The latest expansion brings a new Battle Style to the party, plus plenty of other cards to improve decks.
By Ellis Longhurst, Contributing Writer
Enter the battlefield in style and show off
some cool new moves with cards from the Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield—Fusion Strike expansion. This set introduces the new Fusion Strike Battle Style,
which combines the power of Single Strike and the speed of Rapid Strike. And
even as powerful new Fusion Strike decks emerge, the established Single Strike
and Rapid Strike decks receive new resources to enhance their strategies and
keep new foes in check. It will be thrilling to see how these Battle Styles
duel against each other.
Let’s take a look at some of the cards from
Sword & Shield—Fusion Strike that are sure to add extra flair to
your gameplay.
There might be no better Pokémon to usher
in the Fusion Strike Battle Style than Mew VMAX.
Like several of the Mew cards that have come before it, the power of Mew VMAX
is dependent on the other Pokémon in play. If that sounds familiar, it’s
because Mewtwo & Mew-GX
recently dominated tournaments using a similar strategy.
In this case, Mew VMAX’s Cross Fusion
Strike attack copies the attack of any Fusion Strike Pokémon on your Bench.
This means that Mew VMAX can use attacks like Genesect V‘s Techno Blast, Meloetta‘s
Melodious Echo, or Latias‘s
Dyna Barrier for a cost of only 2 Energy of any type. It’s a strategy
that boasts a cheap attack cost and all-but-guaranteed success when you have
access to Mew V‘s Energy
Mix and the new Elesa’s Sparkle
Supporter card.
Of the cards that Mew VMAX can take
advantage of, Latias deserves a closer look. Whenever a Mew VMAX is played, a
Latias card is likely to be on hand. Latias’s Dyna Barrier attack makes it
immune to damage from Pokémon VMAX during the opponent’s next turn. Many of the
top decks rely on Pokémon VMAX to do damage and take Knock Outs, which makes
Dyna Barrier a particularly useful attack for Mew VMAX to be able to copy. When
challenged by an opponent’s Dyna Barrier, Mew VMAX doesn’t need to employ any
tricks. Its Max Miracle attack ignores all effects on the opponent’s Active Pokémon.
Gather your choice of Fusion Strike friends
for Mew VMAX by using cards like Quick Ball,
Capture Energy, and the
new Supporter card Chili & Cilan & Cress.
And remember: as more Fusion Strike Pokémon are revealed, more opportunities
will arise for Mew VMAX to get involved in battle.
Genesect V is already one of the most sought-after
cards from Sword & Shield—Fusion Strike, and for good reason. This
Fusion Strike Pokémon boasts a powerful attack that is reminiscent of Zacian V‘s Brave Blade. In fact,
the base damage of Techno Blast is the highest of all the Fusion Strike Pokémon,
which means Genesect V is a priority partner for Mew VMAX.
However, most of the excitement for this
card is focused on its Ability. Fusion Strike System enables the player to draw
cards until the number of cards they have in their hand is equal to the number
of their Fusion Strike Pokémon in play. This Ability can be used once per turn
for each Genesect V in play, which makes it possible to draw nearly half the
deck in a single turn! This offers players even more resources to execute their
winning strategies.
Given that Fusion Strike System can be used
to draw cards, Genesect V does not need to be played alongside popular draw
Supporter cards like Professor’s Research
and Marnie. This creates
room in the deck to play Supporter cards that search for specific resources or
disrupt the opponent, like Peony
or Sidney.
Unlike with Supporter cards, players can play
as many Item cards from their hand as they want every turn. Maximize the number
of cards drawn through Fusion Strike System and advance your gameplay by
filling decks with Item cards like Quick Ball and Metal Saucer, as well as the new Power Tablet, Cross Switcher, and Battle VIP Pass.
Despite all its strengths, Genesect V has a
low HP compared to the Pokémon VMAX behemoths of the current metagame. Combining
it with Fusion Strike Pokémon like Oricorio
and Toxtricity can
help to even the battlefield. Oricorio’s Lesson in Zeal Ability reduces the
amount of damage that Genesect V takes from attacks, while Toxtricity’s Maximum
Downer Ability reduces the HP of the opponent’s Pokémon VMAX.
If you’re planning to try Genesect V in
battle, be mindful that the Fusion Strike System draw engine is easily
disrupted by an opponent’s Path to the Peak
Stadium card. Consider including Stadium cards like Crystal Cave or Circhester Bath to counter the
opponent’s Path to the Peak.
