The Definitive Raging Bolt Guide for Worlds
世界的权威 Raging Bolt 指南

Hello everyone. Today we are going to take a good long look at a deck that has held a strong place in the metagame ever since Teal Mask Ogerpon ex hit the playing field - Raging Bolt ex. As someone who has missed Day 2 at both major tournaments I've played Raging Bolt at, I am definitely qualified to bust out the definitive guide to the deck. On a non-sarcastic note, I did play the deck at NAIC, starting 5-0-3 and unfortunately bricking the last round to cut short what could have realistically been a strong run. Raging Bolt is still well-positioned in the metagame, despite Gardevoir ex dominating NAIC, and I'm here to tell you why.
大家好。今天我们要好好看看自从 Teal Mask Ogerpon ex 登场以来，它在赛场主流中一直占据着浓厚地位的套牌 - Raging Bolt ex。作为一个在我玩过 Raging Bolt 的两场主要比赛中都错过了第 2 天的人，我绝对有资格写出这副套牌的权威指南。毫不讽刺地说，我确实在 NAIC 玩了这副牌，以 5-0-3 开始，不幸的是，最后一轮打得一团糟，缩短了实际上本来可以很强势的比赛。尽管 Gardevoir 在 NAIC 中占据主导地位，但 Raging Bolt 仍然处于有利地位，我在这里告诉你为什么。

We all know that Raging Bolt is a supremely fast, consistent, and all-powerful deck that always presents itself as a preeminent threat in the metagame. Aside from all of its inherent virtues, there are three reasons why I like Raging Bolt in the current meta. After Gardevoir dominating NAIC, it incentivizes increased Grimmsnarl usage. Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex's introduction to the meta is a big bonus for Raging Bolt, as Raging Bolt matches up very well against it. Second, the winning Gardevoir list is slightly weaker against Raging Bolt than the traditional one. Their one-shot options are more limited without Drifloon, and the lack of Cleffa also hurts Gardevoir in the matchup. Scream Tail is their only single-Prize option to one-shot a Raging Bolt, but they typically want to use Scream Tail when they need to snipe the Bench. The Gardevoir matchup overall isn't that bad. Finally, Raging Bolt does well against other top decks like Dragapult ex and Joltik.
我们都知道 Raging Bolt 是一副速度极快、稳定且全能的套牌，在赛场主流中总是以卓越的威胁出现。除了它的所有固有优点之外，我喜欢当前版本中的 Raging Bolt 还有三个原因。在 Gardevoir 主导 NAIC 之后，它激励了 Grimmsnarl 的使用增加。Marnie 的 Grimmsnarl 前任对元数据的介绍对 Raging Bolt 来说是一个很大的奖励，因为 Raging Bolt 与它非常匹配。其次，获胜的 Gardevoir 列表对 Raging Bolt 的攻击性比传统的略弱。没有 Drifloon，他们的一击选择更加有限，而且缺少 Cleffa 也伤害了 Gardevoir 在比赛中。 尖叫尾巴是他们唯一可以一枪打中愤怒之箭的单奖选项，但他们通常希望在需要狙击替补席时使用尖叫尾巴。Gardevoir 的对决总体上还不错。最后，Raging Bolt 在对抗 Dragapult ex 和 Joltik 等其他顶级套牌时表现出色。

My current list remains unchanged from the one I played at NAIC, which can be found here: https://limitlesstcg.com/decks/list/18655
我目前的名单与我在 NAIC 玩的名单没有变化，可以在这里找到：https://limitlesstcg.com/decks/list/18655

