Hey guys! It’s been a little while since I’ve written an article (over 9 months!), so I may be a new name for a few of you, but I’m Dane Carlson, and I’m here to give you the rundown on all sorts of Virizion variants, from the very first Japanese Genesect/Drifblim variant to today’s Virizion/Mewtwo.
When we first got the scans for the Japanese set Megalo Cannon, people started hyping up Genesect/Virizion. The very first list we got was the Battle Carnival-winning deck played by Kakinoki Junichi. When people first saw the list, many were confused. Drifblim? Shadow Triad? What is this madness?
People soon started testing the deck, and then claimed it to be “too inconsistent,” or the “2013 version of Garchomp/Altaria.” Once we found out that we’d be losing Energy Switch from the rotation, these thoughts were “confirmed.”
Looks like they were wrong.
Now that the season has started, we have seen Virizion decks doing very well at the Regional Championships, taking 11 total Top 8 spots throughout all 6 events. That being said, multiple versions of the decks took up those top cut spots.
Today I’m going to try and cover each and every one of them, go over how I predict they will look in the next format, and then decide who wins the ultimate showdown…
Genesect or Mewtwo!!!
Table of Contents
Virizion/Genesect
I’m going to start with the most basic variant of this deck, Straight Virizion/Genesect. This version is played much less than others, but is still something we need to cover.
My good friend Stephan Mayer (Vablakes from the forums) has been testing this deck for a long time. It’s gone through a lot of changes, but here’s the list he said he would’ve used at Regionals, had he been able to attend one:
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Pokémon – 7 3 Genesect EX 1 Virizion LTR |
Trainers – 40 4 N 3 Skyla 2 Colress
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Energy – 13 9 G 4 Plasma |
pokegym.netAs you can see, his list is focused on consistency. He uses a full 4 Colress Machine to try and get a Megalo Cannon or G Booster as soon as possible. He also runs 15 Supporters, 13 of which retrieve cards from the deck, while the other 2 are used to get cards (such as the ever important G Booster) from the discard pile.
The 2 Team Plasma Badge gives him the ability to get a Turn 1 Emerald Slash, and the 3 Skyla gives him a better chance of doing so. Because of the Team Plasma Badge, he didn’t feel the need to run Tropical Beach, though he did note that it would definitely not be a bad inclusion.
Without Drifblim, you lose your winning edge against TDK and Speed Lugia variants. To make up for this, Stephan runs 3 Enhanced Hammer. Even a Plasma deck that runs mainly basic Energy can be wrecked just because of these 3 Enhanced Hammer, as they’re forced to run 4 Plasmas, and most opt to use Prism and possibly Blend WLFM Energies as well.
The strangest addition to his deck may be the Little Virizion. Here’s the explanation he gave me for the use of the card:
“Not only is Little Virizion an amazing safeguard against the late game N, it’s also a fairly efficient backup attacker, especially considering it’s only worth 1 Prize. 80 damage a turn (providing you’re using Leaf Wallop multiple turns in a row) for only 2 Energy is nothing to scoff at.”
Now with the addition of Legendary Treasures and the new XY rules, he’s had to make a few changes. Here is his current NXD–LTR list:
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Pokémon – 7 3 Genesect EX 1 Virizion LTR |
Trainers – 39 4 N 3 Skyla 2 Colress
|
Energy – 14 10 G 4 Plasma |
Note: This list is still in testing, and may still need improvements before tournament use.
pokemon-paradijs.comThere’s not too much of a difference, but there are enough changes to warrant a few explanations.
As you can see, he no longer runs Catcher. As the new XY rules make Catcher depend on a flip, it’s no longer a reliable “gust effect.” And with the revival of Energy Switch, room had to be made somewhere. So he simply replaced the Catchers for Energy Switches.
Now this still may seem like a questionable move; are Energy Switches really that important? People at first thought that Straight Darkrai wouldn’t do so well in the Regionals format because Energy Switch was rotated out.
But once Straight Darkrai proceeded to win 2 Regionals in a row, people realized that maybe Energy Switch didn’t make too much of a difference. Could it be the same case with Virizion/Genesect? Does it make that much of a difference?
So far, Stephan’s come to the conclusion that yes, it does. Unlike in Darkrai, Genesect has G Booster, which requires him to discard 2 Energy. In order to be able to attack the next turn, you need 3 Energy. With Energy Switch, you can attach to Genesect and then Energy Switch from a benched Pokémon to get back-to-back G Boosters, which was previously not possible without the help from Colress Machine.
