Good Luck Charm

Amulet Mew Box for Daytona Beach

Hello again 6P! We are now gearing up for the second major event in the post Cosmic Eclipse format with Daytona Beach Regionals 🇺🇸 this weekend. Last week I took a look at the Champion deck from LAIC 🇧🇷 and also a few interesting and unexpected decks that popped up at the event. In this article I’ll be going over my top choice for Daytona Beach if I were going, which is Mew Box (sans Jirachi).

Even though Jirachi-based Mew Box just had a huge amount of success at LAIC, why would I choose not to go with that version?

  1. Well, first off, by playing Jirachi you add a bunch of easy targets for your opponent to pick off and modify the Prize exchange in their favor by KOing 1 Jirachi, 1 Mewtwo & Mew-GX, and 1 Dedenne-GX. It’s harder to KO 2 Mewtwo & Mew-GXs (or possibly 3? keep on reading…) and that’s your preferred course for the game.
  2. The second reason why I don’t particularly like Jirachi in combination with Mewtwo & Mew-GX is, simply put, space. You already need a bunch of different attacking options, Welder, and many other things, so fitting the Jirachi package (4 Jirachi and extra switching cards) means you have to give up on other options.
  3. The other major reason why I’m not a fan is, unless you get a really weird game like the one we saw in the finals of LAIC, how many times are you actually using Stellar Wish? It’s different in Malamar decks where they’re a non-GX-based deck that can continually promote Jirachi as a pivot while your opponent slowly has to go through 4–6 Giratinas. In an ideal scenario in Mew Box, you Stellar Wish with it in your Active going first. Afterward, you go on the offensive with Mewtwo & Mew-GX, and once that first one goes down, you get one more Stellar Wish before going into Mewtwo & Mew-GX again. If that second one goes down, then it’s game over, so is it really worth dedicating so much space and getting so little use out of it?

Post-LAIC List

These three arguments make a lot of sense in my mind, and thus this is the list that I’ve been practicing with and enjoying since LAIC:

Pokémon (18)

1 Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff-GX

1 Naganadel-GX UNM

1 Reshiram & Charizard-GX

1 Magcargo-GX

1 Charizard-GX HIF

4 Dedenne-GX

2 Solgaleo-GX SM104

1 Espeon & Deoxys-GX

1 Marshadow UNB

4 Mewtwo & Mew-GX

1 Greninja-GX SM197

Trainer (28)

4 Welder

2 Hapu

2 Red’s Challenge

 

4 Cherish Ball

4 Pokémon Communication

2 Great Catcher

2 Reset Stamp

1 Switch

 

1 Island Challenge Amulet

1 Stealthy Hood

 

3 Giant Hearth

2 Lysandre Labs

Energy (14)

8 R

3 Weakness Guard

2 Rainbow

1 P

 

Copy List

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 18

* 1 Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff-GX CEC 225
* 1 Naganadel-GX UNM 230
* 1 Reshiram & Charizard-GX UNB 20
* 1 Magcargo-GX LOT 198
* 1 Charizard-GX HIF 9
* 4 Dedenne-GX UNB 219
* 2 Solgaleo-GX PR-SM 104
* 1 Espeon & Deoxys-GX UNM 72
* 1 Marshadow UNB 81
* 4 Mewtwo & Mew-GX UNM 222
* 1 Greninja-GX PR-SM 197

##Trainer Cards - 28

* 2 Hapu UNM 200
* 2 Great Catcher CEC 264
* 4 Welder UNB 214
* 1 Switch SUM 160
* 3 Giant Hearth UNM 197
* 2 Lysandre Labs FLI 111
* 1 Stealthy Hood UNB 186
* 2 Red’s Challenge UNB 213
* 4 Pokémon Communication TEU 196
* 1 Island Challenge Amulet CEC 265
* 4 Cherish Ball UNM 250
* 2 Reset Stamp UNM 253

##Energy - 14

* 8 R Energy BUS 167
* 2 Rainbow Energy CES 183
* 1 P Energy SUM 162
* 3 Weakness Guard Energy UNM 258

Total Cards - 60

****** via SixPrizes: https://sixprizes.com/?p=78365 ******

Pokémon

1 Mega LoPuff-GX, 1 Greninja-GX

Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff-GX and Greninja-GX fit right into the list as necessary metagame adaptations with the new presence of Keldeo-GX as a force to be reckoned with.

4 Dedenne-GX

I enjoy having access to 4 Dedenne-GX, and I’ve found myself utilizing all 4 more than you’d think.