More than discussing what's in the list, I want to go over what is not. First up is Iron Leaves ex, which has seen a massive surge in play lately. Do not play this card. Teal Mask Ogerpon is more than enough to slay Grimmsnarl, and Iron Leaves is a dead card or liability more often than not. If you want a way to escape retreat lock, that's reasonable, which is why I recommend Professor Turo's Scenario. Turo's Scenario is fantastic in this deck, especially in the current meta. Gardevoir, especially without Drifloon, loves to set up damage on our board. So does Dragapult, and so does Grimmsnarl. Turo provides a lot of value as both a tech for these matchups and a general utility card, especially in games that the opponent forces to go longer with single-Prize Pokemon.
除了讨论列表中的内容之外，我还想回顾一下没有的内容。首先是 Iron Leaves ex，它最近出现了大量激增。不要玩这张牌。Teal Mask Ogerpon 足以杀死 Grimmsnarl，而 Iron Leaves 通常是一张死牌或责任。如果你想要一种方法来逃脱撤退锁，那是合理的，这就是为什么我推荐 Turo 教授的情景 。Turo 的情境在这个套牌中非常棒，尤其是在当前的版本中。Gardevoir，尤其是没有 Drifloon，喜欢在我们的板上设置伤害。Dragapult 也是，Grimmsnarl 也是。Turo 作为这些对决的技术和通用实用卡都提供了很多价值，尤其是在对手被迫使用单奖口袋妖怪进行更长时间的游戏中。

Next are Iono and Judge. These cards are terrible in this deck. I cannot fathom why I would ever want to gamble on putting myself to four random cards over playing a better Supporter like Professor Sada's Vitality, Crispin, or Boss's Orders. Raging Bolt takes the initiative and is almost always ahead on the Prize trade. It does not benefit from hand disruption nearly as much as other decks, and Iono is rarely drawing enough cards to matter since this deck takes Prizes so quickly. Furthermore, this deck does rely on its other Supporters almost every turn, so there isn't much time to play a comparatively weak Supporter like Judge or Iono.
接下来是 Iono 和 Judge。这些牌在这个套牌中很糟糕。我无法理解为什么我会想赌上四张随机牌，而不是玩像 Professor Sada 的 Vitality、Crispin 或 Boss's Orders 这样更好的 Supporter。Raging Bolt 主动出击，几乎总是在奖品交易中领先。它不像其他套牌那样从手牌干扰中受益，而且 Iono 很少抽到足够的牌来重要，因为这副套牌拿奖品的速度太快了。此外，这副套牌几乎每回合都依赖其他支援者，因此没有太多时间使用像 Judge 或 Iono 这样相对较弱的支持者。

In the same vein, there is an absence of Counter Catcher and Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex. These cards are situationally powerful, but ultimately do not synergize well with the deck. I want to be as consistent as possible and with that, there isn't a need to include comeback cards. This is even more true considering that nearly every opposing deck (Gardevoir, Grimmsnarl, Dragapult), is very slow so you won't even get to use these cards. Even in the mirror match, I haven't found that these cards are enough to reliably make a comeback if you're losing.
同样，没有 Counter Catcher 和 Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex。这些卡牌在情境中很强大，但最终无法与套牌很好地协同。我想尽可能地保持一致，因此，没有必要包括复出卡。考虑到几乎所有对立的牌组（Gardevoir、Grimmsnarl、Dragapult）都非常慢，因此您甚至无法使用这些卡牌，这一点更是如此。即使在镜像比赛中，我也没有发现这些牌足以在你输了时可靠地卷土重来。