Another good use for Energy Switch is the fact that once Virizion-EX uses Emerald Slash a few times to get Energy out on the field, you don’t necessarily need him to be powered up. This allows you to Energy Switch the somewhat useless Energy off of Virizion onto your Genesects, turning these “wasted” energies into quite useful ones.
In my opinion, Straight Virizion/Genesect is underrated, and I was surprised that it wasn’t used very much at Regionals. I believe that it could be a very good choice at League Challenges and Cities in the near future. That being said, there are other variants of the deck that are just as good, if not better.
Virizion/Genesect/Drifblim
Virizion/Genesect/Drifblim is, in my opinion, the best Genesect version of the deck. It has the ability to set up multiple attackers via Virizion-EX’s Emerald Slash, Drifblim to completely demolish Plasma variants, can abuse Genesect’s Red Signal, and even has access to the epic ACE SPEC attack, G Booster.
The first big finish this deck had in the US was back in August at the Klaczynski Open. Our very own Henry Prior piloted this list to a Top 4 finish:
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Pokémon – 14 3 Genesect EX 1 Lugia EX |
Trainers – 33 4 N 4 Skyla 2 Colress
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Energy – 13 9 G 4 Plasma |
solar-beam.tumblr.comFirst off, let me say that I love this list. Lugia was a genius inclusion that I would never had thought of, Tropical Beach is amazing in the deck, and I just overall like the list. If I had the ability to go to a Regionals tomorrow, I would have absolutely no problem playing this deck.
The only thing that I don’t like about it is the fact that he ran Float Stone over Switch. With so many Tool Scrappers running around, Float Stone can be a liability. That being said, it obviously worked well for him. I guess it’s just personal preference.
Let’s explain a few cards. Lugia EX may seem a bid odd at first, but it really is a genius inclusion. Since you’re already running Plasma Energy and Energy acceleration in the form of Virizion-EX, there’s no problem in running Lugia EX as well.
The amazing part about Lugia, though, is that the 50 damage from Emerald Slash works out perfectly with the 120 from Plasma Gale, hitting the magic 170 damage mark. If you’re in a Darkrai-filled meta, you could even tech in a Deoxys to make Plasma Gale do 130, hitting the 180 damage mark with Emerald Slash.
I’m also a huge fan of the 3 Colress Machine. While Stephan ran 4, aiming on consistency, 3 is all you realistically need. You’re most likely going to attach at least one of the Plasmas, activating Genesect’s Red Signal or powering up Lugia’s Plasma Gale, so you’re only gonna get the chance to use 3 of the Machine. Plus, when you’re running Drifblim and other techs, you’re going to want as much space as you can get. One card really can make all the difference in tournament play.
For the upcoming NXD–LTR format, I’ll show you my current list. It looks like this:
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Pokémon – 14 3 Genesect EX 1 Lugia EX |
Trainers – 33 3 N 3 Skyla 2 Colress
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Energy – 13 9 G 4 Plasma |
I’ve been having pretty good testing results so far with this list, but it’s far from perfect. Let me explain a couple things.
First off, you may notice that I run more Drifblim PLB than DRX. This is because I expect to see basic Energy rise in play in Plasma lists, mainly to combat all the Special Energy hate. However, Drifblim DRX is too good not to play, and even a TDK that runs mainly basic Energy has to have Plasma and Prism. Both of these Drifblims, plus the 2 Enhanced Hammers, certainly give an advantage in the Plasma matchup.
Next, you might notice that I only run 3 N. This is something I’m experimenting with. I wanted to find room for the 3rd Energy Switch, and I couldn’t figure out what I’d be OK with getting rid of. Eventually I decided on taking out a Supporter. I feel that 4 Juniper is absolutely necessary, as well as the 2 Shadow Triad (helps you to not only retrieve a Scrappered G Booster, but also to reuse Plasma Energies for Red Signal).
A high Skyla count is also essential to this deck’s success, as there are so many important Trainer cards that you often need right then and there to take a Knock Out. I suppose I could’ve taken out a Colress, but I decided to go with N first. Like I said, this list is far from perfect, and will most likely need a couple tweaks before tournament play.
