-Prize Pokemon. However, enough hands do end up requiring the assistance of [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card]. You don’t use it every game, but you do end up needing it often. It would be nice to have a way to remove it from play, but the only options for such a function are quite committal and aren’t helpful in other situations.
The only useful evolution from Kirlia for this deck to play is [card name=”Gallade” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s basically just a tech for [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], but it has the bonus of being useful in other matchups such as [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]. If Arceus VSTAR stops seeing play, it would probably be fine to get rid of the Gallade. It’s such a free and efficient tech card that it makes sense to play for now.
The pair of [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] is a tech for [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], as that deck likes to play [card name=”Canceling Cologne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] along with [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] to beat single-Prize decks. Of course, Manaphy will also help against other decks that randomly have snipe attacks. You’re not beating Lost Box though.
There are a lot of ball-search cards in the list. You need to ramp damage as fast as possible. [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”name”][/card] may seem counterintuitive for this, but you really need two Ralts in play on turn 1, and the extra outs for Squawkabilly ex are nice as well. With all of these search cards, the deck is as consistent as possible. This is relevant because United Wings is a matchup-reliant deck. You play to hitting matchups and having the deck automatically beat them, so consistency is really all that matters when it comes to making the list.
Cards like [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rescue Carrier” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] help ensure that you will never suffer as a result of awkward forced discards at the beginning of the game. Rescue Carrier is stronger and generally more useful, but Super Rod is more versatile and gives extra copies of Darkness Energy if some get discarded (this is important in matchups where you use several Murkrow).
The addition of [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] is a broken Stadium and slots perfectly into this deck. [card name=”Trekking Shoes” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] is an inclusion that would make sense, and I’m sure there is merit to running a Trekking Shoes build, but I don’t know if they are more valuable than the other cards currently in the list. I haven’t gotten around to trying a Trekking Shoes list yet. Perhaps you could replace all the copies of [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] for Trekking Shoes, though I bet there’s some sort of complicated math formula that proves one better than the other.
Matchups
Gardevoir ex – Favorable
[cardimg name=”Murkrow” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”131″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
This is a good matchup for United Wings. You’re usually going to be a turn or two faster, so all you need to do is focus on getting an attack every turn. You don’t necessarily have to turbo out right away to one shot that [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s more important to set yourself up so that you can attack every turn. This way, you’ll be able to stay on pace in an even Prize trade, which is one where you should have started out ahead. Make sure you save one or two [card name=”Murkrow” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] in case [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] starts attacking, or else you will get punished. It’s important to one-shot Gardevoir ex since we do not play [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], as it can retreat to safety after it tanks a hit.
The way to lose this matchup is if they go first and get turn 2 attack when you also whiff the turn 1 attack. They also need to follow up with attacks every turn and avoid giving up two-Prize KO’s. It is possible for this to happen, but it’s fairly unlikely. There’s also nothing you can really do about it. This matchup is a straightforward Prize trade, and it’s one that you will win more often than not. You also need to expect to get hit by [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] every turn and play accordingly. [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] offers adequate protection from Iono’s disruption.
Mew VMAX – Favorable
This matchup requires that you ramp up your damage fairly quickly. Your opponent will probably take most of their KO’s copying [card name=”Mew V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]’s Psychic Leap, which prevents you from getting easy three-Prize KO’s. This is fine, as you’re still winning the Prize trade. In the early-game, you’ll probably end up punching a [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] for less than a KO. If you can use [card name=”Serena” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] and KO it before your opponent uses [card name=”Penny” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] to save the Genesect V, then great. If not, it’s completely fine as long as you’re able to start one-shotting Genesect V. Mew V and [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] get instantly deleted by Murkrow, so they will probably Psychic Leap into Genesect V, or attack with their single-Prize Pokemon if they’re playing the [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card] version. Regardless of what they do, you will always win the Prize trade. Additionally, you can use Serena plus Murkrow for easy KO’s on Mew V at any time.
