Gengar VMAX Just Got Better!

What’s up Po Town readers? I’ve been testing a bunch of new decks for the past month or so. Of those new decks, Gengar VMAX [Fusion Strike] has been performing better than most other new Pokemon online decks! Gengar VMAX is a deck that I’ve tested for countless hours in the Sword and Shield to Fusion Strike format so I already had a base to work off of, but what if I told you the deck got even better?!?! With many players gravitating towards Arceus VSTAR [Brilliant Stars] and that makes Fear and Panic even better! Fear and Panic does 60x the amount of V, VMAX, VUNION, and VSTAR Pokemon in play - this is huge with so many decks focusing around Arceus VSTAR’s Star Birth Ability. A few more cool cards are added to this deck, so let’s dive into the strategy! If you’re looking for any Pokemon TCG Online codes to build this deck, consider picking up some PTCGO codes from Po Town to get your closer to being built. Let’s get it!

The strategy of this archetype starts at the core of the deck and that means using Houndoom [Battle Styles] to power up Gengar V [Fusion Strike] with Single Strike Roar. The most common misconception with this deck is to attack exclusively with Gengar VMAX, but it ends up being Gengar V most of the time. Pain Explosion tones down your Prize Cards and is great at exchanging Knock Outs against two Prize Card Pokemon with its Pain Explosion attack! After attaching a few Single Strike Energy [Battle Styles] and the option to increase your damage even further with Choice Belt [Brilliant Stars]. Most decks don’t have access to increasing their damage, but +20 here, another +20 there, and an additional +30 can go a long way. If you need to hit super high numbers, Gengar VMAX can hit for a lot of damage with Fear and Panic or G-MAX Swallow Up - it might even survive an opposing attack! Upon first glance, that's the deck's entire strategy, but that would be forgetting the key component of Path to the Peak [Chilling Reign]. In a world where Zamazenta V [Sword and Shield] or Duraludon VMAX [Evolving Skies] have Abilities that can lock you out of attacking, Path to the Peak allows you to proceed on! On top of that, you can improve your already extremely favorable Mew VMAX [Fusion Strike] matchup by stopping their Genesect V [Fusion Strike] from drawing any cards. The following list isn’t updated with Brilliant Stars cards yet, but will act as our skeleton list to upgrade later in the article.

Before we dive into the list, there are a few key things that I wanna go over. Single Strike Urshifu V [Battle Styles] is a solid tech to help beat Jolteon VMAX [Evolving Skies] and other Gengar VMAX mirror matches. A lot of peeps always ask why to play Crobat V [Darkness Ablaze] and Path to the Peak, which is a fair question, and the goal is to avoid locking yourself out of Dark Asset. I look at the game of Pokemon as a pyramid in a lot of ways - a successful turn one often leads the path to victory with an established base. Crobat V is used to have an explosive turn one or to get out of a jam as long as you aren’t locked by Path to the Peak. That’s why this list plays Battle VIP Pass [Fusion Strike] to get out Houndour [Battle Styles] to set up the foundation. Let’s check out this list!

This list is a little different than the above, but the core strategy remains the exact same! With Arceus VSTAR added into this deck, the goal is to use Star Birth once during the game to swing the game in your favor. Star Birth can net you any two cards which should make this deck more consistent. Whether you use that Ability early on to get out of a dead hand, mid-game to swing the game in your favor, or late game to grab game-winning combos - Star Birth is extremely important. A few other noticeable differences are replacing Single Strike Urshifu V for Stonjourner [Battle Styles] to tone down the amount of Prize Cards with the expected Single Prize Card decks in the Brilliant Stars format. Decks such as Mad Party [Darkness Ablaze], Malamar [Chilling Reign], etc. are expected to make a comeback and Stonjourner helps with that. It also serves the same purpose to KO Jolteon VMAX and opposing Gengar VMAX decks. Ultra Ball [Brilliant Stars] takes over from the somewhat inconsistent Battle VIP Pass list because it offers a consistent searchable out to all Pokemon available in the deck. In the same sentence, Arceus VSTAR takes over for Cram-o-matic [Fusion Strike] because it can search for anything in the deck. With added consistency, this deck is better than ever - let’s check out my list!

With many looking to Brilliant Stars to save us from our stale Sword and Shield to Fusion Strike Standard format, I truly think we entered into one of the best formats in years! With many fan-favorite cards being reprinted, spiritual reprints, and more - this set seems great! I want to add Manaphy [Brilliant Stars] into so many decks to try and beat Jolteon VMAX, I want to use Choice Belt to OHKO Mew VMAX, I want to search out VUNION cards with Ultra Ball… What I’m trying to say is that there is so much to explore and for the first time in months, I feel excited to explore our Pokemon format! The above Gengar VMAX list has been testing extremely well and I hope it works out for you as you try this new format out. If you’re missing any cards for the deck, try picking up some PTCGO codes right here at Po Town to get closer to finishing this deck! Until next time, happy testing!

Zach Lesage is a contributing writer for the PoTown store. As a Toronto local, he has been playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game since 2005 and creates Pokemon content as his full time career. As Zach Lesage PTCG, he creates YouTube content, streams on Twitch, and provides hot takes on his Twitter. With multiple prestigious accomplishments in the game, such as the 2020 Players Cup 2 Champion and the 2020 Oceania International Championships Finalist, he has proven his success in the game. Outside of the game, he travels the world, enjoys the culture of designer streetwear, and is a professionally trained chef. You can catch him at most Pokemon events and follow him on Twitter @ZachLesagePTCG.