Run it Back! — Updating Blacephalon and Lucario and Melmetal-GX

Hey PokeBeach readers! Since it’s now December and the last month of 2020 (gulp), I hope everyone is enjoying the barrage of Mariah Carey, mistletoe, and consumerism. Grab your leftover turkey and buckle down, because I have two great picks for your next PTCGO tournament: [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]  / [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]! I’ve been testing the hell out of each, and I believe I’ve found the best decklist for both. Each of these decks can easily bring home a trophy, but since someone at the Pokemon Card Laboratory decided that any single deck shouldn’t clobber the rest (this is an oxymoron when you consider [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]), there are a few Achilles’ Heels, which I’ll address.

A Look at Blacephalon

Unsurprisingly, the meta has tons of VMAX Pokemon running around, with a few Tag Teams in the mix. And if anything does well against VMAX and Tag Teams, it’s a single-Prize Pokemon that can OHKO them. This was my thought process for selecting Blacephalon as a good deck to optimize. The loss of [card name=”Fiery Flint” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] in rotation hurt the deck, but there have been workarounds. 

In general, there are two ways to play the deck; choosing to go second each game with a high count of [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], or by trying to get as many [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] effects off as possible per game. The Energy Spinner version is highly explosive and can get a turn-one Fireball Circus for 200-250 damage off, but it only happens roughly 50% of the time. Add in the fact that the opponent may choose to go second, and your Energy Spinner are no better than the [card name=”Energy Search” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] of old.

Overall, the deck will get this explosive first turn off in ~25% of games. Yet the benefit of this version may be negated by the benefit of the alternative: running some cool techs!

Here’s what I mean:

Blacephalon Without Energy Spinner

[decklist name=”Traditional Version” amt=”60″ caption=””undefined][pokemon amt=”15″]4x [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM201″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM214″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/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=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”17″]17x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”17″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Card Choices

Since I wanted to maximize consistency for the BO1 format, this is a vanilla [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] list for the most part. A large part of the deck is concrete, like the Pokemon, Supporter, and Energy counts. There is some leeway, but if you start cutting these, you’re going to run into a Fireball Circus without any fireballs. I tried many different tech packages, but the start of the show has to be Blacephalon, else the deck won’t be able to perform its function of having a good Prize card ratio. 

One Cramorant V, No Telescopic Sight

[cardimg name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

At first, I wanted to try a heavy [card name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Telescopic Sight” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] package; the idea was to take down one VMAX with Fireball Circus and clean up with two attacks onto one- or two-Prize Pokemon. However, the biggest problem I was having was the opponent would either not bench enough Spit Shot targets or I wasn’t able to grab my Telescopic Sight in time. Thus, I decided to cut back on the package, leaving the traditional one Cramorant V.

Spit Shot is still amazing if the opponent stumbles, allowing you a turn to grab an extra one or two Prizes in the early (or late) game. Since there are only two [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], Spit Shot is also needed oftentimes to soften VMAXs or take out a Pokemon on the Bench. 

Beak Catch is an attack I would heavily emphasize too. Since the deck feeds the opponent lots of single-Prize Pokemon, giving up a two-Prize Pokemon is not the end of the world (unless your opponent has used Altered Creation GX and would take three Prizes! In this scenario don’t give your opponent two-Prize Pokemon at all costs). I find myself using Beak Catch to fetch combo pieces anytime my opponent plays a [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card], trying to set up their board while disrupting my early Giant Hearth and/or Intrepid Sword. Not only does this force the opponent to find another Marnie, but I can also threaten Spit Shot as a follow up if they ignore Cramorant V. 