Possibly the most questionable card in this list is Escape Rope. I originally had Switch in this spot, but I replaced it with Escape Rope as it not only serves the same purpose, but can also give you the Knock Out and possibly the win in certain situations. Imagine this:
You have 2 Prize cards left. Your opponent is stalling behind their single non-Pokémon-EX to bring you down to 1 Prize, not only giving themselves an extra turn to get what they need to turn the game around, but also to allow them to N you to 1 the next turn. Red Signal requires your turn’s attachment, and Catcher relies on a flip. Escape Rope forces them to bring up one of their benched Pokémon-EX, allowing you to get the Knock Out.
Now obviously that is very situational, and since your opponent chooses who to send up, if they have another non-EX on the Bench, they can easily just bring up that. It’s just kind of a dual purpose card. Most of the time just acts as a Switch, but occasionally can get you the KO.
The one card that I’m trying to find room for is Super Rod. I like Energy Retrieval because when I want Energy, I want them right then and there. The reason I want Super Rod as well is so I can get Pokémon back, like the lone Drifblim DRX for the Plasma matchup, or the Mr. Mime my opponent Catcher-killed in the Darkrai matchup. I plan to try replacing the Escape Rope with the Super Rod or trading one of the Retrievals for a Super Rod. I also am thinking of swapping out the 2nd Colress for the 4th N.
Virizion/Mewtwo
Virizion/Mewtwo was by far the most popular Virizion variant at the past Fall Regionals, taking six total Top 8 finishes, one of them even winning the whole event. However, the Regionals-winning version of the deck is much different than the most popular version.
The most popular version was just straight Virizion/Mewtwo/Bouffalant. Here’s the list Ishaan Jagiasi, Jeremy Gibson, and Rob and Robby Weidemann played at Philadelphia Regionals. Ishaan even went on to win with it in Seniors!
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Pokémon – 8 |
Trainers – 39 4 N 4 Skyla 2 Colress 1 Bicycle
2 Switch 1 Town Map
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Energy – 13 9 G |
pokemon-paradijs.comThe first thing that may confuse you is Town Map. A lot of players (myself included) don’t see the point in running Town Map, as you can easily find out what’s prized with your first search. However, Robby and Ishaan gladly explained to me why they included it in their lists.
Robby said that it was a very underrated card, and was pleased with its many uses. Ishaan claimed it was the MVP card for him in the deck. The ability to get exactly what you need, exactly when you need it from your Prizes is very strong. Robby said that although he has yet to try it out in other decks, he would most definitely consider it seeing how well it worked for him at Regionals.
I, personally, think that that card slot is better suited for something else like a tech Genesect or a 3rd Virizion. That being said, I have yet to test it out, so you should probably listen to Ishaan and Robby.
JW Kriewall piloted this next deck to a 1st place finish at the Fort Wayne Regional Championships, and has agreed to let me share his list. Here it is:
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Pokémon – 10 1 Genesect EX |
Trainers – 36 4 N 4 Skyla 1 Ghetsis 3 Bicycle
2 Switch
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Energy – 14 10 G |
The first thing that may stand out to you is the Scramble Switch over Computer Search. I have always been a fan of Scramble Switch, but that doesn’t mean I throw it into every deck I make. There has to be a reason. JW was kind enough to provide his:
“Scramble Switch makes so much sense when you think about the strategy of this deck: apply early damage with Virizion while simultaneously building up powerful, Energy hogging attackers to transition to for the late game. Scramble Switch bolstered this transition from early to late game.
Usually Virizion is worthless outside of the first 3-4 turns and I often found myself “wasting” those Energies because Virizion is a very weak attacker when you don’t have any Energy left in the deck. If you’re able to Scramble Switch into a fresh attacker, it not only conserves Energy, but it forces the opponent to make a decision on whether to KO the Virizion or swing into the new attacker.
It combos extremely well with Mewtwo’s unlimited damage cap (as evidenced in game three of my finals match). It also gives another out to going for a Turn 2 Virizion as you can attach to any Pokémon Turn 1 and Scramble Switch into a Virizion.
Further, it gives the deck another layer. With Scramble Switch, Your deck has the possibility (however small) to pull off incredible plays that can swing a match much more than searching for any one card could. With the high amount of draw and the ease of thinning out the deck via Emerald Slash, Scramble Switch proved to be an obvious inclusion.”
Obviously now we have Energy Switch back which can serve the same purpose, but for the Regionals format, this was a genius inclusion, and I applaud JW for using it.
He also decided to use a single Genesect EX. I am a huge fan of this, and am honestly surprised more people didn’t run it. Megalo Cannon is a great attack, and if you’re already using G Energy, why not throw Genesect in there as well?
