The Best Way to Play Dragapult ex — A Look at Regidrago VSTAR

Hello PokeBeach readers! Isaiah here, and I am happy to be writing another article for you all! Last time, I covered my [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] deck list that I played for the North America International Championship. While I absolutely love playing that deck, I have certainly found things to be a bit boring lately in this format, with Standard feeling mostly irrelevant because the World Championships will have Shrouded Fable legal, and there are no other major events in the current format, instead being limited to only League Challenges and League Cups.

[cardimg name=”Palafin ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”193″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

With this pseudo “offseason” period during June, I have spent a lot of time on alternate formats, such as Expanded or the unofficial Eternal Format (a variant of Unlimited), and when I have been putting time into Standard, it has mainly been with decks that I consider to be fun rather than top tier, such as [card name=”Palafin ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card]. One of these decks that I decided to try was [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card], which was coming off of a Top 16 finish at the North America International Championship. While this result was certainly going to be enough to get people to look at a deck, weird rogue decks are known to do well and then immediately fall off the face of the Earth from time to time. As such, I think a fair number of people dismissed this deck, as it seemed like it could not possibly be good enough, right? To my surprise, the deck has felt remarkably good, and I honestly wish I had known about it for the North America International Championship because the deck feels like it could have made an even deeper run in a different timeline. Not only that, but I even think that the deck may be one of the most powerful decks for the upcoming World Championship. Before we get into that, though, how about we take a look at what makes it a good deck in the current format?

What Made Regidrago Succeed at NAIC?

I remember seeing a YouTube video about Regidrago VSTAR when Twilight Masquerade was about to come out. My initial thoughts included that the addition of [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] seemed appealing, and [card name=”Teal Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] is an extremely powerful card, so any deck that can make use of it is automatically going to be at least decent. The biggest downside that I came up with, though, was that it seemed hard for the deck to justify being better than a Dragapult ex deck or a [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]deck, finding itself as the awkward middle ground between two already powerful strategies, so I ended up writing it off. As I continued to test with both Dragapult ex and Raging Bolt ex for the North America International Championship, I found myself having two big issues; while Phantom Dive was good, I felt like I was missing the firepower needed to win matchups against high HP attackers. On the flip side, Raging Bolt ex was struggling with smaller HP Pokemon, as the deck is almost exclusively Pokemon ex, and the few non-ex Pokemon that it does play are pretty underwhelming as attackers. It should have been at this moment that I realized that potential for Regidrago VSTAR, but I had completely forgotten about it by the time I actually got to testing. See, the biggest mistake that I made when I initially evaluated Regidrago VSTAR was that I looked at Dragapult ex and Raging Bolt ex the wrong way — instead of considering how I could build a focused strategy around either of those cards, I should have realized that they are perfect compliments for each other, offering solutions to many problems.

[cardimg name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Aside from a good pool of attackers, [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] decks are generally built to be streamlined, and that is the perfect start to a successful deck. Teal Mask Ogerpon ex is a low-maintenance engine for both drawing cards as well as putting Energy in play, which then you can move those Energy with [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] to power up Regidrago VSTAR in one turn fairly easily. Cards like [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Superior Energy Retrieval” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card], which lend themselves as support for the Teal Mask Ogerpon ex engine, also are cards that discard cards from the hand, helping to get critical Dragon-type Pokemon in the discard pile to be copied with Apex Dragon. As I mentioned earlier, the most important attackers here are Dragapult ex and Raging Bolt ex, which offer a great spread option for smaller threats and a large nuke option for high HP Pokemon, respectively. Because of how little space these two take up, you can also play a variety of other attackers, such as [card name=”Hisuian Goodra VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Noivern ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card], and even [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] if you want to cover a variety of matchups that you may face during a tournament. Aside from the Teal Mask Ogerpon ex side of the deck, the deck is mostly built to discard cards and make sure your attackers get moving. Legacy Star is by far the most important part of this deck, though, acting as a pseudo-Starbirth ([card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]) a lot of the time. Did you only find one Energy Switch when you needed two? Play your first then get it back right away with Legacy Star. Want to recover [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card]? Use Legacy Star. Need a Supporter to get out of a dead hand? Legacy Star is effectively a [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card]. The possibilities are truly endless, and the best part is that Legacy Star also helps to get attackers in the discard pile in the process. It is a bit difficult to truly talk about where I think this deck’s strengths lie without looking at a deck list, so how about we take a look at the list that got Top 16 at the North America International Championships.

