Giratina VSTAR — Breaking Down Its Success

Hello PokeBeach readers, it’s me again! [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] has recently shown itself as the best deck in the current Standard format, winning the Portland, Charlotte, and Melbourne Regional Championships this year! It also came second at the Liverpool Regional Championships. Also, it made the Top 4 of the Knoxville Regional Championships, with a Giratina VSTAR player having made it to Top 4 or better at the past six Regionals to have taken place.

However, when we look at the end of the Obsidian Flames format and the beginning of the Paradox Rift format, Giratina VSTAR was struggling to perform, with only two Giratina VSTAR players making the Top 8 of LAIC, Brisbane Regionals, Gdansk Regionals, and Stuttgart Regionals. There are several factors for why I believe that Giratina VTSTAR rose to prominence, and the first one is the significant shifts that have happened in the metagame ever since LAIC.

At LAIC, [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] was the most played deck on Day 1 and converted very well into Day 2, with it making up 25% of the Day 2 metagame. While I believe that this matchup is even, it often ends in a tie thanks to the typical length of a game in this matchup being over 20 minutes. This is also a matchup where neither player is really out of it until the very end, as [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] + [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] can sometimes swing a losing game back into your favor. [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] decks also converted well at LAIC, and these are a typically poor matchup for Giratina VSTAR without some kind of answer like [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]. However, Gabriel Veloso still managed to make Top 4 of LAIC with Giratina VSTAR, but with a decklist that is significantly different from the current iterations of Giratina VSTAR.

Gabriel Veloso’s Giratina VSTAR Deck List

[decklist name=”Giratina VSTAR” amt=”60″ caption=”Gabriel Veloso” cname=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″][pokemon amt=”15″]4x [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Black and White” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”14″]4x [card name=”Jet Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”190″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG69″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Outside of the [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], this is what Giratina VSTAR decklists typically looked like at LAIC. The biggest issue the deck had at the time was that it struggled with early game consistency, since you had no reliable way of finding [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] in the early game. While you did have Abyss Seeking to tide you over for a bit, decks like [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] were able to punish you very heavily by aggressively taking a KO on [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], as they hit 220 damage easily with [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”name”][/card]. This is where the Forest Seal Stone came in, as with the Star Alchemy Ability it essentially acted as a 5th copy of Colress’s Experiment. However, using Star Alchemy prevents you from using Star Requiem, which is crucial against [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] or Mew VMAX to take a massive OHKO. Using Star Alchemy in those matchups would effectively seal your fate, as your opponent would be safe for the rest of the game knowing that you had no way of taking a OHKO. Because of how important Star Alchemy is to so many of your matchups, Forest Seal Stone was quickly phased out of Giratina VSTAR decks.

Alberto Conti took a different approach to this deck at Stuttgart Regionals, making Top 4 with a list that included two copies of [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card]. In theory, this solves the problems that Giratina VSTAR had by giving you access to extra draw Supporters in the early game while also acting as disruption in the late game. However, Iono is so much worse than Colress’s Experiment in the early game as it doesn’t add cards to the Lost Zone. In addition, Giratina VSTAR typically wants to accrue a large hand to increase their options, and having a Supporter which refreshes your hand instead of adding to it is antithetical to this game plan. Iono is also much worse than [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] in the late game. as you are drawing only three to four cards instead of six, significantly decreasing your odds of having a follow up play after the Iono. Alberto Conti’s list did have a big innovation though, with the inclusion of two [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]. Most Giratina VSTAR decks leading up to Stuttgart played two copies of [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] and one copy of Boss’s Orders, but this inclusion often required you to be behind in Prize cards to win the late game. Playing two copies of Boss’s Orders allows you to close out the game while being ahead, which was an important inclusion in this deck.

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The dominance of Giratina VSTAR started when Jon Eng won the Portland Regional Championships with this Dragon-type Pokemon. The deck list he used included a card that solved the problems created by Iono, by playing [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Sword and Shield” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card] instead. Pokegear 3.0 can both find Colress’s Experiment in the early game, and also search for Roxanne later on. However, it comes with the obvious downside of having a fail rate, but the upside of either end makes it a significantly stronger inclusion than Iono. Pokegear 3.0 also gives you more access to Boss’s Orders, resulting in significantly more options to play from ahead. Jon also chose to go to one copy of [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], as [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] has become a standard inclusion in all of the decks that are weak to Lost Mine. Jon did play some interesting counts of cards as well, only including three [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] and deciding to play [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] for the mirror match. Interestingly, Jon also chose to play three copies of Water Energy, letting him have a significantly easier time using [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card]’s Moonlight Shuriken attack.

