Lugia VSTAR in the Post Rotation Format!

Hello everyone! After a stint out of the format during Paradox Rift, [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] has established itself as a top tier deck during the Temporal Forces metagame. It won the Champion’s League in Fukuoka and has done well in several online tournaments, mostly thanks to the new inclusion of [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]. Cinccino’s Special Roll attack does 70 damage for each Special Energy attached to it, which adds up very quickly with [card name=”Archeops” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card]’s Primal Turbo. With five Energy attached, Special Roll is hitting for a massive 350 damage! If one of these is a [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] then you are still hitting for 330 damage, enough to take a one-hit Knock Out on a [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]! The best part of Cinccino is that it has no drawbacks associated with Special Roll, it can just keep hitting for massive amounts of damage turn after turn. This is critical when playing against decks that try to aggressively KO your Archeops, as you can force them to keep taking Knock Outs on multiple Cinccino, effectively protecting your Archeops on the Bench! This gives your deck a very similar play pattern to the [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] deck, where you hit for massive damage with a single-Prize Pokemon that your opponent must KO every turn.

[cardimg name=”Lugia V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”186″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The biggest problem that Lugia VSTAR decks have had to overcome recently is their consistency. Getting two Archeops in your discard pile on the second turn to use Summoning Star is very difficult in this format, especially thanks to the rotation of [card name=”Professor Burnet” set=”Sword and Shield Black Star Promos” no=”SWSH167 ” c=”name”][/card]. While most lists are now including [card name=”Jacq” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card], this Supporter is still much worse than Professor Burnet was, as you need to also have an [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] to discard the Archeops. In most Lugia VSTAR decks, the only ways to discard your Archeops are Ultra Ball, [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Celebrations” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Lugia V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]’s Read the Wind attack. Because of how difficult it is to find these outlets while you have the Archeops in your hand, there are a realistic number of games where you will be unable to use Summoning Star for two Archeops on the second turn. While using it for one Archeops is a possibility, that usually leads to your opponent chasing down the Archeops and quickly Knocking it Out. Because of how bad only getting one Archeops down is, I typically lean towards using Read the Wind instead of pulling the trigger on Summoning Star. Because you can create split targets with your Cinccino, since they are attacking for huge amounts of damage, getting the full two Archeops with your Summoning Star is very important, even to the point where it’s worth delaying your attacks by a whole turn!

Lugia VSTAR is still quite inconsistent even if you play a high number of consistency cards in your list. Ever since the D block rotated out of Standard, the options for searching out Pokemon have been very lackluster. In the E block format, most Lugia players moved to [card name=”Capturing Aroma” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card] instead for any way to find Evolution Pokemon. While we have [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] to search out Basic Pokemon, these don’t do much if you’re struggling to find your Archeops on turn 2. Most players have embraced [card name=”Great Ball” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] in Lugia VSTAR decks, mostly for its ability to find Archeops and [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], letting you use Luminous Sign for usually either Jacq or Professor’s Research. The deck list that Daisuke Kubo used to win the Fukuoka Champion’s League has become the shell for most Lugia VSTAR lists in the Temporal Forces format, and I took great inspiration from theirs when making my list!

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Lugia VSTAR / Cinccino Deck List

[decklist name=”Lugia VSTAR” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Snorlax” set=”Lost Origin” no=”143″][pokemon amt=”19″]2x [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Lugia V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Archeops” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Minccino” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Lost Origin” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”24″]3x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Shining Fates” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Jacq” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”175″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Capturing Aroma” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”153″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Great Ball” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Master Ball” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”153″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”17″]4x [card name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Jet Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”190″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Mist Energy” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”V Guard Energy” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Therapeutic Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”193″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Three Lugia V and Two Lugia VSTAR

The list that won the Fukuoka Champion’s League played a thick four Lugia V and three Lugia VSTAR line, but I chose to reduce it down to three and two copies respectively. While it seems natural to include a thicker Lugia line to find them more often, I close to reduce it because the extra one copy of each Pokemon doesn’t impact your odds of finding your Lugia pieces by enough to justify the two card slots. Where it would be worth including the extra Lugia line would be if you intend to attack with multiple Lugia VSTAR, as it is very difficult to set up two Lugia VSTAR when you only play three Lugia V and two Lugia VSTAR. While Lugia decks in the E block were trying to use Lugia VSTAR as one of their main attackers, I would much prefer to focus on chaining Cinccino in the deck’s current iteration and prevent my opponent from taking multiple KOs on Pokemon V, which is why I cut down to the current Lugia VSTAR line and play different consistency cards instead.

Four Minccino and Three Cinccino

The Fukuoka winning list played only three Minccino, but I chose to increase it to four Minccino. Similarly to what I said when covering the Lugia line, I chose to increase my Minccino line to help out with chaining multiple copies of Cinccino. You also have the minor benefit of the Call for Family [card name=”Minccino” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], which you can use to find another Minccino or Lugia V on your first turn.

