Hit Fast and Delay Your Opponent’s Game — Suicune V / Energy Removal
[cardimg name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”173″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Hello to all PokeBeach readers! I’m here with another Pokemon TCG article. This time I’ll talk about my lovely [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] but now with Energy removal cards like [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Team Yell Grunt” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”184″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Fan of Waves” set=”Battle Styles” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] instead of the broken [card name=”Ludicolo” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card].
We are in a period where the metagame has stabilized and we already have a good idea of which decks are the best in the format. [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] , Suicune V / Ludicolo, Mew VMAX, [card name=”Jolteon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Leafeon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] have been among the top decks for a long time and have already proven themselves worthy of being in that position. They all have a mix of good and bad matchups between them, so I see all these decks as balanced. With so many competitive decks as an option, it’s harder and harder to find any power that’s effective against them all, but the good old strategy of removing the opponent’s Energy cards has proven effective once again in the game.
The idea of my article and list came after a big tournament that I reached the finals with 59 cards from my original Suicune V / Ludicolo list from three months ago, when I realized that Ludicolo wasn’t as good as it used to be. This Pokemon can be broken in some matchups, but in others my opponent’s lists have already adapted to it. In some cases just being able to attack consistently with Suicune V is enough. This brought me back to the idea of using Crushing Hammer and other Energy removal cards. When I built Suicune V / Ludicolo the first time, I initially built a skeleton List for Suicune V / [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card]. With the available slots, I started to tinker around some ideas and Energy removal was one of them. With success around Ludicolo I kept the Crushing Hammer variant away in the back burner, but now I think the time has come to bring it back.
With the help of [card name=”Drizzile” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] to search for Trainer cards, plus as the metagame is filled with decks that use Special Energy and play only a few Energy cards, such as [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], the goal is to take advantage of the consistency and speed of Suicune V to attack fast and delay the opponent’s game by removing their Energy from the board.
Suicune V / Hammers
[decklist name=”Suicune V / Hammers” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″][pokemon amt=”17″]4x [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Drizzile” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pyukumuku” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”47″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]3x [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”201″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Team Yell Grunt” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”202″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Raihan” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”202″ 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=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Capacious Bucket” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Fan of Waves” set=”Battle Styles” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]5x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”231″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card]4x [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Deck Overview
In this format the first and second turn are extremely important. If you play [card name=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] on the first turn, then you have Drizzile on the second turn, so you’ll pretty much have whatever card you want in your hand. The same goes for when you attack — if you can’t attack in the second turn, you are already way behind in the game. The whole deck idea focuses on these two turns, both your first two turns and the opponent’s first two turns. Regarding your first turns, I’ve already said a lot, just put to the Bench as many Sobble as possible and attack with [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] from the second turn until the end of the game while you flip some [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] to make your opponent miss an attack.
Most decks in the Standard format aim to do the same thing, which is to use a strong attack in the second turn and try to draw the six Prizes in about three to four attacks — so you’ve probably heard someone say that in this format whoever starts the game has a lot of advantage. In fact, what this person said is correct, because if all decks have this same game proposal, then whoever starts the game won’t win the game if by chance he misses a card. In the current format, most decks are pretty consistent and miss their plays very little, so in practice, the player that starts out gets the upper hand most of the time. With that in mind, my goal is to have a way out of this situation, putting a way to diminish the opponent’s advantage when he starts the game. If the opponent starts the game, he needs to attach an Energy in order to attack on the second turn, then Crushing Hammer has the power to remove that Energy, bringing the advantage back to your favor.
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Four Suicune V is Enough
Many games will be won because you started the game and because of that you can attack with Suicune V before your opponent. This attack is often crucial to obtain a great advantage in the game because it allows you to Knock Out key Pokemon. Blizzard Rondo is an attack capable of doing 220 damage with only two Energy, but if your opponent controlling the number of Pokemon on their Bench, you will probably hit for 140 damage, which is also ok.
Suicune V needs a few cards to attack and synergizes with some of the strong cards in the game, such as [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card]. Even with the entire line of [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] in this list, the deck has spaces to be explored however you want. The [card name=”Ludicolo” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] combination is the most popular in the format, but other combinations can be explored depending on the metagame. Pokemon cards like Suicune V allow for a number of combinations, as it easily fits into different strategies. It’s a card worth investing in because you can play it in different ways.
I will probably test several other combinations with Suicune V in the future, but today the article is geared towards highlighting your own strength of Suicune V, how it’s possible to have a strong deck just focusing on your attack and using the extra spaces however you like.
The task of attacking in the second turn seems simple, but decks are not always able to accomplish this. For [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] to attack it is necessary to find the necessary pieces within two turns, the same goes for [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] and other decks with a similar strategy. Suicune V also comes under this, but the main difference is that Suicune V is a Basic Pokemon, works with Melony and has an Ability that draws an extra card.
