Lesson in Zeal — Mew VMAX After Its Success at Worlds
Hello PokeBeach readers! Isaiah here, and I am happy to be writing another article for you all! Last time, I talked a bit about pure [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] decks, including the deck I played for the 2023 World Championships, as well as a new variant with [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card]. In the weeks since then, the Pidgeot ex variant seems like it has largely fallen off, perhaps because it is just a little too weak. The build that I played at the World Championships, however, which included a [card name=”Slaking V” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card], has continued to see success at various local-level events. In the time since Worlds, I have largely found myself not playing this deck anymore, but not because I think it is bad — I’ve simply been choosing to work on other archetypes that I think are a bit more potent.
As of late, I have been heavily focused on [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] (I recommend reading Grant Manley’s article about this, as our lists are quite similar) and the deck piloted by this year’s World Champion, [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]. At this point, nobody should be a stranger to Mew VMAX. The deck has been a major part of the metagame ever since it released in November 2021, but over the last few months the deck seems like it has gotten considerably better, even with the release of [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]. For a long time I had largely stopped playing Mew VMAX: while I always thought the deck was fun to play, its bad matchup against almost all variants of [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] in history always led me to play decks that could better stand up to Lugia VSTAR’s wrath. While Lugia VSTAR is still popular, it is certainly nowhere near the over-30% usage rate that it had in the Silver Tempest format. The deck also has a less reliable early game now, opening a window for the [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card] variant of Mew VMAX to maybe Knock Out the only [card name=”Lugia V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] in play to secure an easy win.
The deck’s success at the World Championships was something of an eye-opening experience to me. The deck is much better than I realized it was, boasting a variety of good matchups against many of the most hyped-up decks in Standard right now. It will probably be a good play for the season’s early Regional Championships. As of now, I actually still believe that Vance’s list from the World Championship is pretty much perfect — so how about we jump right into his deck?
Vance Kelley’s Mew VMAX Deck
[cardimg name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
In general, the strategy of the Fusion Strike Energy variant of Mew VMAX has not changed. It is, at its core, still a Mew VMAX deck, meaning that it uses its incredibly effective draw engine to turbo through the deck, finding [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis)” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”name”][/card] as needed to take efficient Knock Outs. This strategy is quick, simple, and low-maintenance, which has been enough to keep Mew VMAX decks at the top of the metagame for the card’s entire legality.
Aside from this basic strategy, there are two more schools of thought: the hyper-streamlined four [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] variant; and the less consistent, but more potent, Fusion Strike Energy variant. From about this time last year up until the release of Paldea Evolved, the Double Turbo Energy variant was considered drastically better than the Fusion Strike Energy build because the consistency and ability to abuse [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] was much more valuable, but now that [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] is a part of the format, it is almost necessary to play the Fusion Strike Energy variant. Fusion Strike Energy makes [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] immune to the effects of Spiritomb’s Ability, meaning that you can continue to dig through the deck with impunity.
The other massive pro to playing the Fusion Strike Energy variant of the deck is that you are able to abuse the strength of [card name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] as a Basic Pokemon that can very realistically hit for at least 220 damage on your first turn (if you go second). This makes the outcome of the coin flip much less significant to a Mew VMAX player — they are okay with either option, and it is more about possibly denying the opponent the ability to go first in any particular game.
Vance Kelley’s Mew VMAX deck is far from a unique take on the deck, largely because there is not a ton of room left to innovate the archetype. A very streamlined approach was certainly a major factor in his success at the World Championships this year. With that said, let’s examine the deck list.