What you don’t want to do is end up swinging into multiple Genesect V for less than a KO. Doing this, combined with contending against single-Prize Fusion Strike attackers, is one way to actually lose. Using Serena plus Murkrow or simply getting up to 200 damage quickly is how you avoid this situation. Also, it appears that some lists are now playing [card name=”Eiscue” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card], so you may want to consider using [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] to protect Kirlia. Kirlia is important to keep around so that you don’t end up missing an attack after your hand gets disrupted.
Lugia VSTAR – Slightly Favorable
These lists seem to be splitting off into Single Strike and Colorless-type versions. Most of your Prize card value is going to come from [card name=”Wattrel” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] one-shotting [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card]. If they start with [card name=”Lugia V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], go ham to try and KO it. If they don’t start with it, you’re going to want to snipe it off before [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] removes it from play. If you can’t get the free Lugia V kill at any point during the game, you’ll probably lose. [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] sometimes comes into play and gives you a freebie. Pick up that fish KO whenever possible, and you’ll probably just win on the spot. Don’t forget that Wattrel also hits Lumineon V for Weakness, which makes it one of the easiest Pokemon to KO.
One Pokemon that will be difficult to OHKO is [card name=”Tyranitar V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], so you’ll usually be 2HKO’ing it, which is fine. Cragalanche’s mill effect usually doesn’t hurt too much, but you do have to be aware of it at the end of the game so you don’t deck out. Sometimes you have to account for two or three potential Cragalanche attacks in a row, rather than just one. Just don’t forget about this and you will be fine. Against [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card], deal as much damage as possible so that you can finish it off in case it evolves into [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card].
The main reason you’ll want to get your damage output up fast against the Colorless-type version is [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Lost Origin” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card]. You need to one-shot Snorlax as soon as it goes into the Active Spot. If you whiff, you may fall behind in the Prize trade. You can potentially take a OHKO against [card name=”Wyrdeer V” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card], but don’t overextend for that one-shot unless you are behind. It’s easy enough to snipe off Wyrdeer V with Serena, and a 2HKO is still an even Prize trade.
Chien-Pao ex – Slightly Favorable
These lists are more or less split between [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] variants. Of course, the Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR version is the preferred opponent because Palkia VSTAR is weak against Wattrel. Unfortunately, [card name=”Gallade” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] is not great against Arceus VSTAR in this matchup because they won’t have enough Pokemon V in play, but you could still use Gallade as a two-shot option. Against Arceus VSTAR, you will have to two-shot it, with the finishing blow usually being combined with Serena.
You Bench space can get really awkward in this matchup since you need both Manaphy. If you only have one Manaphy down, they will use Boss’s Orders and [card name=”Canceling Cologne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] to delete your board with [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card]’s Moonlight Shuriken. You won’t always be able to put down the Pokemon you want, so try to get as much value as possible from your recovery cards.
This is the matchup that requires damage ramping the most, as you’ll need to one-shot [card name=”Baxcalibur” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] if they start attacking with it early. You will also want to be able to one-shot [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] in the mid- to late-game, which requires almost all of your United Wings Pokemon to be in the discard. Overall, this matchup is slightly favorable because United Wings is favored in the Prize trade. However, there is a lot going on and there are several opportunities where things can realistically go wrong, which is why this matchup is pretty close.
Lost Box – Terrible
This list is incapable of beating Lost Box, and the same goes for Lost Zone [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] since that deck also plays [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card].
Lost Box Cope
[decklist name=”lost zone cope” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Wattrel” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”80″][pokemon amt=”24″]4x [card name=”Wattrel” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Murkrow” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Flamigo” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Gallade” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”81″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Ralts” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Ditto” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]2x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Serena” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Carrier” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Lost City” set=”Lost Origin” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]4x [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”XY” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Wattrel” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”80″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
If you can get United Wings to beat Lost Box, it instantly becomes the best deck in the game. This is my attempt at doing so. First off, this list does not have a favored matchup against Lost Box, but it is significantly more winnable than the previous list. I wouldn’t normally advocate for such a strategy behind a deck list, but the exact same strategy worked for [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] in the Scarlet and Violet format. Last format, Gardevoir ex had a horrendous matchup against Lost Box. However, including cards such as [card name=”Penny” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Judge” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] gave it a winnable matchup, even though it was still very favored for Lost Box. These are a lot of cards that aren’t very strong outside of the Lost Box matchup, but they managed to bring the margin from somewhere around 10-90 to 30-70 or 35-65 for Gardevoir ex. This was enough to give Gardevoir ex some success at major tournaments, simply because cheesing a win or two against Lost Box was the difference maker that capitalized on a good run. These margins are what this United Wings list attempts to replicate.
