Infinity Times Two

Bulbapedia

Hello to all SixPrizes readers! How are you?

In my previous article I commented on the top five decks of UPR–RCL (in my opinion) and I did an analysis on each of the lists I use. After writing that article, I believe I ended up saying almost everything that I would like to say about the UPR–RCL format.

But, to 100% close out this format, I am currently using a Straight Zacian V deck—without ADP-GX or Jirachi p—to play in some online tournaments. It looks like a weak deck, but it is the deck that I have been winning with the most in the UPR–RCL format. So, before I start talking about the future, I’m going to give a brief overview of my Straight Zacian list.

Then, I want to start talking about Eternatus VMAX, the new powerhouse Pokémon from Darkness Ablaze. I will show you the list that I have been using in my training and I will explain in detail the cards that make up the deck.

Straight Zacian (UPR–RCL)

The idea of using a cleaner and more consistent Zacian deck came to me after I realized that I was losing a considerable amount of games due to inconsistency or even specific preparation on the part of my opponents. Against ADPZ, opponents can focus on removing Energy, while against Zacian Combo the opponent can use Mr. Mime TEU + Galarian Zigzagoon SSH to prevent the use of Scoop Up Net.

By not using ADP-GX or Jirachi p, my Zacian list got new free slots, so I was able to include cards that I had been really wanting to use but didn’t have room for. Taking extra Prizes is clearly incredible, but, on the other hand, being able to execute your strategy from beginning to end is also incredible. And it is worth remembering that Zacian V is in itself a very strong Pokémon, so many games can be won by the strength and consistency it brings alone.

Decklist

Key Cards

10 Good Starters, 2 Neutral Starters, 2 Bad Starters

The Good: The deck has high odss of opening with Jirachi TEU, Oranguru SSH, or Zacian V.

The Neutral: Opening with Zamazenta V can even be good if the opponent is Dragapult VMAX, but at no time is Zamazenta a really bad starter. Tapu Fini UNM is the same, with the difference being that it manages to retreat with Escape Board.

The Bad: Eldegoss V and Dedenne-GX are the worst starters in the deck, but in general the deck is very consistent and does not always depend on them.

1 Zamazenta V

The red dog is in the deck to defeat Dragapult VMAX, but little by little I have been using Zamazenta V to fulfill other functions. I faced a Cinccino Control deck in a tournament and realized that Zamazenta V was my best attacker, because I could deal 130 every turn with it, whereas Zacian V needs to wait a turn to attack again. Also, Zamazenta V with Metal Frying Pan goes to 260 HP, which forces a Baby Blowns to discard 6 Energies to KO it.

3 Metal Frying Pan

The idea here is to have an advantage against other Zacian V decks and a more balanced match against Fire decks.

3 Shrine of Punishment

I still see it as the best tech to beat PikaRom, but it ends up being useful in several other matchups. Also, needless to say, it is a Stadium card and serves to remove the opponent’s Stadiums.

Matchups

There isn’t much secret here:

• Zamazenta V and Metal Frying Pan will help defeat Dragapult VMAX.
• Against Combo Zacian, Metal Frying Pan and Tool Scrapper will be your greatest techs, since a Zacian V cannot KO another Zacian V with Big Charm, Metal Frying Pan, or Metal Goggles attached.
• Against Baby Blowns we have Metal Frying Pan and Tapu Fini UNM.
• Against Spiritomb we have Metal Frying Pan to prevent the opponent from 1HKOing Zacian V, while Tapu Fini can also be a good attacker if the opponent benches an Ultra Beast.

Against other matchups, Straight Zacian is also pretty decent and the techs used for Tier 1 matchups can also be effective in other matchups. Against Fire Box, the Metal Frying Pan is incredible, while Shrine of Punishment can be useful against Mew3-GX decks or even ADPZ depending on the list.

Eternatus VMAX

As I said in my previous article, I have already started playing with the new Darkness Ablaze collection and I have already tested Eternatus VMAX. I know that many players who are (A) not focused on the Players Cup or (B) waiting for the rotation to come back strong in the Pokémon TCG are eyeing this new Pokémon.

I considered writing about the rotation—like about the cards that will rotate or even do a kind of set review before talking about Eternatus VMAX. If you want this type of content, I will bring it with great pleasure (I have already studied these topics to be able to build decks in the new format). However, I’ve noticed that many players already know this information through videos and research. Usually, this type of content ends up coming out on YouTube way before the set is released.