60HP Sobble over 70HP?
Due to the popularity of Dragapult VMAX in the metagame, the 70HP [card name=”Sobble” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] from Sword & Shield proved more useful in the last format. But now with Fusion Strike you can consider the 60HP Sobble again. The Keep Calling attack from the 60HP Sobble is still good, but this deck’s list was made so you don’t have to use this attack. Generally speaking, you want to attach an energy to Suicune V to guarantee a turn 2 attack without Melony than Sobble.
Even in the Suicune V / Ludicolo deck, I see an advantage in changing Sobble from Chilling Reign (60 HP) for Sword & Shield (70 HP), because you also have the advantage of hitting 110 damage with Sobble for one energy using Ludicolo’s Ability.
Trying the New Pyukumuku
The new Pyukumuku from Fusion Strike has caught my attention since the first spoiler I saw a few months ago, but now that it’s been released it seems players have realized this card really does what it says. I wanted to fit a Pyukumuku in a Suicune V / Ludicolo build, but the list is so tight that I don’t have a slot for it. In the case of Suicune V with Crushing Hammer, I really need Pyukumuku for the Ability and to fill the bench for Blizzard Rondo. Another cool advantage of Pyukumuku is that it gives an extra function to your [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] you don’t need to use, because they can become an extra draw card.
The Power of Energy Removal
The strength of [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] despite being a coin flip card and can be useful in all games and at various times in the game, just play the card from your hand. Ludicolo is also very strong, but to make use of its ability you need to have a [card name=”Lotad” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] on the field, in addition to having a [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”180″ c=”name”][/card] in your hand and several other factors — it is a tech that requires more time and care to make it work. The Energy removal cards boost Suicune V’s qualities at the beginning of a game while Ludicolo brings the endgame strength that Suicune V doesn’t have to Knock Out a Pokemon VMAX.
The decks in the current metagame are not prepared to deal with Energy removal, mainly because no such strategy being used. Like Dragapult VMAX, Suicune V also manages to fit a good amount of these types of card to take advantage of a perceived weakness in the metagame, but few decks can dedicate spaces to these cards.
The deck also includes [card name=”Fan of Waves” set=”Battle Styles” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Team Yell Grunt” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card], which can remove an opponent’s Energy without having to flip a coin — this brings a little more security to the strategy. Hitting the Crushing Hammer is still very important, but it will often be possible to delay the opponent with just one of these two cards used at the perfect time.
Matchups
Vs. Mew VMAX
If you can make your opponent miss an attack, you have a big advantage in the matchup. Every [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] plays [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card] and some lists also play [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] as Special Energy — both can be easily removed by Fan of Waves, forcing your opponent to find [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”name”][/card] in order to attack.
Another thing you could do is attack with [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] SSH. When attacking with Inteleon with no [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] on the Bench, your opponent will have to take just one Prize next turn, meaning you have one more turn to play and attack with Suicune V using [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card].
Vs. Single Strike Urshifu VMAX
[cardimg name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”168″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
At the beginning of the SSH-EVS format, Suicune V / [card name=”Ludicolo” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] had good matchup against Single Strike, but after Suicune V became popular, [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] decks started using [card name=”Tool Jammer” set=”Battle Styles” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”168″ c=”name”][/card] to nullify Suicune V and [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]’s [card name=”Cape of Toughness” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card]. What was once a good matchup for Suicune V now became a balanced matchup, where whoever starts has an advantage. I realized that in this matchup, Ludicolo was no longer so impressive because the focus of the Single Strike deck is to attack with [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] instead of its VMAX, so Energy removal cards could be more useful and indeed are. Thanks to all the Energy removal options we play, especially Fan of Waves, it is possible to delay the opponent by a turn or two, which is more than enough time to setup your board and attack to get Prizes before the opponent.
Vs. Dragapult VMAX
Choosing to use Suicune V with Energy removal options instead of Suicune V / Ludicolo gets a big boost by turning this balanced matchup into a good matchup. Thanks to the number of Energy removal options we play, the chance of making the opponent unable to attack with Max Phantom is great, which turns this matchup slightly in your favor. Usually a Dragapult VMAX deck has four Basic Psychic Energy and four [card name=”Horror P Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card], with no form of Energy acceleration except [card name=”Raihan” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card]. Just a Team Yell Grunt or Fan of Waves is enough to prevent the opponent from using Max Phantom, but whenever Crushing Hammer flips heads, you’ll be able to delay your opponent’s game further.
