Top 10 Best Pokémon V in Sword & Shield - Pokémon TCG

In today's article, we'll review the best Pokémon V in Sword & Shield, based on their history and what they did for Standard in their time.

10 - Zacian V

In Standard

This card was released in 2019 in the first set of the Sword & Shield block, the Base Set itself. It became one of the best cards at this time as the active Pokémon in the "ADP" deck, which was named after Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX CEC 156 by the community.

Here's the combo that used these Pokémon:

Useful Cards: Metal Saucer SSH 170, Energy Switch SSH 162, Rusted Sword SHF 62, and Air Balloon SSH 156.

If you used Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX CEC 156's attack, Altered Creation, to buff your Zacian V SSH 138, you could knock out most TAG TEAM Pokémon GX that were popular at the time, such as:

And, if you used Galarian Zigzagoon SSH 117's ability to deal an extra 10 damage, you could also knock out:

Zamazenta V SSH 139 was also a reasonable pair for this Pokémon, as its ability protected it from Pokémon VMax like Eternatus VMAX DAA 117.

9 - Eternatus VMax

Its ability was basically like Sky Field ROS 89 (from the X/Y era), but on a Pokémon. Your strategy with this Pokémon was to put as much Darkness Pokémon as you could in play. The most common picks were other Eternatus VMAX DAA 117, Crobat V SHF 44, and "single prize" attackers like Hoopa DAA 111.

Its attack, Dread End, dealt damage based on how many Darkness Pokémon were in play, and could deal up to 270 damage.

In Standard

In 2019/2020's Standard, Pokémon VMax were incredibly popular and powerful. This Pokémon was even more so because it dealt a lot of damage for just two energies.

At the time, Sun & Moon: Unified Minds brought us Weavile-GX UNM 132: with its ability and Red & Blue CEC 202's second effect, we set up Eternatus VMAX DAA 117 like so:

Useful Cards: Red & Blue CEC 202, Weavile-GX UNM 132, Chaotic Swell CEC 187, and Energy Switch SSH 162.

In this format, Eternatus VMAX could knock out TAG TEAM Pokémon GX that had around 270 HP, such as:

However, there was one exception: Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX CEC 156, which had 280 HP. To solve this issue, we used Galarian Zigzagoon SSH 117's ability to deal an extra 10 damage, and this way deal the 280 damage we needed!

8 - Shadow Rider Calyrex VMax

In Standard

Because Eternatus VMAX DAA 117 was popular in the 2020/2021 meta, players started to use Single Strike Urshifu VMAX BRS TG29 and Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX BRS TG30 as counters. Then, to deal with these bears, we used Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX CRE 75 because of its Psychic type (even though it was weak to Darkness types, like Eternatus VMAX DAA 117) - it was a vicious cycle.

Shadow Rider Calyrex VMax performed really well at the Players Cup IV Global, held on 30/07/2021. Angel Aranibar Huamaní got 4th place with it.

Some players also used Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX CRE 75 with Arceus VSTAR BRS 123, which was a great deck.

This was a great recursive Pokémon to set up Mewtwo VUnion, even more so with Galarian Articuno V CRE 58's ability, which discarded two cards in your hand to draw you one card. This became a small combo: you'd discard one of Mewtwo VUnion's 4 cards with Galarian Articuno so you could put it on your bench, and then you'd attach energies to it with Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX CRE 75.

Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by Arceus VSTAR BRS 123, which was more practical to set up and faster to deal damage overall, besides its VStar ability (which was also great).

7 - Lugia VStar

This card stood out because of its VStar ability, Summoning Star. With it, you could use Lugia VSTAR SIT 139 to summon even evolution Pokémon directly on your bench. The best target was Archeops PR-SW SWSH272, because of Primal Turbo, its ability.

In Standard

With Powerful Colorless Energy DAA 176, which buffed the Pokémon it was attached to, Lugia VSTAR SIT 139's main attack, Tempest Dive, dealt 300 damage on a single strike instead of 280. This knocked out all VStar Pokémon.

This made other forgotten colorless Pokémon more popular - like Slaking V PGO 58, which could only attack if you had an odd number of Prize cards left. After you used Lugia VSTAR SIT 139's ability, you played Path to the Peak CRE 148 to sabotage your opponent and attack with Slaking V PGO 58 with no restrictions.

