The League Battle series of decks from The Pokemon Company are a fantastic way to jump into competitive play. Following in the footsteps of Zacian and Inteleon before them, Single Strike Urshifu and Rapid Strike Urshifu are the latest Pokemon to get their own decks in the League Battle series. Not only are these two decks a great introduction to serious play, both can be upgraded to become top-tier decks!

I covered Single Strike Urshifu in a previous post, which you can read here. This time, let’s examine why the Rapid Strike version is also a great option for aspiring players!

Nowhere to Run

Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX is the star of this deck. For just one fighting energy, it can hit for an efficient 150 damage if it moves into the active space. The Tower of Waters Stadium makes moving Urshifu around the board a breeze.

More importantly, Rapid Strike Urshifu has access to the maneuver G Max Rapid Flow. For two fighting energy and one colourless energy, Urshifu can discard all of its energy and hit any two Pokemon for 120 damage each. 120 may not be enough to one-hit KO a V or VMAX, but that’s enough to score two quick knockouts on smaller support Pokemon. With a well-placed Rapid Flow, you can destroy your opponent’s setup, rendering them helpless in the process. If one isn’t enough, two-or-three Rapid Flows will likely end any match!

Rapid Strike Urshifu V is pretty good too! For one fighting energy, it can do 30 damage and move onto the bench, keeping it safe until you’re ready to strike again. Also, for two fighting energy and one colourless energy, it does 150 damage. Not bad if you’re in a jam and can’t find the VMAX.

Fists of Fury

One of the key features of this deck are the four Rapid Strike energy cards that come with it. One Rapid Strike energy actually counts as two fighting or two water energy, which is an amazing way to accelerate energy.

Be careful how you use it though! If you use G Max Rapid Flow or if a Pokemon holding Rapid Strike energy is knocked out, that energy goes into the discard pile and can’t be recovered. You’re going to have to burn this energy to win, but make sure you have enough Rapid Strike energy to finish the fight.

Squid Game

Octillery is essential in most Rapid Strike decks, including this one. Its Rapid Strike Search ability allows it to grab one Rapid Strike card from your deck and put it in your hand. Whether you need a Rapid Strike energy, an Urshifu VMAX, Tower of Waters, or any other Rapid Strike card, Octillery can get it for you!

Other support Pokemon that come with the deck include Cinccino and Falinks. Cinccino is a fantastic draw supporter, allowing you to draw two cards by discarding one. Though it can help you get the cards you need faster, Cincinno isn’t the engine most players pair with Rapid Strike Urshifu. It’s okay for now in this deck, but you’ll definitely want the Cinccino cards for other decks that will benefit more from its presence.

Falinks is the black sheep here. You’ll want to avoid using it completely, but it can hit for decent damage if you have a full bench of Rapid Strike Pokemon. When you upgrade this deck, Falinks should be the first to go.

Rapid Strike Support

Good Trainer cards are crucial to one’s success in the Pokemon Trading Card Game. Not only does this deck come with numerous staple Trainer cards such as Marnie, Boss’s Orders, and Professor’s Research, but you’re also getting a suite of Rapid Strike Trainer cards and energy cards that essential in this and any other Rapid Strike deck you may create down the road.

You’re getting:

• 4x Rapid Strike Energy that count as two water energy or two fighting energy
• 2x Tower of Waters that lower the retreat cost of Rapid Strike Pokemon by two
• 2x Korinna’s Focus that lets you draw up to a hand of six cards
• 1x Fan of Waves, a meta-relevant card that takes a special energy from your opponent’s Pokemon and places it at the bottom of their deck

This deck has almost all of the Trainer cards you’d need to make it work effectively. Better yet, this set of Trainer cards can be used in any future decks you make, especially in Rapid Strike decks!

Top-Tier Potential

Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX is a force to be reckoned with. Since making its debut, its been the focal point or a supporting member of many tournament-winning decks. Save for a few match-ups against certain psychic decks such as Mew VMAX, Rapid Strike Urshifu can go toe-to-toe against pretty much any deck out there.

There are many configurations for building a top-tier deck featuring this kung fu bear. However, the League Battle Deck iteration is short on cards to truly realize its potential. The cards you’ll seek will depend on your play style.

My personal favourite way to play is with the Melony variant. Popularized by top player and former world champion Tord Reklev, the combination of the Inteleon support line and Melony Supporter cards make it easy for Rapid Strike Urshifu to perform G Max Rapid Flow on consecutive turns. Stringing together two-or-three is enough to crush almost any deck!

If you want a variation that can better withstand the Mew VMAX matchup, there’s a version that features Galarian Moltres V that I like to use. I’ll add both deck lists to the bottom of this post, but search for Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX deck ideas on places like YouTube, Justin Basil, and tournament results from Limitless.

And if you’ve got time to spare, I made a whole video that covers the League Battle Deck and both of the upgrade concepts mentioned above. You can see all three in action here!

