What’s poppin’ Ultimate Guard readers? If any of you are collectors, I’m sure you’ve opened many packs of the latest mini set: Shrouded Fable, and if you’re primarily a player, you may have looked into playing Bloodmoon Ursaluna [Shrouded Fable]. 

I originally thought this card could see play in Raging Bolt ex [Temporal Forces] as a way to accelerate more Fighting Energy into play, but that didn’t really work well in my testing. Instead, I found it was way more successful to self accelerate Energy with its Battle-Hardened Ability, and try to score a KO with Mad Bite. Scaling damage with Mad Bite was my next challenge, should I go with a newer Dusclops [Shrouded Fable] / Dusknoir [Shrouded Fable] strategy or try to find something more inventive? I decided to go with Iron Valiant ex [Paradox Rift], an often forgotten gem from Paradox Rift, that can turn Mad Bite into an OHKO almost every time! I took the deck to one of our more competitive League Challenges in Montréal, and I was able to win the whole thing! In this article, I’ll share why the deck is good, my decklist, and more! Let’s jump into it!

Why Play Bloodmoon?

Beyond the instant gratification of taking the lesser known path, Bloodmoon Ursaluna / Iron Valiant boasts an impressive matchup spread in the right metagame. Due to its single Prize Card nature, you can out pace aggressive decks, like Raging Bolt ex [Twilight Masquerade], and you can use Iron Valiant ex to help tackle massive Pokémon, like Charizard ex [Obsidian Flames]. Here are some of the matchups it can hold its own against:

• Charizard ex / Pidgeot ex [Obsidian Flames]

• Regidrago VSTAR [Silver Tempest] / Teal Mask Ogerpon ex [Twilight Masquerade]

• Raging Bolt ex / Teal Mask Ogerpon ex

• Lugia VSTAR [Silver Tempest] / Archeops [Silver Tempest]

• Roaring Moon ex [Paradox Rift] / Pecharunt ex [Shrouded Fable]

• Miraidon ex [Scarlet and Violet] / Iron Hands ex [Paradox Rift]

• Iron Thorns ex [Twilight Masquerade] / Crushing Hammer [Scarlet and Violet]

• Snorlax [Pokémon Go] / Cornerstone Ogerpon ex [Twilight Masquerade]

As long as your opponent can’t go for 2/2/2 Prize Cards before you get going, they’ll eventually have to KO a Bloodmoon Ursaluna, which can set them back a turn. You can scale your damage which is super helpful against any two Prize Card decks, but you often struggle against single Prize Card decks. Decks like Ancient Box, and Gardevoir ex [Scarlet and Violet], end up being problematic due to the amount of single Prize Card Pokémon they can throw at you. Aim for two Prize Card Pokémon, and swing hard! The biggest thing holding back this deck from the spotlight is the consistency issues due to the amount of pieces you’ll need for a combo. The amount of Switch [Scarlet and Violet], Switch Cart [Astral Radiance], and Night Stretcher [Shrouded Fable] that you’ll need at any particular time is alarming. On top of that, you’ll discard many resources with Squawkabilly ex [Paldea Evolved], and Professor’s Research [Scarlet and Violet] that you might miss later on in the game! It's easy to look at the negative, but I wanna showcase how cool this deck is! Let’s take a look at the strategy, and see what this deck can actually accomplish.

Looking for some new sleeves to sleeve up Bloodmoon Ursaluna with? The brand new Rising Sun Katana Sleeves will have your Bloodmoon Ursaluna hitting extra hard with Mad Bite! Check them out over here.