The most iconic example of this was at the LAIC in the second semester of 2022, when Tord Reklev won with one of the strongest Pokémon Amazing Rare.

However, when the 2023 rotation came along, Powerful Colorless Energy DAA 176 became a bit more unpopular. Lugia VSTAR SIT 139 was no longer an attacker and just supported Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX BRS TG30 and Single Strike Urshifu VMAX BRS TG29. Bit by bit, the meta settled.

6 - Rapid Strike Urshifu VMax

Its attack, Gale Thrust, deals an extra 120 damage if you moved this Pokémon from your bench to the active position. You can do this with Switch SUM 160, Escape Rope BUS 163, or Tower of Waters BST 138.

Its second attack, G-Max Rapid Flow, deals 120 damage to two of your opponent's Pokémon, but you have to discard all your energies to use it.

Usually, your opponent attacked Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX BST 88 after you used its second attack, so it was common to use Cheryl BST 123 to heal it. This way, you gained some time to attach more energies to it and use its second attack again when you needed to.

In Standard

Because many players used this deck when this card was released, it eventually won a few tournaments. Its strategy was, at the same time, aggressive and delicate. It sometimes dealt 10 damage, and other times dealt as high as 200 damage.

It notoriously won many tournaments, such as:

► The Players Cup III Global, on April 23rd, 2021, by Azul Garcia Griego.

► The Players Cup IV Global, on July 30th, 2021, by Alex Schemanske.

► The Liverpool Regional, on March 26th, 2022, by Robin Schulz.

► The Frankurt EUIC, on April 22nd, 2022, by the Brazilian player Gustavo Wada.

► Milan's Special Event, on June 4th, 2022, by the iconic Tord Reklev.

► The Columbus NAIC, on June 29th, 2023, by Cyrus Davis.

► Barcelona's Special Event, on September 16th, 2023, by Francisco Toranzo Santiago.

► Thailand's Regional League, on November 11th, 2023, by Apichai Apichainimitdee.

Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX BST 88 was a nightmare to Arceus VSTAR BRS 123 because of its weakness against the Fighting type.

The advantage it had due to its "sniper" attacks became a bit inefficient because of Manaphy BRS 41, and the popularity of Psychic Pokémon like Mew VMAX FST 114, and then Gardevoir ex sv1 86. They, bit by bit, pushed it out of the metagame.

Another weakness in this deck is that it didn't have any cards to recycle special energies. Therefore, it was complicated to use Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX BST 88's G-Max Rapid Flow, as this would lose you your Rapid Strike Energy BST 140.

5 - Giratina VStar

Its main attack is Lost Impact, which forces you to send two energies on your Pokémon to the Lost Zone to deal 280 damage. This is excellent in Standard, considering most Pokémon VStar have this amount of HP.

As for its VStar attack, Star Requiem: you need to have 10 cards in the Lost Zone to activate it and knock out a Pokémon automatically!

In Standard

When Giratina VStar was released, in Sword & Shield: Lost Origin, it was incredibly powerful. You didn't have to worry about weakness while you played it, and, besides dealing a lot of damage for Standard (280 damage), you could attach energies to it quite easily with Mirage Gate LOR 163.

But nothing is ever perfect: a Lost Zone deck is a double-edged sword because, as you'll never see the cards you send to the Lost Zone again, you need to know which card you'll sacrifice.

This entire mechanic focuses on two essential cards:

► Comfey PR-SW SWSH242 and its ability.

► And Colress's Experiment LOR 155.

In addition to them, if you have seven cards in the Lost Zone, you can use Mirage Gate LOR 163. This means Giratina VSTAR LOR 131 is fragile, and therefore needs intermediate attackers like Cramorant LOR 50 and Sableye LOR 70.

4 - Alolan Vulpix VStar

This Pokémon is extremely underestimated nowadays, but it is extremely strong. Even though players mostly use other Pokémon these days, it has an interesting attack.

Additionally, its VStar attack deals 70 damage for each Pokémon V under your opponent's control, which may help you deal the damage you need.