[premium]

Top 16 Regidrago VSTAR Deck List

As I touched on already, this deck was built to be super streamlined, with minimal techs and largely focusing on consistency. In my testing, this deck list has felt like a pretty good example of a near-perfect list coming out of an event. I have found myself struggling to make any changes, especially as I consider the deck going forward into League Challenges, League Cups, and of course the World Championship in August. With that said, I do think that the deck may have to adapt a bit for the World Championship in particular, but I will address that a bit more in-depth later.

The Deck List

[decklist name=”drago” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Cleffa” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”80″][pokemon amt=”18″]3x [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Regidrago V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Teal Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hisuian Goodra VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Noivern ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”153″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cleffa” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Shining Fates” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Penny” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Superior Energy Retrieval” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”194″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]9x [card name=”Basic Grass Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”278″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]3x [card name=”Basic Fire Energy” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”230″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Card Inclusions

Raging Bolt ex and Penny

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

While I noted that [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the big contributing factors to this deck’s success, I do think that it is also one of the most flawed cards in the deck. Notably, Raging Bolt ex is the deck’s only Basic Dragon-type attacker, which may not seem like an issue at first, but being able to start with it is incredibly bad. The card is super awkward to move, impossible to use in any meaningful way, and worth two Prize cards. Not only that, but if it is stuck in play, you also are unable to copy it with Regidrago VSTAR. Starting with Raging Bolt ex is truly the worst possible thing that can happen with this deck. It is the reason almost exclusively that this deck list also included a copy of [card name=”Penny” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], acting as a way to pick up Raging Bolt ex while also serving a variety of other purposes. Going forward, this is maybe one of the only cards that I would change — while Raging Bolt ex is powerful and reaching 350 with ease is great, I have been considering switching it to [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] since it is much more Energy efficient and also not a Basic Pokemon, even if it has a much lower damage cap than Raging Bolt ex’s nearly limitless damage cap. This change may, notably, lose some percentage points in the [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, which may be less than ideal for the World Championships, but I also think that the cases where Raging Bolt ex actually makes the difference in that matchup are infrequent enough that it may not even matter anyway.

Hisuian Goodra VSTAR

I am not going to lie, I am not sure how much I like this card in this deck. Its use cases are few and far between, but the counterpoint to that is that the situations where it matters are extremely significant. One of the first use cases that I was exposed to for it was against [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] which cannot take a one-hit Knock Out on you after a Rolling Iron unless they use [card name=”Drifloon” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] with a [card name=”Bravery Charm” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] plus moving 30 off of the Drifloon with [card name=”Munkidori” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] to then open up a space for an additional damage counter on the Drifloon if you can put seven Psychic Energy on it. This usually means that they have to have prized zero AND have all of them in the discard pile, which is a nearly impossible task early in the game. Another use case for [card name=”Hisuian Goodra VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] that I have found has been against Charizard ex. Late in the game, if you manage your Pokemon in play carefully and have a solo [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] in play, you may be able to make a big play out of Rolling Iron by swinging into a Charizard ex that you may not have been otherwise capable of Knocking Out, and a Charizard ex will be unable to take a one-hit Knock Out on you unless you have one Prize card left and they have a [card name=”Defiance Band” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card]. Aside from these and a few other niche cases, the card does not come up much, but is also a pretty low-cost inclusion for the deck while providing a significant benefit when it does come up — I think that alone makes the card worth including.

Noivern ex

The other niche attacker in this deck list is [card name=”Noivern ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card]. This card also is fairly limited to specific situations, but it is good enough in those situations for it to be worth playing. For example, against Andrew Hedrick’s North America International Championship-winning turbo Lost Zone deck, using Covert Flight to Knock Out a [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] leaves the opponent unable to deal any meaningful damage on the following turn, forcing a [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card], as [card name=”Iron Bundle” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] would allow you to promote [card name=”Cleffa” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] and then they may not be able to take two Prize cards unless they commit the resources to Amp You Very Much. Noivern ex is even more powerful against a list like Andrew’s because it also has no way to ever take a one-hit Knock Out on a Regidrago VSTAR even if they could reset the effect of Covert Flight, pretty much always turning a Covert Flight into a guaranteed two Prize cards for comparably little cost.

