Who Let the Dogs Out

Hello, Pokemon TCG community! This is Elena from Gaia Storm TCG, and I couldn't be happier to be here once again at PoTown Store discussing one of my favorite pokemon online decks from the most recent set: Boltund VMAX. Yes, I know it is not precisely one of the most anticipated strategies from Fusion Strike, but while everyone has been busy testing how powerful Mew VMAX is in reality, I decided to give Boltund a chance.

What can I say? I have not been able to resist. When I first started playing Pokemon TCG more than ten years ago, I remember my friends were always using Eelektrik Big Basics, so the thought of playing Flaaffy with Boltund stirs something in me. And to be fair, Boltund VMAX is by design one of the most consistent and interesting lightning Pokemon we've had in a while. Yes, I am also aware of the fact that Boltund is not going to turn the entire metagame upside down, and it has bad typing considering how popular Fighting (Urshifu cough) is right now. But even with all this, I think Boltund is one of the most straightforward and cheap options to start playing the game right now, so if you are looking for a deck that does not cost an arm and a leg, you won’t regret giving Boltund and friends a chance!

Everyone that has been playing Pokemon for the past year knows how powerful Boltund V got during the Pikachu Zekrom Tag Team era. Released in Rebel Clash, Boltund was the perfect acceleration mechanism for Pikachu Zekrom decks to get energy on the first turn of the game and why players always decided to go second. It was also capable of getting to some very solid numbers after a couple of turns, dealing 30 damage per lightning energy attached to all the Pokemon you control. This meant that Boltund was a good attacker, but only as the game progressed, never in the early moments.

However, with the new VMAX version, the card gains exactly what it was missing: a way to reach +200 damage without having to invest the first couple of turns searching for energy cards. In fact, Boltund VMAX has two attacks that complement each other very well: the first one is an exact copy of Boltund’s V Bolt Storm, dealing damage for every lightning energy on the field. Then, in the second move, Max Bolt deals a very consistent 230 with the only drawback of not being for two turns in a row. 230 is a considerable amount of damage, capable of taking down almost any V of the format.

As you have already guessed by now, one of Boltunds’ best friends isFlaffy from Evolving Skies. Once one Boltund falls to the discard pile, a couple of Flaffy on the bench ensure you can recycle all the energies you originally had so you don’t have to worry about ever running out of basic lightning cards.

There are two different lists I have been testing out: pure Boltund VMax and Boltund Rayquaza, each of them with its own strengths and weaknesses. Let's see them in more detail:

This list is built with a very linear idea in mind: use the power of Flaaffy to attach energies from the discard pile and start using Max Bolt as early as in turn 2. This puts your opponent in a very difficult spot where he or she can’t leave any V Pokémon on the active spot, or the prize advantage will be too much. In addition to this, Zekrom from Evolving Skies acts as a very flexible secondary attacker that can easily finish up any Pokémon in the format and, from time to time, can even buy a turn or two if your opponent is not able to find a switching card. With Stormy Mountains,4 Level Ball, and 4 Quick Balls, the deck sets up very fast and can easily alternate between attackers.

Rayquaza was hyped as one of the most powerful cards of the previous set Evolving Skies, and while it has not lived up to the expectations, it might have a second opportunity in combination with Boltund. Ray VMAX has literally no weakness and becomes the perfect place to store up some lightning energies for Boltund to end up getting the one-hit KO. Also, don’t forget that its ability helps get energies on the discard pile and draw cards in the process. The only issue I see with this build is that you are sacrificing consistency (e.g., running Aurora energies instead of Speed energy) in order to have different attackers, so I will really recommend you to test it out first and see how it adapts to your own style of playing.

Pokémon is a game where typing really matters, and, as such, you can imagine that Boltund is really happy to have a water-type attacker in front of it. Suicune V, Togekiss VMAX, or Inteleon VMAX (both the one from Rebel Clash & the one from Fusion Strike), for example, can’t do a thing against Boltund even if they draw perfectly during the entire game.

I will place here the majority of the decks of the format, whether they are an Inteleon variant or a VMAX-centered deck. Boltund is able to reach very high numbers, KO’ing any other Pokémon in just two hits, so it truly comes down to who starts attacking and who can find the Boss Orders in the first place. From my testing, strategies like Eternatus, Leafeon, or Mew can all be beaten if you open with a decent hand and don’t brick.

Anything that runs Fighting-type Pokémon is almost an instantaneous loss because Boltund goes down in just one hit, and Rayquaza and all the other secondary attackers can’t truly make a difference. And sadly for us, there is a considerable amount of pokemon online decks that can be found in this category: Single Strike Decks, pure Rapid Strike Urshifu, and even Sylveon VMAX uses fighting attackers.

While Boltund is not going to completely shatter the metagame from one day to another, it has truly surprised me for its consistency and aggressiveness, which are precisely traits I always value in my decks. Right now, Boltund still has a lot of big enemies in the format for it to become a top-tier strategy since both Single Strike Urshifu V and Rapid Strike Urshifu V (very popular decks right now) hit poor Boltund for weakness. But even with this disadvantage, I think it is a solid choice for someone playing Pokémon for the first time or looking to get back to the game after a long hiatus. And remember that if you need any PTCGO codes to finish this or any other deck, you can get all the necessary resources here at PoTown Store. Thanks for reading!

 

Elena has been playing Pokémon TCG for years and leads one of the biggest TCG-dedicated channels in the world. You can find her on Youtube & Twitch (@gaiastormtcg) as well as on other social media channels. Don’t forget to check them out!