Mew VMAX — The Deck That Never Dies?
Hello again, everyone! [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] has been a viable deck ever since the Fusion Strike set came out over two years ago, and the only thing stopping it is rotation. The draw power provided by [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card]’s Fusion Strike System Ability allows you to draw a ton of cards every turn and always find an attack on turn two. Even though [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] can shut off Fusion Strike System, Mew VMAX decks have found answers to both of these in [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card]. Fusion Strike Energy’s effect prevents Spiritomb’s Fettered in Misfortune Ability from affecting it, however, the full Fusion Strike Energy version of Mew VMAX has fallen out of favor lately thanks to the rising popularity of [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card].
Charizard ex’s Effect on the Meta
[cardimg name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”223″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
On its own, Charizard ex looks like it was built to hard counter Mew VMAX; it has a massive 330 HP, its Infernal Reign Ability powers itself up, and Burning Darkness takes a one-hit KO on Mew VMAX, even if the Mew VMAX player hasn’t taken a Prize card. Mew VMAX players did adjust to Charizard ex though, and it was found that by playing four Path to the Peak, [card name=”Grabber” set=”151″ no=”162″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Luxray V” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] you could swing the Charizard ex matchup slightly into your favor. This strategy didn’t have the space to play Fusion Strike Energy and instead played four [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] like some old Mew VMAX decks. The game plan was simple; play an early [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card], play down a Path to the Peak, then use Grabber or Luxray V’s Fang Snipe attack to disrupt the Charizard ex-player’s hand, and they hopefully will be unable to put a Charizard ex into play on their turn. After this, you clean up all their [card name=”Charmander” set=”151″ no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] with a few [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] and then the game should be simple to win from there.
This strategy was good against Charizard ex, however, it fell significantly short when you paired any deck with Spiritomb, as the Fettered in Misfortune Ability would completely shut off your Fusion Strike System Ability for the whole game. This version of Mew VMAX also struggled against [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], as the Gardevoir ex-player can eventually draw into [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and use Mirage Step to set up multiple [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card]. The Gardevoir ex matchup has been made significantly more difficult recently as they have been including multiple [card name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], which they can use with [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] and Miracle Force to remove several Genesect V from your board at once. While Mew VMAX decks include [card name=”Box of Disaster” set=”Lost Origin” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] to deal with an attacking [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], the matchup is still unfavored.
Even with these problems, Mew VMAX decks are still well-positioned in the current metagame. Path to the Peak is a powerful card to have in your deck right now, as many of the top decks rely heavily on their Abilities. Mew VMAX is also the best deck at aggressively pushing an advantage, as you can find Boss’s Orders turn after turn to Knock Out whatever opposing Benched Pokemon you want. The deck also hits for 220 damage easily, as you only require one [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”name”][/card] to push a copied Techno Blast to 220 damage, which takes a KO on most Basic Pokemon V or ex. Because the deck has so many inherent strengths to it, I decided to continue working on it and try and mitigate the issues with Charizard ex, Spiritomb, and Gardevoir ex.
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My Mew VMAX List
[decklist name=”Mew VMAX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″][pokemon amt=”11″]4x [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]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][/pokemon][trainers amt=”43″]3x [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ 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=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cram-o-matic” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”229″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Fates Collide” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Feather Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ 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=”Box of Disaster” set=”Lost Origin” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”6″]4x [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
[cardimg name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”147″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The best answer this deck has for [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] is to play [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card], but I disliked the single Fusion Strike Energy which a lot of the lists played. While [card name=”Grabber” set=”151″ no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Luxray V” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] are interesting options to have, I found that playing two copies of Fusion Strike Energy and one copy of [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”name”][/card] gave you the best chance against an opposing Spiritomb while still maintaining your normal consistency. When you play one Fusion Strike Energy, you have no easy access to find it without directly drawing into it, and the Fusion Strike Energy also did nothing for you except give you a small answer to Spiritomb. Elesa’s Sparkle is also important as it lets you get Fusion Strike Energy in play without using up your attachment for the turn, which is useful if you happen to miss [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] on turn one. When you include an extra Fusion Strike Energy and a copy of Elesa’s Sparkle it gives you significantly easier access to them, as you can use [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] to find Elesa’s Sparkle to give two of your Genesect V’s a Fusion Strike Energy, allowing both of them to use Fusion Strike System under Spiritomb. Only having one Fusion Strike Energy per game also only lets you use one Fusion Strike System under Spiritomb, which is often not enough to even win a game. Having two uses of Fusion Strike System in a turn is important, as it fully lets you play the game under Spiritomb.
