Path to Perfection — Mewtwo & Mew-GX / Welder’s Unexpected Return
[card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] is a deck with a strange history. It started off in the most impressive way possible, winning Worlds on the very first weekend the deck existed. It had massive success in the Ultra Prism-Unified Minds format, winning the three biggest Regional Championships of that time period (Cologne, Atlantic City, and Knoxville). After Cosmic Eclipse came out, Mewtwo and Mew-GX suffered from the rise of [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card], among others, but it was still one of the most successful decks around. Then, Welder stopped being so strong when Sword and Shield was released, partly due to the new first turn rule. Mewtwo and Mew-GX did win the Oceania International Championship, but beyond that, it accomplished little. Finally, Rebel Clash put a nail in the deck’s coffin, with the rise of [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], a card that could easily beat Mewtwo and Mew-GX due to its Weakness. [card name=”Jirachi-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Weakness Guard Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”213″ c=”name”][/card] were both possible answers, but they were countered, respectively, by [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card], two cards that saw plenty of play in Dragapult VMAX decklists. Even without the Weakness, anyway, the matchup wasn’t great for Mewtwo and Mew-GX.
[cardimg name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
(There were other variants of Mewtwo and Mew-GX that saw play, and even success, during last season; Mewtwo and Mew-GX / [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and Ultimate Mewtwo and Mew-GX were both serious competitors. However, they’re not the focus of this article.)
Then, as the new season starts, Mewtwo and Mew-GX is once again at the forefront of the metagame. It was the revelation of the first week of the new format, as it won several online events. This is a surprising turn of events, especially since many players expected the deck to die out! A deck slowly losing relevance through the course of a season is nothing unusual (think of how the once mighty [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] has fallen!), but that deck then finding a new life in the next season is stranger. This is especially noteworthy in the case of Mewtwo and Mew-GX: due to the nature of the Perfection Ability, Mewtwo and Mew-GX gets better as it gains access to more GX Pokémon whose attacks it can copy. New sets in the Sword and Shield era don’t have new GX Pokémon, so Mewtwo and Mew-GX generally doesn’t gain as much from them as other decks. On the other hand, losing four sets of the GX era to rotation means that it lost plenty of usable Pokémon.
So why is Mewtwo and Mew-GX good again now? And, perhaps most importantly, how should you build and play Mewtwo and Mew-GX? I’ll try to answer both of these questions in this article. Since Mewtwo and Mew-GX is a toolbox deck, this means that I’ll also discuss the many possible options for this deck and what they can be used to tech against!
A Surprising Comeback
This is my attempt to answer the question “Why is Mewtwo and Mew-GX good again?”. If you do not care too much about theory, feel free to skip this section!
The first thing to note is that Mewtwo and Mew-GX didn’t lose that much in the rotation.
Although many Pokémon-GX rotated out of Standard, only two of them saw serious play in this archetype: [card name=”Solgaleo-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM104″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card]. These are important losses, for sure: Solgaleo-GX’s Turbo Strike was generally the default attack you’d use when you couldn’t get an OHKO, and would be used to charge up the next attacker. Magcargo-GX would be used for the OHKO potential of Lava Flow (for enough Energy, you could KO anything, even a Pokémon VMAX), although the threat of Burning Magma GX was actually relevant in more situations than you’d expect, and would force the opponent to play conservatively with their resources, which is especially important against aggressive decks such as Mad Party.
In addition to them, [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] (Ultra Prism) deserves a mention. While it wasn’t played in the deck at its heyday, it was run in [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] decks in the short-lived Ultra Prism-Darkness Ablaze format at the POG Championships, and would definitely have been played in the post-rotation format hadn’t it rotated. Turbo Drive is a poor, but occasionally useful substitute to Turbo Strike, but more importantly, Rebel GX is a fantastic attack against [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]: it will OHKO it if the opponent Benches at least 7 Pokémon, which they’ll have to do in order to KO Mewtwo and Mew-GX.
