Mewtwo LV.X is an impossible wall for many SP and Basic decks. Although you can “Dragon Rush” and “Bright Look” around Mewtwo for a while, if played right, Mewtwo will be the only card left, leaving you with no outs! It’s the kind of card that comic book kids love to play to pretend like they have deckbuilding skill. They fantasize about the one-in-ten games where they can actually pull off Mewtwo LV.X against a pro, and brag to their friends about how they beat someone famous in Pokemon. Well, don’t let that person be you – learn how to counter Mewtwo LV.X!
First, let’s get to know the enemy. There are two flavors of base Mewtwos – LA and MD. They have very mediocre attacks that do about 60 damage for 3 energies. The MD one, however, has a Recover move, which could be useful to avoid getting finished off by Crobats after some initial damage somehow. Most importantly, it has an “Energy Absorption” move to get back energies from Mewtwo LV.X’s “Giga Burn,” and 90 HP to have lower risk of being Garchomp sniped before it can Level-Up. Thus, it is the most played.
Mewtwo LV.X is simple. It has a Body that prevents damage and all other effects (like double poison from “Toxic Fang”) from non-Evolved Pokemon (this includes Legends and all SP Pokemon, unfortunately). It also has a crazy attack, 1PP “Giga Burn,” which does 120 damage but has the terrible side effect of forcing you to discard all Energy on him.
Now that we know what we’re dealing with, on to the counters!
The Stage 1 Psychic Counters
Mewtwo has 120 HP. Mewtwo has x2 Weakness to Psychic. The most obvious counter is thus a Stage 1 Psychic type that does 60 damage. If you are playing an SP deck, the most realistic way to activate these Pokemon is to “Galactic Switch” a Psychic or Double Colorless Energy using Bronzong G and attach another energy.
There are many of these types of counters:
1. Ninetales MT: One of the most popular (and oldest) is been Ninetales MT. The first thing that I noticed is that its picture is kickass (however it only has six tales). More importantly, however, its Poke-Power, “Color Shift,” allows you to copy Mewtwo’s Psychic Type (which it is conveniently weak to), and for the low, low cost of RR, you can do 60 base damage! (OHKOing Mewtwo!) It has other benefits too – it can OHKO Garchomp C LV.X in the same way, or Luxray GL LV.X if they play Lucario or Claydol (some people do) or Toxicroak G, or “Bright Look”-ed Claydols in Jumpluff decks, or even Jumpluffs by not changing type! Its power makes it very versatile and gives good type coverage even against non-Mewtwo LV.X.
The downside, of course, is that it takes RR to use “Fire Blast.” You probably don’t run any other R Pokemon, and you’d have to have at least 3 Fire Energy to avoid being screwed if one ends up in your Prizes. That’s a lot of space for such a situational tech card!
2. Mismagius PL: Another often-used counter. It has a great attack in Psybeam, which costs a DCE and a Psychic. His first attack, “Upper Hand,” is also occasionally useful in blocking out useful attacking moves for Pokemon in desperate situations – e.g., blocking Machamp’s “Take Out” for a turn! It also does 30 for 1 energy, which is not bad. It’s situational and not something to write home about, but it’s a good benefit of using Mismagius!
Another real benefit to using Mismagius is that the Misdreavus line gives you an option of great starters. Misdreavus LA lets you find a basic energy card for 0 energy cost. Misdreavus PL lets you get back a potentially crucial Trainer – on a flip, though. Misdreavus DP gives you a small bit of hand control with its Surprise attack. Finally, Mismagius SF lets you stall with Sleep, and potentially unload a 50 damage “Dream Eater” type attack!! A very versatile bunch of Basics – I personally like the SF one due to Sleep (there are many uses of it!), and having 60 HP (harder to donk with Sableye), but it’s a smorgasbord of delicious ghost basics!
3. Kirlia PL: An interesting counter. It is similar to Mismagius in that it has a 2P – 60 damage, dramatically named “Super Psy Bolt.” It also has one of those hit-and-run style attacks, which could prove useful in some rare situations.
The Ralts PL is also quite good, if you have the misfortune of starting with him. It costs 0 for a chance to rearrange the top 5 cards of either your deck or your opponent’s deck. Furthermore, if you start with a Ralts, people may be thinking you are playing a Gardevoir deck and misplay as a result! It is also not weak to Dark (aka Sableye) and has 60 HP, making it hard to donk!
