Max Raid Battle – Exploring Centiskorch VMAX / Green’s Exploration

Hey what’s up guys!  This is Charlie and I’m happy to be back with another article.  While I haven’t used PTCGO ever in my career, I recently caved and started to build my collection in order to play in some of the major online tournaments that are coming up soon.  I am missing the annual Worlds testing grind as much as anybody, so these events have given me an incentive to mess around in the pre-rotation UPR-DAA format for a bit.  I’ve tested all sorts of absolutely wild decks, but today I wanted to share one of my more successful creations, Centiskorch VMAX / [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card]!

When first looking through scans of Darkness Ablaze, I had already spent lots of time thinking about a deck revolving around Charizard VMAX (it was originally anticipated to release in Rebel Clash, so I thought about this in April) that operated similarly.  You would power up a large Charizard VMAX and OHKO all of your opponent’s Pokemon before they could deal with your Charizard.  But when I first read Centiskorch VMAX, I realized that it could capitalize on Charizard’s strengths even more.  Its attack, G-Max Centiferno, does 40 plus 40 more damage for each Fire Energy attached to Centiskorch and also accelerates a discarded Fire Energy to Centiskorch after the damage has been calculated.  This is an incredibly powerful snowball mechanic because you already have nearly limitless damage and you get a positive return on every attack unlike Charizard’s hefty cost of discarding Energy.  In combination with new cards like Heat Fire Energy and existing cards like [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card], Centiskorch VMAX could do something no Pokemon card has ever done before: have absolutely ridiculous HP (over 400 HP is possible!) and also OHKO everything in the format while paying no hefty costs.  In theory, if a Centiskorch deck is built well, it can set up one indestructible Centiskorch and run through the opponent’s entire field without batting an eye.  Adding in a few disruption elements would allow the deck to create both an immovable object and an unstoppable force in one Pokemon before an opponent could deal with it.  I set out to create this exact type of deck, and after trying many different variants, I’ve settled on this list for now.

List and Explanations

[decklist name=”Max Raid Battle” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Centiskorch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”39″][pokemon amt=”10″]2x Centiskorch V (Darkness Ablaze)2x Centiskorch VMAX (Darkness Ablaze) 4x [card name=”Voltorb” set=”Team Up” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Electrode-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”48″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”36″]4x [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Hyper Potion” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Life Herb” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Fiery Flint” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”14″]10x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Generations” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]4x Heat R Energy (Darkness Ablaze)[/energy][/decklist] 

I have tested many different combinations with this list and still have many more to test, but this has gotten the job done in testing so far.  Its consistency is still a little bit lacking, but it proves the concept really well and there are a lot more cards in this format that can make this even better.  Let’s get into the individual cards now:

2-2 Centiskorch VMAX

I am still unsure about this thin line, but the idea is that you are only going to ever use one Centiskorch VMAX in a game.  You should never need more than this, so I felt it was justified to keep the line super thin. [card name=”Voltorb” set=”Team Up” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] is also a much better starter than Centiskorch, so I wanted to increase those odds as well.  This took a lot of inspiration from [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] lists of the past where this thin line worked well.  I may up it to 3-2, but I see no need for more than that unless you’re extremely worried about prizing both your Centiskorch VMAX or losing your Centiskorch V early on.

4-2 Electrode GX

[cardimg name=”Electrode-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”48″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Since I currently don’t have another starter Pokemon in this list, I felt that maxing out the Voltorb count would be a good idea since there is almost zero value to your opponent to ever KO them.  For it to matter at all they’ll need to KO two, at which point I can use a third as another decoy to force them down to one Prize.  KOing only one of them will still allow me the chance to use both Extra Energy Bombs (VERY unlikely, albeit possible) and otherwise it’s a better starter than letting damage rack up on your Centiskorch early.  Only two [card name=”Electrode-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card] are necessary because it is very rare to use both in a game.  I like this count, but may go down to 3-2 if I decide to play another starter instead.

