Mew Two: Electric Mewgamew
Top 16 at Vancouver Regionals with Mew VMAX/Aerodactyl VSTAR
Hello Ian’s Conspiracy readers! My name is Grant Hays, and I’m happy to be back with another tournament report, this time covering my run at Vancouver Regionals. I played a list very similar to what I played to make top 8 at Orlando, and I wanted to run through notable card choices, my matchups, and the deck and my thoughts on the meta moving forward for the last events in Silver Tempest.
What Happened in Knoxville
After topping Orlando, I felt pretty solid about running back the Mew VMAX list with some slight changes. However, Azul’s dominant performance at OCIC with Drapion V and Sky Seal Stone in his deck had me concerned. I figured a lot of players would gravitate towards either his list or some variant of Lost Box with Drapion V + SSS in general, and I would be unfavored against a decent chunk of the field. In addition, the growing success of Vikavolt following Cameron Shenoy’s top 16 finish at Australia made me hesitant to play Mew. As such, I shelved it for the weekend.
To my surprise, it seemed like no one cared to replicate Azul’s deck, as even his testing group had dropped the Drapion V combo. I ended up playing Vikavolt V myself, and after some poor variance, a game loss I called on myself after forgetting to swap a card in my deck the morning of, and some bad matchups, I finished a disappointing 4-3-2. From here, I felt that Lugia VSTAR was the only viable option. It’s the best deck, plain and simple. In my mind, if I really put in 100 games with Lugia VSTAR before Vancouver, I would have the best shot of doing well. Then, about a week out, I played more games with Mew VMAX, realized it felt significantly more comfortable, and I promptly switched back to Mew. While I bounced around which partner to play with it, I eventually opted to keep the Aerodactyl VSTAR line.
The Advancing “Technology” of the Mew VMAX Archetype
It seems like every day there’s some new random card people are playing in Mew VMAX. At this point, the notable inclusions to the deck are: Aerodactyl VSTAR, Flying Pikachu VMAX Dreepy FST, Pidgeot V, Luxray V, and I’m sure I’m missing some. For those interested in playing Mew VMAX with some level of technology, here’s a quick way to decide:
-Aerodactyl VSTAR is far and away the best answer to Lugia VStar. I went back and forth on it after Orlando, but the card really is necessary. I personally wouldn’t play Mew VMAX without it for the remainder of this format. None of the other cards give you as much of a solid win rate going first.
-Flying Pikachu VMAX is best for Lost Box variants and Regigigas. If you expect a meta of mainly those two decks (this will never happen at a regional because of Lugia VSTAR’s popularity, but maybe at a local 1k or something similar), play Flying Pikachu VMAX.
-Dreepy FST doesn’t work anymore because it’s too difficult to set up, relies on your opponent not knowing what’s going on, and not playing counters (Escape Rope is a staple in Lugia VSTAR at this point, and that card in particular ruins your strategy). This one shouldn’t be a consideration.
-Straight Mew VMAX with a Luxray V put in it is interesting, I haven’t had a chance to test it much. I imagine this is not bad, but it still may not give you the edge against Lugia. However, Luxray is better against everything else. It might be good if you expect more non-Lugia VSTAR decks than Lugia VSTAR in your metagame.
At this point Mew VMAX has gone from a straightforward attacking deck to one that can create a wall to stop your opponent’s abilities/attacks, discard cards from their hand, deck them out, and more. It’s honestly very cool to see how the archetype has evolved, largely in part due to players like Xander Pero continuing to push the envelope. I do think we are reaching the limit potentially of how effective new “technology” will be compared to simply going Techno Blast for knockout, but it’s overall cool to see creativity be rewarded. I think there’s enough room for 1 non-Fusion Strike guy on the board, so don’t be afraid to try new things.
Friday
While I definitely do not support the 8 PM decklist submission that is now a common practice for west coast events, it did help me out in that I had no stress about final cards in my list come Friday night. I submitted my list in the early hours of the morning on Friday, and after almost a full day of travel following three separate flight delays and some other hectic events (my laptop is safe and sound for those who saw my stream interview), I arrived at my friend’s house at almost 3 AM set to take on the tournament.
An Aside on Playing the Same Deck and the Dynamic of This Format
I mention arriving late above to illustrate this: if I were playing Lugia VSTAR, or I decided to pick it up at the last minute, I know I would not have done well simply because I had such a rough time getting to the tournament and I would have been too frazzled and exhausted to play perfectly with something unfamiliar. Over the past two seasons, I’ve unintentionally fallen into the habit of playing a different deck for every major event. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and part of this comes from rotation, new sets coming out, etc. However, for this format in particular, if you are reading this and intend to go to Charlotte/Fort Wayne/Sydney, play what you have been playing the last few months. Oftentimes you will do better with a deck you are more comfortable with than you will switching to “the play” the night before. This format has gone on long enough that comfort and skill are being rewarded more than matchups or even power level, and with Pokemon tournaments being much bigger than they were even a few years ago, I think it’s very difficult to metagame for a large event like a regional. Play what you are comfortable with. This was part of my decision to play Mew VMAX again, as I knew I would know the lines and be prepared enough to navigate anything.