Potentially: 1 Latios-GX UNM, 1 Charizard & Braixen-GX

Every other attacker is standard as of now, but Latios-GX and Charizard & Braixen-GX have merit to being in the deck, but space is incredibly tight.

Potentially: 2nd Marshadow UNB, 1 Wobbuffet LOT

Other inclusions could be a 2nd Marshadow to have extra protection against opposing Chaotic Swells or Power Plants, or a Wobbuffet if Ability ReshiZard is popular in your area, as disabling the late-game Victini p option is incredibly useful against them.

Trainers

2 Hapu, 2 Red’s Challenge

I’m choosing to play Hapu and Red’s Challenge again over the Tag Call engine, reminiscent of the pre-Cosmic Eclipse Regionals-winning deck by Tord Reklev in Cologne.

Back at LAIC, I cringed every time I had to Tag Call for Cynthia & Caitlin rather than being able to Pokémon Communication for Dedenne-GX, while also having Mallow & Lana as my lone Supporter far too many times throughout the tournament.

Hapu provides unparalleled reach by allowing you to look at potentially 12 different cards in a single turn when combining that with Dedechange, while Red’s Challenge can find key cards at key times, such as the single Switch, Stealthy Hood, or, the most recent inclusion, Island Challenge Amulet.

1 Island Challenge Amulet

Island Challenge Amulet is the original 2-2 Shedinja LOT line packed into a single card, which makes it very convenient as the loss of 100 HP on one of your Mewtwo & Mew-GX is easily made up for by gaining 3 extra spaces in the deck. These extra slots allow you to play Stealthy Hood for those pesky Ninetales TEU and Mimikyu CEC 97 out there, along with 2 Great Catcher so that you can take the initiative against any opposing GX-based decks.

4 Cherish Ball, 4 Pokémon Communication

Having access to 4 Cherish Ball along with 4 Pokémon Communication means we essentially have 8 outs to Dedenne-GX or any attacker we might need for the various situations that present themselves. Having the right attacker at the right time, unless they are prized, is even easier than with the Mysterious Treasure variant of Mewtwo & Mew-GX decks as Treasure cannot search out the key Fire-type attackers.

2 Lysandre Labs

Double Lysandre Labs plays nicely into having answers vs opposing ADP decks as they are running Choice Helmets to be able to survive Flare Blitz-GX. They are also useful in any matchup really, to counter things like opposing Island Challenge Amulets, Fairy Charm P, Spell Tag, or even slowing down Jirachi-based decks by nullifying Escape Board.

Energy

3 Weakness Guard

As seen at LAIC, Weakness Guard Energy is the more reliable choice to prevent opposing Psychic types from running you over. 3 is a high enough count to be able to find it within a turn or two of Hapu and Dedechange, or if you’re very pressured to find it, you can even Red’s Challenge for it.

2 Rainbow

Rainbow Energy makes an appearance in the list to be able to utilize Greninja-GX while also giving flexibility for other attacks and potentially a more accessible Double Blaze-GX+ with the “extra” R Energy.

1 Psychic

I’ve found a single Psychic is great to be able to retrieve with Turbo Strike throughout the course of the game.

Game Plan

The game plan against most decks will usually look similar: Turbo Strike early on with a Mewtwo & Mew-GX that ideally has the Island Challenge Amulet and sets up Benched Mewtwo & Mew-GXs. After that goes down, hopefully you have enough Energy on board to clear things up with the combination of Flare Blitz-GX, Flare Strike, and Venom Shot, while having Lava Flow as a fallback option in case you need another big burst of damage in the late game.

Managing your Energy in play is incredibly important too make sure that you don’t rely on Welder too much. You don’t need to Welder every turn with this deck, but you will need 1 or 2 at different points in the game to make sure that you can keep up.

The Importance of Amulet

I really like this version of the deck as it forces your opponent to tackle 3 threats rather than just 2. It also plays nicely into late-game Reset Stamps after the 2-Prize and a 3-Prize Mewtwo & Mew-GX to bring them down to a single card. This format is a lot about tempo, and Reset Stamp plus a big attack from Mewtwo & Mew-GX usually creates scenarios where if your opponent doesn’t find exactly the right combination of cards, you will be able to run away with the game.

I’d even argue that if Malamar decks are not running Mimikyu CEC 97 in big enough numbers, it might be worth it to simply run 2 Island Challenge Amulets over the single Stealthy Hood, thus we have an easier time creating the game plan of 3 total Mewtwo & Mew-GXs for your opponent to deal with.

