Can Lightning (Rapid) Strike Twice? — Urshifu / Inteleon for Worlds

Hey everyone!  It’s Charlie and I’m happy to be back with another article.  I’ve been working hard for the past few weeks on my Worlds preparation, and while I’d like to say I have a great idea of what the metagame will look like or that I have a crazy rogue deck that beats everything, that’s unfortunately not yet the case. I’ve been taking time since NAIC to broaden my perspectives as much as possible, which means trying out pretty much everything that’s viable in the slightest.

Through this process, I’ve played many bad decks, but it also gave me the chance to try out some decks I’d previously written off, like [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]. Obviously this deck isn’t bad because it just won the largest Pokemon tournament of all time, but I hadn’t really given it the chance it deserved or worked on a list for it before. However, after messing with the deck a bit, I’m happy to say it’s much better than I initially thought it would be. Assuming you set up, this deck’s matchups are some of the best in the current format and very few decks have direct answers to it. Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX / Inteleon VMAX really feels like the quintessential “win or go home” deck for this year’s World Championships — you can draw hot and win the event, or draw poorly and find yourself at the bottom tables fast.

Cyrus Davis’ list for the deck was already very strong, so I started with her list and worked to try and optimize a few of the counts for consistency. Here’s where I ended up; I’ll explain all of the card choices and why I chose to make changes below.

[decklist name=”Urshifu/Inteleon” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”79″][pokemon amt=”17″]3x [card name=”Inteleon V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”87″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”Battle Styles” no=”36″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Octillery” set=”Battle Styles” no=”37″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Medicham V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”83″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Alakazam” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”59″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Energy Search” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Irida” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Korrina’s Focus” set=”Battle Styles” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Tower of Waters” set=”Battle Styles” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]6x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card]4x [card name=”Rapid Strike Energy” set=”Battle Styles” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]This list is only a few cards off what Cyrus played, but her list was such an improvement over much of what saw play in online tournaments that I don’t need to make many changes.  The list Cyrus played is also great in its own right; I’ll talk about some of the different decisions I made when I get to those cards. Here’s why I think each card deserves a spot in this deck:

Three Inteleon VMAX

[cardimg name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”266″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This Pokemon is your main attacker in quite a few matchups, including against [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Duraludon VMAX” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] decks, so a 3-3 line of [card name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]is really strong. Furthermore, you intend to set up two Inteleon VMAX in many games because of its Double Gunner Ability. Being able to place 40 damage on two of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon in a single turn is honestly incredible, and when combined with [card name=”Radiant Alakazam” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”59″ c=”name”][/card] for a combo, can even enable Yoga Loop on a [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] with no damage counters on it. For any line where you’d like to get two in play during a game but don’t need them urgently, a 3-3 is usually a good choice, so I think sticking with this will work well.

Two Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX

This Pokemon VMAX such an incredible card that it surprises me [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] hasn’t seen play for a while. 330 HP, an efficient 2HKO attack in Gale Thrust, and an insanely powerful second attack in G-Max Rapid Flow that lets you snipe 120 damage onto any two Pokemon is really the complete package for an attacker. It likely has something to do with the fact [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] decks have never been a great matchup, but with the resurgence of [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] decks, Urshifu once again becomes extremely good. You only need a 2-2 line of Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX because you very rarely use more than one in a game; benching the second to prevent a [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] KO on one of them is the only real use for it. I’d keep this count at 2-2 and only prioritize setting up Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX early in the Arceus VSTAR and Lugia VSTAR matchups because it’s much harder for them to answer Urshifu than Inteleon VMAX.

Two Octillery

This is the engine that makes this deck better than the pile of assorted Pokemon V that it looks like at first glance. [card name=”Octillery” set=”Battle Styles” no=”37″ c=”name”][/card]’s Ability to search any Rapid Strike card is so powerful when you have at least one of every type of card with a Rapid Strike tag. Rapid Strike Search can find every Pokemon that isn’t Radiant Alakazam or Lumineon V, a tech Item like [card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] , a draw Supporter like [card name=”Korrina’s Focus” set=”Battle Styles” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card], your main switching card in [card name=”Tower of Waters” set=”Battle Styles” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], and most importantly [card name=”Rapid Strike Energy” set=”Battle Styles” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] to fuel all your attacks. Once you get an Octillery up and running, the deck no longer struggles to find pieces since you can always get the missing piece with Rapid Strike Search. Although you can only use one Rapid Strike Search a turn, it’s still worth it to play a 2-2 line because having Octillery in play is essential. I would consider a third copy of Remoraid to make it even easier to find, but with the amount of search we play for it, I think it’s reasonable to stick with the 2-2.

