Kashvinder Singh Mann | Starbirth Your Way To Victory With Arceus VSTAR
Hello readers of The Southern Islands, I’m Kash. I mainly play in the central region of Singapore and have been playing the game competitively since returning to it back in 2016. I am also helping the PokéStats crew to help cover results from all around the world.
This year has been a roller coaster season for me. I scored points in my first three events, all with Arceus VSTAR variants, before not doing so well for the next 7 months. Then came the Regional League win in my first event returning to an Arceus deck and sealing my Worlds invite with Mew VMAX, it was a meta call and I just wanted to play a safe consistent deck to get me across the line.
I also felt Arceus didn’t have the best spot in the Championships as Gardevoir ex was running Choice Belt after Henry Brand’s win in the Milwaukee Regional Championships; and Lost Box were all going towards the Kyogre build, typically the worst variant for Arceus VSTAR to deal with. You can also read up about my season here.
But as you can see, I’m quite comfortable playing Arceus VSTAR variant decks. I picked it up the very moment it was released ($90 well spent) because I could tell right away this would be the type of deck I’d enjoy as I have always liked decks that can accelerate energies (similar to decks like Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, Volcanion-ex, Zygarde-GX and of course my favourite: Welder Box).
Arceus Is Versatile
Some might say it’s because of its simplicity but I prefer to look at it’s versatility. Arceus VSTAR, being a Colorless-type attacker, means it can be teched into literally any type of deck and the results have shown. Arceus, as we speak, has the second highest earnings won of any deck in the game and since release it has won 12 Regionals, 1 Regional League, 1 Special Event (SPE), 1 Nationals, 2 Internationals and of course, 1 World Championship:
And the amazing part about these 18 combined wins for an Arceus decks, they never tend to be the same shell. Only Arceus VSTAR /Giratina VSTAR has managed back-to-back wins and that happened on the same day! The only typing Arceus has not won a major event with is Fire-type.
The Evolution Of Arceus VSTAR To What It Is Today
Each version of Arceus plays very differently from the other and I can say I have tried pretty much all of them. We initially had the Inteleon engine to help get specific cards needed for whichever matchups you were up against and you would play many different 1-offs which you could afford to because of the Drizzle engine.
Arceus decks started to either move out of it to a Bibarel engine or even stopping your opponent’s Drizzle engine with stuff like Jolteon. The Bibarel proved to be the more popular and with Inteleon rotating, it was the natural replacement and even won the World Championships in 2022 with Ondrej Skubal with his famous advice “play Bibarel”.
Now we live in a world where there are two different ways to play Arceus VSTAR. One that runs the Bibarel engine along with Giratina VSTAR – its main game plan is to slow your opponents down with Path to the Peak to stop their Abilities while disrupting their hand with Judge and Iono. While they are struggling to keep up, the whole time you are building up a board with Giratina VSTAR to take big hits, plus you have Bibarel to draw cards along with Skowvet to help you run through the deck to get the cards you need, be it Boss’s Orders, Choice Belt, a switching out, or another disruptive supporter. The deck can be very linear, there is no real way to surprise your opponents, they know what you are trying to do so you cannot outplay your opponents with this build.
The other version of Arceus VSTAR is the complete opposite. Instead of disrupting your opponent with multiple copies of Path to the Peak, you want to get rid of as many Pokemon as possible with Lost City. This really hurts set-up decks like Gardevoir ex or decks that rely on specific attackers such as Lost Box. You don’t have a built-in draw engine nor an attacker than can easily take one-hit KOs. Duraludon VMAX is there for decks that use Special Energy cards (like Lugia VSTAR) while Umbreon VMAX serves two purposes. It has a built-in “gust” engine to drag your opponent’s Pokemon hiding in the Bench, as well as being an answer for Mew VMAX and Gardevoir ex. You also can utilize stuff like Radiant Alakazam to move damage around and take cheeky KOs that they might not see coming.
