A Mythical Melody — The Return of Fusion Mew
Hello PokeBeach readers! Isaiah here, and I am happy to be writing another article for you all! Last time, I talked about the triumphant best deck in the format, [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card], and its stranglehold on the Standard format, including explaining the intricacies of why the deck is so much better than every other deck right now.
Since that article, there have been no major events in the Standard format across the world, so the format has not seen many major developments, but the format has also been pretty similar since the Latin America International Championship kicked it off, so that is not too surprising. This weekend, though, the San Diego Regional Championship is coming up, and with that, there could possibly be some major changes to the format, but to best understand what the meta could look like this weekend, we need to first take a look at the meta as a whole, or more specifically, we need to take a look at some of the decks that did well at the Arlington Regional Championship.
A Brief Meta Snapshot
[cardimg name=”Yveltal” set=”Shining Fates” no=”46″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
At the present, [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] remains the absolute top dog in the format, and for a good reason. Having access to being able to power up literally anything in a single turn once you get set up is bound to have some crazy consequences. In particular, [card name=”Yveltal” set=”Shining Fates” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] comes to mind as an absurdly good option of a Pokemon to power up, as the text “Your Opponent’s Active Pokemon is Knocked Out” is quite possibly the most insane line of text ever printed on a Pokemon card. Not just that, but access to [card name=”Powerful Colorless Energy” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card] to boost Lugia VSTAR’s own damage output is another piece of the puzzle. Another surprisingly impactful tool that Lugia VSTAR has access to is [card name=”Stoutland V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], which is critical to taking down one of the other top threats in the format, Lost Zone toolbox.
Since its release in Lost Origin, the Lost Zone engine, powered by [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card], have been staples of the format, producing some of the format’s most complicated strategies. While [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] has largely fallen by the wayside anymore, the single-Prize-attacker-based variants, such as the version focused around [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card], remain popular to this day. Additionally, over the past few months, two other variants have started to become increasingly popular. The first of these variants is focused around [card name=”Kyogre” set=”Celebrations” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card], with the intention of closing out games with a guaranteed full-power Aqua Storm thanks to [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Battle Styles” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]. The other variant, focused around [card name=”Rayquaza” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Raikou” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] has only recently started to take off, and for a good reason; it is one of few decks in the format with a pseudo limitless damage output from a single-Prize attacker. Lost Zone toolboxes has a surprisingly strong performance at the Arlington Regional Championship, as the deck was largely able to take advantage of favorable Prize trades against many of the format’s non-Lugia VSTAR decks, however, one deck that Lost Zone Box has always struggled with was one that finally reemerged in Arlington, that being [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card].
As of late, Regigigas, or more simply Regis, has grown on me a lot as one of the more powerful decks in the Standard format. With five different attacking types, the deck is able to take advantage of the format’s diverse pool of Weaknesses with the perfect attacker for any situation. Most importantly, [card name=”Regieleki” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] is able to easily dismantle a Lugia VSTAR as long as it has a [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] to push its damage output over the necessary mark of 280 thanks to Weakness. Regis is also able to take a favorable matchup against Lost Zone toolboxes due to almost all of them having 130 or more HP, which is surprisingly difficult for Lost Zone toolbox to handle. Unfortunately for Regis, the deck has always and will always struggle with being a little inconsistent, meaning that it can sometimes get too slow of a start (which, I guess that is fitting for Regigigas) to keep up with the rest of the format.
Another deck that has been making a surprising resurgence has been [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Duraludon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]. In the past, I have often criticized this deck for being too simple, not offering a skilled player much room to make creative plays, and leaving little room for a player to have any control over their game, however, while this is most certainly true of Arceus VSTAR / Duraludon VMAX, sometimes simplicity is perfect. After all, the strategy of being straightforward and consistent has worked exceptionally well for Jason Klaczynski, who has used builds of strategies that are meant to be exceptionally consistent to win three World Championships (though some of those decks were a bit more complicated in general). After the deck finished second place at the Toronto Regional Championship, many players, myself included, have started to think about the deck a bit more as a viable contender in the format. Skyscraper offers a unique method of walling a Lugia VSTAR deck in a way that, if not deliberately countered, is quite difficult to get through. One of Arceus VSTAR / Duraludon VMAX’s biggest issues is Yveltal, but if you target down the [card name=”Archeops” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] that Lugia VSTAR puts into play or the Yveltal once it hits the board, the rest of the game should be relatively smooth sailing. Unfortunately for Arceus VSTAR / Duraludon VMAX, this strategy does not always work absolutely perfectly, and even when it does, one final deck often stands in its way of doing exceptionally well consistently.
