Standard Deck Tech: Mewtwo VUnion Control - Stuttgart Regionals' Top 8

Hello everybody. I'm Rodrigo, bringing news about the Pokémon TCG and its vast media. And with the same control deck theme, again with the list created by Sander Wojcik, I will bring here the analysis of his deck that was in the Top 6 (of the eight best) in the Stuttgart regional, in Germany, where we once again have the supremacy of Mewtwo VUnion.

So, let's analyze his deck and understand how it works.

Decklist

Mewtwo VUnion: The star of the deck and main attacker

1) Ability - Photon Barrier: Prevent all effects of attacks from your opponent's Pokémon (Attack damage is not considered an effect).

2) Attack - Union Gain (C): Attach two basic Energy from the discard pile to this Pokémon.

3) Attack - Super Regeneration (P)(P)(C): Heals 200 damage from this Pokémon.

4) Attack - Psysplosion (P)(P)(C): Places up to 16 damage counters between your opponent's Pokémon in any way you like.

5) Attack - Final Burn (P)(P)(P)(C): Deals 300 damage.

It will usually enter the Late Game, where it will withstand the damage suffered and distribute the damage counters on the opponent's Pokémon, with Spread Damage being indirect, going over decks that have Bench Protector abilities such as Manaphy BRS 41 and Pokémon with direct hit immunities from Pokémon V such as Miltank ASR 126.

Shadow Rider Calyrex V: Mew-VMax's "counter"

It is the second attacker of the deck and, more specifically, its main function: "counter" the Mew VMAX FST 114 deck, because of its Shadow Mist attack, which only does 10 damage, but still, it prevents the opponent from playing special energies and stadium from their hand. That is, locking the Mew VMax deck to play the energies Fusion Strike Energy FST 244 and Double Turbo Energy BRS 151, and the stadiums Rose Tower DAA 169 and Lost City LOR 161.

Major Recursive Pokémon - Radiant Tsareena and Gengar: The Main Engines

Tsareena and Gengar shine because of two skills that will be essential for the healing and damage transfer strategy between your Psychic Pokémon, creating this synergy:

1) With Radiant Tsareena's ability - Elegant Heal: Heals 20 damage among all your Pokémon.

2) With Gengar's ability - Life Shaker: You move as many damage counters as you want among your Psychic Pokémon in any way you want.

So with that, per turn, you can use Radiant Tsareena SIT 16 to heal 100 damage, but using Scoop Up Net RCL 165 returning it from play to your hand and putting it back in game, you can do this effect in looping and heal another 100 damage again, with an impressive 200 damage healed!

Its only problem will be if the opponent uses Path to the Peak CRE 148, as this stadium locks abilities of Pokémon that have Rule Box, which is the case with Radiant Tsareena.

Minor Recursive Pokémon

- Snorlax VIV 131 comes in with its ability Gormandize, which you can draw cards until you have seven in your hand, and if you do, your turn ends.

- Pyukumuku FST 77 enters with Pitch to Pyukumuku, where if it is in your hand, you reveal it and put it on the bottom of the deck as the last card so that it draws the top card of the deck, but You cannot use this ability effect more than once on your turn.

- Manaphy BRS 41 has Wave Velt, which grants protection to your Benched Pokémon if they take direct sniper damage from the opponent's attacks, mainly Ralts ASR 60 and Gastly SSH 83.

- Kirlia SIT 68 comes in because of Refinement, which means that by discarding a card from your hand, you draw two cards. And it will be these Kirlia that serve as "containers" of damage to be dried and distributed so that Gengar SSH 85 can move them, taking them away from Mewtwo-VUnion and then Radiant Tsareena SIT 16 will heal them (if you have two Kirlia in play).

- Gardevoir CRE 61 has Shining Arcana, which makes it look at the top two cards of the deck and if there are basic Energy on that top seen, you can attach it to your Pokémon any way you want, but if there aren't energies, the cards seen on top will go into your hand anyway.

And it is precisely this draw engine that is essential to look for some Trainer card to maintain the control system, since their draws are guaranteed, and only Gardevoir will perform this action, and can also be recycled with the Scoop Up Net RCL 165 and return the cycle of Ralts and Kirlia, to maintain the continuity of the deck.

Trainer Cards

- Bruno BST 121 serves as a draw flexibility — you shuffle your hand and draw 4 cards. But, in the previous turn, if any of your Pokémon were knocked out, instead you shuffle your hand and draw 7.

- Flannery CRE 139 is used to discard a special energy card and an opponent's stadium into play.

- Cyllene ASR 138 recovers cards from the discard pile, for each coin that is hit in the process. There are two coins to be played and if each of them comes up heads, you choose those discarded cards and return them to the deck.

- Peonia CRE 149 allows you to exchange cards. You can guarantee to pick up some useful card that is stuck in the prize cards, or just pieces of Mewtwo VUnion that need to be in your game as soon as possible.

- Fog Crystal CRE 140 can fetch a psychic energy from the deck or a basic psychic Pokémon from the deck (in this case, to build the line with Ralts and Gastly in your game).

- Rare Candy PGO 69 serves as an evolution acceleration. Allows you to evolve one of your basic Pokémon if you have its stage 2 evolutionary card in your hand and thus evolve it.

It is here mainly for Gastly to evolve into Gengar, to speed up the use of its ability to move damage, which is essential to be assembled as quickly as possible.

- Trekking Shoes ASR 156 makes you look at the top card of your deck, choosing to take that card you saw and put it in your hand or discard it.

If any resource comes from a card that can be used as a support, some kind of Trainer, instead of losing it, you put it in your hand.

But surely, what's most important about this card is hoping that it can serve to discard a Mewtwo VUnion piece to accelerate the process.

- Level Ball BST 129 is used to search for any Pokémon that has 90 HP or less, like Kirlia.

- Fan of Waves BST 127 Discards an opponent's special energy and puts it on the bottom of your deck.

- Yell Horn DAA 173 confuses both active Pokémon (yours and your opponent's).

- Pal Pad SSH 172 is for recycling up to two Supporter-type cards from the discard pile to the deck.

Special Energies

- V Guard Energy SIT 169 grants 30 damage reduction from the opponent's V-type Pokémon's attacks against you, which must be put into Mewtwo VUnion.

Advantages

Being part of the control deck's strategy, it can be quite difficult for your opponent to deal with. If they don't hit the key cards in the deck that makes it run or respond as quickly as possible against the threat, letting our strategy grow in building our own setup, the opponent can simply give up on the match.

Disadvantages

- Decks that have Lugia VSTAR SIT 139 and that are assembled quickly, managing to perform many knockouts before you set up your strategy.

- Decks like Mew VMAX FST 114 that can use all Power Tablet FST 236 to power up damage in a single turn to KO Mewtwo VUnion in one hit, crippling your entire game.

- Electric control and damage boost decks like Regieleki VMAX SIT 58 and Vikavolt V DAA 60 are possible threats, as well as decks that One Hit like Yveltal SHF 46.

It's a deck that secured a good placement in the top 8 again in a regional and of course, Sander is a specialist in building control decks, so I couldn't expect less than tremendous efficiency in using and managing resources.

And now it's up to you: what do you think of the deck? You are welcome to comment below on the site.

Until next time!