More MewMew — Expanding an Already Strong Deck in Expanded

Expanded is upon us. Like in past years, the tournament schedule has been divided into a break of sorts before the first Internationals of the year. We delved into the depths of Standard for the first two Regionals stateside and now it’s time for a trip into the broader world of the Pokemon Trading Card Game: the Expanded format. Both Richmond, Virginia, and Portland, Oregon, Regionals will take place in the format, and it’s likely going to be the first time most players pick up Expanded decks in almost six months — there’s a lot of uncertainty going around. First and foremost, the recently announced bans come into play on the 15th of November, and as such, are not in effect for this pair of Regional Championship events. This means we’ll be playing with some relatively broken control options which I intend to breeze over in my next article when I have a better idea of the best options. Right now it’s a little overwhelming to sift through the likes of Sableye Control, Seismitoad-EX / Zoroark-GX, Zoroark-GX Control, and even some wacky Mismagius first turn hand lock decks, but all this considered, these events have the potential to be some of the biggest headache-inducing Tournaments of all time.

Fear not, however, as Mewtwo and Mew-GX is still a capable archetype in the Expanded format! In fact, it gets some incredibly nice partners in what I see as three uniquely advantaged archetypes: Blastoise, the traditional toolbox style build, and Vileplume. Additionally, one could argue that the M Gardevoir-EX versions floating around should be considered another version of their own, but I see M Gardevoir-EX itself as more of a tech in the toolbox versions as opposed to its own variant altogether anyway, so you’ll be seeing it in there and not as another type of Mewtwo and Mew-GX deck altogether.

The Contenders

Blastoise

• Supporter card Archie's Ace in the Hole is extremely efficient; I explain most of the basic sequencing here.
• Has the highest ceiling of any Expanded Mewtwo and Mew-GX because it’s so fast and powerful when successfully set up; it does come with the most risk and is absolutely dreadful in games you can’t get a quick Archie’s Ace in the Hole play.
• Much like Welder in Expanded, this version of the deck is going to flood the board with Energy and make it possible to use some broken attacks with Mewtwo and Mew-GX that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to.

Toolbox

• Cards like Dimension Valley and Double Colorless Energy function almost like Welder in Standard, but you don’t have to play a Supporter to use them; they make the deck flow nicely and you almost never miss an attack.
• Like in Standard, you can fill the deck with just about anything to counter any deck you like; the only downside I see is the pure mass of cards that exist and the migraine it induces trying to sift through and determine what’s best.
• Slightly outpaced by some of the more turbo-style decks like the aforementioned Blastoise, but can still win those matchups.

Vileplume

• Again, it has many options that can be played and some of the more lock-based ones are even more powerful in this deck — Glaceon-EX, Jolteon-EX, Latios-GX, just to name a few.
• Item lock is strong and this still works as a functional deck beyond that, one that’s pretty low maintenance with Mewtwo and Mew-GX doing the hefty lifting, making this a potent combination.
• Surprisingly, Rowlet and Alolan Exeggutor-GX isn’t a just meme, at least not in Expanded; it makes a Vileplume Item lock strategy viable with this deck.

Blastoise Variant

Since the last time I showed it off this deck has gained a lot. Psychic Energy joins the squad for some fun with tech attackers and you can reuse it over and over with Superior Energy Retrieval so you don’t run out.

Three Mewtwo and Mew-GX

Your main attacker; I tried lists with two and it wasn’t enough in the games where you Prize one or lose one to a Knock Out or bad discard early. Having three is great because it also increases your odds of starting with it ever so slightly, and with an attacker this important you can’t afford to be incapable of using two a game.

One Naganadel-GX, One Latios-GX, One Kingdra-GX, and One Espeon and Deoxys-GX

Here’s the supporting cast; those that help Mewtwo and Mew-GX attack (you can also use Energy Drive and Sky Return, don’t forget!). I think we all know how great Venom Shot is from Standard and that holds just as true if not more so in Expanded with an abundance of Dedenne-GX and Shaymin-EX floating around. The one Latios-GX is a flex spot — I’m between that and Jirachi-GX for Weakness protection. The Latios-GX joined the crew after I played many a few games against other Mewtwo and Mew-GX decks and wished I had a Tag Purge option of my own to set up a big play and buy time. The Kingdra-GX is an absolute stud and you can either use Archie’s Ace in the Hole to get it out and only give up two Prizes, or you can just leave it chilling in your discard pile for Mewtwo and Mew-GX to copy and do the work. The Espeon and Deoxys-GX is amazing for Cross Division GX, just as it is in Standard, and in this deck you can power it up all in one turn!

This concludes the public portion of this article.

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