[cardimg name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
As a centerpiece of the format since it debuted in Fusion Strike over a year ago, it should come as no surprise that [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] continues to find itself at the top of the format. Boasting one of the most powerful and aggressive game plans in Standard, Mew VMAX is able to take advantage of any slower deck by quickly and effectively doing high amounts of damage from the earliest stages of the game. Since the 2022 World Championship, the version of Mew VMAX focused around playing four copies of [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] and playing several forms of hand disruption has typically been the most popular variant of the deck, and with the release of [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], the deck has shifted this same focus to playing several copies of [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] with the intention of disrupting the opponent as much as possible before having explosive turns of its own, quite similar to [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] strategies that were popular in 2018. To the surprise of many, Forest Seal Stone also brought the [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card] version of Mew VMAX back into consideration. As a deck that I had personally written off, I always felt that the Fusion Strike Energy version of Mew VMAX was always a bit too inconsistent, but now the turn one [card name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] for 210+ damage has become much more plausible, meaning that the deck was bound to make a return at some point, and what better time to give it some fresh air than right before one of the most favorable tournament metas that the deck has seen since its release.
A Fusion Mew Rebirth
A large part of why I, as well as many other players, have started to find a new appreciation for the Fusion Strike Energy variant of Mew VMAX is because it has a nearly unmatched level of aggression, being the only deck in the format that can do enough to Knock Out a [card name=”Lugia V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] on the second turn of the game. In many games, it is entirely possible for a [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] deck to only find one Lugia V on the first turn, and if that is the case, Knocking it Out results in the opponent falling a turn behind, giving you plenty of time to keep building an advantage for when, or rather if, the opponent sets up. Alternatively, even if the opponent does get two Lugia V in play on the first turn, taking a Knock Out on a Pokemon V before the opponent is ever able to do anything still builds a huge advantage that is often quite difficult to ever overcome. Alternatively, if Mew VMAX can go first, this advantage becomes even stronger and even more reliable, resulting in consistent wins in a matchup that is rather difficult for the Double Turbo Energy build of the deck.
Additionally, one surprisingly significant perk of the Fusion Strike Energy build of Mew VMAX is that it cares significantly less about [card name=”Drapion V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] than the Double Turbo Energy build. Normally, in the case of the Double Turbo Energy build, a common problem is if the opponent can use two Drapion V in a game, they will always win the Prize race, as two exchanges of two Prizes for three Prizes will always work out favorably, no matter who attacks first. On the flip side, the Fusion Strike Energy build’s ability to mix in a single Prize attacker means that if they can attack first, which they almost always do, the Mew VMAX player can reasonably effectively beat even two Drapion V. This fact has made me consider removing [card name=”Lost City” set=”Lost Origin” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] from the deck entirely, but the card is still rather important for the Regis matchup, which is now favored with the Fusion Strike Energy build, so I will have it stick around.
With this in mind, how about we take a look at my current deck list and some of the more critical card choices that I have made?
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My Fusion Mew Deck
[cardimg name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
At this point, the basic strategy of [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] should be known by almost all players, but if you are not yet familiar, the basic premise is to flood the board with [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card], draw a bunch of cards, and deal a ton of damage. While the deck has taken many forms since the deck’s release over a year ago, the version that has been common for the longest has been the [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card]-focused build. Initially, this was the case because [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”name”][/card] provided much-needed Energy acceleration, but as time went on and [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] was released in Brilliant Stars, many players only held onto Fusion Strike Energy because of how powerful [card name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] is. As I mentioned earlier, Meloetta is a unique force in Standard, as it is the only thing in the format that can consistently put out 210 or more damage from your first turn of the game if you go second. Coupled with the strength of [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”name”][/card] and a few Double Turbo Energy, it should be easy to close out a game once Meloetta gives you a jump on your opponent. With that, let’s get into a decklist.
The Deck List
[decklist name=”fusion mew” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″][pokemon amt=”13″]3x [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Mew V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”40″]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cram-o-matic” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”229″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Power Tablet” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”236″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”175″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rotom Phone” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”64″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Big Parasol” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”157″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Lost City” set=”Lost Origin” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Four Mew V and Three Mew VMAX
At this point, four [card name=”Mew V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] and three [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] is pretty standard in this deck, at least in the [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] focused build, but in the [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card] build, there has always been a bit of debate about the best count, with many players settling on 4-2 or 3-3. Personally, I am vehemently against playing 3-3, as Mew V is far and away the best starter in the deck, so maximizing the odds of starting with it is always the best choice. As for the VMAX, I initially was playing with only two copies of the card while I was testing this list, but as time went on, I was getting frustrated with prizing a copy or having to discard one, so I decided to go back up to three VMAX again. Since doing so, I have been much happier with the consistency of being able to use two VMAX in a game, so I think this count is certainly the perfect count.