[cardimg name=”Noivern ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”246″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Noivern ex truly shines in the Raging Bolt ex / Teal Mask Ogerpon ex matchup, as their deck is entirely Basic Pokemon. As a result, if you could get down to a single copy of Regigdrago VSTAR in play, you could completely wall the opponent out of the game using Covert Flight. This can be somewhat difficult in the deck’s current form, as Penny being a supporter makes it hard to dig for the cards you need and remove any Teal Mask Ogerpon ex from play if needed. It is largely because of this that many people have considered playing [card name=”Scoop Up Cyclone” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] in Regidrago VSTAR instead, valuing the Item card as a way to remove the Teal Mask Ogerpon ex from the board instead. Additionally, as an Item card, it gives you the option to Scoop Up Cyclone, Legacy Star, and then immediately Scoop Up Cyclone again to remove two Pokemon from play if necessary, making the combo a little bit easier.

Cleffa

Every important Pokemon in this deck is worth two Prizes, so the inclusion of a single Pokemon that is worth Prize card is an almost entirely cost-free addition to the deck — if the opponent has to Knock it Out, it doesn’t actually help them make meaningful progress towards a win condition unless they Knock it Out with Amp You Very Much specifically, or if they make a play where they Lost Mine Cleffa and a Teal Mask Ogerpon ex and then clean it up with Amp You Very Much for three. Because of this, you may want to consider avoiding benching Cleffa against Lost Zone box if you can. Alongside Cleffa, I have also put legitimate consideration into [card name=”Elekid” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”59″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck, but the extra card draw from Grasping Draw can be significant enough that I think it is better to simply play Cleffa.

Possible Addition: Giratina V

Earlier, I commented about the possible addition of [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck, but it is not in the deck list that I chose to discuss in this article. The main argument for the inclusion is to have an easier answer to [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], but [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] can answer both of those fairly effectively, and the latter can also be answered by [card name=”Regidrago V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] if you are desperate. As a result, the card may not be worth playing, largely due to its redundancy, but I thought it was worth mentioning. You could also play [card name=”Koraidon ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] instead if you valued not having the potential to start with a two Prize card Pokemon, but I chose Giratina V because the damage could be relevant, such as against a Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex with a [card name=”Hero’s Cape ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card], and Abyss Seeking is a decent attack if you happen to start with a poor hand.

Regidrago VSTAR for Worlds

As of right now, this deck is one of my top considerations for the World Championship. The deck is already super solid in the metagame, with its only poor matchup being Lugia VSTAR, but the release of Shrouded Fable adds a new Kyurem that puts the deck over the top. While the Kyurem was originally designed as a counter to Lost Zone decks, dealing 110 damage to three of their Pokemon for only one Colorless Energy if they have a [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] in the discard pile, [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] can take this card a step further. When they designed Kyurem, they clearly overlooked the fact that, since the card is a Dragon-type Pokemon, it is going to be able to easily be copied by Regidrago VSTAR, giving Regidrago VSTAR the ability to threaten game-ending board wipes as soon as turn two.

Not only that, but the looming threat of it throughout the game is often enough, forcing the opponent to either have [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] in play always, leaving an easy target for Phantom Dive, or to disregard it and hope you are unable to make a big play. Lugia VSTAR suffers from this especially badly, as [card name=”Cinccino ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] happens to have exactly 110 HP. Taking things further, because of the nature of Legacy Star and Teal Dance digging through the deck, you can pretty seamlessly play [card name=”Canceling Cologne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] to shut off Manaphy even if they do have it in play. I am fairly confident that this new version of Regidrago VSTAR is going to be one of the most powerful decks that we have seen in a long time, all thanks to a small oversight in card design. Additionally, while it is not as significant as Kyurem, a new Haxorus coming out can do 230 damage, which may find its way into Regidrago VSTAR deck lists, however, I am not sure that the card is good enough in a deck that is already so good at covering its bases, but it is certainly worth keeping it in mind just in case.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that we are in a weird limbo of an offseason in the Pokemon TCG right now, we have been fortunate enough to witness some of the most interesting developments in the Pokemon TCG, with various players exploring alternate formats like Stephane Ivanoff’s recent deep dive into Expanded and Ian Robb discussing Gym Leader Challenge on social media. Alongside these interesting other formats, the Standard format still has so much more room to grow, as we only ever had one event in the format before it will be shaken up again for the next major event. As I have examined in this article, I think that one of the biggest new developments in the current format has been the emergence of Regidrago VSTAR as a meta-relevant archetype, and I hope to see more archetypes continue to emerge so that the format feels unique and refreshing for the World Championship.

With that, this article draws to a close. As always, I hope you enjoyed giving this article about one of my new favorite decks a read, and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out!

Until next time!

– Isaiah

[/premium]