One Reshiram and Charizard-GX, No Dubwool V

[card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] is an absolutely awesome inclusion! I wish I could take credit for this idea since it is one of my favorite cards, but Le Bui on Twitter was able to take Top 4 with it at the latest Sunday Open online tournament. The purpose of Reshiram and Charizard-GX in here is to utilize Double Blaze GX as a vanilla 200 damage threat with a monstrous 270 HP. Furthermore, Flare Strike is on the way next, so the opponent has to react, which is hard when anything short of an OHKO can be returned via Outrage. While 270 HP isn’t what it used to be, it is perfect in the [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] matchup, withstanding a Brave Blade with Altered Creation. Reshiram and Charizard-GX is great in other matchups where it can’t be OHKO’d, like [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. Because it’s a Tag Team, I only play Reshiram and Charizard down when the opponent has two or fewer Prize cards remaining, letting me force an extra Prize card game. This actually pairs well, since sometimes the deck can run out of juice with a few bad discards. Needing only three Energy to Double Blaze instead of six or seven for Fireball Circus is huge when you need to take a Knock Out. 

In the same vein, [card name=”Dubwool V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card] is another tech that seems mildly out of place. In fact, it serves a similar purpose to Reshiram and Charizard-GX, but as a two-Prize Pokemon. It can usually deal 240-270 near the end of the game while having effectively 240 HP with its Ability. Each one does its job, but I’ve selected Reshiram and Charizard-GX for now since it’s slightly more versatile; I think the tradeoff for having +30 HP and Outrage is worth the extra Prize card. And since both cards are used at the end of the game, being able to “save” a Prize card with Dubwool V usually is a nonfactor.

[premium]

Blacephalon With Energy Spinner

The [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] version is something I spent many, many hours trying to craft. As I said above, the effects of these cuts are felt less than half of the time, so I gave up in the end. However, if you’re feeling lucky and manage to go second for an entire tournament, I don’t think you could pick a better deck than this.

[decklist name=”Energy Spinner Version” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″][pokemon amt=”14″]4x [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM214″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”16″]16x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”16″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

What’s Different in This Version?

-1 Boss’s Orders, -1 Reshiram and Charizard-GX, -1 Scoop Up Net, -1 Fire Energy, +4 Energy Spinner

These cuts are huge; each of these cards noticeably hurts your matchup spread as well as consistency. Yet, Energy Spinner is too strong if it’s your first turn and you’re going second. The extra Energy search options don’t hurt in the middle of the game, and can certainly find you some Fire Energy in a pinch. But, if you’re not fetching more than one Energy on average with Energy Spinner, you should simply play more Fire Energy instead, since they can be fetched with [card name=”Fire Crystal” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] and attached with [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card].

[cardimg name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Although 16 Fire Energy may seem an astronomical number, it is actually extremely tight. By Turns six or seven, your deck is thinned of almost all Energy, leaving your [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card], which is the biggest asset of the deck, useless. 

Having only one [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck is also sketchy since it becomes tough to find when you need it, leading to an overreliance on [card name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card], which isn’t the best option when you need to have a single-Prize Pokemon in the Active.

Which is Better?

With the non-Energy Spinner version, the deck is akin to a Toyota, chugging along and doing what you expect of it, with a few smiles here and there. However, the Energy Spinner version is like a BMW; a deck that has a V12 engine and huge bursts of power, but at any moment, you can blow a gasket and end up with a limping motor that has only six cylinders firing.

I’ll admit, this is a little hyperbole, but you get the point: non-Energy Spinner version good, Energy Spinner version less good but still good. 

Matchups

As always, I want my readers to know what to do against the meta decks, so here’s a list of the top decks and what to do against them:

Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX

This matchup is even to slightly favorable, depending on the build of [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]. The goal is to get a OHKO on an ADP by the turn the opponent uses Altered Creation GX. In addition, having a maximum of one two-Prize Pokemon on the Bench is amazing, but depending on the situation, isn’t always necessary. Once the opponent has taken a Knock Out on a [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] and gone down to four Prize cards remaining, you can bench anything except [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], since the opponent has to take two Knock Outs either way to win, even with the boost of Altered Creation GX.

