Summoning the Stars — Tier 2 for Worlds?

Hello everyone! This is my last article before the upcoming World Championships! I am very excited to visit Japan for the first time, but I still have absolutely no idea what to play for the tournament. As of now, I’m keeping all of my options open.

Recently, I’ve written about most of the top decks in the current metagame. Today, I’ll be covering the rest of them — coincidentally, the decks that make up most of Tier 2. Even for those not competing at Worlds, this article will hopefully be helpful in understanding these decks, which are typically common at all levels of tournaments. Today we will be taking a closer look at [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card].

Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX

[cardimg name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Urshifu recently won NAIC, the largest tournament outside of Japan of all time, out of nowhere. This is a huge feat, all the more so since most players were not expecting this deck whatsoever. This was reflected by Urshifu’s small meta share, yet it was still able to win the event. Usually, an occurrence like this indicates an extremely strong deck that was slept on and underrated. However, Urshifu is one of my least favorite decks in the current format, and also one of the decks that I’d say I am least likely to play for Worlds.

I don’t personally like Urshifu because it is a clunky and high-maintenance deck. Its engine isn’t very strong, and it has some glaring bad matchups. For those reasons, I wouldn’t expect to see its success replicated at Worlds.

On the other hand, the deck is very powerful when all the pieces come together, and it has favorable matchups against some of the most popular decks, which is how it was able to win NAIC. Its matchup against Lost Box is quite good, and its [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] matchup is passable. It can handle some [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] variants, and it’s also great against [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card]. Cyrus’s winning run was also blessed by a few free wins against [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] and United Wings, which are extremely uncommon decks that happen to fold hard against Urshifu. Cyrus actually faced ten Arceus decks, which is an astronomically high amount, and did not have much trouble against them. However, [card name=”Duraludon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”220″ c=”name”][/card] usually beats Urshifu, so I would count that against Urshifu going into Worlds.

As a matchup-based deck, Urshifu has some good matchups and hopes to run into them during the tournament. Against Mew or Lugia, it has a nearly nonexistent chance of winning. This is what dissuaded me from playing the deck when I tested it for NAIC and previous events. I tried getting it to beat its bad matchups, but this proved to be difficult, and the deck space is difficult to juggle while still retaining a functional deck. NAIC turned out to be the perfect time to play the deck. If you correctly read the matchups and play a consistent list, Urshifu always has the potential to be the silver bullet play for any given tournament. I don’t have much else to say about the deck or anything to add in terms of lists, so we’re going to move on.

Lugia VSTAR

Lugia’s results were not spectacular at NAIC, but it did make Top 8. I was considering playing it for NAIC myself. However, I expected a lot of random [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card], which was annoying because I liked relying on [card name=”Lumineon” set=”Unified Minds” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] with that deck. Lugia was dominant in the Scarlet & Violet format, but it dipped in popularity in the Paldea Evolved format. There are more playable decks, and the other top-tier decks got significant buffs while Lugia did not. However, Lugia is still an extremely powerful deck with good matchups. It’s a deck that I am strongly considering for Worlds.

I tested the pure-Colorless version of Lugia with [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Lost Origin” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Wyrdeer V” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card], and it’s just not that good. The good ol’ Single Strike version is still the way to go. [card name=”Tyranitar V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] matches up absurdly well into the meta right now because Darkness-type Pokemon are effective against both Gardevoir and Mew. Tyranitar is also great against opposing Pokemon VSTAR such as Arceus, because it can still one-shot them with Single Strike Crush.

I psyched myself out big-time by worrying about Spiritomb at NAIC. Most Gardevoir lists have cut the card entirely, and Spiritomb alone isn’t even that good against Mew. Furthermore, Mew did not see great results at NAIC anyway. There is little incentive for anyone to be playing Spiritomb right now. Even if you run into it, the game is still very playable without Lumineon. The most likely deck to include Spiritomb right now is Arceus, which Lugia matches up well against anyway. Here’s my current list.

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[decklist name=”lugia” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″][pokemon amt=”18″]3x [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Lugia V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”85″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Archeops” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tyranitar V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Yveltal” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”175″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]1x [card name=”Professor Burnet” set=”Sword and Shield Black Star Promos” no=”SWSH167 ” c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Celebrations” no=”23″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Capturing Aroma” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”153″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Urn of Vitality” set=”Battle Styles” no=”139″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Mesagoza” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]3x [card name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”V Guard Energy” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Single Strike Energy” set=”Battle Styles” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]I realize that I have some explaining to do with this list. It’s so close to pre–Paldea Evolved lists that it makes me uncomfortable. After testing [card name=”Jet Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card], it was surprisingly not very useful. It’s way too situational, and the other Energy cards are more reliable. It was exceedingly rare to have Jet Energy as the attachment from hand while also being in a situation where the switching effect was relevant. Unless you are forced to discard excessive amounts of Energy, you should have plenty to retreat with when you have to. [card name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”V Guard Energy” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] retain their utility when used with Primal Turbo, which is how you are attaching most of your Energy anyway.