However, these Pokémon are not indispensable to the deck. While few dared imagine a Mewtwo and Mew-GX deck without Solgaleo-GX, the truth is that the current format is focused on 2HKOs more than OHKOs: [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] can’t use [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] to reach higher damage ceilings, [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] takes longer to get six Energy in hand without [card name=”Fiery Flint” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] tends to stick at 260 damage… therefore, your Energy stick around longer on the board. This means that accelerating Energy from the discard is not as important as it used to be, so Turbo Strike isn’t as important. In a similar vein, Lava Flow can’t be the focus of the deck. Without Turbo Strike, you can’t get as many Energy on board as before, so discarding them all in one turn to get a big KO wouldn’t be a viable move, especially against Pokémon VMAX that have more than 300 HP anyway.
So, Mewtwo and Mew-GX did of course get hurt by rotation, but every deck did and, perhaps more importantly, Mewtwo and Mew-GX wasn’t hurt as much as other decks. For example, it can still play [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] in addition to [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card], which gives it a consistency edge over many decks in the format.
The new format also suits it because Mewtwo and Mew-GX plays more like an outsider. Many decks are focused on 2HKOs right now due to the high HP of popular attackers such as Eternatus VMAX, [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card]. Therefore, decks don’t try to reach the highest amount of damage; for example, [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] is rarely seen in [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] / Zacian V. Although it could fix the math and allow Zacian V to OHKO Mewtwo and Mew-GX, it would be useless in most other matchups because Zacian V can’t hope to OHKO a Pokémon VMAX anyway. Basically, the meta is focused on VMAX Pokémon more than Tag Team Pokémon, so having a bit less HP than them is not the end of the world. It’s true that 270 HP puts Mewtwo and Mew-GX in range of Eternatus VMAX, but on the other hand, it also has its own options to OHKO opponents. For example, any Pokémon hitting for medium damage can be punished with Darkest Tornado GX which can do hilarious amounts of overkill.
[cardimg name=”Mimikyu” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”97″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Since the meta is focused on Pokémon VMAX, most players are not trying to directly counter Mewtwo and Mew-GX. Cards like [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] lose a lot of their strength when GX Pokémon start to play a secondary role, and that means that they’re only played by players who want to target Mewtwo and Mew-GX; this is very different from early last season, where Power Plant could be seen in all sorts of decks. Even [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] is getting rare, which is good news for a deck that plays mostly Pokémon GX!
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that some cards that would give Mewtwo and Mew-GX trouble are not in the meta anymore, either directly due to rotation, or indirectly. A direct example is [card name=”Metal Frying Pan” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]. After Mewtwo and Mew-GX won the Oceania International Championships, pretty much all Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V (as well as other Zacian V variants) started to include this card to remove Zacian V’s Fire weakness which could easily be exploited by [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] (and [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] to a lesser extent). However, now that it’s gone, Zacian V can’t lose its weakness and Victini V is once again a fantastic attacker against it. Zacian V / [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] decks are starting to include high counts of [card name=”Weakness Guard Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”213″ c=”name”][/card] instead, but Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX / Zacian V, the more common variant, can’t afford it.
For an indirect example, see [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. This card has been pushed out of the metagame due to the rise of Eternatus VMAX, the current BDIF. Dragapult VMAX is also much less impressive without [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]. That’s one of Mewtwo and Mew-GX’s biggest concerns gone, and it is definitely one of the factors leading to its current status.
In short, there is nothing in the current metagame that really prevents Mewtwo and Mew-GX from existing. The main concern for the deck is Energy management, due to the lack of Turbo Strike. This is why we have to build the deck with this in mind, and focus on attacks (including GX attacks) that do a lot for a low amount of Energy rather than powerful attacks that require more like Magcargo-GX’s Lava Flow.
Building the Deck
[premium]
Since [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] is the deck’s only form of acceleration (outside of Victini V’s Spreading Flames), we’ll need to focus on it. In addition to four Welder, we’ll need cards to draw it ([card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] is sorely missed). There are two directions you can take: either use [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] to find Welder with Stellar Wish, or use [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card] (it’s hard to fit both in the same list). Stellar Wish is great because it has many more targets, but including Jirachi means making space for it as well as [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card], since Escape board is no longer in the format. While it can be done and gives the deck more resilience to a late-game [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card], I believe that the Pokégear 3.0 variant is better because it’s more straightforward to use. That variant has also had better results so far.
