Lugia VSTAR in the Twilight Masquerade Format

Hello everyone! [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] started off strong in the Temporal Forces format, winning the Champion’s League in Fukuoka but fell off ever since then. I believe that this was due to a combination of lining up poorly into the [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] decks and having some consistency problems. However, Lugia VSTAR was one of the few decks that actually had a strong matchup into [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] during the Temporal Forces format, and this was thanks to the incredible Prize trade provided by [card name=”Cinccino ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card]. This positive Charizard matchup wasn’t enough to make Lugia VSTAR a good deck though and it struggled to succeed for most of the Temporal Forces format, only earning a few Top 16 and Top 8 placements here and there.

[cardimg name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”211″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Twilight Masquerade seems to breathe new life into Lugia VSTAR thanks to two massive factors. The main one is the presence of [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”200″ c=”name”][/card]. Lugia VSTAR has a solid matchup into Dragapult ex thanks to the high HP of your Pokemon and the fact that you are able to play a high count of [card name=”Mist Energy” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card], meaning you can nullify the 60 damage spread from Phantom Dive on your key Pokemon. Dragapult ex decks actually struggle against chained multiple Cinccino taking one-hit Knock Outs on Dragapult ex, as they rely heavily on tanking hits with the Dragapult ex itself and don’t typically have easy ways of chaining Phantom Dive. If Dragapult ex manages to become a top-tier deck in the format, it will also push down [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] decks from existing. The damage spread from Phantom Dive is incredibly disruptive against Chien-Pao ex, as they rely heavily on Basic Pokemon such as [card name=”Frigibax” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Bidoof” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] to execute their strategy. While they can play the 70 HP versions of their Basic Pokemon, these cards all have a two Retreat Cost and if the Chien-Pao player starts one of them, they are unlikely to play the game either, as the two Retreat Cost makes them very difficult to move. Chien-Pao ex was a very difficult matchup for Lugia, thanks to Chien-Pao’s ability to attack with a fast Iron Hands ex. The snipe damage from [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] was also very relevant in the Chien-Pao matchup, as it could threaten two [card name=”Minccino ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]at once.

The other big gain Lugia VSTAR enjoyers get from Twilight Masquerade is access to [card name=”Legacy Energy” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card]. Lugia VSTAR decks have been looking for any way to play attackers with colored Energy costs since the rotation of [card name=”Aurora Energy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card], and while Legacy Energy takes up your ACE SPEC in your deck it gives you several new options. The two new Pokemon you get to attack with are Iron Hands ex and [card name=”Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card], both of which allow you to take multiple Prize cards from only a single Prize board from your opponent. Legacy Energy lets you use Iron Hands ex’s Amp You Very Much attack, which significantly improves your game plan against [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] and the various Lost Zone decks, as both decks often struggle to respond to an Iron Hands ex. Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex provides a similar effect to an older card that Lugia VSTAR decks enjoyed; [card name=”Raikou” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card]. Wellspring Mask Ogerpon’s Torrential Pump attack provides a similar effect to Iron Hands ex’s Amp You Very Much attack in that it takes two Prize cards against an entirely single-Prize board, but being able to KO two Pokemon at once gives the deck a massive boost in power. While your opponent can bench [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] to nullify its effect, a lot of the Stage 2 decks in the current format struggle to get multiple Pokemon out on turn 1. Even playing Wellspring Mask in your deck gives you a small bonus in the game, without actually having to even put it down, as many opponents will choose to forego an important Basic Pokemon to grab Manaphy, out of fear of a Torrential Pump. At this point, Wellspring Mask has done its job by denying your opponent a Benched setup Pokemon one way or another. Another minor bonus Lugia VSTAR decks gain from Legacy Energy is being able to attack with [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]’s Aqua Return. Aqua Return is a solid attack that removes the liability of Lumineon from your Bench and gives you access to future Luminous Sign plays throughout the game. Legacy Energy also comes with a [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card]-esque effect as it allows the Pokemon holding it to give up one fewer Prize card when it gets Knocked Out. While this effect doesn’t come up much thanks to Wellspring Mask and Lumineon shuffling their Energy cards back into the deck, it is still useful to have on an Iron Hands ex or even a Cinccino. [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] do prevent its effect though, but Legacy Energy is still worth it even as just a single copy of [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card].

With all the bonuses Lugia VSTAR gets from Twilight Masquerade, it still has its original problem of a lack of consistency. Ever since the rotation of [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card], Lugia VSTAR players have been struggling to discard the two copies of Archeops and get the Lugia VSTAR into play to use Summoning Star on turn 2. The introduction of [card name=”Carmine” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] does help somewhat, as it is a discard Supporter that you can play going first, but you still significantly struggle to find your Pokemon. Only seeing five new cards with Carmine makes it great on turn 1 but a significantly worse option than [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] later on in the game. I still believe that it is worth playing as you can find it early with Lumineon V, plus Lugia VSTAR decks always appreciate extra ways of discarding cards, but I don’t believe that it will entirely replace Professor’s Research. I have tried to mitigate the consistency issues the deck has as much as possible in my Lugia VSTAR deck list, so let’s get right into the deck itself.