Eternatus VMAX

This is one of Blacephalon’s best matchups, in part due to the linearity of [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]. There’s nothing the opponent can do except use Dread End! In general, the way Blacephalon wins is by taking two Knock Outs on two Eternatus VMAXs. However, if you are able to quickly take one or two Prize cards in the initial turns, it becomes much easier — take three Prizes from an Eternatus VMAX and use Spit Shot or Double Blaze GX to clean up. I would estimate this as a healthy 75-25 matchup in favor of Blacephalon; the main way Blacephalon loses is by stumbling/running out of resources to take a key KO. To mitigate this, decide which Pokemon you will Knock Out to take your six Prize cards ahead of time (otherwise known as “mapping your Prizes”). If you use Fireball Circus without mapping, you may have to take seven or eight Prize cards in total and end up without enough Fire Energy or Fire Crystal to take the final one. You need ten Energy per Eternatus VMAX OHKO (three Energy to attack and seven to discard), so mismanaging Energy can and will be brutal.

Mirror Match

This comes down to the wire and depends on how many Blacephalon can be powered up. Like other single-Prize versus single-Prize matchups, The lone GX or V Pokemon can swing the race to take six Prizes first. But what if you need to use [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]’s Dance of Tribute to hit a [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] in order to Fireball Circus? If you are in a position where you are ahead in the Prize race but are going to miss an attack, I would avoid playing down the two-Prize Pokemon and let the opponent tie up the score. If you’re behind in the Prize race, play the-two Prize Pokemon down you need to catch up at all costs, otherwise, the game will snowball out of control. In this matchup, Reshiram and Charizard-GX is an incredible closing attacker and has enough HP to tank any non-Fireball Circus attack. Once the opponent has run out of Blacephalon to attack with, there is nothing stopping a Double Blaze GX followed by an Outrage/Flare Strike. This is an even 50-50 matchup depending usually on draws.

Pikachu and Zekrom-GX / Lightning Mewtwo and Mew-GX Box

These two decks are similar in that they often play [card name=”Boltund V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card]. The goal of Blacephalon should be to limit Tag Bolt GX as much as possible, usually by targeting Pikachu and Zekrom-GXs or Mewtwo and Mew-GXs with three or more Energy attached. Zacian V shines in the late game since the opponent will oftentimes play Chaotic Swell, Reset Stamp, and Knock Out your Active Blacephalon. You will likely need a turn to recover, so sending up [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and using Intrepid Sword is by no means a bad turn. During the late game, I like to power up Reshiram and Charizard-GX to prepare for a Reset Stamp, since it can’t be OHKO’d by anything other than Boltund V. The threat of a big attack followed by Outrage oftentimes can be too much if there isn’t enough Energy to Bolt Storm.

Inteleon VMAX

This is a deck that has fallen by the wayside despite a strong finish at the first Players Cup due to the rise of Lightning decks. This is fortunate for Blacephalon since the matchup is rough — [card name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] can snipe with Max Bullet plus [card name=”Telescopic Sight” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] to take out almost anything on the Bench in two attacks, rendering the Prize advantage of Blacephalon dead.

Since Inteleon VMAX takes a few initial turns to get going, the best hope that Blacephalon has is to try to deny Energy. This often means chasing down a [card name=”Snom” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] if there isn’t much Energy in play, but it can also mean Knocking Out an [card name=”Inteleon V” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card] that has multiple Energy attached to it. Still, it is a 25-75 matchup spread in favor of Inteleon VMAX. 

A Quick Look at Lucario and Melmetal-GX / Zacian V

[cardimg name=”Coating Metal Energy” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”163″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Now we’ve discussed [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], I also want to discuss an old favorite of mine: [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]!

In my November article regarding the TEU-DAA and discussing [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], I also wrote about Lucario and Melmetal-GX / Zacian V both with and without [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Team Up” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card]. In Vivid Voltage, the new [card name=”Coating Metal Energy” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] was released, allowing the Bronzong line to be cut since we are more immune to Fire decks (which are also on the decline compared to the last format), which lets us have much more flexibility with the deck. The deck dropped in popularity in the last few sets, but I expect this to change.

With the rise of strong VMAX decks like [card name=”Orbeetle VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Coalossal VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] in Vivid Voltage, [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] becomes more powerful with its Dauntless Shield Ability. Furthermore, the nemesis of Lucario and Melmetal-GX / Zacian V; Eternatus VMAX / Poison, is less popular with the rise of decks that take advantage of its slow Energy attachments (like Pikachu and Zekrom-GX), and with the rise of decks that try to outspeed the opponent like [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] / Zacian V. This puts Lucario and Melmetal-GX / Zacian V back on the map since it has even-to-favorable matchups against these decks.