Here is a pretty standard list right now, with a slight focus on consistency:
[decklist name=”Mew3 Welder” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″][pokemon amt=”18″]4x [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Eldegoss V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Charizard-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM211″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Incineroar-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jirachi-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Indeedee V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Sword and Shield” no=”174″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]4x [card name=”Horror P Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]9x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Call of Legends” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
List Breakdown
[card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] and Welder are the main cards of the deck and, as such, you should play four copies of each (we’ve seen lists in the past that only played three Mewtwo and Mew-GX, but they played Jirachi which was the preferred starter). We also play four copies of Pokégear 3.0 to help find Welder, as well as four [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] for obvious reasons. Now, let’s discuss the other cards in the list.
Three Dedenne-GX, One Crobat V, One Eldegoss V
Consistency Pokémon. You could cut one of them if you need space, but more consistency is rarely wrong. [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] is the best of these cards because you can grab it with [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card]; it’s nice to be able to search for [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] instead when you can get your hand down to, say, a [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], cards that you don’t want to discard. [card name=”Eldegoss V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”19″ c=”name”][/card] is the least important of these cards, but there are many situations in which I’m happy to get back either Welder or Boss’s Orders in the late game, so I feel like it belongs here (as in most Welder decks).
Reshiram and Charizard-GX
[cardimg name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The most important attacker. Flare Strike is your default option against most things and will KO lots of two-Prize Pokémon, including [card name=”Eternatus V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]. Outrage is also strong in plenty of situations (including, again, against Zacian V) and Double Blaze GX is the highest damage you’ll deal for three Energy in most circumstances, although often you’ll want to use another GX attack instead.
Charizard-GX: 300 damage is not as important a number as it used to be, but it’s still huge!
The main use of this attack is to OHKO [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]. You’ll also use it to KO an opposing Mewtwo and Mew-GX if there’s [card name=”Jirachi-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] in play nullifying Weaknesses. In some cases, it can also work against Pokémon VMAX. For example, dealing 300 damage to [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] won’t OHKO it, but it means that if it attacks into Mewtwo and Mew-GX and it has a [card name=”Horror P Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card], it will get KO’d.
Incineroar-GX
While it [card name=”Incineroar-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] included for its Darkest Tornado GX attack which deters the opponent from trying to 2HKO Mewtwo and Mew-GX with medium damage, Crushing Punch often turns out to be the best attack to use for three Energy. It deals consistent damage without being a GX attack (unlike Double Blaze GX) or requiring specific conditions (unlike Outrage), so you can use it to KO one-Prize Pokémon like [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], etc. Discarding a Special Energy can also be powerful against [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], although lists have trended towards playing mostly Basic Energy recently.
Naganadel-GX
Venom Shot is still a fantastic attack to snipe [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and damaged Pokémon on the Bench, so [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] is still worth playing, even if that means including non-Fire Energy in the deck.
Gengar and Mimikyu-GX
Psychic Energy also comes in huge here. This card is mainly used for Horror House GX, which is especially good against Pokémon VMAX in the early game. On turn one (or turn two if going first), play Welder and a Horror P Energy and use Horror House GX. This will prevent your opponent from attaching Energy and from evolving their Pokémon. Then, on the next turn, play a fourth Energy onto Mewtwo and Mew-GX, then use Boss’s Orders (if needed), and you’ll be able to remove the opponent’s [card name=”Centiskorch V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] or Eternatus V before it evolved, and hopefully set them back at least one turn.
The additional effect of Horror House is also very good, but it’s more for the late game. You can use it to get back your hand to seven cards after you got hit by a [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card], giving you one more turn to find Welder and two Energy to Venom Shot a Dedenne-GX for game, for example.
Poltergeist is a risky attack, but it can pay off. It’s best to familiarise yourself with other decks to have an idea of how many Trainer cards they run. [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] and Control decks, although rare, are the most Trainer-heavy in the format. [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] also tends to have a lot of Trainers in hand, especially if they just used Intrepid Sword. In some cases, though, Poltergeist will be your only option and you’ll have to try your luck!