Don't even get me started on Koraidon. The card is just awful. Finally, Energy Switch is a tech that I considered. It's nice to enable plays that would otherwise be impossible, such as retreating Noctowl and attacking, or making an unexpected attacker out of nowhere. While there are real situations where Energy Switch would be good, it's just not consistent. Even with Noctowl in the deck, you usually need to search other cards for the combo and don't have that extra reach. Other times, you already have a sufficient line and don't want to burn the Noctowl for a slightly stronger Energy Switch play. Finally, there are times where you'd like to Energy Switch and Noctowl just isn't available. Energy Switch also does nothing for the consistency of the deck. Like Iron Leaves, Ursaluna, and their ilk, it's a brick more often than not.
甚至不要让我开始使用 Koraidon。这张卡太糟糕了。最后，Energy Switch 是我考虑的一项技术。启用原本不可能的比赛是很好的，例如撤退 Noctowl 并发起攻击，或者突然制造一个意想不到的攻击者。虽然在实际情况下 Energy Switch 会很好，但它并不一致。即使牌组中有 Noctowl，您通常也需要搜索其他卡牌来寻找组合技，并且没有额外的影响力。其他时候，您已经有足够的线路，并且不想为了稍微强一点的 Energy Switch 游戏而烧掉 Noctowl。最后，有时您想要 Energy Switch，但 Noctowl 不可用。Energy Switch 对套牌的一致性也没有任何作用。就像 Iron Leaves、Ursaluna 和他们的同类一样，它通常是一块砖头。

A lot of people have been going down to just two Raging Bolt ex. This is lunacy. The deck still relies on it as the cornerstone and main attacker. Playing only two is inviting disaster if one is Prized. We want our Sada's to always be attaching two Energy whenever possible, and baby Raging Bolt isn't always going to be available. There are also plenty of games where we want to chain Bolt exs. Please just play three, this deck always want to have them in hand, on board, everywhere. I have a similar sentiment with playing just one Boss's Orders. Most people are playing only one, and that is bad. This deck loves to utilize both Boss in just about every matchup. Sniping two-Prize Pokemon is very important against Gardevoir and the mirror in particular, and you can also use them to take out Grimmsnarl's Froslass. Finally, some lists do not play Energy Retrieval, which is probably fine. I just think it's better to play Energy Retrieval than not. It's a value dense card that is oftentimes better than Night Stretcher. While Night Stretcher is the epitome of flexibility, it's still more versatile to have the option of the one-of Retrieval in addition to the Stretchers.
很多人都只剩下两个 Raging Bolt 前任。这是疯狂的。这副套牌仍然依赖它作为基石和主要攻击者。如果一个是 Prized，那么只玩两个就是招致灾难。我们希望我们的 Sada 尽可能始终附加两种能量，而婴儿 Raging Bolt 并不总是可用。也有很多游戏我们想链接 Bolt ex。请只玩三个，这副套牌总是希望它们手在手边、在船上、到处都有。我对只玩一个 Boss's Orders 也有类似的看法。大多数人只玩一个，这很糟糕。这副套牌喜欢在几乎每场对决中都使用两个 Boss。狙击两等宝可梦对 Gardevoir 尤其是镜子非常重要，你也可以用它们来干掉 Grimmsnarl 的 Froslass。最后，有些列表不玩 Energy Retrieval，这可能没问题。我只是觉得玩 Energy Retrieval 总比不玩好。这是一张价值密集的卡，通常比 Night Stretcher 更好。虽然 Night Stretcher 是灵活性的缩影，但除了 Stretchers 之外，还可以选择一次性检索，这仍然更加通用。

A tech I included at the last minute is Bravery Charm. This card overperformed and showed its value in many situations. It is downright unfair against Grimmsnarl and Dragapult, as the breakpoints in that matchup are very precise, and it makes Teal Mask Ogerpon (or Raging Bolt) much more difficult for them to take out. The same can be said for the Gardevoir matchup when they set up damage for Munkidori, although it occasionally clashes with our own Jamming Tower. More than anything is how easy Bravery Charm is to use. It can provide instant value whenever you may happen to draw into it, unlike many of the other option techs for this deck. This is the main reason why I liked adding the card.

Tips and Sequencing

Now that the deck plays Fan Rotom and doesn't always get the turn 1 attack, we want to go first against just about everything. A lot of Gardevoir players choose second in this matchup, but I still think going first is better. Getting a manual attachment (especially on baby Raging Bolt) and always getting to attack before the opponent can evolve is very valuable (and this applies to other matchups besides Gardevoir). Having the option to manually attach twice and use Boss's Orders on your first attacking turn is also very strong. Of course, going second and getting the turn one KO is always better, but it just isn't as consistent as it used to me. It's not just a matter of getting an attack either, as Fan Rotom still whiffs KO against the likes of Munkidori. The only matchup where I recommend going second is the Gholdengo ex matchup, as they are pretty much handcuffed when forced to go first.