If you want to read about the rotation and a Darkness Ablaze set review, leave a comment and I will bring this to you in my next article. Your feedback is important to help me bring you the best content.

With a little fear about repeating things you may already know, I’ve decided to jump directly into the Eternatus VMAX list that I am currently using in the post-rotation format (Team Up thru Darkness Ablaze).

It is worth remembering that we will have a short period of time (around two weeks) during which we will play the UPR–DAA format—that is, without rotation. For this format we can use Yveltal-GX, Alolan Meowth LOT, and Acro Bike in the deck.

Post-Rotation (TEU–DAA)

4-4 Eternatus VMAX

Eternatus V: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Eternatus_V_(Infinity_Zone_64)
Eternatus VMAX: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Eternatus_VMAX_(Infinity_Zone_65)

BulbapediaEteratus VMAX is your main attacker and you always want to have 2 Eternatus VMAX on the board to maintain your Eternal Zone Ability to have up to 8 D Pokémon on the field.

You don’t necessarily need 4 Eternatus VMAX in the list, but I like to use four to facilitate access to a copy on turn two. In addition, we use Great Ball, so the more copies in the deck, the greater the chance of finding it.

1 Hoopa UNM, 2 Hoopa DAA

Hoopa DAA: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Hoopa_(Infinity_Zone_61)

One old Hoopa and two new Hoopa—that is the count I’ve needed to defeat Decidueye decks. For those who don’t know, a new Decidueye is coming out whose Ability prevents damage done to it by Pokémon V, VMAX, and GX.

1 Sableye V

Sableye V is the Pokémon that has most impressed me in the deck. With the help of Galarian Zigzagoon, Sableye V has the ability to KO anything, including an opponent’s Eternatus VMAX. We also have Turbo Patch to help energize it.

When I was training against Zacian, I realized how difficult it was to deal with Zamazenta V, and because of that, Sableye V is dually important in the deck.

4 Galarian Zigzagoon SSH, 4 Scoop Up Net

This whole combo costs 8 slots in the list and its function is basically to fill the Bench for Eternatus VMAX and add damage to the opponent’s field. Sableye V is amazing because of this extra-damage mechanic, but otherwise it is not sensational. Extra damage is important only a sometimes and I also believe that opponents will be waiting for it in the future.

For now I want to explore and study this strategy even further. When I started using it I hadn’t remembered Sableye V, but after playing a few games with Sableye I realized how perfectly it synchronizes. But in the future I’m also considering removing this strategy (Galarian Zigzagoon + Scoop Up Net) to try to fit other ideas. I don’t think this feature is essential for the deck.

4 Professor’s Research, 2 Marnie

Mostly because post-rotation these are the best draw Supporters. In my view Marnie is still needed in most decks due to its effect of lowering the opponent’s hand to 4 cards.

2 Piers

Piers: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Piers_(Infinity_Zone_95)

Piers is a weak Supporter and you will probably want to remove it from the deck at some point. But I decided to test Piers more, and little by little I started to like the card more and more. In some cases all you need is a Supporter that brings you simple things like a Pokémon and an Energy. With 4 Crobat V in the deck, you can afford to use a Supporter like Piers to get you exactly the cards you need. You can even search for Crobat V with Piers to draw cards.

It is also worth remembering that because of Piers I can play Great Ball (instead of Evolution Incense) to have greater access to Eternatus VMAX.

Piers is my only guaranteed way to find Eternatus VMAX. Other than that, I need to draw cards and hope that Eternatus VMAX comes naturally or from Great Ball.

3 Boss’s Orders

I use 3 Boss’s Orders but I would like 4 copies if possible. The deck can use Boss’s Orders without damaging its setup thanks to the Crobat V and the simple strategy. Eternatus VMAX only needs 2 Energies to attack and this is very easy to achieve.

I am studying some possibilities to further improve access to Boss’s Orders. First, I need to find slots in the list. Another possibility to increase access to Boss’s Orders is to use Pokégear 3.0, which would give me greater access to other Supporters as well.

4 Quick Ball, 3 Great Ball

Quick Ball needs no explanation, but Great Ball I put in the deck after a lot of testing with Pokémon Communication. In the end, Pokémon Communication was not cool, because many times the Pokémon that I exchanged was a Pokémon that I would have have liked to bench, or I didn’t have any Pokémon in hand to activate the effect of Communication.

