The Architect — Using Archaludon ex to Build Dialga VSTAR

Hello PokeBeach readers! Isaiah here, and I am happy to be writing another article for you all! Last time, I discussed the re-emergence of [card name=”Iron Thorns ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] at the Regional Championships level, especially in decks like [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] as a way to alter the pace of the game to establish a more powerful late game strategy. This strategy is going to be replicated by Budew in the upcoming format, which is a topic deserving of its own article, but it is not going to the focus of this article.

Of the the last couple of weekends, with the Birmingham, Rio de Janeiro, and San Antonio Regional Championships, we have seen several minor shifts in the meta. [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card], while still commanding the title of being the best deck, has been producing results that are weaker than usual over the last couple of tournaments. [card name=”Terapagos ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] has made a massive resurgence with the departure of [card name=”Klawf” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] from the list of relevant decks. Both the traditional [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] build as well as the [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] build have seen success lately, with the former peaking at fourth in the San Antonio Regional Championships and the Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR version making finals of all three events, including a win in Rio de Janeiro, to the surprise of many.

While the Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR version has been a fairly decent deck for quite a while, it has always lingered in the lower tiers of the format, at least in my opinion, but a series of fortunate events has lead to the slight shift needed to allow the deck to emerge as a top tier strategy. However, despite this, Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR would still prove to be no match for two of the other best decks in the format at the two larger events, succumbing to [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] in Birmingham and [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] in San Antonio.

One other deck that did not put up particularly incredible results at either event, but it has been starting to pop up more and more lately, is [card name=”Archaludon ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card]. Following its win at Champions League Osaka in December, Archaludon ex has surged to a position of meta prominence, amounting to around six percent of the meta in the Birmingham and San Antonio Regional Championships, with a positive conversion rate at both events as well, including a surge to ten percent of Day 2 at the Birmingham Regional Championship.

While I did not personally attend any of these events to get the chance to prove this statement myself, I confidently believe that Archaludon ex is one of the best decks in the Standard format, largely thanks to its ability to abuse [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]’s Star Chronos, which is one of the best, if not the single best, attacks in Standard currently. Last weekend during the Birmingham Regional Championships, I was able to win a League Cup with Archaludon ex, cementing my belief in the deck, which was bolstered by its finishes in Regional Championships.

[cardimg name=”Archaludon ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”241″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

If I had gone to San Antonio, I almost certainly would have played Archaludon ex, and it is not super hard to see why I wanted to. The deck’s core strategy of swinging for 220 damage with a 300 HP Stage 1 is unbelievably strong on its own, with many decks struggling to contend with that power.

However, the deck really starts to show its strength with Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR. Now, the deck also has the ability to, simply put, answer every problem that could possibly be thrown its way. It is truly unbelievable what you can do by taking two turns in a row, often being able to come back by taking four (or more depending on the deck list!) Prize cards in a single “turn” if you set things up properly. This power is just completely unmatched any deck in the format, other than maybe the [card name=”Briar” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] decks like Charizard ex, but even then these decks have to use their combos to win the game that turn, with little utility otherwise.

On the other hand, Archaludon ex is able to use Star Chronos to either end the game outright or possibly set up a checkmate with a combination of cards like [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”237″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] to Knock Out whatever Pokemon you want and leave the opponent unable to win the game with the resources that they are left with on board and in their (likely small) hand. On top of this, the deck does have pretty universally good matchups, with one of the stand out matchups being Regidrago VSTAR. With their deck being mostly Pokemon V and Pokemon ex with 220 or less HP, it is very easy to take two Prize cards on the second turn, and from there it is easy to close out the game with repeated plays of Boss’s Orders and closing it out with a Star Chronos if needed.

Going beyond that, Charizard ex, while tough, is a pretty manageable matchup with the high HP of Archaludon ex and also, of course, Star Chronos. This is a trend that continues down the list of decks in the format, which is a large part of why I think that this deck is so good. Archaludon ex on its own is independently powerful, but the ability to abuse Star Chronos pushes it to the next level, turning the deck into a powerhouse that, honestly, does not really have a bad matchup beyond the fact that it is somewhat inconsistent.

In my opinion, the deck would likely be in contention for being the best deck in the Standard format if it was more consistent than it is, but the deck’s consistency issues are truly the only thing holding it back. In the interest of solving that problem, I have looked into building the deck with cards like [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] in order to dig a bit deeper, which has been a huge help, but it has not quite gotten the deck to the point I would hope for. Despite that, I do currently feel very comfortable with my deck list as it is, so without further ado, here is that deck list.

