Countering the Phantom Menace – Optimizing Raging Bolt for NAIC

[cardimg name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”200″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]After Japan showed us a preview of the Twilight Masquerade format, it looked like [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] was going to dominate. [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] looked to be the other early frontrunners of this new format. However, for one reason or another, or maybe no reason at all, [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]was almost absent from Japan’s results. As the online meta has rapidly developed, people have started playing Raging Bolt en masse alongside [card name=”Teal Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]. This deck is pretty nuts, as it is insanely fast, powerful, and consistent. It counters Dragapult and has a decent matchup spread across the board. Most notably, it is weak against some decks that attack with single-Prize Pokemon. Raging Bolt has more or less replaced Miraidon’s spot in the meta. Although Raging Bolt doesn’t have easy access to [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] like Miraidon does, it feels like a mostly superior deck and also has a strong matchup into Miraidon.

I’ve gotten the chance to test Raging Bolt, and the deck has been a lot better than I expected. I was initially skeptical of the sudden hype and increase of Raging Bolt usage, but the deck works very well and has just about everything you could ask for. Although it is a bit linear, it is simply too effective at what it does for that to matter. Sometimes blowing up your opponent’s Active is good enough. In addition to absurd firepower, Raging Bolt boasts 240 HP, which becomes 290 HP with [card name=”Bravery Charm” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card]. This is an absolute unit and is quite annoying for other decks to deal with. Even [card name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] need a gust or some sort of damage supplement to deal with it. This deck is also fast and consistent, drawing tons of cards with [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Teal Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], usually getting to that turn 1 [card name=”Professor Sada’s Vitality” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”239″ c=”name”][/card].

While the lists are all pretty similar, there are some cards that are points of contention. [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Trekking Shoes” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] are turbo cards that I am usually a huge fan of. I initially thought these cards would be mandatory inclusions in a fast deck like this one, but there are some downsides. The deck has to play a lot of Energy, and therefore has fewer Item cards than some other Turbo decks (such as Lost Box). PokeStop works best after you’ve thinned your deck out of Energy and Pokemon with the likes of [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], but those are the cards you want to find off PokeStop in order to set up. I’ve found that PokeStop is surprisingly not needed, and more reliable cards are preferred. [card name=”Trekking Shoes” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], by extension, works best with PokeStop, and it’s certainly a decent card, but also isn’t needed. I wouldn’t be opposed to playing these cards in the deck, but they’re not in my current list.

On the other hand, there are a few common cards that I think are pretty bad: [card name=”Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Bug Catching Set” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card]. Bug Catching Set looks like a nice consistency booster at first glance, but again, you’d rather play more reliable cards. More often than not, Bug Catching Set finds nothing or gets [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]ed away. Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex is just a blank card. Its Ability seems good, but most decks have a reliable answer to it. Furthermore, this deck has no real way to accelerate Energy to this Ogerpon, so opponents have plenty of time to find their response or gust around it. Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex is basically only beating [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], which is neat, but not nearly as valuable as it would have been in the previous format.

I am pretty happy with my current list. It isn’t anything special, but has been refined through testing. I think this deck is nuts:

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[decklist name=”raging what?” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″][pokemon amt=”12″]4x [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Teal Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sandy Shocks ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”35″]4x [card name=”Professor Sada’s Vitality” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis)” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Bravery Charm” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]7x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]3x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”157″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]This deck is very straightforward in its strategy. Attack with Raging Bolt and blow up your opponent’s Active Pokemon. Sneak in a [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] when you get the chance to KO key threats or fix your Prize trade. Sometimes the sequencing for this deck can be a little janky. After thinning Energy or Pokemon when appropriate, I usually start with Teal Dance because that’s something I almost always want to do anyway, and the extra card or cards give me information for the rest of my turn. You don’t necessarily need to use Concealed Cards every turn, but you do want to get a Fighting or Lightning Energy into the discard as soon as possible. Your board usually consists of two Raging Bolt, two Ogerpon, a Squawkabilly (when needed), and the Radiant Greninja (when needed). In the mid- or late-game, Sandy Shocks or [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] can make their way onto the board.

[cardimg name=”Sandy Shocks ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”98″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]Since you usually go through three Raging Bolt in a game, and want two down immediately, playing four makes sense. The same goes for Teal Mask Ogerpon ex. Ogerpon can sometimes be a more efficient attacker than Raging Bolt, especially when you don’t need that extra HP. Try leaving at least one Grass Energy on Ogerpon so that you can attack with it on a moment’s notice. Of course, attacking with Raging Bolt is usually best, but Ogerpon gets involved more often that you might think. [card name=”Sandy Shocks ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card]is more than just a [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] counter. As a single-Prize attacker in a two-Prize deck, it can skew or fix Prize trades, especially when it KO’s a small one-Prize Pokemon to get you back to even Prizes. Watch out for [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] though, and equip Bravery Charm if you end up using Sandy Shocks against a deck with Iron Hands.