Matchups

Key moments in the various games you play, despite turns and card access being different, do tend to replicate themselves enough to the point where I’m comfortable in laying out a strategy for each of the popular matchups:

Ability ReshiZard

Usually against this deck, the game plan will be to KO a Jirachi to start off. You actually don’t want to Amulet the first Mewtwo & Mew-GX here to force them to respond with Double Blaze-GX+. Follow that up with a Flare Blitz-GX and then you leave their board with 0 Energy, and the only way to win being Victini p for a follow-up 1HKO. This is where you want the Amulet attached, to prevent your opponent winning if they do pull it off, or where a teched Wobbuffet LOT would be game-changing. Closing out the game by KOing a Benched Dedenne-GX is the last piece of the puzzle.

Malamar

Finding your Weakness Guard Energy early on is key, 2 of them in fact, in order to protect yourself from Custom Catcher or Great Catcher plays. Then, you slowly pressure with Turbo Strike and build up to Cross Division-GX+ to clean up 2–3 Prizes. If they try and stop your GX with Latios-GX UNM’s Clear Vision-GX, that’s 2 free Prizes right there, so it’s still not a cost-effective trade for them. I will say not having Mallow & Lana hurts a little bit, but the Amulet is key here as long as you are careful with Spell Tags.

ADP

Almost the same as Ability ReshiZard, except you have even more time to pull it off due to their lower damage output. KO Jirachi, into Flare Blitz-GX KO ADP, into KO a Dedenne-GX or 2HKO a Keldeo-GX is the norm.

Pidgeotto Control

The key to their deck is Pidgeotto, so powering up Cross Division-GX+ to eliminate 3 of them at once is the winning play here. Early Turbo Strike pressure + Welder is also key to this matchup, to stop them from stabilizing at all. Having only 1 Switch does make this matchup a little more painful, however.

Blacephalon/Pidgeotto

Once again, denying Pidgeottos is key, and conserving your Reset Stamps for the clutch Cross Division-GX+ turn is the most important. The Amulet is also very key to force them down to 1 Prize at some point, while also having them find the necessary resources to KO 3 Mewtwo & Mew-GXs instead of 2.

GuzzNag/Mismagius

The matchup depends a lot on their start, but the Amulet ruins their game plan of getting a 4-Prize TAG TEAM KO with Beast Bringer, and thus they have to deal with 2 Mewtwo & Mew-GXs before they can use their GX attack for game. This should be plenty of time to stabilize and get back-to-back 1HKOs on their two attackers with Flare Blitz-GX and Lava Flow.

GardEon

The inclusion of Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff-GX makes this matchup a lot trickier than before, as we now have to deal with the new 1HKO option they have, along with the potential Fairy Charms and constant Power Plants too. Nevertheless, Lysandre Labs and Flare Blitz-GX as usually are they key to the matchup, by having back-to-back 1HKOs on TAG TEAMs. Make sure you treat your Stadiums as if they were pure gold in this matchup. Powering up ReshiZard-GX instead of MewMew-GX early is a good strategy to bypass the Power Plant issues a bit.

Blacephalon-GX

As bad a matchup as it comes for this deck, the Prize tradeoff is too good for them. The best strategy I’ve found against this deck is to try and activate their Beast Ring on the very first turn you have to attack, and then immediately turn it off in the next one. Jumping Balloon helps with that by allowing you to Welder plus attach for a KO. Before we could only do that with Double Blaze-GX but had no follow up to that to turn them off. Usually they only need that one turn to get everything on board, but if it’s only their second turn of the game, it might be just enough for you to scrape by. The Amulet also means that they need an extra turn to finish you off by KOing 2 Mewtwo & Mew-GXs, along with using Burst-GX for game. That one extra turn sometimes is enough to swing the matchup.

PikaRom

Not as popular as before, yet still deadly due to the new 1HKO option they have of Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff-GX. We have that too though, so as long as you plan your Energy accordingly, you should be able to close out games quite easily. Be careful of random Power Plants that pop up in their lists as they try to combat Keldeo-GX along with Mewtwo & Mew-GX.

Final Thoughts

pokemonscreenshots.tumblr.com

I think that covers basically every single matchup you could expect to encounter at Daytona Beach, and hopefully that gives you a good idea on how to approach them. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next week at Daytona Beach, and I’ll be playing in two Cups that weekend myself, trying to get some more CP, which seems to be eluding me this season more than ever.

Thanks so much for reading, and as always if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at any of the Tablemon social media and I’ll be happy to help! I’ll be back next week with another article to recap any new things and the top decks from Daytona Beach. Until next time!


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Reader Interactions

2 replies

  1. Alex Garcia

    Love the articles as always Pablo! Your a great writer ;)

  2. nickseitler

    As a returning player on and off over the years, myself and Erik appreciate it Pablo!

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