Decklist
Interesting Inclusions
1-1 Aerodactyl VSTAR
Unfortunately, the Aerodactyl VSTAR line is still necessary in this deck. I won every game I went first against Lugia this weekend, and that is not to say I only won games going first. The card simply improves your odds of winning your most important matchup enough that it is worth the inclusion. Aerodactyl is also solid in other matchups. In the mirror, going first and getting off a Judge + Ancient Star turn 2 can lock your opponent out of the game when they can not use Genesect V. For Vikavolt V, Aerodactyl VSTAR stops them from using Lumineon V and Crobat V, and more importantly, Drapion V. Against Eternatus VMAX, a matchup that is otherwise an autoloss, Aerodactyl ultimate can at least give you a fighting chance when they can’t use Eternatus Vs’ ability, Crobat V, or Drapion V. An idea I have had is playing an Aurora energy in the deck so you can attack with Aerodactyl VSTAR in the Eternatus VMAX and Vikavolt V matchups (obviously very fringe and only worth it if your local meta is skewed towards these decks), but i am unsure if it is good. Finally, in the Hisuian VSTAR Goodra matchup, every single game I have ever played where I have used Aerodactyl VSTAR, whether on TCGO, at a regional, etc, I have won. The card just shuts down everything Hisuian Goodra VSTAR can do against you.
2 Switch
The very last change I made to my list was adding a second copy of Switch. I had debated on the 60th slot in my deck the whole week. To give you the exhaustive list, I had cut Oricorio for: 3rd Rotom Phone, Serena, back to 3rd Rotom Phone, back to Serena, Capturing Aroma, Pokemon Catcher, 3rd Path to the Peak, Marnie, Fan of Waves, 3rd Lost Vacuum, Echoing Horn, Big Charm, Yveltal CEL, Miltank ASR, and I think that is all of them. All of these went out the window when I was playing ladder games on Thursday night, when I kept whiffing switching cards and losing. I realized that 2nd Switch would make it more likely for me to switch a Genesect V or Aerodactyl V that I open with out of the active to attack and allow me to Techno Blast more consecutively. The other big thing that only some of the cards mentioned above have as an attribute is being an item, and not all of them are always usable. Switch fulfilled both of these things, as it was essentially always playable and could be discarded with Cram-o-matic, allowing me to draw more cards if I needed to. I think 2nd Switch mattered in almost every single game I played, if not all of them. I was really happy this inclusion paid off.
1 Cyllene
I kept the Cyllene in to have a better shot against control and for some niche lines where you need to get back DTE’s or switching cards. However, 2nd Switch essentially eliminates the need for Cyllene in these spots. In addition, I flipped double tails on Cyllene three separate times, and the card clogged my hand a lot in the early game. It mattered exactly twice, as once I used Cyllene to get back a Power Tablet to dig for a KO when I had another in deck anyway, and another when I had to get a heads on Cyllene to put back an item and draw one card with Genesect V to flip a Cram-o-matic heads to get Aerodactyl VSTAR. I actually did get the double heads I needed, but my life would have been much less stressful there if Cyllene was a better card. With the dwindling popularity of control, Cyllene exits the list after this weekend.
Exciting Exclusions
The Tools
This list is three cards off of the Orlando 60, so there are not many notable exclusions that I have not talked about already. I cut Leafy Camo Poncho and figured that Big Charm was only good against Rayquaza and Regis somewhat, and having that card would not matter very much versus those decks. I cut the two tools in favor of Choice Belt and Parasol, and both of those cards were very good. You could probably get away with cutting Parasol if you do not expect any Lost Box. It does not come up against Lugia as much as you would think.
Oricorio FST
It feels strange to say, but Oricorio is essentially a bad card now. Lugia can KO it to set up a 4 prize turn or simply knock it out and keep up the trade, and Lost Box can use Sableye to get a free prize on it. The card simply does not matter much now. I figured that in the mirror they would always just have the tablet, Rayquaza could use Galarian Zigzagoon, Arceus VSTAR/Duraludon VMAX plays Choice Belt now anyway, and against Vikavolt V, was a stranded Genesect V taking 30/40 per turn instead of 50/60 per turn really going to help me win the matchup? The only scenario I could think of was a niche line against Arceus VSTAR/Duraludon VMAX where they’d have to find Boss on a specific turn if you retreat into Oricorio going second. Oricorio is either a do-nothing card or a liability card now in Mew.