Arceus Techs Are Aplenty
Because Arceus VSTAR is quite the flexible deck, there is a lot of room for experiments, and I’ve had my fair share of them. Probably the most famous one being the double Escape Rope – an advice from my friend Harrison Burch that greatly helped me win Singapore’s 2nd Regional League. My good friend Loc Nguyen is known for teching out his decks, so he’s influenced me in trying a few fun techs for Arceus VSTAR / Giratina VSTAR as well. Sidney is a Supporter that ensures your opponent doesn’t get out of the Path to the Peak lock as you can view their hand and discard any Stadium they might be holding on to, it also works for Tools and Special Energy cards too. Flannery is another Supporter, she helps to discard Path to the Peak in case you need to use Arceus VSTAR’s Starbirth but also works to discard Special Energy cards, such a V Guard or Gift Energy.
I’ve tried playing Capturing Aroma to help with the set-up, as either flip could be helpful in getting either a 2nd attacker or the Arceus VSTAR or Bibarel I need at a specific turn. I have also tried Pumpkaboo as a safety net for whenever I get stuck from my opponent’s Path to the Peak, just so I can use Starbirth and get the Path lock right back into action. Slaking V was another one I tried alongside Spiritomb since it cancel’s out Slaking’s ability which gives me another big attacker but the cat is now out of the bag due to results in North America International Championships (NAIC).
As for Arceus VSTAR / Duraludon VMAX / Umbreon VMAX, I have tried to experiment but with different partners, be it Aggron VMAX for hitting big damage, Alolan Vulpix VSTAR to wall out Pokemon with Abilities, Lycanroc VMAX to take easy KOs after G-Max Pulverization or KO the smaller Pokemon, and of course Aerodactyl VSTAR for locking out Abilities.
The best version of Arceus
29th place Arceus VSTAR deck at NAIC played by Alex LeBlanc
For now, I would say Alex LeBlanc’s 29th place list from NAIC is my favourite go-to list, he mentioned to me that he took one of my deck lists from an online tournament and ran with it for NAIC. Plus compared to the others, it’s quite straight forward. I also had a small hand in helping Stephen Kent’s 14th place list with the 1-1 Umbreon VMAX line to deal with Gardevoir ex and Mew VMAX but I would suggest Alex’s list as the best version currently.
His list had no other techs that you might see in a few other lists, be it the 1-1 Umbreon line or the Mawile that was used by Alex Hamilton who finished 20th. With as little tech cards as possible, you should be able to execute your game plan as often as possible, especially in a BO3 setting. I personally prefer Arceus VSTAR / Giraina VSTAR over Arceus VSTAR / Duraludon VMAX / Umbreon VMAX, as the chances of having a bad start with Giratina VSTAR is lesser with Single Strike Pokemon partners having many one-off Pokemon in the list, including the dreaded Lumineon V start (you can order the shirt from Nicholas)! Plus, who doesn’t like to Net some Stash with Skwovet?
Arceus VSTAR / Giratina VSTAR Key Cards
2-2 Bibarel to help keep the deck running as you will usually be using either Iono or Judge to shuffle both hands
1 Skwovet in combination with Bibarel and Iono can help you see as many as 12 different cards per turn and that’s not counting the cards you might have before the Iono and that number can go up to as many as 20!
1 Spiritomb to help fix the Mew matchup and decks that rely on basic Pokemon V, such as Lugia decks that want to use Lumineon V to get Professor Burnet to discard two Archeops.
1 Cleansing Gloves + 1 Choice Belt to help you take an easier KO on Gardevoir ex and Mew VMAX for the clean 310 damage swipe (no pun intended). Choice Belt can help to take down 310HP Pokemon such as Mew VMAX or Umbreon VMAX for the bigger VMAXes or against Pokemon VSTAR like Lugia VSTAR, Arceus VSTAR or Giratina VSTAR with V Guard Energy attached.
What Are The Best Cards To Choose With Starbirth
People have often asked me, what do you take off Starbirth? And the answer is always the same, whatever is needed to assist your current board state. There is no fixed answer for Starbirth as you tend to react to whatever is going on. Most of the time, the two cards would be a switching out or the Energy, but if you were holding on to either one, Iono or Judge would be the next option to disrupt your opponent’s hand. If you had that, Path to the Peak is the next best choice to stop their Abilities. Path and Judge or Iono is a legit win condition in the current metagame.
