You Can’t Spell Dialga Without IA — How an Iowan Took Dialga to a Regional Championship

Hello PokeBeach readers! Isaiah here and I am happy to be writing another article for you all. Last time, I discussed a [card name=”Groudon” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] focused version of a Lost Zone box deck. At the time, I was strongly considering it for the Indianapolis Regional Championships, but I ultimately moved away from it at the last minute, instead opting to play a [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] deck list with [card name=”Maximum Belt” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] for the mirror. I was able to make Day 2 with the deck, but I had an underwhelming Day 2. However, Ian Robb was able to take our list to a Top 8 finish, so the deck was not a complete flop.

One other deck that me and some of my friends were considering was [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], but I bailed on it for the sake of playing a deck that I felt was more safe. Well, if you do not live under a rock, I am sure that you know by now that Andrew Hedrick was able to take down the Indianapolis Regional Championships with his Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR deck, and of course, he was one of the aforementioned friends that I was working on the deck with. The deck was certainly much better than even I realized, and I expect the deck to have a long standing impact on the format. I ended up correcting my mistake of not playing the deck this past weekend by playing it for a League Cup, which I was able to win with Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR. As I have continued to put more and more time into the deck, I have started to understand how it works and how to beat it, and I wanted to make that the focus of this article. First, how about we start off with what makes the deck good.

How Was Dialga Able To Win a Regional?

[cardimg name=”Metang” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”114″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

When Temporal Forces was about to be released, I distinctly remember telling one of my locals that I thought that [card name=”Metang” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] was pretty terrible, even worse than [card name=”Feraligatr” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] at prereleases. While this was more of a joke trying to hype up a pet deck of mine, it still reflected my personal feelings on the card. After the complete failure that [card name=”Magnezone” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] was, I figured that Metang would be no different. [card name=”Electric Generator” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] was always the most frustrating card in [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] and having to set up a Stage1 to do basically the same thing seemed terrible to me, and while Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR and its Star Chronos is a much better payoff than just hitting for 220 damage with Photon Blaster, the deck did not seem good enough to justify the setup required, especially when cards like [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] will immediately punish you.

However, I was sorely mistaken.

I was at the airport returning home from the Vancouver Regional Championships when I heard that the deck had done well at a Thailand Regional League. One of my friends who I was waiting with at the airport told me that he thought that the deck could be a bit better than people were giving it credit for. As he started to talk me through how you could approach some of the deck’s matchups, he started to sell me on the fact that the deck could be good. I then spent the entirety of my flight thinking about how to improve the deck list from the tournament in Thailand.

When I finally arrived home, I got to work. For the next two weeks, I spammed telling my friends to join calls to watch me play Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR on Pokemon TCG Live. As I slowly refined my list, I remember discussing the deck with Andrew quite a bit, with the biggest points of our discussion being whether it was better to focus on [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Shining Fates” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card]. Ultimately, while I liked Arven a lot as a way to setup Metang reliably, I did settle on the opinion that Professor’s Research was better. One of the biggest outcomes of this testing was also, of course, learning about how incredible Star Chronos is when used properly. Oftentimes you will see people use Star Chronos as soon as possible. While this is not necessarily horrible, it is definitely a misuse of one of the most powerful attacks that the game has ever seen.

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A case that I like to use to explain for how to hold Star Chronos for a more effective use than the typical use of forcing it early is the Charizard ex matchup. If you just use Star Chronos into a full HP Charizard ex, you can take the Knock Out on the following turn, allowing you to trade two Prize cards for two Prize cards once your opponent Knocks Out that Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR. While not a horrible exchange, especially if the opponent cannot answer to the Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR, just using a huge Metal Blast accomplishes the same thing. Instead, we can shift things around a little bit. If we Metal Blast for 120 damage or more into Charizard ex first, we have not taken Prize cards, so the opponent cannot take a Knock Out on our Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR unless they got to hit into us first.

How about we assume the worst case scenario and say that they managed to do so. If they did, then we can bring up a fresh Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR, and now use its Star Chronos for a Knock Out on the damaged Charizard ex. On the following turn, we can play [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] on [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] for two more Prize cards, and if paired with an [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] you have now crippled the consistency of the opponent’s deck while also removing their attacker and put them on four cards in hand. If the opponent is able to muster up a response to this, you have access to other tools that you can use to close out the game. As you can see, shifting the use of Star Chronos by just one turn can have a massive impact on its value in a game.