Kick it up a notch!

The Rapid Strike Urshifu League Battle Deck is fun and decently-strong deck to play out-of-the-box. But when you’re ready to upgrade it to top-tier status, here are some cards to add! Keep in mind that decks must feature exactly 60 cards, so you’ll need to remove some to make these fit!

• (2x) Rapid Strike Urshifu V: A pair of Rapid Strike Urshifu V will greatly increase the likelihood of having at least one on the field at all times.
• (1x) Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX: One more Urshifu VMAX should give you the coverage you need to have access to at one Urshifu VMAX throughout the match
• (4x) Melony: Melony is a phenomenal Trainer card for any water deck. When played, you attach one water energy from the discard to a V or VMAX, then draw three cards. Playing Melony allows you to attach one water energy and one Rapid Strike energy in a single turn, allowing Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX to land a G Max Rapid Flow out of nowhere. Strung together over consecutive turns, your opponent won’t stand a chance!
• (2x) Telescopic Sight: When Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX is equipped with a Telescopic Sight, G Max Rapid Flow does 30 more damage to benched Pokemon V or VMAX. That extra damage can be enough to polish off multiple targets on the bench!
• (1x) Passimian: When Passimian is on the bench, attacks to benched Pokemon V and VMAX do 30 more damage. When combined with Telescopic Sight, G Max Rapid Blow can hit for an insane 180 damage per target! This is enough to one-hit KO supporter Pokemon V such as Crobat V and Kricketune V, tilting the prize race heavily in your favour.
• (1x) Echoing Horn: A cheeky card that allows you to put an opponent’s discarded Pokemon onto their bench. It might seem like you’re helping them at first glance, but you can use G Max Rapid Flow to knock them out for an extra prize or two.
• (4x) Rapid Strike Sobble, (4x Shady Dealings Drizzile), (2x Quick Shooting Inteleon), (1x Shady Dealings Inteleon): Most Rapid Strike Urshifu builds feature the Inteleon line of Pokemon. Actually, many decks do, as the combination of Shady Dealings and Quick Shooting abilities that these cards possess make it one of the best supporting lines of Pokemon in the entire game. However, due to how viable they are in competitive play, they aren’t necessarily the easiest or cheapest to get ahold of. I’ve included links from TCGPlayer for where you can find them. As a potential alternative, you could pick up the Inteleon VMAX League Battle Deck, which would not only give you a whole other deck to play with, but more Trainer cards to strengthen your Urshifu deck, two Shady Dealings Drizzile and two Shady Dealings Inteleon to put in your Urshifu deck as well.

Upgraded Deck Lists

Melony Version

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon – 25

* 1 Crobat V PR-SW 98
* 1 Medicham V EVS 83
* 1 Passimian CRE 88
* 4 Rapid Strike Urshifu V BST 87
* 3 Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX BST 88
* 2 Remoraid BST 36
* 4 Sobble CRE 41
* 4 Drizzile SSH 56
* 2 Octillery BST 37
* 1 Inteleon SSH 58
* 2 Inteleon CRE 43

##Trainer Cards – 28

* 4 Evolution Incense SSH 163
* 4 Melony CRE 146
* 1 Tower of Waters BST 138
* 1 Marnie SSH 200
* 2 Professor’s Research CEL 24
* 4 Quick Ball SSH 179
* 2 Telescopic Sight VIV 160
* 4 Level Ball BST 129
* 1 Scoop Up Net RCL 165
* 2 Escape Rope BST 125
* 2 Capacious Bucket RCL 156
* 1 Echoing Horn CRE 136

##Energy – 7

* 4 Rapid Strike Energy BST 140
* 3 Water Energy SWSHEnergy 3

Total Cards – 60

Galarian Moltres V Version

##Pokémon – 13

* 2 Crobat V PR-SW 98
* 3 Galarian Moltres V CRE 97
* 3 Rapid Strike Urshifu V BST 87
* 3 Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX BST 88
* 1 Kricketune V BST 6
* 1 Galarian Articuno V CRE 58

##Trainer Cards – 36

* 1 Tool Scrapper RCL 168
* 3 Tower of Waters BST 138
* 2 Air Balloon SSH 156
* 4 Rotom Phone CPA 64
* 2 Marnie SSH 200
* 4 Professor’s Research CEL 24
* 4 Quick Ball SSH 179
* 1 Telescopic Sight VIV 160
* 3 Boss’s Orders RCL 189
* 1 Escape Rope BST 125
* 4 Adventurer’s Discovery FST 224
* 1 Great Ball SSH 164
* 3 Energy Switch BLW 94
* 2 Energy Search BCR 128
* 1 Switch SSH 183

##Energy – 11

* 4 Rapid Strike Energy BST 140
* 6 Darkness Energy SWSHEnergy 7
* 1 Fighting Energy SWSHEnergy 6

Total Cards – 60

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