The list is only five cards different from the first one. I’ve added two [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] and three [card name=”Lost City” set=”Lost Origin” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card]. The idea is to use Lost City on the turns you KO [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] and both [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], sending all of their efficient single-Prize attackers to the Lost Zone. They are left to choose between [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], which cannot KO [card name=”Flamigo” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] on the Bench, or two-Prize attackers that can lose them the Prize trade. Of course, you don’t use Lost City in any other matchup because it is quite bad for United Wings under normal circumstances. Finally, if they ever end up with a two-Prize Pokemon on board, such as if they started it or needed to use [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], you can potentially snipe it with Serena to win the Prize trade.
However, even with just two Sableye attacks, they will be able to get a two-Prize turn. This is a little unfortunate and there’s nothing you can really do about that. Iono comes in as the equalizer. A late-game Iono is hopefully going to disrupt them for a turn and cause them to whiff something. After all, all of their low-maintenance attackers should be in the Lost Zone. With two Iono in the list, you should be able to get value from at least one of them.
Lost City is reliable for two reasons. For one, you draw cards very aggressively and have a fairly easy time finding them on the turns you want to send to the Lose Zone any of their specific attackers. Furthermore, you don’t have to ramp damage against most of their attackers, which allows you to hold Lost City in many situations where you want to. Second, Lost Box doesn’t always bump Stadium cards right away, which allows for more potential value from Lost City. Even if they do bump it, you’ll be fine, as that is the expected outcome. Even if they get an extra Sableye turn, that isn’t enough for an extra two-Prize turn.
If the opponent is aware of all this, they should just attack with [card name=”Raikou V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Dragonite V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] ASAP and hope you can’t OHKO it. This forces you to ramp damage and KO it right away. KO’ing Dragonite V is way more difficult than KO’ing Raikou V. If you whiff, they got two one-Prize turns worth of value from a two-Prize Pokemon, and most of your advantage disappears. I don’t think anyone would instinctively go for a turn 2 Dragonite V against United Wings though.
I think Flamigo is the best attacker against Lost Box because it tanks a Radiant Greninja hit, which nullifies one of their precious attackers. Having [card name=”Ditto” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] on board is usually good because it lets you easily pivot to Murkrow when you need the extra damage against Pokemon V (using Darkness Energy instead of [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card]). They shouldn’t target Ditto with Sableye, as they should go after Manaphy and [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Ralts” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]. Sometimes you use [card name=”Gallade” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] to evolve a damaged Kirlia to punish misplaced damage (like 50 damage on one Kirlia). Even if they KO Ditto, it’s no big deal as you have two of them along with two recovery cards.
Overall, it is hard to say if hedging against Lost Box this hard is worth the commitment of deck space. Most of the cuts detract from consistency and speed, but it may be worthwhile if the other matchups are still that good. It is just a tough pill to swallow because you know the Lost Box matchup is still unfavorable. However, it is now quite winnable without requiring them to brick, and the techs will catch people off guard (which will get you some wins).
Conclusion
Overall, United Wings is surprisingly good for a deck that looks like it’s supposed to be a meme. Comparing the two lists I discussed, the straightforward version is definitely stronger, faster, more consistent, and better against every matchup besides Lost Box. I would enjoy playing that deck more, but it really cannot beat anything with a [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s up to you to decide if that trade off is worth it. This deck is strong, fun, and fairly simple to play, so I recommend trying out United Wings! Thanks for reading.
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