1st Place Lugia VSTAR Deck (Post 2024 Rotation)

It’s somewhat ironic that while the 2023 standard rotation is what brought an end to Lugia VSTAR’s reign as best deck in the format, the 2024 standard rotation brought it back in a big way. After winning a major tournament in Japan post rotation, it’s clear that Lugia VSTAR is the deck to watch as we head into the first tournaments of the 2024 Pokemon TCG season.

In this up-to-date Lugia VSTAR deck list and guide, we are going to be looking at the current way of playing this powerhouse deck and share some tips and tricks that you can take with you to your next competition.

*Updated April 2, 2024

Lugia VSTAR Deck List

Pokémon (20)
4 Lugia V SIT 138
3 Lugia VSTAR SIT 139
4 Archeops SIT 147
3 Minccino BRS 124
3 Cinccino SV5K 60
2 Snorlax LOR 143
1 Lumineon V BRS 40
Trainer (23)
3 Iono PAF 80
2 Professor's Research PAF 88
2 Boss's Orders PAL 172
2 Serena SIT 164
1 Jacq SVI 175
4 Ultra Ball PAF 91
4 Capturing Aroma SIT 153
2 Great Ball PAL 183
1 Master Ball PLB 94
2 Collapsed Stadium BRS 137
Energy (17)
4 Double Turbo Energy BRS 151
4 Jet Energy PAL 190
4 Gift Energy LOR 171
3 Mist Energy SV5M 71
1 Therapeutic Energy PAL 193
1 V Guard Energy SIT 169

Card types

Lugia VSTAR Deck – Basic Strategy

Although Lugia VSTAR might be back after being out of the competitive scene in a big way for while, the way you play this deck follows closely the way it has always been played. In fact, part of what makes this deck so good lies in its simplicity.

1. Play down Lugia V

Lugia V is very much the backbone of this entire deck, so it’s quite imperative that you play it on turn one. Without a Lugia V in play, you can’t evolve into a Lugia VSTAR, which also means you can’t start accelerating energy onto your powerful, colorless attackers.

To make playing a Lugia turn one easier for you, this deck runs plenty of Pokemon search cards. The ones that make it easier for you to find Lugia V turn one are Ultra Ball, Great Ball, Capturing Aroma and the powerful newly added to the game Master Ball.

2. Get Archeops into into your discard pile

After you’ve succeeded in evolving your Lugia V into a Lugia VSTAR, you’re now ready to use your once-per-game VSTAR ability to bring Archeops to your bench. However, in order to do this, you first have to have Archeops in your discard. There are a number of ways to achieve this. However, thanks to a handy supporter named Jacq that came out in the Scarlet & Violet base set, getting Archeops into your hand so you can discard a card is a lot easier than it used to be.

The thing that’s really nice about Jacq is that it doesn’t only let you get Archeops – it’s quite versatile and lets you pull any two evolution Pokemon. This means you can add a Lugia VSTAR to your hand if you need it.

In addition to Jacq, this deck list has a bunch of ways to search for Archeops and add it into your hand. The same cards that help you find Lugia V – Ultra Ball, Capturing Aroma, and Master Ball – all fill the same role here, making it easier for you to get two into your hand.

Of course, getting the Archeops into your hand is only half the battle. You will still need to discard them. Don’t worry – this deck has plenty of ways to help you discard your Archeops. You can use Serena to accomplish this, Ultra Ball, Professor’s Research, or even Lugia V’s attack.

3. Evolve Lugia V into Lugia VSTAR and use summoning star

Lugia VSTAR’s ability Summoning Star is the key component to this deck, and you’ll want to make sure that you have two Archeops in the discard before you use it. It’s really difficult to win if you only have one in your discard, and you should only resort to bringing out one Archeops with summoning star if you are going to lose otherwise, as a lone Archeops can easily be taken out.

4. Power Up your Lugia and start attacking

Lugia may not take OHKOs, but it still hits for an impressive 220 damage. Once you have your Archeops in play, you are ready to start powering up your Lugia VSTAR with energy. Attaching a V Guard energy is a solid way to help protect it from some of those super powerful Pokemon V out there.

3. Play Lumineon V to get key supporters

These days, with so many Pokemon search cards adding Pokemon to your deck, fewer decks can take advantage of Lumineon V. However, Lugia VSTAR certainly can. You can search Lumineon V from your deck in a variety of ways. Then play it to pull a key supporter card when you need it most.

5. Clean up with your secondary attackers

Thanks to Temporal Forces, Lugia VSTAR can take advantage of an incredibly strong new secondary attacker Cinccino. While this card hasn’t technically been revealed in English yet, you can see what it looks like below as well as see the text translation.

Of course, it’s the special round attack that you want to pay special attention to, as this attack dishes out multiples of 70 for each energy attached. That’s a pretty insane attack when combined with the fact that you aren’t really limited by how many energies you can attach via Archeops.

Besides this powerful new Pokemon, you also have access to the trusty old Snorlax from Lost Origin. Snorlax is good because he’s pretty tanky for a single prize Pokemon with 150 HP, while hitting for 180. Use Therapeutic Energy to keep him from falling asleep and you can use him to thump your opponent turn after turn.

Snorlax – Lost Origin

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6. Play Collapsed Stadium to slow down your opponent

While Lugia VSTAR doesn’t need to contend with Path to the Peak anymore, it’s still helpful to run Collapsed Stadium in this deck. This allows you to get rid of Pokemon with low HP or those that are vulnerable to attack (like Lumineon V). Also, because Lugia VSTAR doesn’t rely on a full bench of supporting Pokemon, you can gain a bit of an advantage by lessening your opponent’s bench without adversly impacting your own strategy.