In addition, I wanted to make the deck as consistent as possible for any BO1 tournaments. 

[decklist name=”Lucario & Melmetal-GX / Zacian V” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″][pokemon amt=”8″]4x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”39″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Metal Saucer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Metal Goggles” set=”Team Up” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]10x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Generations” no=”82″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]3x [card name=”Coating Metal Energy” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Pokemon Lineup

4 Zacian V, 2 Lucario and Melmetal-GX, 2 Zamazenta V, 0 Bronzong TEU, 0 Galarian Stunfisk V

Something I love about this deck is the ability to regularly start with a Zacian V. Getting a turn one Intrepid Sword is extremely powerful and leads to a turn two Brave Blade with a bit of luck. I choose to go first with this deck so I can get a Brave Blade or Full Metal Wall GX off as soon as I can. We need only two Lucario and Melmetal-GX in the list since we end up using a single copy per game. There are 11 outs to a Lucario and Melmetal-GX, making it easy to grab when we need it and we run two Zamazenta V for the same reason: we don’t need any more than two.

I also considered the Bronzong variant, but as I said above, there isn’t much value in it with Fire decks on the decline (many of them also run [card name=”Cramorant V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card], which gets around Heatproof on Bronzong anyway). [card name=”Galarian Stunfisk V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] is a tech that has seen limited amounts of play as a counter to [card name=”Altaria” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card]. It also helps tremendously against [card name=”Whimsicott” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] as a way to take a Knock Out while being out of range of a full-powered Flying Fury attack with a Full Metal Wall GX boost and Galarian Stunfisk V’s Metal Skin Ability. I haven’t included it since both of these decks seem to be falling in popularity, but I could see cutting a [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] for it if necessary. 

Supporter Lineup

4 Professor’s Research, 4 Marnie, 4 Boss’s Orders, 3 Mallow and Lana, 1 Guzma and Hala, 1 Cynthia and Caitlyn, 0 Pokemon Center Lady

With the absence of [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], I wanted more consistency for a BO1 format. This manifests itself in the heavy Supporter count, even to the degree of playing a full four copies of [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]. The truth is that this deck needs to keep up with the likes of [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] and [card name=”Eternatus VMAX” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], so missing a draw Supporter, a Boss’s Orders or an Energy ([card name=”Coating Metal Energy” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] can be fetched with [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card]) is game-ending.  I also wanted to have some extra switching effects to reset Brave Blade, so I boosted the count of [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card] to three. It has the added benefit of healing a lot of damage too! I also tried [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] as a way to heal a bit of damage as well as removing the Poison Special Condition, however, Mallow and Lana does this but more pragmatically: it heals twice the damage and can reset Brave Blade. 

One Chaotic Swell, Two Reset Stamp

[cardimg name=”Galarian Slowbro V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”99″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card] is in here for two reasons; it can be grabbed with Guzma and Hala, and it can be devastating against Eternatus VMAX / Poison.

With Eternatus VMAX / Poison playing on average two copies of [card name=”Dark City” set=”Unified Minds” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card], Chaotic Swell can limit the number of uses of Rapid-Fire Poison Ability from [card name=”Galarian Slowbro V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. This is extremely important as the path of victory for Eternatus VMAX / Poison is to poison [card name=”Zamazenta V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] and stall. The extra switching effects are beneficial here for that reason too — Reset Stamp is a card I’m not 100% sold on in [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], but it has its moments.

As I said, the deck has to keep up with ADP / Zacian V and other speedy decks, so Reset Stamp can give you the edge in situations where the opponent has to find a Boss’s Orders to Knock Out a damaged Pokemon on the Bench or any other similar situation. If I find anything better to play in lieu, I’ll cut Reset Stamp. 

In Summary

So there you go! Two strong decks that will surely see success in the TEU-VIV format. If you have any questions, please place those down below and I will respond as soon as I can. 

Merry Early Christmas!

-Blaine

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