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Lugia VSTAR Deck List

[decklist name=”Lugia” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″][pokemon amt=”21″]3x [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/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]3x [card name=”Minccino ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”64″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”22″]3x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Carmine” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Jacq” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”175″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Capturing Aroma” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”153″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mesagoza” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jamming Tower” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”153″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”17″]4x [card name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mist Energy ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”161″ 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]1x [card name=”Legacy Energy” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Card Choices

Three Minccino and Three Cinccino

[cardimg name=”Cinccino ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”183″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I have seen a ton of variations on this line in [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”211″ c=”name”][/card] deck lists, with some players playing the 4/3 line that was popular last format and some cutting it down lower to to give yourself more room for tech cards. I still believe that Cinccino is one of the main reasons to play Lugia VSTAR. Otherwise, your deck is simply too slow at dealing with the powerful Stage 2 Pokemon ex as you cannot take a one-hit Knock Out on them. You will even struggle against Pokemon VSTAR, as none of the Pokemon in this deck naturally hit 280 damage, yet Cinccino easily gets there with four Energy. To facilitate chaining Special Rolls in the matchups where it is good, you do need to play a significant amount of Cinccino in your deck. This is difficult to do with only two copies of the Cinccino line, especially because this deck plays five Supporter cards that force you to discard your hand. It is also worth noting that I have chosen to play three copies of the [card name=”Minccino ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card]from Temporal Forces, which has 70 HP and an essentially useless attack. Many players in the Temporal Forces format chose to play the [card name=”Minccino” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] from Brilliant Stars instead, it has 60 HP but has a nice attack in Call for Family, allowing you to get two Basic Pokemon from your deck onto your Bench. I chose to play the 70 HP Minccino to respect [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], as if you miss the [card name=”Mist Energy ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card]early on and your opponent gets a fast Phantom Dive, your opponent can grinch it with the extra damage counters. Call for Family doesn’t come up too often, so I just chose to play 70 HP Minccino.

One Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex

This is one of the strongest cards released from the new expansion. It is a very similar card to [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] in that it deals a significant amount of damage and [card name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card]’s attack gets cheaper the more Prize cards your opponent takes. The main draw to this card though is its high 260 HP, which is massive in this current format. Many decks struggle to hit 260 damage in one attack, and playing Bloodmoon Ursaluna gives you a solid game plan into [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card], as they struggle to hit that number in a single attack. It also gives you a solid answer for an opposing [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], as most decks trying to attack with Iron Hands ex are unable to deal 260 damage, making Bloodmoon Ursaluna a very effective wall. One strong use is to use it to KO an opposing Iron Hands ex in the mirror match, as your opponent will need to attack with their Cinccino to KO the Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex.

One Jamming Tower

With how popular Lugia VSTAR was in the early stages of the Twilight Masquerade format, many decks started including copies of Temple of Sinnoh and Enhanced Hammer to answer your Special Energy. Thankfully, you do have access to [card name=”Mesagoza” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] as a way to play a Stadium bump that also increases your consistency. But there are several Stadium options that you can play in Lugia VSTAR. I considered playing [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], but with Legacy Energy, you can use Aqua Return to remove your Lumineon V from play anyway. Even with this option, Collapsed Stadium is still a strong card, but I decided to play [card name=”Jamming Tower” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card] instead. Jamming Tower is played here mostly as a response to the new [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”208″ c=”name”][/card]/ [card name=”Teal Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] deck list, which makes heavy use of [card name=”Bravery Charm” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] to boost its HP. You can use Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex or Cinccino to hit the Raging Bolt, use Jamming Tower to shut off the Bravery Charm, and KO the Raging Bolt during your turn. The reason I chose to play Jamming Tower instead of [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”217″ c=”name”][/card] is because Jamming Tower both bumps their [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] and removes the Bravery Charm, whereas Lost Vacuum just removes one of those. Jamming Tower also pre-emptively prevents the use of [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rescue Board ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card]against several decks, whereas with Lost Vacuum your opponent can attach the Tool and use it before you have the opportunity to remove it. Jamming Tower also won’t be removed by either [card name=”Eri ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card]or [card name=”Miss Fortune Sisters” set=”Lost Origin” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] used by various Control decks, whereas Lost Vacuum is vulnerable to both of these. These are the reasons is why I decided to play Jamming Tower as one of the Stadium bumps in Lugia VSTAR.