Having access to an Elesa’s Sparkle also allows you to attack on your first turn if you go second, as you can use Elesa’s Sparkle to a [card name=”Mew V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], attach a Double Turbo Energy, play a [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”name”][/card] and use Psychic Leap for 80 damage. This is an important option to have against Lost Zone decks, [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] decks, and [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] decks as all of them will often have a small Basic as their opening Pokemon. One of the weaknesses of the straight Double Turbo Energy version of Mew VMAX is that it doesn’t do much on the first turn if it goes second, so having a small Elesa’s Sparkle package gives you a nice option to go for.
The rest of the decklist is a standard Double Turbo Energy Mew VMAX deck. One potential inclusion is [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card], as this deck requires you to have a full Bench for most of the game. When you only play eight total Basic Pokemon, even prizing a single one can cause issues for you as it can prevent you from using your Fusion Strike System for the full six cards. I chose to include a fourth copy of Path to the Peak instead, however, as it is so important to draw into it on turn one in almost all of your matchups. Going first with this deck is crucial in any matchup, as it is important to put a [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] into play before your opponent has an opportunity to take a turn. Choosing to go second is also extremely risky into a potential Spiritomb as it’s difficult to have an opening hand that can play your one Elesa’s Sparkle and put Basic Pokemon into play. Having the turn to set up your board before your opponent can search for Spiritomb is important, so opting to go first into every matchup with this deck is important.
One other important thing to note in all of your matchups is to be careful about giving your opponent a route to win the game in two attacks. Using Cross Fusion Strike to copy Psychic Leap and either punch a huge opposing Pokemon or take a one-Prize KO can be important here, as it buys you an extra attack to win the game.
Matchups
Charizard ex (45-55)
[cardimg name=”Box of Disaster” set=”Lost Origin” no=”214″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
While Charizard ex looks like an awful matchup on the surface, it is winnable with aggressive use of Path to the Peak. If they are playing against the version with [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] then you will struggle to win, as they can draw cards under Path to the Peak and set up multiple Charizard ex, however, the more popular version of Charizard ex these days is the one that plays [card name=”Arven” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card], which is significantly weaker under Path to the Peak. Since you no longer have access to the direct hand disruption or Grabber or Luxray V, it is important to focus your strategy on Path to the Peak and an early [card name=”Judge” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card]. While you can play [card name=”Justified Gloves” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] to potentially reach for a one-hit KO on a Charizard ex, I have found that [card name=”Box of Disaster” set=”Lost Origin” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] is a better fit for this role.
Box of Disaster was added to this deck for the Gardevoir ex matchup but also ends up being important for your Charizard ex matchup. Your plan in the early game against Charizard ex is to play Judge and Path to the Peak, and then take Knock Outs on their small Basics until they eventually set up a Charizard ex. In this situation, it’s important to have a Box of Disaster attached to your attacking [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] as you otherwise cannot Knock Out the opposing Charizard ex. If the attacking Charizard ex has 80 damage, it goes to 250 HP remaining, which is enough for you to use two Power Tablet to push your Techno Blast attack to return the KO. If you follow this up with another Judge and Path to the Peak, that is often enough to overcome prevent your opponent from setting up another Charizard ex. While Box of Disaster can be removed by a [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card], your opponent will often not have the freedom to use their Lost Vacuum on your Box of Disaster, as it is difficult for your opponent to assemble a way to bump Path to the Peak, a way to get Charizard ex into play and a Lost Vacuum at once.
Thankfully, it is extremely rare to see a Charizard ex deck play [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]. This is because they already have a decent Mew VMAX matchup, and Spiritomb shuts off their [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]. You are often free to discard your [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card] and your [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”name”][/card] if you go first, or throw them all on a Mew V to use Psychic Leap on turn one if you go second.
Gardevoir ex (45-55)
[card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] is a tough matchup, but you can overwhelm them in the early game. Going first in this matchup is important, as you can combine your first attack with a Judge to put pressure on their hand. If they only put one [card name=”Ralts” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] on their Bench, it’s important to target it down with a [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] to prevent them from using Mirage Step on their next turn. This is why Elesa’s Sparkle is important in this matchup, as you can sometimes use [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] to force it Active and take the Knock Out when you go second. If they manage to set up multiple Kirlia on their Bench, it’s important to conserve your [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”name”][/card] to prevent your opponent from going aggressive with their Gardevoir ex. Gardevoir ex’s Miracle Force attack takes a Knock Out on a [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] and sets up a Mew VMAX to get Knocked Out while on your Bench by a [card name=”Scream Tail” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]. If your opponent attacks with a Gardevoir ex it will often have 270 HP remaining from two uses of Psychic Embrace — being able to immediately respond with three Power Tablet is important in this scenario.
