Hello! My name is Andrew Hedrick, and I am happy to now be writing for Cut or Tap.
Recently, I have seen quite a bit of success with Lugia VSTAR, as it has allowed me to take down two of the largest Regional Championships ever, going back to back by winning the tournaments in Orlando and Knoxville with similar (but not the same) Lugia lists. Lugia VSTAR is obviously incredibly strong, as it is the undisputed best deck in the format, often taking up more than a third of the decks in Day 2, and it’s arguably even one of the top decks of all time. Its status as the top deck was further illustrated when Ian Robb took down a Vancouver Regionals featuring six Lugia VSTARs in Top 8, with a Lugia VSTAR deck of his own. Due to my recent top finishes with the deck, I can provide insight on card choices and general strategy with Lugia VSTAR going into the remaining tournaments in the Silver Tempest format. I will cover both of my Orlando and Knoxville winning runs and card choices, additional options for the deck, and what my list currently looks like going into the end of the format, while including general tips about the deck I have picked up on throughout the article.
Because Orlando was the start of my success with Lugia VSTAR, I believe that it makes most sense to discuss that Regionals first.
Here was the list I played at Orlando:
| Pokémon – 18 | Trainers – 26 | Energy – 16 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lugia V | 3 | Professor’s Research | 4 | Evolution Incense | 4 | Powerful | ||
| 2 | Lugia VSTAR | 2 | Boss’s Orders | 4 | Ultra Ball | 4 | Aurora | ||
| 4 | Archeops | 2 | Marnie | 4 | Quick Ball | 3 | Capture | ||
| 2 | Lumineon V | 2 | Serena | 1 | Capturing Aroma | 2 | Double Turbo | ||
| 1 | Stoutland V | 1 | Irida | 1 | Lost Vacuum | 1 | Heat | ||
| 1 | Radiant Charizard | 1 | Choice Belt | 1 | Wash Water | ||||
| 1 | Yveltal SHF | 1 | Echoing Horn | 1 | V-Guard | ||||
| 1 | Raikou VIV | ||||||||
| 1 | Oranguru | ||||||||
| 1 | Pumpkaboo | ||||||||
| 1 | Manaphy | ||||||||
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