For players who are not content with using
just one Battle Style, Deoxys is
the way to go. Deoxys is a Single Strike, Rapid Strike, and Fusion
Strike Pokémon—all at the same time! Importantly, the cost of its Photon Boost
attack is satisfied by any 3 Energy. This means that just like the DNA Pokémon,
a deck featuring Deoxys can take many forms.
For example, players can make good use of
Deoxys in a Single Strike deck by using Houndoom‘s
Single Strike Roar Ability to quickly power up Photon Boost.
Alternatively, Deoxys can utilize the Rapid Strike Energy that is usually found in Rapid Strike decks.
It can also be targeted by Elesa’s Sparkle, which is likely to be found in a
Fusion Strike deck.
Deoxys is also well-positioned to be at the
center of a toolbox deck that splices together elements of each Battle Style. Don’t
be surprised to see a Single Strike Scroll of the Fanged Dragon pop up alongside a Rapid Strike
Energy card or a Power Tablet card. To put a twist on an old saying—three
strikes and your opponent is Knocked Out!
Deoxys does more damage to the opponent’s
Active Pokémon when it has a Fusion Strike Energy
attached, so any deck featuring Deoxys should also include some of these
new Special Energy cards. As a bonus, Fusion Strike Energy prevents all effects
of the opponent’s Pokémon’s Abilities done to the Pokémon it is attached to.
Keep this in mind whenever you’re facing popular Pokémon like Inteleon VMAX or Umbreon VMAX across the
battlefield.
If you want your game plan to be executed
swimmingly, sometimes you need to clamp down on your opponent’s activities.
Fortunately, Sword & Shield—Fusion Strike is awash with Water-type Pokémon
that can do just that.
Gorebyss
creates a problem for decks that rely on the Abilities found on Octillery and Inteleon. Gorebyss’s Rapid Strike
Canceler Ability removes the Abilities of the opponent’s Rapid Strike Pokémon. The
opponent will not be able to use Octillery’s Rapid Strike Search Ability to net
key resources like Rapid Strike Energy, nor Inteleon’s Quick Shooting to soften
up targets for other attackers to Knock Out. Consider how much more difficult
it would be for Jolteon VMAX
to build momentum if Inteleon could not put damage counters on the opponent’s Pokémon.
Huntail‘s
Single Strike Jammer Ability makes it challenging for Single Strike Pokémon
to attack. This Ability could even be enough to prevent Pokémon like Single Strike Urshifu VMAX from
performing repeated attacks. It may also be an effective way to prevent the new
Gengar VMAX from dominating
decks that rely on Pokémon V and Pokémon VMAX.
Both Gorebyss and Huntail are Fusion Strike
Pokémon, but that doesn’t mean they can only be played in a Fusion Strike deck.
Splashing these Pokémon into any of your decks can force your opponent to
adjust their Battle Style.
Don’t get your wires crossed about Cross
Switcher. This new Fusion Strike Item card creates a powerful effect, but only
when played as a pair. Cross Switcher can change the momentum of a game by
disrupting the opponent’s strategy or enabling an important Knock Out. This
card combines the effect of Guzma
with elements of Custom Catcher.
It could also be considered a combination of Boss’s Orders and Switch.
Whichever way you look at it, Cross Switcher is the epitome of a Fusion Strike card.
Many players are excited about the first
effect of Cross Switcher. That’s not surprising—cards like Boss’s Orders and Lysandre have been played to great
success in competitive play. What’s more, Cross Switcher can elicit this effect
without it being used as the one Supporter card for the turn. However, switching
your own Active Pokémon with a Benched Pokémon can be just as useful. For
example, it can remove the effect of Genesect V’s Techno Blast attack without
paying for the Retreat Cost.
Cross Switcher has a globally useful
effect, so expect to see two or more copies of this card make its way into a
variety of different decks. In particular, the card may play a starring role
alongside the new Smeargle in
a wall- or lock-style deck.
This is just a glimpse of some of the awesome
Fusion Strike cards available in the new Sword & Shield—Fusion Strike expansion.
With over 260 cards to collect, including new Single Strike and Rapid Strike Pokémon
V as well as Pokémon VMAX, there are plenty of other exciting combinations and
strategies to explore. The only thing left is to decide which Battle Style
strikes your fancy!
Look for more Pokémon TCG strategy and analysis at Pokemon.com/Strategy.
About the Writer
Ellis Longhurst
Ellis Longhurst is a contributing writer covering Play! Pokémon events for Pokemon.com. She has been competing in high-level Pokémon TCG tournaments since 2006, and creating written content for the Pokémon community since 2011. Ellis now brings an Australian flavour to the Play! Pokémon broadcasting and stream teams at the International and World Championships.
Source: Pokemon