Horror House (with extra effect) into Poltergeist is a very synergistic combination, both because they have the same cost and because their effects combine well. Keep in mind, though, that although your opponent can’t play cards, they can discard a card if there’s [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] in play.
Jirachi-GX
For the mirror match, as well as other Psychic attackers, although they’re not very popular. Star Search is also a good attack if you go second and have a Horror P Energy. A cool trick is to get a second Horror P Energy. This is especially devastating against Mad Party because it means that if [card name=”Bunnelby” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] attacks, it will automatically be KO’d! If you can get a third Horror P Energy, the same goes for [card name=”Polteageist” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card]. With these Energy, you’ll be tempted to use Poltergeist as your attack. Mad Party tends to have a low Trainer ratio (because of all the Pokémon they play) but you’ll only need to hit one or two Trainers to get the KO in most cases, so that works out.
Galarian Zigzagoon
Used to fix math in some specific cases! The most important case is to KO an Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX with [card name=”Big Charm” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] with Flare Blitz GX. The second most important case is to Venom Shot a Crobat V. In the mirror match, in the absence of Jirachi-GX, you can use [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] to damage the opponent’s Mewtwo and Mew-GX, letting you KO it with Crushing Punch. This is strangely common and lets you make great use of a Mewtwo and Mew-GX with three Energy.
Victini V
Having a two-Energy attacker is very good to avoid having the game be over when two of your Pokémon are KO’d. Apart from dealing with Zacian V, [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] can be used on turn 1 to put Energy on the board with Spreading Flames, and then in subsequent turns to deal damage with Energy Burst. Even if it doesn’t last long, putting, say, 120 damage on Eternatus VMAX puts it in range of Flare Strike, so don’t hesitate to deal some small amount of chip damage.
Indeedee V
[cardimg name=”Indeedee V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”91″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
[card name=”Indeedee V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] has two uses. Its Ability can be used to heal your Pokémon, which can sometimes matter, especially if the opponent plays [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s also a surprisingly decent attacker and, like Victini V, it only gives up two Prizes. Indeedee V is good against [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] and the mirror match.
Two Professor’s Research, Two Boss’s Orders
In addition to [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card], these cards form this deck’s Supporter line. You’ll still whiff more Pokégear 3.0 than you’d like, though, but I don’t think there’s anything to be done about that.
Two Reset Stamp
I think Reset Stamp is very good right now and necessary in this deck. In some matchups, such as [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], you can make the opponent KO a two-Prize Pokémon and a three-Prize one, and then use Reset Stamp to one and hopefully make them whiff the KO. Some players would rather play Big Charm in this spot but I think not having any form of disruption is too dangerous. What’s more, [card name=”Dangerous Drill” set=”Team Up” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] is becoming more common in Eternatus VMAX decklists.
Four Horror P Energy
The cool thing about this deck is that you can play [card name=”Horror P Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card]. The two main reasons to play Basic Energy were Turbo Strike and Lava Flow and, with them gone, there’s no reason not to use Horror P Energy rather than Psychic Energy. There’s very few Special Energy hate in the format right now.
Other Options
[card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] is a toolbox deck! Pretty much any Pokémon GX who attacks for Fire or Psychic Energy can be used in there, although I’ll only discuss the most interesting options — and why they’re not in my list.
Muk and Alolan Muk-GX
[card name=”Muk and Alolan Muk-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] has been successfully used recently. It has two uses: the first is to have a way to hit [card name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Decidueye” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card]. The second is for the Eternatus VMAX matchup. Using Nasty Goo Mix GX’s extra effect, it is possible to Paralyse and Poison Eternatus VMAX for 15 damage counters between each turn. Since most Eternatus VMAX relied on [card name=”Dark City” set=”Unified Minds” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hiding Darkness Energy” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card], they had no way to remove paralysis and would have to pass the turn back to the Mewtwo and Mew-GX player with Eternatus VMAX having taken 300 damage. Then Mewtwo and Mew-GX can Venom Shot a Pokémon to take one or two Prizes, and Eternatus VMAX will be KO’d from the mega-Poison. This gives Mewtwo and Mew-GX a decisive lead in the Prize race.