One Snorlax

[cardimg name=”Snorlax” set=”Lost Origin” no=”TG10″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The winning list in Fukuoka played two [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Lost Origin” no=”TG10″ c=”name”][/card], but I ended up cutting it down to one copy. I have been considering not to include Snorlax in the deck at all because against decks like Charizard ex and [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”184″ c=”name”][/card] variants, Snorlax is next to useless. However, with only three Lugia V and two Lugia VSTAR, I have found that you tend to run out of attackers towards the end of the game. While this isn’t much of a concern against decks that use big two-Prize Pokemon since you can take six Prizes with multiple Cinccino, you can start to struggle against Lost Zone decks or the mirror match without extra attackers. Snorlax is a very strong attacker against both Lost Zone decks and [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] thanks to its efficiency. Having 150 HP along with the Unfazed Fat ability protecting it from effects of attacks makes Snorlax relatively difficult to KO for a single-Prize Pokemon. It doesn’t get Knocked Out in one hit by [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]’s Amp You Very Much attack and it often forces your opponent to use a two-Prize Pokemon to Knock Out Snorlax in one hit. Its Thumping Snore attack does 180 damage, which is enough to take a one-hit Knock Out on [card name=”Baxcalibur” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], and threaten a two-hit Knock Out on almost any Pokemon ex. Thanks to how little investment you need to put into Snorlax and how difficult it is to KO, I decided to still include a single copy.

Two Lumineon V

One of the consistency cards I decided to include in this deck was the second copy of Lumineon V. The Fukuoka winning list included one copy of Lumineon, which I found to be too few. Because you have so many cards to find Pokemon in order to find your Archeops and use Summoning Star, you needed some way to gain value from them towards the end of the game. Having multiple Lumineon V was the best way to do this, as you can find Professor’s Research or Jacq in the early game then search for [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] when you need it later. With only one copy of Lumineon V, I found that you would sometimes have to use it early then severely miss it when you need it most. Having the second copy gives you the freedom to Luminous Sign for Jacq early on and still use Luminous Sign for Boss’s Orders later in the game.

Three Professor’s Research, Three Boss’s Orders, and Zero Serena

The list that won in Fukuoka played two Professor’s Research, two Boss’s Orders and two copies of [card name=”Serena” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card], but I decided to go with three Professor’s Research and three Boss’s Orders. While Serena theoretically acts as both a draw Supporter and a gusting card, I have found that it is very subpar at either option. Many decks currently opt to play very few or no Pokemon V, which renders Serena effectively useless as a gusting card against them. The draw supporter aspect is also very weak, as you typically are only drawing three to four cards when using Serena. This is miniscule compared to the seven new cards that you get by using Professor’s Research. I think it is very telling that Serena was eventually phased out of Lugia deck lists during the D block format even though the only two-Prize Pokemon were Pokemon V, players just preferred to play three Professor’s Research and three Boss’s Orders instead. I would prefer to just play the more powerful cards instead of playing something that is more flexible, but often just not very good when I draw them.

One Master Ball

Many players have automatically adopted [card name=”Master Ball” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card] as their ACE SPEC of choice in Lugia decks to try and improve the decks consistency. While I have gone with Master Ball in this deck list, I think it is worth noting that [card name=”Prime Catcher” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] can still be played if you want to cut a space by cutting the second copy of Boss’s Orders. However, the only extra card I would want to add to this deck would be extra copies of Lugia VSTAR or a fourth copy of Great Ball, both of which are covered by Master Ball.

Three Mist Energy

I wanted to quickly touch on [card name=”Mist Energy” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] before moving on to talk about Lugia’s matchups. Mist Energy is a new Energy card from Temporal Forces that prevents the effects of attacks on the Pokemon it is attached to. This usually just blocks [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]’s Lost Mine and [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card]’s Star Requiem attack, but also stops [card name=”Mawile” set=”Lost Origin” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card]’s Tempting Trap attack in a pinch. Mist Energy gives you a lot of protection against the Lost Zone decks, and has the value of just being a Special Energy to attach to Cinccino.

Matchups

Charizard ex — Slightly Favored

[cardimg name=”Charizard ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”234″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Your [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”223″ c=”name”][/card] matchup is very similar to how the [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”245″ c=”name”][/card] deck plays against Charizard ex in the current Standard format. I am assuming that most of the Charizard opponents will be playing a similar list to the one Grant Manley presented in this article, as I have found it to be by far the best version of Charizard ex in the Temporal Forces metagame. You will typically wait to use Summoning Star until you can set up a [card name=”Cinccino” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] with five Energy cards attached, so that you can prevent them from chasing down your [card name=”Archeops” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card]. If you just used Summoning Star then attack with Lugia VSTAR, your opponent will then try to chase down your Archeops, so you need to pressure their big Pokemon ex with Cinccino. Even if they don’t put a Charizard ex into play quickly, you have the time to just use Read the Wind with [card name=”Lugia V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] because they are unable to KO the Lugia V in one hit before you have taken a Prize card. The late game against Charizard ex can get quite scary if they play [card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] as it allows them to use Iono to leave you to a low number of cards in hand and prevent [card name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] from triggering. If your opponent doesn’t play Temple of Sinnoh, then your biggest problem in this matchup will likely be running out of Energy, so attacking with Snorlax in the late game to KO a Lumineon V can also be helpful to conserve your Energy. The [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] version of Charizard ex is slightly more difficult because they can create a fully single-Prize Pokemon board, but that version is significantly less consistent than the version with [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] so you will often have several turns to use Read the Wind before you need to start attacking.