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One Medicham V

For our last Rapid Strike attacker, there is none better to include than [card name=”Medicham V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card].  Cards that have the ability to skip your opponent’s turn are very rare in Pokemon and usually limited to Dialga cards like [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], but Medicham V has one of the most powerful turn-skipping attacks we’ve ever seen.  Even though Yoga Loop only places a measly two damage counters, if you take a KO with that 20 damage, you get to take an extra turn. For an attack that you can power up with a single Rapid Strike Energy, Medicham V fits seamlessly into a deck like this where you can put any Pokemon at very low HP and then finish it off with Yoga Loop. Furthermore, during your second turn, you can use all the Double Gunner and Painful Spoons Abilities again, giving you even more damage output for the big attack you plan to use that turn.  Medicham V is such an incredible attacker that I’d even consider playing a second copy, but [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] does enough to make sure you have access to it.

One Radiant Alakazam

This has been one of my favorite Radiant Pokemon since it came out in Silver Tempest, and I’m happy to see [card name=”Radiant Alakazam” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”59″ c=”name”][/card] succeeding in multiple different decks now.  One of the decks it fits best in is this one; manipulating damage is amazing when you’re placing damage counters with Inteleon VMAX and finishing off KOs with Medicham V. Radiant Alakazam is the Radiant Pokemon that makes this deck a force to be reckoned with; the only other one worth considering would be [card name=”Radiant Blastoise” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] but half of Double Gunner is not nearly as powerful as Painful Spoons.

One Lumineon V

This Pokemon is never something you want to put in play, but having a way to search any of your one-off Supporters with [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] is still very powerful and is nice as a bailout option.  When you’re playing a somewhat clunky deck like this one, losing tempo is your worst enemy, so playing [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] is a good idea to make sure you never miss a beat.  If you’re going to cut this for anything, it should be an extra draw Supporter (like a third [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card]), but I think it’s still worthwhile to play here.

Four Ultra Ball

This essential Item card as good as ever, and [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] by far the best way to search Pokemon V, so including four copies was a no-brainer.  Even if you can search your Pokemon VMAX with Rapid Strike Search, you’d rather save that to find something like [card name=”Rapid Strike Energy” set=”Battle Styles” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Tower of Waters” set=”Battle Styles” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], so Ultra Ball will see use throughout the game even after Octillery is set up. While I wish we had search cards like [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] to easily find our Pokemon VMAX, Ultra Ball is the best option we have now and an easy count to max out.

Four Nest Ball

[cardimg name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”255″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] count is the first count I adjusted from Cyrus’ original list; she only had two copies and played more copies of [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card] instead. Since having a lot of Basic Pokemon on your first turn is good but not necessary with this deck, I’ve chosen to play a bit more conservatively and swap out two of the Battle VIP Pass for Nest Ball.  While strictly worse on turn 1, Nest Ball actually provides utility after the first turn, so if you don’t draw into one (the odds are not very high with three Battle Pass; they’re only 40% if you play four!), the card is dead for the rest of the game.  I didn’t forgo Battle VIP Pass entirely, but maximizing the Nest Ball count makes it much easier to find the Basic Pokemon you want in the mid and late game, like Medicham V and Radiant Alakazam.

Two Energy Retrieval

When you have two [card name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] in play, [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] effectively says “place two damage counters on four of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon” or “Place four damage counters on two of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon”, which are two ridiculously powerful effects. Finding Energy Retrieval can sometimes be enough to set up a Yoga Loop play in one turn, giving you the chance to draw multiple Prize cards before your opponent can play again.  Winning quickly by taking huge and overwhelming turns is a key part of why this deck is so good, so cards like Energy Retrieval are amazing for furthering that game plan. I wouldn’t say you ever need more than two copies to win a game, but be careful if you have to discard a bunch of them early since Energy Retrieval can oftentimes win the game on its own.

One Energy Search

This card out of favor once [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] became less important for finding Energy and [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] rotated, but one copy of [card name=”Energy Search” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] finds a home here so Water Energy can be searched with [card name=”Irida” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card]. This is almost always better than the seventh copy of Water Energy, but not important enough to warrant playing two in my opinion. You don’t usually need to search for it with Irida, but it gives you the option and you can always just play it to find a Water Energy if you draw it. One is the perfect count here.