However, I think that the success of Muk and Alolan Muk-GX was due to its unexpectedness, and it doesn’t fit the deck any more. Decidueye / Galarian Obstagoon decks are now running [card name=”Big Parasol” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card], which will nullify Severe Poison, and most Eternatus VMAX decks are running [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], which makes Nasty Goo Mix GX bad (you can still use it and hope they don’t have the Switch, but that’s very unreliable).
Espeon and Deoxys-GX
This card was for a long time a staple in Mewtwo and Mew-GX. At the moment, though, I don’t think the card serves a purpose. Pretty much every deck uses high HP Basic Pokémon, so you can’t use [card name=”Espeon and Deoxys-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] to KO several small Basics at a time. What’s more, getting six Energy on Mewtwo and Mew-GX is hard to do and risky because it means your next one won’t have any Energy, so you’d be pretty much stuck with Cross Division GX’s normal effect, which can’t do much more than KO a [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and add some damage counters. It’s possible that in the future, Espeon and Deoxys-GX will be useful again, but for now, I think it doesn’t do much unless you want to absolutely destroy Mad Party.
Latios-GX
I actually think this card might be a good call in this deck, and my main reason for not having it is “I thought of it too late and didn’t have time to test it”. [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] provides another attack for three Energy, that’s easier to use than Crushing Punch because you can Bench Latios-GX instead of having to discard it. This even has benefits later on because of its free retreat! Of course, Tag Purge isn’t used only for the fact that it deals 120 damage for three Energy, it also protects you against other Tag Team Pokémon. This is useful in the mirror match, and it can also help against other Tag Teams. Clear Vision GX is also an interesting attack. It’s not as good as last season because many decks don’t have a GX attack at all (Eternatus VMAX) or have one that they often don’t use ([card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] in Centiskorch VMAX), but it can still help. You can prevent Altered Creation GX which is a big deal, and preventing [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]’s Full Metal Wall GX also seems like a good play.
Flareon-GX
Mewtwo and Mew-GX has trouble getting Energy in play, and [card name=”Flareon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM171″ c=”name”][/card]’s Heat Stage can do exactly that. What’s more, Bright Flame is another three-Energy attack for the deck; it has a downside but it can also KO [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card]. The issue with Flareon-GX is that to make the best use out of it, you need a lot of Fire Energy in the deck, and nine isn’t enough, even with [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card]. I could still see Flareon-GX being played in an alternative version of the deck that would eschew Psychic or [card name=”Horror P Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] to focus on Fire.
Volcarona-GX
[cardimg name=”Volcarona-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”35″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
When I was looking for possible Pokémon GX to play in this deck, [card name=”Volcarona-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”35″ c=”name”][/card] made the list because of its Massive Heat Wave GX attack, which helps in a specific scenario against [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]. If [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] goes first in that matchup, a common scenario is: you attach an Energy to Mewtwo and Mew-GX on the first turn. [card name=”Eternatus V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] uses Power Accelerator on the first turn, attaching another Energy to a Benched Eternatus V. You [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] onto Mewtwo and Mew-GX and attach an Energy, then use Flare Strike for the KO. Then, the Benched Eternatus V comes Active, evolves, and with a second Energy, KOs your Mewtwo and Mew-GX, leaving you with no Energy on the board.
If on turn two you use Massive Heat Wave GX, you negate the Eternatus VMAX player’s previous turn. At this point, two scenarios are possible. Either they use Power Accelerator again, or they evolve into Eternatus VMAX but can’t attack. In both cases, you’ve basically nullified a turn. Even in the case where they just use Power Acceleration again and end up with two Energy in play again (one on each Eternatus V), the difference is that you have four Energy on the board instead of one. You can use Welder again on the next turn to your Benched Mewtwo and Mew-GX or [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], then take a KO with Flare Strike. When Eternatus VMAX comes, your next attacker is ready.
Overall, this achieves a similar effect to Horror House GX, except you only need a Fire Energy, which is easier to find than a Horror P Energy. On the other hand, since you didn’t prevent the opponent from playing cards, it’s easier for them to fill their Bench, whereas otherwise, they may not manage to get a full Bench on turn two. I don’t think the benefits of Volcarona-GX are enough to play, but maybe someone will find a use for it at some point (also, again, it gives Mewtwo and Mew-GX an attack to use for three Energy, and getting Energy back in hand with Backfire can even be beneficial since it lets you replay Welder and can save Energy from a Mewtwo and Mew-GX that would be KO’d… but in most cases that attack is not one you want to use.)
