This article was intended to be a guide on how to beat Lugia, but quickly morphed into descriptions of how to play two match ups optimally – that is, the ones in the title. When writing, the pen can have a mind of its own (or in this case, I suppose my keyboard does). Let’s get right into it.
Lugia VS Lugia
The mirror is far more skillful than most give it credit for. The difference between going first or second is not as significant as many players claim. If going first was crucial, Andrew Hedrick would not have been able to win two consecutive Regionals piloting Lugia. What is far more important is how your play differs depending on if you play first or second, along with understanding all the ways you and your opponent can capitalize on how each of you manage Energy and Pokemon in play.
Early game
When playing first, your goal should be to get a single Lugia V into play and two Archeops in the discard. You do not want to hold an Evolution Incense or Archeops, because your opponent might Marnie you on their first turn. For example, you may think you want to hold an Ultra Ball because you only have one Archeops to discard and the other card that would be discarded would be a fairly tough resource to lose, and waiting until you draw on the next turn could make it possible to discard two Archeops, or simply discard Archeops and another less important card. I would argue that you are better off using the Ultra Ball on that first turn instead of waiting, because if your opponent plays Marnie you will have a very hard time getting two Archeops and a Lugia VStar into play on the second turn. In the event that you miss the Turn 2 Summoning Star for two Archeops, it is likely that you already lose the game (assuming your opponent plays well).
You will also want to get Oranguru into play as soon as possible regardless of if you play first or second. This is simply because almost all of the Energy in your deck are going to play a very significant role, and being forced to discard too many of them can easily lead to a loss. Oranguru also serves as soft Marnie protection, and if you are Marnie’d before your second turn, Oranguru will frequently be the reason you: 1) do not dead draw, 2) are able to save a Powerful/Aurora Energy, or 3) avoid discarding a key attacker.
Your first turn when playing second will also be centered around getting Archeops in the discard pile, because your opponent also can Marnie you on their second turn. However, depending on your opponent’s first turn, you may want to get two Lugia V into play instead of just one; your opponent might be able to knock out your only Lugia V in play on their second turn. There are a few guides I use in determining if it is a game where a second Lugia V needs to be put down. Before I explain that, I want to mention that it is not desirable to have two Lugia in play because the name of the game is to have all one-prize Pokemon in play; in other words, you will be putting two Lugia V down not because it’s good to set up two Lugia VStar, but because you are concerned that a lone Lugia V will be knocked out.
The first signal that there may be a need for a second Lugia V in play is seeing your opponent start with Lugia V in the active. This makes a difference because it means your opponent does not need to pivot something out of the active in order to use Lugia VStar as an attacker on the subsequent turn. The likelihood that your Lugia is knocked out on your opponent’s second turn when your opponent starts with (for example) Pumpkaboo or Oranguru, is far lower because your opponent needs either two attachments to move it or a Double Turbo. If your opponent starts with Raikou they can also somewhat easily pull off the turn two knock out on Lugia because Raikou only needs three Energy to get an attack off. It matters a lot that the Energy cost is lower because it enables your opponent to use one Archeops along with an attachment to get the attack off. This means that your opponent can choose to only Summoning Star one Archeops if it means they are able to knock out a lone Lugia through playing Serena or Boss. Your opponent should be unconcerned about only Summoning one Archeops if it means they can knock out your only Lugia, preventing you from getting to play the game for another turn.
The next thing to keep in mind is the number of Archeops your opponent put into their discard pile on their first turn. If your opponent did get two Archeops into their discard pile on their first turn, the likelihood that you need to bench a second Lugia V goes up by a lot.
The last big thing to consider is if you started with Lugia V in the active spot. This is the single biggest factor because it means your opponent does not need Boss or Serena in order to knock out Lugia on their second turn. In almost every game where you start with Lugia V, you should bench another Lugia V, unless you retreat Lugia.
[March 9th edit] After more testing I have concluded that I was wrong in the following section. You need to bench two Lugia V when playing second more often than I thought. In my earlier testing, benching just one Lugia ended up working well for me, but recently I have been punished too many times for doing so. I also have found that it may not be as big of a hindrance to have two Lugia VStar in play as I initially thought. There is merit to the idea that you need to take risks to get ahead and going second put you at a significant disadvantage immediately, but overall I have changed my position on this strategy.