If your opponent seems to be struggling with their hand, Professor’s Research is a good choice to help give you more options. And then there are the rare times where you see the golden opportunity to really slow an opponent down; Boss’s Orders is the ticket for that ride.
But what if you already have Path to the Peak, Judge, an Arceus VSTAR in the Active Spot and the Energy to attack with? Quite simple, get your next attackers ready. Nest Ball helps to get your next Arceus V or Giratina V out. There will be times where you have the little friend Bidoof on the bench and getting the Bibarel out helps to keep your deck rolling.
Arceus Is Good For Beginners
Players can learn the basics of the game with an Arceus VSTAR deck, as both Arceus decks do tend to have a linear strategy. So if they can perfect that, they might start to build up confidence from playing the deck and know the lines they need to take against specific matchups and perhaps try their hand at other meta decks afterwards.
Deck Matchups
VS Arceus VSTAR / Duraludon VMAX / Umbreon VSTAR
For ArcTina: 60.1% For ArcDura: 50%
The mirror match is quite simply put, whoever sets-up first generally wins the match. A well-timed Path to the Peak can win you the game.
As for ArcTina, the matchup is quite favored. You can easily one-shot their bigger attackers while they have to two-shot yours. I generally try to set up Giratina VSTAR first in this matchup as you can knock out their Arceus VSTAR right away. They tend to build up the Duraludon VMAX first and if that’s the case, Umbreon V or VMAX is your next target. They should take the Giratina out with Duraludon by this point and you should have an Arceus VSTAR ready to attack. You’re not bothered by their Ability as you play 4 copies of Path to the Peak. Avoid giving them a free two Prize Pokemon in this match, they can bump the Path with their Lost City, use Umbreon VMAX’s ability to gust out a Pokemon V and take a KO with Duraludon VMAX.
Key cards in matchup: Path to the Peak, Boss’s Orders, Giratina VSTAR Potential tech cards: Cheren’s Care could help remove targets from Duraludon VMAX. Radiant Gardevoir is also a consideration as they generally want to remove your Path to the Peak, making Radiant Gardevoir effective on their turn – the whole point of having it.
VS Arceus VSTAR / Giratina VSTAR
For ArcTina: 50% For ArcDura: 39.9%
Pretty much same as above, whoever sets up first in this match generally wins. Or as I found out, it might also be whoever sets up Path to the Peak first wins the game. There are times where, like I did in the GSP#3 Invitational, you could sacrifice an Arceus V to build up two Giratina VSTAR on your Bench and KO their threats from there.
As for ArcDura, the matchup is tricky as they can one shot your attackers. Your best bet is to get rid of their Giratina V as quickly as possible, which is possible by using Duraludon VMAX and gusting up the Giratina with either Boss’s Orders or Umbreon VMAX. You’ll need to save the Lost City as that is the out to stop Arceus VSTAR from attacking if they still have Double Turbo Energy on it or V Guard. Umbreon isn’t really needed for this matchup but helps with the situation mentioned above.
Key cards in matchup: Lost City, Boss’s Orders Potential tech cards: Hawlucha is something I’ve played in my ArcDura list simply to get Turn 2 KOs on opposing Arceus Vs with the help of Choice Belt, Radiant Alakazam and a gust effect.
VS Gardevoir ex
For ArcTina: 54.2% For ArcDura: 47.3%
This matchup is slightly unfavoured for the ArcDura player as Gardevoir ex has free reign to build up attackers to take out whatever is in sight. This is where the Umbreon VMAX comes into action to not only drag out Gardevoir ex but take it out in one shot due to Weakness. Radiant Alakazam shines in this matchup against opponents not respecting it, as you can easily set up a situation of taking 2 or even 3 Prize turns by moving 2 damage counters to KO Shining Arcana Gardevoir and KO the next big threat.
The deck does play 3 Lost City so you can start removing their engine, Kirlia, from the game, which should help slow them down if they don’t have an immediate response. Umbreon V’s Mean Look can also win you games if they run out of Energy cards or Penny near the end.
As for ArcTina, the matchup is much better but still very close. Your main game plan is to slow them down with the 4 Path to the Peak. If they have even the slowest of starts, you can start to target down their Ralts and Kirlia with your Boss’s Orders while building up your next attacker. This is one of the few matchups you’ll want that Cleansing Gloves on Giratina to take out Gardevoir ex.