Speaking of Bravery Charm, the card is way more impactful than I expected. I am usually not a fan of this card, but it pulls its weight big time. The ideal targets for Bravery Charm depend on the matchup, but a common use case is making Raging Bolt beefier and taking it out of range of Bloodmoon Ursaluna and Radiant Charizard. It also allows Ogerpon to survive Lugia VSTAR’s Tempest Dive as well as [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] plus [card name=”Munkidori” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]. Furthermore, it messes up [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”200″ c=”name”][/card]’s math and combo plays.

[card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] is somewhat of a liability, and you usually don’t attack with it, but that Restart Ability is incredibly valuable to close out games. This deck doesn’t want to let up on the aggression, so try putting Mew down in the mid- or late-game to protect yourself from [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Unfair Stamp” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card].

[card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] is a card that I initially disliked in this list, finding it to be nearly useless. However, it is needed to beat [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] stall. Whether this matchup is relevant enough to tech for is up for debate, but Switch Cart at least has some utility. The healing can be great against Lost Box and Dragapult, and the extra switches does swing the Snorlax matchup from bad to good. Funnily enough, you don’t really need to do much switching outside of that matchup, but again, the healing for such a high-HP Pokemon is nice.

[card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card] helps with having the right Supporter at the right time, especially because some may get discarded with Squawkabilly. Late-game Boss’s Orders or Iono can be extremely strong, and Pal Pad synergizes with [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] to set up those power plays. Of course, sometimes you just want to chain [card name=”Professor Sada’s Vitality” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], and Pal Pad helps with that too.

[card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] is included primarily to help against the [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] matchup. Gardevoir players will talk to you all day about how their Raging Bolt matchup is free, but with Lost Vacuum, the matchup is close to even. Of course, it requires some luck to draw into Lost Vacuum at an opportune time, but at least there are several different times where it’s useful. I have found this card to be extremely impactful in this matchup. Lost Vacuum can be used in other matches because it’s a neutrally good card, but it hits different against Gardevoir.

The Energy lineup is standard. Seven Grass Energy is more than enough, especially with the three copies of [card name=”Energy Retrieval” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card]. Speaking of which, Energy Retrieval is a ridiculously efficient and useful card. Some lists are playing [card name=”Superior Energy Retrieval” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card], but you rarely have four Energy in the discard while also needing more than two at the time. You often want to keep two in there for Sada’s Vitality anyway. Furthermore, the discard cost is steep, especially when we are already discarding tons of cards with Earthen Vessel and Ultra Ball.

Matchups

Lugia – Favorable

Lugia is much too slow and inconsistent to deal with the fast onslaught of Raging Bolt. If they draw perfectly, they might be able to win, but that’s their only chance. Sandy Shocks can KO [card name=”Cinccino ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]with its second attack and Minccino with its first attack, but again, equip Bravery Charm to defend against Iron Hands if you decide to go with Sandy Shocks. Sandy Shocks isn’t always the go-to attacker, but it is viable option in some games. If they KO Sandy Shocks for one Prize, they can punish a Squawkabilly on board with Iron Hands. Therefore, Sandy Shocks is better in games where you don’t use Squawkabilly, but that is just a suggestion and not a requirement. Keep in mind that Bravery Charm makes Squawkabilly survive an Amp You Very Much if they have [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] on it, and it can sometimes be difficult for them to manually load an Iron Hands with four non-Double Turbo Energy.

Regardless, Raging Bolt is a perfectly fine attacker for the most part. Bravery Charm takes it out of KO range from their [card name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card], forcing them to chain gusts or Cinccino. Depending on gaps or weaknesses in their board state, you can target down Cinccino or [card name=”Archeops” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] to deny certain plays and play around [card name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card]. If my opponent neglects to load up tons of Energy, I like to gun down an Archeops. If they only have one Cinccino or commit too much Energy to it, that might be the ideal target instead. Of course, if they have too many two-Prize Pokemon on the board, chasing the Prize cards works well too. Just don’t forget about [card name=”Legacy Energy” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card], which can punish you for going all in on a Prize race involving two-Prize KO’s.

Gardevoir – Even to Slightly Unfavorable

[cardimg name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”217″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]My group has already lambasted me for saying this matchup is even, but the Lost Vacuum really goes a long way. They will have to attack with a heavily damaged [card name=”Drifloon” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Scream Tail” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] at some point. Start out aggressively and take as many Prize cards as possible before they set up. The speed advantage is no joke. Although Gardevoir doesn’t need much to start taking KO’s, it does need time because the deck is slow. Sandy Shocks is bait and you usually don’t put it down in this matchup. They don’t have to attack into it, and they can easily play around it. Also, it doesn’t KO their small Pokemon due to Resistance. If you have Lost Vacuum on the turn where you can get a double KO, you probably win. If not, try to gust around the heavily damaged Pokemon and find Lost Vacuum on the following turn. Thin your deck aggressively to increase the chances of finding Lost Vacuum when you need it.