I also love the 2 Enhanced Hammer. As a longtime TDK player, I know how devastating those Hammers can be, and obviously JW recognized this as well. While some players scrapped the Hammers for consistency, JW kept them in there, and they obviously worked out well for him.
If I were to build this deck for the NXD–LTR format, it’d look something like this:
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Pokémon – 9 1 Genesect EX |
Trainers – 38 4 N 4 Skyla 2 Colress 3 Bicycle
2 Switch
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Energy – 13 9 G |
pokemonscreenshots.tumblr.comI’m trying to stay true to the Virizion/Mewtwo path, and not turn this into a “toolbox” sort of deck, as I will be covering that in the next section.
As you can see, I’ve decided not to include Mr. Mime. While I feel it is a very good card, I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to this deck’s success.
The 3 Virbank is to counter the Stadium wars I’m sure we will see in the upcoming format. With no Turn 1 attack, Tropical Beach is stronger than ever, and I’m sure that anyone who has access to them will run as many as they can.
I haven’t put too much testing into this deck, so it may need a few changes, but I think that it’s a good list to start with.
Virizion/Genesect/Mewtwo
Our very own Andrew Wamboldt piloted a Virizion/Genesect/Mewtwo list to a Top 32 showing at Fort Wayne Regionals. Here’s the list he used:
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Pokémon – 10 3 Genesect EX |
Trainers – 36 4 N 3 Ghetsis 2 Skyla
3 Switch
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Energy – 14 11 G |
For card explanations, I’d like to direct you toward his latest article, where he wrote about his deck, his tournament report, and his opinion on the new tournament formatting.
For the NXD–LTR format, I’d use a list that looks something like this:
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Pokémon – 10 2 Genesect EX 1 Lugia EX |
Trainers – 36 4 N 3 Skyla
2 Switch
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Energy – 14 8 G 4 Plasma |
pokemon-paradijs.comWhile Andrew opted not to play Plasma Energy, I feel that in the upcoming format, it’s necessary. With Catcher now relying on a flip, I’d much prefer to use Red Signal. And if I’m using Plasma Energy, I may as well use Colress Machine as well, to add a little extra Energy acceleration.
Since I’m already using Plasmas and DCE, a Lugia EX is an obvious inclusion. Like stated earlier in the article, Plasma Gale’s 120 damage works out perfectly with Emerald Slash, hitting that magic 170 mark.
I’m experimenting without Colress for right now, but I might add 1 or 2 back in. It’s a great card, especially in a format where benches are always full, like this one.
Finally, you’ll see that I run 2 Silver Bangle. This because Bouffalant, against an EX, does 60 damage + 60 (from the opponent being an EX) + 30 from Silver Bangle + 30 from Laser/Virbank = 180 damage and a 1-shot on any EX in the format.
Conclusion
So… which Virizion variant is better: Genesect, Mewtwo, or a mixture of both? I feel that there are two answers for this question.
The first is for the NXD–PLB format. As the results have shown, Virizion/Mewtwo was clearly the better choice. The second is for the NXD–LTR format. I believe that in this format, the Genesect variant is superior, due to the fact that it can easily abuse Genesect’s Red Signal Ability. Whether it’s Straight Virizion/Genesect or Virizion/Genesect/Drifblim that will reign supreme, I don’t know. We’ll have to wait for the League Challenges to start up and find out then.
The mixture can succeed as well, but there’s a lot going on in that deck, and perhaps a more focused list would be better.
The Final Verdict
NXD–PLB: Genesect vs. Mewtwo
NXD–LTR: Genesect vs. Mewtwo
Thanks for reading and hopefully you found this article helpful.
Until next time,
Dane
Great read. I think Virizion/Mewtwo with 1 Genesect tech is what works better. Anyway, what’s your take on Genesect LTR? It’s Gaia Blaster attack, for 4 Colorless ” Does 20 more damage for each Grass Energy attached to this Pokémon.”
With Virizion making it reach 90~130 damage easily, isn’t it a good option to a non-EX attacker against Blastoise or something to keep your prize trade even VS Plasma or Darkrai? Idk.
I personally am not running Genesect LTR at the moment, but I wouldn’t fault someone for using it. It’s a pretty good non-EX attacker, and definitely worth a look into.