No Oricorio
[cardimg name=”Oricorio” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”42″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
As aggravating as it is for how I like to approach building Mew VMAX decks, I have cut [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”42″ c=”name”][/card] from this deck list. This is largely because [card name=”Meloetta” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] is typically occupying the space that you would normally want to have filled by an Oricorio, meaning that you would have to sacrifice a Mew V or a [card name=”Genesect V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] to make space, which simply is not worth it to reduce just 20 damage. I also feel a bit extra justified in this decision with fewer [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] in decks, with some variants of Lost Zone box being the only decks that play it consistently anymore. If damage reduction were to become a needed aspect of the deck, I do think including a [card name=”V Guard Energy” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] could be a strong choice, as a [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] has no way of realistically reaching 340 with the conventional counts in the deck, but the 330 that Oricorio reaches is not enough to justify the inclusion of a pretty mediocre Pokemon.
Pokemon Catcher
At long last I finally caved and tried playing [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck, and, disappointingly, it has been exceptionally good. With a full focus on early-game aggression with Meloetta, Pokemon Catcher is a necessary final piece to make sure you are not simply hitting into something meaningless, and are instead going to swing into something meaningful, such as the only [card name=”Lugia V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] that the opponent has in play. Additionally, after this first turn, Pokemon Catcher is a strong way to drag up something that you want to Knock Out while still being able to play [card name=”Elesa’s Sparkle” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”233″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] to further develop the board while also hitting into what you need to hit into on any given turn. The card is also fortunately able to be discarded off of [card name=”Cram-o-matic” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”229″ c=”name”][/card], which is always a perk of playing more Item cards.
Two Forest Seal Stone
I have been tossing and turning a lot on what is the correct count of [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck. In my opinion, I think it is best to only play one copy in the Double Turbo Energy build, as the card is not an absolute necessity and is largely an extra boost. In this variant, however, which is heavily built on a specific turn-one combo, playing multiple copies is strong because it increases your odds of finding the combination of cards that you need. From that point, the question is more of if it is better to play two or three copies. I think the best course of action is to play two though, as the card is only usable once no matter how many you play, and two copies in addition to Cram-o-matic should typically be enough to find what you need for the Meloetta play.
Two Rotom Phone
More often than not, Mew VMAX decks end up with a few extra spaces to be dedicated to extra “consistency Items” for the purpose of getting to the deck’s most important combo pieces on the turns where it matters. In the Double Turbo Energy build, there has been a long-time debate over whether it is better to play [card name=”Rotom Phone” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Trekking Shoes” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], but in the Fusion Strike Energy build I am confident that playing Rotom Phone is ideal. With so many moving parts, it is quite easy to have to be forced to take something that you do not want to or to discard something that you do not want to off Trekking Shoes, so using Rotom Phone makes more sense to see more cards to find what you need and to have some more choices when it comes to determining what card will get added to your hand.
Big Parasol
This card is kind of my “flex spot” right now, but I am currently testing [card name=”Big Parasol” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] in this space as a means of blocking [card name=”Yveltal” set=”Shining Fates” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] and its Amazing Destruction in the [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] matchup as well as to block [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] in some cases against Lost Zone Box. I am not sure if this is the perfect card, but it has felt good so far and I do not see it changing anytime soon.
Echoing Horn
[cardimg name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
For a long time, I was not playing [card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] in this list, but the more I played games with it, the more I missed having the card. It makes so many of the deck’s annoying matchups significantly easier by giving you essentially a free Prize card if they ever leave a Pokemon V in the discard pile as opposed to keeping a board of only single-Prize Pokemon.
This comes up most frequently against Lugia VSTAR decks, which can quite easily make a board of only single-Prize Pokemon, so having Echoing Horn to speed the game up is a perfect way to gain some extra leverage in a sometimes difficult matchup.
Conclusion
With the San Diego Regional Championship on the horizon, the [card name=”Fusion Strike Energy” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”244″ c=”name”][/card] variant of [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] seems to be in an excellent position in the current metagame, taking reasonably strong matchups against most decks in the format, barring [card name=”Kyogre” set=”Celebrations” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card]. I would not be surprised in the slightest if this deck was able to take a Top 8 spot this weekend thanks to its unmatched aggression in an otherwise pretty slow format.
With that, this article draws to a close. As always, I hope you enjoyed this article, as it was a joy to write about one of my favorite decks right now. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out in the Subscriber’s Hideout, on Twitter (@ICheville), or on Facebook (Zaya Lee).
Until next time!
– Isaiah
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