Key cards in matchup: Lost City, Umbreon VMAX, and Radiant Alakazam for ArcDura, Path to the Peak and Cleansing Gloves for ArcTina Potential tech cards: Lost City for the ArcTina player to remove stuff like Zacian V or Shining Arcana Gardevoir. Or perhaps the 1-1 Umbreon VMAX line like Stephen used to get 14th at NAIC. Another tech card for ArcTina can be Box of Disaster to return KO anything that one shots your Pokemon V.
VS Mew VMAX (both Fusion Strike & DTE Path to the Peak variant)
For ArcTina: 51.1% (vs DTE) and 49.3% (vs Fusion) For ArcDura: 47.6% (vs DTE) and 42.3% (vs Fusion)
Mew VMAX decks generally tend to be favored against any sort of Arceus VSTAR decks. Even with Umbreon VMAX in the case of ArcDura, the matchup can be quite a struggle as they can get the first big KO before you even set up, especially with Meloetta on turn 1! Even the Double Turbo Energy version can be a problem for ArcDura due to their constant Path to the Peak pressure, so they aren’t afraid of Duraludon VMAX.
Things are slightly better for ArcTina. You are also going for the Path/Judge strategy but the inclusion of Spritomb should make Mew DTE quite favorable for you. Mew VMAX with Fusion Strike Energy can get around Spiritomb by taking a KO with it using Eiscue or by simply attaching Fusion Strike Energy to Genesect,but that’s still good for you. Arceus VSTAR without Double Turbo Energy can take KO on Genesect and as you play 3-4 Boss, you can simply go around the Mew VMAX and target the engine. Giratina VSTAR with Cleansing Gloves tends to be the closer for this matchup.
Key cards in matchup: Umbreon VMAX (if you play it), Path (if you play it), Spiritomb (you should play it) Potential tech cards: Spiritomb’s inclusion is mainly for Mew. The matchup isn’t good as shown on Trainer’s Hill data but some of those data does include the time where Spiritomb was banned on PTCGL. Flannery, Sidney and Giacomo could help sort out their Special Energies as well.
VS Rapid Strike Inteleon / Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX
For ArcTina: 30.6% For ArcDura: 50%
If you’re the ArcTina player and you see an Intelron VMAX / Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX deck, run the other way. This match is near impossible but strange things can happen, as seen by my win-and-in matchup at the Regional League I won. If they are slow to start, target down the Octillery, that is their main engine for the deck. If they leave an Inteleon V unevolved, that’s your next 2 Prize cards and the last 3 will come in the form of either of their Pokemon VMAX, most likely Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX as it will take out Arceus VSTAR quite easily. Try not to bench the little guys in this matchup. Path to the Peak does help to stop Inteleon VMAX’s Double Gunner so keep that in mind. V Guard Energy can put you out of range from a one shot hit from Urshifu.
It’s much better for the ArcDura player. Granted Arceus VSTAR is still weak to Urshifu but if you can set up Duraludon VMAX, they might have some trouble dealing with it since most of their attacks require the use of a special energy. If you can deal with their Urshifu, you should be able to win. You’ll need to keep bumping their Stadium as well as they will want to keep using Urshifu’s first attack as it only cost one Fighting Energy, which goes around Duraludon VMAX.
Key cards in matchup: Boss’s Orders, Path to the Peak, V Guard Energy (for ArcTina), Duraludon VMAX and Lost City (for ArcDura) Potential tech cards: Cheren’s Care to possibly take away an easy KO for Urshifu on an Arceus with V Guard energy. Flying Pikachu VMAX can help KO Inteleon VMAX in one shot and resist Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX, taking only 120 damage.
VS Lost Box
For ArcTina: 55.9% For ArcDura: 57.7%
Lost Box is a decent matchup for both variants of Arceus VSTAR. In the case of Duraludon VMAX, your saving grace is by having a beefy 330HP attacker for them to go through. It can also knock out a Dragonite V with the help of Radiant Alakazam. Lost City also helps get rid of stuff like Dragonite V, Radiant Greninja and Sableye from the game.