This deck often presents the player with some complex sequencing, but most scenarios can be simplified down to the following: Thin the deck before drawing cards, and draw before doing committal actions. For example, you’ll typically want to start with Earthen Vessel to thin, then draw with something like Teal Dance, and then decide on a committal action like Noctowl or your attachment for turn. Simple enough. Professor Sada's Vitality goes into the draw step in the sequence, unless you are potentially going to play a different Supporter for the turn (or if you need to get enough Energy in the discard first). Crispin may be a committal action, but it's also thinning the deck. If you like Crispin as your Supporter for the turn, I usually play it first to thin out the deck (and if you draw the Energy you need for Crispin, you're screwed). The biggest exception to this sequencing rule of thumb is if you have something like Nest Ball and want multiple Basic Pokemon, such as turn 1. Drawing before using Nest Ball improves your chances of getting more Basics.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you don’t always have to use an available Noctowl. If you’re able to have a satisfactory turn without it, saving Noctowl is hugely beneficial. Noctowl is a tempo tool that helps fill in the blanks for turns where you need help. If you use it without needing to, your opponent can punish you for it. Conversely, if you're able to save it, your chances of closing out the game are much higher.

Sequencing on your first turn depends on what you want your turn to look like. Are you going to attack this turn? Are you going to use Squawk and Seize? Try to answer these questions at the beginning of your turn so you know what order to do things. For example, saving Fan Call until after Squawk and Seize is typically better. If my hand isn't trash and I don't need to attack turn 1, I probably won't even go for Squawkabilly. Of course, you should think ahead regardless of which turn it is, but turn 1 generally tends to be the most open-ended and dynamic.

Another thing to keep in mind is to have an appreciation of your Bench spaces. Even with Area Zero Underdepths, the Bench becomes very constricted very quickly. It's important to be very judicious about which Pokemon you're putting down when. For example, against Pokemon with high HP like Dragapult ex and Charizard ex, you’ll typically want two Raging Bolt and two Teal Mask Ogerpon in play so that you can materialize enough Energy to one-shot those threats. Therefore, you may have to forego something else at some point. There are also times where you need to leave a spot open for Mew ex (and / or Fezandipiti ex) to play around an opposing Iono. Even if you don't need to use Restart right now, you may need to recover from Iono next turn or the turn after that.

Matchups

Raging Bolt Mirror - Even

The mirror is a little more interesting now than it has been in the past. There are some portion of games that devolve into the typical 2-2-2 trade. If you're on the winning end of such a trade, you should go for that line. However, there are many times where things get a little more convoluted. The two copies of Boss's Orders help to shut out counterplay from your opponent. If they only have one Boss's Orders and the Prime Catcher, keep this in mind and think about what plays they are capable of and what they aren't. If you find yourself unable to take a 2-Prize KO or on the losing end of a Prize trade, try to to take a single-prize KO on their Hoothoot. Without access their own Noctowl, they may not have a way to take a 2-Prize KO. For this reason, baby Raging Bolt and Fan Rotom are both surprisingly useful in the mirror match.

Gardevoir - Slightly Unfavorable

While this matchup is probably never going to be great, I've found it to be very close. Jamming Tower and Professor Turo's Scenario are both very handy to help clear damage off your side of the board. If the opponent overcommits to a Drifloon or Scream Tail, you can use Jamming Tower to KO it, but I would never expect them to make such an obvious blunder. Instead, Jamming Tower acts as a deterrent to narrow down the viable plays they can make.