Snorlax Stall — Heavily Favored

Snorlax Stall is one of your best matchups as [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”211″ c=”name”][/card]. While it can seem tough if they manage to stick a Lumineon V in the Active Spot, thanks to the rotation of [card name=”Sidney” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”241″ c=”name”][/card] your opponent has no way to discard the Special Energy or Stadium cards in your hand and deck. This allows you to get value from all of your [card name=”Jet Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card] to move your attackers into the Active Spot, and [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] to bump their Temple of Sinnoh. If you manage to leave Lumineon V out of play, you still play 17 Energy cards, which gives you enough Energy to attack with all of the Pokemon you have in play. While your opponent can chain [card name=”Giacomo” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card], they would need to play multiple copies of Giacomo to reliably chain it as their loop with [card name=”Cyllene” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] is still very slow. Boss’s Orders is also a vital card for you, since you can use it to bring up their [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] then retreat into your attacker. If you get to a low amount of Prize cards, you can also just wait on everything, as you will eventually draw into Jet Energy and Collapsed Stadium to bump their Temple of Sinnoh and force your attacker into the Active Spot. Your opponent has no way to manipulate this situation, so you are safe to just wait until you have both in hand. Snorlax Stall is one of your best matchups thanks to your high Energy count and the presence of Jet Energy.

Iron Hands ex / Iron Crown ex — Heavily Unfavored

The turbo [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] deck is by far your toughest matchup. This is because all of your Pokemon are very vulnerable to an Amp You Very Much, thanks to Lugia VSTAR’s weakness to Lightning-type Pokemon. While it does have 280 HP, the Cobalt Command ability on [card name=”Iron Crown ex” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] increases the damage of Amp You Very Much to the point where it is reliably taking One Hit Knock Outs on a Lugia VSTAR. The strongest part of the Lugia VSTAR deck currently is its Prize trade, as you can consistently come back from a two Prize deficit by chaining One Hit Knock Outs with multiple Cinccino, and Amp You Very Much stops this in its tracks by taking two Prize cards when it KOs a Cinccino. Since you will typically struggle to attack first in this matchup thanks to the speed of the Future deck, it is very difficult to win the Prize trade in this matchup. If your opponent has a slow start you can sometimes capitalize, but this matchup is very difficult to win.

Chien-Pao ex — Unfavored

This is a difficult matchup but winnable if you target the right Pokemon on their side. The main threats they have are [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] and Iron Hands ex (notice a theme) which both can take two Prize cards without you having a Lugia V in play. You can defend against the Radiant Greninja by staggering your Minccino plays, and only putting a second [card name=”Minccino” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] onto the Bench when you do evolve your first one into a Cinccino, since this prevents them both from getting sniped by Moonlight Shuriken. It is important to keep a Minccino around though, as it is your only way to take a One Hit Knock Out on an Iron Hands ex, thanks to its 230 HP. [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Lost Origin” no=”TG10″ c=”name”][/card] is a very strong attacker in this matchup, your opponent can’t KO it with Radiant Greninja or Baxcalibur and has to KO it with [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”261″ c=”name”][/card], so it can give you the swing you need in the Prize trade to come back. Chien-Pao ex is a tough matchup, especially if they get an early Iron Hands, but a well-timed Thumping Snore can bring you back into the game.

Lost Zone Giratina VSTAR — Slightly Favored

Lost Zone [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”212″ c=”name”][/card] is a slightly favored matchup. This is the first matchup where Lugia VSTAR itself will begin to shine, if you have a [card name=”V Guard Energy” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”215″ c=”name”][/card] and a Mist Energy on a Lugia then it is impossible for your opponent to Knock it Out in one attack. You also prevent them from using a Lost Impact then using Lost Mine to finish it off profitably, thanks to your Mist Energy. You need to be careful with playing your Minccino in the same way you would against Chien-Pao ex, because of the threat posed by Radiant Greninja. This is the main matchup where Snorlax shines, as your opponent has almost no effective response to it. If they take the Knock Out using either [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card]’s Shred or Prism Edge from an [card name=”Iron Leaves ex” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], then you are able to one-hit Knock Out with either a Cinccino or a Lugia VSTAR. This matchup can get scary if your opponent plays Temple of Sinnoh, but if they don’t then you are usually able to cruise to victory, even without a turn 2 Summoning Star!

Lugia VSTAR is a very strong deck in the Standard format, and one of my top choices heading into the Temporal Forces metagame. If you are going to EUIC then good luck, hopefully you come packed with an answer for the ever popular Charizard ex deck!

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