Deck List
[decklist name=”vance 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=”Oricorio” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”42″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”40″]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis)” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Judge” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”176″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cram-o-matic” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”229″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”176″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Box of Disaster” set=”Lost Origin” no=”154″ 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=”Crystal Cave” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist][premium]
Oricorio
For the longest time, [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”42″ c=”name”][/card] was largely omitted from Mew VMAX deck lists, both the Fusion Strike Energy and Double Turbo Energy builds alike, but Vance Kelley decided to bring it back all of a sudden. The card has actually ended up in a position in Standard where it has a lot of weirdly perfect math going for it. Notably, Oricorio provides a lot of value in the [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, acting as a way to protect your [card name=”Mew V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] from being Knocked Out in one hit by a Gardevoir ex’s Miracle Force, meaning that you are not forced to find a Boss’s Orders or [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] to take a Prize card on a turn where they choose to use Gardevoir ex instead of something like a [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] or a [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card]. Another unique use of the card against Gardevoir is that you can use Glistening Droplets to clean up a Knock Out on a heavily damaged attacker, sometimes paired with some hand disruption to reduce the likelihood of a Boss’s Orders to throw off the Prize card exchange. The card also has some niche uses in the mirror match, requiring the opponent to find a [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card] to take a Knock Out on a Pokemon V, which could deny them the ability to take a one-hit Knock Out on a Mew VMAX later in the game. I think this specific use case was a critical part of Vance defeating Azul Garcia Griego in Top 4 of the World Championship, providing excellent evidence for why the card is a must-include.
One Iono and One Judge
When it comes to the inclusion of draw Supporters in Mew VMAX decks, there are a lot of different schools of thought. One way to look at it is to play cards like [card name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] to draw a few cards while hurting the opponent’s setup, as you never really need to draw a high volume of cards with a Supporter on your own. However, the most common approach is just simple hand disruption. For most of the last year, we saw Mew VMAX decks focus more on [card name=”Judge” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card] and the occasional [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] as a way to disrupt the opponent’s hand while maybe getting a few extra cards in the process.
While this strategy is certainly effective, it is less good in a variant that is going to usually want to play [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”name”][/card] at some point. Still, having a Judge in this deck is fairly strong in matchups with high turn volumes, such as Lost Zone matchups, where you have the time to play Elesa’s Sparkle and later play the Judge to disrupt their hand a bit. In addition to the Judge, [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] has come to take the place of Roxanne as a better card that can be played at all points in the game. Putting the opponent to one card instead of two in the situations where that would be the case is also surprisingly relevant, making Iono just a considerably better card in general.
Switch Cart
[cardimg name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The use of [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] as opposed to just [card name=”Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”194″ c=”name”][/card] was a highly contentious debate for quite a while last last year, with the argument generally being over whether or not you were likely to be stuck in situations where you needed to play a Switch to specifically move a Mew VMAX, since Switch Cart cannot do that. Ultimately, however, just retreating and playing a Switch Cart on a Genesect V is good enough. Additionally, the added healing of 30 damage can occasionally provide significant value against Lost Zone decks. For example, if a [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] hits a Genesect V for 90, Switch Cart can heal it back down to 60, meaning that Lost Mine still cannot Knock it Out, possibly forcing the opponent to waste an entire turn making up for the lost damage. This can be the difference between winning and losing in that matchup.
It is also very important to play some number of Switch or Switch Cart rather than only playing Escape Rope like Azul did at the World Championships. In Game 3 of Top 4 against Vance, one of the most pivotal turns in the game was a turn where Vance was at five Prize cards and Azul was at four. Azul’s hand was clogged, so he decided to play a Boss’s Orders on a Pokemon V, which he was going to do anyway based on his line of play, so that he could dig deeper for a Mew VMAX to retreat his Mew VMAX into so that he could attack for a Knock Out, making closing out the game the following turn with a Boss’s Orders extremely easy. However, despite multiple Fusion Strike Systems, Azul never found a Mew VMAX, though he did find an Escape Rope. While a switch out would usually be good enough, the fact that Azul had already played a Boss’s Orders that turn made it so he could no longer Knock Out a Pokemon V. He was instead presented with a full-HP Mew VMAX, which he ultimately failed to Knock Out because it has simply way too much HP for the situation. This whiff allowed Vance to pull ahead by a turn, ultimately resulting in his victory, which was a victory he would not have gotten if Azul had simply drawn a Switch Cart instead. While this could be argued as a case of confirmation bias based on one specific incident, I think that it’s better to see it as a relevant incident where it came up and had a massive effect on not just that game, but likely the outcome of the entire tournament.