[cardimg name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] is another card that I found to be way less helpful than I expected. In your opening hand, you often hold Lugia VSTAR and/or some Supporter to use for next turn. Although Squawkabilly does increase the number of games you’re able to play without bricking, it only matters in truly desperate situations that you are probably going to end up losing anyway. If you discard three Energy and two [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] on turn one, and stumble into a single [card name=”Archeops” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] for turn two, for example, you’re likely not going to win anyway. Those kinds of hands are the ones that require Squawkabilly, so it really is just a lose-lose situation more often than not. If Squawkabilly could be used on literally any other turn besides turn one, it would be much better.

Squawkabilly’s usefulness scales exponentially with your count of [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”name”][/card], which I don’t want to play because [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] is far superior. I’ve always been an advocate of Great Ball in Lugia. It helps tremendously with consistency. Nest Ball is slightly better exclusively for finding Basics on turn one, which does not make it worth playing over Great Ball in my opinion. Of course, if I did run Squawkabilly, I would have to rework the engine a little bit, which makes for some awkwardness.

I don’t enjoy playing [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], but it is a necessary evil with Duraludon VMAX being relevant. Urshifu wrecks Arceus, which is quite handy in the current meta. I’m also not a huge fan of [card name=”Yveltal” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card], but again, it’s necessary due to the sheer volume of Gardevoir and how powerful that deck is. Having both of these Pokemon creates the need for the third [card name=”Urn of Vitality” set=”Battle Styles” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] as well.

[card name=”Radiant Tsareena” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] is a little helpful against Lost Box, but nearly useless against everything else. I don’t think Tsareena is good in this deck, but it is worth noting that it also slightly increases the value of [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]. Collapsed Stadium is helpful due to how much this deck relies on Lumineon. By removing Lumineon or another damaged two-Prize Pokemon, Collapsed Stadium ends up being a win condition more often than you might expect. Playing two increases the chances of finding it at a relevant time, as the deck has no reliable way to search out the card.

The two copies are further justified in the list by being counters to [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card], which you need to bump anyway in order to use Summoning Star and play the game. [card name=”Mesagoza” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] is the other option to counter Path. Although we already play two Mesagoza for some consistency, cutting into Collapsed can count for a lot. Mesagoza removes the power plays that Collapsed enables. It’s a fine line to walk.

I used to prefer no Collapsed and going hard into consistency, since Lugia is so powerful when it sets up on turn two. However, it seems that in this format, Lugia’s main lose condition is its liabilities being sniped off. This is relevant in matchups such as Gardevoir and Arceus, so Collapsed has quite a bit of value.

[card name=”Thorton” set=”Lost Origin” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card] is a card that I go back and forth on. It has a lot of synergy with Urshifu and Tyranitar, but it is so situational. It’s also hard to find space in the list for such a tech. Thorton is definitely a good card in the deck, but it’s hard to decide if it is worth cutting something else for.

Matchups

Lugia has a pretty good matchup against Gardevoir now that most of them don’t have Spiritomb. Three Boss is extremely strong in this matchup, and you use attackers like Yveltal and Tyranitar V to easily take out Gardevoir ex. Your initial Lugia VSTAR is hard for them to deal with, especially if you start attacking with it on turn two. It can apply some pressure, take a Prize or two, and tank a hit. Then you pivot into the Darkness-type attackers. They mainly rely on the late-game [card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] play, but you should have a fairly thin deck with lots of outs to Lumineon by then. Even if you don’t draw out of it, you are sometimes just too far ahead for it to matter anyway. You can also spend a turn using Tempest Dive to remove the Temple.

Tyranitar V with [card name=”V Guard Energy” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] makes Lost Box players have an aneurysm trying to deal with it, although the matchup is close overall due to their speed. Tyranitar and Collapsed Stadium is basically the entire Lost Box matchup. Arceus is trivial if you’re able to set up. Single Strike Urshifu VMAX runs through them and also makes for a good Duraludon (or [card name=”Flying Pikachu VMAX” set=”Celebrations” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card]) counter. Sometimes [card name=”Judge” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card] plus Path shuts you out of the game, but the matchup is still favorable overall. Rapid Strike Urshifu and Lost Zone [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] are good matchups. The Mew matchup is slightly favorable thanks to your Darkness-type attackers, but sometimes they win with their superior speed and consistency. The Chien-Pao matchup is not great, but still pretty close.

Overall, Lugia’s matchups are great. Setting up on turn two requires a little bit of work and luck, but if you’re able to pull it off, you will win pretty much every time. This is the power of Lugia.