One Escape Rope

Your only hard Switch card and the only “Gust” effect in the deck, but [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] very powerful in certain situations. Whether it’s to switch out your Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX and retreat back into it to hit with Gale Thrust or push your opponent’s Active Spot Pokemon to the Bench so you can hit it with Double Gunner, Escape Rope is a great one-of and fills its niche well. This also gives you an out to [card name=”Mawile” set=”Lost Origin” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Umbreon V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] locking your Radiant Alakazam in the Active Spot, which is nice in a format where both of those cards see play. In a deck with no [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], Escape Rope is a great alternative.

One Echoing Horn

It isn’t good in every game, but [card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] is a Rapid Strike Search-able Item that can effectively draw you an extra Prize card, so it’s pretty much a necessity to include.  You can use Echoing Horn to revive small Pokemon like [card name=”Ralts” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] or use it to get high-value targets for G-Max Rapid Flow like [card name=”Arceus V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card], which can be very strong when playing against the [card name=”Duraludon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] variant of that deck. I would consider a second Echoing Horn, but you never really need more than one to win the game, so as long as it isn’t among your Prize cards or in the discard pile, the one copy will be more than enough.

One Battle VIP Pass

You normally four copies of [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card], but I’m only playing one? This works because of [card name=”Irida” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card]; if I go second and play Irida on turn 1, I can search for the single Battle VIP Pass and use it to set up my board. This gives you all the benefits of drawing Battle VIP Pass on turn 1 without as big of a downside if you miss it, since I replaced the other two copies with Nest Ball. When you’re going first, the only really important Basic Pokemon you need in play is at least one Pokemon V that attacks (Inteleon or Urshifu) and a Remoraid, so I’m happy to miss Battle Pass and go for a slightly slower/less explosive setup.  Plus, you can use [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] to search the Battle VIP Pass too, giving you options to play it going first as well! I think the single Battle VIP Pass is probably the best way to play the deck going forward since it doesn’t leave you with a bunch of dead cards in over half of your games, but you have four  copies of Irida and three Forest Seal Stone there to help find it.

Three Forest Seal Stone

This card reminds me a lot of an old card called [card name=”Luxury Ball” set=”Stormfront” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] because you can play as many copies as you’d like, but only use the effect once. Luxury Ball was usually a one-of, but a few decks played two copies to help find it easier, while almost nobody dared to play three or more. Now the Standard format has two decks that play three [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] ([card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] is the other one), and after playing a lot of games with this deck, it’s a choice I definitely agree with.  I was very skeptical originally since you don’t have an easy way to thin them out like Mew VMAX does with [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card], but the only thing you need to make sure you set up is your engine with [card name=”Octillery” set=”Battle Styles” no=”37″ c=”name”][/card], so just making it more likely to draw Forest Seal Stone in the early game is very good since that’s when you need it most.  I’d keep this count at three copies unless you plan to add other consistency cards; it’s been surprisingly strong.

Four Irida

This Supporer isn’t as broken as it once was with the [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] engine, but the ability to find a Water Pokemon and any Item is good in all phases of the game for this deck. [card name=”Irida” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the best Supporters to play on turn 1 since you can search for Battle VIP Pass, you can find niche Items like Escape Rope and Energy Search with it, and it can search out [card name=”Inteleon V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Remoraid” set=”Battle Styles” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Octillery” set=”Battle Styles” no=”37″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], which is a big chunk of the Pokemon in your deck.  The original list only had two copies, but Irida is so good that I had to max it out to four copies since it’s almost never bad to play. If you’re going to play less than four, you should add more draw Supporters and maybe reconsider the lone Battle VIP Pass, but I’ve had a great experience playing four copies of Irida so far and I feel like it’s a huge improvement to the deck’s early game.

Two Iono

I reduced the [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] count from three to two copies because your deck isn’t focused on disruption and would rather prioritize its own setup. This deck has one of the best matchup spreads in all of Standard format when manage to get everything on the board, so slimming down on Iono just a bit felt like the right way to re-prioritize setting up your own board while keeping two copies for draw and late game disruption. There are plenty of good arguments for putting the third Iono back, and I may end up doing it at some point, but it’s a fine cut to make when you play lots of other consistency cards.