Vs. Leafeon VMAX
Another matchup that I feel more comfortable with our Energy removal cards. Normally [card name=”Leafeon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”205″ c=”name”][/card] can Knock Out Suicune V easily with Grass Knot and [card name=”Galar Mine” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card], because even with Cape of Toughness or [card name=”Air Balloon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], Leafeon VMAX always has Tool Jammer or Tool Scrapper to deal with it. This deck has a big difference, which is the [card name=”Leafeon V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card]’s Ability to attach an extra Energy onto any Pokemon especially on the first turn, yet Energy Removal can make a big impact. Fan of Waves is useful to remove Capture Energy and Crushing Hammer can be devastating, especially knowing that the Leafeon VMAX deck plays only five Grass Energy on average. If you manage to attack the opponent’s Leafeon VMAX first, save your Energy removal cards to remove Energy from the next Leafeon VMAX. When you Knock Out your opponent’s Leafeon VMAX, it’s like you’re removing two Energy from it as well.
Vs. Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX
The great advantage of Energy removal is that you have the possibility to prevent the opponent from using the dreaded G-Max Flow attack from [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card]. As long as this Pokemon can only deal 150 damage to your Active Spot Pokemon, the matchup is controlled and in favor of Suicune V. The opponent can still use G-Max Rapid Flow with the help of Raihan, so to avoid your opponent taking Knock Outs on [card name=”Sobble” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card], try hitting [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”87″ c=”name”][/card] or Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX so that the opponent has fewer opportunities to use that Supporter.
Vs. Suicune V / Ludicolo
Amazingly, Ludicolo doesn’t help as much as it seems in this matchup. If you use two [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] CRE Quick Shooting Ability to deal 40 damage to the opponent’s Suicune V, the opponent’s Bench should be full for you to hit 220 damage and reach 260 damage total, sufficient to Knock Out your opponent’s Suicune V with Cape of Toughness attached. This means it is generally better to setup Inteleon CRE compared to Ludicolo.
However, Energy removal is also not that impactful as Suicune V attacks for two Energy, so it possible to use Melony to get an extra Energy for the turn. However, it does help to disrupt the opponent at times — it could force the opponent to have to use Melony instead of [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card]. In the end I believe the power of Energy removal is better than the power of Ludicolo.
Vs. Zacian V / Zamazenta V
This is a bad matchup even if you’re lucky with your Crushing Hammer coin flips. It will be very difficult for you to knock out a [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] with just one attack and Zacian V can Knock Out your Suicune V with one attack. Even if you have a Cape of Toughness, your opponent will probably have Tool Scrapper.
Anyway, the strike first rule is also in effect in this matchup. If you manage to attack first than your opponent and hit a few Crushing Hammer, you might have enough time and damage to perform quick Knock Outs and wreak havoc on your opponent’s game.
Vs. Jolteon VMAX
This matchup will always be difficult for a deck focused on Suicune V. Unfortunately the Energy removal doesn’t make a big impact as [card name=”Jolteon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] only needs one Energy to attack due to the Tool [card name=”Elemental Badge” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card].
For both the matchup against Zacian V and Jolteon VMAX, Tool Scrapper would be good, but I believe that even with these cards the chances of you winning these matchups are still low. It might be worth to test it out if you want to have a better chance!
Final Thoughts
[cardimg name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”166″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The list of [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] / Energy removals was built based on this metagame that has stabilized, with about ten decks in the Standard format with competitive potential and all of them suffer in some way from Energy removal.
Removing Energy cards from the opponent often becomes an uncommon issue for many decks because it’s a much bigger issue than the metagame — removing Energy has been a major impact since the original Base Set over twenty years ago. Even decks that have Energy boost capabilities can suffer from Energy removal. A [card name=”Rayquaza VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] deck no matter how many [card name=”Flaaffy” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] there are on the Bench to recover Lightning Energy, suffers when the [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] removes Fire energy. My point here is, decks that don’t suffer from Energy removal are rare.
By adopting the Energy removal strategy, consequently the game becomes a little slower, but not slow enough for you to draw games. I particularly like matches that last longer than four turns, so I like to slow down the opponent’s play so that I have more turns to develop a strategy for winning. We’ve seen this sort of thing happen in previous formats, and recently we’ve had [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] be the dominant deck with four Crushing Hammer indispensable in winning lists.
Relying on luck for a card to work is never cool, but the power it offers is enormous if it works that it’s worth the effect. If at least one or two of your four Crushing Hammers work, that’s great, because Team Yell Grunt and Fan of Waves are there to remove at least one more Energy.
Finally, I believe that by taking advantage of the Suicune V base, many other variants can be discovered. [card name=”Ludicolo” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] is the most famous variant, but Crushing Hammer will always be interesting — however the base of the deck allows for other great combinations depending on the metagame. In my first article about Suicune V / Ludicolo I talked about the skeleton list, if possible do read that article too!
It’s all folks for today, I hope you enjoyed it and see you next time! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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