[Update 7 Nov 2024] The Lugia VSTAR deck’s standing in the current metagame has been elevated due to newfound matchup advantages against a wide range of decks. In addition, most of the decks which would counter the Lugia VSTAR deck have become less popular in tournament play.

In addition, the inclusion of the Manaphy card from Star Birth [S9] in this deck has fallen out of favor due to changes in the approaches taken by many Regidrago VSTAR and Lost Zone Box deck players—decks which Manaphy was previously able to counter.

[Update 16 Aug 2024] Heading into the World Championships, some players have been experimenting with a new build of this deck. To the surprise of many, the new build doesn’t include the Cinccino card from Wild Force [SV5K] that had been a staple of this deck. Instead, it makes use of Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex from Crimson Haze [SV5a] and Wyrdeer V from Time Gazer [S10D].

[Update 2 Jul 2024] This deck now has a new build which is widely expected to be frequently seen at the upcoming World Championships. The new Lugia VSTAR deck build features two cards from Mask of Change [SV6]—Carmine and Jamming Tower.

[Update 3 Jun 2024] The Lugia VSTAR deck emerged triumphant at the Japan Championships held in Yokohama on 1-2 June 2024. In the last and biggest Japanese tournament before the World Championships in August, Hikaru Kobiyama completed a sensational comeback in the final with this deck, overturning a deficit of one game and four Prize cards in the best-of-three series to clinch the title.

To cap off the deck’s outstanding performance at the tournament, two other top-5 finishers used it as well.

[Update 9 May 2024] Following the recent release of Mask of Change [SV6], a new Lugia VSTAR deck variant has emerged. That set brought with it the Legacy Energy card that has already become a staple of Lugia VSTAR decks all over Japan.

At Champions League Sapporo held on 3-4 May 2024, four such decks placed in the top 16, topping out at fourth place. Once Twilight Masquerade [TWM] brings Legacy Energy to international players, a similar effect can be expected among Lugia VSTAR decks outside Japan.

Unlike in the Pokémon video games, there’s no inherent advantage for a Pokémon TCG deck to be a high-speed one. Decks of all paces have seen much success in tournament play over the years. However, for players who prefer to push the tempo up, the Lugia VSTAR deck is undoubtedly a viable option.

This deck’s main setup Pokémon is the deck’s titular Pokémon. Lugia VSTAR from Paradigm Trigger [S12] has the VSTAR Power Summoning Star which pairs perfectly with another Paradigm Trigger [S12] card: Archeops. As soon as a pair of Archeops hit the discard pile, the player can use Summoning Star to put them both on the Bench. Following this, Primal Turbo, Archeops’ aptly-named ability, can be used to attach two Special Energy cards to any of the player’s Pokémon—perfect for this deck which is chock-full of Special Energy cards.

Ideally, before the opponent even would’ve had a chance to react, Primal Turbo will have powered up Cinccino, a Wild Force [SV5K] card serving as the deck’s primary attacker. Its Special Roll attack inflicts 50 damage per Special Energy attached to it—so with Primal Turbo’s assistance, Cinccino can steamroll even the bulkiest of foes under the right circumstances.

However, Cinccino’s relatively scant HP of 110 makes it a “glass cannon” that’ll likely not survive to the end of the game. That isn’t a problem, though—once it gets KO’d, Lugia VSTAR and/or Archeops do have enough offensive output themselves to put the game to bed.

Buying all the cards in a Lugia VSTAR deck costs a minimum of 8,000 JPY (~US$52).

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