4. Medicham SV: Not much to say about this card. Terrible Basic form, but a cool 1P for 60 attack (the “draw two cards” part isn’t such a big deal, because they probably only have Mewtwo LV.X out! Even if it is, two cards isn’t the end of the world.) And the second attack, “Chakra Points,” is a neat throwback to the olden Medicham HL days that Adam and I played at Worlds 04!! It could be surprisingly delicious against decks such as Gyarados that has a huge hand. Overall though, a more specialized, leaner Mewtwo killer without many of the frills those other cards give.
5. Banette PL: This nifty card is the evolved form of Shuppet, infamous from the lame Shuppet Donk decks. First off, we notice it actually has a Poke-Power!! It lets you discard as many cards from your hand as you want, but putting a damage counter on Banette for each one. This seems stupid, but it could actually be useful – e.g., to thin your deck of useless cards before a Copycat, or to counter Gengar’s “Poltergeist,” or if you happen to see your opponent’s only out is a Copycat. The first attack can also kill up to an 80 Pokemon with damage counters, which may help in finishing off some difficult stuff (think Mr. Mime MT)!
Its Mewtwo-killing attack “Loneliness” is a mixed bag. The upside – it only costs 1P. However, you have to not have any Pokemon in your hand – made easier by the fact that you can discard them using his Power. Furthermore, if you use this against a Machamp, for example, they will get to see your hand! Is this as bad as letting them draw two cards? Depends on the situation, but not a good thing to have,
There are also two solid Basics. The first, of course, is Shuppet PL of Shuppet Donk fame. It has a great Sleep for 0 attack, as well as Fade Out (useful in picking Shuppet back up so that he doesn’t get killed before he can counter Mewtwo, or take up a bench space!) The other one has a P for 1 damage counter placement, which is much worse/situational, but could be funny late game when you run out of Crobat to get that one final Prize. Furthermore, it has the amusing name “Gossip.” I guess it’s true what they say, if you don’t shut your mouth, someone could get hurt! Again, much more situational though.
The Basic Counters
How can a basic counter Mewtwo LV.X?! It would be nice if they could – they are easier to play, and if they are SP, easier to search for! But they cannot attack Mewtwo… That leaves Poke-Powers, Poke Bodies, and Swift-like attacks that cut through Mewtwo’s Body. Below are a few examples:
1. Dialga G LV.X – A great, often-played Tech card that shuts off all non-SP bodies (including Mewtwo’s!) It is versatile, and well-known for countering a lot of decks! The basic Dialga G also has the great attack “Deafen,” that Trainer-locks your opponent!!
However, it is bulkier to play than even Stage 1s (oftentimes, Mewtwo players will leave a Broken Time-Space in play, allowing you to drop a Stage 1 out of nowhere!) and has attacks that need Metals to work (which many decks don’t run, forcing you to retreat.
2. Metal Arceus – I have seen some people try to use this to stall out Mewtwo – if you can’t attack them, Metal Arceus makes it so Mewtwo can’t attack you! However, this card also requires a Metal and DCE, and won’t work well if you are behind on Prizes or about to deck yourself. There are also outs for the Mewtwo player, e.g. Warp Points and Cyclone Energies. Note that Arceus decks can make use of this and Water Arceus, which has a “Swift”-like attack that cuts through Mewtwo’s Body, to fight Mewtwo! In other decks though, not the best idea.
3. Absol G – If you could somehow load up an Expert Belt, and two Special Darks on this, you can two-shot Mewtwo with your “Swift”-like attack! And due to your resistance, Mewtwo can only two-shot you as well! Depending on the deck you play, this is probably too situational to be of practical use, however.
4. Skuntank G – This somewhat-used Tech card can be used against Mewtwo LV.X! But it may take some time to whittle his HP down with Poison. Because Mewtwo is not a great attacker, this may sometimes work. It takes 7 turns to kill Mewtwo LV.X with Poison alone; but if you can “Flash Bite” a few times, it may be shorter. Add in the fact that you can stall a while with Poke Turns, and you may be able to pull it out!
So overall, what does Jason like to use!? Well, I have tried Medicham with varying degrees of success. But Banette PL is also interesting, having an attack that can be surprise-dropped WITHOUT needing a DCE. He is a powerful counter to Mr. Mime MT, as well as quite effective versus Machamp. His power is interesting, to say the least, and combined with his first move, gives you some options. The basic, Shuppet, is rather mediocre, but could have people preparing for Shuppet Donk if you unfortunately start with it. So my final verdict is BANETTE. But it’s a matter of metagame and personal taste!
I am sure there are some I missed – especially those “Swift”-attack ones. What are your favorite Mewtwo LV.X counters, or do you simply go without one? Does seeing Mewtwo plop on the board make you Gastly or Blissey? DISCUSS!