I usually do not bench a second Lugia V on turn one when playing second. I am happy to take a riskier approach to the mirror when playing second; the idea is I am already on the back foot by playing second, which means some risks need to be taken in order to potentially give myself an advantage. That being said, it is very hard for your opponent to actually pull off the turn two Gust, plus Summoning Star, plus pivot their active to the bench, to find the KO. It is a different story when your opponent has two turns of Supporter use, but in this case where they are playing first, they have no draw Supporter use before trying to pull this combo off. It simply does not happen very often. That being said, you need to know when it is time to bench the second Lugia; making the wrong choice here can essentially lose you the game on your opponent’s second turn.
What I explained will also translate to your second turn in games where you play first. If you have to burn your hand down and leave yourself with nothing for the next turn, but allow yourself to take a turn two KO on your opponent’s only Lugia V in play, then do it! Your opponent will be behind by two prizes and will be behind by another prize when you use that powered up Lugia VStar to take another knock out on the next turn.
Mid-game
Lets say both players stabilize through the early game; you and your opponent set up normally with two Archeops out on turn two. You are going to want to be using Lumineon V as an attacker somewhat often. A key part of this match up is always searching out the correct Pokemon and sending up that proper target after shuffling in with Lumineon. Keep in mind that Stoutland V is always a potential threat, so promoting Pumpkaboo, Dunsparce, or Manaphy can be an easy two prize turn for your opponent. Although, if your opponent chooses to use Stoutland in the mid-game, you have a great response through Radiant Charizard. Effectively what happens is that you trade two prizes for two prizes because Stoutland takes two prizes through Double Dip Fangs and you respond with knocking out that V Pokemon with your own one-prize Pokemon. The fact that Charizard is being used here is significant because it means you are not offering up another two prizes to your opponent, as you would be if you were to knock out Stoutland with Lugia VStar. If you recognize that your opponent would end up on the negative end of a prize exchange by using Stoutland in the mid-game, then you are free to send up these low HP Pokemon after attacking with Lumineon. Also keep in mind that it is still possible for Stoutland to take two prizes on higher HP one-prize Pokemon such as Raikou and Yveltal; they simply need four Powerful to make this happen. Usually it is not a good idea for Stoutland to be used in this way because using up all the Powerful Energy in this fashion limits options too much later in the game and ends up not being worth the cost.
[March 9th edit] I feel I overstated how frequently Lumineon should be used as an attacker in mirror. The more I test mirror, the more I find it is problematic to shuffle energy back in when attacking, because of the threat you leave yourself vulnerable to, in your opponent knocking out one of your Archeops and there being not enough Energy left in play to propel you through the rest of the game.
Many turns in Lugia mirrors will be comprised of you using Lumineon to knock out a one-prize Pokemon, sending up a one-prize Pokemon, and your opponent responding with their own Lumineon to knock out your one-prize Pokemon. We can conceive the other turns in these mirrors as opportunities to catch an advantage. Winning mirrors is all about capitalizing on the situations where your opponent does not prepare properly, or digging the blade in when your opponent is forced to discard certain resources they need to create a strong board state. The simplest example of this is when your opponent did not draw into Manaphy, which is where you can swiftly respond with Raikou to take a multi-prize turn. Still, keep in mind that this will not actually benefit you if your opponent does not have the right targets on their bench. If your opponent has a board that has only Lugia VStar, Dunsparce, and two Archeops, then Raikou is not reaching its potential because it will only be able to knock out the Dunsparce in play while damaging any of the other Pokemon for less than a KO.
You can also use this information because it means in the right circumstance Dunsparce can be a replacement for Manaphy. You are not concerned about Raikou if your opponent can only take one prize when they attack with it; if they chose to do so, they end up burning three Auroras just to get a single prize, which will end up creating a disadvantage for them as the game progresses. The mirror is, in a large part, centered around resource management and keeping options around in the form of more of your Aurora and Powerful Energy. One other note on Dunsparce: it shuts off colorless Pokemon’s weakness for you and your opponent. The problem with this is that it means your Raikou will be ineffective. Again, this is why Manaphy is generally a better option.
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