Unshrouding the Worlds Format – Shrouded Fable’s Impact and My Worlds Preparation Process

Hey everyone! It’s Charlie and I’m happy to be back with another article. After NAIC ends, we enter the “dog days” of the Pokemon TCG season where we have no major events until the World Championships. Unlike last season when the gap was a bit over a month, the gap between NAIC and Worlds this year is over two months! This gave me a nice opportunity to take a brief break from Pokemon after an intense end to the season, which was refreshing. Now that it’s July, it’s time for the most intense parts of Worlds preparation to begin!

[cardimg name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM191″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Last season was the first World Championships since 2015 that no new cards were introduced to the card pool, so there were many fewer new things to explore than there are this season. The only “new” deck that saw significant success at Worlds last year was [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card], piloted to Top 32 by Sejun Park and Andrew Mahone. This deck was, clearly, already strong, but underdeveloped prior to the event and preyed on a favorable field of [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] decks. Compare this to 2019, where we saw an entirely new main expansion in Unified Minds and an early rotation of four impactful sets that effectively created a new format from scratch for Worlds. 2019’s rotation was extreme, and we saw [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] take down the tournament with many other brand-new decks making the Top 8.

This year, we are closer to the middle ground, getting a new mini set in Shrouded Fable and not rotating any cards out. The closest we’ve had to this before was in 2022 when Pokemon GO released before Worlds and introduced a few new impactful cards. The biggest additions were [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card], the former finding its way into some turbo archetypes and the latter inspiring Ross Cawthon’s genius Top 16 list focused around [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] and Radiant Charizard alone. The big question this year is will Shrouded Fable be as impactful as Pokemon GO was? From what I’ve seen on social media, it appears most people think a few of the new cards will have an impact, but not a massive shakeup like we’ve seen in the past at some Worlds. Personally, I think we will see quite a large shakeup of the meta at this event as Shrouded Fable is full of impactful cards that change how the best decks play.

Top Five Cards from Shrouded Fable

I’ll share my top five cards from the new set below; these have been my favorite new inclusions in decks and I think all five will see massive success at Worlds. In particular, I think Shrouded Fable is full of exceptional role-playing cards. I don’t see the new Darkness-box deck seeing much success, but there are tons of amazing cards in the set that fill important niches, counter some of the best decks in the current Standard format, and overall change how the game is played going forward.

Five: Pecharunt ex

Pecharunt ex is a cool new card. Its Ability allows you to move one of your Benched Darkness Pokemon to the Active in exchange for poisoning it. While this can be seen as a downside, we also got Binding Mochi, which says that your Active Poisoned Pokemon hits for 40 more damage. This is one new way to boost [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]’s damage output in the early game, allowing you to reach 220 damage before your opponent has taken a Prize card and without something like [card name=”Maximum Belt ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]. It can also be paired with cards like [card name=”Morpeko” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to offer a free pivot to your entire board, similar to [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card] + [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] from back in the day. This does take up two Bench spots, but in decks that are light on Bench sitters, a pivot option like this can be strong. For Charizard ex specifically, Pecharunt ex offers an almost foolproof way to beat [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] lists from the past as you can constantly move Charizard ex back to the Active and attack their Snorlax. You’ll need other ways to deal with [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] of course, but we have a few new options for that as well that I’ll talk about later. Unfortunately for Charizard ex, however, Snorlax block can play cards like [card name=”Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] to give Charizard ex even more of a headache. Overall, Pecharunt ex is a cute card that plays its role nicely in Darkness decks.

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Four: Xerosic’s Machinations

Xerosic’s Machinations is [card name=”Hand Trimmer ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] on steroids, only affecting your opponent and also dropping them down to only three cards in hand. While this might seem like it’s only useful as a Snorlax counter (their hand gets considerably large) or in Snorlax block as a weapon to destroy opposing large hands, putting your opponent down to only three cards is surprisingly strong against pretty much everything. Yes, they get to choose the best three cards in their hand to keep, but when we’re talking about a seven+ card hand, Xerosic’s Machinations can oftentimes force them to discard a few good cards. Also, just shrinking their hand in general nerfs cards like [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] significantly; they may have wanted to discard their dead cards in hand to find an important Pokemon, but keeping Ultra Ball is no longer useful once their dead cards are gone. Overall, I think people are sleeping on the value of hand disruption like Xerosic’s Machinations. It may feel weaker than [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] in the late game, but in the early and mid-game, its impact can be devastating.