My Archaludon ex Deck List

As I have alluded to, the main focus of my deck list is understanding that Archaludon ex, while independently powerful, if infrequently enough to win games on its own. Instead, I have built to efficiently get to a Star Chronos play where I am able to cripple the opponent or win the game outright with the help of cards like [card name=”Thorton” set=”Lost Origin” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card], and others. Thanks to PokeStop and of course cards like [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] are able to help dig deeper and deeper into the deck in order to put together this game winning combo.

The one unusual aspect of this deck list, though, is the inclusion of a small [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] package. I will get into the details on this shortly, but this package, while it certainly negatively contributes to the consistency problem that I discussed previously, it does add a new dimension to the deck’s ability to obliterate the opponent’s board, either by helping you set up a Knock Out on a massive HP Pokemon like Charizard ex in one turn without previous setup or possibly take a fifth Prize card or other Knock Out.

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[decklist name=”arch” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Archaludon ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”130″][pokemon amt=”18″]4x [card name=”Archaludon ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Duraludon” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga V” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dusclops” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Duskull” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]3x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Thorton” set=”Lost Origin” no=”167″ 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=”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=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Scoop Up Cyclone” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]9x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Card Inclusions

Four Archaludon ex

While four [card name=”Duraludon” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] is pretty standard, the fourth [card name=”Archaludon ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”241″ c=”name”][/card] is a bit more contentious, but I do believe it is an absolute necessity. On the surface level, playing more Archaludon ex is good for consistency. It is important to find the card early and often, so playing a full four copies is the most natural way to boost the consistency of finding them. Beyond this, it is also important to play more copies of Archaludon ex because you almost always will need two at once to use [card name=”Origin Form Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”210″ c=”name”][/card] effectively, and considering that a fair number of the time you may already have an Archaludon ex in play, you will frequently need three or more Archaludon ex at a time. With the need for so many Archaludon ex, it becomes valuable to have a fourth copy for the sake of counteracting it being stuck among your Prize cards and, of course, access.

The Duraludon of choice does not matter a ton in this deck list. I chose the one from Stellar Crown because Hammer In can be occasionally useful for a one Energy attack and playing the one with Raging Hammer may bluff that we play [card name=”Relicanth ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], which is substantial enough that it could affect some opponent’s plays with the hope of not playing into it. As for why we exclude Relicanth, it is mostly because it only ever really matters against a matchup that is already favored, being the Regidrago VSTAR matchup.

Two Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR

[cardimg name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG68″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]

As I have stated repeatedly, Star Chronos is the reason this deck is good. I would not even consider touching the deck if it were not for Star Chronos. At first, I only played one Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR, but after a few games with the deck where I Prized either piece of the evolution line, I immediately felt the need to include a second copy. While I would not normally advocate for buffing the counts of tech cards to protect against Prize cards, this is a case where the card is not just a tech — it is a necessity.

Dusknoir Line and Rare Candy

There is so much to be said about the [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] line in this deck. On the surface level, it allows you to push for extra damage or take a cheap Knock Out at some point in the game, which is extremely powerful on its own. However, the most valuable aspect of Dusknoir is not just the fact that you can use it at some point, but you can also make use of it out of thin air.

Think about a deck like Charizard ex, where if you would like to use Dusknoir at some point, you have to place [card name=”Duskull” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] on your Bench a turn early, telegraphing your plan and allowing the opponent to interrupt your play. In the case of this deck, you can place Duskull on your Bench the same turn that you use Star Chronos in order to evolve into [card name=”Dusclops” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”19″ c=”name”][/card] or play [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] to evolve it into Dusknoir and use it instead on that second turn to make a huge play. This extends to if you do have Duskull in play earlier, you could also possibly evolve into Dusclops, use it, play [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”251″ c=”name”][/card] for Duskull again, use Star Chronos, and then possibly use either Dusclops or Dusknoir again.