Bloodmoon Ursaluna / Iron Valiant ex Decklist

The core strategy of this deck is to try and discard your resources with Squawkabilly ex, and Professor’s Research to be able to “play” out of your discard pile with Energy Retrieval [Scarlet and Violet], Lana’s Aid [Twilight Masquerade], and Night Stretcher. Once you’re able to pull off a Battle-Heartened Bloodmoon Ursaluna, you can set it down on your Bench with the Fighting Energy attached! Now you need to jump to step two, getting those damage counters in with Iron Valiant ex! You can swap between them easily with any “Switch” card, but you can also use Jet Energy [Paldea Evolved], and Prime Catcher [Temporal Forces] to target whichever Pokémon you’d like. The key focus should be getting in the right number of Tachyon Bits to KO whichever Pokémon you want. Since Mad Bite does 100 + 30 for each damage counter, the math adds up really quickly. Here is a simple chart to help you out:

• 0 damage counters (no Tachyon Bits). Mad Bite hits for 100 damage

• 2 damage counters (1 Tachyon Bits). Mad Bite + damage counters = 180 damage

• 4 damage counters (2 Tachyon Bits). Mad Bite + damage counters = 260 damage

• 6 damage counters (3 Tachyon Bits). Mad Bite + damage counters = 340 damage

In most cases, you’ll need two or three Tachyon Bits to KO a two Prize Card Pokémon, but look out for self damage on the board, like Poison from Pecharunt ex [Shrouded Fable], or Pokémon that you can hit with Tachyon Bits after the fact, like Regidrago VSTAR if you miss the third Tachyon Bits. Once your opponent Knocks Out your Bloodmoon Ursaluna, you should be able to loop them with Energy Retrieval, Lana’s Aid, and Night Stretcher to keep the pressure on. Let’s check out my list!

Pokémon: 13

4 Iron Valiant ex PAR 89

3 Bloodmoon Ursaluna SFA 25

2 Squawkabilly ex PAL 169

1 Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex TWM 141

1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38

1 Mew ex MEW 151

1 Iron Bundle PAR 56

Trainer: 39

4 Professor's Research PAF 87

2 Lana's Aid TWM 155

1 Iono PAF 80

1 Boss's Orders PAL 172

4 Switch Cart ASR 154

4 Switch SVI 194

4 Nest Ball PAF 84

4 Ultra Ball PAF 91

4 Night Stretcher SFA 61

4 Energy Retrieval SVI 171

3 Earthen Vessel PAR 163

1 Prime Catcher TEF 157

1 Future Booster Energy Capsule TEF 149

2 PokéStop PGO 68

Energy: 8

5 Fighting Energy SVE 6

3 Jet Energy PAL 190

There isn’t really much that I would change about this list, and I don’t think I would add much if anything from Stellar Crown. It works, it can hold its own, and it's incredibly fun to play. You’ll have games where you were forced to discard too many resources, or a few hands that end up with a quick pass to your opponent, but the deck is really competitive beyond that. If you see a handful of decks in your metagame that it can do well against, give it a try! I wouldn’t necessarily take it to your next Regional Championships, but I did win a League Challenge with this deck fully undefeated! Try it out!

If you want a new deckbox to protect this mighty fun deck, the Sidewinder 100+ “Shippo” deckbox is one of the most aesthetically pleasing deckboxes I’ve ever seen, and it's a well-made product. Check it out here. 

A New Season

With all of that being said, I hope you get a chance to play around with Bloodmoon Ursaluna / Iron Valiant ex on PTCG Live, or at your next local event. The deck is incredibly fun to play, but might not be as consistent as the other heavy hitters in the format, like Charizard ex or Regidrago VSTAR. I think there is a bit of magic involved when it comes to playing a rogue deck because you get to stretch your skillset, try new strategies, and really work for it compared to other more well-established decks. There isn’t any shame in running Dragapult ex [Twilight Masquerade] / Briar [Stellar Crown], but there are hundreds (if not thousands or more) players playing the deck at any given moment, allowing for a core strategy to be unlocked. Rogue decks don’t often have that same respect, which makes the gameplay component slightly more enjoyable for some! I’m going to continue to experiment with many different decks this season, including more rogue decks, so stay tuned for future articles from myself as I explore the wonderful world of Pokémon TCG.