Mew VMAX

[card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] is another deck that I am considering for Worlds. Just like with Lugia, I did not want to play it for NAIC because I severely overestimated Spiritomb. Although Spiritomb is a little annoying for Mew, it is not really a big deal and is fairly easy to play around. The same reasons why Spiritomb is not a big deterrent for Lugia also apply for Mew.

Mew did not have any stellar results at NAIC, but it is extremely popular and even dominant at Asian tournaments. On the western front, it seems that top players usually do not favor playing the deck, which contributes to its lack of results. Before Spiritomb’s release, Fusionless Mew was the more popular version for some time. Although that version feels a lot better to play, taking the auto-loss to Spiritomb is unacceptable when you can have a playable matchup with the [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card] version. Although the Fusion version is a little less consistent, it has lots of other benefits.

Mew has always been a fast, consistent, and powerful deck that feels great to play. Although the Fusion Strike Energy version occasionally bricks, it is still more consistent than many of the other meta decks. The deck has a powerful engine and usually gets to choose from a variety of powerful plays every turn. Mew is just a good deck, and [card name=”Drapion V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] is less popular now than it has ever been. My current list is similar to the one that won the Japan Championships (a massive tournament), but I made a few changes. Here it is.

[decklist name=”mew” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″][pokemon amt=”13″]3x [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Mew V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Eiscue” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”40″]2x [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis)” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Judge” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”176″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cram-o-matic” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”229″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Feather Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Lost City” set=”Lost Origin” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]3x [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist][card name=”Eiscue” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] is a card that I was initially highly skeptical of. In testing, it was surprisingly useful. It’s very strong against Gardevoir or any deck with Spiritomb. Whether you use Block Slider via Cross Fusion Strike or Eiscue itself just depends on the situation. [card name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] is a ridiculously powerful card, as it has always been. You can easily get a turn-one Melodious Echo attack, and you will win basically every game in which you get two Prizes on turn one.

[cardimg name=”Eiscue” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”44″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Nachi’s winning Supporter lineup is super optimal. [card name=”Judge” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card] with the Path is very useful for the early game in some matchups, and it can cheese Lugia or Arceus. [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] is better in the late game, and is effective against mirror and Gardevoir. Of course, both Judge and Iono are good against Lost Box. The [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card] is useful if either of those Supporters or either of the Bosses ends up discarded or in the Prizes, which covers a lot of scenarios. Overall, there is a lot of power for relatively little commitment.

Something that has always sketched me out about Mew lists is how few Ball search cards they play. One or two Nest Ball is just too greedy and inconsistent, so I’ve added some Nest Balls and a [card name=”Feather Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card]. I’ve also always disliked [card name=”Cleansing Gloves” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] because it is just bad. You rarely ever need it, and I’d rather just be fast and consistent and win games by being a superior deck.

I am somewhat indecisive about the two [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card]s. They can be important to bump Path, and they also can thin out the hand, which is sometimes useful. I will keep them for now, but perhaps you could cut one. If Path further declines in popularity, you could even cut both. [card name=”Lost City” set=”Lost Origin” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] is very good against Lost Box and Gardevoir, and is just the best overall counter-Stadium to Path. The rest of the list is standard.

[card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] is always a strong card for Mew to have, but it is hard to find space for it in the Fusion build. I am still considering it, and it’s certainly a card I would like to have.

Matchups

Mew has not been known for its amazing matchup spread, but rather for winning tournaments by being the highest-power deck. The Gardevoir matchup is close. Most lists have cut Spiritomb, but if they have the late-game Spiritomb plus Temple of Sinnoh, it’s quite bad. Make sure to keep one or two Stadium counters around to deal with the Temple of Sinnoh. In general, pressure them with Lost City and try not to give up three-Prize KOs. Eiscue is useful if they don’t have [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] on their Bench. The late-game Path plus Iono is useful if they do not have enough [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] in play.

Lost Box is probably Mew’s worst matchup, but it is still reasonably winnable. Lost City, hand disruption, and Psychic Leap are useful tools for this matchup. You also have to watch out for Drapion. Arceus matchups are quite favorable. [card name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] and Duraludon are both threatening, but they are also rather slow, and their Basic forms can be sniped off the Bench with Boss’s Orders. Urshifu is a great matchup, Lugia is close, and Chien-Pao is fine because nobody plays two [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] for some reason.

Conclusion

Overall, this format has a relatively high number of playable decks. Of the Tier 2 decks I went over today, I am considering Lugia and Mew for Worlds. That’s not really saying much because most of the decks in general are still on the table for me, but I do think those two are incredibly strong and well-positioned right now. Lugia has insane power and one of the best matchup spreads in the current format. Mew has unparalleled speed and power, and it is significantly more consistent. Urshifu is a deck that I don’t personally like very much right now, and it has let me down in testing. Of course, it is still a decent deck as it won NAIC.

That’s all I have for today. If you are attending Worlds, feel free to say hi. My previous finish at Worlds was quite good, but hopefully I will be able to improve that further with a Top 8. Thanks for reading!

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