4 Green’s Exploration, 4 Welder, 4 Pokegear 3.0

I decided to go for a classic Green’s Exploration engine because this deck can take advantage of so many unique Trainer cards and doesn’t need to draw as many cards as most other decks do.  As long as you can get the first spark going (starting with a Green’s Exploration, hitting an early [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card], etc.), the Green’s engine works perfectly for a deck that plays more from the deck and doesn’t need to do 5+ things a turn in order to win.  I can use Green’s Exploration to search out my Pokemon through [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card], I can discard and find Energy by searching out a [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card], and I can find both [card name=”Hyper Potion” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Life Herb” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] easily whenever I need them.  At the moment, the Green’s Exploration feels like the best thing to make this deck work as intended.

4 Hyper Potion, 3 Life Herb

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Now here’s where we get into the fun inclusions.  Since your goal is to win using one massive Centiskorch VMAX, you need to find a way to heal the damage done to your Centiskorch VMAX.  Luckily, Hyper Potion fits perfectly in this deck since you will almost always have a surplus of Energy on your Centiskorch and can afford the discard.  The Energy can be re-attached to Centiskorch in one of two ways: either through G-Max Centiferno’s built-in acceleration or by using Electrode’s Extra Energy Bomb.  I often find myself holding off on using Electrode until I use a few healing cards in order to get 5+ Energy in the discard pile and then re-attach all of them at once.  Those swing turns net your opponent two Prize Cards, but your Centiskorch VMAX likely has little damage on it and is OHKOing every card your opponent plays.  Imagine you’re playing against Eternatus VMAX and you drop two Hyper Potion to heal 240 damage of their 270 dealt, then hit an Extra Energy Bomb to recover the Energy and maybe even play a Welder on top of it.  You now have a Centiskorch VMAX with 30 damage on it and you just OHKO’d their Eternatus VMAX!  Your opponent will almost certainly concede on the spot.

2 Reset Stamp

While we give up Prize Cards through Voltorb and Electrode-GX, abusing [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] will allow us to control the opponent’s hand size as well, giving them even less options to deal with your single Centiskorch VMAX.  Using this right after your Extra Energy Bomb will likely vault you in to a winning position immediately.  I like playing only two copies right now; there wasn’t enough space for three and one felt like too little.  Reset Stamp is very strong in this deck.

2 Big Charm

This card is what lets us push Centiskorch VMAX’s HP over the top.  An extra 30 HP in combination with our four Heat Fire Energy gives Centiskorch an absolutely absurd maximum HP of 430!  With only one use of Hyper Potion, even Eternatus VMAX is pushed out of 2HKO range (discounting [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]) and we are dishing out OHKOs in return.  I wish Creatures had printed an even higher HP tool like the ones they keep printing for Basic Pokemon (another topic), but for now we’ll have to do with only 30 extra HP.  Still extremely powerful and absolutely insane in this deck.  I see no need for more than two; you’re only using one most of the time anyways.  Keep this.

1 Fire Crystal, 1 Fiery Flint

I only included these to have a few extra options for manipulating Fire Energy.  I may remove the [card name=”Fiery Flint” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] soon, but the [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] has definitely been a solid inclusion thus far.  They’ve been pretty good overall, but maybe not worth the space as this list gets tighter.

3 Giant Hearth, 1 Heat Factory Prism Star

I chose to include this Stadium count for pure consistency.  Giant Hearth is incredibly important to your early-game setup and you almost always need to play one down immediately or use Green’s Exploration to search for it immediately.  [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] is just some additional draw power since this deck has no draw power outside of Welder.  I would love to include [card name=”Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] and probably will have it in a list I use in a tournament, but for now I wanted to max out on consistency here and run with a simpler Stadium line.

10 Fire Energy, 4 Heat Fire Energy

I see people running counts like fourteen Fire Energy and two Heat Fire Energy and want to cringe.  Heat Fire Energy is so incredibly powerful that I see no reason one would ever play less than four unless they were playing some sort of turbo Welder variant that absolutely could not afford to play Energy that couldn’t be attached with Welder.  The extra 20 HP is absolutely broken and Heat Fire can even be re-attached by Extra Energy Bomb.  Get as many of them as possible on your Centiskorch and Centiferno your way to victory!

