Little Pokemon, Big Impact — How Budew Will Change the Game

Hello everyone! Happy New Year, and Happy New Pokemon cards! We’re about to get a brand new set in Prismatic Evolutions, which will bring us back in line with Japan’s pre-rotation format that they had for Champions League Osaka. While the upcoming San Antonio Regional Championships will be in the earlier format, going forward, we’ll have the new cards, which will likely lead to changes regarding the metagame. To that point, the recent results of the Osaka Champions League look drastically different from the non-Japanese events. While there is normally a little disparity between the two due to the slight differences in tournament structure, in this case it’s a bit more striking. Notably, there is no [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] anywhere to be seen in the Top 16, nor any [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Terapagos ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. Instead, there are decks like [card name=”Archaludon ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Ceruledge ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card], with the former two standing out notably in contrast to their performance in the non-Japanese Surging Sparks meta.

[cardimg name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”201″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Given that Regidrago VSTAR has emerged as the clear deck to beat in recent Regional Championships, its absence from the Osaka results is a bit striking. What’s more, this isn’t a one-off event; Regidrago’s results in City League events have also fallen off dramatically, to the point that it wouldn’t even be considered in the top ten archetypes right now in Japan. Japan is one set ahead of us with Terastal Fest ex, but if you look at the Japanese results, it isn’t like there’s any new big archetypes that came out that will shake up the meta. While I could have done this article as a set review for Prismatic Evolutions, the sad reality is that there aren’t a lot of good cards that are coming out in that set. On the plus side, this means that players won’t have to worry as much about the potential difficulty of finding the new cards, but it is a bit of a letdown. While the Eeveelution exs are beautiful, they aren’t all that competitive, with only a few low level results thus far. There are only two cards in the set that I feel confident saying will make any sort of impact going forward in the immediate future. One is Regigigas, which has been a strong addition to Lugia VSTAR decks, but is relatively limited to that archetype, though any deck that has a way to reliably power it up can consider it as a good tech against Dragapult ex or [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] decks. The other card, however, is an absolute gamechanger, and is the reason for such a drastic shift in the meta. As you might have guessed from this article’s title, that card is Budew. It’s been a long time since we had a Budew card in the TCG — the last printing was in Stormfront in 2008 — but believe me, this one has been worth the wait.

Budew is a simple Pokemon, and easy enough to overlook. It has as little HP as possible, and only hits for 10 damage — not exactly enough to be threatening. Despite making those aspects of the card about as weak as can be, the impact of a zero-Energy Item lock attack is nonetheless enough to make Budew a great card. Item lock is traditionally one of the strongest effects in the game, and is particularly useful in today’s Item-heavy metagame. Any deck with Budew ultimately isn’t going to be a dedicated Item lock deck though, as again, it does far too little damage and is much too squishy to pull off that strategy. Budew is well designed for a different purpose though — slowing down your opponent enough to buy an extra turn, so that you can be the first player to set up, and thus win the Prize race. Since its attack takes zero Energy, Budew can fit into literally any deck, and is likewise being seen in a wide variety of archetypes, from Stage 2 decks like Dragapult ex, to aggressive decks like Ceruledge ex or [card name=”Terapagos ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. In this article, I’ll be taking a look at Budew’s impact on the metagame, what decks you’ll probably see it in, which decks that you should consider playing Budew in yourself, and how Budew specifically will affect many of the format’s top decks.

Why Is Budew So Impactful?

In the current format, there are a few factors that lead to Budew being so good. Had this been another time, Budew may have been far more niche or overlooked, but right now, it is in a position to stand out. One major factor is that while there are quite a wide variety of aggressive, “win the Prize race” style decks, many of them are Evolution decks, and thus do not have a turn one attack to use. Whether they are evolved ex decks or VSTAR decks, the lack of a turn one attack makes going second feel rather wasteful, as while you do get a nice consistency boost from being able to use a Supporter, you can’t put any real pressure on your opponent without an early attack to do so. What’s more, the advantage of getting that first attack in many matchups feels more impactful than ever, partially due to the lower HP of many of these evolving basics, and partially due to how fast many games go nowadays. In more aggressive games, three or four attacks can be all you need to win, so there is little margin for error if you fall behind regardless of the reason.

