The Don Strikes Again – Azul’s Meta Manipulation
After Azul GG skipped the first few Regionals and decided to only go to a handful of tournaments, I said that he wasn’t going to get his Worlds invite, which is unthinkable for any top-level competitor. He hit me with the “nah, I’d win” in typical nonchalant fashion, saying that he’d get his Worlds invite by winning a Regional instead of the traditional method of accruing Championship Points. Of course, I wrote this off as a madman’s delusion. But as a wise man once said, everything happens twice: first in your mind, and then in reality. Lo and behold, Azul spoke his own destiny into existence, and we the citizens are left to deal with the fallout.
Azul won Merida Regionals with Miraidon ex, solidifying the archetype as one of the frontrunners in the new Prismatic Evolutions format. After playing this deck, it’s not hard to see why. Not much has changed for Miraidon since Surging Sparks, as it includes no new cards from Prismatic Evolutions. In fact, Miraidon also won the inaugural Regionals of the Surging Sparks format when it gained access to Magneton and Latias ex. Miraidon remains the most blisteringly fast deck in the game. Not only does the deck consistently attack on turn 1, but Iron Hands ex further accelerates the game by taking two Prize cards on single-Prize Pokemon. Miraidon’s speed, power, and consistency make it hard for other decks to contend with. It’s also tough to justify playing a different deck, as this deck is so overpowered in comparison.
In a previous article, I discussed the meta for EUIC, stating that the top 3 decks were Dragapult ex, Gardevoir ex, and Lugia VSTAR. However, that was before Merida. If there’s two things I’ve learned about the average Pokemon player over the years, it’s that they like Miraidon and that they love Azul. People don’t even need a reason to play Miraidon, but in the current environment, there are plenty of reasons to do so. Aside from being so strong and popularized by Pokemon’s most famous icon, Miraidon also does extremely well into the current metagame. Gardevoir and Lugia shudder at the mere thought of an Iron Hands ex. Dragapult can put up a fight, but sometimes it too succumbs to the tempo monster with its relentless Electric Generators. Previously, Miraidon’s biggest fear was Charizard ex, a deck with a legendary falloff in popularity to go along with its sharp decline in win rate. Charizard is now the proverbial monster under the bed, as it’s only a concern if you’re the most paranoid Miraidon player.
To my credit, that article did mention Miraidon as one of my top prospects (which was written before Merida, despite the publication date), but now it is so much more than that. Miraidon is now one of the top meta threats. I think most people would agree that it is solidly in the top 2 along with Dragapult. While Dragapult is still the most popular deck, I predict that Miraidon will rapidly close that gap in the coming weeks. Gardevoir rounds out the top 3 decks, while Lugia dips by being both replaced and threatened by Miraidon.
I think Miraidon can be played successfully in a few different ways. For example, there is still some merit to cards like Professor's Research, Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex, and Prime Catcher in the deck. However, the deck already seems to be very standardized and streamlined, with all of the top lists being very close to one another. Of course, Azul’s winning list is the baseline going forward. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’ve only changed a couple of cards myself, so I don’t have anything revolutionary with regards to the list.
I tried to get Azul and Caleb to play four Boss's Orders and four Ultra Ball to make the deck as consistent as possible. Of course, without my advice, they still did well. Nonetheless, this deck often relies on using back-to-back Boss’s Orders. Without a great draw engine, you need to find yourself with Boss’s Orders in your hand naturally, and you often need to draw it off an opposing Iono. Furthermore, one (or even two) is frequently discarded on turn 1 with either Squawkabilly ex or Secret Box, and there’s always the chance of prizing one. There are also games where you want three Boss’s Orders. Since it’s integral to the strategy in many games, I think a fourth copy is worth adding.
As for Ultra Ball, it’s a card that you literally always want in your hand, and it’s broken because it lets you do whatever you want. Aside from setting up or drawing cards for general consistency, fetching Lumineon V or Magneton at a specific time is extremely valuable. Sometimes an Ultra Ball is all you need off an opposing Iono to win, and at the very least, it lets you thin and draw more cards with Mew ex‘s Restart. I’ve also swapped the Magnemite to the 60 HP one. While the 50 HP one‘s attack is enticing, it hardly ever gets used in reality. Furthermore, Dusclops is far too prevalent to ignore the 60 HP option.
This concludes the public portion of this article.
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