As we digest the new Pokemon from HS Triumphant, one card in particular has created quite the kitty kraze. I’m talking about our feline friend Mew Prime. This article is intended to give some background on this quirky cat and how he might just claw his way to the top tier this season.
Mew Review
Being relatively new (2 years) to the Pokemon card game, and NOT being a DS player, I needed to do some journalistic exploring to get up to speed on Mew. Based on some extensive, 100% reliable (wikipedia) researching, I found the following kitty kernels of knowledge. Did you know….
* Game Freak programmer Shigeki Morimoto secretly programmed Mew into the game (those crazy game designers- what mischief will they come up with next)?
* The name Mew is based on the onomatopoeia of a cat’s cry, meow (testing your high school literature- next up is alliteration)?
* A fossilized Mew hair, found in the Amazon River by a team of scientists, was used to create Mewtwo, a genetically enhanced Mew clone (Reminder: DON’T leave your hair in places where it might be genetically enhanced)?
* Its DNA combines the genetic composition of all existing Pokémon species (sounds a lot like Fusion Doritos- I like it!)?
So, what’s not to like about a fossilized, South American, covertly-designed onomatopoeia which now makes it into a new Pokemon set? I give the card a 10 out of 10 for storyline alone. By the way- you may remember one of our Venezuelan readers recently complained in my Letter to the President article about the lack of Pokemon in his
country. My suggestion to him and to all of our South American readers is to scour your local rain forests IMMEDIATELY for other fossilized Pokemon. THAT might create just enough buzz to spark at least one Pokemon league on the continent. If this doesn’t work, I’m sorry, amigos- there’s probably no hope.
Mew- the Pur-r-r-r-fect Pokemon?
Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty on our pretty kitty. The new Mew has some incredible potential. On the surface, it looks like your everyday psychadelic cat- 60 HP, x2 psychic weakness, and a really weird attack for 1 psychic energy about searching your deck for any 1 Pokemon and putting it in the Lost Zone. Now, why in the name of all that’s right in this world would anyone want to do that, especially with Gengar Prime prowling about?
Here’s why: Mew has this really interesting Poke-Body called “Lost Link” which goes a little something like this:
This Pokemon can use any printed attack on the Pokemon in either player’s Lost Zone. (If it doesn’t have the necessary Energy attached to it for an attack, it can’t use it.)
So, this is when the wheels in all our Pokemon brains should start spinning….
You mean, ANY Pokemon?
Yes.
Stage 2?
Um, yes, I just said that.
Any type???
YES.
Even Level X?
YES, YOU MORON- READ THE #!!%%?!! CARD!!!! (Sorry, I talk to myself sometimes….)
So, let’s think of some possibilities. For 1 energy you could use:
* Gengar SF to snipe for 30 or 60 damage
* Gengar TR to place 1 Pokemon card from your opponent’s hand in the Lost Zone
* Marchamp SF to take out all non-evolved Pokemon- WHAT???
* Rampardos PL to smack your opponent for 80 damage- I mean, your opponent’s active Pokemon (not good to smack your opponent- please refer to Pokemon’s Spirit of the Game Guidelines)
* Jumpluff HGSS to dish out 20-120 damage
And, my personal favorite for NO ENERGY (drum roll please)…
Gyarados SF to dish out up to 120 damage for NO ENERGY. By the way, did I mention NO ENERGY??? Did I mention a BASIC doing 120 damage for NO ENERGY? (some restrictions may apply- must have 4 Magikarp in the discard pile. Not available in all decks. See rest of article for details.)
So, even if you are a dog lover, Mew is probably starting to look like a pretty cool cat right now. Let’s look at some strategies, risks and deck builds to give Mew its full 9 lives to survive and thrive in the current format.
Strategies, Deck Build and Setup
Here are a few key cards for your deck:
Mew: You need to have 4 in your deck.
Setup Pokemon: I suggest Smeargle UD and Unown Q, Uxie x 2, Uxie Level X; Azelf
Lost Zone Pokemon: Your main Pokemon to place in the Lost Zone (My decklist will include Machamp SF and Rampardos; see list above for other possibilities)
Supporters/Trainers: 4 Collectors to grab Mews and other cards as needed; Volkner’s to discard Magikarp; Pokemon Rescue
Energy: 4 Call for setup consistency; 4 Rainbow for Mew’s attacks; 4 Psychic for Mew’s other attacks; perhaps 1-2 Fighting for Machamp SF attack.
The rest of the list really depends on what style you want to play. Some may want to play Mew with an SP engine with Cyrus’ Conspiracy and other tech cards (which is great to grab whatever energy you need). The nice thing about Mew is that, since it isn’t SP or an evolution deck, there is TONS of space in your deck to tech things or add a plethora of Supporters and Trainers.
Setup
An ideal setup would be to start Turn 1 with an active Mew and attaching a psychic energy to immediately send a Pokemon (i.e., Machamp or Gyarados) to the Lost Zone. Then, next turn, perhaps try to send 1 more card to the Lost Zone before getting KO’ed. Continue to set up Mews and other supporting Pokemon on your bench as needed.
Strategies
After setting up, the key strategy of the deck is to hit hard and swarm with Mews, trying to KO a Pokemon each turn. A typical match will probably look like this: sending a Machamp to the Lost Zone turn 1/turn 2. Your Mew getting KO’ed. Sending up another Mew and use Machamp’s Take Out attack for the return KO while simultaneously throwing Magikarps into the discard pile with Regice or other trainers/supporters to prepare to use Tail Revenge. With Mew’s low HP, it is critical to always have a kitty on the bench ready to take its place. Grabbing Mews out of the discard pile with Pokemon Rescue will also be very important later in the game.
Match-ups
Machamp. On first pass, this looks like a really bad matchup since Mew is a basic that can be OHKO’ed by Machamp’s Take Out attack. However, since Machamp is weak to psychic, Mew can dish out a return KO, especially if Gyarados is in the Lost Zone with 4 Magikarps in the discard pile, or if you choose to play with Lucario GL and do at least 70 damage. If you can get Mew set up quickly enough, you should be able to win the KO exchange since Mew can reset so quickly.
LuxChomp. The key to this matchup will be surviving the donk and winning the prize race (stating the obvious). Since Luxray and Garchomp can one-hit knock out a Mew, it will be very important to return the KO’s using Machamp’s Take Out attack in the Lost Zone.
Sablelock. Assuming you can survive the initial hand lock attempt (a risk against any Sablelock opponent), you should be able to make a good match of this, especially if you use Machamp’s Take Out attack frequently.
DialgaChomp. This could turn into a very BAD match-up quickly if Dialga G Lv X is setup and cancels Mew’s Poke-Body and therefore its ability to attack. To counter this possibility, it might be good to tech in a Blaziken FB LV.X or even try and set up a Gyarados to attack with for 90 damage.
Downsides/Risks
There are risks and downsides to every deck, and Mew is no exception. Here are a few:
* Mew’s low HP makes it a relatively easy target to knock out
* Its Poke-Body/Attack Capability can be completely shut down by Dialga G Lv X
* It is not a donk deck and needs at least 1 turn to set up; in fact, it may need 2 or 3 turns to set up fully, during which time your opponent can be snatching some easy prizes.
Conclusion
While not purrrfect, Mew could potentially be a lethal deck and will certainly put up a good fight this season. Hope you’ll give him a try!