Given all of that, having a way to slow down your opponent for even a turn can be a huge advantage, and Budew’s Itchy Pollen gives you a way to do so. Many decks nowadays rely on Items. Stage 2 decks need [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card], Regidrago VSTAR decks need [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] decks need [card name=”Electric Generator” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], and so on. Every deck also uses Items for search and consistency, whether that be ball search, [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], or any of the other many powerful Item cards that exist in the current format. So, one turn without Items, especially in the early parts of the game, can mean a turn of not attacking, or more specifically, a turn without attacking in a way that does anything useful. Furthermore, while Budew may be an easy Prize for the opponent to take, it may not actually reduce the number of attacks they need to win. If you use Budew in an ex- or VSTAR-focused deck, and thus your opponent is taking two Prizes with every knockout, they’ll still need three KOs to win in the end. So, many decks don’t actually have to worry all that much about using Budew; if giving up that Prize means that they can get ahead, then it is well worth the trade.

Should My Deck Play Budew?

When it comes to whether or not to include Budew in a given archetype, there are a few criteria that you can look at to see if Budew would be a good fit.

Do You Have a Turn 1 Attack to Use?

The first thing to look at is simple: does this deck already have something that it wants to do on turn one when it goes second, or is it just passing the turn most of the time? When using Itchy Pollen, most of the time it’s going to be on that first turn of the game, but if you’re already going in with the goal of using a different attack, Budew isn’t going to be as helpful. While Budew can in theory bail you out if you miss that turn one attack, my philosophy will typically be to include a card that can improve my turn one attack odds (such as extra consistency), as opposed to a card that I only want to use if things are going wrong. Decks that don’t want to include Budew for this reason include [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], or pretty much any aggressive Basic attacking deck. After all, why try to delay your opponent to slow them down in the Prize race, when you can just take a Knock Out and get ahead yourself?

[premium]

Can Your Deck Easily Switch Into Budew?

The second criterion is a bit less broad, and focuses on the mobility of the deck in question. Again, Budew is strongest when using it on the first turn, so you have to look at how reliably you can retreat or switch into it on that first turn. Since Budew attacks for free, in some decks this is as simple as attaching an Energy to whatever Active Pokemon you started with and retreating. In other decks with higher retreat costs, Budew may only be good if the deck is already playing a large number of switching cards, and are willing to use them to switch into Budew and not needing to save them for a later time. Decks with less early game mobility are likely not going to want to use up a deck spot on Budew, since they won’t be able to use it consistently. Examples of decks that wouldn’t want to use Budew for this reason include some of the VSTAR decks, like [card name=”Archaludon ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card], and to a lesser extent [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card].

Can The Deck Take Advantage of Budew’s Item Lock?

If the deck has passed the two above checks, then the last thing to look at is whether or not the deck in question can ultimately take advantage of a slowed down opponent and to what extent. For most decks at this point, the answer is yes, but some archetypes can make better use of Budew than others. For those where it’s a bit borderline, then while Budew may be helpful, some lists may opt to use that space for something else. That is, Budew isn’t an auto-include card. This is a bit more vague, but in general, the more of an advantage that the deck in question has when getting off the first attack, the stronger Budew will be in the deck. Think about how good the deck is when it goes first and sets up — does it have the potential to blow your opponent out of the water, or is it more the kind of deck where it’s nice, but not that big of a deal? Decks with tremendous early-game pressure like [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] (or anything else that can attack with [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card]), or some of the more aggressive [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] decks — those are ones where Budew will really shine. On the flipside, something like Charizard ex, which is more of a comeback deck, might opt not to play Budew, since the advantage isn’t as pronounced. Even then though, that can depend on the specific decklist; a Charizard deck with a heavy Dusknoir focus may want to play Budew, whereas one without it might not. In general, I like Budew in most things that can consistently use it, but if space in the decklist is tight, you’ll want to take a closer look at how effective an early game advantage ultimately is.