Jon Eng’s win in Portland was the time when Giratina VSTAR moved straight to the forefront of the competitive scene. It even won the Charlotte Regional Championships in the hands of Vini Fernandez! Vini’s list was more similar to Alberto’s, playing four [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], four Path to the Peak, two Water Energy and no Manaphy, which have now become the normal counts. After this, we move onto Brent Tonisson’s list that he used to win Melbourne Regionals last weekend and the reason that I think Giratina VSTAR has dominated all these tournaments.

Brent Tonisson’s Winning Giratina VSTAR Deck List

[decklist name=”Giratina VSTAR” amt=”60″ caption=”Brent Tonisson 1st place Melbourne Regionals” cname=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″][pokemon amt=”13″]4x [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]4x [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]4x [card name=”Jet Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”190″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”XY” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

If we compare all of the winning [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] deck lists, they are all very slightly different in the way they can punish the opponent. Alberto’s list was able to disrupt his opponent’s hand while they were at four Prize cards, Jon’s was able to use Radiant Greninja much easier, Vini had [card name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] to attack the opposing Bench and Brent played two copies of Counter Catcher to come back from a losing position. When you are playing against Giratina VSTAR, it is extremely difficult to play around all of those options at once. When your opponent puts a Water Energy in the Lost Zone, you still have to put Manaphy on the Bench because they could be playing three! You don’t know if they have the potential to play Counter Catcher and Roxanne after having used the first one, or if its safe to stockpile cards in your hand while you have four Prize cards. While speaking to Brent after his win in Melbourne, he talked about how many of his opponents just assumed he was playing the same deck list he played in Liverpool and were respecting the possibility of the second Sableye and the third copy of Water Energy. In most scenarios, you have to play around the third Water Energy, since you will often just instantly lose the game if they do play it. This allows you to tweak the counts of your Giratina deck list while most of your opponents still have to respect every possibility, eventually you will be able to get them with something.

Giratina VSTAR is such a flexible deck in both its deck building options and in its game plans. With Pokegear 3.0 in your deck it is much easier to make an aggressive push with [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] or Giratina VSTAR early on, but you still have the late game disruption option of Roxanne and Path to the Peak. You can even play similarly to a Lost Zone Toolbox deck with Cramorant, Sableye, and Radiant Greninja. There is also the added pressure of Path to the Peak, which many of the top decks struggle to beat. This makes Giratina VSTAR incredibly difficult to hard counter, as its game plan is so flexible depending on the scenario. [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] decks have popped up recently in an attempt to counter Giratina VSTAR, but the matchup is still close if the Giratina VSTAR deck plays four copies of Path to the Peak. This is also the case with the [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, many players think its favored thanks to [card name=”Exp. Share” set=”Next Destinies” no=”87″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] (using Genome Hacking to copy Lost Impact) but the Giratina VSTAR still has a game plan with Path to the Peak, Counter Catcher, and Roxanne. Even against Mew VMAX, Giratina VSTAR still has the potential to win even without including [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Drapion V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card], the late game potency of Path to the Peak and Roxanne is just sometimes too strong for many decks to overcome.

The main reason why I think Giratina VSTAR has seen this much success recently is its flexibility, it has too many options for any deck to be able to realistically target it. Even the decks that are seemingly out to defeat it like Miraidon ex and Roaring Moon ex only manage around a 55% winrate against Giratina VSTAR, making for an easily losable matchup, especially with an early Path to the Peak play. With that, I would also like to discuss the card choices in Brent’s list and why I would stick to his shell moving forward.

Four Path to the Peak

[cardimg name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”213″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I believe that four copies of Path to the Peak is a staple in [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], thanks to its potency at all points in the game. In the matchups where Path to the Peak is good, you want to be putting one into play every single turn, both to disrupt your opponent but also to run them out of Stadium bumps to increase the potency of your Roxanne later in the game. When you only play three copies of Path to the Peak, you will struggle to hit it every single turn in the matchups where it matters, and you will need to heavily prioritize it while making your decisions off [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]’s Flower Selecting or [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card], often forcing you to send important resources to the Lost Zone. Having a fourth copy of Path to the Peak is great for redundancy, as you have the freedom to be able to send one copy of the Stadium to the Lost Zone if you need to in order to play the game. If you are forced to go first, then a turn 1 Path to the Peak can also be devastating, as it prevents many decks from playing the game if they don’t have a replacement Stadium to counter. Because of how strong Path to the Peak is right now in the current format, I wouldn’t play less than four copies in a Giratina VSTAR deck.