Most of your matchups as Lugia VSTAR can typically be boiled down to whether you need to Summoning Star for two [card name=”Archeops” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] on turn 2 in order to win the game. If you don’t need to Summoning Star on turn 2 to win, then the matchup is typically favored, but if the opposing deck puts on a ton of pressure and you need to Summoning Star on turn 2, then the matchup is typically unfavoured. I think this dichotomy has resulted in Lugia VSTAR’s middling results throughout the Temporal Forces format. Around Indianapolis Regionals, when the metagame was full of [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”261″ c=”name”][/card] and Lost Zone Toolbox decks, Lugia VSTAR was struggling to succeed, as it would often get run over by a fast Iron Hands. However, by the time Los Angeles came around, Lugia VSTAR started seeing slightly more success against the various Control [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”234″ c=”name”][/card] decks that were at the top tables of that event. This has been true throughout the Temporal Forces format, with Lugia VSTAR decks feasting on the various Control decks and slower Charizard ex decks. However, with Twilight Masquerade, the premium aggro deck of the format appears to be moving away from Chien-Pao ex and instead towards Raging Bolt ex.

A Note on Raging Bolt

[cardimg name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”208″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

While I know this article is mostly about Lugia VSTAR, it is still worth discussing the surprising metagame development that occurred recently. Raging Bolt ex went straight from meme tier status to the most played deck on online tournaments in what felt like overnight, and this is for several reasons. Firstly, the engine it has very consistent, with Teal Mask Ogerpon ex’s Teal Dance ability letting you draw extra cards and put extra Grass Energy into play. This, along with [card name=”Professor Sada’s Vitality” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”239″ c=”name”][/card] fuels Raging Bolt ex’s Bellowing Thunder attack, which hits very hard but also forces you to discard most of the Energy you have in play. However, the main strength of Raging Bolt ex is its bulky 240 HP, which has effectively pushed [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] out of the format. Miraidon ex was very popular in the Japanese tournaments but struggles to compete with Raging Bolt’s 240 HP, as the Miraidon ex itself only hits for 230 damage with a [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] in play. The rise of Raging Bolt has also subsequently caused a rise in [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] Stall, as Raging Bolt decks typically have no answer to something like their [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”247″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] getting trapped in the Active Spot. Lugia VSTAR’s matchup with Raging Bolt isn’t perfect, but is very winnable if you manage to chain [card name=”Cinccino ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card]after giving up a couple of Knock Outs.

The main reason I think the rise in Raging Bolt is great for Lugia VSTAR players is how it affects the other decks in the metagame. Miraidon ex was one of the worst matchups for Lugia previously, as they can attack with Iron Hands ex very quickly and easily win the Prize trade against Lugia VSTAR that is weak to Lightning-type Pokemon. However, Raging Bolt is easily Miraidon ex’s worst matchup, and Raging Bolt has pushed down the play rate of Miraidon ex in online tournaments. This creates a favorable metagame for Lugia VSTAR, as Lugia VSTAR has relatively even matchups against Raging Bolt and Dragapult ex, but both Dragon-type Pokemon are pushing down the decks that Lugia VSTAR struggles against. While Raging Bolt initially seems to be difficult for Lugia, the Raging Bolt decks themselves struggle to gust around your Active Spot Pokemon. This is because they usually need to play Professor Sada’s Vitality every turn, especially if you are taking KOs on their Raging Bolt every turn. Raging Bolt decks typically do not play [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”214″ c=”name”][/card] so they are also unable to interact with [card name=”Legacy Energy” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card]. You can use Legacy Energy to create an entirely single-Prize board against Raging Bolt decks, forcing the Prize trade in your favor. Dragapult ex is also a solid matchup for Lugia VSTAR, as you get to utilize multiple [card name=”Mist Energy” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] to nullify the extra damage counters from Phantom Dive. I would be careful of Enhanced Hammer against Dragapult ex, so attaching multiple Mist Energy or [card name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] to your Cinccino can be useful to nullify Enhanced Hammer. I would also be sure to attach Energy using Primal Turbo into play every turn, even if you don’t need the Energy at that specific moment. This is because the Dragapult player can bring up your Archeops to KO them, locking you out of several Energy attachments.

Lugia VSTAR players also get to enjoy a strong matchup against Snorlax Stall, which appears to be a solid answer against both Raging Bolt and Dragapult ex. Having bumps to Temple of Sinnoh is very important against the Control decks so that you can use [card name=”Jet Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card] to move around the Pokemon that you cannot KO. Legacy Energy is also a massive card in this matchup, as you can use Aqua Return to shuffle back a [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] that is trapped in the Active Spot. You can also use Lugia VSTAR’s Tempest Dive to continuously remove multiple copies of their Temple of Sinnoh, eventually giving you access to Jet Energy again.

Conclusion

Lugia VSTAR has been one of the frontrunners in the format throughout my testing for the North America International Championships (NAIC), and the metagame is currently looking favorable for it. I am curious to see how the Standard format evolves leading up to the Japan National Championships, next week, and eventually NAIC the week after! Exploring a new format is always the most exciting time in the Pokemon TCG, as it feels like new discoveries are being made very quickly, but I would still expect Lugia VSTAR to be a solid pick for NAIC and it is definitely something I am considering.

– Natalie

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