What Decks Are Playing Budew?

With that guide in mind, it’s also worth looking at which decks are commonly including Budew in the current Japanese meta, to get some idea of which decks we might encounter playing Budew in future matches. As I’ve mentioned, Budew is highly versatile, and can be played in any deck if the pilot chooses to include it. However, while that may be the case, not everyone is, and there are a few archetypes in which Budew is far more common than in others. The most common archetypes with it are the ones I mentioned in the last section as being strongest with Budew: Dragapult ex, Palkia VSTAR / Dusknoir, and Palkia VSTAR / Ceruledge ex. I’d be rather surprised to see any of these archetypes without Budew once it becomes legal for play, and so if you run into one of them, keep in mind that you’ll need to be prepared for Itchy Pollen. Other common archetypes that will play Budew include Terapagos ex and [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], as well as occasionally in Regidrago VSTAR and Charizard ex decks. It’s also common in many off-meta Evolution decks. Finally, it can be the centerpiece of some Dusknoir-focused decks, though that archetype as a stand-alone concept has yet to become widespread. With that said, again, keep in mind that any deck can play Budew — I’ve encountered it even in decks like Miraidon ex which certainly don’t meet my aforementioned criteria — so don’t let your guard down!

How Will Budew Affect My Deck?

Whether you are going to be playing Budew or playing against it, there’s going to be some effect that you should be aware of. In this next section, I’ll be going over some of the more popular archetypes, and how they will be affected in the new format.

Regidrago VSTAR

[cardimg name=”Regidrago V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”184″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]

If you’re a Regidrago VSTAR player, you should be dreading the upcoming release of Prismatic Evolutions. Indeed, no archetype has seemed to suffer quite as much damage from the Budew release as Regidrago, having dropped from the BDIF to a mere tier 3 option. If you are currently playing Regidrago, you should either be prepared to find a new deck, or will have to accept the loss of viability that emerges from the addition of Budew to the format. I’m a fan of Regidrago VSTAR, and was happy to see it finally take its place at the top of the meta, so I find it rather unfortunate that it’s getting cut off at the knees by the last set before it rotates out. Alas, that is the reality of the upcoming meta.

Without Items, Regidrago players can’t use [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] to get their accelerated Energy onto their Regidrago VSTAR, nor can they use [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] or Earthen Vessel to get new attackers into the discard pile. The deck’s consistency effectively drops to near nothing when under Item Lock, so you basically have to hope to be set up on turn one, while going first and not having the benefit of using Supporters. This is not easy to do. Regidrago seems to particularly suffer from Budew, not only because of how Item-reliant it is in the early game, but also because Regidrago is already a deck with a fairly large coin flip disparity. That is, Regidrago VSTAR decks are much stronger when they can go first and thus get the first attack off; with Budew in the opponent’s deck, that advantage is wiped away. If you’re playing against Regidrago with something like Dragapult ex, your use of Budew means that when going second, you don’t have to worry nearly as much about the threat of a turn two Phantom Dive, or that you’ll be blown away right off the bat by [card name=”Kyurem” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card]’s Trifrost. Since Regidrago doesn’t have any first-turn attacking threats, it effectively can’t win the coinflip against a Budew deck. If a matchup was, say, 70-30 when going first, but 45-55 when going second, now that matchup is effectively locked into the 45-55 position. Understandably, this means that Regidrago VSTAR’s matchup spread has gone down, which has led to its severe drop in viability.

Moreover, it is somewhat difficult for Regidrago to play Budew itself, as you can’t switch into it easily, and the Bench space it takes up can be rather detrimental when you want multiple [card name=”Teal Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Regidrago V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] in play, as well as your support Pokemon. So, for Regidrago, the release of Budew is all downside, no upside. Budew can take up the [card name=”Cleffa” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] spot in current lists, and so you can play it, but it’s still a bit dicey.