Three: Kyurem

Ah yes, another tailor-made hard counter for one of the best decks in the game right now! Kyurem is here to save the day against the omnipotent Lost Zone box decks, most recently winning NAIC in the hands of Andrew Hedrick. Compared to cards like [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Drapion V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card], I think Kyurem may be the strongest one yet. Trifrost is an absolutely silly attack when used against Lost Zone box and pretty much wins the game on the spot. It forces every Lost Zone box list to include [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] now and usually forces them to put it into play as well; the risk of a Kyurem out of nowhere is way too high. I don’t expect to see this card in too many decks at Worlds, but I do think it will scare away a bunch of Lost Zone players and singlehandedly reduce the deck’s play-rate to likely below ten percent for the first time in a while.

Two: Fezandipiti ex

Fezandipiti ex is a spiritual successor to [card name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], which was a niche but powerful card back in 2019. If one of your Pokemon was KO’d during your opponent’s last turn, Fezandipiti ex allows you to draw three cards! This may seem weak on a two-Prize Pokemon with only 210 HP, but consider that Fezandipiti ex is the most lightweight (takes only one slot in your deck) protection against [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] in the format. Its HP being so high also protects it against Bench-sniping threats that could threaten the likes of [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], one of which we will talk about as the next card on this list. I’m still not completely sold on how many decks this card fits into, but from my early testing, I think it’s extremely underrated and it surprised me with its flexibility quite a lot. It also has a cool attack that snipes 100 for three Colorless Energy, which can be useful in niche situations. If I was betting on it, I’d say Fezandipiti ex will likely feature in the Top 8 of this year’s World Championships as a powerful support Pokemon replacing Bibarel.

One: Dusclops and Dusknoir

My favorite two cards from the set by far are the new Dusclops and Dusknoir. This dynamic duo brings an extremely powerful effect alongside a self-sacrifice with its Cursed Blast Ability. In exchange for a self-KO, Dusclops will place five damage counters on one of your opponent’s Pokemon, while Dusknoir will place a whopping 13! This is enough to single-handedly KO a Bibarel on the Bench. Dusclops is also able to KO some low-HP Basics like [card name=”Pidgey” set=”151″ no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] (although I expect a resurgence of 60 HP [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card]) and set up early KOs for attackers like [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]. Speaking of Charizard ex, I think Dusknoir slots into Charizard ex decks better than anywhere else right now. Giving up a Prize card boosts the damage of Burning Darkness and allows you to do 260 damage before your opponent takes any KOs and also puts them on an odd number of Prizes, forcing them to still take three total KOs to win. The late-game combo of utilizing Dusknoir to KO a Bibarel while also playing Iono is also devastating, giving decks the flexibility to properly disrupt Bibarel decks without needing an ACE SPEC like [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Unfair Stamp” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card]. I would be surprised if the Dusknoir line didn’t make a big splash at Worlds; I’m unsure if the best way to play it has been discovered yet, but plenty of great ways have been!

That wraps it up for my top five cards; I wouldn’t be surprised to see any one of these cards at the top tables of Worlds and if you aren’t prepared for their impact, I’d start thinking about that now.

Next up, let’s talk about one of my favorite topics, my preparation strategy for Worlds!

How I Prepare for Worlds

The World Championships is the one event each year that I feel I have to put all of my heart and soul into if I want my season to be worth it. I obviously want to do well at every event, but Worlds has held a special place in my heart since my first time attending back in 2016. While I’ve made it to Day 2 three times and got 18th back in 2019, I’m still searching for that World Champion title and always want to put as much time in as possible to best prepare myself.

Last year, I had my worst performance at Worlds ever, going 3-5 on Day 1 with a crafty [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] healing deck. This left a sour taste in my mouth, especially since I tested quite a lot for the event and considered myself to be in pretty good playing shape. When doing a post-mortem analysis of the event though, I realized I had made a major error in my deck-building process; the deck was way too defensive, utilizing three copies of [card name=”Cheren’s Care” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] alongside heavy disruption to make it harder for your opponent to win. Unfortunately, it was bad at punishing bad starts from your opponent, and often let them back into games that you should’ve been winning much earlier. I think this deck would’ve succeeded much more at a Regional, but against the best players in the world, giving them small openings to come back into most games was a losing strategy. I also tunnel-visioned on the deck too early — I’m in favor of deciding on a deck early, but it was almost a month before the event when I was pretty sure I was playing the deck. I was able to come up with strong lines for the [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] matchups, which both grew in popularity leading up to the event, but they were a bit faulty and weaknesses against other popular decks ended up proving too much to overcome. The only extremely good matchup was likely [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], which I was not paired against and also had a few unique outs that could give them a chance. In retrospect, I’m a little happier now that I have such a weak Worlds performance under my belt because it pointed out a weak point in my process that I can work to avoid this year. Speaking of my process, let me take you through my strategy to prepare for the most important event of the year!

