Howdy doody, trainers. Today we have a return to another article posted in our forum: "Lost Gatos," by Seth P.
Why am I returning to this article? Because Mew Prime is still in the metagame, and could surprise some of you come states. Granted, you Dialga players will have it easy versus most variants, but for everyone else, it'll be crucial to know about it.
(mew.dec ; mew.dek)
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Opening thoughts
With the beginning of this season the road to finding a new competitive deck has been a long and hard one. I have tested everything from Magnezone to Absol/Gengar. Nothing proving useful I turned to Mew Prime. I love the idea of the deck I went from everywhere from play Mew/Absol to Mew/Gengar. Finally messing around with Mew Prime we came up with a skeleton for what grew to be a great deck I began to get more and more in the Mewperior thing. Watching a few threads of the Pokegym I came to realize people are running the deck in the wrong direction. Instead of stacking your deck with so many energy people needed to instead focus on consistency and utilizing the energy you have already discarded. I found the deck works better if you focus more on always having a Mew instead of discarding as many energy cards as possible.
Why Los Gatos?
Because people fear what they don’t understand, and most people don’t speak Spanish.
The Deck
Pokemon: 20
4 Mew (Triumphant 97/102)
2 Rhyperior Lv.X (Legends Awaken 145/146)
2 Delcatty (Platinum 4/127)
2 Skitty (Platinum 93/127)
1 Drifblim (Undaunted 12/90)
1 Drifloon (Undaunted 46/90)
2 Smeargle (Undaunted 8/90)
2 Uxie (Legends Awaken 43/146)
2 Unown Q (majestic Dawn 49/100)
1 Mesprit (Legends Awaken 34/146)
1 Dialga (Platinum 5/127)
Trainer: 20
4 Pokemon Collector
4 Judge
3 Seeker
3 Pokemon Reversal
1 Pokemon Communication
1 Luxury Ball
2 Pokemon Rescue
2 Snowpoint Temple
Energy: 20
4 Rescue Energy
2 Warp Energy
2 Double Colorless Energy
12 Psychic Energy
The Cards
Pokemon
Mew Prime- When some people look at this card the first thing they notice is the HP and x2 weakness to psychic, yes its only 60 but when you OHKO any card in the format it is irrelevant. He is your main attacker and the reason people will fear you. The ability to hit 2-3 energy while copying Hard Crush is surefire way for a quick victory. Mew’s attack itself is not so glorious for doing much of anything but it is still needed. Instead you focus on the ability to copy other pokemon’s attacks from the Lost Zone, most notably, Rhyperior Lv. X’s Hard Crush. The card has other benefits as well, boasting free retreat and the ability to recover faster than any other deck in the format thanks to Rescue Energy and Pokemon Rescue (mentioned later). While Mew’s See Off attack isn’t what Mew uses most, it’s crucial in getting your Rhyperior Lv. X into the Lost Zone in a timely manner (hopefully on your first turn), allowing you to abuse Mew’s Lost Link PokeBody for the rest of the game.
Rhyperior Lv. X – I know some may be asking, “Why are you running a Lv. X without the stage 2 or any of the stages underneath it?!” The answer is simple; we only use it for Hard Crush after Mew Prime uses “See Off” to send Rhyperior Lv. X to the Lost Zone. This is where the card shines. Mew being able to copy Hard Crush allows for a better and faster use of the attack without having to set up a Stage 2-Level Up card to use it.
Delcatty – This card is severely overlooked by many people wanting to play Mew Prime with Rhyperior Lv. X. This card is the reason you can do a consistent 100 damage every turn. The Poke-Power Power Circulation allows you to put 2 energies on the top of your deck, giving you a guaranteed 100 damage with Hard Crush. Delcatty’s attack Power Heal is also a useful utility in the deck. Since you are stacking damage on it anyways with Power Circulation, its damage scales perfect for things you don’t want to waste a Hard Crush on saving you precious energy in your deck as well as providing a decent Garchomp C counter.
Skitty- ¡Un lindo gato!
Drifblim- This is your Dialga G Lv. X Counter. Use a Pokemon Reversal and then send it back to their deck easy enough. In games that are not against a Dialga G player this is a great card to KO things like Uxie, Sableye, Azelf, and spiritomb without wasting a Hard Crush.
Drifloon- Drifloon doesn’t contribute much of anything to this deck except evolving to Drifblim. Its Pull attack can be useful sometime if you need to stall a turn.
Smeargle- Smeargle is downright an amazing card in this deck. His Poke-Power Portrait is such a revolutionary ability in the entire format itself. Giving you the ability to either recover or setup faster than your opponent. The best cards to hit for you are Cyrus’s Conspiracy, Pokemon Collector, and Seeker. These 3 cards allow you to establish a lock again with Mesprit using Seeker or searching for a seeker yourself with a Cryrus’s Conpiracy. Getting to use a Pokemon Collector will allow you to establish field dominance earlier in the game.
Uxie- This is used like in every other deck. Setup is one of the best draw utilities we have available to us in this format. Its attack Psychic Restore is also a great way to pull a cheap knockout and go back under your deck so that you use its power again.