Raging Bolt ex

[card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t affected as much by Budew as you might think, but it does nonetheless suffer from Budew’s addition to the meta. It does get slowed down a bit by Itchy Pollen, but unlike Regidrago VSTAR, you aren’t reliant on Items like Energy Switch in order to attack. So long as Raging Bolt can get the Pokemon it needs to find in hand, and some Energy to attach, it doesn’t mind if it’s locked out of Items for a turn, it can simply take a Knock Out on Budew, then use whatever is left in hand on the following turn to keep the Bellowing Thunders coming. Budew is a non-ex, so the opponent can get a bit of an advantage if it’s the kind of matchup where you’re going to be trading OHKOs, since they’ll then win the race if they can get a KO every turn. The Item lock also stops [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] from being an out to this strategy, further helping the opponent. For a deck like Ceruledge ex, this can be a critical advantage. The other issue that Raging Bolt has is more subtle, and will be a bit dependent on how specifically the non-Japanese players react to the meta shift caused by Budew. That issue is that the meta as a whole is simply worse for Raging Bolt, with more of its bad matchups becoming stronger, and more of its good matchups becoming weaker. Losing the good Regidrago matchup in particular hurts a bit, and if US players hop onto either the Archaludon ex or Ceruledge ex trains, then it will trend further down. I wouldn’t expect Raging Bolt ex to completely disappear from the meta, but it may be a bit weaker going forward.

Charizard ex

Charizard ex can either be a beneficiary of Budew, or it can fall victim to it. On one hand, if Itchy Pollen hits at the wrong time, it can stop Charizard ex from getting going with Rare Candy, which can leave it vulnerable to Phantom Dive or Moonlight Shuriken. On the other hand, Charizard ex is a deck with massive amounts of comeback potential, so it isn’t as vulnerable to a one-turn slowdown as some of the other decks. So long as the Charizard deck doesn’t completely get blown out right away, it can get back in the game and end up winning. While it might lose a first-attack advantage if it can’t use Rare Candy on turn two, its playstyle is such that the effectiveness of that is less than it would be for something like Regidrago VSTAR or Dragapult ex. Charizard ex decks can also play around Budew in some cases, by including more Stage 1s, or, in the case of the one Champions League Top 16 list, use [card name=”Grand Tree” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] to say “you know what, I’m going to go ahead and evolve up anyway”. As I mentioned, Charizard decks can also play Budew, to slow down the opponent and give yourself more time to set up. However, just as Budew isn’t as harmful for Charizard ex, the advantage that the extra turn gives also isn’t as helpful, so many lists choose not to run it, particularly since Charizard ex already uses up quite a few bench spots on Duskull and Pidgey. As a whole, Budew is likely a bad development for Charizard ex, but to what extent will depend on how popular those more harmful matchups end up being.

Dragapult ex

[cardimg name=”Lance” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”192″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]

If Regidrago VSTAR is the biggest victim of Budew, then Dragapult ex is the largest beneficiary. All four of the top 16 Dragapult ex lists in Champions League Osaka played at least one Budew, and it is more or less a staple card in this archetype going forward. Dragapult ex has no turn one attacker, and likewise has a tremendous advantage when it is able to get off the first attack. Budew makes it so that Dragapult more or less can’t lose the coinflip; if it goes first, then it can use Phantom Dive first on turn two, whereas if it goes second, it uses Itchy Pollen and slows down the opponent, so that it still ends up using Phantom Dive first on turn two. If Budew manages to prevent the opponent’s weak Basic Pokemon from evolving, either by stopping the opponent from playing Rare Candy or from finding the Evolution they need with Ultra Ball, then they can end the game quickly with Phantom Dive, or at least put the opponent so far behind that a comeback is extremely difficult.