Tournament report
R1: Arc/Dura WW
R2: Lost Box (Zamazenta, Snorlax, Drapion) LWT
R3: Mew/Flying Pikachu WLW
R4: Lost Zone Goodra WW
R5: Arc/Dura LWW
R6: Lugia LWW (stream)
R7: Lugia WW
R8: Regis LWW
R9: Lugia WLT
7-0-2 into day 2, 3rd seed
Day 1 Recap
I had some close games, but day 1 went pretty smoothly overall. I figured I’d hit 3-4 Lugia VSTARs, and going 2-0-1 against them, especially after losing the flip twice, was satisfactory for me. Against Ian in round 9, I had a moment where I used Boss’ Orders to stall up a pokemon and stop his Lugia from attacking. I essentially picked the wrong one, costing me game 2 and causing us to tie (this is why he says I should’ve Boss’d up his Charizard). However, hindsight is 20/20, and I wasn’t too mad to tie against a friend and start day 2 at 3rd seed. Five out of six people in our house made day 2, so spirits were high. After a quick dinner, I got to bed for a healthy three hours of sleep thanks to daylight savings time and the 7:30 day 2 start time.
Day 2
R10: Arc/Dura LL
R11: Goodra LWL
R12: Lugia WLW
R13: Lugia LWL
R14: Lugia WLW
9-3-2, 14th place
Day 2 Recap
This was my worst day 2 I’ve played in. After some rough draws against Arceus VSTAR Duraludon VMAX and Hisuian Goodra VSTAR, I found myself needing to win out to be locked for top 8. After my round 13 opponent got double Archeops in game 3, I knew my run was done. While top 16 is obviously not a bad finish, I felt like I was so close to a great placement and could not quite get there. I felt more prepared and locked in with Mew than I did for Orlando, and I anticipate only improving from here. Hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come for Charlotte.
Overall Thoughts on the Vancouver Meta, Changes to the List, and Other Assorted Pieces of Info
Meta Breakdown
I first want to highlight Lugia’s dominance this weekend- it seems like every other regionals now Lugia VSTAR is taking 5/6 of the top 8 slots. The day 2 play rate of Lugia was also roughly 40%, an increase from Knoxville. Vikavolt and Lost Box seemed to drop immensely, as Cameron Shenoy was the only Vikavolt player in Vancouver and Lost Box had only a few in day 2. Mew VMAX also was the 2nd most played deck in day 2, which I think was just a reflection of some players switching to Mew/Aerodactyl this weekend. It’s harder to gauge the meta’s progression from a smaller event like Vancouver than it is from a large one like Knoxville or Orlando, but I think we are reaching the ending stage of the format where the BDIF sees the most play it ever has. I would imagine Charlotte has a similar 40% day 2 meta share for Lugia.
List Changes
After this weekend, the only thing I would change is cutting Cyllene for a 3rd Rotom Phone or 2nd Forest Seal Stone. I had games leading up to the event where I would find Cyllene in my hand early game, which I figured was just bad variance. However, Cyllene definitely clogged things up overall. One of the easiest innovations that occurs in pokemon is playing more copies of a good 1-of or 2-of, and I do not think there’s any other techs to fit in at this point. Maybe 3rd phone over 2nd FSS, but I’m unsure.
Conclusion and Looking Forward to Utrecht/Charlotte/Fort Wayne/Sydney
I honestly felt closer to winning a regionals this past weekend than I did for the ones I actually top 8’d. A top 16 isn’t a bad finish, but I am definitely looking for redemption at my next events. To end on a positive note though, the deck functioned how I wanted it to for the most part, and I felt like I played well overall. My list felt great, and the 2nd Switch really was a gratifying inclusion. I think there’s potential for Mew/Dactyl to continue to be a good play for the next few majors. As for me, I will be at Charlotte and then EUIC. Fort Wayne is a little too hard/expensive to get to from Florida, so I will be taking a break for that one and starting to prepare for post-rotation. As for the next few events, I expect Lugia VSTAR play to hit an all-time high, and I do not think much else will change. This format has gone on too long for anything crazy to come out I think. That is it for me, and I will see you again soon.
Until next time,
Grant
Pokémon (13)
4 Mew V CRZ 60
3 Mew VMAX FST 114
4 Genesect V FST 185
1 Aerodactyl V LOR 92
1 Aerodactyl VSTAR LOR 93
Trainer (43)
3 Judge FST 235
2 Boss's Orders BRS 132
1 Roxanne ASR 150
1 Cyllene ASR 138
4 Battle VIP Pass FST 225
4 Quick Ball FST 237
4 Ultra Ball CRZ 146
4 Cram-o-matic FST 229
4 Power Tablet FST 236
2 Rotom Phone CPA 64
2 Lost Vacuum CRZ 135
2 Switch CRZ 144
2 Escape Rope BST 125
1 Pal Pad SSH 172
1 Big Parasol DAA 157
1 Choice Belt BRS 135
1 Forest Seal Stone SIT 156
2 Lost City LOR 161
2 Path to the Peak CRE 148
Energy (4)
4 Double Turbo Energy BRS 151