Beating Mega Lucario

Today was a good day. Was. I woke up, grabbed my coffee, and sat down to play my daily rounds in ranked only to lose 50 points from one, single Pokemon - Mega Lucario ex.

I’m not surprised, though - Mega Lucario’s popularity has only increased over the span of this B4 season, now reaching a whopping 17.2% of the metashare in the past three days. It is a consistent, customizable archetype that has proven itself by winning a lot, including finishing first at both this past PMPT and the one before. Just because it’s the top dog, however, doesn’t mean it can’t be beat.

Today’s article looks into the decks that have the most favorable matchup data against the king of fighting. Take this with a grain of salt, though - Since Mega Lucario is the most played deck this season, it will inevitably play against rogue decks that through sheer luck only faced Lucario once in its lifespan and won, giving the deck a 100% win rate against it. These decks are outliers that aren’t really worth considering as a contender in the meta. I do have some underdogs, sure, however the performance across the board must be strong enough to showcase.

Greninja/Oricorio

1. ×2Froakie
2. ×2Greninja
3. ×2Oricorio
4. ×2Copycat
5. ×2Cyrus
6. ×2Lucky Ice Pop
7. ×2Professor's Research
8. ×2Rare Candy
9. ×2Soothing Shore
10. ×1Giant Cape
11. ×1Poké Ball

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It’s back! Every season it seems like some variation of Greninja and Oricorio shows up to show out. In fact, Naranja finished first with this deck two days ago. It had an impressive run, losing to one vespiquen and one Mega Altaria with Greninja. The deck claimed victory against both Lucarios it faced, which reflects its 66.7% win rate into fighting.

This archetype’s finally found its legs after sticking with what works - previous versions would add in a a third mon as a finisher. This one, however, favors attacking with Oricorio as much as possible while healing up with Soothing Shore and the infamous Lucky Ice Pop. Greninja is there as an attacker as well, however not much can stand against the yellow bird in a meta that’s too reliant on EXs.

Psychic Box

1. ×2Eevee
2. ×1Eevee ex
3. ×1Espeon ex
4. ×1Indeedee ex
5. ×1Mega Altaria ex
6. ×1Swablu
7. ×1Sylveon
8. ×1Sylveon ex
9. ×2Elegant Cape
10. ×2Professor's Research
11. ×1Copycat
12. ×1Cyrus
13. ×1Lisia
14. ×1Peculiar Plaza
15. ×1Poké Ball
16. ×1Sabrina
17. ×1Training Area

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I have fallen head over heels for this deck. It’s a psychic archetype that runs Eevees that placed 9th in a tournament yesterday and it doesn’t run sleep; what’s not to love? Breaking2mirror is both the cook and pilot of this deck, and I’m thankful they’ve brought this to the competitive scene. Its 75% win rate against Lucario is fine, considering there are only three records of this deck seeing play this season. I’d love to see this piloted more. I can tell you from personal experience that the deck feels great into Luc.

You’ve got three Eevees, an Indeedee ex, and one Mega Altaria ex as a finisher. Your ideal start is Espeon ex in the active - with all three healers in play you recover 80 HP each turn. That being said, there are no bad starts here; even Indeedee should be considered as an attacker. Altaria with Elegant Cape brings the mega up to 220 HP. In other words, your Pokemon are very hard to K.O.

Chandelure

1. ×2Chandelure
2. ×2Litwick
3. ×2Oricorio
4. ×1Wynaut
5. ×2Copycat
6. ×2Poké Ball
7. ×2Professor's Research
8. ×2Rare Candy
9. ×1Blue
10. ×1Cyrus
11. ×1Hiking Trail
12. ×1Lisia
13. ×1Sabrina

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Maddy’s favorite deck this season has one thing going for it: Mega Lucario doesn’t stand much of a chance. The lamp’s number one pilot, BigSlowpokeFan, keeps bringing this to impressive finishes in the past week. The deck boasts a strong 67.35% win rate against Luc so far.

I’ve highlighted this deck before, but to recap: use a baby Pokemon such as Wynaut or Bonsly as you prep your board if going first, then attach your first energy to the new purple Oricorio. Discard supporters to build up Chandelure and then come swimming for massive damage.

Blaziken/Greninja

1. ×2Torchic
2. ×1Castform Sunny Form
3. ×1Combusken
4. ×1Froakie
5. ×1Greninja
6. ×1Heatmor
7. ×1Mega Blaziken ex
8. ×2Copycat
9. ×2Poké Ball
10. ×2Professor's Research
11. ×2Rare Candy
12. ×1Cyrus
13. ×1Field Blower
14. ×1Flame Patch
15. ×1Hiking Trail

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On par with Chandelure for a 67.5% matchup into Mega Lucario is the Nashville Hot Chicken itself. Overall this deck has a 48% win rate, which is expected from the highroll warrior into any season. Its ability to overcome Lucario, however, should be taken seriously.

The newest renditions of this archetype forgo any extra ramp from Rainbow Cave, using the tried-and-true Hiking Trail to quickly build up the bench. You also aren’t as reliant on the frog, with both Castform Sunny Form and Heatmor at the ready for early game.

Sleep

1. ×2Darkrai
2. ×2Eevee
3. ×2Espeon
4. ×2Igglybuff
5. ×2Mega Altaria ex
6. ×2Swablu
7. ×2Professor's Research
8. ×1Copycat
9. ×1Cyrus
10. ×1Field Blower
11. ×1Poké Ball
12. ×1Sabrina
13. ×1Training Area

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I was taken aback when the live chats of the past two PMPTs on Youtube started calling for a resurgence of sleep decks to counter Mega Lucario. It’s true; Sleep Altaria with Hypnoblast Espeon has a 62% win percentage into the rival Mega overall, and 70% in the last week.

Not much needs to be said about this deck, which did achieve tenth place at PMPT 42. It’s coin flip reliant, it can win impossible games, and it has plenty of counters. Even though this is technically the third psychic deck in this list, I would argue that psychic matters less to this archetype than the others.

Mega Rayquaza/Gouging Fire

1. ×2Dragonair
2. ×2Dratini
3. ×2Gouging Fire
4. ×1Mega Rayquaza ex
5. ×2Copycat
6. ×2Poké Ball
7. ×2Professor's Research
8. ×2Rainbow Cave
9. ×1Ancient Booster Energy Capsule
10. ×1Hiking Trail
11. ×1Professor Sada
12. ×1Protective Poncho
13. ×1Repel

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This one took me by surprise, so I wanted to add it here. Gouging Fire has an overall 61% win rate against Mega Lucario and remains a strong presence in the tourney scene and on the ladder.

Yunlong’s deck that carried them to third place recently slots in a Hiking Trail as well as a Protective Poncho, which works well against many bench sniping decks, including Lucario’s Hitmonlee and Hitmontop.

Conclusion

If nothing else, this article was written to show the many options available to you if you are tired of struggling against this season’s number one deck. Let me know on Discord what your favorite anti-meta deck is, and I’ll see you on the Ladder!