The result of this is that Dragapult ex has now become the deck to beat in Japan; while it may not have won the Champions League, it did have the most top placements, and it has had the most success at this cycle of City League tournaments. When it comes to playing against Budew, Dragapult ex is also one of the most well adapted Stage 2 decks, since it can make use of [card name=”Drakloak” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] and isn’t as reliant on Rare Candy as some of the other Stage 2 decks. If a Dragapult player gets into a “Budew war”, then they’ll likely come out ahead due to their extra Stage 1s and the extra consistency that Drakloak brings to the table. Budew is also a notable liability against Phantom Dive, so even if it does lead to the opponent getting an extra Prize early, they’re liable to give it right back later on. With that said, Dragapult decks do still need to be wary of Budew in Palkia VSTAR decks, as Drakloak can be OHKO’d by Radiant Greninja. In those matchups, make sure to try to get three Dreepy into play, so that you can respond to such a play by getting a Dragapult ex out and using Phantom Dive to match their aggression.

In most cases when adding Budew to a deck, you’ll only take out a card or two and add in the Budew, but in the case of Dragapult, most players have gone a bit further, and included [card name=”Lance” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] to give the deck some reliable Supporter-based Pokemon search. Most of the time nowadays Supporter-based Pokemon search tends to be mediocre unless it can find you other cards as well ([card name=”Irida” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card], for example), but that also tends to be because the format is a bit too fast for it to work. With Budew slowing things down a touch, cards like Lance become more effective. Lance is also an excellent bit of counterplay to Itchy Pollen, since it gives the Dragapult player a way to find its Evolutions even without Ultra Ball. For an example of how the decklist looks, here’s my updated Dragapult ex list:

[decklist name=”3drag0mag” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″][pokemon amt=”19″]3x [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Drakloak” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Dreepy” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dusclops” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Duskull” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”18″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x Budew (PRE #4)1x [card name=”Radiant Alakazam” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”59″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]4x [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Lance” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Crispin” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Turo’s Scenario” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sparkling Crystal” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”142″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Board ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]3x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”153″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Ceruledge ex

Ceruledge ex may not be putting up the big results yet in the US or in Europe, but it has started to show up in a big way in the Japanese metagame, and I would expect it to start doing so everywhere else as well once Budew comes out. Ceruledge ex finished in 5th and 10th at Champions League Osaka, and has consistently been in the top 5 decks in City League results, tending to be anywhere from 3rd to 5th in that regard depending on the week. Ceruledge has benefitted both from the meta shifts (as it is quite strong against Dragapult ex and Archaludon ex), and from Budew, the combination of which has pushed it up from an off-meta deck to a common contender. Like with Dragapult ex, Ceruledge ex doesn’t have any turn-one attacking capabilities, so being able to slow down the opponent helps a lot when going second.

As I explained a bit in the Dragapult ex section, Radiant Greninja can also be an incredible threat, particularly against decks with evolving basics. For those that aren’t, and are simply aggressive prize-trading decks, Budew helps Ceruledge ex to get the first attack against a two-Prize Pokemon, something that was already a bit of an advantage for Ceruledge ex, but is now a substantial one. The addition of Budew has cemented the Palkia VSTAR build as the superior one, since it further expands the first attack advantage that the deck gets, and allows it to reliably use Moonlight Shuriken as a strategy against evolution decks regardless of the opening coinflip. As far as Budew against Ceruledge goes, it isn’t quite as strong as it might be against other decks, as the Ceruledge deck will be able to do a lot on the first turn before getting Item locked. You might be able to get lucky with Itchy Pollen and stop them from being able to find the Pokemon they need or slow down their discarding a little bit, but it isn’t like Ceruledge has a critical card it needs to attack; there’s no reliance on Rare Candy or Energy Switch for instance. Further, the [card name=”Charcadet” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”32″ c=”from”][/card] can OHKO a Budew, so the Ceruledge player can get around Budew even without evolving and putting a two-Prize Pokemon in harm’s way. If you want to take a run at this kind of Budew deck, here is the updated version of my Ceruledge ex list:

[decklist name=”edge” amt=”59″ caption=”” cname=”Ceruledge ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”36″][pokemon amt=”12″]3x [card name=”Ceruledge ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”36″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Charcadet” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia V” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”39″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x Budew (PRE #4)1x [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]4x [card name=”Carmine” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Briar” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ 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=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”18″]8x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]5x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card]3x [card name=”Jet Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”190″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Mist Energy ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Legacy Energy” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Gardevoir ex