Four Nest Ball

Many Giratina VSTAR decks only play three copies of [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”name”][/card], but Brent decided to go with the full four copies in his deck. The reason for this actually has to do with the recent change of many players opting to go second. In a tournament, your [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], Giratina VSTAR, Roaring Moon ex, and Miraidon ex opponents will all be opting to go second. Against [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], you will also be opting to go first. This means that while you normally want to go second yourself, you will likely be going first in a large number of your games. When you go first, your odds of seeing [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card] on the first turn are much lower than normal since you cannot use [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] to draw into them. When you don’t draw Battle VIP Pass, it is incredibly difficult to find your Pokemon throughout the game, as a ton of pressure is put on your three copies of Nest Ball and you can’t ever afford to send one to the Lost Zone. When you play four copies of Nest Ball, finding your Pokemon throughout the game is much easier. I like the idea of optimizing your deck for going both first and second in the current Standard format, as many of the top decks will force you to go first.

Spiritomb?

Spiritomb from Paldea Evolved has become a very contentious choice in Giratina VSTAR recently. While it was initially included just to beat Mew VMAX, players have discovered that it also has applications against Charizard ex and Roaring Moon ex decks. If you go first against Charizard ex, benching Spiritomb shuts off both their [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card]’s Instant Charge and [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]’s Luminous Sign Abilities, significantly reducing the consistency of their deck. When Charizard ex doesn’t have access to the early Lumineon for [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card] or Instant Charge to refill their hand, they tend to struggle with setting up Charizard after Charizard. Against Roaring Moon ex, Spiritomb shuts off the Direflame Wings ability on [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], which is very important against the [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Celebrations” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] version of Roaring Moon ex. The new version of Roaring Moon ex relies heavily on Direflame Wings and [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] as extra Energy acceleration, so having Spiritomb’s Fettered in Misfortune to shut off their Direflame Wings ability can potentially buy you an extra turn. This, along with flipping your Mew VMAX matchup from unfavored to favored are the main reasons to play Spiritomb in Giratina VSTAR right now. The main cost to playing Spiritomb is the decreased odds of opening either Comfey or [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], but for the bonuses it provides you against some tougher matchups I think that it is worth it right now. From Brent’s list I would cut the second Counter Catcher for either the Spiritomb or the next card I will talk about.

Manaphy?

I have been leaning towards not including Manaphy in Giratina VSTAR because of how little it comes up. The only matchup that I have found is significantly effected by including Manaphy is the mirror match, but it doesn’t even come up in every game. If your opponent does use Radiant Greninja’s Moonlight Shuriken on two Comfey, that will typically swing the game in their favor as they are able to take two Prize cards with a single Prize Pokemon without any setup. However, the line I have been going for to prevent this is to just put one Comfey on the Bench and use Giratina V’s Abyss Seeking to set up your hand instead. Conceding the first 2 Prize cards in the mirror match is often fine, as you will be the first player to play Roxanne. Using Radiant Greninja in the Giratina mirror match is not completely free, as it taxes your recourses to use a [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] to only power up a single attack. While sometimes you will have to put multiple Comfey on the Bench to play the game, Manaphy doesn’t come up enough that I feel comfortable leaving it out of the deck.

Water Energy

Water Energy counts in Giratina VSTAR decks have been flipping between two and three copies for the past few months. There is no easy formula for how many Water Energy is the correct number to play, so it really just comes down to whether you think Spiritomb or the second Counter Catcher are necessary cards. The third copy of Water Energy can act as a consistency card as well, since its an extra Energy to retreat with, toss to Concealed Cards, or attach off [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card]. I think that the Water Energy is my default choice for this slot, and if you really want to include another card like Counter Catcher or Spiritomb then you can remove it. If you aren’t too worried about Mew VMAX (like if it just won a tournament and you’re expecting other players to play Spiritomb) then playing the third copy Water Energy is what I would consider. When playing against Giratina VSTAR, you have to respect your opponents potential to play three Water Energy, as if you don’t bench Manaphy when they Lost Zone one Water Energy, then you have the potential to instantly lose the game. This risk often isn’t worth it, so I tend to respect my opponents ability to play three Water Energy unless I see things like Spiritomb or the second Counter Catcher that indicate otherwise.

Conclusion

Giratina VSTAR has cemented itself as the best deck in the Standard format and it isn’t looking like it’ll change until rotation. The best thing you can do against it is to just practice a lot of games against it, as they have tons of card counts to punish you for slipping up with any decision. Good luck at your future tournaments either in your games with Giratina VSTAR or against Giratina VSTAR!

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