The saving grace for ArcTina is the whole disruption plan. The matchup isn’t as good for you as it is for ArcDura, but still very favorable due to the constant Judge and Iono they will have get out from. Path to the Peak also stops them from drawing cards with Radiant Greninja. Try to only bench one non-Pokemon V as you don’t want to give them easier routes to take their 6 Prize cars. This is also one of the few games where you don’t mind just attacking with Arceus VSTAR
Key cards in matchup: Lost City, Duraludon VMAX, Radiant Alakazam (ArcDura), Path th the Peak, Judge, Iono (ArcTina) Potential tech cards: For ArcTina, Cheren’s Care is really annoying for Lost Box players to deal with and won me both my games at the Regional League during my two games against them. As for ArcDura, Volo does pretty much the same thing, but you discard your Pokémon, removing a threat they might have been working on.
VS Lugia VSTAR
For ArcTina: 48.1% For ArcDura: 60.9%
This is the one matchup where it’s a different story for both sides. As the ArcTina player, you dread playing against it. Your best shot to beating Lugia VSTAR is to have Spiritomb down early to stop Lumineon V plays and hit a Path to the Peak on the board ASAP. They will eventually get out of the Path lock but by then, you should have taken 2 Prize cards with Giratina VSTAR ready to swing the match in your favour. When they do get Archeops up, you might prefer to KO the Archeops to slow them down with your constant Boss’s Orders pressure.
On the flip side, as the ArcDura player you are thrilled to see a Lugia VSTAR on the opposite side of the table. Duraludon VMAX’s whole gimmick is to stop Special Energy from hiting it and Lugia’s only answer to it is Single Strike Urshifu VMAX. Your best shot then is to take down the V before it evolves, and by that point you’ve pretty much won the game.
Key cards in matchup: Path to the Peak, Spiritomb, and Boss’s Orders (ArcTina), Duraludon VMAX (ArcDura) Potential tech cards: Flying Pikachu VMAX could be a decent shout as a 1-1 tech if you are anticipating Lugia in your meta, especially as it can KO Lugia VSTAR quite easily and Basic Pokemon cannot damage it. Cards such as Flannery or Giancomo can also help to deal with V Guard Energy or Gift Energy. These are all for ArcTina.
VS Chien Pao ex / Baxcalibur
For ArcTina: 52.4% For ArcDura: 49.3%
The matchup against the new kid on the block is even for both variants. Slightly less for ArcDura, you are playing Pokemon VMAX and Chien Pao ex can easily KO those, so you are already at a disadvantage. Your best bet is to stop the engine and with Lost City, you can make it difficult for them to get a Baxcalibur going. Duraludon VMAX does one shot a Chien Pao so it’s the preferred attacker in this case.
ArcTina has a better time against Chien Pao thanks to our good friend Path to the Peak, stopping them from getting their energies or drawing with Radiant Greninja. Since you can’t KO a Chien Pao ex with Arceus VSTAR, I try to go around it and target their engine, be it Bibarel or Baxcalibur. Once the Giratina VSTAR is ready to go, then you’ve got a Pokemon that can deal with Chien Pao or whomever their backup attacker may be, be it Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR or Arceus VSTAR.
I will say, this is strangely one of the few matchups I don’t have much experience on.
Key cards in matchup: Boss’s Orders (Both), Lost City (ArcDura), Path to the Peak (ArcTina) Potential tech cards: Slaking V, I was testing this out as another heavy hitter and since it does 260 damage (or 240 with Double Turbo Energy), it can easily deal with Chien Pao ex without losing Energy cards. Zamazenta V is another Pokemon I considered for this matchup as well.
Preparing For The World Championships
I’ve been lucky enough to be invited by my friends to their testing sessions as I don’t really have a testing group before, so that has been helpful – to play against guys who are either going to Worlds as well, ones who have been there before or just guys I know can do so in the future.
I’ve been trying out all sorts of decks to familiarize myself with what I can expect to see at Worlds and maybe find some answers for what I might want to play. I’ve also been playing in online tournaments just to get my reps in with decks I might consider. Any playing time I can get, IRL or online, is good practice for me to prepare myself for the biggest event I’ll ever play in.
The Southern Islands 