[cardimg name=”Munkidori” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”95″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I mentioned [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] as an archetype that has seen a fair amount of Budew inclusion; while it isn’t universal, the benefits of Budew have made it common enough. Gardevoir ex’s early game is naturally pretty slow going, so having an attack like Itchy Pollen that can slow down the opponent can be quite helpful. However, it’s worth noting that Gardevoir is the rare deck where you won’t actually use Itchy Pollen on turn one — you want to be using [card name=”Technical Machine: Evolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] instead. Rather, Itchy Pollen tends to be a turn two play to buy enough time to get enough Psychic Energy in the Discard Pile to get things going. This can also be matchup dependent. Against some of the Stage 2 decks, it can make more sense to hinder their second turn Rare Candy and set up naturally, if a bit slower, particularly if the opponent ends up being in a position where they can’t find their Stage 1s. As for the other side, Gardevoir ex players tend to actually prefer to see a Budew hit the opponent’s field. Because Tool cards are no longer Items, the Gardevoir player will still be able to use Technical Machine: Evolution even after being hit by Itchy Pollen. They also don’t rely on Items, and tend to come out ahead when the game slows down, since it means they have more time to set up. In that sense, the ten damage and disruption from Itchy Pollen is a lot less scary than an opponent that simply starts taking knockouts. Even more importantly, Budew’s low HP means that it is easy pickings for Munkidori, and is effectively a free Prize for the Gardevoir player whenever they want it. So, if you do play Budew, don’t use it against a Gardevoir ex deck.

Terapagos ex

[card name=”Terapagos ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] decks are unique among the aggressive attacking Basic Pokemon decks in that Terapagos ex cannot attack going first, a downside which Budew can certainly alleviate. With that said, whether or not Terapagos ex should include Budew tends to depend on the list itself. For the more traditional Terapagos ex / Dusknoir decks, Budew is a must-have addition. For the newer [card name=”Klawf” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] / Terapagos ex decks, it’s a bit more nuanced, since that deck does have a turn one attacking option in Klawf. Even so, many of the Klawf decks have still opted to play Budew. A big reason for this is that in addition to Budew’s normal usage of being able to buy an extra turn, the Poison aspect of the Klawf deck allows Itchy Pollen to be even more threatening, by backing it up with actual damage output. If both Active Pokemon are Poisoned and Budew has a [card name=”Binding Mochi” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], it can actually OHKO an evolving Basic if [card name=”Radiant Hisuian Sneasler” set=”Lost Origin” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] is in play, or it can set it up to be KO’d going back into the Klawf player’s turn if not. In general, Budew gives the Klawf deck more strategic options to use, and so most players (including myself) have tended to find it to be worth the deck spot.

If you’re thinking to yourself “Wow, Budew sounds awesome! What’s the best thing to play it in?”, then I recommend one of the decklists I included above. Budew is at its best when using it on turn one, and when using it to slow down your opponent so you can set up for an explosive, game-ending early play. The best things to do this with are Pokemon that can take multiple knockouts, such as Dragapult ex or Radiant Greninja, with an added bonus if you can use Dusknoir as well. If you’re up against an opposing deck with evolving basics, or if you can take out a key piece to your opponent’s strategy, then you can easily win the game on turn two right there. Having been on the other side of the quick Budew loss, I can tell you that it can be frustrating to play against, but when you’re the one stopping your opponent’s Rare Candy and KOing all of their Basic Pokemon, it’s quite a fun time! If you’re already familiar with these decks, you don’t have to learn a bunch of new strategies, just get used to switching into and using Itchy Pollen on turn one. If you aren’t, be sure to check out the other articles on PokeBeach to get some insights! We’ve come to the end of this article, but as always, if you have any questions, be sure to ask below in the comment section! Best of luck to everyone, and stay safe! Thanks for reading!

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