Box of Disaster
One of the more innovative changes in Vance’s deck list was the decision to play [card name=”Box of Disaster” set=”Lost Origin” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], a card which you might remember from my recent Arceus VSTAR article. In this deck, Box of Disaster again fills the role of a card that can severely impact a Gardevoir player’s game plan by Knocking Out their attacker in response to them Knocking you Out, typically resulting in an even trade at worst. In the finals of the World Championships, this card unfortunately did not end up playing as big a role as one could have hoped, largely because of Tord’s inclusion of [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] to remove it. This also means that there will probably be more Lost Vacuum in Gardevoir deck lists going forward than at the World Championships, so Box of Disaster loses a lot of its luster, but the card is still an excellent swing tool for a matchup that can be difficult otherwise. In addition, Box of Disaster has its fair share of uses against [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], which is a matchup that’s generally considered an autoloss. Box of Disaster makes it go from impossible to possible.
Crystal Cave
[card name=”Crystal Cave” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] has been in and out of Mew VMAX decks for a long time, and this deck list is no different. In the current format, Crystal Cave is not as strong as it was in formats like Lost Origin‘s Standard format, but the card was an incredible call for the World Championships because it was unexpected. It is very easy for Lost Zone players to accidentally throw the game because they spread damage too thin on the Mew player’s Genesect V, allowing those Genesect V to be healed up with some combination of Crystal Cave and Switch Carts. Going forward, I am not sure if it is the strongest card, but I do think it provides a lot of value if you expect a lot of Lost Zone decks, so it is probably worth playing a copy, especially with [card name=”Lost City” set=”Lost Origin” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] being a bit underwhelming right now.
Other Ideas
Eiscue
One card that has seen a dramatic rise in popularity in Mew VMAX decks since the release of Paldea Evolved has been [card name=”Eiscue” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card]. Initially included as a means of sniping a Spiritomb off the board, being able to pick off [card name=”Ralts” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Charmander” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], and other low-HP Basic Pokemon in the early turns of the game is certainly a valuable option and can definitely make it worth playing. The main reason that I do not play it right now is because I do not think the card is quite strong enough in other situations.
Hisuian Heavy Ball and Feather Ball
One annoying aspect of [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”name”][/card] is that you cannot play it with a full Bench. As such, I have begun messing with a copy of [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] and a copy of [card name=”Feather Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] in order to try different ideas that can be burned out of the hand a bit easier if necessary. At a recent League Cup I played the Hisuian Heavy Ball to a second-place finish, so I am currently leaning in its favor.
Echoing Horn
An idea that I briefly messed with as a tech for the Charizard ex matchup was Echoing Horn, since it can open up the opportunity to Knock Out an Arceus VSTAR and then resurrect it later for two more Prize cards, only forcing you to Knock Out one Charizard ex per game. After testing this idea at a League Cup, I was extremely unimpressed and removed it soon afterward. I could see a case for it at some point, but for now I think most other cards are more valuable.
Stadiums
In general, I think that Lost City is one of the most overrated cards in the Standard format, so I have begun messing with removing a Lost City in favor of alternate win conditions. One of these is a second copy of Path to the Peak, something that a friend of mine suggested. I have not done a lot of testing with this yet, but it has been incredible in the limited testing that I have done, so I expect that it will probably end up being a permanent inclusion in the deck for myself.
What about DTE Mew?
A crazy notion that I have been considering recently is the return of Double Turbo Energy Mew VMAX decks. While I do not have a list for the deck right now, as it has merely been a thought in the back of my mind, I have put some thought into it. Spiritomb is currently on the decline, so perhaps there is a window for the deck’s success in the current format. After all, four Path to the Peak and several copies of Judge will never not be an absolutely broken combination of cards, so using their power to cripple opponents and getting a little lucky hitting minimal Spiritomb is the perfect recipe for success with a long-forgotten powerhouse from a previous format.
Conclusion
As the 2023 season wraps up and the 2024 season begins, we are starting to see the re-emergence of Mew VMAX in a big way, as an absolute meta powerhouse with a strong case for being the best deck in Standard currently. Between raw power, moderate HP, healing, and hand disruption, Mew VMAX simply has pretty much every tool that the deck could possibly need, setting it up for high-level success for the next few months at least.
With that, this article draws to a close. As always, I hoped you enjoyed reading about this fun archetype, as I always enjoy getting to write about it. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out in the Subscriber’s Hideout, on Twitter (@ICheville), or on Facebook (Zaya Lee).
Until next time!
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