We should aim to get a fast Prize lead, ideally with baby Raging Bolt since it is our best single-Prize attacker in this matchup. The game will often come down to them hoping we whiff off an Iono. Try to play around this by eventually getting Fezandipiti ex, Mew ex, and a Hoothoot or two into play. They are going to try to target our support Pokemon, but they cannot KO all of them at once. If they try to rely too much on setting up damage, we can punish them with Turo or Jamming Tower.

Another key aspect of this matchup is sniping down their two-Prize Pokemon. Since we usually start with the Prize lead, they are going to try to make a comeback with single-Prize attackers. In general, go for the KO on their Gardevoir ex whenever you can, as you may not get another opportunity. Most games require two gust effects, as we also want to take a KO on any other two-Prize Pokemon they may put down, such as Fezandipiti ex, Mew ex, or Lillie's Clefairy ex. The Basic two-prize Pokemon are easier to reach for a KO against, so we prioritize taking out the Gardevoir if we have a guaranteed way to do so. Most Gardevoir lists do not play Professor Turo's Scenario anymore, so we don't have to worry about our two-Prize options disappearing.

Dragapult - Favorable

This matchup has always been good for Raging Bolt. Even if they do have Shaymin, it's still solidly favorable. Regardless of whether or not they have Shaymin, baby Raging Bolt is our ideal early-game attacker. Sometimes you cannot get it right away, and that's fine. Just start attacking with whatever you can in order to apply fast pressure. In this matchup, we typically want two Ogerpon in play in order to consistently reach for a one-shot on Dragapult ex. We also want to be building up lots of Energy in play in order to do so. They also tend to not take Knock Outs until later, so we don't have to worry about our opponent removing Energy from our board.

The opponent's win condition is basically the same as Gardevoir's, but it's even better for us because their main attacker is a vulnerable two-Prize Pokemon that is rather committal. Just like against Gardevoir, we can punish their spread damage with Jamming Tower or Professor Turo's Scenario to clear damage off our board. Even more important though is playing around Iono, as that is their only way to win. Fezandipiti and Mew need to both be in play. At worst, you can draw with Mew. If they KO Mew, you can draw with Fezandipiti. Playing with just one of them on the board is asking to get stuck when it's KO'd.

Finally, be careful with managing Hoothoot. Go for the 70 HP Hoothoot first so that you can evolve those, as they become liabilities later. This matchup is the only reason to play the 80 HP Hoothoot, as it is very strong once they start using Phantom Dive. Keeping the 80 HP Hoothoot around is very convenient to play around Hawlucha, but don't forget they can still snipe it with Turo's Scenario reusing the Hawlucha. In any case, we don't want to give them a convenient 3-3 prize map with Hawlucha. Bravery Charm can be used to play around this as well. If you're relying on Noctowl later in the game, especially if you're stuck with a 70 HP Hooter, you can potentially stick Bravery Charm on it to survive a snipe. Otherwise, Bravery Charm helps with several other breakpoints on our two-Prize Pokemon, especially if you use it after they've already committed some damage.

Grimmsnarl - Favorable

This matchup is quite good. Don't worry too much about limiting your Bench to play around Froslass. Just be aggressive and target down Froslass whenever you have the opportunity. Once again, baby Raging Bolt is the preferred early-game attacker regardless of whether or not they have Shaymin. Evolve the 80 HP Hoothoot first so that the 70 HP ones can stick around without taking chip damage. Make sure to keep two Ogerpon with at least one Energy each in play so that you can always one-shot their Grimmsnarl ex. Just like the other matchups, Turo, Bravery Charm, and / or Jamming Tower can be very useful to deny damage setup.

If you're playing against a list that you think may have Maractus, be very conservative about playing Turo and Prime Catcher. If you can play without using Squawkabilly or Latias ex, that's great, but don't bend over backwards to do so (especially if you still have both switching options available).

That's all I have for today! Thanks for reading. Raging Bolt has previously been regarded as a brain-dead deck, but it has gained a lot of depth and options as of late. It's still less complex than the Stage 2 decks and it is very user-friendly. I would recommend trying it out if you haven't already!