Stayin’ Alive — Regidrago VSTAR Is Still Good Despite Budew

Hello PokeBeach readers! Isaiah here, and I am happy to be writing another article! Last time, I discussed my updated Charizard ex deck list in the new format with Budew releasing in Prismatic Evolutions. Since then, a few tournaments have happened, each which has resulted in a Miraidon ex victory, leading me to believe that the deck is well positioned for the European International Championships, which, at the time of writing this, is happening this upcoming weekend. The ability for Charizard ex to succeed is somewhat contingent on how many Dragapult ex you play against, which at this point has proven itself as the best deck despite Miraidon ex’s two wins. The deck has an absurd power ceiling when it draws well, and even its low-end draws can be pretty powerful relative to a lot of decks in the format. This is, of course, largely thanks to the power of Budew, slowing the game down just enough that you can establish multiple Drakloak and set up the rest of the game. This new era for Dragapult ex is what many players hoped that the card would be capable of when the card was released in Twilight Masquerade, but that vision never came to fruition largely thanks to one card: Regidrago VSTAR.

Following the North America International Championships, a few new decks were born. Expected threats like Raging Bolt ex and Gardevoir ex with Munkidori had a great weekend and challenged most of what we knew about the format, but the surprise Top 16 finish of Regidrago VSTAR in the hands of Jacob Eye would turn the format on its head. Not long after, Shrouded Fable released, and with it came Kyurem, turning Regidrago VSTAR from a pretty good deck to a Tier 0 super-threat with a power level similar to Lugia VSTAR‘s peak. For months, the deck was the only way to really play Pokemon at all, dominating numerous large events, including the Latin America International Championships. However, all empires must fall eventually, and many think that Regidrago VSTAR’s reign of terror has come to an end at the hands of Budew. I am not so sure of that, however. The deck is, without a doubt, much weaker, but I believe that it’s certainly here to stay. With that said, the deck does need to make significant adjustments, so how about we start by looking at some problems and solutions?

Problem 1: Energy

Historically, Regidrago VSTAR decks have relied on Teal Mask Ogerpon ex paired with Energy Switch to power up their attackers, but Energy Switch is an Item card, which can make things awkward. On your first turn, you can still play Energy Switch and such, but if you have a weak turn 1 and fail to get Energy in play, problems start to emerge. A Budew could lock you out of Energy Switch indefinitely, which means that you have to find manual attachments, which is also made harder by being locked out of Earthen Vessel. Being locked out of Earthen Vessel is especially problematic because it also denies you the ability to find Fire Energy, which you only play two to three of and are required to find for an attack.

The easiest place to start for solving the Energy problem is to increase the Energy count slightly. Where some players were getting as greedy as playing seven Grass and two Fire before, that absolutely cannot be done right now. I am currently playing eight and three, which is still a bit slim, but it helps with finding them on the first turn, which is the main goal. Squawkabilly ex also helps to solve the Energy issue in more ways than one. The obvious application is that Squawk and Seize on the first turn can be used to dig deeper for more Energy, Pokemon, and of course Energy Switch, increasing the likelihood of attacking earlier. Squawkabilliy ex also has a hidden second use, though. Using Motivate can be a way to start gaining a massive advantage over the opponent. If you can get two Energy in the discard pile going second, which is quite easy with a Supporter, Squawk and Seize, and other Trainers, an attachment to Squawkabilly ex can mean a free two Energy, threatening an Apex Dragon next turn. This is even better if their deck is somehow unable to attack with Budew that turn, since you now have a minimum of three Energy in play already, so an Energy Switch, or maybe even a manual attachment, means you have powered up an attacker. Sometimes you also may need to move Energy under Itchy Pollen, though, and for that purpose we play a Poppy. This card does not come up a ton, but it is an important contingency option.

This concludes the public portion of this article.

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