Updating PikaRom and Centiskorch

Sometimes when a new set on PTCGO releases, it brings new Pokemon decks, and sometimes it brings new cards to existing concepts. In the case of Vivid Voltage, it brought great new decks, such as Coalossal VMAX, but it also brought new tricks for Centiskorch VMAX (Darkness Ablaze) and Pikachu & Zekrom-GX (Team Up) too! I’m Zach Lesage (@theloneblown) and I’m here to showcase my updated Centiskorch VMAX list and my updated Pikachu & Zekrom-GX list for all of you Pokémon Trading Card Game fans! Both of these decks have had an impressive run in online PTCG events so far and it is likely that they will both be great for a long time to come! If you happen to be missing any cards for any of the below decks or if you wanna crack open some online packs, you can always use code zlesage5 to save 5% on your next order of codes at PTCGOStore.com. Let’s jump into these updated lists and away we go...

Pikachu & Zekrom-GX popped off right after it was released in Team Up and was able to score many results at Regionals, Internationals, and Worlds! In chronological order, this deck gained Dedenne-GX (Unbroken Bonds), Reset Stamp (Unified Minds), Chaotic Swell (Cosmic Eclipse), Big Charm (Sword and Shield), Speed Lightning Energy (Rebel Clash), and Crobat V (Darkness Ablaze). Well, you might be wondering what does this deck gain from Vivid Voltage and that’s a fair question - the answer is Leon! I recently wrote about my top five cards from this set and Leon was able to hop into the list! Upon first glance, it doesn’t seem like a great card because it does an extra 30 by playing a Supporter card, but it really adds up. Pikachu & Zekrom-GX can now OHKO Dedenne-GX and Crobat V with Full Blitz by playing Leon and Tag Bolt GX can hit other thresholds too! You can now OHKO a Zacian V (Sword and Shield) or Centiskorch V (Darkness Ablaze) which really wasn’t possible before Leon! Below is the list that one of my teammates, Caleb Rogerson (@InfinitePTCG), recently played all the way to the finals of a large online Pokémon event. Let’s check out their list and I’ll share the strategy of the deck below!

1 Crobat V DAA 104

1 Eldegoss V CPA 5

2 Boltund V RCL 67

2 Dedenne-GX UNB 195

2 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX PR-SM 168

1 Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX UNM 221

1 Tapu Koko {*} TEU 51

1 Vikavolt V DAA 60

1 Mewtwo & Mew-GX PR-SM 191

1 Leon VIV 154

2 Chaotic Swell CEC 187

4 Quick Ball SSH 179　

2 Big Charm SSH 158

2 Air Balloon SSH 156　

3 Electromagnetic Radar UNB 169

3 Reset Stamp UNM 206

4 Professor's Research SSH 178

4 Marnie SSH 169　

3 Energy Switch SSH 162

3 Boss's Orders RCL 154

4 Switch SSH 183

3 Speed Lightning Energy RCL 173

10 Lightning Energy SWSHEnergy 4

Pikachu & Zekrom-GX plays out as aggressive Lightning-type decks because you can attack with it relatively early on. In order to do this, you either need to attack with Electrify on Boltund V (Rebel Clash) or use a combination of Tapu Koko Prism Star (Team Up) and Energy Switch (Sword and Shield) to get off a quick Full Blitz. Once you can start attacking with Full Blitz, you can start to power up some of your other Pokémon or even power up Pikachu & Zekrom-GX to use a boosted Tag Bolt GX. Some of the other Pokémon that you can power up are Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX (Unified Minds) to have a few more powerful attacking options, Boltund V to do more damage for each Energy in play, or Vikavolt V to stop your opponent from using Item cards. Additionally, you can power up Mewtwo & Mew-GX (Unified Minds) to copy any GX Pokémon that you have in play or your Discard Pile - talk about options! This deck has a consistent core that has been refined over the past year that allows it to consistently rank as one of the best decks within PTCGO! Give this deck a try if you are into electrifying levels of consistency and if you are looking to bring the thunder to your next game of Pokémon!

Centiskorch VMAX (Darkness Ablaze) is definitely a newer deck than Pikachu & Zekrom-GX (Team Up), but that doesn’t mean it can’t add to its impressive Fire-type arsenal in Vivid Voltage. The reason why I like Fire-type Pokémon is that Welder (Unbroken Bonds) can power them up quickly, both new and old, which means this deck will always have new options. That is why I have been able to test Cramorant V (Sword and Shield), Incineroar V (Champion's Path), and Heatran-GX (Unified Minds) in the deck. My favorite new addition to this deck is Talonflame V (Vivid Voltage) because it has a Lightning-type Weakness instead of the common Water-type Weakness and it is a great setup card! You can also get it powered up to attack in a single turn with Welder which makes it a great candidate to close out some quick games on PTCGO. The list below is heavily based on the deck that my teammates and I took to the Players Cup II and so let’s dive into it.

1 Crobat V DAA 104

4 Centiskorch V DAA 33

1 Heatran-GX UNM 25

1 Talonflame V VIV 29

1 Victini V SSH 25

3 Volcanion PR-SM 179

3 Centiskorch VMAX DAA 34

2 Eldegoss V CPA 5

2 Dedenne-GX UNB 195

1 Giratina UNM 86

3 Giant Hearth UNM 197

4 Welder UNB 189

2 Boss's Orders RCL 154

4 Pokégear 3.0 UNB 182

4 Quick Ball SSH 179　

4 Pokémon Communication TEU 152

2 Reset Stamp UNM 206

4 Switch SSH 183

14 Fire Energy

Centiskorch VMAX plays out as an absolute tank that can steamroll most decks online, but it’s the biggest drawback is how consistent it is. I should start off by saying this deck has an extremely high win rate when going second, due to Flare Starter on Volcanion (Unbroken Bonds), but it can have a bit of a rough go when you are forced to go first. The goal is to power up Centiskorch VMAX with Volcanion and Welder (Unbroken Bonds) to continuously use G-Max Centiferno over and over again for large amounts of damage! You can make it easier by using Eldegoss V (Champion's Path) to grab back Supporter cards, Giant Hearth (Unified Minds) to grab Fire Energy from the deck, and Pokégear 3.0 (Sword and Shield) to get Welder into your hand! You have Talonflame V (Vivid Voltage) as a great free Retreat option, Heatran-GX (Unified Minds) as a way to do massive amounts of damage with Hot Burn GX, and don’t forget that Volcanion can attack through “safeguard” cards like Altaria (Champion's Path). Wrapping this all together into a nice Fire-type deck makes for one of the most powerful decks in the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online and I highly suggest that you give this deck a try! I recommend this deck for those looking to bring the heat to light up the competition!

That’s where we landed and where we are stopping today! All of the info in this article should point you in the right direction in our early Vivid Voltage metagame Pokemon TCG online! The best thing about playing decks created from previous sets is that you likely already own some of the cards necessary to play those decks and if worse comes to worst, the code cards for older sets tend to be a bit cheaper too. If you are looking to save a little bit of extra money, feel free to use code zlesage5 right here on PTCGOStore.com to save 5% on your next order of codes! Also, if you have any questions about anything in this article or if you are looking for some assistance to get involved with online play, feel free to reach out in the comments below or on Twitter. It’s been a blast and I can’t wait to release my next article for all of you to read!