Is Regidrago VSTAR Good, and What’s the Best Build?

Hello all PokéBeach readers! Here is Gabriel again with another Pokémon TCG article and this time I’m going to talk about a deck that many players are curious to know if it’s any good; Regidrago VSTAR.

The new Silver Tempest collection has only just been released, but some things can already be confirmed and one of them is that Lugia VSTAR is exceptionally strong. Other writers here at Pokébeach have already written a lot of content about Lugia VSTAR, so I won’t delve too deeply into this subject, but it’s important to include this new deck among the best in the format and therefore it’s important to take into account all the impact that Lugia VSTAR will have on the format — most decks cannot handle the great power of this deck without having to change the lists.

Since Lugia VSTAR will be well covered by other writers, I decided to address other less impactful novelties of the new expansion and address the doubts that many players like me must also have once and for all, by determining if Regidrago VSTAR is actually any good. Another deck that I had doubts about was Regieleki VMAX / Vikavolt V, which I covered in my previous article.

When I decided to study Regidrago VSTAR, I decided to go after the main combinations that could make Regidrago VSTAR work, so after researching some lists, I arrived at the five variations of Regidrago VSTAR that have the most potential:

• Regidrago VSTAR / Lost Box: The idea is to energize Regidrago VSTAR through the Mirage Gate and use good single-Prize Pokémon like Cramorant and Snorlax.
• Regidrago VSTAR / Rillaboom: Rillaboom is the best way to power up Regidrago VSTAR, but for that, you have to pay a high price in your overall consistency.
• Regidrago VSTAR / Arceus VSTAR: Arceus VSTAR makes any Pokémon V work due to its powerful Starbirth VSTAR Power and Trinity Nova attack, but is this the best combination?
• Regidrago VSTAR / Mew: Mew from Celebrations helps with consistency and speeds up the process of finding resources, but a lot of space for Scoop Up Net and Switch are sacrificed.
• Solo Regidrago VSTAR: The simplest and most straightforward variant. It uses as much consistency as possible through Trainers to try to perform the complex deck setup.

All of these variants can be found in competitive online tournaments, but no one is sure which of these variants is the best. I believe that many players have already understood that making Regidrago VSTAR work is not an easy task, as powering up and discarding Pokémon with the resources we have today is not that easy. That’s why I decided to test all five of these variants and then try to find out which one is the best of them, or at least the variant I liked the most.

How Regidrago VSTAR Works

Before starting to analyze each variant, it is important to understand how Regidrago VSTAR works and what each Pokémon on the list is used for. The VSTAR Power from Regidrago VSTAR is an important part of the strategy as it provides consistency and helps to discard cards that we can take advantage of later. Usually, you need to use this VSTAR Power to get an attack off on the second turn, depending on the variant.

Below I will analyze all five lists of Regidrago VSTAR, but the same Dragon-type Pokémon will be used in practically all of them, which are Duraludon VMAX, Giratina VSTAR, Garchomp V, Hisuian Goodra VSTAR, and depending on the variant, Dragonite. These are by far the best options we have in the format right now, and they work consistently. Other options like Flygon V, Flapple, and Appletun can be good, but they are situational and sometimes insufficient even in the matchup that should be good. Another important point is not to exaggerate the number of options for Regidrago VSTAR, as with each new option you put on the list, one more consistency card will probably have to be removed. About four to six Pokémon options is a good amount to play, more or less than that and you can already have problems discarding Pokémon, or consistency issues due to having too many Pokémon.

To better understand what exactly each of these Pokémon is for, here’s a brief breakdown:

• Duraludon VMAX: Deals the most consistent damage of the attackers, and the damage isn’t affected by any effects on the opponent’s Pokémon, meaning you can KO Miltank. 220 damage will also KO most Pokémon V in the format.
• Hisuian Goodra VSTAR: the ideal attack to deal with single-Prize decks like Lost Box or Regigigas, as it deals 200 damage and reduces 80 damage on the next turn. If the reduction is still not enough, Hyper Potion or Crystal Cave can be a good solution.
• Giratina VSTAR: This will be the attack chosen to Knock Out Pokémon VSTAR. In the format, there is Radiant Gardevoir or V Guard Energy which can take a Pokémon out of range of Giratina VSTAR’s KO, but to counter that, you can add Choice Belt if you feel you need it.
• Garchomp V: One of the most interesting attacks of the options, the Sonic Strike attack does 220 damage to one of the opponent’s Pokémon, which means that you can KO almost any Pokémon V even on the opponent’s Bench.
• Dragonite: This is a Pokémon that doesn’t go into every variant of Regidrago VSTAR because not every variant needs Energy acceleration. Versions of Lost Box, Rillaboom, and Arceus VSTAR do not, but versions that rely on Gardenia's Vigor need Dragonite to gain peace of mind. Knocking Out a single-Prize Pokémon or even Crobat V or Lumineon V and accelerating Energy leaves you free to make whatever move you want the next turn.

This concludes the public portion of this article.

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