Two Professor’s Research

Still one of the best cards in the game, so there’s no reason not to play it in this deck.  Filling your hand up to seven fresh cards is really powerful in a combo-oriented deck like this where you need a lot of pieces during each turn. You can also make plays where you play [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] before using Rapid Strike Search, setting yourself up for success since you need to find one less combo piece before searching for it. I wouldn’t say two copies are necessary, but just like in many [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] decks, Professor’s Research is just too good not to have access to and it should be in the deck.

Two Melony

[cardimg name=”Melony” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG64″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This Supporter card is an absolute X factor in a lot of situations; it can help you power up G-Max Rapid Flow out of nowhere and even go for donk plays on [card name=”Arceus V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] like we saw in the finals. Accelerating an Energy out of the discard pile onto any Pokemon V is really strong when both of your attackers need that Energy in some way — Inteleon VMAX can use it to attack with two Basic Energy against Duraludon VMAX, and [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] just needs this Melony attachment along with [card name=”Rapid Strike Energy” set=”Battle Styles” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] to attack. [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] pairs well with G-Max Rapid Flow’s discard cost as well. You don’t use Melony all the time, but it’s another powerful draw option that gives you some nice options to boost the game’s tempo.

One Korrina’s Focus

Not a great card in itself and is outclassed by every other Supporter in the deck, but [card name=”Korrina’s Focus” set=”Battle Styles” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] is a Rapid Strike card, which makes it an extremely valuable bailout option. If you get Iono’d to a low amount of cards and miss a Supporter, you can search for Korrina’s Focus with Rapid Strike Search and refill your hand, giving you some built-in Iono protection. Drawing up to six cards is also not a bad effect at all if you have a low hand size, so I definitely think Korrina’s Focus is worth the one-of inclusion. If you expect to deal with a lot of Iono-based decks, I’d consider playing a second copy over a Professor’s Research, but if you conserve Korrina’s Focus until they play a crucial Iono, you can get by with only one in your deck.

One Klara

This card filles the role of a recovery card for our Pokemon, which is rarely important but can save the game in a pinch. [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] can help you reuse a [card name=”Medicham V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Radiant Alakazam” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”59″ c=”name”][/card] that was KO’d while also acting as a third [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card], which we already know is one of the best cards in the deck.  The Energy recovery right to the hand is the main reason Klara is better than [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck; it’s fine to give up a Supporter for your turn if you’re getting such a powerful effect in exchange.

Three Tower of Waters

This Stadium is used as the main pivot option in this list.  Since so many of your Pokemon are Rapid Strike, [card name=”Tower of Waters” set=”Battle Styles” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] gives a bunch of them free Retreat, effectively acting as an [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] for your entire board! While it can’t help you move everything (we have Escape Rope if Alakazam is in the Active Spot), Tower of Waters acts as a Rapid Strike Search-able pivot option for a deck that constantly needs to switch between attackers. With the amount of Stadium card hate in the format right now, I’d never consider dropping below three copies, but playing a fourth copy feels like overkill since you’ll usually win the game before you’ve used all three.

Six Water Energy

Basic Water Energy is primarily used as fuel for Double Gunner, but you can also use it with Melony to power up attackers and just naturally attack with Inteleon VMAX.  With the Energy Search, six copies feels like the right count to play and I would definitely never go lower (although a seventh does sound tempting…).

Four Rapid Strike Energy

Used to power up all your attacks, so it’s an easy four-of inclusion in this deck.  You can use Rapid Strike Energy on Urshifu to provide Fighting Energy, for Inteleon to attack for a single attachment (and remove the Energy to re-attach next turn), and on Medicham V to Yoga Loop with. It’s also searchable with Rapid Strike Search, so you’ll never miss it when you need to find it the most. Even with Octillery there to search it, I’d never go below four copies of Rapid Strike Energy since Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX discards them and you need them pretty much every turn.

Conclusion

Those are my thoughts on the [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] deck right now; I think this deck is really well positioned and if you haven’t tested it for Worlds yet, you should consider playing games with it. It’s a much better deck than I originally thought it would be and I would not be surprised to see it put up another big finish in Yokohama.

As always, feel free to post any questions you have about the deck/my card choices in the Subscriber’s Hideout or reach out to me on Twitter (@C4_TCG).  Thank you so much for reading and I hope be writing again soon!

– Charlie

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