Notable Exclusions

Below I’ve listed a few of the cards that many similar decks play and why I chose to exclude them.  I may try some again in the future, but for now I feel that these cards don’t do enough to justify their spot.

Gust Effects (Boss’s Orders, Great Catcher, etc.)

I chose to play no gust effects because Centiskorch is really good at minding its own business and simply destroying whatever the opponent puts in front of it.  Very few decks in this format have any sort of one-Prize option that can 1. deal substantial damage to a Centiskorch and 2. aren’t entirely focused on that one-Prize option, so I felt that the deck would be better served playing defensively and destroying attackers that opponents bring Active.  Eternatus VMAX, for example, can’t really win without using Eternatus to put a lot of damage on Centiskorch, so when they decide to bring up Eternatus, I can simply heal off the damage, use Extra Energy Bomb, and obliterate the Eternatus.  Most games where a gust effect would help are already won, it just may take more time to win.  I may test a single gust effect at some point, but for now I’ve been happy without one.

Counters to Decidueye DAA

As I talk about in the next section, this is immediately fixed if I choose to include [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] at some point.  For now, I felt that Decidueye won’t see enough play to warrant a counter, so I’m willing to take that loss.  The next major online tournament requires players to go 7-3 to qualify for Day Two, so I’m willing to take a loss to Decidueye if it makes me more likely to win against other decks.

Other Options

Below, I’ll discuss a few of the options I still need to test and how I think they can possibly make this deck even better than it already is.  I think space is tight with this list, but these exclusions might be worth carving out the space for.

Volcanion UNB

[cardimg name=”Volcanion” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM179″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I want to include [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] because this deck lacks a few things: a good starter, easy Energy acceleration from the deck, and a legitimate secondary attacker in a pinch.  Volcanion can do all of these things really well, but I do worry that including it will require me to include cards like [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] that I just don’t see much space for.  I want the focus of the deck to be the lone Centiskorch VMAX and adding these things makes the deck stray further away from that.

Mismagius UNB

While a ban was recently announced for [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], it is still legal in the pre-rotation Standard format.  Just like Electrode-GX, Mismagius allows us to sacrifice a Prize card in exchange for a powerful effect, in this case drawing up to 7 cards.  Mismagius would allow the deck to add draw power and double down on the disruption element with Reset Stamp, allowing us to more reliably get our opponent down to a low amount of Prize cards remaining.  I worry about space with this inclusion as well, but I am definitely going to try it and see if it can improve the deck’s consistency.

Mallow and Lana

Every other deck that does anything related to healing plays at least one copy of [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card], so why not this deck?  That stems from the fact we have nothing to switch into!  If I played Volcanion, Mismagius, or even both, I would probably want to try at least one copy of this card for the extra healing output, but for now, I see no good reason to include it.  The same goes for [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card]; I don’t think it has enough healing output to justify using your Supporter for the turn when Life Herb does the same thing on a coin flip.  Maybe Mallow and Lana could be good, but I don’t see it in this build.

Conclusions

I affectionately named this deck “Max Raid Battle” because of its resemblance to that exact type of battle in Pokemon Sword and Shield.  You play as the lone Gigantamax Pokemon that’s nearly impossible to take down while your opponent throws every single option they can think of at you.  While you sit back, heal your Centiskorch, and destroy whatever your opponent puts Active, your opponent is frantically trying to craft a strategy to deal with a single Pokemon that will run through their entire board in just a few turns.  The strategy is the same in every matchup: get as many Energy as possible onto your Centiskorch VMAX, keep it alive, and incinerate everything your opponent puts in front of you while throwing down Reset Stamp every once in a while.  That should be more than enough to win most matchups.

I really enjoyed writing this article on my favorite new deck as of now and hope you liked it!  As always, feel free to hit me up on Twitter (@C4_TCG), my Facebook, or down below on this article!  Thank you so much for reading and I’m super excited to play some tournaments soon!

Charlie

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