Great Ball fit in the list perfectly. I really liked the result and I have found Eternatus VMAX with ease.

2 Turbo Patch

Turbo Patch: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Turbo_Patch_(Infinity_Zone_90)

I started using 4 Turbo Patch, but I soon realized that the deck doesn’t need Turbo Patch to work. In most games you can calmly energize with your attachment for the turn. The reason for keeping 2 Turbo Patch in the deck is to have the possibility to energize the Sableye V quickly or to be able to energize an Eternatus VMAX if the match is very back and forth.

1 Ordinary Rod

The main function of Ordinary Rod is to return Hoopa against Decidueye decks. With Ordinary Rod we can use up to 5 Hoopa in the same match.

In the past with M Rayquaza-EX ROS 76 it was common for the deck to have a constant struggle to keep its Bench full, as its Bench was reduced every time the opponent discarded Sky Field. But now with Eternatus VMAX I don’t see any deck disabling its Ability, so the Bench is always full.

2 Dangerous Drill

Everyone already knew that this card was good. The problem is that there was no deck that could use it consistently. Now it looks like we have the perfect deck for Dangerous Drill. In a deck that only uses D Pokémon which we have easy access to, we can easily discard a D Pokémon from the hand to make Dangerous Drill work.

Dangerous Drill is able to:

1. remove Stadiums, so we don’t need to use unnecessary Stadiums,
2. remove Pokémon Tools, mainly the new Toughness Cloak that increases Basic non-Pokémon-GX’s HP by 50, and finally
3. remove Special Energy, which will be even more popular in post-rotation format.

1 Black Market p

I don’t expect the Black Market p to work consistently, but if it works it will be wonderful. It is a great Stadium card for the deck and it also serves to remove the opponent’s Stadiums.

4 Hiding D Energy

Hiding D Energy: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Hide_D_Energy_(Infinity_Zone_99)

It is a very good Energy and allows the deck to not rely on cards like Switch to move to the Bench. Both Hide D Energy and Scoop Up Net solve my Retreat Cost problems. In the future, if a deck appears that prevents you from retreating, we will have to return to Switch.

2 Capture Energy

Eternatus VMAX attacks with a D and a C Energy. In addition, it needs a full Bench of Pokémon to hit for more damage. Because of these factors, Capture Energy goes perfectly into the deck.

Pre-Rotation (UPR–DAA)

-1 Sableye V, +1 Yveltal-GX

Yveltal-GX will serve the same function as the Sableye V (to score big 1HKOs), with the difference of requiring less Energy but 4 exactly damage counters on the opposing Pokémon. However, Doom Count-GX can only be used once and Crazy Claws can be used as many times as you want.

-1 Hoopa DAA, +1 Alolan Meowth LOT

With enough luck, it is possible for Alolan Meowth to hit for 70 damage on turn one. That T1 70 damage can be incredible to help close a knockout with Eternatus VMAX or even Knock Out a Jirachi TEU.

-2 Piers, -1 Great Ball, -1 D Energy, +4 Acro Bike

Acro Bike will indirectly increase access to all Pokémon and Energy, in addition to several other things you need.

Final Thoughts

We are nearing the end of yet another format and season. I intend to continue playing with Straight Zacian as my main deck until the end of the season and gradually try new things. You don’t always need to have an ultra powerful deck in your hands, sometimes you just need a simple and consistent deck which is capable of playing against the best decks of the format.

I love the current format (UPR–RCL) and I will probably like the next format even more, but if there’s one thing I don’t like about the current format, it is the importance of turns one and two of the game. These first two turns are so problematic, that in many cases we can know who will be the winner of the match just because of these two turns. This is compounded by the fact that you are unable to use a Supporter if you start the game. Because of this, I see an advantage over Straight Zacian—at least in my testing I had better opening turns with it than the other versions of Zacian, and that made it possible for me to win more games in the long run. Straight Zacian will have less strength at the end of the game, but in return it has a better start to the game.

In the current format I prefer to have a better start to be able to play the game until the end rather than have a bad start and not have a chance to play the game in the following turns.

About Eternatus VMAX, I believe the deck will be one of the best in the format. Its consistency and strength is really impressive. As soon as you are able to play with this new Pokémon you will understand what I am talking about. It is not an unbalanced deck and there are even matchups, but I see other decks having to adapt to Eternatus VMAX.

That’s it for today, I hope you enjoyed reading and see you soon!

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