Thanks for the quick reply! I think that in my Cities Metagame, with so many Water and Darkrai decks, it’s worth it, but i’m not sure. I will test it on PlayTCG. Anyway, another question just came to mind: Do you think there is room for Lugia EX on Virizion/Mewtwo with 1 Genesect or that would be too many attackers for just Virizion to power up them all?
Do you mean like in the Genesect/Virizion/Mewtwo list there at the end?
Yeah, it can definitely work. You’ll just have to be careful to make sure that you’re not spreading your Energy out too thin; some Virizion players Emerald Slash until the Virizion dies, and that often leaves them with very little energy left in their deck.
More or less, in the build with only 1 Genesect EX
Pokémon – 9
3 Virizion EX
3 Mewtwo EX
2 Bouffalant DRX
1 Genesect EX
But adding a Lugia EX. But then i think Scramble Switch would be the ACE Spec..
It does offer something that Tropius and Bouffalant cannot, damage output you can control. Tropius needs energy on the opponent and Bouffalant hits weak against other non-EX attackers. I have not tested but it may be worth a shot. The biggest reason I haven’t tried it is the energy cost for Gaia Blaster. Four can be hard to power up in a pinch. With Tropius and Bouffalant its only two attachments to do real damage and energy switch is can potentially help with one. Four requires setup with Virizion or hitting multiple energy switch in one turn. That doesn’t sound to reliable in theory.
X=Variable
Variable=Algebra
X Ball = Algebra Ball
Also great article. Running straight Virgen atm.
I really like Munna BCR in Virizion/Mewtwo, because if you do flip tails, you can’t go asleep if you have Grass Energy attached to the active. Now that it is more difficult to Catcher Munna to the Active spot, it is even more logical.
Why Energy Retrieval over Super Rod on some of these lists? Don’t you want to get the energy back in the deck for Emerald slash? What is the point of retrieving two energy when you can only play one? Typically you would only see this card in something like Blastoise or Emboar when you can play both energy down that turn. Just curious if there was some reasoning that I was missing.
You can’t just Emerald Slash whenever. When I want Energy, I want Energy right then and there.
If I were to use Super Rod, its main purpose would be to retrieve Pokemon from the discard.
He makes a valid point. You shouldn’t have to waste space on unnecessary cards when you have one that can fulfill both jobs.
VirGen gets it’s energy acceleration from your deck, not your hand, and therefore makes cards like Energy Retrieval seem pointless when you will most likely have energy in your hand to begin with.
Honestly, if you’re that paranoid about having your energy right then and there, stick in a couple of Energy Search and maybe even up your Super Rod count to 2.
Obviously you only need one of each, Super Rod and Energy Search, but since you have such a variety of lists, I’m sure you could make something up.
I agree. VirGen really doesn’t need retrievals, especially with energy switch coming out. If you see danger, just pop an energy switch and avoid it altogether.
Good article Dane. You get a cookie
No where Jirachi gets a mention, so helpful when you rely heavily on a Ace Spec
being able to search it out from your deck or discard for that matter is just too good to look past!
i saw a plasma variant that focused on Lugia and used Umbreon to jack HP? Is this metagame tested or was the guy I played just a genius? Also, I think with the new rule changes Virizion gets a lot more effective, and you’re gonna see a lot of decks with Mew ex and Shaymin ex popping up due to the fact that a large majority of EX’s need 3 energies for a truly effective attack. Thundurus EX will get you in play, but Virizion and i predict Mew are going to stand out as the only real decent T1/T2 option in the upcoming format. Mewtwo is gonna go by the wayside once people realize that you can T2 Beedrill and have Mew EX use its attack for it. In that scenario, if a Mewtwo deck loses a coinflip, it suffers because of that. Of course, I could be wrong, and Mewtwo is still an excellent middle to late-game option, but I think VirGen is gonna start really running roughshod over anything and everything else save Blastoise/Keldeo.
I really like PLB Azelf. I wish someone would find a way to tech it already.
What do you think of my list. It seems to work in my area though.
4x Virizion Ex
3x Genesect Ex
2x Lugia Ex
1x Deoxys ex 7
4 Colress Machine
4 Plasma Ball
4 Professor Juniper
3 Colress
3 Skyla
3 Shadow Triad
3 Skynarrow Bridge
4 Ultra Ball
3 Plasma Badge
2 Super Rod
1 Max Potion
1 G Booster
4 Plasma Energy
4 Double Colorless
7 Grass Energy
Great article! I my opinion, Virizion/Genesect is the best choice here because it, in my opinion, is the easiest way to 200 damage.