Mewtwo-GX
The last Pokémon GX I’ll suggest is [card name=”Mewtwo-GX” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] for its Psycrush GX attack. Flare Blitz GX is ideal against [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] because you get rid of their Pokémon that has all the Energy, but it doesn’t do enough damage against Pokémon VMAX. Psycrush GX can be a bit better: removing all Energy from an Eternatus VMAX prevents it from attacking again, and the 120 damage puts Eternatus VMAX in range for Flare Strike on the next turn. Removing all Energy from [card name=”Centiskorch VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] doesn’t stop it from attacking (because of Welder) but it does significantly reduce its power!
The issue with Mewtwo-GX is the awkward Energy cost. You need two [card name=”Horror P Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] for Psycrush GX, which means you need two turns. What’s more, Flare Strike requires three Fire Energy, so if you plan on using Psycrush GX and then Flare Strike, you’ll need five Energy total on your Mewtwo and Mew-GX. Had Psycrush GX (and Super Psy Bolt for that matter!) cost one Psychic and two Colorless, I think this card would have been a legitimate inclusion in Mewtwo and Mew-GX. As it stands, there are better options.
Volcanion
While not a GX Pokémon, [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] can fit into this deck because Flare Starter is a pretty good attack when your goal is to get Energy in play early on! With four [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck, it’s not unreasonable that you’ll get it on turn 1, and it only giving up one Prize is nice. Also, High-Heat Blast is a decent attack against Pokémon like [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], or even just to put a dent into a VMAX or Tag Team Pokémon. Like Flareon-GX, though, I feel like Volcanion would be better if the deck had more Fire Energy. Getting too many Fire Energy from the deck early will reduce your odds of using Welder later on in the game.
Fire Mewtwo
I mentioned that there could be some merit to a Mewtwo and Mew-GX / Welder decks that passes on Psychic stuff in order to focus on Fire attacks. Here is my theoretical attempt at a list:
[decklist name=”Fire Mew3″ amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″][pokemon amt=”20″]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Eldegoss V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Charizard-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM211″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Flareon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Incineroar-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Call of Legends” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
[cardimg name=”Flareon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM171″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
With Flareon-GX and Volcanion in addition to [card name=”Victini V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], there are more options for the first turn. I chose to go with Jirachi and [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] in this list, rather than [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card], because having more switching options help us get a turn one Heat Stage, Spreading Flames or Flare Starter. Also, Jirachi can find [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] which is important for this first turn, or [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] in the late game if we need more Energy.
[card name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] was included to still have an option to snipe Pokémon on the Bench despite the absence of Venom Shot. The fact that [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] can’t copy Spit Shot is a shame, but I feel Cramorant V can still close out games. Also, thanks to Scoop Up Net, we can reuse [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]’s Headbutt Tantrum, so it’s possible for Cramorant V to snipe a [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card].
I feel like this deck doesn’t have enough power compared to the other versions: sure, it can get Energy in play, but it can’t do that much with more Energy. If we still had [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card], then getting more Fire Energy into play would let us get OHKOs on VMAX Pokémon, but as it stands, we can’t do that much with it. I still plan on testing it so it if the deck can be improved in order to find a spot in the metagame.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading! Mewtwo and Mew-GX has been one of my favorite decks in this new format. It does have consistency issues and you’ll get some terrible draws (you’ll wince when you have to discard two Welder to Dedechange on turn one), but there are also times where everything aligns and the deck feels absolutely perfect. Its matchup spread is pretty favorable, with a good matchup against [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] being one big appeal. [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] is a tough matchup, though, and given how dominant it has been recently, Mewtwo and Mew-GX can be a risky choice. Still, it can win this matchup and almost any other, so as long as people don’t start teching [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] everywhere, you should be fine. Give it a try in the next event you enter, whether it’s real-time or not! And, of course, don’t forget to have fun!
–Stéphane
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