Pokémon Team Challenge Metagame
By Adrián Moreno Gimeno
The North America International Championships have been a turning point in the metagame as we knew it until now. While Palkia VSTAR and Arceus Variants have been crowned as the most dominant and most used decks in the format, other interesting decks have appeared such as Mewtwo V-UNION control which has proven not to be underrated. However, with the arrival of the new Pokémon TCG: Pokémon GO expansion that includes such interesting cards as Radiant Blastoise, Mewtwo VSTAR, Slowbro, Ditto or Radiant Charizard, we may see new and surprising decks.
These cards may lead to the appearance of very interesting new decks like the new Mewtwo VSTAR, the inclusion of Radiant Charizard in Arceus variants and the return of some old friends like Mad Party or Zoroark Box thanks to Ditto and Slowbro.
All in all, the metagame is going to vary a lot from now on and here we bring you a brief summary of the decks that you are sure to see during the following weeks:
Most standard and popular decks
– Palkia VSTAR: It came in like a tsunami with the addition of the latest expansion (Sword & Shield—Astral Radiance) and with its friend Inteleon and company they make up a very stable deck that allows you to reach very high damage consistently each turn, allowing you to OHKO practically all current cards while needing few resources to do so.
– Arceus Variants: Arceus has become the most versatile deck nowadays since it can be played with practically everything, from the purest version with Inteleon, to the most recently used variations such as Duraludon VMAX and Flying Pikachu VMAX that have been a sensation in the latest International and Regional Championships.
– Mew VMAX: Since its appearance, this deck has established itself as one of the best regardless of the most recent additions, it is a deck that does not vary too much since it appeared and has a clear game path from the beginning, in addition to including one of the most beloved Pokémon in the history of the TCG.
New decks
– Mewtwo VSTAR: It is the latest addition with the launch of the Pokémon GO expansion. It only needs two energy to attack and reaches maximum damage of 270 (300 with Choice Belt), it also has very good support cards like Fog Crystal, Shadow Rider Calyrex or Cresselia from Sword & Shield: Chilling Reign, definitely, it’s going to be seen quite a lot in the coming weeks.
– Magikarp: No kidding, there is actually a deck based on the new Magikarp that deals some really amazing damage, and can hit every turn consistently for a single Twin Energy. Although the real star of this deck and the usual attacker is none other than our friend Ditto.
– Lunatone & Solrock: The most affordable and most surprising deck of all, you don’t need to be an expert in the game to master it and get fantastic results.
Other decks of interest
– Dialga VSTAR, Inteleon Darkbox, Blissey/Miltank, Regis, Mad Party, Zoroark Box, Jolteon VMax, Turbo Darkrai, Samurott VSTAR, Malamar VMAX, Whimsicott VSTAR…
