Inteleon VMAX / Inteleon (TEU-CRE)

One of my favorite cards to come out of Chilling Reign has to be the new Inteleon. Retroactively adding depth to an already impressive Stage 2 line with new variations of the Pokemon is always a treat. Some of the most successful Stage 2's in the modern era had multiple options to go into for their Stage 2's. These options are often necesscary for competitve viability because it can be hard to argue in favor of commiting 8-12 slots (even more when including Rare Candy) to something that only provides

One of my favorite cards to come out of Chilling Reign has to be the new Inteleon. Retroactively adding depth to an already impressive Stage 2 line with new variations of the Pokemon is always a treat. Some of the most successful Stage 2's in the modern era had multiple options to go into for their Stage 2's. These options are often necesscary for competitve viability because it can be hard to argue in favor of commiting 8-12 slots (even more when including Rare Candy) to something that only provides you with one dimension of value. Obviously, there are exceptions to the rule like Decidueye DAA, but there are plenty of instances of successful Stage 2 decks that relied on more than 1 Stage 2. The Gardevoir GX deck is a perfect example of this as it also relied on Gallade BKT to shore up Gardevoir's shortcomings with its energy-efficient burst damage it was able to provide. The addition of this new Inteleon provides a much needed dimension to the line that will finally allow it to springboard into competitive viability.

The line is versatile enough to not only see play in 1 archetype, but multiple; Most notably with Rapid Strike Urshifu, Ice Rider Calyrex, and in this example, Inteleon VMAX. Inteleon VMAX is able to take premium advantage of the Quick Shooting ability when put in conjuncture with the Max Bullet attack. Compared to Urshifu VMAX, Inteleon VMAX seems like the inferoir partner at a first glance, but one Inteleon VMAX has 1 underrated element going for it with its much more favorable weakness. The shakeup Chilling Reign provided not only made Psychic a premier type in the meta, but also relegated the seemingly impervious Pikarom to a tier 2-3 status, which is a famously bad matchup for the gunslinger gecko. Whether or not Inteleon VMAX will be able to capitalize on this opportuity is yet to be seen, but I am excited to watch this deck to see if it can.