One: Rest and Evaluate

(Six-Eight Weeks Before Worlds)

[cardimg name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG70″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

After NAIC ends, I always take a quick break from playing to focus on other aspects of my life. If there are new cards coming out for Worlds though, I will always read them and keep them in the back of my mind to think about though. This stage of the prep process is important; it allows you to clear your mind and look at the format from a fresh perspective. With small changes coming to most Worlds formats (and larger ones this year), thinking about things in the same light as NAIC is often a recipe for disaster. My NAIC 2023 Arceus VSTAR / [card name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] deck was successful for a Gardevoir ex-filled meta, but would’ve been a much weaker choice once players figured out Giratina VSTAR’s power. This year, I think the situation will be similar, as new cards are making a much bigger impact.

Two: Explore to Your Heart’s Content

(Four-Six Weeks Before Worlds)

This is the phase where you have time to try out every weird, wacky, and off-the-wall concept you can come up with! See the potential in some old card that’s been ignored for its whole existence? Give it a shot! Testing weird stuff during this time won’t be a waste of time, and you could end up breaking the format. If you get lucky and come up with something awesome, you could find yourself holding the World Champion trophy with a unique deck. This is also the time when you start to solidify the metagame a bit more in your mind. This meta will mostly be made up of the decks you test your rouges against but will give you a feel for the power level of the format. Notice everything is struggling into [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]? Keep that in mind as we move into the next phase!

Three: Dig Into the Metagame

(Three-Four Weeks Before Worlds)

Now that you’ve tried out all the cool ideas you had floating around in your head, you can hang onto the good ones and add them to your projected metagame. Every year, I make a spreadsheet with 20 decks on it, including the entire expected meta and any rogue decks I built that have particular merit. Then, I make a huge “matchup matrix” with these that compares every deck against every other deck. After weighting the decks based on how much of each I expect, I calculate a weighted average and rank the decks by their score. This gives me a “playability factor” — a number based on each deck’s expected results against the meta. This number should never be seen as the be-all and end-all; I instead use it to guide my testing and determine which decks I want to put the most time into. Anything surprising in the top five? Maybe I should test that deck more! Am I unsure about any matchups that resulted in unusually high or low placements? Test those ones more! Every year, the spreadsheet’s results are often eerily accurate — last year [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] ranked #2, which I wrote off as a fluke only to be surprised by its success. Sometimes there are some big misses ([card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] missed the top five last year) but it’s usually an incredibly good guide for my testing. The spreadsheet can be updated as you go on and inform your decisions throughout your process, which is the beauty of using a system like this.

Even if you don’t make a spreadsheet though, simply keeping track of what you like and don’t like in a notes document somewhere is incredibly valuable! This year, my friends and I have been using Tiermaker to show which decks we like and don’t like, as well as a to-do list for all the things we need to test. Organization is key!

Four: Choose Your Fighter!

(Two-Three Weeks Before Worlds)

This is around the time I like to lock in my archetype. This year, my goal is the first of August to decide what deck I’d like to play. This doesn’t determine the list of course, but based on all the testing I’ve already done, I should feel confident in one choice over the rest by now. If not, I can always push it back a bit more, but I think deciding early allows you to get significantly more games in with the deck you plan to play and learn the ins and outs better than anything else. This also gives you way more time to test unique techs and other options that could make your deck better into its worst matchups. Overall, I think deciding early is the best strategy if you’ve tested enough. If you’ve put in the time to learn and perfect a deck, it will do you wonders!

Five: Refine the List

(Zero-Two Weeks Before Worlds)

[cardimg name=”Judge” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”209″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

As you’re nearing the final stretch, this will be the time to settle on those last few card choices. I try to play all of my matchups extensively, both the good and the bad ones, trying out different variations of my list and seeing if I can gain any advantage over my opponents. Making a huge change in what you’re playing at this point feels incredibly risky; while it could pay off if you have some sort of revelation, the time and effort you put into your deck in the weeks prior is extremely valuable and will carry you far. I also like how my stress is reduced much more when I’ve already decided on my deck; it allows me to focus on increasing my confidence in my play and making sure I’m squeezing every last drop of power out of my deck. Some of my best ideas have been introduced in this time as well; including four [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] in my [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM168″ c=”name”][/card] deck in 2019 was a game-changer and was only added a week prior.

Six: Relax, You Made It!

At this point, you’ve done all you can. This is likely the time you’ll be arriving in Hawaii; make sure to get in some last-minute games with your deck, but focus on the experience and know that you’ve prepared well. Confidence is one of the most important traits a Pokemon player can have, and you’ve been spending over six weeks building that confidence up. Make sure you get good rest, eat good food, and prepare to battle the best.

Conclusion

That concludes my top five cards in Shrouded Fable and an explanation of my Worlds preparation process! As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions on X (@C4_TCG) or in the comments below. I’m super excited for this year’s World Championships and I hope you are too! Thank you very much for reading and I hope to see you in the next one.

– Charlie

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