Yin Yang Urshifu, light vs evil!

Hey everyone! It's Gabriel Smart here back with another article. Today, we are going to be going over Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX! Rapid Strike is a deck that has been around for quite some time, and it continues to dominate the metagame. It's honestly really impressive that with so many formats where decks have countered it, it has still remained at the top of its game. In today's article, I will be discussing Rapid Strike Urshifu Moltres. If you are looking for any PTCGO codes in this article, make sure to purchase them off from the PTCGO Store! They provide one of the best prices of PTCGL codes on the market and they have an instant email delivery! Now, let's get into everything you need to know about Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX, with Galarian Moltres V! 

Since Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX's release all the way back in Battle Styles, it has remained one of the most powerful pokemon online decks in the metagame. Its first attack, Gale Thrust, deals a respectable 150 damage for one singular fighting energy. Although its first attack may be strong, GMAX Rapid Flow is really what makes this deck to another level. For 3 energy, it deals 120 damage to 2 of your opponent's Pokemon. Now, you might be thinking, that this isn't a lot of damage. Although at first glance, it is not a major amount of damage, paired up with Telescopic Sight (Vivid Voltage) and ナゲツケサル (Chilling Reign), it allows for us to deal up to 180 damage to our opponent's bench Pokemon! GMAX Rapid Flow has become one of the most powerful attacks in the game and has really shaped the metagame in many respects. Decks with Pokemon under 180 HP, really need to watch out for GMAX Rapid Flow, or else it will decimate them before they even have a chance to attack! Although Rapid Strike Urshifu is strong on its own, it needs a partner in crime, and this is where Moltres V comes into play. Let's take a look at the decklist! 

1 Crobat V SHF 44

2 Galarian Moltres V CRE 177

1 Passimian CRE 88

4 Rapid Strike Urshifu V BST 87

3 Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX BST 88

4 Sobble CRE 41

4 Drizzile SHF 99

1 Inteleon SHF 100

2 Inteleon CRE 43

1 Tower of Waters BST 138

1 Boss's Orders RCL 154

3 Evolution Incense SSH 163　

4 Quick Ball SSH 179　

1 Energy Search SSH 161

3 Raihan EVS 152

1 Air Balloon SSH 156　

4 Level Ball BST 129　

2 Energy Switch SSH 162

1 Escape Rope BST 125

4 Professor's Research SSH 178

2 Marnie CPA 56

1 Telescopic Sight VIV 160

1 Fighting Energy Energy 6

4 Rapid Strike Energy BST 140

5 Darkness Energy Energy 7　

As stated above, Rapid Strike Urshifu needs some extra support at times, and Moltres V is the perfect partner for it! Its ability Direflame Wings will allow us to set up its attack Aura Burn quickly. Rapid Strike's biggest weakness is psychic decks, so having a darkness-type attacker that can one shot cards like MewVMAX (Fusion Strike), Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX (Chilling Reign), or Dragapult VMAX (Rebel Clash), really covers this decks weakness. The strategy with this deck will be to use Gale Thrust, or GMAX Rapid Flow, and then finish them off with Moltres V’s Aura Burn. Currently, I am content with two copies of the card in the deck, but I have tested three, and I would like to potentially add a third one at some point down the road.

What is an Urshifu deck without Inteleon? The インテレオン engine is one of the most powerful combinations of cards we have seen in years! Drizzle (Sword and Shield), and インテレオン (Sword and Shield) provide the consistency that you desperately need with their Shady Dealings ability. インテレオン (Chilling Reign) does not provide consistency, but it provides critical damage that will set up crucial damage on the field that will allow Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX, and Moltres V to take knockouts. Oftentimes, the main attackers of this deck will get ever so close to knocking out Pokemon, but they need that extra little push that Inteleon provides. Currently, the counts of this card stand as four Sobble, four Drizzle, two インテレオン (Chilling Reign), and one インテレオン (Sword and Shield). I am content with these counts in the deck as of right now. A third インテレオン (Chilling Reign) has been tested in this deck, but I began to feel like I would draw into too many of them in the earlier portions of the game and it would clog up early hands. 

ナゲツケサル (Chilling Reign) is what takes this deck to the next level. Although GMAX Rapid Flow, is a devastating attack, its fault is that it does not do enough damage to two-shot many big attackers. With the addition of Passimian, its ability Throwing Coach turns an attack that will deal a combined 240 damage in one turn, up to 300 damage in one turn. This extra damage, paired up with Telescopic Sight, and インテレオン (Chilling Reign) quick shooting ability will allow us to take massive five to six prize card turns on our opponent's two-three prize attackers. Along with its incredible ability, its attack Fling is no slouch either. I have won many games with Fling. Although it only does 20 damage, its own ability, Throwing Coach, increases its damage to 50 on Pokemon V. Although it will not come up every game, there will be circumstances where Fling actually provides critical damage that is needed to complete a game. 

Raihan has undoubtedly been one of the most powerful cards to have come out of Evolving Skies! Although Raihan is incredibly powerful, it needs a deck to truly thrive with. Luckily for us, Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX, and Moltres V, pair up with it better than most! Raihan will allow us to GMAX Rapid Flow turn after turn, and will allow us to power up a Moltres V in just one turn! Raihan is easily accessible with Drizzile, and インテレオン, which makes it a perfect fit in this deck! 

Energy Search has been a card that has been legal for decades. Its very basic effect of searching your deck for energy has been overlooked by many pokemon online decks. With the Inteleon engine's rise in popularity, Energy Search finally has a place to shine. Energy Search turns any shady dealings ability into free energy, and with this deck playing 1 fighting energy, there will be many circumstances where we will need to search it out, which energy search allows us to do! 

Escpare Rope has been one of the most clutch cards in this list. Oftentimes, you want to GMAX Rapid Flow, the active, but cards like Telescopic Sight, and Passimians ability Throwing Coach, only take effect on bench Pokemon. Having Escape Rope in this list forces the active on the bench, and makes the opponent promote something that they might not want to promote. Just the ability to put the opponent in an awkward spot can be game-changing, but the main purpose of the card is to allow us to unlock Telescopic Sight and Throwing Coach on any Pokemon! 

Rapid Strike Urshifu continues to dominate the metagame and has established itself as one of the most consistently performing decks in the game. Its attacks Gale Thrust, GMAX Rapid Flow, and Moltres V’s Aura Burn, have carried this deck to relevance. I can confidently say, this is one of the best decks in the format, and Urshifu will continue to perform until it rotates out of the Standard format. Thank you everyone for reading my most recent article on PTCGO Store. Like I said before, they provide one of the best prices of PTCGL codes on the market and they have an instant email delivery! I'm pretty sure that you can find all the codes that you need to build this or any other deck right here at the PTCGO store! Brilliant Stars is just around the corner, and I cannot wait to begin looking into the brand new set! But with that being said, my time here is done for today, and I hope to speak with you again soon! 

Gabriel Smart is a contributing article writer for PTCGO Store. Gabriel currently resides in the Sacramento, California area and has been playing the game casually since 2010 and competitively since 2018. He streams on Twitch under the name GabrielSmartTCG, creates competitive Pokemon content on Youtube under the name SmartTCG, and posts about his tournaments results and life on Twitter @SmartTCG. Outside the game, he is a huge baseball and basketball fan and loves everything to do with athletics