What’s poppin’, COT subscribers! This time I’ll be escorting you through the most anticipated moment of the 2022/2023 season: our midseason rotation! Days have turned to months since Lugia’s chokehold on this format, and a breath of fresh air is severely needed. I hope I’m not speaking for myself as a rogue deck builder, but as a community member, when I say these last few months have been torture. Which brings me to the intriguing information about the upcoming Scarlet & Violet meta. Taking a look at Japan’s Aichi league results, we will cover three decks that outshined the pack, a controversial rogue, and my personal take on that deck.

Data from the Japanese metagame always excites me when diving into new formats. The general population of players may doubt the relevance of Japanese tournaments when our formats are slightly different, but I disagree. Champions Leagues are much larger than Regionals around the world, and this allows for a broader look to the beginning of a meta. This also means that players who advance to the Top 16 have fought more matches than normal, making the decks hold a bit more value. I especially find value because not only can we adjust older decks that move forward still retaining power from rotation (Lugia, Mew, Lost Box), we also get a peek at newer ideas blossoming from the upcoming set, such as Gardevoir ex, Miraidon ex, and Oinkologne ex.

Mew Vmax

Speaking of value, the first deck crossing over into the Scarlet & Violet meta is Mew Vmax. You may be wondering why we have to talk about Mew Vmax: “Hunter, can’t we just leave this deck in the past?” Unfortunately not. Mew Vmax has kept most of the engine cards left in the new Standard format such as Battle VIP Pass, Ultra Ball, and Cram-o-matic. The only big loss of the deck was Quick Ball, which can be replaced with the newly reprinted Nest Ball. For those who don’t know, Nest Ball is an Item card that allows you to search for a Basic Pokemon and bench it. Not only does Mew keep the engine, it gains a few techs from the new set. These factors, combined with the aggressive nature in Mew’s damage output, landed it solidly in my top three. Champions League Aichi’s Top 16 included four Mew Vmax with the highest placement being Tomokazu’s 4th place list (listed below).

Tomokazu’s list had some interesting inclusions that we will touch on briefly, and that is why I chose to include his unconventional build.

Firstly, the singular Meloetta struck me as an odd inclusion, especially when you take into account he included four copies of Fusion energy and the two Elesa’s Sparkle. Two-prize decks in the early S/V meta are abundant with archetypes such as Lugia, Gardevoir, and Giratina. Having the Meloetta option to offset the prize trade in these matchups while taking a OHKO can be the recipe for Mew to cook the new competition. Meloetta can also attack on the first turn going second, which is extremely useful in the mirror match, giving you the chance at a knock out before your opponent regardless how the coin flip lands.

The other standout card in this list coming from the new set is Arven. Arven is a Supporter card that allows you to search for an Item card and a Tool card. This card is a no-brainer inclusion when you think about the combinations that can be created. Choosing to search for Power Tablet and Choice Belt increases your damage to complete a KO. On the other hand, selecting a Switching option and Forest Seal Stone creates an easier transition to completing back-to-back attacks from Mew Vmax. Overall, with newer decks stuck in the beta stages, Mew Vmax takes advantage with aggression and consistency, making it a top tier threat in the S/V beginning meta.

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