To take this a step further, if we spend a few more turns before using Star Chronos, instead working to take one or two Prize cards before using Metal Blast into Star Chronos to setup a four Prize card Star Chronos, the matchup becomes even more stable, putting you in a situation where you only need to take one more Prize card if you are not able to just win the game outright with the Star Chronos play. Using Star Chronos in this manner, or to otherwise cripple the opponent’s board is the key to success with this deck, and ultimately what makes the deck good. Simply put, Star Chronos should not be just a step toward winning a game, it should be game ending.

Andrew’s Deck List

When it comes to Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR, I do truly believe that Andrew’s deck list may have been as close to perfect as it gets. Built almost strictly for consistency with no off the wall tricks up its sleeve, the deck almost always operates exactly as intended, putting the outcome of games largely in the hands of the player (and maybe the claws of Metang too). As I mentioned previously, Professor’s Research is the main focus of this build when it comes to drawing cards, guaranteeing the player more cards than an Arven ever could provide, meaning that you can play for huge combos at any point in the game, increasing your odds of pulling together a critical Star Chronos play on the turns where it matters most.

[decklist name=”dialga” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″][pokemon amt=”17″]3x [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga V” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Metang” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Beldum” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Zamazenta” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Shining Fates” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Prime Catcher” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”15″]15x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”15″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Notable Inclusions

Beldum SIT

In the past, there have been massive discussions about what Basic Pokemon to play for an Evolution line in order to maximize the value that comes from cards you are forced to play until you get to your preferred strategy. With maybe the most infamous case ever being about [card name=”Zorua” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] from Dark Explorers which happened to have the potential to Paralyze the Defending Pokemon, causing the card to soar to $20 at one point back in 2018. In these cases, it has typically been a minor optimization, with an attack that is maybe more relevant in like one percent of games at most. [card name=”Beldum” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] is a much different case than this, though, being more similar to [card name=”Zubat” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] back in 2015, which fundamentally altered how decks that included the card approached the game.

Unlike Zorua, Zubat’s Free Flight was used almost every game that you played, allowing you to pivot into a card like [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] without having to commit an Energy or a [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Furious Fists” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card]. In the case of Beldum, it is often one of the best possible starting Pokemon in this deck. Magnetic Lift simply allows you to put a card from your deck on top of the deck in a way similar to how [card name=”Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] does, which may seem pretty innocuous at first, but being able to select a card for your hand next turn from any of the cards in your deck gives you the ability to pull together some absolutely insane turn 2 plays. While I have never done this specifically, you could feasibly just search for [card name=”Prime Catcher” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] if you wanted to try and pull together a powerful Star Chronos play on turn 2. More realistically, you typically can search for a Metang, an Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR, or maybe just a Supporter card for a more stable turn 2. That last point is especially important, as it turns your Beldum into a way to break up any dead hand that you could draw, tutoring for an Iono or a Professor’s Research to fit the situation.

In the past, attacks like this have been good for putting the card directly in the hand, though, and putting the card on top of your deck seems much weaker, but in reality, I think that it is why Beldum is good. By putting the card on top, you play around the opponent’s Iono, so you can truly grab a perfect card for the situation and not feel like you are wasting an attack, since you know that the Metang that you put on top will always end up in the hand unless the opponent happens to play a [card name=”Judge” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card].

Mew ex

I distinctly remember Andrew being uncertain about [card name=”Mew ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”232″ c=”name”][/card] when we discussed the deck in the past, feeling that the card was a bit too much of a liability most of the time, but it eventually grew on him, and I like it a lot too. In a deck built around a fairly accessible form of Energy acceleration, having access to Genome Hacking is incredibly valuable, allowing you to copy some of the format’s most powerful attacks, with one of the most relevant being Moonlight Shuriken. Having access to the opponent’s Moonlight Shuriken allows you to randomly cripple boards against decks like [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”261″ c=”name”][/card] if you can Knock Out both [card name=”Frigibax” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”208″ c=”name”][/card] before they evolve. Another option with Moonlight Shuriken is to use Star Chronos to Knock Out [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card]. On the following turn, you can use Mew ex to copy Moonlight Shuriken for two Prize cards.