Gusting [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] for a KO usually happens at some point, as it helps you maintain your prize lead. [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] is very important as they play lots of hand disruption. Equip Bravery Charm to make it survive a Gardevoir hit. Also equip Bravery Charm to Squawkabilly to prevent Scream Tail from KO’ing it without overdamaging itself. If they try for a double-KO with [card name=”Munkidori” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] against your Raging Bolt or Mew ex by spreading damage, use Switch Cart to deny it. Make sure you’re always in a position to KO Gardevoir ex if it attacks, as it is one of their main options. Thanks to Munkidori, they can easily one-shot Ogerpon with Gardevoir ex.

Dragapult – Favorable

This matchup is very good. Raging Bolt already has the speed advantage. Even when [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] gets set up, Raging Bolt easily one-shots it. Bravery Charm keeps Raging Bolt out of [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] one-shot range, and both Bravery Charm and Switch Cart play around their spread plays. Their main way to win involves hand disruption, so thin your deck and keep Mew ex around. Your Mew ex will probably die, so if you have any extra Bravery Charm, put it on Mew. If you don’t, it’s not the end of the world because Bravery Charm is usually better on Raging Bolt anyway. If you’re able to load up enough Energy early, you can actually make use of Iono to deny combo plays from them. However, you often have to play Sada because Dragapult requires you to discard five Energy in order to KO it.

Lost Box – Unfavorable

This matchup is not so good, as they play multiple Lost Vacuum along with either Radiant Charizard or Bloodmoon Ursaluna. Bravery Charm at least forces them to find Lost Vacuum, and Switch Cart can mess with their snipe plays depending on what they go for. Iono is obviously good to try and disrupt them, which is what most decks try to do against Lost Box. Unfortunately, this is Raging Bolt’s worst matchup. If they draw well, there isn’t much you can do. Sandy Shocks is also bait in this matchup, as it doesn’t even KO Sableye and they will just snipe around it, so I usually don’t go for Sandy Shocks.

Mirror Match – Even

There isn’t too much to say about this matchup. Try to get the first two Prizes. If you do, you probably win. If you cannot get the first two Prizes, push a single-Prize Pokemon into the Active Spot until you can get the first two Prizes. Switch Cart is helpful for this if you start with Raging Bolt. Unfortunately, applying pressure with Sandy Shocks does not really work because it three-shots everything due to Mew and Squawkabilly’s Resistance. It would only work if your opponent’s start is particularly bad, or if you have nothing better to do.

Snorlax Stall – Slightly Favorable

At first I was scared of putting down liabilities like Squawkabilly or Radiant Greninja, but it is perfectly fine to do so if you need to. The main goal is to go fast and apply lots of pressure. Between both Boss’s Orders, both Switch Carts, the Pal Pad, and the Prime Catcher, there are more than enough ways to get around Snorlax. Just blitz KO’s, and snipe the Rotom if you can. Try to save Switch Carts and Prime Catcher in case your opponent goes down to a board of only Snorlax (Prime Catcher doesn’t work if they have just one Pokemon in play, but usually they will at least have a backup Snorlax). If you can KO Mimikyu with Sandy Shocks, great. If not, Bossing around it is completely fine. Leaving Mimikyu in play also leaves you with something that you can Boss up to get around Snorlax. Mew can also deal with Mimikyu, though Sandy Shocks is preferred because it is much faster. Lost Vacuum is also great in this matchup, as it allows you to one-shot Mimikyu, which will most likely have a defensive Tool card equipped. Filling up your board with useful Pokemon is completely fine, as you can nullify their [card name=”Erika’s Invitation” set=”151″ no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Accompanying Flute” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card]. You won’t need a second Raging Bolt in play, unless they play Radiant Charizard, which most don’t.

Conclusion

I am highly considering playing [card name=”Lost City” set=”Lost Origin” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck, but I have not yet gotten around to testing it yet. In theory, Lost City is the perfect tech card because it is strong against Raging Bolt’s weakest matchups: Gardevoir and Lost Box. You could easily cut the two Switch Carts to weaken the Snorlax matchup, especially if Snorlax isn’t getting a lot of hype, and simply hope to avoid that matchup. In exchange, Lost City can wreck Lost Box and Gardevoir by permanently removing key Pokemon like Drifloon or Bloodmoon Ursaluna. This just needs to be tested to see exactly how effective it is and if it’s worth it, but the deck does have the space and it is an intruiguing idea.

I am very excited for NAIC, but since there is not much time to test all of the decks, I am feeling a little underprepared! I am scrambling to practice as much as possible, and I’m sure many other competitors feel the same way. I think Raging Bolt is one of the most solid and powerful decks the new format has to offer. The only thing that has me hesitant is how obvious the deck is, and how people will most likely be prepared to face it since it has become extremely popular lately. That’s all for now! Thanks for reading!

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