A Fusion Cocktail: Mew VMAX in Standard (PART 2) Welcome to the second half of our two part series on Mew VMAX! I’ve covered a sample decklist, the deck strategy and the key cards in the first half

Hey everyone,

 

Welcome to the second half of our two part series on Mew VMAX! I’ve covered a sample decklist, the deck strategy and the key cards in the first half, so if you missed it, do check it out. We’ll be starting from section 3, so enjoy the read!

 


3. Other Options

The meta is still new and relatively unexplored, so there have been various players experimenting with different combos and Tech options. Below are some of the more popular ones to consider when building a list: 

 

2-2 Toxtricity line + Stormy Mountains

Toxtricity from Fusion Strike has an ability, Maximum Downer, which reduces the HP of the opponent’s Pokemon VMAX by 30 as long as the former is in play. One can think of it as a permanent Power Tablet that requires some setting up. Adding this evolution line could potentially decrease the deck’s consistency, but I think it’s worth a try. Stormy Mountains is the stadium of choice here, not just searching out Latias, but also Toxel for set-up. 

 

1 Meloetta

Meloetta from Fusion Strike has the attack Melodious Echo which does 70 damage x the number of Fusion Energy in play. Assuming all the energy are in play, it deals 280 damage, which is the highest of any Fusion Strike Pokemon. When boosted by 1 Power Tablet, it swings 310 and can OHKO quite a number of competitive VMAXes. Elesa’s Sparkle is quite helpful here to search out 2/4 energy required for maximum damage, so one could consider playing an extra copy of Elesa.  

 

1 Oricorio FST

Oricorio’s Lesson in Zeal ability reduces the damage dealt to Mew, allowing it to survive an additional hit. For example, if the opponent attempts to take a 2HKO on Mew, Mew’s effective HP becomes 310 + 20 + 20 = 350 HP. Against spread decks that often do little damage to the Active Pokemon (in this case Mew), Lesson in Zeal becomes even more potent. Lesson in Zeal combos well with Mew V’s Psychic Leap; after tanking a few hits, Mew can Psychic Leap to heal off the damage. Finally, the effects of Lesson in Zeal also apply to Bench Pokemon, further complicating the matchup for opposing spread deck players. 

 

1 Vitality Band

The extra 10 damage becomes particularly crucial in the Zacian matchup, allowing Mew to OHKO Zacian with Techno Blast + Vitality Band. I mentioned in the previous half of the article that Psychic Leap/Dyna Barrier (70) + Techno Blast (210) + Power Tablet (30) hits for 310; Vitality Band increases the damage to 320, KOing every relevant VMAX except for the Urshifu formes and Eternatus. Vitality Band is also good for the mirror matchup, as Techno Blast (210) + 3 Power Tablet (90) + Vitality Band (10) can take a OHKO on opposing Mew VMAX. 

 

4 Battle VIP Pass

This is mostly to guarantee at least one Battle VIP Pass on turn one, setting up multiple Genesects and Mews for more card draw. However, they become dead cards after the first turn. Overall, a turbo card for easy set-up that comes at the cost of consistency later in the game.

 

0 Cross Switcher

Cross Switcher can become a dead card after the first two are played, as Cross Switcher can only be used once per game. 4 deck slots is also not insignificant, and playing an extra copy of Boss’s Orders could be a more effective use of space rather than 4 Cross Switcher. 

 


4. Mew and the Meta

In this section, I usually discuss the matchup spread, but as the meta is still new, I unfortunately lack data for specific matchups. 

 

What is clear however is that Fusion Strike has brought many new archetypes into the fray, among them Gengar VMAX, Inteleon VMAX, Obstagoon and other Genesect Variants. Of these, I personally think that Gengar and Obstagoon are most likely to threaten Mew’s dominance. Both hit Mew for OHKOs thanks to weakness, making the matchups extremely difficult. Obstagoon especially, as a one prize deck, is able to trade favourably with Mew, and appears to derive most of its viability from serving as a counter deck to Mew. 

 

Older decks certainly still pose a threat, especially those that play Path to the Peak, such as Dragapult, Jolteon and Suicune-based decks. The fact remains that this deck is reliant on Genesect for drawing cards; after all, it only plays two draw supporters (Marnie). If Path to the Peak blocks Genesect’s ability, the deck will have quite some difficulty drawing cards. Without Chaotic Swell in Standard, the best this deck can do is to play a higher stadium count and increase the outs to a counter Stadium. However, I would caution against playing 5 or more Stadium cards, as the excess could cause the deck to lose consistency. Additionally, Path to the Peak doesn’t necessarily mean the matchup an autoloss; if the deck sets up quickly, card draw wouldn’t be as necessary to the deck’s functioning. 

 

From the tournament results so far, Sylveon VMAX seems to be a little bit of an issue. Sylveon packs Blaziken VMAX and Galarian Moltres V, which hit Genesect and Mew for weakness respectively, making the matchup slightly tougher. A new rogue-ish Togekiss VMAX list which runs Galarian Moltres has also seen results in tournaments, which may threaten this deck. 

 

Being a deck so reliant on special energy and manual attachment also means that Mew VMAX can be quite susceptible to energy denial. Fan of Waves, Rugged Helmet, Crushing Hammers and Team Yell Grunt are various Techs that could end up setting this deck back a turn. Energy denial decks like Duraludon VMAX and Inteleon VMAX (RCL), while currently being neither common nor consistent, could become potential thorns on Mew VMAX’s side in the near future. 

 


5. Conclusion

This deck may look like a straightforward, aggressive deck, but it is in fact tricky to play. The main conundrum involves whether or not one should burn cards from one’s hand in order to use Genesect’s ability more frequently. Burning cards definitely leads to more draw power. However, if carried out excessively, there might be insufficient cards to search out the necessary pieces late-game. 

 

Mew VMAX does seem to have a lot of potential to be the next BDIF, packing various tools to face up against various meta threats. However, as seen from the rise of Gengar and Obstagoon, being on everyone’s radar means that Mew will probably have to overcome new Techs and counters. 

 

 

That’s it for this article, I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, opposing viewpoints or suggestions, please leave a comment down below! I’ll be happy to have a discussion.  

 

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