This play in particular is one of the most potent game enders in that matchup, as it is almost impossible to play around and is extremely easy to pull off. Mew ex is also useful against Charizard ex and [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”212″ c=”name”][/card], allowing you to copy their respective attacks to take a Knock Out when the situation arises. On top of all of these use cases for Genome Hacking, having no Retreat Cost and Restart are both incredibly significant upsides that give the card a lot of utility, even in matchups where it might not be useful as an attacker.

Four Super Rod

This choice especially boils down to accessibility. In a deck where you only can draw cards using your one Supporter per turn and the occasional Mew ex’s Restart Ability, finding [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”276″ c=”name”][/card] exactly when you need it may be the difference between pulling off a Star Chronos to win the game and being stuck hitting for only 160 damage. Not just that, but you may have to discard Super Rod early because of the nature of the deck, and making sure you have enough to win the game is critical. For this reason, four copies is the perfect number, and I honestly would not even entertain going lower.

Two Pokegear 3.0

A late development to Andrew’s deck list was [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card], which ultimately was the final missing piece to make the deck great. Early on, the deck struggled to find the exact Supporter card that it wanted to find when it wanted, but with two copies of Pokegear 3.0, you can sort of tutor for the exact ones that you need to fill a situation. The card is especially useful when combined with a few uses of Metang’s Metal Maker. This is because if you know the general position of cards in your deck after using a Metal Maker without shuffling your deck, you can effectively rig Pokegear 3.0 so that you are able to find exactly the card that you need for any situation.

How To Beat Dialga Going Forward?

[cardimg name=”Entei V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”22″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

With a new meta threat looming, a common question that I have been asked has been about how to beat the deck, and honestly, it is surprisingly easy if you know what you are doing, especially if the opponent misuses Star Chronos. One generic card that a lot of decks can play that poses an existential threat to Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR is Mew ex. Despite the fact that Genome Hacking is a useful tool at this deck’s disposal, it is also one of the deck’s biggest weaknesses. If you do not suspect that your opponent is playing a Mew ex, you can randomly lose games to Mew ex copying Star Chronos against you, turning your own gameplan against you. Depending on what deck the opponent is playing and if you know that your opponent is playing the card, you can, as the Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR player, stay as [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga V” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] and attack with Temporal Rupture or just use [card name=”Zamazenta” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] to take Prize cards until you set up a game winning Star Chronos, which is one of the most common uses for the Star Chronos and Manaphy line that I explained earlier.

Another threatening line that the opponent can take if you are playing Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR is to play a Boss’s Orders on something that does not have Energy on it while Knocking Out Metang(s) using Moonlight Shuriken, [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]’s Lost Mine, etc. If [card name=”Prime Catcher” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] is gone, the Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR player may be unable to move the Pokemon that you have put in the Active Spot, buying you a free turn if they are not able to take a Knock Out. This is probably the biggest chokepoint for the deck, so as a player on either side of the table, it is critical to keep in mind when your deck is vulnerable to a Boss’s Orders play.

One silver bullet option that exists for [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] specifically is [card name=”Entei V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] which can easily Knock Out Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR in one hit while being somewhat annoying for the opponent to Knock Out in response, since it has 230 HP. I have not put a ton of time into testing this inclusion, but I do think that this single card may just automatically win the matchup if the opponent is not prepared for it. Even if they know Entei V is present in the deck, the card can be extremely difficult to play around. If you know the opponent is playing Entei V in their deck, I think that you are supposed to try and set up a Star Chronos in a way that you can Star Chronos something else then Metal Blast to Knock Out the Entei V or whatever other Pokemon that is worth two Prize cards, but I am not super sure about this.

Conclusion

Despite the previously assumed meme-tier status of the archetype, [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] was able to seamlessly take down the Indianapolis Regional Championships. As we move toward the end of this format and toward the release of Twilight Masquerade next week, I expect Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR to continue to see success, especially at the Los Angeles Regional Championships at the end of May. Between its sheer power of Metal Blast, an efficient deck list, and the absurdity of Star Chronos, the deck has certainly been able to move past being a joke of an archetype to now being a top tier meta threat going forward, and probably until it rotates.

With that, this article draws to a close. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading about one of the most interesting decks to win a Regional Championships in the last few years, and if you have anymore questions, do not hesitate to leave a comment or reach out on social media.

Until next time!

– Isaiah

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