In Standard

This Pokémon won tournaments twice: Brisbane's Regional in 2022, by Tim Franklin, and also the 2023 EUIC, by Alex Schemanske.

As for the current 2024 format, in Standard, there are several Pokémon that use abilities and therefore can't attack Alolan Vulpix VSTAR SIT 34:

► Charizard ex sv3 125, Gardevoir ex sv1 86, Chien-Pao ex PR-SV 30, Gholdengo ex sv4 139, and Miraidon ex PR-SV 28.

► Lost Box attackers like Cramorant LOR 50 and Zamazenta CRZ 97.

3 - Mew VMax

This deck lasted a long time since its release because it is practical to set up Mew VMAX FST 114 and use its first attack, Cross Fusion Strike (C)(C). With it, you'll copy any of your benched Pokémon's attacks, as long as they are Fusion Strike Pokémon, such as:

► Mew V CRZ 60, Eiscue BRS 44, Genesect V FST 185, and Deoxys FST 120.

► Mew VMAX FST 114's second attack and Meloetta FST 124's second attack.

In Standard

This strategy on its own is incredibly powerful. The reason is that Genesect V FST 185, the heart of the deck, will draw you many cards as you play it.

You can also use Power Tablet FST 236 with it: it will buff your Mew VMAX FST 114's attack by 30 points each time you use it, which will help you knock out Pokémon that have more HP. Choice Belt BRS 135 is another great card to do this.

2 - Origin Forme Palkia VStar

Origin Forme Palkia VStar was a fast attacker because you only had to use two Water energies to deal a good amount of damage. Considering many players filled their entire bench with Pokémon, either secondary attackers or even recursive Pokémon, you'll almost certainly deal a lot of damage. So, Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR ASR 40's Subspace Swell may deal up to 260 damage.

As for its VStar ability, Star Portal, it's great to attach energies to Pokémon, as it gets three Basic Water Energy sv2 279 from your discard pile and lets you attach them to your Pokémon in any way you want.

In Standard

Considering most players used recursive Pokémon like Bibarel PR-SW SWSH188, Manaphy BRS 41, Jirachi sv4 126, Radiant Alakazam SIT 59, and Radiant Greninja ASR 46, you'd always deal a lot of damage, guaranteed.

Its VStar ability also supported other Water Pokémon, like Radiant Greninja ASR 46, to deal "sniper" damage. Starmie V ASR TG13 and Suicune V EVS 31 were the fastest attackers you could use to do this.

1 - Arceus VStar

This card is one of the strongest Pokémon Sword & Shield ever had. Its attack, Trinity Nova (C)(C)(C), besides dealing a considerable amount of damage (200), also attaches up to 3 basic energies from your deck to your Pokémon V in any way you want.*

Additionally, we have its VStar ability, Star Birth, which will get you any two cards you want in your deck and put it in your hand. It basically gets you any two cards, which will give you a considerable advantage.

In Standard

Arceus VStar was essential to set up some heavy Pokémon in this format, such as Duraludon VMAX EVS 123, Aggron VMAX BRS 97, and Gyarados VMAX EVS 29.

It was popular in many decks in this format, such as, for instance:

ULD: Umbreon, Lucario, Duraludon

ADP: Arceus, Decidueye, Pikachu

Arceus + Eeveelutions

► Umbreon VMAX EVS 95 was great against Mew VMAX FST 114 and Gardevoir ex sv1 86 (in 2023, when Scarlet & Violet's Base Set came out).

► Leafeon VSTAR PR-SW SWSH195 was great against Darkrai VSTAR ASR 99 and Charizard ex sv3 125 (in 2023, when Scarlet & Violet's Obisidian Flames came out).

Arceus + Rapid Strike

Origin Forme Dialga VStar

Pokémon VUnion

In Standard

The most relevant Pokémon VUnion in Standard was Mewtwo VUnion.

The most efficient "control deck" we saw with Mewtwo VUnion was used by Sander Wojcik, at the Stuttgart Regional and 2022's NAIC, when he got 4th place.

This is its ”aggro” version, with Arceus VSTAR BRS 123: Aggro Mewtwo & Mew Tag Team + Unown VStar.

That being said, what did you think of this top 10? Do you agree with our picks? Tell us down below!

See you next time!