Unown Q- Unown Q is used to give your Delcattys, Smeargles, and Pixies free retreat. That’s really all you need to say about this card. J
Mesprit- Mesprit adds a flavor of surprise to the deck. Learning when to play this card ripping the ability to use crucial Poke-Powers can win you games. Combo this card with Seeker to keep locking your opponent or lock them at key points in the game. His attack can also be very useful hitting for 70 after a Judge.
Dialga- This card is all about his Poke-Power Reverse Time. It will give you the ability to put 3 Energy or Pokemon back on top of your deck to pull the big much needed KO on things like a Gyrados.
Trainer/Support/Stadium
Pokemon Collector- Pokemon Collector is used to setup you can search out almost any Pokemon in your deck with this card.
Judge- Judge is one of your biggest disruption cards next to Mesprit in the deck. It can destroy your opponents hand and stop them from holding things in their hand that could hurt you. It’s also a good move to hold one in your hand if they have a Smeargle in play with the chance they will judge themselves.
Seeker- This card will allow you to keep a sustainable lock with Mesprit or pick up Dialga again for a big attack. It can also be beneficial to use this to pick up a damaged Delcatty so it doesn’t get sniped off your bench since you damage yourself with its Poke-Power.
Pokemon Reversal- The sole purpose for this card is to pull up the Pokemon on your opponent’s bench so they can’t get a comeback rolling. When playing Dialga G the only time you use these are when he/she benches a new Dialga G.
Pokemon Communication- This is used to search out for a Delcatty or Drifblim. It can also be used to put a Rhyperior Lv. X back in your deck if you start with it in your hand.
Luxury Ball- Same as Pokemon Communication except you don’t need a Pokemon card in your hand in-order to use it.
Pokemon Rescue-This card is used to get either your Dialga or Mews back from the Discard simple as that.
Snowpoint Temple- The only stadium in your deck, this gives you the ability to dispose of Broken Time Spaces while giving your Mews that extra bit of survivability.
Energy
Rescue Energy- Due to Mew not needing energy to attack this card is a great recovery card enabling 1 Mew Prime to turn into 2. It’s also a useful attachment to Delcatty in case it gets sniped on your bench.
Warp Energy- This is for the occasional Dialga start or if it gets bright looked or in some way brought to the active. I love using this card on Smeargle so I can retreat a Mew, Portrait, then warp it back to the bench.
Double Colorless Energy- This is mainly used to help power the Drifblim or Delcatty quicker.
Psychic Energy- Use this power up other Pokemon on your bench if you feel they will be needed. Otherwise this is your main source of damage.
The Strategy
I wish I could say this deck is just Lost Zone Rhyperior Lv. X and use Hard Crush via Mew’s Lost Link Poke-Body but alas it is not. This deck is based on a quick recovery with Rescue energy and a no energy attacker with a sustainable source of damage. Half of playing the deck is knowing when and when not to Hard Crush. If you can obtain a KO from another Pokemon’s attacks then do so, saving the energy in your deck for a bigger threat. If you think hard Crushing 6 Turns in a row taking 6 prizes will win you the game you are wrong. You need to keep up a steady flow of disruption with your Mesprit and Judges and one hitting the few things they are able to get out.
A brief recap of the strategy and key points:
1. Don’t Hard Crush unless it is the only way you can get the KO.
2. Play your Mesprit smart learn to watch for when it will hurt them the most.
3. Delcatty is a great attacker as well as Garchomp C Counter.
4. No matter what anyone tells you. You always have the faster recovery.
5. If you have the ability to put 5 energy cards on top of your deck for your last prize. DO IT!!!
Matchups
Los Gatos vs. LuxChomp 50/50- These games can be nerve racking. The key to winning this game is timing your Mesprit drops so they can’t bright look something and KO it. Your primary target in this matchup is Garchomp. Everything can one hit you so go after the thing that will be going after your bench. A lot of this comes down to the player.
Los Gatos vs. Machamp 80/20- You should almost never lose this matchup yes they one hit all your basic for one energy but they are a stage 2 and you are a basic that hits them for weakness for no energy. Setup a Delcatty and keep putting 2 energy on top for cheap knock outs. 2 Energy can KO their entire deck.
Los Gatos vs. GengarPlume 60/40- You have a slight advantage here due to your speed and their lack of damage output. Try and keep your hand with zero trainers in here and they can’t touch a mew. Fainting Spell can be a pain here but as in your other matchups they are a stage 2 and you are a basic with a no energy cost attack.
Los Gatos vs. Gyrados 50/50- Judges can win you this matchup if your opponent isn’t smart with their plays. The best way to win here is Mesprit drops and when they do Regi Move you send up something like an Uxie that you don’t care about. Only play Snowpoints in this game when they have a BTS out denying them fast recovery.
Los Gatos vs. DaChomp 10/90- Unless you get lucky this game will make you want to die. Your best chance is getting a quick disruption and KOing their Dialga Gs before they can level up. Or using a Reversal on the Dialga G lv. X Sitting on their bench and using Drifblim’s Take Away to put it back in your deck giving you a turn or two of taking prizes with mew.
Conclusion
If you’ve made it this far thank you for reading. This deck is still on its long road to being great. I want to put a shout out to Austino for helping with this and all the hours of testing we have put into it. Thanks to my wonderful and beautiful Fiance Catherine for supplying me with beverages while in production and putting up with the late nights of play testing. "