While these plays may sound absurd or unnecessary, they come up a surprsing amount in real games. Using a real example that I used to win a game at my aforementioned League Cup, I was playing against a [card name=”Gholdengo ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] deck and I was able to place Duskull on my Bench, use Star Chronos to do 220 damage to a Gholdengo ex, then I played Boss’s Orders on a fresh Gholdengo ex on the Bench before evolving into Dusclops. Finally, I used Cursed Blast to Knock Out the damaged Gholdengo ex and used Metal Blast to Knock Out the fresh one in the Active Spot. Situations like this come up remarkably often and are exactly why the card is essential to this deck.

Fezandipiti ex

This is not much of a card that needs an explanation, but I did feel that the card is worth mentioning because of its interaction with Star Chronos. Many players would not immediately assume that this is the case, but if the opponent took a Knock Out on the previous turn, you can draw with Flip the Script on your first turn, use Star Chronos, and then on the second turn you may use Flip the Script again because [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card]’s Ability says “during your opponent’s last turn” which still refers to the same turn no matter how many consecutive turns you take.

Lumineon V, Thorton, and Pal Pad

It is fairly common to see [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck, but I personally prefer to use [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] for a similar purpose. It can be difficult to hold onto Pokegear 3.0 throughout a long game to get to the point that you can use the card for a late game push. On the other hand, Lumineon V is quite easy to hold onto thanks to Night Stretcher also providing instant access to it if it is in the discard pile. Lumineon V can also be picked up with [card name=”Scoop Up Cyclone” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] to reuse it if necessary, effectively acting as an additional copy of Lumineon V.

As for why something like this is necessary, of course it is partially for the sake of consistency, but also because you often need instant access to certain Supporter cards on combo turns. The most notable of these is, of course, [card name=”Thorton” set=”Lost Origin” no=”195″ c=”name”][/card]. Most of the time, Thorton acts as the sole bridge to an instant Star Chronos on a massive combo turn, so it is essential to find all of the pieces to the puzzle at once and with ease. [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card] also matters a lot here, as PokeStop is often being used to thin the deck out, but it may discard Thorton, so having access to a way to put it back into the deck for the combo turn is critical.

Four Night Stretcher

This deck is a PokeStop deck, and Night Stretcher is the best partner in the world for PokeStop, so it is no surprise that we play four copies. This goes a bit further, though, as the card is also a sort of “wild card” on the combo turn, offering a way to get back any of the many pieces required to double Assemble Alloy, evolve into Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR, and attach a Metal Energy from hand. With so many wild cards, it turns a combo that may seem impossible into one that is very, very easy to assemble.

Scoop Up Cyclone

[cardimg name=”Scoop Up Cyclone” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”162″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

There is a lot of an argument to be said about if it is best to play Scoop Up Cyclone or if you should play [card name=”Scramble Switch” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] instead. The short version of the purpose of Scramble Switch is simply because it makes it easier to use Star Chronos if the opponent does not Knock Out your Archaludon ex. On the flip side, Scoop Up Cyclone is more effective for if you need to Star Chronos after they do Knock Out the Archaludon ex.

In my experience, if they are failing to Knock Out your Archaludon ex, you are already in a winning position, so I wanted to have the ACE SPEC that lends itself to helping you win from losing positions. Scoop Up Cyclone is also significantly more universally useful if you happen to draw it early, giving access to reusing Lumineon V like I stated previously, picking up liabilities to dodge Boss’s Orders, and more.

Lost Vacuum

Most other Archaludon ex deck lists choose to use [card name=”Jamming Tower” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card] as a way to disable Pokemon Tools, especially [card name=”Bravery Charm” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] on [card name=”Drifloon” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]. Because we have removed Jamming Tower, [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”217″ c=”name”][/card] helps to bridge the gap a bit by offering a way to counter Bravery Charm and also having many other use cases. One interesting use that has come up for me before was being able to use a PokeStop that is already in play, then play Lost Vacuum targeting that PokeStop, before playing a new one down in order to discard even more cards and find even more items. This is a little less useful in a deck list with only two PokeStop, but if you were to increase the quantity, this play becomes much more common.

Conclusion

In the current format and especially as we move into the world of Budew with the release of Prismatic Evolutions, Archaludon ex stands to be one of the most powerful decks in the game going forward. As good matchups increase in playrate and harder matchups start to fade away, the deck may stand to gain the most of any other deck in the format. Thanks to the absurd power of Star Chronos in particular, this deck is truly a powerhouse that will have to be respected in the future of the format.

With that, this article draws to a close. As always, I hope that you enjoyed reading this article, and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out in the comments or on Social Media.

Until next time!

– Isaiah

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