Arceus VSTAR has consistently made its mark in the Standard format since it was released in Brilliant Stars. With a VSTAR Power that can search for any two cards and an attack that allows you to charge Energy from your deck to any Pokemon V, the Alpha Pokemon has seen success with a variety of different partners. Heck, it won the Pokemon TCG World Championships 2022 with Flying Pikachu VMAX and Hisuian Decidueye VSTAR.
Even now with the introduction of Pokemon ex in Scarlet & Violet, Arceus VSTAR continues to see play today. Some of the popular Arceus VSTAR partners currently are Duraludon VMAX, Giratina VSTAR, and now Umbreon VMAX.
But what if you couldn’t choose between Arceus VSTAR’s partners. What if you included them all?
That’s what Lim Han Juan did as his Arceus VSTAR / Duraludon VMAX / Hisuian Goodra VSTAR / Flying Pikachu VMAX / Alolan Vulpix VSTAR deck went all the way to the Top 8 of the Pokemon TCG Championships Malaysia 2023.
The Southern Islands speaks to Han Juan to find out more about this “chapalang” deck and his tournament run.
1. How did you start playing Pokemon TCG?
I was introduced to the game by my friend Chen Jinn Chung back in mid-2022 (he was my working colleague back then). He was the one that showed me the ropes 🤣.
The Southern Islands: For players in the Subang Jaya, Malaysia area, do check out Jinn Chung’s card shop “Deck Out Trading Cards” https://www.facebook.com/deckouttcg
2. How did the idea for this “chapalang” Arceus VSTAR deck come about?
Well, basically the idea came from me wanting to create a deck that has an answer for every other decks out there. Thus, that’s how my “chapalang” deck is formed. 🤣
3. What is your general game plan against (a) other Arceus VSTAR decks (b) Lugia VSTAR (c) Lost Box (d) Mew VMAX?
For Arceus VSTAR, mainly I would setup my Duraludon VMAX as my main attacker followed by my Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (provided I don’t Prize any of them since I only play 1 line each 😅) with a Galarian Zapdos V to take a suprise knockout on Arceus VSTAR itself by exploiting it’s Weakness.
For Lugia VSTAR, it will definitely be setting up the Duraludon VMAX with the Flying Pikachu VMAX, as Duraludon VMAX’s Ability is a natural counter to Lugia VSTAR; while Flying Pikachu VMAX does x2 dmg to Lugia VSTAR and it is immune to all the basic Single Strike Pokemon once its Max Balloon attack is used. Even Single Strike Urshifu VMAX needs all 4 Single Strike Energy to KO the Flying Pikachu VMAX in one hit, so that requirement itself does make the matchup slightly harder for them.
c) For Lost Box, it really depends on what variation my opponents are playing. For the Dragonite V / Raikou V / Kyorge build, I will have to go with Hisuian Goodra VSTAR and Flying Pikachu VMAX as both of them are tanky enough to withstand that matchup. For the rest, it will always be Hisuian Goodra VSTAR and Hisuian Vulpix VSTAR.
d) For Mew, I’ll just use Drapion V 🤣. Well, since I only play 1 copy of Drapion V, it will usually be like a surprise attacker towards the end. For the early part of the match, it will be Duraludon VMAX and Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (as both Pokemon are able to one hit KO the opponent’s Genesect V)
4. How did your tournament go? Any notable things happened?
Overall, it went pretty well. Things got pretty nerve wrecking at the beginning since I lost my first game on Day 1. This put me at a tight spot on the ranking board. But I was lucky enough to pilot the remaining 7 games to clutch myself into Day 2.
Another highlight would be my Top 8 game with the eventual finalist Jacob. No doubt there was a few misplays from my end, but that was probably one the most exciting matchups I had at the Championships Malaysia.
Watch the match here: https://www.youtube.com/live/_bef_BIihG0?feature=share&t=6674
5. With SV02 just around the corner, how would you go about improving your deck?
To be honest, I’m not sure what adjustment I would make just yet since the meta hasn’t really been solidified. I’ll probably get back to you on this question in like another month.
The Southern Islands 