[cardimg name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”187″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
If you don’t manage to take a quick lead, it is important to try and force your opponent to use a high number of attacks. Box of Disaster is powerful in this matchup, as you force your opponent to either use their Lost Vacuum to remove it or take a turn off to proc the Box of Disaster with Teleportation Burst or a Miracle Force. Your opponent is often not able to use Lost Vacuum on Box of Disaster, as it is important for them to get rid of [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card]. Preventing your opponent from winning the game in two attacks is vital, so having three [card name=”Mew V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] in play can be helpful to always have access to Psychic Leap. It is often convenient to Psychic Leap a [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] that just attacked since your opponent needs to put 120 damage on it with Psychic Embrace to Brainwave for a KO.
If you can, limit yourself to four Benched Pokemon when playing against Gardevoir ex. This is to minimize the impact of their [card name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], so that you have enough Basic Pokemon to continue to draw cards in the late game. I have seen some Mew VMAX decks include [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] to recover your Basic Pokemon, but I do think that [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] is more useful overall as it can save your opening hand and is always playable, whereas Super Rod is usually unplayable in your opening hand and will only clog up your Fusion Strike System.
Lost Zone Giratina VSTAR (70-30)
This matchup is more like 40-60 if they play [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card].
Lost Zone [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] does seem like an easy matchup, but you need to be careful of their Path to the Peak. While you are normally the one putting Path to the Peak in play to disrupt your opponent, the script is flipped in this matchup. Because of this, saving your Lost Vacuum is important, as these are the only ways you have of removing Path to the Peak. It is also crucial to save your Star Alchemy Ability, as you can use it to find a Lost Vacuum off of a [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card]. Speaking of Roxanne, it is important to try not to go to three Prize cards remaining in this matchup, as your opponent can play Roxanne without you having a way to immediately win the game the turn after. This gets tougher if they play Spiritomb because you will likely be forced to use Star Alchemy to find [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”name”][/card] just to play the game. If you take the first two Prize cards on a [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] and your opponent doesn’t put down another one, it is fine to simply take a Knock Out as your opponent isn’t able to play Roxanne and set up a Giratina VSTAR in that turn.
Finding [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] early on is significant in this matchup because it pushes your Techno Blast attack to 220 against Giratina V, often saving you multiple [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”name”][/card] throughout the game. Cutting Choice Belt is an option in this deck, as the only Pokemon V that see play nowadays are Giratina V and Mew V. You often will not be taking one-hit KOs on [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] in the mirror match, but Choice Belt is such an important option against Giratina VSTAR that its worth keeping. If your opponent stumbles in the early game and ends up using Abyss Seeking then you can capitalize easily by taking fast Knock Outs on their Giratina V. [card name=”Judge” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card] is also crucial early on, as if your opponent misses [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] then they are often forced into Abyss Seeking.
Miraidon ex (75-25)
Again, this matchup is more like 40-60 if they play Spiritomb.
[cardimg name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”213″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
If your [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] opponent doesn’t play Spiritomb then it is one of your best matchups. Miraidon ex already struggles against [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card], and your Techno Blast attack lines up well against them as it takes a one-hit Knock Out on Miraidon ex with one Power Tablet.
You will often get to go first in this matchup because Miraidon ex generally opts to go second in a blind matchup, and if you can immediately play a Path to the Peak you will be in a great position. Miraidon ex relies heavily on going second so that they can use [card name=”Peony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] for [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card] and grab [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] to use Squawk and Seize. If Path to the Peak prevents Squawk and Seize then you are in a great position as your opponent doesn’t have any mass draw and they are often forced to Peony for a [card name=”Beach Court” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card]. Even if they do get to Peony for a Beach Court and a Battle VIP Pass, then you have prevented them from grabbing an [card name=”Electric Generator” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] with their Peony, and you can play Path to the Peak again on your next turn. Path to the Peak is important in this matchup because it shuts off Tandem Unit and Restart, which prevents your opponent from finding their Basic Pokemon and drawing extra cards. It also prevents [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] from using Luminous Sign, which cuts off a lot of outs from your opponent on the first turn. In this matchup, I would focus on the Prize trade over Knocking Out [card name=”Flaaffy” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], as your opponent will likely have a lot of low HP two-Prize Pokemon like Squawkabilly ex, [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] or Lumineon V in play. If they do play Spiritomb, then it’s important to find [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”name”][/card] ASAP and then follow the game plan as normal!
That’s All Folks!
[card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] will always be a solid choice for any tournament you go to, and many players have stuck with it ever since the cards came out. The current version of the deck acts as the boogeyman of the format, aggressively playing [card name=”Judge” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] quickly and capitalizing on poor setups. I hope you open many copies of Battle VIP Pass, and good luck at your next tournament!
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